Only in Castle Dale {and the Wilds of Africa}

Castle Dale Utah has a population of about 1,800 people...and five zebras.

The Best Day of the Year

You can never complain about a day on the San Rafael desert with no wind, short sleeves, and jackets; especially when it's January 2nd. The weather has been unseasonably warm. Is it it weird, yes. Do we complain, no! We take advantage of it, and do things that are not normally done in January!

My dad took us on an adventure south of I-70 in Emery County to find a famous, yet hidden, signature of Butch Cassidy. Apparently he smeared it on the rock with axel grease, so it has preserved the sandstone from rain and weather. Some of the signature is now disapearing, so we went to check it out before it's totally gone. We also tried to take a cute family picture on some cool rocks, it turned out about as well as the rest of our family photos. Although very fitting that I'm trying not to go over the edge with Caleb, it's kind of a metaphor for my life right now.

Since we were already in the vicinity of the Musn't Touch It Sand Dunes we decided to stop and let the kids run around. It was really the most unbelievable day, there have been colder days in May. The kids took their shoes off, rolled their pants up, and ran around like crazy on the "beach".

I hiked about half way up with Caleb, until he wanted me to carry him the rest of the way. Carrying a large child up hill in sand is less fun than it sounds. Apparently running up a steep sand dune is really fun when you weigh less than 50 lbs...Just ask Cali she sprinted up and down several times.

Caleb filled up all his clothes and bodily cracks with pounds and pounds of delightful sand!

Carter raced Brandt to the top, and Brandt showed Carter how to run down as fast as your legs can take you. Even these cute little legs needed a tiny rest.

Our faithful tour guides, my mom and dad. Our trips to the desert have been much more productive and less scary since GPS was invented. My dad is a pro GPSer and doesn't go anywhere without it. Some day I might fill my readers in about the maps and handwritten direction that led our adventures as kids. Suffice it to say our 1990 Suburban saw more that it's fair share of incidents on the desert.

I still can't get over what a wonderful day we had, and how a little bit of nice weather created one of my fondest memories yet!

A Totally Normal and Completely Responsible Family Activity

The only thing better than putting up the Christmas tree, is burning down the Christmas tree. Starting small fires in your back yard is just one of the many things you can do in the country. My dad poured gas and lighter fluid and possibly other flamable liquids on the tree, the Brandt shot Roman Candles at it. They were really hoping for a large farewell-to-Christmas explosion, but it only kind of caught fire at the base. Still hoping for something really spectacular to happen, my dad lit some matches to help it along. In never did explode, but watching {from a distance} grown men trying to blow up a tree is pretty entertaining.

Of course, Caleb had to learn the joys of blowing stuff up...it starts at such a young age. Here's a few generations of pyrotechnic maniacs.

And, as a side note, I have to throw in the story of when my sister Jayna {as a kid} sneaked downstairs and lit a match in the basement of our house. As a punishment, my mom made Jayna light an entire box of matches. The punishment back"fired" and may have contributed to Jayna's intense love of all things fire.

A really proud moment for a father.

And if shooting a flaming Christmas tree and teaching a two year old how to properly hold a Roman Candle wasn't enough fun for one day. Brandt delighted us all with his Navy Seals. Apparently there are fireworks that blow up underwater causing water to spray high into the air. Like I said, a totally normal and completely responsible family activity!

Family Resemblance

I've never been told that I look like my mom. For the better part of my life, people who knew me as a kid, would say "you're all Peacock". Meaning, I think, that it was easy to tell which side of my family I looked most like. If you have your own kids and you look at them everyday, it's hard to tell who they look like, right? For the most part, we all just look like...well, I guess like ourselves.

It's also interesting that all of my siblings barely resemble each other. You know those families where all the kids look a lot a like?{I think Christian and I produced three of those} Well, ours is not one of those. According to lifelong comments made by wise observers my sister Jayna looks "Christiansen" which means that she takes after my mother's grandmother. My sister Bethany has a signature crooked smile that was nearly identical to that of my dad's dad. According to Peacock legend, when my grandpa Peacock saw Bethany as a baby he exclaimed, "Oh No! She looks just like me." My brother Brandt looks and walks and acts a lot like my mom's dad, our Grandpa Cook. So much so, that we've been known to call him "Old Man Brandt". We obviously never knew my grandpa as young man. Finally, my youngest sister Dory may look the most like my mom, but there are things about her that are "all Peacock" too.

As I get older, I think that I look more like my mom. Maybe it's because as a mother I've adopted some of her signature phrases. Or, maybe it's because I recognize the looks she gave me on my own face now. Maybe it's time, maybe it's experience, or maybe it's just an optical illusion? Whatever the case may be I think I am starting to resemble her more.

The Costume Room

There are a lot of perks to growing up with a father as a theater teacher, unlimited access to a costume room is just one of them.

Obviously some kids don't find the use {misuse and overuse} of funny, scary, or silly masks as great as the rest of us do. Sorry Carter, I hope you are not scarred for life. It was not really Brandt's butt, it was just a butt mask.

Nothing Like a Good Book

Cali and Carter love a good book and a good story. As a Christmas gift, my parents chose a book for each of them. These pictures tell a story of their own. It goes something like this...

Carter: Hey Cali, check out my book about Sharks.
Cali: Cool, what happens when you turn the page?

Cali: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Grandpa Neal: Check it out, every time you turn the page you see more of the sharks' guts.
Carter: Very interesting.

Christian: What does a lamb say, Caleb?
Caleb: {picks nose}

Grandpa Neal: These are some of my favorite poems.
Cali: They are my favorite now too.

A Pollastro Family Christmas Quiz

Question 1: Which of these two children were excited about recieving numerous {and very cute} outfits?

Question 2: Which one of these three people would win an unwrapping contest?

Question 3: Was Christian able to get his head out of this helment without the use of Crisco or the jaws of life? Follow up question, is his head large or is the helment small?

Question 4: Should any responsible adult ever, under any circumstances, give Caleb a wooden bat?

Follow up to Question 4, what if he is dressed like Tu Pac, then is the bat appropriate?

Question 5: How many times did Cali actually make contact with the bat or pinata?

Question 6: Which one of his family members did this kid get the killer-teeth-clench from?

Question 7: Is one of these kids much taller and pinker than the rest?

Question 8: What effect does putting pinata cones on your head have on your brain?

You can submit your answers in the comment section. I will review your answers and send you your final grade!

Christmas Pictures

We tried on several occasions to take a "family Christmas picture" this year, but...well...you know how it goes. Here are the best ones.  Yes, you read that correctly, I said best...

Cali chose to be photographed doing a Christmas queen wave. She just needs a float and a parade!

I should know better than to tell my kids to "stand up straight" right before a picture. Wait, don't I have three kids? Where is the littlest one?

Oh, that's right, he's over on the couch throwing a crazy temper tantrum. I've heard that someday the crazy fit throwing stops. I hope that urban legend is true, because I would really like to look back at these pictures and chuckle about how cute his fits were.

We tried the photo shoot again, post-church clothes and post-nap time.

The best of the best!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2011 aka the Christmas of Electronics

Caleb and his Innotab. Thank you Santa, wherever you are!

Cali and her iPod touch.

Carter and his DS.


Santa is either a genius, or he's taken the first step in creating touch screen dependent children. Either way, I now have tool for managing Caleb in public, leverage for doing homework, and Carter's room has never been cleaner. Everyone wins!