Halloween has come and gone and with it, the usual amount of scrambling for just the right costume, changing of minds at the last minute, carving of pumpkins, and eating more candy than any human should consume in a one week period. This year had the normal showing of recycled Lord of the Rings capes and Jedi cloaks, but we also added a homemade black widow and two super heroes that don't normally go together.
Superman and Robin are the dynamic duo at our house. Don't you dare tell the three year-old that Robin isn't really all that super! Gid was originally supposed to be a pirate, but when he saw Eli's cape he wanted to be a super hero too. His super power is having SUPER tantrums...so I put a black cape on him and told him he was Super Pirate! That didn't fly (no pun intended.) So for his birthday we gave him a Robin costume. We tried to get him Batman, but if you wait until October 30th, Batman is no longer available at Party City, so Robin it was. Gid actually loves being Robin and he believes he can fly, so we're all going with that.
As you can see, Eli perfected his Superman pose over the course of the night -- he could even do it on his bike. Tragically, he discovered that superman boots and bike pedals do not mix well. He got his "boot" stuck on the pedal and performed a spectacular crash on the front porch! I guess somebody forgot to tell him that super heroes don't cry...
Zach was a stick figure (the paint is glow-in-the-dark), Cody was Codo Baggins and Jonah was an undisclosed Jedi. (These costumes might look familiar as they showed up in the post on Gid's birthday -- at least we're getting a lot of use out of the costumes!) The boys were nice enough to humor me while I took pictures before it got dark.
Curtis asked me last year to make him a spider costume. I thought about it...and then procrastinated as usual. So this year he started asking me in September and after much reminding, stuffing of large gym socks and researching the shape of the red spot on a black widow's abdomen, we actually put it together! It was the first of several Halloween miracles!
We also came perilously close to having no pumpkins. In the wake of Gideon's birthday the day before, I totally forgot about purchasing or carving jack-o-lanterns. Eli had been asking me for at least a month if we could buy pumpkins every time we went to the store. But in Arizona, if you buy them or carve them too early, they ROT! So I kept putting him off and putting him off, then I realized at 2:00 p.m. on Halloween that WE HAD NO PUMPKINS! None of the big boys seemed to care because they were busy having their holiday nintendo time (video games have been banned except on Holidays at our house), but I just knew that Eli would ask me about it. So, Ren and I hit a pumpkin stand on the way home from shopping and bought the last two pumpkins they had. As we were paying for them, 5 other cars drove up looking for pumpkins -- but WE had them! Yes! Another Halloween miracle! Hannah helped me gut them and then I ended up carving them both. That is NOT the vision I have of Halloween pumpkin carving, but at least we had pumpkins to put candles in.
Cody commissioned a "barfing" pumpkin, so I did my best to portray it in the most artistic way possible.
And here he is in the light. I don't think he succeeded in scaring anyone. (I love how Codo Baggins wears an Aeropostale t-shirt and Hurley shorts. Also notice the bare feet, it is ALWAYS bare foot weather in Arizona -- well almost always.)
And finally, here are some other random pictures from the rest of the night. Glow sticks are always a big hit!
Here's Eli entering the candy stupor.
Another Halloween tale...the morning after Halloween the boys ran out to see the pumpkins and the CANDLES WERE STILL BURNING! The next morning, I went out to get the paper and happened to look and one of the candles WAS STILL BURNING! We never blew them out and one of them burned for two days. How does that happen? I ran inside to tell the family about the miracle of the Halloween candle! I'm not sure what it means, but I know this story will be told for generations to come. :D
And finally, we had a Halloween mystery...why are there no pictures of Hannah? She was running around in a Superman cape along with Eli, the original superman and I KNOW I took pictures of her, but they have disappeared. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha...I know, lame. But it's the best I can do at providing a Halloween ghost story. I guess I'll just stick to miracles (or is that really sacreligious?)
I know there are lots of parents out there who don't like Halloween at all and I don't love the ghoulish, bloody, skeletal aspects of it, but we try to emphasize the autumn season and the occasional cute bat or spider. For some reason, I have always looked forward to Halloween. It probably stems from my love of dressing up and free sugary treats. How can you go wrong with that?
2 comments:
Excellent Pictures, Jen!
I'm sure Hannah was in many of the pictures...she was just using her Cloak of Invisibility powers!
Post a Comment