Just Between Clowns

Today's tale unfolds 3 years ago.  It was a white elephant Christmas Party at friends. We were the recipients of the most God awful clown.  Made from seashells.  We're talking SCARY clown.  Think USPS commercial.  Yeah, like that scary. 

He's a little worse for the wear because he has some MILES on him.  He may have originated in Key West, but he has found himself in a game of "hide the clown" for the past 3 years.  I had two personal favorites:  having taped him to the bottom of a table and having taken a picture of him and replaced one of the pictures in a family collage with it.  It's always best if one DOESN'T find it right away, but if you're not there for the finding, you just might end up with it BACK in your house.

Last summer, another clown started making an appearance.  The first time was at our house and scared the bejesus out of the husband because it: was big...bigger than the other by a good foot, was gold and black and just hideous,  was completely unexpected.  So, Mr Seashell Clown now has a partner in crime.  Because of its size, it has become more challenging finding hiding places for it (where it WILL be found) but we can be a determined bunch.

Then, we returned from Mexico to find Mr Seashell clown just inside our garage door, a blow up clown in our mudroom, a clown poster of pin the nose on the clown taped to our bathroom window and all those "clown noses" placed strategically around the house.  So, yes, we now have a new level of play.  My motto?  Bring it!

As luck would have it, my MIL was a collector of clowns (which explains A LOT) in the 90s and, after redecorating several years ago, had a plethora of clowns just waiting for a new home.  Can you say JACKPOT?  Yeah, me too!

On their return yesterday from vacation, our friends were met with one obvious surprise:

Yes, MIL actually dragged that paper mache clown back from Mexico years ago. Then we "hid" 14 other clowns.  To hear them tell the story of how they realized that there were more t clowns than simply the hideous paper mache one, they were eating at their counter and one (the one in the wine rack) happened to be right in their line of sight.  THEN they glanced around and it became obvious, that they had been invaded.  And their locations?

 This was taken through the bubbled glass.

If you count, you will see, one clown is still yet to be found.  And you have no idea the GLEES I get from that.  No, it is not hidden anyplace inappropriate.  I'm sure that by this morning they will have found it. And if not, I hope that I get to be there when they do.

You also have no idea how this whole experience made me giggle.  ALL.NIGHT.  I keep wanting to say.."WE WIN" but I think instead, the ante has been upped.  We will not be surprised to come home to a live clown sitting in our living room.  OK, I'll be a little surprised.

All because a clown said "hide me".