Trekkin' (Day One)

I'm really excited to post about Trek, but I'm also worried that my thoughts and feelings won't adequately come through in my writing. My emotions are very close to the surface, so I hope I can figure out how to journal this amazing event.

For those of you who don't know, Trek is something our church does as a youth activity. We go up to Wyoming, wear pioneer clothes, pack our stuff in a handcart, and pull it several miles to re-enact the Mormon Emigration of the mid 1800s. Sounds strange, I know, but the Mormon pioneers went through a lot to get to the Salt Lake Valley and they did it because of their faith in God and their belief in our religion. We re-enact this event to help our youth understand a little of what they went through and help them gain a better understanding of our ancestors and for them to gain a stronger testimony.

Ryan and I were asked to go as "Ma and Pa" to a "family" of teenagers. We went as a group, pulled the handcart together, ate together, camped together, and really grew close to one another. Ryan and I had seven "children" ranging from ages 14 to 18. Five boys and two girls. We were also given a "baby" (rag doll) who represented an actual baby who died along the trail.

We left Wednesday morning and returned Saturday night. What an amazing, exhausting, emotional, sometimes painful and very spiritual four days!!!! I am going to post one day at a time, so I can keep my thoughts in order.

When we arrived at the church on Wednesday morning, we didn't really know what to expect. We didn't go on Trek when I was a youth, so I had no idea what it would be like. We had had several meetings for the Mas and Pas, but until you actually go, you don't really have a clue what is involved. We were assigned our "children" right off the bat, most of whom I didn't know. Then we separated into families and got to know each other a little bit. Most of them were excited to go, a few didn't look thrilled at all. It was interesting to me to see their personalities come through so early on....they were all so different. Shy kids and outgoing kids. I really hoped we could mesh as a family. At about ten o'clock, we got on the bus and headed for Wyoming, just past Evanston. When we arrived, we found our stuff waiting for us, and we began to load the handcart. We had a hard time fitting everything in. The actual pioneers coming across the plains in handcarts were only allowed seventeen pounds of personal items. Um, we exceeded that by a long ways. (My air mattress was probably half that much!! I have a bad back, OK?!?!)

This is our family packed and ready to go...we were excited to begin.

Loading the handcart was only the first obstacle. We were all eager to get going, so off we went. But the excitement of pulling and pushing the handcart through the sagebrush, cow pies, and rocks wore off quickly. We had a few "whiners" and some of the other kids didn't take too kindly to them. I hoped this was not going to be a theme for the rest of the week. We walked for about an hour and a half and then stopped for lunch. We then walked until about 7:00pm when we finally made it into camp!! We had pulled that handcart for almost seven hours in the heat!!

Here are some of the highlights of day one:

--We had to get our handcart through a huge and treacherous ravine. It took a lot of our strength. Our whole company, consisting of five handcart families worked together to get everyone through and up the other side. It was neat to see so many people helping each other.

--We pulled our handcart down a steep hill called "Gravel Hill". It was steep and very rocky. The pioneers had journaled that it was the steepest hill on the entire Mormon Trail. It was really hard to keep that handcart from rolling down the hill. We had ropes tied to a pole in the back that helped up "pull" the handcart from behind, but it took all nine of us to get down successfully.

--We also got to see "Brigham's Arrow". It is a landmark on the trail of a bunch of rocks placed in the shape of an arrow, signifying the turnoff from the Oregon Trail. Until this spot, both used this route, but at Brigham's Arrow, the Mormons went one way and those going to Oregon went another. A member of our Stake presidency was there and he talked about the crossroads in our everyday life and the decisions we make. Every day, we have a choice to follow where the world goes, or follow where the prophet wants us to go. It was a powerful lesson.

This is my cute family pushing the handcart on the plateau...nice to have a little break from the hills....

--We also ran into Miss Fortune on the trail. She was handing out misfortunes to each handcart. One of our sons was injured near the eyes, and had to be led behind the handcart for thirty minutes until he recovered....not too bad...it could have been much worse.

Like I said, we got into camp at around 7:00pm, set up our camp, ate dinner, went to a fireside about our pioneer ancestors, and crashed....It was a very tiring, but very good first day.

Filmy Uni

Filmy Whateee?!!??!

We don't say "Family Reunion" at our house, we say "Filmy Uni". Of course, there is a story behind this. It started when I was working at Lagoon. I was in charge of working on the schedule every week for both the games and merchandise employees...about 200 people total. Ugh! What made this part of my job fun was that I got to team up with my friend Jamie, another manager. He is one of the funniest and nicest guys I've ever met. Scheduling meeting each week was a blast.

So, in the office was a clipboard where our employees could sign certain days off. One employee looked like he had written the words "filmy uni" on a certain day. Jamie and I couldn't figure out what on earth he could possibly be spelling. Later that week, we got a chance to ask him in person....he told us he was going to a family reunion. Um, yeah, not the greatest speller in the world! We laughed so hard and the name has stuck!!

So, this post is more than a history lesson on the brain power of fourteen year old Lagoon employees...I am actually going to fill you in on our family's latest Filmy Uni. It was with the Alvey family (Ryan's mom and all of her siblings). We went down to Cedar Mountain resort and stayed in a cabin. (It's about half way between Cedar City and Bryce Canyon). I had never really been there before. Last year, we took the boys for a day trip to Cedar Breaks National Monument, but that's as far as we got. I loved the mountains, they were beautiful!

For the activities portion of the picnic, my mother-in-law decided to have all of the kids make cars out of boxes and we would have races with them. As a parent, I looked at this as a chore, but the kids were very excited. We had purchased a new lawn mower this spring, so we used that box. The girls then went haywire!

I was thinking about spray painting the whole thing silver, putting a racing stripe on it and calling it good. Oh no!!! They wanted to make a candy car. OK....let's spray paint the whole thing silver and put candy logos on the front and sides like Nascar does. Oh no!!! This is what I heard:

"MOM! When we make gingerbread houses, we don't make them out of cardboard and stick pictures of gingerbread on it, do we? NO, we make the houses out of gingerbread! We are making a candy car, we want to make it look like it was made out of CANDY!"

Allrightythen.....so the girls made a candy car. They really ran with it, too! My kids are nothing if not creative. I was recruited to paint the "HERSHEY" logo on each square of chocolate (oh, my aching back!)

They even got Grandpa to help glue the sponsor's letters on the back...what a great grandpa!!

They let the boys help....maybe a little too much. Ethan accidentally leaned on the car while it was still wet. Can you see the orange hair in this picture?

Here is the finished product...cute, huh? The kids worked so hard on it....hours and hours. I think I will tell Grandma that we need to do this every few weeks to break up the boredom of summer!

So, during the actual Filmy Uni, we divided the kids into age groups and let them race, it was so cute!! By the way, the girls, on a last minute whim, decided to make Braiden a Lightning McQueen car and Ethan a Thomas the Tank Engine Car!! How cute is that?

OK, so here is where it got really funny. Ryan decided to make his dad and his cousin race eachother! Kenny is Ryan's really funny cousin and he loves to tease absolutely everybody. He made himself a car, because I am convinced he has never grown up, even a little bit. His "big rig" had toy bugs glued on the front of it, along with headlights and flags. But the most disturbing part was the baby doll pasted on the front with road rash marks drawn on her face!! Well, I never said he was right in the head, just really funny. So anyway, the race between the two of them was hysterical! (Grandpa borrowed that car from another kid)

Here's a cute picture of Ryan's mom with three of her sisters (a sister and a brother didn't come).

So for the rest of the trip, we spent it with just the family. I came down on Thursday with Ryan's parents and the kids. We spent all of Friday together going to Bryce Canyon and to Escalante, where Geneal grew up. It was so fun to spend time with the kids and the in-laws. They are wonderful people who take such great care of us. The only thing missing was Ryan.

Here are some cute pictures of us at Bryce Canyon on Friday...

So, Friday was wonderful, and then Ryan showed up Friday night...yay!!!! We really missed him. In Bryce Canyon, the kids kept saying how Dad would love to be here with us hiking around. Sigh! Hopefully work will slow down a little bit in the coming weeks, kids.

So Saturday was the big Filmy Uni with the whole gang, races, food, and reconnecting. Lots of fun...got some rain, but it worked out. After the picnic, Ryan and I took the boys for a drive (girls wanted to stay with their cousins) and we ended up going back to Bryce Canyon on a whim. We hiked the whole Navajo Trail with the boys. It was absolutely stunning!

We went down a series of switchbacks and ended up in this little canyon where these HUGE trees were growing. It was cool...

Down at the bottom of Bryce Canyon was beautiful. It was neat to see the canyon from all angles--it looks different each way you look at it!

Our boys found a little cave and crawled up in there---I love them so much!

It was a little muddy from the earlier rain, so I had to take a picture of their cute, muddy behinds....

So Braiden told me that I needed a picture of my behind, too....

We were sad that we didn't have the girls with us, but it was so nice to get out and be together with the boys in such a beautiful place. All in all, it was a wonderful Filmy Uni!

I'm In Denial....

I have so many things to post about...Bryce Canyon, Family Reunion, and Trek are first on my list. But I don't have time to do that today.

I did just want to post a quick note and share that I am slowly accepting the fact that my daughter is growing up...much to my hesitation.

I taught her how to shave her legs today. Yep, shave. her. legs. She turned twelve in April, so I knew it was time, but I haven't been able to get myself to admit it. Several people have told me that I needed to let her shave much sooner, others think I should wait a little longer because once you start, you can never go back. It's such a hard call...I've never been a mother of a 12 year old before. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

For Christmas, I (oops, I mean Santa) got her shaving gel and razors for her stocking, and she has asked a few times if I would teach her, but I never got around to it. Yep, I'm in denial. But today, I decided that it was finally the day. I think she appreciated the lesson and felt like she was growing up a little bit more.

I think that lately, Katie and I have had a little friction between us in part, because she wants to be treated like a young lady....and I still see a little girl. So, we clash a little. It's hard for me to change and I'm a slow learner, but I guess I have to accept it. But lately I've noticed that when I treat her like a young lady, she acts like a young lady. I hope we can be really close as we move into this crazy whirlwind called the teenage years. Wish me luck!!

My Little Cactus Flower

Lauren has been taking ballet at Clytie Adams Ballet for several years now. She loves it and is getting pretty good. Last night was her recital and it was lovely. The theme was "Utah" and it was all about our great state. There were cute dances based on seagulls and crickets, the Olympics coming to town, and even Lagoon and Cherry Hill. Lauren's dance was called "Cactus Flowers". She did a wonderful job! I can't believe how grown up she looked on that stage! She's a good little dancer.

Lauren has loved being in Clytie's ballet. This past December, she participated in Clytie's version of the Nutcracker. Not all students get to be in the Nutcracker...you have to try out. And, you have to try out according to your height, not age. My kids have been blessed with height, so I was worried about Lauren getting in. She was barely into the next height group which meant she was competing for a spot with girls one or two years older than she was. It turned out that she was one of 40 girls chosen out of 80 that tried out in that height group!! I was thrilled for her. She was a Chinese girl and her dance was darling. She danced around the stage with huge gold fans and nodded her head up and down. It was very cute.



Here is a picture of Lauren's first year at Clytie's back in 2005---she was just six years old!


She was so cute!! She's come a long way since then in her technique, but she is still just as cute!

Joy at the Dollar Store

Why is it that dollar store items are so appealing? I have to admit I get a little giddy when I approach the dollar bins at the front of Target. I wonder what wonderful bargains I'm going to find. They have some pretty fun stuff in those bins!! I feel the same way about the dollar store. So, I bribed the kids with a trip to our favorite one today. It got them to finish their chores with relatively little chaos.

We discovered a nice dollar store in Syracuse a few months back. We started going there after the girls' orthodontic appointments. Unlike most dollar stores, it is very clean and tidy. We spent a half an hour there and each walked away with two treasures in our hot little hands. Here are the results:

Katie decided upon a big box of Gobstoppers Jawbreakers and a package of glow sticks.

Lauren chose a set of colorful mechanical pencils and a gel-filled rubber ball that you can squeeze. She says it looks like a brain when you are squeezing it.

Braiden and Ethan both ended up with a race car and a small bowling pin set each.

I walked away with a new foot file for my feet and a birthday banner to replace our lost one.

So today's purchases were pretty good...but it got me thinking about some of my greatest dollar store purchases ever. These are the reasons I love dollar buys:

Cupcake sprinkles and cake decoration containers at Target (I love it when they have these for the upcoming season! I stock up on them and we have a hay-day when we decorate cookies!)

A package of 80 birthday candles at the dollar store (it also came with holders so the wax doesn't drip on your cake). It will take me a while to run out of candles!

Gardening gloves at Target, the kind with the rubber on the palms (I buy at least 3 pair every spring)

Plastic popcorn containers that look like they came straight from the State Fair--they are so cute! (I put them downstairs in the wet bar for movie nights)

Activity books, especially the kind with the special marker that reveals words and pictures on the pages--great for church (my kids LOVE these!)

Manicure sets at Target (they come with a nail brush, file, clippers, and cuticle stick, all in cute colors!) I bought quite a few of these because I love the nail brushes--I have one at almost every sink in my house

Cute gift bags and nice wrapping paper at the dollar store (they have some really great wrap stuff at this store which saves me tons of money)

A really cute iron butterfly garden stick for my front flower bed at the dollar store--I get lots of compliments on it, people can't believe I only paid a buck for it!

I've gotten some darling scrapbook stuff at the dollar store as well. You have to search through piles, but if you are persistent, you can get some dang cute stuff!

So, there's my take on things that only cost one dollar. Of course, if you add everything together, I probably could have bought something really nice with all of those dollars! Oh well, it's all about the little things in life, isn't it?

So far....kids, two...Mom, zip

Well, we are off to a rocky start with the whole summer thing. The score, as it stands right now is...kids 2, Mom, 0.

Yesterday, the first official summer weekday, was also a Monday. I don't know if I have stressed the point enough yet, but Mondays and I do not get along. I've come up with a few reasons why this might be the case:

It could be because it's after-weekend let down...

or the fact that my house is always destroyed over the weekend, and just looking at the mess depresses me and makes me really grumpy....

or maybe it's because we attempt to hold meaningful, even (dare I say it?) enjoyable Family Home Evenings, thereby causing all the powers of hell to fight against me to prevent that from happening....

or a combination of any of the above...

Whatever the reason is, I am usually just glad to have survived to see Tuesday. Most Mondays, that's all I can hope for.

Yesterday was definitely no different. I was excited to begin my new summer schedule, so we got up and I told the kids we were to all finish up breakfast quickly and go get ourselves ready for the day and report back for jobs. I explained that we were going to head to the library after lunch and chores were done and they could all pick some books out for the summer ahead. I was met with lukewarm enthusiasm at best. They were excited about the library, but not the chores. The worst one? pulling weeds. I told them they each had to pull 100 weeds. Our weeds right now are very small and easy to pull out, so this wasn't going to be too difficult (last weekend, I asked them to pick 50 each and they were back in the house in 4 minutes---I figured 100 was OK). Maybe I should have given them a shoebox or something and asked them to fill it with weeds, but then they would argue that so and so was not picking as many weeds as everyone else, blah, blah, blah....

Anyway, the arguing and grumpiness started....

It was only 10:30am on the first day of summer!!!!

So, I sat everyone down on the couch and yelled and yelled and yelled. Yep, I'm a great, patient mother. I had snapped. I couldn't believe how mad I was this early in the game. I told them to knock it off or we would all have a miserable summer. I explained (rather loudly) the plans I had made and that if everyone got along and helped each other with the chores, we would be able to do a lot of fun things. They looked sulky and went away to do their chores. I felt really bad, but had already had enough.

We eventually made it to the library and got some fun books to read. We even went to the store and got our summer workbooks for the kids to do. So, at least, that was a success. The afternoon was crazy with Ballet carpool and t-ball games (we drove over to the field to find out the game had been cancelled--would have been nice to know earlier). My mom called and needed my help before she went to see Jessica for the week, so I left Ryan with the kids for the rest of the night. He said FHE turned out fine (probably because he doesn't let the powers of hell affect him). I went to bed exhausted and disappointed. Kids, one....Mom, zip

Today started out pretty much the same as yesterday. The kids were SO grumpy!!! (or maybe it was me that was grumpy? hmmm) It is really exhausting when they act that way! I really don't know what causes such contention, and twice in a row? I couldn't take it. So, I sat them all down again and, unfortunately, yelled again (yeah, I know that causing more contention is not the best way to end contention). Tuesday is our "Lagoon day", so I gave them all an ultimatum and prayed (I mean, really prayed) that they would get along. It was rocky, but they finally completed their jobs. We got in the car, and I looked to see if I had our parking pass for Lagoon. We didn't....it was in Ryan's car...in Salt Lake. I then told four very sad kids to get out of the car. We would have to try Lagoon tomorrow. They ended up playing well the rest of the day, with only a few minor mishaps (Ethan decided to write on my wall with a marker and I made my arm super sore because I scrubbed out my shower).

I called and complained to my poor husband who listens to me complain a lot. He told me to be more patient and that the kids would get used to the new schedule and not being in school. I have always been a perfectionist...I hate it when things don't go right, and I can't control it. It is a constant lesson I am learning that I just need to realize that perfection is not ever going to happen. Why can't I just enjoy being a mother more than I do? Why can't I just take it easy and go with the flow like other moms I know? Do I want my kids to remember me yelling at them all the time? Of course not, I just forget....I think we all need to chill a little more and just try a little harder.

So, you have by now probably realized that this blog is not like other family blogs that you read where there is nothing but bliss and happiness and cuteness. Nope, this blog can be cute and blissful, but it is also about cold, hard reality. The good and the bad (and hopefully, not too much ugly). I know I definitely have many weaknesses. Maybe blogging about them will help me to improve in those areas. Just don't judge me too harshly.

And now, as I'm writing this, exhausted from the last two days, my sweetheart girls are downstairs in the kitchen, cooking dinner for the family. They are not fighting or being rude to each other, they are working together, being cute, and knowing that their mom has had it and needs a break. How wonderful!!

Tomorrow will be another day, and hopefully it will be a happier one. I'm thinking that if I just chill a little bit, the score will even out eventually. Or, (dare I hope it?) maybe we could all be on the same team.

Lots To Be Proud Of

We celebrated a lot of milestones in our family over the past few weeks....I now, officially, have a seventh grader (I can't believe I'm even typing the words!!), a fifth grader, a first grader and a preschooler living in my house! Here are all the pictures of the past month of the chillins celebrating the end of another school year.

This is Ethan graduating from preschool. He is excited to be going back again next year. He learned a lot, his teacher was great and he had a lot of fun. We are excited that he gets to go with a lot of his friends next year.

Braiden graduated from Kindergarten, though this year they downplayed it and called it a "Kindergarten Celebration". No hat or diploma. Bummer! But the program was darling and we did get cookies, so it's all good. He is so excited to be a big first grader now, but we will miss his fabulous teacher, Mrs. Hafen!




Lauren's fourth grade program was very cute, although I didn't get the best pictures. It was all about Utah and it's history. We loved her teacher, Mrs. James as well!



Finally, my sixth grader has moved on from the world of recess and one teacher to the world of A/B days and 8 teachers to go along with it (not to mention a lot more homework). She is so excited to grow up! Her sixth grade program was really cute, too. She got to sing the only solo! She has no fear when it comes to performing and she did a great job! She also graduated from the DARE program (anti-drug program) and her essay was one of four picked out of the entire sixth grade to be read at the ceremony! I was very proud of both of her performances! As with all of my kids, she was very blessed in the teacher department. She had wonderful Mrs. Speckman two years in a row (she requested to have Katie in her class when she found out she was moving to sixth grade. If she moves back down to fifth, I'm hoping Lauren gets her.

I'm so proud of all of my chillins!!! Now, it's on to summer!!

Oh, What Do You Do In the Summertime?

Deep breath......School is out for the summer tomorrow. That means the kids will be here 24/7.....Another deep breath......I think I can handle it.........really deep breath

OK, so the thing is, I have a love-hate relationship with summer.

Here are some of the things I love:

• sleeping in and not having the hectic, crazy morning routine


• the hot weather (I really hate being cold)
  
• playing at Lagoon, the park, Dinosaur Park, the zoo, etc.


• stealing Ryan away from work and having a picnic lunch with the whole family at the park


• hiking up with the mountain where it's nice and cool


• getting out the little pool so the kids can splash around


• going on walks around the neighborhood in the evenings and talking to all of the neighbors who have been cooped up in their houses for the past nine months


• getting ice cream cones at Dick's or Artic Circle


• watching my garden grow little by little (and my weeds grow lots and lots)


• going up to Oakley for the July 4th parade, program, rodeo and hangin' with the fam


• having Dutch Oven dinner and dessert in the backyard with friends


• going to Bee's games


• going over to Dad's house and roasting marshmallows in the backyard

Ooooh-kaaay, now here's the schtuff I don't love about summer:

• sleeping in....I mean way in. Katie would wake up at noon if I let her. The kids mess around all morning and then they want breakfast at 11:00!


• the hot weather....I can get really cranky when it's too hot (yeah, I know I said this on my love list, I just don't want it TOO hot)


• hearing, "I'm bored" about 50 times a day


• kids wanting to play the Wii for eight continuous hours (I haven't experienced this in the summer yet, but I know it's coming)


• getting the kids in bed too late for Ryan and I to have some quiet time


• having my A/C unit break (I know this one is coming as well, we haven't had a summer yet where it has not malfunctioned)


• having no structure or schedule

So! Here's the good news! I've come up with a great plan! I have made up a schedule so that we have structure, something to look forward to each day, and a little sanity during the long summer months!

So, everyday, the kids will need to be up by 9:00. The kitchen closes for breakfast at 9:30. Chores begin at 10:00 at the latest. Hopefully, we can be done with chores and getting ready for the day by 11:00-11:30. I'm going to motivate them to get the house clean early and fast by letting the first person to tell me they are ready pick which of the chores they want to do. Then, when everyone is finished, we will have something fun to look forward to.

Monday ---

• Chores: that's always our big cleaning day. Maybe not deep cleaning, more like our "put the house back together because we destroyed it over the weekend" day. So we will straighten all rooms (which takes forever on Mondays), do laundry, and dust.
• Activity: plan, prepare for, and participate in Family Home Evening

Tuesday ---

• Chores: we will all put our clean laundry away, clean bathrooms, and straighten all rooms
• Activity: Lagoon day! (Rides or Beach, depending on our moods)

Wednesday ---

• Chores: we will straighten all rooms, vacuum all floors, sweep and mop kitchen and bathroom floors
• Activity: I will alternate taking each kid to lunch, one on one

Thursday ---

• Chores: we will do more laundry, straighten, and organize the garage and do yard work
• Activity: Invite friends over day

Friday ---

• Chores: we will straighten, put clean laundry away, and clean bathrooms
• Activity: Play and craft day and do whatever!!!
  

I have tried most of this before, and it generally works. The key is to be consistent and motivated, which is where I fall short. Hopefully this summer is different, hopefully I don't give up around mid July. I don't want to dread summer, I want to enjoy it. If you have any tried and true solutions about taming summer chaos, I would love to hear about them. Happy summer, everyone!!!

Was It Worth It?

I'm not a very good bread maker. I think it's a lot of work and hassle when I can just go buy a loaf at the store. I know it's not as good, but it certainly is easier. So when my friend Jody told me about a food storage website that has a great whole wheat bread recipe, I didn't get my hopes up. The wheat bread recipes I've tried up to this point end up with the bread either too heavy, too dry, or just not very good.

But I gave it a go....and.....it was a thumbs up! It was very light and almost spongy. Plus, it had a great flavor. It was really delicious hot out of the oven with butter and raspberry freezer jam. Mmmmmm! Ryan especially loved it, and the kids ate it (which is saying a lot -- they usually hate wheat bread). My Uncle Randy has a saying that goes something like, "The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead!" My kids obviously don't care, it's usually white or nothing. But this time, I was pleasantly surprised.

I didn't even get a picture of the finished product before we ate it!! It was very yummy....I will definitely be making it again. There's only one problem. It broke my Kitchen Aid!!! It was mixing the dough and I suddenly heard a horrible screaching noise! I turned it off and finished kneading it by hand. The mixing paddle or dough hook still turns, but now it's not very strong and is very noisy. I know it won't mix bread dough anymore...cookies, maybe, but not bread dough. I LOVE my Kitchen Aid! What will I do if it breaks completely?!?! Ryan bought me this one as a gift over 10 years ago and I've been using it about 3 times a week ever since. It doesn't owe me anything, I know, but I will be very sad if it dies.

Sooooo, it looks like I found a great new whole wheat bread recipe, but at a price. Was it worth it?

I Didn't Say Anything Really Stupid!

We had a fun weekend as a family. After Memorial Day, we didn't get to see much of Ryan because he's so swamped at work. The kids really missed him and so did I. So he promised to ban work for the whole weekend! On Friday, we had planned a date night. We went out to dinner with friends from Ryan's firm. We were supposed to also go to the new Draper Temple and do a session, but we didn't....because of, you may have guessed, crazy work issues. But that's OK, we still got to see our friends. I absolutely love these guys. Ry gets along so well with them at work, and the wives have hit it off as well. In fact, we are constantly hanging out with one of the couples, and we met up with the other couple in Disneyland the last two times we've been there. So we ended up going to Goodwood for dinner and then to one of their houses for ice cream. It was a really fun night. AND I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING REALLY STUPID!

I know.....that last comment deserves an explanation. So here it is....last year, the six of us were at the Partners' Retreat up in Midway. We stayed overnight at the Zermatt Resort, had dinner, and had a blast going on different outings. So, while at dinner, we were talking about politics. It was in September and the Republican National Convention had just taken place. We were all discussing the introduction of Sarah Palin to the national spotlight. Now, I consider myself a fairly intelligent person. I follow politics and was enjoying the conversation. But then, I said the STUPIDEST thing! We were talking about Sarah Palin and someone observed how beautiful she is and if that will affect the campaign in any way.

So I opened my mouth and said, "Well, I saw people at the RNC wearing 'Hooters for Palin' pins! Isn't that weird?"

..................short, awkward pause...................

"No Jen," my friend Rod said, "I believe it was 'Hoosiers for Palin' as in Indiana University Hoosiers"

OOOPS! I was so embarrassed!!! What was I thinking! Did the word "Hooters" actually come out of my mouth!?!!?! I had honestly thought, at the time, that was what the pins had said. I had seen old men wearing these pins, staring at Palin, mesmerized. I had thought it was so tacky and the thought didn't cross my mind that it said Hoosiers (in my defense, the pins were pretty small!) But to even say that in front of my very smart friends and their cute wives was humiliating. I actually worried about it for a while afterwards, like weeks!!

A few short months later, I knew that the firm Christmas party was coming up, and that we would all be sitting together talking, and began worrying about it again. I reminded Ryan about it and told him I didn't want these friends to think I was a freak. He had totally forgotten about it and laughed and laughed. He talked to Rod about it the next day and he had forgotten about it as well. They both thought I was very funny. I felt so much better after that. The Christmas party went off without a hitch (though I don't remember saying too much!).

So back to this weekend, we had another fun discussion and I even made intelligent contributions to the conversation!! I was very proud of myself! I can now laugh about that crazy moment last year, but I certainly didn't think it was so funny at the time!

OK, on with the weekend's events. On Saturday, we finally had Katie's birthday party.....


Ummm, her birthday is in April......


Yes, I know it is May 3oth.....What's your point?


Better late than never, right?

I kept hoping she would forget about it, but of course that didn't happen. So, I took ten girls to Swan Lake Mini Golf course. We had a blast! I've decided that I'm pretty good at mini golfing (or at least I was that day)! We then came home and ate pizza. Katie has some really cute friends. Afterwards, I was reading all of the cards she got from them and they all said, without exception, that she was a great friend. It was heart warming to think that her friends think of her in this way!

Saturday night, we took the kiddos to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. It was beautiful inside and out. This was the first time that the boys have ever been in a temple (we took the girls to the Draper Temple Open House a few months ago). All the kids loved it. It gave us an opportunity to answer their questions about ordinances, marriage, and priesthood power. I tried to get a family picture in front of the temple after the tour, but the kids wouldn't listen and Ethan got a horrible nosebleed, so that ended that. Oh well, these are the pictures I did get:

Sunday, we attended a Trek fireside put on by Jenny Phillips, a local Christian music artist. It was amazing! I am getting really excited for Trek! I know it is going to be a very spiritual and unique experience!

So that's my weekend summed up! Now it's back to the chaos of Mondays! But I can handle it because I'm still on an emotional high for not having said anything really stupid all weekend!!