Cheering the Cheerleader

Caitlin got to cheer at her first football game yesterday. She had a BLAST! Her favorite part was holding the banner at halftime that the team ran through (she was, however, disappointed in the 3 players who didn't run at full speed through the banner - she's gonna make a great wife someday).

I like watching Catie (back row on the yard line) do the "snake."

Caitlin (bump, bump) OUT!

People are People

Yeah - they didn't play that song, but oh well. We took a step back in time this week - right back to the 80's. We hit up the Depeche Mode concert at the E Center. Let me tell you .... our suite was HOPPIN! There was some serious dancing/partying goin' on. I think our "suite hostess" made a bit of "bank." Here's Annie with Rachel & Carrie. Annie proclaimed it the "best concert ever."
Okay - I figure since I was forced to post this picture of me and Brian on Facebook (darn peer pressure), I guess I can post it here in the friendly confines of our blog. This goes against my personal rule of never posting pictures of myself.

Okay - I'm sick of looking at the cookies. I know I've been a "blog-slacker." The sad thing is... I actually have pictures - I've just been too busy (lazy) to post them. Here's a few from our mini-vacation a couple of weeks ago in Park City. Here's Austin & Brian zipping down the zip line at the Utah Olympic Park.
Caitlin and I were all strapped in and ready to be released on our zip-trip. Caitlin was showing no fear (unlike her momma). She actually went 2 more times after this and beat Austin in their race. Whoops - Austin probably didn't want me to mention that. As we were about to ride the "Quicksilver" alpine slide, I'm pretty sure Brian was listening intently to the safety instructions given to us by the slide-worker. Either that or he was busy reading the signs regarding safety on the slide.

There goes Brian.... sledding to his doom!!

Okay - there is no "after" picture from Brian's ride on the slide. After all, this is a family blog - we don't wan't it rated PG-13 for "gore." We'll just say that you should SLOW DOWN WHEN APPROACHING A TURN SO YOU DON'T TIP OVER AND SCRAPE ALL THE SKIN OFF YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AND THEN PROCEED TO BURN YOUR DERMIS OFF ON THE SIZZLING HOT STAINLESS STEEL SLIDE!!! Okay - I'm done going all "Kanye West All Caps."

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Here's a cute picture of Catie & Dev Dev to cleanse your mental palate after picturing the aftermath of Brian's recklessness.

Caitlin couldn't be outdone by her brother - she just had to touch the rim. After about 20 tries, she finally did it!
One of the fun parts about going on nature walks in Park City (aside from the abundance of snakes on the trail) was the sculptures on the side of the trail. You could actually play music on these.

Oh look - my kids are displaying togetherness! Not buying it? Neither am I. This is what you are forced to do to stay warm in a 4 club wind. It was a bit breezy at Jeremy Ranch. Fortunately, it only lasted a few holes - otherwise it was great! I got rid of all those excess balls in my golf bag (who was the genius who thought water on a golf course was a good thing?).

TJ was doing is best "Chuck Bass" (I'm still not sure what that means). At any rate, the kids had a great time eating all the chocolate covered strawberries that "Lisa made all by herself" at their grandparents anniversary party. They were really pretty Lisa!

Um... Avery, could you jump a little higher next time?

Getting ready to dig into Catie's cake.

So when I was at work yesterday, I got a call from Caitlin (one of many) - she wanted to bake something. I knew we had some sad looking, really ripe bananas, so I suggested Banana Oatmeal Cookies which are my kid's favorite. She had some issues with the baking soda box (as I usually do as well), but she did it all by herself and then texted me a picture of the results (from her new phone of course). They looked pretty good!
I'm happy to report that they also tasted quite delicious which was an issue because all of Austin's friends were eating them as fast as she was baking them. This prompted several more phone calls.

Catie & I saw "Julie & Julia" last night which made her want to cook even more. Although she is growing up too fast - this situation could actually be a good thing.

Turning 9 on the 9th in 2009!!!

Happy Birthday Caitlin!!

Caitlin has been SOOOO excited about her birthday today - she had all the Costco taster people wishing her "happy birthday" yesterday! In honor of her birthday, here are 9 things about the new 9-year-old:

1. "It's all about the food." Until Caitlin gets food into her in the morning, she resembles a child raised by wild, angry wolves (including the growling and snarling). Speaking of food....

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2. Caitlin has a hollow leg. She can eat all of us under the table!
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3. Caitlin has a TREMENDOUS amount of energy which explains her skinny-ness (is that a word?) when she eats as much as she does.

4. Caitlin is a night-owl. She doesn't want to miss anything so she is often up very late into the night (which means her mom is too).
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5. Aunt Lisa says that "Caitlin stays on the path that she has chosen and doesn't deviate from it." If that means that once she decides she wants something, she will wear you down like the Colorado River wore down the Grand Canyon until she gets it (only it doesn't take millions of years - it's more concentrated but just as powerful), then I TOTALLY agree with this.
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6. Caitlin likes to sing the soundtrack of "Wicked" at the top of her lungs holding a hairbrush for a microphone. She knows every word!
7. Caitlin is a straight "A" student. She has a very good memory (which isn't good for her mom sometimes).
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8. Grandma Kathy says that "she has a mind of her own." She is definitely VERY independent (must be the Leo in her).
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9. Caitlin is very creative - she will spend hours (if not days) setting up elaborate things to play like the time she created a diner in our front room and proceeded to charge Grandma Jessie $250 for toast.
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Bonus... Caitlin has always loved sharing her birthday with the other August 9th'ers:

Uncle Rod

Grandma Marbles

I don't know if anyone else does this, but I am always looking for that ONE good picture of my kids that could possibly be the "Christmas card picture." Everywhere we go... I subject my children to the torture of standing next to each other and smiling. Sometimes it works, but most times we need a referee, mouthguards and possibly an octagonal shaped chain link cage.

We were at a wedding last night and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get "the picture." After repeated requests to "stop fidgeting and smile," I finally gave up and snapped the picture. Here is a preview of this year's Christmas photo - I couldn't wait to share it. It captures the essence of my children's relationship with each other.

ENJOY!