Happy Halloween You Scurvy Dogs!

It's not a secret that my sons are obsessed with pirates. Every morning when Linc gets up, he asks for his Trio blocks so he can make a hook and a pirate sword. Every day after naps we go outside and Lincoln and Ivan, and the two other little boys in our complex who are usually out, play pirates or fight pirates all afternoon. Every night we read a pirate story, either Night Pirates, or How I Became a Pirate, for bedtime. They know and use words like "landlubber" and "scurvy dog". Depending on his mood, Lincoln either eagerly brushes his teeth or refuses to brush his teeth so he won't/will have green teeth like a pirate. And yes, he actually says, "I don't wanna brush my teeth, I want green teeth like a pirate!" And even Ivan can sing "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" (It's actually adorable when he does it.)

So it's no surprise that they wanted to be pirates for Halloween this year. The whole fam-damly (that's an Uncle Brad quote, sorry Aaron) dressed up as pirates. We made quite the crew. But the best part, by far, was our ship.

We like to take the kids trick-or-treating via wagon, because they love the wagon, and stay in it well, and that way the are very easy to keep track of in the dark when there are millions of small children running around. Last year we dressed the wagon up as a fire truck. This year, Aaron turned it into a pirate ship. I was very impressed. And it didn't take him nearly as long as the fire truck took us last year.

Here are the two little scally-wags all decked out in their pirate gear. Ivan was supposed to wear a hat like Lincoln's, but he refused. He wanted to wear a bandanna for about 2 minutes, but by the time we were ready for the picture he was done with it, and wouldn't have anything to do with it the rest of the night. But he was still a cute little pirate. I gave him some scruff with an eyeliner pencil. Lincoln got a mustache.

And I guess Aaron and Adelia and I are the landlubbers, since we didn't fit in the ship. :) Aaron didn't shave for three days, so his scruff is authentic. And I did my hair in dreds, using a lot of hair putty and hair spray and a flat iron. It turned out awesome. I had someone come up to me at trunk or treat and say, "I just have to ask, because it's short enough that it could be your real hair." Yup, my real hair. We didn't do much trick or treating this year because it rained most of the day. In fact the only time it stopped raining was for about a half an hour right as the ward trunk or treat started. It was dry long enough for us to make it through all the cars, and then it started raining again.

After trunk or treat, Ryan and Melissa and Kelly and Esther came over for a little Halloween party. Kelly and Esther brought pizza, Ryan and Melissa made dirt pudding, and Aaron and I made pumpkin cookies and wassel. After the boys went to bed we watched Sherlock Holmes. It seemed like a fitting Halloween movie. And it is one of my very favorites. I just think it's so well done.