Big Shot Treatment for Being just Run-of-the-Mill?

We got this flyer in our email last week:

Does anyone else find it odd?
There's a "National Eat Dinner with Your Family" Day???
Since when did that "special day" start?
Since when is eating dinner with your family a big deal?
(Ya gotta have dinner, don't ya?)
AND it's FREE?
It was put on by Davis Behavioral Health - Are they so desperate to get families to eat dinner together, that they will feed the masses (because if it's FREE in Utah, people will come out in droves!) to make it happen?!?  And they're luring you to come even further by offering discounted swimming afterwards!
Apparently so.

Hmmmmm.

I said, "Let's go!"  (Kyle gets out of planning/making dinner for that evening, and I don't have to buy the groceries for that day!)
My husband said, "What's the catch?"
Here's the thing; there really wasn't one!  They are just trying to inspire families to eat together!  As part of the ParentsEmpowered.org initiative, they have done studies that prove that The family that eats together, beats underage drinking together.

So, we went to the event (again, no biggie, we have dinner anyway, last night was just a different location), and there was a line, but not nearly as many as we'd anticipated - maybe it really did reflect what they're so worried about; people can't find the time to have dinner together as a family!?! 
(Matt, who can't bear to miss a meal, couldn't quite grasp WHY families are not having dinner!)  ;) haha.
There was a huge committee of people who were serving at this event, and the very first one we came in contact with (the lady who gave us our plates) said [very sincerely], "THANK YOU for coming to dinner with your family tonight!"   
And I'm thinking, Why are you thanking ME?  We're eating YOUR food (for FREE!)   
Then, as we moved down the food line, practically everyone else else thanked us or said some other encouraging words about us and our actions.  It seemed strange that they were treating something SO NORMAL, as dinner with your family, as a huge accomplishment.  

They even gave us a "gift bag" for coming.  (It had a spatula, hot pad, snack bag clip, and a sticky-note pad, plus a informational brochure in it).  
 Then while we were eating dinner in the park, the youth volunteers came by and gave us another gift.
THEY GAVE US GIFTS FOR COMING TO THE FREE DINNER?!?
The second gift we received was a "Chit Chat" card game for parents and children to play together.

 Do some people have trouble with "stale dinnertime conversation?"  

Come on over to our house!  You'll learn/hear more than you ever bargained for; the boy who's been 'in love' with our [elementary school] daughter for 5 years, personal hygiene issues, their latest Halloween costume ideas, inappropriate bodily noises, complaining about the food, the awkward/stupid/hilarious/outrageous things that happened that day, the "Remember When" conversations where all the past "scandalous" acts of the siblings are brought up, teasing/taunting/trash talking, the weekly haircut/style change of someone we know, the teenage drama of who's asking who to the high school dances, the misbehaving kids in their school classes and what the teacher does about it, the history of one child's "crushes" - all this while usually talking over one another, laughing out loud, then someone else calling out for everyone to be quiet and listen to them!

Anyway, the game had some good topics, too - perhaps more proper than what we're talking/not talking about:

 {The top row was from the "Ask a parent" stack, and the bottom row was from the "Ask a kid" stack.}

That first card makes me snicker - I just don't see my children voluntarily coming up to me and asking, "How can I help you at home?"  ;)

We had an entertaining speaker, too, who ALSO commended us for having dinner with our family that night.  What?!?  It's very natural and ordinary!

At any rate, they treated us like VIPs! 
I'm still taken aback that they have to practically beg and bribe us to have dinner with our family - but it also make me sad if it is (and it appears it has with all these programs in place to bring it back) a disappearing tradition.

But it still doesn't seem that hard to me to eat dinner with your family - what would be hard is listening to the 6 other humans in my home whining because they are hungry, and badgering asking me WHAT there is to eat, all night, if I didn't feed them any dinner earlier.
(And that's not even taking into consideration all the facts and tips that the professionals are giving IN FAVOR of this bonding time called "dinner.")

Ya Gotta be Sherlock Holmes to be Able to Go on a Date

There was a knock at our front door tonight.....

And we found this on our doorstep.  It was obviously for Kyle, and he wasn't home at the time, so we left it there until he returned.  I KNEW he'd want to discover it for himself; he has a BIG birthday coming up next month (16!), and he has been greatly anticipating it!  Because then the whole world of dating is going to open up for him.  (Our kids wait until they are 16 to date - it is a family rule and a standard of our church).  Kyle will turn 16 on October 20th, and lucky for him, the Harvest Dance (Girls' Choice) is on October 24th!

When he opened the box, he found some delicious-looking harvest-themed cookies inside.  We figured the letters would spell the name of the person who was asking him.  Except it was not so evident to us; the 4 vowels were throwing us off!  Was it a first name and a last name?  Was it the first name and the first initial of her last name?  Or was it only her first name?  But, what first name has 4 vowels and 4 consonants?!? (Unless it's Hawaiian?  But, he couldn't think of anyone.)

So, we just started to move around the cookies.

Was it.....

"Lima?"

Could it be...

"Chem?"

Perhaps it's...

"Elm?"

I know!  It must be...

"Ace?"

Or was it the....

"Mice?"

Maybe he won't get to go on his first date, afterall, if he can't even ascertain WHO he's suppose to answer, and go with!  ;)

CAN YOU FIGURE IT OUT?!?  

A Paranoid is Never Entirely Mistaken

I started reading this new book, Still Alice, this week.  (A movie by the same title was made about this last year).  Before I even started the book, I knew it was going to be about a woman, a 50-yr.-old woman, mind you, with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, thanks to the synopsis written on the back cover.

In just the very beginning parts of the book, I read about how:
The woman (Alice) was on a speaking assignment, and she was mid-sentence when she couldn't find the word she was intending on saying.  She had a loose sense of what she wanted to say, but the word itself eluded her.  It just wouldn't come to her.
THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME!

A little later, she was leaving a restaurant when the waiter ran out after her, and handed her back her BlackBerry that she had left.  She couldn't comprehend HOW the waiter got a hold of it because she didn't remember ever using it during the meal.  But, she checked her purse, and sure enough, it wasn't in there.
THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME!

Another time, when she was checking her daily "To Do" list that she had written for herself, she came across a one-word name and she thought, "What does that mean?"  She didn't know if she was suppose to tell, show, or ask that person something.  She tried checking her calendar and email, but nothing rang a bell.  She couldn't figure out what she was suppose to do about that "reminder."  (And then she figured it out a month later when that person contacted her about an assignment!)
THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME! 

So, now the question is; should I keep reading, or is this book just going to make me think I HAVE (or am developing) Alzheimer's?!? 

Are these actual SIGNS, or just PARANOIA?

It doesn't matter if I'm paranoid, I'm still going to get the disease! ;) 

This Weekend

* On Friday, we went to a new place at Station Park, Brixton's (a baked potato restaurant!), for my birthday lunch out with 'The Girls.'
I didn't realize S.P. was such a happening place in the middle of the day - I saw several other people I knew there.
I guess I'll have to 'make an appearance' there more often!  ;)

* The afternoon was spent carting my daughters to and from friends'/parties.

* We went to The Roof with Matt's parents for our "anniversary dinner" on Friday night.

 (they want to take out each of their kids/spouse on an annual basis, so they use their
anniversary date to keep track of who they've taken out and whose turn is next)

* After returning home (and consuming much food & dessert), we thought it prudent to go out in our neighborhood in an attempt to WALK OFF dinner.

* Saturday morning, I did my first (of the required five) turn of being the chaperon/volunteer at the Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal that Katelyn is a part of (and will be performing in November).
Side Note: it was an interesting "study" in human behavior.
Each participant is suppose to sign in with their name and time of arrival prior to each rehearsal.
As background information, there has been a lot of emphasis put on the importance of being at and ON TIME to every rehearsal.  The directors have said that they will be giving out additional parts to those who do well in this area, and taking away from those who do not demonstrate dependability in this area.
One of my jobs is to check in all the kids.  So, when not everyone was there by the starting time, I wondered what those other kids would write down when they finally did arrive....
AND I observed that the majority of the kids (who were anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes late) STILL wrote down the time that the rehearsal started (when they were suppose to be there by) on the sign in sheet.
Hmmmm....See?  Interesting, huh?

* Matt & I took a jaunt up to Snowbasin...

for a Gondola ride and afternoon mountaintop dining,

followed by some hiking.

Apparently, we didn't get the memo about the XTERRA Utah off-road triathlon that was going on up there Saturday!
(notice all those cars down in the parking lot?  Normally, you wouldn't expect to see that AT A SKI RESORT in late Summer/early Fall)
So, we shared the area and our lunch table with that crowd!  (talk about some amazing athletes!)

* I attempted to go donate plasma....and was rejected. :(
The snag? Low protein.  I guess I better start eating more liver and tofu!  Yippee! (not.)

* Matt & I went up to the Bountiful Temple to do a session.

(I did pretty good staying awake this time!)  ;)

* We made sure to end the evening with a treat at Dairy Queen.
A Cherry float always hits the spot.

* Since we have afternoon church, I like to spend the morning reading/viewing things on www.lds.org.

I first read this blog post.

Which led to/referenced this article.
Valuable things to ponder. 

* We did our "yearly measurements" on the kids (height, weight, shoe size, waist/inseam).
It was only about 2 months late, I usually like to get to it in the Summer PRIOR TO going school shopping, but oh well.....
I write these all down and keep it in my purse, so I don't have to keep it all in my brain,
and I can look at it when I'm out shopping.
It's also fun to see how much they've grown from the year before!
Although everyone has grown and gained weight, the most unanticipated are:
Kyle now sports the same size shoe as his dad - a size 12!
Katelyn is just 4 inches away from being taller than I am!  She is only 10 yrs. old!

* Churchy-Church

In Sacrament meeting, we heard from a returned missionary who'd served in New Zealand.
THAT'S where I dreamed of going on my mission back in my youth!

While sitting there, I tuned-in to the fact that Matt needed me to rub his neck - he was not exactly
displaying a great deal of calmness at the moment - because of his first Gospel Doctrine lesson he had to teach in Adult Sunday School the next hour.
He prepared A TON on this lesson - and only taught a small portion of it before time ran out.
(Ya never know how it'll go with the class participation factor)

* After church, I made squash casserole.
(we've still got an overabundance from our garden!)

* We had dinner and FHE at Brenchley's

While talking together afterwards, we had an intriguing conversation about the lesson many of us had had in our Relief Society/Priesthood classes today titled,
 "Beware of Pride."

Bottom Line:  We ALL have it in some form.
(withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, won't change our mind to accept truth, comparison, fault finding, jealousy, love the praise of man, don't receive correction easily, rebellion, puffed up,  defensiveness, not happy for another's acheivement, etc., etc.)

AND we all need to overcome/repent of this sin!

* I started my [Sunday night ritual] weekly letter to Ryan out on his mission.

The Short-Lived Birthday Gift

One of the things I love most about our new home that we built is the big front porch (and the cold storage that is underneath it!)  But, it'll take some work (and time & money) to get it to look like my "dream" front porch.

Case in point:

 {some examples of what I like}

Ours is not quite there, YET!

BUT, it got one step closer last Monday when Matt got me a hanging porch swing for my birthday!  I guess he had installed the hooks into the ceiling the previous Saturday, so it’d be immediately ready to put up after I opened it on my birthday.  He was worried that I would notice the hooks and KNOW about the surprise too soon – but I never looked up, I guess, and had no idea!

By the time we got around to opening birthday presents it was pretty late, but I wanted to put it up THAT NIGHT anyway, so we got it up around 10:00 p.m.  More chain was needed so it could hang lower to the porch, so I didn’t even sit in it, yet, since I’d practically have to jump up to get on.

 The girls were all sitting in it, though....

Then on Tuesday evening, about 20 hours after I opened it, just as I was starting my BUNCO night here at our home, one of the ladies heard a big, loud crashing noise, and they looked out my front window.  (I was in the kitchen getting all the last things ready, so I was oblivious, and heard nothing!)
Then that lady came and found me, and was like, “Uh, Suzanne, your swing just broke out on your porch....and your girls came down with it.” 

I go out there, and I saw that the chain & hook on one side had come OUT of the ceiling, and RIPPED down a few sheets of soffit (so the wood rafters were exposed)

 

And that same side of the swing was touching down on the porch (the other side still hanging up), with the arm of the bench broken off....

{not my actual swing - I was kinda shocked and too preoccupied, trying to put on a party, to take a photo - but this shows what it looked like} 

...and I saw Haylee standing there in silence, and Katelyn standing there crying, and Brookelle had ran and hid somewhere, I think, because I don’t recall seeing her.  

But, I had 11 guests at my home, ready to start, so I just left "the carnage" on the front porch for my husband to see when he returned home.  ;)

Well, that was a short-lived gift; it was up less than a day, and I never even used it myself!  

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

P.S.  All is not lost - Matt is working on repairing it/ordering a new arm and will reinstall it in a more secure place (he admitted, he wasn't sure if he got the hook installed into the wood beam or not).

Lessons learned at the Kitchen Stove

With the start of a new school year, and a new work schedule (all day) for me, I instituted a new "dinner plan."
That plan involves other people than just me making dinner.  Brilliant, eh?
I'm not available in the days to do all the dinner planning/prepping like I used to be PLUS it's time for my children to discard the phrase, "I don't know how to cook" from their vocabulary!
So, Kyle has Mondays.
Haylee has Tuesdays.
Katelyn has Wednesdays.

And I'll do the rest of the days.  EXCEPT, according to this article, my husband should be doing Sundays. ;)

There were also some "rules."

1. It has to be a REAL meal.  (Ramen, Mac & Cheese, and Spaghetti-O's or anything like unto these are excluded!)
2. They cannot repeat the same meal within the same month.
3. It has to include a vegetable and/or fruit, plus be a balanced meal (with a protein and a grain.)

 Here's how things went the first week:

Kyle wondered why it took him 2 1/2 hrs. to make dinner!
He learned that he shouldn't leave the kitchen multiple times in the middle of making dinner - especially when he has put butter in a saucepan to melt!  ;)
He also learned it will go a lot quicker if he cut up all the vegetables and cooked/diced the meat BEFORE he started cooking!

Haylee wondered how in the world we could stand eating all the pancakes she'd made WITHOUT any syrup!
She learned that she should probably take inventory of ALL the ingredients (including condiments) she will need for her dinner and, if we don't have them in our pantry, she should write them on a shopping list BEFORE mom went shopping a few days prior.
(Luckily, mom knows how to whip up homemade syrup, and saved the dinner).  ;)

Katelyn wondered why her entree did not yield as large of a quantity as it usually does (like when mom makes it) and worried there wasn't enough for everyone to feel satisfied.
She learned that she should follow the instructions on the size of pan that the recipe says should be used and add ALL the ingredients that were cut and measured ahead of time.  (She used a smaller pan and everything wouldn't fit in it, so she just filled it and then left out the excess ingredients).  ;)

{Hopefully, they all become more proficient, with time!}  :)

This first week, I had to answer a lot of questions and assist with various tasks, when asked, so I actually had to be available or present - but I did not take it over for them when they struggled; I wanted them to be "in charge."  My vision is that one day, they'll all be able to function in the kitchen like a well-oiled machine, and I could walk away from the kitchen or our home, and everything would run normally without a hitch and they would pull off dinner with success!

{In other words, I hope to "work myself out of my [cook] job."}

The Things You Learn on Daytime Television

I am in San Diego with my husband this week.  It is work-related for him, it is R & R-related for me.  Since Matt leaves early in the mornings for his conference, and is involved in it most the day, I get to do whatever I wish - which MAY involve doing a lot or not much at all.

So, my first day looked like this:
Still totally dead asleep when Matt left before 7:00 in the morning.  (I don't even recall him leaving).
Totally dead asleep at 8:00 a.m.
Dead asleep at 9:00 a.m.
Still totally dead asleep at 9:30 a.m. when I'm suddenly awakened by repeated knocking on the hotel room door -- and someone calling through the door, "In-Room Dining."
I hopped out of bed lickity-split (in just my underwear), and decided putting on the "complimentary" hotel robe would be the quickest way to "get dressed." (meanwhile, the knocking continues).  But, I can't get the dang robe off the hanger in the closet fast enough. (and the hotel employee is still calling out, announcing her presence and the delivery of my breakfast).  Then, I get the robe off the hanger, but the belt is wound around the robe a few times and tied (for display purposes) and I fumble with that tie, trying to get it undone so I can get the robe on, and I can't do it! (knocking, knocking, calling, calling).  I finally get the tie off, put my arms in the sleeves, and pull the robe shut - except it doesn't exactly close all the way from my mid-thighs down....(knocking and calling)...so, I just tie the belt anyway and open the door to greet her in all my stunning, morning glory.  Luckily, it was a woman, and the hotel room was completely dark still (love those room darkening shades!) so maybe she didn't notice?  Yeah, right.
So, then I ate before it got any colder, after already having sat a while during the time it took for me to answer the door.
And since I was awake, I decided I might as well "start" my day, so I took off that ill-fitting robe and put on my pajamas!  ;)
And then I turned on the T.V., the laptop, my iPad, and my cell phone and had a nice little rotation going with all of them!  ;)
I THOUGHT about getting in my exercise, going shopping, or laying out by the pool....but I just didn't quite get past the lounging part!

It was during all this lounging that I heard something on a television program (The Meredith Viera Show) that caught my attention and, quite frankly, shocked the heck out of me!  The show has a segment called, "What's Hot Now" where a panel weighs in on some of the hottest news making headlines.
Here was the topic:
(Warning:  Reader Discretion Advised, especially for "proper" persons-from-my-parents'-generation-or-older)

BRIDE magazine had an article about what newlywed couples are REALLY doing on their wedding night......and it's NOT having sex.
Their findings showed that more than HALF were not.

(Shaking my head, eyes popping open, jaw dropped, stunned look on my face)

What?!?

Come Again?

Did I hear that correctly? 

My first thought was; is it because they've ALREADY been living/sleeping together, so it's not the main event?

As opposed to us, in our religion, due to a principle we believe in called The Law of Chastity, we most likely wouldn't pass up the earliest possible chance to consummate the marriage!  (And most engagements are relatively short because of that same belief).

So, according to the article, what are the couples doing on their wedding night, instead?
71% of brides report they were removing bobby pins (Ya know, I'd always wished my hair would've been long enough when I got married to do a pretty "up do," but it wasn't.....maybe I don't regret that after all, learning this!)
20% of couples were counting their cash
20some odd% of bride & grooms spent it in the Emergency Room
and
21% of newly married couples were updating their facebook relationship status'.

Really?!? 

And the main reasons why?
Exhaustion and Drunkeness.
(Before the information from the poll was revealed on the show, one of the guys on the panel guessed it was because they spent so much time taking selfies, then putting them on social media - haha)

Mormons still are exhausted after the long string of events and celebrations, but.....I guess that's another advantage to having a dry, Mormon wedding -- we're not too drunk to have sex. {wink, wink}


By the way, I did eventually make it OUTSIDE my San Diego hotel room that first day, showered and dressed by afternoon - it was a great morning (in spite of the disturbing news).

Three Months of Summer - Gone?!? (Which Means it's Over!)

Sayonara, August! 

It was good while it lasted.....yes, children, we DID do something!

Here's how it went down.

Queen of the Kingdom with these lovely ladies.

This song will forever remind me of this weekend!
It cannot be played now without me breaking out into song AND dance - seriously!!

Just playin' in the rain - more like an all out thunderstorm!

Heber Valley Girls' Camp

Haylee and Matt went....Haylee as one of the "girls."  Matt as one of the "Priesthood men."

Cousins "warming up" for the backyard races

ReAL Monarchs soccer game

Farmington City Volunteer Appreciation Night at the pool

Brookelle on the high dive?!?  

(Thanks to "peer influence" she had from a friend she ran into there.)

Desert Star Theatre

"GREASE'D: Happy Days are Here Again"

Splash Pad with friends

Look what I found while shopping at Ross here in our neck of the woods......

a Virginia Tech hat - my missionary son's stompin' grounds now! :) 

Kyle ran the Davis County 5K

(in the time it takes ME to go ONE mile!)  ;)

Brookelle (navy shirt),

Katelyn (grey shirt),

and Haylee (navy shirt) all did the Kids Mud Run on the same day as the 5K.

Flips on the tramp!

Inflatable waterslide party in our backyard with the Fowers cousins!

Off the strict bedtime schedule and fallin' asleep in weird positions.

The results of new school clothes shopping

Finally got to have the full-time missionaries over for dinner!

(as "payback" for all the West Virginia/Virginia families who are feeding my boy every night)

Seven Peaks Water Park ~ jetBlue Day

ReAL Salt Lake soccer game vs. Seattle Sounders FC

School started August 24th

Kyle's first Cross Country Meet for VHS (maroon uni on left)

(an "invitational" meet in American Fork with 40 high schools!)

San Diego with Matt officially finished out August....

 Because truth be told - - I needed a vacation from [the kids and] this Summer vacation. 

{kidding/not kidding}

And, just like that: 1, 2, 3 months of Summer came to an end!

Waaaaaaaa!

and

Yaaaaaaaay!  :)