My Kids Say the Best Stuff!

19 Sep 2009

So my kids are so great! They say the best stuff. Here are a few gems.

We were in the waiting room at the doctor's office on the base when two Marines walked in. In a pretty loud voice Tyler says, "It looks like we've got ourselves some Marines here."

Tyler and I were looking all over the house for Derek's Little Einstiens drum but we couldn't find it. Tyler stops in the middle of the room, looks at me and says, "I guess we have a bandito on our hands. You know, a bandit, in Spanish." (The drum was under my bed.)

Derek got out of the bath and went to his room to get dressed. A few minutes later he came out with his arm going into his underwear through his fly with his hand sticking out of a leg hole. He said, "Look Mom! My new underwear has holes in it! I can tickle me!"

I told Derek to get his shoes on so that we could go to the doctor. He looked at me with a concerned face and said, "But Mom, I don't need to go to the doctor." I explained that I was the patient and so he didn't need to worry about getting a shot. He looked worried again and said, "Mom? What hurts on you? Do your arms and legs hurt like mine? I can't walk or put on my shirt because my arms and legs hurt."

Every time Tyler orders food at a restaurant he starts with, "I'll go with..." Imagine us at McDonalds for lunch: "I'll go with...[pause]...the Happy Meal."

Derek has starting saying "What'd I tell you" all the time. He saw a commercial for a fake pet hampster toy and said, "See Mom? What'd I tell you! I want that pet toy."

We were at the HEB and while the fish monger was weighing my purchase Derek was checking out the different fish for sale in the seafood case. He pointed to some whole sardines and said, "Mom, look at these little fish. They like me. They're smiling at me. They really actually like me."

How Far is Minot From....?

5 September 2009

Well, I've been on vacation all this week, so I have lots of good pictures to post. However, I am totally bad at getting pictures off of my camera without my USB cable (at home) and so you will have to wait.

Lately, lots of people have been asking me about Minot, ND (I am working under the assumption that we are still moving there because otherwise I would go crazy). The most common question I get is, "What other cities are close to Minot?" The second most common question is, "How far away is Minot from [fill in a midwestern or Canadian city here]?"

The first thing you should know about Minot is that it isn't close to anything - except Minot Air Force Base. It is on the same latitude as Maine, France, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Northern Japan. It's major disadvantage is that it is really cold because it is so far from the ocean. An Air Force officer who just moved to San Antonio from Minot told us that the high temperatures are below zero for at least two months of the year.

Anyway, I know that you could just look on a map, but since you don't (or won't) here are some of the mileage figures from Minot to major (or non-major) cities in and around North Dakota.

Bismarck, North Dakota is the closest city = 110 miles
Fargo, North Dakota = 270 miles
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada = 420 miles
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada = 480 miles
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota = 480 miles
Minneapolis, Minnesota = 500 miles
Chicago, Illinois = 900 miles
Orem, Utah = 1,150 miles
Ann Arbor, Michigan = 1,200 miles
San Antonio, Texas = 1,600 miles

Minot looks alot like Rexburg, ID. It's flat and windy and it has a Super Walmart and a university (The University of Minot). It also has a mall with Sears, JC Penny, Gap, Barnes & Noble, Target and Hobby Lobby. The city has about 35,000 residents but there are about 2,000 more houses on the base that aren't included in that number.

So now you know. I hope it will be good. I wonder if there is anyone in San Antonio who can install an engine block heater for me? I guess I'll probably just have to wait until I get there.

Walmart Sells Generic Mucinex, I Promise

26 Aug 2009

So I sent Jared to Walmart to get some Mucinex. I told him to make sure that he got the cheaper generic kind. When he got there he couldn't find any and called me. I assured him that it was there and that he just needed to keep looking. I guess he did but still couldn't find it so he just got the regular name-brand stuff and brought it home. I was upset and so he whipped out his phone to show me the picture he took of the shelf to prove the non-existence of the medicine I wanted. The only problem was that his so called evidence had magically deleted itself and the picture was no where to be found. The next day I went to Walmart and took the photo you see below. When you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Cockroach

23 Aug 2009

This morning I was making the bed and I found an almost dead cockroach under Jared's pillow. Jared says that now he can never sleep again. Jared also says that he is having underwear problems and that my toot was "so cute."

Happy Birthday

22 Aug 2009

Hey! Today Holly is 8 months old! Yay Holly. Now that you are all grown up, you should think about growing some teeth or crawling maybe. This week was also Jared's birthday. He turned 32. We celabrated a little on his day with cupcakes at work, a little on Friday by going out to eat and a little on Saturday with a BBQ at a friend's house. Here is my masterpiece - the best cake I've ever made. I admit that the grill gave me a little trouble, but the rest is AWESOME! I especially like the Tootsie Roll hamburger (which you will notice does not look like poopie) and the Starburst hot dog.

Thanks to the Swanger family who moved into our ward last month (they have three teenage daughters who love to babysit), we were able to get a babysitter and go to the resident graduation dinner. Here is Jared and his friend Jack Reardon. I don't know who the lady in the back is.

These are some more of the residents. From left to right we have me, Sabarra Sobhan, Anna Tabor, Laura Reardon, and Dorcia Tucker.

This picture is a little bit old, but it's just too cute. While I was uploading it just now, Derek came in and said, "Oh look! It's the two Hollys."

This is a cake I saw at Costco. I don't know if it's an actual cake wreck, but I think it's pretty bad. Why does the princess/fairy have zits, a moustache, and only one arm?

Derek

12 Aug 2009

Sorry I've been neglecting my posts lately. I started homeschooling Tyler this week so that we can get ahead on the school year. I'm actually going to be homeschooling him until we move to North Dakota (assuming we do) so that he doesn't have to start school twice in 4 months. I think that would be really hard for him. We're both doing fine with the homeschooling. Tyler works on math, reading, writing, paint by number, word processing, maps, piano lessons and riding his bike (P.E.). Really. We've done all that every day for the past three days. It takes time, but I think that we both like it better than dealing wiht the local elementary school. Don't get me wrong, they are very good...perhaps a little bit too good. Did any of you ever see that X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully pretend to be married and move into the neighborhood with the sewer garbage monster? Tyler's school isn't exactly like that...I'm just sayin....

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Derek.

Here is a collage that represents my efforts to take a picture of Derek with his eyes open.

Here is a photo of Derek's new Thomas bed. He made up the idea of a Thomas bed a few weeks ago and has been talking about it ever since. I don't know what the picture in his mind looked like but when we found this comforter on sale at Target, he just about exploded with joy.

Here is a picture of Derek's picnic. He set this all up and then came to tell me that Tyler wouldn't come. Feeling bad for him, I offered to come instead. He was happy with that until I brought along the slobber monster. She messed everything up. She sat in his seat and got applesauce on his bunny (I don't think she really did but he sure was upset about it). He sat down for a second to take this picture but then got up and ran away to play with legos. I feel a little bit bad that Holly chased him off - but he's a boy and he got over it quick.

Record First!

12 Aug 2009

Its a first! For the first time EVER (that I've noticed) it is warmer in Minot, ND than it is in San Antonio, TX. It is 8:29 p.m. and its 76 degrees in the old San Antone and 90 degrees in Minot!

What in the world?!?

It is raining here, maybe that's why it has cooled off. I think that normally we would be over 100 at this time of day.

New Recipes

9 Aug 2009

I just added two wonderful new recipes to my recipe blog.

http://www.dinnertimerecipes.blogspot.com/

Inks Lake State Park

31 July 2009

Happy Birthday Mom!!! To celebrate my mom's 54th birthday we went on an outing to check out the campground at Inks Lake State Park. Well, it wasn't really a celebration, it was just a coincidence, but we did think about you Mom :) We love you.

The park is about 100 miles away and is apparently a VERY popular place for San Antonians and Austinites to visit. There are about 300 campsites and many of them are right on the lake to accommodate swimming, canoeing and fishing. It looks pretty fun but I must say that I've been spoiled by the camping opportunities available in Utah. As nice as Inks Lake is, it doesn't hold a candle to ANY of the camp grounds I've been to in Utah, Idaho, or California. Plus the air wasn't cool and refreshing like camping air should be, it was just the same hot muggy air as we have at our house. There is a fire ban right now (even for fires in the fire pits) because of the drought, plus it's still really hot, so we will probably go camping later in September.

During this visit the kids had fun looking at the baby deer and playing on the playground. They didn't like the long drive but I think that I made it up to them by stopping at Joseph and Amanda's house on the way home for pizza.

A camp site.

Some deer.
The kids playing.
The chubby chubb chubbster.
A fishing dock.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

1 Aug 2009

We're so proud of Tyler. On Saturday, he was sweeping the garage, driveway, and front walk while Jared was mowing the front lawn. Jared saw movement along the foundation of the house, a snake! Tyler and Derek came running to see the snake slither into a piece of pvc pipe which was lying on the ground. Jared picked up the pipe and shook the snake out into a cardboard box. Jared and Tyler went online to find out what kind of snake it was: it was called a Checkered Garter snake. Tyler and Derek were both offered the chance to hold the snake while we took it to the woods near our home, but neither were that eager to touch it. Jared offered a dollar to the first to agree to carry the snake and Tyler stepped up to the challenge! He held the snake for about 20 minutes while we took pictures, chased Ralphie (who had run out through the open front door), and walked to the spillway at the end of the street. Tyler even tollerated the snake peeing and pooping all over his hand and arm. Tyler named the snake 'Snakey,' then released it into the grass.