Sunday, August 30, 2009

The boys went back to school on August 20th. It seemed to really creep up on us this year and I am not sure why. The evening of the 19th found us packing up the backpacks with all the "stuff" which I usually have done at least a week in advance. Ed was at a meeting in Vernal and wasn't even around to give the boys their "Back-to-School Blessings."



Reed is in the 6th Grade at Freedom Elementary. He has Mr. Shumaker- just like Parker did. In fact, Mr. Shumaker keeps calling him "Parker!" He is in the same classroom that both Parker and Colby had 6th grade in which is a little crazy!
Parker is an 8th Grader at Lehi Junior High School. He thinks that 8th grade will be a lot better than 7th. . . but 7th didn't seem that bad for him. Hopefully his favorite teacher will be his PE Teacher- me! I have to homeschool him for that class because it just did not fit into his schedule. We will be counting karate as his activity.

Colby is a Junior at Lehi High School. This was a big thing- he drove himself to school! He is really excited about this year's schedule because there are more classes that he thinks are interesting. Not excited about Algebra II, though. Oh well. Marching Band will make up for it!


Monday, August 24, 2009

I am a diva. Of sorts.

My smarty pants niece, writer of the "Red Bulletin Board Blog," commented that she would like to see me in the 1960's Diva outfit. So here I am. This is probably 1972, but I lived in Maine and we were a little behind on fashion trends. Was I hot or what????

I promise to never, never, never wear a bikini again. Really.

Friday, August 21, 2009

60's Diva???

This scares me!




You Are a 1960s Diva



Bold dresses, funky boots, bright patterns.

You have an eye for fashion - and make trends timeless!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

God is my Co-Pilot


I'm just guessing that the Pilot should have been paying more attention to the co-pilot. Hmmm. . .
UPDATE
This is NOT our vehicle. We just saw it sitting in a parking lot and thought it was funny!!!

Our "Day"Cation

We have not gone on a vacation this summer. Mostly that has been for financial reasons, but finding a chunk of time when your kids are teenagers is a feat in itself. So, we really stretched and went to Park City for the day. Reed was convinced that he had never been there before, so he was excited. He doesn't remember most of the places that we have been, but when we look back at the photos we realize that he was pretty young!

Our day in Park City began at the Outlets. I really can't complain about shopping with my kids because they are pretty easy. Colby knows all his own sizes and has his own taste. If there is something I like, I keep my mouth shut because if he knows that I like it, he will immediately dismiss it as a possibility. Parker is all about comfort. In general, his clothes must stretch and be sports oriented. Sticking to stores like Nike and Adidas works well because he can match the swishes or stripes on the tops and bottoms and look decent. This is like the middle school version of Garanimals. Reed tends towards the preppy, but also loves the sporty look. I usually help him find two or three good options and then he picks.

For those of you with girls, my apologies. I saw some of that trauma first hand. For the record, boys don't usually try on clothes and never worry about if some article makes them look fat. The whole process of looking, choosing, deciding, and purchasing is generally under 15 minutes per store. We can cruise a store in 2 minutes- no problem. They have learned this technique from their mother. I HATE trying on clothes and I do not labor over such insignificant decisions. If I love it, I buy it. If not, it stays at the store. It is a rare occasion lately that I would fall into the "it's-so-cheap-that-I-really-have-to-buy-it" trap. This trip I did try on a gown that I had seen in June. A strap was broken, so I asked and got 40% off! $60.16 for a sequined, jacketed gown is a great deal. Now I have two occasions to wear it, so within 20 minutes it was in a bag and out the door.




We packed up the cooler and had a picnic lunch at the Outlets. This struck Ed as quite funny- all of a sudden I was worried about thrift. But the real point was that Parker was in charge of cooking for the family for three days (Cooking Merit Badge) so he packed the cooler. Hey, it was cheap!

After we finished shopping, we headed to the Olympic Sports Park. It is such a cool thing to watch the kids practice their freestyle jumps into the pool. I think I may have the boys do a camp session next summer.


Then we headed into Park City proper to the Park City Mountain Resort. The kids went on the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster. Loved the coaster. It was kind of a long wait, but Ed and I enjoyed talking to a couple from Los Angeles while they waited for their kids to come down the zip line. I wasn't wearing nearly enough jewelry to feel comfortable walking down Main Street in Park City, so we went back out to the Newpark area and had a wonderful dinner at Good Thymes. Reed was quite disgusted that they couldn't even spell "times" correctly. A bit of explanation was required!

It was a fun day. Park City is so different from most Utah towns and cities that it is a breath of fresh (very expensive) air. I could never live up there, but it is fun to visit!







Saturday, August 15, 2009

50 Miler

This morning the Scouts of Troop 1042 were up and moving early. They dressed in layers because the wind was whipping through the neighborhood at about 20mph. One of those layers was the ever popular pink t-shirt that denotes the "Pink Mammoths of Fury" Patrol. The hydration packs were filled and pockets stuffed with granola bars. No need for sunscreen today- the forecast was for wind and rain all morning. That dismal information didn't dampen the spirits of the 9 boys, 6 adult riders, and 4 support team members who were well prepared for a 50 mile bike ride.
The riders left Scoutmaster Lemon's house at about 7:00am and headed to Alpine. One rider was lost in the first few miles because his small stature was no match for the wind gusts. The other eight Scouts looked strong and finished the first 12.2 mile leg in under an hour. They left the "refueling" station at Wine's Park on the next leg of the route which took them down Center Street and around south Lehi over to Lindon to the Bus Garage and back. This leg was about 12.8 miles long and became difficult as the boys headed back to Wine's Park. The grade is slightly uphill, the wind was strong and against them, and by the time the last boy got back to the park there was a steady rain.
Since the Cycling Merit Badge requires two 25-mile rides, we all thought that the boys would call it a day and count this ride for a 25-miler, but they surprised us. They were halfway to an amazing accomplishment and they were prepared and excited to continue. One Scout called it a day because his gears were not functioning correctly, but the other 7 headed out on a revised route. Instead of the planned route that included shorter rides that all circled back to the park, the boys headed south towards the Bus Garage, the Lindon Boat Harbor, and on to Vineyard Elementary. At that point we were at about 40 miles completed and the Orem Sports Park has a trail that is 1.16 miles long. The boys all took 9 laps around the park to complete the 50 mile ride.

They were exhausted, but exhilarated! To complete a 50 mile ride in about 6 hours with all the elements against you is a feat to be proud of! What impressed me the most was the positive, encouraging attitude that each of the boys and leaders showed. I loved seeing them riding next to each other and chatting as they rode along. I loved handing out the sandwiches that Sis. Lemon was cranking out as the boys rode by finishing those last 10 miles. I loved taking pictures of them all along the way and handing out the 50-miler buttons when they finished the last lap.
I hope that as these boys continue to grow and turn into men, that they will take the lessons they learned today forward with them. These are some of the lessons that the boys taught me today:

  • There are hard things that are worth doing, just for the experience. There were no rewards planned, no immediate recognition, just the satisfaction of knowing that we completed something that we set out to do.
  • Life is not about competition. Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses (and different equipment), but what really matters is that we all make it together. This is a Gospel lesson in action.
  • We can be encouraging to others and be happy in their success.
  • We can share what we have to help others. Brother Price gave up his bike to Parker when Parker got a flat so that he could keep going. Brother Price was able to fix the flat so that it was ready for Parker's last two laps. Then he jumped on his bike and continued. He had to ride three more laps after everyone else was finished, but he didn't mind. And guess who got the biggest cheer when he crossed the finish line? Brother Price!
  • We all need a support team. We just can't do it all by ourselves- we need to learn to trust others to help us reach our goals.
  • We need to dream and have a vision of where we want to be. Scoutmaster Lemon planned these cycling activities about a year ago. The practice rides began in April with that first downhill 6 mile ride to Willow Park. Little steps get us to big goals.
  • There should always be a "what's next." Today Lance should be feeling very happy that seven Scouts met the challenge. But, I bet he is at home wondering what else he needs to do to get the other boys ready for the second attempt that is planned for September 5.

It was a great day.

Friday, August 14, 2009

A New Director

I can't believe I didn't post this when it actually happened. . . but I am now a Director in Heritage Makers! I am very excited to have my own team and to start pushing towards my goal of Silver Director by next summer. Heritage Makers is a great company with fabulous products! I love helping people save their stories and preserve their heritage.

If you haven't seen Heritage Makers recently, you will love it! We added even more features in August, so we are HOT! And we are #137 on the list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the world. Wowwee!

Let me show you our system today! I can set you up for a free account and get you started in just a few minutes. And I can do it in my pajamas- I can meet with you via webinar. So easy, so fun!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Cruising

I try to be a careful driver. I actually stop at stop signs and I rarely go more than 5 over the speed limit. In fact, I try really had to be right on the speed limit since I have a 16-year-old driver paying attention to what I do. I limit phone conversations and never text. You would think that these would be good things, but apparently not!

At least once a week I have some car (usually a minivan complete with frazzled mom and a zillion kids) come speeding up behind me and ride my bumper. This is often accompanied by various gestures intended to alert me to their displeasure with my driving. Often they will pass me and send visual daggers at me. You would think that this was NASCAR or something, but it is just 12th East- with its 25MPH speed limit.

I have tried of late to avoid becoming annoyed with these drivers by enjoying their antics. I think the fact that I have scrapfast.com on the back of my vehicle enrages them. I am thinking about adding driveslow.com just for fun. So next time you see me in the mighty Prius cruising down 12th East, know that I am going 25. And loving it.