Fall is our favorite time of year and we always enjoy dressing up and trick-or-treating on Halloween. This year, Shelby was Cleopatra. Jesse was a pirate (after his mummy costume itched so bad that Noni ran him to Target to get a new costume.) Lucy was a cheerleader (after her fairy princess costume was so itchy that I ran home to get her a OSU cheerleader dress to wear.) Preslie was a kitty cat. Shelby and Jesse were inspired by our study of Ancient Egypt and that is how they chose their costumes. I wish I'd have gotten a pic of Jesse dressed as a mummy before he ripped off his costume. I couldn't get to the camera faster than he was clawing it off. So, yeah, we have always had the "no scary costume or decoration" rule around our house, but this year we reconsidered. Jesse and Papa love scaring each other and being scared. The play tricks on each other and tell scary stories. My kids know it is all make-believe and they aren't really afraid. They don't have issues with bedtime or bad dreams, so we consented to my Dad's grand plan...a Haunted Courtyard for Halloween.
Boy oh boy, did Papa go all out?! He was told over and over that his house was the best and scariest in the neighborhood, complete with a smoke and sound machine, spider webs, 3 huge life-sized characters, Dracula looking through the window, and James dressed as a scary skeleton clown rocking in a rocking chair in the corner.When we returned from trick-or-treating, Shelby and Jesse took turns being the scary clown. Shelby scared one lady so bad she screamed and then returned 4 or 5 times with other neighbors to show them the courtyard. It was a night to remember ,that is for sure!
