anyway, when i was growing up, every year we had a giant neighborhood and friend extravaganza at my parents' house. my mom would cook chili and/or gumbo and everyone would show up decked out in their costumes. we'd play in the yard and get ready for trick or treating and wait for my dad to emerge from wherever he went to concoct his last minute costume awesomeness. every year was something great - some stand-outs i remember specifically were the phantom of the "mopera" (where he wore a cape and had a dust mop on his head); the headless horseman (the horse was a broom and he hauled a jack-o-lantern around with him ALL night - such dedication); and the cannibal (his spear was a garden tomato stake with strips of wallpaper attached - genius). dad would show up right around the time we started gathering in the front yard and he would fly out like a banshee and scare us all (in the best way possible - lots of screeching and giggling). the scaring would continue as our entourage made its way through the neighborhood and he would hide in various locales, strategically popping out when we least expected. when we made our way back home, all the kids gathered in joe's room for the great candy swap - sotherby's would be impressed by our auctioning skills, i must say. scaring would continue as we turned out lights and freaked ourselves out and glowing pumpkins would float by the windows outside (courtesy of my and other kids' dads). it was always just a fantastic day.
so, we have a lot to live up to in creating these childhood memories for emme. since this was the first halloween and candy isn't part of her diet yet, we decided on no trick or treating. but, we had some friends over and jb and i had the first annual browne vs. browne chili cook off. justin cooked "true texas chili" - beef, spicy, no beans; while i stuck with my less hardcore chili - turkey, mild, three types of beans. each of them turned out delicious, if i do say so myself. we had about a gazillion trick or treaters. seriously, i was amazed. we never had a single real trick or treater at our old house, so this was super fun. we went through two gigantic bags of my candy, then we had to send kim back to their house to get their candy, THEN we went through all the neighbor's candy as well. whew!
i made emme's costume this year and it's a tradition i hope to continue until she makes me stop. ha! she was a crawfish (some of my yankee friends may call her a lobster, but nay - a crawfish i say!). she was actually a pretty good sport for about 8 minutes and then she was definitely over the claws (and the skirt too). as with lots of homemade things i attempt, this didn't turn out quite the way i hoped/planned, but she was pretty cute nonetheless. we even got a few family shots which are few and far-between over here. can't wait to see what this little bunny will be doing next year! and now for the picture onslaught....
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