scrunchy tiger

January 11...  Craig's Cuts gives five dollar haircuts on Tuesdays.  Grandma Martha and I planned to take William and Grant, since she had been giving me frequent reminders that too long bangs can hamper a child's developing visual acuity.  Grant was all protest as we were heading out the door...trying everything from the limp body passive aggressive thing to screaming "I don't wanna haircut" for all the neighborhood to hear.  But as we pushed forward, Grant's protests became less fervent, and he started to enjoy himself.

William, on the other hand, grew more and more apprehensive as the cut approached.  In the end he opted for Grant's old favorite take- the- lollipop- and- run routine, and came home with bangs still in crisis.

Grant's after shot.  The face of new found confidence.  I want to smile like that...so I ask myself...what am I afraid of?

In other news, Sam made this picture worthy plate of home fries.

We had out of town visitors..something I am most definitely not afraid of of...particularly visitors as easy going, fun to talk to, feels just like family, as our good friends from Maine (now Arizona) the Bennetts.  What a blessing to see them again.

Kyle demonstrated to us all the combined power of prayer, patience, pathos, and persistence when he wouldn't give up on what seemed like an impossible search and rescue mission.  Julie and Uhora, our dwarf hamsters, went missing in the basement after their cage fell to the ground in the middle of the night, precipitated by Julie's very aerobic activity on her exercise wheel. Kyle led the finding effort and the basement erupted in cheers when both hamsters were found several hours later.

Olivia came home excited about the Utah Flash tickets that had been distributed at school....And since everyone kept referring to it as the "baseball game,"  I thought it was probably my duty to give them a better education about North American sports.

We had a great time...proved again that we're all a bunch of high energy...chaos junkies.

Here are some of Sam's pictures.

I love what Sam caught going on with these ladies and their cell phones.  I love any situation that could be called, as my neighbor once put it, "a concentrated dose of humanity..."  any place where you can just sit and watch people doing their own thing.

Last week Grandma Martha bought some new action figures for the kids to play with at her apartment...and since she was too nice to "break Grant's heart" as Grant puts it whenever anyone tells him no...the new Power Rangers came home with the kids.  Grant and the Power Ranger were inseparable for days.  He named it Scrunchy Tiger.

All day Saturday I could hear him proclaiming on behalf of the Power Ranger "I am Scrunchy Tiger!"  It seemed like such an empowering declaration, I decided to make it my own mantra.  So I'm still thinking about what fears are holding me back...now that I have this new alter ego.

haircut handsome

Friday, December 4, Kyle went to a sleepover at his friend Justin's house, Mary and Olivia went to Molly Weddle's house for her birthday sleepover, and Rob, Sam, and Ben went on a boyscout camp out. The weather was perfect for fulfilling the requirements for their Polar Bear badge. Our house was quiet with just Bethany, Caitlin, Grant, William, and I left at home. We ordered pizza and ate cookies and ice cream for desert. I convinced Bethany to let us watch Sense and Sensibilities. I forgot how much I enjoy movies when I get to choose. We all camped out in the living room, though Grant and William and I only made it through half the night before we wanted our usual sleep surroundings.
Seussical
It was fun to have everyone come home Saturday morning. Rob and the boys pulled up in the van, just as I was off to collect Mary and Olivia from the Weddle home. Both groups had fun stories to tell. Ben and Sam made me quick piles of laundry in the garage that smelled of campfire. The campers showered up and then were off to ISB for their dress rehearsal. Rob McDonald's for lunch, for the Suessical boys, and the rest of us at home. Kyle was home in time for lunch.

In the afternoon Rob gave the girls and I haircuts, and most notably, William. Here are his first haircut pictures, complete with tear.

Saturday evening we bundled up and walked to the clubhouse. The River Garden management was hosting a big Christmas party, with buffet, entertainment, and activities for the kids.