Costumes

A few years back I decided to try to make Halloween less commercial.  I know it's hard to do especially when there really is no substance to Halloween.  It's not like Christmas where you can focus on Christ or Thanksgiving where our focus is on all our many blessings or Easter where we are grateful for the resurrection of our Savior.  Since I really didn't want to delve into why Halloween started I just took the traditions of today and made them a little more homey. 

I have tried making at least one Halloween costume each year for the past few years.  Here they are:

Kyle as Anakin Skywalker.  I'm pretty sure my mom made most if not all of this.  Since Lana was born about 1 month before this I doubt I had anything to contribute.  My mom made the tunic and tied a brown sash around Kyle's waist.  He already had some tan pants and a light saber so he was all set.

                                        

Kyle as an astronaut.  I got the idea from one of Martha Stewart's birthday party ideas.  I got Kyle a disposable painters suit and colored duct tape.  Ronnie helped me find some patches on the computer to decorate Kyle's costume with.  I also put Ronnie in charge of the box thing and helmet.  The best part of all...no sewing!

                    

                    

Lana as a monarch butterfly.  I got this idea from Pottery Barn.  Pottery Barn's costume was so cute and I would have just bought if I had lost my mind and somehow thought that spending $100 on a costume was logical.  Luckily my mind is still functioning and I decided to try to make it instead.  Lana had a black sweat suit and I made the wings with felt.  I used a really strong stabilizer in between the wings to make them stand up instead of flop down.  I made the pattern with felt also and I decorated both sides so you could tell what she was coming and going.  Then I put some grommets in the wings and laced  black string through them so Lana could wear the wings like a backpack. 

                    

Kyle as Link from Zelda.  I really didn't want to try to take on such a hard costume so I actually look online to buy a costume...but no one made them.  So them I turned to the Internet again for directions on how to make one and bingo I found some directions that made it seem actually doable.  I learned a lot about Link in trying to make this costume, for example who knew that in each Zelda game Link's costume was different?  Well then I had to ask Kyle witch costume he wanted and he said Link in Twilight Princess.  So then I got started.  Here's a blog I wrote last year about the day when I was making this costume.  The costume didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but at least I pushed on and finished it.

                                   

This year Lana is going to be an Indian.  She started out wanting to be a ladybug, then she wanted to be an Indian.  As I was at the store getting her Indian costume fabric she started saying she wanted to be a princess.  I didn't give in.  The people around the cutting table thought it was quite amusing that my darling daughter was crying and telling me over and over that she wanted to be a princess while I was buying her stuff to be an Indian.  It was never going to end, if I had caved and said ok you can be a princess the next day she would want to be something else.  So I looked at her and said ok how about you can be an Indian princess and then all was right with the world.  Everyone around the fabric table got a good chuckle and then I high tailed it out of there before anymore costume ideas came to her.

I used one of her dresses and traced around it on newspaper for a pattern.  Then I added a few trimmings.  I had some left over fabric so I made some mock moccasin boots.  Mock because they really don't cover her feet , just her legs.  On Halloween she will have a fluffy pink headband with a pink feather in the back. 

Here is a picture of me in an Indian costume my mom made....so the tradition continues.  See my feather...it was a peacock feather form our very own peacock...how cool is that! 

             

Way to go Neal!

Last night Ronnie and I went to the America's Got Talent show at the MGM Grand and it was AWESOME! 

First let me tell you what happen to Ronnie at work yesterday.  Ronnie was stuck in his office in a meeting when some of his employees came running in to tell him that Terry Fator was shopping in his Sam's Club.  Terry Fator won America's Got Talent last year, I think it was last year.  He does amazing celebrity impersonations all the while never moving his lips.  He's a ventriloquist.  Ronnie wasn't able to leave the meeting to go down and meet Terry but some of his employees were able to talk to him and they said he was the nicest guy. 

Now back to the show.  Our first ever Vegas show and Ronnie just happens to know the guy, so bizarre!  Ronnie was looking at the tickets online and asked me what seats we should get.  I looked at him and said, you're going to a show where someone you know is headlining...how often does that happen?  We got floor seats. 

So we get to the show and sit down just feet away from the stage.  Jerry Springer is hosting the show just like on TV but unlike TV he is just feet away from me! 

We got to see:

            Terry Fator                                 Joseph Hall                                   Queen Emily                         

     

        Donald Braswell                              Paul Salos                                Jessica Price

    

         Nuttin But Stringz                           Eli Mattson                              Jonathan Burkin

Neal E. Boyd

                                                   

Of course everyone was great, but the star of the show was definitely Neal.  The first time we got to see him in the show was when he came out with Nuttin But Stringz and sang with them.  Later he did some songs by himself and I'm sure that everyone had goosebumps like I did. 

After the show, as we were leaving, I heard an usher say, oh man, why did he have to do that.  Then I looked over to see Neal talking to some fans.  Ronnie went over to say hi and was met with a big giant bear hug.  It was a total Kodak moment, but ill prepared me didn't have a camera. 

We were able to go back and talk to Neal after the show in this room were all the other performers were.  Neal had quite the crowd of friends that had come to see him from Missouri.  People were standing beside Neal and getting pictures and Ronnie asked if I wanted to get a picture with Neal and I said no, it's Neal's night he doesn't know me and I don't want to take time away from him.  Then Neal asked Ronnie to sit down so they could talk.  As they talked I looked around the room and I was over come with the American Spirit in the room.  All of those folks just had their dreams come true.  They didn't feel like they lost a talent competition, but they were the brave few that were able to share their talents with the world.  I realized that there were no losers in the room and I doubt that the prize money really mattered to any one of them.  What mattered was the fact that they made it through the journey.  How many of us have talents that we don't share because we might be afraid of criticism?  This was not a night about hey I won and you didn't, this was a night about overcoming obstacles.  I was in awe to have been in a room with so many kind, strong, and talented people.  Thank you for that opportunity Neal. 

Now back to the lighter side.  Ronnie was talking to Neal about about seeing a picture of Neal wearing his football uniform and get this, it was the number that Ronnie wore.  Neal said I know, when I got my number I looked in the yearbook to see he wore it before me and it was you.  So let's hear it for number 74!  Then things kind of calmed down and Neal wasn't getting asked every few second to look at a camera and smile and Ronnie asked if it was alright for me to take a picture of them together.  Ronnie told Neal, my wife wants a picture of us for her blog.  I was horrified, then Neal said oh yeah sure, I've read your blog.  He said he came across it on a Google search or from a video link or something.  I was shocked!  After that I couldn't stop smiling.  How cool is that!  He read my blog!  So Neal if you ever come across my blog again, please leave a comment it would totally make me smile.

Then Neal introduced us to Terry Fator's wife Melinda.  Ronnie of course had to share the story about Sam's Club people going insane early that day when her husband was shopping.  I think she got a kick out of that.  I can't imagine how her life has changed since her husband won the show last year.  They announced at the show last night that Terry Fator signed a 100 million dollar contract with Mirage.  WOW.  At the show last night Terry Fator sang the song by Brooks & Dunn called the Boot Scootin' Boogie.  Before Melinda left I had to tell her that Ronnie does the Electric Slide to that song every Saturday at 2pm with his demo ladies (the ladies that pass out samples).  So if Terry is ever shopping he'll have to stop over and maybe sing.  Like that would ever happen, but hey stranger things have happened.

It was just an amazing night.  We finally got home around 1:30 or 2:00am and poor Ronnie had to get up at 5:00am for work.  Ronnie said it was worth it, but he is getting too old for that kind of thing.

Musical Musings on the Presidential Debate

For those that know me well, know I love quoting songs. Ronnie and I can have whole conversations using only lines in songs.

A lot of times when people talk I hear song lines in my head. Here are a few songs that came to mind as I watched the presidential debate. They are by a band called UNCLE TUPELO that I really DIG, but sadly the band split many years ago and then went on to form two different bands, WILCO and SON VOLT, that are really good, but not as great.

Debate Topic: Economy


Debate Topic: Energy


Debate Topic: Environment

It's a Small World After All

Have you seen this show?

I haven't ever really watched this show until this season when we programmed our DVDR to record the whole series. Why? What makes this season so special? Well I'll get to that.

If you have seen it then I'm sure you have heard this guy sing. Well if you haven't you can watch him here.

He is such an amazing singer he even made our kids stop arguing and listen, listen to opera no less!

Neal E. Boyd won the $1 Million Prize and a headline show in Las Vegas. It just so happens that Ronnie grew up in the same town as this guy. Not only that but he was good friends with Neal's older brother and even had sleep overs at his house. Now Neal will be headlining in a show in our town...how bizarre!

We have lived in Vegas for quite sometime and never gone to a show...that is going to change!

Oh My! What Have I Done

This is a blog I wrote back in April of this year and was too chicken to post. After what I did yesterday this blog pales in comparison and the story needs to be told.

The other day Ronnie was helping a neighbor down the street with his yard. He learned if there are three guys, two wheelbarrows, and one shovel, you don’t want to be the guy left holding the shovel. They were putting rock down in their yard. Ronnie would fill one wheelbarrow and just when he was finished the other wheelbarrow would show up needing to be filled. But I must say, I’m glad he did the shoveling, his ringer tees look like they got a little tighter around the arm area…mighty nice looking. Maybe I just washed them in hot water and they shrank…who knows either way they look good!

Anyway, back to the story I was going to tell you before I got distracted. While he was over at the neighbors he said many times how much he liked grass. It wasn’t just because of the hard work involved with laying down rock. We are just grass people. It’s not the most intelligent choice for a yard when you live in a dessert, I know, but it sure feels good on bare feet in the heat of the summer. It is also a great backdrop for photos. We follow the water restrictions and so forth and we try our hardest to keep our grass looking pretty. Right now our major problem is dandelions. Today we took a stand against the on slot of dandelions attacking our yard. As soon as our neighbor left in his car we spread out in his yard pulling all the dandelions we could find. Some with roots that would rival that of a tree! We only had a small time frame because we didn’t know when he would be back. I kept thinking what if he forgot something and is driving up the street right now. How embarrassing would that be? I could just see the look on his face as he drives up to see his neighbors in his yard pulling weeds. We have crossed a line and I knew it, but why stop now, we when we were almost finished. It was at this point I started to realize that I am quite neurotic about some things, dandelions being one of them. Luckily we finished before he got home and hid the evidence deep inside a trash bag, never to be seen again. Then in a self reflective moment I had to wonder…why I can’t be as neurotic about housework as I am about yard work.

Ok that’s enough self reflecting; let’s just bask in the glory, that for a little while there will be no dandelion seeds floating into my yard. Now I must go outside barefoot and turn a few cartwheels in my yard, why…because I can.

Now on to what I did yesterday...

Now first let me tell you my neighbor is a very nice young man. He is probably in his mid to late twenties and rents the house next door. He is a chef and works two jobs. When he has get togethers with friends we can hardly hear a peep. He has even offered to hook us up on a ski vacation in Cedar City, UT because one of his friends owns a rental condo there. In case you need a visual, he reminds me of the funny Japanese guy from Heroes.

He is just a totally nice guy, but since he rents he has not invested in a lawn mower and I don't blame the guy. There used to be an arrangement where someone would come and mow the lawn and trim the bushes about once or twice a month. I don't know what happened to that, but the lawn hasn’t been mowed for at least two months. This summer his grass was attacked by fungus and it made large brown spots that crept over onto our side of the lawn. So I had to take matters into my own hands. I treated our lawns with some spray on fungicide when he wasn't home. Well that didn't work very well, so then I talked to professionals and they said I should use granules instead of spray on fungicide. Uggh, at least with the spray on stuff I could stand on my own sidewalk and it would look like I was just spraying my lawn. Now with the granule stuff I have to walk over on his side all the while pushing a big green spreader for all too see. Ok, so I did it and I wasn't caught.

Now yesterday I did something totally wrong. Kyle and his friend down the street were helping each other do chores. They were taking turns at each other’s house and when they got to mine they mowed my lawn. Then I went out to see if they could use the spreader to put down some more fungicide and I just started mowing my neighbor's lawn! Since the grass was so tall grass was flying everywhere, so then I had Kyle grab the broom and start sweeping off our neighbor’s sidewalk. I get done mowing and look over to see what the kids are doing and guess what I see...Lana, Kyle, and his friend all over under my neighbor's carport playing around! Not only did I over step my bounds, but I taught the kids that it was ok too! I stopped right then and there and started to clean up and get the kids back onto our side. I was going to mow the other side of his lawn, but didn't. Instead I only mowed half and then I left a note on his door. In the note I totally lied! I said my son needed to do a service in his neighborhood for Boy Scouts so he mowed your lawn, I hope you don't mind. Yes, I know, I'm so WRONG!

Our lawns are cut in half by the driveway, so now my neighbor has one side mowed and the other not. What to do, what to do...to mow or not to mow that is the question. I know what I need to do, but I just don’t wanna! I know I should talk to him and say hey, can we finish the other half of your lawn. I'm sure he would let us. I'm sure he feels bad that his lawn was so bad that his neighbors felt compelled to fix it for him. I'm sure all I had to do was say, hey my son can mow your lawn for five bucks if you like and then I wouldn't have made him feel bad. I'm sure this is one of those should have, would have, could have moments.

Lana's Birthday Party

Last week we celebrated Lana's 5th birthday. She had a Fancy Nancy party. Everyone dressed up very fancy and we had a fancy dinner and even her presents were wrapped in a very fancy way.

We all got to make our own fancy crowns.

Our fancy dinner didn't turn out right but Lana helped it out with the addition of a pink feather...very fancy!
Leave it to her parents to give her a toy/organizer. It's a bean bag stuffed with stuffed animals. I finally have a place for all her stuffed animals and she can finally have all her animals in her room...it's a win win.
Here are a few more birthday party pictures:

Birthday Mania

September is a crazy month for birthdays in my little world. First we have Ronnie's (husband) birthday on the 10th, then Lacey's (sister) birthday on the 20th, then Lana's (daughter) birthday on the 22nd.

This year Lana gets to have cupcakes brought to school for her birthday to share with her class. It just so happens that her class is huge! She has 32 kids in her class and that's not including her teacher and another teacher the kids call kleptomaniac that means I get to make 34 cupcakes.

I don't have cake decorating skills so I cheat. How do I cheat? I use candy and things like that to mask the fact that I can't pipe icing in a way that would make it appetizing to eat. This year I went with a flower theme for her cupcakes.

Here are the Daisy cupcakes, I found the idea for them at Family Fun.

And here are the sunflower cupcakes and I found the idea for them here.

With all this birthday cake and cupcakes during the month I am really glad I was able to find a swimsuit. And as predicted, it was on sale! It would have cost about a hundred dollars, but I got it for $24, woohoo. I've been going to a few aquaerobic classes with some friends and they are fun. Today we are trying a new aqua class where we wear foam boots. Too bad I don't have anyone to video tape it, I'm sure it will be amusing and we will make quite a fashion statement. I also discovered the Fit channel on TV and they have a yoga program on there that I do at home. My hands don't slide on our rug so it's much easier and the best part I can do it at night so I can crawl in bed and go to sleep afterward.