Stupid Tree

Sandy City has city beautification twice a year. They come around to each house picking up yard waste and other huge piles of garbage. If you follow the blog, you've seen our previous huge piles of waste. This time around they were scheduled to come on Halloween and Ben and I decided that it was time to get rid of this huge, dumb tree that is slowly dying and falling apart.

The plan was to climb up in the tree, tie a rope on a branch as high up as possible, rent a chainsaw, cut half way through the branch, then pull on the rope. Dangerous, crazy, stupid... maybe. We wanted to try anyway. (Ben didn't believe that I could climb the tree... jerk. Of course I had to prove him wrong.) This is me in the tree.
Here I am again. You can see how high up I am and how tall the tree is. I was proud of myself for getting up this high and so was Ben. It was hard because the tree is so weak and dying. The branches practically broke under my weight.
Ben is holding the rope to show which direction the tree is supposed to fall.
So, we rented a chainsaw. Home Depot provided the protective hat, face mask, and super-cute chaps. Ben looks so cute.
Ben's friend, Wes, came over the help. Of course he wanted a chance to play with the chainsaw. We started on a large juniper stump that we had been unable to pull out with my car.

Apparently the stump was difficult for the chainsaw, too, because it died after that.
So, the stupid tree still stands... kind of. I'm sure it will break and fall apart some more this winter when it is weighed down with snow. Whatever is left will be removed (by a professional) in the spring. Stupid tree.

Witchie Show!!!

Every year for the past 5 years I have gone to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village.

This year the "Witchie Show", as I like to call it, was on October 14th and 15th.
Witches Night Out started 10 years ago and it was meant for ladies to come and shop and play without kids or men. The ladies are encouraged to dress up as witches in order to get discount coupons throughout the shops. Well, over the years this event has changed and exploded. You will see men, women and children all dressed up and dancing like crazy people. The shops are all open and offering awesome deals, but there are so many people you feel like a sardine packed into a can. Most of the shops have lines waiting to get in.
The "Witchie Show" is so much fun. You can see they have decorated the entire area with pumpkins and hay bales and creative animated witches.

People come from all over with the most elaborate witch hats and costumes.

Like I said, I have been every year for the past 5 years. Here is a pic of the original (2006) "Witchie Show" party: my mom, me and my sister, Kim. I was the only one in full costume that year, but my mom and sister bought witchie hats for the occasion.
In 2007 we were joined by Kim's friend and our sister-in-law, Stephanie. This year, mom and I were the only ones in full costume.
2008: just me, Stephanie, Kim and mom.

2009: my mom, Kim, me, family friend Laura and Stephanie. This is the year that mom made a costume for Kim and Stephanie. For the first time, we are all dressed up!

2010 we were joined by another of Kim's friends, but my mom couldn't make it that year. Kim's friend and I have similar capes. That was the year I decided I was tired of my orange and black witch costume so I made a new one: pink and black. I also made the cape to match. Now I just need a new hat...

Here we are in 2011: just me and Kim. Mom couldn't afford to drive up, and Stephanie is due to deliver her first baby in just a couple of weeks so she couldn't make it either. No worries. Kim and I had a blast! You can see that I definitely need a new hat. My old orange one doesn't match my new costume. I was determined to find one at the "Witchie Show" that night.
Don't we look cute?!?
We arrived at 7pm, which gave us 3 hours to eat yummy soup in a bread bowl, look at all the shops, take in all the crazy costumes and dance until our feet hurt.
Of course I just HAD TO get my face glittered and painted :) The spider and web matched my witchie suit.
Along the way we met some friends. Here are some creepy, super tall bird men.
Naturally, we had to take a picture with them. Unfortunately we had to ask a random stranger to take our picture and strangers aren't always the best photographers. She cut off my sister's chin because the bird men were so tall. I don't know why she didn't just turn the camera side ways.

{By the way, do you see my new hat? I was so excited to find it. So many witchie hats in all the shops but they were way too expensive. This one matched my outfit perfectly and was significantly cheaper than any other hat I saw. So... I bought it and put it over my old hat so I didn't have to carry one around.}
While Kim and I were in a shop, a couple of ladies approached us and told us that they had been looking for me. Some one had commented on the one lady's cape and mentioned that she had just seen someone with the exact same cape, only with pink spiders instead of red. So, this lady tracked me down so she could compare capes. They are very similar, only I added a velvet collar and velvet liner inside so it is very warm. Don't we look cute? Little twin-ers :)
Here is another creepy friend we met at the "Witchie Show". Yes, of course, we took a picture with him.

After eating and shopping, Kim and I spent the rest of the night dancing with all the other freaks and weirdos. Imagine a bunch of ladies all decked out like witches jumping up and down and dancing to songs like 'Monster Mash' and 'Thriller'. They even play 'Boot Scootin Boogie' and 'Electric Slide'. So much fun.

Here we are back home again after a fun night out with witches.
Thanks for coming with me, Kimmy. I had so much fun. Can't wait until next year!