Sibs

Laughing, skipping, farting, eating Skinny Cow Ice cream, power walking in the mountains, crying in movies, dancing like we're drunk, cooking lots of health food, driving, singing, Mama Mia, sitting on each other, talking, staying up late, La Mome Piaf, tornado happened in the basement, hearing stories about Iraq, Rachel's spastic driving, getting attacked by a dog, laughing at Sean's wisecracks, Aaron and the long board, Messerlys, Hawaiian Haystacks, Kayla Boo, shades, earrings, necklaces, makeup, thrift stores, berries and ice cream, daily sunsets, Jared the photographer, missing the rest of the family, walking temple square, and so much more.

How can I write about this weekend with my sisters and brother. i can't. All I know, is I cried when they left. I had to gather myself together and walk in to work. I love my family so much. The more grown everyone gets, the bigger the party seems to get. We get older but we refuse to grow up.

ON THE LAST NIGHT THE SIBS WERE HERE:

Rachel, Miriam, Naomi and I decided we would go for a walk. It was about 9:45pm and dark outside but we wanted to get at least a little exercise in. We walked up the street and up the mountain in the moonlight. It was a lot of fun and we talked and laughed as we walked. As we were coming back and nearing out street, I informed the others that there is a Rottweiler dog that lives on the right side of the street so we had better walk on the other side, just in case. We continued to walk, laugh and talk together. The night was dark and light only came from the houses that were still lit. Suddenly out of nowhere the Rottweiler lunged at us, teeth born, hair bristled and bark fierce. All four of us instinctively let out blood curdling screams. The dog, focusing on making contact with the flesh of the our mother's first born child, was taken back by the volume of noise that came out of his prey. He continued to snarl and come after us but circled, not wanting to let on that he was wondering what in the world was going on. We were overcome by fear but in our desperation for survival and protection of each other, we somehow survived. The blood curdling scream took place for about 30 seconds and no one ever came out of their house to rescue us. After the continual scream of horror was in full force the dog finally backed off to the curb. I began to yell at the dog by name and yell "no" and "go home." The four of us, overcome by fear, held hand so tightly the whole way home. This was frightening for all of us but it is an experience we shall never forget. Needless to say, I called animal control the next day, in fear the next time it would be a child that might not project that type of noise.

California for Grandpa Vern's Funeral

The Train.......

So, Sean and I decided to go out to the coast to attend my grandfather's funeral. The only way of affording the cost of travel this time was to take a train ride from Salt Lake to Sacramento. This took about 17 hours. I would recommend it for sure but getting a two year old to sleep all night on a train is not the easiest task. The perks of being on a train is that Kayla could run around all she wanted, the seats are huge and really easy to sleep in, there is a lounge car where you can hang out, eat at a table, play cards or just watch the scenery. You can check three 50 lb bags and carry on 2 50 lb bags so the luggage limitations are great! All in all, I have to say I really enjoyed it.

Kayla fought her sleepiness until finally, she couldn't take it any more. The picture above is when she fell asleep on the train sitting up. She slept for a few hours!

The day after my grandpa's funeral, we decided to go to the Humboldt County Fair. Grandma Dotty bought Kayla a little blow up Dora and she LOVES that thing! She even snuggled it in the car on the drive home and would fall asleep holding it.

She also loved the baby goats. This one was so friendly, it kissed her back!

I had a chance to see a great friend from High School, Kelsey and her adorable family. She married a great guy and has two absolutely beautiful children. It was great to see she found success and happiness.

The beach was also a blast, Kayla is a natural skimboarder!

Classic California Fires

One of my favorite families ever! So happy we got to see them (sad Brian, Tyler and Jessica weren't there!

Kayla's First Hamburger

So I wish I had a picture of this experience but I will do my best to explain it.

Sean and I went to Wendy's to get a bite to eat after Sean's evening class. I have never ordered anything for Kayla at Wendy's except for Chile, baked potato, or a salad. This time I felt like giving Kayla the experience of a real hamburger!

At the sight of Mommy unwrapping this child's cheese burger, Kayla started to talk excitedly. Most of what I heard was ah doh, ah doh, ah DOH! Her eyes were wide and her arms were stretched out eagerly.

Grabbing the hamburger between her small hands, she dove in. Ketchup began to smear around a large part of her face. Kayla kept looking at me, nodding her head and grinning. I asked her if she liked it and she said "mmmm" and continued to nod. After the first few bites, she decided she wanted to lick most of the ketchup off of this thing. She flopped it in front of her on the paper and peeled it apart. She then contently used her whole hand to wipe all of the ketchup off the top of the patty and place it in her mouth. The effort was great. Even though most of the sauce ended up on her face, it was entertaining to see her attempt to put all of her fingers in her mouth at once. The best part about this is, I was actually able to finish my salad without Kayla causing havock!

By the end of this whole thing, her shirt was covered with ketchup. Sean and I were almost in tears. Kayla was so expressive about the whole thing and I believe she was thuroughly enjoying it. We have decided we will have to go out to Wendy's every once in a while, just for fun!