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After a very chilly week, Friday the 30th turned out quite pleasant for the annual Trunk or Treat. My Charlie Brown costume was a huge success, so I always said "Thank you, and this is Lucy" as I doubt any one understood who Maggie was. She doesn't care. In fact, she's wearing the dress to church today!

We took Dalton to Trunk or Treat, but dutifully sat in the back corner with him in his car seat covered with a blanket all night. A few people thought we were "brave," but it's not like we were passing him around. Alas, some people can't help but to pass judgment on others, I suppose. We did let a few close friends peek under the blanket at him. He appears to have come out of the event unscathed. Last night he handed out treats with Grandma while we accompanied Maggie around town. Maggie had a blast; I think she will finally be into Christmas this year.

Every time someone congratulates me on having a baby boy, they always follow it up with "Oh, and now you have a boy and a girl, so you're all done!"

What, may I ask, is wrong with having more than two kids? And what, may I ask, is wrong with being content with what you have and not keep making babies in order to get the gender numbers you desire? I expect some of these comments from some people, by when it comes from a Mormon, it is especially irksome. Be warned.

For my birthday, Rachel bought me a Patagonia shirt with a whale on it that says, "protect your elders." I suppose it is in a similar vein to "respect your elders" but for endangered species that tend to have life spans much in excess of the homo sapien. But if I had a nickel for everyone that thought it referenced the LDS church Elder's Quorum, I'd have a handful of nickels.

Then Thursday I went to the dentist. Apparently I have sprouted a baby tooth in the very back of my mouth. But I've had my wisdom teeth out, I proclaimed. Are you sure, asks the dentist? Um....who can really forget the 3 painful days of a jell-o diet and chipmunk cheeks. His assistant said they can grow back. Just like tonsils, she announced. There you have it.

I have to get it pulled. Sounds painful, I exclaimed. No, you won't feel a thing, she reassured me. We'll give you novocaine. Oh, since when does the shot of novocaine not hurt?

Maggie has learned the word scary, but doesn't seem to understand fully what it means. Sometimes the table is scary. The other night, the song "Little Drummer Boy" was scary. The Care Bears are scary. Problem is, I'm not sure how to correct her definition of scary. Should I show her "Pet Cemetary," for example, to illustrate that the Care Bears really aren't all that scary? I think not.

I will tell you what is scary, the Christening clothing market. I refuse to spend $150 on white pants, vest, cufflinks, and hideous bow tie, on an outfit Dalton will wear for 30 minutes. I checked the handbook and it doesn't say that the outfit even has to be white, so he's gonna wear a white shirt, grey pinstripe pants, and a red vest. This outfit was only $20, and can be worn again until he grows out of it.

In-n-Out officially opened all their UT stores yesterday. I'm told the wait time was approximately 90 minutes. For a burger. Granted, my favorite burger, but still. When I went to the dentist this morning for the wisdom tooth extraction, he said clients were late for appointments waiting for said burgers.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I really need a break from work, and Maggie just loves "Daddy home day." I have a self-imposed list of things to do, including decking the halls, possibly re-painting our bedroom, setting up Dalton's college fund (started it last night), and planning for his Christening after-party. Hopefully there will still be time to relax and snuggle my children.

Yesterday we had a nice Thanksgiving feast at the cabin. I made pumpkin creme brulee and cranberry smoothies.

A few months ago, when Rachel was here, she read Julie & Julia. I mentioned that Rachel should try the cooking experiment and write a book. She could mimic Rachel Ray, and it could be a Rachel versus Rachel book. We also observed that, one day, Dalton could do the same thing with Alton Brown. Now we just need to find someone whose name rhymes with Barefoot Contessa and we're all set for a mini-series!

The tree is trimmed, the house is decked, and the lights are hung. Incidentally, most of the Christmas presents are already wrapped and under the tree.

We also bought filled our stockings with a trip to Pirate-O's today. How that place can still smell like wet dog a year later makes no sense, but there you have it. The owner kept foisting marzipan on me, even though I was already purchasing some. We're ready for Christmas in Draper.