Cousins Weekend

Most of my cousins lived within 30 minutes of me while I was growing up so we spent a lot of time together. But now that I'm grown with kids of my own, we're not so lucky. All of my family lives away, so cousin time requires some planning.

We used Disney on Ice as a good excuse to spend the weekend together. We packed a lot in 2 short days. Naturally, decent sleep was the first to go. Just the thought of being together woke the kids bright and early. But with that being said, they all did remarkably well.

We ate Aggie ice cream and drove passed campus, pointing out old Main, the Spectrum, and the football stadium to the kids. Bentley is a super Aggie, so the wow factor wasn't quite as impressive for him.
Once we climbed the stairs to our seats for the show, the kids sat down taking in the enormity of the place. They had the "we're not in Kanas anymore" look in their eyes. The show was a lot of fun, Toy Story 3. We moved closer after intermission despite what the usher said. There was a lot of clapping and dancing in our seats.
Somehow we managed to drag the kids, a pregnant lady, and a few purchases from one side of Gateway to the other and back again. By time we got checked into the hotel, the hopes of swimming the night away were sleepily pushed aside until morning. We were at the pool bright and early.And since we got an early start, we enjoyed the children's exhibit at the Church History Museum and a little shopping before parting ways.

Super Tuesday

You know you're a grown up when:
-You spend your anniversary at a preschool Christmas program.
-When your kids ask what you'd like as a gift, you honestly answer with "nothing, I have everything I need."
-Your Valentine's evening is spent in the ambiance of the church gym.
-When church becomes a 5 hour event with meetings before and after.
-The Super Tuesday caucus is the most anticipated date you've had with your spouse in awhile.

We did our civic duty, were a part of history, and exercised our right to vote. Although I would have to say I was pretty disappointed with the rousing speeches and audience participation. I was expecting it to be more like a rally, but there was no chanting or cheering going on.

Muddy Boots and Lessons Learned

The older kids could not get along Sunday morning. I was unusually calm and uninvolved with their disagreements . . . until the doors started getting kicked. (There's a bit of a history here with door kicking leading back to my childhood.) At this point they were dressed and ready for church so I had them bring me their church shoes and sent them walking across the field to Grandma's in their chore boots. One was less than compliant and left in a huffy without his coat and stopped to wash the gel out of his hair with a handful of snow.

Finally. Quiet.

We finished getting ready and left to pick them up at Grandma's and keep up my end of the deal. As we got closer we spotted them in the field. Walking the wrong way, back to our house. What the heck? This was not part of the plan, and the husband was beginning to make his opinion known on the ridiculouness of my plan. Well, we mudded our way along the field road in our car, honking the horn to get their attention. They came running! And bawling! I had their change of shoes but that wouldn't fix the mud that was 1/2 way up their legs.

We might have been late to church, but I tell you what. My 6 year old let me sit close to him with my arm around him. They were reverent, kind, and full of love. So the execution was a little less than ideal, but the results were better than I had planned. They were never in danger, but it was enough to shake up their security. And when that happens, impressionable lessons are learned.

Out Weighed

Growing up in a house of girls we had plenty of squabbles, but no full on wrestling matches. The sport is quite new and foreign to me. So when Hudson was so excited to try it out we obliged. There were 2 little practices leading up to a match. When we walked into the gym for the match I couldn't believe how many little guys were sporting around those nasty unitards, headgear, and wrestling shoes. But never mind looking the part, Hudson is strong and I figured he'd hold his own. . .

Until he was paired up with a kid outweighing him by 20 lbs. It was horrible to watch. Similar to when Hudson and Dalanie get rough housing. I break it up immediately because the weight difference is just dangerous. Well, that was our introduction to wrestling and it was not fun for this mom to watch.
But Hudson remembers what coach says, "You never loose unless you quit trying." So I guess he's headed back to practice. But I'm still not buying one of those uniforms.

Joy School Fun

I am so glad that Dalanie is able to have the Joy School experience. And I am glad that I get to have the Joy School experience again. I love putting the lesson together (albeit thrown together and last minute) and having her help me. She loves to help plan and gather supplies.

Instead of heading to the library, we decided to make our own at home. I printed each child a library card they could present to the librarian (each child took a turn being the librarian.) We used a cash register as the computer. They loved scanning and stamping the books.

We also had a magic show, featuring none other than. . . me. There were a few suggestions in the manual, so we ran with them. It was especially funny as guys were in and out working on the house remodel and I had a table cloth tied around my neck, mesmerizing these girls with my skills. Their favorite was a hat and water trick. They tried replicating it, only to find that it didn't work so well.

Candy Gram

I supplied the candy bars and tape and the kids went to town on making a candy-gram to welcome Brent back from several days on the road with Precision Planting. Hudson was quite meticulous with the wording and his artwork, getting frustrated with his less precise sisters. Dalanie just wanted to fill the paper with candy and Ruby went to town scribbling on any empty space.
It was a group effort and in the end it read:
Welcome home MR. GOODBAR. Today is your PAYDAY. We SNICKER with JOY to have you home. Just beTWIX us, there are Many & More REESES we {heart} you. ROLOver because our BUTTERFINGERS can't wait to rub your back.
I had forgotten how fun these are to make. But come on, I remember candy bars 4/$1, maybe that added to the fun.

Breakfast in Bed

The girls joined us somewhere around 3:00 in the morning. Not long after 6:30 Hudson managed to weasel his way into the bed too. We all snuggled for awhile before the kids got restless and jumped ship. Brent and I were trying to avoid the rigors of the Sunday when Dalanie came down to ask if it was alright to bring us breakfast in bed. We agreed and the whole time I was thinking "I wonder how big of a disaster this is going to turn out to be?"

To our amazement they brought us down plates of Hudson's world famous coconut/vanilla eggs and yogurts. I don't really know where he came up with this recipe, but they have quickly become Brent's favorite because they're cooked "just right." Apparently I tend to dry my eggs out. They have white chocolate/vanilla chips and shredded coconut in them. Ruby climbed right beside me to stake her claim in the breakfast eating that was going on in bed. A minute later, glasses of milk and water arrived (they taped the little straws to the side of the cup so they wouldn't fall in.) Hudson and Dalanie were just beaming. And to be quite honest, so was I. To think that all of those times spent cooking together was starting to pay off.
Once were were all taken care of, they cooked themselves some eggs and ate them on the floor we generously agreed to share with them.

Proud To Know Papa

Ginny & Papa at Warren's 60th birthday party [June 2011}

Papa was one of those men who never talked much, but he said a lot by the way he lived. He was someone I wanted as my own grandpa and I thank his grand kids for sharing him. I had the privilege of attending his funeral a week ago. As did a number of other people, and I think we all felt the same way-- like we were someone special to him. Together with Ginny, they have sure been quite a team. One of the speakers related them to the outside horses of a four-breasted team, constantly teaching and guiding people in the right direction.

He was a hard worker, worthy servant, faithful companion, and lived his dream as a cowboy.

I pondered a lot that day, and since, about the person I am and who I want to become. Papa was a giant of a man, someone we all could try a little harder to be like.

Small Town USA

The kids have taken a liking to Buck, the sled dog in the old Call of the Wild tv show. So it was a no brainer to head up the road and watch the dog sled races in Ashton. The race start/finish had to be moved off of main street due to the lack of snow. But there was no missing it, all you had to do was follow the sound of all of the barking dogs.It was easy to get caught up in the excitement and quite fun to watch. These racers are definitely passionate about their dogs and it shows. The dogs would be jumping, at the start line. Once the racer gave them the go ahead the sled would lunge forward. It looked like quite the rush.
In addition to the race, there were events for the kids. Hudson and Dalanie both participated in the snowshoe racing.
We ended up with a 1st & 3rd place ribbon.
I wish I would have realized they could have done the mutt dog race. (For some reason I thought we had to have our own dog.) They let kids ride on the dogsled and be pulled by a dog. At any rate, we still had enough fun.And what's a trip to Ashton without eating at Big Jud's. The kids were a bit skeptical that one burger would feed the whole family, but it did with some to spare.

Fat-i-gue

I remember well those mornings we spent reading from the scriptures as a family. We would all take turns ready 5 verses at a time. On one particular day I read "fatigue," pronouncing it fat-i-gue just like it's spelled. Well that prompted all sorts of teasing and it's become a family joke.

So imagine my delight as now my oldest is reading from the scriptures and comes across "blasphemy." It was absolutely uneventful. He didn't so much as bat an eye and rattled it off, perfect pronunciation. Brent and I looked at each other and then I asked Hudson to spell it. We're still working on that, but man-this kid is a reader!

I Heart Heart Day

I love all the pink and red, sweet treats, and cute crafts. Our table was a Valentine workshop for several days. There's nothing more precious than a handcrafted card made with lots of love.

We dipped marshmallows for FHE and shared them with friends.
Between music classes and moms helping at school, Ruby got to spend some time with her favorite Emma.
We had a heart-shaped pizza dinner by candlelight before scrambling off to a ward party. Not an intimate dinner date, but enjoyable none the less. We had a cupcake decorating buffet and Brother McClure had us all laughing as he talked about communication.By the end of our non-stop Valentines Day, I was ready to be done with all the sweets and fanfare. I look forward to Valentines brightening up my drab February again next year.

Business Trip

Brent had an invitation to present at several grower meetings throughout the Magic and Treasure Valleys last week. And since our house was very much under construction and I could see the writing on the wall about being too busy to go to 4-wheeling in Moab, I pulled Hudson out of school and we tagged along. The kids were over the moon excited. They were so happy to get to go with their Dad and help with anything.Long meetings and car rides can get old and boring, but they did great.Our travels took us to some small towns with down to earth people. I really enjoy meeting people that share our same simple, rural way of life. It's easy to feel at home and feel an instant connection.

The kids loved running around on the dirt piles in Grandview. They could have stayed there awhile longer. My favorite was listening to their "vroooming" while revving up on their pretend handle bars, even Ruby.In Vale, OR we enjoyed walking down Main Street where the Oregon Trail once ran. They have some 30 murals painted on building throughout town. The museum and the thrifts stores were all closed. Lucky for us, DQ and the park were open. This happened to be on of the kids' favorite murals:And like all good trips, there were hotel stays and swimming in the evenings. Hands down, the best part for the kids.