Friday, November 28, 2008

Go here for my Twilight review.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

So after my week o' perfection last week I'm having a hard time not getting down this week. You know, like the day after Christmas or your birthday. Such a let down. I knew this would happen. I think I enjoy looking forward to things more than the actual thing itself. I love that feeling of excitement and anticipation, counting down to something you are so excited for. And when it finally happens, then what? I don't remember what I thought about before the Twilight movie countdown. Now what will I think about all day? At least I have a new car to cheer me up.

I am looking forward to this four day weekend with my husband. Have I said lately how much I love that man? I still can't believe my luck that I stumbled into a chat room one day and he was there, waiting for me. How did I get so lucky? How are our personalities so similar? How do we always find the exact same things funny and the exact same things stupid? How are we both so insanely afraid of offending people and we both bend over backwards to help people? How do I think of something I need to call him about at work and just then my phone rings and it's him, asking me about that very thing? How did I find someone so willing to deal with my plethora of issues, someone who doesn't bat an eye when he comes home from work and the house looks like we were robbed and there's no dinner on the table...again. Someone who listens to my complaints and does whatever it takes to make things better. Someone who promised me when we met that he would not only make me happy, but keep me happy--and has honored that promise every day since. I don't know what I did to ever deserve him.

Wow, that came out of nowhere. Anyway, I'm going to spend Thanksgiving weekend making my first pies ever, re-reading Midnight Sun (to get back to the real Edward), cleaning my house, and trying very hard not to gain back all the weight. And by "very hard" I mean I might not have that second piece of pie.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Wanna Make This?



It's an adorable 2009 calendar that is super easy to make and a lot of fun.
If you want to make this, come to my sister's house tonight, Nov. 25th
at 7:00 pm for an all out stampin' good time.
(For anyone who hasn't come to one, it's more GNO than "official workshop,"
in case that was turning you off.)
Hope to see you there!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

I've added an update to my review, for those of you who have already read it. It's at the end.

Twilight

I would say there are spoilers, but, come on, like you all don't already know what happens?


So. I saw Twilight last night. It was....surreal. That's the perfect word for my experience. Let me preface my review by clarifying a common misconception: I did not have especially high hopes for this movie. I know my blog posts convinced you otherwise, but really, I was just dang excited to see the movie. That didn't mean I thought it was going to be excellent. No, I was fully prepared to be incredibly disappointed. Even if they did it perfectly, I would have issues, because obviously it would never look the way onscreen that it did in my head. I think all of us who read and loved the books felt that way. So, having said that, here it is:

I....had...a very hard time with it. I cringed through probably 80% of the movie. I didn't walk away hating it, but I liked it less than almost everyone else I saw it with. This is not shocking--the more you love the books the less you're bound to like the movie. But enough of that. Here's my breakdown of what I hated, what was weird, what was cool, and what made my dreams very nice last night.

It started off awesome, the first shot a gorgeous picture in the very green, very wet Pacific Northwest forests. I love me my Washington. It was misty, the music was very sort of eery and dramatic, and it set the mood perfectly. The filming had this dark, grainy quality which gave the movie a kind of indy feel, which I loved. Enter Bella, narrating for the sake of the four people watching the movie who hadn't read the books. She was talking in this very sad, very depressing voice, and I half expected her to hang herself at any moment. As she spouted off the story of why she was moving from Phoenix to Forks, I thought it was a little weird that they chose to begin the movie with her spewing forth this information instead of revealing it to us later in a conversation with someone. It wouldn't have been hard to do--she could have told any one of the plethora of kids at her new school when they asked why she moved. But that's just the movie critic in me.

I thought I was really going to like Kristen Stewart's take on Bella. She really seemed to get the serious, shy, moody, part of her. But I soon realized that was her only take on Bella. She didn't give a real smile the entire movie. It was always this half-smile, as she awkwardly shifted her head and eyes around to show us how truly uncomfortable she was. I guess in some respect she succeeded--she was so convincing she made me uncomfortable. In almost every scene. I started silently pleading for her to just relax. Take a deep breath. Relax your face muscles. It was as if any moment she was just going to lose it--go completely postal and start screaming at everyone, wildly swinging a butcher knife above her head. Which, actually, I think would have been great. At least she would have shown an emotion other than melancholy.

And then, enter the Cullens. This is where the irony comes in. The part of the movie I thought I was going to have the hardest time with was the other members of the family. I was not thrilled with the casting, at all. But in the movie, they were fabulous. The parts they were in were some of my favorite parts of the movie (like when Edward takes Bella to his house to meet them--hilarious.), especially because Pylon Girl (Esme) only had, like, 2 lines. They really were able to make these ordinary real-life humans stand apart from the rest, thanks to makeup and an expensive wardrobe. I thought it was great how they introduced them, walking past the windows in slow-mo, one by one, of course saving Edward for last.

Our first shot of Edward was a classic example of how the movie completely ruined what should have been the best parts. As he rounded the corner into our view, they actually had this music in the background that sounded like angels singing. It. Was. Ridiculous. Of course the entire theater was cracking up, because I know we were all thinking the same thing. And that was just the beginning of the embarrassing, awkward moments throughout the movie, moments that could have, and should have, been amazing.

Their first several scenes together were literally painful to watch. I was in pain. Besides the above-mentioned acting by Miss Stewart, Rob Pattinson had two facial expressions he switched between for the first, probably half an hour: "I'm about to throw up" or "I'm about to cry." He looked in pain, which I know he was supposed to, but it could have probably been toned down. The fact that he covered his nose when she first walked in and looked like he was going to hurl at any moment totally ruined it for me. That whole scene, where he's just staring at her, then they zoom in super close on his golden eyes, was laughable. I was laughing. And I don't think they were trying to be funny, which makes me mad. And if they were trying to be funny, that makes me mad. There was nothing remotely funny about that part of the book.

The hardest part for me about the whole movie was the romance between Bella and Edward. Any idiot off the street knows this is the essence of the books. This is why they are insanely popular. This is why we were in line at 5:30 to see a 7:05 showing of the movie. This is why I am obsessed. And it was not there. In my opinion, the entire essence of the books was missing from the movie. I didn't feel it. (Except for the make-out scene, I definitely felt that.) They went from "we can't be friends" and "why do you hate me" to "I don't care that you want to kill me, I trust you" and "you are my life now." If I hadn't read the books, I'd be thinking, "Yeah, so, how did they get to that point?"

The meadow scene, quite possibly the best scene of the entire book, was, well, destroyed. No, pulverized. Maybe the worst scene of the movie. (Don't get me started on the sparkly skin.) The drive back from Port Angeles, the key conversation, the start of their relationship, one of my all-time favorite chapters...missing. Just, gone.

And then it jumps to the action. The evil nomad vampires come in and the hunt is on. The stunt doubles come out and the wire-works begin. The big fight in the ballet studio at the end was actually cooler than I thought it would be, but they quickly ruined that, too, with the most horrible, absurd part yet--Edward sucking the venom out of Bella's arm and relishing it a little too much. I know I said something out loud, I can't remember if it was a groan or a "what the heck?" or a combination of the two. It. Was. Bad.

Thank goodness it ended on a good note: Bella, in the hospital, breaks down crying, pleading for Edward to stay with her and never leave her. Wait, are those...tears? Is that....emotion that Bella is showing? Oh, so she was just saving her acting skills for the final scenes, I get it. Well played, Kristen, well played.

And then, the last scene, the Prom. The part in the gazebo was gorgeous, and incredibly romantic with all the white lights and slow music and them dancing close...they nailed the "is he going to change her?" scene--I think there might actually have been steam coming off the movie screen when he leaned in and kissed her neck. Deep breaths, Alicia, deep breaths.

And then it was done. And my mind was spinning and racing and people were asking me what I thought and I did...not...know...what...to...tell...them. I wanted to avoid it, but I knew it was unavoidable. When some of my friends asked me what I thought, I equated it to being asked what you thought of your first child being born. (I don't really feel the two are the same for me, I was just trying to think of something they could possibly relate to.) How do you answer that? It's too personal, there's just too much.

Other things I had issues with were some minor details they felt they needed to change for no apparent reason, stuff that so could have been left alone. Most of them have slipped my mind, but some that I remember are a) Bella did NOT have a cell phone b) Bella's computer was a dinosaur with dial-up, most definitely NOT a Mac and c) Converse and leggings to the Prom? Really?

But...



I loved Rob. I did, even though I hated him in the beginning. Each scene he got better. Each scene he looked less nauseous and more perfect. Each scene he smiled more and relaxed more and looked more and more like Edward. And he nailed the accent. I was so impressed with the accent.

I loved the kissing scenes. If there was one thing they got right, it was drawing out that first kiss, even longer than the typical lean-in-super-slow-to-create-sexual-tension movie kiss. You could feel the fear, you loved Edward for telling her twice to hold still, and finally, when you think you can't stand it any longer, their lips finally meet and....um...wow. It was definitely racier than the book (they NEVER kissed like that in Twilight), but, that's Hollywood. After that scene was over, I leaned over to my friend Kim and said, "My whole body feels like jello." Holy Hot.

I loved the baseball scene. I know! Imagine my shock when the part of the book that seemed so ridiculous to me, that I could not imagine looking cool in any sense of the word, was one of my favorite parts. The lightening and thunder, the rock music in the background, the speed and strength...it was awesome. I even liked the baseball uniforms! I know, so weird.

I loved Edward's room and all the gorgeous shots of "Washington". (I know it was Oregon, but whatever, like anyone can tell.) I loved when he took her up in that tree and the view behind them and he's up there smiling at her...loved it.

I loved the unexpected humor, mostly with the supporting cast, who were great by the way. I especially liked Jessica. She was perfect. Her "boob" comment was one of my favorites.

I loved seeing my favorite story played out before me, where I could see it. Even though so many parts were hard for me to watch, I still loved watching it. I can't wait to see it again.

I know there will be a million and one things I will think of later, so I'll probably have to do a follow-up later like I did with Breaking Dawn. I'm feeling really rushed right now (trying to go out with my husband) but I really wanted to get this done today for you all. So now I really, really want to know what you all thought. PLEASE comment and tell me, even if you totally disagree with my review.

*********************************************************************************

Okay, second review coming. Yeah, so I took my husband to go see it tonight. And I have to say it was soooooo much better the second time around. Now that I knew what parts were going to be cheesy it made them so much more bearable. And my husband, who has never read the books, loved it. He keeps asking me questions about it and I can't believe I can finally tell him everything I know. (He's probably getting way more information than he wanted.)

I think I didn't give Kristen quite enough credit. I think she played Bella as best as anyone could. And I forgot about the part where Charlie (whom I've nicknamed Chief Comic Relief, by the way) gives her her truck--she actually laughs and looks happy and normal. So there was that one.

The one major thing I forgot to mention that really bothered me was the biggest change they made: how Bella found out he was a vampire. Instead of Jacob telling her on the beach, she had to buy a book and put it together. (Which, why did she google to find a book, buy the book, read something in the book, then google that thing. Why the heck didn't she just google the "legend" and keep on reading? Stupid lamb.) Anyway, another completely unnecessary change.

So I really loved it tonight. I noticed the music even more, and can't wait to buy the soundtrack. I especially love Bella's Lullaby and watching Edward play it. (That was really Rob playing that, btw. Is there anything sexier than a guy playing the piano? ) So for those of you who were as disappointed as I was, go see it again. Preferably with your significant other. Just tell them it's a vampire movie, they'll go.
STAY TUNED FOR REVIEW...COMING LATER TODAY, I PROMISE!!!!
STAY TUNED FOR REVIEW...COMING LATER TODAY, I PROMISE!!!!

Friday, November 21, 2008

HAPPY
TWILIGHT
DAY!


HAPPY
TWILIGHT
DA
Y!


Thursday, November 20, 2008

BEST WEEK EVER

How often do you get to experience something you're ridiculously excited for? For me, not a lot. This week is one, and besides the obvious reason, more things have happened that are quickly making this week become the...best week ever.

1. T-1 day til movie day. If I go a little crazy and freak out in the theater, I give you permission to completely deny knowing me (although since the entire theater will be made up of people we know, everyone will know you're lying. Or, you'll get away with it, because everyone will deny knowing me. But know this--if you do, I won't share my popcorn with you.) I have read just a few things about the New York Premiere and people who have seen it, but nothing too in-depth. I don't want to know pretty much anything about what people thought of it before I see it. (Sorry Marilyn, no emailing tomorrow!) I can't believe it's almost here.


2. GNO. I have been needing one for...oh my goodness, way too long. I think we're all a little overdue, at least my normal groupies are, and the fact that we finally get one AND it's to go see Twilight in a theater FULL of pretty much everyone we know AND we get to eat and hang out and talk afterward about (we hope) how amazing and wonderful the movie was, and the perfection that was Rob as Edward...yeah, doesn't get much better than that. Unless cheesecake is involved. That would be better.


3. 18 lbs., how do you like them apples?! I can't technically claim it til my next weigh-in, but my scale, which is not far off from our official weigh-in scale, says 18 (4 lbs. lost this week alone. I have no idea why) and I'm shouting it from the rooftops. And this is just the start, there will be no slowing down from here. Pretty soon you'll all get to meet the Alicia that has been hiding out for 7 years. She's...under...here...somewhere... (sorry, no picture of that)

4. Have to throw in this quote, because I am loving the interviews with Rob P. and Stephenie M.I love how down to earth they both are, Stephenie in a very real, I could totally be her friend way (and one day we will, be best friends) and Rob in a laid-back, goofball, this is all pretty bizarre way. But I love his sense of humor. I just read this quote and had to share it:

"Edward is 'the ideal, perfect man'. I felt like an idiot being like, 'Hi, I'm here for the ideal man audition.' " --Rob Pattinson. So funny.


5. Tonight I get to go to my ward's card swap night and after not having it last month (I won't name any names, but Brenda totally went and had to get the flu, what was that about?) we are all ready to have it again. I didn't think I was going to be able to go but now I do and I am super pumped about it. Mainly because I think my cards turned out really cute. What? I can brag. You're just jealous, don't lie.

(I was going to put a picture on here of my card, but I can't find my camera cable.)

6. Lastly, but certainly not least, something happened this week that could quite possibly give Twilight some competition in the Most Exciting Thing This Week department. It makes me a little nervous to post it, but ya'll are gonna find out anyway, and I'm so excited it's a little scary. In the very near future, the Leps will be rolling new school-style in our very own.................. ..............................................................................................................
Nissan Pathfinder!!!!!! Oh my gosh, I might scream. Goodbye ugly, old Beast with your hideous patches of sanded down primer. Hello beautiful, clean, smaller, fabulous white Pathfinder.



(This isn't our exact one, just a picture I found online of one just like it.)

It's always fun to have Best Weeks Ever, don't you think?

Monday, November 17, 2008

Twi-Nightmares

So...there's only 3 days left on the countdown and I'm starting to get a bit nervous. (Feel free to slap me upside the head the next time you see me if you are ready to vomit at the sight of yet another Twilight movie-related post from me. Or, deal with it, because, let's face it, no one's forcing you to read my blog. THREE DAYS, PEOPLE! As if I could blog about anything else.)

So I'm nervous. After all the hype, the waiting, the excitement, the anticipation that I have completely built up in my own head, I reached the last week on the countdown and it was like I crashed into a brick wall going 150 mph. For the first time ever, I stopped and thought, "Huh. This movie could really suck. And not in all the right ways like all the tag lines say." And then what? Imagine if you will, the biggest downer of ALL TIME. Basically you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me on Saturday, I'll put it that way.

So to calm myself down a little bit, I'm just going to put my concerns about the movie out there. Here are my thoughts on the potential deal-breakers for Twilight the movie that swirl through my brain at random times of the day:

(Driving my kids to school)
What if Edward's hair is too big? I know that in most of the pictures I've seen they've managed to keep the delicate balance between sexy-messy and bedhead-messy just fine, but there was that one picture with the swooped bangs...

(Walking through Walmart)
What if there are more parts like the scene where Edward is demanding in a creepy, wife-beater voice that Bella say the word "vampire" out loud? I already can't watch that scene without cringing. Why is he yelling at her? Real Edward doesn't yell at Bella, and he doesn't get thrills off of hearing her say "vampire" out loud. Maybe movie Bella should be a little scared of movie Edward. Maybe she should talk to movie Charlie about a restraining order. I'm just sayin'.

(Making Payson's lunch)
I take issue with the baseball uniforms. Why baseball uniforms? Did the producers read Twilight? Would the uber-cool Cullens with their kick-butt fashion sense be caught dead in cheesy baseball jerseys for a little game of Vampire Baseball? Methinks not. I can't take Edward seriously in a baseball jersey, I just can't.

(Trying to fall asleep at night)
Why, oh why, with the flying?! It is a travesty of epic proportions that the movie-makers in all their "movie-making wisdom" thought it would be super-cool to hook them vamps up to some wires and put 'em up in some trees. Maybe I can just close my eyes during all the ridiculous acrobatics. Or maybe I'll get lucky and get hosed down with explosive butter.

And lastly...

If Edward's eyes pop out and his head jerks around every time he's reading someone's thoughts like Matt Parkman on Heroes, I'm walking out of the theater.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Six Days And Counting

Ooh-wee! Just found this! I am loving all these sneak peek scenes!! ENJOY.
(How do they always manage to get the most perfect freeze frames?)




*Just found this too. STILL laughing. It. Is. Hilarious. Go check it out. (Click on "next" and read the text down the right side of each picture.)

Friday, November 14, 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Monday, November 10, 2008

Today I Had To...

* Take Macy and Kenzie to school

* Take Payson and Colton to preschool

* Go to the girly doctor

* Pick up Payson and Colton from preschool

* Pick up Macy and Kenzie from school

* Watch Amy's kids while she goes to parent/teacher conferences

* Go to the dentist

* Clean my house

* Pay bills

* Run errands

* and about a million other things


But instead.....

My kids are home sick so I went back to bed.

Friday, November 7, 2008

The 411

My week has been insanely busy, so I've decided to put all the things I've been wanting to post all in one post.


*Payson has a secret hiding place he goes to when he needs to be alone. When he's sad or mad, he goes there. When he thinks he's going to get yelled at, he goes there. Whenever Macy comes to tell on him, I go looking for him to talk to him and he is no where to be found. It's hilarious, because he keeps hiding there, afraid of getting in trouble, as if we don't know the place he goes to "hide" every single time.

Where's Payson?


This is how I always find him.

Under his bed, face covered up. Obviously, if he can't
see me, I can't see him, and he can't get in trouble.
Makes perfect sense to me.

*Macy's exciting news (and by that I mean exciting to her) is that she now wears deodorant. My sweet little girl has, well, some odor problems, both in the pit and the foot area. I don't know if it's like, a glandular disorder, or what, but when she comes home from school I can smell her a mile away. I am terrified no one will want to sit by her in school and she'll be known as the smelly kid, so I finally resigned myself to the fact that my 7 year old daughter needs deodorant. We bought some yesterday (she picked out the one that came with a free Ashley Tisdale song download) and she thinks she's big stuff now. Never has there been someone so excited to wear pit stick. Please, make your kid still be friends with her, even if she is the smelly kid.


*Bill is done with FedEx!! Hallelujah!! It was so bittersweet for him to leave. He was so ecstatic to be done with the exhausting job, having to work till 8 or later every night, to be able to see his family more. But he was so sad at having to leave the friends he'd made there. To celebrate his final day, he took a cake for everyone:




Too bad he couldn't even have a piece of his own cake.
Curse you Atkins!! ( Bill is 20 lbs. and counting! He's looking hawt!)


*Speaking of weight loss, I'm still plugging away with Weight Watchers. This is 2 and a half months longer than I've ever stuck to a diet. I have lost over 12 lbs. My jeans are loose and baggy and my wedding ring is doing flips around my finger. I had one piece--count it, one--of Halloween candy. Go me!


*I guess my Exciting News post wasn't as obvious as I thought it would be. For those of you still wondering, my little brother Landon and his wife Starlie are expecting their first. We are beyond excited (I feel like when it was my first all over again!), and their tiny baby is strong and healthy! And now they're not moving, at least for a while, which is an added bonus!

*Only two weeks till Cinematic Bliss. (Twilight premiere) Are you going? If not, crawl out from under that rock and go buy tickets! Oh my goodness, I just might pee my pants from excitement.

*And lastly, our family finally crossed over to the Dark Side. We have joined the evil sect of video gamers. We bought an Xbox. 360 to be exact. Three days into it I was already regretting it, but there's no way I can take it back and break this boy's heart.

No, not this boy


This boy.



(People keep asking, so I have to put that he had NO
idea he was being recorded. I was uploading videos to
the computer, so the camera was right there, I just subtly
swiveled it in his direction and hit record. He just found out
that I recorded him when my brother told him it was on my blog.)

So, does anyone know, are their any support groups I can join,
like, WOGHA? (Wives of Guitar Hero addicts?)

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I want one of these.


Or better yet, one of these.

Do you think it comes in poster-size?
Framed?

A Poem For Your Birthday


My big sister Amy is cheerful and bright
She majored in English but can't say words right

As a kid she fell out of a truck on the road
Her head was not damaged (at least not that showed)

College was mostly fun road trips and cheers
then she married her sweetheart from high school years

Three boys and a girl make the rest of the fam
Plus one confused cat trying to prove he's a man.

Amy is talented up the wazoo
There just isn't anything Amy can't do

She papercrafts, digiscraps, cuts her kids' hair
and as for Adobe no one can compare

She loves Christmas music, The Office and beets
Her handicapped dolphin impression is sweet

A better big sister I just couldn't find
The memories we've shared, I'd love to rewind

May your birthday be joyful and full of sweet bliss
May your PC work long enough to let you read this

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!


Next June, another little Baby Mathews (and by that I mean the last name will be Mathews) will be born, and I will become an aunt again! No, it's not Danyelle's.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Secret Life of Bees


This movie was such an unexpected treasure. I went into it with next to no idea of what it was about, which is fun to do sometimes. I knew it was based on a pretty popular book, and I'd read the little synopsis on fandango, but that was it. I knew who was in it, though, and that made me want to see it: Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Paul Bettany, and Jennifer Hudson.

For those of you like me who haven't read the book, it's about a young teenage girl named Lily (Fanning) in 1964 South Carolina who is haunted by fuzzy memories of her mother's death ten years earlier. With only a few items of her mother's as clues to guide her, she runs away to a town called Tiburon with her nanny (Hudson) in search of answers, leaving her abusive father (Bettany) behind, furious and determined to find her and bring her back. Upon arriving in Tiburon, she is led to three bee-keeping sisters (Latifah, Keys and Sophie Okonedo) who take her in and begin to teach her the trade of honey-making. Over time, Lily learns about love, family, and the truth about her mother's past.

Dakota Fanning has always been an amazing actress for someone so young. I was mesmerized by her skills back in 2001 watching I Am Sam, when she was 7. Now she's 14, and has somehow managed to avoid the awkward, not-so-attractive pubescent phase. Although she looked pale and sickly the entire movie, she was still easy on the eyes, not painful to watch at all (unlike Haley Joel Osment screeching his way through Secondhand Lions.) She will only get better with time. (And hopefully steer clear of the Child Actors Hall of Shame, otherwise known as rehab.)

Queen Latifah is just, well, awesome. I love her. She is so classy and real and I could sit and watch her read the phone book. Jennifer Hudson was great as a proud but scared black woman who just wants her place in the world, and Sophie Okonedo played an emotionally unstable but lovable sweetheart really well. (I still can't look at her without seeing the Watchati Princess who bears her upper half to Ace Ventura, though.) Paul Bettany, who I've loved since A Beautiful Mind, swaps his British accent here for a southern one and is actually believable doing so. It was hard watching him as a complete loser, but that just proves what a great actor he is. And Alicia Keys...she was who I was most curious to see, never having seen her act before. I've always been a big fan of her music, and I think she is go-geous (plus she has the coolest name on the planet). She didn't let me down. She played the very proud, very put-together, very stick-up-her-you-know-what sister perfectly.

I fell in love with this movie because there was no fluff. It was real, it was powerful, it was gritty at times...it made me well up in several parts and I don't cry at movies. It dealt with racism, broken families, abuse, and first loves, to name a few. I saw it with my husband and thought for sure he would have thought it was girly and sappy, but he loved it. He is still talking about the "bee" movie, which throws me off every time because I always think he's randomly bringing up the animated "Bee Movie."

And other than a few swear words, there really wasn't anything in it that shouldn't have been. I will definitely be owning this one, and now I have to add the book to my mile-long list of books to read.

*Go here for a look at this movie through the eyes of someone (my cousin Noelle) who also lost their mother at a very young age. It has a bit more spoilers than mine, but is so worth the read.

"Nothing says Happy Halloween like a flaming bag of poo."

What a Halloween. We had our ward party on Halloween this year, which made things a little crazy, but we still had fun.

For two months Payson was adamant he wanted to be
the black Spiderman, till he learned he would have to
have his face painted. Luke Skywalker it was.


What a trooper. (Not a storm trooper.) He had all his
candy stolen at the party and didn't even bat an eye.
I think he was all hopped up on donuts and cider.
(Grandpa saved the day by dumping half of his
candy bowl into Payson's empty bucket after the party.)



For the first time in her seven years, Macy wanted
to be something other than a princess, fairy, or
ballerina. I about died of shock when she said she
wanted to be a witch. And not a pretty witch, an
ugly, mean witch. We even bought a warty rubber
nose, but it wouldn't stay on her tiny little nose.


It was the first time we've ever done the face paint thing,
and she loved it, but spent the entire night picking strands of
her wig off her face and asking if her makeup was all gone.



Molly told the kids stories when the party first started.
Let me tell you, no one tells a story like Molly.
Macy is still walking around saying, "It's big and it's mine
and it's stuck on the vine" in a weird voice. You rock, Molly!


Eating donuts and cider after Trunk or Treating.


Macy and Kenzie, two little witches.
(Macy looks a little scary next to Kenzie,
but I guess that was the point.)


When the party was over, we took the kids "real" trick or treating, as they called it. But by that point almost everyone was shutting off their porch lights. Next time we know: Go before the party. So we did six houses and called it good. It was a great Halloween, even though I never got to light my Team Edward pumpkin.