Slow summer days

We celebrated Hyrum's birthday last week as a family, then invited extended family up for Sunday dinner. Here's Hyrum with his birthday plate.

The kids and I went to the Oquirrh [say it Oh-kur]Mountain Temple openhouse last week. My favorite part was seeing all the beautiful artwork and the kids liked the cookies they served after the openhouse the best. :)

And Sunday morning, Jared came into the bedroom looking for my camera. Here's why:

We're camping this weekend, so the rest of today and tomorrow will be spent planning meals, and packing clothes. :)

Love the weather

Today [so far] it has been sunny and clear. Of course, we took a trip to the doctor for my allergy shots [his office is in the Salt Lake Valley] and it rained on the drive over. But since we got back, sunny and clear. LOL, I'm still getting used to all this rain! We live in a desert, after all. But, because we're high up in the mountains, we end up with rain almost every day. And the temperature is perfect- I'd say it's about 69 or 70 degrees outside IN THE SUN right now. Which means I can crack open my windows at night, but dare not widen the crack, lest I wake up with frost on my face.

Jared made it safely back from Texas yesterday. For a conference, it was unusually brief [2 days] and actually productive. Yes, I was shocked as well. I thought that there were laws against having productive conferences; especially government-run ones. LOL :)

I unpacked another box in my room. Whew! Only 59 million left to go.

At church last week I saw a familiar face, and wondered if we were related. Sure enough, I found out he's a cousin to my mother. Of course, moving to the town where my grandparents lived their whole married lives, I was expecting to meet a few relatives, but I'm excited that I actually recognized him! And, my next-door-neighbor is a cousin to my dad's nephew [my cousin]'s wife. My neighbor's mom, and my cousin's wife's mom, are sisters and they grew up in the same small town that my husband is from. Oh, this world keeps getting smaller and smaller! ** small break while we sing, "I'm my own grandpa" **

Took the kids to see "Up" Monday night. We all enjoyed it. Especially the bird, Kevin, who made us all laugh repeatedly.

Gratitude List:
* cars that work.
* a car repair bill that did not break our monthly budget.
* unpacking another box and getting the contents put away.
* walking to the park last night, and talking with my husband while the kids ran around.
* a sugar cone with 2 flavors of ice cream [both contained chocolate]
* watching a movie with my kids, and not worrying about bad language or inappropriate jokes.
* helium balloons!
* I found a recycling place in town :) so I feel not quite so bad about all the paper I shredded and now need to throw away.
* God is good. My life is good.
* homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Settling in

We have internet [can you tell I'm excited about that?], and library cards [big bonus for Walker, who wants to camp out at the library now], and some vegetable plants for our container garden. We thought about digging up the sod in one of the back corners of the yard. We even got permission to do this from our landlord. However, after looking at the soil, we realized it is mostly rocks. We would have to buy topsoil [not going to happen in a rental house], and build containers to hold the soil, in order to get any sort of a good garden. So, we decided to skip the 'pull grass up' step and the 'buy topsoil' step, and move directly to 'plant veggies in containers' step. I have 2 rooms with boxes: my room and the craft room. There are also a bunch of boxes in the basement, but that is what basements are for :) so I'm not too worried about that yet.

Gratitude List:
* fresh homemade wheat bread
* wheat grinder is out of storage and in use once more
* nice friendly neighborhood
* lots of friendly kids to play with mine
* cool sunny weather to play outside in
* water walls to protect my tomatoes from freezing temps. Our average 'last frost date' is June 1st.
* family get-togethers
* my children
* my husband
* my faith in God. He is good!
* internet access to friends, old and new, which helps me keep in touch.
* meditation time to mellow my temper. It isn't a miracle cure, but it helps so much.
* my health

Good and Bad

We're all moved in now. Still need to unpack boxes, and decide where to put the contents, but I have internet again. Now to answer the 328 emails in my inbox.

My mom, sister, and 2 nieces drove up to visit us today. I was pretty excited to see all of them- especially my nieces, since last time I saw their family, Charlotte was still in utero :). My kids were thrilled to have cousins to play with, and I was talking with my sister, catching up on their lives, when we heard Rachael screaming from the backyard.

We'd put one of our dogs in the garage before they came, because she loves kids and will jump on them and lick them, which usually scares them. Our other dog was in her kennel, being quiet, so I thought we could leave her there. Big mistake- she wasn't feeling well, and bit Rachael's finger hard enough to draw blood. Jared took her to the vet to have her put down. This breaks my heart. She has been such a good dog, and biting like this is so out of character for her. At least Rachael's shots are up to date, so she won't need another one as a result of the bite.

Gratitude List:
* that Rachael is all right.
* there are a million girls on our new street, and they have all been over to play with my kids since Tuesday :)
* family visits, and a picnic in the backyard.
* books to read.
* our basement is sheetrocked and ready to go- we now have a bedroom for the boys as well as a storage area next to the laundry room.
* my husband's rockin' skills with sheetrock. He can do anything.
* an unpacked kitchen. There are boxes in every single room of our house, except that one. :) I need a little bit of order in my chaotic life.
* scriptures.
* God's grace.
* the "cooties" game as played by my niece and younger son. Very interesting rules a 3 and 5 year old will come up with.

Moving Day!

Okay, we're moving on Saturday [May 23], and I know I'll be unpacking for a few days after, so this is the official "I'm offline until sometime next week."

I need more boxes...

Little Miracles

I'm still a bit in shock about how quickly our house sold. We prayed that the house would sell quickly, but left the timing in God's hands. We got an offer last Monday, countered with a higher price and later closing date. They countered with the same closing date but accepted the higher price. That means that after we pay closing costs, the realtor, and replace the money we used to buy new carpet and paint, we still make money. Really. And it's more than half of what we need to pay off Jared's remaining student loans. WOW.

The new owners want to move in before the end of May, so I was praying we could find a rental that had everything we needed [3 bedrooms, fenced yard big enough for dogs, garage, and storage space] in the time we had. I also had to work around Jared's TDY- he left today and will return late on May 22 [a Friday]. As of yesterday, we are the proud new renters of a 3-bedroom rambler with an unfinished basement [lots of storage space], and a fully grassed and fenced yard [and they had dogs, too, so the door to the garage has a doggie door installed in it]. Plus, the yard has a sprinkling system already installed [have to water grass 3+ times per week in the Utah desert], AND the owner told us we could dig up a corner of the grass in the backyard to plant our garden. How cool is that?!? Oh, and she will let us move in on the 23rd, which will give me a few days to clean up our old house before the new owners take possession.

I didn't really want to leave my neighbors and friends. My dream [in a perfect life] is to stay in one house until I die, getting to know neighbors and watching our kids grow up, get married, and bring their own kids back to 'the neighborhood.' But what I most want is to have a home filled with love and warmth, and I can move every 3-4 years to follow Jared's career, since he is an integral part of that loving home I'm working towards.

**I have our new address. You can email me [ jgailey4@hotmail.com ] and I'll send it to you :) but we won't actually be in the house for another 13 days.

Gratitude List:
* God knows me and loves me. Over and over, the events in my life speak this truth to me.
* Music, especially music that lightens my soul.
* Having easy access to that music through Itunes :)
* Good neighbors and friends who have come up to me quietly and offered their help in our move, even though they don't want us to go.
* Keeping a journal.
* Our house sold quickly :)and we found a rental that will meet all our needs.
* My husband goes out of his way to cherish me.
* Kids were good almost all day today.
* Time to play card games with my kids today.
* The beautiful tulips and irises growing outside my front door.
* Memories- good and bad, pleasant and painful- I am so grateful to have all these experiences as part of my life.

Peace

**I have to preface this by stating that our trip home from Reno on Saturday was the shortest trip I have ever enjoyed along that road. Not that the distance or time was any less than at other times, but the quiet peacefulness [we had a book on cd we listened to the entire drive home] made it feel like a short journey instead of an 8-hour torture session.**

Now, I recently ran across this quote in my readings:

"There is a world cry for peace; everybody wants peace. In newspapers, magazines, books, [and] from the public platform come cries for peace. As far back as I can remember, there has never been such a worldwide appeal for peace among the children of men.

It is a curious commentary on human nature that men who cry for peace look upon peace as something that may be picked as an apple from a tree, something that lies about within easy reach of humanity. If I pick an apple from a tree, I have first planted the tree, cared for it, watered it, brought it to maturity. Then in due time I may have the fruit.

So with peace. It is not a thing by itself to be picked up casually; but it is the fruit of something precedent. Like the tree, something must be planted and nourished and cared for if we are to obtain peace."

:) I thought about writing a huge essay on how I feel about this quote, yada yada. But really? While I think it is a great reminder to ME to plant peaceful seeds, it may mean something different for you. So I'm going to move on to another subject.

Today in church Jared got to sit by me! Yep, last week he was released from his calling as first counselor to the bishop [he had to sit in front of the congregation for this]. I'm glad he accepted the call, and grateful that he worked hard in it. I'm also happy that he got to sit w/us in the congregation today. I've missed him. He's leaving next Sunday to attend a 3 week training course held in Pennsylvania. *sigh*

Here's a few pictures from our Reno trip:
We visited Animal Ark, and the kids LOVED seeing the animals and reading about them as well.

We visited the park, and the auto museum [lots of car pics I will spare you], and we officially celebrated Walker's 11th birthday on April 30. Just a few days late ;)

The ducks were a hit, as was watching kayak practice in the Truckee River. No pics of that- I was too busy watching. Also, no pics of the trip home.

Gratitude List:
* audiobooks that the kids are interested in listening to.
* sunny weather for the trip home.
* cake balls for everyone!
* our car had no troubles of any kind on the trip.
* family that let us visit, and entertained us as well.
* Jared can sit by me during church meetings again.
* gorgeous tulips in my front yard :)
* rainstorms that water my plants for me [like the storm that just blew in].
* Peace in my heart that is a gift from God.
* we're home again and back in our daily routine.
* some easy sewing projects to do with the kids.


Okay, so the source of the quote? A Norwegian immigrant to the United States; an educator, author, and academician, serving as president of Utah Agricultural College and the University of Utah. He was born in 1872, and died in 1952. He was also a religious man, serving as an Apostle in my church- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His name was John A. Widtsoe.

Vacation

This trip has been interesting. Some good, some bad, but all interesting. :)will post pics after I get home and upload them. For now, I am looking forward to the kids' fishing trip with Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Jon.

Gratitude List:
* A good night's sleep
* A nice slow day yesterday- I did laundry and knit and read a book. Kids played w/my in-laws' enormous collection of legos.
* The "Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake" turned out well.
* Audio books. I used to avoid and delay car trips because of the fighting in the car [I know, mine are the only kids who do this]. Listening to books keeps them quiet and calm and WOW so much more fun to ride with!! Thanks to my MIL for the great suggestions: the idea, and the books to try.
* Cake balls. Yes, they are 'heavily addictive.' And I'm making them AFTER everybody goes fishing today.
* My mother's patience with me. There are so many skills that she taught me: cooking, cleaning, sewing, patience. I'm sorry I was a slow learner.
* daily meditation time. I notice the difference when I miss a day.
* hugs from kids- even the 'stealth' hugs [which always surprise and sometimes startle me]

Math with kids

1 Walker in living room, practicing piano
+ 1 Morgen in bedroom, sulking
+ 1 Hyrum outside, playing because he's finished his schoolwork
= 1 knocked-down "for sale" sign in the front yard with 2 weapons [sticks] lying on the ground next to it.

I wonder, who could be responsible?

"Hyrum! Come here, please!"

**Added to my super-deductive reasoning skills was this response**

"I know." [big sigh] "I'm in trouble."

1 Walker, still inside, now working on last math assignment
+ 1 Morgen, still in bedroom, still sulking
+ 1 Hyrum, now in bedroom, crying because he's in trouble [no punishment beyond the solitary confinement, just feeling terribly guilty, I guess]
= 1 fixed "for sale" sign in the front yard. 2 weapons now in backyard. I really should have thrown them in the garbage. Maybe tomorrow...

Walker's 11 years old now. Whew. Not a huge celebration- with Jared gone, we decided to do the big party/cake/presents thing next week while we're in Reno. But we did go out to eat w/some family, and the wait staff sang a Happy Birthday song to Walker ;) and we spent a few hours walking around Thanksgiving Point, admiring the gorgeous flowers- mostly tulips, since they're currently having the tulip festival- and watching my kids rough-house with their cousins. Last week we walked around the gardens w/Jon and Melinda, and this is what they looked like:

This week, there is a bit of a change in the temperature:

Does anybody have a bulldozer I could borrow? I think that this: would look perfect in my backyard right now.

Gratitude List:
* Jared will be home Sunday morning!
* texting him reminds me why I married him- great sense of humor ;)
* family in town
* playing games w/relatives
* hanging out and talking after dinner [except for Walker's repeated "can we GO now?!?" after his food was gone]
* sunny weather today after a forecast of heavy rain.
* scripture reading
* faith in God
* allergy shots so I can [hopefully] go camping this year

Oh, the busyness

I have to say that the advent of spring [with no snow this week to dampen our spirits] has certainly cheered everybody in this house right up. We currently have a lawn in our backyard! It's some type of seasonal grass, and usually goes away in the summer, but always reappears in September. Weird, but pretty for now :)

Jared's in Idaho this week, saving the world one training manual at a time. His kids are currently: practicing their Tarzan yell from a tree in the backyard [Walker], picking grass to make a nest for an as-yet-unchosen animal [Morgen], and choosing some weapons [sticks] to chase his siblings with [Hyrum]. I really LOVE my backyard. Just add kids, and you have instant fun and games! Well, sometimes you get mud, too, but only if you're really, really lucky.

Did you know that my kids yell at each other? As in, *first name, middle name, last name*, this is my *unusual name for a house* and it has a *weird name for protection* to keep you *monster name* out!!! Yep. They yell at the dogs, too. I'm trying to decide if this means they are treating each other like pets, or the dogs like siblings...

Gratitude List:
* family visits- sorry about the sparse accommodations ;)
* more family visits this week
* another family visit next week [we'll be heading to see my in-laws]
* spring weather
* Library day!
* kids decided on their own to have a contest to see who could finish the most schoolwork before recess. Weird, but cool.
* I baked on Sunday- chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm!
* Daily meditation time and the peace it spreads through my whole day.
* Jared's Idaho trip is only a week long.
* sunshine and blooming plants and HAPPINESS in my daily life today.