Autumn Colors

I love Autumn. The vibrant colors of the leaves, the final harvesting of vegetables and the preparations for Halloween. This isn't my favorite season, but it's certainly one I love. We spent many weekends through September and October taking pictures through the canyons and in our own yard. We visited Squaw Peak in time to see these vibrant colors.


We also visited a nice spot somewhere in American Fork Canyon right before the big color change. We roasted marshmallows and hotdogs and loved the scenery found in every direction. I feel so blessed to live in an area where there are so many beautiful places to visit.




Here are some fun photos we took in our yard. I am so delighted that we have one of the most colorful yards in the neighborhood.







We also visited Gardner Village this year as a family and enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Although the crowds were a bit much, it's one of my favorite memories in the month of October.

Halloween 2008

Halloween for the Pearson family was quite exciting this year. Anna thorougly enjoyed trick or treating, and always went straight for the sucker candies. Several days after Halloween, she continued to say "Trick or Treat" hoping that I would give her more candy.

I didn't make all our Halloween costumes this year, as I have in years past. My days are far too busy chasing after my baby and toddler, and my evenings are often spent cleaning the house. This year I only made one costume and that was for Levi. He decided a month ago to dress as a wizard to match Anna's witch costume. I'm very excited that the costume turned out quite well. This is also the first time I have seen Levi actually get excited over a costume. We used a broom handle wrapped in natural fibers for his staff. I even attached an orb to the end, but Anna decided to play with the staff and destroyed the orb.



Ian dressed as a Dalmatian puppy to match my Cruella DeVil costume. Ian made it quite clear that he disliked his costume, so we have very few pictures of him dressed up, and even less of him smiling.



We attended a party at Levi's work, a trunk or treat at the church then the neighborhood trick or treating. We have a lot of candy, and Anna is constantly searching the house to find where it is hiding. She just doesn't understand why she has eat real food when there is candy available. This is one battle I'll be fighting for a very long time.



Now that things have settled down a bit. I hope to start potty training my adorable 2 1/2 year old. I can start putting all the candy to good use as an incentive in this next challenge.

Autumn 2007

Here are some fun pictures from Autumn 2007.

This first photo was taken in our front yard next to the most beautiful red bush.
The second photo is Anna playing with her ball in the back yard. I had raked all the leaves into a pile that she enjoyed running through and scattering the leaves.
The third and forth photos is Anna in her Halloween costume. She was a butterfly, complete with a butterfly wand.
In the final photo we were picking out a pumpkin. This photo was taken less than a month before Ian was born.

A Missed Halloween

This is the first year that I have not dressed up for Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays and the idea of dressing up and having fun one day of the year is thrilling to me. Some of the costumes I remember wearing when I was a kid and teen were: Princess, Germ, Gypsy lady, and Ghost. As an adult I have been Cruella D'vil, Snow White's queen mother, Pirate, Jockey riding a penguin, Fairy, Olive Oyle, Mortisha Addams, and many more.

So with my clear appreciation and love of this dressing up and fun filled holiday, you might ask why I did not dress up this year. I'll tell you, but beware, it's a long story.

The date: October 31st.
Time: 4am

I awoke at 4am with some minor discomfort. This is not unusual, as pregnant women all over the world wake to find that their bodies are in pain and sleep is difficult. After doing the usual routine of fixing the problem (walk around, get a drink, stretch, use the facilities), the discomfort did not go away. In fact, the discomfort was turning into a painful annoyance (as just about everything is at 4am). I tried to sleep, but the pain was getting steadily worse. By 10am, I was beginning to realize that something terrible must be happening, and I quickly called my dad to get his advice. His advice was to contact my Doctor. Why didn't I call my doctor first? Simply because I didn't know if the pain would be something stupid and ridiculous, like gas or dehydration. Lets face it, no one wants to go to the doctor in pain and later be told that you're just fine and that the gas will clear out on it's own. How humiliating!! But rest assured, my problem was not that simple and embarrassing.

I made the call to my OB Doctor, and she wanted me to come in immediately for some tests. I get there and end up waiting 15 minutes in the waiting room for my name to be called. Anyone who's been in pain knows that 15 minutes is a lifetime wait. In that time, my daughter was making a point to entertain every person the waiting room. She also did a fabulous job of scattering toys everywhere. I was trying to sit still and not faint or vomit, as the pain had gone from a 5 to 10 in the short time it took to get to the doctor's office.

After my exam, it was declared that my pain was being caused by a kidney stone. My first thought was, "Are you kidding? Only old people get those!" Guess what, it looks like I'm getting old. I was given a prescription for the pain and nausea, and told to go to the hospital for additional tests. At this point I was laying on the floor and was having a hard time concentrating on all the instructions I was given. I asked the Doctor to have my hubby called to come get me, as I couldn't move.

20 minutes later, my Knight in Shinning Armor showed up and quickly assessed the situation. Anna had cleverly emptied the contents of my purse over the room, and I was lying on the floor weeping from the pain. My Knight quickly fixed the purse problem, and somehow managed to get me on my feet. He rushed to get my prescriptions filled, and even ran into and out of the store. He then drove me to the nearest resting place (my dad's house) where I could lay down until the pain killers kicked in. He made the arrangements with the hospital to get me seen asap and handled everything. The ultrasound confirmed the doctor's diagnosis. By 4pm, my pain had doubled. If I thought it was a 10 before when I was at the Doctor's office, I was mistaken on how much pain a person could endure, as this doubled. I became aware of true agony!

My Knight truly saved the day. He took care of me and Anna, and did it expertly. He missed 1/2 a day of work, but didn't complain (he's a work-a-holic in case you didn't know). He also missed one of his classes.

There is no way I could have done everything alone and I'm so thankful that Levi was my lifesaver.

The kidney stone is still there, but it's no longer causing the painful blockage. The short break from the pain has been great, but I know that at any moment I could be on the floor whimpering once again. I hope the stone passes quickly.

I'm still trying to get access to some of my old Halloween pictures, but until then, here are a few from last year. Our family went as Popeye, Olive Oyle and Sweet Pea.

Halloween Game

Here is a fun Halloween Hangman game.

Halloween Costumes 2003

Levi and I started to date at the end of the summer in 2003. This was our first Halloween as a couple. I made Levi a "Cat in the Hat" costume, based on the musical Seussical which we had seen together. This marked the beginning of him wearing costumes. He wore costumes when he was a kid, but not so much as an adult. By marrying this funny lady, he guaranteed himself the opportunity (although forced) to dress up for Halloween each year.

Since the move to Lehi, I have found several disks with pictures. As I uncover more Halloween costume treasures, I'll be sure to share them with you.

Costumes

Once again it's that time of year when we get to dress up in a costume and run around asking strangers to give us candy. What a wonderful world we live in. Free candy!

This year Levi and I are going to dazzle our friends, neighbors and family with our costumes. Levi will be Van Helsing and I will be a Vampire Slayer. Late last night I finally finished Levi's costume. It must have been one of the most difficult costumes I've put together. Everything seemed to be working against us, as the needed items to finish the costume were very difficult to find. With some improv and a dash of humor, we were able to get both costumes ready to dazzle all those we dare to ask candy from.

I wish you all a very happy Halloween!

Oh sure it's spooky, but is it haunted?

There is something exciting about a place that reputed to be haunted. MSN has a list of their top 10. Some of the buildings actually look as though they should be haunted and some look like average normal buildings. Of course, spooky looking places look as though they should be haunted, so the surprise of finding it so is extra fun.

Perhaps my morbid curiosity of the haunted is due to the fact that I've never been truly spooked by a haunting. Here are my two experiences.

Year: 2003
In WA there is a soda shop that is suspected to be haunted. We went in for sodas and for the hopeful experience of having our hair stand on end at some point of the visit. When it became apparent that the supposed spooks wanted nothing to do with us, we asked a worker if she had any spook stories. The answer was very weak and disappointing.

Year: 1997
In New Orleans the French Quarter, almost every building you pass is reputed to be haunted and there are some impressive spook stories. Did we ever get spooked? NO.

So my question is, are these stories made up from someone's imagination or am I just unlucky?

Halloween Costume

Help my friends. Usually by this time of year my dazzling, award winning Halloween costume is almost complete. This year I have made a late start and the ideas are few. Do you have any good costume ideas?

Halloween Wigs

Halloween is quickly coming upon us and for all those who want to dress as Legolas from LOTR, this guy will show you how to make the wig. It's cost efficient and somewhat time consuming.

One thing is certain. The girls will swoon.

Pirate Songs

I admit I'm completely fascinated with pirates. When the movie Cuthroat Island came out, I was thrilled at the idea that women could be pirates. 10 years from now when the movie is redone, trust that I will work my hardest to play the part of Morgan.

Because of this pirate fascination, I found lyrics to two of my favorite pirate songs. Join me in a chantey of "Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirates Life For Me", and "Yo Ho Ho & A Bottle Of Rum".