Pinewood Derby XIII

Last night was the thirteenth Pinewood Derby that at least one Carling boy has participated in. I take that back, it was the fourteenth, if you count the combined YM/YW activity a few years ago. With that said, you might wonder why we bother making new cars each year, when we could just pick one from the stable of cars that spend most of the year nestled in a customized attache case of dubious origin--don't ask. The answer can be found in the pictures below.




Both Cameron and Jacob won several heats, but the overall winner was a car that was obviously not constructed by the nine-year-old to whom it belonged. The boys had a great time anyway. They each received a participation trophy and were very good sports.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stopped by Tyler and Brandi's place this afternoon to drop off some papers. Chloe was sitting contentedly in her bouncy chair. When I knelt down to talk to her, she looked at me and smiled. She's a very smart baby who can recognize her favorite grandma already! Brandi said Chloe slept through the night two nights in a row; and she has gained a pound over her birth weight.

I've been in contact with Parker, who is having a lot of fun in Moab. Someone was even crazy, er...I mean, nice enough to let him have a turn driving one of the Jeeps. He said it's "warmish" down there.

(He isn't driving in this picture)

Confessions of an Indulgent Mom

I may have set a dangerous precedent today. Grand Targhee got 13 inches of fresh snow overnight. Parker and Hayden simultaneously developed symptoms of Teton Powder Fever--which, as you know, can be quite serious--so they were unable to attend classes today. Shocking, I know.


Actually, I would have joined them, but I didn't think Cameron and Jacob would be ideal after-school daycare providers for one another. I should have pulled the whole gang out of school so we could all go.

Chloe came to visit on Sunday. This time she was awake for more than a few minutes. She has grown two inches and regained her birth weight plus some extra.



Her parents tell me she is sleeping better at night, waking usually once, and going back to sleep more quickly after eating. That's always a good thing!

I know you'll all think I'm biased, but isn't she sweet?




She isn't always happy, as you can tell from this picture, but when she gets upset, I just hand her back to her mom or dad. No problem. Being a grandma is a whole lot easier than being a mom!

I'm registered for Spring Semester, which begins April 20. I will be taking three classes: Doctrines of the Gospel, Library Resources, and Issues in Global Climate Change, or as I like to call it, "Bigfoot, Human-caused Global Warming, and other Myths." It'll be good to get back into the school mode again--my brain needs a challenge.

Cameron and Jacob are so excited for the Pinewood Derby Thursday night! This is Jacob's first time as an actual participant. They cut their cars out with help from the Stuckis and Shawn Jensen last week. Monday night's FHE activity was painting. Parker helped get the wheels and axles prepped tonight. I'll post pictures later, along with race results.

Hayden had a Scout board of review last night. He passed with flying colors. He earned his Life rank, putting him one step away from Eagle. He's already talking about what he wants to do for his project. He's starting another project on Monday--reference work (x-rays, impressions, etc.) and spacers in preparation for having braces put on his teeth on April 13. Cameron is having a space maintainer put on his bottom teeth Monday. He'll get braces in 4 to 6 months, after he loses more baby teeth.

Parker is taking a leave of absence--that's code for playing hooky--from school Thursday and Friday to go to Moab with the farmer he worked with the last two summers. It's his way of rewarding his crew. Don't worry, though, Parker won't be taking his motorcycle. They are renting Jeeps to drive. He's excited to go.

Tyler is finished with school until fall. He did really well on his final exam. And he and Brandi are getting used to less sleep and more responsibilities. I'm impressed with the way they've adjusted to their new roles as parents. Isn't life great?

The Carling Boys Go Green

While I was cutting his hair last night, Jacob announced he wanted to go green for St. Patrick's Day. This seemed a reasonable request--at the time--so I agreed. We gave it a test run last night to see how it would look. After seeing the results, Cameron decided he wanted to do the same thing. They both went to school sporting green hair today. I'm hoping they don't get sent home for dress code violations. If that happens, we'll watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People and eat Lucky Charms all day!

Think Pink

The boy/girl ratio in our family is now 5:3--of course girls get two votes, so we officially outnumber the guys! Chloe Rae arrived on Friday at 7:47 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 19 inches in length. Everything went really well, mom and dad are enjoying the experience.





I took Cameron and Jacob to see the baby today.



Cameron wasn't too sure he wanted to hold Chloe. He had never held a new baby before--aside from Jacob, but I'm sure he has no memory of that, being less than two years old at the time.





Jacob was very excited to hold the baby. It was his first time, too. Parker and Hayden went skiing today, so they are up at the hospital now--to see the baby, not for any injuries they incurred. The younger boys and I stayed home, I had too many chores to do--that and my abs were pretty sore from skiing hard yesterday. We grandmas are entitled to take it easy occasionally, right?

The Great Escape, sort of...

On Saturday morning when I woke Cameron and Jacob, neither one felt like going skiing, so Parker and Hayden went without us. I decided this would be a good day to follow through on my threats to sever all ties to the evil washing machine from...well, you get the picture, buy a new clothing-friendly version, and start looking for new couches. While the boys were getting their shoes on, I grabbed a tape measure to bring with us. Since I didn't want to wear it clipped to my waist--it didn't match my outfit--I decided to throw it and my purse into a large shoulder bag. Before doing this, though, I took my keys out and set them on a shelf. BIG MISTAKE. The boys came down, I picked up my bag and we left, locking the door on the way out. As soon as I hit the sidewalk I realized what I had just done. We went around to the side door, which was, of course, locked. No matter, we could use the spare key--except that when I looked in the window of the back door I could see the magnet container which holds the spare key hanging on the side door where I put it after the last time I locked us out of the house--I remember thinking, "I'll put it someplace where it will be a visual reminder to return it to where it belongs"--not on the side door, obviously. We had one last door to try--the very back door--the one that I made sure I locked after I discovered it had been left open one day. We were out of doors--in both senses of the word--but not out of options.

Option #1: break the glass in the very back door--an expensive and potentially dangerous choice.
Option #2: wait for Parker and Hayden to get home from skiing/snowboarding--this would have been a very bad choice, since they didn't come home until eight o'clock that night!
Option #3: hire two little boys armed with one headlamp to crawl through a dirty, dark tunnel which may or may not lead to a secret entrance into the house.

As I stood over the opening, I could hear the sound of the boys making their way through the tunnel. For a few minutes, the movement stopped and I could hear a discussion of some kind. After awhile, they started moving again so I walked over to the back door to wait for my intrepid explorers to emerge from the darkness. The light in the cellar flicked on and out came somewhat muddy versions of Jacob and Cameron. I went inside and had them meet me at the side door where they took off their muddy shoes and pants, got washed up, and ready to go shopping. This time, I made sure I had the keys in hand before locking the door--and I put the spare key back where it belongs.

When I asked the boys what they were talking about in the tunnel, Jacob said he saw a skeleton of "a rat"--more likely a mouse--and Cameron wouldn't go any further until Jacob buried it with a shovel. They both asked if they could crawl through the tunnel again, the next time I lock us out--it was so much fun. Hopefully, there won't be a next time.