Halloween 2016

Oh Halloween, we love Halloween! It's just so much fun to dress up and trick-or-treat and generally have a good time.

This year Charlie wanted to be Mario, and Emmett wanted to be Blue Toad--NOT Red Toad. He was quite adamant. I made their costumes at the last minute, as per usual, but I think they turned out pretty great.

Now, I can't take all the credit for the costumes; Chad and I are a magical team. It all begins with the boys choosing who they want to be. Then Chad takes us to the dollar store where we inevitably find something incredibly helpful.

This year's dollar store find is the plastic army hat hidden within Emmett's toad hat. Until we saw it, we just weren't sure how we'd pull that off. But we saw it and then the ideas came. Here's what we did: we took a big piece of white fabric, cut it into a circle, and painted big blue dots on it. Then we attached the edge of the circle to the inside of the army hat while we slowly and carefully stuffed the hat with plastic Walmart bags. I checked the craft store and real stuffing was WAY too expensive. This worked beautifully.

The next challenge was the Mario hat. At one point we decided to just buy it, but all the costume Mario hats looked stupid, and I really wanted it to be a baseball hat. So I started searching online, but everything came with mixed reviews. So we gave up on the buying it option and started searching craft stores for plain red baseball hats (which were not the right price online). No luck at JoAnn's. No luck at Hobby Lobby. We were going to tape a paper emblem over a red Raising Cane's hat that we have when I remembered Micheal's. Ironically, it's the craft store nearest my house. And lo and behold they had plain red baseball hats for about $3. Frabjous day! Then we bought a small piece of white felt and hot glued a circle with an M cut out. This worked beautifully, too.

I'm really happy with how the costumes turned out, and I couldn't have done it without Chad's clear head, resourcefulness, creativity, and reassurances. He's the best.

The last several years, we've trick-or-treated in my parents' neighborhood. But this year my mom was out of town and my dad wasn't going to be home during trick-or-treating hours, so we decided to do something different. We traveled from our house south stopping at the streets where our family and friends live. It was a fun way to trick-or-treat and see some of the important people in our lives.

While I really enjoyed it; if we do it again, we'll have to plan ahead a little better. Emmett was so tired by the time we got home that he wanted to go straight to bed without eating dinner. It's a good thing we all had so much fun!

I would not want my teen reading this--in fact, I think I'm giving up on this author.

Sarah J. Maas is the author of two popular teen fantasy series: Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses. In fact, Throne of Glass is a New York Times' Bestselling Series that will be made into a TV show by HULU. And frankly, I think it's all well deserved; Maas is an excellent writer. She has a skill in creating a vibrant world with fascinating characters who are dealing with compelling problems. I have really enjoyed reading her books, but I think I might have to stop.

Working at a library, I am exposed/introduced to a plethora of books--my favorite library perk! And when I came across Throne of Glass, I thought it sounded interesting, so I read it. Then immediately read the next two books. I recommended the series to a good friend; she read and loved them, too. Then we both anxiously and excitedly waited for Queen of Shadows to be released and were not at all disappointed.

In my I-want-to-know-what-happens-next induced depression, I discovered that Maas had started a new series, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I told my friend, and she beat me to it. When I finally got my hands on the book, I first read the book jacket. It was full of glowing, positive reviews, but most of those reviews commented on how sexy and passionate the book is.

I thought that was a little weird, so I asked my friend if this book was really steamy. She said that like Throne of Glass sex is mentioned, characters have sex, but it doesn't really go into any detail. So I went ahead and read it.

My friend wasn't necessarily wrong. As the book moves along, there's some sexual tension eventually leading to characters doing the deed. However, there was enough detail that it made me feel uncomfortable.

Then the book's sequel was released. I was a little wary, so I waited until after my friend read it to get her feedback. She told me there are a lot of sex scenes throughout--much more than the first book.

I was torn. I really wanted to see how the story plays out, but I didn't want to endure any more sheathing sword metaphors or other uncomfortable details. Ultimately I decided not to read the sequel.

Then finally, the next Throne of Glass was released. My excitement was tainted by worry that similar sexual content from the other series would creep into this one. And since the last Throne of Glass ended with some significant sexual tension hanging between two characters, I knew I might not be worrying over nothing.

I began the book. The tension definitely continued from the last book, but nothing happened until halfway through the book. The two characters were on the beach and it was obvious they were finally going to do it. The scene began with foreplay, continued with every intimate detail, until six pages later when the scene ended.

When I say every intimate detail, I mean it. Absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. And this lasted a full six pages.

I would not call myself a prude, but as the scene progressed, I literally read with my eyes wide open nearly bulging out of my skull. Six pages of explicit, intimate details. In all my worries over what would happen in this book regarding the sexual content, I did not anticipate anything so graphic.

And this book is marketed toward teens.

In fact, after reading the scene, I had to go back and double check that fact. All of Maas's books have been published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens and are indeed marketed toward teens.

Which brings me to the point of this post: If you are a teen, a parent of a teen, or simply a teen fiction enthusiast, proceed with caution regarding Maas's books (and maybe even the upcoming TV series).

I am not going to tell anyone what they should or should not read, that is a personal decision. And maybe scenes like this don't bother everyone. But this really bothered me; I did not like it or how it made me feel. In the middle of my teen fantasy novel was hidden six pages of pornography. I was not expecting it. I do not typically read adult books with romantic themes, because I don't want to chance upon scenes like this.

And I keep thinking about how this would have affected me if I had read it when I was a teen. This would have been traumatic for me. Honestly, traumatic; I'm not choosing that word lightly.

I remember the first time I read a sex scene in a book. In my teenage innocence and naivete, I didn't understand what was going on. It was a short paragraph, but I read it four or five times before I realized, "Holy cow they're doing it!" And at the time it was kind of disturbing; it bothered me despite being brief and subtle. And because it was assigned reading for high school, I finished the book. And even though we never discussed the sex scene in class, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we were done with that book.

A six-page explicit sex scene in a book would have been traumatic for me as a teen. I had absolutely no experience with boys beyond friendship. I wasn't asked on a date until college. I wasn't kissed until my mid-twenties. As an inexperienced, innocent, and naive teen, I would not have been ready for this. I'm in my thirties and enjoying a healthy sex life with my husband, and I'm still not ready for this kind of thing!

I can't even begin to say how disappointed I am. I feel invested in what happens to these characters. So I have picked the book up and continued to read out of some sense of loyalty maybe, but every time I do I get anxious and worried about what might be on the next page. I wouldn't want teen me to feel this way--I don't want to feel this way! I read for pleasure, and I read fantasy for an escape from reality. I don't read to peek in on characters in the bedroom, or to find myself facing some dilemma of whether or not I should keep reading.

If teen me asked what I thought she should do, I'd encourage her to stop reading. So I think I'm going to stop reading this book, this series, and this author all together. Despite how fantastic I anticipate the story to be, I'm not convinced it'll be worth it if what I like is peppered with what I don't like.

Pumpkin Party

We went to a really fun place for our nephew's first birthday: Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns. Because we were with the birthday party, we got in for free, but the regular prices are fantastic. Kids 3 and under are free; everyone else is only $2. (Personally, I hate going to places that are clearly catered for kids and I have to spend $12 on myself when I'm not the one really enjoying it.)

When we first got there, Charlie was super excited for . . . wait for it . . . the hay. Yes, that's right, they hay. In fact he wanted to carry a strand with him the whole time. Not wanting to encourage such weirdness but being the compassionate, loving mother that I am, I said no.

After the hay, Charlie insisted he had to climb the pumpkin silo.

Then we found a mini hay maze.

Then the corn maze.

And a Bigfoot sighting.

Then climbing a hay pyramid.

The petting zoo was a lot of fun, too. They had donkeys, pigs, goats, llamas, angry geese (what other kind is there?), and even a kangaroo.

In a big hay maze, we found the creature from the black lagoon. The boys didn't really care for it.

Then a fun slide that ended in a corn kernel pit.

We had a really good time. You could also buy pumpkins there, but having bought pumpkins for 9¢ per pound before, I wasn't willing to pay their prices.

School Carnival

We went to Charlie's school carnival. It was a fun little carnival with ring toss, fishing pond, bean bag toss, and other typical little carnival games. The absolute best part was the bumper ball field. I have no idea if there was supposed to be any structure to it. Our boys had a hard time standing up and running with the giant balls on them, but they sure loved rolling around--especially upside down. While Charlie definitely had a blast, the look of pure joy on Emmett's face was priceless. Here are some views looking down into the balls:

And here's what the balls looked like with the boys standing (or attempting to stand) inside them:

The boys also got to take a picture with a Jedi and a clone trooper. We love Star Wars!

Bridal Veil Falls

We went for a little walk to enjoy some nature and thought it'd be nice to get away from our usual haunts, so we went up to enjoy some nice, cool mountain air. The "hike" to Bridal Veil Falls is hardly a hike. It's mostly flat, paved, and less than a mile one way. It's a fun, easy, beautiful stroll through nature.

Hyperbole and a Half

There are many ways to get recommendations for new books. One of my favorites is through the Provo City Library's blogs. Libraries are amazing; if you're not familiar with your local library, check it out--either in person or peruse their website. You might be surprised at what you find.

I especially like checking the library's reviews because the librarians read everything, and sometimes I want to read something a little outside my norm. And that is where I found Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh.

Hyperbole and a half apparently started as a webcomic/blog. Then because of the blogs success, the book was published. The book is a collection of stories, often hilarious, from various points in the author's life as well as her ruminations on how she's dealt with depression, not hilarious, and her own self-discovery.

The book starts strong. I was laughing to tears by page 30, and considering the amount of drawings involved, there is much less than 30 pages worth of text. The combination of how she expresses herself in writing and in her simplistic comics is amazing. I loved it.

While the hilarious stories were my favorite part of this book, I also thought the author's introspection was worthwhile, and there were many times where her descriptions hit pretty close to home. She put on paper things I've thought, but I'm not sure I'd ever have the courage to say. Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read.

Transplanting Iris

I have two flower beds full of iris--no idea what colors/kinds because we bought our home after all the blooms had died this summer. I also have a couple empty (except weeds, they don't count) flower beds around my house. So, I figured I should spread the iris around, and since they multiply on their own this needs to be done every few years anyway.

So we got out the gardening tools and got to work. I started with clearing the weeds from an empty section of flower bed. Then I dug up and separated about a square foot of iris. That one square foot yielded about twenty iris bulbs. I was not expecting that many. I now realize that I have my work cut out for me with spreading out my iris, and I'm trying to think of other places I can put it. Also, should anyone in the area want iris of unknown color, let me know--I will happily share!

Throughout the process, Emmett was my "helper." (We tackled this while Charlie was at school.) He really liked the hand held rake and trowel. He didn't really do what I asked most of the time, but he didn't really get in the way either, so I'm considering this a success.

The one the he did do well was planting the bulbs. The holes were dug, and I told him to put the bulbs in with the roots down and cover them with dirt. It was fun seeing him focus on this new task and his excitement when it was done. (I gave up after the first twenty bulbs; it was getting hot, and I'm lazy.)

Assuming we didn't kill them all when we moved them, it will be fun anticipating their blooms in the spring.

I'm planning on starting a vegetable garden next year, and this was a good start for us in getting in the habit of gardening. We'll see how we keep it up.

Kindergarten: Our Next Great Adventure!

Charlie's Kindergarten adventure got started with his assessment. He met with one of the teachers and she asked him a bunch of questions to get a sense of what he knew. He did great, and halfway through the assessment he turned to the teacher, put his hand on her arm, and said, "It's really nice to have someone to talk to." The teacher smiled and agreed.

At the end of his assessment, he asked if he could give a speech. The teacher looked at me questioningly, but I didn't have a clue about what he was going to do. In the end, he did a puppet show in which everyone died. It was really interesting for me to see a total stranger's first impression of Charlie form.

Then, pretty quickly, came his first day.

The school even had a fun hero themed photo backdrop set up.

Charlie did great. He got in line for his class without any problems. No tears; just a smile, wave, and he was good.

Emmett did just fine, too. He didn't even seem to miss his brother. And it was nice to have some time with just him.

When Charlie got home, he had a small package of M&Ms and a list of questions--one question for each color--about his first day. It was a fun way for us to hear about what he did at school. All in all, I'd say his first day was a success, and we're all looking forward to this fun, new adventure!