iPad Dump

Dan unloaded the last few months of pictures from his iPad. This means when I went to see what pictures I wanted to share, all I saw were HIS photos.  So I am going to post those, rather than go back to see whatever else was worth sharing.  Yeah, I'm having a lazy day.  Not true, it has been a crazy, busy day and I'm really just tired!

 Dan got to go to Montana a few months ago. In addition to his work stuff, he managed some sight-seeing as well.  He stopped by the Billings Temple.

He also managed a detour through Idaho Falls. 

Which necessitated a trip to Rexburg and Big Judd's, where he has fond memories. 

 And Ricks. He had a good time visiting his old stomping grounds.

There are a bunch of these sort of pictures.  Why are they on the ipad?  Why didn't they get deleted?  Since I know Rylee loves this game, I bet she did this! 

This is a blurry record of the special moment when Joshua got his yellow belt in Karate.   He has moved up to the teen class and is really getting a workout each time he goes to class.  He enjoys it and it is so good for him!

Dan's favorite sign from Vicksburg.  If you look at the movie listings, it says, "Wimpy Kid hit and run campaign".  He found this quite amusing. 

Dan had the opportunity to go out to Braithwaite, where Hurricane Isaac was really damaging.  This is what he saw on the drive out.

Dan spent one Sunday helping to gut this flooded Baptist Church.  Check out all the debris they removed from it.

So I guess what we have here is Life, According to Dan.  Based on the pictures from his camera, I think we can tell a lot about him!

Rare Moment Caught on Film

This rare creature in the orange stripes, playfully dubbed by locals, the "Domestic Goddess" is seen here with her cubs on the verge of memorializing the date of birth for her youngest.  In an unexpected turn of events, the mother's ears turn erect as she hears a call from a distant plain.  Instead of employing her cat-like reflexes to stay her hand and continue this long-awaited ceremony without delay, she allows this call to draw her focus from this most important moment.  Note the elongated, downward pointed shapes displayed on the faces of her cubs.

(Guest Post by Dan!)

Apple Day!

Delaney's kindergarten class had "Apple Day" and all the families were invited to attend.  It was pandemonium!  There were 6 different tables for the kids to do an apple themed activity and they spent 15 minutes at each station.  Delaney had a marvelous time.

Here she is making her apple sun catcher. 

Yep, having a great time.  She was happy to do the projects and to let me chat away with the other moms. 

 They got to sample green apples and red apples here.  They decided which taste they preferred and made a chart about it.  Cute.  And tasty!

 Delaney is showing me her sun catcher and her "10 Apples Up On Top" projects.

 This is how Rylee entertained herself.  Well, this was after I let her run around and she ran out of the classroom while I was gabbing away and it was pure coincidence that a mom who knew who she was found her roaming the school and brought her back.  Yeah, that's how I roll.  She had a lot of fun with the flannel board though so now I know where to park her next time!

And she was happy to get a cupcake at the end.  And Apple cupcake!

It was fun to go spend time with Delaney.  There is nothing like being a parent to a kindergartner, where you are the center of the universe to them. It was worth messing with Rylee's naptime to get over there to hang out with my girl!

Why do I bother?!

The big library here has a pretty good story time, so I try to take Rylee each week.  Somehow, despite the inevitable outcome, I always think it is a good idea to go.  What is the definition of Insanity, again?  Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result?  Yep, that's me!  

Let me tell you how it goes.  We have plenty of time to get ready, yet when it is time to walk out the door, Rylee suddenly can't find her shoes, or needs a new diaper, or is too busy playing with her toys to want to go.  I finagle her out to the car, where she decides she doesn't want her car seat to be is that spot, or she needs some toy/object to sit with her.  I eventually talk her into sitting in her seat and  get her buckled up.  As I pull out, she'll start asking for her "nungie & binky" and I will tell her I didn't bring them, and she'll whine all the way to the library.  

Once we get there, I'll barely be on time. I'll wish I'd been a little earlier so I could look at books, but oh well.  We go to the story time area and Rylee will refuse to sit on the carpet.  She'll want to nestle in my arms.  Well, nestle like a perpetual motion machine.  Sometimes I'll coax her down to the carpet and sometimes she'll sing the songs from the safety of my arms.

Oh, look!  She actually sat down with her friends.  Check out that grumpy face!!

Sometimes she decides she doesn't want to be there at all.  Sometimes she'll dash off to hide behind a table or shelf and I'll hear noisy harrumphing from afar.  If I am really lucky she will race off screaming or crying and will hide, wailing about the injustice of being dragged out of the house to this horrid chamber of tortures.

Once she has suffered through the songs and the stories, it is craft time!  Whoo-hoo!  Usually Rylee is happy to start using glue and scissors, but on this particular day, she was not going to have any fun at all.

See, the darn sparkles would not cooperate and we were nearly in full melt-down over it.  Such angry eyebrows!

Do you see the offending articles?  They would stick to her fingers, but not properly to her paper.  It was pretty devastating, I must admit. 

Whew!  We made through the craft and it is Clean Up Time!  Somehow, this is her favorite time.  There is nothing like collecting all the glue sticks and scissors and putting them where they belong.  (Sadly, this behavior is confined to the library and does not seem so attractive at home.) This is her almost-happy face, as she cleans up the spilled sparkles.

The end is the best part.  Occasionally I'll dare to try to browse books myself, but mostly I don't push my luck.  Rylee will want to run away, usually to the drinking fountain. Or she will pull out lots of books (kids books are less guilt inducing and when she piles out grown up books).  Sometimes she will want to peruse a particular book that she thinks needs to come home with us but she doesn't want to take the time to properly check it out.  Whatever it is, she is never happy to leave and the crying and drama continues in reverse back to the car.

Yes. We do this every week.  Same kid, same library, different stories, different craft... and yet somehow, it is always the same story!

Lucky Dog.... or maybe not!

Today it is all about Levi!  Levi is a lucky dog.  He is a handsome little man with a huge fan club.  Okay, the fan club resides in our home mainly, but he is distinctive enough that he is recognized when we are out walking. 

Here's the good-looking fellow now.  He had a trip to the groomer and got a little trim and a good brushing.  He was quite the dapper boy here.

The girls set up these chairs in the yard and I let Levi out to play.  I do not know what he was doing, but he hopped up onto the chairs.  

 "Levi, What are you doing?!"

Someone is hoping I'm going to drop some food for him.  Never gonna happen! 

This is what you get when the kids get the camera, a pair of glasses, and the dog. 

This is what you get when you take the dog to the vet for a little snip-snip.  Poor Levi! 

I know!  I thought this cone of shame was ginormous!  I was going to get a smaller one, and then I realized this one might not be large enough.  This is Levi, caught in the middle of a yawn, but he sure looks disgruntled. 

I think he looks like a lovely flower!  Levi gets to wear his cone of shame until Friday, when his stitches come out.  I'm getting tired of getting wacked on the legs with this thing, so I can't wait till he's done with it!  He's done really well with the cone and has not fought me at all when I put it on after walks.  He's a good doggie!