My funny Ali

My daughter makes me laugh daily. She is one of the most sensitive, loving and funny people ever. Because she is a little shy most people don't get to see the real Ali and I am so glad I get to experience her everyday!! There have been a few Ali stories that I have to write down so I can always remember how much she makes me smile!!

Kindergarten Bus
Ali rode the bus in kindergarten and didn't love it. I watched her everyday get on with the big kids and try to find a seat. I always felt sick to my stomach as the bus would pull away and she would still be staniding in the isle looking for a seat. She was only 5!! I had her keep riding the bus until I heard about bullys that were telling kids they would choke them if they sat by certain people and I no longer wanted Ali having to deal with that.Everyday she would tell me how much she didn't like it. It was just easier for all of us to drive her.

Well I asked her if she wanted to ride this year now that she is in second grade. The answer of course, "i like going with you mom!" I don't mind taking her and it is always fun to see her excited face after school. So as we were driving to school last week I asked her what she didn't like about the bus. I thought I knew the answer but Alis memory of what was bad and my memories were totally different!!
Ali said, "well mom do you want to know why i didn't like the bus.It was because every day after school (am kindergarten) the bus driver would say, who is ready to go home and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! and i hated when she said that."

I tried so hard from not just bursting out laughing. Here my sweet five year old didn't care about the crowded buses, or riding with strangers, but she hated when the bus driver talked about Peanut butter!!! it was hilarious!! She said she would get on the bus everyday and sit down in her seat and cover her ears because she knew the bus driver would say it and every day she did.
I asked why she didn't tell the bus driver that. Ali said." because the kids whose parents bought them the seats up front sat there and so the bus driver wouldn't hear her.

I was laughing at this point because where on earth did the idea come that parents bought their kids good seats and every other kid had to sit in the back. Hilarious!!

"Peanut Free" Table aka Handicap Table

-- Because of Alis' peanut allergy she has to sit at the "peanut free" table at school. This wasn't a big deal in the past but this year it seems to be a little less convenient for her. She wants to sit with friends but because she has never done it before it is just scary to her. This year I kept noticing that Ali was barely touching her lunch. Each day she would say that she had to go to the bathroom and didn't have time to eat it. Or she would say she had to hurry so she could get outside faster. There was always something.
I decided to go have lunch with her because she loves it and because I wanted to figure out what was really behind her not eating. As i got there I sat down in a crowded lunch room and looked around me at the peanut free table. There were a few kids sitting there (that i am pretty sure were not allergic to peanuts!) but the table wasn't overly crowded. As i talked with Ali and we ate our lunches a huge group of the handicap kids came over. They sat down and started squishing Ali and I over. They quickly took up the whole table. There was one lady with them that was not paying to much attention to them. As I ate with Ali one little girl kept saying "Is that your mom, Is that your mom, Is that your mom, Is that your mom???" After a moment of her saying it rather loudly I said, "Yes I am her mom, how are you?" She kept eating then the next second another girl looked at me and said (loudly) "I need a straw!" I need a straw!!" over and over again. Well the lady wasn't paying attention so I turned to the little girl and said- You can go get one! (they were not far from her!- I wasn't rude, I just could tell she was capable of that). Ali instantly looked at me completely embarrassed and said, "Mom they are handicaps."
I realized that the "peanut free" table was not actually a peanut free table, but a handicap table and Ali had to sit there all by herself- everyday! I felt so much love for her trying to be the sweet girl she is everyday, when I could barly do it during one 20 minute lunch period. I love handicap kids, but it was so amazing to see Ali be so cute towards them even though I know she felt completely out of place!! I told her she could sit with her friends because she would be fine, but she was to nervous to do it.

Yesterday ali came home and said "don't be mad- but I didn't sit at the Peanut free table today! I was so amazed and excited- she sat with two of her friends at their table. It was a huge step for her!! Way to go ali!!

You want a piece of THIS
Ali gets in these silly moods, and they make me laugh to where I almost pee my pants. She gets a little sassy and things she says just have me in tears. I was talking to her about something and out of no where she jumps to her feet and does this dance move with her upper body and says - you want a piece of THIS while running her fingers up and down over her- like a crazy vanna white! i had to stop and just laugh because she looked like a black girl wanna be rapper mixed with vanna white pointing to herself- it was so funny.

the other thing that Ali does that I love is she does this dance move with her arms. It reminds me of some kind of old new kids on the block move where she beats her arms towards her heart. it makes me laugh instantly and when ever Ali knows I need a laugh she does it for me and it works every time!!

Bear Lake 2010

Our annual trip to Bear lake was of course a ton of fun!! We didn't have a set date until about 2 1/2 weeks before so we were glad that almost everyone got to come on short notice. I was worried it was going to be pretty cold since it was raining like crazy when we left our house, but the weather was perfect the whole weekend!

Before we even reached bear lake a day after everyone else the "bear Lake curse" had already hit!! Every year something breaks, or something crazy goes wrong. Well it was nice to get it all out of the way before we even got there. My little nephews Sebi and Reed were playing golf when sebi nailed Reed in the head and they had to rush him to the instacare to get 4 stiches. It was pretty sad!! and Jon got the tractor stuck out in the mud and had to get it towed back- not to shabby for the first day!


the only major incident we had was in the middle of the night Cam was taking a dive off the bed and nailed his EYE in the corner of the dresser. I didn't know at the time that it was swelling up like a little golf ball but the next day I knew!! It was a little swollen ball on his eye and then it turned purple and yellow- it definaltey was lucky it didn't hit his eye right on!

We had constant fun with all the cousins that by the end of the day we were all exhausted. We always stay up and play games but even Cam couldn't make it past 7. We got back from the beach and he was hungry and fell asleep chewing the food. He was exhausted!! Little Jamison also fell asleep at the counter. These guys were pooped!!

Every year we let the kids pick out something to remember Bear Lake by and we have accumulated quite the "bear Lake" animals. This year ali picked out a Hedghog- Don't know where that came from!! and We picked out Alvin the chipmunk for Cam because he loves the movie. So they were both pretty excited with this years picks!!

The biggest joke this year came when the "MAN CAVE" was created!! My brother in law Dan brought up his projector and the guys made a game heaven in the garage. They had it all riged to play their playstation games on. The only problem was once dan got it hooked up he realized he didn't remember the games!! URG- so he drove back to Logan to buy some so the guys could have their Man CAVE up and AWESOME!! I think the kids loved it more!!

 

the weather was great, the family was fun, and of course we look forward to next year!!We love bear lake and it is so much fun that our kids have this tradition to look forward to!!

Endless Construction, Endless Fun!

 

With all the construction going on with the roads, and bridges, and freeways that they are doing in our area, it gives my kids enless hours of fun, exploration and more fun! Almost everyday we ride our bikes between feeding the horses by Thanksgiving point, and riding over to where they are building some bridges, and an overpass. Cam loves biking in the dirt and rocks, and Ali Loves running across the giant water pipes. And Fro loves riding up and down the huge gravel hill. I had to get a few pictures to remember the daily rides Cam insists on going on to "the dirt"!

Two Teeth in a Week!!

This has been a busy week for Ali!! Her front tooth has been so loose that we were calling Ali Nany McPhee because it could dangle out the front of her mouth and look completely gross- so we finally pulled that sucker out!! I was pretty sad that she would never have that cute "both front teeth missing at the same time" look, but little did I know that within the same week Ali pulled the next tooth over out all by herself!!
She came running out of school on Thursday and said, "Mom look my tooth is pretty loose." She kept wiggling it and by the time we got home she was holding it in her hand!! No tears, no blood, she just pulled it right out!!

With so many teeth coming out she definately kept the tooth fairy busy at our house. The last tooth experience was very memorable that I decided to take things into my own hands. (Fro was to noisy and woke Ali up!) So it was my turn to deliver the goods!! As I went in to sing to Ali i asked if she remembered to put her tooth under her pillow. She did and I had to laugh because for some reason she puts it in a water bottle cap and tapes it to the lid- no idea why- but it is so cute.
After a few hours I decided it was time- I snuck in so quietly and lifted the pillow so slowly. After searching with my hand finding NOTHING- i started searching under the other pillow. Nothing again!! Who came up with the idea to stick a tooth under the pillow of the sleeping child- RIDICULOUS!! After coming up empty handed I left to tell Fro. He just laughed and told me to try again. So I snuck in again and felt around and she started coughing. I smiled at her and asked if she needed any water because she was coughing a lot. She partly woke up and had some water. As she was drifting off to bed I asked if she had remembered to put her tooth under her pillow. Sure enough she reaches under her pillow right where her head was and there was that little water bottle cap with her tooth taped inside. She held it in her hand and then fell asleep!!
Oh great now she was HOLDING IT IN HER HAND!! I left again and told Fro my predicament- It was all just funny now. I waited longer and was beyond ready for bed so i decided i would leave the tooth and Money!!
So I snuck in again, and just gave up on the whole idea of getting the tooth and slid the money and the fairy dust under the pillow. My job was finished- not complete, but what am I supposed to do, pry it from her hands!!
At 7 I had Ali tapping me on my shoulder telling me something was wrong. I didn't even know what to say. She showed me the tooth and the money and was so confused as to why the tooth fairy left both for her. I said, "well maybe the tooth fairy couldn't find your tooth because you were holding it!"
That worked. she was pretty excited that this was her second tooth that she got to keep!! we have an awesome tooth fairy at our house!!

My Bet!!!

I have a pretty good track records going for winning bets- it is a fact, soley due to my competitive nature. You would think that my husband would know this after 10 years of marriage, but NO!! The latest bet involved stealing, birthdays, glass mugs and $150.00.
We decided to go to Texas Roadhouse for Fros birthday.We love Texas Roadhouse, but officially declared that we will NEVER go there on a weekend ever again!! We called ahead at 5:15 and made our "call ahead reservation" for 6:30. Well as we arrived there was a massive amount of people. Not kidding- i couldn't even get in the door for a good 10 minutes. When I finally squeezed my way to the call in counter the girl told me it would be 5-15 minutes. I figured I could handle that. Well after 25 I was done- I went and asked why we hadn't been taken back yet. I was promised I was in the next group to be called (with a smile of course!!). As the next groups are called and they are groupgs of 10 and 12 I was bugged. I sent fro up to ask. The girl automatically thought he stole my ticket and that it wasn't his. Well they then promised him we would be in the next group. After being told that for over an hour and 20 minutes of "standing on deck" I watched the girl put my number to the side saying "I don't know where they went." I was ticked as I was in a crowd of 40 people all "standing on deck" to take our seats. I quickly squeezed through the group of people I quickly became friends with because we were all ticked, and someone thought I was from Sweden(another story) and told the girl that we were YES still standing right in front of her. I was not at my best at this point- a little fired up!!! Finally at 8:15 we were at our table ordering- Are you kidding me!! I was not in a good mood, but wanted to be because it was for Fros birthday. He was trying to lighten my mood by giving me a challenge.
Growing up Fro and his buddies would challenge each other to steal the glasses at chilis restraunt. They are the heavy nice glass cups. They would stick them in their pants and try to make it to the door without getting caught. So as we sat trying to calm down Fro says "I dare you to steal one of these glasses." They were the same style cup and everything. I told him that was a dumb challenge. He told me if I stole it he would give me anything. I said,"oh really anything!!" of course that intrigues me!! I have been saving my money to get a flat screen for my exercise room that i can mount on the wall, so I say "If I steal this cup you'll buy me my tv?" He replied that he would go in half. So I claified the situation by asking that if I stole the cup he would buy my tv. I told him it is so stupid to steal let alone a glass from texas roadhouse. So I said ," what if I ask the waitress if i can have the glass and she says yes, will you still buy my the tv?" He just laughed thinking how stupid I would look asking if I could have a glass. So he agreed that if i asked and she said yes which "she wouldn't say" then he would buy half of my tv!! It was a good bet and one that didn't even phase me the least bit. The waitress came over and she was swamped with tables and I said, "Hey it is his birthday but he doesn't want you to sing to him, so can I have this glass instead??" She just looked at me and said, "what?" I said it again and smiled, and she just stared at me!! Then she said, "in all of our training we are told that we should never say NO to our customers, so sure you can have the glass!!
I started laughing so hard and gave her a high five, as Fro screamed, "You just cost me $150 dollars!!" I then explained the bet and she just laughed.
Each time she came by to ask if we needed any refills she would smile and say you don't want any drink because your trying to finish it off so you can steal it!!
It definatly made the mood of the night turn around and I was able to show fro that it pays off to be honest and usually people will give you what you want!!
So his best birthday present was his very own Texas Roadhouse glass!! It cost him $150 bucks, but got me the greatest Tv ever!!!

He drinks out of his cup everyday and we think of our memorable night of me sticking a huge glass into my purse as we walked out of the restraunt~!!

Second Grader

I keep thinking that it has to get easier sending your kids off to school, but for some reason it gets harder for me. I just want summer to never end. I love having my kids home!! Ali was really excited for school though and so I had to let her go!! Ali is my super independant child, who loves doing things on her own-this includes, play by herself, figure things out by herself, and is okay being by herself at recess. The thought of her by herself at the "peanut free" table everyday ,and then playing by herself everday is just to much for me to think about- but she doesn't care one bit!! I am proud of her for not caring- but amazed at how different we are!!

She loves having structure in her days and school really is a highlight for her. I asked her what she is most excited about and she is excited for everything!! She loves learning and i am so thankful for that. She got a really great teacher this year Miss Baker and I know she is going to love second grade.

Ali was so embarrassed that I brought my camera to school. She wouldn't let me get any pictures of her at school. She didn't want to be "that kid" on the first day!! I don't blame her, I just love having pictures to remember these milestones!! So cam let me get one of him in front of her school!! He is going to miss his buddy!!


After getting Ali from her first day I have to record for Ali to always remember-- She was so exhausted from a full day at school, and loosing her brand new lunch box, that she got in the car, covered her ears and said, "I don't want to talk about it, so don't ask." It wasn't until about 7:00 that night that i finally got to hear about her day.
I think that her summer naps were a hinderance on her first day- she was exhausted!!

One last thing........

With summer break officially coming to an end, we asked Ali what one last thing she would want to do before going back to school. I thought of all the many possiblilites of things she could choose, and suprisingly she wanted to go ice skating!! We have taken her a few times and she has loved it more and more each time. She skated so good this time that we didn't help her at all and she was turning and didn't complain or get tired once. She was awesome!!

This was the first time we dared to take Cam on the ice and he loved it just as much as she did. The only problem with Cam was he wanted me to push him the ENTIRE time. My back was beat by the end of the night!!! It was great we had the ice at Cottonwood Heights all to ourselves. It was wonderful. We played and skated, and played and loved our last night of "summer" on the ice!!