Friday Is Almost Here

I thought I could sit out here on the patio and clear my head. It may take a while... It is a nice evening with a clear sky and almost no wind. I refilled the tiki torches so I have them burning. I just wish that I didn't have to get up in the morning. The whole time I'm sitting here I'm thinking that I need to go to bed so that I can get up before the sun again. I didn't get up on time this morning. I was awakened when Jordan knocked on my door at the time we are supposed to leave. We left about 3 minutes later. We were on time for work. It left me with a dull headache the rest of the day. (I guess that I sound whiny - but that is how I feel.) I need a long vacation (like several months).

We watched the elimination show for So You Think You Can Dance. I really didn't want to watch two of the final six get eliminated. They are all very accomplished dancers. Next week is the finale and then I will be released from mandatory TV for several weeks until the next episode of Survivor starts (I don't know, maybe I won't watch it this season. I don't really like having a show that I feel compelled to watch.)

After reading Jared's email and seeing his pictures yesterday, I am really grateful for the family that he is living with. The Hann's are so wonderful to take care of two teenage boys. I see the picture of Sister Hann with the silly string on her and I think of what a great sport she is. I am looking forward to meeting them when we travel to Alabama to meet Jared at the end of his mission. I hope the Lord pours lots of blessings out on them for taking on this assignment.

I worked out on the Wii again this evening. I lost 0.7 lb since yesterday. That was good because I had gained 5 lbs yesterday. My medication doesn't seem to be working as well as I have been retaining water. It is so difficult growing old - things start going on healthwise and the doctors can't seem to figure out what is happening. Jordan's friend overheard me talking about my water retention and said that the same things happens to his mother (it must be age). So tomorrow I am hoping that I will lose about 6 lbs. It really does make you want to work out. I just need to get it moved out of my family room and into the rec room in the basement. I surprised the kids and beat them all at the downhill slalom skiing game. I scored the fastest time with just over 27 seconds. The next fastest time is about 45 seconds. I also hold the top scores on several other Yoga activities. I think it is funny that the kids are surprised that I can do these activities. They must think that I am near death.

I hope there aren't too many typos in this blog. I am sitting here in the darkness typing on a laptop (not my forte). Sherrie is reading to me out of the Ensign (I guess that is the elementary school teacher practicing). It is supposed to be a hot one again tomorrow. I am really over the heat and ready for cooler weather. I did get the mirror on my car fixed (well, at least the mirror housing - the mirror itself is a special order item - stupid deer). I was pleased that I was able to repair it so that it is structurally sound and fully functional. It also saved me 80 dollars (yeah!!!!). Well, it is time to go to bed. I can't be late leaving in the morning because I need to put gas in the car. Jordan is counting down the days. He only has two more weeks before we take him down to SUU. I guess that is two more weeks until we have a cleaner house (when his room is overloaded he overflows into other parts of the house - lucky room mates). He is such a good kid, but not very focused on keeping his living spaces clean and organized. I guess it is time to put out the torches and swallow all the medicines that they tell me keep me alive (they can't tell me why I retain water) and sleep for a few hours before I have to tackle another long, hot day. Well, now I have whined enough to clear my head. It is quiet except for a few dogs barking and the occasional chirp of the Wii inside while Jordan does his exercises. I really love it when it is quiet and cool and dark. I feel like I could sit out here all night, but I'd better not....

Jared Pictures July 30, 2008

Jared sent some pictures via email today. He must have figured out how to do it with his myldsmail account. I've posted them for anybody to see. We are all sitting around in the family room again exercising on the Wii. It was discouraging because I gained 5 pounds since yesterday (that is what happens when I don't take my water pill - my hands feel like water balloons). At least tomorrow I should lose about 5 pounds (yeah!!). I did 20 minutes exercise tonight. I seem to excel at the Yoga activities (I guess I'm good at exercises where you just stand still), but they do cause me to break out in a sweat. I also got my exercise returning the chairs to the church from Jared's farewell luncheon (it took me a while to get them back). It was getting to where I couldn't get into my garage so I had to get some things out. It is nice to have that done so I don't have to fret about it everytime I open the garage. I think I have my mirror fixed also. I glued it twice but each time it re-broke (is that a word). I finally took it completely apart so that I could apply more structural adhesive. Now I just have to get the replacement mirror. Tonight Sherrie and I watched our So You Think You Can Dance. It is getting to where I don't know who I would vote off. I didn't get to spend my time on the patio tonight. I guess it was probably too hot to to sit out there anyway. Well, again it is way past my bed time. Last night I went to bed too late and slept through my alarm this morning. Jordan knocked on the door at the time we are supposed to leave so we had to exceed the speed limit at times to get to work on time . Tomorrow is Thursday which means that it is almost Friday which is almost the weekend (wishing my life away) Well, until tomorrow ....

My Garden

Here it is late at night again and I need to sleep and instead I find myself blogging. Every night I go out and look at my gardens. I find them soothing and relaxing after a stressful day. We have been eating zucchini squash from the garden and have watermelon plants that are beginning to bloom. We are anxious to harvest fresh tomatoes. Well, Now that I have put some pictures of my flowers and veggie garden on here I can go to bed. Good Night.

Dumb Deer

After all the trauma of buying a new car (well a new used car), it has had it's first tragedy. Yes, I've only had it for a couple of weeks. I don't even have the permanent plates on it yet. On Monday morning as Jordan and I were driving to the plant, right on the edge of Tooele, a large buck ran into our car. Yes, he hit us. I was watching him dance around in the field and had come almost to a complete stop when he bolted towards the car and hit the passenger side of it smashing his face into the windshield. Jordan who had not seen him was quite surprised. He bounced off the side of the car and took off across the street (too bad somebody else didn't hit him and kill him). Well, he broke the electric mirror off. I am going to try and repair the broken plastic and replace the mirror. If that doesn't work, I've located one at a scrap yard. What a pain!!! I can't believe after all the years of driving through mountains and back roads I get hit by a deer right in town (well on the edge of town). That is really just the luck that I have. The positive side of this is it is an older car so I'm not really devastated. If it had been a new 2008 Subaru I might have felt more emotional (drive that one careful - you know who you are). Jordan is just glad to be alive. That is probably the closets he has ever been to a large buck (he had a big rack on him). Jordan's face and the buck's were only a few inches apart at the time of impact (the stupid deer smeared slime on the windshield). I'm glad that we weren't hurt and the car didn't sustain serious damage. I guess that I am also glad that the deer escaped mostly unscathed. So drive careful and always were your seatbelt....

Wii Be Fit

The latest craze in our family is the Wii Fit. Jordan sold his long board (a long skate board) to a friend and recycled the revenue into a Wii Fit. This is actually a remarkable fitness system. I worked out on it for 11 minutes and broke a sweat (when your fat you break a sweat after about 10 seconds). A guy Jordan works with has lost 40 pounds in a few months using his Wii Fit. Last night we even had a neighbor come over to check it out to see if he is going to buy one. The bad part of all this is that Jordan leaves for SUU in just about 3 weeks. So now we are going to have to buy a Wii and a Wii Fit so that we can carry on. It starts off by analyzing your body using age, weight and a few fitness moves. Of course, I was diagnosed as OBESE (no big surprises there), but surprisingly my fitness age was 35. It told me that I was in very good shape for my age (I love this system). I especially enjoy the yoga and downhill skiing games. I think that it has been running constantly since Jordan brought it home last night. This morning Jordan actually got up early for work so that he could work out on it before we leave at 5:30 am. I wish we'd had this during the school year to get him out of bed. Jonathan has been working out on it a good portion of the day. You earn new games/exercises for spending time working out. Sarah has earned almost all of the extra games! In a few months nobody will recognize us, we will all be sveldt (I think that is the word). One of the funny things it does is to modify your Mii (your Wii character) to fit your weight classification. So now I have this rolly polly Mii. I guess that is to further motivate you to work toward your weight goals (in reality it is probably just the Japanese game developers laughing at all the fat Americans buying their product. Well, I am motivated. I don't like having to look at a fat Mii on the big screen TV. Isn't technology great! We finally found a video game that Sherrie likes. She actually told me that because Jordan is leaving we need to get a system for us (Jonathan and Sarah) to use. In summary, what a great system, we now have quality family time in the family room watching each other work out on the Wii....

Jared's Letter 7-24-08

We received Jared's very short letter this week (about 3 sentences) with these pictures. But as Jared says, "A picture is worth a thousand words." (He does write much longer emails). I can tell from the written word and the pictures that he is having a blast and loves what he is doing. I knew he would be a successful missionary because he has such a positive outlook on life and fully engages in whatever he is doing. It is hard to believe that he has already been out for 12 weeks (over 10% complete).

It's been 23 years since I returned from my mission. Hard to believe that in a few short months I will see the next generation of returned missionary.

Saturday is too Short

Here it is late on Saturday evening again. This time of the week comes all too fast. I hate to go to bed because I know I will have to wake up and it will be Sunday (not that I dislike Sundays, but it means another week starts). I don't think I dreaded Sunday quite as much when church started later in the day (we have 9:00 church which is so hard to get to with teenage children). Families with small children think that it is hard to get to church, wait until they have teenagers that aren't going to move any faster than they want to. A teenage daughter is not going out the door until she is completely ready, even if it means arriving 30 minutes late! I love my children dearly, but I can see where some things will be much easier when they are out on their own.

I didn't get to go hiking today. It was really too hot to go, but I still felt disappointed. Jordan, Jonathan and I went to the indoor city swimming pool to get out of the house for a few hours. It was my first time there. It is really nice. It was fun to swim and not be out in the blaring sun. We all had a good time.

Jordan had a birthday party to attend tonight, so Sherrie and I took Sarah, Jonathan and Britney to dinner at the Chinese Buffet. Everybody seemed to enjoy it but me. For some reason, it didn't set well with me and it left me with an upset stomach. So Jonathan and I came home and watched a movie (The Bourne Ultimatum). I felt a little better by the end of the movie, but even now I still don't feel well.

The time keeps ticking by and I keep postponing going to bed... Tomorrow morning is going to arrive much to early!

Lagoon Day Two - July 25, 2008

Well, I survived a second consecutive day at Lagoon. Today I actually only had to survive from 5:00 on (when it was much cooler). The kids went out earlier in the day so they could have more time to ride the rides. Sherrie and I went to watch the shows but I convinced her to ride some rides. I prefer the rollercoaster rides. I think it is because when I was much younger I was so afraid of roller coasters. The first time I remember going to Lagoon as a child I remember sitting on the steps of the White Rollercoaster while everyone else went on it. I had fun tonight. We rode the White Rollercoaster, the Fire Dragon twice and the Wicked. We slowed it down a little and rode the Ski Lift and the Ferris Wheel. Sherrie is a good wife because she will go with me on the rides even though she doesn't necessarily like them (Fire Dragon). The kids are all trying to get me to ride the Samurai. I decided that next time we go I will take some dramamine and give it a try. I just worry about getting on the ride and getting really sick.

We had a good time tonight. Jordan was too tired to go with us so he opted to go swimming with his friends. I guess he was so tired that he is still out with his friends at 1:00 in the morning. It really is amazing how quickly the young adult body recuperates. I guess that I should get to bed.

One Year Anniversary

It is the one year anniversary of my Grandfather's death. To me it doesn't seem like a whole year has gone by. We visited Grandma last week and she was in good spirits and mentioned the one year anniversary. I have fond memories of my grandfather and his dry wit. I remember one time driving in the car and he commented, "Oh, it's a lady mountain. The sign says soft shoulders." I also visited my grandparents on their fiftieth anniversary. It was a Sunday and I drove up from Provo to see them not realizing it was their anniversary. When I took their picture, Grandma told him to look like it had been a good 50 years. They did have good years. I now enjoy gardening like my grandfather. I was blessed with good Grandparents and feel fortunate to have good memories with all of them.

Another Day at the Mag Mine

Here it is another day at the Magnesium Mine (technically it is a mining operation even though we are taking the magnesium from the Great Salt Lake water). I am so tired from being out in the sun all day yesterday that I am having a hard time staying awake. I actually took a short nap in my chair at lunch. I feel for Jordan today. He got home at about 1:00 in the morning after working 12 hours and had to turn around and get back up at 5:30 to come back out here for another 8 hours. I was thinking as I was driving out here that maybe I should have swapped yesterday for today. Pioneer Day is kind of like Halloween or Valentines Day, it's one of those holidays that doesn't necessarily justify time off work (we don't even get President's Day off here). It would have been much easier to go to Lagoon today and then sleep in tomorrow. But I guess that is what we are doing anyway.

Tonight Sherrie and I are going back to Lagoon to watch the shows that we didn't get to see last night. Britney, Sarah, Jonathan and Kelsey (the neighbor girl) went this morning to enjoy another day in the blistering heat. You just don't feel the heat as much when you are younger. They are likely having a blast without parents there to worry about them. I remember when our children were young and we would see the older teenagers there by themselves and wonder what type of parents allowed their children to go to Lagoon by themselves. Well, we are those parents now - so I guess those other parents we were questioning at the time were probably good parents too. I am hoping to go hiking tomorrow morning, but with temperatures predicted over 100 I'm not sure that it would be a good idea. Although when we hike to Willow Lake a few weeks ago, it was in the 90's in the valley and much cooler in the mountains. I guess I will just have to see how everybody feels tomorrow (they are usually agreeable if it doesn't involve getting out of bed before noon). Now that I've been able to wake up a bit, I had better get some more work accomplished in this last hour....

Pioneer Day Celebration

In looking for a way to commemorate Pioneer Day and remember the toils and sufferings of our pioneer ancestors we decided to go to Lagoon (don't ask what the logic was because there wasn't any - it just sounded fun and I had a day off work). We arrived nice and early - forgetting that it was mid-week we were there about 15 minutes before the rides opened so that gave us time to actually take a group photo (you don't see me because I am on the other side of the camera lens). It this blog seems incongruent at times it is because my neighborhood sounds like it is blowing up right now. Again, I don't know what fireworks have to do with Pioneer Day (let's burn down the state that we just spent countless months and miles journeying to). I don't like loud noises or fireworks (in the hands of amateurs). Anyway I digress. Britney accompanied us to Lagoon. Since there were only five we were able to take the new fuel efficient Subaru (I'm not sure the three in the back were as excited as I was, but then they weren't paying for the gas). What can I say about Lagoon? IT WAS HOT! We rode the Wicked and the White Rollercoaster before heading to the water park. Even in the water it was hard to feel comfortable. I guess if I wasn't so severely overweight it wouldn't have felt so miserably hot, did I say HOT. We did have fun going down the water slides and floating in the lazy river. We floated so long, my leg went to sleep which has never happened before (on the lazy river). Jonathan had his braces tightened yesterday so he wasn't feeling up to par. He and I decided to hit the rides and leave the girls to sleep in the water park. We rode the Flying Aces and then took the ski lift to the other end of the park to ride the Colossas. After those three rides and the heat I was done for (these stupid fireworks are going to put me into cardiac arrest - is there a state where not rednecks live and they don't have any fireworks?). Everybody decided that it was time to head home. I would have liked to have stayed and watched a couple of the shows, but it was just TOO HOT. I guess in a sense we experienced what the pioneers experienced for a short period of time. We were hot, uncomfortable, drenched, then parched, tired, sore feet, cranky and anxious to arrive at our home. Maybe this was a more appropriate pioneer remembrance activity that I had first imagined. The air-conditioned car sure felt good (if there are typos it is because there are bombs going off next door). We arrived at home earlier than planned and everybody took a nap.

I am proud of my pioneer heritage. These were people who were committed to their beliefs and willing to take the necessary actions to pursue their dreams and ambitions. They have a great heritage full of many wonderful and accomplished descendents. It also means that I carry some of that genetic coding for success (I hope - I keep waiting for it to manifest itself). Sherrie and I both have pioneer ancestors so our children carrying that in them also. I think it is great that this state holiday has been preserved and is recognized and celebrated (I just wish they would do away with the fireworks).

I am really tired right now so I should head off to bed. Not that I will be able to sleep with all the firework noise!!!!

Ruby's New Friend

We were excited to have Britney come up from BYU to spend the weekend. Ruby was so excited he immediately took up residence in her lap for the duration of So You Think You Can Dance (poor Britney is allergic to cats - she was good sport). No matter how we tried to coax him he wasn't leaving. I'm grateful that Britney's parents let us borrow her for some of the weekends. It makes us feel that Jared isn't so far away. She is really delightful to have around the house.

Today is Wednesday (aka P-Day) so we got to read the emails from Jared. He is doing really well and loves Cullman. He was a little disappointed that they didn't get to confirm the Matt Southworth because he had to go out of town on a family emergency. But they are planning it for this coming Sunday. He likes his companion and the family that he lives with. Today was temple day so he was also excited that they got to go to Birmingham to the temple. Jared told Britney that Wednesday is like Christmas. He gets up early because he gets to open and read his mail and packages. He really must be an obedient elder to not open mail (especially from Britney) before the designated day. We are really proud of him. He has completed just about 3 months already (my how time flies). That translates to about 12 percent (not that I'm counting).

It is a cool evening and I'm sitting out on the patio with Jonathan enjoying the sunset. It would be perfect except for our screaming neighbors. They moved in about 6 months ago and can't say anything in a normal tone of voice. It has to all be said with screams and profanity. I guess I should just consider that it adds color and diversity to the neighborhood (they still haven't fixed their roof damage so maybe they will lose the house - I should be slapped for thinking evil thoughts like that). It really is a nice evening and even better because tomorrow is a holiday (yeah!!!).

Tonight we experienced something for the first time, Ruby caught his tail on fire. He jumped up on the table and swished his tail across a candle. Britney looked over and saw smoke coming from his tail. She was quick to the rescue and snuffed it out. There wasn't much noticeable damage except for the smell of burnt fur. Maybe Ruby will now stay off the table.

Jordan stayed and worked late tonight because somebody in the warehouse called off work. They called a taxicab to bring him home. Now that's royal treatment. I've never had a taxi take me home from work. I'm sure that the over 90 mile fare wasn't cheap. He's become a valuable member of the warehouse team. I'm sure they are going to miss him when he leaves for school in a month (I'm not sure he will miss the warehouse - may the money). It has been nice riding to work with him everyday. It gives a chance to just talk and shoot the breeze. It's also given him time to improve his Rubik's Cube skills.

I mowed the lawn in the hottest part of the afternoon, so I am really tired tonight. I guess that I should sign off and get ready for bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day going to Lagoon (if I can score a chair by the pool, I think I will take a nap).

The kitchen painting project made progress last night. I finished the first coat above the cupboards. Tonight I should finish it all and put things back where they belong. It is always difficult to paint when you're living in the space. I really don't like to move everything out of its place and then leave it there for days (that feel like years) while the paints dries. I really like the color Sherrie chose. It is a real update to the kitchen, and house as a whole. I have to admit that I feel my age more and more with these labor intensive projects. Up and down on the ladder, standing on the countertops, balancing and reaching are more tiring than they used to be (whine whine). Well, the good thing about putting all this work into this house is that I am more likely to stay in it because I don't think I have it in me to take on another large project. I was thinking last night about how I basically completed the Oregon house project in a year. That project involved significantly more work than this house. I really don't know how I did it. After painting for a couple of hours (it was really probably only an hour but it felt like more) I had to sit on the couch and recover. Tonight I will finish it up and take a couple days reprieve before I tackle the next big project (tiling the laundry room floor-which will lead to painting and building new cabinets, etc.).

Elder Gibby

Jared appears to be enjoying his new area in Cullman. Living with a retired couple is the posh life. He and his comp had a baptism, Matt Southworth, which was exciting for him. From the pictures he looks like a nice young man. I can worry less now that he isn't living across the street from a crack house. We look forward to Wednesdays and Mondays because those are the days we get letters and email. The lady at the post office knows Sherrie now (she mails a package every week faithfully). Jared sent us some pictures which I've included. The first picture is the house he lives in. The second is the Hann's who own the home. The third is Jared with Matt Southworth at his baptism. The last is Elder Batman (they're still 19 year old kids!).

The worst is over (I think) with my kitchen painting project. I completed the second coat on the vaulted walls last night (yeah!!). It really is amazing how much better the paint looks with just that second coat. Tonight I get to work above the counters (I hope that I'm not too heavy to stand on the counters or I could be retiling.

Sherrie took the kids school clothes shopping in SLC yesterday. I think they had a good time. Everybody came home with nice clothes. I told her something must be wrong where the kids are wearing designer clothes and we are shopping at DI - oh well, only a few more years and that will reverse itself. I am just glad that I didn't have to go shopping. The older I get the less I like to shop. I really dread going clothes shopping (I only dread car shopping more than that)