Memorial Day... Memories

My Grandpa Powell - in the top five of the most amazing men in my life - is buried outside Susanville.  That's only about 2 1/2 hours from me.  I had never been to his grave.  Never loved going to see graves, I'll be honest.  I remember as a kid being taken to cemeteries of long gone distant relatives and... well... not loving it. Not only that, I grew up in a home where after a discussion between my mom and brother about how she never wants flowers AFTER she's dead because she can't enjoy them, she'd much rather have them while alive - he brings her flowers every Memorial Day.  Morbidly hilarious, I know.  I digress.

My Grandpa is buried not too far from here.  I've never been to his graveside.  The idea of going out there bounced around in my head for about a week before even saying it to my husband.  I don't know what I thought he'd say - "That's a dumb way to spend my day off!  That's too far with all these monkey's!"  It's Dee.  He's wonderful.  He said, "I think that is a great way to spend Memorial Day.  I wish I would have known your Grandpa.  He sounds like an amazing man."  *How lucky am I?*

Once it was decided we'd go I had a few days of happy Grandpa memories.  My sister Suzanne and I told a few back and forth and I was reminded once again what an amazing man he was.  He always made me feel important and loved.  He was an amazing musician (as is my dad) and played his guitar and accordion every time we visited.  It wasn't until I was in High School I realized most people don't do that when they are at their grandparent's house!  He only liked two kinds of pie.  Hot and cold.  Any time my Grandma asked him to shuck corn he'd say, "Aw shucks" and wink at me.  And a million more little things.  One of the biggest things was when we moved here there was and elderly man in our ward.  I don't remember how the conversation got there but he was in the same ward as my dad's family in Susanville.  He said, "I knew your Grandpa.  Not real well, but I'll never forget the time he stood to bear his testimony.  His son was getting ready to go on a mission and they didn't have a lot of money.  Your Grandpa said I don't know how we're going to pay for it but we'll sell the house if we have to."  That is the kind of man he is.

Anyway...
I had told Tyler a couple of his friends could spend the night while their parents went out of town.  So we not only had our monkeys in the car we had a couple extra boys.  Sounds like an adventure!!

 We drove.  And drove.  And drove.  We arrived at the cemetery and I had no idea where their headstone was.  After about an hour of walking around scattered out across the cemetery reading headstones we found it.   (Side note, my parents were on a cruise at this point so I couldn't call.  I tried to find my Aunt's # but no luck.)














We cleaned up the graveside the best we could and placed some flowers.  My Grandma is also buried there, unfortunately I did not know her.

During the search I was reminded how thankful I am for Heavenly Father's eternal plan of families.  I can't imagine a heaven with out my Grandpa!















Out front of the cemetery was decorated for Veteran's Day.  This was Dee and Tyler playing with the cannon out front.


Afterwards the kids were done.  Especially the random kids who were dragged along.  We decided to reward them for the long drive and dusty gravesides with stopping at Eagle Lake.  We were the only ones there and it was FUN.  We hadn't planned on getting wet (ha ha ha) but in not too long Carter was down to his tighty whiteys.  Luckily the boys had swimming suits from the sleepover!

It was super shallow for a long time.  The kids could walk quite a ways before getting too deep.  That's Dee trying to fish but it was too shallow.

















The boys found a huge mud puddle.  Of course.

This shot cracks me up.  It's all the kids walking back, but they look like a posse.  Then there is Carter.  Dancing.  Yes, dancing because he's having so much fun.  Loves life, that kid.

Eclipse

I know I just posted but I feel the need to catch up.  This is a brief one - living where we live we were able to see the total eclipse.  I'm sure I've seen partial eclipses previously but until this time I didn't really care.  This time it was awesome!  Dee scored us some sweet eclipse viewing glasses things and we met some friends for a picnic/viewing party.  Super fun!

 Here are the pictures I got.  Remember this is through the little slide glasses with my point-and-shoot so they're not the best and I wish I would have time stamped them, but all in all it was amazing.

This is a shadow of the eclipse on McKenna's shirt.  It's reflecting off some water on the ground.  I was amazed how much things changed.  Not only did it get darker (like it was almost 8 instead of 6 ish) but it dropped quite a bit in temperature.  The shadow/reflections were incredible.  

The whole fam checking out the eclipse.  Yes, Tyler is drinking out of a canteen and McKenna is talking on her phone, but at least we were able to see it.  Once in a lifetime for me!

Birthday, cake and ambulance ride: Must be a party!

Miss Ellie had her 8th birthday.  That's a big one!  On the "even" birthdays in our family they get a friend party and on the "odd" birthdays they get a family activity.  (Great idea, thanks Kristi!)  Anyway, Ellie got her big friend party.  They also get to invite as many friends as they are old (so eight, for her 8th, you get the idea.  Usually a couple extra because they don't all come at once: until this year...)  

She wanted a "Wild Animal Rescue" party.  We came up with some great games, like rescue the animals buried in the sand box.  Animal charades.  Catch the lion by the tail.  Beat the poor penguin pinata to death (okay, so that wasn't so much a rescue as a greedy dive for candy but when you're 8 ethics only go so far.)

 She picked out the little animal ears to give to all the friends and was SOOOOO excited.

 Here is the crew.  What a fun bunch of kids!

And the cake.

This is Ellie's best friend Sammie.  They have matching shirts and made sure they wore them both to the party.  Guess what their favorite activity is at school?  You got it:  Monkey bars.  The kids had a great time and all in all it went fine.  

Now let me back up to the beginning of the day...

The schedule was thus:  McKenna had a soccer game which she had to be there at 9AM.  She got a ride with her coach and her game was over at 1:00.  Ellie had a soccer game that started at 1:30.  At 3:30 it was her party.  This might all seem like a lot but during soccer season it is a typical Saturday for us.  No biggie, we can pull it all off.  Well that morning Dee had gone to spruce off the patio for the party and tweaked his back.  When I say tweaked I mean he made it inside to the floor and couldn't take a deep breath and couldn't move.  He had strained it a bit earlier that week at a soccer practice and I guess moving stuff on the patio was the proverbial straw.  He was in so much pain.  You know that helplessness you feel when your loved one is in so much pain and you can't do a dang thing about it?  Ugg.  We ended up calling our Home Teachers for a blessing and they came without hesitation.  They recommended calling an ambulance because we could not get him up without causing more pain.  He couldn't even take a deep breath.  It had been about 1 1/2 hours since he tweaked it so when I called 911 and they asked my emergency...well...if you've seen the Brian Regan skit you know what I'm talking about.  If not look it up, it's on Netflix.  Anyway the First Responders came in a big green fire truck followed by an ambulance.  Luckily for you guys my reaction/coping mechanism for stress is humor and I was cracking jokes and taking pictures.  Did I mention I'm not sure why he's stuck with me all these years?  Lucky girl, I tell you.  

I dropped the kids at my best friend Barb's house and  by now I'm officially in freak out stage.  The whole way to the ER I'm doing that angry/frustrated/scared prayer of "Let him be okay (number one, biggest) and the least you could do is let me live by family.  I NEED FAMILY!  I can't do today by myself!  Let him be okay!" etc. etc.  *Little disclaimer here:  Dee's brother Gordon and my nephew Brian were coming up from Sac to watch the girls play soccer.  I knew this but at the time it wasn't all getting into place yet.  Blinded by stress at this point.  The disclaimer is Heavenly Father and I have a relationship where I occasionally freak out about things and blame Him and in his infinite patience and love for me He doesn't strike me down for talking to Him like that.*  Meanwhile, we hang out in the ER with a Dr with terrible bedside manner and little information from anyone, but they manage (after 2 1/2 hours) to calm his back enough to breath again.  Dee is saying "Say 8" to everyone he passes (you NEED to watch the Brian Regan skit!)  After about 6 hours there they let him come home.

During this time Gordon and Brian arrive at McKenna's game.  They bring her home and take Ellie to her game.  Barb has the other kids and they are all cared for and loved.  We get Dee home and in bed.  He'll survive.  It was a strained/pulled muscle.  If he can rest and recover he'll be fine.  Gordon and Brian come back from the game and help me get things together for the party.  Barb brings the kids home and stays to help until it's all running smoothly.  *I say another prayer.  This one is much more humble and filled with gratitude.  We had numerous people from our church call to check on us.  I know Gordon was inspired to come up that certain weekend.  I know Barb is always there and would do anything she can.  She IS family. I know there is a plan, sometimes it's just hard for me to see past the moment.  As I mentioned, in His great patience and love he forgives me - yet again.*

For the great wrap-up:  Ellie had a great birthday.  Dee's back is 100%. Thank Heaven's for it all.

Good Journey - Take Two

So this took a little longer to post than I thought it would.  We are in the month of "we're almost to the end of the school year - just hang on until the end!!!" mode.  Also my computer likes to freeze on me which makes me mad and I don't finish what I started.  BUT. Here we are.

Day two in Hurricane was a relaxing play day.  We went to the park and played.  Soccer, swings, Indiana Jonas and climbing trees.  Then lunch where the burritos were HUGE and delicious.  The guys took the kids swimming in the afternoon while we did a little shopping. 

Day three was the big hike to Zion's National Park.  If you ever get the chance to hike in Southern Utah I'd HIGHLY recommend it.  The sights were breathtaking.  The desert was beautiful with all the red rock and cliffs of all colors.  Couple of tidbits of advice - go when it's cool.  April was perfect.  Try to avoid Spring Break, however.  Lines to hike up a trail is annoying.  People everywhere is annoying.  I am glad we went, but I also think the hike we went the first day was just as beautiful with hardly any people and no tram.  Thanks James and Amber for being our tour guides!

After hiking all over Amber and I took everybody but Tyler, James and Dee home for resting and relaxing.  We were all pooped but the guys wanted to hike Angel's Landing.  We thought they were crazy but it turns out that was the highlight of their day.  Few people on the trail and an amazing hike.  

This shot is from the top of Angel's Landing.  Love it!  

Good Journey - Take One

Usually we take a summer trip to visit family in Utah. This year, because hopefully most of the family will be able to come out here for Ellie's baptism, we decided to take a different sort of vacation for Spring Break. Both Dee and I had only been to Zion's National Park once in our lives, even though we had only lived about 7 hours away from it. We decided that would be a great place to start our vacation. James and Amber live about 45 minutes away and the let us stay with them and were able to play with us the whole time we were there. Talk about fun - and beautiful!

Day One: James and Amber knew of a place about 15 minutes away from them just as beautiful as Zion's but not as crowded or as far. Red Rock Trail.

The scenery was breathtaking. The red rock, the snow, the clouds. Every corner we took while hiking was followed by a "WOW!"

Amber, James and baby Dax. He loved being outside. He loved all the kids entertaining him. The hike was perfect for us - especially with the little ones. They were troopers. The weather was beautiful too.

L-R: Carter & Savannah resting in a hole; Tyler's self portrait; Jonas peek-a-booing through the top of the hole; Diantha & Dee; Diantha by some amazing cliffs; McKenna above the waterfall. The kids had taken off their shoes to hike around the waterfall and I pulled the mom thing of, "Even if your shoes get wet you're still going to have to wear them when we hike Zions!" Then I tried throwing Ty's shoes up to where Dee was and guess what? It slid down the wall - right into the water. Nice, mom!

The cousins on a "horse" L-R: Jonas; Ellie (she said she's doing a lasso and cowgirls don't smile...); McKenna; Tyler; Carter and Savvy

This was at the very beginning of the hike. Around the first corner we had to take pictures. It was all SO beautiful!

And this was just day one. More to follow!

A groovy time

Ty and McKenna were in a play last weekend for their school performing group. It was a 60's show and they were totally groovy!

There's good and bad parenting...and this

So I have four kids. What does this mean? This means that I have already seen fits. I have already seen tender-heart-melting moments. This means I have seen successes in my parenting skills as well as Homer Simpson moments (not so much the beer-underwear thing as the Do'h! head slapping.) I have seen kids shine and make decisions that are wonderful with chest bursting pride and also the moments where they have to live with consequences for a bad decision I want to just fix for them but know with hear-wrenching truth it is something they have to do for themselves.

Where am I going with this? Just a little story. You can judge where it puts me on the parenting scale.

One of my children (I won't specify which one, but he still needs a carseat...) is the most stubborn thing EVER. I do mean ever. He is also super smart. Having three other kids (again, not saying which one...) did not prepare me for all my parenting tricks to be tossed out the window for someone who can outlast/out maneuver/out-think me. **I want to throw in a disclaimer here. I love this child. I love him more than life itself and would give my life for him. He brings me joy everyday and I am thankful to my Heavenly Father every single day he sent him to us. I thought I'd make sure you knew that before I continue with the story.**

This particular child has developed a bad habit of trying to hide from me. He thinks it's funny when it's time to get shoes on to hide behind the curtain. When it's time to go pick up kids he hides under his bed. When we're at a store with clothing (rarely with him) he hides in the center of the rack. His latest thing is when we're about ready to go I'll open the van doors (from inside the house) and tell he and daughter #2 to get in the car. She does. He does not. He thinks it's hilarious to hide behind the tree or even worse, behind the van. Now you responsible adults can see the safety issues involved in this. He just sees the fabulous reaction he gets which generally involve a slightly raised voice, counting backwards from 5, and stomping around to find him with veiled threats (because I'm also usually running late) and a quick frog march to the car and buckling his seatbelt with grumpy force. Can you guess what he does during this time? Is he repentant? Is he sorry for the added anxiety he has caused? Oh no. This little turkey grins. It's one of those times it is a darn good thing I can't read his mind.

This happens a few times and I explain to him why it's dangerous. I explain to him how worried and grumpy it makes mommy. You can picture the scene as we pull out of the driveway and the cartoon word bubbles are floating around from my mouth to one of his ears and right out the other as he grins on the way to school.

I've tried various tricks. I've tried anger. I've tried guilt. I've tried starting to back out (while he was behind the tree of course, not behind the car.) Momentary panic, but the second time I tried it he waited me out until we actually were going to be late unless we left NOW. See "frog march" above.

Which brings us to today. This morning he does it again. Fast forward to this afternoon when it's time to pick up said daughter from school. Usual routine, "Come on (insert name here), it's time to go get the kids. Go get in the car and I'll grab my purse." I see out the window he has taken off behind the tree. I grab my purse. I grab a piece of chocolate. I walk out the door and say in a very loud voice, "I'm so proud of you for getting in your carseat like I asked! I brought you a piece of candy." Imagine a groundhog poking out of it's hole - that kid shot right up. He says, "Thank you mama!" I say, "Oh, too bad you didn't do what mom asked. I guess I'll eat it." CODE RED. His eyes bug out of his head and he bolts into a flat out run as - that's right - I put the whole thing in my mouth and chew slowly while making the most delicious thing in the whole wide world face.

Melt down. He falls to the ground. He is screaming. I'm sure if the neighbors were to see that scene CPS would have been called. "There is a little boy who is OBVIOUSLY dying on the ground and his mom is in the mini-van about to drive away. Not just that but she is grinning."