Calvin and Hobbes

To say that my children are big fans is the understatement of the year.  Calvin and Hobbes gets brought on business trips and quoted at the dinner table.  They are on the same level as Star Wars, the Hulk or Spiderman.  They're part of our identity as a member of this Belt clan.  Sometime this summer I wrote this post about a conversation I had with Jordan

http://www.motobees.blogspot.com/2012/08/sunday-reflections-8122012.html


And I posted this picture of the cartoon he was speaking of.



Fast forward to this last Monday that my children had off.  Brad was pulling up to our driveway while a neighbor was out walking their dog.  He said as the said neighbor passed our yard they did a double take as they stared in disbelief at what was present.  Brad, without even looking to see what was causing such astonishment, knew immediately that Jordan had been working hard at creating his own "Snowman House of Horror".

I don't know what was running through our neighbor's mind, whether it was disgust or amazement, as he passed by.  I guess it all depends if he's a Calvin and Hobbes connoisseur (I had to look up how to spell that for you all) like us.  As for Brad and I, it gave us quite the laugh for the day.  Unfortunately, we've had a pretty warm week and constant rain for the past two days and the Snowman House of Horror is no longer.

Whatever I want to write, I will

Because it's my birthday today, dog gone it, and I'm going to write what I want on my post.

And this is what I'll look like when I write.  Happy and smiling with Riley at my side telling me what a good writer I am.  With my coat on.  Because it's so DARN cold in my house and outside (We've been around 0 all week) and we have no warm fireplace because we are renting and our landlord hasn't fixed it yet.  With no makeup on.  Because that's the "insert the name of my town here which I won't write in my blog cause I'm told not to because of all the crazies out there" way.  (Yes, I know those aren't complete sentences and the last sentence is a run-on.  They're meant to be that way.  Writer's license.)

So I just posted a comment on one of my friend's blogs and I was required to type the text that I saw in the box below to prove I wasn't a robot.  Is it just me or are all those things gettting WAY harder to write?????  Heck, I'm not a robot and most (I really shoud say ALL here) of the time it takes me three or four tries to get it correct lately.

I'm not good watching my kids jump on the tramp.  I hate it.  I always worry that someone is going to get hurt.  So, I have made a rule for myself that I'm not allowed to watch them.  I've always felt pretty comfortable watching them do all the other crazy things they do, except climbing steep hills on their dirtbikes.  That scare me too.  So, the other day I went out to watch the kids on a new sled hill they found.

It was the MOTHER of all sled hills.  Super steep and super fast.  They were having a blast and so was I quite frankly.  



I should restate that, I was having a blast UNTIL Brad started building these jumps for them to go off.

And then, I found myself closing my eyes and flinching every time they landed.  Eventually, I couldn't stand watching anymore and I had to leave.  I find myself getting more sensitive and worried in my old age when it comes to these things.  I'm concerned about it.  I don't even know if I'll be able to watch my kids ski or wrestle...wait, I can't watch them wrestle.  I have my eyes closed the whole time.

I'd write more but my husband/dentist has an appointment for me today in his office.  So I must go for now.  Since I haven't written for so long, I just wanted to let you know we're still alive and kickin'.

It is 2013, Romney lost, why not build an igloo?

I'm so glad 2012 is over.  It was the hardest year of an already hard decade for us.   I'm also relieved the Mayans were wrong, but then they aren't even around so how accurate could their predictions be?  I'm looking forward to 2013 and the new challenges ahead.  For us, the first week of 2013 was pretty good.  Here's a few of the happenings around our house this week.

• Ben and Riley got haircuts
• We watched a lot of the Cosby show, sweet hair-cut Denise!

• Jake and Kenzie got their immunizations.  Jake was tougher than Kenzie.
• Jordan had his first sports physical, coughing and all.
• Most of us had a dental visit.  I finally get a new tooth that I have been waiting for over a year.
• We started to build an igloo in case the Mayans were right and something terrible does happen.  If we don't have time to get to the fort already prepared and waiting in the forest, we will be able to conveniently seek emergency shelter in the front yard.

Who would have guessed a youthful summer spent as a hod tender would come in so handy?

Our fearless leader also spent some time rock climbing up in Big Cottonwood Canyon where he was able to observe Utah's old granite quarries.  As usual, his vast experience and knowledge made all the difference and produced a very high quality ice brick.

In the absence of donkeys and wagons the kids shuttled blocks from the quarry to the igloo.

Jordan spent a lot of time posing once the camera came out.  He apparently is more impressed with himself than learning the art of masonry.

Jake demonstrating a definate relation to Ben, walks around with a hat pulled over his eyes and hands stuffed deeply into pockets, trips over the sled, falls face first on frozen concrete, comes up with a smile.

Construction to be delayed until a decent ladder can be rounded up to complete the roof.  The kids are  excited to spend the night in their igloo.  

Who would have thought cutting, hauling, and stacking ice bricks all day could be sooo fun!!