Halloween '08

So Ava was gonna be Dorothy and Luke was going to be a lollipop munchkin this year. I started Ava's dress first. It was an instant hit, she kept saying, "Dorfy's gonna lub it!" She would hardly take it off.






I just winged it, as I tend to do, and I am pleased with how it turned out. Someday I will make something which does not require me to "fix" mistakes. It will just be right the first time. Even if it's only luck, I am confident that that someday will come! I didn't remember to leave extra room for adding in the zipper when I cut so then I needed to add width to the top without adding to the skirt, blah, blah, blah, it all turned out okay!

And then poor Luke. He suffers from Second Child Syndrome. He always seems to be getting the short end of the deal. A couple of days before Halloween I started to wonder if the lollipop munchkin was really the best idea. I began to doubt his ability to hold onto a huge lollipop for any amount of time, and I wanted him to be recognizable with or without "Dorfy".

I found this bear costume on sale and got it "just in case". Then I had some other flighty ideas. Then Thursday day got crazy and realized there would be no way to make any kind of costume for Luke in 15 minutes before our ward Trunk or Treat. So he was a bear. A cute, pudgy, waddly little bear. He ran around with reckless abandon just like he does every Sunday at church.

And something about the squishy tummy of the costume made him like to roll around.

Halloween night was wicked fun! We had a little party with the Marcks.

My homegirl, Val, had such fun food and decorations.






We ate doughnuts off a string.


The bigger kids thought it was so fun.


Then Luke and Lainey had their own round. Lainey jumped right in there. Luke stood around dancing before he wandered off. I guess he doesn't like doughnuts.




I am without pictures for this part, but Dan, Jordan, and I had our own doughnut on a string contest, while Val was out with an injury (sore tooth!). But let's just say I took those boys for a ride! In possibly the closest doughnut eating contest in Halloween history, I came back from near defeat to win! Yeah, me!

Then we popped the kids into their costumes and we were off.



In our group we had Dorothy, The Bear, Lainey the cheerleader,


Jorgie as Pocahontas, Quentin the Ghost,


and Val the witch with her little black kitten, Clara.


Luke rode most of the way in the stroller.



He didn't collect any candy except for the pieces we used to keep him happy and quiet. It was really fun to see Ava run from house to house with all the kids, obviously enjoying herself.



One sweet little story about Ava from the night illustrates her empathy. First you must know that she loves Jorgie. Loves her. She thinks she walks on water. And rightfully so because she is one of the kindest little people around. Ava often says, "I just love Jorgie" or "I just miss Jorgie". Well anyway, the kids ventured up to a particularly spooky house with lots of creepy recorded sounds and cobwebs, etc. Poor little Jorgie got scared and cried. And Ava was not too scared about the noises, only concerned with her friend. She walked along beside her, patting her back and saying, "Oh Jorgie, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Overall, the kids collected lots of loot and had a great night and so did Dan and I!




And to my doughnut opponents, I'll just say one thing-Maybe next year, Boys. Maybe next year!