the long awaited halloween party

 Here they are, ready to go:  Price is Right contestants, a ladybug, and a zombie.

Lydia is a shape shifter snow leopard.

 p.j. as Cookie Monster:

 m.c. as a pirate princess:

 This is l.c. and I'm not sure what it's called.  He kept the mask on for a very long time.

 Dan and Alicia and their guys were ghosts.

 Here's t.c. being the blue version of character.

 Dannell, kindly trying to get the video game going:

 This picture includes Kirsten, the brains behind this costume.   This picture cracks me up.

 Here's Heidi as Oscar the Grouch, and the only picture of my mother.  How did that happen, only one picture of her back?

 My dad and d.c.

Crafts--that box from the basement had about ten years worth of supplies in there.   It's like every year we buy a little more and never use it up, so the accumulation is--well let's just say we won't buy anything new next year.   We sure don't need it.

 Here is Pin the Tail on the Cat from the wild video of last night.   My mom made a new cat because the original one was pretty tattered. 

She asked if we wanted the old one back.  I told her no.  It's been ten years of him, time to retire the old boy.    My brother wondered if the kids would want it.  I teased him back, "They must let go of the past."

"Let go of the past?"

"Yes.  Otherwise you end up on  Hoarders, and that's not a good thing."

We laughed.   That show makes me want to clean closets!  It feels so wrong to be peering into other people's lives and issues like that, but it gets us moving.   Another friend has said the same.

Okay, thanks for a great party Mom and Dad.   It was fantastic, the decorations, the food, everything.

love you so, Val and everybody