Thursday, October 16, 2008
Poor Fish
I went into Ethan's room this morning to get his laundry to wash and decided to check on his fish. This has been a great fish, basically because it's still alive. We don't give it a lot of attention. Well, the poor little thing was jumping by the side of the tank when I checked on it. And it got STUCK on th eside of the tank, just above the water line. I watched it for a little bit to see if it would wiggle itself down, but it didn't even try. Was our fish trying to commit suicide? I didn't think we were that negligent when it came to feeding it or cleaning out its tank. So I pulled off the top of the tank, grabbed the net and tried to get it off the side back into the water. It worked and then it sat on the bottom of the tank for a few minutes, probably recovering. I think I'll clean out its tank today and make sure it feels at home.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Crazy Weekend
We had a crazy weekend! David, Bryan's younger brother, returned from his mission in Mexico on Monday. We planned to drive to Denver for his welcome home. Ethan and Courtney asked everyday if it was time to go to Denver. Each Friday is a minimal day at Ethan's school, so I took him out at lunch time, picked up Bryan and we were off.
This is the best way for Courtney to travel:
We drove to Grand Junction, Colorado, and stayed the night in a KOA cabin. The kids LOVED it because there were bunk beds. We had pizza and then turned in for the night. It was really windy, but we all slept well.
The next morning we drove to Denver and got there just in time to his the last 5 minutes of Lisa's baby shower. Courtney had picked out some toys for the baby and I got him some clothes.
After we said hello and hung around for a little while, it was time to go to Andrew's Eagle Court of Honor. Ethan and Courtney loved helping Grandma set up the Primary room. I had never been to a Court of Honor so it was a neat experience. Ethan is old hat at them, so he told me to just sit there and watch. It was really neat to see how excited Ethan is to follow in his uncle's foot steps.
Want to motivate men to help clean up? Schedule a Court of Honor to end only a few minutes before a BYU game begins and then tell them that they can't watch the game until they have helped clean up. We had the Church cleaned and were back to the house in time to watch the game. Lisa and Andrew watched upstairs, while Julie, David, Bryan, Mike and I watched it downstairs. It was a good game.
Sunday morning over breakfast, David answered questions about his mission and we all just sat around talking. Sacrament Meeting began at 1:00 p.m. so we had decided to leave right after the meeting. Well, it went a bit long and wasn't over until 2:30. We said goodbye and took off.
We drove to Richfield, Utah, and spent the night in a hotel. Monday morning, Bryan claims that he woke up early and asked me if we should wake the kids up and go or if we should let them sleep in. I don't remember the conversation AT ALL but he claims that I said we should let them sleep. We finally woke up at 7:15 and I panicked. Ethan had school at 9 a.m. and we were still 2 hours from home. So we got ready and took off for home.
We arrived in St. George around 10 a.m. We dropped Bryan off at work and then Ethan off at school. He was a bit nervous to be 1 1/2 hours late to school, but we got him there just in time for his morning recess, so everything was fine. Then Courtney and I went home to unpack the van and clean up.
What a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see everyone. Julie flew down from Seattle, Washington, and Lisa, Mike and Andrew were there from Provo. We missed Jeff and Andrea, but we'll see them at Christmas.
This is the best way for Courtney to travel:
We drove to Grand Junction, Colorado, and stayed the night in a KOA cabin. The kids LOVED it because there were bunk beds. We had pizza and then turned in for the night. It was really windy, but we all slept well.
The next morning we drove to Denver and got there just in time to his the last 5 minutes of Lisa's baby shower. Courtney had picked out some toys for the baby and I got him some clothes.
After we said hello and hung around for a little while, it was time to go to Andrew's Eagle Court of Honor. Ethan and Courtney loved helping Grandma set up the Primary room. I had never been to a Court of Honor so it was a neat experience. Ethan is old hat at them, so he told me to just sit there and watch. It was really neat to see how excited Ethan is to follow in his uncle's foot steps.
Want to motivate men to help clean up? Schedule a Court of Honor to end only a few minutes before a BYU game begins and then tell them that they can't watch the game until they have helped clean up. We had the Church cleaned and were back to the house in time to watch the game. Lisa and Andrew watched upstairs, while Julie, David, Bryan, Mike and I watched it downstairs. It was a good game.
Sunday morning over breakfast, David answered questions about his mission and we all just sat around talking. Sacrament Meeting began at 1:00 p.m. so we had decided to leave right after the meeting. Well, it went a bit long and wasn't over until 2:30. We said goodbye and took off.
We drove to Richfield, Utah, and spent the night in a hotel. Monday morning, Bryan claims that he woke up early and asked me if we should wake the kids up and go or if we should let them sleep in. I don't remember the conversation AT ALL but he claims that I said we should let them sleep. We finally woke up at 7:15 and I panicked. Ethan had school at 9 a.m. and we were still 2 hours from home. So we got ready and took off for home.
We arrived in St. George around 10 a.m. We dropped Bryan off at work and then Ethan off at school. He was a bit nervous to be 1 1/2 hours late to school, but we got him there just in time for his morning recess, so everything was fine. Then Courtney and I went home to unpack the van and clean up.
What a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see everyone. Julie flew down from Seattle, Washington, and Lisa, Mike and Andrew were there from Provo. We missed Jeff and Andrea, but we'll see them at Christmas.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Football Heaven
Ethan has always told us that he doesn't want to play football. He didn't even want to go to a BYU football game, much to Bryan's dismay. The tackling just seemed to mean to him and he didn't want to get hurt. He wanted to stick with basketball and soccer. But the other day in PE they played flag tag. They put on flag belts and then ran around trying to take flags off each others belts. He loved it.
Later in the day we were driving past a park in St. George where the flag football teams play. Ethan was fascinated by what they were doing and asked what was going on. I told him it was flag football, kind of like the tag game they played, but it was football. The minute he realized that there wasn't any tackling involved, he wanted me to sign him up. I told him that he would have to wait because the season already started and he was doing soccer. But that he could watch football with Dad any time he wanted and that Dad would be happy to explain the game to him.
Friday night was the BYU football game. We normally going swimming Friday night and the kids really wanted to, so Bryan came home early from work and we went swimming early so we would have plenty of time to get home to watch the game. Bryan was in heaven. Ethan couldn't wait to have everything explained to him and he even kept a tally score on a notepad. Bryan sat with Ethan and Courtney explaining what was going on and even let Ethan stay up late to watch the game into the third quarter. It was a good turning point for the two of them. ;) Now Ethan can't wait for the next BYU game.
Later in the day we were driving past a park in St. George where the flag football teams play. Ethan was fascinated by what they were doing and asked what was going on. I told him it was flag football, kind of like the tag game they played, but it was football. The minute he realized that there wasn't any tackling involved, he wanted me to sign him up. I told him that he would have to wait because the season already started and he was doing soccer. But that he could watch football with Dad any time he wanted and that Dad would be happy to explain the game to him.
Friday night was the BYU football game. We normally going swimming Friday night and the kids really wanted to, so Bryan came home early from work and we went swimming early so we would have plenty of time to get home to watch the game. Bryan was in heaven. Ethan couldn't wait to have everything explained to him and he even kept a tally score on a notepad. Bryan sat with Ethan and Courtney explaining what was going on and even let Ethan stay up late to watch the game into the third quarter. It was a good turning point for the two of them. ;) Now Ethan can't wait for the next BYU game.
Friday, October 3, 2008
I got it!!
After months and months of working my way through red tape, I finally got a business license to make cakes in my house. The process started last March when we filed my Articles of Organization with the State of Utah. I then sent a copy of all of my recipes (12 in all) to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to be tested to make sure they were not "toxic." That was supposed to take 2 to 3 weeks, but took 4 months. When that was finished, I had to get my food handler's permit and some other supplies I was required to have in my home. I then had to have an inspection by the Health Inspector for the Southern Utah area and the woman over the Cottage Food Industry from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Once that was finished, I had my license from the Department of Agriculture to be a "Cottage Food" producer. Then the City of Ivins came into play. I took my paperwork to them, paid my money for a license and waited. They had a committee meeting, which was attended by the City Attorney who is our neighbor and the Head of Zoning who is in our ward, and decided that I could proceed. I then had to get my fire extinguisher "tagged," i.e. pay more moey to have a buy put a tag on it saying it was tested and pay more money to schedule a fire inspection. The fire inspector showed up in an ambulance which greatly worried Courtney. After I passed the fire inspection, letters were sent out to all my neighbors within 400 feet telling them that I was starting a business so they could publicly object if they wanted to. I (Or, rather Bryan, because it was during Ethan's piano lessons) then had to attend another committee meeting where public objections are heard, if any (there weren't any!). They decided that I would be granted a license. I got it in the mail a few days ago and was so excited that it's all finally finished...until I have to pay my renewal fees and have another health inspection.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Stahli Family Farm
For a little girl who screams when a dog gets near her and freaks out when a bug is within 100 feet, it was a bit traumatic to take a field trip to a farm. But Courtney did okay.
Ethan has been to the Stahli Family Farm in Washington City before, so he gave Courtney a run down of what would happen when she went. She was actually pretty excited to go when she woke up this morning. We carpooled out to Washington with the other neighborhood moms. The minute I stopped the car in the "parking field" Courtney knew she was in trouble. Chickens were running around, cows were mooing in the next field over and there were flies all over. Needless to say, Courtney had to be carried. (Now, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of chickens either, it's a long story, but I did really well at hiding my intense dislike of the things so Courtney wouldn't freak out even worse.)
The first thing we did was sit on some hay bails while the nice lady told us the rules. Then we went to a row of pens where the woman told us all about the various animals. You will see in the slide show that Courtney is huge and the animals are small behind her. It's because I was holding her the entire time and had to put her at arms length to try and get a photo. Except the sheep picture where my arm was just too tired to carry her any longer so I put her down, took a photo and then switched arms. They had a huge pig, a cow that pooped while the kids were petting it (this freaked Courtney out pretty badly), some llamas, a dog, ducks, goats and a bunch of horses and cows. There were flies everywhere which made Courtney scream every few seconds. Courtney wouldn't pet anything but she looked at them, so that's progress.
When we were finished looking at the animals, we washed our hands and lined up to take a wagon ride behind a tractor. This was great fun. Courtney was one of the first in line to climb on and couldn't wait for us to start moving. We went by a bunch of cows on our way to a pumpkin patch. Courtney loved looking at the pumpkins and the woman who was showing us around really knew a lot about the farm so she was able to tell the kids all kinds of fun facts.
Then we went back to where we began and they loaded the kids into barrels with wheels and took them on a ride. At first, Courtney got in a barrel with her friend, Hayley. But then she decided that she didn't want to take the ride and got out before they started moving. She waited and watched all the kids have a lot of fun and decided she would try it. When it was time for another round of kids to go, she hopped in and got ready. She was still pretty nervous but you could tell that she wanted to try it. I was nervous for her because I was sure she would freak out because the dog seemed to really like running beside the barrel she happened to be in. But she did great. They did donuts and went all over the farm and by the cows. The lady driving the tractor kept a close eye on Courtney and said that she did wonderful!
Then it was time to play for a bit. They had a slide that ended in a vat of corn. Ethan had told me about this but I really didn't understand what it was until I saw it. Courtney loved going down the slide but hated having corn in her shoes!!
The kids then washed up and had donuts and juice for a snack before playing on the swings. Courtney then didn't want to leave, but we had some errands to run so we had to go. She asked if we could go back again tomorrow and play. I asked if she wanted to see the animals again and she said, "That's okay. I saw them already." I think it was a successful field trip once we got past the animals!
Ethan has been to the Stahli Family Farm in Washington City before, so he gave Courtney a run down of what would happen when she went. She was actually pretty excited to go when she woke up this morning. We carpooled out to Washington with the other neighborhood moms. The minute I stopped the car in the "parking field" Courtney knew she was in trouble. Chickens were running around, cows were mooing in the next field over and there were flies all over. Needless to say, Courtney had to be carried. (Now, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of chickens either, it's a long story, but I did really well at hiding my intense dislike of the things so Courtney wouldn't freak out even worse.)
The first thing we did was sit on some hay bails while the nice lady told us the rules. Then we went to a row of pens where the woman told us all about the various animals. You will see in the slide show that Courtney is huge and the animals are small behind her. It's because I was holding her the entire time and had to put her at arms length to try and get a photo. Except the sheep picture where my arm was just too tired to carry her any longer so I put her down, took a photo and then switched arms. They had a huge pig, a cow that pooped while the kids were petting it (this freaked Courtney out pretty badly), some llamas, a dog, ducks, goats and a bunch of horses and cows. There were flies everywhere which made Courtney scream every few seconds. Courtney wouldn't pet anything but she looked at them, so that's progress.
When we were finished looking at the animals, we washed our hands and lined up to take a wagon ride behind a tractor. This was great fun. Courtney was one of the first in line to climb on and couldn't wait for us to start moving. We went by a bunch of cows on our way to a pumpkin patch. Courtney loved looking at the pumpkins and the woman who was showing us around really knew a lot about the farm so she was able to tell the kids all kinds of fun facts.
Then we went back to where we began and they loaded the kids into barrels with wheels and took them on a ride. At first, Courtney got in a barrel with her friend, Hayley. But then she decided that she didn't want to take the ride and got out before they started moving. She waited and watched all the kids have a lot of fun and decided she would try it. When it was time for another round of kids to go, she hopped in and got ready. She was still pretty nervous but you could tell that she wanted to try it. I was nervous for her because I was sure she would freak out because the dog seemed to really like running beside the barrel she happened to be in. But she did great. They did donuts and went all over the farm and by the cows. The lady driving the tractor kept a close eye on Courtney and said that she did wonderful!
Then it was time to play for a bit. They had a slide that ended in a vat of corn. Ethan had told me about this but I really didn't understand what it was until I saw it. Courtney loved going down the slide but hated having corn in her shoes!!
The kids then washed up and had donuts and juice for a snack before playing on the swings. Courtney then didn't want to leave, but we had some errands to run so we had to go. She asked if we could go back again tomorrow and play. I asked if she wanted to see the animals again and she said, "That's okay. I saw them already." I think it was a successful field trip once we got past the animals!
Bedtime Routine
The kids have a tradition each night of jumping on Bryan. The second "Amen" is said for family prayer, Ethan will jump up and tackle Bryan. Bryan is to the point now that he just sits there and lets him. But now Courtney is getting into the action. She will climb up on top of Ethan who is on top of Bryan and then hang on while Bryan gives them a double piggy back ride to the bathroom to brush their teeth. Usually I will hold on to Courtney to make sure she doesn't fall, but it's hilarious. Last night Ethan didn't want to be a "sandwich" so he let Courtney have the piggy back ride all to herself.
My Great Husband
Last Friday while the kids and I were at Jumpin' Jacks, Bryan snuck home early from work and cleaned the house and bought me a dozen red roses. It was so nice!! Last week was kind of crazy so it was nice to have him think of me. I'm so lucky!
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