Lauren's Piano Recital

Early Black Friday Birthday

Thanksgiving brought a lot of family from out of town to Utah and since they all had to go home before Brenna's official birthday date, we decided to have a little party on the day she was born, Black Friday.  We had the gathering in the mid afternoon so shoppers could recover from their late night activities.

Brenna was surrounded by many eager present openers so nothing stayed in front of her for long.  In fact as soon as she opened something the gifts were snatched away leaving empty wrapping paper in her lap.  This seems to be a common occurrence for younger siblings/cousins.  Here she is opening a strawberry shortcake shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Stanley.

I piled the presents up after they were opened so here is a shot of most of them.  From left to right as best I can tell since it was difficult to tell what was from whom, a pink monster from Grandma and Grandpa Snow, a Tinker Bell and Strawberry Shortcake outfits and a poodle purse from Grandma and Grandpa Stanley, a pink frog and book from Aunt Amber, green striped leg warmers from Grandma Snow, My Little Pony from Aunt Eileen, and some strawberry cupcake pjs from Grandma and Grandpa Stanley.  The princess buttons were from Aunt Amber too.

Here Brenna opened the Pink monster but turned away just as I got the picture.  She was very excited about it and now Lauren wants a blue monster for Christmas since Spencer already has a green one.

These were Brenna's favorite things to carry around.  She scooped them all up in her arms and tried to do stuff with them, but she kept dropping them.

Books and little strawberry shortcake figures.

The poodle purse.  Brenna saw something like this at a store when she first started potty training and I thought it might make a good incentive for her and then forgot about it.  Good thing too.

It was a fun day and we are so glad we had so many family members there to share it with.  We will have a quieter celebration on Monday, her actual birthday, with our family and a couple more presents.  Maybe even little cupcakes for preschool which will be at our house.

Halloween Costumes

This year for Halloween Lauren and Brenna were flower faires and Spencer was Dopey. 

Trick or treating at the park.

Candy at the park!  Brenna missed out last year because it was rainy and cold.  She was so excited as this was really the first year she understood what was going on.  She would go from person to person giggling and taking all the candy she could.

Eating the candy in the park.  Yum!!

Ready to hit the Trunk or Treat.

Spencer wanted Dopey to have a sword.  It actually looks more like a cross.  Who knew Dopey was Catholic.

Brenna kept opening suckers.  Each time I turned my back she unwrapped another dum dum.  She had three at once in her mouth with sticky drool everywhere.

I wore my sister Eliza's Arwen dress.  Regal!

Pumpkin Time!

Saturday night we carved pumpkins with out cousins.  Here are the finished pumpkins.  The four we carved were grown in our garden, the only four that grew in our garden.

Counter clockwise from Top left.  Elisabeth, Brenna, Spencer (green), Sam, Ben/Rebekah, Lincoln.  Ben/Rebekah's pumpkin is Edward Cullen, in honor of Twilight soon being done!  Brenna's pumpkin was attacked in the garden so we used the black spot in the carving.  That is the mouth and we will stick a carrot cigar in.  Advanced cancer is attacking this pumpkin.

Here is Lauren's pumpkin on the left.  She drew and carved it herself this year.  Pretty scary.  On the Right is cousin Joe's pumpkin.  It is the Beatles crossing Abbey Road.

Cancerous pumpkin aglow!

Evil pumpkin!

Poor Spencer pumpkin.  It was still green but he insisted on it and the rind has begun to wither already because it is so soft.  May not make it til Halloween.

Edward! 

Pleasant Grove Firehouse Tour

On Friday morning we got to tour the Pleasant Grove Firehouse as a family.  The kids were on Fall Break and Ben had met with the fire chief Thursday morning, talking politics, and received an invitation to come back with the family.  It isn't what you know but who you know sometimes, although I guess what Ben knew and talked with the chief about is what got us the tour.  The kids had a blast seeing the engines and going for a ride in the $1 million tiller truck with the ladder.  It is a one hundred foot ladder and looks very  much like the one in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."  We didn't climb it.The fire chief is awesome and was very kind to show us everything. 

Here is Spencer in the back of the big truck.  It is so large it has it's own steering and power in the back.  Spencer didn't get to drive it, thankfully, but Ben did get to ride back there when we took the drive.

This is the part of the truck the rest of us rode in.  We got to wear the headsets, though they didn't use the siren.  We could hear each other through the radio.  Spencer put his headset on and started to talk before his mic was on and Lauren said, "I can't hear you Spencer." To which he replied, "I can hear myself." 

Brenna got to sit in her own chair, but she wouldn't wear the headset.

The kids tried on the fire helmet.  It was surprisingly heavy. 

The window was open on one side and Lauren said that as we drove around she waved to some kids in a passing car and they looked a bit startled to see her in the fire truck.  Yes, not your typically trained firefighter.

Even Brenna took a turn up in the back of the truck.

Spencer and Lauren were up in the back together and Spencer collapsed the seat on her.  He has much to learn before becoming a true fireman.

Spencer was the only one of the kids who even thought about sliding down the pole.  He wasn't so sure so Ben went first.

He was very graceful.

We tried to have Spencer just sit on the edge of the whole and grab the pole and the fireman would catch him as he swung over the edge.  It didn't fly.  Stranger danger! 

This was Spencer's favorite part of the tour.  This is the room where they have the big tv and game stations to play games while they wait for calls to come in.  Spencer knew exactly what the controllers were for.  I think he may have even turned the xbox on.  That is Chief Sanderson in the middle. 



Crazy Hair

As part of Red Ribbon Week, the kids wore some crazy hair styles to school.  Spencer's hair was even crazier when we took it out after he got home.  I think he may need a hair cut.

Staring Contest

This is how Brenna does a staring contest.  I think she is trying to intimidate you with her evil eye.  It works though.  You start laughing and have to blink.

She also wanted to show her angry birds.  The kids love the angry bird game and when we stumbled upon the plush angry birds in a store the kids went nuts.  I didn't like the price tag and it's not yet Christmas, so we came home and made our own angry birds and pigs out of Sculpy.  Pretty cute indeed.  The best part was that for several days Spencer didn't ask to play on the itouch.  He was too busy playing with his pigs and birds.  Sadly, we have misplaced his pigs and are still trying to find them.  I think Brenna may have moved them somewhere and she doesn't remember.  Good luck to us.

Brenna Videos

These videos contain evil staring contests, strawberry shortcake renditions, and one very active little girl 24 hours post-surgery with no follow up pain meds.  Amazing!

Well, the evil eye staring contest will have to be redone tomorrow.  Apparently it keeps failing to upload. 

Sunrise, Sunset

 Where is my little girl going? Here she is, 8 years old on picture day, and she looks so grown up.  Perhaps it is the hair length.  I think she looks really cute, but she's growing up too fast.

Now this one is more like it!  Still little and looks it.  She won't even hold still for the close up.  Brenna and her crazy curls!

Ah, Spencer, my sweet little guy.  Too bad the lighting changed as I took the picture.  His cute face is in shadow.  He's fallen into shadow!  At least you can't see the mark left by his adventures with the window.

Light sabers!  They wouldn't put them down for the individual shots until I promised they could take a group shot with them.  Everyone has there favorite color.  Well second favorite.  They don't make pink light sabers.

The Pressure Cooker Lives and now Offers Politics

It seems high time for some necromancy so I'm  resurrecting, or reanimating, the old blog.  Lots has been happening in the Pressure Cooker, and yet I haven't made a single post.  Shame on me.  The great thing about blogging is I look back and remember things that happened just a few months ago that I have already forgotten.  Sadly, I have 10 months of my life undocumented for and I fear somethings are doomed to be lost forever.  Not so anymore!

The big news at the moment in the Stanley household is our foray into the world of politics.  Actually Ben decided to test his political wings and the rest of us were dragged along with him.  I went back and found my blog about John and Abigail Adams and their relationship through politics.  I am now living my last conditional statement from that entry.  Lucky me.  At least I don't see Ben's service being as demanded and consuming as John Adam's, for which I am grateful.  I still wish I were more like Abigail with her wit and restraint.  It would serve me well when having to talk with people, not all of which will be pleasant encounters I'm afraid. 

So far things have been fun and a bit exciting though rather nerve racking.  The general election is in November and I'm fully confident Ben will win a seat, if not the whole election.  Many people are resonating with his message and ideas for change and have offered their full support, for which I am extremely grateful.  My personality is not the type to talk easily with strangers and I'm very uncomfortable approaching unfamiliar people.  I doubt this experience will change me, just prepare and condition me.  To what ends these ventures will take us, I don't know, but it is exciting and definitely an opportunity I feel we need to take.  City Council or Bust!