"Like Looking in a Mirror"

I can't believe it has taken me 3 full days to put away my Halloween decorations! I knew I had a lot, but REALLY!!? In any case, I'm just now getting around to finishing this post. It is a bit fragmented, but it will give you an idea of why Halloween is my absolute favorite!

Here we are at the pre-school costume parade. Hudson loves his headpiece - in fact, he doesn't want to take it off. Somehow he got the idea that he is the "Star Wars Rabbit" - don't know if that has anything to do with it or not but he is a happy camper with his ears and everyone else knows who he is!


They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, I guess I can say that I was majorly flattered this past weekend! The best part of our party to me is the big costume reveal. Everyone always amazes me, but this year my oldest daughter and son-in-law put me away. They came as my husband and me. When my daughter first came down the stairs and I saw the beard and plaid shirt (I missed the can of Mountain Dew she was holding - a dead give away), I was thinking "Paul Bunyan?" or "Brawny Man?". My son-in-law then descended the stair case and I was met with a scary image of myself! They were my husband and me and were truly the funniest thing I have ever seen - like looking in a mirror - Ha-Ha! I loved it and don't know what it will take to top it in my eyes. They have had some really good costumes in the past but this one takes the cake!


Here is the whole family. Caitlin is a "stylized" Mad Hatter (she picked out all of the fabric herself and I think it turned out pretty darned cute. Her costume did have 3 separate pieces, but her sister only needed me to make her pants, so it evened itself out. Besides, no matter how short on time and stressed I am - and this year put me to the test - I do love sewing all of the costumes. It is one of the things I hope my grandchildren will remember about me long after I'm gone. Olivia is an accountant. Oh sorry, she's a nerd (inside joke as we have two C.P.A.s in our family).Everyone was amazed that she chose this costume as she is the bling and glitz girl and there wasn't a sequin to be found on her costume. Remember, she's the one who was the blinged out Dorothy last year. Thank goodness there was NO sewing on that sequined fabric for me this year!

This is daughter #3 with her family. Her husband is "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and she is his wife - a pretty scary looking duo if you ask me. Harrison is Luke Skywalker, Hudson is Yoda and Presley is Princess Leia - although most of the time Princess Leia was just a girl in a white dress as she hated her headpiece!!


Daughter # 2 and her hubby were cupid and his "victim". She wore her old prom dress back from the days when they were dating. I love the arrow through her heart. Hannah is the "Cat in the Hat" in a costume of her own design. Morgan decided to be Betty Boop and she looked so different in her dark wig that she almost doesn't look like herself. And, let's just say that Todd left us all pretty much speechless!


A picture of Presley and Nana watching the Gator game. It was a real nail biter and went into overtime but we won! Go Gators! Don't you just love the orange and blue tutu?


Here are a few pictures of the gang. We're all getting a little worse for wear at this point and we are using the timer on my camera for the whole group picture, so I think we did pretty well.



Guess that's it for this year. Everything is officially put away and Thanksgiving is out and looking very calm and autumnal. Do I still miss my orange and black? You bet! In fact, as I was putting it all away, I was already thinking of next year. I've got lots of ideas already. It can't be October 2011 soon enough for me! Stay tuned!