As if we don't already have a zoo at our home, we decided what was one more animal. At the end of May Don's big boss asked him if he could find a home for his Yellow Lab. His kids are all leaving home and he couldn't give her as much attention as he would like. With a little convincing, Don agreed to let her come live at our house. Her name is Bailey and she is an AKC yellow lab who will be 9 years old on the 23rd of June. She is a good dog. Well behaved and loves to be loved. She is a licker and so Don has nick named her Princess Lick-a-Lot, which totally fits her. She is getting along well with Trixie. She has had a couple of run in's with Cinnamon, but that's just because he thinks he is King Stud at our house. He quickly let her know his position and now she just avoids him at all costs. She is used to being walked almost every evening and knows when it is time to go. This has been a good thing, because it makes Don & I get out and walk.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
School's Out!!!!
School is finally out!! Yahoo!!! I'm so enjoying 3 months of no homework, no fighting about bedtime and no crazy mornings. I think it is safe to say that my kids are just as excited.
This year I graduated two from different schools. Darek graduated (yes, he did it) from the 8th grade and will be heading off to the new Stansbury High next year as a freshman. Needless to say he is not looking forward to high school and is very nervous. We took a tour of the new school a couple of weeks ago and it is BIG. Hopefully another trip to the school with Grandpa will help him start to feel comfortable. And yes, he is deserting a family tradition and will now be a Stansbury Stallion. Sounds weird to me. I always thought my kids would be Buffalos. Little did I know things in Tooele would change so much.
Parker graduated from the 6th grade and will be attending Clarke Johnsen Jr. High as a 7th grader next year. Hard to believe. He has grown up so fast. He truly enjoyed his 6th grade year as he made so many new friends and became quite popular with everyone. He is very much looking forward to next school year.
Becca finished the 3rd grade and will be moving on to 4th grade, with Miss Manzione as her teacher. She is very excited. Rachel will be a big 2nd grader and Linda Lee will be her teacher. She is so excited to have Mrs. Lee (and so is mom).
This year I graduated two from different schools. Darek graduated (yes, he did it) from the 8th grade and will be heading off to the new Stansbury High next year as a freshman. Needless to say he is not looking forward to high school and is very nervous. We took a tour of the new school a couple of weeks ago and it is BIG. Hopefully another trip to the school with Grandpa will help him start to feel comfortable. And yes, he is deserting a family tradition and will now be a Stansbury Stallion. Sounds weird to me. I always thought my kids would be Buffalos. Little did I know things in Tooele would change so much.
Parker graduated from the 6th grade and will be attending Clarke Johnsen Jr. High as a 7th grader next year. Hard to believe. He has grown up so fast. He truly enjoyed his 6th grade year as he made so many new friends and became quite popular with everyone. He is very much looking forward to next school year.
Becca finished the 3rd grade and will be moving on to 4th grade, with Miss Manzione as her teacher. She is very excited. Rachel will be a big 2nd grader and Linda Lee will be her teacher. She is so excited to have Mrs. Lee (and so is mom).
Monday, May 11, 2009
Young at Heart
Saturday we went to Little Sahara to do some riding. We met up with some friends and spent the day cruising across the sand and soaking up some sun. We had a fabulous time! The weather was perfect and the kids were having a blast.
Don recently acquired a Banshee (although he'll tell you it was a Birthday present for me) and was dying to test it out. Needless to say, he rode it once and then his oldest son confiscated it and spent the rest of the day on it. Don was able to snag it back long enough to make a couple of runs up Sand Mountain. He was happy as pie to be able to keep up with some of the best of them on the climb up the mountain. Talk about being a teenager again!! Oh, wait he never has grown up.
Earlier in the day he attempted to be a teenager again, and soon realized that he is getting older. The friends we were with had a motorcycle that was big and fast and the boys wanted to see dad ride it. So when we were over at what we call our "little sand dunes" he decided to give it a try. His first pass was great-made the jump and all was well. So he decided to go for another pass - not so lucky this time. He made the jump, but failed to let go of the throttle as he land and the bike shot out from underneath him bucking him off the back and making him land HARD on his shoulder and bottom. Lucky for him the sand cushioned his fall and nothing major was damaged, except for his ego! The last 2 days he is realizing that his body is not young anymore and he is hurting. We love ya, Dad!!!
Don recently acquired a Banshee (although he'll tell you it was a Birthday present for me) and was dying to test it out. Needless to say, he rode it once and then his oldest son confiscated it and spent the rest of the day on it. Don was able to snag it back long enough to make a couple of runs up Sand Mountain. He was happy as pie to be able to keep up with some of the best of them on the climb up the mountain. Talk about being a teenager again!! Oh, wait he never has grown up.
Earlier in the day he attempted to be a teenager again, and soon realized that he is getting older. The friends we were with had a motorcycle that was big and fast and the boys wanted to see dad ride it. So when we were over at what we call our "little sand dunes" he decided to give it a try. His first pass was great-made the jump and all was well. So he decided to go for another pass - not so lucky this time. He made the jump, but failed to let go of the throttle as he land and the bike shot out from underneath him bucking him off the back and making him land HARD on his shoulder and bottom. Lucky for him the sand cushioned his fall and nothing major was damaged, except for his ego! The last 2 days he is realizing that his body is not young anymore and he is hurting. We love ya, Dad!!!
Dancing Queens
Becca & Rachel have been taking dance lessons this past year. We are finally in the home stretch with competitions out of the way and a dance recital on Saturday. I have to brag about them because they have both done an awesome job!
This year their dance teacher chose TV Theme songs as the theme for the year. The kids have had a ton of fun dancing to some classic TV songs. Becca's jazz dance is to a mix of Laveren & Shirley and Happy Days. Her costume is a Poodle Skit and the dance is absolutely darling. At the Taylorsville Competition 3 weeks ago, they took 2nd place and at Lagoon two weeks ago they took 2nd place again. However, they missed 1st place by one-tenth of a point! But the girls did AWESOME!!! Her ballet dance I've only seen bits and pieces of. The music is from my most favorite TV show - E.R. I know this doesn't sound to fun of a piece of music, but the dance is beautiful (from what I've seen). I'm excited to see it at the Dance Recital.
Rachel's jazz dance is to the Doodle Bops. This is a show on the Disney channel. Her costume totally fits the TV show and the dance is darling. Mallory is in her class and the group took 1st place at Taylorsville - Woo Hoo! At Lagoon they placed 2nd, missing first by two-tenths of a point. These little girls danced their hearts out!! Rachel's ballet is to my other favorite T.V. show - St. Elsewhere. I've seen none of this dance and Rachel tells me that is because it is a surprise. I'm excited to see.
Great job girls for working so hard!! Despite a little complaining here and there, they have both given it their all.
This year their dance teacher chose TV Theme songs as the theme for the year. The kids have had a ton of fun dancing to some classic TV songs. Becca's jazz dance is to a mix of Laveren & Shirley and Happy Days. Her costume is a Poodle Skit and the dance is absolutely darling. At the Taylorsville Competition 3 weeks ago, they took 2nd place and at Lagoon two weeks ago they took 2nd place again. However, they missed 1st place by one-tenth of a point! But the girls did AWESOME!!! Her ballet dance I've only seen bits and pieces of. The music is from my most favorite TV show - E.R. I know this doesn't sound to fun of a piece of music, but the dance is beautiful (from what I've seen). I'm excited to see it at the Dance Recital.
Rachel's jazz dance is to the Doodle Bops. This is a show on the Disney channel. Her costume totally fits the TV show and the dance is darling. Mallory is in her class and the group took 1st place at Taylorsville - Woo Hoo! At Lagoon they placed 2nd, missing first by two-tenths of a point. These little girls danced their hearts out!! Rachel's ballet is to my other favorite T.V. show - St. Elsewhere. I've seen none of this dance and Rachel tells me that is because it is a surprise. I'm excited to see.
Great job girls for working so hard!! Despite a little complaining here and there, they have both given it their all.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April Fool's Joke
Rachel has been looking forward to April Fool's day for weeks. She has come up with ideas and made plans to fool someone in our house. Well, apparently she planned to pull a joke on me, but Becca gave it away and broke her little heart. She was in tears yesterday morning.
She had got out of bed in the middle of the night and stuffed her pillows in her bed so it looked like she was there. Then she had climbed in bed with Becca to sleep. Her plan was that when I went in to wake her up, she would come in behind me and scare me. Becca was angry because Rachel didn't want her help and she slammed the bedroom door really hard, waking Don up and causing me to come flying out of the bathroom thinking something was wrong - ruining the whole prank! She was devistated!
After consoling her, I came up with a prank to pull on dad. We took his work boots and dumped dry cat food down into the toes and then waited for him to put them on. When he put his first foot in he yelled, "What the heck!" He seemed kind of upset and Rachel wasn't so sure that he would take the joke. I kept mouthing to her to say "April Fool's" but she was a little scared. Finally she said it and Don started laughing. She too then started laughing. He told her that he thought the cats had thrown-up in his boots. We all got a good laugh & she went to school and told her class about it. Her teacher thought it was pretty funny. Even dad told all the guys at work about it. Good job, Rae!!!!
She had got out of bed in the middle of the night and stuffed her pillows in her bed so it looked like she was there. Then she had climbed in bed with Becca to sleep. Her plan was that when I went in to wake her up, she would come in behind me and scare me. Becca was angry because Rachel didn't want her help and she slammed the bedroom door really hard, waking Don up and causing me to come flying out of the bathroom thinking something was wrong - ruining the whole prank! She was devistated!
After consoling her, I came up with a prank to pull on dad. We took his work boots and dumped dry cat food down into the toes and then waited for him to put them on. When he put his first foot in he yelled, "What the heck!" He seemed kind of upset and Rachel wasn't so sure that he would take the joke. I kept mouthing to her to say "April Fool's" but she was a little scared. Finally she said it and Don started laughing. She too then started laughing. He told her that he thought the cats had thrown-up in his boots. We all got a good laugh & she went to school and told her class about it. Her teacher thought it was pretty funny. Even dad told all the guys at work about it. Good job, Rae!!!!
Medieval Battle
On Tuesday night the boys had a Court of Honor. It was a Medieval Times theme and once again Alvin Merrill (the scout master) really got into character. He had made swords that were PVC pipe wrapped with swimming noodles and LOTS of duct tape. He had a "fair maiden" that they were fighting for. He called up each boy and knighted them, giving them each a very creative name. Parker was knighted Sir Mash Potatoes and Darek was knighted Sir More helping of Green Beans. Tristan Burgio was Sir Sharp Knife, Zach Bates was Sir Pepto Bismal and Parker's friend Brenden was Sir Gastrial Intestinal. I thought I was going to fall off my chair laughing. It was hilarious and the boys loved it!
He then had rounds where he let the boys battle each other with the swords, which Don & I thought was rather brave of him. The boys actually did pretty well with the rules and no one got seriously injured. Parker, however, did come out with a small black eye. He took a whack to the face, but he was okay and it made for a good April Fool's joke the next day at school.
Parker received his Automotive merit badge and Darek received his Camping merit badge and his Automotive merit badge. The boys are doing really great. Darek is to the point of submitting for an Eagle project and working on about 4 required badges for Eagle Rank. Parker is working on his Star rank and some required badges.
He then had rounds where he let the boys battle each other with the swords, which Don & I thought was rather brave of him. The boys actually did pretty well with the rules and no one got seriously injured. Parker, however, did come out with a small black eye. He took a whack to the face, but he was okay and it made for a good April Fool's joke the next day at school.
Parker received his Automotive merit badge and Darek received his Camping merit badge and his Automotive merit badge. The boys are doing really great. Darek is to the point of submitting for an Eagle project and working on about 4 required badges for Eagle Rank. Parker is working on his Star rank and some required badges.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sand Storm
We thought we would enjoy the great spring weather on Saturday so we loaded up the trailer and bikes and headed to Little Sahara. What a mistake that was. Let's just say that miles of sand and gusting wind don't mix well. Saturday the temperature was beautiful and we had a little wind when we arrived, but by mid-afternoon the wind was blowing harder and made it miserable to ride. We had sand in our eyes and teeth and that was with helmets and goggles on. We thought we would ride out the night in hopes that the storm would roll in, bring some rain and wet everthing down good. Much to our dismay, the wind was still there in the morning. Now it was blowing harder and getting colder. The kids tried to ride in the morning, but couldn't see far enough in front of them to be safe. Don decided that we were packing it all up and going home. Needless to say, us and a couple of other trailers were the only ones that were crazy enough to try and ride it out.
I told my kids that this trip reminded me of a book we have at home that is called Sand. In part it says, "Sand is in my toes. Sand is in my shirt. So much sand!" Don added to the story with "Sand is in places I didn't even think it could get!"
As Grandma B. always says, "It's just another adventure!"
I told my kids that this trip reminded me of a book we have at home that is called Sand. In part it says, "Sand is in my toes. Sand is in my shirt. So much sand!" Don added to the story with "Sand is in places I didn't even think it could get!"
As Grandma B. always says, "It's just another adventure!"
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Staute of Liberty
Fireman's Memorial
Liberty Bell
Independence Square
Standing at the Lincoln Memorial
Changing of the Guard
Devil's Den
Iwo Jima Memorial
