Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating more regularly, but I've been really busy. I meant to post this chapters closer to Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, but better late than never, right?

It was the day before Halloween when Lim arrived home late from work. When she entered her house, she could hear Latin music playing in the background, giggles coming from Carlos and Mei-Li, and her husband's voice, though she couldn't tell what he was saying because he was speaking in Spanish to them. Lim set her bag, helmet, and keys down and hung her jacket up on the hook before she made her way to the dining room. When she arrived, she saw paint everywhere; thankfully Melendez had been smart enough to cover the table with old newspapers. The kids were painting sugar skulls and masks and Melendez was pulling some fresh pumpkin cookies out of the oven. She cleared her throat to signal her arrival and the kids jumped down from their chairs and ran towards her, "Mommy!"

"Hi guys," she smiled and kissed them both.

Melendez came over to her and kissed her, "You're home later than expected," he commented.

"I know," Lim said, "The surgery was complicated. Reznick and I had to call Murphy in to help us come up with a solution."

"Mommy, Daddy helped us make cookies!" said Carlos excitedly, pulling Lim over to where Melendez had just set the trays of cookies with pumpkins and bats on them.

"And then pan de…what's it called again, Daddy?" asked Mei-Li looking up at her father.

Melendez chuckled and answered, "Pan de muerto."

"Yeah, pan de muerto," said Mei-Li.

Lim's heart sank a little with the fact that she hadn't been home in time to help them bake cookies and get stuff ready for Día de los Muertos, but such was the life of a surgeon sometimes. At least she would be able to attend the Halloween parties in Carlos's and Mei-Li's kindergarten and fourth grade classes respectively. And on Friday, many of Melendez's relatives were coming over for Día de los Muertos. Lim squeezed Melendez's hand and asked, "Have they had dinner?"

"Mmhm," Melendez nodded in affirmation, "But they both still need to takes their baths and want to be read a bedtime story. I figured you would want to do it."

Lim smiled and nodded, so she went to give Carlos his bath while Mei-Li stayed behind to help Melendez clean up a little, Mei-Li chattering a mile a minute about their plans for the next few days, "You and Mommy will come to school tomorrow and I'll wear my Belle costume and we'll get to have cookies and candy and do crafts," she rambled excitedly.

"I know. But remember mija, we also have to go to Carlos's class too," Melendez reminded her.

"And then we get to go trick-or-treating tomorrow, right?" asked Mei-Li.

"Yes," nodded Melendez, picking her up and carrying her up the stairs, "You're going to be a beautiful Belle and Carlos will be an awesome Spiderman."

"And we'll get lots of candy and eat lots of candy," continued Mei-Li, "And then on Friday, Abuela and Abuelo and Tía Elena and…" Mei-Li listed just as Lim came into the room.

Melendez smiled and placed her down onto the floor while Mei-Li ran towards the bathroom, "I swear she's already on a sugar rush."

The next day, the Halloween party at school was in full swing and there were plenty of treats for everyone. Melendez and Lim had visited Carlos's class first, and he was enjoying the plethora of cookies, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, and Kit Kats being distributed, not to mention the foam pumpkin craft for the students to make. The only thing Carlos was upset about was that he wasn't allowed to wear his Spiderman mask due to school policy, "Why can't I wear my mask? I don't look like Spiderman without it," he said.

"Mijo, you still have the awesome suit," said Melendez.

"And you get to wear your mask trick-or-treating tonight, not to mention the fact that you'll get to wear your skull mask that Daddy helped you decorate for Friday," said Lim.

Thankfully, Carlos got over his mask woes quickly when a few of his friends started talking to him about trick-or-treating, so Melendez and Lim excused themselves to go to Mei-Li's class. Melendez turned to Lim and said, "Just think, next year is her last year of elementary school."

"Don't remind me. I don't know if I'm ready for the middle school years along with puberty. I hate everything to do with the Disney princesses, but I would watch every movie 100 times again if it meant I could go back to the days where she was little," Lim said in a reminiscent manner.

Thankfully, when they arrived at Mei-Li's classroom, Mei-Li provided a distraction from their nostalgia, "Mommy, can you take a picture of all of the princesses?"

"Of course, sweetheart," answered Lim, though she didn't quite understand what Mei-Li was talking about until she saw a handful of other girls in Tiana, Cinderella, Elsa, Merida, Moana, and Ariel costumes. Lim was really starting to believe that she really was the only woman on the planet who would've had no desire to dress up in a princess outfit when she was a child. She snapped a few photos before going back over to her husband's side.

Later that night, the family had dinner before Melendez took the kids out trick-or-treating. Then, he and his wife put the kids to bed. They went back downstairs and sat down on the couch, Melendez tucking a lock of hair behind Lim's ear, "Well one holiday down, one to go," he chuckled.

Lim smiled and snuggled next to him, "I know the kids are looking forward to your relatives visiting."

"Me too," said Melendez.

Friday came and Maria and Mateo came over to the Lim-Melendez household with Gabi and Miguel, Elena, and the kids had flown in from Texas a few hours earlier. Elena was currently putting Día de los Muertos make-up on Mei-Li and Isabella while Lim was making a valiant effort to do her own, "Here Audrey, let me help you," Elena chuckled at her niece-in-law's struggle.

"Thank you," Lim laughed as well, "When I need to wear make-up, I throw on some blush, eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick and I'm on my way."

"Tía Elena, what did you do for Día de los Muertos in Mexico?" asked Mei-Li.

"Well, our family would go the graveyard where some of our relatives are buried and we'd hold a picnic. We did a lot of the same things we do now. We created ofrendas, made sugar skulls, wore special costumes and make-up, and had a big dinner together to honor our deceased ancestors," explained Elena.

"We do the same thing on Lunar New Year only we eat dumplings instead of pan de muerto," commented Mei-Li.

Elena smiled and scooped Mei-Li into her arms. She kissed her cheek and said, "Come on, Chiquita, let's go party."

The two of them along with Lim and Isabella went downstairs. Papel picado and orange and yellow marigolds adorned the living room. There were a few ofrendas dedicated to a few of Melendez's deceased relatives and, of course, there was plenty of food and music. Melendez smiled as he saw his wife walking over to him, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" he joked. He had some Día de los Muertos make-up applied as well.

"Funny. Elena did the make-up for me," she smiled and kissed him. They both observed Carlos playing with his cousins and Mei-Li was talking about her school's Halloween party with Maria and Gabi.

Melendez kissed the top of Lim's head once more and said, "Well, we spent a lot of time planning this party. We might as well go and enjoy ourselves."

Lim took his hand and squeezed it, "As long as our family is together, we'll have a great time."