Happy All Hallows Eve!

Never am I more grateful for an overflowing dress-up box than today! Yes, we dress-up. Yes, we trick-or-treat. Yes, we buy all chocolate from our kids for 5 cents/piece. Yes, someone, usually David, changes their mind at the last minute about what they will wear. This year, Sarah said she would use a dance costume, and decided upon "70's girl". Leah thought about Cinderella a few months ago, but soon switched to fairy and stuck with it. David decided to be a knight. He has swords, a breastplate, three helmets and a shield. At noon, only the shield was working. Everything else was too small. Maybe he'd be a pirate? But what he really wanted was a dragon costume. He even worked out when I could go shopping for said get-up, and did not want to hear about the possibility of creating something at home. I had no desire to go shopping for a last minute costume. Dress-up box to the rescue! When looking for his pirate hat, he found a train engineer's hat. (My favorite part is that this was Jesse's when he was a boy.) He grabbed a bandanna and told me how to put it on. I dug up some overalls and a blue-and-white striped shirt from his drawers. saved! And everyone was happy!!

Here's my troupe. =)

I stayed home. nice.... and enjoyed this... even better. Only mine was cooked on the stove, minus Tabasco sauce and pepper. I replaced the beef broth with water and ground beef with pork. This is a hearty, filling soup that fits the season perfectly.

Oh, and who took my children and left me these perfect little people? *hehe* They got home, dumped their buckets, sorted and sold, ate one piece without complaint, sorted and organized their stashes, spent 30 minutes trading! amongst themselves, then said, "It's bedtime. Our candy was our bedtime snack. We're ready." What a happy, happy Hallows Eve!