Merry Christmas

What's the latest you've ever had to stay up on Christmas Eve?
I can't believe it but this year, this very night is the latest for me.
It's 3:45 am and I'm almost ready to get to bed. Just working on one last gift. I had no idea I would be up this late this year.
We had a great Christmas Eve as a family - I'll post more on that later.
Luckily Jared and Kamryn were up until 11:00 and hopefully they will sleep in and I've given the other kids strict orders to sleep in or at least not wake up the little ones.

Very Long Day

After a very full, stressful, frustating and long day, it's so great to sit down and read my friends' blogs. It cheered me right up and brought a smile to my tired face. Thanks, friends.

Christmas Concert

I just got back from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert at the Conference Center. It was FABULOUS!! I enjoyed it so much. I am so grateful to my friend for taking me as her date (since her husband was out of town and couldn't go with her).
My favorite choir number was The First Noel. It was absolutely beautiful.
I also loved the 12 Days of Christmas number. It was so fun.
And Kudos to my friend Paige (see her blog for her famous handshake after the concert). She is in the bell choir and they did a beautiful job and were a great addition to the concert.

"Pne-MOAN-ia" and other sicknesses

It's not been the best week at our house.
Taylor has Pneumonia brought on by his asthma which first presented as croup. Some of the medicine he is taking is making him "crazy." I've never seen him so agitated and out of his mind. Thank goodness this morning he seemed to be back to normal and finally starting to do better.
Everyone but me has had some degree of the stomach flu that is going around. Brooke had the worst case and has missed 2 days of school and still isn't feeling great.
Justin missed school on Tuesday and has started feeling sick again tonight.
Paul is sick with so many things I can't list them and yet he still goes to work. I'm sure his co-workers are thrilled.
And knock on wood, I've managed to stay well through all of this. I hope that can continue at least until Christmas.

"I'm Not Made for Winter"

This quote was heard in the Charlie Brown Christmas show that was on TV tonight. It was said by Sally who was trying to get dressed in coat, boots, & gloves to go outside to go shopping.
I whole-heartedly agree with her! I'm not made for winter. Sure it's pretty right now but it's so cold and I've already had enough. And it's not even officially winter for another 11 days.
But on a happier note, I have to say how much I enjoyed the Charlie Brown show. It was new to me and with a new character who I love - Rerun. What a cute kid! I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed watching it with my whole family. Christmas time is great!

Happy Birthday Paul

Yesterday was Paul's birthday. We went to his work party for his birthday - it was a perfect way to celebrate - free dinner, entertainment and no focus on Paul. I really wanted to let the MC know that it was Paul's birthday but he said he would be very unhappy if I did something like that. And I certainly didn't want him to be unhappy on his birthday. To pay tribute to Paul for his birthday I am copying an idea from another blog.

41 Great Things about Paul on his 41st Birthday
1. He is tall - that was a big plus for me when we started dated.
2. He has a great laugh! I love watching "Seinfeld" with him just to hear him laugh. It's very contagious too.
3. He is a hard worker.
4. He learned to play "Behind the Waterfall" by David Lanz on our new piano so that he could play our new toy. This is significant because he does not know how to read notes or play the piano other than this one song, which he learned by memorizing it measure by measure listening to me play it.
5. He is happy most of the time and it shows.
6. He loves to wrestle with his kids.
7. He just wants me to be happy.
8. It is fun to watch football games with him.
9. He enjoys life.
10. He is considerate of others.
11. He is VERY HANDY around the house.
12. He is happy to eat cereal for dinner.
13. He will eat anything I fix and is happy about it.
14. He keeps me warm.
15. He loves our kids.
16. He is happy to help out when I volunteer him to my friends and family.
17. He can draw cool pictures, this is especially handy to entertain our little ones during church.
18. He loves music - all kinds, well almost all kinds.
19. He loves to go camping at Washington Lake.
20. He indulges me when I want to use free airplane tickets so they won't go to waste.
21. He puts up with my PMS.
22. He is honest.
23. He honors his priesthood.
24. He fulfills his church calling.
25. He likes playing basketball with our boys.
26. He likes playing volleyball with our kids.
27. He likes playing football with our kids.
28. He likes playing soccer with our boys.
29. He likes to play.
30. He likes to play "golf" and "hearts."
31. He is tolerant of me.
32. He expects a lot of me.
33. He loves and honors his parents.
34. He has a testimony.
35. He loves Thanksgiving.
36. He isn't lazy.
37. He is handsome!
38. He enjoys all four seasons.
39. He provides very well for our family.
40. He is generous with his time and money.
41. Most important, he loves me.

Sickness update

Well, we made it through the day. No more throw up. Jared had a fever in the afternoon but seems back to normal today.
They both fell asleep sometime during Barney this morning (about 11:00). I put them both in bed and then went to bed myself. I didn't really get good sleep but I rested.
Kamryn woke up about 3:00 pm and was pretty ornery. Jared woke up at the point with a fever and didn't want to get out of bed. He went back to sleep until Justin got him out of bed at 6:00 - much happier. They ate a little and watched some movies and played and then went to bed at 9:30. I couldn't believe they went to bed that early after sleeping so much during the day. Now if I can just sleep.

The Trouble with Twins

One of the downsides of having twins is when they are sick.
I was up all night with both of them throwing up!!
That is the worst thing for me to deal with as a mother.
Kamryn was a lot sicker than Jared. She's still not doing very well.
Jared was actually quite funny at 4:00 am. He got the yucky stuff out of his tummy and then it was like he was on speed. Talking a mile a minute and being really quite cute.
Hopefully we'll make it through the day.

Forgotten Carols

I've been a fan of The Forgotten Carols for many years. Some years we read it as a family, some years with friends and some years we go to see the play. Brooke and I went to see it while we were living in Phoenix. I was pregnant with the twins at the time and it was a VERY emotional and spiritual experience for me. I LOVED IT!!! And I've been wanting to go again. So this was the year. I bought tickets the very minute they went on sale (and was disappointed to find that the best seats were already gone in a presale for members, since I bought tickets this year now I'm a member and will get those awesome seats next year).
I decided for our gifts to my parents, Paul's parents and my sibling to give to this year that we would take all of them to the play.
We went tonight to the opening night at Cottonwood High School. It was Awesome! I loved it again!! I highly recommend it and wish I could take everyone I know. I just checked Deseret Book website to see if there are tickets still available and there are - mostly singles but some together in the balcony. If you need something to really get you into the true spirit of the season, go see The Forgotten Carols.

It's official

It's official - it's Christmas time.
For some reason, I've had quite the "scrooge" attitude about Christmas this year. Usually I start listening to Christmas music right after Halloween but not this year. I was so annoyed by the the radio stations with the super early starts that we boycotted them until after Thanksgiving.
I think the great long fall weather had something to do with it. It just didn't seem like Christmas. So the snow has helped it to seem more like Christmas.
Today was the day to decorate. But I also had to do laundry, errands, make a lunch stop at McDonald's for my nephew's birthday, make dinner, make slush for a baby shower tomorrow. But if we didn't decorate today I had no idea when we would do it.
Paul and Justin brought the tree up and then Paul went to bed. He's sick again and had a bad headache.
The kids were great to help and they took all the Christmas storage boxes upstairs. After we got all the boxes upstairs I plugged in the lights for the tree and the whole top of the tree is not lit and half of the bottom. Lights make me so crazy. We ended up not decorating the tree but did get the rest of the house decorated. I started out in a pretty bad mood and was getting after my kids for goofing off during the process. Luckily they don't take me too seriously and by the end of the whole process I was finally having fun and getting into the spirit.
Now if I can just live through tomorrow:
10:00 Festival of Trees to see my niece dance
11:00 Taylor's 1st basketball game this year
1:00 Friend's baby shower I'm helping to give
6:00 Ward Christmas party that I need to bring an appetizer to - have no idea what.
And now that's it almost 1:00 am, I'm going to bed.

Crafting

My sister and I spent the whole day working on a craft for neighbor gifts. I'm not really a crafty person but this was a fun little easy project that turned out so cute. It was fun to work together and it was so great that our kids got along and played together nicely for most of the day. I will try to take a picture and share soon.

Traffic School

Okay, I admit it, I have a tendency to speed. And of course, my luck is that I get caught.
I went to traffic school for the 2nd time this year. Technically, that is not allowed, but what one city doesn't report is not up to another city to check on.
So, of course, I dreaded going to traffic school yet another time tonight.
When you dread something, it usually turns out better than expected. And tonight was no exception. The officer doing the class was funny but informative. He had a great powerpoint presentation with interesting and sometimes funny videos mixed in. He shared some very interesting statistics and I learned a lot tonight.
Here's a few of the things I learned:
**Roughly 4% of the drivers out there are male, between 15-20 and they cause 47% of all fatal crashes. My son is in that age category and I am doing everything to make sure that he is a good driver.
**Children 5 and under have to be in child restraint at all times. This is state law. (I was glad to find out for sure what the law is here because I didn't know for sure).
**Drivers under the age of 19 have to have a seatbelt on and can be pulled over for not having a seatbelt on - as a 1st offense. Anyone over 19 can only be given a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt if they are pulled over for something else first.
**You cannot give the officer pulling you over for speeding the excuse "But I was going with the flow of traffic."
**In West Jordan, they have very specific areas they target for speeding and he listed all of them. I plan to avoid all of those streets if at all possible.

I'm Thankful

I know it's a few days late but wanted to post what I'm thankful for -
1. Paul - He's a great husband, father and provider.
2. My kids - I should list each one separately and say why but I'll save that for me written journal. Let me just say that I am really enjoying being a mother that day and that is because I have great kids.
3. Extended family - It's great that my kids live near their grandparents and cousins and we see them frequently.
4. My friends - Friends have always been an important part of life to me and they continue to be.
5. Books
6. Movies
7. Food - although it sure would be easier if we could just take a pill for the nourishment we need and then eat for enjoyment occasionally
8. Our family cabin
9. My home
10. Our ward
11. My van
12. The nice long fall weather we've had
13. Young women in our ward
14. Sports - the ones my kids play and the ones we watch
15. Clothes
16. Music
17. The internet
18. Christmas lights
19. Exercise buddy
20. And last but most important (and the list is much longer just keeping it short here)
--THE GOSPEL.

Tattle-tale

With 2 year old twins, we have just moved into the phase of tattle-telling.
Jared came to me the other night and said,
"Kamryn's in trouble. She has daddy's phone." Just like that. Very clear.
So I went in our bedroom and sure enough, there she was with his cell phone and iPod.
So far, Jared is doing all the telling and Kamryn is the one always getting into trouble. I'm sure one day she may get her turn to tell on him.

Region Volleyball

So last year the new thing with volleyball was having Brooke play "club."
The new thing this year is having our YW team go to region! It's exciting and oh so stressful at the same time.
Our team did pretty well in stake play but didn't win every game so we were a little surprised when they told us we'd be going to region as the 1st place team from our stake. We were told it wasn't just determined by wins - they factored in that our team never forfeited, never had leaders play (as some wards did) and we were on time & ready to play.
This last Saturday was the first day of region play. It was a "pool play" tournament where there were 4 teams in our pool and we played each team. We were at our own building for the tournament which was nice. We played from 9 am to about noon - 3 matches and our girls won all 6 games that they played. It was so exciting for them and us (parents & leaders).
Last night was the start of the double elimination tournament. We lost our first game and then came from behind and won the 2nd and 3rd games in our first match. 1 1/2 hrs later we played our second match of the night and lost in 2 games. The girls played great and had a great attitude. We are still playing because the tournament is double elimination. So we play again tonight.
And while all of this is going on it's time for Club Team tryouts!

Fun Night Out

For his birthday, Justin wanted to go see The Bee Movie. So all of us except Paul (who had a big deadline at work and couldn't get away in time) went to the last matinee showing yesterday. It was Jared and Kamryn's first real time to go to the theater for a movie. (They've been before but not that they remember). They were very good and really got into the show. We all enjoyed it. Very clever movie. After dinner we went to Bajio's for dinner. Yum Yum!!

He Passed!

I took Justin down to get his learner's permit yesterday - along with the rest of the 15 year olds in Jordan District. When we walked in at 11:00 am the place was packed!! I almost turned around and left but knew that it would probably never get any better unless I had him miss school.
After waiting for an hour they announced that they would start a second testing room for all the "children" that were there. It struck me to think of "children" taking a written test for driving a car.
Justin was the first one done with the test in about 15 minutes - it is a 50 question test and he passed with 90%!
We then waited another 45 minutes for our number to be called to finish the paperwork and waited some more for his name to be called to get his picture taken. We finally walked out of there 2 hours later with his learners permit.
Now he has 1 year to get in his 40 hours of driving. We figured out if he drives 10 minutes every day over the next year he'll get it in. The nice thing we learned is that he can drive with family members in the car as long as Paul or I am in the front seat with Justin. So I guess I will have a chauffeur for the next year.

Happy Birthday Justin

Justin turned 15 today!!
Isn't he handsome!!
He is a great son and I love him very much. I am very proud of him for the great choices he has made in life so far. He is an excellent student, a great athlete, a good friend, and a wonderful older brother. I am grateful for all the he does to help out in our family. He is funny and can be quite a tease.
Hope he has a great birthday weekend (mostly tomorrow when there's no school and we can really celebrate).

I love to ...

On our girl trip when we were discussing our "colors" and the characteristics of each, one of the topics of conversation that came up was what is something you love to do - something you are a little obsessed with and can do for hours and don't really notice the time go by.
Well, my immediate answer was "reading." I love to read. I can do it all day and stay up late (well, not as late as I used to). I would rather read than watch a movie or TV.
I spent the day reading today. And I didn't feel one bit guilty about it. I was doing laundry all day and couldn't go anywhere. In between switching the loads and folding and putting away laundry I read. I finished the book I was reading and now have 4 more to read that I just checked out from the library. I'm going to start A Thousand Splendid Suns, by the author of The Kite Runner.
I guess I better not start it until tomorrow night after I've done some chores and grocery shopping.

Quote for today

"What you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things."
--Nicholas Sparks mother in his book A Memoir: Three Weeks with My Brother.

Model of Fashion

The Big 4-0

I wanted to document what I looked like on my 40th birthday.

I cannot possibly be 40. I don't feel 40. What does 40 feel like anyway? I'm sure there are some of you out there that will let me know.
I had a great day. Slept in instead of going to Muscle Up. Got a flu shot at my husband's job. Went to lunch with him and Jared and Kamryn to Sweet Tomatoes. It was very good and the little gremlins were very good and ate great (both of those things can be a rarity these days).
I received visits from my parents and good friends today.
I took the kids to Burger King for dinner (we went there last year on my birthday too).
We went to part of the varsity Brighton volleyball game and all of the sophomore game. This was my choice for what to do tonight.
After the games my family sang happy birthday and gave me presents.
It was a great birthday and my last. Or I guess I'll start going backwards now.

Blog Surfing

Yesterday I was kind of vegging around most of the day in my jammies - post trip and pre birthday kind of day. I was reading my friend's blogs and linked from Susannah's blog to the Wilkinson's web page and blogs. Fascinating reading. I'm go glad they are sharing their experiences. I can kind of somewhat imagine what they are going through. And what beautiful babies. I almost wish I lived in Austin so I could help out.

Girl Trip

Over the weekend, seven of us from our ward went down to St George for a little girl trip. It was fabulous and so nice to get away.
First of all, thanks to Desiree for sharing her beautiful house. And also for driving.
Thanks to Judy for sharing her knowledge about colors.
Thanks to Desiree, Brenda, Julianne, Stacie, Cynthia, & Judy for coming and making it so much fun. I love you all and am grateful for such great friends.

The righteous part of the group on a tour of the St George Tabernacle

Julianne and Judy

I wish I had more pictures to post. I didn't do a very good job taking pictures on this trip. next time.

Red Day

I wanted to share what Justin looked like on "red day" last week during Red Ribbon Week. It just so happens that almost everything he has red is Ute red. And it was really convenient that it was also a Utah game day (where they beat TCU - yeah!)
He's got spirit!

2 trouble makers

So, the other day, I left Justin and Brooke in charge of Jared and Kamryn while I ran to the store and did a couple of errands. I was gone longer than I said I would be and I completely blame myself for what happened. My first mistake was asking 2 kids to be in charge. It's always better to just ask one of them. So this time Justin thought Brooke was watching them and vice versus. So when I walked in the door I was greeted with a fairly big mess. Jared and Kamryn decided to make their own dinner (I assume this is what they were thinking). They had half of the fridge emptied and both fridge and freezer doors were open. There was an open ice cream container lying on its side on the table, parmesan cheese sprinkled all over the floor and on other food and in the big bottle of apple juice. There were half eaten apples out and half eaten containers of yogurt on the table. After taking in this mess I look up to see those two little wonders walk in and they have mascara all over their faces. Kamryn had also gotten some pink fingernail polish and dripped it on her brand new white shirt and pink pants.
All this happened while Brooke was in the next room reading and she was thinking Justin was watching them. And he wasn't even there because he'd left to go to soccer practice.

Twilight

So I've been absent from my blog due to the Twilight series. I've been meaning to read the 3 books ever since school started. I needed to read them so I could understand what all the YW were always talking about. So I started Twilight last Friday and finished Eclipse last night. My house is a bit of wreck, needless to say. I'm glad I read them so I can understand what all these girls are talking about and I've had some good discussions with Brooke about the books and characters. I enjoyed the books and to me they are definitely page turners but they do have some issues. I would rate them PG-13 but I have no problem that Brooke has read them.

Check it out

My sister is just getting into the blogger world. I helped her a little today with her blog and getting it to look like she wants it. So, do me a favor, check out her blog and encourage her to share her thoughts. She has five kids and they say and do the funniest things. For example, a conversation I had with her 4 year old today:

Jake: "I smell Justin's video games." ( he is obsessed with our game systems and always wants to come to our house to play)

Me: How do you smell video games?

Jake: With your nose (said to me like I'm idiot, of course you smell with your nose).

Wheeler Farm

Yesterday we went to Wheeler Farm to have our family picture taken by Steve Barrus of Barrus Photo. It actually went pretty well considering we were dealing with 2 2-year-olds in the family. Luckily the photographer didn't mind acting very goofy in order to get Jared and Kamryn to smile. After we were done, we took a little tour of the grounds and let Jared and Kamryn enjoy the animals and the farm equipment (much to the chagrin of my older children who just wanted to go home.)

Jared having fun in the big wagon.

and

Kamryn loved talking to the geese and ducks.

Favorite Weekend

Conference weekend is probably my favorite weekend of the year. I love staying home and listening to our prophet and the apostles. And usually the weather makes it so you want to just stay in your jammies and snuggle down under a blanket. We were really lucky today and it was such bad weather that the soccer games were cancelled and we were able to stay home all day and listen/watch both sessions today.


Jared and Kamryn were cute this morning when we first turned on conference. They loved the singing and got all settled on the couch with Justin. They even seemed excited when they saw President Hinckley speaking. But then when the first real talk began I guess they'd had enough and wanted to watch a movie. So we put a movie on for them and the rest of us went downstairs to watch conference. That worked out perfectly for everyone.

Fall Favorite

Yesterday I made Carmel Popcorn. I hadn't made it in forever. It's my mom's recipe and it just reminds me of fall. She made them into little popcorn balls and I took them for my birthday treat when I was in kindergarten (back when you could bring in homemade treats).
So here's the recipe:

2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup

Melt these first 2 ingred together and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add in:
1 stick of butter and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly.
Add in:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk.
Remove from heat and add 3/4 tsp vanilla.
Pour over 3 gallons of popcorn (about 2 cups unpopped kernels.)
Store in airtight container.

Watch out - once you start eating this you can't stop.

Gasp

Gasp ... I actually went visiting teaching tonight. I've had tons of guilt over this issue, especially lately. When we moved back here from Phoenix the RS president took pitty on me with the new little babies at our house (she'd had twins of her own many years ago and knew what I was in for). So I didn't get a VT assignment until Jared and Kamryn were 1 - that was 1 1/2 years ago. So I received my assignment and kind of laughed -
*I was assigned one of the counselors in the YW presidency so I see her every Wed night at the very minimum
*I was also assigned one of my very best friends who I exercise with every morning. I visit with her every day and know in great detail what is going on in her life.
*The 3rd woman is someone I've known forever and used to babysit her kids.
My guilt comes from not properly visiting the first 2 ladies - a visit in their home with a message. But my big guilt comes from not properly visiting the 3rd sister. She is single and would probably really enjoy having her VTers come.
So in the 1 1/2 yrs I've had this assignment I've done very poorly. Yesterday when the phone rang while we were eating dinner Justin went to see who it was and he told me and it was my VT supervisor. I said don't answer it - mostly because we were in the middle of dinner and because I was so embarrassed to tell her again that I had not met with sister #3.
So I went out visiting to all 3 sisters tonight - a real visit in their homes with a message. It was a very enjoyable evening and I'm so glad I went.
I pledge right now to do better. (and it's a great relief to be able to call the supervisor with a 100% report).

Even More Zoo Fun

Having fun with the tigers.

Playing in the famous Lion drinking fountain.

I'd been wanting to go to the zoo for a long time and finally made it. My sister and good friend came too with their kids. It was so much fun watching Jared and Kamryn explore the zoo for the first time. I was very impressed with the new habitats for the elephants and the tigers. It had been several years since I'd been there and it was great to see all of the improvements.

More Zoo Fun

Kamryn and her cousin by the big "frozen" elephant

We had fun watching the penguins get fed lunch.

Kamryn and Jared with their cousins posing by the "frozen" tigers.
Jake, my sister's 4 yr old, said "There sure are a lot of "frozen" animals here.

A trip to the Zoo

Kamryn thinks she's one of the monkeys.

Jared was scared by most of the animals.

Checking out the elephant encounter.

Day Trip

On Tuesday I was able to get away for the day to Phoenix (we had flight credit that was going to expire and I couldn't let it get wasted).
One of the best things about getting away on my own is the chance to read. I finished two books while waiting at the airport and on the flight.
I met my good friends at Cheesecake Factory, one of my favorite places. We had a great time visiting and catching up.
After lunch I did a little shopping and it was so nice to be in and out of stores quickly and not have to chase down little ones.
I did some more visiting and then it was time to head back to the airport. It was a great day and probably the last one for a long time.
Thanks friends.

It's been a bad day

It's been a bad day -
*first of all I was insane enough to tell my exercise buddy that I would still be going this morning even though I knew I'd be getting to bed late after arriving at the SL airport at midnight (more on that later). So I got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep but I still got up and went walking this morning and I'm glad I did.
**second, I had to go to the dentist again. I don't think I've written about my woes of going to the dentist but long story short - I didn't go to the dentist for 2 1/2 yrs and know I need 2 root canals, and about 6 cavaties filled. I've been meeting with the dentist weekly for all of September and I don't think I can take much more. Today he filled two cavaties and the whole right side of my face was numb, including my nose! I've never had that happen before. The only good thing about going to the dentist was the I was able to listen to the whole Wicked soundtrack while there.
***third, my best pair of pants got ruined in the dryer today. It was the first load of the day and I noticed when I was getting clothes out of the washer that there was a big black spot on the inside of the washer. It was INK!!!! Now, I'm not the best at checking pockets but this load I thought was innocent enough - some towels and my pants and my favorite new white T-shirt and 2 of Paul's dress shirts. It was his fault (he owned up to it when I showed him the pen). I thought it was going to be okay because I noticed this before stuff went in the dryer and I checked everything before I put it the dryer. But my nicest pair of pants (that will probably be impossible to replace) came out of the dryer with ink stains on them! So frustrating!!
****fourth, all of my kids were in trouble for something today. Justin left after school and didn't tell me where he was going or leave me a note. Taylor has his big county report due at school tomorrow and he asks me if he can watch a movie when he has not even practiced his oral report once. Brooke didn't do her dishes job this morning so we're behind all day.
*****fifth, I've had a headache all day due to the lack of sleep and the visit to the dentist. So I'm going to bed and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Potty training for the 4th and 5th times

I can't believe I've actually begun one of the most awful tasks of motherhood - potty training. And this time it's with 2 toddlers at the same time - talk about insanity.
I guess we officially got into it today. We've been talking about it a lot but we actually got out the potties (notice the plural use, 2 of them sure take up a lot of room in a somewhat smallish bathroom) today. Jared and Kamryn love sitting on them and trade potties every 3 seconds. I'm not sure how that is really go to work when we really get serious.
My plan is to have them sit on the potty in the morning and at night for now, and before bath time. So tonight after I stripped them down they both went in the bathroom and sat on their potty - one looks more boyish with primary colors and one looks more girlish with purple and green coloring. Ready for the shocker - Jared actually produced! I couldn't believe it! We did some real celebrating and hi-5 ing.
Maybe it won't be so bad.

Favorite Movie

We watched one of my favorite movies last night, The Fugitive. Justin and Brooke had never seen it and we thought they would like it. And indeed they did. Justin liked it but said it wasn't as good as "Bourne" and Brooke liked it better than "Bourne." I still really like it even though I've seen it several times. I vividly remember going to the theater to see it with my friend Charri and being exhausted and physically ill after it was over. I went again with Paul and the same thing happened to him - physically ill when it was over. All these years later (it was released in 1993) and it's still a great suspense/thriller.

Nice Night

I've had a very nice night.
It started out with going to YW volleyball, which I quite enjoy. One of my friends is the new coach and she's great, perfect for the girls. And the girls are getting better every week. They won their first match in 2 games and just barely lost their 2nd match in 3 games. They are great sports and play to have fun. Luckily Justin was very nice to tend last week and this week so that I don't have to take Jared and Kamryn and I can concentrate on the girls.
Then I got to go to book club. Something I look forward to all month. We had a great discussion tonight about a book written by a woman who grew up in a polygamist family. It was a very interesting read. And of course I love our tradition of everyone going around and sharing something about what is going on with them and then the yummy dessert and chatting afterwards is always enjoyable.

Famous people

There are several "famous people" in the muscle up class I go to (which is at 5:30 am on Tues and Thur, you can clap now!)
They aren't really famous but they look like famous people.
We have Jenna Elfman (if you check out the link you'll notice she's just had a baby and named him STORY! who names their kid story??)
and Stephanie Zimbalist (does anyone out there know who that is)
and not Hollywood famous, but Brighton high school famous, Stephanie Capener (not actually her but someone who looks a lot like her).
It's a strange thing I've always done is think people look like other people. I can't help it.

Happy Birthday Taylor

Taylor turned 10 today!

Taylor is my one child who lives for his birthday. He usually starts planning for it months in advance. This year he didn't really start until just this last Sunday when he told me we need to get his cards out. I wasn't sure what he meant by cards and finally figured out he meant invitations for a party. I explained that we don't have friend parties every year (even though he has managed to do that) and that they cost a lot of money. He was pretty depressed about the thought of not having a party and suggested that he could just have his friends come over to our house and they could just play tag and hide and seek. I still said no but formed an idea in my head to give him a surprise party. So he still thinks his birthday is going to be the most boring day ever! And then tomorrow - SURPRISE! Hopefully it will work out.
Taylor is a great kid and full of life. He loves to have fun and thinks everything should be fun. ( I wonder where he gets that from). I can't believe how fast his first 10 years have gone by.
He is becoming a very good soccer player and basketball player. He just finished reading the first Harry Potter book - his first long "real" book. He loves to help out with Jared and Kamryn (when they'll let him).
Happy Birthday Taylor and I love you!

Biology

Do you remember having 9th grade biology? I do - not a lot of details but I do remember dissecting a worm and a frog. I didn't really get into the worm but thought the frog was fascinating.
Well, my oldest son is in 9th grade biology and his science teacher is the same teacher I had in 7th grade.
His first big project for biology is to make a collection of different insects - 15 I think is what is required. Being the very nice and supportive mother that I am I have actually been helping him on this project.
Just the other day I was outside cleaning up after the big storm and I noticed a katydid (leafbug, but not official term) just sitting there on the patio waiting for me to catch him. So I got a ziploc bag and scooped him into it. The worst part was putting him alive into the freezer to preserve him. I also caught a bee for him, for which Justin was most grateful because he readily admits that he is scared of bees. This was also very big of me since I had just gotten stung the week before.
Yesterday we made a trek up to Silver Lake near Brighton Ski Resort. His friend and one of my YW, Mackenzie came with us, since she is also in the same biology class. They were supposed to collect some water species and get some larvae. It was a crack up watching them walk around the lake with their home made bug catching nets, backpacks filled with gear to catch these insects.
The most exciting thing was watching those two catch dragonflies. Dragonflies are worth 5 pts of extra credit since they are so difficult to catch. At first it seemed impossible and it was so funny watching them run all over trying to catch one. But when we got closer to the lake there were a lot more of the DF and Kenzie caught one. They were both so excited. Then she caught another. And another. And another. And another. AND ANOTHER ONE! In all she caught 6. She split them with Justin since she caught them in her net but he got them into the containers. What freaked me out were the dragonflies buzzing around frantically in the containers.
All in all, it's been quite an experience. Now for the yucky part of sticking pins through the insects onto styrofoam and labeling them. YUCK!

Happy Anniversary

Paul and I celebrated our 16th anniversary on Saturday (the real thing was on Friday, the 31st).
We went golfing at the U, which is "our course" - it's where we always go and it's where he proposed. I was really quite nervous to go because I haven't been golfing in about 3 years. It started out pretty rough but I got the hang of it and had a great time. It's a great date for us. It's beautiful up there on the hill overlooking the city and watching the sunset.
Then we went to one of our favorite places to eat - Bajio! Yum-yum!
Then we went to see Oceans 13. Paul didn't like it and I thought it was kind of dumb but still worth going to considering who's in it.
It was a wonderful evening with a wonderful husband.

A Good Book (with caution)

I just finished reading a very controversial, compelling book. My Sister's Keeper was one I didn't want to end and I keep thinking about the characters and I've talked with several people about the subject and what they would do in the same circumstances. I would pick it for book club because it would create great discussion. But I can't because there is way too much use of that very bad R-rated word. Why do authors do that?? It is so frustrating. I'm writing her an email today to ask her why. She's a great author and I've enjoyed other books by her but same frustration - bad language! So I recommend it if you can handle some bad language.

3rd day of school

Just to report on the school year so far
**all 3 kids say they are happy and have good teachers and good schedules.
**Justin is going to have a lot of homework this year.
**Brooke is having home study during 7th period for the 1st semester. We had a much better meeting with the other (now permanent for us) counselor at the school. She spent 45 minutes with Brooke (while they were several kids waiting to see her) trying every option to figure out what she could do during 7th period. We finally ended up with home study during 7th due to "volleyball practice". I guess it's better than taking a class she's not at all interested in with a terrible teacher.
**Jared and Kamryn seem to understand that it's back to school time and don't really ask about their siblings much during the day. We've had a good two days so far.
** I haven't accomplished as much I'd like to but that's okay.

Twas the night before school

You would think with a title like that I would have some clever little poem about school starting tomorrow but I don't. I'm just not clever.
I can't believe we're embarking on another school year. It is just amazing how each summer seems to just fly by and each year flies by faster than the last.
I have a good feeling about this year. Justin is in 9th grade and actually looking forward to the year. When his dad asked him class he thought he would enjoy the most and Justin said all of them. He's got a pretty tough schedule and I hope he survives all right.
Brooke is in 8th grade and her schedule is also a good one - except she's short one semester elective class and due to schedule conflicts may end up taking an online high school class. I'm meeting with one of the school counselors tomorrow to figure it out.
Taylor is in 4th grade and seems to have a wonderful teacher. We met her at back to school night last week and I was very impressed. I've already set up my volunteer time in her class - every Tuesday. I didn't volunteer at all last year and I missed it.
And this is the first year that I'm not feeling all depressed, panicky and stressed out having my helpers leave me. Jared and Kamryn are 2 now and life is a lot more manageable with them. Right now they are playing downstairs in our newly created play room/family room and they are getting along very well (for the most part). It's now that I really realize how great it is that we had two together at the end. Thank goodness for a built in playmate.
I made a list of projects to work on this week (and a long term list too). I really hope to be organized (or get that way in the next couple of weeks) and accomplish a lot this year.
Now, I better get these two little tikes to bed. They napped until after 6:00 so they weren't ready to go down at 9:00 like everyone else. Taylor has already been out saying he can't sleep. Do you remember those nights before the first day of school?

Tagged

I know these go around a lot but they're fun. I was tagged by Ashley. I tag Janice, Paige, Melinda and Michelle.

Jobs I've had

1.Waitress at Marie Callenders - loved it!!

2. Marketing assistant at Raging Waters - fun summer job right after my mission.

3. Secretary for Student Affairs at the College of Nursing at the U.

4. Cashier at Bakers de Normandie - first job!

Getaways:

1. Cabin

2. Camping

3. St George

4. San Francisco - most recent

Movies I put on Repeat

1. The Fugitive

2. Return to Me

3. Wedding Planner

4. How to Win a Guy ...

Guilty Pleasures

1. Milky Way midnight

2. Chocolate/Vanilla pudding swirl

3. Blue Bunny Bordeaux Cherry Chocolate

4. Snoasis - Orange Pineapple with cream

Places I've lived

1. SLC, UT

2. San Diego, CA

3. Tucson, AZ

4. Phoenix, AZ

Places I've been on Holidays

1. Playa del Carmen for Thanksgiving

2. Cabin for 4th of July - every year

3. Cabin for Christmas - only once but it was great

4. Cabin for New Years - favorite place to do new years eve

Favorite Foods

1. Cafe Rio salad

2. Bajio sweet rice and green chile chicken stuffed quesadillas

3. Paradise Bakery's fire roasted tomato soup

4. Citris Grill's grilled cheese sandwiches and yummy sweet potato soup

First Kiss Location

In the guy's car, stopped at a red light - don't recommend it.

What I've Been Meaning to do

Well, it's been too long since I posted last. I've been meaning to post every day since we got back from our camping trip and just haven't done it.
I sat down late one night to post some pictures from our camping trip and just as I was loading the pictures from the camera onto the computer we had our flash flood.
And then life has continued to be super busy -
**I spent the better part of a week cleaning out our storage room. This was a MAJOR project and one I've meant to do for years and have finally been forced to do it because we are getting new windows in the basement and the window in the storage room was covered up with shelves which were filled up with STUFF. I did some major runs to the DI and the recycle bins and that room is in much better shape.
**We spend last Saturday and Monday cleaning out our garage. There was stuff in the "attic" area from when the house was built, I think. It was so nice to get rid of all that junk. This project was spurred on because the county clean up dumpsters will be here this Thursday and we want to make full use of them.
**We're trying to cram in as much as possible these last few weeks of summer. School starts next week so we're trying to get work and fun in.
**Watched two movies recently - one in the theater and one on DVD. The first one was Becoming Jane - new movie about Jane Austen. I really liked it but the daughters with us didn't like it - too sad. The one on DVD was Miss Potter - about Beatrix Potter. Very sweet movie that I really liked and highly recommend.
**Also took a couple of nights last week to watch The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy so that we can go see The Bourne Ultimatum. Now we're just trying to figure out a time to do that.
Hopefully, soon I'll update about our great camping trip.

Camping

We're heading early Tuesday morning on our annual camping trip to Washington Lake. Tomorrow will be a very busy day getting ready to go and also going to 2 doctor appts. One is to get Jared's cast off (hopefully) and the other is for Justin to see about this awful and huge plantar's wart on his heel.
We're all interested to see how Jared copes without a cast on and how long it will take him to get walking again and if he is hesitant about it.

Mandy Moore

A couple of weeks ago I was driving along and heard a new song. It turned out to be Extraordinary by Mandy Moore. I really liked it and went to download it from iTunes. Turned out I liked a lot of the songs from her new album Wild Hope and I ended up buying it a couple of days ago. I highly recommend it.

Flash Flood

The other night I was sitting here at the computer in our basement while the kids were watching a movie. All of a sudden I hear this noise of rushing water and look over at the window and water is pouring in. The window well was full and and the floor was soaked all along the wall about 3 feet into the room. I ran upstairs and woke up Paul and told him we were having a flood. He had to go out in the major downpour and bale out the window well and dig a trench in front of the window. While he was doing that the kids and I moved the school desks, all the toys and the entertainment center out of the way. I also went to a friend's to borrow their wet vac and big blower fan. Paul spent the next hour sucking out the water.
We count ourselves lucky that we were home and downstairs at the time. It would have been such a disaster if it had happened while we up at the cabin or gone camping.

Quick Trip

Paul and I were able to get away last weekend for a quick little trip to San Francisco. We just went overnight but it was 2 full days and we packed a lot in.


We were able to see the Oakland Temple and its very beautiful grounds.














We drove down the coast on highway 1 and had lunch sitting on the beach.




















We watched what I call "kite surfers" for a long time.














We drove across the Golden Gate bridge and went to Muir Woods National Monument (a giant redwood forest on the coast).

On Saturday we went back to the bridge and walked almost 1/2 way across. It was really freaking me out to be out on the bridge so we turned back.


We went to Pier 39 and saw the seals and had chowder in a bread bowl and fish and chips for lunch.
It was short but fun to get away. The weather was great and it was nice to feel the cool sea breezes for a change.

Lagoon

We just back from Lagoon. We go almost every year - it's just a tradition for me and has been since I was little. It surprised me when one of my YW said she had only been there ONCE in her life.
We had a great time even while it rained most of the evening. I loved watching Jared and Kamryn have fun on the little cars and boats and the merry-go-round. I went with them on the kiddie coaster and Jared survived that. Put Kamryn on the little animal ride next to the coaster and liked it for a minute and then started bawling. It was so sad watching and her not being able to do anything for her. After dinner I went with them on the mini tidal wave and the swings for kids. And then I watched them go on the cars, the carousel and boats over and over. It would have been a lot easier if Jared had been able to walk but it was our stake lagoon day today and this was the only day this summer that worked out for us to go.
What was really fun was the last hour of the night. My mom and dad were very nice and took Jared and Kamryn home so that I could go on the rides with the teen gang. Justin, Brooke, Taylor and several of their friends had been hanging out together all day and I got to join up with them and went on the Rocket, the Swings (my very favorite out there), the Tidal Wave and WICKED. That is a great ride.
Our only disappointment is that I thought it was bounceback and when we got there we found out that it ended yesterday. BUMMER.

HP Coma

I've been in a sort of Harry Potter coma or trance since last Friday. I am a fan of the books and the movies and have been enjoying the build up to this last book in the series coming out.
I admit, I didn't really like Book 5 for various reasons so I didn't really rush to read book 6. When I say rush I must explain that I just started reading book 6 for the first time last Friday on the plane. (When it came out Jared and Kamryn were only 2 months old and I didn't read anything for months after that). So when I heard about the 5th movie coming out and then a couple of weeks later the 7th book was being released I figured it was time to read the 6th book. So we saw the movie last week and then I read book 6 on Friday, Sat and Sun (all while I was on short trip with Paul to San Francisco and I had to speak in church on Sunday). I stayed up until 1:30 Sunday night finishing book 6. I got up at 9:00 the next morning and promptly started book 7 and proceeded to read all day and late into the night and then all day today. I finished the book about 5 minutes before my sisters got here to go to the Butlerville Days parade. I felt like I'd just finished a marathon. Justin read the book starting at 1:00 am after the release party at Barnes and Noble and finished it in 12 hours. Brooke finished it last night after starting it on Sat evening. It's fun to read a book at the same time as my kids and their friends and then to talk about it. I'm just sad it's over.

Book Club

I love going to book club. I really hate to miss it and try hard to make it each month. I went tonight and found out that I was the only one to miss last month. I felt really bad that I made it so that for the first time in forever we would have had everyone there.
We had a great discussion tonight of The Kite Runner. I always enjoy everyone sharing their latest news and of course, dessert is always good.
I'm grateful for my book club friends and hope that we continue our monthly salvation nights forever.

Another update

Life continues to be super busy. Although the last two days have been a little more laid back and like I envision summer days should be - some chores, some free time to read, a walk around the neighborhood which ended when it started raining for a few minutes.
We spent a week at the cabin which was the longest we've ever stayed up there. We had a great time. We did chores up there and played a lot of games, watched movies, went on hikes, and enjoyed the parade on the 4th.
While we were up at the cabin, Justin had his first 2 driving lessons. He can get his learners permit in Nov and it's perfect place up there to learn to drive. He did great and we only had one close call (the other driver's fault).

Youth Conference was a lot of fun but HOT! The youth loved it and Justin and Brooke are already planning to go EFY next year due to their experience at Utah State. I enjoyed hanging out with the kids and the break from home duties.

Jared is faring very well with his cast. He has adapted very well and gets around almost as easily as his sister. While we were at the cabin he was scooting around outside on the wood deck and wore a hole in his cast at his heel. So we had to go down to the doctor's and get a new cast on - a red one this time and 3 times as thick. He's starting to pull himself up to a standing position but hasn't started walking on it yet. Only 10 more days to go.

A good book

I just finished reading, in my opinion, a very good book. The Kite Runner. I've had it on my list for a long time and thank goodness it was our book club choice this month. It has some rough content but overall a very interesting and thought provoking read. I recommend it. (definitely rated PG-13, bordering on R, unfortunately).

Update

Life around here is crazy!!

Jared got his cast on and is coping very well. He thinks everything is green so we were going to get a green cast but when the nurse put out the swatches for him to pick he picked blue. It actually goes with almost everything he wears (so nice to coordinate)
Children adapt much better than adults. It's like he's always had a cast on. He's happy at home but does have a hard time when we go away from home. Unfortunately he wasn't in the mood for his picture to be taken. And with Jared out of mobile commission Kamryn has really cut down on getting into everything and taking off on her own, since she doesn't have her partner in crime.

Girl's camp was awesome. It's a ton of work and I was super exhausted when I came home but I loved it. Sometimes it's easier to be there than at home.
The stake theme was Hoedown to Heaven and our ward was the Hallelujah Honeys (hence the longjohnsand cowboy hats and bandanas).

We're getting ready to go up to the cabin for a few days. Once we're there it will be great but it's sure a lot of work to get there.

I just spent over 2 hours ironing !! I HATE to iron and I let it pile up and then finally give in and do it. At least I listened to good music and then enjoyed catching up with a good friend. Now it just needs to get hung in the proper closets.

Next week is Youth Conference at Utah State for our stake. Since it is for 14 and up, Justin gets to go and Brooke gets to stay home and babysit while I go along as a chaperone. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Contest

So my friend Paige is having a contest on her blog. Go check it out.

Changed Summer

Well my summer has just been changed.
Jared was playing on the trampoline last night with one of my Beehives (this was about 9:00 pm). She was doing ring around the rosies with him and when they went to fall down at the end she said Jared kind of fell on his leg and she heard a pop. I was busy with the youth activity at the time and Paul had his back to them while he was watching Kamryn, so neither one of us saw what happened. Jared was crying and Paul brought him to me. He had a couple scratches on his right shin and we couldn't really see what else was wrong. Jared cried for a long time and wouldn't put any weight on his right foot. I gave him some Motrin and he feel asleep for a few minutes. When he woke up he was much happier and seemed more himself. He tried a couple of times to get off the couch and play but as soon as his foot touched the floor he climbed back up on my lap.
I may be a bad mom but there was no way I was going to the ER at 10:00 pm. He wasn't hysterical and he didn't seem to be in much pain. So I thought it was better to get some sleep and see how he was doing in the morning. He went to bed just like normal and slept through the night.
When he woke up he was happy (for a minute) and sitting up in bed. He wouldn't stand up like normal when I went to get him out of bed. I picked him up and took him in the living room. He kind of felt apart at that point and wouldn't get off my lap. I knew right then that I was taking him to be X-rayed. I just had to decide where to go. After calling the pediatrician, instacare and the closest hospital, I decided it was best to go to the ER at the hospital. Luckily they weren't too busy (so we were only there for about 3 hours). The worst part of the whole experience was trying to get Jared's blood pressure taken. He hated that and wouldn't hold still so the nurses could get a good reading. He did pretty well through the whole xray process. He was really good waiting forever in our little room - ate his candy and cheetos from the vending machine. Played with the TV, changing the channels as fast he could with the remote over and over, pushing the nurse call button only twice. Finally the doctor came back with the report from the radiologist and he has a spiral fracture on his right tibia (shin bone). They put a splint on and wrapped his leg up to his mid thigh with ace bandages. He fell asleep soon after that and slept the rest of the time that we had to wait at the hospital.
He came home and spent some time watching The Lion King and Curious George on PBS before going down for a nap. He cried a little at first when I put him in bed but then went right to sleep and has been asleep for 2 1/2 hrs. He gets a cast on on Monday so it's going to be one LONG weekend. And an even longer summer. Wish us luck.

Kid games

Our activity for mutual tonight was a combined activity with the boys and girls. We had a BBQ over here at our house - out back. We knew we could have basketball - but that would mainly be a boy thing. We borrowed my friend's volleyball set up but I knew there were some kids that wouldn't want to play. So I went to FamilyFun.com and looked up outdoor games. I found a few that sounded fun and not too little kiddish. The kids looked at me strange when I made them all line up and count off for the games but I think they all ended up having fun. We played:
*"Icebreaker" game
*Catch the Dog
*Steal the Bacon
*Red Rover
The kids ended up having a great time with the games and didn't want to quit. We ended the evening with some volleyball games. It was a great activity and didn't cost us too much (just the food for the BBQ).

I've been tagged

NSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so:

College

Random Thoughts

Melz World

Superpaige’s Pad

Double Trouble

Next, select five people to tag:

Ashley
Michelle
Susan
Cynthia
Julianne

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Let’s see. 10 years ago I had two kids and was pregnant with the 3rd. We lived in Tucson, AZ and had no A/C. We stayed at the pool so long, Justin and Brooke would beg me to go home.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
One year ago we were enjoying Father’s day! We had a super fun Shingleton family party where we played baseball. We were planning a trip back East to visit Paul's brother and his family and I was getting ready to go to girl's camp.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:
Cottage cheese with Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream to dip into the cottage cheese
Chocolate, esp Milky Way Midnight
Green Apples - sliced with the skin off
Veggies and Dip
Toast

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:
I don't know all the words to any song but can sing along for most of the words to a lot of songs.

Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire:
Redo my kitchen and enclose the patio
Take my family on a vacation
Hire a personal trainer who would make me work out every day
Hire a Alice, from the Brady Bunch
Get regular pedicures

Five Bad Habits:
Yelling
Saying negative or critical things when I should just hold my tongue
Not putting things away right away
Starting a project and then moving on to the next project without finishing
Not flossing

Five Things You Like To Do:
scrapbook
read
watch movies
go for walks as a family
eat out with friends

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:
leggings
clothes that make me look pregnant but aren't maternity clothes
maternity clothes
sweater dress
bow tied in my hair

Five Favorite Toys:
The computer
Portable DVD player - it's great for road trips and soccer games
Cameras - both kinds
Jared & Kamryn's cars that we take them on walks in - best purchase ever!
Toy flip phones bought at Disney store in Orlando airport - has saved us many times.

Your turn now!

Trouble makers

I have two little trouble makers. You know how it is with toddlers - on their own they don't get into too much trouble but together they spell disaster. Well twin toddlers is like having a little friend over 24/7! Every day it is another disaster and sometimes it is the same disaster all over again.
On Monday, I was in the kitchen washing the dishes and Jared & Kamryn were playing on the patio. Soon I couldn't here there cute little voices and went to check on them - they had gone in the front yard and pulled out half of my flowers in the front flower bed. They're just petunias and were only planted about 2 weeks ago so they pulled up the whole root bunch of about half the flowers. I couldn't believe it and how fast they did it was amazing. I started telling them how naughty that was and Jared turned to Kamryn and told her "you naughty." So while I was replanting the flowers they went back to play on the patio. When I was finished with the flowers I went to check on them (my big mistake was letting them go again unsupervised) and found that they had taken cupfuls of the red sand and dumped them all over the living room! I lost it at that point. They both got spakens and had to sit on the steps on the patio and couldn't leave until I finished cleaning up that mess.
And that was just Monday.
Yesterday they did the flower bed AGAIN! I was making dinner and they were watching George on PBS in the living room. Taylor came and got me and said come look. I'm thinking they are doing something cute like watching TV with their arms around each other (this has happened in the past) but I was SO WRONG. I look out the window and they there are again pulling up the flowers. I open the front door and start yelling and they ran away! I'm not kidding about the running away. They took off in the direction of their grandma's. I had to yell to Justin and Brooke to go get them because I was in the middle of cooking dinner. Pure craziness.

Summer

I love summer!! It's my favorite season by far (maybe that is why I liked Phoenix so much, since it is the longest season there by a long shot). I love the laid back pace and I love having my kids around more (the downside of that is feeding them more but we handle it).
I love the sounds of summer - the kids at the pool, the birds, my kids playing nightgames with friends in the neighborhood.
Today was pretty laid back - laundry day but only had to do 4 loads this week. Didn't quite make it to the ironing yet. Taylor and Justin are both doing Blue Chip basketball camp. Brooke had piano lessons - at 12:30. I've been so worried that we would forget so I've made Tues stay at home day. Justin had soccer practice from 2-4 in the afternoon and survived.
We only lost Jared and Kamryn once today. Half of our fence is down in the backyard and they have started to wander out of the yard. I took the kids to the outdoor pool right before school got out so now they know about the pool back there and constantly look longingly at the pool. Guess I need to take them again.
Well, late this afternoon Jared and Kamryn were playing on the basketball court. They have a great time out there together and I enjoy spying on them from the bathroom window. They were playing fine and I had to go change the laundry. Just gone a couple of minutes. I go back to the window and can't see them. So I go out back to look for them and when I get out to the court I can see that they are at the top of the grassy hill behind our house by the tennis courts. How in the world did they get up there so fast? So I walked out farther in the field to see what they were doing and when they saw me they started back down the hill. But at the bottom they got distracted and headed off to the park. I kind of just watched them to see what they would do. Kamryn kept cruising away from me and every time I called her name she looked back at me, smiled and kept on going. So we had an impromptu park visit. We stayed for a few minutes and they took turns in the toddler swing (why can't there be 2 swings like that?) and then I had to convince them to go back home so I could figure out what Justin could make for dinner (it was his turn to cook and he came up with pancakes, great dinner but it worked out).

Happy Birthday Brooke

My oldest daughter turned 13 today. She was born at 1:42 am a week after her due date. She was born on her uncle's birthday (Susan's husband, Dale) and he predicted when I first told them we were expecting that she would be born that day.
During the middle of the night I woke up at about 3:30 and started thinking about when Brooke was born. I love remembering those great moments of a new little baby coming into the world.
It's been an amazing 13 years with her. She was a bit of a challenge as a baby - she cried whenever we went in the car at night. We finally decided she was afraid of the dark. She cried a lot - I didn't ever really consider her collicky, just a high needs baby. But she was beautiful and we loved her in spite of the crying.
Today she is happy young woman, most of the time. She is friendly but shy at the same time. She is a very good friend - agreeable and gets along with everyone. She is a good student and it's so nice that she very capably takes care of herself and gets her work done.
She is a wonderful pianist and surpassed me a long time ago. I love listening to her play and I NEVER have to talk to her about practicing.
It's been fun to watch her develop her talents in volleyball. She was a great sport to attend all the practices and tournaments and not play a lot but still have great team spirit.
We gave her an outdoor volleyball set for her birthday and we look forward to lots of fun games out in the back this summer.
I love being able to share Brooke's experiences in Young Women. She doesn't seem to mind that I'm there and I try not to get in her way too much or inhibit her. I think mostly she is just embarrased about me being obnoxious and silly.
Brooke is a great big sister to Jared and Kamryn and its great knowing that I can leave them with her and they will be well taken care of. It was cute watching them go in her room this morning and tell her happy birthday - in their own little way.
I love Brooke very much and I happily look forward to the next few teenage years with her.

Great weekend

All 13 of the Young Women that came down to St George with us.
(Our 2 Laurels couldn't come and we missed them).

Having fun in the fountain.

Before going into the St George Temple to do baptisms.

I'm back from what turned out to be a "fantabulous" weekend (new word made up over the weekend - mixture of fantastic and fabulous).
My worries of Justin getting to his tournament were ended when one of the mom's I know from school and previous teams volunteered to get Justin up to Brigham City on Fri and Sat (and also took him to see this movie in between games on Sat).
I really enjoy being with the Young Women. Some people view it as a punishment or death sentence and would never want the calling but I think it is the greatest calling ever and want to do it forever (well at least as long as Brooke is in there and then take a break and go back in when Kamryn is in there).
We had a blast with those girls. We went swimming at the neighborhood pool, went to the St George temple to do baptisms, went boating at Quail Creek Reservoir. The most fun things ended up being very impromptu, not planned things. The first night there we had "spa night" and did each others pedicures and manicures, did massages and hair. Very fun and relaxing and great bonding time.
The second night there we ended up doing our own version of "American Idol." The girls took turns lip synching (mostly songs from musicals) and then other girls took turns being the judges. So funny and man, do we have some talented girls in our group. I fully expect to see at least one of them on the stage.
We also fit in some spiritual time with scripture study and journal writing.
It was just too bad that it was such a short trip. I definitely could have stayed longer.

Off again

I'm leaving in the morning for a YW getaway to St George. It's a quick trip - down Thur morning and we'll be back Sat afternoon. We're packing a lot in that short time - baptisms for the dead, a hiking trip in Zions, boating, swimming, stamping, scriptures, etc. We have 13 girls going and 5 leaders and 2 priesthood going. It's going to be fun but it's been a little stressful getting ready to go. My biggest glitch just happened this evening. Justin has a summer select soccer tournament this weekend in Brigham City and I thought I had a ride all lined up for him to get there on Friday afternoon but that just fell through. Now what am I supposed to do? Beg for a ride for him through our team email. Hopefully someone will be able to get him up there. One more thing to worry about while I'm gone. I love getting away and having a little break but I'm not sure this one's going to be worth it.

Family Party

We usually get together with the Shingleton family on fast Sunday. It is usually at my parents but us kids try to take our turns when we can. So last night we were at my sister's house - outside for a BBQ. It was the most beautiful evening and we had a great time. It was especially fun watching most of the grandkids (the teenagers included) play Duck,Duck, Goose and Red Rover. (I'll add pictures later). A pleasant summer evening spent outside with family is definitely one of my favorite things ever.

Movies

One of the things we do at our weekend away at the cabin is "watch" movies. I say that in quotes because we really mostly listen to movies we've seen more than once and we do this while scrapbooking. It's fun to watch your favorites again. This year we "watched"
*Beaches
*Selena
*Wedding Planner
*How to Lose a Guy in 10 days - after the last 2 we decided we should have made it Matthew weekend. Maybe next year.
*Pursuit of Happyness
*50 First Dates
*Dream Girls - this was the only one that we hadn't seen before. I'd seen the second half on our trip so it was good to watch it from beginning to end. I really liked it and want to get the soundtrack.
I wish we could go up there for a week so we could really take some time to watch some movies. Maybe next year.

Primary story

So, while I was gone, Taylor was supposed to give a talk in Primary. His teacher sent a note home last week with the assignment but I never saw it so I left for my weekend away knowing nothing about the talk. Paul didn't get a reminder call about the talk. So when Taylor was in class on Sunday the secretary stopped to ask him if he had his talk ready. He said he hadn't remembered about it. Instead of saying that was okay and just skipping the talk or having him just say his testimony she went and found a story out of the friend for him to read. Now she would not know that was a bad idea! Taylor is not a very good reader, especially in front of people and with something he'd never read. Unfortunately his teacher was busy with their lesson and didn't really look at the story or say that's probably not a good idea to the secretary.
So they go into closing exercises and Taylor goes up to read this story. It ended up being quite long and he really struggled with it but made it through and didn't get too upset. When he was finished he came and sat down and said "Holy Crap! That was long."