Aunty Sarah Strikes Again

This last weekend I got to babysit my nephew, Straps the cat. He is so very cute, except in the middle of the night when he's practicing his pouncing. He pretty much loves his Aunty Sarah! I even introduced him to a new hobby, knitting. Well, I actually just donated a new toy to his collection, a ball of yarn. He caught on quickly.




Straps (or Ralphy as I call him because Straps is a weird name!) loves to play hide-and-seek. This was the first hiding place he found right after he got to my house.
This was his next hiding place that became his favorite during the weekend. We keep our blankets rolled up under an end table and he loved that!
Straps also took a liking to my anklets. There were several middle of the night attacks under the blankets.

Scenic Drive

Callie and I went for a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon tonight. I saw a report on the news the other night about the fall colors and I wanted to see them for myself. I figured now that I have a car that will actually make it up the canyon that it would be even more exciting. :) We didn't see any spectacular colors, but it was still very beautiful. It was so quiet and peaceful. We went for a hike and found a place to just sit and enjoy the scenery around us. I would highly recommend it for anyone who has had a difficult day and just needs to get away.

When we stood up to hike back down Callie realized that she had sat in sap! It was definitely very very funny and classic Callie!

What DO counselors do all day?

Have you ever wondered what school counselors do all day? Here's a little sneak peak into the Counseling Center at Valley Junior High. This day Mr. Babcock took apart a bouncy ball that would flash when you bounced it, and then he did what any boy would do, he made a goofy face.


We have also been known to participate in other activities during the day. We have decorated Mr. Frustaci's office in red and University of Utah stuff to cover up all his BYU stuff. We have had fun with all the little paper circles out of the paper punches in the office (the custodian still yells at me for this one). We have played frisbee in the hall. We have played soccer with old bagels in the hall. We have shot off a rocket out on the back field. We have played awesome practical jokes (I'm still trying to figure out how he changed the words on my phone to Japanese). We chit chat. James listens to me cry whenever I have my breakdowns (I haven't had one yet this year! James told me that he is quite proud of me for that). We gossip (my goal this year was to stop gossiping, so far I'm not doing very well). We interrogate kids who are brought in in handcuffs (that is always the highlight of our day. It's quite exciting to see a 14 year old in handcuffs. Last year we got to see 12 thirteen year olds in handcuffs! Jackpot!!!) Oh yeah, we also work, but that's not nearly as exciting as the rest of the stuff we do. :)

Happy Birthday Cute Jocee!!

Aunty Kandus and Jocee

Silly Grandma was putting stickers all over Jocee. She couldn't figure out what exactly was going on, but it didn't take her long to learn that she could peel them off and put the on Aunty Kandus just like Aunty Sarah was doing! :)

Look how cute we are!!!

It's crazy to know that Jocee is already 1. She's walking and she's even got her very first tooth. I'm working on teaching her her first word, "Sarah."

Jeanna, Jocee, and Brian

The first cake Jeanna has ever made! We were all so proud. It was very tasty!

I absolutely LOVE this tradition. I first saw this happen with the Elder family and I've loved it ever since. Just stick the cake in front of the 1 year old and let them at it! It didn't take Jocee long to figure out that she was ALLOWED to make a mess.

Mmmmmmmm! Cake!

Mom, are you sure you won't get mad???

The best birthday present EVER! Didn't Aunty Kandus do an awesomely cute job with the wrapping?

I think the ultimate toy test is how long it takes for the toy to end up in the child's mouth. We did very well because that was the first thing Jocee did with each of the animals. We couldn't get them out of the package (they were as bad as getting a Barbie out of the box) fast enough. She would see us working on a new animal and start squealing for it until we had it out. The Aunties ROCK!

Kandus and I wanted a picture with Jocee before we left. I made the mistake of taking her away from her toys to get a picture. She started screaming, so we kept shoving animals at her and smiling hoping that we would get a somewhat decent picture. :)

Kandus, me, and Jeanna
We have been friends since our junior year of high school. We've seen each other through a lot of yucky stuff as well as the great stuff. I went through a time when these girls weren't as much a part of my life as they should have been and I have since learned my lesson. They stuck with me when I was in some really bad places and didn't want anyone around. I think that shows a true friend. They never gave up on me.

My friend, Jeanna's, baby turned 1 on September 10. I got invited to Jocee's very first birthday party the following Sunday. We all went to Copperton Park to visit and have cake and ice cream. Aunty Sarah and Aunty Kandus picked pretty much the best birthday present EVER! We got Jocee a Little People Farm. Kandus and I had a blast in the toy aisle at Target. We found the new and improved versions of tons of toys we had growing up. We just couldn't pass up the Little People. These days the Little People toys are bigger and soft plastic, much more toddler friendly than the tiny hard toys we played with. Jocee loved it so much that when we picked her up to have a picture taken with her after she'd opened our present she screamed until we handed her a couple of the animals. It was a fun day!

Spirit Team!

These 2 charming boys did not try out for Spirit Team. Garrett and Landon are 2 of our SBOs, but when we were taking pictures of the rest of the students they just had to be a part of it. They came to try-outs every day and sat in the stands watching. Friday they even choreographed their own dance to go with the school song.

September 9, 11, and 12 I held try-outs for Spirit Team. We are forming a Spirit Team to help out our cheerleader since there are only 2 of them. The Spirit Team is going to be "back-up" cheerleaders. I had 46 students show up the first day, including 2 boys! By the time Friday came I still had 42 students. They were all so excited, especially the seventh graders, that I couldn't bring myself to cut any of them. So, I made 2 teams of 21 and out of all the best Spirit Teamers I picked 2 co-captians for each team. This should be fun!

September 4 Hello Assembly

I LOVE this picture! I am so very proud of the leaders of our school.

Thursday September 4th was our Hello Assembly at school. It was also the first time my cheerleaders performed before an audience. They were so nervous, but they did so well. I was very proud of them, I felt like their mother. :) The student body officers and cheerleaders put together the whole assembly and I have to say, it was one of the best assemblies I've been to at Valley. My cheerleaders had to lead the flag ceremony, perform their dance, lead the SBOs in a dance, and make an announcement for Spirit Team.