Jakob started his Halloween costume planning with the hopes of dressing as Darth Vador. While Jim and Jakob do enjoy Star Wars, I was less than attached to idea of making a Darth Vador costume. I have fond memories of my homemade costumes and want to continue this practice with Jakob as long as I can. I had some ideas for it, but feared it would turn out cheesy and leave him wishing I'd just bought for him the even cheesier $19.99 costume at Target. I was rescued however by our second visit to the Rodeo this fall when Jakob decided being a cowboy would be much more fun! The cowboy plan further developed with a souvenier cowboy hat gifted to him by his Grandma Stratman. We shopped together to pick out his fabric and he knew right away he wanted his vest and chaps to be out of the cowprint fabric. The rest was pretty easy - boots from WalMart, flannel shirt from Target, and handed down jeans from our friend Tyler.