Sunny Christmas

Well - we are safely in California at Virginia's house, with cousins and siblings around. We arrived late Friday night.
By way of catchup, we spent the previous week in a fog of colds. I brought it home from school. Mike picked it up and got a worse version. Krista came next and missed a day of school. Tyler caught a very mild version that didn't even affect his appetite. I still have a runny nose, but I think that is allergies, bot the cold still hanging on. I don't think many people have winter allergies, but I seem to be so blessed.
The end of school is a big blur. I had one day where I was busy with the Faculty and staff luncheon and then the next was another day of busy work with the end of year drawings. Thursday night was surprise. As I drove home the sky was clear, with big black clouds to the north. I was going to have Tyler drive to his haircut appointment, but as he was set to depart, the hail started coming down. I decided to drive him and it was horrendous by the time we arrived. By the time we got out, the roads were icy and slick and covered.
The next morning I think there were 6" on the cars. Mike and I shoveled, blew and scrapped before he took the kids to school. I was so glad I didn't have to drive to South Jordan in the mess. I did venture out later in the day and several errands. Our plane was only slightly delay and we had a bit of turbulence. I was just glad we weren't trying to get into LAX, because getting around it was hard enough!
Saturday we slept in and relaxed. Then in the afternoon, Mike, Krista, Tyler, Carolyn, Corrina and I headed to Hollywood to see WICKED at the Pantages theater. It was fantastic. So much better than the book. I am so very glad we planned this long ago. The girls of course enjoyed it, but even Tyler said he was surprised that we haven't done things like this before, because he enjoyed going to the theater so much. Who knew!
Today was church with the Elders and Virginia and then Mike, Carolyn and I went to finish our shopping, we hope!

Gingerbread Evening

Monday night we went over to the Robison's house to make gingerbread houses. Last year was kind of a disaster, because the houses wouldn't stay together. This year we used a hot glue gun to get the job done right! Then we used frosting for all of the candies and decorations.

This is Cady, the Robison's daughter.


Krista wanted an all red house, just so that she could call it her Stanford house and annoy her father. She added a second story to her creation at the last minute.



Tyler's is the most elaborate of the group. He seems to have outbuildings with attached covered walkways. For someone who was orginally interested, he became the most intently active of us all.

Random Photos

We finally got a nice dumping of snow. Lucky Virginia - she got out of town the morning before this storm. It was actually very beautiful. The snow fell late enough that it didn't melt off the branches before night fell. So when we went out, the trees were bedecked with snow balancing on each branch. And if it were a partially lit tree, then it was very pretty.


Krista created this torn paper self-portrait at the end of last school year. Back when she had long hair and liked to brush it over one eye.












Heks seems to have finally ingratiated herself into Spelen's world. Spelen was actually cuddled up on the coach when Heks wormed her way next to her. Spelen licked her ears a few times and then resigned herself to a companion.





Heks has found her newest play toy - a box. Originally she was content just sitting in the box and occasionally chewing on it, but I turned it on its side and cut a hole in it, so now she likes to run inside it and bat at you from her hiding place.

And we are thankful

Then the children thought they should try to lift Tyler -
But the results weren't always what they were going for!

And lastly they tried for Mike - And you can see for yourselves how well that went.

Giving More Thanks

The kids tried so hard to lift each other up; sometimes they succeeded, but sometimes they didn't.




























Pier chidren showing off their can-can skills!









Building a pyramid of children!



























The Totem pole of grandchildren.

Giving Thanks

We spent Thanksgiving at Bob's house. Virginia, Mike's mom, had flown in Tuesday night and she spent Wednesday hanging out with Mike. We headed over to Bob's just before noons and didn't get home until 9:30. It's great that all of the kids get along so well. Rachel feels a little left out because she is the youngest, but all in all I think everyone had a grand time.

Lisa's family came by just in time for dinner and left before dessert. Except for her sister. Ugh was there with his foster daughter, too.


When it came time to gather the kids together for pictures, they didn't seem too keen, but once they realized I wanted them to have fun, they got into it.














Here is the extended Pier family clowning around and then the one serious photo that Lisa made them stand for.

Pictures, pictures

Nope - no pictures here! I've just been playing with pictures all day. I received pictures from Bob and Betsy for the calendar - sorry mom and dad, I'm not sharing any of them with you yet. I also went to Kristy's blog and pulled out pictures of Olivia mostly and a few of Jim, Kristy and Kristy's sibs. Now if Tom and Carolyn and Laura (Mike's cousin) would respond, I could make everyone happy.

Not just pictures today. Krista and I raked leaves - this is the second year in a row the tree in front is losing its leaves before the first snow - could it be a sign of global warming? We threw the Heks (the new kitty) in a few times, but she refused to pose for us. THere are still plenty of leaves on the tree, so I will entice Tyler outside and get a picture of the kids another day.

We also spent the after noon clothes shopping. Krista and I did a major purge of her closets and drawers. After a huge cleanup fest. She seems to think she owns the entire upstairs. I never say a word about Tyler's room, because at least it isn't spread everywhere. Anyway, both kids got some warmer gear. Both of them have grown taller. A few more pair of socks, some new ski gear and we should be set.

Tonight we watched the CAL game vs USC game. Thank goodness our friend Jeff didn't come over - I think he is louder and more intense about the whole thing than Mike is (imagine that, if you can). And Jeff is an USC grad, so the gloating would have been too much.

At school this week, I taught three days out of four - all day long. I went through an International Cinderella stories lesson with all of the geography classes as an introduction to their world studies. At least a few of them prfessed thanks and enjoyment, so it was tiring, but rewarding. My assistant has finally realized that ALL of our projects in the library are ongoing - so she has lost that feeling like she has to hurry and get something done - we jut keep ding what we have to, because more of the same is right around the corner. Not that we don't get things done, its just that there is always more. Once we have these books repaired, cataloged, checked-in, shelved; there are more books to repair, catalog, checkin, shelve. And after this book fair is over, its time to plan the next one. Never ending! But a lot of fun.

Love!

SPOOKY!

Say hello to my little jester and Krista's newest Dark Fairy outfit. I surprised that T wanted a costume this year - and even more surprised that he chose this. But he was invited to a costume party, told us at the last minute and this is what he got.

Krista didn't want me to make a costume this year, so she recycled parts of various costumes from down the years. She went out with the children that she babysits frequently. I then paid her for her candy and took it to school to use for reading rewards. That way I know she isn't eating it.

A week ago Krista and I gave talks in church. We had to report on Stake Conference, so I actually paid attention for once. I just wrote down everything that inspired me and also the random stram of conscious stuff that came with it. I ended up quoting a commercial about mental illness, a song from "Reel Big Fish" and a bunch of scriptures. And I started off telling them that I wasn't quite sure how the whole thing was going to end, but that by the time I got there I would be inspired on howto tie it all together. And it worked (THANK YOU, HF)! I am trying not to be prideful, but I got lots of compliments and even some this Sunday. I'm glad I don;t have to give talks frequently, however, because I don't think Im that good at receiving inspiration.

This week I started teaching the Pimary the 13th article of faith. I printed up huge copies of the words and we are working on it in 3rds, taking words away as we learn them. So, we have two more weeks of this at least. I love directing the chidren singing. It s achallenge to keep it fresh every week, but they are so much fun. I go into the mursery as often as I can, too, even though it is not required, because they are just fun. And I hope the children aren't so afraid when they start big Primary because they know someone there.

Mike's birthday has come and gone. We bought him a gift certificate to the Larry Miller SPorts Park. He will take a lesson and ten gets to drive around the racetrack ten times. After that he goes for laps with a professional driver. The next session sin't unti March, so I just have to hope he doens't hurt himself again this ski season.

Christmas is Coming!

Hey everybody:

The first person buys for the second person. Where is everyone going to be for Christmas? Mom and Dad - we know where you are going to be!

Baby P. Cindy
Bob Mike
Brian Taylor
Cindy Shauna
Gentry Jim
Jim Krista
Kaden Ryan
Kelly Brian
Krista Bob
Kristy Lisa
Lisa Tyler
McKay Olivia
Mike Rachel
Olivia Shane
Rachel Kristy
Ryan Baby P.
Shane Will
Shawna McKay
Taylor Tom
Tom Gentry
Tyler Kelly
Will Kaden

Whoa! Krista!

Welcome to Krista's new haircut.


We went to a new (for us) salon in the Avenues and I just said that she couldn't get color or bleaching or shave it all off, but otherwise, it was up to her and Blythe, the stylist. Tyler took her there, so I didn't even see her until I came home.












Mike had the same reaction I did - its such a difference that it takes a bit to get used to, but after you look at it for ten minutes or so, you can see past the "different" and see that it is really cute.







Other than that, I am well (mostly) and Mike is back from Portland. He never even had a chance to say "boo" to Tom and the fam - lovely boring conferenceing kept him busy the entire time. I did do a mammoth update of my book reveiws and got those all out to the marketing peeps. And I am spend massive amounts of time at work - constantly busy and not really so sure what I actually accomplished. Maybe that's not technically true, but so many days it feels true.

Tyler is busy as ever with his classes - too many advanced classes for my liking, but he says he hates the one regular leel class he is in. Most Tuesday nights he is up at the chemistry lab at the U of U, because West doesn't have the facilities for the AP chemistry labs they need to do. Its nice having auniversity so convenient.

Krista is trying to take all of my jewelry and clothing that I have left from the 80's away from me. Usually without asking, of course!

Phlegm

Yes - such an ugly word, yet phlegm has been my dear friend for so many days now. I think I have sick for a week and a half and an finally just pulling through it all. With Parent-Teacher Conference at school, I really haven't had much energy to keep in touch with anyone! So sorry.


Besides that, however, I did manage to also survive our Primary Sacrament meeting program - the children did a wonderful job - the only mistake was singing the second verse for "Smiles" twice. Quite unique. And cute.

Blue Ribbon baby!!

First of all - here are some pictures of my blue ribbon winning sweater vest that I knit for a young lady at school. The detail picture is kind of bright, but I hope you get the idea.














And then her are a couple of pictures of Frank Beddor, the author who came and visited our school today - talking about his books in The Looking Glass Wars series. He was highly entertaining and very interactive as you can see!

Stalking the Wild Tyler

On Labor Day we went to the zoo with our friends the Robisons. Gavin and Cady are a perfect age to play around with and they also have a new little sister - Audrey.
Gavin can eb quite wild - once he got this mask on he kept attacking me, so I had to pick him up to subdue him. Which he of course loved.
After wandering through most of the zoo, he finally found Tyler over by the wild cats (we knew he was there, but we didn't tell the kids).
We interrupted him during his biggest sale of the day. And this has become the standard Tyler reaction to taking his picture - cute, huh!?

Birthdays

Last Saturday we wwent to Bob's for birthdays - Mine, Bobs and Taylors. It was quite a strange crowd, because Taylor and Tyler both had to work. Rachel, Gentry and Shane had friends over at various times. Thank goodness MacKay had Krista.

The trampoline was very popular. Here's Krista and MacKay mugging for the camera.



Shane and his friend entertained with various musical experiences.



And of course the pool was as popular as ever. We had a late lunch and birthday cake. And no one got a sunburn.

It's a Girl!!!

Of course its a cat - a cute new little girl kitty named 'Heks" (pronounce it like it looks), which means witch in Dutch. I was pushing or "Snoepje" (snoop-ya), which means sweets, but Krista was having none of it. We acquired her at the Super Pet Adoption on Saturday. She was the first kitten I picked up, but it was a hard choice between three we all liked - Heks, however purred the most. Now she is very busy exploring our bedroom. Spelen hasn't even come in the house, so I don't think she even knows there is a second cat in town.

Blue Ribbon Me

Yesterday the kids and I went to the state fair. The kids so that they could hang with friends and ride the rides unti they puked. Me, that my frined Barb and I could check on the knitted items we entered - see if we won any ribbons. Barb won a 2nd for her shawl and a thrid for her socks. I won my first blue - for a sweater I knit for a friend at work. Very exciting! Sorry I don't have picture - but the vest is still on display at the fair. I will pick it up on Monday.

Then Barb and I spent several hours wandering through all of the buildings and displays. We recognized some names of students and friends who also entered and won ribbons. We checked out all of the animals - except for the cows. ANd had Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches from Moochies for dinner. Barb had to leave - so I wandered for a couple more hours solo - the kids didn't want to hang with me - before I forced them to meet me and head home. I enjoyed my afternoon at the fair!

Not Dead Yet

I'd hate for anyone to think that the Mitchell's have gone missing - totally untrue. I can't even say we've been overly busy with school starting up - Just various reasons and sheer laziness have kept me from the computer.

Mike has been busy creating new ringtones for our phones and changing all of the rings on my phone. He has been taking songs or sound bites that we like and editing them to the 15 seconds that we need for the phones. He even created some from the Haunted Mansion soundtrack.

Tyler is still recovering from the shame of wrecking my car on the first day that he got to drive alone - and then getting a parking ticket in his Dad's car a few days ago. He was working almost daily at the zoo giftshop until school started. Now he will do weekends and special events. He also is involved in TV West, the high school news program. I have no idea what he will actually do and I don't think he does either. He has been tweaking his schedule so that he now is taking seminary during school hours and taking five AP or IB classes - Chemistry, European History, English, Calculus II and I have no idea what the other one is.

Krista is off to school and babysitting at least once a week. No fluffy schedule for her this year wither - every class except for PE is academic. She is even taking Spanish and ASL (American Sign Language). She actually has a class and lunch with her friend Stephanie this year - last year they rarely saw each other. But the year hiatus hasn't negatively affected their friendship.

I am back to school also. I spent much of my day checking out books, ordering the Student Body Officers around or trying to clean the piles of papers off my desk. Unfortunately my label maker pooped out before I was finished, so I abandoned that project. Now I have my stuff, so tomorrow I will be back at it! Tonight we went to Staples and stocked up on school supplies for everyone.

O - Mike had gun surgery yesterday. Turns out he has been brushing his teeth too hard and his gums have receded in horror. Now he has a clear plastic retainer protector to wear while he heals.

I will post a picture of my new car soon - as soon as we get the new computer in. This one has been having fits. It sometimes doesn't recognize iTunes music and other times our iPhotos. I haven't downloaded any pictures in ages!

Poetry ala Krista #1

On My Desk

On my desk I have,
20 papers all shred and torn
10 pencils, all broken
Two pairs of scissors, none left-handed
One piece of poster board
Markers and colored pencils
Three rulers
One bottle of glue
Ten glue sticks
A pile of binders


All stuff my brother needs

School Posing

I got Krista to pose in some of her school clothes.



She is very proud of the sparkly skeleton tennies in this picture.


Krista sewed the top in this picture.

School Shopping

First thing Wednesday morning Krista got her hair cut. Its very cute, but I don;t think she has the patience to straighten it - and that's what it needs to really show off the cute cut. Mike went into work for a bit. Tyler got to hang out at hime.

Once we all assembled yesterday, it was off to school shopping. At Target of all places. Well, he had done some trial runs at Nordstorm and various othe mall stores, but came up with nada that wasn't over pirced or off the hip. Krista already has a ton of shirts, so we really needed pants. And Target had what we needed. Mike and Tyler were actually surprised how fast we were. But, I am pretty good at the whole shopping thing. And I know Krista's style better than she does. Don't tell her I said that.

Mike and Tyler only took ten minutes to find socks, underwear, shoes and two pair of jeans, And that's it for Tyler. Well, he will get one more pair of shoes later. But those will be Vans from the real Vans store.

THen it was over to DSW (shoes) where we staked out the big sale shoes, but then Mike sprung for two cute pair of shoes for Krista at regular price.

School shopping done, MTK went to the dentist for their cleanings. Well, Tyler went first in the Explorer and then Mike and Krista went on the scooter. Tyler had to hurry home because he had traffic school that night. He just barely made it. And instead of riding his bike down, I had to drive him. Traffic was bad, but he took it easy - that's much better than another accident.

Today was really quiet. Mike went golfing at a course in Tooele after his morning work. 18 holes - but I didn;t know any of this, so I was hanging around in vain. Tyler was at work and Krista went to babysit for 90 minutes, which ended up stretching to 4 hours! So, instead of getting anything really done, I spent my time waiting for people to show up. Oh Well.

Mike talked to his mom tonight. She will be coming here for Thanksgiving and then we already have our tickets to Cali for Christmas.

I also talked to Tom and let him know we were sorry we couldn't make it to Oregon for Kellie's baptism. It sounds like he already met up with Bob and his gang on the coast.

Sunday Evening

Well, I know things have been a little sketchy on the blog lately, but I hope Mom and Dad realize that its because there were some things going on that I really didn't want to talk about right away. Tyler seemed to turn into a full-blown teenager overnight and Mike and I had a series of days for about a two weeks where we were constantly dealing with Tyler. It was almost like he wanted to push all of our buttons all at the same time and now Ithink he may be over the whole rebellious teenager thing. It's kind of like going through every tantrum during the terrible twos in the course of two weeks.

Part of the problem was that Tyler found a young lady he really likes and instead of asking for computer time to exchange greetings, he just took the time instead - not thinking that we would let him on for a generous amount of time if he just talked to us.

Then, when he was discovered and shut down, he went behind our backs and reactivated everything on his Grandmother's computer. Of course he got caught and further discussion ensued.

Then, he was given trust of my car for a day to do some very specific things - and decided to go show off to his friend and rear-ended someone instead - causing $5000 worth of damage. He got to hear lots of stories about my, Mike's, Virginia's and his uncle's car accidents so that he could understand that it does happen, but we don't want to happen any more - especially not something the severe. Luckily the airbags didn't deploy! I really don;t want to shop for another car - I LOVE my car. AND none of you really need to go into a blow by blow of my car accidents from when I was a teen!

Tyler did get a job at the zoo - in the gift shop. He is fulltime for now. He gets to pay my insurance deductible, plus for his ticket and for traffic court. That will take his paycheck for a little while. ANd if he doesn't keep his grades up during the school year, then he willhave to quit the job. But he is going to be in great shape - He's been riding his bike up to the zoo every day!

Krista? She's actually been very calm and enjoyable. She is not babysitting every day any more. So she has time to hang out with friends. She is doing some sewing and alot of reading. Its kind of weird to have Tyler be the problem instead of Krista. And kind of nice.

While Mike and the kids were in the California, I was off to Minnesota for my consulting at Lerner and my annual pilgramage to the Mall of America. We went to a couple of great restaurants and watched a vaudeville-like play on a riverboat. Other than that, I have been doing a lot of reading, lots of various things for school just keeping relatively busy. I saw a doctor about carpal tunnel (both wrists) and tennis elbow (both elbows). Being summer, it symptoms have been greatly reduced, so we are going to see how quickly things go bad once school starts.

I ran by school last week and went through my mail. As soon as I step back in that building, I will not have time to breathe for a very long time. There is so much to do and get ready. I really wish I were paid to go in early and ge things set up before the teachers arrived. But there is no way i am going early without pay. That may sound mercernary, but I have dona enough work this summer for school. And I still have more to do.

Yard pictures

Here are pictures from all over the yard. Brian ran out of gas for the lawnmower, so I sent Tyler to fill the gas can for him. The lower lawn and front lawn look just fine, but the back lawn is what didn't get mowed. Lovely nest of tree sprouts all over. We cut down the bigger ones.

we were only able to weed the north and most of the east (from the kitchen window) yards before it got too hot to work. I am planning on going back next Monday and do some more.