Heavenly

For my birthday celebration Garrett took me to the Chinese accupressure place in the mall for a 40 minute foot massage. It was pure heaven. She didn't just do my feet either--she did my head, face, arms, legs and shoulders. I was pretty darn relaxed by the end. So to wake me back up we went to see Iron Man. It was a good movie, but I'm glad Coleman didn't see it. Being a comic book story Garrett had wanted to take him, but it was too intense and adult for him. But we enjoyed it a lot. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner beforehand prepared by Miranda, complete with a fruity dessert, since she knows that's what I like. You're the best! And you're the best too Garrett--thanks for putting thought into planning something special for my birthday. I love you too!

Here's my birthday message from Marci, my great sister-in-law--Thanks!

And by the way, the little red plastic sword is already broken. Imagine that.

35

Today I am 35, and that is very strange. How did I get to be this old? How did I turn into my mom? It's a little weird. So to celebrate, I did something weird. I took the kids to the library to see George the Giant, the World's Tallest Sword Swallower.

It was actually quite entertaining, unlike anything I'd ever seen in person before. I got to be the one to pull the sword out--that was a little creepy. He gave me this card with a little plastic sword for being his helper--now it's being fought over in our house. I should go buy lots and lots of tiny plastic swords. They're a big hit.


He did lots of other stunts, like laying on glass and having a bowling ball dropped on him, eating crazy bugs, and other side-show tricks. He auditioned for America's Got Talent and was informed he'll be aired soon. I'm sure he won't move on in the competition, but he certainly was entertaining in person. So, Happy Birthday to me!

Now Garrett is taking me out to do something that he won't tell me about. I'm just very impressed that he planned something!

Stories of Death

Coleman was my helper for making apricot jam today. His job was to cut open each one and remove the pit. He did this the other day for me and did a fantastic job. Today he added a bit more spice to it. I'm chopping along when he says,

Coleman: Do you want to hear a sad story?
Mom: Is it about an apricot?
Coleman: Yep--Once upon a time there was an apricot. Aaahhh--shpluitt (sound of knife entering apricot's body)---uuhhhhh. The end. I like my job!

There were many more of these very sad, very short stories, all similarly violent and ending in the ultimate demise of the poor apricot. But we did make very yummy jam.

On another violent and odd note, we found out today that our rat, Lucky, is a hunter. I had no idea that a rat, especially a hand-fed, pampered, meant-to-be-snake-food kind of rat would have such abilities. Apparently a fly made the fatal mistake of entering Lucky's cage, no doubt lured there by the inviting aroma. Lucky eyed it carefully, pounced on it, snatched it up in his wee little hands and proceeded to bite its head off and devour the entire thing. I had no idea he had it in him. Maybe we should let him live in the house. I can just see him keeping our corners free of spiders, cockroaches and the like. It would be great! Of course, then our corners would be filled with Lucky's little treats instead. Not so great. He stays in the garage.

Beauty Tip

I guess this is more a money-saving tip rather than a beauty tip, but here it is: When your mascara starts to get dry, run the wand under a little water and stick it back in. A lot of the water will squish out, but enough will get in to rehydrate the mascara that's still inside. I've done it several times with the one that's in my drawer right now. I'm sure I've gotten at least 2 extra months of use out of it. I don't know why I never thought of this before!

We Love St. George

Garrett, Coleman and Ethan ready to head out on a ride.

Someday maybe we'll be lucky enough to live in St. George. It's Garrett's dream and it's grown on me over the years. His brother, Ryan and his sister, Marci both live there (and their spouses and families, of course) and he wants to live by them more than anything. I love them all too, so it would work out nicely. Garrett is really in love with the multitude of recreation options in the area. We experienced one of his favorite places with him when we were there this past weekend--Gooseberry Mesa, a slickrock mountain biking area. It was really beautiful and all the kids had a great time exploring the area. You really can't beat the backdrop either--the backside of Zions.


The little kids loved hiking around with Grandpa Mike while Claire and her cousin Sierra spent the whole time collecting rocks and petrified wood. Wow, do we have a great collection now.


The kids all had a great time together. Our kids really love their cousins. Even though they don't see each other very often, they have a special bond. Even the little ones seems to know that their cousins are more special than just friends. We are very lucky to have such a great family!

Ellie and Aidan (Ryan's oldest)

The only damper on that excursion was the attack of the no-see-ums. This was my first experience with those little buggers, and they were awful! They were really annoying while we were there, but the worst came later. We didn't know we were being bitten, but the next day we started itching. They seems to last longer than mosquito bites and they itch worse. Garrett and Coleman got bitten all around their sock lines. So beware! I remember hearing stories about the pioneers and the no-see-ums, so now we know a little about what they experienced. Just a little . . .

One Little Thing

The other day Anson said, "Mom, guess what? I'm two." I said, "I know, that's great! Can you show me two?" I put up my two fingers to show him, and he put up his five fingers. He wiggled them a bit, concentrating very hard, then he said with a little pout, "Not working!" I love my baby! I spend way too much time squishing and smooching him.

Obsession

I have often fantasized that I would someday develop two obsessions. One, to be obsessed with having a clean house, or really, to be obsessed with doing housework. Two, to be obsessed with working out. These are two areas of my life that I have spent a lot of time avoiding, even loathing. They are both things that I know need to be done. They both make my life happier and my mind more at ease when they are done. But still, I hate them. I despise them. I resent them for making me feel bad when I don't do them.

I look at people I know that have these obsessions with envy. My friend Tami has an immaculate house--always. I know she's not obsessed, she just does the work it takes. I have several friends who are committed to training for marathons (although I think that's insane!) and work out at the gym religiously. My cousin's girlfriend is a trainer and when I said something about wishing I enjoyed it more she said, "I LOVE working out!" Sigh. That's not me.

So how do I deal with these non-obsessions? Friends. I find friends who are equally non-obsessed and we work together. I work out at my friend Lisa's house--she's the drill sargeant for Krista and I. But she's not obsessed on her own, so she needs us too. I also walk a couple of times a week with a group. Knowing I get an hour of adult conversation motivates me to get out the door for that.

As for the housecleaning, I was inspired by my sister forming a housecleaning group, so I decided to do one of my own. I have two friends, Lisa (I guess we're a lot alike!) and Miranda who both have a great distaste for it and tend to procrastinate it like me. We've decided to get together once a week at one house for a few hours and clean together. Miranda and I did it once and it was great! I got more done that I would have without her there because I didn't stop. I couldn't stop--she was still working! Plus, we chatted and had a good time while we were doing it.

Maybe if I keep this up long enough it will develop into an obsession. Maybe that's too much to hope for. Maybe I'll just fantasize about the great body I'm getting! And the clean house? Well, that's peace of mind too.

Funnies

I realize that lately my blog has been quite dry, really just a travel account and family pictures. Not that it's all bad, but it can be a little boring for those who don't care so much about seeing pictures of my kids but more about being entertained. For that, I apologize, and pledge to try harder in that realm. Here are some recent funnies from the kids.

Tonight Garrett was reading to the little kids and Coleman was playing with Rescue Heroes. On theme from one of the princess books Ellie had picked (more on that later) Garrett said to Coleman, "Maybe those guys would like to have a tea party." Coleman's response: "Dad, I'm not a tea party kind of guy."

The other day Anson was playing on the furniture in the family room as we were reading scriptures (you like that little note to let you know we're doing what we're supposed to?) and he fell off. It was really funny how it happened, his face, etc. So Claire goes over and starts to reenact it, one of her favorite pastimes. After she finishes Coleman said, "Ya, it was like that, except Anson's smaller."

Anson uses "Oh no!" for many, many situations, so sometimes it's hard to know what is really wrong. He's become very verbal lately, lots of complete sentences, but in a crisis situation, it's "Oh no!" He's trying to get on a stool and it's too close to the counter so he becomes stuck--oh no, oh no! He has something yucky stuck to his hand--oh no, oh no! His shorts are falling down--oh no, oh no! His train track falls apart--oh no, oh no! It's very cute.

Last week at my parents' house we were eating whipped cream on something and Anson wanted more, so I got the bottle and tried to spray it on, but it was gone. He looked up, all straight-faced and innocent and says, "Grandpa ate it all!" Then he grinned at Grandpa and giggled. Of course, we were all laughing hard, so he knew he was pretty funny.

Ellie is obsessed with Enchanted, on top of all else related to princesses. The other day I saw her acting out her own little scene when she didn't know I was watching. She danced around singing, "Ah uh ah uh ah, etc. (picture Giselle calling the animals) complete with her hand to her mouth and lots of dramatics. All of a sudden she drops to the ground with her arm out and lays there a second. Then she peeks up and says, "Anson, kiss me!" He doesn't and is rewarded with several more "KISS MEs!!!"

Claire just accidentally stepped on Ellie as she was getting into bed (Ellie's on a trundle) and Ellie laughed and said, "I'm not a carpet!"

Okay, the girls were only in bed a few minutes when Claire comes out laughing her head off because Ellie fell right asleep (a miracle in itself!) and so Claire did this to her:



What a nice sister! She was pretty pleased with herself.