They say a picture is worth a thousand words...............

Some are worth........................................

a thousand and one.

Vintage

I ran across some "vintage" pictures on our video camera. The resolution is bad and the sharpness weak, here are a few pictures of Taylor looking rather dapper. (These are from my brother's wedding in '05?). Doesn't he clean up nice?

T and Carv. Best friends and Best Bros. (I have always loved this pic of Tay.)

Tomorrow is Taylor's Birrday, and I thought it fitting to post these.

Happy Birdday T-bugs......................................

Trail Running

I am always wary of running by myself. I don't love to run trails alone, I am afraid a moose, mountain lion or Bigfoot might jump out of the bushes and attack. I was running along the north arm trail last month. Just as I was about to round a blind corner the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I ignored the warning and proceeded ahead only to find two teenagers kissing each other and rolling around in the mud. I was so stunned, I didn't even know what to do. My plan for a moose was to climb a tree. My plan for a mountain lion was to turn around and act real big and scary. My plan for Bigfoot was to create a trail of bread for him to follow so I could lead him home to my dad. But, kissing teenagers??? No plan. They were completely oblivious to me and my plight of having to step over them to continue on the trail. The funniest part about the whole experience is that they didn't even notice me. Clearly the boy wasn't the brightest nail in the bucket, due to the fact that he picked a spot to "hide" about a quarter of a mile up on a public trail. I bet the girl dumps him before school gets out.

Do it yourself projects.

Below is a simple and easy project that takes little time, but really makes those everyday important and pressing phone calls sweeter and more enjoyable.
All you have to do is dump a bottle of pink sprinkles into your phone base. (For an even easier method, allow the two year old to do the heavy lifting and pouring as seen below).


We also have other "at home" projects like dumping a bottle of paprika in the cupboard, that adds a little spice to your kitchen. Or my all time favorite project is to dump a box of rice krispies down the heat register. This is an easy, out of the way, way to help feed those starving ants around the house all the while keeping them warm. These projects are fun, free and are a great way for you and your toddler to bond together.

05.16.09

I have been suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, due to an unusual case of bad judgement on my part, don't be so shocked, every once in a blue moon, I do something stupid (like the time I dyed my hair with red kool-aid). Friday I decided I would run in the Ogden Half Marathon, that was being held in 16 hours the following morning, because Daddy Chad got me a free pass to run. I have to admit I got caught up in the frenzy, of the frenzy, of the whole event!! I went down and picked up my registration packet and mingled with the best of them. We talked about running, blister remedies, goo, diarrhea, etc. I had the lingo down and the strut to convince everyone I was a REAL runner.

At the start of the race I had visions of how wonderful it was going to be! The crowd was going wild, my legs were as if I was running on wings of eagles and my heart was full of exhilaration. "Wow I rock!!" I thought. "I actually could win this thing!" Then I reached about a quarter of a mile, my legs got heavy and my heart started to beat in my head (never a good sign for me).

I kept running through the pain, thanks to a controlled substance administered to me by my couzie (I love you couzie!!) and some sweet tunes from Haun Home to drown out my horse breathing loud breaths. At about mile four I popped another round of herbal caffeine supplements. "Thank goodness I didn't have to pass a urine sample test at the finish line," I thought, "I was sure I was over the legal limit of caffeine at mile six (I guess that is one of the perks of being average, you escape the steroid patrol)." I ran into my Neighbor Skip around mile seven (was it mile seven Skip?) We had a fun chat and he was able to take my mind off the running by talking to me -You Rock Skip!! By mile nine, I began to search the surrounding environment for a pair of those paddles that re-start your heart. They were no where to be found, "what kind of a race is this?" I thought. By mile eleven I hit the wall, the only thing that kept my legs out in front of me were my delusional ideas that I was being chased by someone who wanted me to come listen to their time share presentation (it'll just be an hour, it will just be an hour). Jenny, my friend that talked me through the last two miles gave me some advice when we hit the long straight away to the finish line. "don't look up," she said, "if you do, you will stop running." I consider Jenny to be wise, thus I kept my head down watching my stubby little feet fall against the pavement. AND eventually those feet crossed under a yellow banner that had the words FINISH LINE printed in bold letters.

*** Saturday night the only part of my body that did not hurt was my left pinkie fingernail. Sunday morning it took me hours to move around and get my church clothes on (-staying awake in church was a whole other battle). Chad Took good care of me (he only ran the whole marathon). By Sunday night I had some pain free moments in my elbow and hair follicles on my head. By Monday my cognitive thinking skills returned. Thus I would like to offer this tidbit of wisdom for anyone attempting a marathon the night before; caffeine suppliments can only take you so far; stupidity can take you the rest of the way, but you must be willing to pay the price.

Two must do things before you die.

1. Attend a session of dog obedience school -preferably the puppy class.
2. Attend a six and under soccer game.

Both experiences parallel each other. The coach/trainer pretty much acts like they are in control of the situation, but in reality the puppies/players have total control. They also have no idea that concepts are trying to be taught. In fact the puppies/players usually have no idea that the coaches/trainers are present. All that really matters to them is the treat that comes at the end. Treats are the driving force that get the puppy and the child into the car to attend their school/game. The trainers/coaches of six year olds/puppies are as fun to watch as the kids/dogs themselves. They usually do imaginary kicks, jerks, funny voices etc. in an effort to help the doggie sit and stay/ or help ball into the goal. I don't know if puppy school offers pictures (it didn't when we attended) but, kiddie soccer loves them. Our team didn't want to stick around for them so.....................

This is how your team picture turns out when you are too cheap to buy them from Tot-Shots.


Thanks to the famous Tiffany from Haun Home I even got the idea to take action shots.

And no that is not a sail that Zach is wearing, we accidentally grabbed Carver's soccer shirt instead of his (as a result we had many, many flashdance moments off the shoulder during the game). Even though his jersey is big, he made up for it in his focus during the game.

Like I said puppy school and kiddie soccer...................parallel experiences.

Have you ever thought about what you used to dream you would become when you were little?

Taylor when he was three all he wanted to do was ride a bucking bull.

He loved to watch them on TV. A couple years passed and Then Taylor wanted to be a policeman because he liked the fact that they had computers in their cars. Carver was obsessed with Tractors. He could watch them for hours. Hunting TAC-TORs was a past time. I used to even get calls from grandparents and friends giving me info about where they had just spotted a tac-tor in action. Carver and I were regulars on 25th street watching tac-tors install the amphitheatre. It was our little outing just the two of us. We would pull into Great Harvest grab a cookie and then go and watch all the tractors in action. Zachary also loved tractors and anything else that made a loud noise (-he was definitely a motor head). But, Zachary had a true passion for coloring on walls with markers. He had the gift. In our old house he took a marker and drew across everything from one end to another. He even went right across a picture frame -the glass and all! To this day is the best artist in our family. I was watching Tanner talk to himself while he was playing with the hose and I thought of all the other boys and how they all had a dream when they were his age. I wondered what Tanno dreams of? I wonder if he has any Idea what he wants to become when he grows up? So I asked him. He said he wants to be a Lion.

Vent Session!

I have always wondered what geniuses named the below mentioned store?


It is such a classy name, don't you think? I am really trying to hold myself back from really venting (right now the word fiddlesticks is replaying over and over in my head). Do you think the names; Dress House, Dress place, Dress palace or Dress building were all taken?

True Stories:

My mother once let me steer.....(pay attention here).....STEER our little blue truck, from the passenger's side, while she sat in the driver's seat. We were on the freeway while she set the truck to cruise control and then took a little nap against the window. We were headed to West Yellowstone. I drove for about two-three hours only waking her up to slam on the brakes. I was ten. I still laugh at how funny that must have looked to anyone passing us, to see my mother conked out against the window and having a child steering.

My mother-in-law once let Carver play in the toilet with some toy boats. I walked in on the two of them sitting around the toilet with little plastic kayaks. She assured me the toilet was clean, but to this day I still get grossed out by it. When were replacing a toilet in a house we owned, I wanted to be fun like my mother-in-law. So I let Carver play with the cardboard box that the toilet came in.

My Grandma Hunter believes that doughnuts are really rolls, I have tested her philosophy and the dieter's guilt really is so minimal when you call it a roll and not a doughnut. She also taught me at the age of ten (at the California swap meet), that you don't need to wait in the long, women's restroom lines, you just enter through the exit and take the next available stall.

My Grandma Carver and I have an uncanny resemblance. Our faces came out of the same mold, just sixty years apart. They say that blood runs thicker than water and I have her large, protruding, blue veins on my hands and feet to prove it. And I love my hands, they remind me of looking at hers. She used to said that a lady always keeps her fingernails painted. I never paint my fingernails, but I did on my wedding day just for her, I didn't want to let her down. She took notice and beamed at the sight of them.

My sister Jamie once made me walk home from Wolf Creek barefoot in the blistering July heat. She lied and told me mom had called and that we needed to go home right now! She just really wanted to go and she didn't care that I was barefoot. She taught me at a young age that 100 degree weather, black asphalt and bare feet are never a good combination.

True stories. Fun women. I am blessed to have them in my life. Happy Mother's Day.

Fish came over to play the other day in his..................

life jacket?...............................


Or is it his travel pillow? Even more entertaining was when fish thought he could go under the fence instead of around it.