Halloween costumes

Drew and I have been talked in to attending a Halloween bash at our friend Charon's country club this coming Friday night. So, on Saturday, Charon, her son Cameron, Drew, Rachel and I all trooped to a costume store in Alexandria. Drew, wisely, flagged it because it was a theatrical store as opposed to someplace like Party City, which has cheap costumes that are uncomfortable and that Rachel wouldn't even wear last year.

We were not disappointed. Rachel sat glumly watching us as we all tried on costumes, because Drew had told her that he'd already bought her a waitress costume for her birthday and to not expect us to buy her one this time. After a couple of false starts, Charon, Drew and I came up with a group theme -- King Henry the VIII and two of his wives (she and I may end up carrying the severed heads of two of the wives he beheaded). We had originally thought of going as Brigham Young and two of his many wives, with Drew carrying the Book of Mormon, but we couldn't find costumes that weren't unbearably frumpy. Whereas there is a big selection of Renaissance-era costumes. I'm wearing a tight velvet purple number, which will keep me nice and warm; Drew looks fabulous as a king; Charon will order something off the Internet, and we relented and bought Rachel a pirate fairy costume that she looks AWESOME in.

I'm actually getting excited for this party -- I think I may even go to a salon and get my hair braided and pinned up for the occasion.

We ran a couple of errands, took Rachel to her friend Libby's for a playdate, and then I raced out to L.L. Bean and bought some rain gear because we're getting a lot of precipitation lately and it comes down in waves, which means I can't get away with sneakers and an inadequate coat like I had in Oregon. Still have to run more errands (as I told Drew, the more I get done, the more I see that needs doing. Sigh), but it was a fruitful afternoon. Last night Drew heated up some Giordano's Pizza he had brought back from his conference in Chicago, and then he, Rachel and I all watched an American Girl movie about bullying (I winced and cried silently throughout), put Rachel to bed -- and then Drew and I continued watching "House of Cards." We hope to get caught up by the time the new season starts next January or so.