Pirate Day at Maceys

We have been looking forward to this day for several weeks. Yesterday Jack got to be dressed up as a pirate all day long. He was a little afraid of the pirate leader at Maceys, but so was I. Basically we went to each section in the grocery store and Jack said, "I demand my treasure." He was so good at it! He's pirate voice is really something. In addition to the fun pirate talk, Jack was excited and liked to say, "Happy birthday quesadilla."

The Things We Do for Jack

Jack is a pirate. All day long and in his dreams too. We decided to do be thrifty and put a pirate costume together for Halloween. $30 is way too much for a Halloween costume, right? Then last night we found a costume that was too hard to ignore. Jack has recently seen 'The Wizard of Oz' and he has collected a Dorothy and Glinda doll from an un-named "food store." Right away he decided that Daddy can be the Tin Man and Mommy can be Dorothy.

He can hardly think of anything other than his new costume. He woke up at 2am and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I wear my lion costume." He even wore his costume at naptime. What can you do?

better than lichens

Now I can die

I've waited a long time for this, and now I really feel ready to move on. After careful planning and driving 400 miles Hailey, Jack and I arrived at the vagrant lichen land of promise. On a beautiful outcrop in the middle of a desert in southwest Idaho I found my lichen temple. So many beautiful vagrant lichens. Here they are.

It's POTTY Time

Jack is definitely growing up. He is using helpful sentences like, "My Daddy is gone to work. He'll be home at 6:30pm." 6:30 is the only time that Jack knows because that is when he likes to wake up in the morning and I try to convince him to sleep until 7:00am. Anytime you ask the time Jack responds with "6:30."

I guess my point is that we went to the store and bought a potty today (yet another sign of growing up). He asked for a princess potty, but I'm too cheap and stubborn to buy a princess potty. I got a potty at a discount store and some pirate stickers. He is so thrilled and I have to admit the stickers look so fun!

Another big adventure will happen tonight when the Mimi Fairy comes to collect Jack's "mimis" (the plug) in exchange for little gifts. It may be a difficult week here in the Leavitt hut.

Political me

Following a link (http://www.okcupid.com/politics) from a recent post on the Wiemers' blog I've been able to find myself politically. Although I as hoping to be an anarchist, here is the true me-

You are a
Social Moderate
(55% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(18% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

A pirate's life on the Provo River

So we've decided that Jack is now old enough to join us on our annual "White Water on the Provo River" trip. He was initially very excited (long before he saw the river but knew he could take his pirate sword and flag). The 200' descent on a steep, loose dirt trail to the river put him on edge. Hailey shouting for me to go through the "white water" finally put him over, and he screamed and whined to the point that some friendly zoobie asked if we were all right (in reality, everyone else going down the river was really nice to our little pirate). Eventually he calmed down with the promise of a 'park day' when we arrived at Vivian Park. Really it was a lot of fun and as we climbed out of the river Jack said it was fun and "it wasn't too scary". Here are the highlights.

The Best of Steve

Steve is off to the Unitas for the week so I thought I would follow Taylor's lead (I love how he blogged about Laney when she was gone). These are two of my favorite pictures that Steve brought back from his trip to Monterey. He definitely has a more artistic eye than I do. I wonder why he has trouble dressing...

Carnival Day!

Today we went to the Utah County Fair. The main purpose was to let Jack ride the carousel. This summer we spent almost three weeks in Spokane and he got to ride the carousel several times. Today our experience was quite different from the historic carousel of Spokane. THIS carousel cost $3.00 to ride, looked like it was made with TinkerToys and could just barely support Jack's weight. Oh, but did he like it? Yes! It did the trick! The only other person on the carousel was a nice lady, her son and her disgusting, yet agile dog. (I feel like Leisy, but I couldn't resist snapping a little pic).

Teacher Theory

This is a picture of a thank-you poster my first graders made for Dominos. This picture has NOTHING to do with my theory, but I couldn't find a good picture and this one made me laugh.

I recently got a job as a reading/computer specialist at a school about two minutes away and I was able to sit through many obnoxious meetings in prep for the new school year. Do you know what I discovered? Every elementary faculty is the same. That's right! There is always the skeptical, veteran teacher; she shakes her head when planning time is brought up. She sighs and knows things will never go her way. There should be one male teacher who is quirky and funny and all the students in the school idolize this teacher. He probably likes Snickers and gets away with as much as possible. The third element is the school secretary. All teachers must bow down to this individual because her job is harder than teaching and her hours are longer. She won't let you forget this point either.

What can I say? I really love teaching...really....

Did I mention the great pay?

our black hole

Feels like we're stuck in a black hole here on Sara(h) Circle

My New Ring

I briefly mentioned the loss of my wedding ring a couple weeks ago. I have good news! The lost ring has been replaced with somewhat of an upgrade. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful symbol of our love. Having said that, I couldn't ask for a better Steve either. Steve couldn't be so easily replaced. I don't think anyone could argue with that!

P.S. I think this must be about a carat and a half! Thankfully Steve self-mined this beauty and cut down on overhead costs.

High in Utah

This past weekend I forced my family to assist in a lichen collecting foray on Boulder Mountain in southern Utah. Everyone had been sick right up until the moment we left. I trusted that we were through the worst and off we went. Well, Jack wasn't. He spent the weekend in excruciating stomach pain, Although the occasional bouts of diarrhea did offer some relief. A couple of these pictures offer a glimpse into his sufferings. Hailey's weren't much better. She was stuck taking care of a sick kid while I scraped lichens off rocks and twigs.



However, things eventually got a little better. Jack loved watching me chase lizards and really loved holding them, a swimming day at the pool raised his spirits again, and chasing a deer through Capital Reef proved to be the icing on the cake. It couldn't last forever. Jack is still sick, and when I asked him if he wants to study lichens like his dad he answers in an emphatic "no".

While we're apart

We are a little more uninhibited with our personal interests when we're seperate.

Family Reunion Fun

Here are a few favorites from from our trip to California. The first picture shows the fam swimming at Kathie and Sandy's place. Jack kept saying, "swimming day, swimming day." The second picture is our family at the mission in Capistrano. This was a great highlight for Steve. The gardens were beautiful and there was an audio tour. The bottom picture is the whole family at Disneyland...yes that's right, even Steve-a-rino went to Disneyland. It was such a party. The only calamity of the whole trip was the loss of my wedding ring. In response to the lost ring, I think Steve said, "I've been meaning to upgrade your diamond anyway sugar-lips"...or maybe it was "honey-buns" something like that. We'll keep you all posted!

Steve's must have albums

So after listening to Jack's pirate music and 'Dragon Tales', Hailey's rockin' tunes, and a little bit of my own music for at least 25 hours in the car this last week on our trip to California I've decided to post 5 'must have' albums. Hopefully some will check them out. If so, get ready to rock.

1. Edith Frost -Wonder Wonder














2. Lee Hazelwood - poet, fool, or bum










3. Low-things we lost in the fire



















4. The Innocence Mission-glow



















5-Peter Murphy- Cascade

My new love

What's your favorite animal? I recently fell in love with this beauty. With all my heart I wish that Jack could have a pigmy hippo as a brother. I dream of them swimming together, watching movies together, sharing their snacks together, hiking, teasing each other, and just being best friends. Please, if anyone knows where I can get a baby pigmy hippo I need one.

Summer Days

I always feel like summer in Utah is too hot to enjoy. Today was a great discovery. Jack and I took wagon rides around the neighborhood and played in the shade. In the evening, Daddy did some fabulous weeding while Jack and I played in his pool. It was a memorable summer day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Captain Jack

Jack is certainly our pirate king! He had a great pirate birthday thanks to all the pirates who came in costume. He did a great job singing, "Hoppy Bir-ay." He is definitely two years old and we're having a lot of time-outs and a lot of laughs.

Utah Lake Festival

There are many things I do not know. For example, Utah Lake has its own festival. Laney filled us in on the event and then she went and had her baby.
Saturday morning we got our coats on and partook of the lovely festivities. Jack got his face painted for the first time. He actually stood perfectly still and his eyes lit up when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Apparently the artist has talent, but no clue as to the difference between dinosaurs and dragons.
We munched free hot dogs and apples. Steve got a free shirt and Jack was busy throwing "mama and baby rocks" into the water. I love free events!

DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS

*Sorry about this one, but it is my duty to our free market system.
So Hailey got a super stylish Olympus Stylus 820 camera for Christmas. There may not be a better looking digital camera. In addition to its great looks it has a ton of custom shooting modes hat really give the camera a lot of appeal. In spite of the bells and whistles, we immediately noticed that most of the pictures we took looked either really grainy or like they were taken in the late 60's. To make a long story short after a lot of experimenting, sending the camera in for repair, and too much time talking with customer service we have decided the camera is absolutely worthless and now sits in the drawer. We can't handle looking at horrible images of our travels and life. Because Olympus did nothing to stand behind their product I assured them that I would try to convince all within my very little realm of influence not to purchase Olympus digital cameras.






DO NOT BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. OLYMPUS IS BAD. POOR IMAGE QUALITY. INCONSISTENT PICTURES. THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. OLYMPUS CAMERAS ARE BAD. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS. DON'T BUY OLYMPUS CAMERAS.

A piece of Eden

A few pictures from our trip to Zion.

Devil's Eye Arch

Although few are probably interested, I thought I would share one of the hidden treasures of the Wasatch with whoever checks out this blog. On the ridge line between Alpine and American Fork Canyon (following Preston Canyon on the Alpine side) there is an incredible natural arch called 'Devil's Eye Arch". The arch is actually visible from American Fork Canyon near Timp Cave. The views are amazing, the hike is invigorating, and the wildlife is incredible (we saw three mountain goats with two kids, a lot of deer, tons of cool birds, and hoards of sagebrush lizards). However, the 4000' trailless assent in two and a half miles is probably discourage for many (and the descent is bad enough that those who have made the climb vow not to do it again). Well, here are a few pictures and an invitation to all to give it a try (I'll be glad to show you how to get there on a map).