The Kitty Plan

Katelyn wants a kitten. She loves animals and every time we see a dog or cat, that's all she can talk about for the next hour. We were at the store last week and someone was giving away kittens. It was all I could do to drag her away from the cute little black fuzz balls.

I told her she could have a kitty after we move. She thought out this whole kitten thing and presented her plan to her Daddy a few nights ago.

1. Move and get a kitten- maybe two.

2. Feed it.

3. Water it.

4. Play with it.

5. "When it gets big, we can sell it. Cause I don't like big cats."

Where does she come up with these things???

We've tried to explain the whole get a pet thing to her. So far it's falling on deaf ears.

A Room With A View

I love going by the house! It's really fun to see what happened since I was there last. This picture is from Thursday- since then, the garage walls have been started and the main floor is almost totally framed. The garage floor was poured a day late, so the trusses are now scheduled for Monday.

From the front! More fill is being added all the time.This is the view out of my master bedroom window. Soooo pretty!

Birthday Cakes All Around

One of the biggest obstacles to work around with twins is birthdays. Each one wants to do their own thing for their big day and unfortunately they still have to share. We compromised this year by allowing them to each pick their own eat out birthday dinner. This is actually the first year they have not agreed on where to eat...I benefited by eating out both Friday and Saturday! (Wes is going to start thinking I've forgotten how to cook!)

I have always made each of them a cake of their choosing, except when we've spent the day at Disneyland. We've had two Elmo cakes, Mickey and Minnie, Superman and Wonder Woman, Tink and Buzz, Pocahontas and Taz. This year they each picked something totally different. It's fun to see them grow and have unique interests.

Ryan picked a horse cake. He loves the horses and helping Grandpa with chores. I waited too long to order a horse pan, so we settled on an animal face pan and did our best to make it look like a horse. He was a happy guy and that's all that matters!

Katelyn chooses to follow my example and LOVE Disney! She picked Ariel this year. She loves all the Disney Princesses and Tink. It just wouldn't have been the same without a Disney cake!

Renny spent the day with us while the rest of Rikki's family went to the hot springs. I worried I wouldn't be able to finish the cakes on time with three littles at home, but Ryan and Kate did a great job entertaining him.

Look! I'm finally walking more than I crawl!

What Do You Mean????

The concert started WITHOUT ME? This is Katelyn's sad little face once she realized that the Taylor Swift concert had started and she was not there. It just seemed a bit too much to spend over $400 to take the family to the concert and to dinner. I also wasn't up to chasing the two heathens around the Energy Solutions Arena...since they listen sooooo well.

Hunter was a bit sad too, until we heard that Kelli Pickler had "called in sick" for the night. Maybe next time we'll make it to the concert-if Ryan and Kate can learn to listen to instructions that is!

An Early Celebration

On Monday, we decided to have an impromptu birthday celebration for Ryan and Katelyn since all the cousins were up at Grandma's for Memorial Day. The cake and ice cream also covered the DESSERT requirement of the picnic!

Katelyn picked out a chocolate cake- she truly takes after me with the chocolate preference! The sprinkles were red and blue stars with white pearls.

Ryan picked a carrot cake, I don't know why. He's never eaten carrot cake before- still hasn't, but he did enjoy the frosting.

For those of you wondering, I am making cakes for the celebration with the Piersons. Wouldn't want to disappoint any of you! Kate picked Ariel, Ryan picked a baby horse. I will post the pics for those after they're finished.

Great Grandma was there to share in the festivities too. We are sure grateful that she was able to come up to see everyone. She even re-told the story of how she decided that she was no longer going to be ticklish. It goes something like this...

When she and Grandpa first got married, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and his brothers used to hold her down and tickle her until she cried. After she got tired of it, she just up and decided one day that no matter how much they tickled her, she was just not going to be ticklish, No sirree! They tried and tried to tickle her, but she just gritted her teeth and focused on not being ticklish...and it worked! To this day, she is not a bit ticklish!

This Is Likely To Cost Daddy Lots Of Money...

This last weekend at my parents, Jeremy decided to be the star uncle and teach Katelyn to ride a motorcycle. She LOVED it! She ran right home and let Daddy know that he needed to buy her one of these fancy little toys for her birthday.

She didn't go too crazy. She only gave Hunter a heart attack once when she decided to give it full throttle! It was all he could do to get a hold of the handle bars.

Daddy's Little Motorcross Princess

It's Getting Taller...

Here's how it looks today...


They've put the boards around the bottom, enclosing the basement. It does look a bit bigger now from the inside...



...and the main floor walls are going up. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks really tall. The trusses aren't on yet either. We're going to need to bring in A LOT of fill.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of kindergarten. Kind of sad...but good too! I thought I'd post the pictures of the first and last day of school. They've changed so much in just a few months.

Katelyn on the first day of school...

...and on the last day.

Ry's first day, (not so sure about it was he?)...

...happy as can be on the last day!

Blast From The Past II

Here's another oldie but goodie... This is probably taken @ 1974-75. Mindy and I with Grandpa P., taken at the old farm house in South Jordan. We were in front of the east side of the garage - I remember that Grandma had pretty little flowers in the bed with the junipers. I think they were bleeding hearts, but I'm not positive. Grandma also had snap dragons in the flower beds around the house. I remember sitting under the huge elm tree in the shade during the summers and squeezing the flowers to make them "open" their mouth!

We used to try and crack the safe on the patio- a favorite past time of all the cousins! We all wanted the Pepsi's that were locked inside. The Uncles and Grandpa would make homemade ice cream in the hand crank wooden ice cream freezer- Yum!

I also remember Grandpa helping us pick currants to eat. They were planted on the north side of the house by the kitchen and the front porch. They were warm and sweet!

Cindy and I played in the yellow rose bushes in the front yard- we would sit on the stump in the bush- we must have been really small then, otherwise it would have been a bit prickly! Oh- and who could forget all the chestnuts in the front?? Those really hurt to step on with bare feet!

Any other memories?- Please share in the comments!

Class of 2021- Kindergarten Graduation

It's official- we have two new graduates at our house. Ryan and Katelyn have graduated from kindergarten. Class of 2021- seems so far away, but I know it will be here before I'm ready. It's funny- I wasn't sad on their first day of school, but I did get a little teary eyed at their graduation. They're growing up so fast- Or maybe it was just knowing that they will be home all summer and I lose the precious two hours of me time!

They sang cute songs- "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da", "A Dinosaur", "Yes I Know I Have A Brain"- tune of "If I Only Had A Brain" from "The Wizard of Oz". I recorded the program- If I can figure out how to post the songs, I'll share.

Katelyn was the first name called for a diploma. Therefore, she had to still still the longest on stage. She did really well until the last few minutes. Then, out of know where- feet in the air and princess panties shown to the entire auditorium. She would have to be on the front row!

Ryan was obsessed with his deep pockets in his slacks. Did you know that one can reach to their knees with your hands in your pockets, grab your pants legs and pull your pants up to just about your thigh???

Who do those two silly kids in the front row belong to????

A Blast From the Past

I recently purchased a scanner- Boy am I having fun! I have a huge box of old pictures I'm working on scanning and in the process, I thought I would start posting them for you to enjoy.This is me on my first birthday. Why I'm sitting on the car is a mystery-(The car was a Duster I believe, lovely color! For some reason I remember that the car was actually named Dusty.) The cake is cute and really pink. One thing that caught my attention- upper right- Does that look like Danielle or what?????

Grandma Greats Candies

We're Being Framed!

Here's a quick update on the progress as of last night. They will only work a few hours today and they have Monday off. Hopefully they start the main floor framing today.

This is a view from the back of the house. The room on the left is Ryan's. The center is the family room and the right is Hunter's room. On the far right is Wes' man cave under the garage.

The floor joists are in for the main floor- I thought this was an interesting angle!

Mrs. Vance is Special

This is Ryan and his teacher Mrs. Vance. He thinks Mrs. Vance is really special. In his words, here is why she is so great-

Mrs. Vance is so nice. She lets us play at playtime. Even though we can't play whenever we want to, sometimes we have to learn. She taught me how to write my name nice. She tells us to do quality work. I try my best for her. She teaches us how to sing fun songs. My favorite song is called "A Dinosaur". We sang it at our program. She calls me Buddy- I like that a lot. She always smiles and it makes me happy to be in her class.

We Build Our House With Sticks-

We build our house with twigs.

With a hey diddle diddle, they sing and they whistle.

And they dance all kinds of jigs.
Keep up the great work guys!

GRADUTUITY

Gradutuity- (grăjʹu-too-it-tee) n. 1. An appetizer. 2. The stuff added to the bottom of your bill at a restaurant. v. The point in your life when you pay the bill for a meal instead of your parents.


Hunter learned a little something on his first date. When they add "gradutuity" (which is not an appetizer that he didn't get) on to your bill for a table of eight- you don't need to leave a $5 tip too! Wes tried to give him advice for the night, but he claimed to know all- no questions! Bet that waiter was pretty happy!

Hunter's First Date

It's official- the dating scene will never be the same again! Hunter invited a girl (Jessie) to Red and White Ball- I didn't realize that he was going to ask anyone. I would have helped him ask in a more creative way than sending his friends to ask for him. Doesn't he know he should try to be creative????

Getting a boy ready for a school dance is a whole new experience for me. Buying dresses and shoes for the girls was fun- but what do you do for boys???? I figured that since we did an outfit and hair for the girls, Hunter deserved the same. This was a semi-formal dance- no tux- Yeah for Hunter! He already had a new white shirt and new black slacks- that counts right??? So I purchased a new tie and ordered a corsage- or cursage as Hunter likes to call them. I called and made an appointment for a haircut too- we can't go out looking like a baby bald eagle now, can we?

I asked him to make an itinerary for the night. Who, where, when, find out curfews, cell phone numbers, etc. I told him that he needed to give Jessie's parents a copy of the itinerary as well- that's just respectful, right? Hunter disagreed, he thought the idea was pretty lame. Nonetheless, he did leave home that night with an itinerary for her parents. Whether he actually gave it to them or not is a different story...
Here's Hunter before he left on his date- cursage and all. Now I ask, who wouldn't want to date someone who looks that happy? He didn't bring Jessie back for pictures- he promised a picture from the dance.This is Hunter's $19 "cursage". He didn't know that flowers cost so much! I advised him to remove it from the bag BEFORE he went into get Jessie. Hope he listened! The entire night ended up costing him a pretty penny. I'll bet he thinks twice before asking someone out again!

Hidden Mickey's

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Disney! I have tried to pass on this passion to my little ones. They can name the Disneyland ride by listening to the first few bars of a theme song. Katelyn can tell you who the Imagineer was who designed "It's a Small World". And they both love looking for Hidden Mickey's at Disney properties.

Wes says that we can't go to Disneyland this summer because we are broke. I guess building a house will do that. So Ryan and Katelyn- in an attempt to make me smile nearly everyday; have started pointing out Hidden Mickey's around the house.

Many of these Mickey's are manufactured by them for me. Some are just there for the finding. The marshmallows and the Cocoa Roos were left for me to find. The SpaghettiO's and the purple styrofoam beads were found by chance.

I think I have some pretty neat little kids- even if they do like to push my buttons occasionally! I'll post more Mickey's as I find them!

The Lanyard

Hey- For all of you great people out there... If you haven't already seen the post "The Lanyard" on Team Hoopes (link on the left), you have to go read it! Such a great poem! Thanks for posting it Jeff!

What's Going On???

Last week, Ryan was home from school with a little cold. I was upstairs and hear sirens-looked out the window and saw the escorted parade coming down the road. I ran down and grabbed Ryan's hand and we went out to cheer for Caleb. Caleb is a young man in our ward- such a sweet kid!

We live just a few houses from the school so it was really neat to see the school kids lining the road- cheering him on. (I forgot the camera in the house, so the picture below is from the local run last year- for effect.) Caleb passed our house, we waved, clapped and cheered. The parade ended just the other side of our yard- the Sheriff department vehicles stopped there to do whatever it is they do with the torch to transport it to the next location. Meanwhile, Ryan and I went into the house to get the post box keys. The phone rang, it was Debbie asking about kindergarten pick-up. We chatted a second- the call waiting beeped. It was Wes- I figured I'd call him right back and finished my conversation with Debbie. I must be getting old- I hung up the phone and Ryan and I went to the post box without calling Wes.

Ryan helped get the mail- a favorite past time of his. We said hello to our Post Mistress and went to the truck. My cell phone was ringing- I hurried as quick as I could to answer; full hands and all. A quick glance- Wes was calling. Here's how it went- or best I can remember after almost a week. Oh, and I think he was on his way home-although he probably won't admit it now.
Me- "Hello?"
Wes- "Where are you?"
Me-"At the post office."
Wes-"What the @&*% is going on?"
Me-"What???"
Wes-"Someone just called Bodee and told him the cops are at our house." (Bodee is a co-worker.)
Me-"Wow! Someone has too much time on their hands- Who was it?"
Wes-"Someone in town."
Me-"Special Olympics Torch Run."
Wes-"Oh-Okay."
Me-"That's pretty weird that someone would think that the whole school would be let out to look down the road to see the cops at our house- don'tcha think?"
Wes- Silence

Ok- it went on a bit from there- I got him to tell me who it was- they will remain anonymous on this post to protect their reputation- Or something like that.

Oh the joys of small town life- without neighbors like this, we may get really bored!

Reading Bribery

Reading his book assignment every night isn't exactly Ryan's idea of a good time. As a mater of fact, he does everything in his power to get out of reading. He's faked sick, faked sleep, whined, cried and even thrown a fit or two to try and wear me down. Sorry kiddo- we still need to read.

Those of you who know Wes, understand how much he dislikes video games. They're a waste of time as far as he's concerned. Last year, I bought myself a Wii and a Wii Fit to motivate myself to excercise more. I thought the yoga would be fun to try. (Since running on the treadmill is not an option with Ryan and Kate around- I got tired of trying to dodge the toys they threw at me.)

Anyway, I told Ryan that we could probably talk Dad into letting him have Wii time if he would read as soon as he gets home. So far, so good. Wes agreed that he gets fifteen minutes to play for each book he passes off. Ryan loves it! Reading is no longer a fight (most days), and Katelyn gets time for reading too- we are hoping to improve her eye hand coordination.
Here's Ryan concentrating while Katelyn takes a turn. Do you think the tongue steering will help Katelyn?

This is the new game that Ryan earned for reading- on sale for 14.99 at Best Buy- what a deal! This game was reccommended by the sales person for younger kids. It's fun for them to learn to use the remote and nunchuck while driving around collecting points. Everybody wins and you don't get killed when you make a mistake. PERFECT- for us!

New Floors

They finally poured the floors yesterday. Ryan thought that trucks were pretty neat. Katelyn could have cared less. She wanted to know when we could paint the walls. She still thinks she gets pink walls.

Here is what the floor looks like this morning. Wes thinks that it's starting to look pretty big. Hopefully there won't be anymore unplanned hold-ups. The suspended slab for the garage is next...then the framing begins!

Happy Mother's Day Super-Moms!

This was way too funny to not post!

I had the best Mother's Day! Wes took care of the kids this morning and let me sleep in until 11:00! That was soooooo nice! He even cleaned up the mess they made this morning. What a great guy- just what I wanted for Mother's Day!

We went to dinner at the Pierson's- I got to bring dessert- yes, leftovers!

Bec made really yummy pretzel salad- Hey did you know she can cook!?! Talk about Super-Mom, or is that Super-Gma?

Sue made her famous potato salads- plain and German- yum!

Mike offended Rikki by sending her in to get recipes from everyone. She openly admitted once she was inside that the only thing she knew about potato salad was peeling potatoes and eggs. I guess I should have taught her more!

Rikki, Mike and the boys brought me the most beautiful roses and the sweetest card. Dawni gave me a raincheck for house cleaning- yes! Ryan and Katelyn made me cookbooks in Kindergarten. Apparently they got all of the creative cooking skills. I'm posting their recipes so you can enjoy their genius as well.

Penne Pasta- By Ryan Pierson

First you put the penne pasta in a pan. Then you put it cooking for six minutes. When it's done you take it out of the pan and put white sauce on it. Then we put it on a plate or bowl and eat it.

Pasghetti O's- By Katelyn Pierson

You get a bottle of them. Then you open it with a can opener. Then you put them in a bowl with a spoon. Then you put them in the microwave for 20 seconds. When you put them in the microwave, put plastic on. Then when it beeps, it's done. Then we eat it!

Bon Appetit!

Branson Is Ryan's Friend

This is Ryan's friend Branson. He used to call him Baby Branson, but now Branson has a baby sister Gracie, so he's dropped the "Baby". Ryan and Branson are best buddies at Debbie's. They play together and Ryan teaches him everything that he would teach a little brother- even the bad stuff. Often times when I pick him up from Debbie's he offers to trade Debbie straight across the table- Katelyn for Branson. Someday he'll appreciate having a sister- I hope!

Katelyn Loves Her Teacher

This is Katelyn with her teacher Mrs. Roberts. Katelyn loves Mrs. Roberts. She is really special. So Katelyn is dedicating this post to Mrs. Roberts and would like to tell you a little bit of what makes her special.

Mrs. Roberts lets us go outside to play without walking laps. She is pretty and very nice. She teaches me things like the turtle song, writing and counting. She helps me read. She tells me that she loves me. She has a pretty smile. I like to help her and I push in all the chairs for her. She gets me book orders. I like it when she reads "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus". She made me feel happy in her class when Ryan wasn't there. She taught me the pledge too!

I am happy that school is almost done, but I want Mrs. Roberts to teach me again next year. I will miss her this summer.

Love, Katelyn

Piles of Dirt and Gravel

There are several piles of dirt that have been dumped around the foundation. At least it doesn't look like a sky scraper now! We're still waiting for the basement floor to be poured later today.

Ryan and Katelyn found the room under the porch. I told them that it was Hunter's room. Katelyn giggled and asked if Hunter knew about it. Obviously, it isn't really Hunter's room but they think it's pretty funny and plan to tease him about it!

Ryan's King of the Hill- That lolly sure looks good!

Dog Food and Jellyfish Sandwiches

I love to cook, but I have to wonder...Why in the world is it still a Mom's job to do the cooking for the family???

Point in case- I get up early to go to work- 03:10 to be exact. I work long hours and usually get home just before 18:00 (6:00 p.m. for those who are trying desperately to translate!). Now, Wes and Hunter both get up about 06:30 and they get home from work and chores about 17:00. About 99.9% of the time they are both sitting in front of the TV when I get home.

One would think that the first question asked by either of them would be "How was your day?" Nope- It's usually "What's for dinner????" I've already made at least a hundred decisions throughout the day and they want me to make another????

Now, don't get me wrong, if I've had the day off, I make dinner. No complaints, I don't mind. But why is it that when they are both home on the weekends that I work, no one has the ability to start dinner? I've heard the excuse that they were busy all day. OK- on my days off I clean, do laundry, chase the littles, break up the battles AND make dinner! Is that not busy?

So from now on when they ask after I've worked all day they'll get the standard answer my mother used to give:

"Dog food and jellyfish sandwiches!" (I get it now Mom!)

It Just Keeps Raining!

I had to stop and rethink my feelings about the rain that keeps slowing up the progress on the house. Rain is good for moisture and for painting the sky. On my way home from work last weekend, the most beautiful rainbow appeared. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time- so I missed the really cool one. You could see the ends of the rainbow on the ground, it was very bright- and it was a double!

When I got home, I grabbed the camera and got this shot just before the sun went down. (Sorry it's just a half- the trees were blocking the view.) Ryan and Katelyn hadn't seen it yet, so they were pretty excited. It looks pretty ordinary in the picture but it brightened our day.

Foundation Walls Done

It's coming along very well. The foundation walls are up and the inspector was here and gave it the thumbs up! The water lines are going in this week and the framing is slated to begin next week. It should start looking more like the picture in my mind soon...I hope!