First Day of School

So, I'm a terrible blog poster. I could promise to do better, but it would be a lie. I hope you can forgive me. :)

Here are some first day of school pictures!

G-man

Davis: First Grade

Meg: Third Grade

Pretending to be happy about more pictures on the porch.

I do have a few more posts planned, so keep checking back!

Ice Fishing on Steed's Pond

So it has been a while since I have posted to this blog since I leave most of that up to Christie. However I decided that I would share a little fun that Davis and I had the other day.

So Christie and Meg were in Louisiana for a family wedding and I was home having a boys weekend. On Saturday, January 9th, I had an offer from a friend to do some ice fishing. This isn't my normal area of expertise so having a buddy with some extra equipment is pretty handy. When I asked Davis if he wanted to go ice fishing he quickly responded "yes..... and dad.... can I use that 'Cars' fishing pole in the shed?" Davis already has a Shrek fishing pole but the little thinker was quick to find an excuse to need to open that Cars fishing kit that I had stuffed in the rafters of the shed. I guess any good fisherman needs his summer equipment and winter equipment.

So Steed's Pond is my old stomping grounds. Plenty of time was spent here just being a boy. You know, chasing frogs, swimming, fishing, smashing pennies on the adjacent train tracks and just getting dirty. Good times, but in all the years of living nearby I have never ice fished there.


I was hearing from neighbors and friends that the DWR had dumped a bunch of Rainbow trout and Brook trout into the pond that came from the hatchery they use for the community ponds. Also the rumor was that they were having good success through the ice.

So Davis and I dropped off Garrett with Grandma & Grandpa Pickett and we hit the ice with my friend Jack.

For about 2 1/2 hours we fished and while it was a little slow, Davis was a great fishing buddy. He stuck to it and was quite dedicated. After missing a fish he got pretty mad at himself because he really wanted to "see that fish". Convinced of course that it was the "big one". I think Davis caught 4 fish and we all missed a bunch too. Can't wait to try it again soon, guess I need to buy a few ice flies for the next time.

First Day of School

Davis and Meg

The kids were so excited for the first day of school. They had their clothes out last night. We double checked backpacks and supply lists. When I opened my door
this morning, they were sitting in the hall all dressed and ready to go!

I hope they'll always be this easy to get ready for school.

After a nice breakfast of waffles and chocolate milk, we took some pictures and headed off to school. It looked like it might rain, so Davis grabbed his jacket.

We were lucky that it didn't rain on us. The afternoon turned out to be great.

As part of our first day of school "Tradition" we went to Training Table for dinner. Yumm..... I think this stems back from when I was teaching. I'm pretty sure I never wanted to come home and cook dinner on the first day of school. It's a great tradition...one that I hope never fades.

I'm published!!!

As some of you know, I recently submitted my list of 10 things that hurt worse than a mammogram to Good Things Utah. Much to my surprise Marti Skold replied to my email and read my list the next day! She just posted my list on her blog. So now that makes me a published writer, doesn't it?

Here's a link to her blog, in case you need a reminder.
http://www.abc4.com/content/blogs/martiskold/story/Marti-Skold-Ten-Things-That-Hurt-Worse-Than-A/b6vvBqShVUCTyOPLaA4XoA.cspx

I hope this counts as telling my friends. :)

10 Things...

...that hurt more than a mammogram.

Sorry to those of you who were blindsided by this post.

This list is by no means in order of importance--these are things that I have experienced in the last year.

1- Breastfeeding
2- Burning your hand/arm on a hot pot
3- Plucking your eyebrows
4- Falling down the stairs
5- Falling up the stairs
6- Stubbing your toe
7- Hitting your knee on a trailer hitch
8- Not stretching enough before running
9- Getting a papercut
10- Pinching your finger in an air compressor attachment


Just in case you were wondering, my mammogram came back fine. I'm just "of age" now to get regular screenings. After the screening was finished I looked at the lady who worked the machine and I asked, "Is that it? That's what I've been worried about all week?" She said, "That's it, go tell your friends it's nothing to be worried about." Okay friends, you've been told. Seriously, it didn't hurt--at all. Really.

I guess you could consider this a public service announcement.

Image was taken from: www.ngdc.com/NGDC/pages/mammography.gif

Woobies

Garrett and Davis both love to have their woobies right up against their noses.
Is it because it's soft? Do they like the smell? In this picture, Davis has one of Garrett's blankets, but he does the same thing to his.

Our New Puppy

Scott and I have been talking for a couple of years about getting a new puppy--Labrador Retriever, of course. I decided that a yellow male would be perfect since we already have a chocolate female, Cocoa. Well, here's a few pictures that I snapped of our "yellow male" and Cocoa getting acquainted.

Cocoa is not sure about Garrett being in her kennel.

This was the first time he crawled in it.

I think he likes it.

Notice how far back he is sitting.

After a few minutes he came out. We had to keep the basement door closed because he kept going in the kennel. A few times Cocoa climbed in there with him. That was a tight fit! Every time Garrett would leave the kennel, Cocoa would go right in and lay down. I guess she wanted him to know that this is her spot.

I hope this post doesn't steal the thunder from Lynnette and Keith and their new lab. Dora is a real dog and absolutely aDORAble!!! She could live at my house....really, she could. :)

I'm so crafty...

Okay, I saw this on a blog and I had to steal it!!!

That was wrong, I know.
It made me laugh so loud that Scott asked me what was so funny.

I'll do some actual blog posting later of the "crafts" that I've made. :)

Two-Wheeler School

Meg is such a great big sister! She often has "Baby School" for Garrett where she reads him books and asks him questions. He's very smart and always points at the right answer.

This time Meg focused her efforts on Davis and the bike. After about half hour or so, Davis came in to tell me the good news..."I can ride Meg's bike without training wheels!" I had to see this for myself. After showing me that he could indeed ride Meg's bike without training wheels, we decided we should make a movie of it. I hope you enjoy the two clips. Please excuse my commentary. (Do I really sound like that?) I think it's not bad for a low budget "film." Maybe Sundance will pick it up. :)

I told Davis, once he finally stopped, that we'd get him a bigger helmet the next day. He looked and me and said, "I like pink." Then he got back on Meg's bike and was ready to ride again!

Just so you know, Davis did get a new helmet the next day. Scott also took the training wheels off of his bike. He's now covered in bruises and scratches, but he sure is having a great time!

We're Under Attack!!!

As you can see, we've been invaded by toy soldiers.

One afternoon I came downstairs and had to chuckle.

Davis was playing with army guys and they were strategically placed around the front room. This clearly gives them the best vantage point.

They stormed all over the "Welcome" sign.

Apparently it was serious business!

Scott and I noticed that each row has a different group of army guys.

They are sorted very nicely, don't you think?