Wild(e) Life

Judging from this week, 2012 will be busy too

2012-01-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

That's a long title, but it expresses the sentiment of the week. We're really only one week into the new year, but it's already been a busy one. Of course, it's been filled with the daily tasks of getting kids off to school, doing math after school, feeding and clothing the family, walking the dog, etc., but it's been full of lots of other things too.

Let's see.... there's been plenty of thermite. Any men reading this blog will probably know what that is, but you women may not be sure. If you combine aluminum powder with red iron oxide, then light it with magnesium tape, it creates an exothermic reaction that burns at a couple thousand degrees. In other words, you create a fire that requires sunglasses to watch and that will melt a metal can in seconds. And it does a number on a gingerbread house. The picture shows the remains of an aluminum can.

Earlier this week, I had a fun opportunity to get to know a local author and speaker named Kris Belcher. From the time she was baby she had to deal with the effects of cancer that reduced her sight. About 8 years ago, she had a second bout with cancer and lost her sight completely. She has learned to deal with it with dignity and humor. I had the privilege of taking her to Salt Lake for a speaking engagement then bringing her home. She was very funny and had some great insights about challenges. I'll have to read her books now.

The end of the week was dominated by cake baking and decorating. You know, new year -- new cake. This was for my nephew Adam's wedding. They were married last week in Newport Beach, California, so a beach-themed reception was appropriate.

And after the wedding celebrations, we ended the week with a murder. Okay, it was a murder mystery. We thoroughly enjoyed our Hawaiian-themed murder party with a number of friends. Well, at least we enjoyed it until we figured out that my husband was the murderer. It keeps my life interesting, right?

And, when the week was over, I crashed on the couch snuggled up with Molly. She wasn't fighting at all, just lying there still. I guess she loves me no matter what.

I can hardly wait to see what Week 2 of the new year has in store!

Is it the end of the year already??

2012-01-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

As I've been writing these blog posts to recap the year, it's been amazing to me how quickly it all went and how much I squeezed into the year. As I looked back at November and December, I continued to be amazed. So, here I sit on New Year's Eve trying to complete my summary of the year. Let's see what those last two months brought.

Technically, I have to back up to October 31. For my last out of state trip of the year, I left on the 31st to go to New Mexico. My dear friend Marsha, has an annual conference that she reluctantly attends. Several times she has invited me to accompany her, but this time I actually did. We spent 3 fun-filled days in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos.

One of the highlights was a hike in Kasha-Katuwe National Monument. It was a beautiful slot canyon that you could climb, then look down on the cool natural features.

The weather was great, and the fall colors were beautiful.

In Los Alamos, we went to a couple of museums and learned all kinds of stuff about WWII and the atomic bombs.

Since we were in Los Alamos, we decided to drive over to Espanola where my mom grew up. This is the house she lived in as a teenager. I imagine it looks a little different now, but it was cool to see it.

At the end of November, I made my last trip of the year. Our family headed to Kanarraville to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. This was the first ever Thanksgiving (as adults) with my family, my sisters' families, and my parents. It was a party. Here I am with all the pies I baked for the party!

The day after Thanksgiving, we celebrated Mom's 75th birthday with family and friends at the Kanarraville Town Hall.

With a theme like "Dancing Through Life," you can bet we did some serious dancing. We highlighted dances from each decade of her life. And to spice it up, we donned clothing from those decades. In this picture you can see me rocking my sister's prom dress from 1978 while dancing with my nephew Andy in his leisure suit. Yeah!!

The grandkids did their part to share their talents as well.

And we closed the evening with an incredibly rare photo of most of the family. Of course, we were missing a few, but this was a pretty good representation.

As always, Thanksgiving was followed by Christmas. I already blogged about our tree, but I couldn't write about December without showing it again. We loved our "donate to the food bank" tree.

At the beginning of the month, we were treated to a lovely church Christmas party complete with a nativity. The shepherd with the red long sleeves is my sweet Cheyenne.

Mid month I got to attend one of my favorite parties of the year. We had our annual Derby Girls Christmas lunch at Colleen's. She has a knack for decorating beautifully, no matter the occasion. Over the years, this luncheon has proven to be full of good food, lots of laughs, and some great gifts.

One of my gifts was from my sister Cathy who had been traveling in New York City earlier that week. Her gift to me was a collection of food bought in a Jewish market in NY so we could use it for our annual Bethlehem dinner. I loved the food, but I also loved that she bought it in NYC and carried around al day.

Once the kids got out for the Christmas break, we took on projects to prepare for the big day. One day we invited our friends over and we made poteca (a special bread Mom made). I have fond memories of doing this as a kid. You can see we had lots of helpers!

This is the spreading of the nut filling!

And this is the final product!! YUM! YUM!

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve day. The day started with reindeer pancakes. This one was fun and simple.

And the day ended with sweet Cheyenne preparing healthy snacks for Santa and the reindeer.

Christmas day brought lots of smiles. For Daniel, those smiles were biggest when he opened his gift of chemicals that he could mix and burn for the 'showy' factor. There may be no stopping him now.

And, for Cheyenne, the cutest smiles came later in the day when she opened Grandma Wilde's gift -- a ukulele with a dolphin on it. I can't wait to hear her songs.

The partying continued past Christmas as Grandma Wilde hosted a little party at her house a couple days later. It was fun to see Dale's side of the family. And I love reasons to extend any holiday!

It's been an awesome couple of months and and an awesome year!!

September that ran into October

2011-12-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

So, if August was the beginning of my traveling, September and October were the meat of it. Those two months kind of merged into one. I was so busy trying to get ready to go, going, then making up for being gone. But, would I do it again???? In a heartbeat!!!

The month started with a quick Labor Day weekend trip to Colorado. We wanted to go see our friends, the Burnhams. And, we wanted to fly out of Provo airport which now offers one flight a day to Denver. We loved seeing our friends!!!! We got to go our first NASCAR race, and we enjoyed an awesome breakfast at a creole restaurant. And, the flying out of Provo was great!! We recommend it.

In a rare moment at home, we were 'bonding' with the kids. We were playing Hide and Seek outside, but no one could find Dale. When he was finally spotted, he was high in tree (his orange-striped shoes are the big giveaway). I just loved that at 49, he's still got it.

In the third week of September, we headed out for a dream trip to Hawaii. We've talked about it for 20 years, but we finally made it happen for our 20th anniversary. We enjoyed 10 days in Kauai, Maui, and Oahu. We did a lousy job of relaxing, but we did a great job of hiking, snorkeling, driving beautiful places, eating new things, etc. There's no way to show it to you in this way, but come to my house sometime and I'll give you the real photographic tour. I can, however, whet your appetite here. Oh, and I have to say, we are Kauai people! If I ever go back, that's where I'll head. Let me say publicly that I really appreciate Dale and his willingness to make this dream come true. I fulfilled some bucket list items, and I had a great time. Thanks to him and to all of you who babysat so we could go. None of it went unnoticed!!!

First bucket list item: A helicopter ride (with no doors) over Kauai on one of the clearest days the pilot had ever seen. In a word, SPECTACULAR!

The view from our condo. Wow!!

Next bucket list item: swimming with turtles. Amazing!

I had to post a picture of this sign. I am among the world's most stringent rule keepers, BUT.... I went beyond that point!!!! Can you even believe it??????

This was a highlight. Along the road to Hana, we took a climb through mud, across an elevated viaduct, through the jungle, etc. till we found this secluded waterfall and pool. It was secluded to the extent that about 6 other couples were there when we were, but it was awesome. And it was freezing cold, but fun.

This is but one example of the great food we had. Loved the fruit, the shave ice, the raw fish, etc.!!!

My dessert treat on my birthday!

On our final morning in Oahu, we hit the beach to find an outrigger canoe to ride. We found a perfect one, and we got to take a thrilling ride with our big, burly, Hawaiian friends!! Overall, the trip was amazing. And it checked off state number 48 for me. Just two more to go. So, this time next year, you'll probably be reading about a different kind of canoe in Minnesota or Wisconsin!

As you can imagine, things were crazy when we returned. We had lots of catching up to do. Among the things that were waiting for us were lots of vegetables from our garden. Among the vegetables we had a plant full of ghost peppers. According to Wikipedia, in 2007 Guinness certified it as the hottest pepper in the world at 401.5 times hotter than Tabasco. Dale just wanted to see what it was like. So, he and and his 'tough guy' 16 year old son took turns taking bites. Did I mention that the 'bites' were about the size of a pinhead??

Throughout my crazy couple of months, we were also attending dog training classes with Molly. I learned a lot, but I'm having about the same luck training her as I have in training my children!

After the training, the next item on the agenda was a 12th birthday party for Cheyenne. She loves the movie Tangled (a version of the classic Rapunzel story). And so it is that we had a Rapunzel party. Lucky for us, Rapunzel herself was there! And we made some edible hair to share. That braid was about 51 inches long!

And, with 12 year olds, you can do fun things like shoot a blow gun at a Flynn Rider Wanted poster.

No rest for the weary. Just a couple days later, I was making a wedding cake for Adam Sellars. I was pretty pleased. Again, let me publicly thank and credit Dale, my artistic designer. He printed a template for me to use to make those sets of 3 dots perfectly aligned. He makes me look good. Thanks!

So, we'd had the party, but then we had to celebrate Cheyenne's real birthday on the day. I love this picture from breakfast that morning.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Oquirrh Mountain temple. This picture makes me smile too!

And the nighttime was reserved for dinner out, complete with a chocolate volcano cake. That was one very bright, long-lasting sparkler/candle.

If it's been mine and Cheyenne's birthdays, then you know that Halloween can't be far behind. At the Wilde house, that means it's time for a Halloween-themed dinner. This year, Cheyenne has been studying Egypt at school, so we went for the mummy theme. In the far corner, you'll see a crock that contained certified "innards" or maybe salad with dressing on it.

To complete the month, Dale and I headed out for yet another trip. This time we spent the weekend in Dallas, TX, to see BYU play TCU at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. What a place!

The game really stunk as BYU continually shot itself in the foot, but it was fun to be there. The next day we spent the day at Six Flags. The lesson learned that day is that 'loose objects' left in pockets really do fall out! Dale happened to have his credit cards and driver license in his cargo pocket, but they were dislodged by some ridiculous roller coaster! Next lesson learned is that if you look innocent enough, it is possible to board a plane without government issued ID, but with a wife who is excited to show her Thanksgiving Point pass. Gotta love it.

Whew! What a couple of months! And the travel still wasn't over. Stay tuned for November!

August - End of Summer, but New Beginnings

2011-12-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

In some ways, you may consider August the end of summer. For me, it was a beginning of sorts. August was the beginning of a three month period of nonstop motion. I began a series of trip after trip. I began a new role as the Young Women president in my church congregation (the leader of the young women from 12 to 18, of which we have about 40). It was the beginning of major harvesting from our garden. And, of course, school began for my kids, which means math tutoring began for me. Yeah, I guess it was the end of summer.....

My first photographic documentation of the month has nothing to do with everything I just said, but they are great pictures. First, this was one day of Daniel's Saturdough business. Normally, he doesn't do this much bread, but he did on this day, and I thought it looked pretty cool.

For a school project last year, Daniel made this sculpture that he called "Face Plant." My friend Heather liked it so much that she commissioned him to make one for her. Before she took hers home, we thought they should pose together. They make me smile!

Now, on to those beginnings. Our first trip of the three month period of travel was a major road trip with the family. We went from Utah to Wyoming to Nebraska, to South Dakota to North Dakota to Montana to Wyoming to Idaho and back to Utah. It was awesome! I could never cover the entirety of the trip in a blog like this, but I can show you a few snippets. I loved all that we saw. And I loved doing it with my family. We did 8 days, 7 states, lots of hours in the car, and we still liked each other. Success!

Our first stop was at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. This was an historical site associated with the pioneers who came to Utah pulling handcarts.

Part of the reason we hit South Dakota was to see Mount Rushmore. We thought it was really interesting. And the Black Hills area around it was beautiful.

Near Mount Rushmore, we had the chance to go on a cave tour that was somewhat adventurous and used only hand held lanterns for light. We still got to walk, though, with only an occasional need to duck. They offered another, more adventurous tour. In order to see if you could do it, they had a sample space for you to crawl through. It was 8 inches high and 24 inches wide. If that didn't bother you, the spelunking tour awaited........we didn't go!

While in South Dakota, we journeyed to the Badlands. I imagine as a frontiersman, they were really bad. I can't fathom how difficult it would have been to traverse them, find food, etc. However, as a 16 year old boy who loves to climb on rocks, they were bad, sick, legit, or whatever other adjective you might use to convey the idea that they were fun, fascinating, beautiful, and adventurous!

After a brief stop in Sturgis (home of the world-famous Harley-Davidson rally), we headed to North Dakota. We saw miles and miles of sunflowers, then we saw a few miles of gigantic sculptures. I wish I could show them all, but looking at this humongous Pheasant gives you some pause. (Note that I am standing in the bottom left corner in case you need size perspective!)

And we toured the North Dakota version of the badlands. Not as rough and stark as their southern neighbors, but very scenic.

In Cody, Wyoming, the highlight for all was the Buffalo Bill Cody museum complex. As you may recall, in June we attended the Wild, Wild West show which gave us a little glimpse into Buffalo Bill. That was nothing compared to this museum. I loved the historical part. Dale loved the art. Cheyenne loved the Indian exhibit that highlighted the Cheyenne indians. And Daniel thought he'd died and gone to heaven when he hit the firearms exhibit.

Cheyenne with Buffalo Bill himself at the scene of the gunfight in the street!

Our trip would not have been complete without Yellowstone. What an amazing, amazing place!

When we returned, the harvest was in full swing. Thanks, Dale, for ensuring each year that we have a display like this!!

Oh yeah, and then that dang school started. We got a picture of Cheyenne on her first day of 6th grade. I think when you're a junior in high school, that picture on the first day just isn't so cool (or bad or legit or whatever!)

Halfway through the Year -- Better Celebrate!

2011-12-28T23:46:00.001-07:00

The beginning of July marks the halfway point of the year. It seems that what I've written about in the first half of the year should constitute a whole year, but then I think of all that's happened since then, and it's really hard to believe how much has been crammed in. Wow.

It seems July is inherently a party month. With both the 4th of July and the 24th of July as holidays, and with Daniel as a son, there is no question about what will be happening around here! So, let's take a look...

Once again we attended the annual 4th of July parade in Oakley. What a great small town event!

My next celebration was celebrating time with my good friend Kim who is a school teacher. It seems we always have the best of intentions, but we usually only get together during the summer. This was our second annual hike, and we went to Ferguson Canyon in Salt Lake. I loved it! High granite sides and a stream -- practically perfect!

And then there was the celebration of a couple days alone! Daniel spent some time hiking and rafting with the scouts, and Cheyenne ventured off to her first summer camp. She had a week on her own at Clear Creek summer camp. And since she caught not one, but TWO pot guts (aka ground squirrels) in her trap, she was one happy camper!!

Next I must blog the preparation phase of the Daniel and Friends Annual Fireworks Extravaganza. This always takes weeks of preparation, but this year was especially intense. They built and painted sets. They designed boats to float in the plastic container of water. They wrote original music. They wrote a script. They practiced. And it all happened in our basement...

Between the preparation and the performance, there was the celebration with our friends the Jacques. Working around summer school schedules yet again, we managed a couple days with them at a condo in Park City. Among the fun times, we enjoyed a live-action version of the video game Fruit Ninjas. I've never seen the game, but apparently you try to cut up fruit that's thrown in the air. Why wouldn't you want to go to a city park, break out a real sword, throw fruit in the air, and try to cut it???

And at the price of fruit, why wouldn't you pick it up off the ground and enjoy it.

This is no photo contest winner for clarity, but it shows what happens when you strike a pineapple at the bottom of the green leaves. They shoot out like a whole bunch of little sharp spears being thrown at high velocity. Cool!! We also learned about knife/fruit interactions with cantaloupe, watermelon, apples, and grapefruits, but none were quite as cool as those spears.

The next day afforded a great trip down the alpine slide for all. Fun, fun, fun!!

Finally, the big fireworks show itself was the 24th of July celebration. I exhibited my crafty side with "fireworks" centerpieces, and an "authentic" rodeo queen belt for Cheyenne in the culdesac parade.

Though it doesn't do it justice, this is perhaps the best picture I have of the set. It was a seaside village with a fortress wall, lots of small buildings/businesses, the sea with boats in it, and a volcano in the background towering over the village.

And this is the ultimate goal - fireworks glaring and fire burning up the town! In the end, the volcano "erupted" into flames yet again, and ultimately, most of the set was burned.

Meanwhile, Cheyenne was meeting with her friends to be part of an original production by a sweet 9 year old who wrote and directed the play called "Coconut." Cheyenne was playing the role of the mother.

And the culminating celebration was the occasion of Daniel's first shave. 'Twas a big day, for sure, but not one that has necessitated repeating much since then!

Thanks to all for the memories of celebrations!!

June Adventures - Mixed with School

2011-12-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

June, June, June. It was finally summer which made me very happy. However, June was still marked primarily by school. Both of the kids attended Summer school. Daniel wanted to take a PE class and Drivers Ed in the small intimate classes of the summer. Cheyenne was invited to attend a special ed school. And so, they "got out of school" on a Friday, but started again the following Monday! Both were great opportunities, but it meant a whole lotta driving for mom to schools in three different cities. Interspersed with school, though, we managed to keep the adventurous spirit alive!

We began the month with the first annual Wild, Wild West show in Spanish Fork. Of course, they spelled the name wrong in the show title, but otherwise it was fun. It was a modern day version of Buffalo Bill Cody's old time show. Going to this show came in handy later in the summer when we went to Buffalo Bill's museum in Cody, WY, as we now had a point of reference. And, of course, Cheyenne was in her element!

The next big event of the month was undoubtedly Daniel's 16th Birthday. He celebrated with friends by playing lots of laser tag and enjoying his very own driver license cake - the first I've ever done for my own child!

That was followed by the delivery of "the doll" for his birthday. She'd been transformed into the Statue of Liberty by Kelsie's family who was living the next day for a family vacation to NYC. This has to be one of the best costumes yet. Her 'book' said, "Give me your tired, your hungry, your 16 year olds yearning to eat Oreos..."

On the actual day, our family spent the day doing 16 things that Daniel loves to do. We ate things he liked. We played things he liked. And we acted silly like him!

We built things with Legos.

We made faces in the mirror (something he can still do for extended periods of time in the morning).

And as one of the highlights, we used various methods to destroy the cute gingerbread house we'd made months before. It was a cute little house made of individual gingerbread bricks and it included a fireplace. The destruction began with a gunpowder-fueled fire in the chimney.

Followed by shooting with an air soft pistol and a bb gun to take out the candy windows.

Followed by more fire, then ultimate destruction with Daniel's Samurai sword.

The night was topped off with a chocolate silk pie complete with a sparkler candle. The whole day was very Daniel-ish!

Days later we celebrated Father's Day. I needed to include a picture of Dale's meal so everyone knows that I cooked for him just as he had done for me on Mother's Day. Same plate -- different meal!

And then the month was capped off with yet another Derby Girl adventure. This time we headed to St. George for our annual getaway. Cheyenne got to go for the first time, and we had a great time. As you can imagine, it involved a lot of good eating (Colleen, I apologize for the picture, but it's the only one I had of good food), some swimming, attending a play at Tuacahn Amphitheater......

And it also involved the now infamous Pajama Fashion Show which I won with this stunning number!

(Fortunately for me, I was able to lose the weight by the next day when I had to don a swimsuit!)

The party was a great time, and I can't wait until next year's getaway.

May Day, May Day, May Day (There were 31 of them)

2011-12-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

May was right there on the heels of April -- funny how that works, eh? It is always a crazy, busy month, and this one did not disappoint. It started busy, and ended busier. But it was a good one.

My traveling continued as we finished up our "St. George with some nieces" tour. We had some more time on the red rocks with Daniel being his regular Pied Piper to the nephews. And we took a quick peek at the St. George temple. It was warm and beautiful all around.

The beginning of May also brought the Hope of America presentation. Cheyenne and the twins were all a part of it this year. When you look at the flag, they were obviously part of a red stripe. Do you see them?

The beginning of the month also offered up the Women's Work Day for Habitat for Humanity. I got to go help build a home with my good friend Syd and some of our other pals. We hung all the sheet rock in a room. We weren't nearly as fast as the pros, but we were sincere!

For Mother's Day, I was treated like a queen! I enjoyed an awesome homemade breakfast and dinner. I recognize the treat that is and that not everyone can say the same. Thanks, Dale and kids!!

The next pictures show an annual ritual that I don't recall recording before. The annual Spreading of the Compost! Each year we fill our trusty 1984 Nissan pickup with a yard of beautiful compost. We then get to unload it and spread it in the garden. Each year, we reap the benefits! This year, we also reaped a few pictures to prove we really do it and that we really drive a 1984 pickup!

It wouldn't be a month if there were no picture of me eating with my sisters! This time it was lunch at my house with the women and Andy. I'm glad he still wants to be with us!

And the cake tradition continues. Not only did my niece Katelyn turn 16 and get a driver license cake, but so did her two cousins. Thanks to my assistant Chelsea for making these 3 cakes possible in one day!

And the crowning touch of my May Days, was the first day that Molly came to live with us. It seemed more than a little appropriate that Cheyenne came home from Field Days as a dog. This picture is funny now to see Molly so unkempt and wearing bows. The last time the groomer tried the bow thing, she yanked them out in the car on the way home! She's so much more confident in her appearance these days!

The month concluded with a fun visit from my cousin Mike and his family. They were great, as always, and it was nice to let someone else be the ones to be taking the trip!

April Adventures

2011-12-25T01:51:00.000-07:00

So, it appears as if those themes of Food, Family, and Friends are pervasive in my life. April brought a little more of all of those. Are you up for another pictorial recap??

We love it when the gardens at Thanksgiving Point open up for the season. For those of you who've seen this big fountain, haven't you always wanted to just crawl into those tubs???

A birthday cake for Dale who celebrated his nth 29th birthday!

An awesome sushi fest with a sister and a crew of nieces and nephews. I'm not sure where Cathy was for this one, but maybe she'll join us next time.

A quick trip to the children's museum taught us that we could have a weather girl on our hands -- as long as she's telling the weather in Cheyenne!

Another Derby Girls gathering with excellent food again! Love those girls.

Easter baskets. Yes, Daniel's was an ammo container. Don't ask.

And we had the Easter bunny at our hunt!

Another month, another trip. This time we headed to St. George with my nieces and their families. So fun!!! Not very warm for St. George, but so fun. Among the activities, we played a couple of mean games of Funny Bones (a classic from the 70's). Dave and Heather were clearly the most competent.

Same trip. Less compromising poses. But this was a mean game of Capture the Flag, and it's hard to run uphill in sand.

Nielsen's frozen custard in St. George. Eli's face tells the story. Yum!

Before the custard, we tackled the crack in the rock. First you see us going in, then you see it from the top down. I can still do it going sideways. Maybe I should make an annual trek to St. George, just to make sure I can do it each year!

March Madness

2011-12-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

When I reviewed my pictures from March, I discovered that it was truly a month of fun activities with my kids. I have lots of pictures to share to capture the essence of the diversity of things we did. Someday, one of my cute nieces will take me under her wing and will hold my hand until I can really learn how to do photo collages and such on my blog. Until then, you're stuck with a series of simple pictures in the middle of the page with a little descriptive text to liven them up. Enjoy a little trip through a typical Spring month at our house.

First, a little hair straightening and the color purple. When I blogged about this in March, I expected the color to stay in my hair for about six to eight weeks (according to the hairdresser who did it). In reality, it lasted 8 months before I finally had to cut it out!!! I loved it, I might add. It continued to make me happy every time I looked at it in the mirror. A pretty cheap mid-life splurge if you ask me.

Experimenting again -- with garbage bags and a vacuum. (See the post from March for more details.)

With my mom in tow, we had a little adventure in Vernon, Utah. Fun trip and great burgers at the little cafe in Vernon. Yum!

While Mom was still here, she joined us for a Derby Girls green lunch for St. Patty's day. Green soup, green salad, rolls with yummy green spices, cookies frosted green. I love that those girls can cook! And loved that Mom was there to join us.

Piano recital time! They both are getting so good.

So the piano recital was our more refined side. Launching model rockets and chasing them brings out a whole different set of talents.

And, for our artistic side, how about a little glass blowing to make flowers. So fun and the end results are displayed at home. I love original art!

Congratulations to my nephew Tim on receiving his Eagle Scout award. I should have only a couple more of these cakes to whip out for nephews. Oh, and wouldn't it be nice to do one someday for Daniel???

Speaking of Daniel, I will never quite get how he studies like this!

And it appears that she studies like this! Just another day at our house doing an experiment.

And finally, a shot of the 5th grade music program - the precursor to the big Hope of America concert with thousands of other fifth graders. She loved it, and I loved how she was right there with every other fifth grader singing her little heart out!

February From Sea to Shining Sea

2011-12-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

February was the beginning of an extraordinary year of travel for me. Within 3 days of the first week of February I had truly been from sea to shining sea. It began with an awesome one day trip to Disneyland with a group of 13 adults! Though I do only a small amount of part time work for my good friend Syd, she chose to include me in her company trip to Disneyland. We flew from SLC to Long Beach on a 6 a.m. flight, rented a car, checked in our hotel, and were at the Disneyland gate when it opened. We played and played until midnight then headed back to the hotel for a few short hours of sleep before we grabbed an 8 am flight back home to eat lunch with our families. It was an awesome way to visit the "happiest place on earth."

I spent a brief 24 hours at home before packing my bags again and getting on a plane to New York City, on the other shining sea. This time I was part of the Wilde Women take New York tour. My sisters-in-law and I had the fun and privilege of escorting my mother-in-law on her first ever visit to the Big Apple. It was terribly cold, but cold New York is cheaper than warm New York so we had chosen that time to go. We had a great time! I'm pretty sure we couldn't have crammed one more thing into those few days. My dear friend who lives near the city drove in and showed us an amazing night for our first night there. We had a limo trip, an incredible meal, and chocolate covered strawberries! The next few days we also got to spend some time with my nephew Christopher who helped play tour guide. We did Broadway to see "Mary Poppins" and "Wicked." We even acted like tourists and did a bus tour, rode in lots of taxis, and took the subway (not without causing a little anxiety for Mom and Susan). And for the most fun, we took a walking food tour in Greenwich Village. Super fun and super yummy!

I learned a number of things on those two trips. 1. Even Tower of Terror can be fun if you're with a big group of people who make you laugh. 2. It's amazing what you can squeeze into a day when you put your mind to it. 3. Flavored olive oil (for example, basil, lemon, etc) is an acceptable and even delightful way to enjoy olives. 4. A great way to ease tension when traveling with family is to assign one person per day to take responsibility for any and all things that go wrong. It makes you laugh, it lightens the stress, and it makes for great stories later. 5. Playing Where's Waldo in the Marriott Marquis at 2 am is completely immature, but worth a lot of laughs. 6. If you get stuck in traffic (just for example) and miss a flight, don't bother with the desk agents who want to charge you a ton, just go straight to the phones on the wall 'cause those ladies are much nicer. 7. The Days Inn in Jamaica, Queens, NY is not that bad - just in case you're looking for a nice hotel near the airport!

While I was off tripping, Daniel was busy finding a way to protect a raw egg from breaking when it got dropped. His solution was a homemade ballistic gel just like they use on Mythbusters (his dream job). It worked beautifully, and the egg was unscathed. Another thing learned in February.

And, finally, the winter month would not have been complete without a ski trip with sisters and friends. I'm so glad I finally have something to look forward to in the winter! If we ever get snow this year, I'll meet you ladies on the slopes again!

Best of 2011

2011-12-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

As I've said so many times this year, I was so busy living my life that I simply didn't have (or take) the time to blog it. Fortunately, I did take time to record it in pictures. So, now that we have 10 days left this year, I figured I could blog a month per day and almost be done by the New Year. Okay, if I combine a couple of months, I can make it!

So, in the spirit of all of the "Best of 2011" retrospective shows and lists, I present to you my Wildelife of 2011.

January was pretty boring as January usually is. As I reviewed my pictures, it could be summed up with fire, food, and friends.

In an effort to be the coolest parents ever, we continued to allow Daniel to play with matches........
You'd think all that snow would make things safe, but there was that time I started the back porch on fire in Kentucky, and we had to put it out with snow.... Ah, but I digress.

Otherwise, it looks like I was into yummy food. We had a pie fest with friends (I only made two of the pies), and I must have wanted to show off the pretty platter I got for Christmas, 'cause I clearly needed to bake a bundt!

Fortunately for me, I also got in some good skiing with friends which probably helped counteract the calories from the pie and cake!

And so January is in the books!!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

2011-12-11T23:33:00.003-07:00

Wow, I'm not sure how six months passed with no blogging 'cause it seems like only a week or two went by. There was so much going on in my life that I simply didn't have time to record it! How sad is that?

But, there is nothing productive about rehashing all that now. 'Tis the season to be jolly, and I have something to share!

Last year, the lights on our tree died. Dale declared early on this year that he had no interest in restringing lights on the tree. We talked about buying a pre-lit tree, but we're cheap! So, then we spent some time as a family brainstorming 'alternative' trees. We decided we wanted to make our own. We had some surprisingly fun and original ideas, but we settled on a tree made of canned goods to donate to the food bank. After some time designing, time shopping for wood supports, and time shopping for nutritious food with the right color labels, we began construction. It took more time than stringing new lights would have taken, but it was more fulfilling knowing where this tree would end up.

Once the tree was complete, we picked a few of our favorite ornaments and hung them around the tree. The first few packages under the tree are a case of chili, a case of toilet paper, and some chocolate chip cookies. Those presents will join the tree at their new home.

And so, I present our 2011 Christmas Tree - the first annual Wilde food construction!

For those of you who want to know details, the base of the tree is a 36" circle. There are some wood supports right up the middle on each layer, but otherwise, the layers are covered with food. It's made up of cases of tomatoes, soup, beans, chicken, tuna, green beans, a few soda waters for color, and Tree Top apple juice for the top of the tree! Additionally there are some chocolate chip cookies spread around for fun!

P.S. Dale here. Being very unhappy with the tree photos that I prepared for Cheryl to do this blog, I had to fix up a better one and hijack Cheryl's blog to replace the ugly ones.

A little reminiscing...

2011-06-13T23:59:00.000-06:00

June 12, 1995. I was still on bedrest for a high risk pregnancy. For some unexplained reason, Dale and I watched "Paint Your Wagon" with our friends, then ate watermelon. They left. I suddenly started bleeding. I couldn't quite get it to stop. Off to the hospital --again. I had every intention of staying the night then coming home. Apparently, something about Clint Eastwood singing was more than Daniel could stand. He wanted out of the womb!

June 13, 1995. At 9:08 a.m. I delivered a sweet, sweet little baby boy. I don't really remember seeing him, though they tell me I did. Colleen told me he was perfect, just small. Dale followed him to the bigger hospital with a NICU. He brought back some pretty sweet videos of my adorable little 3 pounder.

After a 6 1/2 week stay at that fine hotel, we got to bring him home -- my cute, perfect baby. It took a lot of energy to eat, so he often took about 1 1/2 hours to eat. That means he ate about every 1 1/2 hours, 24 hours a day. Eat and poop. That's what babies do best, right?

Today, my sweet, perfect baby turned 16. He's way taller than I am now, but some other things haven't changed. He still eats (nearly 24 hours a day) and poops. In many ways he perfectly fits a couple of definitions I've heard of boys. One is Boy: Noise stretched over an appetite. The other is Boy: Noise with dirt on it. He qualifies on both counts!

There may be some things that don't change, but then again, some things do. He's in the middle of the growth charts now. He's handsome with naturally straight teeth. He's grown into a fine young man. He excels at school. He's kind to others. He has never gotten in trouble with or without his friends! He doesn't ask for much, except food. He's tons of fun to be around. He's still creative and imaginative. He's great! Happy birthday to my absolute favorite son!!!!! I love you!!!

Late night laugh

2011-06-12T23:02:00.000-06:00

I can never find time to blog about myself, but I just read this on a Facebook entry, and it made me laugh out loud. I had no choice but to pass it on to make someone else laugh. Then I'm going to bed!

A nice woman attempted to compliment my youngest on her pixie/bob haircut, but Li'l Sis didn't appreciate being likened to a "dorky camel.". This called for a brief on-the-spot history of America's top figure skating women.

So funny!

Now all I need is a highway...

2011-06-09T15:28:00.000-06:00

I've officially adopted one of everything else (a little person, a cat, and now a dog)!! If only I had a highway, my collection would be complete.

Much to her great happiness, Cheyenne's 11 years of asking for a dog were not in vain. According to her, she "finally got a dog!" And let me just say that getting one as the mom is a really different experience than getting one as a kid.

We didn't know exactly what we wanted, except that we wanted something not to big or too small, one that didn't shed much, preferably one already housetrained, and most of all, one that would be Cheyenne's friend!! We did okay on most counts. The housetraining part leaves something to be desired, but considering my track record, I am destined to deal with pee more than the average person.

Meet Molly. She is a cockapoo (half cocker spaniel, half poodle). She is small enough to be a companion, but large enough to not be carried around like a stuffed animal. She doesn't shed much. She's playful but pretty mild. She isn't yappy or whiny. We like her. She really needs a good grooming, but that will come. For now, we're just embracing the scraggly look!

And just briefly, while we're on the subject of animals, let me just follow up on Dale's last blog entry. The bird was a present delivered by our cat Jackson. He brought in an injured bird he hoped to eat. Of course he did it in the middle of a crazy busy day with tutoring students, kids, etc. Daniel convinced me the bird wasn't very injured because we saved it in time. The kids really wanted to save it - to nurse it back to health. I wanted Dale to deal with it when he got home. I conceded to let them put it in a box. Before we could do that, it flew out of Daniel's hands and into my pantry. I really did not have time for a bird to be perched in my pantry! After some time and effort, Daniel managed to retrieve it with a butterfly net. Then it just sat outside on our picnic table motionless for over an hour while the cat was locked inside being tormented. When Dale arrived home, it flew away, never to return.

It wasn't a huge deal, I guess, but it was one more thing in an otherwise crazy day that is the kind of thing that doesn't happen to just anyone. Lucky me!!

The Bird

2011-05-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

Dale here.

Cheryl had a stressful afternoon yesterday for a few reasons. (I think she handled the day gracefully.) But ask her about the bird. Who knows, she may already be planning on blogging about it. Nothing too funny or too strange - just humorous.

The Third Day

2011-04-24T22:08:00.000-06:00

Easter is my favorite holiday of the year. I love everything about it. I love the promise of spring (even if it isn't necessarily here by Easter). I love the beautiful crocus blooms and tulips in my yard that is otherwise still kind of "winter ugly." I love color coming back into everything around me. I love seeing my kids' and husband's creativity when we decorate eggs. Mine are always so boring, but they show their amazing creativity and it makes me smile. I love Easter hymns. I love being close to the end of the school year.

But most of all, I love all that Easter means when I think of a resurrected Christ. It seems that all other holidays exist just for the sake of this one. He was born for the purpose of setting an example for us then dying for us. He was resurrected so that we might have joy.

I've been reading a book by John Ortberg that describes at length the stories in the Bible that are three day stories. The list includes the 3 days Esther fasted before going before the king, the three days Jonah was in the big fish, the three days it took for the pagan god Dagon to be destroyed, the three days it took for Jesus to be resurrected, etc.

In each case, the first day was a dark day. Something happened that was bad, undesirable, etc. It was a deflating, hope-crushing day. On the second day, things still seemed to be going badly. There was no sudden rescue, change of events, etc. just more of the same. But, when the third day came, that's when our God, who is a third day God, works mighty miracles. Here's a quote:
"The third day is God's day. The third day is the day when the people come to the mountains and the mountains shake and rivers are parted and people go into the Promised Land. The third day is the day when harem girls like Esther face down powerful kings.
"The third day is the day when prophets like Jonah are dropped off at seaside ports by giant fish. The third day is the day when idols like Dagon come tumbling down and God starts coming home to his people. The third day is the day stones are rolled away.
"The third day is the day a crucified carpenter came back to life.
"You never know what God is going to do, because God is 'God of the third day.'

He then expounds a lot about all that has happened because Christ was resurrected.

"From that third day on, the world has never been the same. Jesus' followers, who used to observe the Sabbath, began instead to observe on Sunday -- on the third day -- what they began to call, in the New Testament, the 'Lord's Day.' The third day is the Lord's Day, because, they said, 'we're third-day people now. We're betting the farm on this one.' They said that the kingdom they all had longed for turned out to be real.
"You never know what might happen on the third day. I cling to that. I put all my hope in a third-day God.
"But I live in a second day world."

Something about those passages really struck me. I love the idea that joy cometh after some dark and troubling times. I love the idea that maybe this life is the 'second day' and joy will come next. That kind of hope is what makes me love Easter. It gives me more hope to hang on.

As this Easter day comes to a close, I wish you all a glorious, fabulous spring and all the hope that this life affords. Happy Easter!

It Works!!

2011-04-17T18:18:00.000-06:00

This is what I learned today. If someone in your house calls 911 and hangs up (you know, just to see if someone will answer), then the dispatchers do call back. Following a call from dispatch, they really do send out officers. They might even send two officers who park away from you house (so it looks like it's really a problem at the neighbors' house) and walk cautiously toward the door from two different directions - just in case. And then the officers are really nice when they come to the door and talk to the family.

Just wanted you to know in case you ever wondered if it works.......

A new favorite spot

2011-04-06T23:14:00.000-06:00

Call us weird, but Dale and I discovered a fun little restaurant today. We had lunch at the Serving Time Cafe. It's a small restaurant in front of the prison at the point of the mountain. It's one of several industries that is there to give inmates job experience. I had no idea they did so many things, but the restaurant is just one of their self-supporting businesses.

The food was good, plentiful, and cheap! And the staff was great. They serve breakfast all day (Daniel was thrilled to hear of the possibilities), sandwiches, soups, and salads. I love the premise of giving the inmates something productive to do that allows them to learn job skills. I love the small, simple atmosphere. And how can you go wrong with good, inexpensive food?

So, if anyone wants to serve a little time with me sometime, let me know and we can go say hi to my new buddies!

Aforementioned Fire Experiment

2011-03-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch is the best. And there is now a much more developed delivery device. Either way, it's kind of cool to see a big ball of flame fly across your yard.

Note: For those of you who think we're crazy for letting him do things like this, we've found that he's satisfied when we let him do most of what he wants and we're in the loop. If we disallowed it all, I fear he'd be trying things without our involvement. And most of these fairly safe experiments are pretty fun too!

In the Name of Science

2011-03-21T16:00:00.001-06:00

A gathering with our friends, the Lindleys.

A mention by Daniel of something his Physics teachers taught them about how you can use a large garbage bag and a vacuum, and it makes you feel like you are being crushed...... Did we need anything more than that?????

Cheyenne looked like a bat!!!

As a side note to the garbage trick, a sweet little Lindley girl mentioned that she's always wanted to be totally wrapped up in saran wrap.... Did we need anything more than that????

Who knew that once wrapped in saran wrap (or Kirkland wrap from the mother ship), you can slide down the stairs much faster? We didn't - but we do now. Experimentation is such a great source of knowledge.

It's Blogger Time!!

2011-03-20T21:48:00.000-06:00

Wasn't there an old commercial that said, "It's Miller Time!" Well, that ad seemed to imply that it was party time. I'm claiming that It's Blogger Time because it's finally time to write something about my life to all my blogger friends! It's kind of like having a party, right?

Let's start with my hair. Yesterday marked the two week mark since I had it done. As far as I can tell, everyone has liked the change. It's been super fun for me! First, no one has ever seen my hair this straight (because it's never been this straight!). For two weeks now, I've been able to blow it dry and have it not take an hour to do it, and blowing it dry pretty much covers it. I haven't had to follow that with hours of straightening. It's been awesome. It's soft, healthy, and so fun to do something different for a while. So, here it is two weeks after the fact.

Then there's the purple streak. Pretty much, everything has been more fun with purple hair! I love having that little bit of happy streak in my hair. And, frankly, it's been so shocking to people because very few people expected ultra-conservative Cheryl to throw in a little color. Dale is sure it's because I never rebelled as a teenager. However, the truth is that you hardly notice it at all unless you're close to me and my hair is turned just right. In some ways, that's even more fun 'cause it's my little secret happy streak!

Beyond the hair, I'm pretty sure that February and March have been two of the busiest months of my life. Ah, I guess you've heard that before, eh? Some day I'll come to accept that my life is just always busy! In addition to doing the regular things with my kids and doing lots and lots of math, I've squeezed in some other awesome experiences and fun times. Since I clearly have missed my chance to blog about them all separately, let's hit some highlights:

- Trip to Disneyland with only adults (more to come on that later)

- Trip to New York City with a group of Wilde Women (more to come on that one too)

- Trip to Beaver Dam, Arizona to see my mother-in-law and get warm (it was in the 40's and raining the whole weekend)

- Valentine's Day

- Brief stint as a DECA judge for the state high school DECA competition. I got to role play as the owner of a travel agency. It was awesome and I met a few more people in the world.

- Scientific experiments involving flame, vacuums, and saran wrap. Hmmmm... Okay, so those things were used in multiple experiments, not the same one!

- Cross country skiing

- Lunches with friends

- Lots of visits with longtime friends from high school and mission

- A couple of NCAA games to watch BYU get to the sweet 16

- A couple of lunches with my party group of sisters and nieces who make me happy

- Book Club (and all the reading that goes with that!)

- A visit from my mom for a couple of days

- Filing my taxes (bleh, bleh and double bleh!!!)

- And the list goes on....

But, here I am in the second half of March with my health and my family in tact. We have a job, we have food to eat, and I have way more to be happy about than not. And to top it off, spring officially started today!!!

Finally, I have to send a shout out to all my friends who have been lurking on my blog. Thanks for showing yourselves over the hair comments. It makes me really happy that you are still a part of my life!!!

I dealt with the crisis....

2011-03-06T22:50:00.004-07:00

When I look at my last blog post and realize it was in January, I'm a little shocked. February happened at light speed! So, let's talk about February and my hair. Thanks for all the input on what I should do. In the end, I decided to get it colored and cut a few inches off. The cut and color were both good, but the change wasn't dramatic.

This weekend, I went a little more dramatic. Thanks to a recommendation from my sister Cathy, I partook of a Brazilian Blowout! In a nutshell, it's a keratin coating that's put on your hair to make it healthier, less frizzy, softer, etc. So, yesterday I had it done, and I came home with my hair straighter than it's ever been in its life!

The stylist assures me it didn't get rid of my girls, but it will tame them. In the meantime, she used a flat iron and straightened it out section by section. This time the change was dramatic! Oh, and did I mention the streak of purple??? Just a little dream I've had for some time to go to church with purple hair. I'm still a little too conservative to dye it all purple, but the streak is fun!
The fun part is that I didn't get it cut this weekend. This is the cut I've had; it just looks a whole lot different when it's straight.

I don't intend to ever permanently give up my curls - they are too much a part of who I am, but I have to say that the change has been dang fun! And my hair has never felt so soft. Thanks for the encouragement, Cathy!

Midlife Hair Crisis

2011-01-28T16:48:00.002-07:00

It's been coming for some time, but this week my midlife hair crisis hit me like a ton of bricks. Perhaps it was seeing that picture I posted of me and Dad where you could see how red my hair used to be. Perhaps it was the acquaintance who yesterday leaned over and said, "You have a lot of gray hair." Perhaps it was even the cute, stylish woman at church who had two little pink extensions clipped into her adorable blonde bob. I don't know all the reasons behind it, but I know it's real.

So, what does a woman do, but turn to her friends. She turns to her sisters, her nieces, her vast readership of blog followers [even lurkers like you, Emmalee (wink, wink)]. I am taking suggestions for what to do.

Do I let it grow longer? Do I cut it shorter? Do I leave it the same and continue to appreciate my 'instant' hair straight out of the shower that many women envy? Do I go more blonde? Do I dye it purple just because I can? Do I go darker with more highlights? The options are endless, right?

Truth is, when I think of the women who read this blog, I have way more faith in your fashion sense than in my own. Please help me! And for you couple of men who read along for fun, I'm definitely open to a male opinion as well.

I can handle it. Be honest. After all, the acquaintance already broke the news about the gray. Daniel has already suggested letting the gray roots grow out longer, then dyeing just the roots dark so it would have black and blonde striped look. I can take it. Let me have it.

I have an appointment scheduled with my hairdresser next Thursday. I'll be taking any and all suggestions until then. In advance, I thank you from the bottom of my follicles.

A Stunning Display

2011-01-19T07:00:00.003-07:00

For those of you who are local, I'd like to make a strong recommendation to attend the Carl Bloch exhibit that is currently being shown at the BYU Museum of Art. It will be on display until May of 2011. We finally made it there this past weekend.

Carl Bloch was a Danish artist who was particularly known for his religious paintings. His works include multiple altarpieces for cathedrals in Europe as well as a large collection of paintings done for a palace in Denmark. Many of his works have been used by the LDS church in publications in which they would like to depict scenes from the Savior's life. You may be surprised by how many of them you've seen before.

I knew he did fine work. I'd seen pictures of some of his paintings. Even as you enter the museum, they have a large banner outside showing his painting of "doubting" Thomas with Christ after His resurrection. It's beautiful, but nothing compares to the actual works on display. The actual painting of Thomas and the Savior is one of the first works you see, and I still can't find the right words to describe it. It was stunning. It was spectacular.

I will never cease to be amazed at how paint can be laid down in layers to create such vibrant colors, such feelings, and such detail. I am equally amazed at how people have been able to preserve such works for the rest of us to see.

It was so fun to take Cheyenne and watch her be moved by the work as well. As she walked through the gallery and recognized stories from the Savior's life, she would comment on what each one was. It as a thrill on so many levels.

Information about the exhibit can be found here. It is free, but you do need to print a ticket to get in.

When you are done with that exhibit, I recommend going downstairs for the landscape exhibit and the electronic arts exhibit. We were thoroughly entertained in the electronics one! Read all about it here.

A Day in my WildeLife

2011-01-17T22:46:00.005-07:00

Among the many things I did today was read a blog about a woman who is fascinated with reading the "Mormon Mommy Blogs," despite the fact that she considers herself a "young, feminist atheist." Between the blog itself and the hundreds of comments, there were several comments about these blogs and how they couldn't possibly be real. They said that most of the blogs portray young mothers dressed in the height of fashion with home interiors that look like catalogs. They said that the moms show their lives as perfect with perfect children.

So, in the spirit of my own blog, I'd like to say that I am a Mormon mother. And for posterity's sake, I'd like to document my day today to show what it's really like. I did get dressed today, but I wore blue jeans with what I'm sure is way too high of a waistline. My hair has been completely unmanageable. My house has been a cluttered mess for days. I've never had an interior that looked like a catalog, but my already frumpy interior has been covered with papers, stuffed animals, tea set dishes, text books, etc. I will add that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so the kids did not have school, but my husband did have to go to work.

My day:

Up early to make lunch for husband
Sneak a quick nap to get warm before the kids get up
Breakfast and clean up with the kids
Help change sheets
Help Daniel make bread for the piano teacher as a thank you for some special help
Laundry
Take son to the eye doctor to try to pick out new glasses since his are 3 or 4 years old
Pick up friends on the way home so son can finish French project
Fix lunch and clean up
Clean up dog poop off the stairs that got there from son's shoes
Help daughter call 6 or 7 friends trying to find someone to play with
Clean up blood and a tiny mouse leg that were stuck to the floor from some event with the cat
Take son to the doctor for a check up
Tutor a teenage girl in Geometry
Fix dinner for the family and clean up
Clean up house for neighbors to come over
Laundry
Help Dale teach neighbors how to make ancient bread while entertaining the younger set
Clean up bread mess
Get kids ready for bed
Do some paperwork with husband
Return call to old friend
Blog

That's just a list of the big things I did. I didn't include the whining, crying, hugging, arguing, explaining, loving, etc. That just all gets mixed in. It didn't include the reading in brief intervals, thinking, praying, hoping, wishing, etc. That gets mixed in too. I guess I'm just saying that you can be picture perfect sometimes and that's awesome. You can have a normal day sometimes and that's awesome too. You can even have bad days. But in the end, it's all okay, and it's good to be happy doing what I'm doing.

And so it goes.....

17 Years Ago....

2011-01-12T22:13:00.005-07:00

Cathy called me today while I was out running errands. She reminded me that 17 years ago today, our dad passed away. Wow, how embarrassing that she had to 'remind' me. I think aboutDad all the time, and especially in January, but the exact day had slipped by me.

Ever since that phone call, I've been thinking a lot about Dad and about the last 17 years. I remember the day so clearly. I was in the middle of a 3 day long training session that week. Dad was in the hospital. On my way to class that morning, I had a fleeting thought about how sad I'd be if he died. Because I was involved in a class, no one could reach me by phone when the call came. So, Colleen tracked me down and came to the class to tell me. I can still see her there in the hallway. I remember what I was wearing. I was so sad.

Dad had been sick for so long, and he always pulled out of it. Every time I prepared myself for him to die, he didn't. I wasn't that prepared this time. Even so, I was quick to remember something Dad said to me once. He reminded me that no matter what happened, he and I had said all the important things between us. We knew we loved each other. He was right that we'd said it all before, but I missed him.

I've missed him a lot over the last 17 years. He did get to see pictures of my new house that I'd moved into just two months before he died. He did get to meet Dale whom I'd married 3 years before. Unfortunately, he isn't here to see that I'm still living in that "new" house. He's never met my kids. Well, actually, I have wondered if maybe he did meet Daniel. I've speculated that he was in heaven with Daniel before he was born. He probably talked Daniel's ear off. When Daniel reached his limit, he decided to just jump and be born 2 1/2 months early!

Honestly, I think he and Daniel would have had tons to talk about. Dad would have loved Daniel's mind and sense of humor. He would have been as smitten by Cheyenne's little hugs as everyone else is.

I often think of all the technological advances since Dad died. He was an "early adopter" before there was a word for such a thing. That's why he had a Beta system and a couple different laser disk players. I have no doubt that he would be rocking an iPhone and a first generation iPad. When I was little we had a big console stereo in our living room, and he would lay on the floor with giant headphones on while he listened to music (probably a rockin' Roger Miller LP). He would definitely be enjoying an iPod or two with cute little earbuds.

One of the things I thought about today was how different my life is from 17 years ago. I honestly feel like a different person living an entirely different life from then. I know that's not really true because I have some core values and personality traits that haven't changed at all, but my circumstances have changed a ton!!! I could never have foreseen the opportunities, the challenges, the bizarre things, the wonderful things, the births, the deaths, etc. that have made up the last 17 years. Maybe it's good I couldn't have seen them or I may not have done them.

But what struck me about this thought process is that I couldn't have foreseen it all, but I did it anyway (or am doing it), one step at a time. Back then, I could never have understood my life now. I could never have predicted that I'd understand what I do or that I'd survive the things I have with the perspective I have. It makes me hopeful about the future. Maybe it's okay that I can't imagine what it will be like to be elderly. Maybe it's okay that I don't know exactly what heaven will be like. Someday it will make sense, and it will all work out. That's hopeful to me.

I'm still sad my dad isn't here to share much of my life with me - we would have had some great times - but I'm pretty convinced he is very aware of what happens with me and my family. I believe he still watches me and shares in my emotions like any father would. Someday we'll have a good laugh about it all - that is, when I can look back on it and laugh.

The day of Dad's funeral, my sister Colleen was called home because her two-year old son had been hospitalized with a terrible illness. About 24 hours after that, my pregnant sister Cathy was forced to head home in a pickup because her other children had been caught in the Northridge earthquake in southern California. I was left alone in Colorado to attend Dad's burial which had been delayed by the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Overall, it was a pretty rotten week.

When we came home, we had a New Year's Eve party and started the year over in the middle of January. Considering this was 17 years ago this week, I might just raise a glass again to Dad and wish us all a happy, prosperous, amazing new year. May it bring another 12 months of things we can wonder about this time next year. And may it bring me lots more memories of my dad and the joy I have in being his daughter. Love you, Dad!!!

What I learned this week...

2010-12-11T00:22:00.002-07:00

We determined as a family this week that my husband is a borderline AFOL with horophile tendencies. Please help me if you can!

One of my favorite things..

2010-12-03T18:56:00.004-07:00

I'm a little late getting this post up, but I just learned about it last night. Last year, we went to this really great live nativity. We were so hoping they would do it again this year. Just yesterday, I finally found information about it, and it's this weekend. They'll do it tonight (Friday), tomorrow, and Monday.

It's in Alpine. You drive to a church parking lot, then they shuttle you to the beginning of the path to the nativity. You'll see Roman soldiers on horseback, you'll get to walk through the streets of Bethlehem complete with vendors and lots of animals (including camels). Then you'll see the live nativity itself. It's free of charge though they do have collection jars for donations that go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

We went last year, and it was truly moving. It was an awesome way to welcome in the Christmas season. And my kids loved it!

If you are in the area and have the chance to go, I recommend it! You can find a few more details here.

Merry Christmas!

Why I have a bruise on my knee...

2010-11-28T22:16:00.003-07:00

Why do I have a bruise? Because I was hit in the knee by a 12 pound flying projectile in the form of a frozen turkey! How did that happen, you may ask. While turkey bowling in our basement, of course! And why was I turkey bowling in my basement? For a contest, of course!

The Simply Mac stores are having a contest - a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt to be exact. They are awarding a $500 in-store credit, and you receive entries for the contest by submitting various Thanksgiving-themed photos. You can read all about it here.

They frequently have good contests, so it may be worth your time to check out their blog occasionally. Until then, you can just enjoy the photos of me when I was bowling followed by me when Daniel was bowling! Maybe tomorrow I'll post the bruise!

There's a hole in my blog

2010-11-28T22:05:00.002-07:00

Wow, it's amazing how quickly life can happen with no blog entry to document that it happened! I was shocked to see tonight how long it's been since I last blogged. Arghh! I may try to throw in some back blogging, but I'll for sure try to move forward. I've been tagged by my sister, so I'll need to add that entry. I've had some fun and some stressful times too. I'll have to throw in a few of those entries too. Several of my friends/family blogged a lot in November as they recorded all the things for which they are thankful. Maybe December will be my month. We'll see, right?

For now, trust that my life has been going on, there's just a big hole in my written documentation of that life.

My Old Birthday

2010-10-03T20:37:00.004-06:00

Hello, everyone, look at your birthday, now back at mine, now back at yours, now back to mine. Sadly, your birthday isn’t mine, but if it were and you switched to a Conference weekend birthday like mine, you could enjoy an awesome breakfast of a beautiful parfait and sourdough pancakes. Look down, back up, where am I? I'm on a boat on Utah Lake with tunes playing on an ipod while Cheyenne drove (thanks Allen and Noreen) with my family and my neighbors that smell like Utah Lake. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s cupcakes at Cathy's and ice cream at home. Look again, you're eating those treats with your sisters, nieces, nephew, and family. Look again, the cake has turned into a cute new generation ipod Nano. Anything is possible when your man makes the day special. I’m on a couch.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes, all the fun (really, how often have I gotten to ride on a boat on a hot day for my October birthday??), and all the fabulous food!!! I was struggling a bit with this midlife birthday but you made it an awesome one. And so the birth season continues into this next week. Anything is possible!!

What I did tonight

2010-09-20T22:42:00.005-06:00

What a fun date with my daughter - a small concert with David Archuleta (her first love)!

Shock and awe when we told her. Anticipation. Giddiness. Satisfaction that he was so nice. Giddiness. Happy dreams when she came home and went to bed. All kinds of joy when telling all her friends tomorrow!

*Thanks to my friend Bil for an amazing favor for my daughter!!

It finally happened

2010-08-26T09:08:00.003-06:00

Have you ever had something happen that you've long feared or worried about? Well, I have. It happened yesterday, and I survived.

As many of you may know, I've always feared earwigs. I didn't like them as a little girl, then I saw "The Wrath of Khan" and it sealed the deal. (Note: I know that bug probably wasn't really a giant earwig, but it sure seemed that way! And I've always been afraid of them crawling in my ear. Why else would they call them EAR wigs?????)

Anyway, every time I do vegetables from the garden, I am on high earwig alert. Somehow today I was distracted by the chard. Next thing you know, I felt a pinch on my hand. When I looked, there was the offending earwig securely attached to my palm. They really do pinch and hang on!!!!! Knowing I had to exert some self-discipline so as not to encourage phobias in my sensitive children, I contained all screaming in my head. I did shake my hand a little freakishly, though, till I got him to release. Then I killed him!

After calling Dale for some adult sympathy, I finished the vegetables and knew I was just a little stronger than I thought I was before. (And the truth is that it really didn't hurt that bad or for that long. Just so you know.)

If any of you have had a similar "I've always feared..." experience, please feel free to share it here, or at least call me for heartfelt sympathy!!!

If You Give your Son a Job....

2010-07-05T23:08:00.003-06:00

If you give your son a job to sweep the sunroom...

You might feel the need to check on him.

If you go in the sunroom yourself to do the checking...

You might notice that the plants need watering.

If you water the plants and the water all overflows due to rootbound plants...

You might think you should repot the shamrocks.

If you get out the stuff to repot the shamrocks...

You might decide that you might as well repot every single plant in the sunroom (even the gigantic ones!)

If you finish hours later with all the newly potted plants...

You might think you need to clean up the mess.

If you use rags and towels to clean up the mess...

You might decide you should throw a load of rags into the washer.

If you put the rags in the washer...

You might realize how dirty the washer is and start wiping it off (with a rag you want to add to the load.)

If you wash off the washing machine...

You might start wiping off the dryer.

If you wipe it in the right place...

You might see that there is cat pee down the side of it.

If you want to wash off the cat pee...

You might decide you have to pull out the washer and dryer and clean the floor under them while you're at it.

If you pull out the dryer far enough...

You might discover a dead - and decaying - mouse under the dryer.

If you don't gag while cleaning it up...

You might realize you were right that the laundry room has been particularly stinky lately.

If you realize the real source of the house stink...

You might now know the source was not just your stinky teenage son.

If you remember you have a stinky teenage son...

You might just give him a job to sweep.........

Happy 5th of July!!!

Our Favorite Chocolate

2010-06-08T13:03:00.006-06:00

(blog hijacking in progress)

Our journey to the dark side (of chocolate) is complete. Way complete. And Amano Artisan Chocolate is Cheryl's and my favorite. Amano is sponsoring a couple of contests wherein the winners receive a year's supply of chocolate. I'd rather have that than an iPad - that's how much I like it. In the Guess the Origin Contest you attempt to guess the country of origin of the cocoa beans that Amano used to make their newest chocolate. In the other contest called, "Promote Amano's Guess the Origin Contest", you just have to blog about the Guess the Origin Contest and fill out an online form. That's what I'm doing and I'm doing it with Cheryl's blog because I don't have one of my own. She'll understand. -- Dale out.

I'm a little sore today

2010-04-18T19:09:00.005-06:00

I'm a little sore today from exercising muscles that don't normally get exercised. Thanks to my friend Marsha for introducing me to another fun experience in my life! She is an avid golfer. For years she's said I should learn. I've never had a burning desire to be a killer golfer, but I have often wanted to try for the sake of having the experience - that's what I'm all about, right?

So, to the driving range we went. I have a newfound respect for golfers. It's hard! I somehow had this image that it was a rather leisurely sport. But for a novice like me, there were an awful lot of things to think about:

Which club am I using? Are my feet in the right place? How straight is my arm? Is my elbow too close to my body? Did I follow through?

And who knew about all the science behind the shape and length of the clubs!

Clearly I have some practicing to do before we really hit the course, but I am beginning to see the attraction. I get how enjoyable it could be to walk around outside in the sunshine, enjoying the views and chatting with your friends. I'll see if I can learn to hit the ball well enough to at least give it a try. I'll put my muscles on notice!

Completely Plagiarized Blog

2010-03-18T07:18:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week, I got to go on a road trip with my cute niece Jessica to visit my mom in southern Utah as well as do a little business. As is common, I forgot my camera. That was sad 'cause she brought along one very, very cute baby! And, I did a rare craft project then had no way to show it off. Fortunately, Jessica had hers. When she posted her cute blog entry, there was no question about whether or not I should just cut and paste it. Hope you don't mind, Jessica! (Besides, isn't copying a form of flattery???)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A trip to see G & G Witzke....

This week, James, and I ventured down to Southern Utah to visit his great grandparents in their new Casa.

We went on a little shopping spree for a few decorating odds and ends. James probably thinks his second home is the Home Depot. He has spent more time there than in his nursery:) We took a little Applebee's break to get refueled before we braved the feisty crafters at Robert's.

We decided to do a little DIY project for a blank wall in her sewing room. This was the inspiration for our artwork.

We applied scrapbook paper (.60 cents) to craft board ($4 each) with a little Mod Podge.

Cost: about $20.00!

Voila, the finished product.

(P.S. Thanks for teaching me to Mod Podge Aunt Cheryl..you have fulfilled a dream of mine;)

James decked out in a teddy bear ensemble my grandparents gave him.

It was so good to see you Grandma and Grandpa Witzke, we love your new pad! Love you lots!

XOXO,

Jessica and James.

Mature Young Men

2010-03-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

I saw an interesting demonstration today on how young men develop. It was a function of our Sacrament meeting at church today.

[Allow me to interrupt for a moment and provide some quick lessons on LDS meetings and practices for my blog readers who are not familiar with them. #1 The Sacrament is administered by teenage young men. The 14/15 year olds prepare it before church, the 16-18 year olds administer the prayers to bless the bread and water, and the 12/13 year olds pass it to the congregation. #2 In lieu of a preacher who delivers a sermon each week, the speakers for each Sunday meeting are members of the congregation. #3 Many young men choose to serve a volunteer mission for the church at the age of 19. They serve in some location away from home and family for a total of 2 years which means they return at the age of 21.]

We had an unusually large congregation at church today. One of the speakers was a young man who's leaving this week to serve a Spanish-speaking mission in Portland. Another speaker was a young man who just returned this last week from a mission in California. They both had a ton of family and friends in attendance. The number of people attending was 1 1/2 to 2 times what we normally see.

It was interesting to sit back and watch the young 12/13 year old boys passing the sacrament. They were clearly facing an unusual situation. They handled it beautifully. There were no adults telling them what to do, they were well prepared, and they managed the large crowds very well. I couldn't help but think how neat it was to see these boys showing leadership and maturity when so often we simply don't expect that kind of maturity from 12 year olds.

The first speaker today was a 15 year old boy who spoke about the importance to each of us to read and study the scriptures. He did an impressive job at public speaking (before a large crowd), and he had solid, interesting information to present. Again, it's not exactly what the rest of the world sees in 15 year olds.

The next speaker was the 19 year old leaving on a mission. He was a little awkward at times, but he was very sincere. He joked a little with his friends who were there to support him. He taught some doctrine by making a reference to a scene from the movie 'Avatar.' But he spoke of his excitement to go help other people for the next 2 years. What an awesome commitment from a 19 year old. I know that's not what many boys his age are thinking of.

The final speaker was the 21 year old young man who just returned from a mission. He was articulate and he spoke with conviction. With all due respect to the 19 year old who had just spoken, he showed how much growth he had experienced in the last 2 years. And he still had all his friends there waiting to welcome him home. They hadn't all gone off and left him while he was gone. He was happy he'd gone and happy to be home.

Essentially, in one hour's time, I was able to see the life cycle of an LDS teenage boy. It was so fun to see. There was a huge difference between the 12 year olds and the 21 year old. And you could see the landmarks with each boy of a different age. But each age group had their strengths, and they showed how much young people are capable of if we just believe in them and give them a chance. When we expect that they can take on responsibilities and that they can be leaders, they respond to that. I see it in those I don't know as well, and I see it in my own son. And yet, they all bring their own age-appropriate awkwardness, quirkiness, and fun to what they are doing as well. It was good to see it all around.

Thanks, boys, for showing me such an awesome display today!

This year's wedding cake

2010-03-14T23:08:00.004-06:00

Again, my blog is the site for showing the most recent wedding cake. This one was a fairly simple one with fondant and ribbon. It was for another daughter of Dale's old boss. Her floral designer did the flowers for the top. You may or may not be able to catch it in these pictures, but the flowers had peacock feathers tucked in there. The flowers were really pretty.

In addition to the wedding cake, they asked me to make a groom's cake - a silver cake with the Detroit Lions logo on it. Here was the use for the edible spray paint referred to a few blogs ago! So, here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Another Informative Week

2010-03-10T21:52:00.004-07:00

Oh, how I love weeks in which I learn new things! It happens most weeks, but sometimes it's more fun than others to record what I learned.

1. Snowboarding is not a sport I should take up at this advanced stage of my life.

2. If you feed ants Cream of Wheat cereal, they will eat it, go back to their hill, and then they'll blow up! (This came first from one of Daniel's classmates and was 'confirmed' by several internet users so I'm sure it's true.)

3. There is no bureaucracy quite like the Federal Government. Common sense is not allowed within government entities.

4. Even if the weather outside looks like this:

It is still really smart to wear sunscreen. (This picture doesn't really do it justice, you can get the idea if you look at my hairline!)

5. Chuck Norris turned 70 years old today!! Does he look 70 to you??? He doesn't to me. And who knew he could be the source of so many jokes!

The Family Historian

2010-02-18T22:47:00.002-07:00

I read my friend's blog today in which she expressed a debate about whether or not she should include something in her blog. She said that ultimately the family historian in her won out, and she decided to include it. There are no similarities in our stories, but I liked the sentiment. The family historian in me decided I should share.

My entrepreneurial son has continued to operate his Saturdough business, though he does it just once a month during the school year. This week he decided to offer a half wheat/half white sandwich bread. He independently sent out an email out and set up his website. Hours later, I read it. It was quintessential Daniel, if not entirely politically correct. But it made me laugh. I'm glad I have Daniel to make me laugh. And so, for posterity's sake, here's his description of this week's bread. I hope it makes you laugh.

Half-rican American (Integrated) Sandwich Bread.

After a civil war which left the counter barren and covered in dust, and after Martin Luther Yeast Jr. made his historic speech, the white flour and the wheat flour have decided to join together in this loaf of sandwich bread. Just for you. Don't you feel special now?

Food graffiti

2010-02-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can buy edible "spray paint" in multiple colors? I guess I'd seen 'air brushed' cakes in grocery store bakeries, but I didn't realize you could just buy an aerosol can of food coloring. I bought some this week. Daniel saw it and said, "Cool! We can vandalize our food now!" I can't wait to display some things we create soon!

This is my life...

2010-02-03T23:05:00.002-07:00

A snapshot in time of my last 48 hours:

Prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for family
Joined my sister-in-law to hear Leigh Ann Tuohy give a speech at UVU (She's the mother portrayed in the movie The Blind Side after she took in a homeless youth who became an NFL star.)
Hit a cardboard form tube of roughly 24" x 36" doing 70 mph on the interstate - very frightening
Tutored math from 4th grade skills to Algebra II
Attended horseback riding lessons
Read a book club book
Emailed back and forth with water users in rural Utah
Planned details of a wedding cake I'm doing in 3 weeks
Did a standing long jump with 9 year old Cub Scouts
Planned a fun ski day with my sisters and nieces
Took some ice cream to a friend for her birthday, but was met in the driveway by her husband with a gun - he was searching for a possible intruder

There were lots of other small things to fill in the gaps, but I do love the diversity of my life......

This one takes the cake!

2010-01-28T22:33:00.003-07:00

Conversation with Daniel upon returning home from school recently:

Daniel: I don't know why, but I suddenly have this strong desire to make a cake.

Cheryl: Whatever. As your mom, I'm never going to tell you 'no' to making a cake. You figure it out.

An hour or so later he was busily making a yellow cake from scratch while I was tutoring math. "Keep up the good work, son."

Next time I checked, he was in the middle of a masterpiece. It's always grandiose with Daniel - there's not much middle ground. So, here is the final product. And it tasted as good as it looked. As a cake-baking mother I am beaming with pride! As the baker, Daniel says he already knows how to improve it, and he'll be trying again soon. Can't wait!

Have you ever wanted to go to Kanosh? Yes!!

2010-01-27T05:00:00.001-07:00

We recently went to my mom's to help her move into her new house (Hooray!). On our way home, traveling north on I-15, Dale said, "Have you ever wanted to just get off the interstate and go see what Kanosh is like?" I replied, "Yes! I think about it every time we drive up and down this same route." I added that I've always wanted to take the Lamb's Canyon exit on the way to Parley's Summit. The point is that we drive the same route over and over, but we rarely get off that route to see what else is out there. With that conversation as the impetus, we've decided to "go see Kanosh" and other places like it throughout this year.

As luck would have it, the next weekend was a three day weekend and the perfect opportunity to begin our quest. So, on a snowy Monday morning, we loaded up the kids and headed west!

The plan was to start our day at Lehi Bakery (home of the legendary square donuts). Obviously we did not know that Lehi Bakery is closed every Monday!

That's okay, Smith's in Saratoga Springs sells donut holes - crisis averted!

The drive took us past Eagle Mountain to Cedar Fort and Fairfield (cool old school building).

Through Faust and on to Vernon. Dale remembered stopping at small convenience store/diner 25 years ago on the way to fight a forest fire. Wow, it's still there!

What a great place -- convenience store snacks and everything to field dress a deer all in one place. But that's not all, there's still a diner there too.

Sadly, we're still full from the donut holes! The nice ladies there let Cheyenne pet the search and rescue dogs, and they direct us to a nearby quarry to collect Vernon wonder stones. The kids loved it.

Next we toured the big towns of Eureka, Genola, and Goshen as we we approached our lunch destination of Santaquin. We'd heard good things about the scones at The Family Tree restaurant. Good things - but we were not aware the scones are about 18" long and 4-5" wide. We'd go again, but we'd probably order half as much food.

For a half day tour, a good time was had by all, and small town Utah is a little less mysterious. We can't wait for our next excursion -- we welcome recommendations!

2010 Already

2010-01-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the comments on that last post. It was a pretty full year. Now, here we are in 2010, and it's already held a lot.

The year began with some new things and there are plenty more to come.

New Jobs!

Dale started a new job on the first Monday of the year. He's now working for LanDesk in South Jordan. He's excited for the job as he hopes to be able to work with user interface issues which he really enjoys. He's working with some people he's worked with before (that happens a lot in this industry) and he has a nice window by his desk! It's been a bummer of a change to give up the excitement, diversity, and flexibility of the Noah's job (aka the dream job), but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. At least it wasn't for a lack of hard work, loyalty, and dedication on his part. Thanks, Dale, for all you did there, for taking the chance and enjoying it. And thanks for going out and being a valuable enough asset to be snatched up quickly for a new job. Your wife and family appreciate it tons!!!

Cheryl also started a new job. As if I weren't busy enough, I agreed to take a small part time job with good friend Syd. In addition to her real job running a business doing Public Information work for major construction projects, she uses her engineering skills to run a non-profit organization to help rural water users in Utah. I'll be helping her do some work to administer grant money she has gotten for the users. I've been involved for about two weeks now, and I already know more about rural water issues than any stay at home mom ever should. I've also participated in enough meetings to know that the Federal Government has issues. If you want an earful just ask me about my meeting last week. It was excruciatingly painful, and there was a running soundtrack in my head saying, "And you want to run health care?????" Arghh! But I digress. I don't plan to spend a ton of time, but it'll be fun to get out a little bit and awesome to work with my good friend Syd!

New House

After a couple of years of working on it, my mom has finally moved into a new house. Thanks to my sister and her husband and their investment, my mom can finally live in a bigger, safer, more comfortable place. Thanks, Cathy, for enduring the process and taking such good care of her. We all had our chance to go down and help move her in. I hope it brings years and years of comfort and joy.

Sad News

The new year has already brought sad news. Those of you who've read my blog for a while will remember me writing about my friend with the brain tumor. After a diagnosis of a second tumor in November of 2009, my friend Evan passed away on January 16, 2010. He was mere 41 years old. I am so happy for him to be able to be free from the bonds of his imperfect body. And I'm equally sad for his sweet wife and children who will miss him terribly. At times like this I am so grateful to know we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and will provide comfort and peace in even the most inexplicable situations. I know He has already done so for this young family. I'm also grateful to know that none of us was sent here to do it alone. I love the acts of kindness I've seen in the last week. I live in an amazing place with awesome neighbors.

Looking Ahead

Of course, I can't accurately predict the future. I've never been good at that, but there are a few things that I'm fairly certain really will happen this year. Daniel will start tenth grade at the high school!!! I'm a little freaked out by that. I'm similarly -- no, more freaked out by the idea of him getting his learner's permit for driving. I'm so afraid he won't notice that there are other people on the road with him.

I'm sure we'll travel somewhere, but it may just be to another small town or two in Utah. I hear Koosharem is beautiful! If I'm really lucky, I'll keep working on my 50 state goal. And for those who are wondering, the six that are left are: Delaware (somehow I missed it while hitting the rest of the east coast), Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the ever-elusive Hawaii. Wish me well.

2009 in Review

2010-01-24T20:46:00.003-07:00

It's nearly the end of January, 2010. I'm pretty sure I've just blinked since the end of 2009. Can time really be passing that quickly????? I remember as a kid calculating how old I would be at the turn of the century. I would be 35! That seemed absolutely ancient. Is it even possible that it's now ten years beyond that mark, and I'll be 45 this year? Say it isn't so!

So, since my brain cells are now dying at a more rapid rate, I feel the need to do a brief recap of 2009, for myself and my posterity! You can read along if you'd like as I make a short record of what turned out to be a banner year.

I got in some serious entertainment: We went sledding at my sister's cabin, I went cross country skiing all over the Wasatch Front, and I hiked to the 'Y' in Provo with my kids. I saw my kids perform in music performances, band performances, and horseback riding. I saw plays (including 'Wicked' in San Francisco), movies, and improv comedians (one of my new favorite entertainment forms).

I spent some awesome time with family: We had fun times at Colleen's cabin. We had Easter in Beaver Dam with Dale's mom. We had multiple extended visits from my cousin Mike and his family. We had the first annual Non-funeral, Non-wedding, Female Family Reunion with all the women on my dad's side of the family. We spent a week in Alaska with Angie and family. We celebrated the 24th of July in Kamas with sisters and friends at a barbecue and the demolition derby. We celebrated the births of babies to my my nieces Meagan and Jessica. We saw Mom and Lucky every couple of months for some family event or another. We spent Thanksgiving in Vernal with Wendy. We had another Wilde Christmas party where LuDean was the queen of all Wallyball at age 74! We got invited to Cathy's annual fondue dinner (wow!). And we ended the year with my nephew Dallin's wedding. In the course of the year I saw nearly every relative I have. That's awesome!

I had a healthy dose of good, clean, Wilde family fun: We got way too much enjoyment from the "evil" doll and her varied appearances. (Can't wait to see what this year brings.) We blew up a chocolate bunny and a cake with firecrackers. We loved Daniel's fireworks spectacular. We used our microscope. We tested the flammability of snack foods. I enjoyed inventions ranging from a go-cart made from a handtruck to swords made from pool noodles and duct tape. My life is awesome that way!

Parties were had: We had our second annual Harvest celebration with bread galore! I celebrated my 44th at Noah's with friends as we pretended we weren't in our 40's, and we jammed on Rock Band (I was really bad at it, but I enjoyed the company). Cheyenne had a Lady and the Tramp party for her 10th. The whole family partied it up at the Harry Potter Halloween party (a potential repeat event awaits us in 2010).

I hit numbers 43 and 44 in my quest to visit the 50 states: Our family visited Alaska (#43) in July for the trip of a lifetime. Dale and I visited Texas (#44) for the BYU-Oklahoma football season opener (super fun). Just 6 more to go!

California made some money off us: Our family took an awesome trip to Disneyland in February how I wish we could do it again right about now! Dale and Daniel spent a week on Catalina Island in June at a super fun scout camp. Cheryl spent 3 days in San Francisco in November enjoying the city, the food, her friend's company, and the play "Wicked."

Daniel made some money: Daniel started and ran a successful bread-baking business now known as Saturdough. We look forward to a successful year two of business.

2009 held a lot. Here's looking to 2010 for more travel, more fun, more bread, more friends, more family, more blogging!!

I am a binge blogger

2010-01-24T20:35:00.002-07:00

I've decided I am a binge blogger. It seems that I go for days or weeks just busily living my life, then all of the sudden I realize I haven't blogged in a very long time and I set out to catch up. I'm feeling a bit like that right now. My head is full of all the unwritten blogs, the experiences I want to share, and the memories I want to record in some small way. I hope I can do them all justice over the next few days.

I thank the rest of you who are much more consistent bloggers for keeping me updated regularly. I enjoy knowing what's up with my family and friends. You inspire me, you make me smile, you help me stay in touch. Thanks!

And, finally, for this brief blog entry, let me share a thought that was shared with me today. I was introduced to a website called despair.com. Their business is to sell demotivational products. They saw a market for anti-motivational posters, and they jumped on it. Some of them were kind of harsh, but several of them really made me laugh. But one of them said this:

Blogging: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few

It made me laugh, but fortunately, I don't quite feel that way. I just wanted to share it in case it made you laugh too! I'll be seeing you soon in my little corner of the blogosphere.

A great Daniel-ism

2009-12-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

As we ate some ice cream with the new ice cream spoons Daniel gave me for Christmas (you know, the long, skinny teaspoons), he said, "The best gifts are the kind that you get to benefit from too. Hey, I should be a philosopher!"

Something about that whole train of thought just made me laugh!

"Our New Hygiene Tool"

2009-12-28T23:28:00.002-07:00

There are so many things that I used to just keep to myself rather than embarrassing myself, but somehow it's a little bit fun to show my real family on my blog. Maybe it's because I appreciate it when others let their guard down, and I realize we're all a little off. So, as you read this stuff, I hope you are enjoying it, empathizing with me, or at least smiling rather than just thinking we're totally weird!

So, recently, Dale bought a small black light flashlight. The intention was to use it to find the places where our cat had peed on the carpet. In case you didn't know, a black light will make urine glow. It's a little disturbing to see on your carpet, but at least it makes it easy to find so you can clean it up.

Well, you can imagine that our family couldn't stop there. Black lights are also used to find scorpions in the desert because they glow in the dark. We don't have any scorpions here in the below-freezing high desert, so we had to think a little harder. How 'bout our toilets? Maybe we could see how well the kids clean them. Arghh!!!! I've now threatened to use the light as a check up tool on chore day.

But wait, there's more! Daniel wrote on his hand with an invisible marker which caused us to use the light to read it. While it was out, we discovered that ear wax glows and that a black light makes your teeth look the same color as those fake vampire teeth you get at Halloween. However, if you have crowns, those glow a light purple!! Did you know that???

While we were in the bathroom looking at my crowns, Daniel remarked that the black light must be "our family's new hygiene tool." It made me laugh. We are, indeed, a nerd family!
(And whether or not you're willing to admit it, I bet there are a few readers out there who now want their own black light. Give me a secret phone call or email me, and I'll give you all the info on where to buy the great little flashlight for hours of family fun -- and hygiene!)

Isn't he a doll???

2009-12-16T10:19:00.004-07:00

Perhaps you remember a previous post I did about the very creepy doll that has been making the rounds among us and our friends for the past couple of years. In case you don't, let me give a brief overview.
When Daniel turned 13 on Friday the 13th, his friend gave him a doll that he'd gotten from the thrift store. It was a little creepy on its own, but then he embellished it with a little Friday the 13th makeup. Little did he know until after Daniel had opened it that it also could be plugged in causing the arms to move back and forth (more creepy) and that it played Silent Night. For the past year and a half, that doll has rotated among the three houses of Daniel and his friends. She's made an appearance on doorsteps for birthdays, holidays, etc. Often she brings treats in her moving arms, and she has begun to change clothes on different occasions. Most recently, she donned a cheerleader outfit to wish Ryan a good football game. Nothing will ever quite replace her original costume and makeup, however.

So, we come to this Christmas. We wanted to deliver some treats to our friends, and it seemed only fitting that we should have the doll do the delivering. Ah, but we do not currently have the doll, so what could we do????? Being the resourceful people we are, we decided we could make our own doll. And so it was decided that Daniel would be the doll.

How I wish a blog could capture the moment of joy when the door opened at the first house and they saw Daniel on the porch, complete with a cord coming out of the skirt while the rest of the family hummed Silent Night in the background.

Now, I know that some of you are saying we really need to get a life, but at least one of these families was in great need of a moment of nonsense and out loud laughter. I'm happy we could give it to them. And I'm equally happy that my son did not know how to put mascara on himself when it came time to add that feature. Isn't it great that Christmas can bring out such joys???

But just so you know that I haven't lost it completely, even I think it's a little creepy that I had the stuff that I could make a costume just like the doll's!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

A Week of Feeling

2009-12-06T21:34:00.002-07:00

So, if last week was a week of learning, then it was followed by a big week of feeling. I could write a book about any one of the things I will highlight here, but I'll just mention a few thoughts -- at lease you'll all know I do think sometimes!

1. Some of you may recall an entry from a couple of years ago about my friend who has an inoperable brain tumor. He's endured a lot for the last 2 1/2 years. A few weeks ago, they discovered yet another tumor in his brain stem. It looks like this one, which is also inoperable, will take his life before long. I'm heartbroken. I want so badly to fix something that I have no power to fix. I feel sad, I feel confused about why these kinds of things happen, I feel unsure of what to do to help. At the same time, I feel so hopeful. I'm glad I know there is a God who loves this family. I may not understand the present state of affairs, but I know God loves them. I have to trust that it must be like my kids sometimes don't understand me and my intentions or the big picture, but I unquestionably love them. I've seen such kindnesses shown to this family. I've felt the love so many people have for all of them. I've been deeply touched by people's sincerity. I'm glad I associate with such great people.

2. For local readers, you may have heard the news stories of a retired BYU professor who was killed this week in a terrible auto-pedestrian accident. He was considered an expert on the LDS church's history in Africa. He had lived there for a long time, and visited there frequently. Well, one of his daughters is my neighbor. He's frequently been in our cul-de-sac and at our church meetings - last Sunday included. What a tragic accident this was. I tried going online to read a little more about it from the online news sources. While the stories themselves were simple factual descriptions of what happened, the comment boards were full. Some people simply offered their condolences, but others took the opportunity to say crass things about him and his religion. I had to stop reading. It makes me feel sad that people would take advantage of their anonymity to criticize a man they had not met and a religion they do not agree with. In contrast, I have watched the grace and dignity with which the family has handled the situation. His wife was with him in the crosswalk, along with another friend. All three were hit. His wife's main concern, after his passing, was for the young man who was driving. She and her children went to visit him to offer their forgiveness. I feel motivated to be a lot more like her. I feel like I want to cherish my knowledge of a Savior who loves us and comforts us. I want to use that knowledge to help me be kind.

3. I have felt the Christmas Spirit in a wonderful way. Last night we did a bunch of Christmas-ing. Before dinner, we participated in an AF tradition. We did the annual drive-through visit with Santa. For many years a lifelong resident of the city hosted a Santa visit at her home. After she died several years ago, I understand she left money and some instructions in her will to continue the tradition. Of course, her home was sold, so the event was moved, but it's been in the same place for a while. We drive down the street near our house where we first pass a live nativity scene in a front yard with Christmas music playing over loud speakers. Then we turn into a reception center parking lot where we get our turn to roll down the window and talk to Santa. I liked this particular Santa who reminded my kids to be nice to each other and to do what we ask. Cheyenne confidently asked for a stuffed camel, a Nintendo DS, and two horse movies - after which she told him the movies we already have. She was prepared. I love the sense of community. I love the kindness shown in the woman's wishes before her death. I love the man in the Santa suit who stands outside in the cold to talk to kids through a window!

4. I was moved by the Christmas Spirit. After dinner last night we decided to go see the live nativity in Alpine. We've heard of it before, but this was a first for us. I recommend it. It runs for one more day (through Monday, Dec. 7). You can find a link with information here. We rode a shuttle from a local church, then took a walk through a field to a couple of big barns. Along the way, we ran into Roman soldiers on horseback inquiring about our taxes. In the first barn we strolled through a town marketplace. Instead of just a stuffed camel for Cheyenne, we got to pet real camels. The two-humped varieties had fur that was inches thick. Daniel said you had to be careful not to fall in. We saw sheep, goats, carpenters, weavers, bread bakers, etc. We moved to another barn where we saw a portrayal of the holy family. Even the sweet baby was a live actor. It was a tender moment to watch Cheyenne stare in awe at that baby while a group was singing Silent Night in the loft. It was well done all around, and the spirit of the true meaning of Christmas hung strongly in the air.

As we were leaving, Daniel offered his observations. "It seems like at Halloween there are some pretty elaborate haunted houses. People pay a lot to attend these events. Then Thanksgiving kind of gets skipped and then there are tons of catalogs. It's all been boiled down to blood, gore, and catalogs. I wonder why there aren't more things like this that really show what Christmas is about."

I felt the spirit of love as I listened to my 14 year old son get it. Again I felt a sense of community and gratitude for those who were providing such an awesome experience in 20 degree weather!

5. I felt a whole lot of other things, but this post is already way too long and full of text. I'll have to save a few feelings for another day. Right now I feel gratitude for great friends who read my ramblings and share my journey in experiencing a world of feelings. Thanks!

A Week of Learning

2009-11-30T21:41:00.005-07:00

For someone like me who loves to learn new things, this past week was a treasure trove! It seemed that every day there was some new bit of information making itself available to me. Since I like to think my blog can be a way to share my newfound knowledge, I'm going to share some of the things I learned along with the source from which I gained the information.

1. Potato chips burn well, but still not as well as tortilla chips. However, the funnest flammable snack food we've found so far is Bugles (the chips, not the instruments). If you light the pointed end, they burn, and the smoke comes out in little trails from the big open end. We learned these things by further experimentation in a couple of kitchens this week. We're either fun parents or seriously in need of new hobbies.

2. The Catholic church uses a Bible that includes more books in the Old Testament than the Bible used by other Christian denominations. I found this fact while studying some Biblical references online. I can't believe I reached my 40's without knowing that. It was interesting to read about the books and the variety of Bibles that are considered as official for use by the Vatican and also for use by members.

3. The rule for when to use a hard 'g' vs. a soft 'g' (sounds like a 'j') is that it is a soft sound when g is followed by an e or an i. I learned this from the Electric Company while Cheyenne watched it in the hotel in Vernal. I've always just read the words without realizing that there was a rule telling me which way to pronounce it. You must realize, of course, that there are exceptions like girl, give, etc. But it also explains why there is a 'u' in words like 'guess' so the word has a hard g sound even though there is an 'e' after it. That was way too much information, wasn't it?

4. I learned how to make an olive tree! Not one that grows olives, mind you, just a decorative tree to serve olives at a nice dinner. My niece really added to the beauty of our holiday dinner last week by laboriously making a beautiful fruit bouquet. She also made a fancy vegetable tray, and she taught me to make an olive tree. It was somewhat ironic in that olives are one of approximately three foods I just don't eat. Nonetheless, it was fun to start from scratch and make it look pretty. We used a cone made of floral foam, covered it with kale and lettuce, then placed decorative clumps of olives on it for the masses to take off and eat. Once again, my creativity only seems to come out when food is involved. What does that mean?

5. I like nice people. It's been sad for me to watch lots of different situations this last week in which people have been way less than nice. In extreme situations, people have taken other people's lives. In less extreme situations, sports have gotten out of hand, hateful comments have been lobbed at others who have different beliefs or views, and even family members have said mean and hurtful things to each other. I'm sure I make my share of mistakes on a regular basis, but I at least try to be nice. I've known for a long time that I like it when people are nice, but I re-learned that this week.

6. Cryotherapy is a crazy way to treat muscular ailments! While watching my guilty pleasure of The Amazing Race, I was introduced to cryotherapy as the contestants had to participate in a session in Prague, Czech Republic. The concept is that extremely cold temperatures are used to treat and heal athletes as well as others with different kinds of arthritis and other ailments. People dressed in not much more than underwear, hats, gloves, socks, and masks for their noses, go in a small room for 1-3 minutes with temperatures dropping as low as 180 degrees below zero on the Celsius scale!! For those who don't want to find a calculator, that is about -290 degrees Fahrenheit!!! I didn't believe it was even possible till I read some more about it online. And if it's on network TV and online, how can you argue? Don't expect me to be signing up any time too soon. If you want to see for yourself, go here.

7. I heard a great story that made me think. A mother was trying to get her son to take a bath, something he fought every day. Finally, he said, "Why do I have to take a bath when you never have to?" The mother realized that she always showered early in the morning before he got up. he'd never seen her bathe so he assumed she didn't do it. The point being made was that sometimes our kids don't know what is important to us because they may not see us read out scriptures while they are at school or write a check to a charity when we're paying bills or any number of other things we do out of their sight. It's made me really think about the things I want my kids to know about me and the things I find important.

Truth is, I learned a lot more than that this week, but I've shared the most exciting things. Isn't it great that there is so much to be learned? It's one more reason that I want to get up tomorrow. Who knows what juicy tidbit awaits me! I hope you all learn something new today as well. If you want to share a little tidbit in my comments, I also learned last week that you can subscribe to comments and I'll be emailed when you leave one. Isn't that just one more cool thing? I can't wait to learn from you.

Helpful Camping/Survival Tip

2009-11-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

How many of you knew that chips are flammable? It makes sense that an organic item with tons of oil would be flammable, but I hadn't really pictured a torch. Over dinner we sample torches made of Mission tortilla chips and Sun Chips. They both burned just like a candle. A crunchy Cheeto burned just like a little torch. We suppose a potato chip would be awesome, but we didn't have any of those to try.

So, perhaps we should all store a few more tortilla chips in case we ever need them for kindling.

And when the excitement of the chips wore off, we discovered that you can take a piece of orange peel, squeeze it toward a flame, and little bursts of flames shoot out. I've since read that the main ingredient in the peel, limonene, is highly flammable. Therefore, you can dry the peels, and save them to use as -- you guessed it -- kindling!

This is what I have learned as the mother of a pyromaniac son. It just seemed right that I would share the information.

My new favorite art sculpture

2009-11-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite piece of art. I'm not sure she even has a name. I guess that's how art goes - it's left up to your own interpretation. My interpretation is just that I love it! I love her sense of style. I love her smile. And I love her hair! In my dreams I wish I could be bold enough to wear purple hair. You go, girl!
Cheyenne worked hard in a before-school art class to make this treasure, and it will remain a treasure to me for years to come.

I Won the Lottery!!!

2009-11-18T22:39:00.005-07:00

Okay, so it was the Wicked Lottery, but I won! Actually, we won. My good friend Heather Willoughby recently treated me to a great weekend getaway in San Francisco. She was going to be in the US (she lives in Korea) for a few days, so she invited me to join her to party for a couple of days in San Fran. We had a most perfect day with perfect weather, good food, and tickets to Wicked.

Neither of us had seen it, so we decided to enter the lottery. Fortunately, there were only about 25-30 people who tried that night, so our odds were good. I took this picture outside the theater before the drawing so I could blog that I either saw the Wicked theater or that I saw Wicked. We spent $25 a piece for tickets and ended up with great seats. It was a great show.

So, with the tickets, we got buttons that said "I won the Wicked lottery!" I put mine on to take the picture below, but then I forgot it was on. I managed to parade around some questionable areas of town for an hour or so while wearing my groovy button! It's a wonder we weren't mugged multiple times!
And as an extra bonus prize, we walked into the theater and ran into our good friends Buff and Dean from Salt Lake. We had no idea they were planning to be in the city or at the play. What are the chances we'd meet up in a city that size?? The lottery win for us in that scenario is that Buff had a rental car, and Dean was in meetings all day the next day. She ended up driving us all around town as the rain came pouring down. Another great prize! Among the sites we enjoyed was the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park. Even in the pouring rain it was as beautiful and peaceful as I remember it from years ago. Thanks to all those who care for and groom such an awesome place.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my little break from reality. Heather, thanks for a great time! Buff, thanks for the ride! San Francisco, thanks for the great weather and yummy cupcake treats! And Glinda and Elphaba, thanks for an entertaining, thought-provoking romp!

Halloween dress up

2009-11-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about Halloween is how it brings out people's interests and personalities. This year made some statements, but I'll leave it to the reader to determine what those statements were! It will come as no surprise that Cheyenne really wanted to be a dog. We went with the beagle breed 'cause those are cute and the costume required fewer spots to be sewn on than a dalmation might have! She chose her own name for her tag (Cheydo - rhymes with Fido) and she made Dale lead her on a leash when she went trick or treating. She was a happy dog.

Daniel chose to be Frodo the hobbit from The Lord of the Rings. As you may know, a main characteristic of hobbits is large, very hairy feet. He naturally had the large feet - we just helped with the hairy! It was worth doing 'cause every time I looked at him, I laughed. I felt a little badly dropping him off at school with flip flops on while it was snowing outside, but he didn't care.

(Oh, and I simply must thank McDonalds for creating a Happy Meal toy of the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz. It had the perfect hair that when yanked out could be glued to a teenager's feet!)

Dale and I didn't choose our own outfits, but they were chosen for us. My sweet niece Heather and her husband took on a large project in planning a full blown Hogwarts party for their own kids and the rest of the kids in the neighborhood! We were recruited to be Professor Trelawney (the Divinations teacher) and Professor Snape (the Potions teacher). They tell me I was a natural choice for Professor Trelawney. I think it's simply because I didn't have to buy a wig. I already had the hair. In case you're wondering, Dale needed a wig!

I'm including pics of us in our costumes along with a few others to give you a feel for the whole event. It included Diagon Alley, a ride in the Hogwarts Express (a ride from the backyard to the driveway in the back of a pickup), Sorting (a two way radio under a stool can fool a lot of the children a lot of the time!), Care of Magical Creatures (chasing chickens outside), etc., etc. It was great fun!
Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall (aka Heather and Dave)
Mad Eye Moody and Professor Dumbledore (Heather's neighbor and Dave)

Mr. Ollivander (the wand salesman) and a random Hogwarts student (My sister Cathy and her husband Clark)
Professor Sprout (aka my sister Colleen)

And in the midst of our preparations, I think we found the perfect costume for next year as well. I think Dale will be Cher and I will be Sonny!!!

Wow! That alien planet was powerful, but food brought me back!

2009-11-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have no excuse for not blogging, but I'm trying to come back. You all know me well enough to know that creative food would be one thing that could bring me back from the edge. October always gives me a chance to do creative food with Cheyenne's birthday and Halloween within a week and a half of each other. So, let me share.

"This is the night, such a beautiful night, a lovely bella notte!" In case your memory is failing you right now, that's the song that was played as Lady and the Tramp ate spaghetti at Tony's in the alleyway. Cheyenne really wanted to have a Lady and the Tramp birthday party where she could "eat spaghetti with my mouth" like the dogs did. So, we did! I had 9 cute little girls around a table with their faces in their plates eating spaghetti with meatballs and sauce, and breadsticks. They did really well. After a few games related to the Siamese cats and the rat, they came back to the "restaurant" for spaghetti and meatballs cake. It was a lovely bella notte! And my baby is now 10! Wow.

(In case you are wondering what you're looking at, that picture really is all cake and frosting. Makes you want to twirl some around a fork, though, doesn't it?)

Her birthday is always followed by the Halloween rush. That always means a night of fun food. This year we had a witch theme. We had the witches, the corns from their feet (appearing as candy corn pizza), the witch's cat, and some witch's brew. Thanks to Family Fun for the good ideas. I don't have pictures, but another day we enjoyed french fries in the shape of skeleton and a foamy root beer float in a skeleton cup which makes a great "brain freeze!"

Now we'll just have to see what creative foods make an appearance in November! Stay tuned!!

Perhaps I was abducted by aliens....

2009-08-29T22:44:00.000-06:00

Somehow I woke up today and realized I'm already at the end of August. How in the world did that happen? Maybe it didn't happen in this world???? I've had a great summer, but I do feel a little like I was transported to another planet for much of it. I have been so incredibly busy that I have hardly had time to breathe, let alone to share my breathing with everyone else on Facebook or on my blog. Right now, I'm just grateful that I am still breathing!

So, what was taking all my time, you ask. I'll list a few words and phrases here, then I'll begin a quest to actually blog about a lot of it. We certainly took enough pictures this summer to document it, so I ought to share at least a few. (Imagine me taking a deep breath) Female family reunion, Alaska (hiking, biking, eating, fishing, hiking, biking, eating, playing), family barbecue, demolition derby, reading, visiting with long time friends (that's different than old friends), baking, hosting, watching plays, watching movies, playing games with the kids, swimming, gardening, cake decorating, teaching, cleaning, shopping, not blogging, being.

And so that paragraph is my guide and my trigger to remind me what I need to blog about. Stay tuned!

A little girl and her dad

2009-08-26T22:45:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, Cheyenne excitedly demonstrated her "secret" handshake with her dad. It's a fairly complex series of hand gestures and fist bumps that makes her smile every time they do it. Last night, they did the secret handshake punctuated by a burp at the end. She was giddy. It really never would have occurred to me to bond with her over a burp.

The handshake fest was followed by the tasting of lime juice and the subsequent sour faces.

And who can forget the delightful display of good nature when Dale recently allowed Cheyenne to paint his toenails yellow, including black lines in the big toes to make them look like bees? He kept it on for a whole week, and even wore sandals a couple of times in public.

I love what he does for her and with her 'cause I'd say he boldly goes where I'm not sure I'd go. Thanks, Dad!!!

I love Daniel quotes

2009-07-08T07:44:00.000-06:00

July 7, 2009
Daniel (age 14): "You know what I'm not looking forward to about driving a car? When I get to be old enough, I'll have to drive something someone else designed! I'm going to design and make my own car that'll be just what I imagined."

I felt I should record this for posterity to read someday when they are driving a Lego hovercraft powered by fireworks that comes equipped with an stove and a toaster for making breakfast on demand.

The blender in my brain

2009-07-08T07:02:00.001-06:00

Cheryl says to Dale, "It's 6:15 a.m., I want to sleep more, but I have a kink in my back, a pounding in my head, and a Randy Travis song stuck in my brain." That's how today started.

The kink and the pounding are a direct result of my crazy busy week, and the Randy Travis song was playing at a restaurant where we took the kids to breakfast the other day. That explains those things going on in my head, but there were lots of others as well. Logic tells me that maybe I can remove a little of the stuff swirling around in there if I write about it.

Life is just busy. My dear friend Heather who currently lives in Korea is in town visiting for a little while. It's been so fun to have her around. I've known her for almost 23 years now, and we still haven't run out of things to say! I enjoy great conversations and good laughs. We took her along with us to Kamas for a little barbecue time and the famous Oakley, UT, July 4th parade. It was a slice of Americana for her visit. There's something pretty great about sitting along a parade route with tons of people dressed in red, white, and blue while we watched:
- girls in sparkling jeans and sequined blouses riding horses (I gotta get Cheyenne one of those shirts)
- local businessmen throwing candy and hocking their wares
- cheerleaders riding on the top of the fire engine
- the South Summit High marching band (I especially liked the kid in the wheelchair being pushed along the route by his friend. I liked that they were dressed in denim shorts and matching t-shirts - not black wool dress uniforms as is demanded by some bands. I loved that they weren't perfect - they were a bunch of teenagers doing their best and having fun.)
- the WWII vet riding on the front of the float apparently made by his family to look like a plane to symbolize the one he flew in the war.
- the American flag go by while everyone along the route stood and put their hands on their hearts. I loved that the most.

Prior to the barbecue on the 3rd, though, we enjoyed a lot of great laughs at my sister's pool. Cathy, thanks for sharing your pool even though you weren't there. My favorite was the contest held between Dale and our friend John to see who could put their backside into a small tube and stay seated for the longest time. Oh, but there was also the contest to make the biggest splash. The model pose where Dale laid sideways while leaning his head onto his hand seemed to cause the greatest surface area connection and the greatest splash. Just so you know for your next splash contest.

The day after the fourth brought a great gathering of Dale's family for the blessing of his niece Meagan's baby. It was a beautiful summer day to sit outside under the shade of tree for lunch. After a long, rainy spring, I'm loving the summer days we've recently enjoyed. And I love catching up with all the nieces and nephews in the Hadlock gang.

This week's priority is the weekend's upcoming First Annual Non-Funeral, Non-Wedding, Female Family Reunion. Ever since my grandma died, there hasn't been a matriarch to pull the gang together so we did it ourselves! All the women on my dad's side of the family will be gathering for a great visit. I'll have aunts, mothers, cousins, and sisters there to share a couple of days with. I can't wait to write about it later, but right now the swirling thoughts are of gratitude to Dale (for help with pictures and innumerable preparations along with a willingness to let me go), gratitude for family that we can pull together, anticipation of seeing everyone, exhaustion from making preparations in the midst of making preparations for a bunch of other activities at the same time, excitement about watching family members interact in this beautiful place where we live, etc. etc. I'm sure I'll write much more about it when it's over.

Before that happens, though, we have today's schedule that includes cub scouts, horseback riding lessons, and helping a friend from Colorado make a wedding cake for her nephew who lives here.

I don't mean to simply write a record of the events of my life. I guess I didn't really do that either 'cause I left out a lot. However, I want to try in a couple of sentences or less to capture the essence of what is churning and blending in my brain. Don't attempt to interpret or understand, but if you can relate in some small way, at least you'll know you're not alone.

Gratitude (for family, friends, country, help, beauty), anticipation, anxiety, nervousness, frustration, peace, pressure, desire to do better, wishes for better outcomes, confusion, clarity, exhaustion, excitement, hunger, satisfaction, etc, etc, etc. I guess that's what it's all about. Stay tuned for my next plethora of emotion!

Another moment to record

2009-07-05T20:03:00.000-06:00

Cheyenne: I hate living here! I want to move in with another family! I don't like you guys any more. I'm going to find somewhere else to live!

Mom: We love you very much. We would never want you to leave.

Cheyenne: I'm going to leave. I want to find someplace else. (Imagine this conversation going on for several minutes.)

Cheyenne: (A moment of silence.) But if I go, I won't be able to have Dad's sourdough pancakes. I'm staying here!

Mom and Daughter Conversation

2009-06-19T23:03:00.000-06:00

Cheyenne: Let's go to that place and get eel! That's what I want for dinner -- eel!
(At the restaurant)
Mom: So, if I were going to take you out to dinner and I let you choose pizza or sushi, what would you choose?
Cheyenne (while shoving a large bite of raw salmon in her mouth): SUSHI!
(pause)
Cheyenne: I would order this same thing over and over again. It would be like a unicycle!
(Puzzled look on Mom's face)
Cheyenne (while drawing a circle with her hand): You know -- like a caterpillar goes to a cocoon then a butterfly!
Mom: Oh, that would be a life cycle.
Cheyenne: Uh huh.

The whole conversation made me smile, and it clearly needed to be recorded. Love that girl!

Mid-life Finances

2009-06-15T23:24:00.000-06:00

This week has been an interesting week in my shopping life as I wrestled with lots of decisions about updating Daniel's saxophone. You all know Dale and I are hyperanalytical when we are alone which makes us uberanalytical together! (Daniel loves to use "uber.") It's hard to pick something nice enough while trying to second guess what the next 4-8 years will bring for Daniel. I guess investing in an instrument that plays beautiful music can't be all bad, right? We can all benefit from that.

So, we did buy a new saxophone (and I will say it is beautiful in its looks and its sound). We did return his old rental one. I do thank all of you whom I surveyed to help me make these decisions.

These kinds of decisions and stressful weeks always bring out lots of deeply-held and deeply-questioned views of money. It's an interesting animal, isn't it? So needed, so wanted, so controlling, so confusing. To date, I've spent a lot of time studying money and thinking of its role in my life. Some days I feel more comfortable than others, but I'm sure I know more about myself and about money than I did 10 years ago, or 5 years ago, or last year.

I know I have young nieces and nephews who read my blog. If you ever want a few opinions about what I've learned about things like saxophone rentals or life insurance or retirement plans, I'd love to chat about it. I know it's all personal, but I sometimes wish I'd have had someone to give me a few more pointers when they weren't trying to sell me something. I'm always good for a discussion of these things, and I won't even be offended if you don't like my advice! At least it will have been free advice!

Bottom line -- we've been extraordinarily blessed, we currently have a job, we've been fortunate to land in a pretty good position at this mid-life point. I'm grateful for all the help and advice that got me here, but I'm still learning every day. It still makes my head hurt, so I hope they don't use money in Heaven. It'll be Heaven for me if my family is there, fresh peaches are free and always available, and we don't have to file taxes with itemized deductions!

Words to Live By

2009-06-14T23:16:00.000-06:00

I officially made my goal of blogging every day this past week. It's been fun! Thanks for the support you guys have given me in reading my blogs and making me feel so famous. I think I'll continue to blog a lot just because I know I can.

As for a Facebook update, I'm getting by with a little help from my friends! I've had some tutoring and I have some more scheduled, so join me there as you can.

Finally, for today's blog, I want to share a few quotes I really like. I record them when I see them, but they will be more fun if I share them. I'll just share a couple now and save some others for another day. Enjoy these little snippets of wisdom!

“God left [the] world unfinished. . . . He left the problems unsolved and the pictures unpainted and the music unsung that man might know the joys and glories of creation.” - Attributed to Alan Stockdale (This one always reminds me of Daniel and the things he gets to do in order to experience this joy.)

(And now another one that reminds me of Daniel. I need to find a good way to display this one in his room!) I meander to the beat of my own drummer!

(Here's a great quote taken from the movie Hairspray. This was spoken by Maybelle and it reminds me what it's like some days just to go out in the world.) Brace yourself for a whole lotta ugly coming at you from a never-ending parade of stupid.

(I'll make this one my last one for tonight. It just gives me hope.) I hope this is the dark part of the night, which is generally just before day. – General Nathanael Greene during American campaign in 1776

A Day to Boldly Go...

2009-06-13T21:59:00.000-06:00

This afternoon I took off with my friend Lisa to see the Star Trek movie. Our husbands took our boys within the first couple days of it opening. However, I didn't feel inclined to go then, nor did I fit in the crowd of men all with computers under their arms. So, we waited until we could just stroll in a few minutes before it started. There were things I really enjoyed, but it confirms that I'm not so into violence and major special effects. And to this day I can't see an earwig without thinking of "The Wrath of Kahn." There's no telling what this one is gonna do to me after that scene with Captain Pike! My memory is that I could still enjoy one of the classic episodes from the 60's without something exploding every second, but maybe I'd reconsider if I actually watched an episode from the 60's. Hmmmm.

And speaking of boldly going where I have not yet been ---- I finally did it! I joined the 21st century and a ton of friends on Facebook. Now I'm completely overwhelmed because I have no idea what I'm doing! My cute nephew Sam was here today and he volunteered to help me open an account. He was here long enough to get the account opened, but now I'm not sure what to do next. For anyone reading this, be forewarned that I'll be calling a lot of you this week to get some pointers. Notice I said I'd be "calling" because I wouldn't have a clue how to communicate with any of you online. So, please show some compassion on me as a neophyte.

I am pleased that I didn't sign up and find that no one wanted me as a friend. That would have made me overwhelmed and embarrassed all at the same time. So, I'll take a stab at Facebook, hope there are no earwigs or other disgusting creatures associated with it, and wish that I can live long and prosper (along with all my Friends, that is).

The Doll

2009-06-12T22:53:00.001-06:00

The time has come to share the story of the doll. Last year my son had the luck to turn 13 on Friday the 13th. He was excited, so we had a Friday the 13th party. How could we resist? His friend thought it would be funny to buy a Barbie doll at the thrift store that he could decorate with fangs or something. Ah, but the the Barbie was not to be because instead, he found this!

It's tough to really grasp how creepy this doll is simply by seeing a picture of it. Not only is it creepy by nature, but it has a cord attached. When we plugged it in, we discovered that her hands move back and forth in an accordion fashion. Ick! As if that weren't enough, we discovered a few days later that she also plays "Silent Night." There are no words, just music while the hands move back and forth. The creep factor had now grown exponentially. Along with the creep factor came the endless possibilities that lay ahead.

The past 12 months have seen ever-increasingly creative appearances by the doll at one of three homes - the friend who originally bought it (Friend #1), ours, and their third friend (Friend #2). Let me offer a summary of her travels:

June - Given to Daniel for his birthday
July - Put in Friend #1's closet to surprise him
Later in July - Back on our doorstep with a note saying she missed us
Rest period
Christmas Eve - Placed on Friend #1's doorstep with candy in hand and music playing (prior to this point, they didn't know it played Silent Night!)
Valentine's Day - Placed on Friend #2's doorstep with hearts and candy
St. Patrick's Day - Greeted us on our doorstep with a bright green sparkly hat
April - Friend #2 and her family went on a cruise to Mexico. Thanks to PhotoShop, the doll was able to tour the very ship they sailed on! She was even able to parasail! Pictures of her antics kept showing up during the cruise. Sadly, the cruise was rerouted from Mexico to San Francisco due to swine flu concerns. When they arrived home, the doll was waiting on their counter with sunglasses, a mask over her nose and mouth, and lots of paper pigs attached to her dress.
May - She reappears at Friend #1's house for his birthday.
May - During a birthday BBQ for Friend #2, the doll was lowered over the fence holding a mylar balloon and a card with a song recorded on it - Not just any song, but the one with which she has been tortured by her brothers. She says she hates it, but someday it's gonna make a great memory.
June 12 - Tonight the doll returned in her best form yet. It was a prebirthday surprise and a scout camp sendoff. Who would've thought she could sport a makeshift swimsuit, a swim cap (my personal favorite), and an inflatable seahorse? She was accompanied by this great poem:

The creepy doll is here to say,
she hopes you have a great Birthday!
This time around, she comes equipped,
with treats and stuff for your big trip!
Camp Cherry Valley is calling you,
she wishes she could come along too.
She's got her swimsuit and her fishing pole.
Also -- a pail and shovel for digging holes,
But best to leave her home, I think,
or the other scouts might really freak!

This one's gonna be tough to top!!

So, as I review the last several days' posts, I've realized that I've revealed a shameful amount of info about myself. I must come across as being really out there! The truth is that we just try to have fun.

The day the neighbors were asked to help lower the doll over the fence, we kind of exposed our oddness to the neighborhood. Then she put a picture of it on her blog. Wow, a bunch more people know. So, it is in our defense that I share the story of the doll's life. Maybe you'll just laugh and not think about it again. Maybe it'll give you an idea for a birthday gift. Or maybe you'll report us for something. No matter what, I'm grateful for good friends who will have fun with us, and I look forward to many years of fun with the doll!

A Few Things I Have Learned Lately

2009-06-11T17:40:00.000-06:00

Life and its inherent experiences never stop teaching us, but some weeks seem more full of new teachings than others. Actually, my summary here probably includes a couple of weeks, but that's because some of the things I learned this week didn't make for nearly as interesting of a blog!

#1 - One firecracker inserted into a small 4" high chocolate bunny (purchased from an Easter clearance sale specifically for this purpose) will blast it into tiny pieces that are shot approximately 20+ feet (confirmed by chocolate shrapnel hitting Grandma who was located a measured 20 feet away). I also learned that chocolate flying at high speed hurts at close range. Oh, and for the real nerds out there, if you slow the video down to a frame by frame view, you can learn that that fuse burned for 1.5 seconds, then it took 1/15 of a second for the explosion and the complete obliteration of the bunny. The moral is: Don't let your kids play with firecrackers!

#2 - Raspberries can mold overnight. That's right, lots of pricey, beautiful raspberries waiting for time the next day to make jam, can mold overnight. Check out the internet, there are lots of other stories out there to back me up on this one!

#3 - Mold is pretty fascinating when viewed through a microscope. And when you get to the cell view, they move around just like water.

#4 - If you find a dead moth on your front porch before your cat does, it's fun to look at it. For reference, the sticks are chopsticks. The moth had at least a 4 or 4.5 inch wingspan -- and it was fuzzy.

#5 - Microscopes are cool!

#6 - To date, there have been about 4 billion Lego minifigures (people) produced. Before long, there will be enough for every man, woman, and child on the earth. Hmmm. Some of those people are gonna be ticked that theirs are in Daniel's room!

#7 -The new recipe we tried for bagels was great!

I am a dotted white line

2009-06-10T22:50:00.000-06:00

So, I have recently reached the conclusion that in many areas of my life I am a dotted white line. That is, I am a pretty straight, middle of the road kind of gal with a certain consistency, but still lots of gaps. Let me explain some of my reasoning behind this declaration. I don't see myself as very extreme on most things, I just like the middle of the road. I want to try all kinds of things in this life, but I don't have to be the best, and I don't have to master them. Last summer when I went paragliding, I just wanted to try it, and I'd do it again, but I don't need to take it up as a major hobby for which I must be certified. There are lots of things that sound fun to try just for a fun experience. I'll keep working on those without focusing too heavily on any one thing.

I want to exercise and be in shape for the sake of being in shape, but I don't have to be big and muscle-bound, nor to I have to be an extreme competitor. This was brought home a little yesterday when I met Cathy and we took our kids to climb Y mountain in Provo. For those not familiar with it, the giant Y is on the side of a mountain overlooking BYU. According to what I read, it is almost 400 feet tall by 200 feet wide. The trail to get there is 1.2 miles long and rises 980 vertical feet. It's a thigh workout for sure. I was just thankful to be doing it with a healthy body and a smile on my face. We were passed, however, by a man who stops at every switchback (there are lots) and does push ups all the way up for a total of 250 push ups on the way up! He does it 5 days a week. I'd say, he's definitely a bright yellow solid line on the side of the road in the exercise realm! Then there was the lady who lapped us a couple of times as she hiked up and down 3 times in a row. We just enjoyed the hike and the view!

Ah, but I digress. Back to my road markings. I'm a straight arrow, rule-keeping type. I pretty much do my best to do what is asked in the way it was asked. I'm not suggesting I'm perfect, but I'm saying my intent is to follow the rules.

And I'm a very bland white color in many ways. My hair, my clothes, my house, etc. are all pretty nondescript. I don't really stand out in a crowd, but I try to be bright in my own right and little reflective of light that I find in others.

Lastly, I guess I'm a dotted white line because that would imply that I'm going the same direction as most of those around me. I don't usually go against the flow.

As I read this now, it almost sounds like it's a downer to be a dotted white line, but I quite like my place in the middle. I get to experience lots of things, I get to go on indefinitely, and I like to think I serve a rather useful purpose in the midst of all those around me.

I know this is a somewhat indulgent post as I analyze myself, but I'd love to hear how the rest of you would characterize yourselves. I think it might be quite insightful!

Horse Show 2009

2009-06-09T23:11:00.000-06:00

The annual Horse Show at the place Cheyenne rides was held at the end of May. This was Cheyenne's best year ever. She worked hard before the show and she gave it her all at the show. With a name like Cheyenne Wilde, would you expect anything less? [And so I digress to a funny story shared by a neighbor recently. As a followup to another discussion, one of this neighbor's children said, 'What if Cheyenne married someone with a last name of West? Her name would be Cheyenne Wilde West!' We decided we'd use the theme to 'Wild, Wild, West' as the wedding march.]

She won first place in the barrel racing for her group. She wanted to gallop, but alas, she held herself to a trot and did a fine trot at that. Way to go! She also got ribbons for the skills test and the water race (a race in which she had to scoop water from a bucket with a pitcher, hold the pitcher with one hand and the reins in the other, and race to the other side to dump the water in another bucket). A lot of family was there to witness the big event, but please pay no attention to the dorky-faced teenage brother on the left side (oh, I shouldn't have pointed it out, I guess). But you should pay attention to the cute pink cowgirl boots she's wearing!

I'm sure many of you have heard me talk about how excited she can get about a 'Participant' ribbon. This was better! Way to go, girl!

My Kids' Kreations

2009-06-08T23:14:00.000-06:00

For some time now, Cheyenne has been asking me to teach her how to decorate a cake. We finally did it a couple weeks ago. We baked a yummy white cake together, then she did all the decorating. She did a great job, and she enjoyed it. I think we'll be doing more in the future. Maybe she'll take a little stress off of me by becoming the family's new cake supplier!

In the meantime, Daniel has been busy creating in his own way. When I recently took my turn dusting the entertainment center, I was given a treat when I saw the newest accessories for the cute wooden fish we have as decorations. I guess Daniel was a little consumed with the "Core Testing" they were doing that week at school. (Just in case you can't see the picture well, they each have a "Coral Test" along with an answer sheet full of small round circles.)

And as a followup, the next time I went to dust, the tests were all piled up in the center of the fish so they could burn them in a fire! At least chores become an experience of discovery!

And just for the record, this was posted before midnight, so I'm still up with my goal!

She Lives!

2009-06-07T21:58:00.000-06:00

Since starting this blog nearly two years ago, this is the longest I've ever gone without posting. May is always crazy with the end of school year activities and such. Then there are always the wildelife things that just happen. The reasons for my negligience are many. The month was busy, my head was more full of thoughts than my hands could really type (so I end up typing nothing instead of typing a little bit), and ironically, technological concerns have slowed me down. That is, Dale has been trying to consolidate all our pictures and such in one place. That means he downloads them all to his computer. I think about getting certain pictures to blog about them, but it takes longer these days, so I slack off. All lousy excuses. That happens a lot in my life.

So, today is a new day. I've set a goal for myself. For at least one week, I'm going to pretend I'm one of those big name, highly paid blogging moms who shares regularly. I'm going to post something every day between now and next Sunday. I certainly have enough ideas stored in my head to post every day for a lot longer, but that would be a little too much Cheryl, now wouldn't it?? I invite you to come along and share a week of a blog a day and see how it goes.

For today, my thought would be that I'm so thankful for kind, wonderful youth leaders who do things to strengthen teenagers. Parents can do a lot, but we can't do it all (and somedays can do nothing). That's when other adults can really influence these tender souls.

Daniel got to spend the last 3 days enjoying a youth conference put on by the leaders of our stake. They copied a very popular youth program called Especially for Youth. They had college-aged counselors, they played fun team building games, they saw concerts, they danced, they had workshops, they studied scriptures, they learned etiquette, etc., etc. Every night he came home beaming. Last night it was beaming mixed with humble spiritual awakening. He felt moved by knowing for sure that there is a Heavenly Father who loves him. All the other skills he learned will be beneficial in his life, but that kind of knowledge will be irreplaceable. Thank you again to those who helped him find that knowledge; it means a lot to a mom like me.

Mother's Day in the Land of Imagination

2009-05-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

Today's blog is pretty self-indulgent. I am among millions celebrating Mother's Day today with mothers and children participating in a mutual admiration society. All children should think their mothers are the best and mothers think the same of their children. I have no intention of arguing with that. However, I'll go on record to say that I think I got the most original gifts! Surely there are few surprised by that. The whole day has been so nice - a beautiful yogurt parfait for breakfast, chocolate as a gift at church (Daniel even made sure I got the dark stuff), a lunch/dinner that I didn't have to think up or prepare, and even a nap in the sunroom. Then came the gifts. Sweet Cheyenne started with a cute card and great family portrait -- one of her original works. I love the hair! Notice that only Dale was painted with gray hair!

That was followed by a fun small LED flashlight for my purse. She was most excited about the wrapping which included paper, bows, tissue paper, and four increasingly large gift bags!
Then came Daniel. His package was wrapped in silver paper then turned into a robot. I knew it would be a treat. The rest of the package came in steps. I've recorded the pictures to present it just as I saw it!

Yes, that's a box wrapped in duct tape. When I opened it, I saw this.And underneath the paper --
It's a little tough to see all the detail, but next to the rake and shovel (of course made from popsicle sticks and hot glue) is a small sign to post in the 'garden' when I plant it. It has an ear drawn on it.

But wait - there's more! The next box --

Once opened, I saw this cage with an egg in it. It says "Grow your own garden dragon." "For the Fair Maiden in your life." The scroll to the right gives growing instructions.
"Brave Knight not included" but the egg contains Snap Dragon seeds.
It's always an adventure at our house. And now I'm off to go eat the homemade bread and garlic relish that Dale prepared for tonight. I love Mother's Day!!!

Equal Project Posting

2009-05-08T23:12:00.000-06:00

It's only fair that I share an equal amount of time sharing a recent Cheyenne project. She had to do a big biography project for third grade. She chose Amelia Earhart. We read a book, she wrote a report, she made a poster, and she prepared an oral presentation. The final part was the oral report. The third grade teachers set up a Time Machine through which the kids would walk and then deliver the presentation as if they were visiting in 2009. It was all really cute. It actually brought tears to my eyes to watch her succeed at this project. She worked so hard. She practiced and practiced for this presentation then she stood up there and delivered it beautifully. For a sweet girl who sometimes struggles with schoolwork, she did an awesome job. She was right on par with the other kids. It was pretty exciting for me.

I didn't videotape the actual presentation because I just wanted to enjoy it, but you get to enjoy a dress rehearsal straight from our hallway. Don't worry, this one only takes a little over a minute - no need to pop the popcorn this time. But thanks for the ongoing cinematic support.

My Favorite Horror Film

2009-05-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

So, I've been away from the blogging world for a bit because I've been consumed with school projects! I'll be really happy when today is over. In the last week we've been working on several major projects. I want to display them here on my blog because I'm proud of their work, and because I want to preserve them for posterity.

Today's display is Daniel's math film. The assignment from his Geometry teacher was to make an entertaining video that simultaneously teaches a math concept from their book. Daniel's first idea was a horror flick. I found the finished product pretty entertaining. We had a five minute version done when he re-read the instructions saying it could not exceed 3 minutes! Arghh! So, the final version he turned in was heavily edited and the instructional pieces were sped up which also made his voice really high. It was funny, but this extended version was overall more fun. This is about 5 minutes, so pop some popcorn and enjoy!!

Today's Word of the Day -- Decomposition

2009-04-23T22:38:00.001-06:00

So, I spent most of my day today doing yard work. It was time to mow for the first time, then I spent a couple hours pulling weeds. While weeding, I ran across at least a hundred earthworms - they are decomposers, you know. After I finished the weeding, I picked up a cubic yard of compost and put it in the garden.

This afternoon one of my tutoring students came for help with geometry. He showed me that today's homework was from a chapter titled Vector Decomposition (no lie!), and he didn't understand it. That was fun!

Then just before dinner, Cheyenne delivered the "very sad news" that her pet goldfish Dorothy had died. Her dinner insights were as follows. "It's okay, she's gonna go to fish heaven....that's the toilet, you know." After dinner, she gathered us in the bathroom for the official flushing. She gave her tribute, then asked, "Do you have anything you'd like to say, Dad?" Dad offered a thought. "Do you have something to say, Mom?" I gave the concluding remarks. Flush! And so the decomposition begins.

And now for the serious thought of the day:

After weeding, I was driving our groovy 1984 pickup to get the compost. I was looking pretty scary in my sloppy t-shirt and exercise pants that were now dirty. I noticed my hands were stained from the dirt and mud I had been digging in. It made me think about the whole process of Spring and new birth. It occurred to me that new birth, growth and progress are sometimes messy events. I realized that in order to get the beautiful flowers of spring, you have to get your hands dirty and you might get a splinter or two. To get the lush green grass to enjoy in your bare feet, you have to cut down the grass on a regular basis. And to get new blossoms and stronger branches, you have to prune the trees.

Everything about the thought process made me think of life and the ups and downs that come along with each of our lives. Sometimes life is messy. Sometimes we're covered in dirt or mud, or even someone/something else's decomposing material. Sometimes we get cut back, but we might be a little lusher when it's over. And haven't we all been pruned once or twice? Let's hope we come out a little prettier, fuller, and stronger because of it. And in the meantime, may we all just enjoy the spring!

Pickles, Tickets to Alaska, and 1,000 French Bread Bags

2009-04-20T22:03:00.000-06:00

I recently told a friend that I think it would be an interesting exercise to record my daily life in 5 minute increments. It's so varied, so interesting, sometimes so bizarre. However, my 5 minute increments are usually so full that I don't get much of a chance to record anything. I'm determined to record a little of my life, just to make me appreciate the tapestry that is my "Wildelife."

Note: What I really want to do here is have a collage of pictures that you could click on and see details. But, alas, I am technically incompetent. If any of my readers who are savvy enough to teach me to do such a thing, I'd love for you to stage an intervention. I really should break out of the basic mode of just inserting one picture at a time followed or preceded by text! Until then, here goes!

When we went to visit my parents the day after Easter, Grandpa sent Cheyenne home with the mega jar of pickles. She was thrilled. And because she wanted to be sure it made it safely back to our house, she even buckled it into a seat belt for the journey home. It almost made it home before it fell and went tumbling to the floor. There really aren't words for how grateful I was that it didn't break. A lifetime of dill pickle/van smell sounded pretty awful.

Spring Break brought a variety of tasks, moods, and adventures. There was homework, there was swimming at Colleen's and the dinosaur museum with Cathy. And then there was the snowstorm. This is what 8+ inches of snow looks like in mid April. Gotta love Utah!

And let me not forget to mention that it also brought my first ever chance to catch and pick up a live chicken because it didn't want to go back in its coop for the night. Yeah, that means that if you need us, the Wildes do chicken sitting.

On Friday we had some friends over to play games. At one point, we had all the parents playing against all the kids. When we (the parents) got a couple of answers right, Daniel's teenage buddy accused us of being "telepathetic." I think it was an attempt at using a big word, but it was probably a true Freudian slip.

Between Friday night and Sunday afternoon, Dale and I made a somewhat impulsive decision to take our family to Alaska this summer. Thanks to Angie for being willing to house us in Anchorage on our visit, thanks to Delta for having a frequent flier program, and thanks to all of you, my friends, who believed that someday your "telepathetic" friends could make a quick decision to do something fun. This will truly fulfill a lifelong dream for me as well as cut my list of states left to visit from 8 down to 7! (For future reference, that list would be North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Delaware, Texas, Hawaii, and Alaska.)

Monday's activities included watching Daniel and his friend destroy a chocolate bunny with the aid of a fuse wrapped around its body parts which was then lit by a magnifying glass. Following the melting, they entertained themselves by driving the death-r-mobile they created down a nearby hill. It was composed of a hand truck, a scooter, and a lot of bungee cords.

The afternoon was also highlighted by the arrival of 1,000 French bread bags. The intention was to buy a few for Daniel to use for his Saturdough bread-making business. Well it was only slightly more expensive to order 1,000 of them than it was to buy 100 of them off of ebay. So, we did what any self-respecting parents would have done, and we ordered the big lot. Maybe we'll sell them in groups of 100 on ebay. Or if any of you need some, please let us know. And thanks to my cute nieces for coming to make bread that night so we could give away our first two bags! 998 bags in the box, 998 bags. Take one out, give it away, 997 bags in the box!

A Fun Tale

2009-04-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time (actually it was Tuesday, April 7), Dale and I saw a UPS truck pull up to our house.

"Are you expecting something?" "No, are you?" "No." "Well, we're getting something."

Outside, Cheyenne said, "Thanks!" then came running in the house screaming, "It's my pickles from Grandpa! It's my pickles from Grandpa!" (Picture confused and confounded looks on Dale and Cheryl's faces.)

Cheyenne ran to the kitchen and grabbed some scissors where she began attacking the box with zeal.

Before long, a bundle of bubble wrap emerged. More scissors.

Sure enough, it's pickles!!

Mom: "Cheyenne, why did Grandpa send you pickles?"
Exasperated Cheyenne: "Because I wanted some! They're the cute little ones!" (Cute little dill pickles)

Cheyenne ate a pickle then put the lid on.

Cheyenne: "I need to run and tell Noreen (the next door neighbor) that Grandpa sent me pickles."
Voice trailing off...."Noreen! Grandpa sent me pickles!"
This scene was repeated at the next neighbor's house.

Wednesday, April 8. "Can I have a pickle for a snack?"
Thursday, April 9. Cheyenne just finished a yummy breakfast of eggs and pancakes. "Now can I have a pickle?"

Cheryl's Conclusions from the last couple of days:
Jar of pickles: $2.50
Cost of postage: $7.00
Smile on Cheyenne's face and thrill in her voice: PRICELESS

Thanks, Grandpa, for a very fun treat.

Another Funeral

2009-03-31T08:47:00.001-06:00

I attended a funeral today following a tragic suicide death in our neighborhood last week. A 46 year old father of 3 teenagers took his own life a week ago. The event itself, the aftermath, and the effects on many, many other lives are all tragic and overwhelmingly sad in nature. There has been a bit of a pall over our neighborhood as a result. However, in the midst of the gloom, I have seen miracles and a tremendous outpouring of love and kindness.

The funeral was simple. There was a life sketch given by his brother-in-law followed by two talks given by our current bishop and our previous bishop. I had a number of thoughts as I sat and processed it all. The casket was followed into the chapel by his family. It wasn't a small family. Many people kept walking in to fill in the first several rows of pews. All I could think was, "Wow, look at all these family members who loved him. Why didn't he see or recognize that before he chose to take his own life?" From there I looked around at the large congregation gathered. It was like a reunion of ward members from the last several years. There were people from all over gathered together to mourn with those that mourn. As I looked at each of them, my mind's eye was flooded with memories. I could make a long list of the amazing things I've seen done by those people over the years. There is so much good being done in the world.

I saw people from lots of different social circles in the community. His wife works at the elementary school, so there were several teachers and staff members there. Again, I was struck by this thing that brought us all together to talk about Christ. No one was separated by the social context that might have brought them there. It was abundantly clear to me that as fellow beings, we have so much more in common than we'll ever have different. We just want to be happy.

Each of the talks emphasized the hope, peace, and comfort that come from the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was worded in different ways, but the message was clearly one that Jesus Christ can do the impossible. He can fix the broken pieces, even when so many things are broken. One of the speakers referred to a story a woman once wrote about how she dealt with suicide and its after effects. It's called "The Broken Bowl" and I thought it was beautiful. You may read it here yourselves.

The funeral capped an emotional and pensive week for so many. I'm sure it marks only the beginning of a very long road for his wife and daughters. I've heard a number of people questioning a lot of things this week. As I ponder it now, I can only remind myself that we have absolutely zero control over what has already happened. Those things are in the books. What we have control over is what we do today. We can impact the present and the future. Maybe we can make a choice today that will be a bright spot in someone else's day. And we can certainly move forward with a hope of a brighter day.

More Random Musings

2009-03-23T09:03:00.001-06:00

My niece Jessica is pregnant! Her brother Andy called everyone in the family to let us know. That's the happiest news I have heard in a long time! She's going to be an adorable pregnant woman, but mostly she's going to be an awesome mom. Congratulations, Jessica!

I recently attended a baby shower for my niece Meagan. She has a little over a month before her due date and she's as cute as ever. It's gonna be a big year for Cheyenne to have two new little babies in the family!

It's amazing what a teenage boy can do with a little freedom in the kitchen. About a month ago, Daniel decided he wanted to make a fruit pizza that looked like a real pizza. This is what he came up with.

Then last week, he came home from school and thumbed through some recipes. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was thinking of making chocolate chip cookies, but then he saw the recipe for eclairs and thought that sounded good. He proceeded to make a batch of delicious eclairs from scratch without any help from me. I was so proud.

This last week was beautiful!! We had some serious spring weather. I even got some yard work done as I cleaned up some of the ugly dead stuff in the yard. Sadly, it's raining and snowing outside tonight. I knew it was too good to be true. The positive thing is that it won't last for long. Spring will come.

I wish I could say the same for my nephew Adam in Siberia. His recent letter mentioned that it's finally warmed up to normal winter weather. That means that now it's warm like a cold Utah winter. He says it's warm enough that it can snow now. Clearly, there is a good reason that God did not send me there on a mission!

Goodbye, shingles, hello, cold sore! I feel like one of those stress balls with water in it that you can squeeze and cause a bubble to pop out the side. Just as one bubble goes back into the ball, another one pops out somewhere else. After three weeks, the shingles have gone down leaving just some red marks. But as soon as that happened, a giant blister popped out on my lip. It's really attractive. I can hardly wait to see what is to come when this dies down. I'll keep you posted!

Random Musings

2009-03-16T21:49:00.000-06:00

It's time. I've neglected my electronic life for far too long. I wish you all could have read the amazing blog entries that were scripted in my mind that never made it out to cyberspace. They were good! But, alas, you will have to settle for a few random musings about life as I pull them out of my head and drop them in here.

I'll start by saying that the past 4-6 weeks have qualified overall as a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month. (For anyone who hasn't read the book, I'd like to recommend Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.) I won't bore you with the details, but it's been less than stellar. Like Alexander in the book, I considered moving to Australia, but then I remembered that some months are like that -- even in Australia. Plan foiled. Since I won't be moving, I guess I'd better pull myself up by the bootstraps and keep going. And though there will still be lots of unfortunate and fortunate moments, I hope I end up with more fortunate ones.

Unfortunately, I learned that excessive stress (see item above) really does cause shingles. Fortunately, I only broke out in a small area, but it's been annoying enough that I can imagine how awful a large breakout would be. If there are any of my 3-4 readers who have had them in the past, I now have some serious empathy for you.

Sundance ski resort's cross-country trails are awesome! A sunny day makes them incredible. Fun friends to ski with make it even better.

I bought a coffee maker recently. This is not a job that should be left to an ignorant mormon girl. I can only hope I chose the right features for my future houseguests.

The American Fork Junior High Wind Ensemble does not play like any junior high band I've ever heard. Apparently they really were practicing on all those days when Daniel had to be there for hours. I'm still not sure I agree with that kind of pressure at this age, but the end results are pretty unbelievable. We expect to get a DVD of their performance soon. It may make an appearance on this page.

Spring is in the air. Woo hoo!!!

It is possible for more than 1,000 people to crowd into Noah's. It happened last Friday for some national broadcast by Glenn Beck. I've never heard him speak, but it was cool to see pictures of that many people gathered.

Cheyenne learned to do a figure 8 on her bike in our cul-de-sac. It was impressive, but then I asked who taught her how to do it. It was none other than our former Bishop who brought her home the other day and did donuts and figure 8s with his van in our cul-de-sac. Gotta love her skills of observation.

I recently compiled pictures of all the cakes I've decorated since I started at age 8. I'm a couple short of 100. Fortunately, they've gotten better since I was 8.

We had our second annual (sort of) Harvest Open House at the end of February. It's a very fortunate thing that Dale makes such good bread. He's the best.

That's about enough musing for now. I'll muse some more soon.

I've Been Tagged

2009-02-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

My sister tagged me to write about a picture. The poor girl did it days ago and has probably wondered why I'm such a loser! I'm just a very busy loser. So, her instructions were as follows:

1. Go to your My Documents/My Pictures
2. Go to your sixth file
3. Go to your sixth picture
4. Blog about it
5. Tag 6 people

I got a little confused with the "sixth file" part, but I had that many folders so I selected the sixth folder and the sixth picture. Here it is! I promise this is the sixth picture she asked for, and it is poetic justice that it happens to be an early morning picture that includes her! (Didn't someone once say to be careful what you ask for????)

This is an early morning shot of Cheryl, Cathy, and Colleen before we ran in the Marathon relay at Thanksgiving Point. We had a five-person team that also included Colleen's daughter Jessica and my neighbor Noreen. As a team, we covered a full marathon distance of 26.2 miles, but that meant that each of us had to run 5.2 miles. The shirts we got said, "A full marathon, 1/5 the pain."

We did really well. We didn't win or anything like that, but each of us ran our segment faster than we'd ever run that distance before. I was really proud of us and what we accomplished. I was 40 (two weeks shy of 41, actually) when we did it. Now that I'm 43, I appreciate even more what Cathy and Colleen did to do it with me. I think it would be harder now. Anyway, it was fun, Thanksgiving Point was a beautiful place to run (although a bit hilly at times), and we accomplished a goal we'd set.

Thanks for the fun trip down memory lane, Cathy. And now, as per her instructions, I guess I must tag a few of my blogging friends. Hmm, I'm gonna call out Kim E. (when you get a break from school), Laura A. (ditto), Patti H., Noreen, Heather W., and Karen M. I know you guys all check this occasionally, so I'm going to be looking for your pictures on your blogs as well. I can't wait!

Go out and do good

2009-02-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

The big news in Salt Lake City tonight was the death of Larry H. Miller. He is a very well known businessman in the area as he owned car dealerships, the Utah Jazz basketball team (and some other sports teams), several movie theaters, restaurants, and stores, and a motor sports raceway. As the news stations were all memorializing him, they talked a lot about his philanthropic work. They kept showing him with one of his frequent quotes in which he said, "Go out and do good until there is too much good in the world." How cool would that be if we all did that?

In other interviews he said a couple of other cool things. In one he said, "I’ve learned that net worth, good health, and happiness are not necessarily connected to one another. " I have no doubt that having lots of money makes life more comfortable, but I've sure heard a lot of rich people talk about what it doesn't provide. And it certainly didn't keep him from dying at a young age. It makes me think about priorities, for sure.

In one other one, he was asked what advice he would give to other businessmen or to his children. I thought his response was interesting. "It took me until I was 50 to realize that my family needed me to be more than a breadwinner. My wife needed me as a companion to help with things with the kids or the house. Once I figured that out and started doing it, I found it was easy, and I wondered why I hadn’t been doing it all along."

I'm pretty sure he wasn't a perfect man. But overall, people's views of him seem to be pretty positive. Perfect or not, I thought he said some pretty good things that we could all take to heart.

Likewise, I am nowhere near perfect, but I can only hope that someday when I die, there will be at least a few people who will speak of me as someone who went about trying to do good in the world. Until then, I'll just keep trying.

Things I've Done

2009-02-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

My friend had this list on her blog and was encouraging others to copy it and then bold the things you've done. It's a fun way to remind yourself of all the things you have done and of fun things that still lie ahead. I'd love to see the list copied by any of you who read my blog as well. Until then, take a look at things I've done.... so far!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (not yet, but I'll make it someday!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I've given, but I've never been left wanting, so maybe that doesn't count!)
7. Been to Disneyland (see the two previous blogs!)
8. Climbed a mountain (Like Mt. Timpanogos with my two awesome sisters just last year)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a Solo (at my kids' bedtime)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I'm gonna go with cake decorating for this one)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (not exactly, but I've eaten some nearly toxic things - sea urchin, for example)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I'm so soakin' honest)(For details on the use of the word "soakin' " as an adverb, you'll have to consult my great nephew Isaac.)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (Ok, it was a marathon relay - a full marathon distance with 1/5 the pain, but did it - again with my awesome sisters.)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (maybe once on the Wii)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (We took a great trip to England, Scotland, and Wales)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Didn't teach myself, but at one point, I used to be able to speak both Spanish and Korean)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (only far enough up a tower to ring the bell)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (in a tiny little room with Dale and my friend Heather in Pusan, Korea -- oh, and with Andy in Colleen's living room!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (I've gotta find a time to do this!)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been on television
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (I was an extra in a church movie, but I landed on the cutting room floor)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (Karate in college! Oh, those were the days!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I've given, I've received, and I've advertised for the Red Cross. Even now, mine and Daniel's picture is hanging in the donor center in Salt Lake.)
65. Gone sky diving (There's not enough money, but paragliding was fun!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (I guess it counts that I broke my finger fighting with Angie over lunch money)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (I wrote a lot of training manuals, does that count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Lots of spelling bee memories!)
85. Read the entire Bible (If I did, I didn't understand a lot of it!)
86. Visited the White House (I even chatted with the first President Bush at the fence while he was out with his dogs. He was great!)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Mostly I just competed for space with the nasty flies that live there.)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone's blog to your own (I just did!)

If I were a rich woman...

2009-02-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Frequently when my kids ask for something that costs money, I tell them they can have it someday when Noah's stock is $300 per share (note that it is currently $7.50). They usually just roll their eyes and recognize that means "No." I took this picture to show what I'm gonna look like someday "when it's $300 a share."

Let's Talk Disneyland!

2009-02-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

So, the whole time I was at Disneyland, I was thinking in blog terms. I kept thinking of the things I wanted to write about, but real life was waiting for me at home, and I'm just now getting to the actual writing.
NOTE: Daniel is not quite taller than me yet. I must have been bent just a little at the knees. He only needs about a half inch more, but I wanted to make it clear for the record that as of February, 2009, I'm still taller.

We had a great vacation! It was perfect weather; there were minimal crowds; life was good! We were able to go to Disneyland, of course, but we also squeezed in visits to both sets of grandparents as well. At Mom's, Dale took his place as the favorite son-in-law (for this week, anyway) by discovering the root of her wireless internet problems. We're so glad that's fixed. At Dale's mom's house we enjoyed visiting with her as well as Dale's aunt and another uncle who also live nearby. Rather than give a complete play by play, let me just share a handful of pictures and few observations.

I could live in a state of suspended reality for a long time! It was so nice to have my biggest worry be about which ride to go on next. I didn't have to coerce anyone to do homework. I didn't have to compete with Noah's for Dale's time. I didn't even have to answer the phone. I guess that's how it feels to be independently wealthy. Hmmmm...
Staying across the street is the way to go. We just stayed in a Best Western hotel, but it was clean, the beds were comfortable, and we literally just had to walk across the street to the entrance. Loved it!
The early morning entry you get with a multi-day ticket is worth it. I thought it would be crowded with everyone going early, but it turned out to be pretty empty and we rode a lot of rides in that first hour.
Walking onto Star Tours and having the girl say, "Choose a seat; you can sit anywhere you want," is kind of like going to a temple outside of Utah and having a worker tell you to choose whichever locker you'd like. Both are unexpected responses.
The inside of Space Mountain didn't look like I thought it would. It was cool to see, but it was also a little like seeing the wizard behind the curtain.
Space Mountain is still a favorite ride. We did it three times, and Dale pulled a new face for every snapshot.
It's fun to see Disneyland change with the changing generations. My generation watched "Tom Sawyer" and "Swiss Family Robinson." My kids' generation apparently watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Tarzan" so things had to change.
Even though my kids have grown up in a pretty sophisticated technological age, Cheyenne can still be completely enamored with birds that talk and sing. Can you believe the Tiki Room is still going strong?
The world is made up of lots of different personalities. Thankfully, there are those that have the mental and physical fortitude to be test pilots. Those type of people would clearly enjoy California Screamin' (the big roller coaster) more than I did! However, my kids can say I rode it with them -- once.
I owe my sister Cathy for suggesting I take rain ponchos to wear on the Grizzly Rapids ride. I can only imagine how much whining I was spared that afternoon by not having drenched children. And my underwear stayed dry - that's more than I can say for the poor woman next to me.
I still love Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. They make me laugh.
The Jungle Cruise is just campy enough to still be fun after all these years. And are the piranha a fairly new addition?? I liked them.
Daniel complained that the cars in Autopia are hard to drive. I told him I didn't care 'cause it was January and I was driving a convertible through a park in Southern California while wearing short sleeves. I was in heaven!
I like 70 degree weather.
I like it a lot.
I'm not sure I'd be willing to take the rest of what Southern California brings to have the 70 degree weather. Woe is me!
Cheyenne was a delight. She was old enough to take care of herself and not run away (mostly), but she was still enthralled by the whole experience. There's not a jaded bone in her body. She was tons of fun.
Daniel was great fun to be with . He was old enough and brave enough to try some things he wouldn't have dreamed of before (like the Maliboomer), but he was still so patient with Cheyenne and the "little kid" things she wanted to do.
Cheyenne made me laugh one night when she said, "It's past my bedtime, but that's the point, huh?"
Did you know they close Fantasyland rides about 1.5 hours before the fireworks are scheduled? Don't plan to ride the Peter Pan ride at that time. It's a bad idea.
For Heather and Isaac's sake, after riding Splash Mountain we were "so soakin' wet!"
Disneyland is still magical. We had a great time there and a great time together as a family.

If this summary just wasn't enough for you and you want to see ALL the pictures from the trip, take a look at the photo album here.

What happened to January?

2009-01-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm shocked that it's really been that long since I last blogged! Apparently, I've made better use of my January this year than in years past. Here it is, nearly the end of January, and I'm making it through okay. Don't interpret that as being thrilled about the snow, ice, and cold, but I'm okay. I will repeat that cross country skiing has changed my life. It's still amazing to me how a few hours in the sun having a great workout and good conversation with friends can make the weeks speed by. Thanks to everyone who has let me tag along this year as I've found new and exciting places to go skiing. It's been really fun.Then last Monday when my kids were out of school for Martin Luther King day, we went to Colleen's cabin and did all those snow things I haven't done for years (in some cases, decades). We sledded down her road (and climbed up again and went down again, and so on and so on). Then Colleen and I did a little midafternoon skiing on some pretty icy areas. Then I got to go snowmobiling! I haven't done that for about 16 years. I was just sad that no one could hear me "woo-hooing" except me inside my helmet!

Of course, I spent some time watching the Inauguration, mostly because I still think it's a pretty miraculous thing to see a consistent peaceful transfer of power in this great nation. Beyond that, I can't say as I've become an Obama groupie. My favorite commentator line of the day, though, came from my clever 13 year old son who came home from school, saw the coverage on TV and said, "Oh, this is the inauguration of the first halfrican (rhymes with African) American president, right?" He says that term just came to him because it seemed so descriptive.

And, I've enjoyed a little good ol' January reading time. All in all, it's been okay. But lest I sound a little too comfortable, I will confess that we are leaving tomorrow for a five day trip to Disneyland where the forecasts show a couple of bright and sunny 75+ degree days at the Happiest Place on Earth. I'm liking January more and more every day!

The pictures are just for the fun of sharing a little piece of my January. You may want to click on the ones with the big snow crystals 'cause they are pretty amazing when they are bigger. Enjoy, and watch for future posts about sunny, southern California!

Cheyenne's Creative Side

2009-01-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about how I often blog about Daniel's creative ventures. Well, it's tough to live daily with the Great Pretendo without it beginning to wear off on you. So it is that I'm seeing more and more of Cheyenne's creativity rise to the surface. She has learned from the master. If it's like the great art masters, someday, historians will have a hard time deciding if Daniel made something or if his learner, Cheyenne, was simply mimicking his great style. And now I'd like to share a couple of Cheyenne's latest creations.

I had some Dots gumdrops left from a scout activity. Combined with a few toothpicks, Dots can make a jeweled crown for a princess!

And you may recall the horse that arrived as the Christmas miracle. Well, she needed a stable. Now she lives in the stable in the basement. Notice the bridle (it looks suspiciously like a tie for a robe) mounted on the end of the stable. Ah, and then there is the definitive Daniel influence in her excessive use of blue painter's tape!

Never a dull or uncreative moment!!!!

Bodyworlds, etc.

2009-01-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, I went with my family to the Bodyworlds 3 exhibit in Salt Lake City. In a nutshell, it is an display of human bodies and body parts that are originally real bodies that have been preserved through a plastination process and then put on display with lots of descriptions and such. (Note: For anyone not familiar with the exhibit, you may go to their website here if you want to find out more about it.) Overall, I'd have to say I found the entire exhibit to be fascinating. I won't bore everyone with the minute details, but now that I've had some time to mull it over, think about what I saw, rethink what I saw, apply it to my life, etc., I wanted to record at least a few thoughts.

Our bodies are unbelievable works of art and function. It is nothing short of miraculous that they are capable of doing what they do as efficiently as they do it.
We did not just happen. There is undeniably a divine creator with a plan that created every aspect of these amazing machines.
Our ear bones really are as tiny as the books and teachers always said they were. How can they do what they do????
The circulatory system is incredible! No wonder we bleed no matter where we cut ourselves. And the nervous system is equally astounding. No wonder we can really feel those stupid little cracks I get in my fingers in the winter.
I know our stomachs are meant to expand to hold the food, but when you look at the size of one normally, I'm thinking we all eat too much.
A smoker's lungs are really disgusting. Black. Black. I hope that part sunk in with my kids. Looking at the emphysemic's lungs made me have great compassion for my dad and father-in-law who both died from it. Black.
An alcoholic's liver is equally ugly.
A cross-section of the body showing muscles surrounded by fat is sobering.
I cried in the exhibit showing fetuses at nearly every weekly age. What a miracle! There are visible hands with visible, clearly defined fingers at 8 weeks. How can someone abort that? Seeing the ones that were about the same age as Daniel when he was born was very touching. He's a miracle. They all are. We really must remember that.
Speaking of miracles, how does the uterus stretch that much???? I mean, I can understand a little expando magic, but that much?????? And then it shrinks again? Wow!!!
Wow! pretty much sums up the whole experience for me. Wow on so many levels. It was spiritual, intellectual, curiosity-filled, surprising, humbling, interesting, and emotion-filled. I'm glad I went.
Seeing what's underneath the outside of us has caused me a week's worth of pondering as well about the spiritual insides of us. There are so many lessons to be learned about our layers, our spirits vs. our bodies, our judging of others by looking at the outside. It really can be quite deep.

As I said, I won't bore with my week's worth of thoughts, but feel free to call me if you ever want to share a little philosophizing (sp?) on the subject.

Throughout the exhibit, there were interesting stories and beautiful quotes that accompanied the displays. This exhibit had a particular emphasis on the heart so many of the quotes had to do with the heart. One of the final displays had a quote on it that will now be recorded in my heart as one of the greats. I'll end my post by sharing it with you in hopes that you too may be touched by its sentiment.

"Faith is an oasis in the heart that will never be reached by the caravan of thinking."

- Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) Lebanese-American poet, artist, and writer

Some feelings about winter --- in Utah....

2009-01-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

The moment I got stuck going up the hill while driving carpool:
Embarrassed - Nervous - Frustrated - Panicked - Grateful (for the boys in the carpool who pushed me)

The time I've spent shoveling my driveway for the umpteenth time in the last two weeks:
Tired - Healthy - Sore - Irritated (that it snowed again!)

The 30 minutes we spent digging out my friend who got stuck in an ice rut in our culdesac and got high-centered:
Mad (at the city for not plowing) - Relieved (that I wasn't the only one who got stuck) - Wet - Grateful (that Dale was working from home that day) - Strong - Hardworking

The day I spent in the mountains cross-country skiing with my sisters and some of Cathy's friends:
Astonished (at the beauty so near us) - Thrilled ('cause such access was free!) - Grateful (that Dale bought me good skis and boots) - Hot (a reference to my sweating, not how the ski pants looked on me!) - Rejuvenated - Strong - Healthy - Fulfilled - Excited (to meet new friends and go new places) - Awestruck - Happy - Satisfied

The moment I could not stop, despite standing on my brakes, while I slid through an intersection with a large van barreling directly toward me:
Terrified (like I've never been terrified) - Out of control - Scared - Worried (for Cheyenne in the back seat) - Prayerful

The moment I came to a stop two lanes over while I watched the van narrowly swerve around me
Grateful (like I've never been grateful) - Thankful (that the van driver was alert and not on a cell phone) - Grateful (for answered prayers) - Shaking - Anxious - Slow - Grateful

Another year - another cake

2009-01-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of my very first blogs involved the preparation for and eventual presentation of a big wedding cake. Since then, my blog has become the one place where I feel like I can share the cakes I make. I mostly do it so I have a record for myself, but it's also fun to share an accomplishment with those that I think might find it interesting. If you do, that's great. If you don't, I never have to know you looked at it. It's really a pretty low risk way to share! Oh, but wait, I already took the risk 'cause I made this for a young bride at church. The secret's out! What was I thinking????