2010 Grand Ave. Boo Bash

Yesterday was the annual Boo Bash on Grand Ave. I was excited to participate in it this year and start a yearly tradition with Leif. Leif is still too young for most of the activities, like trick-or-treating, crafts and pony rides. So we stuck to the more baby friendly happenings.

We chose to enter Leif in the costume contest. (Jeff and I don't want to put too much of an emphasis on competition. But this contest had many winners and every kid got a festive bead necklace.) There were 10 winners in the 0-4 catagory (out of about 50 kids.) And one of them was this cute little garden gnome!!

Here we are waiting to hear how we did. The Mardi Gras beads were to identify the contestants. Leif enjoyed sucking on them.


The judges included mascots like the Timberwolves' wolf and the weird pink guy from the Saint Paul Saints.


There were some amazing costumes in the crowd, so I was surprised when we heard them say "The Gnome."


Leif's prize was a little monkey set including a monkey blanket, rattle and onesie. All of the prizes were donated by businesses along Grand Ave.


Leif wasted no time chewing on the monkey's tail.


We saw this hilarious costume in the older kids category. It's a kid dressed up as the Michael Jackson Thriller doll in its original packaging! I had to take a picture because I had that doll as a kid.


After the contest, Grace joined up with us and we meandered down the street to the hardware store where there was a petting zoo. Leif loved it!!



The animals included goats, alpacas, a baby yak and something called a zebu.


There was an amazing spice store that we went to next. Jeff bought a bunch of Indian spices, which I am looking forward to enjoying. We then ate some great wood fire pizza with Grace. Leif proceeded to spit up on his beard, which signaled that it was time to take the costume off. (Luckily, I made the beard out of washable fabric, so it will be ready for the real Halloween next week.) Leif then played with a balloon. Click to see the video: http://qik.com/video/16682782/leif-v-balloon

Leif was pretty worn out after his first Halloween festivities, so we went home for a nap. We are looking forward to more Halloween fun next weekend with Grandma and Grandad!!

Happy Halloween!!