Halloween contest winners, oh my!

When 5-year-old Brooke Moss decided she wanted to dress as a haunted house on Halloween, she had no idea the kind of attention she'd receive.

Brooke, Cari Pemberton and Sarah Theriault are winners of The Gazette's first Halloween Photo Contest.

Out of 125 entrants, Brooke was chosen for having the cutest kid costume, Pemberton won for dressing her dog, Bo, in the cutest pet costume, and Theriault was deemed to have carved the best pumpkin. Each won a Sony CyberShot digital camera package.

It was Bonnie Moss, Brooke's mother, who decided the haunted house costume should be entered into a contest.

"We worked so hard on that," Moss said. "It was a family thing. We all helped her."
Brooke's 7-year-old sister, Mackenzie, helped with ideas. Her 2-year-old brother, Bo, helped with spilling the paint, and Mom assisted with the construction.

After 24 hours' work, Moss' neighbor, Eric Odens, came over and convinced Moss that her daughter's costume should win a prize.

Constructed mostly of painted cardboard, the two-story "house" includes a mailbox where treats may be deposited.

Coincidentally, Halloween will mark the fifth anniversary of the Moss family's move to Colorado Springs from Atlanta.

The Red Baron?

Cari Pemberton's husband, Rod, is a huge fan of country music. When he learned that Hank Williams Jr. had been nicknamed Bocephus by Hank Sr., he knew that someday he would have a dog with the same name.

The Pembertons have owned their 4-year-old yellow Labrador, Bocephus, or "Bo," since he was a pup. A bird dog, Bo was born and bred at Eichhorn Kennels in Calhan.

Bo's parents are registered champions with the American Kennel Club. His father, Kacey's Cuban Cigar, is a certified pedigree and senior hunter. His mother, Black Forest No Biz Like Show Biz, or "Norma," was thought to be named for film legend Marilyn Monroe. Bo, who once tipped the scales at 103 pounds, lives with the Pembertons, their 12- and 6-year-old daughters, and two cats.

Cari Pemberton, a native Coloradan, says that even though Bo outweighs the cats several times over, he's not the boss. Spike, the cat they've owned the longest, rules the roost.

"Spike is the patriarch," she said. "Bo knows he has to have permission to get on the couch. But if Spike is there, he's afraid to get up because he's not sure Spike will like it."

Even though he's afraid of a cat, Bo's a physical kind of guy. He loves to swim, and there's nothing he likes better than to "fetch up" the morning newspaper.

Also impressive is Bo's ability to do tricks. He can roll over, or when asked, give a high-five - to the right or the left.

For the photo competition, Bo is dressed in goggles and a flight jacket with a Fort Carson Ghostriders emblem on the sleeve. He's doing what looks to be his best Snoopy and the Red Baron imitation. "We've had a lot of fun with that picture," Pemberton said. "It's been on our Christmas newsletter."

A smashing pumpkin

It took Sarah Theriault only a couple of hours to carve the pumpkin for her entry, "The Kiss."

But the 20-year-old has been interested in shadows and highlights most of her life. She likes finding the light and dark in photos and making shapes out of them.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I started making my own styles," Theriault said.
She started carving faces three years ago when she used a pattern to carve an image of Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing.

Then she realized that if someone else could make a pattern, she could, too. So she created a pattern and carved an image of Brad Pitt from "Interview With the Vampire."

Since then she's created and carved images into pumpkins from family photos. She starts by putting a photo into Photoshop and boosting the contrasts. She then prints it out, and using the print as a guide, traces it onto the pumpkin by punching holes with a thumbtack.
"The Kiss" was taken from a photo of Theriault and her husband, Dustin.

"I have a little artist bent to me," Theriault said, "and carving pumpkins is a way to get it out."

When she isn't carving pumpkins, Theriault decorates cakes at a Baskin-Robbins.