Dress Up

Sometimes the girls play so well together, to spite their five year age difference.  This was one of those times. 

When Ava is in her dress up clothes I'll hear snatches of conversation from the other room while she is playing by herself.  It usually involves getting married and being in love.  It's crazy how young girls start to imagine themselves this way. 

 "Mom, take another one of me like this."

When I was working at Conservice I had a wardrobe of office appropriate attire.  This included a few high heels that I now hardly ever wear because I've discovered I'm just not a high heel kind of gal.  A shame since I'm married to such a tall man.  The work heels have gone into the girls dress up box and I haven't shed a tear over them once. 

I love my girls!

A Short Rant about the Middle East

Last week the Arab world stormed the streets and angry muslims upset by a disparaging film about their prophet Mohammed murdered the Libyan Ambassador and three others who were just doing their jobs.  In the streets they chanted Death to America, and burned the American flag. 

Today it was reported that a French publication was going to print a cartoon depicting Mohammed in an unflattering view.  Buckle up.  Here we go again. 

First of all, I applaud the moderate Muslims who have made their voice heard and called for peaceful protests and tolerance.  It's too bad they are drowned out by the ultra conservative in those countries who value human life as less valuable than the image of a long dead prophet. 

As a person of faith, I believe all people should have respect and tolerance for other's beliefs.  You don't have to agree with those beliefs, you don't even have to like them, but you should support the idea that anyone can have the freedom to practice those beliefs in peace.

On the flip side at some point the Arab world has to accept that the western world holds the right to free speech as near and dear to our hearts.  It's one of the things we fought for in our revolution.  It's one of the things that I believe all people should desire and have.  Although at times free speech can expose a person as an ignorant bigot, or a hateful human being, it doesn't make me want to stop that person from saying what he wants to say.  I don't have to listen.  That's the beauty of free speech. 

I understand feeling offense at something said about a part of your life that you value so deeply.  Heck, there's a hit broadway play dedicated to mocking my beliefs.  Does that give me the right to perpetrate violence?  No it doesn't.  The whole point of religion is dedicating your life to something higher than yourself.  Rising above human shortcomings and seeing the divine in all people.  Even people who don't share your beliefs. 

That's all I wanted to say.  If the Arab world hasn't heard of the old playground saying, they really should by now...sticks and stones may break my bones, but words/films/plays/cartoons that offend can never hurt me.  Go ahead and protest, that's an important right as well, but do it peacefully without any intention to harm others. 

Ava's Thoughts on Evolution

Yesterday morning I turned on the tv.  There were upright monkeys in caves with crude tools.  Ava said, "What the?"  The narrator's voice said Our earliest ancestors hid in trees and caves from predators.  They begun using tools to gain an advantage over other species.  Ava turns to me and says, "What is this about, Mom?"  I explained that some people believe that we came from monkeys who over time became human.  She thought about this for a second and then said, "Well we couldn't have come from monkeys because if we did I would like bananas and I don't like bananas, Mom." 

And Then Disaster Struck

I've always had this thing with eyebrows.  Have you ever been talking to someone with their eyebrows brushed downward in the wrong direction and you have to restrain yourself from reaching up and brushing them in the right direction?  I have.  Maybe it stems from my own unruly eyebrows...and eyelashes. 

True story: At the beginning of the year I tried Latisse, you know the eyelash growth prescription that is outrageously priced.  From months of non-sleep with Brielle waking up every night my eyelashes had really taken a beating.  I don't know why, but they were thinner and shorter.  So I tried this miracle formula touted by celebrities on the tube.  Yes, my eyelashes grew thicker and longer, but...I discovered even my eyelashes are curly.  The longer my eyelashes grew the more crazy they looked.  Zagging in all different directions.  So I stopped using it.  But that's neither here nor there. 

I bought Brigham a nose hair trimmer a few Christmas's ago.  He rarely uses it.  I, on the other hand, use it to trim down my peach fuzz on my face.  I know, it's one step shy of actually shaving my face.  But it's got to be done.  I know, lots of information you probably didn't need to know, but hold on a minute, I promise it's going somewhere. 

Somewhere in my addled brain as I peered into the mirror at my smoother face I decided it might be a good idea to maybe use the nose trimmer on my eyebrows.  Fatal decision.  I was just cleaning up the edges of my eyebrows, because who wants to pluck when you can buzz those strays clean off?  And then disaster struck.  I noticed a couple of longer hairs sprouting from the tops of my eyebrows and instead of whipping out the tiny scissors I usually use I thought, well I have the nose trimmer handy, why not?  Everything went fine on my right eyebrow.  But as I was bearing down on my left eyebrow my two precocious girls came running down the hall.  Brielle hit my legs at full speed, wrapping her arms around them as Ava growled closely behind her.  My hand jiggled and SHEEEEARR!  A deep V was etched into the middle of my left eyebrow.  "AH!" I cried out at my reflection.  The two troublemakers had already moved on, not knowing the precious eyebrows they caused to fall tragically into the sink below. 

What's a girl to do?  Briefly I explored the option of shaving the brows all the way off and starting from scratch with nothing but a sharpie to give me the emotion of the day eyebrows.  It might be kind of fun.  You could draw mean eyebrows on when you woke up feeling angry because in your dream last night your husband joined the military on a whim just because his friends were doing it too.  I mean that's just one example. 

I decided against it in the end.  Instead I took my eyeliner and filled it in a bit, which led to over-darkening.  All I needed was the blue back combed hair and I could join the other widows in the front seat in Relief Society every Sunday.  "Hello, sisters.  Nice day for some sable colored fauxbrows, am I right?" 

Problem is, most days I don't put on a stitch of makeup.  I guess I'll just have to go around with one crazy brow until it fills in again.  Moral of the story...the nose hair trimmer is meant for one thing, and one thing only...your nose. 

Ava's First Day of First Grade

Ava has been so bored this summer.  She really thrives on structure and I'm afraid I don't provide enough of it for her.  Go and play, is my motto.  So it was with excited anticipation that Ava got ready for her first day of first grade.  The day before we had went and met her teacher and found her locker and where she would be sitting.  Ms. Adams gave her a bag of popcorn on her way out.  All was well.

"Mom, I'm kind of nervous."

 "Mom, will you walk me into school?"

We drove up to school and parked.  I left Brielle and Brig at home sleeping.  As we got out of the care I noticed tears forming in Ava's eyes.  She swiped at them trying to clear them.  I tried reassuring her that everything would be fine and reminded her how excited she had been just the day before.  We put her backpack in her locker and walked into class.  She sat down at her desk and begged me not to go.  I told her I'd stay for a little bit.  I walked to the back of the room and waited.  The tears continued to pour as she played with her new container of play-doh.  She eventually jumped up from her desk and clung to me as I tried to shake her off on my way out of the classroom.  It was quite the scene.  She insisted she was going home with me.  Finally the teacher firmly told her to come and sit down on the rug and then nodded me off in the direction of the hall.  I hurried out after twenty minutes of this.  I got in my car and cried on the way home.  I felt bad for leaving her while she was sad, but it had to be done.  When I picked her up after school she was all smiles.  She had had a great day and made new friends and thought school lunch was the coolest thing ever.  Phew.

Now it's just me and this little lady.  The first day she mentioned Ava about fifty times and I kept telling her she was at school.  After we picked Ava up we went to Sizzler for a dessert bar.  Brielle made Ava carry her in and out of the restaurant and clung to her hand in the backseat of the car.  She loves her sister, and I do too.

Bear Lake to Jackson Hole and Back Again

The week before school started we took our one and only summer vacation with both sides of the family.  It was a long exodus with many hours in the car.  First we pulled the Smith family boat over to Bear Lake, dropped it off at his sister's house and then hooked up to the Smith family trailer.  We then set off for Jackson Hole to camp with my mom and dad and brother Dan and his wife, Holly.  We camped at Gros Ventre Campground which is just outside of Teton National Park.  It's not the prettiest campground, but it works.

Ava couldn't wait to get up their to play with Ellie.  They had a ton of fun and truth be told I rarely saw them as they were deep in play either outside of our camper or my brother's or their grandparent's.

We played at the Gros Ventre River.  Which is one of my favorite things to do.  Dan caught a water snake and then both Ellie and Ava held it with nary a quiver or scream.  I don't know where she got such bravery from.  I hate snakes.

 We went into town the last day we were there.  Ava liked this little guy carved into the wood.  

Brielle found my new lip gloss in my purse and was perfectly content for at least a half hour.  Then I had  to dump some trash in the dumpster and with her on my hip she released the lipgloss and I watched it slide down the bear proof ramp and into the rubbish below helplessly.  Oh well.

 "That's right, in about twenty minutes you can wave your lip gloss goodbye, Mom!"

Brig and Brielle.  Brielle was a bit of a nightmare.  She has major mommy issues right now and wouldn't let anyone else hold her.  Not even Grandma who she usually adores.

We went up to Teton Village one afternoon.  They've completely renovated the grounds.  It was beautiful.  We spent a while doing the bean bag toss with Grandpa.

Brielle's new sunglasses.  They lasted a couple of weeks.  I have no idea where they're at now.

Here we are at the grove campground in Paris, Idaho.  It's a friend of the family's campground they made for their family to gather at.  They have a homemade zip line which provided hours of fun for the kids...and a few brave adults.

We spent a day at Bear Lake.  It was fun.  I hobbled around because I had sprained my ankle the day before acting as Brig's beast of burden attempting to load the huge tube into the back of the boat.  I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle and disappeared beneath the mammoth inflatable.  To Brigham's credit he managed to keep most of the laughter out of his voice when he asked if I was okay as I writhed around in the dirt bawling.  It was painful, and embarrassing.  I blame Brigham.

 Brielle loved the water and sand.

Kyra, Ava and Ciara.  Three peas in a pod.  

Bentley and Brielle.  They are four months apart.  Bentley kept trying to hug her and Brielle would back away and hide behind my legs.  What is it about me that makes my kids so clingy?  I'd like to know.

The girls and Bentley's mom, Randi.  You can see the leviathan of a tube that damaged my delicate ankle in the background.

 Ava spent most of the time on the boat.  She's a fan.

 Hey there, cutie, with the totally natural pose.

 A playhouse at the campground.  Ciara and Kalyssa peeking out.  

After all the driving and boat/trailer hauling Brig was plum tuckered out.  So was I.  It's so much work to camp.  But well worth it for the memories, right?  That's what I kept telling myself anyway.