Happy Halloween! Who is ready for a night of screams and treats? This post is historic because it is only the second time I have written a Thursday Rundown on October 31. The first time was five years ago in 2019. Before you hit the neighborhood to trick-or-treat, let me offer up five random topics…

Red Tie Gala – Earlier this month, we kicked off the public phase of Eastern Washington University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign—Build Our Future. This was another project I had the opportunity to work on the moment I stepped on campus. The public-facing effort launched with the Red Tie Gala on Oct. 18. This was such a nice event because not only did it generate enthusiasm for this very important phase of the campaign but it was also a celebration of the work completed up to this point. The cherry on top was that I got to bring Sidney. Not only did we have a nice date night, but she got to meet my boss and team. EWU has raised $67M of its $100M goal.

The Red Tie Gala was a blast! Sidney got to meet my boss, Eric Limburg (and we both got to meet his wife, Tara), and she also met members of my team. What a fun time we had supporting Eastern Washington University.

Earlier And Earlier Every Year – I remember back in the day when it used to be pushing it if Santa showed up a couple days before Thanksgiving. Now he is showing up several days before Halloween! In fact, not only did my kids fist bump with Kris Kringle this past Saturday, they said “hello” to Mrs. Claus too. To be honest, this isn’t totally unprecedented. Santa dropped candy in Sloan’s trick-or-treat basket back in 2021, too.

Beau, Sloan, and my niece had a Santa encounter at a trunk-or-treat over the weekend.

Pumpkin Carving – Although the carving of pumpkins is perhaps the one thing I don’t love about Halloween, it doesn’t mean we don’t do it. Sidney always takes the lead on this festivity with the kids. This year, Sloan and Beau got their pumpkins during a Halloween party at Brick West, a brewery in downtown Spokane. They might be smaller in size than carving pumpkins from grocery stores, but they definitely did the trick.

Sid and the kids busy carving pumpkins earlier this week.

River Park SCARE – We didn’t just do trunk-or-treats this past weekend. Cognizant of the fact that cavities aren’t good, I took the kids to other spooky events that weren’t candy-based. One such opportunity was River Park SCARE. It took place in River Park Square, our area’s downtown mall, and offered tons of fun activities. The event offered Lego building, bath bomb creation, balloon making, and princess meeting. It was a nice change of pace from the sugar-paved road of the trunk-or-treat circuit.

Sloan and Beau having fun at the River Park SCARE event.

Candy Inflation – With the prices you see below, I think we might have to opt for more tricks than treats. Or, in my case, we might just have to turn the light out at our house and dash over to my parents’ where they already have their candy stash for trick-or-treaters. Call me a cheapskate, but candy prices for a single bag are getting a little out of control. Granted, what you see below is chocolate and it is packed with 200 pieces but inflation is definitely real.

I encountered this expensive bag of candy at Safeway.

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Have an awesome night, everyone! Stay safe, make memories, and be kind to all the little goblins and ghouls. Don’t Blink.