I've had too much fun the last few weekends and am SOOOOO behind on my blogging! Plus with almost 1,000 pictures taken the past two weeks, I haven't really had the time to go through all my pictures and attempt to pick out a handful to share. But since I feel like this is my journal of sorts, you'll have to indulge me on my catching up with the last few family activities we've done. First thing on the catching up list is the Peacock Family Reunion. I'm not sure how to blog about a family reunion, knowing most of the people who take a quick peek at my blog could care less about my family reunion, so I'll just let the pictures do the story telling. For anyone who wants to see ALL the pictures, check them out on Facebook.
We have realized after seven years of marriage that it's just as easy to pack the morning we leave on vacation as it is to stay up late and pack the night before. Plus, my family is notoriously late to any family event and we figured packing in the morning would only put us two hours ahead of the rest of my family. We even stopped at Cabella's on the way down to Joe's Valley to kill some more time. We actually thought Pearl would enjoy seeing all the animals but she was scared of them! It must be something about them not moving that freaks her out or that she is just a scardey cat of everything cool! To soothe her fears, Jeff reluctantly bought her a sack of gummy worms and a $15 "Juno" puppy (every dog is named Juno since that's what Aunt Kimmy's dog is called and I swear Pearl thinks Juno is actually her dog at times). It was a ripoff but it kept her happy for the rest of the drive and she has to now sleep with Juno.We rolled into Orangeville, stopped at the local grocery store where Jeff nearly killed himself by hitting his head on a metal pole, and arrived at my Uncle Paul's ranch in time for the big wienie roast. 
From this point on, I pretty much did the following all weekend... eat, wish that Pearl would sleep in her own bed, eat some more, eat some of Aunt Beulah's heavenly cream puffs, get sunburned, eat, wish that Pearl would sleep in her own bed or at least with Jeff in his tent, try to figure out which of the 18 water bottles on the counter was actually mine, wish that we could out bid our coal miner relatives during the family auction, followed by more eating.
The craziness ensued Saturday when about 100+ relatives descended onto the ranch for a steak BBQ, elastic gun shooting for the kids, and the family auction. Now, I wouldn't want to work in a coal mine but geez do they have money to spend! Jeff and I really, really, really wanted a 1930's mail desk that my Uncle Paul refinished but there was no way we could compete with Uncle Delroy's deep mining pockets. That was even after we tried the "All my money!" technique that seemed to work in the kids only auctionn. So instead we came home with these adorable Peacock towels (and an extra $20 thanks to my Grandpa who said he would rather give all his money to his grandkids than buy any more raffle tickets for a quilt).
We kept Pearl entertained by stuffing her in the bouncy house and trying to get her to go on a horse ride with me. Apparently getting bucked off a pony TWICE the day before at our city's 24th of July holiday celebration was still fresh in her mind when I put her on the saddle with me. Oh well, I had fun and even my mom got to go on a horse ride! Have I mentioned that my mom got a horse for her 12th birthday and I didn't??? Not that I'm bitter or anything.
After more eating, we headed up to Joe's Valley reservoir to try out Nick's boat. Thank heavens at least one of us married into $$$. It was a bit cold but that didn't stop us from having a great time. Pearl had a blast driving Uncle Nick's boat and when we went to Bear Lake she asked where his boat was. She is still talking about driving the boat two weeks later! I really fear the day she gets her driver's license with how much fun she had going "fast."
More wienie roasts after exploring the reservoir followed by a full day of water skiing on Sunday. Yes, we not only skipped church but we really broke the Sabbath with this one! But hey, we were seriously the only boat out there and it was just perfect for some skiing! It's been years since Jeff and I went water skiing and honestly, I was a bit nervous that something disastrous would go wrong, like me blowing out a knee, because the last time I decided to water ski on Sunday I ended up in physical therapy again for several months! We must still have some spring left in our old bodies though because I got up on my first try and Jeff was, as usual, a sloam skiing stud... until he biffed it big time because he couldn't see the wake without his glasses on. Even my dad "could still get up for an old man" as Jeff put it so nicely! Everyone gave it a try, my mom included, and had a great time. Pearl wasn't too sure what to think about this new activity and would scream "Daddy!" anytime she couldn't see Jeff in the water. I figured it was not only a good chance to use some muscles that haven't been used in probably six years, but to also work on getting rid of my pasty white skin. Let's just say I should have put the sunscreen on BEFORE it was my turn to water ski.
Leaving always makes me remember how beautiful "coal country" is... that is until we hit Highway 6. Note to self, NEVER drive a suburban on Highway 6 again! 
So I made chocolate chip cookies tonight, yes at 10 pm and yes, Pearl was still up! And that was after an earlier baking stint (well technically mixing I guess) with Peanut Butter Play Dough. Pearl was in cookie-making heaven! I however, had a sudden realization that I have totally slacked off with my baking standards. Long gone are the the days when I'd throw an entire batch of dough out just because it wasn't the perfect consistency. Yes, I was that anal!
My mom used to get so mad at me for doing that because one, I'd get so upset that it wasn't perfect and start crying, and two, because I created an even bigger mess that took twice as long to clean up and was twice as expensive had I just baked the darn cookies. I saw it as a favor to the world of poor individuals who had never tasted a truly perfect, delicious, chewy, plump chocolate chip cookie before. And I couldn't stand the thought that if I made even one bad batch of cookies, someone would think that they were awful. Crazy, yes! But that perfectionist drive in me, while causing some major problems from about 13-19, did some good too. My mom always told me that it was her cookies that won my dad's heart and I figured I could just bake cookies for boys and all would be set. Secretly I was just hoping that if I baked the world's best cookies, that no man would notice that I couldn't cook an actual meal. Who says one can't live off cookies alone anyway? It seemed to work too...I mean I got Jeff and he ate a lot of cookies while we were dating! But he seemed to figure out a lot faster than I had first anticipated that I couldn't cook.
Ok, so I'm off topic now. Back to the cookies. Tonight's dough wasn't ideal but I figured it was late and not worth my time or energy to start over. Plus I still had two loads of laundry to finish, clothes to put away, a sink of dishes to wash, and a kid to put to bed, oh and some blogging to catch up on. Although that nagging voice in my head to just dump the dough and start over never left. Thus began the hour + process of baking. As each batch emerged, the cookies started to look sorrier and sorrier. Urgh...the dread of not just staring over started to sink in. I guess I really have lowered my cookie making standards, and quite low I might add. Instead of these plump, slightly golden brown cookies, I got flat, thin, and hard to tell if they were under or overcooked cookies. Definitely not fit for any single lady who's trying to impress a man! Pearl tried to help rectify the situation by taking one of them and flattening it even more with her rolling pin. Seriously, what happened? Have I really stooped this low? I tend to blame it on my oven (which does suck) but in all honestly, it's just a coverup so I don't start crying at the thought of not being the world's best chocolate chip cookie maker anymore. I think it's a sign that maybe I've let that crazed, anal, stay-up-all-night to organize my closet, perfectionist die (or at least put her in hiding for a few years). Is that a good or a bad thing? I can't decide. Whatever it is, I'd just like to know that if need be, Jeff would still marry me all over again because he can't stand the thought of another guy getting all my cookies!
Let's face it, I'm old. Not to mention about 30 lbs heavier than when I graduated high school and way more forgetful! Now the reality of the last 10 years (while glorious) has come crashing down on me. It's time for my 10 year reunion. My high school doesn't have five year reunions so this is the first time my graduating class would be together again. Part of me wants to go and hear what everyone has done in their lives since we graduated, plus you know you want to see who's really hot now that we are in the real world, but another part of me says to stay away! I'd say I was a pretty outgoing girl in high school, with tons of friends, but never really tied to one group. I played sports but didn't just hang out with the jocks or popular kids. I had friends in the band, the "nerdy" valedictorian group (yes I was one of those), stoners, and just the normal kids. Which was great then and now because I really haven't ever worried about whether I was mean to anyone. But now I'm beginning to think that's not going to work in my favor if I decide to go the big 10 year reunion. My biggest fear is sitting all alone at the dinner or worse sitting with my brother (who just happened to marry a girl my age... just kidding Jesse)! And I'm terrified that I will feel like a fat, ugly blob who won't recognize someone or remember their name (remember I had a baby and lost all brain cells in the process). What should I do? If I go, I'd have to miss a weekend of fun at Bear Lake Raspberry Days with my family. But if I don't go, will I miss out on re-connecting with some friends I haven't seen in years? I guess I've thought a lot more about this than just whether my schedule is open because of my other blog post about "my girls".
Should I go? What did you do?
Blogging late at night isn't a good idea for many reasons. Prime among them is forgetting to close the freezer lid (thanks Jeff!) and forgetting one of the most funny things Pearl has done the last few days to prove she is full of ATTITUDE!
I'm not really sure how the conversation got started, but Jeff was telling Pearl she was his daughter. She was probably teasing him by calling him "Joff" or "Mommy" or something of that sort. Anyway, Pearl would admittedly respond "No Dad! I'm Pearl!" or "Me Pearl!" The funniest part though is how she says her own name. Instead of it sounding like it should, it sort of becomes this "Purwhirl"....ok so I have no clue how to spell out phonetically how she actually says her name but it is hilarious! Even after a few days she still hasn't figured out that her being a daughter is actually correct. It really is amazing to me how much she understands, remembers, and figures out on her own. She is such a smartie pants and we can't get enough of her antics!
Oh and today Pearl has figured out that if she wants me to stay longer at daycare when I drop her off, to tell me "Hugs" and "Kiss." It doesn't matter that I always give her a big hug, kiss, and tell her I love her (along with the lecture about sharing, being nice to your friends, and being good for your teachers) because as soon as I get up to leave, she's tugging at my legs, arms outstretched asking for another hug. With a cute little face and wild hair, I can't tell her no and end up being another 15 minutes late to work. Oh well, at least I know she loves me!
Ok, one last thing I promise! This kid just does the most funny things and I know if I don't write them down somewhere, even if it's on a blog, I'll forget them. The last few weeks Pearl has implemented the squish-your-cheeks maneuver when she wants you to listen too her. She puts both of her little hands on your cheeks, gets within a centimeter of your face, and either says "Listen Mom, shhhh!" or jabbers at you. Sometimes I think she just does this to get my attention or make me laugh. Either way she thinks it's pretty funny and most of the time pretty effective in getting what she wants.
I think that's the last thing I forgot... for now.
Pearl has quite the spunky personality and some MAJOR attitude! We are in for heaps of trouble when she turns 16, er make that 3 at the rate we're going! Take for instance the following examples over the past few days.
#1 - I bought Pearl the cutest Hawaiian print dress in Florida and was so excited to show it to her when I got home. She'd been on a dress kick lately and I figured she would want to immediately put it on and spill something all over it. But when I pulled it out to show her the "present" I had for her, she smartly told me "No Mom! I don't like it!" I was crushed! I figured it was just a new phrase she had picked up (which, by the way, has now replaced "I'n (yes with an "n") sleepy" as her favorite excuse for not doing what she is told) but believe you me, when I tried to get her to wear it to church she freaked out!!! I guess the battle between my taste and hers is starting a bit earlier than when my mom and I started fighting about what was cool and not-so-cool to wear. Too bad for Pearl that I'm bigger than her 'cause she's going to wear it!
#2 - Every once in a while we catch her saying "Oh my gosh" to something. I admit, she gets this from me. On Saturday my sister was over (literally saving Pearl's very existence with the fits she gave us that day...and on our anniversary no less) and I said something like "Oh my gosh Kimmy, your car is a mess!" To which Pearl immediately repeated, with a shocked look on her face, "oh my gosh!" It was hilarious!!! At first I thought she was saying that about Kimmy's new shoes she was showing us but later Jeff said that Pearl wasn't looking at the shoes but inside the car. Guess even Pearl was surprised to see something messier than her own room. Just kidding Kimmy!
#3 - We bought Pearl a new bike helmet (Do you know how hard it is to find a girl's helmet without Dora the Explorer or some lame Disney Princess on it?), so she is one, safe when we take her in the bike trailer (and settling my nerves and guilt for not having one before, considering that I now work in the injury prevention field), and two, because she has been jealous that mom and dad get to wear one. Honestly I thought it would be a battle to get her to wear it on our bike rides but the real battle is trying to get her to take the darn thing off! She would wear it all day if she could and would probably sleep in it if we let her. She even wanted to wear it to church and the store. It's the first thing she finds in the morning and has brought it into our bedroom at the crack of dawn since the day she got it begging us to put it on. The only reason I have a picture of just the helmet is because I took it out of her bedroom so it's not the first thing she sees every morning. She loves it, except when Jeff taps her head which she says "no Dad, hurts" or something similar to that. I'm glad my health education nagging has paid off with at least one person!
#4 - Screaming at the top of her lungs "back to nursery" and "go back to church" on Sunday. While I commend her desire for spiritual knowledge (or is it really the snacks, toys, and singing she's after?), it was a little ridiculous hauling a screaming and flailing two-year-old out of the building, especially considering that she was jerked out of sacrament meeting for fake belching, climbing all over the place, and then freaking out because she didn't get a nap.
I've had too much fun the last few weekends and am SOOOOO behind on my blogging! Plus with almost 1,000 pictures taken the past two weeks, I haven't really had the time to go through all my pictures and attempt to pick out a handful to share. But since I feel like this is my journal of sorts, you'll have to indulge me on my catching up with the last few family activities we've done. First thing on the catching up list is the Peacock Family Reunion. I'm not sure how to blog about a family reunion, knowing most of the people who take a quick peek at my blog could care less about my family reunion, so I'll just let the pictures do the story telling. For anyone who wants to see ALL the pictures, check them out on Facebook.
From this point on, I pretty much did the following all weekend... eat, wish that Pearl would sleep in her own bed, eat some more, eat some of Aunt Beulah's heavenly cream puffs, get sunburned, eat, wish that Pearl would sleep in her own bed or at least with Jeff in his tent, try to figure out which of the 18 water bottles on the counter was actually mine, wish that we could out bid our coal miner relatives during the family auction, followed by more eating.
We kept Pearl entertained by stuffing her in the bouncy house and trying to get her to go on a horse ride with me. Apparently getting bucked off a pony TWICE the day before at our city's 24th of July holiday celebration was still fresh in her mind when I put her on the saddle with me. Oh well, I had fun and even my mom got to go on a horse ride! Have I mentioned that my mom got a horse for her 12th birthday and I didn't??? Not that I'm bitter or anything.
After more eating, we headed up to Joe's Valley reservoir to try out Nick's boat. Thank heavens at least one of us married into $$$. It was a bit cold but that didn't stop us from having a great time. Pearl had a blast driving Uncle Nick's boat and when we went to Bear Lake she asked where his boat was. She is still talking about driving the boat two weeks later! I really fear the day she gets her driver's license with how much fun she had going "fast."
More wienie roasts after exploring the reservoir followed by a full day of water skiing on Sunday. Yes, we not only skipped church but we really broke the Sabbath with this one! But hey, we were seriously the only boat out there and it was just perfect for some skiing! It's been years since Jeff and I went water skiing and honestly, I was a bit nervous that something disastrous would go wrong, like me blowing out a knee, because the last time I decided to water ski on Sunday I ended up in physical therapy again for several months! We must still have some spring left in our old bodies though because I got up on my first try and Jeff was, as usual, a sloam skiing stud... until he biffed it big time because he couldn't see the wake without his glasses on. Even my dad "could still get up for an old man" as Jeff put it so nicely! Everyone gave it a try, my mom included, and had a great time. Pearl wasn't too sure what to think about this new activity and would scream "Daddy!" anytime she couldn't see Jeff in the water. I figured it was not only a good chance to use some muscles that haven't been used in probably six years, but to also work on getting rid of my pasty white skin. Let's just say I should have put the sunscreen on BEFORE it was my turn to water ski.
Leaving always makes me remember how beautiful "coal country" is... that is until we hit Highway 6. Note to self, NEVER drive a suburban on Highway 6 again! 
