What to do

Spring Fever

2009-03-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

Man do I have spring fever. Usually as a family we go to St. George for a weekend, just to get away and enjoy some sunshine. But since the funds are low, we are not going this year and can I tell you how LONG this winter has been without the anticipation of a trip coming up. So instead I have taken to day dreaming. So here is my day dream.

I am at school and after a really long and hard day teaching my students proportions, a parent of one of my students comes up and says "Thank you for all you have done for my child. My child use to hate math until you came a long and now my child loves math and I am so grateful, I have giving you and your family a paid expense trip to Hawaii. I really hope you enjoy your two week vacation!" So me and Matt and the kids jump on a plane, land in maui, swim with the dolphins, sip pina coladas by the beach, read a few good books, take some warm summer naps, play in the rain, climb a volcanic mountain, laugh with some new friends, loose the winter insulation around my belly button, and come home with naturally blonde hair!

Happy Day Dreaming!

What I love about you!

2009-01-28T16:12:00.001-08:00

Matt: Is an amazing husband. I love his willingness to sacrifice for our family. I love it that He thinks I am still cute, even at night with my biore nose strip to scratch off all my blackheads. I love to watch him wrestle with the kids, I love it that he knows my limits and will take over right before I am ready to fire. I can't believe that we have been married for 18 and a half years and when I look at him, or think about him I still get butterflies in my stomach. I love that we can talk about anything -- not just the kids and household business, although I am glad we can talk about those things too. I love that he makes sure that our family reads scriptures and prays every night. I love him because he will help me with my pull-ups, and encourage me to do my best. I love it that he wants to spend time with me. I love Matt.

Chloe: Is the best little girl a mother could ask for. I love that she loves school, that she loves to read, that she loves to help her little brother. I love to watch her play with her little brother and make him laugh. I love that she wants to be just like me (she will always try and dress like me, do her hair like me, and say what I say). I love it that she is not afraid to ask for a hug. I love that she loves life. I am so proud of her, I know with Matt going back to school she has made a lot of sacrifices. I know it has been hard on her, but I love that she is handling the challenge so well. I love Chloe.

Caleb: I love Caleb because he is my baby. I love how focused he gets when he plays with his legos. I love that he whines every sunday morning about going to church, but then is so excited to tell me all that he has learned when he gets home. I love the intensity he has in all that he does. I love his little one liners that come out of nowhere. I love that he still want to snuggle at night. I love that he plays so well with his sister. I love Caleb.

Family: I love to laugh with my family. I love that I can call them out of the blue and ask for a favor. I love that to share memories and draw closer through the past. I love to see cousins enjoying each others company. I love that I can serve my family. I love my family.

Friends: I love the life blood they give me everyday. I love the chit chat while exercising. I love the conversations. I love sharing stories and knowing that I am not the only one with hardships. I love to call a friend and ask just one little questions. I love my friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

New year Resolutions!

2009-01-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

My new years resolution it to update my blog monthly. I feel so bad I haven't kept in touch when I really enjoy hearing how everyone else is doing. Here is January's submission.

I didn't send out Christmas cards this year. If I don't do anything and the beginning of the month, it doesn't get done. So sorry and Merry Christmas to all of you!

We had a great Christmas, I got all of my lesson plans for third term done over the break, which is a big help. I can now spend more time with my family in the evening rather than trying to figure out what I am going to do the next day. We saw lots of movies -- some really good ones and some really bad ones. Started three books Lust for life, Fablehaven, and Civil action, I hope it doesn't take me until Spring break to finish them all. Went snow shoeing, shoveled lots of snow, and Matt went winter camping and froze to death!

The kids are doing fine, we have made another resolution to do better with their homework and so far so good -- it's been four days and we are at 100%. We see if we can keep up the good work.

One thing per family member:
Matt: He was following behind a four wheeler on a tube and Jake (the driver of the four wheeler) whipped him around so hard, Matt flew into a snow bank and came home covered in snow -- he wasn't wearing any snow gear or a coat. Istsounded fun.
Nita: I put a "kick me" sign on a student the other day, it took him 20 mins to notice and couldn't figure out why everyone was kicking him -- the class was in stitches.
Chloe: she got the Nancy Drew graphic novels for Christmas, she was in her bed reading the other night and I went in to say good night, she was so engrossed in her book that she jumped up so hard when I opened her door -- it was hilarious.
Caleb: When he gasses it, he says "whoa I just threw a pedo!" Pedo means fart in spanish. OR he will gas it and then say catch that and paint it green! What a boy.

AAAAAHHHHHH! I am so overwhelmed!

2008-09-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, just so you know I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. But I am sooooooo busy that my blog is going to take a leave of absence. I think in another month I will be in control of my life and perhaps be able to update you all more frequently.

Please don't give up on me -- more to blog in the future!

Miss you all terribly! I will continue read your blogs so you will always be on my mind! Don't forget about me!

Nita

I love our garden!

2008-08-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

For family night we picked beets from our garden and pickled them. The kids helped. We ended up with 20 jars and all of them popped! I said I would never can. Never say never! A garden is so rewarding. We are just waiting for our tomatoes to come on so we can eat them and can salsa with the rest.

A few days ago we had an entire meal from our garden: potatoes, boiled beets, cabbage, carrots, and rasberries for dessert. It was such an awarding experience to pick food from our garden and dig in!

My first Olympic Triathlon

2008-07-29T11:14:00.001-07:00

WOW was the spudman ever fun! I have never been on such a runner's high before. I went down with a friend of mine to do the spudman tri in Burley ID. We stayed in twin falls which was a big mistake the (40 mins away) so many people just slept in the back of there cars, I think that is what I will do next year. I wasn't going to do it next year but is was soooo much fun, I'm in!

The swim was amazing! We got in to the water -- not too cold and I found my groove. The week before I practiced turning on to my back, just in case I couldn't swim the whole way, but I didn't need to use that newly developed skill. The swim was so beautiful every time I took a breath I got to see the golden colors of the rising sun -- it was so beautiful. Although, on one of my breaths I looked over at a swimmer who was drowning. I swam over to her flipped her on her back and she was spewing water and phlegm, I asked her if she was okay and she said yes, then quickly said NO! I yelled at the boats to come over and help her. I helped her to the side and directed the boat to her and took off. I had a tri to complete! My swim time was 21:09. I would like to think it took 10 mins helping this girl to safety, but I'm sure it was only a couple of minutes. I was very pleased with my time -- I thought it would take me 25 mins.

The bike was amazing, the course goes through the heart of farm land. There were these two farmers hauling hay and it was smelt so good. I was trying to figure out how they were getting the hay to the top of the stack and then realized -- crap, I'm in a race, I better pay attention to going fast. I thought my bike time would be about 17 mph, I averaged 19 mph.

The run was fun. Not one person passed me on the run and I passed everyone (thanks to my lolling on the bike), so it always feels good to pass people. I didn't even begin to fatigue until mile 4, so I should have picked it up on the run -- my average speed was a 8:46 pace mile. I should have done better.

My total time was 2 hours and 41 minutes -- I'll take it for my first Olympic tri!

So this year I will chalk it up to fun, next year -- well, you know how I hate to set speed goals for myself, I think I will just try to pay attention to the race instead of the scenery.

One disturbing thing I can't shake from this tri is that a man in my leg drowned. I can't help but think that maybe me yelling help for this girl, freaked him out and may have contributed to his drowning. That is just unsettling.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3868868

The Derby is the funniest place on earth

2008-07-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

I love people watching and at a derby there is so much to see, its just fun! A few of my favorites:
*The girl in front of us flirting with Matt and Skip in her 1 1/2 inch seam short shorts, her American flag wool halter top and her boob job. It was hilarious, she actually laid out on the bench to show them her legs.
*The lady with the really big hair
*The guy with a really long goatee
*The family behind us with no teeth
*The fight that broke out between two rivals -- after there turn they jumped out of there cars and went at it, it took 10 people to keep them from fighting.
*The little 13 year old kid, who was in the truck derby. His truck was four times as big as he was and his truck rolled over!
*The interesting segragation between hispanics and whites -- no mix among them -- they sat in different parts of the field. Didn't talk to one another, didn't sit by one another -- it was like looking at a movie during the 1950's -- sad
*Matt's cousin was there.
*The local bueaty queens.

It was soooo much fun -- here are a few pics

What we do for culture

2008-06-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the book Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. It was an amazing book, in a sad way. It discusses the struggles people have to fit into culture. A dad who is very poor, sales his two daughter for money to survive. The girls are taken away, one girl is sold to a geisha home, the other is not -- too old. So they basically grow up wanting to be the most coveted prostitute. Sad. I recently had these pictures sent to me and it brought back all the issues I had with the book.

I also recently read an article about middle eastern women paying for a "hymenoplasty" They have their hymen restored so that on their wedding night they appear to be a virgin. A woman who does not bleed on her wedding night can find herself beaten, divorced, or even killed by family members. Two arguments on the matter. One, that is shameful that women have to do something like that in order to fit into there culture, they need to stand up for there rights as women. the second argument says that the surgery does empower the women, if the alternative to hymenoplasty is shame and unwanted singleness then it's hard to fault a women for choosing the operation because they avoid that wrath, they further argue that if restoring the hymen becomes "safe, cheap, convincing, and confidential" it will be impossible for Muslim husbands and their families to ascertain virginity, therefore decreasing the demand for proof. Certainly the husbands do not have to show such purity -- it's a one was standard.

I guess its just sad that women feel the need to take cultural issues so far. I guess what I am saying is I'm glad for things such as forgiveness and flip flops.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-25T17:26:00.001-07:00

Softball Injuries

2008-06-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has been about 10 years since Matt and I have played co-ed softball. Oh, the fun we had! It was my work sponsored team and the people we played with were crazy and fun - we had a blast. We weren't very good, but we would play hard and then BBQ right there in the parking lot afterwords. We lived in Ohio at the time and it was so green and pretty and cool in the summertime -- we had such fabulous memories. We were youthful!

Not so youthful anymore. When we were asked to play on a coed softball team the response was "Heck Ya!" (We are having a blast) HOWEVER, this last game we played in we both got injured. I got hit in the eye with foul ball -- five stitches and a black eye. Matt pulled his hamstring running to second -- ugly looking bruise to show for it. We aren't as youthful as we thought we were. But we are still having fun!

I Got Tagged by Annie

2008-06-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

How To Play This Game of Tag:

Post these rules on your blog.

List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.

Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys...

Cookie Dough

Exercise

Sleeping in

3 Fears...

Losing a limb

Losing my family

Losing my Testimony

3 Current obsessions/collections ...

Looking at garden (I love to see things grow)

Math

My Routine: Monday's laundry day, Tuesday dusting, Wednesday vacuum - mop floors, Thursday yard work, Friday - play day. I've had to change it lately so I am a little off kilter, can't wait to get my obsession back down to a nice smooth routine!

3 Random Surprising Facts about me...

I love applesauce in milk

I secretly loved being a working mom (when we lived in Ohio, Matt had a chance to work from home and I only worked a few minutes away, so I got to come home on lunch and nurse Chloe, then go back to work it was the best of both worlds) It's surprising because now I am mourning my stay-at-home status.

I can do the peacock pose -- I don't' look as good as this guy, it's the hardest pose I can do.

Tag! You're It!

Jamie: She was the one I owe all the blogging fun to

Angie: You are just such an interesting person

Shelly: A woman of many talents

Christy: A woman of many talents

Misti: Maybe it will get her to update her blog! Love ya Misti!

Life is on hold....

2008-06-04T16:30:00.001-07:00

This is all I have been doing lately. The big test date is June 14th. I promise I will post an update on life as soon as this test is over. I feel really guilty doing other things besides studying! Wish me luck!

Matt's Nose Job

2008-05-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

Poor, Matt. Over the last few years it seems like his sinus infections were getting more frequent and his snoring has slowly gotten out of control. A few weeks ago, we had a weekend with out the kids and that Monday he came down with a sinus infection. I got really mad at him. I said "If you do not go down to the Drs. RIGHT NOW, I am canceling this weekend. So he finally (after three years of nagging) went to the Dr. Sure enough he had a sinus infection and the Dr. said oooww, you should see a specialist. The Specialist looked in his nose, ordered a CAT scan and found a bone spur that was taking up his entire nasal cavity on the right side -- he also had a deviated septum. So the Surgery was scheduled.

Thursday the nurse called and gave me all the information needed for the surgery and then she laughed and said "he is gonna be hurtin!"

Here he is just hours before the surgery and little hungry but, smiling:

We get to the hospital 15 minutes early and they rush is right in to the waiting room, where we wait for a long time (3 hours and 30 minutes to be exact). I guess an emergency came up and so Matt was booted out of his time slot. Here we are waiting:

Yeah! it's Matt's turn -- he gets a cute little hat to go with his outfit:

The surgery went really well, the bone spur was easy to remove and the deviated septum was not a problem to scrap out. I guess Matt's Dr. doesn't believe in fixing the septum, he says most of the time it just pops back out of place. They put stints in to keep his nose from collapsing. They brought him to post op recovery, where he is slowly coming out of anesthesia. He would keep saying can we go home now and then he would pass out for an hour wake up and say can we go home yet, then pass out again. Finally at 9:30 he stays awake long enough to be released.

I didn't have the heart to take pictures of him at this time -- he looked soooo miserable -- poor guy. This is Matt the next morning:

Saturday I had plans to run a 5k, go to a luncheon with some friends, and go for a bike ride with some other friends later that afternoon. I also wanted to sneak out and go shopping by myself. Hah! that was a joke. After changing his bandage every hour during the night and waking up with Caleb because of growing pains. I just couldn't wake up the next morning. Poor Matt was so drugged up there is no way I could have left him alone with the kids -- what was I thinking.

Sunday morning, we come home from church and Matt is a BEAR! Holy Cow! I asked him "Honey, did you take your meds?" He yelled back "NO!" I highly encouraged him to take a pain kill and the bear turned into a cranky cub. He then realized himself that he need to manage his pain better -- here is his swollen nose on Sunday:

Monday, it was time to get the stints out. Eeewww it looked painful. Poor guy I didn't realize he had huge pieces of plastic stuck up his nose. They looked painful. It didn't feel good coming out, but it feels good having them out. Here is Matt just before the stitches were removed and the stints were pulled out:

The kids wanted Stints pulled out of their noses too: Just kidding. They had fun going up and down in the Drs Chair:

Matt is doing much better now, still snoring and not sleeping very well. But the Dr said with time that will get better. All I can say is I'm glad blogging wasn't going on when I was at my weakest moments. Love you and your nose baby!

Calm after the storm

2008-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

What a whirlwind weekend! I am so glad it is over. I just finished putting my house back in order, popped the can of a Diet Dr. Pepper and I am feeling much better.

Friday I received a call from a principal asking me to come in a do a little teaching segment for my second interview. He said that the kids were getting ready for their CRT (end of the year testing). I was suppose to go in Monday and pick up the review sheet. I thought there is no way they are going to make me review an entire year of geometry for my interview, so all weekend long I studied circles and put together a cute review game on circles. Well Monday I found out that it wasn't the entire year, but about a quarter of the year and circles weren't covered in the section they wanted me to review. My son's birthday was Monday and I was throwing him a star wars party (which was so cute -- the kids had a really good time) -- that I had no time to study. So as I was freaking out, I crammed for the chapters I was going to review and night after the party and all day Tuesday and then went to my interview at 12:30PM. It was scary and I worked myself into such a frenzy I made some really dumb mistakes: like freaking out when the kids said 1 and 1/2 when I was prepared for them to say 3/2 and not being able to remember that a quadrilateral is a shape with four sides! I got the hard stuff, it was these two snafus that messed me up! Well I was spent yesterday, but now I am good and just looking forward to waiting to see if I got the job (NOT)!

Back to my son's Bday party. There were 13 boys and they were so cute! We did a Jedi in training camp and they just ate it up. We used for force to keep meteors from dropping to the ground and conquered the Darth Vader pinata. We also had a pod race -- which they loved too. The highlight to the party was when I was lighting the candles on the cake. I was using a camping lighter with the long stem. A flame started its way up the spout and immediately after I said "Does that flame look dangerous to you?" The handle exploded into flames. Luckily I was right by the sink, so I threw it into the sink and tried to use water to put it out duh -- it's a gas fire, so I dowsed it with baking soda and that took care of the flames AND of course the kids thought that was the coolest part of the whole party.

Matt has nose surgery this Friday -- I can't wait to tell you all about it... stay tuned...

Matt's going to Law School

2008-04-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

So, In June of last year we had a friend of ours asked Matt if he wanted to come work at his law firm -- doing technical writing. Our friend talked to his partners and they said no, they really wanted a lawyer. That's when the wheels started cranking. We discussed it and prayed about it and decided we should go for it. He took the LSAT in December and did really well. His applications were do the first of March and we have been playing the waiting game ever since. He received a congratulatory letter from University of Utah and April 9th and he received a wait-list letter from BYU. BYU is a lot cheaper so if he gets in there we may have to switch gears, but he is learning so much about Uof U's law program that I think he is falling in love.

This means I will go back to work. I looked for similar jobs I was working before Chloe was born, but most require 70% travel. I don't think I can do that to my family and Matt really needs to have a chance to study, so I am trying to get a teaching job in the schools. It will be nice because I will be on the same schedule as the kids -- so pray for me!

I am really excited about this new opportunity. It will be crazy and the kids (I think) understand that much will be expected of them. But I am excited! I tease Matt -- he turns 40 this year and I tell him that going back to school is better than a Ferrari or a 25 year old hottie-- I think I can handle this mid-life crisis!

One of those good days

2008-03-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those good days. I woke up at 4:30 taught my muscle plus class, had a good swim, soaked in the hot tub, came home and showered.

I sat down to watch Curious George with my little guy, and fell fast asleep -- didn't even wake up until the middle of Clifford.

Next, I went to the Kangaroo zoo with a friend and her three boys. The zoo was not at all crowded. The boys waved good bye and we didn't see them for more than a second, enough time to grab a couple of crackers or some jelly beans and off again. My friend and I had three hours of pure adult conversations -- We sat on our butts, talked, waved to the boys now and again and just enjoyed the silence and respect of adult conversation.

Afterwards we took the boys to Wendy's for some lunch, I enjoyed my cold Diet Dr. Pepper and a spicy chicken sandwich and the leftovers of Caleb's frosty. And was just in time to pick up C from school.

What a great day! You don't know how bad I needed this one!

Who knows maybe I will make it a good night and tell the family cereal is for dinner!

Why all kids are liars

2008-03-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

I read a really really interesting article on why kids lie. My 4 year old lies and I am not sure what to do about it. The other day I am volunteering at the kids school and he is playing with some of the other kids. One of the kids asked him what his name is and he said "Anikin" and even the parents believed him. One of the kids parents asked me if I was a big star wars fan! My husband bought him a pair of glasses at the DI for a costume. He loves to wear them. My friend said "oh, when did you get glasses?" He said "Yeah, my mom took me to the eye Dr. and my eyes are bad, so I have to wear glasses. The glasses don't have lenses in them so it is easy to tell they are not real. The list like this goes on.

So the article asks where do kids get their lying habit from? The answer is their parents.

"The most disturbing reason children lie is that parents teach them to. According to Talwar, they learn it from us. “We don’t explicitly tell them to lie, but they see us do it. They see us tell the telemarketer, ‘I’m just a guest here.’ They see us boast and lie to smooth social relationships.”"

On the bright side, the article said that lying is a sign of intelligence:
It starts very young. Indeed, bright kids—those who do better on other academic indicators—are able to start lying at 2 or 3. “Lying is related to intelligence,” explains Dr. Victoria Talwar, an assistant professor at Montreal’s McGill University and a leading expert on children’s lying behavior.

This was a fascinating study:
One of Talwar’s experiments, a variation on a classic experiment called the temptation-resistance paradigm, is known in the lab as “the Peeking Game.” Through a hidden camera, I’d watched Nick play it with another one of Talwar’s students, Cindy Arruda. She told Nick they were going to play a guessing game. Nick was to sit facing the wall and try to guess the identity of a toy Arruda brought out, based on the sound it made. If he was right three times, he’d win a prize.
The first two were easy: a police car and a crying baby doll. Nick bounced in his chair with excitement when he got the answers right. Then Arruda brought out a soft, stuffed soccer ball and placed it on top of a greeting card that played music. She cracked the card, triggering it to play a music-box jingle of Beethoven’s Für Elise. Nick, of course, was stumped.
Arruda suddenly said she had to leave the room for a bit, promising to be right back. She admonished Nick not to peek at the toy while she was gone. Nick struggled not to, but at thirteen seconds, he gave in and looked.
When Arruda returned, she could barely come through the door before Nick—facing the wall again—triumphantly announced, “A soccer ball!” Arruda told Nick to wait for her to get seated. Suddenly realizing he should sound unsure of his answer, he hesitantly asked, “A soccer ball?”
Arruda said Nick was right, and when he turned to face her, he acted very pleased. Arruda asked Nick if he had peeked. “No,” he said quickly. Then a big smile spread across his face.
Without challenging him, or even a note of suspicion in her voice, Arruda asked Nick how he’d figured out the sound came from a soccer ball.
Nick cupped his chin in his hands, then said, “The music had sounded like a ball.” Then: “The ball sounded black and white.” Nick added that the music sounded like the soccer balls he played with at school: They squeaked. And the music sounded like the squeak he heard when he kicked a ball. To emphasize this, his winning point, he brushed his hand against the side of the toy ball.This experiment was not just a test to see if children cheat and lie under temptation. It was also designed to test a child’s ability to extend a lie, offering plausible explanations and avoiding what the scientists call “leakage”—inconsistencies that reveal the lie for what it is. Nick’s whiffs at covering up his lie would be scored later by coders who watched the videotape. So Arruda accepted without question the fact that soccer balls play Beethoven when they’re kicked and gave Nick his prize. He was thrilled.
Seventy-six percent of kids Nick’s age take the chance to peek during the game, and when asked if they peeked, 95 percent lie about it.
But sometimes the researcher will read the child a short storybook before she asks about the peeking. One story read aloud is The Boy Who Cried Wolf—the version in which both the boy and the sheep get eaten because of his repeated lies. Alternatively, they read George Washington and the Cherry Tree, in which young George confesses to his father that he chopped down the prized tree with his new hatchet. The story ends with his father’s reply: “George, I’m glad that you cut down the tree after all. Hearing you tell the truth instead of a lie is better than if I had a thousand cherry trees.”
Now, which story do you think reduced lying more? When we surveyed 1,300 people, 75 percent thought The Boy Who Cried Wolf would work better. However, this famous fable actually did not cut down lying at all in Talwar’s experiments. In fact, after hearing the story, kids lied even a little more than normal. Meanwhile, hearing George Washington and the Cherry Tree—even when Washington was replaced with a nondescript character, eliminating the potential that his iconic celebrity might influence older kids—reduced lying a sizable 43 percent in kids. Although most kids lied in the control situation, the majority hearing George Washington told the truth.

Isn't that amazing! Below is the link to the rest of the story if you are interested.
http://nymag.com/news/features/43893/

True Friends

2008-03-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit overwhelmed lately with some takers. Do you sometimes let friends bring you down, and down, and down? I have one lately. I try to be really really nice, but it seems like when I give a little bit, she takes a mile. Do you still help these types of friends when they are in need? Is that selfish of me to not help?

On the other hand, I have a friend who when I give, she gives me twice as much back, which makes me want to give any more in return. I love this type of relationship. Is it selfish of me to expect something in return?

The same day one friend took too much, my other friend called me out of the blue and said "thanks so much for all you do!" I cried.

I hate the feeling of being selfish with my charity. I hate it even more when I feel taken advantage of. What do you all do in this type of situation?

I love friends though, they can make your life more fulfilling! Be nice to your friends.

Chloe's Baptism

2008-03-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Chloe was baptized Saturday, a member in our church. It was an amazing experience. There are few moments in your children’s lives that really fill your heart with immense Sadness or happiness. This day was full of happiness. I had a friend who was not of our faith, mention her concern that an eight year old is not mature enough to make a decision whether or not she should be baptized, I always thought she had a good point and it has always stuck with me.

As people age and find other beliefs, I didn’t want her to feel that she was pressured or “brain washed” into being baptized. So I started the preparation about six months ago about baptism, what is means, what she was getting into, we went over the pros and cons. We talked in great length that if she didn’t feel ready to make such a big decision we could wait until she felt she was ready. She really took this decision seriously. She would come up with some really good questions and we would take some time discussing the answers. She came to me and said she was ready to be baptized. Over the six months I was really surprised to see her mature, and I could see she really was ready.

On the day of her baptism, I had such a spiritual experience. I was blessed with the most amazing feeling, it was hard for my mortal body to retain. I knew that she was ready and I knew she knew she was ready. There is a scripture third Nephi 9:20 that says: 20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Chloe may not know everything about the gospel, but she knows enough with all of her little heart to be baptized. I personally believe that an 8 year old is quite capable of making that decision. And I know that children today need the blessing of baptism to survive the years to come.

What an amazing day!

I'm afraid of heights!

2008-02-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

So Saturday morning, Chloe's Birthday, we wake up and are getting ready for my skydiving appointment in Mesquite -- 10 AM. I keep on having the strange sensation of butterflies like I do the mornings before a race. We get in the car and head to mesquite, an hour drive from St. George, we think. We pull into Mesquite 45 minutes early, we have already had breakfast, so we find a park and let the kids play, Matt and I do pull ups. we get to the airport 10 mins early and we walk in there stating "I am ready to go skydiving, I'm your 10'oclock appointment!" The guy in the hoodie with messy hair and bags under his eyes says "uh, your a little early." I am thinking duh, 9 mins and I glance at the clock which says 8:51 AM. I say "oh! Nevada is on a different time standard, we'll be back in an hour."

My butterflies die down a little bit and we go wash the car, get gas, and read a chapter of Bell Canto. We get back to the air port and after 2 hours of waiting I am ready to go. I see people starting to suit up, they all get on the plane and take off. There are two Ute fans who are jumping for there first time too. We don't talk much to each other, we sit on these old couches and bask in the sun beating down on our faces. Fifteen minutes later we look up and see dots in the sky, the first jumpers are coming back to the ground. The butterflies jump start again. The guy in the hoodie, pulls the three of us over and gives us our tandem training "keep your back arched the whole time", "keep your eyes on the horizon", "When you exit the plane make sure your feet are at the very edge of the plane before you jump", "whatever you do, don't grab your tandem guys arms, he needs them to open the chute". That's it! That's all the instruction!

We wait, 30 more minutes. The Ute fans get to go first. We wait another hour. Come on already! Finally, they call my name. I go suit up. I notice they give me the same suit as the 6'2" Ute fan. It fits. I'm a little depressed. I get my goggles and my 1962 pilots hat and head for the plane. All the parachuting bums, and me, climb into the plane. I'm a little nervous, so I start making jokes. My first one is to the guy sandwiched in front of me "I get motion sick, so I apologize in advance for anything I leave on your neck." Everyone laughs, I keep going, I can't stop. The camera guy turns around to film. I ask everyone to scream like the plane is going down. I am the only one who does. That's not funny.

It's our turn to jump, me and my guy Brandon. He is shorter than me. We crawl to the edge of the door to jump. I can no longer hear. The wind is too loud. I see Brandon's had go 5, 4, 3, 2, he pushes me out of the plane. I didn't realize it until I saw the video, but I had a grin on my face the whole entire time. The wind is so fast I have a hard time trying to catch my breath. I pray I don't faint. I don't want to miss a second of this incredible ride. My goggles are cutting my eyes in half. I do exactly what I was trained to do. I grab Brandon's hand. ooops.

We fall from 8,000 Feet to 5,000 feet. Brandon opens the chute and peace envelopes me. It is amazing. the beauty of the mountains, the feel of the clean air. We turn every once in a while and it feels amazing. I don't want it to end, but Brandon says its time to land. I lift up my legs, I try to keep them up so I don't fall on my face. I don't. It's over, my family is waiting for me. I now realize that I have just fallen from the sky. Weird, but grateful. If they would have told me, you can go up again on the next round, I would have said yes!

Winter Time Blues

2008-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

January bites the big one. We decided we would tighten our belts for a few months, see if we can save money to do the side lawn. So it's best not to go shopping, that would only contribute to the blues. The weather has been so bad, I am too wimpy to go outside. I've been teaching lots of 5 AM classes, so by noon all I want to do is sleep. This kids are driving me crazy playing inside all the time. Who has the ambition to clean house? As I look at my list of things to do, I can't muster up the energy to do any of them. I piddle around the computer a bit. Wander around the house with a blank stare, not knowing what to do next. No dates with the husband (the saving money thing again). All these things put together can cause a little slump in your life.

Never Fear, February is almost here...
We have a trip planned in February that I am really looking forward to. We are going to St. George for Chloe's birthday and I finally get to cash in on my skydiving Christmas present. Sometimes it is just nice to get away from the hum drum of winter. We are staying in a hotel that has a really nice pool. I also hope the weather is nice enough to go for a short hike. it will be nice to get away.

I'll keep you posted on my blues...

I love routine

2008-01-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

We had a great christmas. From about December 20th to the first of the year -- we were slammed with holiday cheer. Matt's birthday was a lot of fun, we finished up Christmas shopping (his favorite thing to do). We then hosted book club at our house, which was nice. I was able to clean the house -- it's always good to have an excuse. We then had my Family Christmas party, which was a lot of fun. The kids love there cousins. We went snowshoeing on Christmas eve. The weather was perfect. A storm was on its way into town, so we had the calm before the storm. We were out for about 2 hours which is a new record. Usually after the first few minutes they are ready to go home. Christmas was great. Matt made prime rib and we had some friends over as well has Matt's parents. We went to dinner with my Dad the day after Christmas. We went swimming, cleaned up Christmas. Went to see atonement with our friends, and Water horse with the kids. We played with Christmas presents. Saw the lights at temple square. Ate at China lily and Chuck-a-rama (Chloe's idea) and had a great New Year's Eve party. AND Matt and I got into a HUGE fight about North, South, East, and West. He said I won, but I think he was just tired of fighting.

It was a great vacation, but today has been fabulous. There is something about the day to day regular schedule that gives me comfort. It feels good to be back into the routine of life.

A year in review

2007-11-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

In January Matt and I went out to eat, just the two of us, and we sat down and planned out our entire year. We didn't mean to make our little date a plan for the year but that's what we did and it worked out great and we were able to do everything we planned to do expect one camp out.

In February we usually like to escape to St. George to get away for the smog and cold. We waited until after our Jan meeting and all hotels were booked so we took the kids to Las Vegas. Big Mistake. Caleb and Chloe both tuned in to all the half-naked people at the pool and around town. Chloe's eyes were also glued to the floor looking at all the ads for prostitutes. AND I forgot that open containers are allowed everywhere. The kids couldn't figure out what they were drinking and why they were acting funny. Other than that we had a good time. It was awesome to see all the young slutty ladies with their rich overweight boyfriends. The kids really enjoyed the bel lagio fountain and the lions and MGC, and the M&M factory. They also liked hanging around the pool. I don't think we will take the kids again, but it was fun.

In April, Matt went on a camping trip with his brothers and took Caleb with him. They had a good time. It was very cute for Caleb to have his first campout with his dad. I was a bit jealous, I love Escalante -- it is so beautiful.

In June we went to Bear Lake with our Book Club friends. Again, a blast. We went through Lehmanns cave, we hung out at bear lake -- we rented jet skis and a water trampoline. It was all about laziness and I enjoyed every minute of it.

In July we went to Wheelers peak, it is the highest peak in Nevada. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the weather is about 20 degrees cooler than where we live so it was nice to escape from the heat. I hiked the peak, 3068 feet high. I took us 4 hours. I got a head ache close to the top due to low oxygen, but I was on such a high when we got back, I can't wait to do it again. The wind is so severe up at the top all you can do is laugh -- you literally feel like you are going to blow away. It was awesome

In July I also got to go to the Idea Convention in San Diego. It was fabulous. It was just me so the alone time I cherished. I rented a bike and took a ride along the boardwalk. I ran along the beach. And I got to go to a baseball game. I couldn't bring myself to order a hot do though. Not after putting up a show of how "healthy" I am at the convention. I love to people watch and watching a whole bunch of instructors compete for seniority over fitness was great! Lots of muscle around. It was nice to go to the ball park and be around a normal population of shapes and sizes. I learned a lot at the convention though, so it was a great trip.

In August we went to Matt's company summer party at Lagoon, an amusement park. They had give-a-ways and we won the grand prize which is a weekend at little America. I look forward to using it. We can't decide if we should just go our selves or if we should take the kids. I think the kids would really enjoy it -- that is definitely a sign of aging. Romantic time with hubby or take the kids. I should just go with Matt huh?

September I ran the Top of Utah Marathon and that evening we went to Matt's 20 year high school reunion. Can I just tell you how weird it was to see Matt interact with his old friends. He took on a whole different persona. It was weird. Highly entertaining, but weird.

October we built a porch off of the front of out house -- looks great, not quite finished, but I am excited to use it next spring.

November thanksgiving was so much fun. Matt came to my bootcamp class. The kids had a great time.

And that sums up our year. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait to plan next year!

I am thankful for...

2007-11-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

My testimony
My family
Caleb hugs
alone time with Matt
a cold nose while the rest of my body is under my comforter
a day off
exercise
Chloe telling me all about her day
good friends
a great discusssion with friends
air
my flip flop slippers
my ability to laugh at myself
camping
alone time
a diet Dr. Pepper at 3 pm
a coupon that allows me to get an item for free
running
my ipod mini
being able to laugh at temper tantrums
banana cream pie
walks at night
a smile from a stranger
participants in my exercise classes
yoga
a hot bath with lavendar (thanks for the idea Jamie)
a clean house
piano lessons
Matt's book suggestions
helping a friend
back scratches
shopping alone
the list goes on...

Top 5 Wellness Tips

2007-11-05T15:16:00.001-08:00

So all of you know that I am a Fitness Instructor and Weight Management Consultant. And I was just thinking of ways to survive the holidays. I have put together my goals and just thought I would share them with you.

Number 1: Cross train. I am going to make sure I do a little bit of everything: weight train, cycle, swim, anaerobic intervals, and some anaerobic weight training intervals. The more you mix it up the more your body will burn calories.
Number 2: Watch my sugar intake and my enriched flour intake (pretty ironic since I am making french bread right now). I want to make sure all my carbs come from whole grains (my favorite one right now is quinoa -- it is very mild in taste and is packed with essential proteins and fiber) and fruits and vegetables. Also, I want to eat in moderation. I want to figure out what a serving size it for a particular food and eat only that much.
Number 3: wear a pedometer. It is important to work out every day, but it is also important that you are active during the rest of the day. My goal is to get anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 steps every day.
Number 4: Do Yoga at least once a week. Yoga is so important to control stress and holiday time is the time that stresses me out. I also feel like I am in more control with my eating when I do yoga.
Number 5: Pray really hard I don't do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e19NrkUcFEQ

Good Luck with your wellness goals this holiday season!

I think I have screwed up my kids

2007-10-19T15:55:00.001-07:00

Our book club this month is Roots by Alex Haley. I was really excited to read the book (even though it is 700 pages long) because when I was a kid, I remember watching the TV special. Every night as a family we would sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch the movie. I only remember bits and pieces from the movie (apparently I was only 7). I remember Kunte Kinte getting his name from his father. I remember the boat ride to America. I remember Kizzy being taken from her parents. I remember Tom being whipped in the city. I remember Lavar playing a part -- who now stars on Reading Rainbow.

One day while we were at the bookmobile, I noticed that they had the Roots movie on DVD! I was so excited, so we checked it out and brought it home. Since I had seen it at the age of 7 and it was on TV 30 years ago -- how bad could it be to let my 7 year old and my 4 year old watch it? It was going to be a family activity, just like when I grew up.

Well the first scene takes place in Africa and the women do not have tops on. My 4 year old boy focused in on that one like candy. "Dad, why don't the have shirts on?" "Dad, why are these [point to his chest] showing?" "Dad, are they girls?"

There were rape scence -- which we didn't let the kids watch. But there were also some consentual bedroom shots. My 7 year old girl says "Why are they laying together with out clothes on?" "How did that baby get into her tummy?" "Why is he Chicken George's dad?"

Shrew.

That doesn't even include all the questions: Are they bad guys? Why does Kunte Kinte want to run away? What is free? Why can't she learn to read? etc. etc. etc.

So, the other day I tell the kids, if you clean the house we can go to a movie and I give them a list of chores. They wanted to help each other do there share of the chores, but they wanted to play slavery while they did there chores. Caleb was Masa Reynolds and Chloe was Kunte Kinte. She had tied a bandanna around her foot, so it looked like a slave finder had cut it off. And Caleb carried around a piece of string that he used as a whip.

The worst was today. He took his toy story Woody doll, tied his hands up and whipped him with his piece of string.

Truthfully, I don't think my kids are screwed up, I watched it at the age of 7 and I think I turned out okay. And I think there playing and acting out were just ways to cope with what they saw in the series. But you always feel bad subjecting your kids to things they might not be ready for. Or you don't anticipate how much they alread know and understand. I don't know....

We did have a talk this morning on how its not a good idea to play slavery. That it is still hurtful to a lot of people and that we should be respectful to everyone. I hope it went well.

Doing Nothing

2007-10-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just enjoyed doing nothing? I read an article awhile back that talked about how good it is to do nothing. It's good for your body, and really good for your brain. It talked about problems you may have in your life, or if you are in school by doing nothing it allows your brain to process what you are learning. So, this weekend we went to our friends cabin and I did nothing. It was wonderful. We each took a turn making a meal and cleaning up, so I really did nothing until Sunday afternoon. It was so nice. The kids were pretty much on there own busy playing with their friends. I read some, studied some, went for a walk, talked, stared at the fire, tried to take a nap, ate, etc. I enjoy doing nothing. For me it could have lasted maybe just one more day...

October is busy

2007-09-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

I am slammed. October hasn't even begun and I am already feeling the heat from what is expected of me.

My little boy is 4 and my baby and has just one more year before he goes to kindergarten. I was feeling guilty so I decided to do a home preschool with neighbors. I wanted him to be around as much as possible since, next year he will be gone and I will be left alone. We have decided to rotate by month and so October is my month to plan preschool. It has been fun, but it is a lot of work.

I am also in charge of our Churches Primary Program. I realized that I have to put together all the parts (we have 145 children in our primary) and I am also feeling the pressure to have it be a big success. I'm not so good at programs. I don't have the talent to make things like this spectatcular. Even though I am stressed, I am enjoying the challenge.

Our bookclub pick for October is Roots by Alex Hailey. All 758 pages. I kind of had a heads up on how crazy the month would be so I got a good head start.

I love being busy, but I can't wait to have the month over and it hasn't even begun.