sundevil that shines

I'm sure many of you have heard me lament about my Abby. Parenting a teenager is HARD WORK for me! I find myself focusing on the hard and negative aspects of it. Somehow parenting little kids seems like common sense to me, it comes more natural. You can sort of figure out how to do it. But when it comes to Abby, it is a whole new ball game. I am constantly second guessing myself, and worrying about her, her friends, the way she dresses, her self- esteem, and tons more. So I find myself presenting life with Abby as a negative thing. She really is a super great kid, and last week this was confirmed to me. (Thanks, Mom, for driving down to SJH to take pictures for me!)

Here is a portion of the letter I received from the school. This is what the teachers and staff who nominated Abby said about her:

"Abby Arnell is an amazing student. She is kind and conscientious and a great example to those around her. Students who sit near Abby get along better because of her excellent example. As a student who turns in work of the highest quality, Abby knows how to work hard and achieve her goals. She is fun, enthusiastic, and laughs easily which puts everyone in a good mood. It is wonderful to have Abby in class."

I'm super proud, and she is super embarrassed. At least now I can remove the letter from the fridge, like she has been begging me to do! :)

a hair-raising tale

Will just turned 8 last month. What a milestone age. We are all so excited for his baptism on Saturday. But there was also something else some of us were excited for....

When Will was about 5 years old, he started talking about his long hair, and how he wished he could see his eyebrows. I LOVED his long hair, and wasn't quite ready to part with it yet. I told him when he turned 8 we would cut it for his baptism.

I've always loved the classic "dutch boy" haircut on little boys. Think Nicholas Bradford from Eight is Enough, or those 2 little twin boys on Full House. Plus Will has this huge head that I felt was better covered up by long hair. :) He actually won "Shiniest Head" in the SW baby contest one year (I chose not to be offended) but soon after that his hair became a trademark for him. I remember one year in Yellowstone when Will was probably only 2. We were going to the Ranger Program one night and people commented that his hair glowed in the dark. It was seriously WHITE back then.

(ok, not so much in this picture, but it was taken on Thanksgiving...not much sun bleachin going on in the fall...couldn't find any on my computer of the glow in the dark stuff...)

It has gradually darkened over the years, but I always thought it was just meant to be nice and long.

As his birthday approached, we began discussing his haircut. He was so excited, and was sure that he wanted it "spikey". We made the appointment for the saturday before his birthday. I have to admit there were tears shed. Not at the actual haircut, and not by Will, but by me. (and it was before the haircut) I think it was more about my boy growing up than the hair, it was just a sign of him not being my little boy anymore. After the cut, you couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He was thrilled. I think it looks pretty good, too, but he definitely looks like a different kid!

coming soon:

a hair-raising tale...
sundevil student of the month...
no more dipeys...

stay tuned!

Scrooge--A Christmas Carol

This is probably the easiest way for me to let everyone know the girls' schedule for their play. They are in it every night, but only have speaking parts in the Ivy cast. Abby plays Fanny, who is Young Ebenezer's sister, and Phoebe plays Sarah Cratchitt, sister to Tiny Tim. All shows begin at 7:30 and run for about 2 hours. You can find more information by clicking here.

IVY CAST: Thurs. Dec. 10; Sat. Dec. 12; Tues. Dec. 15; Fri. Dec. 18; Mon. Dec. 21 and Wed. Dec. 23. (Closing)

HOLLY CAST: Fri. Dec. 11; Mon. Dec. 14; Wed. Dec. 16; Thurs. Dec. 17; Sat Dec. 19 and Tues. Dec. 22.

'tis the season...

Don't you just love the Christmas season? We kicked it off on Saturday by shopping for Christmas dresses, going to the Nutcracker ( a long-standing Christmas tradition with my mom and sisters) and then watching Abby and Phoebe on their opening night in Scrooge--a Christmas Carol. It was quite the marathon day.

On Sunday we sat down as a family to talk about the fun things we wanted to do this month. We had lots of ideas, and we can't wait to do it ALL...we also drew names within our family. After much excitement, and explaining, and discussion, (Will: I'm going to use my own money. I have 317 dollars. Lucy: Will, I want stuff for my rose petal cottage. etc...etc...) Phoebe wrote the names down, Lucy cut them apart and Will got a box to draw out of. Abby drew first, and then promptly said "can I trade? I want to pick again..." (Phoebe let her know that was RUDE) Lucy was next...you should have seen her scowl after she saw who she drew. THEN we had to have a vote to decide whether we should keep it a secret or not. We will be keeping it a secret from each other. 4 to 2. Abby was one of the 4, but after I announced the results, she said "Wait, what was the vote?" She wanted to change hers. Will then said "Abby, what do you want for Christmas?" Lucy said (with that scowl still on her face) "I want to pick again. Dad is NOT fun to get anything for. There is nothing fun for grownups..."

Ahhh....the fun has just begun...

Happy Halloween?

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grand teton national park

We recently took a camping trip to our favorite spot in the world...Grand Teton National Park.  I thought I'd share a few highlights, and pictures.  I have been made aware that it is no longer possible to enlarge photos that I upload by clicking on them for some reason. I apologize, it must be my new computer. I'll upload them in Large format this time, hopefully that will be a little better.We left for our trip on Thursday.  We wanted to leave at 10.  We finally left at 12.  We crossed the Idaho border, and shortly thereafter blew a tire on our tent trailer.  Luckily we were about a mile from a rest stop. (At this point I need to share a bit of traveling advice: rest stops are nice to stop at.  Don't think of the rest stops of 15 years ago, today's rest stops are the best places to stop while traveling.)  SO, Brandon dropped me, the kids and our lunch off at the rest stop while he took care of the tire.  In about an hour he returned for us, and we were back on the road.  I didn't take any pictures that day, but took plenty on the other days.  I am posting so many that I decided to let the pictures do most of the talking.  Here's what we did for the rest of the trip:skipped stones in String Lake.

Odie held his shorts up so they wouldn't get wet.

Brandon lost the lens to his favorite sunglasses.

I think String Lake was Lucy's favorite part of the trip.

Odie got a dirty face.

Brandon made the old standby, dutch oven Lasagna.  He is a dutch oven master.

enjoyed the view from atop Signal Mountain.

Saw TONS of wild flowers.  This silver Lupine was everywhere. It was my favorite.

We had never been to Mormon Row before.  Angie b, I was wishing you were here, SO many beautiful old barns, fences, houses, etc.  You HAVE to go there.  

saw buffalo.  I get nervous about being this close to the wildlife.

saw stink pots.  Odie got out of the van at one and said "Mom, I 'tinky"...he thought he had a poopy diaper!

waited for Old Faithful.

saw some beautiful pools.

ate dutch oven Mississippi Mud Cake for my birthday.  (I told you Brandon was a master)

made "kick-the-can" ice cream (also for my b-day)

Phoebe made Coconutty Curry Chicken with couscous and veggies foil dinners. Yum!

A view of Mt. Owen from Jenny Lake.

 

took a boat ride across Jenny Lake.

 One night in the trailer I had this conversation with Odie (who didn't want to go to sleep):

Odie:  Mom, where are we?

Me:  in the trailer

Odie:  No, we're on our trip.  It's a hiking one.

me:  ok

Odie:  Mom, where are we?

me: on our trip

Odie: oh we are?

me: yep

Odie:  Mom, where are we?

me:  at the grand tetons

Odie: Oh, the grand tetons?  I knowed that word!

me:  yep

Odie:  Dad, did you get in the "hower"?

Brandon: (he was half asleep)  mmmhmmm.

Odie:  Oh, did you 'wallow a bug like mom did?

Brandon:  nope

Odie: Mom, did you have a bug in you froat?

me:  ya.

Odie: ooooo,  yucky, huh mom.  Mom, where are we?

me: Go to sleep, Odie.  

He was so cute.  It was crazy to think that Lucy was his age when we went there last time, and that he will be so much bigger when we go again.  

I promise I didn't upload every single picture I took on the trip.  I was cracking myself up as I kept adding more and more to the post.  I thought about breaking it up into a few different posts, but I knew I probably wouldn't ever get to doing more than just one.  So enjoy...