An International Halloween

I am so glad that we are not living in New York right now. After last year's Halloween snowstorm/debacle, I don't think my kids would be very happy to miss Halloween yet again. (Last year in New York, we had a major snowstorm which knocked out our power. My husband was in Saudi Arabia, I was recovering from the flu and a cold, two of my children had fevers, four of my children ended up with lice, and we lost power for several days. It was, quite possibly, the crappiest Halloween I have ever experienced in my life. So I'm not missing home AT ALL today.)

It is a lovely thing to trick-or-treat in 85 degree weather. Our compound organized a nice day of trick-or-treating and a kids' party, which we decided to skip. Here is my crew: we have a ninja, a mummy, a bloodthirsty skeleton, a vampire fairy, and a duck.

My oldest son who is now 13 (13!!!! I have a teenager!) dressed as a mummy and opted to dole out the goods to all the trick-or-treaters. 

T and J opted to ride their bikes around the neighborhood without adult supervision. It was so nice to let them be on their own without worrying. I really love the freedom and security of the compound!

My husband and I took B and Bubba J around the compound. B concocted her costume as a vampire fairy all on her own. She had very specific ideas about her clothing and face paint.

 Bubba J wore our beloved duck costume. My Mother-in-Law made this adorable duck costume 12 years ago when our W was just a little tot. All of my kids have worn the costume. It brings such wonderful memories to me when we pull it out and put it on another little one. Bubba J was so funny and really got into his role as a duck. He walked around quacking like a duck. Instead of saying "trick or treat", he would quack.

We enjoyed walking around the compound, knocking on the doors with Halloween decorations. Our group was truly international with kids of all nationalities chattering in different languages. I enjoyed chatting with friends, sharing the experience of our kids having fun together.

Yup! It was pretty much a perfect Halloween.