Halloween 2009

Saturday was Halloween and so we had our annual Halloween Celebration. It pretty much consists of our friends coming over to drink beer and hang out while we hand out candy and one of us goes Trick or Treating with Timmy. Sounds like a great time, right? It was AWESOME!

About a week before Halloween I decided that we should probably figure out what Timmy was going to go as (sounds like a good idea, right?). I found a DIY knight costume. On the way to Gretchen and Paul's house warming last weekend, we stopped at the Dollar Store to see if we could find a cheap sword and shield for him instead of making them. Erik found an axe, a shield, a helmet, and a chest piece for the grand total of $4. Originally Timmy and I were going to stay in the car while Erik ran in, but Timmy wanted to go see what Daddy was doing (and it turns out that Daddy wanted Mommy's opinion on the supplies anyway) so we went inside. This was a bad idea. Timmy thought everything was so neat and began running around the store. I couldn't catch him and Erik was trying to pay...and then the announcement came that all children must stay by their parents or guardians at all times and not be allowed to run loose throughout the store, or you would be asked to leave. That's what I was trying to do anyway! Goodness! The employees were smiling but the manager was not. Oh well!

Here is Timmy in his whole get up a few days before Halloween. I shortened the string around his neck and attached another around the waist so it would stay put better.

Clearly he loves his Halloween costume and can't wait to wear it, right? Umm...not quite.

Originally we were going to dress up as a queen and king and Timmy would be our little knight. Well, getting all the stuff together for a king costume proved a little bit harder than I thought. So we decided to scrap the idea and each be own own different character. Here I am as the CUW football coach. Cost of my costume: $4 (for the whistle, who knew they cost $4? Not me.).

Tuesday we went out shopping to get some more ribbon/string for Timmy's costume at JoAnn Fabric. Erik found this cape for 60% off. He then bought the face paint on Friday night (yeah, we wait until the last minute, so what!) at Halloween Express. Total cost of Erik's costume: $11. He's the Phantom of the Opera. Only after we applied his paint did we realize we did it on the wrong side. Oh well! =)

Chris and Beth also came up with costumes on the fly. Beth came as an offensive lineman (I think offense) wearing Chris's jersey from high school. When Beth was out buying a bag of candy to bring over on Saturday, she found Chris's red shirt at Sam's Club for about $7. Just add a little bit of duct tape, some cardboard cutouts...and presto! a Commander William T. Riker costume. Riker to bridge, Riker to bridge!

Getting the fire started and making sure that Timmy doesn't get too close. Good job, Riker!

Christine trying to get Timmy to put on his helmet by putting it on herself.

Timmy and I doing a little Trick or Treating (you'll notice he only has on the chest plate, and I think he only kept that on because it was tied in place).

We were lucky enough to have Macgyver stop by. At least if we were in a jam, there's nothing that his duct tape and two pens couldn't get us out of!

Dennis dressed as a convict. Everyone was playing Fact or Crap (we really like to play games the way they were originally intended, can't you tell?) and Timmy enjoyed a little bit of his candy.

After a short break, I went inside and found the glow stick that Timmy was supposed to use for Trick or Treating. After that, he was MUCH more excited about Trick or Treating. Paul, Katie, and I headed out with Timmy for a second round. He did a lot better, even saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you". He petered out with both about half a block before we got home. Overall, not too bad!

Paul (a baseball player) and Gretchen (a volleyball player) came over after their Trick or Treat was done. It was so much fun to hang out with them.

Even though it was pretty cold, Timmy decided that he didn't want a coat for a while. Oh well. At least he's looking at the camera in the picture with his dad.

Erik and I in our costumes. I really appreciated Erik lending me his CUW visor. If I didn't go as a CUW coach I would have gone as a Packer coach but that seemed more cliche to me for some reason.

That's better! A coat, gloves, and a hat. Everyone loved his hat.

After Trick or Treating was over, we hung out outside for a while trying to finish up the wood that got brought for the fire (we really only use the fire pit once a year). Somewhere in there one of the girls remembered that Taco Bell was giving away free Blackjack Tacos from 6-midnight. After about a 10 minute discussion of the concept, and a call to Taco Bell to confirm, the girls all headed out to get some tacos. We passed by McDonald's which had quite a long line and they all said what suckers those people were to pay for their food. It was hilarious. When we got inside Taco Bell, Gretchen tried to bargain to get a free Blackjack Taco for the hubbies but it didn't work. So we got our free tacos and paid for some others and then went home.

When the tacos were finished and the fire mostly out, we put the cover on the fire and headed inside. Timmy played with his trains while we just sat and talked for a long while. Eventually we played the game "Written Telephone" (well, that's what I call it). Each player gets the the amount of sheets of paper as there are players (9 pieces of paper for 9 players). Then each person thinks of a phrase and writes it on the first sheet. That gets handed to the person on their left who then has to draw what was written. The drawing is then handed to the next person (with the original writing now at the back of the stack) and that person has to guess the phrase. It's actually a lot of fun. After two games of that, we all decided to call it a night.

Thanks everyone for coming! We had a great time and hope you did too! Can't wait for our next get together!