Stocking Feet

XC - 2011

2011-11-02T14:08:00.000-06:00

Braxton ran cross country this fall. As he has mostly done road or track running, this was a whole new experience for him. Actually, it was a whole new experience for all of us. I've spent more time on golf courses in the last two months than in my entire life. Braxton came out as a freshman and ended up being the #5 guy on the team. I didn't realize the importance of that until I understood that team scores are tallied for the first five runners from your school who cross the finish line. That being said, it was both a curse and blessing to be el numero cinco.

After eight meets, it was time for district competition in Salmon. Randy and I drove up to watch Braxton run. It was a long drive, but the weather was perfect and the drive was gorgeous. Braxton had been feeling some pressure that week to beat Salmon's #5 across the finish line. He needed to come in ahead of that #5 guy in order for the whole team to qualify for state competition.

Coach Hill giving Braxton a pep talk before the race.

Team cheer at the starting line before the boys' race. Girls had just finished.

Can I just mention here that I used to make fun of certain Idaho mascots when I was in high school? The Senators, the Russets, the Diggers. Then I ended up teaching those Senators and now my son is a Digger. Karma.

Braxton in his blue running tights. He thought it was cold.

Our district is made up of four schools: Sugar, South Fremont, Teton, and Salmon. There was no way the team was going to beat Teton. I think Teton's entire male high school population runs XC. In the picture above, that's only part of their team. Teton won the 3A boys state title in 2010 and did it again in 2011.

Once the race stared, I was running across the course cheering for Braxton (and all the Digger kids) and completely forgot to take any photos of him running. In fact, I cheered so loud and so much that I lost my voice.

So instead of Braxton running in Salmon, you get a picture of Braxton running in Pocatello. Now back to districts....

Braxton ran his heart out. He started out the season running a 5K at 21:34. At districts, he set a new personal best of 18:51. It was his best race ever.

But it wasn't quite enough. He crossed that finish line just behind Salmon's #5 guy. Braxton knew his team wasn't going to state. He crossed the finish line and just kept walking. I caught up to him and he was as emotional as 9th grade boys get and my heart ached for him. He ran his very best that day. As his coach said, Braxton ran well; Salmon just happened to run great. Our team came in six points behind Salmon, which means it wasn't just Braxton. His one point wouldn't have made a difference.

Why am I posting "the agony of defeat" on my blog? Well, first because it's my blog and I can do what I want. Second, because I don't want Braxton to forget how hard he worked to achieve what he did. He may not have accomplished what he set out to accomplish, but he still did something great. And third, sometimes it's those moments of defeat that make us want to try harder, to do better. Braxton needs to remember that. And besides, if nothing else, now he loves to run.

Sugar High XC team after districts.

Jump on, coach! Notice the twins in the second row: Carlos and Luis. Last year, in 8th grade, a coach from another school got mad at our jr. high track coach for putting a kid in eight events. He didn't realize it was actually two different kids.

I posted this picture because is shows the wonderful camaraderie on the XC team. The team would eat a carbo-load dinner together the before a race and they would "hang out" after races. Even though most of the parents came to the races, the kids would all mostly ride the bus home together. They cheered each other on and more than once, runners would finish the race and then run back down the course to find the last runner and bring him/her in. They are an amazing group of kids.

The girls team won districts and went on to take second at state. (The girl in the back, third from left, is Ta'Lee. McKay loves her. He even winked at her when he was on the stand for the primary program. ) Two boys qualified individually for state. One of them beat all of our district (including the Teton pack) across the finish at sate.

The way cool boys team. Braxton is in the black hat.

We are really proud of Braxton and his hard work this fall. I can't believe we have to wait ten whole months for another XC meet! What will I do between now and then? Oh, I know. Cheer Braxton on in wrestling and track. Cheer Tanner on in baseball. Attend a few dance recitals. And teach McKay how to read.

One Weekday Morning

2011-10-27T15:59:00.001-06:00

We are blessed to live where we typically have beautiful sunrises. I still maintain that the sunsets cannot compare to Nevada, but there really is something special about the sun coming up over the Tetons.

One morning I opened the blinds so we could watch for the school bus, and the sunrise was so beautiful that I made the kids come look.

Then I changed the settings on my camera and we got a different look for the same sunrise.

I zoomed in on the Tetons.

The Tetons are right in the middle of this photo.

What a beautiful start to the day.

Look Closely!

2011-10-25T15:44:00.002-06:00

One day during Harvest Break, Kilee walked by the window and casually said, "There's a bluebird on the lawn."

I freaked out and grabbed the camera. Bluebirds are mountain birds and you don't commonly see them in subdivisions. In fact, I've only seen a bluebird once in my life. I was shocked that I could see six of them in our backyard. The pictures aren't great (I am not a photographer), but you can still see the little tiny bluebirds.

Football 2011

2011-10-23T15:42:00.001-06:00

One of Tanner's baseball coaches begged and begged and begged Tanner to play football. Tanner turned him down for a long time. In fact, by the time he convinced Tanner to come to a practice, they had been practicing for two weeks. Randy and I kept telling Tanner he didn't have to play and he'd come home from a practice and say, "It was okay. I'll go back tomorrow."

Tanner is #25 wearing red socks.

Tanner is just to the right of #40.

Tanner after a game.

Tanner lining up against Sand Creek Middle School.

Tanner made a great tackle but then came out holding his wrist. His coach taped him up and the whole time I kept saying to Randy, "He better be able to still play the piano."

Before we knew it, he made it through the season. In the car on the way home after that last game, Tanner finally said, "That was fun. I think I'll play again next year."

Kilee and McKay Play Soccer

2011-10-20T13:17:00.001-06:00

Sounds like the title of a book, don't you think? It could be one of those upside down and backwards books with a story starting from each end.

Here's McKay's story.

This is McKay. McKay is supposed to be playing soccer, but he is snatching handfuls of grass instead.

McKay is supposed to be playing soccer, but in his mind, he's got

"hay" for his horses.

This is McKay on the soccer field. Remember the hay?

This is McKay. He is stalking his prey. The players on the other team have no idea they are being watched by a mountain lion.

This is McKay who once was a mountain lion. Now he's horse galloping to the goal.

This is McKay the horse. He's playing soccer.

This is how McKay plays soccer. This is not how you are supposed to play soccer.

Now flip the book upside over and backwards and we'll read Kilee's story.

This is McKay's big sister, Kilee. She's the girl with the blond pony tail. Kilee plays soccer.

Kilee knows how to throw the soccer ball over her head towards her teammates. She knows that one of her teammates will pick up the ball and kick it towards the goal.

This is Kilee running to stop the ball. She's a defender and is defending her goal. She will kick the ball back down the field. Kilee will help her team by playing soccer and not pretending to be an animal.

The End.

A Much Smaller Rite of Passage

2011-10-10T16:19:00.003-06:00

We're all about growing up around here.

One recent Saturday, instead of fixing the training wheels (again), Randy just took them off McKay's little bike and decided to teach him how to ride a bike.

Randy set out running behind McKay, but McKay had other ideas and about two seconds later, he was riding his bike. We hollered and cheered and he rode up the road and turned around and came back and rode around and around the driveway.

He's mastered riding up and down the road, and now, McKay thinks he's going to ride his bike to school. Even impractical goals are good.

A Rite of Passage

2011-10-08T19:31:00.001-06:00

Braxton is standing over my shoulder and just said, "Mom, not cool. I don't want everything published for the world to read."

So I won't tell you that we spent quite a bit of time reading about the do's and don'ts of shaving. I won't tell you that we spent a lot of time laughing in the mirror while he held a razor in his hand. I won't tell you that we didn't tell his dad because his dad is pitching fits about his son having facial hair.

In short, I won't tell you about the rite of passage that my oldest son just took; you'll have to just figure it out. He's well on his way to becoming a man. I almost cried.

(Almost? says Braxton. Almost? I swear there was a river coming out of your eyes.)

Summer 2011

2011-09-28T13:33:00.003-06:00

Our summer was crazy. There's no other word for it. Starting the middle of June, we traveled somewhere every week for eight straight weeks. Finally in the middle of August, I said, "Enough! We're staying home!" because school was starting.

In a nut shell: here's summer.

Tanner turned 12 the very end of May and we had a great big party at The Craze Fun Zone with a bunch of 12-year-old boys. They ate a lot of pizza and played a lot of games and I didn't take a single picture. I'm still trying to figure out why I don't have any photos. Bad Mom Moment #462.

Shortly thereafter, Tanner was ordained a Deacon. Grandma and Grandpa Stocking were able to come up for the ordination.

As did Nana and Papa Millington. We are so grateful to live close enough to family to have them here for such special occasions.

This is the day of his ordination. Don't look at me. What I want you to look at is the top of our heads. And I have high heels on. Tanner is so tall. He likes to tease me ("Mom, I can totally see right over your head!"), but I like to put him to work (i.e. dust the top shelves).

Braxton went to CSI Music Fest again. This year the choir got a real treat. The BYUI Mens and Womens choirs (the ones in black) came up and sang with the music fest participants. Braxton was the lone percussionist in the band and that was a lot of fun for him.

Kilee turned nine in June and wanted a berry pie for her "cake." We had a wonderful little party with family and friends and she got some great fingernail polish.

My younger brother, Dallas, and his little family came to visit in July. We loved having them here. My kids are still making Royce's frowny face.

Right after Dallas left, my sister Monique came with her kids. We had so much fun with Porter and Elahn and they were so good while they were here.

The end of July we traveled to the old Millington homestead for the family reunion. This is Nana and Papa with all the grandkids. Aren't my nieces and nephews (and my kids, too) totally cute? I have an awesome family.

The reunion is a great time to see all my siblings, which really only happens every two years.

McKay reached a very important milestone in August: he learned to wipe his own bum. That's a very important part of being able to go to kindergarten, you know. Seriously, though, turning five is another important requirement for kindergarten. He received his first backpack for his birthday. He was (is) so proud of that backpack. Isn't that the cutest face?

Also this summer, Randy had a birthday, I had a birthday, and we celebrated 16 years of marriage. I spent the summer training for a half marathon and ran the Mesa Falls half marathon the end of August. I have no pictures of any of those events. Sorry. The excuse for the marathon is that I was actually running it and didn't worry too much about pictures.

The good news, now, is that I am caught up. The bad news is that I am caught up. What do I post now?

Baseball - 2011

2011-09-25T20:18:00.000-06:00

Tanner had a great regular season baseball team. Several boys from our neighborhood were on the team as were a lot of his friends from school. Tanner played first base and he pitched.

At the end of the regular season, there was a little tournament. Tanner's team won the first three games, then lost on a Friday night to a tough St. Anthony team. Since it was a double elimination tournament, Tanner's team had another chance to to win. We came back Saturday morning knowing we could beat the first team we played, which we did. His little baseball team was now playing in the championship against the same team that beat Tanner's team on Friday night. In order to win, though, they would have to beat the St. Anthony team twice. Would you believe they did it??? Three games and nearly 7 hours of baseball later, Tanner's team had won the upper valley baseball championship.

Here's the team, lined up after the big win waiting for the awards ceremony.

Tanner is high-fiving his coach. Which one is taller?

Tanner's incredible little baseball team. Five of these players (including Tanner) went on to play on the All-Star team, coached by Tanner's regular season team of coaches (including his dad). It was a great baseball season for Tanner.

During a Baseball Game

2011-09-21T14:33:00.003-06:00

Poor McKay spent a lot of time at the ball fields last spring and summer. He learned how to entertain himself for the most part. Sometimes, though, when he wasn't too far away, I was amused by how he chose to play.

Who knew that sitting in a rut all by yourself was so entertaining?

Spring!

2011-09-19T16:13:00.003-06:00

Spring means finding the spring jackets and then going back and forth between winter coats and spring jackets. It also means that our lives started to get a little more hectic.

Braxton ran track again in junior high. He did the 800 M and the 1600 M runs. He enjoyed the running the workouts.

Spring also means baseball. Tanner played on a great little baseball team this year. This is one of the things I was most impressed with. Before each game, the boys would walk out in the field a little bit and "take care of business." More about baseball to come.

Braxton, Kilee, and Tanner all participated in a Musician's West piano competition. This is them outside the concert hall. It was a beautiful day outside. The boys were pretty bummed to have to be spending a Saturday in church clothes.

Kilee performed very well and made it to the finals. She got to play on a great big stage in a fancy recital hall. She was soooooo nervous but she played beautifully.

Kilee's dance recital meant we had one more thing to cross off the calendar. She loved dance and did both ballet and tap. In the picture above, she is the girl in the center.

So- that takes care of spring. Now then - summer.

Winter 2011

2011-09-15T15:55:00.001-06:00

In an attempt to catch up, here's the highlight of winter.

Braxton turned 14. He requested cheesecake for his birthday cake. Excellent idea, if you ask me.

One of favorite gifts was from Dianne. She gave a gift that is traditional in her family. I'm sure you see why it was a hit.

*For those of you who may not know Dianne's mom and Randy are cousins. Dianne was up here going to college. She's currently off track and not here and we miss her!

Shortly thereafter, Braxton was ordained a teacher by his dad.

Nana and Papa came up to be with us on this special day. We are so grateful that they made this trip.

Um - that about sums up the winter. Soon to come: spring. (Since it's fall and all....)

First Day of School - 2011

2011-09-13T14:45:00.000-06:00

School started way too early this year. I was not ready to send my kids back to school. Ready or not, school did start and away my kids went.

My baby is in kindergarten. I'm a little sad about that.

The Princess is in 4th grade.

This clown is in 7th grade. Can I just point out how big his hands are? His hands and feet are bigger than his dad's. He's also nearly six inches taller than his mom.

This guy is too cool for my camera, a clear indication that he is a freshman in high school.

All together being crazy.

This photo is the perfect illustration of my two older boys. Tanner is hugging them all and Braxton wants no part of it.

I drove McKay to school and here he is at his table and ready to learn. I shed a few tears on the first day, even though I got to stay with him until the end of his first day (a whopping 40 minutes later). However, You should have seen me on the second day when he rode the bus with his big brothers and sister. I stood at the window and cried.

A lot.

Mother's Proudest Moment

2011-09-11T13:28:00.000-06:00

Today our primary had a special guest. Sister Ginny U. Smith from the Primary General Board came to visit. I normally go to Sunday school, but because I had to make a stop in the library, I was late and classes had all started. I paused outside the primary door to check on my youngest and saw Sister Smith speaking to the children. I stayed to listen.

She spoke to the children for a few minutes about missionary work and then the sharing time focused on missionary work. She took a seat in an empty row just behind where I was sitting next to McKay. A member of our bishopric talked about his mission to Japan and then a sister in our ward talked to the children about her conversion at the age of 17. They were both outstanding in a room full of wiggly children. At one point, the sister asked the children who was going to grow up and be a missionary. Most of the children raised their hands with excitement.

That cute little boy who I was sitting next to said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Not me!" Then he turned to me and said, "Mom, I'm going to be a bus driver."

Broken Light Switch

2011-06-13T21:39:00.001-06:00

McKay comes into the kitchen tonight and asks, "Dad, can you come turn my light on for me?" Randy says, "You can reach your light switch. Just go turn it on." McKay answers, "No, I can't, Dad. It's broken."

"What?" Randy says. "What do you mean it's broken?"

McKay replies, "Tanner shot it."

Tanner suddenly looks very sheepish, and says, "I shot it with my air soft pistol." I covered my mouth to hide my smile and then I had to try to quit laughing.

"I'm sorry," I said to Randy. "I know it's not funny, but it really is." Then I asked Tanner, "Whatever made you think that it was okay to shoot your pistol in the house?"

"Well," Tanner says, "I was trying to shut off the light without getting out of bed. It worked, but I didn't think it would break it."

I'm really laughing at this while Randy is trying to punish Tanner. "Go get me $10 out of your piggy bank," Randy tells Tanner. When Tanner has left the room, I say to Randy, "You're making him pay for the light switch as punishment, so no more being mean about it."

When Tanner comes back, Randy holds the money in his hand and tells Tanner, "When I was about your age, I kicked a Nerf football (**Randy wants you all to know it was a Nerf Football) in the house. It went right through the window."

(It was the the small one closest to the door. Who knew that I would have a picture of the house?)

Kilee asked, "Did you have to pay for it?"

"No, I didn't." Randy said. Tanner started to smile. "And neither do you." And Randy gave the money back to Tanner.

The End.

About Grading Papers

2011-05-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

I'm supposed to be grading papers. I've locked myself in the camper (or I've locked the kids out of the camper) so I can quietly focus on grading papers.

But clearly, I'm not focusing. I'm blogging instead. I went to my blog and then started catching up on all of your blogs (I sure do miss all of you. I wish you lived closer, or I lived closer, or something closer). I thought about Amy and how long it's been since I've seen her and her boys are growing so fast and day after tomorrow one of them might break with tradition and come to BYU-I.

And then I realize that I'm doing it again. It is procrastinating. It is finding all these other things to do besides what I should be doing. I used to do it in graduate school. I would have a paper to write and I would clean the house, do the laundry, fix dinner, and when there was literally nothing else for me to do (or Randy was ~~yelling~~ at encouraging me to get to work), I would sit down and whip out that paper.

The problem here is that all those papers are already whipped out. I just need to whip out the grades.

I should have been a math teacher.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:26:00.002-06:00

Today in Primary, the kids filled out an "All About My Mom" questionnaire. I thought I'd share the answers with you.

How old is your mom?
McKay: 12 or 13
Kilee: 37
Tanner: 39 (Randy later told him to err on the low side, not the high side)

What is your most favorite meal that your mom cooks?
McKay: chicken nuggets (that's a hard meal, let me tell you)
Kilee: egg muffins
Tanner: chicken and rice

What do you like to do with your mom?
McKay: read books
Kilee: go shopping at the mall (that's probably her favorite thing to do, with or without her mom)
Tanner: cook

What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
McKay: movies and stores
Kilee: go to Idaho Falls
Tanner: be with family (this is much closer to the truth)

What's your favorite thing about your mom?
McKay: spending time with her at night and having desserts
Kilee: her outfits are dang cute (that's seriously what she wrote)
Tanner: she's friendly

But the comment of the day goes to McKay. When we were sitting down to dinner tonight, after a long round of "Happy Mother's Day" from the other kids,
McKay asked, "Mom, when is Happy Little Kids Day?"

Finals Time

2011-04-11T23:17:00.002-06:00

I know it has been two months since I posted and I'm about 5 months behind. Hmm. I'll think about that later.

In the meantime, I'm grading 9,000 finals (okay, only 70) and I want to share some of the best one-liners that I'm finding.

*Gender roles are intertwined and tied up in such a fashion that even a boy scout cannot fathom the knot.

*Couples cannot raise a family in cyberspace.

*Many couples are praying and hoping for a chance to have children of their own genetics or they are trying not to pass on life affecting gene that could affect the health of the future generations. (If any of you can actually figure that one out, let me know.)

*This would be like if you were the one who got detention when at school the school bully beat you up and the principal said it was your fault for putting your face in the way of his fists.

*There is nothing that would be more disappointing than destroying an individual’s life work.
*Mark Zuckerberg, an average genius....

*I have a degree in liberal arts; would you like fries with that?

*So if the line to the testing center is too long they are prone to forget some of the information as they sit down for the test.

* Therefore, according to the environmentalist logic, windmills, as well as all tall buildings, glassed windows, and moving cars should be removed from the environment to prohibit further damage to our feathered friends.

Fall Happenings

2011-02-10T16:00:00.001-07:00

Shortly before Halloween, McKay took a dive out of Tanner's arms and hit the the hardwood floor where the floor meets the carpet. Five stitches later, he was all better.

Halloween came and went without many photos. Somebody must have captured the Kilee witch, but that's all I have. There isn't a McKay giraffe, a Tanner construction worker, or a plain old Braxton.

Braxton and Tanner competed in a piano competition. Braxton took 2nd in his level. Tanner took 3rd in his.

Tanner didn't play at the honor recital so I don't have a video of him. Sorry about that.

Christine and Haley came over and learned how to make cinnamon rolls.

Somebody stole my camera and took pictuers of star-shaped marshmallows.

Braxton participated in jr. high wrestling. I think he's found his sport. I shall have to change my perception of wrestling. He did great for his first year. He got so sick right before districts, though, and lost 5 pounds and just wasn't 100%. He still tried his hardest, and that's what matters.

Thanksgiving meant turkey at Nana and Papa's. This is the first Thanksgiving in my memory of snow on the ground in Buhl at Thanksgiving. The bigs (the dads) and the littles (the kids) bundled up and played the traditional turkey bowl.

And we ate.

The next day, they braved the cold and went shooting. It was about 6 degrees above zero. L to R is nephew Seth, Braxton, Tanner, and niece Lexi. Yep, that's my darling 15-year-old niece shooting that big gun.

And I believe that brings us to Christmas. Almost current.

One Day Last Summer When Papa Visited

2011-02-08T17:56:00.001-07:00

By Request

2011-02-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

Stocking Family Photos

BR - almost 14

Big Mac. 4 years old.

My girl and me. Age 8 and age unknown.

TJ - 11 years old

Princess and her dad. He's 42.

My boys. AKA the reasons Kilee wants a sister.

I love this photo of my kids. It's deceiving, though. Braxton doesn't usually hold anybody's hand.

The Juxtaposition of Kids

2011-01-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

On the receiving of mid-term report cards...

Tanner: "Yes! No Cs! Look, Mom! I even have three As in computers, PE, and music!"

Kilee: "What? I have a B? (tears coming on) Mom, I want straight As." (tears spilling onto cheeks)

Dad: "Kilee, would a blizzard make you feel better?"

Things About the Mormon Bubble....

2011-01-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

In the grocery store on Saturday:

Checker (to the older couple in front of me): "Hi. How's your day?"
Couple: "Good. We went to the temple this morning."
Checker: "How was the temple?"
Couple: "It was really nice."

I have two things to say about this. First, who talks about the temple in the grocery store check-out line? Seriously.

Second, when you ask an endowed member how the temple was, what do you expect them to say? It was noisy? crowded? It just didn't do anything for me today? Really, what options are there?

Then, in a community meeting tonight, one lady wants to offer a comment so she says, "My husband gave me a blessing...." And we are all supposed to know what she's talking about.

Okay, Okay. Yes, we probably all knew what she was talking about, but still!

Obviously I'm still adjusting.

Somebody Should Update This Blog

2011-01-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

I regularly hop on my blog and check up on all my blogging buddies to see how their blogs are coming along. One of these days I'll actually update mine. The background is so last year (hee hee), but I find it acceptable since my Christmas wreath is still hanging on the front door. I'll just throw some pink ribbon up there and it should work for Valentine's Day.

Maybe if I make a list of things to blog about it will motivate me to update.

I never blogged about my triathlon.

I neglected to blog about my Fall 2010 classes.

I skipped right over Christmas.

So this is me making a list of things I need to blog about and making an effort to stay current. Starting now. Starting with my background.

Goodbye Christmas.

Hello something else.

Tonight's FHE

2011-01-09T20:48:00.002-07:00

The Christmas music on my blog is starting to annoy me... So is the Christmas background. Someday (soon) I'll get around to changing that.

Between now and then, though, I want to write about our interesting Family Home Evening tonight. Yes, it's only Sunday. We can't seem to keep up with FHE on Mondays, but if we have it on Sunday night, we are pretty faithful about it. You learn to do what works.

Kilee had the lesson tonight. She did a good job. It was on kindness and she read a story from the Friend and asked questions and asked Braxton to read a scripture. McKay chose the songs and led the music. However, I was truly impressed by what happened after the lesson.

Braxton conducted tonight. After Kilee finished her lesson, Braxton opened his scriptures and said, "I want to share a scripture with you." Then he read Doctrine and Covenants 59:13-14. When he had finished, he said, "I just wanted to share that with you because today was Fast Sunday (Our stake switched it to today. Don't ask me why.). We have a tendency to grumble and complain on Fast Sunday. I know I do because I kinda like food. (I snickered at this point because I can't keep him full.) What I'm saying is we need to have a better attitude about Fast Sunday. I tried hard today to be cheerful and and pray more. I think if we pray more individually and as a family, Fast Sunday will be a joyful day."

I'm not sure if this is a Deacon's quorum thing or if it is just my son being introspective, but either way, I'm impressed. I was not this way at 13. I just grumbled and I certainly didn't go around quoting scripture to my family. I wish I could take credit for him being such a good kid, but I don't think I have much to do with it. I do know, though, that I have to look for the good he does because it's so easy to see the teenager who complains about practicing piano, who ignores his littlest brother, who disappears when work needs to be done. He's still a kid, but after tonight, I'm hopeful that he'll grow up to be a superb missionary.

Christmas Eve Confessions

2010-12-24T17:04:00.001-07:00

My sixth grader still believes in Santa. How did that happen? and does that make me a bad mom?

A Santa Story

2010-12-23T06:58:00.002-07:00

Warning: Santa Spoiler Alert!

On the way to Randy's aunt's funeral last spring, we passed this house. Randy slowed just a bit and said, "That's where we used to live." It's still the same color as it was when he lived there. His family had a dairy farm, but that's long gone now. He was 11 years old when his family moved from this house - the same age as Tanner is now. Then, Randy told me a story about that house:

"My dad worked at a sugar factory; he was one of their maintenance men. We had decided to have Christmas before Dad left for work Christmas day. Kevin, Kyle, and I decided to milk cows at 3:00 in the morning so that Dad could sleep longer and we'd have Christmas together before he went to work.

We were just about done with chores. We only had three or four cows left when Kevin and Kyle sent me back to the house. The only problem was I couldn't get in; the door was locked. I ran back to the barn and told Kevin and Kyle. The didn't believe me, but Kyle went back to the house with me anyway. This time, the door wasn't locked, so my brothers were obviously right all along. I went back to bed and as I lay there, I heard the wind chimes that hung outside the front door. I knew for certain that Santa was there; he'd hit his head on the chimes. For a long time afterwards, I knew there was a Santa."

Come to find out when Randy came in from the barn the first time, his mom - who had been up doing Santa business - was getting ready to unlock the door and saw him coming. She just sat on the step until Randy ran back to the barn, and then she unlocked the door. After Randy was back in bed, his mom and dad were getting the presents out. They had hid them all on the front porch and as they were coming in or out, one of them hit their head on those chimes.

I realize that the front porch in the picture above is exposed to the elements. Randy said it used to be enclosed.

I love this story that he remembers about Christmas. In fact, his mother remembers it just as well, and I'd heard the story many times before we drove past the house. Hopefully, some of you have memories just as vivid of when you knew there was a Santa.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-22T19:10:00.001-07:00

I managed to get around to sending Christmas cards this year, and instead of sending a letter, I gave a blog address. If I had sent a letter, this is what it might have said:

We are celebrating one year in our new home. It's been a great year. We were busy with projects and are glad for winter so we can quit working outside.

McKay is our busy 4-year-old. He loves preschool, friends, and TicTacs. His favorite pal is Tanner and his favorite job is helping Daddy.

Kilee is in 3rd grade and loves all things girlish. Between piano lessons, activity days, and dance, she doesn't have a whole lot of free time. She's developed a love of reading this year and just finished the first Harry Potter. She's still as sweet as ever. She loves being with her friends and hates unloading the dishwasher.

Tanner is in 6th grade. He loves having a good time at whatever it is he's doing. The best parts of his day involve basketball before school, football during morning recess, and PE. He is doing well on the piano, but wants the world to know he greatly dislikes it. He's an outstanding baseball player, and if he wants to play baseball, he'll figure out how to like the piano.

Braxton is in 8th grade and such a teenager. He loves band (he's a drummer). He ran track last spring and then decided to try wrestling this fall. He did okay for a new guy. Our goal for 2011 is to earn his Eagle. Okay, my goal for 2011 is for him to earn his Eagle. Scarily, he's almost old enough to take driver's ed!

Randy is still the education administrator at the juvenile correction center and is enjoying his job (mostly). When he's not at work, he spends a lot of time with his two oldest boys taking them fishing, shooting, and going on over-nighters with their scout troop. When he finds any free time, he works on projects around our house and takes me on dates.

I am still at BYU-Idaho and love teaching there. When I'm not teaching, I'm a mom. I don't have any hobbies because it takes all my time and energy to keep up with four kids. I find that I spend a lot of time in my car with my kiddos, but I am enjoying the chauffer stage of my life.

We have had the opportunity to reconnect with many friends in Eastern Idaho and for that we are grateful. We are healthy, happy, and employed. We make it a point to find the blessings in each day. We hope our Christmas message find each of you healthy and happy.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

62 and 3/4"

2010-12-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, we measured Tanner. He is officially 62 and 3/4 inches tall. 5 feet, 2 and 3/4 inches. For some of you, that may seem short.

For the rest of us (me) who are only 61 and 3/4 inches tall, it means that the 11-year-old is now taller than his mother...by one inch. Tanner thinks I am now his PLP (personal leaning post).

Luckily, I still have the teenager by one inch.

How long do you think that will last?

Gratitude

2010-11-25T21:35:00.002-07:00

I'm thankful for...

America
Braxton, Bear, and BYU-I
Christina, my TA
Diet Pepsi
Electricity
Food
Girlfriends and Gum
Home
Intellect
Jobs, mine and Randy's
Kilee
Lori
McKay
Nieces and Nephews, Nash, Neighbors
Old Friends, made new again
Piano teachers
Qwest because they provide my internet
Randy
Sunshine
Tanner
Uunderstanding
Verizon because lots of texts and calls are free
Water
Xtra light fishing line because it was used in McKay's five stitches
You because you are reading my blog. Thank you.
Zippers that work

(Um, some of those were hard.)

An Analogy

2010-11-18T22:45:00.002-07:00

One of my students, Taylor, is going on a mission in January. He opened his mission call with his family via Skype. The other day in class,Taylor had had it.

"My brain is getting flooded with information in this class," he said. "It's like looking in a fire hose at full blast."

Baseball

2010-11-16T21:40:00.001-07:00

I know there is snow on the ground. I know that Tanner's baseball season ended 4 months ago. I also know that this is my journal and so it doesn't matter how over-due my post is, it's going to get posted.

Tanner was selected to play on the All-Star team which meant a lot more practice and three tournaments. The first tournament was in St. Anthony, so it was only 7 miles up the road. The second tournament was in Driggs, and that's just up the road. The last tournament was in Bear Lake and we packed up the camper and made a trip of it.

I love watching Tanner play baseball. Normally, Tanner doesn't pay attention to what is going on around him. He's in his own world and oblivious to others. However, when he's playing baseball, he is so focused! He listens to his coach, watches the players, knows where the ball is going; those are all characteristics that I wouldn't normally use to describe Tanner.

One night of the tournament the team and all the families went down to Bear Lake.

It was a great way to relax before the big final game the next day. Tanner's team ended up taking 2nd in the tournament. He played well and improved so much during the baseball season. I can hardly wait for next year.

After the tournament, we took the long way home and drove over the mountain to Preston. My dad was born in Preston. My grandma and grandpa Millington grew up there and I probably still have family there. My goal, though, was just to go to the cemetary and visit Grandma and Grandpa.

My grandpa died when I was in 8th grade, but Grandma lived until I was 26. She died about the time I found out I was pregnant with Tanner. Starting sometime when I was in high school, my grandma spent every Christmas with us. Those are precious memories.

I took the time to show my kids the graves of their great-great grandparents, my grandma Millington's parents.

I tried to remember stories about them to tell my kids so that these people would become more real to them. All that did was teach me that I have a lot more to learn about my family history.

I'll be better prepared when we visit again next year after the tournament. (No pressure, Tanner.)

One More Image

2010-11-14T22:07:00.003-07:00

This is why it matters that my mom and dad went with us to Disneyland.

Going Home

2010-11-13T21:46:00.002-07:00

Thursday morning we had to pack our suitcases. That was sad. My mom and dad had to leave at about 9:00 to get to the airport. We ate breakfast with them and then sent them on their way. We fetched our luggage and headed north. When we arrived in Las Vegas, we took the kids to M&M World. They've often heard Randy and I talk about it, but they've never been there. We took the opportunity to make a quick stop and collect some blue and orange M&Ms.

Then we went to my brother Jade's home. My kids got to play with their cousins Bennett and Hannah, and we got to enjoy more of the beautiful Vegas weather. I love my relatives with pools, by the way.

We spent Thursday night just being with Jade and Liz and even got to enjoy the home teachers. (Sometimes, even the Bishop's home teachers come on the last day of the month.) Liz fixed wonderful food and it was a bummer we had to leave. Friday morning we faced a 10 hour drive to get home so we left early. Randy was trying to beat the rush hour traffic in Salt Lake and we ended up having to pay Fillmore County a hefty chunk of change.

We were gone for seven days. We drove over 1500 miles and listened to the same book on tape twice. We saw two brothers and their wives, two cousins, and Nana and Papa. We ate way too many peanut butter sandwiches. (I hate peanut butter sandwiches. If there were a stronger word than hate, I would use it.) We had the best vacation we've ever had.

And when we got home, my kids still had two weeks out of school. Do you have any idea how hard it was to go back to school after three weeks out? It took two weeks to get back into a routine.

But it was worth it.

Final Day at the Happiest Place on Earth

2010-11-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was our last day in Disneyland. This was our day to do everything we hadn't already done and do everything we wanted to do again. We started in Fantasyland because we wanted to do the Tea Cups.

Before you know it, we're at Snow White's scary ride, going through Alice's Wonderland, and sailing through Storybook Land.

That, of course, leads us to the song that never ends:

We loved It's a Small World; I'm still singing it.

We decided to split up at this point and they guys went to Toon Town and Nana, Mom, and Kilee went to see the princesses.

Tiana

Belle

Ariel

Then we went to the Matterhorn where we had a really long wait. We were even rewarded for our wait. They had a traffic jam on the Matterhorn and pulled our bobsled off to clear up the traffic. After about a 10 minute wait, we got to go again and didn't even have to stand in line again! We did Buzz Lightyear about five times and then started over. We headed to Splash Mountain where this Mom got soaked. McKay was thrilled to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but only the first time. The second time, he started out looking like this:

Then we split up again. The bigger people rode Indiana Jones and the smaller people went through Sleeping Beauty's castle and rode the carousel again.

This picture is significant because McKay is up there on the carousel all alone. No siblings, no Papa, no Mom. Before the carousel started, McKay turned to me and said, "Okay, Mom, you go wait out there. I'm a big boy."

I cried again.

We met up on Main Street to wait for the parade, which was fabulous again. My kids got to dance in the streets with Sheriff Woody, Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, and (my favorite) Mary Poppins. Then we took the train around the park at closing and our trip to Disneyland came to a close.

It was so bittersweet. I loved every minute we spent in the Happiest Place on Earth. I loved that my kids were so good and so happy. There were no complaints, no fights, no unhappiness. I loved sharing this trip with my parents. What sweet memories I have of my mom and Kilee always together; I'm not sure who was taking care of whom. My dad was McKay's best pal. My mom and dad worried about and took such good care of each other. One thing I will never forget is my parents holding hands each night as we walked back to the hotel.

How much longer 'til I can go back?

Fantasyland and California Adventures

2010-11-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

Day 4, if you're keeping track.

Tuesday was our Magic Morning so we left even earlier so we could get into Disneyland at 9:00. We spent our early hour in Fantasyland. I loved Fantasyland. I loved that even my big boys enjoyed Fantasyland. This was where it all started for Walt and I think I loved the nostalgia of this land more than aything.

After a few hours in Fantasyland, we were ready to head across the way to California Adventures.

This place was just fun. We rode Soarin' over California three times. We went to animation school (and now there is always a Mickey on my dusty car). My dad rode California Screaming three or four times and would have gone again but nobody would go with him. (Mom - let this be your reminder that you don't like roller coasters, or roller coasters don't like you.) Grizzly River Run was fun for those who like to get wet. McKay got to see his favorite: Lightning McQueen and Mater. Mostly, we enjoyed being together.

We made it a point to get a good seat for the parade. I don't really like parades, but Disney doesn't put on parades that remind you of home. These are real parades. Huge, energetic, no horses. Simply put, this parade was fun.

Waiting for the Parade.

After the parade, we went to Bug's Land, which was my favorite part of California Adventures. You really do end up feeling like a bug. And Bug's Land was cool and shady. We sang Happy Birthday to my sister from Bug's Land. The 3-D show is not to be misssed, unless you have an arachnophob in your midst. We'll call my arachnophob Tanner. And I'll tell you that when the black widows made an appearance, I literally had to grab Tanner (who was two people away) and hold him to me. He was hysterical. It was terrifying for him, hilarious for the rest of us.

Then we grabbed seats for the World of Color show. Phenomenal doesn't even begin to describe the show. 45 minutes of water, music, color, fire, bubbles. This is what makes Disney great. If you ever get there, you simply cannot miss the World of Color.

Final day to come....

The Happiest Place On Earth

2010-11-11T16:46:00.001-07:00

I should start off by telling you that Randy took most of the pictures on this vacation. There were over 700 pictures and videos that I was priviledged to sort through. Anyway....

Monday morning could not come soon enough. I was so excited. I was worse than my kids! We knew that the gates opened at 9:30 so we were determined to be down there by 9:00. It was a fabulous time of year to be at Disneyland.

Anytime of year is probably great to be at Disneyland, but I loved the Halloween decorations. I loved that all the flowers were fall colors. I loved that everything that could be decorated was decked out for Halloween.

Now it must be noted that I had never been to Disneyland. Randy had never been to Disneyland. My mom and dad had never been to Disneyland. Of course, it was also a first for my four kids. I can imagine what it would feel like to spontaneously combust because that's how I felt while the crowd is counting down 10, 9, 8...until the gates opened, and I was in the Happiest Place on Earth.

Then I cried. (So did my mom.)

I had been reading books about Disneyland and it was so exciting to actually see these places and tell my kids little factoids that I had gleaned from my reading.

Like this one, for example. Did you know that when Walt Disney was alive, he would occassionally stay in the room above the fire department so he could watch what was going on? There's a light in the window that never gets turned off.

We got to hang out on Main Street for 30 minutes. I loved Main Street and probably could have spent half the day there.

My dad, ever the comedian. My dad was so easy to find at Disneyland in this shirt. I wished that he would have had three of them.

One thing about our first day at Disneyland must be noted. It was hot. Not just approaching-100-degrees hot, it was sweating-in-the-shade hot. We just happened to be spending Los Angeles' hottest day on record at Disneyland. It was 113 degrees.

We had a great time our first day and went to as many rides and saw as many things as we could. There were a few rides McKay couldn't ride, but we just took turns waiting with him. We spent 8 hours inside Disneyland on that first day and only saw half the park. There was just so much to see and do. I was amazed at the "stuff" to entertain a person.

We had reservations at Goofy's Kitchen for Monday night. When you are at Finding Nemo and the monorail isn't working, Goofy's Kitchen is a LONG ways away. The best thing about Goofy' Kitchen was the air-conditioning. My kids probably wouldn't say that, but it's my blog so you get my opinion. Randy had the camera so I have no pictures of Goofy. Goofy was very tall. We did get to see lots of characters in the kitchen, though.

We waited at our table for Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. She spent a good five minutes talking to Kilee and making Kilee feel very special. I love the Fairy Godmother. She is now my favorite character.

Then we went back to our hotel and fell into bed, completely exhausted.

A Mouse for Raegan

2010-11-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Are you happy now?

Wait! Maybe that wasn't the mouse you meant. What about this one?

I'm betting that's the mouse you meant. This mouse was EVERYWHERE, by the way.

More to come....

Disneyland Trip - Days One and Two

2010-10-30T22:24:00.002-06:00

We surprised our kids. We'd been planning on going sometime, but never mentioned a specific date to the

kids. We finally decided to bite the bullet and I booked the trip. Then I invited my mom and dad to come along. We planned the trip to take place during harvest break from school in September. We told the kids we were going to Las Vegas to spend some time with family there.

It was all working out so nicely until the school board voted to change harvest break because the potatoes weren't quite ready to harvest. My kids ended up missing four days of school. I missed parent-teacher conferences. We still had a good time.

Since the kids didn't know, we decided to tell them in Randy's usual fashion.

It started in the bathroom as soon as they were out of bed. Then it went to another bathroom...

...out to the garage, back into the house, and hopefully ending with them figuring out that we were going to Disneyland. Except that they never did figure out we were going to Disneyland.

Now, if it were me, I would have put a huge sign on the van that said, "Disneyland Express." But it wasn't just me and we tried it his way. It failed. The kids totally didn't get the clues so we finally had to tell them we were going to Disneyland and then they didn't believe us. Total let down. In fact, McKay started to cry because he wanted to go to Las Vegas!

We left home at about 6:15 Saturday morning and headed to Vegas. We arrived at Uncle Kyle's house at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

The kids had a great time playing in his pool. I had a wonderful time visiting with my sister-in-law, who I didn't get a picture of.

I'm pretty sure Randy had a great time catching up with his older brother, Kyle. I think Kyle and Randy are the most alike of the brothers.

That night, Kyle had a messy face contest for the kids. I don't really have to show you a picture for you to know who won. Tanner could win without trying. We loved staying at Uncle Kyle's house and we're ready to go back anytime.

Sunday morning we got up early and had a wonderful breakfast with Kyle and Francie. Then we hit the road for LA. The traffic was horrible! But we finally made it to our hotel and met up with my parents. The kids were pretty excited by now and pretty shocked to see Nana and Papa.

We had all of Sunday afternoon/evening so we wandered around and I fell in love with the palm trees that lined the roads and the sidewalk. Okay - I loved the whole trip, but I enjoyed our little walk to Downtown Disney and through the shops.

We watched the fireworks and then headed off to bed because Monday was going to be a busy day!

Guess Where We Went

2010-10-29T22:24:00.003-06:00

More details to come...

Summer Project - Yard Stuff

2010-10-17T19:44:00.006-06:00

Last Spring found us working in our yard. We were attempting to actually make a yard. Our original plan was to build a shed on a concrete foundation. Then one day, I was looking at the spot we picked out, and casually asked Randy why we couldn't extend the concrete clear up the side of the house.

So Zac, Randy's home teaching companion, a certified concrete contractor, and a brilliant nuclear engineering student, came over and got right to work.

After a few days, the concrete truck showed up and blocked the road for 30 minutes.

But Look! Isn't it pretty? One of our neighbors joked about the wheel-chair ramp. It looks funny here, but that little ramp sure is handy when we drive the riding mower into the shed. After this concrete pad dried, this became McKay's favorite place to ride his bike.

Then, Randy, Dan (a friend of ours), and Braxton spent multiple Saturdays getting the shed built. I love it because the lawn mowers, rototiller, rakes, shovels, gas cans, etc., are now in the shed and not the garage.

This is the finished product.

After the shed was finished, the two older boys got to spend most of their summer days spraying the weeds in the back of the house. We'd spray, wait for the weeds to die, water, and kill everything green that came up. We did this three or four times. Then at the end of August, Randy got to spend the better part of a day on a tractor tilling up most of our acre.

It really is a lot of yard. This picture only shows about a third of what we tilled up. We decided that when we do plant grass, we want real grass that isn't full of weeds, and that's why it was all killed off. After tilling, we hired a guy to come put in our sprinkler system. I realize there are those of you who say, "Do it yourself. It's not that hard." But after watching these people put in our system and getting it done in two days, I'm so glad we didn't try to do it ourselves. We'd still be out there trying to put in lines.

Part of our landscape budget included the curbing. I love it and it will look even better in the spring when I can tackle these flower beds.

The last thing we did was buy four big trees. You'll notice that there is some green starting to come back up. That pasture grass is hard to kill. In the spring, we'll kill everything again and then we'll plant grass seed. Hopefully a year from now we'll have a lawn.

A lawn would be nice. It might mean less mud in my house.

First Day of School

2010-10-14T21:14:00.005-06:00

Yes, I'm aware that the first day of school for my kiddos was nearly two months ago. I'm trying to catch up here. Patience, people.

This is my darling 3rd grader.

This is my 6th grader. He's the one who always wants to have a good time at school. Seriously, those are his exact words.

The big, bad 8th grader. He's neither big nor bad. But he is a substantial teenage pain in the rear. And always hungry.

Here's hoping I can tolerate the public education system for another year.

Summer Project - Sewing

2010-10-12T19:54:00.000-06:00

I have to blame my sister for this project. At some point last spring she told me that Kilee was old enough to sew. I think I mentioned it to Kilee and then to my in-laws and pretty soon, Kilee and I had a pattern and went looking for some fabric.

Before we started, I made her read the directions twice. Then we got to work. I usually started the step so she could see how to do it and then I let her take over. She was very careful and so determined.

I dare say she even enjoyed the process.

It took us about two hours to finish the first skirt. She loved it. The next day, we bought more fabric and this time, she made the entire skirt herself. It took her 1 1/2 hours.

The pattern we used came from Oliver and S. It was so easy and can be adapted to any size or age of girl. They are so perfect for any day and can be dressed up or down.

Thank you, dear sister, for the idea. We are getting ready to move on to bigger (not necessarily better) things.

Humility

2010-10-11T23:09:00.001-06:00

Braxton and I were on the way to piano lessons and I was asking him about school. He's 13, you know, and won't volunteer any information.

I asked him about band. He replied that they are learning this really cool song, but it doesn't sound very good right now.

"Nobody can play it right except the bass drum player. It's frustrating for Mr. Seare."

"Who's the bass drum player?" I ask.

His answer: "Me."

Shout Out to Danielle W.

2010-10-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

So since I've been regularly updating my blog (even if it only has been for three days), I've noticed a visitor from Hawaii. Not that it matters, but I figured after he/she/it showed up several times that this person must either like my writing or they know me. This morning as I was getting ready for church, it occurred to me that it's Danielle from winter semester!

Hello, Danielle! How's Hawaii? Do you love it there? I'm now officially following your blog. Is it weird that your former English teacher follows your blog? Do you miss me? I miss you. I miss your smile. I miss your class. Not that I don't love my other classes because I do. But it's that first child thing.

Do you think you'll graduate from BYU-Hawaii? or will you miss the cold of Rexburg too much and have to come back here? Have you met a Lindsay Jensen? Because her mom was my oldest son's 3rd grade teacher. Her mom is Hawaiian so it was natural for Lindsay to go there. I don't know Lindsay, just her mom. And I really liked her mom.

I'm off on a tangent, aren't I? Some things never change.

Well, good to know where you are, and at least by following you, I'll know how you're doing. Have a great semester!

Love,
Sister Stocking

Another McKay Funny

2010-10-09T23:06:00.001-06:00

Randy's brother and his family were here visiting. They have a little boy a year or so older than McKay. McKay and Ison were playing together when McKay comes wailing into the kitchen: "Mommy, make him stop!" McKay is crying and pointing to Ison. "Make him stop!"

"Stop what?" I ask.

"He's calling me little and I'm not little! I'm small!"

Kilee's Baptism

2010-10-08T22:37:00.007-06:00

Kilee turned eight in June. That means one very important thing: Baptism. Kilee was able to have a very special baptism, though. She got to share her baptism with her cousin, Chloe, who is just 12 days younger. The baptism also included Chloe's other cousin, Jacob.

The baptism took place in Blackfoot, a central location for all of us. My brother, Lance (Chloe's dad), and his family were there as well as my sister Monique and her family, Big D and his family, Bear and her family, and we were very surprised and delighted to have my oldest brother, Quinn, who lives in Alabama, there with his wife.

Before the baptism, we met for an impromptu family reunion of sorts.

L to R: Lance, his son Matthew, my dad, Monique and her husband Grant, Big D.

L to R: My mom, Bear, Quinn, Kathleen, and Randy.

Randy baptized and confirmed Kilee and just like he has in the past, he got very emotional when he started the baptismal prayer.

This is a very rare picture of me on my blog. I hate pictures of me. This is no exeption. But I wanted to show off that beautiful white dress that I paid a whopping $16 for at Costco (two years ago).

Chloe and Kilee.

After the baptism, we gathered as family. Lots of family. Chloe's mom has 9 brothers and sisters. I have six brothers and sisters. Randy's family lives close so his parents and brother's family were also there. Our good friends the Jensons came and shared the occasion with us. And we ate because that's what family get togethers are all about.

It was a wonderful day full of sweet memories, both for Kilee and for me. I'm so grateful to my family and friends for making it that way.

Summer Visitors - The Millingtons and The Weavers

2010-10-07T10:07:00.002-06:00

The last day of July found my sister (let's call her Bear) and her four kids and my brother (we'll call him Big D) and his little family here for a few days. They were here for the occasion of Kilee's baptism (yet another post and if you're keeping track, I'm up to two additional posts that I've promised you). They arrived on a Saturday so Sunday was just hanging out and going to church. I loved having my family in church with me. It was so much fun.

Monday we went for a drive up to Driggs. Same Driggs as the baseball tournament which I still need to blog about. We went to a little park and had lunch. On the left is McKay, Adam, Braxton, Tanner, Aunt Bethany, little Royce, and Big D. On the right is Kilee, behind her is Benjamin and Andrew who you can't see, Bear, and Jared in the stroller. That's my big diet Pepsi in the middle of the table. Just in case you were wondering.

I had to share this picture of Andrew because he is so stinkin' cute.

Big D on the slide with his oldest son, Royce.

Big D at the bottom of the slide where his behind got stuck.

All the kiddos in the tree. See Jared? He's so happy to be up there in Braxton's arms. See Royce? He loves being on Tanner's shoulders. We ended this little excursion with a trip to Ashton and the soda fountain. Yummy shakes! That's a must if you're ever in the area.

Big D's family had to leave on Tuesday. Something about jobs. But Bear and her clan stayed for a few more days.

We drove up to Yellowstone and saw lots of wildlife and watched Old Faithful blow. This is a right after she/he/it finished. Braxton left for scout camp this day so he didn't get to go with us on this fun adventure. In the back is Benjamin, Andrew, Kilee (the only girl). Front is McKay, Adam, Jared, and Tanner.

We also went to the splash park one day and sweet Amy came up did glitter toes on us. Bear and I even managed to sneak away like big girls and go to lunch without kids. I think that is the first time in 13 years.

Even though Bear was here for five days, it still wasn't long enough. Shy Benjamin just started talking to me and then they had to leave. However, the kids had a great time and that's all that really mattered.

Summer Visitors - The Marins

2010-10-06T22:06:00.002-06:00

Okay - I know I'm seriously behind in the blogging department. My intent is to catch up quickly, but because this blog also doubles as my journal, you will all have to suffer through summer with me as I get caught up.

Our first visitors, the Marins, came to see us over 4th of July weekend. Lori and Jess live in Winnemucca and it simply wasn't enough that Lori and I talk on the phone every day...sometimes twice a day. The visit was short, but we loved having them here.

Tanner had a baseball tournament in Driggs (more on that coming up) so Saturday morning we drove to Driggs and then we stopped at the Teton Dam site on the way home. My kids are used to me taking pictures all the time. The Marins were less thrilled about the photos.

But then we got back in the truck and this was the scene. It was so peaceful. Stinky, but peaceful. Lori definitely had the better smelling car at this point.

We did sparklers Saturday night and a handful of other fireworks. Then we ate and played games and it was just like old times.

We loved having the Marins here and wish we lived closer, wish they could have stayed longer.

Okay, so maybe only Lori and I wish those things.

No Way!

2010-09-17T16:34:00.000-06:00

Today I did the most amazing thing.

I looked at my blog again.

I kind of forgot I had a blog.

But today I am rededicating myself to updates.

Because life is marching on and I am getting way behind.

Next thing you know Braxton will be driving.

But only if he can see over the steering wheeel.

Funny Things McKay Has Said

2010-09-02T21:06:00.000-06:00

When we were getting ready to go camping, McKay was concerned about the bears. "Mom, do we get to pet the bears?" I said, "No, McKay. The bears are not nice and we do not pet them. We stay away from them." He needed further clarification. "Are the bears mean, Mom?"
"Yes, McKay, the bears are mean."
"Except when they're nice, right?"
______________________________

McKay received a shirt from Nana for his birthday. He called her on the phone. "Thank you for the shirt, Nana." She replies, "Oh, you're welcome, sweetheart. Does it fit?" And he answers, "It goes all the way to my pants."
______________________________

At a baseball tournament, McKay wanted to pet a dog. He asked the man by the dog, "Excuse me, sir. May I pet your dog?" The man answered, "It's not my dog. You'll have to ask that goofball over there." McKay turns to the kid and says, "Hey, Goofball, may I pet your dog?"

15 years

2010-08-19T14:29:00.001-06:00

15 years ago today I married Randy. I liked him a lot. He was a pretty nice guy and he'd been working construction all summer so he looked good, too.

Today, 15 years later, I can tell you that I married the love of my life. I didn't know it then, though.

Randy kisses me goodbye every morning when he leaves for work, even if I'm still in bed (note to you, he leaves for work at 6:45 a.m. so it's not like I'm lazy or anything). He pumps up the tires on the bike for me so I can go riding. Randy rolls over in the middle of the night when I complain that he's snoring.

Randy fixes breakfast on Saturdays.

Randy rubs my shoulders but never asks me to rub his because he knows how badly it hurts my hands. He sings to our kids at bedtime when he knows I've had a long day. Randy knows that when I say, "We need to go buy milk" and it's 9:00 at night, what I'm really saying is, "Let's hit Dairy Queen on the way home."

Randy helps fold the laundry.

It occurred to me in the middle of the night that in another 15 years, I will be 52 years old. McKay will be leaving on a mission. I might be a grandma. I just hope that in another 15 years, I've still got the love of my life.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Still on the Front Row (AKA For April)

2010-08-06T22:01:00.001-06:00

For four years, Braxton has been going to music camp. The first two years were at the very fun and very child-oriented Camp Crescendo. The last two years were at the more serious CSI Music Fest. Unfortunately for my son, he is not tall and is usually placed on the front row of the choir...for four years in a row.

I just want to point out, though, that this year he actually made it to the tenor section (instead of being in the altos). That's him in the middle on the front row, by the way.

April, I promise to keep you posted and let you know when he actually makes it to the second row...if that ever happens.

I Love My Students

2010-07-22T07:09:00.000-06:00

It is no secret that I loved my first class at BYU-I. So when this semester started, I was skeptical and just knew I couldn't love these two classes as much as I loved my first.

After the first few class sessions, though, I could tell that I had a problem and I needed to fix it. I started praying to love my students. I prayed for them by name and asked Heavenly Father to help me love them so that I could be a better teacher.

You'll never guess what happened.

I loved this class. This is my 9:00 class. They were awesome. The let me celebrate their birthdays. They tolerated me making them sing primary songs (and do the actions). They let me discuss The Scroll with them. The men in back, from L to R: Dan, Jay, Jordan, Stephen, Travis, Jaron, Tyler, Jared. The girls standing are Christina, Melissa (Jordan's wife), Sammi, Ashlie, Marina, Kiersten, Christine (in back), Nicki (leaning in), and Marissa. Kneeling in the front is Kevin, Bryce (Bruce, what's the difference?) Scott, Chris, Amber, and Laura. Not pictured are Marisha, Jose, Ashleigh.

But they had to share my love.

This is my 10:15 class. I loved them, too. They sang happy birthday to my mom and dad on their birthday (my parents share a birthday). They clapped for each other. They liked to discuss and share. Logan and Nathan shared with us their contributions to the college film festival. The Canadians were great sports and sang the Star Spanled Banner with us. Don't they look happy? In the back, L to R: Kaitlyn, Sarah J., Kaylee, Rosie, Ryan B., Jon, Dylan, Jakob, Kristopher (a professional photographer), Nathan, Chu Chih-Hao, Aron. Kneeling in the middle are Logan, Shawna, Hannah, Amanda, Marie, Amy, Megan. And in front are Jenna, Jordan, and Jaclyn. Not pictured are Kate, Ryan K., Sarah S., Crystal, and Caitlyn.

*Note to self: don't wait until the last day of class to take the picture. A lot of people skip.

When they were lining up I told them they had to get closer. Ryan took me a little too seriously. Sorry, Jon.

These guys were goofing around, so I told them to give me their best mad look. I think some of them have some work to do on looking mad.

I had a great semester and I learned so much from my students. The most important thing I learned, though, is that in order for me to feel like I'm doing my job, I have to love my students. It's not enough to just love what I do, I also have to love those I teach. I learned to love the ones that came late every day. I learned to love those that constantly disagreed with me, and I appreciated their contribution to class discussion. I learned to love those with very unique personalities.

It's sad to end this semester, and I will miss these students, just like I miss the students from last semester. But now I find I am so excited for fall. My heart may be full, but I know that if I ask, I will be blessed with the capacity to love 75 more students.

June Birthdays

2010-07-21T18:52:00.000-06:00

Randy turned 42 in June. Not that we want him to feel old or anything, but he is now six years older than me.

(And Randy would point out that he's the one without a single gray hair.) He requested pie for his birthday and picked out a Razzleberry pie that was so yummy!

With his birthday so close to Father's Day, presents are sometimes not very much fun. However, this year we needed a new barbecue grill so I selected one and then told him he had to go pick it up. The greatest presents were the ones from the kids, though. Braxton evidently got sick of his dad borrowing Braxton's water jug and gave Randy one of his own:

Kilee and I found this great blanket and she absolutely had to have it for her dad.

For those of you who don't know, Randy is a die-hard Univeristy of Idaho fan. He did part of his undergrad there and got his master's degree there.

I don't have a picture of it, but Tanner got his dad cinnamon bears. Those are Randy's favorite candy.

Father's Day was a just a few days later. Kilee had actually thought ahead and picked up some fish hooks for her dad. The boys all gave their dad new clothes, but strangely enough, they boys don't remember buying any shirts for their dad.

One week later, we got to celebrate Kilee's 8th birthday. Tanner had a baseball tournament that weekend so my parents had come up. We live close enough to Grandma and Grandpa Stocking and Uncle Rod and Aunt Christy that they were able to come up and celebrate with us.

We made the kids eat outside so that we could have some peace and quiet inside.

Kilee scored some great presents for her birthday. In addition to a new swimming suit and the Children's Songbook on CD, Kilee also received a new bed set.

And a new scripture case (totally cute!).

But I think the best gift of all was from her Aunt Bear. Months ago my sister and I started discussing jewelry for Kilee's baptism and my sister set to work making a necklace for Kilee. My sister sent me the necklace and it was her gift for Kilee.

I was concerned that the necklace was actually too small, but it fits Kilee perfectly and will be beautiful on her baptism day.

Eye: Meet Baseball

2010-07-07T15:05:00.000-06:00

I got my own Rocky Balboa. I sang the "Rocky" theme song to him, but my attempt at humor was completely lost on the 11-year-old who has no idea who Rocky Balboa is.

Tuesday night, Tanner came home from baseball practice looking like this:

Amazingly, his glasses survived the hit. If you look closely, you can see the outline of a baseball around his eye.

Wednesday morning, his eye was there...somewhere.

Oooh, pretty. We were icing it three times a day and his face hurt clear down do his jaw.

Wednesday night his eye was open, but some black and blue was starting to set in.

Thursday morning, I accused him of playing in my make-up. He didn't think it was funny at first.

Tanner was born with a happy disposition. It's a good thing, too, because he's the one who winds up with broken teeth, scraped up knees, and black eyes.

I Need Your Help!

2010-07-07T14:45:00.002-06:00

I'm getting ready to paint Kilee's bedroom. She picked out a new bed set for her birthday, and it isn't pink. I was shocked. I'm still shocked. Using two of the colors in her cute new set, we purchased paint. For the wall behind her bed, we're going to paint it this color:

It's kind of an indigo-purple-gray color.

For the other walls, we are going to paint them this color:

It's a very pale blueish-greenish color. We're leaving the trim and ceiling white.

The problem is this space here:

That ledge up there and the wall above it. And the closet to the left. See, the wall straight in front of you is going to be the blue-indigo color. The other three walls (that you can't see) will be the pale blue-green. I think I'll paint the wall above the ledge white because it is so dark up there.

What I really need help with is figuring out what color to paint the ledge.

Here's a close-up of right above the bed. The wall below the ledge will be blue-indigo. The wall above the ledge will be white. Do I paint the ledge the indigo color? Or do I paint the ledge white? Or should I paint the ledge the blue-green color?

Here's a close-up of above the closet. The ledge is to the right. The wall above the door (to the left) will be the blue-green color, maybe. Maybe it would look better white since the wall above the closet will be white. So do I paint around the closet blue-indigo? or blue-green?

So, all you interior decorator, craftsy, color-minded people, what do I do? And yes, I expect you to comment. No comments will not help me at all and then I'll end up painting everything neon green.

A Conversation With Tanner

2010-06-29T19:19:00.000-06:00

Tanner came home from Nana and Papa's today. He spent a few days with them and his cousin, Adam. He came home to me tired and excited. On the way to baseball practice tonight, Tanner asked, "Mom, what is the most fun you ever had with Nana and Papa on their farm when you were growing up?"

If you are related to me, you are now laughing your head off. You've probably fallen off your chair. You're laughing so hard you're crying.

I thought and thought and thought. "Mom?" Tanner asked.

Me: "Um...Tanner, we didn't really have fun when I was growing up. All we did was work."
Tanner: "What? Papa never bought you donuts?"
Me: "Nope."
Tanner: "You never built a clubhouse?"
Me: "No."
Tanner: "Well, how come Papa does that for the grandkids?"
Me: "Because you're the grandkids and it's my job to teach you how to work, not Papa's."
Tanner: "Oh. Well, I like Papa better than your dad."

(Which doesn't make a lot of sense because they are the same person.)

The Golden Speedo

2010-06-28T22:02:00.002-06:00

Last week was Employee Appreciation at Randy's work. I suppose it's appropriate to show employees at a juvenile correctional center a little bit of appreciation. Some of the activities included raffles, treats, and games. One of the highlights of the week was the dunk tank. Administrators and supervisors were encouraged to sign up for the dunk tank. Then employees would pay to take a shot at dunking their boss.

Randy signed up and landed the 11:20 time slot. I had class so I couldn't go, but his secretary was kind enough to take pictures for me. (Thank you, Chris!) UPDATE: Randy read my blog and pointed out to me that he didn't sign up for anything. He was volunteered when he didn't show up to a meeting. Hee hee.

Here's the first one.

Two.

Oh, the anticipation!

Three.

Four.

Five. Notice the fist. The mechanism was malfunctioning and even though the girl hit it with the ball, Randy wasn't dunking. She finally got frustrated and just ran up and hit it with her fist.

Six.

Seven.

Now it should be noted that not one single teacher actually threw a ball. The teachers were paying for their students to have a shot at the principal. As one girl put it: "What high school student wouldn't want to dunk their principal?"

At the end of the day, the money was tallied and the person who "earned" the most on the dunk tank won. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the winner of the 2010 Golden Speedo Award:

My good sport husband.

Productive

2010-06-27T23:05:00.002-06:00

Just so you know I know.

(Thanks, Kelie.)

Donut Day

2010-06-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

Sitting in class. Five students. 2 dozen donuts. World Cup Soccer.

Produtive day.

Lonely

2010-06-21T21:55:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, Randy and I took Braxton to music camp and left Kilee and McKay with Nana and Papa. Tanner couldn't stay because he has all-star baseball practice (more on that in another post).

Today, Tanner had the run of the house and his mom's undivided attention.

Tonight, I went outside to get Tanner. He had been outside playing with the kitty. When I stepped out of the house, I noticed Tanner's shoulders shaking. He was still petting the kitty, but tears were dropping off his chin onto the kitty's fur. I went out and sat by him on the sidewalk. I put my arms around him and held him tight.

When he could finally talk again, he said, "I hate being lonely."

16 Years Later

2010-06-15T16:31:00.002-06:00

This morning, I strapped on Randy's bike helmet. Then I took Randy's bike helmet off and adjusted the straps and strapped it back on. Then I very carefully mounted his very tall, very old ten-speed bike. (How many of you remember 10-speed bikes? I'm thinking this bike is coming up on its 30th birthday.) And you all know that as soon as you actually get on a bike you better start pedaling or you'll be eating rocks. I didn't really want to eat rocks for breakfast so I took off.

It was kind of scary to be riding a bike. I haven't ridden a bike for 16 years. And yes, I had to think about that. As I pedaled carefully along our country roads, I tried to remember the last time I rode a bicycle. It was, I believe, right around my 21st birthday.

I was dating this man named Karl who liked to ride his mountain bike extreme distances for fun. He decided that we should go mountain biking for a date. I'm really not the athletic type so it probably took him the entire summer to convince me to get on a bike. It was a Saturday and my sister (let's call her Bear) and I had just canned a bazillion quarts of peaches. (My mother was on her way out of town and had given us instructions and said, "There's only enough for about 7 quarts. It won't take very long.") 24 quarts and the entire day later, Karl picked me up in his teeny, tiny car. We drove off to a trail he knew. We hopped on bikes and away we went.

I don't remember much on the way up to the top of the trail except that I was eating a lot of Karl's dust. On the way back down, there seemed to be more traffic. It was a Saturday night! Didn't these people have anything better to do? Evidently, neither did I.

I remember the trail followed the hill and the hill was on one side and creek was on the other...except that the hill went up and the hill went down. The creek was at the bottom and the trail was somewhere in the middle. At one point, the trail got skinny and I was focusing so hard on not falling off the trail that I didn't see the rock in my path. Next thing I know, I'm tumbling through weeds and dirt and over rocks and there's a bike that's supposed to be part of me and now it's not. When I finally stopped rolling down the hill, I was happy to realize that nothing was broken, but there was blood. Eventually Karl realized I wasn't behind him anymore and he came back for me. I think I made him walk the bike the rest of the way because I refused to get back on. In fact, I think that was the end of Karl. We probably mutually decided that we weren't a good match. (It should be noted that he and Bear spent the rest of the evening laughing at me while I doctored my scraped-up self.)

That was the last time I rode a bike until today. This morning, I pedaled that old bike 5.5 miles. It actually felt pretty good. I was careful to stay in the middle of the rode (thank goodness I live in the country) so as to avoid gravel at the edges of the road. I'm happy to report that I did not crash and burn. Not only that, but now I am going to be buying myself a bike.

And my own helmet.

Why You Should Inoculate Your Children

2010-06-12T19:24:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday night, Braxton showed me a few red spots on his chest. I told him we'd just watch them. Monday morning those few spots had multiplied and he said he wasn't feeling good. That's when I took a good long look at my son and said, "Braxton, you've got chicken pox."

By Tuesday, he was sick. He wasn't eating, had a raging fever, and took two naps. Then he went to bed at 7:30. Tuesday afternoon, I took these photos of his chest and back.

Wednesday he called me the second I was out of class and he was almost in tears. That told me he was sicker than sick. It takes a lot for Braxton to admit he's sick. I put him in a baking soda bath and drugged him up with Benadryl. Then I called his dad to come home and give him a blessing. Wednesday I snapped these pictures of chest and back.

You can never tell Braxton I posted his chicken pox on my blog. He continued to break out on Thursday and was literally covered. He had them everywhere: ears, eyes, throat (yes, inside). When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.

Why did he never get the chicken pox vaccine? Because it came out when Tanner was about two, making Braxton four or five. Tanner received the vaccine, and so did Kilee and McKay. I never did take Braxton in for it. It never crossed my mind...until now. Interestingly enough, McKay actually had the chicken pox in March. He had about a dozen spots on his chest and he didn't get sick at all. Poor Braxton hasn't left the house for five days. He's had more baths in the last three days than he's had since he turned five. He finally ate dinner tonight.

The moral of the story: GET YOUR KIDS VACCINATED!

We're Adding to Our Family!

2010-06-11T19:22:00.003-06:00

But it's probably not what you're thinking.

Say hello to Black Kitty #1 and Black Kitty #2. They are the recent additions to our family and are here for the sole purpose of catching mice. I have seen one and that is one more than I care to see. However, Randy has seen (eliminated) about eight since the snow melted. They were fond of the now-dismantled sand box.

Hopefully, these little kittens will grow up to catch all the mice that wander too close to our house.

They are currently unnamed. Tanner favors Midnight and Playful. I think we should name them Betty or Sue or Shadrach and Abednego. How about Thing 1 and Thing 2?

I think I may lose the naming game.

Look in the Mirror!

2010-06-05T08:21:00.000-06:00

Try to ignore the filthy bathroom and the unorganized closet. You can look at the cute new flip-flops if you'd like. But what I really want you to see is the sneaky kid in the mirror. I had no idea this picture existed until I was transferring the images to my computer. He's just too cute to reprimand.

Homer

2010-05-29T22:19:00.001-06:00

Tanner got to celebrate his birthday at the ball park. It wasn't raining (even though it was SOOOO cold) so I was able to get out of the car and sit on the bleachers to watch his birthday baseball game.

Tanner plays first base and he also gets to pitch. He loves pitching and he's pretty good at it, but he's an excellent first baseman.

Pitching provides better opportunities for moms to take pictures, though.

And that's a good thing since this mom was too busy cheering to remember to take a picture of Tanner's first HOME RUN! He hit the ball all the way to the fence. A little more height and he would have hit that ball out of the park. What a perfect thing to do on his brithday.

Why I Love My Husband

2010-05-28T22:34:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, I had to borrow a muffin pan from my neighbor in order to make cupcakes for Tanner's class (it's the last year of that, you know).

On Friday, Randy went to WalMart for me. I asked him to pick me up some treats to put in the neighbors pan as a thank you. (I know that my thinking doesn't make a lot of sense, but I didn't want to bake anything to put in the pan because I didn't want her to have to wash it when she got it back. So I taped the Hershey minis in the muffin cups.)

When I got home, I found this sitting on my kitchen cupboard with the package of Hershey minis.

I didn't ask. He just did.

Scavenger Hunt

2010-05-28T22:17:00.000-06:00

Randy enjoys creating scavenger hunts. He's done a few for me and did one for Braxton when Braxton received his gun. Well, for Tanner's birthday, we decided that a scavenger hunt would be appropriate for him to find his "fun" gift (as opposed to church pants, which are not so fun).

The hunt started when Randy gave Tanner an envelope with the first clue: Go to the place where you wash the sweat and dirt off of your body.

Then the next clue took him to where he rests his mitt.

The third clue: Oh, you thought you had it and were through. Go to where you and the Empire try to make things new.

Off to the playstation where a ring pop (he wanted one for his birthday) was waiting with this clue: Pop, goes the weasel; nope, not by the easel. Maybe try a place that rhymes with pamper.

Out to the camper for another clue: Oh, the camper - such a good place but way too much space. Look in....and then Randy drew a picture of a pan and a tree (pantry).

I interrupt this scavenger hunt to fill you in on Tanner. Tanner has special talents, but figuring out the clues is not one of them. Luckily for him, Kilee was with him the whole way and helping him figure it out. He couldn't figure out the Empire clue (Star Wars) without help and rhyming with pamper took too much time for Kilee so she just blurted "Camper!" What Tanner does excel at is drawing, pictures, art. I'm amazed at his natural talent. So when Tanner got to the clue with the pictures, he didn't hesitate. Kilee didn't have to help him at all.

It should be noted that when I looked at the clue, Randy had to explain it to me. I do not excel at pictures.

Off to the pantry for the last clue: Oh My Gosh! Your clothes you must wash! And Tanner headed for the laundry room....

...where a brand new bike 21-speed, 26" bike was waiting for him.

What a great way to start his 4,015th day on this earth.

Retreat

2010-05-26T08:58:00.001-06:00

Last Friday, I went on a retreat with the English department faculty. This was the noun retreat:

re-treat (noun): A place affording peace or security. A period of group withdrawal for meditation or instruction. A place of seclusion, esp. for contemplation.

Not to be confused with the verb retreat: re-treat (verb): to draw back, move back, pull away, pull back, recede. However, we did retreat from college students, so I suppose it was a verb, too.

I'm off topic.

I went on a retreat. We jumped in some large vans on campus and retreated to nature. Harriman State Park, actually. We started our day with some nature readings and then we had to apply what we'd studied so we went on a nature walk. (So we were retreating from our retreat.)

We observed the birds (I'd never heard of a bufflehead before but now I've seen one) and the sum total of two wildflowers.

Then it was on to more important matters. Writing about nature.

Or just visiting about nature, as the case may be. But it was all very serious business, let me assure you. (Notice all the jackets. It was a pretty chilly day, and we found ourselves retreating from nature).

No retreat is complete without food, and we had plenty of it. There were snacks all morning long and then we had a fabulous lunch cooked up by Brother Hammer, a member of the English dept. faculty. He made chicken salad sandwiches and french dip sandwiches and his mother's chocolate cake. It was so delicious. (And now I have to retreat to my treadmill.) Of course, there was some department business to attend to, but that was a minimal part of our day and we quickly retreated to the retreat.

I have successfully retreated. I am now more energized and excited and still love my job, not to mention about five pounds heavier.

Look at Me Being Craftsy!

2010-05-25T08:50:00.000-06:00

I realize it is very out of character, and that's exactly why I'm showing it to you. I made something. It was easy and turned out so cute!

If you are looking for a cute, simple, and inexpensive gift for your child's teacher, you can stop looking now. See, the problem with me is that I never start looking (my apologies to past teachers). I'm just one of those parents who is a lousy parent for teachers. And I'm a teacher. Go figure. You'd think I'd go all out at the end of the year in appreciation for all those teachers do.

But no.

And then Nana shows up with this cute thing and shows Kilee and tells me exactly what and where to buy the supplies. Nana kind of forced me into it. I'm wondering if those teachers called my mother and told on me.

So - here's what you need:

You need a clear 4 x 6 frame (Walmart $1), scrap book paper, matching Post-it notes, matching craft flower and button, and matching ribbon. I cut the scrap book paper to fit in the frame.

Tie the ribbon around the frame, remembering that the base of the frame is the top of this project. Think of it as tying the frame shut. Use a little hot glue under the knot to hold the ribbon in place.

Stick the button on the flower. My little flower already had a slit in it so I just poked the back of the button through that little slit.

Then hot glue the flower on top of the knot. Add a pad of Post-it Notes in the appropriate color and - Wa La! - cute little note holder thing for the teacher.

Add a cute pen (or a set of cute pens). If you live somewhere besides Rexburg, you can probably just run down to your Office Max or other local stationery store and find a cute writing instrument. But if you live in a small college town (like me), and your closest thing to an Office Max is the office section of Walmart, then I wish you luck finding anything cute to write with. Evidently, college students don't write with anything cute. I must change that.

Anyway - there's an idea for that end-of-year gift that you all feel you must give. And please, don't hold your breath for any more craft posts on this blog.

Happy gift-giving!

Ever Notice...?

2010-05-20T08:08:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed how the closer you get to the end of the school year the harder it is to get out of bed? The harder it is to even get the kids into bed? Forget the fact that the kids don't have any motivation; I don't have any motivation. We've reached the end of homework, end of projects, end of reading slips. We've entered the party-every-day-until-the-last-day phase: field trips, movie days, reading parties.

And as much as I'd like to get annoyed by the fact that they aren't doing anything worthwhile at school, I'm almost grateful that our after school hours can be dedicated to scouts, activity days, mutual, piano practice, piano lessons, baseball, piano recitals, band concerts, dance recitals....

Now, if we can just manage to get out of bed for one more week.

Signs of Spring

2010-05-18T08:42:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. We were getting ready for church services when the phone rang. It was the neighbor across the street. Randy answered and the conversation lasted about 10 seconds. He turned to me and said, "Do you care if Kilee sees a horse being born?"

So, Kilee, Randy, Tanner, and McKay jumped in the truck and drove across the road. I realize that sounds funny, but across the road isn't just across the road. It's down the lane, over a canal, up the road to the neighbor's driveway. Then walk back to the pasture which is just across the road.

The rest of us ran upstairs to Braxton's room and watched out the window with binoculars. That would be my daughter in her white skirt in the middle of a pasture full of horse manure. Just in case you think they have a bird's eye view of the festivities, here's a picture where I didn't zoom as much.

The horse is over there on the left. Dusty, the owner, is just a few feet away from the horse and the crowd is over there on the right.

This is the part where I'm feeling pretty bad for that momma.

Then she's done and there's a baby on the ground.

Can I take just a minute and point out that Dusty still has a Coke in his hand?

And there's the momma with her baby. Pretty worn out if you ask me.

And there's Dusty's Coke on the post.

Later, Tanner reported that it "was really neat and REALLY disgusting."

Perspective

2010-05-13T15:04:00.001-06:00

My students had their first assignment due last week. It was an annotation assignment (you'd be surprised at how many college students do not know how to annotate). I'm grading along and I come to this:

Yes, that would be an English word with Chinese characters above it. And then there's another one.

And I suddenly realize that my reading assignments are very difficult for my student from Taiwan.

Not only does he have to read them and annotate them, but he has to understand them first, which means writing the Chinese translation for the unfamiliar English word.

So, was studying hard for you last night?

My Very Own

2010-05-11T19:30:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, I shared the story of my sister going to see The Pioneer Woman. Since then, two wonderful things have happened.

First, my sister got a blog of her own!

Second, I received my very own The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook! Oh, I am so excited!

Kilee and I sat down and turned the pages and oo-ed and aah-ed. She loves the flowers all over the pages.

We read the dedication page. I laughed because most dedications are just a few words, a phrase at the most. Not so with PW. She's loquacious.

We tried to figure out which section to turn to first.

Dinner?

Supper? Eventually, I had to close the book and start dinner. Supper, actually (I stand corrected).

The end, indeed.

My favorite part, though, was back at the beginning. Remember how I said she might not have very good hand writing?

Perfectly legible if you ask me.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T15:00:00.002-06:00

Mother's Day was nice. All I really wanted was to be the last one out of bed. That didn't happen. But I did have a lovely breakfast prepared by my kiddos (with a lot of help from their dad). And then after church we had a wonderful meal shared with good friends (um--I hope I can call them friends).

We invited Mike and Kim Treter to share Mother's Day dinner with us. If you remember, they were the married students in my class last semester. Don't ask me why I didn't get a cute picture of the two of them together. I just didn't. As usual, when I have company I like to try new things so we had pulled pork sandwiches with sweet coleslaw. It was delicious!

The Treters were great company and even brought dessert! Kim had made this red velvet cheesecake creation. It was so pretty and tasted divine. It should be noted that the cake is so big that all eight of us only ate 1/4 of the cake.

Isn't it pretty?

Thanks, Kim and Mike, for sharing your dessert (and Mother's Day) with us.

Reactions to Today's Snow

2010-05-06T15:09:00.002-06:00

Braxton: "At least track is over."

Tanner: "Dang it! I have a baseball game today and I'm supposed to pitch and it's going to be cancelled!" (He was right.)

Kilee: "Are you serious?"

McKay: "Now we can go sledding."

Why I Enjoy Teaching at BYU-I

2010-05-03T13:54:00.085-06:00

My second semester at BYU-I is in full swing and I am enjoying it just as much as the first (though it should be noted here that there is some longing for the Eldest Child who knows my personality). What is it that keeps me going despite all those papers I have to grade?

Opening songs. Sometimes I let the students choose, and sometimes I choose. I like to choose happy songs. Songs like "In the Leafy Treetops" really gets class set off on the right note (pun intended). This semester, I even have a piano in my classroom!
Opening prayers. I enjoy hearing my students pray. Each one is unique and individual and I can get a better understanding of each of their personalities just by listening to them pray. I suppose that is a little insight into how our Father in Heaven feels when he hears each of us pray.
Gospel Doctrine classes. My students have grown up attending Sunday school classes where they are expected to participate. Fortunately for me, they do their preparation and are willing to share when they come to class. It makes my job so much easier.
Discounts. It needs to be said. I'm frugal; not as frugal as some, but frugal none the less. I get a discount on certain purchases in the bookstore and on some ticketed events on campus. Makes for cheap family activities or date nights.
Associations. I get to talk to, work with, question, and hob-nob with some very intelligent, very talented individuals, and I'm not just talking about my students. The faculty are amazing as well. I not only get to teach some of the brightest individuals around, I also get to learn from some of the most learned, both spiritually and intellectually.

I would have to work really hard to find a better place to do what I love. The real test will be to see how I feel after I grade the first set of 54 papers.

It's Always Been There

2010-05-02T11:43:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, McKay climbed on the counter and was sitting on his knees. He reached towards the fruit bowl and promptly hit his head on the cupboard. As he rubbed his head and tried not to cry, he asked, "Who put that cupboard there anyway?"

Reflections on a Funeral

2010-04-30T23:32:00.005-06:00

I got a little vacation today. My husband's aunt passed away and we drove two hours to her funeral. We took McKay who was completely engrossed in books, writing, and the alphabet song all the way over and all the way back.

When we arrived at the church, there weren't very many cars in the parking lot and the funeral was supposed to start in 40 minutes. The church was pretty quiet, even though there was a viewing going on.

When they had the family prayer before the funeral began, the room was absolutely packed (and furnace-like). Then we had the processional into the chapel (which was a blessed 15 degrees cooler), and I counted exactly six people there who were not family.

I pondered this throughout the funeral. I remember singing at a funeral a year or so ago and there were exactly 35 people in attendance. I remember telling one of my friends that I hoped my life would reflect more than 35 people when I died. I thought of that today as I listened to a life sketch of a woman I hardly knew. The chapel was full, and all but six people were there because they had an obligation by relationship.

Aunt Winona was 89 years old. She and Uncle Glenn had been married 71 years. At the end of 89 years, she had a large posterity. And that's who came to her funeral. Does the number or type of people at your funeral make a statement about your life?

At first, I told Randy that I didn't want to die when I was 89; I didn't want to die when I was so old that all my friends and acquaintances were also dead. Then I wondered if that was the mark of a life well-lived.

Perhaps the mark of a life well-lived is that your posterity fills the church. Perhaps the mark of a life well-lived is that your posterity celebrates your life. Perhaps the mark of a life well-lived is that the family dinner following the funeral service is marked by laughter and renewed friendships. It is unfortunate that someone must die for family to see each other. Randy saw cousins today that he hasn't seen for 23 years. He was able to talk with aunts and uncles that he hasn't seen for several years.

I'm not sure I came to a conclusion about funerals. Would my Nevada friends who I have loved and miss so dearly come to my funeral? Maybe. Would my childhood friends, who I continue to keep in touch with, come to my funeral? I don't know. Will there be more than 35 people there? As long as my siblings, their spouses and children, and Randy's brothers' families come, then yes.

I think what matters most is that the life being celebrated is a life well-lived. Each person must decide for himself or herself what that means.

I just hope it means more than 35 people show up.

Is It Summer Yet?

2010-04-26T13:19:00.006-06:00

We had one beautiful day last week. We hit 70 degrees!

And then the cold came back. Snow is in the forecast for this week.

I've forgotten what to do when the weather is warm. Maybe this will help me remember.

Nope. Just made me miss Lori and her family.

Because My Sister Doesn't Have a Blog of Her Own

2010-04-23T13:30:00.012-06:00

On Monday, my sister - we'll call her Bear - loaded up her family and went for a little drive. My sister (who is younger but taller) lives near Portland, Oregon, and a famous blogger was headed her way.

Yes, you know who I am talking about. This here would be the famous (and beautiful) Pioneer Woman, creator of the delicious chocolate cake and bread pudding I used to share with my friends back in Elko.

Oh- the days when I had friends....

The famous Ree Drummond who bakes all sorts of delicious things with pounds and pounds of butter (and while she doesn't gain a pound, I gain 20 just reading the recipes) was on her way to the equally famous Powell's Bookstore for a book signing.

Can you believe this crowd? Bear picked up a number as soon as she got there and her number was 316.

While my sister was waiting for Ree to speak, she would call me with updates. At one point she said, "There's her daughter. I have to go!"

And my sister got to snap a photo of this cutie! This is PW's oldest daughter and Bear related to me that the daughter is tall. Taller than my sister, and my sister is about six inches taller than me. And just in case you're wondering, that book that beautiful daughter wouldn't put down is the second in The Hunger Games series (I think). Great series, by the way. (Read more about the daughter here.)

PW spoke for a few minutes and then commenced signing of hundreds of cookbooks. How she manages to do this for literally HOURS at a time without getting a cramped hand is beyond me. Maybe her writing isn't very neat.

My sister waited. And waited. And entertained her children. It was a book store so Adam had plenty to keep him entertained.

And after Jared's tummy was full, he was pretty content.

They called the numbers in groups of 10 and at 9:30 p.m. they called the 280-290 group. My sister was getting close. And then one of her other three boys decided to wake Jared up and play with him. Jared didn't like that very much. He stared to fuss, and not just a little. By this time, my sister and her entourage were close enough that PW noticed the commotion. Thankfully, PW took pity on my sister and said to the crowd, "Should we expedite the mother of the crying baby?"

And that's how my sister skipped at least 26 people in line. Thank you, PW. I'm sure the other 26 thank you, too. Of course, Bear did say that by then everybody there had become fast friends. I imagine that anywhere PW is the people are kind and good and instant friends.

My sis, bless her thoughtful heart, took a bottle of homemade blackberry jam to PW. See, those blackberries grow wild up there and my sis jams them and pies them and doesn't share with me. Then again, I haven't been to Portland for almost 2 years. Bear did say that PW was kind and gracious, but still a little reserved. Actually, I think what my sister specifically said was, "Ree hasn't quite come out of her shell." So I think it's true what PW says about being a hermit.

See those three cookbooks on the edge of the table there? One of them is mine. Yeah me! Once I receive the cookbook, I will let you know about PW's handwriting.

I'm so glad Bear got to go meet PW. I would have gone with her if I'd lived closer. Steve (her husband) was a good sport and her boys were troopers. Maybe someday I'll get to post my own story about meeting PW and maybe someday, my sister will get her own blog.

In the meantime, I'm happy to post her stories here.

Love Notes

2010-04-20T09:39:00.001-06:00

From across the room, this is what I saw.

A smashed muffin? Where on earth did that come from? I had to move in for a closer look.

Too stinkin' cute! Some day, when McKay can read, he will appreciate his brother's thoughtfulness. As for me, it doesn't surprise me. Tanner is just that way.

McKay's Shot

2010-04-18T21:34:00.003-06:00

McKay was sitting on my lap and the camera entertained him while we waited (and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited -- I think you get the idea) for Braxton's events at the track meet. I was deleting all the pictures of my feet and the sky when I came across this one of my girl. A very fun, very pure photo of the girl McKay calls "Kilee Princess." (Gee, Papa, where do you suppose he got that idea from?)

Nothing to Do on a Friday Afternoon

2010-04-16T21:26:00.009-06:00

It's Friday. I had nothing to do this afternoon. No plans whatsoever. Normally, that would be a wonderful thing. Today it was a sad thing.

You see, every Friday since October (yes, six months ago), I've met my beautiful niece in Rexburg and we've had a treat. Cory would just be getting out of class and I would have just dropped Kilee off at ballet. We met at nearly every eatery in Rexburg and sampled the sweets everywhere we could. How I've managed to lose 15 pounds in the last six months is beyond me.

Well, last Saturday, my sweet, go-out-to-eat-with-me niece graduated from BYU-I with a bachelor's degree. And then she drove away from Rexburg, got a job, and is moving to some po-dunk town in Colorado. (Actually, I don't know if it's po-dunk or not; I just made that up.)

One week ago, Cory had a graduation party. She is totally going to grow up to be Martha Stewart.

Her family came up from Colorado, as did her older sister who is almost done at ISU (the mom and older sister are in the picture below). We had a wonderful evening visiting and eating and visiting and eating.

Then Cory left. And I don't think she looked back. I was so happy for Cory. This next time of her life is going to be so exciting! I kept teasing her about staying, but Rexburg is a little too cold for her (boy, do I know how she feels).

Then Sunday came. We came home from church and started setting the table. McKay innocently asked, "Is Cory coming?" and I started to cry. (It should be noted here that my sweet husband didn't say a word about my tears, but simply wrapped his arms around me.) Cory came for Sunday dinner every Sunday since we moved into this house. She played with the kids and we visited and it was always wonderful. It was a quiet dinner last Sunday.

And now Friday is here and I'm sad all over again. I didn't realize how much I would miss her. I loved our conversations about BYU-I, roommates, her dad and my husband (who are brothers), the options for her future, and the gospel. Cory was always so appreciative of everything we did for her. I remember telling her once, "We're family, Cory. This is what family is about. This is what family is."

I so enjoyed getting to know my niece and having her be a part of our lives. She has such a sweet testimony and is a wonderful woman. We will all miss you, Cory.

Proud Moment

2010-04-13T23:22:00.002-06:00

Braxton got a phone call this afternoon. Later, he related the conversation to me:

Other boy: I just wanted to remind you that we don't got mutual tonight...
Braxton: Dude, you can't say that. It's "we don't have." Man, if my mom heard you talking like that she'd correct you.

But I didn't have to because Braxton already did! Oh, I am such a proud mom. In the world of English teaching moms, this is the icing on the cake.

Now, if I could just get him to remember to make his bed every morning.

The Eldest Child

2010-04-09T14:07:00.015-06:00

You know how you think you know what you're doing and then your eldest child comes along and you make mistake after mistake in parenting? And then your second child comes into the world and you don't make nearly as many mistakes. Well, that's what I felt like with this class and I even told my class as much. They were my eldest child and I was making all my mistakes on them. Thankfully, this wonderful group of students managed to survive me and I know better how to teach the second child.

My students kept telling me I would miss them. Indeed, I will.

I will miss Danielle's beautiful smile. She's heading to BYU-Hawaii. I'm jealous. I told her to take lots of sunscreen. I'm going to go visit her. Do you think she'll remember me when I show up at her dorm room?

This is Brian. Brian earned his associates degree at BYU-I and is transferring. I asked him about the scruffy look and he told me that his razor broke and he's not going to replace it because he's never going to shave again. I understand that BYU has that affect on some people.

Derek, from Chicago, served in the Las Vegas West Mission. I asked him once about the worst place he ever served. His answer: Winnemucca. Derek didn't like to talk in class either, but he eventually came around to my way of thinking. Then I found out he was majoring in exercise science and I didn't want him to talk so much.

Alex (on the right) didn't want to be photographed alone, so I make Kelli slide over next to her. Alex had a her own personal style and the neatest handwriting I've ever seen. You know, you can learn a lot about a person by eavesdropping on their phone conversations...which I did because Alex was always on the phone with her husband right before class started.

Kelli (on the left) didn't like to talk in class either. One day, she came to me for help and I discovered that she had a lot to say about everything. After that, I called on her often in class. She had a lot to contribute. She's from San Diego. I was very in favor of a field trip to her hometown.

Shelbi wants to be a nurse when she grows up. She claimed this corner on the first day of class, and strangley, nobody ever challenged her for it. Shelbi asked me a lot of questions and I enjoyed the challenge they gave my brain.

Crystal was another one of those silent types. I cured her of that. She challenged me to go running and how could I turn her down? I would look like a wimp (which I am but I don't want her to know that). Besides, I enjoy a challenge. I just hope she can keep up with me. (ha ha ha ha ha ha)

I will even miss Bradley, king of the one liners. He plans to be a computer programmer, but I think he may be more successful as a stand-up comic. One day in class, I told him I was going to tape his mouth shut. The next class period, he brought his own roll of tape to class.

Between Bradley and Michael B., I got my comic relief. I don't have a picture of Michael B. But I will never forget his opening prayer in which he thanked Heavenly Father for the weekend. Aren't we all grateful for the weekend? How often do we think to thank our Father in Heaven for it?

Valorie is graduating tomorrow. She's pregnant, just in case you couldn't tell. (She's reading that book which will never tell her the things she really needs to know, like she's going to be terrified when the sun goes down on the first day at home of that child's life. But who am I to ruin her fun?) When I put my students in groups, I wondered why I could always hear Valorie's voice above all others. Then I went to her senior vocal recital and heard her fill up the recital hall with just her pair of lungs and I no longer wondered. She was our strong soprano when we sang hymns. She also liked to lead us in ritardandos.

We could almost set our watches by Ty, who had a tendency to run about 10 minutes late on a daily basis. But then at the end of the semester he pulled it together and came early! Threw us all off our schedule. Did I mention that I took donuts on the last day of class. I just didn't want you to think that Ty just randomly ate chocolate covered donuts in class.

Wesley is the one who randomly ate in class. I don't have a picture of Wesley. He didn't come to the last class (because technically he didn't have to) and he missed our VERY important final at the frozen yogurt place because he was working in the temple. Admirable, don't you think?

Zach served in the Las Vegas Mission and even spent a night in Elko! He is also transferring to BYU-Hawaii. I greatly doubt that he'll have a teacher over there who will bring donuts to class...or get off topic...or bring their mother and daughter to class.

My other Derek came from Ashton. He served in Alabama so we had some great talks about life in the South. Derek had a 50 pound biology textbook in his backpack. I honestly don't know how he stood up straight.

This is Josh with his adorable wife, Jenny. (I don't even know if I'm spelling her name right.) She's pregnant, too. Josh is transferring to BYU and informed me that my class was a waste of his time because it won't transfer to BYU. I told him that my class was not a waste of time because knowing me is celestial. Okay, Josh, I'm sorry the class won't transfer, but you sure were a lot of fun to have in class.

This here would be the Treters: Mike and Kimberly. They are married. For one year on Sunday. They are a cute couple who kissed when they said hello at the beginning of class. Nevermind the fact that they had only been apart for a few hours, they still kissed with each hello. Having a married couple in class was fun. Think of all the great conversations starters I must have given them.

Andrew is a Rexburg native and is such a positive, happy man. He isn't very trustful, though. He doesn't trust my digital drop box. Just because it ate three of his four papers is no reason not to trust it.

I don't have pictures of all my class. For example, Richard, who became a first-time dad this semester. Bryce who knows more about physics than I ever care to know. Amanda E. who went to London for a week. Amanda C. who is absolutely passionate about the theater. Jordyn, who plans on transferring to BYU.

I moved our final from campus to the frozen yogurt place near campus.

I told them to bring their spouses and most of them did. Some brought friends or siblings. I even took my spouse. He took the pictures.

I will always remember my first class at BYU-I, my eldest child. They were patient with me and even though they didn't like the fact that my class was required, they came prepared (for the most part). I remember my surprise on the second day of class when they had actually done their homework AND they participated. They even participated when I made them sing (and do the actions) "Once There Was a Snowman." (And WOW! could this class sing!) My job was so much easier because I had such a great class. They worked hard to follow the learning model and teach one another.

They even taught me a thing (or fifty). And if they remember to sing, they will be able to handle anything.

Dear Students

2010-04-09T08:18:00.003-06:00

I took pictures of my class this week and I finally told them my blog address. This morning I see quite a few hits from Rexburg so I'm assuming they are looking for themselves. So, dear students, this note is for you.

I have to grade 23 final papers that are an average of 10 pages long. I'm going to start that this morning. However, this afternoon I will take a break and update my blog. I know you are all just very anxious to see what I'm going to say about you.

Until then....

Sister Stocking