A Sure Way to Get Your Teenager to Go to Bed Early on the Weekend

Here's the secret:  have them run the RACE OF THEIR LIFE in the High School Region Championship Cross Country Meet.

And SMASH their PR by 34 seconds!
(Those of you who aren't familiar with running.....to shave just a few seconds off your PR is fantastic.  To knock off 34 seconds is something I (and many) could never even dream of doing.  It's phenomenal, is what it is.)

 Ya....he pretty much ran out of his head. 

SO MANY student athletes were breaking their PRs right and left.  They did amazing!  I was so happy for everyone to see how excited they were!  The air at that meet was definitely filled with ADRENALINE and ENERGY.  To see a "spent" runner dig deep down within him/herself and find something, then pour it on at the end of a race is one of my favorite things to watch.

It's awe inspiring - and in some cases (my husband's at this meet), tears-producing.  The will of the human soul is wondrous.  You give it your ALL - and then some - until you're done.

....And because they were going above and beyond their normal capacities, there was some falling down, some passing out, some white lips, some throwing up, etc. after the race.

 Here, Kyle had just asked his teammate on the ground, "Do you know who we are?"

And he was pointing at each of them saying their names. (through heavy breathing and he kept trying to lie down)

He got it correct!  :)

But, the Viewmont boys AND girls cross country teams qualified to go to State!!! (the first time in several years).

So, needless to say, Kyle was a bit tired.

Worn-out.  

Weary.  

Exhausted.  

Drained. 

And I think all the other runners were, too, because no one came calling to get together and do something on that Friday night, like they usually do.

When the bus got back to the high school, Kyle texted us to come get him up (NOW).  

He got home, got in the shower, changed into comfy sweats/t-shirt.

AND WAS IN BED BY 8:00 PM!!!  And was asleep approximately 12.8 seconds after that.

THAT'S how you get a teenager to go to bed early.  ;)
(although, we, his parents, had nothing to do with it - it just happened on it's own)

Five Words

One of the main things I took away from the "Queen of the Kingdom" conference last weekend was about WORDS.

Words are so important.

Right from the beginning of the conference, our presenter/mentor wanted us to write down just three words on our name tag that we wanted to be....it was just to get our mind starting to think in that direction.
There's so many words - and we could choose ANY of the hundreds of thousands that exist in our English language EXCEPT we were not allowed to choose "uptight," "rigid," or "controlling."  ;)  Those were words that had she had drawn the "no symbol" (ya know that red circle with a diagonal line through it?) on her giant post-it paper pad up front, because those traits ruin our femininity and are not characteristics of a "queen."

Later, we practiced saying general declarations that were written in our class book, out loud, with the group, to get us used to saying positive words about ourselves.
We even got to "play with" (draw from it's sheath and raise above our heads) a Gandalf-esque sword

while declaring, "I am a goddess of truth and light!"  Having a sword makes a difference, I tell ya!  (you should try it!)  It gives you the feeling that you've got power.  Like what you are saying is official, holds some clout!  ;)

Anyway, those were just some of the activities (there were many others) we did throughout the conference to get us in the frame of mind to choose words for ourself. 

By the end of the weekend, I chose five words.

Calm

Compassionate

Healthy

Energetic

Delightful

When I am going about my day; when I am wiping down the kitchen counters, while I put away clothes, when I'm on the phone with a not-so-happy customer at work.... I repeat this phrase to myself.  "I am a calm, compassionate, healthy, energetic, delightful woman."  I have been saying it daily (sometimes multiple times).  My plan is to keep saying it a lot. 
When I don't feel like getting up early in the morning to go out exercising, I say it in my mind. 
When I look in the mirror, and I think, "bleh," I say it in my mind. 
The other day, when I was leaving the check out at Costco after I'd just purchased a large amount of items (who doesn't have a large amount of items when they go to Costco?) and had had some problems that came up while checking out, I heard the cashier greet his next customer after me, "How are you today?"  And I heard her reply loudly-enough-so-that-I-could hear, "Well, I was fine until I got in line behind that lady!"  I repeated my words (with emphasis on calm, compassionate, and delightful!) in my mind over and over and over the whole way out of the store, through the parking lot, while unloading all my stuff (that caused a long check out), and even after I got into the car!!  ;)
When I got really upset at home (no!) towards a particular person (who shall remain nameless) and situation, I said this phrase in my mind all evening!

I didn't choose the words calm, compassionate, healthy, energetic, and delightful because that's what I believe I am....I chose them because I struggle to believe those things about myself.  And I can tell you, the more I have repeated that in my mind, the more calm, compassionate, healthy, energetic and delightful I have been able to feel in that moment.  Can it be that I am starting to believe them more?  It gives me strength to do things I might otherwise not have done.

These words can. change. me.
(Because that was another mantra of the conference, "For things to change, I must change.")

Just five words - out of thousands.

(Though, as I write this, it’s past meal time and I don't have any plans to make it and I let a stream of complaints and general disgruntlement flow out of my mouth earlier.  And there's the fact that I still haven't gotten around to doing some of our "SBL" outings this summer.  And when my son reminded me for the third (+) time that he STILL needs new soccer cleats due to his first game being in just 2 1/2 weeks, and my youngest [unedited] daughter asks why I have all those "red dots" on my chin…  I should have responded, “Because I’m HEALTHY…and ENERGETIC…and DELIGHTFUL…”)

So......

What are your words?

It Owns Me

Ever since I started wearing my new Fitbit (first full day was Dec. 26) I HAVE to get my 10,000 steps a day.
 
If it is 11:00 p.m. and I haven't yet achieved my steps, I will "sneak out" to go walking around the neighborhood to get them.  Apparently, the first time I did this, someone at home "needed" me (WHEN don't they need me?) and they couldn't find me, and no one knew where I was, and mayhem broke loose.  When I returned, Matt requested I please inform them in the future if I am going out.....ya know, in case something happens to me.  Like what?!?  Get abducted by aliens up the street?!?
If the day is almost over, and I don't have my steps AND we're experiencing inclement weather, I will pace back & forth on our covered porch.  Or run up & down the stairs.  Or do laps in our garage.
If I'm thirsty and need a drink of water, I STOP myself from asking someone else to get it for me......because if I get up and get it myself, that tacks on several extra steps.
If I need something while I'm making dinner from the cold storage room in the basement,  I don't call for Kyle anymore like I always used to......I want the steps myself!
It's no longer one of my kid's jobs to go and get the mail.....because if I get it, I know that's another 250 steps!

I'm telling you - I'm a SLAVE to this Fitbit.
I WILL NOT let myself NOT get my 10,000 steps a day.
EVERY day.
EVEN on the weekend.
If I let myself go just one day without getting my steps, then it'll just be easier to go another day, and then another, and another.....and I DON'T want that to happen!

 (BTW, it says 0 on the water because I would have to manually enter it in....and I don't.  I just like the Fitbit to crunch all the numbers for me.)  

I mostly wanted to start doing it for health & fitness, but ya know what's ALSO happened?  That was a pleasant surprise? 

I'm spending MORE TIME with my family and children!  The kind of TIME where I'm really WITH them.

Because I'll ask if anyone wants to go out and walk with me - and someone usually does.  Katelyn & I just walk & talk about her favorite subject - The Pioneer Woman (she's the one who "introduced" me to the Fitbit in the first place).....and then Katelyn asks when we can do that again!  ;)

Matt has decided he has to protect me against those "aliens," so he'll come out walking with me at night and we walk & talk.

One day, I needed a bunch of steps, so Brookelle, Katelyn, & I went up to our church.  I thought we'd just do laps around the church, but, NO, they had a grand idea to play "Tag."  So I obliged.  We were up there all night.....or at least an hour!  And I was "It" the majority of the time! (Because I kept getting caught!)  They LOVED it and didn't want to quit, even though I kept "suggesting" we did. (my bladder can only take so much "Tag!")  Again, Katelyn repeatedly asks when we can do that again! 

I ask her, "WHY?" 

And she tells me, "It was so fun." 

And I say, "Really?!?  'Cause I totally stunk at it."  

And she says, "No, you didn't.  You were really good.  You can run fast.....for a Mom your age!" 

And I say, "No......you always tagged me, and I couldn't catch you very much."

And she said, "THAT'S why it was so fun!"

Instead of driving my child to her friend's house to play, I walk her over there......and then I walk back when it's time to come home.  And Brookelle talks my ear off the whole way.

Same goes for getting Katelyn to Activity Days.

I'm also walking to the school after school to meet my girls and walk home with them (& their friends - gotta take advantage of that while it's still happening).  I heard Katelyn explaining to one of her friends, "Ya know how some moms pick their kids up from school and give them a ride home?  Well, our mom picks us up from school and then makes us walk home!"



I'm liking this "by-product" of my Fitbit (more time spent together with my fam) that I didn't realize would be one of the results.  My family is all on board with the idea.  They will frequently ask where I'm at for the day - and WANT me to accomplish my 10,000 every day.  Good thing, because my obsession dedication would exist with or without their support. ;)  I love it!

I ALSO overheard Katelyn tell one of her friends, "My mom has a Fitbit, and she HAS to get 10,000 steps a day.  She's going to do that EVERY day until my brother gets home from his mission, and then she's going to be SKINNY!"

Oh, WOW!  The pressure's ON!

Celebrate 100

All of our elementary school kids through the years have always made a big "to do" on The 100th Day of School.

Everything they do that day revolves around the number 100.

* Math problems that equal 100.
* Counting to 100.
* Bringing 100 of some object to show the class what 100 looks like.  (When Ryan was in kindergarten, he took 100 Happy Meal toys....with instructions from me to give them to all his classmates!  No joke - we had that many.  How embarrassing!  It's when Matt was working at Hertz, and those toys were left in cars, unclaimed, All. The. Time.  The sad thing was, even after I had him gather up 100.....we still had some junkin' up the playroom!)
* Doing a word search where the only word to search for was, "hundred" like a hundred times.
* Drawing pictures of what you will look like when you are a 100 years old.
* Finding as many words as you can from the word, "Hundred."  (like "red" & "run")
* Making lists of 100 something or other.
Etc., etc.....you get the point.

SOOOO, taking inspiration from all THAT, we did our own recognition of and celebrating for The 100th Day of Ryan's Elder Brenchley's Mission.  Which happened to be December 4th.

We made him a "100" list: "The Top 100 Things we Love About You" and then folded it up, put it in a big [decorated] manila envelope, and sent it to him.

You can't see much of them, but there are things like:

• You have a big heart
• You bring high energy to your interactions with others
• You show interest in the things we do
• You give up your chair for others
• Playfulness
• Blue eyes
• Values & morals
• Enthusiasm
• Loyalty
• Your middle name (it's "Matthew" - guess who put that one?  haha!)

At first, I thought 100 was A LOT (too many?), but once I got writing, I was on a roll!  I got to #78 all by myself, then I figured I better let the rest of the family finish up the last of the list.  :)

Here's to 100 more days.....

And then 100 more...

And 100 more....

And 100....

Then throw in 100 + 100 + 30 more days!

This Weekend:

* Our elementary school had a “Color Run” and Silent Auction this Saturday.
 No one wanted to really run, but they wanted to get “colored” so we went down
to the school for the event anyway.

  They had a couple of “COLOR BOMBS” as a group out on the field, so Katelyn & Brookelle got all pink, blue, green, yellow, & orange.
Katelyn DID jump in for the 1K (without an official race number bib) and ran with a bunch of kids.   
One of the baskets in the auction was a U of U theme, so Katelyn TOTALLY wanted to get it
(in honor of her die-hard-Utes-fan missionary brother)!
There was another boy classmate of hers that was hanging around close by
to always UP his bid on the U of U basket if anyone else ever placed a bid.
She got it out of him that he had $100 that he was capable of bidding for it.
She was BEGGING and BEGGING me to give her $105 so she could beat that other boy!  Ummm....NOT going to happen!!!
  (Actually, I think he was mostly trying to flirt/tease her just to see her get riled up,
and so that she would keep talking to him and paying attention to him!
I could see it in his smile & eyes!)


* My nephew, and my kids' cousin, Cameron, tested for his BLACK BELT
in Tae Kwon Do on Saturday afternoon.  It was a 3 HOUR test!
We went for the last half to cheer him on.  There were 7 boys total testing.  Interestingly enough, there were multiple times
when one of the boys couldn’t quite make his kick high enough or clear a hurdle he was jumping, so the owner of the dojo would ask his peeps to cheer for him,
and it seemed like EVERY TIME their crowd started making some noise/chanting his name, the boy was able to DO IT!
Who doesn't believe in moral support?!  There's POWER in it, I tell ya!

  As part of the test, they had to break boards – 4 with their hands with different kinds of strikes,
 and 4 with their feet with different kinds of kicks all in consecutive order.
The owner and his assistant held two of the boards, but then the boy was suppose to pull
two other people from his crowd to hold the other two.
Kyle said, “I ain’t holdin’ no board!”
He was afraid his wrist would break when Cameron hit it.
So, Cameron's dad, Mike, and Matt were the ones who went out on the floor to hold the boards.
The photographer got a pic RIGHT AS he was striking the board Matt was holding.
Look at Matt's face -  SO FUNNY!
BUT, Cameron is OFFICIALLY A BLACK BELT, now!!!!
What a great accomplishment – we are happy for him!

* Matt & I had tickets to the ReAL game on Saturday night, so we went – someone spilled beer at my feet, so it was pretty exciting!  haha.

2-0 WIN vs. the San Jose Earthquakes

 

* We went to the missionary farewell of one of Ryan's long time friends' (all through childhood) on Sunday morning.
He is going to FIJI and he GETS  to wear a SKIRT with his white shirt & black missionary name tag on his mission!
(THINK:  “The Other Side of Heaven” movie)  COOL!

{Jared & Ryan, circa 2008}

I can't believe these two little boys are grown up, serving missions now!!!

  * We went to our own church later.
Some of the pink is still in the girls' hair/on their scalp TODAY
and they still have it around their mouths a bit, too!  Nice look for church!  haha

* One of my former Young Women was the youth speaker in our own ward (I'm so proud of "my" YW!)
She gave a talk on the parable of The Great Supper (Luke 14:16-24).
I’d kind of forgotten about it, but it is a really good!
When she was talking about how the man invited many, but most of them had excuses
why they couldn’t come, I leaned over to Matt and said,  
“That sounds like what happens to us; whenever we invite other couples to go out with us!”   
Bwa ha ha ha!
BUT, THE REAL MESSAGE is about US fully partaking of the Gospel, without excuses, and then we will receive the FULL blessings.


* My Sunday evenings are now spent writing my weekly letter to our missionary, Ryan, so
when he reads his email on Monday (his one P-day a week), he will have the latest
updates from home.

20 Years Down, An Eternity to Go

THEN:

{9/9/94}

NOW:

{9/9/14}

We've been married 20 years!

*And we haven't changed at all in the past 20 years, have we?!?*

We finally made it to The Anniversary Inn for the first time, after 20 years!

They spoiled us with warm cookies, bottled water, cheesecake, & sparkling cider in our room - and delivered breakfast the following morning...because let's face it, 20 years is cause to celebrate!

Do you notice I keep mentioning, "20 Years"??

20 Years is kind of a BIG DEAL!

I used to think 20 years was such a long time - but it hasn't really seemed that long!

(Or am I just in denial?.....because when someone has, in fact, been married 20 years, it means they're not exactly a "young pup" anymore!!)  ;)

It just so happened, that our missionary son, Ryan, was flying out to the mission field

THIS morning, and he was allowed to call us from the airport, 

so as we were nestled all snug in our bed in The Palace Suite,

the phone rang at 6:50 a.m.!

But, I didn't mind, it was GREAT to talk to him.

(I just couldn't fall back to sleep very easily afterwards.)

THAT was such a huge, important decision to make 20 years ago - it kind of freaks me out

when I consider how young people make that decision (only in their 20's!) - but, for me, it was a RIGHT & WONDERFUL one.  I am so blessed & glad that I did!

Happy [20th] Anniversary, Matt!

XOXOX

In the Right Place at the Right Time

Ryan's day at the St. George Temple....

going for the first time to receive his own endowments.

 To find out more about temples, click HERE.

So GLAD for his choice to be there!

So GLAD to be there with him!

What a BLESSING the temple is!
It IS the House of the Lord - I could feel it!

Because of the temple, we can be a Forever Family = JOY.

------------

*For a history enthusiast like Ryan, the St. George temple holds a special meaning since the spirits of our country's Founding Fathers visited [the then President of the Church] Wilford Woodruff requesting that their temple work be performed for them.  A great painting (an artist's rendition of Pres. Woodruff's testimony) and plaque with all the men's names on it is displayed inside this temple.  Read about this interesting fact in THIS article.

May Madness

About a year ago, when I was talking to a friend, who has kids the same ages as my kids, she brought it to my attention that we would have children in the oldest grade of every school in 2014.
I realized THEN that we were going to have a VERY BUSY MAY!!!  And boy howdy, was our calendar ever cram packed!!

Haylee would graduate from Elementary School!

(Do you like how she "dresses up" for this Special Occasion?  She says it's WHO SHE IS, so I agreed to disagree.)

Kyle would graduate from Jr. High School!

And, I don't know how this is possible......

.....but somehow he donned this cap & gown......

....because it was time for my own son, Ryan, to graduate from High School!

Wasn't I just in that situation myself?!?

 

REALLY.  I can't be this old!!!

But, before we could even get to all these graduation ceremonies, our May was also filled to the brim with other things:

 Katelyn's final school choir concert

Brookelle's End-of-Kindergarten program

{Spot the yellow pants?}

Haylee (& the 6th grade) also had:

D.A.R.E. graduation

3 Field Trips

End of Level testing

Medieval Feast 

Greek Olympics

Swimming Pool party

6th Grade vs. Teachers Basketball game
Field Day

Kyle also had:

2 A.P. Exams (Human Geography & Environmental Science)

Field Trip to City Creek Center (to "study" urban life!)

9th Grade Honors Recognition Ceremony
9th Grade Dance

9th Grade Lagoon Day

Ryan had:
A.P. Exam (U.S. Government)

Baccalaureate Services

Seminary Graduation

Senior Picture

Senior Scholarship Awards Ceremony

Spring Fling

Graduation orientation/rehearsal

End-of-High-School stomp

 the "Looking Back" assembly which he M.C.'d
(these 4 students, Parker, Ryan, Sierra, & Amanda, M.C.'d together and had many, many rehearsals & filming sessions)

All Night graduation party 

(that Matt & I served at - then Matt went to work the next day and I threw a birthday party for Brookelle!  Can you say, "Bleary Eyed" or "Crazy"?)

{I was doing A LOT of praying for these kiddos this month - especially on test days!}

AND we get to do this again in THREE years when Kyle is a senior, Haylee a 9th grader, & Katelyn a 6th grader.

THEN we get to do it again in SIX years when Haylee is a senior, Katelyn is a 9th grader, & Brookelle is a 6th grader.

After that, we'll only have 2 or 1 graduations in the same year -- unless there's some college ones that happen to fall in 2023 or 2026.

THIS is an amazing time of our life.....but can I nap in June now?  ;)

Let it Be Known - Round 2

My 2nd boy has now passed me up in height!

He's definitely feeling pretty good about himself.

And by the way....doesn't his [shorter] hair look GREAT?!? ;) 

 {Here's closer proof!}

Although, he IS proud of this milestone -- passing me up alone is not what he considers his greatest victory. (After all, I'm only [a very unimpressive] 5'3".)

What he is MOST proud of is that he did it at age 14 yrs. and 2 1/2 months.........
STILL, not that impressive alone.....BUT consider THIS:

Ryan did not accomplish this until he was 14 yrs. and 7 months!!!

So, therefore, Kyle WON!  :)
(It's another one of those ongoing, unofficial competitions these boys have going between them!)

Now, Kyle has big aspirations to pass up his [6' 3"] dad, too!
{Ha!  With ME in his genetic make up?}

A boy can dream, can't he?!?  ;)

Resolutions Report

I know, I know.....January is already A THIRD of the way over and I haven't even made my New Year's Resolutions for 2014, yet!  What a slacker.  ;) 
I'm hesitant to do it.....and I think I know WHY.  It MAY have something to do with the fact that I already KNOW I wasn't even 100% on my last year's ones!
I wrote them on this blog o' mine, to hold myself accountable, so it's not like I could just "forget" about them ever existing!  {darn}

But, maybe I have to "close out" 2013 before I can move on to 2014???
So, here's the "Report."

1. Invite another couple to go out to dinner with us every month 
THIS one was suppose to be a FUN goal!  And it was......when we could get another couple to accept our invitation, that is!  ;)

THANKS FOR THE GOOD TIMES:

Page's

Sears'

Maxwell's

Knudsen's

Badham's

Lacy's

Waters'

Peterson's

Bryson's

Wood's

It actually turned out to be really tricky....and I hadn't expected it to be!  

At times, I had a High School Flashback - like I was getting turned down for dates, and all!  (Not that I asked too many people out on dates in H.S., but all those awkward/vulnerable/rejection/uneasy/wanting-to-be-accepted gumbo feelings are all related)  Matt, the eternal optimist, would try to tell me that people's schedules are just busy and it's hard to always match up with ours.  And, also, that a surprising number of couples are not even used to going out on weekly, or even monthly, dates.  I, on the other hand, assumed it meant that all these people who had excuses weren't able to go would rather poke needles in their eyes than go out with US!  (Is it ME?  Is it MATT?  Or is it the combination of the two of us?)  We take showers, and Matt wears cologne!!  (maybe THAT IS the issue? ;))
Report:  So, we actually were able to go out with another couple 11 out of the 12 months this year.  
BUT, I will confess; one month, we got invited - by relatives - and we "counted" it anyway.  The other month we missed, we happened to be at Station Park on the very last day, and we ran into some others we knew, and we sat together at an outdoor table to eat our treats, and talked for just a little while.....Matt thinks we should "count" that, too, and call it 100% accomplished!  
But, I'm more.....shall we say, "exact" in observing the rules, so if you ask me, I don't count either of those, and we only had 10 out of 12 for 83%.  
BUT, on the other hand, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says TO INVITE another couple out, not actually TO GO (I just had the misconception that the two would go hand in hand).  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY, we WERE 100% in our inviting - even 110% - because sometimes we invited multiple couples before we got any takers.  So, YEA, check that one off, after all!?!

2. Get ready IN THE MORNING
I thought this one would be hard....and it was.
There is such a PULL for me to just hit the ground running in the morning to get things done - and getting ready just seems to get in the way of all that!  So, I really had to force myself to do this against my own natural urges.
Report:  I did this usually 5 out of 7 days (with Saturday frequently being the day I didn't)  So, I was about 71%.  Which is 5X better than it was before I started this goal! says Matt, the eternal optimist.  But, it's still not an instinctive habit.  {dang}

3. Write more on my blog
Even thought I really enjoy this one....it was hard to get it done!  There were too many days that had no blogging time in them. 
Report:  I had a frequency in my head, that I kept quiet - AND was super lofty, of how often I wanted to write on my blog.  Did I reach that number?  No.
BUT, again, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says to write MORE.  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY (and the yearly count blogger so conveniently adds up for me) I did indeed write more than in 2012 and in 2011!  So, check it off?  Sure! says Matt, the eternal optimist.....or is that defined as a "short cutter?"  ;)   

4. Healthier Lifestyle
OK.....remember how I was going to introduce a new healthy thing per month and write on my blog about it?  Well, I did it in January, February, and March.....and then STOPPED!  Well, I stopped writing about it after March, and I stopped doing anything new one month later, in April.  I didn't even get to the "eat breakfast" month or the "reduce soda" month, let alone the "control your condiments/toppings" month or "more sleep" month.  (Probably because I knew they were too lofty?!?)
Report:  I sucked it up on this one.  Even though, I planned and announced my new thing those first few months, I never did do well at weight lifting in February, so I give myself a 16%.  And that's not even me being my usual "hard on myself/holding myself to high expectations" self!  That's the cold, hard truth.  Matt even has no comment.

5. Make new recipes out of ward cookbook
This totally should've been easy, and yummy....but I kinda forgot about it for the majority of the year, AND I had a heck of a time finding coconut pudding mix! (pina colada dip)
Report:  Buffalo Dip - check!
Famous Dip - check!
Pina Colada Fruit Dip - not until just last week, so it was already 2014....and since this was a 2013 goal, I was 66%.  (But, Matt would tell me to "count" it, of course!)  ;)

Final Verdict?  According to me:  I flopped!  According to Matt:  I achieved!
So, now that I've analyzed it all and "talked through" the rulings some, MAYBE I CAN do something for 2014.....

It is with great reluctance, I present to you my goals for the new year:
 
I saw THIS on Pinterest which I'm interested in, so here goes:

5 BOOKS I WANT TO READ:
(Let's go with the ones that are on my shelf right now)
She Got Up Off the Couch (a sequel to the one I was reading back here)
Reached
Fairy Godmothers, Inc.
The Book of Mormon (before our "Moroni's Quest" Youth Conference in June)
My Story (Elizabeth Smart)

4 PLACES I WANT TO SEE:
Nauvoo, IL
Cape Canaveral, FL (specifically the Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort)
the different islands in Hawaii (via cruise?)
Disneyland

3 THINGS I WANT TO DO:
Be in the family cast of the Nauvoo Pageant
Finish Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Brookelle
Fill those empty spaces in our home with furniture & finally hanging things on the walls.

2 THINGS I WANT TO LEARN:
Gluten-Free baking/cooking
How to do a photo slideshow with music

1 THING I WANT TO CHANGE:
Give more compliments/encouragement to others.


There was also THIS ONE on Pinterest that I thought I'd do.  (some things are the same as above)

A BAD HABIT I'M GOING TO BREAK:  Staying up late (when I don't HAVE to because of work)...just to do [sometimes frivolous] things like surfing the internet, late-night T.V., and "getting one more thing done."  {Don't look at the time stamp of this post!} ;)

A NEW SKILL I'D LIKE TO LEARN:  See questionnaire above

A PERSON I'D LIKE TO BE MORE LIKE:  Jesus Christ - particularly His attributes of being calm, non-judgmental, & patient.  (Did I just describe Matt?  I believe I did!  Opposites attract?!?)

A GOOD DEED I'M GOING TO DO:  Keeping this one to myself....I want it to be anonymous!  ;)

A PLACE I'D LIKE TO VISIT:  See questionnaire above

A BOOK I'D LIKE TO READ:  See questionnaire above

A LETTER I'M GOING TO WRITE:  Maybe my OWN MISSIONARY SON? (possibly at the end of the year?)  If not, my Young Women at church or my children's Primary teachers - ANY or ALL.

A NEW FOOD I'D LIKE TO TRY:  Korean or Indian - our neighbors said they know some good places to take us!

I'M GOING TO DO BETTER AT:  Exercising in the winter.  My friend has recommended Bikini Body Mommy.  Apparently, it has a work out every day - and it started on Jan. 6th.....and I am going to start sometime....anytime now!  ;)

I shall look back on this post next year and either be really proud of myself....or extremely disappointed...

WHAT 2014 GOALS DO YOU HAVE?

Good Thing I'm Not a Betting [Wo]Man

ONLY BECAUSE OF my and my husband's impending absence next week due to [hopefully] being on a Mexican Riviera cruise, we decided to let our 2 1/2-weeks-away-from-being-17-yrs.-old son get his Driver's License -- TEMPORARILY -- even though he has not obtained his Eagle Scout yet, (the prerequisite in this family) so he could be the chauffeur to and from all the places he and his siblings need to go in an average week - and it would not drive their caretakers absolutely INSANE with their crazy schedule that they aren't used to at all!

TEMPORARILY being the KEY WORD.  He can ONLY drive while we are gone.....when we return, we are taking his Driver's License away until he gets his Eagle Scout - or until we go out of town again - whichever comes first!  :)

So, I called the Driver's License Division to schedule his road test (as per instructions on their website.)  Well, in doing so, we found out that his Driver's Ed Instructor had never entered his results into the database, so they would not let me schedule an appointment until that happened.  I also found out that his Learner's Permit had expired 5 months ago, so he shouldn't have even been driving with us anymore!  (woops!)  But at least his written score was good for one more month and he didn't have to take THAT again (assuming he could pass the road test.)  So, I spent the next little while texting Ryan back & forth telling him to go talk to his teachers.  I, myself, was also calling the school and leaving voice messages on both the teacher of the class and his instructor he did his driving with....because we needed to get him in BEFORE we left town!  I made a few more calls to the DMV and between that all, we got the proof needed entered into the system.  LUCKILY, there was one cancellation this week that they could fit him in before we departed.

Then my son started texting me:
Why do I have to take a road test?

{Duh!!!}  So, they can determine if you're safe/good/smart enough to be out on the roads!!!  (I didn't actually text him that.)

I just told him someone from the State needs to put their "stamp of approval" on his license, if he's going to get one.

Then he told me that NONE OF HIS FRIENDS had to take the test.....that they already did it in Driver's Ed.

Yeah, right!!  (I thought)  These dumb silly teenagers!

I tried to tell him that all those driving hours he did were JUST his driving PRACTICE & EDUCATION, not an actual test.

Are you SURE?  he asked.

Of course!  I'm the Mom.....besides that's just the way it was back in my day when I was 16 (+ 5 weeks!)  I had to take the test.  Your Dad had to take the test.  Everyone has to take the test!

So, I checked him out of school - out of his hardest class, Calculus, no less - for the ONLY available appointment all week to take him to the Driver's License Division.

The whole way there he was complaining about him not thinking this was neccesary, and that no one he knows has taken a road test with some government official.....and that HE'S MISSING CALCULUS!!!
He asked me some form of "Are you sure?" and "Why?" a half a dozen times on the ride there.

In between all his comments, I was coaching him on making sure NOT to speed or drive up into any of the snow banks, or else they would flunk him on the spot.  I also told him he would FOR SURE have to either parallel park or make a 3+ point turn.  AND on top of that, snow had started to lightly fall, so he'd have to be very careful, as well.

I had him clean out the car and put everything into a bag so the "judge" wouldn't get a bad first impression and not pass him right from the beginning.  I also brought a book and other activities for myself and Miss B. to occupy ourselves with during his hour long(?) road test.

We (I) filled out his application (he still doesn't know our new home address) and took it up to the counter......and then I told the receptionist that my son thought he didn't have to take the road test due to having passed Driver's Ed.  Funny boy, isn't he?!?

AND THEN......

.......she checks in her handy dandy computer.....and says, "THAT'S RIGHT.  We've got his "Certificate of Completion" right here!"

WHAT?!?

ALL HE HAD TO DO was get his picture taken and pay $30.00 (well, I did.)  And it turns out he could've done that any dang time of the day -- WITHOUT an appointment -- and especially NOT during Calculus class.  We were in and out of there in less than 30 minutes, with his new D.L. in hand!

What happened to the way things were done "Back in MY day?"  I had to go out alone with some intimidating, uniformed, stranger dude..... and make a U-TURN in our family's big Suburban!  (Apparently, that part IS done as part of Driver's Ed. in the schools these days.  Who knew?  Not me.)


The whole way back to school, my son kept saying, "WE TOTALLY SHOULD'VE BET ON THIS!"

76

THAT is the magic number.

THAT is the number of times we had to show our home before we got our first offer!

Yes, I said 76.
As in SEVENTY SIX!
Like 70 + 6
or 6 + 70
or 7 tens + 6 ones
or 6 ones + 7 tens
or one more than 75
or one less than 77

CAN YOU TELL I HAVE A 1ST GRADER?   (And I've been overseeing/correcting 1st Grade Math homework a lot lately?  That is, when I haven't been showing our home/preparing our home for a showing.)

Yep, we showed it 54 times the first time around we had it up For Sale, a 13 3/4 month period between Nov. 2010 - Dec. 2011.

And then we showed it 23 times this time around since we've had it up For Sale over the last five weeks.
(We've continued to show it, even after the 1st offer, and will until it's a "done deal" - in case you're wondering why the numbers don't add up!)

If you're one of those people who sold their house to the first person who ever looked at it...you are my new worst enemy!  Especially if you told me of "your experience" while I was in the middle of mine!

I've written a time or two about the "perils" of showing a house:
Who Ya Gonna Call?
My Punishment
A Simple Math Equation
Inspiration from Late Night T.V.
This is the Story of my Life
Here We Go Again

BUT, as a "consolation prize" for showing it 76 TIMES  --  did I mention it was 76 times?  --  we then got THREE OFFERS!   

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS!

It's the Day After Palm Sunday

Do you know what that means?
It means Lent is over.

I made it 40 days - and was 100% on my "No Candy" resolve.

Did I notice a difference? you ask?

Why Yes! (thanks for asking!) I got on the scale this morning......

AND it had changed by 5 pounds.....in the upward direction!

What the ???????????

So, if it doesn't even matter anyway..... I just went ahead and helped myself to a couple of Caramacs my in-laws just brought us back from Hawaii.

Lo, and Behold!

An old lady with a non-athletic looking body,
who is laden with foot/knee/hip/back ailments
went and got herself 3rd Place in the triathlon today, female age 30-49 division.

(And, for the record, it's totally not fair to be grouped together with those 30 yr. old young chicks!!!)

{Instead of trophies or ribbons, they gave out hard hats with your place printed on it -- because it's LABOR DAY -- ya get it?!?}

Kinda cute...and interesting, but definitely an addition to our costume box! :)

This should be a TESTAMENT to everyone....ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!

I Just Don't Get It

Ever since we moved to Farmington, I have made it a tradition to run the 5K/10K races on our town's annual celebration, "Festival Days." With the exception of one other year, I have been the sole participant from our family, although everyone else is always welcome. (And it has been a "dream" of mine that we all run it together.) When we were writing our "Summer Bucket List" at the beginning of June, I was pleased that one of Ryan's SBL items was running the Farmington Festival Days 5K as a family. There were some snickers, rolling of eyes, looks of "yeah, right!" and general lack of enthusiasm, but it was NOT vetoed off the SBL.

Soooo....I have spent the Summer getting up early five mornings a week and going out "training." I have got up while Matt was still snoring away in the bed next to me. I have wished I could still be in the bed next to him! I have, most mornings, NOT wanted to get up and go run. BUT, I have. I have while Kyle & Katelyn waited, hiding in the cubby hole under the stairs, until I left so they could sit there [on their butts] watching on early morning T.V. I have gone out while Ryan & Haylee were still dead to the world in deep slumber. And when I returned home from running, the "activities" of my family still resembled that of the life of a SLUG.

Prior to the race, Matt & the boys went out a total of TWO different evenings running/walking/jumping around (Kyle).

Katelyn had WALKED a little over 2 miles with me - ONCE.

Haylee had NEVER gone out and trained whatsoever.

However, Miss B has become quite the proficient "stroller rider" - she has years of experience!

So, help me understand HOW ON EARTH, THAT kind of "preparation" got these kind of results:

FIRST to finish from our family: Kyle (No adult available to take photos)

SECOND: Matt - pushing Miss B in the jogging stroller the whole way.

THIRD: Haylee
15 yards ahead of....

FOURTH: Ryan

And then they all hung around.....waiting....and waiting...and waiting. It was later reported to me by my kids that, while they were waiting, Matt was voicing concerns like Did they get lost? Did they get injured along the way? Is Mom passed out?

(Thanks, Honey!)

Until finally....

FIFTH: Katelyn
SIXTH: Me

They were all well rested, while my heart was still pounding and sweat was dripping down all over my body, by the time we were able to all get together for this post-race group shot.

I will say that I [took the higher road and] volunteered to stay with the girls, so they wouldn't get lost or be alone. Turns out, Haylee didn't even need me - she left me in the dust during the first half mile. She ran the whole thing. Never ran one step prior to the race and then beats the majority of us! I just Don't get it!

Katelyn, on the other hand, needed me repeating the mantra of The Little Engine that Could to her every other minute. I think I Can. I think I Can. I think I Can. Because after she ran the first mile and a half - SHE WAS ABLE TO RUN A WHOLE MILE AND A HALF STRAIGHT WITHOUT HAVING PRACTICED RUNNING BEFORE (I just Don't get it) - she spent the next mile and a half whining/crying/complaining, I can't do this, I'm NOT running next year, I can't do this, My feet hurt, I can't do this, WHY did you make me do this - I didn't want to, I can't do this, My tummy hurts, This is too hard, I can't do this, My ear hurts, I can't do this.

After she ran that first mile and a half, I let her walk, and held her hand most of the rest of the race.

Then we ran for five minutes.

Then we walked some.

Then we ran for three minutes.

Then we walked.

Then we ran for one minute. (I was losing her!)

Then we walked.

Then I pulled her, running the last stretch, because you HAVE to run the last stretch across the finish line - it's one of [my] unwritten rules...then sent/pushed her ahead to finish before me at the last moment. But, truth be told, our overall pace was very comfortable for me! I'm glad I had the "excuse!" :)

It was eerily similar to when I made Kyle do it with me four years ago when he was age 7. And now, fast forward to this year and look how far he's come, baby...

He got the "Gold Medal" - finishing 1st Place in his age group - with a time of just 22 minutes! I just Don't get it.

And THEN, during the medal ceremony, Matt's name [unexpectedly] got called, too! He got the "Bronze Medal" - finishing 3rd in his age group - running a faster 5K than I have ever run in all my years (30+) of racing with a time of 28:00. I just Don't get it. Matt did say it helped that, with his 40th birthday this year, it bumped him up to the 40-49 age group. He was considered the young, spry one in the group. But, still.....he ran twice this summer. The only other cardio exercise he can claim is playing on a Indoor Soccer team....but this summer, it's been very sporadic - only 1-2 times a month.

Even though "I just Don't get" (AND IT'S SOOO NOT FAIR!) with my family's training/performance ratio, I am glad we did it TOGETHER. It is a fun tradition that we will continue for years to come.

{Hopefully, it's like childbirth - and Katelyn will have forgotten the "pain" by next year!}

We've come a LONG WAY, Baby!

See this cute, little boy?

Don't let it FOOL you! ;)

When he was this age, haircuts were a NIGHTMARE!!! With a Capital "N!" Seriously. He reacted as if he were getting murdered! And that is not an exaggeration. He screamed THE. WHOLE. TIME. And not just screamed, he S.C.R.E.A.M.E.D. And, FYI: suckers, water guns, Popsicles, books, fruit snacks, and/or dinosaurs, etc. DID NOT work.

I learned quickly that it was a TWO-MAN job! I enlisted Matt to physically restrain him, while I did the haircut. In fact, it was probably more than a two-man job, but I didn't have anyone else to help me. I even tried taking him elsewhere for the haircut in case he only "acted up" for me. Nope. It was torture there, too. Never again. I vowed to keep the ballistics contained at our house, and out of the public eye after that. We also learned that we couldn't give him a haircut in front of the other children, because it would traumatize them! (Remember, he was a "murder victim.") And, finally, we learned, by sad experience, that when we waited until naptime (so the baby wouldn't be a witness) to give the haircut, his "fight for his life" woke up the baby! GASP! Now, THAT, as any parent knows, is simply unacceptable!

So, we moved the haircut scene outside to our back deck in an effort to protect the baby's precious naptime - she still heard him (the nursery is in the back of our home) and was awakened. So, the next time we relocated outside to the front porch. Did being outdoors reign in my boy's dramatics? No. Not one bit. And as a result, during the "haircut show", we had neighbors peeking their heads out their doors (literally) to see just WHO was being murdered on our street. And then the cops proceeded to show up at our place due to complaints of "disturbing the peace" and we were arrested for child abuse and put in jail! Nah, just kidding on that last part --- when we saw the suspicious neighbors, we high-tailed it down to Wal-mart and went into hiding there before we could get caught by the police. Oh, wait....Wal-mart hadn't come to our town way back then yet...Oh, I remember, we went and hid in the trashy tent trailer that was parked at the side of our house and escaped the altercation with the Officials that way instead. ;) But, seriously, I wasn't lying when I said it was a nightmare!

In fact, I'm sitting here surprised that he even has a nice, short hair-do in this photo. I'm surprised that instead of putting myself through that, I just didn't let him go for the "hippy" hair look during that "phase." He must've been my 2nd child - and I was a "young" (READ: inexperienced) Mom!)

So, anyway....Where am I going with this?!?

Fast Forward ONE YEAR....

OK - I don't want to embarrass him too badly - it's been four years, maybe five.

My son CAME TO ME a couple of days ago, and practically PLEADED with me to give him a haircut!!!

(Here's proof)

And so I did. By myself.

And there was no screaming, no thrashing about, no outbursts, no blood, sweat & tears. The baby remained asleep and other members of my family walked in and out without fear and trembling. In fact, when Ryan AND Matt came by, they both said, "Can I be next?" That's how FUN it looked! :)

But, I do think HELL may have frozen over!