Of the Hamburglar and His Best Fry Gal, Work Rodizio Party, Scrooge McDuck's Mansion, and Snuggle-Mobiles

Hey there, Blogonados. So Halloween has come and gone, and I am here to say right now, the costumes Alyssa made for us this year were da bombiest you ever did see in all your days. Yep, I went as the Hamburglar (remember him? robble robble!) and Alyssa went as a box of fries and (of course) a hamburger. (See accompanying photos.) After Halloween it came to our attention that maybe we should have switched our costumes, with Alyssa, being the more diminutive of the couple, going as the shorter Hamburglar and me going as the fries. But we still looked great, even though only one kid out of a good sixty or so actually recognized me. What DO parents teach their children these days? Good gracious.

We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat on Thursday and then, on Halloween night (which, this being Utah, was held on SATURDAY this year), went to Alyssa's parents to help pass out candy. That's about the extent of our Hallow-nanigans for the year. My work apparently held a Halloween party, but I worked from home that day, since the development team had ANOTHER party at night, at Rodizio in American Fork, and I didn't want to drive 30 miles to work in crappy traffic (or "crapfic," as I fondly call it), 30 miles back home to pick up Alyssa, 25 miles or so to American Fork, and 25 miles back. Not that I am bitter. Actually, from what I've heard, the work Halloween party was lame-o-rama, with hardly anyone dressing up or decorating their cubicles. You see? No Ben and the fun evaporates like Kool-Aid on hot tarmac.

Yesterday morning we had an Elder's Quorum service project involving helping a humble ward family move into their ginormous 5000+ square-foot Barbie Dream House. Oh MAN. Projector room, two-room walk-in safe you could easily hide out in for about a week in the event of terrorist attack, kitchen cabinets that LIGHT UP when you open them, library, and IHOP right over the backyard wall. Not only that, the previous owners left their leather furniture and entertainment center behind. Talk about sour grapes! They get gorgeous furniture and we get a broken telescope and some bongos. But seriously, they're a great family and I'm happy for them. (Seethe...seethe...) Anyway, we moved stuff for upwards of three hours and, compounded with the bike ride Alyssa made us go on yesterday afternoon, I am one sore little ragamuffin.

Alyssa bought her little self a brand spankin' new car the week before last--a white 2001 Lincoln Continental. Nice ride. Not the best gas mileage, but it has plenty of other amenities, like heated seats, those doors you unlock with a passcode, a countdown meter that tells you how many miles you have left until you run out of gas and get stranded in the middle of Death Valley (or...shudder...Oregon), bench seats for snugglin' on the go, and an honest to goodness CASSETTE TAPE PLAYER so we can play all our old faves we haven't been able to listen to in years, like "Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits." Now if only we could bring back his wood-fired chicken. Come back, Kenny! Come back!

The dark and terrifying Darth Lantern. He provided us with some scrumptious cookies after his untimely death.

Robble robble!