St. Patty's Day

I couldn't ever catch her smile. I took several pictures of her, and she would smile AFTER each one, she must have liked either the flash or the sound of the camera.

Cute Kids! I was hoping that the kids green shirts would help our lawn look green. Not much luck! The grass has turned white, and out here they turn off the system to the watering systems and won't turn it back on until May! The kids go out and play and come back in covered in dead, dry grass. I finally agree with my Grandpa Palmer when he says, "you're going to ruin the lawn". We have had to ban the boys from riding their motorized John Deer truck on our lawn until it greens up some because it is tearing it up. I noticed at the school, the ground is becoming completely bare in spots from all the kids running out it - Weird - especially when the grass was still green in December! Hopefully we'll have GREEN grass soon!

Well, we started out our day with green eggs and toast and Yes, green-orange juice. However I would not recommend green-orange juice, the food coloring does change the flavor (the boys didn't notice though). Then we were out the door for school.

Dusty had a homework assignment to make a Leprechaun trap for school. It was due last Friday to see if they could catch any of those naughty little leprechauns. He came up with a nice little trap. Then over the weekend him and Hayden made another trap.

This one was bound to catch a leprechaun! It start with a paper bag, then a cardboard tube, then into a Banquet pot pie box, then and egg carton and finally into the humidifier box. It's all decorated, with an enticing rainbow and green feather. They woke up this morning and we were sure we caught one. We found a plate of Saint Patrick's Day cookies and a card that read: "NICE TRY! YOU CAN'T CATCH ME! BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR, LARRY THE LEPRECHAUN" Good thing, I don't know what we would do with a leprechaun, I don't even know how to take care of one. Dusty was so excited and said, "Well, at least we know that one was here. I should've stayed awake all night to catch him so I could wish for a puppy." Funny thing is when he looked inside the card again, there is a picture of a leprechaun-dog. When the boys were getting dressed, Hayden said he really knew one had been here because Hayden's underware was in Dusty's dresser and the leprechaun must be tricking us! (Maybe I just need to hire someone else to do the laundry).

The boys had a fun day at school, but no leprechauns were caught. However, Lucky the Leprechaun had been to Dusty's class and left him a chocolate and a big mess of glitter and confetti for the class to clean up.

Unexpected Visit

Have you ever had one of those unexpected visits? Sometimes the unexpected is beneficial, because no matter how hard I prepare and work on cleaning etc, I feel that I never got it all done. So when someone shows up at my door unexpectedly, it saves from the stress, and saves me time! Well I had a drop-by inspector come to my house on Sunday. Why is this inspector working on Sundays anyway?

He went straight to my kitchen and opened every drawer and cupboard, the fridge and freezer. While he was inspecting, I kept hearing him say, "check, check, check"! He minded his own business, thankfully since I was also trying to prepare a meal for my family.

Then he laid the results on the countertop. At the very end of the report you can see I failed, it says, "You did not pass". I questioned why and he said that I had placed the Cool Whip in the fridge instead of the freezer, and I also had a fruit going yucky. Whew! It could've been a lot worse! When I worked at Subway these inspectors came once a month, sometimes we knew when they were coming, and other times they came unexpectedly. So if this is the case, all I can do is try harder for next time.

Homesick

I have learned that people either really love Vernal, Utah or really hate it. I am one of those that REALLY loves Vernal. And I miss it!! Yes, I would say that I'm homesick. I love all the friendly people, I love the country, I love that the mountains are so close. I miss all the familiar faces. I miss all of the fun events - Vernal has the best Easter Egg hunt ever! I miss storytime at the library, I miss the summer school lunch program for the kids, I miss Hayden's preschool and teachers, I even miss the kids bus drivers! I miss putting my kids on the bus in my pajamas. I miss the baby cows on the other side of our fence. I miss mowing the lawn!!! I miss our large yard with a trampoline and a big dirt pile for the kids to play on. I miss riding the 4-wheeler around the block and up and down the street over and over again. I miss all the cobble rocks that I spent hours gathering and placing just where I wanted them. I miss the spontaneous picnics in the mountains. I miss neighbors waving as they go by! I miss Ellie and other people from our 2 wards - I miss having an organized primary. I miss the Dickson twins being our kids babysitters. I miss my windows! I miss the huge, beautiful flowers along the streets. I miss being closer to family. I miss the work "family" from my husbands employment. I miss the people. I even miss Ranger (and I don't even like dogs!) There are so many little things in life that we take for granted and we don't know how good it is until it's gone. When I first moved to Vernal, it seemed so weird to me, but it only took about 2 weeks for me to LOVE it. I loved it when I lived there, and I still love it today. Vernal will always be one of my favorite places, Vernal was home to me... I miss Vernal!

HAYDEN * HAYDEN * HAYDEN

Hayden is so funny! I got him off the bus last Thursday and the bus driver told me that they had a few problems coming home. Hayden and another boy were fighting and she stopped the bus to separate them and then Hayden threw a fit, crying for mom and dad. Poor Angela didn't know what to do! She said she's never seen it before, that Hayden has always been so cute and so sweet. I had a little talk with her and apoligized and then we headed home. When we got home I talked to Hayden about it and he said that the other boy was on him and wouldn't get off and Hayden thought he was going to die! Then he said the teacher (bus driver) was mad at him and that's why he got so upset. I told him he can't act that way on the bus and that he needed to tell the bus driver "SORRY". And he said he's not going to school anymore, that he is going to stay home and be a man and do what mans do! I asked him what he would do at home, and he again responded - what mans do! He is going to be like a man and go to work with dad like mans do. I told him, "you know acting like that on the bus isn't acting like a man", and he said "I know, it's like a kid and I'm not a kid anymore. I'm just going to be like a man forever!"

And last week we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner/family home evening. When we headed out to the truck Hayden told me that when he gets really big like dad, he is going to go to Chuck E Cheese and play all the games he wants to. I asked, "Well, didn't you get to play all the games you wanted to tonight?" And he said, "No, when I get big I'm going to." He then told us that he's going to Chuck E Cheese ALL BY HIMSELF when he gets big. I can just see it - Hayden leaving his family behind while he goes to Chuck E Cheese.

My Boys

Yesterday I decided to make some more goods for Kyrie's head, and Dusty was more than happy to jump in and help. He designed and made several flowers and bows for his sweet little sister. This bow below is my favorite! She could wear this one with just about anything.


Dusty is so creative and crafty. Give him anything, and he can turn it into something else. He goes through a lot of paper and tape. He can make anything his heart desires, and he comes up with ideas I could never think of. I guess I need to start taking more pics so he can have a forever collection of his creations. He really has a good imagination!


I went to parent-teacher conferences last week and his kindergarten teacher said that when they do crafty things Dusty really shines. He is doing so well in school, she also told me that he has been put in a 1st grade flooding group - reading 2nd grade level books! He has also about mastered all of the 1st grade sight words. I'm glad they are trying to give him a challenge, and providing more than just kindergarten curriculum. I've also seen it at home. He has been reading books to me that I should be reading to him. It's amazing to me how well he does with spelling as well. Over all he gets most words right, but here's a list of "inventive" words I've collected from the last week that are so cute:

meoosick - music
hipopodamiss - hippo (I don't even know how to spell that)
etup - eat up
sckooll - school
famlly - family
scellatins - skeletons
waddr - water
bude - buddy
triangll - triangle





I was flashing symbols at Hayden and he gave me that look like 'what are you doing?' So I said, "When I do this, it means I love You!".

Then he flashed his 3 fingers and said "When I do this, it means I Love YOU!" Hayden has been so fun and happy these last couple of weeks. I've really fallen in love with him all over again. He has grown up a bunch lately, and you should hear all the new words he's been saying. I think he's learned that it is worth talking now that we can understand more of what he is saying. This morning he was protesting about getting his shirt on and getting his hair done (thankfully protesting without a meltdown). I was trying really hard not to get frustrated with him, and then he yelled, "THat"S it, I'M moving OuT!" It was so funny, I burst out laughing - and because of the laughter, it suddenly became easy not to be frustrated! He really cracks us up sometimes.

Hayden is doing well in school also. It is so good for him and he really enjoys it. It was freezing cold yesterday, cold enough that I drove around the corner to the bus stop so that we didn't have to take the 2 minute walk in the cold. He got off the bus carrying his coat, and I asked him why he wasn't wearing it. He said that him and another kid on the bus had a bet - to go out in the cold without a coat! Then later at home he told me that him and another kid have a secret handshake. Then last night he told Chris that he has a best friend at school. He and his best friend told each other that they will be best friends forever. However, he doesn't even know his best friends name, but the name isn't what's important - right! It's so fun to see him be an individual instead of always being Dusty's shadow. He has changed a lot recently and it's so fun to see him grow! I love my Hayden Bear!

Both of the boys had little milestones this week: On Saturday they both picked up a worm (which I have NEVER done) to throw in for the fish to eat at Bass Pro Shops. And they both went up to the front in Sacrament on Sunday to sing a song with the Primary Kids (which they have wanted to do before, but never dared). I am proud of my little dare devils!

Field Trip, Birthday, And What?

Today is Dusty's very first field trip with his very first sack lunch! He gets to go to the Children's Museum with his kindergarten class, he is so lucky, I want to go. I'm a bit jealous, it's a place I've been wanting to take the kids to, and now he is going for the first time for school. Now he can tell us all about it and show us around when we get to go as a family. I didn't get on the list to be a helper, the sign up sheet was available at the beginning of the school year, and we were still living in Utah. That's okay though, because I told Dusty that I wish I could go and he got really embarassed and said "What if you have to feed the baby?" I told him that she'd be under a blanket and the kids would never know what's going on in there. But I guess it's too much for him for me to do that in front of his peers, so if I want him to still claim me as his mother, I guess it's best that I stay home to feed the baby. And what a perfect day for a field trip. It is SOOo beautiful today, notice we didn't even need a light jacket to walk to school this morning. I wish everday felt this good!

Yesterday was Dr. Seuss's birthday! An exciting day, YEA! So we decided to celebrate. We have several of his books and the kids picked some out. I don't let the boys sleep in my bed anymore when Chris is gone, and they really miss it, so I told them we could snuggle up in my bed and read a story before tucking them into their own beds. It looks like the celebration will continue on because we only had time to read 1 story, so we'll have to read the others they picked out after school today.



Oh, and did I say tuck them into their own beds? What is this?

Translation: NO MOMS! Only Kids and Dads! This is what I found on the boys bedroom door! Then Dusty informed me that there is an exception - and that is Moms are allowed only if it's to tuck two little boys in bed at night. Whew! I hope they don't care that I also go in there in the middle of the night just to check on them, oh well, they'll be asleep, they'll never know I stepped past my boundaries.

Getting mail

I LOvE getting mail, I don't care what it is, letters, pictures, magazines, junk mail, bills, ANYTHING! In fact it's quite depressing to me if I go out to the mailbox to find nothing. If I have mail to be picked up and that little red flag is up, I peek out of the house several times to see if it has been put down yet, so that I can run out to check my mailbox. I love it so much that I will go outside barefoot in the winter on the ice and snow, and also in the summer on the hot blacktop and rocks - just to get the mail! When we lived out in the 'country', in Garland and in Vernal I could actually hear the mail man (or woman) coming from several houses down the road, I just had an ear for their vehicle. Well, I got some good mail tonight, yes tonight. No I didn't wait until tonight to check my mailbox, I of course emptied it much earlier today. But Dusty came down the stairs and asked if I had gotten the mail. I said, "Of course I did", and he said he was going to run out and make sure I got it all . He ran out the door, and sure enough, I must have SOMEHOW missed one. There was a big envelope for me. I excitedly opened it up to find a LOVE LETTER! The best kink of mail possible: Dear MoM. i love you! you are fun! I will love you for evr, I love you! Love Dusty I would take a picture of it and upload it to my computer so that I could post it, but my computer is SOOO slow these days (I think it's lived a hard life) and I'm too impatient to wait for just 1 picture. Lucky me, to get mail twice today!