Done!

Why, yes! Actually, I do believe that a couple of tall, frosty mudslides are the best way to celebrate the fact the I JUST COMPLETED AND PASSED MY FINAL MBA PROJECT! Hell, yeah, baby!

fun walk

We were going to hike to the "T" again, but it was sprinkling a bit, and I'm not going to be stuck on a mountainside in a rainstorm that could have lightening (and every rain in Utah in July could bring lightening). So, instead, we headed out to a flat section of groomed trail between Tooele and Grantsville. It was pretty unexciting scenery. However, we still managed to have fun. In addition to finding a couple of old railroad spikes, we loved the echo tunnel.

Then there were these horses. They were literally following us. We would walk, and they would watch us. When we were about 50 feet past them, they would walk past us as a group. Then, they would watch us as we continued to walk, and then they would do it again. When stopped, they weren't eating or anything. They would just stand in a line and look at us. It was really funny because almost every single one of them had a star, stripe, and snip (although you can't see it very well here):

I really shouldn't be posting, but.....

Really. I should be working on my final project for school. Then, I'll be a hugely successful professional with a degree and a $350/month bill to prove it. Instead, I had to take a quick break to watch "Chicken Run" with the boys and the Mrs.

Oh, and I just had to share these cute pictures.

We went to dinner at Ruth's Diner for Granny's birthday. Here are the boys being GOOD in public:

And, since it's been a jillion degrees here for days*, here's how middle-aged lesbians cool off:

(*Yes - I know that it has been much hotter in the Midwest and the East coast. We're lucky by comparison...)

OK - I really should work on my "business plan," aka my-it's-never-going-to-happen-because-I-don't-really-want-to-start-my-own-business plan. (But, if I did, it would be a guest ranch in Moab, I swear!)

Listen to your parents!

So, the boys were watching Nem0 last night as I was doing homework. (I know, I know. I'm a bad mommy, but it's only ten more days before my last presentation. I have a lot to do between now and then.) It's not like they haven't seen it before; they have - several times.

Well, it was the beginning of the movie when Nem0 gets taken away by the scuba diver. The fish dad (Marlin) was telling Nem0 not to touch the boat, and Nem0 inched closer to the boat, and the dad said no, and Nem0 did it anyway. Then, the scuba diver rises from deeper water and scoops Nem0 up to take him away.

At this moment, Meatball declared: And THAT'S why you should listen to your parents!

Hysterical. Smart boy.

Surprise! It's me!

When I got home from work on Monday, Peanut brought me a long, red ribbon - the kind that you curl with the scissors and use to wrap presents.
Peanut: Mommy, tie this around your tummy.
Me: OK. (So, I did.)
Peanut (excitedly gasps): It's a present!!! Can I open it?
Me: Yes.
Peanut (after pulling the string and untying the knot): It's YOU! I just love you! (Gives me a big, squeezy hug.)

Welcome home, indeed!

Weekend of hiking

Bub wasn't feeling very good this weekend, so I took the dogs and boys out for some hikes in hopes of getting everyone tired. It worked on the dogs.

We got up early on Saturday morning and met Nana at the bottom of Middle Canyon so that we could all hike up to the "T". I've never hiked this before, so we had no idea how far or how difficult it would be. Turns out, it's not bad if you know what you're doing. In the end, if two 4-year olds can do it, it's not hard at all.

Here's the "T" from the gate (which included three No Trespassing signs that I pretended not to see):

Getting to the "T" isn't hard or long unless you're stopping to look at flowers, bugs, rocks, and whatever else little boys like to look at. However, once you get right below the "T", there is a horrible little trail that you need to scrabble up:

And, technically, you don't have to scrabble up that miserable, loose rock, goat trail if you see THE SWITCHBACK TRAIL that makes it ten times easier. There was a group of three guys and their three pre-teen boys at the T, and one of them trotted down the switchback to show us how to go. I think that he was worried that we were going to slide down the rotten trail and get hurt. He was really on to something because we probably would have.

Once we got to the "T", we found that it isn't a big cement letter painted white nor is it a bunch of white rocks trapped in a rebar formation (although it looks like it used to be both of these things). Instead, it is a big vinyl thing that is (unfortunately) fun to slide on. After almost going head first down the steep hill, I put a quick stop to the sliding.

So, we sat down for a quick snack of watermelon, yogurt, water, and PB&J sandwiches (which the dogs ate because I dropped them all in the dirt).

Then, we called Bub to tell her that we had made it and wave to her. (Since we can see the "T" from our house, Meatball was convinced that she could see not only the "T" but that she could also see us; we just looked really, really, small.) We really had a good time, and we managed to spend three hours of a beautiful day enjoying the sunshine.

On Sunday, we got a later start. Nana didn't go this time, so it was just me, the boys, and the dogs. We went a little ways up Jacob's Canyon which is just east of Stockton. This was a totally different kind of hike. It was much drier and dustier. We really didn't know where we were going, so we just wandered around relatively close to the car. It was much hotter since we started two hours later than the previous day. There was a lot of trash and shotgun shell casings. While unfortunate, it gave me a good chance to talk to the boys about littering and taking care of the things around us that we love and appreciate. I wish we would have had some garbage bags. We could have filled them. We didn't hike nearly as far or as long as the previous day because we found some really silky sand and spent a lot of time getting very dirty in it. Who cares, right? They were having FUN!

Baseball game

We recently had a chance to go to a Bee's baseball game and sit in the suite. It was really cool to have what the boys termed "our own private room" even though we were sharing it with 12 other people. They had no intention of watching the game. We spent most of our time in the suite eating popcorn and cookies, riding the elevator, wandering around the grounds, and riding the train. Oh, and flirting with girls (the boys, not the moms.)
Here they are enjoying one of many train rides. The "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" t-shirts were a hit.

You're Joking!

Peanut: Mommy, I have a joke for you.
Me (all excited because neither of them have ever told a joke before): OK, what is it?
Peanut: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Peanut: Family
Me: Family who?
Peanut: My family is me, my brother, Mom, and you!
Then, he laughed like crazy. We couldn'þ help but laugh, too. Then, thinking he was actually funny...

Peanut: Mommy, I have another joke for you.
Me: all right.
Peanut: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
Peanut: Ben
Me: Ben who?
Peanut: Ben. I'm a boy.
He laughed hysterically again. So did we.