Here kitty, kitty

So, two weeks ago we went to Maddie and Gracie's softball games over at Snowcrest. I was sitting there with my mom and dad when this very nice, pre-prepared lady walked in front of us with a small cage. Inside this lovely cage were 4 tiny kittens. Maddie was busy playing her game but Gracie was paying very close attention to this very nice lady who happened to sit just 10 feet from where we were. Within seconds the kittens were out and hundreds of small children were playing with them. "Oh, how cute!" "Oh, and they are free?" How convenient. It is too bad I don't have any food for them. "Oh, you have food in your car? That's nice." *$(#&%$! Each time the nice lady has a solution to my problem Gracie's eyes got a little more excited. Needless to say, two hours later I came home with 2 "free" kittens.

This is, Koona. We named her after a raccoon because she has a white tip on her tail.

Maddie and Koona are now inseparable.

This is, Midnight. It was Sam until Maddie convinced Gracie that Sam should be the middle name. Anyone else have an older sibling that can make the younger sibling do whatever they want them to?

Anyway, we have now had the cats for about two weeks. I think they are boys but who knows? I have spent $20 on random pet supplies (food/water bowl, litter, litter box and matching pooper scooper). I have called 7 different animal clinics and discovered that to vaccinate 2 cats with 3 different sets of booster shots and to get them fixed will be approximately $500!

Thank you nice lady for my "free" cats. We truly love them!

(p.s. - I discovered that you can buy the shots at IFA for $10/piece. My $500 just turned into $160! Gotta love that store)!

Forts

So, all of you remember making "forts," right?

Last week Maddie decided that that would be the activity of the day. I, of course, came up with all sorts of excuses why this would be a bad idea. You know, accidents, falling chairs, etc. Maddie was not to be disuaded (is that a word?) from her original goal. She persisted and I started to remember how much fun I used to have playing under all those chairs, blankets, and anything else I could find to make my fort bigger and better. So, for just a few minutes of set up we got 5 hours of endless fun! Not a bad idea after all.

Ragnar 2009 (Warning - plastic nudity included)

The Ragnar is now complete! Yippy for us! We survived and are here to tell the story. First of all, for those who have not heard of the Wasatch Back Ragnar, it is a 190 mile relay race from Logan to Park City, UT. Most teams have a total of 12 runners although some choose to do the "ultra" relay which means you only have 6. I was going to do the ultra but decided that I didn't want to embarrass all of the other runners with my phenomenal speed. After all, who can run faster than me? My 11 (or is it 15?) minute mile is truly something special and unique to only me.

So, the Valley Babefest was a success despite the heat, rain, and lack of sleep. We all made it to the end. Here are 5 of the 6 Babes that were in our car. Heather, where did you go? Trixie is our inspiration and rides on top of the car. Our car is impossible to miss which means it is also easy to find. That can be important as delirium sets in.

This is our team at the end (minus one. Jenny? Jenny? Where does everyone keep disappearing to?). Somehow I didn't get one still shot of the 190 miles in between the start and finish line. How is that possible? I guess I was too busy trying to get some sort of video footage. Besides, it wasn't always pretty. Who wants picures of sweaty women anyway?


I tried to get a shot of Kati and I in front of the big Ragnar sign. Anyone see the sign? Me neither. So much for that.

Now, for the finale. Again, adult readers only. After our race we drove home from Park City. When we got to our first drop off point in Morgan this is what we found...

I too was disappointed in Trixie's attire. I have to blame it on the the fact that she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. I am sure that the 80 mile an hour winds didn't help either. Nevertheless, it explained a lot about why ALL of the semi-truck drivers were honking at us. Apparently it wasn't due to our overpowering beauty (and possible armpit odor) as we had originally thought. With all being said and done. We had an amazing race and made lots of friends. What could be better than that?

GO VALLEY BABES!!!

The Little Green Man

Does anyone recognize this little green man? My kids love him. I'll give you three guesses. Haun family members are not allowed to play!

Green Thumbs

So, call me corny but...we planted our first garden this year. I mean, my dad always planted a garden but me...nah. I just ate the fruits of his labors. That is why these radishes are very "special" radishes. WE actually grew these! I know, it is just a small red root but, they are OUR little red roots. The girls had a lot of fun pulling the weeds, planting the seeds, watering and finally picking. They even ate a few of them. Things tend to taste better when you worked on them yourself. Way to go little farmer people!

Now we will see what our carrots and peas look like. I think there may even be a little corn on its way. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Con Artists

So, a few weeks ago Troy and I got online and reserved tickets for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Although we did want to walk through the temple, we had some "alternate" plans as well. You see, if we could con Troy's family into joining us then we could also reserve a hotel, swim, eat lots of yummy food and get lots of fun time as an additional bonus. Can't pass that up, right? Well, his family fell for our little trick and we had a blast. Here are a few highlights.

Gracie standing outside the hotel. She can already smell the swimming pool!

This is my favorite picture. I hope you can see why...

Aeva, discovered that she could create a small waterfall off of her swim diaper. She had loads of fun playing in it. Grandma Carole was the first one to catch on to her little game so I had to snap a shot. If anyone took a similar shot of me I would not be pleased. Good thing she is cute from ALL angles.

The lounger.

The blow up fishy that aunt Autumn bought was also a very popular item.

My two swimmers. The hair-dos were my attempt at keeping their hair dry for the temple open house. No such luck.

The girls also like to "ask" grandpa and grandma to take them to the Mayan any time they are south of Bountiful. SLC is simply where "the Mayan lives." They have yet to be disappointed. Grandpa and Grandma are always up for anything.

Eating their food was obviously secondary to watching the divers. Our table is nowhere near them. Maddie at least took her food with her. Made for a good hour long activity. They hated it, can you tell?

On our way out they had to hang out in the snakes mouth. I thought it was a lion. Tells you how observant I am. That is in Vegas, right?

Needless to say, we had a blast! The Hauns will now be "onto us" after reading our blog. We will have to be more tricky from now on because we have many more plans to "con the Hauns" into taking trips with us. Thanks for coming!

Climbin Trees

You know your mom is crazy when she makes you stop playing so she can take your picture. Don't all professional photographers make you stand by a tree?

Yeah, for Grandpa!

The boat has made its first dip in the dam! Yeah for us...I mean Grandpa! We love to play in the water! Thanks for taking us!

Happy Birthday to you...

My little Gracie Rett has finally turned five. We have been counting down since she was 4 years and 3 days old. How they love the time to fly. How I love the time not to. Here are some photos from the past 5 years. We love you!

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday, Dear Gracie Rett. Happy Birthday to you! Again, a little late with the post but at least we celebrated it on the right day.

It only took her 5 breaths to blow them out! Asthmatic? Maybe, just way too excited!

The best part.

Oh wait, this is the best part. Before Gracie saw her presents stacked in a pile she had told me, "I don't think I am having a very good birthday. I don't have any presents." I think she has now changed her mind. A pretty good birthday after all.

Frog Graduation

Gracie graduated from preschool a few days ago (alright probably more like 10 days ago. Who's counting?). Got some pictures to share. Doesn't she look like a little valedictorian? This is her giving her speech. The main topic of her talk was "nursery rhymes." We wanted to focus on the most important things you know.

During the entire program, Gracie, had major issues with her tassel. Anyone else struggle with this type of thing? I was amazed at how I couldn't get a picture of her face without a tassel hanging in front of it. "E" for effort, right?

Gracie with the tassel in front of her face.

Gracie with the tassel in front of her face.

Gracie, with the tassel in front of her face.

And finally, Gracie, without the tassel in front of her face. YEAH!

Gracie, with her teacher. Thanks for all of your hard work!

Her fan club. Thanks for coming!

Way to go little Miss Kindergartener! We are proud of you!

Wink, Wink

Have you ever tried to teach your almost 5 year old how to wink? Looks slightly painful. We will keep working on it.

Aeva could use a little practice as well.