Miss Joni is still the BEST! Again, we were so lucky to get in a session with her. These pics are from the last day of lessons. Caleb is holding the coins Miss Joni placed in the pool as a treat for the kids to dive for on their last day. After lessons, we dried them off and they changed into their traveling clothes in the car as we headed off on our trip to see family and friends in NM, UT, and WY.
Stockton's 9th Birthday...
As requested, his mom made a chocolate fudge cake filled with Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter ice cream, frosted with fudge (not fudge icing, but actual fudge). Good, but I'm guessing it won't be a repeated request...then again, maybe it will be...with the substitution of regular frosting...
Not Mike's 3rd B-day, but his 36th... The bottom of the 6 that anchored it to the cake fell off (as mentioned at the end of the first video.)
and... for your enjoyment, a little pre-cake karaoke...
Though Caleb voted that his soccer team be called the "Mighty Mighty Meats," (Caleb is a mighty mighty fan of eating meat) the rest of the team voted for "Tigers."
Stockton was home-schooled for the last few months of the school year. Most Fridays, we conducted a science experiment. A few weeks before St. Patrick's day, we made plastic and formed it into a shamrock and attached a pin so it would be donnable. Later we painted it green for the lucky holiday.
We spent a day of Spring Break at Guadalupe River State Park with our neighbors.
Here Beate and I are taking photos of each other.
I won!
I've been thinking about what it must be like to be an eternal being with total awareness at all times of all things, past, present, and future. A life where all of that could be forgotten for a little while might be enticing to such a person. It might be exciting to contemplate an existence where the past is remembered fuzzily, the present not fully understood, and the future a dark unknown.
With that in mind, I'm trying to embrace this mortal journey...fleeting as it may seem to the eternal me. I suppose my true self surfaces in the choices I make, whether noble, cowardly, selfish, merciful, or whatever I may be. Or maybe the true me is only good, and the mortal me only is capable of cruelty or anything else unholy. If that is so, descending to this blind place would have great value to me... Obviously I would want to retain the beauty of my pure character, but perhaps it was lacking in dimension and needed the depths of love attained only through overcoming the smallness of self-seeking, loathing and all other natural tendencies...
Caleb's birthday, February 22nd, was a Sunday this year, so on Saturday, we went to the "World's Greatest Hobby Model Railroading Show" at the Convention Center downtown.
The boys really enjoyed playing with the train sets and riding the Thomas train, as well as looking at the amazing model trains on display.
(Yes, it's me... FINALLY posting!)
Though it was bitterly cold (for us southerners--windy and misty in the low 60's), we managed to have a pretty fun time together at San Antonio's annual RODEO!!
Poor baby...:( Sick with the flu.
Caleb gives the thumbs-down to indicate how poorly he feels.
Late November/early December gingersnaps & eggnog, decorating the tree, building a gingerbread house, Christmas music... these are a few of my favorite holiday things.
Thanks to Stockton, we have some photos of our Thanksgiving feast. After a wonderful meal, we spent some time enjoying November in San Antonio: Mike and Caleb shot some hoops while Stockton made friends with the natives. The fun continued indoors with a game of checkers while perusing Black Friday ads. And yes, we did find some smokin' deals!
In the car on the way to school, Caleb saw someone he recognized.
Caleb: It's Caden!
Mom: You know him? (I was thinking, "How can you know a middleschooler?")
Caleb: Yeah, he's an old friend.
I love living on a cul-de-sac in the best neighborhood in the world! These photos are from some of the last warm days in November right before it got cold. (Note our dead grass while everyone else's is still green. We didn't realize that the water supply to our sprinkler system was shut off... I thought Mike was just waiting for the autumnal rains we usually get, which never came, I might add.)
Realizing I forgot my camera on the day of Caleb's Kindergarten Native American Celebration, I rushed him home and requested an encore presentation in our back yard...
And here are the photos I told him I'd take; dig the mittens:
Stockton: Mom, why doesn't Santa bring you presents?
Mom: Because I know the secret of Christmas, and once you know the secret of Christmas, it's more fun to give than to receive.
Caleb: I hope I don't find out the secret of Christmas until I'm 30 or 18!
I felt really lucky to be able to go with Stockton on his field trip a few weeks ago. It was a lovely way to spend the day.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am HORRIBLE at picking up after my kids. (My sister says I'm really good at NOT picking up after my kids. She thinks it would be a disservice to them for me to put their socks in the laundry.) My sons know that if they want clean socks, then their dirty ones need to go in to the basket of dirty whites. It is not uncommon for the same dirty sock to be seen in my front entry way for days. Until school started this year, the sight of dirty socks would trigger an eye roll and frustrated sigh.
I snapped this photo in an entirely different mood. My feelings were something like, "Oh...my sweet babies' feet were in those socks." All day, each time I passed, the same feeling swelled my heart. And I realized that if my guys were not in school, giving me time to miss them, I would probably take their presence for granted and feel irked at the "mess" of dirty socks not where they should be.
How grateful I am to experience the sweet longing that comes from absence, and I know that both of my kids being in school is a gift to me from a loving God.
Stockton is incredibly inventive and has an immense interest in all things electronic. We have a "Good Idea" folder for him where he may store all of the detailed drawings of his inventions.
He has spent MANY hours over the last several months talking about and sketching an underground "building" which he wanted to ask Santa to bring him for Christmas. The building would be under our back yard going 11 stories down and spreading out way beyond our property lines with features like a church-style stage and cultural hall.
Mike and I have wanted to encourage his creativity, but as the time for the drafting of the annual letter to Santa has come again, I've had to say that Santa will only bring what is best for us. He insisted that his wish would be a benefit to the whole family and was not at all selfish. He even wrote a letter to Santa saying that he knows that Christmas is really about giving and not receiving and that is why he wants the building. I had to tell him that Santa knows our property taxes would increase to an amount Dad and I can not afford, so Santa probably wouldn't be bringing him the building.
I've wanted to steer Stockton toward a karaoke machine at Costco. He also has elaborate drawings for the kind of DJ system he wants. I have told him that when he has his own house, he can have all the speakers he wants and a key-locking mechanism on the controls and whatever else he imagines, but that I don't want 40 gazillion speakers throughout my house, etc. After learning that the Costco item I have suggested is around $150, Stockton is going to ask Santa for the elves to make a karoke machine in a box that looks like the one from Costco. His intention is to try it out and then return it to the store if he doesn't like it.
He said, "It's not really dishonest, because they can sell it to someone else."
I thought I'd better post something since it's been so long. These are from a few years ago in October. I think October might be my favorite month: cool days after a LONG hot summer; hint of upcoming holidays stir memories of happy family time; giant cleansing rain drops; cooking comfort foods and baking begin again.
There's little in life as soothing to the wounded heart as Mom's loving caress. The same bosom that once provided sustenance for body continues always to nourish soul. Mother's arms wrap lovingly around her own in a fierce protective embrace, and the tear streaked face is smooshed into that comforting pillow of flesh.
The power of God given to man is called priesthood, and the power of God given to woman is known to us only as Mother. Side by side, man and woman are intended to walk as vessels of God's power, pouring out His love to His children.
"How great, how glorious, how COMPLETE...."
This is Caleb coming off the bus on Monday, and the other two are Friday. LONG, HARD week!!!
I don't know if I was prepared for my pre-schooler years to come to an end so soon... My babies are in school now; yay? I know they have many needs for growth that are satisfied by going to school, but it sure is a long time away from home each day!
The boys pile all of the blankets and pillows they can gather on top of Dad and "Kung Fu" him. It's a riot, but somehow Dad still managed to get hurt the last time... Maybe it's time for new pillows.
My baby brother, Andrew, was married in Boulder, Wyoming on August 9th at the home of his parents-in-law. I couldn't help sobbing happy tears.
From left to right in this photo are Andy, Adam, Phil, and the best man, Jeff, who is Echo's, husband. (Echo is the oldest sibling in my family of 7 children; I'm second followed by Misty, Brandy, Phillip, Adam, and Andrew.)
I thought this horsefly on Andrew's leg was going to get some last minute bachelor blood before being shooed away.
The bride, Erika, was taken by carriage to the other side of the river and escorted by her father across the bridge to meet her groom.
The bridal shoes could not make it over the bridge, so the groom placed them on her feet just after her crossing.
The wedding party was driven off in a horse drawn carriage to the reception.
All of these photos were taken by Stockton on his camera. I think he might have a gift for photography.
Tess is the FATTEST dalmation you will ever see. These photos of her are actually very flattering and hide a considerable amount of her bulk.
Stockton and Caleb loved spending time with cousins they rarely see. There were four-wheeler rides, hide and seek in the tall hay, running through the sprinkler, PacMan, movies, and, of course, the trampoline.
Jane had to pose once she realized I was snapping photos.
This is a picture Stockton took of his cousins making a smiley face with their bodies on the trampoline.
Stockton and I picked Caleb up from his last karate lesson on Thursday, July 31st and headed off for parts north. We drove straight through, and what was supposed to be a 21 hour drive turned into 23. Stockton wanted to just stay there and never come home, so he could avoid the long travel. We stayed in my mom's camper, which is actually very nice.
This is part of the view from my mom's front yard (to the south and west). No photo can do it justice; it is SOOO peaceful and beautiful!
Caleb started out loving karate lessons this summer, but he grew less fond of them as each sparring session inevitably brought a below-the-belt whack.
I stole this idea from Becca...
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory (or more) that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing (but you don't have to) and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.
Miss Joni is the absolute best! We felt so fortunate to have her this year, and it was AMAZING how much progress the boys made after only 10 lessons!
I WAY over-did it late last week and have been back in bed since Friday afternoon. I really wanted to go to church, so with this purpose in mind, I chose to forego all Independence Day celebration and Saturday fun.
I guess the upside is that I've read a lot of church magazine articles and learned a lot of things from t.v. documentaries I never knew. Take hippos for instance. Who knew their dung was the foundation of an entire ecosystem? Another real revelation was the role of the moon in the earth's evolution of life. Did you know the moon is traveling away from the earth about an inch and a half each year, and without the tidal effects of the moon, life on earth would cease? And I had no idea that the t.v. western mini-series "Lonesome Dove" had such captivating characters. I've always liked Robert Duval, but now I'd rank him among my top ten favorite actors of all time.
This morning I woke up feeling so much better, but after doing very little, it was clear to me that I needed more rest. I argued with myself for a while about the dangers to my recovery of church attendance, but my rational side finally won, leaving me a home-bound whining blogger instead of a spiritually-nourished church-goer. If I promise to be good, can I please go out and play? Pleeeease?
!!!!WARNING!!!!! Gruesome photos below!!!!!
Recovery from surgery is better than I expected, as I am not filled with painful air that will take days to dissipate. Recovery is also MUCH worse than I expected. I was so so SOOO sore yesterday. I did manage to answer my mobile phone once for my sister's call, but all I could say was HURT! BAD! Now all I have to say is how grateful I am for precription pain meds!
After sleeping on and off all day and night, I do feel so much better.
Our friends have been wonderful to us! Besides all of the kind phone calls and offers of help, Jennifer C. watched the boys for us so Mike could come to the hospital, Dan and Nicole brought a BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement, Lisa and Steve brought dinner for Mike and the boys, and Jennifer Y. brought some red jello for me, which is all I've been able to ingest. Thank you so much!!!
The doctor was very gracious to agree to snap some photos for me. I was especially pleased that he opened up the gallbladder for the stones to be visible; I thought an interior view would have to wait until the pathologist did the exam at some future time when my camera would not be available. Bonus!
Those are some big, ugly stones, even if I do say so myself!
Thank you so much for your concern about my gallstones!! I really haven't been too badly off. With relatively little discomfort, I was able to fully enjoy our family vacation in southern California.
I saw the general surgeon yesterday who recommended (surprise) surgery. He said that whenever there are gallstones present, the lining of the gallbladder is diseased. He said that with no really effective drugs to break up the stones, surgery is the best treatment, or I can choose to do nothing and just continue life like it is now. To me, surgery sounds better than the alternative. I'm still waiting on the scheduler to get back to me with a day and time, but it should be sometime soon.
The surgery is laprascopic, with four small incisions. No food or drink after midnight the night before, and I have to show up an hour before the surgery, spend an hour in the o.r. and 1-2 hours in the recovery room before being discharged. As an added bonus, one of the incisions will be in my belly button, so they will repair my umbilical hernia while they are in there. Nice!
We left home at 5 a.m. to head to Austin for an early flight.
Mini-World is AMAZING!!! I didn't get any pictures of Mini-Vegas, but it was my favorite. Be sure to plan at least two days for Legoland; I don't think three would be too many...
Most of the rides at Legoland are geared toward younger riders, but there were a few I think would thrill even the most daring! (We stuck to the snoozers, whew!)
Stockton was signed up for a class where he was able to program his robot to do various tasks. Though the instructions from the teacher were quite cryptic to some of our group, Stockton's robot successfully completed each of the challenges, as programmed by Stockton.
We thought this little concession stand was HI-larious. We passed on the offered fare, but still felt the photo op couldn't be missed.
After a harrowing ride on the Tower of Terror (TERROR IS AN UNDERSTATMENT!!!), Stockton and Caleb got Pluto's autograph and a few photos.
Mike was able to ride every ride that the rest of our group rode this day, so California Adventure is his new favorite.
The Pixar parade was a lot of fun! Besides seeing some famous characters, we got squirted with water and showered with bubbles.
After checking out of the hotel, I was able to attend a session at the Newport Beach temple before catching our late afternoon flight. Mike and the boys got some lunch, walked around the temple, and watched some Scooby Doo on the DVD player in the rented van while they waited.
Once again, a window view was a MUST for Caleb while we waited to board the plane. Stockton was also examining the equipment visible from the window. He asked about the structural integrity of the jetway among other questions better suited for someone with more engineering knowledge than Mike or I possess.
Besides a smashing fun birthday party, many great milestones are taking place for Stockton now that he is eight, like Cub Scouts...
And baptism...
Stockton was baptized on May 17, 2008 by his father who has priesthood authority. Mike also bestowed the Gift of the Holy Ghost to Stockton and confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here are the lyrics to the opening song at the baptismal service. It is titled "Baptism" and is from the Children's Songbook. (Here's a link if you want to listen and/or sing along: http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=100&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=100&searchsubseqend=ZZZ .)
Last week for Family Home Evening, we went over to the pool. The water was still too cold for me, but I enjoyed the pool-side visiting with other mom's and watching my guys have a good time. Stockton was a total water hound, and except for getting out to jump in from the side, he stayed in the pool the whole two hours we were there. Caleb was a little less cold tolerant. I enjoyed hugging his shivering towel wrapped body every now and then to warm him up before he went back for more water fun.
Here are some pics from Stockton's birthday party at Pump It Up.
Everyone seemed to have a good time, inspite of a few incidents requiring bandaids. Stockton dragged me up the giant slide and into the obstacle course. I sat at the top of the slide a little uncertain and let several other children go before me, so I could see how it was done. When I finally got up the nerve to go, I went flying down at about 70 miles per hour, leaving a piece of elbow skin behind. I flew way over the end of the slide, where all the kids stop, and landed on the mat at the foot of the slide. Luckily there were no serious injuries or collisions.
Then in the obstacle course, I made it over the first hill, but I found myself in a valley, unable to go back out. I HAD to go forward, so with GREAT difficulty, I heaved myself over the next hill which was titled, "Squeeze," because of the very narrow passage. Stockton was annoyed at having to wait for me, and irritated at my whining pleas of "Stockton, help me!" Huffing and puffing I crawled through the tunnel and was mortified to see a 20 foot wall I had to climb. Stockton kept saying, "Maybe you should only do the slide from now on, Mom." I finally made it up the wall and down the final slide. WHEW! I was out, and that was the end of my inflatable adventures for the evening.
Here Stockton is on the throne in the party room awaiting gifts.
This is a failed attempt to get a group photo prior to adjourning to the party room for pizza, cake, ice cream and presents.
Overall, I'd say it was a smash hit!!
So, Mike is unhappy with our family name as part of the blog title. He said, "People could find us. I don't like it...I don't like it at all." Then he suggested I name the blog, "Non-personally Identifiable Blog." Since that is less than welcoming, I asked him to think of something else... I guess "Trooly Blogworthy" will do....
Tagged by Becca!
10 years ago I had been married for just over a year and living in the Habitat East apartments on 4th South and 10th East in SLC. I had recently miscarried my first pregnancy at 12 weeks. Mike and I worked at Parking Services while attending the University of Utah. We had just bought our first new car together on our one-year wedding anniversary.
5 years ago we lived in Phoenix, AZ and were building our first home in Gilbert. Our second son, Caleb, was 2 months old. I spent a lot of time watching cable t.v. that was included with rent while "hanging out" breastfeeding all day! I especially loved "A Baby Story" and "Trading Spaces", not to mention "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil".
5 months ago I was revelling in the last few days of sleeping-in over Christmas vacation.
5 things on my to do list today: 1. Contact the printer about referral cards for the Church Open House scheduled for Saturday. 2. Work on getting neighborhood directory ready. 3. Finalize plans for 8-year-old birthday party on Friday. 4. Attend HOA Board of Directors meeting. 5. Conquer stomach bug contracted from loving husband.
5 snacks I enjoy: 1. COOKIES!!!!! chewy, crunchy, peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal, snickerdoodle, sandwich, Girl Scout, YOU NAME IT! 2. peanut M&M's 3. Red Vines and cherry Nibs 4. fresh fruit and vegetables if somebody else does the prep work 5. high quality CHOCOLATE!!!!!! preferably dark.
5 things I would do if I were instantly a billionaire: 1. make Church donations and set up trust funds for loved ones. 2. Build my mom a house and trick out her landscaping. 3. Run for President just because I'm old enough now (just kidding-I really am old enough, but I don't wanna be President). 3. Start my own clothing, shoe and fragrance line and call it "Trooly Fitting". 4. Build roads, wells, and schools in suffering lands. 5. Invent ultra super capacity battery to store energy from renewable resources like solar, wind, and water, and freely share the technology.
5 of my bad habits: 1. Interrupting people. Mike's a slow talker, so I've developed the habit of finishing his sentences or just talking over him...I've probably done it to you too, sorry... 2. Work avoidance/procrastination. 3. Eating to feel better emotionally. 4. I'm horrible at tidying! 5. I don't necessarily think this is a bad habit, but it's not the best use of my time: I watch a lot of missed/old t.v. shows online (like the original "Star Trek").
5 places I have lived: Utah; Wyoming; Chicago (and many surrounding suburbs); near Seattle; Arizona; and San Antonio. (Seattle's climate is my favorite, but I've been VERY happy here with my home, neighborhood, church, and friends.)
5 things people may not know about me: (Tough one; I'm pretty open.) 1. I had a completely natural childbirth with Stockton (ouch!). 2. My parachute didn't open when I went skydiving--had to use the back-up chute. 3. My abnormally wide feet and short, squat stature make me extremely sure-footed when hiking. 4. I have pretty bad vertigo, so that's why you'll see me picking things up with my toes to avoid bending over. 5. My first boyfriend was from Kuwait.
I tag Brandy, Nicole, Cathy, Suzie, and Kristin. If you don't have a blog yet, here's a perfect way to get started!
Not every Sunday, but many Sundays, Mike and the boys make muffins and scrambled eggs. It's something they really enjoy doing together. I never let my sons lick the muffin batter spoon because of my salmonella fear, so Dad is super cool to the boys because he's not so uptight (I just have to be sure I'm in the other room during all the raw egg licking).
Caleb and Stockton LOVE to wear an apron in the kitchen. In these photos Stockton is wearing my Pampered Chef apron, and Caleb is wearing his Home Depot Kids' Workshop apron. They did receive their own Chef's hats and aprons from their Uncle Andrew for Christmas, and I'll add pics in some future post.
These photos are all taken on the same day. I was scrambling to get good photos of the boys for a calendar Christmas gift for the grandparents. It was late autumn, and I realized I had taken very few pics all year. Poor Caleb... he was FREEZING when I told him to take off his jacket and sweater for a "summer" photo. Ahhh well... what is a procrastinator to do?
This is a photo of the only family "pet" we've had since living in San Antonio. We named her Sylvia. I was really pleased that she would choose our deck to build her web on late last summer. She is an argiope aurantia (argiope means silver face).
From the research I did, I learned that she would eat her web each night and work hard all night to build a new one. She sat at the middle of the web all day waiting for a meal. Each morning, I would go out to see if she was still there and felt really grateful when she was.
It was pretty sad one day when her web was gone and she was hiding out under the bench on the deck. I figured her life cycle was coming to a close and felt sad to say goodbye. At least we have the memories.
I'm writing a book... This is the rough draft of chapter one...
So, every year for my birthday, I like to get a pedicure. I've only actually done it once-4 years ago, but I think about doing it every year. And I make a special effort to grow my toenails out the month before my birthday, but I always end up breaking a toenail right before the pedicure.
So this was going to be my year for a home pedicure since we are trying spend every spare cent on food storage. Exactly one week before my birthday, I bought a pedicure kit from my dear friend and MaryKay lady, Jackie.
I drove home from her house and parked in the garage, opened the back hatch on the van and walked into the house to make room for the load of food storage I had just canned at the cannery. I didn't even make it back out to the van before, yep you guessed it, I stubbed my big fat toe and broke the nail!
That was over a week ago, and I waited to trim the nail until I could get a photo for a blog entry. Maybe by blogging about it , the curse will be broken and my toenails will be beautifully painted next year on my birthday! 
