Malevolence and mirth

Well, another Halloween has come and gone. It's a bitter sweet time of the year. I'm sad to see it go, but very happy with how fun it was this year. Of course, the entire house is still decorated so I guess it hasn't really left. I should probably do something about that... Anyways, we crammed in as much fun as we could and had a great time. And now, the highlights. For starters Belle REALLY loves Halloween now. From watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" 10 times, to carving her very first Jack-o'-lantern, to making her own spooky decorations, to going to multiple pumpkin patches, to watching "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" so many times that she's memorized it. If it has something to do with Halloween she was in. Sign her up! This of course made me quite delighted. Since, as you may know, I'm sort of partial to the holiday myself.

And yeah, those are Belle's hand-drawn cutouts of Jack, Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel from "The Nightmare Before Christmas." She loves that movie, as do I. We even got to see it at the El Capitan in Hollywood with Katie's parents. They show it every year, but this time in 4D. Yes, FOUR! That meant it was not only in 3D but there was wind, fog, lighting effects, and even SNOW in the theater. It was awesome! We're definitely going again next year. And yes Belle plays with her newly puchased Jack and Sally dolls daily. Oh, and that jack-o'-lantern Belle's posing with (and kissing) was designed and carved by her own little hands. I'm so proud.

Another Halloween of course means another Halloween party! We had tons of fun hanging out with ghosts, goblins, family and friends. This year there was a record number of kidlets in attendance and since it was also Halloween night they all got to go trick or treating together! I stayed home to hold down the fort while they all went but Katie said it was a sprint from house to house. They each wanted to get there first to ring the doorbell and yell: "Trick or Treat!" Somehow they all got along though and their bags gradually filled with goodies. Eventually they tired and came back for more running around and playing. This lasted until they passed out or their parents reached critical mass.

Oh and you may be wondering who this little guy is. That's Isabelle's new cousin Logan! He had his first sleepover and joined us for Halloween weekend. I really wish he would have dressed up for Halloween but Trish and Michael thought he was too young for costumes. So he just wore his regular clothes that day. He's actually a pirate you know.

Also, I have to tip my hat to Katie's family for helping out so much with the party. They really helped make it go smoothly, thanks guys! Also a special thanks to my folks and my nephew Matthew for scaring the dickens out of the trick or treaters as they came to the door. My folks came as toy army men and really did an amazing job on their costumes. For starters my Dad made his own bazooka! I mean, first prize for that alone. Matthew was the grenadier, or the radio man, depending on his mood at the time. My Mom, who looks like an Ewok/Wookie, was a sniper in a ghillie suit. Yes, that's a child's size ghillie suit. And yes, this is the first time I've ever written the word "ghillie" and had to look up how it is spelled. No, I don't know why it's called that.

Anyways, they all posed in the front yard like statues and folks would wonder if they were real. Honestly they rarely noticed my Mom standing by the stairs because she just looked like a short bush. But when she'd say something or move it totally scared them. At one point I had her hold a jack-o'-lantern and slowly move it up and down so it looked like it was floating. That really freaked people out. Overall a very fun night, even more so having my family out there making those trick or treaters earn their treats.

Oh, and you may wonder why Belle is dressed in pirate gear... Well, she wanted to be Goofy this year. Of course, every year she wants to be Goofy, but she was going to be Goofy again right up until the party started at which point she wanted to be like her Mommy and be a pirate. Fortunately we stock pirate costumes in all sizes at our house so one was ready and waiting for her. Ok, she already had the pirate costume she wore on the Disney Cruise. Wait, have I not mentioned the Disney Cruise. Damn, I have a lot of writing to catch up on.

And yes, you saw right. I was dressed in a giant pink bunny suit. I was Ralphie, the pink nightmare from "A Christmas Story." I plan on wearing it Christmas morning too.

Comments

[Antonella]

One of these years, man... we are SO going to make it out! Looked like a fantastic party! Thanks for the update and pics :) Miss you guys!