This is the Story of my Life

It was the story when my boys were toddlers.

It was the story when my boys were preschoolers.

It was the story when my boys were "little boys."

It was the story when my boys were "Big Boys."

It was the story in their "Tweens."

And, believe it or not, It's STILL the story of 15 1/2 and almost-12 yr. old "Young Men!"

When does this story end?!?

It's really great for trying to sell a home, let me tell ya! @$%&*?! New damages all the time!

******
NO LIE....just as I was about to hit "publish post".... Kyle bobbled his football he was tossing about in the Living Room and it went right into the plant cart!
GO get the broom!!

******
P.S. I LOVE Family Circus comic strip

I decorate with newspaper clippings taped to my door. I DECORATE with NEWSPAPER clippings TAPED to my door??

I walked down the hall to my bedroom this week, and this is what I saw...

Here's a closer look...

Can you guess who it was from?!?

I knew right away that this was a "friendly" gesture from our own resident High Schooler, a Viewmont Viking (I can hardly utter the words!), to his mother, a Bountiful Braves Alumni.

(The two schools happened to have the biggest rivalry going on back in my day.)
I hear things are a little different today, though.

His siblings also experienced great delight in the joke that was played on Mom! A good ol' Rub in the Face. (Notice how he underlined the word, "again.")

I ask -- WHERE have I gone wrong as a Mother?!? Apparently I have not passed on to my offspring a proper love of "the mighty Red and Gray." WHY are they not bowing down three times and singing the praises of BHS every time we're in the neighborhood and drive by my awesome High School? And, even worse, WHY are they fond of the enemy?

I tried to tell them when I was doing my recent Triathlon, the running route took me right up the street in front of that other school (Viewmont), and it was like Kryptonite to my body. While VHS was in sight, I. COULD. NOT. RUN. FAST(ER). Walkers were passing me!
Seriously, it was the slowest leg of my run. My feet were in cement - all the positive energy was drained right out of me.

They didn't believe me one bit.

They attributed my weakness to a myriad of other things (age, uphill conditions, improper breakfast, the weather, a Monday morning, weight, inexperience, non-athleticism, bad hair day, Facebook illiterate, etc.)

But that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

The newspaper clipping "accidentally" ended up in the garbage.
Tragic! :)

I Can't Plug my Nose for That Long

Dear Lady with the Stinky Feet sitting next to me at the Theatre last night,

PLEASE....You can't do that to people!!
The smell fills up the whole row!
(and it was my birthday.)

May I suggest you either:

• wash your feet
• launder your socks
• don't shower in your socks (like my nephew did!)
  
• refrain from walking in gutters with running water/snow/streams in your sneakers and then not airing them out properly
• put your shoes through a washing machine cycle
• spray febreeze all over the insides of your shoes
  
• get new sneakers
• and if you can't afford to buy a new pair, enter this contest for the prize money - you're sure to win! (since the contest is only for children ages 5-15, you'll have to have one of them use YOUR sneakers in your behalf! But it's also proof this should be MORE of a "child's problem.")
  
• wear a different pair of shoes out in public
  
• give me your address and I will personally ship you some of these
• find a new [honest] "Theatre friend" -- Friends don't let friends come to the Theatre with stinky feet!
  

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Tender Nostrils

Tuesday

With a new High Schooler this year, who has to catch the bus at 6:50a.m. - yes, as in 6:50 in the morning - we've had to move our family scripture reading time up to 6:30a.m. now.

Oh...it's painful to get up so early (with my late nights @ work)...my eyes hardly even work to read properly!

BUT, one day a week, TUESDAY, the High School has "late start" where they start a whole hour later than normal. So, we get to "sleep in" that one day, and we move scripture reading time until 7:30a.m. But, that also doesn't give Kyle enough time to walk/ride his bike to Jr. High School on time, so I agreed to drive him on Tuesdays since I've gotta PROTECT my one sleeping in day!

Today is Tuesday - which meant I drove Kyle, my 7th Grader to school. This is now the 4th week of school, but the emotion that rises to the surface as I watch him leave my car and head into the [big, bad] Jr. High on those days hasn't gone away yet. It totally surprised me on the first day of school when I actually felt SAD when I dropped him off!

What was happening?

Usually, in the past, I didn't have one ounce of understanding for mothers who cried or freaked out on the first day of school. I have always referred to it as "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" Have I turned into One of THEM?!!?

I think the big issue is that Kyle seems so little.

So innocent.

So young.

So nice.

So NOT a Jr. High student.

It doesn't just seem this way - it is this way, because technically, he isn't old enough to be in Jr. High since way back when he skipped a grade. He's only 11 yrs. old - his age difference compared to his grade has never been blatantly obvious to me until this year -- and the truth is I feel scared and stressed for him when I see him heading in to the "lone and dreary world." Because Jr. High can be a terrifying interesting place. Every time I've driven him to school, I think silently in my mind, "You're Not in Kansas Elementary School anymore!" and then I'm hit with a wave of sadness. This doesn't happen to me when I say good-bye to him from our home, it's just those few times, so far, that I've actually witnessed him going into the lion's den. And I stay parked in front of the school (he doesn't know this, because he never gives me another look back) until I see him run up to the building, (a sure sign of a little 7th grader!) and go inside the doors, all the way out of my sight -- feeling I should save him, but knowing I have to let him go.

I asked him if there were some tall 9th graders at his school.

YES!! Some are as big as Dad!

So, picture this:

9th Grader - 6'3" & 205 lbs.

Kyle - 4'10" & 80 lbs.


Got the picture? Maybe this will help.

9th Grader:

Kyle:

Tuesdays do weird things to me!

For the record, he claims everything is "OK." (Still not a man of many words!)

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!!!

Kids Say the Darndest things - Aug. '11 Edition

Taken from the sidebar...

I was trying to talk to Matt in the presence of our children without them knowing what I was talking about, so I used the good ol' spell trick.....

Me: "I'm talking about K-A-T-E-L-Y-N
Katelyn: "Is that a BAD word?" 8/11

Your Opinion, Please....

Is a binder pencil pouch "gender specific"?

More specifically, are they only for girls or only for boys or are they for both?

Is it too masculine for a girl? Is it not manly enough for a boy? Is it completely neutral? Does it depend on what age the boy/girl is?

{This is the topic of true debate in our home - YOU can help settle it!}

Summer Wrap-Up

SUMMER'S OVER?
Didn't it just barely start?

It is true that we did get gypped out of about 10 days or so of Summer Vacation this year because of an adjusted school schedule...and let me tell you, I'm REALLY feelin' the loss of those 10 days! They make a huge difference!

This one just flew by - and I hardly even blogged about it! Contrary to what my blog posts lead one to believe, we actually did do more than go to Cancun as a family and participate in the Farmington Festival Days 5K.

So here's where I will bring y'all up to speed.
This post will be "the Reader's Digest version" of....

The Brenchley Brood Summer 2011
(and it's too bad since each of these events has a behind-the-scenes story to go with it, too. All could've been it's own post, but it's too late now. That's what happens when I "check out" for Summer! [READ: very BUSY eating ice cream, chasing butterflies, sleeping in, showing our home (blah!) and I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...] Oh, sorry!)

First off....Matt's SURPRISE 40th birthday party

And he was completely and totally...as in NO CLUE...SURPRISED! (and thrilled!)

We had a live D.J. play all of Matt's favorite 80's music. Matt and his BFF from childhood, Steve Maxwell, performed a moving rendition of "Sweet Child of Mine" on the "Karaoke stage."

Matt takes his 80's music very seriously - he was "rockin' out on the "dance floor."

Next up....we went to Tuacahn ("Broadway in the Desert") and saw both The Little Mermaid and Grease.

Then we toured the Parade of Homes for a few weekends and saw....

lovely showers and

drool-inducing [for Matt] Home Theater rooms.

We had our annual Read-a-Thon (It's a simple concept; we [including me] read all day together in the Family Room, each in our own little niche with blankets/pillows, and then have pizza delivered for lunch and eat it picnic style on the floor, so you don't have to stop reading!)

And Miss B. copied all of us - she didn't wanna miss out! Aaaahh.

Kennecott Copper Mine "Field Trip" (and it was FREE that day - score!)

We had a great turnout at our Ward Party @ Skateboard Park. Haylee got to brush up on her Trapeze skills.

We spent a week at the Reunion Ranch.
It just so happened that I we were in charge of the Family outings for both sides this year. So, because I am so lazy efficient, I rented a cabin near Jackson Hole for a whole week and...

had the Brenchley's come the first half of the week....

and then had the Fowers come

the second half of the week.

And my brood stayed the entire time!

We tried out a Ropes Course and zip line.

Ryan especially loved it when, on different occasions, I screamed like a little girl, got my foot caught in a net, and also found myself hanging from the cables when I missed my landing. (In response to his shaking of his head and rolling his eyes, I said, "Hey! How many other 40+ yr. old ladies are you going to see doing this?!?")


A few of us took a trip to the land that Anti-Monkey Butt powder was made for to see The President.
{can you tell we are drenched with sweat, soaking through our clothes?}

Well, we did get to see a lot of Washington D.C. - and got into the spirit of patriotism while in our nation's capitol.

We had our annual Movie Marathon. (Another simple concept; you stay in your PJ's and watch movies. ALL. DAY. LONG. Oh, and have lots of treats, drinks, and popcorn.)

{Here was this year's lineup}


We (except Miss B. wanted no part of it, so, basically I!) worked on Potty Training.....and failed.

We drove out to Wyoming the last possible week of Summer vacation to get these cute cousins together!

Now I need a vacation from Summer vacation!

I'm not sure I'm ready for school! Uh Oh....What is wrong with me?!?

Hometown Pride

Guess what made the list of the 100 best places (small town category) to live in the U.S.?

Our beloved Farmington is #12!

Yep, our secret is out, thanks to this CNNMoney report. (and now my blog post, too!) :)

Some of the reasons we were ranked so high by CNN is because Farmington is safe, quiet, has low taxes, our city is financially sound, Lagoon amusement part, close to Salt Lake City (jobs), mix of high end homes with more affordable ones, etc.

I agree with all those reasons, too, but let me add a few (or more) of the things I LOVE about Farmington....

1. Our Schools. They are high quality - I can honestly say that there is only ONE teacher in our elementary school that I (and a lot of other people) don't want their kids to get. I have no worries about all the others. We have excellent test scores - at Kyle's 6th Grade graduation a few months ago, I was amazed at how many students received the Presidential award for academic achievement (the one signed by President Obama) and then the Citizenship award given by the teachers - they just kept calling name after name after name. I thought to myself, Is there anyone who didn't get it? (There was, it's just that there are so many bright, motivated, good kids!) Our schools also have a good percentage of parent/community involvement. I like that our schools have a manageable number of students. My children are able to know (& be friendly with) almost everyone in their own grades. It is also great that our elementary school is just a little over a mile from our home. I (and some other moms) walk my kids to school every day until from the 1st day of school until Thanksgiving and then again after Spring Break. We wait around & hang out on the school grounds until the tardy bell rings for school. It is a fun time to socialize with the fellow students, parents, crossing guard, and school staff. It is safe for them to walk or bike home afterwards, as well.
2. Our athletic programs. Namely, F.A.B.L. (Farmington Area Baseball League) and Farmington Eagles Football. With three children in baseball (4 next year) and Ryan umpiring, that can make for 2-3 games/week/team, so we "live" at the ball park April - June. Not nearly as much as our league's directors, who are AMAZING btw (named Citizens of the Year 2010 by the Rotary club of Farmington), and is another reason we love being a part of FABL - the PEOPLE! We get to know so many friends through this - including other people in our town who are not at our school. Whenever we run into some of our baseball friends in public, we part ways by saying, I'll see you at the ball park! Then we get to do the same thing, with a slightly new group of people, but some are the same, August - October during football season. Even though we only have one child in football, because it is SO INTENSE (in time, attitude, commitment, etc.) it feels as if we are "living football" during these months. It requires so many volunteers and our citizens come through! I love the camaraderie we have through, not only practices and games, but our potluck dinners, parties, "Football with Dads", ceremonies, banquets, team (which parents/families are considered a part of) cheers & huddles, etc. We also have something unique, where our city has a soccer program with the option to sign up for just Fall or Spring season (or both if you want) so that it doesn't conflict with our kids' baseball or football schedule. AND our practice and playing fields are close enough for the kids to walk or ride bikes to, if the chauffeur is unavailable at any time.
   
3. Farmington Festival Days. The 2nd Saturday of July every year is always blocked out on our calendar for this event. When we first moved here 10+ years ago, it was only a Saturday event. More recently, it has expanded to include the whole week, Monday - Saturday. The parade. IMHO, it is the best around! They pass out REAL candy (READ: not just taffy, taffy, and more taffy). And those who know me, know I am motivated by candy! :) There are Jolly Ranchers, Airheads, Gobstoppers, cinnamon bears, root beer barrel candy, pixie sticks, starburst, fruit snacks, otter pops, and even stuffed animals, "Marti Gras" necklaces, and DVDs. The races. With the exception of one year when I was 6 months pregnant, and another year when I had a 6 week old newborn baby, I have run in the 5K or 10K (depending on my level of physical fitness that particular year) all of the years we have lived here. It is exhilerating to be among my "running friends." The races have now grown to include a Half Marathon and a "10K Flag Rock" (Mountain climb/run) as well. The breakfast. You get in free if you run the race! And it's not just your average breakfast. It is French Toast, big ol' sausages, bacon, cut up fresh fruit, hash browns, juice, milk, AND chocolate milk - all very Brenchley kid-approved! (and that's saying A LOT!) :) Other parts of this we don't want to miss are the Outdoor Family Movie night on the mega blowup screen, the free ice cream, outdoor concerts/bands, youth dance (not me, the teenagers!) and the Fireworks Show. And we enjoy it all amongst the familiar faces of our fellow Farmingtonites.
4. The Farmington Pool. This is an outdoor pool! (I don't like the muggy, loud, unable-to-suntan features of the indoor pools much at all) It's got a zero entry for the babes, slides for the kids, basketball standards for the hoopsters, a low dive and a high dive for.....well, I've seen ages 3 to 73 go off those, a water playground area, morning water aerobics, and lap swimming [life guards provided] for the crazies like me who attempt triathlons even though we're terrified of swimming. And I can always find an open lounge chair. (PLUS!) We can get a Family Pass for $150! And the best part? No matter when we go there, we ALWAYS see people we know! You don't have to take a friend with you - it's a sure bet the kids (& me) will have someone to play with already there.
   
5. The Farmington Trails. One of Farmington’s greatest assets is the location next to beautiful mountains...and the best part - we have trails and open space areas right in our backyard, probably less than ten minutes away! I have been able to take advantage of these trails as I've clocked some running and biking miles in training for my various events. The Lagoon trail is paved and offers lots of shady trees, bridges crossing over creeks, and a pleasant breeze to give respite to an exhausting, sweaty run.....including one section that thrills youngsters in your stroller - a fenced off area with elk, buffalo, horses, and cattle to look at. Our family has also enjoyed hiking on some of the dirt trails that allow us to "go exploring" or take us up in the mountains for a great view of our town and the Great Salt Lake.....although we did hear (and see in the bushes) a rattlesnake on a trail once - and we just haven't quite made it back to that one again! :) And I love how I often see friends (those we know, some we don't) out exercising on the trails, too, so we offer a wave and holler a "hello" as we pass each other.
   
6. Our church congregations. I feel like my family and I have a lot of great examples from people of strong faith, service, and generosity where we live. I feel like there are so many good, good, good people - just "cream of the crop" "salt of the earth" type people surrounding us. I appreciate these "spiritual giants" around us to inspire and strengthen us, and to keep us going.
7. Talented teachers at our fingertips. We don't even have to go out of town to find piano, swimming, cheer leading, preschool, or dance teachers, tutors, scout leaders, etc. It's all right here, and again, the kids can walk or ride their bikes there!
8. I can leave the keys in the ignition of my car [on accident] for many hours, and it's still there when I come back! (based on a true experience)
   
9. The recent addition of Station Park. This has been quite the excitement for us to get a shopping center here in our town since we haven't had anything like it before. The Harmon's grocery store was bombarded it's first opening weeks with all us zealous citizens eager to support it and "experience" a piece of the gourmet market history. In addition to a big movie theater, other stores include: Ross, Sports Authority, Home Goods, Marshall's, Ulta....and there's rumor about a Panda Express coming (Katelyn has her fingers crossed!)
10. Our city service people. I saw our Mayor out while I was on a bike ride last week. He was cutting down overgrown vines & such that were protruding out into the path I was on. As I passed him, he smiled at me and said, I'm just trying to clean this up for YOU! Our previous (and musically talented) mayor participated in a special [singing] concert one Christmas season and donated all the proceeds to a Scholarship Fund that has been set up in my [deceased] cousin's name.
    
11. Hometown Pride. It's not just ME! I know of so many people who have had 2 or 3 different houses in Farmington through the years. When they outgrow their home, they just can't bear to leave the area, so they either find or build themselves a bigger one in our same town. My aunt and uncle love it so much that they have had multiple houses (I lost track after seven - seriously) in Farmington, most of the time never having to leave their school or church boundaries. They don't want to live anywhere else! I also know people who had made additions or remodels to their existing homes, so they can stay in Farmington. There are quite a few "life timers" who cherish living here - and I love how they are so proud of our Farmington. And after living here, we too, have become like them - yes, our home is for sale, but we plan on staying in town, just a different home. I guess it's a possibility that we could grow to love somewhere else, too, (maybe not?) so I just don't want to risk it! :)
    

Much of my list refers to OUR PEOPLE, our school friends, our sports friends, our community friends, our fitness friends, our church friends - my love of this place is very related to them and my privilege to be associated with them, of which I am always grateful.

I don't know....maybe a lot of people feel this way about where they live...but now we've got what not everyone does...we've got the Big Honchos (CNN) validating what I know & feel to be true!

Have I convinced y'all to move here now?!? ;)

FYI

It really is best to twist the talcum powder top completely closed
before stuffing it in your suitcase and then sending it on an airplane!!

The next person who checks out my library books are going to be treated to a puff of "powder cloud" each time they turn a page or set the book down.

And as an extra special treat....when brushing my teeth last night, there was a curious "baby powder" flavor about it! ;)