WARNING: This story is very sad and depressing. If you don't want to feel dark and ugly inside, exit out of this page immediately!
Once upon a time there was a blog. Now this blog was a new blog. It was excited! This blog said to itself when it was created, "Wow! I can't wait to be written on and read consistently for the rest of my existence!"
Well, starting out this blog was happy. It was achieving its dream! But as time lapsed on, the writing and reading diminished greatly. Now all this blog is is a waste of storage space on the Internet that Microsoft probably wants to buy. (The storage space not the blog) The blog wept.
THE END
Sep 18, 2011
Once Upon A Time
Jul 7, 2011
Conversations with a Teenager
Life is never dull with teenagers around the house! Case in point: here is how one of our conversations went yesterday:
Trevor: Mom, can I go to the park tonight?
Me: What's happening at the park tonight?
Trevor: Just going to meet up with some friends.
Me: What are you planning on doing?
Trevor: Oh, we're just going to light ourselves on fire.
Me: What did you say?
Trevor: It's not what you think!
Me: OK-- why don't you explain a little further then...
Trevor: It's not our whole bodies. Just our hands-- then you can throw the fire and it's really cool!
Me: Excuse me?!
Trevor: Oh, and can I take the video camera too?
At this point, I was at a total loss for words. I mean, as a mother my job is to keep my kids safe and teach them to be wise, right? Let's just say I was feeling like a total failure at this point...
Me: Why would you want to take the video camera? Are you wanting to document your death?
Trevor: I'm not going to die!
Me: Have you ever heard of 2nd and 3rd degree burns?
Trevor: Mom, Johnny does this all the time!
Jaden: COOL! Can I come too?!
Trevor: Look, if I don't come home you can have all the money in my account to pay for the funeral.
Me: And if you come home burned to a crisp?
Trevor: That's not going to happen, Mom (inset eye roll). You just don't know what it's like to be a boy!
Jaden: I want to come too! Can I, mom?!
Trevor: You can come supervise if you want to. Johnny said he'll bring water-- just in case.
How do I even begin respond to this kind of question from my (normally) very intelligent son? I mean, teenagers aren't exactly known for their common sense....
In the end I let him go and prayed he wouldn't burn down the pavilion.
(Miraculously, he came back unscathed)
Trevor: Mom, can I go to the park tonight?
Me: What's happening at the park tonight?
Trevor: Just going to meet up with some friends.
Me: What are you planning on doing?
Trevor: Oh, we're just going to light ourselves on fire.
Me: What did you say?
Trevor: It's not what you think!
Me: OK-- why don't you explain a little further then...
Trevor: It's not our whole bodies. Just our hands-- then you can throw the fire and it's really cool!
Me: Excuse me?!
Trevor: Oh, and can I take the video camera too?
At this point, I was at a total loss for words. I mean, as a mother my job is to keep my kids safe and teach them to be wise, right? Let's just say I was feeling like a total failure at this point...
Me: Why would you want to take the video camera? Are you wanting to document your death?
Trevor: I'm not going to die!
Me: Have you ever heard of 2nd and 3rd degree burns?
Trevor: Mom, Johnny does this all the time!
Jaden: COOL! Can I come too?!
Trevor: Look, if I don't come home you can have all the money in my account to pay for the funeral.
Me: And if you come home burned to a crisp?
Trevor: That's not going to happen, Mom (inset eye roll). You just don't know what it's like to be a boy!
Jaden: I want to come too! Can I, mom?!
Trevor: You can come supervise if you want to. Johnny said he'll bring water-- just in case.
How do I even begin respond to this kind of question from my (normally) very intelligent son? I mean, teenagers aren't exactly known for their common sense....
In the end I let him go and prayed he wouldn't burn down the pavilion.
(Miraculously, he came back unscathed)
Jun 21, 2011
Summer Quilt
One of the biggest challenges of adjusting to unemployment (at least for me) has been the need to scale back on all the "projects" I like to do.
But the lack of things I want to do (possibly an excuse to keep from doing the things I have to do) has frankly been a little depressing.
So after having one too many pity parties for myself, I decided to dig into my pile of scrap fabric and come up with enough to make a quilt. I found a bunch of cute (and mostly matching) pieces-- and after one trip to the store (and $10 later), I had enough to round it out.
Here is the result:
This is the first "real" quilt I've done (a pieced once, I mean). So far it is just the quilt top. After we start rolling in the dough I'm going to buy the fabric for the back and take it to a long arm for the quilting.
Ahhhh, I love being totally engrossed in a project! Letting the world go by like I have no other responsibilities is heavenly...
Now I think I've got the quilting bug. I want to do another one!
But the lack of things I want to do (possibly an excuse to keep from doing the things I have to do) has frankly been a little depressing.
So after having one too many pity parties for myself, I decided to dig into my pile of scrap fabric and come up with enough to make a quilt. I found a bunch of cute (and mostly matching) pieces-- and after one trip to the store (and $10 later), I had enough to round it out.
Here is the result:
This is the first "real" quilt I've done (a pieced once, I mean). So far it is just the quilt top. After we start rolling in the dough I'm going to buy the fabric for the back and take it to a long arm for the quilting.
Ahhhh, I love being totally engrossed in a project! Letting the world go by like I have no other responsibilities is heavenly...
Now I think I've got the quilting bug. I want to do another one!
Manti Pageant
Last weekend we took a little road trip. And where to you think we went?
I haven't been to the Manti Pageant since I was a teenager! (It's changed and improved since then) The kids especially enjoyed the pyrotechnics! We had great seats right up front, and the kids even stayed awake for the majority of the show. I think it may have been the first time I stayed awake the entire time!
We stayed at a great little motel practically across the street from the temple. Talk about great parking! It was fun to spend time with family and let the kids play with Kinsey. We missed Trevor but knew he was having fun on his choir tour of northern California.
Before leaving town we stopped at a VERY COOL school playground.
Jaden spent a little too much time on this spinning contraption...
And needed some time to recover!
I think we might do it all over again next year!
We stayed at a great little motel practically across the street from the temple. Talk about great parking! It was fun to spend time with family and let the kids play with Kinsey. We missed Trevor but knew he was having fun on his choir tour of northern California.
Jaden spent a little too much time on this spinning contraption...
And needed some time to recover!
I think we might do it all over again next year!
Jun 14, 2011
Grandpa Gilbert's Funeral
On May 25, 2011 my beloved Grandpa Gilbert passed away. Amazingly, it was only 1 year and 3 days after the death of Grandma.
Since my kids hate to miss those last few (party) days of school, Trent and I made the long drive to Othello, Washington on our own again (thanks to my friends and Grandma Ginger for taking care of the kids!).
I know funerals are supposed to be sad events, but this one was really more of a bitter-sweet experience. Honestly, it felt more like a celebration of a life well-lived. Anytime the Gilberts get together we have fun (in a very loud sort of way). Even at funerals.
Because grandpa served in the merchant marines he was buried with full military honors. He was a cook aboard his ship-- a very good one from what we've been told!
One of the saddest moments of the trip was the realization that I may never visit or stay at this wonderful memory-filled home again. So before we left I spent some time taking pictures.
Their house sits on a full acre of grass. I can still picture grandpa riding his lawn mower around the yard. Sometimes he would let me sit on his lap.
Grandma loved flowers and always had beds full of them. To this day I think of her every time I see a dahlia. When she passed away last year, I took a couple of perennials from her garden and planted them in my own yard.
When I was young, we used to visit every summer and every other Christmas. Many hours were spent near this irrigation ditch, playing in the water and looking for tadpoles.
My favorite place to play was in the potato cellar, swinging on the rope that hung from the rafters and digging holes in the walls to drive our toy cars. Grandpa was pretty upset the day Jeff and Chris used their BB guns to shoot out the light bulbs! I was so sad when it burned down-- I don't even have a picture of it.
This is me with my brother Chris standing near the grain bins down the road from the house. When Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980 there was more than a foot of ash on the ground surrounding them.
Here is the shop where all of the farm equipment was kept in good running order and where they filled up with gas. ( The roof was badly damaged from a storm this past year. )
Othello is a farming community, so this is a pretty typical scene:
I spent many hours enjoying the shade of this tree and wishing we had big trees of our own back home!
Grandpa built the house with his own hands. We always thought it was cool that he put the initial G in the hearth.
Finally (and perhaps most importantly), a picture of the pink bathroom.
Usually in the evenings, a mom would end up bathing a child (or two or three). Someone else would inevitably step into the room to chat with that mom, staying awhile in the process. Eventually another would join, and another and another, until cousins, aunts, grandma (and sometimes uncles) were all gathered around in a circle on the plush blue carpet-- laughing and talking. It is a great memory that I love!
Love you Grandma & Grandpa! 'Til we meet again!
May 30, 2011
Memorial Day
Today we visited Grandpa Jack's gravesite (Trent's dad).
He is buried next to Grandma and Grandpa Howell-- they have the most incredible headstone!
Etched in the branches of the tree are the names of each of their 9 children (plus spouses) and grandchildren.
The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a very large. Many of the early leaders of the church are buried there-- including Trent's great, great, great grandfather Orson Pratt (I think that is the right number of greats.....).
Notice that poor William was only 59 years old! I wonder if Coca-Cola had anything to do with that????
He is buried next to Grandma and Grandpa Howell-- they have the most incredible headstone!
Etched in the branches of the tree are the names of each of their 9 children (plus spouses) and grandchildren.
The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a very large. Many of the early leaders of the church are buried there-- including Trent's great, great, great grandfather Orson Pratt (I think that is the right number of greats.....).
Not too far from here, Trent and Brooke found someone's grave marker with a death date of 1869. It was partially buried by some overgrown grass. But here is the headstone that gave us a case of the giggles:
Notice that poor William was only 59 years old! I wonder if Coca-Cola had anything to do with that????
The Last Game
Caleb's soccer team has been together for two years now. They are affectionately known as the "Blue Goo" (isn't that a great team name?). But this past weekend was their last game. Next year they will be moving on to new teams and new teammates. Breaking up is hard to do. It has been so fun to watch these boys grow together-- both in height and skills.
You could say that spring soccer is overrated in Utah-- practically every game was FREEZING! Thank goodness for a beautiful final game to leave us with a good taste in our mouths.
Here are some of Caleb's best action shots (from the final game--the only one with good enough weather to take pictures!):
(Actually, the goalie doesn't ever get much action but Caleb enjoys a little time by the net)
Take note: in order to have a really good shot you have to have your tongue hanging out!
It's been a great two years!
You could say that spring soccer is overrated in Utah-- practically every game was FREEZING! Thank goodness for a beautiful final game to leave us with a good taste in our mouths.
Here are some of Caleb's best action shots (from the final game--the only one with good enough weather to take pictures!):
Take note: in order to have a really good shot you have to have your tongue hanging out!
May 17, 2011
The Championship Game
Brooke's soccer team made it all the way to the finals in their division.
The girls all came early to warm up and get last minute instructions from coach.
They checked in with the referees,
And played hard
Nana and grandpa even came to watch.
The team played extremely well. But their opponents were formidable, and in the end it wasn't quite enough.
They took second place amidst cheers from the parents. We're so proud of them. Hooray for a great soccer season!
What a cute group of girls!
The girls all came early to warm up and get last minute instructions from coach.
They checked in with the referees,
And played hard
Nana and grandpa even came to watch.
The team played extremely well. But their opponents were formidable, and in the end it wasn't quite enough.
They took second place amidst cheers from the parents. We're so proud of them. Hooray for a great soccer season!
What a cute group of girls!
OUCH!!
Sometimes things go the way you've planned, sometimes they don't.
Here are some of the times they didn't....
Last month, Caleb was playing with the backyard tire swing. It all started out as fun and games. First he would run around in circles pushing the tire, coaxing it higher and higher. Then he would step away from the wildly swinging (100 pounds+ ) toy, pick up a strategically placed ball and hurl it straight at the swing (sounds like a typical boy game, right?) This usually produced stunning results, and it was fun and exciting to see which way the ball was thrown (now in the form of a ballistic missile).
After several rounds of this game, Caleb decided to up the ante. He pushed the swing higher than he ever had before (he must have run around that thing 20 times). Watching him from the window, I knew this was going to be a doozy. Unfortunately, before he could step out of the tire's path to pick up the first ball, he was smacked in the side of the nose by a swinging blue monstrosity and dropped like a log!
OUCH! Thankfully nothing was broken (at least we don't think so...), but he sure had pretty colors on his nose for the next week or so.
In other news, last week Trent headed out to play a pick-up game of indoor soccer with some buddies.
This particular game started out just like any other, but ended rather badly.
About 10 minutes into the game, Trent sprinted after the ball, planning to pass it with the outside of his right foot. Unfortunately his timing was off and instead of a successful pass, his foot ended up on top of the ball and threw him completely off balance. He landed hard and flat on the right side of his body. Thankfully, his teammates were around to help him off the field as he couldn't walk without support at that point. After lots of ice and a 45 min. rest, he made the painful drive home. We made a make-shift bed for him on the floor from a foam camping pad (our bed was too "lumpy" to get comfortable). This is where he spent the rest of the day and most of the night.
He also did a pretty good job scraping up his elbow...
By the end of the day we had found a pair of crutches to borrow (preferable to crawling, you know), which he used for the next few days.
As of today, he's progressed to only a slight limp. Now if he could just get that numbness and swelling to go away....
Here are some of the times they didn't....
Last month, Caleb was playing with the backyard tire swing. It all started out as fun and games. First he would run around in circles pushing the tire, coaxing it higher and higher. Then he would step away from the wildly swinging (100 pounds+ ) toy, pick up a strategically placed ball and hurl it straight at the swing (sounds like a typical boy game, right?) This usually produced stunning results, and it was fun and exciting to see which way the ball was thrown (now in the form of a ballistic missile).
After several rounds of this game, Caleb decided to up the ante. He pushed the swing higher than he ever had before (he must have run around that thing 20 times). Watching him from the window, I knew this was going to be a doozy. Unfortunately, before he could step out of the tire's path to pick up the first ball, he was smacked in the side of the nose by a swinging blue monstrosity and dropped like a log!
OUCH! Thankfully nothing was broken (at least we don't think so...), but he sure had pretty colors on his nose for the next week or so.
In other news, last week Trent headed out to play a pick-up game of indoor soccer with some buddies.
This particular game started out just like any other, but ended rather badly.
About 10 minutes into the game, Trent sprinted after the ball, planning to pass it with the outside of his right foot. Unfortunately his timing was off and instead of a successful pass, his foot ended up on top of the ball and threw him completely off balance. He landed hard and flat on the right side of his body. Thankfully, his teammates were around to help him off the field as he couldn't walk without support at that point. After lots of ice and a 45 min. rest, he made the painful drive home. We made a make-shift bed for him on the floor from a foam camping pad (our bed was too "lumpy" to get comfortable). This is where he spent the rest of the day and most of the night.
He also did a pretty good job scraping up his elbow...By the end of the day we had found a pair of crutches to borrow (preferable to crawling, you know), which he used for the next few days.
As of today, he's progressed to only a slight limp. Now if he could just get that numbness and swelling to go away....
Baptism Day
May 7, 2011
It's official. Caleb is now the newest member of the church in our family. We are so proud of him for making this important decision.
It was an absolutely beautiful spring day and Caleb was all smiles! We are so grateful for the love and support of all the family members who came to be with him. We wish circumstances would have allowed everyone to be here.
He was baptized on the same day as his friends Austin W. and Ryan P.
Trevor played the piano, Nana led the music, and Brooke sang a beautiful song with all the other boys' sisters. Wonderful talks were given and we sat together as an entire extended family. Somehow I can't help thinking that it doesn't get much better that this!
I am so grateful for Trent and his ability to perform the ordinances. He is a blessing to us all.
A special thank you is in order for my dear friends Cari, Kristen, and Robin. They were incredibly thoughtful and helped provide part of the dinner we enjoyed afterward. They brought tears to my eyes with such an unexpected kindness.
This is a day that we will never forget!
It's official. Caleb is now the newest member of the church in our family. We are so proud of him for making this important decision.
It was an absolutely beautiful spring day and Caleb was all smiles! We are so grateful for the love and support of all the family members who came to be with him. We wish circumstances would have allowed everyone to be here.
He was baptized on the same day as his friends Austin W. and Ryan P.
Trevor played the piano, Nana led the music, and Brooke sang a beautiful song with all the other boys' sisters. Wonderful talks were given and we sat together as an entire extended family. Somehow I can't help thinking that it doesn't get much better that this!
I am so grateful for Trent and his ability to perform the ordinances. He is a blessing to us all.
A special thank you is in order for my dear friends Cari, Kristen, and Robin. They were incredibly thoughtful and helped provide part of the dinner we enjoyed afterward. They brought tears to my eyes with such an unexpected kindness.
This is a day that we will never forget!
Apr 22, 2011
Spring Break
OK, I'm jumping in! I'm going to give this blogging thing a try. I know I'm a little slow (and I'll admit that I had to ask Trevor for help in getting it set up), but better late than never, right?
Hopefully after a few mistakes (and a lot of guidance) I'll get it figured out!
Because we had spring break last week (although it was hardly warm enough to be called that!), we decided to go on a little outing and took the kids to see Kennecott Copper Mine. Brooke has been studying Utah History this year, and I was feeling a little guilty after realizing that there is a whole lot of the state she hasn't seen (do all mothers have such an ability to feel guilt over the most random things?). I'm sure it's been over 10 years since we were there last-- I remember that Trevor and Jaden were just little. And besides that, you can't beat the $5 admission price for an entire family!
The kids were a little slow to warm up to the idea that it was FUN (it didn't help that it was really cold-- see the snow in the background?), but everything turned out fine in the end. A lot of improvements have been made in the visitor's center, and the kids all found something interesting to see or learn about. Jaden and Caleb especially loved a video that was very cleverly done. Really, it's an amazing production they run there!
We've learned (by sad experience) not to push the kids into staying longer than is reasonable whenever we go on a family outing. Better to leave on a high note and have fond memories, right? We went, we saw, we went home...short and sweet. Chalk one up for a successful family outing!
Hopefully after a few mistakes (and a lot of guidance) I'll get it figured out!
Because we had spring break last week (although it was hardly warm enough to be called that!), we decided to go on a little outing and took the kids to see Kennecott Copper Mine. Brooke has been studying Utah History this year, and I was feeling a little guilty after realizing that there is a whole lot of the state she hasn't seen (do all mothers have such an ability to feel guilt over the most random things?). I'm sure it's been over 10 years since we were there last-- I remember that Trevor and Jaden were just little. And besides that, you can't beat the $5 admission price for an entire family!
The kids were a little slow to warm up to the idea that it was FUN (it didn't help that it was really cold-- see the snow in the background?), but everything turned out fine in the end. A lot of improvements have been made in the visitor's center, and the kids all found something interesting to see or learn about. Jaden and Caleb especially loved a video that was very cleverly done. Really, it's an amazing production they run there!
We've learned (by sad experience) not to push the kids into staying longer than is reasonable whenever we go on a family outing. Better to leave on a high note and have fond memories, right? We went, we saw, we went home...short and sweet. Chalk one up for a successful family outing!
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