Life is Sweet

Saturday, August 14, 2010

While The Girls Were Away

While the girls were at EFY, Bill, my sister, and I came up with a few fun Utah things to do with Mauri and Hannah. (It was, after all, Mauri's only "vacation" all summer.)

One of our exciting ideas was to hike Mt. Timpanogos. As we were waiting to meet up, we stopped by the local Iceberg drive-thru for some serious shake action.

Can I just say, those were the biggest darn shakes I've ever seen.

I tried lime since it sounded so refreshing,

and since it's one of my all-time favorite flavors,

and since I've never seen a lime shake on a menu before (Iceberg has about a million choices).

By the time I was nearing the last half of that bright green, artificially-flavored lime ice cream mix, I wanted to never have a lime shake again. In my life.

And wouldn't you know... Mt. Timpanogos was closed. (Yes, a mountain can be closed. FYI.) For scheduled maintenance. Just our luck. So we decided to drive to Cascade Springs a little further up the canyon. Actually, a lot further. On a slow, winding road. After eating way too much ice cream. But we made it, and found the easy hike and beautiful scenery very rewarding.

It actually was lucky that Mt. Timpanogos was closed, since we discovered, on this kinder, gentler hike, that Mauri and Hannah had been jumping off Grandma's fence the day before, and both sustained minor ankle and knee injuries. Mauri could hardly walk (and she had a swelling knee to prove it), so Billy-the-hero carried her most the way.

We took tons of pictures by this interesting burnt tree stump. I liked the silly picture best. (I'm not sure my mom has ever taken a silly pic before... she's such a good sport.)

After the hike and the long drive back down the mountain, we headed to my brother and sister-in-law's new house in Herriman, where we visited a nearby fountain park to play and have dinner.

It's always fun to reconnect with cousins... who maybe aren't completely sure who you are (living far away has it's drawbacks).

Bright and early (VERY early) the next morning, Bill and Mauri headed out to go fishing with Grandpa G., Uncle Matt, and Christian. (Hannah was invited but, knowing herself oh-so-well, said, "I think I would get bored. I'd rather go shopping." That's a girl after my own heart.)

They survived rain, wind and hail (we're used to it, we're from Colorado, remember?), and still had a great time.

Another day we hit the zoo. Hogle Zoo. I don't know why I thought it would be great fun to get the cousins together at the zoo. (Don't kids love the zoo? But there were an awful lot of cousins that didn't think that it sounded so fun. I was feeling the pressure, since it was my big idea.) I thought we could visit the zoo, then head over to the This Is The Place park, remembering that my kids loved that adventure in years long past. Mauri and Hannah were all for it.

The zoo was {OK}. The animals were less than active, and there wasn't a bear to be seen. It was hot. Angela, my sister-in-law, purchased a drink for her parched children, and they wouldn't give her a lid OR a straw. (Yeah, just give a 3-year-old a cup full of orange drink and see how long it lasts.) The bird show people were less than accommodating. The train engineer sped through the back lots of the zoo faster than a speeding bullet.

Oh yes, I remember Hogle Zoo now.

But oh, the family time. That makes it worth it.

I hadn't even seen my cute nephew Justin before this trip to UT. He is such an angel baby. (Does that ever last? My fingers are crossed for you, Ange.)

And Britta came to hang out with us too. It was great to see so much of her this visit.

Around 2pm we finally made it through the zoo, and hadn't stopped for lunch. Everyone was famished, and wanted to know where we should eat our picnic lunch. Again, the pressure of a decision was a tad overwhelming. Okay, if it's up to me (it was my idea, after all)... Hmmm.

We ate...
on the grass
under a tree
by the maintenance area
towards the front
of the This Is The Place park.

What a fitting ending to our zoo expedition. Not quite as good as we imagined.
(Although the lunch - and company - was good.)
Those maintenance people kept giving us funny looks as they drove by.

We'll have to reminisce with Brigham Young another day as, after lunch, we were more than ready to head back to Grandma's.

There it is. Utah vacation in a nutshell. (Okay, there was a little shopping, too.)

Friday, August 13, 2010

If Wishes Were Fishes

Last night my friend Steph called to see if I wanted to watch the meteor shower with her.

What time?

About 11.

I've told her before that I turn into a pumpkin at 9, so I would have to text her back around 10 to let her know if I could stave off my pumpkiness for a few hours.

I skipped the Back-to-School night at the high school because Bill couldn't go, and we have two kids at the school, so someone would get neglected in some way because I couldn't attend all the classes of both girls, and I have two zits on my chin, and just couldn't bear the thought of spending two hours traipsing from one class to another among throngs of parents, smiling pleasantly while inwardly thinking about how I should have made dinner for my family, and how I need to get school supplies, only to get brief descriptions of classes and email addresses of teachers that are all already available online, all the while living my reoccurring nightmare of being back in high school, unable to remember my schedule or locker combination, and being two chapters behind in math class.
That's a good enough excuse, isn't it? (Still feeling guilty.)

Instead, I cooked dinner for my family, we ate together, then did the dishes together. We compiled a list of necessary school supplies, then Shilo and I headed to the store to acquire them while Lexee worked on homework and Mauri watched a few episodes of her favorite shows (which, unfortunately, I couldn't even name for you). Bill attended his meeting, then we all met back together around 10 to read scriptures and have family prayer. Since Mauri had a day off of school the next day, and since my pumpkiness seemed to be in check, I sent Steph a text.

Are you still planning on going tonight?

(And no, I don't abbreviate anything when I text. I'm not sure why.)

She called back and said she would be by to pick Mauri and me up around 11.

Bill said he was jealous. He wanted to go. But he needed to get to bed. No day off tomorrow for him.

We had a great time. We found a spot in the middle of the high school football field, where we laid out our blankets and huddled together for warmth. (So yes, I've been in a huddle on a football field.)

(See the astro-turf? At least we didn't have to worry about the sprinklers coming on.)

Madalyn snapped some pictures of Mar and me, which is when we discovered that those parking lot lights in the background can do cool things...

...like make fish.

So the girls tried a few other picture-taking techniques.

Then they settled down to watch for shooting stars to wish upon.

We watched for almost two hours, with good success, then headed home. The best part of the meteor show was supposed to be around 3am. I thought how I would love to see it. Then I climbed into bed.
It was a good night. Literally. Good Night.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Not-So-Well-Oiled Machine

Lexee and Shilo attended EFY at BYU while we were in UT (love those acronyms). This was Shilo's first year, but Lexee had attended several times before. In fact, between all of my children, we have done an EFY check-in for a total of seven times. That's seven. 7. So you would think that we could go through the process with some degree of expertise. Ah, but no.

You would think EFY check-in would be the smoothest, easiest, most convenient process around. I mean, BYU's been hosting summer EFY programs for who knows how long. Every Monday, all summer long, floods of youth and their parents from all over the country pour into Provo... youth excited for new adventures with new people, and a whole week to socialize... parents excited for the gospel-centered activities and testimony growth potential for their children.

We have always gone with our Feil cousins, so last year, my sister and I thought we had it all figured out. We would do our customary grocery store run for snacks, get the kids lunch, THEN check in, once the crowd had died down a bit. It worked well. We arrived at the check-in area to find no long lines. We crossed our fingers as each of our children had their temperatures checked (remember the swine flu?). We got our room assignments, notebooks, and DVDs. Then we went to pick up the shirts, where we were informed that they only had large shirts left. Sorry, we were told, that was all they had. Our petite girls and slender guys would need to wear a large shirt. We were frustrated, knowing that there were many more sessions of EFY to come, and that there certainly had to be small shirts somewhere. We took the shirts, the kids wore them at the required times during the week, and then they brought them home, where Lex's ended up in the Goodwill pile.

I'm sure you may be thinking this is really not a big deal. BUT (and that is a big "but"), my girls have always worn their EFY shirts around proudly. Around their non-member friends. At school. Here and there. Endless opportunities to advertise their values and beliefs.

So this year, we determined to be at check-in on time.

The past two years, check-in has been held in the parking lot just west of the football stadium. Prior to that, it was held at the Marriott Center (where there is shade... a detail that is important to note as you read further). When we arrived (at 11am on the nose), the line wound up the side and around the back of the parking lot. There were four simultaneous sessions, so we confirmed we were in the correct line for the Red session.
And it was hot. And we waited.

On that black asphalt. For an hour and 15 minutes.

See those white tents? Those were just to provide temporary shade once your line finally got there. There was more line to follow.

Once we got a little closer to the tents, they divided our Red session line into four lines, determined by your last name. My sister and her kids, along with Lexee's friend Hailey, moved over to their line (A-H). We stayed in the the O-Z line. And we waited. And waited. No movement. My sister's line made steady forward progression. I saw them reach the tents. Some EFY counselor came by to "fan" the line and made a comment about how we were all in the same place as when he last came by, 15 minutes ago. I started to come unglued. Or I guess "melt down" would be the proper verbiage.

Why isn't our line moving? I asked. Why are the people we arrived with almost through, and we haven't moved at all? Do you know how hot it is out here? We are on black asphalt on a nearly 100 degree day. We've been here for nearly an hour. His response? There are simply more O-Z people here to check in.

My husband told me I was embarrassing our daughters, and why don't I just go sit in the air-conditioned car with Mauri, my niece Hannah, and Grandma. I was still fuming as I walked to the car... past the 20+ EFY people standing in the shade. Past the table where very slowly, one-by-one, the lanyards and room assignments were being handed out to the O-Z line. (Oh, and those tents set up to provide temporary shade as your line progressed? There wasn't one for that O-Z line. Are you kidding me?)

So here's my issue: Registration for EFY is in January. It's all done by some kind of lottery system these days, and the sessions fill up pretty darn fast. You can register late IF someone withdraws in the session you want, but for the most part, the session assignments are made by March or April. They should know how many people are registered in each session, and how many of them have O-Z last names, and make the necessary arrangements to accommodate everyone equally and make the process efficient. Goodness knows, we Mormons like efficiency. No one should have to wait an hour and 15 minutes in sweltering temperatures to check in. Especially girls who get up at the crack of dawn to look fresh and beautiful in anticipation of meeting all those cute boys at EFY. And their peri-menopausal mothers.

After waiting and fuming to my mother-in-law (the tears were almost ready to flow, for pity's sake), Bill and the girls finally arrived back at the car. The parking lot was nearly empty. Thank heavens they got the small shirts, or there might have been another ugly scene. (My nephew did NOT get the size of shirt he wanted, however... which at least helped my sister sympathize with my frustration.) And we still had to purchase snacks, get lunch, and find dorm rooms. Needless to say, we were running late.

By the time we got to the rooms, groups were already meeting together. No time to make beds, no time to fill out questionnaires, no time to freshen up. But those amazing girls still managed to smile for their melted, frazzled mom. (I almost took this picture while Hailey was changing her shirt... that girl is FAST!)

Shilo smiled through her newly formed blisters, and my niece Rachael was just so darn happy to be there. Thanks for spreading the joy, Rach.

Was it worth it?

That would be a resounding yes, if you ask my girls. They loved it. It was the best ever. We must come back.

I've told them they will have to pay half, and they've both determined to start saving now. I am so grateful that they had such a great experience. And I've resolved to maintain my composure better should the EFY machine be not so well-oiled again next year. (Although I plan to share my feedback... in a kinder, gentler way.)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Jump

One of the fun things we did while on our little trip to Utah, was to take jumping pictures. If you haven't ever tried it, I highly recommend it. (I got the idea here.) It turns a regular old can-we-just-get-these-pictures-over-with moment into something that will make you laugh. Even if it's 90 degrees on a Sunday afternoon.

My cute parents even gave it a try. My dad's expressions are hilarious.

My mom and sister probably got better shots than I did (I really want a new camera... wishful thinking...), and they promised to send me some, but I've yet to see any. Hint, hint. (Do you busy ladies even read my blog?)

Seriously, so fun.

The following Sunday we took a few more as we were heading out the door, homeward bound.

Just looking at the pictures makes me smile. There's something joyful in a jump. Try it, you'll like it.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Back

First day of school for Lexee and Shilo.

I admire how these girls can be totally {stressed out} about getting out the door to arrive at school early enough to "check in" (we missed check in day while we were away last week) and avoid the horrific traffic along the way (read below for more details), and still look so happy for the picture demanded by their mother, who can now breathe a sigh of relief that they are on their way,

and is extremely grateful that one of them can drive and they both attend the same school.
Phew!

The traffic story... an unfinished road improvement project that will be ongoing through the end of the month, making a single lane of traffic (that's single... one... for traffic going both ways... one way at a time... one direction goes, then gets stopped while the other directions goes) as the main access for two (count them, TWO) schools, the high school and the middle school. And heaven knows, you can't walk to school if it isn't next door (and those kids that do walk back up the traffic even more as they randomly cross the street at their convenience). The busing situation is a nightmare too, thanks to those good ol' school district cutbacks. So most parents drive their kids to school, except for the growing number of student drivers out there, which doesn't improve the traffic situation. Who schedules those road improvement projects anyway? In my mind, it seems like important things such as the beginning of school for 6 grades, and access to the schools those grades attend, would play a vital role in the scheduled date of completion of a road project. It seems so simple. The schools have requested patience, so I've been taking some deep breaths.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Remember When... Begin Again

I'm back from vacation. Or whatever you call it. I've never taken the kind of vacation where you sit back, relax, and bask in the sunshine. I always joke about needing a vacation after the vacation... which would pretty much be me, sitting on the couch in solitude, eating purposelessly, with a blank stare (occasional blinking is okay). That would be nice today, but, of course, there is way too much to do. No couch sitting and thoughtless staring for me. Mauri's back in school (collecting her week+ of make-up work), and semi-ready for her piano lesson later today. Shilo's at freshman orientation, and Lex... oh yeah... still sleeping. Preparing mentally for the beginning of new school year as a junior tomorrow. And me? Tons of laundry, paying bills, grocery shopping (nobody seems to want to drink the milk that expired sometime in the middle of last week), responding to the 17 messages left on our phone, writing Taylor, and blog updating. No time for a vacation. I guess blogging could be considered my mini vacation. A few minutes to reflect on and enjoy all the things I expended so much energy for this past week.

We attended our Call Family Reunion last weekend in Wyoming. For as far back as I can remember, I looked forward to these family get-togethers, which were held every other year. My mom came from a family of 14 children, so these reunions were a big deal. Lots of cousins. They were always held in Afton, at the farmhouse my mom grew up in. Most families would pitch a tent on the lawn, and you usually had to wait in line to use one of the two indoor toilets. If you wanted to take a quick shower or clean up a bit, you needed to get up around 5am for a 10 minute bathroom visit. We've only attended 4 or 5 of these reunions since Bill and I were married, but even my children have many fond memories of them.

These days, I don't even know many of my relatives. I was on the older end of all those cousins, so many of the ones that were babies (or not even around yet) when I was a teenager, have 3 or 4 kids of their own. My mom estimated that there were about 350 in attendance. Name tags were very helpful.

We stayed in a motel. The same motel we have stayed in the past 3 times we've attended. There is not a big selection in a nice, small town like Afton.

The exciting thing about this reunion was... a barn. A barn that was built for the purpose of family use. A barn with 4 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, a huge kitchen and eating area (and another smaller kitchen area upstairs), a big gathering area, and lots of other open, useful space. My parents have worked tirelessly (although they may say they were extremely tired on many occasions) on this project.
We just had to come see.
And although it wasn't as finished as they would have liked, it was as amazing as I had imagined.

They held a ribbon-cutting ceremony,

followed by a program, and fireworks. It was a big deal.

Of course, there were the usual reunion activities...

tractor rides,

games,

crafts,

and food.

Mauri and Bill even got to brand a piece of wood with my Grandpa's brand.

How cool is that?

Every current family member had a brick that will be mortared around the flagpole.

It was fun to reunite with family... and to make new acquaintances. Before we headed off to our next vacation destination, we took some pictures with my cute 94-year-old Grandma Call.

Her favorite pose was this one:

In the end, a fun time was had by all. It was sweet last night when Mauri included in her prayer that she was thankful that she got to spend so much time with her relatives (pronounced re-late-ives) this week. I'm thankful too.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Cramming It In

We are leaving on a trip tomorrow. Around 5am. We won't be back until the day before school starts for Shilo (freshmen orientation), and two days before everyone's back on the school schedule. So we've been cramming in what we can before we leave. Like school/trip/EFY shopping. That was yesterday.

I had given my girls a (small) budget for school clothes, and they had a little money of their own to contribute. Personally, I like shopping with a purpose, so I acted as chauffeur and kept everyone focused on the task at hand. Right after snapping the above picture, I was kindly told that I wasn't allowed to take photos in this store.

My rebellious side came out, and I snapped this one of the floor while Shilo and I were waiting for the other girls to try on clothes. Payback for my lack of respecting store policy was... this was the exact spot Shilo set down her wallet (full of cash), and we walked away. Not only did we walk away, we exited the mall and drove 20 minutes east (amid tons of traffic, paying tolls along the way to git 'er done as expeditiously as possibly) to another shopping area, which is where we discovered the wallet was missing, and guessed that it was here, on this cushioned bench, where we left it. We called the store, confirmed it was still there, and arranged to have it picked up by Bill on his way home from work (lucky guy).

After over 5 hours of intense shopping focus, the girls declared it good.

Today there are a million things to get done (blogging is not high on the priority list). I've managed to get a couple things checked off the list this morning, but the stress is high, and the list long. All of it requires a great deal of work. Wish me luck (and high energy), I need it.