I am an Aggie Fan!

Last night our neighbors called and had extra tickets to the USU basketball game. Mike and I used to take our kids all the time when they were small (smaller I should say) and we loved it. We would pack them up in their jammies and cram ourselves into those small seats at the Spectrum. I have some really fun memories.
I have to say that Aggie basketball fans are the loudest fans I've ever been around. I used to pack Jake's ears with cotton and worry that he would lose his hearing anyway. Sometimes I'd look down and notice that Allie had been bawling for who knows how long and no one could hear her over the cheering (sorry Kid).
Anyway, I love the fans. When playing BYU, they would chant "WASTE OF TITHING" and we were okay with that, not being fans of BYU ourselves. (Sorry Mom and Steve)
When they played New Mexico State, someone found out that their coach Reggie Theus used to be a male model. They had gigantic posters of him in swim suits and chanted "STU IS HOTTER"
I can't even think about that game without laughing because Stu is not one of the most attractive men out there and he would blush shake his head every time they started that chant. Reggie Theus thought it was hilarious too.
The fans usually single out players and chant funny things every time they get the ball. They called a kid "Buckwheat" for a whole game (he did have some big hair). One poor guy shot an air ball last night and every time he even touched the ball again they chanted "AIR BALL".
I wish I could remember all the funny things they have said in the past...
Anyway, last night was my first game back in a long time. The kids got too big to share 2 seats with and we just haven't gotten many ticket offers at times we could go. So we jumped at the chance to go last night. We got a great babysitter, who had our kids in bed when we got back, and we had a great time.
Mike shakes his head at me because I didn't really watch any of the game, but I did do things that I deem important. I found a big guy that looks just like Hurley from Lost. He took his shirt off and shook his gut to deter a UofU free throw shot...wow.

I also discovered that the mysterious poo smell was coming from the guy behind me about midway through the game...that was a mystery that I kinda wanted solved in case anyone thought it was me.

I did have some quality conversation time with Heidi, and I did notice that all the cheerleaders and Aggie-ettes (or however you spell it) have new long and flowing hair do's...and there's more brunettes than blondies now (Mylie Cyrus wannabes?)
The fans are still really loud, and they still chant great things. At this game there were some bad calls (from what I hear) and when the last second shot came, the Aggies hit it and won the game. People were out of control with excitement...Heidi and I were looking around wondering what we had missed...then the booing started. I guess they didn't start the clock back up, so there was some dispute on whether or not the basket would be good. The UofU coach got all fired up and the fans started to chant "ANGER MANAGEMENT". I love it!
The Event Staff, fearing a charging crowd, started to unroll this rope and wrap it around the court. It might as well be fishing line if people wanted to get by...
When it was all said and done, they called the basket good and USU won by 2 points. A few of the fans charged right through the rope (Hurley was one of them) to congratulate the team. And the UofU coach, who was still angry, had to have a police escort out of the Stadium (to more chants of "ANGER MANAGEMENT").
Anyway, the point of this rant is just to say that I love Aggie basketball. Even though Mike has pretty much ruined me for televised sports, I like to go to games. (Even if I spend more time people watching and chatting than watching the game). I loved my years at Utah State, and I loved being one of those students cheering wildly at the games. I guess I'm just writing because I love that I got to stay here in Cache Valley, and that every once in a while I can go back to the Spectrum and listen to those crazy kids scream funny things at the other team. It was a fun night...
Another side note (remember, my brain works in random ways). Somehow, as we were slipping and sliding our way back to the car after the game, I remembered one of my favorite memories at Utah State. I'm going to write about it so you can get a kick out of it too.
I was sitting at the top of the Sunburst Lounge...yeah all you Aggies remember that lovely place to snooze. I was trying to study before a test. It was Spring, and someone had dumped detergent in the water fountain. The bubbles were huge and out of control. A gust of wind came and picked up this gigantic cube of bubbles. It started blowing like a tumbleweed down the path. This poor guy (ah, I'm laughing so hard because I can still see it in my head) anyway, he turned and saw this huge cube tumbling toward him so he started running. It was like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (I think that's the one where the ball was threatening to roll over him).
You have to picture it...the cube was man sized, and try as he might, he could not avoid it. It crashed into him and left him covered in suds. I was laughing so hard I thought I'd pee my pants. He looked around, hoping no one had seen it, and went on his way.
I know it's a random story to think of, but I remember it all the time. The poor guy...he'll never know how much I have laughed over that day.
So...it's a long and pointless post, but maybe some of you Aggies out there will remember your days of watching basketball and coming out in the cold air of Cache Valley and remember that it is a great place to go to school...and it's a great place to live!

It's Better To Give Than Receive?

Today as I was putting Jake in for a nap, he tried to argue the necessity of a nap. He wanted to just have "quiet time", which is fine if "quiet" was any part of the equation. Usually quiet time consists of him begging me to read him a book, fix a toy, change the c.d. in the music player, turn on a show, etc. There is no break for either of us, and by the time bed time rolls around he is usually really tired, and I am tired of him (did I just say that?) So, I try not to allow quiet time all that often.
Anyway, I was telling him of the things we would be doing today after his nap. I told him that we would be giving Aubrey and his other friends their gifts. His eyes started to water and he shook his head "no" before I could even tell him the rest of the list of fun activities we have planned. I asked him what was wrong and he said "I don't want to give Aubrey our gifts. She has plenty of her own. I don't want to give her our gifts." I guess I phrased it in a way that he thought we would be emptying our load of gifts under our tree and distributing them among his friends. Now I know that I have also failed in relating the whole "Spirit of Christmas" thing to my kids...
I reassured him that we weren't giving away his gifts, but the ones that we had picked out and made for our friends. I guess he's okay now that he knows his gifts are safe. I tried to convey that it is more fun to give other people gifts than to get them, but I think my words were falling on deaf ears. Right now all he can think about is the "aero pointer chopter" that Santa is bringing him...yeah, good luck figuring out what that means Santa...

The Santa Scare

Jake came into the room the other day and there was a movie on. It was the Tim Allen one, The Santa Clause. Anyway, he came in right at the part where Santa fell off the roof. I was making cookies, and I thought about turning it off, but didn't get there in time. Jake was quite absorbed in it for a minute, then he came running to me with panic in his eyes and said "Mom, Santa's dead! I saw it on t.v! Come look! Santa's dead!" I told him that it was just a movie, and we don't always believe everything in the movies. He was pretty upset still, and continued to watch for a few more minutes. I guess he decided that all was still going to be well with Christmas at our house, and went off to play in his room. I just thought it was so funny to see him take it so seriously and get so stressed.
He must really be hearing lots about Santa at pre-school or from his friends, because he's got all the information. We were in the car once and he told me all about Santa's home at the North Pole. He thinks we can just drive over the mountains and find him there. He's gotten Allie really excited too. They have been on the look out for Santa's elves...I guess if they are better behaved this month we'll know that anything is possible.

Allie eats pink play dough

When Allie was new to the Nursery world at Church, the leaders would comment about how much she enjoyed eating the play dough. Every time they mentioned it, I thought I would throw up. The stuff that was in there was home made and it had been there since Jake was in Nursery...a long time.

When my friend Heidi's daughter was old enough to go in there, Heidi donated some new play dough to the cause. She is a self-professed germ-a-phobe and was grossed out by that old stuff too.

I guess Allie loved the new stuff. It wasn't home made and they had all sorts of colors. Her favorite was the pink. Not to play with...to eat. They couldn't keep it out of her mouth. They even ran experiments. They would hold out on her and not even put the pink stuff on the table. She'd play contentedly with the other colors, making snakes and balls. Then when the pink kind came out, she'd secretly eat it. I always thought they were exaggerating and that she was just tasting little pinches of it now and then. I was wrong.

We were bored the other day and got out the play dough. I am not really a fan because I hate it when the colors get mixed up. Yeah, I know I need to lay off and let the kids enjoy their toys...

Anyway, I left for something and came back in to find this...

I took the pink away, thinking that would solve the problem (it did in Nursery). It didn't...next time I came back in the room I found her spitting out black chunks. Finding herself deprived of her true craving, she decided to eat around it. I guess it didn't taste as good.

What a silly girl...

Sledding

We are still waiting for snow around here, but it doesn't stop the boys from sledding every day behind our house...

Our Neighbors...the Grizwalds

I alluded to our neighbors in a previous post. I couldn't leave it at that...I wanted to dedicate a whole post to them. They are the Grizwalds, Ma and Pa Grizz, Grandpa Grizz...whatever you want to call them, we love them.

They moved here from California. The first Christmas season came around and my eyes were opened to the possibilities of Christmas decor. I came from a home where, if we were lucky, my Dad would string up some lights the day before Christmas. The majority of the bulbs were broken or burned out. The existing bulbs were only half way colored. (The paint having worn off in the 6 months that it took to get them down after the snow had melted). I don't mean to be disrespectful...my Dad was just a busy guy.

Anyway, that's my back ground. So when I saw Steve putting lights up on every pitch of the house, and all the bulbs were in tact and colorful (the less than superior bulbs were taken off and replaced the minute they ceased to do their job) it was all new to me. Not only was he doing it all right, he was doing it in November!

Mike and I secretly started referring to him as Clark Grizwald from The Christmas Vacation movie. We worried that it would offend him to be given such a nick name. The next year, he added more to the Christmas display and he was really living up to the name. By this time, we knew him well enough to let him know what we had named him. He didn't mind at all. He told us that this display was nothing compared to what they used to have in California. He said that in order for them to have brought all that stuff here when they moved, they would have had to get another U-Haul...wow. They have also said that their electric bill doubled in the month of December...wow again!

When Jake was just learning how to talk, he started to notice that the Grizwalds had a cool lights display and one day he came to me (in his broken English) and asked if we could have "just one strand". It took lots of deciphering because those words were the only ones that made sense, but we got it figured out. Every time he would admire the lights, Steve was brainwashing him. He'd suggest that Jake go home and tell us that he wanted just one strand of lights on the house.

Mike would never cave, but one by one the other neighbors fell victim to the temptation. Last year we were the only ones on the whole street without "just one strand". So, we caved, and Steve helped us, by giving us some of his lights and hanging them for us. I even bought some more lights at the after Christmas sale last year. Now, they are after us again and we are slowly becoming the only house on the street without lights. Steve says he'll help...I just need to get out there and do it.

Anyway, the point of this post is to say that I love the Grizwalds of the world...especially our Grizwalds. My kids get so much joy in seeing and pointing out the Christmas lights in the valley, and there is nothing better than to drive up our road and see the glow from their home even before we turn the corner onto our street.

A picture just can't do it justice, but I had to try...

We love to look closely each night and try to identify new things that have appeared (it takes a long time to fully assemble all the things at their house).

Anyway, get out those Christmas lights...even if it's just one strand. I'm sure we will, eventually.

Side note: when I asked the neighbors if it would be okay to write about them they said it would be fine, then last night they said that they watched part of Christmas Vacation. I haven't seen the whole movie, but I guess Clark can be pretty crude...so just so you know, our Grizwalds are not like that at all. Really, the only thing in common is that they both like "exterior illumination"...so don't get the wrong idea.

Another side note: I began writing this post a few days ago, and now I can proudly say that I have a strand of lights up!

The annual Christmas Tree fight

I don't know what it is about Christmas lights, but they bring out the worst in Mike and me.

Our first year of marriage, we lived in a WT trailer house and the ceiling was low (our trailer wasn't one of those fancy ones with a vaulted ceiling). Mike knew that he needed to take some off the tree, so he did...

He didn't know that you can't take it off the top, so he fixed it...

I don't even remember being mad at him then, it was mostly just funny. The next few years pass just like that. There were annoying things that happened, I'm sure, but we just dealt with it.

Then you throw in a kid or two. The kind of kids that are at your feet, tripping you when you are trying to carry a huge tree up the stairs. Kids that ask a question every two seconds, not waiting for an answer before they ask another urgent question (or simply repeat the first question over and over in varying volumes.) That's when our Christmas tree squabbling began. We always have a really tall tree and we always struggled to get lights on the top branches. One year we got the bright idea to string the top lights while we were outside. We propped up the tree on the grass and stood on the deck to string it. That worked great. When we got it inside, and finished stringing on the lights, we went to plug it in and found that the lights were on backward. (You know, the way that makes it impossible to plug in unless you run an extension cord from the top) Even our neighbor Grizz couldn't help us out of that mess. (We call him Grizz, short for Grizwald, because his house at Christmas would put Clark Grizwald from the Christmas Vacation movie to shame).

This year, I wanted to try the deck thing again, but Mike had already lugged the tree up the stairs and didn't want to take it down, only to bring it back up again. I got stubborn (believe it or not, I do have a stubborn side) and carried the tree down by myself. Mike stood by, exasperated, and watched me struggle for a minute. Then he caved and helped me (all in my master plan). We made sure we started with the right end of the lights this time and got the top decorated. The tree tipped over on me once and Mike twice. The kids were under our feet trying to "help" and we were trying really hard not to lose our tempers.

We forced the tree into the house and all the lights we had strung got pulled off in the process, and the top bow had fallen off too. Oh well, SERENITY NOW!

We got the tree in place and I finished stringing the lights while Mike tried to get the kids to keep out from under the tippy tree.

Of course, I ran out of working lights half way down the tree (I now have 3 strands of lights that work half way!). So, Mike went to his favorite store, the Smithfield Implement and bought some more. Mostly to get out of the house.

He came back and told me the lights were 7 dollars a box. If any of you know Mike, you know that he loves to push people's buttons when they are already frustrated. He knew that I was still on edge from the stuff I had endured moments before and he decided to push my "frugal" button. I said I wasn't going to use 7 dollar a strand lights and that we'd have to wait till Monday when I could buy cheaper ones in Logan. He argued that the gas and extra trip to "town" would make the 2 dollar boxes more expensive...I shot back that 3 boxes of 7 dollar lights was worth going to town for cheaper ones...you get the point. He waited till I was really annoyed to tell me that they were really 3 dollars. What a turkey.

Shortly after that argument, we got back to the tree.

We approached the tree, that had been standing up fine for an hour, and it tipped over onto Mike, hit the ceiling fan, and all the decorations. That's when I shrieked and taught Jake one of my most used expletives.

Mike, who isn't the best at not using bad language, got after me for teaching the boy to swear...which made me indignant (as you can imagine).

It was all a fiasco. I think the tree tipped over 2 more times, and there were many more words uttered under my breath, but we got it done. I don't think the kids even knew we were under a lot of stress. If they did, it didn't stop them from prancing around and getting under our feet, climbing up the bar stools that we were standing on and trying their best to put us all in the emergency room.

Needless to say, the tree is now in place. We let the kids hang the shatter proof ornaments wherever they wanted. And we tried to be patient when Allie continued to dance around the box of glass ornaments (after warnings to stay away) and fell into them a number of times.

If you didn't know any better, it looks like a lovely occasion from the happy pictures I took. Maybe that's what the kids will remember, instead of our frustrations. I don't remember my parents arguing as we decorated the Christmas tree. I do remember feeling stressed as the huge trees (that we cut from our front yard) made the chandelier swing wildly as Dad tried to put them in place. I also remember wondering why our tree had to "match" instead of look like an Elementary School arts and crafts tree like my friend's tree...

Anyway, our "matching" tree is up. The stress of it is forgotten (but this year I am writing about it so I'll really never forget), and we have a great looking tree for the rest of the month. After every year, Mike and I swear that we are buying a tree that has built in lights. Then the memories fade and we go to Star Valley and get sucked into the fun of finding a Christmas Tree...things will never change.

4 people crammed on a snowmobile...

After our Turkey Day celebrations, we gathered up with some of Mike's family to get Christmas trees. At that point, there was only a smattering of snow on the ground, but everyone had dragged snowmobiles up there and snow or no snow, they were going to use them.

We drove up the road (to Cottonwood Lake) until there was more snow/ice on the road than dirt. Then we unloaded. Jake rode the Kitty Cat until we were ready to go, then we attempted to cram the four of us on Mike's snowmobile.

This is Jake and Allie on the sled...imagine two more people on that...

We have all gotten bigger since the last time we tried to pile on. Allie was an infant and rode in a carrier strapped to me, and Jake was just a lot smaller. This year was different. We went a mile or so before I was about to give up. You try to stay on a slippery seat in snow pants when there are three other people in front of you...

The snowmobile was getting hot because of the lack of snow (and I'm sure the weight contributed as well).

Luckily we were able to farm our kids out on people who were riding solo.

Jake went with Cole.

Allie went with Lynn.

This is most of the group that went. I think there were 8 or 9 snowmobiles in all.

When we finally got to a place where we could look for a tree, Allie sat down and did this...

Luckily, Mike's cousin (who was smart and drove his truck instead of a snowmobile) let Allie camp out in there for a little snooze.

While I was taking her to the truck, Mike found our tree on his own. He actually picked out a beautiful tree.

This is the load we took home (ours is the big one on the back).

It really is a fun tradition. Jake loves being with his cousins, Mike loves being out there on a snowmobile, I love going and taking pictures, and Allie is still getting used to the tradition.

Fun, fun, fun!

Jake and his little beel

Mike is a kid at heart and he found a Kitty Cat on KSL that he just had to have. Now Jake has a fun toy for the winter. We took it to Star Valley in hopes that we would find snow. The first day there wasn't any snow at all, and the next day there was only a skiff, but that didn't stop the boy.

It was so cute to see him zooming from place to place. It actually goes much faster than any small kid should be allowed. (yes, I know he's 4, but I want to keep him young and alive as long as I can.). Anyway, he loved the speed. Allie was a total fan of the "snow beel" and loved getting rides. We put her on the back and he'd zoom off at full speed. She could barely hold on and even got dumped off the side once. She cried a little and was ready to get back in the saddle. So we put her on in front of Jake. That went really well until his circles began to get wider and wider. Pretty soon the big snowmobile trailer was in their path. This was one of those moments when you can see things happening before they happen and you can't get there fast enough because you're 25 feet away holding a camera and a camcorder (trying to be a good Mom and record the day's events for their future enjoyment) and an extra pair of gloves. That's when I let the first few expletives out. I took this picture before I could see the danger. Of course, Jake isn't even watching and Allie can see it coming. You can see the light of the trailer in the left side of the picture.



As you can imagine, Allie hit the trailer first and knocked them both off the snowmobile and into the dirt. She ended up with a pretty good bruise on her head and one on the top of her ear (yeah, a very tender spot...especially when you are cold). Needless to say, Allie won't get back on the "snow beel". She thinks it is a little too scary. After making sure they were okay, I had some time to regret that I had just turned off the video camera. We could have watched that wreck over and over again and sent it into America's Funniest Home Videos.

Oh well, I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head. I can laugh about it, but only because I know they are okay. It was actually quite terrifying to watch.

Jake still loves it though and can hardly wait for the snow to fall here so he can ride it again.

If you are interested, Kim made another Italy post...

The Boy is 4!

What a fun day! Jake has been counting down for this birthday since Allie's birthday in August. It's hard to see siblings getting gifts and it's hard not get a little jealous that it's not your birthday too. So he has been waiting patently for his. It came!

He woke up and had his usual strawberry milk and a show.

Marshmallow Matey's for breakfast...two bowls!

Most people are bummed when they have to go to school or work on their birthday, not Jake. School was what he was looking forward to most. He got to give out some treats and they sang to him.



This is his teacher, Mrs. Lamb.



He went to lunch with his friend Aubrey after school. He chose A&W's.


He had a great nap and woke up ready to party on!

I decided to get creative with my limited cake making abilities. What was supposed to look like this...

ended up looking like this...

I think the most annoying thing is that I looked at it then turned off the computer so Mike could sleep (I do my most productive work in the hours that most people should be sleeping.) Anyway, I cut it without looking at the model again, and as you can see, my dinosaur looks like it has a friendly wagging tail...

Yeah, that's embarrassing. Oh well, at least most of the people that saw it could identify it. Plus, Jake loved it.

Grandma Bonnie and Don came up, and so did Brian, Tara, Kyle, and Blake. It sure was fun eating with the cousins and having cake and ice cream.

He got spoiled, as usual. The thing I thought might be his favorite...the remote control truck he has been saying that he wanted, ended up taking a back burner to the thing most kids love the most at gift giving time...the box for the truck.

Why do kids love the packages the toys came in more than the toys themselves? Ah well, he's improving his motor skills, right?

Anyway, it was a great day. My four year old boy is snoozing away now and I am trying not to be sad that he is growing up so fast. I love that he is learning and progressing, but I miss that sweet baby he was too. I guess it's a good thing I take lots of pictures...

4 years ago!

I recently scanned in the kid's portrait pictures...you know, in case the house burns down and all my hard copies are gone forever. Anyway, here are a few.

2 months old

6 months old

9 months old

1 year old

18 months

2 and a half

3 years old

3 and a half

He's a good kid. He has a tender heart and tries really hard to be obedient. We love him and are so glad he's ours!

Our Thanksgiving Day Feast

Thanksgiving weekend...the weekend to be thankful. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives.

We started our festivities by going up to Star Valley for the feast. It was a good feast. Mike's niece Ricki went into labor Thursday morning, the dinner was quick so people could go be with her for the delivery. She had a little boy and named him Daniel. It's crazy to think she could be a Mom, she was just a kid when Mike and I got married.

Mike's step-sister Ellie and her family live on what is now a "farm" next to his Dad's house. They have horses, two really cute pigmy goats, and lots of chickens. Allie is really into animals right now, so she was in heaven. She chased those goats around the house and wanted to "pet" (my definition is maul) them every chance she could get. I wish I had gotten a picture of them because they really were cute goats.

Ellie and Tyler have 4 kids and they are really fun cousins to play with. Tyler got their horse saddled up and let the kids take turns riding it. Jake had fun, but didn't care all that much. Allie loved it and took two really long rides.

Jake with Chance and KC



They also had fun riding the motorcycle with Dad (his preferred mode of recreation).






It is so fun to go to Star Valley. It's gorgeous and we get to do fun things. I missed seeing all of my family at Thanksgiving, but we did have a great time and hope you all did too.
I am thankful for my family!