Trying to Figure Out Life

 Does he look ready for Chinese or what?  Our school just started a Chinese Immersion program.  Tyler will be my first and only child eligible to participate.  I am pretty sure I am going to try for it, but once in awhile I start to doubt myself.  My other boys are doing just fine, so why should I switch it up?  Or why should he do it?  Chinese is not really useful at his age, or why should he not do it?  I don't know the answers.  

If you do, I would love to hear about them. 

One time I came into the kitchen and saw this, I thought it was hilarious.  He is probably playing angry birds, I am not sure.  Most of the time he makes me happy.  But last week when he was gone, one day I got really mad when I had to fix the washer by myself and couldn't figure out the right tools.  I was thinking, "dumb husband just needs to come home."  I might have even said it under my breath.  What is the use of being married when I have to do everything myself?  But that was Satan talking to me.  I love my husband a lot and when I said my prayers that night I told my Heavenly Father how grateful I was to have him and while it was hard to have him away, I was glad there was an end in sight and that I didn't have to be a single mom forever.  And then I had a lot of compassion for single mothers.  Now he is gone again.  So far, no throw up, no broken appliances, and no pinewood derbys.  We are doing just fine.  Until yesterday when he was in London and told me how hard it was to be there without me.  He talked about riding the tube and our favorite English word "picadilly,"  then I was sad and wanted to be there with him.  If only it were realistic for us all to join him.  I can't wait to take my boys to London someday and ride the tube, see the museums, and walk around the sights.  I guess that means Kirk will have to keep working because it will cost a lot of money.  

The last thing I can't figure out is why is it so hard to lose weight?  I think Satan talks a lot to us (women) concerning this.  The world obviously puts pressure on us to look a certain way.  We don't have to listen or adhere to what the world says, but we do it to ourselves.  Or at least I do it myself.  Some people have great genes and that is just it, the rest of us can't have them and it stinks.  I am fairly happy about the way that I look.  I would love to be thinner, prettier, etc, but I am learning to be happy with what I've got.  But the diet and work out talks are all around me.  I see it affecting women around me and it bothers me.  I think the world would be a lot better place if we could love ourselves and quit comparing.  The same goes for blogging.  Does anyone else wonder how there are so many "perfect" women out there who shop at Anthropologie, are a size 0, a professional writer, and photographer.  Sometimes I get annoyed.     

Good News/Bad News

Good News-we had in-n-out for dinner.  David wanted a double double, but I told him not until he was taller than me.
Bad News-David later left his burger in the hallway in the form of throw up, so glad he didn't get a double double


Good News-the carpets are super clean, I have been meaning to shampoo them
Bad News-I really hate cleaning up throw up and I didn't want to clean carpets in the middle of the night


Good News-I had a great Valentines Day despite Kirk being gone.  I went on a date with my kids.  We went and saw Gnomeo and Juliet and had heart shaped pizza for dinner, it really was a lot of fun
Bad News-I really missed Kirk tonight when I had to do all the clean up myself


Good News-I am not going to the gym tomorrow and can't wait to sleep in.
Bad News-It is 1:13 am.  So much for catching up on my sleep

Wordy Weekend

First of all, it is Valentines Day and my husband is working out of town.  That is a bummer, but it seems to happen to us a lot.  The first Valentines Day we celebrated together was back in high school.  My best friend Kim and I made dinner for Kirk and his friend.  We had heart shaped pasta and red jello cut with heart shaped cookie cutters.  I don't remember the rest, but I am sure we had dessert and something else.  We ate in my camping trailer, it was fun. They boys teased us forever about the "Utah" shaped jello.  The hearts didn't turn out so well.  Then Kirk went on a mission, then I decided to go on a mission and it had been a long time since we had been together for Valentines Day.  So one night before my mission he surprised me.  He made me dinner, well actually I am sure it was his mom, and we ate it in his trailer.  It was fun night.  Even though that wasn't really Valentines Day, I still remember it as being Valentines Day.  The next one we spent together was after we were married for just a couple of months.  I don't remember it.  I don't really remember any of the others either, I guess that is kind of sad.  But we grew up and moved to the city where going out is like the last thing you would want to do on the 14th and we don't a camping trailer, and I guess we aren't that creative anymore or more likely we are too tired to be creative.  I will remember this year though.  I didn't get anything for Kirk.  I knew he would be gone and I figured, oh well.  We planned to go out for a yummy dinner Saturday night, but guess what, apparently that is when the rest of the world was trying to celebrate and we ended up at Cafe Rio, which made us both happy anyways.  But just before we left, Kirk surprised me with a gift.

He had gone and bought this perfume for me.  Not only was I really excited because I love it, but I couldn't believe he remembered and then picked out the exact scent that I liked as well.  You see Jo Malone has a lot of scents.  When we were in London back in November I found her scents and was mesmerized and Kirk wasn't even with me.  They were all so yummy.  I picked out a few favorites.  More recently Kaitlin and I were at the Mac counter in Nordstrom and found ourselves sampling the yummy scents again and picking up a few samples, which is my favorite thing to do at department store perfume counters.  They are great for traveling and to try things out before you buy.  Anyway, I had found a new favorite and it was the Nectarine Blossom and Honey scent.  I didn't even mention this outing to Kirk.  When he gave me the gift, I figured Kaitlin must had told him about it, but she did not, he did it all on his own and picked out the exact same one that I would have.  Yes, he is a wonderful husband and I am so lucky and very undeserving this year.  I especially felt this as I had to listen to my family (siblings and mom) recount all my old boyfriends and dating experiences for the millionth time this weekend.  Did anybody else in my family ever date?  Can we please talk about them?  I should have planned better and got him something.  Any good ideas?

Sunday we had a great lesson in Relief Society about sacrifice.  The question was asked, "What sacrifices do you make?"  I had a hard time thinking of one.  In reality I guess I make a lot of sacrifices, but so many of them are simply habits, that they don't really feel like a sacrifice.  As I thought about this throughout the lesson, I realized I need to be better and saw there was a lot of room for improvement in my life.  Good grief I have been blessed with a lot, my life seems a little too easy at times.  And I think it is a huge problem.  I worry that in our world of instant gratification we will continue to see a lack of sacrifice.  Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven-I need to think of that more often.  

To top off the weekend, the grammys were on tv last night.  I love listening to music.  It cements memories for me and is the background for good times.  But the people who make that music are nut jobs.  I watched about 1 minute of eminem and rhianna sing a song that I listened to last summer.  They introduced eminem as having already won 2 awards, really?  Surely it couldn't be for his music.  The song was unrecognizable, probably a new fancy version, and then most of eminem's lyrics were silent because they were not appropriate.  And we won 2 awards, for reals?  I had to change the channel, it was too much.  So we channel surfed for awhile and then tuned back in near the end.  It was eminem accepting another award.  I couldn't believe it.  Who decides that stuff anyways?     

Curtains? Just Maybe

Last year I repainted the part of my house where I spend all of my time, the kitchen and family room.  I went from warm and intense colors to cool and light colors.  It was a big change and it has inspired me to get some help with decorating.  

This is my kitchen color, it is much more blue in real life.

This is the color in my family room.  The rooms are connected.

So for the first time since we have lived here, I am looking to get some curtains.  I am excited and think it will brighten and warm up my spaces.  Today I am leaning towards the green...it might be different tomorrow.

My Little Boys

My boys are big and tough and smelly and know everything there is to know about sports, but really they are just little boys in bodies that are starting to grow.  And I am so glad they are still little inside.  I love to see the twins (especially) get out their legos and play on the floor.  I know these days are limited, but I don't want to forget them.  I don't want them to grow up too fast!

While they were off track, there were lots of sleep overs too:)

Route 66

Maybe it's because my husband has been talking about it for over a year, maybe it's because we have been listening to the Beatles this week on the way to school, maybe it's because my kids are older, but I have got the itch to take my kids skiing, I've got it real bad.  When I was a teenager, I got skis for Christmas and even had a season pass.  We went to Elk Meadows to ski.  Most of the trails, maybe all of them, had the same names as the Beatle's songs.  There was one hill called Route 66 that I used to love to ski down.  It was a big steep hill that was groomed, I was never any good at moguls.  When you were at the top, you couldn't see the bottom.  It always scared me a little, but I always loved it.  And it always felt good to be at the bottom and look up at what I came down.  Then we would zoom down the trail to the lift again.  I used to love to ski and I went enough that I could ski most anything.  I am afraid it would be very different today.  I haven't been skiing since I had kids, that was over 10 years ago.  And I am sure I would not be so brave as I used to be, but I still want to go.  My twins are almost 10 years old and have never been.  It seems like the people who ski around here start a lot earlier than that.  And now I have 4 kids and I am thinking it might be nearly impossible to take them all at once.  I found a great little deal at Park City Mountain for first timers.  Now we just need to get basketball over with and set a date!  Any advice for taking kids skiing?

What I Know and Don't Know

Lately I have been feeling a little out of it.  I realized I know more about the Bachelor than I do about what is going on in Egypt.  That is probably NOT a good thing.  At the same time I don't really know how to fix it.  The Bachelor is way more entertaining than the nightly news, plus my husband hates the news and claims it makes you depressed.  So it is never on at home.  I get a little local news a couple times a week at the gym, but that is about it.  Most of the time I don't know what is going on locally either.  I really don't want to have to sit down and watch the nightly news, it seems like everyone has a different twist on it anyways.  If I DVR the news, I am sure I won't get back to it.  I catch little things here and there on msnbc.com, but that is it.  So I am wondering, how do you stay informed?  I have been thinking about subscribing to Newsweek or Time magazine.  I really don't want the paper in my driveway or online everyday, because honestly, I won't get to something everyday, but I might get to a magazine once in awhile.  So help me please, I have become an uniformed stay at home mom who is beginning to feel very uneducated.  Except earlier today when I visited with my neighbor, she spoke in portuguese and I understood her just fine.  It was awesome.     

For Sale

We are selling a few things around here.  

First of all, our Nikon d5000.  It is one year old and in perfect condition.  We are selling it with a 18-55 mm lens, Nikon camera bag, battery, necessary cords and cables.  For details on the camera and its capabilities, click here.  We have loved this camera!  We are asking $500.

  

We are also selling this desk.

For details on the desk, click here.

So far we have gotten by with just laptops at our house, but as our kids are getting older, we have decided it might be time to get a desk top computer and unfortunately, this desk won't hold one.  It is 2 years old and in great condition.  We are asking $500.

Sledding Injury 2010

We live by a wonderful sledding hill.  It is huge and the kids love it!  I love it because it is within walking distance.  It was made for sledding, so pretty much the only obstacles are the other people, you have to watch out because it is a pretty popular place to be!

 This was the sledding injury for 2010.  Since he closed his eyes, he is not sure how it happened;)  At least it didn't require stitches!

Budding Scholars

Jacob and David recently participated in a "wax museum" at school.  Jacob was Thomas Edison and David was Zachary Taylor.  They had to make a display and orally present information about that person as if they were that person.  We worked at home on their displays.  They read their books and wrote their reports on their own.  I guess I didn't really pay too much attention to the actual requirements because I was so impressed when I got there and realized they were sharing all their information from memory.  We did not practice or talk about this at home.  These twins have amazing memories!  I can't wait to see what they become!

Ethan just participated in the school spelling bee.  I was proud of him for trying and making it to the finals.  He did not win, but he did awesome!  I love that he tries so hard to be successful at whatever he does.  I can't wait to see what he becomes as well!

The Cherry on Top

Just before we left for home, my siblings and I, took a little visit to my grandma's home.  No one has been living there for several years.  My aunts have stayed there during the summers, but I had not been in the house for years and years.  With both of my grandparents now gone, it was a sweet opportunity to see their home and reminisce.  Knowing that my aunts stay there in the summer with their kids, I honestly expected that the house might be a lot different, but it wasn't.  So much was the same as when we were kids and used to stay there.  I couldn't believe it.  During the weekend we talked about a few different things we remembered.   

One of them was this pink stove.  It plugs in and really works.  When I was little and my grandma made bread, she would put a little in a pan and I got to baked it in this oven.  I LOVED it!  We were overjoyed when we found it in the basement.  Well, mostly just Kaitlin and I were excited about it:) 

 We all have fond memories of these old stuffed snakes.  There were two of them and we played with them over and over again.  We were so excited to find them!  I honestly can't believe how so many of the toys we played with as kids were still there, just as we remembered them.

 Wearing them around our necks was our favorite:)

 

The basement contains all kinds of treasures and still houses many fruits and vegetables that my grandma canned.

  

 In the winter, there was always a fire going in the fire place.  

 This is my grandma's kitchen, exactly the way I remember it as a kid.  She never had a dish washer, and I do remember when she didn't have a garbage disposal either.

 If there was a theme to this house, it might be purple.  Isn't that carpet just the best?  It has been there forever and I love that the afghan matches it perfectly.

 The piano is still there and still out of tune.

 When we went to grandma's house for breakfast, we would always have toast and boiled eggs.  My grandma would boil the eggs and them mash them with a fork in these little bowls.  She would sprinkle them with salt and pepper and we would gobble them up.

 When I visualize my grandma in her home, I either picture her standing in front of the stove or sitting in the chair below.  At the stove, she was usually tending to her bread, cooking, or just visiting.  Just beyond this stove top is a plastic dome thing that she always had applesauce cookies in.  We could always find them in there when we came to visit.

 Grandma's chair when she sat down, which wasn't very often.

 Grandpa's chair.  It is so classic that it is covered in old towels, they seemed to fix everything.  I picture my grandpa sitting here early in the morning getting his work boots on so he could go out and do his chores.  

 These pillows have been on the floor as long as I can remember.

 When I was little, I used to find candy in this jar.  I love that is matches the rest of the room, blue and purple;)

 This rock/petrified wood always sat right there in the corner.  I have no idea where it came from, but it was always there.  My grandma used to have plastic runners on the carpet because you had to walk through the carpet to get to the kitchen, later they got rid of those.  

 A board game we played as kids.

 Toys we played with.

 This metal cup was my grandpa's and when he came in from working, he would use this to get a drink.  It is amazing to me that it is still sitting in the same spot!

My grandpa always had a collection of flashlights and we found it!

Mostly these posts are for me and my family.  Being here was so much fun.  I realized how important it is to take care of the things that I have and make them last.  Not only does it save you money in the long run, but it brings so much joy and satisfaction as well.  I still can't get over how it is all still the same.  The decorations, the furniture, and all of the things.  My grandparents lived frugally and never had much, but they still sent their kids on missions, to college, and saved enough money to pay for care centers if they ever had to live there.  I came home with a renewed sense to do a little better and want a little less.  Except costco got me today, darn it!  I need to stay out of there. 

Rockville, the Day of the Funeral

Saturday after the funeral, my sister and I went for a walk down by my grandma's house.  We took lots of pictures and admired all the junk:)  I decided I wanted to post some of the pictures, so I will get to my favorite part next time.

This is where my grandma hung her clothes out to dry.  During the summer that I lived with my grandparents, I also hung my clothes out to dry.  Who knew it was going to be good practice for my mission.  I have often wished I had a place at my house where I could hang my clothes out to dry.  I definitely have enough wind.

I love this picture of my grandparents' cars.  My grandpa rode that "mule" around everywhere.  I can't believe that it is still there along with their car.  My parents bought a mini van about the same time.  They had just come out with them, and they were such a novelty.  Since then, my family has gone through lots of cars, but my grandparents still have theirs, who knows if it runs!

With the hopes of being able to "use up" everything, there is a lot of junk laying around my grandparents' house.  These are old gas tanks, I am not really sure what they are called, but my grandpa used to have gas in them and I remember him filling up my old Buick Skylark once in awhile.  

This is the pecan tree at their house.  It produces a lot of pecans!  My grandma spent a lot of time cracking nuts and she always had some to share.  It is much prettier later in the year when there are some leaves. 

More junk....but I remember this car sitting at their house when I was a little girl.  I had no idea it was still there, it is just a little more hidden from plain sight.  

Lots of old tractors hanging around...

Bridge Road is one of my favorites, I have posted pictures of this bridge before, but everytime we go, it is still one of my favorite things to see.

At the end of my grandparents' lane, you can see the house where Kirk's grandpa grew up.  Small world!

And this is another reason why we love Rockville so much!