That is NOT OKAY

I looked at my blog yesterday and saw that it was infested. MY BLOG. My personal space. MY WORDS were covered in slimy green and double underlined. This is called "In Text Advertising". This is NOT OKAY. I do NOT want ads in MY BLOG. I went through all my settings, and even changed some of my words to see if that helped. I am now using Firefox exclusively and it seems to have helped. I am still disgusted.

Be careful what you ask for

One day we were sitting around, a little bit bored.

I want to remodel the downstairs bathroom, says I. The shower leaks and we should have a tub down there to bathe our 12 children we will someday have.

Okay, says Jason. I will help, says Robert.

Two minutes later: (listen carefully and you can hear Jason say "should we turn the water off?" to which Robert replies "no" with a laugh.)

A day and a half later the demolition was complete. The wall and shower are completely gone. Two and a half weeks later and...um...well, the demolition is complete! I got bored of that project and started painting the downstairs family room. It's not done either. I got bored again.

Fish Lake at LAST!

Jason works hard during the summer. Very hard. And his work is very stressful. He doesn't have much time to do anything else and we miss out on the normal summer activities of camping, hiking, fishing, and fun having. In June we started making plans for September so we'd have something to look forward to. My friend gave us some buddy passes before I left SkyWest so we could go anywhere. Canada? Costa Rica? Jason voted for Fish Lake (where the only flying involved is fly fishing). We rented a little cabin and Janett's friend hooked us up with a boat. Most of the Starrs were able to come up for part of the time, which was wonderful to spend time with them and have Mason get reacquainted with the extended family. Most of all it was so nice to be up in the mountains and enjoying nature.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica who got engaged while up there. We are excited for ya!

Why I love this day:

Today I woke up knowing I would have free Internet access. And the next day and the next day and the next. I was feeling very cut off from the outside world. Luckily we have very generous neighbors who gave me their network key. Oh happy day.

Speaking of generosity they also gave us a three room tent. And since it might be a while before we can use our lightweight backpacking tent again, we might as well set up in style.

Today also rocks because I got to spend the morning with my niece Elli. She's sweet and fun and her very presence helps my little Captain Whine-face chill out. As soon as he's sees her he starts giggling.

Speaking of my Captain, he's still napping. It's almost been three hours! He's getting molars in. Apparently molars and napping are like Letterman and Oprah (Did she ever show up on his show?)

Also loving this day because we get to help my mom out. We're taking her YW group to the APX building to watch a movie. It's a really fun facility (think giant projector and ten love sacks) and Mom is excited for our little party. And I'd do anything to bring a smile to her face.

Finally the kicker for the day is saving money. I just filled out a rebate to get $10 for buying deli items. And I just looked at the sales for tomorrow and printed off a bunch of coupons. I get really excited when it comes to saving money, so the free Palmolive soap from Smiths is making me giddy.

May your day be just as delightful!

Yeah, we do that

To my Amy

::Restaurant lady wiggling fingers singing:: “Happy, happy, happy, happy.”

Happy Birthday to “we sister”. Good thing we stopped sharing a room or else we might have never become friends. From the time we had matching pink coats in grade school to the time we learned how to swing fire balls in front of your apartment in college; you’ve always been there for me. You’ve taken me to concerts, picked me up from far away airports, plucked my eyebrows, taught me how to make chicken barbacoa, planned my wedding, and drove my car across the country for me, THREE TIMES! You are like Search and Rescue, Mary Poppins, and iTunes all wrapped into one.

I’d like to formally apologize for that once I called you, bawling because my computer was stolen. I was so upset over the loss of pictures you thought someone had died. As long as we’re at it, sorry for sneaking out of the house in high school when you were in charge. I knew I was busted when I came back and the window (and every other window and door) was locked.

These things I know:

You always smell good. You are a natural when it comes to driving on the wrong side of the road. You had the guts to kayak the waterfall. Your house always looks like a magazine and your car always looks brand new. You know more random stuff than almost anyone (except possibly Joe *). You are freakishly good at Dr. Mario.

This is such a huge milestone in your life. Just think what the next few years will bring! As Seuss put it best, “Oh the places you’ll go”.

Love, your little sister.

More Nauvoo: The Brick yard

More Nauvoo

Uncle B's Home

Red Brick Store House

"I can't pull the wagon myself" (Name that movie)

Parley's Street

The Journey Home

I'm getting behind on our adventures! Here are some of the highlights of our trip from Virginia to Utah. We stopped by South Carolina to visit our dear friend Joan. We also met her son Peter and his wife. We thought we'd spend a lot more time in Jason's mission area but were only able to visit twice throughout the summer.

We took pictures on the famous porch swing. It's a special place where elders sing, testimonies are gained, friends converge, and memories are made. This is Tennessee. Right before I took this picture the car Jason was driving lost traction on the road and he fought hard to keep from crashing. We were both pretty shaken for a while after that.

Carthage Jail., Illinois.

We extended our trip by a few days to see some LDS Church history sites. Jason had been to these places on his senior trip but I'd never been.

Nauvoo, Illinois.

Mason did so well on the trip, although he didn't enjoy listening to the sister missionaries. Every time one would open her mouth to share stories or information he would start screaming. We had a terrifying moment when we realized we lost The Binki. It's the only one Mason will take and we have to order them from Hawaii. We fortunately found it in a parking lot by the carriage rides. It had obviously been ran over. If we didn't have over 1500 miles to go I would have thrown it away. Instead we cleaned it up and gave it to a very grateful Mason.

Home home at the Ranch

Oh it's good to be home. We ran up to the Heaton Ranch for the annual Labor Day weekend. We were small in numbers but the weather was great and we had a lot of fun (and did a little work).

My boys practicing walking.

This Week's Favorite Words

“Amber waves of grain” –America the Beautiful. I witnessed this. The line is perfectly descriptive and the sight is inspiring.

“You’ve made my day, my week, my month” –Joan, our dear friend in South Carolina

“Look! That cloud is the shape of a PONY. You don’t see it? Look! A teddy bear!” –Jason on cell phone in the car in front of me.

“Paducah, Kentucky” –A city we’ve gassed up in a few times on our various travels. I don’t know anything about it other than its dirty gas stations and twangy name. Pa-DO-ka!

“We don’t do nothing fancy like that” -Missouri waitress in tight stone washed jeans when asked for a candy bar milk shake.

“I am a convert. When I learned there was just one man responsible for all this, I just had to come see where it all happened.” –Fellow cross-country tripper and Nauvoo tourist.

“In One mile, Exit Right” –The GPS voice telling us we were finally home after 5 days on the road.

MoViNg DaY!!!

It’s moving day. It’s moving day.
Hip Hip Hooray. It’s moving day.
We hate to go, but we’d hate to stay.
Hip Hip Hooray. It’s moving day.

We must travel for many a day.
And try to keep our sleep at bay.
What will we see along the way?
Lands of brown and green and gray.

I do not have enough words to say,
So SHOUT with me, It’s MOVING DAY!

It's not you, It's me.

Dearest Virginia,
I don’t think this will come as a surprise to you. It’s time we go our separate ways. We were just not meant for each other. I need to move on. I need to see other people, other places. I have felt from the beginning that you were holding me back, you with your traffic jams and long red lights. And if we are going to be really honest with each other I think we both know that I was using you for your beach. You deserve someone that will be here for you long term, pay taxes, and vote for local leadership. I will always cherish the good times we had together and you will always have a special place in my heart.

Craving home

It's hard to get rid of all the food in my cupboards. I find security when the shelves are full and I have two extra of my Most Valuable Ingredients. August is hard for me to use it all up and not replace it. This year has been a little easier because I got caught up in the joy of cooking. I found away to bake away my homesickness! I made Mom's Suzy Q cake. We ate Kristi's Top Secret Chicken Rolls until we were stuffed. Kaprena's Soft Pretzels were a huge hit. The guys came over for goodies almost every night last week.

Now we have only a day or two left and the cupboards are mostly bare. I don't know what to make with a can of pineapple, tortillas, lasagna noodles, and a dozen half-empty condiments. But for the most part I did it. Mission accomplished.

Neptune

He knew no man was ever alone on the sea. -The Old Man and the Sea