A Cuckoo Clock and AC/DC in Sacrament Meeting: Tied for second!!

Okay, even though it happened over 20 years ago, I'm pretty sure this is the MOST embarrassing moment of my life so far. However, I have two more embarrassing moments that pretty much tie for second place. One of them happened this weekend...

Okay, so my parents have this really cool old cuckoo clock. If I was thinking about it, I would have taken a picture of it this weekend. My dad got it in Germany when he was serving in the military in 1957-ish? It's all hand-carved and hand-painted and it plays music and has little people? come out at various times and a bird of course. (Think of all the cute cuckoo clocks on Pinnochio.) Needless to say, I LOVE this clock! I have always loved it. My Dad originally gave it to his parents and after they died, he got it back and hung it on the dining room wall in my parent's house.

Here's a cuckoo clock I found on Wikipedia -- my parent's clock is similar, but has more colors painted on it and such.

So this is how it all went down:

Anyhoo, back in July when we were visiting, my Mom says, "Well, Lace, your Dad wants to give you that cuckoo clock! I just need to see if I can find the weights for it so it will work..."

Me: "OKAY!!!! Yeah, sure, you bet, I love it! THANK YOU!"
(I was just a *bit* excited)

The day goes on, and my Mom supposedly didn't find the weights, and we got busy with the kids (as usual), forgot about it and went home. I just thought I would get it next time. Well, next time was this weekend. I called my Mom on Thursday to tell her what time we were coming and also that I was bringing an old camera of mine that I had planned to give her.

She says, "Oh, Lacy, you don't need to give me that camera, I just feel guilty it's too much! You are just so good to me!" (FYI: My Mom and I are both serious guilt-mongers -- we just HAVE to have something to feel guilty about, we pretty much feel guilty about anyone doing anything for us, etc.)

I say, "Mom!! I'm not even using that camera, I want to give it to you!" Then, I thought of a silly way to make my Mom feel like we were trading something and an opportunity to bring up the cuckoo clock again, "Mom, here's the deal, you said Dad wants to give me the cuckoo clock -- let's just trade straight across -- the camera for the cuckoo clock and then you don't have to feel guilty."

On the the other end of the phone, my Mom says: NOTHING! (ABSOLUTE DEAD SILENCE) After a few awkward seconds, she clears her throat and says, "Uh, Lace, I'm really sorry, but your Dad and I were actually planning to let you have the clock AFTER WE DIE..."

Me: "OH......."
For one brief moment, my Mom and I actually didn't have anything to say to each other.

Um, yeah, okay, sure, uh, crap... somehow I missed that part. OH MAN!! I felt SO dumb!! And just for the record, it's REALLY weird when my parents start saying things like that. It's happening more and more and I just keep saying, "MOTHER!! Don't say stuff like that!" Well, this time, I was like, "uhhhhhh, oh my gosh, MOM!! I feel so stupid! I thought you meant right now..." (Beck yells in the background: "Mom, don't say STUPID!")

Yeah, my Mom is truly one of my very best friends, so that helped a *little*, but then she says, "Well, let me go talk to your Dad..." NO, Mom, I can wait, really, I hope it's at least another 25 years before I get that dang clock!! Well, I guess I'll have a good story with it someday when Zoe and Kaia want it. The end.

Now, here's my other second most embarrassing moment:

I think it was a few years ago. For some reason I was at my parent's house with the kids and Zeke was home. I think it was when my Mom had her hip replaced? Anyway, it was Sunday, and the kids and I went to sacrament meeting at my parent's ward. I was running late (of course) and when you come in late to a Mormon church (maybe it's true of all churches) the only place left to sit is RIGHT IN FRONT! This was embarrassing enough for me.

So I brought my "church bag" with me and it usually has all sorts of items to help me survive sacrament meeting: baby wipes, coloring books, candy, etc. This time it was also full of other things I brought for the trip: extra clothes for Beck, toiletries, DVD's, and Zeke's cell phone. (I was planning to empty some of this stuff out, but again, I was late!)

Zeke had wanted me to take his cell phone if there was an emergency while I was driving with the kids and he knows me so well, he KNEW I had it in my church bag that morning. Well, not only did I forget the cell phone was in my church bag, but I didn't even think about turning the ringer off... (and of course Zeke knew that I would do that too!)

Now, picture Zeke 4 hours north of me sitting in sacrament all alone, missing his cute wife and kids and wondering how he can tease me from so far away (Zeke LIVES to tease me, by the way)... he checks the clock and thinks, "Hmm, Lacy and the kids are sitting in sacrament right about now, the sacrament has been passed, and I bet the first speaker has just gotten up to give their talk..."

Back in my parent's ward, I am wrestling Beck and Kaia on my lap and trying to keep Gabe and Zoe from fighting. Oh, and I need to mention that my parent's ward doesn't have very many young families in it, so it is already more than DEATHLY QUIET. Suddenly I hear this! It was LOUD and went on for at least 20 seconds. I'm sitting there thinking, "Sheesh! Somebody should really turn off their cell phone... DUH!!!" and then, immediately I realize, "OH MY HECK!!!! IT'S ME AND THAT'S MY PHONE!!!!!"

By now, more time has passed and I practically throw Beck off my lap and frantically rummage through the bag to find that phone and shut it off! My face is red, my fingers are sweating, EVERYONE is staring at us, and the speaker stops talking and is actually WAITING for me! (Oh, even just a little lightning bolt striking me dead right now would be just fine!)

It was just horrible. I don't think I got the phone turned off until the first verse was over. "NINE LIVES!! CAT'S EYES!!" Not that "Back in Black" from AC/DC is a "bad" song, really. I love that song! But of all places and of all people; this was my home ward. The ward I really NEVER went to growing up.

When my Mom made me go, I was the wild, rough-looking teenager just waiting to leave. I remember sitting in sacrament with my friend, Kami, when I was about 14 or so, and the opening hymn was "Rock of Ages". We were laughing and making fun of it the whole time. HA!! We thought, "They named a hymn after the Def Leppard song!" We were trying to sing the Def Leppard lyrics with the hymn. HA!!! Oh, we thought we were so funny.

So anyway, to add insult to injury, here I am 20 years later, trying to appear like a normal-"grown-up"-reverent-church going-Mommy(whatever that is) and my cell phone starts blasting AC/DC!! There are probably over 20 widows in my Mom's ward and at least a dozen couples over the age of 75. Oh man, I got some looks!

And then to top it off, as soon as I got out of sacrament, I planned to call Zeke and say, "Oh, honey, guess what happened! You called me right when I was in sacrament and I couldn't find my phone to turn it off!" But as soon as he answered the phone, all I could hear was him laughing hysterically and finally saying, "I got you, didn't I?!" And then I knew, this was NO accident!

Writing this down, the cell phone in sacrament was WAY more embarrassing than the cuckoo clock...

But now I think it's all pretty funny.

Special Sealing, Great-Great Grandma's Quilts, my Dad's old Chevy, and another broken camera!

ok, so it's Thursday.... this week has had a few "bumps" in the road so to speak:

On Monday, I dropped a brand new roll of toilet paper in the toilet... don't know why, but it really bummed me out. I just hate to waste stuff.

On Tuesday, Beck climbed up on the counter and got my camera out of the cupboard and dropped it... this was the last picture taken :( Those are Beck's fingers...
I am beyond bummed. It looks like the lens is broken or maybe just jammed. We just got that camera in February. I need some advice: can we fix it? or just get a new one? what would be the best solution financially?

Late Wednesday night, I woke up with the stomach flu. Ok, that's just NOT fair! I just got feeling better less than a week ago from having E-coli. I must need to learn something here... Anyway, I'm feeling much better this morning and so far, no one else has gotten sick. (Keep your fingers crossed) I felt so bad... I couldn't even get out of bed yesterday morning.

But life always gets better:

Zeke got the kids ready for school and stayed home from work. (YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY, ZEKE STAYED HOME FROM WORK!) He helped me with Beck and took care of me. What a sweetie! This new job is such a blessing. He said it's no problem for him to stay home and help me. The pressure and stress just aren't there. I can only hope it lasts. Zeke even got me some flowers yesterday (yeah, he's one of those guys and I LOVE it!). I wish I had a camera to take a picture of them. They're yellow daisies with burgundy and lime green chrysanthemums..... beautiful!

Let me share some pictures of our great weekend:

We went to a very special sealing at the Ogden temple. Zeke's sister, Dani, and her husband, Mike, have had 3 foster children in their home for the last 5 years or so. They also have 3 children of their own. Last week, the adoption of the foster children was finalized (it's taken a long time) and on Friday they were sealed to them. What a special day :) Mike is currently serving in Iraq with the military and he was able to get 2 weeks leave just to come home for the sealing. He had to go back on Wednesday and won't be home until June. We are so proud of him and Dani. They are very special people.

Zoe and Kaia playing in the fountain:

Beck by the flower/vegetable garden:
(there were ornamental peppers and cabbage, it was awesome!)

Our family: (minus Grandma Patty and Grandpa Chuck)

Gabe, Kaia, cousin Lily, Zeke, and Beck skipping in the parking lot:

Zeke's Aunt Barbie and Uncle Clyde came from Colorado. They are so awesome! They agreed to watch my kids outside on the temple grounds so Zeke and I could go to the sealing. Um, this is really something amazing to do... Beck is crazy! Thank YOU so much, I owe you big time!

Oh, yeah, I fell on the steps when we were taking pictures. Beck was falling and I went to grab him and my skirt got caught in my heel and we both went down. Luckily, Beck didn't even touch the cement (yay me!) But I got a few scrapes. I was SO embarrassed! The worst part was that I landed on my shoe (OUCH!) As soon as we got back to Dani's house, her oldest daughter, Allie, was worried about me. She got me some band-aids and Melaleuca for my cuts. It really meant a lot to me. Thanks, Allie! You are so sweet.

My owie (not as big as the owie to my pride):

Aunt Barbie brought some special gifts with her for all 10 of the grandchildren: handmade quilts from her grandma's Kathryn and Deemer (not sure of spelling?). Zeke's Mom, Patty, went through all the quilts and selected which one would be for which grandchild. I was amazed at how well she picked the colors and styles for each child. Patty couldn't be there because her dog, Doc, had surgery and needed to be taken care of. Barbie said some of the quilts are at least 70 years old. What an awesome keepsake!

Aunt Barb and the grandkids (minus Beck and Max):

All of the grandkids with their quilts:

Beck and "Cat Jack":
(I don't think that cat had to walk anywhere that day)

Allie, Kaia, and Cat Jack:

After the sealing and luncheon, we headed to my parent's house for the weekend. We had a great time. I wish I could see them everyday. My Dad gave Zeke his old truck! I made my Dad a pineapple pie in return (I had to do something!) I wanted to take a picture of them with the truck and the pie, but my Dad and Zeke both turned to me and said in unison, "I don't want to be on your blog!" Well, I guess I have to respect that. Thanks, guys! I got a picture of the pie with the truck title in the background, but I decided that wasn't good to put up because it has my Dad's full name and address on it. Anyway, the pie was delicious if I do say so myself!

I got one of my sweetie with his "new" truck: (Isn't he cute?)

Kaia got some face paint from Grandma: (Oh boy!)

My parents have some super awesome neighbors!
Thanks Julie and Brent for letting my kids ride your scooter:

Happy Friday!

20 years later and still the winner!

I've just been thinking about my sweet hubby this week. Lots of mushy silly things that I will spare you from. But I will say, He works SO hard for us. He is SO funny and patient with me. I love him more everyday. And that's saying a lot. Zeke and I met in middle school and we did NOT like each other at all. Heck, I was only 11 years old! But then when I was 14, I remember going to BYU with the Math Team one day and well, the moment Zeke walked on that bus, I was totally smitten! (Did I mention he was wearing acid-washed jeans and a jacket to match? uh-huh!)

I was laughing with my children the other night and telling them silly stories about my school days. Gabe and Zoe asked me what my most embarrassing moment was and just thinking about it still made me blush. It happened 20 years ago and to this day it still reigns as my most embarrassing moment ever!

Anyway, I was a sophomore in high school at the first football game of the year, waiting in the bleachers for the flag ceremony. I was on the drill team and our coach wouldn't let us leave the bleachers because it would soon be time for us to line up for the flag ceremony (we always did some weird synchronized hand movement thingy before we saluted the flag and then proceeded to sing the National Anthem...yeah, don't ask.)

Well, Zeke and I had just started dating about 4 months before this.... and he had been at basic training for the National Guard in Oklahoma for the last 3 months... I wrote letters to him all summer. My Mom says I moped around my room and listened to "Nothing Compares 2 U" from Sinead O'Connor a few too many times... yeah I know I did. I was in LOVE!

Anyway, back to the football game, I knew Zeke was supposed to be coming home some time that weekend, so I kept looking over at the entrance gate for him. Suddenly, there he was and he was smiling and looking right at ME! um yeah, I TOTALLY wanted to see him! My drill mistress, Jenny, says, "Oh just sneak down between the bleachers and say HI, I'll cover for you." Well, I did! Zeke and I saw each other and I went running to him (like in a cheesy movie or something -- I like those movies, by the way). I wasn't paying attention to where the bleachers ended... I jumped up into his arms and hit my head on the metal framework underneath the bleachers so bad that I kinda passed out/fell into his arms AND split my dance unitard (full leotard) right, well, between my legs... it was beyond awful! I can only imagine what I looked like and what kind of leap I did to split my unitard that way. Oh man!

Somehow I made it back to my place on the bleachers and found a safety pin (probably from Jenny). I remember walking out on the field for the flag ceremony, totally seeing stars and tears of pain streaming down my face, with a big goose egg on my head... and a safety pin strategically placed in my unitard...

All for love...

Here we are about 3 months after the "bleacher incident"
at Zeke's first Military Ball...
(I was almost 16 and Zeke was 18)

*POSTSCRIPT: I talked to Zeke this afternoon about the "bleacher incident" and he says that I jumped up, hit my head, and fell on the ground when he was still about 20 feet away!! All I remember is waking up in his arms... I didn't know I hit the ground first! Oh man, now I just got embarrassed all over again!