Overheard...

"Abrielle, today is the last day you have to be really, really good; then you can just be normal..."

Dear Elves...

Dear Elves,

I wont to be a elv just like you. Cus my mom sed that Santa Clos coud do majik and trn peopl in to elvs. I wunt you to reit a lettr to send me infrmashin.

Your Frend
Carsten

Not Feelin' It....

I'm one step away from being Scroogy this year. I honestly don't know what my problem is. I am usually FANATIC about Christmastime. Tree up day after Thanksgiving, Decorations up the next day. Shopping done, wrapped, and mailed. Batch one of Cinnamon Bread made and eaten before December 5th. Batch 2 by December 10th. Batch three by December 15th.....etc, etc....

That's considered "Normal-Shelly...."

This year....I just realized that Christmas is 10 days away. Seriously. I looked at the calendar yesterday and said, "Whoa! Christmas is next week!!"

The tree went up about a week ago and I just finished the last bit 2 days ago. The Christmas decoration were unpacked (thanks to Elf #1), but were not placed anywhere in particular until the threat of the entire church youth group coming to my house last Sunday whipped me into action (I have some pride still...) 1st batch of bread made yesterday. Christmas shopping....well....let's not go there.....Remember the Friends episode where Chandler and Joey bought everyone presents at the last minute from the local gas station? Maybe my kids would appreciate a nice air freshener......

I cannot find the antidote. Christmas Story (bible version)? A Christmas Story (Movie)? Christmas Candy? Caroling? Lights? Decor? Gifts? Wrapping? Nothing has worked.....

I think this year I'll just smile and nod and wait for New Years.....

An Open Letter...

Dear Stuff....

We have had a long, glorious relationship. Perhaps that is why I feel I can speak freely now. You are driving me crazy. Really, certifiably crazy. My family can vouch for this.

You are everywhere I turn. The desk, the counter, the couch. This afternoon I sought respite in the one place I thought would be free of your persistent presence, but alas, there you were on the toilet seat.

I admit, it has not always been this way. There was a time when I looked upon you with desire. We were inseparable. Five moves, 3 states. It was you and me. Together. You were worth the extra long moving truck. the additional rent for an extra bedroom, the extra boxes and wrapping---just for you.

It was not in the forecast for us to remain that way. Really, the forecast is at fault Hurricane Rita changed us. I left you behind during our flight (or crawl, as the case may be) and upon my return, things were ... different. You looked different. Felt different. You hadn't made the cut. You were not in the trunk. You weren't "needed," "necessary," or "important." You were left behind. Had the winds not shifted, that could have been the end of you then.

Have you felt my gaze? I often look at you and wonder why we have been together all these years. Upbringing? Yes, I admit, I was reared with stuff. Lots of it. Trinkets galore. A Pledge-dusters dream. But I swore you off. I declared myself liberated, yet there (and there, and there, and there...) you are. I wondered if you were fulfilling some deeply repressed need in me. Did your presence make me feel loved? Secure? Safe? No, just irritated and annoyed.

I thought I had conquered you. I declared myself victorious. Trash! Goodwill! Salvation Army! There! Proper homes for you. Retrospectively, I see that my declaration was premature and I let down my guard. Did you creep back in? No. You are too vain for that. You hauled yourself in a UHaul. I felt your draining presence from the front seat of the SUV. You fed off of my energy across three states and two time zones, leaving me empty, decrepit, languid....

You are my thief. You steal my time, my energy, my patience, my garage. I want them all back. Yes, including the garage. Both sides!

Yes, my stuff. We must part. It's for the best. You deserve a proper resting place, someone who truly loves you; or at least doesn't view you as a plague. I bid you adieu, auf wiedersehen, sayonara, buh-bye. There is no sentimentality left that can save our relationship. Please accept your fate and move on...and out....forever....

Freely....Shelly

Road Trippin' -- Wheeler Farm

Day Four -- I had planned buffer days in between the planned events so we could all rest. However, our next day of rest was interrupted by a (long!) trip to urgent care. Alyssa had a terrible ear infection. Drat.....her ears are so cute and tiny, but they have no defense system. Gladly she perked up quickly (Thank you Amoxicillin) and was good to go. Oddly enough, the urgent care was staffed that day by Dr. Wood, who was my PCP from infancy until I married and moved, and Mr. Russell, the physician assistant I would see when Dr. Wood wasn't available. What are the chances of that? Neither of them are usually there.....

Day Five -- Alyssa was perky so we headed to Wheeler Farm. Popular for field trips and such, I had always heard about this place as a kid, but never went. So we drug Grandma to the farm. We sang Old McDonald on the way which the kids quickly changed to "Uncle Donald." They laughed hysterically at this and had to call Uncle Don and tell him about it. On his farm he had a Kodi, Kelsee, Jed, Jacie, and Aunt Jan. They kids made up some very interesting sound they each made....Very interesting.....

Treehouse
(Abrielle, Carsten, and strange kid who wouldn't get out of the picture)

Carsten's highlight of the day? Seeing the animals? No....Feeding the ducks? Nope.....Spending time with the family? Nope (well maybe a little)
There were a dozen or so old rusty tractors sitting around all over the farm....and you could climb on them and move levers and touch the steering wheel and stay there as long as your mom would let you.....AWESOME!!!


Abrielle puttering along....enjoyable, but not her highlight....


The Puttering Princess







Where is Alyssa? No we didn't forget about her. Remember, this is antibiotic day 2. She wasn't at her perkiest and mom wouldn't let her pick up the dirt/manure and eat it (mean mom), so she hunkered down and found her thumb. She was happy.....


Feeding the ducks/geese/swans....What a deal. For around $1 you get a huge bag of feed filled 3/4 of the way. They kids loved it.



Even Alyssa, who woke up just in time....She laughed so hard when the ducks would duck underwater for the food......






The sign of a good day of Road Trippin'? At the end of the day, this happens.....







Ahhh Success.........

Road Trippin' -- Johns Reunion and Natural History Museum

So, now we're at Grandma's!!! Day one....The Johns Family Reunion. I don't know why I don't have pictures of this. I distinctly remember taking some. When I'm more awake, I'll hunt more (in the video camera perhaps???) They have to be somewhere....Anyway, we had a great reunion with my mom's side of the family. Sadly, not nearly as many people came as I would have hoped, but it was great nonetheless to see cousins I hadn't for years. Afterward, we drove up Brigham City to Peach City Diner for fabulous ice cream. Yummy.....

Day two was Sunday....Church, family visiting, Sunday dinner (yum!).....

Day three...acting like a tourist begins. I spent a few weeks before the trip searching for free/cheap stuff to do in Utah that I had never done. You know, the stuff tourist do, but locals often don't. My family, being locals, had not done most of it, so we got to drag them along.....

1st stop--Utah Museum of Natural History---Mondays are free during the summer. My Mom, niece, Kodi, and sister, Ranel, and her family came and it was great. 70% of the exhibits are hands on! My kids love putting their hands on stuff!!

Hmmm....I wonder if my Princess kissed this frog, what would happen???

Mom and Kodi going Native...I could NOT get mom IN the teepee. I'm not sure why she is anti-teepee, but she refused. Kodi, on the other hand, folded her 5'9'' self into this studio-teepee space. What a sport.

Kaylee, Abrielle, Carsten, and Korbin's legs

Making a Cox/Gallini Witches brew....Yummy!

(Carsten, Korbin, Abrielle)

Carsten in a dino-footprint...


Abrielle checking out the fossils. They had a working paleontology lab
onsite with various fossils at different stages of preservation and casting,
plus a lot of small castings you could touch and hold.

I have no idea what they were watching, but I'm not sure Carsten is enjoying it
and Abrielle is apparently a little nearsighted....

Dino-Dig Pit

Delicate work....


They had a large basin filled with little multi-colored plastic beads
and water entering at different points. By watching the effect the water had
on the different "landscapes" who made with the beads,
you learned how
"water can break stuff up and make a mess of things you build"
according to Carsten.

Watch out for the Raptors!!!!
(Carsten, Korbin, Kaylee)

Seriously, Watch out!!!
(Abrielle, Korbin, Kaylee)

After the museum, we went to a little park nearby and had a great picnic. Thanks Grandma, Kodi, Ranel and family for coming with us!!!

Overheard...

Ok. so this didn't come from my child, but it made me laugh so hard I had to post it....

All of the kids in our congregation are doing a musical program tomorrow. They have worked hard all year learning songs (I get the fun job of teaching them music) and now they get to show off a bit for their families and sing and give little talks about what they have learned. As a reward, tomorrow after the program they were told their would be a surprise.

So...before we start practice today, a little boy is invited to come up and give an opening prayer....

"...and please bless us that we'll all figure out what the surprise is..."

One of the counselors in the primary presidency and I were sitting right by him and were trying so hard to contain our laughs. It was so cute!!! He was so serious!!!

I love kids!!!

Road Trippin.....

So, here I am again. No we didn't disappear--that would be nice for a while, though...somewhere in the mountains with a fire and lots of hot chocolate, and beautiful, peaceful meandering trails, and a guy name Sven who never talks and cooks gourmet meals and cleans them up followed by a fabulous mug of hot chocolate and......oops....I digress

So, here I am again, again...The past few months have been nuts so the blog has been neglected, but I shall try to catch up a bit....Stay tuned.....

First blog-of-business----Road Trip!!! Before school started I loaded up the kid and drove (without Jason) to Utah to see my family. We took about 3 days meandering up and had a great visit. Jason was able to fly in and spend some time, as well as drive home with us. No, I don't think it crazy to have driven by myself and no, they didn't watch movies the whole way. In fact, there was a one movie a day policy, usually just after dinner when they were tired and I was making the push to the hotel. The only really rough patch was day 3 when poor Abrielle came down with a GI virus and vomited across three states. The first time, all over herself, the car seat and the car, but luckily right in front of a self-serve car wash. The high pressure hose was very handy in getting the millions of nooks and crannies of the car seat vomit-free (not an easy task) and hosing down her clothes, (not on here body at the time) and allowing us a relatively smell free ride. However, Mr. Sensitive-Nose in the back seat suffered exceedingly from the remnant odor, therefore, we stopped in Middle-of-NoWhere Colorado, found a tiny grocery store and purchase Febreeze, Island Bliss palm-tree-shaped car fresheners, a pack of towels to line the now fairly dry car seat (easier to remove a towel, just in case), some large paper cups (handy emesis basins) and ginger-ale. I became thankful for my daughters great aim as she, at random intervals, made good use of those paper cups - one in each hand.....I was never so happy to have a kid fall asleep and take a good long nap!!!

Anyway, now we've gotten through the obligatory kids bodily function story, we'll move on to the fun......


DAY 1 --- Round Rock to Lubbock

We left 2 hours later than planned and didn't get to Lubbock until almost 10:30pm. Not what was planned but the kids were troopers. We stopped once for dinner in a dinky towns whose only playscape/park was the McDonalds. It was outdoors and closed due to light rain earlier that morning. The manager gave me directions to the closest "park," a term I use loosely. There was a bit of metal useful for climbing, if it hadn't had been 100+ degrees, and a couple of swings perched over a mix of dirt, rock, and used asphalt.....We ran a few laps, ate some treats and moved on.......

DAY 2 -- Lubbock to Farmington, NM
We spent a couple of hours driving around Lubbock. The kids thought it was cool to see Dad's school (go Raiders) and the duplex where mom and dad lived...

Kids outside our old duplex....As Carsten said,
"It's the beginning and middle of our family...."

We then drove on through West Texas.......Who named those towns? People who wanted to provide humor for traveling children......Overheard in the car......

Mom: Look guys, we're in Muleshoe now
Abrielle: I don't want to where mule shoes, I just want to where my own...
Carsten: Hmmmm....I wonder if that's what all their shoes are made of ......

A fascinating, scar-your-children-for-like-with-the-truth conversation regarding leather and its origins followed....

Mom: Look...that sign says Earth is that way.... (meaning Earth, Texas)
Carsten: You mean we're passing Earth?
Mom: Yes...
Carsten: WHAT!?!?!? Exactly how far away does Grandma live?

So then we hit the border.....


...and take the obligatory border picture to prove it.....

Time for stop. Where do you stop in New Mexico? The Billy the Kid Museum, of course. (Only thing around.....)

The term Museum us used very loosely here. Basically, some enterprising resident took his wife's collection of late 1800's junk...er...I mean antiques, put them in a meandering, random arrangement in his double wide, added a shed to make a nice little "gift" shop and started charging people to walk through....Oh, and at the end he added his collection of cars..Model T's to 1970's Dodges, un-restored. But, it was only $4 for us all to go in, so we went. Carsten LOVED it...No kidding, LOVED IT....

Abrielle---At least Abrielle's nose and sunglasses.....

Alyssa, aka The World's BEST Traveler....not a cry, not a peep...just utter contentment at whatever is going on around her....
As long as you throw her an occasional Mango-Peach Puff...gotta have the Puffs...

He liked it so much I even succumbed to the tourist trap "gift shop" and bought him a sheriff hat....so he could protect the Stagecoach....

...and the damsel.....


Hmmm ... or maybe it was just a disguise and they were more the Bonnie and Clyde type....



The "museum" did it's job.....

(Warning...driving and taking pictures of baby in rear-facing seat is not easy---there will be more like this....)

And when they awoke...they were happy!!!

...No, Princess....that's a LAP desk....

DAY 3
After spending the night in Farmington, NM, we again hit the open road. The kids were WAY excited to get to Grandma's that night. Everyone ate breakfast really fast (lots and lots of Fruit Loops--stuff they never get at home---this is significant later on....) and helped load the car. We waved to the large Prairie Dog colony in front of the hotel and were off....First stop, the obligatory border sign......

Alyssa wasn't thrilled about getting back into the carseat the morning of Day 3, so when she was happy, we just left her there. Trust me, she crossed the border, too.

Ahhh....Happy Children....(minus one)
Everyone is looking good.....

....or are they?

In retrospect, I perhaps should have been suspicious of the early morning whining. Abrielle is usually insanely happy and pleasant in the morning. After all, she was on the way to grandma's, was promised some good hiking at Arches National Park in the pink dirt (and anything pink is good) and mom had just let her have 4 bowls of fruit loops, because, after all, it's vacation. Go ahead, eat the fruit loops....

In retrospect, I should have been suspicious, but I was not. I was blissfully unaware at the inner gastric turmoil brewing right behind me. Blissfully unaware until it flew right past my right ear and landed on my arm, not to mention my hair, the seat, the floor, the carseat, the scared child, the favorite Leappad game, and the Leappad (which will never been the same), To make things even better, it happened right in the middle of two=lane construction, no shoulder, no place to stop. I can honestly say, I have never been grateful for old-fashioned self-serve stall car washes until that moment. It was the first place I saw where I could stop and help her. Not to mention clean things up a bit. (and no, I did not use the high=pressure wash on the child---you will not find me on You-Tube). 35 minutes of changing, cleaning, washing, and air drying (Yeah for hot Colorado desert sun) I had the partially assembled carseat in the trunk, hoping the sun through the back window would help it finish drying, had Abrielle in Carsten's booster seat, and prayed there was a lenient car seat law in Colorado. I gave Abrielle an empty sippy cup with strict instructions on aim and proceeded on, hoping it was just the Fruit Loops.

I NEVER buy Fruit Loops...okay, so maybe not never...perhaps twice a year when on sale AND I have a coupon. My kids just don't eat sugary cereal. On the rare (twice a year with a coupon) occasion that they do, I always use it as a topping on top of their Oatmeal Squares, or Mini-Wheats, or Cheerios. NEVER would I let them have 4 bowls or strait, unadulterated Fruit Loops. And never again will I. Nothing smells worse than regurgitated Fruit Loops.... Nothing..... the acrid emesis smell mixed with a pervasive sickenly sweetness....It was BAD!!! I stopped 2 more times to continue the clean up until I thought the smell was pretty much contained. That is, until Carsten informed me that the still drying car seat sitting inches from his nose was not smelling like a rose. For the rest of the trip to mom's, the car smelled strongly (STRONGLY!!) of the aforementioned ISLAND BREEZE....

Next stop, the border.....

Abrielle was NOT happy about getting out of the car, but I needed to get her in a pull-up. I was hoping for a super long nap and didn't want to risk the carseat.


So 3 stops, 5 large paper cups (Great Aim, Princess!!), various failed attempts in small towns at anti-nausea treatment and 1 long nap later, we reached Arches National Park. I was just going to drive through until Abrielle awoke and reminded me of the promise of hiking and pink dirt. Sooooo....we attempted the hike to Delicate Arch. I showed her the map with the options. Option 1, a mile or so right up to the arch, Option 2, shorter with stairs to a great vantage point. She looked and considered and chose option 2.....She trucked through the first half great, then the physical stress of the day hit and I carried Abrielle, Alyssa, and the stroller (the 1st half was pretty stroller friendly) the rest of the way while trying to verbally contain Carsten's "I've-been-in-a-car-way-too-long" energy and keep him from falling over a cliff. Not to mention Abrielle deciding halfway up that she wants to go swimming and wants to go find a pool, NOW. She must swim NOW!! (I personally think the filth of the day combined with the dirty trail--pink dirt is still dirt--resulted in her desperate need for water...) The result?

Yep, there we are. And that little tiny thing Carsten is pointing to is the infamous Delicate Arch. This was the "great vantage point" offered by the map. The kids were pretty upset when they saw people actually walking under the arch who went on the longer trail, but there's always next year. I am not sure I could have carried both girls up the long trail. Or down it, for that matter.

Later that night, after the longest trip through Price Canyon EVER (3 1/2 hours worth of construction), a few interesting conversations about why people put letters on mountains (to practice their alphabet, to keep track of the mountains? to make it easy to following the maps? --"go past mountain Y to mountain S then turn right at Mountain V ) and a much needed milk-shake run, we made it!! The holy grail...the land of bacon and eggs, candy and no bedtime.......

GRANDMA'S !!!

....to be continued...

Summer in a Blog-Shell....

So now that Mono-Man (the husband, not the contagious not-so-super-hero) is back in action, I am playing lots of catchup. So hold on and warm up your scroll finger.....


Cute. The only reason I included this picture. It's just cute. She has the best eyes!!



My little fish. She is soooo happy in the water. I have to keep the bathroom doors closed or else she will climb in the bathtum and yell at me to turn it on. This is her private jacuzzi (formerly know as sandbox). No one over the age of 10 months is allowed inside, much to their complaint (not like there's room). It is really best for everyones safety, not to mention mom's sanity.

Brushy Creek Splash park -- did I mention she is a fish (amphibian at least). This was her first time at the splash park. The other babies, even those quite a bit older, were clinging and crying "oh, don't let the water get me!" My little Lissie? She pretty much jumped out of my arms and crawled around on the warm rough cement(!!!) laughing at all the water.


She especially thought it was funny that she could put her leg on the water spout and make it stop....



......then move it and get splashed in the face.



Awww....the last day of school. Ok, so this is reaching waaaay back. Probably doesn't even count as summer catch up, but, hey, it was already hot and school getting out is the semi-official start of summer, right??

Saying goodbye to his classroom....

Mrs. Schmitt....I LOVED his kindergarten teacher. She is so talented, especially at really recognizing he kids strengths and weaknesses and finding out why the weakness are weaknesses. She them puts tons of effort into strengthening them. All this and fun and patient, too. We will miss you Mrs. Schmitt. Poor 1st grade teacher has some high expectations...

The official last report card with the "OK" for 1st grade. Yeah Carsten!!!


Victoria. CARSTEN'S Victoria.....I heard the full report of her every action every day. Victoria's mom heard the full report of Carsten's every move and word every day. They had to be kept on completely opposite sides of the classroom to be productive. The teacher had to remind them that we keep our hands to ourselves and don't need to hold our neighbors hand during story time and stations.

Not bad, Carsten...She is cute and sweet and smart and polite and has great parents. I approve....but couldn't we wait another decade or so???



It is very important for big brother's to teach their baby sisters important skills. Like sword fighting with a wooden spoon. Very important stuff!!!
"En Guard!!!"


Did I mention the fish? (Or amphibians given their dual activity in pools and spray parks.) Cute, Cute, Cute!!

Sunday walk in the park. I believe it was mono-man's first real adventure outside (except for his every other day runs to the RedBox...mono-man caught up on his movies). Lissie LOVES stroller rides!

Yes, you can ride a motorcycle in a dress. You can do anything in a dress, and it's a good thing, because that is ALL she will wear...dresses or skirts. And usually pink, although we have branched out into purple now (see the purple stripe? That made this acceptable attire.)


The closest pic I could get of Mr. Speed demon. It's amazing you can actually see him given all the dust in his wake.....

My Baby Girl. Ok, so I realize she is not a "baby-baby" anymore, as Abrielle puts it, but she is still my baby. She is so sweet and loving and has the best nature. She is very easy-going and curious and does not want to stop. She loves to crawl around the house discovering new things, until nap time, then she will crawl to me and lay her head down on my feet or knees. Talk about easy-going...give them girl "Lila" her purple singing baby and her silky blanket (Thanks Aunt Heidi and Fam) and, of course, her thumb and she is down and happy. I love you Lissi....


At last but not least......


The Fam!!! You have no idea how long it took to get this picture. I think this was the 50th take. Amazingly, everyone is looking in the same direction and no one is trying to crawl away. Given that Carsten and Abrielle look scared and stiff, I must have threatened something pretty big. And yes, Mono-man IS glowing. This was the first Sunday he ventured back to church and he was still grossly anemic. He's pinked up a bit now.....

So there you have it....Our summer in a nutshell (or blogshell, as the case may be.....) Next adventure!!! ROAD TRIP (Enter Tom Cochran music here......)