The Tangrens

That is the sound of me finally catching my breath. For a second. I've been dreading posting on the blog because I've missed so much. So I decided that I needed to just do it before the first of the year so I can put this year to rest. So get ready for an explosion of posts. I haven't decided if they will be post dated or not so depending on if you see this first or last scroll down. :) Here we go!!!

We woke up on Christmas morning and I put Hyrum into the adorable outfit my parents sent for him. Then I turned to Derek and said "Aren't you going to get everything ready?" He looked at me puzzled. "Get what ready?" It never occurred to me that this wasn't EVERYBODY'S tradition for the dad to go out and turn on the Christmas lights on the tree make sure all the presents were just so, start a fire in the fireplace (where available) and have video camera in hand to capture the decent down the stairs or the bursting into the room excitement. He didn't grow up with any type of video/movie recorder so he didn't think of it ( or at least didn't think that Hyrum would have any reaction to capture at all ) Regardless my sweet still sick husband dutifully went into the living room with camera in hand to capture the entrance. Grandma and Grandpa donned their own Santa hats for the occasion.He did pretty good opening his gifts I think , especially for a 7 month old. He'd rip with encouragement but then he'd want to eat the paper. Sometimes he didn't even wait for the paper to be off.
His Grandma and Grandpa Tangren got him a little driving toy that he absolutely loved. We were all surprised at how quickly he picked up on this driving thing. I guess he's always loved to watch cars and now he has a better understanding of how they go.

Look how safely he drives too, checking his mirrors before he turns.

Hyrum had more encounters with Derek's family dog this time up. On Christmas Eve Blossom just couldn't get enough of licking him.He was not fond of that at all.

He decided to get back at Blossom by grabbing fistfuls of her fur and taking a few swipes at her nose which Blossom wasn't too fond of but on Christmas day they decided to make up.
After all the excitement Hyrum wanted nothing more than to have some eats with his brand new Christmas bib thanks to grandma and Papa Wadsworth
And then end the day lounging with Dad. Yes he's sucking his thumb. He does that quite regularly. I've given up the battle.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

We left for Idaho on Sunday before Christmas because we had an Eagle Court of Honor that Derek was emceing for on Saturday night.( He even presented the Eagles ) We just lounged around that day then that night it started to snow... and snow...and snow.

We did some last minute running on Christmas Eve and were it not for the skilled driving of my retired policeman father in law we would have had an unhappy Christmas. I also learned something interesting about Idaho Falls. They don't plow the roads until the snow stops falling and since it really didn't stop falling they really didn't start plowing. Christmas day it didn't snow and the sun actually came out but apparently they didn't want to ruin anyone's Christmas because no body plowed. The day after Christmas we went out to lunch and I said "Man they STILL haven't plowed?" to which Derek replied "They did plow" and I said "No, there's a big barricade of snow in the middle of the road" Apparently that's how they plow. It wasn't until we got further along and noticed farm equipment on the side of the road that I started to understand. The machines they use to plow the road look like the machines they use to make the mounds that they plant the potatoes in. I found out later that after they make the piles in the middle of the roads they come along with a baling type machine that picks up ( and bales?) the snow. It's easy to forget in the relatively large city of Idaho Falls that you really are in the heart of potato farm country. Interesting.

Anyway, it is one of Derek's family's few longtime Christmas traditions to go to The Sizzler on Christmas Eve for dinner. I was really excited for the festivities to begin because it's been really hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year for me. I've been preparing for Christmas largely by myself this year and it has seemed more a chore than a cheer. So we bundled up and headed out into the snow.

We got into the parking lot around 6:10 and walked up to the door where a sign was posted that said something to the affect of "We are closing at 6:00pm for Christmas Eve...Sorry for the inconvenience." We were SOO bummed. We franticly tried to think of somewhere ( anywhere!) that would be open on Christmas eve night. We drove around to a few places with no luck. On the way home we saw a Chinese restaurant that was open, which I thought would be funny ( Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra) but Derek's brother isn't a Chinese food fan, so that was out. We ended up eating Jack in the Box burgers. It was no juicy steaks or tantalizing salad bar but it was good. And after eating we felt much better. Hyrum and his Grandpa enjoyed a quiet sit by the fire. Hyrum loves to watch the fire in Derek's family's pellet stove. Even when it wasn't going he'd look at it ever so often to make sure he wasn't missing it and when it was on he'd strain to see it. and then sit there transfixed. :)

Alls well that ends well but I'm sure this will be remembered as the year Sizzler was closed and we will always call before 6 to make sure they will be open.

This year I decided I was NOT going to bake for neighbor gifts. We always end up with a kitchen full of plates to the point that it's hard to use the kitchen at all until we deliver them. People get so many plates of goodies anyway so I decided to do something different. But they couldn't be expensive because we were sending out 24 (or so said our FIRST list). A couple of years ago my mother in law gave me a whole bunch of Christmas goodie ideas so I decided to try one of those. This is how they turned out...
The snowmen were the thin mint peppermint patty type things wrapped in a piece of computer paper and I made the hat and scarf out of fleece. Really very simple and I think they turned out pretty cute. The tag says "These are "mint" to wish you a "frosty" and merry Christmas!" It probably cost us $26 to make 24.

Since I wasn't baking for neighbors all my baking was just for us. Which is really rare in our house. Derek loves baked goods and is always hinting that he'd like me to bake more. But every time I bake it's for something else and Derek just ends up with the left overs. So I made a list (man I really do make a lot of lists for Christmas) of the treats I was going to make for Christmas. Kissy cookies, puppy chow and chocolate covered pretzels, I figured three was do-able. The day I made the cookies Derek kept sneaking them. He was really surprised that I wasn't getting mad at him until I told him they were just for us. He was so happy. I really need to bake for him more often.

As it always happens we forgot some people that we should have had on the list and so I had to do some quick thinking and had to sacrifice some of our treats (which we couldn't have or shouldn't have eaten all by ourselves) to neighbor gifts. I put some puppy chow in a clear cellophane bag (with a few chocolate covered pretzels on the top) with a note saying "Dog gone it we sure hope you're covered in cheer this holiday season" Not to shabby. I think I may do that next year for neighbor gifts. Just act surprised if you get one, okay? It would also help if you gush about how cute and clever they are too. :)

I'm really not a list person. Except for questions for the doctor or lists for the grocery store I almost never make them and even then I usually don't need them. But the weeks before Christmas I found myself drowning. I'd lie in bed at night thinking of all of the things that I had to remember to do to to keep everything running. I really felt like the surface of the water (having everything done) was so far above me. I couldn't sleep until I wrote them down. With Derek being sick I knew everything depended on me. So I made lists and I kept them on me or within easy reach at all times. I wrote EVERYTHING on them and a lot of the time I wrote out every detail so I could mark off every step( ie write the christmas letter, put the letter in the envelope, address the envelope, put a stamp on the envelope put the cards in the mail). It made me feel like I was accomplishing things. Sometimes I would even write things down that I hadn't intended to do after I did them just to feel like it wasn't wasted time. The pictured list above is one of the first of many lists. I still have the urge to cross out the things I haven't marked off yet. :) So how do YOU all survive the chaos of Christmas?

This morning Derek was playing with Hyrum and Hyrum of course had Derek's hands in his mouth. I was in and out doing something and then all of a sudden Derek said " I feel a tooth!" I of course run in and put my hands in his mouth, which he was not as fond of anymore and low and behold on the lower gum on the right side of the front... A TOOTH! He'd been gnawing on our knuckles and fingers ( and collar bones ) for weeks if not months so we'd given up looking. But now he is among the toothed! No wonder he's been grumpy the last two days. It's a sharp little sucker so we've got to be careful now. Can you see it?
Of course you can't because it's tiny and this picture was taken before it popped through. We'll try to get a picture when you can see it better!

We traveled Idaho for Thanksgiving this year. The car ride was a little different as Sunny sat in the back trying to keep Hyrum from sleeping (otherwise he'd never sleep that night) or coughing up and throwing up gunk from his throat. Yes he's still got that nasty cough. We were able to keep him awake until his bed time but were not able to avoid a mess down the front of him. Poor guy! We tried to keep him asleep when we got there but with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle buzzing around he woke up and had a tough time getting him back to sleep. The next morning he met Blossom Derek's family dog.

I'm not sure if he knew what to think of her at first but by the time the visit ended Hyrum was reaching for the dog and smiling. Derek's family says Hyrum needs a dog but I says he doesn't. I'm sure before I die I will loose this battle but that won't stop me from fighting. I get nervous around dogs, I hate the hair and didn't grow up in a dog family but I married into one so I'm in for the fight of my life.

In his third outfit of the day ( after throwing up on the second ) we got him ready for his first Thanksgiving dinner with help from my parents who sent him this adorable bib.


He really had no idea what was coming. We decided that since he'd been doing well with cereal for about a month now that we'd try something a little different. So we sat him in his chair and gave him just a little mashed up potato. A potato is perfect right it's pretty tasteless (without butter or salt) and bland with a natural smooth texture, plus it's a great Thanksgiving day food.

I don't even think he closed his mouth...he just made all kinds of horrible faces and then came the gag face and up came everything in his stomach on to the perfect bib. Granted I probably should have mashed it up more and maybe diluted it a bit but I really didn't expect this. He does so well with cereal even when it's really thick. I'm sure the fact that he was sick and prone to throwing up as it was didn't help. I guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer for potatoes.

After dinner we called my family on the webcam so that they could see him. Most of my family hadn't seen him since he was 2 1/2 months old. It was great fun to see them and Hyrum enjoyed all of the attention. He's just barely getting to understand this webcam stuff.

As is tradition in my family we got a newspaper and sifted through the ads to know what good deals to go after the next day. And the next morning Derek and I were out on the streets at the crack of 9 am to get what was miraculously left of the deals. People think I'm crazy for going out shopping the day after thanksgiving but in my defense it's not all that bad in Idaho Falls (especially when we get ourselves out the door) and it's one of the only times Derek helps me shop and make decisions on gifts for people. Gift getting has become my responsibility and with my decision making skills it's nice to have someone to help and bounce ideas off of. Plus this year our shopping trip also heralded the first time Derek and I were out together...ALONE!! Grandma had Hyrum all to herself for two hours until she had to be at work. A first for all!

The rest of the weekend was filled with resting lounging and playing. Derek has gotten what Hyrum is trying to get rid of so it was a pretty low key weekend. Except for the BYU game on Saturday. GO COUGS!! We all got decked out in our BYU gear and WATCHED the game. (for the first time in two seasons)

All in all we are just increasingly grateful for our wonderful families and the health that is fleeting with my boys these days. I am definately grateful that I have an iron clad immune system. (knock on wood) Hyrum just is grateful for all of the attention he got this weekend. We sure are grateful for him.

Hyrum turned 6 months on Sunday and he spent the day at home...sick. He's got a horrible cough. Not your little run of the mill tiny dry cough. No he's got a rattly, hacking, turn your face red, make your eyes water and just about explode, think a lung is going to come up cough. Luckily he has some coughless hours but when they come they make you want to cry for him. He just looks at you with those red watery eyes like "Why does that keep happening?" We really hope he gets better soon. But to honor my sweet 6 month old I'm going to list 6 things I love about Hyrum ( as is becoming a tradition of sorts in my family)

1. He's just so dang cute! Everyday I look at him and think "Man your cute! How can you be mine"

2. He gives me kisses on the cheek. ( He used to suck on my cheeks but now he just keeps his mouth open, sometimes he even shakes his head a little like movie star kisses of my youth)

3. He is always kicking his little legs like it's his job. I can be in another room and hear the tap ,tap, tap of his little feet on whatever he's laying on.

4. He still startles so easy ( just like his mom). His WHOLE body reacts and he throws limbs out in every direction ( just like in the womb).

5. He has taught me SOO many things in the 6 short months of his life.

6. I love rediscovering the world with him...

Do YOU remember the first time you saw a glow stick? ( He kept waving it around like a lightsaber)

Happy 6 month birthday, Little man. We love you!

Sorry I just have to do this...
I was looking at the pictures we took at Halloween and these pictures were in this exact sequence and seemed to tell a story...

"Oh I get it. We walk around and people give us candy that sounds like a good gig...let's do it!"
WHAT!!! I don't get to eat ANY of the candy!?!

Awww Man!! Dang it! Little guys never get to have fun.

But I guess that's alright!


Everyone will know that mom and dad are going to eat that candy themselves and next year all the candy is MINE!!!

So I just happened across a SWEET online tool that I can't help but share. Also, Sunny reminded me that I hadn't posted a cool site of the week for a while, so I thought I better strike while the iron is hot...

The tool is called Mint (www.mint.com). It is an SAAS (Software as a Service) online money management system that is a TON better than anything else out there. I just signed up tonight and have been playing around with it and I'm really impressed. Especially since it is free! They actually have a pretty cool business model that I'll explain a little later on.

So this is how it works. You sign up for an account and then add your various financial institutions and/or credit cards by entering in your account information for each one respectively. They support up to 3,500 different institutions and I was surprised that my local credit union was one of those supported. After adding all of your accounts, you have a one-stop place to view account balances for all your different accounts (useful if you keep your money in several different places like we do).

The real fun begins when you import your transactions. (It must be 1) a sign of old age or 2) the indication of some suppressed accountant tenancies when you start thinking stuff like this is fun....) It automatically recognizes how to categorize different purchases. For example, it automatically identified such transactions as Albertson's as "Groceries", Target as "Shopping" and Carl's Jr. as "Fast Food". Now, it's obviously not perfect, but it has an option so you can easily go through and correct any labels that it didn't get right. But, I was actually amazed at how much it got right.

After your transactions are imported and you have them labeled correctly (took me like 5 minutes top), you can quickly identify how much you are spending where. You can even create a budget and get updates as to where you are at with you budget for each line item. You can easily see how much you are spending on Entertainment, Gas, Shopping, as well as what stores you are spending the most at. You can even set up alerts to be notified when one of your accounts reaches a certain low/high, etc. Maybe it's just the web analytics guru in me, but I think it's totally cool.

Like I said they have a pretty cool business model. They have a "Ways to Save" tab which analyzes your current interest rates for your checking/savings and credit cards. Companies can purchase advertising on that space. Mint will tell you how much more money you could be making/saving in interest if you switch to one of the other offers. Pretty cool inasmuch as it's really a value add for consumers to see what else is out there, especially in this day and age of Internet banking competition.

Certainly well worth your time checking out.

Jen tagged me on Monday and My sister Nikki tagged me today and they are different tags so I'll keep my comments brief. First tag first...

-The best thing you cooked last week?
Can I just tell you that I've been dreading being tagged for this question and this question alone. I am an extremely unimaginative cook and my poor husband gets so sick of my same old things (possibly literally). Ok I'd have to say the steak on Sunday that was suppose to be fajitas but I realized that I didn't have onions when I went to make it. Since then Derek has only been able to stomach 7-up and club crackers. Maybe we need some new ideas for dinner. I may be killing my husband.

-If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
I'd go to Disneyland with my family for a week or two (Derek, Hyrum, Dad, Mom, Sisters and their families) and take turns with the kids then go up the coast to my mission finally and see my areas and if anyone is around anymore. Go with Derek to Germany to visit his mission just the two of us. Take a train across the country and back to Nauvoo. And to Hawaii just for kicks and giggles.

-Five things you were doing ten years ago...
Knocking doors, learning spanish, getting really frustrated with it, telling people some incredible things, choking down beans rice and chicken. (and now I'd kill to have it again...I miss it and I can never get it right when I try to make it) bonus: learning that hot salsa can make your face numb.

-Five things on your to do list today
Shower, laundry, dishes, find something to wear for pictures, prepare the lesson for Sunday

-Five favorite snacks
Popcorn, celery or apples and peanut butter, chips or crackers, candy (I've been trained by Grandma Nellie), and carrots and pretzels.

-Five bad habits
Watching too much T.V.
Not being able to make decisions
Procrastinating
Eating too much sugar, butter and carbs
Being a money miser

-Five favorite foods
Olive Garden soup, salads and breadsticks
Pot roast on Sunday
Mashed potatoes (keep 'em comin')
Pizza!!!!
fresh fruit right from the orchard or field

-Top Five places I've been
Europe (The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany,and Austria)
Nauvoo
Michigan
Disneyland
Cruise to the Bahamas

-Five favorite memories
-The day we got married and the subsequent week after. It was seriously perfect!!!
-Derek and I's first kiss "So that's what eveyone's been talking about"
-My year and a half in California. Probably some of the most molding years of my life.
-The summer I spent almost everyday with my cousin Jeannie, at her house, up north and at Grandma Nellie's house making bread, writing mysteries and playing in the barn
-Disneyland with Derek (minus the time-share presentation and losing the camera)

Whew! Done! I tag Nikki and Holly to do this one!

Next one is to write 6 truths about myself:

1. I am stubborn. (yeah I know not a surprise)

2. I'm not a snob! Sometimes I just don't know what to say... okay a lot of times I don't know what to say.

3. I really like cemeteries. It's nothing morbid I just like to get a glimpse into peoples life. They seem really alive to me. I think it has something to do with the fact that I like doing family history. I like documenting and reading about peoples lives and getting to know them even though I've never met them.

4. I run away from conflict. I tend not to be very introspective either, but I'm trying to change that. I'm getting much better at journal writing . It helps me organize my thoughts.

5. I get teary a lot...especially since having Hyrum. Stuff about kids just get to me.

6. I am not a good housekeeper. Again...my poor husband.

For this one I tag Jeannie and Erin.

When I got the 3-6 month hand-me-downs for Hyrum there was included an adorable frog costume. "Perfect" I thought "he'll be a frog for Halloween, that was easy!" Then he grew out of his 3-6 month clothes at 4 months. My other sister offered a pea costume that was 0-9 months but fit him perfectly at 3 months. My mother in law bought us some other costumes but they looked like they'd be too big. Then we found out that Derek's work had the theme of Star Wars and everyone knows we enjoy doing themed Halloween so we got yet a fourth Halloween costume. Well I tried to get him in every costume that wouldn't squish him so here are some pictures of Hyrum's many costumes.

Ok so these aren't really costumes per say but they were cute outfits that he wore the day before Halloween and the night before Halloween.






As you can tell, Hyrum liked dressing up as much as we liked dressing him up!

Ever since I arrived at Omniture, people have been telling me that Halloween is a REALLY big deal there. I'd heard all the stories (like how the CEO flew in little people from Vegas to play Oompa Loompa's when he was Willie Wonka or how the whole place shuts down while everyone's families come down and all the kids go trick or treating throughout the building. However, nothing could have prepared me for the festive madness that is Halloween at Omniture.

It began a few weeks ago when the planning festivities began. In light of the recent signing of Disney as an Omniture client, our department decided we would go with a Disneyland theme with different groups taking different rides or aspects of Disneyland such as Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Alice in Wonderland, Star Tours, Pirates of the Carribean, etc. We were each given a small budget and then set loose to turn our areas into our respective themes. Our travel vertical team combined with two other teams and were assigned Star Tours and I couldn't resist dressing up in Star Wars garb with Hyrum dressing up as R2-D2, Sunny as Padme Amidala and me as Jango Fett. We were a little leary about investing in a Jango Fett costume, but as the families were showing up one little boy ran up and asked if he could get his picture taken with me. That made it all worth it!

The night before Halloween several of us stayed late to make final preparations such as hanging up the black lights, draping several pieces of heavy black tarp to block out the light, hanging up florescent painted asteroids and queuing the music from the Star Tours ride. As was expected, Halloween day was essentially a large party at work (we didn't get a whole lot done). The occasional client interaction also included an explanation of why there was Star Wars Cantina music in the background along with an incessant "Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine...." (You need to watch the video!)

All the departments went beyond anything we could have possibly expected. There was a carnival (with popcorn, cotton candy, and other treats) and the decorations made it hard to imagine that there was actually an office hidden behind there somewhere. All the executives were dressed up as different characters and they flew in 7 little people from Vegas to play the part of the Seven Dwarves. Hyrum LOVED them and they thought he was pretty adorable in his costume as well.



The CEO and his wife dressed up as Prince Charming and Cinderella, while the other co-founder dressed up as Sully from Monster's Inc. Also, Mickey and Minnie Mouse were there handing out Mouse Ears flown in from Disneyland!



Other areas included a pirate ship with functioning smoke ring cannons, Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We've put together this 5 minute video to try and give everyone an idea of how crazy it was, but even the video doesn't completely do it justice. Enjoy!

Omniture's (my company) mantra is "Mean People Suck." When you get hired on, you get a license plate cover so, if you desire, you can spread the mantra to others on the road while you enjoy the time honored Utah driving tradition of cutting people off on the freeway.

If you are reading this, you know that we recently started requiring people log in to view the latest on our blog. Last week we had a random person, apparently a 45 year-old from South Korea, post a reply to one of our blog posts telling us how cute our baby was along with a link to his blog. We opted not to visit his site (chances of it being a porn site....somewhere in the 90% range...or he has set up some kind of software that posts a link to his site on random people's blogs and has put up a bunch of advertising on his site to rake in the $$$$) and while it's possible he's just some nice 45 year-old South Korean guy, we decided it was certainly better safe than sorry. It reminded me once again that, yes, mean people suck.

So, that's the story of why you now need to go through the rig-a-ma-roe of logging in.

Everyone seems to be posting adorable pictures of their little cherubs from Halloween today but we're having issues getting ours from one place to another. So while we wait I thought I'd indulge myself in posting a few of the cutest pictures from October. I swear we are going to have to delete half of the pictures we take of Hyrum so that our next children don't think we love them less.
I'm not sure if you can tell or not but his hair likes to go up in a little curly Gerber baby faux hawk. I put this apple core to his mouth and he grabbed my hands and didn't let me take the apple away. That's when I started to realize this kid might be ready for solids. :)

Sucking on his favorite purple elephant toy's trunk. I just love this picture.

I snapped some pictures of my bathing blue eyed boy. He's getting so big. Soon he will out grow the baby bath. He's trying to practice his new trick of blowing raspberries. He hasn't quite got it down yet.

Saturday( the 20th) was colder than the previous day so I decided to make some banana bread and discovered that Hyrum doesn't like the sound of the hand mixer.
It was so sad. He also hates the sound of the shower unfortunately and I've been finding my showers getting shorter and shorter these days. I really don't know if it's the sound or the steam or the fact that only my hands or head appears from time to time or a combination of a few. It just seems consistant that louder noises upset him...except guitar...he didn't mind the concert.

Later we were listening o the BYU game and Derek said "Look at that!" I glanced at Hyrum and he looked like this...


I wondered what he was looking at outside and looked too...SNOW! Big, huge, fluffy, Michigan snowflakes. We had to take Hy out to see it.


It's hard to see because it's so dark. It wasn't that dark outside when we took the picture. But all of those white things are snowflakes. It got to the point that it was nearly white out conditions at the BYU game. CRAZY! All kinds of people were offering us tickets. We're kinda glad we didn't take them with a 5 1/2 month old. And the next morning we woke up to this...

It was gone by noon but it was Hy's first honest to goodness first snow. We can't wait till he's big enough to build a snowman. It got us all excited for the coming holidays!

Last Friday (Oct 19th) Derek's parents came down from Idaho for the day.. They've done these trips three or four times since Hyrum's birth. They leave Idaho in the morning and get down here around 10:30-11:00 am then stay until 2 and drive back. That is a seven hour car ride for a four hour visit. It always amazes me that they would drive so much for such a small visit. It makes me wonder how many times we could have gone up there on a weekend but haven't because it was such a long drive for such a short time to be there. How much time do I waste or opportunities do I not take because I don't think I have enough time to do it or simply don't get myself together enough to get out of the house? I need to be better.

Derek's mom of course came bearing gifts. She needs to be careful or he's going to come to expect that every time she comes. She brought him some spongy fabric covered blocks and a hammer that makes all kinds of noises and lights up when you hammer something. She put some of the blocks in his lap and left the rest in the package off to one side. Hyrum looked at the blocks then at her then at the clear plastic bag with the rest of the blocks then back at his Grandma with this look on his face that CLEARLY said "Grandma, why are you holding out on me? I know there are more blocks. Put them in my lap too." Neither she nor I could resist that face and dumped the rest of the blocks in his lap that he played with very happily. I wish we would have had some video footage of it because it was classic.



They were nervous about getting back over the pass before a rain storm came that was going to be turning to snow at 6,000 feet. They played and we went out to lunch and the left. Hyrum sure loves to see his grandpa and grandma.

It was a beautiful day last Friday low 70's and sunshine. We decided to soak up as much sunshine and warmth we could and spent hours outside in the courtyard watching cars and playing. When Derek got home he joined us. I wanted to get some pictures of Hyrum in the autumn sunshine. Here are some of my favorites.

Hyrum and a fun Fall leaf. We really need to find a pile of leaves to toss him in. He'd love it!


Do you notice the advanced finger sucking skills my son has? Yeah I've pretty much given up on trying to stop it. I'll worry about it when he's dating. I'm pretty sure it will stop before then. In the meantime I'll save for braces.

This was my attempt at an artsy picture. If only I had my sister Holly's picture altering skills and could make everything black and white except for the leaf. One of the reasons I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day is that there were rumors that snow may be coming the next day...

It was way back in July that we heard about it. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in concert. They had a "float"(aka flat bed trailer with bales of hay and costumed people tossing tiny amounts of candy) in our local Steel Days parade. It sounded interesting and what was better is that it was going to be playing at our favorite park, the American Fork Amphitheater park. They passed out cards with all the information about it complete with a website to go to and we were very impressed and decided that we would go and make it a Halloween tradition. By the time October rolled around we'd all but forgotten it and on the 11th Hyrum and I walked up to the temple on our walk and we saw a sign for it. We walked over to the amphitheater park to look at preparations and it looked pretty cool.

That night we decided to bundle Hyrum up and go.


I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. There were a lot of people there. They'd had a harvest festival beforehand that we didn't feel like paying extra for. We sat down and the show got started with a local children's choir that was a little lack luster. I thought for sure the show was going to be far and beyond better. The show started and to be honest I was disappointed.
I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't what I expected. The role of Icabod Crane was played a little too much like a fairy and was completely unlikeable. Contrarily the role of Brom Bones was played much more likeable. I fully admit that I was probably expecting way too much and the foley person was fabulous, the headless horsemen was really cool, and the music did start to get catchy by the end. We'll see if this really becomes a tradition.