Drama!

Ethan and Elise both were involved in excellent productions at their respective schools that were performed over the last couple of weeks. They both had a great time and we really enjoyed the performances, too. I'm also really really glad that I get a break from picking kids up from rehearsals two times a day for the next few months -- but it's a small price to pay for their involvement with some great programs and great kids.

First, Ethan's musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It isn't the best known musical (how many of you had ever heard of it?) and, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure how it would play. But I thought it was great. Especially the second and third times, after I'd figured out the plot. And the student actors were the main reason it was so good. The leads were top notch: strong, beautiful voices; great acting.

Oh, and Ethan? One of the best chorus members. Most definitely. He was in character the whole time and sang and danced with the enthusiasm of a seasoned actor. You'd never know this was his first big production. He had a really great time and is looking forward to being involved in more plays and musicals at East Ridge.

(The first four pictures were taken by a professional photographer during their final dress rehearsal because, of course, you can't take pictures during the actual production.)

The whole cast of Drood in the midst of a dance number. That's Ethan in the middle.

Ethan, full of indignation.

Ethan, full of dread.

Ethan's big part in the show, portraying Jasper's evil strangler side during an opium-induced revenge dream.

The cast members mingled in the audience before the show began (in character, of course). Here Ethan is, regaling a man sitting just behind us. I tried to pretend like I wasn't taking his picture.

In front of the Drood poster just after opening night. He looks a little sleepier here than he does in real life.

Ethan and a couple of his friends in the cast.

Now, onto Elise's show! Elise's middle school did the one act play "The Seven Nasty Princesses." As I said previously on the blog, Elise wasn't so sure about her part at first, playing the witch "Barfette." (Yes. Barfette. Not a name that most 13 year old girls want to be associated with.) But it was a really big part and the more she got involved in the show the more excited she became. I wasn't quite sure what to expect on opening night since Elise warned me that it was a little cheesy . . . but you know what? It was really funny. And Elise remembered each and every one of her many lines and delivered them with aplomb.

Elise and the cast on picture day

Elise saying "buh bye!" to one of the nasty princesses

General mayhem

A little song and dance number

Elise and her fellow witch on closing night

Smiling with her obligatory bouquet of flowers

Elise is planning on trying out for Lake's musical this coming spring, and after seeing Ethan's production at East Ridge she's very excited about the prospect of being involved in theater in high school next year (!!). Hey, if both Ethan and Elise are in East Ridge's musical next year? By then Ethan will have his driver's license and he can shuttle them BOTH back and forth. Woo hoo!

Anyway, we're really proud of both kids for putting on great shows. It was a lot of fun, and we wish you all could have been here to enjoy them with us.

Halloweeeeeeeeeeen!

Edited to add: I forgot to thank all of you for chiming in on the family photos. Merci! Also, for the record, I don't usually do Christmas cards this early, but the photographer in our ward had scheduled these "mini sessions" at a reduced price so we took advantage of it. This is the only reason I'm ahead of the game. Anyway, now on to our regularly scheduled Halloween-related programming:

We had a good Halloween this year -- lovely weather, very few costume/decoration/candy - related snafus, good company. The kids had fun, even the older ones at our ward Halloween party, and the candy haul was high on the chocolate and low on the Now & Laters (yay!). The only bad point was when Wyatt got a little spooked by a neighbor who was sitting on the porch like a stuffed dummy and then "came to life" as soon as he reached for the candy bowl. TERROR! After that, he made me scope out all the front porches and wouldn't go up if there was anything remotely horrifying near the front door. Pumpkins: okay. Vampires, ghouls, scarecrows, Frankenstein's monster, witches, zombies, dead people (who just might come back to life??). NOT okay.

But he still had fun. Here are the kids, all costumed up:

Remember how I said I was going to get Ethan a mask? Then I found this puppy on sale at Target (BEFORE Halloween). Figured it would be a good investment -- reusable and all that. And he actually liked it! Terrified some women in the ward by scampering around at the trunk or treat, so I think he would call it an all-around success.

Arrrrgggh, ye maties! The cutest pirate in our landlocked state!

Elise, as Chell from the video game Portal. And yes, I frantically magic markered those socks (shoes on underneath) to look like the character's "longfall boots"??? mere moments before we had to dash out the door. She was happy, that's all I cared.

Zombie boy! I found this costume at Goodwill, new, for $10. Who knew Goodwill was such a great place to buy Halloween costumes??

The whole spooky clan

On Halloween night, we had the Ponczochs over for chili and trick or treating, and we were so happy to see Kim's mom Jennie (Darrin's sister, so Forrest's pseudo-sister) too. The Ponczoches have a beautiful new house, but it's pretty rural, so we figured it would be fun for their kids (and for Wyatt!) to hit our kid friendly streets. (Okay, kid friendly except for the terrorizing Wyatt part.)

Ready to take to the streets!

Jonas and his buddies. He's graduated to "independent" trick or treating and  organized a group of about seven boys to roam the neighborhood. They weren't home until about 8:45 and ended up with quite a haul.

Wyatt, getting to be the big kid for once!

Inspecting the haul.

 Before I sign off, on a sadder note, it seems as though we've lost Buttercup. The week before last she went out for the night and never came back. We held out hope for a while that she'd turn up and looked for her at the shelters, but it looks like our kitty is gone. The kids were really sad, and the hardest part is not knowing what happened. As much as that cat drove me crazy, I admit that I miss her. I know the kids do. Wherever you are Buttercup, hope you have a nice bottom stair to claw and that every night is nice and warm so you can run around to your heart's content.

And finally, Ethan's opening night for The Mystery of Edwin Drood is tonight. Break a leg, bud! And next week is Elise's play. We'll keep you posted.

Help Me Out With the Family Pics

Yes, I know yesterday was Halloween, but I haven't had time to upload/edit the photos yet, so I'll save the Halloween post for a few days hence. (We did have a fun Halloween though.) What I do have are some photos from our recent family photo shoot for you to peruse and, more importantly, help me choose between for our Christmas card and a family portrait for the wall of our house.

A wonderful woman in our ward just started up a photography business and she did a photo shoot for our family for a steal of a price. After all the work she did taking the photos, then editing and tweaking them all? I'm thinking I need to give her a tip. Or at least a big plate of cookies or something. Anyway, I really like the photos, but I'm having a hard time deciding which family photo I think would be best for our Christmas card because, while each photo has elements I really like, there's also something about each one that makes me go "hmmm, maybe not." What I'm saying is I can't decide on a clear front runner. So that's where you, my helpful readers, come in. Which of the photos below should be our Christmas card? And which one (if it's a different one) should we order in an 11 x 14 print for our wall? (Because what you want in a Christmas card might be different than what you want in a wall portrait, you see.) And I'll get this out of the way right now: yes, I should have worn something else (sweater too frumpy, white tank underneath kind of disappears, and my jeans look baggier than I realized they did -- sigh) and yes, when I gain five pounds it all goes to my face. When people complain about gaining all their weight in their rear end I feel absolutely no sympathy for them because the truth of the matter is, when is the last time somebody took a picture of your rear end? Anyway, enough about me and my envy of the skinny-faced/fat-bottomed. Let's get to the pictures:

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Then here are some other photos from the shoot I thought I'd share. They're fun, but not in Christmas card contention:

We also got a nice shot of Forrest and me, but the photographer wasn't completely happy with it because it wasn't as sharp as she wanted it to be. I still had her include it in our cd, though, even if it looks a little more processed in order to compensate for the non-sharpness (or something like that). And hey, look, no wrinkles on our foreheads!

And then last, but definitely not least, my good lookin' kids:

So now, my dear blog readers, let me know what you think. I'm not going to tell you which photo I think I'm leaning toward yet, since I don't want to influence the outcome. Like how on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, when the contestant says which one she thinks is right BEFORE asking the audience -- I mean, that's a total waste of an "ask the audience" lifeline, don't you think? Anyway, even if you don't comment a lot, I'd love to know your opinion on the top five shots, since I've worked myself into a place of complete indecision. And Christmas is coming! In like less than two months! :-)

If You Have the Disembodied Heads All Ready, Why Not?

For all of you, on Halloween, my least favorite holiday:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

And just in case you were wondering, Halloweenish tasks still to complete at the Hallstrom house: carve Jack o Lanterns; find Wyatt a pirate pistol; buy more Halloween candy; figure out a way to make the prison uniform I got for Elise at Goodwill for $1.99, which is two sizes too small, look like this, but Mormonized with a t-shirt instead of a tank top:

We're also planning to somehow make tube socks look like those boots. Somehow. Oh, and Ethan still has no costume. He wants a gorilla suit but gorilla suits are $80 and if he can't be a gorilla? There's nothing else for a 15 year old boy to be, apparently.

I think I will find him a crazy hat. Ah, Halloween!

Mankato Marathon

This weekend, Forrest ran his 3rd marathon in Mankato. Since we're extended-familyless here in MN, it's tough for us to leave overnight, so instead Forrest and I woke up at 4:30 a.m. in order to get to Mankato by 7:00. We met up with our friends the Amezcuas; Hector was running his very first marathon, which is all the more impressive since he only started running a year ago and has lost 70 pounds in the last twelve months.  Forrest was glad to have a buddy to run with, and I was glad to have a buddy (his lovely wife Allison) to drive around town with to cheer the guys on.

Game Face.

On your mark, get set . . .

Forrest and Hector, smiling wide at mile 9.

My friend Allison, victim of a senseless act of enthusiastic cowbelling violence. (Michelle was really sorry.)

In all our many races, I have never made Forrest a poster. Thank goodness there are people like the Amezcuas in the word! (That's their cute daughter Sara holding the sign.)

Grinding it out with the pacing group at mile 20.

Coming in for the finish. Forrest ran with the 4:00 pacing group the whole time in the hopes of getting a time with a 3 in front of it (like, say, 3:59). According to my clock he made it, but when we checked the official chip time? 4:00:24. Forrest took it, yes, in stride.

Forrest and Hector exchanging a heartfelt bro-hug at the end of the race. Both guys did a great job.

All this talk of running marathons makes me tired. Doesn't it make you tired? In that spirit, a shot of Wyatt, a boy who knows the value of a nice, long rest:

Anyway: great job hon! Now all he has to do is finish building our deck and his life will settle down a little. Right? Fingers crossed? At least until cross country ski season starts.

Fall

Wyatt has been keeping an eagle eye out for piles of leaves to jump in.

Fall has arrived here in Minnesota. A beautiful fall, in fact: sunny, clear, lots of beautiful color. Today it's finally cool enough to get that sharpness in the air I love. Jonas and Wyatt are in the back yard with friends and I can hear the sound of the swing set creaking and basketballs bouncing. It's getting dark by 7 p.m. All these things make me feel cozy and content. It would be so hard to live somewhere that doesn't have a proper fall.

Now that we're back in MN, another harbinger of fall is the bow hunt. Forrest looks forward every year to hauling out his deer stand and climbing up a tree. Because we've been so busy he had to put off his first foray for a couple of weeks after the opener. He wasn't sure if he'd even see any deer since the rut hadn't quite started yet, but he figured he'd at least get a lay of the land. But then -- surprise surprise! -- I get a text. "Got a big buck. Heart beating out of my chest!" I was happy for him, but I was also a little apprehensive. We know from past experience that it's one thing to shoot a deer with a bow and arrow. It's another thing entirely to track it and find it. But Forrest was pretty sure he'd gotten off a good shot and that the deer wouldn't go far.

He asked me if I could drive up to the nature preserve and bring some supplies he didn't have with him, which I was happy to do, but by the time I got there it had become clear that he couldn't find any of his deer hunting buddies to help him track the deer and drag it out of the woods. Now, it's taken me years (YEARS) to be okay with even the idea of hunting. When Forrest took it up after we'd moved to Minnesota I hoped for a while that it would be a phase (deer are so pretty, first of all, and while I know that I eat meat that come from animals that were once alive and are now dead, I wasn't sure I wanted my husband to participate in the killing part). But over the years I've come to understand the reasons why Forrest finds bow hunting so meaningful. And there really is a need here in MN to keep the population under control. ANYWAY -- I got to the nature preserve and Forrest needed me to help him, and, truly surprisingly, I knew I could do it.

The tracking part was actually kind of exciting. Following the blood trail in the woods in the dark, shining our headlamps in the trees trying to find little droplets of red on a leaf. Yeah, yeah, I know: I should have been horrified that I was tracking the blood of an animal my husband had shot, but I wasn't. It actually made me feel better when we found blood because it indicated that the deer died quickly, without a lot of suffering.  At one point we lost the trail for a little while, and it was exciting to spot the one telltale fleck that led us back in the right direction.

Then, finally, we came upon a little clearing in a grove of trees and Forrest found him. And oh, what a deer! So beautiful. He's the second biggest buck to ever be taken out of his work's nature preserve, and he looked pristine. So many deer look kind of flea bitten up close (especially in Utah, Forrest tells me, which isn't a slight against Utah but against mule deer), but this guy was perfect. I'm sure there will be a few disappointed female deer in the preserve this fall -- I bet he was the deer-style Brad Pitt of Willow Lake.

So, yeah, I was a little sad for the deer. Poor beautiful deer. But I was really happy for Forrest, too -- he was thrilled. Getting a deer this nice in the bow hunt is a rare occurrence. Here he is, right after we found him:

And yes, I helped him drag it through the woods. And held the deer's leg (and looked away) while Forrest gutted it. And yes, I went above and beyond, scoring a number of wife-points I will enjoy cashing in at some point here soon.

Here's Forrest and the boys with the deer back home:

If there's anything more to add to the deer hunting story, Forrest will have to do so in the comments. I'm sure I left out some important details. But, with the help of his friend, he went on to skin the deer, then butcher it, and by Sunday had made us a nice big pot of venison chili. Yes, he does more than bring home the bacon: he can stalk, shoot, track, gut, skin and butcher the venison, and then fry it up in a pan.

Interestingly, although Forrest spent that Friday feeling lucky and triumphant, when we got home I found a frozen MacBook waiting for me. Didn't think it was a big deal -- my MacBook is 5 years old and likes to freeze up -- but this time? It wouldn't come unfrozen. That very day I had finished what I'd hoped to be the final draft of a short story I've been working on -- I figured all that was left was language-level tweaking and I was pretty happy with it. Unfortunately, though, I hadn't saved a version on my external hard drive or emailed myself a copy for the past three weeks while I'd been working on that final version. Long story about a short story short? My hard drive was fried, and my final version of the story is gone. I still haven't been able to muster up the energy to start over again, but I will. I will. It's only three weeks, right? RIGHT? Sigh. I did get a new laptop out of the whole ordeal, though. Awesome new MacBook Pro. Thank you Best Buy 18 Months No Interest!

So that's been a small part of our fall so far. There's also been seminary and play practicing and deck building (almost done! photos soon) and traveling to Utah. Speaking of Utah, here's a couple of Utah pics to round this post out:

My mom and I posing for a twinner picture in our white shirts and jeans. It seemed necessary, what with my new hair cut. I am becoming my mother! Luckily, with my mom, I don't really mind. :-)

And this is just cute.

And now I must return to the laundry that's been piling up every since we got back from our trip. Laundry: it knows no season.