My Story

Ahhhhhh!

2012-01-27T00:24:00.001-07:00

Deep fried spam

2012-01-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

The future

2012-01-26T15:11:00.001-07:00

I made a purchase from the apple store and this is how it went:

1) Take desired item from shelf.

2) Take iPhone and open Apple Store App.

3) Point indicated section at barcode.

4) When barcode is recognized, iPhone will click.

5) Purchase has been made using credit card on file at iTunes.

6) Receipt emailed to you and you're free to leave the store.

Soooooooo awesome!!!

Blogsy

2012-01-25T00:20:00.001-07:00

Learning to post to my blog from my iPad using blogsy.

Big Brothers

2012-01-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Nick's Assignment:

Write a poem, using similes, about a pet or a person.

Christopher

My brother is

as silly as a monkey,

as fun as a best friend, and

as strong as an ox.

My brother

climbs like a rock climber,

skis fast like a group of running elk, and

does back flips like a ninja.

By Nicholas S.

Coming Out

2012-01-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in charge of the Jr. High Spelling Bee (and Marty won!!). In March I'm in charge of Maturation. These are two little jobs, not very stressful, but require some thought and time to make sure all runs smoothly. And I'm so good with that small level of commitment.

I just got a phone call asking if I'd head up Teacher Dinners at the High School during Parent/Teacher conferences next month. I said "no" but would be happy to bring something.

Last week I got a call saying I was unanimously approved by the nomination committee to be the PTA President at the Jr. High. Again, a big, fat, "no, but I'm certainly flattered." (Notice no one on the nomination committee volunteered themselves to be the PTA Pres.?)

The great thing was I didn't even feel a twinge of remorse. Not a twinge of guilt for saying "no." I did fall back a bit on "I've taken my turn" and "I'm Pres. of the Development Foundation next year" so maybe those were my "outs." Do we need "outs"? I think even if I didn't, I would have still felt perfectly comfortable saying no.

Part of me thought, "Do you know how many people I've offended this year?" It's not been pretty. But I'm trying to recover from all that and hence, maybe ready to blog again.

The Lights are Off

2012-01-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors keep their sideporch light on all night. I've always thought it was a good idea in lots of ways -- keeping the house lit is welcoming, and probably safe. I've wondered if it was symbolic...they had a daughter who died and my imagination dreamed up that it was kept on as a reminder that all the children weren't home.

The only small problem is I like to sleep in pitch black dark. And the light shines right in our bedroom. I was so happy when we got shutters instead of blinds because they blocked the light so much better.

But now they've moved. It's been a several year process of maybe they'll get to move back, maybe not. But last week it was for sure not. And they moved their final belongings. And for the first time in 8 years, that light has been off for several nights in a row. I miss it. I miss them.

My Mom's Birthday

2012-01-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mom. On her 65th birthday. Oops, sorry, I mean 29th.

My mom's birthday was January 8. She's traveling through South America so we communicated via e-mail and Facebook. But I thought about everything I did that day and how so much is a reflection of her.

I woke up happy. I generally do. We have a lot of happy women in our family. Being positive was very important to my mom. And her mom. As a teenager upon awaking I wasn't quite as ready to greet the day with a song and a smile as my mom was. She'd come into my room after I'd hit snooze 10 times singing...what would she sing? I can't remember... probably something from a musical. Proabably, "The Hills are Aliiiiiive, With the Sound of Muuuusiiiiic!" Let's be honest, I didn't appreciate being awakened by my mom singing back then. But I did appreciate her joy and optimism she passed down. And now, I am so much better at waking up. When the alarm goes off, I get up. Happy. Because it's what moms should do. (Fine, my kids can attest that there are some days that I am grouchy. But I generally wake up happy.)

It was Sunday and I spent church in the Nursery playing with the children. I come from a legacy of women who have an innate ability to interact with children and make them happy. I don't think I was blessed with as much patience and spontinaity (Oh yes, I have some. But my mom, Marge and Grandma have so much patience it's unreal. And combined with my mom's ability to go with the flow, it's superhuman.)

But I love working in Nursery. I begged to be there. I love knowing that I'm good at how to capture their attention during the lesson (Look at this picture of a mother and baby! Everyone put their finger on the baby! Put your finger on the mother! Who has a mother? Your mother loves you!). And I understand their attention span is short and that I'm unaffected by their need to go slide down the slide and then come back to the table.

All this? It's what my mother taught me by example.

My favorite photo of me and my mom. 1971.

I want them to have a healthy snack. Apple slices, pretzels and sometimes string cheese. "Isn't this apple delicious?! It's crunchy. Mmm. And so sweet and juicy! I love apples! They're so healthy and good for our bodies!"

And then we took an imaginary walk around the room looking for pretend people to help. The kids and I held hands and we walked to each corner. "Look, there's a little girl who's sad because she's hurt. Let's give her a big hug and kiss it better. Oh, over there I see a boy who needs a toy. Do you see him? Let's go give him this pretend toy we're holding!"

Oh yeah; it's like my mom wrote the words in my brain and I just read them off exactly as she would. I even feel like my mom when I'm talking like her. I find myself so often thinking, "I sound just like my mom."

I like to sing the songs during Sacrament Meeting. So did my mom. She wasn't afraid to sing loud with a full voice. She has a beautiful voice and while mine doesn't quite stay in tune all the time, I'm pretty good on the hymns. I think our family just likes to sing.

After church I fed my kids a healthy lunch -- 100% whole wheat bread with All-Natural peanut butter. Now that they make jam sweetened with fruit juice instead of sugar, I opt for that. But growing up we always had honey. (And I think I'm allergic to peanuts. Anyone else notice they make your mouth swell?)

I had to wear my glasses all week because I had an appointment to see if I'm a candidate for Lasik (PRK in one year if I don't have a cornea disease which I probably don't but they have to wait a year to measure again, just in case.) I even had to exercise in them. And when I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and wore my glasses, I LOOKED JUST LIKE MY MOM! It was a little bit freaky. And the best part was the next day: I wore my sunglasses over my glasses while driving to meet Dan for lunch. TOTALLY MY MOM!

Back to January 8. I quizzed Marty on the spelling bee words. My mom spent hours upon hours for days quizzing me in 7th grade for the Jr. High spelling bee. I REALLY wanted to win! And she helped me learn those words inside and out. And then she came to the bee and I still have the list of words she held while she watched and she marked each word that was used and which words I got etc. Maybe it helped calm her nerves because I know she was rooting for me. And I won! And being a winner was such an amazing feeling!

Later I was interviewed at the District Bee and the newspaperman asked me who I owed my spelling ability to. Well, I'm literal. So I heard, "From which genes did you get the ability to spell well?" And I said, "My Dad" (because my mom has always said she was never a great speller and I'm more natural at it, so my inherent ability to spell probably came from my dad). But I wish he would have asked me who helped me win because then I would have understood more clearly and answered, "My mom, who spent hours quizzing me."

Later that day I helped Nicholas and Christopher practice for their piano recital. I paid Nicholas a quarter for each time he played his song. "Do you think you can do it 4 times? What about 6?!" My mom was never above giving us incentives to make something happen. She told me once about practicing the piano, "When you first create a habit there are 3 stages. First, you do it because you're getting a reward. Later you do it because you're supposed to. But finally you do it because you want to."

That night I read aloud to Nicholas before bed--I couldn't wait to put him to bed so I could find out what happened next in Tomie dePaola's autobiography. And then I read "A Wind in the Door," by Madeliene L'Engle to Christopher. My mom always read out loud to us. And she wasn't afraid to cry in the sad parts, like in Bridge Over Terabethia. And she said she often looked forward to bedtime so she could lay back and read with us.

My mom and a new friend she met in the hostel.

She's always meeting new friends.

The "Torre" hike. Torre del Paine, Chile.

Thanks, Mom, for everything you taught me and did for me and passed down to me. Love you!

Wonder Twins!

2011-10-27T21:54:00.003-06:00

Wonder Twin powers, Activate!

I am seriously shocked at how few people know who the Wonder Twins are!

I wasn't even allowed to watch TV and I knew who they were!

I'm sad the Halloween party is over. I like dressing up.

And I don't think I'm going to be able to convince Dan to dress up again on Halloween.

Scripture of the Day

2011-10-18T23:39:00.005-06:00

I knew I had to be to Diane's Book of Mormon class today. Because I've been too distracted to ponder and search the scriptures on my own. Going through the routine of reading, but unable to truly ponder and find answers (are there answers in the scriptures for how to feel about the school principal throwing you under the bus and how to heal your heart, mind and spirit from untrue and unkind gossip and to help you decide if you should send your child to private school or not?)

So I went to class to have someone do the thinking for me today. And I got what I was looking for:

Helaman 5:12 "And now, my sons, Remember, Remember" (always makes me think of cute Monet reciting from memory with her "aw's" instead of "r's..."Wemember, wemember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

I've felt like I've been looking into the gulf of misery a bit lately and desperately trying to hang on and not go over the edge.

Then we followed up with this scripture in D&C 121:7 & 9 (Another favorite and I so loved hearing it today: My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; Thy friends do stand by thee and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

I am so grateful for the scriptures. And for tender mercies--for the times that Heavenly Father finds us when we're not so sure how to find him.

The Weather Turns Chilly

2011-10-07T23:22:00.001-06:00

Beautiful fall colors one day and snow the next.

My bike ride today:

Mighty as Hercules we Take our Stand! Hail Olympus!

Froze our hiney's off at the Homecoming football game tonight!

All in the name of having been sucked in to being

President-Elect of the Olympus Development Foundation.

It's actually a cool foundation that does great things for the school and my friend assured me it wasn't as time-intensive as Elementary School PTA President.

Anyone want to buy a brick with your name to be added to the Legacy wall?

If you're alumni, you know you want one!

Grandeur Peak--Hi's and Low's

2011-10-03T21:45:00.000-06:00

Today I hiked Grandeur Peak.

It was shorter than Mt. Oly. I was in the mood for easier

so I was glad to reach the top in less than 2 hours.

The views on the way up were stunning.

The colors right now are amazing!

This has actually been a sucky week and I was hoping the beauty and hike would clear my mind. They didn't. Instead all the alone time just gave me more time to stew.

But I did meet a guy on the way down who has been out of work for a year and is getting a divorce. So that sucks even worse than 1st grade being a disaster.

So I guess it did help me put things in perspective.

What also doesn't help a sucky week get better is raiding the cupboards

for chocolate chips and finding some.

All Day Every Day

2011-09-30T21:34:00.000-06:00

The End of September

2011-09-28T21:30:00.000-06:00

Bike Ride up Emigration Canyon Sept. 23

Courtney chases ball!

Chubs was a good hamster... Chris will miss him.

Hike up Mt. Oly, Sept. 27

A Little Bit of September

2011-09-27T21:21:00.000-06:00

Courtney and Friends are super creative and so fun!

Brothers play games together when screens get turned off for a week.

Hosting the Soccer Pasta Party

Nick lost another tooth!

Luke came with us to the BYU/U of U game.

Blue came with me on my Mt. Oly hike.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-09-12T20:35:00.004-06:00

For my birthday, Dan and I hiked to the top of Mt. Olympus!

Yea! We made it!

Great day!

Permission to Purge

2011-09-05T22:47:00.003-06:00

Our recycling can is full to the brim with papers. Papers that were until yesterday filed in the file cabinets. And cupboards. And drawers. In our office. When I couldn't fit one thin piece of paper that I was hurriedly trying to file on Friday, I made time to purge.

I'm pretty good at not saving everything. But I do save lots of things. At least for a few years until it's not so sentimental anymore. Got rid of science reports and triplicate baby announcements. Threw away some drawings and some art projects--especially the ones bedazzled with bumpy beads that took up space.

Almost threw away a math paper of Chris' and then, wondering why I saved a 2nd grade math sheet anyway, I read the teacher's note at the top. After the space for "Name" my then second-grader had written: "bil." And his teacher's note was, "Good work! But next time please put your real name at the top of your work!" Ha, ha! I remember that phase. But it back in the keeper file.

And finally after filling 2 garbage bags with papers, I set in on the blank paper cupboards. And gave myself permission to finally throw away all the scratch paper I had accumulated when I was PTA President... 5 years ago... "The back of all these parent surveys is blank. I can't just throw them away! We'll use them for scratch paper! Look at all the Christmas Choir flyers. What a waste to just throw them away. I'll save them and use them for scratch paper!" Through that line of thinking I'd been storing reams of "scratch paper." So I gave myself permission to not feel responsible for the waste taking place and the trees that were sacrificed and tossed them into the recycling bin.

And now everything is so clean!

And I was getting so liberated, I also threw away the stacks of The Friend magazine I'd accumulated and never thrown away because sometimes when you're doing sharing time you really need a certain picture and if you have dozens of past issues, you can usually find it!! But I'm not the Primary President anymore and probably won't be for a very long time and The Friend keeps coming, month after month! And someday someone will categorize all those pictures and maybe we'll have a "Picture Search" on LDS.org and we'll be able to find just the right picture online. So for now...goodbye! Aaaaahhhh.

Also this weekend, Chris went Paintballing for the first time and had a blast. They were a little nervous about how much it would hurt, but they prepared with sweatshirts and long pants and are dying to go back!

Courtney got asked to Homecoming.

Marty and Courtney went boating. The whole family had a picnic in Sugarhouse Park. Dan and Angela went to Crazy, Stupid, Love with friends. My family came over for a Sunday BBQ and to celebrate Michael's birthday. Christopher bore his testimony and said,

"I want to bear my testimony. I know this Church is true.

I know the prophet is called of God and I know St. John still walks the earth."

(Primary lesson was on John's choice to remain on the earth. So glad he was listening!)

Got ski passes at Sniagrab so everybody is ready for ski season!

Free Time on Mt. Olympus

2011-09-01T14:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday while I was out for my walk/jog, I found myself looking up at Mt. Olympus and thinking I'd like to climb it. And then I realized, why not?

I sent out a last-minute e-mail to friends, but nobody was available with such little advance notice.

I decided I might prefer to do it alone anyway so I could go as far or as short as I wanted. I was a teeny bit nervous I might meet a murderer at the top who might push me off a cliff, but Dan assured me the trail was well-travelled and I'd be perfectly safe. Didn't think about snakes until Nicholas told me to take a picture if I saw one.

This morning I was so excited I woke up before my alarm went off. It's so fun to have something new to do! After I got the kids off to school I set out.

My goal was to hike for 2 hours and I made it for 2:20 before my legs were DYING and my achilles tendon was getting sore and I was afraid I'd stress it too much and compromise my future exercise plans. The first hour was great but challenging. The second hour was very difficult and I had to stand and rest every minute of steep hiking. It is super steep!!!

One of the best parts of the day were the people I met. It's kind of cool to think we all decided to hike Mt. Olympus today--it's kind of bonding.

One lady was about 60 and her age showed. I was so impressed she was hiking because it wasn't easy.

An Asian woman was doing Tai Chi near a tree overlooking the valley.

Two young guys came jogging down past me.

One man with hiking poles passed me on the way up and it looked like he was wearing ankle weights! I couldn't believe that someone would need the added challenge! Then he passed me coming down as I was still going up. We chatted a minute and I asked him about his "ankle weights." He said they were actually special fabric protecting his ankles from snakes because he'd seen so many this year! (Great!)

A girl about my age hiked past as I was having lunch. I was a bit disappointed because I would have liked to talk and walk together. She never passed me again so she must have made it to the top!

The next man was coming down as I was resting on the way up. He commented that the weather was nicer today than yesterday when he hiked up! He said he hikes Mt. Oly 50 - 70 times a year and it takes him about an hour and half. But he runs up. (He was wearing every day Adidas tennis shoes with no socks!) He stopped and chatted and told me he'd hiked Atacacuengo (best guess) in Argentina and made it to the top which is pretty rare. We chatted for quite a while and he told me all about the second time he tried the hike in Argentina with a friend and the friend got sick so they couldn't make it.

Finally, I met Otis as I was resting on the way down. Otis walked to Mt. Olympus from West Valley. He's racing the Wasatch 100 next week so he's trying to put in a lot of miles but not have it be too rigorous. He'd started early in the morning and was planning on walking until 10:00 p.m. It was his 18th 100 and he's done 50 - 60 marathons. Said he screwed up his life when he was younger and doesn't have a wife or kids so runs instead.

Like I said, very interesting people! (Mom, you would have loved it!)

I felt great coming down and can't wait to try it again!
You know it's going to eat at me until I get to the top!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Marge!

2011-08-31T22:39:00.000-06:00

Aunt Marge is my mom's sister and lived with our family every summer and spent every Christmas with us for as long as I can remember.

We would stand by the windows literally with ants in our pants until she finally drove up in her gold Buick Skylark (that she still has, by the way)! She always arrived bearing bags and bags of gifts and we couldn't wait to see what was inside! I swear I remember when the logos on the bags changed from KMart to a new, never-before-known in Utah company, Target. Wonder if I'm remembering right.


Everyone on Christmas: My Mom, Aunt Marge, Rachel and us in the front.

I got off the phone with her tonight and told Nicholas I had been talking to Aunt Marge to wish her a happy birthday. He sighed and said, "I LOVE Aunt Marge. She always brings us the best things. Silly String was my favorite."

She can't pass up anything that looks like the kids will love it at the $1 store and then says, "You can enjoy it while it lasts and when it breaks, throw it away. It was only $1!"

Marge playing laser tag at Mile's birthday party.

More of my favorite memories include:

*Sitting on the front porch watching a thunderstorm. "Isn't it exciting?!" she'd ask. Helping us to not be afraid of thunder and lightning.

*Memorizing "Czechoslovakia" by jumping on the tramp to each letter.

*Memorizing the States and Capitals and all the Presidents of the US with the picture book she had.

*She found the solution to the Rubik's Cube and got it for me so I could finally master it.

*She and my mom made matching pink gingham with eyelet quilts for mine and Michelle's bed. I still have mine and it's my favorite snuggle blanket still!

*She made us Holly Hobby sleeping bags. We loved them! After we opened them she said we had another surprise and we searched all over the bag until we finally found our initials embroidered on a corner.

*When I was pregnant with Courtney I received a HUGE box with four blankets and countless receiving blankets, burp cloths and a beautiful crotched white blanket for Courtney. Also sent was a video of her and the blankets showing she'd made them. Later when Marty was born, I gave one of the blankets to him. Then when Christopher and Nicholas were born, I picked out the fabric and Marge sewed them (she tried to teach me, but sewing isn't my forte) and we all tied them together.

*Marge gave me the money to buy my first computer at college. What a lifesaver it was to have my own workstation at home and not spend those hours in the computer library!

*She's a master at helping kids learn and memorize. Her claim to fame is her Times Tables technique and second is teaching us and all her thousands of students to say the Alphabet backwards.

*She had the yummiest vitamins and protein shakes whenever she came to visit! I'm sure she wondered where they were all disappearing too -- I'd always sneak and grab a handful.

*Marge notices details and helped us to notice them too. I still love to have her sit at my kitchen table and help the kids--especially the little ones who need extra attention--see things that I don't take the time to point out or even notice.

*Marge can sew anything and fix everything. She's always got a creative solution.

*When we were kids she got a video camera. It was on film reels back then and we'd love to watch the videos she took of us goofing off. And then watch them all Backwards!

*The best part of preparing for Christmas was each getting a turn to go into Marge's room amongst bags and wrapping paper and hidden things under blankets and get to help wrap for the other kids. It was always exciting to keep the surprise that was hidden for everyone else and so thrilling to have Marge call out, "No! Don't come in! We haven't got everything hidden yet! Okay, now you can come in!"

*Marge was with us in the hospital room when Nicholas was born. She had been getting ready to drive me to the doctor that morning for an appointment, but I ended up being in labor. So Dan drove and Marge followed behind in her car so she could go home to tell the kids when they came home from school. She made a sign for them to see: "Nicholas is Here!" with all the details, of course.

Love you, Aunt Marge!

Well, I Guess Since the Kids are Gone All Day I'll Find Some Time to Post

2011-08-30T16:08:00.000-06:00

What a whirlwind summer! We were sorry to see it end. I loved every minute of every travel we went on and every minute we spent with our kids. Now it feels like opposite-land. The kids are gone all day and I've got lots of alone time. ...And to be honest, it didn't take me too long to get used to it!

My goal this year is to exercise. Being able to breathe has made it so much more enjoyable and I feel like the real me is back. I do love to run and I do love to ride my bike. I'd just stopped loving it when I had to stop and cough every few minutes to get a good breath and I was wheezing and huffing and puffing all along the way.

So far the most entertaining thing that's happened since school's started is running into the Weiner Mobile at Target. Now that's gonna put a smile on your face!

First Day 2011

2011-08-22T21:48:00.001-06:00

Wow! It came faster and earlier than ever this year!

So exciting for Nick to be in all day school! He's excited about eating lunch at school and 3 recesses!

Christopher has two great teachers this year and is going to be challenged a lot but also having a lot of fun while learning. This is the teacher everyone talks about for years to come!

Marty is ready to go back, to see his friends and get back in a routine. He's also excited about his English class taught by our neighbor. She's super creative, challenging and fun.

Courtney has got a big year as well with AP Calculus, AP Physics and AP French. She opted out of AP History and feels so much better about her schedule. She also starts out with soccer so she has to be really disciplined about doing homework when she gets home -- about 8:00 on game nights and 6:30 the other two. Long days. But fun. And I forgot to get her picture before she walked out the door. Darn!

Shaeffer Family Reunion in Pagosa

2011-08-14T19:15:00.001-06:00

Celebrating my father-in-law's 80th birthday, all the Shaeffers gathered for a reunion in Pagosa. With the four kids, we've got 3 spouses and 14 kids between us. Plus one cousin's spouse. Plus five dogs. It all added up to a big, fun group!

I love the drive to Colorado and one day when it's just me and Dan driving, I'm going to ask him to stop every 30 min. so I can document all the sites we look forward to seeing along the way.

My kids were in heaven spending time with their cousins--especially since everyone played together--even the "old" cousins played fun with the youngest and it made for great memories.

Highlights were Minute-to-Win-It Games and fun prizes, Favorite Memories of Papa shared in an impromptu gathering spot in the barn since it started storming right at party time, fireworks in the yard, five dogs, marathon monopoly, campfires, delicious food, jeep riding, ATV's, BB Guns, shooting Kory's real guns, finding Marty unharmed after losing him on a hike to the falls, helping an injured woman on the hike, hiking to ice caves, fishing, reading AND relaxing.

Not highlight was when Gram tripped over the step and broke her wrist requiring surgery.

Real Life Includes InstaCare

2011-08-07T21:36:00.001-06:00

After we got home from "Our Big Trip Back East," we got back to real life, real fast. Bekah, Jaxon and Lucy came to stay. One day Bekah went to exercise and I held down the fort. Marty and Jax were playing and suddenly Jax tipped over the back of the couch and really hurt his arm.

I held him as he cried, but even after he calmed down, any movement would start him weeping again. I'd seen this reaction in my own kids too many times to count. I knew he'd broken something. When Bekah got home we took them to Instacare. I dropped them off and came home to take care of Lucy.

Not more than 10 minutes later, Christopher came home from a birthday party at the swimming pool.

"Mom!" he called while I was sitting on the couch giving Lucy a bottle, "Isaac's mom needs to talk to you."

"I'm feeding Lucy, can she come in here?" I called.

"No," said Christopher. "It's about something that happened at the party."

What Isaac's mom needed to tell me was that Christopher had hit his chin on the bottom of the pool, it looked pretty bad and the Lifeguard at the pool suggested we see if he needed stitches.

"No problem," said I, "I had to go to Instacare to pick up my sister in a few minutes anyway."

So pretty soon we're sitting getting Christopher stitched up (5 stitches in his chin -- gory, but easy to fix) and I get a text from Bekah, "We'll be done in about 10 minutes. Jax broke his arm (which actually turned out to be his clavicle)."

My text back, "We're around the corner... Chris is getting stitches."

So the two little buddies got to share their injuries together -- and ice cream after as well.

Rachel's Wedding

2011-07-31T16:21:00.002-06:00

My sweet youngest sister got married this weekend. Her husband, Jeremy, is awesome! In fact, he didn't mind hanging with the sisters when we all descended on their home 18 months ago--even getting up and making us breakfast!

Their wedding was beautiful, the two of them were gorgeous (are gorgeous), the ceremony was touching -- conducted by my other sister, Bekah -- how's that for modern? Jeremy's little boy, Cooper, kept us smiling through tears of joy.

It was so fun to all be together and get dressed up. The cousins loved being together as well and the celebration of a family wedding was a great ending to our family trip.

Niagara Falls & Palmyra and the Sacred Grove

2011-07-28T21:57:00.001-06:00

We got up close and personal with Niagara Falls this morning. So powerful! I'm so glad we made the extra trip to see it!

We left in the afternoon to Palmyra and stopped at The Hill Cumorah, The Smith Family Farm and The Sacred Grove. We were disappointed at first that we'd miss the Hill Cumorah Pageant, but actually without all the visitors, the Sacred Grove was very peaceful. We were able to sit and talk about it's importance on a bench in the grove.

You can see the temple from the Smith Family Farm.

The Sacred Grove

After visiting the Church sites, we had a long drive to Newark, New Jersey where we were catching an early flight to Denver. Hard to believe the trip has come to an end.

I never got tired of the green, rolling hills and charming farms! So different than the West!

Dan and I have loved every minute and Nicholas agreed with us that we should keep traveling! The other kids are anxious to go home and see their friends. I remember feeling the same way on long family trips when I was a kid, so I won't take it personally.

I'm so glad we did this trip. It was a non-stop feast of new adventures, but the best part of all was being alone together in our little family unit for 2 weeks! I love our family!

The Tail End -- Cornell & Niagara Falls

2011-07-27T21:25:00.004-06:00

We left Boston early because we had a long 6 hour drive to Ithaca, NY to see Cornell. Clearly, by our lack of photos of the last few colleges, we were feeling the pull of home.

Cornell's campus reminded us a lot of BYU. Mixed architecture, wide open spaces. The view from the quad overlooking the valley was the most stunning view of any we'd seen. (I did make the boys get out of the car and look at it when they picked us up. But alas, no photos.)

The coolest thing about Cornell was their claim to fame building the smallest guitar and saxophone. They're so small you can't see it with the naked eye and you play the strings with molecules (somehow)!

After our tour, info session and lunch we drove another 3 hours to Niagara Falls. We got there just before dusk and the view from our hotel room was awesome! We stayed on the Canadian side because we'd heard the views from Canada were spectacular. They were. Fun accents too.

View from our hotel room!

Boston, Day 3

2011-07-26T19:58:00.001-06:00

Dan had a business meeting this morning and Courtney and I toured Boston College. This left the boys home to sleep in, watch TV and pick up donuts in the neighboring mall for breakfast. They were in heaven.

Boston College was a beautiful campus with cool architecture. As a Jesuit University, it's pretty religious and and we loved that the Worship Wagon would take you to your place of worship on Sundays.

After our tour we took the train back to Boston (unfortunately the longest, slowest route) and met everyone at Boston Gardens. The Gardens is the setting for "Make Way for Ducklings." Love that book! We rode the swan boats and played on the grass and then headed to Fanueil Hall to Boston Chowda' for dinner. Highly recommended as the best Clam Chowder in Boston, it didn't disappoint and we went back for seconds.

That night we walked over to Fenway Park in a downpour for a Red Sox game. What a great stadium! We loved going to all the MLB games and have a plan to go to more each summer. So wish we had a Major League team in Utah. The Bees are fun, but not quite the same excitement!

Boston, Day 2

2011-07-25T19:22:00.001-06:00

Courtney LOVES MIT!

Monday morning Courtney and I headed to Harvard. The information session was boring and the tour was worse. What a disappointment! The tour guide talked in a soft whisper and blabbed about her friends and their lives and sadly they weren't interesting at all.

We met the fam for an outdoor brunch and then they dropped us off at MIT. Here Courtney was in heaven surrounded by all that math and those formulas! She didn't stop smiling and was giddy at the mention of doing problem sets with your dorm mates.

Math designs as decoration on the Aquatic Center's windows.

White boards in the dorm so you can figure out the equation for a circuit before bed.

The architecture was pretty cool. Buildings were numbered instead of named!

Also, "Hacks" were the pinnacle of smart kids using science and math to have ingenious fun. Hacks are pranks students pull each year. There are rules -- they have to be safe and ethical etc. But to be the most inventive is the ultimate challenge.

Finally, the bookstore had everything you could want to be a cool, science nerd.


E/C2 = M -1 is Imaginary = I PV/nR (gas equation) = T

I didn't even get this but Courtney knew it was hilarious!

End of a great day!

We topped off the day with lobster and crab at Jasper White's Crab Shack. We ordered a lot and devoured it!

Boston, Day 1

2011-07-24T16:09:00.000-06:00

The best part of arriving in Boston was our friends from back home, The O'Brien Family, were there too! we met at church in the morning and then took the Duck Boat tour after. The kids were so happy to be with friends again! Their drought in family-only, no-friend-land was finally over after 10 long days!

The Italian food was delicious in Boston as were pastries at Mike's! Wow! So decadent we went back for more the next day!

Later that afternoon we parted with the O'Briens and drove out to Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. We visited the homes of Henry David Thoreau & Nathaniel Hawthorne (same place), Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson -- practically right next door to each other. We also drove to Walden Pond and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (not THE Sleepy Hollow, just another cemetery with the same name) and visited the graves of the same authors. Pretty Historical Place (literally).

We were exhausted by the time we got back. Spent the evening watching movies in the hotel and relaxing!

Yale, Newport, Brown and Arriving in Boston

2011-07-23T22:51:00.001-06:00

Another early start to get on the road. We started out for Yale thinking how easy it was to get across town on a Saturday morning. By the time we hit the freeway up to Connecticut, realized that everyone from the city was heading up to Connecticut with us. Took us 2 1/2 hours to drive 75 miles. Ugh.

We just drove around campus--beautiful buildings, not sure what we think of New Haven. It's not very nice, actually. Not sure if we missed the best part...

Then we drove up to Newport, Rhode Island. So quaint! So crowded!

We had a great lunch at The Parrot Cafe and then rode the bus to the famous Newport Mansions. Toured the Vanderbilt's "The Breakers" home. 150,000 square feet. It was so ornate and quite amazing.

After we walked along "The Cliff Walk" along ocean past more beautiful mansions.

We left Newport and headed to Providence to see the campus of Brown University. Downtown Providence seems brand new and clean. Very impressive. The campus was in a beautiful part of the city, just blocks from downtown. Also beautiful. All these back east colleges have so much character!

From Brown we had an hour drive to Boston. Great hotel in Cambridge. Watched Harry Potter, The Sorcerer's Stone on TV when we got here. Everyone is realizing how weird it is to watch TV without Tivo (you have to watch commercials)! I've told everyone that in "the olden days" when I watched TV, commercials were a good break to go to the bathroom, get a drink, get something to eat etc.

A little intermission isn't such a bad thing.

Our friends, the O'Briens, are here on vacation too!

We overlap a day and everyone is excited to see them tomorrow! Yea, Friends!

Statue of Liberty and The Yankees and It's SOOOO HOT!

2011-07-22T14:17:00.101-06:00

Nick has been really excited about seeing the Statue of Liberty.

We were able to get tickets to get in the pedestal but not the crown.

(Making a trip? If you plan a few months ahead you can get timed tickets so you can avoid some lines.

We started at 9:00 and were able to walk right through security and onto the boat.)

Funny security story--I kept setting off the detector.

She had to use the wand and pat me down. The culprit? The underwire in my bra.

Record-breaking heat made any time outside miserable. Everyone was dripping.
Fortunately the interior of Ms. Liberty was air conditioned and no lines.
102* and with humidity, heat index was 114*!!!!!!

After the Statue of Liberty, we took a boat to Ellis Island. This was our first time to Ellis Island and we wanted to make sure Christopher got to see it since he'll be studying all about immigration in Mrs. Ross' class this year. Great displays and pictures really bring Ellis Island and immigration to life.

The best part was it was almost cold inside the building! We were so relieved to get inside!

After Ellis Island we went back up to Columbia to get Courtney a sweatshirt from the bookstore, then down to 83rd and Amsterdam (our old neighborhood) to an old favorite for lunch, "Good Enough to Eat."

We were so glad to get back to our hotel and cool off for a few hours before the Yankees game.
We sat around reading books, watching TV and blogging.

We took the subway to Yankees Stadium which was super slick and easy. On the way to the stop, Nick was STARVING. So easy to grab food on the go in New York!

In the second inning someone hit a Grand Slam and the Yankees got ahead 14-5.
After that it seemed the game dragged by. It was still broiling outside at 9:00 p.m.
After 3 hours we were still only in the 6th inning.
It was 10, so we called it a night and headed home.

Columbia and New York Day 2

2011-07-21T14:14:00.142-06:00

This morning we did things a bit differently.

Dan took Courtney to her info session and tour at Columbia and I slept in with the boys.

We had some errands to do--mainly transfer our luggage to another hotel and pick up our laundry.

After we dropped off our luggage with the concierge, we headed up to FAO Schwartz.

#1 to-do was play the giant piano.
Everyone had fun playing but agreed the $250,000 price tag was a bit steep.

"What-nots" -- Essentially "build your own Muppet"! I must have one of these! Think I'll ask for it for my birthday! You can get online at FAO Schwartz' website and build your own there -- super cute!

Must Have My Own Muppet. We'll blame that on the hours of Sesame Street I watched as a kid.

Barbie fooz ball. No more words needed.

After shopping, buying toys, and stopping for treats at the candy counter we walked over to

Patsy's--favorite chain standby--for pizza and salads.

Then the laundry. We were able to wrestle our 40 lb bag into the taxi fine, but when he dropped us off 2 blocks from our hotel because he got confused with construction, I was a bit bugged. But it had to be done so I hefted our black garbage bag full of clean clothes down Madison Ave. and in the front doors of The Palace.

Courtney and Dan met up with us at the hotel and we walked through Rockefeller Center to catch the double-decker bus. Always had loved this way of seeing New York.

But didn't take into account what it felt like to be trapped on top of a bus

in the blazing sun at 98* and stuck in afternoon traffic. Nobody was having fun.

We made it to Chinatown and were glad to be free. Everyone had fun trying their negotiating skills buying sunglasses, watches, a purse, a piggy bank and a statue of liberty souvenir.

While in Chinatown, we ate the best Chinese dinner ever. Were concerned at first looking at menu items such as frog, eel, and chicken feet, but then our waiter brought an american favorites menu with walnut shrimp, cashew chicken, sesame chicken, broccoli and stir fried green beans.

After dinner we took the subway back home. Everyone was hot, sweaty and smelly. Did that stop me and Courtney from going shopping? No, it did not. Afraid we'd not be able to shower and change before H&M and Zara closed, Courtney went as-is. I was even so self conscious when people shopped close to me, I would quickly move to a new rack. Truly, I smelled that bad.

The rest of that evening we all hung out in the hotel happy to relax, watch TV and cool off.

First to Princeton, Then to New York

2011-07-20T21:33:00.017-06:00

We were up and at 'em first thing in the morning again to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Princeton, New Jersey. Not only is the campus and architecture beautiful, but the surrounding town is really neat too. (And by the way, the word "campus" was first coined at Princeton in reference to college "yards," because "yards" just didn't do the expansive grounds justice.)

We had a speed talker at the info session again, which I've learned I like sooo much better then the slow, deliberate speaker. They cover so much more and are so much easier to listen to.

After grabbing souvenir t's at the bookstore and some lunch to eat in the car, we drove another 1 1/2 hours to Manhattan. Our first stop in the city was the laundromat ($32 to have someone wash and fold 7 days of laundry for 6 people. I would pay that in a heartbeat at home to have someone take care of laundry for me! What a steal!)

Then Dan dropped us off at The Palace hotel and returned the rental car so we wouldn't have to pay for it in the city. I tried to check-in and we hit our first snag of our 17 day trip--our reservation was for the next day. Yikes, the hotel was sold out and so was everywhere else. By the time Dan got back, I was surfing expedia on my iPad, Marty had the concierge get us hooked up with wi-fi so we could surf on Dan's laptop and Dan started surfing Hotels.com. Pretty sure we got the last hotel rooms in the city for that night. Called my cousin who manages another hotel and later when she called me back she said she was amazed we could find something. The city was sold out!

We stayed downtown with our rooms overlooking Ground Zero which was actually pretty cool.

Two pools are placed as a memorial where the Twin Towers used to be. The building under construction will be the tallest Freedom Tower and the newest tallest building in New York City. Currently it's only half-way built.

We had enough time to get to the room, change and rush to dinner at Max Brenners.

Specializes in chocolate and desserts. Real food was good too, but the shakes everyone got with dinner were heavenly!

From there we jumped on the subway up to Times Square to see The Lion King. Awesome!
Nick got really excited when he saw his first Subway rat! "Oh! I spotted one! I see it! There's a subway rat right there! Do you see it? Look!"
Didn't think it was gross at all, just really excited to see a bit of nature underground!

Philadelphia -- Tuesday, Part 2

2011-07-19T23:55:00.000-06:00

Dan dropped Courtney and me off at Penn and took the boys to check into the hotel and find some lunch. Courtney and I got Chinese at a street cart (love street carts!) and then headed to the info session. Beautiful auditorium, boring presentation. Unfortunately we had to skip the campus tour because we all had tickets to go through Independence Hall. Also a boring tour. We wished we'd just looked at the outside and skipped the tour. Now we know for anyone else who goes there.

Dan and the boys did see the Liberty Bell which Nicholas was very excited about because he'd learned all about it this year at school. We walked around the historical area and then ended up at The Constitution Center. We got there at 5:00 with only an hour left until it closed. That was perfect because then we got in for half price and we really only wanted to spend an hour anyway. The main exhibit was very hands-on and a great learning tool. Everyone enjoyed it. The final room had life-size bronze sculptures of all the founding fathers. Had fun with them too!

After the museum we took the Phlash Bus back to our hotel. This part of Philadelphia is really beautiful. We had a big Italian family style meal for dinner and then walked back to our hotel room. Only two blocks away out of the blue thunder crashed and it started pouring rain. We stood in a doorway for a few minutes and then ran home.

View from our hotel room -- City Hall

After we got Nick and Chris to bed, the rest of us stayed up reading, writing in journals, blogging and watching a marathon of The Office. Marty's first time watching and he was laughing the whole time which was just as entertaining as the show.

Amish Farms -- Tuesday Part 1

2011-07-19T21:20:00.053-06:00

We had to get up EARLY today so we could help the farmer on his farm. Nicholas has really been looking forward to this part of our vacation! He could't wait to milk a cow!

When I went in to wake up the boys, Nick was sound asleep. I whispered, "Nick, it's time to go help the farmer," and he bolted up!

Several other families were staying at "Verdant View Farms" Bed & Breakfast. There were other kids all helping out as well. When we first walked into the cow barn, a horrible smell nearly knocked us out. It wasn't manure and I couldn't place the smell at all. However after a few minutes we got used to it.

We all got to help milk a baby calf with a large bottle. It's mother stood by watching and of course I have ethical dilemmas with a mother not getting to feed her own baby, but that not being the time or place to worry about it, it was fun to help milk the calf.

Then we checked out the milking room and they let us all help milk a cow. After they let us try the old-fashioned way (by hand), they hooked up their fancy milking machines that can milk 3 or 4 cows at a time. Every mother that's nursed a baby has used a version of a milking machine before and I was kind of happy for the cows that they got to have all their teets milked at the same time by the machine because every nursing mother knows double pumps are fancy and so efficient! The milk went from the cows through clear tubes then into clear pipes above our head and out the wall into a huge stainless milk cooler. While we were there the milk truck came and picked up the milk.

They also had a big herd of geese wandering about the farm, 5 or 6 kittens, rabbits in a hutch, hens and roosters and a dog. After playing on the tire swing and with the animals, we waited for breakfast. I sat on the front porch and watched the Amish families go by in their buggys -- mom and dad up front and several little kids in the back facing backwards. You know everyone fights over that seat! Also watched the Amish family across the street. Mom was working in her garden and little girls were riding scooters. All the homes were so well kept up with beautiful yards and gardens. Maybe that's what you do when you don't waste time on the internet or watching TV or running your kids to after-school activities all day. Hmmm...

At breakfast they sat everyone in a big open trailer for fruit, muffins, fresh scrambled eggs, homemade yogurt, sausage, coffee cake and raw milk, straight from the cows. I've always wanted to try raw milk so was excited even though I'm not a big milk drinker. As soon as I put the cup to my lips, I could smell it and realized that was the smell from the barn--milk. Didn't like the smell at all and while it wasn't such a bad taste, it was forever associated with the smell. We all could kind of smell it in the back of our sinuses all day.

Aside from that, everything was wonderful! We took a tractor/trailer tour of the corn patch -- 50 acres of corn, all to feed their 80 cows for the year. Wow! It was all very interesting. We left and took back roads winding through the most picturesque country I think I've ever seen. I couldn't get enough of the rolling hills and quintessential farms, barns and silos and we all got really excited when a buggy passed. I did take a photo of some Amish laundry hanging out to dry, but Marty said I was invading their privacy. So won't post it!

A couple hours later we were on the campus of University of Pennsylvania!

William & Mary, Monticello and Road Trip

2011-07-18T21:07:00.082-06:00

I agreed to go on a short run with Courtney first thing in the morning, which we discovered was a bit tricky on cobbled sidewalks! But the streets and homes in Williamsburg are beautiful!

We had a 10:00 info session and tour at William and Mary. Thomas Jefferson went to school here. The campus starts where Colonial Williamsburg ends. The old buildings were gorgeous as was the campus. Sounds like there's a lot of school spirit and they have tons of fun. They also take their honor code very seriously (no cheating, lying or stealing) and campus is super safe.

William & Mary College

While we were checking out the school, the boys enjoyed their first morning of sleeping in! We've been on the go non-stop with late nights and early mornings. So nice for everyone to get some extra rest.
Just after noon the boys picked up Courtney and me and we drove 2 hours to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. We toured his home and walked around the grounds and saw his grave. Everyone loved it.

Wait! I forgot to take a picture! (Monticello)

The kids with Thomas J.

After we take off from Monticello, we headed for a long 7 hour drive to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to stay at a farm and see Amish country.

We travelled through several different states and through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Beautiful rolling hills and farms! We also made a quick drive-by of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Also allowed everyone screen time after they'd read their books for a while. Kids are really fine-tuning their "Plants vs. Zombies" skills on their iPod during the long car ride. They're also great at putting on their excited voice when I say, "Look out the window at that beautiful farmhouse!" They say, "Wow! It's really neat!" I don't look back to see if they really looked up from their game or not. It just makes me feel good that I tried.

Colonial Williamsburg

2011-07-17T20:04:00.039-06:00

On Vacation in Washington D.C.

2011-07-16T15:27:00.003-06:00

Christopher, Mr. President at the American History Museum

2011-07-16T15:23:00.000-06:00

Classic Culture at The American History Museum

2011-07-16T15:21:00.001-06:00

Jefferson Memorial

2011-07-16T15:20:00.000-06:00

Nicholas Reading to Earn Souvenir Money

2011-07-15T23:55:00.000-06:00

Baltimore Orioles vs. Cleveland Indians

2011-07-15T23:45:00.002-06:00

National Zoo

2011-07-15T23:34:00.000-06:00

National Zoo

2011-07-15T23:24:00.000-06:00

Georgetown Cupcakes

2011-07-15T23:15:00.000-06:00

Courtney at Georgetown

2011-07-15T23:06:00.003-06:00

Georgetown Hoya Clock

2011-07-15T23:04:00.001-06:00

The Thinkers at The National Sculpture Garden

2011-07-15T14:33:00.002-06:00

National Archives

2011-07-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

Goodnight from D.C.

2011-07-14T23:07:00.000-06:00

So Grateful for my Garden!

2011-07-12T22:21:00.000-06:00

June 7 - 20

June 20 - July 2

July 2 -12

July 12 -- The daisies are blooming!

Pioneer Trek 2011

2011-07-07T21:43:00.000-06:00

I loved Trek as a kid so I was excited to learn that our Stake continued the tradition and I was thrilled when they called Dan and I to be a Trek "Ma and Pa"! Both Courtney and Marty went too so it was fun to share the experience with them.

Before dividing into Trek familes. Good thing we found sunglasses for Marty! He couldn't open his eyes for this photo.

We left on a Wednesday morning all dressed up in our pioneer clothes and ready to work and have fun. When we arrived, the kids went one way, the adults another. All the Ma's and Pa's were given a list of names of youth that would be our Trek family. Of the ten kids, I kind of knew three. Later I realized I knew the parents of all but one. It's amazing to me that within four short days, these kids who started out as names on a piece of paper, became kids that I would love like my own.

Back Row: Brad, Brett, Dan, Me, Colin, Nate, Kyle
Front Row: Sarah, Heather, Abby, Marisa, McKenzie

They were all fun and funny. They never complained even when the rain poured down and the wind blew our shelter so furiously we didn't sleep all night. They all worked hard and pitched in without being asked. And they all knew how to pray and willingly took their turn. All amazing qualities for ten teenagers! What I learned was that every Ma and Pa felt the same way about the kids in their families. So these are the kids my kids are surrounded by and I couldn't feel more blessed.

Marty's Family (Marty is in the red shirt)

The first day it started out hot and windy. An hour later it started raining and then started pouring. Of course most of our rain jackets were packed away in our individual bags. We huddled under a tarp for a while, then pushed on. At our evening break the rain had cleared. We ate beef jerky, grapes and string cheese sitting on a tarp in the middle of a meadow in relative comfort. Soon after we started moving, it started raining again.

Trying to set up our shelter that night with an extra large tarp, 4 poles and 8 pegs was tricky when the wind would blow so hard the force broke our pegs the minute we got them in the ground. The kids were patient and so was I (worth noting!) and eventually with everyone's help, Dan got it set up. The wind blew all night, the ground was hard and nobody slept at all.

When morning came it was pretty discouraging to put on our wet, cold clothes from the previous day. Our Stake President made the rounds telling us to prepare for more wet weather. Ugh.

But our clothes dried quickly, the oatmeal for breakfast somehow tasted amazing and we didn't have anymore rain the rest of our trip. The damp roads meant no dust and the pulling was the easiest of all the days.

Courtney at the front of her family (on the right) and our family in front of her.

We had fun in our group playing "Name that Tune" and answering questions like, "Coke or Pepsi?" and "BYU or Utah?" The best part was when Sarah recited an entire scene from Princess Bride -- it was like we were watching it!

We arrived at our 2nd camp in the early afternoon and had a game day. We were exhausted but the games were a blast. After dinner we ended the evening with a square dance.

Courtney bobbing for apples.

Friday was warmer than it had been and soon after we started we were told it was time for the women's pull. The men and boys were taken away to the top of a hill. The girls and women were gathered together and reminded of our pioneer ancestors who often lost their men to death from over-exertion and weather or who were called away to serve missions or go to war. These women had to be strong. They endured and so could we in any trial we face.

The girls knew this was coming -- everyone on previous treks talks about it -- they did it when I was on Trek as a teenager. Everyone was psyched to be strong and prove to themselves they could do hard things. But soon after the pull started, we realized this was a steep, long hill. It was measured at 7/10ths of a mile. The handcarts were so heavy. We had 3 little girls on the back of ours pushing and me and 2 others in the front lifting the cart and pulling. Our "daughter" in the main yoke pulled and pulled. Midway I wanted to switch her out and give her a break but she refused. With one main hill left I was adamant. But again she refused saying, "I've got to do this for me!"

At the very top the boys and Dan came running to our cart and lifted it out of our hands. The feeling of having that heavy burden suddenly lifted from our arms was so spiritual I'll never forget it. Especially when it was Dan and these young men whom we grew to love so much.

Our last evening in camp was bittersweet. We were all happy to be going home the next day (although we had 4 more miles to walk until we got there), but the sense of loss of not being with our Trek Family anymore was acute. Thank goodness for Facebook!

Highs and Lows

2011-07-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

I want to post about Trek. It was awesome. But my lips are covered in fever blisters from getting so sunburned because I was very irresponsible and believed that wearing a hat would protect me from the sun. My chin hurts and I have swollen glands and I look hideous.

On the bright side, I stayed in my pajamas in bed practically all day reading a cheesy book. On occasion I'd check Facebook and play Sudoku.

I did do a few loads of laundry.

On the bad side, I had several people stop by -- 2 neighbors, 1 Trek "daughter," and Nick's friend's dad. I had to go to the door in the middle of the afternoon in my pajamas with my big, fat, blistered lips. Embarrassing.

But on the bright side, they know me and if I want to stay in my pajamas all day, I'm sure they're thinking, "good for you! We all want a day like that!" One family brought their darling daughter who I'm now going to see each week because I've been called to Nursery. She is 3 years old and so outgoing, never hesitating to talk to adults. She's such a cutie! She even asked if she could stay at our house and play with me. I had to tell her I wasn't feeling so great and we'd play in Nursery on Sunday.

On the bad side, she asked to use the potty. Nick hasn't been flushing lately and today was no exception. Her dad came to the bathroom to help and I gave it a quick flush and we laughed. But as I stood there in my pajamas, blistered lips and all, the toilet became clogged. So I had to whip out the plunger and give it a quick plunge or two so it would be ready for his daughter.

Sometimes we have to just laugh at ourselves. I look ridiculous, I feel miserable and my toilet is flooding for all the world to see.

Raging Waters and a Sleepover

2011-06-25T22:13:00.001-06:00

Dan and Marty are at a baseball tournament in Colorado.

Dying to do something fun with the other kids and wanting to do something on our summer list (Nick's got quite a bucket list this summer -- I have to admit I spurred him on a bit) we decided to go to Raging Waters in the evening.

Chris and Nick both brought friends and Courtney's friends couldn't come so we had each other. It was the perfect amount of time to do everything and there were no lines. Everyone had a great time!

By the time we got home, everyone was exhausted. Nick put himself to sleep and Chris and his buddy didn't even complain when I said they needed to turn off the TV at 10:00.
They were asleep in seconds.

Just as I was heading upstairs, barely able to keep my eyes open, Courtney came home and said, "Let's watch a movie!" So we jumped in my bed, brushed our teeth and said our prayers, then turned on a movie (Notting Hill -- I'm in a Hugh Grant/British accent phase) and after the movie she slept over in my bed in Dan's spot.

I remember about 10 years ago I wondered if she'd ever sleep in her own bed. How fast time flies... And now I was excited for her to sleep with me again! Nick even wandered in just as we were starting our movie. We made a bed for him on the couch.

I love my daughter!

Perfect Summer Night

2011-06-22T22:32:00.000-06:00

Family dinner tonight with everyone there -- hasn't happened in a while and won't happen again until mid-July. That's kind of weird to think about.

After dinner Courtney went off this evening to play her first softball game.

Dan, Christopher and Marty went golfing--Christopher's Father's Day gift to his dad.

Nicholas got invited to a friend's house.

I was left alone with my book, my comfy outdoor orange couches, perfect weather and the longest daylight of the year.

And the dinner dishes waited til dark.

Well, hello. Where did you come from?

2011-06-20T21:41:00.003-06:00

It always surprises me how easy it is not to notice a St. Patrick's Day shamrock is still hanging in the bathroom three months later.

Reminded me that I still need to take down the snowman garland hanging over the kitchen window. And put the snow hat hooked rug away too.

Chip Off The Old Block

2011-06-17T23:15:00.000-06:00

Back East Trip

2011-06-16T22:52:00.000-06:00

A LOT of time spent researching hotels/things to do/maps/driving directions/back roads traveling/best sites to see/hours of operation/hotel reviews/compare rates/ticket prices for this summer's trip back east. Sooo Excited!

But the best part of today was going to Color-Me-Mine with Nicholas. You know he loved it!

Thanksgiving Point

2011-06-15T22:38:00.000-06:00

To be added to my favorites is Thanksgiving Point.
(And BBC Radio -- not for the music, just for the DJ's accents,
Car Detailing, my iPhone, and something else I thought of last night
but now am forgetting. Should have written it down!)

Enjoying the expansive lawns, gardens and peace in this majestic space
is definitely my favorite summer activity.
Tonight, after dropping Marty off at Space Camp,
Dan, Nick, Jaxon and I spent an hour picnicking and playing on the lawn.
Not another person in sight until closing time when we could see two other couples
strolling on the other side of the waterfalls.
Heavenly.

The Lonely Carrot

2011-06-14T21:03:00.000-06:00

Tonight it was just Me, Dan and Christopher for dinner.

Courtney is out of town. Marty was at baseball practice. Nicholas was at the park with a friend and had dinner with their family.

Christopher ate pretty fast. He told us his Highs and Lows and then wanted to be excused to play outside with a friend. That's what summer's for. Great nights outside.

A few minutes later Dan reminded me it was time for him to go to Young Men's.

Suddenly, without warning, I found myself sitting at the kitchen table finishing my dinner alone.

It was weird. It wasn't a good alone. It was a lonely alone.

The carrot understood. So I took a picture.

But about two minutes later Nicholas walked in the door.

And then Christopher and his friend ran in and they were wanting

to call more friends and then things got back to normal.

When You Don't Have A Sister

2011-06-13T19:16:00.002-06:00

I can't imagine what it would be like not to have any sisters.

Don't want to imagine it.

Except that my only daughter didn't get any.

We haven't had any wars over clothes or brawls over best friends in our home.

Fortunately Courtney has lots of girl friends to help with hair and fashion -- and aunts in the know too. We've brought friends on family trips and traveled with families whose kids match-up in ages ever since our first Disney Cruise when we caught Courtney sitting in the room 2-days in a row watching Hannah Montana because she didn't have anyone to hang out with.

And while she doesn't have sisters, she does have three brothers.
And siblings are wonderful.

So, we've done our best and then again,
what you don't know, you don't necessarily miss.

But still, a sister knows you. She's known you forever
and will be with you until the end.

And understands about being a girl. And a mom. And a wife.

And whatever comes next. And likes to talk and to share and to reminisce.

So fortunately, amazingly, Courtney has the next best thing to a sister.

Her cousin--Kay. Who is only two years older. And is the oldest in her family.

And has four little brothers but no sisters.

And Kay's mom has 7 sisters.
So Kay's mom feels the same way I do about sisters.

And so does Courtney's Gram, E.C.
And Courtney's Aunt, Jo Ellen, understands what it's like to be Courtney and Kay.

Jo was the only girl with three brothers.

And Gram was blessed with a sister, but her only sister died over 20 years ago.

So this week Courtney is on her annual summer trip with Gram and Kay.

This year Jo Ellen went too. They have a packed schedule seeing Chicago.

I'm sure there will be lots of laughs.

My Favorite Things

2011-06-12T23:00:00.001-06:00

I was just reading through my profile and noticing that some of my favorite things from 2006 when I started my blog are not necessarily my favorite things anymore. I still like many of them, but for instance, I haven't shopped with Amazon Grocery for quite some time. And yes, while that was a favorite thing when I had a baby and was PTA President and couldn't make it to the grocery store so had to rely on Winder Dairy delivery and Amazon Grocery to deliver food for my family, now I'm not so dependent on food delivery and therefore don't feel quite the same gratitude for Amazon Grocery as I did back then. I still think it's a convenient option, but I don't think it's a favorite anymore.

And the last few times I've gone swimming, I've gotten water in my ears -- in spite of wearing ear plugs -- and it's stayed there for a week. And it's so frustrating that I have no desire to go swimming again, ever. I wonder if I'll ever like swimming again?

And I really like The Office. But I LOVE Modern Family (enough so that I added it to my profile just now). And I haven't played Ms. Pac Man in a long time. I really, really like Thai Siam and Bombay House...but are they my favorites? Do I have a favorite restaurant? I think it disturbs me that I don't. I need a favorite.

I do love riding my bike. I hope to love it even more now that I can breathe again. And I hope to love running again. And I think I do love Real Simple magazine, although I let my subscription expire. I also love the mag "Clean Eating." I don't think I love it more than Real Simple though.

I think I'm falling in love with Shellac nails. I had a dream that the polish chipped and peeled off just like every other manicure and I was pretty disappointed. But so happy when I woke up and realized it was just a dream!

I will have to think about my favorites this week and decide what my new favorites are.

A Good Day

2011-06-11T20:48:00.001-06:00

Rachel at her wedding shower. Isn't she gorgeous?

Christopher and friends saving a baby bird from a dog.

Dinner out with Dan.

Beautiful evening.

Kids playing in yard.

Movie at home so big kids can go out with friends.

Marty's team won both baseball games today.

Time with Marge, Rachel, Rebekah, Sheree, Katie, Jax, Lucy and Matt.

Good Day.

Pullin' The Wool Over Her Eyes

2011-06-11T00:08:00.000-06:00

Found this in Chris' backpack a few weeks ago.
Do you think the bus driver fell for it?

Projects of the Day

2011-06-09T23:06:00.000-06:00

My project was to speed out to the airport and pick up RACHEL! Yea! She's here for the weekend! First item of business was to get our nails and toes done. Luckily my little sister is up on all the latest and greatest so we had our nails Shellac'd. Supposed to last with no chipping and cracking for two weeks...

Rachel's project was to finish her wedding invitations -- rounding corners, printing envelopes, cutting photos and paper down to size, stamping, etc. My contribution was to format and print her envelopes and cut the vellum the wrong size. But only got a few cut before she caught and corrected me. Phew!

Nicholas has a new stuffed animal dog and really wanted to build a dog house. He was having a tough time getting the construction paper to stand up straight. I remembered I'd saved many cardboard inserts and gave him the stack. Before we knew it, he'd created this doghouse all by himself!

Courtney climbed to the top of Mt. Olympus today. Made it to the saddle and there was snow the rest of the way up! Way to go, Courtney!

Marty watched Psycho tonight with friends and wasn't even scared. Yea, we'll see if he takes a shower any time soon.

Christopher cleaned Chub's hamster cage all by himself.

Pumpkin

2011-06-08T21:15:00.000-06:00

Courtney and I went searching for Pioneer clothes for Trek. She found a perfect skirt and blouse at DI. "Ugh, I look like a pioneer." Actually, a really cute pioneer.

Then we went to White Elegance that sells pioneer clothes especially for Treks. I liked the bright orange skirt and apron. It had a lot of personality. But pair that full skirt, elastic waistband and bloomers underneath and it simply is not flattering. And the view from behind is even worse.

Oh, wow. I look like a pioneer. Courtney's comment: "Mom, you look like a pumpkin." Yes, I do. I opted for the green skirt which was more subdued and somehow better. That elastic waistband is comfortable, no one can deny that.

Also considering clothes styles today were Nicholas and his buddy, Luke. I got this photo texted from my friend who had the boys at the grocery store. She said they said they were trying to be nerds.

2nd Summer Night, 2nd BBQ

2011-06-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

Last night was Courtney's soccer team BBQ. Tonight was the Young Men's/Young Women's BBQ. That makes two nights of not having to make dinner. LOVE IT!

Considering having 1 night a week "potluck night." Everyone could come and play in the yard, we'd all have a break from making dinner and we'd enjoy everyone's company and visiting. Do you think people would come?

In our ward in California every summer Tuesday was Beach Day. We'd all spend the day at the beach. We'd bring a picnic lunch, the kids would play -- Marty even took "a beach nap" when he was little. So did Chris. Mom's would line up our chairs and visit, share snacks, help everyone's kids, enjoy the sun and laugh.

Thursday evenings in the summer both wards would meet up behind the church at the ball fields and park and have a potluck BBQ. Dan was gone most evenings -- in fact, most of the young husbands were -- so the kids would play, the women would visit and we'd all enjoy a night off. I looked forward to those nights. I miss those nights and those friends! Think I'll send everyone a Facebook shout out right now.

Summer nights are always wonderful, but made even better with friends. Christopher has a couple friends sleeping over tonight. Marty has one sleeping over and Courtney's are out playing volleyball--it's turning out to be a nightly ritual. And those rituals make for wonderful memories!

Books and Lunch

2011-06-06T21:54:00.002-06:00

Oh, how happy I was that all the kids agreed to continue our tradition of shopping for books and going to lunch on the first day of summer!

Everyone browsed the bookshelves, read covers, found favorite authors and picked out a four new books. We made a quick stop at the Sports shop for cleats for Marty and Target for necessities for Courtney and Me -- cute paper for notes, popsicle sticks and straws, a cute ring for Courtney and bathing suit cover-up -- you know, necessities. (Marty and Christopher walked over to GameStop so they were happy.) We had lunch at Paradise Bakery and were done in time to get Nicholas to Basketball Camp. Oh Happy Day! Summer is Here!

This evening we hosted Courtney's soccer team for a final Hurrah. I am going to MISS carpooling these girls around!! None of them are playing comp soccer next year so it's the end of their team. They won their last game of the season, so it was a great way to end!

Is He Really 14?

2011-06-05T22:09:00.006-06:00

Fourteen years and one day ago I was 5 days past my due date telling my midwife I needed to have this baby soon! It was a Wednesday and the movers were coming on Monday! I needed to have a baby and pack up my apartment and had only 4 more days to do it!
She agreed to strip my membranes (is there a cuter way to put that for blogging?) and hopefully that would get things moving.

Sure enough, I woke up Thursday morning in labor. My mom came in town that day and took Courtney to the park. They were gone all day and my mom spent their precious alone time together telling Courtney how great it was that she was part of a Family. Mom, Dad, Big Sister and Little Brother. Family was the big talk and my mom knows just how to explain things to kids and Courtney Ate It Up! She was a great big sister from Day 1--owing in part to her personality and in part to Grandma convincing her it was the greatest thing EVER!

Dan and I walked that morning hoping to get things moving. That afternoon I sat on the couch concentrating on labor and my mom said, "Do you want to talk? Or do you just want me to talk to you?" I just wanted her to talk so she started telling me about every member of our family. She talked. I listened. And it took my mind off of laboring.

By 4:00 p.m. we decided to head to the hospital. I thought it was a bit premature because I was feeling pretty good. But Dan convinced me. When I got there I could still walk up the stairs -- just needed to stop every few minutes and breathe through a contraction. Then we kept on walking. They sent me to triage and, Lucky Me, said I was dilated to a 6 and sent me straight to my room with my midwives!

When we got to the room I was still feeling good. "Should I walk around?" I wondered?
"Uhhhh, no. Because you're about to have a baby."
"I don't feel like it's going to happen soon."
"It is," they said.

And sure enough a few minutes later it was time and 30 minutes after stepping foot into that hospital, at 5:05 p.m. Marty was born.

He was such a GOOD baby! He slept well from the beginning. He didn't mind laying on the floor and watching the world all around! He loved being in his crib to sleep! That summer we took a trip to Florida. Each night at bedtime I'd nurse Marty and then put him in his crib and Courtney, Dan and I watched a movie. One night Dan said, "He's awake."
"What?!" I couldn't believe that a baby would lay in his crib awake and then put himself to sleep. It was a little miracle. Especially since living in New York Dad would never be home and I was worried about bedtime. But Marty made it EASY!

When he got older and he'd wake up in his crib, he would call out happily, "Mama! Mama!" while jumping up and down holding on to the crib rail. He was delightful!

When he turned 1 he was finished absorbing life in the city and wanted to be a part of it. That kid was on the move! And since he didn't have the language to express his thoughts, he started screaming to get my attention. Oh Wow! Those are stories for another time!

For now, I'm so grateful for My Marty! He's always loved giving and getting hugs and was a cuddler. He's a great big brother. Yes, he likes to tease. But he's also sensitive and helpful to Christopher and Nicholas. He's a good example and isn't afraid to work hard. He mows the lawn without complaining (that's a lot of lawn), has become so responsible with his violin practicing and is always willing to do his duty in Young Men's. I'm very proud of him. He's also great at baseball and I'll concede, even talented at video games. He's got a fun group of friends and a fun sense of humor. Love this kid!

Summer Begins!

2011-06-04T22:53:00.003-06:00

Whether the weather is ready or not, summer has begun!
For the first time ever I did not hang about the school getting last minute certificates to the principal, observing the awards assembly, handing out teacher and staff gifts, and waiting for class lists to post.
Instead I had my second trachea dilation.
Originally I chose not to have the second surgery my doctor recommended because what mom misses the last day of school and all the festivities? But then last week I rode my bike hard and heard a little wheeze. Couldn't get home fast enough to get on the phone and see if they could still fit me in the surgery schedule. They could and I did and now I'm in recovery mode.
Feeling pretty good. A bit tired and not much voice.

Courtney played with friends all week since not many teachers were taking roll. However, she did have a Mr. Felt final. Had to come in early last night to finish studying for SAT Subject Tests. She was bummed.

Marty had a party on Thursday afternoon, won his baseball championship in the evening and went to X-Men, the movie, at midnight. Friday was more friends, slip 'n slide and soapy trampoline with garbage bags and a late night party of about 200 at Rasch's.

Christopher got the teacher he hoped for, had a swim party after school with friends, watched the 4th grade baseball championship in the evening and finished the night with nightgames at a different friend's.

Nicholas was picked up from school by a friend at 10:30. They all switched to another friend at 3:00 and then to another friends at 4:00. We got him home about 6:00 and what did he say? "Can I play with a friend? I haven't had enough friend time today!" So he rode his bike to Lucy's to pick her up and they played until 9:00.

All the while I stayed in my bed sleeping, reading and occasionally walking downstairs to say hi to kids and watch them have fun out the window.
So glad school's out! We're ready for summer!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

2011-05-13T16:14:00.002-06:00

Got my teeth whitened yesterday. I've been dying to do it for years but never wanted to spend the money. I have whitening trays and tried Crest Whitestrips, but have longed for the instant white an hour at the dentist's office could create!

So, when a Groupon came up for Zoom Whitening for only $150 I jumped on it as a Christmas present to myself. Yep, that was last December. It took me 3 months to get around to scheduling the appointment and then another two months to get in.

Do I have whiter teeth? Absolutely! But, oh, the pain! I really think it was worse than being in labor. The last 15 minute session I counted down the seconds, clenching my fist until it was over. Oh, yeah, I could take the electrifying zings that zapped through each random tooth like that arcade game where you hit the mole over the head. I would pay that price for pearly whites.

But did I know it would continue for the rest of the day and into the next? No, I didn't and I wouldn't do it again. My gums were not sore. They were carefully protected. It was my TEETH that felt literally raw. If it were air or cold, I would just keep my mouth firmly clenched shut. But that didn't help. 400mg of Motrin did not help. 400 more mg helped take the edge off. I finally rubbed Clove oil (Thanks DoTerra) all over my gums and teeth and then I could manage, but barely.

Today I'm still sensitive but it looks like I'll survive. What price do we pay for beauty? Pain is definitely not a price I'm willing to pay again. Yeow!! Zing! Zing!

Wowsa!

2011-05-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

The mannequins at The Gap are clearly overworked and underpaid and going on strike. (I think it was a mistake to show off those happy-go-lucky Old Navy mannequins on TV. You knew sooner or later the other mannequins would find out about it.)

Two new playgroup friends joined the other three after lunch today. "You guys eat like pigs! Look at the floor!" They exclaimed as they walked in. Good thing I could blame it on the lunch bunch. Think I might hire those Gap mannequins to give me a hand around here.

NIcholas' Spring Sing Concert

2011-05-08T19:37:00.001-06:00

More Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:18:00.003-06:00

My Mother's Day bling and the kids who made it for me! Love my family! Puzzle broach from Courtney when she was in 2nd grade. Necklaces from Marty and Christopher when they were in Kindergarten and a scarf from Nicholas when he was in preschool!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T10:55:00.003-06:00

I love this photo of me and my mom.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you so much! You are amazing and strong! Thanks for encouraging our independence, giving us unlimited amounts of self-confidence, being an example of positive thinking, nurturing our intelligence, forcing us to practice the piano, and teaching us to read, load the dishwasher properly, speak some Spanish, be kind, choose happiness, tell the truth, work until the job is done, make healthy choices and enjoy whatever life gives us! I am so grateful for you!

Likes and Dislikes

2011-05-07T15:05:00.003-06:00

Like:

Patio furniture out from storage!

Dislike:

Giant piece of tooth cracked off this morning:

The Witch Has Left The Kitchen

2011-04-08T14:19:00.001-06:00

You'll be happy to know I got a new broom.

Motility--Can You Swallow That?

2011-04-07T23:00:00.001-06:00

Started the morning paying big bucks to be tortured. This fun exam is called "a motility study" in the Gastrointestinal world where you get to snuff a catheter tube up your nose and then swallow it down into your stomach.

They do spray lidocaine or some numbing agent into your nose before hand. "Do you feel anything?" the nurse asked. Nope--meaning I didn't feel any different. We went ahead. 2 hours later as I drove to my hair appt. I sniffed my nose and THEN my nose, back of throat and tongue went numb. So that's what I was supposed to feel.

The first part of the test you just lay there and you're not supposed to swallow for like 20 minutes. I did pretty good. She then pulls the tube out a bit and gives you water and you swallow. We did this 10 times. And then she pulled it out some more and we did it 5 more times. And THEN she pulled it out some more and I gagged and gagged and eventually barfed. Luckily she read my mind as I madly pointed toward the barf bag. And luckily I had followed instructions and hadn't anything to eat or drink since the evening before.

Miraculously I was able to pull myself together and the nurse remained ever so calm, holding the catheter in place, and we finished the test. My throat hurt the rest of the day. And aren't you supposed to cry a bit after you throw up? I didn't get that satisfaction either and was a little off kilter the rest of the day because of it.

The rest of the day was nice to me as I got a great haircut, Courtney passed her driving test and they played all my favorite songs on my 80's station (as I was in my car until 5:00 driving everyone everywhere). And my throat didn't hurt badly enough that I couldn't sing along. Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto. Domo.

Just Say No

2011-04-06T23:00:00.002-06:00

Got a call tonight while me and the kids were sitting on the floor reading scriptures:

Lady: Hi Angela. We are looking for a PTA COUNCIL President and your name came up.
Me: (Didn't even hesitate) I've decided not to get that involved in PTA until my kids are older.
Lady: How old are they?
Me: I've got one in Kindergarten.
Lady: Your oldest is in Kindergarten?!
Me: No, my youngest.
Lady: Well, if all your kids are all in school, then maybe...
Me: No.

This is why it pays to be prepared with an answer BEFORE the hard questions come--Drugs, Sex, Council PTA.

Recovering

2011-04-01T20:32:00.002-06:00

Blogging from bed. Recovering from today's surgery. Everything went smoothly--I've just been tired all day from the anesthesia and have a mild sore throat. After sleeping all day I feel pretty good tonight. I go back in 6 weeks for round two.

The doctor made four small laser incisions in the stenosis and then expanded it. Then he treated the area with mitomycin-c to help with scar tissue build up. He believes doing two surgeries a month apart wil have longer lasting effects.

I've got surgery photos, but they're pretty gross.

My facebook friend who had the same surgery sassed I'll be feeling great Monday back to exercising and everything. Yea!

Show #3

2011-03-12T17:49:00.001-07:00

(see full image)

Starring James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave.

Sent from my iPhone

Show #2

2011-03-12T17:42:00.002-07:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday In The Park

2011-03-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

(see full image)

I love waking up and getting to go for a walk in Central Park!

Walked up to 96th street on the west side and didn't even realize how far we'd come!

Sent from my iPhone

Friday Night in New York

2011-03-11T19:32:00.001-07:00

(see full image)
Sent from my iPhone

On Our Way

2011-03-11T16:42:00.002-07:00

http://instagr.am/p/CKJvQ/

Answers for Wheezy

2011-03-05T12:05:00.002-07:00

So I've tolerated this embarrassing wheeze for the last 4 years. I'm sure you've heard it. A few years ago I got diagnosed with Vocal Cord Dysfunction which means I have tight vocal cords. Six sessions of Vocal Therapy will cure it as well as altering behaviors that can exacerbate it -- talking too much at once (Who, me?), talking too high or too low ("Yea! I'm so excited for you!!" or "That's just not okay!"), not drinking enough water, talking too loud or too soft etc.

I had two sessions and then never went back. November 2007--busy time of year, kids were in chaos while I was gone and the economy was tanking and the sessions were expensive. I would try again when my kids were older.

So finally this year with Nick in school, I tried again. But this time she noticed an irregularity below my vocal cords. So Thursday I met with an ENT (Yes, Mom, the best in Utah) and he said I've got subglottic stenosis which is a narrowing of the larynx just below my vocal cords. I'll have it dilated (stretched with a balloon-type procedure) in April and again in May. It's an outpatient procedure and apparently you can resume normal eating, drinking, exercise right away.

He said, "let's get you breathing" and I wanted to cry with joy! I feel so out-of-shape when a run up the stairs gets me out of breath or I can't go walking with friends because I sound ridiculous with all my huffing and puffing.

I'm hopeful! Unfortunately it's something that has a high rate of re-occurance and they're not sure what causes it. I might have to go in every couple of years. But mine is a mild case--about 30% narrowed so I'm hoping it won't recur too often.

Some people end up with a trach and I said jokingly to the doctor, "Well I sure don't want that!" And he didn't get my joking voice and said dead seriously, "You do if it's the only way you can breathe." So, here's the part where I want to say something funny about how my grandma could take out her teeth and my mom can take off her hair and maybe I'll be able to take out my voice! but it doesn't really sound all that funny.

I've done lots of internet research and here's the best link of a study of a woman that sounds just like me. It also explains the science behind not getting enough air with exertion as related to Bernoulli's principle with coincidentally I just taught to Christopher's Webeloes troop a few months ago! (Dyspnea just means anything related to shortness of breath).

Saturday Morning

2011-02-26T16:32:00.002-07:00

Lots of snow outside -- lots of warm sledding inside. Big sleepover, big fun.

I'll Admit It...

2011-02-23T17:02:00.002-07:00

Secretly, I really like fake cheese. I never buy it. But when I buy the kids Lunchables on a rare occasion, and they don't eat the cheese because it's processed and gross, I get a little excited. Sad and embarrassing, but true.

Valentine's Romeos

2011-02-14T22:25:00.003-07:00

Three boys each wanted to give a Valentine to a special someone.

Marty was very matter-of-fact. He wanted to get a Valentine for a particular girl.
This made the other boys want to jump on board.

Nicholas was REALLY nervous that he would be caught
on the doorbell ditch.
But he wasn't afraid to sign his name and
write "I love you."

Christopher chose the "From ?" route.

When we got home Nicholas had a surprise of his own on the porch.
He's very frustrated that it's a "From ?"

Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. Had the most fun listening to my "Love Songs" mix today --
Chicago, Air Supply, Lionel Richie, Bonnie Tyler, REO Speedwagon,
Alphaville, as well as GooGoo Dolls, Coldplay
and others made for fun singing along!

Sister's Trip

2011-01-26T08:14:00.005-07:00

I spent last weekend in sunny Tucson at a wonderful spa resort

celebrating my mother-in-law's 75th birthday

along with my 3 sister-in-laws.

We started off with pedicures the first day and massages the second.

Lots of good food, book reading, laughing, and birthday cake for breakfast.

Doesn't get much better than that!

We also "shopped" at a jewelry auction -- my mother-in-law

brought some of her old jewelry and a stack of play money

for each of us to use to bid on the jewelry.

If you ran out of play money, up the ante with a stick of gum!

My mother-in-law, E.C., is a young 75, taking the only two granddaughters on trips each summer and taking whichever grandson is 10 to grandma and grandson summer camp in New York for a week. She loves making memories with her children and grandchildren and having fun while she’s at it.

She’s the consummate gracious host, opening her home and pantry not only to family and friends, but to friends and family of friends and family as well!

She seems to never back down from entertaining—whether it’s at her home or at their vacation camp in Pagosa, she cooks and gives gifts and listens and plans entertainment, all with her big, beautiful smile!

All my siblings love E.C. because she’s made them feel like family. She hosted my family at her home the summer Dan and I were married and the next year invited us all to Pagosa together. The first question I always get from both E.C. and Marty whenever we’re together is, “Tell me about your family. Tell us about every single one!”

She has dedicated her life to family research and collecting and compiling family stories. She doesn’t just find names of who we’re related to, she find’s their stories as well and has made several books with photos and stories of their lives.

Jo Ellen, Dan's only sister, lives just down the street from us. She’s inherited her mother’s generous nature and regularly treats our family to Sunday dinners. Everyone always loves going to Jo's house and we all love Jo's cooking!

She gives each of the kids special attention and teases a bit too, which is the hallmark of a caring older sibling (as I, as the oldest of my siblings, can attest to). She has her PhD, always looks beautiful, loves to read, (we’ve enjoyed sharing our greatest reads together for years) and her two boys are a reflection of her caring. They’re kind, generous with compliments, also love to tease, and tons of fun.

Erin, originally from Boston, married Dan's oldest brother, Marty. She is creative in every way, which makes the year Erin has your name for Christmas extra special. She quilts beautifully (she's given me two), made me a messenger bag that I LOVE and receive compliments on wherever I go, turns wood bowls on a lathe and most recently started turning pen and pencil sets. In addition to everything else artistic, she's also a photographer and has an eye for what would make a fabulous photo--and then is able to capture it!

She’s also not afraid to take on home projects and remodeling and of course whatever she does turns out fantastic and artistic. She’s also athletic—played lacrosse on the men’s team in college--and is a dedicated sports mom (did you ever miss even one of your boys’ hockey games, Erin?)

Kristin married Dan's brother Duncan just 2 months after Dan and I got married.

I love listening to her tell a story--she's so animated and remembers the details that bring it to life! Her facial expressions and reenactments are hilarious and I never get tired of listening to her!

In the last few years she’s started vegetable gardening and knows how to grow anything and grows practically everything. For the last 2 years she’s kept 6 chickens and this year she butchered them. You can imagine how hard we laughed while she told that story!

She’s an artist and musician and has written plays and musicals for kids in her community and wrote the most beautiful song in honor of my in-laws 50^th wedding anniversary.

I love having these women as my sisters and having E.C. as my second mother.

I am blessed!

Snow Day

2011-01-25T10:16:00.003-07:00

Yesterday the weather was warm and all the snow was melted.

Today we're having a storm.
It's definitely a book and pajama day!

And in other "not-news," I'm so glad I bought this rug!

Thursdays

2011-01-20T21:54:00.002-07:00

The day before Friday can either be very hectic or very quiet. Last week Thursday was the day after Nick's Birthday Party. Lots of recovery needed. Two Thursdays ago I was in charge of the Jr. High Spelling Bee. The weeks before that were in December--Christmas shopping. The month before that, Thursday was Thanksgiving. And before that every single day was filled with football, soccer and Lacrosse.

But today, Thursday meant a walk, an hour helping in Nick's class, a trip to Target to pick up a few things, a trip to Basket Loft to find something cute, a sandwich to go from Paradise Bakery, wander around World Market to look for something else cute and then enough time to pick up Courtney from school to go buy new soccer cleats.

So this Thursday there was no rushing and no organizing. Shopping for a few needed things and time to stop in a few other favorite stores just to see what they had. It's nice to have time to not rush when out and about but to just slow down and enjoy myself.

After the kids got home from school and started doing their own things, I took an hour to read my book. Leftover pizza for dinner then out to watch Marty's basketball game -- a neighborhood game where no one kept score and kids switched sides. It was all just fun.

Bedtime was a bit more hectic because it was after 8 when we got home and Chris and Nick still needed to read and be read to and everyone was getting tired and a bit grumpy. But we did it without too much frustration. Even remembered to read scriptures and say family prayer--I'd already turned out Nick's lights and was laying back with him when I remembered, but I still remembered and we still gathered together and did it.

Dan came home from a trip last night too, so he got up with the big kids this Thursday morning and made breakfast and lunches and I slept in until Nick got up. Kind of set the tone for the whole day! Aaaahhh.

Wednesdays

2011-01-19T21:39:00.002-07:00

Wednesdays can start early--at 6:15--making lunch and breakfast for Marty who leaves at 6:30 to Encore, the Jr. High singing group. But when Dan is in town he gets up and does it and I enjoy sleeping in until 7:30.

Marty likes an egg, veggie sausage, piece of toast and glass of juice for breakfast or swap the egg and toast for pancakes--that's a favorite too. But Courtney says eggs are too hard to eat first thing in the morning. She prefers Greek Yogurt or a smoothie. But she'll never pass up a bagel.

This morning after Marty left at 6:30, I cleaned my desk and tidied up the kitchen until 7:00 when Courtney came down. Then Courtney left and I had until 7:30 before the other boys got up. So I crawled back in bed. Nick came in bed 15 minutes later and we cuddled for a couple of minutes. Then he wanted to check out his Lego plane he made the night before. ("Can you believe I made it all by myself?!")

I finally got up with him at 7:45 and made breakfast for Chris and Nick. Chris likes fried eggs but Nick likes his scrambled. I made them practice the piano even though it was lesson day because we didn't practice at all on Sat, Sun, or Mon.

Usually they walk to school but today we were late and it was raining so I drove. Which is sometimes nice to drop them off and watch them walk in to start their school-day. Chris never leaves without blowing me a kiss and then waiting to catch my blown kiss in his hand and then press it onto his heart. It's a great way to start my day too.

Wednesdays are my day to pick up the Kindergarten carpool from morning K, bring them home for lunch and then take them to afternoon K at a different school.

So usually Wednesday mornings I try to get organized around the house. I also exercise and before I know it it's time to pick up the 3 boys. They are good friends, great at finding solutions to conflicts and expressing how they feel. They're always so excited about playing for 30 minutes before it's time for lunch and heading off to school. I really look forward to getting them on "my day." Nick really looks forward to it too!

I drop off the boys and run a few errands while I'm in the car -- go to the bank, fill up with gas, grab a few groceries for dinner. Then head home and finish working around the house.

On Wednesdays our piano teacher comes after school. She is enthusiastic and positive and all the kids actually look forward to their lessons (and the treat she gives them after).

The evenings are pretty peaceful with everyone doing their homework and after I get Chris and Nick in bed I look forward to Me, Courtney and Marty watching Modern Family all snuggled in my bed together eating ice cream!

Tuesday

2011-01-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

Tuesday is carpool day. And trash day. I get up at 6:45 and make lunches and get Courtney some breakfast and then drive her and 4 boys to school. They entertain me with their last minute studying before a big test or discussions of school assignments. They all get straight "A's" and are always on time, ready to walk out the door, when I honk just after 7:00.

When I arrive back home I honk for Marty and then drive around getting his carpool. The kids in the Jr. High carpool are much quieter-- unless a big sports game was on the night before. If so, then the boys have a lot to talk about.

I get home by 7:40, just in time for Christopher and Nicholas to start making their way downstairs. They have breakfast and then we do piano practicing and by 8:20 they are heading out the door. Or running upstairs looking for socks. Or sometimes running upstairs to get dressed. It all depends on the day. Or the night before.

Today I went walking after the kids left. I try to leave by 9, but often there are dishes to wash, phone calls to make and e-mails to send. And I enjoy my walk much more if the pressing things aren't hanging over my head.

One Tuesday a month I have lunch with a group of friends. Today we went to Corner Bakery to celebrate a birthday. Another Tuesday I volunteer in Nick's class. Another Tuesday I try to go to the temple. The final Tuesday we keep saying we're going to have breakfast with my high school friends, but we haven't yet.

After a long lunch today, lots of laughs and catching up, I had a few minutes to run some errands and then it was time to pick up the high school carpool at 2:15. After I drop all the kids off, I head back to get the Jr. High kids. After I pick them up and get them home by 3:00, I've got a few minutes before heading to scouts at 3:30.

I'm home by 5--just in time to get dinner going and ready by 6. At 7 the big kids and Dan head off to Young Mens/Young Womens and I help the little kids with their homework, reading and getting to bed.

We finish up just as the big kids are getting home. Today we remembered to read scriptures and say family prayer. Sometimes we forget. We're trying to be better about remembering.

I like the routine of Tuesdays. I like knowing what comes next as we move from one activity to the next. I like being the carpool driver and listening to the kids talk and laugh and hear what's on their minds. I like the enthusiasm of the scouts and learning new things to teach them and sneaking in a few minutes to chat with my partner while the scouts are busy working on stuff.

Routinely Tuesday.

Nick Is Six!

2011-01-12T22:27:00.005-07:00

I'm sitting here surfing and eating leftover birthday candy and finally deciding I'm tired and should head up to bed when I realize I need to post about Nick's Birthday today! How could I forget? Post-Party Decompression. But now I've remembered Aaaaannnd... I still have more candy.

Nick has been very excited for his birthday and has been counting down for over a week now. He even made his own countdown chart on post-it notes. Favorite quote to Courtney last night, said with complete awe,
"Courtney, can you believe I'm going to be six tomorrow?"

We usually have a birthday breakfast and open presents before everyone heads off to school. But today Marty had choir at 6:30 and Courtney had to leave by 7:00. So we had a special breakfast with just Nick and Chris and Mom and Dad. Dad made waffles -- Nick's special request. We only opened two presents so we could save the other two for when Courtney and Marty were home.

When Courtney was three, she LOVED Elmo. As an adventure, I decided to try to make her an Elmo cake. I had fun making it and it turned out pretty cute. After that I tried to make my kids' cakes each year. Sometime after that I found myself with 3 kids and then 4 kids and opted to buy cakes from time to time. However, this year I made Nick's cake. And it turned out pretty dang cute! (I bought the Costco cake so there would be enough for everyone and made the magician's hat and bunny to add to the top!)

Yep, I'm amazing!

Nick had a joint party with his friend, Will. 25 Kindergarten boys as well as 6 brothers and 1 sister and two sets of parents. It was crazy! For the first 45 minutes the boys just ran around playing with balloons we'd scattered all around the floor. Then we had a fantastically fun magician who was able to keep 25 5- and 6-year-olds' attention for 45 minutes!

Last, but not least, presents!
Nick will be building Legos all year long!

Right after the party our family went to Bonsai.
Nick was so excited to get to add his birthday picture to the wall!

Happy Birthday Nick! Can't believe you're six!

Breathe

2011-01-11T09:59:00.002-07:00

I've got a cold, creating a tightness in my chest that's making it hard to breathe. It reminded me of a poem I wrote in college. It actually got published in a student literary magazine. I was on the committee to select submissions. They told us we could submit our own work but had to do it under a pseudonym. I think I used Marie something. Wish I could remember. Everyone voted for their favorite and my simple 21-word poem got the most votes.

When I was in high school I remember giving my first church talk -- a 3 minute youth talk. I wrote out what I wanted to say. I felt good about it. I wasn't nervous speaking to our congregation...until I got up there. I couldn't breathe. Suddenly I became nervous--more so because I couldn't breathe. So I started reading faster and faster. I don't think I took a breath the whole time. Of course nobody understood a word I had to say since I was bulldozing along as fast as I could.

It took a lot of talks in public to figure out how to calm down and breathe. So here's the poem:

Yesterday
I saw him.
And it was hard to breathe.
Just like when I have to give a talk in church.

It's a Bit Addicting

2011-01-09T12:04:00.002-07:00

I just downloaded the Flipboard app onto my iPad. Apple voted it the 2010 App of the Year and it's easy to see why. I'm jumping out of bed in the morning just to see what it looks like now!

Add your Facebook, Twitter, any magazine with a Twitter feed or any of their news feed or magazine partners and it will turn them into a beautiful, easy-to-read magazine layout style.

Makes me feel like I'm reading real important stuff when my friends' Facebook feeds look like they're from the cover of a glossy magazine. Gorgeous! Takes away some of the guilt of time spent on Facebook. "Look they're published...I need to read this stuff!"

My favorite partner app is Smitten Kitchen -- recipes and beautiful photos of each to boot. Also added Real Simple Magazine through the Twitter feed. And National Geographic. And Fortune. And Roger Ebert's blog. That's when I realized I was addicted. You're going to love it!

I Think I Would Have Pulled the Plug On This One

2011-01-06T21:48:00.003-07:00

I'm trying to think of what it's like to work in City Government.
Lots of red tape. Very bureaucratic.
Just wondering... How many people would you have to get approval from
if you wanted to create a new sign?
Your committee that was created to address the issue
would have to be in agreement.
Your boss would have to sign-off.
I'm guessing her boss would also have to give the okay.
And then would you get your new design approved by City Council?
So... just how many people, exactly, saw this sign
and thought it was a good way to spread a message.
The dog squatting is offensive enough;
but a mound of poo under him?
Are you kidding me?

What Christmas Brought For Me

2011-01-02T16:28:00.007-07:00

12 Pans of Sugar Cookies

11 Programs & Parties

10th Grade Winter Formal

9 Dozen Friend Gift Deliveries

8 Scouts to Bowling

7th Grader Christmas Party

6 Parties at our Home

5 Homemade Gingerbread Houses

4 Kindergartners Making Cookies

3 Sets of Christmas Legos

2 Days of Aunt Marge Bringing Presents

1 Big Happy Shaeffer Family!!