Desperately Seeking Sunshine

Travelogue Day 0: 19 degrees fahrenheit.  Ice and Snow covered windows, stairs, sidewalks and roads.  No plans.  Wondering what we will do with our children for the next 7 days.  Outside time is not possible in current conditions. Must find way to get out of house.  Cabin Fever settting in. 

Travelogue Day 1:  Left frozen north on a whim.  Too cold to enjoy our time off of school and work.  Decided to head southwest towards sun.   Closest destination with actual warmth-- Los Angeles.  Heading South on the I-15.  Ice melts off the car in St. George (and not one mile before).  Stopping off in Las Vegas.  Kids love Circus, Circus midway.  Kids hate smokey casinos.  Enjoyed view from the top of the Stratosphere.  Dinner with sister.  Short overnighter.  Warm enough not to need a big coat, but jacket still necessary.  Heading further South.

Travelogue Day 2:  Water and warmth have been successfully located.  Checked in to hotel and walked across the street to enjoy the sand and water.  Spent a couple of hours and then went to join other snow birds (Amy) at Anne's home for dinner and a visit. 

Travelogue Day 3: In effort to soak in as much sun as humanly possible spent morning on the beach and headed to Pasadena to Huntington Library and Gardens.  Spent entire day outside running, walking and strolling around some of the world's most beautiful gardens and appreciating classical art. 

 

Travelogue Day 4:  Offered children access to any amusement park they could think of.  They were not impressed.  Craved more sun and sand.  Spend entire morning at beach in the water.  Built sand castles and fought the ocean (the ocean won).  Entirely waterlogged and sand-coated.  Joined Anne and Quentin and went to a great park and dinner.  

Travelogue Day 5:  Drove to LAX and met brother after two years in Japan.  Then drove to THE CUBE discovery center.  Learned about solar energy and bats and gravity, etc.  New Year's Eve.  Staying in with Anne and Q and blogging.  Reviewing photos from the trip.  Dreading driving home to snow.  May not go home.  Would miss family.  Would not miss the gray, cold snow.  Contemplating. . . 

Wish you were here...

Last minute decision to hit the beach for the week. We also may make a last minute call not to come home (at least until the snow melts.)

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas from the boys in new Christmas pajamas.

Peace on Earth

Raising two young boys in a world as volatile, at present, as ours is often times a frightening proposition. My ears are often filled with tales of good guys and bad guys battling violently to the death. I have read many parenting books that assure me these stories fall into the "normal and healthy" category for boys my sons' ages. (Nevertheless, it never fails to disturb me on an emotional level.)

Every now and again something will happen that will remind me that my boys know the difference (at least to some degree) between the reality of war vs. the romanticizing of war. Tonight I had one of those moments with William. At a cub scout pack meeting the scouts were asked to write a letter to a soldier serving in Iraq. I was a little nervous about what William would produce. He wrote a very lovely letter telling the soldier "Thank you for serving" and "Please come home safely". He did at one point ask if he could write "Sorry that President Bush even started this awful war." (Have I mentioned he is not a big fan of our current President.), but he decided to leave that part out.

He finished his letter and drew an illustration to decorate it. It started taking the form of a tank and I braced myself to see bullets coming out of the tank's gun and perhaps stick figures lying in it's wake. I let him keep going without interfering (as my feminine side was pushing me to do). Thank goodness I did. He finished the tank and drew a flower in the gun of the tank and an American flag with a peace symbol on it.

What a beautiful Christmas wish from my son to the world. Peace. I will do my best to not be too disturbed tomorrow when he once again fills my ears of tales of battles and brawling, knowing there is a little pacifist in there too.

Magic Grow Capsules

Sex is funny. Sex is especially funny when discussed with a six year old. Romney has decided he wants to have "infinity" kids. (Good luck finding a wife who is on board with that, buddy). He was telling me that his wife "would hatch the egg in her". Bill and I have always felt it was important for the kids, when they were curious, to get actual facts of life and not "stork tales", if you will. (Parents out there who are thinking about taking this same path, a word of caution: This has backfired several embarrassingly public times on us.) So, when I hear the word "hatch", I feel it is necessary to talk to him about how the egg grows. I tell him it doesn't hatch, but kind of transforms into a baby- sprouting arms and legs and growing a heart, brain and spine, etc. He looks at me and lights up and says: "Oh, so like a capsule that transforms into a dinosaur in water". Ummm... closer than "hatching". He then wants to know why we need a "Daddy" to make a baby. I tell him, the Daddy's sperm is like adding water to a grow capsule. Without it, the egg won't grow into a baby.

I will never look at those things the same again. (And now thanks to this post, neither will you.)

Christmas Shopping?

Anyone out there looking for a creative gift to give to friends and family? What is more original and unique than giving the gift of art. I am selling prints of my art work (either framed or unframed) for very reasonable prices (don't forget to ask for the friends and family discount if that applies to you :)

Interested? Check out www.lookalittle.com for available prints, pricing and contact information. Framed photos would be $10-$20 more than the print price (depending on size)

Don't see exactly what you were hoping for or unsure what to give? Contact me (either through the blog or the website) for information about special orders and gift certificates.

Could You Say "No" To This Guy?

Romney seems to have a special power...

The power to get whatever he wants.

Bill and I (and most especially William) have always suspected that due to Romney's "cuteness factor" he gets away with much more than he should. We have tried to resist his powers and do our very best to treat him like the rest of us mere mortals. However, others seem not to be immune to his power.

Two cases in point: Last week we needed to exchange a Nerf gun that he received as a birthday present that he is not allowed to keep due to the fact it is a gun (and we don't do those.) Toys R Us apparently has a new NAZI gift returning policy that states without a receipt you can not even exchange an item. The lady told Romney the news that we couldn't exchange the gun. Romney just put on the MOST pitiful face any human has ever produced and said "Awwww...." in a very pitiful voice and the lady was rendered helpless. She immediately snatched that gun up and said, "I can't turn that away. I'll do it just this once!"

Next, this morning at breakfast at our hotel in Kanab (Where we spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with Bill's Grandma and his sister, Anne and her son, Quentin), Romney was disappointed not to see any yogurt at the breakfast buffet. I told him I would ask the server if they had any more they could put out. She said they were out until the truck came with a delivery in two more days. Romney looked at her, put on that powerful smile and said "Awww... I really was hoping for a yogurt!" She didn't even hesitate before succumbing to his "cuteness", she said "Oh... I will ask the manager to run to the store and get you one." 15 minutes later she returned with a platter of 4 different flavor choices for the child who no one can turn down. (I was lucky and snagged one of the flavors he didn't want-- stinker took my favorite!) That left only two for the hordes of other disappointed guests whose cuteness factor palled in comparison and who would suffer a yogurt-less fate.

One day (in the not so distant pubescent future that awaits him) his cuteness may wane and he will equalize with the rest of us who have also lost our "cuteness" powers to suffer the word "NO!" and all it's miseries.

Until that day... we pray and hope that he will choose to use his powers for good, instead of evil.

Bouncin' Off The Walls

Romney's 20 closest friends (plus a few of their siblings) joined my active 6 year old boy today to celebrate his birthday. When I was perusing the internet (during William's birthday party-- such a geek) for places we could host his entire kindergarten class + a few other important friends I found a company called "Bouncin' Off the Walls". This wasn't an entirely new discovery, I knew the place existed, I admit. But it seemed to take on a fresh meaning when I applied it to Romney.

The place was a total hit. They rent out the entire joint to just the party kids and let everyone jump their little bodies crazy on those inflatable giant slides and castles and mazes as well as providing unlimited air hockey to provide a breather from all the jumping.

There is nothing more fun than watching a room full of jumping and laughing 5 and 6 year olds. Except perhaps jumping and laughing yourself. Did I mention the adults are allowed to jump with the kids!

After all the raucous activities we retired to the party room where 20 starving children gorged themselves on chocolate cupcakes. The only time it felt chaotic with that many kids was present opening time. Romney enjoys a spotlight aimed his direction, and savored sitting in his big red party chair with all the kids clamoring to have him open their present next.

I tried an experiment this year with his birthday. . . I put a request on the invitation to not buy anything new, but rather to choose a book or toy that the guest was done using to give Romney as a gift. It was perfect and if we do another party that size again (give me 12 more months, I may be up for it), I would most definitely make that request again. Romney walked away with quite a haul and happy as a clam with his 2nd -hand gifts

Free Rice

Tis the season of gratitude.

How do you show yours?

Last year I stumbled across a website that would donate a dinner to a family for every Thanksgiving story shared. It seemed like an amazingly easy way to help feed a hungry family. It didn't cost anything other than time.

This year a friend sent out a link to www.freerice.com , a website that will donate free rice to help feed hungry all over the world. What interested me in this particular website is the "catch". The donation happens in 20 grains of rice increments for every correct answer you give in subjects ranging from Art to Math and English to Foreign Languages and Chemistry to Geography. You can help yourself get smarter at the same time you are helping others fill their bellies.

So for all you Ayn Rand fans out there--- don't worry, your altruism by participating will not diminish your own well-being. You will gratefully benefit yourselves as well.

The Necklace

In the tradition of all great 6 year old love affairs...

Romney has a little "girl" friend he has known since they were just a few months old. She had her 6th birthday on Saturday and Romney was determined to buy her a little present to send off to her.

He was willing to use some of his money to pitch in and he really wanted to pick out something a girl would like.

Bill teased Romney "Do you think Ashley would like some perfume? What would you want her to smell like?" and Romney answered "No, she doesn't need perfume. She already smells really good. I think she must take a million baths."

After looking around for a minute, we decided we would help him by giving him some suggestions. True to his Romney self, he listened and turned them all down one by one, until. . .

we got to "necklace". It was a very enthusiastic YES!!!!!! He went into the jewelry store and picked out at least 20 and narrowed it down one by one until he picked the one that reminded him of the time they kissed (when they were two or three. I am pretty sure he remembers the event only because I was able to catch it on my camera.) The shopgirl asked if we needed any help (most likely because we were sitting on the floor in the middle of the store with a handful of necklaces laid out side by side). I said he was picking out a present for a girl friend. (meaning female friend) and Romney said "Well she's only sort of my girl friend, not really-- but kind of!"

He picked out the one shown above and a sparkly purple lipstick case with cut out hearts to put it in. He used his money to buy it and was oh so very proud of choosing "just the right thing" for his "girl" friend.

Not bad from a boy who routinely wants to buy his dad Legos for Father's Day.

Hope

This election proved: Our system of government does not have to remain an Oligarchy nor an Aristocracy

There is hope again. . .

House of Horrors

My favorite holiday of the year has come and gone. The night where ghosts and goblins come to claim their bounty of free candy and it is socially acceptable, rather than reason to commit you, to pretend you are some one from a different time and place, and possibly, planet. Ahhhh... the joy that is Halloween.








Halloween would not be complete for my children without the annual decorating of the house. Even our friends' children asked us this year when we were going to decorate. (We were a bit slow about it this year!) Not one to disappoint (I voted to skip it this year), Bill braved our spooky basement and the very nasty cold and windy weather to put them all up while his helpers, one by one, ran back into the safety and warmth of the living room and watched him out the window.




When your father is a super hero who puts up Halloween decorations in the cold by himself to make his family happy, what other choice do you have as a son than to be a super hero yourself. That is just what William and Romney wanted to do this year. Both of them had very specific costumes in mind and luckily we found them at a store so I didn't have to figure out how to make them. Wolverine and Captain America were on guard this Halloween in case anyone tried to take too much of the Halloween candy we bravely left on the porch. That is what you have to do when both parents enjoy taking the kids trick-or-treating too much to be the sucker left at home handing out the goods.


Halloween night started the usual way with a quick bite to eat and the carving of a jack-o-lantern. This year we waited a bit long to buy our pumpkin (slacker parenting again!) and ended up with just one instead of 4. The kids both were able to pick out pumpkins and decorate them on a field trip this year, so don't feel too sorry for them. The kids drew out their design and Bill dutiful cut it as true to design as (Super) humanly possible.





After the pumpkin was carved we headed out to a party with some friends. I figured it was a Halloween party and that many people would be in costume. I figured SO VERY, VERY WRONG! I was the only adult in costume. Luckily it was a lame, last minute witch costume. Once I took off the hat and dumped my broom, it just looked like I had a Johnny Cash fetish (my all- black clothes) and didn't know when to stop using my eyeliner. We all had a nice time trick or treating for a minute and then hit the annual Trunk or Treat in the Avenues. Apparently, we were the only ones as there was no one was there (Most notably missing: the trunks full of treats). The kids were very disappointed, but quickly recovered when we said we would do more trick or treating with their friends. 2 gallon size ziplock baggies jam-packed with candy later, we declared the Halloween officially a success and officially over.

Only 364 more days to go. . .

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

Whoever wrote the "What Are Little Boys Made Of" rhyme did not foresee the 21st century child. My boys are made up of video games, cheese, and various Japanese created toys.

This week one of my little boys turned 10. Double digits. I was OK until William pointed out he has used all his fingers and was onto his toes. Then it hit me-- that means my son is half-way to twenty. If the next ten years go as quickly as these first 10 have gone, I am going to blink and it will be gone.

William had a great birthday. The day of he had a wonderful Bill-prepared breakfast, went to school (one of his favorite places to be), came home and played video games and ate pizza. William had very specific plan for his birthday party. He knew he wanted to see a movie and play video games. He wanted to do this at the GATEWAY, but he also wanted to invite more kids than our two cars combined could hold.



Bill and I had the genius idea to borrow a projector and a PS3 from friends and hang a sheet on Romney's wall and let the kids watch a movie and play games on the "Big Screen", eat pizzas and popcorn and generally enjoy being 9 and 10 year old boys. William was so excited about this party, he almost couldn't contain himself.

He also had very specific ideas of what kind of party favor he wanted to give out-- the (parent dreaded) Bakugon. I say "parent dreaded" because all parents dread driving all over town from toy store to toy store trying to hunt down these must have toys. It is almost impossible to find one, much less NINE! We were unbelievably successful (see two posts down for details) and they were a giant hit.

On a hilariously neurotic note: I am the only weirdo I know who plans and books her youngest son's birthday party during her oldest son's birthday party.

Fall

Crisp air, colorful leaves, golden light, cozy sweaters, birthdays of both of my children--these are some of the reasons I adore the Fall.

Since both boys have birthdays coming up it is annual portrait taking time. I can't believe I have a (soon to be)10 year old and a (soon to be) 6 year old. They are growing up so fast. The older they get, the more they dislike me taking their pictures. But I just can't resist. They are too beautiful. They both played along relatively well. William was ever so irritated to be wearing an itchy sweater and having to smile at me. But he did it anyway.




Romney, this time, was all for doing it well so that he could be done quickly instead of arguing about it for a few minutes first. He posed his little heart out with almost no prompting, knowing he could go swing sooner if he got if over with. I think they came out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself (and apparently I do).

UEA Weekend

A time honored and much loved (by children all over the state) Utah tradition is UEA weekend (formerly known as "hunting weekend"). The kids had half days Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, Friday and Monday off. Bill took the end of the week off from work to join us in our revelry.

Yesterday we tried to see a movie with some friends, but that didn't work out when they changed both the movies and the show times. (I was not too torn up about this since I was not terribly excited to be wasting 2 hours of my life on Space Chimps)! We then proceeded to go super center to super center looking for something called BAKUGAN. Apparently this is the "must-have" toy for boys right now since we could not find any in stock anywhere. Until... we hit Shopko. We found a 6 pack with no price tag on it. We took it to a store employee to have priced. Apparently the very last one was there for a reason. No one else would wait around for 30 minutes waiting for store employees to try and figure out how much to charge for it. The UPC code was ripped half way off and since it was the last one, no one knew what to do. Finally they decided 7$ would be fair. Since we know these sets usually go for around $25-30, we snatched that last one up. William will now be able to afford to give his dream party favor out at his party.

After the hunt for the impossible to find toy, we headed to Cornbelly's maze and pumpkin patch for some family fun. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to let the kids run and play and slide and hide and get dirty. For the record, getting stuck in a maze shaped like David Archuletta while listening to recordings of him crooning soft rock hits of days gone by is not as fun as it sounds.

We busted out the camera for some fall shots of the kids. Bill was very proud of the shots he took of me with the boys. We were standing up to walk away when I looked at what he captured. Now I am not the kind of wife that would stifle his creativity by stepping in and setting up the shot for him (Ok, I totally am), but you could barely tell we were in the shots he first took. But his last shot was a winner.

Election Season

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here. Bill was offered a chance at a new job he was very excited about, but decided not to take it. Timing was wrong with him being in school. I have been sick for 2 weeks (Does sick of the cold weather already count as an illness?) but still trying to keep up with all my obligations.

One of those obligations includes doing my civic duty and exercising my right to vote. Seeing as this is a presidential election year and that it is a heated race, I figured voter turn out (ie: lines at the polls on election day) would be high, also William was begging me to take him with me to vote so he could press the button to vote for his favorite presidential candidate (He has some VERY strong views on the matter. If you want to hear them, just ask.) Yesterday, I had a cram session reading my Voter Information booklet so I would know how I wanted to vote and since the kids have half days and then days off from school this week for Parent/Teacher/Kid conferences I took William and Romney with me to the County Offices to vote early. They were so excited. William cast my vote for president (We agree on our favorite candidate, you see.) and Romney cast my votes for all the judges. They both got stickers that said "I voted early" and they left proud and happy.


Elections have been on William's mind lately and he bravely ran for Student Council this year in his class against 10 other kids. He won by a mile his teacher said. He is taking his position very seriously (as he takes most things) and has big things planned for his school. He has been thinking about different systems of government and has decided that he likes the "voting for your leaders" plan much better than the "whoever has the most guns wins" plan. It is fun to see him becoming more world wise. (Not to be confused with street smart- that he still is not!)

Goodbye, Comfort Zone

A special thank you to all of my friends and family who came out to support me at the Poor Yorick event this weekend. I can say it was a success for me both personally and professionally.

I was able to sell many of my photographs and one will even travel internationally to live in New Zealand.--( I wonder if they would mind if I came along, too?) I can now say I am an internationally known photographer.

What an intense experience to sit in that small room for a total of 8 hours listening to what strangers and friends and family think of my work. It was eye opening and encouraging at the same time. It was also very good for me to have to explain my thought processes and techniques. At times it felt very overwhelming, but I not only made it through the event, but can say-happily-that I was able to enjoy and relax into the entire experience.

For those of you reading that weren't able to make it to the event, check out the website www.lookalittle.com to see what I am talking about.

Open Studio Event

Now that you have visited my new website: www.lookalittle.com, you will hopefully want to see the photos in person (Not to mention buy one to make it your very own). I will have my first public showing- selling of my work this Friday and Saturday at the Poor Yorick Open Studio bi-annual event. My friend, and wonderful artist, Phoenix Ostermann, has invited me to share her art space and between our work and the art from over 30 other artists, it should be a wonderful, visually stimulating event. *It was also voted the place to see and be seen by Salt Lake Weekly, in case that kind of thing excites you.
Hope to see you there.

Friday 6-10 p.m and Saturday 1-5 p.m.
Poor Yorick Studios
126 W Crystal Ave (2590 S)
South Salt Lake, UT 84115

Look a Little

Announcing the launch of my new photography website. You can find it at www.lookalittle.com.

Bill spent countless hours of his "free time" (he really doesn't have any of that, he just made it appear magically) making my vision become a reality.

Take a peak and tell me what you think.

The Friendly Robot

The boy with the friendly robot shirt started Kindergarten today. He was so excited to wear his shirt and get out the door. He was also very nervous and didn't want me to leave when it was time for me to go. He got a compliment on his shirt. He met the class turtle. He also said he had absolutely no fun. I think that means he is still not entirely comfortable in the new situation. I know he likes his teacher. I know he likes the kids in his class. I know he likes going to school. I still don't know why he would say it was no fun. We talked and the goal is to find something he can vocalize is "fun" about going to Kindergarten. (In his defense, there were a lot of business items to be attended to and not a ton of play-time this first day.)

We will see...

Oddball

Meet our new "pet" named ODDBALL. Notice it is a cat. Anyone who knows me will understand the irony of the situation. She lives outside. She eats expired tuna. She chose us. The kids think she is really our pet. I win!

4th Grader

Ah, first days of school. Summer has officially FLOWN by, and it is time to get in the school-groove again. I am a Mommy who is actually sad to see them leave. Perhaps, it is because it is more work with them in school. I get busy co-oping and fulfilling our committee work and feel like there just isn't as much free time as there is in the summer. Plus, during the summer we play hard and now it is time again to work hard! Another reason summer is better is Bill also had a break and we were back up to 2 parents. Now I will be in charge of fun things like dinner-making and kid-bathing and bed-time tucking in and story-reading all by myself.

We all had a great last day of summer yesterday, which eased the reality of this morning. We were invited to go swimming and hang out with some good friends up at a Snowbird Condo. Spending an entire day around a pool, or on a nice little mini-hike, which included a Momma/Baby Moose sighting, is not a bad way to hang. After that we took the kids out to a "last day of summer" dinner and an Arcade. William had an exciting night. First he was allowed to play a Marvel video game and second he had the first place score the very first time he played the game. He subsequently took 2nd and 4th (not bad for only playing 3 times total). That was a highlight for him. He said he was going to "faint from glory!"

William was very excited about getting back to school, though. He has missed seeing all his buddies all-day, every day. Plus, he was super excited to wear his first day of school shirt that he had a lot of fun choosing online. It is a black and white graphic t-shirt featuring all of his favorite Marvel Comic Book Heros. (He is currently a self-proclaimed Marvel Maniac.) It is most helpful that he loves his amazing teacher and his friends and likes to learn. I am lucky that way.

Romney had his assessment this morning for Kindergarten. I had already spoken to his teacher before the last school year ended to see how she felt about taking him on. Today she said she was glad for the warning. He is definitely ready to go. He is feeling a little nervous, but was excited to meet a friend named Jonathan. Bill and I met him in the hall and he said he was wanting to make a friend. We said we knew a little boy in his class who was also wanting to make a new friend. When Romney came out from the assessment, Jonathan came over and said "Hi, I'm Jonathan what's your name? Will you be my friend." Very cute and very helpful to Romney who was feeling anxious about not having any of his good buddies in his class. Next week, Romney's Kindergarten journey begins. Wish all of us luck.

35 Is The New 25!

Phrases like "Red is the new black." or any other other over-simplified locution that starts with a ____ and end with a "...is the new ____." always make me a bit nauseous. (Ok, maybe not that bad, but to merely say it "bugs" me wouldn't do my feelings justice.) So, when my dearest friend, Anne, texted Bill on my birthday asking him to tell me that "35 is the new 25", I was surprised by reaction. "Of course it is!" thought I "I feel way too young to be 35!" I agreed with a "_____is the new ________" phrase. You of course can tell that Anne is also the new 25 (Sorry Anne, sold you out!) but really we are too young to be "OLD". (Right?) This is, of course, the same chic, who when I went to her for medical advice (We are all convinced in a former life she was a Dr.) about a swollen gland I was worried about said "I don't know, we just seem to get more lumps and bumps now that we are old, it is probably nothing."

So which is it? Do I get the Senior Rate discount now, or order off the kiddie menu?

Answer: Neither. I am what is (not so affectionately) known as "middle aged"! Or so I thought until I googled the life expectancy of a US female (81.1 years). Ha, I am so totally not middle aged yet! (Another 5.05 years) Kiddie Menu here I come!

The "day of my birth" celebration this year was a perfect one. Bill and the kids bought me no presents (my request) and we simply spent the day together doing something I had never done before. Bill already told you what we did, but told me to fill in all the details.

The boys all wore shirts with an actual collar and no cartoon/comic/pop-culture characters/or team names on them! Not only did they wear nicer shirts, but they also posed for me to take their pictures all day. *(Disclaimer: Granted they were much more congenial about it the first 2 hours than they were the last 4!) We had a great time wandering through the vast gardens and soaking in the man-tamed nature that is a public garden of that magnitude. They boys loved running around. We loved not having to stop them.

We all came home tired, hot, exhausted and happy!

For the record, I have decided 35 is a great age, but I am not getting one step closer to middle age and will stick here for at least a year! :)

Happy Birthday Tara!

Tara's turn for a fun day all to herself. The day was spent (you guessed it) taking photos of her handsome boys. After a great breakfast including Bill's famous cake-like Bisquick™ (one of Tara's favorite) we headed to the Thanksgiving Point gardens. Although we weren't sure what to expect, the gardens were amazing. Tara had a fabulous day of walking and performing her greatest talent. We all had a great time.
Later will come a full dinner and perhaps some off-key singing.
--Bill (So rare to see a post from me!)

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday to the worlds' greatest husband, father and man. 33 looks good on you! We're celebrating by taking our favorite person up to his favorite place, the mountains. We're heading to SNOWBIRD for some alpine slide, bungee trampoline, zip-line, bull-riding, peruvian chair and tunnel, aerial tram and climbing wall action. No slowing down for my ol' man!

(Another) Room with a (Different) View

In these times of economic crisis, where the US dollar just doesn't have as much clout as it used to, and when our middle class seems to be in peril, what can you get on vacation for a$109? Let me tell you, in a disorganized 4 star hotel in Park City, quite a bit! Bill enjoyed his annual Mt. Biking birthday celebration this Friday at Deer Valley. We thought it would be nice to have one last summer hurrah and surprise the kids with an overnighter in Park City. We searched the net and found a decent deal on a room at the Canyons. I picked up William from his sports camp, picked up Bill from Deer Valley and headed to the surprise. The kids didn't notice Bill checking in while they waited in the car, nor did they notice going into the parking garage and parking. They got out of the car and started walking into the hotel, then, and only then, did William look up from his game and say "Wait, what...?" This is why I worry about his street smarts.


We got up to the room they assigned us and it had only one king bed. I love my kids, I love my husband, I would not love to share one bed with all three. Bill went back downstairs explained the situation and came back with new room keys. We headed (bags, kids, and dirty mountain biker) to the new room they assigned us to find one queen bed. Also, not gonna happen! Bill called down to the front desk and they promised to run up keys to a 3rd room. 20 minutes later, Bill had to run back down since we still had not seen anyone. Bill got the third set of keys and (insert hallelujah chorus) it actually had 2 queen beds, a fireplace, a flat-screen tv, a giant balcony--all as promised when we booked the room. What is also had was an unlocked door into a big living room, kitchen, 2nd bathroom, another tv and fireplace with access back to the same balcony! I am not sure they meant to give us such a great room, but they did and we weren't complaining this time!




As an apology for making us run around the hotel, they also threw in breakfast in the resort restaurant the next morning for all 4 of us. And that is what you can get on vacation for $109!

A Room with a View

We had 2 new additions to our BARBER WILD KINGDOM this morning. A buck and a doe made a temporary pit stop in our yard this morning. Bill and William and Romney all looked out William's bedroom window this morning and saw them hanging out. (Photo credit: Bill and Romney to prove to me they actually did see the deer. Every time I would go to see them, they would be gone.)
The two deer add to the menagerie of animals that either call our yard home or visit us periodically: a squirrel (or 10), some mice (no longer inside, thank goodness!), a raccoon or two (who enjoy fighting with each other in the middle of the night, quite noisly), skunks, a family of quail, woodpeckers, owls, a hawk and a cat that decided to claw on our front door yesterday (we enjoy the cats, they keep the mice at bay).
Reading this post you would think we lived out in the country instead of downtown Salt Lake City.

On another note. This weeks activities (when we aren't busy tending to our "pets") included swimming lessons (the last level for William, which he passed off today), a sports camp (William again), play-dates (both kids), bike rides (Bill) and parent meetings and school commitments (Tara). We are starting the slide back into school mode around here. Romney missed William while he was busy at his classes. Upon hearing that William exclaimed "Oh, that just warms my heart!" and the two have been amazing to each other this week. They were able to pick out first day of school shirts. William picked out a shirt full of Marvel comic characters. Romney first chose a PUNISHER t-shirt with a skull on it, but when William and I explained that may scare off some potential new Kindergarten friends who might find it a little frightening, he immediately nixed that shirt and went with a friendlier ROBOT shirt.

Thats the news from our ZOO.

Boi, oh boy!

Our final vacation day. It was sad to leave, but we are home safely after a nice, long weekend.

We woke up and went on another bike ride along the river. William must have eaten his WHEATIES this morning, because he was a force to be reckoned with. He was so far ahead of me on this trail this morning, he had to keep stopping to wait for me to catch up. At one point he said "Mom, could you please pick up the pace a little". Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that to my kids? He must have gotten Bill's biking gene.

After the bike ride, we headed to the Botanical Gardens so I could try (try, being the operative word) to get some nice photos of the boys. Neither one of them was in the mood to be my mini-models today, but I got a couple of decent shots somehow. We came on the best day of all, FREE day. I don't know how, but the gardens were open and there was no one there to take our entrance money. I was devastated (or not). These aren't just any gardens, however. No siree, these are on the grounds of the old state penitentiary. The grounds still include the old prison yard, complete with guard towers and imposing wall and wire. As you can imagine, this was the thing that impressed the boys the most about our visit to the Botanical Garden.



Next to fit into our short, but full o' fun, last vacation day was a trip in paddle boats down a canal and into a nice little duck pond in the city's main park. The boys had waited for this moment for 2 days solid. I was a little surprised by their enthusiasm for paddling around a duck poop filled park pond. In all fairness to the fine city we visited, it was clean and lovely as far as duck ponds go. The kids divided up the parents, Romney wanted Bill and William wanted to ride with me. (Ok, I may have told him he could steer if in my boat). With William at the helm it was only a few minutes until his fear of crashing into things was allayed, and he enjoyed trying to bumper boat Bill and Romney's barge. (Notice how it has gone from a paddle boat to a barge in a mere paragraph?) We did see a wild mink running along the bank of the canal. It was correctly identified by myself, and confirmed via GOOGLE images via Bill's iphone. Not bad for a city girl. I was impressed I was able to identify a mink that was not currently being worn on the shoulders of a non-card carrying non-PETA member. I am a human who does not agree with killing animals for fashion, but I can see why the world may not miss a few mink. They are ugly rodents. BLECH!

Still don't know where we were? Click here to find out.

Who knew the state I have spent many breaths mocking would be the source of some serious family fun?

Clue(less)

The mystery deepens. The suspense is thick. Where, oh where, have the Barbers gone?

Today's activities (and clues) included:
Bike riding along the city's greenbelt. A 23 mile paved path that runs along a river--beautiful. We had a wonderful time exploring these paths, crossing over and under bridges and watching people jump from trees (literally) into the river to cool off.

We went to a Discovery Children's Science Center where the boys wowed and amazed the locals with their knowledge of space facts. Both boys won a Darth Tater (come on , you don't know this--Mr. Potato Head Star Wars style) by answering 4 questions apiece about space. Trust me, this was a big highlight. The museum was wonderful, not very big budget, but it had lots of hand on activities to do experiments with. Romney had single-handedly built a 4 way electrical circuit that ran a doorbell, 2 lights and a motor. Not bad for 5. William tested his reflexes (which are pretty good, in case you were wondering). He also laid on a bed of nails and experimented with sound waves (What else, from a piano- loving boy). Both boys loved making their own Robots and riding on a personal elevator pulley.

Then we walked around downtown taking a few photos and exploring. We stopped for dinner and dessert and headed back to the hotel for swimming and watching a movie (simultaneously).

Only one more day to guess, then all will be revealed.

Where in the World?

(Insert Human Beat Box , Acappella Music from the show "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego").


Let's play a little game "Where in the World Is the Barber Family". We needed OUT of town. It didn't really matter where, it only mattered how-- ie: No Camping! The boys--all 3-- start school in a couple of weeks (I refuse to count actual days--too depressing!) and we still hadn't left our state. This was a problem that required immediate remedy. (Plus, William was wanting hours of uninterrupted, Momma-sanctioned Didj time.)



So here are your clues:

1. We drove to our present location.
2. It was less than a day's drive.
3. We spent our evening having a picnic dinner on a sandy beach.

Bonus clue: On the drive to our location Romney exclaimed "Oh, man! It smells like cow dung!"

More clues to follow tomorrow. . . (if the hotel internet connection holds up!)

Danger Boys!

William and Bill headed up to Cub Country (Day Camp) today, for day one of their two day adventure.

Activities included: Impaling a teddy bear with an arrow (Archery), Sewing (stitching cubs who cut themselves making a soap carving), Creating a dust storm (by "moon jumping" on two inflatable camp mattresses), Treasure hunt (looking for lost frisbees from ultimate frisbee golf), First Aide for Heat Stroke (after running an obstacle course in 100 degree weather while being chased by aliens), Tree Decorating (from bottle rockets getting stuck in the branches).

In other words, the perfect boy day!

William is looking forward to the opportunity to shoot his eye out tomorrow at day 2! Watch (with one good eye) for it!

Phony Beatle-mania

Hot! A single word can sum up how the weather has been in Salt Lake for the past few days. 100 degrees +, is definitely not my kind of weather. Bill and I have been planning an escape route (ie: vacation) to somewhere cooler, but last night we got a heat-wave reprieve. Lisa, (my most amazingly connected sister) offered us tickets to the "Classical Mystery Tour" performance up at Deer Valley. It was a concert featuring the Utah Symphony playing with a Beatles Tribute band. Since William has been working so hard learning Beatles tunes (so far "Here Comes the Sun" and "Let it Be") on the piano, Lisa thought he might enjoy this performance.

The Deer Valley setting could not be more beautiful--lush and green and cool. We settled into the spot that we carved out for ourselves on the grass and were enjoying the cool evening breeze (see photo) when the heavens opened and it began to pour. That is when we realized why it was so lush and green and cool. Like I said before, it was 100 degrees in Salt Lake and it looked like it might never rain again in the valley. None of us even considered the fact it might rain in the mountains, and therefore we were woefully unprepared! No umbrellas, no plastic rain ponchos, no tarp for the blanket, nothing. Apparently we were in the minority, because at the first drop, out popped thousands of umbrellas and all sorts of rain gear. We sat there in the rain with programs over our heads, looking like we needed a boy-scout course in preparedness.

The music was great and even in the rain, the concert was so much fun. Both William and Romney loved hearing the songs they love performed by a "band" that broke up 28 and 32 years (respectively) before they were born. High point: "George" singing Here Comes the Sun with William humming along -- a triple rainbow breaking over the mountains beside us!

Kid Kongs Attack France

Bill had the day off today. No reason really, other than he works his butt off at work and his boss told him to have a free day. We thought we would show him what we do all day (play!).

First we visited France, then we hit up Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Switzerland. After that we headed over to Japan, Vietnam, China, and Korea. As you can imagine, after that we were hot and tired, so we left the International Peace Gardens ;) and headed over to the Kearns/Oquirrh Park Pool.


We have never been to this pool before, but it was a fantastic one for families. It had 3 separate pimped out kiddie pool areas as well as a lap/swim pool and an indoor pool complete with a fun slide. We spent 3 fun-filled hours there, much longer than we normally swim.

We came home and Bill made us a great BBQ dinner. The perfect end to a summer day. Needless to say, Bill thinks my job ROCKS his during the summer, and I respectfully agree. . . although, I don't seem to get days off as easily as he does.