Thriller 2019

It has been a long and stressful week so I was really happy to be able to relax and attend Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller last night.  This Halloween themed dance extravaganza is one of my favorite traditions and I look forward to it all year.  Sometimes I think that maybe I don't need to see it every year because I've seen it so many times but, as I sit in the audience anticipating each dance, I know that I would feel really sad if I missed it.  It seems like everyone in the audience feels the same way that I do because they cheered out loud at the beginning of all the old favorites, including the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song "Thriller," a breakdancing mummy and his maidens in "Curse of the Mummy," misbehaving pandas in "Miss Alli's Nighmare," a Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of chainsaw wielding Jasons in "Jason Jam" (an audience favorite), scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass" (my favorite number), demonic dolls in "Chucky-Rama," and acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys."  It is always really fun to see subtle differences in the choreography or in the staging year after year and I love seeing returning members of the company.  This year there were also some new dances including a dance-off between dinosaurs in "Dino Dance," demonic possession in "Annabelle of the Ball," a tap dancer at odds with himself in "Jekyll & Hyde," and a costume parade in "Trick or Treat."  For the past several years there have also been performances by the artists of Aeris Aerial Arts in between the dance numbers.  They were all spectacular but my favorites were "Full Moon," with seven aerialists performing on a spinning globe, and "Phantom of the Opera," with two aerialists performing as the Phantom and Christine Daae on silks.  I really don't know how they can make their bodies do what they do!  I had so much fun last night and I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the few remaining shows (go here).  Whether you have never seen the show before or whether you go every year like me, you are sure to be impressed by the talented dancers of ODT!

Pumpkin Carving 2018

Last night we had our annual pumpkin carving party.  Sean picked out pumpkins for everyone at the pumpkin patch last week and he was so excited to carve them!  He called me several times over the weekend to confirm that we were going to do it!  It was a lot of fun!

Tashena's Wolf

Sean's Bat

While we were carving the pumpkins my sister cooked the seeds and they were so good!  Now I've almost crossed everything off my fall bucket list!

Thriller 2018

I have not been doing very well with my fall bucket list because I have only checked off two items!  Now that I am on fall break I'm sure that I can get a few more items checked off during the long weekend.  I started with ODT's production of Thriller last night.  This Halloween-themed dance extravaganza is one of my very favorite holiday traditions and I have been looking forward to it all month!  Even though I have seen most of the dances more times than I can count I really love the the old favorites including the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson’s iconic song “Thriller,” a breakdancing mummy and his maidens in “Curse of the Mummy,” a Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in “Frankenstein & Frankenstein,” tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of chainsaw wielding Jasons in "Jason Jam," scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass," demonic dolls in "Chucky-Rama," acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys," and doomed Irish dancers in "River of Blood Dance."  I eagerly anticipate every dance, especially the opening number, "Salem's Mass," and "Lost Boys."  This year there were several new numbers performed by the dancers in Odyssey 2.  My favorite was a high-flying Harry Potter in "Dementor's Kiss."  Like last year, there were several numbers in between the dances performed by the artists from Aeris Aerial Arts.  They were all very cool but my favorite was "Full Moon" featuring seven aerialists performing on a giant spinning globe.  I didn't really like the comedy act of Giggle Girl because she was super annoying (where is Bubbles the Clown?) but I loved everything else and I had so much fun at this show!  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  This show runs at Kingsbury Hall and many other venues throughout Utah and Idaho until Oct. 30 (go here for tickets and information).

Note:  If you go to the show and see any of the undead roaming about, do not make eye contact!  Trust me on this!

Halloween 2017

Last year Halloween was kind of a dud!  For some reason Marilyn and I didn't think about getting pumpkins for Sean and Tashena to carve until the day of Halloween.  We took a very sad Sean out that afternoon looking for some but there were none to be found.  We went to about six different places (everywhere we could think of) and ended up finding some tiny ones at the Home Depot.  It was a definite aunt fail!  This year we vowed that we wouldn't make the same mistake so between the two of us we had at least ten pumpkins and six carving kits!  Ha ha!

Various stages of carving.

Our finished pumpkins.  I am especially proud of my Kylo Ren pumpkin but Tashena's Day of the Dead pumpkin is amazing!

Here they are all lit up on the porch.  I think they look pretty awesome!

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

Thriller 2017

I love rituals and traditions.  In a world that seems to be full of chaos it is really nice to have something that you can count on and look forward to!  I have recently purchased tickets to quite a few seasonal performances and I have already started looking forward to them.  One such performance occurred last night after putting in a long and difficult week at school finishing up the first quarter (students only care about their grade during the last week of the quarter).  It was exactly what I needed!  In my opinion, it simply wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't get to see Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller.  The fact that I have seen this show so many times adds to, rather than detracts from, my enjoyment because I anticipate each number as I watch!  I love when the undead begin cavorting in a graveyard during "Thriller," when the break-dancing mummy comes to life in "Curse of the Mummy," when the uncooperative pandas begin acting up in "Miss Alli's Nighmare," when Frankenstein breaks his Bride's neck in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," when the tap-dancing skeletons start tossing their heads around in "Dem Bones," when a trio of Jasons get crazy with their chainsaws in "Jason Jam," when the scarecrows come to life in "Children of the Corn," when condemned witches come back for revenge in "Salem's Mass," when a group of chucky dolls come to life in "Chucky-Rama," and when acrobatic vampires spin and leap in "Lost Boys."  Even though the numbers are the same from year to year, there always seems to be some new choreography or special effects to keep them interesting.  This year, in addition to the hilarious films of Scott Winn (the twerking stormtroopers are my favorite) in between numbers, there were some amazing aerial numbers choreographed by Aeris Aerial Arts.  I absolutely loved "Bats in a Box" which featured between four and six aerialists performing on a spinning steel box.  It was fabulous and I may or may not have said "Wow" out loud multiple times!  I also really liked "Phantom of the Opera" which featured two aerialists performing on a rope (it reminded me of Cirque de Soleil).  It is such a fun and exuberant show and I highly recommend getting at ticket (there are four more performances at Kingsbury Hall) which may be purchased here.

Note:  I have been attending this concert for twenty years!  I remember the first concert distinctly because I had just started teaching at Westminster College in 1997 and I ran into two of my students.  Last night I only saw one of my HHS students!

Halloween 2016

Halloween was a little bit quiet this year.  I went over to my parents' house for chili (which we have had on Halloween ever since I was a little girl) and passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters, including the cutest creeper (from the minecraft game) ever.  We didn't carve pumpkins this year because Marilyn and I didn't get our act together in time to buy them and we decided not to go to a movie (which we have done on Halloween for the past three years) because we were both too tired!  It was still a nice evening with my family and Sean got over not carving pumpkins when he was able to go out trick-or-treating with his friends "unsupervised."  He had the time of his life!

Thriller 2016

For some reason I haven't done very many Halloween-themed activities this year.  However, one Halloween tradition that I always try to uphold is seeing Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller.  I successfully avoided the undead (don't make eye contact!) as I made my way to my seat at Kingsbury Hall last Monday night and I thoroughly enjoyed the show, as I always do.  Even though I have seen this Halloween dance extravaganza more times than I can count, I always look forward to it and anticipate every single dance as the show progresses!  I love the undead cavorting in a graveyard in "Thriller," (the dramatic opening number) the break dancing mummy and his maidens in "Curse of the Mummy," the three year old pandas in "Miss Alli's Nightmare," a pas de deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of Jasons wielding assorted weaponry in "Jason Jam," scarecrows who are not what they seam in "Children of the Corn," a group of voodoo priestesses in "Servant of the Spirits," condemned witches who return for revenge in "Salem's Mass," (my favorite number) a group of malevolent dolls in "Chucky-Rama," acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys," and high stepping Irish lasses in "River of Blood Dance." As each number began, the audience would cheer wildly which made the experience even more fun.  It simply would not be Halloween without Thriller!  You can purchase tickets to this show, which is performed in various venues around Utah, by going here.

Note:  I also really enjoyed the films by Scott Winn which were shown in between the numbers, featuring twerking Stormtroopers, the crew from the Starship Enterprise in a dance-off, and a group of Orcs getting down.

Halloween 2015

I have always really loved Halloween and this year it was so much fun!  The day started early with some pumpkin carving with Sean and Tashena.

Sean's pumpkin "Cyclops."

Tashena's pumpkin "Tinkerbell."

My pumpkin "Mr. Bonehead."

Marilyn's "Old School" pumpkin.

It has been a tradition for as long as I can remember to have chili on Halloween.  This year I made it and everyone came over to my house!

Sean was a mad scientist (although we all thought that his wig made him look like James Brown).

Since I didn't have very many trick-or-treaters, I told him he could have as much candy as he wanted!

Tashena was Tinkerbell.

Tashena and her friends came trick-or-treating to my house and it was an absolute riot!  They kind of took over my house for a little while.  They were all really nice, if exuberant, kids.  A really great day!

Note:  For several years Marilyn and I have had the tradition of going to a late movie on Halloween.  We saw The Martian in IMAX 3D (yes, I've now seen it four times).  It was really late when we drove home and we had to stop at UHP DUI checkpoint.  They asked us if we had been drinking and then simply let us go.  I thought that was hilarious.  However, there were some young teenage girls standing on the sidewalk who looked to be in a bit of trouble...

Thriller 2015

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is seeing Thriller performed by Odyssey Dance Theatre.  I've been going to this dance concert for years and years and I always look forward to it.  Just like The Nutcracker at Christmas time, I anticipate every dance even though I've seen them countless times!  The concert always begins with the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song, "Thriller."  Speaking of the undead, they roam the aisles of Kingsbury Hall before the concert and they usually leave me alone because I don't make eye contact with them.  Last night they targeted me for some reason (maybe because I was on the front row?).  I loved the breakdancing mummy in "The Curse of the Mummy," the Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," the tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," the trio of Jasons with their knives and swords and chainsaws (oh, my!) in "Jason Jam," the scarecrows who come to life in "Children of the Corn," the condemned witches who return for revenge in "Salem's Mass," the acrobatic vampires in "The Lost Boys," and the doomed Irish dancers in "River of Blood Dance."  There were also a few new surprises this year which were a lot of fun.  All of the dancers are amazing and the show is incredibly entertaining and fun to watch.  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  Thriller is being performed in multiple venues around Utah through Oct. 31.  Go here for tickets and more information.

Costume Parade 2014

I spent Halloween at my parents' house waiting for some trick-or-treaters to come and show us their costumes.  While we waited, we had chili and donuts.  My Mom has made chili every Halloween since I was a little girl and we all look forward to it.

Tashena was a scarecrow.  She found everything for her costume at thrift stores and my sister found her scarecrow tattoos here.  I think she looked fantastic!  Tashena always comes up with interesting and unique ideas for Halloween.  She went trick-or-treating and then to a party with her friends.

Sean decided to be a skeleton again.  He gets a bonus for being a skeleton because it is a costume but, after Halloween, it is a jacket.  He was so excited to go trick-or-treating and he could barely lift his bag when he was finished.

Scarecrow and Skeleton 2014

Cinderella 2006

Witch 2007

Snow White 2008

Shrek and Princess Jasmine 2009

The Bride of Frankenstein and The Karate Kid 2010

Medusa and Ninja 2011

Yuki (from She Smells the Dead by E.J. Stevens) and Skeleton 2012

Secret Agent and Skeleton (at a Masquerade Ball) 2013