Costumes are planned weeks ahead, to give moms time to find the appropriate duds. But there's always the punk who can't quite make up his mind. Until the day before. Collin finally settled on a Packer uniform, because he had a Packer shirt. That only left pants and helmet to come up with. Collin and I headed for town. We hit the jackpot at the local thrift store - the one and only Packer item on the kid's rack was a pair of Packer warm-up pants the RIGHT SIZE. The helmet was there too. We only had to make a side trip to the hardware store for a spray can of Packer green paint, and a little can of Packer gold paint. The fanciest bike helmet on the block, now. Hey, it worked, and he loved it and even got compliments on his costume, so it was worth the effort. Carrie and I are still stratching our heads that he choose such a conservative theme in the face of all his spooky compatriots. Give the punk a plus for not following the crowd.
The Three Musketeers. Don't believe that one? OK, it's Reggie White, Captain Cape, and a Wraith that just slipped in under the radar.
And then there's Max. Pink Punk. He wanted a pink pony, he had to settle for a unicorn. But he got his hair sprayed pink, which made his day.
Oh yeah. It was a FLYING pink unicorn. He walked past me and grabbed the little wings, gave them a little flap, grinned at me and said, "Swish, swish!" He cracks me up.
Then there was the Ninja Chef. He wore his costume for days ahead. Gotta make sure these things work. 
Quit that giggling. Ninjas don't giggle.
That's better. But I think the giggle is lurking. Strong arm, Jaydo, strong arm.
Amanda found some awesome stick-ons, some sparkly fake eyelashes...
and a totally wicked witch's hat!
Max and Pinky Tart (he already has Pinky Pie, remember?) found the perfect weapon to take down a Ninja - a horn tickle in the ear!
Halloween tricksters...find the Grandma.
Four homeschooling families met at friend Mary Jean's. The gathering was ghastly. The first hurdle was getting in the door... this spooky animated bug-eyed screamer lured you in with "come closer, come closer," and when you got really really close HE GOT YA!
Max was outta der, man!
Then good mommy helped him overcome his scare, so they could DO IT AGAIN!
Four homeschooling families met at friend Mary Jean's. The gathering was ghastly. The first hurdle was getting in the door... this spooky animated bug-eyed screamer lured you in with "come closer, come closer," and when you got really really close HE GOT YA!
Max was outta der, man!
Then good mommy helped him overcome his scare, so they could DO IT AGAIN!Halloween does that to you.
The game plan went like this: rendevouz at MJ's, load all 14 kids into three vehicles, drive about 7 minutes to nearby village of Denmark, do the T 'n T, return to MJ's and party hearty on all the sugary loot.
The goblins and assorted other beasties gather to load the car caravan, excitement simmering.
Once at the T 'n T site ( a new-ish housing development on the outskirts of Denmark), strategy was planned. Mostly older ones keeping together, mostly younger ones hanging with the moms. Of course it was all mixed up within two house raids - the faster punks surged to the front, the shorter legs ended up with grandma. Moms kept the head count at both ends.
This neighborhood alone probably single-handedly raised the candy industry stock several points.
Can you believe it? MORE pink for the Pink Punk. One of the handouts - charming pink choppers. Max was in heaven!
This young lady caught my eye.
This caught my eye, but I never did figure out if it was male or female...
and when the mask was raised, I was still confused...this punk could go pro!
About half way. Happy punks. They were having a blast, just being together.
The hosts were pretty jolly, too. You have to enjoy this sort of thing a LOT, to be able to answer that doorbell that many times in three hours.
Some of the hosts were really into the whole scene - in fact, they were part of it! More than one place had placed baskets of goodies on the porch, and let the visitors help themselves. They weren't taking any chances on "tricks". This little hostess handed out candy on her porch. I wondered if she got to go trick or treating later...she sure had fun with all the visitors, and she was cute as a bug.
This character not only needs to meet an orthodontist, a new toothbrush couldn't hurt.
Close to the end of the marathon. The moms had a good time, visiting and enjoying their punks, everyone just having a great time together. Healthy imaginations are a good thing to nuture, and this group of homeschooled kids are very very healthy that way.
End of the trail. The loot exchange begins, as they wait for the short legs to catch up.
Back at MJ's the costumes were mostly dismantled as the punks headed downstairs for a movie, while the moms (and grandma) kicked off their shoes and gathered around the gourmet snacks in the kitchen. MJ provided outrageous Italian meatball sandwiches, a big chunk of Jarlsburg cheese with several kinds of grapes (the ONLY way to eat cheese - yummo!), kalamata olives, several types of crackers, apple slices drizzled with melted caramels, jumbo pretzels dipped in caramel and chocolate (now THAT is GOOD!), roasted red pepper hummus and pita chips, jalapeno jelly over cream cheese with crackers, pumpkin bread with a butter-cream cheese spread (groan), apple cider, and probably some other goodies I never got to. Lots more gabbing as we gobbled. A really fun evening. I don't get out much, can you tell?
The game plan went like this: rendevouz at MJ's, load all 14 kids into three vehicles, drive about 7 minutes to nearby village of Denmark, do the T 'n T, return to MJ's and party hearty on all the sugary loot.The goblins and assorted other beasties gather to load the car caravan, excitement simmering.
Once at the T 'n T site ( a new-ish housing development on the outskirts of Denmark), strategy was planned. Mostly older ones keeping together, mostly younger ones hanging with the moms. Of course it was all mixed up within two house raids - the faster punks surged to the front, the shorter legs ended up with grandma. Moms kept the head count at both ends.As evidence shows, it was a wonderfully sunny afternoon. The village had set official Trick or Treat hours from 3 -6 pm. There was no school that day, so it worked well. It was very comforting to be able to keep track of the punk pack in daylight - can you imagine this in the dark? This was a VERY popular area, lots of kids, parents, costumes, fun and laughter and passing comments with other groups. Also very brave and gracious home owners. Some of the house decor was astounding.
This was a typical line up - did I mention, LOTS of punks?!
This was a typical line up - did I mention, LOTS of punks?!
This neighborhood alone probably single-handedly raised the candy industry stock several points.
Can you believe it? MORE pink for the Pink Punk. One of the handouts - charming pink choppers. Max was in heaven!
This young lady caught my eye.
This caught my eye, but I never did figure out if it was male or female...
and when the mask was raised, I was still confused...this punk could go pro!
About half way. Happy punks. They were having a blast, just being together.
The hosts were pretty jolly, too. You have to enjoy this sort of thing a LOT, to be able to answer that doorbell that many times in three hours.
Some of the hosts were really into the whole scene - in fact, they were part of it! More than one place had placed baskets of goodies on the porch, and let the visitors help themselves. They weren't taking any chances on "tricks". This little hostess handed out candy on her porch. I wondered if she got to go trick or treating later...she sure had fun with all the visitors, and she was cute as a bug.
This character not only needs to meet an orthodontist, a new toothbrush couldn't hurt.
Close to the end of the marathon. The moms had a good time, visiting and enjoying their punks, everyone just having a great time together. Healthy imaginations are a good thing to nuture, and this group of homeschooled kids are very very healthy that way.
End of the trail. The loot exchange begins, as they wait for the short legs to catch up.
Back at MJ's the costumes were mostly dismantled as the punks headed downstairs for a movie, while the moms (and grandma) kicked off their shoes and gathered around the gourmet snacks in the kitchen. MJ provided outrageous Italian meatball sandwiches, a big chunk of Jarlsburg cheese with several kinds of grapes (the ONLY way to eat cheese - yummo!), kalamata olives, several types of crackers, apple slices drizzled with melted caramels, jumbo pretzels dipped in caramel and chocolate (now THAT is GOOD!), roasted red pepper hummus and pita chips, jalapeno jelly over cream cheese with crackers, pumpkin bread with a butter-cream cheese spread (groan), apple cider, and probably some other goodies I never got to. Lots more gabbing as we gobbled. A really fun evening. I don't get out much, can you tell?One last story: while all the moms and punks were out on the town, we left MJ's husband Rich at home to man the doorbell and hand out treats. He reported that three brothers had come up to the door, and that head-thingy started the luring-in spiel and screaming. It scared the littlest guy so bad, that while his brothers were grabbing some loot, he belted off down the driveway crying. Rich felt so bad, he gave the oldest brother some extra candy to give to the little one. Do you think he got it?
1 comment:
What an exciting time you guys had!! And so nice that you could do it in the daytime - pictures probably came out better because of the daylight! Costumes were fantastic! Even that clown of a grandma! I had a popcorn ball made by some company and let me tell you it was not anything compared to Dennis' popcorn balls. In fact I'm ready to get out his recipe and make some!!! Yummy!
Post a Comment