As I have mentioned before, my mom used to sew up our Halloween costumes. I remember the cat one, which I loved, but I don’t remember any others; there might be movies of us on Halloween, but my parents weren’t big on still cameras. I remember the huge Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes my parents hauled out when they were asked to parties – I hated those things. They smelled like burlap and I found them disturbing. Parents were supposed to stay themselves, not turn into gigantic burlap dolls.
We didn’t buy costumes. My mom was a practical, thrifty woman and thought less of her time than of a dollar. So there must have been other costumes; I just can’t remember. When I grew up and had children, I guess I was even thriftier – having neither time nor money, what with three kids under four (the impact of those first few years lasted decades) and a new business to keep afloat.
Whatever Cam chose, it was always something that allowed him to do a lot of growling. An alter ego? Gin, too, here – going for the scary. We are not a gifted in scary bunch. Well, I was – when I was teaching high school (she said, and settled back with that smug look of power gone wrong). This is 1984. Our eldest is 4.
But we had something far more magical even than homemade costumes: we had a costume box. It was a collection of odd bits, clothes saved by grandmothers (fancy stoles, old dresses, lots of costume jewelry) or G and me (his hippy-musician days stuff, my when-I-was-young clothes) or picked up along the way. And there were a couple of hand me down costumes that came from G’s side.
1986
So every Halloween, the kids went digging in the box and came up with their own new identities. We supplied the make up: face paint, moustaches. And the some of the props: pirate swords, space blasters, western hats. They supplied the character – and they knew who they wanted to be.
1987
Chaz has a whole closet full of costumes now, and is the consulting designer for the extended family. And I have found myself buying the dang cutest on-sale costumes ever for grandchildren I didn’t even have yet. Scooter is the perfect size for one of these right now. He won’t wear it, of course.
The celebration falls on such a chancy time of year – this year, as in many past, we have rain and it’s cold out there. But I’m not walking little ones around anymore. Inside, dry and warm as toast.
1988
Exterioralized (which is not a word) alter egos.
I kind of miss the hail-fellow-well-met you feel, walking around the neighborhood and seeing your people pass, gaggles of ghosts herded along in front of them. We live in the coolest place – a real neighborhood, with people we’ve known since our family started. Now we get the kids coming back with their own kids. I wanted the ghost to talk again this year, but it’s not going to happen. Still, I think I’m scary enough at the door all by my own self.
More glowing squashes. Firewood on the porch.
Modern day: the Flash. Guess who?
Oh, wait!! She’s being chased by Nightcrawler!!!! (also played by Chaz)
The non-scary porch, now sans firewood (gas burning free standing stove. Hotcha!)
Across the street, Jeri’s stunning golden leaves, bright against their dark trunk and encroaching firs.
And finally (until I go take pictures of Cam’s fam), the Beauteous Arwen Undomiel, also played by Chaz. She’s way versatile.
I shot this and the following last night. We trick or treat on Saturday night around here when Halloween falls on a Sunday.
I went out into the goopy, drippy, scary night to take pictures of C and L and the two small munchkins. I climbed the porch steps, knocked, and then waited. And waited. And then – ACK! The JACK’O'LANTERN started talking to me. That’s what I get for bringing up children in a house that sports a talking ghost. ”Have you seen my ship?” it asked. And then I looked in the big front window, and there, floating in the middle of their dark living room, was a ghost ship. It was rocking gently in very liquid water, the sails flapping in a breeze I did not feel. And that’s what I get for raising a son with a video camera in my hand. He and his partners had made this looped film, built it from the ground up for just this night.
The ship was actually projected onto their green wall (as you see here, behind the ninjas). Scooter chose his own costume (after seeing his father’s – fathers beware!!). You will note that he is NOT wearing the lion I bought for him two years before he was born. Sheesh.
Ninja hung with several glow-sticks.
It was very dark last night, so I had to shoot with flash. The pictures, therefore, were kinda dull – you know how the flash washes out everything and makes everything in the background look stark and unfriendly. So I took the fam out of the original shots in the entry and I put them where they belonged – with the lovely ship. A composite, of course, which I wouldn’t bother telling you, except for the showing off element.
L, the piratess.
Piratess with pumpkin daughter and Ninja men.
Late afternoon - just throwing these in because there was a sort of eerie glow to the air and the yard, just before the storm really came in. I don’t know if you can feel it – hard to shoot.
The glow is easier to see here. So that was our Halloween. We did not run out of treats (which I thought we would – even given the rain). The dogs did not enjoy the fete at all – spent the whole evening locked into their kennels, foiled for the moment: and they had so hoped to take a bite out of each flavor of door-knocking monster -
The beautiful Chaz
Love that last line–I could just see Toby and Tuck sitting in their kennels looking put out.
I love that pre-storm glow, and despite the wet, I gotta say that it was AWESOME to have huge claps of thunder over my house as the sun went down on Halloween.
Love the Ninja vs. Pirate pictures–and the ship!! WOW!
Yay again! I loved the way those shots turned out, also. The dogs really were next to insane. And Toby would hurl insults at the voices alone – they couldn’t see the door. If they had, they’ve have thinned themselves into ribbons and escaped through the tiny grids in the kennels – and re-materialized with their teeth sunk in tiny green ankles.
That image is not only eloquent, but it doesn’t seem like it’d be all that impossible. Silly puppies. I wonder if they will ever be calm enough to greet young terrors knocking at the door with relative equanimity.
They’ll grow up. We all do, in the end. Well, I guess that’s not exactly true. But they’ve had a good moral foundation -
Great shots you chose of the old days. I have always loved that one shot of you so intensely applying Charlotte’s makeup.
Love you
G
Chaz and I like that one, too.
My favorite photo is you putting on Chazi’s makeup. So intense, tongue out.
You know, trick or treating is getting so weird lately. I remember this from last year too. Hardly any trick or treaters! The last few years we’ve bought tons of candy like always and give hardly any away. I don’t know where they are all going…… Maybe our neighborhood is growing up……. that’s a droll thought!!
Actually – hard as it may be to imagine, you are growing up. How many boys have left on missions? How many kids have graduated from high school? Some neighborhoods have high turnovers, but yours is like ours – people stay for years and years and their kids grow up knowing the neighbors – as if each neighborhood were its own home town. It’s like we live in a great big fat extended family bursting with uncles and aunts and cousins. And you will notice how small the nursery is these days. We used to have 60 kids in it. As I recall, you are the proud mother of a sophomore yourself?? As far as trick or treaters are concerned, we used to give away over 200 treats in three hours – almost 300. But last night, we came it at about 100, which is more than last year. And we knew only about thirty of those. When I went to Cam’s it seemed like your whole neighborhood was jumping though, so that’s weird.
Sniffle…….. a junior! I wish…… a sophmore……..
Yeah – I was afraid that I was a year off. Oy.
Ahh, dial-up was gracious enough to allow me to view most of the photos this time, but none of the pirate ship. Which sounds spooktacular. (Groan. I was gonna write spectacular but I just couldn’t.) Those are some adorable children who were (and apparently continue to be) eagre to embrace the festivities. Perfect.
I too had a costume box to spring new identities from. Usually disco related. And, Youngest Son went out as a lion tonight ;-)
I’m SO glad you gave in; spooktacular it is! I am so sad you couldn’t see the ship. It was really magnificent – and the water – I could have sat on the couch and watched the water move for hours. Baby Sister – (I called her BSS in one post, but I think it’s going to have to be BBS) – didn’t care much for all the to-do, but Scooter was WAY into it.
Disco. (Chuckle to guffaw) I tell you, though – he wouldn’t have worn it if I had bought it for him.
Ah yes the costume box… I almost called to see if there were any parts of it left before the Scoots settled on a “Ningin” (as he said it). But I wanted a few options i.e. pirate clothes, cowboy stuff etc… before it got to the night and he either refused to wear anything we ended up buying or deiced that he wanted to be some mix up of everything. But all is well that ends well and we now have the beginnings of our own costume box. The one thing that hasen’t been mentioned is the countless jack-o-lanterns that were made at our house. That was one of the “Big deals”. And you couldn’t really make one the same as you did the year before. That would be like painting the same masterpiece each year and asking people to still be amazed by your talent. Anyway it would have been hard to make the same face each year because each pumpkin was so different. I think we usually had two or so a piece.
Oh, baby – I hoped you would come and see the pictures. Yes – those hours and hours of doing all those jack’o'lanterns – at least one for each person. And I always tried to save the seeds to have more pumpkins. But I guess they started selling the kind that don’t propagate – or the river bank would be covered with vines every year. You did great this year – I’m so proud of your family.
I love it Mom, too bad you didn’t get a picture of my 4-year old Cowboy costume up there, it was awesome.
That is SO cool about Cam’s! I wish I had come home to see those things now dang it!
I’ve only gotten so far in years in the scans. That cowboy suit will make it into the ether soon enough – if I live long enough to keep plowing through our history. If Ken has taught me anything, it’s that opportunities to be with family and to enjoy what you can – they’re important. You never know how many more you will get. But this is your time to play – before life in all its pain and glory are yours to cultivate and protect. So I’ll take the pictures for you.
stink! I thought I had that cowboy murphy picture somewhere. It’s so cute with his mustache.
This is a fun post and I wish we could’ve come trick or treating to all the family’s houses–even though we had enough to do as it was!
Everybody looks great, and though it sounds stormy at least it didn’t snow.
Fun old pictures, halloween is so much fun. Next year we’ll pare down so we can actually do the fun family stuff without feeling ultra crowded by all the other events. The best part was always the pumpkins and the the trick or treating.
But here’s the real question: did you have any trick or treaters out where you are? You guys and people like Christina and Wabi and Jenni – way out on farms. Do you guys get the kids?
We had ten trick or treaters this year. Which is HUGE for around here. Yay! Littlest One and I handed out the treats. That’s not accurate. I handed out treats while Littlest One buried her dragon face into me for fear of all the weirdness goin’ on. Poor dear child. She makes such a sweet lil’ dragon, though.
the huge high school aged sons of a friend of mine used to come last of all to vacuum up all the leftover treats. One year, Scott showed up the door with this horrid skeleton mask on – all the children fainted. Not really, but they all swear they will never be skeletons EVER, even to this day. Littlest and I see eye to eye.
Not a single trick or treater for us this year. Supposedly because our houses are so far apart it just doesn’t happen in Eldorado except in one little area. We didn’t go and check that out because it was sunday and we were all tuckered out, but we’ll check it out next year.
So no. NONE! Crazy, right? Kind of a bummer, but it at least frees us up to take Max out someplace else or something.
Actually, I really LIKE not answering the door. Going somewhere, having a discrete celebration, then going home and not having to jump up every five minutes doesn’t sound bad at all. Mostly, I like the kids who come. But I will someday bite the hand off the kind of kid who, the moment you open the door, shoots his hand out, grabs the bowl and manhandles my candy – . As it is, they get a stern lecture (none of this, “Now, honey – you know we need to wait your turn.” But then, you know my style).
I enjoyed reading this and seeing all your great photos! My mom used to make my costumes to. My favorite was a princess dress. It was pouring rain that year and I could barely walk by the time we got done walking around the neighborhood because my dress was so heavy from being soaked with rain and mud. Somehow that sticks out as a good memory though.
My kids picked their costumes out of a catalog this year, way back in September!
Everything is cooler now than it used to be when we were younger. If you could see the strollers and high chairs we had to pick from – the absolutely AWFUL designs of all the fabric and upholstery, you’d be SO thankful you were born in a time when people actually realized that parents weren’t in love with two color bad illustration. And I think it’s the same with costumes. It’s so inexpensive to buy a fairly wonderful costume at Target, I’d never ever consider making one by hand. But throwing them together from bits and pieces still has charms for me. I’d have loved a princess dress, actually. Even though I was a tomboy.
We made a great costume for the scoots last year. We ran out of time this year-plus the indecision of going from candy to carrot to asparagus (all costume ideas scoots mentioned he wanted to be) until he saw Cammon. Then he said ninja and I went with it-I never asked him what he wanted to be from then on. I told him he was going to be a ninja and TOLD him he was going to be excited about it.
And then I realized that with Cammon taking scoots out, I was sending two costume ninjas dressed in all black out into the night-so I made Cammon get some glow sticks so we didn’t lose the scootman. Of course those glow sticks became a source of entertainment well into the night-even more of a hit than the candy he got!
Kids are so funny – it’s what I tried to tell you about buying a bunch of plastic toys – the kids would pull them out, spread them around, then go play with a wooden spoon and a bowl for an hour. Light sticks really are cool though – I could really entertain myself with a couple of light sticks and a bowl of dark chocolate – nobody have to take me out to dinner or talk to me or anything. Scoots is so funny. Asparagus?? Really? “And why,” she thinks to ask, ” would he want to dress up like something he’d never agree to eat?” But in asking, I know the answer – carrots – you dress up as something that really grosses you out. Isn’t that the gig?
That pirate ship is pretty rad! I’m very impressed. And I love all these photos, as usual. Makes me want to dig around in my parent’s boxes and photo-albums and find me and Adam when we were young on Halloween. We do have videos that we watch every once in a while, when everyone’s at home and has extra time– and those are always fun.
Chels – I know this is going to sound intense, but really – when you go home, you really should dig them out. Dig them out now, before they’re lost, or even more faded – scan them. Don’t wait till you’re old and nostalgic, because stuff like this goes missing really, really easily. Find those shots and preserve them. Then you can drag them off the hard drive any time you start to feel curious about the old days. Now. Do it NOW.
AUGHHH you are right, but it’s such a large undertaking– and right now it seems I have only precious hours a week when I’m not at work, or preparing for work. Winter Break– then I will get many things done. That’s a good time to do such things, anyway, since the whole family will be around to share their memories. Thankfully my parents are for the most part organized people, and we have watched the tapes pretty steadily over the last few years, so it won’t be too hard of an endeavor.
I also plan to go through all the stuff I did in school that my dad has kept– report cards and projects from Kindergarten to high school. Whew.
Chels, just be glad your dad cared enough to keep things. My mom kept my report cards very carefully, and two pictures. None of my writing or other craft or artwork. Nothing really of ME. ONly those stupid yellow check-off-the-grade cards.
Yeah :( I’m very fortunate. It’ll be fun going through all of it!
I want to make a quilt out of the kids’ artwork. I’ve always wanted to do it. But just like you- the dang plate’s too small for what I need to put on it.
I love all the old pictures! My fave is the same as most of the other commenters, you applying the lipstick with such a steady hand and motherly care. And also the one where Cam is a pirate… wow! I now know who Scoots looks the most like. So fun! Thanks for taking me back in time to introduce me to the family that was before the family I know now.
The funny thing about that, my dear, is that my little family grew up in the same ward that your little family is now growing up in. The family that was – was always here. Time is such a weird thing. A structure, a movement, a wind, a force that propels – those children in that picture were only a few blocks away from you their whole lives, before you were a few blocks from them. And that same disconnect will happen when someday you look at the pictures of your own children now – when they were the family that was.
LOVE the pictures!!! HAHAHAHA, I laughed so hard, and then I almost freaked out because in the first pic your oldest is only 4…..my oldest is almost 7. And I realized that all this is going to fly right past me and before I know it they will be all grown up. I keep telling them to stop growing, but you know how kids are, they don’t listen.
But seriously, love all the pictures, we had a costume box as well that I have been putting together for the past 7 years with this and that. October came though, and I thought, where is that box? It is usually just in the kids closet or on a shelf in the garage. Nope. It accidentally was taken to DI when we cleaned out the garage last. I was very sad.
Glad you had fun with your kiddos this Halloween! Happy Halloween!
By the way, you are one hot mama
Also, I have NEVER seen Guy without a beard…..I think you should post a picture, if there is one. :) You guys are a cute couple and family. What great times you had with your kids.
I’ll try to find one. YOu’ll laugh your head off, it’s so weird to see him that way. I don’t really remember how he looks. How tErrIBLE about your costume box. I hate it when things like that happen. I don’t know how many family heirlooms I’ve lost when that cleaning frenzy hits and stuff flies out the door. Hot mama. Pfff. That thing you said about your oldest – yes, it’s true. These early years are so hard on your body, so crowded with all that building of people – you can’t ever look away from them. Then suddenly – they start building their own lives – (and then you REALLY can’t look away – not till they’re out of high school). But that old expression about bringing up children well – you do your job, and they will self-govern – as far as their wisdom and experience allows. But it’s all in the blink of an eye.
You were ALWAYS an incredible photographer! How dear to see those photos of your wee little ones who’ve done quite a bit of growing up. My favorite is you with your tongue out in concentration as you put on Ms. C’s make-up.
We were of the same mind as far as Halloween. Let the kids decide their identities out of the costume box and whatever props they could muster. At age three, Leah just wanted to be a Blue Monster. She looked for everything blue she could throw onto her body. It didn’t make for great photos but it was thrilling to her!
I bet she felt really magical and scary. And bigger than she actually was. That’s the best part.
I looked at that photo of you AGAIN. You are such a gorgeous woman.
And you are a loyal and loving friend, G. (Grinning at you.)
Thanks for the lovely comment you left on my blog last week. I so enjoyed reading your post on Halloween and looking at the pictures of the past! You guys dp know to celebrate! Lovely blog. I shall be back!
Luciana
You are so welcome! It’s a treat to read beautiful things. So glad to have you, Luciana!