Happy Birthday Mama!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hope you have a lovely day teaching school.  We're thinking about you!

Thanks for just being you:
You always keep the snack bowl stocked up
You have a comfy chair and blanket for the girls to sit in
You know your football
You're a good listener, especially if I babble on and on and on and on
You're a crossword master
A wonderful swimmer
You have a witty personality
You're easy to be around

All the Fun. We had at Fun.

Mat and I slipped away to see the band Fun. We always said if they came to SLC, we'd go. I'm not much of a concert goer these days, but I happen to do my house cleaning to Fun. and I know the songs quite well. Concerts for me are too sweaty, stinky and crowded for my taste.  I'd be fine if I were in a small venue. Maybe I would have my own personal white linen covered table, with a cold beverage in one hand and my hubby's hand in the other while the band played for me, but turns out I am just not that special.



So, instead, if you time it right, the stars can align and you may get lucky and find yourself at a not so bad concert.  It was out at Saltaire.  The crowd was actually pleasant and a mixture of young and 80.



There was even space between me and the single chicks.  It didn't reek of pot, only the occasional wafting of the Great Salt Lake.  The rain had cooled off the day earlier making it a nice 77 degrees which is far more comfortable than 72. We could actually see the band too.  What a tasty recipe and I just might venture out and do it again.

Soccer Coach Fiasco

I believe I've hit a volunteering max. I get this phone call from a friend of mine who happens to be running our local volunteer soccer league. She explains that they needed help coaching Micah's soccer team because the previous coach who signed up could no longer do it. Knowing how hard it is to get a parent to be in charge of something, I broke and said I could help. BUT, I specifically said I would not be head coach, but assistant coach, and I made it clear that I would not be to the first soccer practice because I was helping run our block party (Another thing I signed myself up for.  Bad timing, I know.)

So, Mat trickles down to soccer practice with little Micah to find that they are looking for the head coach by the name of Micki.  Mat calls me immediately to tell me that I should have been to practice that night because parents were expecting me. This is all right in the middle of setting up for the block party...loads of chairs spewing from my car along with balanced food dishes and drink containers lining my seats. Argh! I really thought I had covered all my bases, yet the gal who was taking over for soccer that night never stepped up to the plate and had forgotten to tell the parents I wasn't going to be there. She's pregnant and forgiven.

Mat was the hero.  Not knowing a thing about soccer, he did some drills with the girls in his shirt and tie.  The parents watched and realized it wasn't too hard to instruct a group of 6-7yr olds.He also stuck up for me and let the parents know that I was not their gal, that someone else would need to help out.  Well, so far that someone else has been Mat :-)  He's actually quite attractive to me when he is working with kids. There's just something about it that make dads cute around little ones.

I'll show you playing with FIRE

If you'll observe closely, notice how I picked a fight with danger and WON. Ha! Although, that Ha! stopped short after I saw the gas total on my receipt. It was still a death defying thrill.

Bunny...hoppity hop

Before the other Harris clan left home for Colorado, we made the trip complete by taking a girl's shopping extravaganza together--a pastime that always seems to spiral out of control when I'm with the sister in laws. (See past posts on Black Friday)

However!  I did find a lot of good quality stuff for Mat and I--stuff we use often like biking gear, workout gear, headphones, energy bars---all half off.



We also passed the dreaded bunny back and forth all weekend, sometimes getting caught (ahem...Jocelyn) in picking out our placement.  This passing back and forth has gone on for 4ys now. It started shortly after Jocelyn encountered an after Easter sale while we were both living in Ohio and WV.  The bunny, originally meant for my kids, became toxically annoying as it repeated, "Happy Easter, Doing! Doing!" over the weekend we spent with their family in Ohio. Before we left for home, I ended up placing it under Jocelyn's pillow as a parting gift. I chuckled all the way home. Ever since, the bunny will show up in the strangest places and you anticipate its arrival whenever we encounter the presence of the opposing Harris team.

The morning they left, I strapped the bunny to Tom's bike seat in the wee hours of the morning.  I thought that would be a nice place for the bunny to ride all the way home to CO, however, they felt the bunny would be happier at my place (my driveway).

Wascally Wabit!

Baptism for Greti

Since the entire family was up for Bob's Birthday Bash,  we decided to hold Gretchen's baptism at the same time.  We had it Sunday, September 1st at our local church building and later we went to the park for dinner.

Grandma Rexine came for the special event...we also needed her desperately on the piano :-) Good thing someone knows how to play a musical instrument.



We dashed down to Music and Spoken word to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle broadcast taking place at the conference center. My mom had never done that before and I'm glad we did. Dirty Detail: They had a technical issue and had to re record one teeny tiny verse over again from one of their songs.  Literally, one verse.  They would take that line and splice it into their final cut.  Nobody would have really noticed, but if it's going to be done it's going to be done right I suppose.



I didn't take any baptism photos prior, darn! However, Gretchen rocked her baptism.  After she came out of the water and changed into her pretty white dress, she threw on her feather boa with pizazz and proceeded with class and confidence where everyone was waiting for her.  When she entered the room, there was a gasp followed by some smiling chuckles. Her smile turned downward and she asked, "Why are people laughing?"  I whispered to her, "Because no one else can throw on feather boa and rock their baptism, except you.  You look beautiful Gretchen." And, she did. After that, she strutted back her shoulders and beamed. I asked her what she liked most about her baptism and she said it was wearing her pretty white dress and having all of the people she loved in one room. I concur.

Conducting: Tim Swift, 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric

Chorister:  Andrea Augenstein, (grandmother)

Pianist: Rexine Bullock, (grandmother)  

Opening Song: Baptism pg. 100

Opening Prayer: Paul, (uncle)

Baptism Talk: Matthew Kjar, (uncle)

Musical Number: When I am baptized, Brighton, Amber, 

Montana, Kirsten, (cousins)

Baptism of Gretchen Harris

Baptized by: Matheson Harris, (father)

Witnesses:   Bob Augenstein, (grandfather)

                    Casey Bullock, (uncle)

Confirmation portion

Talk on the Holy Ghost:  Dannielle Larkin, (aunt)

Confirmed by:  Matheson Harris, (father)

Closing song:   The Holy Ghost, pg. 105
         

Closing prayer:  Ruby Harris, (cousin)

Thank you for coming! It means a lot to our family.

Please join us dinner at the Golden Hills Park

At the park we had sandwiches, doritos (her favorite) and a map cake.  She loves maps and I have a feeling she will travel the world sharing her love for God and our Savior. Oh the places she'll go!







After a long weekend, we chilled at the house and maybe squeezed in one more sleepover with the cousins before Tom and Joc had to leave.

BIRTHDAY BASH 70

Bob turned 70 and the whole Harristein clan got together for games, a slideshow, cake, and laughs. They really are a great bunch to belong to.  It's pretty balanced, everyone gets along, kids disappear and can't be bothered when there are a bazillion cousins to play with, and the foods good.

Here are some pictures of our blastful weekend.

There was a lot of planning and we needed several cousin sleepovers to get our work done!




The next morning.......we got to work making signs and practicing our cheer.







Let the party begin..... but before we get started, I mustache you a question... do you have any more of that frosting?"


















A friendly game of horseshoes between bros

All of Bob's life history wrapped up in a little game we called jeopardy-brought to you by Dannielle.







Nancy, Bob's sister,  took a scooter ride on our Vespa. It was fun to catch up with her and again sutdy her similar mannerisms that are identical to Bob's.

Mt Olympus Hike with a Bunch of Chicks

As most of you know, I have a little more time to meself during the day. To make good use of that time I occasionally grab some buddies and we go do something rad, like hike Mt Olympus.  Activities like this don't happen very often, but when you can get a small group of women to step away from their busy lives, it is refreshing and a good glute burner.



Joc was fortunate to come.  We go way back, waaaay back,  dating back to the 90's.  It turns out we married brothers, so we will know each other over a lifetime. She's a lot of fun and it's always good to catch up with her.




Roz was not too keen on the exposure of great heights, and ironically her last name is Hite (spelled differently, but concidently pronounced the same way).  She held tight to the rocks and I decided to hug the rocks with her.

It's hard to Chew

Micah recently lost both bottom teeth.  She has been dying, like most, to lose some teeth.  She lost the first one the night before and the second one the morning of...her respnse: "Mom, the Toothfairy is going to be like, what the? and then she'll say, I was just here yesterday!" vision Micah's classic hand gestures.  She's very excited for her mouth to produce a gappy smile.  She often smiles real big at familiar friends until they say (or I hint): "Looks like you've lost some teeth Micah!"



It also makes it hard to chew all things long and skinny



Congratulations!