Boo

The next year, Vivian will be a princess for Halloween. And for the next decade or two. We get to pick this once - so she's a punk rocker. And then we accessorize with her. A family of punks. Vivian is Goth, Jo goes with purple highlights and pigtails - new rock punk I suppose, and I am old school.

Vivian loves her costume. She's a natural - black boots, black tights, a black tee ("My Dad Rocks"), and a Mohawk with a tinge of purple on the very tips of the fin. One thing she won't be mistaken for is a "Kansas City ....." by Erik.

Her cousins are a Motocross racer, a mermaid, a pirate, and a couple of princesses. Brandon is Tigger. Elanor is a bee. Simran is a blond glamorous actress with a pink boa. Essy is a ballet dancer in a tutu. Ana Maria is something bloody. Paul is a Jedi. Izzy and Sophie are princesses. Ben is in a black skeleton suit. Lennie scares the boogers out of the kids and most of the moms by standing around quietly in a scary mask and a St. Francis outfit. Nobody including myself have the slightest who he is till he pulls of his mask.

We slip in a Rocky Horror Show DVD for the kids. The adults stand around and chat. It's obvious that this year it's different. There are more than a dozen children running around, and one of Marta's Unbreakable Pinatas hangs in the backyard. The guests leave an hour after midnight. We don't have a single sleep-over. The hot tub remains idle. And Gunner doesn't do what he normally does on Halloween (hmmm - scratch that one - he wasn't here, so I don't know for sure).

Next year, if Grandma isn't working, maybe she'll be nice enough to chill with Vivian and we'll sneak in one last party like the old times before it's princesses for us. See our Halloween pics (and some others) in a slideshow.