The things kids say

This morning Brent and I were out shoveling. We finished the driveway and I headed for the sidewalks and Brent went in to change shoes and go to work. Sage asked him if I was still out shoveling and he told her yes, then she asked if he was leaving for work, he told her yes, then she comes up with this one, "Be careful not to hit Mom as you leave." Thanks Sage nice to know you worry, lol.

This afternoon Aspen asked Brent if he could go to the airport and get one of the planes to go to heaven and get Gunner for her. He told her no he was sorry but it didn't work that way. Then Sage told her heaven was invisible and that the plane would just fly over heaven and not see it.

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward party is different than any other ward I have been in. To start with it is breakfast not dinner. Also you are awakened at 7:30 am to siren's of the Pleasant Grove Fire truck ad it drives through the neighborhood with Santa on board waving at all the kids. The girls get so excited when they hear fire engines all year long because they are convinced that Santa is on board. Aspen is in a sunglasses phase and wears hers everywhere even to meet Santa! Usually we have to wait in line for 20 minutes or so to see Santa, well we were late, which turned out to be super, Brent got in line for food and I headed to the Santa line, wait there is no line! We were on of the first to see Santa there was only 1 boy in front of us! How cool, we were in line for food with Brent before he had even gotten there.

Sage and her puppy

Sage has been sick and really not feeling up to snuff. I have been impressed with her new puppy Little Bear. He has seemed to know from day 1 that the kids were his and his responsibility. He is generally a bit hyper but he spent two days napping and hanging out with Sage. He was a total sweetheart. He may not be my dog and he certainly doesn't fill the huge gap in my life that loosing Gunner has left but he is a very very good dog to my girls.


I didn't think it could get much cuter than this but then a couple of hours later I came through the living room and found this. He even stayed under the blanket!

Anniversary Night

We had an unusual but fun anniversary. First we took the kids with us. Not the usual approach but it saved babysitter fees and we were going to Tempenyaki and I so wanted the girls to see them cook dinner. They had a blast. They won over the staff because they not only used the chop sticks but were actually quite proficient with them by the end of dinner. Also they ate the sushi, not only did they eat it they loved it. So did I we tried a new one that didn't have seaweed and it was fabulous. Then the waiter informed me that since they make all their sushi to order I can order any sushi and they will substitute the seaweed for rice paper. I am so in heaven now. I like sushi but I am not a fan of the seaweed. Now I can have them all, yum! I just need a super large eating out budget.


After dinner we went and picked up Taylor and Dylan and went to see the lights at Thanksgiving point. Santa was visiting the point so we were able to visit with him and get a picture done. After we went out front to visit with Santa's reindeer. The girls were so impressed.

School Pictures

There were only two things I felt bad about for doing home school with Sage. One was no school pictures and the second was valentines day parties. I kind of have a thing for those cute valentines and really wanted to have Sage have that fun. Well they have a valentine party! One off the list and then they made a deal with lifetouch to let us come into the studio for school pictures! Now there is not a single regret for homeschooling only pluses! Aspen was so jealous that Sage got her picture taken and I didn't realize they would do hers as well so luckily she was dressed cute! She was thrilled that she got to have her picture done too.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 8th Anniversary and it is kind of amazing to me that it has been 8 years! Marriage is definitely full of ups and downs but I know that there is no one I would rather spend the ups and downs with than Brent.

We were married on a beautiful snowy day 8 years ago:

Look at us now both a bit grayer, lol but happy.

New addition

The girls had a hard time when we told them about Gunner. It really rips your heart out to hear your kids sob so hard. Brent promised them a new dog but like typical kids it isn't real until it arrives. I wasn't ready for a new pet and I definately wasn't ready to look into a shih tzu puppy face without sobbing so I told Brent to pick a different kind. He has had Pomeranians before and they are good little dogs with kids and fit the small size needed for where we are renting. We found an amazing deal for a pure bred papered pom and and at 7pm at night we were all in the van and headed out to West Point, which for those of you who are like me and had no clue where that is it was a bit past the Hill Airforce Base.

We let the kids name him, Aspen liked the name Sparky but Sage hated it. Sage liked the name Cinderella's Prince and Aspen hated that. Finally Sage came up with Little Bear which is a show both of them love and Aspen liked the name too. Funny thing is he looks like a little bear so they did a good job naming him. So Little Bear came home with us and I haven't had to hear the girls cry for their dog. They have a new one to love and besides the fact they seem obsessed with telling everyone their dog died and they have a new one they seem to be fairing well. Little Bear seems to know what his job in life is already, when he sees the girls he gets so excited he just wiggles and can't wait to get to them. Brent and I don't get that reaction out of him.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for a husband who loves his kids so much that he will throw the budget to the wind and go out in the night and buy them a puppy. I am thankful for a little puppy who cures little girls grief. I am thankful I had a dog named Gunner who loved me best of all and made my days brighter. I don't know when I will be able to go a day without tears but at least I don't have to listen to my girls cry.

And now some pictures of Little Bear the girls new dog:

Farewell to Gunner

We found Gunner. On Wednesday night about 9:30pm he was hit by a large dump truck type truck on the north off ramp at 90th South. A lady saw him running and recognized him as a small black and white dog with long hair and was going to get out and try and catch him when he was hit by the truck and there was obviously no way he was alive. She was really bothered by it and searched KSL on Saturday night and saw my ad and when she saw the picture and the area she knew it was him. She has hesitated to call but it has bothered her so much she went out to the ksl ad today and decided to call me as she figured if it was her dog she would rather know than not know. She was so upset but I really appreciated her sincere phone call and information. We drove to the area and found the spot she mentioned. It was pretty horrible there wasn't much left of him but between the time, description, and area and what was left of the body. I am 99% sure that it was our Gunner. Thank you for all the love and support and help we have recieved in finding him. It was not the outcome I was hoping for or wanted. But I have had such a hard time sleeping, worrying about him, in a way it is kinder to not wonder but know he is gone and isn't suffering.

He was a special little dog with a big heart. Loving was what he did best and for that I will always remember his sweet face and miss him.

Gunner Missing

We left Gunner with a good friend for the Thanksgiving holiday. Her son lost him on Wednesday, November 24th. They live just off of 9000S. Just a bit west of the freeway. Gunner had on his blue harness collar. If you see a dog matching that description or know of someone who has found a black and white shih tzu please email me!

How NOT to cook a steak

Brent put his back out this weekend so he is stiff and sore and not moving around much. I figured I could handle dinner no problem and didn't change the menu. My first mistake was not dethawing the steaks I got on sale at smiths for $1.89 a pound but instead trying my hand at the BBQ with the expensive $7.99 a pound rib eye steaks from costco.

After carefully tenderizing , rubbing with olive oil and seasoning the steaks I went out to see if I could even light the thing. Actually got it the first try which made me feel pretty cocky. Waited for the temperature to show 300 on the outside and the slapped those beauties on the grill. Pioneer Woman the expert on all things good and yummy had said a couple of minutes on each side, so I left the grill and went to set the table. I hadn't finished yet when Sage told me the BBQ was on fire. I told her it was just smoking and was fine, and she told me nope it was on fire. Sure enough she was right I went running out to the grill which now read over 700 degree's and threw open the lid and nearly lost my eyelashes! Oh my did we ever have a fire. The woodchips that are supposed to smoke were in full out flames and so was everything else. I grabbed the steaks from the bonfire and yelled for Brent. It took, baking powder and a squirt bottle but the fire was put out with no real damage. Ah but my poor steaks, they were crunchy on one side but fine on the other just no grill marks, lol. Brent was excited because his steak was rare, the first rare steak he has apparently gotten from his grill. I was hugely disappointed as I prefer my steaks even cooked without char. But lessons learned I suppose. I will be turning the grill down and I will never leave a precious rib eye steak unattended again.

Like Mother Like Daughter

Long long ago in a far away mining town lived a young woman who had reached the magical age of fifteen. What is so magical about 15? Why the ability to learn to drive! This particular young woman was me. I have to say it is a blessing that I grew up is such a small town as I don't think I would have survived learning how to drive in the city. I could fill this blog with post after post of driving mishaps but I have one particular incident that I want to share. In a small town running errands with your parents for driving practice usually doesn't entail much more than a couple of blocks, however the only place to get pizza was clear on the other side of town across the large overpass bridge at least a 15 minute drive. I remember my best friend Mara was in the van with my mom and I. I was very nervous about doing everything right. We made it to the local Pizza Hut without incident, however as I went to pull out my over thinking kicked in and I panicked. Which side of the road do I pull out on? I thought back on the way I had come and decided to backtrack, I promptly pulled out into the oncoming traffic. Well if I had lived in a bigger town there would have been oncoming traffic, as it was I was merely driving on the wrong side of the road. I calmly continued on my way sure that I had made the right decision. I noticed Mara and my Mom exchanging glances, "Um, your on the wrong side of the road," my mom calmly corrected me. I was mortified but where I may not be able to figure out the mechanics of driving I was at least quick on my feet, "Oh, sorry. I thought I was in Europe for a second there." We all had a great laugh and we made it home safely without further incidents.

Yesterday, while working with Sage on her home school for the day. I asked her which castle was smaller the one on the right or the left. She said left which was wrong. So I pointed to the left castle and said, "Really? This one is smaller?" She is apparently also quick on her feet, "Oh sorry, I was speaking Spanish there for a minute. I said right." I just had to laugh and once again I am so grateful to have the opportunity to home school this bright and funny little girl. I would miss out on so many wonderful moments if she were attending a traditional school. I have to say though I really am hoping driving comes more naturally for her than it did for me.

Happy Halloween

Busy Halloween this year and although it didn't go exactly the way I planned we had a good holiday. Brent's granddaughter, Karissa came down and joined us for trick or treating. The girls were so excited she came and cried when we told them we were getting in the van to take her home, hopefully she comes to visit again soon!

Katie was able to get someone to cover the first half of her shift at work so she could trick or treat with us. It is hilarious to watch the 4 of them get so excited and worked up together there was no doubt those kids were having a grand time.

My good friend Laura got these belly dancer costumes when she went on a European cruise. She bought them from the Istanbul market so they are much nicer than most kids halloween costumes. When I told Aspen she was going to be a belly dancer for halloween she told me, "But Mom! I am a bum dancer not a belly dancer!" Thanks to youtube she soon realized how cool belly dancing was, lol.



Karissa the purple witch! Aunt Candice had a grand time with the halloween tattoos and makeup, she did a great job!

Oh how cute is he, lol. He calls me Elamy. Leon was trying to teach him to say it right and I told him not to, I love how he says it soo cute! It reminded me how Ethan used to call me Mom when he was Joshua's age and it drove my mom crazy.
I was so excited Ethan was Lewis as that is my alllllll time favorite disney cartoon. Just ask the girls it is the one I have running in the van the most often. I figure if I have to listen to it I might as well enjoy it. I really need to download the soundtrack for my mp3 player!

Joshua and Ethan!

Ahhh, Best Friends and cousins to boot. Ethan has really grown lately and is much taller than Sage now.

And they are off! Oh my were they excited we hadn't even gotten any candy yet and we had squeals and laughter and frenzied excitement!

Don't you just love how they ALL have to be on the top stair even if there isn't room for all of them!

After we made a large loop through the neighborhood we stopped back at the house to get Brent and we were all in the front yard when a dog came by to say hello and got hit by a truck in front of our house. He was not hit by the tires but was hit by the bumper and axle. The kids saw it happen which I feel terrible about but they are all afraid to cross streets now, which living on the "freeway" that I do isn't a terrible thing. The dog is doing surprisingly well. He is in my backyard being fed and I wash his wounds twice a day and neasporin them. Katie named him Lucky but we are trying to find his owner so if he looks familiar let me know! We can't keep him and Brent won't let him sleep in the house, I think he is afraid of commitment, lol.

Zoo time fun!

We went to the zoo this weekend and had a fabulous time. The air was cool and brisk and the animals were feeling frisky. Oh and the babies! I love babies whether it is the baby next door or a baby elephant I am instantly in love!

We were lucky and visited the penguins during dinner time. It was fun to watch them eat the fish and swim in the water.
Sleepy kitties, makes you feel like you could scratch their ears for them.

Aspen was very nervous about having that owl so close to her head but still wanted a picture with the owl.
One of Aspen's favorite things is a carousel ride. She was so excited to ride this one. I thought it was pretty funny that Sage picked a great big bug to ride.


I seriously love this wagon. It sure makes our adventures more enjoyable and Aspen is so good to "help" pull with dad.
Cougar. One was even "talking" gave you chills. Well me at least, lol.
How nice of Mrs. Giraffe to pose for us to see exactly how tall she is!

The snow leopard with her baby and the baby elephant were definitely my favorite parts of the trip. I could have stayed hours just watching these guys.

OCD and Labs don't mix

We are babysitting Brent's daughter Candice's dog. Did you follow that one, lol. Anyway Angel is a sweet big black lab with a heart of gold and sheds like you would not believe. She has only been in the house a couple of days and it is everywhere.

Sage's job for the day was to vacuum the stairs and landing. This is a job she usually loves and due to her extreme ocd and her need to have it perfect she does a fabulous job. Well the vacuum ran and ran and ran so I began to wonder if she had just left it on and abandoned the job. So I look down the stairs and on the landing is the vacuum, Sage and Angel. The landing is a light wood color and shows every angel hair. Sage is busy vacuuming away at the hair and Angel thinks it is some kind of game and is jumping and barking like crazy shedding even more hair. Poor Sage is furiously trying to get it all. Suddenly the light goes on and she decides to go for the source Angel thought she was nuts and high tailed it out of there. Sage sighs turns the vacuum off and tells me, "Mom your vacuum is broken it doesn't like to get Angel hair. I can't vacuum today, we will have to wait till Candice comes home."

Honesty

I substituted for Aspen's primary class yesterday and I have to say sunbeams are just adorable and you have to love them all. Our lesson was on honesty and the 2000 stripling warriors.

As we were waiting for parents to arrive I asked them what we learned about today and this cute girl tells me, "Honesty and the stripper warriors!"

Ooops! We spent the rest of the time practicing how to say "StripLLLLing" LOL

Sometimes you just can't win

It has only taken me a year to get Brent to paint the girls room for me. Two if you count the year I tried to talk him into considering it while I was collecting all the bedding, etc. It has been painted for less than two weeks, I am not even finished hanging everything back up on the walls.

This morning Sage and I were in a groove on home schooling I am thinking to myself dang we are going to be done by noon today! Suddenly it dawns on me how very very quite the house is. Yup too quite. Aspen had managed to stand on top of the bathroom counter and get the magnet lock down open the cupboard and get out my fingernail polish and paint her comforter sheets, security blanket, the white chest of drawers (the one that was finished and matched the room not the brown one I still need to paint), her white Ikea bed and last but not least the beautiful accent wall behind her bed.

I was pleased and relieved that her IKEA bed is apparently kid proof. Fingernail polish remover took it off the bed and didn't ruin the finish either. I caught her painting the bedding so hopefully it wasn't dry all the way when I rushed like a mad woman downstairs and canceled the laundry running and threw them on the floor and threw the wet nail polish bedspread in. It is still running I am afraid to go and check and see how it did, as I cannot replace them.

So now when Brent gets home I have to convince him to put a 2nd coat on that wall, and now I have to drag both chest of drawers out to the garage for a paint job not just one. Sometimes I seriously feel like I can't win and I am just not supposed to have anything nice in my house.

Things you shouldn't do at the Farm

Ever notice that sometimes adults need a parent to tell them to think twice before they do something?

I thought about that twice tonight. Once was while I was scratching a longhorn bull between the horns. He was HUGE and his horns were over two feet on each side of his head. But he came over to the gate and looked like he wanted a scratch. So I obliged. Silly guy turned his head into the scratching, he loved it! I had to keep jumping out of the way as he tried to adjust himself to a better angle for scratches. I never would have dreamed a bull would enjoy a good scratch.

The second time was while the kids were feeding the goats, Brent and his daughter Candice and myself were feeding and petting the lama's. They were so gentle getting the corn out of our hands and were so soft, with long lovely eye lashes I was lulled into feeling safe. When one nuzzled my cheek I let her and then she sneezed. Wet foul rancid sneeze breath all over me. Guess that is what I get for getting too close to the animals.

But just so you don't think I was the only crazy adult there. Brent was putting corn on his grandson's head so the lama's would eat it off of it. Good thing lama's are so gentle even if they do have stinky sneezes.

FrightMares!

As most of you know we have basically spent the summer at Lagoon, it has been a long relaxing summer, let me tell you. Just about every weekend camping at Lagoon and jaunting into the park a couple of times a day and spending the rest of the time at camp with family and friends and very very yummy food! Heck we are so much fun we have people that come up to hang out with us that don't even plan on going to Lagoon. Hmmm, maybe it isn't us but just the food? Regardless we have had so much fun. So this weekend was supposed to be our last big hoorah at Lagoon. Frightmares just opened and it is getting a bit chilly for camping. What amazing weather we had this weekend! You couldn't ask for better! Friday Kyle and Rose Ridgeway came and spent the evening with us and then Saturday my friend Laura Lee came by and visited with us and stayed to hang out and enjoy dinner and roasted marshmallows. Yum.

Frightmares is a first for us and let me tell you it is just way too much fun. I love Halloween and the whole park is decked out in photo op's and cute bales of hay and pumpkins galore, they must have there own pumpkin patch!
Spooky fun halloween shows, Spooky music playing from all the parks speakers, towards the evenings the spooks come out, great fabulous costumes, the girls thought it was the best ever. I thought the best thing ever was that the kids could ride every ride without waiting in line! Apparently no one shows up to frightmares till 3pm. They had a cute trick or treating section for the little kids. The girls LOVED it.
They also had Windy the Witch walking around giving around candy. The girls loved her, and my little well trained girls even asked her if they could take a picture with her! How fun is that!
But the best was the race cars it was pretty much just us with a couple of other people.

Well as we are racing around the track at full speed (I don't believe in racing in any other mode than pedal to the metal!) I hear my co-pilot Sage screaming, "Watch out!! Daddy's coming in a red car!!!! Don't let him pass us Mommy! Go! Go!" Well how do I explain I am at top speed already. Well it is time for our racing maneuvers. All went well around the first turn but on the 2nd my assumption that my sweet husband would never hit the car with his wife and CHILD in it were blown out of the water! He politely rammed me at just the right moment to send me careening out of control into the side. Stuck. Couldn't even move. Sage was furious, lol lol. She told me to hurry and catch up with him so he wouldn't do that to anyone else! We were so stuck that the attendant had to stop the cars and come push us free! Do you think he felt guilty? Nope here he is gloating while I wait for the attendant to get us free!Just you wait Mr. on our rematch you are so going out of bounds. I think I will put the kids in someones else's cars for that one. Brent and I are slightly competitive, lol!

Ooh we also rode my favorite ride the Giant octopus ride. I have heard rumor it is for kids but we all know that isn't true, heck the kids can't even ride it without an adult! I think that is just so us adults don't feel so silly squealing and loving every minute of the water shooting dolphin fun! Although it adds all new fun when you let the kids drive! Whew! Wonder where they get those crazy skills from? Aspen was in charge of soaking me, Sage had Aunt Kris and Shelby and Curt seemed to be loving it too!
Heavens what is a trip to Lagoon without a ride on the Train? Especially with Uncle Curt and Aunt Kris, those rebels are famous for letting themselves into the train station and everyone else, even when the Lagoon teen workers yell at them. Seriously poor kids what are you going to do? Just let them do it, it seems to work better for everyone, lol! Poor Brent is so embarrassed! We all make it safely on the train and then the fun begins! Oh and we see some cool animals too, lol!


My poor baby every once and a while she forgets that she hates roller coasters, but she so wants to go with Sage I cave and let her go.


There they are ready to go, maybe she will like it this time. . . .


Hmmm, not looking very promising.


Nope all out terror. Now does it make me a terrible mother that this picture busts me up? I laugh every time I see it.