Pictures

Tessa at the Alki Harvest Festival, wearing her Pegasus-Unicorn-Pony costume. She asked that I carve a horse and a bat on the pumpkin - yikes! I managed, but just barely. (But I can't tell her "I'm just not that creative!" because if she said that to me I'd pooh-pooh her and tell her that she needed to try, so I have to follow my own advice. How can I expect her to be confident and to take risks and laugh at herself if I can't do the same? The added benefit of this parenting philosophy is that I'm discovering more creativity in myself than I previously knew about....and I'm learning to laugh at myself when my creations flop.) The Royal Surfaces! Despite Tessa's first desire to be a pony, she reverted at the last minute to her desire to be a princess. Tessa is wearing a Snow Princess (self-named) costume, and her royal escorts are with her. Ryan is wearing his tuxedo shirt, vest, and tie from when we were married - and he's got a lovely brooch that I usually wear on my jacket at Christmastime. I'm wearing a dress I got years ago for a Murder Mystery dinner that was themed and in costume. If they had a group costume category, I'm sure we would have won. (wink)

And here we are, up close... Might I add that Tessa's crown squeezed my brain!

Earlier in the month, at the pumpkin patch...

Ahhhh - finally a moment when our daughter was looking at the camera! She loves to make the most outrageous, awful camera smiles, and it's hard to get a good picture of her as a result.

I really love Halloween. I love the chance to be a bit creative, to play a role that I otherwise wouldn't play, to dress up and be silly. I love the Hisatomi Halloween party, where there is lots of great food, fabulous people, and fun. I love going out to the pumpkin patch on a crisp fall day, getting muddy feet, and searching for the perfect pumpkin. (This year, our pumpkin is ENORMOUS - chosen by Tessa, of course.) I love coming up with fun pumpkin designs that reflect whatever mood we're in that year. I love facing our fears and laughing at them (which is what I believe all of the ghoulish things are about: confronting our fear of dying, and facing it). I know that some people feel that it's not a nice holiday, and I understand that there is room for more than one perspective....but I'm not worried about Halloween because to me it's not about being unkind, it's about facing fears, and having fun with friends. Our grown up lives are often so serious that I appreciate the opportunity to relax and be silly with the kids.

The top costume of the night was Joe Six-Pack - in this political year, it was a great commentary. One of the guests came in with a mullet wig, dressed like a laborer, with a twelve-pack of Rainier Beer on his shoulder. He was the hands-down winner in the adult costume contest, and got a lot of great laughs. The children's costume prize went to a darling little toddler in a woodland fairy outfit - she looked like a storybook picture. The other children's prize went to Yoda, who was pretty darn realistic looking.

I held it together last night until about 7, at which point my sinus infection kicked in and demanded that I go home immediately. Here I still sit, even as church is starting. :-( Ryan and Tessa went to church, but my germs and I are at home sulking. Wahhhh!

Wishing all of you a great day...

Kristina