Conner's Prayer

Conner says such sweet things in his prayers. The other night, he totally cracked me up. He asked that he be able to have a good night's sleep and wanted the same for his family, aunts, uncles, his pets and, in Conner's own words "even some of my neighbors."

Kathryn's Bitch book

Kathryn showed me a sticker the other day. I asked her where she found it, and she said, "In my bitch book!" It took me a minute to realize she meant this - the "beach" book.

Thanksgiving Pie

I do like to make pies, and this year was no different. I thought I'd try a lemon meringue because it's probably my favorite. I also found a new pie crust recipe that sounded good - made with butter, not shortening or lard. You mix the dough, let it chill, and then roll it out. When I rolled it out it looked absolutely beautiful. After I baked it, it looked like a 4-year-old had made it (nothing against 4-year-olds, but really!). So, I went back to the tried and true shortening crust, and just to show you that I can make a pie crust - see here. The meringue was a different story. I find as I'm getting older, my multitasking skills are diminishing. I beat meringue a bit too long, it was too stiff, and difficult to spread. It looked good when it came out of the oven, but shrunk and had beads of moisture on the top the next morning. Doesn't really matter - we ate it anyway!

Kathryn, you are something else!

A few funnies from Kathryn.

Mom - "Kathryn, you are something else!"
Kathryn, indignant - "I am not something else! I'm a cute girl!"

Kathryn, to a friend - "I'm sorry to tell you your shirt isn't as pretty as mine."
Nice.

Kathryn to Dad - "When I turn four, I'm going to have boobs and wear a bra, just like Mom."

Kathryn to Mom - "Where's Max?"
Mom - He had to go home
Kathryn - "He can't go home!"
Mom - "Why?"
Kathryn, sobbing - "Because I love him!

Halloween at the Lowe's

Yes, we dressed up the kids, the dogs, and I dressed up myself. I haven't really dressed up in years, but I have always felt guilty about that on my preschool party day. I mean, what preschool teacher won't dress up for Halloween? I have worn the "old lab coat" a few times but now I don't even know what happened to it. It probably got dumped in one of my "this house is too cluttered!" moments. Yeah, that's where my prom pictures ended up too. Not one of my better moves.
So at Walmart, I found this cute 50's gal costume. All one piece and only $19.99. It was a bit small, but I figured it was for one day and of course, by next year, I will be smaller. Also, it has the added benefit of being able to be easily coordinated with by Channing. I thought he could just wear a t-shirt with rolled-up sleeves and jeans. He did, but also added some black hairspray and side burns. We were dumb and didn't get a picture, but the black hairspray took several washings to come completely out. It was pretty funny at church the next day to see him with black flecks in his ears and on his shirt - funny to me, at least.

The kids had to make do with what we had - we have a huge box of costumes and I just couldn't justify buying any more. So Ethan ended up borrowing a Darth Vader costume (about 2 sizes too small) from the neighbors. Conner chose an old Hulk costume I've had in the preschool room. I bought it used and it is really on its last legs. Kathryn agreed to be the orange monster - warm and cute. SO - my two boys looked like nobody loved them and I had to force myself to let them, notwithstanding all the cute, hole-free, appropriately-sized costumes sitting in our costume box.

The end of an era

Vinnie in his furry days



Stacey and Vinnie in 1995



Vinnie's headstone made by Ethan and his friend, Max.

Sadly, our sweet Vinnie passed away last Sunday at the ripe old kitty age of 14+. He's the best cat we've ever had, and probably ever will have since I'm allergic these days. We'll all miss him.

Stacey's first triathlon - but not her last!

Sherise and I before - freezing in the rain!

Chan and the kids caught up with me at the top of the first hill. I wasn't really flashing them the peace sign, I was telling them only 2 miles left.


At the finish line!


With Sherise at the end (I know, a really flattering picture)

Okay, it sounds lame, but I've been bitten by the tri bug. My friends Sherise and Kristen signed up for the Alta Canyon sprint triathlon that took place last month here in Sandy. I was planning on participating but my broken finger set me back and I was too chicken to just do it anyway (stupid broken finger!). A few weeks ago I happened across an ad for the American Fork Splash and Dash and thought I should just register and pay for it so I wouldn't have any excuse not to do it. The $53 bucks I forked out to sign up and the fact that Sherise agreed to do it with me were good motivators as it turned out to be about 53 degrees and extremely rainy that morning. In fact, I think it rained just to give me a great story - because it really came down hard the entire race. Honestly, it made it more fun. While on the bike, I thought of the conversation I'd overheard between two other participants where they told about packing extra socks in ziplocs - because you can't run with wet socks! Well, you can, and we did! One great thing about the cold is that I couldn't feel my legs after I got off the bike - making the run virtually painless. It really was an awesome experience and I amazingly finished in the top half of my division. Can't wait to do it again!