Growing up so fast!

Luke has been such a good boy today. He tolerated me all through Wal-Mart and IKEA. He played outside and didn't try to go out of the circle. He played inside and didn't get fussy...until about 8PM. By then, I expected it, because that's his bedtime. He was standing at the fridge trying to open it and half-crying. I got him upstairs for bath time and he didn't seem too interested (I wasn't either). I asked him if he was ready for jammies and a bottle...he laid on the floor ready to be changed. I handed him his bottle and laid him in the crib. I haven't heard so much as a wimper since - but the bottle was finished rather quickly. I hope this means a night of uninterrupted rest and sleep. We'll see.

Tomorrow is Zoo Day in Kindergarten...all 65 of us will be at the zoo tormenting unsuspecting animals for a few hours...pray for nice weather (no rain, wind or snow).

good times

We had a very enjoyable Memorial Weekend. After spending a lovely Sunday with my family at my parents' house, we had both my family and Rich's family over for dinner on Monday night. We had good food and good laughs. I love spending time with family. I am reminded often of what great parents I had (and still do), when I see the things Luke does. He makes me laugh and smile, then he pushes limits and I want to scream with frustration. I then have to step back and see him for what he is: An EXTREMELY curious and adventurous little boy who loves to see and do new things. He is constantly watching and learning. He keeps me doing good. We have good times...good times!

brrr.

Rich and I made it to "Indiana Jones" on Thursday night. I was so excited. We arrived early enough to pick up some food to eat during the movie. As we got to our theater number and began to enter...(da da da)...the fire alarm went off at the theater! Everyone was evacuated.
We waited outside for about 35 minutes, in the cool, no cold night air. I did get to eat my food and finish my drink, but it was all gone before we even went back inside. Eventually we made it in and the movie began. I liked it - I didn't love it, but it was a fitting end to the Harrison Ford Indiana Jones movies. As one who has all three on DVD with the Bonus Features DVD, I had very high hopes. The only thing I'll say about the movie is "Indy got old". wah. If you're a fan, you've got to see it, if not, see it anyway.
So, after all the "fire" drama, we found out that there was a fire in the Mayan Express (food court restaurant). We didn't see sign of fire when we left, but we left with free passes for next time, so I guess it wasn't a big deal after all. I did feel REALLY bad about Grandma Madsen getting home so late after being so kind to drive down to watch Luke for us. Sorry and Thank you!

giggle

Luke and I have had fun today. We and Grandma went to lunch (pizza). When it was time to go, Grandma asked for a kiss. Luke opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue...not in a mean way, but in a lick-type way. That's a kiss from Luke. Later this afternoon, Luke and I were upstairs after naptime. We were playing on the landing and I asked for kisses. Luke pulled his binkie out, blew a kiss, and promptly put his binkie back in. Nothing could make my day better! I have giggled so much today. I love being a mom.

I'm so excited...I just can't hide it...

Guess where I will be at 7:55 P.M. tomorrow evening? No, not a romantic date with my husband; no, not spending quality time with Luke; no, not enjoying the company of good friends and neighbors. I will be sitting in a theatre anticipating the showing of the new "Indiana Jones" movie. If it weren't for not wanting to ask someone to watch Luke in the middle of the night, we'd be at the opening show...parenthood (sacrifices). Wo is me...blah blah. not really...Ok, now that's over, I can't wait to go!!



I just started back to school this week. Whoa. I forget how much my students can do in a day now versus the beginning of the year. I find myself scrambling to fill time effectively. I plan to be much more prepared next week!! I must say that we did have a great time learning two songs today...The Hokey-Pokey (school dance festival performance is next week) and Down By the Bay (we're practicing our rhyming skills). So I hope you get a kick out of this: we learned the song Down By the Bay (where the watermelon grows...did you ever see a goose kissing a moose, down by the bay...); then we made up our own rhymes to sing in verses. Here's a few:



Did you ever see a hog stuck in a bog? Down by the bay....

Did you ever see a bay kissing a cat? Down by the bay...

Did you ever see a seal mailing a bill? Down by the bay...



It was so fun to try these rhymes!

Just a side note...how do you add music??

Oh, I forgot!!

Yah, so I slowly roll out of bed and start a little laundry - about 8:30 AM). By 8:45 I realize that I'm supposed to be at the Stake Center at 9:00 with two dutch ovens ready to cook and a food storage recipe made and ready to taste. I tell Rich and ask "WhatdoIdo?" I decide to do the food storage recipe (I'd hate to let down our awesome RS President) and bag the dutch ovens (I didn't marinade or even THAW the chicken and I couldn't decide what else to make anyway). Lame excuses or not, I quickly made "Frankfurter Soup" strictly from food storage items...super easy, okay taste. When I get to the Stake Center, I realized that I should've done my dutch ovens anyway, it's okay if they're a little late. Oh Well. Next time. So I get home and remember I never got the mail yesterday. I'm SO glad I didn't. Rich got the mail and opened....drum roll....

Thanks Anna & Brian!! We got a great laugh.

In case you can't read it, here's what it says:

That's GREAT!

Also, we a had a little impromptu dinner with a few neighbors this week - it's always fun to have great company to share great food with. Especially when you only have to contribute part of that great food (rather than all of it).

I hope my friends don't mind being posted...they're all rather good-looking, I don't think they should mind. This is the after-dinner party...great job on the meat, Mark! (He smoked two brisket and some ribs - they were fab-u-lous!!)

Collection

I collect thimbles. The funny irony in that is I don't sew (at least not well or often - and I didn't when I started collecting about 20 years ago). I have thimbles from various places in Europe (one with the Mona Lisa on it), Alaska, Niagara Falls, the Midwest, the Carribean, and of course, Utah. I also have one made of wood (Home of Abraham Lincoln), one made of volcanic ash (Mt. St. Helen's), and a pewter one with the leaning Tower of Pisa on top. I love to sneak a peak occasionally and remember the vacation or trip that each one was pick up on. Ah...memories (break into song...). Whoa...that was odd.


I unpacked all my collection a few days ago. I have one case made for thimbles, one made for small things, and enough thimbles to fill at least 2 more cases. So, instead of leaving them nicely packed away, I set them all out on a shelf - out of reach to small hands - to collect dust. I took a pic of my favorite one...it's a little blurry, but you'll get the idea.

Disneyland's Princess Castle

So, Yesterday was Rich's mom's birthday. Jill and I took her to lunch at Archibald's (Gardner Village). It was so nice to chat over good food. We walked through the shops a little and the others had things to do, so they left. Luke and I walked around for almost another hour before heading home. It was such a beautiful day... a little windy but still pleasant. I needed that!

Today, I plan to enjoy more sunshine and get my office cleaned (once and for all). If I don't do it today, it won't get done for another few months...I go back on track tomorrow. Don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while - I'll be wrapped up my school year.

Great Day

So, here are a few of the pics from our fun weekend:

Mom showing off her new chair for her birthday!!

My niece wearing her new princess dress...what more could a girl want?!

Mike & Jill after enjoying a fabulous meal at The Melting Pot.

Here's our dessert - The Yin & Yang:

Mother's Day is all about being a mom and and grandma...here's my MOM!!

Good times and great memories!

Happy Mother's Day

I find myself full of emotion on this Mother's Day. Here's why:

1. My mom called yesterday to let me know about an accident in my home town that took the life of a wife, mother, sister, and friend. I didn't acutally know her or her immediate family, but am well acquainted with some of her extended family. This tragedy has been on my mind ever since I found out. I am overwhelmed with grief for her loving husband and children; I find myself weepy when I think of her sisters and their sudden loss; I am in awe, thinking of her spirit - the joy and peace of being reacquainted with long-passed family members and a loving Father in Heaven. I am having difficulty explaining my feelings to my husband, as I can't tell him why I feel this way - I didn't know this person. I will just have to work through these feelings and trust in my knowledge that families are forever and this life is but a moment in eternity.

2. I awoke this morning realizing that Luke was up and being cared for my Rich. I enjoyed my morning sleep. During church, Rich took Luke so I could enjoy a wonderful RS Lesson about personal prayer and revelation - I needed that! I came home to open a fabulous gift from Rich and Luke - a picture printer! Now I can print all those fantastic memories I have saved on the computer. I am so blessed to be a mother. I always new my mom loved me, but I couldn't relate to the deepest level of love until I became a mother myself and found out what being a mother truly is. It is a gift - a challenge at times, but always a gift.

3. We are hosting Mother's Day dinner for my mom and sister. Mom called to let me know they were on their way, but running a little behind. When she explained why, I was brought to tears. My uncle came over to talk to my dad. I know this sounds simple, but for the past few years, they have rarely spoken. Trivial as it may seem to someone else, knowing my uncle took another step toward friendship means more than I can express.



I am so thankful for a loving family...I didn't say perfect - but loving and supportive. I don't know where my life would be today if not for wonderful parents and extended family to give support and guidance along the path of growing up. I feel a great love for them. Happy Mothers' Day to all the great moms I know and love!!

I must add a few more thoughts before the end of the day.
Yesterday was a great day spent with family! We celebrated my niece's 5th birthday at Grandma's with a little mermaid party (complete with real fish)!! It was so fun to see the sweet innocence of childhood at it's peak. We ate lunch, we opening presents, we even had time for a nap. Rich's mom received her birthday gift early - a lounge chair for her back patio...we know where to find her this summer if she doesn't answer the front door. It was wonderful. We left all the kids at Jill's with a super-duper sitter and headed downtown for some grown-up time. We took Mom to The Melting Pot for a long-but-delectable dinner with three of her children. We had laughs, we had drips, we had a great time together. We then returned home to mostly-sleeping children. I don't know what more I could've asked for. Mom, we hope you had an enjoyable Mother's Day (and birthday to come). We love you!!

Reunion

So my mom's family has a reunion each June. This year is my mom's turn to host. She is the only one who doesn't live in the greater St. George area, so everyone will have to travel to her. This stresses her out a little. She is most often very realistic, but every once in a while this "realism" turns to pessimism; she's not sure many people will come up. We spent most of yesterday looking at local parks and picnic areas that can accommodate about 50 people of all ages. We found one we really liked - it was available when we arrived there - by the time we agreed 'this is the place', it had been reserved. That was SO defeating to us! We tried a few other places, but none of them really wowed us. I think we might just use the local park near my parents' home. There's a covered pavilion - with trees and shade, tennis courts, baseball diamond, place for the wagon and rides, and the pool is just up the street. Also, it's close to home and easy to find. I don't know. I just feel so bad that there's nothing I can do to relieve some of the stress my mom feels. I KNOW my family is supportive and fun. I know someone will show up. Those that can't make it will just miss out on a day of fun! I think we're going to do dutch oven lunch - if you have a suggestion, I'm open...remember, I like things that are simple, easy, and yummy!!

If it's any indication of just how stressed out mom is - she left my house yesterday without her purse. To top it off, she didn't notice until she got home and went to put her keys away (she lives about 75 minutes away). I'm not too worried, I didn't notice it sitting on my table for over an hour...nice.

Hang in there mom!

I'm back

Holy Cow! I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I was very busy at school for a while, but I went off-track last week and have been enjoying cleaning my house and planting flowers and living outside during warm weather.

This cracked me up...Luke was sleeping in his swing (not unusual), but was rather restless. When I peeked around the corner to check on him, he was holding the side to keep from swinging - but still asleep. Yesterday, I came in from outside to check on Luke (again, sleeping in the swing) to find him swinging very high (like a setting 5)...he was making the swing go this high and was sitting cross-legged enjoying a bottle. I lol-ed, promptly stopped the swing, and got Luke down to play.

So, I know Luke loves to play in the water, but I didn't realize just how much until last week. On a nice evening, the neighbor was washing his car (his wife was at my driveway chatting). Luke made his way over to "help"...I don't know how helpful he was, but he sure had a blast!!

That same evening, none of us (three neighbors) wanted to cook dinner, so we had pizza...together...in the driveway...it was great!!
We decided this might be a common occurence as the summer goes on.

Rich and I celebrated our 4th anniversary over the weekend. We spent a couple of days downtown, enjoying the sites and food. It was so nice of my mom and dad to take Luke for the night...being able to just do whatever we wanted was a great break. We ate fabulous food at Fleming's Steakhouse (ohmigosh....melt-in-your-mouth steak), people-watched at the fountain at the Gateway, and saw the movie "21". The next day we enjoyed a great breakfast with my sister-in-law from Idaho (and her friend). Rich and I decided we are boring...we drove through the Avenues looking at houses and yard sales - I loved it! We made our way south to DSW for shoes, then on to Draper for lunch. If you haven't been to "Food for Thought", you must go!! Cute, quaint, simple, yummy. We picked up Luke after lunch and went home for naps. What a great couple of days!!

Sunday, we had dinner with Rich's mom and watched the Jazz game. After, we made Rich's favorite cookies: Toll House Chocolate Chip (semi-sweet). Luke enjoyed a cookie, then we went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was so fun to hand a plate of cookies to a neighbor and say "Happy Sunday!" They just smile and say thanks as if they've never gotten cookies before.

Well, at last we come to yesterday. I spent an hour at Lowe's choosing flowers and stuff for our garden (?). As you can see, the flowers turned out okay.

The garden is a little harder to discern (pots on the sidewalk) because we are not veggie-eaters and it's too cold to grow fruit. I planted tomatoes, green beans, and strawberries!! I guess I'm excited to have something that could be considered the beginning of a garden (we'll expand a little each year).