Family is the Greatest Blessing of ALL

It sure is a good thing I love my family, what with them being here and visiting and all. And what's not to love, Amy with her beautiful and amazingly well-behaved children (makes mine look like hoodlums, really. I have to remind myself not to feel like scum that my children aren't so happily ignored, which may sound bad but is really a goooood thing), Tyler with his unbelievable culinary skills (think fajitas, beans, and rice with everything from scratch, up to and including the seasoning on the chicken...and then belgian waffles with buttermilk syrup and fresh whipped cream for breakfast...oh yum), and my parents with their "we want to spoil everyone rotten" attitude (buying the kids ice cream sandwiches and soda, taking us out for dinner...). It is way fun. Here are some pics from our fun adventure at the park at Bekah's school...

Amy's kids...
JoshuaLukeSarah, so beautiful, like her mommyMichaelSpinning girlsBeau and his prized wood chips. Yum.Me and Beau on the slide. p.s. I heart leggings.

Balloon Fiesta 2009

There is something so wonderfully majestic about hot air balloons. Even ones in the shape of Darth Vader's head. Or Smokey the Bear. Or a space shuttle.
Completely incredible.
This year was mostly like last year...wake up at 5 am, get in the van and go. Except this year was so much more fun because my parents were here, along with Tyler and Amy and her kids. And Rus took off work and actually went with us. I didn't even ask, whine, complain, or hassle. He just came and I was so happy! Rus went last night and picked up breakfast food and drinks while I got all the coats/snacks/etc. ready. We got to the field this morning just after 6 am and we were greeted by perfect weather for ballooning (cold but not windy).
Here are our pictures (my camera wasn't really broken after all...it just needed a new memory card...phew!)

Luke, Amy, Joshua
Bekah, Sarah
In front of a balloon. Early, early. And cold, cold. See how red Bekah's nose is?Again I mention cold.
One tip for you would-be-balloon-fiesta-ers...wear waterproof shoes of some sort, like boots. The grass has frost on it and your feet get wet and then they get cold!
I loved this pic...
Tyler's ears were cold. Mikey obliged.
The rise of the special shape balloons. It's always fun to get to see what the balloons are as they inflate. On the ground, flat, it may look like a lady bug, but get it in the air and it's really an airplane! Crazy! This plain one in the foreground was actually a parrot head.Darth Vader. We meet again.My absolute favorite balloon this year.
Even though it didn't actually launch because they said they didn't want to end up on the reservation (apparently you have to have special permits to land there.) It would have been really cool to see a space shuttle launch!Rus my hot and Balloon Fiesta Attending Honey and Jacob in front of the space shuttle.The gang, minus Bekah and Jacob.Tell me, is this not incredible?!
What is not to love about a sky full of balloons?!Come visit me next year and I'll take you. Seriously.

Good Golly, General Conference Time Again

When I was younger (like two years ago), I could not focus my attention on the twice-yearly LDS General Conference to save my life. I'd pull out my notebook, find a comfy seat, and then the voice of Richard G. Scott or whomever would either lull me to sleep or just buzz around my head like a fly while I doodled. No focus.

Then last April something happened. Something changed. And I wanted to hear every single word coming from our leaders' mouths. Every word. I don't know what brought about the change, but I am grateful for it.
Conference weekend now is eight hours packed full of wonderful speakers who have spent the last several months praying to the Lord to know what I need them to speak about. And what you need to hear too, of course. And what the world needs to hear.
My favorite talk was from Thomas S. Monson, President of the LDS Church. His theme was, "What have you done for someone today?"
He quoted a poem which said, "I never have yet felt the tinge of regret for being a little too kind." Then he spoke about all of the acts of service that members of the Church, young and old, performed for others in honor of his birthday. He showed a picture of a large glass jar filled with glittery pom poms that one primary had sent him. They called it their "warm fuzzy" jar, where each pom pom represented a kind deed that a child did for someone else through out the course of the year.
I want a "warm fuzzy" jar.
I will have one.
I even bought pom poms today.
I am so excited I can hardly wait to show my kids and start filling it up.
President Monson concluded by quoting the hymn, "Have I Done Any Good?"

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped any one in need?
Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.

Has any one's burden been lighter today,
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

Then wake up and do something more,
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, A joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

Now I am focused, armed with pom poms, "What have I done for someone today?" as my motto.
I am so excited.

Dear Woman in the Hobby Lobby Parking Lot,

Today I jumped ship. Abandoned my post.
Headed north with Jacob and Beau and didn't look back.
This last week, although not even half way done, has been a doozy. I've felt lost, unsatisfied with what I've done at the end of the day, upset at myself for loosing my temper with my kids, more upset for not enjoying my God-given gift of motherhood.
Inspired by the Hobby Lobby coupon in my inbox and needing a picture frame, I headed up to crafter's heaven and children's hell. It's never fun for them, no matter what you do.
That store will put horns on your angel child faster than cotton candy.
While waiting for the lady to cut all of my fabric at a snail's pace, Jacob discovered measuring tapes that have a button to instantly rewind the tape. He wanted it and seeing it was a dollar, I relented. We picked out a blue one for Jacob; he said Bekah would want one later and it would have to be purple.
At the check out lane he fell out of love with his measuring tape and wanted a candy bar instead.
"Jacob, if you don't want this measuring tape I'm not going to buy it for you.
"Do you want it?"
No, he said, convincingly.
"You can't have any candy, though."
I paid for the rest of my things and then tried to leave. Jacob realized he was leaving empty handed and had a fit. Sometimes when he has a fit he cries so hard he can't breathe. Then his lips turn blue, his face loses all color, his eyes roll back and he falls on the floor. Then I blow in his mouth and he breathes, and an awesome cry welcomes color back to his face. Not this time. This time he was yelling bloody murder and I was grateful.
No passing out is a good thing.
I buckled Beau in the van, loaded my goodies, and miracuously kept my cool as Jacob managed to get in his seat, yelling, "I NEED TO GO BAAAACK!".
My insides were feeling super defeated, like this is exactly why I feel trapped sometimes.
As I walked around the van to get in my seat, a woman parked adjacent to me, and obviously a witness to the whole thing said,
You're doing a good job.
You're so patient.
This will pass.
You're doing a good job!
She might as well have been an angel. That was just what I needed to hear. I got in the van and cried, but not sad tears, grateful ones.
I am well taken care of.

Camping in Northern NM

"MOM! I haven't been camping when I was five yet!"
That was pretty much the argument that Bekah gave Rus and I for needing, having to go camping this weekend. So we cleared our ultra busy schedule...if cleaning the church and garage sailing (yes I did spell it like that on purpose, why not) qualify for "ultra busy"...and we loaded up the pop-up and headed north.
And drove.
And drove.
And drove.
It took us about four hours, actually. Crazy, huh, for just an over-nighter.
We got to our campground, set up everything in the dark, and enjoyed hot dogs and marshmallows by the campfire.
Bekah and Jacob loved it. Beau did too, as long as he was sitting on my lap or Rus's. We told stories, ate too many marshmallows, and did a thorough job of making ourselves smell like a fire.
It was delightful.
Then we headed off to bed in our cozy but not airtight (and thus cold) pop-up, where I froze half the night, Rus worried about the kids freezing half the night, and the kids all slept, the whole night.
The next day we all woke up too early (thank you Bekah), had breakfast, and headed out fully bundled up to go fishing before the sun even touched the frosted floor of our canyon. Rus was able to catch a fish in the stream right by us before we completely lost the kids' interest, but my attempts at catching one were too much for them. Whining ensued (I know. Shocking.) and so we headed back to the jeep to adventure out on a drive.We wound up later at the Salman Raspberry Ranch and found it to be a picturesque, energetic little place with rows and rows of raspberry bushes and all sorts of people, young and old, with hats, canes, walkers, and umbrellas, filling up their buckets and baskets with fresh raspberries. The air was warm, the sun bright, the company friendly, and the raspberries delicious.
And let me tell you, Beau loved it.And loved it.And loved it.Eat raspberries much?I'm sure he ate at least a half a pound all by himself. In fact we told the lady to charge us extra, he ate so much! He would pull off a raspberry, and if it was ripe he'd eat it, but if it wasn't he would spit it out.
Bekah and Jacob had fun too, but they found holding the buckets and letting us fill them up much more enjoyable than actually picking very many themselves.After we picked our fill we walked up to the Salman Cafe and Salman Ranch Store. The whole place was beautiful. It's located right next to an old mill and the adobe brick construction was simply fascinating. Go there. I'm serious. Just for the pictures you can take.
Then we came home. The kids slept for almost three hours on the drive home. We loved it, although we didn't really acknowledge it because, well, you know. Then they would have woken up.
It was a wonderful trip.

I Am a Pirate

"Here, hold my sword!" said Jacob. "Bad Guys!"
Pshoo! Pshoo! "I shot them!" he says.
"I have poison!" I said.
"Good! Throw it on them! When they step on it, it will kill them!"
"Captain!" Jacob means me of course. "There's another pirate! Throw your water on him!"
"But I want to drink it," my weak non-pirate blood cries. Then I see the desperation in Captain Jacob's eyes (yep he's a captain, too) and I throw a splash of water overboard.
"Good! You got his eye! Get his other eye! Get the rest of him!"
Again my cold water goes overboard.
"Good job!"
Then he gives me a consoling look. "Mommy, we're good guys, okay? We're good guys," he says, as if to reassure me of our status despite all the recent killings.
Later our Pirate Ship Playhouse seems to be meeting a more favorable wind, so I meet Jacob at the railing and order a hamburger.
"I don't have any."
"French fries?"
"Um...No," he says without remorse.
I give in. "Okay, Poison?"
His eyes light up. "Yeah!"
I go to take it from him and he gently chides me, "It's a dollar."
I go on to order more poison, a cannon (which was only available after the brief explanation that it blows things up), and several rockets.
Later we ventured to distant islands and used our sword to chop down old cornstalks. We also gathered more poison (basil blossoms). It rained a lot though (according to Jacob), and each time we had to run back to the ship for safety.
Can I just say I love being a pirate with Captain Jacob?
Arrgg!
Oh, and in case you forgot, this is what our playhouse looks like, courtesy of Bekah.

To Do List.