New kitchen: the tear down

We've been in our home now for 10 years. TEN YEARS! Can you believe it. It's been great and we love it. But let's get real. A family of seven produce a lot of wear and tear on a house. There were two cabinet doors hanging on their hinges (and had already been fixed before). One of my drawers did not have the front panel.

 

I admit! It was my fault. I was upset and I slammed that drawer, hard, and the front panel fell right off. The kids and I stopped and stared at that piece of wood on the floor, looked at each other with saucer sized eyes and started laughing. My temper tantrum was over. But in my defense, the drawer had been weakened previously but several of my children. :)

 

Anyway, the last week of school, I started moving things from the kitchen to a spare room. And Sterling, in his typical handy-man fashion, began tearing down walls. Because remember, he likes to change things up. Like moving the laundry plumbing and water heater downstairs. And don't forget the weight bearing wall and circuit breaker box. So he tore down the pantry and we will put a wall-mount oven and cabinets there. YAY! New kitchen!

 

This is the kitchen mess.

This is the garbage mess.

 

 

 

I know the pictures are all kind of jumbled but so was the whole experience. I discovered that my mental state was a clear reflection of the state of my kitchen and so it was all a mess. But this picture shows how we took up the linoleum and the subfloor (which was stapled every 2 inches.)

 

 

 

 

We lived like this for about a week and a half. And see those staples? They were a nightmare!!! Each one had to be pulled out by plier and they were deep and long. Nightmare! 

 

Bryce saw the whole thing as one big race track. 

Look at him gooooo......!!!!

With the new subfloor down, we are close to putting in the new floor and then cabinets! But first we have to lose the sink, oven and stove and fridge. That was a dark, dark day.

To be continued....

I can fly

I've often thought about making a bucket list and I really enjoy hearing what's on other's bucket list but I've never actually created a hard copy list of my own. In fact, I think in the next week or so I'm going to make a post-40 bucket list. You see, my 40th birthday is coming up. Maybe I'll make a list of 40 things to do while I'm in my 40's or in my 40th years or something like that. I'm still sorting it all out.

 

Regardless,

 If I did already have a list, I'd be able to check a few things off after last weekend. In honor of my friend, Tina's birthday, my upcoming birthday and a dear friend who is moving to Florida of all places, we took a little trip to Ogden to fly!!!

 "In an iFLY wind tunnel you are able to fly your body in a controlled manner within the safety of our wall to wall air flow chamber." (from the website)
 

Flying was an amazing experience. I just don't have the words. It was addicting, exhilarating, empowering, thrilling and very addicting. I wanted to go back in the minute I came out. It was such a rush and so much fun. It would make a great Father's Day gift. Just sayin'....

After flying, we went rock climbing. I don't know how tall those rock walls are but I do know my neck got tired looking at the top. They were that tall. The first wall we climbed had an outcropping that was pretty daunting. This is about as far as I got on that one but boy do I want to try it again!



The next several walls we tried I made it to the top, with a lot of shaking and sweating. It was worth it!

 

Here I am coming down after a challenging climb yelling, "Forty is not old!" I know, totally annoying but I'm getting older and maybe I can start getting away with stuff like that. At least my kids weren't there to be embarrassed. :)

 

After climbing, we had dinner at Sonora Grill which was fantastic. If you're ever in Ogden, try it out. The music is loud but the food is delicious! We finished the night with the new "Star Trek" movie. It was great and we didn't cry at all. Only because we were very skilled at avoiding the elephant in the room (the move to Florida).

 

I sure love these girls. Life won't be the same without dear Diahan. I'm glad we had these last few adventures together.

I have my cake and eat it too

Have you ever noticed that when you ask kids, "Why do you love your mom?", they often respond with something about food. She fixes me dinner, she makes good food, she feeds me. Apparently it's a big deal, like a life-sustaining, can't-live-without-it, kind of thing.

 

The following conversation happened over breakfast last week. The day before I had to frequently ask children to stop eating. A few times it was because I was in the process of fixing dinner and I was sure they could wait 20 minutes. They didn't think so but I was pretty sure they could last that long. Later, after dinner, (a very tasty, well-balanced dinner I might add), I again asked them to stop eating because dinner was cleaned up, left-overs were put away and we didn't want to mess up the kitchen again. If they are still hungry after dinner, well, they should have eaten more of the dinner before we put it in tupperware.

 

                       Parker: Mom, what happened to the cake?

                      Mom: I finished it off.

                      Parker: So you can just eat whenever your hungry?

                     Mom: Yep.

                     Parker: I can't wait until I'm a Dad.

Then I can have cake and eat it too!

 

So I guess being a mom is having my cake and eating it too. I'll take it. I love being a mom. I love my kids so much I find myself forgetting to breath sometimes, literally catching my breath because I'm so amazed by the choice spirits that God has entrusted to me to raise and help guide through mortality.

Speaking of catching my breath, here is a little note from Camille, not for mother's day but just left on my bed, that made me stop breathing just for a second and tear up a little.

To mom from C

I love you so much thank you

for doing everthing you can do for me.

I really like how you make me

lafe sometimes. Thank you for

making food for me. And

playing with me. I really like

you. Thank you for

letting me cook with

you. I really like

how you tell me

the troth. And let me

go in your arms and

snuggle with me.

I {heart} U

MoM

 

Parker gave me a little note last Sunday, similar to this one. Completely caught me off guard and made the sun shine on a particularly challenging Sunday morning. I can't count how many notes I found from Sydney in various places throughout the years. She is a remarkable young lady! And that little Rachel- she just blurts it out and tells me sweet things cheek to cheek.

 

Last week, Sterling asked me to video the children saying why they love me. It was for a Relief Society meeting and was supposed to be a surprise but he was away with work and it needed to be done that night....so I did it for him. Surprise or not, I treasure the sweet things my kids said. I love being their mom. I'm learning and growing every day with them. The older I get and they get, the more I understand my role as mother. I recognize the divine role of motherhood and the honorable calling I have. As challenges change with each new phase of life and it seems nothing stays the same for long, I am learning to rely more and more on my Heavenly Father as I try to raise my children as He would and become the mother I want to be.

 

I have lots more thoughts about being a mom and social messages and reflections on my own mom, grandmothers and heritage. I'll try to post about these thoughts this coming week.
AND:
Bryce came into my room crying today because Dad wouldn't let him play in the mud. He was heart-broken!

 

Ward talent show

The last part of April our ward had a talent show. I just can't hold back sometimes when it comes to talent shows. And sometimes, the best ideas don't always turn out on the stage the same way I see it in my head. Thus, the videos will stay protected on the family youtube channel until I can laugh and not hide in embarrassment.

 

However, Sydney was a shining star with her school jumpteam. I will show her video.

 

 

 

 

 Now on to my couple of numbers.

My good friend, Diahan, had the brilliant idea to rework the words to Taylor Swift's song "22", to be "42". Genius idea. Then I thought it would be fun to turn it into a flashmob sort of thing with other women in the audience standing to dance with us on the last chorus. We put the word out, provided a video online for friends to learn the dance and we practiced and practiced and practiced until we drove our kids crazy. It turned out great but not quite video worthy. :)

It feels like the perfect night, to dress up like the 80’s.

And make fun of our wrinkles, ah ah, ah ah.

It feels like a perfect night for breakfast for dinner.

To make bedtime early , ah ah, ah ah.

Yeah,

We’re happy, tired, wife, and mommy at the same time.

It’s exhausting and magical, oh, yeah.

Tonight’s the night when we forget about the laundry.

It’s time.

Uh oh!

It seems like one of those night, This place is too crowded.

So many cool kids, ah ah, ah ah.

It seems like one of those nights,

We ditch the whole scene and head to Kneaders

Instead of cooking.

Yeah,

We’re happy, tired, wife and mommy in the best way

It’s exhausting and magical, oh, yeah

Tonight’s the night when we forget about the dishes

It’s time

chorus I don’t know about you

But I’m feeling 42

Everything will be alright

If you keep me next to you

You don’t know about me

But I’ll bet you want to

Everything will be alright

If we just keep dancing like we’re

42

42

 

 

Here we are singing "Forty two-oo-oo-ooo."

 

 

And the final number. The finale of the show was a clogging routine performed by none other than Bishop Brown and his beautiful wife. The word got out that Sterling had taken a clogging class in college, to meet girls. He insists it was the only final exam he pulled an all-nighter for. So Ster suggested we clog for the talent show so that people would stop bugging him about this hidden talent. I readily agreed.

 

After all, our attempt at lip-syncing went rather well.

 

We tried song after song and Ster kept saying they were too fast. Finally we landed on "Love On Arrival" by Dan Seals. Just the right tempo to learn a simple clogging routine to. We practiced every night. By the night of the show, Sterling knew the routine so well, and his crazy awesome clogging skillz were so refined that he kept dancing ahead of the music. The entire performance I kept begging him to slow down!!!

 

 

 

And that's what happens folks, when a Bishop is still a Bishop after 5 years. He goes a little loopy and breaks out his mad clogging skillz in front of the ward. Name me one other man in the ward that would have the guts to clog on stage, in front of the ward, with his wife. I dare you. Name me one. I married a stallion. He continues to amaze me!!!!

My name in ink

 

It's official. I am an author in print. I am 1 of 100 contributors in the book, "Lessons From My Parents". I had emails and correspondence confirming I was part of the project but couldn't really believe it until I saw it for myself.

 

It's a true story about an experience I had while living with my paternal grandparents while I was going to school at BYU.

 

 I submitted the essay in October, was notified I was accepted in January and the book was released in April. And all of a sudden, my name is in ink on a page. A dream fulfilled.

Missionary letters

We love having missionaries in our family. The last part of 2012, we had 5 missionaries out. Two of Sterling's siblings had 2 missionaries each in the mission field. It's pretty awesome. Just recently I've decided to try and make their missionary service a little more a part of our family. So we put up a map with their locations and we try to write every so often. I have to admit, we are not the best but we try and we sure love getting letters back.

 

 

Remember Carolyn, who took such great care of our kids while we were in Alaska? Here is her letter from Texas.

Justin Bieber. I love it.

 

A sticker for each child.

She included General Conference bingo, a letter written on a Spanish sacrament meeting program, a couple of comics, a recipe, a Book of Mormon reading tracker and best of all, confetti!!!

 

Taylor, who is in Washington state, sent a couple of pictures demonstrating Book of Mormon stories.

Ammon guarding the king's sheep and Moses turning a staff into a snake before the Pharoah. Can you tell which is which?

Owen, in the Ukraine, wrote a little in Russian, which was really fun for the kids to see. He also drew a really great picture responding to the pictures the kids drew for him.

 

 

Most of all, we love reading the emails they send home every week (their parents forward to us). We love the stories about investigators and how the spirit works with individuals to help them be prepared to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. We love to hear them bear testimony and encourage us to be missionaries in our own neighborhoods.

 

We love having missionaries in our family. Another cousin is set to go out in June. We can't wait to start trading letters with him too.

 

Ready...

Get Set...

WRITE!!!

Boys vs Shoes

Parker is a little hard on shoes. Like, A LOT hard on shoes. He is so active in so many different ways, it astounds me how fast he mows through shoes. These are shoes we purchased in January. They lasted him through the basketball season, barely.

 

When the weather warmed up a little, I bought him new sandals, hoping they will last, not only the last month of school, but, against all odds, the rest of summer.

 

Then he lost them. We looked for 3 days and couldn't find them. So it was back to the basketball shoes while we looked and searched, high and low.

Finally, I had enough and took Parker to the store to buy replacement sandals before school. The same ones he lost. He used his own money and bought the sandals, AS WELL AS what he calls Toe Shoes. These are water shoes with separate places in the rubber sole for each toe. (walmart style) He loves them more than the sandals but I won't let him wear them to school and he is very mad about that and still asks every single day if he can wear them to school.

 

Anyway, as fate would have it, and I knew it would, I stumbled upon the lost sandals that very day while he was at school.