One to talk

Yesterday we were walking through the mall and saw a boy in front of us with his pants on backwards. He had to be about 3 or 4. Sean made a funny remark about how his mom could let him leave that house that way.


We looked down and realized Maggie had on her bright pink shirt, a peach skort with yellow flowers on it, a ballet skirt under the skort, and ballet slippers.

What kind of mother would.....

I don't dare finish that sentence.

6 Months, a little late

Little "G" turned 6 months old on the 22nd.

6 months.

6 MONTHS!



I'm frightened to think that in less time than that it will be Christmas. But I can't let my fear of the Holidays detract from my joy of having a baby around.





Vital Stats:

13 pounds

26" long

Funny lookin' helmet.

Still freakin' cute.

Wait for the splash!

Meg and I headed up to Little Dell Reservoir on Saturday to do a little kayaking. Thanks to REI for the beat-to-hell rentals. They were sweet. We had no qualms about dragging them down the gravel hill to the water. As you can see, we got off to a rough start.


But we took a few pictures of ourselves in the parking lot, and headed down to the water. Thankfully we were the only ones there, or so we thought. Just as Meg tried to take off from shore, a fisherman walked by and asked if we needed help. I guess we just had that look about us. We told him no, and to just wait for the splash.

Actually we did quite well, considering it was the first time for both of us. I was surprised by the lack of stability at first, but got used to it soon enough. Meg even kicked back and tanned a little with her feet out.

Note for next time: Don't try to keep anything dry. I don't want to have to make a return trip to REI in just a swimsuit top again. I probably looked so lesbian driving my truck with my hat on and no shirt. Sexy.

Rock-a-Bye

Last night Gretta slept from 10:30 until 8:30 this morning! Yay.


And Meg and I played tennis last night for the first time in about 10 years. You'll all understand why I'm not doing any jumping or running today. Or sitting. Or bending.


On the schedule for tomorrow: KAYAKING!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for Jill, who has created "Thankful Thursday".

Jill is my big sis. The best big sis I have. When we were kids we fought like mad. We chased each other, we yelled, we even hit and bit occasionally. But now that we are grow ups (Chronologically, not mentally!), we get along much better. At least the biting has stopped. So here are things about Jill for which I am thankful:

• She let me stay at college with her. So cool.
  
• She was the first to date, so I didn't have to make up all the tricks.
• She had cool friends.
• She knew how to make our jeans into skirts.
  
• She gives us a reason to head to Vegas.
• And to go to Cheesecake Factory.
• She's very spiritual.
• She's the family "cruise director".
  

She is indeed a good friend and sister, and I love her!

August 4, 2007

• Who: EmmaLee Clayton

• What: Baptism

• Why: Because she knows to choose the right!

• Where: 8950 South 400 East. This is not the church by the Credit Union. It has been changed to the chapel NORTH of 9000 So.

• When: August 4, 2007. 10:30 AM Please arrive early.

• There will be a superfun party at our house afterward. Details to follow.

Things I saw a Wal-Mart today

• This goes out to all the WT out there.

The top 10 things I saw at Wal-Mart today that frightened, annoyed, or shocked me.

• 10. A very large man asking for a fresh double quarter pounder.

• 9. A bag of Wal-Mart brand "chicken parts". Complete with quotations.

• 8. The day-old cart. Empty. Gross.

• 7. An insulated mug in the shape of a beer keg. Sweet.

• 6. A rather large woman holding a rather small dog. Did I mention this was in the grocery store?

• 5. Several colorful buffet shirts. Although I'm pretty sure when you buy them in 5XL, they're called "smörgåsbord" shirts.

• 4. A man with one arm pushing a cart. Not really WT, but not something you see every day.

• 3. 2 empty pallets in the middle of the aisle. Probably from HP books.

• 2. An "it". Man? Woman? Both? Who knows!

And the #1 thing that frightened, shocked and annoyed me at Wal-Mart today was:

• 1. A 2, count them, 2 Jazzy Chair family! They really do need to invent the tandem.

Yellowstone, day 8

Saturday we left Canyon, and toured Old Faithful on our way out of the park. My niece, Madison, nephew Gabe, and Emma decided to do the "Young Scientist" project that would take them on a trek all around the Old Faithful geyser basin. They had to find out if geysers and hot springs were alive or not alive, follow a map to a mystery location, and then talk to a Ranger about what they learned. It's all very serious work. The Rangers do not take this lightly. They go through the booklet page by page, and make sure the kids fully understand what they have learned about. It's a nice way to teach them about the geology of such a unique place.

Here are Madison, Gabe, Maggie, and Emma in front of the sign for Old Faithful. This was the last day in the park, but certainly one of the funnest!

Madison and Emma showing off their "Young Scientist" booklets. They worked very hard for the key chain they received for completing it. Maggie and my littler nephew Eli also did a worksheet about animals they spotted while in the park, and received a "police badge", as Maggie likes to call it. So cute.

Yellowstone, day 7

Friday we headed north to Mammoth Hot Springs. Not my favorite part of Yellowstone due to the lack of trees and water. As I kid I remember Mammoth overflowing with water, but now it's pretty much bone dry, save a few small hot springs. However, despite my telling Emma repeatedly how it was not worth the hiking of countless steps, she insisted on finding out for herself. A quality I choose not to squash. But Maggie has little 3 year-old legs, not designed for hiking countless steps, and with a storm approaching, she and I decided to stay behind and enjoy some Raspberry Sherbet ice cream.

We had to hurry back to Canyon for our BBQ with Troy and Kelli and their kids that evening, so Mammoth was a quick trip. However, on the way back we were treated to a viewing of a Mamma Grizzly bear with 2 cubs. They were visible, just "bearly", through the binoculars, so a picture would have been futile. Besides, with my fear of bears, she was plenty close. The BBQ was great fun, the kids got filthy in the dirt, and no one was set on fire. A bonus, for sure.

Yellowstone, day 6

Thursday was pretty uneventful, as Yellowstone goes. We saw some wildlife, had a little rain storm, and hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the Lower Falls. This year the road to the parking lot of the Lower Falls was closed for repairs, so really the only good way to see the falls was to hike down. It was a beautiful hike, especially after the rain.


After the hike down, we hung out for a bit in the mist of the falls and from the sky. The hike up was much, much harder, as you can imagine. After we got to the top, the skies opened up and we were treated to a real downpour. I'm glad we didn't get stuck in it on the trail!

Now on to the elaboration of Sean's fire starting skills. Raise of hands: Who knows that fire will ignite gasoline fumes? Everyone? That's what I thought. After starting a small fire in our pit, Sean was dissatisfied with the size. So brilliantly, he decided to go get the gas can. 6 gallons, my friends. Just as he's about to pour the gas on the fire, I pipe up telling him that it will ignite the can. Ha! I was no boyscout, but I do know what's up with fire. Well, on goes the gasoline, and up go the flames. Up to the can. Fire spewing out the nozzle. He tips the gas can over, and now there's fire all over the ground. He grabs a bottle of water off the picnic table, and it only had but a teaspoon of water in it! Finally, after what seemed like hours, He was able to stomp the fire out. But only after a futile yet hilarious attempt of blowing out the flames. Remember the fires of '88? Me too. Now we know not to use a gas can to "motivate" a fire. We should be satisfied with the size of our fire.

Yellowstone, day 5

Water Wednesday!

Wednesday we rented a boat on Yellowstone Lake. Of all the years we've been there, we've never seen Yellowstone from the water. It's a beautiful, if cold, lake, with lots of birds and wildlife and fish. Maggie was the first one in the boat, she loved every minute of it. Emma, not so much. She though for sure the boat would tip over if she so much as moved the wrong way. Gretta fell sound asleep as soon as the life jacket was zipped up. It was a little chilly, but not bad, just right for zooming around.

We have no idea who these girls are. We do know that after hours of driving around on the lake on their day off, suddenly the boat wouldn't start. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that they had several "mugs" full of who knows what, and it wasn't the waves making them walk all crazy. As you see, the driver could barely keep her cookies as we towed them to the marina. They all work at Old Faithful as servers and bus girls and the like. I guess they just needed to blow off some steam. Ha ha ha. I guess it gave us the opportunity to do service to others. Lucky us.

Yellowstone, day 4

Tuesday we had to change campgrounds, from Bridge Bay, to Fishing Bridge, just 4 miles up the road. After hooking all the trailer necessities up, Sean decided to ride his bike from Bridge Bay Marina to West Thumb Junction, about 19 miles away. This left us in a sort-of situation. I don't mind driving around with the trailer hooked up, but I'm not great at backing it in to tight camp spots. I can do it, I just don't love it. So, the girls and I decided we'd give Sean a few minutes head start, and catch up with him just before West Thumb. This way, I didn't have to park the trailer, and we could get some good Mom/Daughter time. Well, we ended up catching Sean about 10 miles in to his ride, so we had some time to kill. At this point, I saw a nice pull-out right on the beach, with a little sandbar to keep the water calm. A perfect way to kill some time. Or so I thought.
Welcome to Leach Beach. Emma found a "cute little inchworm" crawling across her hand. When we tried to pull it off, it was firmly stuck. We found one a while later on Maggie's hand that was significantly larger, and full of her blood! When it came off, it left a big glob of blood on her hand! Gross! Surprisingly, my kids didn't freak out too bad. And after a good outdoor shower to make sure all the little suckers were gone, we went on our merry way.

We went on to explore West Thumb that day, and then proceeded on to Fishing Bridge, where we took part in the Ranger Campfire Program about the fires of 1988. After nearly 20 years, and visiting the Park every year since, I can say that this year the growth is the most noticeable. The trees are beautiful, and are just high enough to hide the rest of the barren landscape, making it seem like "normal". I remember the fire of 1988 so clearly. We were water skiing on Jackson Lake that summer, and could see so much smoke even from 100 miles away. I can't believe it's been 19 years. My how time flies.

Yellowstone, day 3

What's this? A what? A buffalo? A bison? What's the difference?

Monday morning we awoke to this. A buffalo, (or buttalow, as Maggie says), in our campground. In our camp site. Well, nearly. It was right next door!

We spent most of Monday sleeping in, and later, driving to Old Faithful.

This is the only photo of actual "Old Faithful", and I'm not really sure who that hoochie mamma is in the background. But Sean was in charge of the camera at this point, so I'm sure we can all speculate what he was really taking pictures of.

We walked all through the Old Faithful Basin to see the various hot pots and geysers. We got a lot of strange looks due to Gretta's helmet situation, and we all got a little bit sunburned. It was over 90 degrees, a heat wave for that neck of the Caldera.

Yellowstone, day 2

Sunday we drove to the park from Jacob and Amy's house. It's only about an hour and a half, so not too far. But the part that takes forever is actually driving through the park. 12 miles can take an hour or more, thanks to Buffalo and Elk jams.


We found our campsite, and to my chagrin, (does that word make sense here?) our next-site-neighbors had 2 German Shepherds, and get this, a Pit Bull! At a CAMPGROUND! Duh. So we had to find a new site, not an easy task when it's full. But luckily the reservations lady understood my plight.

After we hooked up the generators and set out chairs, we took to making S'Mores. Yummy! We also saw a shooting star, and a satellite go by. The girls were having a great time by the fire, and that includes Gretta, who thinks fire is a good friend to chat with.

Sean is a great fire starter. More on that later.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Embrace your Geekness!

Oh, boy, was this easy for me! I'm a geek, through and through. As I wondered what exactly to take a picture of, I was flooded with ideas. Finally, Sean brought Google Earth to my attention. This is my latest geekness. I get sucked in. Bad. So, I thought it fitting to do a picture of me in front of the computer with Google Earth by my side. So geeky.



Other ways in which I am geeky:

1. I wear the same clothes day after day. Really.
2. I was surfing the net in bed on my BlackBerry last night.
3. I enjoy many late night shows on Geology, Space, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, etc.
   
4. For some reason, I remember useless factoids about things. Like the Hoover Dam was built in Black Canyon. And Yellowstone Lake is 600 feet deep, and hides an old steamer ship that is now used for scuba diving adventures. Random crap.
5. I use words like "factoids".
   

So there you have it. Don't judge me.

Missed me?

Sorry to leave you all hanging. A week is a long time to be gone. Yellowstone was a blast, as always, and never disappoints. After seeing that I had taken 143 pictures, I've decided to do an 8 days of Yellowstone tribute, with an overlap for tomorrows SPT, of course. So count today's post for day 1.

A special thanks to Jake and Amy for letting us crash at their pad for a night. They have quite the "little" farm going on up there in Idaho Falls. My kids pretty much walked in the front door, and ran downstairs to play. We didn't see them for the next 6 hours. Excellent. Amy and I had an adventure to Wal-Mart to buy baby Tylenol and trash mags. She's not such a good back seat driver. Left, no right. No, left! Good times. We'll definitely be heading their way again. Amy cooked dinner and breakfast for us, and as you can see on her blog, Sean and I got to scope out their property on the 4-wheeler. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of our nights stay. I just couldn't bear to put the one we took up on the blog. 3 chins isn't flattering for anyone, especially me, and it's my blog!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's day 2, and for SPT, embrace your geekness.

Self Portrait Tuesday

This weeks Self Portrait Tuesday/Thursday:

Yankee Doodle Dandy!

We spent the 4th of July in Sun Valley, Idaho with our friends Rob and Laura. I had never been there, but now, it ranks on top of my list of places to return. It is so beautiful up there. The mountains, the little "downtown" of Sun Valley, even Ketchum was a fun little place.





We rode the ski lift up to see the valley below, and it was worth the 25 minute trip. Despite this picture from the summit, I am not pregnant. I'm not really sure what happened there.


On our way back into the Salt Lake Valley last night, we were able to see fireworks from Brigham City, North Ogden, Weber, Roy, Bountiful, and one that we couldn't really agree on. I thought they were coming from Willard/Farr West area, but Sean was sure it wasn't. Either way, it was cool seeing all the shows. It was like our own little welcome home party.

Party time!

My lovely husband, embracing his "WT". Later that night he observed that he got some sun on his chest and back. He wondered how that happened. I told him it was because he hadn't had a shirt on since noon!

















Here you see him throwing more lighter fluid on an already lighted fire. Hmmm, pyro anyone?















This is my super cool bro. Sorry ladies, he's taken. He's the favorite child. We all know this, and we all understand why. He's our favorite too.












And this is the lady that took him. Kelli with my nephews Eli and Gabe. They had so much fun in the pool, we had to practically throw them out. I think we only had 2 close calls this time, and Eli didn't even seem to mind nearly slipping under water. He's mellow like that.