The Rest Of Our Halloween Night

For the past two years Rockstar, with or without the Miss, has spent virtually his entire school Halloween in the Cheese Brothers show.

As they get older however, more of his friends would visit and talk about the other attractions as well. That was how I was looking forward to a volunteer slot on set up at the Ghost Train hours before the party started (and before the ghouls would arrive to haunt the area).

The Miss was contentedly napping after a looong bubble bath and leisurely lunch following her school Halloween party in the morning.

Kings was on the way back from Manila that night so we planned to start partying Late, Til Even Later, and I tried to adjust the kids’ timing accordingly, a.k.a. everyone would be going down for a nap before coming to the party late. But, meantime:

Turns out to be a win-win for us, because I quite enjoy climbing about with string for an hour, and it saves us braving the crowd and ghouls when the party has actually started…

And then just like that, my volunteer slot is over and it’s time to go home and get everyone ready. By which, I mean this:

And feed the kids, get them in costume……. And……

Dithered for awhile re the Miss, because Rockstar chose this during his Light Saber Craze phase several months back, and so the Miss also had at least a mild thing for light sabers (and well, perpetually, Ninja Turtle weapons).

Now, Princess Leia does not carry light sabers.

The Miss is no help. When I try to tell her about Princess Leia to match her brother’s Luke costume (and how technically Princess Leia has power blasters), I get, “Not Princess Lee. (emphasizing each syllable) Miss-Rock-star“.

But… but… I tie her hair like that all the time. It would hardly even be that costume-y…

And – and – she might not even want to wear the Yoda hat…

<Spend some effort trying to see if she could be convinced to go with Princes Leia/ Padme Amidala’s blasters.> But then both of them are just raring to party with friends, and Rockstar doesn’t even carry his light saber in the end. S-o……….

…As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. We lucked out.

Of course we’re back to catch the Cheese Brothers show – 2 shows!

(One of Rockstar’s friends, whom the Miss is delighted to find under that mask, inspires her to turn and tell me seriously she wants a mask next time. This may herald the beginning of the end – the last time the Miss agrees to still wear something complementing Rockstar’s costume etc…)

The Miss starts to fidget during the second show…

We passed the hall while rushing to catch the Cheese Brothers and there appeared to be some obstacle course games that looked interesting, so after the shows we head on back.

Rockstar doesn’t want to go in, he wants to look for his friends downstairs. The Miss however, is beside herself with excitement because of all the tantalizing obstacles. She methodically sits down to remove her squeaky gold sandals like she’s been taught to do in pre-school before delightedly going nuts. The above is the only picture I could take of them because she keeps dashing off in an instant and I have to keep retrieving her from various obstacles.

Standing just in the doorway (because he hasn’t removed his shoes), her uptight older brother is about to go ballistic at the impropriety of it all, when a friend walks by. Friend’s mum thankfully steers her boy in, and so Superman and Luke play tag while I concentrate on scooping Princess Leia “Miss-Rock-star” out of the way whenever the older Obstacle Race-ing kids are about to start another round.

During a lull, we dash off to spend the rest of our Kennedy dollars at the second-hand book fair (which btw my mum friends had told me is brilliant, you can score some really good finds.) I can see other parents filling huge shopping bags with books, but even as the Miss delightedly scores a Spot The Dog in mint condition (with all the animal sound buttons still working! We don’t even need to put in new batteries!) Rockstar quickly scans the room twice and reports all the Geronimo Stilton must’ve been snapped up. And then……………………..

“I made that,” his mum says, as she shows us the jacket. And so Rockstar is mollified. We can get the books another day………

And the Kings has landed. We head home close to the end of the party, to meet Darth and put on JD’s outfit, initially meaning to make the last hour of the Bel Air Halloween party.

For the second time that evening, I balk at putting my costume on. This was what I originally got (yeah faded packaging and all – I meant to salvage what I could):

Totally chickened out. It…….. didn’t look that intimidating at first. But then the package finally came and…….. am I reading too much into it that it says “Secret Wishes For Playful Adults”??? <freak out>

I should’ve gone as Yoda.

Seriously. Total costume FAIL. Chickened out when the time came (partly cos it wouldn’t be the same as with Kings also in costume right, and partly cos I am not strapping that rubber…… thing on and running around at my kids’ school party). Couldn’t pull it off. Fail FAIL. (So in the lift selfie earlier I’m wearing a Splendid white tee with the silver armband to chase the kids around at the school party instead.)

In the end, instead of another rowdy party, Darth, Padme, Luke and Princess Leia “Miss Rockstar” and an At-at Walker opt for a quiet walk to a (now) deserted playground. In the dark, Darth, Padme and an At-at Walker watch Luke and Princess Leia “Miss Rockstar” play on the slides.

It turns out Rebel Alliance Pilot Flight Suits make you go much faster down slides.

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Epilogue:

Next morning everyone is hungover except the Miss. Who is STILL on the book she scored the previous night. 

3 days in, the batteries are still running…..