BYU Bean Museum

4 Oct 2009

On our last day in Utah we went to the Bean Museum. It was way cooler than I remembered. Since we went on a weekday we pretty much had the place to ourselves and the kids had lots of fun running around and looking at all the animals. Tyler liked to try to pronounce the scientific name on every plaque he saw and Derek liked to make roaring sounds for every animal - even the birds and the fish. Holly just looked and smiled.

Tyler looks really bored in this picture next to the butterflies because I made him stand there and memorize the difference between a butterfly and a moth. He said it was really boring - but as far as I can tell everything in his life is "really boring" - except maybe eating cookies.

This Picture Cracks Me Up!

I found this picture of Caleb on Joseph and Amanda's blog a few days ago and I've been thinking about it ever since. I love it so much I used it as the background on my desktop.

My Boys Are So Boyish

3 Oct 2009

The boys were in the bathtub today while I was listening to conference. I came in and they both looked up grinning guiltily. I said, "You guys are so boyish!"

Tyler said, "Of course we're boyish. Why do you think that they call us boys?"

Then Derek said, "We're busy making poison to poison each other."

The Heber Valley Railroad (a.k.a. Heber Creeper)

2 Oct 2009

During our trip to Utah in September we took the opportunity to ride on The Heber Valley Railroad. Derek is in love with all things "trains" and I've wanted to ride on the Heber Creeper since 4th grade when our train ride field trip was cancelled. The train goes from Heber down to Vivian Park in Provo Canyon and back. We all had a really great time. The pictures are pretty self explanatory and pretty cute.

Pirate Island Pizza

2 Oct 2009

More pictures from our trip to Utah. One of the days we were there, we went to eat at Pirate Island Pizza. The kids really loved it and the food was pretty good too - the service was great! We got to sit in a tiki hut and spent some time exploring the beach, the caves, and the castle. There is also an arcade on the island for some reason :) Anyway, we had a really good time and recommend it to all.

Boat outside the entrance.

Tyler boxing a pirate statue.

The kids doing their thing in the "cave of fun" (ie. cave to the arcade).

Tyler did pretty well at the shooting game. Derek did REALLY good. I knelt down and helped him aim the gun before he pulled the trigger. If you ever play this game, make sure you kneel down. We got 19 out of 20 shots and like 50 tickets.


Derek liked the train ride as much as any of the pirate stuff. He didn't want me to turn it on, he just wanted to sit in it while it stayed still.

On a side note - we are going to be able to get our moldy basement all fixed for less than $2,000 total. That might sound like a lot, but to us it's really nice to just have it taken care of. Phew.

Don't Tell the TSA

30 Sept 2009

On our trip to Utah we flew on Southwest and had to make a stop in Denver. We didn't have to change planes so they made us stay on the plane for the 30 min or so it takes them to get everyone else off and more passengers back on. During that time we were allowed to change seats, drink some soda and generally run around the plane. The pilot was an extra super nice guy and asked the kids if they wanted to sit in the cockpit. Tyler did and ran up there. Derek was scared but went too because he wanted to go with Tyler. The pilot was really cool and let them turn the seatbelt sign on and off, move the steering wheel around and make some announcements to the cabin. They also got to turn on some kind of alarm. I'm sure that I thought it was cooler than either of the kids did.

On the flight home, a different pilot offered to let them do it again but Tyler said, "Neh, we already did that and we know it's not that cool."

Nice. I got after him for being rude but I don't think he really understood why. After all, I'm the one who told him to always tell the truth....

Cooper Island

29 Sept 2009

More pictures from the camping trip in Utah. While the boys were fishing the first day, the girls sat on the beach and goofed off.

On the second day of fishing, the girls ventured out in their own boat to explore the open waters. Grandma and I wore life jackets but we were both pretty sure that we would float (or walk - it was pretty shallow) if we fell in without them. We didn't have a jacket small enough for the slobber monster but we were pretty sure that she would float even better than the two of us.

Heh heh. She's kinda chubby.

We discovered an island in the middle of the lake. We called it Cooper Island.

Cooper Island was small, but awesome! Tyler says that it had alot of lamb poop on it.

Here is a photo of Cooper Island from the shore with Grandpa looking on.

On a short hike Grandpa, Derek and I discovered Derek Island. It looks like most of the year it's not an island. But the lake was up a couple of inches and it was just enough to cover the grass between the trail and the outcropping. Derek said that his "own little-big, old-new Derek Island was so cute."

Done and Done, Sort Of

28 Sept 2009

Attention everyone! Jared just sent his finished prospectus in to BYU for a final review. Yay! Now he needs to defend it, gather data, write his dissertation and then defend that. It's all good.

A few days ago Tyler and Derek were telling each other knock-knock jokes in the car. This one was my favorite - it really shows how much one family member's stress can affect everyone.

Derek: Knock-knock
Tyler: Sorry. I can't come to the door. I'm talking on the phone.
Derek: Knock-knock
Tyler: Sorry. I can't come to the door. I'm in the bathroom.
Derek: Knock-knock
Tyler: Sorry. I can't come to the door. I'm working on my prospectus.

"She Looks Like A Pink Nightmare!"

27 Sept 2009

Ohhhh....sorry everyone for the super sad post I did yesterday. I had a hard day. I'm feeling much better now. Don't worry too much about us. We're fine, we really are. We just hate waiting! We really really hate waiting.

On a much much happier note. Here are two pictures I took of Holly in my parents' tent trailer while we were camping in Utah. Can you even stand how cute she is?!? Yeah, me neither.

Which do you want first, the bad news or the worse news?

26 Sep 2009

Just to make sure that we never forget the trauma and misery that was the Summer of 2009, we got more bad news this week.

First, the State of Utah decided that it would be important for them to audit our 2006 income tax return. Really?!? 2006?!? That was a really long time ago. Anyway, there's no problem with the return (I know for a fact!) but as part of the audit they want letters from all of our employers during that year stating that we weren't eligible for the company health plan. Fine. Except that we worked 5 part time jobs that year! Grrr. I've been on the phone with the U of U and BYU all week trying to get these stupid letters. Grrr.

Second, the house we own but don't live in sprung a leak in the basement foundation and started it's very own pennicillian plantation (ie. the walls and carpet are all moldy). Yay!!! I called a remodeler/handyman in Minot and he said that for $450 he would clean up the mold and throw out the yucky drywall and carpet. After that, he would give us an estimate for the repairs to the foundation and the walls. I hope he does a good job. I can't go there to supervise (plane tickets are around $850).

Third, Jared's boss told him that there's a possibility that we might not be able to move until the end of next summer. We don't really think that that will happen, but just knowing that it's a possibility is really upsetting me.



Well, that's it. For now anyway.