Garrett: Mom, did you know that the tongue is the strongest muscle?
Me: Really? I didn't know that...
Garrett: But...probably not for sumo wrestlers. Those guys are HUGE!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Curly Girl
My naturally curly hair has been a blessing and a curse my whole life. I love that it is relatively low maintenance and that I don't have to do much with it, but I sure wish I could have a change of style every once in a while. It's just too much work to straighten it though. I've tried before getting it cut in cute straight styles, but I only fix it straight the first time or two and then I'm back to letting it stay curly. My hair just wants to be curly, so I let it. We are both happier that way.
Recently my hairdresser told me about a book, "Curly Girl," that has changed my curls for the better. The secret for curly hair is...
Recently my hairdresser told me about a book, "Curly Girl," that has changed my curls for the better. The secret for curly hair is...
NO SHAMPOO.
That's right...it has been 42 days and counting since I washed my hair. Before you get all grossed out, let me explain. Instead of using shampoo, I just condition twice. The first time I use the conditioner like shampoo and massage my scalp really well. After rinsing I condition again, this time letting it soak into my hair, then rinse like normal. That's it--it is so simple, but it has made my curls much less frizzy and more manageable. I'm even thinking of growing my hair out to see how it looks long now that I know this secret.
If you are a curly girl reading this and want to try to kick the shampoo habit, be patient. Give it a full 3 weeks with no shampoo before you decide if you like the results or not. When I hit 2 weeks of no shampoo I almost caved because my scalp felt itchy, and i kept thinking my hair must be stinking by then (Tyler assured me it didn't, but I didn't really believe him :) But once I hit the 3 week mark I was sold. I use much less product now and don't fight the frizz like I used to (well, at least not as much). What have you got to lose? Try it and you'll be a believer!
Photographic proof: I don't have a good picture of me, but this is the most recent one. After a day of playing water baseball my hair would normally be frizzing out like crazy, and be 3x's it's normal size. But with the curly girl miracle, it's not too bad (all things considered :)
Totally unrelated, but I thought Miya's wet diaper sag was impressive :)
What are your hair secrets?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A Mom-of-the Year-Moment
So I know I usually post all the good stuff on my blog, but in wanting to keep it real I thought I'd post my real-great-mom moment I had at the triathlon. The purpose of this post is to make you feel good about yourself, so enjoy!
So when we got to the triathlon for the kids, Tyler took Ty and Garrett in through the boys locker room, and I was to take Shayla, Grant and Miya through the girl's to get to the pool. Well, Grant was being a bit stubborn, and didn't want to go in the girl's locker room. After finally convincing him to come with us, he came in the locker room door, but refused to go into the bathrooms with us. I was pretty frustrated with him and feeling a bit frazzled, wanting Shayla to be out to the race in time and all...So I took Shayla to the bathroom and thought Grant would just follow us. After finishing up in the bathroom we exited the locker room out to the pool area and sat down on the bleachers to wait for instructions. I was looking around, taking in all of the race day excitement, feeling as nervous as the people actually in the race, when a lady walked in the pool area and began asking parents if they had lost a little boy with dark hair. She actually asked 1 or 2 parents before she got to me, and I was about to say no, when I realized that I DIDN'T HAVE GRANT WITH ME!!! I ran out to the lobby with the lady and saw Grant standing there with a bunch of adults around him. He looked mostly mad, and just a little bit scared and lonely. I tried to give him a hug, but he just shoved me away, I thanked the people who found him (just inside the girls' locker room door) and walked back into the pool area.
When Grant was finally talking to me again, he sat on my lap and I asked him where he was. He said he was waiting by the door 'cause he knew I'd have to come out that way. He looked so little and innocent and I felt so bad for misplacing him. I thought, what kind of parent loses their child and doesn't even realize it?!!? Lucky for me, Grant is a pretty forgiving boy, and after a few minutes all was back to normal.
So, this was a first for me. I mean I've lost a kid before, but I've always been franticly searching until I've found him or her. This is a new high--I'm just waiting for the phone to ring for the "mother-of-the-year people to interview me :) On the bright side, I didn't lose Shayla or Miya, so really 2 out of 3 isn't all that bad, right?!
So when we got to the triathlon for the kids, Tyler took Ty and Garrett in through the boys locker room, and I was to take Shayla, Grant and Miya through the girl's to get to the pool. Well, Grant was being a bit stubborn, and didn't want to go in the girl's locker room. After finally convincing him to come with us, he came in the locker room door, but refused to go into the bathrooms with us. I was pretty frustrated with him and feeling a bit frazzled, wanting Shayla to be out to the race in time and all...So I took Shayla to the bathroom and thought Grant would just follow us. After finishing up in the bathroom we exited the locker room out to the pool area and sat down on the bleachers to wait for instructions. I was looking around, taking in all of the race day excitement, feeling as nervous as the people actually in the race, when a lady walked in the pool area and began asking parents if they had lost a little boy with dark hair. She actually asked 1 or 2 parents before she got to me, and I was about to say no, when I realized that I DIDN'T HAVE GRANT WITH ME!!! I ran out to the lobby with the lady and saw Grant standing there with a bunch of adults around him. He looked mostly mad, and just a little bit scared and lonely. I tried to give him a hug, but he just shoved me away, I thanked the people who found him (just inside the girls' locker room door) and walked back into the pool area.
When Grant was finally talking to me again, he sat on my lap and I asked him where he was. He said he was waiting by the door 'cause he knew I'd have to come out that way. He looked so little and innocent and I felt so bad for misplacing him. I thought, what kind of parent loses their child and doesn't even realize it?!!? Lucky for me, Grant is a pretty forgiving boy, and after a few minutes all was back to normal.
So, this was a first for me. I mean I've lost a kid before, but I've always been franticly searching until I've found him or her. This is a new high--I'm just waiting for the phone to ring for the "mother-of-the-year people to interview me :) On the bright side, I didn't lose Shayla or Miya, so really 2 out of 3 isn't all that bad, right?!
Triathlon!!!
On Saturday Aug. 13th, 2011 Ty, Shayla and Garrett competed in their very first triathlon. They swam 2 laps, biked 2 miles and ran 1/2 mile. They did amazing!!!
Getting pumped up before the big race--they were nervous and excited and ready to go. We had been training by biking and running around our neighborhood, and swimming at the YMCA.
Here is Garrett in the pool for the swim--I didn't get many pictures, mostly videos.
Shayla right before her heat started...I loved watching her swim. She was pretty nervous about the swim, but once she started she loved it. She did mostly the backstroke so I could see her face and she had a smile on it the whole time.
Ty actually took 1st place in his division (10 and under)!!!
All of them did their very best and really pushed themselves.
We were so proud of them!
If you'd like to see more pics, click on this link:http://gallery.me.com/briteideaphoto#100784&view=mosaic&sel=0
If you'd like to see more pics, click on this link:http://gallery.me.com/briteideaphoto#100784&view=mosaic&sel=0
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Minot, North Dakota
Minot, North Dakota was badly flooded the end of June and left 4,100 people with homes under 4 feet of water. They have had so many people volunteering to help out but weren't even close to getting the houses gutted so they could be rebuilt before winter hits so they sent a plea all the way down to us in the Twin Cities area (and out to Wyoming/Montana, etc) for help. I was able to go up with a group of 4 of us from the Hudson Ward August 4-7th and help out. We drove up on a Thursday afternoon (it took 10 hours instead of the normal 8 because of traffic) and returned late Sunday night. It was a life changing experience and I loved every minute of it.
On the home front Tyler took the day off of work on Friday and PARTIED with the kids. They went to the movies and saw Cars II, went swimming at Willow River State Park, attended Rib Fest and ate tons of ribs, played the Wii and camped out in the basement together. The kids loved having their dad all to themselves. On Sunday they told the Primary President, "When our Dad is home we get to party. My Mom just makes us work." I'd say we're pretty balanced between the two of us. Life is so very good.
They built dirt levies around the downtown shopping area and were able to protect a lot of it. |
The Souris River--looking pretty innocent now |
Me standing by the pile of debris we had hauled out of our 3rd home by the end of the day. |
It was normal to see huge piles of stuff like this up and down the streets in front of all of the houses. |
On the home front Tyler took the day off of work on Friday and PARTIED with the kids. They went to the movies and saw Cars II, went swimming at Willow River State Park, attended Rib Fest and ate tons of ribs, played the Wii and camped out in the basement together. The kids loved having their dad all to themselves. On Sunday they told the Primary President, "When our Dad is home we get to party. My Mom just makes us work." I'd say we're pretty balanced between the two of us. Life is so very good.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Tackle Football!
Ty is playing tackle football!
Funny but when you look at him you see the top picture, I just see this.
My baby, playing tackle football.
Just to put my mind at ease, they passed out "how to spot a concussion" papers at the first parent meeting. Thanks a lot.
I told Ty I may not be able to attend his games.
Ty has been waiting for this day for a long time...on the drive home from evaluation night where he got to tackle in full gear for the first time, Ty said, "That was the most fun EVER!!" His smile says it all.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Happy Birthday, Grant!!!
The Big FOUR!!!
Most of my kids aren't big cake fans, so instead we had pudding, Jo-jo, strawberry, blueberry, cool whip delight. They love it and request it for most every birthday.
Figuring out his new Lightning McQueen car...
New birthday shirt. Perfect as the kids have been running football drills non-stop in the backyard this summer.
Grant turned 4 on August 2. He requested Orange Rolls for his breakfast in bed. He is such a fun, smart little boy. We love laughing at his antics each day and are so glad he is a member of our family.
Happy Birthday, G2!! We love you!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Cabin Time!
Just a quick 24 hour trip, but we enjoyed a delicious cabin breakfast (thanks, Tyler), hot dogs and s'mores for dinner, salamander hunting in the pond, moose spotting and lots of good time to talk. Thanks so much to Ang and Jeff for coming up with us.
Tyler and Lani
Whenever the camera appears, Miya puts on her cheesy smile :)
Angie and Tate
Swimming in the ice-cold beaver pond. Ang and I watched from the side. Brrrrr...
On our trek home we camped somewhere in a beautiful valley in Wyoming. It was a fun end to our vacation.
Grant all smiles for our last breakfast. Until next vacation!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wagner Reunion
From the race we went on to the Wagner Family Reunion. Your thinking right now, 'will their vacation ever end?' I know, we were traveling for 2 weeks and it was great.
I didn't get photos but the kids enjoyed relay races with their cousins, and the adults got into the fun as well. 3-legged, gunny sack, running races--you get the picture. Good clean fun. Tyler and I were pretty sore from our race, but managed to compete in the 3-legged race without falling over :)
Picnicking out on the deck
Giant freezies after--perfect refreshment!
Garrett on the slip-n-slide after the work day
Curt & Eva
Hadley, Sarah & Ty soaking up the sun
Grant, McKay & Grandma Jeena at the pool
Swimming at the Lindon Pool. The community pools in Utah are more like what water parks were when I was a kid. Do I sound old?
Oh how I miss the mountains
Rock Band!!! The kids were so glad Ricky brought the band--they loved it all from the guitar, bass, drums to singing they jammed out.
We had family photos taken at a beautiful home close by. Only problem was Miya threw-up when we were getting ready to go. I think she was on her 3rd outfit by the time we actually took the pictures...looking forward to seeing how those pictures turned out. This was Miya after the pictures-just having fun playing.
Big helpers Garrett and Hyrum
Almost all of us
Garrett & Hyrum catching a ride from Laura and Jacob
It was such a great reunion--so fun to see everyone. Can't wait until the next one!
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