Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year. Well, it kind of had an annoying ending, but I'll get to that. At the end.


It all started off with the carving of pumpkins. Pen didn't carve hers until the next night (too much homework), and I forgot to take pictures. Oops. Pen and Ginger carved their own again this year and they all turned out great. 



The pumpkins and their owners L to R: Ginger, Big, Bud, Edith, and Pen.




I loved all the nice comments and reactions our pumpkins garnered on Halloween night. I felt guilty accepting the accolades, though. It's really amazing what you can do with one of those kits. The girls who asked me if the pumpkins were real (and were amazed when I said they were) made my night. So funny.


Halloween afternoon, I took Big and Edith to watch Bud in the school Halloween parade. Ginger got to go roller skating instead of having to walk in costume. We got there early to get a seat, they started late, and I managed to get two not great in focus shots as he walked by. 




Oh, well. At least Big and I got to dance and air drum to 'Thriller' while we waited.


I snapped some photos of all of the kids in their costumes before they headed out for candy. I think all of their costumes turned out great. Here's Big as a happy Worker Guy:



Okay, scratch the happy part.



Bud went as an awfully happy Dementor. 




I prefer them happy, but when I asked Bud if Dementors are supposed to be happy he tried to remedy the situation.




Ginger went as a Happy Homemaker. I tried to get her to carry a wooden spoon, but she didn't want to carry something else. She still looks super cute, though.




Then there's Pen as the happy Princess. But, of course she's happy. Being a princess is a sweet gig if you can land it.




I left our newest trick-or-treater for last. The cutest (and happiest!) kitty on the block. 




I see a kitty who loves her daddy. That's for sure.




Rophone took the kids out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Even Edith got to go in her stroller, although she had to regretfully decline all of the candy she was offered. She's not very happy about it and yells at the kids when they eat their candy in front of her. I can tell she thinks it's rude of them. 


When Rophone dropped a tired Big and Edith off midway through, Edith had the funniest look on her face. She was kind of smiling when I asked her if she had fun, but looked terribly bewildered, like she wasn't sure if what she had just witnessed was really true. I think it was dawning on her what a strange, yet awesome, tradition it all is. Next year should be so fun for her.


The kids all made a nice haul. I told them I'm not going to ration their candy, but the rule is that if anyone barfs they get to clean it up themselves. A fair deal, it seems.


Okay, as for the annoying ending. After the kids were all in bed, the lights and pumpkins were out and Rophone and I were settled in for some adult conversation (no, really, it was conversation!), there was a knock at the door. At 10 o'clock! Some out-of-neighborhood teenagers were looking for candy. When Rophone mentioned the late hour they reacted a little belligerently, but Rophone gave them candy anyway just to try to get rid of what we had left. Nice guy. 


Because Rophone was so nice, it made us sad this morning to see that Big's pumpkin had been taken and smashed into the street. I can't say for sure that it was those teens, but I can say for sure that it was lame. SO lame.


Big was so cute about it, too. First, reassuring me that he didn't think any of his friends had done it (because he runs with such a rough crowd, don't you know), and then trying to come up with other ideas as to how it had happened. "Maybe the wind blew it into the street." "Maybe one of them accidentally tripped over my pumpkin and it rolled into the street." "Maybe they thought it was a ball and tried to play catch." He just can't fathom that anyone would want to be so mean. Poor, sweet kid. 


Big did let me know that it is something he will never, ever do when he gets older. He never wants to make another kid feel the way he does about what happened to his pumpkin. He's pretty logical about it, anyway. "Well, Halloween's over and we were just going to throw it away, and I can just get another one next year!" Way to have a positive attitude, Big! 


But it still doesn't make what was done okay. Not okay at all. Pumpkin-smashing-meanies.

5 comments:

patti's place said...

Glad you had a good Halloween. The pumpkins were really cute. And I'm sorry for the pumpkin Scrooge.

CarrieMarie said...

Big has such a good attitude there! All the kids are adorable in their costumes, but Edith has the best expressions. Bud's pretty close w/ the dementor's kiss, but Edith wins that one w/ the cute nose. LOL

Jennifer said...

I'm seriously just about to come out there and hunt down the meanies and kick them in the shins. That kind of thing is one of the things I truly HATE about Halloween. People think they can be jerks. And often ARE. Gr. I love Big's reaction, though. Very sweet. It reminds me of Ethan a little. When something bad happens, the first thing Ethan says is, "Well, at least..." and thinks of something positive. (Not an inherited trait, let me just be clear.) It's awesome. Good for Big.

I loved all the pumpkins!!! So impressive!

All your kids look SO GREAT in their costumes!! You have such beautiful kids. (Although I really didn't buy the suggestion that what Big was wearing was a COSTUME. Isn't that just his work clothes?!)

The Laundry Queen said...

You're right about Big's "costume", jww. It's really just his everyday wear around here. ; )

Lisa Marie said...

Steller pumpkins & great costumes {I think Bud's Dementor looks were great, Ginger's was my favorite, Pen looked oh so gorgeous, Edith was the most adorable little kitty, and Big had the most fitting costume of all}. I always dread the pumpkin carving, because we do so much work and end up with such mediocre results. I think I need to spring for one of those kits next year.... Oh yeah, and you're right- SO lame about Big's pumpkin, but so awesome that he had such a great attitude about it.