My little WARRIORS

Football season is upon us once again. Garrett and Grant are both playing. We had a CRAZY beginning with all of the politics associated with Snow Canyon. There always has to be some kind of drama on this side of town. We try our best to stay low and out of the middle of things. So far we have been able to do so. Things have settled down and all seems to be well. We are pleased with the teams that the boys are on and they are both getting good playing time this year. That is all we ask for!

Garrett is #9 on the Snow Canyon 6th grade team.

Garrett' Game Schedule

Sept 12th Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills @ DHHS 4:30

Sept 19th Snow Canyon vs. Hurricane @ SCHS 4:30

Sept 26th Snow Canyon vs. Cedar (black) @CVHS 10:30

Oct 3rd Snow Canyon vs. Pine View @ SCHS 10:30

Oct 10th Snow Canyon vs. Cedar (gold) @ DHHS 10:30

Oct 17th NO GAMES/ UEA WEEKEND

Oct 24th Snow Canyon vs. Virgin Valley @ VVHS 12:00

Oct 31st BYE

Nov 7th Snow Canyon vs. Pine View @ SCHS 4:30

Grant's Game Schedule

Sept 12th Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills @ DHHS 12:00

Sept 19th Snow Canyon vs. Pine Valley @SCHS 10:30

Sept 26th Snow Canyon vs. Cedar @CVHS 1:30

Oct 3rd Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills @ SCHS 3:00

Oct 10th Snow Canyon vs. Hurricane @ HMS 12:00

Oct 17th NO GAMES/ UEA WEEKEND

Oct 24th BYE

Oct 31st Snow Canyon vs. Dixie @ PVHS 3:00

Nov 7th Snow Canyon vs. Virgin Valley @VVHS 1:30

Just glad I am NOT A MAN!

"Just be glad you are not a MAN!" This is a FAVORITE saying of Russ'. I hear this saying at least five times a week. If Russ forgets to charge his electric razor (that he only has to use twice per week because he doesn't grow facial hair) and has to use a real razor and accidentally knicks his chin, I hear "Hon, just be glad you're not a man". When he has to "adjust himself" (SORRY MOM) because something isn't lying right, he states pitifully "just be glad you're not a man". When Russ has to do a MAN chore around the house, like change the air filter, he sighs "just be glad you're not a man".

So, I have decided to make a list of the reasons I am GLAD I AM NOT A MAN!!!

1. One week out of the month I am glad I am not a man. When I have to alter my wardrobe to dark pants and have my six year old daughter check to see if I have anything on the back of my pants... because after experiencing this blissful womaness quality EVERY MONTH for 22 YEARS, I still cannot manage it properly!!!! During that week, it feels as though I am being ripped in two. My back hurts. I am doubled over with cramps. I eat everything in sight. I gain ten pounds in water retention. I have uncontrollable mood swings. I cry at the drop of a hat. And my husband tells me I am ornery and that I should "just be thankful I am not a man"!

2. Whenever I shave, I am glad I am not a man. What is more pleasant than shaving ankle to hip, over pointed kneecaps, with a razor that your boys used to peel bark off of a tree branch and then replaced in the shower! There is NO greater experience than shaving armpits. And can I even begin to mention the excitement of bikini waxing. Speaking of waxing- eyebrow and lip waxes are to die for. To think- I would miss these experiences if I were a man. Oh, I am grateful I am not a man.

3. Every morning at 6:55 am, I am glad that I am not a man. Why, this time? Because, this is the time Russ rolls out of bed. I have already been up for 1 hour and 25 minutes... washing my hair, drying my hair, straightening my hair, and applying my make-up to my dark eyed, wrinkled face. Russ drags himself out of bed, jumps in the shower, puts a little gel in his hair, combs his hair USING ONLY HIS FINGERS, brushes his teeth, gets dressed, and is out of the door in 15 minutes flat. These are the mornings that I am glad I am not a man!

4. I am always glad I am not a man when I go to the grocery store with my children. I take my daughter to the store and she has one hair out of place and I get "the stare". My son sneezes in the grocery store and people look at me like I can't control my children. However, a man goes to the grocery store with his children and they are some kind of HERO. The daughter has half of her hair in a rat's nest and the other half has been left in- what was- a pony tail from the day before. She is wearing a hot pink shirt covered with stains, red pants (two sizes too small) and orange sandals that go with her Halloween costume- and her father is praised for bringing her out in public. His two sons are engaged in an all out WWF wrestling match in the middle of the aisle, teeth and blood flying, while the father fills the cart with chips and Fruity Pebbles- and nobody questions the father. No, no... they are searching for the mother, wondering where she is and why she is not controlling her children. Yes, everytime I go to the store I am glad I am not a man.

5. I am glad I am not a man every time I stop moving! You see, Russ can come home from work, sit down at the table, and read a magazine cover to cover. The kids do not bother him. They don't try and talk to him. He just enjoys his 4o minutes of "unwind" time. However, the second I stop moving, I have three kids climbing all over me. They are all talking to me at once, getting louder and louder as they try to speak over the volume of their sibling. Two kids are trying to sit on my lap. Papers are being pushed under my nose that I need to look at RIGHT THAT SECOND! Demands for food are being thrown at me left and right. Yes, anytime I stop moving I am glad I am not a man!

On the other hand-

When my children get hurt and I am the one they seek... I am glad I am not a man.

When a kiss from me makes any ouchie feel better... I am glad I am not a man.

When I can be a hero for getting a stain out of a favorite shirt... I am glad I am not a man.

When I can get out of a speeding ticket by batting my eyelashes... I am glad I am not a man.

When being a woman means NO Scout over-nighters... I am glad I am not a man.

When Russ is cleaning all of my hair out of the shower drain... I am glad I am not a man.

I TRULY AM GLAD I AM NOT A MAN!

Why are YOU glad you are NOT A MAN?!!!

It's HYDE TIME I blog again...

Once again a month has slipped quickly by. Unfortunately, I am on HYDE TIME. What is HYDE TIME? It is when your family tells you to arrive somewhere 30 minutes before everyone else... so that you will all arrive at the same time. HYDE TIME is when you have to set all of the clocks in your house ahead 15 minutes so you are not late to school/work everyday. HYDE TIME is when you are up until 3:oo in the morning trying to bust out a school assignment that you have known about for a month, but that you waited until the day it was due to begin it. HYDE TIME is when your kids have been in school for over month and you are just getting around to blogging about it!!!

The kids started school last month (August 13th). This is a huge year in our family as far as school is concerned. Garrett began attending Tonaquint Intermediate School as a 6th grader. At the intermediate school he has 5 teachers and rotates between classes. He was so nervous on his first day. We had gone to the school's open house two days before school started and he met most of his teachers and walked to each of his classrooms. I think that helped him feel a little more prepared for the first day. All went well, and he is now a PRO! He loves all of his classes (Science, Math, PE, Art, and Language Arts). He likes his teachers and has made some new friends. He favorite teacher is Mrs. Jarvie (Language Arts) and feels he excels in PE and Math.

Grant is in 4th grade at Sunset Elementary School. He is in Mrs. Drummond's class with his cousin, Gavin. Mrs. Drummond is a very creative teacher and has based her curriculum around Rick Riordan's book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I had read that five book series to the kids last year and we loved them. So we were very excited to get Mrs. Drummond as a teacher. Their assignments/projects are "Quests", as in the books. The kids hardly realize they are doing work. She is amazing.

Gracie started 1st grade in Mrs. Tate's class. She now goes to school ALL day. She loves eating lunch at school. I guess that is some right of passage. I help in she and Grant's classrooms on Fridays. The first day I went in to her class, Gracie started telling me everything I was supposed to do that day. I said to Mrs. Tate, "She obviously is going to dish out the assignments today". Mrs. Tate replied, "She tells me what to do everyday". OOPS! Sorry to Mrs. Tate. Luckily, she is a great reader, and a smart little girl... so she gets away with being a little bossy!

Two BOYS and a BIGGER BOY

What happens when you send your sons to Yellowstone alone with your husband and a camera?...

Oh my! Where is your MOTHER?!!!

Russ felt he was cheated out of his last trip to Yellowstone. You, of course, remember the post because you have been looking at it for the past month. So, over Labor Day weekend Russ and the boys returned to Yellowstone to fish Slough Creek. I did not go with them this time because I was already signed up to run in the Red Rock Relay. Anyway, it was a quick trip for them. They fished Slough on Saturday, went site seeing on Sunday, fished the Provo on Monday morning, and were home before 4pm.

Here are some of the better photos...