Party like it's 1847!

On the 24th we celebrated just like Brigham would have wanted us to, with blowing things up, eating Mexican food, swimming, and Popsicles. Well at least we spent the time with family. Part one of our two-day pioneer extravaganza was spent at Amber's brother Todd's house where Sherine made delicious carne asada, and we were surrounded by wonderful company.

Todd lit off fireworks, pausing only to deliver a fear-invoking lecture about uncle DJ and getting hands blown off by playing with fireworks. Let's just say it was one of those do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do kind of lectures.

I think all of the Harding kids are genetically-engineered or maybe there are three small wonders.

I thought about making a Tagan collage, but I have recently been accused of favoritism. Its not my fault he happens to be there every time I have a camera.

Even the toughest (and cutest) critics enjoyed themselves.

Part two of Pioneer day fun was held the next day at our house. Amber made enchiladas and we played three rousing games of Cranium. A party's not a party until Amber spins around simulating a tornado, or Sabin pulls off two minutes of John Wayne impressions, "Hey there lil' lady".

Next we lit more fireworks. The highlight of the night was the tank war. They just don't make em like they used to. This tank had to be re-lit three times (apparently I wasn't listening during the uncle DJ hand stump lecture). Eventually Sabin had the great idea to place a small fountain underneath the tank.

We were all saved by the preparation of the safety committee.

Thanks Babe!

Fun at the pool

One of our favorite things about our condo is the pool. We can be found there most evenings.

Apparently we don't care what we look like when we get there.

Mikkena and I start out by diving for "treasure". Today we found 4 bandaids, 2 dead pill bugs, and a dead grasshopper, not the best day for us. We decided to abandon pirating to practice for our aquatic circus auditions.

Underwater hand-stands. Notice Mikkena sporting her new protective water socks. Classy.

Almost.....Hold it.

Tada! We accomplished this trick with only one bruised collar bone. But bruised collar bones are not the only danger to aquatic circus performers. There's always the unexpected kick to the chops.

Nice action pic Amber!

Surprise Guest Part Two

Amber frantically called me at work, "Jared! I think there is a snake in the walls!" Knowing that there is very little chance a snake crawled up to the third floor of our condo building and got stuck in the walls, I didn't think about it very much. The next morning I was awoken by something rustling around in the walls, and Amber yelling, "Did you hear it?!" "See, I'm not crazy!" Amber and Mikkena hid safely in the bedroom while I investigated.

I took the dryer vent off to see a beak and two evil little eyes staring back at me (everything seems scarier when you think there's a devil snake in your walls). Actually it was a small, cute bird with a yellow bill. I put our cat carrier on the vent and it hopped in.

The bird safely returned to its home. We weren't sure if it was hurt or not, but judging by how fast it flew away, we think it is OK.

Also, Roxy is now the pocket pet of the loving Birchall family in Highland. We are glad Roxy is healthy and happy.

The surprise guest

Its not like we don't have enough of them. There's Tally and Gretchen......

Kiki

Tinkerbell and King

And we just got rid of the crazy, cross-eyed neighbor cat with the broken meower that Amber wouldn't stop feeding.

Then out of nowhere a tiny rat-sized dog with lion-sized breath appeared. She actually jumped into Amber's sister's car as she tried to leave. The dog had no tags so we went door to door. No luck. We put up signs around the city. We took her to the vet to see if she had an ID chip. We checked KSL.com in the lost pets section. No one seems to be looking for this dog. She is a Chihuahua. I usually don't like little dogs, but this one is near perfect. She is spayed, house broken, sits for hours in a kennel, and doesn't bark at all. She makes up for all of these good qualities by having breath that melted my eyelids off. We bought her breath biscuits, and now she has cadaver breath with a hint of mint. Yummy! We don't know how long she is going to be with us, but we kind of like her. We named her Roxy.

Roxy after her Flea bath

Mikkena's quote of the day.

"I played scrabble by myself today............ I won. I mean, the other me didn't win."

My favorite Mikkena quote.

While watching "So you think you can dance", the director of "Hairspray" was guest judging.

Mikkena, "I know who that guy is".

Dad, "There's no way you know who that guy is".

Mikkena, "Yes I do"

Dad, "Who is it then"

Mikkena "His name is Clocky Hoe-pay"

His name is really Adam Shankman. Amber and I make at least one Clocky Hoe-pay joke a day.

We moved (again)

The Moving Crew

Amber, Mikkena and I just moved into the first place we can call our own. We love it and are very excited to be here. We thought we'd start this new chapter in our life off right by making it as difficult as possible for people to help us move in. Just in case this sounds like fun to all of you, you can follow our six easy steps the next time you move.

1. Make sure you move into your new ward the week it is split into two new wards. That way it will be as chaotic as possible for your new ward to organize people to help you.

2. Make sure that you contact your new elders quorum president the night before you move and insist that you need help. We actually contacted him 2 days before, but nobody's perfect!

3. Make sure that you move onto the third floor of your building, and make sure that the stair case leading up to your condo is too small to fit your couches.

4. Use extra-large boxes and fill them with books. This ensures that no one can lift them (especially up three flights of stairs). I went the extra mile and filled a box with rocks (for my turtle habitat).

5. Laugh and make fun of people trying to pick up a box of rocks.

6. Don't tell people that you have a second trailer that you need them to unload. Wait for them to almost completely unload your u-haul, and then jump out and yell "surprise"!

Remember this approach might not work for everyone, but it certainly did for us. Thanks to everyone who helped us move!

Our first meal in our new condo. Amber wanted me to point out that she was the one who cooked the meal. It doesn't happen often, but when it does its good. Its a wonder how she cooks such great food with such little practice.