Animal Phobias...

No TV week was a sucess! The kids did perfect! Last night Tayler danced with her group at the Vistaun Review. Shane stayed home with the other girls... Shane went to the 1st competition that Tayler and Saige were in and decided he had enough dance for the whole year... so for the last 5 or 6 competitions/performances we just leave him home with Kenna and Jadyn it is much easier on ALL of us!! (At the first competition he was so bored that I finally sent him away to get food - he went to Wendy's and came back with a "Hamburger" for me... that had no meat... just a bun, ketchup and a tomato! Of course he was more than willing to drive the 10 miles back to get me another one just so he could get out of watching... I made him stay... He of course loves to watch his own girls, but I think he sits there and ponders how much it costs him to have 3 girls in dance... LOTS - and more than he really wants to know! :))

Anyway while we were gone he took the other three on the 4-wheeler over to visit our friends horses. The girls love going there, feeding them long grass and petting them, and occasionally going for rides. And yes I usually go with them to encourage them to acquire a love for animals. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not what you would call an "Animal Lover" in fact animal phobic might sum it up. But how can anyone blame me really... when I was little I lived next door to a St. Bernard... It was like 3 times as big as me and I still remember looking through the knots in the fence and having that HUGE dog come running up to me and bark in my little face, or when the dog got out and chased us on to the porch - he was more than HUGE in my opinion! Plus we had a cat that LITERALLY stalked me... I still get nervous walking up the steps in my parents house... afraid that devil cat Bandit will jump out and bite my heels at any time. One day Bandit went missing and was never found... I was already married and not living there, but my mom still questioned me on the whereabouts of that cat. I reminded her that I would NEVER even touch that cat, so even if I seemed suspicious I was too chicken to carry out any sinister plan to dispose of it.

I realize I have a problem... when I walk and bike with my friends in the morning they know that I will literally hide behind them when a big (or little) dog comes at us... and yes they laugh! The other day when Kenna had new baby chicks at her school and the parents were invited up to see them I must admit I didn't REALLY want to hold one... just looking is fine with me... I had to convince myself that they were only like 2 hours old and most likely wouldn't peck my hand off yet, so I did it! My girls were so proud of me... and yes Shane and the girls laughed at me when I told them! BUT... I am trying to be a good mother and help my children enjoy animals... (Don't forget that I got the guinea pig AND the bunny for the girls, when Shane didn't even want them... granted I won't hold the bunny without a towel around it... :)) ...anyway enough about me, the point is we are encouraging our girls to enjoy animals... so... they are over petting the horses and Jadyn is loving it, that is until one of the horses whinnied SO LOUD! Shane said that Kenna turned and took off running and Jadyn burrowed down in Shane's chest to get away. Shane admited it even made him jump, but they finished feeding them and left soon after, he had no idea that poor Jadyn had been completely traumatized. When Tayler and I got home later Shane said, "Jadyn, tell momma what the horsie said." She started shaking her head with her nervous look, and then Shane whinnied like the horse... the poor kid was in her high chair and when he did that her whole body shook and she screamed/bawled as she shot right out the bottom of the chair and curled up in a petrified ball. At first it was a little funny, but the second time he did it and she froze again and fell to the groud we knew she had been traumatized! She wouldn't even look at a picture of a horse in a book and when we played the "what do the animals say" game, she cowered down when we got to the horsie. Poor Kid! I can just see it now... 30 years from now she will try to remember back when she became phobic of animals, and she will remember that it all started with feeding a horse...

Who's the boss??

OK, my daughter Tayler has laid down the law for me! This week is "No TV Week" which means that the TV has been off since Mon. morning and will remain off until Sunday night. This is really not a struggle for anyone in the house - except me! I love my DVR! And I record my favorites to watch after the kids are in bed. (Good thing they will still be recorded for me to catch up on next week) My kids watch very little TV maybe 2-3 hours per week so no big deal. But... Tayler keeps reminding me that it also means "No computer unless it is being used for work." She again informed me that "blogging" is NOT work! So I have been guilted into no more posts until next week. She used the same kind of arguements that I would have used with her... but now as I am typing this I'm thinking to myself, "Hey, who is the mother here anyway!!"

Jadyn's Tricks...

One of the most fun things about being a parent is watching your children "perform" their little tricks. Jadyn is what you might call a little girl who has her every desire catered too... Some may call it "spoiled" we call it over mothered! She is adorable and keeps us laughing with her funny little things - here is a snippet into the joy she brings to all of us!! (Of course children never fully perform when you want them to and that is also true on video - At the time she is eating... something she especially enjoys doing!)

You can push pause on the music bar first - so you don't miss any of her cute noises!!

The day I knew I was old...

In my quest to show Shane that I can "laugh at myself" or have other people laugh at me... I am going to share with you the first day that I ever KNEW someone thought I was old. Most of you reading this are probably thinking... HMM - I'm not really that old. But if you are over 22 and especially if you are married you will someday very soon (if not already) relate.

I can't actually remember exactly how old I was (oops now I am sounding really old). But my guess is I was about 25. I was talking with my brother's friend about her being a Logan High HiLo. I mentioned that I had seen their new costumes for the year and that they were really cute. She then started telling me about all the costumes they wore throughout the year. The one that stuck out to me was the one she described as "the red one from the 80's". After more of a description I figured out that she was talking about the brand new costume from my senior year. I said to her, "you don't mean the red sequined one with the gold appliques do you?" She replied with "Yah, that hideously old one, we all feel like grannies when we wear it."

I don't remember what I said after that, except that I probably told her it was the 90's (even if it was the very EARLY 90's) NOT the 80's! Something in the way she said the 80's made me think she thought I was a full decade older than I was... when I wasn't even a decade older than her!

And that's when I knew I was getting old - at least I knew people THOUGHT I was getting old. Actually I do hope they aren't using that costume anymore... by now those poor girls might feel like they are wearing an antique and therefore couldn't perform properly because of the extra caution they needed to take in the fear of the aging material splitting at any moment!


(No picture included for obvious reasons - I am trying to keep it out of the light as much as possible, I don't want any of those photos from the 90's yellowing prematurely! :))

How Styles Change...

The other day my girls and I were in Kohl's - as we walked up to the men's department, there was this huge display of men's shirts and ties - all in pastels. I quite like the look, but Shane just isn't into it... he says he needs to "stand out" in our families' sea of pink. I can't argue with that! As we got closer to this display Kenna was amazed and said in her very loudest voice, "What is all of this mom! Do girls wear ties or something and what about those shirts - maybe they are for moms but dads would DEFINITELY not wear any of that!!" There was a guy standing there looking at the shirts, he smiled, but I noticed he didn't walk away with any... After we moved on I assured her that girls don't wear ties and that they were all for dads... but then I remembered something - when I was an Aggiette we had a game day outfit that included a tie - I never quite understood the look, but since Shane feels that he always gets picked on in this blog I guess I can put a picture or two of me in here... (Actually as far as the picked on thing is concerned, I told Shane that if I don't write down his great stories how will we ever remember them?? His response... Some things and moments are best not remembered! I beg to differ...) Anyway... I am at the very bottom (short dark hair if you couldn't tell.)

Apparently we were trying to start some kind of a new style... what style I am not sure, but it didn't catch on anywhere except maybe with the waitresses at Olive Garden!! Looking back now, the best part of the outfit is actually those navy clod hoppers - Captain Hook shoes we wore with our white tights... What were we thinking! (I am also noticing that I am the only girl in the whole group that doesn't have a PERM...)

On another note I bought Shane some "cool" plaid shorts at Old Navy the other day (yes they do have SOME pastel in them - but not fully). He tried them on and said, "I kindof feel like these could be your shorts, like a little feminine." I assured him that they looked great. I called Tayler to come see what she thought. Her first response... "Oh Dad, those are PRETTY!" This was not what he was hoping for! (I first wrote here that she said they were SOOO cute which is the 5th and highest level on the cuteness scale... when I told Shane about this post he informed me that she said "PRETTY" not "SOOO cute". Pretty according to him comes even higher on the scale of feminity than cute!) But he did keep them... We'll see if he ever wears them. (And if you see him in them... and you think they look "pretty" please don't tell him!)

Shane's Ticket...

Well, Shane got another ticket yesterday - nothing much new about that.... Like always he got pulled over for speeding - 70 in a 55... GRRRRRR!!! Amazingly the officer only gave him a seatbelt ticket... (It ticks me off that he doesn't ALWAYS wear that - but supposedly from now on he is going to do that every time - we'll see...) Shane told me he wanted to hug the guy - for being so nice. The way I see it, there had to be a reason why he didn't get the speeding ticket, here are my three best guesses.

1 - He cried...

2 - The officer saw that look of fear in his eyes - Not fear of the officer himself... but the look of fear about having to tell his wife he got yet another ticket... Maybe that officer has a wife just like me and he recognized that look and felt bad for the poor sap!

3 - This was one of the officers who was at "the accident" (see post - "the accident with an officer") and he knew that we got screwed on that one.

But the best part of the story... Shane didn't even tell me about the ticket... at least he didn't think he did... I found out about this ticket when Shane accidently bumped his phone and called me... I heard him telling his workers... BUSTED!!! All I can say is that I am making a pedicure appointment today - the seat belt ticket was $50 and our deal (at least my deal) is that I get to spend the equivalent! (Oh, and by the way - this time I actually was a pretty nice wife... :) And I do still love him... but GRRRR...)

New Layout

How 'bout this new layout! It only took me all day, I didn't do anything that I should have.... but it sure is cute! (Follow the links under "Blog Credits" if you want to know how.)

Card Exchange

Wednesday night our monthly card exchange was held at my home. Card Exchange consists of 12 ladies making 12 cards - (set to the theme of the month) and getting together to exchange, chat and have dessert. I love it! I don't always love making the cards (especially when I put off starting them until a few hours before) but I do love getting together, catching up on everyone (and meeting new people who have joined) and going home with 12 creative handmade cards ready for any occasion. This month our theme was "gift tags" and they all turned out fabulous. My friend Cheryl and I who started this exchange were talking about how long we had been doing this. (We are the two original members and others come and go - but our group this year is great!) We figured this was our 8th year - so doing the math we have been doing it...

81 months (11/year - we take December off +4 months in 2008)
@ 12 cards per months
= 972 cards that we have made and exchanged.

I know I don't have nearly that many - so I must actually have friends and family that I use them for!!



Since it was at my home this month - I was in charge of the dessert - (which I started late!) I made brownies and then pulled out my favorite kitchen appliance - Cuisinarts automatic ice cream maker. We used it a few times a week last summer but forgot about it over the freezing cold winter. I made Strawberry Sorbet - if you have one of these you probably already know the recipe but for those of you that don't...

5 cups pureed Strawberries (or any other fruit)
5 cups water
1 cup sugar

boil water and dissolve sugar - then cool in the refrigerator. Mix with strawberries and run the mixer for 20 minutes. (Adjust recipe for your size of mixer.) DELICIOUS!! I only wish that I had two of the freezer bowls... hint hint hint that is a good idea for a gift SHANE!

Public Service Message #2 by Angie...

DON'T apply for credit cards for your children...

It is amazing how many credit card offers come in the mail these days. I just officially named my business and within 2 weeks I had received offers from 7-8 companies trying to get me to use their card. But the other day I was reminded of my favorite credit card offers - those that come for my little girls!! (One for Tayler arrived on Friday!) So far Jadyn hasn't gotten one, but the other three do, at least annually! Apparently signing your kids up for a "skymile account" is all that it takes. The first few that arrived when Tayler was young, surprised me... then I kindof got tired of getting them... but then I decided, "Hey if they keep sending them, I might as well take advantage of the 15,000 miles that they want to give her for signing up."... so I did!! I actually should have filled out the application and mailed it in, I think that it may have worked better that way, I would have put down that she was a student and made $0. Amazingly the credit card companies probably wouldn't care. Once when Shane and I were in college, the guys with clipboards accosted us on the quad and offered some type of a "water bottle" if we signed up for a card - we did - we both said we were students and made $0 a year - we got our "amazing" water bottles and a few weeks later we both received cards in the mail with credit lines of $7500!! (I notice now that the perks are greater than water bottles - shirts and beanies!! How is one to resist???) But instead of mailing it in I called. Of course I had no desire to really get the card - I just wondered what they would say. After giving her all the information necessary - I made it to the "final stages" (you know the part they tell you they are recording). At which point the teller asked me to verify her birthdate - I did... she said I must have got that wrong... I assured her that it was correct. Then she informed me that if I continued with this application I would be doing so fradualently because this was a minor - I calmly reminded her that my daughter had been offered this credit card and since she could barely speak (let alone write) I was acting in her behalf - and best interest in building her credit score while she was young. As may be expected she wasn't pleased - I asked her why these offers would be coming to a child this young and she had no explanation except to tell me to throw them out when they arrive. So... each year I do... but always with a smile on my face!!!

Public Service Message #1 by Angie

I have decided that if everyone posted the dos and don'ts of their daily life - the world might be a better place. So I am starting my own "Public Service Message" list.

#1 - DON'T let your children out of the car at the Gas Station!

I learned this a couple weeks ago (it was actually on April Fool - hence I was suspicious...). As I was getting out to fill up the gas I asked my 10 year old daughter Tayler to empty the garbages in the car... Seems like a normal... safe thing right?? Well AS SOON as she got out the crazy attendant man comes RUNNING over to us and says, "I can see that you are not 12 years old - I need you to get back into the car right now...". I said "Excuse me, is it April Fools Day or something?" He didn't hear me so I said, "Is there a new law I don't know about." "Well yes mam, here at Sam's Club you could say it is, I will wait for your child to get into the car before I explain, I don't want to frighten her." WHAT????????? I'm thinking some child must have got ran over, caught on fire, maybe sprayed gas all over him, etc. So I tell Tay to get in the car, she gives me the "that was weird" look and gets in. He proceeds to tell me this long story about how a three year old set off some alarms (which he told me is not really that difficult to do???) and the police came and the mom was so embarrassed.... And they had now decided that no one under 12 could get out of the vehicle for "safety reasons" of course. I asked him again if it was an April Fools Day joke - he didn't laugh (or even smile) so... apparently NOT!

While this was going on my cell phone rings and Tay answers it. It was my mom looking for me - Tayler of course was afraid to open the door to tell me the phone was for me, so she tells my mom, "apparently there is a new law about getting out of the car at gas stations - so I can't get her right now." When I did call her back she was quite concerned, "What is the government coming too - kids can't even get out of the car at the gas station - what if they have to go to the bathroom!"

We had a good laugh!

Synopsis of "Public Service Message #1 by Angie", don't let your children out of the car at gas stations (at least at Sam's Club!)

Bad Dad Moment #234...

Leaving a strip of wood with nails sticking out of it face up on the back of his trailer. Flip-flops and Tayler's foot were no match for it! Tayler is now left with a hole in a very sore foot (and a sore arm from the tetanus shot she received!) This could be argued as not really being Dad's fault - because why was Tayler on his trailer anyway??? (NOTE - Notice that Dad has had lots fewer "Bad Moments" than Mom...)

Bad Mother Moment #567...

Forgetting to put sunscreen on my little ones!! We spent the whole Saturday out working in the yard (and accomplished tons!) Tayler and Saige were fabulous helpers all day - no "bellyaching" at all! All the girls loved riding the 4-wheeler with dad - back and forth to dump spring cuttings at the "green waste" bin near our house. Kenna and Jayd both had
rosie cheeks by the time we went in - next week I'll try to be a better mother and remember the basics of sunscreen...

Roasting Hot Dogs...

The girls are off on Spring Break - so we along with our good friends the Carlsen's decided to have a cookout. Except that we had woken up to two inches of snow on the day we had planned... but since the high of the day reached 46... we decided it seemed like a PERFECT day for a cookout! :) The adults just stayed VERY close to the fire - (while the kids ran all over and told us there were "BURNING UP!" - They actually wanted us to play capture the flag - but we told them that it was far too cold and promised them a game when it warms up.) We are looking forward to a week at Island Park together the day after school gets out.

"Take a picture of us Jumping in front of the sunset Mom."

Jadyn wandered around eating nothing but a hot dog bun for her meal!

What were we Thinking???

When we built our house 3 1/2 years ago we were so excited about having a big, beautiful yard. We envisioned lots of barbeques, good times around the firepit and fun for our whole family and especially our little girls. But this week I again asked myself (out loud this year...) what were we thinking! Somewhere in the planning of this yard and looking at all the "pretty colors" on our awesome landscape plan. (Thank you Dad and Shar), we forgot who would be taking care of it all! US! Shane does great with the lawn. (Which he of course needed a big fancy riding mower for-before it was even planted). But I am left with the flower beds... and lots of them. I spent my first few hours out clearing away all the dead stuff - (and new weeds). 10 more days like that and I might make it all the way around!! (not today though, we woke up to 2 inches of snow.) But in the middle of the summer when everything looks green and there are pretty flowers blooming everywhere, and the kids are running around playing (and it is a night that I am not weeding...) it makes it all worth it!


MORE ON THE WOES OF WEEDS...

In my local IFA ad this week I came across the greatest ad for weed barrier. My opinion about weed barrier is not fantastic. We have it almost everywhere - and it is not cheap - but we also have weeds EVERYWHERE. (In fact some places without weed barrier have less weeds than where there is. I am a big fan of PREEN and use it almost monthly after a really good weeding, it cuts down on weeds tremendously.) But when I saw this ad I burst out laughing.... "Gauranteed 100% - No Weeds!" What does that mean? Granted lots of weeds germinate on top of the weed barrier, but it is amazing how those little suckers can come through it as well! I think the next time I see weeds coming through the weed barrier. I might just leave them - call "DeWitt" and see what they say. I may just get my own personal little weeder man to come to my house for the 100% gaurantee!! :)

Kenna and Corn Dogs...

Today Kenna informed me that she no longer likes corn dogs! WHAT!! Kenna and corn dogs go together... for the past 6 months Kenna has asked for a corn dog every single day. I even took this picture last week because I wanted to remember Kenna and her "corn dog obsession". It got so bad that I even had to limit her to "one corn dog a day!" She had quite a style of eating them as well, the corn part first and then the hot dog - all with NO ketchup. (Today she informed me that she doesn't like the inside or in other words the hot dog part????) Shane's favorite song to sing to her was Ryan Shuppe's "corndog song", but I guess no more - at least for today!

She also ate ice cream with us the other night. Yes that sounds odd, but for over a year she has continually told us that she does NOT like ice cream. I wonder whose child she is?? But she will eat bisquik mix and milk with me - so she must be mine. (How many of you are grossing out right now about that? It is delicious - and can actually serve as a whole meal for me - Try it you might like it!)

Can you just imagine what it is like for Shane with 5 girls - that all change their minds - just because it is their perogative!! The poor guy just has to shake his head....! That is why we all love him so much!!

The accident with an "officer"...

The other day we had a visit with one of our insurance agents. If anyone else is like us you feel like you get hit coming and going. Between Health, Car, Workers Comp, Commercial, Disability and Home Owners Insurance (which we were again informed doesn't include flood or earthquake damage.) we feel tapped out. So when we noticed that Shane's truck coverage had almost doubled this year we were curious. Our agent looked up his record and we were reminded of a little accident he was in last year. (Well actually two, but we will only speak of one here - the other involved a church parking lot and a good friend - GRRRR Shane! :) )

Some of you may recall the accident with a female police officer. A sad, but somewhat humerous story (because no one was hurt of course.) This story really needs pictures - and we actually had some amazing ones - but we must have given them to the insurance company (and I don't want to call and ask for them back!)

The story goes like this... Shane was on main street (mid saturday morning) pulling into the left hand turn lane (heading South ). When out of nowhere a cop car in pursuit (doing approx. 80) comes flying up on him. He was almost in the turn lane so he decided to continue into the lane, thinking he could never make it to the right without cutting the officer off. Well apparently cop cars are supposed to always pass on the left, so this cop went to his left (into on-coming traffic) and caught her car on a 2" tie down bar on the side of his 16' flat bed trailer he was pulling. This of course caught Shane by surprise, but left very little damage to Shane's truck, (and none to the sturdy trailer or tie down bar), and leaving her car split open on the passenger side from front to back like a tin can. (At this point the pictures that we had would have come in real handy - "a picture is worth a thousand words" - the only way I can describe it is through the movie "Grease". At one point Danny and the leader of the other group are in a street race - out of the bad guys car shoots some metal thing that eats up the side of Danny's car - it looked just like that!)

The officer who happened to be female - jumps out of her car and immediately begins apologizing and saying that until today she had a perfect record. (We later learned from a quite reliable source that a fellow officer told him this was her SECOND accident of the DAY!) Within moments the street was filled with police cars - all male of course. (I'm sure wanting to see if this was really true - and to prove that males are better drivers! Questionable!) Being a police car the action was all caught on the "dashcam". After an officer reviewed it, he told Shane that he understood both perspectives and said that it could have been SOO much worse. He decided not to issue a citation. The eaten up car was pulled into a parking lot and Shane's truck (with his name and logo plastered on the window) was pulled over to the side of the road, where approx. 8 police cars and the officers driving them "shot the breeze for a while". Can you imagine the site!!

Shane's phone then begins ringing. The first call said that the same officer had flown by him moments before the accident almost pushing another guy off the road, and he would be happy to testify that she was out of control. Then random friends called to see what "the heck" he was doing on the side of the road with all those cops!

When he arrived home we figured it was over - so 5 months later we were surprised to receive a letter from the "Utah Police Pool" asking us to write a check for the $6000 in damages.... what? We referred it to our insurance agent and told him to fight it. Apparently they did for a few months and then THEY PAID IT! Hence our insurance rate hike! I guess the moral to the story is don't get into an accident with a police officer - they always win!

Our favorite story of the accident came from some of our neighbors They told us that as they were driving down main they noticed the whole areas force of police cars surrounding a vehicle. The father said to his four boys, "Man, somebody must have done something REALLY REALLY bad!" As they passed the commotion they noticed Shane (and his name plastered on the outside of the truck) and he quickly changed his story. "Well boys, sometimes bad things happen to good people..." We had a good chuckle about that! (The boys still look at him a little funny though!) Shane had calls for weeks from curious friends who had seen or "heard" that he might not be the guy they thought he was! (I'm sure there are still some out there that wonder when they see his truck driving around town... )

Stadium of Fire disappointment!

Well I spent two hours online (like every other parent of young girls) trying to get tickets to Stadium of Fire - featuring Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana for those who are a little behind.) I had 8 tickets in my cart twice... and the site was so backed up that my 5 minutes to hold the tickets timed out... twice! ARGG! Originally I told Shane that "tickets would be $50" and he said "that sounds great!" He was quite surprised (but OK) when he found out that I meant per ticket... The ironic thing is that by 5:10 PM (10 minutes after they went on sale) people were already selling them on KSL for $100-$200 PER TICKET. That is highway robbery!! Sorry girls!!

Angie's Vinyl Expressions

I have added my Vinyl Lettering Brochure to the bottom of the blog. Feel free to share it with any friends or family who may be interested!

Soccer Memories... and the shot heard round the valley!

What a beautiful spring day it is today! Sping in our valley can go from great to FREEZING in what seems a matter of hours, but I guess it keeps us on our toes and we never feel bored (just cold)! This year none of my children have chosen to play soccer (Tayler and Saige were a "for sure" NO and Kenna didn't want to until she found out some of her friends were playing - then it was too late. Next year :)) I think that spring can best be summed up by any "soccer parent" (not that I am one this year!) I do see the little teams out starting up their practices though (come rain, shine or snow). At a spring soccer game you never know what you might need, so the best idea is to dress in layers and keep the van stocked. Blankets, gloves, raincoats, coats, chairs, umbrellas, and a random pair of shorts for the child that is "Burning Up" when you are freezing. (Occasionaly a port-a-potty would be helpful as well - for the children of course). As a parent you sit there and cheer through it all - even if you do decide to sit in the car for most of the game (the key is to reassure them that you saw "every move").

Saige and Tayler both started playing soccer when they were four. At this age it is hilarious to watch, and it barely resembles "soccer." There isn't much "talent" out on the field yet... just basically a mob of kids running up and down the field huddled around a black and white ball. (Or as my dad says "Sardines in a can"). No one REALLY kicks it either, because "there are other kids in the way", and "I might kick them". And although we are excited for the rare score that happens (sometimes in their own goal), we receive our greatest reward from watching little kids chasing butterflys, skipping and picking dandelions (yes during the game). Saige was a "classic butterfly chaser" and was admittedly there for the end of the game... which is when she received her hard earned snack!! (I could have saved myself a lot of cold and wet games by just buying a box of capri suns, packaged Rice Krispie Treats and a few orange slices.) But the memories are priceless! The following clip is among the all time best from our home video collection. It's one of those moments that as a parent you should never laugh - but how can you help it! Of course you initially check to see that they are OK, then you look away so they don't see you busting up. I was so excited that I had actually caught this moment on video... every parent has to admit that they have their video cameras running in the hopes of catching a moment just like this! The only thing that might have been better is if we had got a video of her a few games later when her pigtail got caught in the goal net. We were laughing way too hard, and Shane couldn't control himself as he ran over to help her get "uncaught". She did NOT think it was funny AT ALL!

The day after "The Best Day of the Year"

OK, OK, it is the day after "The Best Day of the Year"... and the dust is settling. This morning I received several calls from friends who know about my love for April Fools (and who obviously don't read blogs...) to see how my day went. I'm still smiling!

On Shane's joke... Myra Manes never called him back yesterday, so I told him... (since he would have read the blog anyway.) He laughed and I could just see him shaking his head in that "you are so crazy Ang" way (and that made me laugh harder)! I had been drinking the orange milk, ICK but that was as far as anyone got me!

Then my most favorite day turned into a not so happy day when the phone rang and it was my Bishop. Normally I would have checked caller ID, and actually I might not have answered, I just have a personal rule about that!! (even though I do love my Bishop). He asked if Shane and I would speak in Sacrament Meeting in two weeks... After a little coaxing and informing him that this was my least favorite thing to do in the entire world... I of course said Yes... But then I started thinking... He called me at 9:55 PM... ODD, then he said he wasn't sure what topic he wanted me to speak on (he would let me know tomorrow).... ODD, then he told me to talk to Shane about it and get back to him (After I already told him that there was no doubt that Shane would say yes, in fact he would ENJOY it!)... ODD. Oh my gosh, what a rotten thing to do on April Fools Day! But... I was sure that all of these things were coincidences? I mean... why would a Bishop do that??? But I called him back anyway and said "Surely this isn't an April Fools Joke". To which he replied, "Oh, Angie what would you think of a Bishop that did that to you?" I told him that of course he wouldn't do that... then I heard his wife laughing in the background??!! WHAT!! MY BISHOP!! Someone really had got me... and they used my BISHOP to do it!! He laughed and said that he felt horibble doing it and that it came from my brother and Shane. Well I promptly called my brother Jeff and told him funny... funny... funny. He had no idea what I was talking about (in fact I am afraid I probably woke him up... Sorry Jeff!) Wrong Brother!! It had to be Andy - an even crueler practical joker than me. He denied it... but only for a moment! Apparently he called Shane saying he "wanted to get me." To which Shane replied, "How may I be of service!!!" I am still shaking my head over the fact that he called my Bishop and even put the notion of having us speak in his head!! All that I can hope is that it will be a while before the Bishop gets up the nerve to ask me to speak again! I am assuming he doesn't want me telling that story at the first of my talk anytime soon - Thanks Andy!

The best day of the YEAR!

I can't actually say that April Fools Day is my favorite holiday. But as far as "happy days" go... this would rank at the top of the list. It's the one day all year that my cheeks hurt from smiling by the end of the day, I just burst out laughing at memories of good pranks over the years. This is a new obsession with me, only a few years of this joy, but what makes it the most fun is that I can get Shane EVERY year. So... obviously it isn't his favorite day of the year! The first couple years he wouldn't even remember what day it was, so that was really easy, then it got to where he knew what day it was and even prepared for it... but I could still get him. This year he went out of town! He called me this morning to apoligize for taking all of the fun out of the day for me by being gone. Personally I think he planned this whole Fresno Calif. Temple trip around April Fools - this he denies! But... I still got him, he just doesn't know it yet! My plan was like this... he calls and laughs about not being here, I was picking kids up from preschool so I quickly looked up a number to a "Funeral Home/Crematorium" over the mountain. I give him the number and tell him that Myra Manes wanted to talk to him. Are we following??? After an hour I called him back and said I think I might have gave you that number wrong (making sure he had called)- he assured me that no, he had already left a message for "Myra Manes" to call him back. We'll see where it goes from here. Actually not all that funny of a joke except that he didn't get it, and he should after all the jokes I've done like that before. But being out of town meant this was as good as it could get!! (It isn't any fun playing jokes on the girls - Tayler and Saige are as sly as me. They noticed the glue sitting out by the two cereal boxes on the counter. I had switched there contents - they were not fooled. I changed all the clocks in the kitchen - they were not fooled (Tayler said she noticed at 1:30 am when she came down for a drink and it said 12:30 - "very funny mom" - was all I got!) Their trick to me was dying my milk a pucky orange color - UGH I just finished the green milk that some little leprechauns concocted for me on St. Patrick's Day! It takes me a long time to drink a whole gallon of skim milk when I am the only one drinking it! Green was bad enough... but pucky orange!

Here are a list of some of the more memorable April Fools Day jokes from the past few years.

Switching Tayler and Saige into each others beds so they wake up in the wrong ones. (They actually stayed asleep - obviously Shane helped me with this one last year - he just shook his head while I laughed and laughed).

Sewing their clothes shut at the neck, arm, leg etc. While they were in the shower. (It worked for the first article of clothing.) But it was much funnier watching Shane after I sewed his fly up on his "unders". I could count on him to take the pair that was laid nicely out in the top of his drawer!

Saran wrapping the toilet seat (this didn't work - and I don't think that I really wanted it too!)

Chocolate covered cotton balls. (Shane actually ate one - even after he gave me the inquisitive look and said "since when do you make chocolates?" My girls didn't fall for it, so we took them down to the neighbor boys - they gobbeled them up... YUM!)

One that is too mean to mention! But classic, and Shane is still getting over it.

Giving Shane a message to call Mr. Lyon and a number for Hogle Zoo. (Hook, Line and Sinker on this one - the message was even set up saying if you are calling for Mr. Lyon, G. raff, Ted E. Bear etc. - April Fools! He didn't listen! So he got a real person and asked, she told him that Mr. Lyon was a little caged up... and he still didn't get it. He kept asking, she told him that "He wasn't able to talk on the phone." He didn't get it! She finally told him that maybe it was April Fools. :))

Shelby fooled her husband with this one... while I was pregnant with Jadyn. I took a pregnancy test for her which she gave to her husband. He fell for it, but she felt bad and told him quickly. He then dropped the test and said, "You mean Ang peed on that!

Covering the soap with clear fingernail polish. I was peeking in and watching him to try to lather, then he would sniff it and try to lather again. Then I got the "ANGIE."

The rubber band trick on the faucet/sprayer in the kitchen. (Our faucet is different so I had to do this at my moms.) I got Shane AND my dad - good laughs!!

I'm sure there are more, but reliving all of these is almost as good as having Shane home - I've had my laugh for the day! I love ya Shane - thanks for being a good sport. But since you get home April 5th, I just might make April 6th my April Fools Day - Be Prepared!!