[Insert best witch cackle here]

Halloween is my favorite holiday (besides Christmas, of course, that is a given) and I love all of the Halloween happenings. Of all of the great Halloween events going on during the month of October, I'd have to say Garnder Village is one of my favorite things to do! My mom, sister Amy, and I go every year. All over, they have fun displays of animated witches. Some of my favorites include a witch flying on a bike and some traffic directors, a "witchy poo" in the outhouse, and a witch in training that landed her broomstick into a tree. This year was especially fun for Emma, who liked to spot all of the witches, and says most of them are "nice witches". Last year, she was pretty scared by them, as she didn't understand what Halloween was all about. Besides enjoying the displays, we love the quaint shops in the Village. They have some cute stuff! My favorite store is the Christmas store. Many of the employees are dressed up as witches, so that also adds to the atmosphere. Some of the Halloween stuff Emma saw she said was "Spooky!" We always go to lunch at the Bakery there, which is always delicious, and then to Afton's Candy for some fudge or goodies at the end of our visit. Here are some pictures of our little outing. "Witching" you and yours some very happy hauntings!

Election Time

Just about two weeks, and we'll have a new president. Let me tell you I'm really looking forward to it. Not that I'm excited over who our president will be, but I can't wait for all of this campaigning to be over. The mudslinging, the debates, the empty promises...I'm just so sick of it, and it seems like its been going on forever. And I'm not really super-impressed with either Barack Obama or John McCain (and of course Ralph Nader doesn't really count). I'm really hoping McCain pulls through for the Republican party, though.


As far as local & state officials go, I think there are some great candidates. I was reading through the Utah Voter Information guide the other day to decide who/what I would vote for, as I'm planning on going in to vote early. I've especially been impressed with our current Governor Jon M. Huntsman. (Dave would rub in that I didn't vote for him in our last election, but I really like him. Why doesn't he run for President?) Anyways, I wanted to post this for Adam, I thought he would enjoy it. This is "Super Dell" Schanze's personal statement he provided for the voter guide. He is running for Governor. I could not believe it!

"SUPERDELL is your only choice because YOU didn't file. Huntsman took away your freedoms and taxed you more than any other Utah governor. Springmeyer has admitted he doesn't care about the Constitution. The definition of the word insane is voting for the same people while expecting change. There is no question that Dell Schanze is different.There are only three people on the ballot and SUPERDELL is the only one that is NOT Socialist. If you are unsure, then fill your heart with love, completely open your mind and pray to God earnestly. You can't afford to get this wrong and will be held accountable for your choice."


Are you kidding me? This guy is absolutely crazy! I knew politicians are bad but this is overboard.

Obviously, I'm not a political analyst, but whoever you decide our best candidates would be, do get out and VOTE!

"Take a Picture of It!"

Emma can be kind of a ham sometimes, and let's just say she's not camera shy! Lately, she'll do something silly that she thinks is cute or funny and then tells us "take a picture of it!". She loves to put food in her mouth (like the large globe grapes she stuffed in each of her cheeks to make them look puffy) or just play with it (she gets a kick out of milk moustaches now and loves chocolate pudding), or do "tricks", or anything else she can think of. Maybe we've trained her that way, as I like to take lots of pictures. It is a good reminder though, as we sometimes forget to catch some of these moments on camera. Emma also really likes to take pictures herself, so we have plenty of pictures on our camera of the floor, daddy feet, and other things. She is becoming quite the photographer however, and can aim better now. A couple of weeks ago, when we were over at Katie & Brandon Bill's house, Emma had a little excursion with Katie's camera she found on the table. Katie and I were bringing some stuff in from the car, right outside of her door, and we left Emma in on the lovesac right inside of the door. Emma came out the door, camera in her hands hand, when she said "Smile!" and proceeded to take some pictures of Katie and I. I started running towards her to get the camera, because it was a new one, and I didn't want it to get broken. She took a few, and our faces in the pics are quite bewildered and funny, as it really caught us off-guard. We got a kick out of those pictures, but luckilly, Katie deleted them right after we had a good laugh. Here are some of our favorite "take a picture of it" pictures!