Venting

I have had a great internal debate as to whether or not to do this post. I decided that I needed to vent so here it is. A has been struggling this year in 4th grade. I have been working really hard to get him caught up. We were just about there, when I discovered that he has not received credit for some of the assignments that I know were completed and turned in. I went to the school just to double check his desk and ask him about them. He says that he turned them in. Since I know the work was done and put in his backpack, it is not in his desk, it only leads me to believe that the teacher has lost all of this work. What do I do? It was hard enough getting him to do it the first time. Parents who have had this teacher in the past, said to make copies of everything we turn in. How do you do this without a copier in your home? I talked to the principal to set up an appt for Kevin and I to sit with him and discuss the problem. He did not want to talk to me, did not even ask me for my name, just asked what the problem was and said he would talk to the teacher. In the meantime, I am just supposed to sit here and watch my son fail the fourth grade because a veteran teacher can not keep track of assignments. How fair is that? Principals I know need to hear both sides, but they should stick up for the students and parents more often then they currently do. 26 years of teaching experience does not make you a perfect teacher.

Thank you for letting me vent. I feel a little better, but still stuck in the same hole.

Peaches

My mom's neighbor gave her a bunch of peaches the other day. She called and asked if I wanted do put any up for us. Of course I said yes. All other plans were pushed aside to go can peaches and make peach jam. Our Cutie was having a hard time because she was not getting attention from grandma. So grandma let her help bring the peaches in from outside. After they were blanched for a minute, and cooled in the cold water Our Cutie would help with them again. Later she even got to help fill a jar or two with the sliced peaches. She was having so much fun that when it was time for dinner, she folded her arms for the blessing with a handful of peaches. The boys also got in on some of the action. They each filled a jar as well. A spent most of the night just doing homework. I wish I knew how to get him to work faster. I don't know yet the final number on jars of peaches, but I do know that we made four batches of the jam. I love peaches and homemade peach jam. I wanted to make pie filling, but my mom had already put some up. I will have to steal some of hers. Thanks mom for helping me do all this. We love you.

Fall

I love the fall. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. The temperature is right and I love the fall colors. One of my favorite fall treats is chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. There are just so many wonderful things about fall. The only downfall is that winter is now just around the corner.

Root Beer

Late last night, as Kevin and I were headed to bed, Kevin decided to get a drink. He went to the kitchen and moved Kiana's highchair out of the way. In the process he knocked over a unopened can of root beer. It did not stay unopened for long. Root beer was spraying everywhere. What a fun mess to have to clean up. Sorry I do not have a picture. I was laughing so hard at Kevin. He, however, did not find it very funny. I told him he would if the roles were reversed. But guess who gets to clean the remainder of the mess today? Me. That part is not funny. There are drops of root beer everywhere, and the floor is still super sticky. Wish me luck.

KEVIN's REBUTTAL
It would have been funny except for 2 things. First was the steady stream of brown sugar foam errupting in our kitchen. It sprayed 10 feet in every direction! And it didn't stop. I had to throw my body on the can to block the geyser. (Ok, I used my finger--but I got hosed in the process.) Secondly, Holly began laughing even more hysterically when I got out the kitchen towels and started mopping up the mess and pointing out everywhere it had hit. She continued her abdominal exercise as I rinsed out the towels and proceeded to finishing mopping with my feet on the wet towels. Finally, if it hadn't been 11:30 at night, I would have wiped down the fridge, pantry door, cabinets, well just about everything else you find in a kitchen--right after Holly quit laughing so she could find another "funny".

Flaming Gorge

Kevin's parents own a place up by Flaming Gorge, and the boys have been bugging us to go up all summer. So we decided to spend this last weekend up there. Grandpa took the boys fishing on Saturday. They were excited while waiting on the dock for Grandpa to bring the boat over and get them.

While fishing, A had two that got away and J had one. Both boys were very disappointed that they had nothing to show for their day of fishing, but they had fun in the boat and spending time with Grandpa and dad. Next year they will get another chance to catch a fish.


































On Sunday, we went to Red Canyon and to Flaming Gorge Dam. The boys had a lot of fun. Our Cutie slept most of the time at Red Canyon. That was fun carrying her around. At the dam, we took the tour. It takes you down to where the generators are. Then out to feed some fish. On the tour we learned that the cement in the dam is not fully cured yet and won't be until about 2066. They said they could not tell us the width of the dam at the bottom for security reasons. What is our world coming to?

































Feeding the fish on the Green River at the end of the dam tour. Our Cutie really liked this part. She was mesmerized by all the fish swimming below her. She did not want to go.


When we got back the boys wanted to fish again, but it was too windy. We went to the park instead.

Together Again

On the 5th Mike and Mary J came to town for her brother's wedding open house. They stopped by for a couple of hours so Josh could see all of his friends. J was so excited to see Josh again. It seems like it has been a long time since they moved away, but it has really only been two months. It was so great to see them again. I wish we could have spent more time with them while they were here. Thanks for coming to see us. See you again in January.

10 happy years

Kevin and I have now been married for 10 years. My how time does fly. Kevin is such a wonderful husband and father and I want him to know how much I love him. He is such a hard worker and does a lot to support our family. Here is a picture of us on our wedding day. Happy Anniversary Kevin.

SeaWorld

Kevin & I went to SeaWorld San Diego, August 27-29, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We were actually married in September, but had to go early to get longer hours at Sea World. I figure it is good this way, so that we can celebrate twice. We had a wonderful time together. We missed our flight out and so we had to schedule the next flight out of SLC. Kevin was not happy about that. Once we finally got to SeaWorld, we realized that we left our camera at the hotel. Good thing we had a two day pass to SeaWorld. We caught all of the shows and went on the two rides that are there. Both of which will get you soaking wet. We got the wettest the first day, so no picture of us drenched. I really enjoyed the Dolphin shows, the one at night was awesome. I also enjoyed the Cirque de la Mer show. We saw that one twice, there was so much happening in that show.
And of course, you cannot go to SeaWorld without seeing a Shamu show or two. If you don't want to get wet, you better sit way high. The first 16 rows is considered to be the "soak zone". Especially if you are more towards the middle. We sat off to the side on the 15th row. We did not get too wet. Then on the 3rd day before we flew out, we went to the Gaslamp District. On the way to the airport, we got a call telling us that our flight was delayed an hour and a half. We have not had very good luck on our last couple of flights. Let's hope that our luck changes before we need to fly again. Thank you Kevin for a wonderful anniversary trip. Next time, let's take the kids. The boys would have really loved seeing all the animals.I look forward to our next 10 years together. I love you.