This mess is a place...

This is our first week out of school for summer break.  To help cope with the craziness of it all, we are trying to do this...

	M	T	W	Th	F	S	Sun.
Make Bed
Brush Teeth
Morning Prayers
Clean Room
Read for 20 minutes
Exercise / Treadmill
Do a Job
Personal Progress
Practice the Piano
Read the scriptures
Write in Journal
Brush Teeth
Night Prayers

The dreaded JOB CHART!  My kids act like they are being so picked on when I print these little babies off every summer.  They find this job chart to be just.......rude!  This year I made one for me too.  It has basically the same things on it.  Just to prove that it can be done, and is not that hard.  The chart is a little different for each kid.  I wanted to let my kids know that it is important to accomplish things in the day (like brush the sweater off your teeth...now how hard is that?)

The chart may make me look a little like a slave driver.  Believe me, they are still getting PLENTY of T.V. time sitting on their cans.  I have a little Doug A in me---I like to see productivity.

My two youngest enjoy doing the things on their chart and checking them off.  Jace had his almost all done this morning when I got up to go run.  I glanced in his bedroom and his bed was already made and he was downstairs working on his job chart.  He reminds me so much of my brother Brian when it comes to things like this.  I remember Brian being on top of this like this.  He was so good at so many things.  My mom made the same comment today when I was talking to her about this subject.

Now I just need to get my older kids to buy into the idea.  That might be a bit of a hard sell.  I may resort to a little of this...

Jace's paper

The previous post talked about going through end of school year paperwork.  I found this when I went through some of Jace's paperwork.  He always makes me smile.  He is such a kind boy and is so sensitive.  I'm sure he would make a great dentist....just like his dad.

Creative Writing

My kids just finished school and are now on summer break.  As all kids do, they come home with lots of broken crayons, tons of papers, trashy backpacks, old folders, etc. (To say NOTHING of the way that they SMELL when they get home.  I could dedicate an entire post about this). It seems like it takes a little while to look through all their end-of-year things.  I mostly do this to make sure there is nothing I want to keep---in all their piles of c-r-a-p.

As I looked through Haley's things, I came across a creative writing folder that had this little gem in it.  And yes, I made me laugh out loud...

She cut out the above picture, glued it onto the page, and explained the picture with the first sentence.  I'm sure her teacher got a good laugh out of this one.

Yes, John has been a bit crabby with Riley lately. 

In his defence--she often does stupid teenage things (like dance behind a customer at the local grocery store (without his knowledge) while her friend video tapes her and posts it on Facebook.  She got the idea by watching "Dance Dares" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show).

In her defence--she is a teenager and most of the time they just don't think clearly.

Teenager - "When I say I cleaned my room, I usually mean I made a path from my door to my bed."

Honeymoon camp out...

Today John and I are celebrating 20 years of marriage. Like every marriage, we have had our ups and our downs. Thankfully a lot more ups then downs. We have been blessed with 4 great kids in our 20 years of marriage. And yes, sometimes those cute little turds have contributed to the "downs". But, we still love them anyway.

When we were first married, we were poor and frankly very clueless. It also seems to me that we communicated more about love and mushy things then anything substantial. I have to say that sometimes young newly-weds are just so stupid. I think back to how I was at age 20 and just have to laugh and scratch my head a little. We thought we knew it all, but we didn't know jack-squat!

The day of our wedding things seemed to go smoothly. Although at about 10:00 p.m. when the reception should have long been over, someone grabbed John and handcuffed him to my mom. It was funny for the first few minutes, and then I was tired and ready to go. We had an hour and a half drive to a cabin, (where we were staying that night), and we needed to get going. I recall starting to feel like it was not so funny anymore. I guess you shouldn't mess with a bride on her wedding day. It may be kind of like poking a sleeping bear. I recall starting to feel like that sleeping bear.

Our honeymoon was a traveling honeymoon with the the final destination being Arizona. We were moving there. (Back to the non-substantial conversations...I don't really recall a discussion about moving there, either that or I just have a really bad memory). I hope to help my kids see clearly when they are getting married and to not have their heads in the clouds.

We stayed in a cabin the first night and a hotel along the way. The final night we camped. Back then it seemed like a good idea to camp near the Grand Canyon. I'm not talking about camping with air mattresses, cooking stoves, and all the other things that make camping pleasant bearable. I'm talking...a small tent and a couple of sleeping bags. Over the years I have learned that I am not much of a camper. I need indoor plumbing and a nice comfy bed. I like to be outdoors, I just want a potty, clean hair...and not to sleep on a rock.

We pulled into a spot (out in the middle of nowhere) to set up camp for the night. It was starting to get dark and we needed to hurry and get it done. Eventually, it was dark enough that we had to turn on the pickup so the lights would shine on the tent, so we could finish getting set up.

When we were finished I jumped into the pickup and locked the doors and left the driver door open (Now that makes a lot of sense). The pickup was still running and John was going to hop in and turn it off. I let John know that the doors on the pickup were locked. (I'm a door locker, and he is a door shut-er). Before he entered the pick up and shut it off, he was finishing up a few things and pushed the door shut. What the H!? We had just locked our keys in a running pickup out in the middle of nowhere. No cell phones, no one close by to help, dark outside. Lovely. We looked high and low for a hidden key and tried our best to get in. After stressing for several minutes trying to come up with a solution, John picked up a big rock and bashed it into the driver side window. Oh, and did I mention that the pickup belonged to his mom and we were just borrowing it? And, did I also mention that it was hot ol' Arizona and we had to drive the rest of the way with a window down and out. Annnd, we were broke and couldn't pay for a new window. Annnnnnd, it was monsoon season where it rains in BUCKETS. (Jumping ahead--I remember seeing John's mom driving (shortly after that) with an umbrella open and up against the spot where there SHOULD have been a window. Whoops. I'm sure under her breath the whole time was "Stupid, idiot, kids.")

There hasn't been a dull moment since!
I'm blessed to have married such a great guy! Love you John!

Love this quote...
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards." -Ben Franklin

Two tickets to paradise

John and I just recently returned home from an AMAZING trip to Hawaii.   Next week is our 20th wedding anniversary, so we decided we needed to do something a little more special this year.  We were gone for a total of 10 days...10 days of just pure relaxation!!  We went with my sister Lisa and her husband Bob (they were celebrating their wedding anniversary also).  It was so nice to be able to get away with them and get to know them even better. They are both so amazing and we had such a blast hanging out with them.  It was great getting up every day and saying, "What are we going to do for fun today?" It was all about having fun and relaxing. 

Bob and Lisa own a condo there, on the big island Hawaii.  The condo was perfect and just so beautiful.  The name of the condos is Hali 'i Kai in Waikoloa. Some of the nice things about staying in a condo... You have a kitchen and you don't have to eat out every meal!   HUGE bonus! It seems like you can only handle eating out a few times before you start to feel gross.  Also, we had a washer and dryer to use. We didn't check any bags, and were able to pack light knowing that we could do laundry there. I tease John about him saying he didn't need to pack anything, he just needed to wear his speedo under his clothes and get on the airplane! 

The condo has a private ocean club and it was simply breath taking!!  We happened to be visiting Hawaii in more of an "off season" time.  The workers at the Ocean club told us during May and September they don't have as many guests.  There were a few times that we had most of the Ocean club all to ourselves. We took food down to the ocean club and BBQed several different nights.  We would sit and watch the sun set and then enjoy time in the hot tub. The hot tub had a pebble bottom to it and it was just sooooo relaxing.

I loved when…

• We went to church on the first Sunday there. One of the girls speaking in sacrament meeting (she was probably about 10) got up to speak. She was wearing a fedora and holding a ukulele. She played "I am a Child of God" and then spoke. Loved it. It was something different and very cute.  It seemed like everyone was just so low key and relaxed about everything.
• We rented scooters for the day.  It was such a blast crusing around every where!

 

• We went snorkeling a couple of times.  I didn't know if I could do it.  I am a chicken about some animals and creatures touching me.  I didn't like the idea of fish swimming around me and getting too close.  Especially eels or something equally creepy.  When I first put the snorkel tube in my mouth, I kinda gagged a little.  I have easy gag reflexes and was a little nervous.  I soon realized that you have to breath slow and deliberately - not hyperventilate.  Once I got the hang of it, I loved it!!  So FUN!!

• One day we went on a kayaking trip to the Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay.  In order to get to the monument you have to swim, hike, or kayak.  While we kayaked in and out we were accompanied by MANY dolphins.  Once we reached the monument, we snorkeled for a while and saw some of the most beautiful coral and fish.  I was a little antsy wondering if we were going to be joined by a dolphin. 

• I have always wanted to go to a luau.  Lisa and Bob went home a few days before we left and have already experienced a luau.  We decided to go the night before we left.  I guess I can now check that off my "bucket list" of things I would like to do before I kick the bucket.  It was a lot of fun! 

• We sat and watched the sun slowly go down. 

• We went and walked the grounds of the Hilton that was right next to the condo.  So beautiful, and so much to see.

Dolphin jumping at the Hilton

Well, I would like to add more pictures from the trip, but am getting a message that I have reached the limit on Blogger for my storage space for pictures (and I didn't even get to add pictures with us in them)  BOO!  I guess I better figure out what to do next.  Any suggestions?  In the meantime, I am going to post this so I don't get further behind then I already am!

Clear the road!!!

A couple of days ago, my oldest completed the final steps--and received her drivers licence.  I have such a love/hate relationship with this.  But, it is a little bit of a bug-a-boo.

First off--    It just makes me feel SO OLD!  I don't really love all these "series of firsts" that you have to go through with your oldest child.  You are constantly questioning yourself and your judgement.  You want to give them a little freedom and start trusting them, but then at the same time you are pulling back so hard on the reins.

Secondly--
Sometimes I think her driving skills are lacking.  She can be a bit of a dig-bat-driver.  She says she does better when I am not in the car.  I DO have some wicked-awesome back seat driving skills.  But, in my defense, she can sometimes make some stupid mistakes in the car.  I worry about her, and those on the road (and possible the sidewalk). :)  For example--driving, seeing a friend walking, honking and waving, meanwhile steering over into the left lane.  What the crap?!

Third--
My insurance just DOUBLED due to the fact that she is a teen driver.  Lovely.

Fourth--
I get a lot of "chat time" with her in the car.  That is probably the time when she tells me most about her school day, friends, etc.  I think I will miss out on some of that when she is driving herself to and from school.  (Even though we are only 1 mile from the school).  It seems like when kids hop in the car after school they usually have a lot to say.

I know that it will make things a little easier having another driver around here.  But, also make it harder because of the stress involved...worrying.  It is definitely going to take me some time.  Heaven help me!! (As my friends Mike and Tai or John might say, "This is either going to get easier or a lot harder".  So profound.)

I just have to mention how the driving test went last Wednesday....

Riley was completely freaking out and was a nervous wreck!  She kept saying before it started, "I think I am going to throw up!" and "Do you think if I need to throw up, I can pull over really quick?"  Needless to say, she was not putting my mind at ease.  She was working herself into a complete frenzy.

We thought that her drive was going to take a certain route and had practiced it several times throughout the last 9 months.  When she was told to turn a different way, I think her mind went blank.  She pulled out and started driving with the emergency break on. 

When she was asked if she forgot to release the emergency break, she started to unravel a little bit.  She pulled over and started running her fingers through her hair and I could see in the mirror that she was starting to tear up.  She shed a few tears and the instructor (who we know well) told her to take a deep breath and just relax.  She explained that more mistakes are made when a student driver is way too nervous.

After Riley calmed down a bit, she pulled out and did great.  In order for me to ride along, I could not say a word about the drive or coach her in any way.  At one point, I almost had to physically hold my hands over my mouth.  She was asked to turn onto the interstate during 5:00 traffic.  There were SEVERAL cars getting onto the interstate and Riley had a yield sign.  She was trying to decide when it was safe to merge on, and I was in the back seat about to die.  I wanted so bad to let her know that it was not safe to proceed.  She eventually merged into the traffic and ended up cutting a driver off a bit.  Luckily, no accidents, no horns being honked in our direction, no one flipped us off, and I did not say a PEEP!  If I would have coached her in ANYWAY, it would have been an automatic fail.  Initially, I had decided I wasn't going to go (just because I knew of this rule), but Riley wanted me to. 

At the end of the drive she was told that she passed.  She was so excited and relieved.  When the instructor got out of the car, Riley started to cry again.  I think she was so glad that was over that she just had to shed a few tears.  Funny girl!

The day after the driving test, we went to the DMV for her to take the written test.  She passed with flying colors.  When she came around the corner after the test, she had a great big smile on her face and bright red cheeks.

So, if you see my van cut you off or driving a little erratic, be patient...it may be my little student driver.

Waiting up...

Man, sometimes it is hard to wait up for a teenager to come home.  You are so tired and so bored.  Last night, I was waiting to go pick up Riley from a friends house.  I was too tired to clean or do anything productive.  I had killed plenty of time on Facebook and other lovely time wasters.  Lucky John was upstairs in bed, sawing some SERIOUS logs.  So, I decided to "play" with Photoshop.  I chose my April file folder and picked a few pictures to play with.  I just love to take pictures and mess with them on Photoshop. 

The following pictures were taken at our Easter egg hunt this year.  The first two pictures are of my niece and nephew.  The last picture is Haley.  (She was jumping to get an egg out of a tree and I turned the picture sideways, cut her out, and threw her into space.)

Someday I want to take a class and learn more about Photoshop and more about Photography.  I think it would be fun to create wedding announcements, graduation announcements, etc.  It's just fun to be creative.

On a side note...Riley has had her drivers permit for over a year now.  Why doesn't she have her licence you ask...Well..because her mean parents are insisting that she get her Young Women Award in Personal Progress before she can get her licence.  She has never fought us on this.  Lately, she is really wanting to get it done.  She has a goal to get it done in the next couple of weeks, and she has been working very hard!  Although that still doesn't fix the "waiting up bored-out-of-your-mind tired business".

Did you ever notice...

Isn't that just lovely...and slightly funny...and sadly true.  Why does the ol' metabolism have to slow down when you are getting older?  And WHY can't we be blessed with the same amount of energy as our busiest child? 

For the last several months, I have been wogging (walk/jog) around a path with a friend--every morning.  Good thing I have a faithful exercising buddy that is expecting me.  We have been walking in sun, rain, snow, wind, you name it.  I think on our coldest morning it was around 8 degrees.  Shiver me timbers!  I figure we are burning more calories on those mornings because we are shivering so bad.  Not to mention the wind that is ALWAYS doing it's job giving us wind resistance and interval training.  Although I would like to say, thanks...but NO THANKS! 

I have decided to run on a marathon relay team in June.  I've dealt with my share of crap when it comes to exercise...plantar fasciitis, shin splints, achy knees.  You'd think that I was turning 80 soon with the way that I hobble around the house at night.  Luckily the relay team is not doing it for time...just for fun.  Although, I am a bit of a competitive person, and I don't want to be the slowest runner on my team.  Guess I better kick my training up a notch, especially since I only have about 7 weeks left.

We recently had to come up with a name for our relay team.  The few suggestions that I came up with were...

• Wrong Distance Runners
• Asphalt Assault
• Old Enough to know Better
• Time wounds all Heels
• Hill is a 4 letter word
• 2 slow 2 win 2 dumb 2 quit
• F.A.R.T.S - Friends Always Run Together Socially

With a vote...we have chosen 2 slow 2 win 2 strong 2 quit. (Substituting the word dumb for strong---not so much in my case).  I liked the "Time wounds all Heels" because of the nasty plantar fasciitis plaque that I have been dealing with.

I recently purchased a new pair of running shoes, and they seem to be making a difference.  Crossing my fingers that I can get myself good and ready for the race.  Wish me luck!

Easter Festivities

I'm a little slow in posting...

But, I wanted to share some photos from Easter weekend.

This year, we ended up having 2 different Easter egg hunts.  The first one was with my siblings and their kids.  My sister Monica had us over to her house after her daughter Kenadee was baptized.  We ate lunch and had an Easter egg hunt in her backyard.  It was a slightly cold day with a few patches of snow on the ground, but that would NEVER stop a kid.

Jace was beyond thrilled to find money in his Easter egg.

Our little family had an Easter egg hunt on Sunday after church.  It was sunny and beautiful outside which can be rare in the spring time.  If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the name "Peyton" with a heart on Riley's egg.  Riley is in love with Peyton Manning.  

Haley's outfit was picked out and put on by her.  Oh the colors.  It is a crack up.  This picture makes me laugh.  She is "catching air" trying to reach the egg in the tree.

 We put together a slightly lame scavenger hunt for the kids.  We do one for them every year.  They always love it and are good sports even when it is not completely exciting.

Stairs to Nowhere

I have a lot of growing up to do,

I realized that the other day...

In my fort.

How do I explain this next blog post without sounding like a complete lunatic?

I live in the same town as I did when I was a child.  I remember (just like it was yesterday), driving around town in a big yellow station wagon with my mom.

Frequently during our errand running, we would pass by a set of stairs. The stairs are located in a very random location--right off a busy road next to an on-ramp to a busy highway. They appear to be stairs to nowhere.  The sidewalks come to a dead end on each side of the road near the stairs.  In order to get from one side of the road to the other, you have to dart across traffic (no crosswalk).  I don't think this set of stairs looks much differently now then it did when I was a kid.

As a child, I think that EVERY TIME we passed this set of stairs, I would ask my mom to please stop and let me climb them.  For some reason, it just looked so fun to climb them.  I'm not sure if it was the stairs that excited me, or the fact that they are located in such a random location.  To me, I thought those stairs were so cool...almost more exciting than it would be to find a secret hidden door in your house. 

Of course, every time I would ask my mom to stop, the answer was no.  After all, there really was no place TO stop, and what mother wants to stop and kill time when she is busy running errands.  (When I took these pictures, I got lucky with no traffic and I just stopped in the middle of the road). 

For many, many years I have passed this set of stairs and my mind is always taken back to when I wanted, so badly, to climb them.  I told my "exercising friend" Michelle about my secret desire to climb those stairs.  Yesterday, when we were walking around the river, I asked her if she would please humor me.  Finally, at the age of 40, I climbed my stairs to nowhere.  I joked about how I should have called my mom, asked her to pick me up, and make her drive me over there to climb the stairs.

Little worker bee

Last week, early in the morning, we drove past my mom's house and she was outside working.  That lady can work like no other!  We pulled the van over to talk to her and see how she was doing.  She informed us that she was just about to mow the lawn, but that she had to replace the mower battery.  From there our conversation went something like this...

ME:  You changed the battery by yourself?
MOM:  Of course, I grew up on a farm you know?
ME:  Good grief, you could work circles around anyone.

And from the backseat Jace pipes up...
JACE:  She is like 10 men rolled together in one!

My mom thought that was completely hilarious.  She threw her head back and laughed for about a minute straight.  Yes, that woman, all 100 pounds of her, can out-work ANYONE I know.  That is a fact that no one can deny...at least anyone that knows her.

We like to joke with my mom that she has 2 speeds....
1-HIGH
2-OFF

If she is sitting down, she is in the "off speed", and will completely fall faaaaast asleep.  She has been known to doze off in the car at a stop light (with the car in park), only to be awoken by the man driving behind her.  (He hopped out of his car and was tapping on her window asking her if she was okay.) 

Another "off speed"--She has been known to fall asleep WHILE her visiting teachers are at her house.  I'm sure they are wondering if they should just cover her up with a blanket and tip-toe out. 

I think the reason she has the "off speed" is because she is always up at the crack of dawn, working her guts out.

I recently took at picture of my mom's lawn mower.  If you look closely at it, you will notice a large bag of beans on the seat.  Why the beans???  Well, her mower has a sensor that gauges when you stand up, and the mower automatically shuts off.  Basically, it is a safety feature.  The only problem is, my mom doesn't weigh enough to keep the mower running.  Without the bag-o-beans mom is constantly dealing with the mower shutting off...it doesn't recognize that her tiny body is even sitting on the seat.  So, she gets to ride around for a couple of hours on a bag of beans.  Makes my butt hurt just thinking about it.  When I suggested disengaging the sensor, she just replied, "It's not that bad!"

My mom (in her favorite yard work garb).  Long sleeved jacket, hat, gloves.
Not a ray of sun will touch her skin.
My brother took this picture and posted it on his Facebook page...under it, it says, "Deannimal"

We have, on several occasions, been able to see and visit with Elder L. Tom Perry.  (Several years ago, he stayed at my parents house with his wife.  He was the visiting General Authority for Stake Conference when my dad was the Stake President.)  When Elder Perry spoke at my dad's funeral he said about my mom (referring to when he stayed at their house)...
"Deanna was truly an inspiration to me.  In fact, I have to admit it's the only home that I've been into that I tried to get their vitamins.  I wanted the same vitamins they had!  Such life and vitality!

When Elder Perry set my parents apart as Mission Presidents, he said this about my mom...
"I have traveled and been to wards and stakes all over the world, but I've never met a woman with more energy than your mother."

In my mom's high school yearbook, next to all the Senior pictures, there was a short saying...Next to my mom's picture it says, "My what a little spark can do".

They broke the mold after my mom was made.  She's amazing.

Aloha baby!

This May will be the big 20th Anniversary for John and I.  Can't believe that it has really been 20 years.  Wow.  Give that man a metal for putting up with this woman for 20 years!  For the last couple of years, I have been asking John what we were going to do for our 20th Anniversary.  The usual, customary plan is, go to dinner, go home.  That is all fine and dandy, but I wanted to DO something different for the 20th!  We really didn't have any firm plans until this...

February 18th, 9:38 pm I got a text from my brother-in-law...
Want to go to Hawaii in Apr or May with us?

I didn't see the text until the following morning.  It was a Saturday night and I needed to hit the hay early because I have early church meetings.  Tired mama=grouchy mama.  "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

The next day (Sunday) during sacrament meeting, my phone started vibrating in my scripture bag.  Thank heavens I had it on vibrate. :)  I looked and noticed it was Bob calling...I was sure it was regarding his text the night before.  So, yes, I texted back.  I know, it was during sacrament meeting, don't judge. 

My text to him...
I just saw your text this morning.  We are at church right now.  That would be such a blast!!!  John and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in May...that would be a great way to celebrate!  I think it just depends on the $$$.  I will call you after church.

His reply to me...
OK.  When your taking the sacrament don't be thinking about beaches, sunsets, or palm trees.

Me...
Ha ha ha!!  Too late!

So, YEEEEEEEES, we are going to Hawaii in May.  Never been before.  Very excited!  Now we are getting little random texts from Bob and Lisa telling us they have booked a rental car, what the current temperature in Hawaii is that day, etc.  We. Are. VERY. EXCITED! 

For now, we are left counting that days until these pasty white Idaho bodies are lounging on the beaches of Hawaii.  I'm quite certain that we may blind a few people with our chalky, frosted, milky, pasty, pearly, limbs. 
 Booya!