Utah State Fair

We hung out at the State Fair with Brian's sister Charity, her husband Eric, and their new baby, Finn.

We saw lots of cows. They were brushing the show cows with WD-40 to make their fur all fuzzy. Crazy!

Becca LOVED the goats. "Goat, goat, goat, goat!"

The kids BEGGED for pony rides. That was the one thing they all wanted to do. I'm not sure it turned out to be quite as exciting as they had imagined, but now they can all say with confidence that they've ridden on a horse.

Maggie, the rodeo princess.

Beanie was done after the first few trips around. Nathan (in the background) spent his horse ride checking out the machinery. And the poop.

Ride 'em cowboy, Matthew!

After a few very expensive carnival rides, we decided we'd shoveled enough money into the State Fair for the day and ditched carnival food in favor of dinner from McDonald's on the way home. At least we didn't have to stand in another line!

The Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point

Becca tasting the local microbes.

Matthew and Maggie made it out of the maze alive. The others did, too, but I couldn't get them to hold still long enough to snap photographic proof.

Becca and Maggie climbing on rocks. Becca proceeded to slide down this one, fall on her little bum, jump up laughing and turn around to do it all over again.

Don't you love Maggie's face? She held it for about 5 photos while I tried to get everyone else in there. This was the best I could do.

Nathan and Matthew captured a grasshopper and built him a little house. I'm not sure how much the grasshopper appreciated his house, but it's the thought that counts.

While her brothers and sister built stuff, Becca practiced her climbing skills. That baby sure knows how to get herself impossibly high up.

Working Mama

It's probably about time I post the news: in July I landed a part-time job! I work in the afternoons at a company that provides internet services for hotels. My official title is Client Services Administrator, and even though officially we answer phones for platinum level hotels seeking support, it's pretty much the grunt work of the office - if anyone has something that they don't want to do, they give it to the admins.

I LOVE it! It's sooooooo nice to get away for a few hours every day and re-focus and clear my mind. And the paychecks aren't so bad, either.

Little Sisters

About three-quarters of the way through the primary program yesterday, Becca suddenly discovered her big sister Maggie sitting up on the stand. She ran to the middle of the aisle, put her hands to her little cheeks and yelled, "Bay-ggie! Bay-ggie!" Every few minutes through the remainder of the program, she kept pointing at Maggie and yelling out "Bay-ggie!" every few minutes. And Maggie would wave and Becca would wave back and then start yelling in her shrill little baby voice again, "Bay-ggie! Bay-ggie!" We were all in stitches.

It Works for Mosquitos

Maggie: "Is Dad allergic to reindeers?"

Me (wondering where this is coming from): "No..."

Maggie: "Then why does he have reindeer spray?"

And then I see what she pulled out of Brian's hunting gear:

Why I Love My Neighborhood

Matthew and Nathan exploring the creek on the far side of our lake. It's a boys' paradise.

They started harvesting moss. Apparently, it felt like hair.

Becca decided these cattails didn't taste as much like hotdogs as they looked like them, so she chucked 'em.

Maggie is an explorer, too.