Little Moments

After watching "Gone With the Wind" on our family vacation, I said I had never met anyone like Melanie, and to that level of selflessness and refusal to see the faults in anyone, I haven't, but it dawned on me today, during Young Women's, that the Laurel advisor in our ward is as close as I have ever been personally acquainted with that kind of a personality and I'm grateful to have realized an example that isn't fictitious; it makes attainment seem more hopeful.......a tiny bit:)

Jordan is almost ready, temporally, to leave.  We have spent a lot of time shopping and he's becoming quite skilled with the process.  He came home from the thrift store last week, with a very nice, lightly used pair of quality missionary shoes for $5!  Except for one more suit, his list is almost checked off and he's packing as we go, so it is feeling very close and exciting.  It's a weird thought to watch him gradually pack up everything he owns and slowly move out of his bedroom.  We've never gone through that kind of a "complete" move before and to think of the room as Abe's and not "the boys" is an odd mindset, but it means growth and new experiences and good things to come -- and so far I'm feeling stable, emotionally.

Jordan and I have been going to our stake's Humanitarian workshops every week. He, because he has been asked to fulfill the priesthood role there and I to support him in a room full of women:)  It has been fulfilling.  I've gone before, but it is in the morning and it's easy to let other things take precident, so I'm glad to have this opportunity to force myself to make it a priority.  We tie quilts together and string school bags and all the grandma's ooh and aah over Jordan being there, willing to tie a baby quilt with pink yarn:)  One of them did make a comment that sounded like she thought he was my husband, instead of my son, and I don't think that was very flattering to him.  I can't say that I was even very flattered, as looking 19 when you are really 40, takes away some credibility and wisdom.  Oh well, the older I get the less I realize I have of either anyway:)

Mikayla's ACT testing is next week and then starts the down-slide towards her college preparation.  She is a rock in our family and everyone, including me, count on her for so many things; either to help us feel better,  act better, or be better.  It will leave a big hole here when she ventures out into the wide world.  She is still working diligently at editing her summer movie and I hope will be able to finish before her best friend goes off to BYU-I in the winter.  I'm excited to see what comes from all of the work she, Tessia and Jordan have put into it.  The technology that she is adept at, boggles my little brain cells.  

She has gained respect from a few young men from school, who spent a good part of last year, "heckling" her about her religion, and I have been impressed with her quiet steadfastness and loyalty.  Sometimes her wide reach of acceptance is a concern to me, probably because of my narrow one, but we talk often and I think each of our views  help to balance the other out. 

Volleyball disappointment seems to have floated, unsurprisingly, and easily out of Eden's head and she has changed her focus of interest to auditioning for one of the musicals in Music Theatre of Idaho next season. There are some fun, wholesome choices and I think the auditioning experience would be a good one for her because this is something she's very good at, and something she loves, not just a social desire.  She had to quit pursuing the drama/ theater experience at school because the standards were getting lower with every grade.  The downside is, that if she made the cut, the schedule for 8-10 weeks prior to opening, is even more intense than a sports schedule, and she would have to give up many other things that are important to her, so Eden, Fred and I are trying to decide if it's worth the experience.   Auditions aren't until November, so we have some thinking time.  In the meantime she's enjoying being a sports spectator and the boys who jockey for position to sit by her at the games are enjoying it even more:)  The young men's presidency in our ward say she causes quite a bit of "contention" among the teachers quorum.  

School is in full swing and all the children are happy with teachers and enjoying renewed purpose.  My mornings are full of Jordan and cleaning, my afternoons are full of guiding children's homework and responsibilities and creating a dinner "experience", which can be challenging (if I'm going to require everyone to be home at a certain time-- and together, then I have to have something to be there for).  Evenings I just look forward to Fred coming home and seeing if we can squeeze the tiniest amount of family time in before bedtime routines.  Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard we try, there is no family "down" time, so the weekends are precious and guarded.  I can see date night, for Fred and I, getting more challenging as Jordan leaves and the girls get involved in the fun, sociality of High School, but we've had a nice long babysitter run. This may be the start of a different dating season of our lives and we might have to plan "Living Room" or Saturday dates occasionally, but date night is the highlight of my week, so I'll take it wherever and whenever I can get it, as long as it is at least weekly.  Fred is my anchor -- and it's fun to get all dressed up every week and walk around with the nicest looking guy in town! :)

The "older" crowd in our family watched the movie "Arranged" that Mom suggested last week and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There were some humorous "boyfriend cameos", that we rewound numerous times, and am now afraid Jordan may try to impersonate, but it would be difficult to duplicate that level of disturbing (one in particular) so maybe we are safe:) The movie had a great message and I loved seeing a little bit into the good of other people's worlds.

Mikayla and Eden went on a photo shoot with Desi and Camille right after our vacation and before school started  They had so much fun and got to know their fun, young "aunts" better, which was the highlight.  They learned a lot and got some great pictures to boot.  Thanks Desi and Camille for taking the time out of your busy, mother schedules.  It meant a lot to the girls and to me.

FAVORITES FROM MIKAYLA AND EDEN'S PHOTO SHOOT:
(From Mikayla's Camera)

(From Eden's Camera)

(From Desi's Camera)

(Photos's From Camille's Camera -- Still Coming)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

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Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 9/05/2010 08:26:00 PM

Our Ocean Vacation

I wanted to sit and leisurely remember our vacation as I recorded this journaling, but once the children go off to school, I always seem to feel this immediate cinching and everything becomes uncomfortably tight  for awhile, as I transition to higher expectations.  After a few weeks everything will seem to fit a little better, but in the meantime, this will be a guilt motivated task (as I promised and Mom is now asking) on a to do list that is crammed between all of the other tasks that need doing.  So, no relaxing stroll down a very recent memory lane this time.  If the writing seems pinched, that's because so is time.

Like every vacation, I prepared for this one the day before--all day-- and by evening realized that I should have been preparing for a week.  I tried to send Fred to bed early, because we had planned to leave at 4AM and he was the designated driver, but he felt the weight of all that needed to get done and my coercing wasn't effective until after 9PM.  By 2AM Jordan, Mikayla, Eden and I finally fell into bed.  Fred woke us all up at 3:45 and we were prepared enough that we were on the road within 15 minutes, pulling out right on time, which made Fred happy.  It took another 30 minutes for the excitement and anticipation to calm, and for everyone (but of course Fred) to fall back asleep for the next few hours.  When people did finally start stirring, hungry, we pulled off at a truck stop and unloaded breakfast out of the cooler, hooked up movies on two different computers in both back seats and in 30 more minutes we were back on the road with 8 people as contented as you can be on a road trip--the children because they were fed and entertained,  Fred  because there was peace and quiet and I because who can scoff at hours of time laying ahead of you with nothing else to do but read:)  Over the course of the 10 hours there were a few, "Are we there yet's?" and a couple of "He's touching me's!", but with the help of snacks and coloring books and movies and reading books and cheerful anxiousness, we made it through feeling quite happy and arrived an hour before check in.  We drove past our beach house and were disappointed with the exterior and the fact that there was garbage strewn all over the yard, but who can be upset when there is no wind and the sun is shining on the Oregon coast and the ocean is stretching and crashing out before you for miles?  We called the rental management and asked them to have the garbage cleaned up and then went to the beach and soaked in the magic.  It's always so much fun to be with someone who has never experienced the ocean and we had 3!

When we finally did get checked in, we were thrilled with the location, jetting out over the beach, on top of a cliff, with full ocean views on one whole side, but the house was old and smelly with thriftstore furniture that I had to put blankets from home over before I wanted to sit down.  As the rest of my family is more optimistic than I am, they weren't as bothered and the mattresses looked new and the bedding was clean, so we bought candles and room fresheners and made do.  Before Fred and I even finished unpacking the car, all of the rooms had been claimed and the children were busily "moving in".  Then back to the beach, and this time all of the crazy kids got wet and cold and before we could take a long exploration we were headed back to the house and warm showers (of which there were happily 4).  Fred and I went shopping for the weeks groceries and by evening, as we were soaking up the views on the balcony, we were able to meet the reason for our earlier garbage problems--a very friendly racoon, affectionately named Ralph.  Over the course of our three night stay, we learned that Ralph was very friendly and would eat right out of our hands.  Of course that was a highlight of the trip for all of us animal lovers.

Wednesday morning Mikayla and I were down on the beach by 6:30 AM and back ready for a defrosting shower by 8:30.  Fred had breakfast ready and when we were all ready we headed back to the beach.  That day was filled with beach, shower, beach, shower all day long.  For the coast, we couldn't have asked for nicer weather.  It was in the mid 60's, only partly cloudy, no fog and almost non-existant wind.  The children played in the waves with their swimsuits and then huddled in the warm sand, while Fred and I in our jackets looked on and smiled at the impetuosity of youth.  We were in up to our knees and occasionally a sneaker wave would splash us up to our waist, but no swimsuit donning desired:)

Thursday, after a morning on the beach, we drove 40 minutes to Newport to see the sea lions on the docks.   We weren't disappointed as they were sunbathing by the hundreds and putting on a pretty good barking show, and all for free.  Jordan treated us to taffy in a tourist shop and we headed back to Lincoln City for a beach fire dinner.  Of course, that evening was the only time that we had wind, the entire vacation, so after hiking in 20 minutes to a favorite spot and doing everything possible to block the wind, Fred finally got a fire going, after a frustrating half hour.  The kids still wanted to play in the waves and Fred had promised Jordan he would jump in, but the roaring fire we had anticipated to keep everyone warm never transpired.  Mikayla and I had made foil dinners of fish and rice, which finally cooked perfectly.  The rest of the family had opted for the traditional hot dog roast which ended up being more of a challenge since we had a hard time keeping the fire going.  We all had a good size sidedish of sand in our food, but by golly we made memories and we were very thankful that evening that we had chosen not to camp.  Even our run down shelter was very inviting that evening.

The next morning we packed up and  headed home after one more jaunt to the beach, feeling refreshed, fulfilled, not quite ready to leave but happy.  The trip home always seems longer, but we made some fun stops at an incredible outlet mall, and for lunch and to hike up to a gorgeous waterfall, but somehow on the way back we ended up lost numerous times and  we didn't crawl into our beds at home until around 2AM on Saturday.  Even so, though cramped quarters are never physically comfortable, I love being with my family in those kinds of environments where everyone is forced to work together and ends up being goofy and fun.  Halfway through I moved into the back to give Jordan more leg room up front and Mikayla and Eden and I watched "Gone With The Wind", an experience which I haven't had since high school and now remember why.  But, even after the 3 hour incredulity of Scarlet, we still came out determined to try a little harder to emulate Melanie, even though none of us, sadly,  have every met anyone in real life like her.

I built up the importance and expectations of this vacation to great heights in my head and it delivered!  And despite the dilapidated lodging, it was everything I wanted it to be.  We'll hold onto it for a long time.

We took over 450 pictures.  I had a hard time weeding through them, but I painstakingly got it down to 39.

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Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 8/27/2010 01:07:00 PM

The Last Hurrah

It has been a full week, stuffed with church responsibilities, school registration, shopping, sports practices, mission prepping, vacation planning and lots of extended family.  It is the last hurrah of summer and we are cramming in everything possible before it slips away.  The kids are finally starting to feel that excited anticipation of a new school year and though we could use some scheduling around here, I'm not.

Lily gave her first talk on Sunday.  Her assigned topic was, "Jesus Can Heal the Sick" and she was excited.   She came down with some bug and was curled up on her bed, with a fever, stomach ache and headache all Saturday and Sunday morning.   12:15 (we usually leave at 12:30) she suddenly felt better and learned first hand the power of prayer and Jesus' healing power.  We quickly got her ready and added a sentence to her talk about her experience.  She did a great job, with hardly any help.

Sunday night Mikayla and I attended the first meeting of the newly called stake YM/ YW Aaronic Priesthood Committee.  Each year the personalities and dynamics of the committee are so different from the previous year.  These youth were quiet as the grave, which made for a long meeting, but hopefully they will loosen up as the year progresses.  I'm excited to be able to work with Mikayla.

Tuesday morning Scott flew into town and my teens grabbed some friends and floated the Middleton section of the Boise River.  It was a cold day, but they are good at crazy and seemed to have fun.  It was a quicky visit, but a fun experience for all of us to get reacquainted.  It is unfortunate that we live so far apart and travel is so expensive, but we are fortunate that we can visit with both Scott and Taylor over the Thanksgiving holiday, as they take a short jaunt from BYU in the Fall.

Wednesday and Thursday were full of school clothes shopping, which is always a fun experience for children and a bit mind numbing to me.  We made 3 separate trips and are almost done.  Thrift stores and clearance racks first, then discount stores, then finish off with the sales.  Mikayla and Eden are relatively easy and I am along just to be the voice of economy and modesty.  Abe is initially easy because he'll agree to almost anything if it means he gets out of the store more quickly (getting him to actually wear anything new once we're home is a whole other challenge:).  Lily and Sophie are exhausting as they are completely immersed in the process and pull things off shelves to show me at alarming rates, regardless of appropriate sizes, and once we finally make it to the dressing room they think they are the main attraction at a vaudeville show and you'd think they had never seen a full length mirror before.  They are both posing and twirling and dancing, and giggling (none too quietly) and when we finally emerge, I am exhausted.  It is a semi-annual highlight of their year, and it takes me that long to recuperate:)

Eden spent a good part of the week in volleyball tryouts.  She's never played and we aren't an especially athletic family, but even after two days of suicide drills, designed to force people to drop out on their own, she stuck it out, but didn't make the team.  She was a bit heartbroken.  Volleyball is a big deal in Middleton and all of her friends made the cut.  I was sad to see her hurt, but the demand and intensity of organized sports makes me crazy and I wasn't especially supportive of the whole idea as it was taking her away from so many family activities.  She's still pondering practicing with the team, where less dedication would be required, but I have never understood the pressure of it all.  It should be an outlet, but it seems to always be a frenzy instead.  Sorry, I know I am in the small majority here, but give me the good ol' days where kids played together in the vacant lot...........for FUN!

Friday, Hyrum and Desi invited the whole family on a boating excursion at Lucky Peak.  They staked out a private dock and we had exclusive rights all day (no one else would have been brave enough to put in anywhere near that kind of pandemonium:)  It was a lot of work for them  (Hyrum ferrying people across for the better part of the afternoon and providing and preparing almost the entire dinner for over 40 people), but they were perfect hosts which made for a fun, relaxing and rewarding day for the rest of us.  The last car didn't drive out until after 10:00 and of course a good number of cousins had finagled sleepover plans.  Ben ended up with a gaggle of girls; I ended up with 2, and Marg might have had some.  Saturday morning Ben called with this inquiry. "I woke up this morning to find that I was missing a child.  You're the last one I've called.  Do you have Sabrina?"  He's a goof ball and of course he was kidding, but the whole transportation scenario was mayhem and I wouldn't have been surprised if that had actually happened.  Luckily, everyone got back home safe and sound on Saturday, most shoe-less and still in their swimsuits, but happy.

I am grateful to have a day of calm before the storm of packing and last minute vacation planning that will surely blow in tomorrow.  I've made plans for Olive and Maunzy to be looked after by Marg and Liz, who said I sounded like I was leaving my children, when I called with instructions.  I hope I haven't crossed that line, but I do worry.  The pet guilt factor is definitely a part of my daily routine.  Both of the twins know that feeling well, so I know Olive and Maunzy will be in good hands.

The weather forecast for Lincoln City is looking "iffy", but our rental house is situated on a cliff, directly overlooking the beach, so even if we get forced inside most of the time, we will be able to play family games and watch the ocean storms rage.  We'll take warm jackets and hats and whatever happens, it will be therapeutic to get away together and put life's distractions aside for four days.  I'm looking forward to it immensely.  We have good books, movies, activities and food planned for the drive, so even that it sounding endurable (though that silver lining may wear off quickly after the 8th bathroom break and the 6th, "are we there yet?":)  We're just crossing our fingers that our radiator will hold out and this pile of nuts and bolts we optimistically refer to as our Suburban doesn't fall into a heap  an hour out of town.  Vacationing in Ontario doesn't have the same appeal to me:)

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Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 8/15/2010 09:38:00 AM

Routine Maintenance

Some days I am drawn to this blog, my mind brimming over with thoughts and feelings that are spilling over each other to get out and other days I sit myself down because it is a duty and stare blankly at a similar screen.  Today is one of the "other" days.  So, I open my planner to peruse my calendar of the week past, hoping that will induce some memory or emotion.  Not much of interest there, but that is what I have to work with.

Monday, I did book a beach house for family vacation.  I got a great deal, but it will still a significant amount of money that I had to put down and they had a no reservation cancellation--no refund policy.  It took me a year to save and I am no shopper.  I hate spending money and purchases that don't offer a trap door put me into a mild panic, but I got through that day with relatively little scarring.

Tuesday, Fred and I stood in a line that stretched out of the fire department building and around the block to vote on a city bond.  It was quite amazing and felt good to live in a community where so many people feel that obligation to make their voice count.  It was one of those 100 degree days and most of the waiting was in the sun, but I didn't see anyone give up and leave and didn't hear any complaining.

Wednesday morning I spent 5 hours working on finances after an emergency air conditioner repair on our home and finally got everything all wrapped up into a nice little package, when Fred came home with the news of a $300 bill on a routine pre-vacation car checkup. It wasn't a happy day.  I felt like I had wasted my whole day "saving" the budget for nothing.  Fred continually reminds me that it is precisely for that reason that things continually work out but I get tired of saving just to maintain.  "Sometimes I just want it to stay saved!  You know, for a little bit?  I feel like the maid, I just cleaned up this mess!  Can we keep it clean for...for ten minutes!"  In the same breath, I know we are blessed significantly, continually.  I have to stop and remind myself to be grateful for our abundance because maintenance can be blinding.

Wednesday, Sophie went to the dentist to have a tiny cavity filled.  She was nervous about the experience, but our local dentist was so generous about sharing his knowledge and explaining to both Sophie and Lily every instrument that he was using and what they were for.  Lily has been terrified of doctors (she's generally over anxious and immunizations with uncompassionate nurses have left their emotional marks). I was so grateful to the dentist for his "bedside manner" and helping both of the twins to feel at ease.  We've been going into Meridian for years, but it was just getting to be too much traveling. I'm glad to have made the switch.

Wednesday evening, after mutual, my children came close to wrapping up movie shooting for a script they have been working on all summer.  They have put so much time, effort and even money into it, and there has been a lot of stress involved.  They are very creative and I will be interested to see the final results and glad when it is all over and I have my children back.

Thursday was grocery shopping day with Jordan and Mikayla and then school supply shopping with the rest of the family minus Fred who was at Scouts.  Jordan hit the nail on the head as we finished through the check stand and he said, "that was exhausting!"  We had to laugh when we turned on the car and Delilah (a sappy radio deejay) was advertising the heartwarming, traditional family experience of school supply shopping at Walmart.  I'm pretty sure that she was either talking about through the eyes of a child or one of us is delusional and it isn't me:)

Friday morning Fred asked me on a date before he left for work and then called me in the middle of the day to ask if I wanted to have a picnic in the park and feed the ducks.  He came home and prepared and packed all of the food and we had a perfect evening in the park, eating near a young man who was practicing classical pieces on his violin (dinner and a show), talking of Jane Austin and writing books and aspirations and then finished, sitting on a bench under a weeping willow, feeding the ducks leftover tortillas.  It was relaxing and romantic and a needful end to a long, monotonous week.

Saturday we cleaned then made our monthly crusade to the library, where checkout takes 20 minutes because 8 people coming together after an hour of perusing the shelves, produces mass amounts of media that have to be walked through single file through magnetic detectors and have to be re-magnetized more than a few times.  We love our libraries!  We're generally good patrons, so I think our librarians love us but we do cause some moments of stress and chaos, I'm afraid.

And here we are, back to Sunday morning and I have frittered away an hour, writing nonsense that isn't even interesting to me, but the deed is done and I can make a check mark in my planner... and that's important:)

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Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 8/08/2010 10:27:00 AM