Who Loves Pink??

FYI: Today is the last day to sign up for the 3rd annual Pink Christmas! Kristi has been hard at work and has improved things each year. This year she's raising money to sponsor a Washington, D.C. family for Christmas. It's for a good cause and is fun at the same time. You can sign up here.


You'll get a pink envelope filled with goodies from the Pink Christmas Sponsors in September.

This is the fabulous magnet board I got last year.

This is the fun stationery, bookmark kit I got the first year.


This is the good mail kit I gave the first year.

This is the good mail kit I gave last year.

You don't have to know anyone in the blog world to sign up, just click on the link above and follow Kristi's directions.

**Have you signed up?
Do you think I should come up
with a new idea, or just keep improving
on this one?

You Can Call Me Mary

Yesterday I put my money where my mouth is for the two ladies I visit teach by having their kids over for the day. One of them just moved from their house into another house in our ward, but still had to clean out her old house to make it ready for some renters who are moving in this week. She's been busy with this move all month, so a traditional visiting teaching appointment wasn't going to work, she was in need of service instead so we had arranged for me to take her 4 kids so she could clean and retouch paint in peace.


As for the other kids, well they live next door to us so Landon plays with one of them almost daily, but they also have a 4 year old so I called yesterday to invite them over to play with all the kids here and to offer to officially babysit the 4 year old. This woman is 2.5 months pregnant so she's super tired and nauseated these days, so a break from her 4 year old (and her 10 year old really) was most welcome.


I was a little nervous about how the first set of kids would feel about our yard since they have an in-ground trampoline, huge play set, and now an in-ground swimming pool at their new house. Our blow-up pool, squirt guns and shade didn't seem like much to offer. The 8 year old boy hopped out of the car and ran to check out our backyard (which is small and never used) and came back to the front yard and said, "I'm really disappointed in your back yard!" I just had to laugh because I'd tried to tell him there was nothing back there, but he probably couldn't conceive of such a thing.


Robyn called and offered to pick up Cafe Rio for lunch (um...yes please) and to come hang out with her kids. I was delighted by her offer. I always feel like "the more the merrier" when we're have a crazy kid day around here. So she and I sat in the shade eating our salads and talking while the kids played. I'm so bummed that we didn't end up getting an official self-portrait together, apparently having 11 kids here was distracting!!


The boys had moved inside to play Landon's new Lego Indiana Jones video game, while the girls played in the garage and outside. I had to keep going inside to check on the boys, but other than that Robyn and I were able to eat our lunches in peace.


At one point the 4 year old from next door peed his pants, but his mom and sister had gone shopping so his house was locked and we couldn't get any dry clothes. Fortunately I had a tub of Landon's 4T clothes in the garage and was able to provide clean Superman underwear (they were a big hit) and shorts...how about that? I thought it was so funny that I had those clothes for him, because that's the only size of Landon's old clothes I have here right now.


It felt good outside in the shade of the trees, but I ended up feeling sun-soaked and weary by the time everyone left around 5:30. I had a bad headache by that point, which was really lame because we'd had a good day, so I retired to the cozy so that I could recharge before heading back outside to clean up the disasters they had made.

Big Winners from the day...


--Doritos
--Squirt Guns
--Two tubs of costumes in the garage
--Our blow-up pool!
--The new video game
--Otter Pops
--Our awesome shade trees

Even though our yard isn't a traditional kid wonderland like so many people have, it still manages to be entertaining for the kids.

**What sort of wonderland do you have?
Any summer "hit" recommendations?
Did you do your visiting teaching?**

1100th Post

Can you believe I've written 1100 posts?
I can't.
In some ways it feels like I've been blogging forever,
but I've also found myself thinking of many
things I wish I could have blogged about long ago,
especially when my kids were little.

I love having a daily record of my life.
My consistency is what motivates
me to actually stay consistent.
How about that?

Happy Birthday Pam!!!

**What motivates you to post?
How many posts have you done?**

It's Our Curse!

Today was our 9th visit to Seven Peaks this summer (we haven't missed a week yet!) and we ended up staying 9 hours, from open till close. The kids seem to really have their groove down with each other and with all the things they like to do there, so it's easy for us to stay that long.

Our personal space was invaded yet again this week, almost hilariously so. We concluded that just spreading our towels around does not keep anyone from infringing on our area, so we're thinking about adding a couple umbrellas and chairs to the mix (or perhaps if Michelle ever joined us that would help). Amie also mentioned that she has a huge roll of Caution Tape at her house, so maybe we'll just tape off our area. Ha.


We had a big group right behind us today, they even had lounge chairs (we haven't seen those there before) so it felt like they were part of our camp. I tried to sneak a picture of the chairs over my shoulder and inadvertently got into the picture myself, but it shows how close they were to us.


Amie and I learned from our experience last week that spending time in kid-filled pools is overrated so we opted not to get wet today. It was a mere 92 degrees today, so we didn't get overheated while sitting in the shade of our umbrellas.

{Landon in red on the lily pad,
Whitney and James are at the rope swing in the background}

We did venture out a couple of times to watch the kids on the rope swing, lily pads and on Jagged Edge (aka The Wedgie). Landon and James have braved every slide except for one (Free Fall) at Seven Peaks, and I have been really surprised by Whitney's bravery this year as well. She has conquered many of the slides and totally amazed me today by going down Jagged Edge (the yellow one) multiple times.


After we watched Whitney slowly make her way down this normally crazy slide Amie said, "She's yours!" She was referring to my slide trauma with Landon this week, so I'm feeling like maybe Whitney and I are a little cursed with slides. (I would blame our girth except that there are many, many rotund people who make their way down those slides without problems. I tried to load video of her hilariously slow descent, but after an hour it still wasn't finished loading, grrr.)


At the end of the day the kids got to claim the abandoned lounge chairs (we usually outlast all the space invaders) that were near us. I am sure they could have played with these and been happy all day if they'd had the chance. The spent so much time arranging them, readjusting them, putting the towels on them, lining them up with each other and so on. It was quite cute to watch.

**Can you believe it was our 9th time?
What do you think of our plan
to keep the space-invaders away?
Would you go down that yellow slide?**

Sunday Thoughts

Melinda gave me a copy of the book "I Am A Mother" for my birthday last year, but it has sat on my shelf until today. It wasn't because I wasn't interested, more because I haven't done so well juggling my 2 book club books this past year. But our Relief Society book club is taking a break for the summer so I've been able to do more reading for pleasure.


There are a lot of great thoughts in the book so far, but one of the one's that has jumped out at me is from Mother Teresa, she said...

"I am like a little pencil in God's hand. That is all.
He does the thinking. He does the writing.
The pencil has nothing to do with it.
The pencil has only to be allowed to be used."

I love this metaphor, particularly when I consider the fact that a pencil needs to be sharpened to work best.


The author (Jane Clayson Johnson) goes on to say...

"A pencil in the hand of God--such a simple yet eloquent way to describe what I truly believe is one of the most important principles in the gospel of Jesus Christ: submitting to his will so the Spirit can guide our lives."

Submitting my will to God's feels like a daunting thing to do. I know I want Him to shape me into my very best self, but the shaping process is scary to me. I need and want to totally surrender my will to His, but this seems to be a life-long process. Though it seems to be one of the perks of the aging process doesn't it? 37 is not so bad.

Happy Birthday
Annalisa & Jenny!!!

**What do you think?
Have you read this book?**

Demented & Sad, but Social

Thursday was Pioneer Day here in Utah, but Randy still had to go to work. I slept in, lounged in bed and chatted with Landon, then read my book for an hour so it felt like a holiday morning for me.


Later we met up with my mom at the movie theater to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth." It was a fun movie, but reminded me of how ridiculously skittish I am. There wasn't anything particularly scary in the movie, just some surprises that had me yelping and jumping in my seat. It's embarrassing really.


After the movie went to Target to wander around. We ended up getting this pair of shoes for Whitney, along with a couple of shirts for school. (I can't believe we're already school shopping!) I enjoyed having my mom there, especially since she volunteered to help Whitney try the shoes on.


We spent more time than usual in the toy section as we discussed Landon's upcoming birthday. He has many various water guns and NERF guns, but they keep coming out with more.

My mom took the kids back to her house to spend the night, so I went shopping at Costco and then spent an hour rearranging my fridge to try to accommodate the produce. Good grief, it feels like our fridge is useless.

The next morning I voluntarily drove out to freakin Eagle Mountain to pick up Landon so he could spend the day at Seven Peaks with a friend. As I pulled into the driveway this is what I saw through my very dirty windshield...my mom with rollers in her hair playing basketball with the kids. That sort of thing just does my heart good. My mom is so cute and tiny that she even looks good with rollers in her hair! (I hope she's not mad I posted this picture, I think it speaks volumes about what a good grandma she can be!)

I ended up having about 4 glorious hours at home alone and ended up working on some good mail while I watched a movie on the computer. It was wonderful and oh so quiet in the house. I really appreciated the time alone, not so much that the kids have been bugging me, but all the friends in and out and the running them around has been bugging me.


Adam and Amy and their girls came over for game night last night. It felt like we hadn't had it for awhile. I ended up conquering at Settlers of Catan, losing at Speed, and then staying in the King position in SCUM for the rest of the time...woohoo, that never happens!



Lori showed up in my bedroom at 9:45 this morning, all dressed and ready for the day and requesting that I get up (I was reading in bed) and get ready so we could go to breakfast. I wasn't ready to get going yet so we ended up talking for awhile, so that by the time I got ready to go it was lunch time. We tried a new Mexican place in Draper (El Rancho Grande) that ended up being pretty good.

We then went shopping for awhile (hence this self-portrait in a dressing room) and I used my birthday gift card to Lane Bryant. I actually got a skirt, 4 shirts and a thin, dressy sweater type thing for church. I think it helped to have Lori there making me laugh rather than cry.


It was ridiculously hot today, so much so that we were starting to feel delirious. We stopped at Sonic to get a big cup of ice for me (there's no room in my fridge for a bag of ice right now) and a cream slush. Then we went to my house and hunkered down in the air conditioning to watch "The Other Boleyn Girl". We were pretty disappointed by the movie because we had totally loved the book. Bummer.

**Have you been to the movies lately?
Have you started school shopping yet?
Have you had an orange cream slush?
Does the heat make you delirious?**

Not My Favorite Thing

On Monday evening (I mean, scorching late afternoon) we met up with the family to go miniature golfing for Adam and Amy's youngest daughter Megan's 4th birthday. This was the first time golfing for our kids, and the first time in a LONG, LONG (possibly since high school) time golfing for Randy and I.

{My self-portrait}

It turns out, miniature golfing is not a favorite past-time of mine. There was a lot of bending involved, and really doing anything in that late-day sun just felt too taxing. I tried to do well for the first 3 holes and then just wanted to get it over with for the rest of them.


The course felt never-ending to me, which should be a good thing, but if you're a shade-seeking, grumbler like me then it's not. Fortunately the kids loved it. They ended up being way ahead of me, Lori and Amy's brother Chris and his wife Amy (yes, another Amy!) so we really didn't see them in action much.


We actually met up with the group during this hole, just in time to see Austin (wearing the white t-shirt in the background) peeing on a bush! I couldn't believe it and said, "No way!" then my mom said, "Do you want to take him in to the bathroom?!" Um...no.

Apparently before they'd left the house she had told him to try to go to the bathroom but he wouldn't go, so she told him she wasn't going to take him if he had to go while they were golfing (tough love you know) and sure enough by hole 5 he had to go. (My mom was tending Robyn and Jared's kids that night while they were at a concert. She is super helpful to them and really their 2nd mom at this point, so she knew what she was doing.)



Adam informed me that Whitney is an excellent golfer...who knew? Do you ever wonder what latent talents you might have but were never exposed to? What if I'm fantastic at curling but have never played it? What if I could have been a contender? I've never downhill skied before or roller bladed or skeet shooted (shot?) and so much more.


We then got to go inside to the air conditioned comfort of the place to have dessert (these pretty cupcakes for the kids, and fabulous mint brownies for the adults) and to sing to Megan. Her enthusiasm was endearing, as was her love of the frosting on the cupcakes.

**Do you like miniature golfing?
How do you feel about bending?
Do you let your kids pee in the bushes?
Do you ever wonder if you're fabulous
at something, but just don't know it?**

What Was I Thinking!??

We went to Seven Peaks yesterday (on a Wednesday!) because on Monday Amie was getting her husband ready to leave for a trip. I was mighty productive at home on Monday, but it was kind of weird not to spend the day at Seven Peaks.


Amie surprised me with another birthday present. She had mailed something to me so that it arrived on my birthday, but told me it was just good mail and not my present. I was delighted with the eyelash curler, m&ms, nail polish and dryer balls she sent me, so I couldn't imagine what else she'd be giving me.



It turns out she had special ordered these Rocket Dog flip flops for me, because she has a pair and just loves them. I have never had pricey flip flops before, I always wear the $2.50 version from Old Navy. My feet won't know what's going on when I wear these and they're cushioned in comfort.

This is a blurry photo, but Amie also gave me 37 mini Twix bars because she knows those are my favorite and because I turned 37. How nice is that?

Now for the drama of the day...


I decided to go on this harmless looking purple slide on a double tube with Landon. I have done it before (a couple years ago) and was feeling like it might be fun...bad idea. I was in the back of the tube, Landon was in the front of the tube. We took off without a problem and were quickly sliding side to side along the walls of the big slide. But then, we took one curve really fast and ended up flipping over and falling off the tube! Landon dove to catch the tube before it slid away, but he wasn't quick enough. So there we were near the top part of the slide without a tube! Landon took off running (yes, on the water slide) after the tube. I sat down and tried to slide, but there wasn't enough water to really push me (it's a slide for tubes) so then I stood up and tried to walk down the slide.


It was slippery so I kept falling, then the next thing I know I hear riders from another tube screaming as they're approaching me. It's a good thing I was standing up already because I was able to cling to the side of the slide as they zoomed past me. (They actually ended up running over Landon at the bottom of the slide at the pool area.) So I continued to do my slippery walk down the rest of the slide, until finally the end was in sight. The lifeguard saw me walking and gave me the signal to sit down, so I instantly fell down and crashed hard onto my right side with my arm bent. I cannot believe I didn't break my arm with this fall! I then slid the rest of the way down into the pool of water and out onto the sidewalk to meet Landon.


I was seriously freaked out by this experience and still cannot believe it happened. I breathlessly recounted the story to Amie and James when we got back to camp, they're just bummed they missed seeing it themselves. Landon is calling it the highlight of the summer along with last week's Seven Peaks visit that involved receiving many, many packs of gum. Go figure. No more slides for me!


The rest of the day was much more relaxing. We stayed until closing time (8:00) and had to laugh at how much the sun had moved during the day. Our umbrellas ended up looking like this and were creating shade 6 feet away from us. At one point James said, "Why are you sitting so far away from the umbrellas?!"


I have to include this photo because it looks like my foot is touching Jessica's face, good times. Poor James ended up slicing his foot open on a screw on a light on the side of the wave pool, so Amie had to take him to the First Aid station. He took it like a champ, but we're feeling like maybe the wave pool is cursed for him this year.

We actually stopped at McDonald's on the way home and got dinner for all of us, so $32 later we were all happy and quiet the rest of the car ride back. What a crazy day, maybe we need to stick with Mondays.

**Have you had any water slide mishaps?
Have you ever done something and
been sure you should have broken a bone
or really hurt yourself, but somehow didn't?
What has been the highlight of your summer?**

Quick Thought

I really don't have time to post this morning, because I'm supposed to be getting ready for a marathon day at Seven Peaks, but I just can't help myself. I grabbed these thoughts online. That's better than not posting all day right?

Thoughts on how to change your life for the better...

It’s never too late to change your life for the better! Let’s get you started with a few truths about life, courtesy of the book Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Dr. Gordon Livingston.

• We are what we DO. Not what we think, what we feel, or what we say. In other words, actions really do speak louder than words. So, if you’re unhappy with some part of your life, take a hard look at what you’re doing to be happier. Chances are, you need to do more. For example, let’s say you’re not happy with your house, but can’t afford to move. You can still boost your happiness by ditching the junk, re-painting the walls, and planting a garden.
• Another truth about life: Every relationship is controlled by the person who cares the LEAST. The fact is, most relationships end because one person’s expectations aren’t met, or someone doesn’t feel loved or cherished. So, if you want to make your relationships last and grow, both of you have to give love equally. You shouldn’t do it because you think you have to – but because you want to.
  
• Another life truth: Trying to be PERFECT prevents us from enjoying what’s good about our lives. Look at it this way. If you don’t stop to smell the roses until everything’s “just right” – when will it be time to sit back and say, “Wow, life is good!” The energy spent trying to be perfect can keep us from enjoying the good things that exist in our lives right now.
• Finally, Happiness is the ultimate risk. Sometimes what we know is more comfortable than what we don’t know – so, we keep plodding down the same life path, even if we’re depressed and want to change things. Bottom line: even misery can feel safe simply because it’s been a part of your life for so long. The fix: Even though it’s scary to try new things, you never know what new experience will turn your life around. So, bite the bullet and learn to draw, move out on your own, or just try the fried squid! Who knows, it just might change your life!

**What do you think?
I'm still not trying the fried squid!
Do you feel like you're waiting for happiness?**

If you’d like to go further, the book is Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Dr. Gordon Livingston.

SPT--Grass

I have been loving all these summer-themed SPT topics from Lelly. I love it that those of us who participate in these are documenting all these things we probably wouldn't do otherwise, it's just cool. Thanks Lelly!


I took a picture of my feet in the grass, but my feet tend to show up on my blog an awful lot so I decided to try something else instead. I had to have Whitney help me out with this, but how's this for getting out of the box a bit?

Things I love about grass...
The smell of it when it's freshly cut.
The look of it when it's really green.
The feel of it when it's healthy and soft.
That it gives us someplace nice to sit while in the yard,
at the park, or when attending the kids' sporting events.
It makes for a great play area for the kids.
It's very forgiving, even when not watered often enough.
I enjoy the whole world of bugs that live in it, but that don't really bother me.

**How do you feel about it?
Did you do this SPT?
Have you enjoyed this month's topics?**

Bacon Birthday

Today is my grandma's 85th birthday, but our extended family party for her was Saturday morning at my aunt's house. They do everything in bulk over there and have the equipment for serving up a big, outdoor breakfast to feed 30 without a problem. I got off super easy this time and only had to bring a gallon of orange juice, that definitely took the edge off having to get up at 7:30 on a Saturday.


We dined on pancakes, hash browns, eggs (not me though), BACON, sausage (also not me), strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, orange juice and chocolate milk. The chocolate milk was such a big hit that we ended up bringing home almost the entire container of orange juice. I can't blame them for this, I opted for the chocolate milk as well.


My grandma has had health problems the last several years and has to be on oxygen all the time. She's pretty weak, but still sharp as a tack and pretty amusing if one sits close enough to hear the things she's mutters under her breath. I love this about her!


After breakfast one of my aunts had planned a game for the great grandkids to play which involved racing the other team to dress up in wacky clothes as quickly as possible then running across the yard and back. It was amusing to watch, but there was really no concept of racing going on with the kids. They were just working to keep the huge clothes on their bodies.


Later we gathered around in the shade (it was hot already) to give Grandma Dot her gifts. People either donated money to contribute to her recent, expensive purchase of central air conditioning (hello! she's 85 for Pete's sake, it's time) or we gave her some of her favorite things like Coke, pork and beans, canned peaches and albacore tuna (I know). She was delighted, especially when one of my aunts poured out the bag of money onto her lap.


The kids got to walk down the hill (me, Lori, my cousin Ashley and and cousin's wife Amy stayed hunkered in the shade) with the dads to have a pony ride. I sent the camera with Randy.


After the birthday bash Lori and I went to see Mamma Mia. I'm generally anti-musical, but since I ended up enjoying Hairspray last year with minimal embarrassment and since I love ABBA I really wanted to see this.


We had to dodge an old boyfriend of mine (who is NOT aging well) at the theater, so that was kind of funny. We saw him in the parking lot, at the concession stand, and then when he was walking to his movie. Yikes. I don't know if he saw us hiding from him or not, but I can't imagine he'd care either way.


We ended up really liking the movie, even though watching Pierce Brosnan sing took some getting used to. The overall feel of the movie was fun and made me want to travel, wear flowy summer dresses and get kissed on the beach.


It also reinforced the importance and fun of having good girl friends that you know for years and years. It's such a blessing to have friends who knew you when you were young, because they remind you of who you are.

{Betsy and I, 1992}

I spent the afternoon reading in the cozy, having Cafe Rio takeout dinner with Randy, and watching some tv. It was a great Saturday.

**Do you ever have birthday breakfast parties?
Would you have gone for OJ, chocolate milk or reg. milk?
Have you seen or do you want to see Mamma Mia?
Do you have friends from when you were young?**