Mom, Why Aren't You Blogging Anymore?

For some reason, the subject of our family blog has been a topic of conversation around our house lately...

And then the question:  Mom, why aren't you blogging anymore?  

To which I reply...  (sound of crickets chirping)

At one point, it was just because my health was horrible and I just didn't have it in me, but I honestly don't have a good reason anymore.  Illness has passed...  Health is returning...  The catch up game is calming down...  

So here I go again.  For real.  

When our children were younger, I kept a family journal.  When I figured out blogging, this became our family journal.  When our children were younger, they liked reading out of our family journal.  Mostly, it made us laugh.  It was also fun to see the growth and changes.  I know they all check our blog, even now that they're older, but I didn't know they missed it.   

So for the updates: 

Nate:  Knee injury, which I think I may have already mentioned...  Healing...  Not healing...  Surgery...  No Surgery...  And then finally, surgery today.  I promised I wouldn't post the requisite hospital gown pics, even though he was just sitting in bed waiting to go into surgery when I snapped the photo.  Actually, he did say I could include the picture, but I think he also said I'd have to pay him $50.00 or something like that.  He told Tim $10.00.  Sheesh!  Does he think he's a movie star?  The picture posted was actually one I took of him right after his injury--back in December. As far as I know, there are no royalties imposed for that picture.

But about the surgery:  It was torn cartilage...and a piece of cartilage floating around in his knee.  The pain around his ACL was actually a ganglion cyst on the bone near his ACL, which they don't do much about unless it is specifically causing pain.  There was also some other inflammation and signs of a pretty traumatic knee injury that was trying to heal.  They'll start physical therapy again in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, he hopes every day we find a car for him to drive...  We're looking.  We may have found something.  I hope so.  (But he can't drive for a few weeks anyway, so the pressure is off for now.)

He's also got a job now.  He works at Arctic Circle.  In his own words, "I'm Sponge Bob,"  (which really means he's a fry cook).  The newness of the job wore off enough for him to brave just one more interview at an auto mechanic shop, which is perfect for Nate.  It sounds like he got the job, so he may be moving up from Sponge Bob to...not sure which character I should insert here, but picture someone helping out around a mechanic shop...cleaning up, running errands, changing oil, etc.  That's his new gig.

Megan:  In a word, "sports."  And singing.  And friends.  But mostly sports.  Basketball season is over, but she wanted to make it longer, and wishes there was enough time to have eternal soccer and basketball seasons.  Soccer has started with the first two games being cancelled, third being played in the rain, followed by a week of coughing and sore throat, and another game scheduled to play in the rain/snow tomorrow.   She loves her comp team, but has outgrown them, which means a lot of team try-outs in the near future.  She's awesome.

And friends...  She'd probably also do that 24/7 if she could.  I love that this girl doesn't ever get sucked into the drama of teen life.  

And singing...  I think we're the only carpool where the ukelele is preferred to the radio.  (Some days it's both, but usually that makes the driver (moi) a bit nuts so we try to limit ourselves to one music source at a time.)  Megan and her BFF who carpools with us both love to sing, and now they both have ukeleles.  It's a sing-along carpool.  Mostly everyone else is ok with that.  

At home she sings too.  All the time.  Most parents threaten to take away iPods or phones if kids don't do homework or chores, but with Megan I have to take away the ukelele.  (Although she did go through some minor withdrawal symptoms when she left her iPod on the game bus one day and couldn't find it until the next week.)

And she loves photography (see above self-portriat).  She is saving for an expensive camera.  She's almost there.  Go Megan!

And she said something really amazing today, and made my day.  She said all her friends say their parents don't listen to them, and she told them she can talk to her parents.  (Huge smile.)  She also said, "Yeah,  my mom's a therapist."  Apparently you need a degree to talk to kids.  (Tim is just awesome enough to do it without a degree.) 

Jeran:  Just to explain the picture...  Jeran has had some asthma problems this winter.  We thought asthma was behind him, but over the last year and a half it's back.  Usually he's ok, but he got a cold that kept him from going camping over spring break with the scouts...  Apparently breathing is that important.  Later that day we ended up in the doctor's office getting a nebulizer treatment, which he hasn't had since he was about 2 years old, and didn't remember at all.  When the nurse gave him the tube that was spewing funky nebulizer mist, he looked at me and said, "Mom, this doesn't feel legal."  Yes, he's that funny all the time.

He actually left earlier today for a speech festival.  They're staying in Cedar City overnight.  He's in a play next week...The Importance of Being Earnest.  He's the butler.  And he needs a tuxedo shirt and bow tie.  I found a bow tie on Amazon, but I don't want to pay for a tuxedo shirt.  Anyone have one we can borrow?

This kid is constantly a whirlwind of activity.  If it's  not something with school, it's friends.  And he has awesome friends.  One day earlier this year, I was going into the high school with my arms full.  Instantly, three students rushed the doors and held them open for me.  They were Jeran's friends.

He's also into all things geek.  But he's not a geek.  (Really, he's not.)  But he can't wait for next weeks release of Iron Man 3.  I think he has tickets for the midnight showing when it's released.

He's taller than me and stronger than me and smarter than me and he knows it.  And he's great at getting things done so he has time for friends and fun...  And I'm sure he thinks Nate is a better chauffeur than Tim or I because Nate will stop anywhere.  I know there are stories upon stories I don't even know about their time together...just between brothers I guess.  I hope one day they'll tell me (someday when removing privileges is no longer an option).  Meanwhile, I just tell myself that they're just kidding and that really there is nothing that happens on their outings that they wouldn't share with me, because it makes me feel better when I tell myself that.  And "in my world everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies."  (credit:  Dr. Seuss)

Joie:  Once upon a time there was a mom who was happy with three beautiful children.  Then unexpectedly one day, a little girl who knew hurt and loneliness beyond belief came into that mom's life, and showed her the joy of living (joie de vivre).  That girl is Joie.  (The picture is her with her cousin, Kedric, who is named after Joie's dad.)

She was also in a play at school.  She was a patient in an insane asylum who thought she was in an army.  She got to dress in camouflage and carry a fake weapon.  (Yes, even in school...  Don't tell anyone.)

And here's a really funny story.  Joie is fearless.  That's F-e-a-r-l-e-s-s with a capital F.  And flirty.  Also with a capital F.  On second thought, I won't tell the story.  (But if you ask, I'll tell you.)  But the other funny part of the story was this...  A few days after she was gutsy and fearless and asked a guy to be her Valentine, Tim was driving the kids to school and stopped at the store for donuts (because he's cool and awesome like that...insert picture of upset mom).  Joie's valentine was also at the store.  Tim rolled down the window and called his name.  Yes, really.  Because he's gutsy and fearless like Joie, but it turns out when dad is being gutsy and fearless, children are usually embarrassed and humiliated.  Ok, maybe not humiliated, but embarrassed.  And possibly he lost a few cool and awesome points also.

Other amazing things this girls does:  She's a brainiac.  The straight A kind of brainiac.  And she recently started Tae Kwon Do.  Her older cousin, Adrienne, was here for the week over spring break.  She knew of a gym through a friend here in Utah where she could attend training/workouts for a week. They let Joie and Gabby join with Adrienne, and they got hooked.  She broke boards last week.  Don't mess with her. And another funny story...  Son of the TKD master goes to Joie's school and had just been hitting on Joie and her friend.  He walked into the gym one day toward the end of a workout, and was probably super surprised to see her there.  (And I thought of all kinds of things I wanted to say to him, but didn't.)

And she's a good person.  She recently had a friend tell her she was too happy.  Life isn't without challenges, for sure.  There are still moments of missing the people who loved her before this little girl came into our life, but she knows genuine happiness also.  She is strong, and a good friend who listens and understands.  I told her tonight when we were talking about girl drama, "You don't sweat the small stuff because you know there are bigger problems in the world."  And it's true (unless the small stuff is with siblings.  She still knows how to push those buttons.)

Gabby:  This picture is for Grandma Campbell.  She is wrapped in a baby blanket made by grandma.  My mom made blankets for all our kids when they were babies.  Recently she realized she didn't get to do this for Gabby, or for two other grand children who were adopted from foster care by my sister.  She asked them about colors and styles, and a few weeks later, the blankets came in the mail.  Apparently Grandma blankets bring joy at all ages.  I tried to get her to save them somewhere special for her kids, but for now, they're her reading blankets in her room.

And she's caught up almost completely in school.  She pushes herself every day.  She never misses homework, and I don't have to remind her.  She wants to be a doctor when she grows up, or play professional soccer.  She and a friend recently made their life plan:  Live together when they go to college, and play soccer in college, then be professional soccer players, then doctors.  And never get married.

And she rocks at soccer, and being a friend.  Gabby got sucked into some friend drama at school this year, and it's been tuff, but she's a smart girl, and doesn't let it happen anymore.  (Can I just say I'm so glad the being a friend trait seems to run through my girls...huge sigh of relief.)  Her teacher and other adults identify her as a leader in groups.  Charisma defines this girl.

She's been busy lately, but keeps up.  We usually say only one activity at a time for the kids, but Tae Kwon Do came knocking right after she signed up for soccer, and she does it all.  And she still goes to ESL (English Second Language) tutoring four hours a week.  One day this week she went from soccer to TKD with less than 20 minutes in between, and did chores and homework too.  We decided next soccer season we'll suspend TKD for a few months. She might be able to keep up, but it wears me out!

Since school started last fall, Gabby has been remembering a lot of details about her life in India that I've never heard before.  I can see her get stirred up once in a while, and know there is something in her mind ready to break free from where ever she's kept it stored before now... Details of her mom's death.  Details of how she handled that loss, and how her brother handled that loss.  Details of what her mom taught her before she died.  Details of how she got here...and so much more.  That's a lot of remembering, which isn't easy.  A few months ago I started reading "The Whole Brain Child," by Daniel Siegel (great book, by the way), and just this week attended a conference where he presented.  The key of "integration" is the main concept of his book (both within the brain, and in relationships and life).  Gabby is integration, because when she isn't, she pushes herself to make meaning out of her many, many stories of hurt and loss.  She inspires me to be a better person.

In fact, all of them do.  I keep waiting for the proverbial "other foot" to drop in our teen world, but so far it hasn't.  I seriously love this time in their lives.  There is so much teen energy in this house that some days I think I could bottle it and sell it.  (Who wouldn't pay cash to feel the energy of teenagers?)  But for now I'll just breathe it in and soak it up, because it's the kind of energy that can't be bottled.  I know it will be gone in a blink, and as crazybusy as it gets most days, I'm glad I'm up to my eyeballs in it.  Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Playing Catch-up

Life happens so fast!  I know I'll never catch up, but for a few of the bullet points...
Nate finished his soccer season...and he drives, a lot. I have to add that he drives mostly with Tim, because apparently I have PTSD after the whole garage door incident...

I always pictured myself as calm, cool, and collected teaching my kids to drive, but I'm struggling with this one.  He's a good driver (in spite of how the garage door looks), and I did drive with him the first time he drove on the freeway (from Snowville, Utah across the Utah/Idaho border to Juniper, Idaho.)  

(Photos by Megan...from the back seat)

...So I'm not exactly sure how I went from ok to scared about his driving.  For now I'm just ok letting Tim do it, but today I went along for the ride...

Baby steps for mom...or back hand springs, which ever comes first.  (See here for more about back hand springs.)

He'll be 16 in 10 days...  And to the adorable girls who keep texting him:  I'm that kind of parent who does random text checks, so "hey baby," and "morning hon" don't escape my eyes.  (I know, I know...  He's growing up...)

And Megan...star keeper of the Gladiators, musical genius, and friend extraordinaire...  Would it surprise you to hear that sweet Megan has perfected the art of eye rolling and irritated sigh when asked to do anything out of the above 3 preferred categories?  (Truth:  She's an amazing kid.  Amazing!  ...More on her later, I'm sure because she's got some big games coming as well as a spring concert.

Jeran just finished a school play (Twinderella).  He rocks as an actor...really puts his heart into it.  He even sang his solo (a few keys higher than planned because he's fighting the teen voice change).  He also recently cleaned the bathroom without being asked (it happened right after he heard that one of Megan's friends was spending the night while her mom was out of town).  Hmmmmm.....  I'm keeping that in mind for future motivation.

Bad photo...great play

Joie, Joie, Joie...  Love that girl!  She's singing all the time now, and babysitting and working hard on a project for church...more later for her too.

And my cute, cute Gabby girl!  She rocks at soccer.  You should see her kick...and she scored 3 goals in the last game (which at our house means 3 days without having to do jobs...we may be re-thinking that motivator).  It's amazing to see her so new to the game and really starting to get it.  She was good last year, but she's lost her fear and can really go for it this year.  I love her games.  And I love her heart even more.  She's a friend to all.  She thinks of the most amazing things, and loves to help others.  Oh, and her iTouch broke.  The screen cracked.  (Sniff, sniff, cheer!)  Did I really just say that?  Just kidding, Gabby!  And did you know she's also a make-up artist?

Make-up courtesy of Gabby

We also got a new faucet when ours exploded one day right as we were leaving to go to Idaho.  Still on the to-do/to buy list is floors, bathrooms, dryer, downstairs couches, garden, yard, laundry pile...and a new dryer which would help a lot with the laundry pile.  ...And a million other things that never get finished.

And remember earlier this month when I said I'd say more about the time the kids got to spend in Idaho with grandparents while Tim and I were in Oklahoma?  At this point that just isn't going to happen, but here's a link to my mom's blog for that week with some pictures.  (See here.)

Told you it happens fast.  Anyone have a slow motion button?

The Birthday That Won't End

This year Jeran's birthday has gone from being the forgotten birthday to the birthday that won't end.

Friday night, when girls were all finished with camps, we went out for dinner, and celebrated with cake at home.

But Jeran doesn't like real cake, so this year he chose an ice cream cake.

But we forgot the candles, so Dad, the eternal Boy Scout, improvised.

Candles

Dad, the Boy Scout lighting the matches candles.

Technically, you could say we forgot again since we didn't have candles, and when Jeran is older he can blame his issues on being forgotten...

But does this look like a kid who feels forgotten?  (Remember that when you're 20, Jeran.)

So now it's confession time.  We still haven't gotten a present for Jeran...not because we forgot, I promise.

First he wanted drums.  I've hesitated a little over that request.  After all, this is my boy who was ready to quit drums/band a mere 2 months ago.

Then he wanted a wheelchair.  Yes, you read that correctly.  He wants us to go to a local thrift store and buy him a wheelchair...  Because the kid down the street bought a wheelchair at the thrift store, and has mastered wheelchair wheelies.  It's all the rage in our neighborhood.  (Me hesitating, again.)  He even found one for sale in the local classifieds so I wouldn't have to go looking in thrift stores.

But tonight he announced again that he's back to wanting drums.  "And I promise I'll even take band from Mr. _________!"  

And just to be clear (one more time) we didn't forget to buy him a present.  We just haven't done it yet...  

Love you, Jeran!

Happy Birthday Jeran!

Thirteen years ago today this kiddo entered the world, too early to be born yet, but too excited to care.  After only a week in the NICU, he joined us at home and hasn't slowed down since.  When he was three and might have been starting preschool, I debated holding him back a year (seeing how his actual due date wasn't until September anyway).  Within a few weeks he literally started reading.  I thought he had memorized the book so I tested him again...  And again...  He was really reading.  (And hasn't stopped.)

With preemies you always worry about delays, but Jeran always kept the worries away.  The peace in knowing he had not only avoided delays, but was advanced for his age was a blessing.  When we realized he might be born early and I was put on bed rest, Tim and our home teachers gave me a priesthood blessing.  The council of the blessing was to trust in the timeline of the Lord, and that Jeran would be healthy and without delays.  

The timeline of the Lord brought Megan into our home shortly after the birth of Jeran.  By his actual due date, we had a 3 month old baby (Megan) and a 6 week old baby (Jeran), and one very excited 2 year old (Nate).  The next year was a whirlwind of formula, bottles, diapers, burpies, car seats, and sleepless nights.  

Thirteen years later, they're still best buds.  They went to preschool together, and from preschool to middle school, were only in separate classes 4 times.  Teachers kept advising us that "multiples" do better apart, but whenever we'd try it they'd end up back in the same class, and it seemed they did fine either way.

It seems like each year we're a little birthday'ed out by the time we get to Jeran's birthday, and adding Gabby's birthday in there this year only 9 days before Jeran's birthday didn't help the birthday energy.  His big day is also the day after Pioneer Day, a big holiday in Utah, so he has to fight a little for his moment in the spotlight.  

But this year he was looking forward to signing up for facebook the moment he turned 13.  He even baked these cookies yesterday afternoon:

That's a "J", the number 13, and FB for facebook

He also had his alarm set for midnight but didn't wake up until 6:00 a.m.  A little later he got a text from one of his friends saying, "I waited up until 4:00 a.m. to add you as a friend.  Where were you?"  Oops.

Unfortunately, the hype of facebook wore off, and the reality of the day set in.  It seemed that once again we had lost our birthday energy by the time Jeran's birthday rolled around.  (We'll need an energy boost for Joie in a few weeks...then put our birthday season to bed again until next summer.)

Somehow this year an extreme lack of planning had us forgetting to plan a birthday celebration before Megan and Joie left for Brighton Camp early this morning.  Also this morning Gabby was missing her sisters before they were even out the door.  I found her outside early this morning with tears in her eyes (she said it was just allergies), and later this afternoon those tears turned into huge sobs missing her sisters.  We had decided we'd do a family celebration when Megan and Joie get back from camp, and Jeran would have a friend celebration tomorrow...

But three of his really good friends can't come on the day he planned his party because they're also going  out of town.  We could tell the day was getting him down...  Long story short, we were rescued by Captain America, followed by an all guys camping/fishing trip Tim threw together this afternoon for him and the boys.

So now it's just Gabby and me here at home...  Right now she's downstairs singing with a friend and looking forward to a week of day camps at a local farm starting tomorrow.

And I promise we love you, Jeran, and could never, never, never forget your birthday.  Well... there was that one time (we're not kidding there, folks).   

Keeping It Real

"Owwwww!"  That is what Jeran's text from last night said when his phone finally came back into range this afternoon.  That was on his way home from a snowmobiling trip with the Boy Scouts.

...17 hours after being hit in the head with a shovel.  This is him on the way home from Urgent Care, after we were told it had been too many hours since his injury to stitch it up.

The Boy Scouts did a great butterfly band-aid job...which came off (along with part of his eyebrow) when he pulled off the larger band-aid which was placed over the butterflies.

Tonight the the butterflies have been re-applied by a very kind neighbor who comes to my rescue in all things medical.

Later this afternoon when we went for haircuts, it was superfun to get all of the tiny hairs out from around the band-aid and cut on his forehead.  But it was nice that he got his hair shampooed.  Now he won't have to get his head wet in the shower.

And Joie got her hair cut short again.  She's all about change.  So even though "I really, really want long hair," it's short again.

This afternoon Joie helped Gabby create a blog.  We'll post that link later.  Viewing will be by invite only.

And sometime in all of the happenings of the day Nate and Megan went to a movie with friends.

This next one you won't believe...

Yesterday Gabby ate cheese!  She's so proud of herself.  Megan's friend cooked her a grilled cheese sandwich, and she ate it (chalk one up to peer pressure).  She maintains that she still doesn't like cheese, "except on grilled cheese sandwiches," but has asked me three times today how we are going to celebrate her eating cheese.  She even called me while I was at work to tell me.  I think we need a party...and friends...but especially a party.  (We'll be serving grilled cheese sandwiches.)

Twin Prank

We've always called Megan and Jeran our pseudo-twins, or like-twins.  We're even part of a like-twins email group and have participated in a study on virtual twinning.  Megan and Jeran are only 7 weeks apart in age, and in some ways it's like having twins.  In other ways it's not even close.  (For example, I didn't have to give birth to both of them!)

When they were younger I was actually asked a few times if they were twins.  Have you ever seen them side by side?  It's funny what people ask when they're trying to make sense of what they see.

Megan and Jeran continue to have a close relationship.  They bug each other, but they're friends.  As they get older, even though they have separate friends, their friends are comfortable hanging out together.  They seem to know it's just part of the package.

We've always talked about how "real twins" get to do dating pranks and pranks in school as they get older to fool people.  We didn't think that would ever apply to Megan and Jeran, but I think they may have just figured out a prank of their own.

Jeran and Megan are in a big school of about 1500 other students.  It's easy not to know everyone.  Jeran was in class a few days ago and the following conversation took place:

Friend:  Hey, what do you think about dating in 7th grade? 

Jeran:  Dude. No way! 

Friend:  What about that tall dark-ish girl you're always hugging? 

Jeran:  Dude.  That's my sister!

But of course in middle school when kids deny romance, it just fuels curiosity.  Jeran's prankster brain shifted into overdrive.

After school they were all out front waiting to be picked up.  Jeran's friend was with him so Jeran ran up to Megan and gave her a hug.  

Freaked out Friend:  See! I told you you had a girlfriend! 

Megan and Jeran were laughing hysterically, and at that point, even though they continued to claim sibling status, his friend was sure they were lying.  

About then I drove up.  As Jeran, Megan and the rest of the carpool were piling into the car (still laughing), Jeran's friend came running up to the car.

Still Freaked Out Friend Pounding on My Window:  Hey!  Are they brother and sister?  

Me:  Yes.

Slightly Confused Friend:  Oh...  Really?

Me:  Yes, really.

Too funny! 

I have sisters who are identical twins and used to switch dates, take tests for each other, and various other things to take advantage of their twin status.  I think Megan and Jeran are just beginning to figure out the possibilities of pranks involving their non-identical sibling status.

Jeran: Forever Families

Jeran is our performer and clown. He's smart and witty and is probably the only one who isn't really afraid in front of other people. People commented afterwards that Jeran is the family comedian. He started off his comments like he was performing a huge public ceremony, then jokingly switched back to just talking in church. He also likes to puzzle things out and make sense of things, which shows in what he said on Sunday. (Picture taken ice skating on Saturday)

My talk is on the same thing I taught for the family home evening lesson last week, so I am going to go ahead and recycle a few things. My topic that I am going to talk about this afternoon is on eternal families.

When I am bored, I like to think about the big picture; why we are here, what happened before we came here, and what will happen to us after we die? We will be reunited with our families again, but when our parents are busy being reunited with their parents, we have nobody to be reunited with… I used to think that there might be a few holes in the plan of salvation.

But while I was preparing for my talk, I remembered a family chain my mom made for a family Christmas party after Joie’s family died.  The point of this was to help all of the cousins understand that we were all sealed together, and Joie was connected to all of us.  The chain my mom made was a big paper chain made of little rings, and each one had a name on it.  It started with the oldest, which was grandma and grandpa, then branched out to their twelve sons and daughters:  Chris, my mom, Sarah, Beth, Ben, Becky, Esther, Ruth, Joe, Steve, Jim, and Mike.  And connected to each of them was their spouse.  And then most of them had sons and daughters… I’m just gonna get to the point and say it was a very long chain.

But if we had wanted to, we could’ve added each of my dad’s 9 siblings to the list, and all their kids. (If we had really done this there would be no leftover paper on the planet.)  By looking at the chain, we could see that Joie was sealed to Nick and Ruth, her parents, but she was also sealed to our family. All you had to do was follow the chain from our family to her family and it was unbroken.

When we were done making the chain, we hung it on our grandparent’s Christmas tree. It reminded us that through the gift of the Savior, we will all be resurrected again; and through the power of the priesthood we will be sealed together as a GIGANTIC family forever.

The big picture of eternal families helps us all continue through trials and we’ve seen trails turn into blessings.  My grandparents are now on a mission, and their testimony of eternal families helps others who are learning about the church.  My other grandparents are about to head on a mission to Nauvoo to work in the temple.  My cousin is getting ready for a mission also, and as cousins, aunts and uncles we’re closer and have a lot of fun together.  Also, other aunts and uncles are adding to this family chain. Our family is also keeping the chain going also by adding Gabby to our family.  Having THREE sisters can sometimes be a pain…too many Barbies and no hot water in the morning…but the blessings of sharing are lives together forever are worth it (at least that’s what my parents tell me).

I know that we will all be reunited with our families in heaven, no matter how long it takes and no matter how big our family is.


(Link to the story of our family speaking in church.)

A Very n"ICE" Day

Saturday was a day for some ice fun.

Every winter when the guys leave for winter camping or fishing, I wonder "why???"  But if it's fun for them...

Getting up at 5:00 a.m...

Driving hours to a lake...

Sitting on the ice for hours waiting for fish to bite...

So the girls decided on a different type of ice adventure.

We went ice skating!

Indoors

(Megan preferred to "chill" at home.)

Getting ready to skate.

Look at her go!

Joie is getting pretty good at skating.  It helps to have no fear.  

I don't think I ever get past my very cautious skating style.

...But then Joie is the one sleeping with a heating pad tonight, so if cautious skating keeps me off my rear end, I'm ok with my style.

Also a little cautious, but very, very cute.  She also got a lot more independent after this picture, and even dismissed me toward the end.  "You can quit following me, mom," she said.

I can take a hint.

Toward the end of the skating session the ice was really choppy.  Joie and Gabby figured out if they skated back and forth across the center of the ice they got mostly good ice.  

Smart kids.

(If only everyone else would get out of their way.)

And now...(Ewwww....I hate this part.)

We got home to a bucket of fish sitting in the driveway waiting to be cleaned.

I remember reading a Dave Berry column once where he said fishing was boring until you catch a fish, then it's just gross.  

I agree.

Check out the gloves.  That was Jeran's idea.

Sam had the quote of the afternoon:  "I think I need some air."

Getting some air.

Back at it with a little help.

Nate got home a little later than everyone else.  He's the die hard...stays until the last vehicle leaves.  He doesn't need a whole lot of help anymore to clean a fish.

And if you didn't like those pictures, and feel like you need some air, now would be a good time to leave, because it only gets worse from here...

From the first time I asked Gabby what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said "doctor."  

If this was an aptitude test, she's in.

All gloved up...

"Knife please"

(Those were her exact words.)

Ok...this is the really disgusting part.  As she and Jeran were busy identifying internal organs, they found a belly full of worms in this fish.  Yes, worms.

At that point all three fish were declared science experiments.  

I'm all about adventure, but I don't want the health department to have to open a case on our family, not this year anyway.

Gabby ended up taking over for Sam.

And after disinfecting the kitchen we had spaghetti for dinner instead of fish.

Dinner anyone?

Scout Camp--Better Late than Never

 Jeran, Nate and Tim got to go to Scout Camp last summer.  I love that the scoutmaster took pictures.  I rarely get to see them camping.  Here's a peek into the secret life of Boy Scouts:

Eating...

Lots and lots of eating...

And resting...

Fishing...

More fishing...

Wait a minute.  They said Scout Camp was hard work!

Hiking...

A view from the top

Ok.  Maybe a little hard.

More eating...

Great views...

Yes.  Hard work.  Lots and lots of hard work.

Jeran's Blog

Jeran has jumped onto the blogging bandwagon.

Jeran's blog  

Happy Birthday Jeran!

Happy birthday kiddo!  Was it really 12 years ago today? 

Jeran doesn't like cake.  Instead he usually chooses to have cherry pie for his birthday...and today he wanted to light the candles without help.

But in the end with wax dripping all over his cake pie, and candles threatening to tip over, he allowed me to help.

Pie anyone?

My wake-up moment for the day was sitting in primary and watching Jeran walk out to priesthood meeting after receiving his Faith in God award.  Joie was home from church sick today, and I was there in primary for the first time in years without any of my children there with me.  I wanted to get up and go visit mutual!  

Earlier, when the primary children sang happy birthday to Jeran, a little 7 year old girl sitting in front of me said, "Cool.  He gets the priesthood on his birthday."  Following church, Tim, Grandpa Jarman, Bishop VanWagoner, and Bill Farley (his primary teacher) ordained Jeran to the office of deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.  We're proud of you Jeran and love you tons.

6th Grade Graduation

Two amazing 6th graders became "sevies" today! 

Both Megan and Jeran graduated from elementary school and received several other awards as well... 

Megan received awards for Service Club, Safety Patrol, Safe School Ambassadors, Fitness award, and no tardies all year! 

Jeran received awards for Safety Patrol, Top Reader, and President's Gold Award for Educational Excellence (signed by Barack Obama). 

They were served a brunch following the awards ceremony.  I was so glad they sat in alphabetical order!  It warmed my heart to see them sitting together and sharing this day together.  What can I say?  I'm a mom!  I also loved how their awards were such an accurate reflection of their personalities and strengths.  They're both at a pool party this afternoon celebrating.  They've earned it!