06 August 2011

Hi, Molly here.


Hello blog world, it is me, Miss Molly. I haven't written an update on the blog for a while, so my mom told me I probably should. I don't really do anything else she tells me to do, so I don't know why I am doing this, but oh well. I like to walk, but I kind of waddle around like an old lady. Plus, my left arm is always pulled up to my side while I walk, and my right arm sticks out straight. I kind of veer to the left, but one of these days I'll figure it out, I guess.

I try really hard to talk to my mom, but she just doesn't understand me. Like, she'll say, "I love you Molly" and I'll say, "a-joo-ewe-wagga." Or, my mom will say "thank you" and I'll say "allajooda." She just doesn't get it, but maybe one of these days she will. Oh, there are a few things that I can say that she DOES understand. Thank goodness. Here is the list: Hi - but it is more like Hiiiiiiiyah - Hot - but it is more like Haaaaaaat - Mama - but I don't like to say this one unless I'm crying or whining - Dada - my favorite word. I have also used this one a few times in a complete sentence, "Hiiii Dada." -

I like to throw things in the garbage can, but then I don't understand why we can't take things back out of the garbage can. My mom is so mean about that and she says, "Cu-cu" and I say "Sckaaaa." She also says that a lot when I try to throw things in the toilet.

When I feel like cooperating, I can make lots of animal sounds, but that has gotten kind of old and I get tired of telling my mom what different animals say. Doesn't she know already? Why does she keep asking me?

I can also say, "mmmmmmmmmmmmm," when I see food.

Oh, I haven't felt like doing it for a couple of days, but for a while, I would say, "A-Ha" really loud at the end of a prayer. Every time I did it, though, my mom would tell me "shhhh," so now I've stopped.

I have a red necklace I love to wear around the house.
I still take my shoes and socks off almost every time I get in the car.
People keep telling my mom that now I'm walking, "I'll bet she's in to everything," but my mom just replies, "No, she was in to everything before, now she just gets there faster."

I love to be outside. I like to play with the hose, ants, my ball. I'm still not really sure about grass. When we go get the mail my mom makes me poke this sharp tree with needles. She says, "ouch," and I say, "hot." I don't know why we have to get the mail everyday. I am excited to go outside, but then we have to walk so far to the mailbox. Sometimes I just stop and look at pine cones instead.

I can give you a high 5 and blow you a kiss.

I still drink a bottle in the mornings. I don't really care if I have it or not and sometimes I tell my mom, no, but she says I have to drink it or else I'm not getting enough milk.

I hate getting my diaper changed and I run away or crawl away almost every time. My mom gets really mad at me then, but I still do it.

I have 4 teeth on the bottom and 2 on the top, but like 4 more coming in. My nose is runny and I've been kind of grumpy lately.

I pretty much just like to play by myself, but I really like it when other kids are around, so I just follow them sometimes.

I eat cheese, bread, hot dogs, chicken, noodles (including mac & cheese), yogurt, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, marshmallows, fish crackers, fruit loops, did I mention yogurt (it is my favorite), applesauce, anything with sugar. My mom still makes me eat baby food every once in a while because she says I need some fruits and vegetables. They are always giving me weird things that they are eating, probably fruits and vegetables, but unless they are mooshed up like baby food, I usually just spit it back out at them.

Oh, and lately I like to help my mom comb my hair. She always gets really frustrated. I don't know why. I am just rubbing my hands all over my hair when she's finished. Doesn't that make it look even better?

And, I had my first real haircut at a haircut place. I sat like such a big girl in the chair and ate a sucker while the lady cut my hair. I was sooo good. My mom told me I had to have them fix it because she did a bad job trying to trim it herself. Duh, mom, why didn't you just give me a sucker and a big chair? I wouldn't have wiggled around so much.

That's about all for now. It is past my bedtime.


04 August 2011

That's Willie's Head


I just happened to be reading the Tribune tonight and caught site of my brother's head in the background of this picture. No, he's not mentioned in the article, of course, but is a member of the offensive line being the "biggest hole" in Hunter's football season. Oh well.



Les Hamilton is back. Way before anyone expected him to be.

The former head coach at Alta, who led the Hawks to state titles, resigned this winter to pursue a seafood career. He’s since returned to Hunter High and is poised to lead the Wolverines to what he hopes are similar results to what he produced at Alta.

On paper, Hunter is well-stocked to make a run at the Region 2 title. The Wolverines have one of the best defensive ends in the state in Utah commit Moses Foluahola. Derrick Payton is back from Lehi to be the defensive coordinator, and the defense overall looks deep and poised to make a lasting impact on the upcoming season.

The question is whether Hunter will be able to score points.

It seems almost silly to wonder whether a Hamilton-led team can get into the end zone. But there are holes. Gone up front is Ului Lapuaho, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound left tackle who’s now at Brigham Young University. The offensive line will be new; so will the quarterback, Jairo Tarver, and a host of receivers.

Still, the talent is there. Hamilton loves Tarver’s dual-threat ability. Devonte Maez, a 6-1 wideout, already has an offer to Weber State and could have a breakout season. And then people wonder how a team full of players designed for a running game will adjust to a spread offense.

“People think we’re going to throw it like Jordan High,” Hamilton said. “But at Alta, we’ve always tried to be a balanced offense. We’re going to run the ball, but when it comes time to throw the ball, I feel confident that we’re going to be able to do that too.”

Last year » 7-4 (lost to Bingham in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs).

Key returner » Moses Foluahola anchors the defensive line and will be perhaps the most important player on the team this year.

Player to watch » Wide receivers usually excel in Les Hamilton’s offenses. The best one for Hunter this season will be Devonte Maez.

Biggest hole » An offensive line that dominated last season is gone, leaving a huge question mark.

Need to know » Hamilton considers Kearns, not his team, the Region 2 favorite.

Math Nerd


... and finally, not math related, but specifically for Willie and Parker



01 August 2011

That'll Do Car

On our Idaho trek over the weekend, my good little trusty Honda made it to a huge milestone in it's life . . . 200,000 miles!!!!


We reached this extraordinary mark just a few miles west of Arco, Idaho on Sunday, July 31st. We stopped and took some pictures of where we were. Molly even woke up for the occasion!


This car is the best. It's getting a little old, creaky, and rattly, but it is still hanging in there and safely driving us places that we need to go. I've had this car since it was just a teenager at
35,000 miles. It has been with me ever since and taken me all over the place. We had great times driving back and forth to Tooele for 5 years and I swear that my car, like a trusting horse, new the way by itself because some mornings I wondered how I got there.

I bought this car in May 2002 when I realized that my final year of school was going to be completely paid for by a cushy scholarship from the Education Department. With no more tuition, I was able to stop driving borrowed cars (my parents' cars, my sisters' Ford Escort, my Grandpa Huber's red Honda Accord, or my Grandma Petersen's white Buick with the blue afghan in the back window) and actually buy my own.

Here's to many more miles little Honda! (knock on wood and keep our fingers crossed)

On the subject of cars . . . one more thing. As much as I love my little Honda, there is another car I've been dreaming of for most of my life. We saw three of them in excellent condition over the weekend. I think it was some type of omen.

James promised me (we even shook on it while driving on the freeway, no lie) that if he ever gets his "dream car" that he would find one of these for me and even rebuild it if necessary. He said yes! The car he wants and has drooled over since I've known him is some model of a Jaguar, pronounce Jag-u-war, not Jag-wire, according to my Grandma's Scottish friend, Mora. I guess it is time to start saving for James' Jag so that I can get my mint condition VW Bus. Don't laugh. I'm serious.

Biorn Reunion and Idaho Drive


This weekend we headed to Idaho Falls to a Biorn Family Reunion (Mary's family) and to hang out with James' mom, dad, and sister Annie's family. Last year we went up and back in a day for the reunion, but this year we decided to turn it into a little 3-day vacation (since we hadn't really planned any other summer vacations).

On Friday, Molly and I got all ready and waited patiently for James to come home from work so we could leave. Eventually he did get home and we left around 7:00 p.m. We hit invisible road
construction and 1-lane freeways in a couple of spots on our way up and pulled into Idaho Falls around 10:30. James worked all the way up in the car. He stayed in the parking lot of the motel working for another half hour while Molly and I got settled in our room. At midnight she was still wide awake and not sure what to do with her new surroundings. I suggested to James that if we were to just turn out all the lights and be quiet, she'd probably fall asleep in a couple of minutes.
Unfortunately, my husband and I have communication issues sometimes (lots of the time) and
whatever I said was then interpreted as, "I will leave the room with my computer and go hang
out with the Cotton Tree employees in the lobby all night long while I work and watch them
prepare breakfast at 2:30 in the morning." Molly was asleep in literally 2 minutes. James was back in our room when we woke up around 7:00 and he was tired, but oh well.

We headed to the reunion around 10:00 and were at the park where it was held for most of the
day. It was hot, but otherwise a nice day. Molly kind of likes to do her own thing and just
wanders around, but she is always pleasant when other kids are around.


She did fall several times. The step from the grass to the concrete of the bowery was tough and she has a bit of a raspberry on her face to prove it. She survived, though. I think I said this last year, but Molly definitely blends in to Mary's family. She really resembles a lot of them. In fact, here is a picture of Mary as a little girl. I think you can see the resemblance.


After the reunion, we invited Annie and her family over to our motel for a swim. I think the kids had a lot of fun. James and Annie were trying to give RyAnn and Issac swimming lessons. Morriah only wanted to hang out in the smaller hot pool. Molly squealed at everything. Elizza even got in the pool after Grandpa let her play with a tootsie pop (she was pretty sticky and a
quick pool bath did her good).


We left the pool, picked up pizza, and had dinner back at Annie and Jared's house. The kids played with bubbles, LaRon tried to fix their tiller and lawnmower, Jared rigged up a wire for giant bubbles, we ate, and had a good time. Molly had a lot of fun, but was pretty dirty, though. She had a spit bath in Annie and Jared's kitchen sink and rode back to the motel in her undershirt. Needless to say, she and James were both pretty wiped out and were asleep fast once we got back to our room.

On Sunday, we headed out of Idaho Falls on a longer ride home. We drove to Arco, the first
town in the United States to ever be powered solely off of nuclear power (and also near Jared's
hometown). It was just outside of Arco that my car hit a major milestone of 200,000 miles (but that gets a post of it's own).

Next, we stopped at the visitor center and drove through Craters of the Moon National Monument. Neither of us had ever been there and it was interesting. It's just a dark, sullen black landscape in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. It was caused by the lava runoff and underground volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Interesting.


Afterwards, we drove to Twin Falls over this enormous bridge and ate dinner at a Perkins.


We visited both Shoshone Falls (pronounced Show-shown even though the Indian tribe is pronounce Show-shoney)

and Twin Falls (which used to be two matching falls on either side of this rock, but one of the twins was assassinated and turned into hydro-electric power)

After the falls, we stopped in Snowville, Utah for gas and then continued on. We got home a little before 9:00 p.m. Did you know there is a Mollie's Diner in Snowville?

It was a good weekend. I like to go for drives in the car. With the exception of a few minor meltdowns, Molly was really good. It was fun to hang out with our nieces and nephew who we don't see too often. It was great!

Maybe next year we'll make it a 4 day weekend and go to Yellowstone on the way home. We haven't been there for quite a while.