Catching Up - Halloween

Gracie started off wanting to be a ninja for Halloween, but we couldn't find any ninja costumes either to buy or to make that she considered girly enough to be certain that she would not be taken for a boy.  After looking through the costume catalogs for awhile she decided to try for the opposite end of the spectrum and be Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet.  The catalog only had a large, but I thought that would be okay, so we ordered it.  Maggie chose to be a Roman princess, and of course, her costume was only available in a medium!

While we waited for the costumes to come in, I went on a search for an age-appropriate rendition of Romeo and Juliet, as Gracie is supposed to carry a copy of the book her character is from in the school's storybook parade.  I found a plain-English graphic novel geared towards young adults at the library, and picked it up.  Within the first 10 pages, I was more appreciative than ever of Shakespeare's flowery language, because plain English leaves nothing to the imagination.  I figured Gracie wouldn't understand the innuendo in plain-English any better though, and gave it to her.  I did feel compelled to tell her it was a tragedy though, and told her upfront that everyone dies.  Still, she liked it, so I have an 11-year-old lover of Shakespeare.  More like an 11-year-old lover of graphic novels, at least for now. 

So the costumes came in, and Gracie's was enormous. (Maggie's fit, a least for the next five minutes - she's growing like a weed!)  It was like Gracie was walking around in a circus tent.  After a minute of careful consideration, I knew this was beyond safety pins, and broke out the sewing machine.  I took it up at the shoulders, side-seams, and back center seam, hemmed it four inches, and then added ribbon ties on the side to gather it even further.  I was a bit nervous, but with a white t-shirt underneath, it all worked out well enough.  I got it done just in time for the girls and Jerry to head to Texas to visit Mimi and Pepaw, where they scored their first haul of Halloween candy during an event at their community.  Since Halloween itself wasn't until Wednesday, they got extra candy-gathering opportunites this year. 

On Wednesday I was in a rather melancholy mood as I watched the storybook parade at the school - the last storybook parade for us, as Gracie will be heading to middle school next year. 

After the (last) fall party, we headed home to eat dinner and get ready for a new experience for us - a trunk-or-treat put on by our church.  We got there pretty early, and it was good we did, because it was very successful, with several thousand in attendance before it was all over.  We got a chance to greet many people from our community, and several came back the next Sunday. 

The girls with our Children's pastor.  This is the perfect costume for him, because the children's program is a tightly controlled circus! 

 The girls had fun playing the games and got loads more candy.

One of the reasons we went so early was so we could keep our tradition of trick-or-treating with our neighbors down the street.  Since it was a school night, we had already warned them that we would only visit a couple of streets.  Our friends were dresses as Egyptian goddesses, and their brother was a Roman soldier.  (Maggie promptly declared him her royal guard.) 

After a quick jaunt around the neighborhood the girls sorted out their stash.

Maggie went so far as to make a written inventory of hers, which means that it will be much harder for me to sneak a piece this year - although that's probably better for my waistline!