This video described almost exactly my personal feelings about my own grief, and also gave a great description of what another person can do to comfort someone when they mourn.
Mourning
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wow, 2 posts in a row!
But this post is a very short one, just to celebrate the payment of our very last debt.
WE ARE COMPLETELY DEBT-FREE!!!!! [picture me shouting and dancing around our living room]
** Paid the credit cards off, after Jared finished college and got a "real job". [2005]
** Paid off our Durango loan [2006]
** Paid off our Ford loan [2008]
** Sold our house in Kearns, for a profit, and paid off our mortgage. And we are currently renting, so we have no mortgage right now! [2009]
** Paid off our student loan IN FULL [12:47 pm on 15 September 2009]
Oh I want to throw a party!
hmmm, maybe I will...
WE ARE COMPLETELY DEBT-FREE!!!!! [picture me shouting and dancing around our living room]
** Paid the credit cards off, after Jared finished college and got a "real job". [2005]
** Paid off our Durango loan [2006]
** Paid off our Ford loan [2008]
** Sold our house in Kearns, for a profit, and paid off our mortgage. And we are currently renting, so we have no mortgage right now! [2009]
** Paid off our student loan IN FULL [12:47 pm on 15 September 2009]
Oh I want to throw a party!
hmmm, maybe I will...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
tagged
My friend Kristina tagged me LOL, and since I haven't posted in almost a month [oops!] I thought this would be a good kick-start for me.
The rules are that I must post 7 things about myself. Completely random things. Here goes:
1. I'm reading all our Louis L'Amour books again. Because I can, and because I found them when I unpacked one of the five [now four] boxes we had left in the basement.
2. I can finally say I don't bite my nails. I've been trying to break that habit for about 25 years now :)
3. I enjoy teaching the art class I volunteered for at Walker's junior high. Not that I'm an artist by any means- I'm more of a planned project presenter. But it's still a lot of fun!
4. I recently discovered that jump-roping is a great exercise. And a great excuse to act like a kid again!
5. I still miss my Myles. I don't think that will ever stop.
6. Our Kachina dog has chewed pretty close to every single thing she can get her teeth into. I'm beginning to think she has an obsessive-compulsive thing going on, with all the chewing and digging.
7. I like the cool evenings we enjoy up here in the Heber Valley. The kind where you need a warm flannel shirt and a fire to keep you comfortable outside. And if you also get to enjoy some s'mores, well, you're extra lucky ;)
Kids are back in school, and we all think this is a good thing. Walker's playing trumpet [thanks to my sister Joy and my parents who let us borrow Joy's trumpet]. He has been pretty good about practicing, and I think he's actually enjoying himself. Thank goodness for that!
Morgen's teacher has 4 pets in his classroom: a tarantula, a gecko, a snake, and a fish. Morgen thinks she's died and gone to heaven. She got to hold the gecko last week and that was the highlight of her day!
Hyrum loves his teacher and his classroom friends. He's quite social and has made a bunch of friends, but he's having a bit of trouble with the whole 'do what the teacher asks you to, and not whatever you would like to do' thing. Luckily, he is a sweet kid, and is trying his best.
Today we bought soccer cleats for M and H because they're signed up to play soccer this fall. 8 games, 2 per week, so we'll only be running around for 4 weeks, but both M and H are looking forward to their first game on Tuesday.
Jared's still in Pennsylvania. This trip has been hard- 4 weeks total that he'll be away- but with the kids in public school, and the projects we've been working on, I think we're handling it okay. It is hard, though, because we all miss him terribly.
Gratitude List:
* I love our neighborhood, and the friends I am making here.
* Email and the internet to keep me connected with my old friends :)
* Texts from Jared, whenever he's bored in class.
* The mountains. The trees on them are beginning to change colors, and it's a breath-taking sight.
* Time to volunteer at the schools my kids attend.
* We have shelter, food, and clothing.
* We are SO close to being completely debt-free!!
* Ice cream :)
* My family and Jared's.
* God
* This beautiful world I live in.
The rules are that I must post 7 things about myself. Completely random things. Here goes:
1. I'm reading all our Louis L'Amour books again. Because I can, and because I found them when I unpacked one of the five [now four] boxes we had left in the basement.
2. I can finally say I don't bite my nails. I've been trying to break that habit for about 25 years now :)
3. I enjoy teaching the art class I volunteered for at Walker's junior high. Not that I'm an artist by any means- I'm more of a planned project presenter. But it's still a lot of fun!
4. I recently discovered that jump-roping is a great exercise. And a great excuse to act like a kid again!
5. I still miss my Myles. I don't think that will ever stop.
6. Our Kachina dog has chewed pretty close to every single thing she can get her teeth into. I'm beginning to think she has an obsessive-compulsive thing going on, with all the chewing and digging.
7. I like the cool evenings we enjoy up here in the Heber Valley. The kind where you need a warm flannel shirt and a fire to keep you comfortable outside. And if you also get to enjoy some s'mores, well, you're extra lucky ;)
Kids are back in school, and we all think this is a good thing. Walker's playing trumpet [thanks to my sister Joy and my parents who let us borrow Joy's trumpet]. He has been pretty good about practicing, and I think he's actually enjoying himself. Thank goodness for that!
Morgen's teacher has 4 pets in his classroom: a tarantula, a gecko, a snake, and a fish. Morgen thinks she's died and gone to heaven. She got to hold the gecko last week and that was the highlight of her day!
Hyrum loves his teacher and his classroom friends. He's quite social and has made a bunch of friends, but he's having a bit of trouble with the whole 'do what the teacher asks you to, and not whatever you would like to do' thing. Luckily, he is a sweet kid, and is trying his best.
Today we bought soccer cleats for M and H because they're signed up to play soccer this fall. 8 games, 2 per week, so we'll only be running around for 4 weeks, but both M and H are looking forward to their first game on Tuesday.
Jared's still in Pennsylvania. This trip has been hard- 4 weeks total that he'll be away- but with the kids in public school, and the projects we've been working on, I think we're handling it okay. It is hard, though, because we all miss him terribly.
Gratitude List:
* I love our neighborhood, and the friends I am making here.
* Email and the internet to keep me connected with my old friends :)
* Texts from Jared, whenever he's bored in class.
* The mountains. The trees on them are beginning to change colors, and it's a breath-taking sight.
* Time to volunteer at the schools my kids attend.
* We have shelter, food, and clothing.
* We are SO close to being completely debt-free!!
* Ice cream :)
* My family and Jared's.
* God
* This beautiful world I live in.
Monday, August 24, 2009
An unexpected experience
Heber has been really good for reuniting us with old [as in we knew them when we were young and less wrinkly] friends. In June, I was shopping in the grocery store, and saw my best friend [from high school] Aleeca's mom in the store. No, she doesn't live in Heber, but she happened to be at that store on that day, and I was able to get Aleeca's phone number and re-establish contact with her.
About 2 weeks ago, Jared and I were on a date [shocking, I know], and noticed a man who looked a lot like the guy Jared used to go fishing with when we lived in Provo [about 10 years ago, now]. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was Jeff! We exchanged phone numbers, and arranged to go boating with him and his family last Saturday. :)Although the water was pretty cold [we are, after all, in the mountains], riding the tube was awesome. My kids were pretty excited about it, and pretty good sports about being flipped- Jeff doesn't believe in letting you relax on that tube.
Jared:
M and Jeff's boy riding tandem:
I had an unfortunate picture uploading experience, and lost about 50 pics. Now, most of those were either too blurry or too far away to tell who was in the picture, but there were a few I really wanted! Anyway, we stayed 'till dark, then I took all the kids back to our car and we listened to a book on CD while the other 3 grown-ups got the boat out of the water and hitched up to their vehicle. We were all pretty tired and sore come Sunday, but oh, we had a great time!
Okay, time to change subjects. W loves to get the mail, and today he got a letter addressed to him. M and H got letters, too. They were from the Utah State Fair, and each one contained a one-day pass to the fair, a coupon for a drink, another one for a carnival ride, plus a sparkly blue ribbon to congratulate them on being "a Read and Win Winner." They each had to read 10 books, and have a parent or teacher sign the form confirming that they read their books. W and M breezed through their 10 books in a week. H worked on his, and he read each one out loud to me :) Great job, buddy! They've been waiting and waiting and WAITING [not very patiently, some days] for these prizes to come.
Today, we bought new sheets for M's new bed. It's only her bed until we get visitors, then it becomes the guest bed :), but she's thrilled with it. Jared picked up the mattress and box springs on Saturday, but we had no full-sized sheets, so the bed sat in its plastic cover 'till today. That was about all the disorder I could stand :), so I set up the bed, knowing I'd have to find sheets to cover it before tonight. One more thing to check off my to-do list!
We took the kids out to the North Fields again tonight, and I cooked tinfoil dinners [hamburger patty, onion for flavor, sliced carrots and potatoes, all with butter] on the coals while Jared and the kids either read [W], or caught bugs [M], or whacked thistles with a willow wand "sword" [H]. I sat and knit, and enjoyed the cool evening silence. M came back from the river with some flowers she picked just for me, and a song she made up to accompany the gift. She can be such a sweetheart :) which absolutely makes up for when she isn't. We also had s'mores, except without graham crackers, since I forgot them. But who needs graham crackers when you can have chocolate and marshmallows?!?
One more thing: This year, to celebrate Myles' birthday, we're taking a donation of new clothing to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Center. While we don't expect participation from anybody, if you are interested, we would be honored.
*if you click on the above link, you'll go to the home page of LDS Humanitarian Services. the sidebar on the right of the page has several topics; click on "current needs" under "resources" to see what they have enough of as well as what they need more of. there are also patterns for the humanitarian kits available under "resources," most in .pdf format.
Gratitude List:
* NO NEW FIRES!!!!!
* Another chance to spend time outdoors with my family.
* Allergy shots that seem to be working :)
* Finding old friends.
* Jared's sense of humor to remind me that most things aren't as serious as I may believe.
* 3 beautiful, healthy children that I can see every day.
* 1 beautiful angel boy that I will see again someday.
* Music.
* Fresh, steamed squash from our garden [and my FIL's garden], served with butter and a bit of salt. YUMMY.
* School starts next Tuesday. :) and there was much rejoicing.
* Meditation time in the morning.
* I am so grateful that death is not the end; that I will see all the people I love again.
* There are some trees on the mountain outside my living room window that are changing colors. Beautiful.
And yes, I am still planning to post pics of my new haircut. Really. I'm just waiting for a copy of the family pics we took 2 weeks ago. Promise.
About 2 weeks ago, Jared and I were on a date [shocking, I know], and noticed a man who looked a lot like the guy Jared used to go fishing with when we lived in Provo [about 10 years ago, now]. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was Jeff! We exchanged phone numbers, and arranged to go boating with him and his family last Saturday. :)Although the water was pretty cold [we are, after all, in the mountains], riding the tube was awesome. My kids were pretty excited about it, and pretty good sports about being flipped- Jeff doesn't believe in letting you relax on that tube.
Jared:
M and Jeff's boy riding tandem:
I had an unfortunate picture uploading experience, and lost about 50 pics. Now, most of those were either too blurry or too far away to tell who was in the picture, but there were a few I really wanted! Anyway, we stayed 'till dark, then I took all the kids back to our car and we listened to a book on CD while the other 3 grown-ups got the boat out of the water and hitched up to their vehicle. We were all pretty tired and sore come Sunday, but oh, we had a great time!
Okay, time to change subjects. W loves to get the mail, and today he got a letter addressed to him. M and H got letters, too. They were from the Utah State Fair, and each one contained a one-day pass to the fair, a coupon for a drink, another one for a carnival ride, plus a sparkly blue ribbon to congratulate them on being "a Read and Win Winner." They each had to read 10 books, and have a parent or teacher sign the form confirming that they read their books. W and M breezed through their 10 books in a week. H worked on his, and he read each one out loud to me :) Great job, buddy! They've been waiting and waiting and WAITING [not very patiently, some days] for these prizes to come.
Today, we bought new sheets for M's new bed. It's only her bed until we get visitors, then it becomes the guest bed :), but she's thrilled with it. Jared picked up the mattress and box springs on Saturday, but we had no full-sized sheets, so the bed sat in its plastic cover 'till today. That was about all the disorder I could stand :), so I set up the bed, knowing I'd have to find sheets to cover it before tonight. One more thing to check off my to-do list!
We took the kids out to the North Fields again tonight, and I cooked tinfoil dinners [hamburger patty, onion for flavor, sliced carrots and potatoes, all with butter] on the coals while Jared and the kids either read [W], or caught bugs [M], or whacked thistles with a willow wand "sword" [H]. I sat and knit, and enjoyed the cool evening silence. M came back from the river with some flowers she picked just for me, and a song she made up to accompany the gift. She can be such a sweetheart :) which absolutely makes up for when she isn't. We also had s'mores, except without graham crackers, since I forgot them. But who needs graham crackers when you can have chocolate and marshmallows?!?
One more thing: This year, to celebrate Myles' birthday, we're taking a donation of new clothing to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Center. While we don't expect participation from anybody, if you are interested, we would be honored.
*if you click on the above link, you'll go to the home page of LDS Humanitarian Services. the sidebar on the right of the page has several topics; click on "current needs" under "resources" to see what they have enough of as well as what they need more of. there are also patterns for the humanitarian kits available under "resources," most in .pdf format.
Gratitude List:
* NO NEW FIRES!!!!!
* Another chance to spend time outdoors with my family.
* Allergy shots that seem to be working :)
* Finding old friends.
* Jared's sense of humor to remind me that most things aren't as serious as I may believe.
* 3 beautiful, healthy children that I can see every day.
* 1 beautiful angel boy that I will see again someday.
* Music.
* Fresh, steamed squash from our garden [and my FIL's garden], served with butter and a bit of salt. YUMMY.
* School starts next Tuesday. :) and there was much rejoicing.
* Meditation time in the morning.
* I am so grateful that death is not the end; that I will see all the people I love again.
* There are some trees on the mountain outside my living room window that are changing colors. Beautiful.
And yes, I am still planning to post pics of my new haircut. Really. I'm just waiting for a copy of the family pics we took 2 weeks ago. Promise.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Some pics from last Monday's photo shoot
Our photographer [whose link is HERE], posted a few of the multitude of photos she took. Hyrum is up- here's his pic: 
If you go to the site, you'll see pictures of [in order from top to bottom]:
Hyrum
Saxon & Bridger w/their mom's legs ;)
Saxon
Zachary
Kaylyn [Zach's big sister]
and Cal & Carson w/their parents' legs
Saxon, Zach, and Carson are 3 of the 4 boys that were born the same year as Myles. I love to watch them playing, exploring and poking into everything.
If you go to the site, you'll see pictures of [in order from top to bottom]:
Hyrum
Saxon & Bridger w/their mom's legs ;)
Saxon
Zachary
Kaylyn [Zach's big sister]
and Cal & Carson w/their parents' legs
Saxon, Zach, and Carson are 3 of the 4 boys that were born the same year as Myles. I love to watch them playing, exploring and poking into everything.
What to do
With Jared gone till Thursday night, I've been looking for things for my kids to do. Things that involve little to no arguing or fighting, specifically. I'm thinking I need to drop them off on the mountain and pick them up at the bottom, maybe. Give them a chance to get out a bunch of their wiggles and destructive energy.
Seriously, though, we are all ready for a change. Monday we went into Park City to pick up some school things- backpacks, lunch boxes, some shoes and clothing, and paper and pencils. I like having them try their clothes on, simply because they grow so quickly that I have a hard time keeping up with their sizes. But it made for a pretty long day. We were all a bit grumpy by dinnertime.
We have a visitor coming today [hi Mom!], and tomorrow we're going for a hike with Morgen's youth group. I'm still working on that darn quilt. I got it almost finished, but with the kids still home, I find too many other things that need to be done. Still, if I can get it tied by Friday, maybe I'll have the time to bind it next week. I keep telling myself "baby steps!"
School starts September 1st. I am excited to meet their teachers, and see where they'll be spending most of their time during the school year. I'm also thinking I will miss them a lot, and that I can get so much done while they're at school LOL.
Gratitude List:
* My family. I love getting random phone calls from a sister, just to talk ;)
* Jared's commitment to serving our country. I am so proud of you, babe!
* My kids got all their chores done by 11am today.
* Internet access :)
* Meditation time
* Exercise is good for my soul
* We have enough [too much, actually] to eat, a home to shelter us, cars that run and are paid for [YES!], lots of clothes to wear; we are truly blessed.
* God is mindful of me and my challenges.
* my ipod, and instant access to music :)
Seriously, though, we are all ready for a change. Monday we went into Park City to pick up some school things- backpacks, lunch boxes, some shoes and clothing, and paper and pencils. I like having them try their clothes on, simply because they grow so quickly that I have a hard time keeping up with their sizes. But it made for a pretty long day. We were all a bit grumpy by dinnertime.
We have a visitor coming today [hi Mom!], and tomorrow we're going for a hike with Morgen's youth group. I'm still working on that darn quilt. I got it almost finished, but with the kids still home, I find too many other things that need to be done. Still, if I can get it tied by Friday, maybe I'll have the time to bind it next week. I keep telling myself "baby steps!"
School starts September 1st. I am excited to meet their teachers, and see where they'll be spending most of their time during the school year. I'm also thinking I will miss them a lot, and that I can get so much done while they're at school LOL.
Gratitude List:
* My family. I love getting random phone calls from a sister, just to talk ;)
* Jared's commitment to serving our country. I am so proud of you, babe!
* My kids got all their chores done by 11am today.
* Internet access :)
* Meditation time
* Exercise is good for my soul
* We have enough [too much, actually] to eat, a home to shelter us, cars that run and are paid for [YES!], lots of clothes to wear; we are truly blessed.
* God is mindful of me and my challenges.
* my ipod, and instant access to music :)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Catching up again
Seems that I'm always blogging about stuff we did last week, instead of getting it up the day after. Summer is so busy, though. Our last two weeks have been filled with family activities, resulting in tired and grumpy kids, which eventually resulted in grumpy parents LOL.
Tuesday last week we celebrated my nephew Bridger's birthday. Saxon [Bridger's big brother] and Hyrum convinced Jared to dogpile Walker and tickle him, while they were waiting for cake. I don't get the whole rough-and-tumble playing, but I could tell from the giggles and shouts of laughter that all the guys [big and little] were having a great time!
Morgen wanted to play with Bridger the whole time- peek-a-boo while he was eating, and pulling him around the pool in a raft later on.
This past week, we had a lot of excitement at home. Last Saturday, we were headed over to Midway for a family reunion w/my grandpa's family. On our way out the door, we discovered that an unidentified child [I think I know who it was, but since there were no witnesses, I cannot be certain...] had taken a birthday candle and some matches, and had melted the wires going into the downstairs light switch. This one light switch works all the downstairs lights, so we were without light for a few days. I was pretty upset- electrical fires are scary! Jared actually got angry enough to threaten them with a spanking [and Jared NEVER loses his temper]. So, we had power, but not to any of the lights. Lucky for the kids that we had to leave, and so they got a stern lecture but no grounding or extra chores.
Sunday was Church, and hanging with family time. Monday we got together with all Jared's siblings, their families, and his parents, and had pictures taken at a beautiful park near the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Park City. There was an awesome willow tree- I'm guessing 60 or so years old from its size- that the kids were swarming like monkeys, when they weren't needed for photos. I'll post a picture as soon as I get one :)
Tuesday we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave. It's a steep 1 1/2 mile hike up, then about an hour tour through the cave itself, and another 1 1/2 mile hike back down to the base of the mountain. Not too bad, if you have the time to rest, because the altitude change makes it hard to breathe easily. Jared was at work, but the kids and I made it up to the top.
Caves never fail to amaze me- the stalactites and stalagmites, the helictites that look like curly spaghetti noodles- and they take hundreds of years to form! Wow.
Friday, Morgen and I met Melinda and Colleen for a pedicure date. We had a wonderful pampering session. Mom ended up with gel nails on her toes [I had no idea they did fake toe-nails!], and got some sparkly powder layered over the top of the polish. Melinda's polish was also sparkly, and so was Morgen's. Mine wasn't sparkly, but I still liked it :)
Here's a pic of our feet- Morgen's got the tanned toes with sparkly turquoise polish :) She inherited her dad's olive-toned, gorgeous skin.
Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate my BIL Nate's birthday, and Saxon's birthday at the end of the month. Hyrum and Saxon were two wild boys! Walker blew on Bridger's tummy, and got some great big giggles from him.
Morgen went with her Grandpa on Saturday morning, to help him clean out the fridge of the condo they stayed in while they were visiting last week. While she was gone, we discovered the remains of another fire in the basement. Again, I have no eyewitnesses, but I am pretty sure which boy was responsible. Sadly, when Jared got back from mowing weeds, the boys experienced "the wrath of dad." I am hoping that my fire-happy son will abandon his hot little experiments. Otherwise, I'm tempted to make him a fire-resistant, concrete cell in the backyard. *sigh* Why is parenting so hard?!?
Saturday night we drove over to Rockport and met up with some friends of ours. We had a nice dutch-oven dinner, then the kids went fishing for crawdads. It got pretty chilly- 50 degrees or so- but when we camp in the mountains, we expect cooler temps at night. I think we're already headed into fall, because this morning I found frost on the grass in our backyard. :) All I ask is a few good, ripe tomatoes before the plants die.
Gratitude List:
* Our house did not burn down, despite my child's attempts to start an electrical fire in the basement.
* The wires were relatively easy to fix [thank you honey!]
* Lots and lots of good family time.
* Pedicures :)
* Wonderful cool weather.
* Plenty of rain this week.
* Yummy food to eat, and playing some pretty funny games with Jared's siblings.
* Playing with my nieces and nephews. I wish, so much, that Myles could jump in and play with his cousins. But, it eases my heart a little to see his 4 cousins who were born the same year he was. They are running, climbing, playing, and fighting with each other. And my kids spent a lot of time playing with these boys.
* I am glad that my family still talks about Myles. I don't want him to ever be forgotten.
* God. Everything I am, everything I have is because of His love and blessings in my life.
Tuesday last week we celebrated my nephew Bridger's birthday. Saxon [Bridger's big brother] and Hyrum convinced Jared to dogpile Walker and tickle him, while they were waiting for cake. I don't get the whole rough-and-tumble playing, but I could tell from the giggles and shouts of laughter that all the guys [big and little] were having a great time!
Morgen wanted to play with Bridger the whole time- peek-a-boo while he was eating, and pulling him around the pool in a raft later on.
This past week, we had a lot of excitement at home. Last Saturday, we were headed over to Midway for a family reunion w/my grandpa's family. On our way out the door, we discovered that an unidentified child [I think I know who it was, but since there were no witnesses, I cannot be certain...] had taken a birthday candle and some matches, and had melted the wires going into the downstairs light switch. This one light switch works all the downstairs lights, so we were without light for a few days. I was pretty upset- electrical fires are scary! Jared actually got angry enough to threaten them with a spanking [and Jared NEVER loses his temper]. So, we had power, but not to any of the lights. Lucky for the kids that we had to leave, and so they got a stern lecture but no grounding or extra chores.
Sunday was Church, and hanging with family time. Monday we got together with all Jared's siblings, their families, and his parents, and had pictures taken at a beautiful park near the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Park City. There was an awesome willow tree- I'm guessing 60 or so years old from its size- that the kids were swarming like monkeys, when they weren't needed for photos. I'll post a picture as soon as I get one :)
Tuesday we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave. It's a steep 1 1/2 mile hike up, then about an hour tour through the cave itself, and another 1 1/2 mile hike back down to the base of the mountain. Not too bad, if you have the time to rest, because the altitude change makes it hard to breathe easily. Jared was at work, but the kids and I made it up to the top.
Caves never fail to amaze me- the stalactites and stalagmites, the helictites that look like curly spaghetti noodles- and they take hundreds of years to form! Wow.Friday, Morgen and I met Melinda and Colleen for a pedicure date. We had a wonderful pampering session. Mom ended up with gel nails on her toes [I had no idea they did fake toe-nails!], and got some sparkly powder layered over the top of the polish. Melinda's polish was also sparkly, and so was Morgen's. Mine wasn't sparkly, but I still liked it :)
Here's a pic of our feet- Morgen's got the tanned toes with sparkly turquoise polish :) She inherited her dad's olive-toned, gorgeous skin. Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate my BIL Nate's birthday, and Saxon's birthday at the end of the month. Hyrum and Saxon were two wild boys! Walker blew on Bridger's tummy, and got some great big giggles from him.
Morgen went with her Grandpa on Saturday morning, to help him clean out the fridge of the condo they stayed in while they were visiting last week. While she was gone, we discovered the remains of another fire in the basement. Again, I have no eyewitnesses, but I am pretty sure which boy was responsible. Sadly, when Jared got back from mowing weeds, the boys experienced "the wrath of dad." I am hoping that my fire-happy son will abandon his hot little experiments. Otherwise, I'm tempted to make him a fire-resistant, concrete cell in the backyard. *sigh* Why is parenting so hard?!?
Saturday night we drove over to Rockport and met up with some friends of ours. We had a nice dutch-oven dinner, then the kids went fishing for crawdads. It got pretty chilly- 50 degrees or so- but when we camp in the mountains, we expect cooler temps at night. I think we're already headed into fall, because this morning I found frost on the grass in our backyard. :) All I ask is a few good, ripe tomatoes before the plants die.
Gratitude List:
* Our house did not burn down, despite my child's attempts to start an electrical fire in the basement.
* The wires were relatively easy to fix [thank you honey!]
* Lots and lots of good family time.
* Pedicures :)
* Wonderful cool weather.
* Plenty of rain this week.
* Yummy food to eat, and playing some pretty funny games with Jared's siblings.
* Playing with my nieces and nephews. I wish, so much, that Myles could jump in and play with his cousins. But, it eases my heart a little to see his 4 cousins who were born the same year he was. They are running, climbing, playing, and fighting with each other. And my kids spent a lot of time playing with these boys.
* I am glad that my family still talks about Myles. I don't want him to ever be forgotten.
* God. Everything I am, everything I have is because of His love and blessings in my life.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Our recent life
We've been to an awful lot of family gatherings lately- reunions, birthdays, etc. And, while I have a lot of pictures to prove we were there, I also have a few more family gatherings to attend, which prevents me from uploading all those pics right now. But, because I really need to do this before I forget, I'm posting a link to the most wonderfully fabulous pasta dish that I found through a friend of a friend.
The recipe is here- scroll down to the "quick yet yummy pasta" posted 9 July 2009: Follow Your Bliss
And if you have time, try out the other recipes listed. I have yet to read one that does NOT sound absolutely delicious. :)
More family togetherness photos coming soon!
Gratitude List:
* family, and the time to spend with them.
* God
* good food
* meditation time
* Jared and our kids
The recipe is here- scroll down to the "quick yet yummy pasta" posted 9 July 2009: Follow Your Bliss
And if you have time, try out the other recipes listed. I have yet to read one that does NOT sound absolutely delicious. :)
More family togetherness photos coming soon!
Gratitude List:
* family, and the time to spend with them.
* God
* good food
* meditation time
* Jared and our kids
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Picture-heavy post coming up
So, the camping thing turned out differently than I expected. My allergies are still pretty bad, so instead of sleeping in the tent, I came home every night and slept in my bed. I know, what a baby, right?!?
Here's the camping setup:
We had too many tents- Walker brought his tent up, and he slept by himself. His is the little greenish-blue one on the right. The big tent in the middle was for Jared and I, but Hyrum ended up in there too. Oh, and all the food was in there as well, to keep it out of the rain. Did I mention it rained a few times? Yep. And I had to sleep in my bed. Darn it. Then the dog kennel, which we put Kachina in when it was raining, or when the bull was close by. Okay, the green dome tent on the left was for Morgen and Hyrum, but Morgen got it to herself after Hyrum went and slept in Jared's tent with him. So, just to recap: 3 tents, 4 people, 1 kennel and 1 dog. Plus some cows, steers, calves, and one bull.
This is part of the pasture we camped in. Those trees are HUGE, and old, and there's an old plow stored under one of them that the kids like to climb on. They sit in the tractor seat and pull levers, pretending to drive it around.
The tree on the other end of the row [far away from the old plow to prevent accidents] has a nice swing in it. Jared threw a rope over one of the highest branches, so the swing has a huge arc. But it never gets too far off the ground which makes it safe for the little kids. Our kids fight over who opens the gate into the pasture, because the gate-opener gets the first turn on the swing ;)
On the east side of the pasture there's a little creek to splash in, and my kids tried to catch minnows and waterbugs this year. They also played in the mud and made dams with rocks, and completely soaked themselves. And, Walker lost a shoe in the creek. It happens every year- Morgen lost a shoe last year- but so far they've been the cheap flip-flops, so I'm not too upset.
My mom's cousin has some cows in the back half of the pasture, and Morgen spent almost an hour coaxing one up so she could feed it out of her hand. :) She also spent a lot of time chasing the cows out of the picnic area. Thankfully she was smart enough to wait for the bull to leave before chasing the rest of the cattle! You can just see her purple jacket in this picture.
Hyrum raided the woodpile for weapons. This is his bow and arrow. Notice that the bow is unstrung. That's because Hyrum's most powerful weapon is his imagination :)
Morgen's got a pet grasshopper: Peppermint. She pulled its back legs off accidentally when she first caught it. She brought it with her in a jar, and gave it different grasses and leaves to see what it liked best. My favorite part was when she set the grasshopper down on the table and told it to stay. It did. Probably because it is impossible to hop away if your back legs are missing...
Walker spent a lot of time playing with the fire. I ruined his fun by banning him from further fire play. Then he rearranged camp- moving logs and rocks around until he was satisfied with their placement. He takes after his daddy- can't sit still if you paid him!
I came back one morning to find this on the picnic table:
There was a wasp's nest between the leg supports, just under the top of the table. Jared sprayed it to kill the wasps, then he and Walker opened it up, pulled out the wasp larvae, and dissected them to see what stage they were in. Ewww.
Having 3 tents came in handy on the rainy days. We used the space in the big tent to eat, and played cards for awhile one night.
Remember how I banned Walker from playing in the fire? He didn't believe that should include blowing on the fire to [supposedly] keep it from burning out. Hyrum was roasting a marshmallow for his S'mores, and Walker very helpfully blew ash all over it and everything else on the other side of the fire. It's a very good thing that the ground was still damp.
Overall, I'd say that the camping experience was a hit. Jared got a lot of good fishing time, and the kids came back absolutely filthy and sunburned.
My mother-in-law's family had a reunion this past Saturday- lots of fun and games. I was painting faces, so most of the time I had a paintbrush in my hands instead of a a camera.
We had Morgen's birthday celebration early because Jared's in AZ this week and will miss her actual birthday.
She got a drawing pad from Aunt Melinda. Jared found a fishing net just like his for Morgen to use on her bug-catching expeditions.
She also got a new bike:
Here's a picture of our front yard. We're renting for a year, to make sure Jared can handle the commute to SLC from Heber.
And I am *this* close to buying this rental house, just so I NEVER HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN. I hate packing.
**just got back from the ER- Walker cut his thumb on a rock. Yeah, I didn't believe him at first- how do you cut your thumb on a ROCK?!? But it was definitely deep enough to need stitches, so we drove quickly to the hospital, and 3 stitches later we're home and he's playing games with the family. Honestly, every SINGLE time Jared leaves town, we have some kind of emergency like this!
Gratitude List:
* We're down the street from the hospital, so the ER trip was quick without me breaking speed limits.
* We have insurance to cover this emergency.
* As far as emergencies go, this could have been MUCH worse.
* My in-laws are visiting, so they watched the other kids while I went to the ER.
* We have good food to eat, shelter, and Jared's job is secure.
* Through a major coincidence, I was able to get a phone number for my best friend from high school. I haven't talked with her in 10 years, and hearing her voice almost made me cry :)
* God is good. We are blessed.
Here's the camping setup:
We had too many tents- Walker brought his tent up, and he slept by himself. His is the little greenish-blue one on the right. The big tent in the middle was for Jared and I, but Hyrum ended up in there too. Oh, and all the food was in there as well, to keep it out of the rain. Did I mention it rained a few times? Yep. And I had to sleep in my bed. Darn it. Then the dog kennel, which we put Kachina in when it was raining, or when the bull was close by. Okay, the green dome tent on the left was for Morgen and Hyrum, but Morgen got it to herself after Hyrum went and slept in Jared's tent with him. So, just to recap: 3 tents, 4 people, 1 kennel and 1 dog. Plus some cows, steers, calves, and one bull.
This is part of the pasture we camped in. Those trees are HUGE, and old, and there's an old plow stored under one of them that the kids like to climb on. They sit in the tractor seat and pull levers, pretending to drive it around.
The tree on the other end of the row [far away from the old plow to prevent accidents] has a nice swing in it. Jared threw a rope over one of the highest branches, so the swing has a huge arc. But it never gets too far off the ground which makes it safe for the little kids. Our kids fight over who opens the gate into the pasture, because the gate-opener gets the first turn on the swing ;)
On the east side of the pasture there's a little creek to splash in, and my kids tried to catch minnows and waterbugs this year. They also played in the mud and made dams with rocks, and completely soaked themselves. And, Walker lost a shoe in the creek. It happens every year- Morgen lost a shoe last year- but so far they've been the cheap flip-flops, so I'm not too upset.
My mom's cousin has some cows in the back half of the pasture, and Morgen spent almost an hour coaxing one up so she could feed it out of her hand. :) She also spent a lot of time chasing the cows out of the picnic area. Thankfully she was smart enough to wait for the bull to leave before chasing the rest of the cattle! You can just see her purple jacket in this picture.
Hyrum raided the woodpile for weapons. This is his bow and arrow. Notice that the bow is unstrung. That's because Hyrum's most powerful weapon is his imagination :)
Morgen's got a pet grasshopper: Peppermint. She pulled its back legs off accidentally when she first caught it. She brought it with her in a jar, and gave it different grasses and leaves to see what it liked best. My favorite part was when she set the grasshopper down on the table and told it to stay. It did. Probably because it is impossible to hop away if your back legs are missing...
Walker spent a lot of time playing with the fire. I ruined his fun by banning him from further fire play. Then he rearranged camp- moving logs and rocks around until he was satisfied with their placement. He takes after his daddy- can't sit still if you paid him!
I came back one morning to find this on the picnic table:
There was a wasp's nest between the leg supports, just under the top of the table. Jared sprayed it to kill the wasps, then he and Walker opened it up, pulled out the wasp larvae, and dissected them to see what stage they were in. Ewww.
Having 3 tents came in handy on the rainy days. We used the space in the big tent to eat, and played cards for awhile one night.
Remember how I banned Walker from playing in the fire? He didn't believe that should include blowing on the fire to [supposedly] keep it from burning out. Hyrum was roasting a marshmallow for his S'mores, and Walker very helpfully blew ash all over it and everything else on the other side of the fire. It's a very good thing that the ground was still damp.
Overall, I'd say that the camping experience was a hit. Jared got a lot of good fishing time, and the kids came back absolutely filthy and sunburned.
My mother-in-law's family had a reunion this past Saturday- lots of fun and games. I was painting faces, so most of the time I had a paintbrush in my hands instead of a a camera.
We had Morgen's birthday celebration early because Jared's in AZ this week and will miss her actual birthday.
She got a drawing pad from Aunt Melinda. Jared found a fishing net just like his for Morgen to use on her bug-catching expeditions.
She also got a new bike:
Here's a picture of our front yard. We're renting for a year, to make sure Jared can handle the commute to SLC from Heber.
And I am *this* close to buying this rental house, just so I NEVER HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN. I hate packing.
**just got back from the ER- Walker cut his thumb on a rock. Yeah, I didn't believe him at first- how do you cut your thumb on a ROCK?!? But it was definitely deep enough to need stitches, so we drove quickly to the hospital, and 3 stitches later we're home and he's playing games with the family. Honestly, every SINGLE time Jared leaves town, we have some kind of emergency like this!
Gratitude List:
* We're down the street from the hospital, so the ER trip was quick without me breaking speed limits.
* We have insurance to cover this emergency.
* As far as emergencies go, this could have been MUCH worse.
* My in-laws are visiting, so they watched the other kids while I went to the ER.
* We have good food to eat, shelter, and Jared's job is secure.
* Through a major coincidence, I was able to get a phone number for my best friend from high school. I haven't talked with her in 10 years, and hearing her voice almost made me cry :)
* God is good. We are blessed.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
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