Clueless

I am grateful at times for my clueless-ness. Here are a couple of examples:

• It never occured to me that Adam Lambert was homosexual. I did wish he didn't paint his nails black and the guy-liner was always joked about... but really... gay? Clueless!
  

• The other day we went to the library and I saw a couple of teen age girls dressed alike. First thought was maybe they were twins... They both had their hair pulled back into fancy bun/pony tails and they were wearing matching red t-shirts. Later I saw another girl with them that was dressed just the same. Looking closer I realized they were just all wearing the exact same shirt. A red shirt club. Then a memory of when I was substituting this last year a girl gang would wear matching blue shirts to school, I teased them and asked them if they were in a club, acting like I had no idea they were a gang. It only took me a minute to realize that I was looking at their rival gang, the reds vs. the blues. Clueless!
  

Comedy of Errors

• We were down to our last roll of toilet paper (I really try not to let that happen! But at the same time I have been trying to stay out of the store to save money...). I went into the bathroom and Leah was standing on the toilet, reaching over to the sink playing in the water. She had peed right on the roll of toilet paper.

• I left the clothes in the washer over night... so the next day I did a quick rinse with some Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, then dried them. Apparently I forgot to change the washer back to the wash cycle and the next few batches I thought I was washing, I was just putting through a quick rinse! I washed a batch of my own clothes like that and all of the kids' sheets and blankets. Their beds are already remade and will stay that way until the next washing.

• S and hair! She wanted just a pony tail for church yesterday so I told her I would do a tiny pony tail. I just took a little hair and pulled it back, leaving most of the hair down. She looked in the mirror and decided that she didn't look beautiful like that, so she added a bow (brown and pink... her dress was black and gold). When we were walking in to church she saw her reflection in the door and wasn't pleased. She wanted to move the bow to one side. We were late for church and I just wanted to run in and sit down! She kept whining about her hair and the pony tail and the bow all through the opening hymn, prayer, announcements, sacrament hymn... She pulled her pony tail out a ways then pulled it tight again, leaving random strands of hair puffing up all over the top of her head. I had to threaten her with losing her fairy book to make her go sit by her father and leave me out of the mess.
  

Adventures from April 3rd to April 7th

I am so glad we went to Rebekah's baptism, it turned into a great adventure for our little family! We traveled down to Orderville after school on a Friday and made it just after 6 pm. The baptism was at 7 p.m. so we made it just right. Jacob baptized Rebekah, how cute is that? Just as cute as Christopher baptizing Zachary and Kaber baptizing Isaac. : )

My kids love going to Orderville. So many things to see and do... plenty of real animals. : ) After loads of fun we traveled down to St. George and stayed with Ticee for a minute. We got to take Dad with us. He had been in Orderville for the baptism, too. I loved watching how Ticee treated Dad. She gives him the attention and respect that not only he deserves, but I think he craves it as well. She is a good little example, that girl.

After St. George began the crazy adventure to Blanding to take Dad home! If you remember when I came to college my freshman year with Melissa Richmond, we took our own sweet time and stopped everywhere on the way (sorry Susan and Richard, who were waiting for us). This trip with Dad was just the same. What a great time. Our first stop was Glen Canyon Dam. The kids loved it and I bought them all a book about the Rez, the desert and Native Americans.

There is nothing like driving across the Rez. I love the feel of the Rez, I love the flood of memories and the flood of love I felt for the people I remember. Ahhhh....

Our next stop was the National Navajo Monument. As we drove by I asked Dad what it was. He said there was a walk to a nice ruin, but he had never been there. We have both driven by a million times but have never stopped! We turned right around and drove the nine miles out to the monument. It was a fun hike/walk down to a overlook. All along the way were signs identifying plants and the way Native Americans used them, yucca, buffalo berry, pinion, juniper, Brigham tea... The trail led to a look out and we could see an amazing ruin set back in the rock. It is called Betatakin and is made up of a number of rooms. My favorite part of the walk was see three Navajo men who had hiked down a different trail to collect a plant. I was so close to asking them which plant it was and what they were going to use it for, but I chickened out. I still dream of studying ethno-botany.

We bought little birds for the kids at the Monument. They brought about an unexpected pleasantry for the Biologist mother. The rest of the trip the kids were searching for birds. We were able to identify a number of birds, and to this day the affect has not worn off. We still do bird watching as a family. : )
Next stop came in Kayenta. My mouth had been watering for frybread for hours. Luckily I saw a bill board for "Amigos" restaurant with a Navajo Taco on it. I was determined to go there and buy some fry bread. The restaurant was a little dive, I felt lucky to find it. I went in and they made my two pieces of frybread. DELICIOSO! We all gobbled it up, even Leah!

Next dream of mine was to buy some jewelery. I found a stand around Monument Valley and I bought a bracelet for all of the girls, an arrow head for B, and necklaces, bracelets and earrings for me. Yippee! We drove through Monument Valley at the perfect time, the lighting was beautiful.

Our next stop came at Mexican Hat. The kids loved it. It is amazing. Equally amazing was how well the kids were behaving. They were enjoying the stops more than Dad and I were!

We were driving along talking about hieroglyphics and I told Dad I hadn't ever seen any! He gasped in disbelief and told me to slow down... and turn right here. We were at Sand Island and went to look and the petroglyphs or pictographs... (Someone in the know, please help me with the proper terminology.) A tender mercy that we just happened to be driving in that exact spot that very moment.

After Sand Island came Bluff. I mention the memories of Melissa's birthday when we thought we were so grown up. We went on a little river rafting expedition from Bluff to Sand Island, all by ourselves!

It was hilarious to drive those, what, maybe four miles. But we had fun back in the day. In Bluff Dad showed us a ruin they were excavating right in town. Impressive. And we just had to stop at Twin Rocks for the perfect photo opportunity.

The turn offs to go to Mussi tugged at my heart strings. Crazy as it may be, I really do miss the Rez. It was fun to tell the kids that we "helped" get the chapel at White Mesa. It really is such a tiny little thing. I enjoyed our time there while Dad was Branch President.

I couldn't believe it when we finally made it Blanding, only 10 hours after we had started. I was very nervous about going to the "big house," but I cowboyed up and just did it. Cardon thought there wasn't any food in the house and offered to go and buy something, but we were able to rustle up some grub out of the floor to ceiling cupboard that were full and the special shelves downstairs that roll the cans down, also full. We ended up sleeping on the couch and the floor, mostly because I was nervous about sleeping in any of the empty beds for fear of any fall out.

The next morning we fed the horses with Dad and he took us to the Lance Site. It marks the summer and winter solstice and the equinoxes. It also marks the 5th of April. Dad took his photo album to show us examples of the light and shadow on significant days. He makes a great guide.

This handsome brave casts a shadow on this specific place on the rock. Blast, I can't remember on which day. Any who, it was quite spectacular. After a sighting of a Mountain Bluebird, (R's bird) and stopping to check out where Jim Mike and Billy Mike had their summer home back in the day... we hit the car wash. I was exhausted after the drive home. Oh, but I must mention that the antelope didn't let me down. For as long as I remember, I have always seen at least one antelope between Crescent Junction and Green River. Even though it was tiring, it was so worth it. I need to remember not to let opportunities pass me by. Memory Making for the kids is on my head for now.

Kids say the darnedest things...



L: We are playing Lego "Indian" Jones

The other day I told E that he was HOT. The kids all laughed and dared each other to touch him. S was the bravest, she walked right up and touched his sleeve. R gathered up her courage and timidly reached out her hand. L finally let E touch her hand. None of them were burned too badly. Then this morning L says, "'member when Papa was hot? That was funny."



On another topic, apparently I washed and dried my cell phone. I actually heard the clunking as I started up the dryer but we were on our way out the door and I just thought to myself as I walked away, "I wonder if there is a shoe or something in the dryer?" Der... So, the phone won't turn on. Go figure. I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could talk about it. E didn't hear about it for a few days. If anyone has called my cell, sorry I couldn't answer. I didn't even call to find out my options until today. We were with Qwest and they said we could skip out on our last year of our contract if we moved over to Verizon. So now Verizon is sending me a free phone and I am under a two year contract again. I really hate contracts, but what else could I do... it is a free phone. I feel pretty blessed I didn't have to go out and buy a new phone.



Yesterday it occurred to me that S's school uniform will be a little more complicated than B's. I think it might be harder to find collared shirts with no decoration in white, navy and hunter green. Also khaki pants might be harder to find. What about skirts, jumpers, leggings, tights. We'd better get started! Apparently I felt it keenly because I dreamed about it last night. Little S showed up for her first day of school wearing an orange top and a flower print skirt... and we forgot the camera!! I couldn't believe I forgot to take pictures of her on her first day of school. Trauma. We are going to start looking for her uniform right away.

Over the last month I have searched for any Easter dresses with sleeves and finally ordered them online. I have been to Walmart, Target, Old Navy etc. and went to all of them online as well as Children's Place and many others. It is almost impossible to find a dress with sleeves! Here is what kohls.com said about the dressed I ordered:


Pretty as a flower. She'll be ready for any occasion in this girls' dress and shrug set. In coral/pink.
Floral dress offers sweet styling.
Ribbon belt provides fashionable flair.
Shrug makes the perfect layering piece.
Details:
2-piece set
Set includes: short-sleeved dress & long-sleeved shrug
Dress: cotton
Shrug: cotton/polyester
Machine wash
Imported

This is copied from the kohls.com website. Note that it says short-sleeved dress. I was ecstatic, really... They came in the mail this week and the are sleeveless!! Grrrr. I could have bought a sleeveless dress with a shrug from anywhere. So, what should I do about it now? Easter is upon us. At least it is freezing and the girls will want to wear the shrug. I know it isn't that big of deal, it's just that we have talked about modesty and they all know we should wear sleeves. Then for their mother to go out and buy them a dress with out sleeves... it is all just a little hypocritical. Grrr.

Fluffy

We now have a rabbit, again. I should just admit to myself that I don't like having animals because 1) they stink and require mother (me) to clean up even more messes, and 2) they will eventually die... and it will probably be my fault. Too much death really gets me down.

So E apparently skipped out early on the adult meeting of Stake Conference. He said after one speaker mentioned Smith & Edwards one too many times in his talk about Emergency Preparedness, he just slipped out and went to IFA. Then he came home with a purebred French Angora rabbit. It is white with red eyes and very fluffly, hence its name. During my online research I discovered that you can harvest the wool and easily make your own yarn... so let me know if you are interested and I will send you the wool. I, myself, am not too interested in spinning yarn, not this year at least.

I am sitting here smelling it and must end to clean out the cage. I have decided to just clean it every stinking day to try and stay sane.

Did I mention I need to dust, vaccum, shower, get dressed and start getting lunch?

Oh, and I am applying for jobs for next year. I interviewed at B's school where I want to end up. I refuse to give up hope... I will keep hope alive clear into August. I am also applying at Ogden School District. Wish me luck. We need to start digging our way out of this hole we are in!

Lots or Love!

So, the little ponds turned out great. Wish I could say the same for the fish! Eleven of the fifteen fish were dead by the next morning. In the mad rush of trying to get to B's school, I also had to go buy more fish. But all turned out well. : )

B's class gets to go to the Aquarium this week. I think that should be super fun for them.

Some lessons learned from my Sabbath. I am always too quick to judge, especially myself. It is such a freakish habit, I'm telling you. We rushed to 9 a.m. Stake Conference yesterday in the Tabernacle, where all the seats are comfortable. : ) We are always a little late and quickly found seats after the opening prayer. It ended up that we were sitting in front of a family with little girl twins. Of course I had to ask how old they were... They have a daughter who is almost 5 (just like our S), the twins barely turned 3 (almost a year younger than ours) and they have a baby boy of about 6 months. Immediately I started feeling guilty because there was no way we wanted to have another baby. If this unknown woman could do it... maybe I should have been willing to have more babies. This mother was also thin and beautiful.

It took me a few minutes to realize what I was doing. Why are we always so willing to compare ourselves with others?! I had to remind myself that we prayed plenty... and I am pretty old... and each family gets to make their own decisions. Embarrassingly enough, I was also glad that her kids were noisier than ours. Oh what joy to realize that they are improving and getting better at sitting still for hours. : )

The next time I judged myself was during the dedication of the Draper temple. One of the speakers mentioned that he explained to his grand daughters that the Celestial room represents the Celestial kingdom. I started right into a panic thinking that I hadn't explained that to our kids as we went through the open house! I am not teaching the gospel well enough at home, my children may never have strong testimonies... etc... Crazy woman. I am still trying to talk myself out of that one. I tried to talk to B about temples again last night before bed and on the way to school this morning. It's like I can't help my crazy self.

Anywho, my point being... Let's all be more gentle with ourselves. Yes, we should recognize our faults and work on them, but try not to feel guilty about every little thing. Now I am feeling guilty about feeling guilty all of the time. I do know that if we make a constant effort, the Lord can fill in where he needs to. Upward and onward!

Oh to be able to express in words what just took place in my kitchen. I can't stop laughing, but I must. The children are a little suspicious that I am laughing at them, which, of course, is true...

I have been volunteer teaching Science in B's class to earn a few re-licensing points. Tomorrow we are building little ponds. We all have been out cruising pet shops buying fish, Anacharis (a water plant), rocks etc. So, we got home and I wanted to put the fish in a big container, I just have a large vase. During my efforts a poor little fish slipped right out of the bag and onto the counter. The kids were horrified to see it flopping, flopping. R was scared out of her wits as it flopped towards her. She screamed as she struggled to get off of the bar stool, the fish flailing ever closer.

I was trying to hand the bag with the other fourteen fish to B. "Hold the bag," I told him. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that he wasn't listening! The bag lay on the counter, water and fish pouring out of it. I started yelling, "B, hold the bag, Hold the BAG!" By now we had at least five tiny fish traveling amazingly well on their sides. Flop, flop, floppity, flop. B finally grabbed the bag as I started scooping the fish into my hands and into the water.

The last little guy had B very upset and he actually started crying. "Please don't die. Please don't die. Don't die!" I tried to assure him all was well as soon as the fish hit the water. He calmed down quickly but the girls kept asking if the fish had died. Then they all kept asking me why I was laughing. What a mess! There was water all over the counter and on the floor, on both sides of the bar. I still think we might find a dry little carcass one of these days. All is well now, the children are calm, the mess cleaned up. But the hysteria is what cracked me up, and still has me chuckling.

Hail to the Cheif

What a big day. Just thinking about it has made me a little teary eyed. I know I didn't vote for Obama but I have enjoyed this monumental day as much as if I had voted for him. I love this day for many reasons...

• Watching my husband get more and more involved in politics, the nation, the state of our entire world. I love hearing his opinions and thoughts. It has made a huge difference now that he can vote because he feels like he is part of the action process and not just being acted upon.
• Teaching my children about our country and how the government works. Helping them understand our beautiful freedoms. Also, learning from them about tolerance and love. I was explaining to them yesterday about Martin Luther King Jr. We looked up some pictures of him on line and I found a picture of a water fountain that said, "White Only." I was talking about how some people judged according to the color of your skin and you could only sit in certain places or eat in certain places depending on the color of your skin. B saw the "White Only" drinking fountain and started giggling. "That's weird," he said, "How could anyone have white skin?" As I looked at our white refrigerator and our white microwave it occurred to me how right he was. "Nobody is going to be able to drink out of that drinking fountain!" He was as unfamiliar with the terms of white and black people as if he were a newborn babe. We all know that people are a subtle variety of colors, not at all white or black.
• The peaceful transition of power. The politics of President Bush and President Obama are so different, yet they both have the same ultimate goal... to heal the United States of America. To make us a strong, safe, stable country, a "good" country. As I have watched with horror the war in Israel/Palestine, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, even the interview on Univision of an ex-president of Mexico that is rumored to have siphoned millions of dollars from the country into his own pockets, I have felt blessed every day to live in a country with such a peaceful transition of power. They had their "social coffee" together this morning, rode over in the same car, smiled and waved. Nice.
• Last but not least this day gives me so much hope that we are moving towards an end of racism. I still hear crazy racist remarks all of the time but we now have proof that a majority of people are not racist at least in one area. It is still always my mission to help spread love and tolerance instead of prejudice. I believe that it starts with knowing people and backgrounds and cultures. I hope as a nation we can continue to fight prejudice and help people get to know each other and understand each other a little better.
  

Yesterday the Treehouse had a ceremony in their Oval Office to unveil the portrait of our new President. We went as a family and had a grand time. They have an exact replica of the President's desk and the rug that is in the real Oval Office. Yeah, Treehouse.

Wow, what a great holiday season we have just had. I love the magic in the eyes of our children when they see Christmas lights, our Christmas Village, Santa... We had so much fun! I bought way too many books, so now we have at least 25 picture books about the birth of the Savior. Apparently I am also collecting Nativity scenes because we now have seven different sets. Only two of them are not touching ones. The kids were constantly playing with and positioning them.

A couple of funny things B said: "Mom, where would you like to go over Christmas break?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Like Hawaii or Disneyland...." I just laughed so B tried again, "How about Roy?" Now Roy is do-able. Regrettably I must inform that we didn't even go to Roy!

B also told me that they read "The Grouch Who Stole Christmas" at school. Was that me?

The girls all got brown boots for Christmas and R calls them her "co-co-lat-tay boots." It is close to how you say chocolate in Spanish. So cute.

How I wish I wrote down everything they said. They make living enjoyable... most of the time.

Now I would like to share things I can never complain about out loud.

• Spaghetti legs while trying to put tights on. I just keep trying to move the tights up their legs and they (you know who "they" are... S, R, L) they have wobbly legs, bendy legs etc. Grrrr....
• Last year I bought E a leather Jeff Gordon jacket... that was too big and he complained for a year. So, this year I bought him a smaller one in twill. I wrapped it up and put it under the tree. Christmas Eve he puts out a twill jacket that he had bought himself! I knew he wanted one....
  
• L never puts her own panties on after she goes potty. She brings them to me, waving in the air, no matter who is here. Yes, yes, I am just grateful she is going potty.
• S pretends like she can't understand Spanish when I ask her to do something she would rather not do.
• Every time I comment on the beauty of the snowy weather my husband takes it as a personal affront, as he has to maintain and fix the cities snowplows. When he is on call, meaning he has to work at all hours if there is a big snow storm, he asks, "Do you want it to snow now? Do you love snow?"
• As I comb and "do"my girls' hair they creep closer and closer to me till their heads are right against my chest. You can't do hair that way.
• We had a Thomas the Tank Engine Train that our neighbor had given us a year ago, minus the Thomas. B got a new Thomas engine for Christmas and my husband kept wanting me to take it back to the store. Then E spent hours helping the kids set up a track, he insisted we leave it up over night and E continued to play with it the next day. Go figure.
• Keeping track of 12 gloves, family hats, boots, putting on socks and shoes on so many feet...
• Children who pretend like they can't dress themselves because they need more mama time.
• Pee, pee, pee...
  
• Cookie monsters, we all know it is my fault the cats all love cookies.
• E eating an oatmeal cookie from a neighbor and saying, "Why can't you make cookies like this? Could you learn how?" I don't make oatmeal cookies because I don't like them, not because I don't have oatmeal cookie skills! Are you kidding me?
• Putting gloves on little hands! It is difficult for me to control those little fingers and get them into the right place, and then do it again, and again, and again, and again....
• Girls having opinions about hair. Tinker Bell hair means a bun pony tail, Mermaid hair is a french braid, Dora Princess is a high pony tail, two braids, two pony tails, clips, bows.... Wow!

Well, I will stop there. The kids are cute and really quite well behaved, I think. We love them and don't want to send any back. Here they are in their new Christmas jammies.

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!