Halloween and Masquerades

Oh Halloween, how I love thee. I know I should like Christmas the best, but there is just something so wonderfully un-sanctimonious about Halloween. No expectations as far as reflecting on bigger things, no guilt about not spending it with relatives or forgetting to send a card to my great aunt. Halloween is just a day of fun, no strings attached. And it has lots of chocolate and the chance for us to take all of our repressed emotions and channel it into whatever costume/character we want to play. And did I mention chocolate?

Oh, and if you have kids, it's also full of all kinds of cuteness, such as...

We had a party with Apollo's friends. We drank "witches brew," made sugar cookies, and danced around the house.

Sunshine kissed Asher right after I took this picture. So cute.

Oh, and don't you worry. Unlike Christmas, when we usually just skip the presents for the adults and make it all about the kids, Halloween is one holiday where Cam and I try to make sure we get our fair share of partying too.

This year, we went to the Columbia Tower in Seattle for a Masquerade ball.

The Columbia Tower is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle Skyline, as well as the tallest building in the State of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It's like the Shaquille O'Neal of buildings. And we got to party on the top floor! Woot Woot!

Our friends Rachel and Noah are a little less redneck than us and belong to the highbrow Columbia club. We were excited to bring a little lowbrow to the mix.

We went as members from "Alice in Wonderland."

Cameron sewed a dress that would accommodate my pregnant belly. I can't stop bragging about him. He's the best. We made our masks out of plaster and painted them. It was fun. Here is Rachel with her mask drying.

Anyways... back to the party. It rocked. The food was amazing. There was an entire room devoted solely to dessert with chocolate fountain taller than Cameron. No, I'm not exaggerating. Can you say heaven? I tried to get a picture of the fountain, but when I went back to photograph it they had taken it down. Tear.

Yes, I took pictures of the food. It's what I do.

The view was awesome, but you can't tell from the pictures because we still don't know how to use our new camera. I was pointing at the Space Needle in this one. It looked like a midget.

Hi, I look really pregnant from the side,

Me and my sister, the White Queen. Don't worry, we're friends.

Can I just say I LOVE being able to cake on the makeup? I may make turquoise eyeshadow and bright red lipstick a daily thing. And maybe the crown too.

Pinkies in the air, people!

We made a few friends.

Our group came in second place in the costume contest. We were robbed, I tell ya.

There was a psychic in one room who read our fortunes. She told me I am having a boy. She also said my mom will go on a trip to an Asian Country. I was really hoping for some winning lottery numbers, but oh well.

There was also a magician, a fire swallower, and some really amazing gymnasts who apparently had backbones made of rubber.

Ouch. It makes me hurt just looking at it.

But the coolest part? The bathroom. Well, no, the dessert room, but the bathroom was the coolest bathroom I have ever seen. I truly felt like I was sitting on a throne.

The sign, telling guys they aren't allowed to use the ladies totally way-more-awesomer-than-theirs bathroom

There are about six stalls and the toilets all face a giant glass window where you get to sit on the throne and look down on the Seattle skyline. Again, the pictures suck because I couldn't turn the flash off, but just imagine peeing on a cloud. It was neato.

It was a blast. I felt a bit deflated when we climbed into our dented Buick and I felt Cheerios crunching beneath my feet. The kids stayed the night at Cameron's mom's. We went to bed at 2:00 a.m. and I got up at 5:00 a.m. to go to a leadership retreat for work the next day. I was reminded why I don't keep those hours anymore. I'm still paying for it, but it was SO worth it.

Oh Halloween, I can't wait to see what else you have in store. You're my favorite.