Crawdad fishing

Definitely something I've never done before, and not exactly on my "oh gee, I'd love to try this" list. But fun, nonetheless! Went up to Strawberry Reservoir yesterday after lunch, and hung out with some neighbors of ours who were up there camping. I sort of wanted to come (not sure I'd have any fun, and pretty sure I'd be uncomfortable, but wanting to spend some time with our family and these friends). So, instead of packing up and camping there, which I know Jared and the kids really wanted to do, we did a day trip. It's about 2 hours to drive there, but it was worth it. This is how you fish for crawdads (or crayfish): First, get a raw chicken drumstick or two. Tie a piece of string around the bone, and cut the string about 30 feet long. Anchor it to a stake or big rock, then throw the bone out into the shallows. Wait about 10 minutes, then wade carefully out toward it with a net. As you pick up the string, hold the net under the chicken, and catch the crawdads.

:( and I forgot my camera for this. LOL, we had 5 or 6 baited strings out in the water, and the kids ran from string to string, yelling and splashing, taking turns (not always willingly) with the net. We caught 5 or 6 bucket-fuls of them- the 5 gallon buckets. But they're so small, and we just cooked the tails, so that netted us about 5 quarts worth of meat. Still, boiled with butter and a bit of fresh garlic, they were delicious. And the kids loved playing in the water!

I was uncomfortable, but that happens pretty much everywhere now. 9 more weeks and counting! Still no name picked out, although plenty of suggestions- thank you all! Rascal was the latest from M. H likes John, but since H's middle name is Jonathan, I doubt we'll use John. Too close. And I love both Luke and Tyler but somebody else used them first... *sigh* And I'm not really interested in anything highly unusual like Phineas. So... Max, Tristan, Ian, Brandon, Gus (from W), Thomas, Alexander, Zachary, Spencer ... *sigh*

And I'm going to find somewhere to put up my swelling ankles. bleck.

nightmares

I realize that nightmares are subjective- based on the things that frighten or upset or frustrate one the most. But I woke up this morning crying because of this! I dreamed that my kids kept getting boxes out and unpacking them, or taking the mattresses off their beds and the sheets off their mattresses. And every time I stopped one, the other two were into something new. I kid you not, I was so frustrated I think I may have been screaming LOL. I woke myself up, and was halfway out of bed to go yell at the boys, when I realized it was a dream. Then I had to hide myself away to regain my composure. Ack!
And now I'm laughing, remembering this. Because, getting things out and making a mess isn't a normal person's nightmare. But then, who wants to be normal?!

j

pics from trip

Well, this is M with her new dress- she loves frilly feminine things, but LOL she's just as apt to be climbing trees in them as she is to be playing princess! Which is why we have strict rules about what clothes can be play-clothes ;) She got some money, which she always loves (trips to the candy store!), and a stuffed penguin from W, and a journal from H. She's always writing stories, and drawing pictures to go with them. When we left she was making up a new one centered around the penguin.











W holding one of the three fish that the kids caught last week- even with the head and tail cut off, and the insides pulled out, I bet it weighs 4 pounds! Pretty good-sized for a trout. And pretty exciting for a kid to reel in something this big! I heard all about it several times, from different people LOL. We cooked up two of them, and they were delicious.

Although H got a little bone stuck in his throat, and it scratched him, and we heard about it all the rest of that night, and most of the day after. Every time he'd remember he swallowed a bone, he'd cough and cry and clutch his throat dramatically, "it HURTS," he would whimper.
I was much more sympathetic the night it happened; by the end of the next day, it was 'yeah, whatever.' Now swallowing a scratchy bone is definitely traumatic, but H was pretty good at getting a lot of sympathy and attention out of it. Grandma even gave him ice cream, to make his throat feel better LOL.
It's funny, but the house stays much calmer when there's only two kids home. I noticed that last week, but am aware of it more this week. And since it has been scorching outside these past few days, even with it raining yesterday and today, the boys and I went touring model homes. W was especially enthusiastic about them; he picked out which rooms the kids could sleep in, and where the baby would stay, and what we'd do if people came to visit us. H found all the best hiding spots, and would jump out laughing when I called him. *sigh* the houses all had central air, and it was lovely to wander about and admire the decorating. Some was definitely cool, like the under-the-stairs play house for kids painted to resemble the beach. Some was, well, interesting, like the basketball cushion-things hung on a boy's bedroom wall with black bounce marks. But I got some great ideas, and had fun admiring most of the rooms. W wanted to visit more of them; I may have to scout around for more developments, if it will occupy him LOL!

j

happy days

So I have a daughter who is now officially six. wow. And she had a challenging birthday- we drove out to Gailey's, spent an hour or two recuperating, ordered pizza (because that's what she wanted for her birthday dinner), and sat around for another hour before we had cake and ice cream and gave her presents. LOL, of course she was all about getting into the pool, and there wasn't anybody to go in with her (no way for me- still recovering from that drive, thank you!). Jared left his swimsuit at home, Mom said okay but not by myself, and Dad had a meeting. Ergo, no swimming in the pool for M. Sprinklers were on, so she settled, but kept coming inside just to check if we'd changed our minds. Then it was 'happy birthday to you' (H started singing that to her as soon as we sat down to dinner LOL), and an ice-cream cake, and opening cards and presents. Which almost made up for the denial of pool privileges. Poor child!
Jared and Dad took all the kids fishing today, up to the breeding stock pool for a trophy fish pond that some friends own. So the fish they'll be catching are big and fat, and plentiful. Perfect for kids (and adults too)! And I'm really enjoying the opportunity to do nothing ;)
will post pics later
j

snails & vampires

So, all my kids are still alive, and I'm marginally sane, which means we have survived yet another week without Jared. LOL, not that I *like* it when he's gone, but I'm always glad when things go smoothly. And, in keeping with one of my New Year's Resolutions, I completed 5 (yes, that is FIVE) scrapbook pages this week. Pretty darn good, for me! They're all of the Utah State Fair in 2005- 46 pictures I took there LOL- so some of the pages are more crowded than others. Mostly I'm happy with the LOs, but I'm using a lot of patterned papers, so I'm trying to get used to how busy some of the pages look. This one is blurry, but you get the idea!
Latest funny quote from H- on Sunday, as Jared was putting him to bed, "Dad, if I find any vampires in my room, I will kick them." Alrighty, then, we'll let you handle that!
And we're leaving today to pick up W, and leave M, at my in-laws' house. I missed W, but it was nice to have 2 to look after instead of 3.
Oh, I heard the door slam shut this morning about 6am. I got up to look (was already awake, darn pregnancy anyway) and M had gone into the backyard to look for snails. I remember having a conversation with her about what times were best to find the little critters, and I think I mentioned early mornings or after dark at night. But honestly, 6AM?!?! It appears to be worth it for her- she found 17 this morning. I watched her for a bit, and she was "letting them go" (her phrase, not mine) by pushing them through the chain link fence to the Water District's lawn. LOL, they'll find their way back to our garden by tonight. In other news, she has given H permission to squish the snails she plays with after she is done with them. Hooray!
And I have all the squash my little heart desires! *sigh* sometimes life is all about those tiny details.
j

Whew- long day today. Family reunion started w/breakfast, went until 3pm or so. Jared had a youth trip to help prepare for, and spent the morning shopping for food to feed 200 people. SO glad we didn't have to pay that bill (over $4000)!! We drove over to the reunion in 2 cars- Melinda took the boys and me, Quinn and Angela took M. Spent a lot of time just sitting and visiting with Jared's relatives. W spent the entire time there hanging with Hartley's 8yo boy down at the creek. They quite hit it off! M played Bocci for almost 2 hours, following the guys around and chatting them all up. H was the only one of my kids to participate in the kid activities they had planned- searching a wading pool filled w/sawdust for candy and coins, and blowing bubbles. We skipped out for an hour to visit Nate and Caitlyn, then dropped back in for lunch. W and M made bead bracelets, which broke, but they had a good time! LOL, H filled up his plate, sat down on a blanket on the lawn, and dozed off for his afternoon nap. Jared showed up for lunch, and had a chance to catch up w/his cousins, etc. Then it was load up the car, drive home, and get W off for a week-long visit to Grandpa and Grandma's house. Bittersweet to see him old enough (and trustworthy enough) to send away for a week. But cool to give him the chance for that time w/them, and nice to have one less child home while Jared's off on this 4-day youth activity next week.
And I'm rearranging my scrapbooking table again, trying to rid myself of the extra stuff that seems to pile up when I'm not looking. Jeans to mend, Jared's box of stuff from home, newly rented DVDs, a book of kid projects to do in our together time, old license plates, a ball of crochet thread, Yeah. Not junk, but homeless stuff.

*sigh* and I'm tired out.

j

4th of July celebrations

Spending time with family- one of our family reunion activities. I don't know that they figured out who won the game, since H was mixing the tiles up and messing up the game! But they had fun playing around. LOL, we had 3 reunions this week- two on Jared's side, and one on mine. And it was neat to see some of my cousins again. We've been lucky to have kids for mine to play with so far. The kids keep each other busy, playing games and running around. LOL, they don't waste time getting acquainted!
And watching Jared light the fireworks is always interesting. He has a small welding torch he uses as the lighter, and has as much fun playing with that as the kids do watching the fireworks go off! M wanted to keep all the spent fireworks she found, because they looked 'cool.' Too bad her mom is so mean, and made her throw them away instead!
Then there is the new grill Jared got for Father's Day. Yes I realize it is July now, but he wasn't here on Father's Day, and I didn't want to pick out the grill without him- for starters, should I get a gas or charcoal grill? Then what size, and which features are most important... So he picked it out (charcoal, and fairly large LOL). It works pretty good! We've cooked (HE cooks, I prepare the food) fish, chicken, and steaks on it, as well as veggies. *sigh* I love grilled food!

j