Caleb Started Preschool!

Pre-school?!?!  Next year Kindergarten?  Why do they grow up so quickly?  I was fortunate enough to be blog stalking one day & found out that a girl I knew in high school, Kaylee (Walker) Cook, is a preschool teacher.  She has small classes (10 kids) and lives just a few short blocks away.  Caleb & Allie (the girl that I babysit) will be going together & I am glad for that.  They go on Tuesday & Thursdays for a couple of hours & have 2 field trips/month.  I hope that they make fond memories.  It's odd how vividly I remember my preschool.  It was fabulous!

CALEB'S PRE-SCHOOL FAVORITES

TV Show:  Wild Kratts

Movie:  Ice Age 1 or 2

Song:  Little Deuce Coop - The Beach Boys

Color:  Black

Food:  Mac & Cheese

Candy:  Nem-a-nems (M&M's)

Toy:  Iron Man

Item of Clothing:  Sunglasses & Sandals

Activity:  Wrestling with Rylee

 

Height:  3 ft 3.5 inches

Weight:  31 lbs

I took these pictures in Kaylee's backyard.  She has a fabulous green thumb!  I hope she never comes to my house.  I took a few pictures of Allie & she tilted her head in every one.  It was funny.  Their size difference astounds me.  They are only 3 months apart!

Fort Bridger



Casey has been working towards making some brain-tanned pants out of deer (or elk) hides.  So - my backyard has looked like an Indian reservation for several summers in a row now.  His hard work has finally paid off!  He would contact meat packing establishments during deer hunting season asking if he could have their deer hides.  He'd round them up & soak them in water so they were sloppy wet and then scrape the hair off of them.  Flies love this part of the process.  My nostrils did not.  After they were hair free he would stuff them in plastic sacks & freeze them.  When he had a whole day to spare - he would soak the hide in eggs.  A fabulous thing because back in the day they would soak the hides in deer brains, cow brains, Indian brains (j/k....but why not!).  He would then stretch them out until they were dry & soft as could be.  Once the holes were all stitched up he spent a day smoking them.  I believe this part is what water-proofs the hides a bit.  He then cut out the pattern for his pants & his dad was kind enough to make a trade.  Brad sewed the pants together and Casey has to brain-tan 2 hides for him.  Nice trade!  He just needs suspenders now. 



Here is  our little family at the Fort Bridger Rendezvous.  Yes...every party has a pooper, that's why I get invited.  I have other projects that I want to spend my time & money on at this time.  Maybe one day I'll make something to wear though.  Mona made Caleb's shirt & Taylor (Blue) & Rylee's (Red) dresses.  How nice!  Taylor was walking around and a lady couldn't stand her cuteness & just had to take a picture (Rylee was napping)

 Casey's cute parents taking a break.  It was much hotter than I think any of us expected. 

 Caleb, Taylor & Rylee were mesmerized by this couple.  He was playing the guitar & she was playing a neat instrument with spoons.  It was kind of like a mini harp laying down.  It was beautiful music!

Since I am not into this mountain man thing like everyone else seems to be.  I had to find something to be passionate about.  Breechcloths.  That is what I decided on.  So - when I see one I sneak a picture.  Sometimes it's an easy task, sometimes it requires a bit of chasing.

 The boys!

 Kaetlyn & Colby.  Father, daughter love can be strange at times. :)

 I am glad that Caleb & Shayden had each other to play with & torment. Mona was nice & bought each of them a sweet sword.

 Caleb LOVED the bagpipes & drums.  They played a song & when they finished he pointed his sword at them and yelled "HEY!  Do that again!"

Giddy up

I have a problem.  I can't stay away from the Box Elder County Fair.  I don't think I attended the festivities last year though....I don't have any pictures...but 2011 is such a blur!  I blame it on sleep deprivation.  On Wednesday night my parents met me & my kids and helped me out so i could get Caleb on some rides.  After the kids ate some pizza & 'stick-bread (Caleb's term for a breadstick) we were off!  I was kind of nervous because (I think I've mentioned this before) he tends to freak out a bit at times.  So I have waited almost 5 whole years to put him on any rides.  Well - he LOVED all of them.  HOORAY! 

 He loved when the spaceship was "up high".

Choo-choo!

Jordon & Dylan participated in wild cow saddling in the Bull, Broncs & Barrels at the rodeo grounds.  Boys are so weird.  Neither of their teams won, but they both ended up on their cows at one point & Dylan barely missed getting a concussion when he got thrown off of his...but they were both grinning, so it must have been a good time.  No stitches for Jordon this year!  Hooray!  (Jordon is in the blue up on the cow...Dylan is in the black suit coat)

Caleb really liked watching the horses & cows run around & kept asking if he get get down in that dirt.  Who knows, maybe in 15 years he'll be putting a saddle on a cow!

By the time we got to the rodeo Taylor & Rylee had had ENOUGH of their stroller.  As soon as Jordon & Dylan were done with their thing, we left.  I'm glad that my mom & dad & Ashley were there to help me out.  I grabbed myself a fabulous rodeo cheeseburger & a coke for my ride home.  It was the best coke ever.  It could've been bigger though.

 

Eva, Taylor & Rylee (no - Taylor doesn't have a bloody nose.  It's marker)

When Casey woke up on Friday morning we decided to go use the rest of our tickets so he could see Caleb ride some rides.  Caleb was so excited to go!  I was excited to go so that I could get my yearly carney corn dog.  Y U M

His favorite ride was the dragon roller coaster. 

After Casey left to go to work the kids & I walked around looking at the animals.  I showed Caleb that the white rabbits have red eyes & he said, "Do they need some eye drops?"

I wasted 2 tickets sending Casey on the big yellow slide.  I thought that Caleb wouldn't go down -but he told Casey "I want to go down by myself."  He grinned the whole way down!

Caleb thought the pigs were awesome.

Quack-Quack

Taylor & Rylee were so good.  I think that the sun made them sleepy though.  The zonked as soon as I put the car into drive to head home.  (Rylee in blue, Taylor in brown)

Recent Randoms

I hope that you are prepared for A LOT of pictures!  I've been told that the collages that I've started making aren't the best for viewing purposes - so here ya go!  Full size photos.

I love this picture of the girls playing in the water at Mantua reservoir.  Can you guess who is who?  I can't.

 Playing dominos & reading.

I seem to be on the floor reading A L O T,

We went to Casey's Uncle Darin's house for Little Valley Days in Mantua on July 21st.  Best local firework show I've ever seen.  Caleb left his glasses on the whole time, Rylee oooohed & ahhhhed & Taylor cried.  Caleb did learn that we weren't kidding when we said the sparklers were hot.  He just HAD to touch it.  Best way to learn I guess.

Eating delicious Teddy Grahams.

I've taken all 3 kids to the pool twice this year.  Once with Casey & once with Angela & Blake.  Go figure - I don't have a second to get my camera out at the pool.  I'm just trying to keep track of everyone & make sure they don't go belly up (& keep the girls away from random old lady strangers who want to share their drinks with them).  I need to invest in another one of these boats.  Both girls & Caleb love it.

Toni Stark  (AKA Caleb) exhausted from saving the world.

BATH TIME!  What cuties.  (Taylor left, Rylee right)

We get irrigation water every Tuesday.  The kids usually love it.  Taylor & Rylee were filling up their buckets & dumping them out.  This was also their first official pigtail day.  They didn't stay in - I need to find better elastics.

Taylor loves the laundry basket & she FREAKS if Rylee gets in with her.  It's comical.

Casey, Caleb & Allie had quite the assembly line pureeing apricots one afternoon.

Friday nights are the best.  We get to play in the gutter!

Rylee swinging away.  Both girls love the swing.  I remember Caleb despised the swing at this age.

More reading!  This day was awful - I had the girls dressed in the wrong color...was calling them the wrong name....up until after nap time.  Mother of the year award...right here.

Allie & Caleb love to enjoy their daily yogurt in the high chairs.  Yes...that is Caleb's "I'm enjoying myself" face. 

Ribbit...ribbet...is it e or i??

Frogs.  Creepy little things.  My parents house has the grossest frogs ever.  They are cleverly camouflaged little suckers.  Many years ago I was playing with my little brother Jordon in the sand box & we came across...an alien.  It was the only logical explanation.  So - we freaked for a bit - then came back out & dug all around it and it was a huge frog.  Did you know that the hibernate??  I didn't!

This guy lives in my mom's garden.  Caleb thought he was pretty awesome.  Jordon picked it up & they pee all over when you pick them up.  GROSS.

 Caleb was a lot braver than I thought he would be! 

 Casey was fun to watch pick it up.  I think it creeped him out.  He was pretty jumpy about it.

My brave guys!

On the fourth of July we made some cute shirts & went out to my parents house.  We struggled getting a good picture - can you tell???  (Taylor is on Caleb's left & Rylee is on his right)

WiCkEd

Oh my goodness. My mom, sisters, Aunt Karla, Cousin Keri & myself have had Wicked tickets in our possession for MONTHS. I wasn't even very excited to go. . . but oh my heck. It was sooooooo goooooooood. At the end of Act 1 I was trying so hard not to cry because I'm the notorious cryer of the family. I had a big lump in my throat & my bottom lip was quivering & I sneaked a peak at Angela & Ashley out of the corner of my eye & they had tears streaming down their cheeks. Wimps. So....I let the tears fall after that. Angela got a CD for each of us & I can't stop listening to it. Even Caleb sings along to a lot of the songs. I still get chills & tear up if I try to sing along. What a fabulous musical. I WILL go again!  We all ate at The Cheesecake Factory after the show - Y U M.

How did I manage to escape the madness you ask?  My dad & brother, Jordon, actually said yes to babysitting Caleb, Taylor, Rylee, Griffen & Blake.  WHAT TROOPERS!  I heard through the grapevine that my twins are like 2 little tornadoes.  It was so nice to get out without them for once - but I was happy to see them all when we got home.