Introducing Junie B. Thompson

Bryce and I decided to look for a house dog to be a sort of companion/therapy dog for Brandt to try to help with his anxiety and some things like settling down for bed at night. When buddy found out we were looking for one, he got all excited and kept coming up with things to tell us like, "you know, service dogs are allowed to ride school buses so it can just ride with me," and "service dogs are allowed in schools so I'll be able to take it to school with me every day."  We had to do a lot of explaining that it wouldn't be allowed since he isn't blind or anything like that and that it was going to be more of a family pet.  The funny thing is, we had never even mentioned the words "service dog"-he just came up with that all on his own. Our counselor suggested a schnauzer because that's what he has and because of some of their traits. We were able to find one within our price range in Vernal, UT.  We ended up having to make the trip down there to pick her up, but it was well worth it when we saw how happy our children were.  Her owner wasn't completely honest about her age-he had told me she was 4 but when we got there he said that's what shelter had told him but that his vet told him she was a few years older than that.  Her name was Jennie, but Brandt helped us come up with the name Junie B. (like the book character Junie B. Jones).  When we got home, Brandt went and layed down with her and went right to sleep for the first time in a long time!! So far she is the sweetest and calmest little thing and we are happy to have her as part of our family.

Soccer

Brandt talked us into letting him play soccer after bringing home a sign up sheet from school one day.  This was the first year we let him do it and now we're wishing we would have let him play the last couple of years, too.  He ended up being really good at it and he LOVED it!  He ended up on a Montpelier team without anyone from this way to car pool with for practices, but his coach, Kristy Crane, was amazing with him and it worked out great!  She was very understanding of his anxieties and some of his little quirks and she was often able to help him through it and recognize when she needed to either push him a little harder or pull him out of the game and let him regroup.  We tried to act out some social stories at home and Shaun also worked with him in counseling to not get so overwhelmed when lots was going on on the playing field.  We also worked on what to do in different situations when we thought he might get upset, like if someone stole the ball away.  It was exciting to see him put some of the skills we had practiced to work in the games.  When his coach could get him to take his hands out of his pockets and go after the ball, he was unstoppable.  He made every goal that his team made throughout their short season and he was also great on defense. He was happy when he had "fans" come and watch him-both sets of grandparents, Maleri and Quinn, and Lisa Hillier. I had a lot of other parents and coaches tell me how good and fast he was and boy does that make a mama proud.  But mostly it made me happy to see him enjoy himself and to hear him say things like, "I love soccer and I want to play it even when I'm a grown up!" 

Hunting with Dad

Bryce has been telling buddy for the past month or so that he would take him hunting this year and Brandt has been so excited! The funny thing is that Brandt hates the sound of guns and he hates it if we even kill a box elder bug or a mouse, so I can't imagine how traumatic it would be for him to be there when Bryce shoots a deer or elk.  I'm pretty sure it's the idea of spending time with his dad doing things that boys do that is appealing to him- not the actual hunting and killing part.

I never thought I would see the day when Brandt would hold a gun and actually shoot it.  For the most part I've been ok with that, but I also know that it's something that can be bonding for fathers and sons.  Lately buddy has expressed interest in guns and Bryce felt it was time to give it a try a week or so ago.  He set up a clay pigeon as a target in the yard and they started out with shooting the BB gun so it wasn't as loud.  Brandt was so happy and he did a fabulous job!  I was impressed with how well he listened and followed his dad's instructions.  I was equally as impressed with Bryce's patience in teaching him.

When the hunting day came, buddy acted just as big as the others who were going. Their hunting party consisted of Quinn and Allee, and Bryce, Brandt, and Rylie and they rode their 4-wheelers up the canyon.  They didn't see anything that they could shoot, but I think it was a successful hunt all the same because of the quality time that they got to spend together-that and the fact that now buddy won't have nightmares about the sound of the gun and an animal dying.

Parable of the Bat (otherwise known by Bryce as Attack of the Killer Bat)

As soon as the kids and I pulled in the driveway and saw the look on Bryce's face as he came toward the car, I knew something was terribly wrong.  He was yelling something to me before I could even get the car stopped and the door opened.  "It's a sign!  It's a sign!  It's a sign! I am NOT taking the poster down!  It's a sign!" When he got a grip on himself, the rest of the story spilled out.  After years of keeping a bikini girl poster on his garage wall (I think it lived in 3 different garages as we've moved over the years), he finally decided it was time for it to come down.  As he peeled the top of the poster down a bat suddenly flew out and attached itself TO HIS FACE!!!!  With cat-like reflexes, he ripped it from his face, chucked it at the cement floor, and ran out of the garage-possibly screaming like a little girl, although I can't say for sure since we hadn't yet arrived on the scene. We had a quick family pow-wow where heavy discussion was held concerning the belief that the attacking of the bat was a sign that the poster should stay.  Brandt and I brought the Joseph Smith praying in the grove story to the table, and it was finally decided that often times Satan (and his bats lol) will attack us and try to stop us from doing good in the world and we have to fight against that and do what we know is right. Bryce was afraid it was still alive, so we went as a family to check it out.  Bryce grabbed a shovel and the four of us crept in for a closer look.  Bryce nudged it with the shovel and the dang thing spread it's wings and tried to fly off-and that would be when I screamed like a little girl!  We were all giggling like crazy and trying to be brave while Bryce finished it off and then hauled it away before taking the poster the rest of the way off the wall.  He ended up being the hero for finishing the job he started and teaching us all some lessons in the process. I guess that if this parable is worth anything, I don't have to explain the moral of it here, right?

Funeral fit for a Crab

In the past couple weeks we have had two deaths in the family.  Shy the hermit crab came out of his shell and I thought it was cool that I was able to catch some pictures of him before he moved into his new shell.  Unfortunately, he was attacked by Brandt the crab while he was naked and ended up dying a day later.  Brandt was pretty traumatized and upset that Shy's friend had attacked him.  We thought it was our fault for not keeping him isolated while he was molting, but then a couple weeks later Brandt came out of his shell and then died.  So...we must have had something wrong with their habitat or something.  Of course, we had a funeral (for Shy anyway-buddy was still upset at Brandt for being a murderer so he just got flushed lol) and Brandt was heartbroken as he said some final words.  As the pictures show, Kylie was pretty chipper at the graveside service.