Autumn is my favorite...

...And seeing as how I've already documented the many and varied reasons as to why this is the case, I won't go into it now. Suffice it to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying autumn this year. It seems to be lasting longer than usual, the color change and subsequent leaf falling taking plenty of time...almost as if they are savoring the blue skies and perfect temperatures as well and are in no hurry to give way to winter.

So it was that when we had a four-day weekend for Fall Break recently and Rebekah came home from college to spend the time off with us, I got it in my head that we must celebrate. Fall and family.

I have never been to Frightmares at Lagoon. So seeing that we had season passes this year, we headed over on Thursday afternoon. And it was delightful. Crowded...but standing in line in cooler temperatures rather than broiling in the summer heat was much preferable. The place was decked out in autumn and Halloween decor. And the trees...oh, the gorgeous trees! The Sky Ride was especially awesome gliding through those trees.
And because it was cooler outside, rather than summer sandals Lilian wore boots. And they had a bit of a heel on them. Which meant that miracles of miracles, Lilian was just tall enough to go on the roller coaster! It was the best. day. ever.

Friday after going to yoga with Julianne and coat shopping with Rebekah (and hallelujah, the girl actually decided to go function over fashion...Logan is COLD) we decided to check out the local hay maze.

 Last year was our first time and we were decidedly impressed. This year the thing was even more elaborate. And other than my claustrophobia moment when crawling through a pitch black tunnel with numerous turn offs and dead ends (and did I mention it was dark?) with visions of bales of hay overhead collapsing in on me (breathe, breathe, breathe) we had a great time and laughed a lot. Well, until the girls insisted we go through the tunnel for a second time.

Saturday involved stopping at a pumpkin patch and letting Lilian pick out some favorites to turn into jack-o-lanterns. (It also involved a yoga class and shopping for Brandon's church clothes and a date for Rebekah and a lunch with friends for Julianne and a temple shift for Bryan and then capped off with the adult session of stake conference. But I'm guessing you aren't as interested in all that...)

Also stuffed into Saturday in little pockets of time here and there, we got crafty. Rebekah had been wishing for some Halloween decor for her apartment in Logan and I had just seen some cute mason jar pumpkin type luminaries on Pinterest...so we decided to try our hand at making a few. They turned out pretty well, I thought.

Sunday we were late for stake conference. Late because we were frantically trying to make sure that not only was everyone ready in Sunday best but also that each had a change of clothes packed and also a picnic lunch. Stake conference was in Bountiful so it was decided that we'd make a trip up Mueller Park Canyon in the mountains above town after our meetings concluded. Though we'd spent our weekend going from one fall-like activity to the next, this was the first time all six of us had been able to participate together.

Ahh...family and fall. We done celebrated good.

Trapped in my own home

I am typing this from my hiding spot on the floor under the window of my computer room. Said room is right off the front door with the large window affording me a view of my front yard, the street just beyond and of course, the walkway that runs parallel to the window and then up the front steps to my door.

A few minutes ago while sitting at my computer desk a flash of red caught my eye and I glanced over only to see a door-to-door sales guy wearing a red cap making his way up my walkway. Without even thinking twice, I hit the mute on my computer (silencing the playlist I had been listening to) and dropped to the floor like my life depended on it and then slithered my way over to the window like a snake hoping that he hadn't already seen me. And then I waited as he rang the doorbell once, twice. Trapped, I lay there wondering how long I should wait before the coast was clear. What if I got up too soon and he was still standing there? What if he had already seen me, knew I was home and was waiting to give me a condemning stare when I popped my head up again? It's now been a good ten minutes. Surely he's long gone by now, yes?

Wait. What? 

I, a 41-year old woman hiding out in my own home...literally laying low under the window so I don't have to deal with a door-to-door salesman? How ridiculous is this?

I so need to get a "no soliciting" sign....

Bingeing

We signed up for both Hulu Plus and Netflix this week. And yes, I realize that we might be one of the very few families left in the country who hasn't had Netflix already installed. But wait, maybe I need to back up a step.

In February of 2013 Bryan got tired of the hassle that is DirecTV. He's not much of a TV watcher on his own and despite the presence of a fairly large TV in our basement, he tends to watch anything he is interested in on his admittedly fairly large computer screen, on-line. Realistically, no one in our family watches a lot of TV. You're more likely to find us with book in hand rather than in front of the television. But there are a few random shows that the kids and I like to follow. When we cancelled DirecTV Bryan said we could install Hulu Plus for current shows and Netflix to wipe out the need for renting movies or buying TV on DVD.

But then we never did it. And that was okay. I gave up on one of the shows I follow. And found different ways to watch a couple of others. (Though Hulu without the Plus is frustratingly limited, just saying.)

So this week I finally pushed the button on the whole deal. Why was I waiting for Bryan to set it all up? I mean, really...how hard could it be. Not very, it turns out.
(This is what happens when you are married to a computer genius...you tend to leave any and all technology related issues to him.)

But here is now my problem....and one of the reasons why my television adverse husband says he procrastinated for over a year and a half, installing Netflix in our home.
My admission:  I am binge watching "Scandal."
There, I said it.
Six episodes on Wednesday. Four yesterday and five today.

So now I'm trying to decide if Nexflix is a blessing or a curse.
I've been a fan of "Grey's Anatomy" for many years. Call it a guilty pleasure if you must. "Scandal," in its 4th season, is written by the same writer and I heard that if you liked one, you'd like the other. So when experimenting with my newly installed Netflix, I decided that "Scandal" might be just the thing to try it all out with.

All hail to Netflix for allowing you to jump from one episode immediately into the next when you find yourself at a gasp-inducing cliffhanger. Unfortunately for me, the writers at "Scandal" tend to put those in nearly every episode...

But now I am rushing through the episodes so quickly, so desperate am I to find out what happened, that they are all starting to merge together in my brain. No anticipation, having to wait for a week to discover "what the heck????"

And being productive around the house? Seriously?
(I did actually pull myself away long enough to vacuum, dust and do laundry yesterday. Brandon continues to get to gymnastics daily and I've made dinner the past few days. So hey, I'm not totally slacking.)

However if I'm being entirely truthful, I've been known to binge read books as well. (Ever hear the phrase "it's so good I can't put it down..."? That would be me.) So yeah, maybe this is more about my lack of self control rather than about Netflix...

Homecoming 2014: This Is the New Year

I'm experienced now. Julianne is my second child to make her way through all these high school dances and their elaborate asks and answers. So when Lance wanted to set up his official Homecoming ask in Julianne's bedroom, I knew to make a quick run through so as to ensure there was nothing too girly or embarrassing laying on the floor, and double check that her bed was made.

Julianne was delighted when she arrived home that night and within the next few days started researching dress ideas on pinterest and getting her own elaborate answer ready to deliver to Lance's house. (I wish I had a picture....it was a Scrabble game board with all the connecting words spelling out synonyms of YES.)

Originally Julianne's thoughts for a Homecoming look revolved around Vintage or Old Hollywood Glamour. However when we stumbled across a new boutique in Bountiful and found the perfect dress there, we ran with it. Whether it translated into either one of those styles Julianne was going for, I'm not sure. But she indeed looked beautiful!

Rebekah came home for the weekend, most specifically to help Julianne get ready and watch the send off. Kind of different I'm assuming, to be on the opposite side of things this time...

Lance showed up right on time, flower in hand and looking very dapper. Boys are so lucky, don't you think? In years past boys also had to pin corsages on their date's dress. Maybe that was a bit on the awkward side and that's why the wrist band was invented? Regardless, girls still have to endure the hassle of trying to get the boutonniere pinned on correctly and firmly with a minimum amount of blood loss from pricks to fingers. Luckily Julianne seems to have mastered the art, despite this only being her second experience with it.

Don't they make a good looking pair? These two have been good friends for over four years now, doing plays together at both Centrestage Theatre and at the high school.
(And interestingly enough, Lance's mother and I went to high school together in Taylorsville back in the day.)

Julianne has been raving about the great time she had with Lance ever since. One more fun memory to add to the numerous ones she has already of previous dates and doing so many shows together. I'm glad they enjoy each other so much.

What is your Greatest Show on Earth?

I took Lilian to the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus on Saturday morning. Lilian found everything so very "impressing" but her favorite act was the motorcycles racing around inside the round, steel cage. For me, it was the elephants. Always the elephants. Because well...elephants, right? Who doesn't love them?

The circus bills itself as The Greatest Show on Earth. But I want to know is who came up with this distinction? I mean, the circus is indeed a pretty great show. It's got many and varied acts. Cool and amazing, all of them. Heck, even the clowns have mad skills. But the Greatest?

Because I'm thinking that to some, The Greatest Show on Earth may not be the circus at all. For some it may be the Superbowl. For another it may be U2's 360 tour concert. Maybe it's dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Las Vegas. Or perhaps listening to Yo Yo Ma perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC. It could've been watching Star Wars in the theater with your Dad back when you were just a kid in 1977. Maybe The Greatest Show on Earth is participating in the Rise Lantern Festival in the Mojave Desert. Maybe it's as simple as watching the sun set over the ocean in San Diego or Hawaii.

I think it depends on each individual person as to what the definition of The Greatest Show on Earth truly is. For me? It's a Broadway musical. And though I've seen four shows in NYC on Broadway (one of them twice), if pressed I'd probably call "Anything Goes" my Greatest Show on Earth. Probably because not only was it an old time classic broadway musical starring Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney and have phenomenal music and tap dancing (!!!)....but it was the very first Broadway show I ever saw. And I was blown away by the caliber and quality, yes...but also by the very fact that I was watching a show on Broadway!

The circus is great. I hugely enjoyed it. But it's not The Greatest Show on Earth to me. Maybe it is to you? If not, what's YOUR Greatest Show on Earth?

Pick a seat, any seat...

"Just pick whatever seat you want when you get into the theater," the girl at the ticket counter told me. "This showing is just general admission."

Thankful for previews seeing as I was running just a tad bit late for the 2:05 starting time of "Magic in the Moonlight," Woody Allen's newest flick, I stepped inside theater 2 and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness....
....and then realized there wasn't another soul inside. I had the entire theater to myself. General admission indeed!

If you can dismiss the somewhat creepy feeling about being all alone in a big, dark theater and not give way to your overactive imagination that makes you wonder if you really are actually alone....well, then...there are some definite advantages to owning that theater. At least for that showing anyhow.


1. You can sit anywhere you want. Heck, you can change seats in the middle of the show. You can try out every seat in the theater and run your own personal experiments as to which seats are best for sound, visual acuity, closest to the exit if you have to make a mad dash to the bathroom because you drank too much soda, etc.

2. You can put your feet up on the chair in front of you and not have to worry about kicking someone in the head. Having your own theater viewing experience is all about comfort.

3. You can talk out loud to the characters on the screen (or to yourself) and no one will "shhhhh!" you. (Should I admit that I do this?)

4. You can stand up and take a selfie of yourself with the movie as backdrop and post it to instagram with a #theatertomyself #magicinthemoolight #afternoonatthemovieswithnokids

5. You don't have to turn the ringer off on your iPhone and can actually take a call right then and there if someone rings through.

6. You can answer a text message and not worry that the light from your iPhone screen is super obvious to others around in the darkened theater.

7. You can drool all you want over Colin Firth (aka Mr. Darcy) and no one will notice and mock you for it.

This afternoon I was guilty of numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7.

Once a blonde, always a blonde

I've begun the process of lightning my hair color. It's been a dark brown, nearly black, for about ten years now. A stark contrast to the dirty dishwater blonde I was previously. But my grey hairs are now coming in fast and furious. And those grey hairs look pretty dramatically light against my dark hair. So I decided that it was time to go lighter so as to lessen the contrast. Not that I plan to go completely blonde again. And not that my grey hairs won't still be noticeable...just maybe not as holy-wow-that-girl-really-needs-to-get-her-hair-done-stat sort of obvious. But it's been so dark for so long that it's going to be and already has been a lengthy process. This most recent trip to salon brought my hair color to a point where it is now noticeably lighter.

Bryan is thrilled. And my Dad actually thanked me when he noticed. I started wondering if they had actually hated my hair for the past ten years...
(They both assure me that this is not the case.)

I was reading a blog post this morning. About a lady who was having a frazzled sort of morning. It involved getting her kids to school on the first day and smashing her finger in the door, blood spurting everywhere...all while promising to help a friend jump his car because of a dead battery so he could get to the airport. So, after getting the kids off and trying to staunch the blood from her finger...she opened her trunk, nodded to the jumper cables sitting there and told her friend to go get his car so they could get started.
To which he stared at her and said, could you be any more blonde? She felt dumb and made excuses about her injured finger and frazzled state of mind.
And I sat there trying to figure out what the problem was.
Was there some double entendre that I was catching onto? What was she apologizing for? What was she feeling blonde about? I just wasn't seeing it.

I read the passage a couple more times and then continued to skim down the post a ways before I finally figured it out. Oh! Duh. Of course the guy can't bring his car to hers...his battery is dead. That's the whole point of needing jumper cables.
And then I laughed at myself and felt rather dumb.

Because apparently it doesn't matter if you have been a brunette for ten years....underneath it all, the blonde lives on.

Back to school

The first day of school was a little bit different this year. Perhaps because though Rebekah was also experiencing her first day of school at Utah State University, it was in an entirely different town and I wasn't able to get pictures. I should've insisted she send me a first day of school selfie. Hmm.
The three others, however...Julianne, Brandon and Lilian...were not able to escape the traditional doorstep photo-op.

Truth be told, I almost forgot to get a picture Julianne. I said goodbye at the door, my mind already moving onto the next order of business (waking Brandon) when I realized that I hadn't taken a picture! I made a mad dash out to the driveway, my arms waving to get her attention, and then literally made her climb out of her already running car so I could take a quick picture. And maybe its appropriate after all, that her picture is in front of her car rather than the front door seeing as this was her first day driving herself to school.

 
A junior at the local high school, her schedule goes something like this. (Well, exactly like this if you want to get technical. No something about it....)

1. Math Honors
2. English Honors
3. U.S. History
4. Psychology
5. Seminary
6. Social Dance
7. Chemistry
8. Ce Intro to Education

*The Ce class is a college course through Weber State University.

*Julianne was selected by her Seminary teacher to be the class president. Which apparently carries with it multiple responsibilities.












*She was also chosen to be on the Junior Committee this year which means she's involved in helping put together a lot of various school activities and spreading school spirit and that kind of stuff.

By the time Brandon left for school I had the whole photography thing under control. Traditional doorstep shot, check.

This kid is in 8th grade this year so he knows what's what over at the junior high, all the ins and outs of handling multiple classes and teachers. His schedule this year...

1. English
2. Exploring Technology
3. U.S. History
4. Science
5. 2-D Art (drawing)
6. Math
7. Science Exploration

*He likes science...can you tell?

*We're hoping to get him out of P.E. next semester. Because really, when you are at the gym 6 days each week for a total of 26 hours, isn't P.E. kind of waste of time? We have to take it up with the district, apparently. I hope we can get them agree, because I think his time would be better spent taking a different class he would enjoy more, or having a study hour.

 

Lilian is in 2nd grade this year. She has decided that black is to be her color this year. With pops of hot pink, she says. And that leather skirts make her look "popular." Oh my....

She also insisted that I take a picture of her backpack. She is picky about and has very clear ideas of what backpack she will deign to carry. In Kindergarten, it was Angry Birds. 1st grade was all about Monster High. This year it had to be a cross body-one strap deal. And the fact that it was black and hot pink plaid...well, done deal.

















*She really likes her new teacher.

*Along with school, she also started up piano lessons. Officially she started lessons in the summer but what with various vacations and other such things, it was sporadic to say the least.

*Also she finally hit the magical time where she is allowed to join CentreStage Theatre (Julianne's studio) with the beginner class. She's beyond thrilled. She was cast for her first little play, as a cat. She was concerned about this, until I informed her that Julianne debuted as a rat in her first show, Rebekah as a poodle. She felt better after that.

 *And finally...hallelujah for the bus! With the addition of a new sidewalk leading to the school, all buses but 3 were done away with this year. And those 3 pick up kids in our neighborhood after it was deemed that not only are we on the verge of being on the school district's too-far-to-walk rule, but also, the sidewalk is not on our side of the street and there is no crosswalk or crossing guard to get our kids to said sidewalk so it is unsafe. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we are forced to walk as well. (Or more realistically, form a carpool.) But for now, thank heavens for no sidewalks, crosswalks or crossing guards!