Here's your perfectly normal pancakes, kids!

Have you seen this video?  I think it's hilarious!  A group of brothers reenact stories from their childhood - with their own kids as the narrators.  They have several videos, but I think this one is the funniest.  Enjoy!

Mama's Preachin'

Every once in a while I come across an article that I want to share and I think the blog might be the best place and way for me to do it. So, here goes. This is part of an article that appeared in the Deseret News in June. It was written by Greg Kratz and I like his thoughts. The title is "No vacation time? Trap family in a minivan and drive." His family took a 25 hour road trip to Houston, something Leigh & Jake are very familiar with.

"...As I drifted in and out of sleep, I pondered the fact that I always dread these long road trips while we're preparing for them. But I've also learned that, if you really want to break out of your work rut and get in touch with your family, there's nothing like spending 25 hours together in a vehicle hurtling across fairly barren countryside to help you reconnect. Here are some things I've discovered on our trips:

*Our children genuinely enjoy spending time with each other. They travel well, and they have a great time making up games, watching movies and singing along to the music on the radio. They also fight every now and then, and they sometimes get a bit whiney.

*Our children also enjoy spending time with their parents. During the hours at night as they drift off to sleep and in the morning as they start to wake, we're able to have quiet conversations with them. We are a captive audience, which is rare in our busy lives...it's a long trip and we're all in it together, so we take time to talk.

*I love talking with my wife. When all of the children are asleep, and we're trying to keep each other awake, we chat about all kinds of things. Over many years of road trips, we've made some major decisions during discussions by the dashboard lights. I wouldn't trade those conversations for anything.

*It's cool to watch your children sleep. I think all parents do this when their kids are babies, but it's amazing to watch them when they're older too...all peacefully resting next to each other, breathing softly, as the light of the moon streamed in through the windows of the van and gently touched their faces. It was a beautiful sight, the kind that makes you feel all is right with the world.

*Of course, you also learn practical things on long trips, such as: gas is really, really expensive; Twizzlers are good snacks for keeping you awake; satellite radio is a godsend when you're in eastern New Mexico and west Texas; it's OK to let your wife splash water on your face if you look drowsy while driving; at least one child will always decide he or she needs to go to the bathroom five minutes after your last stop; and nothing will put you in motion faster than hearing 'I think I'm going to throw up' as car sickness sets in at the end of a long day on the road.

*Most of all, you learn that it's OK to be in a remote location with your family-and without cell service-every now and then. Work will still be there when you get home. It always is. But the children will get older and leave some day, and you'll regret it if you missed such moments.

The fact is, work/life balance doesn't just happen. You've got to search for it. And if you look hard enough, sometimes you'll find it while sitting in a minivan, a box of doughnuts on your lap and your family snoozing all around you."

Hope you enjoyed this, love, Mom

Family Portrait

Wyatt needed a family picture for school and it turned out so well I thought I'd share.

Board Exam

Jake passed his board exam (you know, the one he took while we were in Utah?) and we couldn't be prouder. Next year he can take the oral boards and then he will be a board-certified anesthesiologist! Wa-hoo!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

When we got home from our long trip, we found that our yard had been overtaken by weeds, our lawn was looking a bit crispy and a few of our plants had bit the dust.  Not all of them, mind you.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, so what better activity than to combine watering the lawn with running through the sprinklers?  Wyatt loved it.

Oh yeah, I forgot that Wyatt likes to do this.

 We had a fun afternoon, even if the dog next door didn't like it...

While we were in Utah, we tried out a few things we've never done before.  One of them was a little water feature in Liberty Park called the Seven Canyons.  It is a series of cement channels with pools and waterfalls and each stream represents a canyon that leads into the valley.  Wyatt had a lot of fun running and splashing and it was free, free, FREE!  We actually only explored a tiny bit of it because when Wyatt likes something, he tends to fixate on it, so we pretty much split our time between one stream and the giant pool it led to.  It was a bit crowded, but not so much to inhibit his playing.  I would absolutely recommend taking the kids there!

The other place we tried was the Living Planet Aquarium.  It was a bit pricey for what was there.  If we lived in SLC, I would just get a year pass and use the heck out of it.  It was entertaining for a while, but not enough to justify $8 per person.  What Wyatt loved the most was the "Nemo" fish he got from the gift shop.  That may just have been the best $20 I've ever spent since he still carries those fish everywhere he goes.

I guess I'm just a cheapskate, but I thought the Seven Canyons was a lot more fun than the aquarium and the price was right too!

Utah Storms

While we were in Utah, there were a couple of good storms.

 Wyatt liked to watch from behind the screen door.  Actually he wanted to be out dancing in the rain, but I made him stay inside.

 One of the storm produced some good-sized hail and Wes and I gathered some up.

Maybe they're not as impressive as the huge hail stones we had a few months back here in Missouri, but these little guys gave a pretty good sting when they hit you on the head!

Cabin Trip

I just wanted to post some pictures we took at the cabin.  No neet to explain, you were all there!

First Day of School!

Today was Wyatt's first day of his second year of preschool.  He is going back to Wilkinson where he was last year, but he has a new teacher and is riding the bus.  He rode a bus to summer school and we've met his teacher, so there were no huge surprises for him, but I was still anxious for the new year.  I've gotten used to spending all day with him and I'm going to miss seeing him so much.  Wyatt was excited to go to school and ride the bus - he was very obedient about getting ready and going outside to wait to be picked up.

Wyatt with his new haircut.  I always think he looks so much older with short hair.

He had a full backpack - lots to take to school for the first day! 

Waiting patiently for the bus. 

When the bus pulled up, he was a little out of sorts because it was a long bus, not a short one like he rode all summer long.  He kept saying "no, no, no" and lagged behind as we walked to the bus, but he got on and sat down without too much of a struggle.

Picking a seat.

Let's roll!



There were two boys on the bus already and one recognized Wyatt from school and kept calling out "Wyatt!  It's Wyatt!"  Apparently he's a minor celebrity at school :)  I'm excited for this new school year.  He's got a great teacher and therapists to work with.  We've seen some encouraging leaps forward in his development over the last few months and hope to see it continue throughout the year.  Hooray for Wyatt, we're so proud of you!

Our address

We have something new about our address. It is Taylorsville, UT 84129. Taylorsville now has its own ZIP Code.