Ian's Reflections Entry

Ian entered the school's Reflections contest this year under the category of "Dance". The theme was "Wow"! The kids just had to do something that fell under the theme. Now, you have to admit, after watching Ian's performance, you do feel like saying, "Wow"! He did not get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, or even an Honorable Mention, but he sure won a place in my heart for being brave enough to show off his truly original talent!!

Thanksgiving Pictures

The whole clan feeling sick after Thanksgiving dinner. Consuming 8,000 calories a piece never felt so good!

Dad took on dish duty with Nyah. You go,Dad!

Cali and Ian tried their hand at making stuffed mushrooms. Fabulous!!

Aaron and Cali made some kind of yellow looking mustard. I don't remember serving that at our Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving 2008

Coldplay

There is nothing "hotter" than a piano playing, guitar playing, beautiful singing, dancing, flipping around the stage, sweaty Chris Martin -- and Aaron agrees! We went to the Coldplay concert Saturday night at the Delta Center. I can honestly say it was the most well-rounded crowd I've ever seen at a concert. Ages ranged from 7-year-olds to 80-year-olds. There was a 70-year-old, white haired Chinese Man sitting in front of us waving his arms and dancing with the best of them. Everybody loved the show. At one point, the stage went black and we thought the band was taking an intermission, but they were really running up the stairs to stand in the middle of the audience where they sang 3 more songs. I got chills! Viva la vida!!

Carson's New Phrase

Carson came home from preschool today, opened his backpack, pulled a receipt out of his bag, and said, "What in the Hally Hack is that?"

I said, "Who did you hear that from Carson? Who says that?"

"No one!"

"Come on, Carson. Did you hear that from a movie or someone at preschool? Who says that?"

"I say it. How about that?!"

Wow!! And all that from a 5-year-old Pilgrim!

Wacky Wednesday (alias for Freaky Friday)

Nyah and I got to switch places today for Activity Days. She was me and I was her. She was horrified when Cali and I were working on her hair. We had to curl it, rat it, and curl it some more. She kept yelling, “It’s too big!” Now she knows how I feel everyday! She loved wearing my high heels and makeup. I did not love my pigtails and bows. I looked like an overgrown child.

We had a blast writing each other love letters, doing relay races, playing music trivia (I got one right about the Jonas Brothers!), and playing the Newlywed Game. We had to see how much we knew about each other. Somehow, Nyah knew how old I was (26) when I gave birth to her, but I couldn’t figure out what her favorite color is (blue). I chose pink! I’m pretty sure that pink was her favorite color at one time – maybe when she was 2.
At the end of the activity, Nyah had to serve us both dessert (dirt pudding). It was interesting how her serving of pudding came up to the top of her cup, and the one she chose to hand to me was only half full! I got her back though. She asked me for my gummy worms, and I licked the pudding off before I gave them to her. I’m so mature!!

My Daughter's A Magician!

Yesterday, Cali and I went on our annual shopping adventure to Park City to begin our Christmas Madness! Each November we head up the canyon with our neighbor to SHOP, SHOP, SHOP. This year, our neighbor decided to bring along her 9 year-old daughter, so I invited Nyah along to keep her daughter company. Nyah was thrilled to be invited along, until she remembered that she gets carsick every time we drive 2 miles to the grocery store. She requested Dramamine, but then changed her mind when I reminded her that she acts “loopy” all day when she takes it. She decided to try the trip without any drugs. As we turned the corner to pick up our friends (we’d gone about ½ mile), Nyah smiled and said, “Mom, guess what?! I’m not carsick!” Wow! Nyah is one of a kind!

After about 3 1/2 hours of perfect behavior, the girls started getting hungry and a little antsy. They wanted to go play at the park that is located in the middle of the Outlets. I didn’t see any harm in that. Nyah is a good listener and usually stays put. I reminded her and her friend not to talk to strangers, not to leave the park, and to be nice to all the “little” kids. I went shopping for another ½ hour and then went back to check on them. The girls were so excited when I walked up. “We have to show you a magic trick!” I followed them towards a little Merry-Go-Round, the kind that costs 50 cents and goes around in a circle for about 1 ½ minutes. “Watch this!” The girls hopped on the horses and started rocking their horses back and forth with the force of their bodies. After about 20 seconds of violent rocking, the carousel started up! Each time the ride ended, the girls would rock back and forth again, until the ride started back up. I watched a couple of rounds of this, told the girls “Congratulations” on being so inventive, and told them to come back to the stores with me. “But we want to keep playing on the Merry-Go-Round! We love it!”

“What about other kids that want to ride it?”

“Oh, every time someone else wants to ride, we let them get on and we magically start the ride up for them!”

What a dilemma! Should I explain to the girls that they should really be depositing money for these fun rides? Should I tell them that the carousel would never be the same after the beatings it was taking from the violent start-up action, or should I let them continue believing they were “magicians” so that I could keep shopping? Being the great mom that I am, I chose . . .

Shopping with children has never been so easy!!