November 27, 2011
We have a new friend at our house... Buddy the elf.
Santa Claus sent him to us with a special mission. To report back each night on whether we'd been naughty or nice. After a long journey to the North Pole, Buddy lands somewhere new in our house. Every morning we rush to find him first, eager to see where he's hiding. He has to find a new spot everyday so he can keep an eye on us. But you can't touch Buddy. You see, touching him might make him loose his magic and then he wouldn't be able to fly back to the North Pole and tell Santa if we should stay on the nice list or get bumped to the naughty list.
We're all hoping Buddy's watchful eyes (and the threat of him telling Santa we didn't listen to our Mom, clean up our messes, or share with our brother) helps keep us all on our best behavior during this magical time of year.
November 26, 2011
Today was the USU football team's last home game of the season. Senior day. A chance to redeem their heartbreaking start to the season with more than a few last second losses (um... BYU you still suck). A time to beat Nevada, whom they haven't won at home since 1950. 1950 people! And chance to go to a bowl game with a win. Oh, and I was there! I mean, I'm not about to go sit and freeze my butt off at Romney Stadium in November but this game had the potential to be epic.
No pressure.
And epic it was! The Aggies "nutted it up" as I like to term it, and pulled out a win in the last minutes of the game. It was awesome to see how excited the players were! I hate to even admit I said this.... and I'm sure Jeff will die from embarrassment if he reads this, but my exact thoughts as I was watching our team jumping up and down, slapping each others' rear ends, and hugging on the field, was "that's so cute." I know. I'm not much of a football gal. But I did feel the urge to yell profanity at and taunt Nevada's players earlier in the game. I just don't know enough about the game to make educated chants without looking like a complete fool. So instead, I happily joined in the cheering when we won.
November 25, 2011
Each year we write down things we are grateful for on leaves and then stick them on our Blessing Tree. I'm hoping it will teach my kids to appreciate all the blessings we have. And lessen the wailing when I tell them we're making a D.I. run. Some nights we struggled to think of anything to write down and then other nights we'd come up with a whole bunch of ideas. One night, when Pearl was feeling particularly sassy (I admit I didn't help her mood out by squawking at her over everything), she told me, "I'm not thankful for anything!" with this smug little look on her face. Needless to say, that was one of those days that no leaves made it on the tree.
Here's our list for 2011.
- Days off
- Leaves to jump in
- Husband who makes me laugh
- Thanksgiving dinner
- Easter Bunny
- Dry house
- Family home evening
- School
- Happy and healthy kids
- Thanksgiving
- Santa Claus (I think all major holidays are covered now... at least our family favorites)
- Clean clothes
- Scripture "power" (aka, family scripture study)
- New dress up clothes at school
- Family (Kimmy wrote down this one)
- Turkeys
- Books and learning how to read
- Mom
- Laying down
- Coworkers who listen and make me laugh
- Butterflies
- New laptop
- No cavities
- Good jobs
- Aggies
- Husband who will watch the kids so I can go out
- "Today, not much" after Jeff had spent one too many days with two clingy children
- Friends
- A safe trip home
- Family pictures
- The best neighbors in the world (thanks David and Vickie for bringing us Chinese take-out so I didn't have to cook!)
- Dad
November 24, 2011
With today being Jeff's favorite holiday, I thought we'd be in for a lazy morning anticipating the feast to come.
But Jeff had other plans.
I'd completely forgotten that our rec center holds a race on Thanksgiving morning... even after watching hundreds of kids chase a turkey through the park year after year. Jeff asked Pearl if she wanted to go chase a turkey. She as more than happy about the idea of catching one. That and I'm fairly certain she was happy to avoid getting her hair combed and her teeth brushed a little longer.
The Gobbler 1k was scheduled to start at 9:45 a.m. - emphasis on scheduled to start - so Jeff and Pearl came home for a few minutes to tell me what was going on. Cole wanted nothing to do with me and screamed, "Dad!!!!!" the second they left again. So I bundled us both up, thinking we'd be home in 20 minutes tops to get showered, dressed, and ready for the day. I should have just gotten ready for the day. The race was 30 minutes late starting! Now maybe this is common for races - I have no idea seeing as how I've never run in one before - but man, it was way too long for all those energetic kids to wait, not to mention all the impatient parents who were probably counting down the minutes they had left to finish all the Thanksgiving preparations while being stuck at the park. It was a bit ridiculous. By the time the race was ready to start, the anticipation had almost gotten the best of Pearl. They blew the whistle and hundreds of little legs started chasing after some guy dressed up in a turkey suit. I was standing in the midst of the chaos trying to get a picture of Pearl when I noticed she was screaming at the top of her lungs and bawling. I don't know if she was just startled after being surrounded by hundreds of people she didn't know or if she was upset that she couldn't see the turkey anymore. Jeff came to the rescue... grabbed her hand and said let's get that turkey! They may or may not have cut across the park to make up for lost time.
When I saw Pearl nearing the finish line I was so proud... even if she walking and looking pretty grumpy up until she heard me cheering for her. It sounds ridiculous but I almost cried I was so proud of her! Jeff and Pearl ran across the finish line hand-in-hand. She got a medal, which she proudly wore the rest of the day, and told everyone at dinner about the turkey race. Next year I think we'll all do the family 5k together. I better start getting in shape... I wouldn't want a turkey to beat me.
November 23, 2011
I spent all night baking in preparation for tomorrow's feast that I totally spaced taking a picture of something. So you get a picture of the aftermath of my late night baking spree.
My Mom gave us the assignment of making rolls, cranberry sauce, and grape juice. All homemade. And if baking rolls from scratch wasn't enough, I decided to make a batch of sugar cookies for the little girls to decorate. I have a ton of cookie cutters for all occasions, sprinkles galore, and a bunch of fun icings. Plus, Pearl and Ruby get bored with the idea of having a post-I'm-so-stuffed-after-eating-too-much nap so I try to have something fun for them to do after Thanksgiving dinner. But after 4+ hours of baking and doing dishes, I thought I'd have more to show for all my work. Luckily my talented sister turned the turkeys, leaves, and footballs into just what I'd envisioned.
November 22, 2011
I've always wanted a dog... I just didn't expect it to be a blond-haired, little trouble maker. Cole has recently embraced his inner canine. I'm starting to wonder if he doesn't actually believe he is a dog. He crawls around the room with his tongue hanging out of his mouth breathing, "hu, hu, hu." But the funniest part, is he retrieves balls and then stands next to you until you pat his head and tell him, "Good doggie." It's so funny! The licking of your pants, shoes, and arms is getting a little weird though.
November 21, 2011
I must be getting old because I lost a game of Memory to a four-year-old. And I wasn't even trying to be nice and let Pearl win... she's just a lot smarter than me.
November 20, 2011
Cole has picked up a new word in his vocabulary. Which is good because up until this past month we were worried he'd never learn talk. Most of the time the things he babbles are only discernible to me, Jeff, and sometimes Pearl, but he is trying.
His latest word is "bonk" as in I bonked my head, I bonked my bum, I bonked any body part that he's managed to clobber into a wall, the couch as he's jumping off it, or his face as he trips over something he drug out of the closet. Not to be confused with "bum" which sounds awfully close to "bonk" to tell me he needs his diaper changed (or that he's farted... he's still learning the difference between a fart and a well, you get the idea).
Tonight the bonk was bad enough that he didn't even try to say his new word. There was just a lot of screaming and some blood. In the excitement of sweeping the floor with a pint-sized broom Jeff made for him - the kid is obsessed with cleaning tools like brooms, vacuums, mops, etc - he walked straight into a corner of the window sill. Which happens to sit just about eye level. But after a band aid and a hug from Dad, he was back to his sweeping.
November 19, 2011
The only time we have ever been late to a basketball game and it wasn't my fault was tonight. But it was for a good reason. Our Aggie football team pulled off a double overtime win against Idaho. There was no way Jeff was leaving the T.V. until he'd seen a victory.
As we drove up to The Spectrum for the basketball game, I told Jeff to pull over so I could get a shot of the "A" all lite up in Aggie blue. And with a come-down-to-the-last-seconds win against Southern Utah University for the basketball team, we enjoyed a double victory tonight!
November 18, 2011
Cole found the giant falling snowflakes fascinating. I forgot about the wonderment of seeing your first snowfall.... well the first one you'd probably remember. He kept looking up in the sky as these huge snowflakes were coming down everywhere, laughing, and waving his hands. Rather than run inside to avoid getting covered in snow, we all tried to catch the snowflakes. I kept telling Cole to catch them and he'd grab with his hands in the air then laugh and cover his face. It was actually a lot of fun. And with all the snow that was coming down, we were covered!
November 17, 2011
I missed a very important event last weekend, while at my Grandma Great's funeral.
USU vs. BYU
It was hard not being there. But I knew if Jeff had missed "Aggie weekend" he might never forgive me. Or get over missing not one, but two Aggie victories. Friday, the USU men's basketball team won "the team down south" and then Saturday, those Aggies pulled off a last minute victory on the football field. I knew I was coming home to a happy husband.
Now to tie this to today's picture. Jeff sent me a text right before the game started with this picture of the USU student section, dubbed the "Hurd." The place was packed to the brim with students an hour before the game. They'd been camping out in the sub-zero temperatures for days to get a spot. #occupythespectrum was being tweeted all over the place, encouraging students to pack the house and keep up the reputation that The Spectrum is one of the hardest places to play in the country. After putting the kids to bed, Jeff found some highlights from the game for us to watch. He wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on any of the funny signs the students brought, or the highlights from the game. It was fun sitting together on the couch, laughing and cheering.
November 16, 2011
Today was the daycare's annual Thanksgiving Feast, where the parents are invited to come and eat lunch with the kids. The kids love it! And the parents love it because the kids love it. Cole was already pigging out on the vegetables and applesauce when I got downstairs. He was super excited to see "Mama!" He must have been hungry because he proceeded to eat all of my lunch and half of Pearl's potatoes. Pearl was having fun until she realized both Jeff and I had to go back to work after the feast. Cole too. I took Cole to his class where he screamed his banshee squeals as his teachers tried to get him down for a nap. Then Pearl started in on the screaming and crying because she missed her Dad and wanted to go home with him. I ended up staying with her for an hour while the rest of the kids who were parent-less ate their lunch. Then had to hand her over in tears to her teacher, Ms. Penny. I felt bad we couldn't just start our Thanksgiving weekend right then and there.
November 15, 2011
I went to a cupcake decorating class tonight with Stephanie and Jennifer - two of "the girls." They were so nice to invite me to their GNO (Girls' Night Out). Even if Jeff gave me that look, "Please don't leave me with the dwarfs again." He did have them all weekend while I was in Colorado. But he is a good husband and dad and let me go out tonight despite his wish to be somewhere other than at home with two clingy children.
I have to admit, I was really excited about the prospects of learning how to be all Martha Stewart with decorating but when I saw our list of needed supplies I almost canceled! Size 104 tips, size 12, size 103, size 16, size 3, decorating bags, couplers (what in the heck is a coupler?), candy, frosting (the nasty kind with Crisco in it... yuck... why is decorating icing so gross?), cupcakes, more candy, rolling pin, cocoa, knives, bowls, wax paper, clear sprinkles, spoons, and a blasted apron! Really, an apron? I figured it was going to cost me $50 to make four cupcakes. Not to mention the disappointment when said cupcakes resembled nothing like the holiday spirit they were supposed to put me in.
But I was wrong about the whole thing. We split the massive supply list and I got the easy part... cupcakes and frosting. Pearl was so excited to help me make them, she picked out 4th of July and St. Patrick's Day cupcake liners. I learned a few tricks about how to use a decorating tip and bag when making turkey cupcakes. Got some super creative ideas for making Christmas ornament cupcakes. And watched in horror (with a lot of giggles) as my attempt to make a gingerbread house cupcake toppled over before my eyes. Despite what you might think by the picture, 4 of the 5 cupcakes turned out pretty good... at least you can tell what they are supposed to be.
November 14, 2011
Pearl had a dentist appointment today. Which up until we found her a new Pediatric dentist last year, was the single most dreadful event of the year. She screamed. She thrashed. She practically bit off the fingers of our last dentist.
But now she's a big girl who was actually jealous when it was my turn to go a few weeks ago. She jumped and shouted for joy when I told her she had a dentist appointment today. Every 15 minutes all day long, she'd ask if it was finally 3 o'clock yet so we could go. Maybe it's the Barbie toothbrush, stickers, and pencil that has caused the sudden turnaround. Or the toys and video games. But no matter what the cause of Pearl's recent excitement about getting her teeth cleaned, I'm just grateful and relieved that I can send her back to the exam room by herself without the meltdown from Hell.
Oh, and the cavity free, pearly white smile.
November 13, 2011
Yes, those are semi-trucks lined up end to end on the highway. All three lanes of it. Thousands of them.
A nasty blizzard and high wind advisory closed the road between Laramie and the Utah border. We pulled up to this mess about 10 a.m. and got stuck for three hours until the road opened. We decided to chance it because we couldn't stand being stuck anymore and then spent the next 70 miles going an average speed of 3.4 miles per hour. It took us 4.5 hours to get to Rawlins.
It sucked. It blowed. My Dad even said on a number of occasions, "I HATE DRIVING THROUGH WYOMING!" Which is a big deal for my Dad. He never says he hates anything.
We tried to be good sports about the whole thing. Kimmy slept the entire time. Jesse did some math problems, figuring we'd get home in about 100 hours at the rate of speed we were going. And he kept asking me if I wanted him to tell me how my book ended (apparently he only watches the movie versions). My Dad joked we'd get home by 5. My Grandpa threatened to pee out the van... I think mainly for entertainment purposes. We watched a girl jump out of her car on the other side of the highway and run down the road with her boyfriend tagging behind. The men thought they were having a fight but then she snatched up a tire chain that had fallen off and put it back on their front tire, in a skirt, in 50+ mph freezing winds, with about 10 men standing around watching her because they'd pulled over to see if they were ok. And Gloria just sat there annoyed that we weren't moving.
She wasn't the only one.
November 12, 2011
Today was my Grandma Great's (Kathryn Marie Dailey Jewkes) funeral. She was 102 years old.
My Dad, Grandpa Jewkes, brother, and sister drove to Sterling and Greeley Colorado for the funeral services and burial. I almost didn't go but when my Grand- (my Dad said the correct genealogical term is Grand and not Great) Uncle Brent called and asked if I'd say the closing prayer at the funeral, I had to go. I was really glad I did. I learned so much about my Grandma Great that I didn't know. It was fun to hear the stories and see how much she was loved by her friends. She was a spunky, fashion-savvy, beautiful, funny, and "radiantly hopeful" lady.
November 11, 2011
Meet Gloria.
My Dad's GPS thingy, that tells him how to get from point A to point B. Not that my Dad needs directions... I believe him to be the sole male on this planet who really could away with not stopping and asking for directions.
Gloria can be a tad feisty though. She doesn't like to be left alone in the car, especially when it's cold. And if she is, she will randomly reboot herself. Gloria also expects full compliance with what she says. If you make an impromptu potty break without consulting her first, she squawks at you in this annoyed voice, "re-calculating.... re-calculating."
But Gloria managed to get us from Utah to Sidney, Nebraska today. And for that I'm grateful.
Oh and total side note, but since today is 11/11/11.... I had to add that my sister and I stayed in room 111 tonight! As Kimmy would say, it was fantastic!
November 10, 2011
When I picked Pearl up from school today, I was bombarded by the teachers asking if I'd noticed that Pearl had kept all three of her stars today. I wasn't really shocked because she has yet to loose a single star this school year for bad behavior or not listening. Well, apparently it was big news today because Pearl was the only kid to keep all three of their stars. When I asked Pearl what everyone else had done to lose their stars, she said they all got a star taken away by Ms. Penny at the same time. No one wanted to clean up or listen and Ms. Penny had had it so she stripped them all of one star. Pearl just happened to be practicing her reading with Ms. Penny when the rebellion was going on, which Jeff pointed out was probably what saved her from losing a star because we know first hand that when it comes to being told to clean up, Pearl can be a bit hard of hearing. At least at home.
As a reward for being the only kid to keep her stars, Pearl was able to play in any center she wanted while everyone else had to "have a nap" (according to Pearl). I was really proud of her and told her to remember how good she felt for making the right choice. Hopefully she remembers this feeling and how good she felt the next time I try to get her to clean up.
November 9, 2011
Jeff abhors spaghetti night. But the kids and I love it! They especially love the "rainbow" noodles as I call them, although Pearl prefers her spaghetti sauce-less. Between her and Cole, they can easily finish off a pound of spaghetti, which is saying something because every other night they whine about what I cook or spill it all over the floor.
November 8, 2011
It never ceases to amaze me how one little sticker can be so exciting.
November 7, 2011
The Discovery Gateway Children's Museum is becoming a regular Monday afternoon activity for us. Unfortunately today, there were about 20 other moms who thought of the same thing. Even Pearl was upset that kids had mooched in on our less-crowded fun time. I have to laugh though, because in all the times we've gone to the museum, not once have I gotten both kids to sit on the horse together... and be happy about it!
November 6, 2011
I seem to recall a similar scene when Pearl was this age and wishing I could have a house elf. Now I have a house elf who thinks it's pert-near impossible for her body to move when it's time to pick up. A big house elf who is a good help but who secretly wishes I have a sole-purpose-in-life-is-to-clean gene that will kick in. And this pint-sized house elf who for some reason tonight, really did want to help scrub the floor and pick up all the toys.
Too bad I've learned from his older sister that the magical cleaning powers of house elves don't last very long.
November 5, 2011
Cole has a fascination with shoes.
Well, everyone else's shoes.
In less than three minutes of non-supervision, Cole managed to pull every single pair of Jeff's shoes out from under the bed and dump them into a pile. By the time I figured out what he was doing, he'd already decided to try on a pair or two.
Jeff didn't find it nearly as amusing and Cole and I did.
November 4, 2011
We had a bit of a wasp/yellow jacket/hornet (what the heck is the difference between all of these anyway) this summer. They basically ate their way through some expanding foam stuff into our crawl space. And those pesky things made their nest so far back that Jeff couldn't get them with the spray. They happily buzzed and tormented us all summer long.
Until Jeff got even.
He gave up spraying them to death and simply plugged up their escape route. Once the cold set in, those suckers had nowhere to go.... that is except up. Up our kitchen vent to be more precise. Every day we kill at least a dozen or more wasps trying to escape out the kitchen window. Most of them die on their own pretty quick if left alone but with two kids who refuse to wear shoes in the house, my fear of someone's little foot will finding a stinger and having an allergic reaction gets the best of me and I go on a murder spree. Today I got these four no less than five minutes after getting home followed by another three of their friends before dinner.
Take note wasps, we will win.
November 3, 2011
Cole had to bring a poster all about him to school. It's part of some grant the daycare received so I had to comply... I'm a sucker for helping anyone if it's a grant requirement. I put off the assignment for a couple of weeks though. My computer was dead. Our printer out of ink. And we had to go out of town twice for funerals. Plus, I'm lazy sometimes when it comes to item number 347 on the to-do list.
Feeling more than guilty about not having a poster finished, I printed a handful of pictures, found some scraps of colored paper, and a random marker. Luckily, Cole doesn't care that I lack in the creativity/fancy handwriting department. I put some pictures of what Cole likes to do (go 4 wheeling, go to the park, play ball, and go to Bear Lake as well as some of the things he likes to eat (bananas, applesauce, ice cream, yogurt, and Goldfish crackers). I also thought it would be fun to put a few pictures of our family and Pearl on there.
I was wrong about the picture of Pearl. When she saw the poster she threw a hellatious fit! She screamed at me over and over that she didn't want to be on Cole's poster! I tried to tell her that Cole wanted a picture of his favorite sister on there but Pearl wasn't buying it. At one point I caught her trying to rip the picture of herself off of the poster. I was fuming. I figured she'd have been all over helping me with the assignment in the first place and absolutely crushed if the poster didn't have anything with her on it.
I can't wait for her to get assigned an all-about-me poster. 'Cause Jeff will be doing that project!
November 2, 2011
Pearl was getting ancy about not having our Thanksgiving decorations up yet, but only because we've told her a zillion and one times that Christmas won't come until after Thanksgiving. So we pulled out the Halloween bin and I gave her one simple assignment....to go around the house collecting all the decorations. Her enthusiasm waned fairly quick when she figured out work was involved. That, and we still weren't going to give in to her pleadings to watch Christmas movies even if the Thanksgiving decorations were up tonight.
My enthusiasm for creating a bigger mess in the living room that what was there already must have also been waning. Every time I closed the bin certain that all the decorations were in there, someone would find something else I'd missed. First it was the lights outside. Then Mr. Bones. Then the kids' light things for trick-or-treating. Then a stray pumpkin. Then the window clings in Pearl's room. And finally, the thing hanging on the front door.
I'm pretty sure come Christmas I'll still be finding stray decorations (and we only have a single bin of them)!
November 1, 2011
All women know we can't compete with men on one thing.
Noises.
Car noises, gun noises, bodily noises, you get the idea. Cole's fascination with guns lately only reiterates this fact. The kid makes the funniest gun noise. Admit it girls, we'd just say, "bang bang" but Cole he does this weird snorting thing that sounds like he's blowing out his sinus cavity. Even Jeff is impressed. It sounds like it should blow his brains out or at least hurt enough to not do it again. It's hard to describe but I'm telling you, if you saw this little boy with a gun pointing your direction, you'd definitely "stick 'em up!" when you heard it.
October 31, 2011
For once, Mother Nature got it right on Halloween night. No snow. No rain. No slush. No cold. It was a picture perfect night for trick-or-treating. With a huge stash of candy already on the table from our daycare's annual Halloween parade, I wasn't sure how long the kids and Jeff would last. They made it long enough to have me thinking, why did we get all this candy? I'm just going to eat it all! Unless Cole has other plans... that kid was so excited to dump all his candy on the floor and beg us to open all of it.
October 30, 2011
I think my brother Jesse stole the show at Ruby's birthday/costume party.
Gumby. Yeah, we had way too much fun with this one. It's just too bad my sister-in-law didn't get a Pokey costume.
October 29, 2011
After a long day of finishing the roof, we headed over to my Aunt Denise's annual Halloween and pumpkin carving party. We even dressed up this year to every one's surprise! Pearl and I were butterflies, Cole a "handsome little" devil, Ruby a mermaid (we were babysitting), and Jeff a BYU fan (look closely at the shirt). We ate yummy soups and treats. Then carved three of our home-grown pumpkins. I have to say, I was pretty impressed by my pattern-free carving skills. It was a lot of fun. We don't get together with my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins nearly enough.
Thanks Aunt Sugar!
October 28, 2011
Today I am grateful for a guardian angel.
Because we have no idea how Cole managed to climb up the ladder unseen and get on top of the roof without falling off.
I have a feeling Cole's guardian angel has their work cut out for them.
October 27, 2011
Others might not find this story very funny, but I sure laughed.
I serve on my kids' daycare advisory committee, basically a group of moms who want to know what's going on and make improvements. It's sort of like daycare PTA. As part of my committee responsibilities, I was in charge of a Little Caesar's Pizza Kit fundraiser. To save money on having the orders trucked over to our building, I decided to just load up my car with pizzas, crazy bread, salads, and cookie dough. The only drawback to this idea, was having to make several trips to get all 43 boxes inside. My friend Nicole who was nice enough to help me, suggested I just park in the 30 minute parking spot so we had less carrying to do.
Well... I forgot all about that 30 minute rule until I left for home three hours later. Oops.
October 26, 2011
We went down to Price again today for my Uncle Jim's funeral. Two funerals in two weeks, not so fun. Since we had used up our extra money for a hotel last week, we decided to get up early to make the drive. We also knew we had a long drive home and had to come up with something fun to get out the wiggles. And.... we had to make up for our epic failure the last time we tried our luck with dinosaur explorations.
So we told Pearl we'd take her to a dinosaur museum if she was good at the funeral. We almost didn't keep our promise though because we couldn't find the place! Luckily my sister has a fancy-schmancy phone and Googled the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. It wasn't very big, but it did have a lot of dinosaur bones and even a mammoth from Huntington Canyon in it. I learned how the dinosaur footprint in my Grandpa's backyard was formed. Cole had a great time running around with all the big "horsies." Pearl's favorite part was the gift shop where she suckered my Mom into two dinosaur books and us into a handful of toy dinosaurs. And mine and Jeff's favorite part? Two kids napping all the way home!
As Jeff said when we were leaving, "Best parents EVER!"
October 25, 2011
My Grandpa Jewkes made Pearl this little puzzle chair for Easter. It's really neat because all the pieces come apart, just like a puzzle. And it has this cute little peg in the back that holds everything together. The only problem with this gift was he gave it to her on Cole's birthday so Fern figured it was for him. He has completely taken over it and squeals, bites, and scratches his way to it when Pearl decides it's her turn to sit on it.
Jeff decided to paint it Aggie Blue and Fighting White. At first I was a bit apprehensive about his painting plans but after watching him spend hours in the garage for an entire week getting it just right, I love it. Every day we'd walk past it as we went in and out of the house, Cole would point and babble. The night Jeff finished it and brought it back inside, Cole ran right over to it and rocked and rocked and rocked with a big smile on his face. The colors makes all the puzzle pieces pop and I can't get over how adorable it looks! We even found a vinyl "A" to complete the Aggie chair look. I'm thinking we need to get Grandpa to make a whole bunch of them so we can paint and sell them at the football tailgating parties.
Thanks Grandpa! And go Aggies!
October 24, 2011
I finally got around to going to the eye doctor for a check up. Hence the nice glasses because my eyes are dilated. It's only been two years. I figured my luck was about to run out with just a single, spare contact lens left and two very old contacts with slight tears in them irritating my eyes. My eyes hadn't changed for so long that I just forget to schedule my yearly exam. Plus, trying to read those eye charts reminds me of a traumatizing day in kindergarten when the school had everyone line up in the gym for eye exams. I remember the parent volunteers - including my mom - telling me to read the chart. The problem was I didn't know what they were talking about. Everyone figured I was just nervous and confused, but I literally couldn't see the chart. I was one of those kids with geeky, thick glasses for the next 8 years until I was finally able to talk my parents into letting me get contacts. Contacts probably didn't help the geeky part but I do remember how thrilling it was to walk out of the eye doctor's office and look towards the mountain and see actual trees and leaves everywhere instead of blobs of color.
October 23, 2011
A friend at work, who happens to be Catholic and on "sabbatical" from one-hour-a-week services until her three kids are bigger, was telling me how much she admired us for dragging our kids to church every week. All three hours of it.
I laughed.
I told her most weeks, we left feeling less spiritual than before we went and questioning whether it really is worth all the fighting, tears, and frustration. But, like my friend, we both feel a strong urgency to teach our kids about Heavenly Father so we keep going.
Today, this battle just got easier. As I was explaining to my friend, nursery is the key to all sanity... er, spiritual growth for us LDS folks. I told her she really needs to get her congregation to implement nursery and then she'd be much more likely to go to church every week. Nursery is heaven-sent! Jeff took Cole up to nursery a couple of weeks early for a "trial run" and he stayed the entire time. It was glorious. I'd nearly forgotten how wonderful church could be without a bored, hungry, and tired 18-month-old.
We just might make it after all.
October 22, 2011
My brother and sister-in-law bought a new townhouse and I was finally able to get over there and see the new place. It's kind of weird having to actually drive over to their house instead of just calling when we get to my parents and having them walk over.
To say I was jealous of all the square footage that is double our house, two car garage, basement, two finished bathrooms, and a closet the size of Cole's room is an understatement. I was very jealous. But very, very happy for them. Being a homeowner is a ton of work, filled with unexpected repairs and adventures but it is so fulfilling too. It's great to have something that is your own. Something that you know you are working hard for. And being able to paint the walls any color you want doesn't hurt either.
So a big congratulations to Jesse, Emily, and Ruby!
October 21, 2011
We had family pictures taken today at Wheeler Farms. I thought it was pert-near sinful that we have yet to get a single professional family picture taken since we had kids. Yes, I said kids. I can count on two hands the number of pictures we have with the four of us.
Pathetic considering my Uncle Bob is a professional photographer (Robert Dyer Photography). And I have several very large photos of my babies hanging on our walls.
So with fall's gorgeous colors and two unhappy and hungry children we made it through the session. Cole was less than his happy, curious self and Pearl was less than cooperative. Good thing my Uncle Bob has dealt with us before (and still likes us). We even talked him in to taking some pictures of us decked out in our Aggie gear.
Now if I can just convince Jeff that's it ok to spend as much as I did on updating all of our photos.
October 20, 2011
I couldn't stand Cole's long hair anymore. His ears had all but disappeared under those long, blonde locks. Had we not had family pictures scheduled for tomorrow though, I probably would have saved my money and just asked Jeff to cut his hair. Unfortunately, Cole was in no mood for a haircut. He was more interested in sweeping the floors at the salon.
October 19, 2011
I'm trying really hard to be grateful for our historic home.
Really hard.
We finally decided we couldn't wait another winter to fix our leaky garage roof. There were leaks everywhere and getting worse with every downpour. Jeff figured it would only take a few days to take all the old shingles off, lay down new boards (I have no idea of the proper technical term for those big, flat boards), and then re-shingle. That is until he started pulling off the old shingles and discovered our crappy roof had no less than four layers of shingles, not to mention a 20x20 foot tarp nailed down to fix the leaks, and rotten boards everywhere. It turned into a major headache, make that backache. All 2,000 + lbs. of old roof-ache. For us non-building inclined, that is a ridiculous amount of weight on a roof that size. Thankfully my Dad and Jeff's brother came down twice to help us.
It was irritating because the people we bought the house from said they had taken everything off when they put a new roof on. Um, not true. I imagine our entire roof is like the garage's, which isn't good and I'm sure only a matter of time before it starts leaking inside or collapses. When they finally got through the mass of layers where the garage connects to the house, water came gushing out of the shingles from the house. Apparently the motto with the previous fixes/owners was one more layer obviously means the water can't get through. Yeah, not so much. It was a royal-pain-in-the-you-know-what. And it cost a pretty penny too, which was a bit disheartening considering our garage is just cinder blocks with gaps everywhere. The best part though? We got a freak wind/rain storm before we were able to finish the roof and water seriously gushed down where the garage and Pearl's room meet. Our entire garage got flooded... the deep freezer, sheet rock, stairways, toolbox, bikes, stereo, and 4 wheelers. That was fun.
I really shouldn't complain though. I had the easy job.... keep the kids off the ladder and feed the men. And now that it's done, we haven't had a single drop of water in the garage!
October 18, 2011
I was absolutely mesmerized by all the gold and yellow leaves as we drove to Price for my Uncle Paul's funeral. It was totally unexpected to me because we were in "coal" country. Seeing the bright yellow colors next to the rocks and landscape wasn't something I had expected to see. I mean, I know Price isn't that far from the Wasatch Front but I kind of think of it as the desert and sagebrush-y, not covered in gorgeous fall colors. On the way home, Jeff suggested we take Skyline Drive. Had we been there even a week earlier, we would have seen the peak of fall's beauty. But no matter because we still saw patches of quakes in breathtaking, bright yellow. I couldn't get enough of it. Fall 2011 has been one to remember with all the stunning reds, yellows, oranges, browns, and greens.
October 17, 2011
It's obvious with the size of that screen that we go all out when we stay at a hotel. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a movie on something that small, with a crappy picture, and barely audible sound? The kids loved it though. And it kept them happy enough that Jeff and I could indulge in some cable T.V.
October 16, 2011
These two come up with some funny ways to entertain themselves.
Don't you just love Cole's cheesy face? He was doing that on purpose every time I snapped the camera.
October 15, 2011
For the past four years, I've had the honor and privilege of telling the stories of teens killed on Utah's roads. It's an emotionally exhausting project, yet incredibly amazing to work with the courageous families who let us play small part in their healing. The stories are heartbreaking. And I never forget the faces of each of the teens in the books. Never. When I catch myself distracted or speeding, I think of Keifer, Shelby, Jake, and Gracie. I think of Vanessa's dad who spoke at our press conference this year. Of Erica, Xander's parents, and all the families who shared the painful story of losing their teen. It's a book that everyone should read. A reminder of the devastation that could happen when we drive stupid.
November 27, 2011
