Huh?

I see no reason why this cute outfit elicits this look:


Or this look, or non look:


I don't understand why changing from the cute outfit that I picked out to one with mere blue shorts would elicit this look:


Or this look of pure joy:

Huh? There is no understanding this child's fashion sense. I say again, huh?

Decorated Pineapple

I found a pineapple that I purchased at the store like this:



I don't know why it was wearing a dress with a belt. I stopped asking questions a while back when I found our large stuffed tigers and lions wearing dresses and snow pants.

Pumpkin Farm

While Ben was away last week the girls and I headed to a pumpkin farm. The girls had the most
fun playing with the three kittens that were around. Still, it was nice to get out and see some more of Fort Wayne, or the outskirts of it. Plus, I found great looking and big pumpkins for $1! Sweet!

This kitty really wanted some of our hot chocolate.

The girls had fun with the corn maze but it was too easy. Next year we'll find a more difficult one!

Who knew baby donkeys were so cute?

Halloween

My ninja and robot.

Lists

Last week Audrey made some rules. You'd better read them so you know what to avoid when you're around her. :)

Important Rules

Translation: no smoking, no beer, no alcohol, no guns, no arrows, no bows, no destroying robots, no machines, no lighters, no spies, no fire balls

Room Rules

Translation: always bring books, no gum, no ninjas, no scissors and knives, no killing spiders, never scream, no annoying me, no banging my door, no knocking and running away, no tricking me, no eating in my room, knock first to go in, no making a mess, no stealing gold, no stealing toys, no breaking toys, no scaring me at the door, no crying at the door, no throwing food on the floor.

Pet Rules (For Her Stuffed Animals)

Translation: no barking, no clawing at the door, no banging on my door, no running in my room, no hurting me, no breaking anything, no paw prints, do not go on the ceiling fan, no going potty in my room, no smooshing the pom poms, no getting the pants, don't eat in my room.

Dyer Family Reunion August 2010

Get comfy. This is going to be a lengthy post. Or just stop here. Or just look at the pictures. It's all good. So, we had our Dyer Family Reunion this year the first week of August. I flew into SLC a week beforehand to visit some friends (see older posts). On Saturday the 31st of July I picked up my sister, Peggy, and her two kids at the airport and we drove 3.5 hours to Elko, NV. It was so fun to drive with her and the kids got along great. We were completely silly, singing, and laughing and I'm sure our kids thought we were crazy. Well, we are and there is just no getting around that. I love being around my sister. She's the greatest.

Well, here is our week in pictures. They aren't any order really.


Ever since my parents moved to the middle of nowhere, I mean Elko, we have lots of projects to do at their house. Last year we (and by we I mean the men) worked on the shed. This year we (and this time I mean all adults and some older kids) worked on making a gravel path around the wildflowers. This is the finished product. It took us probably a total of 10 hours to complete. Andy rototilled, the kids sprayed the weeds, then we put the landscaping tarp down, dug trenches for the wood, and put the gravel in. The finished product was awesome. It was a lot of work! But I love working hard like that. You have such a sense of accomplishment. Plus it's good for the kids to see their parents work together (and not just sit around and play cards ALL day long--but that's good too!).


Mom and Dad with all their grand kids--silly picture.


Attempting to be serious.

Don't ask. I don't know.

We had all the kids make hand prints to put around the path for my parents. They got to put their name on it and decorate it with jewels.

More finished path.

If at any time during the day, or night, you wanted to know where Audrey was this is where you would find her. My brother James' dog and a brand new puppy and Audrey fell in love with him. His name is Chubbs. She sat on the deck and held him forever. She was quite the puppy hog.

Audrey lost her third tooth in two weeks at my parents house too. Then we got home from our trip she lots her fourth in 2.5 weeks! Thankfully she isn't self conscious about it. She practiced some vampire faces in the mirror for awhile.

All the girls watching a movie together. I think they are watching Annie.

We went on a really, really, really, long hike up Lamoille Canyon. It was gorgeous and the day was beautiful. It took us 3.5 hours. It was gruelling but we made it.

We even found some snow!

I think this picture is pretty awesome. It's of Megan by the big lake we hiked to.

We made it! We are all so excited to get to the final destination!

The view on the way down.

The creek/river at the bottom of the canyon. Alexis, Paul, Ellie, and Granny stayed at the bottom of the canyon while the rest of us hiked. They had a great time and Alexis was soaked when I returned!

Exploring the creek/river.

Here is Thanny wondering why I am bothering him while he is playing. I love how dirty he is! That is how all the kids looked every day!

Rachel is wondering the same thing as Thanny. And she is even dirtier. :)

Audrey spent about an hour one day washing all the cars. I love it when kids find an activity that keeps them busy and it helps too!

Since my parents have been living in Argentina for the last three or four months they brought home gifts for everyone. All the girls got these bags.

Peggy and I got these bracelets. The boys got whistles. Dana got a thumb piano. Okay, I can't remember what Andy and James got. Hmm. Books? Not sure. Gee, I guess I stopped paying attention after I got my present.

Here are the girls spraying weed killer on our soon to be path.

We couldn't reach the puppy so we sent Rachel in to get him. :)

Audrey in heaven.

Here is Bekah holding one of Andy and Dana's kittens. They have two adorable kittens. So between the kittens and the puppy all the kids were in animal heaven!

Yeah, that's right. We're licking the bowl clean. That's how we do things in the Dyer House.

Alexis loving the kittens.

I don't have any pictures of the adults and kids playing games but rest assured that we did that every day. And into the night. I love playing games with my family. We laugh and laugh and enjoy each other's company so much. I wish we all lived closer. I miss my family all the time. They are a great source of inspiration to me. I am so glad that we have this week every year. Thank you family! I love you!

Free

Audrey is finally free!! Her cast came off this morning. She was so happy. Her arm is pretty stiff and feels sore but I bet in a few days she won't even remember that. The doctor made her promise not to use the monkey bars yet. :) I've been talking to her about that for a week. I am afraid that she will be so excited to have her arm back that she will be all gung ho. But I think the stiffness of her arm is giving her pause for now. She can now participate in gym class (there is nothing so sad as your child telling you she has to stand or sit by the teacher in gym while everyone else is running around playing a game) and play more freely on the school playground. And we can ride our bikes to school now. Another HUGE relief for me: no more plastic bag in the shower. Such a pain. Hooray! Now let's see how long we can go without another injury.

New Things

Audrey got a new cast on today. Her arm was so swollen when they put the first one on that now that it isn't as swollen it was too big up on top of her arm. She thought the cutting saw was great. She said it tickled and she giggled the whole time. We had the same casting lady (yes, that is the technical term--at least for me it is) as before and she is really nice. She was expecting Audrey to choose pink, purple, or green for this cast but Audrey decided on black. This girl just makes me smile.


Here is the girls' first day of school picture. Well, it's after school got out because I forgot my camera when I walked them into class the first day. I'm such a negligent parent. There were some parents who were videotaping their kids walking to their class, opening their locker, and walking into class. But I was the only parent who walked my kids in on the second day of school so there! I beat them all for that one! Or I'm just a sucker when it comes to my kids.

Drawings

I just had to post some of Alexis' most recent drawings. I love these! The first two are out of order. But you'll figure it out.


This should be second in line.


This should first. I think the title of this comic book is absolutely hilarious and ingenious.


I find this picture so funny. Why is this girl hiding from the cops? What has she done? Why is Alexis drawing punks running from the law? All funny questions to me.

Visiting the Stricklers

After three days with John and Noelle it was time to visit Kathy and James Strickler. We met them at Stanford and we have all been fast friends ever since. Alexis and Brooklyn (their oldest daughter) were wonderful friends all our years at Stanford. It had been two years since they had seen each other last. I was lucky enough to visit Kathy back in April and we usually see each other once a year at BYU Women's Conference. It didn't work for us to go to that this year so I decided to see them as long as I was in Utah.

The kids had a great time playing with each other. I loved getting to know their newest addition, Kathryn. I even got her to laugh! I love that age. Alexis and Audrey loved holding her. One of our nights there we had a girls afternoon out. We went shopping and then had dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

Kathy and I even managed about an hour long hike. Thanks for all the fun and thanks for feeding us Kathy and James! We love you guys!


Audrey and Kathryn


Audrey, Alexis, and Kathryn

Brooklyn and Alexis. I cannot believe how tall Brooklyn is! I mean, her parents are tall so it shouldn't be such a shocker but it still is! Would you ever guess that Alexis is actually six months older than Brooklyn!?! Nathaniel is also much taller than Alexis and he is two years younger! Crazy! :)