No soup for you

And this is how Gideon feels about my cooking today.

End of Summer Party

We were so sad to see summer end, so we decided to go out with a party.

Megan organized a bunch of fun activities followed by night games and sleeping in the tent. Kids had a blast.  The water balloon toss & Pie eating contest were probably the biggest hits.

We'll definitely have to make this a tradition.

The big yellow slide

Gideon is obsessed with our slide.  And by obsessed I mean, he has already told me he is going to name is first born "yellow slide" obsessed.  He makes a beeline for the slide every time someone lets him out into the backyard.  He can climb the ladder all by his self and will sit at the top and wait patiently (read:  yell loudly) for someone to stand at the bottom and catch him.  He will usually let anyone catch him but he is particular to the neighbor Aura.  He hollers her name repeatedly until she comes over to catch him.  Once he hooks someone in, he just makes the circuit over and over  and over again:  up the ladder, down the slide, up the ladder, down the slide..........  I could seriously make a full time job out of catching him at the bottom of the slide.  And  it would be great because my pay is the giant smile that lights up his face when he sees me ready to catch him at the bottom of the slide. 

We made it

 We have added another successful first day of school under our belts.  And I made it with no tears (big step for me)

4th Grade

1st grade 

 Preschool

Opening night

My job has some great perks.  We get to go to ribbon cuttings of new restaurants, lagoon each year and various other community events.

This time we attended the opening night for the new farmington theaters.  Free movie, free drinks, free popcorn, free majorly cute girls in their 3d glasses.

And then the next night, Tommy and I were able to attend the midnight showing of the last (sigh) Harry Potter.  It was super duper fun but we sure paid for it the next day.  Thank goodness for naps and movies. :)

(best 3d glasses - EVER)

Photo Contest

A few weeks ago, my coworker's house collapsed (no, seriously, it did) during a remodel project.  He posted pictures of the remarkable damage to all of us at work.

The next day, someone had a little fun with it and mocked up an explanation about how this damage "really" happened with the Kool-aid guy.

Well, from there it quickly digressed into a full on photo contest of who could create the funniest explanation of how the house collapsed.  Below are my entries, but you can see all of them at http://natshouse.blogspot.com/ (I only got an honorable mention - boo).

I scream, you scream, we all attack our brother for...

It's a good thing that Tate loves Gideon as much as he does, so that he just laughs when Gideon attacks him to try and get to his ice cream cone.

Brother oh Brother

Tate's daily chore is to unload the dishwasher.  Gideon's daily chore is to make that as difficult as possible for Tate by climbing up on the dishwasher, or taking out all the silverware and tossing it under the rack or on the floor or at Tate, or pouring any of the collected water onto the floor.

Interview with the kids

What is something mom always says to you?
Harper:  Go to time out
Tate:  Put your back pack in the closet
Hudson:  No

What makes mom happy?
Harper:  When I don't hit
Tate:  Getting my chores done
Hudson:  When she cleans the whole house

What makes mom sad?
Harp:  Hitting
Tate:  Not putting my backpack in the closet
Hudson:  When I am mean

How does your mom make you laugh?
Harper, Tate & Hudson:  She tickles me

What was your mom like when she was a child?
Harper:  Loving and going on boats
Tate:  She played outside
Hudson:  She had red hair

How old is your mom?
Harper:  44
Tate:  35
Hudson:  34 (correct answer)

How tall is your mom?
Harper:  taller than Bonnie
Tate:  6 feet
Hudson:  7 heights

what is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Harper:  Go on boats
Tate:  Go to the park
Hudson:  Bowling

What does your mom do when you're not around?
Harper:  Goes on a date
Tate:  Takes Harper to fun places
Hudson:  Sits on the couch

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Harper:  Bowling
Tate:  The hospital to have another baby
Hudson:  Christmas village

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Harper:  A girl that cuts her hair and paints nails
Tate:  Scientist
Hudson:  Doctor

Where will you live when you grow up?
Harper:  By Destiny
Tate:  Utah
Hudson:  This house

Where is your favorite place to go?
Harper:  Bowling
Tate:  Museums
Hudson:  McDonalds

What is your favorite restaurant?
Harper:  Chilis
Tate:  Arbys
Hudson:  McDonalds

What is your favorite color?
Harper: Pink & Yellow
Tate:  Blue
Hudson:  Pink

Who are your friends?
Harper:  Destiny, Joey, Ella, Eowyn & Ava
Tate:  Ian, Courtney, Gavin, McKenna & Abby
Hudson:  Destiny, Joey, McKall & Addie

Where do you want to go on vacation?
Harper:  Snowbird
Tate:  Washington
Hudson:  Snowbird

What is your favorite movie?
Harper:  Diamond castle
Tate:  Thomas the train
Hudson:  She-Ra

Favorite food?
Harper:  Hot dogs & PB&J
Tate:  BLT
Hudson:  Chicken nuggets

If you had $100 what would you do with it?
Harper:  Give it to somebody
Tate:  Buy all the ZuZu pet stuff
Hudson:  Buy the stuffed puppies at the bowling alley

Mt. Whitney: check

Mt. Whitney, highest peak in the lower 48 states; Done! 


If you don't already know, my high school buddies and I climb the highest peak in each state each year.  We have climbed most of the Western peaks but have unsuccessfully obtained permits to climb Mt Whitney (in California) for the past 3 years because of a lottery system.


So, this year, we tested our luck and headed out there in hopes of landing a cancelled permit - and we did!


Unfortunately, Mark had a last minute interstate move that made him unavailable but Ryan and I had an awesome time.


You can see the entire trip on Ryan's blog; http://www.ryananddebi.com/2011/08/16/mount-whitney/

First Pudding EVER...