Monday has a sick sense of humor.

Waking up to the sound of gravel being dumped on top of your house isn't the kindest way to greet a Monday morning.

But that is the way Monday greeted us. Dark, way too early, and loud. It rudely woke those of us who were still sleeping, out of a nice warm slumber. "Hello!!!! It's Monday!!! Get up!!" It yelled.

The little boys who have issues being woken up anyway, really didn't appreciate Monday's tone of voice. They both came crying out of their bedrooms thinking the house was falling apart. It even startled Nicole who was in the middle of curling her hair in the bathroom downstairs.

All three children made it to my side in the hallway at about the same time. We huddled together for a minute, hearts racing, and then slowly made it to the window in my bedroom to have a look outside.

As we peered out the window watching the nickel sized pieces of hail pounding on the roof and the lightening flashing wildly, smiles spread across the boys faces replacing the fear that had just been there. We all hopped into my bed and climbed under the covers and quietly watched as quite a show was put on for us.

Monday sure has a way of making an entrance.

Mama Sippy

This morning I walked into the kitchen and Ian was sitting at the island doodling on a paper while eating his breakfast. Over and over again I kept hearing him say:

"Sippy mama."

"Mama sippy"

"Sippy mama"

Finally he looked up and asked me, "What is it called again?"

I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. Somewhat frustrated he said, "There is a city or something called Mama Sippy."

"Oh! Mississippi!" I said.

"Mississippi! Yep. That's it." he said relieved.

Then he took his pencil and crossed out Mama sippy and wrote 'Mrs. sippy'.

Junior Year

I have dreamed often about this day. The day that I would send all of my children off to school and would then have the house to myself. I have kidded with Erik that now I can spend my days eating Bon Bons, watching soap operas, and reading romance novels.

Instead, I find myself with a huge list of things to do and feel like I am running around in circles.

As I was sending Nicole off to her first day of 11th grade this morning, I said to her, "What am I going to do without you today?" She looked at me like I was crazy. "Aren't you excited? You get to have the house to yourself!"

I thought I would be. But instead, I find that I miss having her here with me. She brings so much excitement and life into our home. It's way to quiet without her here. So quiet that I can hear myself breathe.

But I'm so excited for her and for the new adventures she will have this year in high school. I can just feel that good things are going to happen in her life and I can't wait to see what they are!
I will be busy with school and my work at the hospital and we all know how the days fly by so quickly. Before I know it they will all be coming through the door again. But it's going to take some getting used to- this being all alone stuff.
Happy first day of 11th grade Nicole!

Monday Madness

It must have been the fact that the weather was cooler today than it has been in several months that lead me to what would end up being an all day project. Lucky for me, Nicole was home with nothing to do, so she was eager to join me as my partner in crime.

Behold the weathered play set.

It's an eyesore for sure. It's been calling to me all summer, begging to have a fresh coat of paint to cover it's quickly weathering wood.

When I thought of doing this project, it seemed so simple, so easy. There's really not THAT much to paint, I thought to myself. Boy was I wrong.

12 man hours later, the two of us emerged with sore bodies, sunburns and looking like we were the sole survivors of some horrific battle (I should have taken pictures!) with red paint covering our faces, legs and hands, and clothes. If you look close at Nicole's forehead in the picture below, you will see what I mean. And as a note, the only significance of Nicole's change of wardrobe was that she is "starting school this week and will not be seen with a farmer's tan line!"

I learned a few things today that I thought I would share. First, there is no better way to get to know your children, than to work with them side by side. The conversations you will have are some that you would never have the opportunity to have otherwise. I truly believe this.

Next, wear sunscreen. Even when you think you will just be outside for just a little while. I'm paying for not following this important rule. Ouch!

And last, when you decide to have a paint fight (and red is a really great color to do this with) make sure you wash yourself off before going to the elementary school to pick up your younger children. The look of horror on Ian's face when he saw Nicole and I almost broke my heart. He really thought we were covered in blood. The only thing that convinced him otherwise was the fact that we were smiling and laughing at all the strange looks we were getting.

What a day. What a Monday. May Tuesday be much more relaxing but just as productive. Is that possible?

Chili and Smashed Rocks

Ian and I had just climbed into our car when I reminded him to put his seat belt on.

His little voice from the back seat said, "Cuz we don't want to go to jail, huh mom."

To which I replied, "No we don't".

Then he said, "Because all they give you to eat in prison is chili and all you get to do every day is smash rocks."

Thank you dear movie makers for giving my son the motivation to stay out of prison. Had you chosen to show the prisoners eating steak and potatoes instead of the slop that Ian has interpreted as chili, I might be in trouble. And had you shown them playing basketball instead of 'smashing rocks' I might have lost him already.

One 6 year old boy has made up his mind that prison is indeed, no place for him. Chili and smashing rocks is the worst punishment he can imagine.

And for this, I thank you.

Goodbye Summer

We have had to say goodbye to summer at our house.

It was hard for some, a bit easier for others (meaning me).

School started for the boys this week....one in 6th (at the top of the food chain) the other in 1st (at the very bottom).

This will be the last year that I will have any of my children together at the same school. And to add to the fun, next year I will have one at each of the three schools- yikes!

Both boys seem to have great teachers and both came home with the same smiles they left with in the morning....so we're off to a good start.

First day of school smiles!
Happy 2010-2011 school year!

My Girls

I had the opportunity to spend the week with these lovely young women at Girl's Camp.

The months leading up to this event were filled with worry and stress. Having never done anything like this before, I was worried I would forget to bring or do something important (like bring a can opener :) thank heaven's for the Stake ladies!), or fail to come up with fun things to keep the girls entertained.

I should not have worried so much. These young ladies were a joy to be with and everything went so smoothly. There was no drama, never a time when I heard anyone say they were bored, no complaints of any kind. They were gracious, thoughtful, loving, happy, and oh so funny!

I am so grateful to have camp behind me now, but even more grateful that I had the opportunity to share this experience with some of the finest young women I have ever had the privilege to know.

Packing

I'm running away to girls camp tomorrow before the sun even comes up. I'm excited, nervous, worried and hopeful.

I'm going to be missing my bed, and my husband, and my two energetic boys. My shower, reading blogs, my dishwasher and microwave too.

But I am looking forward to spending time in the mountains, feeling closer to Heavenly Father (hoping I get some serious praying and pondering time for I am SO in need of some answers right now), being with Nicole and my 16 other 'daughters', getting to know the other leaders better, and eating lots of good food.

For all the work/stress/worry that preparing for this camp has been, I am sure that when all is said and done, I will be able to say that it was all worth it.

See you next week!

The Help

Are you aching for a good book to end your summer with? I have one for you!

I just finished reading The Help and it had me entranced right up until the last page. I fell in love with the characters, their interesting personalities and fascinating life stories.

Have you ever eaten something so tasty that you have wanted lick the plate clean? Well, in a manner of speaking, that's exactly how I felt about this book. If I could have, I would have licked it. (The only thing holding me back was the fact that I had borrowed it from the public library and that would just be gross.) It was really that good. Page lickin' good.

Go get a copy and see for yourself just how tasty a good book can be.

And no, this book's topic is not about food.

Happy reading!

Vinegar Taffy

The boys and I spent the past few weeks savoring every mouth watering page of the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After reading a chapter or two, we would close the book and talk about the different candies that had been described to us in the book. We like candy at our house. A lot.

Today, in celebration of finishing a book (yeah us!) and in celebration of all things candy, we decided to make taffy. And not just any taffy. Vinegar taffy.

Vinegar taffy is something that you either really like or you don't. My Aunt Kathy first introduced it to me when I was a young girl. I couldn't get enough of it. I like vinegar, so putting it with candy, which is something I really love, well it's just lovely.

As we pulled the warm taffy with our buttery hands, Isaac just couldn't get over the fact that this was something that the pioneers made. And it is true. This recipe is as old as the pioneers.

"How did they make it? They didn't even have a stove?" he asked along with a million other questions. After tasting a piece, he told me that I need to make it 'famous'. "You need to sell this recipe and make it famous." he said. Again, I reminded him that the pioneers made this candy and that this recipe was not something that I made up. I mean really. I'm not THAT old.

And just in case you haven't ever tried Vinegar Taffy, I will share with you the recipe so you can make your own. It's quite simple. Just make sure you have lots of hands to help you pull. Once you pour the candy out on to a tray, it cools quickly and needs to be pulled immediatly or you will end up with a solid cookie sheet full of hard candy.

Vinegar Taffy

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
3 Tbsp butter
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Mix together and bring to boil. When it reaches soft crack (around 270 degrees) add a few drops of whatever food coloring you wish and mix. Then pour it out onto a buttered cookie sheet. Let it cool for a minute or so. Then grab a handful and pull, pull, pull. Once it is a nice pearl-ish, white-ish color, pull it one last time into a rope about the width of your pointer finger. Take a butter knife and make little dents in the rope of candy that are about 2 inches a part. When it cools, you will pick up the rope and tap it gently on your counter and the pieces will break where they have been scored. Wrap in pieces of wax paper. Enjoy!!!

Thoughts from last week....in one long paragraph.

And a random picture for you to enjoy
I don't like humidity. Neither does my hair. But humid days usually = afternoon thunderstorms around here. I love summer thunderstorms. Ian does not. He is afraid of thunder and lightening. I love being the one that gets to comfort him when they sky looks angry and he says, "It looks like it is going to rain" in a scared little voice. Rain makes chalk drawings look so much brighter. Wet chalk really stains your hands. Wet ground however, makes weeding so much easier. Weeds are my nemesis. I love that word, nemesis. It sounds so evil and sinister. I had an evil dream last night. Erik killed someone and I was afraid the murder was going to get blamed on me. I thought it was funny (after I woke up) that I was more worried about getting blamed for the murder than the fact that my husband KILLED someone. I think all the worrying about girls camp is causing me to have bad dreams. Camp is a week from Monday. Mondays are one of my favorite days of the week. I hope that the Monday that camp starts lives up to all the other Mondays and doesn't ruin it for the rest of the Mondays still to come. That was a crazy sentence. I don't ever want to be old and crazy. I spend time with old and crazy (but very sweet) people at the hospital each week and I really don't want to be one of them some day. I don't want to have hairs growing out of my chin when I am old either. But one or the other is sure to happen. I'll take chin hairs over crazy any day. But wait. If I'm crazy, I won't care if I have chin hairs, right? I'll have to think about that one. I am tired of thinking. I have thought too much this past month. I just want to turn off my brain for a little while and not think about anything other than what I am going to eat next. Speaking of eating, it's that time again. Grilled pork chops for dinner. Yummm. I love grilled food. Just can't get enough of it. Speaking of enough, that's what this paragraph is. Enough.

Until next time....