A day of Scouts...

Sam started his day with a hike, with his Scout troop, of Grandeur Peak. He called me from the top of the mountain so that he could say "mom, I'm calling you from the top of a mountain!" He's not the best hiker, but as always he made it. Then it was home and off with dad's 11 year old scouts to catch crawdaddy's. Apparently it's fun to let them pinch your fingers and fight with each other. That would be Elisabeth's BFF Hayden with Sam.

Do you like my hat?

A few more pictures of our little buddy, this was our gift to him...come on, he had to have it!

Our Little Buddy...

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When I signed on to tend, for one the kindergarten teachers, for six weeks, I thought "I can do that, I like babies and the cash would be handy for our upcoming family vacation." Besides when my kids were younger we tended kids all the time, family, friends, paid, not paid. I did it then with my own kids at home, so one little guy while my kids were in school should be no problem. Little did I know that in 6 short weeks he would leave such a mark on our hearts. We love little Truscott! I have had to figure out this baby thing all over, and had to gain muscles, remember how to do things one handed, and I can't just say everybody in the car, I have to make a plan. He is pretty much the best baby ever! (except for my own of course!) Imagine how happy I was to tend a baby who has a great schedule, goes to sleep on his own and eats like a trooper. And that is without even mentioning how HAPPY he is all the time, he even wakes up happy. In six weeks he learned to hold his own bottle, stick out his tongue, clap, sit up, roll over and get his first tooth. We also got lots of pats on the back, sloppery kisses and a bit of spit up! As easy as tending has been for us the 6 weeks have been a little bit of a trial for T's parents, with dad away fighting wildfires mom has had to deal with baby first cold, working full time and most recently a broken elbow with a cast. We will miss him so much, he made our home a happier place, seeing that smile every morning made my day. Happily, he gets to stay home with his daddy now, how fun is that? Love you little buddy!

Giddy Up Cowgirl!

Coming through the ringer...

This week I experienced my first school board meeting that put me through an emotional ringer. We had a lot of hard things happen, our President was out of town so the 3 ladies were left to put together the whole thing. Which by the way Marge did a terrific job running the show. We had a study session where we I was it with the grueling task we have ahead of us to get a bong passed and a junior high built. Then we had patrons speak on some changes in our special education groups, I have had just a small taste of fighting for a child's rights, and man was it hard to hear the love they have for their kids. We also had patron input on a insurance benefit we were proposing, rough... everyone should have good insurance. Lastly, our sweet Laura wasn't there, she will be greatly missed. We had a moment of silence, and the entire staff told of their experience with this wonderful lady. I have still be in a weird place for the last couple days, but I feel better after emailing my fellow board members and getting their responses, as well as an enlightening response from our Superintendent. phew..... I am going to have to work on not taking things personally, you can never please everyone, Laura told me that during our talk in San Francisco. As long as we are trying to do what is right, that is what matters.

Would You?

On today's to-do-list was getting Elisabeth's new ballet shoes all sewn and ready to go. First, I must proudly say, that I only paid $5 for the shipping on the ballet slippers, the actual shoes were free. And I only paid $25 for her new pointe shoes! Both were great deals, so proud of my bargain shopping. Anyway I had all her new and old shoes on the bed while I pinned them and thought they made a great picture, and summed up Elisabeth's life.


While the sewing machine was out, I figured I should sew on more of Sam's merit badges...


Elisabeth and I were teasing Jeremiah about him doing the sewing, and he said he would have to pay someone. I said, you know people do get paid to sew Scout badges and probably dance shoes too.So here's the question... Would you or anybody you know pay me to have these things done???? Comments PLEASE!

I'm to sexy for my shoes...

After wearing hand-me-downs from Zac for a couple years we finally got around to buying Sam new church shoes. Problem is a 13 year old wears a men's size, but his mom has a kids size budget in mind. I just couldn't see paying too much for dress shoes. So after hitting Target, Payless, Ross and TJ Maxx, we found the greatest deal a DSW, we actually bought Sam, "sexy," STEVE MADDEN shoes for $20 bucks! Brand name shoes for less then any of those other places. He thinks he's hot stuff, and I have to admit he looked pretty great for church today.

A little house keeping...

In the world of school boards they use the term "a little house keeping," all the time when they want to tie up lose ends or make announcements. So I'm doing a little blog house keeping...

Elisabeth left us a note to wish us happy anniversary.

Lizzie spent the last few weeks of summer participating in a the Wasatch Youth Ballet's annual Choreography Concert. Every year the company girls at CBT but together this performance, they do the auditions, planning, choreography and costumes. The upper division girls all have a chance to participate, Elisabeth was selected for a Bollywood number and she had blast. She loved spending time with her friends and getting to know the older girls. She now has a 17 year old soul mate named Mareen. The picture is of Elisabeth and her friend Grace after the first performance. I have begun to say that ballet is Elisabeth "soft place to fall." With the girl drama of last year, which has started this year again, she could always count on her "dance friends." I love this group of girls, they spend a lot a time together and get to be good friends, but without the pressures of boys and school there doesn't seem to be drama. Thank goodness.

Elisabeth kicking off the Utah football season!




This is the design for the Parkside shirts for this year, I stole an idea from the internet, tweaked it a bit and then the great folks at CREW COLORS made it awesome! It goes down the side of the shirt. I am also selling hoody's again and a cool draw string backpacks.

Soon after Jacob got home, Amy arrived home from another summer in Iowa. Her husband Jake came home about three weeks later. It is great to have every one home again.

If your going to be gone pretty much all day for three days to a school board leadership convention, why not offer to host the elders quorum party on Saturday afternoon?
Thankfully Jeremiah did a ton of work getting the yard looking a great, our backyard is coming along now that Koda doesn't dig. We moved the television outside so we could watch the Utah v. USC game, and the turnout was great.

Elisabeth enjoyed having the little kids over, and even gotta to hold the Pike's little guy. And Sam even volunteered to hold him.

Also crammed into the weekend was the Parkside Carnival, where our new Superindent, Dr. Hirase, did me a favor and sat in the dunk tank for an hour. And thankfully the rain held off. My friend Alicia did a ton of work, and unless you have put together a carnival single handedly, you can not imagine how much work it is.

Then it was off to dinner to meet Jereld's girlfriend who was in town from Texas. It was a strange dinner with the two of them in their own world, but hey, at least he's happy.



Sadly, this weekend we lost a friend. My fellow Murray School Board member Laura Baker passed away yesterday. She was diagnosed with Lukemia shortly after trip to San Francisco in April. To be honest, when I ran for office I couldn't imagine how this women in her 80's, who had been on the Board for 20+ years could be affective. I was wrong, dead wrong. I quickly learned that there is no one as well versed in school board policy, she is more in touch with the students, teachers and staff of Murray then anybody you will ever meet. She is an amazing women, who's wisdom will be missed. She had a long chat on the bus in San Francisco that I will never forget, she taught me about pushing boundaries and always remembering the children. She welcomed me to the board with open arms, and would often tell me to remember things because she wouldn't be around forever. Words cannot express my gratitude to this women, and her wonderful husband, for the friendship they have shown me and Jeremiah. She will be missed.

Swiss Days...

Summer flew by and we didn't get out for little family adventures as much as we would like, but we did were able to spend Saturday at Swiss Days. We had never been before and we had a great time. The parade was everything a small town parade should be, old cars, candy, cheerleaders, bands, and even a chihuahua in a tutu. The we checked out some booths and watched a yodeler perform. Soon our stomachs were calling and we found these GIANT scones with home made jam, so yummy! Then we looked at more booths, Elisabeth bought a ring, Sam bought a bug made from a fork, and I bought an ornament to remember our visit to Swiss Days.

I guess he's alright...

So Sam is not sure about tending a baby, he's not sure about babies until they are about Adrian's age and then they are fun to play with. But he is getting pretty good at feeding T-man his bottle while I get stuff ready for after school. I think he's even growing fond of him. This week T's dad is home, so we don't get to see him all week and Elisabeth and I miss him already.

Part Dog Part Human...

Oh Koda makes us laugh sometimes, so first of all he loves peanut butter and second of all look how he is holding on the the jar with his paw.