Okay, Pity me!

I know it's tough. But I've got to go. It's only for a short trip. I don't even really want to go. (Ha!) But. It must be done. Gotta help my friend Vicki celebrate her birthday tomorrow.

Try not to pity me.

A Bad Mother

Tyler and Aubrey were at our house Monday evening and I gave them a “Scripture Stories” page to color while we read from the Book of Mormon. Amy looked at the pages and said, (paraphrased, as I remember it) “Ah, I remember these. One time you gave me one of these to color and I colored all the pictures the same color. I started out pretty neatly, but realized that it was going to take me forever, so I kind of scribbled the rest. When I was done, you told me you were disappointed in me, because you thought I would do a better job. I was so sad and shocked, because I had always thought no matter what I did you would think it was wonderful.”


Jeff and I had just been talking earlier in the day about “at what point little children had to learn the world was a cold, cruel place and that their parents were not perfect.” The realization that I would not always think everything she did was wonderful was apparently Amy’s “Aha! moment.” I felt so terrible when she told me. I had never known that for all these years. The funny part about it was that when I was getting the Scripture Stories out for Tyler and Aubrey, there were a few in the folder that were colored.

I pulled this one out, showed it to Amy and smiled. She said, “THAT was it! That was the ONE!” Too funny. But kind of sad, too. It made me feel like a “bad mother.”

Happy Birthdays

Time flies by so fast. Jeff and I celebrated my, his, and his mom's birthdays over the past two weeks. Can you guess what we did???


Bet you didn't guess this one! Jeff and I went to see our friends' daughter Rhiannon in the Broadway touring production of "Legally Blonde" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California. It was SO MUCH FUN to watch. So entertaining. Not entirely appropriate for all ages, but SO much fun! Rhiannon got our tickets for us and we were in the fourth row, dead center. Perfect seats! We went to the stage door afterward and talked to Rhiannon. She is such a cutie. She's signed on for another year and obviously loves what she is doing.


Then of course there was that 20 mile bike ride at the beach the next day. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. It was sunny, warm, clear, and beautiful. The water was cool, but fine after the initial dunking. The waves were fun; there were surfers there all day, which is actually fairly unusual. It was a great day.


The next week, Jeff, his mom, and his sister went to Anaheim to take advantage of "Disneyland Free on your Birthday!" Jeff's day was Thursday, his mom's was Saturday, so it worked out great.


Jeff worked on Maddie and me and she agreed to miss a day of school and another of dance. So we joined them for the beach on Friday.


It would have been too much to hope for another perfect day, but it was fun nonetheless. It was FOGGY all day, which is also unusual since the fog has generally burned off by 10 or 11 am. But, Jeff, Maddie, and I went in the water anyway and Maddie went out farther than she ever has before. She even boogie-boarded a little. She and I actually got out a little far. Good thing Jeff saw us and Maddie had a board. I was a little worried about swimming back in that far, as I didn't seem to be making progress equal to the effort I was putting in. But, I finally found the bottom and all was well!


Saturday we hit Disneyland again and had a great time. I never want to go on Saturday because of the crowds, but summer is over and we ARE in a recession, so it really was pretty good. Jeff's sister, Joy, is the "Fastpass Master" ("Mistress?") so we literally never waited on a ride more than ten minutes. At the most! It was a lot of fun.


California Adventure was all decorated for Halloween as well, (See Maddie under the Golden Gate Bridge?) and we had a great time there too. It took Maddie and me three days to recover from the "fast-walking" pace of Mom, Jeff, and Joy...but IT WAS WORTH IT. What a fun, fun two weekends.



Now we are back to real life. No work, no money, no insurance, no bonding. I'm even applying for a job! But hey, if you're going to go down, I say, you might as well go down in a blaze of glory first!


(Actually we have had several calls with job leads and I'm hoping this means things are starting to pick up a little...)

Beware...

...if you go to California to "look at a job" and your husband says, "Should we throw in the bikes?" And you say, "that might be fun..."

You could end up riding 20 miles (YES, I SAID TWENTY MILES!) along the beach bike path.

It actually was a lot of fun.

Even though the job is "on hold." Sigh...

Indiana Jeff

This is how my husband watches "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."



Alone. Because no one left in this house will watch it with him.
Never saw the "ripping out the heart" scene, never want to.


Maddie and I prefer movies like this! (Yes, we're all kinda dorks...)

A New Adventure

Don't you just love Relief Society sisters?

Glenna S. shows us how to make bread at our first "Raiders of the Lost Arts."

One of eight beautifully decorated tables at a Christmas dinner.

Kris B. and Michelle L., the counselors who saved my sanity the first two years of our calling.

Three birthday party celebrations, one tribute to a past president, two "Raiders of the Lost Arts," two "Nights of Music," forty Potluck Luncheons and Recipe Exchanges, seventeen (or more) funerals, haircutting class, photography class, forty play groups, 2 genealogy classes, ribbon embroidery, three Visiting Teaching Conferences, 24 Book Club meetings, 20 "Finish Your Project" get-togethers, three card-makings for Ronald McDonald house, 13 packages sent to a Cambodian Orphanage, three Food Storage/Cooking meetings, 155 72-Hour Kits in a Can, 2 Christmas party dinners, candy-making, dutch oven cooking, ethnic cooking, mexican cooking, important documents class, 3 Women's Conferences, 3 Broadcasts, stake service projects, 42 Ward Councils and PEC's, 40 Presidency Meetings, and at least 1,000,000,000 hours of loving, compassionate service from a whole group of incredibly wonderful women between the ages of 18 and 99 to their sisters and fellow members and neighbors in the Black Canyon Ward.

THAT'S what I should have answered when the Bishop released me as Relief Society president last Wednesday and asked me if any highlights of the past three-and-a-half years came to mind.

I will miss working with the wonderful ladies in my ward.

Now, it's on to a new and exciting adventure--2nd Counselor in the Young Women, where I'm sure I will have similar experiences with a group of wonderful girls ages 12-13! (Including Maddie for the next three months...)

Simple Pleasures

Who needs toys when Grandma S. hangs the laundry out to dry in Mt. Pleasant?