Thriller 2015

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is seeing Thriller performed by Odyssey Dance Theatre.  I've been going to this dance concert for years and years and I always look forward to it.  Just like The Nutcracker at Christmas time, I anticipate every dance even though I've seen them countless times!  The concert always begins with the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song, "Thriller."  Speaking of the undead, they roam the aisles of Kingsbury Hall before the concert and they usually leave me alone because I don't make eye contact with them.  Last night they targeted me for some reason (maybe because I was on the front row?).  I loved the breakdancing mummy in "The Curse of the Mummy," the Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," the tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," the trio of Jasons with their knives and swords and chainsaws (oh, my!) in "Jason Jam," the scarecrows who come to life in "Children of the Corn," the condemned witches who return for revenge in "Salem's Mass," the acrobatic vampires in "The Lost Boys," and the doomed Irish dancers in "River of Blood Dance."  There were also a few new surprises this year which were a lot of fun.  All of the dancers are amazing and the show is incredibly entertaining and fun to watch.  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  Thriller is being performed in multiple venues around Utah through Oct. 31.  Go here for tickets and more information.

Costume Parade 2014

I spent Halloween at my parents' house waiting for some trick-or-treaters to come and show us their costumes.  While we waited, we had chili and donuts.  My Mom has made chili every Halloween since I was a little girl and we all look forward to it.

Tashena was a scarecrow.  She found everything for her costume at thrift stores and my sister found her scarecrow tattoos here.  I think she looked fantastic!  Tashena always comes up with interesting and unique ideas for Halloween.  She went trick-or-treating and then to a party with her friends.

Sean decided to be a skeleton again.  He gets a bonus for being a skeleton because it is a costume but, after Halloween, it is a jacket.  He was so excited to go trick-or-treating and he could barely lift his bag when he was finished.

Scarecrow and Skeleton 2014

Cinderella 2006

Witch 2007

Snow White 2008

Shrek and Princess Jasmine 2009

The Bride of Frankenstein and The Karate Kid 2010

Medusa and Ninja 2011

Yuki (from She Smells the Dead by E.J. Stevens) and Skeleton 2012

Secret Agent and Skeleton (at a Masquerade Ball) 2013

Halloween Hi-Jinks

I have been attending the Utah Symphony's annual Halloween concert for the past few years and it has become another favorite holiday tradition.  I attended this year's concert on Tuesday night and, as always, it was a lot of fun!  The orchestra played some great spooky music such as the Overture from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, "Ritual Fire Dance" from El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla, "Thunder & Lightning Polka" by Johann Strauss, Jr., "Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by John Williams, "The Bride of Frankenstein" by Franz Waxman, "Devil's Dance" from The Witches of Eastwick by John Williams, and "Funeral March of a Marionette" by Charles Gounod.  All were suitably atmospheric and accessible for even the youngest in attendance.  A young girl sitting near me told her friend that she thought she would be bored but ended up really liking the concert.  One of my favorite pieces was Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky (Have I mentioned that I really like Russian composers?).  Many in the audience recognized this from Fantasia but I imagined a coven of witches cavorting around a bonfire and casting spells!  I also really loved Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach.  I think of this piece as the quintessence of horror (It has been used in many horror films) and I wonder if Bach intended it thus?  The concert concluded with "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walkure by Richard Wagner.  It was another favorite because it was very dramatic!  I was quite impressed with the horn section in this piece.  There was a costume competition in the lobby with the audience picking the winners after the intermission.  I thought there were some really clever ones, including a group dressed as Star Wars characters with one person as an amazing AT-AT Walker!  Orchestra members were also in costume which was hilarious to watch.  The percussion section dressed as green army men and won the orchestra competition (as they did last year dressed as the Blue Man Group).  However, my favorite was the bass section.  One bass player was dressed as a bee keeper and the rest were bees!  I think they should have won!  Put this concert on your calendar for next year and start planning your costumes!  I'm sure it will become a great Halloween tradition.

Note:  The Utah Symphony performs several concerts like this one, which are suitable for families, throughout the season.  I am planning on taking my niece and nephew to the Here Comes Santa Claus concert in December.  Go here to get tickets for your family.

Pumpkin Carving 2014

Traditions are very important to Sean and Tashena.  Everything Marilyn and I did with Tashena the first year she joined our family automatically became a tradition to be repeated every year.  She immediately informed Sean of these important rituals when he joined the family.  They look forward to each of them with much anticipation and remind us of upcoming ones often.  One such tradition is carving pumpkins and we usually do this the Sunday before Halloween.  The ones they got from the pumpkin patch were deemed much too small so we took them to the grocery store to get more. Of course, Sean and Tashena picked the biggest pumpkins they could find (so did I).

The scale at the grocery store maxes out at 30 pounds.  Every one of our pumpkins maxed out the scale.  It was pretty funny!

As you can see, we had a lot of fun carving our pumpkins.  Sean is fascinated by the "guts" and always wants me to take a picture of him pretending to eat them.  While we carved the pumpkins, Kristine roasted the seeds.  They are delicious!

Sean with his Spooky Bat.

Tashena with The Raven.  It was such a fun night.  I think I look forward to all of our traditions as much as Sean and Tashena do!

Frightmares 2014

Last night Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena to Frightmares at Lagoon, an amusement park north of SLC.  During October it is decorated for fall, there are spook alleys, haunted houses, and Halloween themed entertainment, and almost all of the rides are open!  I like going to Lagoon in the fall because the temperature is much cooler so walking around the park is much more pleasant than it is in the hot summer months.  We take the kids every year (it has become one of our favorite Halloween traditions) and we usually close the place down!  Sean has been counting down for weeks!  We had so much fun!  Sean and Tashena rode just about every ride and Marilyn and I occasionally joined in.  When Sean and I rode the Tidal Wave, we sat on the very back row and Sean yelled out, "It tickles my tummy!"  He is so adorable!  We ended the night trying to break our record of continuous rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl.  Last year we went seven times and this year there is some doubt as to whether we did it seven or eight times.  Either way, it was epic.  As we are leaving the park we always stop and get hot chocolate, which comes in a souvenir cup.  Sean has all of his cups and he reported that he liked this year's cup (purple) better than last year's cup (orange).  I kind of love that he has all of the cups and I really love that the kids like all of our holiday traditions and look forward to them!

2013

2011

2010

Heber Valley Railroad Pumpkin Patch

Last night Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena on a train ride to a pumpkin patch and we had so much fun!

The Heber Valley Railroad was established in 1899 and operated freight and passenger service between the cities of Heber and Provo as part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.  Now the railroad operates themed excursions (we've done quite a few of them).   Right now they are offering the Pumpkin Festival which includes a 45 minute train ride with entertainment and pumpkin cookies, a haunted train car, and a visit to a pumpkin patch.  Go here for more information and tickets.

I thought the train ride was very relaxing and the kids loved it (even Tashena).  The scenery was absolutely gorgeous with all of the fall foliage.

When the train returned to the depot we all picked a pumpkin.  After the train ride we had dinner at Chick's, which is a hole in the wall cafe in Heber.  My brother-in-law introduced us to Chick's when we were camping at Palisades State Park a few years ago and we are now big fans.  We got laughing so hard that it was a little bit embarrassing!  Such a fun night!  I am really glad that I get to spend so much time with Sean and Tashena!

Note:  Go here for more fall activities for the kids.

Thriller 2014

I really love Halloween and one of my favorite Halloween traditions is to see Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller.  I've been going for years and it just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  Last night was opening night at Kingsbury Hall in SLC (the show is also touring all over Utah this month) and I was happy to see all of my old favorites, as well as a few new surprises.  The dance extravaganza features the undead cavorting in a graveyard, break-dancing mummies,  a pas de deux gone horribly wrong between Frankenstein and his bride, tap dancing skeletons, a trio of Jasons jamming with assorted weaponry, scarecrows who are not what they seem, condemned witches who come back from the dead for revenge (my favorite number), frolicking Chucky dolls, acrobatic vampires, and gunned down Irish dancers.  All of the dancers in the company are amazing and this show is definitely a crowd-pleaser, especially "Jason Jam."  I had a great time, as always, and I highly recommend seeing Thriller for a fun night out.  It runs until Nov. 1 at Kingsbury Hall.  Go here for tickets and information about the various touring locations and dates.

Note:  If you should happen to see any of the undead wandering about, do not make eye contact with them!  Trust me on this!

Fall Fun For The Locals

I just love the fall!  The leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp, the fall flavors are delicious, and there are so many fun activities this time of year.  Here are some of my recommendations if you live in the SLC area.

Witch Fest at Gardner Village

Gardner Village has a wonderful display of witches from September 12 through October 31 but there are also some really fun events such as Breakfast with a Witch, Witchapalooza Dinner Theatre, and the ever popular Witches Night Out.  Go here for more details.

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point

Cornbelly's is an amazing fall festival at Thanksgiving Point with lots of fun activities for the kids, including games, rides, face painting, a spook alley, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, and a hay ride.  It runs from October 3 through November 1.  Go here for more information.

 Pumpkin Days & Festival of Scarecrows at Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Historic Farm has a really fun fall festival called Pumpkin Days which runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 31.  There is a hay maze, a pumpkin patch, and a hay ride.  You can also make a scarecrow (Tashena named hers Toby) for fun prizes.  The scarecrows will be on display throughout Pumpkin Days.  Go here and here for more information.

Schmidt's Pumpkin Patch

There are a lot of pumpkin patches out there but Marilyn and I always take the kiddos to Schmidt's.  It is located in West Jordan at 9000 S. and 3400 W.  Try not to wait until the last Saturday before Halloween (like we did last year) because it is kill or be killed gets really crowded.  Schmidt's also has a really great Farmer's Market.

Crazy Corn Maze

Again, there are a lot of corn mazes out there but I really like the Crazy Corn Maze.  I usually go through it every year with or without Sean and Tashena.  My friend Tony and I once got so lost inside we paid an attendant $5.00 to get us out!  Last year Marilyn and I followed Sean and he had us out in about twenty minutes!  Go here for more information.

Frightmares at Lagoon

Lagoon, our local amusement park, is a great place to go in the fall for Frightmares!  The park is decorated for Halloween and there are a lot of fun activities, spook alleys, hay mazes, and Halloween-themed entertainment.  Lagoon-A-Beach isn't open but all of the other rides operate and I think Lagoon is a lot more fun when the temperatures are a little bit cooler!  Marilyn and I take Sean and Tashena every year and we shut the park down!  Frightmares is open from September 19 to October 30.  Go here for more information.

Note:  Obviously there are a lot of haunted houses in the SLC area.  I had a really bad experience at one when I was in high school so I don't like to go to them!  If Tashena wants to go to one, Marilyn will have to take her!