Week-long Weekend

I have been putting off this post for several days now, but it must happen! I mean, if I can go around taking pictures of my shoes and fridge, I can journal about Memorial Day weekend, right? This will be excruciatingly long, but what fun memories!


The Beginning of the Marathon: Park City with the Allen Gals (sans Ann -- we missed you!)
Judy, Julie, Rachel, Emily, and I went to Park City to shop at the Outlets. It was so fun! A few of the men's stores were having pretty amazing Memorial Day sales, so I was able to completely overhaul Stanton's wardrobe for a reasonable price. I have been wanting to do that since I met him! I got home and he DIed everything in his closet except 2 long-sleeved button-down shirts. His closet looks so empty now, but in a very very good way. I do wish I'd gotten him more shirts, though. Oh, and a couple fun finds for the kids ($3 skirt and sweater from Children's Place? $5 sweaters and button-downs for Brigham? Awesome. And to top it all off, I found a cute cropped hoody for me for $2.50! It made being too preggers to try anything on A-Okay). It was fun to help the sisters find cute clothes, too. Sort of like being a personal shopper -- so fun to spend someone else's hard earned cash! We had a lot of fun -- and after 2 full days of shopping, I was SHOPPED OUT! Completely. Till later in the week.




Second Leg: Visit from Folks! And real Memorial Day Activities.
Mom and Dad Rose came Sunday morning. They went to church with us (I LOVE extra hands at church!) and then spent the night -- what a treat for the kids! Monday morning we got up and went to visit graves. I love visiting graves -- always have. A highlight nowadays is visiting Brigham's namesake & 4th great-grandfather, Brigham Pond, at the Richmond Cemetery. He and I are standing in front of it here.


He's buried with his two wives, sisters, on either side of him. And I am noticing that Brigham has mastered the cheesy camera smile lately. Next year we really need to get to Ammon to visit Chloe's namesake, Chloe Gardner Anderson. And I hope we don't visit Lily's namesake's grave, Grandma Virginia J, anytime soon -- I'd much rather continue our real-life visits for a long time!
We stopped in Logan and visited Stanton's grandpa's grave (his grandpa Stanton). It was nice to visit there -- we don't get there often enough. Each time I go, I am reminded of how odd it is that I married into a family where the sons already had 2 gravesites to their name. Yes, every visit, I stop and look at that spot where I will be laying one day. Who gets a gravesite for a wedding gift?! Okay, to be fair, it wasn't a wedding gift -- it came long before I did.

We also visited the graves of my Great-Grandparents on the Rose side -- Guy and Cokie Rose & LeRoy and Dorthea Evans. Love this.


Finally, this picture of Brigham reminds me of me as a kid. We'd go visit graves and I would just want to explore. I was so interested in all the headstones. And unlike Brig, I could not bring myself to walk within 6 feet of any headstone -- I felt so disrespectful walking on the bodies of the people buried there... it became quite a challenge to find my footing when the grave sites got closer together. So many memories in one little photograph...


And the End: Pretend Hotel and All About the Kids
We headed straight for Salt Lake from the Ogden Cemetery. The girls had a hard time understanding why Grams and Gramps weren't coming to the hotel with us and why we weren't going to Blackfoot with them. We got to the hotel, which smelled like a nursing home, at least to my pregnant nose. They did give us adjoining rooms, which were great. According to Chloe, this was a "pretend hotel" because it didn't have a pool. In all honesty, it did have a pool, but it was an outdoor pool and Monday night was chilly and rainy -- we figured it was easier to just go with the no pool theory. Instead of swimming, we found a dollar theater and saw "Horton Hears a Who." It was so cute. And all three kids sat through the entire thing. That was a first. Well, it was only the second time we'd ever taken them to a movie theater, so it's not so amazing, I guess. But really, it was amazing. I think going at bedtime helped. And the fact that all three of them love TV. Yeah, that definitely helped.
We got back to the hotel way past bedtime and closed those great blackout curtains all hotels have. The kids all slept in one room and went right to sleep. Not a peep out of them until about 2 am when Brig started crying. We moved him to our room and everyone slept great the rest of the night. I had my own bed which was heaven-- I'm telling you, if we didn't have a king bed at home, we'd probably be sleeping in separate rooms. It was really nice to not have to share a bed. It was a really great night's sleep. We hoped maybe just maybe the kids would sleep in on account of the aforementioned black-out curtains, but as soon as the clock struck 6:00 am, Brig was awake, 6:30 -- in came Lily, and 6:50 -- Chloe was right behind. The alarm clocks in those kids are never-fail. We lounged until 8:00 (gross amounts of TV are okay on vacation, right?!), then called the front desk to find out when the continental breakfast was served. They informed us it ended around 9 or 10 (what, there's a vague hour window I have to guess around?) so Stanton and Chloe went down to get us all some breakfast. They came back up empty handed -- apparently there is no such thing as a continental breakfast at the Sheraton -- I wonder where that front desk girl was working??? There was a Starbucks, so we "enjoyed" $3 muffins and $2 bottles of juice for breakfast -- and thankfully, I had packed some bananas in the snack bag. Alas, those are the only pictures I actually took the entire trip...so here are the kids eating the most expensive breakfast of their lives...oh wait, now that I look at these, they're eating the cheap part of their breakfast...hrumph...

We got everyone cleaned up and done up and everything packed up and headed for the Discovery Gateway around 10:00. What a fun children's museum! They had completely age-appropriate stuff for the kids and we played for nearly 3 hours. It was a lot of fun -- Chloe really liked delivering mail to the various mailboxes in the kid-sized town (it's fun to watch her make the connection that addresses mean something), Lily absolutely loved the water display and played there for a good long time, and Brigham made darn sure nobody came near the cars he was playing in. We've really got to work with that kid in the sharing department.
We ate at McDonald's (somehow, we have amassed quite a Speed Racer collection lately) and then made a stop at the Build-a-Bear Factory. Thanks to Lori for that fun suggestion! The girls got very cute little teddy bears, Chloe's was a pink and white bear she named "Zeeah" and Lily's was a classic black and brown bear named "Sally." They especially liked giving their bears a bath under the air sprayer. It was a fun way to end the day.
We headed home, but stopped at Casper's for ice cream cones. Their cherry chocolate ice cream is seriously delicious.
This leg of the vacation was barely 24 hours, but we have discovered that's about enough for our little family at this point. We made plenty of memories and no one had a melt-down. In some ways we wonder if Heavenly Father was allowing us a few little tender mercies so we'd feel inclined to do things like this more often. It was really a lot more fun than we anticipated it would be.

Stanton has been off work this whole week (funny how no one wants to go to the dentist during the last week of school...) so it's felt like we've just continued the fun weekend. I haven't been able to keep track of the days, as it's felt like a perpetual Saturday for the last 6 days. Tomorrow it's back to reality, but only for 1 day, then it'll be the weekend again.

10 Photos, Yes, I realize there are 13 here...

I really need to get on here and update our Memorial Day weekend events. It's a daunting task I have to admit I've been putting off. In the meantime, Cheryl tagged me for this little photo game -- the rule is you have to take the pictures right then, no cleaning first. I've never been tagged before and to be honest, if this wasn't so easy, I probably wouldn't have done it. I am going to tag some others, but don't feel any pressure! I am the queen of deleting any forward that hits my inbox before it's even been opened, so I won't be offended! Okay, TaLaisa, Jill, Monica, Alysia, & Leah? Anyway, here goes...


#1: Your kitchen sink

I like the tomatoes & petunia growing in the window sill. I'll be sad to let them go outside.



#2: The inside of your fridge

It has taken every ounce of self-control I possess to refrain from drinking that orange bottle of gestational diabetes test sugary goodness on the top shelf--I finally get to tomorrow!!!!! And looking closely, I see an empty tupperware container...I guess that's what Stanton does when he finishes something and is closer to the fridge than the sink.


#3: Your favorite shoes

They go with everything. Or they go with nothing, so by default they go with everything. Regardless, I love both and live in either one or the other at all times.


#4: Your closet

This picture makes my closet look somewhat organized. It isn't.


#5: Your laundry pile

Yesterday was laundry day. I wonder when laundry folding and putting away day will be?


#6: What your kids are doing right now

Brigham gets into the fridge EVERY time it gets opened. Heaven help us when he learns how to open it himself...

Lily, apple, rug...if you know Lily, this doesn't surprise you...


And if you know Chloe, it doesn't surprise you that she got up from eating her apple at the counter to pose for this shot....


#7: Your favorite room in the house

The kitchen -- life happens here.


#8: Your toilet

I can't handle those small bathroom garbages...who doesn't fill one of those up in about 2 hours? And the lid is ALWAYS down -- I have a weird thing about that.


#9: Your fantasy vacation

Lately I've been wanting to go to Ireland. For no other reason than photos like this.


#10: Your Self-Portrait

Completely un-noteworthy, except that I got out of the shower Sunday morning and discovered my hair was curly. CURLY! This is a mystery, but one I am enjoying while it lasts.

Ornery but So Cute!

I've been thinking a lot about Brigham lately. He's almost 21 months old now and will soon be a big brother. But he is still so very much my baby. I am sure this is due in large part to this being our biggest gap between children, and even more so to his heart problems. While I still see him as my baby, he has become Mr. Independent. He doesn't want to sit in his high chair -- he wants his own barstool next to the girls. He doesn't want me to feed him. He doesn't even want me to put his food on his tray, it must be sat on the counter next to him so he can grab it and put it on his tray (yes, I still win the high chair battle). He is insistent upon having a big kid cup, playing on the big kid toys, and doing everything himself. And if he doesn't get what he wants, he has mastered the temper tantrum. I find it so adorable and so frustrating at the same time! I suppose I should allow him to become independent -- he is going to need to be when his little brother comes. But when I think about what lies ahead for him, I just want to hold on to him as tightly as I can.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to express with this post; I just can't seem to shake him from my mind lately. I love love love this little man and I am so happy he is so healthy right now -- what an incredible gift he has been to our family. I can't seem to ever get over his adorable-ness lately, either. He is so 100% little boy -- he can't seem to go outside without finding the nearest puddle of mud, he gets excited over anything with wheels, and loves to make noise.




I truly love this little boy.

Anticipation

It's been raining for 2 days straight and I love it. The weather is just so gloomily gorgeous. It's almost inspiring. Before the rain came down, we had a few days of absolutely incredible weather. The combination of moisture and warmth has done amazing things to our yard. All of a sudden the perennials are greening up, the trees are blossoming, and the weeds are propogating! All of our trees began to bloom about 5 days ago...all of them except the one I have been waiting for all year. We have a flowering crab apple that stands right in the middle of our front yard -- I chose it personally for its gorgeous spring flowers. This tree is my handpicked version of "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." While all the other trees in the yard were bursting into bloom, my crab apple was doing ...well, nothing. I worried something was wrong with it. I asked Stanton if the greenhouse had given us the wrong tree -- this was my first Spring with it, after all.

Then I woke up Tuesday morning to the most glorious sight. A sight that really was worth the wait.

Behold, my beloved crab apple...Glorious Pink Popcorn Popping on the Crab Apple Tree.

Clever Title Here

I have been trying for about 5 minutes now to come up with the perfect title to describe tonight's AI finale. Here are some of the rejects:
Lakers vs. Celtics
Best Finale Ever
Was Cook Trying to Lose?
Archie and Jughead

Now that I look at them, maybe I should've just gone with one, they're all pretty good. If there was a blog title-ing reality competition, I'd probably come in 23rd.
Why do I have this obsessive need to explain my lack of clever title? WHY? WHY? WHY? Done.

Now, as for tonight's finale: Was Cook trying to lose? Because he LOST. Archie wiped the floor with him. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let's go round by round...Oh, but before we get to that, one more gripe about Cook tonight -- he seems to have changed this week. All of a sudden, he's playing this role of seasoned pro competing against the new kid on the block. Reality check, Cook, you are not being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. YOU are on the same freaking show as Archuleta! Thanks for letting me get that out. What were we talking about?

Round 1: Archuleta (how have I been spelling this wrong for so many weeks?)
Cook: Did I ever mention that I love U2? This was such a good song choice for Cook. And he really was great on it. But (and you are going to hear a lot of this throughout the post) his predictable runs were so...predictable! Ugh. I just wanted to be surprised with his arrangement. It was totally a finale-worthy performance, though! And his best one of the night.
Archie: Whoa. Was that amazing? I was not thrilled to hear Archie was singing an Elton John song, but he made that simply incredible. The arrangement was unique, yet true to the original, and that last note was perfection. Stunning. And he continues to be so genuine.

Round 2: Archuleta
Before I continue here, I need to say that this amateur song-writing competition might seem like a good idea on paper, but it is really awful. The songs just plain suck. AI needs to commission Diane Warren to write a finale song. Did I digress again? Sorry.
Cook: Was that the best song he could find? It was. not. great. He did a decent job with it, but it was really not a good choice for him.
Archie: Again, this was not a great song, but he certainly made the more clever song choice. It was very AI-esque, which counts for something. And he was in very good voice for the performance -- really strong despite the cruddy material.

Round 3: Archuleta
Cook: I turned to Stanton right when Cook finished singing and said, "I wish he'd sung 'Hello' again." And guess what? About 30 seconds later, Simon said the same thing! I'm becoming creepy good at judging AI. I really do wish he'd chosen a song from earlier in the season. It made me darn mad when he made that trite little remark about progressing -- give me a break -- if you're ever a huge star, people are gonnawannahear your greatest hits! But let's talk about the song he sang. It was a very predictable arrangement again. And those runs were, once again, SO predictable! I had a hard time getting excited about this performance. I felt like he was going through the motions. And when he cried at the end and bit his knuckle? Am I being critical here? I didn't believe a second of it. And I really do like this guy. Really, I do!
Archie: You know I loved this song when he did it the first time. This time? Divine. I am seriously gushing over Archie tonight. You know I don't do that every week, but man, he seriously kicked boo-tay tonight. He was incredible. His voice was so pure, his arrangements were so original, he was so good. Really. Really. Good. Every once in a while he'd move into a run that seemed headed for predictable-ville (yes, I see the irony of my using that word so predictably) and then Bam! he'd surprise me with something unusual and amazing! Really, this kid could do no wrong tonight.

Final Thoughts: What a great finale. I'm really glad it was a Lakers-Celtics match up. They both completely and utterly deserved to be here tonight. If Cook had been in the finale of Seasons 3, 4, 5, or 6, I'd probably call him the winner (okay, not against Carrie Underwood, but all the others -- yes). He's an outstanding talent. And he'll probably go further than Archie in the real world. One thought I had tonight, though, is that his alterna-emo sound seems like it's sort of on the way out the door. I hope he's not too close to the tail end of the era. He deserves to do well post-Idol.
Archie has definitely been the most consistent of all the contestants maybe EVER on AI. I haven't always loved his style, but there is no denying this kid has some God-given talent. He was absolutely on-point tonight, too. Perfection. So, tonight was a very satisfying finale. Season 2 has always been my Golden Season -- the Ruben-Clay finale was fun, well-matched, and suspenseful right up to the opening of the envelope. There hasn't been a season like that again until now. Tonight was awesome. And tomorrow will be so much fun. I do think Archuleta will win, but I will be in suspense right up until Seacrest opens that envelope.

Speaking of Seacrest, I just realized he hasn't said "Seacrest Out" this season. I don't miss it.

Tell me what you thought!

Monopoly Money

We received our Economic Stimulus check in the mail today. Frankly, it's laughable to think our congress decided they could stimulate the economy by printing extra money and sending it to us to spend. It just doesn't add up in my mind. Nevertheless, we received ours today and it was kind of fun to see a few hundred bucks I'd done nothing to earn -- this must be what gambling feels like...
Our Bishop had some great counsel regarding the funds and Stanton and I feel inspired to follow it. So, we're using our Monopoly Money to beef up our food storage. We need to focus on canned meats, canned vegetables, and longer term items like rice, wheat, and beans. I think we'll be able to make some serious progress with funds we received.
What are you doing with your Monopoly Money?

Recipe Exchange

My good friend, Jill, has started a new blog where we can exchange recipes 3 days a week. It kicked off today with Main Dish Monday -- the theme is Chicken Main Dishes. I think it will be a lot of fun to get some new ideas and share some of my favorites -- it will be even more fun if lots of people go and SHARE THEIR RECIPES! So, all you need to do is leave your recipe in the comments section and grab the ones you want from the same place! Go visit and share. And tell people about it so we can all share our culinary genius with one another. :) You can click here or type www.jillsrecipes.blogspot.com in your address bar. Go visit and have some yummy chicken for dinner tonight.

All That for a 2 Minute Performance?....

We enjoyed a crazy, busy morning and afternoon today. It was Chloe's ballet recital on the "big stage." She was very excited to have everyone come watch her and maybe even more excited that I let her wear a teeny tiny bit of mascara and sparkles. She had a half hour rehearsal in the morning, then a short break for lunch, hair, etc. Then it was race back to the theatre for the performance...

We got her in the stage door then got our seats. Chloe's class was the second to perform. It was so fun to see the little girls prance out on the stage! Chloe did such a good job. She did a lot of looking stage right to see her teacher, but she stayed right with the beat of the music and did all of her moves perfectly. I must say, I was almost in tears with pride. She just did such a great job. We watched the video back this afternoon -- and it made me realize what a very little child she still is. I wanted to treat her more gently after seeing her tiny little self on that stage. These are good experiences for a first time mom like me. The performance seriously lasted only about 2 or 3 minutes -- it was over much too soon. All that effort for a 2 minute performance...and guess what? It was worth it! Especially the Happy Meal and ice cream afterward -- just Chloe and me.

Unfinished Conversations...

Well, it's been several days now since I went to visit Cheryl. I've been busy living life since then, so I haven't had the time to write about the adventure. I loaded the kids in the van Wednesday (can you believe we were on the road by 9:15?! Amazing!) and we got on our way down to Provo. I consider a trip successful when we don't have to turn on the movie -- and we were successful! Thanks to the wonders of GPS, we made it without any wrong turns and only about 4 potty stops. I was so excited when we pulled into her driveway!
The kids took a bit to warm up to each other, but once they did, things went great. They played outside, in the basement, and all around us. Brigham was a pill, though! He took every toy Cheryl's #4 would get into his hands -- it was always accompanied by a "mine." I really was embarassed, especially because Brigham is usually so mild mannered. It only took him about 3 hours to stop bullying little #4.
We enjoyed 6 hours of madness. We ate lunch and dinner together (thank you for being so accommodating, Cheryl!) and I left her house in utter chaos. Really. We didn't help with dishes or toy clean-up or anything! I'm really grateful for good friends who understand the need to leave at that moment -- the one that means "leave now or it will be another hour!".
We got home in time for bed and I was exhausted! I can only wonder how Cheryl felt. Since that day, I've had this idea for a poem swirling around in my brain. I will disclaim here that I possess not the gift of poetry. In fact, the last poem I wrote was for Mrs. Petersen's English class in the eleventh grade. It was a limerick and it went like this:

There once was a girl named Sue Ellen
Her breath, they said, was bad smellin'
She said, "It smells sweet cause I eats sugar beets"
But we found it was old rotten melon.

Pretty good, huh? I know...so, 12 years later, here's poem number two, although not a limerick!

Unfinished Conversations

I went to visit a friend today.
Our kids, we hoped, would stay quiet and play
So we could talk and laugh and chat...
But the children would have none of that.

Each time we talked of something new,
A child would say, "Can you fix my shoe?"
Or "I need to potty" or "He took my toy."
Somehow we greeted it with joy.

For although many words were left unspoken,
The real conversation was never broken.
It went like this, "I love you friend -- I know this life
For I am also a mother and wife."

Cheryl, thank you for such a fun day.

Visit This Park

Look who donated to RPP!

I took the kids to Ryan's Place Park this afternoon. Wow. I have to admit, parks typically equal nightmare for me. My kids love every second, but I find it difficult to keep of all of them safe and entertained the entire time. It's fun, but tiring. And then there is the inevitable temper tantrum when it's time to leave. I do not enjoy this at all. Or trying to control 3 little children in that moment.

Ryan's Place Park offered a completely different experience. There was equipment perfect for Brigham right next to equipment perfect for Chloe & Lily. It is all well contained, so I didn't feel like I had to be able to see them every second. There are lots of different things to entertain them, too. Swings for toddlers, big slippery slides, spider web nets, rocking bridges -- so many fun things! And another thing I love is that it is made out of a Trex-type material. I love this because the plastic and metal models get so hot in the summer and the wood models start to weather and give slivers after not too long. This material was perfect. The kids played and played and played. We stayed for about 2 hours. And somehow I was able to get all of them to the car without a single temper tantrum. It involved a race to the van and was quite a funny site, I'm sure. Just imagine me in my pregnant state racing two little girls while carrying a 20 month old boy in one arm and a large bag of lunch remnants in the other. It was funny to be in the picture - I can only imagine what it looked like from the outside. I was so happy the kids cooperated. I know it had a lot to do with the park itself. It was worth the little bit of a drive and we'll be going there again soon. Thank you, Mother Nature, for giving us such nice weather today!

And because I am incapable of posting just a few pictures of this very fun park, you will have to skim...

I love that all 3 of the kids were in this picture. A happy accident!

A Big Fat Disappointment

I had to spell check that word about 5 times. Even though it looks wrong to me, the almighty spell checker claims I have spelled it correctly.

This post is not about spelling, although I am a fanatic about proper spelling, grammar, and comma use. No, this post is about American Idol. Or The Final 3 was Bor-Ing. I wouldn't even post about it, except that I received so many fan emails and phone calls begging me to blog about it after my absence last week. Yes, by so many I mean 1. That's enough for my ego!

Enough about me (for now), on to the performances:

Archuletta:
Song 1: Okay, I did love his first song, but how can you not love Billy Joel songs? This is one of my favorite Billy Joel songs. Do you remember when Carmen Rasmussen sang it in Season 2? I wanted so much to like it because she was Mormon, but thinking back, it really was awful. Not so with Archuletta. He did a fantastic job. He didn't overdo the runs and his voice is so so pure. Ivory Soap 99.4% Pure pure. Good song choice, Paula. Oh, and I was so embarrassed for Mayor Mustache. Wow, that's one heck of a long-horn.
Song 2: My Boo? Yikes. Archie is waaay too white for that phrase (I do call my kids Boo a lot, but I wear bronzer). Whiteness aside, it was nice to hear a song from this decade. Not my favorite style of song (who is Chris Brown), but okay. Okay, I'll be honest...I thought it was a yawner.
Song 3: I can't even remember the name of the song he did. I remember his voice was like butter, though. But once again, boring and forgettable but so so pure and perfectly on pitch.

Syesha:
Song 1: Alicia Keys? I don't know if Syesha should be singing Alicia Keys. I think AK is so beautiful and talented, but she is totally unique in her styling and music. She's not easily covered. BUT, Syesha has a beautiful voice and really did do well with that strange song choice from Randy. Dawg, what were you thinking???
Song 2: Fever. I totally disagreed with the judges on this one. I thought this was a highlight of the night for her. She was darling, she totally worked the song and the stage, and she sounded so contemporary. I think that song is so well written -- enough that that could be a record on the radio. This was probably my favorite Syesha tonight.
Song 3: The producers failed Syesha here. She sang well, her voice was strong, but it was just a really boring song. Yes, I know it was upbeat, sassy, fast, whatever, but it was really boring for me.

Cook:
Song 1: Simon did a good job on this one. Wow. I loved that song. It was very Aerosmithy to me (and I do so love Aerosmith ballads). I find it odd that this was Aerosmithy to me (I think I'll try to find a way to incorporate Aerosmithy into my vocabulary -- it's a fun word), considering the 3rd song of Cook's, but I'll get to that in a minute. Song 1 was a winner.
Song 2: Hated it. The guitar was awful, he was pitchy, and he looks so ridiculous when he opens his mouth to hit the high notes. I have a hard time watching him sing.
Song 3: One of the best ballads EVER. I was really looking forward to Cook singing this song - I thought he would have a total homerun with it. But he totally struck out with me. Yuck yuck yuck. I thought it was a very boring interpretation and that end note was so out of tune!

Cook and Archuletta won Round 1, Syesha won Round 2, and they all lost Round 3. So who wins? I don't know, by my calculations it's a 3-way tie. But if this season is anything like Season 2 (which I totally think it is), Syesha is toast tomorrow. She has progressed so much and has a legitimate right to be in the finale, but she didn't build up that crazy fan base from the start, so she's outta here. That's what happened to Kim Locke, you know. She was so good in the last several weeks, but she peaked too late to have a chance at the finale. Do you remember her New York State of Mind, though? It was on the final 3 night and was the performance of that night. Anyway, Syesha will suffer the same fate as Kim Locke. She's gone tomorrow, don't you think?

Were you as bored as I was? Do you agree with my absolutely correct assessment of the show? Ryan & Mary, you have a gmail account now, so you better comment! :)

The Big Vacation Question

We're planning a mini-vacation over the Memorial Day weekend. We are having a hard time deciding just what we are up for, all the kids and us. These are the ideas we have so far:

1) Martin's Cove in Wyoming. It's a 7 hour drive from us and offers neat trails to walk (this may or may not be a great thing) and a Museum of the Trails in Casper. Hotels are sparse, but available. Camping is also available.
2) Salt Lake City. This is a 1 1/2 hour drive from us. We could visit the Children's Museum and Hogle Zoo. There's also Temple Square. There are lots and lots of hotels with swimming pools galore. The down side of this is that we go to Salt Lake City fairly often, albeit not for these particular attractions. That is not a problem for the kids, of course, but I was selfishly hoping we might get a little further on this vacation than SLC.
3) Camping somewhere. This is always so nice, although we haven't camped with our kids yet. Problem might be this: can we even find a campground that isn't completely full for Memorial Day already?

Now, here's The Big Vacation Question: If you were us and you had 3 children, ages 4, 3, and 20 months, what would you choose for your vacation? Tell me which of the 3 or tell me something completely different. What vacations have you done that you've loved?

Whole Wise Woman

I have this friend, Anna. I met Anna when Stanton was in Dental School at Ohio State. Anna was a few years older than me and had 2 children; I was newly married. She was assigned to be my Visiting Teacher. I enjoyed her visits every month (along with her companion, Maria) and faithfully put away all of my newly married non-toddler-proofed stuff every time they visited. In my eyes, Anna was the ideal wife and mother. She had a testimony, she was opinionated, she wrote music, she had perfectly behaved children, she read lots and lots of books, and most of all, she baked homemade whole wheat bread. In my newlywed mind the pinnacle of womanhood was the ability to bake homemade bread. Stanton's parents bought us a wheat grinder and I had my trusty red check cookbook. I made my first loaf with visions of Stanton walking in the door, briefcase in hand, me in an apron, holding a wooden spoon. The Donna Reed theme music played in my mind as I mixed and kneaded the dough. I set it out to rise, then checked it at the appropriate time. I was shocked to find it had not risen at all. In my delusional state, I figured it would rise while it baked in the oven, so I put it in. When the timer rang, I cheerily opened the oven door, greeted by what can only be described as a solid brick. I couldn't believe my eyes! When Stanton arrived home, he kindly tried to eat the loaf, only to cease for fear he might break a tooth.
At this point you could easily assume I asked my friend for a lesson in bread baking. Looking back, I realize that would have been the logical action, but my pride was strong and foolish. Instead, I ruined loaf after loaf after loaf (I am not exaggerating when I say nearly 20 loaves of bread ended up in the garbage). I looked in other places for tips and insight, but try as I did, I could not make my bread rise. Finally I tried a recipe that changed way the yeast was added. For the first time I made a loaf of bread that actually looked like a loaf of bread! Stanton and I were so excited to slice into that beautiful loaf. As Stanton made the first cut, I was dismayed to find two huge tunnels right through the middle of the loaf which caused it to be quite doughy in parts. I tried to look on the bright side and was doing well with it until the doorbell rang. There standing at the door of my apartment was Anna, holding a loaf of steaming hot, perfectly risen, perfectly baked wheat bread. I did my best to smile and thank her for her kindness, but when I closed the door, I broke down in tears. Stanton, in the kindness of his heart, suggested we throw that loaf in the garbage can and enjoy the one I had made. He was, as you can imagine, relieved when I said that wasn't necessary. He enjoyed every bite of that delicious bread and even though my ego was utterly bruised, I had to admit it was amazing.
Time passed and we all graduated and moved away. Eventually I learned how to make very good homemade bread. As I look back on that experience, though, I have to roll my eyes at that very foolish girl who put herself through so much frustration and ruined bread when she could have learned about bread baking from a master. There are so many spiritual lessons I've learned as a result of this experience.
I've continued my communication with Anna over the years, but it has been quite limited over the last several months. On Mother's Day, I received an email from Anna with a poem she had written for all her friends. I was completely inspired by her words. Yet again, I was presented with an opportunity to learn from this great woman. As we have renewed our communication, I have sought her advice and thoughts and have been blessed for it. I am so happy to have learned from my earlier mistake.
Anna gave me permission to share her poem. While it is based upon the role of mother, I feel like it has implications for all of womanhood and even membership in the Lord's church. Anna is a gifted composer and has worked hard with her sister in law Rachel (another OSU dear friend) to share that music with others. Visit their website, Faithsong Music -- you'll be so glad you did.

Whole Wise Woman


My bed is half made, the flowers half laid
In their beds, with pots askew.
The floor is half swept. The jam is half kept,
With berries still left to do.

The washer’s half loaded. The dryer’s half folded.
The closet is sorted part way.
The bills are half opened. The dishes half soaking,
And dinner is just underway.

My list half completed and feeling defeated
I think about what I have done
In my day’s disarray. Without any dismay
My accomplishments rise one by one.

The scriptures were opened. The prayers were all spoken.
I love you’s and hugs out the door.
Their voices were ringing. I smiled at them singing
Of wise men who built near the shore.

Maybe all of my half-nots will someday be wholes,
But today I’m content to ensure
That my children, whole-hearted, converted, concertedly
Walk in the way of the Lord.

Anna M. Molgard
©2008 Faithsong Publications L.L.C.
http://www.faithsongmusic.com/
This piece may be copied for noncommercial use.

And another of her poems that seems to have been written for me at this very moment:

A Soft Answer


I’ve done a lot of listening.
I haven’t had a choice.
When I woke up this morning
I’d completely lost my voice.

When speaking to my children,
Whether happily or mad,
They couldn’t tell the difference
Since a whisper’s all I had.

No matter what I said to them,
They simply whispered back.
Their tones reflected mine,
Their speech a simple, whispered rasp.

I noticed something happening,
A softer sort of change.
I started really listening.
It felt a little strange.

I started hearing things
I’d been too loud to hear before.
I stopped my interrupting,
Hearing them speak even more.

My life could be more peaceful,
My actions more sincere,
If I learned to really listen,
Drop my voice, by choice, and hear.

Anna M. Molgard
Proverbs 15:1
©2008 Faithsong Publications, L.L.C.
http://www.faithsongmusic.com/
This piece may be copied for noncommercial use.

Photoshop Fun -- and Mother's Day Extended

As a result of our both being out of town, I got an extra day of Mother's Day gifts. This is the beautiful bouquet I received today. It is a lovely decoration, yes, but even more fun to play with in Photoshop! Thanks, Stant.

Before and after 1

Before and after 2

Such a Fun Weekend!

Stanton was out of town for some business, so I decided to take the kids up to my folks' house to visit. What a great weekend! Friday night we went to my absolute favorite place to eat -- Rupe's Burgers. The kids must have been starving because they ate like horses. Or maybe they have terrific taste in burgers and fries like their mom? We, of course, saw a million people either I knew or my parents wanted to introduce me to. I guess one of the fun things about being from a small town?

Saturday we went to visit my sister who is pregnant with twins and on bed rest. It was so fun for the cousins to play and they did play! Everyone got along well, which is thanks in large part to my very well behaved nieces and nephew -- They bring out the best in my three. Mom had to take pictures with Cindy and I and our bellies. And I actually appreciated it, as I have very few pictures of myself (the result of being the one taking the pictures all the time...). Take a look though at this weirdness. Cindy is pregnant with twins and is 33 weeks along. I am pregnant with one and am 26 weeks along. Notice anything odd? Like the fact that we are pretty much the same size? A little depressing, yes. But it was so fun to see her. She has become one of my best friends as we've become adults -- that was not the case in our younger years, but I love her and look up to her so much. It was a very fun way to spend the day.

The evening was spent visiting my favorite neighbors and then attending the wedding reception of a good friend. She was radiant and happy and beautiful. It's fun to see friends making good choices and inviting that kind of happiness into their lives. It was fun to catch up with her family, too, and meet her husband.

Oh, but before that (how could I forget?!) the kids got to see Baxter with Grandpa.

Today (Mother's Day) was also a lot of fun. We went to church in my home ward where mom and dad still live. It took me a while to remember names, as it always does, but it's always so good to see the people who helped shape my character as a youth. And the meeting happened to also be the missionary sacrament meeting talk thing of my neighbor, Mike M. He's obviously much younger than I am, but he and his brother Chris (who is also on a mission) were such great friends and I absolutely love them. It was a happy accident that I got to be there to say goodbye to him and I'm so glad for it!

Brigham before church this morning -- riding on Grandpa's saddle

The kids all did well in their respective classes and came out with cute Mother's Day cards and gifts. That's so much fun! They were all excited to share them with me -- which was really the fun part of the gifts anyway. I am sure thankful that I have these little children. They are little miracles and I recognize more and more that I have done nothing to deserve them. I have only the privilege of being thankful for them and doing my best to help them become good people whose lives are a tribute to the God who gave them to me. I love them so much.