Go Cougars!

Yesterday we went and saw BYU vs. San Diego State; naturally, BYU won, and we had a great time together. Marshall won tickets to the game because they used his question on The Bronco Mendenhall Show. I thought it was so sweet that I was the first person he wanted to invite to the game (because #1 I don't know diddly squat about football, not that I don't appreciate football, but let's just say that every fall I have had to compete with football for the attention of my husband, not to mention the tv channel wars that frequently ensue around here. So I guess you could say I might hold a little bit of a grudge against football. It's nothing personal though.) Another reason I was surprised he asked me is because I was scheduled to work Friday night, and the game started at noon, which would leave me with about 3.5 hours of sleep- if I was lucky. I was surprised myself when I said "yes" to his invitation. I teased him later that he only asked me to be nice, knowing that I would surely say "no thanks," and when I actually said yes, he was probably bummed, knowing he could have taken his brother who is also way into BYU football instead of me. But, of course, I know my husband a lot better than that. Although sometimes I'm not sure why, he insists there is no one he would rather go with than me, even when I complain. My husband is so sweet and patient with me. I don't deserve him sometimes. It was even better because I was put on-call Friday night and didn't end up having to go to work, so I didn't have to be tired all day. It was fun to laugh and talk sans kids. We love our little ones so much, but it's fun to break away from them now and then. (We don't do that nearly enough!) Neither of us had eaten lunch before the game in our haste to get there, and we were both starving. Football, particularly the BYU sort, is about the only thing that takes priority over my husbands' stomach. Too bad for me that I don't share the same sentiment. We had plans to go to Cafe Rio after the game, and he kept telling me to hold out. So of course every single person around us at this (sold out) game was eating something or other. I kept begging to get some popcorn or something, but M knows me, and know that I would eat the whole thing and get a stomachache, and not want any real food. So, to punish him for withholding the popcorn from me, I proceeded to interrupt his concentration on the game to point out every morsel of food that came our way. (And that was a LOT.) We drooled over churros, nachos, popcorn, licorice, hot dogs, Teriyaki Stix, pizza, brownies, cotton candy, etc etc. He was, as always, a good sport and we had fun laughing about it. I asked him if he dared me to ask the kid below me for a bite of his humongous cougar tail donut maple bar thing. lol- I didn't. When the blessed time came for the Cafe Rio, I got a burrito for the first time in my life (I'm usually a salad girl) and I wolfed it down in like, three bites. Nothing ever tasted so good- SO worth the wait! Thanks for the fun date, babe! (And was I well behaved enough to get a second date for the next game?)

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween. Even though we didn't make it to Cedar City this year (as per our annual tradition) it was still fun to actually be home and take our kids trick-or-treating to houses they actually know, and to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids (there were a ton!) Good thing I bought extra candy- we even had to dig into a two year old bag of Dum-dums. Dum-dums suck. I felt bad for the kids that got those. We took the kids out (even though it rained on and off the entire time- what's up with that?) trick-or-treating and they had a good time. Interestingly enough- they seemed more interested in the spooky decor than the candy. That was refreshing. It was also funny to note how the size of the candy bags seemed to exponentiate with the children's age. I was reminiscing about my own pillowcase days. Halloween is fun with the excited little ones who don't know how to be greedy yet.

The Black Widow spider and Thomas. Quite the pair!

Her costume was SO ghetto! I made it, so of course it was- I don't sew. At all. What you see is the result of stuffing black panty hose and sewing them onto a black turtleneck. Oh, and dont forget the felt "hourglass" on the front. Like I said, ghetto. But homemade costumes rule! (Besides- where the heck was I going to find a black widow costume? For some reason it is just what she just had to be this year.)

Drew and his buddy Ethan (I mean, the Sheriff) on the prowl for some candy.

Funny- in this light you can totally see the blue socks I stuffed the spider legs with. I am glad it got dark early.

The girls that work at at the Chevron by my house love my kids...we went trick-or-treating there early in the day and Allie scored herself an awesome Tootsie Roll.

I tried and tried to get a shot of her with her arms out..but she wasn't having it. This is the closest I could get.

Chocolate face. (I know, I know-no one else but a child's mother thinks their kid looks cute with food and crap all over their face. But this is my blog, so...there!)

We had Marshall's brothers and sister and their families over for dinner and a little FHE last Mon. Marshall's parents are still in Texas on their mission, so Marshall gave a nice lesson on missionary work, and we all wrote letters and drew pictures for grandma and grandpa. Marshall has a nice family.

The cousins.

Marshall and his two brothers.

I have always wanted to make caramel apples- the gourmet ones like you can get in chocolate shops. So I made them. They were good, but super rich. (This picture is blurry because my camera was on a weird setting and I didn't know.) We dipped the apples in caramel, let it set, then rolled them in toasted almonds, Reese's Pieces, Reese's PB cups, Mini M&M's, etc. Then we drizzled chocolate over all that! Like I said-rich.

We had a fun Halloween this year. Now it's time to pack away Skully and our other decoration pals until next October! Hope you all had a nice and spooky Halloween. Now it's time to gear up for all the Thanksgiving festivities and beginning of the holiday season. I love it!

p.s. Is there a set rule about how much of your child's Halloween candy you are allowed to eat before it is just plain mean?? Just wondering.

Happy October

Here are a few random pictures I took recently. I'm not much of a "photo-op mom-" I rarely remember to bring a camera along when we do something, and even if I do remember it, I forget to take the stupid pictures until it's too late. So, a lot of my pictures are random, mostly everyday stuff at home, cause that's where my camera always is. But for some reason, everyday stuff can be a lot of fun when there are awesome kids involved. We have been having fun lately. It was especially fun when my old NYC buddy Melanie (who now lives in Minnesota) came into town with her new baby Tennyson (who was super good and didn't even make a peep the entire time!) and we got together for lunch in downtown SLC with another ex-New Yorker Melissa (who now lives in Draper.) We had a good time catching up over lunch then snatching up our babes and bailing out of Pioneer Park as some homeless dudes started a fist fight right on the playground where our teeny kids were playing. Classic. We should have known better than to take our kids to that park. I'll give it this much though- it lived up to its reputation impeccably. So much for giving the place the benefit of the doubt. I'd skip it if I were you.

Me and Mel and our two girls!

We only managed a profile of each of the 3 kids pictured here. Spot them if you can. (And btw, thanks anyways, foreign grandma who had never used a camera before.) That is Melissa in the green shirt- 4 months prego and such a babe! She even had some derelicts wolfwhisting at her! Too bad these two were the only pictures we got. In fact, Melissa sent them to me. (Please... like I am ever going to remember to bring my camera? Riiiiight...)

We got the Halloween decorations put up, which Drew was elated about. We forgot about good old Skully from last year. Remember him?

Getting to know each other- it was a little awkward at first... (this picture was taken almost exactly a year ago, it is so weird that Drew was still in diapers then. Those days seem like a lifetime ago!)

Did I mention Skully talks? He has a repertoire of smart-alec comments, (delivered in a thick NY accent) including : "Eat some candy-you're almost as skinny as me!" and "Hey! Wanna 'hang out' sometime?" and "Hey- you got the time? Oh, look at me, whaddo I care?" Super lame, I know. But Drew loves it. And is simultaneously terrified of it. But, that's what Halloween is all about, right? Skully was tired of being crunched up in a box all year! Instead he is now hanging from a double Shepherd's Hook in the front yard, with a bird feeder on the other side. (Which reminds me...today I was noticing I haven't seen any birds for a few days...guess the birds have more sense than I gave them credit for!)

How cute is she?

All kids need a few naked bathtub shots taken in their lifetime. I think this one was tastefully done. These two are super cute together. They really love each other.

Ditto for these two.

My mom took this one the day we picked a bunch of stuff from the garden to make our salsa. Which turned out pretty good again this year. It was awesome to grow all my own salsa ingredients- there is something very satisfying about that. Even though it was a huge mess and kind of a pain. (Don't worry- I didn't include broccoli in the salsa. It was just there.) Still fun to do, especially with my mom there to help. Everything is more fun with her. We also have a plethora of huge pumpkins! Which is amazing to me because I bought the most pathetic looking pumpkin seedling last spring, since it was the only one left, figuring I would be happy if we got one little pumpkin. The pumpkin ended up taking over the entire garden, and so far has produced about 12 basketball sized pumpkins. I learned not to doubt what an underdog is capable of-with a little tenacity, and when presented with the right opportunity, anything is possible!

Too bad I couldn't have her eyesight. Not fair! I tried to get Lasik, but after doing the screening the Dr. warned me to never, ever get this surgery because my corneas are freakishly thin (10% of normal), and I would likely go blind within a few months and need cornea transplants. And contacts are a no-go either because, as luck would have it, my eyes are also freakishly dry. So there you have it-glasses for life. Sure beats the alternative though. I hope our kids get Marshall's eyes and my teeth. Poor M had braces for like 5 years, including rubber bands and...wait for it...headgear! (Sorry honey, but it's too awesome not to share with the world.) Funnier still, we got a box of random stuff of his from his parents before they left on their mission, and they had actually kept the headgear! We had a good laugh with that one! (Love ya, honey. Go ahead and call me four eyes-I deserve it!)

LOL

Cute again. How does she do it?

We are enjoying October a lot. The weather has been so perfect, and we are enjoying that immensely. We go to parks a lot, which both of the kids love. I think Allie must be a teenager trapped in a 16 month old body- she has the attitude and determination and wants to do her own thing. She knows what she wants- I love that quality. But at the same time, she is super sweet, and I can tell she is trying to be obedient and learn her boundaries. She has lots of words she uses, sometimes they aren't pronounced quite right, but we know what she means. My favorite thing she says is "thank you" both when you give her something, and when she wants something. It is super cute- and just TRY to resist giving her what she wants! (Seriously, mom-TRY!!) Drew is ever the sweet older brother. He is kind and gentle, and is learning so much. He is really interested in learning to read, and spelling and stuff. It is amazing to me the questions he asks, and words he can read. He knows all the sounds, and is learning to put them together. I love that he is interested in learning to read early on. And I love that he enjoys school so much. His teacher is awesome, and I can tell he really loves her.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. Nothing life-changing going on around here, but that is just fine with me. Well, one little thing was sort of life changing. This year was my first General Conference with a Tivo. Let me just tell you, folks- this little invention has changed my life! Not to sound like a pathetic TV head, but it was so great being able to pause it and take care of kids, bathroom, snacks, etc. all at our own convenience. I could ffwd over the sustainings (is that bad??) And rewind if I missed something. Pure heaven. Ever tried to watch (and absorb) 8 hours of TV over the span of 2 days with 2 little kids? Not happening! I actually got to hear every single talk this year; I don't think I missed a thing. And that is saying a lot. Don't know how I ever lived without it. Goodbye for now-more later!

Yellowstone

Well, we made it back home in one piece. In a nutshell, my feelings about Yellowstone for a vacation are as follows: #1 It is a LOT of driving- both getting there from where we live, and then, once you get there, still more driving! I think we spent the majority of the weekend just driving from place to place. We spent an entire day driving to get there, had one full day of exploring, then spent the better part of the next day driving home. I guess we should have planned things better. #2 The first buffalo you see there is cool- a novelty. But the novelty quickly wears off as they create large traffic jams, some cars with fascinated tourists taking pictures, others with people like me, annoyed, fighting back the urge to honk or throw something at the reeking beasts. #3 I don't get it...what exactly is so interesting about looking at a thousand different holes with water/steam/poo smelling mud coming out of them? I tried and tried to be appreciative, and in some ways I was, (I get it- nature is beautiful and all) but as I looked around at all the tourists, from all over the world (Japan, England, Germany, etc.) I felt sort of sorry for them and hoped that this wasn't going to be their main destination while here in the U. S. of A. Don't get me wrong- we had plenty of fun... but I guess I'm just not the geologist that I might be. Maybe I need to wear more polar fleece and Birkenstocks, and eat lots of granola, then I will be a better tree hugger. My idea of a vacation still involves sitting by the pool/beach sipping a drink and reading. But, at least now I can check Yellowstone off my "Places to Go" list!

Old Faithful. We got in Thursday evening and had just enough daylight left to enter the park and see something. We decided this would be a good place to start and took our chances that we wouldn't miss the eruption. (It only "goes off" every 90 minutes, on average.) Luck was on our side, it turned out. Just as we got there, the large crowd that had gathered suggested some excitement any minute now. We only had to wait about 10 minutes to see the action. It was neat. I won't use a more exciting word than that to describe it.

The sunset created a cool view at Old Faithful.

This was at Fishing Bridge. And no, you can't fish from fishing bridge. So don't try. It rained on and off on out last day there, but not too severely.

This is one of Marshall's pictures. (You can tell because it actually turned out good.) My picture taking skills leave something to be desired. You can pretty much assume all the landscape pictures, and animal pictures you will see here were taken by the him. Pardon the stereotype, but I think he must be part Japanese.


We took this long hike with all these switchbacks to get to these waterfalls. People were giving us funny looks for dragging our little boy along on such a serious hike. What they don't know is that I carried him much of the way. It was a good workout!

Not taken by me.

This either.

Or this.

Thinks he owns the place!

We saw a lot of this sort of thing while at Yellowstone. It was cute at first, but it got old fast. Especially when people were too scared to pass the stinking beasts, and so they just followed slowly behind them, taking pictures of them dropping ginormous piles of dung on the road.

Daddy and Drew

Thanks to Darren and Cynthia for lending us the baby backpack! We don't know what we would have done without it! Allie loved all the hiking. (Wouldn't you, from her perspective?)

Loop hike around Old Faithful at sunset.

Mr. Bubba Man

As we were first entering the park, we saw a family of elk crossing the river. M went to take a picture, and someone had taken the batteries out of the camera to charge them, without replacing them. Oops. No worries though- it turns out elk are a dime a dozen there at good old Yellerstone!

Yet another waterfall.

The fam.

LOL-this is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. This was our first buffalo sighting, and as per eager tourist usual, we (and when I say we, I mean Marshall) just HAD to snap a picture (after all, this might be the only buffalo we might see...) An argument soon ensued because this was taken out of the window of our moving car, and apparently I was supposed to stop so he could admire this beautiful creature more fully. Alas, the beast's tail is all we have as proof of that first sighting.

Cute Tiny.

She loved being packed around!

So, our trip had come to an end, and it was time to come home. In all, we had seen a bazillion buffalo, and plenty of elk, a few deer, and various birds. But the one animal I really wanted to see in the wild, the more elusive bear, had yet to be seen. We had headed out the south end of the park, and were approaching the Grand Tetons, when we saw this dude off the shoulder of the road, just minding his own business:

A grizzly bear! It wasn't a huge one, maybe even a teenager or something. But still so awesome to see in the wild. Our drive home was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. We drove through Grand Teton National Park, which had the most beautiful views of the lake reflecting the mountains (although I still can't say the word "Tetons" without giggling a little...I admit, I sometimes have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.) Then we drove through Jackson Hole, boring and very, very crowded. (Maybe it's only cool if you ski?) Another highlight was getting Marshall to listen to Twilight on tape with me for much of the drive (at least, the parts of the drive where the shrieks coming from the back seat had dulled to a faint roar.) And since Marshall rarely reads this blog, I am going to totally out him here and say that I could tell he was totally getting into it- awesome. Then we kept driving, as the rain picked up a bit, through the winding canyons that led up to Bear Lake. The incredible colors of the changing fall leaves were, (and still are) almost indescribable! The bright flourescent oranges and yellows and reds, contrasted against the bright greens still stubbornly hanging on to their colors just a bit longer- took my breath away. I regret now not having pulled over to take some pictures. That would have been much more pleasant to look at and remember than a buffalo taking a dump on the road. I digress...

We had a good time. Our hotel room was a little private cabin, which was gratefully upgraded to the deluxe model (thanks to my sweet-talking hubby.) It was a very nice little cabin- complete with a kitchenette, tacky rustic decor, a jetted tub, and some weird wolf thing I had to cover with a blanket because it was scaring Drew. Although Allie had a fever of 103 most of the time we were there (thanks, lingering ear infection), and although Drew had a puking migraine the day before we left, we still managed to get out there and enjoy some good old Grizwold family fun!

Babies and Boo-Boos and Bubbas

Summer is winding down. I like it. First, I couldn't wait for it to come, now I am sick of the heat and am happy to see the first signs that fall will soon be upon us. Sadly, one of these signs is that the hummingbirds have stopped coming around. This is a tad depressing, but I know they will faithfully return for their free gift of red nectar late next spring. For now, I will be busy gathering our garden harvest. We have so many tomatoes, I don't know what to do with them! After I make salsa galore, I guess I will bottle them and then give the rest away! Let me know if anyone wants any tomatoes. (Or salsa for that matter!) And our pumpkin plant is some kinda freak on steroids. I was thinking I would be happy with a pumpkin or two, but the thing has taken over our garden and we will likely have dozens! Please come and get one in October if you are ever in the neighborhood.

Bubbas: Another reason I can feel summer coming to an end is that Drew started preschool last week. He absolutely loves it! He comes home telling me all sorts of things he has learned. It sounds like so much fun, I want to go to his school, too! His teacher is awesome; she reminds me a lot of my mom. Maybe that is why he likes school so much.

First day of school. I love the fake smile, awkward posture, and closed eyes. Classic picture!

Some kids cry and cling to their parents at the prospect of leaving. Not this kid! I could barely contain him long enough to take a few crappy pictures before he bolted off to catch the car pool with his friend's mom. I love that he is so independent. And it makes me a teensy bit sad at the same time.

Babies: I have been spending some time down in Cedar City; last week I spent the week there watching my brother's 4 kids (so there were 6 kids in all-wahoo!) and that was quite the dog pile! I love those kids like they were my own, and they are great kids, so we had a good time. I can tell you this much though- I doubt I will ever have more than 1 or 2 more kids. The chaos makes me nuts! But my mom came to help every day, and we made a fun party of it. Here are some awesome 'darndest things said by kids' moments from that week:

On Saturday we were bbqing some hot dogs and stuff, and I was being an awesome aunt and letting the kids have junk food and soda. As I was fixing Drew's plate with a hot dog and macaroni salad and some Cheetos, this is the exchange that took place:

Drew (looking at the plate of food): "Can I have some cooked carrots?"

Me: "No, sorry, baby- all we have are Cheetos. You will just have to eat those."

So he just takes his plate apathetically and goes outside to eat it. My mom and I were in tears laughing. What kid does that? Asks for veggies when handed a plate of artificial, processed junk food? My kid is so funny! I learn a lot from him. Way to go, Bubba!

Here's another funny one, by my 4 year old neice, Hannah. We were in the bathroom getting ready for church and we saw a bug in the bathtub.

Hannah: "Eww, look- a spider in the tub!"

Me: "No, that's not a spider, it's an insect. Spiders have eight legs; that one only has six. Other types of insects are ants, beetles, and potato bugs."

Hannah: "Oh, potato bugs are my favorite! I LOVE potato bugs!"

Me (teasing): "Well if you love them so much, why don't you marry them then?"

Hannah (dead serious, with a thoughtful look): "Well, they're kinda small...and they wouldn't have any clothes!"

I love it! Little kids are so funny sometimes. I love their innocence. What a crack up!

Boo-boos: Last Thursday night my mom came into town and as we were getting her settled in, Drew saw her pillows at the bottom of the stairs and, of course, he jumped six stairs to land on them. Great idea, right? Wrong. His teeth went almost all the way through his bottom lip. Blood started gushing everywhere, splattering all over the wall, carpet, me, etc. Fortunately, after applying some direct pressure, the bleeding didn't last too long. Unfortunately, his little friend happened to be over playing at the time. The look of terror on his face after seeing the carnage was pretty sad. When all was said and done, Drew was fine, although his lip looks like hamburger, and is amazingly swollen. It is getting better every day, but, poor kid!

Allie is doing awesome too. She is walking quite well now, and learning new words every day. It is nice having her start to be able to say what she wants now. I love her little sassy attitude. (She is definitely her mother's daughter...lol) She has a very different personality than her brother. This is challenging because what worked for him is clearly not going to work for her, so I might have to start from scratch here. It's worth it, though! We love our little girl.

We are getting ready for my first trip to Yellowstone ever. We are going the week after next, and I am looking forward to our first vacation in years (and I use the term "vacation" very loosely here; anyone who has ever gone anywhere with kids knows what I mean.) It will be nice to get away for a few days. We are staying in West Yellowstone at a hotel that is actually little individual cabins, so that should be cool. I am open to suggestions as to what to do & see while there. I really don't know that much about Yellowstone, except that it has geysers. And I am not sure what kind of weather to plan for. Anyone who has been there, please feel free to leave comments. Also, is Jackson Hole a worthwhile place to stop and check out? I have never been there either, but I have heard it is kind of touristy...what do you think?

Memory Game

I have been seeing this all over on other people's blogs; I guess it's my turn to play along.

Here are the directions:

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Blogger's Block

I don't know what the deal is, but I seriously feel like I have no desire whatsoever to update this blog. It is not for lack of goings-on, because we have been pretty busy. I don't know, maybe it's lack of notable pictures. It seems like every time I go to take pictures lately, the batteries are dead, or I forget the camera altogether. Ok, ok I admit it! I have been using up my leisure time lately ripping through the Twilight series, so I haven't had much time to blog. (And I know what you are thinking- I'm a total sheep...I know, and I don't care! It's the most fun I have had reading in a long time, so back off. lol) So for lack of time, here is the scoop on the happenings around here this past month (in random order): Went to Cedar City to visit my mom and Rachel & kids, and helped my mom out a little bit with her summer camp, A few weeks ago, my grandpa passed away, my mom's dad. My parents had the opportunity to spend his last moments on this earth with him, before he passed, which was a wonderful experience for them. I love the perspective the gospel gives us, it makes things like death seem like not such a big deal. I know he is now with my grandma and things are as they should be. Also this past month I helped plan and carried out our Primary Activity Day water party thing (I have to admit I'm glad to have that over with- sorry kiddos) I am still trying to prepare my Easy Dinners Enrichment night for this week, Drew had swimming lessons for two weeks straight, that was kind of a pain but most of the time Drew enjoyed it, tried to keep on top of gardening (I have zucchini and squash coming out of my ears, people! If I have to incorporate zucchini into one more recipe, so help me...! But I do have to admit, the zucchini bread's not so bad.) And, we finally have some tomatoes ready to eat. Normally I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but garden tomatoes are a whole other thing! (I have this weird compulsion to eat them the way my dad always did- with mayonnaise and salt and pepper. I know, it is so disgusting, but for some reason I gotta!) Hmm, what else...? Allie is walking a lot more these days, still a bit wobbly, but she is making progress every day. Drew- you guessed it...still playing trains. (But only when he's not outside riding his awesome bike!)

Well, that's all I could come up with for now. Now that I think of it, maybe I am better off saying nothing than rambling on about random stuff. Oh well- take it or leave it! Here are some recent pictures I managed to get- enjoy them.

Very cute- even if I do say so myself (dress compliments of Auntie Mel Smith.)

I love that both of my kids have farmer's tans- it's so awesome!

I wanted a picture of the flowers in the front, but oh well (they look prettier up close.)