Monday, April 23, 2007

Here, kitty kitty kitty...

Dallin and Luke were thrilled with the chance to meet a very large kitty on Saturday. The kitty was less thrilled to meet Jason and his bow & arrow in Provo Canyon earlier that morning. Jason has been cougar hunting all winter and luck was finally on his side. The other day he was up Provo Canyon helping a friend hunt for turkeys (it's like a wildlife death camp up there) and they came across a cougar track in the mud. So he called another friend with cougar dogs and the next morning they went up the canyon near Vivian Park and found this little guy about 100 yards from the cabins and playground. Jason thinks the turkeys attracted the cougar because they go out on the playground and peck around in the grass and are easy prey for the cougar, much like small children playing on the playground would be. So, note to self, don't let kids play on playgrounds with turkeys. Very dangerous. Also, Jason's expert cougar friend misidentified this "tom" as a female, and the taxidermist had to set him straight. Jason had to endure a lot of flack from his family about not knowing the difference, yada yada. I guess with cats it's hard to tell? Or something? But, in Jason's defense, I would be a lot more worried about my husband if he actually were an expert on cat crotches. That's all I'm going to say about that. I'm just glad he finally got his cougar and lived to tell the story.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Um, don't burn the barn down...

We were eating dinner tonight and Dallin looked out the window and saw tons of black smoke coming over the rooftops behind our house. Being the ambulance-chaser that I am proud to be, I grabbed him and we ran out to do some investigatory reporting. It wasn't a house, thank heavens, but a barn (that was dangerously close to a house) and the flames were incredible. It was just south and west of us about two blocks away. The fire trucks weren't there yet, but we could hear the sirens coming. We ran back to our house and told Jason to grab Luke and get in the car for a closer view. We drove over as close as we dared while still maintaining our dignity (close enough to see, far enough to avoid the glares of the authorities). The flames were so close to the house that I can not believe it didn't catch fire. The house is in our ward, but I don't know who the people are. I bet they were having a few moments of fervent prayer, though.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

I love these boys...

So I was just sitting in the chair and both of my boys decided to climb up on me and cuddle. It was just what I needed. I was feeling kind of sad this weekend because I didn't get to go to Burley for Teresa's shower and it's been kind of dull as dishwater around here, or maybe I've just felt that way, but it was really nice of Dallin and Luke to go out of their way to make me feel loved. They are growing up so fast I hardly know what to do. Luke learned how to say his name today. "Luke," not just "Gook" (although it is so cute when he calls himself Gook, I am a little sad about it). Oh, and I know I look like a nerd in my glasses but my contacts were bothering me so bad I had to take them out. Sorry for living. Gosh.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Vote for Blake!

I've always thought it was kind of lame when people got all wrapped up in American Idol and were way obsessed with a certain contestant and acted like they were going to die if someone got voted off. I mean, who cares. Get a life. Well, that was before I got TiVo... Now, I'm like come on Blake Lewis, don't let me down!!!! You ARE the next American Idol, or I will DIE. I'm not even joking. I think I love him. Not really, Jason, if you are reading this, I just think he has a really good voice. And personality. But Jason is actually just as wrapped up in the show as I am. Last week I watched an episode live without waiting for him to come home and I thought we were going to get divorced (okay, he really wasn't that mad). Fortunately, we stuck it out through the weekend and this week I decided to wait and watch it with him after the kids are in bed. It's actually kind of fun to have something that we share and can talk about that isn't kids, work, house, cars, money, bills, taxes, blah, blah, and blah. It's like we're dating again and we have a common interest. And there are still 7 weeks left of marital bliss. I feel so blessed.

On a different note:
Confidential to Larry Birkhead - Congratulations, I knew it all along!!!!!!! If you need any help with Little D, you know where to find me.

Luke, come out of the closet!

I'm the first to admit that I have strange children. Lately, for some reason, Luke's favorite place to be is in the pantry. He just goes in and closes the door behind him and stands there in the dark. After a while, if he gets bored, he will start knocking, since he hasn't figured out yet how to get out (maybe it's too dark to see the handle). Dallin and I had quite the scare a few weeks ago when Luke disappeared for a good ten minutes and we couldn't find him anywhere. We searched the house over and over yelling his name, every once in a while hearing a little peep but we couldn't tell where it was coming from (did he get in the dryer, is he outside, where in the world could he be...), until finally, I opened the pantry and he was just standing there, as cool as a cucumber, with a huge smile on his face. Now at least we know where to look when he disappears.

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Fishing for Vufs

Vuf is Luke's word for fish. I don't really know how he got "vuf" out of "fish" but that's what he says, and he is obsessed. Today we went up American Fork Canyon. It was a beautiful day and we caught lots of (small) vufs. Luke even caught his very own. Jason had a pole set out on the shore and Luke went over and started to reel it in, and it actually had a fish on it! So it was the first time he caught a fish all by himself. Dallin had great luck, of course, and was the designated "worm-hander" to Dad and "fish-releaser" (both jobs I have respectfully declined - permanently).

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

This boy loves his daddy

I can't believe how attached Luke is to Jason lately. It is so cute. Every day while Jason is at work there is a constant chant of "Dadda dadda dadda" as Luke tries to go out to the garage to check for him. Last night Luke woke up crying around midnight and when I went in to get him he wouldn't go to me, he only wanted Jason!!! I had to go get Jason, who was still up (night owl) to pick Luke up and hold him. It was so funny. I'm actually really glad he loves his dad this much because it gives me a much-needed break a lot of the time! I feel very lucky to be married to someone who loves our kids this much and I know he would do anything for them or for me.

Monday, April 2, 2007

David and Goliath: The Success Story

What a good family I have. After my little health scare over the weekend, everyone was so kind as to bring me dinner (Alison, thank you, it was so good) and come over to hang out tonight. Our FHE went well, too. Dallin was David and had to petition King Saul (Luke) to fight Goliath (Jason). First David had to explain that he had already killed a lion (Halli) and a bear (also Halli) with his slingshot. Then he met Goliath and it only took him 6 or 7 shots to actually hit him, after which Goliath toppled over with a mighty roar and David ran up and cut off his head with the sword (toy golf club) on Goliath's belt. Then we took the moral of the story (everyone should know how to use a slingshot) and took turns shooting pom poms at the Goliath box. The winner (and all the losers) got Best Brown Brownies and ice cream. I for one had a great time and I am so thankful for my wonderful family. Lup lup to you all!!!

Deer Horn Slingshots/My Husband is a Little Too Creative/My Kids Will Probably Lose an Eye by Tonight

Let's just say we are taking Family Home Evening to a new level tonight (or "Family Ho Nee Nee" as Dallin calls it). Somehow Jason got the idea to fashion slingshots out of deerhorns and rubber tubing to teach the kids about David and Goliath. FYI - the smell of chiseling down deer horns with a hot grinder is disturbingly similar to the smell of getting a tooth fixed at the dentist's office. Ew. Anyway, Jason is now in the process of building a life-size target out of a giant box (in case he gets tired of being Goliath, I guess). The ammunition is going to be little pom-pom-like balls of fuzz. I asked Jason if he had tried them out yet and he said, "Duh, I just hit you with them like 5 times, where were you?" and Dallin said, "Mom, I think you are losing your head-bum." Does that give you an idea of the kind of respect I get around here? Sigh. Well, I will keep you posted on the results of our little mock-battle tonight. What's next week, you ask? Probably Ammon chopping off everybody's arms. I think I really am losing my head-bum.

Blogging Trial Run

Well, I guess we will give this blogging thing a try. I love to read other people's blogs (Jason thinks I'm just a nosey person) so I thought it might be fun to start my own blog and let other people read about all the small details of my life that I think are interesting but actually really aren't. Then hopefully my readers/family members who feel sorry for me will comment and create their own blogs and we can all keep in touch and feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves.