Halloween 2009

This is the break down:

Pumpkin Princess - can I just say I love that she still loves to be something beautiful! She doesn't want to dress up like a dead cheerleader and I'm cool with that too. Stay a princess sis.  Please don't grow up and bring boyfriends home to my couch that want to marry you. please. At least not for 15 years.

Ninja - asked to go trick or treating with a friend instead of his Mom! What?! Really! Is it me?  Or do you just want to see how much candy you can collect without having to drag Mom up and down the street?  Hopefully it's the latter. Not confident enough to wear this costume to school this year however.  Hmmm? He always keeps me thinking, this one.

Transformer- RAN from house to house, so excited, no coat needed.  Removed mask within 7 minutes- too sweaty.  Loves to share his candy.  Good for him.  Not so good for me.

Cowboy- Mustache lasted 3 minutes.  Guns lasted 4.5 minutes.  Actually trick or treating lasted 8 minutes.  Then he curled up with his 10 pieces of candy in the bottom of the stroller and chowed.

Angel- This costume was for photos only.  Pretty baby actually wore some warm wooly jammies and a blankie and fell asleep in the stroller.  Her photo was the most difficult one to capture.   Outtakes to come shortly.  Oh boy.

Sweet Ride

Scotty took the kids to church today alone.  I was home with a coughing Pretty Baby.  Thanks honey, sweet ride.

Redheads=Feisty?

I had a friend recently ask me if I thought all redheads were feisty and fiery.

I thought of those redheads I know best.

Mom

Ging

Em

Me with mustache made from my own hair

He made the connection that perhaps they actually become feisty and fiery as a result of the reaction people have to their hair.  You know, sometimes redheads are teased.

As a child/teen I heard things like  -

 carrot top, Big Red, redheaded step-child, and others not fit for this blog. Those are just names for the hair and not the freckles that come as a packaged deal. I've been asked if I have fire in my belly, am I more sensitive to pain, do I have a sharp tongue? When I tried out for the part of Shelby in Steel Magnolias I was denied for a brunette actress, and told later the playhouse worried about finding a short red wig that would match my hair well, and be cost effective.  It may have just been my acting, but the hair came into play. I once had a neighbor man (grown man) ask if all redheads had a strange odor because he'd known one as a child who did and assumed all did? Huh?

However, as I got older things changed from teasing to envy.  The "different" color was something others wanted. I actually had a lady(whom I didn't know) in WalMart ask if this was my actual hair color. When I replied in the affirmative she slapped my arm and said, "I hate you." This hair has never seen a dye bottle, but I assume it will as I turn to gray one day and then struggle to match the color.

Of course I can't take any credit for my hair color- I give that credit to my mother, and her mother, and well, I'm not sure how far back that goes, but it was through no effort of my own.

All in all the redheads I hold closest to my heart are fiery women. Smart women. Strong women. Really funny women. Adventurous women. They've entered slip n' slide competitions, fought wildfires in the mountains, overcome polio and lived in an iron lung for a year, danced like no one was watching, sang like they knew every note, and loved with everything they have. Fiery-check. Feisty-check. Can it all be attributed to "the hair"? I don't think so, but it's an entertaining thought.

I would like to invite all those redheads I know and love to save their money and let's attend

  Redhead Day in the Netherlands together! 

And for all those who know and love a redhead- go get her something here: 

Realm of redheads 

Good Morning Sunshine

Morning on the Street Where I Live

When I am up with or before the sun, with a song in my heart and a prayer on my lips, loading up the laundry, unloading the dishes, enjoying the quiet of my house before children wake, whipping up a hot breakfast, it makes the day better.

What morning ritual makes your day better?

Nap time, Snack time, Reading time

It just looks like a tragedy.
It wasn't.
The box was empty.
I was downstairs braising Asian short ribs in the heavy cast iron pot.
(see the Anderson Appetite for this recipe)

He was napping.

 Does this look like a guilty face to you?

Well, it is.  She just devoured a $30.00 snack! Naughty Pretty Baby. Naughty.

The first time we went to the SLC library I had forgotten my camera.  Turns out Scotty needed to check out a book there and had to purchase a library card.  He actually needed some books about the world renowned architect Moshe Safdie.  Moshe Safdie is the architect whose design ideas won the chance to build the Salt Lake City Library.  And so because of this paper about the architect who designed the library we had to get a library card.

It was meant to be.

So we made a trip back to Salt Lake.  I took the children to the library while Scott had the opportunity to receive an MRI on his arm.  lucky.

I had my camera this time and wanted to show anyone who hasn't been how awesome the architecture is.  The library has a real urban feel, with little shops to buy a croissant or fresh flowers, and glass everywhere allowing you to see from the bottom floor clear to the top!  

Chloe loves this hanging art.  It is made of butterflies perched on little books. So cool.

This is actually referred to as the Urban Room.  It is the space between where the stacks are located and a really cool curved structure that houses study/reading areas. The two are connected by bridged walkways.

This is a kid favorite.  The Willy Wonka Elevator.  It is all glass.  Before we left we had to take it all the way to the 5th floor and then ride it to the bottom.  Grace squirms every time, everyone else smiles.

This is the Children's Library Area on the bottom floor.  Unlike any library we've had a card to before. It had every and any book they were looking for. They were limited to 10 books each as Scott would be the one returning the books during his school hours.  Wonder how this will be affecting his injured arm?

This is one of the reading rooms in the Children's area.  Aidan thought it looked like an ice castle- thus the dramatics.

Another reading area- more like a tree house.  Looked a lot more comfy to me- so this is where we settled in.  This trip got them all excited about reading their "new" books.  We have a pile a mile high in the family room and we're slowly making our way through it.  I got an awesome cookbook that I will be trying a few things from and posting success stories on the Anderson Appetite.