With Halloween Over, it's the Final Countdown

It should come as no surprise for those who know him that Eli wanted to be a superhero this year for Halloween.  He would have been happy being either Spiderman or Superman, but I convinced him that Superman would be better.  The reason: he already had a Superman shirt, so I figured the rest would be easy and cheap.

Eli told me very loudly and clearly that he would not wear red Superman underwear.  "I don't want people to make fun of me," he said.  That was fine by me.  That meant all I had to do was find some blue pants and probably make a red cape and a yellow belt.  Unfortunately, finding the right color of blue pants was not as easy as I thought it would be.  There were lots of navy blue pants and some other hues of blue, but none were the color I was looking for.  Then I saw one of Josh's old t-shirts that he rarely wears (it was the perfect color), and I thought, how hard could it be to make a pair of pants with an elastic band.  It turns out I was right--they're not that hard.  And they're cheap since I already had the fabric and could make a pattern with an old pair of pants.

The cape and belt were also easy and cheap.  I bought a large red adult t-shirt that was on sale for $2.50 at Joann's and some cheap red and yellow felt.  I made up a pattern for the belt and followed a free pattern online for the cape.  Then I bought some cheap $1.50 red flip-flops.  Fortunately, we can still wear flip-flops on Halloween here in Houston.  In fact, since we're still wearing shorts too, I tried to convince Eli to be a warm-weathered Superman.  He already had a pair of blue shorts, but he wouldn't go for it.  He insisted that Superman must wear pants.

Eli was SO excited for Halloween.  I do not remember getting very excited about Halloween.  Christmas, yes.  Halloween, not so much.  The night before, Eli said, "I'm so glad it's bedtime (something he never says) because when I wake up, it's Halloween."  The next morning he ran out of his bedroom very excitedly and said, "YAY, it's HALLOWEEN!" 

Of course, we went to our annual trunk or treat at the church, but we also did some trick or treating at houses as well.  Something changed significantly in one year.  Last year he hated all the spooky stuff, so trick or treating at houses was much too scary.  This year he loved it and couldn't get enough.  He would have done more, but I was done, and it was getting past his bedtime.  Now we have a ton of candy that I have to figure out how to let him eat without eating too much.  I guess that's what Josh and I are here for. ;-) 

When we carved the pumpkin, this is the face Eli wanted us to carve.

This was the result.  Can you see the semblance? :-)

Even when he's not wearing a Superman costume, Eli likes to stick out his chest and show us how strong he is.

Eli told me he wanted a trick or treat bag with a ghost on it that said boo.  This was the result.

Now that Halloween is over, we're nearing the end of our time here in Houston.  We have less than 3 weeks before we pack everything up and say good-bye to the state of Texas.  It's a sad thought, but we're trying to keep it happy by thinking of the wonderful Washington we'll be going to, right?  I have to convince myself.  Even Josh told me that he has some of that Texas pride that people here in Texas talk about.  We have become Texans, and we will shed some tears (I already have).  It is definitely a relocation.   After all, it's over 2500 miles away, across half a dozen states, in a completely different climate (I will be boxing up my shorts that I'm currently wearing and trying to find my coat), two time zones behind, and it's a blue state, not red. :-)  But we know that the Lord has His hand in it and that we need to go.  So, in trying to think positive, happy thoughts, we are excited to move much, much closer to family.  It's beautiful in Washington, and I will get to enjoy the outdoors during the summer instead of sitting in my air conditioned house.  And we get to move to a home.  We're still renting, but it's a home, and we are excited!  Now, does anyone want to come help me pack and clean?