Be-lated Halloween Post and leaf jumping

LEAVES

Gotta love leaf jumping. Taya did this all afternoon on Halloween.

I LOVE FALL!

HALLOWEEN

Well, I realized I haven't posted for awhile and I missed the traditional Halloween post. So here we go. This year we had too many ideas for Halloween so lucky for us we had several occasions to dress up.

I joined the other "Witches of West" (the cool female teachers) for school and went all out at being ugly. I was your traditional witch but found the most disgusting nose that I glued on to my face. My kids had a hard time taking me seriously as I tried to lead a discussion…I wonder why? The worst was when I had to look up to pull down my projector screen and liquid dripped out of the nose. I was horrified! It was the condensation from breathing into that disgusting nose all day. It is a good thing I have no pride.

For Tay’s school carnival she was a Geisha and Tyce and I dressed as a Dalmatian and Cruella Deville. He was just so cute with his hood on because his ADORABLE little cheeks were just irresistibly chubby, I couldn’t stop kissing and pinching them. I think he will grow up with an aversion to Dalmatians. Mike was just himself, so he doesn’t get to have pictures. I must admit I was one of the few parents who dressed up. Why do people get boring as they get older? Taya was so proud of me, so it was all worth it.

For Halloween Tyce and I stuck with our get up and Taya was Belle, that is what she truly wanted to be, I had to coax her into being the geisha, but she was really lovely as Belle. The kids loved tick-or-treating!! Taya exclaimed that this was the most fun she had ever had (we lead fairly simple lives) and Tyce who was confused and unconvinced initially couldn’t wait to get out of the wagon at each stop. It was great to watch his face, he was in utter disbelief that people were just giving out candy and that his mother allowed him to take it. He was giddy. When we got back to our house Mike had a nice little fire going in the front yard – it was great, just a quintessential Halloween.

Taya, Marlow and Maylie cute little trick-or-treaters.

The Brain and I

Yesterday I attended the UTOPSS (Utah Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools) workshop at the UofU. I LOVE these workshops because I always learn something new, get new teaching ideas and re-energized to go back to school and teach. This year there was an interesting presentation from a USU professor. She was great! She brought us some useful information and lab activities for teaching Sensation and Perception. She focused in on the eye. So I participated in some of the lab activities and I actually dissected a pig's eye! I cut it right in half with a scalpel, it was disgusting! Some black fluid oozed out but it was sooo cool!! I could actually see and hold the lens of the eye and see the retina. I was proud of myself for doing it because I have an aversion to doing such things. The professor also brought a human brain which you will see me holding below. It was fascinating! I almost vomited however because I could smell the formaldehyde - it was very off-putting! This was huge for me, I know for others it is no big deal and they love this kind of stuff but I never thought I would be able to do this. Now I am going to try to do it in my classes next year if I can find the funds for the lab. I think it will definitely be a memorable learning activity if I can pull it off, so I'm in the market for harvested pig's eye - any suggestions?

The way I feel today...

Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?

- Phyllis Diller (one smart lady)

Why can't you just clean once and be done with it for like a week?

Good News!

Last week Mike got a job!! We are thrilled! It is amazing that after months of nothing available in his field, that not only a job, but a great job became available and was offered to Mike. He is now working at an Architectural Firm that has recently added a landscape architecture department. They also have offices in Logan and Arizona, where some of our favorite people are...but for now we are staying put (it is kind of fun to know there is a possibility though). We feel very blessed and we are very grateful for all the thoughts, prayers and encouragement on our behalf. We have great family and friends.

Kindergarten! And a little Labor Day update.

Taya had her first day of Kindergarten today! As every mother knows, this is a big day, not only for the student but also for the Mom. You just hope you have taught them everything they need to know, and I'm not talking about how to write their name and that good stuff but things like...will she remember to wash her hands after going to the bathroom, will she wipe her face after she eats her PB&J, will she remember to keep her legs together while sitting in her skirt, you know the important stuff.

As it turned out, it was "a perfect day". She was so pumped to go to school today and I must say she looked so smart in her little plaid skirt! She was most definitely the cutest kindergartner in the school (other mom's might have thought that about their kid, but mine really was), I'm not too proud or anything. She is so ready for Kindergarten, bring it on!

Outside of her classroom.

She got a little nervous the moment we were ready to leave but as soon as her teacher came over and told her she had the most beautiful smile, she was good to go and didn't look back.

Over Labor Mike back-packed through the Wind Rivers (just being in his element) and I went with my family to Park City. It was fabulous and totally relaxing. A good time was

had by all.

Monday we went to the Miners Day parade. It is mostly just Park City people campaigning for city office wearing their Tevas, sipping their mochachino's while walking their dogs. But we had fun, mostly just people watching. Tyce loved waving at people that weren't looking at him and I saw my first, a camel in a parade. I was mesmerized.

We had to go to the Olympic Park and see the ski jumpers practice their jumps into the pool. They are so awesome! It is one of my favorite winter olympic events to watch and it's pretty cool to see how they get their practice in the summer. One of these days I want to give it a try. We also did the Alpine Slide

My mom turned 29 (again) this last week so part of the weekend was to celebrate with her. My kids love their grandparents and always have a great time with them. My parents are the best!

Taya's poster she made for Grandma (I helped a little).

I also had to add that Taya officially learned to ride her bike last week. She is such a big girl! We are still working on getting her to start on her own but she does a pretty great job. I'm sure she learned years earlier than I ever did.

Special day with Grandma and Bike Riding...all about Taya

A special tradition started by my Grandma Nielsen was to take us school shopping before we started kindergarten. We were fortunate enough to live close to Grandma that she was able to make it a really special event. We got a backpack and a pencil box usually and maybe a shirt or something, I can't totally remember. I do, however, remember being very excited about it and loving the time alone with my Grandma. My mom has continued that tradition and taken it to the next level, of course. I have the greatest mom! She does so much for us and is the best possible Grandma ever! She truly loves playing with our kids and gives all of them genuine attention. I rarely get to spend time with my mom if kids are around, I think she prefers them to us and sacrifices being around the adults in order to spend time with the grandkids. She is very popular with the grandkids.

Taya was very eager to have her special day with Grandma and they had a great time school shopping. Taya is not like an ordinary child she loves to shop for clothes. She is always the judge when I'm shopping for myself giving me thumbs up or down, but when it is her turn she knows how to work an outfit. She twirls, spins, poses and thoroughly checks herself out in the mirror. I think my mom was so endeared with Taya's enjoyment in shopping that she went a little overboard. So we are totally set for school to start. Thank you so much mom, you are the best! We really appreciate all you do for us and most of all how special you are to our kids. (You'll have to keep working on Tyce, he LOVES his Grandpa...a lot!)

Shop til' you drop! Two tired girls with the loot.

For some reason Taya loved this shirt most of all, probably because she thinks the graphic is a barbie.

Mostly she picked out skirts, we loved this one, it reminded us of a little 1950's secretary. Also notice her VERY favorite item, her high heels. They were the first things she showed us.

Getting ready for the maiden voyage, a little nervous. This is day one, a little rough.

Mike's been working with Taya to learn how to ride her bike. She is doing awesome! She does it for a little while then looses control. Mike is working with her on using the break, keeping focused and putting her feet down. She really has it she just needs to have confidence in herself. I can't believe my little girl is about to make this huge leap of independence.

*disclaimer: We do make Taya wear a helmet when she rides her bike, however at the time I took these pictures it was falling off and bothering her so Mike let her go without for a bit, he stays by her every second. So we are working on getting a larger helmet.

Day three of bike lessons, she is ready to take off!

Time to let go...

Sheer joy, or terror - we aren't really sure.

She's doing it!!!