Monday, October 31, 8:00 PM. Claire.

Good evening, Diary.

It’s Halloween but it doesn’t feel like it. I dressed up as a cat. Mom helped me make the costume and put the make up on. Trevor dressed up like a cowboy. There aren’t any other houses to go to so we just tricked-or-treated at our house. We don’t usually get to have candy but we got lots tonight.

It’s Mom’s birthday today too. Mom’s birthday is always on Halloween. Dad said that is because she was born into a family of witches, but he just said that because she dressed up as a witch today. Mom loves Halloween. Dad and Garrett didn’t dress up but they never do.

We made Mom’s favorite cake for her, German chocolate. Now that we have eggs and milk we can make things like that. I don’t like chocolate cake very much but she does and that’s what matters. On your birthday you can have anything you want.

Nobody knew what to give her because now you can have pretty much anything so it doesn’t mean so much. Dad said he thought about giving her a new diamond ring, but it seems silly to just take one from the jewelry store. Instead he found her a latte machine that makes them automatically and he made one for her. You could tell she really loved that and wasn’t just saying it. She sat in his lap. She looked pretty in her witch costume. I gave her a painting I made of Blizzard and Ilsa. Trevor gave her a flower pot he made out of Legos. Garrett gave her some coupons he made that she can use to get him to clean the house when she doesn’t feel like it. We all help with that anyway but she liked it.

I’ve been teaching everyone to ride the horses. Even Trevor is doing it. Sometimes the horses act a little scary but nothing bad has happened. They’re all pretty gentle horses and used to being ridden. Sometimes we ride far along the creek or out on the road. Nobody but me likes to trot or gallop. I love to gallop across the pasture. Princess loves it too.

The kittens are getting bigger. They are almost like grown-up cats. They know how to eat their food and use the litter box. They love to play and they are always tackling each other. Molly is crazier and likes to attack Pudding. Pudding likes to sleep and be cuddled. She doesn’t mind if I pet her tummy but Molly will scratch you if you do that. I’m still sad that Chip died but I think he was sick when we got him and there was nothing we could do.