Warning: A Glass-Half-Empty Post

Maybe even a Glass-All-The-Way-Empty Post.

I really hate Sundays when (and it's only 1 pm):

* You deliberately choose an outfit that won't need ironing so that Sunday morning will run smoother, then you put the shirt on and discover it is actually stained, so you spend far too long tearing through your closet trying to come up with a plan B (that also won't need to be ironed).

* Despite arriving at church on time, your family has to sit in the back, on the chairs, spread between two rows because they only set up 4-chair-wide rows on the sides and everything else is taken, and it's not even a missionary coming or going meeting.

* Sacrament meeting runs long, for about the 6th week in a row, and your tolerance for being climbed on and having your hair pulled expires right at 70 minutes.

* Mitchell has a runny nose so you take him home after said long Sacrament Meeting so that you don't infect the rest of the nursery.

* Scouts takes over Guy's life for yet another Sunday, despite the fact that we have friends coming for dinner, which means that you get to get dinner and the house ready on your own (with your little helpers), and even entertain solo while Guy goes to a Scout Committee Meeting.

* You take yet another pregnancy test and it's negative. . . again.


Sorry. I just needed to get it off my chest. I guess now I can blame my bad mood on PMS, right?

First Day of Kindergarten

August 25, 2008 "Mother of the Year", here. I actually had three boys going back to school, though you wouldn't know it by the pictures I took (or rather didn't take). I had a really negative attitude about school starting this year--Summer was just way too short, and we are (once again) trying out a new schooling situation (Sheridan is attending a gifted and talented magnet school the district just opened) which means I have kids at 2 different schools, and on 3 different schedules this year. I really was quite grumpy. I blame that and my worry about just getting the big boys where they needed to be on that first day for the lack of photographic celebration (?).

For Caleb it was a different story. His enthusiasm for starting school was just electric, he didn't start until a week after the big boys and I'd had a chance to relax about it all a little, AND, probably most importantly, he goes to AFTERNOON kindergarten, so I had the benefit of several hours to remember the camera. Guy and Mitchell and I all walked him to school via the trail from our neighborhood, and I don't know that I've ever seen him walk so quickly. There was not even a backward glance as Caleb got to his classroom and jumped right into playing with some blocks. No tears were shed, though Mitchell did flash us some pretty dirty looks as we kept him from going into the room.

So far, the reports are mostly positive. Caleb says school is great, though he had some strong feelings of injustice around them not being able to play on the playground for the first 3 days because of landscaping work that was going on. My only concern is that when I asked him what he learned each day his answers were (day 1) "not to jump over someone else's work," (day 2) "to clean up your work," (day 3) "that some of the kids are 6 years old," and (day 4) "nothing."

Camping with the Christensens

August 22-23 We celebrated surviving the first week of school by making a quick camping trip up to Jolly's Ranch in Hobble Creek Canyon with the Christensens. It turned out to be a great spot. It was relatively empty, and we got sites that backed up to this creek where the kids spent a majority of their time trying to catch water skeeters (Caleb insisted they were "skitters", although I don't think that either term is technically correct), pulling "bamboo" plants, trying to walk without falling down (unsuccessfully), and naturally getting their clothes very dirty. I really don't care about the clothes, though, because they loved it so much. Luckily, Mitchell wasn't too enamored with the water, so I didn't have to worry too much.

Quinn brought a tent to pitch and sleep in to fulfill one of his Cub Scout Arrow of Light requirements, and Sheridan was more than happy to assist. With their new-found independence, they made big plans to stay up all night making owl mating calls to try and lure one to the tent. They were both up very early, and very eager to build the fire. Though their first attempt wasn't successful, it was a riot seeing these "grown-up" boys wanting to assume more responsibility.

I was sorely disappointed in my camera, which has been going through our rechargable batteries in a matter of hours lately. These were the best pictures I got, and all the others were blurry. (I'm serious about finding a new digital camera with much higher MP, maybe a Zeiss lense, and video recording capablilities. Any suggestions?) Renae ended up taking over 80 pictures with her camera and promised to send them to me.

On Saturday we dropped the tent trailers and headed further up the canyon to a fairly remote little trail called Wadsworth Creek. We had a dubious start--too many flies, too much sun, not enough shade, but we ended up finding a lovely spot where the kids could climb rocks, play on the bridge over the creek, and where we saw some horseback riders. (Mitchell's motivation for hiking back down the trail was to get to horses again. Those short legs manage to move pretty quickly when they want to. We did find the horses again at the trailhead, and the owners were nice enough to let Mitchell pet one--and he suddenly got very shy about horses.)

Best quote of the trip:

Driving home after the hike:
Caleb: What kind of fruit do cars like best?
Me: I don't know, what?
Caleb: Road apples! I made that up myself.

Caleb's Version of Couch Potato

August 2008 I actually think Caleb was just REALLY enjoying having his older brothers at school (he started a week after they did), and thus commanding total control over the remote, the wii, the legos. . .

A Birthday Riddle

My parents came over on Caleb's actual birthday for dinner and a little celebration (GREAT cake, Mom). My dad came with the following:

Here is a riddle for Caleb (and his brothers and cousins too):

1. Take three years but one event on one date
2. The years all are multiples of three
3. One of the digits in two of the years mean nothing
4. This meaning is doubled in the other year
5. The date is a multiple of three plus one
6. The first year begins a century with the event
7. The third year ends the century (or beings a new century) with the same event.
8. Take three men or boys who range from tall to small

Who are the three? What is their great relationship?

Family members will probably figure it out, but I'll put the answers in the comments.

We Knew He Was Good for Something

For FHE tonight, we took turns answering the following questions about one another: 1)What do you love most about __________? 2) What does _____________ add to our family? When it was Caleb's turn to answer the second questions about Sheridan, he didn't skip a beat when he answered, in all earnestness, "nutrients."

I tried for a few valiant seconds to keep a straight face and come up with something appropriate to say, but it was a lost cause. Unfortunately, we could never quite get the lesson back on track after that, but everyone had a really good laugh.

Big Springs Hike

August 11, 2008 This is becoming one of our favorite hikes--close, cooler, and not too long. We met up with the Christensens, had pizza at the trail head and then hiked to the meadow and back. We would have gone further, but we were loosing light and it was actually getting quite cold for a little boy who refused to stay in his backpack and whose shorts kept falling down. Guy showed us all a pretty impressive beaver dam that he found while hiking with Marcus (2nd picture), and the kids had a great time running around. Mitchell's favorite thing was finding the huge dandelion-like flowers (he calls them "Bubbles").

Caleb's Cake

Maybe someday I'll accurately predict how difficult a cake is going to be--but not this day. Actually this one wasn't the worst for me, and Caleb and I were both pleased with the result. I used the soccer ball pan (1/2 ball) and made the bottom layer out of firmly-packed rice crispy treats (thanks, Marenda for the idea), and the top was chocolate-zucchini cake. It didn't end up in a perfect ball (surprise, surprise), but Sheridan informed me that earth is actually an oblate spheroid, and though my cake was more exaggerated, I could claim that I was going for scientific accuracy.

I used the fondant left over from my last cake for the continents (and my perfectionist side was frustrated that I got them too small, and most everything ended up in the N. Hemisphere), and pretty much everything else. Kalen and Trysten helped me make the video game characters (Caleb was quite definite that he wanted them on his cake), and I stole Kendra's idea of using rubber stamps (well, mine were acrylic) for the lettering. When it was time for wishing, we stuck the candles in the Olympic rings (5 rings, 5 candles, see the unplanned symmetry?).

Caleb's Birthday

8-9-08 We celebrated Caleb's 5th birthday one week early so that his Reynolds cousins could celebrate with him. We had decided on an Olympic theme, with a definite nod to the Wii game, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. The kids all spun the globe to choose which country they'd "represent," then they made flags, we had a parade of nations (Mitchell was the torch-bearer). Then we had a few "events" for the kids to participate in, culminating in the Rhythmic Gymnastics competition (some good video from that one :-). After his cousins helped Caleb open his presents, we had Chinese food for dinner (Caleb loves fortune cookies--and yes, I do know that fortune cookies aren't truly Chinese). Overall, it was a successful birthday. The only problem is that Caleb keeps trying to convince me that he needs more presents today (his real birthday) :-).

Thanksgiving Point

August 5, 2008

We pulled off another cousins outing, this time to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens.

I love Owen and Caleb holding hands in the back of the group.

(This picture shows just how outnumbered poor Tamlen is when they come to Utah.)

We spent a good chunk of time feeding the monstrous goldfish at the Monet Garden.

In the Senses Garden.

While taking pictures of the two stroller kids, it became immediately apparent which one really knew how to pose and smile for pictures. Maybe she learned it from Owen. :-)

Family Pictures, 8-4-08

Marcus and Caleb

Family Pictures, 8-4-08

Cloning?

Before the 24th of July we went with Liz and Drake and Kerali and kids to the parade float preview at the South Town Expo Center. In my opinion, this is definitely the way to see a parade. The kids had a great time, got to vote for their favorite float and run around a bit. Since Kerali was the only one with a camera, I'll have to wait for pictures until she posts some.

Caleb and Mitchell fell asleep very shortly after getting in the car for the ride home, while Sheridan and Marcus talked about the other outings they'd like to go on. They mentioned Discovery Gateway which is an incredible children's museum in Salt Lake.

Me: "I don't really want to go back there. Remember, that was where I lost Caleb?

Marcus (pointing to his snoring brother): "So, is this one a copy?"

Getting Stuff Done

A couple of weeks ago, we had a relatively free Saturday and I took advantage of it to finish up these wall hangings for the little boys' room (that I started many moons ago). Caleb got excited about it and helped me with the glue gun once I finished the sewing. In the process, he was playing with the scraps of cloth and decided he wanted to make a blanket because his previous favorite was beginning to fall apart (it was one we got when Sheridan was a baby). Well, the scraps from the wall project weren't large enough for a blanket, so Caleb helped me pick out some other fabric from my stash and by Monday night, he had his blanket (I would have been done sooner, but I mistakenly cut the piece I'd planned to use as backing and had to find something else that would work).

Technologically Challenged

So, I'm writing this blog from my new laptop (yea!) found through a post on slickdeals.net for a great price (yea!). BUT I find that being married to a technologically-savvy* individual (this is how he pays for my new laptop, BTW) has created in me a serious spousal-dependence when it comes to any and all things computer. Combine this dependence with Guy's long hours put in at work lately (basically since beginning this new job in June), and it's been a slow-go getting this new computer set up.

Oh, and add to it all that our ISP was sold and we had about 3 days' warning before the new ISP turned off our old email addresses. I'm still waiting for Guy to set that up again so that I can get my addresses and my in and out boxes all in the same place and all working. . .

In short, I feel like I've been a bit disconnected lately.


* Ooh, I didn't realize that "savvy" was spelled with two "v's". Gotta love spellcheck.

14 Years (and one week)

August 4th was our 14th anniversary and we "celebrated" by getting family pictures taken, including this one of just the two of us. We have thoughts of trying to plan an actual anniversary celebration of some sort, but it may take till next August to find a time . . . In the meantime, however, we feel very lucky to have found each other and we very much look forward to the next 14 years. . . and the 14 after that. . .