My Pappy

My dear sweet Pappy has been gone over 5 years now. I'm sad that he and Aaron can't go train chasing together but I am happy he's not in pain anymore. My Pappy was the best. He had a look that completely conveyed how much he loved me.

I've a new hobby that makes me think of him every time I sit down. Some friends and I are making jewelry. Started out as a fun one time get together that has turned into more. We gather at one house, put the kids in the basement to destroy, and bead for a couple of hours. I found out early on that I had a hard time seeing the tiny pieces I was working on, so I went out and bought a pair of magnifying glasses. Pappy worked with his hands on tiny parts of camera's my whole life. He'd come to dinner with the magnifying glasses on his head and was very adept at getting them to land nicely on his nose by raising his eyebrows. I can't sit and concentrate on putting things together, with tools in my hand, without seeing a picture in my mind of my Pappy doing the same thing. Never fails. I wish we could sit down together and do our crafts. How I would love to be in his workshop with a comfortable silence while we each worked. He'd hum something from the Messiah from time to time and I'd cringe. What joy that would be!

Uhh...Thanks?

We got a call yesterday from Roland's brother. He let us know that they are now the proud owner of chickens. I've never understood the need myself. Who wants to get attached to later whack off a head? Anyway, the American Fork Springers called to let us know that they named one Genevieve. Um....Thanks? Roland is the blood relative. I didn't hear mention of Roland the Chicken. Not sure how to take this honor....

What I've Learned this Week

1- Aaron learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Roland ran beside him for several days until he could stop and start on his own, even on hills. What I've learned is the little man has better balance then I do. He can go really slow and not lose his balance. As I ride behind him with wiggle worm on the back of the bike I cannot keep my balance going that slow. (Nice that I blame it on Peter, huh)? There must be something in the physics of a 12 inch wheel verses my big one.

2- I really need to back off of Aaron as he rides because he can stop FAST. I about dumped me and Peter in the gutter trying not to hit Aaron as we crossed the street. I was paying attention to oncoming traffic not Aaron. He managed to do this to me several times. But it's so hard not to ride close when he goes SLOW. See above.

3 - Even if Aaron can't see me he has the uncanny ability to move to where I'm heading. If I go right he drifts right. I go left he goes left. Once again see #1. I can't move to either side of him to pick up any speed without him blocking my way.

4- Even with all I just mentioned I still love going on bike rides with Aaron and Peter. Aaron may be slow but he can go far. We did a three mile ride this week. He's four. I'm not. :)

5- Peter is better with the cell phone then I am. He managed to send a text message to my cousin Megan. It was a rather urgent sounding message that had her worried and I'm sure made her late for work as she frantically tried to get a hold of me. I finally heard the cell ring. Peter had put it in the shower stall. How does a 1 year old compose a message that makes sense?

6- Peter likes to play in the sprinklers if he's fully dressed. Put him in a swimsuit and for some reason he's no longer interested and rather mad.

7- I've a problem with my C1 and C2 vertebrae. I have to go in for x-rays. Don't mind x-rays. Better than getting blood drawn.

Blog to Read

I love reading my cousin Melinda's blog. Just about every post makes me laugh, unless she writes about riding along with the Police, then I just wonder about her. :) Once again her latest post has made me laugh out loud because I love Neil, will run at the sight of swarming bees and think marathons are insane. Take a look at it. http://melindabrimhall.blogspot.com/

This is a picture of her and Aaron. She lived here for a short time and I'm lobbying to get her back. I need more people who make me laugh. Roland can't be the only one responsible for that. Too much pressure for one person. Let me know what you think of her blog. I can't wait for her to do new posts.

Did I just say that?

There are some things you think you'll never have to say. As an example; Aaron likes to help me clean. He'll do dishes, sweep and likes to vacuum. But I never thought I'd have to say, "Aaron, don't dust your Brother".

Sweet Brotherly Moment

Aaron had to spend some time in time out yesterday. He felt the need to tease and harass his brother non-stop. So off to time out he went. Peter, being a sweet little soul, did his monkey scoot over to where Aaron was sitting and put himself in timeout too. They sat there for awhile laughing......then Aaron pushed Peter onto his head. Moment over.

Unsupervised

You would think I would learn that if Peter isn't complaining that his brother is doing something to him that they're in some sort of conspiracy. Peter made no sound as his brother painted him so he could be a "cat". Aaron also did a fine piece of artwork on the dining room floor.

A few days ago I once again left them unsupervised while I looked at email. I came back to my curling ribbon wrapped around the central wall -dining room, kitchen, living room and bathroom, three times. Aaron was trying to make a spiderweb. Nice. Took forever to wind it back up. Lesson I still need to learn: quiet is bad!