I saved the best for last.

Last weekend, the family drove to Columbia to attend Boo at the Zoo. Did you know that Daphne and Fred got married and had a ninja, a Power Ranger and a princess? 

Cate's costume was completely thrown together. A ballerina suit, a pink hoodie and a ski hat. She danced the night away. Here, she's getting down to "Hit the Road Jack". She's a liberated princess. 

Her ensemble is a little less Etsy than the one she wore last year. I love that costume so much I could eat it. (And she may have been actually be trying to eat it.)

Blake has worn his Power Ranger suit so many times—to the gym, on playdates, through the carpool line— it has holes in it. He's not concerned. 

Dillon's ninja costume is new, but Shawn and I pulled Daphne and Fred out of the attic. It's a throwback to Halloween 2010, when we dressed up as the cast of Scooby Doo. Even my mom and stepdad joined in.

The Daphne costume annoys me—the wig is itchy—and I'm not looking forward to dressing up as her again tonight. But Fred's counting on me.

Last year, the boys and the men were superheroes, and I got away with not wearing a costume at all. I said I was a Candy Giver Outer. The year before that, when I was pregnant with Cate, I posed with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Yoda wearing a Star Wars-ish t-shirt and maternity jeans. I think I liked that costume even better than Candy Giver Outer. 

But my all-time favorite Halloween memory is from 2008, when I dressed Dillon (aka ninja, Luke, and Scooby) as the UPS man.

I found some real, on duty UPS men to take a picture with him, and then Dillon joined my stepdad who was dressed up as the package.

Homemade, handmade awesomeness. Perhaps they should open an Etsy shop?