a kitty and a bug

So I'll be the first to admit that Halloween isn't on my list of top ten holidays. In fact, the only list I'd maybe put it on is Holidays That Are Gross. The holiday is mostly strange and kind of evil in my opinion. Too much disguise and deception and blood and gore. Not to mention how every innocent costume now has its whoreish counterpart - trying to find a chaste cat costume for Belle was a joke. Good thing Grandma Cheney had one for us. That said, I can get behind babies in cute costumes. And I totally get the appeal of getting free candy. (Although, again - another sort of negative point to the holiday - gluttony.) I also love my mom's tradition of chili and sweet rolls every Halloween. Any excuse to eat good food, right? This year, I made chili for the Cheney clan and because I really hate the failure that baking bread represents, I started my own tradition: pumpkin cobbler. All in all, a hit.

So although I will probably never dress up with my kids, and they will never EVER be allowed to be something gross or whoreish, I'll let them be cute little animals any day. In truth, Belle was going to be a hiker up until two weeks before Halloween. She didn't have an opinion, and well, we've discussed my penchant for Halloween, so my sister-in-law gave me the suggestion as Boo loves hiking with her daddy. I was going to go all out with a fanny pack and tourist hat and a walking stick and everything. But then when her Great Grandma asked her what she was going to be, she replied, "A white cat." Well, stripey cat was acceptable and so there you go. And of course my little bug is a lady bug. What else could she have been?

And so I present, Halloween-palooza.