A Happy Halloween!

(Note: Blog Post by Evan)




I have to admit, this has been the most fun Halloween I've had in a long time. I think since the kids are getting older and, hence, more into Halloween, that it's rubbed off. This is the first year that I've dressed up for real in a long time. I've paid lip service to this great fall event a couple of times before, using whatever I had on hand for a lame costume, but this year I was actually motivated to go for it. Part of the credit goes to Liz, who helped orchestrate a party earlier in the month where the game Rock Band was the centerpiece and we were all supposed to dress up as our favorite rocker. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could pull off a convincing Geddy Lee, so I channeled my inner KISS and came up with a hybrid version.

The kids this year really tickled me with their costume choices. Sophia wanted to be a dalmatian, and with a little of daddy's grease paint, pulled it off. Wesley was very moved earlier this year by the movie version of Speed Racer (daddy--not so moved) and has talked about little else since then. I thought he came up with a pretty convincing interpretation! Luke took his "Little Stinker" persona literally this year. He was the hit of the neighborhood. I wish you could have seen his tail move as he toddled down the sidewalks.



Decorating took a larger role this time around too. Liz scored some nice corn stalks and nice sized pumpkins. We had a lot fun carving the pumpkins this year. Again, since the kids were into it, it made it a lot of fun to help them realize their chosen designs. Who knew that scooping the pumpkin guts could be so fun?




For added fun this year, we constructed a swooping ghost in front of our house this year. After Liz spent the better part of the day chasing down 80-lb test monofilament fishing line, we strung a line from our bedroom down the walkway. As anxious trick-or-treaters approached, someone would lower the ghost down which would catch the floodlights and make its presence known. Many thought it was fantastic. Others were downright freaked out.



I also pressed Sophia's karaoke machine into service this year. After locating some spooky sound effects on the web, I burned a disc and played it through the rig with the speakers placed on the porch. With the added microphone, I had a pretty good time talking to our guests as they approached. I chose an affected British accent with overtones of Vincent Price. Unfortunately, I went a little overboard for the first group of kids. It was too freaky for the kids dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from "The Cat In The Hat" to hear them being "called out" from a darkened porch. They ran off with a little shriek before collecting their candy. Toning it down led to some funny comments. "Where is that man?" "How does he know what we're dressed as?" "Is that a recording?" "Mommy, I don't like his voice." I also sent a 2-year old into tears as I opened the door in my garish makeup. (Note to parents: Although princess and fireman costumes are cute and fluffy, you have to tell your kids that Halloween has a scary side too. They need to have a heads-up for the possibility of meeting a goblin or ghoul.)

We're already planning next year's decorations. Come by to see our witch on a broomstick flying across the yard. Maybe some fog and strobe lights too. And hopefully we'll get some more foot traffic as well since it won't fall on the Jewish sabbath next time too.

A final caution: don't eat too many Halloween goodies, or this could happen to you: