Halloween 2014

It FINALLY came! Costume-wise it was more of the same: Roo's request was easy and ready by September and Isaac's was complicated and we were working on it up until the last second. That being said, I think we super nailed it. I'm proud of the teamwork that produced that amazing, one of a kind costume. Go team! I dressed up, of course. Mike bought all the fabric and even hair dye to be the Kristoff to my Anna, but work got crazy so he never even started working on it. I was 100% fine with that. It was a nice thought, but I told him many times the kids costumes were highest priority. We had to hand make Isaac's enormous hat so it would be accurate and fit on a giant squid head. I also made all the barnacles out of paper mache. I even printed an image of carvings that look like tentacles surrounding a heart to put on Isaac's treasure chest. If you haven't seen the movie Davy Jones is so heartbroken he tears his heart from his chest and locks it away in a chest to keep it safe. It all came together so well!

I stocked up on way to much candy. I enlisted the kids for help with some last minute huge spiderwebs and a few other decorations, but costumes (mostly Isaac's) were the first priority. I didn't feel up to trick-or-treating with the kids this time. It's weird because Mike and I usually fight over who is going to go around with kids and this year we both felt less than enthusiastic about it. Even with my wheelchair it's a serious workout. My neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks so it's up and down driveways and rolling along the gutters. A workout that I have never minded paying for the next couple days, but I opted to pass out candy with my mom. After pictures, they were off! We didn't get even half the trick-or-treaters we got last year, but I had fun looking at the costumes and making stupid jokes ("Oh you better eat some candy, you're bones are showing, etc). Mike and the kids were back after a couple hours and there were so few trick-or treaters it was safe to go inside and wait for the doorbell.

This year, as is tradition, everyone potty-ed and shed unwanted costume pieces and then we took pictures of their haul. I turned on Monster House and since it was a Friday and they're older I gave them a time limit for candy eating instead telling them how many pieces they could pick out. It worked out great and no one got sick. In a perfect world Mike would have finished his costume enough to at least take a picture with me and his beautiful (lit with animated lightening) Ursula pumpkin wouldn't have been to rotten to lift off the table, but it was a fun Halloween. I am totally ready to get back out into the neighborhood with the kids next year! It figures the year I stayed home to hand our candy was slow trick-or-treat-wise and no family of friends dropped by. I hope both kids still come out next year. I've already told Isaac he's old enough to be taking a much more active role in his costume next year!

Halloween 2012 Edition

Last year was truly amazing, maybe a little too amazing. This year fell short in a few ways. Most notably our pumpkin never got carved. It ended up being a crazy work week for Mike and we had many social events to attend. Our pumpkin is serving as my beautiful fall centerpiece and I plan to decorate it like a turkey for Thanksgiving.

It was also a rough year for Isaac's costume which caused Mike some stress and eventually broke my sewing machine. He did get it finished enough for Isaac to wear it for a round of trick-or-treating though. Speaking of, where were all the kids this year? I have left over candy coming out of my ears here. I shouldn't complain it was far more than our old neighborhood, but it was still a bummer. Is it because it was a Wednesday?

Riley, as decreed, was Alice. She looked wonderful. I know I sound like a broken record, but what a difference a year makes! Last year she rode in my lap and had trouble getting her bag open to receive candy. This year she was a pro. She marched up to every door. She proclaimed, "Trick-or-Treat" in a clear voice and held up her bag every time. She thanked everyone and wished them all a "Happy Halloween!" It was a sight to behold. She insisted on walking and carrying her increasingly heavy bag and never complained.

It was up to me to take Riley out since Mike was still working on Isaac's costume. It was rough for me trying to keep up with her in our sidewalk-less neighborhood. Up and down driveways really wears you out. I was Riley's Cheshire Cat for the night so it was a small sacrifice.

Here's the king of difficult costume requests in his Squid costume.

Mike cut a Nerf football in half, hollowed the center and spray painted a plastic Easter egg for the eggs. The tentacles (best seen in the picture where he's covering his face) are strips of cut up bathmat. He cut holes it the fabric and poked them through. The body was basically a tunic. The other arms were supposed to be stiffened with foam and the hood was supposed to have another half football to make the correct head shape. I think he looked darn good though.

Enjoy all that candy.