Discount Tire update

Many of you have inquired whether anything happened after my disgruntled customer letter I sent to Discount Tire. As a matter of fact, I received a very timely email repsonse from the corporate office and a call from the NEW manager of the AF store both with sincere apologies for my bad experience. They also sent me a gift card to Applebee's.

Cute things my kid says

Instead of reminding myself of all the naughty (but funny) things Garrett says, like "Momma! No talking to me" or when asking him if he remembers Kayden from our speech class he looks over at him and replies "he has a BIG head" - I feel it especially important to the record the good ones.
Walking into Rylee's room after I got her dressed the other day...
Garrett: Rylee you look just like a princess.
Me: She does look like a princess doesn't she.
Garrett: Yes, and I look like a king.

After leaving the exam room from Garrett's 4 year old check (of which he cried and screamed the whole way there) he goes back to the doctor...
G: Doctor!
Dr. Wilcox: Yes, Garrett?
G: Doctor, you are a very good doctor.
Dr. W: Well you've just made my day!

Highlights

9/15-9/26

~Garrett's birthday was a blast and I think all the kids had a good time!

~Garrett got his first bike and it was so enjoyable to watch him pedal away. He is, in his words "such a big boy" and was so proud of himself.
~After seven days without a husband I was near tears when Jon called and said his hunter got an elk and he was on his way home...two days early. Did you just hear the "Hallelujah Chorus" - I did?
~Rylee's first pony ride at Thanksgiving Point's Farm Country. She had a never ending grin.

~Going to the Dino Musuem with Kaisa and our friends Kim and Doug. We had a great time, had a yummy ice cream cone and checked out the Farmers Market.

~Date night with Jon was a long time coming. It was so nice to go to dinner without little ones crawling over us or under the table. Time well spent!

~Girls night at PF Changs with Alli, Tristin and Chanel my college roommates. We had a great time catching up and eyeing the seven layer chocolate cake at the table across from us. Next time girls!

~Spending two days making cards with my sister Alisa. The kids got to run around the house and play all day with each other and we just got to enjoy ourselves and chat. Good times!

Birthday Party Extravaganza!

(Good Morning Birthday Boy, The Three Musketeers, Stegosaurus Cake, The Party Attendees)

Garrett was so excited for his birthday this year that I decided he needed to have a friend party. For the last two weeks he'd get up every day and say "It's my Birthday! Momma, are you going to make me a dinosaur birthday cake?" To which I would reply "10(or 9,8,7 and so on) more days. This morning when he got up and realized that in fact it was his birthday today he went nuts - running around the house, jumping up and down, clapping for himself. This is what birthday's used to be about..before we got old! We went to McDonald's for breakfast with Grandma Sue (my mom). Rylee got stuck at the top of the play place so I got to fish her out. That was fun! At noon the friends arrived - Kaisa, Doug, Michael, Justin and Lexi. They colored a 9 foot dinosaur mural while lunch was getting ready. Ate pizza, breadsticks, fruit and carrots (well kinda ate). Then we played pin the horn on the triceratops, dinosaur egg hatch (popping balloons I had put dinosaurs in), dinosaur egg hunt, opened presents, ate cake (isn't that an awesome cake...thank you Tina!!!), and read dinosaur stories until their moms came. Needless to say I'm exhausted and my house looks like a dinosaur bomb exploded. But to see the pure joy and enthusiasm on that childs face was well worth it! We finished the evening off at Taco Amigo with Nana (Jon's mom). I think this was the longest day in recent memory!

Garrett is FOUR!

(Birth, 1 year, 2 year, 3 year)

It doesn't seem possible that four years ago Garrett was born! He has been such a blessing in our family and we love him to pieces. I love my Garbear because he is such a good big brother to Rylee, loves all of his family, is a good helper, loves to help me cook, is so passionate about the things he likes (dinosaurs, books, Rylee, treats), has the sweetest voice and an infectious giggle, loves to play and make friends, still likes to snuggle with me, strong-willed (some may say "stubborn" but he gets that from his dad:), loves to learn new things, smart and funny! WE LOVE YOU GARRETT!

The List

A couple of my friends do a Top 10 of their week. I think it's a great idea so I'm going to copy them - thanks Amanda and Kris! I don't know that I can rank so I'm just going to give a chronological list of our Highlights (or lowlights). This way I can remember all the little and daily things that we do.

Highlights!

9/8/2008 - 9/14/2008

• Taking Rylee for her 18 month check and knowing that she is healthy despite her on/off relationship with food - 22 lbs & 32 inches!
• Getting flowers from my hubby
• Enrichment Night Service Auction was so much fun and I "bought" a kid's birthday cake which is being redeemed for tomorrow (Garrett's birthday) and now I don't have to wonder how on earth I'm going to make the dinosaur cake he's been asking for every day for the last 2 weeks!!! Yippee for me!
• Hitting old State Street American Fork with my mom to check out all the fun stores that have popped up and which we never make the effort to visit. Going to the "Husband & Wife" store was a little uncomfortable with my mom so it was a very brief walk through! Lunch at Tangie's Cafe was...interesting, although the club sandwich was quite good. The last time I was there it was "The Italian Place" and I was with my Grandpa Barratt. He gave me the cute little toothpicks that used to come in your sandwich so I had two. I would have been about 4 years old. What great memories!
• Going with Ashleigh to Amanda's book review of "Breaking Dawn". Good food, good discussion, good times. Thanks Amanda!
• Checking out the Gardens (again) with our friends Cami, Justin & Hannah! We can't get enough!
• Shopping with Shellie (my mom in-law) all day. Finding the perfect bike for Garrett's b-day, getting the fabric for my curtains, lunch at Chick-fil-A, beautiful fresh produce at the new farmers market (I'm trying recipes from "Deceptively Delicious, I'll let you know how they turn out) and lots of visiting! A very successful outing!
• Finding out that my sister McCall and her family are safe from the Hurricane Ike, just a little water damage, but everyone is okay. Thank goodness!
• Watching Garrett shove cherry tomatoes in his cheeks and laughing hysterically at himself.
• Garrett's prayers. He always remember the "little things" to be thankful for. This morning it was: Joann's house (his babysitter) and her "arnimals" and food, Grandma Sue's house, the Triceratops and Spike he got with Nana Gray, dinosaurs in general, being safe from "spookies, dragons, monsters and T-Rex's", and smoothies. Yes, we have much to be thankful for!
  

Not everything stinks!

After the whole applesauce incident I did get a fabulous surprise. Jon sent me these beautiful roses just because he loves me (and maybe because he's leaving for the next nine days)! So the day was not a complete wash. Thank you Jon for being so sweet and making my day!!!

And - to boost my self-esteem I rely on my Garrett who climbed onto my lap last night and said "Momma, you are a beautiful princess". Ahhhh... How cute was that?