I am so completely and utterly self absorbed. As I read my past posts, I am amazed that anyone would even read them. Oh well, here I go again.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Wednesday we went down to Susan's and spent the night. I got to cook with Sue Thanksgiving morning... we made pumpkin and pecan pies. I also made some yams, yummy. I have decided that cooking is an integral part of Thanksgiving for me. If I don't get to cook something, the day is ruined. Then we ate with Richard's family. Very delicious, the food and the decor... Other than upsetting Heidi's plan, we had a great time.

After dinner we quickly loaded up and went down to Vegas where we ate again with E's family. They were kind not to complain about us getting there so late. I forced my yams and pie upon them. They ate the pecan pie right up. It was delicious. Sue and I found a great recipe in her "America's Test Kitchen" cookbook.

Then we got to spend Saturday night at Ticee's house... and we stopped by Janett's on Sunday. Sweet, eh.

We put up our Christmas tree for family home evening. The kids are so excited! It was super fun for one day. Now it is not fun... "Can I open my present now?" "How about now?" Then it snowed yesterday and S was sure it was Christmas. We put them to bed at 7 p.m. last night, just for a little peace and quiet.

The Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah was on the radio today while we were in our van. S started to talk about dancing water, I began searching for any sign of water outside but to no avail. Then I tried to remind her about how this was the song we heard at the Bellagio in Vegas, with the water shooting out... Dancing water.... She had been trying to remind me of the exact same thing. Smarty... S has also started singing "Holly Jolly Christmas" around the house. So unbelievably cute!

Goodness, I went to a WIC appointment today. E went with me for the first part before he went to work. We signed the papers and E was off to work. We weighed the girls and they are now old enough that I don't have to undress them, yipee! Everything was going so well, I was afraid. The girls played well together when we had to wait for the nutritionist. A lady from our ward came in and I had someone to chat with. Spooky. Then it happened. We got called back into the nutritionists office and sat down. L was acting a little fussy and wanted to sit on my lap, then on her own chair, back to my lap, on the floor... which is all pretty normal... but she just kept getting whinier instead of settling down. Then L started to gag and what to my wondering eyes did appear? But a little vomit coming right near. She threw up into my hands! The nutritionist handed me tissues and we ran to the bathroom while she threw up again. Gross. I am amazed that I didn't throw up as well. How embarrassing. I had to was her shirt out in the sink but luckily she had a soft fuzzy jacket that worked well as a top.

WIC, WIC, WIC.... I am so grateful for the help with milk!! And, I am so sorry about the trauma every single appointment. The sadness is that neither S nor L grew enough in the last 6 months and I have to take them in for an extra appointment in January. Grrrr.

Did you all know that Janett has an entire Christmas village? I think that is so great. She even has the perfect spot to put it. I am suffering from a little Janett envy... I am pondering cauterization of the uterus. Anyone want to input their opinions? Jan had it done. Hmmm...

Love to all!

Faux pas!

Why must I always end up putting my foot in my mouth?! It is so challenging being me. I see soft spoken, kind, gentle women and think how much I would like to be like them... but alas... I am loud, often harsh and a little difficult to take.

I walk with Luz every morning and we talk about everything under the sun. Well, she told me that an hermana from the Spanish branch who just had a C-section... Carmen Gloria who is 46 years old... was out raking leaves, vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen. She wouldn't ask for any help from anyone. So, I went to see Carmen Gloria and I told her to shape up and let people help her. The true definition of irony. Her neighbor was there, Hna. Marengo, and she just happened to be the one that told Luz about the raking of the leaves. The neighbor went back to Luz on Sunday and chastised her saying, "If I can't trust to to keep a simple confidence, how will I trust you with something bigger?" Luz comes back to me... wondering why I would tell Carmen Gloria that someone had seen her raking leaves?!

I felt a little chagrined (is that even a word?) but please! Who knew that the raking of leaves was supposed to be a secret? Oh bother. So, I have made quite a mess of things... adding a little more contention to the branch. Just what they needed.

I "threw the back out" again last Sunday. This time my back went into spasms when I sneezed before going to church. It was extremely painful Sunday through Wednesday. ... since then it has been progressively better. Now it only hurts to stand up. I feel like I lost that week... just like Ticee lost her month of October. Like I can understand her month lost because of my little week lost. Yes, I completely understand Ticee... and make sure not to rake leaves.

My poor husband has suffered so these past two days! First of all, Jimmy Johnson won the Nextel Cup and left Jeff Gordon in second. That has had him suffering in anticipation. The last race was yesterday. On top of that our RS had Super Saturday and I was gone from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. It didn't last that long, but there was a group of five of us that were determined to finish our project... so we stayed and helped each other finish. We made a pact not to leave until we were all finished. I had a great time! The only thing I need in my new ward is someone who is funny... must find a funny friend.

E was at home taking care of the kids and Steve came up to get some help fixing his car... emergency brake, blinkers, windshield wiper reservoir... E's dad also came by to get help with his car and E worked on our purple Durango. He wanted to take it down to Thanksgiving... but we don't really have the money to get it ready. So, sorry to all those who were holding their breaths, hoping to catch a glimpse of our purple monster.

Sunday E woke up with a cold. That always throws him over the edge. He was sure he couldn't make it to church, but he cowboyed up and went. Sacrament meeting was horrid this week. R used her guttural scream/cry any time anyone got in her way as she moved between E and myself. L kept bursting into tears at random moments. B acted deaf, never responding when we asked him to sit on the bench, move his legs, pick something up, not cause fights, etc. That only leaves S who gets so nervous when R & L don't obey her, she just keeps chanting her instructions over and over, louder and louder. I was determined to sing in the choir, which I did. (I lock the kids in the van with a movie on after church each week to go to a few minutes of choir practice. You 'll see me on the news someday.) We were so glad when church was over!

E's sorrows didn't end there. After counting the tithes he came home to watch the last NASCAR race of the season. A week earlier I had signed up to feed the missionaries at 5 p.m. and then later found out that they had changed Spanish choir practice to Taylorsville and I had to leave at 5 p.m. So, with only 13 laps to go he had to turn off NASCAR and take care of the Elders. Our practice continued into the night... we finally left at 9:45 p.m.! So, E had to put everyone in bed too.

You might think that he would be getting after me or something, until now he has suffered in silence. Being very kind about giving me my time. He truly is fantastic.

I made some super cute things at Super Saturday. Just the fact that I finished everything (9 projects!!) keeps me on a natural high.

Love to all,

Julie

Howdy! Fair Sabbath to all. We had a great day! We were so ready for church on time, with the time change and all. We had time to go to the hospital and see Carmen Gloria and her new baby. She is the 45 year old that hadn't seen her husband for six years (he was here, she was there). She brought her boys (16 and 14 years old) up from Chile and surprise, she got pregnant. Her tiny is so cute, another boy. She is doing well, too.

Even after visiting her we still got to church early. I fulfilled my calling, got in the VT report. Got to listen to all the classes, bore my testimony (I wanted my kids to remember their mom bearing her testimony), and I even went to the end of choir practice... our ward started a choir today! Bro. W from our Bishopric took care of my kids for me. (E was counting tithes). He took them into the Bishop's office and they danced, sang songs, played hide and seek... So cute!

I fasted for Ticee... pretty much 24 hours, minus two.. much better than last week when I ate at 2 p.m. I am sure things will go well tomorrow with such a long fast out of me! Now, I get to go to Spanish choir practice. Getting ready for the Christmas program, El Regalo de Navidad. Get your tickets on line at www.lds.org. We will be singing in the Tabernacle, thank you very much. That way you will be able to hear all of the altos singing their own alto part. Good times. We only have this month left for practicing! By the way Ana, there was an alto that we liked last year named Vanessa, with long black hair... she helped with something in Layton... maybe the altos... anywho, she is engaged! Hurray for Vanessa.

What if everytime anyone got engaged ( or pregnant or became a teacher or went on a mission) we just started going off on all of the worst parts of that experience. Oh, the stories we could all tell. Yet, we just smile and congratulate and hope that they will be happy. Yes, I am happy... settle down out there.

B is freaking me out. He is having some real issues with "who's the boss." Yesterday he told me that, "You and Papa don't have to be my boss any more. I think you have taught me enough already." Can anyone out there tell me this is a phase? Or is he already pre-teen at five years old? My goal is to help him get a strong testimony so he will be sure to choose the right.. Advice anyone?

All of the cats had croup last week. R and L were the worst... but we are all getting better, thanks for thinking about little ol' me. (Line from Friday Night Lights... a must watch!)

Love to all!

General Conference!

Wow! I am feeling so loved right now. I really appreciate the Lord "giving it" to science-hater right over the pulpit at General Conference. Elder Scott's talk was so perfect. Loved it... and I love science. Hurrah for President Eyring and for the many hispanics who spoke. I love hearing any type of accent, it reminds me of how world wide we really are.

Every conference time Deseret Book has a ladies night during the Priesthood session. I have never been able to go. So, this year I was determined to just go for it. I wanted to buy two books that we are reading in book club, Finding Peace, Love and Joy and the new Sheri Dew, so I have been waiting to go and check out ladies night. The first 100 ladies received a clock, so I loaded up the cats at 5:30 and we headed on over. To my surprise, there was a line outside the door, in the rain! I knew that I could get the clock if we joined the line... but I just couldn't justify making my tinies wait in the rain. A couple of minutes before 6 p.m. we headed over to join the line. My kids were so great during the wait to get in. The line slowly moved towards the door, but they were having a good time looking at themselves in the windows. When we were about to go in, a woman came from the opposite direction and started walking in. Someone said something to her and she got a little feisty. "I have already been inside! I just needed to put something in the car." I am sorry that I couldn't hear the other side of the "discussion," the other party speaking so quietly. I just heard, even louder, "Are you LDS? You are? Did you watch conference today? Well, you should have learned something!" Ouch, I think the other lady was rubber and what was being yelled at her bounced right off her and stuck back on the yeller. I guess she didn't learn enough from conference either.

Inside was so packed! You had to squeeze through crowds to move anywhere. That was so tricky with my four little cats. Someone came by with free cookies and I snagged one for each of my kids. We were standing there in a little line while they ate their cookies and some lady came up and said, "This is the book I want, but we'll have to go look for one that isn't slimed by water or cookies from little kids." Ouch. Of course my children would never slime books, we love books and care for them with that love.

I saw Denniane Gutke in the middle of all the madness... we grew up together. Her mom was also my sixth grade teacher and my Sunday School teacher. Denniane made my night by telling me that I looked really beautiful, that I had always been beautiful. Hmmm... She is nice.

While in line to purchase my two books the kids just hovered around me playing. A nice lady came up to me laughing saying that it looked like little heavenly bodies orbiting me. Many people were very kind. Deseret Book gave away many, many gifts. They were drawing out 15 - 20 names every five minutes. We waited by the door just to make sure that I wouldn't miss my name... but they didn't ever call out for me. So, as I was herding them out S informs me she needs to go potty. Back into the store, around you, behind them, twisting, turning, keeping all of my little ducks in a row. Once S ran up to me after getting knocked down by a teen in a hurry, "I got hit by a big girl!" We also saw the "heavenly bodies" lady and she was so excited for me because she thought I had won and was going to claim my prize. Nope. Finally we made it to the back of the store and the bathrooms. Women's, locked... Men's locked... S please don't pee in your pants, it will be just a minute. Then a lady comes out of the men's and I started pushing my cats in, only to find it full of a table and chairs. We barely fit. Then S started crying because she can't use that bathroom... let's not forget the fear of public toilets. We were able to get it all taken care of and head back out. By that time, they had started drawing names again and I figured I might as well wait. We found an empty spot and hovered. R and L layed on the floor! I kept whacking people with my gianormous bag. When I couldn't take it anymore we started making our way to the door. I hesitated once more at the door but, alas, they didn't call my name.

Walking out of the door a young woman asked if I had won. I answered no. She then held out two CDs wrapped in raffia. "Take these... I have four kids and have never been able to come because of this," she motioned to my four little orbiting satellites. "My husband just had surgery, so he couldn't go to Priesthood tonight and he let me come. I am just so impressed that you came with all of them." I made some little protesting noises, but she pushed the CDs into my hands. Overwhelmed with emotion I reached out and just gave her a big ol' hug, frightening her just a little. She made a slight nervous laugh, turned and walked quickly away. I can't even describe the light that filled me up. That was truly Christ like love. Thank you to that girl and may she receive many, many blessings for being so thoughtful.

I have exactly eight minutes to blog before I have to go pick up B. He had big show and tell again today. It is now every Monday. He took his transformer, Jetfire. I always try to steer him towards something cultural or educational, yet he continues to focus on toys. I guess I should let him choose, we'll see. Maybe we will take turns.

L started wearing panties today. She has been ready for quite a while, but I wasn't. I bought her and R some new undies and unveiled them this morning. R tried it out, but after peeing in two pair of Dora panties she ran to her room and brought me a diaper. Cutie. L has done great and hasn't had any accidents. I tell her to go potty and she says OK, running to the bathroom. Pushing the stool by the door she turns on the light. Then the stool is scooted over to the toilet so she can climb on. Later she must scootch the stool to the sink, but I must turn the water on for her because it is still way out of her reach. Tiny little thing.

Church... RS was combined with the men yesterday. Interesting. The teacher was fantastic (the Elder's Quorum President) but science hater and wheelchair man were annoying. Instead of just listening and learning, they were searching for any tiny little thing they could disagree with ... and they found plenty. I always feel like I have to comment as well when I think I must stick up for the teacher or bring the discussion back. What does it feel like to just sit and listen and not feel this weird pressure to speak up?

The nicest part was I found out there are at least 5 funny people in the ward. Excellent news.

They put E and I as visiting teaching/home teaching companions. So, yesterday being the end of the months, we took cookies around. I found that I need to let E speak more.... but when the situation is awkward or I am nervous, I just blah, blah, blah..... faster and faster. Frightening.
But we got it done! : )

Can't wait for this weekend and General Conference. I loved the RS meeting.... thanks Sue for calling to remind me. I was so paranoid about forgetting that I tried to think about it everyday last week... and I did remember! I like the new Presidency.... Love Sister Allred because she is Hispanic and has an accent... love Sister Thompson because she is single and a little heavy... love President Beck because she speaks Spanish and she came to a conference here and was nice to my husband.... and all of that was before I heard them speak!

Love to all!

Julie

Familia

We've had a couple of busy days. Yesterday was Michelle's wedding so I took all the cats and went down to the temple. It was so fun. Dad and Donna came up with Becki and Cardon. Uncle DeLeon was there, as were Dorothy and Paul. It was so fun seeing Dad with Terry, DeLeon and Dorothy. I couldn't help but remember Lisa's wedding three years ago, pre-stroke. Dad was joking and laughing with his siblings. This time there was still joking and laughing but also a polite addition of trying to include Dad and ask him questions etc. Dorothy took a couple of pictures of Dad while he was just standing alone. She loves her brothers so much!

Afterwards everyone went to eat at a Golden Corral and I just honed right in. (Is that even a word?) I got to have Dad drive down with me. He talked to me about dinosaurs with feathers and their articulation. I talked to him about getting engaged in the temple we'd just left. The best 30 minutes of the day. At the restaurant Becki was such a huge help with my little monsters. S adores her and sticks to her like glue. (Speaking of glue... our neighbor gave us a play kitchen... yes, we are thrilled... the other day S broke out a glue stick and was trying to glue the plastic sink back into place. She rubbed glue everywhere!) Aunt Debbie made me happy... twice! First she said she really missed us girls (that goes out to all of the good Slade girls), and she tickled R and said to Donna, "I don't know how you can stand to stay away from these kids. I would be up here all of the time." That's right. Cute kids.

Today the city had a "party" for their employees and families. We came home loaded with goodies. They gave us all bags, water bottles, balls, stuffed animals, pedometers, stress relievers and much, much more. The kids loved it! We signed up for a contest to get moving, as in exercise. We also need to add veggies and water to our diet. Piece of cake... we keep track for a couple of months and may win a trip to Disneyland! Watch out!

After the wellness extravaganza we went to a surprise birthday party for Melvin. If you knew Leah and Melvin (a couple who previously were part of the Spanish Branch), you would know how weird it was to surprise Melvin. The Palmers and the Fonsecas were invited along with Leah's family and it was in Melvin's family's house. For such on odd group of people, it was surprisingly pleasant. Jason Palmer finally started speaking to me. He never liked me while we were in the branch but now he opened right up. His great-grandfather happens to be Thomas Chamberlain who helped settle Orderville. Go figure.

There was also 38 year old Andy who has Down's Syndrome. Wow, that is a long time to take care of your son. His dad was so great with our kids. He sat down and explained that Andy had Down's and sometimes acted a little silly or did funny things. I think it really was perfect for B and S so they wouldn't be afraid of him, instead they played well with him.

Leah (not mine) started snapping picture like crazy and I found it very funny. She is such an interesting study. At first I thought she might be a kindred spirit ... but I haven't ever been able to really break through. She adores Melvin, which I also find very funny. He is so stand-offish and, well, rude. But she thinks she caught the greatest prize out of the pond. It is nice to see how much she loves her husband. I hope people know that I caught the priziest prize and I love my husbando.

And, as a last note... I am almost better, getting over the cold. All that's left is the cough. So, today I returned to the gym. I saw the naked lady from my first visit, she was fully clothed this time. I asked her about swimming laps. I am trying to get up the nerve to go in and swim laps. She mentioned she also does the sauna. Don't think we need to ask if she wears clothes in the sauna. Woo, woo.... Ticee and I are going to see who can lose the most weight before Christmas. I know, not fair to Ticee who is already small, but she suggested it. Anyone want to join in?

Love to all!

E found a show on PBS called "Songs from the Mountain." He was enthralled and called my into watch. It was blue grass/folk music, a lot of fun, with banjos, fiddles etc. E suddenly said, "How could music this beautiful ever lose popularity." How cute is that?

I also love it when he folds clothes and puts them away. There is no better gift on the planet!

These are some more pictures we took at the reunion. I told L it was a potty and she was ready to use it! Cute kids. May I state once again how glad I am that I can stay home with my little monsters. At least until they get into school.

Some fun things have happened lately. I walk 3 miles every morning with my friend Luz. We always wave at people because we see the same people drive or walk by every morning. One little Asian couple drove by on their way home from the cookie factory. (Sometimes they still had their hairnets on... and we've seen them close to the factory.) The husband has always been pleasantly surprise when we wave... Now they wave at us first. : ) The other day they saw us and quickly pulled over, frantically motioning for us to approach the car. "Cookies for you! Cookies for you!" As they handed us a bag, the wife (who always drives... interesting little tid bit) was chanting it over and over. (It kind of reminded me of Alina's "papas fritas" story.) They had brought Luz and I a box of cookies. So sweet.

We have many other "wave at" friends, but my favorite is a girl who used to refuse to look at us. We have now won her over and I'm sure we will soon be swapping addresses.

The other day B heard some program announcing their web address and he told me he wanted to go there. Then thoughtfully he asked, "Mom, what do you think it says at Heavenly Father.com? " That's my boy.

S & B wanted to play in the water and S couldn't find her swimming suit. I put some shorts on her and had to force a shirt on her. She thought she should be able to go topless like B does. A few minutes later I looked out back to check on them. I found S running around topless and B peeing off the balcony. Beauty, eh? I'm sure nobody in the neighborhood thinks of us as white trash... well, mixed trash....

Now to church. I am not used to people not loving me, so this English ward is really throwing me for a loop. I haven't found any soul mates yet, but there are some nice people. There is also a clique of youngish couples that I really don't want to be in... but the women are always in nursery. My girls have decided to scream bloody murder if I don't stay in nursery with them. This is something quite new. I am sure that the three of them got together and planned it as torture for me, payback for leaving the Spanish Branch were they were goddesses... everyone fought over who got to take care of them or play with them. Now I must sit and listen to these women talk about hair and bodies and shopping etc. Every now and then I feebly try to enter the conversation... but I haven't been successful yet. Ick... After an hour of that E came to spell me off.....

Sunday School, I had no idea what the lady was talking about. She tries to share her thoughts but everything came out disjointed... or it didn't make connections in my brain....

Sacrament meeting... The science hater from the previous week in SS gave a talk. The week before he had mentioned that the world worshiped at the feet of science and blah, blah, blah... After church I went up to him to let him know how much I loved science... and that was exactly what I said. I just wanted him to realize that many scientist love God and recognize his power. OK... So, his talk was supposed to be about labor, work... but he spoke about Charles Darwin vs. Joseph Smith. He said many horrible things like only God knew how the earth was created so we should just wait until he tells us instead of wasting time trying to figure it out. At one point he read a quote, which I missed because of a small riot taking place in our bench, and then said, "Did you hear that Sister Castilony? I only say that because last week she accused me of being a scientist hater." Wow, now that was rude.

I must admit that I shed a few tears in the van after church...

Then I had to see his wife last night at scrapbooking. She spoke about how no one in the ward came to see her when she was in so much pain. Last night she kept saying, "She's not talking to me," and she would point at me. However, I had to "talk" to her quite a lot. She trapped me on the way out telling me about her daughters step-son and his abuse, her other daughter's reproductive history, her mom's Alzheimers, her yard... and much much more. Why did we leave the Spanish Branch again?

I must be off to announce the Book Fair at faculty meeting at B's school. Why do I love his school? Uniforms, teachers from Spain and Taiwan, Spanish spoken often everywhere and everyday, 25 kids per class, high expectations. Love it!

Love to all!

Julie

We went to the Evensen Heritage family reunion last Saturday. I was in heaven! The girls who planned it, Carrie and Sheryl, did so much work. They found recipes for chest rub, soap, raisin cake and bread in Great-great Grandma Margarethe's diary.... then they made samples of them all for us to take home! I bought a CD with so many great pictures and histories on it... including the journal of Margarethe. Glorious... I saw Grandpa Slade's brothers Uncle Chester (and Aunt Phyllis) and Uncle Jimmy. Lots of Dad's cousins were there and said to tell dad hello. Joyce, Kay and Vickie.... Sheryl and Brenda, Sandra's daughters (she is the daughter of Mary Fern). I was really sad to have just missed DeLeon and Sandra and Shauna & Dorothy... but I had a great time.

B's school... He is so cute. I guess last Friday was show and tell, but I didn't know until after school. He took a toy out of his back pack and told me he had shown it to his class for Show and Tell. What an independent little guy. Somehow I thought I would be consulted on important matters like these.

This is a picture of B's first day of school. That is S in the back ground checking out a Princess back pack that belongs to some girl in B's class. I couldn't tell you the name of any one in B's class because he doesn't know anyones names. At least he knows who is teacher is.

By the by, check out Ticee's beautiful baby on her blog. So delicious!

My sweet B had a great day at school. He said, "I love school!" at least five times on the way home. He mentioned that he didn't have any scissors when Mr. Garcia said, "If you are a boy and you have scissors, put them in this box." Who knows? I am guessing that it has to do with the list of supplies they asked us to donate. We took ours in last week. I am afraid that everything about school from here on out will be a little mysterious. Never knowing what he is really talking about. I well remember some of the stories I heard from parents when I was teaching.... about what they tried to piece together.

He said they played a game during recess with ocean animals. "I was an octopus, no a shark, a good shark. And we killed the bad sharks, ate them up." Hmmm.... that could go either way.

He ate school lunch... I must secretly admit that therein lied my biggest worry. How was he going to get to the cafeteria? Know where the trays were? Get catsup if he wanted some? Open his milk? Find the garbage? Carry everything without dropping it? Stay seated while he ate? Yes, I have been stewing about this all week. All seemed to turn out very well. "I didn't know we would have blue berries and uvas (grapes). My favorite!" When asked what else he ate, "Mac and Cheese." We have never really eaten "Mac & Cheese" at home, and we certainly have never said the words "Mac & Cheese." Who taught him that? Yet, another mystery.

I was excited to do homework with him, alas, there was nothing in his backpack. Mystery? And then there is the mystery of the name tags. B said out of the blue this afternoon, "Hey, the ladies didn't give back my card that I gave them to eat lunch." I certainly hope they kept it.

Thus ends my saga of sending my first child to his first day of school. I shed a few tears as he entered the classroom, but I could hold it together as long as I didn't have to speak. When E asked me what had happened when I talked to the secretary about school lunch, I cried quite a bit. It took him awhile to realize that he didn't have to be angry at the secretary. It was just requisite for me to break down a little watching our little guy grow up. I am crying right now as a matter of fact. Quite therapeutic, I would say.

Love to all!

Well... the baptism was great. I wish we could spend more time together as a family. There is never enough space or time. What we really need is a millionaire father who would build a giant home that we could all fit in with all of our families. That way we could all have plenty of time to talk and let the kids play together. Dream on, dream on.... It would be nice though.

We got to run down and see Susan and Ticee before Jodi left. I was only mean to Jodi once, and yes I still feel guilty. I can't wait till I am a gentler, kinder person. Some of the highlights were doing water aerobics with Susan in the Orderville pool. A bunch of old ladies and a couple of young ones. Susan up in front showing us the moves and yelling, "Work it ladies, work it." Even just imagining it could bring one much joy.

I also loved watching Ticee trying to pretend like she wasn't having contractions. I was determined to try and clean her house a little and she refused to let us work alone. So she valiantly worked along side, about killing herself, pretending the pain and exhaustion away... just like a true Slade girl. I loved washing the tiny baby clothes and taking care of them. The worst was that we had to leave a day before he was born. : ( But little Deidrick got here safely and seems to be just as adorable as his brethren.

Jodi got home safely and was so glad to be reunited with all of her boys. I just remembered that her phone was stolen.... I wonder if that issue was ever resolved. Susan's purse was stolen as well at Walmart in St. George. Things usually happen in three's, so the next person who gets something stolen... let me know.

I was also able to meet up with two of my friends from the mission, Darla and Christina. We all went to see our mission president, Presidente Lyman. We took our kids and it was sheer craziness, just like everyday of my life. I was so thrilled to be able to see Darla, Christina, Presidente and his wife. They include the very most favorite people from my mission!! May we never forget Guatemala and all of the blessings we have in our lives from "giving" the Lord a small year and a half. I wrote "giving" because I ended up receiving so much more than I gave!!

We were so sad about the death of James E. Faust. I will never forget his conference address a couple of years ago when he cried because he felt that once when he was younger he hadn't treated his grandmother the way he should have. It just shows his tenderness and kindness. What a great man. Also, many of my friends are sad because there is one less Democrat in Utah. Alicia and Nathan moved away... as did Ana and Justin. I am afraid that soon there won't be any Democrats left. Hmmmm....

I also had our first book club meeting in our new ward. We read Ride the Laughing Wind by Brenton and Blaine Yorgason. (Blaine, what kind of a name is Blaine? It sounds like an appliance. .... name that movie) What has happened to the Yorgasons? Have they written anything lately? I did love the book, and yes I am a little ashamed that I hadn't read it already. Any one who has ever been to an Anazazi ruin should definitely read this book. Loved it....

Our book club dinner was an interesting time. I did find out that one lady pays her husband $40 an hour to do his geneology. She is willing to pay him up to $500 a month. He is so stuborn, though, and will not do his geneology... and she can't figure out why. My comment was, "I am guessing that you don't share money." They have been married for 45 years, for those of you out there who were wondering. The next book is The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans. Can't wait to see what I will learn next month.

After all of that catching up... now to the real news... It is almost time to pick up my little guy from his very first day of Kindergarten. He was so handsome in his kacki pants and white polo shirt (that they had him tuck in right when he came into the room). E drove separately so he could go to the gym afterwards. He surprised us by having the video camera ready when we drove up to the school. He was able to film B climbing out of the van with his oversized Spiderman/Venom back pack on. I got teary eyed as he marched into the classroom with just a little wave. S and R started crying and refused to walk out of the front doors without B. "Don't leave him!" S also kept trying to convince me that she is five (three). She thought she could trick me into letting her go to B's school.

Now I must go see how his first day went. I am off....

Too much information about the under clothing, yes, I agree. But when I was in so much pain... it affected my reasoning. Thankfully the shoulders are almost better and there should not be any more embarrassing confessions.

Jodi arrived safely yesterday. Wow... one week without children or husband. This is starting to be a reoccurring theme... first Ticee, then Jodi. May I please be next!

Di got here at the crack of dawn, around 6 a.m. I think. They drove through the night. I hope they will be able to get a couple of hours of sleep at least.

Tomorrow is the big extravaganza... Tyler's baptism. We are all very excited for Steve and Tyler. It should also be fun for all of us.

Wednesday my companion from the mission came up with her kids and we went to the dinosaur park. I had a really great time and my kids did too. They loved playing and running around. I let R & L run around for the first time. They are usually tied up in the stroller with absolutely no freedom. They were fun to watch, enjoying their freedom yet always making sure they were close to me. How long do you think that will last?

Christina is going to hook us up so we can go and see our mission president. I think that will be super fun. We haven't seen him for at least five years.

Oh, and I went to the gym yesterday. There must be something in the air at the gym to make people act like jerks. The people working at the gym just stared at me like I was an idiot. I had questions and I told them it was my first time there. But to no avail. There was no help available for me. They will not scare me away, little pip squeaks.

My favorite moment occurred on my self guided tour. I was wandering through the women's locker room and stumbled upon a completely naked older woman. She had apparently just finished her swim or shower or something. She just smiled at me and said hello. By the time I was on my way back out of the locker room, she had put her garments on. Funny.

I made Jodi go to WW with me last night. I think she was afraid it was like a cult or a wierd rah, rah, meeting. Our leader is great, though... and I think she was pleasantly surprised. He is funny. She also surprised me!

So... I haven't made it to the gym yet. I am going to just have to suck it up and pay for the nursery there... at least the first time when I have no idea how much it costs. And everyone acting like it is normal to belong to a gym... Slade girls don't belong in a gym, we should be hiking or something. I am struggling with the idea of all.

My shoulders are still killing me. I went without a bra yesterday so I didn't leave the house. Today I must go out and brave the pain. I am going to get all of my moles checked towards the end of August. I always wonder what I'd do with skin cancer... get it cut out/off. That's what I'd do. Use sun screen, how about that....

I have enjoyed so much reading the letters from Brandon and Kaber. Wow! Last night I was trying to tell E about the letter Kaber wrote about the joys of sharing the gospel. I just had to talk through the tears because we both remember that joy. Teaching someone who is so excited to hear about the great plan of happiness. They recognize the truthfulness of it all. Love it! What good nephews my sisters have raised.

Well, must get the kids dressed to go to the library.

Love to all!

Howdy ...

I always think of Dad with that little twinkle in his eye saying "howdy" to people as we would pass by them. I sure do love our dad. I will do anything it takes to make sure my kids know that I love them, you know.

Today we went swimming at a great pool! It has two huge play areas for little kids. R was freaking out for the first half hour to an hour... then she finally settled down and had some fun. It it so trouble some to see so much of yourself in your kids. I do not like to try new things (I often want to.. but I don't enjoy it for a while), and when I am in the middle of the NewTHing I act very grumpy because I am nervous. So, I assume that is what R was doing today.

It is really nice for us to go places with our tiny family... many place have age three and under as free! Half of us are FREE! So great...

Being the strong Slade girl that I am, I always assume that I will not need sun block, sun block is for sissies... or for whities, which I am one. So, needless to say, part of me looks like a cooked lobster. I say swim suits are way too revealing... and they shouldn't be worn by fat ladies... my legs, my legs... I am just proud of myself for going out in public. For years I haven't gone swimming because of my horror at seeing myself in a swimming suit. Forget that... swimming is so fun!

I went down the gianormous slide... and all of the way up the stairs, I kept looking for signs that said, "No fat ladies allowed on slide." I am telling you, it is a lot of trauma and pressure being over weight! There was no sign and the slide was slippery, super fast, and pretty long. Fun...

E signed us up for the new Gold's Gym in our new downtown hot spot. The city will pay for his membership as long as he goes eight times a month, and as his wife I get a discount. He went to check it out today and he was pretty impressed. It has a pool, a track, basketball, raquetball, weights, treadmills (about 100 he said... but I think he included the stair steppers... ), all kinds of classes etc. This will be good for us. Our goal is to weigh the same by my next birthday. Then instead of being a perfet 10 as a couple (he is the one and I am the zero)... we will be an 11. Funny husband. : )

Love to all!

J

Yippe! Kaber built me a new computer before he left on his mission. Just practicing serving others before he got out there. Susan and Steve got it all set up for me. They are very patient with a non tech savvy housewife. It really is quite shocking how little I know, even more shocking is the lack of effort I put into learning. All my effort is going toward four little monsters running around. So, I figure I will be able to catch up during the millenium.

Susan and Steve thought it was so funny that we had spliced our internet phone cable. Hippity hoppity chewed our cords and we were just glad to have something working. Susan mentioned something about losing data packets... I don't know. You will have to call one of them to laugh about it.

Church was eventful, as always. The main catastrophe was during the sacrament. I was holding the water tray towards B and I think he stood up or something... because all of the sudden the entire tray was on the floor. Little sacrament water cups everywhere. E just looked at me and said, "I have never seen that happen, ever, not in my whole life."

I just picked up the empty tray and passed it toward the aisle. Keeping my head down and refusing to make eye contact with anyone. L was chanting and pointing to the little cups, "Maker, maker, maker." (When they make a mess I call them "mess maker" and she was just leaving off the "mess.") Thank goodness for B and S because they helped me pick up all of the cups and I just put them in my bag. B's little Primary teacher was rather flustered, I do believe. She had saved us a bench and we were sitting by her and her husband. I think they might think twice before sitting by us again. Although, that's was you get for hovering over people you don't even know, right?

We celebrated our little summer solstice birthday girls. I did the "2 by 2" theme. We had Noah's ark on the cake. It was really fun. I'm afraid we are trapped into having a pinata for every birthday. We just enjoy it so much and it is only three times a year. They only cost $14 for the big star ones... and if Silvina keeps buying one for S's birthday, we aren't out much at all. (hey, hey, hey... the evil laughter hey... and not the "Hey, over here!" kind of hey...) Maybe heh, heh, heh would work better, eh?

Jan and family were up for a day and a night and a day a while back... and then Sue came and slept over. I can't even tell you how much I love that! I wish we could have family here every week... or every month. It is so fun for me and triple the fun for the kids!! Remember how much we loved going to Dorothy's. Even though Shauna had better toys than me... a doll house! Barbies! a canopy bed! the little castle toy!... she always let me play with all of her toys for a while, but then she would want to play horses and we would have to gallop around on our knees. Bet that was fun for all of the adults to listen to and see. That and Cord and Corey with their drums and guitar. I loved it. I want my kids to have those kind of memories too.

DiAnn, Janett, Susan, Jodi and Ticee: So, I am so excited about the circle journals. I bought my 8 x 8 scrapbook at Walmart and I am ready to go. Ticee and I will get it all planned (she is excited about that, wink, wink) and lets get started! We will all end up with a priceless scrapbook that our prosterity will also treasure for generations. If I die, do not let E throw it away!

For some great summer (or anytime reading) check our Ana's blog. She has been reading up a storm, and I really trust her judgement.

Love to all!

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. It is after 10 p.m.... I should be watching Zorro and getting to bed. So, I will do just a quick little blog and not the monster blogs I generally get in.

Church in English... as B puts it... Why? It was just time. The ward was nice.... but... my neighbor keeps telling everyone that I was the RS president, that makes me a little uncomfortable. Our kids are so cute that everyone must stare and stare to take it all in. Either that or they just can't believe someone would have four kids in three years. I can never quite tell which it is.

We had a lady hovering around us... she was B's Primary teacher and she did not ever let us get too far away. She walked with us to sacrament meeting, sat by us and walked us out... not really talking to us, just being near. A little unsettling.

And Science in Sunday School. That is something I had forgotten. The dirty scientists trying to destroy all that is right in the world. You know how they are. I've even heard tell of some Biologists that believe in evolution! Watch out for them...

I already went Scrapbooking tonight, held every Tuesday. (Sweet) RS is also having a dutch oven dinner on Thursday. I can't even remember the last time I had dutch oven! Oh, we were also invited to a BBQ Sunday... potluck.... E mentioned how great it was to have a variety of foods to choose from and not one of them happened to be rice or beans.

We drove to church together, went to SS together, came home together.... dreamy.

A weird thing happened at WW a couple of weeks ago. This already thin lady who needs to lose like 10 pounds to reach her ideal weight bugs just a little. Always sharing her food woes. So hard to not eat a roll now and then.... which is annoying to folks that are addicted to cake, cookies, candy, chips... rolls are practically a health food to me. Any who, she came up to me at the end of the meeting to have a little one on one chat about what she ate at the Mexican restaurant. I said, "I guess you don't eat many Doritos."

"Oh, no!" she cried, horrified. Then the talk turned to protein... blah, blah... and I heard her say, "you can only eat so many beans," and I smiled. Then it turned weird when she said, "You have a beautiful smile, I guess you hear that all of the time."
Awkwardly I burst out laughing and replied, "I just really like beans." Then I ran away quick like a bunny. That was an extremely uncomfortable interchange.

With that I will beg your leave. Love to all!

Fun times in Southern Utah yet again. This time we went west instead of East. The trip down was rather exhausting. It might have had something to due with the fact that we were all worn out before we even started.

We had a WIC appointment in the morning. Just a few highlights... I had to call a number to prove our file was still open or I would have to reschedule. So, I dial the number on my cell phone and have to push "1" ... then "3" ... then "2".... then "0" ... by the time a person came on the phone S was about to pee her pants. So, I took her into the bathroom, trying to balance my cell on my shoulder (it is too small...). I just left the twins and B playing and/or searching for me. S refused to get on the toilet (ever since the incident at the library when she literally fell into the toilet and after I saved her the toilet automatically flushed) she has to be gently persuaded/forced to use public toilets. I was trying to tell S that it wouldn't flush, and trying to talk on the phone. Then I had to hand the phone over to the lady behind the counter.... So, I left S crying and partially naked in the bathroom, ran to the counter, handed off the phone, and ran back to the bathroom. The twins spotted me, started crying and running after me.

All of that was in the first five-seven minutes. I won't bore you with the rest of the visit. But it only got worse. We were there for an hour and a half! At the end, a nutritionist tries to talk to you about the kids' eating habits.... everyone was crying! She just printed out the "checks" to let me escape when the thought popped into my mind to make sure R was given her goat milk. She had to tear out all of R's checks, look up a code and reprint them.... The sadness is that she still gave me the wrong thing. Instead of quarts of goat milk, she gave me cans of evaporated goat milk! I can't decide whether to make R drink that or try and make a new appointment to enter the dreaded WIC zone again. The taste of reconstituted evaporated milk is the only thing that haunts me. Gross... so can you imagine goat milk?

Then we helped Ana leave her apartment. She was at that point where you have worked so hard to move and you think you should be done.... but one thing after another keeps popping up. There is always more and more things in the apartment... the little annoying things that don't fit into boxes. Poor girl. She did it though... and she is now settled in CA, reunited with her husband. I took Ana to SL and dropped her off.

Then we met Steve... who had been waiting for me for about four hours. I'll teach him not to say he doesn't mind waiting. After this trip, I am sure he has changed his mind.

The cats were great up to that point. The next four hours were an absolute nightmare, full of asking/begging S to stay clicked, discovering that the crackers I had so liberally passed out had not been eaten... but had been crushed to decorate the floor, babies crying, stinky diapers, hungry monsters. Whew! We got to Ticee's around 10PM.

I was so excited for Susan to have such great boys. Kaber going threw the temple...so grown up, so not the little "baby" cowboy/army guy I can still remember. Chris baptizing Zachary... they both did their part perfectly. I loved watching Richard by the font... giving advice, making sure everything was alright, but not stealing the show. What a great dad.

The food was great. I feel super guilty that I didn't bring anything... my only contribution was helping Ticee with the forty desserts she brought. (exaggeration)... Also, I am still dreaming about the fluffy salads Janice made. Was that Jello, cottage cheese, cool whip and fruit? I can make that worth almost no points at all. Another thing I love about Sue and Richard, they always add a little class to their food. My delicious BBQ/au jou(sp?) (yes, I did both to the same sandwich) was on some special bread... that I didn't even get to ask what kind it was. Maybe Parmesan.. it was good. The best news of all for me was that I didn't gain any weight on the trip (other than water weight... which is now gone)

I am sad that I missed staying at the ranch. But I got to "watch" Ticee's kids while they went to a movie (everyone was asleep and I just held really still and enjoyed the quiet for a while before going to sleep myself).

Thanks to Susan and Ticee I was able to print out the application for E to apply for citizenship/naturalization as it is known in the Department of Homeland Security. We just finished filling it out last night. Now all we need is for our neighbors to pay for their part of the fence and we can send off the application and $330 to the previouslymentioned Dept. of Homeland Security. This really has been the easiest application so far.

I just realized that I had better check the instructions... because usually we have to send our last three years worth of tax information, photos, fingerprints etc. All I did was fill out the form....

Congrats to any one who was able to make it this far with me. Quite a feat... Oh, and about the "owl" necklace... at least I remember it's existence... I know Mom wore it at least once... maybe it wasn't "Bob" night... but I remember Dad worrying that it might break or something. Maybe I am blending memories. I think that is more convenient for my brain...

And, Jodi, the birthing panel is a pictograph/hieroglyph... some ancient drawing that Dad says represents the birth of Christ. I will see it someday.

I miss Ana... Tuesdays I slept in because I was wiped out from traveling, Wednesday it was raining too hard to walk, but this morning I went walking in a little drizzle of rain. It was nice... but I like talking to Ana more than walking alone. Although I did see a killdeer (bird) so that was fun.

Love to all!

Hey world.... how's it going? I've been keeping busy...

We had a super fun trip down to Southern Utah! We stayed at Alina's house... which is so beautiful. The colors, the art, the counter-tops, the furniture... loved it! B had so much fun playing with her boys.

Saturday, the cinco de Mayo, we ran down to Blan Juan... it was snowing!! It really was blizardy in between Monticello and Blanding. Craziness. So, we didn't go to the "birthing panel" with Dad. We will have to save that for next time. Donna did a big extravaganza for S's birthday. They made a cute cake with Dora, Diego and Boots on an island play ground. Everyone in the family loved it! Then they gave S some really cute toys... little princesses, which I love as much as S does.

Then we ran down to the Pow-Wow. In Blanding I got to see Robin Benally... fun... her daughter was our waitress! Robin and I taught together at WHS. Then at the Pow-Wow I got to see Vicki and Kenneth Joe (I taught with Kenneth)... the Pow-Wow was in honor of their son, JR Joe. He died in a car accident... so much death on the rez. I forget how much I love the rez. It is smelly and brown and rocky and Mussi is such a sad little town... but I love it so much! I met so many great people there. I am glad that E could be with me to enjoy a little of the rez spirit.

The 12th of May we had another birthday extravaganza for S because Silvina wanted to buy her a pinata... and it was big. I made a "Barbie in a gown" cake where the cake is the dress. It was really cute. It definitely looked home made but we all thought it was a masterpiece. That is a huge part of the fun, digo yo, getting in and making things.

Ana is about to leave me... and I am freaking out about that. I just lay in a dark room all day mourning the "loss" of a good friend. She is moving back to California... her husband is already gone to get ready for his new career as a lawyer (he just graduated from law school at the U). Nifty.

I must mention two things that I love about the branch. I received the friendship basket from a sister. She included a card where she told me how much she loved me... the funny thing was that it was a sympathy card. "Sharing your sorrow during this difficult time." Funny...
I also love that when I make mistakes or do something crazy, they just assume that it must be my culture. So, they don't judge me too harshly. Also funny....

Well...love to all.

Happy birthday to Mom yesterday. I know she loves my kids as much as I do. A few memories...
Bob Serawap taking off his shirt and giving it to her because she said she liked it. She was so embarrassed.
She wore the jade owl necklace Dad brought back from Central America to some event. Robert Redford was there and he commented on Mom's necklace, he liked it. She was in heaven.

To blog or not to blog... that is the question. I should be going to bed.. but a little sacrifice is necessary to do the blog thing.

A few pee/urine stories seem to be in order. Poor B... he peed (sp?) in his room today. Tyler was here and they were laughing really hard, and you know B. He is destined to never "gut laugh." I can just see him now, on a date, and panicking because someone is being funny. He will just jump up and run out of the room.

The other day S jumped out of bed (from her nap) and ran into the bathroom. Then I heard the distinct sound of liquid hitting the floor at full force. She obviously didn't make it in time. Then a few minutes passed and I imagined her cleaning up... taking off her dirty clothes... something. Then BOOM! She slipped in her pee and fell postrate on the ground. After running up to the bathroom I found her in tears, just laying there in the pee. It was soaking into her hair, her shirt.... gross. Good thing the bathtub is right next to the toilet!

R has started peeing in her diaper once then wanting to change it. She is too little to potty train, don't even think about it.

Hey... my favorite cousin Shauna Rae stopped by my home last night. I was in heaven. It feels like we talk every week... even though it has been three years since we have seen each other. When are we going to do a family reunion for Dad's family? Let's get on that.

Food order lady apparently got evicted and will be leaving the branch boundaries. A lot of guilt to be felt there... especially I feel guilty for being so relieved!

We are gearing up for our big SU trip, and I don't mean Cedar. Edge of the Cedars maybe. : ) E is going to love the Pow-Wow.... can't wait! (Sarcasm? you ask... you will never know).

Love to all!
Julie