Happy {late} Halloween!

It was a very chilly Halloween this year. Fortunately we all survived.

Harrison went as Calvin with his side-kick Hobbes. I thought for sure he'd be Indiana Jones what with his new fedora and all . . . but there's quite a bit of Calvin in this kid so it wasn't much of a stretch! So I started googling around to find a Hobbes plush buddy for him, but found out that the creator and artist of the comic strip won't do any merchandising. But I stumbled upon some photos of a Hobbes that a girl had made for her husband - and with only a few photos as a guide, I made Harrison's favorite mischievous partner in crime. It only took me a couple of days - but the stress was acute! I honestly don't know how it came together. I just had the pictures spread out and started cutting different colors of fleece hoping that I could find some way to assemble them in a picaso-esque version of Hobbes. With each step I just kept telling myself, "there's no way that I can keep this up - it's starting to look like it's supposed to and I'm just sure it's going to fall apart any minute!" But fortunately for me and the little Calvin-wanna-be, it came together better than I'd hoped. I woke Harrison up past midnight to give it to him since I couldn't wait to see his reaction. Funny thing is that in the morning he didn't have Hobbes with him so I asked if he was just going to leave him on his bed for the day - he had NO idea what I was talking about - he didn't remember me waking him up at all, so I got the joy of his reaction twice. Heaven knows I probably needed it - what we do for our kids!!!

So Emery went as - you guessed it - Hannah Montana. This is the second year in a row that she's had a long blonde wig - and the second year in a row we have decided she'll never have a long blonde wig for a costume again! Aside from the fact that they are not at all reminiscent of real hair and have a mind of their own . . . she just doesn't look quite right as a blonde! Next year we'll have to think up something not quite so blonde - and not quite so drafty in the Alaska weather!

Jackson helped me choose a cute Monkey online from Old Navy.com and adored it once it got here . . . dressing up half a dozen times - then announced to me he'd repeat the lion he dressed up as last year. THEN when I pulled out the trick or treat bags and other costumes, he wanted to be the dinosaur. I was going to save it for next year since it's a bit big - but with his protesting and my justification for thicker layers, the dino won out!

Aidan was the cutest little furry monster . . . all photos of him are blurry . . . you can imagine a cute little furry monster does NOT want to stay still in terrible lighting for a crisp, clear photo - so just imagine a Sesame Street-like green furry thing with ears and three eyes on the top of his head. He was adorable.

We did the trunk-or-treat at church then Harrison went out with his friend Sam and I took Emery and Jackson out while Dad held down the fort for one group of teens that graced us with their candy requests. I don't blame all the kids and parents - we did the same thing - we went to Kempton HIlls - a neighborhood a few blocks away - the homes are close together and the gamble for getting something larger than bite size usually pays off, if you know what I mean . . . people come from all over Anchorage to trick-or-treat in that neighborhood - big candy bars, cans of soda, among other things - they should just get sponsors and be the city's designated trick-or-treat area!

Surprisingly enough - there was still A LOT of candy in their bags after we spent a week in Hawaii - so kudos to our babysitter for not giving in!

I was going to dress up as Sarah Palin - but I didn't want to get cornered into giving an interview that would be picked apart, edited and misrepresented. Maybe next year!