The first year at our kids’ school, a friend told me that they go all out for Dia de los Muertos. Honestly, I didn’t even really know what it was, but sure enough, our school did go all out and I thought it was beautiful, even if it didn’t particularly mean much to me at the time.

By our second year at the school, however, we had lost 3 very close family members and suddenly, Dia de los Muertos became an event I had been both dreading and anxiously anticipating. We made it through the processional, but the emotions stirred during my 2nd time ever in that march were overpowering, but uplifting.

This year, we got the kiddos  up at 6 a.m. this morning to do their sugar skull makeup. My husband and I were working so hard, we may or may not have been a tad late to school today. But it was soooo worth it! The kids looked amazing and they were so proud of their makeup!

This year, our children each made very thoughtful and beautiful ofrendas to honor our lost loved ones: Grandma Rosie, Uncle Jim, Pop, and even our pups, Kona and Storm:

More images from the day:

But the real treat of the day came by the dance and musical performances of the students for the entire school. I posted some video clips on Instagram (one, two, three, and four), but those really don’t capture the incredible energy and vibe and sound and color and beauty of the celebration. The kids were SO into it! Such a treat to watch my own children get caught up in the magic, too. All of these students are quite lucky to have such talented and creative teachers, staff, and volunteers to pull something like this together in such a short timeframe. Wow!