This is Halloween {Part 3}

Call this the flashback edition of my Halloween posts.

I was looking through old scrapbooks of mine (as I am wont to do from time to time) and I stumbled across an old photo and script from a play my friend Gabby and I wrote and then acted in.  It was third grade and we were in Miss Potter's class at Adams Elementary.  She was a champion of literature and writing - it was back then that I said I wanted to be an author when I grew up - and we had many opportunities to create stories and plays and poems.  Halloween was one of them.  I don't remember how it worked exactly, but I know that I typed up the play at least.  I'm sure I helped concoct the script, as well, because I can totally hear my little third grade voice in those words.  Then we were put into groups to act out our plays.

Here's my group:
Brandon Lee and Gabby Farrar on the back row.
Angela Carroll, me, and Chelsea Hutchins on the front.

Here's the script.  I don't know how it hasn't won any tony awards
(or whatever award it is that is given out for stage stuff!).

I think (and Gabby agrees, after reminiscing about it via facebook today) that she was the mom (but we're not exactly sure why she was dressed as a witch).  I think Brandon was the trick-or-treater.  And I bet that Angela and Chelsea were the girls, because I can totally see myself wanting to be the narrator (in a ghost costume).  Ha.  Some things never change.

This is Halloween {Part 2}

Costume time!  I have mostly fond memories of dressing up for Halloween (every year except the year I was a bunch of grapes!) and I really love to see all the photos floating around the internet of babies and kids in cute costumes.  However a few weeks into October I was feeling less than creative in regards to a costume for Cal.  I told Gregg I didn't want to spend anything on a costume (or on parts to make one) and I didn't have any cute or clever ideas anyway.  I just wanted a costume to land in my lap.

Then one day I was chatting with my sister Heather and she threw out a few ideas that sparked the one I ended up choosing: a candy corn!  (I hope you can tell what it is from the photos without that spoiler.) Thanks to some inspiration from pinterest, and more than enough patience and good ideas from Gregg, I'm feeling pretty accomplished with this one, my first homemade costume as a mom.  And I was able to accomplish my goal of zero dollars spent since I happened to have old t-shirt scraps in just the right colors (well sort of - the orange isn't exactly on, but it's close enough).

Gregg's job/idea/contribution was the hat, and unfortunately Callie's feelings about that have ranged from pure dread and screaming to just general dislike.  So, there's only one photo with it on her head (it stayed there for all of 2.3 seconds).  But I think she's pretty cute anyway.  Sweet enough to eat!

(P.S. Have I mentioned that it's hard to photograph a 16 1/2 month old explorer?  Well, it is, as evidenced by these photos!)

Doing a great job of "watering" the
dead tomato plant.

This is when I kept asking her to smile
and she kept this face frozen, even
though I could tell her eyes were trying
not to look at me and let a real smile
slip through.

(It eventually did slip through.)
What a tease!

This is Halloween {Part 1}

Lately, due to the nature of the season, Callie has learned what a pumpkin is.  We read about them in library books and she always points out the pair of jack-o-lanterns ("kin! kin!") sitting on a porch railing near the park whenever we're there swinging.  So, to be festive and carry on with Halloweening tradition, we bought a pumpkin on Saturday at the grocery store.  It was a cute little Callie-sized pumpkin from the "small" bin.  It sat on near our fireplace for a few days and Callie would roll it around like a ball, exclaiming "kin! kin!" all the while.  We didn't have time on Monday night to join the rest of the Mormon world in a pumpkin-carving FHE (seriously - I saw at least a dozen facebook or instagram posts of families who created jack-o-lanterns for family night pop up in my feed this morning), but we did tonight!  Cal's first jack-o-lantern?  Check!

Opening her up.

Not too sure about this - better keep a safe distance.

I can touch it with a spoon, I guess.

Here, Dad, let me help you.

Pretending to taste what's on her spoon (hint: it's nothing).

Hi there miss Cheese-ball.  (Note: this face is what I used
as inspiration for the jack-o-lantern.)

Oooh, what's inside?

That's her thinking face.

Trying to figure out the pumpkin lid puzzle - always a challenge.

Face drawn, time to carve!

That's his concentrating face.

See?  Cute squinty moon-eyes, button nose and four
teeth on top and bottom.  It's Callie in pumpkin form!

See the resemblance?

And now for some bonus outtakes:

In other news, it's really hard to get a nearly one-and-a-half-year-old
to pose with her pumpkin.

I was there tonight - acting as the MomTog for the historic event.

Colorful Colorado Springs

One of the places we hadn't visited in Colorado yet was Colorado Springs (or "The Springs" for the locals, I guess).  Well, when I say we I guess I only mean Cal and I, since Gregg has been there prior to our trip.  But we didn't want to leave him behind, so we all packed up the car and headed out on a quick little weekend adventure.  We left Friday (October 17th) afternoon and arrived in The Springs right in time for dinner at Rudy's BBQ, as recommended by our home teacher Jeremy (who happens to be from there).  Mmm-hmmm, our pulled pork and brisket sandwiches, sausage, and Rudy's beans, coleslaw and potato salad were deee-lish!  Of course we had to get the banana cream pie for dessert to top it all off.  :)  After dinner we found our Days Inn in Manitou Springs and got settled.  We took a quick dip in the pool (emphasis on the quick - I swear indoor pools used to be warmer than they are these days!) which Cal thought was just grand.  And then we turned in.  Well, Callie turned in while Gregg and I read and watched football.  Aaah, the life.

Since we really only had Saturday to do any site-seeing, and we had a mid-day naptime to work around, we picked two major things to do with our time.  First up: Garden of the Gods (with a bonus really great view of Pikes Peak).  Our motel was less than a mile from the entrance, so we loaded up the stroller with water bottles, snacks and the babe and headed out right after breakfast.  Not a bad morning walk, if you ask me!

The road had nice wide bike/walk lanes
all throughout the park.  It was perfect!

A peek at Pikes.

Wandering through the Central Garden.

Super cloud day!

I like them.

That clippy never lasts long!

This was called The Sentinel.

For the sign readers in the family (that would be me).

Lots of deer right on the path!

Contrail city!

For purple mountain's majesty!

Colorado's version of Balanced Rock.

Back to the hotel (after a pit stop at a park along the way for swinging and sliding and climbing) we went for lunch and a nap and reading.  When Callie woke up and had her fill of standing on the bed (it's her latest trick), we headed out for the second half of our Colorado Springs Adventure: The United States Air Force Academy.  What a beautiful campus!  We spent a little while looking around the visitor's center and then made the little walk down to the chapel for more exploring.

It's quite the work of architecture!

A different plane is parked at each corner of their grassy field area.

More signs for the sign readers.

I was so excited to see this window on the bottom part of the
church.  I recognized it right away as Dalle De Vere since my
Grandpa Thornley used to make colored glass for windows like this!

Inside the upper portion, the Protestant chapel.

Looking up.

Looking out.

What an organ!

The view from the front steps of the chapel - dorms.

Downstairs is the Catholic chapel.

Those Dalle de Verre glass windows look so awesome from
the inside!

A view from the back.

Back to the parking lot - this is what most of the campus
looks like.  I loved it!

After our visit to the Academy, we grabbed some dinner at Costa Vida.  (Yeah, not super special to the Springs, perhaps, but we were missing sweet pork something fierce!)  Back we went to the hotel for another dip in the pool before bed.  Sunday morning we headed out fairly early to make it to Denver for our Stake Conference, which was lovely.  Callie napped the entire way home (1 hour 45 minutes in the car - something totally unheard of!) and we were home before 2:00 pm (which is almost the same time we get home from a normal Sunday of church!).  It was a fun little trip to see somewhere new.  Next time we'll have to make time for feeding giraffes at the zoo!