Why Can't It Be Easy?

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is over already.  Isn't it amazing how a meal that takes a good three days to prepare turns into leftovers in about 20 minutes?  We cleaned up and got out of dodge.

We went to the cabin for the weekend, and had a wonderful time.  Ed and I discussed it this afternoon and we could not get over how well the boys got along and how helpful they were.  It is entirely possible that they are aliens.  Or that the turkey was drugged.  What ever happened, I hope it sticks.  It was a lot of fun.  We had beautiful weather and it was quiet.  What a blessing it is to have a great place to get away from "life" for a few days.

Since the Fairview/Mt. Pleasant area isn't exactly a shopping mecca, I didn't do ANY shopping.  OK. . . we did buy 4 3/8" wooden pegs for a total $.60 but that is not what I think of shen I think of Black Friday.   I have not bought one thing for any of my children.  Or my husband.  I have been teasing the boys that we are having a homemade Christmas and that if I can't make it, they aren't going to get it!  Parker immediately directed me to a kit that allows you to build a muzzle loader.  Very creative for a 15 year old!  Can you imagine me building a muzzle loader?  I'd have to tole paint it or something.

This afternoon I packed away all the Thanksgiving decorations.  I have been editing my decorations, so anything that I don't absolutely love is being donated to the DI.  That made it a lot easier to pack away the decorations because everything fit in the tubs.  "Editing" is such a refined word for "chuckin' stuff."

Then it was time to start thinking about Christmas decorations.  Last year we bought a 12' pre-lit tree.  We have a 16' peak in our family room area, but in the only place we can put a large tree, the height is apparently 12'!  The tree touched the ceiling and we couldn't even put the angel on!!!  I don't know what the heck we were thinking.  Maybe we were suckered into the whole "he who has the biggest tree, wins" thing.  I just don't know.

Anyway, I wasn't happy with the tree, but I didn't say anything since we had just bought it.  Today though, I fessed up.  Ed suggested that I put it on KSL classifieds and in 2 hours and 22 minutes it was sold!  Ed thinks I sold it for more than we paid, but I can't really remember.  I hope I did!  We bought it so late in the season last year that it was on clearance.  For those of you who don't remember last year's Palm Tree, you may need a refresher.  Anyway, I had the tree packed up nicely in two rolling garbage cans so that no dust or spiders could get in- I think that helped the sale.

I still have our 10' tree that we used for 6-7 years.  It is not pre-lit, which is why we bought the new one.  I put it on KSL, too, but if it doesn't sell I might put it up again.   I have found about a zillion strings of lights in the garage during my editing, so if I have to go back to my old tree, I'll have lots of lights to choose from!   I wish Christmas trees were easier to deal with.  I love the beauty, but hate the hassle!

"Chinese" Thanksgiving

So, we kind of like to live life on the edge here.  This Thanksgiving was no different.

We were all a little "blah" about Thanksgiving because it was going to be just the six of us.  Usually Aunt Judy comes and spices things up.  Last year we added the Tuckers and Mr. D.  Anyway, it was looking to be a dull year.  On Tuesday I went shopping and had everything that wasn't perishable packed in a laundry basket to go to the cabin. . .

On Tuesday at about 5:30pm Ed called from work.  It had been a rough day.  The Chinese delegation that they were working with had some concerns that came out at the last minute and were causing issues.  Things were back on track, but. . .  the delegation had decided that they had too much work to do to go to Las Vegas for the holiday weekend.  That's about when I started laughing hysterically because I KNEW what was going to come out of my husband's mouth next.  We had talked about it at the beginning of October, but then the plan was nixxed.  Yup.  Could we have Thanksgiving at our house?   For 30 people?

Of course!  I didn't even hesitate once I stopped laughing!

The furniture was cleaned out of the family room and packed wherever it would fit.  Our original plan was to have the children eat in the dining room and the adults would eat in the family room area.  Rob Stapleton and Colby showed up with tables, chairs, and a map of the layout.  The engineers even map out Thanksgiving!  Anyway. . . once the table and chairs were situated, I talked to Janene and we made food arrangements.  By the time I went to bed yesterday, the table was decorated and all my preliminary chopping was done.

This morning was really easy because everything was so well planned.  I am a list maker for a reason!  And yup. . . I even labeled the serving bowls with post-its because when it came time to serve everything up it was easy for people to help. 

This was potato time.  Reed was cutting up the potatoes while I was filling the big pot that is sitting on the floor.  I was not randomly spraying water!

This was just before Reed cut himself.  Not badly, but Colby took over cutting after that.  Let me just tell you that Cutco knives are SHARP!!!!

Ed was peeling the potatoes.

 Cooking potatoes for 30 is quite the undertaking.  We used our turkey fryer.  It is a wonderful cooking device, but we have NEVER used it to fry a turkey!  Maybe someday. . .

And this is Colby cleaning up after the great lentil spill of 2011.  We did a quick vacuum through and cleaned the bathrooms.  That's all the cleaning I had time to do for this event.

This is our impromptu table for 30.  I had to use paper tableclothes from Costco because I couldn't find enough flat sheets in the right sizes.  The 7 yards of burlap camoflage the joints of the six folding tables and make it look more cohesive.

Here's the mantle.  I love my new circle mirror.  I got it for 50% off at Hobby Lobby.  After 8 years of having the same art up, I needed a change.

When we decided to have everyone at one table, I didn't have enough silverware.  I rolled plastic utensils up in turkey napkins with a ribbon tie.  It looked fine.  I'm not Martha Stewart.

I bought flowers at Costco and arranged low bouquets for the table. 

Split peas and lentils.  Colby was in charge of this project.  When he broke the second bag of lentils on the stairs, that layer got really wide.  And that's why he had to vacuum!

Here's the crowd as they were passing the food.  Some things vere even got passed!  It was such a zoo that I couldn't control it.  I would do that part differently in the future- couldn't do a buffet because there wasn't room for people to move in and out.

Say cheese!  According to this picture we had 31.

This is about two seconds after the last photo.  Apparently everyone wanted to eat!

Chatting in the living room.

Part of the crowd hanging out at the big table.

Stan holding court in the living room.  Explaining the 60/20/20 Theory. 

Nelson, Henry, and Gary.

Regina and Wendy were great company.

Becky.  I'll leave off her last name 'cause she's famous!!!

Blaine.  That IS a smile by the way.

Cameron and Colby.  The college boys.

Little Eddie.  The funny of the day was "When he gets bigger we will call him Ed." 

For those of you who know my Ed, this will probably be funny to you, too. 

We never got a smile out of him all day!

Jill and Janene.  Sisters who saved the day in the kitchen!

Craven came for dessert and chatting.  He always looks like he is up to something.

I had to put this in because I think it's the only picture I took of anyone eating dessert!  This little guy had his tonsils out last week, so he didn't eat much.

 We received some lovely gifts from our guests.

This is a glass horse that is a replica from the Yang Dynasty.  I think it is pretty cool and probably pretty expensive!

I absolutely love this home decoration.  It is a piece of silk embroidered with plants and ducks.  The craftsmanship is excellent and the silk is so fine that it is translucent.  What lovely reminders of a special Thanksgiving. 

It was a fabulous day and a Thanksgiving to remember. My boys all three said that they thought it was fun to have so many people over for the feast. The thing that I will remember most is a comment from one of the Chinese men who has actually lived in the United States for 20 years.  In all that time, this is the first Thanksgiving feast he has eaten.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve him, his family, and his colleagues.  It was truly a special occasion, but it made me realize how much we need to reach out to those around us. 

I am so grateful for my many blessings, but today I am especially grateful for my new friends.

Gratitude 2011

At the beginning of the month I was surfing on Pinterest and I saw a quote that literally stopped me in my tracks. It said,

"What if today you woke up with only the things that you thanked God for yesterday."

It was about 11:00pm and I sat for about five minutes just pondering that thought.  I realized in that moment just how ungrateful I am to my Heavenly Father.  I feel gratitude, but  don't express it often enough.  I have been richly blessed and I take it for granted.  I am so grateful that someone posted a simple thought that I can honestly say has changed my life over the past three weeks.  I know that it has made an impact on my family, too- mostly because I am hearing more gratitude reflected in their prayers.

The only thing that bothered me about the quote was that the chance for action was past.  As I presented the quote to my family I changed it up a bit:

I printed this and put it in a frame in our mud room where we see it several times a day.  (If you would like the printable version, please go to my creative blog.) It reminds me to be grateful in all my thoughts.

Here are my top five things that I am grateful for in 2011.

My family.  I am married to a truly wonderful man who treats me like a queen.  Ihave been blessed with three strong, smart sons who are kind and loving.  They are good to me, too!  I love that I never have to open a door for myself.  I enjoy watching them grow and change.

My faith.  I get tears in my eyes just thinking about the impact that the Gospel has on my life.  I am not perfect- far from it.  I know that Christ died that we might be saved and I know that families can be forever.  This is the rock of my faith.

My parents, brothers and ancestors.  I have been loved, taught, and protected by a wonderful family.  I had traumatic events in my childhood that could have ruined me, but thanks to the people in my life, I grew up to be strong and confident.  (Maybe too strong and confident. . . but that's a post for another day!)  These people helped me turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

My education.  My parents demanded good grades.  They knew I was capable and pushed me.  That is. . . until I learned to push myself.  I still regret that one A- I got in my Masters Degree!  What a blessing it is to have a good education.  It has opened so many doors in my life and allowed me to be involved with such fulfilling activities.

My home.  I love my home.  It represents safety and security.  It is a haven from the physical elements, but also from spiritual buffering.  Although we are blessed to live in a very beautiful house, I know that I can be happy in much more humble circumstances.  When we moved to Utah we moved from a large, beautiful home to a shabby 4-plex.  Guess what?  It was still home.  I hope I don't have to do that again, but I know we would survive and thrive.

And you. . . thanks for reading this blog and supporting me.

Oh, Dear

I love to look at other people's photos of their children.  I love the sweet faces, wispy hair, and total absorption in whatever they are doing.  I even love it when they are pouting or crying.  I don't really have photos like that of my children because I was trying so hard to survive that I didn't get the great shots.  I got a lot of shots. . .just not great ones.  I can't beat myself up, though because that wasn't really the "thing" when they were younger.

Today is a big day at our house.  Parker passed the test to get his driver's permit.  I truly wasn't sure whether to be happy or to break down in tears and to ask the nice man at the DMV to rip it up.  Tomorrow I will take him driving, but not in my car.  But that is another post.

Anyway, we should document these big events.  So here goes.

Parker at 15-and-a-half. Addicted to YouTube videos. Learns all sorts of delightful things from them such as how to build a bomb with aluminum foil and toilet cleaner and how to maim himself with bike tricks. Parker likes to sit in his dad's chair and surf the internet. He even sits like dad. Scary.

This is the patronizing smile.  Available at almost any age, but particularly popular with teenage boys.

Check out that hairy leg.  Not to mention the plaid jammie pants and the lovely old man slipper.  Take note of the small cut on the ankle.  I bet he has no idea how he got it.

He remembers how his toe got looking like this, though.  After his THIRD ingrown toenail procedure the doctor may have been a little heavy handed with the liquid that kills the nailbed.  Parker got an infection that was unbelievable- it took twice daily soaks and prescription strength anti-bacterial ointment to put it down.  Still icky, three weeks later.  FYI- that ugly toe is part of a size 14 foot. 

Big hands, too.  Notice the small scar.  He has them all over.  They are from knives and other tools as well as bikes and wrestling matches.

The doctor says we are going to have a big boy. He's 5'9" and still growing. Those size 14 feet are providing a firm foundation for growth.In case you were not aware, the slippers your grandpa used to wear are now daily footwear at the high school.  I don't get it.

One of my favorite "things" about Parker is his voice.  It is very low.  I get the gigs every time I listen to the message on his cell phone because he made it about 2 years ago and he sounds like a little kid!  He definitely has a man voice now and he sings bass in one of the choirs at school.

OK.  So pictures of baby feet are way more adorable, but the fact is that babies grow up and that is definitely what has happened at my house.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Parker's wry sense of humor, ability to do difficult tasks, and growing sense of responsibility are way better than baby toes.  And diapers.

Love ya, Parks!

A New Venture

I am feeling guilty because I haven't posted here for so long!  I've wanted to, but I feel like I need to complete Part II. . . maybe today.

Anyway. . .   I have wanted to have a blog with easy recipes, craft projects and DIY projects.  I love doing projects and people are often asking me how to do things, so the plan is to show the projects with detailed instruction sheets.  I will also have free printables on a regular basis.

If you have a great project, let me know.  I'd love to have a couple of collaborators to work with!

Please go check it out at http://eveningbirdsong.blogspot.com.

The Academy- Part 1

On Wednesday morning at about 2:00am The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps arrived at Lehi High School.  They travel around the country sleeping in gyms and rehearsing on any field they can book.  It is quite an impressive sight to see a caravan of 3 buses, 2 semi trailers, three trucks pulling trailers, 2 motor homes, and assorted other vehicles all show up at once.  There are 150 members of the Corps and they have a large staff and an even larger group of volunteers that help feed, water and take care of the members.

One of the members of this awesome group is my son, Colby.  He auditioned in December 2010 and started going to Camp Weekends in January.  He had to fly to Phoenix seven times between December and May!  On June 5 he arrived there for the last time. . . The Academy practices or performs nearly every day, so he is busy.  They have two tours- a regional tour that will end tomorrow and a national tour that will begin on July 21.

Each member is allowed to have one bag, so as you can imagine, they are fairly large and packed tightly.  Most of the kids use a bag like this:

These bags are great because they have two compartments.  I'm not sure where Colby has all his stuff at this point, but he has to keep his clothes and his air mattress and air pump and toiletries and everything else in there.  The kids had to sleep in the gym mezzanines at the school because the gym floor wasn't fully cured from its new coat of shellac.  Most of the girls left their bags in the hallway or got a guy to carry it up the stairs for them because the bags get so heavy!

Arriving at a school in the middle of the night is pretty standard.  The bus rides double as sleep time (although Colby says it is pretty loud on the bus most of the time) and then they get to "hit the floor" for a few hours on their air mattresses.  The drum majors are in charge of waking everyone up and they have an hour to eat, dress, fill their water bottles and try to get awake.  Then rehearsal starts.

The parents and other volunteers who run the day-to-day details of the Corps are amazing.  It takes a strong group to feed about 190 people four meals a day.  Yup.  Four.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack that looks like another meal.  It's estimated that the members burn 5000-6000 calories a day, so they tend to be hungry!  Most of them lose weight during the summer because they just can't eat enough to maintain. (And no. . . I will not be going on this weight loss plan- I am WAY too old for this level of physical activity!!!)



Lessons from Garrett's Life

I just returned home from a funeral. . . for a 2 year old.  I am not sure that I have ever attended a child's funeral before- it was very difficult. But at the same time, my heart is lifted up in praise for a Heavenly Father who really does love us and has a plan in place for us to come back to him. 

I didn't know Garrett.  My only knowledge of him was seeing him at band events.  The last time I saw him was the Saturday before he died.  His mom had him and Hunter in a double stroller and had Connor straped on in a baby carrier.  The boys were excited to be at the parade.  I wish I had given him a big bag of candy out of my golf cart! (That makes more sense after reading the obituary.)  Garrett's dad, Brek Mangelson, used to be the band director at Lehi High School and is now the band director at a neighboring school.  He is the person responsible for putting a baritone horn in Colby's hand and getting him excited about marching band.  He changed Colby's life and ours, too.

So, this is what I learned today.  Or at least remembered.

• Enjoy every little detail about every day.  Tomorrow will be different.
• Take lots of pictures and videos.  Even of the stuff that "doesn't matter."  It all matters.
• Listen when prompted.  Garrett's parents had impressions that he might not be with them for long.  They discussed and prepared- whether they realized it or not.  They both absolutely shone today with the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 
• Faith isn't a sure thing.  We just need to have faith that Heavenly Father is in charge.  If we have that, everything else falls into place eventually.
• The sun comes out again. . . just like it did for the itsy, bitsy spider.  We have to weather the rain and dark, but it will come out again.
• Giggle, laugh, and have fun.  Everyone likes to, but it seems easier for children.
• Always carry tissues.  They are great for chocolately mouths, sticky fingers, and tears.
• Boys do like girls like their mothers.  Brittany sat near me and cried through the whole funeral, too.

At the funeral both Brek and Brooke spoke about their beautiful little boy.  They were both composed and happy about the blessing they had to be Garrett's parents.  I was stunned by their strength and that of their families.  Here is the beautiful obituary that Brek wrote.

Garrett Kenton Mangelson was born January 17th, 2009 in American Fork, UT. He died Wednesday June 29, 2011 in a fluke accident in the afternoon at his Lehi home. The son of Lehi residents Brek and Brooke Mangelson, Garrett was named after his grandpa (Pa) G. Kent Mangelson. He had a passion for life and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

On a regular basis he could be seen with one thumb in his mouth and the other hand toting behind him his little blue blanket much like a scene from a Charlie Brown cartoon or movie. He loved his blanket! He couldn’t go anywhere without it and couldn’t sleep without it.

Being the second of three boys in the family, much of his time was spent playing alongside his two other brothers, Hunter and Connor. He loved his brothers with all his heart and loved his Mommy too. He had his daddy’s nose, had blue eyes and long eye lashes that most girls commented on and were envious of. His smile and laugh was infectious. He loved to get tickled and asked often for you to tickle and play with him. His passions in life were anything involving pirates, swords, cookies, gummy bears, trains, busses and chocolate milk.

His mother works at Costco and he knew the sign well and whenever he saw it he would yell out “Costco” and wanted to go there.

Garrett also loved the outdoors. He father owns several four wheelers and a ranger. He loved to go on ranger rides! He would always sit next to his daddy, often with his blanket right beside him. Even if it was just to move it a couple of feet or only to move it in the garage he would always want to go on rides. He would break down into tears if he thought you were going to leave without him. Without fail we would ask for the key at the conclusion of a ride.

Garrett loved his daddy’s marching band and parades. He loved candy and during his last days in life he was seen toting around his candy bag from the Lehi parade. His infant Westlake band hat and his blue t-shirt which indicated “Future [Westlake Thunder] Band” member is a cherished item that he loved and insisted on wearing at each band event.

His favorite songs were “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and the “ABC” song. He sang these often and had the sweetest voice. He loved camping, fires and was very excited to see and do fireworks on the 4th of July. He loved his grandma and Papa and his Nana and Pa and was so excited to see them soon. Most evenings during his last days of life he could be seen sitting next to his daddy cuddling while watching a TV show or movie in the basement. This is a cherished memory that his father will always remember.

We will all miss our little “Gare Bear”