Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday! We have been celebrating for the last three days with Jax! While I had fun, and I know Jax did too, I am glad it's finally over! This year we found Jax a really cute $3 Cookie Monster costume at a consignment sale, so we decided he would go as that. We were going to have him be Oscar the Grouch or the Count, but that might work for next year! At first he hated the costume because he doesn't like to wear hats, and he would rather play with it, but then after he figured out he got candy with it on, he decided it was okay.

I am gonna brag a little bit here and tell everyone that Jax was the ONLY person I saw that had any manners this entire weekend. Where ever he was, if he went up to Trick or Treat, he said "Trick or Treat" as best as he could, then ended the phrase with "please" or "nom nom nom". Then after he was given a piece of candy he would say "thank you". He also gave back most of his candy, haha, and if someone gave him more than one, he would keep the one he wanted, and give back the rest. I must say I was very proud of this, but now must take advantage of the 50% off candy sales tomorrow. He sure was cute and the only Cookie Monster we saw. Here is how our weekend went…

Friday all the businesses downtown had a trick or treating festival for kids that we went to. It was okay, but not worth the two hours of being in the wind and cold for the 7 pieces of candy Jax ended up getting. Then on Saturday, we went to the Chillin' N Grillin festival that was set up downtown. It's a little festival that has a bunch of local vendors, arts and crafts, music, bbq and chili cook off's and a place for the kiddo's to burn off their energy. Jax had a lot of fun while we were there, and bounced for about an hour and a half in one of those bounce houses. I've never seen him have so much fun jumping!

Saturday night, Dean and I went to our friends Rachel and Greg's third annual Halloween Bash. Dean dressed up as a Chilean Miner and I decided to rock the "beer gut" and go as an Alabamian Redneck! We went with those ideas since we didn't really put any time or thought into our costumes until a few days before. Dean had all his equipment and uniform pieces from both Metromont and working on the windmills, so really all he needed was a Chilean Flag and some soot on his face. I decided to switch my original idea of being a "barefoot and pregnant" redneck, and Dean being my redneck boyfriend, to taking full advantage of the pregnant belly and turning it into a beer gut. Both of our outfits cost us next to nothing, and we both pulled it off well! Matter of fact, I won me a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars and took home the Funniest Costume Award! I think if there had been an award for most disturbing I would have taken that home too! I might have gone a little over board with the whole thing, but I had a blast. I had jerky chew, smelled like motor oil and bbq sauce, and even had my lucky Busch Beer boxers out for show! I now know why rednecks talk the way they do. For example, instead of darn, they say "dern" and I think it's because they have to keep their chew in, so it forces them to mispronounce words! Der!

The whole night was really fun. It was a good, clean, party with really good friends and family. Everyone had on great costumes. There were a bunch of "classic" Halloween costumes, but most were pretty original. Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger were there, "Quailman" from the cartoon Doug, The Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol, Lady Gaga, Colonel Sanders, Richard Simmons and more... My vote went to Rachel, our friend Brandi and their friend Emilee. They dressed up as discontinued Barbie's. Jailbreak Barbie, Rockstar Barbie and Construction Worker Barbie. Their costumes were amazing! The best part of the night is when they finally got out of their boxes, and Dean who had taken some of his costume off, decided to portray the "real" jailbreak Barbie. Haha, he resembled more of a Joe Dirt in a Barbie box look... but definitely had it right. Sara dressed up as Lady Gaga, and her husband, Al was another redneck and my "cousin Al". Haha. We all had so much fun. I was glad to come home and clean up though, and Dean was finally glad to be able to kiss me w/out feeling weird.

Today we took it easy and didn't really have anything planned to do until we got a call from Nana and Pop's about Jax coming to their Fall Festival. The church they go to put on a kids festival for pre-schoolers and younger ONLY, which was really nice to not have the older kids knocking the babies down for candy. There were a ton of games for them to do, coloring, bowling, etc... Jax wound up bringing an entire pumpkin full of candy home for Mommy and Daddy to "check over". I knew there were hidden benefits to having children! =D

All in all, this weekend was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed Jax's excitement dressing up, passing out candy, trick or treating, etc... but I am so glad it's over! Next year Dean and I will get to have fun with two little boys!!! Whoo hoo, that's even more pumpkins to paint and carve, and more candy for us!!! Hope you all are doing well! We love you and miss you all!

Shylah

(More pictures are posted. Click on our Pumpkin Patch album, then My Photos once open to view "Halloween Costumes 2010...")