D-

A few days ago Kirsten received a D- on a rather lengthy assignment.
We were stunned.
Not only for the D- but because it was given to her by her reading teacher who is supposed to "get it" and be her advocate for success.
I looked it over and it seemed like at the very least B- work. She completed the assignment. All the work was there. I was dumbfounded.
I encouraged Kirsten to ask her teacher what she could do to bring up her grade. Kirsten was told she must re-do the vocabulary words and write correct definitions.
I looked back over the assignment and much to my wondering eyes did appear but 20 "kirsten-isms". She decided that rather than use a dictionary she would just write her own definitions.

Here are 2:

Too bad she wasn't graded on creativity.

Sister Wife Outing

Today was a perfect day for a Sister Wife Outing.

When Sister Wife and I were new mom's we would often pile those little ones into the car and explore. We were in desperate need of adult conversation and companionship. So desperate in fact that one outing ended us up in Park City at the local Mcdonald's with four 1 year old's, about 8 uneaten chicken nuggets, fries, BBQ sauce and drink all over the floor. I think the restraining order against us should be lifted this summer. 

Today we piled the kiddies into the car and headed for wherever the open road would take us. We drove and explored, we ate licorice and Riesen's (grown up candy- we told the kids they wouldn't like it), we laughed and hollered, and the kids begged for more. 

Here are a few pics and quotes that perfectly sum up the day:

"Ya know tam...I have no respect for 'private property'...this is all on city water. Case in point!"

 "Tam, you've got to be willing to push boundaries for days like this."

ROLLER COASTERRRRRRR!!! 

 "You really should be nice to your stuffed animals...that way at night when they come alive they won't claw your eyes out."

Boo Radley's old home

Care Bear

There's nothing quite like a Halloween Care Bear costume to really stick it to you at an early age that you are indeed a giant. Poor kid-she never even had a chance. How is it that my 4 year old fits a size 8T?

                                                          Nothin' sunny here...                  

                                                        Nope. Not here either.

Thank you note

Dear Citizens of the Day Break Community:

This letter is regarding your annual neighborhood garage sale. Thank you for pricing your items at garage sale prices. Thank you for recognizing that when it comes to used items your prices should not reflect your desire to get back what you originally paid but to save yourself a trip to the D.I.
If only Ebay sellers could catch the vision. If only.
Sincerely,
One Happy Garage Saler

Sweet 16 (better late than never)

It was Anna's 16th birthday and we partied in style!  Anna invited her BFF Taylor and Taylor's mom to join us for the best 16th birthday ever!
We picked them up at 5:00 and headed down town. We checked in at the Little America and due to a clerical error they double booked our room so they upgraded us to the double suite in the tower. It was fantastic! We had a really great view of the city and the room was huge.

 After we checked in we jumped on TRAX and went to dinner. We ate at Blue Lemon and it was delicious.


This is Anna's sandwich.

Then we went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory where the girls got chocolate covered bacon. mmmmmmm Taylor's face tells the decadent story. 

 After shopping around and hangning out at the new City Creek Mall we headed back to our hotel room. The girls decided to go swimming and lasted about 30 minutes. They decided that our bathtub was better than the human cesspool of floating skin in the form of bubbles.

Happy Birthday Sweet Anna! We can't believe that you are 16. Thanks for being such a great daughter and sister.
Here are 16 things we believe about you:

You have a kind heart
You are resilient
You are so smart
You are dedicated
You are loyal
You are beautiful
You are spiritual
You are considerate of others
You are  fun
You are bold
You are obedient
You are a good friend
You are stylish
You are a leader
You are tenacious
You are loved

plummet at the park

On Friday Lilly went to the park with a few friends. I got a call about an hour later saying Lilly was in great pain. Apparently she had been running down a hill and tripped landing on her shoulder. The mom who took them offered to get the kids slurpees and that seemed to appease Lilly... for the moment.

When she got home she was still in a bit of pain and she REALLY gushed tears of sorrow when she noticed that Kirsten had finished off her slurpee.

Anna drove them to the 7-11 and Kirsten bought her another one.

The tears abated.

Putting my stellar parenting powers to good use I self-diagnosed the injury and she seemed to be "OK". I figured she was just a bit bruised or had possibly pulled a muscle. I told her to "sleep on it" and we would see in the morning.

The morning showed us a different diagnosis. Her left shoulder leaned a little too left, and down and drooping.

I took her into the pediatrician and after a few x-rays it was determined that she broke her collar bone.

What does one do for a broken collar bone? One wears a sling for 2 weeks, gets out of all chores, gets help dressing, eating, using the bathroom and pretty much milking this for all that it is worth. Can't say that I blame her. Given the chance, I would probably do the same thing.

Garge Sale This!

I experienced my first garage sale this week. My friend took me out on Friday to 3 different ones.

Our first stop netted me these fine gems:

How could I possible turn down Coke stools? and I'll be honest, they have changed the way we do things here at the Hall Cafe. The little girls belly up to the bar for every meal as they dine on our finest: apple jacks, cinnamon toast, chicken nuggets and corn dogs. I serve them and then engage in riveting and often times scandalous discussions that only a 4 and 5 year old could warrant. I wipe the counter as they talk and I clean up their messes as only a seasoned bar keep could.

Second stop was basically some creeper who opened up his garage hoping to sell an excess of undiscriminating items. Let's just say I had to leave Sophia in the car on this one. 

Last stop was the kind of garage sale one hopes to find.  A family who finally decided to finish their basement and moved all the boxes of "stuff" from their basement into the garage and after many months of not having enough room in their garage to park the cars the dad decided to get rid of it all...because he didn't want to make a trip to the DI.....oh and he did this while his wife wasn't home.
I picked out a 3 things and when I asked "how much" he said "just take it."
me: "I can't just take it. I will pay"
Him: "Ok how about .50"

 Not too shabby for a pair of Tom's and sweater and a new box of crayons. Pretty sure that mom has ransacked the house for those shoes that her daughter may or may not have unsuspectingly taken off and left right in the middle of the garage sale. One little kids loss is a garage selling mothers treasure. hahaha