Fare fair....

The fair is here...

The one moment that totally and completely ushers in fall for me has finally come. The Eastern Idaho State Fair.


Since the time of my birth I have been attending this great fair of ours. Missing only a few years when I was living in Wyoming. It has not changed much. The culligan booth still has the huge faucet of water that seems to run from the sky along with paper headbands with a feather in the back. The Union Pacific Railroad booth is still handing out free pencils and RR crossing stickers, and you can still get a grab bag full of unwanted items that the children seem to go bazonkers over at the overpriced toy booth.











My most favorite aspect of the fair has got to be the food. I suppose it is all the smells of grease laden sweets and forbidden foods that leave me coveting the items I would not dare eat at any other time. Buttered corn, tiger ears, scones, funnel cakes, navajo tacos... really I could go on and on.

The next best thing about the fair is that I truly believe it is the ONLY place that you can eat such fattening, messy foods without having any tinges of remorse. No matter who you are, what you look like, or what you wear... there is always someone at the fair that is far worse than yourself. It is truly a boost of self-confidence. This year I saw a bearded woman and she was not intended to be "part" of the fair itself. (I'm sorry bearded lady if you inadvertantly cross my blog and feel badly but you could have shaved before going to the fair!)


We had a good time and I hope to be able to go again before it leaves for another year.Sophie met Miss Idaho and fell in love with a pony named salt and pepper. Isaac was in food heaven and Seth (although feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the people) was able to add masses to his paper collection. Eli took a nap through all but one hour of it!






















Now, I'm going to go watch a movie and wait patiently for my sister to bring me a funnel cake :)

Sunday News...

Sunday's are always interesting for me. It is a gamble going into Sacrament meeting as to whether the kids will behave or not. I never know quite where to sit... in the back... in case I need to make a quick getaway, or the front where there may be some semblance of respect out of propriety. I generally pick somewhere in the middle, attempting to casually blend in with the families with other small children. Silently hoping that the family of 5 in front of me will outscream my children that day.

I usually try to pick a good order to sit the kids in too. These are things that are mandatory for a good flowing sacrament meeting. Any slightest variance in arrangement can create confusion during the passing of the sacrament.

We were running behind today and I did not take the time to structure the children and myself as I should have.

It all started when they confirmed a little boy a member today. I love confimations. I think they really bring the spirit close... so I was intently listening.... with my eyes closed. This of course is generally the proper thing to do. What I didn't remember is that I have a 3 yr. old son who is a practicing escape artist. By the time the confirmation was over... Eli was gone. I of course, thought he was just playing quietly with his thomas the tank engine toy underneath the pew. I did not notice he had vanished until towards the end of the sacrament song. There I was, leaning far under the pew trying to see where he made off to when I heard snickering behind me. The sister gently tapped me on the shoulder and directed me across the aisle and up three pews. I couldn't see him.... but I could hear him!

I convinced Sophie it was okay to stay put and casually sauntered... okay... I quickly sneaked, to Eli's pew. He was laying on the floor quickly devouring a stash of coco puffs that he had found from the pews previous tenants. I picked him up and carried him back trying to keep from laughing outloud.

Next, was sacrament. Usually I try to arrange the children in a manner that will make passing the sacrament easy. Sophie is obviously too young to pass the water tray because it is too heavy, as is Eli. I have to keep an eye on Isaac when the bread comes around because he will try to take more than one piece. I try to have the order be Isaac, Eli, Me, Sophie, Seth. Today the order was Isaac, Me, Seth,Sophie, Eli. Of course I noticed it at the last minute and I quickly told Seth to scoot past Eli and Sophie to get the bread that was headed down our pew. It took a minute for Seth to register what he needed to do. He quietly stood up, passed the two littles and sat down. By the time he had done this, the little girl that was sitting next to us had passed the bread to Sophie as Seth was passing. Seth sat down to see that the bread had already passed him and was sitting in my hands. The forlorn look on his face was too much to bare. I grabbed a piece of bread for him and placed it into his hand and got the rest of the kids theirs as quickly as possible. I snickered the rest of my way through sacrament meeting. I might possibly have saved myself a seat in hell for this one today!

Good dinner turned bad... very, very bad...

Tonight for dinner we had sizzling lime steak fajitas. Very delicious.

After dinner we raced to hurry and get faces washed, shoes, jackets, etc. in order for me to get to a baby shower for a dear friend. While I was busy getting children ready to go... Sophie was busy eating her most favorite vegetable/fruit in the world... avocados.

We all make it to the truck, buckle up and head out. I look over to see that Isaac has peed his pants. Quick phone call to Grandma and I think we have the situation remedied. I make it over to the stake center. There are alot of cars for a babyshower. I think to myself, "wow, Michelle has a lot of support! That's great!" I even see two older women from our ward toting gifts and head inside.

I get the kids all arranged, (Isaac with a t-shirt wrapped around his waist until Grandma comes to the rescue) and head inside. I am noticing as I walk in that the gynasium seems a bit overdressed for a baby shower... but that the colors ARE pink and blue. Hmmm... interesting. I tell the kids to stay put and take a peek through the gym doors. I see a gift table, people eating cake, and a bride in a big white foofy dress... oh my heck! This is not a baby shower!!

I quickly scoot the kids out the door despite protests from Isaac who saw the cake! I get inside the truck and peak at the invitation. It reads... "Blackfoot Stake Center.... Highland Dr." oops! I'm on Mt. Putnam. Wrong stake center!

I get the kids back into the truck and give my Mom a call to ask where Highland Drive is and to hold off on the clothes until I figure out where I am supposed to be. She doesn't know where Highland Drive is but directs me to two other stake centers in town. Yes, I said TWO! After visiting the second one with no luck. I'm about to throw in the towel. Wait, there is only one more stake center left... it could be it. I randomly drive to where I think it might be... Voile'... there it is.

I pull into the parking lot. Put the truck in park and turn around to see two sleeping little children. I don't want to wake them up so I tell the boys to sit tight and I will just run in the gift and we will go home. Isaac starts crying at this because he REALLY wants to go in... he says to me... "wait, Mom, Sophie is waking up!" I turn around and sure enough... she is waking up. Just in time to throw up her dinner all over the truck. Fortunately, I happen to have a tupperware container handy which suprisingly contains vomit very well and makes for a very tidy clean-up.

Poor Sophie. I ran into the church to grab a bundle of papertowels, cleaned her up best I could, dropped off the gift, and headed home. Eli slept through it all. Isaac helped clean off the carseat with the hose and was kind enough to wash off the windows and the lawn mower. Seth continued to read Harry Potter vaquely aware that there was chaos surrounding him.

When things finally settled, I sat on the couch with Sophie in my arms. She looked up at me and said..."Mama, I'm sorry we didn't get to go to the party." My reply, "It's not your fault honey." To which she said... "I know, it's my tummy's fault!" Which kind of made everything worth while, despite the tumult!

Circa 1923

HappyBirthday Grandma

Things you should know about my Grandma:

She loves Bananas.

She is an expert Chocolate dipper.

She gets SO mad if you spill milk on the kitchen floor.

She has lived in the same home since she was married.

Grandpa was 13 years older than Grandma.

She had 3 daughters and HATED being pregnant.

She's the best at badminton, checkers, and flip.

She loves pink.

She came from a family of 13. There are only two left.

She once babysat 24 children at once.

She LOVES potatoes.

She says the birds sing, "Riverton is a pretty little place."

Riverton is the place where she grew up.

She watches musicals relentlessly.

She has a crush on Lawrence Welk (never confessed).

She is the most beautiful person I have ever had the pleasure of being related to.

School Bullies

This morning I made a visit to the school to speak with the principal. I was fortunate in my timing because not only did I get a chance to talk with the principal, but I also got to speak to the bullies themselves.

We arrived slightly before the school opened for the day. Isaac and Seth were standing at the base of the stairs while I was standing further up. Along comes the bullies, they see Seth, they don't see me. First thing out of their mouths are taunting phrases directed to Seth. I step forward, bullies mouths drop open. I give the "mad Mom stare". I don't have many super powers but this is one I have on reserve- although my own children have a built up immunity.

I talked to the bullies... the conversation went something like this.
Me-"Hey... I hear you two are picking on my boys."
Frantic head shakes "No".
Me-"*Charlie, you know Seth has a hard time. Why are you picking on him?"
Charlie- "I dunno" stares at feet.
Me-"Do you know why I am here?"
Charlie- "To talk with Principal Wilson."
Me- "Yes, but I want to give you boys and opportunity to be honest. Do you want to tell Principal Wilson what happened yesterday or should I?"
Charlie- "I... I will talk with Principal Wilson."
Other boy- "Me too."
Me- "Okay, that is a very responsible decision and I don't want to hear about you picking on my boys again. Do we understand?"
Frantic head shaking- yes.

I then went in and spoke with Principal Wilson about the arrangement I had made with the boys. The boys were nearby so I motioned for them to come forward, which they did and they told Pricipal Wilson they would come in to speak with him.

*Names have been change to protect the not so innocent

I do not recall ever being picked on in school. As a parent, this is hard to watch happen to your child. Fortunately, the school is very good about being as protective of Seth as I am. Principal Wilson was not very happy to hear that Seth had been picked on. I am hopeful that taking care of the matter quickly will put a speedy end to such poor behavior. What are parents teaching their children these days? So sad.