This is Halloween! Everybody shout and scream!

I love October. I love fall. I love it, I love it, I love it! This October has been particularly awesome:

RennFest - Smash, Reimsy, Amy, and I attended the Maryland Rennaissance Festival near Annapolis and had an absolute blast. We enjoyed watching jousting, sword swallowing, window shopping, and parading around in our finest RennFest gear. (Reimsy is wearing a Halloween costume of mine. Thanks Miss Giggles) In the picture, I'm the little sprite peaking around on the right.

My Brother! - My brother FINALLY returned home from his mission. He first left right for Atlanta, Georgia, after I graduated from BYU. After completely shattering his elbow, he was eventually sent home for more surgeries and recovery. He was able to drive me out to DC and returned to the area four days later to complete his mission in Baltimore. I was able to see him twice during his mission, and on his last day here. I went with him and the other "Go Homes" to the temple, then to the mission home for dinner and a testimony meeting. It was a really special experience. While it's a little sad that he's no longer within a couple hours driving distance from me, it's great to be able to talk to him more often. It was a lifetime ago that he first left! This picture is one of my favorites of us, from our cross-country drive. (Proof that I did drive at least some of the time.)

And, of course, HALLOWEEN!!

If you can't tell, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love putting together fantastic costumes and dressing up.

Two years ago was one of my favorite costumes (the same dress Reimsy wore):

I was recreating this painting:

I also love the other activities associated with Halloween. We did pumpkin carving for FHE last Monday (I'm leaning on my BYU pumpkin. Photo courtesy of Shelley.)

This week, we took a ghost tour of Lafayette Square, supposedly the most haunted site in all of DC. We learned about ghosts including Dolly Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Phillip Barton Key, and others. It was really interesting. While we saw no ghosts, a rat did run by at a rather crucial moment in a story, and it was really funny to watch the whole front row jump back.

Last night, several of us attended the High Heel Drag Race in Dupont Circle. We had a perfect vantage point for the race, right on the edge of the sidewalk. The race itself is quite entertaining, but is only two blocks long and over quite quickly. So, the most fun is had during the promenade before the event, as all the participants can walk around the race route and show off. I almost wasn't able to go, but I'm glad I did. It's a very DC thing to do, and we all enjoyed it.

Going out of order a little, Friday was the 6th Annual Halloween Barn Dance, sponsored by one of the wards out here. It's a bit of a drive, but we made a smaller party just out of getting ready and that was almost as much fun. My friends rock.

Here's the gang:

And here's Aphrodite, AKA me:



I'm actually dressed like that today, and while my evening plans mostly involve studying, it's still Halloween. I did just win "cutest" among those in my building, so that's excellent news. I've also watched several ghost specials on TV, and I'm listening to EVPs on 101.9 The End this morning. Good times!

Hooray for one of my favorite months!

Have a Happy (and safe!!) Halloween!!