Pictures from Nauvoo, 2004

All the little monkeys--we stayed in 'grandma's attic', where the kids ran wild. For a totally spontaneous trip, this was a complete blast!














Dancing in the upper floor of the cultural hall. What you don't see is Talia telling us all that we're doing it wrong.

Once upon a Christmas

Last night the kids and I were looking through a picture album. They all wanted to hear the story of our 'big snow' in Ohio and our subsequent trip to Columbia, MO to carol on Christmas Eve to the SF Slades. We had planned on spending Christmas with Sheldon's family, but 3 days before our trip Ohio got the storm of a century--30 inches of snow in one storm. It took us an entire day just to shovel our sidewalks and the driveway, working in shifts. We didn't even bother with the front walk, since we couldn't open the front door with all that snow blocking the doorway. Travel day arrived and our street still hadn't been plowed, and with a minivan there was no way we could travel through that much snow, so we canceled Christmas with the Slades and resigned ourselves to a much quieter holiday at home, snowed in. I even broke out the powdered milk from food storage because we'd planned to leave the fridge empty.

Ben, however, was determined to not accept defeat, and when we woke up Christmas Eve to see tire tracks down the middle of the street he was sure that he could dig out a path to the tracks and we could follow them out to the main road. Long story short, he and three of our neighbors did--and pushed the van out until we started sliding downhill. It was a harrowing trip along an icy I-70 until we hit Indianapolis, where the road became dry and clear. We didn't warn the SFS's that we had made it out and surprised them by caroling on their doorstep that night. It turned out to be one of our best Christmases ever, and our kids still talk about that trip--and the trip to Nauvoo to finish celebrating!

So, Sara, in the spirit of the season, I've found a song for y'all to play for your family. Pretend we're caroling to you again, even though we're too far away to see you for the holidays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuncdzVat5g

Love me some suspenders

Evidence that Joy has NOT been a good enough girl this year

1. Round #2 of the flu.
2. Explosive diarrhea
3. Even my super-duper capacity washer can't keep up with all this laundry
4. Car dripping transmission fluid
5. New clutch needed in the Saturn
6. The dadgummed Wii won't play nice with our router.
7. PBS kids. How many uber-cheery cartoon characters can there be?
8. The chicken tikka masala was a fluke. *sigh*
9. our truffles have dissapeared. Mysteriously, even.

Evidence that Joy has been a very good girl this year

1. Costco has Chicken Tikka Masala in their deli
2. I filled up the biggity big van--for less than $50!!!
3. Santa told my kids that they need to do more chores--and so far, so good!
4. Zak is totally thrilled to do 'secret service' for Christmas
5. We are all (knock on wood) healthy to go to the church Christmas party
6. It has been a warmer than usual December here in Utah

Thanks, Santa!

Music to soothe

I am lucky in that I grew up in a home where music was treasured, played all the time, and we kids were encouraged to sing and learn an instrument. I know that music has the potential to speak to us in a way that language simply does not. When I'm in a funk I turn to my iTunes "mellow" playlist and wallow for a while until the music pushes me out of my bad mood. It's not something rational or measurable, it's just how music influences me.

Today Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" came on and walloped me with the emotional intensity of a Mack truck barreling through. I don't even know why it hit me so hard, but this is a piece of music which effects me deeply on a level I don't have conscious access to. I love the yearning it seems to express--and the way it resolves in acceptance.

Today, I'm grateful that my parents taught me to appreciate music. What a gift.

I am so getting this for Andy's Christmas present

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Just because you love me, Hols.

Five totally fabulous addictions:

1. Lindt Cherry Chili dark chocolate (I'm sure this has nothing to do with my holiday weight gain. . . )

2. Facebook--what could be better than cyber stalking old friends?

3. Costco.

4. Holidays at home

5. Breaking chains (sorry)

Making thanksgiving pies

What?  Isn't this how your kitchen helpers help?

Jealousy

We recently spent a load of money on the Saturn, getting it fixed up. We still need to replace the clutch, which will be our Christmas present to each other. I know, totally romantic.

I think the van was jealous of all the money we spent on the little car, because getting new tires today totally busted the bank. On the other hand, the tire guy complimented me on my 'manly engine'.

1.69!!!

At the flying J. Is it just me, or is this worth a party?

Deacons embrace Womanhood!

Note to self: giggling while your son tells you about his lesson on Sunday is non-appropriate behavior.

Although. . . .

Pastel camo cast

D picked out this color cast in the hopes that it will go with 'everything'. Quite the present to get the day before her 11th birthday!

Dreaming

Da Zoo

We picked the busiest day of the year for our last visit to the zoo. Despite the crowds we all enjoyed the morning--especially the treats we managed to snag, and the kids loved riding the merry-go-round with Grandma and Grandpa. Actually, to be totally honest, the kids except No enjoyed it. He had his 'sober' face on the entire time and would not smile at all. The rest of the kids had a blast, though!

Bad Family Traditions

Much like the car breaking down in Winnemucca, this is a family tradition I'd rather leave in the past. No more roller skating for these Cooks! D is fine, we'll be getting her wrist casted on Thursday.

Would you trust her to watch your kids?

Heck, yea.

Peacefully sleeping

There's something peaceful and restful about waking up to the sound of rain against the window. Until, of course, the kids wake up.

How to host a Halloween party

So, you're at a party, surrounded by treats, cookies and the like. What do you do? You pick up a stick

Yellowstone by numbers

1 Petrified tree
1 Wolf (seen through the scope of a very nice person))
2 Bald Eagles
2 Coyotes
3 Moose
5 Bighorn Sheep
6 Waterfalls
7 Hikes
8 Erupting Geysers
9 Miles Hiked (approx)
really very many Elk and Bison seen
998.6 Miles driven

Sadly (or not sadly at all, for me) we saw no bears and Zak is now heartbroken, because nearly everywhere we hiked were signs warning of bear activity in the area and he was SURE we were going to get to see a bear up close and personal.

Yellowstone in Pictures

Beehive Geyser

Old Faithful

Mammoth Terrace

Upper Mammoth Terrace

It's Autumtime, It's autumn time!

The snow is falling down!

Things learned from living in Utah

1. Just buy the darn snow blower already!

2. Get a house on the north side of the street. (south facing driveway means much less shoveling!)

3. Even though gloves don't go through the dryer, they disappear just like socks do.

4. The kid who loves to roll around in the snow will whine unendingly when asked to shovel it.

5. Stephen's cocoa is awesome.

6. Food storage works well to put weight over your rear axle.

7. Water softener salt melts snow nearly as well as ice melt.

8. I'm not a 'snow' person.

Finally finishing that fishing merit badge

So, the Slade fishing curse seems to apply even to the Cooks. Happily, Jerran finally caught something, brought it home and cooked it to finish the merit badge. Some of the kids ate it and declared it "not horrible"! That's my fault since I haven't cultivated a love of eating fish in my kiddoes. Great weather for fishing!

Since I'm here anyway

Em informed me today that my name is Mrs Mommy Cook. It's good to know one's place in the world, no?

Birthday Party!

As I was loading my new CD's into iTunes the kids were going crazy dancing. I caught a little of it.

False advertising

 

This is a slot canyon?

With my emergency roadside flare I will

I think that going camping at the last minute is the only way we will go. Once I start thinking about all the things which will go wrong I very prudently decide that we should go camping 'luxe' style in the cabins up at Carter Creek. Then I decide that we can't afford it and we stay home instead. This weekend Ben's scouts were supposed to go camping up the South Willow Canyon near Grantsville, UT. All his scouts wimped out, so we went on a last-minute family trip instead. At least because it was so last minute I didn't feel a total fool with all the things we forgot.



Luckily we had coals the next morning and didn't need to use another flare to have a fire in the morning. Sadly, I completely burned the dutch oven dump cake for dessert. There was some in the middle which was mostly edible, it just tasted well smoked.

Campin' we will go

 

We are seasoned campers. Note the expressions of ecstatic happiness! There's a reason we haven't gone camping for the last year.

Court of Honor

Babygirl starts Preschool

David Wilcox Concert

To console me for getting so old my loving husband took me to see David Wilcox, my favorite folk singer/songwriter in concert. He's more of a storyteller, really, so the concert was fantastic.

Starting School

There is only one day of the year where the kids are up HOURS before they have to be to the bus stop, clean and hair done and even their chores finished. So fun how excited they are for school to start.

 

 

 

Jump!

One of our summer traditions is to take swimming lessons, so for the last two weeks of our summer the kids reported daily to the Hess pool. Em was in level one.
On the last day of classes, the kids wore life jackets and were challenged to jump off the diving board.







She wasn't too excited about it, but finally jumped off when I held her hand











And then, at the last minute before class was over she jumped off by herself!

Tadpoles

Working hard or hardly working?

Ben was gone for a week to Alaska for a 'work' trip. I don't know, all I've heard about so far are the ATV's, the wildlife he saw and the hiking he did. The military excels at these sorts of trips, but it still frustrates me since I'm still waiting for that trip to the spa to 'enhance' my working skills!

Cheesy on the outside

When No wants something he will smile his cheezy grin at me. It's not really much of a smile, more of a grimace to bare his teeth. I'm not sure why he thinks that will get him what he wants, but it remains the most reliable indicator that he wants something.

Dude, you are not my nemesis

Ben and J are back from their trip with Grandma and Grandpa Cook to Las Vegas. It was J's first temple trip, and in true Cook fashion he forgot something--his recommend. I'm sure you can hear me bashing my head against the wall from here. Luckily it was only in the hotel room and they were able to drive back to get it, saving the experience. In other bad family traditions, the pictures taken at the temple have mysteriously disappeared from the memory card. We have pics of meals, though!

I love these guys

This was taken on the day J was ordained a deacon. I always tease Ben about his 'cheesy' camera smile, in this picture I think it's pretty obvious where that big grin comes from--and who has inherited it!

Having a great time. Really

We're falling in love with Wolf Creek Resort, having stayed up there three times this year--two retreats and one Cook reunion. Of course, we could never afford to buy anything up there, but we've enjoyed it anyway. This retreat our family had our own condo in the Moose Hollow area. The kids spent time canoeing with Dad and doing crafts at the awesome daycare facilities


Well, everybody except No, who will probably scream for the rest of his life any time he sees a green tent.

As for me, I laid around on the couch a lot and took massive amounts of NSAIDs until my knee stopped hurting. This is what I get for going hiking now that I'm an official old lady.

Three cranky Boys

The Slade reunion was up in the Uinta mountains at Carter Creek Camp. It made me realize how much I love camping and being away from traffic, noise, and phones. Seriously, why does my phone ring so much? I think it's time to unplug that puppy for the rest of the summer.

One of our goals was to get a picture of the five grandkids born last year--our fire pigs! Of course, it was nearly impossible to get a good picture of that many babies, but there are some cute ones. Also, amusing video of all the aunts, uncles, and grandma trying to get the babies to smile. I think Jake has a future as a model with those beautiful big eyes of his.

Thanksgiving Point

With a largish family, there are many things we can only afford to do on special occasions or whatnot. The connect pass let us do a ton of 'touristy' things in the Salt Lake area for a price we could live with. One of our favorite places was Thanksgiving Point, where we roamed the gardens and played at the dinosaur museum. No loved digging, whether or not he 'found' any fossils. Also, I'm tired of always needing to edit my kids red devil eyes out of any picture taken with flash. I suppose I need to refocus on being grateful that we live in the digital age where I can edit them out instead of having albums full of devil-eyed kids.

I'd like all two of you who read this to know that the magnetic cord on a Mac laptop is pure genius. Genius, I tell you!

Test Driving

My inlaws are looking to unload their Mac and brought it over for me to test drive it. Every time Ben does anything on it I can see the neurons dedicated to engineer geekiness ecstasy firing away. Of course, he maintains that since I have wanted a Mac for forever, a purchase of this marvel of engineering would be for me.

Now, the only question left is which kid to sell so I can afford this beauty?

So, then this thing happened

I'm not sure where July went. Last thing I remember we were getting ready for the Cook Reunion in June and now it's almost August. That's just weird. Since we did a ton of fun things in July I suppose I should write more about how much fun, etc, etc. Instead I'll post the picture of the Cooks and the Haymonds on top of a mountain. I'm sure Ben H. knows what mountain it is, I just know we rode the Snowbird tram to get to the top. That connect pass was a total blast, and unfortunately the kids want to do most of the stuff we did again. Can't afford that!

In other ramblings, I hate looking at myself in pictures because I always look dangerously lopsided like I'm about to fall over. Must train self to stand uncrooked.