Bikers and Ninjas and Firemen, Oh My!

Just wanted to  share some pictures of my little Halloweenies from last night (mostly for the grandmas).

I don't know what it is about this night, but I swear I always have someone pouting or crying…oh wait…I was that kid on Halloween, too.  *sigh*  

Something to do with costume malfunctions, typically.  *wink*

This year, I spent $7.97 on costume stuff.

Mary Catherine was a "biker chick" (where does a 9-year old come up with this???!!!) and used her tap-dancing costume from her Spring Recital.  

The pink turtleneck was a "mom" requirement.  I know…meanest.mother.ever  

We went all out on her hair *sarcasm*…braiding it wet in the AM to get that perfect 80s crimped look... without the crimping iron.  Watch out Olivia Newton John!

Luke was a fireman…but you probably already knew that.  

I tried to explain to this 3-year old that you are supposed to wear a costume and not the clothing that you wear every.single.day.  But he wasn't picking up what I was laying down.  

His costume consisted of winter snow pants (fire fighter coveralls), fire fighter rain boots from Target purchased last Spring, and his cracked, but dearly-cherished plastic fire fighter helmet.

And finally, we have Ben.  Ninja warrior.  Dressed in all black…sweatpants/turtleneck from Christmas Concert 2012.  We purchased his ninja sword set from Walmart the day before YESTERDAY.

Of course, upon examination at home, we realized that a dagger had fallen out of the packaging (it was opened at the top by design) and I have just the type of luck that means I picked the one package with a missing dagger.  *wink*

His only other request (besides the plastic sword set) was a handkerchief/bandanna to put over his face.  Black bandannas were sold out…so I bought a t-shirt on the cheap thinking I could cut it into a wicked face mask.

But I messed it up.  Costume malfunction.  And there were tears involved.  :(

All three of my munchkins…

As we headed to our neighbor's house for a potluck dinner, I prepared my kiddos for this…

Luke was terrified and so was I, LOL!  I gotta say, though, this was one of the most creative costumes I saw (among grownups) at the party last night.  (I didn't dress up…I never do…I'm a party-pooper that way.)

And now for a quick walk down memory lane…my favorite thing to do every November 1st!
(These are just a few of my most favorite shots)

Mary Catherine's First Halloween…Oct. 2004 (11-weeks old)

Boo at the Zoo…China Doll…Age 2
Oct. 2006 (Outfit from Chinatown, San Francisco, CA)

Ben's First Halloween (11 months)

Mary Catherine (Pooh Bear, Age 3), Benjamin (Tigger)
Oct. 2007

Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion

(Ages 4 and 2)
Oct. 2008

Super Hero Fun

(Ages 5 and 3)
Oct. 2009

Sailor Sweeties
(Ages 6 and 4)
Oct. 2010

Our pumping carving went well…considering we did this at the last minute, too.
Kudos to the daddy for doing a fine job on the carving.
Pumpkin seeds are soaking in brine as we speak.

And for the love of Pete…can somebody PLEASE give me an easy tutorial on shooting in manual mode with a DSLR???!!!

Sorry about the blurry pumpkin!

Did you hear about the lady (from Ohio…Oregon...?) out there policing the chunky kids that went trick-or-treating last night?  Instead of giving them candy she handed them a note to give to their parents about the seriousness of obesity among children…

Really???

Hope you had a delightfully frightful evening.

I'm scared about our next dental check-ups…  *wink*

Today is All Saints Day and my kiddos get to celebrate with a Saintly/Biblical costume party at school this afternoon (they attend parochial Catholic school).  Looking forward to seeing the cutest little Saint Patrick and Saint Kateri parade around the gymnasium.