tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565921628653209307.post-16975148170214063752007-10-31T18:44:00.001-05:002008-04-22T11:18:18.934-05:002008-04-22T11:18:18.934-05:00<div align="justify">It is still Halloween as I post this, but my kids are out with their dad, so I have time to play with the pictures I took before they went out in the cold (and wind!) Here in Anthony, we have a "parade" downtown where the merchants hand candy out to the kids and it ends up at Municipal Hall where there is a costume contest. It is broken down into age groups, so thankfully my son and daughter were in two different groups.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_kwLubkUT4yw/RykVafF3uwI/AAAAAAAAAGg/BOAOaea7ADs/s1600-h/Pippi.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127653195504925442" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_kwLubkUT4yw/RykVafF3uwI/AAAAAAAAAGg/BOAOaea7ADs/s200/Pippi.jpg" border="0" /></a>My daughter's group was before my son's, and I stood on stage with her as the three "judges" discussed their favorite costumes. I saw them whispering about Anna and hoped for the best. I gave her one last whisper of, "remember if you don't win, be happy for the person who does..." just before they awarded the winner- a huge pink purse- which was really cute (of course, not as cute as my Anna!) but you could tell a lot of work went into it. Later, when we got into the van, Anna was just happy that people recognized that she was dressed as Pippi Longstocking! Apparently that was enough for her! (And it helped my ego when people kept asking how we got her hair to stay up. I couldn't believe they couldn't see the wire!)</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_kwLubkUT4yw/RykXTPF3uxI/AAAAAAAAAGo/17itsxssSDU/s1600-h/OfficerThomas.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127655269974129426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_kwLubkUT4yw/RykXTPF3uxI/AAAAAAAAAGo/17itsxssSDU/s200/OfficerThomas.jpg" border="0" /></a>Thomas went up with the first grade group, and we got into position so that we could see the action. We scoped out the competition. Anna wanted me to hoist her up so she could see, which made me think that the braids weren't such a good idea after all. I must have gotten poked in the eye three times! But when I saw the emcee walk towards Thomas with the "envelope" and announce, "the judges don't want to get arrested after the contest!" I forgot about my eyeball and beamed with pride. (Of course, I immediately worried about Anna feeling jilted, but she had just been handed a half-dollar for her contest so she didn't really notice.) Thomas stepped to the front of the stage where pictures were taken of the winner from each group. Of course, I didn't have my camera for some strange reason, but we took pictures later at home. Isn't he adorable?!</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">If you would like to share your child's Halloween pictures, please feel free and I'll post them on the blog. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Here are Lisa's children from <a href="http://www.busybuds.com/halloween.htm">Busy Buds</a></div>Eviehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06856010546964996867noreply@blogger.com2