Obama Llama Where's My Mama?

Most Moms have read Llama, Llama Red Pajama to the their kids. I personally haven't. My friend Shanna read it to me when she found out I hadn't read it yet. She's very good at reading out loud. :-) She made the freaked out little Llama looking for his mama sound really freaked out.

With all this news coverage of Obama urging Moms to go back to school I keep thinking it won't be long until we see the book rewritten with the new title Obama Llama Where's My Mama?

Now, I've no problem with Mama's going back to school. I will become concerned, however, if we get a bunch of freaked out little llamas running around, in red pajamas, wondering where their Mamas are.

Someone should start working on this rewrite. Not me, but someone....

Post Update

Mom called to let me know that Howells went out of business after she read my post titled 'Pappy-Chapter 2' dated 8.13.09.

I guess they couldn't get the cameras back together. So sad.

My Pappy - Chapter 2

After Pappy died my brothers and I were down in his shop. We stood there looking at two Hasselblads that were completely torn apart. Pappy had started the repair job for a local photo shop named Howells.

Wes, Nate, and I looked at the cameras then looked at each other. Then looked at the cameras, then looked at each other. "What do you think?", "I don't know, what do you think?", "Can you fix that?", "Hh, NO!, Can you?", "Nope", "What should we do?", "No idea", "Hmph". We walked out shaking our heads thinking "Sure glad I'm not Howells".

Wes got the fun job of bagging up the tiny pieces and taking them back to the owner. Wes handed over about $60,000 worth of itsy bitsy torn apart camera pieces with a "Sorry, Jim died. Hope you can find someone to put these back together for you. Have a good day."

The image of that poor man standing there in what must have been stunned silence still makes me laugh. Not many people have the skill to put a $30,000 camera back together these days. Pappy was one of a kind. He is missed. Wonder if Howells ever got the cameras put back together....

Photos From the Past Month

I need to be better at posting pictures as they're taken. Here is a photo of Aaron from Roland and Aaron's Adventure to Southern Virginia. Two dirty kids getting a bath before dinnner.

Treats after playing in the water.

Playing Candyland with Dad.

Some of our friends.

Roland and Aaron going for a run in the rain. Aaron's face after one week.

Aaron's face the day after.

Foamhenge. Ha, Ha.

Kids at the Natural Bridge gift shop. Yum! White Tiger at the Natural Bridge Zoo. My favorite zoo!
Feeding the animals.

Wish I had her eyelashes!

Monkey House

A Goose in the Tub...

We had a fun day of playing in the water with friends. The kids were a mess so we came in and I plopped them in the tub. Peter stood up for a few seconds to play with the downspout just as Aaron stretched out. Peter sat down right on Aaron's toes. I don't think I've ever seen him stand up that fast.

As a plaque that's in my brother's shower says, "A Goose in the Shower is Good Clean Fun."

The Adventures of Roland and Aaron

They made it home safe and sound, although tired (I expected the tired part).

From what I can gather from short bursts of information they didn't see the race because of rain. They camped on Roland/Aaron Mountain. They did a 6 mile hike that Aaron did amazingly well on. While hiking they skinny dipped in the river and ponds, and ate sardine sandwiches for lunch, still can't believe that one. Listened to Bluegrass music in Buena Vista, and had dinner with some friends that moved down there a few years ago. All in all they had a good time being together.

Peter and I had great naps and a quiet house. It was a good weekend for all of us.

P.S. We just discovered that Aaron brought home a friend. Too bad the deer tick had to die....

What A Cool Dad

Roland and Aaron are off on another weekend adventure. I'm not sure what they've decided to do. These things get decided on the road with these two. Possibly a racetrack down in Lexington or a concert at the Carter Family Fold. I DO know that they'll come back smiling with tales to tell.

The other morning Roland sheepishly told me that he woke Aaron up at 11:00 pm to show him Jupiter through the telescope. They decided to go for a drive to somewhere a little darker so they could see it better. I've no idea how late they stayed out but Roland gave in and came back when Aaron said he needed to go back to sleep.

I don't know what Roland thought I would think of that. Obviously, he was a little hesitant to tell me. Between you and me, I thought it was really cool.

A Memory

I took the kids out for a bike ride. Yes, I survived but I did make Aaron WALK his bike down the hill that he crashed on. Actually, now that I've seen it again it wasn't the hill that got him. He was about 20 feet from the hill. (That's one playback I don't need to see when I get to heaven).

Anyhoo, we ended up at a park with sand. We typically don't go to parks with sand because the other Moms don't like it. I personally don't care. (My peeve is bubbles). Wow, I'm distractable today. Is that even a word? I'll try to stay on topic.

Back to the park with sand. Peter loves the sand and today he really dug in. He had at least a tablespoon in each shoe and who knows how much down his pants and shirt. It reminded me of the first time Aaron started in on the sand. We were visiting a park down in Old Town Alexandria by the Real Estate company I worked for. I bent down and played with him. You know how the pants these days that sit on your hips open up a little in the back when you bend? Well, Aaron was playing with a borrowed scoop and decided that that little opening would be a perfect place to dump his sand. I didn't see it coming. I would have loved to be the Mom sitting across from us watching that happen. It's very hard to get sand out of your pants without undressing. It was a long ride home.

Aaron vs. THE SIDEWALK

I knew the day would come. I just didn't think it'd be so soon.

My family rode our bikes over to a friends house to help with a move. Roland needed to stay so I headed home with Aaron on his bike and Peter on the back of mine. Just up the road is a steep hill that we had to go down to get to the bike path. Aaron, being Aaron, took it at full speed. I looked down for a moment then looked back up to see my dear little man face down on the sidewalk not moving or making a sound. He had somehow gone over the handle bars and face planted it on the sidewalk. He didn't even get his hands out to break the fall.

I rode up and debated what to do with Peter. Keep him strapped in and lay the bike down? Not so nice to him. Take the time to unstrap him? No!, I needed to get to Aaron. He laid crumpled on the ground with his arm at a weird angle and blood was coming from his nose and mouth. Luckily another biker approached and took my bike.

I sat down by Aaron and he started crying. I felt around then slowly turned him over. His front tooth was dangling and he had road rash all over his face and the front of his arms and legs. His face was getting swollen and I couldn't get him to open his eyes. Oh my.

I called Roland and it took him an hour to get to us even though he was 100 feet away. I tell you when you're with a hurt child 30 seconds feels like five minutes, so he didn't really take that long, but if FELT like it. He picked up Aaron and took him back to our friends house to clean him up. I caught a ride back to our house with another friend to get the car then went back to pick everyone up. Another friend met us at the house and helped Roland give Aaron a blessing. By this time Aaron was calm and sleeping.

We called our Pediatrician and he spent 15 minutes with us on the phone talking through all the things to watch for and getting a good understanding of what injuries Aaron had. We decided to let Aaron sleep in our bed then took him the next morning to the Doctor, Dentist and for a Cat Scan. All said he was a lucky little man.

I'm so thankful for helmets and a son who doesn't care that he no longer has both front teeth. Aaron wanted to get right back on his bike. Roland had to do that with him. I couldn't handle it. I think it will be quite awhile before I'll feel comfortable on a bike ride again.

The next day I fell down the stairs. The day after Peter did. Quite the weekend!

What I learned this Sunday

Did you know that Jesus and Heavenly Father live on the sun? Or that the reason Jesus could walk on the water and help Peter from sinking is because Jesus had a cape? I didn't either! I'm so glad that Aaron explained these things to me!

What Have I done?

My friend "Shae" joined my gym. Her very fit sister-in-law was in town for a visit so we all went to the gym a few days ago so the sister-in-law, we'll call her SiL, could set up a work out routine for us. Now, SiL knows what she is doing. I could tell that in the first 10 words out of her mouth. No messing around with SiL. She was having Shae lift as much weight as she could in one rep to find her maximum and then SiL would do some math and tell Shae what she should lift for each rep/set. Like I said, no messing around with SiL.

Next was my turn. SiL could look at me and determine what I could lift. No wimping out with her. She KNEW I could do more. While she was positive and very encouraging I knew she was going to make me hurt. Nope, no messing with SiL. She's out to get me.

SiL leaves town and Shae goes at me. Holy cow. Quiet, kind Shae is a mad woman. Watch out for her. She'll bench press you to next Friday. There is no stopping this woman. She wants to be in better shape then when she was 16. Keep in mind that she's now a mother of 3. Those of you who are mothers KNOW what that means. Our bodies are completely different. I'm sure I walk different. My hips will never be right again. But she's determined and honestly my money is on her doing it, literally.

Guess I need to buck up. Shae's on my tail. No wimping out, she might tell SiL. Who's idea was it to have Shae join my gym anyway? Next time I need to think things through better.

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!

Only Roland would think of doing this.

Ah, my husband. What will he think of next?

Ok, I need help!

How do I post pictures? I'll need a lesson or two. Stand by until I find someone to sit down and explain this all.......

Can I do this?

I love reading my friends blogs and sweet Kathy set this one up for me months ago. Never used it. Let's see if I can figure this out!