North Pole Express

Tim's nephew works on the North Pole Express on the Heber Creeper.  The day after Thanksgiving the cast had a dress rehearsal and were able to get some tickets for their families.  Nathan gave us his tickets and so we took the kids to the North Pole via the Heber Creeper.  It was so fun and I just have to say that no matter how old I get I still feel butterflies when I hear that Santa is in the house!

I loved sitting with Claire.  Her enthusiasm is contagious!  

They do such a good job of making if fun!  We sung Christmas songs and this was our elf Merry.  Gage had a gigantic crush on Merry.  She began teasing him and he was gone.  When we got into the car on the way home Gage said his neck hurt and I wasn't surprised with how many times he whipped it back and forth trying to keep and eye on where Merry was.  I am so not ready for this stage of raising kids!  Merry was a doll.  She whispered to Claire that she was her favorite person on the whole train.  Claire was over the moon.  So cute!    

These two weren't too old for a visit with the big guy.  

Cute Claire asked for another Beanie Boo.  This one comes with us everywhere. 

I just thought this one was nice. 

Tim and Chris Build a Deck

Our deck has needed to be replaced for at least a couple of years.  When you walked on the deck you sort of had the sensation of walking on a piano keyboard.  Every time the kids had a friend over I had to go over the deck safety.  Wear your shoes....always, watch out for the screws that are sticking out from the side of the 7th step, you need to step in the middle of the 5th step, and the last step is sort of missing.  For some reason my kids loved to jump the rail and then jump onto the tramp.  The rail was holding on by like two screws and it made me feel so anxious every time they did it.  Claire was in my camp and saw the danger and ever the mother she loved telling the boys how unsafe it was.  The boys did. not. care.

We started getting bids to replace it and decks are expensive!  I begged Tim to rebuild it himself.  I always think Tim can just do whatever project I want done.  He is nice and goes along and then suffers from stress.  We knew he would need some help and I was willing but my muscles are weak so we started throwing around some names of people that could help. We hit up my sister's husband Chris.  He is like a machine.  Dedicated and focused.  We called and asked if we bought him a flight would he be able to stay for a week and do the job.  Amazingly he said yes and even more amazing I think he was looking forward to it. 

The kids got to do the demo.....

I'm pretty sure kids shouldn't be able to push over a deck railing.

Of course what would working with Dad be if you couldn't use some of the boards to practice sword fighting?

Sarge did not think it was awesome once the deck was gone.

The kids loved jumping from the house onto the tramp.  Even I did it a few times just to prove to the kids that I wasn't scared.  I didn't want to lose my street cred.

Tim and Chris did the rest...

That's not true.  I stained all the boards until I couldn't straightened up my back.

 

That's not true either.  Gage helped me.  

I love it!!!!

Thanks Tim and Chris!

My Brave Girl

Claire decided that this year she wanted to try something different and so she dropped dance and joined a theater group.  It has been a challenge for her.  She knows no one in her group and it's possible that we're both afraid of her director.  Her director has possibly the loudest talking voice I've ever heard.  Like, I flinch when she talks to me.  She says insensitive things and then laughs so loud.  She is sweet at the same time.  It throws me man. 

Claire is learning stage presence, improvisation, singing, and dancing.  She hasn't been entirely comfortable to stay on her own so I sit in the back of the class and observe.  Last week she had to audition by singing a song in front of the class and the two directors.  Claire looked slightly ill when we got there but I assured her she was not going to die.  The order that kids auditioned was determined by volunteering.  Some of the kids were so nervy and couldn't wait for their turn.  I watched my Claire and she was trying so hard to gather her nerve.  About mid-way through she raised her hand.  High and stiff and I felt the butterflies too.  She walked up to the microphone and adjusted it.  She was supposed to introduce herself and as she was saying her name the director interrupted her and made fun of Claire's demeanor.  She said Claire was unfriendly when of course she was just timid.  I was on the edge of my seat.  I wanted to tell the lady to stuff it but it was also a moment where I was waiting to see if my girl would be able to spread her wings.  I knew she was strong enough so I held my breath.  Claire squared her shoulders and started again and then she sung.  And it was beautiful, on pitch and time.  I just stared at her.  She took my breath away.  She looked noble to me.

I love my brave girl. 

This week she had to memorize a monologue and audition again.  She said I didn't need to stay.  Claire's my hero. 
 

Luke is Done with Cub Scouts

I have a love/hate relationship with the Cub Scouts.  I hate pack meeting but I love that Luke loves it.  Luke's cub scout career came to an end this month and I successfully made it through my last pack meeting.....forever!  Excuse me while I do a cart-wheel.  Our stake troop is not the most organized thing in the whole world so Luke earned a butt load of pins on the same night that he earned his Webelo badge and his Arrow of Light.  He was stoked to have the regalia for his uniform.  Sewing the crap on is on my hate list by the way, but man does Luke love it!  It's a lot of work.  So proud of him.   

When the night came Luke was a ball of energy until he heard that Gage was planning to go to Young Men's instead of coming to pack meeting and seeing Luke in his full cub scout glory.  I feel like I had a really good parenting moment when I encouraged Luke to express how much it meant to him to have his brother there.  I had a proud parent moment when Gage said he would love to come.  After Luke walked the proverbial bridge from cubs scouts to boy scouts it was to Gage that he ran.  Gage gave him a handshake and congratulated him.  They kept it pretty formal.  That's cool with me, gives me time to wipe the tears as I realize my little Luke is growing up. 

My fondest dream for my kids is that they remain best friends the rest of their lives and that they carve out time to support each other.  Please kids....just do it. 

Pulling a Corbin Maudsley

Sometime the kids will ask me about what it was like when I was young.  I told the kids a few months ago about this boy I went to elementary school with whose name was Corbin Maudsley.  I said I would always remember him because one year he and his older brother had a contest to see who would be able to wear shorts one year despite the weather.  I remember that he lived across the street from our school and seeing him walk through these huge drifts of snow with shorts on.  Corbin was a legend that year.  

Around October I noticed that Luke kept wearing shorts to school even when it was cold.  I kept telling him that it was cold out and that he should probably wear some pants.  He never wanted to and then it dawned on me one day that Luke had found a hero in my elementary school friend.  Here is Luke on the last day of November wearing shorts when it's 35 degrees outside.  He might be taking it to the next level because he won't wear a coat either.  I'm anxious to see what happens when we get our first real snowfall.    

Corbin Maudsley moved our 6th grade year and I have no idea where he is or if he wears pants but I'm sending this out into the interwebs to say, "I salute you!  Your elementary self inspired my son!"  

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving so much.  It's one of my favorite holidays.  Being a Celiac has really made Thanksgiving a challenge.  I wasn't a stellar cook before but now trying to cook gluten-free is an exercise in failure and adjusting expectations.

This year I cooked our meat at home and we went to spend time with Tim's family after our meal.  Did I mention that Celiac is also isolating.  I sort of feel a sense of pride at the same time.  All my friends have no idea how to cook a turkey and they're still eating at their mom's or grandma's and to keep the jealously at bay I think how great it is that I know how to cook the whole kit and kaboodle.

Cooking a turkey is kind of a work out.  They're heavy and cold and you got to lift it all over the place before you even put it into the oven.  This year I was on my own because Tim and Gage went to play football with some friends from our ward in the morning.  So I gathered all my supplies and got down to business on my own.  I was so thankful that Luke and Claire were willing to help.  They handed me veggies and butter and even though they were so grossed out by the whole experience they were troopers.

It was delicious!  One might say picture perfect.  Drool.....

 
Small crew but large on love.  Gotta love the stuffed animal that got his own plate.

Sarge also got his own plate of turkey.  On a china plate no less.  Woof!

Broken Mirrors and Gage's Superman Moment

One night Tim and I went to go buy a tent for an upcoming camping trip.  We left the kids at home with instructions to get ready for bed.  We were on our way home when Gage called my cellphone.  When I answered the phone I heard Claire crying hysterically in the background.  Gage's voice was super calm and he said, "Mom, you're need come home."  I was freaking out inside but Gage was so calm that I kept my cool.  I asked what was going on.   Why was Claire crying?  Gage said, "Just talk to Claire." 

He handed the phone to Claire and I couldn't understand her at all between sobs.  She finally handed the phone to Luke who was more excited than Gage but surprisingly calm.  He told me that they had been in the bathroom, all together, brushing their teeth and that the bathroom cabinet and mirror had suddenly fallen off the wall.  I was dying!  I asked if everyone was ok.  He said yes just please hurry home and gave the phone back to Claire.  Thankfully we weren't too far away.  I was talking to her so calmly and telling her the things I could see outside the window so she would know how close we were.  I was picturing blood and broken glass everywhere. 

When we got home Claire and Luke met us in the garage and said to hurry.  There was no blood that I could see so that was a relief but I was wondering where Gage was when he called from the bathroom to come quick.  We found that sweet boy in the bathroom holding the cabinet up against the vanity by himself.  I would have never guess he was doing that when I talked to him on phone.  It was so heavy.  Tim took it from him and threw it away and we were able to survey the damage.  The counter was dinged and the faucet had a gouge out of it.  It had bumped Luke on the head when it fell and he had a small cut on his knuckle but he was ok. 

I was so impressed with Gage's presence of mind to hold onto it and ask Luke to get Claire out of  the bathroom. His quick thinking really prevented it from being so much worse.  Seriously a miracle that no one was seriously injured.

Who knew Gage had Superman muscles! 

Pet Turkey?

One thing to know about Miss Claire is that she loves all animal life to the level of sqeeee!  About a week before Thanksgiving she and I went grocery shopping at Winco.  When I got to the check-stand the cashier told me that I had earned a free turkey.  Score one for me!  Claire was over the moon excited which I couldn't quite figure out.  The cashier said to run to the back and pick it up.  So I grabbed Claire's hand and we started running to the back of the store.  She kept saying, "I can't believe they are giving us a turkey!"  Talk about it Claire!  When we got to the cooler Claire's face fell.....she was thought they were giving us a pet turkey.  So sad!  So funny at the same time.  We have had lots of laughs over this misunderstanding.  Oh, how I love my Miss Claire. 

Denny Cabin and Hammock Accidents

A few weeks ago some friends from our ward invited us to stay at their cabin in Timberlakes, in Heber.  The kids we so excited to go!  Their cabin is in such a beautiful setting and does not get cell service which to me is heaven on earth to me.  The kids were in heaven any time they got to be on the 4 wheeler!

I was simply in love with the beauty of the surroundings.

We had an encounter with a moose and a doe and her fawn

We played board games late into the night.  Sue showed the kids a trap door to a cellar that the boys promptly used to torture Claire by calling her name and laughing when she couldn't find them.  There is a bridge inside the cabin on the top floor that connects the two sides of the cabin and my kids thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen.  

In the morning our friends had to leave and they said we could hang out as long as we wanted.  I took a turn taking the kids on the four wheeler and when I got back Luke and I decided to get into the hammock together.  Gage stood to the side and started swinging us really hard.  This is where the accident part came in.  I started to hear the wood crack and right as I said to Gage, "I don't think you should swing us this hard!" The bolt at the top of the hammock came out of the post and Luke and I went flying about 5 feet to land on the rocks.  Well, I landed on the rocks, Luke half landed on me.  I hit my head and I laid there dazed for moments.  After Gage stopped laughing he ran to get Tim. (I'm not kidding Gage's brain is scrambled as a teenager) Tim ran and helped me up and once the shock wore off  I knew that I had hurt myself badly.  My torso on one side was on fire.  It's been more than 3 weeks now and I'm still sore. The doc was concerned that I dislocated my ribs but thankfully they were just cracked.  Luke made a rapid and full recovery in about two days. Being young is awesome!

Here is the offending hammock!  

Back to School 2017

There's not much to say about Back to School this year.  The kids were happy with their teachers and all of them were comfortable with where they're at.  It is the calm before the storm.  Next year Gage will start High School, Luke will begin Middle school and Claire will be alone at elementary school.

Thankful for this year of calm.  They are growing so fast.  I'm so proud of the people they're becoming.

8th grade

5th grade

3rd grade

Eclipse Mania

We had a severe case of Eclipse Mania at our house.  Tim and I are both fascinated with Space and we had been looking forward to the Eclipse for about a year.  By some miracle our friend found us a camping sight in the Idaho in the path of totality.  We were so excited.

The news started reporting about a lot of problems that they expected with overcrowding and traffic. As much as I love space I equally hate crowds.  We thought we would be OK at our camp site.  About a week before the eclipse we found out that our "camp site" wasn't so much as a site as it was a piece of grass with no water or fire pit.  That was just a tad too rough for me so we canceled.  Then two days before the eclipse I found out from Amazon that the glasses I had ordered were recalled and considered unsafe by NASA.  I was so annoyed.  We had already been looking at the sun with them so we used them anyway.  We were careful to only look for a short time and doubled up two pairs of glasses.  Thankfully no one lost their vision from it.  Phew!  

I was sad we didn't make it to Idaho but we did get a good view here in SLC.  Tim stayed home from work and we went and got a load of snacks.  My Dad and Pam came over and we watched together.  I could not believe how dark it got and the feeling was quite eerie.  The sun didn't warm you the way it usually does.  It was chilly and it made me hungry to see a full eclipse.  One will be over our house in 2045.  I will be 66 by then.  I can't wait!

I was tickled to see that Claire wanted to make sure all her favorite animals got a view.  She was so caring to protect Slush's eyes. 

Luke is my little scientist.  He was on fire over the eclipse.  It was so fun to see his reaction.  It made me so sad we didn't make it to Idaho.  

Tim is so funny!  We had the colander so we could observe the shadows but it also made a great hat.  Tim really like looking through our cereal box viewers.  They were fun to make with the kids.   

  

Watching the shadows through the trees change as the eclipse got deeper was my favorite part!