Big Day for Ali!!!

My cute little Ali has been wanting her ears pierced for some time now. She asked about it a few days ago and I decided to call her bluff. So on Saturday when she said, "Mom can I PPPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSSSSE get my ears pierced." I said okay, let's go do it. Then I told her about how they do it and what they do. I told her it was going to hurt like a shot from the doctor but they do it twice and it would hurt twice. I also told her she had to wash them every day and had to keep her earrings in no matter how much they hurt for a month. All the way till Halloween. She thought about it and said, "lets do it tomorrow." I told her we couldn't do it on Sunday but we could go on Monday if she wanted to. I gave her every opportunity to back out possible, because really I do think she is a little young, but......she did it.

We walked in and she was all shy and clinging to my pants. I told her she had to act like a big girl or she couldn't get her ears pierced. We looked at all the cute earrings they had to choose from. (Much better choices than when I was a girl.) She giggled when he was marking her with a pen and we were making sure she looked symmetrical . So she sat up tall on my lap and let the jeweler do it even after she saw the metal gun they use. I remember being terrified of that ear gun and I was twelve, not four and a half. She picked out the cutest little white flower earrings with a pink center. It cost twice as much as I thought it would but at least I am certain it was a sterile environment and not a flouncy little mall store.

This is Ali just as we were walking out. She did cry and the second ear was harder than the first but this guy was a pro. She leaned into me and he latched onto her second ear and wala- done in a flash. Then he opened up his magic drawer of wonder which was filled with candy....cotton candy, twisty suckers, etc. etc....she got to pick two things. Oh man did those crocodile tears dry up quick. He is a freaking genius I tell you. Pierce their ears and before they realize what has happened offer them an armload of candy to take home with them. Ali left smiling and happy with her beautiful flower ears. So I guess the moral of the story is.....you can't scare your kids out of something they really want to do. I thought I had convinced her not to do it on Saturday but by Monday she was ready to go actually she couldn't even wait for her brothers to get home from school like they had planned at breakfast. She just really wanted to go and do it, so we did.

Carter didn't want me to take a picture of this, but I told him it is a picture of him being a nice brother, not a picture of him painting girls fingernails. He really is such a nice kid. Ali is very lucky to have both and Tyler....though I doubt Tyler would let me take a photo if I caught him painting Ali's nails. Byron and I realized last night that by the time Ali turns 16, Tyler will have just left on a mission and Carter will be 21, probably off at college ....we will be all alone with our beautiful teenage daughter....I think we are going to need to hire a bodyguard for her to make it through high school. Byron will definitely have to sit around a clean his guns when the young men come around. Actually our plan is to keep her so busy she doesn't have time to look around and notice boys....so bring on the piano lessons, gymnastics, dance, violin, singing, hummm...what else, oh yea, she likes soccer, basketball, etc....we are going to need distractions here.

Emergency Fire Drill!!! 911

This is what Ali did this morning while I typed the rest of this blog page. She came in proudly as I was nearly finished and said, don't I look great. Then she asked if she looked like a clown. So, yes if she as aiming for a clown then she did a bang up job but if she was going for anything else...eek. She is my girl of high style. I was flipping through the runway shots from a show in New York, you know the ones with the crazy designer dresses. Nearly every dress Ali was like, I like that one....ohh I love that one.....maybe she sees something I don't see. Anyhow, we have a little while before preschool so she can keep her makeup on for a few hours. Lucky girl. I just hope she doesn't get it all over my couches. Her lips look perfect though.

At precisely 6:00pm Wednesday evening tragedy struck....all across the neighborhood. Each home (well those who played) were acting out a different emergency scenario. After we completed our dramatic acting we had to rank ourselves on how we did with our particular situation. Fortunately for us it was as mild as a broken arm...unfortunately it was me who broke her arm. (Not for real...mind you....neighborhood emergency preparedness drill)

After our homes were cleared if their various crisis we all met at our designated meeting points with our little groups. So we went down to the circle and made sure all of our neighbors survived their events. We compared notes on how we did and chatted about how we could modify to have better results in the future. Most of us did pretty well and made it through alive. We had a few casualties as some families didn't even show up. The evening was capped off by a trip to the local fire station where they did a demo on how to put out a fire with a fire extinguisher. Both Carter and Tyler were able to actually do it themselves. (Nice work boys!) I couldn't convince either of them that their future is in fire fighting though.

Update on the painting of the week...so my commission is nearly done. If you have been reading my blog this week you have watched it transform. So I got the road in and added a car and after deliberating over it with myself and then with Byron we axed the road. It was distracting to the actual focal point of the painting. I really like how it puts the attention on the capitol now instead of having to decide what am I looking at the road or the capitol....I am pleased with how it is looking and hopefully will finish it off this afternoon. That is if I can get the laundry caught up, the dishes done, prepare for pack meeting and get to the board meeting for the school in time.....maybe I will finish it tomorrow. Regardless, I have enjoyed this project. Maybe I won't quit painting after all.

The hunt is on! Welcome to bird season in Utah. Byron had his opening weekend this last weekend and after completely wearing out is dog Jessie....she is barely recovering a week later....he got off a successful shot. The good news is this hobby is fairly inexpensive as they have a hard time finding many birds and even less opportunity to shoot at them. They hunted up two birds last weekend and only got off two shots. One for two isn't bad!! It is either a Grouse or Chucker...I can't remember which hunt has opened up already and which comes later in the season. Ali has looked at the bird carcass in the fridge and said, "what are we going to do with that bloody bird?" If we were British I would have to tell her not to curse, but her description is fairly accurate. I think we are going to make teriyaki chicken and grill it. We will for sure get photos and tell you how it turned out.

If you read our blog you know by now Byron is the scout master. For our date night a few weeks ago we went to the shooting range and while there he found out you could bring your scouts up to the range and in exchange for a little service work, (cleaning up the range) they can camp there and in the morning do some target practice. In preparation of this big camp out Byron put us on a budget, (that's another story) and bought himself a new Ruger 22. He is so excited about his new toy. Last night after I had tucked the kids in bed, he got the boys and gathered them around in a conspiratorial grouping. Then they snuck out to the garage and retrieved his new purchase. They all gathered around for the big grand opening and had fun watching Dad play with his gun. Byron showed them every nook and cranny and explained how the magazine fits in and how the spring does this and this does that. The boys were enthrawled. Not only were they getting the first look at the new gun, but they were also up past their bedtime to do it.

So Carter right away asked if he could hold it. Byron said yes and then continued talking and demoing....ten minutes later Carter asked again.....of course he says and Byron kept talking about the new gun. Finally Mom had to step in and Byron did release his death lock on his prized purchase and let the boys each take a turn holding it and staring down the barrel at a peach. If they had any bullets that peach would have been a goner. Well it was a goner because I ate it just after the kids headed up to bed, again.

This photo cracks me up because it looks like Tyler is actually struggling with his eye lashes. Can't get a good look down this gun because his dang lashes are in the way!!! He is a looker, watch out ladies he is going to tear your heart out.

Ode to my mother-in-law

This week is a very special week around our house. The kids are so excited because it is their Nana's birthday! As you can see from the photo on the left they LOVE her! We scored big and in a major way in the mother-in-law department. I know there are lots of people with mother-in-laws, some of them even like their mother-in-laws but none of them are as lucky as me....we got the best one. I have included a few photos to help me illustrate the above and beyond Nana we have here on our hands.


So, they have a pool in Dallas....every time we come she demands it is spotlessly clean for us, much to Papa Pollan's dismay....Though to his credit it has always been sparkling and refreshing. There is no complaining as the kids run in and out of the house a thousand times with their dripping feet and wet suits and towels hanging everywhere. She lets them swim in the morning before breakfast, and again after lunch and if they want they can have a quick dip before bedtime....and two or three swim trips a day is okay too.


This was Nana's trip to Utah, she came out with a suitcase full of crafts and activities for the kids to amuse themselves with. They made aprons which she had sewn herself, then they decorated pots for my garden with stamps and outdoor paint, another day they did garden stones in the shape of Texas, because of course we have to promote the Texas pride....(still haven't figured that out yet) The kids had more fun than they could handle. She even kept them for three days in a row while I ran an art tent and sold my paintings.

This was on a trip to Dallas which has many traditions....it is a big deal when we go to Dallas.....one of the items which has to happen is dipping strawberries in CHOCOLATE....oh how they love it. You should see my three sweet kiddos present their beautiful platter of chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. You would think they had memorized the periodic table they are so pleased with themselves. Yes, they do even share a few with the adults....if they have enough left over after making them. Notice the bowl, yes they not only get to make them but lick the bowl as well. Heaven may just be at Nana's house in Dallas.

So the sun is going down and things are winding down. Mom is thinking oh phew, just a few more minutes till bed but Nana whips out the idea to run over to the splash fountain and dance and jump around to the water in the dark. Yes, it could be kid heaven. Just as mom would send them off to bed Nana let's them play some more. Did I mention the Papa and Uncle who also ran through the fountain like crazy kids. What a fun memory to have of your Papa acting like a little kid. They laughed so hard Tyler busted out another hernia....(jk he already had both repaired, should be done with that)




Alas another tradition.....this one is awesome, nearly as good as Christmas but you get it every time you see Nana. It's called a string party. Nana supplies the rewards along the string and at the end and the kids have to follow the maze of yarn spider webbing to their presents. This one was a big one with a very good loot. They were most pleased.

To sum up....I am the luckiest daughter-in-law in the world because I am sure we have the Nana there is. She treats the children with the most
love and kindness possible. We just play and play and have so much fun whenever we are with her. If I asked my kids if they would rather go to Dallas or Disneyland they would pick Dallas.

I would just like to wish Laura a happy birthday. We love you and are so lucky to have you in our lives. You are such an inspiration and example to me. You are so generous with your knowledge and are happy to share recipes, ideas, games, etc... I have learned so much from you and am so grateful to have you in my life.



So that is my ode to my mother-in-law...now I am moving on to how much I love my new car....It has been a while now since I have been needing a third row, not a necessity as our family does still fit in two rows, and will continue to fit in two rows. I am so happy to have a third row so I can carpool and drive friends around with us. (So are the kids) They have been my greatest supporters in the quest to convince Dad we need a third row. The kicker was his car died so he volunteered graciously to take over my trailblazer and got us a Honda Pilot.....it is gorgeous and I couldn't be happier.





















So, Ali and Gabby are at it again. In the photo above Ali spent Saturday planning this tea party with Gabby. They were going to have hot chocolate and Chewy would drink his tea water. Chewy was also to wear his doll dress with his hair in a pony. Ali invited Gabby at church on Sunday and they planned all the details. They are just to cute.







The painting this week is coming along. This is one of the photos I am using for reference. The red painting is my block in. People ask me how I start....this is it. I just paint on a loose outline of the main shapes. Check the composition to make sure I like what is going on. Then the work starts. This time I started with the sky and got it all in. Then I went down to the mountains and got them all blocked in and nearly finished. After that I went to work on the capitol building itself. I worked on the general shape. Then focused on the lights and darks. Putting the dark shades in first and then working lighter. Squinting is a great method to check the values of what you are working on. Sometimes I like the monochromatic sketch in better than the finished painting. I really love it in a sienna color so it looks like an old photo....anyway. I am still working on the foreground, today I added the greenery, trying to get a dark shadowy area behind and then adding the lighter shades on top. The jury is still our on the road... I think I may curve it and make it head back towards the capitol even though it doesn't do this in the photo it will draw the viewers eye into the painting more, or I may just end it at the tree and have the tree line hide the rest of the road. I feel like the road may take you across the road and out of the painting. If I use the tree as a curve line it your eye will go up the road and follow the curve of the branch back into the focal which of course is the capitol building. It is coming along though and hopefully I can have it done by Friday. It is a commissioned piece and I have to keep reminding Ali that she can't paint on it. She really love to paint. So, there you go. From start to half way done. I really like how the capitol is looking. I am feeling hopeful this will be a good painting when I get it done. (Some are.... some aren't...)

I am off to run get the boys. We have two hours of gymnastics this afternoon. Better not forget my book. Once again....Happy Birthday Laura!!! We love you.

Three cheers for Chewy and Gabby!!!

Ali and her best friend Gabby. They decided to walk home from Gabby's house today. So there they were these two girls chatting away wearing their matching Hello Kitty purses walking home all by themselves. They thought they were so big and I had to agree, they were looking really cute and totally mature. I was driving behind them in my car.







The photo on the left is what Ali did while I typed this post....she dressed Chewy into her dolls dress and we did his hairdo in a ponytail. Man I love that dog! Now he is going to put on a swimsuit and go play in the sprinklers with Ali. Then they are having a tea party and Ali will drink how chocolate but Chewy will drink his water. We have big plans for today.

This is our cuttie pie Ali and her little dog Chewy....These two are an inseparable pair. You wouldn't believe the hours of fun Ali has with her sweet little puppy. It has been the perfect solution for the last child syndrome. So, Ali is the last, which makes her ten times harder than my boys have been. There is nobody around to play with her or keep her entertained, well nobody but me that is. Can I really play make believe for hours on end and go to dances and be the prince and on and on and on....I love the girl, I really do but sometimes I am just so not a four year old. My lifesavers are this cute puppy, (which is nearly potty trained now-thank heaven) and her best friend Gabby. I love Gabby, she loves Ali as much as Ali loves her and does a best friend ever make a Mom's life easier!!! So I dedicate this post to Chewy and Gabby without which I couldn't get through a day with my daughter.

Ali is the happiest most cheerful, energetic, full of life, loquacious child you will ever meet. I am not even kidding you...when she is at church she has to hum softly, she is incapable of sitting silent. She loves to sing and dance, she loves to be in the middle of anything, whatever it is she is there in the middle of it and talking non stop about it. She has the sweetest contageous and might I add loudest laughs and squeals you will ever hear. Did I mention loud? Some days I wonder if my super hearing is just turned way up or if Ali's voice could really get louder than it was yesterday. If she weren't such a joy to have around you would have to beat the child into submission. Ali has currently fallen for gymnastics. She spends hours perfecting her one armed cartwheel and her no hands cartwheel, which looks like a little flip on the floor. She is totally into it. She and Carter go to gymnastics once a week and have found their thing. Ty, not so much. He dropped out after three months.

Byron is the scout master of our ward. So what does this mean for me? (deep breath) He gets to go off at least once a month and camp out and I don't have to go. Of course we camp with the family a few times a year but he goes once a month with the scouts, rain or shine, summer or winter. Byron had the most amazing scout masters as a kid and they made many awesome memories for him. He is such a good sport about getting camp outs together and taking the boys out. I actually think he enjoys it, mostly....and the best part of all is he is being trained early on how to deal with teenage boys. We have two teenage boys coming up here in just a couple of years. While I am terrified at the prospect he will be used to this age and hopefully can help me through it.

Carter is the one who is most pleased with his Dad's calling. He has been joining Byron and the scouts on some of the campouts and LOVES it. Byron and the boys are the best of friends and nothing makes the kids happier than hanging out with their Dad.

Case in point....Carter got a bb gun for Christmas when he was 8 and Ty just got this pellet pistol before we went on our last campout even though he is only 7. He thought that was pretty cool. So, now they get to both have a weapon when they go shooting. What is it with boys and guns. I will never understand. The first time we took Ty shooting with his new gun he got stung by a wasp before he even got one shot off. So we fled the scene of the mad hive. Ty picked up an old beer can to shoot at and it had a hive in it. Luckily Ty only got one sting and everybody else made it into the car, including Jessie, without getting stung by the wasps.
Byron and I went to the shooting range the other day for a date and I tell you was it hysterical. I need to hit the gym because I couldn't get the dang clay pigeon trap to load. So I wasn't that much help with loading the pigeons but I could at least release them. Then we did the hand thrower and for the life of me I couldn't get the stupid clay pigeon to fly out of the thing. After some gentle hints from Byron I was able to get one to fly off in the wrong direction way close to the ground. I have never been so frustrated with my own lack of strength. What's up with my wimpy arms? I was so buff when I had these 30 pound 1 year olds, now I am back to my little puny arms. Anyhow I kept trying with this stupid clay pigeon thrower and finally if I got both hands on the thing and threw with all my might, and throwing my whole weight at the thing I could get a good launch. It probably took 15 tries to get it going well. Byron was trying to figure out how he could throw it himself and still shoot at it, which he did a few times. But I couldn't just stand there doing nothing so I finally got it. They were great launches and nobody knew where they were going to go, not even me, which makes for good bird shooting practice. So as we were leaving one of the old men that works there came down and congratulated me. He told us how he has hardly seen any women be able to get the clay pigeon thrower to work for them. I felt much better after he told me I am not the only lame one out there. Then we got to talking and decided it probably isn't that the ladies can't figure the thing out they just don't bother to try. So I won the award for wife of the year because I can throw a clay pigeon target out of a hand thrower. (Though I still can't get the spring to load on the auto thrower.)

We got Byron's camera loaded onto our computer and he had a few cute shots from Jackson so we are adding them here. This is the ride for the younger group that we took down the Snake river. It was so fun! No rapids, just nice floating and calm splashing. It was a beautifully warm day on the Snake and lots of the littles ones got in for a float.

Tyler our brave water soul jumped in and as always in a body of water had fun swimming around. This is the fifth or sixth natural water he has been in this summer. It seems no matter where we are if there is water, Ty is in it. Carter was doing flips off the front of the boat into the water, which freaks me out a bit. He his his foot on the bottom once but wasn't deterred much.

So I am having an art crisis. I can see how you could go crazy over it and cut your ear off or lock yourself up in a room for ages at at time....etc....This is my next commission. They want it large, couch sized. I finally got myself up to the capitol and took some photos. I like how this one turned out as it shows the Utah mountains and has some greenery with it. I think the composition is pretty strong as it is but I will probably move the road and the cars a bit in the painting. If I could ever get myself down to Walgreens to pick up my prints I would get started. It should be done by the end of the week. That is my goal at least. Hopefully all will go smoothly.

Rolling into Fall....

We decided we needed one more trip to the pool before we officially kissed summer goodbye....again.

We had a great time playing and learning new tricks. Ali can now swim all the way across the pool. Carter was doing flips off the low dive and Tyler was cartwheeling off the low dive. They really have a great time hanging out at Northcrest. Ali is such a shy and quiet child...we really wish she would come out of her shell a little. (wink wink)

We were so lucky to get tickets to the Lion King. Carter came to his first Broadway show and boy was it ever better than Madame Butterfly that I had to suffer through as a child. Not that I can complain too loudly since I also saw lots of other shows but The Lion King is definitely the way to introduce a young one to Broadway. He loved it. He was on the edge of his seat, literally the edge nearly toppling off at parts. The animals were amazing. It really was a sight to see. The elephant was my favorite, Carter really liked the elephant and the giraffes. Such an experience.

We had such a blast on our last little excursions of summer. Tyler is getting ready to let his Dad load up a fishing hook. By the look of his dirty little face you would think he was going to eat the worm. He didn't! We have just been camping for four days....it gets you a little dirty. We were very excited to join my family at the condos in Jackson after our freezing but fun camping trip with our friends at the West Yellowstone KOA. We rented a little fishing boat and took the whole family out onto a lake near West Yellowstone for a picnic and a little fishing. Lucky for us we brought lunch because the fish didn't bite.
School started once again. Yeah!!! Mom was so excited to drop the boys off on their first day. I can not express how blessed I feel that my boys are able to attend their charter school. They are learning and thriving and doing so well.

Yes she is sitting there with a beautiful butterfly sucker that any girl in her right mind would be so happy to have....but the little teardrop in her eye is priceless. She dropped her sucker and it cracked and there is nothing sadder than a broken sucker. Yes it still tastes the same but when you fall in love with looks....so sad.
How many times can you ride the musical express at Lagoon without loosing your breakfast? Ali and I did it three times in a row before I had to call uncle. Seriously why is it that kids just don't get dizzy? We had fun riding the musical express while the boys rode Colossus but when they got back they wanted to ride it with us so we went again....let's just say I was grateful for the bird show so I could take a minute to unspin.
We went to a little gold rush town in Montana and caught gold fever. We got it bad! The beauty of the gold panning is that we actually did find gold. Eight little flakes total between the two pans we panned. The kids had a great time and we got to pick out garnets as well. It was an adventure worth the $30 we paid for it even though we got maybe a buck of gold out of it. I can see how you could be swept in the gold rush frenzy....it was a little addicting.

If you can believe it, we started a new tradition in Jackson Hole this year. I have been going to Jackson since I was 8 years old. Byron and I have been going every year since before we got married, 13 years now, and we yet again discovered something magical and fun to do there. We went out on a huckleberry hunt. This year, as opposed to last year when all we found were service berries.....this year, we got huckleberries. They were so delicious!!! We found a little patch just off the highway down through the pass and did pretty well. The locals all had their idea of where to hunt and we walked around in town asking a few shop workers where we could find some. We even had a grumpy old man tell us we couldn't pick huckleberries. We found a good spot though and have officially added it to our list of Jackson Hole activities. Did I mention how delicious they are.

So, Ali wins the cute cowgirl award. She loved horseback riding and can't wait for next year when she can drive her own horse. The past few years she has been walked around on a lead. She looks fairly comfortable on a horse now though and will be ready for the big ride next year. Our wild child Ali is just to much fun to have around. If you need a pick me up just call her and she will brighten any day. She thoroughly enjoyed herself on our vacation. Even when we were just driving around Yellowstone looking for animals she made the best of it by being a dog with it's head out the window panting in the wind. I think she actually enjoyed it as much as a dog would have too.