is she not the most adorable wicked witch ever? the green face paint was not as much of an ordeal to put on as i anticipated — she sat there so calm and serious (like her haircut) and did her absolute best not to touch it until it was dry. even refraining from talking fully so as not to disturb the drying paint (which led to her drooling bc she wouldn’t close her mouth all of the way which led to a paint-free spot around her chin by the end of the night). and then we were off!

jp’s parents joined us on our venture, which was to lead us through the lower highland up to root down for dinner. jp dressed as himself a lumberjack. and i put on some silly eyelashes and called it a day. ramona seemed less than enthused, not really understanding what was about to happen.

like senior citizens headed to their blue plate specials we began our trek when there was still ample light in the sky; surely we were many homes’ first knocking and begging guests. but whatever annoyance was displayed with our early biddings, you could see melt away when they looked at little miss ramona all dressed in black and green-faced, saying eagerly: trick or treat! and then, after they’d placed a fistful of candy in her basket, would stand there, staring, waiting for more. ha! we did our best to teach her to say “happy halloween” and then walk back to us but we often had little success in that. which worked to her advantage bc people fell for her ploy and more often than not put another stash of candy in her basket. smart girl.

soon after she was pointing at every single house (even the sketchy drug dens and hoarder homes) saying, “let’s go there! TRICK OR TREAT!” and i’m not surprised that my little brave one, independent and fearless and in love with people, ambled up to every front door on her own, on a mission. i think this holiday is going to be a hit with her in the years to come.

and because it’s fun and for posterity, photos my parents sent me as a little girl on halloween: