CE and Miss Utah

Thank goodness for cell phones! CE was happy to have one in his pocket at school the other day. He quickly turned it on and had some one take a picture of him with Miss Utah. (They are the two blondes. I don't know who those brown headed kids are! I am sure CE does, but he is not home to ask!) He also received an 8 by 10 personally autographed photo from Miss Utah. His friends were all jealous and some even offered to buy it even though it says, "To CE". Miss Utah must be tall because CE is 5' 8" and she is much taller than he is!

My boy is growing up.

It is not always easy getting J to smile. Don't get me wrong, those of you that know him know that he is a hoot---always making those around him laugh---and of course, he does that with a smile. But when it comes to the camera, forget it. So below is my first attempt. Below that his is my fourth attempt. We finally got a hint of a smile. After all it was a big day for him!

Yes, J is legal and official and all that Jazz. He has his driver's license, is on our insurance, and he took the car (the ghetto van) for a spin and purchased a guitar strap (as shown in the photo). He loved the independence and feels a bit more grown up now. Congratulations J!



Here are a few pictures that CD took with her camera when J got his license. I was at in CA for John's funeral so I wasn't around. I am glad she took some! It was exciting for him, but as stated above, it took a few days before he could actually drive because we had to get him on the insurance.
At the DMV desk

Waiting for his license. To make the wait shorter, he used his learner's permit photo instead of taking a new one. That surprised me since it is a year and a half old.

Goodbye John

My cousin John passed away last week from ALS / Lou Gehrig's. He was a year younger than I am and although I have not seen him in several years, I have always considered him a close cousin. It is embarrassing and silly now but he was my "first kiss". We were little--who knows--4 or 5 years old and the family all thought it was cute and funny AND OK since he was adopted. His dad used to tease us saying we could legally get married. As kids we played together in the corn fields, the silo, and even the cow pasture! We shared a recliner as we watched TV and we put our sleeping bags next to each other on grandma's living room floor and fell asleep holding hands. As we got older we kept in contact through letters all through high school and we even wrote some while I was on my mission. I have only seen him a few times in our adulthood. Most of which were funerals for family members. He did stop by my current home once with his parents as they were traveling through to Idaho. Even though we didn't see each other much, when we did, we would laugh about our childhood and know that we had a special bond. So Goodbye John, until we meet again.

This is a photo of a photo of John at his sister's wedding.

This is another photo of a photo collage....so it is not the best but it is better than nothing.

My aunt and uncle

Kevin and his wife Samantha. Kevin read the Eulogy written by Debbie.

Cynthia and her family. She gave a talk at the service.

Vicki and Aunt Gayle



On the way to So. CA we stopped in Vegas and picked up my sister. Thank you to her family for letting me and J's family crash at her house on the way down and back.

In Anaheim with my sister's and cousins.

We stayed at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel for one night. Simon was terrified of Snoopy...Daniel gave him a big hug though.

My daughter tagged me (included in "EVERYONE") and I have been putting it off. After all, 50 questions is quite a few....but here it goes. (Keep in mind I am actually writing this 1/11/09)

1.What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 am
2- watches or rings? Rings, but never more than two at a time.
3-What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Bedtime Stories with the family Christmas Day.
4-What is your favorite TV show?? mmm...Desperate Housewives.
5-What do you usually have for breakfast? toast.
6- What is your nick name? Mom
7- What food do you dislike? Seafood.
8-What is your favorite CD at the moment? My CD player is broken and I lost the charger for my MP3 so at the moment, I listen to whatever my kids are listening to!
9-What kind of car do you drive? 2002 Hyndai Sonata. I love my car!
10-Favorite sandwich? Ham & Turkey, I think. I am not really sure if I have a favorite.
11-What characteristic do you despise? Cockiness
12- Favorite item of clothing? my jeans
13-If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would it be? That is hard. So many places I would like to go! Alaska, New Zealand, Europe... but my dream would be to take my whole family to Chile and Thailand.
14-Are you an organized person? I keep a planner, but that is about as far as it goes.
15-Where would you retire to? Anywhere close enough to visit with family often.
16-What was one of your most memorable birthdays? my 40th when my sister and college roommates kidnapped me and we spent the day playing.
17-What are you going to do when you finish this? I don't know yet. (Refer to #14)
18-Furthest place you are sending this? That depends on who looks at my blog. I don't think is goes much farther than California.
19- When is your birthday? Too soon.
20-Morning person or a night person? I have NEVER been a morning person.
21-What is your shoe size?? 8 1/2 or 9. Depending on the shoe. When I got married they were a size 7. They grew with each pregnancy.
22-Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Did I win a cruise!?! If anyone hears, LET ME KNOW!
23-What did you want to be when you were little? An actress on stage, in the movies, commercials. Anything. I just wanted to act.
24-How are you today? Emotional. (But fine.)
25-What is your favorite flower? I love flowers. A wide variety.
26- What are you listening to right know? Desperate Housewives on the TV
27- What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?? Jan. 31. I am scrapbooking with my sister at the Epilepsy Foundation SCRAP fundraiser.
28- What was the last thing you ate? Taco Salad and Cheese Cake
29- Do you wish on stars? No. But I pray.
30-If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple? Orange? I haven't a clue. I guess I don't know myself that well. I should ask my husband. He knows me pretty good.
31- How is the weather right now? Cold.
32-Last person you spoke to on the phone? My visiting teaching supervisor.
33- Favorite soft drink? A&W Root Beer
34- Favorite restaurant? The Thai restaurant
35. Hair color? Brown with a scattering of gray.
36- Favorite toy as a child? A teddy bear my great-grandma made for me.
37- Summer or Winter? Definitely Summer.
38- Chocolate or Vanilla? I have always been a chocolate fan.
39- Coffee or tea? I don't drink either. WofW :)
40- Do you want your friends to reply to this? Sure. It is always good to hear from friends!
41- When was the last time you cried? Today. (Refer to #24)
42- What is under your bed? That is too scary to think about!
43- What did you do last night? We had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner.
44-What are you afraid of? How will my kids turnout?
45- Salty or sweet? Salty--unfortunately I also have a sweet tooth!
46- How many keys on your key ring? Two
47- How many years at your current job? 19 years as a homemaker.
48- Favorite day of the week? Saturdays. I get to play.
49- Do you make friends easily? Casual friends, yes. Close friends? I have a handful.
50-Who do you want to tag? My daughter already tagged EVERYONE.

A Curry Cook

So, I have to tell you---although it is far from perfected--I like our new scheduling at home.

Our kids have always had what we call "their special day". It started when they were little and they always wanted "their turn" to sit in front (before airbags), say the prayer, go one-on-one with mom or dad to the store, etc. To settle disputes or trying to remember who had their turn last, we started having a "special day". It was easy to choose days. Our oldest has Monday, the next oldest has Tuesday and so forth. When we started we had four kids and we just considered Friday through Sunday mom and dad's days. Then we had our fifth who took over Friday and the kids assigned me to Saturday and K to Sunday.

Well, the kids our older now and we have tweaked the "Special Day" thing a bit. They may not consider it so "Special" anymore, but they still call it that, so it can't be so bad. I was getting tired of all the clean clothes in the laundry and all the laundry, several failed job charts, and feeling that my kids were getting old enough but some how didn't seem to pulling their weight around the house and I often wonder if they will make it on their own----ever! So we tweaked things. Now on their "Special Day" they do their own laundry, do the dishes, and are in charge of dinner. Dinner is the reason for this blog. If they want to make some thing they need help with, or that we do not have ingredients for, they need prior approval so I can schedule my time and do the shopping. We have had a lot of sandwiches, noodles, etc. But CE wanted Thai Curry on his day this last week. He let me know 2 days prior and I did the shopping. He helped me with every step and was very proud of his work (as was I). He liked it so well, he ate FIVE servings!

Stirring the curry...

The finish product. (It was YUMMY!)

Battle of the Bands

Weber High had it's third annual Battle of the Bands last night. J was the MC and did a great job. He was in his element. In the spotlight, with a mic, entertaining a crowd. Something we could always picture him doing when he was a child---so it was fun to watch it play out. J enjoyed every minute of it! Unfortunately, I couldn't get good pictures without being the annoying stage mom and standing right up front...I didn't want to humiliate him so these will have to do!

Introducing a band...

He was told to stall for time so he called two people down from the audience and had them sing "Popcorn Popping" with actions for the crowd. It was a crowd-pleaser.

Snow Basin Ski Day!

CD had a field trip today with the all the 4th grade classes from her school. They all got on the bus and went to SNOW BASIN for a ski day! She was up early (the bus left at 7:45 am) and decked all out in her snow gear. She was so excited to go skiing for her first time. (I know, it is a shame that I live so close to so many resorts yet I have never been skiing! My kids suffer, because that means I don't take them skiing!) She loved every minute of her field trip and has asked me to buy her her skis.

Eating an oatmeal breakfast before heading off to the slopes!