News from the break

We're in the middle of a two-week break from work and school, the first we've had since we got married, I believe. It's been nice; we went to my family's cabin in Heber for a couple days, spent a couple days in West Jordan and Provo and then hung out at Mandi's parents' house for a couple days before finally getting home late last night.

Last week was a little nuts.

Hopefully this week will be a bit calmer... we should be home for most of it while I kinda sorta get ready for my last semester of college ever.

Anyway, here are some pictures (mostly stolen from my sister's blog) and video (not stolen) from the past few days.


This is my mom's family's cabin. My grandpa, his sons, sons-in-law and grandsons built it from scratch entirely by themselves over the span of about a decade. I remember the basement being dug when I was about 8, and it was completed while I was in high school.

We arrived Monday morning with my mom and four of my brothers. My sister Brooke, her kid Jack and her husband Eric arrived a little after we did, and another of my sisters, Amy, showed up around seven.

Here's a decent shot of the inside of the cabin. We're playing scum, and that's my mom trying to make a scum crown on her head to celebrate her lack of skills at the game. Brooke was amazing. I spent the entire time trying to dethrone her and couldn't.


Here are Mandi and Scott outside on the deck. Scott loves being outside. We saw three deer and assorted chipmunks and squirrels.


Here are Scott and Jack, cousins who are about three months apart. My mom gave Mandi a big box of baby clothes for Scott, and inside were these effeminate bib/dress things. We originally thought they were from the Netherlands, and perhaps some ancestors of ours had worn them while crossing the plains or something, but it turns out they're Thai, and my mom got them while serving her mission in Thailand.
Here are the moms and babies. Scott is enthralled with cameras, which makes him look like a little model baby in shots like this. Jack is less impressed.

And here they are again. Aww.

Videos:



My Mom dragging Micah away from playing on the Wii I brought to go to the stream below the cabin. A good view of the main floor.



Everyone having a good time at the stream.




Micah and Jonathan (my little brothers) throwing rocks into the stream. I knew Micah would fall in, and I almost missed filming it. My favorite part is when he says, "Mom, I told you I didn't want to go to the stream!" Funny kid.




Scott and Jack playing under a toy for infants. Scott is a pro at it, and is thiiis close to being able to break it, so we gave it to Brooke and Eric for Jack to discover. Fun to see each of them enjoy it.

That's it for now. I'll post some more movies of just Scott tomorrow.

Relaxing at Rigby Lake

These pictures are from a daytrip we took a few weeks ago, but with all the traveling I haven't had time blog about it until now. We always see this gorgeous lake area on our trips to Idaho Falls and vowed that we would have to check it out before the summer ended. We finally did, and the water was so nice!


We took some of our camping gear and set up a shady place to relax; it was quite an adventure, because our canopy fell down with every caprice of the wind. Scott liked the water even though it was refreshingly cold and not at all like his bathwater. Brandon swam all the way out to the bouys and back, and there were several people boating and fishing. It was a beautiful day and fun for all--we recommend it to anyone looking for a nice time at the beach. Just remember to bring $5 for parking.

Relaxing is serious business.

Trying to eat the blanket.

Eating Dad's fingers is the most fun.

Scott rolling over

We purchased a video camera a couple weeks ago... got a great deal at Wal-Mart. $135 for a Panasonic Mini-DV camcorder that retails for around $250. Be proud, parents. We took it with us on vacation to north Idaho last week, and I'm just figuring out how to get digital video off of it.

For starters, here's Scott rolling over. We'll be posting vacation clips soon.

It's never too early

Growing up, my absolute favorite game was something I called a "goofy contest". It consisted of ransacking the dress-up box, finding a great costume, and modeling it or performing a little skit for a judging audience (my parents). I would give them paper and pen and have them rate all the performers (my brothers and sis and I) on several categories. Whoever had the highest score was obviously the best and most creative performer (definitely a precursor of my future life's work--I love performing). And I still love dressing up.

Now that I have a child of my own, I can't wait for his first Halloween so I can make him a clever costume and begin his own love affair with dressing up. In that vein, I've started researching cheap, clever costuming ideas for infants and toddlers. Because after all, as one of the websites proclaimed, there's only 91 days till Halloween!

My favorites:

This one is cute for a baby that isn't cruising or crawling yet; use a green sleep sack and a green hat. Attach a green felt leaf to the hat and make the peas out of fabric and stuffing. Tack them on with thread so you can cut it all off after Halloween.

I love the mom and baby ones:

Spider Web Mother and Sock Spider Baby

With supplies from the craft store, supermarket, thrift shop, and your closet, you can create fantastic disguises without a stitch. Here, three pairs of men's black socks become legs to the spider in his spider web. -marthastewart.com

Spring Chicken

Why did this baby chicken cross the road? To get to the Halloween party, of course. Her costume is made from two tickly feather boas, ordinary kitchen gloves, yellow tights, and a pilot's cap that's crowned with a felt comb. Under the plumage, two leotards are stuffed with batting for extra plumpness. Appropriate for children ages 3 and older. -marthastewart.com

Little Lambs

These three little sheep can't wait to graze on candy. Their "fleece" is wool batting, gathered and sewn to a sleeveless leotard, which is worn over a black long-sleeved shirt and leggings. A cotton hat with floppy felt ears and a dot of face paint complete the costume, which is also for children ages 3 and older. --marthastewart.com

Knight and Dragon

Aha! To the dragon's lair! Via the baking aisle! These two make an imposing knight and dragon team. The breastplate and the dragon's scales are candy cups; the leg and arm armor is cut from aluminum pans; a folded pie tin is the hilt of the foil-clad broadsword. No need to fear the baby dragon -- she breathes milk and her spikes are made of sponges. -marthastewart.com

"All I got for this costume was a blue onesie (I already owned one), red socks (already had these too), red felt, yellow felt (which costs like 20 cents at WalMart), some glue and satiny fabric for the cape (Velcro if you want the cape to be detachable).

"I just cut out the Superman emblem from the red and yellow felt. I did the same for the yellow belt and the red superman briefs and just glued them to the front of the onesie. I took some red felt and placed them around his ankles over the socks to make them look more like boots. I used a marker to add details and viola! Superbaby!

"Total Spent: $8" --coolest-homemade-costumes.com


This site also has some great costume ideas, but no pics, so it can get a little confusing. I think I'm going to do the dragon one for Scott, and I'll be a princess. Maybe I can convince Brandon to be a knight in shining foil armor?

We'll see.