Happy Halloween!

The results of the Morgan/Sisson family Halloween FHE Pumpkin Art Extravaganza.


On this pumpkin, Ben has simply yet skillfully represented the classic spirit of Halloween.


This pumpkin focuses on the dark, mysterious side of Halloween as exhibited by the dim candle that (unfortunately) obscures this photo of Grandma and Grandpa's otherwise stellar work.


Natalie and Gary illustrate the more horrific, gruesome side of Halloween in this work entitled "Cyclops." Note how the pumpkin goop hangs just so to look like veins in the eyeball.


And in this masterpiece, Aaron speaks out against the commercialism that has taken over and masked the true meaning of Halloween.



And in this one, the artist didn't have the tools to create the sculptural pinnacle that this Jack Skellington rendition could have been otherwise. Looks like Darth Vader will have to wait for next year.


Happy Halloween, from our house to yours.

Pancakes and Scrap Metal

(Doesn't that sound like the name of a hard-core rock band?) Per Jenifer's request, here is my oatmeal spice pancake recipe. It's a knock-off of Betty Crocker's pancakes, only way healthier and way tastier.

1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (you could probably do whole wheat if you wanted, though I haven't tried)
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. applesauce (or oil)
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of cloves to taste (I don't measure these, but I'd guess about 1 Tbs. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp. cloves.)

Beat egg in large bowl until fluffy. Add everything else and mix until combined. Fry 'em up on a well-greased griddle on medium-high heat. You can feel better about this because you didn't put any oil in the recipe. Serve with real maple syrup.

On a different note, the whole couponing class thing has not been nearly as fruitful as I had anticipated, and I got laid off from my babysitting job, leaving me to other employment pursuits. As we are probably leaving the state at Christmas, that leaves me very few normal part-time job opportunities.

So my neighbor and I decided to form our own business. We are in scrounge-KSL-and-craigslist-and-freecycle-for-scrap-metal-to-recycle business. We call it Junk in the Trunk Recycling. Fortunately, this requires zero overhead, and I already have the only hardware we need in our cursedly big monster truck. It also requires zero upstart capital since everyone gives us the stuff for free and is usually glad to have us haul it off. However, as with any investment, very little risk yields very little returns. The pay kinda stinks. But I made a potentially lucrative discovery today - we can strip the plastic off of all the copper wire on appliance cords and get way more than just leaving them on the appliance. Copper is about 100 times more valuable than steel or tin.

So if any of you P-town denziens have old metal junk for us to haul off in our trunk, please give me a call or email us at junkinthetrunkprovo@yahoo.com. One man's junk is another man's treasure.

An Epiphany and an Update

I have recently had an epiphany: I really like to cook. I would actually consider it a hobby. In my home growing up cooking was a chore, so it hasn't occurred to me until recently that I might actually like it. The creative muse has to hit me, of course, but I have really enjoyed trying new recipes. As per Aaron, my winners are my quiche, homemade pizza, oatmeal spice pancakes, creamy chicken noodle soup, zucchini bread, and spinach pasta alfredo with cherry tomatoes. Someday I'll get really adventurous and try to perfect some Indian recipes so I don't have to shell out $30 at the India Palace when I want chicken saag.

As for my update on our future plans, we realized that we actually applied for winter semester at the Y and missed the deadline by about 8 months. Oops. We meant to apply for spring semester, so we called up the grad office and a nice guy named Kevin fixed everything for us. So we really are applying for spring semester, which doesn't start until April. This means a few things for us:

1. We will find out whether we're accepted at all three other schools before we find out from BYU, since they don't have to tell us until Feb/March.

2. In the event that we do select BYU for grad school, we will have about 3 months to kill. They will probably be killed in NY.

3. Given the fact of the 3 months to kill, we will probably be moving after Christmas regardless of where we go. So that means goodbye to Crazy Street.

In other BYU news, Aaron is in the process of finding funding for a new, hitherto undiscovered graduate project with mule deer metabolism. He's really excited, as am I. This project, if they can get funding, will give Mississippi State a good run for its money.

A Step in the Right Direction

Our unofficial plans for our life have not gotten any more official yet, but we have definitely taken a step in the right direction. We at least have plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and after that, one of five things will happen:

1. We'll stay here and go to the Y.
2. We'll go to grad school at SUNY ESF in NY.
3. We'll go to grad school at the University of Tennessee.
4. We'll go to grad school at Mississippi State University.
5. We won't get accepted anywhere and we'll end up becoming pirates in Tahiti.

Aaron has convinced me that the 5th option is the least likely, partly because of the economy (everyone has sold all their gold, so there's less booty to plunder) and partly because he is kicking trash on all of his tests this semester so somebody is bound to accept him somewhere.

Applications are all submitted, so we'll keep you all posted. Feel free to comment and vote for your favorite option.

Our Pets

Meet Vlad, Aaron's new pet praying mantis. I told Aaron that if I had to keep a praying mantis in the house, then I got to name him. He's a fairly well-behaved pet. He dines on moths, cockroaches, spiders, and grubs; however, he seems to have an aversion to box elder bugs.

And this is Durfey. He's named after the dry cleaners on 9th East. We adopted Durfey in July when our friends Blake and Liesel decided to ditch out on us for law school in Virginia. Apparently beta fish don't do so well on road trips.

He's actually got a fairly outgoing personality, for a fish. He puffs up at you when you approach his bowl. I'm not sure whether that's "Hello and how do you do?" or "Get the heck away from my bowl, punk!" Sometimes he pretends to be a shark and he stalks and dives ferociously after his plankton pellets.

Vlad and Durfey are not the most exotic pets, but they make life a little more interesting. And they can fly under the landlord radar.

The Cell Phone

It's every baby's favorite toy. I've even known parents to charge old cell phones so they actually work when the kid plays with it. Noah has now figured out what big people do with the cell phone.

Hee Haw Farms

We went to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove with the family for FHE this week. Noah had a blast! It's a place akin to the VanDerWerken Pumpkin Patch for all you New Yorkers out there. We came away with some great ideas for the farm if we ever have a festival like that. And I think our family will have a corn box instead of a sand box whenever we get settled.

"That's the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life!" (I'm pretty sure that if I had a nickel for every time I heard that outside Leroy's pen on Monday, I'd be a rich woman.)

Aaron and Noah horsin' around...

"Me and Aunt Nat are goin' to the corn maze!"

"Me and Aunt Nat are lost in the corn maze..."

...still lost in the corn maze...Aaron and Blake and the kids actually found the exit. Nona, Poppa, and I cheated and took the short cut.

Horsey swings made of old tires.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Nat trying their hands at roping. Looks like our cousin Quinn is the only one in the family that can actually do that - even with a stationary target.

Noah and Morgan riding in the wagon. You can't see it in the picture, but Clayton is steering. Giddy up, Daddy!

The corn box is Noah's new favorite toy. He would cry loudly every time we tried to take him out. I guess he is a Sisson after all.


Noah playing in the pumpkins and gourds. (Aaron snapped this shot, and I think it looks professional. Yeah, he's pretty much awesome.)

Mommy and Noah.


Noah and Daddy (cautiously) feeding the goats. PS - their tongues are super long!


Noah and Daddy.