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ISLA
After we all get dressed in our costumes, we meet in the foyer. Even though we all agreed on Pokémon, none of the guys knew the specifics. Their shock makes it worth it when they see we are all different characters.
Vivan is Pikachu, complete with a tail and spots of blush on her cheeks. Lochlan is Squirtle and has little plastic water guns, while Arden is Bulbasaur. Maw-Maw even helped me make him a bulb backpack to complete the look. It’s the most I’ve ever been able to put into costumes and it shows.
The guys also look amazing in the onesies I was able to find for us online. Bodie is almost realistic as Charizard. I found him a costume–that actually fits his viking frame– and it even has attached wings and a tail. We even went the extra mile by stuffing the tail full of padding and gluing some felt fake flames to it. The grin on his face as he slid it on matched the kids’.
Silas has to wear a fattening pad under his Snorlax outfit, and it’s hard not to laugh. Odin makes an adorable Mew with the felt kitty paws we customized while Orin is just as cute as Lucario, with his shorts and fake ears. Callum is an impressive Palkia with a painted plastic shield attached to his shoulder.
I round out the group dressed as the original Ash Ketchum, including a baseball cap and belt with plastic toy Pokéballs clipped on. They’re even the kind that make noises so I can pretend to throw them.
We look great, if I do say so myself.
My grandmother walks into the foyer with a camera, and we all gather around her. “Before y’all head out, I want plenty of pictures, so line up on that wall over there. Bodie and Callum you two get in the back, since y’all are the tallest. Isla you’re in the middle with the twins. Silas you can kneel down with the kids.” Once she has us where she wants us, she starts snapping away, and my face actually starts to hurt from holding my smile. Oh come on, how many pictures does she need?
“Alright already Maw-Maw, that’s enough pictures. We won’t have any time left to trick-or-treat if we don’t hurry. It’s five now, and the party starts at seven so we’ll be back by then!” I call, ushering everyone out the door. “I’ll take my SUV with the kids and whoever wants to ride with me, the rest are going to have to take Bodie’s truck. I don’t know where we are going so I’ll follow y’all.”
Bodie walks over and kisses me, “Okay Angel, we’re just going to the neighborhood next to the school since that’s the best place to go. Let’s go ahead and load up.” On that note, we separate in the driveway after the guys help me get the kids in the car. Thankfully the kids' costumes are safe for the car seats so I don’t have to take them off.
It’s only a fifteen minute drive to where we are going, and I spend the trip listening to Silas and Orin joke with the kids. The guys all had a race to decide who would ride with me, and since they beat the others they are smug about it. As I pull up to the roadside where Bodie parked his truck, we can clearly see the amount of effort everyone that lives here put into decorations.
I’m in the middle of unbuckling Vivian from her seat when Callum and Odin walk over to help get the boys and the kids’ buckets.
I line the kids up next to the SUV, putting glowstick necklaces on each one. “Okay kids, same rules as always. You need to have two adults with you at all times, and make sure to stay on the sidewalk. Don’t try to cross the road unless someone is holding your hand. If we have to get on to any of you more than twice we will all leave, understood?”
All three say yes ma’am so we pair off each with a kid in between us. Bodie and I have Vivian, Silas and Callum take Lochlan, while the twins have Arden.
It’s our first time celebrating holidays with men who love us, and the kids are obviously having a blast, since they only have been one other time. Corin was working that night and I took them regardless of the fact he would be pissed. He hated Halloween, calling it ‘The Devil’s Day’, but it was always my favorite growing up. I love everything about the holidays, and I’m thrilled to actually get to pass that love on to my kids.
We have been trick-or-treating for about an hour, the kids’ buckets are completely full, and Vivian is now being carried by Bodie, so we decide to head home to get the kids situated before the party starts.
Arden is holding Odin’s hand, Orin carrying his bucket, while Lochlan is clinging to Silas and Callum has his bucket. I’m walking behind everyone enjoying the fact my kids now have so many people in their life that love them. It was always just me, and my grandmother behind a screen. I don’t think I could put into words how amazing it is watching them come out of their shell and be comfortable with these men.
When we make it back to the cars and the guys are helping get the kids and everything loaded up, Arden hugs Odin while he’s buckling his seatbelt. “Thank you for being the best daddies ever and spending time with us. I love you.”
Odin looks two seconds away from tears, as he replies. “We love y’all three so much bud, and we enjoy spending time with you. That will never change.” He kisses the top of Arden’s head before turning to me. “We’ll follow y’all home.”
Silas grabs my keys, saying, “I’ll drive Wildflower.”
“Thanks Si, I really don’t like driving,” I tell him, climbing into the car door he opened for me. It’s the little things they do that make me realize how lucky I got to find not just one amazing man, but five.
When we get back to the house it looks like people have already started showing up. We pull our cars into the four car garage, so they will be out of the way. “Okay, so here is the plan kiddos. I’m going to let you each have two pieces of candy, then the buckets will be put up. Your friends will be here shortly, so do you want to keep your costumes on or change into your Halloween pjs?”
“PJS!” they all call out at once.
I laugh at their enthusiasm. “I guess it’s a good thing I put them in the library, since I figured y'all would want them. So let’s go get changed and y’all can play while we wait till your friends get here.”
We get the kids upstairs and settled in their jammies with the sitters in the playroom. Maw-Maw has a projector set up and Hotel Transylvania is ready to play when the kids get here, along with trays of ‘spooky’ snacks that I’m one hundred percent sure Bodie made. There are also a bunch of Halloween themed games set up around the room. We invited both boys’ classes and made sure the invitations included siblings. They should have a blast, and I’m once again thankful to have help taking care of them.
The five of us make it to foyer as people are starting to trickle in, and even though I was here for the set-up, I have got to say the decorators outdid themselves. I showed them the scribbled idea I had for the haunted house and wrote a blank check with a ridiculous budget, but it was worth it, since the whole house is completely decked out top to bottom, inside and out.
There are only a couple areas locked and blocked off. My grandmother’s, mine, and the guys' living areas, as well as my grandmother’s office. Everywhere else is part of the haunted house. The wing where the playroom is has hired security that is checking IDs to get down the hall, and since it’s the only room down that hall, no one but parents should be down there. We have it set up so that in order to leave with a child, you have to show the matching wristband received when you drop your child off. With the stalker still unidentified, we are taking no chances.
As the guys look around at everything, I try to explain the thought process behind it. “I wanted it to be set up like a maze, so all the sliding doors that are normally shut to keep the tiny monsters from getting into everything are open, and each room has a different theme. You have to make it all the way through to the end to get to the party, so let’s get going! ” I tell them, leading them to the starting point.
Too bad I forgot to mention the main reason the kids have their own party, is because I hired scare actors for some of the rooms so it’ll be more like an actual haunted house.
“Okay, to be honest, I don’t actually know what any of the rooms are. I told them a budget, how scary I wanted it, and let them go at it. I also didn’t think about the idea that I'm a complete chicken shit. So let’s get this over with, I’m ready for food.” I make sure I’m in the middle while I lead them to the sitting room. It's marked with a huge ‘enter’ sign and the path is marked with caution tape.
