Everyone sing along now. . .

"The cat came back the very next day,

The cat came back, we thought he was a goner

But the cat came back; it just couldn't stay away. . ."

Sigh.

Oh Dear. . .

The next-door neighbor's cat had a kitten not too long ago. This has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the kids play with it all the time (letting us off the hook about getting our own pet) and a curse because it keeps sneaking into our house or garage every time the door opens, leaving me to run around screaming and trying to block him from entering--usually when I'm trying to go somewhere, and I'm late, and now I have to spend 5 extra minutes chasing the thing back out. Annoying, to say the least.

Yesterday, Dan was out mowing the lawn, and as a result, the garage was left open for some time. Grant followed him outside to observe all the manly lawn maintenance. When he tired of watching, he went to help himself to a chocolate milk from the outside fridge. I think that was when his little brain was hit with inspiration. . .

Dan finished up not too long after Grant left, and came inside the garage looking for Grant. As he shut the garage door, he turned to Grant:

"Did the cat get in here?"

Grant, sucking down the chocolate milk he knew he should have asked for before consuming, nonchalantly replies, "Nope."

Garage door down and cat safely (according to our four-year-old) not inside, Dan prepares to enter the house.

He stops in his tracks as he hears a small, muffled, "mew!"

"Grant, is the cat in here?! Dan asks again, slightly more concerned.

Grant takes another casual drag from his chocolate milk box before calmly replying, "He's not in the fridge. . ."

Cut to Dan racing to open the fridge to find that, not only is the neighbor's cat in our refrigerator (!), he is shoved into one of the vegetable bins (!!!).

I can only imagine what my reaction would have been if Dan hadn't happened upon this whole scene when he did, and I had been left to find the cat, days later, when I went out to get a new gallon of milk or something. I mean, are we raising a serial killer here, or do other four-year-old's do things like this?!

Too bad we didn't get a picture--that would have been totally inappropriate, I know--but I mean, if the cat wasn't in such obvious distress, it would have been a pretty funny sight to see. I admit, Dan and I did chuckle over the retelling of it (albeit not in front of Grant). And on the bright side, this experience has solved one unpleasant situation--I don't think I'll ever find that cat in my garage again.

Sore hands, soggy feet

Last Saturday, Ted Mason Signature Homes (Dan's partner) sponsored the St. Luke's Women's Celebration, and as a result, Dan got to high five all these women as they came through the finish line. I would have loved (snicker) to have been one of them, but darn it, I had to watch the kids. Notice the umbrellas--it was pouring all morning and Dan got to stand in it in. . . .
. . .a tux. And I say he still looks pretty debonair

even if it is only half a tux and he's sopping wet

(in case you can't tell, he's the one in the middle with the sunglasses--

Really Dan? Sunglasses?

--on his head).

Dan the Man

Today my husband went and hired me a maid. Now, some women might take offense at this--"am I not doing a good enough job? Am I inadequate as a wife?" they might ask. Not me. Can I clean a toilet? Sure. I've been known to wield a pumice stone, stick half my body inside that thing, and scrub so hard that the glazing almost comes right off. But not today. Right now there is a team of ladies cleaning my house. That's right--once a month someone else gets to do all of the unpleasant chores I loath doing. Toilets, stove, floors--these ladies are cleaning super heroes! And you know who else is a super hero today? That guy, that handsome devil right up there, my very own partner in crime for the eternities. The man that knows that the way to a gal's heart is not with flowers and chocolates, but with sparkling clean showers. Man, the smell of someone else using the cleaning products turns me on! Come home early hon, I wanna smooch ya!

First Smiles

Doesn't he look the tiniest little bit like one of the Who's from Dr. Suess? I just want to eat that little button nose right off his face. I love love LOVE this sweet boy!

My Girl

Our Ella Bella. What a little character. She is sweet and cuddly and fiesty and stubborn and curious and opinionated and girly. Sometimes I think she's bipolar--she switches emotions so fast! It has been fun to have a little alone time now that Grant has started preschool again. She is almost a different person when she's out of Grant's shadow. She likes to joke and tease and ask a million questions. She loves to help mom, especially if Becks is pooey and mom needs help with the wipes--she LOVES wipes! She will do just about anything for wipes. And speaking about what Ella loves, we had this conversation this week after I got her up from her nap:

"Hi sweets--good sleep?"

"mmyeah," (sniff).

"You wanna snuggle for a while?"

"mmyeah," (sniff)

"I love snuggles!"

Pause. Ella thinks this over. She replies:

"I love fruitsnacks. And gummy bears. And kisses. And chocolate. I LOVE chocolate!"

That's my girl!

Ella shows off her pretties

Some of Ella's favorite expressions:

"Can I have a treat?" "Look, a kitty, mom!"

"That's one tough nut!" "Who, me?"

Clearly the most comfortable way to watch Micky Mouse Club House is in the buff. Try it out sometime, you'll agree!

1st Day of School

Grant has been waiting all summer for preschool to start again. I opted out of the ward co-op preschool in favor of sending him to a professional preschool I had heard great things about. Grant's teacher is Miss Janice (Atwood). He now goes three times a week for 2 1/2 hours. He totally loves it and loves coming home to show off all the things he learned and made with Miss Janice. Grant is a social butterfly and has already made friends--maybe even a girlfriend! We are hearing a lot about a little girl named Hailey lately. . .

Grant--a real lady killer!

We're so proud of our big boy!

Going Home

We took the scenic route home from our reunion, driving through Yellowstone park and staying in a condo overnight in West Yellow stone. We thought the kids were a little young for Old Faithful this time around, so we took it easy at the condo, swimming in the pool and watching TV. Tuesday we drove home and made a quick stop at "Craters of the Moon" national park. When we told Grant we were at the moon, he was a little apprehensive about getting out of the car to investigate, thinking it highly possible that a little alien might just pop up from behind a rock and zap him with his laser beams ("that's what happens on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney Land!" he said). We assured his that this wasn't really the moon, but a lava flow. He happily got out of the car and found himself a good specimen of moon rock to take home for preschool sharing time.

Grant tries again at the brotherly-love and this time Ella happily relents

We were all happy to stretch our legs just for a moment

We had a great family trip and the kids did amazingly well, considering all the driving we had to do on this trip. But we are thinking that we will enjoy just staying home for a while now that all this traveling is over.