Woes of Motherhood...

Not long ago I posted pictures of Darcy on top of the kitchen cabinets. In the last few weeks Darcy has entered the Terrible Twos stage of kittihood and it's a miserable stage. He started leaping to the top of the cabinets and chewing on the molding around the edge, and it's causing damage to the cabinets. So, Kandus initiated time-out for Darcy (which is probably the only thing that saved his cute little life when she discovered his chewing) while I was in Canada. Darcy hadn't been near the cabinets since then. Until today. I was baking cookies and all of a sudden Darcy flew past me onto the counter, then fridge, then the cabinets. I immediately grabbed our squirt bottle (it is used for feline control) and started spraying him. I took a couple steps back to encourage him to jump down and when he did I grabbed him and shut him in the bathroom for time-out. Now when it comes to my kitties I'm a huge softy. They're just so cute! After I put Darcy in the bathroom I immediately felt guilty, but then all my child psychology courses kicked in and I knew I needed to leave him in there for as many minutes as he is old (I went by months because he hasn't quite reached a year yet) in order for him to learn. But, then he started to cry! My little Darcy who never makes a peep started to cry! I couldn't bear to leave him upstairs all alone so I sat on my bed and listened to his little cry until he had served his sentence. When his time was up I flung open the bathroom door, sat on the floor, and tried to cuddle him. He wouldn't come near me! So, I blocked the door and wouldn't let him out until I had delivered a very profound lecture, "Now listen young man, you need to keep your feet on the floor where they belong. The cabinets are not for playing on or chewing. Understand?" What did I learn from this experience? It's a good thing I'm not a mother because I stink at punishment!

Days of '47 Parade Float Preview

Today Kjersti and I needed a fun and FREE activity (we've both run out of money this month... too much playing I guess) so we went to the Days of '47 Parade Float Preview with Kjersti's sister and nieces, Annalise, Maddy, and Ivy. It was a lot of fun. The floats are pretty amazing and I still can't figure out how they actually put them all together. That's got to be a ton of work!

Maddy and Ivy... They are SO cute! I loved having kids with us today, it made everything seem more magical.

Ms. Parkes and Ms. White

This float comes from a stake which a lot of our students belong to. This is Briana showing us her snazzy dance moves. There were other students who would trade off dancing later in the day, too bad we didn't get to see them.

I can certainly skateboard if this old lady can. Maddy wasn't so sure.

Yep, we definitely should have been the parade royalty. That would be my dream come true! A REAL princess!

A tribute to our dear Ms. Parkes.

Hey! I knit too! I just hope I don't look as old and pioneer-like...

Another tribute...

We stood in line for a very long time so Maddy and Ivy could get their faces painted. The wait was worth it. Didn't the artists do an awesome job?! As Maddy said, "Look how cute I am!"

BYU... need I say more?!

And then there's the University of Utah! Totally deserved a leap of joy! I needed some uplifting after being so close to things BYU.

It was a fun day and all should go if today wasn't the last day. Just stick this in your memory bank somewhere and try to make it next year.

Fun and Games in Montana

Because we left Canada so late in the day we stopped in Great Falls, Montana for the night.

Beautiful Montana sunset. It reminded me of the amazing sunsets I saw nearly every night in Nauvoo.

If you have never played a game of Uno with the White family you are definitely missing out! If anyone has ever said Uno is boring they are WRONG! This game is full of lying, cheating, and being mean. It's an absolute blast!!

One of the many times Taylor tried to cheat!

Mason had a few cards this hand... :)

We even converted Dad to the evilness that is Uno! His evil laugh was the funniest thing all night! By 10:30 Mom was giving us the "look" and we knew someone better hit 500 points soon. After Emma lost the game we hurried back to our room. We were all so wired that we didn't get to sleep for over an hour. Needless to say the ride home the next day was a quiet one...

July 18th... More Reunion

I realize that I've posted nearly a million pictures of my Canada trip, but I have some very good reasons for this...
1. I LOVE Canada! I always have.
2. I LOVE my family that I get to see up there. I don't get to see them nearly enough and they are all so much fun.
3. It's kind of selfish. I want to be able to remember everything in case I ever get around to scrapbooking this. So just bare with me...

Saturday July 18th was a full day of Reunion. This year the reunion was held in Mountain View and was put on by the Bradshaw family (Aunt Alberta's children). It was fun catching up with everyone we hadn't seen for 2 years.

The view of Old Chief on the way to Mountain View.

Apparently the rest of us missed the purple memo. McKenna, Emma, and Merrilee

Bob and Connie

Aunt Ruth modeling an apron that was for the silent auction.

David Henderson and Grandpa George. David was Mason's first mission president and he's my mom's cousin.

The White family: Mason, Taylor, me, Emma, Mom, and Dad

The REAL White Family. This is my attempt to beat up my "little" brother. He ended up just picking me up to get me out of the way.

Mason and President Henderson

Brenda, Vicki, Marie, and Aunt Ruth

All of the cousins present wanted to have a group picture, but Aunt Ruth just had to be right in the middle of it. :)

The cousins. 16 of the 39 cousins were present this year.

Our family took a trip to the Mountain View Cemetery to visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Henderson

Grant was one of the Henderson children. He died when he was little after eating poisonous berries.

Aunt Marian passed away a few months after the last reunion.

Great-Grandma and Grandpa Henderson

Uncle Rich died in the war

Uncle Norm

3 of the descendant of Albert and Maud Henderson.

Mom, Mason, Emma, Dad, and Taylor looking at the view from the cemetery.

It's absolutely beautiful there!

Aunt Alberta

We stopped at a little grocery store on the way back to the Senior Center and there were a couple kitties playing outside. We could have spent hours playing with them, they were so cute! I think Mason, Taylor, and I missed our own "children" at the point.

I'm pretty sure Taylor was trying to figure out how to get them home. I love the look on the kitty in the front, "Save me!"

The kitties got tired of us and went to check out Mom and Dad. Mom was thrilled, Dad not so much.

Back at the reunion... Three from the Rothe clan: Aunt Ruth, Apryl, and Jodi

The Shirley Edith Henderson Grover family that was in attendance. We missed having Grandma there.

Padgett, Marie, Apryl, Aunt Ruth, ??? (her name just fell out of my head), and Rhean

McKenna either pouting or contemplating the meaning of life...

Aunt Jeanne was able to get a day pass from the hospital and join us for a little while at the reunion. It was so good to see her! Curly, Aunt Jeanna, and Mason

We had 3 of the 4 living sisters at the reunion this year Aunt Jeanne, Aunt Montez, and Aunt Ruth

Grandpa George and Mason

Visiting...

It's always sad to say goodbye at the end of a reunion. We had to get back to Utah quickly so Mason could get back to work and Taylor could get to school. I love being in Canada. It's almost like a second home to all of us.