Moab Delights + Fall Foliage

Here's a sentence fragment description of our fine trip to Moab this weekend:

Beautiful stars. Great weather. Andrew sleeping well (never on vacation before). Movie quote challenge (dominated by Sean). Great food. Drunk waitress. Trying to decide if being a park ranger would be my best career path. Deciding it wouldn't be. Reminiscing about my last trip to Moab twenty years ago. Chocolate shakes, don't mind if I do. Virgin Mary shrine and skeleton condo decor. Martin family idioms everywhere (WHAM, jump till it hurts).

Enjoying the car ride.
Dropping our water bottle on some environmentalist's noggin. (We picked it up.)
You just don't see this every day.

Jack was SO fun and adventurous with his monkey pack (restraint system).
We're feeling it. Delicate Arch was beautiful.
Just a little snack break. Andrew loved being in the backpack.
The clan. Don't worry, Andrew's strapped in.
The scenery on the way was well worth the long drive.

We're not joking...

Andrew really does love his monkey.

He's In Training

We're trying to help Andrew be a fast runner. Since neither Justin or I can run very fast, we figure his only hope is starting young. Next step...teaching him to let his feet touch the ground.

Go Vikings

Facts about me:

-Although I didn't like high school for the social aspect in a lot of ways, I definitely liked that our mascot was the viking, we had good colors (maroon and gold) and I had inherited my own set of viking braids.
-When I went to Ricks College, I was pleased to know that the mascot was again a viking.
-I lived in Nauvoo for a semester. Their town mascot? A viking.
-I got my mission call to Minnesota. What? Vikings?
-I live in Pleasant Grove. PG High School? Vikings.

I embrace the barbarism that is the viking. And now I'm dressing my kid to support my alma mater...or my alma maters, or almas mater, or however you make that plural...

And I realize not all these Vikings are maroon and gold, but they should be. It's totally the best school color combination. Minnesota, purple and gold isn't NEARLY what it should be.

Avast, mateys!

This be th' best day o' th' whole year. If ye'r not celebratin' it, start now...That's right, bucko, 'tis speak like a scurvy pirate day.

Highlights from previous "Talk Like a Pirate" Days...

1. BYU campus. For some reason there is a much higher ratio of people aware of this day at BYU than anywhere else I've been.

2. The day that Parent Teacher Conferences and Talk Like a Pirate Day fell on the same fateful day. My students dared me to talk like a pirate to their parents. Let me tell you, they were LINING up to talk to me.

3. The ever-present pirate party. This was before we were aware of this special day, so we spent a whole month talking like a pirate. Love it.

4. Getting text messages from my mateys who I only talk to once a year...September 19.

5. Talk Like a Pirate Day in Minnesota. For some reason, the two accents mixed together are really funny.

Whose kid is this?

Besides learning that he can breathe through his mouth, Andrew also got his first bloody nose...at church. He whapped his face on a chair in Relief Society. Awesome.

Allow me to quirkify you...

A. Justin thinks I'm very neat when I feed Andrew. However, he is not home when I feed him lunch and dinner. Here's a sampling of what happened yesterday.

B. I'm amused with how strongly (for or against) people feel about Sarah Palin...Seriously, besides Dick Cheney shooting someone, what else do we know about what the VP is doing? She's not the one that will be the President of the United States...Seems like the whole ticket has drastically changed, which is interesting because I don't think anyone gave a hoot about the VP in the last election.

C. I tend to think about politics when I work out.

D. I wish I was in school right now. I want to get my Master's in a big way. I love school and everything about it. Someday, I want to teach a Shakespeare class. All William, all the time.

E. I have gone into Andrew's room four times now to lay him back down because he keeps standing up, but he's supposed to be sleeping.

F. Have you ever read an Irish play? I took a whole CLASS about comtemporary Irish theater, and let me tell you, I'd be very pleased to be at the Abbey Theatre watching Sour Grapes.

When NOT to call Poison Control...

Would a Band-Aid qualify as a poisonous substance, I wonder? This was the thought that went through my head when I realized Andrew was chewing on one...and the other one was missing. Before calling Poison Control, I looked in his carseat and luckily recovered the second Band-Aid. I should have thought things through at the doctor's office when Andrew pulled the toe Band-Aid (from his hemoglobin check) off after about twelve seconds.

Other news...

The Monster decided to learn how to pull himself up on things. We thought we'd trick him and put his crib down so he couldn't reach the top. Fifteen seconds later, we hear Andrew laughing in his room. "You're idiots, Mom and Dad," he says.

Andrew is also the proud owner of three practically identical outfits. Seriously, kid clothes designers... Our neighbors think he wears the same thing every day. We just have six of everything.

Oh, Minnesota.

I've been to Minnesota, and I never thought I would say this when I was there, but I wish I was in Minnesota. As you all the know, the Republican Convention has been going on for a few days. I wish I were a part of it. Here are a few of my favorite moments from the convention last night...

-The ridiculous pins that everyone wears on their vests. (We saw one that said "I support unwed mothers.")
-Palin's little girl caught on camera licking her hand and rubbing her spit in her little brother's hair. (Watch from 3:50-4:05)
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-Blatant propaganda that totally sucks me in.
-"Hockey moms love Palin."
-And the fact that I am a big supporter of Sarah Palin.

Justin

Guilty Pleasure

Scenario: You find out your husband is not coming home for dinner, but you've already cooked dinner. What do you do?

Here's what I do:

*I still eat my food on the "little plates" my husband insists on using. Not sure why. Portion control, maybe?

*I take three pieces of bread instead of two. And I dip it in balsamic and olive oil. SO GOOD.

*I put my water in a goblet instead of a glass so I feel fancy.

*I LOAD the mizithra cheese on my spaghetti (P.S. You MUST try this cheese. Grecian goat cheese? Don't mind if I do.)

*I read my book at the table.

*I put my elbows on the table.

*I dance a jig.

That last one is a lie. But it's a funny image in my mind.

Precipitation

You know the saying, When it rains, it pours? Well it's true. It rained a lot this weekend. I'd even say it poured. And now it's cold. I'm not panicking yet. But if it snows this month, we're moving. This is not a joke. We're very willing to move to a warmer climate.

In a less literal sense, it also poured at our house this week. Andrew did a lot of new things. He learned how to crawl (only took about a month to get his arms to move), learned the "ma" sound, which is only used when he's crying, tipped over a lot, and fell asleep in sacrament meeting for the FIRST TIME in his life. Here are some other milestones...

He learned to eat baby Cheetos...they're his favorite snack. It's funny how we go to the pool and the only thing he wants to do is snack. Swim diaper is completely useless.

He wore his first pair of shoes. He hates them, but they're really cute. Here's some advice to new moms. If you want your kid to wear shoes, you should probably get some before they're nine months old...Otherwise, you're gonna get a lot of resistance.

He learned to hide things behind the couch. He dropped his monkey back there and tried to reach him for about ten minutes.

Justin also did new things, like cleaning our carpets. He did this on his lunch hour (very nice husbie, I say). I love his Huckleberry look. Super classy.

And just so you know that I'm still part of the family...