Halloween Fun

Well, I am not going to post a LMM (Little Man Monday) this week because I want to get my Halloween post out. Rest assured I will have one every Monday for the next two-ish years.  But I have a firm "do not post twice in one day" policy. So there it is.

I have always enjoyed Halloween.  I think this is because I love dressing up and I am a big fan of the whimsical. I tend to ignore the whole "scary" part and really just relish the part where kids and adults can be heralded for their love of make believe.  It's fun!

In years past, I have been the winner of Halloween costume contests.  I wish I had pictures but unfortunately, I can only give you words.  In 6th grade, my brother and I won second place in the local contest for our portrayal of Jeanie and Major Nelson from "I Dream of Jeanie." Yes, my only desire at 12 was to be a character from Nick at Nite.  And the weird dynamics of Major Nelson and Jeanie vs. brother and sister? Well, let's not go there. We won, ok?

In 7th grade, my stunning portrayal of a jack-in-the-box got me a 1st place finish.   I got a gift certificate to the local bookstore, which I spent entirely on Beanie Babies.  Eighth grade gave similar results--I was a picnic (complete with plastic ants) and won 1st place yet again.  I'm pretty sure the kids of my town were ready for me to "age out" of the contest.  Plus, I pretty much had all the B eanie Babies the bookstore had in stock.

So, since then I have not been quite so keen on costumes. This year I played my favorite NFL player in his college days.  That's right. I busted out my Brad Smith jersey and paid homage to number 16. I was pretty proud of my choice and was enjoying the last part of my day when I got a tweet. My mom, who has made twitter her playground, decided it would be funny to tweet the real Brad Smith and tell him I was going as him for Halloween.  Guess what? He asked for pictures. And did I respond? You bet I did. Between giggles, I was able to get Hubs to snap this picture.

His response? "Sweet!!!!! Best one I've seen today!"

Thanks, Mom, for tweeting to NFL players and having them tweet back to me. It was one part hilarious, one part embarrassing, and one part pure Halloween fun.  On a note of trivia, the real #16 and I lived in the same res hall my freshman year. I know you wanted to know that. I aim to please.

There's only one creature who likes dressing up more than I do. That would be Rigo.  He's been a dinosaur, a lobster, and this year, a banana split.  I give you my firstborn:

In case you can't tell, he's pleased as punch. Quite proud.  He jumps and jumps until I put his costume on him. There was a hat that went with it but if I put the hat on him, it immediately negates any good feelings the costume gives him. So he is a hatless split.

One of my other favorite Halloween traditions is pumpkin carving. On Sunday night, hubs and I enjoyed carving our pumpkins. One of us grew up using patterns and likes to try intricate designs. One of us likes to free hand and make pumpkins fun and fancy-free, much like the person in charge of sculpting the pumpkin.  I give you our two pumpkins.  I'll let you guess whose is whose.

I'll let the suspense build.  Wait for it...wait for it.

I am the one who likes order and intricacy.  Surprise, surprise. Pumpkin number one is mine!

We spent the actual Halloween evening with our small group and I wouldn't have it any other way. We ate "bones" and "mummies" and "spooky pork tenderloin" and well, we weren't as creative with our additions. We brought cider.   And cupcakes with no fancy name.  I got to see my favorite (almost) one year old fairy princess and enjoyed watching the dozens of trick-or-treaters come to the door.

I am very much looking forward to the day Hubs and I will take a little trick-or-treater of our own. We have already talked about family theme costumes.  Any suggestions welcome:).

I hope you had a great Halloween!