Oh Star Wars, it was quite the theme for Halloween! The kiddos watched a few movies with Rob at some point that fall & soon enough, they were hooked. I have this weird aversion to fantasy or sci-fi movies/books or whatever category Star Wars falls into.....drives them all crazy! I know it is good for the imagination & I hope to eventually find some delight in that experience but for now, I try really hard to act interested in what they have to share as Rob snickers behind them!
After watching one movie, every trip to the library included all plopping down on the floor next to the shelves that held all the Star Wars books. We had one for probably 3 months that had stats on all the characters. It was a little strange how they memorized how tall they were along with other random facts. They also thought a page deemed "the kissy page" was hilarious. I don't even know who was kissing but I couldn't WAIT to return that book! All that to say, they were excited to don costumes & despite correction, some little guys continued to say "Star Boars & Light Savers."
Before we knew it, we had 5 light sabers & 4 blasters. Do you know where they reside now? Right up in the attic! It's much safer as there have been too many injuries to count. We also have chunks missing out of the door jams from those who have taken a swing while coming around the corner. It kind of fits in though with the dent in the fridge from ride on cars or baseboards that are dinged up from Hot Wheels, etc. It's a small price to pay for your children to have fun right?
They don't look like they could do any damage right?
As far as costumes go, my mom had bought the Darth Vader & the Storm trooper costume on clearance last November. They were huge on them a year ago but fit perfectly, they were already in the closet and they were SO much easier than Owen's original idea for his costume. He requested to be a praying mantis which he was obsessed with for months. When we talked about we would design the costume, he was just certain he needed needles in his hands to rip open the candy. Each time he told me that, he re-enacted a ferocious attack of the air.
I'm not sure which costume would have been more unique because Eloise also had a fantastic idea for herself. She loves hummingbirds & knows all sorts of facts about them. She wanted to be one (of course) & as I scoured Pinterest for ideas I found the sweetest handmade costumes with felt feathers & a beak extended from the head but she had something else in mind. She wanted a costume like a school mascot would wear with a full head containing a vacuum within the beak where she could suck candy in. Holy Moly! What a relief it was to settle on Star Boars!
These two were feeling really tough!
Sweet Owen was so patient with me. I typed in light sabers on Amazon & had a MILLION things to choose from. I found the black & red one because that is what Darth Vader needed right? Owen was a little disappointed when Kylo Ren's light saber arrived. In my ignorance, I had no idea there was a difference! The patience continued through Christmas when we gave the big boys a new ornament. I found a Storm Trooper for Anson & what I thought was Darth Vader for Owen. When he opened it he said "I really like it mom even though it isn't Darth Vader, it's Kylo Ren." Oh my goodness, it really made us laugh. When I looked closely I noticed that silly light saber so easily confused with Darth Vader's. His face is perfect for having a clueless mother : )
After Arlo watched one of the movies he kept telling Robby he wanted to see the Christmas Bear. They were all trying to figure out what he was talking about in his cute little Arlo mind. Turns out a Christmas Bear is an Ewok but ended up being called "Tiny Bear" from that day forward. That little boy kept telling us he wanted to be Tiny Bear so mommy & Gaga fixed him right up! Lolo had whittled a stick to a dangerously sharp point when we were in Colorado just a couple months before. She was sweet to let Arlo pose with it. Who knew Tiny Bears could be so scary! For months following Halloween he marched around the house singing the Darth Vader song.
Rey, she was a pretty character & prime choice for a little lady, After some encouragement for child number one, she settled on allowing another Rey to join her trick-or-treating. I loved their costumes. Just a couple days before Halloween, Elo & I went to Central Market by ourselves & do you know who was there to greet us? Rey! One of the women that worked there was decked out with boots & hairstyle & you would have thought she was the star of that book we checked out from the library! I did one of those embarrassing mom things and walked right up to her so Eloise could say hi & tell her that she would be a mini-Rey. She was so sweet to Elo.
I can't remember when my mom was in town but it didn't take long to get down to business & make some costumes. Trips to the fabric store with the Fab Five are just a blast.....note extreme sarcasm. Too many places to hide! We survived though. The lady that cut our fabric was quite grumpy but I might have been too if I were surrounded by sequined & glitter fabric with fuzzy hair all over my clothes from helping others obtain what was needed for animal costumes. We were one of those customers who attempted to ruin her day when we requested some animal-ish arms for our Tiny Bear. It was quite funny when I was back a couple weeks after Halloween & she was SO much more excited about life, haha!
Tiny Bear's costume was a breeze. The girls needed a super long piece of fabric we could wrap around them. Due to their height difference, one was about a foot shorter than the other. I tried way to omany times to get it wrapped the proper way which was to match exactly with the Rey in that silly library book but I continued to fail! The girls & I also kept switching the two back & forth thinking that the problem was due to having the wrong length. When it was time to welcome guests before trick-or-treating, I grabbed some scissors & fixed that problem! We bought leather to make the belts, searched the drawers for some leggings & tanks & they were good to go.
My favorite sewing buddy that I never tire of....
Every now & then we get a picture that we really like! Three year old smiles are the best right?
Just a few days prior to Halloween, we enjoyed an afternoon with Uncle Joe & Auntie Deb. They served a spook-tacular lunch & kept those smiles coming with a goody bag. Each contained what every child loves, a snow globe with black glitter. Despite our warnings to not act like maniacs, one was broken & leaking all over within minutes! Thankfully it was not on carpet. Knowing Auntie Deb, she would have acted like it was not a big deal at all. That's why I think the kids like her more than me sometimes, ha! I mean, who wouldn't? She served them hot chocolate right on the carpet. I strive to be as fun as her! Back to those globes of snow....if anyone knows Robby, they know how much he LOVES glitter ; ) Those might disappear before next season if we aren't guarding them!
They bought each kiddo a pumpkin & took on full responsibility of carving them which was such a treat for us! The kids helped draw the design & the responsible adults used their knife skills. It ended up that the kids were distracted & playing on the driveway leaving these two looking like this....
We loaded up our five pumpkins with their five pumpkins & brought them all home to our porch. We were looking festive but due to my neglect, they got a little mushy before I finally got them to the trash. When I say a little mushy I mean a LOTTA mushy & covered with gnats or whatever those bugs are that reside in rotten pumpkins. Once trash day arrived, the kids & I took a bag out to the front to load up those nasty pumpkins & say farewell. I had no idea how awful it was going to be. They were leaking & partially collapsing with every touch. Sadly the front porch camera was off or Robby could have watched me gag over & over again while I attempted to bag orange piles of grossness. We eventually got them into a giant black bag and when I tried to lift it, it felt like a ton of bricks. So then I had to pull a portion of the pile of pumpkin out & place in another bag. All said & done, I threw up in the front yard just prior to loading up a wagon with the bags & pulling it around back to the alley.
We stand outside every Tuesday & Friday when the trash truck comes & our guys know us well! I told them about the 30 minutes of ridiculousness to get them to the alley. He laughed & said, " I could have done that for you!" That would have been nice to know!
Our post Halloween trash truck experience two years ago was that I took a good portion of the Halloween candy & put it in the trash. The guys are so kind to invite the kids to stand behind the truck & watch that big piece of metal come down & pull the trash up. The bag that the candy was in must have been perfectly squished causing all the candy to slide down right before their eyes. I can still hear their squeals as they exclaimed "is that our candy?"
