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.

Fishing With Grandpa James

25 Sep 2009

Well, the blog has gotten a little stale - sorry for that. But here's some really great stuff. While we in Utah we went camping with Grandma and Grandpa James at Washington Lake in the Uintas. Grandpa brought his canoes and took the boys out on the lake for their first fishing trip ever. They had a lot of fun. Each of the boys caught two fish the first night we were there and then they each got three the next day. Tyler helped us roast the fish over the fire and he ate two of them. When I asked Derek if he wanted any fish he said, "My own little-big fish like me and I can't eat them." He describes things as "little-big" all the time. I'm not sure if he thinks he's saying something else or if it's just a Native American-esc tick. Either way, he doesn't really eat meat of any kind, let alone fish. I think that he gets most of his protien from peanut butter, mac and cheese and the milk on his cereal.

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.