More Random Moments From My Life

And now, another episode of random pictures from my life--in no particular order.

THE CLOSEST THING WE'LL EVER HAVE TO A DOG...

One of Viv's latest hobbies is pretending to be a puppy dog.  She does it quite a bit.  She crawls around on the floor with her tongue hanging out of her mouth.  She also pants and barks from time-to-time.  It's pretty funny because she doesn't like real dogs at all.  She freaks out and tries to get as far away from them as she possibly can.  But, she loves stuffed dogs and loves to pretend to be one herself.  Silly girl...

BYE BYE BUILDING...

Vivint's wireless division, where Mike now works, just moved into a newly-restored building a few weeks ago.  Mike got to take a little tour of the place before they officially moved in and he took a few pictures of it.  This is where the developers, engineers, etc. sit...

Here's "executive row" as they call it...

Mike's office...

And the fire alarm...

Why he took a picture of the fire alarm, I'll never know.  But, it's actually quite ironic that he did because two days after they moved into the building, this happened...

Yep, the place burned down!  Not even kidding you!!  Mike called me and said, "Ummmmm, you know that building we just moved into a few days ago?  Well, it's on fire right now."  Luckily, everyone made it out okay.

Apparently, some electricians were still working on part of the building.  They were using some heat tape, and somehow a spark lit some insulation in the attic on fire--and the rest was history.  Part of the building is a complete loss.  Luckily, Mike's part of the building just suffered smoke damage.  But, it's bad enough that they can't work there for awhile.  We've heard anywhere from six weeks to six months until they'll be able to return.  In the meantime, the company has rented out some space in another building down in Provo for them to temporarily use.  Mike & some other managers were able to go in the burned out building the other day and grab some belongings for their employees.  Mike was happy to discover that his google glasses survived.  You know--because those are so important and all.  His mini-fridge, however, did not.  It will be replaced by insurance.

SWINGIN' TIL SUNSET...

In other (less dramatic) news, the kids love going to the park by Nana and Poppy's house anytime we go to visit.  The swings are always a popular attraction with all of them--especially Vivvie...

That girl could swing for hours, if we let her...

Now, if only she would learn how to pump...

She's getting pretty brave on the swings.  She loves to have people do "underdogs" with her & she smiles and squeals as she goes high in the sky...

Her smile is so stinkin' cute...

Cousin Landon is learning to love the swings as well...

Love this little gal!   She is so fun.  I don't know how God packed such a huge personality into such a little body, but somehow He managed to pull it off...

GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES...

And, speaking of that little body.  It's getting smaller by the day--at least compared to other children her age. Viv is falling further and further off the growth chart.  She is still growing, but it's an extremely sloooooooooooooooow growth, which is why she's falling further and further off the growth chart.  And, the doctors don't know why.

A few weeks ago, they decided to do some blood work to see if it was a thyroid issue.  I was scared to death to take her to have the blood work done.  I had visions of blood-curdling screams and sudden movements causing the needle to poke the wrong place.  But, this little girl surprised me!  She was the bravest little thing I've ever seen in my life.  She didn't mind the needle at all!  She watched as it went in, didn't make a peep, and then announced, "Oooooooo, blood coming out!" as she saw the tube filling up.  She actually seemed to *like* the whole experience!  Who knows--maybe I have a future nurse or doctor in the making?!?  And she was pretty stoked about the big, red sucker she got at the end of the experience...

Oh, by the way, the thyroid results came back fine.  The pediatrician told us just to come back in six months to have her measured again.  If her growth hasn't picked up at all, they will do a few other tests like bone scans and things like that to look into the problem further.  I just think she's a short little thing.  After all, she does have a grandma who is only 5'2", a great-grandma that was 5'2", and another great-grandma who was 5'0".  We clearly have some strong short genes in this family!  Guess time will tell as to whether or not we have a real problem here, or if she's just simply a shorty pants.

BECOMING BEN FRANKLIN...

Okay, onto other things.  The 5th Graders do a "wax museum" each year.  They have to pick a person they want to learn more about, read a book or two about them, make a poster about the person using all the facts they have learned, prepare a presentation about the person using only note cards, and dress up as the person as well.  Connor didn't know who to choose so I suggested Benjamin Franklin, since he is a direct ancestor of ours.  I am his 7th great-granddaughter and my kids are his 8th great-grandchildren.  One of our neighbors had a George Washington costume that we were able to use part of in order to create a pretty awesome Ben Franklin costume...

Here's Connor at the "Wax Museum."  And, yes, he has tights on.  And, I helped him put them on.  Yep, I helped my son put on tights.  Highlight of my life, I tell ya...

Cohen, Viv and I walked around and saw all the different costumes and heard some of the kids' presentations.  But, Cohen and Viv got a little bored & decided to take to the stage to do a little dancing...

Cohen is seriously so good-natured with Vivvie...

He pretty much does whatever she asks him to do.  Best big brother ever...

Oh, by the way, Connor got 50 out of 50 on this project.  And, to get a perfect score from his strict teacher is pretty much unheard of, so he basically hit the ball out of the park with this one!  Good job Connor!

HAT-TASTIC...

Mike, Viv & I left the boys at home and went to Target the other day.  I decided to try a few things on & when I came out of the dressing room, this is what I found.  It's hard to get bored with these two around...

WEEKEND FUN...

It's also hard to get bored at work.  I tempted fate one day and stood under a ladder for the Ides of March...

That day was apparently purple day at work because Amy and I both showed up wearing it.  They were slightly different shades, but close enough...

HELL HAS FROZEN OVER...

I've borrowed a lot of things from neighbors lately (like the costume for Connor's Wax Museum), so I decided to bake cookies to give to them when I returned all the items.  Actually, let me rephrase that, I decided to *have Mike* bake cookies to give to them when I returned all the items.  See, I hate baking!  HATE IT!!  I would rather clean 10 nasty bathrooms than bake--any day.  That's how bad I hate it.  Yes, I know I'm weird.  I've heard it time-and-time-again from you "normal people" who love it--but it's just not for me.  I usually screw something up & whatever I'm baking turns out super crappy.  Plus, I have a huge mess to clean up after I'm done because I'm an extremely messy baker.  So, yes, I was planning to have Mike bake the cookies for me.  But, he got home from work that night and told me he probably wouldn't have time because he had to do some stuff out in the yard that night.  Stuff that couldn't be put off.  So, I was left to bake the cookies...by myself.  I wanted to cry...literally, just sit down and cry.  Have I mentioned how much I hate baking?!?

So, I sent all the kids out in the yard with Mike, so I could really concentrate on what I was doing.  After all, these cookies were going to be given to other people, so they *had* to turn out good.  Well, guess what, a miracle happened that night!  The cookies actually turned out!!!  Cookies that *I* made actually turned out!!!!!  They were plump, gooey & oh so perfect.  Hence the title of this section--hell has frozen over...

I SCREAM...YOU SCREAM...WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM...

Aiden and I went out to get ice cream last week for our monthly date.  Aiden asked for a single scoop.  If this is a single scoop, I'd hate to see the double scoop...

He had no problem downing it though...

No problem at all...

OF FABLES AND FROGS...

Aiden also had his "Fable Fair" this past week.  That's where the 2nd Graders read a fable, memorize as much of it as possible, make a mask to represent their fable, and then tell their fable to parents and other students during the Fable Fair.  I honestly can't remember what Aiden's fable was called because it was an obscure one that I had never heard of before, but I do remember it had something to do with a frog because that's what his mask was supposed to be...

He did a great job!  All the kids did, in fact.  Their masks were all so cute and creative!

JAZZERCIZE...

Poppy took all the boys to a Jazz game a few weeks ago.  They had a great time, especially when the Jazz bear came to play with them a little bit...

The boys enjoyed the game, even though the Jazz lost--but what's new this season, right?  We're really going for that draft pick...

MORE FUN AT WORK...

And, finally, one last "Saturday Selfie" at work.  This one with Amy, Brian & me.  Love working with these guys...

So, there you go!  Another round of random moments from the past few weeks of my life.  Never boring around these parts!!  --Lindsay

Irish For the Day

We don't do much for St. Patrick's Day around these parts.  I think I have one St. Patrick's decoration.  Yep, one.  However, a few years ago, I started doing a few little traditions--all of them involving food.  Because I'm a sucker for food.  Probably four or five years ago, I started making the kids Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast each St. Patrick's Day...

Super nasty looking, right?!?  It's so gross looking that I decided to take a break from it a couple years ago and do Rainbow Pancakes instead.  They were really cute, but the boys missed the Green Eggs and Ham.  So, the tradition of eating Green Eggs & Ham continues in the Storrs' Family.  Here are the big boys eating the gross-looking stuff before heading off to school...

Cohen got up about an hour later and enjoyed his as well...

Viv just refused to eat it, touch it or even look at it (and can you really blame her???).  She had Lucky Charms instead.  I guess that's sort of appropriate for St. Patrick's Day--with the Lucky the Leprechaun and all.

The other tradition we started just a few years ago was making Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner on St. Patrick's Day...

Mike introduced me to this dish at the beginning of our marriage.  I had never had it before, but it was always a tradition in his family when he was growing up.  I think Corned Beef and Cabbage gets a bad rap, so I was a little nervous to try it the first time.  But, I loved it from the first bite!  Corned beef is so yummy.  I love cabbage.  The potatoes are always delish.  And, Mike makes this brown sugar and honey sauce that is divine!

So, there's the rundown on our St. Patrick's Day "festivities."  They're not fancy, but they sure are delicious!!  Luck o' the Irish to ye!  --Lindsay

My Favorite Scout Visit

We have scout troops come through the station all the time.  But, this past weekend, we hosted my favorite troop ever.  Troop 704--which just happens to be Connor's troop.  They also have a troop leader that I'm kind of fond of as well...

The boys got a tour of the station before the show began.  Their favorite part of the tour was when our floor crew put them on camera and they could see themselves on the in-studio monitors.  We heard lots of "Hey look, I'm on TV..."

They also liked the control room, especially the sound board and its ability to play all sorts of sound effects that 11-year-olds think are hilarious...

Here are the boys watching the show...

And watching me wait for my weather segment...

At the end of the show, they even made a cameo on TV!  We put them on set with us for the end of the show, although none of the leaders took a picture of that part.  Oh well.

After the show, I answered a few questions to help them earn their weather merit badge, and then we finished the tour in the kitchen set with hot chocolate for everyone.

The boys had a great time, and it was fun to have them there.  Whenever we have tours come through the station, it reminds me just how cool my job is.  When you do something day-in-and-day-out, it tends to start feeling a little mundane.  But, when you see the process of putting on a show through their eyes, it makes you realize how awesome it is that I actually get *paid* to do something so fun!  It was great to have them there.  Hopefully, they learned something--and had a little fun too.  --Lindsay

Skiing with the Scouts

Connor's scout troop has been working on their Winter Sports merit badge recently.  As part of that, they got the opportunity to go night skiing.  They went up to Sundance Ski Resort one evening last week.  Mike is one of the scout leaders, so he got to go along too.  Here's Connor and some of the other scouts waiting to get on the ski lift...

Going up...

Love these two...

Connor has been skiing a couple times before, but it's been awhile.  He basically had to re-learn how to ski.  I guess he was a little frustrated at first, but got the hang of it again quickly and really started enjoying it.  Here he is snowplowing down the slopes...

They skied for about 3 1/2 hours, and then made a pit stop at Wendy's on the way home because they had a bunch of starving boys.  And, men.  Fries and frosties for everyone...

It sounded to me like they all had a great time as they learned to maneuver their way down the slopes.  I love that my boys have an opportunity to learn a variety of different skills, hobbies and talents through the boy scout program.  --Lindsay

Junior Achievement City

I mentioned briefly in my last post that Connor went on a field trip to "Junior Achievement City" at Discovery Gateway.  Mike was a parent volunteer on this field trip, so he got to go along for the fun.  When they first got to JA Biztown--as it's also known--they were given instructions on what was going to happen for the day...

Connor and his friends listening--or not listening--to the instructions...

Mike was assigned to help the kids working at Maverik...

Which happened to be right next door to KSL, where Connor was employed as CFO...

Here's Connor and his co-workers checking out their new office.  I love how Connor looks totally overwhelmed before it's even started.  So like him...

After working for awhile, they all received their first "paycheck," so Connor was off to the bank to put it in his checking account...

He then made a trip to Alphagraphics to order some business cards for himself and his colleagues...

Then it was back to the office for more hard work.  Here's Connor entering invoices for advertising that had been purchased...

It sounds like it was a great experience for the kids to have jobs in the business world and to learn how to deal with money--and they had a great time too.  But, Connor told me he has decided he definitely does *not* want to be a CFO.  He said it was too much work.  Oh son, if you only knew!  --Lindsay