Shot the Dog

Liza was due this month for her annual immunization update. Her and I both get excited about going to the vet. She thinks it's a social party and I like seeing people stick her with sharp objects.



Thankfully, the rabies is only due every three years from here on out, and the rest can be done without the $45 office visit. Always like it when the mutt saves me money (which is rare :(



Of course as soon as got back home she took care of the whole 'saving my money' bit by practicing her impressive DVD disassembly technique. Next visit I'm requesting bigger needles.

I Have a Superpower !!!

I have the amazing ability to re-gift items and events to myself!

Aimee would say I just have a bad memory, but that's just calling the glass half empty. In reality, I have spent years honing my ability to completely erase memories from my mind.

For example: Today I pulled out my Nook eReader to read my latest purchase, only to find that I had forgotten to download it. Having a WiFi only Nook, I was out of luck :( Strangely though, when I tried to update my library, it succeeded! A little more checking and I found that I have a 3G Nook rather than a WiFi only! WOOT!

Without my superpower it would have been just another humdrum download, but thanks to my amazing powers of Re-Gifting, I received a brand new 3G Nook! Totally glass half full!

Conversations with Avyrlie

Me: Do you love all the holidays?

Avyrlie: No. I just don't like Christmas. It's too wintery and cold and snowy.

Me: You don't like winter?

Avyrlie: I just love Spring. Do you love spring?

Me: No.

Avyrlie with a quivering lower lip: Why not. The sun comes out, and the flowers are everywhere.

Me: I don't like the sun. It's too warm. I don't like flowers because they raise my water bill.

Avyrlie with tears in her eyes: Tell me you are just lying.

Me: I'm not lying.

Avyrlie running from the room and sobbing: You should be lying or EVERYTHING WILL BE TERRIBLE!!!

Outdoor Aimee

'Outdoor Aimee' shows up every so often although like Mr. Hyde, the conditions have to be just right. Colorful leaves, cooler temperatures, and occasionally sunsets can all trigger the transformation.

Click the pic to below for additional photographic evidence of this rare transformation:

Oldest vs Youngest

Cute little sister happy and serene.



Luckily I knew how to correct the situation.



Chaos restored.

(click the pic for the rest of the pix)


We took a quick zoo trip Saturday after Ian's football weigh-ins at the Steiner center. Ian starved himself the day before and all morning so he managed to sneak in just under the 135 lb limit. He was VERY nervous about making weight especially considering that fact that he would have lost one-fifth of his official identity which currently reads as:

Babysitter Extraordinaire

Struggling Student

Parent Antagonizer

Dog Lover

Running Back

We started out in a light rain which I believe is the perfect weather for a zoo trip. It's just enough to keep the crowds away, but not so much that the animals mind. I had to drag everyone along to get them inside and excited, but once Aimee declared her desire to pet the fruit bats, everyone was in a good mood (and slightly disturbed).

By the time we were leaving the snow was coming down pretty heavily, but no spirits were dampened. Avyrlie enjoyed catching snowflakes, Aimee was on her phone safely under the umbrella, and Ian was still a little goofy from his day of starvation.

I'll add more commentary in the Flickr gallery

Ian's budgeting idea

Ian: "Dad, I need a haircut."

Me: "Then go get one. You have a bike."

Ian: "I need money. Oh, I have an idea! How about you just leave a bunch of twenties on the fridge and then if I, I mean if you, need something I can just grab a twenty and go get it."

Me: "What is a bunch?"

Ian: "Like seven or ten. Whatever is easier."

Me: "I have a better idea. Lets keep the twenties in your wallet and just use the ones you earn."

Ian: "I like my idea better..."

Up the canyon with the kids

The kids and I headed up the canyon for a bit to get out of the house and give poor, sick mom a chance to get some rest. We walked up to Hidden Falls, stopped along the river for a bit to throw rocks and then climbed up some rocks just to see the view.

click the pic for the rest of the gallery

Back to School Zoo Trip

(click for more pix)

Snuck up to the zoo today with Jessica today in between carpool trips. Now that school has started, mid-day trips are much less crowded. Most of the animals were having a pretty good day as well. The penguins were splashing around and all the new babies were out and exploring.
We ate at Ruth's afterwards which is just barely worth the lunchtime wait with a couple tired, rowdy kids. I had some so-so vegetable wontons and an awesome fried pickle sandwich. I also had good intentions with ordering a dessert to share, but flubbed the whole no nuts thing for Dylan... Dessert or not, we all had a great time :)

Monster trucks

Monster trucks, originally uploaded by eouio.

Front and center. Will be deaf by the end ;)

-Updated
Ian and I had a blast! We're not huge fans (or at all ;) but we screamed, cheered, picked favorites, and were amazed how much money was spent on merchandise. Everyone seemed to have little Gravedigger trucks, pennants, and collectible slurpee cups ($45 for the lot). No wipe-outs but I was amazed how high they jump those trucks. I'll post some pics and vid later.

Screaming Good Fishing Trip

Aaron invited us up to go fishing with him last Saturday. Not a lot of bites, in fact Ian had the only catch early on. After that is was a test of patience on all levels ;)

(Click the pic for the rest of the gallery)

(end)

Quick Fix

My carpal tunnel surgery only took about an hour from the time I arrived. The actual procedure was only 10 minutes. It's been 24 hours now and the swelling and pain are gone unless I overwork it or have Avyie grab my arm to swing :o

I'm excited to have a fully functuonal hand again. Aimee is as well and has my massage schedule lined up for the next couple months already ;)

-Update - here is the external result a week later. Tiny incision right on a crease in my wrist.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Croc Check

Avyrlie and I took a quick trip to the zoo last Friday morning to make sure the crocodiles were still there. I'm pretty sure she gets worried that they might have escaped and be lurking around a corner waiting to snap her up for lunch. They're the only animal there that she us really afraid of.


They recently had babies so they are in a different habitat for some reason. When we went to see them, the hall they are in was completely deserted and dead quiet. Avyrlie crept up close enough to see that the crocs were in there, but wasn't coming any closer.

Outside Avyrlie had a ball playing Whack a Bug. Kleenex had a promotion for their anti-viral tissues with a couple games and a mascot. Avyrlie wasn't about to get close a life size germ ;)

Parade Season

For the last several years Ian and I have helped dad out at the Ranches Pony Express Days Parade. This year we talked Aimee and Avyrlie into coming with us and assured them it was just a short parade and went by quick. Well this year they decided to not only double the parade route, but they extended the staging area by about a half mile as well! We still got Aimee to go (riding in the truck ;) and Avyrlie was maybe too excited to be there, especially trying to contain her to the cab of a truck.


Ian complained a bit on the way, but had a great time. He enjoys helping out and passing out drinks and works pretty hard for his Mountain Dew reward. Probably didn't hurt that there were a couple girls riding the back of truck either ;)

Check out the after parade entertainment:

Cornbelly

While Aimee and I took the broken boy to the ER, mom and dad offered to watch Avyrlie. Really they were just looking for an excuse to do some playing ;) and play they did. When I finally dropped Ian and Aimee off at home, I found mom and dad at Thanksgiving Point with Jessica and Greg as well. It took me an additional 45 minutes to get through the insane line and join up with them, but it was well worth it.


The kids were having a great time, and there is a ton of stuff to keep them entertained. Avyrlie loved the princess dress-up and carraige as well as the 'princess castle bounce house'. Label anything 'Princess' and she's there! Dylan had a great time in the bounce house as well, but both kids started getting restless during the storytime so we headed to the next activity.

Avyrlie and Dylan spent the next 20 minutes picking up kernels of corn and throwing them at each other and any other unsuspecting victim who ventured into corn-kernel throwing range. They were finally lured away with the promise of playing on the diggers. This turned out to be a little disappointing as kids were a little to small to handle the heavy machinery ;)

Then off to the corn maze! Dylan and Avyrlie both had to take a bite of an ear of corn. Even Jessica gave it a taste and found it just as unpleasant you might imagine old, dried, corn kernels to be :o The kid maze turned out to be just the right size for the kids with enough turns to momentarily escape, but not complex enough to got very lost. We tried it a second time with an egg hunt, which turned out to be very confusing, unorganized, and chaotic for the adults, but the kids were happy to do anything involving free candy :)

A couple obligatory 'face on the farm animal' and 'huge rocking chair' pictures later, and we were done enjoying the dusty, hay-filled playland, and ready to head for home.

Fall up the canyon

Headed up the canyon to enjoy the weather as we listened to the last hour of conference this afternoon. Avyrlie was pretty excited to see the snow both kids loved throwing rocks at the river. I couldn't quite find a spot to make the photo I wanted, but we got a couple pretty good pix anyhow.

Ian was in an especially good mood of course because he loves having his photo taken ;) All in all we had a good afternoon enjoying the canyon and weather.

I have to mention how almost impressed I was with Aimee. The last couple times we headed up the canyon she wore sandals. Not like Teva's or even flip flops, but little dress sandals made specifically for flat, level ground and can barely handle stairs. This time she remembered to wear tennis shoes! Yes, she does own a pair of hiking shoes, but we'll take what we can get. Of course, when I told her we should go take some pictures in the snow, she dressed in a short sleeve shirt and left her jacket home...

Also, the eyeball thing. You'll notice that Avyrlie doesn't like to look at the camera very often and Ian won't open his eyes. Ian is easy to explain: he takes after his mother (yes, that explains a whole lotta things...). Avyrlie is my fault. I have a pretty good sized collection of vampire movies that Avyrlie loves to watch with me. In one series, the vampires souls are sucked from their body when someone takes their picture. I may have explained this with a bit more detail and drama to Avyrlie. She hasn't actually said anything about it, and I haven't asked, but I've noticed the she won't look at the camera for posed shots lately.

She does still love to have her picture taken and assumes that I take photos of everything she does all day long. Frequently she will do something, bring me my camera, and ask to see a picture of it. Very cute :)