Home For Halloween

Zoey was supposed to be a lion for Halloween...a costume that Grandma had picked up, and part of that whole Alex and Madagascar infatuation of hers...but she decided that she didn't want to. We had a back-up plan. We had found a $5 Notre Dame cheerleader outfit at Liquidation World (it was either ND or Ohio State and even we wouldn't stoop so low as to deck Zed up in scarlet and gray...that would be abuse), and we decided that it'd be hilarious if we got Zo all dressed up as though someone had worked her over good. You know, a Notre Dame cheerleader who'd gotten beat up by, ohh I dunno, a Michigan fan, maybe?

So June busted out the make-up and gave Zo a shiner. Zedder got into the make-up too and gave herself a few additional bruise-like things, and then we penned some stitches into her forehead. She had band-aids kinda all over the place, and her hair was askew...sounds awful, but she looked great. We touched it all off by using a Sharpie to ink STINKS under the Notre Dame applique and she was good to go,



THis is Halloween number two for the Zed and she doesn't quite get it...she doesn't really give two craps about candy, in fact, she doesn't really know what most of it is, and we've never gone door to door with her yet because she was too small last year and too indifferent this year. Next year we're in for a long night I think. We hit Uncle Brad, Aunt Header, and the kids house first...then Grandma's and finally Baachan and Grandad's. We tossed in a couple of other houses...mostly neighbors, and that was it. That was the end of the night. Keep it simple, we say, at least while we have the ability to do so. Next year She'll be nearly three years old and all bets are off for a quite Halloween. Zo will probably be in charge of her costume at that stage as well. We got two good years of messin' with her, and getting our jollies off of a small child's inability to say no to us. Ernest Hemingway last year, and an abused cheerleader this year...I'd say we got our fun in.

It felt good to make it home in time for Halloween. I could have flown home tomorrow but there was just no way I was missing it all. There are only so many that you get as parents and then they replace candy bags and innocent fun with cases of beer and shenanigans. Not long after that they don't even care. We're soaking these early ones up as much as we can, and for five bucks, some make-up and a marker...awesome.