I am done. Hallelujah! The last couple of weeks have been much better. I started the new trimester as if it were my own class and the little cats stopped treating me like a sub. So much better! It completely restored my faith in my teaching abilities. That and the cute ex-student turned college girl who ran up to me at Twilight. "Mrs. Castellon! You look so beautiful! Do you remember me? You were my favorite teacher." How cute was that. I am fine now and will be able to go back to teaching in a couple of years.

My last day eating lunch with some of the other teachers still has me thinking about our society. One teacher was in the lunch line behind a girl who stole an extra hamburger. She said she had a hard time deciding whether to turn her in or not. So, the discussion started around the room... and the others said they wouldn't have said anything! One girl said she felt bad for the kids because some of them were so poor. I was shocked. Of course I blurted out, "Are you kidding me? We still need to teach honestly, whether people are poor or not." Then I continued on about our nation and the economy. The bailout... isn't it just allowing people not to take responsibility for their actions and choices. Just what so many students having problems with. Anywho... stealing is wrong. The end. And Pam did turn the girl in. The thief denied it at first, then she said OK, and just went and paid for it. Craziness.

Elder Ballard came to our stake conference a few weeks ago. He said that the time has past for just quietly living our lives righteously. It it now time to stand up for what we believe in, to let others know our beliefs. He even mentioned blogs... and said that we should be straight forward on our blogs and be true to who we are. So, I will not beat around the bush. I will be tactful and kind, yet true to my beliefs.

Abortion is wrong. Marriage is between a man and a woman. People should be faithful to their spouses and not get divorced. Can you imagine how great that would be for all of the children in the world? To be raised by two loving parents. Dreamy.

My siblings are making me laugh so hard that I can't continue with my "ranting"... "preaching?"..."belief statement making"....

Right now they are arguing over Mac vs. Vista. Vista is hated but two won't admit that Macs are better. Jan's making fun of my love for facebook. Susan's making fun of me believing everything that is said. Steve keeps trying to share music with us. Alma is being so very politically incorrect. Good times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Van

Here are photos of the van that has been purchased to be sent to Honduras. Juan Carlos hasn't been receiving our emails with the photos attached. So E thought that maybe it would be easier to just post them here. So... here is the van....

Also... this is the message that E sent to Juan Carlos in the email, just in case he never saw it.

JC Aqui estan las fotos de la minivan. La van roja es la que va para Honduras, Ford Windstar 2000. Donde yo trabajo tememos varias Ford Windstar y no tenemos problemas en darles mantenimiento.

Deep Discussions

Riding in the van as we pass the temple....
S: There is the temple I'm getting married.
B: You said you're going to marry the temple!
S: No I didn't, I'm getting married that temple.
B: You're going to marry the temple, you're going to marry a temple, you're going to ...
Mom: Stop. She wants to get married in that temple. Where do you want to get married?
B: I want to get married in Alaska. Is it cold there? We can wear fur coats to the temple.
R: I want to marry here.
L: Mom, I'n staying with you. I too scary.
B: My favorite part is the fur coats. Oh, man, but then I will have to be a hunter. Hunter is a hunter. He's in my class. First you kill the animal, then pull the fur off of it, you can eat the animal and make a fur coat with it. But I don't want to live in an igloo that I have to build by myself.
R: Where Papa marry?
Mom: In Manti.
L: How 'bout you?
Mom: I married Papa in Manti.
S: When you were a princess?
Mom: Yep.

Discussion at the dinner table...
B: I saw Papa watching a killing show. There were these pirates and they had guns.
S: People don't have guns.
B: Yes they do! What about Susan's family?
S: What? Susan has guns?!
B: Yea. I saw Zachary with a long shot. We were outside, though, and he was showing me his skills. Then Susan came out and took the gun away.
S: Well, Janett doesn't have guns.
B: Yes she does, Mom does Janett have guns?
Mom: Yep.
S: Janett has guns too?!
L: Mom, we don't have guns.
Mom: That's right. We don't.

Last Tuesday night after the polls closed...
B: I got to vote today at school.
Mom: Oh, who did you vote for?
B: Obama. Who did you vote for?
Mom: McCain.
B: Well, Obama was born in Hawaii.
Mom: Who do you guys want to vote for?
S: Who did you vote for?
Mom: McCain.
S: I want Obama.
L: I am with you Mom.
Mom: R, who do you want to vote for?
R: McCain.
Mom: Why?
R: McCain.
B: Well, I like Obama 'cause he was born in Hawaii.

Needless to say, the next morning B was very excited that Obama had won.

Basketball

So, we signed B up for basketball. As you might know, I am not the most athletic of people. Well, how will my offspring do as athletes? You be the judge of that...

I taught the Relief Society lesson on Sunday. It was so fun! I had been thinking about gratitude, being November and all, and then I had a few amazing things happen. Through facebook I found two of my favorite Central American companions from the mission. A ton of excitement on all sides. My trainer is from Honduras, she now lives in Ontario, Canada. My other favorite Guatamalan companion is living in Provo! Another family I loved and had lost contact with is now living in Las Vegas!! All found through facebook. With all of those miracles, I decided to talk about my mission for Relief Society.

I dug out my missionary photos, journals, letters, baggy and started down memory lane. E had his patience tested with all of my, "Did I tell you about...?" I laughed and cried and remembered so many great times! For the RS class I passed pictures around of buying water and hauling water, tin roofed housed with cardboard walls, beautiful scenery and a side of beef hanging in a carniceria (meat shop). It was fun to see the responses of the sisters learning about how people live in a third world country. It also works nicely into my ever present secret agenda of trying to help people understand illegal immigrants and why they are here. We are so blessed to have running water, a sewer system, mostly honest policemen... You know. God bless the USA and sanitation.

Today was a great day as well. Being able to cast my vote always makes me a little giddy, especially so today. E got to vote for the first time and I dare say he loved it as much as I do. I always have to control my conspiracy theories, however. It is hard to believe that your vote is really being recorded. I just pray for the best. I got there a couple of minutes before the polls opened and saw the confusion of the poll volunteers. Yikes. The bonus was I got to hear someone actually say, "Hear ye, hear ye, the polls are now open." It is probably written into law that they must say that. Who knew?

Working at the school is emotionally exhausting! These kids have so much trauma in their lives I don't know how they get any school work into their days. I have heard kids talking about being raised by Grandma, fighting with Dad for child support, one parent had an affair so time for divorce, Dad moved back to Roy... hadn't seen him for a year, girls fighting amongst themselves for three days straight. I helped break up a girl fight in the hall today. Weird. I so don't like the pain, why would you ever want to fight? I also have a girl that smells like marijuana every time she comes to class. Another boy is a known gang member. Once a dad called his daughter during my class to tell her that they were getting divorced. She just burst into tears. Hello, who does that? So, like I said, not a lot of keyboarding taking place. Just pray for me to make it to January 12th!

My monsters are super cute. B started Jr. Jazz and it was a roaring good time watching his tall gangly form run/bounce up and down the court. He did make a basket, surprise, surprise! We were as proud as punch. S is more beautiful each day. R and L are definitely twins. They already have inside jokes I guess, they can just crack each other up when nothing at all seems to be funny. I do miss them. Sigh....

So, pretty much, working sucks. Sorry for using such vulgar vocabulary... but it really does. I have been back in the classroom for five days now, yet it feels like months. The students complain and act surprised each time I ask them to work. I often break out in laughter at their behavior. How can a teacher asking you to work surprise you everyday? I can't believe I forgot how needy, feisty, emotional, giddy, resistant etc. teenagers are. Just listening to them attack each other is so ridiculous. Get a little confidence, could you? A LITTLE CONFIDENCE! DiAnn would say that I have such a great opportunity to help these children build confidence in themselves. Nice... I do hope I don't destroy any one's confidence. Crazy cats. They do wear me out.

I feel like a little old lady as I hobble out of the school each day. My feet just throb with pain. Most people I talk to say their "plantar fascia" (or whatever it is) eventually goes away. I have been going on three years now at least and it is just getting worse and worse. Oh, my dogs are barking.

The worst part of working is dropping the girls off for someone else to raise. I feel like I am so tired after school that I don't spend any quality time with them. I have got to make sure that I am hugging them a lot and talking to each one individually. They seem happy where they are and I am pretty sure they are safe. Come on, they are safe.

Even B has been traumatized by all of this change. I now get to his school late to pick him up each day. About 10 minutes late. The third day I could tell something was wrong because everything was making him cry. He asked why we don't go down to Susan's house. Emotionally he cried, "Why do we only go down there at Easter? We can go other times too!"

Finally he asked me (teary eyed) how he was going to call me if I didn't come pick him up. Unbeknownst to me their school was only half day on the very first day I went back to teach. The school had a hard time getting in touch with me and I was over an hour late picking him up. It was a mess. Apparently he is now afraid that I will do that again. "Don't you know our phone number?" I asked.

"Not your phone. Can't you write it down for me on a little piece of paper that I can keep in my backpack all of the time?" he petitioned, crying a little once again. Sad, sad times.

Susan tagged me... I could have pretty much left all of her answers, I did try to mix it up a little. If any of you out there would like to answer these same questions, please do so.

1. Where is your cell phone? Bag
2. Where is your significant other? Working
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Heaven
5. Your father? Infierno
6. Your favorite thing? Offspring
7. Your dream last night? Conspiracy
8. Your dream/goal? China
9. The room you're in? Kitchen
10. Your hobby? Crocheting
11. Your fear? Death
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Peaceful
13. Where were you last night? Temple
14. What you're not? Hater
15. One of your wish-list items? Basement

16. Where you grew up? Blanding
17. The last thing you did? Clean
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Boxy
20. Your pet? Birds
21. Your computer? Sweet
22. Your mood? Excited
23. Missing someone? Nope
24. Your car? Van-o-ramma
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Walmart
27. Your summer? Warm
28. Love someone? Yep
29. Your favorite color? Brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Today

On getting a job... or two.

So... I got a job. A couple of months ago I interviewed at the temple for a cleaning position that runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. I thought it would be a perfect schedule for me. It turns out that I got the job but they took two months in giving it to me and getting started. I only got to work two weeks before I had to quit and take Cathy's classes at the Jr. High. She is in my ward and she just had a baby. I am going to teach her cats until January. It has been hard for me to give up the peace of cleaning the temple to go back to Jr. High... but I'll get over it I am sure.

I just thought everyone should be reminded of how our 70's temple looked with the gold spire. Now it is white and we have our very own angel Moroni. Sweet!

He loves it when I make him pose for pictures. :D

So, we went to Peach Days a couple of weeks ago. We went on Friday night and caught the children's parade. The Castellons do love a good parade. The highlight, however, was the Dale Jr. car that was exhibited right there on Forest Street. You would not believe what a NASCAR freak my husband is becoming. He doesn't even like Dale Jr. and still wanted to take a million photos of the car and even the truck and trailer that hauls it. At least I got my dutch oven peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream out of the deal.

Just for a little annoying NASCAR 411... There are only eight races left (hurray!) until the Sprint Cup champion is named. My favorite car, the M&M's car, had such a great year... but has really blown it in the last two races. They just might not win. Blah, blah, blah. Jeff Gordon, the family favorite, hasn't won all year. So I'm not even sure why we have to finish watching the season.
Please do notice that the boys in family had to dress up in NASCAR wear to go see the car at Peach Days.

Futbol Sabado

Saturdays are now all about soccer. Finally we have started our children along the path of futbolistas, and I am sure, with time, they will be great. I have already seen a huge improvement in the last three weeks. E is coaching B's team, the Blue Thunder or Blue Lightning... it changes. I think E is having just as much fun as B, there are seven boys on his team and they play five on five.

S is on a little team of five girls, the Dragonflies (I suggested Green Machine because their jerseys are neon green but the five year olds liked Dragonflies better, go figure). There are five girls on her team and they play three on three. They are starting to figure out which way to run, well, except for the little girl in her prescription sunglasses. She dribbles well, but she just takes off in either direction and runs the ball all the way down the field. Same little girl just happens to have a staph infection... the flesh eating bacteria. OK, then.

We have fun Saturday mornings, but then we are tired out for the rest of the day. I also find it funny how important the after game treats are. Not to the kids, but the parents. They are very worried about "signing up" for the treats and making sure they are there. Another odd thing about the parents is that a majority of them say, "Thanks Coach," after the games. I am not sure why, but it almost gives me the giggles.

God Bless the USA

Today E became a US citizen. (OK... now it is yesterday). Bonnie took our kids for us and we were able to go down to SL together. We got there plenty early, which was nice. The only sorrow was that we couldn't sit together. They took all of the candidates for naturalization (the ones getting their citizenship), they took them all in separately. So the video of "THE OATH" is horrible. It is just the barrette of one woman and the fat hand of another. Oh, well. We are done with immigration!!! It can't get any better than that, fat hand and all. I sat by two husbands of new citizens. One of their wives was from the Dominican Republic and the other from Mexico. We all agreed that we were being treated better then we ever had been treated before when dealing with immigration. Then we realized that all of the people worked for the theater and not immigration. That's why they were being so nice! I was also pleased because I was able to educate two different people about the horrors of the immigration system and help them understand why so many people come here illegally. Always one of my personal secret agendas. : )




There was a representative of the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution (which, of course, reminds me of Gilmore Girls). They put together a nice packet for each new citizen with passport applications and voter registration cards. Included was the greatest book called "The Citizen's Almanac." It includes things like Patriotic Anthems and Symbols of the US, Presidential and Historic Speeches and Landmark Decisions of the Supreme Court. I love this book!

Just as a reminder, here are some of the wonderful rights we have in this beautiful country of ours. Even more appreciated as I watch every second I can of the Olympics and often find myself horrified at the politics in China.

• Freedom to express yourself.
• Freedom to worship as you wish.
• Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.
• Right to keep and bear arms.
• Right to vote in elections for public officials.
• Right to apply for federal employment.
• Right to run for elected office.
• Freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

And some of our responsibilities as citizens:

• Support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
• Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.
• Participate in the democratic process.
• Respect and obey federal, stat, and local laws.
• Respect the rights, beliefs, and oplinions of others.
• Participate in your local community.
• Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities.
• Serve on a jury when called upon.
• Defend the country if the need should arise.

I do love our country and I think it is so important that we each do our part to make it better. If we don't like what congress is doing, we should let them know... then vote them out! Same with the state legislature. Too many politicians just like "jobs" and I think they need to know its not OK to just do the same old thing. My fire in my belly right now is about the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies. Quit focusing on oil shale and get rid of those tax breaks. Or have the tax breaks dependent on the lowering of the price of gas. Or focus on the technology we already have to use less fossil fuels. Lets not help the big oil companies get more business! This is making me crazy, we all just keep buying gas. If we had the money, E would have built us a car that runs on air a couple of years ago.

OK, enough of that. Back to our splendid day yesterday. Here is an excerpt of a beautiful letter from President Bush that inspires me to be a better citizen and made the love of country flow right out of my eyes in the form of tears.

"America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American."

"America's welcoming society is more than a cultural tradition, it is a fundamental promise of our democracy. Our Constitution does not limit citizenship by background or birth. Instead, our nation is bound together by a shared love of liberty and a conviction that all people are created with dignity and value. Through the generations, Americans have upheld that vision by welcoming new citizens from across the globe-and that has made us stand apart."

There were 195 new citizens yesterday. There were 48 countries represented. Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Indonesia, Peru, Canada... eight from China, nine from Bosnia, and even two from Iraq. The presiding judge was from Mexico himself. He had come as a migrant worker with his family. He became a citizen in 1970 and now he is a federal judge! What a great example of the wonders of this country.

So, full of patriotism we drive home listening to "our" favorite NPR. And as we drive down 7th toward our house we were greeted with the most beautiful surprise! The Bishop and his wife had a couple of scouts put out 8 flags in our yard and they bought bouquets of red, white, and blue balloons to grace our fence. Wow. It made E feel really special. It also made quite a statement in the neighborhood. We would watch people from the window driving by and rubber necking, wondering what on earth was happening. I also enjoyed neighbors just dying to ask what was going on but they didn't quite dare. We just let them wonder. I am planning a surprise pot luck dinner in our yard on Sunday evening to celebrate. You are all invited.



So hip, hip, hurray for the USA and one of her newest citizens!

B, B, B... its all about B

I thought it would be fun for all of you to experience B's mind and its workings. The following are comments from B during sacrament meeting. We went to two sacrament meetings yesterday because apparently my niece is out of jail and wanted to bless her nine month old baby. Anywho, as B would whisper to me, I would jot down the things he said and try to "smile and nod" answers as often as possible to keep it quiet.

Our meeting:

• I really want a white light.
• How do you get chicken pox?
• Do chicken pox ever go away?
• Guan? (The speaker was just home from a mission in Guam.)
• Did you know Wall-e is only in fe-aters (theaters)?
• Do you want to own the movie Wall-e?
• When we are done with church can I see how fast I can run with these shoes? (He was wearing his new school shoes for the first time.)
• Maybe I can run 40 miles per hour.
• How do you spell Eve? and Wall-E?
• When are we going to get a GPS? When we get a GPS we can go to DiAnn's house.
• Where are my fingers? I can lip (lick? flip? He just said lip...) them off. Can I?

Next meeting:

• Hey look at the clock, it is almost over.
• How long do 1st graders have to stay in school? (He started school today.)
• After school tomorrow can we eat at MacDonalds? I want a new Star Wars toy.
• Saturday can we go buy another parakeet so Guapo has a friend? (Our neighbors gave us their parakeet.)
• Do you have your wallet with you?
• I have my wallet with me.
• Your name Julie, but her last name is Beck. (The speaker had just quoted Julie Beck.)
• When are we going to have humming birds?
• How many more days of the Olympics are there? Good thing you have it recorded. Then you don't have to cry because you have it recorded. Then you can delete when you're done. And don't delete it until you want to. And I know you deleted Star Wars, know why, because Darth Maul is scary!
• Remember the statues we saw on the computer? (The statue army in China.)
• Do you have any food? I'm hungry. I'm hungry. (Whinier now) I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry. (Louder)
• (Me: Please be quiet, you are embarrassing me.)
• I know.
• I - Want - To - Go - Home!
• How long is it going to take?
• Maybe it was starting when we heard the music at the beginning.

Thankfully E had some treats he shared with the monsters that held them over till the end of the meeting!

The meetings were great thankfully. Ours had a missionary that just got home in June from Micronesia. He spent 18 months on Pon Pei island and learned their language. Wow! I think he said only about 10, 000 people speak Pon Peian. He talked about the Book of Mormon and its power to change lives. Our second meeting we had an RM who served in Siberia. His mission was as large as the US from NY to CA... but only 10 cities in all of that space. Amazing. He spoke about teaching our children obedience. Topics I really needed to hear!

Church. Good times.

B and Death

B has been freaking me out a little lately. He had a couple of weeks there where he was consumed with the thoughts of death. First he was getting sick. A head cold that included pain and pressure in the sinuses. One morning he called me over to the couch and said, "Mom, I need to talk to you." As I walked toward him tears started flowing and he sobbed out, "I don't want to die!" I hugged him and tried to comfort him. Then he said, "I want to say a prayer so that I won't be scared to die." That just broke my heart. He was so scared! We prayed and he felt a lot better. Later on in the afternoon he told me, "Mom, I wasn't dying, I was just getting sick." Whew!

B has also bombarded me with questions about the body and the spirit, the Spirit World and the Resurrection. One day as we were leaving Walmart he started asking, "Does a spirit know its dead? Can a spirit see itself? Does it hurt to be a spirit? Will I know who I am when I'm a spirit? Will I like the same things?" I tried to get across the point that his spirit is "him" and he would still be the same B, but we left him pondering.

He has also questioned many times who would take care of them if Papa died, if Mama died. So, we have been covering that again. I told him I would take care of them or Papa would. "But, what if you both die?" he asks, crying again.

"DiAnn will take care of you."

"How will DiAnn know that you are dead and she needs to take care of us?"

He has a point there, I thought, as I answered, "We'll give her a call."

It didn't work... "How are you going to call if you are dead?"

"You can call."

"I don't know her phone number!" panicking now.

"It is on the cell phone." I could see that he wasn't convinced so I tried a different route. "The police will call DiAnn." That seemed to calm him down.

Hours later he started again, "Who is going to take care of us if you and Papa both die and DiAnn dies, too?"

"Susan," I answered without missing a beat.

"OK," he was satisfied with that answer.

I don't know... do you think B knows something I don't? We shall see I guess. My children do tend to have prophetic abilities. Months ago Silvina called to tell me she was pregnant and she had just found out they were having twins! After I hung up the phone in my excitement I called out to S who was sitting right in front of the TV watching a program. "Hey, Sarah, Silvina is going to have two babies!"

S answered without taking her eyes off of the television, "Yeah, a boy and a girl." Hmmm. I did tell Silvina what she said, and now Silvina calls her the little prophetess. Because, sure enough, she had a boy and a girl. Go S!

They also have uncanny abilities to forecast when I am going to be angry... sometimes. Other times they still seem oblivious and are surprised when they get in trouble. So, maybe we are all safe for a while.

E is funny

This is a picture of E and his brother when they took down a huge tree in my father-in-law's yard. The kids loved seeing him spray saw dust everywhere so he just kept going. He loves to make the kids laugh.

E had a really bad Sunday a while back. He has this bad habit of leaving the keys in the ignition in the van with van turned on. Not running but lights, radio, etc. left on. He also is always late on Sunday morning... so we run out to get in the van and the battery is dead! We only would have been a couple of minutes late if we could have left then but...

So, of course we think about jumping the van's battery. Two problems... 1. We used to have a battery in the garage we have used in the past when he left the keys in the ignition, but unfortunately he had just given it to his dad the week before. 2. E also has a bad habit of selling our cars, without fail the jumper cables go with the car he sells. Well, he has recently sold the Durango and, go figure, we have no jumper cables. To get to church we had to cram three car seats into the back of the little car and still take two cars. We were so late it was humiliating to walk into the meeting. Bad day for E.

Last night my neighbors were over and we were talking about Breaking Dawn. Neither of them have finished it yet. They totally freaked when E started talking about the book. He just kept jibbering nonsense in Spanish even, but they ran away in fear.

I find it hilarious that E loves Bluegrass music. Someone at work gave him free tickets to an outdoor concert of Bluegrass and we were in heaven. The Mike Irvine band played followed by Fire on the Mountain. It was great. I love to see how much E enjoys it and he cracks me up when he asks, "How could anyone not love this beautiful music?" We even bought a CD.

The last story is from when DiAnn and her girls went to church with us. As we left the house I noticed his "trick pen" in his pocket. When you click the pen to use it a jolt of electricity is sent to your thumb. I knew E was hoping that someone would need a pen. The opportunity arrived towards the end of sacrament meeting. Morgan and Heather were drawing pictures with my kids and we needed one more pen. E was thrilled to offer up his pen. He held very still waiting for the moment, I had to turn away because I was afraid of getting the giggles. Sure enough, JOLT and a little yelp. Then every one had the giggles as the pen was passed around. Good times. Sure do love my husband.

R & L's Birthday and S's Birthday

Could it be true that I didn't ever blog R & L's B-day? It was so darn cute.

So, first to assuage my guilt, I must cover S's birthday because I probably didn't blog that either. Happy Birthday S!


Here are some cute pictures of S. When their b-day is on a weekday we make a cake as a family, hence the lovely and may I say elegant princess cake. My favorite would be to have a dress like hers with real M&M's on it. I think everyone has fun helping to decorate, then when the cake doesn't look so great, I can pretend that it is because of the kids helping. : )

The other cake was a lovely store bought cake and S did a "mordida" (took a bite of cake) after we sang to her. Gotta love that blue frosting!

Then we have a party on Saturday with a pinata. I am afraid that is pretty much stuck as a tradition for life. They love the pinatas and we are finding better and better prices. S's was $12 and R & L's was only $8!





I was in a dilema with the twins. One wanted Hello Kitty, which I love as well, so I thought we could just go with that as the theme. But then R started saying things about L's b-day. She didn't realize it was her birthday as well. See, R wanted Diego. When I started looking at Diego things then R accepted that it was her birthday as well.
We ended up only finding a Hello Kitty pinata... so we glued a Diego napkin to one side making it half Diego and half Hello Kitty. I also ordered a cake that was half and half. It was a masterpiece! I love birthdays.

So... I was talking on the phone to Ana (She had her baby on Sunday! Hurray!) and I look out the window just to see B peeing outside right by the garbage can. When I talked to him about it later, after he had "cleaned" it up with the hose, I asked why he had been peeing outside. His answer was, "I didn't want the ants to kill the potato bugs." It took me a minute of just staring blankly at him before I asked again why he peed outside. "To kill the ants." I told him his pee wasn't going to kill anything so next time just go inside to the bathroom. Now that, my friends, is quality parenting.

So the Bella Cullen link didn't work... but a nice person named Deaana left the correct link... http://www.myspace.com/thebellacullenproject

and here is another try with a pretty picture.



Which doesn't work either. The girls are just trying to get their music out there... so enjoy the picture and their music but not with the same link/click.

So much to blog... so little time. A question: Do you eat the little skins on peanuts? Why or why not.

A shout out to Steve, lost 10 lbs! Way to go, Idaho! (Hope that wasn't told me in confidence).

Thank you so much to all those who came to the Slade family reunion. I think everyone had a good time, until the batteries ran out. But seriously folks, I know my kids were in absolute heaven. They ask everyday... "Are we going to Janett's house? Susan's? Ticee's? DiAnn's? Grandpa's? Steve's?" Just pile in the car kids and we'll head out. We really should do some sort of trip, but I'm afraid if I just think about it and never really plan it, we won't end up anywhere but right here.

Just thought everyone should know that apparently S can write as well as read. I bought her a little book with the wide lines and the letters to trace and she just went to town! She does much better now than B did when he was in Kinder. I am telling you, she is not only beautiful but a genius as well (and with no help from me... I don't know how this is happening).

I should have led out with this, can't believe I left it till this far into the blog... I am still floating from last night (wink, wink). I saw a preview for CHUCK!!! That's right, Chuck is coming back ladies and gentlemen. No need to worry any more.

I need to finish the blankets I am making. I am crocheting around the edge of baby blankets. Cutie pitutie... Ana is going to give birth any minute now and I am afraid that Jodi's baby is coming early, maybe she is already here!

I started a sewing circle in RS and we taught a few people how to crochet the edges. They were all speedy learners. I was especially impressed with Bonnie. She had never crocheted before in her life and she learned how to do the blanket! Bonnie was as stalwart as a pioneer, not giving up until she got it. I am very impressed. : ) Kudos to you Miss Bonnie.

FHE

Monday we were talking about families during FHE. We sang, read a poem from the friend ... then the idea was for each of the kids to draw a picture of our families and on the pictures we would write ways we could improve our family. I don't remember why R was so mad but she was on time out just a screaming when we discovered S writing "mama." Rache wasn't happy at all but we just ignored her tantrum the best we could. All the kids drew our family and when R got off of time out she just started jabbing viciously at her paper with her pen punching holes in it. Then she crumpled up the paper and threw it. I tell you what, that girl is scary.

After hanging up the other three pictures we went back into the other room to finish with a little discussion, a song and a prayer. Then what to our wondering eyes did appear? See for yourselves...



Rach had drawn our family on her legs! She kindly explained who everyone was... but I must say the Papa's and Mama's faces were looking pretty grumpy, on her legs, that is. Look at their mouths.

Apparently She Can Read!

So, Monday for FHE we were drawing pictures of our family then writing down ways we can improve our family and hanging them on the wall. B likes to label everyone and I guess S is tired of being "out done." I look over and S is writing "MAMA" on her paper! Of course tears came to my eyes because she is absolutely amazing. I am telling you, I didn't teach her that.

Then today I heard her sounding out cake and trying to write it. I called her over and we worked together for a while. She asked me to write a variety of words on her paper and she could read them all back to me. The video is the proof... it is a little long, however. So, sorry... I was just so darn proud.




Teary eyed again, Rachy got worried and ran over to see if I was alright.

Stories

Bonnie invited us over to eat last week and I looked around the house to see what I could take. I didn't have anything to make a salad with... not fruit, chicken, pasta... just couldn't think of anything. So I turned to brownies. Yummy... I made some turtle brownies with nuts and caramel and took over some ice cream. Bonnie grilled chicken and hot dogs and made dutch oven potatoes, delicious. While we were eating Kyle heard a bang inside of the house. He jumped up and ran in, being especially attuned to that sort of thing. It turns out that Hazel, the dog, had climbed up on the table and had eaten the whole pan of brownies! She started in the middle and worked her way out, leaving only a ring around the outside of the pan. I think the dog was trying to get the crustier part on the outside of the pan when she knocked the brownies off of the table, hence the Bang! Grrrr. No brownies for humans. : (

We have started swimming lessons this week. The kids absolutely love it... but it is wearing me out just a little. The lessons start at 10:15 and we try to shower the kids before we go, so they won't have to shower at the pool. That shouldn't be so hard to do... but it is. I get home from the gym and hurry and feed, shower, suit up, load... We have been on time everyday, of which I am very proud.

The first day all of my little monsters were nervous. They were asking questions about what it would be like, wondering about their teachers and what they would be like. When we got there Brigham got put with the director and he has really progressed. He just tries and tries to swim, float, kick etc. with no fear. He swims like he is riding a bike. It is funny... The thing that really freaked him out was jumping into the pool at 6 feet. He wouldn't do it at six feet, but he jumped in at five feet with a noodle. Chicken liver.

Sarah is in kind of a blah class. Not making a lot of progress. She pretty much does the same things she did last year. But she loves it. She comes out of the pool grinning from ear to ear.

Rachel is practically giddy in the water. She enjoys every minute of it from the very first. She does have a hard time following the teachers instructions. She wanders off often, spashing and jumping. There is like a semi-autistic girl in her class that wanders all of the time and often Rachel will just follow her.

Now Leah... Oh boy. The first day she cried/screamed for half of the lesson. She played for a minute with the class then got out about 10 minutes early. The next day they changed her to a different class, too many problem children in the same class. Leah cried for about 10 minutes the second day but her teachers were very patient with her. Now she only screams bloody murder for about one minute and then she enjoys the rest of the lesson. The screaming is still plenty enough to be embarrassing.

Strange how I always think I am going to blog... yet I never do. Interesting...

I did want to share some things that I learned while Dad was staying with us. We loved having him. My girls still ask at random times, "Where's our Grandpa?" I know I made him pretty uncomfortable but I am still holding out hope that he will stay with us again.

While he was here he read The Key-Lock Man and a book of short stories by Louis L'Amour as well as Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman. Donna has said that he reads but doesn't comprehend what he is reading, so I would give him little quizzes. I kept asking what the book was about and how it turns out. Although I didn't read the books myself, it sounded like he knew what was going on. Not that I doubted, mind you, just wanted a little evidence. : )

Dad was also here on May 26th, the day he married Mom. I grilled him on that subject as well. Here is what I found out. Dad came home from his mission in early April. Grandma and Grandpa Slade were living in Salt Lake at the time. Dad moved in with Eddie and Carolyn, apparently so he could date Mom. They were engaged within a couple of weeks because he said he gave them (Edith and Mom) a month to get the wedding together. Edith loved Dad (so he says), even before he went on his mission. So, when they got engaged so quickly, she was OK with it.

They were sealed in the Salt Lake temple. He only remembers parents being there. He said his brothers were pretty wild at the time. Then he just said the reception was nice and not like the ones now because there was dancing. Then he said, "You have a picture," and went over and grabbed the framed wedding photo I have of them at their reception. Cute Dad.

After they were married they lived in Vernal and I can almost remember what he told me he was doing for a living. Selling insurance? Working at the car wash with Grandpa Jack? Anyone out there who can help with that? But then he got "called up," from being in the reserves. That is when he went to Washington. He said Mom came up later/soon. I do know that is where DiAnn was born.

Some words of wisdom from Dad. While he was here I also asked him if he regretted anything he had done in his life. He got that kind of disgusted/you're ridiculous look on his face and said no. "No use in that, you can't change it. Look forward."

One day we were talking about Donna and some of the struggles. I was trying to make a hard decision and Dad said, "It is a hard road to crawl." I got a little teary eyed because of the literal truth of that comment. He has just been crawling through for quite a few years now.

It still makes me laugh how much I long after Dad's acceptance. I felt great, still feeling great, after I asked him if he thought I were lazy. A surprise laugh came out of him and he shook his head and told me, "Anything but..." Hurray! He doesn't think I am lazy. (Yes, I see how pathetic I am when it comes to my Dad.)

I am so glad that Dad is now in Washington. I hope all is well. And congrats to Autumn on her graduation. Not to leave JD behind... he was the star of his graduation. Congrats JD!

I must announce how excited I am that DiAnn and her girls were able to visit Forks and La Push.


I think DiAnn went a little teen on us. Scrambling after any thing free from Forks, driving as fast as Edward did in Randy's hotrod, ordering just what Bella did at the restaurant in Port Angeles. I would have been right there with her if I could have. Also, thanks to DiAnn, I have been able to learn much more about the Quileute tribe, Jacob's tribe. Amazing tribe. I must say, hang onto your culture! Whatever it may be.

Silvina had her twins a month early. She had toxemia. The babies are still in the hospital (they generally stay in until their due date). I am aching to see them.

52 days and 13 hours until Breaking Dawn comes out. What twists await us? I do know that Stephenie (my BFF) will leaves us all happy and content. Everyone will find happiness, even Rosalie will smile. I am sure of it. Jacob must find love. Edward and Bella will get married. Charlie needs something... it breaks my heart to think of Bella disappearing, he would be devastated. By the by, there is a lot of good fishing near Forks, another tidbit I learned thanks to DiAnn's visit. Charlie loves to fish. Oh, and Leah Clearwater must find some happiness.

Love to all!

Stephenie Meyer!

Quick Highlights:


This is what I put on my T-shirt... it looked cute and Stephenie Meyer really liked it! She told me that herself and told us to get our picture taken by Emily, her cousin. Ticee's shirt said, "Fiesty for a peace-loving body snatcher, aren't you?"

We were late making the T-shirts and we had to drive to Toole to pick up my friends sister! So, we were late and missed Stephenie Meyer's 15-20 minute discussion. : ( But, right when we walked in a man came up to Ticee, who was holding Diedrick, and asked if she had gotten her book signed yet. Come to find out, those with babies got to go first!! Even before the people who had camped out the night before to be in the front rows. We all got to go with Ticee and we sneaked in Sally, some girl who's leg hurt.

We went right up and got our books signed. They had to be opened to the title page... two from the Twilight series and as many Hosts as you had. So, I bought extra Host's and got them all personalized. I was so excited! Stephenie told Ticee that her baby was cute, which he is! And she told me that she loved my shirt.

We were done so fast that we didn't know what to do with ourselves. So, we stayed a few minutes and took some pictures... Ticee got to know Stephenie's extended family, aunts and uncles... they loved Diedrick as well. What would we have done without Diedrick! If we would have waited until "our place" in line... since we came in so late we could have waited until 10 or 11 p.m.!! Good times...

Here is a letter I just wrote to Brandon and Kaber. I think it has a funny story in it so I will post it.

May 13, 2008

Dear Brandon and Kaber,

I have been having a hard time getting letters written so I thought I would try getting a letter out to both of you. Apparently you have both been transferred recently to new areas. It is always fun getting to know a new area and new people… but sometimes it is a little frustrating as well. Trying to remember where the streets are or not knowing which members will help you. I think sometimes it is nice for the members, too. They get to meet a better missionary in both of your cases (wink, wink) and they get a clean slate. Maybe before they weren’t that great at helping the elders or maybe they weren’t really active. But now they are on equal footing. I also think it is great for members to be asked to help, even if they don’t say yes. That way they are given an opportunity to choose to serve the Lord… or, you know, the other guy.

I was thinking about how excited I was for Kaber helping the couple get married and then baptizing the father in Spanish. Yippee! Then I remembered one of my funniest baptisms. When I arrived in Satelite they already had an investigator named Raul Ulizar. He was an older gentleman, about 84 if I remember correctly. His friend, in his twenties, maybe a relative, had been baptized in a different area and was so excited about the gospel. The friend sent the missionaries to Raul and he started receiving the discussions. Raul progressed really well and we set a baptism date. His only request was that his friend would baptize him, which we thought was great. Raul would always have a connection with his friend, his baptism and the church.
The baptism day came and we were set. The interviews were done, the pila (font) was full, we had told the Branch President and our Mission Leader, Raul had come to church, members were involved in the talks and the music etc. The baptism was going well and Raul and his friend entered the font. The friend was so nervous but he said the prayer very well. Right after saying, “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen,” the friend crossed himself before he “dunked” Raul. A cross like the Catholics do!

You can imagine the gasp that spread throughout the room. Everyone was looking around, whispering, in shock, wondering which church they were in. The Branch President and our Mission Leader were beside themselves. They kept asking where we had found this friend that did the baptizing and how do we know if he is worthy? Good point! We hadn’t even thought of asking the friend to bring a “recommend” from his Bishop. Ooops. Silly us.

Anywho, they decided to let the baptism stand and hopefully the records of Raul are entered in the heavens. That was embarrassing… Don’t let just anyone baptize, ya hear. I tell you, what they say is really true, “The gospel has to be true, if not missionaries would have ruined it long ago.” I made some pretty crazy mistakes. But now they are just fun memories. I am pretty sure we didn't do any lasting damage, I hope.

Well, we love you so much! Your parents both told me how fantastic it was to talk to you on Mother’s Day. We are so proud of you and pray for you many times a day. If we don’t mention you in our prayers, Brigham really gets after us. : )

Love ya tons!

WIC...

Today was the dreaded WIC visit. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get out the door. If you get there late you must reschedule and the end result is you lose milk and cheese and juice. So, we were only a couple minutes late.

There was the nicest lady there waiting for her appointment. She was put together nicely, pretty and pleasantly smiling. I kept watching her and wondering about what happened to my smile? So, I paid attention and I mostly smile when I am alone. Now I am practising smiling even when I am busy with all of my monsters and their fits.

We got a pretty feisty lady to check our income, address, names, etc. She had a couple of little stuffed teddy bears sitting by a plant. S touched a bear and feisty lady snapped at her, "Don't touch that."

Then L & R joined the party looking at the bears. Another lady walked by and threw out, "Don't play." Crazy women... why on earth would they think that toys were going to call the attention of kids? Of course the children should stay away from toys.

I ended up holding a crying L and keeping R & S away from the toys by blocking them out, using my old basketball skills. I also must admit that I said, "Those aren't for kids. Sorry, they thought they were toys."

The only other travesty was that L didn't gain enough weight so we have to add an additional visit. I am not sure if you can recall that this happens every single time. Last time L didn't gain one pound in six months... so we had to return in two months and she had gained two and a half pounds! I believe that was an error in record keeping or something, I mean come on. Well, this time since she weighed 25 1/2 pounds last time and today she weighed 26.4... they are making her come back! She is supposed to gain one pound, not 0.9 of a pound. I have serious issues with their data collection and lack of accuracy. But, thank you for the milk.... that is me trying to be positive.






Last Saturday E and I got a babysitter from the Spanish Branch and headed off to SL. We met Alina and friends at the Bombay House for dinner. Wow, she is fun to be around. Also part of the party were Reno and Star, Alina's brother and his wife; Brian, husband; Emily and Judy, FoA (Friends of Alina) and Aaron, a cousin. They were all spectacular company and it was refreshing to remember that there are many normal, funny people out in the real world. Oh, and the food! Delicious! I think Susan would like it. : ) Ana told me that it is one of her favorite places to eat as well. Small, small world.

The photo is thanks to Alina... did I mention we saw the Sultan? Jasmine's father?

Oh.. and did I mention that my husband is hot....

Death

A friend's daughter died from complications from childbirth this week. It was a lady I taught with in Brigham, she was always so wrapped up with her kids, their lives very intertwined. At the time I couldn't believe that she was so involved with her children's lives, having recently been dropped off in Brigham and finding myself walking to work and to the grocery store. I had a car quickly after the first snow storm. Thank you Janett and Alma, I am still grateful for that loan!

Yesterday I found myself aching for closer ties with my family. The funeral was so beautiful. Her parents talked and her sisters spoke. They took turns talking about qualities they loved about Candace, sharing funny stories and making promises to Candace, now that she can't take care of her kids and her husband. They will step in as a family and wrap them in love. The thing is that they really will. They get together a couple times a month as a family... we fight about getting together once a year. It has really left me a little melancholy. That coupled with the price of gas, cutting traveling plans to shreds, has me in a very somber place.

Candace's mother, my friend Susan, said, "If I could have bottled up your giggles and the little hand prints you left on the windows and walls, I would take them out now and scatter them around the house." It really hit home to me how much we need to appreciate each day. I am determined to focus more on the happy moments than the crazy, vexing moments. My kids do really cute and funny things... but often all I can remember at the end of the day is the messes they made or when they didn't obey. From this day forward, I will document something positive they have done everyday. Sometimes on the blog, sometimes in their journals and other times, more importantly, talking to E and telling the kids personally. Asi sera. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Right now R is moving the rocking chair back and forth while L is hanging half way off. Fun is had by all.

Have I mentioned that S can spell her name. You may be thinking, "Who couldn't spell their name if it was 'S'?" But I was very proud and a little teary eyed when she surprised me by spelling out her name.

One last note on death. A lady in our ward went in to wake her husband up yesterday... and found him dead. Very sad. The funeral is on Monday and as RS we are in charge of the luncheon. Wish us luck!

May none of my loved ones die today.

With love,

Julie

R's Surgery

R had to had some dental work done and so they put her out completely at the surgical center. It was horrible. The anesthesiologist was a very quiet thin man that hunched forward to talk and to listen. He was very soft spoken and kind. After he had explained everything then we "laid" R down on the table. She was fighting and scared, trying to cling on to me. Then they started giving her laughing gas and she wouldn't calm down. All of a sudden she went limp and they sighed like it was a relief and we were done. Then she started curling her arms and legs in weird ways... and it was freaking me out. The anesthesiologist just started pumping the gas more quickly and I was sure she was going to die or have brain damage. The other guy said, "She is still really fighting this." That is when I felt the splatters of my tears bouncing off the table. It was horrid.

She finally stopped contorting herself, and then I had to leave her. I tried to hold back the sobbing as the dentist told me he would hurry so I don't have to worry about her too long. Then I stumbled into the bathroom and had myself a good cry. When I was calm enough, I tried to call E to give him an update... but I found that I really didn't have it together yet.

Eventually they called for me about on hour later and R was just waking up.... mad as could be. I tried to hold her but she was a little psychotic about the IV. She kept yanking on the tube anytime her hands escaped. Trauma. The nurse did come back soon and took out the IV. Then R moved on to the name bands she had on her ankles. She was screaming and kicking, "Off! Off!" I tried to distract her by singing, showing her things, "Look at that curtain," didn't go over so well. Funny, but the thing that did the trick was explaining that as soon as I had some scissors I would cut them off. She calmed right down.

She was pretty clingy for the next couple of hours, but really she did great. This all happened last Wednesday. I had a hard time talking about it, so I couldn't blog it until now. I still cried remembering. It was the weird muscle movements that threw me over the edge. The only thing that is freaking me out now is the follow up calls to see if she is doing OK. The Surgical Center called twice and her dentist just called this morning. Is that normal?

Any who, everybody go brush your teeth right now. I will go brush R's teeth now as well.

Poor E

My poor dear husband. He is a blessing in so many lives, but does he have a life of his own? I think I will share his day with you.

He woke up and went directly to the gym. He doesn't love the gym, only signed up so I could get the huge discount. His membership is free if he goes eight times a month. Yes, yes, it sounds like a blessing... but he really hates being the skinniest thing in the gym. Just as much as I hate being the fattest thing in the gym. Any who, he went to the gym.

Then he took care of the monsters while I went to the gym, which I have grown to love. He also spent some time online studying the make-up of a Ford Focus. There is a guy from Spanish Branch that had E look at his car. He has worked on it every weekend for the last couple of months. E will find something wrong, fix it... and then Milla will call saying that the engine light turned on AGAIN! So, Milla called a couple of times today and E spent about an hour on that car. He's going to have to take it to work and hook it up to the mega-diagnostic computer.

I also went out to lunch with a bunch of Relief Society sisters. It is called the "lunch bunch" and once a month they meet at different restaurants just for fun. Since I'm in charge of activities now I thought I'd better go at least once. So, E fed the kids lunch while I was out spending money on food for me. At least I brought him half of my dinner, right?

When I got home I wanted to go to the Dinosaur Park with all the monsters. E went with us and fun was had by all. On our way home we stopped at Smith's to buy milk. E stayed in the car while I "ran" in... but who knew they were having such a great sale! You had to buy discounted products in tens to get five dollars back... so I found four sets of ten. Took me awhile... oops. E was just as patient as could be sitting in the car.

Right before we left for the Dinosaur Park a family had come over with a car they had just purchased in the auction. As they were driving home the "Trac Off" light had come on, it over heated... and the tires stopped turning, in other words it wouldn't drive. They left it at our house and E went to check it out when we got home. It turns out that it was low on antifreeze so it over heated and the car just turned itself off. It also has some misfiring with cylinder 2 but they can still drive it. I looked out the window about 15 minutes after we had arrived home and the owner of the car was here with his son. Under pressure.

I had also complained about him not fixing our stuff. So today he fixed our computer table and the van window that wouldn't roll down. The computer table required some searching for hardware and serious screwdriver work. He had to take the van door completely apart and blah, blah, blah.

While E was fixing the van door, a little old man brought his car by. You can't say no to a little old man who had cancer but didn't die. So, off they went to buy parts and fix something, I didn't even bother to ask.

E went back to the van door but I rudely called him away to help me with the monsters and dinner. R was having a breakdown and I was getting close to one myself. He came in and took over for a few minutes and all was well. Then back to the van which now has a window that can roll down.

Later, I was calling for the visiting teaching report and a lady asked if her husband could talk to E... to ask him when he could work on his car. Poor E.

One little tidbit I forgot. His brother called to talk about NASCAR while we were driving to the Dinosaur Park. When we got there and were trying to get the kids out I snapped at him a little asking why he didn't hang up. Not very nice, eh? But maybe if you knew that the same brother called two or three times yesterday, (the last one being at 10:30 p.m.) to talk NASCAR ... maybe you could understand a little of my annoyance.

So, E is now watching NASCAR. He can maybe relax and not think for a minute. He is a good man. Service is his middle name. No, he didn't get paid for anything he did today... they were all just "could you look at my car" stops. Oh well. NASCAR will be his balm.

Ana's Visit

Ana came and stayed at my house for almost four days! I was in heaven. She was so good and patient with our crazy comings and goings. I'm glad that I got to see her pregnant and so happy to be pregnant. She seems to be doing really well. I miss her more than I would miss chocolate, if I ever stopped eating chocolate. One thing I have learned is that kindred spirits are sometimes hard to find, so we should hang on to them as much as we can.



The Spanish Branch planned a surprise baby shower for Ana while she was here. It was very fun. Much laughter, loud talking, games, story telling, eating. At one point the husband of our friend Jessica walked in and Hna. Ninataype said, "Ya llego el bailarin." Which means, "The dancer has arrived." I laughed a little then looked at the husband and thought about it a little... then I couldn't stop laughing.

Those ladies really are fun to be around. It was also funny to watch Hna. Milla forcing the Branch President to speak and the Relief Society President to speak. A tender moment was when Ana was thanking everyone and said that if she was a good parent, it would be because of the examples she had seen. Then Hna. Milla told Ana that the party, the gifts, the love... Ana was only harvesting what she had sown. It was truly a love fest!

It did make me think about how I treat others. Just being a little pleasant instead of stand-offish can make such a big difference. I want to be kind to everyone, for that is right you see. So, I say to myself, remember this... kindness begins with me. Deep isn't it. I just made that up right now!

Thank you Ana!

Awareness Test

This was on Alex's blog...and I loved it. So, I wanted to share it with you.



I had to watch it twice!

Easter

Easter is so much fun! I have been "horning" in on Richard's family for many, many a year. There is nothing better than an Esplin Easter in Orderville. Thank you Esplins! (Alex... I don't think I've seen you for years! No fair to try and use school as an excuse.)

We traveled down on Friday... and stopped at Janett's. Jesse was kind enough to saddle up his horse and give our kids rides. Nothing but fun at Jan's, I tell you what.









The big Easter Egg-stravaganza begins with the dying of eggs. Thanks to WIC I was able to store up seven dozen eggs... but I cracked quite a few. Susan threw in three dozen boiled eggs and a dozen raw eggs and we colored them all. I love being around Sue's boys because they are so much help. Jacob, Logan and Isaac were pretty much in charge of the dying of the eggs and I felt like I could just sit back and relax. Nice... Then we must fill the too many plastic eggs with the two much candy. Susan and I always go way overboard. But, there were plenty of eggs and plenty of candy for the others who just show up at Grandma's expecting there to be candy and eggs... and there was.... and all was well. When all is ready the little kids (six or seven and younger) find the eggs down at Grandma's house. B thought he was too old for this, so he helped R find eggs... she had more eggs than she needed! The older kids go on a treasure hunt. Daniel did a great job with the treasure hunt and it is fun to watch the kids run all around. The treasure is their Easter baskets. Good times, good times.



Next comes the pot luck lunch. Yummy baked beans and salads, fresh rolls and brownies. Always scrumptious. Just when you think it is time for a nap... we hear that everyone has already left to go to the sand dunes. We load up the shovels, eggs, blow dart guns and all of the kids to head out. The ramp is elaborate and a work of art. Jumps, diverting paths, tunnels... it is all there. We had fun rolling dozen after dozen of eggs down the super speed way.



Once the eggs are all broken the egg war breaks out. Generally the war stays away form the women folk. This year it came dangerously close. I blame that on the youngest couples who still think hitting your true love with an egg shows how much you adore her. Last but not least comes the blow dart war. The participants line up from tallest to shortest, then every other one steps forward to make teams for the first round. After everyone gets shot, they play again, and again, and again. Pretty much until all of the little, little kids are crying and screaming. S wet her pants, R was crying because she couldn't get all of the sand off... It just makes it easier to go home. : ) When we got back to Susan's house we ran right to the shower. Wow, I am grateful for running water! Then we get to chat and eat leftovers all night long. Sunday they monsters were all dressed up and we went to our favorite ward in Orderville (don't tell the other ward).



Our monsters are all so very handsome. Thank you Susan. We had such a great time. I do hope the Esplins never hold a meeting to figure out how to reclaim their own family holiday. We love the Esplin Easter! When I explained the festivities to Ana, she was amazed. I would like to dedicate this tunnel to Ana. It was built by Logan and help... The eggs would spin once or twice before they went on through. It was sweet.

Reading

My neighbor Bonnie told me the other day that she thinks I use reading as an escape. I have been pondering that, and I am afraid she is right. I have read at least 12 books during the month of March (see link to "Books I've Read" over on the left). Being so busy with my little monsters I am afraid that is baaad. I shouldn't be spending so much time reading. It is like an addiction... and I do want to escape, a little. It has been a long, hard winter. That is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Any advice out there? I am trying to use the advice that DiAnn gave me, through Isaac Newton... "An object in motion stays in motion"... also true is "An object at rest stays at rest until acted upon by an outside force." So, if you are sitting on the couch it is going to take an extra amount of force to get you up and going. However, if you are busy... it is easier to stay busy. The laws of Newton help me remember to get busy, sometimes.

Humillacion

In Spanish the word humillar means both to humble and to humiliate. I have had some pretty humiliating experiences lately and I have been hoping that they at least serve to make me a more humble person. I will share mine, then you must share yours... so be thinking.

The other day we were invited to a birthday party by a family with three boys. We bought a gift for the oldest boy, Lester, and went to their house for the big she-bang. I was asked to give the prayer and I blessed the food but also had to throw in what a great boy Lester was and please bless him as he grows... blah, blah, blah. As soon as I said "Amen," Lester pipes up and tells me it is not his birthday, it's Ryan's birthday. That would explain Ryan's name on the other gift I saw... and the cake. Synapses firing a little slow there?

E got home from the NASCAR races all fired up and more a Jeff Gordon fan than ever before. He purchased a #24 flag that hooks to the window and proudly hung it off of the window on his Durango. The only problem is that I drive the Durango to the gym. I didn't really notice the flag until I was on my way and it was pretty embarrassing, but it was still a little dark so I didn't think about it too much. On the way home was a different story. I could see the shadow of the flag flapping in wind, mocking me. I am sure that everyone around me noticed the NASCAR flag flying proudly, and I was ashamed.

Here is an experience that Ana had in her ward in California. She was in the hall at church on a weekday (she is the YW president don't you know) and saw the sister missionaries. She noticed that one of the sisters was new to the area and she was on crutches. Ana, the kind soul that she is said, "Oh, what happened?" Then she looked down, down, down and noticed that there was only one leg sticking out of the dress. Horrified she hears the sister missionary start into the story of how she had lost her leg because of cancer.... .... Funny? I got a kick out of it.

Citizenship

He did it! HE DID IT! We have almost jumped through every hoop and filled out every form necessary for E to become a citizen. He passed his test. Hurray!

Preparing for the interview was by far the worst part. He has been studying for a couple of months at least. We also had to take in the following documents:

• his green card
• his ID/drivers license
  
• his passport
• my birth certificate
• our marriage certificate
• proof of residence and our union
• birth certificates of all our children
• a copy of our taxes from the last three years.

We took everything in and they only looked at the first two.

Getting ready in the morning, he decided to wear a suit. He said that if they deported him at least he would arrive in Honduras in something nice. All of these jokes about getting deported were kind of getting to me. One would like to think they wouldn't deport him, or would they. They can actually do anything they like. So it was funny, but not really.

We took the whole family and I think our kids served their purpose. The interviewer saw them and maybe he recognized how much they needed their dad.

They quizzed E on his name, my name, our children's names and he did well. Then they had him read sentences and write sentences to prove that he speaks English. Last but not least they asked him 10 questions about our history/government.

1. What do the stripes on the flag represent? (The first 13 states.)
   
2. Who was the first president of the United States? (George Washington.)
   
3. Who elects the President of the United States? (The electoral college.)
4. How many Senators are there in Congress? (100, two from each state.)
5. Who is the head of the Executive Branch of the U. S. Government? (The President.)
6. What were the original 13 states? (Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia.)
7. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death"? (Patrick Henry.)
   
8. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by American colonists? (Thanksgiving.)
9. Who is the Commander-in-Chief of the United States military? (The President.)
10. How many times may a Senator or Congressman be re-elected? (There is no limit.)

All of the questions he answered appropriately and the guy told him he passed. Then he had to sign a paper saying that he would go to war for the U.S. if he was called up. And that was it. When he walked out he just said, "Piece of cake." All that is left is the oath ceremony. They said they will send us a letter three weeks before the ceremony, so who knows when that will be. Not within the next three weeks at least. I think I need to throw a party when it is all done. You are all invited!

We celebrated by eating at Chuck-a-Rama and going to the zoo. We do love the zoo.

Painted Ladies

The goosies got into mama's makeup. They actually impressed me with their skill. They got the lipstick on the lips, the mascara on the eyes and the eye shadow close to the eye lids.