DIO-SOR (As Ryan says)

I took Tuesday off of work... Ryan needed some attention.

His brother has been gone more than he's been home this summer, and Ryan was really starting to frazzle around the edges.

So, if brother isn't available to play, the next best thing is COUSINS!!

Trev and Gracie are both 4, just weeks apart.  And close enough to Ryan in age that they actually enjoy things that Ryan is just discovering. 

So we all met up at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, which may not be the MOST AMAZING dino museum around, but it is perfect for their age because almost EVERY display has something they can push or touch or interact with in SOME way. 

I love this picture of Ryan... he's standing under a T-Rex... and looking up at it's HUGE mouth and teeth!

One of the most popular areas is a HUGE water/sand table that teaches the kids about erosion.  Ryan was NOT impressed with the ICKY, CA-CA, MESSY! activity.  I love his expression... can't you just hear him...

"Mama, Yucky!  Oh, GROSS, MESSY.  Caa-ca... Yuck.  Spill. Dirty!" 

His very anti-dirt.

Then Trevor showed him where the water was coming out, and he discovered he could WASH the little dinosaurs....

And his universe was perfect.

We were going to meet at the park afterward for a little picnic, relaxing, play time... and this is what happened instead:

I think that was a sign that he had a spectacular day!

Marriage: It's about over coming differing opinions

See, to me, anytime you have to HANG OFF THE SIDE OF THE MACHINE TO KEEP IT FROM SLIDING INTO THE DEEP MUD PIT, it's time to turn around. 

To my husband (and the husband's of the my wifey friends) it was time to practice defying basic laws of nature.  Like GRAVITY. 

PS.  Additionally on this ride, my adorable niece informed me that some of the words that slipped out of my mouth as my knee slammed into hard plastic for the 5 millionth were "for grown ups only" and she didn't think I was old enough yet. 

There's An App For That

How cliche!

But seriously, that is what kept running through my head as I watched these three boys laugh HYSTERICALLY over Mark's new app.

There is a commercial for something with a line "Do people do dumb things with their smart phones?" 

Yeah... this is one of those moments!

I LOVE Ryan's face in this next one... I think he's trying to figure out if his Dad is okay...

Any guesses as to what the app is???

It's a FARTing App!

Days of 47

Folks in Utah know what the title of this post refers to... those who don't, here's your quick Utah history lesson:  In July of 1847, July 24th in fact, the first group of Mormon settlers (Pioneers) stood on an outcropping over looking the Salt Lake Valley and decided they had reached their destination.

Utah is one of the few states in the nation that still celebrates a statehood day... but rather than the day we entered the Union (Jan 4, 1896), it's the day the Valley met it's first long term settlers.   And it's a BIG DAY.  Probably bigger than the 4th of July... or maybe it just seems that way because we get a practice run at celebrating. 

The week long celebration is know as The Days of 47. 

So, just to give you a glimpse of what we Utahn's have the pleasure of enjoying...

Yeah.  That's what we're celebrating!

PS... I don't suggest stopping to smell these flowers... it mostly just smells like cow poo... because, well, these high mountain meadows are where the ranchers summer the animals so they don't die of heat exhaustion in the desert valleys!  MOOOOOO!

Current Obsession

For some reason, even though it's summer and hot, I'm loving crocheting.

It's normally a winter thing for me... soft yarn weaved into warm hats, blankets, etc.

Well... I went into one of my favorite yarn shops (Kamille's in Gardner Village) the other day and saw these ADORABLE little hats. 

Free pattern with purchase!!!  And well, who can go into Kamille's and walk out empty handed, right??

Sorry for the horrible cell phone photos, but ROBYN wanted pictures RIGHT NOW... and well... I figured if I was sending them to her, I might as well post them here!

Family

Want to know what one of my most favorite things to happen so far this year has been?

I'll give you a hint:

I absolutely LOVE that my boys now have a cousin close enough to play with. 

My Brother-in-Law and his family moved down from Washington this spring, and it has been so nice being close to them.  And not just the cute little girl, I'm kind of partial to her parents too! 

On Saturday, we ventured down to their place to enjoy one of the local "festival" days, explored the park, enjoyed dinner and conversation, and capped the night off with a fireworks show. 

It was a great, relaxing day... and the kids woke up the next day begging for their cousin to come play.   

As if I needed another excuse to get together with them!

Conjoined

That pretty much sums it up.

Papa

Ryan has a lot of people in his life that we call "Grandpa", but he only has ONE Papa.  We're not exactly sure how/why he decided to call Dad "Papa", but it stuck. 

The whole time my parents had Evan, Ryan not only asked for his brother each night, but also his Papa and Gama (Grandma, which really sounds more like Mama).  

When we went to the airport to pick them up, I had my back to the escalators looking to find which Baggage Claim they would be at when I heard my Dad call Ryan's name.  And Ryan started to turn around and whispered, "Papa?" even though he couldn't quite figure out where his voice had come from.  

I'm glad that my boys have so many great men in their lives to look up to, and we love each and everyone... but I have to say, seeing Ryan fall in love with his Papa this summer has been a special thing.    

Look Who's Home!

I'm not sure who was more excited...

However, I'm 100% positive that Ryan is not going to let Evan have a minute to himself this afternoon!

I didn't get a snap shot of it, however, when Grandpa tried to take Ryan out of Evan's arms in order to get his own hug, Ryan refused to let go of Evan's hand. 

Old Red

My brother, Shane, gave a Red Tonka to Evan for his second Christmas.

Old Red has taken a beating. 

He has out lived MANY trucks... gone on many camping trips, shoved in a backpack for Show and Tell, been played with for hours on bedroom floors, taken dives off tables and down stairs. 

His stickers have come off after many "car washes" (baths).

He has been well loved and to put it in truck terms he's:  Built TONKA Tough.

Well, when we moved Evan down stairs into the basement, several of his toys were handed down to Ryan... including Old Red. 

He may be an old truck, but he has many years worth of "vrooming" to give to a new little boy!



New Neighbors

Well, after 5 years, we're finally getting neighbors. 

All the lots around us have been empty the entire time we've lived here, in fact, there is only one other house on my street. 

It sort of works in my favor, seeing as how I'm anti social!

Alas, it's coming to an end...

At least Ryan was able to find something to enjoy from the experience! 

Ryan's Baby

When Evan was about 2 and a half, he found a small pink teddy bear at Grandma Rie's that he adopted as his baby....

It was random... he would tuck his baby in at night, feed it from a bottle, ask to change it's diaper, etc.

Well, I'm proud to announce, I am a Grandma again!!  This time, instead of a pink bear, it's a teal Honker. 

Ryan spent most of this afternoon running back and forth from his room, announcing, "Baby RYING! (crying)"    Then he would come out with the Honker wrapped in a little blanket, announce that nap time was over, that his baby was hungry or poopy, or whatever.

This evening, Baby Honker has even been potty training!! 

PS.... While going through old pictures to find this one of Evan, I found so many pictures from that time frame that remind me of Ryan right now... like ones of Evan caring around purses, wearing our shoes, following his dad with his little pretend lawnmower! 

You gotta love the dramatic play stage!

Countdown

Photo courtesy NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Evan is headed to the beach... I so wish I could be there to watch his face, but it was important that he have this special memory with his Grandma and Grandpa. 

I talked with him this morning on the phone as they drove, and he was so excited.

I hope the weather holds out for them! 

His Grandparents have promised pictures... I can't hardly wait!

Ryan's Favorite Game

When we were in Montana, Ryan discovered that the best chair in the house was Grandpa's recliner.  As soon as Grandpa got up, he would scurry over and hop in... then grin and giggle until Grandpa came back into the room. 

He did discover, however, that Grandpa plays dirty!  Whenever he saw Ryan in his chair, he would sprinkle (or soon threaten to sprinkle) him with water. 

The water didn't stop him from playing the game, but it DID ensure a quick end to the game as soon as Grandpa came back!

Broken Record Alert: He's not a baby anymore.

Seriously, he's growing too fast. 

I would like a Pause Button please.

If Staples has an "Easy Button", I'm sure Baby Gap or Carters or Babies R Us can invent a Pause Button!

SOMEBODY PLEASE!!

I need to catch up with him.

I need my heart to be ready for him be the man he's becoming.

Look at him... He's so handsome.

He's so BIG.

He's so smart.

I remember when I looked at a picture of him as a toddler and realized he had no more "baby" in him.

I remember thinking, "Where did my baby go?"  as I stared at his little boy body and face.

And now, I find myself looking at photos of him and seeing the last of the little boy leaving him.

And I keep searching for that Pause Button... just so I can catch my breath. 

Sneak Peek of Decor in Process

Remember my post about the HUGE wall in my living room?? (< click if you need a refresher)

Here's the wall:

Well, after a lot of "figuring", some hunting, a little help from my sister, and a lot of thrifting, I've got it figured out. 

It's going to take a little bit of time (there are a few DIY craft projects involved), and so far Mark HATES it, lol.

But while I'm working on it, here's a little sneak peak.

America Isn't Easy

In honor of the 4th of July, I'd like to quote one of my very favorite "make believe" presidential moments. 

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'

Alan Shephard, An American President 

(Click to hear the clip via YouTube)

Honestly, if the State of the Union sounded like THAT more often, I think it would blow the top off the Neilsen Ratings!

That movie is full of great lines, and it's a love story, so really, what more could you want?    I think the only thing that movie is missing is Tom Cruise and Jack Nicklson booming away. 

Anyway, enjoy your 4th... and make sure you hug a solider and reflect on the freedoms you enjoy that they help ensure!

Daily Walk

Meet Tyke and Sue... Grandma's New Babies!

The boys love taking them for walks... in fact, it's one of the only times Ryan would get close to them! 

Of course, I think they were just as leery of the little noisy human that invaded their home... although, they handled it a lot better than Ryan did!

Campfire Bananas

So, a few weeks ago, I was messing around on Facebook and found one of my relatives had linked to a blog post about "Campfire Bananas".
Knowing we had a camping trip on the horizon, I decided to take a peek.

And I just about fell out of my chair.

HOW have I been on this earth for 30 plus years and NOT thought/heard of this before????????

I am KNOWN for my inventive s'more creations! 

Side Note: Seriously, you know those jelly orange sticks you get a Christmas... try one of THOSE puppies!

Oh yeah, back to Campfire Bananas...

What you need: 

Bananas, Marshmallows, Misc Chocolate*, Tin Foil, and Coals. 

Pull back a thin strip of banana peel, leaving it attached.  Hull out a little of your banana, it's okay to eat what you take out. 

Shove some marshmallows and chocolate into the newly vacated space.  Pull the banana peel back up into place, and wrap it all up in tin foil. 

Then, throw it in the campfire (or in the oven or on the bbq). 

And then you have to wait.  WAIT.  WAIT!!!  It was hard... and they actually take a long time!!  But while you wait, might I suggest... a S'more??

Back to the banana.... Oh, MY!  No picture can do them justice.

*We found some mini DARK chocolate Reese's cups, and they were the best in the bananas.  However, I do believe the chocolate/caramel bar was really yummy.  And next time, I think I'll try and find a Heath bar... ooooo... the toffee!!

In my yard...

Okay, Utah Readers.... Don't be offended.

Consider that your warning.

I'm about to generalize.

One of my pet peeves about the area of Utah I live in is the BORING yards.  Seriously, one or two trees in the mow strip, a bush by the front door, a few pansies... and a bunch of rocks.

For example:

ALL of those houses are Half a MIL or MORE... and while the landscaping IS nice, and I totally understand, we live in a high mountain desert  WHERE are the pretty flowers??  There are BE-U-TIFUL wildflowers all over in the mountains that surround us, it's part of nature's landscape in this area... why not the homeowners?

I don't understand why people don't splurge on a $3 pack of wildflower seeds... because if you do that one year.... three years later, you will still be enjoying these lovelies...

Seriously, we bought a pack of wildflowers several years ago, and that's it. 

And, oh, how I love them.

They make me smile.