Two Little Monkeys at the Zoo Again

One other bonus of the cooler weather (beyond what I've already mentioned loving about fall!) was another trip to the zoo. We are such regulars I'm considering getting us a membership for next year.

This was also our first experience with the new carousel. I wasn't aware that a supervising parent rode for free, so I purchased two tickets, which meant I had one extra ride to hold over Mason as a good-behavior reward. Or to lord over him as an incentive to be good, take your pick. The first time, he rode on a non-moving giraffe and I don't think he enjoyed that so much. But the second ride, on a tiger that went up and down, was a big hit. I'll post the video of him saying "Weee!" when I have a chance to make sure it won't make someone ill from all the motion.

It was a whole different experience being there in the afternoon. The crowd cleared out around 1500 hrs (3:00 pm for those of you who have not been overrun by a 24 hour clock), and the animals were more active for the most part (especially the adorable baby Spider monkey who hopped around like a kangaroo.) This guy, on the other hand, was all about the afternoon doze.

I also got in a most excellent workout lugging the wagon around again. This time, I put it on the scale designed to see if I was pulling two kids or a baby elephant. You can't read the numbers as well as I hoped, but I swear it's telling you I pulled 93 lbs. uphill and downhill and all through the town.

We got right on the carousel and the train without a wait, and as a reward for their wonderful manners, we let the kids each pick an overpriced toy out from the gift shop. Mason picked a semi-truck (I know, I was genuinely surprised too) that has given me the joy of re-hooking the trailer and cab back together at least a hundred times already in the last two days. Ashlyn picked a purple skunk that has overruled her life and her mom's life. I feel, by purchasing it for her, I have secured my place as her honorary aunt who gets to buy annoying toys. I think she wants a saxophone for Christmas.

Gee, you don't say!

-Mom: Mason, why are you awake so early?
Mason: I was done sleeping.


-Mason: I wake up one more time, then I go to school.


-Mason: Damn it! You don't say those words.
Dad: Does mama say them?
Mason: No, daddy does.


-Mason: What that train's name is?


-Mason (enroute to the zoo): We can't go camping. Camping is too far away.


-Mason: I can, but I don't want to.


-Mason: I hear a crick! (cricket)

-Mason: Chairs go in the dumpster, not boys.

The Body Worlds 3 Exhibit

Just in case you didn't know, this is now at The Leonardo (the former SLC Public Library). I'm sure no one who knows Alan is surprised that he thinks this is really interesting. He's been wanting to go to the one in Las Vegas for a couple of years now and was pretty thrilled when he found out this one was coming right to us. I think I'm probably more likely to have the same look on my face as the visitors in the picture do!

I've been reading up a bit on the process used, and it sounds pretty innovative. The Trib also said it takes approximately 1500 hours of work per specimen to plastinate them. It definitely puts a whole new spin on donating your body to science when you die. It's also supposed to educate you about the dangers of doing unhealthy things to your body, which is probably something I could benefit from considering my lack of exercise and healthy eating.

So we're going, and hoping to make kind of a date of the experience. Has anyone else been yet or is anyone else planning to go? I would love to hear reviews. If you need tickets, there is a coupon available on the website for $2 off. There are also audio guides you can purchase to listen to as you walk through.

National Child Passenger Safety Week

I'm beginning to think they have a week or a day for just about everything, seriously. But when it comes to your kids' safety, can you ever be too careful? I've heard statistics that say a surprising number of carseats are not properly installed or because the kids aren't properly buckled in.

I think our carseat is okay. Alan put it in and I typically have to use some sort of a tool to get it undone. He literally presses his knee into the seat while he tightens the straps. In spite of this, I plan on stopping by one of the places below in the next few days just to be sure. It would just kill me if anything happened to Mason because of something so preventable. I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there who feels this way!

I found a listing of upcoming checkpoints in case anyone else is interested:

Saturday, September 20
*Babies R Us at 1122 East Fort Union Blvd (7200 South) from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
*Wheeler Historic Farm 6351 South 900 East from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
(spanish speaking assistance will be available here)
*Sunset City parking lot at 85 West 1800 North in Sunset from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
*Utah Valley Regional Medical Center at 1034 North 500 West in Provo
from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
*Tooele County Health Dept. at 151 North Main in Tooele from 10 a.m.-noon

Tuesday, September 23
*Babies R Us at 106 East University Pkwy in Orem from 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Wednesday, September 24
*Jorgensen Ford at 1000 South Cove View Road in Richfield from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
*Syracuse Fire Department 1751 South 2000 West in Syracuse from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.

Fore more information, see Safe Kids Utah or the Salt Lake Tribune article.

Out to sea

We took off last Thursday with my parents for one last camping trip of the year. We traded then tent for the back of the Chevy (more on that later), the four-wheelers for a boat, and the tree canopy for tarps.

Imagine our surprise when, last week just before departure, the weather forecast turned from sunny skies and smooth sailing to cooler temperatures and thunderstorms. We already had the trip planned, the food purchased and all but loaded into our vehicles, and the boat all set. Also, the prospect of bumping it for another weekend was not promising. So what did we do? We went anyway, of course!

It was a little dicey when we stopped in Evanston,WY for gas. The temperature was so cold there that our sweatshirts weren't quite sufficient and it was super windy. As we continued toward Lucerne Valley, the clouds came in closer and lower and the rain started to fall. Mason didn't notice. He had every creature comfort we could possibly give a truck-bound baby for a three hour drive and he made full use of them.


By the time we got to our campground, the rain was coming down and the temperatures were cold. Alan and I did a mad dash to get our tent up without getting it totally soaked. I'm proud to say we succeeded. We also set a personal record by getting it set up in five minutes or so. We kept it dry enough that only a little towel action was needed before we could get the bed all set up. At this point, Alan realized he hadn't packed the air mattress pump as we thought. He took one for the team and blew it up with nothing but lung power and a couple of breaks to help Mason throw big rocks into puddles. Mason also wanted to wear his "Thomas hat", and I guess he's got a little gangsta style because he put it on sideways while he walked the "train tracks" (concrete parking barriers) all around the camp.

The rain did clear out (too late to get the boat onto the water), but it was still really cold so we decided to move our bedding into the back of my truck so we could use a heater if need be. We had survived a pretty cold night the last time we went to Whitney Reservoir, but it was not very pleasant and we didn't want to repeat the experience if we didn't need to. As luck would have it, the back of my truck is queen sized. It was snuggly, but we made it work. We were so glad we had stayed in the truck when it started raining over night.

My dad made a leisurely breakfast for us (I don't think it was so leisurely for him!), and we took our time cleaning up. By the time we were finished, we had warmer temperatures and clearer skies so we got out on the boat. Mason was excited to wear his new lifejacket (it has a turtle on it, don't you know. Even if it's an evil-looking turtle, we'll take it!), so we had no problem getting him on the boat and outfitted properly.

The water was beautiful, just like glass in most places, and we stopped just shy of the Wyoming state line so the boys could fish. My dad bought Mason a Scooby Doo fishing pole. I don't know if I'm ashamed to admit it or not, but Mason doesn't know who Scooby Doo is (not much TV around our house), and asking Dad "Who's that dog?" was the primary focus of the first afternoon.

Fishing, as it turns out, is not a wholly enjoyable activity for a 2 1/2 year old, what with the lack of action and mellow pace of it. After a few exciting moments where Dad thought he had a fish and the bugger ate most of the worm without actually getting caught, Mason was bored with the fishing and learned a whole new activity: feeding seagulls. We had several of them around, and the next day when we went out to the same spot, I swear they were like "Hey, I know that boat! They fed us Doritos!" because there was some suspicious hovering going on.

The third day we were there was absolutely beautiful, and we were so sad we had to leave by mid-afternoon to get home. But we agreed, in the end, things had probably worked out. We've set ourselves up to have a boat-lover on our hands. He got a taste of it, but didn't get bored, which will hopefully keep him coming back for more next summer.

Haven't You Always Wanted A Monkey?

Not that I typically pay much attention to the news, but I have seen the recent story of the woman from Utah who won $1 million on Deal or No Deal. And naturally, it got me thinking about what I would do if I won/found/earned that much money. And, knowing me, it won't surprise most anyone reading this that I immediately thought of this song. (It should be noted that a disturbing number of songs recall time I spent with Amber. I know Amber has always wanted a monkey. She told me so.)

So Alan and I had a hypothetical discussion about what we would do with a million dollars. I was almost bored with our choices, because it appears we would be unyieldingly practical. First of all, you have to consider that most of it would be taken in taxes in most situations where we would win/get the money. So we would only have $600k to play with. What would we do from there?

-Take 10% off the top to just blow on nothing. "Nothing" to us constitutes the possibility of building a deck, finishing our basement, maybe some new carpet, some clothes and video games, maybe a new television. If we felt brave, we might do some of the investing with Alan's parents they have been doing, because his dad is really smart about it.

-Pay off my truck, any outstanding credit card debt (read: not that much), pay off the little commuter car we bought.

-Use a chunk to refinance our house so that our house payment is only $500/month or so. See, we both love our jobs and would keep those so making that small of a house payment would be no big deal and we could double it up to pay it off sooner.

-Put the rest in savings for a few different things, like Mason's education. I already know, regardless of what we have saved, we will be the naughty parents who lie to our child. I'm going to tell him he has to work hard and earn college if that's his desire, but I would really like to be able to surprise him with it and help him out.

I would like to say we would take a fun vacation or two, and that's a real possibilty. There are a few traveling things we would like to do, but I'm not sure anything like that would take priority. If we could use the money to make our monthly expenses lower, we could save up for the trips. I would never expect a million dollars to mean we're set for life the way I once thought it would. Is that a sign I've grown up? I don't know.

So what would you and your family do with a million dollars? It's at least fun to dream about.

How to keep a toddler busy for hours, part two

I would like to add just a few comments:

1. The cute little "Cheese!" that happens any time the camera is witnessed is why I have a hard time getting anything with a cute smile these days.

2. He lets this little green ball with an elastic strap hit him in the head several times a day. He laughs the hardest when it actually hits him in the face.

3. Ignore my fingers at the end, I am an amateur photographer/videographer.

High School Tag

1. Did you date someone from your school?
Umm... I went on a few dates but I wouldn't say I dated anyone. The boys I knew in high school were idiots. (Some of them still are!)

2. What kind of car did you drive?
A 1986 Chevy Cavalier. It started out blue and ended up white after what we'll refer to as some "learning moments in traffic". My car kicked ASH. (Because the license plate was ut/919ASH and we were all nerds.)

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of HS?
Would have to be the time, in Madrigals, they made me walk all sexy-like right in front during a performance. I nearly ate it on some AV cords during the packed-house concert and don't worry, my proud parents have it on video tape to this day. I'm sure if this doesn't suffice, I could come up with a few hundred others. Sliding off Martin's silk shirt during rehearsal when I was supposed to jump on him piggy-back style was embarrasing. And also kind of painful because I landed flat on my butt.

4. Were you a party animal?
I had a group of friends I always hung out with, but I wouldn't have called us partiers. Or animals for the most part.

5. Were you considered a flirt?
Yes, and I don't know why. My idea of a good time was when one of the idiot boys got locked out of the car on Halloween and we drove off without him. This was before cell phones, people.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
All of them. I played flute in wind ensemble (which meant we got to play with the full orchestra), choir and madrigals. (Speaking of wind ensemble-- Hi, Melissa!)

7. Were you a nerd? No need for the past tense. I still am a nerd.

8. Were you on any varsity teams?
Not as a player, but I lettered in varsity soccer by being a team manager (I also learned how to kick a ball like a boy, can name various flavors of Gatorade by taste, and have taken soccer stats in my concert choir dress.)

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?
No, but I did get a friendly little chat from the ex-Merchant Marine Vice Principal for being late during a lockout.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Why yes I can. Alan and I will sing our competing fight songs loudly to this day if we are provoked. He went to Bingham and I went to Taylorsville. Not exactly rivals at much besides baseball because Bingham was annoyingly good at just about everything. I'd like it noted we killed them at the state Madrigal competition....

We are the Warriors and we're the best! We'll hold our colors high. (That line might be wrong!) Just look at all the things we've done, and all the victories we have won... our school is #1 we say with pride! We are always above the rest! And that is the reason why... we'll fight for the gold and win for the blue, we're the Warriors of Taylorsville High! Double U-A-Double R- I- O-R-S! Double U-A-Double R-I-O-R-S!

Did I mention I was required to be in the pep band, too? We also played "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. Have fun singing that for the rest of the day. But really, ask Janae about it. She was the cheerleader.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Ms. Cluny (AP American History), and although I gave her a hard time, Mrs. Tarrant (also known as Mrs. "T", the choir teacher).

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
In the Commons Area where Josh would drag Juli around by the foot. Also, it's sadly now filled in. It's a travesty to future generations of Warriors. Oh, and I spent a fair amount of my lunch periods in Melissa's car on our way to Burger King for the .99 cent Whoppers.

13. School mascot?
In case I haven't sufficiently covered it, we were the Warriors.

14. Did you go to homecoming, and with who?
I went the year after graduation with Martin, who had been my Madrigal partner.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Why?

16. What do you remember most about graduation?
Thinking repeatedly that a) I wish the choir wasn't performing so I wouldn't have to walk, b) Alaina really shouldn't have used hand puppets in her speech, and c) I'm so glad this is over with.

17. Where did you go senior skip day?
Oh...you mean that wasn't my entire senior year?

18. Were you in any clubs?
Several. I can dig out the yearbook if you're really interested, because I can't remember. Half of my high school experience was during that stupid non curricular clubs ban across Utah, so there was that. After that ban was lifted, the school just exploded with new clubs. My brain is too cluttered now to remember what I got suckered into joining up with.

19. Have you gained some weight since then?
Haven't we all?

20. Who was your prom date?
I didn't have one. I was always the friend who helped boys ask out the girls they liked.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?
I think Amber will force me to, so it doesn't matter what I'm planning. :)

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?
Grin and bear it. This too shall pass.

I tag Amber and Melissa!

Why I Should Be Voted Mother of the Year

I have a friend from work named Heather, who I hang out with frequently when Alan is gone on a long shift and she has a night off work (surprisingly often, in other words). She and I are such kindred spirits it is sometimes scary, but so much fun. She also has a beautiful little 2-year-old girl who has graced this very blog several times. Ashlyn and Mason love to play together, and minus the occasional power struggle, we're more than happy to let them do so.

So during our usual weekly session of hanging out, we thought we were off to a good start: we had gotten a relatively healthy dinner on board and both kids had eaten well (except the french fries, but at least the majority of them were sweet potato fries) and we set them up with the "kitty movie" (Aristocats) so we could experiment with dessert. All of this is very typical of our hanging out time.

Consider the following, which was when we realized how hard the kids had actually played:

(You can't really tell because Heather is a good mom who covered her baby up, but Ashie is sitting nearly straight up in that chair.)



Basically just cute pictures of sweet, tired kids. Now, please take into account my photographic ingenuity, because this was the actual scene if I zoom out just a little...



That's right. My kid totally passed out SITTING UP about two inches from the television with frosted animal crackers at his feet and a pink bowl of Corn Pops to his immediate left. I could try saying he was just crashing from the sugar high, but that wouldn't be entirely true because he had consumed almost none of it. A few minutes later, when he kind of woke up, at least I caught him before he toppled over. It could be worse couldn't it? He could be coming down from the sugar high with a goose egg from landing on one of the free weights to his right. That would get me mother of the decade for sure.

The Prepare Fair 2008

As part of National Preparedness Month, Unified Fire Authority and Salt Lake County Emergency Management are sponsoring a “Prepare Fair 2008” on Saturday, September 13th. Emergency Operations Center tours and 15-20 minute presentations will be happening inside the building throughout the day at no cost to the public. Vendors and exhibitors (fire trucks, mobile command centers, private vendors, and government agencies, etc) will be set up outside. This is an opportunity for presenters to meet with the public to educate and inform about preparedness issues as well as display and sell products.

Saturday, September 13th , from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
at the Salt Lake County Emergency Operations Center 3380 South 900 West

*Public parking will be located at the Salt Lake County Sheriff Administration Building on 3300 South 900 West.

More information is available through Unified Fire's website. (Sorry, I removed the link because I couldn't get it to work).

We have other plans that day, but I thought I would throw this out there for anyone (Nicol, if you aren't busy!) who might be interested.

I have an MA in Lego Architecture from BSU

Mason and I built a tunnel that used all of his blocks. Although it's pretty clear the weight of this thing is causing the ceiling to cave in, I promise the blocks on the floor are because Mason decided to rip the blocks off the top one at a time and throw them through the hole in the roof (he can be seen above selecting his next victim). The hole was a glitch in the development process. I know how to avoid the problem: don't run out of blocks before the tunnel is completed. Also, maybe make it a little smaller so it won't collapse onto itself, as happened shortly after these pictures were taken.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

...and NO, I'm not talking about Christmas. I dislike Christmas almost as much as I hate winter, but I don't think anything will ever reach the level of hate I have for snow.

However, today as I walked from work to my car (yes, I worked--at a holiday at that!--don't die of shock.) I noticed something: autumn is approaching. It's entirely possible, during my favorite season, that I will be in a better mood than ever. I love the cooler temperatures, the crisp air, the apples, the colors... basically everything fall entails. I'm so excited the rain helped usher it in. Autumn never lasts long enough before the evil snow comes tumbling down, in my opinion.

There are three things I love about fall: making apple butter, driving up the canyons to see leaves changing, and wearing my "naughty" boots (knee-high, y'all!). Good times. What's your favorite season?