Coaching Coach K

It's the thought that counts.... or is it?

2012-01-14T21:49:00.001-08:00

Well the crazy nails didn't help us beat them. In fact, we played terrible. All three teams had a bad night. It happens. At least I tried something new. And I enjoyed the activity. I give 100% at every game. I expect players to do the same. Their 100% has different results based on their ability, but I only get upset when someone doesn't give 100%. I take that back, I also get upset when they make excuses for not giving 100%. That said, sometimes it's one of those nights when you just go "okay, the kids who don't get to play a lot.... you're on". If the top kids are getting beat and the game gets out of reach in the 4th, you have to let them (the bench kids) play. It makes the score uglier sometimes, but at least they get to play. What a rollercoaster this game has been in my life. You have to take the dips with the high rises though. It makes you keep working at the game and yourself. :) Monday's a new day and the scoreboard starts over for the next game. Thank goodness! And my nails will be plain again. :)

A New Year! A fun team bonding activity for basketball

2012-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

We are already putting together our trip to Italy. I know it's still seven months away, but you have to get your passports six months in advance and figure out if you're going to go with a tour or on your own and where you want to visit while you're there, etc. We have had fun looking at all of our options and realizing that we will be there before we know it. Turning 50 this summer will be so much easier knowing that we are able to enjoy the fruits of our labors these past 50 years.

Christmas break was wonderful. We had days of crazy busyness and days of nothingness (relaxation). I have returned to school with new energy and ambition and ideas. We are also planning a trip to Seattle in March and we are combining business with pleasure as we attend a conference and new technology for the classroom. There are devices and software applications that are breaking edge and we will have the opportunity (together) to try some of these out and learn about them for each of our school districts. At the same time we will make some evening time to visit my best friend from high school. She and her husband live in Seattle. Plus, we'll have some "us" time. I am very excited for that trip as well.

Basketball has been a rollercoaster, but our varsity program is really doing well. I believe we are in 2nd place now. We've won about 6 in a row I believe. We have a game tonight, so I am excited to see how all of our teams do. Our JV team had a great team bonding activity last night. Good thing... we play the number one, undefeated team tonight. We almost had them last time, so we're going for it (as always). I dreamed up this crazy activity that I thought they might think was a little "corny" but they already know I'm a little "out there" anyway, so I thought I'd try it. I called it "because I love you". Most girls, no... all girls have insecurities. We also get caught up in our stats and wins and losses and at this point in the season we can start thinking that we're on our own islands if we're not careful. So, I thought we needed to know that through this journey called a season, we have grown close together and that the life lessons are as important as the trophies or even absence of trophies. It's my job to make this a journey they will cherish, win or lose, and I have been doing things to create memories, but I've never done this one before, so I was a little apprehensive.

So... here's what we did: I had them each bring a bottle of fingernail polish. Yes, fingernail polish. We went out in a large hallway (for ventilation purposes) and I have 11 players, but one just left for a national cow convention, yes, cow convention. Anyway, I became the #11 person since she was gone. This actually worked out even better in hindsight. That means we each paint one fingernail on each player (because you don't paint your own). As you paint your "special color" on their nail you must tell them "I love you because....." and they fill in the rest. The conversations I heard as I joined in were very touching and very needed. I saw girls tearing up and I even teared up as they said "Coach, I love you because..." I even had some insecurities dispelled because of what followed the word because. We are all loving by nature (especially when we know we are loved back) and I watched the smiles grow and the laughter get louder as we finished. Not only were nails crazy funny, but the we felt better on the inside as we headed to practice.

Before the nail activity I also did another activity. It was a "normal" one that has been done before, but I adapted it for basketball. I had 10 brown lunch sacks with a heart and different number on the front. Inside each bag was a small bag of valentine hearts-- the hard ones. One bag though had a 6 pack of lip glosses in it plus the hearts. They each picked a bag and I began reading a "left-right" story that I wrote and each time they heard the word "left" or "right" they had to pass their bag that way in the circle. Most people know this gift activity. The story was about having heart and the heart of a champion. When they ended, I asked them about the bag that was different. Some were afraid it was bad because it was different, some wanted it more because they thought it was better. We talked about trusting, following my instructions/coaching anyway, and about hidden rewards. Then we ate pizza, then we did the nails.

At the end of practice I always ask my captains to talk. One of my captains said that already, even at practice, when she looked at her crazy nails that she remembered what each person had said to her and it made her feel better and made her want to work harder for her team. Now we'll see if our crazy nails help us knock of #1 tonight of if they just make us smile. Either way, a larger victory was won last night. I need to remember that as a coach.

I also was SO grateful to have my son Jeremy (and Daisha and Tucker) come to practice to help out last night. Just having him there made me feel less tired and also gave me the opportunity to do post/guard splits and do some much-needed work with my posts. Thank you Jer!

Spontaneous Road Trip- Christmas Day

2011-12-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was very nice. An old(er) person's definition of nice.
#1- We slept in. No late night wrapping or early morning unwrapping.
#2- We had a nice quiet breakfast together as sweethearts.
#3- We visited each child's house and delivered each grandchild's special bag from Mem and Papa. No gifts to wrap and no messes to clean. We left while the children were still smiling.
#4- After visiting all the children, we went to my mom and dad's for dinner.
#5- We got to see two of my nephews (one will soon leave for Germany)
#6- We got to see my brother again and some family friends
#7- We decided to go see Greg's mom too, so we headed to Utah and surprised her. Boy was she surprised when she opened the door.
#8- We got to see Greg's stepbrothers and sisters
#9- His mom and stepdad cooked us a very nice breakfast the next morning
#10- We all went to an early movie together (We Bought a Zoo) and it was good!
#11- On the way home we shopped at 4 DI's, saw some beautiful country and got some great books for Jeremy.
It was a nice Christmas and a fun spur of the moment trip. I love my sweetie.

Christmas Program 2011

2011-12-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Some highlights of the day/night included the following:
- Walking in to the church and finding it all decorated very nicely already (Thank you Mandy and Russ. Thank you sweetie for helping them with the set up too). I was off getting the food (which I bought prepared instead of cooking this year (thank you Costco).
- Having a picture slide show that I didn't have to prepare and that had great music and much fancier transitions than I would have done)- thank you Jeremy and Stacy
- Having Anne and her family (and Jason) take care of the singing so we could keep the spirit of Christmas in the building (it would have left if I had done the singing)
- Having Rellie sing and the rest of the grandkids (when they could get the microphone away from Rellie)
- Watching Kayson scatter when Santa arrived!
- Having Greg be Grinch
- Having Jeremy, Jason, and Bob (my brother) be the three wisemen
My brother found out when he walked in from doing guard duty at Gowen Field and I said, "You're a wiseman" (smile, smile). What a good sport. And one of my favorite lines in the play I narrated.... I said, "And the wisemen rejoiced." There was a long pause as I waited for the wisemen to respond accordingly (as it was all unrehearsed). Then Jeremy says, "Woohoo" (such profound Biblical terms). :) Love you Jer!
- Having Greg's Dad and Trish there
- Having my mom and dad there
- Having Bob and Jackie and their little crew there
- Having Anne's family join us (and share of both their spirit and talents)
- Having Becky and Daisha in the Who up-dos
- Having Kayla, Travis, and Casey surprise us by being there (good surprise)
- Having all of my children and grandchildren there
- Having Stacy play Santa

Having a wonderful, unforgettable evening with my family, celebrating the birth of Christ.

2011-12-10T19:02:00.001-08:00

Birthday Boys!

2011-12-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

Mary did you know....

2011-12-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

If anyone knows that song, they know that it's talking about Mary, the mother of Christ. We often think about the huge responsibility she had as a mother. Did she know what it was going to be like to raise a son of that magnitude? To watch him be crucified? What happens to Mary after his death? Why was she chosen?

I think of my own sons. Both are special spirits. I wonder if I did everything I should have to help them reach not only their worldly potential, but their spiritual potential. I have not watched them be physically crucified, but I think every mother has had to defend her child in some way and will continue to do so until their dying breath. It's the potential I think most about though. Think of the song/music from "Mary did you know..." and instead think "Son, did you know." The same with our daughters. "Daughter did you know."

Then I think of some of the verses:
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

This is so true of my children. They are a light to my testimony and have such strong testimonies of Christ. And they continue to make me new as they provide me with new joys and adventures in my life. As they bring new children to our family and as they counsel their mom. :)

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

My children are not afraid to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the best sight to have. To "see" the message of a good life and an eternal perspective.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?

My children have the gift of charity and I hope they keep that and remember always that it is better to give than receive and to serve than to be served. I know I have children with loving hearts.

And this part really touches me:
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

My children came from heaven and are truly heaven-sent. They are the greatest gift the husband and I have ever received or ever will receive.

I am thankful for the knowledge that families are forever. I am thankful for three wonderful children that fill my heart as I sing this song and think of them.

I am thankful for the example of Christ and pray that at this time of year, we may serve him by serving others. That we may love him by loving others. And that we may acknowledge him by acknowledging others who bring joy to our life.... like our children. :)

Christmas Lights and Scary Santa

2011-11-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Lights make Christmas to me. They remind me of the light of Christ and bring a smile to old and young faces alike. They are just so beautiful. When my husband puts up the lights each year, it says "I love you" because he knows how much I love them. The little child inside of me never tires of the lights. I have many cherished Christmas memories, but imagining Christmas without lights is just not right. A star led them and a light continues to invite a merry spirit of hope and giving that ushers in a season of charity. I love it.
I remember the big bell that had a light at Gma Tucker's house and the "real" Christmas lights with "real bulbs" which I still love. I remember the Christmas cards Gma was constantly opening and hanging too. I need to send real cards this year. I will try. Other Christmas memories that I cherish include the year we had very little money and we made stars out of tin foil and strung the popcorn on a string. My favorite ornament is the pink one with a ballerina in it. I love unique ornaments. I also remember the first time I heard Santa's sleigh on the roof. We were in Alaska (go figure) and I was in the 3rd grade. We had visited the North Pole that year, so I was pretty sure he had received my letter. I shouldn't have been surprised to hear him! Of course it could have been one of the two Eskimos we had living with us. George had a tendency to get in a bit of trouble and may have been on the roof singing! Funny, I know we got awesome gifts that year, but I remember very few of my Christmas gifts over the years. I mainly remember all the stuff leading up to Christmas.
And when our own children were younger, they could not wait for my mom and dad to come over to "guard" the Christmas stockings. My husband loved setting booby traps (okay... where did that phrase originate), and the kids loved the challenge of getting to the stockings without being detected. And of course there was the package steaming, the fake boxes, the year they each gave up some of their own gifts for a less fortunate family, and the less than perfect nativity reenactments. And now this year, we are planning a grand family program. Monday we put up the tree. More lights in my life.
Greg also brought out our singing Santa. He is motion activated so he has scared me many a night throughout the years (if we forget to turn him off) because he is life size. Rellie was SO excited to get him out. All the grandkids love to dance with him. We thought Kayson would be big enough to appreciate him this year too and want to dance with him (Santa sings and swings his hips). However, Santa's head stores a little weird; it pops off and goes under his legs for storage. Greg pushes down on his shoulders when he comes out of the box and he pops up. He pushed a little hard this year and much to Kayson's horror, Santa's head came rolling out from under his legs across the floor and toward him. He about took out the furniture getting out of the living room. Even after Santa's head was properly attached, he would not return to the room. He wanted to stay in my bedroom (see first pic) close to my pillows so he could hide. He did, however, love the lights (pre-Santa appearance) and wanted to help Papa put them up (see pics).
Of course the biggest, brightest light in my life is my sweetheart. He is the greatest gift the Lord has blessed me with. He loves the Lord and honors his priesthood. He loves his children and grandchildren. He honors his father and mother. He is not perfect, but I know he loves me perfectly and he knows the things that bring joy to my heart.... like Christmas lights. :)

Christmas Lights=Love

2011-11-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

Pics to go with the day/poem below

2011-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

when all through the house,
the grandkids were as A.D.D. as any little mouse!
The i-pad was propped on the foldout with care,
In hopes that bedtime would soon be there.

Finally children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of transformers danced in their heads.
And mem with her laptop, and papa acting groovy,
Had just settled in from taking them to the movie.

When out on the foldout there arose such a clatter,
Mem sprang from her bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the living room she flew like a flash,
To find little Kayson makin’ a mad dash.

Quickly she caught him and papa set out
to put him to sleep although he did pout.
Then, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But another crying baby, wanting sissy to sleep near.

With six little grandkids, so lively and quick,
they knew in a moment they’d have to use all their tricks.
More rapid than Power Rangers each request came,
Until papa shouted, and called them each by name!

"Now Daisha! now, Tucker! now, Bryton and Rellie!
Oh, Kayson! Oh Jilly! Now someone is smelly!
To your bed! To your bed and close your little eyes
Think of turkey and stuffing and all kinds of pies.

As the night settled in and the turkey was baking,
The morning hours were slowly awaking.
So up to the house-curb the paperboy flew,
With newspapers full of Toys, and great coupons too.

And then, in a twinkling, mem and papa heard even more
The prancing and pawing of little feet by their door.
Though they had barely settled in for the night,
The sun was now shining its “Good Morning” light!

Papa was tired, from his head to his feet,
And he could have been cranky when he got up to meet.
each darling grandchild now clearly awake,
but instead he just said, “Who wants pancakes?”

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His lips were drawn up like Elvis and he started to sing,
For in our house Papa is king.

He cooked them pancakes and mem scrambled eggs,
He played some music and away danced their legs.
Until Tucker remembered it was Thanksgiving day,
And the newspaper needed collected from where it quietly lay!

He was anxious and nervous as mem brought it in,
So many ads, so many toys he didn’t know where to begin!
but with a wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
“Not till after breakfast!” was all Papa said.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And flipped all the pancakes, then said with a smirk,
“Did you see that new Transformer toy in the Walmart ad?”
Tucker gasped and Mem said papa was bad

Then papa sprang to his feet, and gave a merry whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
“Now share the ads and don’t get them in your plate. It was your grandma who wanted you to wait.”

Scrambled eggs and attitudes

2011-11-20T22:04:00.000-08:00

Every time I see a bin of nut mix I feel the urge to scoop out a bagful and take it home to meticulously crack each one and savor each bite. I fully realize I could buy them already shelled, but they come without the memory then. The mixed nuts at Christmas time have a couple of very positive memories for me. First, I think of the walnuts at Gma and Gpa Tucker's house and how nasty black our fingers would get from shelling them or just playing with them and pegging things with them. They could hurt if you got them humming through the air, but Gpa didn't like us wasting them. Then there is the image in my head of Gpa Tucker very slowly and attentively cracking, picking, and eating each nut like it was a treat-- and it was. The mixed nuts were always spendy and usually only a treat at Christmas time. I would wait patiently as he cracked and picked out, then cleaned the almond (my favorite)for me. So, it's that image of him sitting at the table lovingly cracking and cleaning each nut then smiling and winking as I gratefully ate it, that comes into my head when I pass a bin of mixed nuts during the holidays.

I also blame him for my love for eggs. He fried his/our eggs a very special way. Bacon grease scooped over the top until it turned a solid white. No flipping the egg. Or... he would hard boil our eggs then grandma would scoop the cooked egg out of the shell, still hot, and mash it up for me with some butter and pepper. I fully realize.... now... that I was spoiled. Of course, after breakfast, I headed out to the barn with Gpa to milk the cows, so I did sort of earn the spoiled status. I also loved drinking the fresh warm milk from the cows. I did not like getting the eggs from the cranky hens, however and usually wore a glove unless I was in a hurry. It didn't stop me from loving my eggs though. Rellie loves his eggs scrambled and I love to cook them for him and my other grandkids because I know that they know scrambled eggs= love you.

Friday night Rellie and Kayson spent the night and the next morning we took them to breakfast at Sunrise. They are big time pancake eaters as well and they always get the pancakes and scrambled eggs. It was nice to spend time with them again. I miss them. Jason and Anne and the girls came and joined us too. Jason is a big pancake eater like Rellie and that has not changed since he was little. His life is full now with his job and coaching boys this year and being a husband and father. They are growing into a beautiful family and the girls are getting big so fast. Maddi was not happy with papa sitting next to kayson, but she eventually snapped out of her drama momma mood when we went shopping for winter boots at K-mart. She went through the toy section and her eyes lit up. She found one of those dogs that barks and wags its tail, etc. and she was beside herself. It was very cute. Then kayson saw the dog and they both acted like it was the real thing. When you have it sitting in the box in the living room and the light's off and you've forgotten it's sitting there and it starts barking, it sort of makes you almost pee your pants!

I needed a day with children to improve my attitude. I was cranky with my girls from the night before. We suffered our first loss and it was a combination of mental and the other team hitting 6 threes on us. Still, we should have would have could have and didn't beat them or even play well in the end. Bad got ugly and we have some mental activities we'll do in practice tomorrow to rebuild the inside (myself included) and move on.

It also helped that the primary program went well today. One more big thing off the list. Almost everyone had memorized their parts and my counselors were both there early helping me with everything and relieving the load. My secretary has been a ton of help as well. The children have such simple, honest testimonies of the Savior and they certainly touched my heart and helped me adjust my attitude.

Being sick has not helped. I have to get better. At least we don't have a game until after Thanksgiving. That will give me some time to get better. School tomorrow, but the husband's district is out already, so maybe life will slow down a little for both of us. Looking forward to being together with all my children and grandchildren for the holidays (and my mom). I have lots to be grateful for.

Thank you God

2011-11-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a slacker, I've just been very busy. Too busy. Trying to fiend off the inevitable cold that I get every time I know I'm going to get any type of vacation or break. I feel it coming. Basketball, research paper unit (gee... I wonder what I'll be doing over the break) holidays coming, church stuff, and missing my Parma friends. Missing my cousins. Wishing I was rich and I could just jump on a plane and go see Susie this weekend, or Mary next weekend, or Janet, or Italy. No... I am not having a mid-life crisis. I'm just realizing how much I miss what I used to have. Okay, well I never really had Italy, but I want it.

I love what I have too. Don't get me wrong. I just get cabin fever the minute the snow starts to fly. My brain goes to warmer places and thoughts and I become delusional until spring breaks. Then, I will be looking at houses because I am picking a different one. I am also going to Italy. Already planned. The daughter is having a baby and it's another boy... (laughing, laughing.... still laughing). Grey hairs right back at ya! Love you banana!

Basketball is good. I have a good group of girls. I will love them. I always do. Okay, so there's been one or two in the past, that have not hit the love meter, but very, very few. This group.... easy to love. 2-0 but Friday's a real test. One of the top teams if not the top. We'll see what we've got. Or not. Love coaching. Loving the journey so far. Trying to love myself more. Some days it's hard. Some days I'd just like to be simple, low key, and normal. Then I open my mouth. I have a gypsy heart and a 60's warped upbringing. What can you expect.

Some days I want to go swimming at night in the warm lake or when it's raining so I can listen to the sound the water makes from underneath. Some days I wish for simpler days when I slept on a mattress outside under the big oak tree in grandma's yard. Some nights when I've had a hard day, Grandma Tucker still comes to me in my dreams, even all these years later and often she just sits and lets me take care of her, but sometimes she talks to me. And I know what I need to do. I miss her. I will never not miss her.

Some days I just want to have all three of my children lay in bed with me and watch an old episode of He-man. Weird. I know. I guess I think it'll make them little again. I already survived those years. More importantly.... they survived them, and I don't want to go back, but sometimes life speeds by and I just miss them. Like I know my mom misses me. Love you mom.

Mom was/is not perfect. She too was cursed/blessed with a gypsy heart and 60's mouth. She definitely made our life colorful and one-of-a-kind. Being poor at times made me/us stronger, more resilient, more appreciative when we weren't poor. Being raised through trials made us more compassionate and stronger in the end. Thank you mom for teaching me it's okay to dance on the tables, shout at the mountains (or anything else that gets in your way), and accept all people from all walks of life. No, you're not perfect. Neither am I. I love you. You love me. We know that.

I have been thinking about God a lot lately. Is God a presence, a force, a religion, a hope, a form of intelligence? If we really believe in God, do we use or call upon those powers or do we just hope they are going to come our way? I suspect it's much like our brain. I suspect we would be overpowered by his power if we used a millionth of his presence in our lives or experienced a millionth of his power. For we either believe or we don't. It's that simple. Then there's Jesus Christ and Christianity. I tire of people who profess (from various religious groups--mine included) to be Christlike yet behave in the contrary. We have to be careful that we do not "assume" grace, that we do not fall short of hallelujah in our zeal for the news of the gospel, and that we do not offend in the name of Christ. As the season draws near, I hope we think less of religious lines and more of Christlike aspirations and lasting commitments to humanity and our families. Hope is a message that never tires and eternity is but a glimmer upon God's horizon.

And now back to the moment. The simple moments of life are those we live each day. They are diamonds given to us each morning as we awake. Sometimes we throw those diamonds away or selfishly and unwisely barter them away for less precious jewels. Italy is a grand thought... and I will go there. But I know that tomorrow, there will also be a memory or moment of happiness created that will be a part of my life forever. I know that every day holds that same opportunity and promise. Dandelion necklaces, mud pies, and tire swings just come in different ways now.

Missing Rellicakes and Fathead

2011-11-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

It's only Monday and it's been a long week. Mondays and I are not getting along (see last post). A phone call from Rellie did lighten my day.... temporarily... but that wee bit of sunshine disappeared with the setting sun. Practice was okay, but also kind of flat. We have a game tomorrow, so that's not so good. They played so well Saturday, we'll probably be fine, but it was just Monday.

Jeremy's kids did a great job on their program parts for church last Sunday. They each had their parts memorized and sang quite well too. Then Jason and Anne and the girls came over for Sunday dinner. I was craving homemade clam chowder so I made some. It hit the spot. Abbi is growing in to her own little personality and Maddi is getting so grown up. What cuties! It's always nice to have them for dinner.

So thankful Monday is almost over, but I am still thankful to be alive. :D

to post or not to post

2011-11-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

You should never write in your journal or post on your blog when you're grumpy (my rules). So.... I'm going to bed.

2011-10-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Pick a Monday.... any Monday and make it happen

2011-10-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

So if you want to make a change.... pick or date or day. That's step 2. Of course step 1 is to identify the change. Then be real, but don't be wimpy. I have to buckle down. With my back hurt and my husband spoiling me way too much this year, I'm getting plumper than the Thanksgiving turkey! Not cool. Especially after doing so well last year. Then I have days like today.... We wake up in a nice hotel with complimentary breakfast of course and I think I'm doing well because I just eat a bowl of cereal, but then we eat out for lunch- salmon, loaded mashed potatoes, and oh marionberry pie! Sitting around watching volleyball games isn't exactly working out either. I did think about going swimming. Then didn't.Who wants to buy a swimsuit when you're fat. Kind of a catch22. I can't lie though.... it's been a fun trip so far-- minus eating too much. Oh.... and they had a candy shop across the street.

So the drive up here was gorgeous (until it got dark of course). The fall colors and northern mountains are beautiful. Coming through McCall and seeing the lake there was awesome and brought back memories of visiting Tom and Inga. The weather was pretty nice too. It's been kind of rainy today, but I thought it'd be really cold up here and it really isn't. We headed out early to watch I.F. play first. They were awesome. Visited with some people from there that we haven't seen for a while and I got to talk to Hayley and Coach Johnson who used to coach with me. All those girls have grown up so much and Hayley is a senior.... hard to believe. Then watched the Parma girls. They didn't fare so well, but it was still fun to see them and Greg brought cookies he made for them. Kylie liked that! Then it was lunch, shopping, and back to the gym to watch Eagle play. They also didn't do so well.

After that we headed back to the room then my cousin Susan came and took us to dinner. We ate at the resort on the lake. It was very nice. We had a table that overlooked the lake and it was so good to see her and visit with her. We used to be so close and over the years we had just stopped talking much since we live apart. How sad. It didn't take long to fall into old comforts and laughter though. We all sat staring at menus than one of us said, "I can't read this. I didn't bring my reading glasses," and we all started laughing. Susan pulled out hers and we all passed them around. I still couldn't see so they ordered for me. The food was very good and Greg said it was best I couldn't see the price. I would tell you what I ate, but I couldn't read it or pronounce it.
It was quite the swanky place, but the best part was simply talking and revisiting memories and catching up to where we are now. And... she reminded me of who we are. We are strong Tucker women. We are independent, loud, opinionated, and A.D.D. She had no idea how much I needed to hear that that was normal. We also laughed about old age, menopause, PMS, and unable to read anything directly in front of our face. We solved several world problems, discussed law, and marriage. We could have talked all night but we had to get back to the games.
Parma won their night game and Eagle lost their second so they're out and we will head home in the morning. We may stay to watch I.F. play in the morning then go. We are going to stop and see Stephen in Lewiston. We want to see all the drive this time and take pictures along the way. We will also enjoy just being together. That's the plan.

We're stopping at Lewiston on the way home to see Stephen.

Forgot to mention the scaries....

2011-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

So I had a heck of a time getting in for my annual mammogram (which is a few months past due) and the only time they had would require me to get a sub for an hour during the work day. So Saturday I thought about canceling it so I didn't miss work. I decided I would, but of course that meant waiting till Monday morning to call because no one is there on the weekend. Plus, I had already scheduled my sub, but that is easy to cancel too. So we had lots going on Saturday and I spaced it. No worries. I thought I'd cancel the sub Sunday (has to be within 24 hours) and the appointment Monday morning.
Well I came home on Sunday and I swear it was completely nonexistent in my mind. That night I was folding some laundry I needed for work (forgive me for folding on Sunday) and listening to the news to see if our garden would freeze and Greg and I were talking. Then it was kind of weird. We stopped talking just as there was a pause between commercial and the news and me folding. It was like I was waiting for someone to talk. Then the commercial said, "Get your mammograms. Don't wait." Something very close to that. Greg and I both looked at each other and started laughing. I said, "Okay, I get the message." When I got to school one of the teachers told me I better check and make sure I was covered for the hour because some people hadn't been able to get subs. I checked, but I knew before I ever looked that I would be. I knew I needed to get my mammogram done. God knows me so well he knows he has to send it loud and clear.
So I went and here we go again. We know it's the same spot as last time and the chances are very high that it is still just a cyst but there will be the ultrasound follow up and possible biopsy. Because of the clear message to go-- I'm a little more nervous about the outcome this time, but I also know that Lord knows me and watches over little ol' unimportant me. It may just be that he knows my mind does not rest until it's over. Then I don't stress it for a year. :)
Then this morning as I was headed out the door I stopped and thought I'd better check my purse for my keys because I still haven't found my house key (Mandy:) and I didn't want to be locked out. Sure enough. It wasn't in my purse. I went back in, rummaged around. Found Greg's set. Checked my purse again. Nothing. Wasted a full minute then headed out. On the way to work was an accident. It was bad. Cars off, smoke, rollovers. The cops weren't even there yet because it had just happened right before my turn. If I had been just 60 seconds earlier, I could have easily been involved. When I got to work, I reached in my purse and there were my other set of keys. There's more to that story, but mostly, I know I was being watched over.
I also know we can live our lives walking on glass. Stressing everything. We have the love of our families, our friends, and the Lord. We have this awesome journey called life. I'm in a gypsy mood again so be warned.... my wheels are turning. :)

I love my family and I love fall.

2011-10-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Moments That Matter Most

2011-10-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Scaries and Finding Balance

2011-10-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

So I seem to fight two never-ending battles that I am going to declare non-battles. Yes, you can do that. They're just life. To view them as battles denotes my lack of understanding.... until now. I need to quit qualifying them as something to do on my to-do list. They are .....balance and dieting. They are natural parts of life.

Balance. It's not rocket scientist material-- all work and no play makes Jeremy a sick boy. Sorry Jer. You are your mother's son and I had to throw that out there. Another chip off the block...... All work and no play (family time) also makes Jason a sick boy (tired, drained, etc.) I'm picking on the boys today Mandy-- you're off the hook-- even though you left me .... :D I feel responsible for modeling the "push it" behavior. Squeeze in one more thing. Be the best. Do your best. Put others first. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. I believe those principles, all of them... but we have to find balance in them. I have THE BEST children God could have given me. I mean that SO MUCH, which is why I bring up specifics. :D We can all learn from it.... .which is what this blog is about.

Balance. I have a great video I'll put on here that pretty much says it all and the "extra" stuff that we are doing is mostly all "good" stuff, but we have to council together as couples, families, and extended families, to trim back that list if it becomes too much. I remember when I went to work outside of the home, but first, let me talk about the work inside of the home. It was THE HARDEST and MOST REWARDING WORK I HAVE EVER DONE. Some days were very long being married to a farmer. Sometimes I felt like a single parent. And... it's pretty hard to say, "okay, I've been home with them all day, now it's your turn." That's when I first started understanding the significance of "balance" and so did my sweetie.

He could see that I needed a kid break and alone time (which he got on the tractor) and I could see that he needed down time and appreciation (which he got from me). He also needed time with the kids. That is why it's so important to council and plan together and discuss these very things in a very unselfish way. Thank goodness he is unselfish. He could tell when I needed him to be all about the kids when he got home and I could tell when he had had a very long day at work and needed extra pampering. It wasn't always perfect. Sometimes I cried with the three little ones on days I felt like I wasn't getting it all done and they were having a bad day too, but what kept me going was our common goals and dreams and our unselfish love and respect for each other. Our third party coach-- The Lord-- was also quite helpful. :)

When we moved and the youngest child entered school, I went back to work to support the husband as he went through college. By support I mean both economically and emotionally. I had to believe in his dreams. I had to be his cheerleader. He had to believe in mine (going to work and school too) and be my cheerleader. He also worked on the farm and went to school at night. The work on the farm was for his dad, so we basically worked for housing at that time and a monthly wage that got us by. We were appreciative of those blessings, but it was not enough to put us through college and since all of our kids were now in school, it was time to go back to work. I can honestly say work was a piece of cake compared to being a stay-at-home mom. The husband and I had to learn to balance though. Just because I went to work "outside" of the home, didn't mean I needed to be a princess when I got home. We still took turns with dinner, laundry, and kid duties. It's easy to think that since they're working "at home" that they somehow get down time that you don't during the day.

We survived those years and still managed to have regular family council, regular church attendance, major church callings, and periodical FHE and all the other things that help the family. We were not perfect at all of it, but our unselfish desire to help each other achieve our dreams (both as a couple and as individuals) is what made the difference when things got tough. When you're short on money and big on dreams, you can sometimes get caught up in the world. The Lord is your ground wire. I remember some very valuable advice that I was given once as young mother. I was told that the best way to love my children, was to love their father. My husband was given the same advice (about loving their mother). My kids mean everything to me and this was so hard for me to hear that my little ones did not need me as much as my husband did. After that counsel though, I saw the wisdom day by day and changed my thinking. I had always loved him, but I had not always put him first.

As I look back now, I know that our openess with each other and our unselfishness has gotten us where we are today. We have realized so many dreams together. People look at us and think we have it good. We do. We earned it. It's called blessings. Now the balancing is different with all our children grown and married. Now I have to tell myself, "Love your kids and grandkids, but don't forget who comes first-- your sweetheart." So... we rearrange and reschedule to bring balance. We love our kids and grandkids so much. I need to see them each week and they fill my heart and life so much. I just have to know that when I choose to work and coach and fulfill other callings in life, I have to not overschedule to the point I forget about my sweetheart. And he has to do the same. Happily, we seem to adjust pretty quickly.

So.... that is Part I Lecture-- Finding Balance.
Tomorrow will be Part II-- Dieting. And now I am going to go eat a cookie my husband baked for me. :)

So you can't exactly see all the pumpkins, but what a cute family!

2011-10-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

Getting it together

2011-10-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

So yes, note the time on my post. Someone (it sounded suspiciously like one of my former bball girls) called at midnight (which on a Friday night is oddly not that odd) but from a phone I did not recognize, and asked if my refrigerator was running. They used a horrible Japanese accent and when I said, "I have two small boys asleep in the bed with me right now and you just woke them up," they said they were sorry and hung up. Now I remember those days of calling and even using those lame jokes, but it just wasn't nearly as funny tonight. Chubby, aka "Kayson" sat straight up in bed and began grinning-- like "it's play time!" Nope. It was mommy time. I gave him to mommy and went back to bed with only one little monkey left in my bed (the husband is gone to Riggins steelhead fishing with my brother and his best friend Ron) and he went right back to sleep. I have not been so fortunate.

So, when you overschedule your life, your house piles up, your frustrations pile up, and you are constantly tired. With only a couple more weeks left till basketball, I need to get my act together and declutter my time-- enjoy some relax time because there's little of that once the season begins. I have had some time to do some fun family things. I just need to get more sleep. Last night the big boys (my brother and husband) kept me up late as they were waiting for their big departure. It's always fun to visit with my brother though. I am so glad he's home. I love him very much.

Earlier this week I took Rellie and Kayson to the Berry Patch. Not on purpose. We were driving by on my way home and Kayson saw the huge pumpkins and started the caveman grunting and pointing. Krehl couldn't believe how big they were. We turned around and went back. It was a grandma moment.... you want that? Yeah? Okay. I have a lot of those with all my grandkids. :D So we have all these awesome pumpkins we grew this year and have a mini-pumpkin patch in front of our house (see family pic of son in mini-pumpkin patch before lrg. pumpkin was added) and there I was buying another pumpkin.... a 52 lb. pumpkin no less! And of course they didn't pick one of the normal, round ones like grandma tried to persuade them to pick. They had to have the lumpy, flat on one side one. It was a Charlie Brown "great pumpkin" moment. I will take pics tomorrow.

Tonight one of our elementary schools here in town put on their annual school carnival so we went out to support it and took Rellie and Kayson to do the game stuff. We had some good chili and scones there and the boys loved all the little games. Kayson won a cake in the cake walk and Rellie won a whoopee cushion in one of the games. Blowing it up was challenging because Mandy and I are latex challenged. I said, "I'm not blowing it up-- I'm allergic." She said she was too. I tried anyway. Lips started itching. Then tongue got little dots. Couldn't do it. Then she tried. He lips felt bigger. After all that, he sat on it and it didn't work. Wow! Not cool. I said I was having a movie star moment with the free enlarged lip treatment, but I felt more like Forest Gump.... especially when I talked.

I'm babysitting all of Jeremy's kids in the morning.... wait... it is morning... so he can take a test. Meanwhile.... papa is fishing. I'm feeling a girls trip coming on. Pray for the grandchildren. :)

Dilly Bars, Wal-mart, and Creepers

2011-10-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

So this school week was short and productive. We started our To Kill a Mockingbird unit, so it was obvious to introduce the concept of "bias" to the students. So of course I had to have a little coffin to coincide with the upcoming holidays (thank you sweetie for building it out of the scraps I found in our garage). We studied bias and put it to "rest" in the coffin. One of the biases we talked about was appearance bias. I had a picture of a young Bill Gates and a 20ish Ted Bundy on the intro slide for that type of bias, but no names on the pics. I had them tell me words that came to mind as they looked at each of these guys. "Nerd" was the most popular word for Bill Gates. For Mr. Bundy most of them used things liked 70ish, friendly (he was waving), and confident. One girl though said "creeper" and even retracted when she saw the picture. Now that girl has some good intuition (as they all discovered when I revealed the names)! And I learned a new labeling term... "creeper"! We also discussed how we can be bias against our own appearances. Here is an excellent video link I used for this part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuDwHMpOMe4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL641474EA41F6FBB3

We covered a lot of other biases, including race bias, but I was surprised how many high school students didn't even know what the word meant. How do you get literature like To Kill a Mockingbird when you don't understand basic concepts like bias? Well, they do now. :)

So Thursday night was boys night. All four grandsons spent the night. So yesterday when we woke up Tucker and Bryton were excited for grandma to cook them their usual bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. However, Aunt Mandy had purchased some "turkey" bacon for us to try and I tried it on the kids. Tucker took a bite and look puzzled (I didn't tell them anything so they were expecting "normal" bacon). He took another bite and sat it down on his plate. "Something wrong?" I asked. Then I took a bite. Okay..... not the same. Not even close. It was like eating turkey jerky that's super thin. It was just weird. I told them it was turkey bacon and they were all relieved. Apparently they thought grandma was just turning in to a bad cook! We all agreed that we would cook "normal" bacon next time! Love you Aunt Mandy!

Aunt Mandy was off to the Harvest Festival in Emmett. She has a booth there. Greg and Uncle Stacy helped her get set up so I had my hands full in the morning with four little boys running and squealing and bouncing and being boys. After I got baths finished, the kitchen cleaned, and beds made up, the papa finally returned so I could get a shower and head to my physical therapy appt. My PTist told me I was his worst patient. No really, he did. I tried to tell him my right leg is almost an inch longer than my left, but like all PTist before him, he thought he could fix it so for the last two days in a row he has been "working on my back" to get my legs the same length. Yesterday he told me I may have been born that way. Asked me if I'd had polio when I was little. I told him, "not that I know of". I don't think he understands how it was "back in the day". We didn't exactly run to the doctor all the time. Who knows what caused it, but seems like I could have been born that way? Anyway, my back is sore from all the "fixing" and I'm skeptical about why I'm doing 2X a week for the next 3 weeks if that's the problem, but we shall see because my back is definitely not getting better. I also bought shoe inserts to even out the height discrepancy.

So after my doctor visit we loaded the little boys up in papa's truck and headed to town. Of course papa has to get them ice cream so we stopped at DQ and they had their first dilly bars. Bryton slept through that whole experience so we made the mistake of giving chubby (Kayson) his Dilly Bar. When it was about to slide off onto the floor from all of his baby type wild eating, papa took it from him and he had to actually wrestle it from him, then chubby had a class 10 melt-down. The child loves dilly bars! Tucker also announced that Dilly Bars were better than the normal ice cream cones we usually get and that they were his new favorite. I told him his dad used to love them too.

Then we headed to the garden to do some clean up. It's that time of year. Last of the harvesting and time to put away the hoses in case it starts freezing. The last few days have been wet and cold. Not freezing, but so much colder than the 90 degrees we had just last week. We picked almost all the pumpkins (a few were still a little green), the rest of the watermelon, the umpteenth batch of cucumbers, all the red tomatoes and Greg pulled some cornstalks to use for decoration. The rest will be hauled off be a neighbor who has some horses. It feel so good when we harvest things. That farmer feeling never gets old...even when I'm pulling weeds. I strangely like it.

As we were harvesting, chubby and Rellie played on the patio and Tucker ran about selecting the biggest pumpkins for himself and Maddi. Then I saw the neighbor across the road pull up. The aunties told me he is nice and helps them with shoveling in the winter and stuff like that, so I had Greg ask him to come over and take some things off our hands (out of the garden). There was an older man with him and he came too. Turns out it was his dad. We got to talking and I told him that I used to live in his house when I was little (in the 60's). I showed him which room was mine. He said it was his daughter's room now and told me about the changes in the house. I also told him about my little red wagon and how I used to collect bottles then turn them in for candy at the store, but that I didn't know where that store was anymore. The dad said, "Yeah, it used to be right there on the corner, but they had torn it down." That explained it. The guy had lived in my old house 14 years now. It was a fun conversation as he explained things about the house and we shared our histories with it. It made me realize how quickly life passes and yet how long ago it has been since I was a child. It made me feel old, yet brought back some memories.

Then the Mexican lady down the street saw us and came over. I told her the corn leaves weren't fresh anymore (we gave her some last time), but that she could pick some pumpkins for her kids and take as many tomatoes and cucumbers as she wanted. We threw in a watermelon too. Then we wrapped up the hoses as the aunties came home from the doctor. Aunt Joann is having some bad headaches, so they went to her "headache" doctor. She's also in the two cane stage (one of them being the cane Bobby got her from Iraq) so Bertie said she'd taken a fall last week. I suggested maybe she should start using her walker more. She laughed. All right then. We need to get back over there and start on organizing and decluttering the house and getting the shelves up. Next week maybe. I picked six pumpkins and placed around their doorsteps. They liked that too.

After the garden we headed to Wal-mart to get stickers. When we pulled up to the Wal-mart chubby said one of his first clear words besides mama and papa..... Wal-mart! Clear as day, he said it more than once. Leave it to Mandy's kids! :) Once in there, we headed to the drive through scary alley, but they had removed the top black tarp, so it wasn't that scary anymore. Apparently it was too scary for some? Then we headed to the Halloween section. Of course papa had to split off from us with Chubby in the cart and then sneak up on us and scare us knowing Rellie would be petrified. Which he was. Yet, he's the one who wanted to go to that section. Then I found the masks. Rellie high-tailed it out of the section in a hurry. I put on the old wizard masked and met him on the other corner. He ran to papa and hid behind him. I bought the mask. A wizard mask is one to add to the collection. I also found a rapping desk witch that dances. Had to have that for my desk. They all loved that one-- even Rellie. The boys got their stickers and we left.

We delivered pumpkins to both the boys and traded Bryton and Tucker for Daisha. Maddi was not crazy about the wizard mask and wasn't even sure about the dancing witch, so I gave her my bag of animal cookies to calm her down. She also liked her pumpkin. I forgot to mention that they came over earlier before my doctor's appt. and Jas and I worked on his lesson plans. They had lunch with us and Maddi and kayson are getting so good about the whole sharing thing. They were very cute. Maddi and Abbi will be back today when their mom and and dad go out for an early anniversary celebration. It'll be Abbi's first time alone with mem and papa. Wish her luck! :)

The weekends go so fast now that summer is gone. Kind of sad. Lovin' the leaves and autumn colors though! Think we'll go see the daughter in Emmett today and check out the harvest festival.

L.I.G.

2011-10-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

More parents showed up on the second day of P/T conferences though with only 20% of parents showing, it's still disappointing that so many parents don't come. Of course our politicians have made it clear that it's not the parents' fault when kids don't learn-- it's the teachers! Oh well.... L.I.G.

I wrote that on my hand more than once last year. It's actually pretty effective and much needed when you're also menopausal! L.I.G stands for "Let it Go" and also reminds me that either some things aren't going to change, or there are bigger fish to focus on. In this case-- some things will never change. I am thankful for the parents who cared enough to come.
I also found LIG most useful when having menopausal pity parties/rants. Okay, if I said, "Yeah honey, go ahead and buy that fourth football gold card (which is a step up from the $10 lightbulbs he bought one year when we were very poor) when the chubby cheeked came door-to-door selling them, then I couldn't spend the next two days going off about something I said it was okay for him to do. Kind of like when he went hunting one time and I kept saying, "No, go ahead" then he paid for it for the next two weeks. So yeah, I occasionally forget that, but mostly now I do keep it sane, let it go, and apologize when I get a little too bulldogish about little things. I've learned to recognize my menopausal rages a little quicker. I had one a week ago at a most inopportune time. But then, thank goodness for progress, I recognized and it and apologized to him. Life is too short and some things just don't matter that much.

On the other hand, sometimes he is a total dorkbucket and needs to be told so. :) We both are imperfect, but our love is the stuff movies (including comedies) is made of. Love you sweetie. We do have the X factor in our favor--the Lord is the X factor. We are both accountable to Him and not just to each other. And that, as Mr. Frost would say, "has made all the difference." :)

So on a less serious note, I went to a high school football game with the sweetie this weekend and really enjoyed it. The ambiance of a high school football game on a warm September night is nostalgic. The lights on the field, the students in their school colors, the onions frying on the grill. Yes, they had fried onions for their burgers. And the community that proudly wears each school's colors. People who think education is all about the data, just don't get it. They don't get why American education is so... American. Wait... how did I go back to that topic.
So the football game was nice. I liked it. The hubby's team won.

The next day he got to go to the BSU game and came home with a half-sunburned face. He took my brother and his brother with him and they looked quite comical walking in the door half sizzled on their face. My brother also wore his sunglasses so he sported the added "raccoon effect" as well. Still, despite BSU's not-so-awesome offense, the boys enjoyed the "experience". Plus I think they'll be cured for a while. They also stopped and visited the aunties who have been dying to see my brother since he returned from Iraq.

While they were gone, I got some laundry done and Rellie painted his pumpkin (among other things that did not make mommy happy) :) Chubby went ripping down the sidewalk and faceplanted. I went for a jog. I'm paying for it today. Ow! We also watched conference. Awesome talks! Oh, and I started writing yet another book. I hope I finish this one. Then.... we went and picked up to two little girls-- Maddi and Jilly. They are the cutest little cousins. They had a gigglefest that would have melted the hardest heart on the way home. Mandy fixed their hair this morning then we took them for a walk. The picture above is them coming home from their walk. They are SO adorable.

I can't believe it's Monday in the morning already!

Hair Bows and Popcorn

2011-09-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Picture me sitting on the bench, coaching, with a hairbow or flower in my hair... Can you picture it? If you can.... you obviously don't know me! If you knew me, you'd either been scrunching up your eyebrows or laughing. Last night I stayed and watched the home volleyball game and a lot of the young coaches had either bows or flower clips in their hair. I'd just feel awkward. Works for them I suppose, but me.... never.

A Labaro that doesn't dive--- pointless! Saw it.

After the game, went to a meeting. After the meeting, went home and picked up the daughter. Went to the 10pm movie got out about 12:30. Watched The Help. Good movie! Woke up at 5:30 this morning. P/T Conferences so wanted to get there early and make sure all my grades are in. AFter school, had dinner, then conferences. Only seven parents came. Never had that before. Very sad. How do you only have 7 parents when you teach almost 160?

Now I'm headed to bed.

Family Council, Fast Food Fury, and Hot Flashes

2011-09-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well Sunday we had our family council and all the kids came for dinner and the council. We planned out the holidays and all I can say is that we have some fun holidays ahead of us. I am so thankful for family and the opportunities that we have to meet often, counsel together, and help each other. Looking forward to corn mazes, gleaning potatoes, family pics, Boo at the Zoo, Thanksgiving at Jer's, and a special Christmas family program. I look forward to the joy our children bring to us each and every day too. :)

So that's a cheery thought. Let's reflect on the less cheery thoughts. McD as in "D" for service. I order $5.99 worth of stuff. Pull up to window. "That will be $11.04." "My order was $5.99." "Oh, sorry. I'll change it." I give her my card. Get a receipt which I don't look at because we have just clarified the amount. They start handing me a big bag of food. "Um, this isn't my food. I had a yogurt parfait and the Happy Meal." "Oh, let me go have her fix it." She leaves. Comes back. Could you pull up to that hot spot in the sun since I see you have the truck today with no A/C and two small children in the back?" Oh.... sure!!! She did'nt say the last part, but that's what it was. We wait another five minutes and cars go through. I'm literally melting not sure if it's just the unusually warm temperatures, or my patience running out, or my menopausal hot flashes.... or all of the above. I pull around the building out of the sun. It's now been almost 15 minutes. So much for a quick stop! She finally comes huffing and puffing around the corner with my little bag of food. I get out and go to get it. She hands me several papers and with attitude says, "Here's your food. You'll have to sign this." Like it's my fault! REally? I don't think so! Do not make me go Menopausal. Oh...too late! "Actually, I would just like my money back. You can keep the food." She looks shocked. She jerks the bag away and says, "Well, I'll have to go in and redo the receipt again." "I guess you will." I follow her in. And wait.... and wait... and wait. Finally the girl who waited on me at the second window came over. "You still haven't got your food?" "Yes, but she was rude and I just asked for my money back." "You need to talk to our manager." She leaves and talks to a guy at the window. He nods, but keeps making drinks and doesn't even look my way. I'm beginning to see a pattern. He finally comes over. "Can I help you?" It's now been almost 20 mintues. "Yeah, I'd just like my card back." "Well she had to redo your receipt." "Yeah, because she screwed it up the first time then came out after we waited in the sun, not to say 'I'm sorry" but to act irritated because I moved out of the sun." He could care less. "well she has to run it through again." "No she doesn't! Just give me my stinkin' card! You can keep the money!" He gets it. Doesn't apologize and goes back to waiting on customers. REally! Never, ever going there again and definitely penning a letter to corporate.

Then it was off to the doctor's office. Needless to say, my blood pressure was a little higher than normal. I ran into one of Mandy's old high school buddies. She weighed me (Oh joy!) and took my stats. We chatted for a while in the room and it was really good to talk to her. The doctor told me my strep test was negative and that what I had would run it's course but recommended physical therapy for my strained back. Yeah. No! Been there. Done that. I am glad I got to talk to Stephanie though.

Tonight when I came home I was greeted by Mr. Incredible. No, not my husband (calm down sweetie). Rellie is practicing dressing up for Halloween. I predict I will be greeted by Spiderman tomorrow. Then we all headed in to Wal-mart to rescue Mandy's lost wallet and get some things for my room. When we got home Rellie helped me make pumpkin cupcakes and a bundt cake for FHE. Mandy gave a fun lesson and afterwards we finished decorating the porch for Halloween. Kayson loved the cupcake his brother made for him. He's such a cutie.... but he is not sleeping attached to my side tonight. :) Stayed up late grading papers (with the help of the hubby). Got to school and PowerSchool was having issues. Couldn't enter grades. Kinda indicative of my weeks lately! Oh well, it's done, so I am going to be early tonight. Last night Mandy and I went for a stroller walk with the boys. It was so beautiful out-- a warm summer night. I love Octoberish.

Mood swing>
I can't tell if I get grouchy because I'm not getting sleep or I'm just plain menopausal. It's weird. Someone will tell me something and I'll think, "Gee, that's terrible or that's really sad-- I should feel bad or cry or something-- but I don't." Or I'll snap at someone and it's like an out of body experience. "Man, did I just say that? That was harsh." One of my friends said that she had the same type of out of body experiences when she was menopausal too. She said it was like being possessed. As long as my head doesn't do a 360 I'm sure I'll be fine.... some day. Until then-- apologies for any odd, abrupt snapping, or unusual insensitive behavior. This too shall pass. And I have good days too, so just ask me what kind of day it is and I'm pretty sure I'll tell you. :)

I'm going to bed now in hopes that getting more sleep will take the edge off of my menopause. :)

My sunshine

2011-09-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Finding rays of sun along the way.
Making pie of mud or clay.
holding on to what is dear
loving all that's home and near

letting go of fears and doubt
sitting down and breathing out
getting fat and trying to stop
sucking on my tootsie-pop

life goes on and so do I
one day I laugh, one day I cry
menopause is such a pain
oh wow! it looks like rain

Focus on the Positive

2011-09-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when there are so many negative things that hit us at once, we have to reach out and grab the little bits of positive sunshine that we can find. Sometimes we may even have to create some sunshine in our life. Maybe we forget that we can do that.

We can also focus so much of our time and energy on dealing with the negative things that we suck the happiness right out of us. If that happens, we need to evaluate where all of our time and energy is going. If the result is not happiness or at least gratitude-- it's time to give more of our time toward happier pursuits. The pursuit of happiness is our life goal. Pursuit is an action word that requires action. Happiness sometimes falls in our lap, but many times is self made or at least has to be self acknowledged. To find happiness in nature you have to actually get out there and enjoy nature. Yes, smell the roses, but even more than that. Go for a walk, go camping, or just look at the changing colors around you to and from work. Enjoy your work. Enjoy people at work. Plan fun things or time for things you like to do-- like for me it might just be a cup of hot chocolate and a puzzle.

Don't overschedule. My biggest problem. Plan fun things, but not to the point you don't have any time to relax. Oddly, watching my students play a sport is very relaxing for me and is a "self" treat. It takes me back to watching my children when they were in school. It also makes me a better teacher because they see me in a different way and I see them in a different way outside of the classroom.

Balance is the key. It's hard to do, but it's doable. All work and no play makes us all dull boys and who wants to be a boy.... not me. Okay, it's late (or early) and I am rambling now. So much on my mind. I am headed to have a cup of hot chocolate and start my day out looking for some much needed sunshine. I wish sunshine upon my children's days as well.

you say goodbye and I say hello

2011-09-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Friday was such a day. Saying goodbye to my husband's sister who died tragically young. Welcoming back my baby brother from Iraq. But not being able to do so because of the funeral. The funeral. Emotional in so many ways. It is always tough when two families, remarried, share the grief of one child. It's even tougher if the walls still exist. I kept thinking about my dad's funeral and how it brought all of his children from his marriages together. How it helped us all heal and made us all closer. How the X-wives finally found forgiveness and both came to the service. It made all of us heal. What he couldn't do in life-- he did in death. And it was a gift that will last us forever. How I hoped it would do the same this week. Maybe it still will later. Just made it harder.

Still, I am proud of my family for the spirtiual strength they provided to both me and everyone else during this tough time. From the prayers to the talk to the grave dedication my heart was full. I am so blessed to have children and a husband who know there is a God. Who know there is joy in life and hope in death. I am so blessed to have a husband and children who willingly serve and help others. I could have been more forgiving myself of the pettiness. Despite that, it was a nice tribute to Gidget, and her family and friends will miss her physical presence in their life. She laughed hard, lived hard, and loved hard. She truly soaked up every inch of life. Thus her favorite song-- "Soak up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow.

Speaking of the sun... our days of summer are waning. I saw my first row of trees changing colors today. Fall is on our doorstep. As we were over at the auntie's garden today I noticed the cornstalks are dry (of the ones we have already harvested) and the leaves are dying off the pumpkins that are already orange. The grapes were loaded too, so we picked some fresh grapes. As I was picking grapes with the husband I remembered why I loved the farm so much. I am a farm girl at heart. I would be content to live there the rest of my life. I so hope our house in Shelley sells so we can pick up a house with some land. There is just something about planting and growing and harvesting that I love and enjoy so much.

Tomorrow we're taking some of our produce to Payette as we visit my brother. We sent some of the grapes home with Jas and Anne tonight when they picked up baby Maddi. Earlier we had Bry Bry and Tucker over visiting REllie. Now, the house is quiet again and I'm going to go to bed early for the 3rd night in a row. I'm looking forward to Sunday.

strange

2011-09-14T19:36:00.001-07:00

Such a strange week. Won't share all the strangeness, but I am thankful for the perspective I have on life, death, and selflessness. I am thankful that my children know I love them and that they love me. I am thankful my eternal sweetheart knows I love him and that he will always love and take care of me. I am thankful for parents who bettered their life and constantly focus on helping others-- being selfless. I am thankful for a brother who will be home any day now after his selfless service in Iraq. I am thankful for my amazing grandchildren. Jewels in my crown and my heart.

I am happy that my life is not centered around and controlled by the next drink, drug, or cigarette. I am happy I looked down a different path and opened a different door. I am happy that door has lead me here because of my choices. I am disturbed by people who constantly bash, yet beg, and put down, yet request. And so the cycle that began with time, continues. The believers and non-believers. And victory is in the grave. Truth is in the living. Pleasure is in the moment. Happiness is in the lifetime.

long weeks and short patience-- a natural marriage

2011-09-09T18:23:00.001-07:00

My daughter-in-law is still recovering from the lightening birth of their latest child. Got a little anemic from the loss of blood then got the flu that seems to be going around. My prayers go out to her. She needs to feel better and enjoy her new little angel. Mandy brought little Maddi home for a while today so Anne could rest some. It was fun having her. She has so much personality.

Bry Bry is sick too. Got the same flu his brother had. Fever and headache. No fun. In a big family it's like a domino effect. Hope it doesn't recycle! He will be in my prayers too.

It has been nice having my daughter here all the time. She is a little OCD on some things. She has reorganized our pantry, alphabetized our movies, and made us get rid of stuff. It's also been nice to come home to supper. Thank you banana. I love your company and seeing the boys grow so fast every day. We watched home videos tonight and she now sees that Kayson comes by his baby build honestly-- his mommy was a chunky monkey too. A cute chunky monkey. And spoiled (as the boys will tell you over and over). :D The hair styles were something else in the videos too. Mullets, big hair, and feathered long. And that's just the guys!!! Too funny. What great memories though.

It's been a long week. In addition to losing his sister, Greg found out tonight that an uncle passed away tonight as well. He is feeling the stress. My daughter told me I need to be more patient with him. She's right. It's been a hard week for him and his family. It's funny how we all handle, or don't handle things.

It's weird some of the things you see on facebook. The term "dirty laundry" comes to mind. Every wonder why they call it airing your "dirty laundry"? Well, back in the day, everyone hung their laundry on the clothesline or drying racks. They didn't have dryers. It was a disgrace to hang laundry that still appeared dirty-- especially undies.... ewww. People don't want to see your underwear at all people. Keep your very private stuff to yourself. You have something "dirty laundry quality" a.k.a. very private or intimate, keep it to yourself. P-lease. I hate it when very private intimate conversations are posted-- Pick up the phone and call them or have some tact and maturity and just "message" them privately.

It's unfortunate too when people add to the stress by the way they handle things. Sigh. Funerals are stressful enough!

So on that cheery note... I'm going to go to bed and thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with a strong husband, the best children, the cutest grandchildren, and all the necessities of life. Despite the turmoil of a difficult week, I feel loved, blessed, and sure of my testimony. I fall short of perfection in so many ways. I just need to remember that and practice more patience. When the hotflashes hit and the midlife hormones pop a cork, I will count to 10 and find some chocolate. I'll let you know how that goes.

Life changes in a matter of seconds

2011-09-06T22:47:00.001-07:00

If I ever think things are tough, I am reminded by the trials of others that I really have it pretty good. So many mixed emotions today. My brother hit land in the U.S. Yeah! I am relieved and happy. That happiness is overshadowed by my husband's shocking news his morning-- his sister had an aneurysm and has been declared legally dead. They take off life support in the morning. Kayla, her daughter wanted to spend one last night with her. Just like that-- she is gone. It has caused me to reflect a lot. I have a funny way of dealing with certain things. It's harder when the husband/best friend is gone. He has to be though. It's his sister.

He left this morning and his brother went with him. I could tell he was just going through the motions (denial). I'm glad he's there surrounded by family and helping his parents and brothers and sisters. He really is a rock. I know he has been mine for many years.

So tonight, for therapy, I did what I normally do. Avoid sitting. I cleaned. I cooked. I did laundry. I made 14 jars of jam. I played with kids. I found pictures of his sister and posted them for family. It's hard to know what to do. It's just so unexpected. As I was making jam I put on Gma Shorty's apron and Rellie came in and wanted to help, so we put Gma Tucker's apron on him. He was quite the sugar scooper, but I'm afraid we might be invaded by sugar ants in the morning because I'm not sure I got it all off the floor. :D He is at the "why" stage so I had to explain every single step about the jam making process and the utensils I use. It helped keep my mind occupied.

I also thought about how life goes on. Someone close to us and still quite young has just died and yet there I was making jam. At first, I thought, "that's sad." But then I thought, "No... that's right.... life goes on." It doesn't stop. It can't stop. That's not what life is about. It's about generations of memories. We're making memories every day. Like making jam with Rellie. Yes, we'll stop and pause. Yes we'll cry and grieve. And yes, we will go on. Life goes on and that is a beautiful thing. I would not want it to stop for me.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be sad or stop and mourn. Of course we will be sad. Of course we'll mourn. But in my process of making jam to sort through my thoughts of a young girl who happened in to my life 30 years ago because I loved her brother, I realized that we waste too many precious moments taking too many people for granted. We get caught up in dramas and materialism and ourselves and then we get reality checks. I love the simple things in my life. I don't need to make mountains out of mole hills. I don't need to always sweat the small stuff. I know I still will at times, but honestly.... I enjoyed making jam with Rellie tonight. Simple. Unplanned. Priceless. Gidget would like that we made jam in the grandma aprons. She lived hard and loved hard. She squeezed the moments and she's where she has always been-- in my heart.

What is Labor Day without Laboring

2011-09-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a week. It's just been a very busy week. School, helping people move, garden, baby coming home. It's just been crazy busy. School is going fine. A lot of wasted teaching time the first week with schedule changes, assemblies, rule reading, testing, and to top it off the bells and intercom system didn't work... at all... all week. And the A/C sprung a leak in the ceiling right by my door so between 2-3pm every day the dripping would start and my trash can would become the bucket. Worked the first two weeks without a contract. They're just swamped with getting all of them approved by the micromanaging state as well. More paperwork. More little "housekeeping" things to learn in a new school. Overall though, things have been going fine at school and my body has adjusted to getting up early in the morning to be on the road by 6:30.

Baby Abbi has been a good baby since she finally got home. She sleeps a lot and doesn't wake up nearly as much as her sister Maddi did. Anne has been struggling with getting better, so it's good that Abbi is such a good baby. Anne's mom has been here for two weeks and what a blessing to have her here to help so much. She went home yesterday. She is a wonderful, caring lady and it's too bad they don't live closer. She had lots of Grandma time with Maddi and mom time with her daughter. She also enjoyed lots of our corn and tomatoes and cucumbers. She helped Anne freeze corn and I got to taste some of her yummy zuchinni bread.

The garden at the auntie's continues to be a blessing. They look forward to our little visits and the produce has been shared with so many families (including those who live by the auntie's). We shared with the physical therapist that visits them, the mail lady, neighbors, and random people walking the street when we are their gleaning or weeding or watering. One family came and got the leaves on the corn stalks to do tamales. It feels good to share the harvest. I can tell Greg loves the "farming" feeling he gets from it. He misses farming. He loves his job though and I can tell he enjoyed supervising the first home football game. They have a QB that is ranked one of the top in the U.S.

Another blessing in our life has been the time we have been spending with our daughter and her sons. Mandy and I took Rellie to see Kung Fu Panda II at the cheap theater. Mandy about killed me driving home (crazy driver!) but we all survived (j/k) love you banana. Chubby (Kayson) is my new weight lifting program, but my back has been bothering me, so Papa has been holding him a lot more. We took them to the zoo today and Maddi Anne came with us as well. The zoo just never gets old. The kids loved it and the weather was nice. Taking them to church Sunday was entertaining as well. Kayson "owned" papa on the pew several times. He's not used to wrestling children so much anymore. By third block he was back with mom and papa had retreated to the old man's class. Rellie doesn't understand why he can't just jump up and stand by grandma during primary sharing time and he is definitely A.D.D. but he fits right in with that class. Those ladies have their hands full. Bless them!

Mandy and I also went to the Thursday night auction for a girls night out and came home with a pickup load. I don't think we'll be allowed to go next week. Maybe just a movie at the cheap theater. :D Thank you sweetie for watching the boys. We did get some awesome deals though. Found a few good things yard-saling Saturday, but not as good as normal. The office chair for Stacy for 5 bucks was probably the best deal. It was nice.

My brother is coming home from Iraq. He is on the plane somewhere. We don't know where. We just get bits and pieces and limited info. Normal for the military. We will know as soon as he hits ground in the U.S. which should be any day this week we believe. It'll be a couple weeks debriefing, then he'll be home. We miss him so much. Poor Jackie is beside herself. I remember that year without the hubby. LONG! And I got to see him most weekends. Can't imagine not even seeing him on the weekend. Oh and BSU won their first game! Go Big Blue!

Today we got bedrooms reorganized and so much stuff sorted. We still have more to do and I'm afraid I won't get my jam done before my berries spoil. So much to do. Cupcakes for student birthdays (to make in the morning) and flowers to pick for bookmarks (poetry unit project). I'm glad it's a short work week. Didn't have enough time to labor this labor day!

Short Weekends and Long Weeks

2011-08-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

So I was walking down the hall with my students and one them comes over and walks with me down for the student photos and he says, "Did you say your husband was at another school?" I nod. "Yes." Now, knowing my husband was the principal over freshmen and this kids is now a sophomore I'm thinking, "Great, this kid must have spent some time in the principal's office last year and transferred here to get out of trouble."
"I had him for class," he tells me.
"What?" I try to correct him, "You mean he came in your class?"
"No. He was my teacher."
"What did he teach?"
"Spanish."
"Oh.... that's not my husband."
"Oh? Well then I had your brother."
"Bless you child, but that is my son."
"Shut up! You're not old enough to have a son that old!"

So I share that story not to make J-bob feel bad (the balding makes him more mature looking than his age) or Jeremy feel better... but because it made ME feel better amidst my very long week.

Overall, the students were really great this past week and I am excited to teach them and get to know them better.
I am excited for Jason and his new job. What an opportunity! And with a new addition to their family, even more blessings are coming their way. We are so glad Anne and Baby Abbi are both finally home. I am excited for Jeremy as he finishes his final semester and as they watch their business grow and prosper as well as their family that's growing up so quickly. I am excited for my daughter as she adds a new little life to her family and watches her little boys grow into big boys. Kayson went from walking to running in the same week I swear! I am excited that my brother will be home from Iraq very soon.

I have been watching the yellowing of summer. At the first of summer I'm so tired of the cold. When is it going to be warm. The first rays of summer are savored like a delicate drizzle of chocolate goodness. Then, if you eat too much chocolate... it loses it's specialness and makes you fat. Well, same with the heat. Only it makes you sweat (not fat). As I was driving along the fields I witnessed what I call the "yellowing of summer" around me. The corn tassels paint a layer of speckled white and the ready-to-harvest wheat blankets entire sections. Pumpkins and squash are changing from green to yellows and oranges and you can almost feel the coming crispiness in the air even though it's stifling hot. Stubbled fields are signs of yielding up the green of summer and clearing for a cooler, barren time. I can feel fall even as I put on the sunblock and wish for cooler nights.

And so... just like that.. I am ready for summer to go on vacation and fall to slow me down and bring back inside.

New blessings

2011-08-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well I'm nearing the end of the first week of school with students. It's been a long week just adjusting to being on my feet for so long. With the budget cuts we also only get a prep period every other day which means 30 minutes for lunch and that's it on no prep days. 7am-3pm is contract but most stay till 4 and take home a pile of papers to grade. Copies and lesson planning and student intervention, etc. use up the prep we do have so there's just no way to avoid doing all the grading at home this year. Unlike a "business" we don't have fluctuating customers. They're built in. It's rush hour at McDonalds every period. Just trying to give apples to apples here. People say, "lots of people work their 8 hours with only one 30 min. break for lunch. First of all, I worked in the corporate world and we also had 15 min. breaks every 2-3 hours and we did not have non-stop customers.

Okay, so it was a long week, but I like my students and am excited to see them grow academically and socially this year. I also like the group of teachers I am stationed with. We're using military language now as we feel like we're in a war for our profession and public education in general. Our English wing is loaded with excellent, quality teachers. I'm very excited about that. So many perspectives to glean from as we collaborate.

On a personal note, this week has brought many family blessings. On Monday we went to Jeremy and Stacy's house for Family Home Evening and it was so touching and wonderful to listen to Jeremy's lesson about baptism and to listen to the children's answers. It also brought back so many memories watching him give his children their father's blessings for the school year. Then Greg gave Jeremy a father's blessing for his new school year (college) too. It was all so special.

Then the next morning Jason and Anne finally welcomed baby Abbi to the family. And what a delivery story! I won't share it because I know Anne will want to. It's funny now-- but it wasn't at the time. Abbi is the spitting image of her sister, Maddi, at that age, but chubbier if that's possible. Because she came out so fast, she did get some fluid in her lungs and has had to stay extra days now as they clear her lungs and try to get them strong enough to breath on their own. They tried taking her off oxygen today and she made it a while, then had to be put back on. Please keep her in your prayers. Despite having problems breathing, she's actually a very strong baby and even the nurses commented on how strong she is so we know she will fight through this. Anne is recovering as well and looked much better yesterday. It was so adorable to watch Maddi touch the glass and try to kiss it to give her sister kisses. She knows it's her sister and already loves her so much. It's so touching.

Tonight I babysat my daughter's boys-- chubby and Rellie-- so she could do her coupon class so I decided to get the school shopping out of the way and let the cousins get together. So, I went and picked up Jeremy's older kids and headed out to get the rest of the school shopping done. Boy the looks I got in the store with all 5 in tow. I know how Stacy and Jeremy must feel! When I got to the cash register the lady was acting like they were my children instead of my grandchildren. REally?! So they're all ready to roll for school and I got my exercise for the day. Between that and the no prep day my back and legs are calling for it to be an early night. Too many late nights this week. So... I'm headed to bed. Grateful for my children and for my grandchildren. Grateful for family.

Are we there yet?

2011-08-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have seriously never attended so many "before school starts" meeting in all my years of teaching. Needless to say that means many teachers were in their rooms all weekend getting ready for kids (not "kiddos") to start on Monday. Making a switch from one school to another always requires the normal packing, unpacking, redecorating, reevaluating of materials and curriculum. My children will be happy to know that I actually left tubs of stuff at my old school (donated costumes and supplies) and that I threw out a lot of old files. Without much of a copy budget, the kids (not "kiddos") are going to have to just write everything down anyway.

So enough about work. The husband helped me finish up so my room is ready to go and I'm ready to take on another chapter of my life. Speaking of another chapter.... Baby Abby still hasn't made her appearance. Poor mom is miserable being dilated for so long now and then having us all call every day to see how it's going. Met Jas over at the other garden and Anne's mom took some corn home to freeze. Maybe that'll get things going? Whenever the little darlin' shows up, I'm sure she'll make a grand entrance and be worth the wait!

Jeremy's kids are ready to start back to school and we're going over tomorrow night as Jeremy gives each of them their father's blessing to help with the start of a new year. Brings back so many memories of our children doing that each year as they started a new year. Then one night this week we need to go underwear shopping for all the little angels. Relli, Kayson, and Mandy spent the night last night and we had the briefs v. reg. undies conversation and I think I'm just going to go with ... okay boys.. you pick. Grandma's just paying! :D

Mandy's morning sickness is lasting much longer than morning and it was nice to have her here to hang out Saturday (got in a little yard-saling) and feel better knowing that she is getting better. Kayson (a.k.a. "chubby") is cutting six teeth at once and boy is he a momma's boy! Rellie is getting so tall he may be the tallest grandson now. They were throwing him a good-bye party in his Sunday School class today and he was quite excited.

When we got home this evening I found a lovely box of chocolate cupcakes on my doorstep. I had mentioned at church today that it had definitely been an "I-need-chocolate kind of week for me." So I may be fatter as I head to bed tonight, but I am a happier fatter because I did partake! And now I am headed off to try to sleep knowing full well I never sleep the night before the first day of school.
Here we go again. :D

Back to School

2011-08-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday we enjoyed having the auntie's over and Debbie for dinner after church. We missed Jason, Anne, and little Maddi as Anne was having contractions off and on all day and was not up to traveling. The auntie's were great company and Debbie enjoyed visiting as well. Her and her husband take in special needs foster children and when I asked her where the rest of her family was she acted surprised. Later she e-mailed me and said that people rarely invite her and her husband over for dinner because of the boys and if they do, they don't want the boys to come. That is sad. She has a huge heart and is always taking care of others.

Monday was my first day back at work. I was dragging. Have to get used to the husband getting up at 5:30 again and me getting up at 6. Spent the day hunting down basic items, trying to get technology log-ins confirmed. Very little luck. When I got home we had to can the corn because it's on and we don't want it to go to waste. We canned 21 quarts. Stayed up late doing it though so was REALLY dragging by day 2. Day 2 was non-stop meetings and sitting and listening. Between the time change, staying up late, and sitting at meetings all day, it was so hard to stay alert by the end of the day. Had a primary (church) presidency meeting to get ready for in the evening though, so had to suck it up and get home and do that instead of staying late to get more done in my room.

Today it was a little easier to get up, but had meetings all day again. Hoping to get time in my room before the student return on Monday. Will have to work all weekend to do lesson plans and review individual student scores for appropriate interventions, etc. Boxes and tubs are still unpacked and my walls are bare. On a brighter note, Anne's mom flew in today so we all think Anne will relax now and little Abby can come out. :D

Summer Saturdays Are Slippin' Away

2011-08-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday morning the grandkids who spent the night were to be back home fairly bright and early, but we got a little sidetracked. They saw yard-sale signs. With only a few dollars to spend I didn't think it'd take long or they'd get much, but we hit some doozers. The first one, just about everything was 25cents. And of course yard-saling with Rellie is always an adventure. The child is always oblivious to who or what is around him but he has major focus on what HE wants to do. Sometimes that focus is so intense he doesn't even pay attention to his feet. He falls all the time and he biffed it in my school pulling his suitcase and instead of letting go of the suitcase held on and hit his poor little face on the floor. Ow! I was so upset at myself for not watching him closer as he walked! He bit his lip and bloodied his nose. He was so tough though. I was ready to take him to the doctor and take him to see his mom but he wanted to go to grandma's house. And, when he saw his cousins, you'd never guessed he just biffed it an hour earlier. I watched him like a hawk, and other than touching his lip sometimes, he did great. High pain tolerance-- which could be bad.

So back to the yard-sale. He hears someone ask the lady in charge how much something was that was on the table he was looking at so he yells, "Hey, how much are the clowns?" I scan the table quickly for clowns. Nope. "Where?" He points to Raggedy Ann and Andy. Okay..... "Rellie, those aren't clowns." Reply: "Oh. Hey, how much are those bikes?" The lady tells them those aren't for sale, those are just her kids' bikes. "Oh, you should put them up," he says. Alrighty then. We talk about not being so loud and move him away from the bikes. I turn around and he's wearing a purse. "Rellie, why are you wearing a purse?" Reply: "My mom wants a purse. They're for girls." I tell him no and he puts them up. Mandy, you can thank me later. Trust me. Not to be outdone, Tucker finds a pair of Nike basketball shoes that he really likes. And.... they're very nice. Unfortunately they're about 3 inches too big. "How much are these?" he asks the lady. "Quarter." His face lights up. I explain it could be a year or two before he could even wear them. "I can just save them and grow in to them grandma," he says with a smile as he puts them on the cashier's table. She smiles too. Okay. It's a quarter. He gets them.
Daisha finds a very sparkly green scarf and cute little baby shoes for baby Abby. At the next yard sale we have to pry Rellie off the go-kart and he does find some toys he likes. Did I mention I was lugging around the 40 pound one year old (Kayson-- aka "chubby"). So yeah, I was done.
So today we had our primary activity. So much going on there. I got there early to set everything up and had planned on about 60 kids based on what people told me (that only half would come), but had made stuff for 80 being hopeful. Had about 90 and boy was it a lively morning. We had 13 stations (everything from hula-hoop to Scripture Study) and 90 kids under the age of 12. Thank goodness for great volunteers and teachers to help out!! We survived. No one was injured. All children were claimed. Some parents may be scarred by my style (not sure they're used to hearing whistles blown or primary presidents playing shipwrecked with 90 kids, but like I said, we all survived). Gave out a lot of school supplies and had lots of help from my family and hubby as well.
After the activity we went and checked the garden at the auntie's and picked more corn and cucumbers. Delivered a bunch to some families and then bathed Rellie and Chubby before they had to head home. I am sure they will sleep like rocks tonight after the active day they've had. I know I will! I am pooped! Tomorrow it's BBQ with the aunties then get ready for my first day back to work.

Summer Summary

2011-08-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

Monday I return to work and my summer break is officially over. ugh. This summer has sped by before my very eyes. So much to do, so little time. It's not that I don't love my job, it's just that-- like all normal people-- I love my vacation. :D

1) Bob's Funeral
This summer has been one for the memory book. So many emotional highs and a few emotional lows. Bob's death was heartbreaking and unexpected. But it also brought together his three sets of children. We loved having Ben and Andy stay with us and working with Debbie and Margo for the memorial service. And of course we have become close to Aunt Joann & Bertie again and have spent more time with them this summer than we have in the past 20 years. So in his death, he brought us together. I am sure he was smiling down upon us as he went through all the ash incidents in getting him here and getting him buried and I'm sure he smiled down this past week when another grandchild (Andy's daughter) was born just 5 days before what would have been his birthday. So that was a profound memory of summer.

2) Grandkids
We have spent a lot of time with the grandkids going to the zoo, going to movies, going yard-saling, slip-sliding and hula-hooping in the backyard and wearing out the fold-out couch in the living room because they all must sleep together when they spend the night (despite the fact that we have two spare bedrooms!) :D They also enjoyed the Steele Family Rodeo and riding horses for the first time. Mostly they just enjoy each other. They really love each other. This has also been the summer of Maddi and Jilly. BFF. So cute. Oh, and Chubby is walking- -another milestone. Now if him and Jilly can just get past the caveman grunt. Oh, I was packing my room up today and putting away pictures and Jas and I looked at this picture of Tucker when he was little and it looked just like Chubby (Kayson). They could be twins. Tucker's such a toothpick now, I forgot what a chunk he used to be.

3) Family Reunion
Then there was the family reunion. It was as much fun planning because it forced me to meet and visit with my cousins, as it was having it. Well, almost. The reunion was wonderful. We loved having Little Mary stay with us and the whole day was a big success with so many reconnecting moments and memorable conversations (and activities). I'm so glad we took the time and effort to put it together. Great memory.

4) Wolf Creek
Then the husband and I took a little trip to Wolf Creek Resort and as always loved our quiet time together there. The scenery is always beautiful and restful. We always play our terrible game of tennis (we're terrible-- not the tennis) and we always go for a swim. We didn't visit Eden this time, but we did stop at a great little restaurant along the canyon on our way out of the resort. It sat along the river and we'll definitely go back. We also enjoyed stopping at all the D.I.'s along the way to look for books for Jeremy's business.

5) 4th of July
The parade ran right down our street and we watched the fireworks from our backyard. BBQ'd with all our kids and celebrated 32 years since our first date. Then Monday we packed up and headed up to Pine to go camping with Jas, Anne, and Maddi. Rellie came along as well. That was so much fun and again the outdoors and scenery were so beautiful and relaxing. The whole queen size mattress in a 2-man tent that Greg wanted to shove 3 of us in + the mattress was a bit distressing, but the rest was great. :D

6) Horseback Riding
After 30 years of not riding, I got back in the saddle. Went riding with my friend Patty. We rode for three hours. It wasn't just about getting in the saddle, it was also about accomplishing two of my personal goals this year. 1) riding horses again and 2) spending more time with good friends. Another wonderful memory that I hope to repeat.

7) My Brother in Iraq
One of the not so wonderful memories of this summer, but still a big part of my summer. Our stress levels elevated when Bin Laden was killed. Another big memory of this summer. Poor Jackie, his fiance, has had a summer of her own waiting for her Bob (my brother) to come home and going through not one, but two surgeries while he's been gone while going to college full time. She is an amazing woman and I am glad my brother has her in his life. Love you Jackie. :d

8) Family Trip to the Coast
Best Coast Trip ever. The grandkids were a big part of that because many of them had never seen the ocean. My parents were another cherry on top to this vacation because they've never came with us before. I loved having everyone there. We did so many fun and unforgettable things. We always enjoy stopping at Auntie Diann's and we got to see Gma Shorty too. On the way back we got to see Aunt Donna and Uncle Roy as well. The coast trip was one we'll all remember for a very long time.

9) Whitewater Rafting
First time- -We went down the Payette with the husband's boss and a couple of friends and it was awesome! I loved it. I'm ready to go again.

10) Ziplining
First time-- Went zipping at Horseshoe Bend with our long time friends Ron and Alice. It was a rush! We had a blast! I will definitely do it again. Showed the grandkids the videos from it tonight and they just wanted me to keep playing it over and over. Tucker is ready to go. I told him he has to wait until he's 80 lbs. Then I'll take him.

11) Gardening
We have not one, but two gardens this summer and they have taken a lot of our time but the garden at Joann & Berties has been a blessing in many ways. It has brought us closer to my aunties and Greg and I have worked on it together. Oh, and we are getting a lot of food from it. I know it's weird to put it on this list, but we have enjoyed doing it and seeing the fruits of our labors and I have enjoyed the peace of mind of knowing we can check on the aunties.

12) Fishing
This one is more for the husband. He hasn't had his fishing license in quite a few years because he simply hasn't had time. Truth is, we didn't make time. That is the big story of this summer-- we made time. We made it a point to make time and plan things that we love to do. Boy did we do that! He went fishing a little up at Pine and he's headed out to fish next Saturday with our neighbor and friend Dave (who lost his brother this year). Then in October he's headed up to go steelhead fishing with Ron and my brother. I think Dave might go too. I'm planning another girls night while he's gone. I don't know if I can top taking them to "Wicked" but I'll think of something. Maybe Shakespeare on the River.

13) Primary
My church calling has also filled my summer with primary children and activities. Our teacher appreciation dinner was fun and this Saturday is our big Primary Activity (which means I'll be up till wee hours of the night tomorrow night getting ready for it).

We have been so blessed this summer. So many wonderful, unforgettable memories. Today, I have three little monkeys sleeping on my fold-out getting in one last sleep-over before mem/gma has to go back to work. I also spent a few hours sorting and loading tubs from my classroom in Parma to haul to my new classroom at Columbia. I couldn't have done it without my son Jason. Thank you Jas! He is always so willing to help me. He had great news this summer as well. With all the teacher cutbacks many new teachers were rifted (cut) with the budget cuts and he was one of them. With his wife expecting a baby any day now, this was hard news. However, he never lost faith and yesterday he was offered a job in Homedale. It's a rare job with unusual duties that could eventually get him into administration early in his career. I know he is blessed because of his selfless heart and his desire to help others. I am so proud of him.

Our oldest son just has three classes to finish up his degree, but has also been blessed in his on-line business this summer. His wife does a great job with their finances and it's amazing what they are able to live on while he is going to college. Our daughter has had a time with all the Extreme Couponing backlash and might be looking into other job/careers. Her two little boys are growing like very tall and stout weeds and they have just finished renovating their house. Okay... that's bad English. Made it sound like the little boys just renovated the house. Oh well, I'll leave it as an example for you to learn from. :D

It has been a busy but blessed summer for our family. I am such a worrier that I decided that I needed to focus more on enjoying life and less on stressing about the what if's. I still did some of that this summer, but more than ever, I let myself focus more on the positive what if's. I highly recommend it.

ziplining on my birthday

2011-08-09T23:51:00.001-07:00

49 Isn't So Bad!

2011-08-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

Had a great birthday today! Met some of our friends (we've been friends since high school) for breakfast this morning to start the day off right. Then we all headed over to Horseshoe Bend to go ziplining for the first time. What a kick. We absolutely loved it. The hardest part is the first step off the platform, but even that just isn't that bad. It was so awesome. We ate lunch together at a place in Horseshoe Bend then Ron and Alice headed back home.

We rested a while before heading in to town to pick up the grandkids for a movie. Of course when we pulled up at our oldest son's house and all the cars were there, I kinda knew something was up people! :D All the grandkids jumped out and yelled "surprise" and threw balloons my direction. It was so sweet. Uncle Stacy was there cooking on the grill and all the grandkids were wired! It was great. They cooked me some salmon (they know I love it) and for dessert it was strawberry cheesecake. Yum! My other daughter-in-law was supposed to be having the baby today so little Abby and I could share birthdays, but no..... still in the oven!

It was nice having all my children and grandchildren together. That was the best birthday gift of the day. It made being 49 worth it. Then the grandkids were a little confused because they thought we were "really" going to the movies, so we decided to go ahead and take them after dinner. The husband took them to Kung Fu Panda 2 so Mandy and I could watch Monte Carlo. It was a cute show. Not as good as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but cute. Thank you Mandy for coming to the movie with me. Thank you STacy and Jer for hosting and for watching Kayson. Thank you Anne and Jas for the awesome bday present. It will be great on my desk. The knife set might hurt us Jer and Stacy, but we definitely needed a new one! :D I am excited to make cupcakes in my very crazy and unique cupcake pan too Mandy. Sunglasses and flipflopS! Might have to try those in jell-o too! They were all awesome!
I love my kids! I love my sweetie too. He has to go back to work tomorrow (partie's over). :( Thank you sweetie for a wonderful birthday. Loved all the facebook wishes too. Feelin' very loved. Can't beat that! :D 49 is Fine!

Rafting on the Payette River

2011-08-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

So I have to talk about the rafting trip. It was great! The husband and I are already planning to go back and head up the crazier part of the river. We didn't get to do anything above a class 4 rapid this first trip, but we both loved it. Through the calm part we even got to "captain" the raft and take over the rowing. It came naturally for some and not-so-much for others. :D No, I was not among the "others" :D

We went with some friends from Greg's work and one of the guys couldn't swim. He was in panic mode for about the first 15 minutes. It was pretty funny because Terry (the guy who captained the raft-- because it was his raft) had our friend sit right in front of him so he'd feel safe. Consequently it was a bit hard for "captain" to see the river. However, I must say that it took a lot to go rafting when you can't swim and he was a great sport about us teasing him. :D They put us two women at the front of the boat sitting up on the edge to "enjoy" all the water we hit. Nice. Actually, it was nice. Greg, the hubby, got the "princess seat" at the back of the raft. It was an actual swivel seat. We didn't discover how nice it was until the trip was almost over and I got to sit in it a whole 5 minutes. He barely got wet back there too.

I, only the other hand experienced numerous drenchings and loved it. The weather was perfect and the scenery was great. We stopped along a sandbar for lunch and I enjoyed my bambino (baby) bananas. Have you ever seen them? They are freakishly odd. They're about 3 inches long. Taste normal. You just feel like you're eating midget food. Great diet food though. Anyway, it was such an awesome trip and I'm so glad the husband talked me in to going. Now we're gearing up for ziplining on Tuesday. I am very excited.

Had a nice day at church today too. I love being in Primary and learning from and with the children. They know so much and have such strong faith that there is a God and that he loves them and that prayer works. What a great gift for any child to have. This Saturday is our big Primary Activity (back to school) that I have been planning for a while now. It's a lot of work, but I think it'll be lots of fun for them. I don't know if all 120-130 of them will show up, but if even half show up, it'll be lots of fun. Looking forward to it.

My daughter-in-law Anne has been having some pretty good labor pains off and on yesterday and today. I'm thinking that baby might love her Gma so much that she's just holding on for Tuesday. How would that be for a birthday gift!

I chatted with my two friends Sarah and Patty today. I will miss seeing them every day this school year. They really are good friends. Everyone needs someone who makes you feel like a girl again. Okay, guys need to feel like guys, but you know what I mean. :D I am excited about my new job, but already missing some of my old colleagues. Life is bittersweet like that sometimes. Still... I'm walking through this door old enough to know that it is okay to look back as you head down new roads and that you can take old friends with you. :d

I'm also glad my brother is almost home. Counting down the days. I read about the Navy Seals yesterday and it made me so sad and so nervous at the same time. My heart goes out to those families. Agree or disagree with the politics, they put their lives on the line for us every deployment and that says a lot and that alone deserves respect.

So on a cheerful note..... I had chocolate chocolate chip cookies for dinner last night and that's all. Counting calories again, but having some last indulgences before the school year and my diet are in full swing again. With all the zucchini we have taking over our garden I feel some more zucchini bread coming on too. Had some yummy zucchini bread at my daughter's this week. The cucumbers are giving the zucchini a run for their money, so let me know if anyone needs some. We'll soon have tons of watermelon and eventually lots of pumpkins as well. The grandkids are excited about that. We have enjoyed our gardens this summer. We've just enjoyed this summer period.! Good times for the most part. Very memorable summer. Helps to spend it with your best friend. Love you Sweetie!

Me again

2011-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

I tried posting the coast pictures numerous times today and no luck. I don't know what was going on. I'll try again tomorrow night. I posted most of them on facebook if you want to see though and you just can't wait. :D The ones from tonight worked fine, but I'm too tired to do all the coast ones too. :D

Picked up Rellie and Kayson yesterday to spend the night and so we had to go get the other cousins. Rellie loves his cousins. They tried on their rollerskates (including kayson) and also tried out the slip-n-slide. The boys all had the same technique: get to the slide part and bounce on your knees then flop in some manner to try to resemble sliding. Daisha was the only one who mastered actually sliding and not just slipping. They were all funny though. They also built traintracks all over the kitchen floor and watched their trains race.

So four little monkeys fell asleep on the foldout and we moved one to a nearby couch (yes we have a couch factory in our living room as most of you know). The smallest monkey was supposed to sleep in the playpen at the end of the bed but for some reason he developed an aversion to Papa and Greg even looked his way he sounded the "ahhhh" alarm. So, he slept attached to my side and clinging to my neck, leg, whatever would make sure I didn't move, all night. My neck was a bit kinkish and he was well rested. Hmmmm. He is so cute though how can you put the little guy in the playpen when his little lip quivers and his big eyes start brimming. Okay, I'm sure if I did that every night I'd get over it in a hurry, but I don't. :D

So waffles and scrambled eggs this morning. I cooked while Papa went and had a cavity filled. Later we took the kids to a jumping jungle thing with a bunch of jumping houses. They loved it. It wore me out just to watch them. Then they wanted to go to Taco Time. So we did. Then, sadly, it was time to take them home. After we deposited all the children in their proper homes, we headed over to our other garden at Joann and Berties. Holy Cucumbers is all I can say. And they aren't the little kind either. Most of them are 8-10" long! Probably about 20 of them we picked. Got some ripe tomatoes too so we JoAnn and Bertie were happy. I thought the watermellon might be ready too, so we picked one...... my bad! Nope. Still white on the inside! Still have a dozen or more left though. The corn's still not quite ready either.

Now I'm off to bed or I won't get up on time. We're headed whitewater rafting with some friends in the morning. One of them can't swim. I told him he can't sit by me. He's 6'2" and about 260. I don't need that having a panic attack on me! :D I was kidding... sort of. :D

So many pictures, so little time.

2011-08-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

I promise the next post will be pictures from the vacation. They tell their own story. I have had such random moments this summer that all bring me back to the same place.... home/family. I was eating white bread the other day and I generally don't care for it because it tends to end up in a glue ball in my stomach, but it was a light piece and the minute I tasted it I was taken back to Grandpa Tucker and how bread cereal tastes. Grandpa always ate slowly. He quietly enjoyed his food. I never saw him hurry his eating at all. He loved to tear the white bread into chunks, sprinkle the sugar on, and pour in the milk. I love that taste. I'll never forget it. Funny since I don't like white bread (unless it's homemade).

So then a couple weeks ago some of the grandkids were spending the night and they like to sleep on the foldout when there's more than one of them (despite having two empty bedrooms) and Tucker was helping fold it back up the next morning and he says, "Hey Grandma! The couch is a transformer. See... it's a bed and a couch and it transforms." He was dead serious... and was also correct when I thought about it. Brought a smile to my face. Of course he also informed me that someone needed to invent a waterbottle that had a button you could push and the bottle would automatically refill with water.

So the vacation..... I just can't even begin to express all the moments of happiness I felt throughout the vacation. It was simply enjoyable. It would have been perfect with all the children there, but I was so glad my mom and dad could go. Several times we commented on how we missed Jackie and Bobby tagging along too. The boys would often say "Krehl would like that or he'd think that was so cool." Maybe next year. Still... it was so much fun. We always enjoy stopping and staying with Auntie Diann. It's even more special with Gma Shorty staying there now. She was very happy to see the grandkids. Bryton had to fix her hair for her and of course she had to hold the youngest baby. She loves the babies!

We call Aunt Diann Dr. Doolittle because she has so many wild animals on her place (which is in a city neighborhood) that she can't even have flowers outside. We watched the deer that camps in her lawn and under her deck bed down for the night. We hurried out to see what the clatter was on the back porch and found the raccoon staring at us. Luckily we didn't run into the skunk family that hangs out! When we pulled up to the house Daisha said, "I remember this house! This is where Mandy took a shower with the frog!" No frogs this trip. Lots of good eating though. Aunt Diann fed us so much we waddled on the beach!

Then we headed to Newport but we took McKenzie Pass. It was open this time and it was spectacular. All the miles of lava rock mixed with the mountains. The extraordinary formation caused by nature. It was breathtaking. I wish my brother could have seen it. The drive was spectacular too. Like driving through postcard after postcard. Okay, so we did our usual "gee I think we took a wrong turn" and got lost a couple times, but always found our way back. Dad said he was glad to be last in the caravan so he could watch us go in circles and wait for us to figure it out. We literally went around one gas station three times in Newport! Yep!

Then when we got to Newport and the house I had rented, I was so upset. The place smelled horrid. Like an old house with water rot or something in it. The furnishings were equally horrid and I was afraid to sit, let alone sleep on anything. I called the rental company and I will just say that after some discussion, they finally decided they better get us a different property. All things happen for a reason-- we ended up in a house that exceeded our expectations. It was awesome and much more reasonable for the price we had paid. Our back yard overlooked the ocean and the lighthouse. It doesn't get much better than that. The furnishings were awesome as well. We had so much fun there.

Probably the most fun was watching the kids on the beach. Daisha was the only one who had seen the ocean before. It was new to all the others and they were beside themselves with excitement. They loved it. Even Baby Bradly loved it. If he was fussy we'd walk out on the deck and the minute he heard the ocean, he'd calm down. I loved sleeping with my window open and listening to it at night. I slept so well while we were there. The kids had a harder time. They had a pirate theme room with a life size pirate and some other interesting decorations that had to be covered at night (along with the pirate) so they could sleep without being scared. It was totally not scary by day though. In fact, it was a very cute room. It even had a pinball machine in it. We all played some Foosball and ping pong too. My mom even learned how to play Foosball and Bryton was quite happy that he beat both grandmas!

We also got to see the boats come into the harbor and watch them pull up the crablines on the dock while they were crabbing. Of course we hit some shops (including candy shops) and had clam chowder. I just smiled so much my cheeks were tired. The trek to the lighthouse, the center they have there and the educational displays are all so awesome. We saw a whale out in the ocean, sea lions sunbathing, a starfish chillin by the shore, and lots of happy little faces (that would be the grandkids). Throw in some smores by the ocean campfire and some late night pinochle and you have a vacation that we will always remember.

Thanks to all who came. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Mexican Food Recipes from my Friend Anissa

2011-08-01T06:29:00.001-07:00

Sweet Pork Salad
This recipe tastes just as good as Cafe Rio and Costa Vidas Versions

8 lbs. pork (can be roast, tenderloin, etc.)

Sauce:
4 8oz. canned tomato sauce
2 (8oz) can El Pato spicy mexican tomato sauce
2 c. brown sugar

Mix sauce ingredients and pour over pork in slow cooker. Cook on low for one 8-10 hours. One hour before serving, shred meat and put back in slow cooker in sauce. Can keep on warm for several hours.

Cafe Rio House Dressing

Buttermilk ranch packet (make as per directions)
3 tomatillos
1 C. cilantro chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix in blender / Chill

To make the Pork Salad:

Grill in a skillet individual tortillas topped with cheese until cheese melts.
Place on the tortilla the following ingredients:

• glob of spanish rice or cafe rio rice (below)
• glob of cooked, seasoned black beans
• glob of the cooked sweet pork
• cover with lettuce
• top with tortilla strips
• dab of sour cream
• dab of guacamole
• lime wedge (to look authentic)

Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped

Directions:
Combine the rice, 2 cups water and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir briefly, cover and reduce the heat to low. Let cook, covered, until the water is absorbed and rice is fluffy and tender, 16-18 minutes. (Cooking time can vary depending on the brand of rice. Check the package directions.)

While the rice is cooking, combine the cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic and 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir the mixture into the cooked rice and fluff with a fork.

This is for you Jackie..... July 20, 2011

2011-07-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

I had decided to give up on my blogging. It's a lot of work and few people read it. Plus, sometimes I just want to disappear. Hard to do when you have a blog. So Jackie, you made me feel guilty, so I am going to try to catch up some. I did make some notes so I'll start back a bit and catch up. I also discuss a dinner one of my counselors prepared, so I'll put the recipes in the side bar.... tomorrow. Visit her website for more great recipes:
http://idahofergusonfamily.blogspot.com/

Date- July 20, 2011
July 20, 2011

Yesterday was the husband’s 49th birthday. Ooops! Did I just say how old he is! :D We had a surprise birthday breakfast for him and all the kids and grandkids came over to eat breakfast with him. Afterwards we all had a big plastic ball fight in the living room. Those things were flying everywhere and kids were squealing and it was good chaos. After that my visiting teachers came and visited. Then I had to get ready for my primary dinner/lesson. We had the dinner at one of my counselor’s house. Beautiful home and nice outdoor area to have a get-together. My other counselor is a superb cook and made a dish that made us feel like we were at Bajio’s. It was seriously that good. Everything was just so good and our well-deserving teachers enjoyed all of it. Our workshop portion went well too. However, as I was wrapping it up I noticed this big black cloud on the horizon. We heard it was a fire and the husband wanted to go look at it because it was close. After we helped with clean-up we drove down the road to see it, but they had the roads blocked off. We could see the helicopter dumping fire retardant. It was obvious the fire stretched for miles and was near houses. We went home and heard about it on the news. It ended up burning 2000 acres—mostly BLM. Some sheds and equipment were burned, but no houses.

Today I went horseback riding with my friend Patty. It’s been 30 years since I’ve been riding. I grew up riding, so that’s pretty sad really. It’s like riding a bike though—it comes right back to you as soon as you get in the saddle. My butt is sore though. I have a flat butt, so every time Patches decided to trot, it was pretty much a beating. We rode for over 2 hours and I loved it. We visited as we rode and I loved that too. It was an enjoyable morning and even though I’m a little sore, I’d do it again—and hopefully I will. That was the good part of my day. The bad part was that my hubby left for Scout Camp and won’t be back till tomorrow. The house is so empty without him.

Family Reunion

2011-07-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

When you put together a reunion, it's not just a lot of work that goes into it-- it's a lot of love. I walked down the path of so many memories with each old photograph I scanned from each auntie's album to make the DVD and I so enjoyed the time I spent visiting with Carole and the other cousins who helped me put it together. Getting ready for the reunion created memories of its own. My talks with each of Grandma's daughters as I looked through their albums and listened to the stories. The visits with Tom and Carole. The back and forths with Nancy and Dick. The phone calls with cousins I've haven't seen in years. Typing up Grandma's recipes from her old cookbook and remembering not only what so many of them tasted like, but what she looked like as she made them. Having my cousin Mary spend the night before the reunion and staying up late talking and laughing and reconnecting. You forget how much you love and miss certain people (like my cousins). So many memories relived. Good memories.

I know Grandma was there in spirit at her birthday party/reunion yesterday and I am thankful for all the memories and special people she put into my life. I love her so much and still miss her very much. We have lost Uncle Gary and Aunt Mary too and I know they were there as well. We could all feel that. It was so, so good to see my cousins. All the work was so worth it. I have laughed so much in the last two days that I am exhausted. Okay, it could be the late hours too, but the laughing has been good medicine. The food was great. The table decorations were great (thank you Anne). The pictures were great (thank you Stacy). The food was great (thank you everyone). The games were great (thank you Carole). The DVD was great (thank you aunties and my hubby). A big thank you to my sweetheart who helped me so much and understands how important it was to me. So many new memories created. And, not only was it Gma Tucker's birthday yesterday, it was JillyBear's birthday. We went to her birthday party after the reunion and all I can say is the girl loves Dora! :D And chapstick.

In the meantime...... I just thought about that word... meantime. Weird word. Anyway.... regular life also went on these past few days and with the heat gardens have been growing, yard work has made Greg skinnier and me tanner (which I will get yelled at for when I see my skin doc), and my auntie's happier as they have had constant visitors with us weeding, watering, and bringing grandkids and Jason to help. My hubby is one of their new favorite people. He fixed their fence last week and keeps seeing other things he needs to do for them. I think they feel like they finally have a man around the house and I know they have enjoyed all the company and watching the garden grow. It's funny how such a simple thing like a garden can bring people together.

I have been fighting a bladder infection all week amidst camping trips, reunions, and gardening and I think I might have to break down and go to the doctor Monday. It just isn't going away no matter how much water or cranberry juice I drink. Could be all the sun and sweating. Hmmm. Ya think! Then Jeremy, my son pulls his back out lifting bags of concrete and I can barely help him with all else going on. Berry Smoothies have been about it and just checking on him. Sorry Jer. I'll have to make him something today and take it over. I better check on Jason too. He was hula-hooping so hard yesterday he ripped the butt of his pants at the reunion. That was MITN (more information than needed) to the audience! :D :D We did bring Jeremy's three older kids home with us last night and they will be waking up soon to get ready for church. Their mom has had her hands full with Jeremy getting hurt, her dad having a heart attack, and just the normal business of raising five kids! When we got home they saw the hula-hoops hanging in my garage and decided they needed to practice since they couldn't do it at all at the reunion (unlike their mommy, Stacy, who won her division). Daisha was the most determined as she had a melt-down at the reunion when she couldn't do it. I am proud to announce that not only did she learn how to do it, she made up a few of her own tricks with two hoops at once! The boys however, need to pick different activities to participate in! :D I'm going to borrow the gunnysacks from Anne so they can practice up on that too. Good times.

So it's Sunday and now my attention turns to church and getting ready for primary. I am doing a dinner/workshop for all my teachers on Tuesday (the hubby's birthday), but tonight and tomorrow.... I am resting. I have to get recharged because we leave for the coast next Sunday! Yeah!

Family Reunion is Coming This Week!!!

2011-07-12T16:54:00.001-07:00

It has been crazy busy.... thus the missed days of posting. I will just say that we have been on the go a lot. One day we ran to Mtn. Home to get pictures from Aunt Louise. Had a nice visit and learned more family history. For example, I never knew that Aunt Mary had been in a coma for 6 weeks when she was young. Apparently the doctors sent her home to die and Aunt Louise said Grandma Tucker kept her on the kitchen table and force fed her chicken broth, never giving up, and having the older girls take turns working her "drawn up side" kind of like physical therapy. Louise said one day she "just woke up" and said she was very hungry.

Found the newspaper article with Aunt Violet as the Snake River Stampede Rodeo queen. Saw pictures of when Grandpa Tucker worked on the ION between Marsing and Jordan Valley. It was considered a construction job, but they used horses. Then the same construction company had a job in McCall so the family went up there. Saw lots of pictures of all the old houses and one of Gma and Gpa's last house in Melba (the one I lived in at times) and I was surprised by the chipping paint on the side of the house. Through a child's eyes the house was perfect because the memories were so special and happy. Carol (my cousin) told me that have built a second story onto the house now. I don't think I want to see that.

We've also been busy with the garden at Bertie's, church callings, family fun, and just getting ready for this reunion. Took the kids to the Discovery Center in Boise and then the zoo. It has been so hot. Left for the mountains yesterday morning to cool off and visit Trish and Allen. Pine and Anderson Ranch are beautiful this time of year. I probably should have been home doing reunion stuff, but we all needed the break. It was so peaceful up there. Well, considering you're with the Kiester boys. Camping with Papa Kiester is always anything but normal. He keeps my life interesting for sure. :D

I was so relieved we aired out the 4 man tents on 4th of July so we wouldn't have unexpected critters or dusty smells when we went camping, but Papa Kiester grabbed the more convenient pop-up tent instead. It's a two man tent (we have Rellie with us so that would be 3- -not 2) but it's so small, it's pushing it for two adults. That was my first surprise. Then he said Trish had an air mattress so we wouldn't have to sleep on the hard ground. It was the largest double decker air mattress I've ever seen in my life. He blew it up and somehow managed to cram it in the two man tent. We had to smash it down to try to get through the opening of the tent to get in the tent. Once in, you felt like you were in an underwater cave with about 3" of air to breathe! To top it off, the largest person-- that would be Papa Kiester at 6'4" and 220lbs. was making the mattress a slanted hill with his weight so Rellie and I were squashed right on top of him every time he moved. I tried hanging on to the other side so I wouldn't roll over to him or smash Rellie, but once you start sleeping, that's hard to do. Plus Rellie just rolled wherever papa rolled. It was not pretty. Papa finally decided to go in another two man tent. So then I slept with Rellie plastered to my side every time I moved because I then became the largest person. So... I didn't sleep much.

It was still a lot of fun though. We had foil dinners, smores, and some campfire soup. Went to the Cafe and Gma Trish cooked us a yummy breakfast. Greg ended up being the waitress for a little while because they were swamped and short on help. That was quite the sight to see!! :D Then we went fishing but didn't have much luck. I took Anne and Maddi to the natural hot springs the first day. They liked that. Had a deer in our camp last night. We're sitting there and Jason points to the bush next to our camp and says, "That looks like a deer." Anne turns her head and says, "Yeah, it kinda does." They thought it was cool a bush looked like a deer, then it moved and we all realized it was a deer. It was about 10-15' from us. It walked off. Apparently everyone knows the deer and it kind of lives there now. Considering I slept with my toes sticking out of my tent all night due to the fact it was too full to zip-- I kept thinking about our visitor and hoping it didn't like toes! Thanks Jas and Anne for coming with us. We love spending time with you!

Now tonight it's back to getting ready for the reunion. I forgot to mention I've also done quite a bit of family history these past few days and found some very interesting stories there (for the reunion), but I'm too tired to write about them now. Tomorrow it's off to check on our garden, the aunties, and the Jeremy clan. Their fence is in! Yeah! Their lawn is looking great and their house is coming together. Jeremy had great news-- only 3 more classes and he will have his bachelor's. :D I am just happy to be home. There's no place like home!

The music in each of us

2011-07-06T22:18:00.001-07:00

I've said before that music has a way of reaching us. Music is a sound of nature, a gift from God really when you think about it. Today I was standing outside at friend's house and the warm wind was blowing and she had just a small grove of trees and the sound of the different leaves was so soothing. When someone sings, that's a natural gifts. The words that we put to music come from a brain that is also a natural gift. Anyway, music touches me. It touches all of us. Today my brother in Iraq sent me a message and he shared with me three songs. Each song represented a time in his life. I won't share those songs because they are so personal, but I will say that as I googled each one and listened to them on youtube, I cried. They told me so much about my own brother and his life journey. I thought, "I wonder if I could do that with my own life... pick a few songs that will tell someone about my journey." I think I'll try.

So today I guess you could say our main thing was visiting. Wait... before I tell you about our visits, may I just say that I beat the husband 7-1 at Sequence last night. Now envision me doing the circle hand movements and fake crowd noise and I can move on. (Love you honey). Okay, so I started my day with breakfast at Sunrise with two of my former basketball players from this area. I always have flashbacks to when I was 21 when I talk to them and I smile and tell them that they will survive and life is simply not as hard as it seems right now. Slow down, enjoy, stop doing those things they know they should not, and have fun in a way I would approve of. That's all. :D I do love them. I feel their pains and rejoice in their triumphs. I really do. It was a good way to start my day.

Then we went to Ontario to see Jackie. She had surgery yesterday. We stopped and got her a hospital gift but it's Jackie so simple flowers and balloons will not suffice. We found an awesome, unusual plant (like Jackie) and both agreed "it's Jackie" and we found this big turtle mylar and it went perfectly with the plant. Add the sour jelly beans and you have a gift fitting of a special person who always makes us smile. She just had a hysterectomy and there were some cancer cells in there, so we have been sending prayers her way and it sounds like they got it. She will know more when the last biopsy comes back. My mom has been staying and taking care of her. She is in good hands. We love you Jackie! And Mom! :D We also got to see Mandy and family briefly and Rellie's arm is looking better.

Then we had to meet the guy at the cemetery to sign the paper for verification of where my dad's veteran plaque will be placed. We arrived a little early so I showed my husband where the row of Lyda's were and he is the family genealogist so he took pictures of the headstones to bring home and match up with what he has for that side of my family. There was only one person he did not already have and one date that he had wrong so it's good that we went.

Then we stopped and picked up a flower basket for some friends from church. He has cancer and we just wanted to visit and see how they were both doing (him and his wife). What an interesting life he has led. I learned so much about him in such a short time. We all have these interesting books in us if we'd just take the time to write them. He taught in Guam during the Vietnam War and he's taught on Indian reservations and he was a principal at a school up north somewhere where he had to go out bear hunting and shoot a bear to gain the respect of the community. When he took over they warned him that kids hung their teachers out the window on a regular basis and fights broke out all the time. It was quite interesting and when it cooled off (boy was it hot today) the hubby went back over and mowed their front lawn and adjusted their sprinkler. Why? Because it's a small thing for people going through such a large thing like cancer. I share it only to say that we may not think we can do anything or we may feel uncomfortable in situations like that, but we can do... whatever we can do. Even if it's just taking over a plant and simply listening.

Tomorrow I need to focus on my family reunion and get the final reminders sent out and the cookbook finished so I can get it sent off to Mary. I also need to get going on the picture video for the reunion. I guess tomorrow is a different kind of "reunion" day. :D

4th of July #32

2011-07-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well today was 32 years since our first date! It was a great 4th of July minus the trip to the beer garden (I'll explain). Started off the morning with one of my favorite breakfasts-- biscuits and gravy with hashbrowns. We were rookies about some things this year that we'll definitely remember for next year. The parade runs right by our subdivision so we were pretty excited about just walking a block to the main road with our strollers and lawn chairs, but little did we know that EVERYONE does that so you have to select your spot early or you stand on the "rookie" side of the road in the hot sun. The parade didn't start till noon. It was hot, but it was still a good parade. Very small town with lots of candy and horses and loud fire trucks. All the things we like. :D Well Maddi, Kayson, and Jilly were not quite so fond of the loud sirens or backfiring muscle cars, but the rest they liked.

Next year we're getting our chairs down there on the shade side early! Then we came home and cooled off with some fruit and water. After we were cooled off, I fixed lunch and we ate and played some cards. By then we were sufficiently cooled down and it was late afternoon so we thought we'd go check out the vendor booths downtown. It's our first year here so we're just learning when things happen and where they are. The fireman's breakfast was in the morning and we saw booths set up and a car show, etc. Well apparently everything ends about 3:00 and we headed down about 3:30-- everything except the 5 vendors around the local bar that is. We came in from the back side street and luckily I said, "I'll go check it out," before we unloaded everyone. I came in the back side of the booths and 10 second later I was standing next to the keg and a dunk tank of highly intoxicated individuals. I was next to the bar. Alrighty..... I high-tailed it back to the kids (we were all packed into 3 vehicles) and signaled to turn around. Definitely not a kid affair. We saw them packing up the jumping gyms and everything as we made our way back to main street. Rookies! We'd missed all the kids stuff!

So we decided to go get some more fireworks. Three fireworks stands later (counting the one I didn't get out at).... we had picked up all "safe" fireworks that we could light off in the back yard. Mandy also wanted the "snakes" and they were a big hit with the boys. Then they had the backyard "dunking" contest with Jason winning of course. Kind of like papa winning the watergun fight. Then Jeremy tells them to play dodge ball. Good one. No injuries there! Killin' me Jer. Jeremy won that one. Then Jason talks them into a soccer game. Pretty sure his team won. :D The kids loved all the games and I'm pretty sure they will sleep in in the morning.

Then we did our fireworks. Then a million neighbors did their fireworks and one of them did such an awesome job that for about 1/2 hour we debated if it was the city display or not. Turns out the city fireworks are the field next to our subdivision so we also got to watch that from the comfort of our backyard which was awesome. And we had no doubt when the real ones did start. They were awesome and lasted a long time. We had never seen the "fire clouds" before. Apparently they had two major blowups. But no one got hurt, the show went on and the black clouds they produced were actually quite dramatic. An added effect. :D After the city show all the neighbors surrounding us just kept shooting off pretty impressive displays. The weather was awesome as well. One of the warmest 4th's we've had in a long time.

It was so great to spend this day with our children and Jackie and cut-out Bob. We missed you later Jackie. Our thoughts are with you tomorrow. We love ya. Our thoughts are with Bobby too and all our soldiers in Iraq and serving in other places throughout the world. I hope they had a safe and memorable Fourth as well. And sweetie... I love you more every year.

I'll post pics in the morning. I got some really, really good ones.

Sick-o Grandpa and Hot Summer Days

2011-07-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

The husband has had a nagging cough going on week 5 tomorrow. He's been through a round of antibiodics and it didn't change it at all. Jeremy told him he needed the vaporizer with Vicks so he gave us that last night when we went over to play pinochle and have dinner with them. Dinner was "basgehtti" as Daisha calls it.

We brought home the vaporizer and cougher #2-- Daisha. It was determined Papa couldn't make her any sicker because she's probably the one that gave it to him. It's like living with two coughers. Wait... it is living with two coughers. I'm not sure who will hack up the lung first, but I am trying not to get it. I wash my hands and everything around me A LOT. Of course I've been around it for a month now and haven't gotten it, so I think I'm safe.

He probably wouldn't be so tired today if he hadn't stayed out in the sun(on top of all the coughing) for four hours yesterday putting up his new shed "kit". He was determined to get it up before we left for dinner at Jeremy's though. He finished all but a few bolts that we'll finish tomorrow. Today, he is under orders (mine) to rest. He even came home early from church and he never does that. He is on his second nap as I type.

Tomorrow is the 4th and 32 years since our first date. It also reminds me of my brother in Iraq. Our little town is having lots of fun activities tomorrow including a parade that starts a block from our house and a fireworks show that takes place in the field next to our subdivision. Front row seats! yeah! The kids have all been invited to the activities and I'm BBQing after the parade. Hope to see them all. God Bless America. God Bless My Husband. God Bless my children and their families. I am blessed.

yard work and rodeo

2011-07-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Greg got the stones put around our mounds in the back yard and we weeded our garden here. I picked up some little white picket to go around our garden and found some sunflowers and other purple flowers to plant in a boring spot along the back fence. Greg planted it. We picked up Rellie and Kayson today and they are spending the night. We went and picked Jeremy's three older ones up in the evening and took them with Mandy's boys to the Family Rodeo at my friend's house. What a great time for the kids! They loved it. At first the three older ones were not going to ride the horse, but Rellie was beside himself with excitement about it and said, "I'm riding the horse." Not to be shown up, the three older ones decided if he could do it, they could. And they all did. In fact, Tucker rode the bigger horses.

They all went in the petting zoo and had their faces painted and jumped on the trampoline. Rellie and Bryton played with the metal roping frames, but they forgot to use the ropes. Just liked pulling the horns and making it spin. Rellie heard them announce the pudding eating contest and said, "I want pudding." So I sent him with Greg to try it. He was against older kids. Greg said he did a few licks like the other kids (they were told they couldn't use their hands), then he asked for a spoon. He just wanted to eat it. Loves pudding. Kayson does too so Greg got him some too. They ate too much cotton candy and sno-cones, but they had fun. Jilly is home with an ear infection and baby Maddi was off to a wedding with her parents. Bradley's too little. We love our grandkids.

reunions, summer projects, and auctions

2011-07-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

I've been planning a family reunion for about a year now and it's finally coming together thanks to help from Carol and patience by the husband. Yesterday I had the chance to talk to one of my cousins that I haven't talked to in about 20 years (which is sad) and it's funny how you just pick up where you left off. She's a lawyer in a law firm and I called her at work because I didn't have her cell number (happens when you don't talk for 20 years and she's unlisted-- because she's a lawyer). Anyway, her secretary answered the phone and I said this is (my name) and I'm Susan's cousin. Is she available? She told me that she was tied up this afternoon in meetings but that she'd check to see when she'd be available. Then I was on hold. When she came back it was my cousin-- not the secretary. I suppose being a lawyer you have to screen all your calls. :D We talked for 30 minutes and she said her trial that weekend should conclude on Friday so she can make it. She's very excited to see everyone, and like me, very sad that we have all done a terrible job of staying in touch. We talked about our kids, our jobs, the old cousin days, and getting old. She assured me that I would not die when I turn 50 next year (she's two years older) and that, in fact, I wouldn't feel any different at all. It was so good to talk to her again.

After I talked to her I e-mailed her sister in Wyoming and told her about the phone call and that I really hoped she was going to be able to make it as well. Then Jason and Anne came over so Jas could help the dad organize his garage. Jason is the organizer. It looks SO much better now and we even found a few more things to donate to the yard sale. We found a few things I had been missing too! :D While the boys cleaned the garage Anne and I entertained Maddi. She tried to ride the training wheel bike. Did everything but pedal. :D We took her for a walk through the subdivision. She tried to help the boys clean the garage, so we took her in the backyard to play. Then she had salsa and chips for a snack. The girl loves salsa. When the boys finished cleaning the garage we ate some lunch and then Greg and I headed to garden at Aunt Bertie's.

The garden is coming along but it always has weeds! It was our exercise for the day. Once we got it all weeded (it's a large garden), then we headed to the Thursday night auction. We were going to stop at Home Depot and get stones to finish the edging on our corner spots, but went to the auction first and lo and behold... the had the edging stones. They're $1.69 each at Home Depot so it would have been $82 for what we needed. Got them for $40 at the auction + 10% buyer's fee. Saved almost half. We also picked up a 4 man tent (going camping at Pine next week) and sleeping bag for $10 and the husband got a nail gun for $17. I only picked up one lot of "weird things" which is good for me. It had a powderhorn and the weirdest little mandelin guitar I've ever seen along with some other treasures. I only spent $32 myself so, for me, that was good! We enjoy going and I didn't buy any furniture so the garage will remain clean. :D

This morning we're headed outside to put the stone in then we're picking up Mandy's boys at noon, possibly goign to the Discovery Center today, then the Steele Family Rodeo is tonight. Busy day!

A Mini-Vacation to Rest before the Big Vacation! :D

2011-06-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to two beautiful views-- the mountains and my sweetie (see pics). We always enjoy our trips to Wolf Creek. The bed wasn't the best in the world though so two nights in a row of flipping and flopping to find the comfort zone. I think we're just spoiled by our own, so we can't stand others.

So we started off the morning with some terrible tennis. Kali would be proud that I played, but not of the way I hit the ball. I did have some good hits, but we also spent some time looking for the ones that I launched over the fence. Since the resort has sloping driveways (happens when you're perched on a mountain) we were unable to find the one that curved on down toward the lake. The kids in the rec office were nice and didn't charge us for the missing one (they probably saw us playing and felt sorry for the husband since he chased most of them down). The good news is... we got our exercise! Then we went swimming. I really enjoyed that. And, I'm really out of shape. All I did was swim over and back 10 times and you would have thought I'd ran a marathon. It was still relaxing though.

After that we headed to town for breakfast but by then it was more like brunch. On our way out of the winding mountain we ran across a roadside restaraunt called "The Oaks" and you can sit right next to the river and eat. It was SO good. I highly recommend it. And the atmosphere alone is worth stopping. A word of caution though-- if you get an ice cream cone for the road-- do not order a double scoop. We could barely finish a single scoop (which had 4 scoops on it) and we shared it!

The waterfalls were running alongside the canyon walls and it was a beautiful drive. It was another hot day though. Yesterday we broke up the drive from Idaho to Utah by stopping at every DI along the way. This did give us an opportunity to see Brigham City. They have a lot of fruit stands. Today we went back and bought local raspberry jam, corn salsa, canteloupe, bing cherries, and zuchinni. We also got to see the temple they're building there. It's nice to see they are going with more of a historic look than the modern ones. I like the older style better. They're all beautiful, but I like old stuff. That's why I like the husband. Did you know he'll be an antique next year. In fact in three weeks and one year he'll be turning the big 5-0 which makes him an antique. I know this because he has informed me-- numerous times and in front of company-- that I will be an antique next year. Apparently he forgot that he turns 50 first. Who's funny now sweetie! :D

Well we drove a lot today and since we took our Craigslist gas saver car (translation tiny car) my hip is not enjoying the vacation like the rest of me and the husband is a bit scrunched up as well. We did save a ton on gas though. Of course that's easy to do when you cross the state line and it immediately drops from $3.79 to $3.39!!! I'm so fed up with the politics in our state. But that's another blog and it's been a long day so I'm going to go find a comfortable bed. :D Plus, I'm supposed to be relaxing......

from my laptop at our friends' house

2011-06-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well I'm writing thia from our friends' house. The husband planned a little getaway vacation and the first stop is our good friends Ron and Alice. We've known them since high school and strangely it always still feels like we're young when we all get together. We marvel that we've somehow grown old. They were high school sweethearts. We were high school sweethearts. We've been through a lot together throughout the years. We've also defied the odds. Both marrying quite young and starting families young. It's always good to see them. Ron took us on a drive out to see the farm and we were trying to catch some other friends at home, but they were gone.

They showed Greg a cell phone app they use call fatbooth. You take someone's picture and hit some button and it makes your face fat. Of course Greg had to download it and try it on me. Nice. (not). He laughed so hard he cried. Rude. It is strange going to bed and neither of us having kids anymore. They had their grandkids over when we got here and one of their sons. Cut grandkids. Made me think of mine. Strange Sunday without seeing at least one of them.

The oldest son called to remind me that we had not called him to let him know we made it okay. He is the worryer. We're supposed to call when we make it to the resort tomorrow. We brought the little car we got off Craigslist to save gas so it could be a long drive tomorrow. We'll make a few stops to break it up and stretch our legs.

Church was good this morning. We had a return missionary from Russia speaking. In primary we had lots of visiting children because of our speaker. After church we ate a quick lunch, made cookies, did some family visits, paid our bills on line since we'll be gone and headed out.
Tomorrow is supposed to be 90 so we're heading out early. I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.

Busy days and big toes

2011-06-25T22:39:00.001-07:00

So I tonight we all agreed the God has something to do with the fact that our hometeacher just happens to be an emergency room doctor. Hmmmmmmm. Isn't that con-venient! Considering the husband is the kind of ER trips.... yes! So yesterday he hit his toe on the lawn mower out in the garage. You have to know him to understand that he plows through everything at a manly rate so when I say he hit it, I mean the door was shut and I heard it hit. It turned many shades of purple and red and he moaned a lot. After determining he could bear weight on it, he put his shoe on and went off to ref. Jason ended up taking his first game so he could let the Advil kick in then he reffed the remainder. Thus, I'm sure it's not broken.

Today it developed a very unattractive blood blister the size of a small olive. He wants to poke it. Correction, he wants me to poke it and drain it. So.... I call the hometeacher who affirms that you should not poke it-- no longer recommended. So while he's here we also cover the jammed finger and the cough that's going on week 3. The poor man had no idea why he was divinely assigned, but now he does.

So we started of the morning with breakfast at sunrise with three little grandsons. They were quite cute. Hit a few yard sales, but they were disappointed to find very little for boys. As Tucker kept saying "It's just girls stuff and clothes." And so most of it was. I have been noticing a pattern on craigslist. Today's generation thinks that shabby or retro mean "cool old" whateveritis and really, it's just old. I don't even click to look now when it says retro. It may be a couch I had growing up! I don't need to see that again!

So after the children were safely returned to their parents, I went to Wal-mart and spent two hours (I do not exaggerate) scanning photos for the family reunion on the 16th. Carol came over later and picked them up and brought her husband Tom. I gave him a really cool antique (not retro ugly) sideboard I bought the other day that needs repairs. He does woodwork and they like the sort of stuff we like. He was excited and I'm excited to see how it turns out. Their family is ready for the reunion and will have 68 from their group. I am getting more and more excited to see everyone. It has been fun reconnecting with Carol.

Jason and Anne came over for dinner since we won't be here to have our usual Sunday dinner with them tomorrow. They had their own yard sale and were exhausted. We won't be here tomorrow because we're headed out of town after church. The husband planned some "us" time. I tried to invite the kids along, but he made it clear that I was missing the point. It is nice to be loved. I am blessed with a husband who loves me and provides for me and puts his foot down when needed. I am also blessed with children I love very much and their families who have made our life even more complete. On that note, I need to get to bed and say my prayers. :D

Grandsons and Grandpas

2011-06-24T21:52:00.001-07:00

Musical chairs.... I mean .... .children

2011-06-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful summer day. Not too hot... not cold.... beautiful. And we got a lot done today. Two nephews, Casey and Travis, came over and helped Greg create corner mounds of dirt in our backyard which is actually looking like a back yard now. We have mounds now and put down the weed block then Greg planted all the flowers and trees I bought yesterday then spread the bark shreds. Looks good. We just need to get some stone to trim the edges now and the corners are done. The strawberry patch put off enough berries to actually cut up a bowlfull to eat with some blueberries and vanilla bean ice cream (drizzled with a little chocolate syrup of course). And the garden is taking off with all this warm weather. The spinach is ready to pick and we have little squash and tall tomato plants. Tomorrow we'll go check the garden at Aunt Bertie's. Greg and Jason have been watering it this week.

So musical kids.... Jeremy and Stacy were taking their kids to see the new Cars movie and bought Rellie a ticket to go too, so I went and got him and met them at the theater. When they pulled up in their very large vehicle (has to be with 5 kids) I noticed another little face-- Baby Maddi (Jason and Anne's girl). So Jer and Stacy took ALL the grandkids except Kayson to the movie with them!!! Brave people! And the way Rellie talked... it was fun! So when I went to pick him up from Jeremy's I asked Bryton if he wanted to come spend the night (the two older kids were gone with Stacy) and of course he did. :D Then as we were leaving, Stacy came home (Baby Maddi was with them again... she's lovin' her cousin Daisha ever since they spent the night together Wednesday night at our house. It was Maddi's first sleepover without parents. She did great and slept all night. Don't be jealous mom and dad. :D

So... Tucker had to come too and I ended up bringing three boys home to spend the night. Papa had been reffing all afternoon so it was a SURPRISE! for him when he came home. It didn't take long for them to make their way outside since we finally have a lawn and the weather's so nice. And, it didn't take them long to find the squirt guns. When Tucker asked Papa if they could put water in them and he said "sure" I should have had the camera. So... I grabbed the camera and captured the action.... which was basically grandpa chasing and terrorizing the small children. :D I created a "safe zone" for them on the cement patio, but papa wasn't very good about sticking to the rules (unless I gave him the "eye"). They had a blast. After they got dried off Rellie spotted the little basketball hoop set in the garage so Papa hauled that out to the back patio and they played dunkfest for a while. Then it happened... the neighbors lit off a loud firework. The boys scattered and Rellie's heart was going a hundred mph. He was in the kitchen so fast I don't know how he opened the door. "What was that!" he yelled, half excited, half scared. The other two boys followed, screaming with drama delight. I told them it was fireworks and that was it.

They found Papa and begged to go get some. Papa was in a good mood after winning the watergun fight, so he said, "oh... okay." More squealing. More running. I've honestly never seen those three boys get their shoes on so fast. We took the truck so I could sit next to Papa and so all three boys were in the same seat. You have to think of these things. We went to the big fireworks store I pass every day going to work or picking Rellie up and he was SO excited to actually be stopping... finally. They had bin rows low enough for the kids to see like a candy counter and they acted like kids in a candy store! Okay... I'm just as bad when it comes to fireworks. So, long story short. They got their stuff. They went home and they discovered the joy of "snaps". Even the screaming bees and crackling whatevers did not excite them as much as throwing snaps. Then we had ice cream cones. That's another story. Couldn't find the cones. Knew I bought them. Knew I'd seen them somewhere today. Found them. In the freezer. Apparently I put something else away that was frozen the day I bought ice cream cones. Call me Gma Shorty!

Now the little angels are all on the fold out together (even though there are two empty guest bedrooms) watching a movie in their jammies (well Rellie is wearing Daisha's because he forgot his..... shhhhh) on papa's i-pad. They are so cute! Especially when they are sleeping.. :D j/k

Also had a walk down memory lane today when my cousin Carol came over and brought family pics for the July family reunion. As we went through each picture and talked about how the time has flown by, we were both reminded of how much time we all spent with our cousins when we were little and now we just don't . It's sad. I'm trying to change that with this reunion. We were all so close. I see our grandkids now on days like today and I just hope they all stay close. Family is a huge blessing. The best blessing. Like my sweetheart. This will be our 32nd 4th of July together. Love you sweetie.

Hot, hot, hot

2011-06-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Slept in this morning. Woke up to a hot day that just kept getting hotter. Went to pick up the estate auction stuff and of course.... no A/C. I won the bid on 16 boxes of Christmas decorations. I spent 45 minutes in a hot garage sorting it and condensing it so it'd fit in my car. I definitely got my $26 worth! Had enough to share with the daughter-in-laws and it was nice stuff. Also got a $10 box of "assorted linens" which turned out to be three drawers in a buffet. Ended up with a huge turkey platter that still had the price tag on it from Mervyns and was quite heavy along with lots and lots of very nice tablecloths and matching linens. One tablecloth alone covered the cost on that group. I was lucky they let me sort and rebox and throw away stuff I didn't want. Usually they don't let you do that. It made me think about sorting my own stuff and throwing away things that no one else would buy. Or, putting it in Jason and Anne's yard sale this weekend. :D Oh the joys and adventures of recycling and regifting.

Speaking of that... did you know there's a "free" category on craigslist? Why did I just find this out last week? The husband picked up a load of free sod this morning and it's not nicely planted in the bald spots in our back lawn. We're hoping that "free fill dirt" appears on the list in the morning.

So after picking up the auction stuff we went to Jas's house to split up the goodies, drop off yard sale stuff, and kidnap baby Maddi for her first sleepover. Then we went to Jeremy's so we could drop off some Christmas Deco and Greg could fix a sprinkler for them. Their grass is coming in nicely. We also kidnapped Daisha who is going to help me with some sorting and cleaning in the morning. Her and Maddi had fun playing tonight. It was very cute to watch. We were a little nervous about Maddi going to bed, but she was really good about it. My heat/allergies headache finally calmed down and I'm glad to see things will be cooler for the weekend.

I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Father's Day Pics

2011-06-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Father's Day

2011-06-20T22:22:00.001-07:00

Father's Day was busy. Monday was busier. Tuesday will be busy as well. I think Wednesday will be a rest day! Father's Day was nice though to have the husband spend time with his kids (no matter how old they get) and all the grandkids. It was nice to see them playing pinochle around the table in Jeremy's new house. It was adorable to see little Maddi and Jilly hugging each other and the bond they have as cousins at such a young age. Rellie loves his cousins too and Kayson was thoroughly entertained by all the bodies. Daisha had auntie time with both Mandy and Anne playing cards with her and the younger boys had a game table going too. For me, I enjoyed just being there and watching them all be a family.

Before that we had church then ran to mom's house to see dad. He was working front line on the ambulance though so had to leave his card and send a text. At least we got to visit with mom for a while though. Well.... some of us visited and some of us snuck an afternoon nap. I guess since he reffed 5 games on his day off, he deserves it. Plus... it was Father's Day. We slept soundly on Father's Day. Too much food, fun, and lots of family. :D

Today I was on the hunt for a bed for Rellie and finally found one on Craigslist for $30 and it included the mattress, box springs, rails, and mattress pad (I bartered for the pad). It was an older, but well made mattress in a nice subdivision. The lady was moving and I liked it so well I asked her if I could buy the bedding set too. She thought about it and said, "Sure, why not." She said she had just purchased the oversized pillows last week for the shams, so she wanted to keep them but when we started to take them out she said, "What the heck. I'm downsizing anyway. Just take them too." Normally I am a freak about something like used pillows, but I took one of the shams off and they definitely looked brand new. Plus, they're just for the shams-- not to actually sleep on and yes.... you all know I will still lysol them because I'm OCD like that. Got back to the house and got a call that someone heard we might sale our house and could they come see it on Friday.

We were saving it for the daughter, but she is moving elsewhere, so we are going to go ahead and show it Friday. That of course means we are now compelled to finish all the "little projects" and finishes that we have put off thus far. So.... after making a list (which we later lost of course) we went through the garage and donated more stuff to the daughter's move and loaded it in the pickup with the bed. Took it all out to their new house and it was a long drive. Looks like they'll be in Oregon now instead. I will miss lunches with Rellie and am not crazy about the house or the yard, but we dropped off the stuff and headed to Home Depot to acquire the "finishing projects" stuff without the list.

Tomorrow I am watching grandkids for Son #1 so I better get to bed. He's the one with five! :D :D :D I love them though. I really do. I love all my kids and grandkids. They make my world complete. I also love my sweetie and he has a cold, so I better go see if I can find a humidifier. He claims I always give them to the kids. Probably right. :D

yard sale tips

2011-06-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Rellie spent the night last night and this morning we went to breakfast at Sunrise. he ordered waffles and scrambled eggs. We were up and going early so we could take him to breakfast before going to see a house we are interested in buying. We met our realtor at 9am and fell in love with the house. We don't even want to see other houses. We've done this enough times to know that the house could be snatched from us before we get everything in place to put in an offer, but we can hope (and pray) that it doesn't. If it does, life goes on, but Greg really likes it. It's usually me, but this time it's him. Hmmmm could it be that the backyard of the house is a golf course? Or that it has a 3 car garage? And a swimming pool? And a bathroom the size of our current bedroom? Or the wooden deck off the master that faces the golf course? Or the basketball hoop in the oversized driveway? Or the tennis courts on the corner of the block? Or.... you get the picture.... he will cry man tears if we don't get the paperwork done in time and it sells.

So after we looked at the house there was a yard sale across the street (which we attended of course) and then we had to take papa back home so he could change into his ref clothes and head out for a full day of reffing. I gave Rellie $2.00 for his yard sale allowance and he did quite well. He acquired 2 books, 2 Star Wars type tranformer thingies, a Star Wars collectible piece he got for Tucker, a motorcycle, a "free box" ugly baby, and 3 movies. When a 3 year-old holds out his money and asks how much is it, the most common answer is a quarter or how about both of them for a quarter. The only thing I ended up buying for him was the Star Wars collectible because it was a dollar and it was for Tucker.

So some yard sale tips:
1) take wet wipes and clean your hands throughout the day (especially if you stop and get some to eat or snack in the car) because you are touching a lot of other people's stuff and germs.
2) take extra plastic bags (especially if you're like me and you're buying for different people). Some people have bags for you and some don't.
3) If you want the big ticket items, like furniture or large appliances, you have to be there first thing in the morning when it opens. Early bird gets the worm.
4) If you're like me and shopping yard sales more to get bargains in general, you actually get better deals from noon-2pm when things are greatly reduced. I still start early and go the whole time, but if something is over priced, I write down the address and come back during the bargain hours if it doesn't require a lot of extra driving.
5) It's good to map out a plan of driving, but plan on stopping a lot from point A to point B because you'll stop at a lot of yard sales on the way.
6) Have a list of things you're looking for. My kids send me their list too. :D
7) If a yard sale is two days, rarely are there good deals the second day past 9am
8) Set a budget and get the cash. If you find something big you can write a check and they will hold it while you go get the cash. That way you only spend what you have, or you have to work harder to go get more cash. I usually take $40.
9)Top 10 BEST DEALS: #1 is definitely clothes-- I save so much money buying the grandkids' clothes and even some of my clothes at yard sales.
#2- Shoes and boots (now is the time to buy kids' snow boots, gloves, and winter apparell by the way. Picked up two pair of boys lined winter boots (one pair never worn) today for $1.00 each.
#3- House Decor (can't beat yard sales and D.I. for great house decor items
#4- Toys -- they're so cheap at yard sales-- why pay full price
#5- Lighting fixtures (save a ton of money here) & Small appliances
#6- Books, Movies, Games
#7- Baby Accessories (strollers, playpens, jumpers, monitors, etc.)
#8- Furniture
#9- Bikes, Scooters, outside rec stuff
#10- Fashion Accessories- Purses, ties, belts, jewelry, hats, etc.

I enjoy yard-saling not only because of the bargains, I like the adventure and challenge of it. You meet some interesting people and see so many "things" and you are helping someone else financially. Oh and you're recycling.

On a sad note, my friend's family rodeo got rained out (different friend from yesterday's adventure) so we didn't get to go. Found 4 little straw cowboy hats at a yard sale today for 50 cents each so the grandsons could be ready for the rodeo. They'll have to wear them July 1st now since it was rescheduled. Yee-haw!

Happy Father's Day to all (in one hour). I'm looking forward to it tomorrow. :D

cowgirls and creepers

2011-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

What a strange day. First, I received a call from the "fraud alert" department about my debit card. Now yesterday when their automated telephone call came through I thought it was a scam and just called my bank and they said, "no worries, your account looks fine." Then we went to dinner and lo and behold guess whose card gets declined. EMBARRASSING!! I had cash, but I asked the husband what we would ahve done if we didn't have cash. He said, "wash dishes" and acted like it was funny. Not funny! So when I received the call from the "fraud" department this morning, I decided to talk to them. Apparently two internet transactions totally 51.00 sets off a red flag!???? Really???? However, they said they did not put a block on it. So then I call my bank again and ask what's going on and I told her my card was declined (in public no less) and that it was quite embarrassing, especially since she had just told me two hours earlier that all was well. After 20 minutes of blah, blah, blah, her answer was..... "I just don't know why it did that. Your account is fine." Really? Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm just special like that. Weird will happen. Who goes into a hospital with a cold sore and comes out with a spinal tap? Me... (okay, that was in the past, but I swear I have a "weird happenings" bullseye on my forehead.
So I feel like it's all in order and I head out to yard sale on my way to have lunch with the husband. The first yard sale I go to is way out in the boonies. As I get closer, I recognize it as a house we had looked at to buy last fall and it's way out in the boonies, but here I am yard-saling at it. I started to have a "Twilight Zone" feeling. It was a good yard sale though. Then on my way to lunch I keep getting MISSdirections from the husbands and since he only has 30 minutes between class I give up and decide to head to Nampa to water the garden at the aunties' house. I stop to get gas and I'm on the phone will I'm getting started and accidentally hit the "debit" button instead of "credit". I hold my breath. Will it decline? Nope. It works. I'm so happy. I think my luck is changing.
I get to the aunties' house and no one is home and they lock up the sprinklers (and all else except the hoses thank goodness). So then I have to stand and water each plant by hand with the hose. Half an hour later I'm back on the road again and I stop at the DI to check for books for Jeremy. I think my luck has really changed because I find a few good ones and I go to pay and...... declined..... in public... again. I call the bank from the cashier stand (because I want her to know I do have money in there-- I know ... prideful). The bank lady (who now knows me on a first name basis) apologizes profusely AGAIN and says that my account is fine and she doesn't know what's going on and clears it. By then, I had paid cash which is quickly becoming my best friend. I go inside Albertson's and get some gatorade (something I can pay cash for easily if declined again) and use my debit card and it works again. By then my afternoon is almost shot and I am not a happy camper.
I hit a few more yard sales on the way to son#1's house. Drop off yard sale finds. Then I go to son #2's house and do the same. Then I stop at Wendy's on the way to the daughter's house and use cash because by now I am just completely untrusting and not wanting to be humiliated one more time in 48 hours.
I visit with my daughter a while then head to Nyssa to the rodeo to watch my friend (a fellow teacher) ride in the synchronized horse riding group (whatever they formally call it). I met another fellow teacher/friend there who came to watch her as well. It was fun. I needed fun after the crazy morning I had. I saw some of my students there and some participating. Then I stopped and picked Rellie up to come home and spend the night. But... one last weird thing.
I was on facebook and I have a friend who is.... well I'll just say well-known in Hollywood. We went to school together and had an apartment together. Anyway, we are friends on facebook and I notice that she has this guy listed as her brother and it's not a name I recognize (I know her family). I made the mistake of adding him as a friend just to look at family pictures and thinking it was her little brother taking an alias to avoid being bothered because his sister is famous. Well yes and no. Turns out she had a brother she wasn't aware of. I found this out by mistakenly commenting on one of his pictures. Then I asked him why his name was different and boy, the story I got. Family secrets! But then he goes off on how he was adopted out and my friend's family has ignored him. He just keeps writing and it's apparent he's a bit obsessed about it. I hope he's not a stalker! I deleted him! Can this day get any weirder? I am so glad it's almost over!!!

weeds, paper shredders, and scouts

2011-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's finally starting to feel like summer vacation even though I'm still very busy and scheduled each day. Monday I watched Rellie and Fathead so their parents could get packed. They were both quite good and since Greg is still in school it helped my day move quickly. It's nice to have all my children living close by so they can pop in or I can pop in to their lives and I enjoy the informality of my family. When Jeremy and family popped in to get my new laptop up and running (thank you Jer) I cooked them lunch but as I was cooking I had a Gma Shorty moment. Daisha said, "Grandma, there's smoke in the kitchen." I told her it was the steam coming off the potatoes I was draining, but Stacy said, "No, I think she means the smoke on the stove." Sure enough... I had forgotten to turn off a burner and had laid my dish towel on it. Subsequently it caught on fire. I was able to throw it in the sink (since everything in my tiny kitchen is 2-3' apart) and douse it in water. There just isn't enough work/counter space in our kitchen. We definitely need to get a larger house again.

Family get-togethers are difficult when we're all together. This Sunday we'll be at Jeremy's house for Father's Day since he has the "big" house now. Saturday is Anne's baby shower and one of my friend's family rodeos. What a cool idea. They put on their own rodeo complete with pony rides, petting zoo, potluck, cotton candy, and the normal rodeo stuff. Another friend of mine is trying her hand at synchronized horse riding. They call it something else, but she'll be riding in her first rodeo with her riding group on Friday and Sarah and I will be there to cheer her on. We're all teachers and it's funny that people don't think of us as having lives or talents outside of school and being teachers. Sarah was a concert pianist and has traveled the world. I really enjoy their company.

Yesterday we had to go weed the garden at the auntie's house. They really could be a television reality show themselves. We stopped and got them a paper shredder on the way over there because their mail always piles up (hoarder-style) because they're afraid to put their mail in the garbage without cutting out the information (even their junk mail). At first we thought they did it to avoid identity theft but they informed us that it started 20 some years ago when a lady, a neighbor, got mad at them for throwing away perfectly good magazines. That told them people went through their trash, plush they were afraid of the lady, so ever since then, they have cut their info out of all their mail. They were quite delighted with the paper shredder.

The corn is getting taller and some of the other plants are finally taking off. The weeds were growing too though, so we spent a good hour knocking them off together. Then we had Chinese food for our date. That was yesterday. Oh, and each day I have been pecking away at a new book I've started. The husband is upset because he thought I was going to finish one of the others (book writing is the main reason for the laptop purchase) but I started writing a paragraph for one of my other books and had this great idea for a new book. Great idea #433. Hey, at least I'm writing again.

Today I went to Scout Camp and helped out. Scouting is a great program. The kids and parents had a great time and learned many things.... as did I. Service is rarely convenient but always a blessing when we put forth the time and effort to do it.

Had Jas and Maddi over for dinner tonight. Anne had church meetings. I am always amazed by the cuteness of a child. Maddi is such a little character and is so smart. Thanks for coming over Jas. Was in the mood for fish and stir-fry. I used fresh asparagus, yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, and yes, butter. Not too much. I had Greg grill the fish (salmon) with an orange marmalade I bought. It was SO good. He dabbed on butter, then the marmalade, then sprinkled on the lemon pepper. It was really good.

Tomorrow I am finishing up projects that have been on the back burner way too long-- like sending off care packets to our missionaries overseas and vacuuming and dusting. Oh, and of course I'll keep pecking away at my book. This latest idea is inspired by trees and Greece. I may bounce back and forth between books, but my goal is to finish at least one of my books by the end of this year.

zoo trip, yard sales, movies, bad baking

2011-06-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Took all the grandkids to the zoo this week. That is always fun. Kids and animals-- what's not to have fun. Maddi did not like the goats and didn't want them anywhere near her. She liked the monkeys though-- they all did. Jason and Anne came and so did Mandy so that helped with number management. Papa Kiester met us at the zoo. In addition to enjoying all the animals, they went on the merry-go-round. Papa rode with Jilly and looked rather green after he got off. Mandy and Jason didn't look so good either. It was possibly the fastest speeding merry-go-round I've ever seen. I've never watched kids and adult do the whole whiplash attack when it takes off before! I got sick just watching it rip around in circles! The kids loved it though....

As paybacks for making fun of the husband about getting sick on the merry-go-round, I took Rellie to the little carnival in Parma last night and he had to have an adult ride with him on some of the rides. He kept asking to go on the "popcorn ride" which turned out to be the tilt-a-whirl. I thought, "I can do this. I just want spin the wheel in the car so I won't get sick. We'll they let more kids on and they jumped in with us. The demon children. They got that thing whipping so fast I thought they were going to witness a replay of my lunch. Rellie just kept his eyes stuck on one spot. The hubby and I went to the movies afterwards and he brought me soda crackers to I wouldn't have to skip the movies. It helped.

Yesterday morning we went to a lot of yard sales. All these "neighborhood yard sales" were going on but I was disappointed because they were mostly little things. We got a couple good deals, but I've had better yard sale days. Ran from one thing to the next yesterday. Scored on a double stroller for $20 and a hutch for $10. Also got a nice entry way table for $15. Probably the best deal though was one of those big tubes you use for either water skiing or hookie-bobbing behind the snowmobile. One of our big tubes popped last winter and it was $30 bucks for the med. size one to replace it so I decided to wait till yard sale season. Good thing. Found one of the large ones yesterday for $1.00. Good deal. Was exhausted last night so slept soundly.

After church today the husband made his Sunday cookies. The last two Sundays they've been flat and brown. Bought him so new baking soda thinking that was the problem because he's been cooking me Sunday cookies for years now and they're usually yummy! Nope. Still flat and brown. He thinks he's got it figured out. We'll see. Then I made pineapple upside down cake for Sunday dinner and forgot the pineapples!! We're getting old! We laugh and move on.

spreading ashes

2011-06-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well today was a first. I have never "spread ashes" before. None of us had done that so it was the blind leading the blind. No pun intended. Debbie went and picked up the two aunties and they made their way to the plot in the cemetery. Double-fisted with the canes and cute as ever. About like they were Saturday when we went to check on the garden. They were still in their hair rollers and housecoats. Hadn't got dressed all day and didn't seem to have plans to. :D I already have days like that so I guess I can say it hereditary.

So back to the ashes. We joked about getting him "all shook up" (he did love Elvis) because we weren't sure how to "appropriately" do the spreading. Then Aunt Joann made us "Pose and dump" the ashes so she could have pictures. She takes pictures of "everything". She always has. We used to laugh because we knew she might chop off one of our heads in the pictures because she was talking and laughing when she took the picture and every one of us grandkids had to pose either by the piano or the little "photobook" table. And guess what? The piano and the photo table are still int he same spot 40 years later. They have never moved them. First she had one of those cameras that had the big blaring spotlight that blinded you. Then she moved up to the polaroid. You would think that by now she'd be at the digital camera stage, but today we used the disposable click and wind to the next picture. I am thankful though for all her picture taking. As we poured over the albums to find pictures for the memorial service it was truly a walk down memory lane. She is a family historian.

Then the aunties started joking about their own plots. "Better start planting our tree now." Then they'd laugh. They had Debbie bring one of those metal watering cans and water down the ashes when we were finished so Bob wouldn't blow away. Debbie is so kind. She did it. Then when Joann noticed she missed a few spots, she went and filled the can up again. She really has been there for our aunties more than anyone. I appreciate her and her genuine kindness.

It was another "auntie experience" today. More memories and so much more healing through laughter and remembrence of someone passed on. He continues to bring us together in his death. It also made me reflect on the importance of what we will leave behind. As I sat reading headstones, waiting for the aunties to arrive, I was amazed by the history around me. So many family markers -- our family-- going back to the 1800's. Later I asked Aunt Bertie how some of them managed to get permission to plant the irises and rose bushes around their headstones. She said that the story passed on to her about that was that the ones buried there had planted them thinking that family members would not travel that far to visit their grave and they wanted to make sure there were flowers on their graves. That's when the aunties said they better plant their tree now.

All the "family" stuff caused me to do some more reflecting again and helped me with some decisions of my own. Oh..... before I forget.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKIE! :d

Why I love this game

2011-06-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I knew it was going to be a good day today when it looked like sunshine outside, but there was still enough chill in the air I could justify having hot chocolate and toast for breakfast. Then I was relieved to see that one of my key players had taken to heart the talk I gave about dedication and had opted to come play again today instead of going to softball. She's quite the athlete so that was quite the decision both for her and for the team.

So today was tournament play instead of just seeding games like yesterday. So to keep playing, you have to keep winning. We played a team in our conference for the first game and the girls were more comfortable as a team today and more trusting with me. They really stepped up their defense and listened to the little things I asked them to do. They won their first game by 16. That gave them the confidence they needed for their second game...... until they saw who they had to play. Their second game was against the winner of the game after them and the winner just happened to be the bigger 5A school that had beat them by 17 the day before. Yikes! Their heads went down. The other team went on an 8-0 run and I called a timeout. We had a little chat about why we're here and what the difference was between the first game and this one and that I refused to give up even if they did.

They inched their way back up. They pulled together as a team again and my one girl who couldn't seem to reach her potential yesterday, exploded. She was an animal offensively and defensively and her teammates followed her lead. Long story shorter, we won in sudden death overtime. It was awesome. A couple parents were crying. Apparently losing has become quite a tradition. We celebrated a little, but then I asked them to get used to it and move on to prepare for the next game.

Just when I thought they were over their mentalness, they found out who they had to play and their heads went down again. Even the parents shook their heads. One parent said, "It's okay coach. That last game was so awesome they'll never forget it." I said, "What are you talking about? We're just getting started. I fully expect them to win this." The parent looked shocked, but I said it so all the girls heard me. This team is also in their conference and has pounded them in the past. Of course in summer ball, you never know if a team has all its players (including me-- injured post and a guard missing), but you play for the moment and grow as a team.

The other coach was acting like it was a walk in the park and even said, "Let's get this thing over with." Like it was a done deal or something. That got me going and I thought, "Bet me and lose." Literally. All I can say is that the other team was in shock after the first 3 minutes of the game. We not only lead most of the game, we won by 11 points. It was weird because the girls didn't go crazy like they did when they won the second game, so we went outside and I asked them why they weren't excited. One girl said, "Coach, we're still in shock." It was so funny. One girl thought we were losing until the last timeout of the game (which I called to tell them to quit bombing up 3's when we were up by 10 with less than 2 minutes left). And this is why I take the bad days and keep coming back to this thing I love so much-- coaching. There will be days I ask myself "why" but there are days like today that bring it all back to me. Having my son on the bench with me makes it even better. I know he'll say the right things when the girls come out and that he knows what I want. He even behaved himself with the refs today. :D We had good refs today.

After that we went to Aunt Bertie's so Greg could plant some more corn. I went and got some more plants too so they could have some tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkins in their garden. Aunt Bertie was happy about that and I can tell she likes Greg coming over to check on them. It is good to be in their life again.

If that wasn't good enough-- we went and got our grandkids and took them to the movies. It's always so cute how they form a horizontal line when we go and hold hands as they're walking. Rellie loves spending time with his cousins and is always so excited to see them. It was a nice end to a nice day. Oh, and then we went to Jeremy's house and our other son and his wife were there so we got to see them and baby Maddi too. All of our grandkids and 3 wins. What a great day.

Now I'm going to have some hot chocolate and retire early. I am tired.

Some things never change

2011-06-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

So why is it that when men coaches yell (or even scream) at the refs, the refs rarely do anything. A woman (aka "me") says "thank you.... finally" when they call foul #2 on the other team (that means the other team only has one foul all night) with 4 minutes left in the game and I get told "that'll be enough". Really?! Here we go again.....

I have a right eyeball headache. I don't know if it was the shots that went over the backboard or the part where my 65lb , 5'1" 8th grade guard got swatted by the 5'11" post on a pass, that made it hurt. It was as about as ugly as I thought it might be with only one practice as a team. Actually, it was less ugly, because they worked really hard and did their best with what they know at this point (both fundamentally and with plays). There were bright moments and headache ones, but that's the joy of summer ball with a brand new team. We didn't get pounded, but we did get beat. The good news is.... that puts us in the easier pool tomorrow. Had to play the big dogs including bigger schools today, so we better make a better showing tomorrow. We will. I believe in them already. It's funny how quickly you begin to make attachments. It is the main reason I love this game. You may also pray for us. :D

How would it be....

2011-06-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I forgot to mention that I found another good furniture find on Craigslist. The older son bought that new house with double the square footage and doesn't have double the furniture and a college boy's budget, so we've all been watching for good deals. Found a large sectional for $100. We went to check it out before practice yesterday and almost got lost in the "I'm a millionaire" subdivision that it was in. Okay, so the house was probably only worth $750,000-- not a million, but there was one of those houses every lot and the lots were not one acre lots. I felt Dub-T in my Gma Freestyle driving around that neighborhood. Anyway, the couch was a good deal and ended up getting a china hutch too. He was moving in to a bigger house (no kids at home) because apparently 6300sf was not big enough. The sectional takes up their whole family room and needless to say, is being well-used by the family of 7.

Basketball practice went great. I finally got to have a practice with my team and we even threw in a couple of offenses since we have a game already tomorrow. As I said...they're hard workers. We'll see how it goes with so little practice together, but the important thing is that we get to "play ball".

You know you are loved when your husband makes your sandwich and 1) it has spinach lettuce instead of the pointless iceberg, 2)it has just the right amount of mayo and meat (I'm picky) 3) it has your favorite cheese (Swiss-- Not fake slices), 4) it has sliced pickles even though your hubby doesn't eat pickles on his sandwich at all, and 5) the crust is cut off for you. Now that is true love!

I wish crustless bread on everyone.

!

2011-06-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I kind of put the poohpooh on Kung Fu Panda II and I STILL say it's a huge letdown after the first one. Hardly laughed at all. BUT, I will say that I am continually reflecting on "inner peace" in my life now. I find myself saying, "Hmmm... does this bring me inner peace?" And oddly, whenever I don't have that "inner peace" about something now.... I'm not rushing into that decision. I'm looking at the bigger picture. Being a little (not a lot) more patient. And I'm looking for decisions that I feel "inner peace" with. So.... maybe there was some good to that movie.

Speaking of inner peace. Today was the last day of school for staff members. As I visited around and went about my final duties, I realized... I found "inner peace" in those people I work with. Those friends I've grown to not only like, but love in just two short years. My head says one thing, but my heart and my INNER PEACE says another when it comes to next year and plans. I've gotta go with the inner peace. I've got to stop leaving these great treasure (people) behind in my whirlwind of activity and finding myself. I also feel like we're in a time of "war". Teachers are taking a lot of hard knocks right now. It's not an easy thing to be a teacher anyway. Now, it's even harder. But..... it's time to rest and reflect and come back renewed relighting those fires of passion for education. It really is a calling more than a job.

Basketball has been.... interesting. It's a new program. Very little practice under our belt and we have to go play the big dogs right off the bat. The schedule was set before she took over, so what do you do? Probably get spanked. But, we have the whole summer and that's better than trying to rebuild and start a new program at the beginning of the actual season. The girls seem really nice and they work hard. That's the important part. I will try to make the journey worth it for them and hopefully they will learn to love the game as much as I do. Hopefully, I can build some confidence in them once we get past the ugliness of first week get-to-know-yous and jitters. Ah the challenge. I am thankful Jeremy is helping me. Getting to the age that it's harder to be patient and he brings that along with lots of knowledge and experience. I'll make brownies for after practice tomorrow. Nothing says I care more than chocolate (or money and I'm not giving them money). :D

It's family time-- basketball time-- and SUMMER! AWESOMENESS!

Graduations, Reflections, Goals

2011-05-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

Attended graduation today and it gave me flashbacks to my own graduation day. How many people can say they walked down the graduation aisle with their future husband? That was in 1980 and here we are-- still together-- still in love. We've weathered many storms, but experienced far more blessings and times of happiness. We've supported each other and encouraged each other to strive for our dreams and reach our potential. Together we have sacrificed and grown. The fact that we have accomplished many of our goals and realized much of our individual potential is a testament to the type of marriage we have. Though far from perfect we are unselfish in that we strive to help each other realize the fullness of our potential as individuals as well as a couple. We also strive to keep God a cornerstone of our life and marriage.

Today, before we headed to the graduation, we had time to hit a few yard sales. We hit the jackpot on the first yard sale. Scored an electric Wok in excellent condition. The husband thought he was funny when he told Jason that it came with the book-- 20 Ways to Wok Your Dog. :0 Also had a ton of Transformers and a Princess chair (the round framed ones that cost some ridiculous amount in the stores). Got it for $2.00. Got a whole bag of Lego Transformers at another yard sale for $1.00. Oh and curtains still in the bag for 50 cents and hi-top tennies for $1.00. Some cute clothes for 50 cents each. The list goes on. Didn't have much time, but made a haul. Today we got a lot in a short amount of time.

Jas and Anne met us and we had them pick up another score I made on Craig's List last night. A Shelf/Hutch unit for $10. I thought it must be cheap for that price and told the husband not to get it if it was. The people lived not too far from us, so he went and looked. Had Jas bring the truck to pick it up today. It was a very unusual piece and awesome. Jas and Anne loved it and took it home for their office. We also stopped by an old bridge and took some impromptu pictures with them. Their little family is growing. It makes me happy to see them happy.

And thank you Anne for helping Jason realize his potential by encouraging, lifting him up, and supporting him in his dreams and goals. These are trying times-- especially for beginning teachers and it'd be easy to be worried and upset and cause more discouragement, but it is refreshing to see that you show support and respect instead. That's what it takes to not only make a marriage work, but to allow each other to grow both individually and as a couple. Baby Maddi was quite the cutie today too.

Just as there is so much beauty in an old, rusty bridge that has weathered many storms-- there is so much beauty in a love that has weathered its own storms. :D

Inner Peace

2011-05-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

So I went to Kung Fu Panda II. I loved the first one so much that I was pretty pumped to go...... What a let-down! Oh it's "cute" and all, but wait till it goes to Redbox or the cheap theater. I didn't laugh much (which is why I liked the first one) and it leads to KFPIII. Whoopee. The only thing I did come away with was a lesson that's very applicable to my own life at this time. With all the cuts to education and the demoralizing and disrespect shown these days for teachers, I have really struggled with my choice to become a teacher. In the movie, his whole objective is to find "inner peace". Once he finds that, he can conquer anything (even fire). Then we came out of the theater and the lamp posts outside were just coming on and the air was warm and fresh from rain and I remembered that work is not life. Life is. I also had the thought that "this is a challenge" and that's the adventure of life. What will I do with it? Will it make me weaker or stronger? I repeat... What will I do with it? And suddenly, I was actually kind of excited. In fact, I had a major brain fart tonight and I'm gonna fly with it this weekend. It's a crazy one that might land like a wounded plane, but I'm gonna let her fly anyway.

So when I was watching American Idol three episodes ago and Hailey was visiting her hometown.... this fan was screaming and freaking out and Hailey said, "Thank you for freaking out!" and she meant it. I thought that was so real and funny and unique. Hailey is a bit full of herself, but she is unique. I'm glad Scotty won-- who isn't, but how about the liplock between him and Lauren???? Hello! Millions of little teeny-boppers will not like that. They are secretly engaged to him in their future dreams. He reminds me of that big-eared kid that used to be on some ad years ago, so I don't exactly picture him as a teen idol (maybe because I'm old now), but apparently he is. And... he did a great job singing with Tim McGraw. In fact, I thought he sounded just as good and I was actually surprised by that. So life after Idol means I move on to... the Voice-- not as good, but I watch it.

In real life, Jeremy and Stacy are almost completely moved, my brother from Iraq is headed back there and helped the kids with their electrical problems at their new house (thank you Bob). Mandy is still being a coupon queen and Jason is wrapping up the end of the school year, as am I.

Today was our last day with students. I put together the Freshmen Celebration. It's tough being that age, so it's good to celebrate making it through that first year. I had a girl (well she's 20 now) I knew from a former school I taught at, come and sing for them (she's made a music video and has an album out). She talked to them about some trials she faced (including bullying) when she was in school and the importance of picking good friends and working hard for your dreams. She did a GREAT job and the kids responded very well. Check her out on youtube-- Kelly Packer, Seventeen. The song is called "Seventeen" so that's her video too. We also ate and did the photo slide show of the year. This year just flew by. We're all ready for the break, but it'll be upon us again before we know it. Summer ball has started and I love being in the gym again. I also love the beautiful pink flowers sitting on my desk. Friends are priceless. So is inner peace. May you find some.... :D

moving on

2011-05-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today spent time with family that I have not spent a lot of time with in the last 10 years. It was nice and long overdue. We are all reflecting and reconnecting. Funny how it sometimes takes funerals to bring people together and to force everyone to reassess their priorities. So it was nice. Had dinner at one of my sister's house last night and everyone visited. Had the actual services today. My brothers from Iowa fly home tomorrow night. My brother who came home from Iraq for the funeral will go back Tuesday or Wednesday. Two of his sons were down for the funeral today. It was good to see them today.

My counselors n primary brought dinner over and we ate it tonight. It was so appreciated. Jeremy and Stacy got a lot of their stuff moved in to their new house-- enough to stay there tonight. They are very excited about that and we are happy for them. Jason's been called as Elder's Quoram President in his ward and they'll set him apart tomorrow. Mandy got in another coupon class before the funeral today. Hope your feeling better tomorrow sweeta.

So I picked it right on American Idol. :D I do have to say that it was pretty funny when they were doing their hometown visits and Hailey said to the one fan, "Thanks for freakin' out" and she meant it.... and the girl was freakin out. I wasn't surprised Hailey got kicked off though. Even though her voice is so unique, her attitude is not attractive.

I am tired. Long week. Glad the memorial service is over. More on that tomorrow.

almost there

2011-05-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well my students got to work today and worked hard in all their classes, practicing for the play, filming a commercial, and my drama students cleaned and sorted. This was a huge load off my shoulders as we near the end of the year. They know I like things sorted and cleaned at the end.

Ben and Andy made it to Denver, but got bumped (they're flying stand-by) and didn't make it in to town tonight. I'm sad, but we got them regular tickets out in the morning (since it wasn't looking good tomorrow for standby either). They will finally be here. Funny story though-- Andy called and said, "Bad news: My luggage left without me. When I got bumped it went on." I told him it should still be here whenever he arrived, but he was frantic because "Pops" ashes were in it. He's bringing them for the funeral. He said, "I think we lost dad." He sounded stressed so I didn't laugh, but c'mon. That's funny. I bet he's up there laughing about it right now.

So the boys got a hotel room and they're laid over in Denver, but they'll be here tomorrow. That means I won't dust and vacuum till tomorrow. :D Too tired. Going to bed. Finally. :D

Limbo Days

2011-05-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

It's a bit weird when you're waiting for a funeral for closure. You feel like you're going through the daily motions like you're supposed to, but you feel reluctant to allow yourself to think too far ahead or to pay attention enough to the normalties of life to laugh and carry on. Seems wrong. It's like you're on hold. I have a friend whose dad died (she's older, like me) and her mom cremated him and put the ashes on the family fireplace mantle, but they never had a ceremony. If I feel like I'm in limbo mode because I had to wait almost two weeks because of services in two states, I can't imagine what she is feeling since it's been two months. I think it's definitely necessary to have some type of ceremony to find closure.

At any rate, we are nearing the time for the services and I ran the obit yesterday, printed memorial service programs yesterday, scanning pics for the picture video tonight, and picking up my two step-brothers tomorrow. It's a heavy kind of work and I am tired, but I know that once everyone gets together we will find healing and closure together.... like we should. I also know that the step-brothers had an even heavier load dealing with the funeral home, legal stuff, and the services there. That's way more than we've had to do here and they just have the two of them down there.

Divorce creates these unknown valleys that we all journey through at different times and in different ways. I am thankful that I reconnected with him after I became an adult and learned to love him again and look past the mistakes of his youth just as I hope others will look past the mistakes of my youth. I am thankful that I took time to travel across the states and visit him there with his wife and my half-brothers. They were all very kind and loving to me and my family. I am thankful my children had that opportunity to get to know him and form their own opinions. I am thankful I flew back on my own and spent a week with them before his wife died. I am thankful I remember him as someone who always had this huge grin and could talk to anyone. He didn't know a stranger. He loved the Elvis shows and got a kick out of taking us to one. He loved visiting people and did a lot in his church. He loved his ice cream. He didn't know a stranger.

Andy said that any time he or Ben (his brother) go outside "Pops" house people stop because he talked to everyone who passed by on the street. I am thankful I know what the inside of his house looks like and his church. I'm thankful I can picture him by his garage or on his sidewalk, because I've been there. I'm thankful I took the time to know him and love him again. I still regret I didn't call more often and that he didn't make it to his 55th Class Reunion that happens in two months. But I am glad that through his death we are all talking about forgiveness and getting to know each other better.

I have one more day of going to work and going through the motions (limbo) and then I can begin the process of closure. Coming together as a family to remember and to heal and to grow. I am thankful for my own family and the knowledge they have that families are eternal.

Riding Rainbows

2011-05-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me the other day that I have stopped imagining the way I used to. I no longer imagine what it would be like to ride a rainbow. Yes, I was/am a strange child. I never wondered about the pot of gold at the end, but instead wondered what it would be like to ride it as it formed and disapated, catching a cloud or diving to the sea as it lost its force. Where has my imagination gone? Why have I stopped seeing worlds of possiblity within a flower petal world or magic dandelion pollen potion? Where is that little girl?

Perhaps coming up on 49 and losing a parent has caused me to examine not only the crossroads I am facing, but the dreams and desires I once held dear. Certainly new ones take shape. Certainly simple things often make me smile the most. But where is my adventure and have I given up on some of those childish dreams? Have I let the politics and temporal demands of work and everyday life stiffle the creative and bury those thoughts? No-- I'm not going to dye my hair, buy a Harley, or quit my job.... but Yikes! I thought of all three! I've come back to my senses and I'm settling for highlights, not ruling out the Harley (3 wheel type though), and need to do one more year on the job at least to get us into our final house.

This week has been emotional yet renewing. Planning a memorial service, reconnecting with family members, and reflecting on where I come from has been good for my soul. I've gotten such a kick out of spending time with my two aunties who are in their 80's and still kickin' strong. They have been such a hoot. Today, as I was typing up their brother's obituary I asked them if he did anything in high school that stood out. One is a bit deaf and the older sister does the talking on the phone when I call. One tells me that he did woodshop and asks the other one if he did anything important in there. The one in the background says the only thing she can recall him doing was cutting his ruler in half then they both bust out laughing like that was the funniest thing in the world... and so it was the way they said it. So we all laughed. I said I didn't think I'd use that in the obituary so they thought maybe I could mention it at the services then. :D They have made me smile a lot this week.

A good friend of mine called out of the blue yesterday. She doesn't know about the death in our family and I didn't mention it. She just called to talk because she missed me. Her words of comfort and love to me and her expressions of how she valued our friendship came at a time when I needed to hear positives in my life. She has no idea how much her phone call lifted my spirits. I've also talked to my brother quite a bit this week and that has been a treat. He is somewhere between Pakistan and Texas as I type this. He is flying home for the funeral. My two step-brothers are flying in Thursday. A certain healing has already started with the three families involved. Sadly, it is death that brings us together, but gladly we are coming together.

Yesterday I also met with Aunt Bertie and her pastor to finalize the details of the service. What a nice man. I was a bit concerned about a church that's in a rented space in a business mall, but as soon as I got inside and met the pastor, I felt very at ease. There are certainly good people in lots of churches and lots of places. I'm not used to the big screen and the drum sets on the podium, but this is Aunt Bertie's church and if it makes her happy as she puts her brother to rest, then it makes me happy. We hammered out the details and laughed and cried a little and I feel relieved that it's all falling into place.

Greg and Rellie got a little garden planted this weekend too. Tomorrow night Greg is going to plant some corn in Aunt Bertie's garden plot and throw in a pumpkin patch for the grandkids and some tomatoes for the aunties. This week is finals week at school and then we only have one week left. Hard to believe. Summer always comes at a time when we all need it to. It will be a time of healing, renewal, and making crossroad decisions. I also hope to paint, and imagine, and write, and listen to the ocean. Aunt Bertie said, "You always feel young" and I think there's a lot to learn in that. She'll probably live to 100. Grandma died at 94 and her last bit of advice to me was to "never stop... that's when it gets you". :D

Bittersweet

2011-05-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

I am so tired I can't sleep. Tonight was bittersweet and my mind is going a hundred miles per hour about so many things. First thought, I had an unforgettable night with my daughter and daughter-in-laws. It was a girls night out and the boys were good sports to keep all the kids. Of course most of them were still bouncing off the walls or at least still bouncing when we arrived home at 10:30 pm and considering the majority of them are under the age of 4-- this is a bit scary! :D

We (the girls) had dinner at Bajios and it was so good as usual. Then as we were headed to the Morrison Center I spotted Lee's Candy and it'd been so long since I'd been there that I just had to stop. We had to have chocolate to go with such a perfect night. We also got a few treats for the kids and boys at home. It was all good.

From there we headed to the center to see "Wicked". I thought the show was at 7:oo and wanted to be early for good parking and comfy waiting hall seats. We got both-- especially since the show wasn't till 7:30. It was fun though. We were so early the lady doing the programs asked us to help her put little inserts in them. We took lots of nonprofessional pictures of ourselves sitting in the lobby and eating red cherry sourballs. It was just fun.

The play was nothing short of amazing. You can't even really describe it because the set and transitions are so over the top that you feel like you're on Broadway. It was just amazing and so technically genius that it was unforgettable. The singing and acting was outstanding as well, but the transitions and special effects were mind boggling for a play. I would see it again and again.... if I was rich. :D I am so glad I was able to share it with the girls. Thank you boys for watching kids so we could have a girls night. I have a feeling we will do more of those. :D

That was the "sweet". The bitter was news I received that someone I love has passed away. That is all I care to say tonight. It is still strange and hard. Each person in our life-- especially our families-- makes us who we are. They are a part of our yesterdays-- a part of the child that never forgets- -and a part of our todays and the person we are now.