Up the down staircase

This year, 2009, I have decided to start participating in blogging for my own self, plus I have been inspired by my predecessors. Not only that, I would like for this to be a catalyst to remind me of how great life is no matter the circumstances. To begin I would like to take a moment to say thank you to all the special people in my life, seen and unseen.

I first need to start with my parents. I would not be who I am if it weren't for them. They are sensitive, generous, hard working, humorous, sassy, spiritual people, and always encouraged me in every endeavor I wanted to do. They didn't always agree with what I chose, but they supported me nonetheless. To the two of you I am deeply indebted. Thank you for believing in me. I love you.

Next I must thank my balancing half, Taylor. He has taught me to be soft and forgiving and to have humor. He has taught me it's OK to take a nap and not feel guilty. He has taught me that poo and farts really are funny. He has shown me what selfless love is. He has taught me to be true to myself. He is my soul mate. He is my catalyst to seeing what I really can do. I love you baby!

My children also need to be named. Again, if it weren't for them I would be so naive about how the world really is. I have learned so much from them. For instance, Austin has taught me that any object, such as rubber ducks or banana's or sticks of any size or shape, can and will be used as guns. Bailey has taught me that girls are not complete as humans because they are missing vital parts; ding-dings, which they should go buy.Eliza has taught me that if you say something like "you stink" to someone and they ask you what you just said you say, "Me say nothing." Kate has taught me that carrots can not only be peeled, but sharpened.

To my siblings and their spouses thank you for your humor and your love and the way you watch out for me and my family. You have never let me down, but have showed me compassion and humor and above all real friendship.

For my in-laws and brother's and sister's-in-law I must say thank you for being patient with me and my husband and all of our excess personality. I can guarantee you if you will continue to stick by us life will never be dull. I love you all, and am not great at expressing it as often as I need to, but thank you for your humor and you sincerity.

For all the angels that have come into my life; thank you for carrying me when I was to weak to walk on my own. Deepest love to you.

So, with that, I begin this new year. Huzzah!
I choose to;
live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate my friends.
do what I love.
live this life as if this is all there is.
-mary anne radmacher

The top 10 Taylor Snyder sayings

10. Said to Austin in regard to the proper use of a rubber duck, "Duck's aren't guns!"

9. When I eat bad food I don't feel good.

8. Could be meat, could be cake (with a bit of help from George Carlin may he RIP).

7. Just smell it, it smells like vinegar.

6. Spiders freak me out!

5. Do I have a bat in the cave?

4. I love you more than a dog loves flowers.

3. What if my Aunt Mary had a pair of nuts? She'd be my uncle Ralph.

2. I am a smoldering volcano of viral manhood.

1. If one and one half chickens could lay one and one half eggs in one and one half minutes, how long would it take a chimpanzee with a wooden leg to pick the seeds out of a cucumber?

Fall in Utah...and how kids remember it

Fall in Utah is a magnificent sight. The leaves change into beautiful colors, all kinds of creatures begin to come out to forage before winter covers all the vegetation and we humans sigh with relief that the gardening season in finally coming to an end.

That being said, our family decided to go on a wonderful afternoon excision up the canyon to beautiful South Fork where we frequently ride our bikes and hike. We also decided to take the dogs...all three of them. However Taylor only acknowledges two of them and the third dog, Eddie, is referred to as, "that dog".




It may seem that we have more dogs than we should. I forgot to add we also have a cat named Pinky. That is another story however. Nevertheless, the dogs are named Chloe, the big one that looks like a red and white striped bear, an Alaskan Malamute; Walter, a.k.a., my sweet little, angle puppy dog, the beagle; and Eddie, a.k.a. "that dog", a Wheaten Terrier. We indeed have a motley crew and that includes the children and the parent's who produced them.



Before we even got started, we had to get all the dogs, and the kids, into the 4runner. Chloe is getting on in years and doesn't get around to well, so it has become necessary to lift the tiny little thing, into and out of, the car. The other two we wedged into a dog box together to prevent them from romping all over us in the car. Chloe has travelled enough to know that she just needs to lay down, keep her paws and legs in the vehicle at all times, until the ride comes to a complete stop. The other two, aren't so experienced. Walter puked, and Eddie peed. The good part is they were inside the box and instead of sharing the joy with all of us, they just kept it between the two of them.



This episode set the tone for the rest of this hike. The only really pleasant one, for the whole trip was Eliza, and she's almost always pleasant, as you can see in the following pictures.






Taylor was really starting to annoy me as well with his big talk of how "superior" his dog was and how "that dog" was so stupid and barks so much and all that crap. We were on our way back down the trail, which by the way, is a multipurpose trail, used by hikers, bikers, horseback riders and even campers. Anyway, as we are perusing down the trail, Walter comes upon a pile of horse manure; then he ATE IT!

Taylor just couldn't believe that his sweet, angel, puppy dog ate horse manure! And he kept groaning and saying, "Oh, gross. That's disgusting. Don't eat horse shit. Ewww." I was laughing my guts out as Chloe and Eddie just walked past it. Comeuppance is AWESOME!


This all happened in September of 2008 and it is now January 1, 2009. Several weeks ago Kate was standing in the hallway and said, "Mama, remember when we went on a walk with the dogs and Walter ate horseshit?" I laughed so hard I had to sit down; again comeuppance is AWESOME!