Halloween 2010

Russell the Wilderness Explorer and his pet bird Kevin from the movie "Up!"

I nearly decided to find a church that would give me a day off and a 10% raise, but then it all worked out and my attitude has been saved, read on.

The Friday before Halloween was our ward (cuz I'm a Mormon you know) Fall Festival. The Town of Gilbert also decided Friday was a good day to do a slurry seal on my streets. It was then illegal to drive on my street or up and down my driveway. Just to be clear this meant I had no access to my garage with my car.

The Husband decided late Thursday night that the answer to this problem was to pass all of our Fall Festival items: one hot crock pot full of chili, two hot crock pots full of nacho cheese, baskets of paper plates, forks, spoons, cups over our backyard fence. His truck would be parked on the somewhat busy residential street behind our home and he'd be standing on the other side of the fence catching the crockpots. I reminded him that I was only 5 feet three inches tall and that hot chili to the face usually lands one in the ER. He was fine with those reminders.

Sigh.

I was stressed. Very stressed. So stressed that I starting saying things like this, "we need a new church this is over kill". "Why are Mormon women expected to do so much". "I know someone who has to get her six kids in costumes, has more responsibilities than I do for the festival, who has a husband out of town on business, and has to be to the festival an hour early to set up". "What, so I am supposed to do all of this and find time to go to the gym?". "I'm just saying it would be alot easier to deal with all of this if I could have some sort of drink first".

Lucky for me my mother in law is in town and was there to do whatever I needed. She didn't even mind my cranky pants attitude. Well, she minded but she didn't say boo about it.

When I got to the Fall Festival there were no lights on the field and no electricity in the outlets. Great. Our three crockpots made the treacherous journey over our back yard fence to be here were now getting cold on the park bench. That is where I snapped and simply said "dammit". Brother Lake's eyes widened when I said that. Then he offered to call his wife who saved us with extension cords and power strips. His son offered to find the switch for the electricity. And after a cell phone conversation with the mom with six kids and an out of town husband, I learned that if I walked over to the other field where another ward was, I could find a "LaDawn" and she would know how to get the overhead field lights on. I did. She did. Let there be light.

But for next year I decided something. I am going to buy my costumes and make them easier. And I am not going to get so worked up about the holiday that I yell at my little ones when they want to run around the house with a dozen balloons. Did I mention that I yelled at my little one when he saw the dozen balloons meant for his costume and started running around with them. Yes, I did that.