Happy HallowEEEEn!!

(Bekah getting the GOO out of her pumpkin.)

"Mom, I want to be a robot for Halloween," said Bekah a week and a half ago, showing me a pen-drawn design of her costume.
I was surprised. And relieved. She had wanted to be a witch, contingent on me buying her a broom, hat, leggings, and wig from Walmart...which I did not want to do. I stalled her and it paid off. I'm not exactly where the robot idea came from, but it spread like the flu through our house until Bekah, Jacob and Beau all wound up with spray painted boxes covered in reflective tape. Then Rus chipped in, passing out the contents of his numerous junk reserves in the garage. We had sprinkler hoses, bike parts, license plates, a distributor, and even a cup holder. All of us got so distracted attaching random parts to each evolving robot that we stayed up way past bedtime one night...and I found the kids in the garage first thing the next morning. I have to say this was the best costume building experience I've ever had.
Bekah's original design had her head in the box with just a circle cut out so you could see her face, like this: (She drew the picture, I wrote the note). She wore it like that to school. Here she is, sitting with her class at school after their costume parade, looking very much like a little robot.The next day (Saturday) was the trunk or treat.
"Mom, I want to be a ghost," Bekah said one hour before the trunk or treat, as I was making dinner. She was holding a white sheet she had swiped from a closet. In my mind I could see the two choices clearly: say yes, ditch dinner, make her a ghost costume, and somehow conjure up a similarly cool costume for Jacob, because if she didn't wear her robot, he wouldn't wear his...or say no and endure weeping and wailing for the rest of the night.
"The kids at school all laughed at me," was her excuse.
I explained that they laughed a startled, happily surprised kind of laugh, not a mean laugh.
I explained this several times.
Then Rus called Bekah into the garage, cut a hole in the top of her robot so her head could poke out, took off the distributor, and made her a really cool face guard.
Problem solved, phew. That is why I have Rus.
Trunk or treat was a hit, and so was last night, real Halloween (I love that halloween stretched over three days this year. Love it like I love nails on a chalkboard - because I have the candy to prove it, and at least three weeks of "Can I have a treat now?!")
Rus's parents came down for dinner and we enjoyed a mummy calzone while the kids had Hot Mummys - hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough. We had candy for dessert. Lots of it. Then we visited our closest neighbors before camping out on our front lawn to hand out candy. Here are the kids from the front: ...And from the back:I love that Beau just had a mess of wires attached. I also love that if/when he fell over, he couldn't get back up by himself but was like a little stuck turtle.
The weather was perfect and the company was terrific. Beau got high on sugar and spend his time alternately tackling Grandpa and then Rus. (If Rus got up he'd say, "Rus! Sh-it!" hehehe...) Bekah handed out the goods. Jacob cuddled grandma. I snitched Take5s and tried to keep our pumpkins lit.
It was a wonderful All Hallows Even.