Halloween

Halloween is not just for kids.  Finding costumes is a little bit trickier, and ultimately it comes down to what we can find in the boxes down in our basement.  Fortunately we had enough to make it a blue-collar Halloween with a car mechanic and beer delivery guy.  We didn't say we were going to be overly creative.

We got all dressed up for another night with our wine group, who happen to be a bit more creative than us.  Bob and Tracy came as Maverick and Charlie from Top Gun, and boy did they look good.  Kirk was Anger while Kelly was Joy from the movie Inside Out.  You can also see their daughter Claire was Sadness, but they could not talk their almost teenager Ella into being Disgust.  Brian was an old man while Jen was a Minion.  Needless to say we had a great night.

Reese insisted on being Princess Elsa for Halloween, and when the night arrived she apparently decided to be Elsa with an attitude.  She was very excited to get out in the neighborhood and put some candy in her pumpkin. This would be round two for Reese because she had hit the downtown area with her preschool class the day before.

We somehow convinced Callie to be a cat, which meant that we didn't have to get a new costume this year.  The power of persuasion/manipulation is a wonderful thing.  We do feel lucky that she still leans toward the sweet and innocent when it comes to ideas for Halloween.  She certainly did not express any desire to be a zombie cat, for instance.

This year we had the good fortune to make it a trick or treat extravaganza by having Kennedy and Harper join the crowd.  Their mother Laurie does some incredible work with make-up and costumes.  We will have to remember Laurie's skill set when Callie and Reese outgrow Pottery Barn and the Disney Store.

Rounding out the crew was Cooper, who came as Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars.  All five kids were eager and independent, which made the night even more fun for their parent chaperones who could simply walk along, monitor manners, enjoy their drink of choice, and chat along the way.  This year also marked a milestone in that Callie and Reese, with the encouragement of their friends, were willing to partake in the neighborhood haunted house.  It's an awesome neighborhood tradition, and you can even tell the person in charge what level of scary you want.

At the end of the evening it was all smiles as the kids sorted, counted, and traded their candy.  The parents taxed the children appropriately and everyone came out a winner.  And since it was a Saturday night we didn't have to break up the party early so that kids could be up for school the next day.  Now that is a fantastic Halloween!