Dinosaur blog

The other day Pearl told us something quite random. Which isn't too far fetched for her funny sense of humor. She said she was going to make a dinosaur blog.

We laughed.

Then I felt a tinge of guilt for apparently blogging or at least talking about blogging all the time. Why else would she say that? When we asked Pearl what a blog was, she said she didn't knew. Her and Jeff then proceeded to discuss how they would make the coolest dinosaur blog ever. Best friends cool. With pictures of cool stuff like dinosaur bones on it. And that it would be cooler than mom's blog. Pearl liked that.

Well, it's only fitting then that I post some of the pictures from our quick, and I mean super quick, visit to the Cleveland Loyd Dinosaur Quarry. It happened to be the single thing we promised Pearl we'd go see on our weekend trip to Orangeville. But as family reunions go, we sat around too long before setting off for the quarry. With only an hour to spare before closing, we left the ranch and headed for Cleveland, Utah. Not one of my finer parenting decisions I've made.

Jeff drove like a madman through 15 miles of rough roads through the middle of nowhere to try and get to teh quarry before it closed. We had maybe ten minutes to spare. The girls working there were nice enough to let us in for free and walk around the visitor center.
Isn't this guy freaky looking?
Stegosaurus. I wonder if this is how they found the actual bones... I'm thinking it is but we didn't have enough time to read anything in the lobby.
Cole didn't seem to mind the quick trip. He was happy to get out of the car for a few minutes. And I'm sure he thought these had to be giant dogs or something like that.
Pearl was pretty disappointed with the lack of dinosaurs. I'm not sure if she thought we'd see real, live dinosaurs or just have more time to go exploring. I felt really bad about my lack of time management, especially once I heard that my siblings and neice had turned around and skipped the quarry all together. To try and make it up to Pearl, I grabbed all the free pamphlets I could find and told her they were little books about dinosaurs.

At least next year we will know to leave at least a half day to explore the quarry.

Proof of my epic fail moment. Pearl grouchy and tired from getting woke up from her nap for 15 minutes. Jeff happily posing for yet another documented family adventure. Cole distracted and wondering where the snacks are. And me, fake smiling.

Zip line

When we got our invitation to the 2011 Peacock Family Reunion, there was a sentence at the very bottom of the page that caught my attention.

2 zip lines have been added! Bring your first aid kits!

Funny.

I kind of had my doubts about "real" zip lines being up when we got there. I should know better to question cowboys, coal miners, and ranchers. Those zip lines were for real.

And when I asked my Uncle Paul if (quote from Jeff himself), "That zip line could hold up his fat butt," he responded in language I'd expect from him, "Hell yes. That line can hold 250 lbs." So off Jeff went, zipping down the line. I was impressed that he could practically flip himself over as he was coming down.
But Kurtis' pull-ups while he was zooming down the line was even more impressive. Show off.Pearl had a blast on the zip lines. She went up and down, up and down about 300 times. She loved it! Although you'd question that when you heard her screaming "catch me" with this terrified look on her face as she neared the post. Apparently hitting the post - even with a mattress wrapped around it - hurt those first couple of times. But she did awesome!
Kimmy and I each took a turn. And while it looks like I hit the ground, I assure you that I barely cleared the ground. Barely. I need to start working out. Even my dad tried it... just not when the camera was out.
Not to be left out of any fun, Cole pointed and said, "uhhh" over and over until I finally took him over to the zip line. But he wasn't satisfied with just watching. So Jeff helped Cole grab hold of the zip line and the next thing I know, Mr. Muscles was hanging on by himself! It was impressive for a little guy. He wouldn't let go for anything and wanted to go again and again.

Those are big dogs

Pearl waited and waited and waited for her turn to ride the horses at the ranch. It was a long wait and I admit I wasn't nearly as patient as she was. With 30 kids and two horses, it took awhile for her to finally make her way to the front of the line.

She eventually got her turn and loved every minute of it. I always get a bit apprehensive when she gets on a horse. A couple of years ago, she got bucked off one of those pony rides TWICE! At the same event! They had some teenage boys who could have cared less about keeping the kids safe leading the ponies around. There was also a parade going on at the same time and the pony Pearl was on got spooked when a band came by. Luckily Jeff had decided to walk alongside her and barely grabbed her shirt before she would have smacked her head on the ground. Then, to make up for the disastrous ride, they let her go again for free. Well, the next pony she got on got spooked or was just ornery and started to freak out. Needless to say Pearl was pretty scared of horses for awhile. But as the old saying goes, if you get bucked off, you get back on.
Cole must think a horse is a big dog. As soon as he saw the horses at the ranch, he started calling them dogs. He was fascinated with them, which has since spilled over to home. He finds every single book with animal pictures in them, and will search and search for all the puppies and horses. He wasn't nearly as patient as Pearl though when it came time for him to have a turn riding the horses. Even a kiss from Aunt Kimmy didn't help his impatience. I didn't let anyone but Troy - the owner - take Cole for a ride. Paranoid, yes.One of the benefits of being "city folk" at the reunion is that we stay at the ranch the entire weekend. So eventually everyone else goes home and we don't have to wait our turn anymore. All of us got to ride the horses. Me, Kimmy, Emily, Kurtis (his first time), my Dad, and Jeff. My mom was totally bummed she didn't go for a ride, but she had a bum wrist. She had horses growing up and really, is the only one of us who knows what they're doing.Howdy ma'm. I don't think I've ever seen Jeff on a horse before. He'd make a sexy cowboy, don't you think? He even tipped his visor and threw it at me in a gesture of true cowboy-ness.

Ruffle those peacock feathers

The auction was a bit calm this year. My Uncle Delroy got a stern warning from Jeff to not outbid him! And he listened. Before we left home, Jeff pulled out a blank check and said he was bringing the big guns this year, #366 (or something like that). I wish he handed me a blank check more often!

We came home with a jewelry box my Grandpa made. It was the only thing I told Jeff I wanted. We out bid everyone for it, at a price tag of $120. I know ridiculous considering everyone assumes I can get one from my Grandpa anytime I want. But I can't. He is always making beautiful things but gives them away to everyone. He wasn't too happy when he found out how much we paid for it, but I didn't care. It was beautiful and someday I'll give it to Pearl. It has this gorgeous hand-carved rose as the handle and a two different wood grains in it. And of course I didn't take any pictures of it, and it's even sitting on my dresser. I've been lazy with picture taking lately.

Pearl really gets excited about buying something in the auction. Jeff sent her up to look at everything and tell him what she wanted. Someone had brought a bunch of headbands with feathers on them, peacock feathers to be exact. One was on a mannequin head. So when Pearl came back and told us she wanted the head, we all laughed because we thought she wanted the actual mannequin head. She threw a fit with our obvious lack of understanding until we figured out she wanted the peacock headband. The auction kept dragging on and on and on and Pearl was tired and hungry. She just about lost it and ran up to the auctioneer crying and screaming I want the peacock headband. Everyone was so confused that they just gave it to her so she'd stop sobbing. For free! Score! My sister was jealous... she had to buy hers.You'd think everyone would know by now that anything with a peacock on it will be in high demand at the auction!

Pearl wasn't the only one who was tired, hungry, hot, and obviously upset that they didn't get what they wanted in the auction.

The ranch

I''m not sure what we will do when my Uncle Paul and Aunt Karen finally decide they've had it with the Peacock Family ruffians who descend on their ranch every July 24th weekend for our family reunion. Their ranch is so peaceful. I love Northern Utah but must admit there is great beauty in "coal" country (Price/Orangeville/Joe's Valley/Emery County, Utah). Except for the "top of the world" ... that is just plain freaky! I don't care if you can see the entire state from it, a shear drop off of death with no safety fencing to keep you or your testosterone seeking husband from dropping off the face of the planet, is not my idea of beauty.

This year, we told Pearl we were going camping at the ranch. With the tent. I don't care if it is on plush, green grass or that I have a shower, house, and multiple bathrooms at my disposal, it's still camping to me. And even though I know there aren't bears at the ranch, I did have a slight thought about how I'd fight off a mountain lion in the middle of the night who wants a kid-sized snack. Ok, so it wasn't that bad. Except for the wind and my air mattress having a leak in it. The kids slept really good in the tent. We have decided we need a fancier tent though, one that has vents in it instead of a mesh top that keeps it cold but without fresh airflow. If we could still fit in our awesome two-man tent, we would have. It was fun to wake up all of us together in the tent and Cole even snuggled with me in my sleeping bag during the mornings. The best part of camping though is the wienie roasts. Yum. Cole was more excited about all the folding and lawn chairs though. He snagged any chair without a bum already sitting in it and smiled and laughed with this mischievous grin.
Cole also found the gate fun. Too bad ranch rule #1 was no swinging on the gate. Pearl loved every single part of camping! The marshmallows, campfire, tent, bouncy house (this is a plush ranch people), horses, food, everything. Uncle Jesse helped Cole go fishing. I'm just glad he didn't break Ruby's fishing pole... that would not have gone over well!
These three cousins had fun with the swimming pool. It was way too hot and they were way too bored so Jeff went off and found this pool. We had a bit of a meltdown when Emily had to tell Ruby she didn't have a swimming suit. I figured Pearl would have happily stripped down to her panties so Ruby could wear her swimming suit, but well, you can see who eventually decided to just jump in. Don't you love Cole's expression when he got caught with the hose... "What hose?"Sadly, these three did not play so well later. Pearl and Ruby were playing in the tent and Cole wanted to join them. The problem was, Ruby and Pearl weren't so keen on allowing boys in their apparent tent club. For a few, supervised, minutes things were going ok. If you ignore Ruby's frantic, "Get out baby Cole! Stop hitting the tent! No!" This of course only increased Cole's perception that it was part of the game and to tease the girls further. He was squealing with delight, Pearl was giggling, and Ruby was yelling. Then the adults turned their backs to the play only to turn back when we heard Cole screaming and crying. He had fallen coming out of the tent and practically put both front teeth through his bottom lip. It wasn't pretty. Seriously, both teeth came close to making it all the way through his lip. I saw Pearl right behind Cole, still in the tent, and calmly asked her if she pushed him. She denied it and I told myself to not accuse her of anything but said very calmly, ok then proceeded to tend to Cole. I guess a few minutes later, she had put herself in timeout for being mean to Cole. She was bawling. I guess Cole did get some help falling out of the tent, but both Jeff and I were very proud of ourselves for not accusing her or blaming her for it. She was already so upset. It took us a long time to get her calmed down and convince her that one, she wasn't going to be in timeout for the rest of her life, and two, that Cole was ok. Having little brothers myself, I know they can be a pain sometimes, but no one wants to give their sibling a fat lip.