Squirrel Dancing

Me: So, what did you do in PE today?
Peanut: Squirrel dancing.
Me: Squirrel dancing?
Peanut: Yeah. I liked the music.
Me: You danced around like squirrels? How do squirrels dance?
Peanut: [sigh] Mom.... [sighs with exasperation]

I'm pretty sure that he meant square dancing. Hahahaha!

The view from the kitchen window

I was washing dishes one afternoon, and this is what I saw from the window. Bub was reading a grown up book, and Peanut climbed up to sit with her. I don’t remember what the book was about, but it was OK for kids, so they read some words together and looked at the picture on the book flap and just had a snuggle moment (which doesn’t happen a lot during the day because Peanut never sits still).

I really like how they are looking at the book together here:

And then you can see her head tip just a smidge as she gives him a kiss here:

It’s just dang cute.

Special moment

They are adorable kids. They really are. (Unless it’s dinnertime.)

They don’t even fight that much. There is some wrestling. Some arguing. Some hitting. In the end, they love each other and are best friends.

And, we are lucky mommies.

Hiking

We don’t do enough hiking, if you ask me. I love to hike. Bub hates it. (Oh, wait. We don’t use the word “hate” in our house because it means that you wish that thing would die and never come back. So, Bub hates it….) I have big plans for taking the boys out every weekend for a hike, but let’s be honest – that garden isn’t going to weed itself, Bub’s not going to can the stuff that I must have in the pantry, I do need a little bit of sitting-on-my-ass time, and sometimes it’s really hot!

Those things and the rattlesnakes. This has been very dry – we’re in the middle of a pretty big drought – and the rattlers are coming closer and closer to homes. This means that they are surely on the trails. A little boy in Grantsville was recently bitten in the field next to his house, IN TOWN. So, yeah. I’m pretty wary.

Anywaaaaay, once in a while I get off of my duff, and we go for a hike. With two five-year olds, this is equivalent to about a mile – two maximum – but it’s still fun. As long as I live, I don’t think that I will ever understand what draws kids to dirt. Well, some kids. I didn’t do that (to my knowledge). Playing with dirt and sand is just tedious especially when they don’t actually play with it. Just picking it up and letting it go through the hands? Over and over? I’ve never understood it. I probably never will. Nevertheless, it’s a big component of our “hikes” as is throwing rocks. Now, that one, I can almost grasp. At least that makes noise.

Whatever. As long as they are happy.

AARP celebration

A couple of weeks ago, Bub called me while I was at work. She wanted to tell me something that I was going to get a kick out of. She was right. She had just received her AARP membership card in the mail. Bwha-ha-ha-ha-ha! After I hung up the phone, I laughed EVEN HARDER!

You see, she has been freaking out about turning 50 since the day after she turned 49. Oh, I’m so old. Woe is me. Waaaaa, waaaaa, waaaaa. Boo-hoo. I might as well crawl into a cave or under a rock. Blah, blah, blah.

So, it was like rubbing salt into a wound to receive that in the mail. Who knew that you could get AARP at 50? I thought it was only after 60. It’s actually going to be useful for us as she can get some health insurance. It might not be superb, but anything will be a thousand times better than what she has right now.

Corporate games 2012

I recently competed in the Salt Lake County corporate games.

It was the 5k Cross Country race, and it was only because we had to have two women on the co-ed team. All of the FAST women at work were already occupied. I didn’t want the team to forfeit, so I dragged my slow ass around the course three times only to be the last Tanner-ite to cross the line. The only saving grace in moments like these is that there were plenty of other folks behind me. It sucks to be slow, but at least I wasn’t last.

Then, ONLY BECAUSE THERE WAS NOBODY ELSE TO DO IT, I led a group of five in the cheerleading event. Oh, gawd. We had one day to prepare, and ten minutes to practice. Given those circumstances, we actually did fairly well!

Then, we spent the rest of the morning checking out the other corporation’s booths. One of them, Zion’s Bank, had a money catching machine. If you caught a certain number of fake bills, you won a prize. The boys LOVED it. It was a blast to watch them giggle and grab the air frantically. Peanut listened to me and stuffed the money into his shirt. Meatball was just too wound up and laughing to remember to stuff his shirt. It was awesome.

UP 150 party and fountain

Last month, Salt Lake City was named as a Union Pacific Train City USA. There are not a lot of these cities across the nation. Salt Lake has been a stop for Union Pacific for 150 years, and the combined celebration was a big deal. Union Pacific provided mini-train rides, simulators, a live band (who were really good), speeches, actors in period clothing, photos, and 10,000 cupcakes. Seriously – 10,000 cupcakes. Not only that, but it was held at the Gateway mall in downtown SLC with THE FOUNTAIN.

But, before I entertain you with the fountain pictures, here is a short history about Union Pacific in Utah. Before regulations moved human transport to Amtrak, UP had several trains across the nation that were specifically for passengers. The Union Pacific Depot in downtown SLC is a beautiful historical building that was heavily used in those times. It has stained glass murals, tiled walls, and a hardwood floor in the main hall.

Union Pacific now transports cargo only. Because they have put a lot of work into the science of the engines, they are incredibly efficient, and they can transport several (50-ish) freight cars or tankers for the same cost that a semi truck can move three.

Oh, yeah. Peanut is still determined to be a train driver. He doesn’t even consider any other profession.

Then, there is the fountain.

The day was HOT – approximately 104* - and kids were LOVING the fountain. The boys (and practically all of the other kids) ran through, laid upon, dodged, sought out, and tried to stop the flow of the water streams. There was shrieking, screaming, giggling, and laughing.

At some point, some kid decided to put a bottle over one of the water streams causing it to shoot up in the air when the water spout turned on. Then, all of the kids were doing it. Luckily, this is one of those things where it’s ok to do what all of the other kids are doing. It was actually a good little science experience, and they conducted it themselves.

Meatball held his butt over the spouts a few times so that the water would shoot right up the leg of his shorts. Both of them were pegged in the eye a few times because they just got too close when investigating the source of the water pressure. Sometimes, they would lie on top of the spout so that the water would shoot them in the stomach. This always resulted in lots of laughing because, apparently, it tickles!

It was just a GREAT day and a super fun time. The only downer was that Bubba was sick and in bed the whole day. She missed out on a wonderful day.