Someone is making up for lost time... He isn't walking quite yet... but apparently he's climbing!
And proud of it!
Trouble with a Capital T!
Someone is making up for lost time... He isn't walking quite yet... but apparently he's climbing!
And proud of it!
Hallow... Rain??
The weather gave a trick instead of a treat...
Thankfully it let up after a bit so that it was only freezing cold instead of cold, windy and raining! The trick of treaters began giving up a lot sooner than in past years.
There was enough candy to cause much discussion and sorting fiasco after returning home still.
At this time it is still undecided, how much candy is too much candy to give up (in trade) to the candy witch!
I can't keep up!
In the last three days, we've been go, go, go, so much. I've taken over 400 photographs and missed out on what seems like as many hours of sleep!
How will I ever get it all documented!! Maybe less sleep???
This was the blog I intended to write and include a quick tidbit teaser and some tantalizing photos... but... blah blah blah... I've decided to just keep on keeping on and eventually by the time I'm 110 I should be finished with the backlog!.... maybe....
,
How will I ever get it all documented!! Maybe less sleep???
This was the blog I intended to write and include a quick tidbit teaser and some tantalizing photos... but... blah blah blah... I've decided to just keep on keeping on and eventually by the time I'm 110 I should be finished with the backlog!.... maybe....
,
Witchy Women
Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her finger tips
Echoed voices in the night
She’s a restless spirit on an endless flight
Wooo hooo witchy woman, see how
High she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman she got
The moon in her eye
She held me spellbound in the night
Dancing shadows and firelight
Sparks fly from her finger tips
Echoed voices in the night
She’s a restless spirit on an endless flight
Wooo hooo witchy woman, see how
High she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman she got
The moon in her eye
She held me spellbound in the night
Dancing shadows and firelight
The Halloween spirit is in the air. We've been working on Halloween costumes for the four costume parties we're attending this year. It's almost more exciting to know that we have multiple parties to attend to make the costume making even more worthwhile. EXCEPT, there are those who feel the need to have a different costume for each event... Oh well... even more fun. After a busy week and a lot to do on Friday especially, I heard about an event that might be fun for the witches among us. I didn't tell them until the very last minute since I didn't want to dash their hopes if they didn't get home in time. Home in time they were though so I told them to dress in warm black attire and to don a witches hat. We were going to the 'witches night out'!
It was a well attended event. The witches were certainly out in all their splendor. The two witches with me were definitely playing the part of the witch... They had witch envy... bad!
"Oh, I could have really put together a great witches costume if you'd given me more notice."
"Look at that costume."
"Look at her hat."
"I love that outfit."
And then.... to top it off... the tutu witches. Oh I'll never live it down. Bailey has been making tutu's for another costume and having such fun prancing about in her tutu. When she saw the tutu witches I was done for.
I've given as much notice as I can for all future events and have learned NOT to spring a costume party on these witches in the future! Fortunately, they are forgiving witches and once the costume angst and envy was out of their system we had a delightful witches night out.
Branded
We returned recently from a quick trip to the ranch. We had a conversation over dinner with Daddy about all the things we had 'helped' do on the ranch. We fixed corral fences and herded cattle and watched as Tina sorted cattle.
Daddy completely understood since he had of course done all those things when he was growing up on the ranch. We began to talk about chores and his life on the ranch when one of the kids asked if he had ever had his own cows?
He had.
Did he have a brand?
Yup! HB.
What did that stand for?
In a giddy mood, all I could think of was a big black cow and I replied, 'it probably stands for hairy butt'.
Shocked that I would say such a thing they couldn't understand why I was giggling. They told me that I had just insulted Daddy. They all assumed I was referring to Patrick's backside and not the cows...
The laughter increased around the table then!
It continues around here too. A reference to HB is brought up at least once or twice a day while working on halloween costumes or styling ones hair.
Daddy completely understood since he had of course done all those things when he was growing up on the ranch. We began to talk about chores and his life on the ranch when one of the kids asked if he had ever had his own cows?
He had.
Did he have a brand?
Yup! HB.
What did that stand for?
In a giddy mood, all I could think of was a big black cow and I replied, 'it probably stands for hairy butt'.
Shocked that I would say such a thing they couldn't understand why I was giggling. They told me that I had just insulted Daddy. They all assumed I was referring to Patrick's backside and not the cows...
The laughter increased around the table then!
It continues around here too. A reference to HB is brought up at least once or twice a day while working on halloween costumes or styling ones hair.
Barber Shop
What could entice little boys to beg for a haircut?
The permission to cut someone elses hair.
I may have found the perfect Christmas present that will make my life as 'barber' to 5 boys heads a lot easier.
Bailey Crocker
Isn't she having entirely too much fun?!!
mmmmm
Warm rolls, a dab of butter or some homemade jam.... are you salivating yet?
I ate one on behalf of everyone who would have to gaze on this photo!
And they were better than they look.
Midnight thoughts...
Too much to do,
So much to say,
Never enough time,
Always a lot of fun!
Keeping up with a daily blog
Fits in only after midnight.
I haven't learned how to type in my sleep.
Yet!
Morning Show Banter
This morning... and by morning I mean before 6 am!!... I was driving Caleb to the temple since he missed his ride that usually takes him before 5am! Anyway.. my point is in order to keep my self awake on the way home I turned on the radio. It was morning show chatter and they were discussing trailer hitch errors. They wanted people to call in with their stories of trailer pulling oops moments.
This bothered me a bit because of the humorous way that they were approaching the subject. I considered calling in, but of course I was driving and I wouldn't have added to the humorous light they were taking on the subject.
I personally have not ever pulled anything on a trailer hitch but I have two experiences of being behind a trailer when things went awry! The first was during Christmas break of my first year at college. I was getting a ride from Idaho to Provo UT. I had been dozing off and on and was only barely awake when all the passengers in the vehicle I was in were suddenly all WIDE AWAKE! The truck in front of us was pulling one of those small pop up trailers. Suddenly it wasn't traveling as fast as the truck that had been pulling it. It was a rather blustery day and at the moment that we noticed that it was traveling slow and we in the split second realized it was no longer attached, it was lifted up by the wind, flew up over the car we were in and landed upside down directly behind us!
My views of this event were split! Trailer hitches are evil and when driving down the road avoid being behind trucks pulling things at all cost. Second view, I'm a very fortunate person who was not meant to die at that moment and miraculously was spared as was anyone else. Other than some screeching tires, the flying trailer did not cause any accidents to any other vehicles!
The second incident involving a trailer pulling behicle that is etched in my mind was a few years later. I was driving from Salt Lake to Wyoming. I was ascending to the summit of Parley's when the truck pulling a large fifth wheel trailer in front of me also pulled away from it's trailer. This camper wasn't about to be airborne and fly over me. I dodged it as it came careening back down the hill into my lane and then plummeted over the side of the mountain into a shattered pile of trailer debris. I pulled to the side of the road to gather my wits and nerves.
My resolve against pulling or following vehicles that pull has been strong ever since.
So this morning as they radio announcers and each caller that called in laughed at their 'humorous' stories about how they lost something off the back of their trailer, or how it came loose somehow, or how the tires weren't completely attached and they started rolling down the road into traffic, didn't strike a humorous chord with me. I would have preferred it to have been a public service announcement into the importance of double checking the security of the trailer hitch!
Instead of calling in to the show and telling them they were nuts for thinking that any of it was humorous, I came home and blogged about it. I feel better now.
This bothered me a bit because of the humorous way that they were approaching the subject. I considered calling in, but of course I was driving and I wouldn't have added to the humorous light they were taking on the subject.
I personally have not ever pulled anything on a trailer hitch but I have two experiences of being behind a trailer when things went awry! The first was during Christmas break of my first year at college. I was getting a ride from Idaho to Provo UT. I had been dozing off and on and was only barely awake when all the passengers in the vehicle I was in were suddenly all WIDE AWAKE! The truck in front of us was pulling one of those small pop up trailers. Suddenly it wasn't traveling as fast as the truck that had been pulling it. It was a rather blustery day and at the moment that we noticed that it was traveling slow and we in the split second realized it was no longer attached, it was lifted up by the wind, flew up over the car we were in and landed upside down directly behind us!
My views of this event were split! Trailer hitches are evil and when driving down the road avoid being behind trucks pulling things at all cost. Second view, I'm a very fortunate person who was not meant to die at that moment and miraculously was spared as was anyone else. Other than some screeching tires, the flying trailer did not cause any accidents to any other vehicles!
The second incident involving a trailer pulling behicle that is etched in my mind was a few years later. I was driving from Salt Lake to Wyoming. I was ascending to the summit of Parley's when the truck pulling a large fifth wheel trailer in front of me also pulled away from it's trailer. This camper wasn't about to be airborne and fly over me. I dodged it as it came careening back down the hill into my lane and then plummeted over the side of the mountain into a shattered pile of trailer debris. I pulled to the side of the road to gather my wits and nerves.
My resolve against pulling or following vehicles that pull has been strong ever since.
So this morning as they radio announcers and each caller that called in laughed at their 'humorous' stories about how they lost something off the back of their trailer, or how it came loose somehow, or how the tires weren't completely attached and they started rolling down the road into traffic, didn't strike a humorous chord with me. I would have preferred it to have been a public service announcement into the importance of double checking the security of the trailer hitch!
Instead of calling in to the show and telling them they were nuts for thinking that any of it was humorous, I came home and blogged about it. I feel better now.
What to wear?
... for Halloween that is. My mother set the example and set the bar high when it came to Halloween costumes.
With only 23 days left before Halloween, I better get crackin!
With only 23 days left before Halloween, I better get crackin!
Happy Soul
I've had a blog post sitting in my draft bin for a while amongst many others. This particular one, I wasn't sure what angle to take. I simply wanted to post something about a person I know that I didn't want to forget. How though? What angle would be best to say what I wanted to say? What's my point? In all my thinking, I let it sit in the draft bin, unblogged. Today I needed to blog it.
I met a man when we moved into this neighbourhood. A man that I thought was awesome. It's o.k. Patrick thinks so also. Although, I think Patrick is a little unaware of why I think he's as awesome as I do. This guy has what my mum refers to as a happy neutral position. We've watched different people and we've noticed this trend, some people in their neutral position, when they're sitting doing nothing in particular, have a contented look, a far off look, a grumpy look and some have a happy neutral position. We determined that not only did we like the looks of these happy neutral position people, we needed to strive to be one.
Well, this man I met, with the happy neutral postion, was the epitome of a happy neutral person. Since noticing the happy neutral position, we discovered these people are generally speaking also happy individuals and are pleasant to get to know. The more I knew of this man the more I liked him. I got to know him fairly well; we joined a dinner group together, discussed gardening and would shoot the breeze sometimes when we saw each other. Recently we served as scout leaders together also. He made what would have otherwise been long drawn out scout leader training meetings, bearable.
This morning, I learned that my awesome, happy neutral position, charming friend, passed away. He was 71, and the news was quite a shock for all of us. He has lived in this neighbourhood forever and everyone who knew him... and everyone did... loved him. He will be missed by adults and children alike. I've thought of him as I've gone about the day today. The memories of him are all pleasant, happy ones. That's the way he would have wanted it.
So glad I knew you Harley! Keep smiling...
I met a man when we moved into this neighbourhood. A man that I thought was awesome. It's o.k. Patrick thinks so also. Although, I think Patrick is a little unaware of why I think he's as awesome as I do. This guy has what my mum refers to as a happy neutral position. We've watched different people and we've noticed this trend, some people in their neutral position, when they're sitting doing nothing in particular, have a contented look, a far off look, a grumpy look and some have a happy neutral position. We determined that not only did we like the looks of these happy neutral position people, we needed to strive to be one.
Well, this man I met, with the happy neutral postion, was the epitome of a happy neutral person. Since noticing the happy neutral position, we discovered these people are generally speaking also happy individuals and are pleasant to get to know. The more I knew of this man the more I liked him. I got to know him fairly well; we joined a dinner group together, discussed gardening and would shoot the breeze sometimes when we saw each other. Recently we served as scout leaders together also. He made what would have otherwise been long drawn out scout leader training meetings, bearable.
This morning, I learned that my awesome, happy neutral position, charming friend, passed away. He was 71, and the news was quite a shock for all of us. He has lived in this neighbourhood forever and everyone who knew him... and everyone did... loved him. He will be missed by adults and children alike. I've thought of him as I've gone about the day today. The memories of him are all pleasant, happy ones. That's the way he would have wanted it.
So glad I knew you Harley! Keep smiling...
All packed up, no place to go!
Vacation time means suitcases and packing. For Whittaker, the fact that Mummy always begins the process a week or more in advance simply meant that there was lots of time to play in the suitcases. The older kids thought it was hysterical that he could fit perfectly inside. He tolerated being zipped in and played peek-a-boo for a long time.
Here comes the sun
Science project time came and Caleb started to talk about doing a volcano or a rocket launch. I put the kibosh to that line of thinking right away. It was to be something useful, practical and helpful. Oh, and something I could benefit from! So he designed 4 homemade solar ovens and tested their efficiencies. That's my boy!
Living in Utah, there were plenty of great sunny, clear sky days to test the experiment. In fact we ran the experiment multiple days to verify our data!
 |
| The professional solar oven. Caution: this puppy gets HOT! |
 |
| The box oven. This one took the most effort and time to build and required the most supplies. It was effective and would certainly warm some food but requires constant supervision to correct the angle of the reflector as the sun moves across the sky. |
 |
| The premise behind the umbrella solar oven is how portable it would be. This was definitely the dud of the experiment. |
 |
| This one was the one I was rooting for. It was lightweight, required very little for creating it or building it. It's extremely portable and if it was successful could easily be popped into our 72 hour kits. The success rate on this oven was less than perfect.... However we came up with some tweaking ideas as we ran the experiment so I still think it's in the running! |
Now that the experiment is over, I'm for testing out our tweaking theories and baking a cake!! Solar ovens really work! It's really quite exciting but require you to be on top of checking the angle periodically so that the food continues to bake consistently. Obviously best used during the daylight hours!
May I take your order? -- Forties File Friday!!!
How do you like your eggs?
poached, fried, scrambled, over easy, hard boiled...
When we returned from our travels this summer we discovered that the ladies had continued to lay eggs each day, go figure, and we had a fridge full of eggs. Patrick said that he had even given a few dozen eggs away already. So.... we decided to learn which were our favourite ways to eat eggs!
Before I share how that went, tell what your favourite way to eat eggs are! (I know I lumped this question in with others once before, but I'd like to focus on just this for a minute)
I'll leave you to your ponderings with some wise words from Duncan, "Cookie dough with raw eggs in it is no fun. I have an idea... let's fry the eggs before we put them in the dough.. then we can eat the dough all we want!"
poached, fried, scrambled, over easy, hard boiled...
When we returned from our travels this summer we discovered that the ladies had continued to lay eggs each day, go figure, and we had a fridge full of eggs. Patrick said that he had even given a few dozen eggs away already. So.... we decided to learn which were our favourite ways to eat eggs!
Before I share how that went, tell what your favourite way to eat eggs are! (I know I lumped this question in with others once before, but I'd like to focus on just this for a minute)
I'll leave you to your ponderings with some wise words from Duncan, "Cookie dough with raw eggs in it is no fun. I have an idea... let's fry the eggs before we put them in the dough.. then we can eat the dough all we want!"
They could pass for sisters..
Happy Birthday!
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