Old Town Haunt in Pasadena

Last night we went to Old Town Haunt in Pasadena. It was scary! It takes you in the "catacombs" underneath this bank that was said to be haunted (and for some parts you have to climb through a tiny pitch-black tunnel on your knees!). Apparently it was built on an old mission site where people used to torture and kill enemies to the Church. And in its construction, lots of people died in freak accidents, including the Bank owner's daughter, who they found to be locked inside the bank vault for 9 days (or so they say).

My impressions were that the haunted house was very well made. The actors were very committed to their roles and the props were very life-like. I was only scared by one of them though: this creepy Samara-type character (from The Ring) who bent over backwards and started walking on her hands and feet really fast! SO creepy! That one gets me every time!

But ultimately, I still prefer the Haunted Forest in American Fork, UT. By far the best haunted ANYTHING! It takes a lot longer to get through (Old Town Haunt was only about 15 minutes) and there is a little more variety of scares (i.e. themed rooms from different scary movies).

But I still loved it. Great fun, it got me in the Halloween mood.

"You Got Served"

Last week, I got to sign and serve my very first set of legal documents at work. I felt very important. Too bad I gave them to a receptionist, or I would have said "you got served!"

Beach Camping in San Clemente

This weekend we went beach camping in San Clemente, CA, about an hour and a half south of LA. It was so fun! It was also Mariah's first camping experience too.

We got there around 6 PM and set up camp. Mariah helped Brian put up the tent.

From this trip, we have realized that we need a bigger tent. Our current one is a 2-man backpacking tent, barely large enough to fit our full-sized air mattress. It wasn't as fun with no space for Mariah.

Here is Mariah playing in the dirt at our camp ground. She loved exploring (but was sometimes afraid of the dirt)!

Here is Sean, a fellow first year dental student, buying firewood at the local liquor store. Apparently we arrived at the campsite too late to buy bundles from the park station (even tho they were still there). They refused to sell us any.

Here is a video of Brian breaking a karate board that we found amongst our fire wood.

Here is one of Sean trying to do the same. Glad we got that on video!

That night was a lot of fun. We had hot chocolate, s'mores, and played games like "I Never". Raccoons came about 3 AM and ate all of our hot Cheetos and marshmallows! Brian had to scare them away with a flashlight.

Mariah kept me up a little too. I had to take her outside to put her back to sleep. But it was an beautiful starry night. It's been so long since I've been camping, I had forgotten how many more stars you can see when you're away from all the lights. Gorgeous.

The night was a little rough with Mariah because she's used to her own space, so we gave her a treat the next morning of hot chocolate mixed into her whole milk. She loved it.

 

Here's some beach scenery. This is right before you take a path that leads to the beach.

This was the ridiculously steep path down to the beach. It was quite the workout!

We went early the next day and watched the morning surfers. We even saw a family of dolphins surfing too! They kept jumping up and riding the waves. It was so cool.

Brian took Mariah down to the beach to watch the sun rise.

The rest of the day we hung out on the beach. Mariah did a lot of sleeping. I actually napped too (and got a little too tanned on my back from it)! Brian played football with Pehrson and went boogie boarding.

Here's a picture of Kate, the wife of Pehrson who's another first year dental student. She and Pehrson are known as the "Surfer Barbie" couple in our ward. They are so fun! And both very good at surfing.

Sadly, this was the only picture taken of me at this trip. I'll be sure to have Brian take some pictures next time too, so I can actually be in them!

All in all, it was a VERY fun trip. We even talked about doing a camping trip every month. I smell a new tradition coming!

Last Year's Halloween Celebrations

Here are some rare photos from last year's Halloween season. Mariah was only a month old. She was so small, only about 5 or 6 pounds, still fitting into preemie clothes. Brian and I were sharing our first fall in Utah without having to go to school. Brian was still in the bishopbric of a BYU single's ward. And me, well, I was still large and in charge from the pregnancy! There was lots of chili-brewing and chocolate-chip-pumpkin-cookie-baking. It was a fun time to be in Utah.

We kind of miss the fall weather of Utah. I love when the mountains turn red. Since it's still warm here, the leaves aren't really changing yet. But fall is definitely still in the air! Fall is definitely the best time of the year. Soon we get to start busting out the sweaters!

Halloween Memories

As Halloween approaches, I have been thinking of all the fun things I used to do and watch for the Halloween season. I remember this time of year being so magical and spooky. Here is a list of my top Halloween movies, TV specials, books and stories, and children's songs. Happy Halloween!

Movies:

-The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958)

-The Changling (1980)

-Poltergeist (1982)

-Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983)

-Beetlejuice (1988)

-The Witches (1990)

-Hocus Pocus (1993)

-Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

-Casper (1995)

TV Specials:

-It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

-Raggedy Anne: The Pumpkin who Couldn't Smile (1979)

-Disney's Halloween Treat (1982)

-The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror (1990-ongoing)

For a more comprehensive list of TV specials, visit here.

Music:

-"Monster Mash" (1962)

-Munsters Theme Song (1964)

-Addams Family Theme Song (1964)

-"Thriller" (1983) Of course. This video used to give me nightmares!

Books and Stories:

-Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981)

-Goosebumps books (1992)

Children's Songs:

-"There Was an Old Witch"

There was an old witch, believe it if you can,

She tapped on the windows and she ran, ran, ran.

She ran helter-skelter with her toes in the air,

Cornstalks flying from the old witch’s hair!

“Swish,” goes the broomstick, “Meow,” goes the cat,

“Plop,” goes the hoptoad sitting on her hat.

“Whee,” chuckled I, “What fun! What fun!”

Halloween night when the witches run.

-"There Was an Old Lady all Skin and Bones"
There was an old lady all skin and bones, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
She lived down by the old graveyard, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
One night she went to take a walk, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
She walked down by the old graveyard, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
She found some bones across a grave, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
She went to the closet to get a broom, Oooo, oooo, oooo.
She opened up the creaking door and BOO!

Mariah and the iPhone

Lately Mariah has been learning new skills left and right! For example, she's getting really good at walking. She also likes to pretend to talk on the phone. Recently she learned how to unlock my iPhone too! Here is some footage of her recent developments.

Mariah's 12-Month Doctor Appointment

I forgot to mention Mariah's 12-month doctor appointment that happened a couple weeks ago. Since we moved to CA, we were in doctor limbo so we missed her 9-month appointment. So I was excited to hear how she was doing.

Besides the FIVE painful vaccinations (sadly I had to hold her down while they did these), Mariah is totally fine. I had brought with me all of her other measurements from previous doctor visits, so the doctor was well aware of her petiteness. Since she is now in the 10th percentile for her age, the doctor said she's not worried about Mariah's size at all. She said that Mariah was caught up. Relief! I wa starting to wonder if Mariah was a little person... She is now 18.5 pounds (so close to using the front-facing carseat!). She's right on developmentally, and I can't believe she already has 10 teeth! The doctor gave me all sorts of tips for how to switch from bottles to solids. This new stage is so exciting.

Here is a picture of Mariah with a humungous teddy bear at the doctor's office. She was in love! Maybe we should get something like this for her bedroom.

And on a side note, Mariah's rash turned out to be Roseola afterall. Three days of fever and then a few days of rash, classic textbook symptoms. We're glad it's over though! That mixed with teething is no fun. But she's happy and healthy now.

Big Carl VS Big Mac

Today I took life's ultimate test of loyalty: I tried Carl's Jr's new hamburger, the Big Carl. Claiming to have twice as much meat as the Big Mac, the Big Carl makes big claims over its competitors, as seen on the TV spots. Well, today I tried said burger, and here are my findings.

First sense: Smell.

It was glorious: char-broiled, cheese, warm buns. By smell alone, this burger could easily surpass the Big Mac. Its aroma seemed to be so much more authentic than any Big Mac I've ever had, like I had just been to a really good BBQ or to a non-fastfood chain burger place. My mouth is watering.

Second sense: Sight.

As you can tell in the photo, the Big Carl was not all it was cracked out to be. With soggy buns and lettuce and goopy cheese, the Big Carl did not make a great first impression. I was even turned off a little. It just fell apart in my hands. And I had to wipe my hands from all the grease permeating through every crevice of the patties. But like many say, never judge a book by its cover. I would not judge this burger by its buns (however soggy).

Third Sense: Taste

This is where the Big Carl excels. Just as its smell suggests, the Big Carl is everything advertised and more. It had the perfect arrangement of flavors. The balance of meat to cheese to buns to sauce was divine, even for me, who usually doesn't eat double-decker burgers. The third bun of the Big Mac just seems unnecessary after having this burger.

Fourth Sense: Feel

I just thought of this sense because as I am writing this blog entry, my stomach has started churning. Right now I feel like I just ate a cup of lard. I feel really gross. I guess the Big Carl wasn't such a great idea.

Mariah is Sick

The past few days Mariah had a fever ranging from 100-102*F. We thought it was just the virus going around but then as I was getting her ready for bed last night I noticed small red bumps on her face and belly. My first instincts was that she must be allergic to something I gave her to eat (maybe chocolate?). I decided to just put her to bed and see how it would develop.

Then when we got her up this morning, the rash had gotten worse. The bumps were bigger and redder. What could it be? A reaction to the chicken pox vaccination from last week? We spent the entire morning considering taking her into urgent care.

We called her doctor (her previous one in Utah), a nurse from CHAP Clinic in Pasadena, an Urgent Care nurse, and Brian's brother Tim and they all said the same thing: it was most likely Roseola, a common children's disease. Apparently it starts with a fever and then develops into rash, which describes Mariah's condition almost exactly. The only treatment is to let it take its course.

Here is a picture of Mariah's rash. Hopefully it is only Roseola. We are going to watch it over the next few days. If her fever comes back or if the rash gets worse, then it must be som

ething else. Keep her in your prayers!

My First Scrapbooking Page

Here it is: my first scrapbooking page. I wanted to make a calendar for the fridge, so I used my newly acquired scrapbooking material for the first time! It was really fun making it. I can definitely see myself picking up this hobby. What do you think?

Congrats La Donna!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my sister La Donna. Here is a quote from her own blog:

"After 10 years of school, marriage to an amazing man, two gorgeous kids, and very little sleep,

La Donna is pleased to announce her admission to candidacy in the Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama program at Northwestern University! Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, and support."

In other words, she is just a dissertation away from getting her PhD in Theatre and Drama at Northwestern. Congrats girl! You have most certainly earned it!