Hermione Granger, Red Power Ranger, and Fireman Mo

I didn't try to influence the kids with their costumes this year. That's a lie - Bridget wanted to be a disco dancer and...no. It didn't take much to talk her out of that and into being Hermione Granger. For about two years now, Brian and Bridget have been reading the Harry Potter books every night (except the nights Brian gets home too late). They're on the 5th one right now. I love to see and hear them reading together. In the last few months Bridget has started reading on her own for fun, which is huge. I think the time she's spent reading with her Dad has ignited her love for reading. 

Brian kneels by her bed to read. :) I read to the boys on the bottom bunk every night. The three of us fit side-by-side on that twin bed. So! Bridget's costume for 4th grade is Hermione! I bought the robe, tie, and wand from the official Harry Potter Shop and now they won't stop emailing me. I texted my fellow-nerd and sister Katy and asked if she could make a Mrs. Weasley-esque scarf to go with the robe. I got it the next day in the mail. Ha! But, for real, she whipped that thing up so fast! Costume secured, Bridget and I went to the local museum for their Harry Potter-themed night and I noticed they have a Hogwart's Express sign above their door. Like, all the time - not just for the Harry Potter night. I rented a trunk from a nearby antique store (when we pulled up to the store the boys asked, "Is this a junk yard?") and a broom from a nice neighbor's Halloween porch display. All this equals my favorite:

Hermione - first in line for the Hogwart's Express and reading a giant book to pass the time. It was totally raining outside, by the way. When I told Bridget to look up, she put her finger on the page to hold her spot - she was actually reading it. Funny girl. (It's a copy of Alice in Wonderland.)

Bridget is a little disappointed that Hermione doesn't wear make-up, but other than that, it's been the best costume yet. And she's had some good ones!

Every time I asked Emil what costume he wanted for Halloween, he said Fred. But that's what he wore last year. I'm guessing he thought that was his permanent Halloween costume. He said "fireman" two times in a row, so I went ahead and bought a fireman costume. It's perfect! Yes, I paid too much for it, but I didn't have to run around town looking for costume parts and I was only considering my nerves this year. We went to the fire station to see if they'd let us take a few photos on a fire truck. No one was there! We knocked on all the doors and called out several times, but no one answered. It took less than five minutes, and it was the perfect setting.

Can you just peek the red suspenders? All the stripes are reflective, which makes him easy to spot in the dark. It's kind of the perfect costume. Emil had a hard time not smiling constantly.

There was never any question that Colin was going to be the Red Power Ranger. I thought that was a piece of cake, but I guess all the little boys want to be the Red Power Ranger. We had to settle for the weird dinosaur version (what?), which Colin was cool with, thank goodness. It is a MIRACLE that we still have the sword. We went to a small junk yard close to our house because I wanted to be true to the production value of a real episode of Power Rangers. Hahahahahaha! They're always in some parking lot or junk yard.

The big day is almost here - but really it's mostly been about the parties leading up to the trick-or-treating. And now I can't finish my thoughts because I have two boys patting me and trying to get my attention. Their plan worked.