It's official. I love the D.I.!

Any prop-builder can tell you that thrift stores are a great asset. Whether you are poor or just plain cheap, thrift stores are the place to go to find "stuff".  Deseret Industries dominates the thrift store market in Northern Utah.  On my last visit to the D.I. or as John Whitten; an old wharehouse manager of mine and e-bay guru likes to call it "Opportunity Villiage", I made out like a bandit.

I picked up this rotisserie motor.  It actually works great!  Can anyone say flying crank ghost?

I also found these two high-temperature glue guns.  Now I can build myself a web gun that actually works.  My first attempt was a miserable failure; and I actually paid for a new glue gun.  Alas!

Copper tubing.  Just what I need to finish my fog chiller.

All in all a very profitable day for me.  If my last visit to the D.I. was one of those corny credit card commercials, it would sound something like this:

One used Kenmore rotisserie motor...$3.00.

One used high-tempurature glue gun...$3.00.

One used coil of copper tubing...$5.00.

Adding three new projects to your build this year...priceless.

Another Melon-O-Lantern

I have become a big fan of melon-o-lanterns. They are quicker, easier, have less seeds, and are much tastier than their gourd counterparts. This was my first honeydew melon-o-lantern. Notice the light spots where I got too close to the rind with the melon-baller.

New For 2009

I decided that I wanted a darker, creepier ambiance in this year's haunt than could be achieved with floodlights. I kind of ripped this idea off from PUMPKINROT's blog. I finished most of them tonight and wanted to post some pictures. I will put together a kind-of how-to later in the week as I deviated from PUMPKINROT's method a little.

The First Annual Yard of the Living Dead Haunt 2008

2008 was my first foray into the world of yard haunting. I got some really good feed back from those who stopped by. Hopefully this will encourage people to start trick-or-treating again in our neighborhood. The yard with light.
Here are some great night-time shots taken by my talented wife Shauntel.

The blacklight is a great invention. Here is Abigail, age 5 demonstrating what horrors await you in the Yard of the Living Dead.

Prehistoric Halloween Fun 2008

The Ogden Dinosaur Park hosted a trick-or-treating event this year and we decided to check it out.

We got some good pictures of the dinosaurs all decked out for Halloween.

The best part of the outdoor decorations was this gigantic display of jack-o-lanterns. I could have stared at it all night.

The highlight of the night was having our little jack-o-lantern in the costume contest. Emma, age 2 charmed the judges but was eventually beaten by a skunk. She did win a coupon for a free hot chocolate.

Jack-o-lanterns 2008

What do you do when life gives you pumpkins...Carve jack-o-lanterns. The kids designed their own jack-o-lanterns this year. They drew the faces and Shauntel and I carved them. Samuel's, age 6 is on top. Noah's, age 3 is in the middle. Abigail's, age 5 is on the bottom.Shauntel's awesome jack-o-lantern. I was very impressed.

Here are a few of my jack-o-lanterns.

And here is a group shot.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

There's no place on earth quite like a pumpkin patch. Samuel, age 6 shows off his pick.

Abigail, age 5 likes 'em big.

Noah, age 3 uses a soft touch with his pumpkin.

Emma, age 2 has an eye for the unusual.

Independence Day

Nothing says independence like a watermelon and cantaloupe jack-o-lantern.