HAppY HaLLoWeen!

Michael Jackson and Luke Skywalker

Titan Baseball Player

Chris' friend Ethan -- his mom always does a bang-up job making him the best costumes!
She can make DI, spray paint, and posterboard turn into a work of art!!

I'm pretty sure I've seen MJ in this exact pose!

Me revisiting my scout costume but with a new recruit this year!

First Snow

And Winter Begins...

I think if you're 5 years old, building a snowman
on the first Day of Snow
is more important than being on time to Kindergarten.
Don't you?

Happy 94th Birthday, Grandma!

Grandma Adair turns 94! Much to her dismay!
She's upset she has to pay taxes another year!
She's a cutie though...so glad we got to celebrate with her!

Heaven

When I die and go to heaven, instead of a singing choir, give me a chorus of 200 violins!

Marty's Suzuki "Celebration" was last weekend. I took this "video" (mostly just for the sound!) during rehearsal. Listening to such a large group play is so thrilling!

Do You Believe in Signs?

Last week my friend texted me, "What humanitarian trips are you and Courtney looking into?"
Oh yeah, I was looking into that at one time. Then I'd promptly forgot.

So that morning I started looking into ideas again. Later I talked to her in person to get her ideas. She'd heard that Deanne's kids had participated in a program and they really liked it. "I'll have to call Deanne," I said.

So an hour later I went to the store to buy orange juice because I was fighting off a cold. There stood Deanne in line ahead of me. "I was just talking about you," I said. And I got her ideas for humanitarian projects.

Later that evening I told Courtney about the info I'd found and that I'd run into Deanne at the store just after I'd been talking about her. What a coincidence, we said. It must be a sign, we laughed. "Who's Deanne?" She wondered.

The next day we stood in the driveway. Deanne drove by in her suburban. "That's Deanne," I said. We looked at each other. Yep, it's a sign.

Today I had the most wonderful spontaneous day. I came home from Aerobics. (Yes, I said aerobics -- dance steps and all.) And I surfed the internet to check in on all that had happened in the world for the 90 minutes that I'd been gone to aerobics. Then Julia called. I last saw Julia 3 years ago when we happened to be at the same book conference. Before that I'd last seen her when our husbands were students at University of Chicago. However, we follow each other's blogs and are friends on Facebook. So it really feels like we keep up on each other's lives.

She was calling to return some books. We'd tried to see each other last summer when I answered her shout-out to anyone with the Hunger Games series who would be willing to loan it out. But I was racing to Nick's swim lessons and she was racing with children as well. So I left the books on the porch.

"It would be fun to actually see each other when I bring your books back." (We've been talking about seeing each other for exactly 3 years -- since I last ran into her. Yogurt, walks, bike rides, lunch. Anything. But we haven't done it.)

"Let's go walking," I said. Tomorrow didn't work for Julia and Wednesday didn't work for me. "What about today?" She ventured. "Why not?"

So Julia came over and we went on a walk. And we talked and talked and talked. Then we went to lunch, sweaty and all, and she treated (Thank you!!) and we talked and talked some more. And it was the most wonderful day! Much better than organizing my closet or shopping for Halloween costumes at DI and Savers. And infinitely better than surfing the internet for entertainment.

She said that morning while driving to carpool they'd hit a big dip. And her daughter said, "This is like that dip that we hit by your friend that we'd borrowed the books from."

And then later that morning she ran into her friend from her kids' school. Who was my new friend from the cruise. My name came up -- "How do you know Angela?" And so with the thought of needing to return my books and my name coming up twice in just a few hours, she called. The result was a wonderful day and a friendship nurtured. "It was a sign," she laughed as she walked away. I think it was.

Julia & me -- 3 years ago

It Gets Better

Originally written October 2010. I think I was going to write more, but got interrupted. Maybe was going to end on a more positive note. But I think I'll leave as-is because that's real life. 

Last September my sister came to babysit while Dan and I celebrated our 40th birthdays! While we were relaxing, sleeping in, staying out late, dancing, singing, eating gourmet meals and laughing with friends, Bekah was getting up early, fixing breakfast and lunches, shuttling kids to and from school, playdates and sports practice, cleaning house, doing laundry, helping with homework, making dinner, washing dishes, inviting kids' friends over to play AND mommying her own three-year-old -- wiping little hands and faces, reading stories, squeezing in naptime, listening to giggles and whines, cutting up dinner into bite-sized pieces, potty-training, disciplining and cuddling.

All while being 8 months pregnant.

When we got home she said, "I don't know how you do it! Your life is crazy!"

"It's soooo much easier than it used to be!" was what I said. AND I don't have a 3-year-old and I'm not pregnant! That makes a BIG difference!

So today Sheree said, "Do you actually like Tuesdays?" And yes, I do like Tuesdays. I LOVE Tuesdays! I drive a lot, but tt's wonderful to drive around and spend time with your kids and their friends when I'm not buckling in a baby into the carseat or listening to anyone wail because they're STARVING, or be in a RUSH because if I'm not home at the exact moment a child goes down for a nap, the whole day will be ruined!

(The time I cried in Macy's because the lady helping me was SO inept-- asking 10 different people if I could return the tablecloth I JUST BOUGHT--and the 5 min. process ended up taking 40 minutes and was SO SLOW that my baby fell asleep in the stroller. And that meant no nap at home. And that meant my day was going to be a living HELL! And yes, I started crying right there in the store.)

I loved having babies and toddlers. But let's face it, it's hard work being a mom and each day getting yelled at, screamed at, or listening to sobbing because they're tired, hungry or strapped in a carseat all day and it's ALL YOUR FAULT.

I guess I will add a postscript from the future. (June 2019). I don't have people yelling or crying at me anymore, but I think sometimes they may be yelling and crying on the inside. And its no more easier to ignore. And I still worry that some things that I neglect to do/teach/say may end up with me feeling like their life choice is "all my fault." But they also say sorry and I say sorry and we work together to help each other. They also say, "What can I do to help?" And then they do it. Or I can ask them for a favor and they're happy to pitch in. And they say, "Thank you." And most importantly I get a lot more sleep now! 

Heiroglyphics

Our painter convinced us that textured paint was all the rage...
Apparently our kids love it too!

Now you can Graffitti in the comfort of your own home!
No markers or paint required!
Just bring a sharp fingernail and never be bored
in the bathroom again!

The Creeps

When you have one dead rat in your zucchinis and another next to your swingset with it's guts falling out and infested with flies, it gives a whole new meaning to, "You don't know where that fly in your kitchen has been."

Luckily Dan doesn't even flinch (on the outside) when it comes to disposing of the dead vermin. But I had to take the trash to the curb today and I'm not quite sure why, but the lid was left open on the can last night, and the gnats were swarming it looking for those dead rats. And I think one of the gnats might have touched me when I reached over to shut the garbage can lid.

And it made me think of Christopher's bedtime conversation last night. He was asking me all about the plague. I hope there's not some weird foreshadowing going on here.

So then I went on my walk and when my friend stopped to talk, I was swarmed by gnats again. It felt like the rat-gnats were following me. And I'm pretty sure one went up my nose. So the rest of my walk I couldn't breathe in too deeply and I kept having to blow my nose on my sleeve. And I know that sounds gross, but obviously I couldn't have actually inhaled more bubonic plague than I've already been contaminated with.

I've kind of got the creeps.

My Favorite Halloween Decorations

The best part of decorating for Halloween is pulling out these photos and remembering!

Thoughts From Conference

Thoughts From Conference

Originally written October 1, 2010 -- but never posted. Not sure why...
(Back in 2010, Courtney was a Sophomore in high school. Marty was in 7th grade. Chris in 4th and Nicholas was in Kindergarten.)

I started listening to conference Saturday morning in the car driving Marty to his Football game. I turned it on right as Elder Holland was talking about how women do so much service for each other. I'm sorry to say my first thought was that I get kind of tired of the talks about how women do all the work. Because it's obviously not entirely true and therefore seems a bit insincere.

And my next thought was sadness wondering if I'm getting cynical and could I possibly someday head down the slippery slope from cynicism to not believing? Because I love feeling the Spirit.

And in the next breath Pres. Holland referred to how grateful he was for the men -- the time they take in the Young Men's program and Scouting -- including 50 mile hikes and sleeping in snow caves to teach young boys life lessons. And the older men he knew who took turns spending long nights sitting with a dying friend. And to the teachers who prepare each week to teach the Gospel. And to the "helpers"--those who are always there helping in every capacity. And to the children who are learning and preparing to someday lead. And how grateful he was for all people who work to make the world a better place.

And my spirit was touched and I was overcome with the feeling of "knowing" and I tried to hide my tears so my teenage son didn't get annoyed. But like Elder Holland, I am so grateful.

So many times I've felt gratitude for all the people who work together to follow Christ through service. When I've been Primary President not a week went by that I wasn't full of gratitude for all the teachers who were committed to fulfilling their callings. For the teachers who teach and love my children and help to fill in all the gaps. The Young Women leaders that my daughter loves and the Scout leaders who relate to my sons. And often when I befriended the elderly women in my ward in Los Angeles, I knew that there were other women befriending my grandmas--filling in where I couldn't. And for all the people who make up my world--I am so grateful because its so rich and fulfilling because of the people in it.

And I am grateful to have the spirit as a constant companion.

October 1st -- Witches Festival

It was my day to get the Kindergarten kiddos from school on early day Friday and we had enough time to go visit the Witches Festival at Gardner Village.
This is a last-ditch effort for me to take any free time I have with Nicholas and go do something fun. We've got 2 hours on Fridays after his morning Kindergarten before he goes to his afternoon Kindergarten and suddenly I'm realizing it's enough time to go do something fun once in a while!



The boys liked seeing all the witches and pumpkins. And trying on witches' hats at the Toy store. And they liked exploring the Candy store several times over and finally picking out a treat. But the thing they loved the most was watching the ducks in the river and spotting the extra large fish. And having enough time when we got home to play the Wii for 10 minutes!