So just when I didn't think my day could get any more exciting...
It began with a jaunt to our rental. We are trying to get our renter to move out -- the neighbors didn't love the two drug busts at the house, and we didn't love not getting our rent money. Although we started the legal proceedings to get the guy out, we also bribed him to leave sooner by offering some of his deposit back. (Even though he owes us a month of rent and money for some damages.) Let's just say that my mental health was being compromised by the abusive text messages and crap he was throwing our way. Speaking of crap...
So Matt and I went to the rental to see how his moving out progress was coming. We did an initial inspection of the house. When we walked in the kitchen he hollered, "Don't open that fridge." Of course we opened the fridge. He came running down the stairs and said, "We couldn't figure out the terrible smell, but realized it was bad chicken in the fridge." LOVELY!
After a minute, Matt turned to me and mouthed, "He smells like poo." I whispered, "I think you are smelling the chicken." Then we had a brief discussion about where the real stench was coming from. But I digress...
This evening we had a lovely party at Matt's uncle's home for his grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. It was wonderful to be with his grandparents and other family members. Until...
We were talking to someone and Caleb came up to me. He told me his tummy hurt. I asked him if he thought he would throw up. As soon as I asked, my eighth sense kicked in (Mom's have a lot of senses), and I grabbed his arm and started running to the bathroom. I was about three seconds too late and he started throwing up. As I ran, I hit a patch of slippery barf on the kitchen tile and my feet were thrown from under me. I hit that tile so hard that the room went silent. Matt said it sounded like a truck ran into the house. (Yes, probably a bit of an exaggeration.) Anyway, my elbow was killing me, but then my ninth sense kicked in and I knew I had to help my barfing child.
I got to the bathroom. Caleb was over the toilet. A stray one-year-old girl cousin was in the bathroom with him. (??) I went in the bathroom and tried not to cry because my elbow hurt so bad. I got some toilet paper to help wipe Caleb's face. I noticed drips of blood on the floor and became alarmed. It was my elbow. It was now bleeding everywhere. I got some toilet paper to stop the blood. I looked down again. I had barf all down the right side of me. LUCKILY, I had apparently mopped up the kitchen floor when I fell. Matt came running in, but then went running out and started mopping up the kitchen, so as to not disturb the party. (Ha!)All I could do was hold the toilet paper on my elbow, watch Caleb throw up, while uttering sympathetic words, and look at the mess all over my clothes.
Luckily Matt finished cleaning up the kitchen and came in and cleaned us up, too. We got some ice for my elbow and we went home. Matt told the family that if anyone else ever needed us to come ruin THEIR party, to please call.
We got home, got Caleb cleaned up, got us cleaned up, got kids to bed, cleaned up Caleb and bedding a second time, washed some laundry, gave Caleb another bath, and were laying on the couch. Matt leaned over and said in a sweet voice, "So did you have a fun day today?" We just laughed hysterically.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Cinnamon Roll frosting
Today was a very important, noteworthy day in my life. It was the first time I have EVER scraped some of the frosting off a cinnamon roll.
Yes, you heard me right. I actually got a cinnamon roll and it had too much frosting (is there such a thing, you ask?) and I scraped some of it off and didn't eat it.
The funny part about it is I asked the girl checking us out at IKEA if the cinnamon rolls were good. She said they were and that she loves to ask for extra frosting. "Does it cost more?" I asked. Anyway, I went up to the counter, paid my dollar and said, "Extra frosting, please." I wonder if I really wanted the frosting because it was a good deal. I mean, they didn't charge me a dime more and I was going to get extra frosting! The guy handed another guy a big bag of squirty-looking frosting and he went to work on my cinnamon roll. When he handed it to me, it was covered. Seriously, it was a half inch think and completely covered. Matt and I shared it on the way home and it was delish and ruined my dinner appetite, but I didn't care. But, I did have to scrape some of that frosting off.
That was a first for me, folks... not eating every drop of frosting off a cinnamon roll and then licking the plate. It was very hard for me to look at that wasted frosting on the wax paper and gently fold it over and dispose of it. I mean, who wastes perfectly good frosting?
Wow... what a day!
Yes, you heard me right. I actually got a cinnamon roll and it had too much frosting (is there such a thing, you ask?) and I scraped some of it off and didn't eat it.
The funny part about it is I asked the girl checking us out at IKEA if the cinnamon rolls were good. She said they were and that she loves to ask for extra frosting. "Does it cost more?" I asked. Anyway, I went up to the counter, paid my dollar and said, "Extra frosting, please." I wonder if I really wanted the frosting because it was a good deal. I mean, they didn't charge me a dime more and I was going to get extra frosting! The guy handed another guy a big bag of squirty-looking frosting and he went to work on my cinnamon roll. When he handed it to me, it was covered. Seriously, it was a half inch think and completely covered. Matt and I shared it on the way home and it was delish and ruined my dinner appetite, but I didn't care. But, I did have to scrape some of that frosting off.
That was a first for me, folks... not eating every drop of frosting off a cinnamon roll and then licking the plate. It was very hard for me to look at that wasted frosting on the wax paper and gently fold it over and dispose of it. I mean, who wastes perfectly good frosting?
Wow... what a day!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Trials
So I've had a hard time thinking of great things to blog about lately. I've actually been going through some really tough things the last few months, so I could blog about life trials and how they teach us stuff. Unfortunately I think I am too fresh to be a positive influence for good in showing anything I've learned. Mostly I'm still in the "Trials Suck" stage.
I do know that we have a God that watches over us and he knows each of us. He knows us far better than we even know ourselves. He wants us to be happy. That doesn't mean we can't ever be sad, because we can. But overall, he wants us to find joy in life. Sometimes that is easier said than done.
I do know that we learn a lot from hard times. We become refined through trials. We find strength deep within to endure things that we thought would not be possible to endure.
I know that everyone has their challenges in life. I think it's easy to go to church every week and look at all the seemingly perfect people sitting there and think, "What's wrong with me?" But every person has their own special set of challenges. We are all imperfect people who are just trying, day by day, to be better than we were the day before.
Above all, I know that God is real. I know he sent his son, Jesus Christ to this earth to atone for our sins. I know His gospel was restored by Joseph Smith in these latter days. The church is full of imperfect people, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. I am grateful to have the gospel in my life. It is my rock. When everything else is bumpy and rough, I know I can turn to the Lord and the scriptures, and He is there for me.
Trials still suck, though. No one can ever convince me otherwise. Things are starting to really look up, though, so I will be more grateful from now on. Thank you for coming to my pity party. It is now over. Go home and write 10 things you are grateful for.
I do know that we have a God that watches over us and he knows each of us. He knows us far better than we even know ourselves. He wants us to be happy. That doesn't mean we can't ever be sad, because we can. But overall, he wants us to find joy in life. Sometimes that is easier said than done.
I do know that we learn a lot from hard times. We become refined through trials. We find strength deep within to endure things that we thought would not be possible to endure.
I know that everyone has their challenges in life. I think it's easy to go to church every week and look at all the seemingly perfect people sitting there and think, "What's wrong with me?" But every person has their own special set of challenges. We are all imperfect people who are just trying, day by day, to be better than we were the day before.
Above all, I know that God is real. I know he sent his son, Jesus Christ to this earth to atone for our sins. I know His gospel was restored by Joseph Smith in these latter days. The church is full of imperfect people, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. I am grateful to have the gospel in my life. It is my rock. When everything else is bumpy and rough, I know I can turn to the Lord and the scriptures, and He is there for me.
Trials still suck, though. No one can ever convince me otherwise. Things are starting to really look up, though, so I will be more grateful from now on. Thank you for coming to my pity party. It is now over. Go home and write 10 things you are grateful for.
Friday, August 21, 2009
South Dakota Road Trip
This look says it all...
On a lovely July morning, we piled our family in the minivan and headed out on a wild adventure. My brother, Mike, ever the planner, planned a wonderful week-long driving trip for the 21 members of my family. There were four vehicles in all, and we had a great time!
The first night we arrived in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. We checked into the hotel and ate dinner at Rositas, where we had our own, private room. The nachos were to die for!
Posing in front of the restaurant with cousins...
Whose crazy children are these?
The next day we went to visit Scotts Bluff National Monument. Here we are standing on top of the bluff. Scotts Bluff was one of the major landmarks on the Mormon Trail and Oregon Trail.
We drove to Chimney Rock National Historic Site. It was one of the most famous sites in the west and was like a lighthouse on the prairie to guide the pioneers. Here we are in the visitors center.
Behind us is Chimney Rock. I totally crack up at these photos. The sun was so bright and we tried to hard to get a good picture, but look at all of our faces!
We stopped at Carhenge. Since we have seen the actual Stonehenge in England, it was fun to see a man-made project of these cars to look like Stonehenge.
That evening we arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we stayed in some fun cabins. The kids had a ball running around outside, swimming, and roasting marshmellows at the fire pit during our three day stay in South Dakota. The first evening we arrived we went to the evening lighting program at Mount Rushmore. It was quite chilly in South Dakota.
The next day we went back to Mount Rushmore to see it in daylight and walk the Presidential Trail. It really was amazing. I didn't expect to be so in awe by Mount Rushmore, but it is incredible!
After seeing Mt. Rushmore, we climbed in the car and headed to Custer. On the way we saw Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a mountain sculpture of an Indian on a horse. Only the face is complete, but it is huge! It will be the largest statue in the world when complete.
We arrived in Bedrock City. Now, this made me laugh... We made a point to take the kids to this fabulous re-creation of Bedrock -- home of the Flinstones. It is pretty sad that we had to show the kids a few YouTubes on the Flinstones so they would even know who they were!
The man with the money... (Sick! Matt, do you know how dirty money is?? Blahck!)
My wittle baby...
After eating Dino burgers and Dino dogs, we headed into Custer State Park. The wildlife was amazing! We saw hundreds of buffalo, antelope and deer. We had a bison walk right next to our car. We also saw a mommy deer with her babies.
In Custer State Park is Wind Cave National Park. We took a tour through the cave.
That night we had a hoe-down dinner at the Flying T Chuckwagon Supper and Show. The kids had fun dancing and clapping to the music. We found these two characters on our way out...
The next day we went to the Cosmos Mystery Area. It was a 30 minute tour of an area that seems like the laws of gravity are upside down. It was a fun thing for the kids. When I explained to my mom how they create the illusion she said, "No, don't tell me. I want to still believe."
The photo is crooked on purpose (gravity is pulling us to the left).
After our tour, we headed out to the Badlands National Park. Matt and I LOVED this!! It was so amazing and beautiful! It was quite a cold day, so we didn't go on as many hikes as we would've liked, but the few trails we explored were fun. The kids weren't as thrilled to drive an hour and a half to see the Badlands. They also asked if you get to be "bad" in the Badlands. In order to make it interesting for them, we told them that when they first got out of the car at the Badlands they could say potty words for one full minute. (No, we have never won any parenting awards, but thanks for asking!) The kids loved it and suddenly the Badlands came to life. We had to keep them away from other tourists as they shouted, "Toilet," "Poop," "Boogers." It only lasted a minute, though. (Except for the times that my dad would try to egg them on again.)
On the way back to the cabins, we stopped in at a Dinosaur Park. It was kind of dumb, so we only spent about 10 minutes there.
We also stopped at the Storybook Island Park. Now that was worth stopping for! It is a free city park with a storybook theme. It was so darling!
We were in South Dakota the week before the big Sturgis motorcycle rally. All throughout our trip we saw TONS of Harleys. We even drove through Sturgis...
We left South Dakota and headed back into Wyoming. We stopped at Devil's Tower National Mounument and went on a little hike there. It was really neat!
On our way out we saw a Prairie Dog Town. There were hundreds of prairie dogs popping in and out of their holes.
We stopped in Casper, Wyoming for the night. We found a cool, family-friendly place to eat called Sanfords. The kids loved it! Tyler liked it, too...
That night we went swimming at the hotel pool.
The next day we went to Independence Rock. It is a large rock that rises 130 feet and was another major landmark on the prairie. Pioneers wrote their names on the rock and can still be seen today. (The names, not the pioneers.)
My thighs were burning after climbing that baby!
We stopped in at Martin's Cove. The LDS church runs an amazing visitors center there. When we first arrived, I was dreading a handcart trek in the hot weather, but after reading all about the pioneers and their sacrifices, I was pumped! We ate lunch first, and then each family had a handcart.
This was our family's cart. Matt and Tyler did the majority of the work. At one point Matt had all five of us get in the handcart, so he could feel what it would feel like to pull the weight of his family. It was only a couple of miles, but it gave us an appreciation for our pioneer ancestors. Just on my side, we have 26 pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains.
The next day we headed home. We stopped in at the Bridger Fort and saw a re-created trading post, home, and fort of Jim Bridger. We figured we drove about 2100 miles in that week, and we loved it! The kids were great in the car and the drive was broken up enough that it seemed like nothing.
I have to dedicate this post to my brother, Mike. Mike spent hours researching things to do on this trip, making hotel arrangements, dinner and tour reservations, etc. for all 21 of us. All we had to do was show up (and pay). It was a wonderful trip! By the way, I have a packet with the details of this trip, if anyone thinks they may do it in the future and wants me to e-mail it to them. THANKS AGAIN, MIKEY!!
On a lovely July morning, we piled our family in the minivan and headed out on a wild adventure. My brother, Mike, ever the planner, planned a wonderful week-long driving trip for the 21 members of my family. There were four vehicles in all, and we had a great time!
The first night we arrived in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. We checked into the hotel and ate dinner at Rositas, where we had our own, private room. The nachos were to die for!
Posing in front of the restaurant with cousins...
Whose crazy children are these?
The next day we went to visit Scotts Bluff National Monument. Here we are standing on top of the bluff. Scotts Bluff was one of the major landmarks on the Mormon Trail and Oregon Trail.
We drove to Chimney Rock National Historic Site. It was one of the most famous sites in the west and was like a lighthouse on the prairie to guide the pioneers. Here we are in the visitors center.
Behind us is Chimney Rock. I totally crack up at these photos. The sun was so bright and we tried to hard to get a good picture, but look at all of our faces!
We stopped at Carhenge. Since we have seen the actual Stonehenge in England, it was fun to see a man-made project of these cars to look like Stonehenge.
That evening we arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we stayed in some fun cabins. The kids had a ball running around outside, swimming, and roasting marshmellows at the fire pit during our three day stay in South Dakota. The first evening we arrived we went to the evening lighting program at Mount Rushmore. It was quite chilly in South Dakota.
The next day we went back to Mount Rushmore to see it in daylight and walk the Presidential Trail. It really was amazing. I didn't expect to be so in awe by Mount Rushmore, but it is incredible!
After seeing Mt. Rushmore, we climbed in the car and headed to Custer. On the way we saw Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a mountain sculpture of an Indian on a horse. Only the face is complete, but it is huge! It will be the largest statue in the world when complete. 
We arrived in Bedrock City. Now, this made me laugh... We made a point to take the kids to this fabulous re-creation of Bedrock -- home of the Flinstones. It is pretty sad that we had to show the kids a few YouTubes on the Flinstones so they would even know who they were!
The man with the money... (Sick! Matt, do you know how dirty money is?? Blahck!)
My wittle baby...
After eating Dino burgers and Dino dogs, we headed into Custer State Park. The wildlife was amazing! We saw hundreds of buffalo, antelope and deer. We had a bison walk right next to our car. We also saw a mommy deer with her babies.
In Custer State Park is Wind Cave National Park. We took a tour through the cave.
That night we had a hoe-down dinner at the Flying T Chuckwagon Supper and Show. The kids had fun dancing and clapping to the music. We found these two characters on our way out...
The next day we went to the Cosmos Mystery Area. It was a 30 minute tour of an area that seems like the laws of gravity are upside down. It was a fun thing for the kids. When I explained to my mom how they create the illusion she said, "No, don't tell me. I want to still believe."
The photo is crooked on purpose (gravity is pulling us to the left).
After our tour, we headed out to the Badlands National Park. Matt and I LOVED this!! It was so amazing and beautiful! It was quite a cold day, so we didn't go on as many hikes as we would've liked, but the few trails we explored were fun. The kids weren't as thrilled to drive an hour and a half to see the Badlands. They also asked if you get to be "bad" in the Badlands. In order to make it interesting for them, we told them that when they first got out of the car at the Badlands they could say potty words for one full minute. (No, we have never won any parenting awards, but thanks for asking!) The kids loved it and suddenly the Badlands came to life. We had to keep them away from other tourists as they shouted, "Toilet," "Poop," "Boogers." It only lasted a minute, though. (Except for the times that my dad would try to egg them on again.)
On the way back to the cabins, we stopped in at a Dinosaur Park. It was kind of dumb, so we only spent about 10 minutes there.
We also stopped at the Storybook Island Park. Now that was worth stopping for! It is a free city park with a storybook theme. It was so darling!
We were in South Dakota the week before the big Sturgis motorcycle rally. All throughout our trip we saw TONS of Harleys. We even drove through Sturgis...
We left South Dakota and headed back into Wyoming. We stopped at Devil's Tower National Mounument and went on a little hike there. It was really neat!
On our way out we saw a Prairie Dog Town. There were hundreds of prairie dogs popping in and out of their holes.
I'd like you to meet Sally. Sally was a birthday present for Matt. She was correct about 80% of the time. A few times she got us into trouble with the rest of the family. One was on the way down when we were in Cheyenne, looking for a Dairy Queen. Sally told us where to go, and we ended up driving through a city about 10 minutes out of our way. We finally found one, though.
I highly recommend a GPS for a road trip like this. It was great to see what restaurants we were coming up on, so we could call the family and figure out where to eat before we got there.
We stopped in Casper, Wyoming for the night. We found a cool, family-friendly place to eat called Sanfords. The kids loved it! Tyler liked it, too...
That night we went swimming at the hotel pool.
The next day we went to Independence Rock. It is a large rock that rises 130 feet and was another major landmark on the prairie. Pioneers wrote their names on the rock and can still be seen today. (The names, not the pioneers.)
My thighs were burning after climbing that baby!
We stopped in at Martin's Cove. The LDS church runs an amazing visitors center there. When we first arrived, I was dreading a handcart trek in the hot weather, but after reading all about the pioneers and their sacrifices, I was pumped! We ate lunch first, and then each family had a handcart.
This was our family's cart. Matt and Tyler did the majority of the work. At one point Matt had all five of us get in the handcart, so he could feel what it would feel like to pull the weight of his family. It was only a couple of miles, but it gave us an appreciation for our pioneer ancestors. Just on my side, we have 26 pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains. 
The next day we headed home. We stopped in at the Bridger Fort and saw a re-created trading post, home, and fort of Jim Bridger. We figured we drove about 2100 miles in that week, and we loved it! The kids were great in the car and the drive was broken up enough that it seemed like nothing.
I have to dedicate this post to my brother, Mike. Mike spent hours researching things to do on this trip, making hotel arrangements, dinner and tour reservations, etc. for all 21 of us. All we had to do was show up (and pay). It was a wonderful trip! By the way, I have a packet with the details of this trip, if anyone thinks they may do it in the future and wants me to e-mail it to them. THANKS AGAIN, MIKEY!!
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