This time of year if you walk down the aisles of walmart or similar stores you will see rows of costumes, masks, wigs and makeup all next to aisle of aisle of candy. My kids like the candy, not the costumes. I took them for a stroll down the costume aisle. I pointed out how cute they were and talked them up real big. Anna choose one. Everyone else turned up their nose. They like Halloween, they like to dress up, they just don't like to dress up like anything Walmart carries. And since I am the kind of mom that tends to give into her kids little whims we went home with one set of cat ears.


Dallin wants to be a Zuko blue spirit kind of thing from some kind of show he watched at his friend Gavin's house. They don't carry that at Walmart. I googled it. Didn't come up on the shopping tab. I finally did find some one who sells them. He is an artist that will accept a commission to make one for you to the tune of hundreds of dollars. I am not that kind of mom. So I headed back to Walmart and bought a cheap little plastic hockey mask thing and a bottle of liquid starch. I cut up strips of news paper and sat in front of the computer looking at the Zuka guy and fashioned a mask that sort of resembled it. Newspaper soaked in liquid starch is amazing. It can bend and mold pretty well. It is very cheap and not to difficult although it does make a big mess and take quite some time. Several hours later I was ready to paint. It took a couple of coats and it definitely doesn't look like the one we could have had commissioned but Dallin said, "wow mom that looks good." That was good enough for me.

For the last couple of years Taylor has decided to go with food icons for his Halloween theme. He was Mr. Peanut, Chester Cheetah and this year he has got his eye on the Koolaide man. None of these costume can be found at walmart, or party land or any other store I could find. So two years ago I spent countless hours paper maching a peanut. It took several hours each night for a few weeks. I was frustrated to tears, exhausted from night after night of no sleep, and covered sticky bits of newspaper and yellow paint. But I finally came up with a costume he loved and I was proud of. I swore never to do it again. 12 months later I was pulling my hair out over chester cheetah. Chester required sewing which I am not a huge fan of. They also do not sell patterns for Chester so I had to make it up by trial and error. More error than trial by the way. But he was one happy little cheetah last Halloween.

So here we are to this year. Mr. Koolaide man. I thought it was a great idea, but only if they sold it in stores. They don't. We checked online and found a you tube video on how to make your own. You can also make your own Weed man - but we stuck with Mr. Koolaide. It did lead to a nice discussion on marajuanna and why anyone would want to dress up like it. Anyway Mr. Koolaide looked a bit difficult to make. I put it off. I continued to look on the internet. I finally found a man in Milwaukee who was selling his homemade Mr. Koolaide man costume. It was a really nice costume but it required a truck to pick it up, a drive to Milkwaukee and 200 dollars. None of those things are really a possibility for us this halloween so I went back to the You tube and watched the tutorial over and over again. My first attempt was a complete failure. My second attempt was working ok. Probably because this time I talked Rick into helping me. We had to wrap some cardboard boxes around some hulu hoops. Did that and moved on to step 2 which is use bed foamies to build the shape of a pitcher. First of all I didn't even know what bed foamies were let alone how to use them to make a pitcher. Someone commented that they were egg crate mattress. So I got mine out of the closet and cut it up. It didn't work. We experimented with everything we could think of to make the box into a pitcher. Paper, tape, batting, sheets, blankets and bubble wrap. Finally after a midnight run to Walmart for bubble wrap and duct tape I had a burst of inspiration. How about carpet padding I said. Rick said, "yeah maybe". So we drug it out cut it in strips and taped it on. It worked, kind of, we duct taped it on, wrapped the whole thing in bubble wrap and then in duct tape and decided to call it good. If it wouldn't have been 3 am in the morning we may have kept working. But we were exhausted. Also going around and around and around the box with duct tape had made me so dizzy I wasn't walking straight my head was pounding and I was threatening to throw up. So we called it a night and I went to bed.

The next morning I finally finished it up, I cut out a face and made frame to put on his shoulders to hold him up. I looked pretty good I thought. All went well until he put it on and could barely walk. That much carpet padding and duck tape have some weight to them, but he managed. We got it over to the school for the costume parade. Everyone loved it, he was ecstatic until he tired to get through the door. He had to turn side ways and kind of shimmy in. Didn't work to well, any way long story short he had to take it off after just a few minutes of the parade and it was raining for trick or treating so it didn't work to good for that either. So he pretty much got his picture taken in it and that is about it. I was going to store it for future use but it couldn't fit through my door to get it downstairs or in the attic. I refused to have Mr. Koolaide in my living room indefinitely so the trash he went. I was sad. Even though Taylor didn't really get to wear the costume he had one. I defied all the nay sayers (you know who you are) who didn't think I could make a Mr. Koolaide. I, myself, doubted for a while but everyone who saw him immediately recognized him. So Mr. Koolaide was a success and we have the pictures to prove it. I have to admit that I am pretty glad Taylor will be in Jr. High next year where they don't get to dress up- because I am done with food icons. It is back to Walmart costumes for us, at least if I have anything to say about it.

Feeling kind of miserable

We know wickedness never was happiness. Sin bring nothing but misery. My mom has always told me drinking caffeine was a sin. I kinda didn't believe her. Everyone knows its not. I am starting to think maybe she is right. Right now I am miserable. I am feel like crap and I'm considering skipping church.

My path to destruction began late on Tuesday evening. I had procrastinated going to the grocery store to buy some lasagna that was on sale. Ads change on Wednesday so I had to load the three younger kids, who were in their pajamas, into the car and trudge down to the Fresh Market. If it would have been Maceys I could have just waited till they were all asleep but since Fresh Market isn't open 24 hours (which blows my mind-isn't every store worth going to open 24 hours these days) I had to go before close. I had hoped Rick would be home so I could sneak off by myself but he wasn't. Taylor was at a football game. So we went to the the store. They were out of Lasagna. I was mad. I saw some in a woman's cart. I eyed it jealously and wondered how I could get it from her (boy am I full of sin). I politely asked her where she found it and she said, almost in a bragging tone, it was the last one. I should probably admit that she was most likely being polite but in my green with envy state it sounded like she was rubbing it in.

Well the thing was this lasagna - which is one of the only foods (besides pizza) that everyone in my family will eat was a really good deal. It is also my favorite kind of meal - the kind that require no effort on my part. It comes in a box in its own pan so I can pull it straight from the freezer to the oven in less than 15 seconds and when done I can throw it in the trash without doing dishes. That is definitely my favorite kind of meal. So anyway this lasagna was a couple dollars cheaper than usually and (this is the kicker) if you buy it you get a bunch of free stuff. Free french bread, free salad, free cookies and free soda. I like soda, cookies, bread and salad, and I especially like free. So you can see why it was really important I didn't miss this sale.

By this point I was pretty frustrated, my kids were also running around the store, climbing all over the cart, in their pajamas, acting like acrobats that had just escaped from the circus, (or maybe lunatics from the funny farm). So I was also growing more and more embarrassed. I was headed towards the door when a nice young boy (he looked like he was 12 which just shows how old I am getting since he must have been at least 16 to be working there) came pushing a cart of lasagna. He asked me if I was looking for some. I smiled and nodded. He got me some and was kind enough to also help me gather up all my free items. They were out of french bread. But this amazing grocery stocker went and got me a loaf of frozen french bread from the bakery freezer and wrapped it up for me and told me how to cook it. I was amazed. While it does require a bit more work to cook the bread it is kind of nice to have it frozen so we can eat it when we want.

Well my last free item to get was soda. Here is where my real path to destruction begins. Being the last few hours of the sale they were out of almost everything. Including soda. All they had was pepsi and diet Mt Dew. I sadly walked away knowing I should not buy those kinds of soda. Of course it was free so I wasn't actually buying it - but I still walked away. Then I walked back. Then I walked away. Then I walked back. This happened a least 3 times - maybe 4. Finally the pressure had worn me down - I grabbed a bottle of Diet Mt Dew and went to the check out. The bottle of soda sat on my counter for a few days. Taylor asked me what it was. He asked if it had caffeine. I still had enough self respect not to lie to him. He asked why we had it, "we aren't' going to actually drink it are we" he said. I told him it was for our food storage. It was all I could think of. I think that kind of puzzled him but he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Up to this point I have been able to hide my caffeine drinking from my kids because I have only ever gotten it from a fountain - and once it is in a cup they can't tell what it is.

It is almost Halloween. The last week of October is usually one of my most stressful weeks of the year. This year is no exception. I came home from a "baby" shower (she is really 4 - but my friend just adopted her) to a horrible mess, cranky kids and a tired and stressed husband. He was trying to get some work done. I guilted him into helping me start working on Taylor's costume that I had also procrastinated. He is being Mr. Koolaide man. I think I will post a separate blog on that whole issue so stay tuned if you are interested. So we worked on that for a couple hours.

The house grew even more messy and the kids more wild. Finally we break down and feed the kids who have been crying from hunger for the last hour or so. It was around 9:00. Then the mess was getting to me so I made everyone help me clean it up and we got the kids to bed a little after 11 :00. We were tired. I saw the diet Mt. Dew. I wanted it. I told myself we should go to bed. I kept seeing the Mt Dew. For some reason I couldn't help myself from walking past it every couple of minutes. It was tormenting me. I asked Rick, "How would you feel about having some Mt. Dew" We have been married long enough he knows that actually translates to "I want some Mt. Dew but feel to guilty drinking it by myself so I need you to drink some with me." So being the kind, loving husband he is - agreed. Apparently he needs to work on resisting peer pressure. He drank some, I drank a lot - a really lot. He worked on his work stuff (whatever it was - any time the computer screen is black with a bunch of tiny number and letters in weird configurations I just ignore it) I kept drinking.

Then I talked him into helping me work on Taylor's costume some more. We needed some stuff for it so I went to Walmart. It was after midnight - so I guess I was shopping on Sunday too. We tried everything we could think of, wrestled with the cardboard, taped and taped and finally came up something that kind of looks like a kool aid pitcher. So we started wrapping the whole thing in duck tape. We just went around the thing doing lap after lap. We were going pretty fast. Pretty soon Rick stopped and stepped back and said he couldn't do it anymore. I kept going, around and around and around. When I finally got to the bottom and stood up I almost tipped over. It was like a kid getting off the merry go round. I couldn't walk straight. I couldn't see straight. I felt like I was going to throw up. I stumbled my way into my bed and laid there. I felt awful. I went to sleep. It was a little after 3 am. Rick stayed up and did some more work. He came in a little after 4:00. The phone rang at 9:00 this morning. I tried to get it but couldn't. My head still aches, I am still worried about throwing up. I am tired. I want to die. Perhaps I am hung over - although I am pretty sure that comes from alcohol not caffeine. It sure is a good thing the Lasagna didn't come with free beer. I may have ended up drinking it.

But boy do I feel awful. It hurts to open my eyes. It hurts to stand up, it hurts to lay down, it hurts to talk, it hurts to think, pretty much it hurts to be alive. Rick woke up he raised his head a bit and said "I feel like crap" and then laid back down and closed his eyes. I felt guilty for pressuring him with the Mt Dew. So I drug myself out of bed and brought him in some medicine. Usually he asked me what I am giving him when I hand him medicine. But he just opened his hand for my fistful of pills and swallowed them without opening his eyes. His head hit the pillow and he was asleep again. I tired to go back to sleep but my stomach hurt to bad. Death doesn't' sound to bad at this point. I am not sure if we can go to church today. I think we may skip it. I truly am miserable. This could be a good lesson for me - maybe caffeine really is as wicked as my Mom tells me it is- but the truth is I am probably too stubborn to learn anything from it. Also Mt Dew really does taste pretty good.

Taylor's wife

I was driving along with Taylor in the car the other day and he said, "Mom your going to have a big impact on my wife." After I finished doing my mental victory dance over what a great mom I am I asked him what he meant by that. I imagined how he would say he was going to hunt the world over the find someone like me to marry. He replied, "I am going to watch what you do and figure out all the bad parts of you and make sure a woman doesn't have those before I marry her." Well I guess I am good for something.

We went on to talk about what he thought he life would be like when he got older. He had some pretty big ideas. He knew most of the things he wanted take a lot of money so he decided he better get a job that makes a lot. He is planning on being a doctor since in his mind they make the most. It was fun to hear about his dreams. I can't wait to visit him in his "big house, that is not a mansion - but it has 3 stories and a balcony" or ride in his "purple spider with yellow stars" or play with his 1 or maybe 2 kids - (any more that that will cost too much money and he won't have enough for all the other things he wants to do.) But most of all I can't wait to meet his wife who will be have none of my bad parts - I guess she will be nothing like me then.

Anna's baptism

When I was eight years old I got baptized. It was at the stake center in Eugene. I was baptized the same day as a girl named Chloe. She went first. She came up out of the water and yelled. WOW!!!! I didn't know what to think. I was scared. Before that WOW!!! I thought you just went under the water, hopefully didn't get any water up your nose and that if your dress or hair popped up you'd have to do it again. I didn't think anything would happen to you under the water that would be worthy of a WOW. I got in the water, went under, came up and quietly got out. No WOW. I do remember feeling good but a little confused. What happened to Chloe that didn't happen to me?

I walked up the stairs and into the dressing room. My mom was there holding out a towel. She wrapped me in it, hugged me and with tears streaming down her face she whispered, "I'm so proud of you". 27 years later I watched Rick take Anna's hand and lead her into the water. I stood in the dressing room doorway and watched Anna walk up the stairs I held out a towel wrapped her in it, held her close and whispered "I am so proud of you". Tears were streaming down my face. And WOW. That moment is something I will forever cherish.

At eight I didn't understand what happened to me under the water- I didn't get how significant it was. I am not sure that Anna does either. But now I know. Now I know not only what those covenants are but what they mean and how blessed I am for having had the privileged to make them. And watching my daughter take her first step on path that will bring her such happiness was a moment I will never forget.

Summer

The mountains are on fire with reds and yellows. My fridge is full of local apples, my pantry shelves are lined with newly canned peaches. School is in full swing, progress reports hang on my fridge. The kids drawers are full of shorts they haven't worn for days and long sleeved shirts and jeans fill my laundry basket. Pumpkins sit on porches and costumes are in the works. It is dark outside by the time I call the kids to the table for dinner. My thermostat is set to off and this morning I hunted through the back of my closet for a sweater to pull on. I guess it is time I finally break down and admit it. Summer is over. There is no more pretending - it is really over.

This summer has been really good, it breaks my heart to see it end. Last weekend in a desperate attempt to hang on a little longer to the carefree feeling late summer evenings bring I let the kids play outside well past dark. I sat on the porch and we laughed and watched the neighbors playing fugitive. We watched the moths flirt with the porch light we picked some flowers and looked at the stars. It was getting to be time to go in, but I didn't want to, so I sent everyone in to get some shoes and we hopped in car and drove to Diary Queen for blizzards. Even Dairy Queen knows summer is over - their 1/2 price after 10:00pm summer promotion was over and I had to pay full price. Driving home I saw the fountains still going at the new park. I pulled in and suggested a run through the fountains. Some of the kids were in the pajamas and Ryan didn't have a shirt on so they were hesitant to get out of the car - but they finally did. Taylor, Dallin and Rick bravely ran through the water. I chickened out. We were only there about 5 minutes before everyone was begging through chattering teeth to leave. That wouldn't have happened in August.

I love summer, I live for summer and this summer has been one of the best - and one of the shortest. Dallin remarked the other day, "how come when you are doing something fun time goes by really fast but when you are doing chores or piano or something it takes forever" I wish I knew the answer to that, it is one of the cruel tricks of nature I guess.

We started out the summer with a trip to New Mexico. While 11 hours in the car with 5 kids was no picnic it wasn't bad either. My mom was there to help keep them entertained. The sun and heat of New Mexico felt wonderful. Mark and my mom lamented the heat but I loved it. We swam, played in the river, went to the zoo, shot guns and had a really really good time. Family is a great part of summer. We were home a few weeks - just long enough for me to get my garden in and some flowers planted and we left for Oregon. This time Rick got to go. This was a trip I have longed to take. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. It truly was amazing. We also went camping several times, hiking, swimming and enjoyed more family when Liz and Jim came for Anna's baptism.

A lot of my friends dread summer break and say there kids get bored and are ready to go back to school by the 4th of July. I can't believe this - how can kids get bored during the summer. The idea is so foreign to me, I feel like there is never enough time to do all I want to do during the summer. I am fighting for every last minute of summer break. In fact this summer Grandma and Grandpa carter were here the first couple weeks of school so we really put off getting back into a school schedule until after they left. It was late nights and undone homework until after labor day.

Last Christmas I got a book from my Mom. It is called something like "Great kids are homemade". I am a big fan. It's premise is something I have long believed. You have to make your home fun enough that your kids want to be there. Well in the book it has tons of great suggestions. My lazy nature has gotten in the way of implementing a lot of them but one thing we did try was to have a more scheduled summer. With the idea of work hard/play hard.

So we instituted what came to be known as "days" at our house. We had "work day", "library day", "technology day", "fun day" and friends day". For the most part it worked out really well. One of the first things I heard each morning when the kids drug themselves out of bed was "what day is it" and they didn't mean Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs or Friday. I thought the kids would rebel but they didn't. They complained a bit but for the most part I think they liked it. This is the description of our "days" that I wrote at the beginning of the summer. The idea was to limit screen time, to keep my house from filling like a day care center with every neighborhood child moving in for summer and to keep our house looking reasonably clean.

Work Day

What: A day to get all our chores, errands and lessons done.

When: Once a week, usually Monday or Wednesdays between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00

Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores, their work day chores, piano, scouts, and all errands that need to be done such as the grocery store, walmart etc. There will be no friends, no tv, no wii, no computer.

Fun Day:

What: A day to do a fun activity of your choice.

When: Once a week, on Tuesday or Thursdays between the hours of 11:00 – 4:00 (we can be flexible)

Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores first. Each family member will get 2 turns during the summer to plan any activity they want to do. The rules are that everyone must be able to participate, you may not spend more than $20 (you can save your money or pool with others if you want). No one may complain or refuse to participate – if you do you forfeit your turn. The person whose turn it is to plan the activity may invite 1 friend to ride with us if they want. Other than that there will be no friends, no wii, no tv, no computer.

Library Day:

What: A day to go to the library, the park, read books and watch a mom chosen movie.

When: Once a week on Tuesday or Thursday between the hours of 11:00 and 4:00.

Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores first. We will go to the library and perhaps to the park to play and eat lunch after (depending on weather). When we return home we will spend the afternoon reading a book of your choice. We will each have a turn to choose a family book mom will read aloud for ½ hour, the readers will then take 15 min turns to read to the non readers and 45 min to read to themselves. We will then all watch a mom chosen movie. The only rule for the book is that it has to be a book you have not read before. We will have reading/movie snacks chosen by a different person each week. There will be no friends, no wii, no tv, no computer.

Mom chosen movies are ones that will hopefully bring some culture and education into are lives but are still enjoyable. Movies the kids would never choose on their own but still fun and enjoyable.

Technology Day:

What: A day to play computer, wii, or watch tv .

When: Once a week, on Monday or Wednesday between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00

Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores. You will sign up for 1 hour blocks on the computer, tv, laptop or game boy. You may not fight, complain or go past your time or you forfeit your next turn. Sign ups are first come first serve after daily chores are done. Friends may come over but if they play they get your time.

Friday Friend Day: You can do whatever you want after normal daily chores are done. You can have 1 hour of screen time that you sign up for on a first come first serve basis after chores are done. And you may play with any and all friends all day long.

For the most part our days went pretty much like planned. I did find it very hard to continually turn away the kids who knocked on the door asking to come play so we often had friends all day. They started asking me "what day is it" too. In fact it wasn't all that rare to have to walk home one of Ryan's little friends at 11:00 at night when we started getting ready for bed. This little late night friends was also often one of the first ones to arrive.

I also had a hard time enforcing reading - partly because so many friends were constantly there on library day. I also hate reading out loud. I know a good mom shouldn't feel that way, but I do. I love reading, and I love books - but I hate reading out loud. I also have a really hard time only reading a chapter or two at a time. If I start a book I like to finish it that day - often reading into the morning hours. So all to often if I started reading a book to the kids I couldn't help myself and would end up getting it out and finishing it after the kids had gone to bed for the night. Then I want to move on to the next book instead of rereading the same one to them that I had finished the night before. I also can't read out loud fast enough for me. I can read a lot faster to myself and my mind isn't patient enough to wait for my mouth to catch up so it is frustrating. So reading out loud didn't go as well as planned. I forced myself to do it some of the days - so it was an improvement from past years but I don't think I ever finished a book with them.

Other than those 2 areas we did pretty good with sticking to our schedule. We had fun, the kids never really got bored and surprisingly enough my house was cleaner than usual. So I definitely consider the "days" to have been a successful venture.

I had kind of thought we would stick with our "days" this fall. But school really screws everything up. If just hasn't' worked. By the time the kids walk in after school and we finish homework, chores, piano, scouts, achievement days, soccer and dance it is about time to fall into bed. There is no time for fun. But I guess that is life and it is probably about time I grew up and realized everything is not about fun. At least not until next summer.

Wendy

Someday I would love to meet Wendy. Apparently she is one amazing person. She is smarter than me. She even knows how to drive. She is the oldest kid. The list goes on and on. I decided to ask Rachel about Wendy so I could make sure and portray her accurately. Everything in italics is a direct quote from Rachel.

Her (Wendy) mom and dad died by the war, just like Aubrey's old grandpa that died by the war and now all she has is his ring. Wendy knows how to get bugs out of your eyes. I think this came up because just before this conversation we discussed how Aunt Kristin knows all about ears and can even get bugs out of your ear – Rachel asked if Kristin could get bugs out of your eyes if one crawled in there. I said I didn't think so – Kristin just does ears, noses and throats not eyes, plus I don't think bugs crawl into eyes all that often. Well I guess Wendy has one on Kristin because she can get them out of your eyes. Back to Wendy . She also has a dog and cat. She knows things that Anna knows . When her mom just barely had a baby she died so Wendy has to take care of her because she knows how to drive and stuff. She knows how to tie good and work ipods when they are off and they aren't turning on. She knows how to sing really good, she knows how to tape really good. She knows how to take care of a baby good. And she is a doctor too. Her mom was a Dr but now she is not because now she is dead by the war. She knows how to wash good. And her baby wouldn't cry. Wendy is with white hair and she has a pool in her house, like in her bathroom. She has 2 bathrooms, no 3 bathrooms, no lots of bathrooms, 4, because she has one downstairs. The downstairs one has the pool. She has a blue swimming suit, Anna's favorite color is her swimming suit. She has lots of boots. Also Wendy can even do the splits – I am not kidding, I am not lying, I am not crossies. She can – even she can do the gymnastics. She is really smart. She has a roof on her ground and she can walk on it without falling.

She has a blue ipod and she has her own laptop and her own computer. She looks like the same as the Wendy that we get a frosty at. She has a cute necklace. She has a snuggle butt. I asked what a snuggle but was. Rachel covered her mouth while snickering and said a snuggle butt is a cute butt.

Wendy is Rachel's imaginary friend. She has been for a LONG time. I keep waiting for Wendy to be forgotten, but she is not. She is as real as anything to Rachel. She is always talking about Wendy and telling me how much better Wendy is than I am. Apparently driving is really important because the fact that Wendy is not a mom, but an old kid who knows how to drive, is very important to Rachel. When asked the best thing about Wendy, Rachel will tell you “Wendy can even drive”. Also the fact that she has a dog and a cat strikes right up their with her driving talents. I then asked Rachel who she liked better. Here is what she said.

Who do you like better Mommy or Wendy:

Wendy (-no hesitation)

Who do you like better Daddy or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Taylor or Wendy:

Wendy (a little bit of a hesitation there-surprisingly enough)

Who do you like better Dallin or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Anna or Wendy

Wendy:

Who do you like better Ryan or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Grandma or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Grandpa or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Kevin or Wendy:

Wendy

Who do you like better Tess or Wendy:

Wendy – (pause) actually Tess and Tess's baby

Once again Tess triumphs as Rachel's favorite person, I thought for a minute Wendy would win out but Tess pulled it off. I wonder if it has something to do with the baby. She is not even here yet and she still beats me but whats even more amazing is that she beats Wendy, and that Wendy is one amazing girl.

Beauty Salon

Rachel's got a new game she likes to play. She lays down, completely naked, on the bathroom counter puts her head in the sink and washes her hair. The first time I walked in the bathroom and saw this I about lost it. There was water running down the side of the counter pooling all over the floor. There were towels everywhere - to catch the water Rachel later told me. There was a bottle of shampoo laying on it side with shampoo all over the counter and Rachel was naked as a jay bird happily scrubbing the top of her hair. I asked her what in the world was going on. She sat up and very matter a factly said, "I'm pretending I'm going to the dentist-no not the dentist, you know that one place that does hair and finger polish" then she laid back down and continued scrubbing.

Rachel loves the salon. She begs to get her hair cut every time we pass it. For her birthday Anna chose to go to the salon and get her hair and nails done. Rachel got to go too, and Liz and I got pedicures. (Which I so enjoy). Rachel walked right in hopped up on her seat and when asked what she wanted done with her hair she said I want Taylor Swift hair. The girl looked at me. I nodded and said, make her into Taylor Swift and went back and got my toes done. A little while later a beaming "Taylor Swift" came in and sat by me while they finished up my feet. She loved it. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled and smiled. She'd turn this way and that admiring her hair and nails. It is a pity that a girl who loves to feel pretty as much as Rachel does can't seem to look much better than an orphan most days. As beautiful as she is she has got to become better friends with a brush a wash cloth and matching clothes.

Taylor and a rant about scouts

Taylor has been working on his scouting. His goal is to get his 1st class by his birthday. One of the requirements is to invite a boy to join scouts. Well we had to bend the rules a bit because he actually does not know any boys who aren't already in scouts. All of the boys in our ward are active - at least in his age group. There are some older boys who could probably come more often but when I mentioned them he flatly refused saying he was scared of them. I agreed, I'm scared of them too. I asked around to find out what others had done in this situation. Just like many other requirements in our wards scouting program they kind of just skip them. I didn't feel good about just skipping it so I decided to have Taylor write a letter to a boy inviting them to scouts. This is what he came up with....

Hello,
come to scout's sunny,
cuz if you don't well that's to bad.
You get knowledge, experience, and refreshments,
that are very yummy.
So if you don't come thats just
fine.
You just won't be a straight line
But you will be missing a lot I say,
Bowling, fishing, swimming, sports, work, and play.
However if you do come you are likely to get your
wolf, bear, webelos and more
maybe you'll get your eagle that will be
a high score.
So come or don't come for all I care
I just wanted to give you some
fun to share.

From,
Taylor

While not exactly what I had in mind but I decided to let it pass. Creativity can earn you extra points. Scouting is a interesting thing to me. I didn't think much about it until Taylor turned 8. Even then I drove him to his den meetings and listened to him say his scout law and stuff. Then I got called as a den leader. I learned a lot about the scouting program, the boys, my sons and my self. I am a big fan. I think it is very important. I feel strongly (like anyone who has read much of my blog already knows) that it is very important to teach children that they can do hard things. Boys need confidence. They need that taste of success. They need to accomplish something and feel good about it. I recently read an article by Bob Lonsberry that I very much agree with. Read it here http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=2963&go=4 . Pretty much it says that you don't give your children self esteem it is a consequence to actions. A consequence to succeeding. A good parent teachers their children to work hard, set goals and be persistent. Success will naturally follow which builds self esteem. I think scouting is a great way of doing this. So are sports and chores but that is a discussion for another day. So I like scouts, I think it is important. The problem I have with my experience with scouts, at least in our ward, is that it is not necessarily taken seriously. A scout is trustworthy... at least he should be. So when leaders just pass off a boy because the requirement is inconvenient or too hard I don't think it teaches him to be trustworthy. I know being a scout leader is hard. It is a demanding job - both in time, patience and money. But if one agrees to do it - he should do it. When the requirement says go on 3 cam pouts with your troop. The boys should go on 3 camp outs with their troop. Not one with the ward, one with their parents and one with the troop. A 1 mile hike should not be passed off by walking down the sidewalk from the church for 1/2 mile and turn around and walk back. (Even if they boys are technically walking for 1 mile - I don't think that is what Powell had in mind)

Anyway I could go on and on, but I won't. The thing is I know that it is a lot, a whole lot, to ask of a man. Especially when he didn't volunteer to do it. Most men agree when called upon, but not because they want to, but because of a sense of obligation and lets face it a bit of guilt if they refuse. Giving up 3 weekends a summer for the 11 year old boys and 10 weekends a year for the older kids - plus 1 week for scout camp is a lot to ask. I hated it when Rick was a scout leader. It's not fair to the leaders family to have him gone so much, for his vacation time to be used up with scouts. But it is also not fair to those boys to be in a program that is ran half hearteldy. I honestly don't know what the answer is.

Everything you ever wanted

I was driving, Taylor was sitting next to me. The radio was on and my mind was wandering. We were passing the library. Out of the blue Taylor asked me if I had everything I ever wanted. "What do you mean" I asked - he had definitely caught me off guard. "When you were a little girl didn't you ever think of all the things you wanted when you grew up." he said. Of course I had - day dreaming is one of my biggest weaknesses and favorite pass times. I did, and still do it all the time. But I said "yeah I guess - I did". "Well so now that your old do you have all those things you thought you would." he said. I stopped and thought. "Pretty much" I said, "except for a boat - I have always wanted a boat". The conversation changed but I kept thinking. The thing is I really do have pretty much everything I ever wanted.

While my life definitely isn't exactly how I pictured it in those endless daydreams practically everything I dreamed of is mine. This is going to sound silly - so I won't be offended if you laugh, but this is the way I pictured my self in my minds eye. Living out in the country in a big yellow 2 story farmhouse, with a big wrap around porch. There was a lake in the background with a boat tied to the dock. I am not sure where, but definitely not Utah. There were lots of fruit trees around and a dog in the yard. I had lots of really cute kids running around laughing and playing. They always came when I called and were very clean and well groomed (ok admittedly- that never happens). I could see myself standing on the porch, I would always be wearing a dress - like a simple cotton sundress kind of thing and I would be waiting for my husband to get home from work. And I would be pretty. It would be like 5:00 and dinner would be all ready and my husband would pull in. We would all go inside our spotless house and have dinner. We would go on vacations, go to the beach, go swimming and play together. All my kids would play the piano, although I don't know what they played - it wasn't songs like "Little Indian". I only ever dreamed of myself smiling. We were all happy. In my dreams everything always felt peaceful and quiet and right.


So real life isn't' exactly like that. I have a wonderful husband but if I ever saw him pull in from work before 7 I would assume he had lost his job. I have several cute (albeit messy) children. I am not sure I ever counted in my dreams, but it was probably more like 8 -10 kids. But 5 real children are a lot more than 10 dreamed up one. I've got a house with 1 fruit tree that has yet to bear fruit. I do have a porch, all though it doesn't' wrap around my tan single story house. And it is in Utah. I mostly wear sweats and stained tee shirts, and rarely make-up. If it's not Sunday my hair is pulled back in a ponytail so that I don't notice how much it needs to be washed. I don't even own a sundress. My legs are generally hairy. While I didn't actually notice if my legs were shaved in my childhood daydreams, something just tells me they were. And much to my children's dismay there is no dog in our yard - proof that some things do turn out better in real life.

But I do have everything I wanted (besides that boat). A husband much more amazing then I could ever dream up. Children I love more than I ever knew possible. A comfortable home where I feel at peace. Enough money I never worry. We do go on vacations, we play together, we laugh and we are happy. Even though it's rarely peaceful and it's never quiet there is no denying it always feels right. So I guess the thing is while my life doesn't'' look exactly like the one I dreamed of - it feels like it. I do have everything I ever wanted.

Lagoon

We survived the day at Lagoon. It was actually really fun. No one threw up, no one got lost and no one wet their pants (although there were several close calls). Rick took Taylor and Dallin last year. We spent the whole year telling the kids to eat their dinner so they could grow big enough to go to Lagoon. Our rule was if they weren't at least 48" so they could ride most of the rides I wasn't going to spend the money to take them to Lagoon and sit on the sidelines and watch those who were 48" enjoy themselves. Well somehow this summer Anna and Ryan were both lucky enough to hit a growth spurt so that their heads brushed the 4 foot mark on the tape measure when they stood against the wall with their tallest shoes on. We decided it would cost more to get a babysitter for Rachel then to take her so she got to go too. I hadn't really expected the whole family to go so the budget hadn't planned on that big of an expenditure - but we did it anyway.

We rode most every ride there was. Rick talked me into letting Dallin or Anna babysit the younger kids while we rode a few of the ones with bigger height restrictions. Even though they were sitting in clear view of us most of the time the thought that someone would come up and take them as I was strapped into a ride was a lot scarier than dropping straight down in a roller coaster.

I do like roller coasters, the thrill of falling, the anticipation and adrenaline rush are exciting and exhilarating. I loved riding with my kids and hearing them squeal and laugh and feel them grab my arm when we were hurled around a corner or the car plunged down a drop off. Anna likes them too. Her favorite was Wild Mouse. She must have rode it more than 10 times. I know I rode it 4 times in a row with her, she just kept running on and off of it with whoever she could talk into it. The water rides are my favorite. I love to get wet -I don't know why I just do. It was fun.

The scariest ride of the night, by far was the sky walk. It is a very slow moving ski lift type of thing that takes you across the park about 20 feet up in air. It is supposed to be a peaceful way of getting from one side to the other. Well in a huge lack of judgement I let Rachel and Anna ride in the car in front of me and Ryan. Everything would have been fine if they would have just sat there and quietly rode it as intended. But Rachel didn't. I was terrified as I spent most of the 10 min ride watching Rachel stand and peer over the edges and rock the car. She walked back and forth and shoved as Anna tried to pull her down. She was not belted in, in any way shape or form. She could have easily fallen out and landed with a splat on the concrete below. I screamed at her to sit down, I begged Anna to make her sit. I was crying and screaming. But they couldn't hear me and I was completely helpless. It was one of the most scariest feelings of my life.


We stayed until they kicked us out. We were exhausted, we dragged our slightly sun burnt and queasy bodies out to the car. Most of the kids were asleep before we hit the the freeway. Despite the serious hit our bank account took I am glad we all went.

Not wanted at burger king

I took the kids to Burger King for dinner tonight. It was the final destination of the orienteering course I had constructed for Taylor. I was feeling mighty proud of myself that my clues had successfully lead us there. We all got out and walked in and that all too familiar feeling of not being wanted hit. Embarrassingly enough it happens pretty frequently. I walk into a store or restaurant or something with the kids and everyone turns to stare. They cringe and then divert their eyes. It is easy to see their minds working as they are all quietly willing us to leave. Tonight was no different I could tell the Burger King employee was praying I would say "to go". But I didn't. I'm always more embarrassed than offended. I can easily understand their distaste. Like tonight, Rachel was wearing a "dress up" that looked more like the rags Cinderella wore while she worked then a princess gown. Anna had on her favorite shorts- that have been her favorite for several years. Over the years they have picked up several holes and stains and lost some color. Her legs have picked up several inches so that now the shorts end in a tight band on her upper thigh instead of loosely hanging to her knee. The kids did leave the house with their feet covered but along the way Taylor's flip flops had broken - which required every ones shoes to shift up. So Taylors feet were hanging off both ends of his flip flops, Ryan was wearing pink flip flops and Rachel was barefoot (I did carry her so we could conform to the "no shirt no shoes" sign in the window. Unless the dip in the reservoir they had just taken counts, I doubt any of them had taken a bath since the last Sunday. I was wearing holy shorts and my favorite tee shirt which came from DI. Rick bought it for a special day at work where they had to wear a tee shirt with a video game logo on it. (it's a weird office). Even though it smells and has mortal combat across the back I really like it. I have tried to get the smell out - it has been washed countless times with extra oxyclean and fabric softener but it still stinks. Anyway point is we looked like a bunch of filthy ruffians. I walked up to the counter and started to order. I could see the employee's eyes get big as she was looking over my shoulder at the kids. I turned around and the kids, and not the younger ones, were swinging on those ropes they have out to divided the lines. Not just pulling on them, but feet off the floor swinging. Luckily they ran to find a seat at my insistence before the ropes broke, although it did include a little shoving match to be first to the table. I finished the order and handed out the cups so the kids could get their drinks. Taylor apparently didn't get her lid on tight because Rachel's "suicide" spilled as she grabbed it off the drink counter to take it to our table. Dallin helped to clean it up while I tried to shield the mess from the other diner's view with my wide body. Dallin brought Rachel another cup of soda - the tops must have really been difficult to get on because as he handed it to her the entire cup spilled across the table. I just sighed and went to get more napkins. Dallin must have done a good job cleaning up the first spill because there was no more napkins left. I reluctantly went up to the counter to ask for some more. Luckily the employee who came over didn't speak the best English so I didn't have to explain other than say napkins. I was on my hands and knees trying to mop up a sickish looking brown liquid (the suicide drink popular among my children) when the lady came back with our order. She didn't say anything but it was disgust I saw in her face when she saw the table. She simply set the tray down and left. There were perfectly shaped little footprints leading across the floor up onto and across the bench and all over the table top where Rachel had stepped in the soda with her bare feet and climbed up on the table while she was crying that her seat was all wet. Utterly humiliated by this time I sat down on the wet and sticky bench and pulled Rachel next to me. I decided to just wipe up the spill with the seat of our pants. They were far from clean anyway.
All went ok for a few minutes until Taylor went to get ketchup for us. They didn't have little packets you had to squirt it into little cups. Luckily Taylor managed to fill the cups without mishap. Bringing them to the table was another story. Being the efficent boy he is he didn't want to take a lot of trips - so he filled his hands with 8 little cups of ketchup which ended up flying across our table hitting the wall, the table, the floor and us. Taylors fingers were covered in ketchup where he had been holding the cups. We still didn't have napkins. He licked off his fingers and I wiped the walls off the best I could with Rachel's pillow case. We finished eating and slunk out of that restaurant. I wanted to assure the woman behind the counter that next time we would use the drive through but I was too embarrassed to even look at her.

castle dale

Several years ago we had a home teacher from Emery county. He told us all about the Castle Valley pageant. I thought it sounded fun and decided we would go. Several years went by where it just didn't work out. So 2 years ago I decided it was the year. I made reservations at a hotel and was really excited to go. We had company that week and they were going to come with us. The day before things got kind of busy and it was decided that we were all too hot and tired to go - so I canceled the reservation and we stayed home. I was pretty disappointed but vowed to go the next year. But that was the last year they did it yearly- they changed to only every other year so I had to wait till this summer. So I planned it months ago and we finally went. Kristin, Kevin and Tess came with us. We had a really good time but it was sure an interesting camping trip.
First of all we got a bit of a late start but made it up there in good time. The windy roads were a bit much for Anna so we had to stop so she could throw up. Luckily she made it to the side of the road and didn't get it in the car. Our camping site had no good spot for a tent. There was a very small area under some trees that was flatish but it was no where near big enough for our tent, which is technically called a 3 room "vacation home". We drove on to check Kevin and Tess camping spot. It was much better so we commandeered that and set up our tent there and then went and set up Kevin and Tess tent under the tree in the other site. We had to break off several branches for it to fit under the trees but we did it. We have 3 air mattress but could only find 2 (until we go home and saw the third one waiting for us in the garage where the pile of stuff to go was sitting.) But we figured we could just make do with two.

Because cramming camping supplies for 7 in the van is a pretty good trick I packed Rick's car with all of our sleeping bags and pillows. Although Rick didn't actually help me do it he did watch as I took everything out and put it in his car. Well at the last minute Kevin and Tess volunteered to drive there car. Rick hopped in their car and left all our sleeping gear parked in the trunk in our driveway. I was pretty upset when he arrived without it. I didn't know what to do. Luckily I had put a few blankets in our car to sit on at the pageant. So we had those. Taylor and Dallin slept in the car where it was a bit warmer. Kevin and Tess lent us some blankets and a sleeping bag. I froze all night long. My neck ached from sleeping with no pillow. Rachel kept waking up shivering so I put her in bed with us. Her body warmth finally helped me get a bit of sleep. It was a rough night but we made it through.

The pageant was good but extremely cheesy - just like all Mormon pageants. But I still enjoyed it and felt the spirit. Rachel kept all around us pretty entertained. She made comments, rather loud about all that was happening. She was gravely concerned with the baby dying and let everyone know it.

The next day we had a wonderful breakfast that Tess and Kevin made and then we went to the lake, it took a bit of doing but we found a spot to swim. We had a good time till some big black clouds and a bit of lightening chased us out of the water. We stopped to have lunch and take a few pictures before going home.

The trip ended with an unfortunate encounter with a policeman who wasn't too happy with the speed that Rick was driving. The entire trip seemed to be fraught with mishaps and bumps in the road - but I hope to do it all again next year. Next year I will pack all of our stuff in the van even if I have to sit on it and I am pretty sure Rick won't be in such a hurry to get home and if he is he will keep a better look out for cops.

Do we stink?

Rick is a little obsessed with smelling good. Not that that is a bad thing or anything. Every once in a while he will get concerned that we, our family and house, stink. So he will bring home candles and room deodorizers. I do like to burn candles and I love those bath and body plug ins but to be honest I have a hard enough time just getting the dirty dishes off the table let alone having time to worry about lighting candles and changing plug ins. A few years ago we went to visit David and Megan. Rick came home committed to a better smelling house. Their house made quite a impression on his nose, it made our house seem like a barn. Ever since then he has obsessed about it a little bit. So during our vacation Rick told everyone that we needed to pay close attention to how the house smelled right when we walked in. That way we would know how our house smelled to other people. He brought this up a couple times. So upon our arrival we opened the door and took a great big whiff. I about fell over it stunk so bad. Oh no I immediately thought, do we really smell this bad. Then I realized we couldn't possibly. (If we do would someone please let me know) A little investigation turned up some garbage that had not been taken out and a dishwasher that had been stopped mid cycle and not restarted. The water in the bottom was green and slimy and the smell would knock a skunks socks off. By the next morning the house was back to its normal-not so great but not so bad- smell.

A lake of Soda- is it too good to be true?

A lake of soda? Sounds like a fantasy straight from the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. When I told Ryan about it he laughed and said, "your joking-the lake isn't really made of soda" "Sure it is" I said, "See it says right there Shasta lake, and Shasta is soda isn't it." He didn't know what to think- he kind of believed me but also knew it was too good to be true. Soda or not the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is home of a pretty incredible lake. It is not beautiful - clear and bright blue but also pretty warm for a mountain lake. They created a perfect little swimming area and even warmed up the water there. They attached a big net like curtain to buoys and sunk them creating an area that is more shallow then the rest of the lake - somehow this makes the water warmer. Now they actually do this for the fish - it is some environmental ploy to protect some endangered fish or something but the wonderful bi product is a nice warm swimming hole. We stopped there took some pictures and looked around a bit we wanted to get our passport books stamped but we were about 20 minutes late, the visitors center just closed. So we went ahead and drove into Redding went swimming, had dinner and went to bed. Well some of us went to bed and some of us (like the 5 children) stayed up and watched tv - debatably the most exciting part of the vacation for some of our family.

The Trip home

On the way home from the Redwoods we stopped in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It reminded me of Yellowstone a little bit. There were many hikes, beautiful rivers and lakes and geo thermal areas to look at. They even had geysers although we didn't see any. We went to the visitors center - stamped our passport books and looked on the maps for a good hike. Taylor saw a picture of volcanic cone that really caught his eye. He came and found me and showed it to me and asked if we could go see it. It was one of the hikes that we though would be doable for us -about 3 miles. Well it was on the other side of the park, but on our way so we headed over there. About 20 miles after leaving the visitors center we realized we were running out of gas. The dilemma was there was a gas station at the visitors center and then one about 60 miles down the road. We didn't really want to run out but weren't' sure we could make it. We decided to press our luck, so we turned off the air conditioning (not so fun) and drove 55mph (also not to fun when we could have gone 70) and hoped for the best. We did make it with a gallon to spare.

The cinder cone hike was quite nice. We walked for about 1 mile on a flat path in a nicely wooded area. It was a nice hike except for the fact that Rachel wanted carried, Ryan had to poop, Taylor and Dallin had run ahead so I was a bit worried about them, and Anna refused to wear her tennis shoes, and it was quite hot. The shoe situation wasn't too great for the youngest three. Somehow Rachel and Ryan both hit a growth spurt recently because I couldn't get the tennis shoes I had brought for them on their feet. They fit fine a month ago. So Ryan spent the week in sandals and Rachel was either barefoot or wore Anna's extra flip flops. But despite all that I was enjoying the walk at least when I wasn't carrying Rachel.

Then we came around a corner and saw the cone. I think my mouth dropped open. It was a big black hill of sand and rock without a tree growing on it. There was one steep path straight up the side of the mountain. It looked long, it looked steep, and it was hot-you could almost see the heat waves coming off of it. We were really low on water too so I had been trying to conserve by not drinking any but I was really thirsty and feeling a tiny bit light headed at this point so I thought there was no way we were all making it up the mountain. Rick maybe, the older boys maybe, but definitely not Anna, Ryan, Rachel and preferably not me. But we trudged on.

I decided to get to the base of the mountain and see what we could do. I told the kids-just keep on keeping on. We tried singing songs, telling stories and reciting the ABC's to take our minds off the misery. By this time we were really thirsty. Rick and Ryan had fallen behind (they had to stop for Ryan to poop) I was worried about them making it since I had the backpack with all the water. I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that if we stopped to wait for them I wouldn't want to start again. Best to just keep going. So I sent a bottle of water down with a passing couple, pointed out Rick and ask them to give it to him.

We set a goal of how far to walk before stopping to rest. We looked for rocks that stood out or other landmarks to make it to before we'd pause for a break, I alternated carrying Rachel and making her walk. When the landmarks got to far apart for us we counted our steps. 15 steps then a break, 10 steps then sit down. We finally rounded a corner and leveled off. The top was beautiful. On the way up I asked a guy if it was worth it. He nodded, and said- it is nothing like I've ever seen before. If you can get up there- do it. He was right it was pretty amazing. The pictures don't really do it justice, which is often the case. Looking around you got a great view of many different landscapes.

On one side was a beautiful bright blue lake, that gave way to a geothermal area that looked liked painted sand, around the other side was volcanic rocks all bordered by green forests. We walked around taking it all in. Taylor and Dallin were up there, they had actually hiked down inside the cone. I decided looking down into it was good enough for me. When Rick and Ryan topped the hill they started coming over to us but Rick hesitated and started yelling at the kids to sit down. I couldn't really figure out why at first, then I realized he was nervous because it looked like the side dropped off on both sides. It wasn't like there were cliffs or anything. I didn't think there were safety issues at all - but then again I am not scared of heights and lets just say Rick prefers the ground. Anyway we took pictures and drank all the water we could salvage from the bags of ice we had in our backpack to keep our stuff cool and then made our way down

. By the time we got back to the car we were hot, hungry and very thirsty. We then again had to face about 40 more miles till we got in to town where we could get gas. It was a miserable ride without the air conditioning but we made it. It was already early evening by then and we weren't more than 1 hour or so into the days drive. In fact we had originally hoped to get home that night but had long ago abandoned that idea. We decided to push on hard and just see how far we could get. About 10:00 we were faced with a decision either stop in Winnamucca about 11:00 or drive to Elko 2 more hours down the road. We really wanted to get to Elko but neither or us wanted to drive 2 more blocks let alone 2 more hours - yet we pushed on, partly because hotels in Elko were cheaper then Winnamuccua (we were really lucky that mom and Kevin were so willing to book hotels and try priceline for us while we were driving).

We made it into our hotel a little before 1am. We crashed for the night. Kevin found a local ward that met at 9:00 for us to attend. It was quite the trial to get out of bed that morning. Especially because we had planned to be home by Sunday and had buried our church clothes at the very bottom of our car top carrier. Getting them out was a trick. I couldn't find all of our church shoes so most of us just went in our flip flops and sandals. Rachel went barefoot. We were also out of food by this point and unfortunately this was the only hotel we stayed in that did not have a continental breakfast. I found a couple of oatmeal packets and cooked some in the cups in the hotel room. We had 2 forks to share. Most of the kids actually turned their nose up and lukewarm thick oatmeal and went to church hungry but maybe they were too tired to care. We were really wrinkled just a bit smelly and very tired but we make it to church during the opening song. It was actually a very nice Sacrament meeting, we were impressed with there speakers and especially their youth. We skipped out on primary and headed for home.

We forged on only stopping for gas. I kind of thought we would have to stop for lunch but we did have some fruit snacks and peanut butter bars and a case of diet Pepsi we made work for us. We pulled in our driveway about 4 hours later, dirty, tired and hungry but glad to be home. It was an amazing trip I would do again in a heartbeat. I just wish it wasn't 15 hours away.

The Coast

There is nothing quite like the Oregon coast. Beautiful, powerful and peaceful all at once. Also like Ryan says, its really really cold. It's definitely no Caribbean but we did get our feet wet and most of the kids were wet to their arm pits before they knew it. Rachel liked to jump the waves and chase the surf. Anna was our great shell collector. She found lots of neat shells and several whole sand dollars. They all got to come home with us - yeah!!! Dallin went sand crab hunting and found several he was able to dig up. Taylor's big discovery was a star fish. He really wanted to keep it, he thought he would make a great friend for JR. We told him that if he brought it home it would die. He wanted to bring it home - we told him doing so would kill it. He decided he did want to bring it home but he wouldn't kill it, he would just let it die on its own. What great reasoning. So he stuck it in a bucket and carried up to the car, somewhere in the parking lot his conscious got the better of him and he carried it back down to the ocean and threw it back. I hope that starfish realizes how close he came to losing his life. Although we didn't bring the starfish home we did bring enough sand home to start our own beach.

Trees of Mystery

What does Paul Bunyon eat for breakfast? 2000 flapjacks, that is what he told Taylor anyway. Taylor also asked him how big his grandma was. Unfortuantely Paul never met his grandma so he didn't know how big she was. We had a lovely chat with Paul and his ox Blue - or course Blue didn't talk back, he is a ox after all. A GAINT Paul Bunyon and ox sat outside the gates of the Trees of Mystery a park outside of Eureka Ca. A little pricey but quite extrodianry - it was worth the price. We walked along paths winding through gaint redwoods and then took the sky cab up above the trees so that we were looking down on them. The kids loved the ride and the view was spectacular. We rode up, then down and then decided to hike up. The sign said we should check with an attendent before hiking up. So we did, he said go ahead and go if you want - but not many people hike up- it is more of a down kind of thing. We quickly learned why - it is steep, really steep. But Taylor and Dallin ran on up while Anna, Ryan and Rachel dragged Rick and I up. The kids can definately be little mountain goats when they want to. About half way up Ryan said, "Hey Dad why did you ever have to think of climbing up this- it was kind of a dumb idea? Frankly I agreed. We made it up to the top, caught our breathe and got in line to ride the sky cab down. Rick suggested walking down but he was quickly shot down.

The Redwoods are huge - or course I have always heard how big those trees get but seeing them is something else. We stopped at the drive thru tree and payed our six dollars so we could drive our car through a tree. When I first saw the pamphlet for it I kind of dismissed it for a tourist trap that would be really spendy and not to great. But it was less money, and more fun than I expected. We drove through a couple of times and then let the kids sit on roof rack and ride through the tree. While there we also checked out the outhouse carved out of a single tree. They just took a huge tree and hollowed out the middle then put in a bathroom complete with running water. It was pretty cool. Ryan walked in, saw that it was a toliet, and dropped his drawers. Not wanting to be left out of the fun Anna and Rachel also went in the tree. A lot of people have peed on a tree but not to many have peed in tree. What an exciting day.

Crabbing

A couple of highlights stand out in my mind when I think about crabbing. One was Kristin and Andrea throwing the net in, Andrea let go and Kristin did not. Kristin ended up cold and wet. Luckily she got pulled out before being swept under the dock or eaten by a seal. Another was crabbing off the dock at the Embarkadero and then cooking up our crabs and eating them. I wish I could say I thought it was delicious -I'd like to try them again, fresh from the sea, and see if they have improved over time.

And then there was the time I got tar all over my hands. I was kind of embarressed about it so I headed up to the bathrooms to wash it off. It didn't come off. I had remembered hearing that gasoline would take tar off. So I assumed the best thing to do was wash my hands with gasoline. Easy enough, our van was full of gasoline. So I undid the gas tank and put my finger in to get a little gas out. Little did I know that gas tanks come with a saftey valve thing so that things can go it but they can't come out. I was stuck. Stuck standing in the parking lot with my finger stuck in the gas tank all by myself. I pulled, I yanked, I twisted but nothing. I stood there and cried and prayed until finally someone else came up. We were with the Giffords and some other friends. Everyone got together and tried to pry my finger loose. They were worried it was getting swollen so they pushed ice all around it to try to keep the swelling down. Brother Gifford said I would need to just walk along side the van while they drove to the service station so they could get my finger out. I was sobbing at that point. Someone, probably David, offered to cut my finger off. Finally someone stuck a screw driver in the right spot and the valve realeased and my finger slid right out. That was a day I will never forget- and either did the Giffords apprently because it was mentioned the other night around the campfire.

Well all my crabbing tales got my kids hooked on going crabbing so we found some rings to rent and headed for the crabbing docks. I remembered right where it was - although Rick doubted me so we drove around for a while before he finally ask someone who told him the very spot I had pointed out. The laws on crabbing have changed over the last 18 years - a liscense is now required. Being the cheapskate that I am I didn't want to pay for two of them (kids are free) so Rick got one and I promised not to touch the nets. My job was to take pictures and keep Rachel out of the ocean. I gave Rick step by step instructions and he got the rings baited with frozen chicken and thrown into the ocean. I reminded everyone not to be like Aunt Kristin- and to make sure and let go of the net. Our first net caught a couple of crabs. The kids were ecstatic. I told them next step was to pick them up check to see if they were keepers and if not, throw them back. We actually threw them all back since we didn't really have a way to cook them. I showed them how to measure with a dollar bill and how to see if they were male or female.

Well Rick caustiously crouched down and put his fingers like I showed him but he just couldn't actually make himself touch the crab. It took several tries and a lot of coaxing before he would touch it. A lot more coaxing and taunting before he picked one up. Anna, Rachel and Ryan screamed and ran when the crabs started walking around the dock. Dallin was the brave one, he went over and picked several up. It took him a few tries too but he was the bravest by far. Taylor held a couple too. I really wanted to just pick one up and show them how it was done - and to prove they were a bunch of wimps but I was afraid of getting caught for crabbing without a liscense so at first I resisted. Eventually I did pick a couple up and throw them back. We caught quite a few, it was fun to pull up the nets and see the bounty. We did have a seal come around looking at our bait but he didn't get it. I couldn't help but notice the tar all over the dock - this time I didn't touch it. But all in all the it was a great experience -the kids, especailly dallin, really enjoyed it and asked to go back multiple times during the trip.

Going home

In 1992, sometime between Christmas and New Years we all laid out blankets and sleeping bags and slept on floor. It was late when we finally went to sleep. We had spent the day cleaning and packing, the moving van had left and there was nothing left. The house was empty. That evening Kristin and I went to a little party with the young women where we said goodbye to the best friends I ever had. I left the party a little early and went to say goodbye to my friend Nicole. I was hoping to get a last glimpse of her brother-although I knew he was at away at boot camp. I once thought I was in love with him. He wrote me once after that.

The next morning we woke up early, loaded up and headed out. That was the last time I saw Cottage Grove - almost 18 years ago. Until last week. I was excited and nervous about going back again. I couldn't help hoping nothing had changed but fearing it all had. About the time we left Eugene things started to not only look familiar but feel familiar too. I was absolutely giddy. We pulled into town and there it was, for the most part, just how I remembered it. I pointed out the Round Tu It, the McDonalds with the biggest truck stop in the world (a claim I don't think I ever believed), BiMart and Pinoccios Pizza. We had to stop for a picture at all of them. I'd forgotten about Pinoccios Pizza - but there it was just as tempting as always. Funny how something I had forgotten all about could bring back such strong memories. I immediately remembered pitchers of rootbeer in frosty glasses, pepperoni pizza with those little chili sprinkles, and if we were really lucky Popyee Pizza and a game of pac man. I told Rick I wanted to go there for dinner - which never worked out.

We then went out to Dorena lake and met the Giffords. It was amazing. They all looked great. Andrea was there with her husband and kids, Ryan and his family, and Scott and his family and Milton and Janice. Scott was a little boy when we left so had definately changed the most. But they were the same old Giffords with little Giffords running around. It was really nice, I immediatley felt comfortable and right at home with them. We boated a bit. It was my kids first time tubing and they were quick converts. They loved it - so did Rick- so much he promised them we would rent a boat the next time we went to the lake. After the lake we went to Giffords house for a BBQ. They lit a fire and we roasted marshmellows and sat on the porch chatting till almost midnight. There were so many things I had forgotten that came all back, experiences, stories, jokes and powerful feelings of belonging and nostalgia. I truely felt like I had come home. The Giffords were a big part of my growing up life.

The next morning we went to church in my old ward. It was the same as I remember it. The picture of Jesus praying in Gethsemane still hung in the chapel. Margit McRenyolds was at the organ with a very familiar look on her face. Elton Hail was helping with chairs, Susan Pinster taught Relief Society. Both the Potters bore their testimony. I took the kids around the church and showed them where we used to have primary, young womens and the haunted house at Halloween time (which is now the family history library). I told them about how we used to come play basketball or ride our new bikes on Christmas morning in the gym. I showed them the kitchen where Kristin and I once made cinnimon rolls for mothers day so Mom wouldn't see us baking them. I showed them the plaque with the Eagle Scouts names engraven on it and pointed out David Hoopes.

After church we toured the town. We saw my old houses, my old schools, the stores and parks I went to. We saw the feild that used to be my high school. The pool is still there and the old mechanics shed but other than that it is soccer feilds. The new high school is huge and really really nice. My kids were a bit suprised I went to elementry school in such a ghetto looking building. It wasn't so bad 18 years ago - but it has definately gone down hill. But it still brought back those memories. When we pulled up to the school I broke out into song - complete with the actions. "H-A-double R - I -S-O-N you see. It's the best in the west, Harrison Bobcats that's us!!!" I think that is when Rick knew I had gone off the deep end. I could picture myself walking through the doors, playing wall ball on the play ground and playing in the covered area during rainy day recess.

I showed the kids where we picked blackberries, where we sold candy bars to go to outdoor school, where my old paper route was. I showed them Bonanza and told them about how giant the 10 cent cones were. I told them about Full Meal Deals at Diary queen and the little coins they gave you for your sundae. I explained to them how you needed a card to get into BiMart and how you had to write your own prices on your groceries at Mark n Save. We went out to the swinging bridge and swung on it. We ran up and down and jumped on it - then I showed them the sign that same sign that has been there since I can remember. The one that says "please don't swing on Bridge" then we swung some more. We saw the BMX track next to the weigh station where we went fishing. I told them about the slugs we found and how we liked to salt them. I showed them the river and explained how we would float down it. We went to see the old hospital where Grandpa worked. It is an abandonded building now. I pointed out where the ER was, where Grandpa's office was- I told them about his secertary Janet (I think) and the soda machine that dropped down a cup and then filled it. I showed them the buildings across the street. The one where the dr office was, and I pointed in the window where the little play area was that kids could play in while they waited for their appointment. We saw the building the Grandpa helped build that housed a bunch of conference rooms (and probably other things) I told them about the time we all went over there for fhe and sat at a conference table and wrote our Family Mission Statement. Several people told me on different occasions how the hospital went downhill as soon as Dad left. They even mentioned how Bill Wilbur stole Dad's job then ran the hospital into the ground. They have a new hospital now but it is small more like an insta care that stabalizes and transfers. They don't even deliever babies anymore.

We finished out the day at Cottage Grove lake. As soon as I saw it I could picture Mom thowing us in the water off here knee, Dad sitting on the shore blowing up the rubber raft so we could play King of the boat out near the bouys. I remebered how fun it was for Kristin and I to rock back and forth on the old truck tires and try to tip each other off. I pictured the Borg's collecting cans and had to check the bathrooms to see if those hand dryers were still there were we would sit and warm up while eating blackberry pie and ice cream. I told the kids about how Krisitn, Andrea, Elizabeth and I would go out after dark and go skinny dipping.

Since it was Sunday we didn't intend to go swimming but a walk by the lake turned into dipping our toes in, to wading, and eventually most of the kids were in up to their waist. But it was great. We skipped rocks and took pictures while the kids listened to me tell my stories and relive my childhood. We drove over to the other side of the lake and stopped on the dam so I could show the kids where I used to jump off. We went to the park where the Hospital party always was and saw the place where we hung the pinata, dug for money in the straw and drank our fill of 7up from the fountain. Cottage Grove Lake holds so of my most cherished memories.

We went the fireworks in Creswell that night and then headed out the next morning for Loon Lake. Leaving was hard a little part of me will always be there in Cottage Grove. Loon Lake and the coast also held significant memories for me. It was as beautiful as I remember it - perhaps more so.

Tantrums

Rachel is real spit fire- always has been. She can argue and manipulate like no other. She is conniving, stubborn and willful and to be honest generally just a bit naughty. But she is a cute enough it is pretty easy to look past all that. She doesn't throw to many tantrums. She actually hardly ever does, but when she does-watch out. We were hit with two major tantrums during our Oregon vacation. Both of which were on the way home. Not surprisingly she was exhausted and tired of driving and all that came out when she didn't want to go to Jack in the Box for dinner. I believe the entire town of Redding knew that she did not want to go to Jack in the Box. She had never been there before so it's not like she'd had a previous bad experience or anything. She didn't even know what it was or have an alternative place she did want to go- but she didn't care all she knew is she did not want to go there. She made that loud and clear. Well after her opinion became apparent to the whole town Rick picked her up and wrestled her into her car seat, did up the buckle which didn't do any good since she just immediately undid them, and started driving her around town. She screamed and kicked and threw things and threatened and spit until her body couldn't take it anymore. When she was broken enough to calm down and she quite gasping for breath the way babies do after their all cried out she sat up and sweetly said, "I'm sorry Daddy- can we go in now" Initially Rick said no but after she sat quietly for a few minutes he gave her another chance. They came back in and she sat down and ate all her dinner as happy as a clam.

We got to Salt Lake and Anna needed to pee. We really didn't want to stop and decided a wet seat would be less desirable so we pulled into a truck stop. Everyone got out to go. Rachel didn't want to. She had to go but she wanted to go by the side of the road. Once again the whole town heard her peeing preference. I am not sure how we made it through that one. I was extremely tempted to sell her to the truck drivers - of course it would have taken a miracle to find someone who would take her. Eventually she did go but listening to the lady in the stall next to us laughing at us was pretty humiliating. I would have probably laughed to if I heard a little girl screaming, "I want to go pee by the side of the road" over and over again.

"Potty in the USA"

If you aren't familiar with Miley Cyrus song, "Party in the USA" just ask Rachel - she will sing it for you. She has got it all down-although "party" comes out with not so much or an "r" sound, which makes it really fitting for our family. We did in fact "potty" across the USA or at least Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah. I am not sure what it is about our kids - they must have been born without a bladder, especially the youngest 2 or 3. Seriously Ryan has a hard time making it more than 1/2 an hour - we timed it. I tried limiting his liquids and but every half hour or so it was "Mom I have to go to the bathroom". I always asked "Can you wait" I am not sure why I bothered asking because I already knew the answer. "Ok, I will try" he'd say. Well maybe he did try but he was never very successful. A couple minutes later he would be holding himself bouncing up and down on the seat. When he was almost in tears I'd give in and move the bags sitting on top of my feet, stand on my seat and hurdle over the lunch cooler, snacks, backpacks and laptop sitting in between the two front seats to temporarily stand between Anna and Rachel then I would have to climb over the pillows, blankets, shoes and other junk on the floor in front of the girls to sit on the cooler so that I could hold the bottle while Ryan relieved himself. That was the easies part. Getting back into my seat was a feat of skill that would make any gymnast proud. Rick would be laughing at me and holding up his arm so that I wouldn't fall into him and run us off the road, Anna would be whining about how gross the pee was and how it was so unfair that I kept it in her cup holder. All was quiet for a few minutes then just like clockwork Rachel would need to go. Maybe it was the power of suggestion but Rachel always waited until about 15 minutes after someone else had to go to start her "potty dance". She wouldn't even try to wait, when she's gotta go she has gotta go. Well since we have yet to buy the "GoGirl" feminine urination device a bottle wouldn't do the trick for Rachel. So we would have to pull over. We got this routine down to a science. I got out and held Rachel in a sitting position while she watered the side of the road. I am sure we entertained a few travelers along the way. Anna could go a lot longer but always seemed to wait till we were in the middle of nowhere to have to go - and she would have to go bad. She is above going on the side of the road and since we lack the "GoGirl" she'd either have to tough it out or let me temporarily put a diaper on her. Luckily we never had an accident. But the "GoGirl" is definitely going to go on my Christmas wish list.

Mini Society

I am a big believer in education. Going to school is not my favorite - it disrupts life too much - but I do see it as essential so we live with it. I also believe that a parents involvement in education is paramount. So I try to be involved and supportive of all the programs the school thinks up to educate my children. Some things I whole heartedly agree with, others, well not so much. Mini society falls into both categories.

So ever since kindergarten Taylor has been excited to be in the 5th grade so he can do Mini society. I've been looking forward to it too - kind of- part of me has also been dreading it. It's the lazy, tight wad part of me that's not so excited. But I guess the excited part of me has prevailed because I now have a freezer full of 6 of those big buckets of ice cream, 20 liters of rootbeer as well as chocolate syrup, sprinkles, cookie crumbs and enough cups and spoons to feed an army. Hopefully that is what we will do, that is if Taylor's business model proves to be successful.

So now mini society is over - so I though I would report. It was a success. Taylor did really well. He sold ice cream sundaes, rootbeer floats, candy, and paper mache. He also hauled over our air hockey and Foosball table and sold time on that. He sold quite a lot and had a blast doing it. I think he did learn a bit about business and finance although I don't think he got the concept of watching his overhead. My guess is things would be a bit different if it wasn't mom's money he was spending. The neighboring stores would have suffered too since they ran out of cups and spoons pretty early on. Being the kind soul that he is Taylor gave them some. Once again it is easy to be kind and giving when it's moms money. I on the other hand tend to think a bit more like a hard businessman - if they didn't come prepared and spend enough of their mom's money on cups and spoons too bad for them - nothing personal, it's just business.

Mini Society is a lot of fun and a great learning experience - it is kind of messed up that you spend real money to buy supplies that you sell for fake "minibucks". But I guess what I was really buying was a smarter son - and in that case I got a great deal.