Ride 'em Cowboy/girl

We spent the evening with our friends Nate and Charity Davis and their children Conneley, Jack and Colton. They have horses and gave us a huge treat by saddling them up for a ride.

Preston thought this was awesome! He was so confident (big surprise there...) and he gigled a lot. We took turns handling the reigns. (He wanted to be in charge. Another big surprise...) It's a good thing we were confined to their back yard. Preston's not a very good driver and the horse wasn't amused.

Dasha, our dress girl, concented to "dressing" the part of a cowgirl. She had to borrow Conneley's clothes because she doesn't currently have a pair of jeans that fit her. Why bother buying her things she won't wear? I thought she looked darling. She called herself a cowboygirl. A good time was had by all.

Go Bears!

Tuesday night, we went to watch William's nephew, James, play in the Region playoffs. Lucky for us, they were held at Davis High. In attendance were, Calvin, Carolyn, Elizabeth, Jordan, Ella, Laura, Olivia, Drew, Grandpa Taylor, Aunts Carolyn and ShirLene, and our little clan.

James plays Quarterback. Earlier in the season he suffered a broken colar bone, yet somehow managed to secure a doctor's note to play in this game. Mostly he quickly handed off the ball. However, there was one shining moment where he threw it 40 yard for a completed touchdown. We will focus on this triumphant moment since Bear River lost to Grantsville 13-10. Great effort James! We wish you well in your continued recovery! We'll be cheering you on again next year. Go #17!

Squeeky Recovered

I can relax now. We found the blasted snake less than 24 hours after the prison break. Believe it or not, it was the babysitter that found it again. She must be a snake whisperer. She found him within a foot of where the empty container was sitting. Go figure!

I'd spent the entire day cautiously moving around in my kitchen. I thought the snake would be behind everything I moved. What an awful feeling! Now that I look at Squeeky the Snake again, it's really not all that impressive...even for a garden snake.

We promptly took Squeeky outside for some playtime and farewells. My children thought it was just swell that Squeeky was so fun to play with. Squeeky was a good sport, but even garden snakes have their limits.

We explained to Dasha that Squeeky's parents were probably worried sick because he'd been missing for a whole day. We decided it would be best if the family was reunited. After cheers and waves (and a blown kiss from Preston), Squeeky slithered off into the garden from whence he came. Today Dasha said she missed Squeeky but she was glad he was back home with his mom and dad. I don't miss him at all. I'm just glad he's out of my kitchen!

Searching for Squeeky

I don't have a picture for this post. I didn't think anyone would want to see a picture of me tearing the house apart in search of Dasha's garden snake. Yes. That's correct. There is a garden snake hiding out somewhere in my house.

Her babysitter caught the snake while outside today. They put the snake in a storage container and brought the snake inside so Preston could see it when he returned from running errands with his Dad. They saw it alright. Squeeky the Snake was a hit. Dasha wanted to take it out and show it off up close and personal. Dad said "no thanks" and Mom was fine with that answer. I didn't want to chance the snake getting loose. (Forshadowing thought...)

At this point you're thinking, "Then why the search? Did Squeeky eat a whole through his prison and escape?"

(Sigh) Here's how it went down. After dinner, we loaded up our little family and headed to the church to fulfill our cleaning assignment. We stopped for doughnuts on the way home to complete the whole family-night thing. We're sitting around the bar stuffing our faces with sweets when Dasha calmly asked, "Dad, where did you let the snake out at?"

William responded that he didn't put the snake anywhere, it's still in the container.

"NO IT"S NOT! IT"S GONE!!!"

At this point, my eyes got huge and I half choked on my doughnut. Sure enough, the container was empty. One of the corners of the container was lifted up ever so slightly and apparently Squeeky managed to live up to his/her name and squeeked through and is off to more exciting adventures within the playground we call home. (The escape hatch occured after Dasha had been told "No," and she disobeyed her parents and tried unsuccessfully, she thought, to open the lid anyway.)

We have looked around the best we can, but Squeeky remains at large. I even pulled out the fridge (BIG MISTAKE) and now have a Squeeky Clean compartment for my fridge. (Pun intended...)

Who knows if the blasted snake will ever reappear. However, if that thing slithers across me while I'm trying to forget there's a snake in my house so I can fall asleep....it will be the LAST thing it ever does. I'm taking my machette to bed tonight. Truth is, I'm not afraid of a little garden snake, but the thoughts of it being in any of our bedrooms totally creeps me out.

This is not what I had in mind for Halloween Fun.

Horse Show

Yesterday, we went to a charity event at a local horse stable called Saltaire Farms. We watched riders perform and compete in jumping. It was a lot of fun. At the end of the competition, the riders and their horses dressed up for a halloween parade. This gal was the Runnaway Bride.

Barbie Girl livin in a Barbie World.

Preston, hangin out on the fence. He was a great sport. He kept yelling "Hore" when the ridders came by. I hope they knew that this little two year old can't properly pronounce his "s" yet. Otherwise, they'd assume he was calling them naughty names.
This is a shot of the tractor and the stable. They day was perfect! Sunny, warm and ideal for a Saturday family outing in the fall before the snow starts to fly.

Circus Circus

Allow me to explain. Last week we went to Circus Circus in Las Vegas with our good friends, Doug and Cynthia Monk and their kids Ian, Sydney and Josh. The girls decided to give us a dance show on the bed. We're just hopping they're not practicing for a future job in this city of sin! William promised this was the extent of his "showgirl watching."

Within the hotel, there is a huge 5 acre amusement park. Yes, inside! We bought all day passes and wore everyone out completely. William and the girls took a spin.

Me and my little man, Preston. Behind us, the girls are getting ready for their 4th time on this particular ride. We were lucky there were NO lines. We practically had the place to ourselves.

The Monks and the Monk mobile! There was a time when the women rode together in the Van while the men took the flashy Mercedes. We had two-way radios and communicated back and forth for fun. At one point Doug said, "Thelma and Louise, this is Chip and Dale, come in..." We laughed and Cynthia decided instantly she was Louise. When asked which man was which on the other end, Doug replied, "With a last name like Monk, I'd have to be Chip!" Har Har Har.

Under Investigation

I don't believe I've ever been under investigation before. I don't know what to think about this new development. I speculated to Kristen that perhaps it was due to the rather uninteresting content so far. Maybe I need to add pictures and make it more pretty? I'm sure the poor person assigned to review my blog to inspect it for "spam" will laugh and shake their head and wish they'd stumbled onto something more scandalous or a bit controvercial. Sorry. Just a beginner trying to figure it all out! Happy investigating!

A First Time for Everything

Thanks to the creative part of me, (my sister Kristen) I am now a part of the fun world of blogging. Kristen's family lives in Washington and her blog is the way I get to see and hear about what's going on in her life. (Because the hours we spend on the phone every week simply isn't enough.) I have enjoyed her blog so much that I decided to start one for my family. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck.