Happy Halloween Mateys!

Back in August I went to Party City, bought a few pirate patches, earrings, hats and daggers, and sat them on the coffee table for when the kids would come home from school. Within seconds they had found the stash and were trying them on.  “Mom, we should be pirates for Halloween!!!”   “We totally should.” I said, sounding like I’d never even thought of it.  I’ve been wanting to do pirates for years now but other things kept winning over… Princesses, Witches, Cowboys (and girls)… Ah, finally Pirates.  And I must say it was well worth the wait.

Ryan  (11 years old) loved his costume, especially the hook with which he carried his trick or treat bag.  Definitely the meanest pirate of the crew.

Katie (9 years old) definitely wanted to be the ‘boy kind of pirate’ complete with dagger and patch… but she picked no vest.  She particularly loved her black and white stockings.. So did I!

Emily (almost 7) wore her eye patch the most.  We told her she could take it off after pictures but she just kept it on.  I guess she wanted to stay in character or she just knew how adorable she was.  Emily was the lucky one who got to carry around a skull and crossbones bag of coins.  Lucky middle child!

    

Megan (4 1/2 years old) was the one who was a little frowny about this whole pirate idea.  “Megan, how about a Pirate Princess?”  I asked.  Immediate smiles.    She LOVED her Pirate princess dress… and it showed.   I loved it too after a few alterations – getting rid of tacky lace and gold trim etc. She and I had the most fun with our photo shoot.  She just wouldn’t stop smiling and giggling.  It was too cute.

 

 

For Luke (almost 2) the whole Halloween thing felt brand new.  He tolerated his costume with little annoyance or enthusiasm but loved the dagger.  He also LOVED trick or treating. In fact, as I type, my little buccaneer is pointing at the pictures and saying “CANDY… ME… MOM… MERE (come here)”  Yep, he definitely still remembers.  The other kids loved holding his hands and showing him the ropes, but it didn’t take long before he totally got what to do:  Walk up the long driveway (our neighborhood has all one acre lots), listen to your siblings say ‘trick or treat’, say ‘eeeeee’,  smile while the neighbors tell you how cute you are, and then watch as they put huge handfuls of candy in your bucket. 

 

 

Matthew, (almost 6 months old) was the cutest little pirate for his first Halloween.  Not quite sitting, we stuck him in his bumbo to take a few pictures.  He just loved slurping on his hook and dagger. I just love that little squinty eye smile he has… and just look at that chubby little chin.

 

           

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson knew we were being Pirates for Halloween, but we had no idea THEY were being pirates too!  While we were getting ready they snuck into their room to change and came out to surprise us!  So fun to be matching with Grandma and Grandpa for Halloween!!!

So unfortunately Chris was sick on the couch with the swine flu for Halloween.  Grandma and Grandpa, 6 pirates and I trick or treated our neighborhood and then walked back to the house to drop off Luke, Matthew, Grandma and Grandpa so that the real party could begin.  The kids were anxious to trick or treat with our friends, the Starbucks, but with Grandma and Grandpa here and Chris sick we hadn’t made any real plans.  After taking pictures, eating white bean chili, and trick or treating our own neighborhood we called and left a message but they were already gone.  The kids were sad.  We headed over to the Bishops neighborhood, known for it’s close houses and decorations galore. We drove in and stopped  in a random cul-de-sac to start the fun.  After 5 houses Katie said, “Mom, the Starbucks!”  Sure enough they had decided to pick this very neighborhood too and were remarkably in the same location.  All the kids ran to each other and screamed.  “It’s a Halloween miracle” Katie said.  They had so much fun running from house to house.  So much fun.

When we got home Grandma had pin the tail on the black cat and Halloween games waiting for us.  We played, ate candy and then watched a movie, while Chris lay on his brown leather chair.  It was a great Halloween!