Summer

Our little bunny Summer died this week.  This didn't come as a surprise to us as Summer has been showing her age for awhile now and the past couple of weeks she has been pretty sick. But even in her elderly state she managed to eat peaches under the peach tree until she could hardly move, and she managed to eat all the tomatoes of the vines that she could reach.  It wasn't until the last week really that she has struggled getting around.  Last Saturday I brought her in and cleaned her fur and brushed her down; she hasn't been able to groom herself very well.  She was just skin and bones and she just lay there and whimpered as I brushed her. Poor little thing.  So while we are sad to lose Summer we know that it was her time and we are glad that she isn't suffering anymore.

Here's the last picture I took of Summer a couple of weeks ago.  She loved eating the tomatoes.




Summer was grumpy but also a beautiful and soft bunny.  

Homecoming

We had a few things this week. Jared went on a camp out with the scouts, I played guitar at a church thing, we painted the front and back door,  but the most notable event was Ruth going to homecoming. 

Ruth always loved Kaitlin's homecoming dress from a few years ago so she decided that she wanted to recreate Kaitlin's look for her homecoming this year.  Just as Kaitlin did, Ruth got a lot of complements on her dress. It's just so different then what other girls are wearing.

Ruth went with Drew, a guy she met at Les Mis and has dated a few times since then. They went with 5 other couples. For their day date they went hiking and had nerf gun battles. They had a great time.

Finding Our New Normal

The excitement of a new school year and comic con is over so this week we started to settle into our new normal.  I processed some peaches and re-opened my etsy shop,  Jared practiced the drums, Ruth went to some meetings and on a date, Chuck went to work.

As has been my post competition tradition, I spent an entire day cleaning out my workshop. Ruth says that the mannequins are creepy.

  This is what Jared is wearing today. Please note the christmas socks.

Young Womenhood Award

Last week I failed to mention that Ruth was given her Young Womanhood Award at church.  She's been working on this for four years and finally finished.  Our church had a nice dinner with fancy decorations in the theme of The Wizard of Oz.

Happy Birthday 

We celebrated Chuck's birthday with pizza, zucchini brownies, and Mario Cart.

Comic Con

I went to comic con alone on Thursday.  While I wouldn't want to go alone all the time, once in awhile going alone is really fun because of all of the people you meet.   I sat through panels with Mark Hamill and William Shatner with a girl who cheered very loudly and was giving up her college degree to sell cosmetics.  I saw some people I knew from cosplaying and chatted with them.  I was able to ask questions of James Dashner and Katie Cassidy. On the train ride home I started chatting with a guy who had just gotten out of the Army and had bought a sword at comic con. He had done 3 tours, and another couple sat next to us (they were both so excited about having met Mark Hamill that day) who we talked to for a long time and he had also served in army in the same area as the first guy (small world).  It's fun meeting new people.

On Friday I met an old friend from Nauvoo at con.  It was her first time and we walked the floor together.  Later we met for lunch.  I spent most of that day alone (my friend didn't want to go to panels) and asked questions of Arthur Darvil and Evanna Lynch.

Saturday was our big cosplay day and Ruth's only day of con (because she didn't want to miss school).  Ruth had spent the last month designing and sewing her own costume a Link/Zelda mashup, and I donned the tin-man.  The con was totally packed.  At times the aisles were so full I felt like we were sheep in a chute.

The tin man got a lot of attention. I was constantly stopped for photos, I did an interview, I did some posing for some sort of music video. Of all my past cosplay, this one got the most attention.  I'm guessing it's because everyone knows the tin man and there is a certain amount of nostalgia with that character.  But it wasn't just me, Ruth got a lot of attention as well.  She was stopped multiple times.  I loved it when people would push the tin man out of the way so they could take Ruth's picture.  Ruth was a trooper all day, very patient when I got stopped for a photo, helping with armor, helping with my constantly pealing make-up.

Out of 250 contestants, only 10 were accepted onto the stage in each category. The competition was amazing. It is getting better and better each year.  I always struggle in stage presentation and I feel like I did better with that this time around.  There was a huge crowd, I'd guess well over a thousand people.  It was pretty fun.  Because everything ran late and there was a concert setting up, they just announced the winners name, but we didn't get to go on stage or anything to get our awards at the end.  Still, it was fun to win.

Now I'm left to ponder what to do with this crazy hobby of mine.  With this win I am now pushed into the "masters" category.  The competition at this level is amazing, and I don't think I'll be able to compete, not because I don't have the skill, but because I'm not willing to put hundreds of dollars into a cosplay.  We'll see.

After the show, showing off the medal.

Ruth was adorable.  We realized when we got home that we had failed to take any pictures together.  :(

A professional photographer took this one.  It shows off one of the unexpected problems I had with the costume, when I got really hot (and it was hot and sweaty) my heart would fog up. I am steam powered, right?

My biggest fan met with me after the contest.  She said she was cheering for me the whole time, that I was her favorite, and she was so happy that I won.  I let her hold my ax and we took some pictures together. 

For reference.  This is the guy that won Best of Show.  This is the category I will have to now compete in.

Back to School

Ruth and Jared started back to school this week.  Ruth will have a crazy busy year with a heavy work load in addition to her activities.  So far her favorite class has been AP Government, but she's also bonded with her AP Language teacher over being fans of "The West Wing."   Jared is excited about band and Chinese.  After the first day he proudly declared that he could count to ten in Chinese. When I asked him to do it, he said I'd have to wait while he went and got his paper.

Cosplay PreJudging

This weekend was the first round of judging for the Comic Con cosplay competition (you may remember my lengthy post about the process last February). Chuck went with me this time as my handler, and it all went pretty smoothly.  This was the first time I've worn this costume and I ended up having to make last minute modifications.  I still had a few problems, but on the whole I'm happy with it.   There is a lot of competition this year, but, being an original design puts me in a different category than most, so that helps.

So, what am I?  I'm a re-imagining of the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz in a clockwork/steampunk style.  My clockwork heart even beats.

Recovery Week

This week involved recovering from our vacation and back to school shopping. I spent some time volunteering at the high school in my new capacity as PTA secretary and Ruth and I also worked a lot on our cosplays as prejudging is this Saturday.

We have a lot of peaches this year; too many evidently because our peach tree split in half.   After doing a lot of research we decided that it was worth trying to save the tree.  It was harder than we had anticipated but a few bolts and some silicon later and the tree is back together (minus about 40% of the branches and all of the peaches on one side). 5 days later and it's looking good.   

While writing this blog I found these random Jared selfies on my phone. 

I had a long battle with my new airbrush.  Learning new things is hard. 

Minnesota Adventure

Unexpected Flight

Our flight out to Minnesota was oversold, so they offered us $400 per ticket to take a different flight. As a result we ended up waiting a few extra hours at the Salt Lake Airport.

The good news is that our new flight was direct with no lay-overs and on a much fancier airplane, and we make $1600 of travel vouchers out of the deal.

Guthrie Theater Tour

The Guthrie theater in Minneapolis boasts on of the largest costume collections in the US. They had a few of the animals from Lion King on display as well.  

They wouldn't let me put on any costumes but they did let us stay and look at the collection as long as we wanted.  I loved looking at all the armor to see how it was constructed. I could spend a week there.

Zoo and Conservatory

We had a fun day at Como Zoo and Conservatory with Grandma Barnum.  Ruth and Jared are in this photo at the head of the pool.

We opted not to feed the giraffes for $5. 

We enjoyed the tropical butterfly house. Jared had a butterfly land on his butt. 

Mall of America

There is a 20 foot talking Paul Bunyan featured in this log flume. 

One of our favorite rides was the  Ninja Turtle ride. Jared and I are in the front two planes. By the fourth time we road this Jared had figured out how to make his plane spin upside-down.

The Mall of America is a Pokemon Go Mecca!  We would play when we needed a break from all the rides.  I got three new Pokemon that day.

Here we are waiting for the Pepsi Roller Coaster. We road it like 8 times. I think it's my favorite roller coaster ever.  (Jared is at the age when he can't just smile for a picture)

Shooting ghosts.  Jared would tell you that our guns were broken but the truth is, we just aren't very good. 

Dinner with Chaz

Chaz and his boyfriend met us for dinner.  We had a nice visit.  Later in the week we went and visited Chaz at his work.  Chaz is working at a fancy burger place an expensive part of the city. He seemed to really like his job and his manager came and told us what a great employee he is and that they are taking care of him there. 

Roadside Attractions

Lots of the little towns in MN have interesting roadside attractions.  Of course we had to stop and take pictures with them while we made the 3 hour drive north to  and from the cabin.

Two Days at the Cabin

Our first day was overcast but nice. 

Ruth caught a bass. 

Because it was overcast the lake was really calm but a little too cool to swim. We all took turns taking out the paddle boat. 

Jared learned how to drive the boat.

Ruth drove the boat too.

We spent quite a lot of time just zooming around the lake, which is quite large.

Minnesota Institute of Art

We went to the MIA on two separate days. On the 2nd day Aunt Denise came along. 

We saw Monet, Renoir, Picasso, and this Van Goth. Just some highlights in an amazing collection. But while I loved this Van Goth, I think my favorite was the Art Deco collection.

Have to pick the nose.

The MIA was also a great place for Pokemon Go. 

We accidentally set off a few alarms while we were there. We did meet a very nice security guard, who had to talk to us more than once. ( Don't stand too close to the Monet - Don't try to see the back of the Art Deco radio.)

Did you ever wonder where Arbor Day took place in the year 1989?  Well, wonder no more. 

Selfies, and selfie photo bomber. 

Family Gatherings

We got to visit with all of Chuck's sisters while we were there. We went to church and ate dinner at Dennis's house and we were able to get reacquainted with our cousins, the Wards, who have kids similar ages to ours.  We also spent a day at the zoo with Grandma Barnum, and a day at the museum with Denise.  We spent a lot of time watching Olympics with Grandpa B, who is recovering from triple bypass surgery and is recovering very well. I also went on a fun ride with Laura in her convertible to see the snowman. And on Friday we had a big family gathering where all the family was there.  The sad thing is - the Barnums don't like pictures and don't take pictures.  I surreptitiously snapped this one. 

6am Flight Home

We had a smooth flight home.  Our last flight from Denver to Salt Lake was on a little "express" airplane.  We were up in middle of the night to make our flight, so a little sleeping on the plane was in order.