Get Fit

I know you are thinking the same thing I am...I have got to do something after all that holiday binging! Well, my sister's Christmas announcement of her May wedding happens to be the perfect motivation. In order to establish a long distance support group, we have created a new blog. Each of my sisters and my mom will post. Check it out. It's gonna be good. http://fivemonthstofit.blogspot.com

My Grown-Up Christmas Wish List

This is my grown-up Christmas wish:
(in random order)
1. I wish a magic Christmas angel would come and clean my house so I could bake and wrap and play. Who wants to clean house during the holidays? What's worse than a dirty house during the holidays?
2. I wish it could snow without mud or wind. My kids love playing in the snow. I love playing in the snow with them. I detest mopping the floor 4 times a day because of the mud that gets tracked in from the snow.
3. I wish I could spend time visiting with friends and neighbors instead or dropping gifts off on the fly. I want to spend the evening talking and laughing around the Christmas tree with people like my 91-year-old neighbor, my sister, and the widower in my old ward.
4. I wish I could give my family a killer vacation for Christmas. Nothing extravagant or luxury, just chuck full of memories and new experiences. Although selfish, this is not a lavish or materialistic wish, but it is still much, much too expensive.
5. I wish my kids could stay little forever. Christmas is beautifully simplistic at our house. My kids are young enough that they don't have enormous expectations, and they are ecstatic with the few things they receive. Christmas through their eyes is truly magical. It is not about stress and lists and money. It is about lights, presents, ornaments, surprises, music, stories, family, and a Baby born in a stable thousands of years ago. Christmas is about what it should be.
6. I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Finals!

I finished my last final 3 hours ago. The semester is officially over. Now I can move on to Christmas. Festive background, Christmas music, and new post coming soon...

PORTLAND!

The idea came nearly a year ago, but it didn't start to materialize until three months ago when I was on the phone with my amazing friend who had just had her third baby. We had gone to our first Time Out For Women years ago in Las Vegas, and we wanted to go again. The presenters we wanted to see were going to be in Portland the first week of November. Could we really make this happen? Well, thanks to our awesome and supportive husbands, we sure did...and it was everything we had possibly dreamed. Since I'm good at making lists (to do lists, shopping lists, packing lists, wish lists) I'll tell you about this trip with a few lists.

5 Things I Did For The First Time:

5. Relied entirely on public transit.

4. Left my kids home with Jeff for an extended period of time.

3. Shopped and ate in unique and eclectic downtown Portland.
2. Bought tickets from a scalper.

1. Went ice skating!

5 Cool Things About Portland:

5. Everyone (no exceptions) that we talked to was a) friendly and b) proud of their city.
4. The city is very clean.
3. The fall colors, the prevalence of green, and the trees were beautiful.

2. They reuse, reduce, recycle everything. We had to get used to sorting our trash.

1. The public transportation is cheap, easy, and convenient.

5 Favs About Time Out

5. The super cute totes!

4. Laughing and crying and learning at maximum levels with 2700 other women.
3. Meeting, talking to, and getting photos with the presenters.

2. Being there with Brandi.

1. The things I learned and the feelings I brought home with me.

Mariama Kallon of Sierra Leone. One of the most amazing stories I have ever heard.

Hilary Weeks, probably the #1 reason we went. We love you Hilary!

S. Michael Wilcox, another big favorite. He opens the scriptures like no one I have ever heard before.

Emily Watts. This woman knows exactly what it is like to be a mom. Super funny.

Lets just say that while we were grateful for the awesome public transit, we never became experts of navigation.

5 Hip Things About The Trailblazers Game:

5. Ending up at an NBA game without planning on it.

4. Buying tickets from a scalper.

3. Finding out our tickets were on the second to last row of the upper bowl. We could almost touch the ceiling.

2. Brandi's foam finger.

1. The Trailblazers won!

One of my favorite people in the world, my Aunt Lisa, was there with her daughter. It was so fun to have some familiar faces, and someone to help us out with the big city and airport navigation. Besides, they saved us prime seats at Time Out, whew!

5 Worst Things About Our Trip:

5. Paying $81 for short term parking because we didn't know there was such thing as long term parking (why were there no signs notifying us of this legalized practice of robbery at the airport?)

4. Trudging through the rain of Portland downtown with one small travel umbrella that kept flipping inside out.

3. Getting a little confused when it came to security measures at the airport. See, we waited in the looong security line, read all the signs and warnings, then proceeded to the security belt where we lugged our giant heavy suitcase onto the conveyor belt only to be told we had items that were not permitted. We informed the security attendant that we intended to check the luggage. He then told us that we were supposed to have already done that. At this point, we had to be escorted out of security because of our contraband, find a place to check our luggage, and then go through security again. Don't worry, we finally made it to our gate.

2. Throwing up on the plane. I got soooo sick on the return flight. I couldn't even open my eyes. It was the longest two hours of my life. I just wanted to land. When we finally hit the ground, it came. I was fumbling for the bag in the seat pocket in front of me. I ended up with a minor mess and had to change my pants, but I felt much better afterward. Just super embarrassed.

1. It ended.

Overall, I am a little exhausted today. It was an amazing experience. I haven't flown in nearly a decade. I haven't gone on a trip for myself like that ever. I haven't had so many insights in a very long time. I feel like my perspective on life and on motherhood has shifted back into the proper place. I feel like my trials and struggles are minor and can certainly be overcome. I feel so grateful to Jeff for letting me go, for my awesome kids and everything they teach me, for Brandi and our long and rich friendship, and for my testimony. I hope to visit Portland again.

Super Spooky

I see no use in keeping up pretenses. I'm just not a fan of Halloween. I guess I don't really get it. What are we celebrating, anyway? What is the purpose of this so-called holiday? As a result of my lack of enthusiasm, my kids end up getting the shaft when it comes to Halloween. It's a good thing they have a couple of good Grandmas to help make things a little more spooky. We were off to the local pumpkin patch a week before Halloween...in the freezing rain.

Super-hero Levi tried to find one for everyone he knew.

The morning of Halloween, both Daisy and Levi performed with their dance groups at a local craft fair.

That same morning, a spooky package arrived from Grandma. Woohoo!

Levi and his fellow skeletons were the highlight of the performers...of course.

Isaac had a good time lovin' on Aunt Marcy who drove all the way here for Grandma's big annual Halloween Party.

In addition to Bingo, the party featured Face Painting, a cupcake walk, cookie decorating, cousins, dinner, and good fun.

...and some super silly glasses.

Dad was at the clinic when we went trick-or-treating, so we stopped by the hospital and trick or treated at each department. The kids loved it, and so did I.

Happy Campers

A while ago we got a very happy phonecall! Grandpa and Grandma bought a trailer for us to use so we can have a place to stay when it's time to go camping. So we were off at the first chance we got. Upon arrival, Isaac immediately assumed the role of wood sorter. He would stack, unstack, and restack this little pile of logs all day long.

Grandpa found this cool tree that doubled as a buckin' horse for the boys.

Levi was Grandpa's right-hand-man when it came to driving the backhoe.

Chopping wood for the fire required lots of helpers.

We love love love the trailer! It was so much fun to have our own little suite for camping!

Daisy helped Grandpa and Grandma create this grain trough for the deer out of a fallen tree.

Watching Grandpa heat his brand in the fire and then brand these logs for benches was pretty cool for all of us. The logs then also became buckin' broncs.

Riding the four-wheelers are always a camping hit. Daisy became quite the little driver.

Grandpa was teaching us how to skip rocks on the pond. Skipping rocks were in short supply, but splashing rocks could be found in abundance.

Camping with Grandpa and Grandma in our new trailer was perfect! The mountain was giving us its final fall splendor and we enjoyed every minute of it. With Isaac's help, we kept the fire going, stayed dirty, and ate lots of junk food. We can't wait to head back up next season!

Small Town Girl

I grew up in a small town, and now I live in a super-small town. Small towns have certain disadvantages. For example, if you need to buy, say, a bra while in my town, you go to one store, choose from two colors and three sizes. Good luck. Need shoes? Outta luck. Small towns also often suffer from small-town-mentality, but I've found this stereotype becomes of little consequence when citizens choose to defeat it. With these, and a few other exceptions, my small town rocks.

Yesterday I dropped Levi off at his 'sports' class (his dad prefers that we don't call it 'dance'.) Then I dropped my car off at the local tire shop where the owner calls me by name. He knows me. I trust him. I strapped Isaac in the stroller and walked through our small town streets. It was a perfect fall day. No wind. No heat. No chill. No clouds. Blue sky. Orange leaves. Ripe pumpkins.

As I was walking, I was thinking that there is really no place in my town that I don't feel safe. That is worth something to me. We rounded a corner and saw an old man walking out to his garden. I didn't know him, but since there are really no strangers in my town, I waved to him. He hollered over, "Do you want some tomatoes?" Does that happen in the city? Well it happened in my town. I told him that I had been bottling tomatoes all weekend, but thanked him for the offer. We picked up Levi from his class and started walking back to the tire shop. Just as I was savoring the beauty of the pristine autumn day with my two amazing boys, we happened upon a huge oak tree which had dropped hundreds of acorns on the sidewalk just for us to enjoy. Acorns in the fall? That's like snow on Christmas! Levi, of course, was determined to gather as many as possible to take with us to the mountain to feed the squirrels and chipmunks. We eventually struck a deal to take just one.

In my small town, I feel completely safe sending my daughter off to school. I know she is watched over there. The faculty members call both Daisy and I by name. They know our family. In our small town, we love the library, the park, the one-stoplight-in-the-whole-county, the local drama productions, the recreation leagues, the mix of new and old, the four-way-go's (most of our intersections are not marked with any road signs,) the Christmas Festival, the rodeo, the 10-minutes-to-a-campfire-in-the-mountains, the front porches, the back yards, and the people. I love that there is no dreaded Wal Mart in my small town.

When I was younger I always thought I wanted to live in a big city. For now, I love having cows, chickens, a new puppy, lambs, cats, horses, and raising my family in a small, small town.

Star!

We got a new puppy! Our family dog, a boxer named Chloe, was hit and killed while she was on my early morning run with me. Since we live in the fields, I don't run with her on a leash. The sun was just coming up and it blinded the driver. He was very apologetic and drove her back to my house for me. I couldn't even finish my run. I walked the rest of the way home, half blinded by my tears. For the next several mornings I would tear up as I ran past the blood stained spot on the road.

Jeff found these border collie labrador crosses on ksl.com and was determined this was the new family dog for us. I voted that we wait until Christmas, but was clearly overridden. Jeff took all three kids with him to pick out our puppy, hauled them all into WalMart to pick out a collar, puppy food, and treats, and then braved McDonald's all by himself. Needless to say, I was proud of his efforts! Daisy named her Star.

We spent conference weekend on the mountain. The pristine fall beauty provided the perfect backdrop to the messages of hope that we heard at conference.

Even though it was slightly on the cool side, we decided ice cream was the way to go while the men were away at the Priesthood session.

Grandpa and Grandma have been working so hard on their little piece of heaven. It was such an amazingly beautiful drive to go over and see all that they have accomplished.

All the adventures outdoors provided more than enough entertainment for the kids so that the adults could listen to conference uninterrupted for the most part.

The extra handsome guy in this picture is my nephew.

The leaves were stunning. Every time we turned around there was another breathtaking view.

The kids loved Grandpa and Grandma's new four wheeler trailer. We hope to make it to the mountain just one more time before winter sets in. There's just too much fun to be had.

The Pill

This just may be the most uncharacteristic post I've done. But hey, birth control is something most individuals must deal with, either directly or indirectly, at one point or another in their lives. So...I found something that I totally love, and thought I would share (because I love reading about the things you love!)

I have taken birth control pills off and on since I was 13 years old. After the birth of Daisy, I took the 'mini pill' so I could safely nurse. But after I had Levi, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable with pumping all of those artificial hormones into my system. We definately wanted to prevent another immediate pregnancy (and therefore keep me out of the crazy house) in my postpartum state, so we started researching some alternative methods. I came across the Lady Comp fertility monitor online. I did a ton of research, read a zillion reviews, and discussed it with my OB/GYN. We decided to give it a shot.

I have been using the Lady Comp for four years now and we have LOVED it! It is the easiest, safest, most reliable birth control ever invented. It is about the diameter of a CD. It sits on my nightstand like an alarm clock. Every morning, it goes off (like an alarm clock) and before I sit up or get out of bed, I slip the attached thermometer under my tongue for 30 seconds. It beeps when it's done taking my temperature, and then indicates a red, yellow, or green light. Red means I could get pregnant, green means we are in the safe zone (and my mom always said a yellow light means proceed with caution...) It's that easy.

Why put artificial, cancer-causing, loaded-with-side-effects hormones (i.e. pills) into my system EVERY SINGLE DAY when I can have birth control naturally? Another very cool thing about Lady Comp is that we can use it to avoid pregnancy, or plan for pregnancy. When we wanted to have another baby, we knew exactly which days we would have the best chance of conceiving...and nine months later we got Isaac.

Initially, the Lady-Comp seemed a little expensive, but then when we considered the cost of birth control every single month until I hit menopause, plus unknown medical costs to deal with the implications of taking birth control for that long, we decided it was a much cheaper, and safer, alternative.

If you have been wishing there were something better than birth control, there is. How's that for unsolicited advice?

Summer Utopia

I don't know if utopic is a word, but if you posed the question, "How was your summer?" some version of utopia would be part of my answer. Since Labor Day is the unofficial End of Summer, and the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder, I am trying somehow to memorialize this summer. Maybe in doing so I feel like I don't have to bid it farewell quite yet.

Call me crazy, but I swear it somehow all started with these silly bummer lambs that we got on Mother's Day weekend. I was mixing formula and washing bottles like crazy. The kids and I would throw jackets and rubber boots on over our pajamas and head out to go feed our baby lambs. Soon school ended and summer was officially here.

If we were wealthy, like really in-another-life kind of wealthy, we would spend our summers on a beach in Spain. But the most perfect thing about this summer was that it was all right here. All normal and real and day-to-day. We introduced our baby chicks to the big chicken coop and they started laying eggs. We weaned our lambs from bottles and started staking them out to eat grass. We tilled the dirt, selected the seeds, and planted a garden. We watched the plants sprout, and the weeds sprout, and the bugs come. We tended and took care of it.

We went camping and horseback riding. We cheered Jeff on as he competed with the Riding Club. We went swimming. We moved sprinklers and watched the corn grow. We volunteered, painted nails, and visited at the local care center. We went to the Ute Stampede. We participated in the County Fair. We went to Disneyland!

I began each morning began with an early run and a long prayer. I ended each day tucking my children into bed. I enjoyed each Wednesday evening teaching Institute. I competed in my first biathlon! I made fantastic salsa from my garden, and spent Labor Day bottling tomatoes. (If you've never gone to the work of bottling something you worked to produce, you should really do it. It's a huge shot of make-you-feel-awesome.)

A few weeks ago Daisy and Jeff and I all went back to school. I was on my morning run with my dog when a farm truck was blinded by the rising sun and hit and killed her. The bugs have finally gotten to my pumpkins so the plants are dying and they are ripening too quickly. Institute is over. My Utopia is coming to an end.

As Fall fast approaches, invited or not, I know there is much to look forward to. I will enjoy the change in seasons, the holiday celebrations, the winter magic, and the spring thaw. But, while I will enjoy the journey, really I will just be waiting for our next Utopian summer.

Fabulous Fair!

I love the county fair! I have been a director on the fair board for four years now and I just can't get enough. Things were a little crazy this year because the fair opened the day we got home from Disneyland. Yikes! We cowboy'd up and got 'er done.

My job at the fair is to make sure there is something for everyone. So even if you don't grow prize tomatoes or show steers, you can still have fun at the fair. We do several competitions and events to involve as many people as possible. We did Fair Factor, the county fair version of the creepy television show, for teenagers. The Diaper Derby is a crawling race for babies. The Bicycle Barrel race is for kids and tweens. Daisy took first place in her division! (Which made Levi very mad. After she was announced as the winner he stomped over and kicked his bike, yelling that it made him go slow.) This year we added four new events. We had a Ribbon Read for anyone who wanted to come to a read-a-thon at the fair and earn a ribbon. We had a Guitar Hero competition with teen and adult divisions. There was the RC Roundup, a remote control car race for ages 7 and up including adults. For the two and three year-olds we had the Toddler Tractor Pull where they raced around straw bales on their tricycles. So cute.

It was a little crazy at times, but an overall success, especially since so many of the things we did were in their very first year.

Bright and early Saturday morning I got up and rode my bike to the fairgrounds to compete in my very first Biathlon. It was so much fun! Jeff was worried that I would be too exhausted to do all the other things I had to do that day, but it was a blast. I am so glad I did it.

When you are the one in charge, it seems that you aren't the one weilding the camera, at least that's what happened with me. I didn't get ANY shots of my events. After the biathlon on Saturday, Daisy showed her horse and competed in the Walk/Trot. I did get some pictures of that.

The horse competition started at 9:00 in the morning. The boys wanted nachos. Nachos for breakfast? Only at the county fair!

Blue ribbon! It was Daisy's first time showing a horse.

Saturday night, after all of our events were finally over, we went to the White Trash Parade, a.k.a. the Demolition Derby. My boys, yes, both of them, absolutely loved it. Levi has been playing 'dervy' with his little cars ever since. Isaac hadn't been feeling well and I thought I may take him home early, but he was totally into it. Jamie and Rian came with us. They met for the first time at last year's Demolition Derby.

The County Fair brings our whole community together. It helps foster unity, which is something I believe in. I am glad to be part of it. I think it's fantastic that there is something there for everyone in my whole family.