Rise and Shout

the Cougars are out!

Here are a few things I learned this weekend ...
*November football games are COLD!
*Drinking hot chocolate helps with the cold. If you look at Nixon and Easton, the more on your face, the better!
*Tailgating can be fun, even at BYU.
*Sitting through a cold game is totally worth it when it brings joy to my boys.
*17 is more than 10, and that makes 2 years in a row Utah - ha!






I thought we should let the boys rush the field after, but Geoffrey's dad was security right on our side of the field. Apparently, he's threatened his kids since birth about the evils of field-rushing. Maybe next time - doesn't it look fun, though?

Preview ...

Priesthood Preview that is. It was on Sunday and yes, Nixon is turning 12 next year, so we got to go! May I present the Deacon's Quorom of 2008:

One of the speakers told a story about a deacon jumping over something while he was passing the sacrament and spilling all the bread. He probably thought the story was funny, I thought he was just giving the boys ideas.

Not that you can tell from that photo, but Nixon is so serious about receiving the Priesthood next year. Looking at that boy just warms my heart.

I'm pretty sure that I'm not old enough to have a 12 year old son to go with that 18 year old daughter (not to mention the almost 10 year old youngest child!).

The Simmmmmmpsoooons ...

da da done done done done done done done dadadadone dadadadone. Yes, my family was a tribute to being inappropriate for Halloween. Except Sara, she had to dance until 10:00PM (really! 3 Musketeers opens this weekend!).

The Simpsons is a show we don't even watch in our house. But Geoffrey did wear me down eventually and we went to see the movie this summer. The boys laughed and laughed, and when I say boys, I mean all THREE of them. If you didn't see the movie, you had no idea who we were for Halloween, but here we are:

Spider Pig:

Harry Plopper:

Marge (yes, I made the wig - it is cardboard and cotton balls):

Geoffrey was a Silo of Pig Crap(photo coming soon):

It was a busy day with parties at school, the most amazing dinner at the Peers - check out how cute the Peers decorated the table for Halloween:

then it was trunk-or-treat and trick-or-treating. This was the first year that Geoffrey and I just stayed home and the boys went out with friends. It felt a little strange and a little sad that they really are growing up fast. I'm so grateful that they have good friends that we could be comfortable with them out going door to door with!

It worked out great for us because we got to snuggle Indy while Paul and Alisha took cute Cal out. Once the doorbell starts to be rung only by groups of middle schoolers, I'm ready to turn off the light though.

More pics on Smugmug, of course. Hope your Halloween was great!

Bodychecking, Goals, and Grizzlies

Bodychecking Definition: Using the body to slow or stop an opponent.

You know, shoving/slamming against the boards/taking the other guy down. Why the hockey lesson on the blog? Because this sweet boy:

is officially old enough that it is LEGAL to CHECK in his hockey league. Nothing takes a mom's breath away like the sight of your son's face mask pressed against the glass right in front of you (2nd game). Nixon is pretty much the smallest person on his team. So he needs to learn to play heads-up-hockey, and he needs to be fast, and he needs to strengthen his core which will help him absorb hits. He has had his bell rung a few times in practice, but the first game of the season, he scored a sweet breakaway goal, so we think he's going to be OK.

In other hockey news, Geoffrey is coaching Easton's team and on Friday all three boys got to skate out on the ice at the Utah Grizzlies home opener. One of the players came in the locker room and talked to them before the game,:

they were on the ice for the pre-game stuff and the National Anthem:

they played a scrimmage game in between the 1st and 2nd periods (Easton in the red helmet celebrating his goal with the Grizzlie Bear:

and they got to pick up the foam pucks that people threw on the ice in between the 2nd and 3rd periods!

Just because Nixon and Easton thought this was the funniest thing ever: The headless hockey players:

The Grizzlies tied the score with 14 seconds left in the game and won in overtime, so it was a great game! Feel the excitement:

As usual, more pictures then you have time to look at can be found here.

Sweet Deals!

The wonderful, amazing, full-of-great-stuff scrapbook store here in Park City, is - sadly-going out of business. RIP Gone Scrappin'.

Sad for those of us used to waiting until the last minute to do big projects, not having what we need, and running into the store to get just the right ribbon or paper or embellishment. Good for all the bargain hunters!

Everything in the store is 60% off! Don't think that means it is all picked over and the good stuff is gone. I am AMAZED at how much is still there - great Making Memories ribbons and trims and tons of brads and paper flowers and sooo much paper still. The store carries most brands of scrapbook supplies.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part - want to organize your scrap area? All fixtures for sale! Wire and Wood paper racks - 12x12 and 8 1/2x11 ...slat wall and all the hooks and baskets to go with it. Sooooo much stuff.

Sorry my California friends! Hurry on up my Utah friends - you can hit the outlet mall too, maybe we can have lunch!

Last day is Friday, November 2!

It's A Utah Thing ...

when your daughter gets asked out on dates by elaborate things. Here is Sara's Homecoming ask this year ...a perfect replica of Napoleon Dynamite's sketch-ask, (and the really good part!) a box of YUMMY cookie flowers wrapped all pretty and topped off with a pair of pink Skullcandy headphones:

Her answer? A big sign in his yard that said: YES, I'd be a Dum-Dum not to go with you; and a yard full of Dum-Dums stuck in the ground (harder to push into a lawn then you would think!)

And the cute couple on dance night:

Tyler is a darling boy in our ward, Sara said it was so fun to go with someone she is friends with and has hung out with a lot before - they had a great time!

I'm sure you're shocked to know I have more pictures here!

Sara's had a crazy schedule lately - she has a solo part in Ballet West's nutcracker - and as a result did all of her dress shopping on her own. I love that she knows modest is hottest!

Feel free to share any clever dance ask/answer ideas you have in the comments. Someday I'll be helping with the boy half of all of this!

Trekkin'

So I spent the weekend with some other stake leaders at Martin's Cove for trek training. We are taking our stake next summer and so we were REQUIRED to attend this training. We really had to trek with handcarts, cross the Sweetwater, see Martin's Cove, do a women's pull and camp out. We got a taste of wild Wyoming weather - a big rain/lightening/wind storm all night long!

I am sooo excited for trek! What a great experience to walk and camp and be right where the pioneers were. There was a special spirit about the place and the couple missionaries who are serving there were DARLING and having so much fun. What a great place to serve a mission!

We left with some strong feelings about what we want our trek to be like for our youth and some goals we have for them. It's going to be great!

So did you trek as a youth (or as an adult)? What do you remember as the most powerful parts? Any advice?

There's Always Room for One More Flanders!

That's what comes out of the Ned Flanders toy that this darling boy loved playing with at our house. I wanted them to take the toy with them, I can't figure out why Robyn and Dave didn't take it?!

Have you ever seen such cutie?

Robyn, Dave, and Trent stopped by for the afternoon. We were all so thrilled to see them and hope they can stay longer next time.

We lunched on Main Street, visited a miner museum, and went to the zoo.

My boys think Trent is so fun, it was a great day! More pictures here!

Git Yerself Ed-you-cated

Almost a month since my last post! Where does the time go?! Fall is here and for us, winter is creeping up, it's already down in the 30's at night. We've all been working on our educations!

The first day of school!

Stephanie came for Education Week! We had soooo much fun! Here we are with Lesa and Holly. The week went so fast and I was so sad when it was time for her to go home. I left inspired to be better, which is what anything we invest our time into learning should do for us.

Fastest 11 years EVER!

I can't believe this boy is 11!

He had a celebratory week - we went Lazer-tagging, to TWO waterparks, bowling, school shoe shopping, and Sunday will be the big birthday dinner (his choice? hot dogs!).

It's a joy to be Nixon's mom. People just love him. He is polite, thoughtful, smart, and funny. He thinks a lot about spiritual things and takes his responsibilities very seriously. He is a good example to all of us in the family. He can be be a worrier at times, but he's always the first to trust in Heavenly Father's plan too. Thanks for being great Nixon, we love you!

Risky Rides

Actual Conversation - June 2006 - After entering gates at Lagoon:

Nixon and Easton: "Mom, are these rides like at Disneyland so we can ride them, or are they UNSAFE like carnival rides?"

Sara: "Look around, they're scary!"

Since we covered rat phobias in the last post, I thought I'd move onto phobia #2 - CARNIVAL RIDES. Come on, anything that gets set up and taken down in a few hours and moves around cannot be safe. My kids don't even ask to go on these things anymore, and despite my assurances (even if I didn't really think so) that Lagoon was perfectly safe, they spent most of the time in line examining all the things that could be wrong with the ride they were about to go on! (Come on Lagoon, if you don't want us to look at you like a carnival, then don't be dirty like a carnival!)

I never felt like my kids were deprived not getting to ride things. For goodness sakes, we went to Disneyland 2 times a week, they experienced plenty of ride joy! But now, 1 1 /2 years removed from regular Disney fixes, we will be attending the Summit County Fair. Should I let my kids ride things? Part of me says "Yes! Live a little! They are just kids!" Most of me says "No Way - Check out this website"

(Here are highlights from JUST THE LAST 5 WEEKS):
Two dead in carnival ride crash(Saturday, August 4, 2007)
Boy, 3, injured in 25-foot-fall from Ferris wheel(Saturday, August 4, 2007)
Girl, 15, injured in fall from Coney Island ride(Friday, August 3, 2007)
Girl, 6, injured in fall from Octopus ride(Friday, August 3, 2007)
Two children ejected from Sizzler(Wednesday, July 25, 2007)
Log flume malfunction injures 5(Sunday, July 22, 2007)
Park worker dead after fall from roller coaster(Tuesday, July 17, 2007)
Girl, 16, falls to her death from freefall-type ride(Saturday, July 14, 2007)
Boy, 4, drowns in wave pool at Great America(Thursday, July 12, 2007)
Ride operator killed in path of swinging pendulum ride(Sunday, July 8, 2007)
Ride operator killed in Scrambler accident at Rye Playland(Friday, June 29, 2007)

I have roughly 24 hours to decide before we embark on our fair adventure that will include looking at the HOME ARTS displays (I'm particularly looking forward to the categories of What-not shelves and homemade ONE piece ski clothing); checking out the kids artwork, and attending our first ever RODEO.

Maybe next post, I'll enlighten you all as to how I feel about water parks and GERMS.

Make Me Sick!

What makes me sick? There is a long list, and RATS are near the top, yet, here they are, in the home of my beloved angels ...

If you think you can stomach it, read here.

Let me just say, I am so grossed out right now. Vomit retching up my throat like I just took a Cliff Shot.

(actual photo of THAT event)

Yes, I blame you Mr. Moreno. Let's just chalk it up to karma for your LAME name change. I'm not sure even your sparkling 65-46 record can help me forget this. You'd better be bringing home some serious hardware in October.

The-Boy-Who-Lived

Don't freak out. I'm not commenting on how things ended, just what we've called Harry since this all started 7 books ago.

The adventure is at an end. Thanks for a fun ride J.K. Rowling (aka the-women-who-never-has-to-work-a-day-in-her-life-again).

The-women-who-ignored-laundry-all-morning-to-finish-a-book-by-1:30 (that's me), is glad that although some of what she thought needed to happen did, she is still satisfied with how it all turned out.

I'll leave it at that. Please don't post any comments that could be spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished yet.

Here are some pics from the book release party at the BYU bookstore:

That's Luna, Draco, and Harry along with some Muggle friends and parents (although Geoffrey did claim to be dressed up as a nargle).

We ran into Draco's parents while we were there.

Geoffrey's mom made the BEST Mrs. Weasley. I can't believe I didn't take a close up of the shawl she made. It had the greatest patches on it!

Geoffrey thougt it would be HILARIOUS to "read" the last page of the book loudly. The people who were freaking out over his fake ending made his day.

What the heck do I have to look forward to now?

Blue Steel

The shirt says it all ...

HadaGreat Time at Havasupaii

Being responsible for 52 teenagers and adults on a 12 mile hike in 117 degree weather and in a place where you entertain yourself by throwing your body off of 40 feet cliffs is STRESSFUL!

That having been said, I would not trade this experience for anything. It was amazing. We laughed, we cried, we "slept" on rocks with crickets and coyotes, we built a shed, a fence, and planted fruit trees at 15 different homes, we all made it out of that canyon alive, and endured the longest bus trip (complete with broken air conditioners and tires on fire).

I learned we have the GREATEST youth. I love them so much. I strengthened friendships and made some new ones with some pretty great people. I'm so glad we went!

Lot of pictures on smugmug, but here are a few of my favs ...

No kidding, this place is like the garden of Eden. The water is so beautiful. There are different waterfalls to go play in. Here are some of the young women at Havasu Falls.

This is Sara and I at Mooney Falls, which can only be hiked to using chains and ladders (scary!)

This might be my favorite picture. These are the 3 kids I hiked out with. They are 12 and 13 and were some of the last to arrive at camp the day we hiked in. Here they are soooo proud of themselves for being in the 2nd group to make it out. We called ourselves the shade walkers because we beat the sun to the top!

This picture is on the side of the road, when we had to evacuate the bus for the tire fire. Keep in mind, prior to this incident, we'd already spent 2 hours hanging out at a Rite-Aid while the air conditioner was fixed on the bus. Oh yea, we also hiked out of a canyon this morning and haven't showered in 5 days! Those smiles show how well the kids did handle everything!

Trippin'

Field trippin' that is! Our elementary school year came to a spectacular end on Friday, even if the par-tay events of Thursday had to be held inside due to snow and other generally gross weather conditions.

I thought I would take a moment and reflect on the year. First, Nixon and Easton both had fab teachers. I'm grateful for both of these ladies and the love they gave my children this year. Second, we really do have a great school. The facility is superb, the parents are involved, there are more fun events than I could list here. And lastly, the kids have fun! I'm thrilled that my children are enjoying their learning experience! Part of it might be all the field trips. Between my 2 boys, here are all the field trips I've tagged along on this year ...

Clark Planetarium

Ballet West performing the Nutcracker

Strawberry Reservoir to see the salmon run

Coldstone ice cream (the kids rode the city buses - which are always free!)

Jordanelle Reservoir/Red Cliffs Nature Area

Great Salt Lake/Antelope Island

Ballet West performing Sleeping Beauty

Swaner Nature Preserve

This is the Place State Park

I also missed a field trip to downtown Park City to see a play at the Egyptian Theater.

I learned that beavers secrete oil that you can see on the water. I got to wade in the Great Salt Lake and collect shrimp brine. I learned that in pioneer times, where we have a mattress, beds had reeds woven to form a base to sleep on. Sometimes you had to tighten them before sleeping, hence the term "sleep tight". I learned ice cream that you make with 3rd graders is DELICIOUS before it gets frozen. I learned there are salmon in Utah! I learned about wetlands, salty bodies of water, and how to "read" ballet moves.

The kids also left the school for other things. The 4th graders walked everyday in the wilderness by the school. Even in the cold! By the end of the year, they had walked enough to "walk around the state of Utah". My boys were able to snowshoe out in the wild, and to play in the great public park across the street from their school. The 3rd grade had swimming lessons. They had fun days to celebrate mountain men, and field day, and they were in plays, and there was a great end-of -the -year movie with pictures of their school from the whole year!

Yea for a great year! Yea for Summer!

Dear Weather Person ...

I have a comment. It is 32 degrees and something that looks and feels suspiciously like snow is falling from the sky in Park City. Perhaps a check of the calendar is in order. I believe you may have confused June with January. This could put a damper on the end-of-the-school-year beach themed party scheduled for tomorrow. I trust the situation will be corrected in a timely matter. Thank you.

Lessons from Camping

So there is a lot to be learned from a camping trip. For instance ...

If your 9 year old packs his own bag, and even if you ask your husband SIX times if he has checked it, you should only expect to have the following:

2 pairs of shorts, the child's best zip-up SWEATER, one or two pairs of underwear, 3 stuffed animals.

You may be missing:

Pajamas, long pants of ANY kind, sweatshirts and/or coats, water shoes, bathing suit, toothbrush.

If you arrive at your camp late at night and set up your tent in a hurry in the dark, some of it may fall on you during the windstorm in the middle of the night. This may cause your teenage daughter to sit up every 20 minutes until 5am exclaiming "The tent is falling! We're going to suffocate!"

If you hike with 11 children and want to keep track of them, do not bother giving them numbers and trying to get them to "count off". They won't get it right until the afternoon of the very last day on the very last hike.

If you are hiking with the same 11 children, DO NOT give them each a walkie talkie. You may be able to tune out the constant chatter on them, but the strangers around you will not appreciate it.

If you plan on ditching your kids in the Junior Ranger program so that you can go do an adult hike, make it a good one. You won't be able to talk the kids into going back to the "most boring thing" they've ever done. Also ...make sure the 5 year old you are trying to pass off as 6 doesn't look too young.

Also ...Camelbacks are the BEST invention ever, Zion National Park is beautiful, kids love to be dirty (and the dirt is coming home with you)!

And the last lesson of all...camping with fun friends is a great experience - do whatever you need to to make it happen!

More pictures here.

Bounty Hunter vs. Marine

This is the difference between playing Bounty Hunters at recess or playing Marines.
Details provided by Easton:

*A bounty hunter works alone.
(Nixon chimes in here. Apparently, he also has knowledge of this recess game. "A bounty hunter is hired to kill people. That makes him a paid assassin").
*Bounty hunters have jet packs.
*Bounty hunters have guns. So do Marines, but not laser guns.
*Bounty hunters have armor, wrist launchers, grenades.
*Marines have grenades too, but they throw them on the ocean. Because they're mostly on water.
*A bounty hunter has a helmet.
*Marines have rocket launchers, ships. They go on land to help out the army. They help out the navy a lot.

Someday you may be lucky enough to have boys that learn these kind of things on the playground too. Until then, I didn't want you to be out of the loop and not know the difference between the two. We are camping with 2 other families and a couple this weekend at Zions. The husband half of the couple is a Marine (he's in law school and is reserve and will be JAG when he graduates), so I can't wait to find out if we adjust our description next week! This is not a picture of Easton at recess, I just like his goofy smile in it.

Anti-Flashers at the Office

Did you see the episode with the flasher? The wanted poster that Pam drew of the flasher (Dwight with a mustache!) had a phone number.

1-800-984-3672

Call it.

Really.

Thank me later.

Signs of the Season

You know summer is on the way when ...

The ice cream man comes for the first time:

Flowers are everywhere - your blog background, the yard, the cakes you decorate:

You play the first baseball game of the year:

I *heart* summer!