It has begun....

Parker received his first school project for English.
They had to create a "ME poster"
The teacher was extremely specific with the details for the poster...
No "white space"
Must be computer typed
Must be straight - no crooked lines at all!
Must be clean and uncluttered
Parker wasn't sure if he would be able to meet all these requirements, but I assured him it could be done (after all, he has me for a mother :)

Parker wrote out 10 facts about himself and typed them up...
Then Parker came up with his initial design on paper and we went about creating it onto a 14 x 22 poster.
Here is the initial design without photo's
Does it look straight???
Parker used pop dots to give some of the elements dimention. Each corner represents something he likes. Owls, Harry Potter, Engineering and Music (saxophone)

Then we printed photo's and facts about Parker, and using a ruler (I promised him I could eyeball it and get it straight, but NO... I had to use a ruler) we set it onto the poster.
Whew finished..... overall it passed Parker's approval, but he was nervous that he didn't do all the teacher requested... did it have too much white space? Was it straight?, did it have enough color? Is it straight? Is there enough dimension.... IS IT STRAIGHT???

Parker presented it in class and turned it in... did it pass the eagle eye of the teacher???
(He swore she would get a ruler and check if it was straight)

So what grade did he get?
100% (of course)

Parker worries a bit too much sometimes, but I suppose that's an inherited trait...
he comes from a long line of worriers (on Ryan's side of course)
Bring on another project... We're ready!

IDK.... my BFF Shaun

When Miranda was in 5th grade (4 years ago), we gave in to her pleas for a cell phone.
So we gave her one of Ryan's hand-me-downs. (Believe me there have been many)
She was so excited and proudly used it all the time.
As she went on to middle school I noticed a trend starting with her cell phone use.
She would either forget to carry it, forget to charge it, or just plain forget to turn it on.
This got to be a bit frustrating for me at times I really did need to get in touch with her.

At the time she didn't really have friends with phones that she would talk to or text with so she just didn't have a huge need for one.


Well, this past year, Miranda has started texting and talking to her friends more on her cell.
(You can read a prior post about her cell phone use HERE )
They even give her a hard time about her "vintage" phone. But anytime we even suggested she get a new phone she would say NO Way! I like my antique phone.

So a few weeks ago I suggested that she get a new phone (again) and to my surprise, she didn't exactly say no. She didn't say yes either, but she wasn't putting up as much of a fight as she had before.
Soooo.... to make a long story shorter... Here is a picture of Miranda's new phone.
She wouldn't let me take a picture of her holding it so she set it on the table for me.
But then I thought I could trick her and snap a picture when she went to pick it up and SHE tricked me and pretended to yell at Gus so I would look away and she could grab the phone.
But I'm so fast I was able to get this shot (he he)Since then I've been able to catch her in action... texting to her friends.She LOVES her new red phone even if it isn't vintage and I'm sure her talk and texting minutes have gone up this past month.

Happy 19th Year to US!

Today Ryan and I celebrate our 19th Wedding Anniversary. I know I say it every year, but each year just keeps getting better and better! I'm so grateful to have found someone who loves and treasures me and our family.

The other night at dinner Miranda said they was talking with her friends about how their parents met, dated and proposed. She told that Ryan proposed to me at the St. George Temple, which is true, but I wanted her to know the WHOLE story (and help us sound more cool). So I pulled out my Wedding Book and continued to share our dating and engagement story....

We met in February 1990. We actually didn't start dating each other at first. I went to a dance with his friend and he went to the same dance with my friend. With the approval of our friends, we finally started talking and calling each other.
We would talk for HOURS at night. (little did I know this would lead to excessive cell phone use for Ryan).
Ryan left for an internship in March to Washington DC, so we continued our "long distance" relationship for the next 3 months while he was away. During that time we talked and talked even more. (I'm talking to Ryan while wearing a Sleep shirt he gave me that says "Someone in Georgetown Loves me) We sent packages and letters to each other too. (there wasn't email at that time).
When he returned in June, we knew we wanted to get married, but when?.....

On July 14, 1990, I went to visit Ryan at his work. He wasn't as excited as I thought he would be to see me. Come to find out, I was supposed to be home to receive a special delivery.

When I retrieved the package from the neighbors he had sent me 1/2 doz white roses and a giant pink envelope filled with the following....

I replied to his formal invitation by filling out the response card and putting it inside a giant balloon held by a stuffed panda bear.I ran to buy a new outfit and prepare for the evenings events.
When 5:30 rolled around I waited... and waited... and (I really should have had a clue about his promptness at this point) finally he showed up.

We went to La Tajada room for dinner (fancy schmancy) then on to St George. We went to John Taylor's home where he laid out a blanket, sparkling grape juice and had glasses decorated with ribbon and babies breath (yes, they have survived all 19 years)
It started to sprinkle a bit and so we packed up and headed to the Temple where we walked the grounds. We ended up at a gazebo where there was another couple inside. We waited for them to leave and took our place inside. Ryan ran back to the car and retrieved another 1/2 doz red roses and a tiny box. I had a feeling of what was coming and was so excited.
He went down on one knee and said the magic words... "Ginger, will you marry me?"

The rest as they say is history... (although we finished the evening with Nielson's Frozen Custard and a drive out to St. George Lookout point)
A lot has happened in the last 19 years, good, bad, happy, sad, but we're in it together, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I LOVE YOU!

Money Penny

Wow, there's been a lot of guesses of how many pennies in the bag. There's been guesses from $10 to $60.
So who is closest?... well, here's the story and you'll soon find out...

It all started about a month ago. I was sitting by the computer and decided to sort the pennies out of a giant jar of coins I had in my craft room.
Parker was sitting nearby and started helping me. I told him if he sorted all the pennies out of all the coin jars we had around the house, he could keep the money from the pennies.
At first this didn't seem like very much fun to Parker. We have many coin jars around and even in both of our cars. However, he was intrigued with this simple way to earn some extra money, but had no immediate need for cash, and so a couple weeks went by, but no sorting happened.

Then, Parker approached me with the need of a new video game. I told him of course I could get it for him.... for his birthday... in December... three months away... that's a long time to wait to a 11 year old. So the light bulb went off in his head...
"Hey Mom, remember that you said I could have the pennies if I sorted the coin jars? How much do you think I could get from that?"
I had no idea, but assured him he could do chores to earn the extra money if needed.

And so the sorting began....

It took a few days, since he only did one or two a day, to sort through all the jars we had around. He put all the pennies in the ziplock bag and put the silver coins back into the jars.

Finally he was finished sorting and ready to cash them in...

So we took the bag to a Coinstar and I explained to Parker that they keep 9% of the total so he wouldn't get the full amount. He was ok with this and in his mind, he hoped to get $35 out of this bag of pennies.

And so the counting began....
It took about 15 minutes for the machine to sort through all the pennies... (plus two dimes and one nickel)

So how much was in there?.......

3580 pennies for a total of $35.80 less the fee.
(So I believe my friend Crystal on Facebook guessed closest at $35)

I couldn't believe there was that much money just in pennies in that gallon ziplock bag.
Parker was pretty excited and just because I'm nice I threw in the coins from my wallet and it brought his take home total to $36.

He had enough for his game and some to spare.
Parker thinks this is a pretty cool way to get some extra cash and is ready to do this agian sometime.
I wonder how much money is left in the jars now there is only silver coins...
now that could be interesting....

What's your Guess??

Here is a gallon sized zip-lock bag filled with pennies.
The story of how these came about is coming soon, but for now....
what's your guess of how many pennies, or how much money is in this bag?

Wind in our Hair

Parker has found a new passion for riding bikes...
I, also have shared in the enjoyment of his new hobby as we go on regular (after dark/heat) bike rides.

Our bikes were out of commission for, um, dare I say it... two years (gulp), so it was really our fault that he hadn't rode very often before now.

He was in Scouts one day and they mentioned they might do a 10 mile bike ride to fulfill a merit badge. Parker was in a bit of a panic because
1. his bike didn't have tires and
2. because he hadn't rode in 2 years and wasn't sure if he would make it 10 miles.

I assured him that he would remember how to ride - I mean, it's just like riding a bike... you never forget (sorry, couldn't resist)

So he started out just riding up and down our street - over and over and over again. He was building his confidance again so was ready to venture off our street. We've taken many late night rides around the block and the neighborhood. I actually enjoy, and look forward to, these outings with Parker. No matter how tired I am, I try not to say no.

Miranda has supported Parker in other ways... she will sit outside and keep him company while he rides on our street.

It's been fun to see Parker's excitement for bike riding again. Now we just need to find a buddy that he can hang out and ride bikes with - just in case I can't make it from time to time.

Ryan's 2 Week Adventure

Ryan spent two weeks in September in British Columbia hunting Caribou and Moose (during the time I was at Creative Escape)
(Thanks so much to Nancie & Raynold for making that happen


The first week of Hunting was more like a week of torture for Ryan because it rained almost every day! They stayed cooped up in this little cabin. (Ryan got lots of reading done)Every night I would wait for his call (from his satellite phone) to hear good news... that he had bagged a caribou, but no such luck. More and more rain!
Finally it stopped raining and they were able to go out scouting for caribou, but mainly saw cows.He looks just like a real cowboy as they took pack horses to hunt. Hanging out... glassing the hills (and trying to keep warm). For nearly two weeks he saw nothing worth shooting until finally Friday came (with only one hunting day left)... he finally called with the good news I was waiting for, except it wasn't caribou... he got a moose!

He was pretty happy that he wasn't coming home empty handed.
Now to make more room on the Casita wall.... or maybe an addition, or a new trophy house???