Dinosaur Boy

It's Sewing Time!

It is that time of year when I break out the sewing machine and go to town.

It started 4 years ago when my mother-in-law was going to get Lorenne a Mulan costume for Halloween. But then they sold out. How could I disappoint my daughter who had her heart set on being Mulan? I couldn't. So I went to JoAnn's, found a pattern for a kimono and bought fabric.

It was a wonderful challenge creating that first costume. Since then I have made Snow White and Belle costumes for Lorenne. This year it is a witch costume. Of course I could take the easy way out and buy one or do a simple dress, but where is the fun in that?

Lorenne picked out her pattern and fabric for her witch's costume. It was a much simpler project doing a witch costume than last year's Belle costume. But one thing I truly love about this year's costume is that it is more Lorenne. It is what she wanted entirely.

I find great satisfaction when the costume is done and it is time to go to my mom's house for the big family Halloween party. Seeing all the grandchildren dressed up and having so much fun is truly the best treat of the holiday.

People are always telling me that I should make costumes and sell them. But how do you put a price on love? I can't. And that is what making Lorenne's costume is; it is a labor of love. I hope someday she will look back and realize how much love went into each and every costume I made her.

Music Man

Two years ago Lorenne was in a musical called, Promised Land. Her Aunt Sara was directing it so she didn't have to audition to get in. Since doing the show Lorenne has wanted to be in another show. Last year she auditioned for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. She didn't make it in, but that hasn't deterred her from wanting to do another show.

Last week Lorenne auditioned for Music Man in American Fork. Sara was auditioning and wanted Lorenne to audition with her. I ended up taking Lorenne to the audition this time. I really didn't know how she would do. Sometimes she gets so shy.

While we waited for Lorenne's turn to audition we talked about what she wanted to sing. We needed to find something that she knew all the words to and could stay on pitch. She finally decided to sing the ABC song.

We went in the audition room with Sara. Sara did her song first and then it was Lorenne's turn. Sara held one of Lorenne's hands and I held the other. They asked Lorenne what she was going to sing. She told them and then she started to sing. I was so proud of her I was trying really hard not to just bawl. She stood up tall and sang loud and clear and mostly on pitch. They applauded for Lorenne and thanked her for auditioning.

Lorenne was so excited after her audition. She wanted to know when the rehearsals started. I told her that we didn't know if she had made it in yet. But she just talked on like she was in the show.

Well, today I got a message from the casting director. Lorenne made the ensemble for the show!!! I am so excited for her. I can hardly wait for her to get home from school so I can tell her. She is going to be ecstatic. Her first rehearsal is tonight. Fortunately Sara made the show as well so most of the time they will go to rehearsal together.

I will keep you updated on the progress of the show so if any of you want to come and see it you can.

I am so proud of Lorenne for having the guts to audition. This is going to be such a great experience for her.

The Little Grand Canyon: Pictures

The kids and me at the Little Grand Canyon. Do I look scared to death?

The kids and me chasing the lizards.

Michael with a chip in one hand and a cookie in the other.
The river at the base of the canyon.

The Little Grand Canyon

The Little Grand Canyon

After we were finished at the dinosaur excavation on Saturday it was time for lunch. We were planning on just eating there at the site. But Alex got talking to a lady there and she said if we drove about 10 miles further we could go see what is called the Little Grand Canyon. We had all day ahead of us so we decided we would do it.

We followed the lady and her family. After 20 minutes on a bumpy dirt road I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get there. Finally we pulled over and got out to look. The view took my breath away; mostly because of the beauty but partially because I am afraid of heights. It was gorgeous! There was even an eagle or hawk flying overhead.

But that stop was not our final destination. We got back in and drove for about 5 more minutes and came to the lookout area. I really had a hard time there. It was a cliff that jutted out into the canyon. There were no barriers on the edge. I wasn't so worried about myself, but Michael is constant motion and worrying about him getting too close to the edge about did me in.

I took a lot of calming breaths and looked out to enjoy the view. It was absolutely amazing! The way the cliffs were carved and the different layers and colors. It is amazing to me that I can drive two hours from Provo and its rolling mountains and be in the desert with majestic cliffs and plateaus.

I tried hard not to show my kids how scared I was. I don't want them to be scared of heights because I am. I offered Lorenne my camera and she took a bunch of pictures. That got her over her nervousness. Yesterday she took the pictures with her to school for show and tell.

We found a big flat rock back on more solid ground and spread our blanket over it for a picnic table. As I was setting up my chair I saw something move on the ground. I was already jumpy so the movement really startled me. I looked down and saw two little lizards running around the rock. I got the kids to come over and look. The two lizards scurried over to the next big rock and then the next as we followed them.

The kids loved the lizards. Michael wanted to catch one, of course. We didn't catch one, but I did manage to get a picture.
After eating we got back in the car and began the drive home. On the way back Lorenne asked Alex if they were going shopping for Mother's Day. So when we got back to Provo Alex and the kids dropped me off and they went shopping. So I had a few hours to myself. A great end to a wonderful day.

Gooseneck Site

Alex, Michael, Katy, and Lorenne at the Gooseneck Site.The Gooseneck Site

Michael holding the allosaurus tooth.

Allosaurus tooth: notice the serrated edge.Rib bone of the sauropod

Drawing of the fossil as found in the site.

Dinosaur Excavation

On Saturday we had the rare opportunity of going to a dinosaur excavation. In November a partially articulated allosaurus fossil was found just outside of Castledale, Utah. Last week the College of Eastern Utah began the excavation of the fossil. Because the site was so accessible they invited the public to come and view it. This is not common practice.

When I saw the article in the Deseret News about the excavation, I knew we had to go. Michael is such a dinosaur fanatic. A few nights before I heard about the excavation Michael had watched a documentary on Allosauruses. When asked what he wants to eat it is almost always dinosaur chicken nuggets. He is always playing with his toy dinosaurs and reading books about them, too.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we set out for Castledale. The night before Alex and I had packed lunch for us. Our lunch included dinosaur sandwiches (sandwiches imprinted with a dinosaur shape).

I had to laugh at Lorenne. With in just a short time she was asking, "are we there yet?" It was about a two hour drive to where we turned off the main road. Then there was a 9 mile drive on a graded dirt road to the Gooseneck site. It is called the Gooseneck site because of how the head of the dinosaur was pulled back and tucked under, kind of like how a goose tucks its head under its wing.

Once we reached the site it was about a five minute hike to the excavation. There were quite a few people there. Not tons, but the flow of people in and out was steady. I was really surprised at how close we were to the actual fossil. I reached down and picked up a fossil that was right in front of me. They had a large part of the fossil cast in plaster. They use the plaster to keep all the pieces together as they transport them.

It turned out that there were actually two dinosaur fossils there. One was the allosaurus and the other was a sauropod, like a brontosaurus or brachiasaurus. It was totally fascinating to see the way they worked. They mapped out and drew each bone as they found it. They used little umpire brooms to sweep dirt away. It is a slow and tedious process. They had found a piece of a tooth, the edge of which was serrated. This was the tooth of a meat eater that was designed to cut and tear flesh. When Michael held the tooth he started to bury it back in the dirt.

Michael was pretty excited about being there. It was a little abstract for him to understand because a big portion of the bones were covered in plaster. But he still enjoyed it. I think he enjoyed digging in the dirt as much as anything.

We had such a wonderful time and felt truly blessed to have such a unique opportunity. It was more than worth the time that we invested in the trip. After all, how many dinosaur loving boys can say that they have been to a real dinosaur excavation?

Listening to the Spirit

This morning has gotten off to a rough start. It probably started last night with Michael not going to bed and me staying up with him. I am always more emotional when I am tired, but today even more so. Maybe it is the gray and cold weather as well. For whatever reason, I am feeling down.

But my phone just rang. It was my friend, Ed Young. Ed is the widower of my friend Bonnie who passed away last summer. He remarried this last weekend to a wonderful woman. He was calling me because he said as he was thinking about last weekend a picture of me popped into his head. And he felt like he needed to call me and thank me for being there at his reception.

I have no doubt that the Spirit prompted him to call me. There is no way I can sit here and have a pity party after his call. Ed should be off in the happy land of newly weds but he took the time to call me.

It is amazing what such a small act as a phone call can do for a person. I am so grateful for those who listen to the Spirit and act on those promptings. I have been blessed many times because of them.

It is just a clear reminder to me that my Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. He is always looking out for me and He knows what I need, even if it is just a phone call to brighten my day.

Sweet Home Alabama

Last night Lorenne asked me about her great grandparents. So I started telling her stories about my Grandma Gregson and going to Alabama as a child. Some of the things I remember about going to Alabama:

1-It always took THREE long days to get there. But somehow we would fight less in those three days than we did in a normal day at home. And all 11+ of us were crowded into our camper.
2-No matter what time, day or night, we got in Grandma would always have a huge meal ready for us. There would be rice, biscuits, gravy, black eyed peas, butter beans, honey butter and so much more. We would sit at the long tables and stuff ourselves silly.
3-One of the highlights of staying at Grandma's house was gathering the chicken eggs each day. My favorite nest was the one in the small barrel nailed to the tree. Grandma would get so mad at us if we scared the hens off the nest to get the eggs.
4-All of our cousins thought we were crazy because we didn't like to drink the water down there. They would tell us that water was water and the water there didn't taste funny. No matter how much we argued that the water tasted different they wouldn't believe us.
5-It was always fun to watch people count us as we got out of the camper. With the first few out they didn't pay much attention, but then as we kept coming you could almost see their heads bobbing back and forth counting us. I'm sure the fact that we wore matching shirts really threw them for a loop. It seems like someone asked Mom where she found shirts that matched in all our different sizes. They about fell over dead when Mom said she made them all.
6-One of my favorite memories of the drive was when we stopped at a McDonald's in Louisiana on the way down. We were so tired of being in the camper that we were thrilled to have a chance to play on the outside playground. So even a torrential downpour couldn't keep us off the playground. When it started raining we just went down the slide like a water slide. I'm sure everyone thought we were crazy, but it was just the break that we needed.

I shared with Lorenne a lot more different memories. When I was done she said that she wished she could go to Alabama and have fun like I did. It made me stop and think. Would it be the same if I took my kids? Probably not. Most of what made Alabama so memorable was Grandma Gregson. Without her there and her house gone it just wouldn't be the same.

My family may not of had a lot of money growing up, but my parents gave us a wealth of memories. A lot of the best ones came from our trips down to Alabama.

Cookie Decorating

Last Tuesday for Young Women we learned about cake decorating. Sister Ericksen was a great teacher for the class. She showed us how to make fondant out of marshmallows and powder sugar. I was amazed at how easy it was.

Since decorating a whole cake would take too much time we just did sugar cookies. Each girl and leader was given a cookie and a ball of fondant. Then it was up to us to decorate our cookie. I had a blast as I chatted with one of the girls and we worked on our cookies. I heard Sister Ericksen talk about doing small balls to look like pearls so that is what I decided to do. I just didn't know how long it would take to do the whole border of the cookie.

I have a new appreciation and respect for cake decorators. My Aunt Bobbi has decorated cakes for as long as I can remember. She did my wedding cake. Because of her I have had the desire to learn how to decorate cakes. Aunt Bobbi does the more traditional butter cream frosting. That is even more difficult than fondant. My goal for this year is to take a cake decorating class. They offer them at Roberts. I just have to sign up for a class.

Some of our young women had a party this week. For desert they made a cake; they decorated it themselves with fondant they made. I was so excited to hear that. To me that meant that the activity was a success because the girls used the skill they learned later. The two girls who made the cake showed some interest in taking the class with me. That would be so much fun. We could all use it for our value project in Knowledge.

I love being in Young Women!

Cut or Long

A few weeks ago while I was sitting at the computer, Michael climbed up behind me to stand. He started playing with my hair and telling me he didn't like it long. I was really surprised because he has always loved it long, to the point that he would take it out of a clip or ask me to take it out of a ponytail. Typical male. So him saying he didn't like it really caught me off guard. I didn't think much of it as he moved on to play with something on the desk beside me.

Before long I could feel him playing with my hair. Then he started saying, "Cut or long? Cut or long?" I reached back and found that he had a pair of scissors opened to my hair. He was trying to decide if he was going to cut my hair or leave it long. Fortunately I caught him before he did any damage.

2010

The first month of the new years is fast drawing to a close. Where does the time go?

We had a wonderful Christmas with lots of family. Alex's brother and his family came and stayed with us for Christmas. Five extra people in the house for a week was kind of crazy. But we had a great time. Lorenne loved having her cousin Rory here to play with. Michael thought Max and Royce were pretty cool. For the first few days he didn't call them by their names; he just called them "cousin." It was pretty cute.

The whole week they were here was busy. There was skiing, ice skating, shopping, a trip to Temple Square, dinner and games at Nate and Nicole's. It seemed like we never stopped. Unfortunately I ended up being sick and missed out on some of the fun. But it was a good Christmas none the less. It is so wonderful to have family.

All too soon Christmas break was over. Although I was sad to see the break end I was grateful to get back into a routine. It is funny how much I enjoy the little things in my day. Like getting up in the morning with Lorenne and helping her get ready for school. And then walking her to the bus and visiting with the other moms. I enjoy sitting by Michael and reading a book while he goes down for a nap. Best of all at the end of the day when Alex comes home and the kids yell, "Daddy" and run and give him a hug. Then I get to welcome Alex home with a kiss. These are the little things that I am going to strive not to take for granted in this new year.