We love Daybreak for the amenities. Included in our $100/mo HOA fee is our internet, access to the pool, tennis courts, awesome parks, and free boat rentals. Last Friday night we decided to go over to Soda Row, the commercial area, and check out their annual Fizz Fest. While it wasn't exactly our cup of tea, we got ice cream and then continued on our bikes to the boat rental side of the Lake.
I wish someone could have taken a photo of us all, sadly, this is the best we could do on our own.
The view from the Lake. We almost made it into the portal of Atlantis… almost…
Tess and her BFF frequently get a kayak, paddle to a remote dock and then *illegally* jump off into the lake. She's logged more kayak hours this summer than anyone.
So, despite feeling that we live in the 'Truman Show', or in the Stepford Wives novel, we sure do love the beautiful scenery and green spaces.
Luke graduated last night. I didn't even cry. I'll do a whole post on that later. For now, since it's late, I just wanted to put up a video that Nadia Lawrence just posted to YouTube. She is a past Student Body Pres. of PHS, and the daughter of the past Stake Primary President that I worked with. She just left on a mission to So. America. Anyways, it's a song about bullying, and has a really good message for our youth. It's also really catchy. I'm waiting for it to be available for download. Anyways, enjoy.
I follow a blog written by a gay Mormon guy. It's been fascinating to me. He's chosen to marry a woman and they have 3 girls. He's happy with his choice but doesn't try to 'sell it' to other gay Mormon men. The conversations are really intriguing, and have helped me to understand the struggle gay people have a little more.
ANYWAY--- today, his wife posted this, and I thought it was so important for mother's and parents to hear that I copied it, and I hope you'll read it. It's not about homosexuality in any way btw. Hey Hot Mama! Let me Empty your Bucket! At the beginning of the school year, Anna, our 2nd grader, started coming home with all of these little notes in her folder.
As a mom who is constantly cleaning out papers from her backpack, I didn't think much of them. Then one day Anna mentioned the notes in her bucket.
"Your bucket?" I asked.
"In our class, we each have a bucket that hangs on the wall. We write compliments to each other and put the notes in each other's buckets."
I really liked this idea and enjoyed reading some of the notes that were coming home with her.
One day after school, I picked up my girls to go to gymnastics. In the car on the way there, Anna said, "Mom, I have to tell you something, but I don't want to tell you while Viva and Tessa are listening."
Whenever Anna says something about needing to talk in private, I get a little nervous about what she's about to say or ask, because probably the conversation is going to be about sex, Santa not being real, or stranger danger. After Viva ran inside to gymnastics and Tessa was distracted, Anna told me what was on her mind.
"Mom, I got an inappropriate note in my bucket today."
"What did it say?" I braced myself for all sorts of inappropriate sexual references.
"I don't want to tell you," she said while looking me straight in the face. I knew she wanted to tell me, but she wasn't sure how to go about it.
"It's okay, Honey, you didn't do anything wrong. You can always tell me anything."
"Okay..." She took a deep breath and then blurted out, "It said... 'Anna, you're one hot mama.'"
I almost laughed out of relief. I could handle "one hot mama."
"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry he said that."
"Ms. Weston said that from now on, our notes have to be checked to make sure they are appropriate."
"I think that sounds like a good idea."
Then Anna said something that really made me think.
"Ms. Weston also said that that comment didn't fill my bucket, it emptied it."
In all honesty, my first thought was, Well, it didn't really empty your bucket. He was trying to give you a compliment.
I stopped short of saying this aloud and looked down at my sweet, wonderful, smart, and amazing seven-year-old daughter's face and instantly realized the error in my thinking. In fact, years of incorrect thinking were corrected in that moment as I thought of comments like "Hey babe! You're hot!" through the eyes of a mother.
I knew in that moment that I would never want my daughter's self esteem to come from some kid telling her she's a hot mama. Her self esteem, her bucket, should not be filled by derogatory, objectifying, compliments that don't acknowledge who she really is as a person. I want her self esteem to come from the fact that she is kind, considerate, intelligent, and a hard worker--among so many other things. Those are attributes that she can take credit for because she strives hard to obtain and keep those qualities.
There was a girl in my high school who was gorgeous. She was thin, tan, blond, had straight teeth, and a perfect face. She was also not very kind. One day I told my mom that I wanted to be like her. My mom immediately said, "Why? Because she's pretty. She's also mean. You know she can't take credit for that beautiful face. She was just born with it. You, however, are one of the nicest girls I have ever met. That is something worth aspiring to." That concept has stuck with me.
My daughter is so much more than her looks. In the future, when a guy drives by her and whistles at her from his truck, I want her to know that that means absolutely nothing. Good or bad. When a guy tells her she's hot, that's not a compliment. Because that guy knows doesn't know who she is. However, when her husband looks at her, covered in sweat and exhausted, with a flabby tummy after having delivered their first baby and he tells her she's beautiful, that will be a compliment.
I want my daughter to know that if someday she were to lose all of her hair, or gain 40 lbs, or get acne all over her face, it won't change who she is as a person. She will always be my amazing Anna!
Anna's bucket.
So, I would like to thank Ms. Weston for teaching my children while they are young what really fills a person's bucket. It's a lesson my girls need to hear, and a lesson I needed to hear as well.
I've got to get some of these photos in the blog before they get deleted accidentally. So this post is all over the place.
This photo is an old one. Chris' friend sent it to him for his birthday today. Chris is 44 today. Happy Birthday to my old man! Can you pick him out? He thinks Zeke looks like him, but the eyes are different.
(second from the left)
This sign appeared a week ago just half a mile from my house. It says Costco coming soon Fall 2014. I screamed out loud when I saw it. Literally. I'm so excited. The closest one to us is 20 min away, and also the busiest one in the valley. It sucks.
Our next door neighbor gave us 2 tickets to see the Utah Symphony's Pixar/Disney music. It was awesome. I decided to take Ella, because she's the one I need to spend more quality time with. And Tess and Kate got to go to the MoTab Christmas concert. Honestly though, I wish we could have all gone, it was that good.
We were the first 2 seats on the second tier, literally looking down on the musicians. They played clips of all the movies while the symphony played music from the shows scores. It was entertaining and great for kids.
This a carseat blanket and owl hat and booties I made for my niece. I thought it was so cute, and I'll probably never make another so I wanted a photo. Anna's having her first child in Feb. and to everyone's amazement, her father who is supposedly dying of stage 4 liver cancer at age 50, is STILL around 2 years after he was given 6months AND his liver is actually regenerating. We've said goodbye to him twice. He's been that close to death. (He was dead on FB for 6 hrs., some friend jumped the gun) I can't take it anymore. I told him I'm not saying goodbye again, if he's going to die, he needs to go quietly at night without any warning. Man, it's SO hard! His doctors told him they were going to make him a T shirt that says, "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." I'll say.
Melissa and Di, here's my couch. Sage green suede. Not my first choice, but couldn't pass up the deal. And Chris insisted our old couch with it's mismatching slipcovers was 'bush league'. I thought it was fine and was glad to have it back. He was embarrassed apparently. Go figure.
I forgot to put up a photo of this beautiful quilt my sister made me for Christmas. Isn't it gorgeous. It matches my kitchen valances. I love it. She made one for Tess too. Also beautiful. Thanks Brooke!
Ok, this last one is crazy. A month ago, Luke asked this girl Kassey to the Winter formal. He was totally crushing on her then and she was crushing on him. Pretty much right after he asked her, she went cold. Like stopped talking to him, avoided him, told him not to text her. I won't go into the drama, but she did a 180*.
Yesterday, she handed him this 'schedule' for the dance. Look at it. It's NUTS! Talk about a control freak! First of all, SHE overrode his plans for the pre dance activity and told him they needed to go bowling, THEN she freaked out when he told her what he was going to wear and told him he couldn't, and then she made this schedule. He came home from school yesterday in the worst mood I've seen him in. He was so angry. He told her he accidentally dropped her schedule into hot lava, and that he wasn't totally helpless.
He doesn't want to go, but he's already paid for the dance and the bowling. And he won't ditch her despite her behavior. It's going to be miserable. I hope it won't be, but the odds are not in his favor. Thing is, he really did 'like' her. Like like her, wanted a relationship with her. But she freaked out before he had a chance to go any further.
Girls are a thing to be avoided I keep telling him. Just wait till you're 20 and off your mission. *sigh*
I got this from my friend Eden's FB page (she showed up at my house on my birthday with balloons and chocolate. The kids loved the balloons. I didn't share the chocolate. Thanks Eden, you're the best).
She's a professional editor, so I am always a little self conscious about my posts being grammatically correct, and somewhat intelligent sounding, knowing she occasionally reads my blog. I'm sure they are not-- but I am proud to say that I have read a LOT of the classics, and I can understand Shakespeare, after a few pages of getting into the rhythm.
This comedian has 'Shakespearized' the 3 little pigs. It's brilliant, and hysterical. Give it a look. It will add points to your IQ, I promise.
Every once in a while I grab Luke's iPod for a surprise inspection. You know, read through all his texts, emails, and pictures. I always get a chuckle out of his photos. Some are just events documented, but others are far more random. I thought I'd just share a few of the highlights of the last year...
Mud Football, a YM/YW activity. He could almost pass for an African bushman couldn't he?
We had to throw those clothes away.
One of the first things Luke did at L.Powell this year was, you got it, dig a hole. Which he then turned into a 'hot tub'.
He and his cousin had the bright idea to 'tan in' Batman wings. They stuck their cut-outs on with honey and then burnt themselves really good. Ethan had a smaller version on one side. It looked like he had pilot's wings on. lol.
I like this photo he took bc of my SIL's goofy face there. LOL.
Apparently he's never seen a rainbow before... or he's just really excited about this one... he doesn't get out much....
The 'Kissing Swing' in all it's christmas light glory.
This is his 'crew' of BFF's from last year, at their graduation. He was the only Jr.
Kissy face girl is second from the right.
Showing off their footwear, or in Steven's case, his lack thereof. He decided to go nude at the last minute. Yeah, no clothes under that gown...
This was his 'death ray'. An old satellite dish with glued on mirrors. He cooked something, or burnt a hole through something. I'm not sure if it was a science project, or just a random project he thought up on his own.
Senior day at Lagoon. We let him ditch and go join all his buddies, but there were some in the office who thought it wasn't fair for Luke to go just because he's the administrators son. Chris told them any parent who wanted to let their child do the same would have been fine by him, as PHS believes in parental authority over school/state authority, and basically, lighten up people. Still... there were some bitter 'rule nazis' who didn't appreciate the 'example' Luke was setting. Whatever. Follow the rules with your own kid. And mind your own business. We excused his absence. End of story.
Shepherd costume in a play he did for Latin class. This may be where he got the idea that he would also like to be a shepherd when he grows up... you know, if gentleman farmer doesn't work out.
The fire dept. came to PHS to put on a 'dramatization' of what happens when you text/drink and drive. His BFF's got to be casualties and had the gore painted on them before the school came out to see them draped over the hood and pretending to be dead. Apparently it was quite upsetting to some of the students.
These are all from the Hari Krishna Color Festival. Disregard the douche bag photo bombing the picture in the background.
Lindsey Stirling concert. He's in love with her.
Random curiosity-- what happens to an egg left soaking in vinegar? The shell disintegrates leaving the egg all jelly-like. He was fascinated. LOL.
Another hole. Surprise. This one dug through the ice of the frozen river behind the Ranch house in WY.
The remains of a 'paper war' waged by his core class against another. Not uncommon at PHS I hear.
Chris being childish manly. Little boys love to drive their trucks over crap, right?
Kissing Fish at Ryder Lake in the Uintahs.
Shot taken of Chris 'putting Zeke to bed'. You can't quite see how ridiculous it was to see them both crowded onto Zeke's crib size car bed.
Playing Cowboys with Zeke.
And lastly, Luke demonstrating the proper technique for omelet flipping. Why he cared to film this at 7:30am with no one around is beyond me. He's just generally self-entertaining.
There you have it. A peek into the fascinating life/brain of a teenage boy.
Wait... I'm starting to see a pattern here... Luke in jewelry, make-up, and/or fairy wings... hmmm....
Not to be outdone by his 'famous' mother and sisters, Luke got his picture in a local rag last week.
What for?
2nd place in a beauty contest.
Yep.
He helped out some friends who were in desperate need of contestants for their 'Men's pageant', part of the Relay for Life fundraiser. Here's the link to his photo in the paper:
For his 'talent', he read 'Fox in Sox' by Dr. Seuss. He said that's where he lost out. The first place guy danced. Well.
The really creepy part? Several women, including MUCH older women stuffed one dollar bills down his dress... for charity.... he collected $47 in ones...
And, he said one lady 'at least your age Mom' came up and told him he had the perfect back for that dress. She was serious. Did she think Luke was a real cross-dresser? I'm a little disturbed...
I saw James Taylor perform last night with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony.
IT. WAS. AWESOME!
Me and 20,099 others watched him perform in the Conference Center. My seat was really good, dead center, about 50 rows from the front. He performed about 10 of his most popular songs, and a few I'd never heard that were amazing. And 2 encores-- and we got to sing along! I knew all the words! LOL. So fun.
If it were 1989 still, I'd totally be his groupie. Loved it.
Remember when that guy paid me $100 to film us swinging on the porch? Well I had a friend tell me today that she saw us on TV!! I googled the guy and found the ad. We are all the way to the end at 50 seconds. If you blink, you'll miss us. We're on there for like 1.5 seconds, but it's definitely US! If we made $100 for 1.5 seconds, think of the hourly rate we could pull in!!!!
I've been wasting time of FB today. It rarely happens(pinterest is another story), but today, I just don't feel like doing laundry, and so I'm finding other things to fill my time, and this warranted a post of it's own-- don't you think?
Last night, Chris and I went to see the MoTab Christmas Concert. We had to be in our seats 1/2 hr. early, or risk losing them to the stand by audience. The drive into Salt Lake took twice as long as usual. We took all the wrong turns and seemed to get stuck at every light. We went into the parking lot in the mall and got diverted into a restricted area due to the high traffic. We rushed into the elevator, too rushed. We didn't look around. Didn't take notice of the level we were on, or even the general area. Coming out of the elevator at ground level, I took a quick look at the numbers, to remember which elevator to get back in.
We made it to our seats, the concert was fabulous.
When we got back to the building we had exited from, the doors were locked. We couldn't get to our elevator. We wandered around and found another one, but once down to the level we 'thought' we had parked on, we couldn't find the car.
We tried the next level.
And the next.
We walked to different elevators and started the process again.
And again.
We were wandering around lost JUST like in that Seinfeld parking lot episode where Jerry pees on a wall and gets arrested. The only thing missing was the goldfish in a bag.
I finally went upstairs to try and find a way into that dang building, when Chris found the car, in the restricted area.
FORTY FIVE MINUTES we wandered around that parking garage looking for our car.
Are we getting old?
Always check your level and column number people! That City Creek parking garage is the size of a small city!
Actually, we vowed never to go into town during the holidays on a Friday night ever again. It's just not worth the hassle...
How many women does it take to change a lightbulb?
One. ONE!! And do you know WHY it only takes ONE? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb. They don't even know the bulb is BURNED OUT. They would sit in this house in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it OUT. And once they figured it out they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS. But if they did, by some miracle, actually find the light bulbs, TWO DAYS LATER the chair that they dragged from two rooms over to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE CRUMPLED WRAPPER THE STUPID @*!#$% LIGHT BULBS CAME IN! WHY?! BECAUSE NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12 FEET DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE. THE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS...I'm sorry...what did you ask me?
2 nights ago, our CO alarm in the basement went off at 12:30am. They are apparently linked throughout the house, because one on the main floor and one upstairs went off too. I had to shake Chris to wake him up! Man, that guy can sleep through anything! In fact, Luke and I were the only ones who woke up. That's a bit disconcerting right there...
Anyway. Chris shut them off and came back to bed. I said, "Was it a false alarm, or are we all going to die in our sleep tonight?" They went back on. He went to the basement and cleaned it out, thinking maybe the construction dust set it off? Then he checked the furnace, and the fireplace-- for what I don't know. How do you detect a CO leak? The alarms! How do you know if the alarms are mis-firing? There have been reports of other fire/CO alarms in the neighborhood going off at all hours of the night. Something about faulty alarms used by the builders around here.... I racked my brain to remember the yahoo group posts on the subject. Maybe we just got bad ones too. But what if they were working properly?
Chris woke up all the kids-- you know, to make sure they were ALIVE! Then he decided to stay up for a while to see if he got 'loopy'. He watched a movie. I lay in bed stressing out. Am I feeling drowsy? Wait, I'm just tired, or AM I? What if my brain in slowly dying as more and more CO attaches itself to my red blood cells? What does CO poisoning feel like?
It was the longest night ever. Add Zeke to the bed, bc Chris woke him up, and it made for a very sleepless night.
We SHOULD have gotten everyone out of bed, called the fire department, and waited on the porch for them to arrive. But we were JUST SO TIRED. But we survived. I guess it was just the dust.
About 3 weeks ago, the big kids and I were out back. Luke was impressing us w/ his handstands. The subject of cartwheels came up, and it was implied that I was too old to do one. Of course I had to prove them wrong. Just as I started my world class cartwheel, Luke walked into my space and I kicked his shoulder w/ my foot. I broke/sprained/dislocated my toe, I don't which. I didn't bother to go see, because what do they do for broken toes? Nothing. I just tried to go easy, limping (who knew your toes were so integral to normal walking?) for weeks. It never seemed to heal.
It was still bothering me yesterday, when I accidentally kicked Kate's heel w/ said toe. I fell to my knees w/ intense pain, tears springing to my eyes instantly. I may or may not have seen stars. I definitely cussed like a sailor. It hurt. Bad. Closer examination showed the toe was now bent away from my big toe at an odd angle, was swelling and starting to bruise. It took 800 mg. of Ibuprofen and 1 Lortab to be able to breathe normally. It has to be broken if it hurts this bad right? Doing nothing last time didn't serve me very well, so I bit the bullet and paid the $50 to go see Dr. Brinton, our ward orthopedist.
My concern was the unusual angle, and that to push it back to normal caused severe pain. I don't want it healing all crooked. Call me vain, but I've always been rather proud of my feet, and didn't want my chances of being a future foot model, dashed by this unfortunate accident. *snicker* I'm totally kidding. Even though it might be a great gig, it seems ridiculous. This whole thing seems ridiculous. I'm limping around like a gimp and all because of one dumb toe!
Anyway, the doc said it's definitely broken. In fact, it was broken 3 weeks ago, and had started to heal, but kicking Kate, broke it again, worse. I didn't want a crooked toe, so he numbed me up and yanked on that little piggie till she was straight again. I've got a new Rx of Lortab for when the anesthetic wears off. I know it's gonna kill. Now I'm sporting an awesome post-op shoe, but, I have straight toes again.
Ah. The little things we take for granted... toes. Who knew?
I'm in blogging from Boise! Zeke and I are here helping my brother out w/ his 4 kids while my SIL is in NZ at her brothers wedding. Mom was supposed to come, but her hip replacement recovery is not going as well as she'd hoped. Driving to ID and babysitting 4 kids on Oxycodone, was not really a good idea. Luckily, my family has a very slow week, so the only thing I'm really missing is Tess' YW in Excellence night. Chris is getting the girls off to school in the mornings, Luke is making their lunches, Tess is home before them and helps w/ the homework and makes sure the practicing is getting done. Really, they hardly need me... hmmm... Anyways, It worked out great, and Mom needs more time to recuperate.
Sunday was crazy. I had choir practice at 10 am. Then I had to cover a Primary Program for my stake calling at 10:50. Teach nursery at 1. Then we ALL had to speak in Sacrament at 2:50 (wrote the better part of 4 talks for that) then in-laws and parents for dinner, then I threw my bags in the car and headed for Idaho. I don't know I managed to pick the most boring book on tape ever for my drive, but it barely kept me awake till my 10:30pm arrival time. But we made it, even w/ though the gas light had been on for the last 20 miles. lol. Chris hates it when I do that. I was determined not to stop though. And I made it...
Yesterday I met an old friend from Vegas for lunch. She and her hubby were going to dental school back then. When we left Vegas they still had a year to go, and 2 kids. We had 3. Now we both have 5 and his dental practice is up and running in Boise. It was great to catch up. I know I say it a lot, but I really miss all my friends, and wish I could transport them all to South Jordan. It's the little things, like going to the General RS meeting by yourself, when you wish you had a friend to sit by....sigh. I just need to make new friends. Again.
Zeke and his cousin Takeshi are getting along famously. It's really fun to watch them play together. I worried Zeke would be missing Annie this week, but I dare say, he's not even thought about her. Typical male eh? LOL. Her mother just texted me to say that "the Zeke withdrawals are painful!" Poor Annie.
On a totally unrelated note...
I just finished reading the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Tess brought it home from school, so I hurried and read ahead of her (I like to know what my kids are reading) and then it was so good, I had her get the next 3 books so I could read them. I HIGHLY recommend them. The books are fun, and grab your interest right away, but they also have some really good discussion topics in them. Cosmetic surgery, societal pressure, government control, self esteem, pop culture, mind control, environmental issues... really, there's so much in them that would make for a great discussion w/ your teen.
Anyway... I'm just bored really... this post has no point... have a good week in New Zealand Melissa!!!
Our recent trip to NY has made me reflect on my life. I know, it seems that's all I do. Humor me though- this trip brought one thing to the fore front for me, how blessed I am.
My life is not hustle and bustle. It's calm. It's mellow. At times it's downright boring, but it's also, peaceful. Life for New Yorkers is none of those things. Maybe there are some who would disagree with me, but I found myself thinking about this a lot as we roamed the city on foot, and beneath it's streets. The menial jobs seemed more depressing (garbage collectors, subway attendants) and the business jobs seemed more stressful. The poor seemed more destitute. The homeless, more hopeless. How do they cope? Stress and/or poverty rule in a city like that. Even money can't buy them the simple things I take for granted every day.
I don't have to walk my children 20 blocks through crowded streets, smoke, and garbage to school every day, only to turn around and get them 4 hours later. I don't even have to carpool them. They walk themselves. I bundle them up, kiss their cheeks and send them on their way, never worrying about their safety, never thinking they may not make it to their destination. As 3:40 rolls around, I start listening for the tramp of feet, as they return, rosy cheeked from the weather and exercise. It's idyllic. I realize that now. What I took for granted last week, I now feel only gratitude for.
Gratitude for the life we lead.
My kids are not drowning in smog. They can run and play outside unsupervised. They are well fed, and clothed. They are warm, and dry. It's not so for every child in the world, and I didn't even have to go to a third world country to see that first hand. It's right here in the US of A. Big cities have their advantages, but I don't think they would ever be enough to entice me to want to dwell there.
I may not have enjoyed our NY vacation to its upmost, but I am so glad we went-- If only for the realization that I never knew how good I had it.
What you are looking at here is a picture of Luke's bed. Uh-huh. That would be a queen size double pillow top mattress (the best bed in the house, I might add) topped with an air mattress, AND a foam mattress.
Why must he have all three? You ask. Good question. I've never had a child so obsessed with comfort. He only wears the clothes that are soft, can't stand tags, doesn't like sheets, preferring this flannel bag, and won't use a normal bed spread, only an old comfy quilt to wrap himself up in.
Now I just need a pea, and we'll be able to tell if he's a REAL princess...
