Happy Halloween

As I blogged last time, it was a week of discovery. That spilled into Halloween as well. We had costume chosen and one ready-to-go. Jack was all set to be a dragon, which was handy since we had the costume, and mind you he looks great in it. Lucas had chosen to be an octopus. He had been a fish once before so were we returning to an aquatic theme and trusting Kim to turn out something fantastic.

She couldn't find a pattern but was undaunted. She purchased some reddish-purple fleece and was ready to get started. Before she could squeeze in the time though they she and the kids

 made one of their frequent trips to empty the library of its contents. Among the many volumes brought home (Lucas has his own library card now) was a magazine on insects. In it he made a life altering discovery. I heard all about it when Kim dropped them off at campus for me to care for them while she taught. As she got out of the car she told me Lucas had something he was excited to read to me. Excited doesn't begin to do his enthusiasm justice. He was bursting at the seems to tell me about some beetles.
Dung Beetles in fact. Nothing could be funnier, not verbally anyway. Maybe someone falling down the steps with some pies, but that's a visual gag. This kid was on cloud nine to tell me how they laid their eggs in poop and then the babies ate it. What could be better? Remember, he and Jack are fond of singing about pooppy diapers (and who isn't, really?). Potty humor is the way to go. He was a happy boy.

He also had a new costume. Needless to say, he was going to be a dung beetle. No problem, Kim whipped one out in a jiffy and he was set. We usually take the kids trick-or-treating downtown, but this year it was decided to "do" the neighborhood with the neighbor kids - five in all. As is his nature, Lucas was very shy and hesitant to start. He didn't want to go to the door, he sure wasn't going to knock. Our neighbor, Kenny, wanted to see the kids but Lucas didn't want to approach. To his credit the porch light wasn't on, but we convinced him that Kenny would want to see him even if he wasn't giving out candy. Candy did the trick, all apprehension was quickly gone. From that point he wasn't just the first of the group to the door, he was sprinting away from one house en route to the next treat.

I had to work at a volleyball match so was only able to escort them to about six houses before I left. But I heard they had a great time and the dung beetle costume was very popular. Of course.