Growing up (and still today), Halloween was the kick-off to a long-awaited holiday season.

Picking up knifing skills from dear old dad. How about the back of the pumpkin matching our beautiful, multi-colored carpet?
In the small Iowa town where I grew up, we had costume parties at school (when you used to be able to call it a Halloween party complete with witches and bats, instead of a bland Fall Festival with scarecrows and hay bales – why were party poopers invented?), parades to prance proudly down our eight block Main Street (where every single on of the 1,200 citizens seemed to show up) and trick-or-treating mania where I’d have to come home halfway through the evening – and dump my candy hiding it all from my dad in the dryer or it’d be gone by morning) because my pumpkin got so overloaded, it was too heavy for me to carry.

What better way to celebrate Halloween than to dress up as Cookie Monster and pedal your best lookin’ stuffed animals on a parade through town? Forget my adorableness for one second – what about the clown behind #165?

Spectator sport for the entire town (there’s still time for you to go this year). And let’s discuss my mom’s creativity with the cookie wheels… genius!
Carrying the burden of celebrating Halloween by myself, being a lone Cookie Monster got frustrating.
Therefore, I begged my parents to procreate so I could have a partner in crime. And lucky for me, I was presented with my sister who was immediately awarded with side kickin’ it as my lifetime partner-in-crime (lucky her). If I was going to be dressing up (oftentimes making an ass out of myself in later years) she was going to be doing it too, by God (town parades included).
In the beginning of our twosome, we were all about cutesy costumes.
And the ‘cute’ theme seemed to carry on in our early years. Except for the tilt in our heads. And the fog in the background…
As we got a little older, I suppose we wanted to be edgy (or as edgy an elementary kid and toddler could be). I let my young inner badass out, as my sister started to scare the pants off no one.

That’s right. I was a badass even in elementary school. My Fisher Price mobile cassette player really upped my ante of rockstardom.
We kept it in the almost scary department as my sister joined me in grade school.
Then I graduated to truly frightening and fearful territory as I crept toward junior high.Β Pebbles looks less than horrified as I try my best scare tactic on her.

I’m also starting to wonder if there was any other color of hair paint than green, since that tends to be a trend here.
As we thought we were oh so grown up our costumes reflected our mature attitudes.
Only to remind ourselves in following years just how far from adults we were…especially yours truly. A recycled mask and costume from previous years (where’s the green hair spray? Lose your creative juices and get lazy on us, Mom?!) hid my “I’m way too old for this shit” attitude toward trick-or-treating.
And being older we’re not so much cute, cuddly or even scary creatures…we’re just mostly cocktailed.
Now that we’re miles apart during the costuming time of year, it’s fun to look back at our sisterly ghosts of Halloweens past.Β I can’t wait to see what her little monsters will be for their first Halloween.
You should take a look at the old skeletons in your closet.
You aren’t a fraidy cat, are you?
CBXB
I like all of the pictures but you look sooooo adorable on the first. So cute :).
Something about pumpkins around a toddler! Thank you!
Happy Halloween!!!! Love the happy-scary photos!! π
Thank you S’N’T! Happy Halloween right back at you! BOO.
I was very amuse to see these old Halloween photos of your past and I love to see you as Cooky monster, here you had already that determined look ! The twins……………. they are so cute in their Halloween jumpsuits, so adorable π !
I know, I might die over how stinking cute the twins are – the get cuter every day! And it’s hard not to be adorable in a Cookie Monster outfit…maybe that’s what the twins will be one day!
What ………….cookie monsters ? They will be one of the cuties kids in the world you can see on their faces ! Wish you a very lovely day, I’m working on my Halloween post and I will be happy to finished it today ! See you :).
Can’t wait to read your Halloween post!
Haha, this is awesome! Raggedy Ann, Cookie Monster β€ so so cute!
That clown in the first pic… Just…
I NEVER celebrated Halloween so I'm double happy you posted all these, so cool!
B & B better prepare themselves now, a lifetime of hair paint (there's sooo many colours now : D or HAIR CHALK, woohoo!), wigs and broadway style costumes awaits them.
Amazing post.
Thank you CD! I’m happy to help you revel in Halloween fun since you never celebrated – you know there’s no time like the present to begin!
Poor little B & B are SO in for it…they won’t know what hit them from year to year!
And yes, that clown…still haunts me today! π
Love the cookie monster! And I guess that pink hair had a lasting impression. Keep the costumes going! I dressed up this year for the first time sincr…um…1876?
Yes, Halloween must have been where my love of unnatural hair colors began! I can’t help but dress up for Halloween…it’s too fun not to! What did you dress up for this year? I mean, it’s been what, 150 years since you did last time?!
These photos are too awesome! Cookie Monster is almost at an illegal level of adorable, and when I saw your Fisher Price tape player, I got so excited, I tried to do a backflip and faceplanted. I had that same one! I used to listen to the Ghostbusters 2 soundtrack cassette on there- even the Bobby Brown song!
A great stroll down memory lane!
How’s the face? I’m sorry to cause extreme over excitedness due to a Fisher Price tape player, but c’mon! It was worth it, right? Did you have to ice your face?
I think that “illegal level of adorable” may go into my all time favorite phrases now.
Oh no, it was totally worth it! And I fully look forward to any future faintings from any awesome 80’s toy you may feature on future posts.
I actually tried the ‘ol cold steak on the face routine they do on sitcoms and cartoons. It didn’t work, but it made for a delicious dinner!
Awesome! I’m honored it could make it into the hall of fame!
Oh boy, do I have 80’s toys galore. My mom was a preschool teacher, so we had (and still have) all kinds of goodies at our fingertips while we were growing up. And the many photos capturing our good times. I will try to give you a head’s up before I post, so as you can warn your face. Or, go get a bag of peas (skipping the steak that didn’t work this time around).
That’s awesome! I am putting in a request for such a post on those awesome throwback toys! Maybe in a similar vein to this Halloween post, like of Christmases past and the awesome toys that went with it! I’ll start buying the frozen peas now in anticipation for my faint!
Done and done!
Super Halloween costumes. Especially love the cookie monster one…so cute! π
Appreciate the love! I think that Cookie Monster adds adorable to anyone. Maybe I should go again as him this year? π
Love your caption to photo #1! And where can I get some out that carpeting as featured in photo #2?!?
The tilted heads and foggy background in the one pic! Yikes! π―
Can you say low budget, but scary ass horror film?!?
Oh all of my Halloweens of youth were low budget! And seemingly straight out of a horror movie – especially with that creepy fog! The carpet remains in the house where I grew up. I will see if I can’t get you a sliver for you to admire for the rest of your life.
lol adorable pictures! you looked like quite the little troublemaker!
A little trouble never hurt anyone, right? π