Guest Blog: Corn Maze 2026 by the Dog Walker

 Surprisingly, I chose to write a post for Mom, probably because, she would've asked me to, since she's been super busy with some things that took most of her time away from blogging. Besides, I've been waiting to show you what this year's a-MAZE-ing Halloween corn maze is. That's right. I set up a corn maze for Halloween again and people have been excited to see this one.

There are a lot of old decorative blow-ups and also a lot of new ones. As usual, when listening to general conference, I put up the maze. I was a little short on corn stalks from our garden, but Bossy was happy enough to let me have some of her stalks from her garden. Before I accepted the offer, I asked her if she was doing a corn maze in her yard, but she told me that she was too busy to do one and said that her blow-ups would be enough for her yard.

When it was time to put up the blow-ups, I was surprised of one particular blow-up that Mom ordered for me from Sam's Club for a limited discount deal. It was a blow-up of Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas on his favorite hill. The reason I was surprised by that is because Mom's not really fond of Tim Burton movies, especially Nightmare Before Christmas, but she still loved me and thought it was a good deal and also thought all the trick-or-treaters would love it. When it came to that, I quickly went to Wal-Mart and bought some other character blow-ups that would complete the display. That's right, there's Jack's girlfriend, Sally, his dog, Zero, and his enemy, Oogie Boogie. Won't Drama Queen be surprised, since she's also a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I did something totally new and different that wasn't a blow-up. Ever since the Little Miracles people helped with giving our house a makeover last summer and took down the cherry tree that was rotting away, we ended up putting Dad's favorite swing on the big tree in the front yard. It then gave me the idea on how to still pay tribute to Dad. I ended up decorating a fake skeleton sitting on the swing with a bottle of wild cherry Pepsi on the hand. I also added a skeleton dog under the swing. It was just one of those memories that we had with Dad. He would always have a chance to sit on the swing in the backyard and our former dog, Pebbles would go running around interacting with Dad. Mom and everyone else thought I was crazy with that idea, but ever since Dad died, I've always been trying to come up with ways to pay tribute to him and I thought this was the best opportunity for Halloween.

I also thought of adding Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked into the maze, since I know that Baby Doll and Scout are big Wicked fans. And I'm sure there are kids out there who also love Wicked and they like to see them lined up in their matching colors of lights, just like I did with Harry Potter and Voldemort. I also did the same thing with a new blow-up that doesn't stay on the ground but floats in the air. That's right, it's a superhero, the Amazing Spiderman!

Even though the Saturday sessions of general conference were over, I still did the last installing of cords and strands of lights to make it look like a maze. It was a lot of work, but it was worth showing Mom and Baby Doll. On Sunday morning, we had the October birthday party for Baby Doll, Duchess, and Teach's young kids. I'm sure Mom will tell you about that party some time. Anyway, the grandkids had a chance to go through the corn maze and they thought it was cool and a-MAZE-ing as usually. I hope you enjoy it and I also hope when Halloween comes that you can come trick-or-treating and have your own corn maze adventure. Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Sweet Sixteen Baby Doll!

 Children sure grow up so fast!

Guest Blog: Eliza's Fire by Princess - Part 2

If you read part 1 of this post, this all makes perfect sense. If not, back up one post and then read them both.

And here is the script from my portrayal. I never told it quite like this, but you will get the general idea. 

My name is Eliza, and I was born in England in 1824. When I was fourteen years old, I sang at the coronation of Queen Victoria. My family was very proper and English, which is one of the reasons my mother was so upset when I married Joseph Burton, a poor delivery boy. 

One day, while Joseph was out making deliveries, he came upon a missionary who shared about the Book of Mormon. I was not very happy about this. There were a lot of rumors about the book and the church that went along with it. My mother told me if I joined that church, she would never speak to me again. 

So when Joseph told me he was going to be baptized, I was very upset. That night, I knelt beside my bed to pray, and ask God if what Joseph was doing was right. Immediately, my room filled with light, and I took that as a sign that the Book of Mormon was from God. I ended up getting baptized before my husband. I was twenty-five years old.

A few years later, we decided to travel to Utah. Unfortunately, Joseph died before we set sail, so I was alone with my seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. We spent a month on a ship to Massachusetts, then a few days on a train to Iowa before joining the Martin Handcart Company. 

There were some delays getting our handcarts ready, so we did not start our trek until the beginning of July. Several people tried to encourage us to wait until next year, because we wouldn't reach Salt Lake before winter hit, but we weren't worried. It was the middle of summer! We were more worried about sun burns than snow storms. 

The trail was not easy, especially with two young children. Our handcarts were cheaply made and broke often. We ran out of food. People got sick. And then it started snowing. My little boy lost two of his toes to frostbite.

When we got to the Sweetwater River, I had to tie my children to a tree so they would not follow me into the water. At this point, some of the rescuers had arrived from Utah and were carrying people across, but I was too stubborn to ask for help. I crossed that frozen river five times–first to carry my son, then back to carry my daughter, and finally to retrieve the handcart.

When we got to Utah, my new bishop introduced me to a widower named Nathan Staker. Nathan already had seven children of his own, and the bishop suggested I marry him so those children could have a mother. Even though Nathan was twenty years older than me, and a stranger, I decided to do what the bishop said. 

Nathan and I moved here, to Mt. Pleasant, and were one of the few to successfully grow an orchard. One day, my little girl drowned in the ditch. We sent for the apostle Orson Hyde and he brought her back from the dead. My life was full of many miracles including my seven children, many of whom have descendants living in Mt. Pleasant today. 

Guest Blog: Eliza's Fire by Princess - Part 1

Last year, I wrote a book about one of my pioneer ancestors. I could talk for hours about what that experience has meant to me. In fact, I kind of have. I recorded my own audio book and made an hour-long podcast. 

But that’s not what we are talking about today. 

Back in July, I decided I wanted to visit the Relic Home in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. It’s a little museum about pioneers about a mile from where my ancestor (Eliza) is buried. So, my two youngest and I stopped at the cemetery first, and then went on to the Relic Home. (It was pioneer day, hence the outfits.) 

It felt a little strange opening someone else’s door, so I inched it open just a crack and peeked my head in. The only thing I could see was an old floor and a picture hanging on the wall. Many of my fears subsided as I discovered I recognized the face in the frame. It was my ancestor’s husband. 

So we had a beautiful time at the Relic Home. They didn’t have any info about Eliza that I didn’t already know, but I got to learn about other pioneers she would have interacted with and see some really awesome stuff. If I hadn’t had my kids, I could have spent hours in that place. 

When we went to leave, our tour guide asked me if I had heard of Mt. Pleasant’s Walk with the Dead day. When I said I hadn’t, she quickly told me about a Halloween themed family history event that took place in the cemetery. Volunteers would stand by a grave dressed like the person buried there and tell their story. She asked if I would come and portray Eliza. 

I said yes and just this last weekend, I finally got to do it. It was challenging pairing down a story I knew so well into a 5 minute presentation, but I loved getting to feel close to Eliza again.

I think my biggest takeaway from this experience was that people do want to talk about their ancestors. I can’t tell you how many times I would finish my speech and people would immediately tell me a story about someone from their family tree. It was such a neat and spiritual experience. The people may be dead, but their stories can live on if we continue to share them. 

A huge shoutout to my husband, kids, and mom who came to support me. I haven’t really done anything like this since high school, and I appreciated my little fan club who not only cheered me on, but worked with people to get my books for sale at the event and now in the Relic Home while I was busy acting.

If you want your own copy of the book, find it on Amazon, the Relic Home, or come see me at my book signing on November 7th in Spanish Fork. :)