Recent Autumnal Goings-On

Following is pictorial evidence of recent fall events, beginning with a trip to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point a couple weeks ago. The Scarecrow (see 'em below) Festival is something I'd never heard of, and likely would never have attended, pre-Emma. But oh, how our middle-aged horizons are espanding these days. Emma made a pilgrimage to every bouncy house and towering blow-up slide she could haul her wiry little frame in, on, or around. She was glassy-eyed with glee. At one point she broke into a trot and made a complete loop around the scarecrow grounds, through the food pavilion, and back to the bouncy houses as I tried to keep a bead on her, gimping along at half-speed on my not-yet-jog-worthy hip. I finally caught sight of her little top knot as she whizzed down a slide on the lap of a complete stranger (she looked like a very nice woman, at least). I think she needs a leash.
Here she is in mid-bounce. Might have been moments before she conked heads with another young bouncing patron. Emma shook it off and moved on with little complaint.
On October 30th, we celebrated our 2nd annual Emma Day...or maybe the 2nd anniversary of the first and original Emma Day, which was the day we met her in 2006. Joe took some time off work and we drove down to Provo to deliver a package to a guy (who's a friend of a guy who's a friend of Joe's) who can make same-day deliveries to the MTC. I made a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal bars in the morning and thought maybe they could be delivered to nephew Russell at the MTC while they were still warm and he could be the envy of his district. Oh what a gorgeous autumn day it was -- such brilliant fall colors, blue sky, and rarified Utah Valley air (I have a soft spot for dear, odd Provo). After the drop-off we went to a pretty park on Center Street. They had a representation of the countries of the world and we told Emma to stand on (approximately) Hubei Province, the land of her birth. Then we had yummy Chinese lunch at a little mom-and-pop in Orem (egg roll appetizers, rice bowl, and sauteed vegetable lunch special).

So then we had the one-two punch of Emma Day followed by Halloween. On Halloween morning Emma visited a couple of work places (Joe's and Aunt Boo Boo's), where she went cubicle to cubicle and completely filled up her candy bucket before noon. She met our friend Monica (below) at one of the stop-offs. I think Emma looks about 25 in this picture. Like a 25-year-old who needs to wipe the remains of a fun-size Twix bar off her mouth before she puts her lip gloss on.

At Aunt Boo Boo's office she joined up with a bunch of other kids (children of employees and hangers-on like us). Sure, they look a little morose here, but this was taken before they hit major Halloween candy pay-dirt.
I liked this little golfer guy.
This is what our neighbor's flowering pear tree looked like on Halloween Day.
Look at all the different colors (you must click to enlarge).
Emma lounged around in the leaves in the afternoon, pondering a portion of the haul she'd made that morning. "Oh what should I have first...a Skittle? A gem-sized Baby Ruth? One of the 500 teeny Snickers bars I snagged?"
And THIS is what Emma lounged around in today. The beautiful fall days are evidently gone for now, but they lasted a good long time.
And now we get to make a snowman that looks kind of like a little bear, and decorate him with twigs and a lei and last-year's snow hat and leaves and chocolate chips. "A triumph!!"