You know you're in Wyoming when...

(Happy St. Patty's, by the way...luck o' the Irish to you!)

We went to visit Fernando's mission greenie and his cute family in Kemmerer, WY. The drive up was gorgeous. I love our country. The Nelsons showed us a WONDERFUL time...including: going shooting!

Even the kids got to shoot a little 22. Sammy was so excited. Miranda was cold and nervous. But they both did it! Strange how I'm proud of them shooting, I know. But Bro. Nelson was so safe and helped them and it was an experience we hadn't even thought of giving them. I like when the kids' horizons expand.
I haven't been to a shooting range since I was probably 14 or something. So, a LONG time ago. But I've always had okay aim in sports (it's the coordination part I lack) and I really, really enjoyed shooting with some handguns. I wish I knew the names of everything. I mean look, I sorta look cool, right? I mean who would ever know that Bro. Nelson had to LOAD my gun FOR ME. Embarassing.

Bro. Nelson was the most perfect trainer and confidence booster. Later I saw him shoot every single target perfecty and I was in awe.

My Peruvian Cowboy

Sammy had great fun but afterwards he was so bummed and kept complaining that we didn't get to shoot any animals. What?! I mean, I've shown him Bambi. Oh well. Men. And the hunters we were hanging out with in Kemmerer are wonderful men, so I don't blame Sammo for thinking they were cool.

The beautiful K&H Nelson family. Thank you so much for your hospitality. WONDERFUL people. It's amazing how a mission can keep blessing you for your whole life.

And since there weren't any pictures of the squish face:

History 101 for Kids: Totally 80's & The Awesome 90's

The other day I was washing dishes, and Miranda came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play. We've become pretty good at accomodating one another...she's figured out how to play around my cleaning, and I've learned how to clean in character.

She wanted to play something having to do with girls who don't want to marry certain guys and I wasn't getting it, I guess. So, to help clarify, she uttered these words which I never expected to hear from my 4 year old in 2010:

"It's like on 'Saved By The Bell'..."

excuse me?

"Saved By The Bell?" I said.
"Daddy and I watched it on TV." So my husband was the culprit. Bless him for introducing our kids to the finer things.

Speaking of introducing these kids to the finer things, I have been wanting to work out more, and I can't figure out how to schedule it with the kids. So I figured, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I scoured the library one day for a mommy and kids yoga dvd. No luck. But I DID find a "Richard Simmons" exercise video! And I thought, that might be just the thing to hold our attention and get us to enjoy wiggling our waistlines.

I told Fernando what I had found and he forbade us from watching it and told me it would turn our kids into weirdos. Since they're already weirdos and since I think he was just kidding...I think...I busted it out one morning. Of course I prepped the kids as to what we were going to do, and I told them that the leader acts a little funny and has puffy hair. So, they knew what they were getting into. Sortof.

Richard was in a mall when he greeted us, and he and all of his 80's clad friends were excited to exercize with us. Miranda said, "It looks like 'Saved By The Bell'!" and started dancing along. Sammy tried doing a few moves and after about 10.5 seconds said, "I'm done Mommy" and took off. I told Fernando that later and he was proud.

Miranda and I pressed on while Sammy distanced himself from the "puffy hair guy". I finally ended it when Miranda started comparing Richard's exercize friends to people we know. "That looks like Jackie's mommy!" (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) I could just see her showing up at a family reunion or Church and saying, "Hey, you look like that guy I saw on Richard Simmons!" And, frankly, I was done. Even though Richard told me I could do it and he wanted to hug me.

As a postscript here, I should mention that later that day when we were telling daddy about our adventures, we brought up our encounter with Richard and showed him a few moves. So we've gleaned some sweet moves from the experience at least. And Fernando asked Miranda how it really was, and Miranda said, smiling, "It was pretty lame, Dad." That word, "lame," she has never used before. Fernando gave her a high five.

So, I'd say hubby and I are doing a pretty fair job of teaching our children about the 80's and 90's. Perhaps my next step should be introducing them to this:

Any other suggestions?