A Kid's Life

Alright, it's been THIRTY years since I was her age, but my memory has not dimmed such that I don't remember the utter joy of a hot, stinky tire swing on a warm summer day. I'm telling you, it does NOT get much better than this! You can see the relaxation in her face. Ryan decided today to put up the tire swing and you should have seen the smile on his face when he heard her shrieks of pure elation. It is far enough away from the trunk of the tree that we can get some serious rotation and height on each push. Classic. Absolutely classic. And major daddy brownie points today, dear.

I can remember being a kiddo and turning the tire swing so many times there were huge knots in the rope, and releasing, fully knowing I'd be moments away from tossing my lunch by the time the spinning ride of death was complete. Didn't matter. The tire swing is a childhood must. I'm so excited to watch her experience this and all the other joys of summertime this year. Maybe I'll start to feel like a kid myself! Wouldn't that be nice!

Battle Chicken

Well, our roosters (and hens too) were getting pecked to death by each other, so Ryan decided to let our rooster roam our horse corrals and the barn area. This has turned out to be quite entertaining for me. First of all, call me a city girl if you want, but I just think it is so funny/interesting that the thing just is content to strut around our back property all day long. He stays within the property (with the exception of two days ago when he went a-calling over to the ladies in the chicken coop). For a few hours at least, he paced back and forth in front of the window. Anyway. The first night he was out, Ryan said that Maisey was sleeping on the barn floor and the rooster had stolen her bed (up on the haystack--its a Maisey-sized burrow she's dug out for herself. . . ) So, I had to check it out for myself. (Okay, really lame here) So I went outside, in the cold, with a flashlight, at 11PM and there was Maisey curled up in the middle of the garden and yep, you guessed it, the rooster was cozily squatting away up on the haystack.

But, sadly, it hasn't been all fun and games. This crazy rooster likes to intimidate Annie and Carson. It chased Annie twice before her dad and Dennis taught her how to assert herself with the barn animals. It involves an uber-confident persona and a long stick. She's learning quickly. Carson, on the other hand, is utterly defenseless. The rooster had him down on the ground and had backed up and rammed him twice before Mr. Droubay reached him. It did not go well for the rooster. Then, today, the rooster was crowing and I crowed back, just to amuse myself. He ignored me. I walked away and heard him chasing me. We had a chat about that.

Then, Ryan decided to rope the chicken. I happened to have a camera and preserved the moment for all to enjoy:



So, yesterday, Annie and I were discussing the rooster and I said it was time to name him. She has been wanting to name the baby "Nemo" for about two weeks now, so I suggested that this might be a better name for the rooster than for the baby. Oh no, she said. The baby was now going to be named "T-Rex" and the rooster's name was "Battle Chicken."

Battle Chicken? nice.

So, thus concludes the anecdote regarding Battle Chicken. It has it all: suspense, humor, violence, triumph, and perhaps a smidgeon of boredom for the reader.

Thank you for your attention.

You may need to admit you have a problem when. . .

Your darling 2-year old refers to diet Dr. Pepper as "Mama's ba-ba."

ha ha ha.

I'll NEVER give it up!. . . . . . . .

Funny Funny Annie

Okay, I'm ready to move on from The Mullet.

Ryan and I went to DC last weekend and it was great! I went for business but we managed to fit in a little fun while we were there. My boss and I were up on the Hill on Friday visiting with the offices of our representatives and senators. It went well and I learned a lot. Ryan hung out on the Mall that day and had a good time. We spent some time on Saturday at Arlington National Cemetery. This was an amazing experience. I won't wax too poetically about it, but suffice it to say, I walked (waddled) away very humble and grateful for the unbelievable sacrifices men and women of our (and others) country have made for the life I enjoy daily. We also spent some time at the Smithsonian--Museum of Natural History, tried the National Archives but the line was loooooong (about 2 hours) just to get in. Then we went to try and find paintings by Charles Russell (Ryan's fave) at the Museums of Art, but to no avail. We did see some good stuff there, however. I've been to DC and specifically the Smithsonian several times when I was younger, so I've probably seen most of it already, but I was bummed that Ryan didn't get into the Archives. Well, we made a commitment to come back with our kids when they are older. Annie would have just LOVED the Museum of Natural History. Cool stuff.

Anyway, back to funny Annie. She has said some funny stuff the last few days and I wanted to share. Richard, please forgive me for this one, but it's too great to not share. I was driving Annie to preschool on Monday morning and she said nonchalantly, "Grandpa drives too fast." I was a little taken aback. "How do you know this?" She continued: "Well, because when he was taking me to school on Friday (they stayed with Ryan's parents while we were gone), he was driving too fast." "Yes, Annie," I continued, "but how do you KNOW he was driving too fast?"

"The policeman told him to slow down!"

nice.

"And then he told Grandpa he could go."

busted.

So, being the kind and respectful daughter-in-law that I am (chuckle chuckle), I immediately dialed him and inquired as to whether or not he had made an unscheduled stop on the way to drop Annie off at school on Friday.

He had.

priceless. just priceless.

Then, later that day, I was doing some work, and she came up to me and said, "Mom, is Darryl Hannah nice?" WHAT? HOW? Where? Darryl Hannah? Where do they get this stuff? She continued: "How about Tim Curry? Is he nice?" I busted up laughing. I had finally figured it out. She has a video (and loves the previews) that she has been watching that has a preview for a movie they did together (I think it's the Munsters or something like that) and the voice-over says the actor and actress's names and they're the monster mommy and daddy. Fair question. So we had a nice chat about what actors and actresses do, and how the people they pretend to be might be nice or not so nice, but they are probably nice people, etcetera.

It was just really funny to hear my four year old say these people's names randomly like they live down the street. Too funny!

Kids are hilarious!

The Haircut

My daughter has a mullet.

. . . sigh. . .

And I have one question: What the heck?

Just when I think, they can NOT raise the bar on their craziness any more than they already have, they do! And feel free to laugh at my parental naivete--I'm sure there's more trouble on the close as well as distant horizon.

I was fixing a clog in my vacuum hose (which ironically was full of hair--albeit Jack's dog hair) and apparently I was a bit TOO engrossed in the task, when she walked in holding THIS in her hand saying, "whose hair do you think THIS is?" with a big smile on her face:


What are you SUPPOSED to do at a time like this? I just started crying. We just got her this beautiful Easter dress (at Costco, LOVE Costco) and shoes, and hair accessories. I just figured out how to have her wear her hair down like SHE likes it yet out of her eyes like I like it. I have a friend who is an amazing photographer who was going to take pics of my kids. And, you know what? I really think her hair is pretty when it is down! I am sure many of you have dealt with similar self-haircut disappointments before and can attest to the fact that I won't feel as horrible tomorrow.

Here is a beautiful before picture: This was taken last summer in CT at my parents' house. It's the best I have of her long beautiful blonde curls:


It is difficult to see from the above photo how long it's gotten, so here's an example from today. Bear in mind that her hair is really thick and there is a surprising amount missing on either side, but again, difficult to tell from the rear:


And the side:


And, lastly, the fabulous front:


Thank goodness for Grandma. Ryan and I are going to DC tomorrow and I asked her if she could schedule a "fix-it" hair appt. for Annie while we were gone. She said she would and called and PRESTO, Heidi (thanks, by the way) had an opening right away. So, off they went. Here is the result:


I guess we'll live. Worse things have happened than this. I think it's cute, although it will take some getting used to. And a little bit of a learning curve for me to figure out how to style it! She was pretty happy about it. When I asked her why she cut it (I never learn, why do parents ask their kids why they've done something naughty? Do we expect they'll give us some glimpse of personal accountability or wisdom gained from the experience? or even honesty, for that matter?) Anyway, she said she wanted it short.

I told her, "next time, ASK!"

what is next?

HAPPY 11th ANNIVERSARY!!!

Early Spring 1998
In love and BLISSFULLY CLUELESS!!!

I can hardly believe Ryan and I have been married 11 years. I know. I know. Just wait till it's 20, 30, 50, . . . I'll deal with THAT craziness when it happens.


My car's temperature gauge says that it is 64 degrees outside today. Eleven years ago, it was cold and cloudy and windy! In most of the pictures (NOT the above one, thank goodness), my bangs are just flying in the wind. One of several "whaddaya do?" wedding-day mishaps. All in all, it was a GREAT day! I remember a few things about it (surprisingly):

I remember that I woke up and I couldn't believe I was going home with Ryan rather than my family at the end of the day. I remember loading my bags into the "getaway car" which was hidden--thank you Richard. I was SO excited about that. We'd bought our first home--a two-bedroom condo in Logan--and we'd moved all our stuff in and it was waiting for us after our honeymoon. It seemed so strange yet exciting. I didn't have to write my name on my mustard, cheese, milk, what have you, in the fridge anymore! WOO-HOO.

I remember that we ate Eggs Benedict at the wedding breakfast. I remember my friends sang for us, I remember talking with all of our friends and family and smiling a lot. I'm sorry to say I don't remember much of what the sealer said before we were married. But, I remember who was there, and I remember how I felt. I'll never forget that. I remember sitting in the celestial room of the temple while we waited to be taken to the sealing room--which by the way, my dad SWEARS was the same room he and my mom were married in. Incidentally, on our 5th anniversary we did temple sealings to celebrate and were in the same room! And, last fall, we did sealings again in the SAME ROOM! What a great way to remember that awesome experience, I say!

What I remember most is how Ryan totally took my breath away when I walked around the corner to where he was waiting in his tux--I could NOT believe how handsome and sexy he looked! My heart was literally pounding in my chest. He had picked out his tux -- no input from me allowed! I think he did a GREAT job!

I remember thinking I couldn't believe how lucky I was to find someone who fit me so well. From the moment I met Ryan, I was impressed by so many things. He was very kind and gentle, he didn't care that he wasn't the only person I was dating. He was not embarrassed to tell me and show me how much he liked me. I was grateful for that because I do NOT like the "does he like me?" game. Always hated it. I would much rather just KNOW and not have to guess or figure out how to play the game. Anyway, it was like he knew how he felt and he was confident that with time, I'd realize I didn't need to date anyone else. I still remember the night I went on my last date with someone else. I spent the entire night wishing I was with Ryan and I couldn't wait to get home and tell him.

Another thing that impressed me about Ryan was how respectful he was. He was a true gentleman. And I remember when we drove to his parents one weekend to meet his family. I felt immediately comfortable with them. That makes a big difference, ya know? I've always been very grateful that I married into such a great family. I'm so lucky to have such great in-laws. And they're pretty fun, too. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, NO ONE makes me laugh as hard as Ryan does. And he knows it. Life can be pretty hard sometimes, and it makes all the difference to me that my silly husband is there to lighten the load.

I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say that I'm so glad that I married Ryan eleven years ago today. It hasn't always been fun and games (who DOES have it that way?), but even when we've struggled or had hardships, we've grown so much closer and stronger as a couple, and found more true joy together. And I couldn't have picked someone who was more perfect FOR ME! Even though we are different in many ways, we have much in common. He evens out my personality very well and I'm grateful for how our differences make us better and more fun for each other. Oh ya, and we've made some cute kiddos together too, I think.

So, thanks to all of you who are such great examples, friends, and supports to us. Some of you were there eleven years ago today: can you spot yourselves?

I'm excited for the next eleven years!
(I hope it's MUCH MORE than that)

The Party and the Cake

Sigh. . . . I tried and tried to think of the perfect cake for Carson. He is ABSOLUTELY obsessed with Cars and Balls. I couldn't decide between the two: balls would have been much easier, but in the end, I decided to go with cars. Here is his cake. Don't look too closely. . .


It took some people a while to realize that the "2" on the cake is actually the road. Ryan did the road (lines and vehicle placement--thanks, Ry) and decided that he'd never seen a road where there was a dotted line on such a tight curve--hence the double "no passing" zone. Leave it to him to notice a detail like that! I'm glad he helped because I was a tad bit neurotic at that point. You see, I'd read somewhere that you're supposed to freeze the cake to make it easier to frost. So I did, IN the pan. I could NOT get the cake out for the life of me. So I called my friend Heather (thanks for the help, your advice worked) who does amazing cakes, and she told me to set it in warm water for a minute. (this may be a "duh, Sarah" moment for many of you, but I am not good at this stuff). So, there it was. Carson LOVED the cake, although he saw it before it was cake time and had a very difficult time behaving during and concentrating on his bday dinner: mashed potatoes and gravy and black olives are among his favorites and all he cared about were the "CARS!!! CARS!! CARS!!!" that were in the other room. So, needless to say, he was pretty psyched by the cake. Good decision, mom!


Here he is with his cake (the CUTE picture of him actually blowing out the candles was very fuzzy, so this will have to do!)


All in all, I'd say he had a GREAT birthday. We gave him a rug with roads on it to use with his cars, and he received a motorcycle (a BIG hit) and additional cars from family members. As you can see, he was QUITE pleased:


And this is how he spent the rest of the afternoon. Cheapest birthday ever. Nice! Can't go wrong with a 99-cent Matchbox car!