Gingerbread House 2011

This post is for Kate, who singlehandedly saved my Christmas caramels by sending me some wrappers from Orson Gigi and asked me about the g-bread post.

This year the Wait girls were reunited for our annual tradition. (Of course, none of us are actually Wait girls anymore.) I think it has been eight years since I made a g-bread house with my mom. First she was in Alaska and then I was in Iowa. Naturally, now that I am out west again, she and Sara came south to rekindle our seasonal affair with molasses and home-made hard-tack candy.

We introduced the art of the g-bread house to my sister in law, Tifiny. She loved it so much, she said she was in it for life.

Here is the house right before we melted the windows.


Here is my finished product. Notice the palm tree in the front to match my actual palm trees.


Here's what it looked like today after it succumbed to the wrath of an air soft gun.


The kids cleaned up the whole mess. I didn't even have to get involved.

Aunt Bethany, Does Your Cat Eat Jell-o?

I made the conscious choice to enjoy December this year. I didn't over commit myself, I found ways to serve my community, and I adjusted my expectations for the holiday.

We moved into our new house the week before Thanksgiving.

I felt like it was a Martha Stewart move because I had all these little elves running around unpacking my things and decorating shelves and hanging pictures. Robert's sister, Karen, is a whiz with a hammer and nails and his mom opens and unpacks boxes like it's a race to the finish. We took possession of the house on a Friday evening and by Saturday afternoon I was in my new kitchen making pumpkin cookies.

I put up a Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving but I was utterly unmotivated to decorate the thing. A week before Christmas Day, Stella and George were fed up. They dug out our ornaments and put them on the tree and that is why the uppermost 18 inches didn't have anything on them.

I am totally okay with that.

I made peppermint brownies, honey almond bars, caramels and sugar cookies to deliver to a few of our neighbors, basketball coaches and Scout Leaders. The brownies and the almond bars never made it out the door and only the people within walking distance actually received plates.

It's a good thing the other people on my list don't read my blog because I want them to assume I was too busy unpacking after our move to make Christmas goodie plates.

Of course, if we are being totally honest, I know that our little family is barely a blip on the radar for most of the people on my goodie list. Even if I had delivered a plateful of carbohydrates to their door the recipients would have been saying to each other "Who was that?" "I have no idea, but these caramels are good. Hide them from the kids."

My mom, her husband Jim, Scott and his girlfriend, and Eddie spent Christmas with us. I don't know how it could have been a better weekend. We had a smashing good time.

Having an annual family talent show in your Christmas Jammies: It's a Good Thing.


(Give the video a chance. Right before 2:01, Henry prefaced his performance with this description: I will recite an official American document in a dignified manner. Around here, Dignified=shirtless.)

Right Now

We are in the midst of one of my favorite weeks of the year.

Our days consist of sleeping in, boxes of chocolate, movie marathons, Wii dance-offs and a fridge full of leftover dips and treats. My kids keep begging me to play games with them and I indulge in hours of guilt-free face time.

Am I the only one who feels guilty about just hanging out with my kids? I'm genuinely happy that they actually still WANT to be with me and include me in their lives, but at the same time I'm thinking about all the work that needs to be done that I don't always Enjoy the Moment.

Not this week.

This week, laundry gets done. Sometimes.

Meals are irregular because nobody is very hungry. (See: the fridge full of leftover treats.)

Sometimes we get dressed.

It's the post-Christmas haze and I'm not saying that we haven't had the Traditional Christmas Meltdown or that I haven't been Bursting Out of My Jeans (see: that darn fridge full of leftover treats), but all in all I'm enjoying the week.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Stuff My Kids Say

"George, please don't play with your cars on the kitchen counters."

"George, please don't run your cars all over the desk."

"George! You are scratching up the kitchen cupboards. Please! Play with your cars on the floor."

"Mom, I really, really, really need a racetrack."

Walking the Dog

We had to leave the house yesterday in the afternoon because our landlord was showing it to prospective renters. (We are moving again. For the last time. Ever.)

After a frantic cleaning frenzy and a quick after school snack, the kids and I piled into the car to spend an hour at the park. I didn't want to leave the dog behind, she is not a very good tour guide. We arrived at the park without incident and played for a good long time. Even though I realized once we got there that George was not wearing any shoes or socks (see: frantic cleaning frenzy above.)

Believe me, I love every minute of living here. No shoes or socks at the park in November? Yes, please.

I digress.

On the way home, Ginger's butt kept bumping the gear shift into neutral even though Jack was doing his best to keep her out of the way. He rolled down the window to allow her to stick her head out and maybe make some room. It didn't work. At the next stop sign when her butt shifted me back into neutral, it may have shifted my irritation level into overdrive and I may have shoved her just hard enough to make her jump out the window. The hilarity that ensued was gut busting for me. We were right by an empty field and she was determined not to get caught.

In the end, I handed the leash to Jack and said "Please walk her home."

Little did I know that Her Royal Highness of Dog Walking would be out as well.  Apparently, on their way to the house, Jack and Creed noticed a woman with her own dog walking toward them and Ginger. Knowing how hyper, psycho, FRIENDLY she can get, they promptly crossed the street. Well, so did Her Royal Highness. She seemed intent that the two dogs meet. Of course, when they got close, Ginger pulled hard on the leash and Jack had a good tight hold of it but Ginger is huge and strong and he couldn't get her to stop pulling.

As they passed each other, Her Royal Highness snapped at my son "LEARN how to control your DOG if you are going to take it for a WALK, KID."

Had Jack dropped the leash? No. Did he cross the street in advance and try to avoid the encounter? Yes. Did his dog jump on, bark at, or in any way get tangled up with her or her dog? She was trying to get tangled up, yes, but Jack didn't let her. She wasn't barking or jumping. He allowed for a wide enough birth that the two dogs didn't even get to give a proper hello. (Read: sniff each others' butts.)

The only thing that Her Royal Highness was commenting on was the fact that Jack's dog was pulling hard on the leash and he was clearly pulling pretty hard back.

She doesn't even know him, and a negative comment like that from a stranger devastates my kid. He was downcast the rest of the night.

I told him he should feel honored. It's not every day that you get to meet Royalty while you our out walking the dog.

(I'm just glad that Creed didn't try to run her over on his scooter. He was hoppin' mad at her.)

Nostalgic

I miss my babies today. 

I've been uploading some recent photos to my Picasa Albums, and I started clicking through old pictures. 

These photos are from 2008. 

George at two months old

My favorite Creed photo ever

The Engine and The Caboose.

 We used to call the swirls on his head lollipops. Before they were curls they were swirls.

I hate that chair. I'm glad we sold it before we came to St. George.

This one was taken last month. My three year old hiked over ten miles in October.

I've noticed that it's a lot easier to enjoy parenthood in good weather.

Stuff My Kids Say

"This is amazing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a dragon suddenly flew off that ridge and right over us."~Creed

"Are those hills for real? Are they paintings? They look like paintings." ~Stella

"They aren't paint. They're real."~Me

"I think they are paint." ~Stella

"Nope."~me

{then in rapid succession:}

"Paint!"~Stella

"No!"~me

"Paint!"~Stella

"No!"~me

"Paint!"~Stella

"No!"~me

"Paint!"~Stella

"No!"~me

Until Jack hollered out from the passenger seat:

"DUMBLEDORE!"

All of this was back in August on our first drive to Zion's National Park.

21

"So does this mean I'm number 21?"


"Uh, yeah. Is that okay?"

Isn't my friend Becky beautiful? I wish you could meet her because as stunning as she is in this shot, she becomes even lovelier as you get to know her.

She and her husband throw THE BEST Halloween and birthday parties.

Becky is one of my most favorite people I've known. I haven't seen her since our husbands were in school together, so of course I was thrilled when she said she wanted to stop by my home as she drove through St. George.

Becky, it was great to see you and I only wish you could have stayed a little longer.

I'm blogging from my phone (phlogging?) and it is already tomorrow. I'm selling my friend short here, but my eyes won't stay open any longer.

G'night lovies.

Twenty

Of all the things i have lost since we moved, I think I miss my Spanx the most.

Nineteen

Okay, based on Christie and Kristelle's comments on my last post, I googled "sea shell ceramic curlers" and "prostyler."

I suspect Kristelle meant to reference the TopStyler. Correct me if I'm wrong. I have not seen this infomercial, but thanks to my in-depth YouTube research I think I may have to try these curlers as well.

In the meantime, I thought of two other products I have tried based on their commercials. First was the Richard Caruso Molecular Hairsetter. I begged my mom to buy this for me back in high school and for some reason . . . she did! It was a contraption that infused pink sponge curlers with hot steam one at a time. I remember it was awkward and time consuming, but I also remember that those curls lasted for days.

One Christmas I was lucky enough to open the gift that my sister in law, Tifiny, had placed into the family Yankee Gift Swap. I was so excited when I opened it, I may have squealed. I had been watching the infomercials for weeks drooling over this product. I don't think the other people in the circle knew what a treasure I was holding because nobody stole it from me. I actually went home with it! It was . . . are you ready for this?

SUSAN LUCCI'S YOUTHFUL ESSENCE HOME MICRODERMABRASION KIT!

I loved that thing. Of course, I stopped using it when I ran out of cleanser.

On a side note: do you censor yourself on your blog? If so, what are your standards for censoring yourself? I censored myself in this entry based on the fact that my mom, dad, stepmom, and at least two stepsisters (Mandy is the latest stepsister to look at it, and I promised her a shout out a long time ago. Hi Mandy!) are reading this blog and I didn't want them to read a story that had the word "xxxxxxx" in it.

At least I think they are still reading.

Thoughts?

Post Edit: I removed the potentially scandalous word from this post. I realized that while I know my kids aren't reading my blog at home, I don't know if they are looking at it elsewhere. They have internet access at school, and they know the blog address. It's true that over time they may be able to appreciate the humor in certain situations (mom, dad: that's not the case with me, so don't use any scandalous words around me) but for now I will spare them any embarrassment that I can. If you want to know the story that I wrote out last night and was laughing out loud at myself, then shoot me an email and I'll tell you.  Otherwise, it will live in my handwritten journal.

Eighteen

Forgive me if I have talked about my love of all things infomercial before. I feel like I have, but after quickly glancing over my archives, I can't find any reference to Proactiv or the SmartSpin Storage system and now I have discovered something new that I want to try.

First, a brief and incomplete history of my As Seen on T.V. experiences:

I ordered Proactiv Solution back in the day when Judith Light was still their only celebrity spokesperson. I bought bareMinerals make-up ten years ago when Leslie Blodgett was hocking it late one night as I was up with a little tiny Creed attached to my body. The SmartSpin Storage System changed my small space life. It was genius! I used it for 8 years, and finally sent it to the Kitchen Cupboard in the Sky when we moved last month because the last container cracked. I have never bought a Power Juicer from Jack Le Lanne because it was always way out of my price range, but I have watched so many of his infomercials that he became my fitness and nutrition hero. (He was a pretty cool guy. I love watching videos of him performing his fitness feats.) As I'm sitting here, I can't think of anything I ever ordered from television that I wasn't thrilled with.

Wait. I just thought of something. It was a facial cleanser that I bought from Q.V.C. I didn't like how it smelled.

I spent four years in Iowa with terrible t.v. reception, so I haven't seen any of the recent television ads. Until last month. We spent a few weeks in a hotel and (go ahead and judge me) watching t.v. I was like a kid in a candy store with all the infomercials I had never seen. I loved it! Now there is one that I can't get out of my head.

Have you seen the ads for WEN? I'm desperate to try it. Whenever I'm rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, I think to myself "my hair would be so much silkier and smoother if I were using WEN." Later, when I am combing out all the snarls, I think back to the glory that was those models' lucsious long locks and I know, I just KNOW that my hair would be as beautiful as theirs were I to try that product.

I think I am going to order it.

Seriously, I just went to their website so that I could link to them above, and I watched all the videos again and looked at all the before and afters (because I am a sucker for a good makeover, too!) and I really REALLY want to try it!

As a side note, you should know that the whole time I was watching the infomercial for WEN, my kids were smirking and saying things like "Mom, you don't need that. That is weird." Then an infomercial for some makeup came on and they all said "You should get that! You have red spots all over your face!"

I want to try WEN.

Seventeen

Yesterday was one of those days.

Two cars bursting at the seams with kids, two baskets full of chicken, grapes, cheese, chips, and licorice, and two flats of water plus a short drive to Snow Canyon State Park is a recipe for mamabliss.

The hills at that park were indeed alive with the sounds of laughter and squeals of sixteen children. Our four plus Earl's twelve were all over the place for hours. Lizards were chased, ant colonies were watched, frogs were caught (and released), and mountains were scaled.

The day was rounded off with an evening football game. I am surprised at how playing football has changed my son. He. Loves. It. Because he loves it, so do I.


It was one of those days that I will return to in my mind during the bleak winter months when I can barely drag myself out of bed because it is so dark and dreary.

Oh wait.

I live in St. George now. This is the land of 300 sunny days per year. This is where people come to escape the winter.

It was still a great day.

Sixteen

Holy cow, I almost forgot to post today. I'm laying in bed next to Robert who is passed out cold and, honestly I was just going through my mental checklist of what I did today and what needs to happen tomorrow and I was about to enter dreamland myself when I remembered about this space.

We have two non-permanents under our roof tonight. A friend of Jack's is spending the weekend here because his mom had a family emergency and had to drive to Salt Lake at the last minute. All the boys are sleeping in one room, and Stella is having a slumber party with Lola.

I'm exhausted and I'm literally phoning this entry in anyway. Tomorrow should be better because we are taking everyone to some local hot springs. It seems promising.

Fifteen

The problem with having Oatmeal Cake for dessert tonight . . . is that I most certainly will have it for breakfast tomorrow.

Oatmeal Cake
1 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup flour
Caramel Topping (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 350.

Mix the oatmeal and the water in a medium bowl and let stand.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the sugars. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add the oatmeal mixture to the cake mixture and combine.

Bake 30-40 minutes in a greased 9x12 pan. Do not overbake.

Caramel Topping (add to a hot or a cold cake):
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp karo syrup (gasp!)

Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil for one minute. Spread on cake and add some chopped walnuts or pecans (nuts are optional. As I'm reading this recipe, I'm realizing that I have never added nuts.) Put the cake under the broiler and remove when topping gets bubbly.

We like to serve this with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.


If you stop by my home for a visit, rest assured that you will be fed. Tonight Tifiny called and said she was hoping for dessert when she got here, which made my heart melt. I had the cake ready to serve by the time she arrived. Pictured above from left to right: Robert's legs, Earl (Robert's brother), Tifiny (Earl's wife), Lola (Robert's mom), Tifiny's mom and Tifiny's Dad.

Fourteen

Sometimes my kids surprise me when any kind of screen time (tv, video games, iPod touch etc.) is removed from their after school options.

Yesterday Ol' Lefty sat down with a pen, some paper and a pair of scissors. He calls the card game he came up with "Dragon Wars." It's basically a glorified game of regular war with each hand crafted card depicting an action that a dragon might take in battle with corresponding points. The best card is "call herd" and it's unbeatable.

After playing all evening yesterday, Stella came home today with this question on her lips "Wanna play Dragon Wars?"

They played for about an hour today before her big brother started teasing her and she started screaming.

After that, Dragon Wars went to time out.

Thirteen

Have you seen this inspiring footage of a group of Good Samaritans?


They deadlifted a car that was on fire and rescued the injured motorcyclist who was trapped underneath.

The man being interviewed in the bottom left of this screen shot is the man who shot the video and our old family friend! He is my kids' Uncle Chris! He taught my kids how to wakeboard!

My sister is working as his manager and she has been fielding calls from CNN, NBC, the L.A. Times, and Inside Edition among others all day.

I feel a renewed sense of hope for humanity after seeing this video. I also feel a renewed sense of urgency to recommit to my Olympic Weightlifting.

Twelve

I am happy to be going to bed at a decent hour tonight.

We had a delightful cloudburst this afternoon. It resulted in a double rainbow and a spectacular sunset.

Stella can almost ride her bike independently.

I'm looking forward to a day at home tomorrow. I think I may get through the rest of the boxes. They are mostly full of books, and I don't have enough bookshelves to house them.

Which is why they are still in boxes.

We had ramen noodles with leftover beans and rice for dinner. It was decidedly UNspectacular, but we ate together.

Sometimes blogging every day gets boring.

Thanks for reading.

I (probably) love you.

Eleven

A lesson on Filipino family words:

Kuya: big brother
Ate: (pronounced AH-tae) big sister
Nanay: (pronounced NAHN-eye) mother
Tatay: father
Tito: uncle
Tita: aunt
Lolo: grandfather
Lola: grandmother





This is a photo of Robert with the Kuya of our kids' Lola. We picked him up at his house in Las Vegas and took him and his wife with us to Salt Lake so that he could spend the past week with his baby sister.

She calls him Kuya Junior, but he said that we are not to call him that. He would prefer to be Lolo to our children. That could get confusing, because their Lolo is Robert's dad. So we settled on the name Lolo Junior, which means we are technically calling him Grandpa Junior. His wife's name is super fun to say out loud.

Lola Yoli

I dare you to say it without smiling.

Ten

After the services yesterday, our good friends knew the boys might need a little distraction.





Thanks to Dallas & Shannon, Jack and Ol' Lefty took a detour to the Dew Tour. The cast has now been signed by a professional BMXer.





We arranged for pick up at the Nickelcade. Dallas and Robert had as much fun as the kids, but there were two girls monopolizing Dance Dance Revolution so the reunion performance of the Shannon/Liz dancing duo was postponed.

I put my phone away for the party at Maegan & Quinn's, so I don't have any photos of us eating our Chinese food from the Mandarin, but you can believe it may have been the best Chinese food I've ever eaten.

I'm so glad I invited Mae to have a party with me and The Garffs and Eddie.





The boys fell sound asleep as soon as we made it back to a pillow and a blanket.

Total exhaustion is the sign of a day well spent.

Nine

Today I have no words. I'll be back tomorrow.

Eight

While I was in the hospital with Ol' Lefty, Robert was home keeping the fires burning. He met Jack at the bus stop, picked Stella up from school, got Jack to football practice, and made sure George got a nap.

He also called me and asked me how to make taco soup.


It was delicious.

Seven

My baby girl, my partner in crime, my zombie slaying, alien hunting, Star Wars loving, tutu wearing connoisseur of all things fluffy or furry turned seven years old today.


She is on my side every time I suggest a Broadway musical for our family movie night. She lives in skirts and dresses and sparkles yet she can hold her own among her brothers and their friends in their games of wrestling and football and swordplay. She is equally at home in a mud puddle or performing in a ballet recital.

Sometimes I worry that she will be that girl who people love to hate, because she really is That Fantastic, that talented. Then I see her reaching out to the lonely child in class, or the new kid in school, and I know that she is far too kind and sensitive to be that girl.

She is excited because she received a Fur-Real Friend for her birthday gift. According to her she now has enough for an army (three), and the little guy she received today is going to be her General.

She spent the whole day with her Grandma and her Auntie Sara and they spoiled her rotten, which is just as it should be.

She's my girl and today she is seven.

Six

August 24 of this year found us on a truly intimate tour of Robert's new working environment.


The secretary at the school phoned and informed me that my kid had been involved in an accident on the playground and his arm was bothering him.





I happened to be driving by the school at that moment and pulled right in. Thank goodness we finally bought cell phones last year! When he showed me his arm, it was clearly broken. It looked as though his entire elbow had shifted out of place under his skin.





The wait in the E.R. was virtually nonexistent. We were not even permitted to sit down in the waiting room. As we entered, an employee ushered us directly into the back with a sympathetic smile. Once we made it into our room, my child didn't even have to leave for his X-Rays. The technician brought the machine to him, which was lucky because he was in so much pain I don't know if I could have handled watching him be wheeled from room to room. It was the kind of pain where I would have tolerated all kinds of whining and whimpering. There was none of that, though, simply the request from behind his closed eyes for his mother to sing to him. (And I know what you're thinking, especially if you've ever watched me sing with the kids during primary. My only explanation for him making that request at that time is maybe there is something in sharing a genetic code that wires a kid to find the sound of his mother's voice soothing~no matter what she sounds like when she sings. I don't care, I'll take it!)








He was much happier after the surgery and the bone was set & splinted. Two pins were placed in his humerus just above the elbow in the growth plates. He's worried about the growth plate factor because he thinks his arms are already scrawny enough.

Does his broken arm slow him down at all? No way. Remember the mile hike we did last week in the dark, alongside a ravine? He didn't even bat an eyelash. Okay, he may have been a leetle bit nervous, but he didn't use his arm as an excuse, I don't think it even crossed his mind. He got 100% on his spelling test the Friday after his surgery with one arm tied behind his back.





Today he visited the surgeon's office to remove the splint and get the cast. Look at that pin sticking out of his arm!

This weekend as he related the story of how he broke his arm to his Great -Uncles (Robert's dad's brothers) he said that one girl in his class thought he had over-reacted to his injury. His response was "I think I under-reacted. I didn't even cry!"

Is it ironic that the year I sign him up to play tackle football he trips on the school playground playing basketball and is out for the whole season before the first game but after all the conditioning practices?

After the Alanis Morissette song, I'm not at all certain about the definition of irony.

Five

My heart broke wide open today.

The world is a better place because my father-in-law spent 63 years here making his mark.

He greeted his last day on earth much the same way he began many of his days; with a hearty "Good Morning!"

His final moments were spent in the arms of his lifelong sweetheart and surrounded by his children and grandchildren.


Some of us spent the evening sorting through boxes of old photos.

Some of us spent our time cooking, trying to make ourselves feel useful by offering nourishment in the best way we know how.

We lost one of the good ones today.

Thank you for your kind words, your well wishes, you prayers for comfort and your good vibes. I know they mean so much to my husband and his family. and to me, too.

Four

We are keeping vigil around Robert's dad tonight.

Lots of tears, lots of laughter, and intermittent silence.





He keeps requesting Pepsi and Earl came up with a siphon to help him drink it.

We are glad we can be here, but I feel so sad.

Visit earlgrose.blogspot.com to read about his battle with cancer.

Three

Jack, Creed, and Stella are some of the most adventurous eaters I have ever known. Since they were babies, they have eaten (mostly) whatever was put in front of them. I used to dump salsa on their high chair trays and let them have at it. One of Creed's favorite foods is fried squid legs, for crying out loud! They have been known to fight over who gets the onions in the pot roast. They all love sushi, seafood, veggies, fruits, everything.

The other day I sliced up an avocado and didn't put any slices on the kids' plates at dinner. What kid likes plain avocado? When they saw the green goo on their parents' plates, they all piped up with "Why does dad get avocado and not us?"

Simmer down, you can have avocado. Sheesh.

Somehow, George is the exact opposite. He survives on milk, bananas, oatmeal, black beans, cookies, yogurt, string cheese, and french fries. . . and chewable vitamins when I remember to give him one. Recently I decided I had had enough. I refuse to raise picky eaters and I was committed to solving the problem.

I determined that I would starve the pickiness out of him.

My new rules were:

• no cups of milk until after he eats his food, but he can have all the water he wants
• no snacks for at least an hour before a meal
• absolutely no snacks between meals if he didn't eat the previous meal
• and if he didn't eat a particular meal, it was saved and offered to him again at the next meal
• no trying to talk him into eating anything (this one is especially hard, but keeps me sane)
• he has to sit at the table until either a) he has had a bite of everything or b) bedtime

When I first started, I felt so harsh. There have been evenings when my baby sat at the dinner table from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. We won't even talk about the two day taco incident.

I persevered, though. I was patient and unemotional (why do I forget that I need to remove my emotions from the parenting equation?) and luckily he is catching on before starving to death.

Lately he has eaten among other things: grilled cheese sandwiches, salmon patties, zucchini, lettuce, blueberries, pasta with red sauce and meatballs, a hamburger for breakfast on Thursday, toast, and pancakes.

We had out of towners here this morning for breakfast and one of them even called him a good eater!

Tonight we had lasagna and here is phone-tographic proof that he enjoyed it! He even ate the spinach.



"Is this basanya, mama?"

"Yes, it is basanya, George. Next I will teach you about utensils. Baby steps."

Two

I have become a phonetographer. It's due to a mixture of laziness on my part and the fact that my camera has been acting a little funny. If the lack of quality in my photos bothers you, you can click on them and they look a smidge sharper. Some of these were taken in really low light, though, so I don't know how much the quality will improve.
This morning we woke the kids up at 4:15 and drove to Zion's National Park. We hiked the Canyon Overlook trail.

My poor kids were quite apprehensive about hiking in the dark, even with flashlights. Except for George. His words as we hiked the trail were "I am so HAPPY right now, mama!"
We surprised the kids with a breakfast of donuts and chocolate milk which we ate as we watched the sun come up.

As we ate, we talked a little bit about courage, and what it means to be courageous.

We discussed the difference between acts of physical courage and acts of moral courage.

We all agreed that it was pretty courageous of Ol' Lefty to go on that hike with us even though his right arm is in a cast.

(I think it is courageous of me to post pictures of myself with no makeup.)

We drove back into town and the kids went to school while Robert and I assembled shelves in the garage and unpacked (almost) all the rest of the boxes.
Is this my life? Somebody pinch me, I think I might be dreaming.

P.S. My hair still looks like that and I haven't put on any makeup today.

One

Downsizing our household has been so much fun. The bedrooms in our house are just big enough for two twin beds and maybe a nightstand between them. This means we are eliminating dressers. We only have one. I brought it with me from my parents' house when I married Robert.

When we dropped it off at the D.I. Robert made the observation that he has now supplanted the dresser as the item I have had the longest. I received that dresser for my 15th or 16th birthday.

I guess we just donated my dowry.

Notes from the Laundromat

I have travelled back in time to the early years of my marriage when I saved quarters and washed several loads of laundry at once. (Washer and dryer stopped working last week.)



When I slyly took the above photo with my phone, George yelled "mom! Are you taking picher of dat guy?"

When dat guy was done putting his clothes in the wash, he sat down right next to us. After a minute of watching us color he told me I was a good mom. Then I learned the following facts:

1. He has a 44 year old son who is an electrician in Las Vegas and hasn't worked in 2 years.

2. He sends his son $500 each month.

3. He is a retired attorney for the government and when he left Washington D.C. in 1982 he shook his finger at the white house and told them they were messing things up too much.

4. On his son's 16th birthday he gave him a car, a truck, and a motorcycle.

5. He can't hear. Which makes me wonder how he knew I was a good mom. I think he uses that line on all the moms so that he can talk about his life for awhile.

Earlier this week a toothless man gave George a quarter to play a video game and helped him play while we waited for our clothes to dry.

Also, the other patron of the laundromat, not the old man, was washing a single shirt today.

August Happened

In bullet list:

• We moved to St. George. I came in advance with the kids and Robert joined us two weeks later.
• The comments from the kids on the day we pulled into town were priceless. "This place is beautiful!" "Mom, thank you so much for moving us here!" "Are those mountains real or fake?"
• Our truck was two weeks late in bringing our stuff to us, and when it finally arrived, I just wanted them to turn around and unload at the dump.
• The dump is free here.
• Robert was here by then and he wouldn't let me do that.
• The house we are renting is smaller than our house in Iowa by more than half.
• We have become intimately acquainted with the local Goodwill, a.k.a. the D.I., and also the Dump.
• The dump is free here!
• So far, Robert loves his new job.
• The kids have tons of friends and I am considering installing revolving doors on the house because of all the people coming and going all the time.
• Except that we are renting and I don't think the landlords would appreciate that.
• I have lost five pounds since I got here. I'm pretty sure it was just the water evaporating out of my system.
• You know, since we moved from the humidity of the Midwest to the desert of the Southwest.
• Everyone says we came in the height of the worst weather of the year.
• I say, if this is the worst you can do, I am going to have to be pried out of this place with a crowbar.

How We Celebrated

Our family birthday tradition, as it is with so many families, is to take the birthday child out to the restaurant of their choice. After days of saying "I like it all, mom. You can pick your favorite restaurant," Jack finally chose the Iowa Machine Shed.

We also tell our wishes as soon as we make them. I've been teaching my kids since they were old enough to wish for things that unless you tell me your wish, it won't come true.

If I don't know their wishes, how can I fulfill them?

Jack wished for a gift. Nothing specific. He just was just hoping for A Gift.

Wish Granted. The next day (on his birthday) he received a multi tool and books. He was delighted. He also gifted his siblings with new books.

He was able to spend the day at Adventureland with two friends:

His birthday dinner was Rice and Beans. He had three helpings.

Then we took everyone to see Shakespeare in the Park. The play was As You Like It and the weather was miserable. Nobody complained though and I was beyond moved to be sitting on a picnic blanket with my family partaking of the Bard.

We were sitting at the bottom of a hill on Stage Left, so the action was difficult to see at times. During intermission we moved our blanket up the hill, to get a better view. Then, when the actor playing Jacques was sneaking around the forest, he used our family as a hiding spot! Stella and Creed were so involved with the action on Stage, they didn't even notice he was sitting on our blanket.

Creed (Henry) wants to see A Midsummer Night's Dream next. I think the Utah Shakespearean Festival is performing that this summer, so we should be able to make that work! If I'm not mistaken, it's the play Fred Adams is directing in the Globe.

We came home and had birthday cake. Robert made his world famous Chocolate Creme Cake.

I'm done talking about Jack's Birthday, but I reserve the right to lament how fast he and his siblings are growing up.

Different Elements of Everything

An Interview with the Birthday Boy

Favorite Snack: Olive oil and balsamic vinegar with bread or apples and peanut butter

Favorite Dinner: Beans and Rice

Favorite Cuisine: I like different elements of everything.

Favorite School Subject: Reading

Favorite Hobby: Legos or Reading

Favorite Book: Ender's Game

Favorite Sport: Tennis

Favorite Band: The Aquabats and Barenaked Ladies

Favorite Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Favorite Color: Red & Black

Favorite Personality Trait in Yourself: Smart, polite, respectful, responsible

Would Like to Develop More: Patience

Favorite Physical Trait: I am handsome and strong.

Favorite T.V. show? Mythbusters

Favorite game: Nexus Ops (this is not a video game. It's a board game. Click on the link to learn more.)

Biggest Regret: Spending my money at the arcade.

What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Moved to Iowa

What is the thing you have done that makes you most proud? Read the Book of Mormon cover to cover in three weeks.

What is your goal for this year? to get more daring to try new things

What would you like to teach younger generations? pick up after yourself.

What are you most looking forward to this year? Moving to St. George

If you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be? I can't narrow it down. Harry Potter, Ender Wiggin, Master Chief, Bill Gates or Bill Cosby

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

1. A wallet that magically appears in my pocket if I lose it and always has $200 in it.
2. Tap into any knowledge instantly.
3. Read other people's thoughts. I told him I would never want that power. I do NOT want to know what people are actually thinking. His reply? I want to read people's thoughts so that I can help resolve conflicts.

What are you most worried about? All the nuclear weapons in the world.

What would you do with a million dollars? First I would pay off dad's student loans, then I would buy an XBOX 360, Halo Reach, Ninja Plus, some cool Apps for dad's IPOD touch, everyone in my family something they want and all the people we are related to something small. And I would have my watch repaired.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Successful. That means that I would have lots of money, be a good person with a wife and kids, faithful, a return missionary, and we would have Family Home Evening.

I want to hold on longer

Twelve years ago today, I turned to Robert and I said "I think this baby is on his way."

He was born the next day.

He was the first grandson on both sides of his family.

Tiny fingers. Tiny toes. He was passed from one set of waiting arms to another like a loaf of bread. Or a football.

Then I blinked.