Redneck Wednesday

 It seems Shane's job is big news (naturally, who wouldn't want to be involved with the new helicopter pilot in town). That being said I had my first visitor a few weeks back. She was the wife of one of the local law-enforcement officers. They heard our family was here and she found out where we lived and stopped by to introduce herself etc...redneck wednesday post right there if you ask me, but ultimately not what I was hoping to share today.

She was telling me a story: during the freezing storm we had (-20 degrees average lows) her neighbor regrettably lost a horse and a dog to the cold...SERIOUSLY, a HORSE and DOG. Wow, I used to worry about the frost getting to my tomato plants, but animals? Naturally, this lady's neighbor could very well have been neglectful, it might not be all that common to have your animals die but none-the-less, the very nature of the topic is redneck!

Oh and here's a view from outside my kitchen window:

Milk Man

Parker was perusing the house in Shane's arms and looked so similar to his sister. I found a photo to compare:

Parker (January 29, 2013)

Emma (Sept 5, 2009)

No question of a milk man here, at least to me, the Mother, they look just like each other, and just like Oldfield's.

First Day

Well,

Within the first few days of moving here I made the time to checkout the local pre school. I learned much to my dismay that this new school was highly favored and sought after, making it hard to get into.  Through a hope and a prayer she got in!  We got a call on Tuesday that she should start on Wednesday!   My high-strung, obstinate, and explosive 3 year old had not been properly prepped for such a big change that would happen in less then 18 hours...

However, she is under-stimulated here at home with me, and longs for more social situations so she jumped in with guns a blazing.

She really is more obstinate then i can describe. The morning was not as pinterest  picture perfect as I hoped: I attempted cute pancakes in the shape of letters-fail, I picked out a cute outfit that she refused to wear, she wouldn't let me do her hair so she went in yesterdays slept in hair-do, she picked a backpack that I can't bring myself to care for in the slightest, and she wouldn't take a sentimental photo at the front door like I hoped. But she had a great time and I'm now kicking myself for signing her up for 2 days a week vs. 4 days a week.

Redneck Wednesday

Our family's first Sunday here was memorable. We were going to join a new building with a new ward (congregation) and didn't want to be late. We left the house at 10:40am and church started at 11am. The building is 5 minutes away from our house. We didn't arrive until 11:15am, and this is why:

Sheep, hundreds of sheep being herded down the road (one of the 4 main roads in the city mind you) by a man in the back of his truck tossing out feed. There was a truck on the side with sheep dogs in case some sheep strayed into somebody's yard (which some did).  Hello, can you say Redneck?!

Two Months

Little Parker-roo you are now 2 months old! Where did the time go? I haven't held you or snuggled you nearly enough and before we know it you'll be off and running.

Jan 19th: 2 months old

At two months you can focus very well and track things with your eyes. You're aware of the noises that are EVERYWHERE around you. You raise your eyebrows in curiosity when a cat walks by you, or if your sister is talking to you. You're Dr. checkup went very well, you took shots like a man and slept it off. You're officially 9lbs 4oz and 22" long. You're in the 10-20th percentile in those categories.

Week 5

You've grown to enjoy music. Probably because all your bouncy chairs, swings, or play mats have some music and light get-up that we force you to listen to when we're not holding you. However, you really study the source of lights and sound and don't often complain about it.

Week 6

Your gooey eyes are out of control, but like your sister we know it will end. Those tear ducts will be just fine with a little more refinement :) It's hard for me as your mother to look at your cute face with your eye lashes 'glued' together and your mouth in the biggest smile.

Week 7

Which reminds me, you started smiling officially this month. It is hard to get a rise out of you, you are calm, mild, and even tempered but you can smile with the best of them! I've noticed the smiles happen most often when you haven't seen a family member in a long period of time. For example, after the long night hours you'll wake up and look me in the eye and beam that toothless smile. I think you're extra camera shy by the way, I took me 3.5 weeks to catch that happy gesture 'on film'. You make the silliest faces and drop the smile whenever I pull out the camera.

Week 8

In the past few days you've started to blow spit bubbles. I now have to find your bibs and start hauling those silly things around.

This month alone you've traveled to and from SLC 5 times. That's a lot of hours in the car and you take it like a champ EVERY time. If only you could teach your sister how to sleep in the car...

Dearest Parker, we love you. You add a calmness and peace to this house that the female hormones were trying to destroy. Your Mommy, Daddy, and Sister always want to hold you and kiss you.

Redneck Wednesday

I'll start this first yokel experience with one of my own:

This is my new-to-me fridge from a used appliance store. I took a gamble and well, lost. This bad boy tricked us by working in every way except in pumping cold air. Shane says it's the compressor; to me that interprets into a vital and expensive part...

We moved into the Cedar City house taking care to plug it in and get it running right away. After all I moved with 6 weeks of stored up breast milk, the last of our freezer meals, and what was stocked up of my Costco meat (there is no Costco in Cedar). Plus we had just stocked up on a few essentials to get through the week. *sigh*

Imagine my dismay when we filled the fridge and freezer that day and woke the next morning to meat juice oozing onto the floor!

Alas, I took what I could and threw it in a box to store OUTSIDE, in the snow, with the freezing 10 degree weather. And my daughter had the gaul to ask for milk instead of water for almost every meal. 

That ugly lamp was taken and thrown in the back yard into  our waste pile. I took it back out to stick on top of my box so the neighborhood cats didn't get into the box at night.

The contents, dismal as they are.

An example of breakfast needs.

 With it being so inconvenient, and uncomfortable to go outside to my 'fridge' we tried to grab and remember everything for a meal in one outing. On the plus side, it's too cold for any neighbor to be outside to judge me, and at least it's cold enough to try and salvage some of our groceries...too bad breast milk is so difficult to replenish and basically worth more than gold.

We Moved Again!

We enjoyed Christmas and quickly shoved everything we owned back into boxes to move 4 hours south, where there are more horses and cows than people.

I never thought I'd live in a town this small. The city population rivals that of my university Alma mater.

I'll be hosting a 'Redneck Wednesday' blog post for as long as I continue to notice funny and strange small town happenings. In other words until I become redneck myself :)


In the meantime here are a few things that prove a move:

Emma has been doing a lot of movie watching.

Box towers, I mean cat toys, have invaded our space.

Too many late nights and long days lead to involuntary naps.

Christmas Vacation

So my kiddos don't have a school break yet, but this year Shane finished up his training just in time for Christmas, allowing us family time together in what felt like ages. Some of our vacation events:

Watching Star Trek...yes it seems we have young trekkies in the making 

Hanging out on the play mats

trying to smother snuggle the baby

Dancing up a storm just because we can

Our vacation also included our big anticipated relocation to Cedar City. More info on that to follow...

Christmas 2012

Well like many others, our family was plagued with the dreaded cold that's been going around. It made for one of the longest and most miserable  (too honest) tiresome Christmas Eve I've can remember.


We did the normal traditional things: Christmas story, why we open and give presents, cookies for Santa, etc.

Plus we attempted our Parent slumber party: Shane and I pull the mattress out into the front room to sleep by the Christmas tree (hoping to catch that man stealing my cookies!).

Emma was so sick and so miserable that it was a wonder Santa made it to our house at all. But let's skip the gory details of not sleeping and threatening to cancel Christmas and just show some of the pictures to remember that we were still capable of being happy...