How to tell Halloween is near

In the days before Halloween, hearing the question "How many more days 'til we go trick or treatin'?" on a regular basis can be a dead giveaway that the holiday is approaching. In addition to this repetitive question, the fall weather, pumpkins on porches, and seasonal displays in stores, there are a few other clues that signal Halloween is near.

For instance, there are field trips to the pumpkin patch, complete with hayrides, a tunnel slide, pretend cow milking, and jumping off bales of hay, to name just a few of the activities. (Aunt Tricia chaperoned in my nephew's class, and I'm so thankful she was able to snap a few great photos of Jacob while she was there.)







Another indicator Halloween is around the corner? Preschool Halloween costume parties.





Black cats crossing your path is also a sign.



Sure, most cats lick themselves, but maybe others chew on their tails.


Picking out pumpkins, of course.



Decorating your own pumpkin (with Halloween and Spiderman stickers, naturally).




Acting extra scary and spooky.


And lastly, Jeff's Halloween wig, which makes an appearance this time every year. It has become a tradition for everyone to try it on. Some of its wearers look simply ravishing (that's a synonym for ridiculous, right?), while others look downright frightening.

Helllooo, Gorgeous. The wig's rightful owner.

And here would be an example of the "downright frightening" I warned you about. I look at this picture and imagine I'll look a little something like this when I'm about 78 years old. All that's missing is a housedress, a hairnet, and if I smoked, a cigarette dangling from my mouth would be the perfect accessory for this look. A very scary Halloween photo for sure.

Aunt Tricia even modeled the gorgeous hairpiece.


And of course, we had to stick the wigs on the kids' heads. Somehow they don't look as scary as the adults. But they do look hilarious. And a bit like little Orphan Annie.


Jacob was eager to model the wig.

Remember that scene in "Annie", when she fights the Clone Troopers with her light saber? Wait a minute...perhaps I'm combining a couple of different movies...


Even cousins tried it on for size. Some a bit more reluctantly than others, but we made it happen.



And of course I didn't leave Will out of the fashion show.


No one will be wearing the wig on Halloween, but hopefully we can still manage to look good without it.
We can't wait for Halloween!