Monday, Monday

I hadn't planned to post anything today. I mean, this is the third year in a row we've gone to Aspen Grove for President's Day. You can read about snowshoeing in 2009 here and cross country skiing in 2010 here. I mean, really, how many ways can you write about the same thing?

Lucky you, we found a way to mix it up a little bit.

The day started out like this:

We opted for cross country skiing again because everyone but me liked it better. It was a beautiful day. We got our skis without any trouble. The snow was out in abundance. They told us they had 2 feet of new snow just yesterday. We were enjoying the day on our way over to the trail head. That's pretty much all of the activity that I saw. You'll have to check out Erica's blog to see the rest, when she gets pictures posted.

My afternoon looked like this:

(You should pay attention to the clean room and floor. It makes me happy when it occasionally shows up!)

Those of you that knew me from 6-10 grades may realize that this was once a regular scene from my life. I dislocated my left knee cap 7 times in that 4 year span. The list of sports in which I dislocated my patella is also the list of sports I no longer participate in- gymnastics, dodge ball, soccer, tether ball, tennis, basketball, another one I can remember. I also generally avoid softball because I sprained my right knee when at bat once. I had surgery twice in an effort to keep all body parts where they belong. I've sprained my left knee twice since then, but no dislocations. Apparently, I'm trying to reconnect with my childhood because I dislocated my knee again after all these years. I am happy to report that the two surgeries have held up. This time it was my right leg instead of the left.

We were walking down the road to the trail head wearing our fancy non-tread ski shoes, carrying our skis and poles. Ryan was running behind Greg and me and I turned slightly to tell him to be careful and not slip in the ice when I wasn't careful and slipped on the ice. Nothing like being an excellent example of why we do what our parents ask us to do! My skiing was done and I never even got to put the skis on. Good thing, too. Can you imagine what might have happened with long slippery sticks involved in the fall?!

Greg and an employee helped me back to the dining hall. By then the shock and initial pain had worn off and I sent Greg out to have fun with the kids. I could sit on a chair at home or sit on a chair at Aspen Grove. Might as well let everyone else enjoy their day. After we got home, Greg drove me over to Urgent Care. I was pretty sure it was sprained and they'd just tell me to wear my brace and take it easy for a while. I wanted to know when I could walk on it and drive again or I'd have just stayed home.

Turns out to be dislocated, not sprained. The ligaments all felt tight to the doctor and the x-ray showed all the bones back in their correct spots. I have a new bendable knee brace to add to the collection (which we can't find!). I do have to take it easy, but not like I did when I was younger. Back then it was 6 weeks in a straight leg brace and then rehab to regain all my atrophied muscle- which I apparently didn't do very well since I kept repeating the injury. This time I wear the bendy brace all the time for 2 weeks then as I need it for a couple of months, move it a little more each day, get off the crutches as soon as it feels ok, and drive when it feels good enough. I like medical advances.

Right now, it's swollen, but feels pretty good here on the couch. Erica took over and made dinner- thank you! Greg is out getting ice cream, and we're going to have a nice quiet Family Home Evening. Oh, and I am happy to announce that skiing is officially on my list of sports that I no longer participate in even though it;s technically not a skiing accident. Next year, I'm just going to plan ahead before this activity. Greg and the kids can do their thing. I'm just taking a book and finding a comfy chair in the dining hall with a donut and some hot chocolate before I get hurt.

HALLELUJAH! It's almost Christmas!

I saw this on Momza's blog this morning and couldn't help but share the smiles. Have a fabulous day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(In case my posting record remains about the same, see you in January!)

Ramblings on All Hallow's Eve Eve

It is Day 2 of Halloween 2010. Yesterday was costumes at school. Today is trick-or-treating. Tomorrow is the actual day, but probably be the most un-Halloween of them all. That's good. I think we'll all need a day to come down out of the sugar stratosphere. (I'm glad I'm not subbing in Primary tomorrow!)

SuperDad is traversing the neighborhood in the wind and rain dressed as his alter-ego, Greg, and accompanying his two youngest sons on their quest for the largest candy haul ever. I haven't seen anyone else out, so the chances are good. I, the Mom, sacrificed her fun and super hero status to stay home in the dry house and man the front door. I think I'm ok with that. It's quiet, so I thought I'd sit at the computer and see what comes out the ol' fingertips. Then, I'm off to make pumpkin seeds. Ok, the pumpkins made them. I'm going to bake them. And then eat them.

1) We watered the dirt in what used to be our garden for 30 minutes in the rain today. Seems a bit over-the-top, but we added sulfur to the dirt to make it more acidic and it needs lots of water to start dissolving. I never knew that sulfuric acid is one of those things a garden needs to grow, but apparently it is. Here's hoping for a bountiful strawberry crop next spring!

2) I'm being very creative on the costume front this year. On Day 1 I was an undercover Tobacco and Firearms agent masquerading as a mom. Today I am an undercover CIA agent masquerading as a YW Camp leader. I have the shirt and everything. Tomorrow, I'm going to be an undercover FBI agent masquerading as a Latter-Day Saint woman at church. See, very creative. I thought of that all by myself while I was doing dishes this afternoon and made the idea retroactive to yesterday.

3) I cut up all the bell peppers we grew and put them in the freezer this afternoon. They were either not all the way ripe or hotter than the ones you buy in the store because my hands were tingling for over an hour after I finished and I had washed them several times. Never had that happen before. I'll have to remember to use them sparingly.

4) It's been 35 minutes since my family left to go trick-or-treating and we just had our first visitors who are not related to me or are one of the relatives friends. I'm seeing lots of left-over candy in our future.

5) The garage smells like heaven because of all the apples out there waiting to be made into sauce. Mmmmmm! Can't wait.

6) We actually got about 5 pounds of potatoes out of our garden and some of them were actually regular potato size. They'll be dinner next week.

7) 10 more minutes and trick-or-treating set #2 has just left. They thought our Halloween decoration that consists of 5 jack-o-lanterns with a glow stick inside one of them was cool. They are my favorites.

8) Greg pulled out the little 3 or 4 foot pine trees growing on either side of our garage this morning. I love having them gone! Neither one was doing fantastic, but one of them really was about dead. I don't know how long the trees have been there, but we've been here over two years and they were here when we arrived. Greg tied a rope around it a pulled it out with the car to find that it's roots were all still in a ball. No wonder the poor thing looked like it was about dead. The weeds underneath it seem to be doing pretty well, though.

Ok, the rain has stopped and the doorbell keeps ringing, so I'm out of here. Although, what's up with the teenagers trick-or-treating without at least attempting a costume? Maybe they are undercover secret agents, too. We're all over the place, I tell you.

Have a happy Halloween!

Happy 4th (on the 5th!)

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

~Erma Bombeck

I saw this quote this morning on Safely Gathered In and smiled. This country is all about helping families grow in peace and safety. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Happy 234th Birthday, America!
(And many more!)

Hope of America

Steven participated in the Hope of America concert tonight. Greg couldn't be there, so I videoed some of the songs. I'm posting them here in the hopes that they are easier to see. FYI- Blogger is making me title each video, but my computer isn't letting me see which song is which. So, the titles are a little free floating and subject to my memory of what I actually recorded. Also, I sometimes missed the beginnings and once thought I was running out of battery and once did run out of memory. It should be rather obvious why I am not a videographer. I'm sorry you have to be punished.

As for Steven, if you have the eyes of an eagle you should be able to spot him. The concert takes place in the Marriott Center, If you're familiar with it, the choir fills the entire bench seating section below the concourse- that's one entire long side. Steven's school makes up the bottom 1-1/2 rows of the blue field. There are no white stars in either row. Steven was the 4th person in from the right on the next to last row of blue. Let me know if you spot him.

What is the Hope of America concert? It is a patriotic program hosted by Provo's Freedom Festival (they also sponsor the Stadium of Fire on July 4th) and involves 5th graders from all over the county. Beginning last year they had to split it to 2 nights because there were so many children. There are about 8,000 5th graders participating this year over the two nights. The kids practice at their individual schools and then gather for a dress rehearsal for everyone on the day of the performance. It was really quite impressive to watch.

Oh, the last video starts out all dark, it's not a camera problem.

White as Snow

I woke this morning to a not-so-typical looking Easter morning. The sun hadn't risen all the way, yet and I wasn't even sure it would poke it's head out because of all the clouds. It's not often that you see a "White Easter", especially when you didn't really have a "White Christmas" or even much of a "White Winter".


My first thought was of the scripture in Isaiah 1:18, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow". Everything was so clean, pretty, and white. Then I looked a little closer and saw the poor daffodils.

They were struggling with what looked like the weight of the world on their tiny little shoulders. That's what you get for being an early spring flower. Timing is everything. There are warm, beautiful days and then there are those days when they probably wonder why they bothered poking their heads out of the ground. In fact, we could get several inches of snow tomorrow, too. Good thing they are made of tougher stuff than they look.

Then I realized what a perfect morning this was to be an Easter morning. The whole point of Easter is to remind us that the Savior came to earth, lived a perfect life, died, and was resurrected so that not only could we someday go where He has gone, but to remind us that He has "been there and done that". He's lived on earth in much harsher circumstances than I and did so perfectly. Then He took on Himself all my imperfections, mistakes, wrongs, and sins so that He could 1) understand my pains and trials and 2) pay for them because there was no way I could do so on my own. He opened the door for me and everyone else on earth to return Home and have everything He has. All he asks in return is that we follow Him and do our best to live as He would.


This life wasn't meant to be easy. It was meant to be a test to help us learn and grow. Timing is everything and life in the Last Days is far from perfect. There will be beautiful, warm, Spring days. There will also be days when we not only wondered why we bothered to get up we will wonder if we can possibly bear everything that is placed on our shoulders. Sometimes the weight is there because that's just the nature of mortal life. Sometimes it is there because of the choices we made. Either way, the Savior is there to help us through. Even as I stood there taking pictures with the first light of day, I could here water dripping in rain gutters as the weight of the snow began melting away in the face of the rising sun. If we can remember to turn to our own sun- or I should write The Son- the weight of our burdens will melt away. They may not be gone, but they will be lighter. And, I think we'll find that we are made of tougher stuff than we look.


Since taking pictures this morning, the clouds have moved back in. Right now I can't even see the mountains across the street. I know they're there, though, and that somewhere above the clouds the sun is shining brightly. What a perfect Easter morning. The greatest miracle of all is that He lives and because He does, so can we! Happy Easter!

Love One Another

"In the enriching of marriage, the big things are the little things."

James E. Faust

I might add that little saying applies to any relationship. A smile, a hug, a sincere "How are you today?" go farther in building and maintaining relationships than anything else. Validate that someone is important and you'll change their world. Thanks to all those who make a difference for me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

They Didn't Come

Joy For Your Journey asked about our shoes this morning. Sad to report they were still all over the floor and had nothing fun or exciting in them. Too bad. Mine would fall into the "large and therefore prosperous" category for this particular holiday. Maybe we should leave a treat as a good will offering next year. I should also not put my shoes away if I want them filled, huh! On second thought, Ryan has been overly concerned with robbers breaking into our house lately. He prays every night that none will break in and if they do that they will be caught by the police and we'll get our stuff back. So, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to invite strangers in just now. Greg went to work, church, and school, the kids went to school and scouts, I went grocery shopping, and my Visiting Teachers came to visit. They gave me two messages since they didn't get here last month, which was sweet. One even went back home to get my Christmas present she forgot- a box of chocolate covered orange sticks. She didn't put them in my shoes when she came back, though. We had a smattering of rain, but no snow. Pretty normal day on the whole. Off to bed. Night!

If You Leave Them By The Door, They Will Come...Maybe

It's not something we celebrate here, but tomorrow is "The Day of the Kings" in some parts of the world. We have a friend in New Hampshire who is from Spain and she makes sure to celebrate with her family every year. The kids even get to skip school. Our kids wished they could be adopted every Jan. 5.

How does one celebrate? In essence, one leaves their shoes out with treats for the Wise Men and their mounts and wakes up in the morning to find treats and presents left as a Thank You. As Erica said, "This is one day when people with big feet prosper".

Why do I mention it? Well, if you were to walk in our front door right now and through the living room, you'd think we were trying to entice every wise or semi-wise man who ever lived to stop by and visit tonight- at least the children here are. It's one of those "If I had a penny for every shoe (coat, backpack, etc.) by the door..." kinds of days. We aren't leaving any treats out, unless crumbs count, so I'm fairly confident that no one will stop and we'll wake to find the shoes right where they are and just as empty as they will be when the lights go out.

I'm not trying to make light of a holiday, especially one that marks such an important day. And, I'll admit, the shoe/coat/backpack situation has been worse so I shouldn't complain. Most of the coats are even heaped all over a coat rack instead of all over the floor. It's just nice to think that once a year the shoes can be left out and all around for a reason, no matter how remote.

So, Happy Day of the Kings if you're from Spain. Have a great Jan. 6 if you're from the US- and all you kiddos have a great day at school!

Thoughts on a Monday Evening

This is another one of those times I feel like writing, but don't really have anything to say. So, I'm going to ramble and see where it takes me.

1) It snowed today. Alot. Well, ok, Southern UT could get up to like 40 inches, so our 6 or 8 isn't really all that much in comparison. Try driving down our hill when it hasn't been plowed and has several inches of snow and your friend's house is at the bottom with the garage watching you head right at it and then it feels a little more impressive. I like that the school district doesn't cancel school for snow,just football. The kids seem much more excited to come home and head out to play in it than they do if they've had free time all day.

2) Greg finished his last paper for the semester and turned it in this afternoon! Woo Hoo! Christmas break has arrived, at least for one aspect of our lives. The kids are very jealous, though some seem to be struggling with the concept that he still has to go to work even though he's on a break. It doesn't help that he works at one school while attending another, so whose Christmas break are we talking about, anyway?!

3) I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night. I'm going to spend a little more time this Christmas season making sure I can still see the reason for the season and not just the season.

4) My mental calendar just reminded me that today is the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and entered the US into WWII. My grandparents were married in July of 1941 and then left almost immediately for Honolulu. They were there during the attack, so I always think of them. Grandpa was a weather forecaster for the entire South Pacific, so he didn't have to ship out, but they spent the rest of the war in Hawaii and Grandma has some intense stories to tell about being married 6 months and then not knowing if her husband was alive after the bombing, driving around with headlights blacked out except for quarter-sized navy blue circles in the middle, giving birth in a hospital by flashlight, having to seal off every window in the house in the middle of the night so no light could escape before warming a bottle, and torpedo watches every morning and evening on the ship sailing back to the mainland to visit her parents. They sure make me grateful for the sacrifices made by those who serve in the military and their families and for the life I live today.

5) I love white lights on Christmas trees. They look like little stars to me.

6) I bought Pillsbury brownie mixes last week for $.48 a piece. I thought it was a smoking deal until I made them tonight for FHE and they gave me heart burn. Guess I should make them a lot this month because they aren't tempting me at all. That might help the waistline.

7) The Christmas bins are still sitting in my living room. They're beginning to bug me because it's been 10 days since we started decorating and they are now becoming tables that everyone is putting stuff on. What are the odds that I'm ever going to finish getting the rest of the decorations out? I'm thinking that I'll enjoy this season a whole lot more if I stick with the tree, the stockings, and the one nativity that's already out on the piano and get the bins back downstairs.

8) Our mail carrier is also the Bishop in the ward next to ours. He told me today that one of the kids in their Primary saw him all bundled up (which means he's wearing a coat, hat and boots with his shorts. Must be related somehow to our boys!) and said he looked like a ninja snowman. Kids have the best imaginations!

Ok, I just had to go back and correct the spelling for almost every word in the last sentence. I think that means my brain has passed some limit, especially since they weren't really complicated words! Have a great night and enjoy your tomorrow!

Oh, What Do You Do In The Summer Time?

Today is one of those double sided days. School is out. That means time with the kiddos, no more getting up and out the door every morning or stopping in the middle of my day to pick anyone up, the freedom to stay up a little later at night, no more homework, free time, field trips, and warm sunny weather. It also means time with the kiddos, no more getting up and out the door every morning or stopping in the middle of my day to pick anyone up, the freedom to stay up a little later, no more homework, free time, field trips, and warm sunny weather. No, you didn't read it funny and I didn't just repeat myself on accident. All of those things are GREAT! And, all of those things are not so great. Another interesting phenomenon is that those things are more GREAT in, say, June, than they are in, say, August. Summer vacation is definitely one of those things that should be had in moderation.

Normally, I'd have several things planned to do by now. This summer has kind of snuck up on me as I've been getting ready for camp and spending an huge proportion of the last month sitting in the doctors office for one reason or another. What's that scripture? "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I think my lack of preparation is causing a bit more apprehension than normal. Of course, the abnormal has been more the norm for the last little while. We've moved the last two summers right as school got out. That's pretty much negated most of the "free time" and "field trip" portions of the summer. Though, I guess a cross country drive could be considered one huge field trip. Maybe I just feel out of "practice" for summer. Either way, so far this year I have temple times planned with the kids and I know we're going to the Museum of Art (MOA) next week. That's it. The MOA has an exhibit made entirely of things around the house. We actually saw one of them the last time we were there, not realizing it was part of a larger exhibit. It's a hanging sculpture made from dry cleaning hangars. I've heard there's a glass case filled with styrofoam peanuts blown around by a fan. Should be interesting. It's also close to home and guaranteed to be short- so I can get on with camp preparations. I can already hear the moaning, which is why none of the kids know we're going, yet. Summer isn't all fun and games! Camp is the following week. After that, who knows what's going to happen.

So, what do you do in the summer time? That Primary song is perfect right now. Should we "swim in a pool", "swing un a tree up high", "march in parades", "drink lemonade", "count all the stars in the sky"? "Is that what you do? So do I", maybe. Only 81 days left to figure it all out.

Happy Labor Day

This hasn't been the funnest of holidays for Greg. It didn't start out so bad. He got take Joseph to soccer practice, cut down branches from our neighbors tree that are hitting the side and roof of our house, and play Monopoly with the boys. It was even cool enough out to snow on the tops of the mountains, on September 1st, no less! Seeing as he had the day off, Greg decided to figure out the problem with our Norton Anti-Virus. It quit working on the laptop a couple of weeks ago. Greg uninstalled the program but couldn't get it to reinstall. You can't call Norton for help (unless you want to pay $60), only communicate through online chat. Things even went pretty well with that at first. Greg could play Monopoly with the boys while the Norton guy tried to figure the problem. The non-fun began when Mr. Norton (I think at that time it was a person named Vijay) told Greg the laptop had to have a hard-wired connection to the internet, not wireless. That ended Greg's Monopoly game as the internet connection was upstairs and the game was happening downstairs. He's now spent the better part of the day in the computer room, spoken with 6 different analysts (three of them elevated case managers), been disconnected three times and has now started over for the 4th time. The whole process started at 12:45 this afternoon. It's now 10:05. Steven and Ryan were in here earlier crossing all the appendages they had, but it didn't work. We had Family Home Evening in the computer room with the then current analyst beeping in occasionally and remotely operating the computer, which is kind of weird to watch. The computer has now been restarted more times than he cares to think about. Needless to say, Greg is a teeny little bit frustrated. He thinks he's being cursed because he didn't shave today. I appreciate all his efforts. To his credit, the computer has not flown through a window, the internet cable is still attached to the wall, his face is still flesh colored, there are no bulging veins in or around his face, and he can make a joke and still smile (at least on the outside). Our current analyst is Sujeesh. He's hung in there so far , this fourth time around, and not disconnected Greg. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. If not, we'll disconnect ourselves from this whole process and start again another day. I bet Greg shaves tomorrow.