Boo-tiful Monkey and "Skellytan" Boy

I LOVED Halloween when I was a kid. My parents were incredibly proud when, at 8 years of age, I announced to my Sunday school class that Halloween was the most important holiday of the year (as I recall, I made this announcement mid-paste during a Manger craft). Grace is following right in line: she started thinking about "what-I-gonna-be-for-da-Halloween" in June. It's a big decision for a nearly three year old. After a brief (but enjoyable for Mom and Dad) stint as a Jimmy Buffet Parrothead, she declared that she was going to join the throngs of other little girls and be Cinderella. But, after trying on the newly procured costume, she declared that "dis is not Gracie." In the end, we were fortunate to find a big monkey costume and the matter was settled. She was sold. The case was closed. And then began the dilemma over what her guys (that would be her "big" monkey and her hippo) were going to be... Andy was easy: he can't talk yet and is deliriously happy (except for when he is not) so we can only assume that he enjoyed being a skeleton.

We trick-or-treated with Thomas Jefferson on the lawn at UVA. My Dad would have LOVED this. The students that live in the honors dorms (the rooms that open right out on the lawn and have no running water and are heated by a fire that you tend...clearly, calling them "honors" is a bit of a marketing ploy) hand out candy what seemed like the entire under-10 population of Charlottesville. It is a great tradition!

Back to my love of Halloween: I cleaned out Old Navy during the post-Halloween 97 cent costume sale. Right this minute, our monkey girl is in her new mermaid costume watching Little Mermaid on tv and eating goldfish. Ten minutes ago, she was running in her new pirate costume yelling "arrrrr" and claiming to be saving hippo and monkey from the ghosts. A frilly pink princess costume is hanging at the ready for her next adventure. As my Dad would say, it is a season!