Beneath the Wraps

                      I am told that our last bishop did not enjoy doing Christmas parties.   Forget Halloween.   I have been to some wards that have promoted Halloween and others have not.   I have been to some ward parties which offered a visit from Santa Claus and some have not.    I understand not doing Halloween or Santa.   I do get it.   But I also understand the pleasure of being together or inviting those not of our faith to a ward activity that may offer enough light that those who don’t attend on Sundays may seek a desire to know more.             My mom’s ward has celebrated Christmas in lots of different ways.   I remember one time tables were set with name plates.   A host couple was selected to head each table and decorate how they saw fit. I was considered a young single at the time and invited to sit with the young single adults at what I...

  I still do not know Ally particularly well.  I see she shares her mismatched sock wearing with Jaime.  They also both love to dress up and think of Halloween as the greatest holiday ever.  And they both love stuffed animals and collect more than they know what to do with. Neither of them desire red sauce - they act as though it is poison. I was surprised to learn that Ally and I actually have something in common.   We both Love the song “Happier” by Marshmallow .

 For the first time since they moved in, we sat down last night - all five of us.  We watched "Under the Wraps" which was hilarious.  Ally sat between her parents and watched the entire thing.  No electronics.  It was great. This morning Roland and I took Bonnie for a walk.  They were leaving as we returned home.  Ally seemed happy to see us.  She commented on the shirt I have on.

                Yesterday was bleak.   The temperature remained pretty consistent throughout the day  fluctuating   between 53 and 58.   There was a hint of moisture in the air.   I was able to breathe so much better than I have for over a week.   It has been really dry the last five months.   Dry as though I had never left Salt Lake.                     As I hadn't slept well the night prior, I slept several times during the day.   I needed to stay home and rest.   Perhaps I should have rested all day, but had left word that I would help with the library annex.           It is our fourth year to celebrate Halloween in Myrtle Creek.   Each year the city will close off a few streets downtown and everyone is invited to ...

           When I worked for Swire Coca-Cola,  we had the option of buying up to 8 cases of soda at six cents a can to pass out on Halloween.  This started a tradition that we tried to continue even after I had left Swire and was told that the company no longer offered the six-cent can option.  We still found sodas that were comparable to passing out candy.            Parents liked it because the bags of their young trick-or-treaters would become so heavy that they'd want to go home.  We also liked passing out soda because it wasn't the same old, same old.  We actually did not make a purchase for anything this year.  I honestly didn't believe that there would be door-to-door trick-or-treaters.  We were told about the event downtown.           Stars Hollow is the fictitious town in which...

When I was Jenna’s age, I don’t recall Halloween being dragged out the way it is now.   At school we dressed up in costume and then there was trick-or-treating.   One day.  One night.  Not all week and all month.  Jenna dressed up in costume when she attended preschool but not with attending elementary. I don’t know of any schools who continue with that tradition.   Jenna’s school doesn’t. Before we moved to West Valley we spent a week of Halloween going to different events each day.   Jenna had dressed as a fairy – from full outfit to just wings. It started out with Sunny helping Jenna to create a wand – which we would use as a prop for her costume. There was the after school carnival that the high schoolers had put on for the children in elementary school, our own personal make-up party, a fall festival, and finally the trunk or treat.   We used to do an annual Halloween party in that particular ward, but I don’t recall ...

Jenna’s favorite princess, without a doubt, is Brave’s Merida .   Each November first she has announced what her costume will be for Halloween for the following year and each year she changes her mind – though there seem to be fewer changes.   I know better than to plan her costume before October – although with the last two years she has only changed her mind two or three times compared to the initial eight (life was just so much easier when I was the one picking out costumes for her) In November of 2010 she announced that she would be Big Baby from Toy Story 3.  Really?  After nine months I decided that maybe she really was going to go through with it and started looking for something she could use – though having my then seven year old running around the neighborhood in a dirty onesie did not thill me nor did I have a clue how to do her eyes so that she could still use both of hers in order to see. .  I was grateful when she fin...

          The church was across the street from our first house.  The members used to do a Halloween party every year.  There would be a dinner, costumes and activities.           People would gather in the multipurpose room to begin with.  And there were 4-6 rooms off to the side where the children could go and participate in various crafts, games and stories.            One Halloween my family was asked to host a room.  We found one that did not have windows.  We set up a large cardboard box in the middle of the room.  Roland and the boys worked from inside the box.            On the outside we had painted pictures of tombstones, skeletons, ghosts and maybe leaned toward the scary icons of Halloween and not the cute pumpkins and such.   ...