Halloween Warm-Up

Stonefield's Safe and Spooky Halloween was the other night...so we had to put together our costumes a little early! Actually, Wynne didn't need much help; she has been preparing her Dorothy get-up (Wizard of Oz) for a couple of weeks now. I broke down and bought her ruby red slippers (sparkly!) which will hopefully be in good shape for Christmas. (Ha!)

At any rate, outfitting 5 kids only cost $12, and part of that was Cy buying his own mask and sword. (Thank you Dollar Tree!) And being rather a Drama Queen myself, I dressed up too. The twins had just attended a friend's birthday party earlier in the day, so I borrowed a vibrant feather mask and yellow boa from them, dipped into my old theater stash for a teal satin tunic and purple scarf, threw on some of Wynne's costume jewelry, and became a Mardi Gras lady. Or something like that. LOL! Sorry, I know this will disappoint you, but there is no photographic proof of my costume.
Ally took a birthday present (the pumpkin shirt) and built her whole costume around that. She curled her hair into "pumpkin vines" and added some leaves to top it off!

Paige went as her favorite book character Junie B. Jones! Mixing up colorful clothes and finding a pair of big sunglasses at the Thrift Shop was all it took to get this cutie ready!

Here's Wynne in our beloved garage sale blue frock. I bought this little dress long before I had kids...and I can't tell you how many times it's been worn (including a previous Dorothy appearance by Ally six years ago).

Here's Shae giving her best mean look. Now THAT'S scary!! Shae wants you to know that she is in no way affiliated with the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy, or any other Wizard of Oz character. She is an independent witch!

Despite my best efforts to make him dress as a more positive, less violent character, Cy insisted on this Jason-esque look. He heard who Jason (Friday the 13th) was at school. I insisted on NO BLOOD. I tried to get him to go as a football player, hockey player (taking the mask in a different direction), or something else a little less sinister, but I was informed that "I'm ten years old, Mom." Alrighty then...we came to this compromise.

On the way over to Cassville, we picked up a couple of friends (Brooke and Nathaniel) at their respective houses. By the time we reached Stonefield, it was 6:00 p.m. and getting dark. The crowds were HUGE! We had to park across the road in their overflow lot. The village was packed, but it looked fantastic! We stopped for a picture on our way into the admitting area.

I think I had my camera on the wrong setting for a while. Oh dear, there they go--under the covered bridge and past the coven of friendly witches!


The village square was just beautiful. I am not one for overkill on gawdy or gross Halloween decorations, but the square (to me) had just the right amount of fall color and whimsy.

The school house once again featured the curious Barbie doll-masked witch. Her mask gets me all nostalgic for those old plastic masks that we used to barely see through, with the condensation of our breath dripping the front of our faces. Ah, the 70s.


Several shops were decorated but had no candy-givers. We were a bit disappointed that the general shop was nearly covered up, and there were no treats left on the boardwalk--including the beloved doughnut balls and root beer at the saloon. That's what you get for being LATE ! But the storyteller was still on hand, and the window decorations were just terrific!

And guess who was rocking in the gazebo? ELVIS!!

We enjoyed a little music before going on our merry way.

The weather was perfect - not too cold, and the rain didn't start until our drive home. The kids were having so much fun, we decided to call their parents and have them stay overnight. We came home, traded silly bands, watched "Jack and the Beanstalk", went to bed, woke up, ate some Monkey Bread, went to Sunday School and church, then drove everybody home. All in all, it was a fun warm up to Halloween!