Libby

This is my niece, Libby.  Isn't she adorable?  We met her for the first time this morning.

We first saw her here where she was sealed to my brother and his wife. 

Libby was adopted, just like her sister and two brothers.  What a beautiful family!

It was a great day!! 

Noteworthy

I just wanted to record a few things that have put a smile on our faces -- and one that definitely has not.  Let's just get that grumpy one out of the way right now:

Utah traffic.  Boo!  Hiss!

Onto happier things:

Mountains, oh how we've missed you!

The coolest car so far: 

The owner saw me taking pictures so he got out and let the boys get in the picture.  Sweet.

  Blue-eyed babes at Temple Square.  Love these guys!

 This is just a little glimpse of the past couple of days.  Lots more to come...

Notes From the Road

We have happily arrived at our first destination in Utah.  Yippee!!  I'll spare you the painful details of our 2+ hour delay once we arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.  There was a lot of sitting and not going anywhere in massive traffic with closed roads and lots of confusion, but we were so happy to finally pull into my sister's driveway and spend an enjoyable evening with her and her cute girls.  The kids are all snuggled in their beds and I have no doubt that we'll all sleep very well tonight!

I just wanted to share a few of the funnies from our travels so far:

While driving through Kansas City, Sadie said, "This kind of looks like France.  I see the Eiffel Tower."

A random comment from Sadie somewhere in Kansas, "What if they called Chicago Chi-frog-o?"

At a very hot and humid rest stop in Kansas, Soren announced, "If I was a liquid, I would evaporate quick!"

The most important lesson learned so far:  Do not give Sadie a bottle of flavored water and ask her to only drink a little bit.  She will drink the whole thing and then have to use the bathroom every 20 minutes.  Then she'll ask for more water and repeat the process.  If only bathrooms were conveniently located every 20 minutes... 

I'll add photos in the morning!  Good night.  :)

Honk and Wave

We're on the road!  Our trek west begins today and we'll be driving for the lot of it.  Today will find us traveling through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado - en route to Utah, Idaho, Utah (again) and Nevada.  Here's a lovely rendition of our family in our two-tone 12-seater Ford van (compliments of Sadie-bug) so you'll recognize us on the road:

And here's how we look from the back:

Honk and wave if you see us!  Jeff figured out a rough estimate of our round-trip mileage.  Of course this doesn't include all the places we'll go within each destination, but just traveling from place to place we've got 4,347 miles of fun ahead of us.  (Translation: 72 hours in the van.  Fortunately, not all in a row...)  Wish us luck!

Kid Time

I cut out this article at least 10 years ago from my in-laws local paper when we were on vacation in Oregon.  It's been hanging on my fridge most of the time since then.  I love the philosophy of spending more time with my kids as a way to find balance.  One of my goals is to simplify my life so I can be more "present" with my kids.  Honestly, I have a long way to go, but I just keep remembering one of my new favorite quotes: 

"A year from now, you'll probably wish you had started today."   

Tonight Sadie convinced Jeff to put up the tent in the garage and we're camping out!   Sounds like a good start to me.  :)

The Good News About Strep Throat

Sam and Savannah during better days

Boy have we been sick around here!!  Sore throats, headaches, fevers, chills and fatigue top the list.  I took Sam and Savannah in to see the doctor today because, after 4 days, they weren't getting any better.  I figured they would receive a diagnosis similar to Sadie's last week.  She tested negative for strep, but the doctor gave her a prescription for oral antibiotics and she was better the next day.  I was pretty surprised when the doctor informed Sam and Savannah they would each be receiving a shot of penicillin to treat strep.

Savannah hates shots.  Hates them as in terrified.  I believe her exact words were, "I would rather take poop flavored medicine 500 times a day for a month than get a shot!"  But she was fighting a losing battle.  My doctor doesn't mess around with strep.  He gives a shot of long acting penicillin and then he knows he got it.  And, unless you're Savannah, that's the good news about strep.  No 10 days of taking pills three times a day.  No fighting kids to take their meds or wondering what to do when they forget.  One shot and you're done.

After Savannah bravely got her shot, one nurse said something like, "I let Trudy give that shot because she has the most experience.  I've only been a nurse for two days so I'll practice on Sam."  Sam's eyes got pretty big before the nurse laughed and admitted she's been a nurse for 20 years.  Add that to the doctor joking that it would hurt less for Savannah to get the shot in her bottom than her leg because her butt is so big...  (At 5'5" and 102 pounds, Savannah's butt is not very big!)  It was pretty enjoyable for a doctor visit.  Well, except for the shots. 

Jeff, Soren and I are coming down with something.  We may be visiting the doctor on Monday if it keeps getting worse.  I hope it's not strep...

My Little Alien

Alternate title:  You know it's time for a haircut when...  :)

I couldn't help but smile when this adorable little alien appeared the other night, fresh from the shower, with the greeting, "I come in peace."  I've decided to keep him. 

Quest for the Best - Youth Conference Highlights

I spent last Thursday, Friday and Saturday with 9 Young Women from my ward at Youth Conference.  We traveled to Springfield and joined with that Stake for all events.  I realize that I should have taken a lot more pictures, but I've included a few with a rundown of the activities over those three fun days.

Thursday:
The conference kicked off with a service project working with autistic kids.  I was impressed by the youth.  They were enthusiastic and I heard many positive comments afterward. We did some team building activities with the youth after the autistic kids went home.  After we changed at our host family homes, we had a speaker then dinner and a dance.  Of course, the youth look forward to the dances!  This one was really fun with a Hawaiian theme and lots of fun activities throughout.  (Sam came in 3rd in the hula hoop contest!)  The dance was held at an indoor pavilion in a very nice park.  We had the most beautiful sunset that evening as our backdrop. 

We got a little lost trying to get back to our host home that night, but everything worked out in the end.  Whew!

Friday:
Scavenger Hunt at a park and the U of I Springfield Campus.  Okay, this was SO fun!!  I was a group leader to 11 youth.  We had a sheet of paper with all the things we had to find.  There were about 35 things in each location (the park and the campus) that we had to find and take a picture of with our whole group.  I had the camera so I got plenty of pictures from this.  Here are a few of the things we had to find:

A broken column sculpture

A window with a circle in a triangle

Human checkers

A blue Stage Door

A Boat Dock

Triple X

A picture of an animal found in Antarctica, Africa, and South America (Who knew, right?)

My group won the scavenger hunt (yay for us!) and we each got a candy bar for our reward.  There were only 2 things out of the 70+ on the list that we didn't find.  :)

From here it was pizza for lunch, then we changed into Sunday best and the afternoon was spent attending four different workshops.  Jeff and I were asked several weeks ago if we would teach a workshop on scripture study.  I had no idea at the time that I'd be attending Youth Conference with the Young Women so it was fun to see Jeff when he came up on Friday.  I think our class went well.  We taught it four times and the youth seemed to enjoy it.  The other classes were on Higher Education, Dating and Communication, and Dance Instruction.  (The youth learned how to Salsa and then they played several songs during the dance that night for the kids to practice their moves!)  Again, the evening ended with dinner and a dance.


Saturday:
We managed to pack everything up in the pouring rain and then spent the morning at the church for breakfast, a speaker, and testimonies.  The speaker was Brother Mike Bednar (Elder Bednar's son - he's in our Stake).  He spoke of the importance of choosing the best things (going along with the "Quest for the Best" theme) and shared a quote from his dad,

"It's good to know, better to do, and best to become."   

Good counsel, for sure.  After testimonies, it was lunch and then home.

A great three days!  I can tell this calling as YW President will be filled with lots of fun adventures.  We're off to a good start!

Cupcakes and Other Gifts

Yesterday we celebrated Jeff's birthday as well as Father's Day.  I guess that's kind of like having a birthday on Christmas...it's hard to keep them separate.  We did our best and I made Jeff his favorite apple pie for his birthday "cake" and then I found this darling cupcake idea from Family Fun magazine and we made these for his Father's Day treat.  (We used chocolate chip muffins instead of a brownie mix.)  They were a big hit!

Little Sadie-bug went all out and gave daddy some pretty thoughtful gifts.  She wrapped up a few of her favorite girly toys and gave them to dad.

Jeff with his new "Princess Laptop"

Admiring his very own pink Lego house

I think Sadie was pretty smart because then she convinced him to spend a good chunk of the afternoon with her as they built the Lego house together.  One of her favorite things in the world is having daddy all to herself!!  I can't say I blame her -- Jeff's a pretty great guy and I love spending time with him, too.  It was a great day!

Dad -- The Eternal Optimist

About three years ago, when I used to attend our county memoir writing group, I wrote a tribute to my dad.  While some of my family may have read this before, I think it's perfect for my Father's Day post.  Love you, dad!

My Dad is no stranger to hard times. He lost his Mom when he was 21. He happened to be living in Switzerland as a missionary at the time and didn’t learn of her death until the day of the funeral. It’s not like she would have been there if he’d rushed home and he felt that she would have wanted him to stay where he was. About ten years later, his youngest brother was forced off the road and killed in what was called an automobile homicide. His Dad passed away a year later from cancer.

Then there were the financial setbacks, like when he got a second mortgage on his home to loan his best friend $30,000. His friend never did pay him back but somehow the friendship survived. Several years later, while working as a stock broker, Dad was sued for 3 million dollars. His brokerage license was revoked during the investigation. The legal bills amounted to over $20,000. Eventually his brokerage license was reinstated as they could find no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. He always maintained that he had done nothing wrong, but he had bills to pay and a family to support so he’d long ago moved on to other jobs. He’s never been the type to sit around collecting food stamps.

Dad hasn’t escaped health problems. Some things were accidental, like the time most of his teeth were knocked out in a car accident shortly before his marriage. Other things were just unfortunate, like when he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003. When Dad called to tell me this news, I immediately broke down. But then he started saying things like, “I think this is a wonderful opportunity”, and “Everyone should be given a chance like this to look at their life with a new perspective.” Whatever Dad! I just want to be sad about it, okay? When they found out the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, Dad didn’t change his tune. That’s when he started saying things like, “I’ll treat this to a point, but I’m not going to jump through hoops to spare my life. I don’t fear death.” Okay, thanks Dad, but I kind of like having you around! He did have surgery to remove the cancerous portion of his intestine and then went through a round of chemotherapy which, by the way, he said he’d never do again. He eats well and walks several miles a day and says he feels better than he has in 20 years.

Despite these trials and setbacks, Dad is an optimist. He always sees the glass as half full. More than once I’ve heard him say, “I refuse to worry about this.” On the other hand, I’ve heard my Mom say, “Dad refuses to worry about this so I have to do all the worrying for both of us!” While growing up I remember thinking Dad would be really upset about something only to find his “no sweat” attitude shining through. Take for instance the time I was driving his little car around and noticed some smoke coming out of the hood. In my limited understanding of cars, I passed it off as steam from the snow that was melting on the car. However when I got home and walked to the front of the car, I saw that the front grille was covered with black oil. I was scared as I walked in the house and said, “Dad, there’s something wrong with the car.” He followed me out, saw the oil, popped the hood, and calmly said, “It looks like we’ve lost the oil cap. No biggie. I’ll take care of it.” And that was the end of it.

Part of Dad’s optimism is a great sense of humor that took me several years to appreciate. My siblings and I were not allowed to date until we were 16. Right about the time my older sister turned 16, there was a rumor that if you wanted to ask her out, you had to have an interview with my Dad. One brave young man, accepting this rumor as truth, called and asked Dad when he could come for his interview. Dad, happy to humor him and torture his daughters, invited him over. My sister and I were horrified and I imagined how miserable I’d be throughout my dateless life! Following the date, my sister informed Dad that he would never do that again. And he didn’t. After that, what usually happened is that Dad would just chat with our date when they came to pick us up. They never knew they were being interviewed and I remember comments like, “Your Dad is cool!” as we left the house.

Dad loves his family and just wants them around him. I remember the time I was living in Columbus, Ohio with my young family. Dad had a business trip 3 ½ hours away from us. As soon as he got off the plane, he drove the 3 ½ hours to see us, spent the night, then drove the 3 ½ hours back in the morning. To him this 7 hour detour was no big deal. He just wanted to see his grandkids. Then there was the time we flew from Columbus to Utah without telling Dad we were coming. My sister arranged a family gathering at her house. When Dad arrived and saw that everyone was there, he didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the evening. He said it was the best surprise he’s ever had.

Years ago Dad told me that his dream was to buy a large plot of land, subdivide it and give each of the kids a lot so that we could all live on the same cul-de-sac. With my parents now living in Nevada, my siblings in Utah, and my little family in Illinois, that dream probably won’t come true. But it’s easy for me to pick up the phone and get a healthy dose of Dad’s optimism when I need his perspective. For example, we both own shares of the same stock and when I called to ask his opinion when it dropped in price, his response was, “It’s on sale! I just bought more!”

One of my kids was being silly the other day. I jokingly told her she gets that from her dad. She said, “Actually I get it from Grandpa because he’s always funny.” I hope all of my kids will have their grandpa’s optimism. It helps to make this world a happier, friendlier place!