halloween happiness

We settled down one pre-Halloween eve to carve pumpkins and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, our yearly tradition.

Matt directed everyone to begin with a plan. Between bites of mud pie left over from Spencer's

birthday we drew our jack-o-lantern faces.

I had fun watching everyone get sticky with pumpkin slime, and Matt helped create our family's first princess pumpkin.

Zach's is the only pumpkin that survived our neighborhood delinquents. We were visited two nights in a row, kind of like we were a pumpkin patch for thieves. But moderate thieves who just took a few at a time and finished the job off by ripping out one of our porch zombie's eyes and tossing it in the dirt.

Just so you know, you little snot-nosed thugs, you crushed a little 4-year-old girl's Halloween dreams. Throughout the day she would suddenly burst into tears and say, "Why did someone take my princess pumpkin?" And it was a cute princess pumpkin, you little turds.

My friend Annemarie was visited by very thorough pumpkin thieves who completely cleaned off their porch. She and I regrouped, went and bought more pumpkins, and had a carving party with all the kids in her front yard. (Thanks Annemarie!) We both highly recommend doing this activity outside. This time I helped get into the pumpkin slime.

I will post a picture of Spencer's 3rd try pumpkin. After much effort and an internet search, it's the only one that passed his high standards. But he had fun smashing the other ones in our backyard. Then Gia ate from the pile and I got to clean up her barf later. Luckily small dogs equal small barfs. It was worth it for Spence to come up with pumpkin perfection. Congrats bud.

party like you're not the old lady at the concert

What I really mean is that at the Maroon 5 concert in Seattle last week my friend Melissa and I were the same age as the old people were at concerts when we were in high school. Actually, we fit in pretty well with all the other old people at this concert--there were many. I don't think kids go to concerts anymore. I'm not sure what they do. But I think it's sad if it's true. As soon as I got home I did a search to see if there was a concert in Utah I could take my kids to. They need to experience it.

Even though I wasn't a huge concert go-er growing up I have great memories of many "firsts" in my life that came along by way of a concert; the list has turned out to be a chronicle of my life (or maybe personality?) in minature. Here are a few:

My first concert ever: Prince, Lovesexy tour, Paris! (that alone changed my adolescent life)

Check out a ticket stub from that tour--amazing:

Actually my real first concert (I was in second grade): Neil Diamond (the green lasers made quite an impression--I brought this journey full circle when I saw Anne Murray perform in my 20s--If only I'd made it to see Olivia Newton John the representation of my early musical foundation would be complete.

My first date with my husband: Aztec Camera, UT -I was 17 and he was about to turn 19. I thought he was supercool for taking me to a concert.

Coming home from this concert was my first and only time getting pulled over for going too slow (I can't believe I admitted to this): BonJovi, CA

First concert my sister and I pushed and shoved our way up to the metal gates separating the band from crazy people in the pit: Bon Jovi, Vienna (half of our group went to Vivaldi Four Seasons at the Vienna Opera House. Hmmm, I'm still glad we chose different.) It's also the only concert where they opened the gates and we made a life threatening run in a stampede all the way across a baseball field the size of Candlestick Park to get a good spot. Woohoo!

First concert I was singled out by the lead singer for being the only one in the front standing virtually still: The Cult, KS - I'm painfully inhibited when it comes to dancing - I've been known to hide for hours when faced with dancing in public, but that's another story.

First concert I had a ticket to but wasn't allowed in (forgot my ID): Echo and the Bunnymen, UT - that really sucked, at least I got to hang out with my friend Courtney while my husband and our friends Jack and Jaime were at the concert. I am lame.

First concert I've been to as an old person: Maroon5, WA - I'm not sure when I crossed over into old person territory, but there it is. Melissa, please save that video of yours. The screaming of that crazed fan is priceless.