So, I saw it going differently in my mind....

Our little friend, R, had a birthday this weekend. He turned two. We had a blast running around and scraming and throwing snow and looking at the chickens. At the end of the night, the Meatball and the Peanut were so very tired. They were in bed for about three nano-seconds before falling fast asleep. So, we thought that we would try a similar tactic today. After naptime, we decided to go to the park. Of course, everyone other family in town without a swing set in their backyard was there, too. So, we had to wait our turn for the swings. You would think that Peanut's world had fallen apart. So, after finally swinging forEVER, we walked around the basketball court where some boys were playing. Peanut just kept whining "basss, basss, basss...." So, we went to the car to get a ball. Then, they just screamed at each other and fought constantly over the ball. The slides were another fun experience. Snotty-pants-little-girl kept telling me that they should go down the baby slide not the big kid slide. Then, when we decided to finally go down the baby slide, she blocked the way and wouldn't move - even after I asked nicely a couple of times. She was quite a little stinker. OH - and don't even mention ROBERT! His parents didn't really seem to care where he was or what he was doing, so when he would wander into the path of either of the swings while sucking on his sippy cup, we would have to try to grab the swings or change their paths or scootch him out of the way before he would get plowed over. His parent's response? "Oh, he'll just get hit in the head a couple of times and laugh about it." C'mon! Maybe we should stick to the park when the weather is miserable. Nobody else is there, we don't have to share or wait our turn, we don't have to keep track of other people's kids, and we're not appalled by a four-year-old's lack of tact and manners. (Parenting is hard.)

It's edible!

I have finally made a loaf of whole wheat bread that is actually edible. It's not a rock; it has some flavor; it resembles a loaf of bread! The trick: do not make it in the bread maker. Lesson learned: do not knead the 2nd time even though the recipe says to do so. The recipe also says to add white flour, but this loaf has none.

So, I totally could have been a pioneer. I can now make a wide range of tasteless meals that manage to stay mold-free for weeks. It's a talent - a lost art, some may say. Now, I just need to brush up on my prarie dress making skills and plant leaf identification so that we can wipe when we secede from this closed minded place.

Growing up....

We spent the entire weekend changing the clothes out of the boys' closet. All 18mo stuff is gone, and 2T/24mo is in. Laundry, laundry, laundry. At the end of the process, we sorted everything into five big piles to deliver to friends with kids a bit younger than ours. We both had tears in our eyes - Bub more than me. She's such a chick... Such cute stuff - such sweet memories. In the end, she saved the Thomas overalls and the Cowboys sweatshirt (no matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of it).

Then, the boys finally woke from their nap, and we ran around the house like crazy people. We watched (and read) our reading video (they're geniuses, I swear), and played with our magnetic numbers on the fridge. Did you know that the = line (at the bottom of a vertical equation) can be turned to make an "I"? Better yet, if you turn a "3" a quarter turn to the left, it becomes an "M". Did I mention that they are brilliant?

Oooo, jealousy....

I'm looking at pictures of my sister and brother-in-law's land in Mexico. They will start building soon. They are tan and smiling and happy. I promise that as soon as their new house is built, we'll be the first visitors! (OK - seriously - we would visit them in SLC IF THEY WERE EVER HOME!)

Recent favorite phrases

Meatball: Ack-a-boo! I see you!
Also: Yuv you!
Peanut: I say NO! (Apparently, we say "no" and then must repeat ourselves with "I said no!" quite frequently.)
Also, when he wants my attention: Kaye, hon!

They are so CUTE! I can't even stand it!

They are also reading. Nope - not joking. They can each read about 30 words now. Some of the words are small (cat, hand, eyes, toes, cup, wave, yes, no, etc.), but they both also read some big words like clapping, elephant, giraffe, and running.

And, the bride wore Resistol.....

Little Bro got married years ago. They proceeded to have an adorable little girl, and then he was deployed to Iraq with the Utah National Guard. During his time there, his wife decided that marriage wasn’t for her anymore, so they divorced. I’ll admit; I was mad. But, if he can forgive her, the rest of us (me) should, too. Right? He has. We have. I have.

So, they have been dating/living together for years now. The plan was to re-marry on the same date that they were married the first time. Trouble is that Little Bro’s work will not give him the time off. (How crummy is that?) So, then the plan was to have a fun BBQ and marriage party in the mountains during the summer. Then, they entered a contest and WON! It was a contest presented by a country radio station, and that’s just the start of the hilarity.

They found out on Tuesday night that they were winners. The wedding was to be held just three days later on Friday – Friday the 13th. There were 13 couples. The ceremony was at 11:13am. It was held on 1300 South State in SLC at the Sonic Drive In. Nope – I’m not kidding.

So, the groom bought a new pair of boots. The bride snagged a new denim skirt and a veil from a local thrift store. I think that they both got new hats. They looked great and managed to deck out their pick-up with hearts, posters, and – can you believe it – really big bull horns.

All 13 couples were married at the same time – after they further tempted fate by walking under a ladder. After the ceremony, all of the couples broke mirrors.

In the end, it was fun and redneck and crazy. The Little Bro and his re-wife are happy as is their daughter. (She had a great time and had a big smile the entire day. She even got to meet Big Budha since Fox 13 News covered the event.) They received free wedding bands, flowers, and a trip to Mesquite! I’m happy for them. Very happy.

Click http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-big-budah-attends-friday-the-13th-weddings,0,3619828.story and http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-video-big-budah-at-friday-the-13th-wedding-2,0,4496950.worldnowvideo for news coverage. Unfortunately, you never get to see Little Bro and re-wife, but if you look really closely, you can see my video camera....

shopper extraordinaire!

I could almost break my own arm while patting myself on the back....
I went to the store the other night. My bill was $24. However, with the double coupon deal AND a buy one/get one on meat from Albi's, I managed to only spend $12. I've managed to save $10 here and there before by using coupons and price matching, but I've never cut my bill in half! Now, if I could just figure out how to do this on a grocery bill that totals $150!