Slow Learners

We at the Gartside house are slow learners. I am very happy with all the laundry being done. Here is the tally of what everyone owes.

James: 15 loads of laundry (yep, he is having trouble with this one)
Jann: 3 loads of laundry (I started out really good, but forgot about it, and out slipped some negative comments)
Amanda: 6 loads of laundry
Ashley: 2 loads of laundry
Kerrie: 6 loads of laundry
Kelsie: 10 loads of laundry
Nicolaas: 1 load of laundry
Nathan: 5 loads of laundry

Apparently we are a little too negative and complainy at our house. Nicolaas is doing great. He said, "I just keep my mouth shut." What a smart boy. Just think of all the lessons being learned.

A New Rule

Lately, there has been a lot of negative behavior and attitude at our house. I think it is because more than half of us are ill, and that makes everyone grumpy. I have had enough. James and I came up with a new rule.

Notice:
To the Gartside household.
Effective immediately.

New Rule:
There will be no more complaining, and negative comments tolerated by the management.
If caught breaking new rule, violator will be required to do one load of laundry.

Warning:
Any complaint of new rule will result in a load of laundry.

Duration:
Rule will be in effect for one full week. Subject to extension if problems are not solved.

Management will keep everyone informed and updated on effectiveness of new rule.

Christmas

I pulled some pictures off my camera. I took lots of pictures, but the ones of the kids did not turn out great. I am learning how to use my camera, and I have a lot to learn. Here are three pictures of our tree, and my newest Christmas decoration.





Every year I purchase one new Christmas decoration. This year is going to be one of my favorite. It is a tree shaped card holder. Every year I struggle to figure out what to do with the cards we receive. I have in years past just taped them to our basement door. I have never liked this, but could not think of another solution. Now I have one, and I love it. It looked kind of lonely until the cards started coming. Now it looks just lovely, and as I walk past it I see glimpses of loved ones and it makes me happy.

Early Christmas Morning

Guess who woke us up at 4:00 am Christmas morning. If you guessed it was one of our kids, you would be wrong. Nope, it was Bongo our dog. He needed to go visit the bushes. James, got up and took him out. Of course, the kids were woken up as well, then wanted to go downstairs so much, but it was way too early. Everyone went back to bed. The kids were told if they went downstairs without us, presents would disappear. They were also told that if they woke us up before 7:00 am, we would not be happy, and presents would disappear. Aren't we nice parents?

Even with this rather rough start to our day, we had a lovely Christmas. After the total annihilation of the wrapping paper, the kids played and played. I got a nap, and enjoyed the lovely sounds of happy children. There were no tears today. It all ended with a tour/visit to our new fitness club. Yep, one of the gifts this year was a membership. Can you believe it was open today? Then the perfect end was the pie and games with the Turpin family. Thanks so much for the invite to your house. It is great for me, because I always start feeling sorry that we are not closer to family, and this kept my mind off of that. It is great to have something to look forward to.

All in all, this was one of our more successful Christmas mornings. It was great to have conversations with the kids about the symbolism of gifts, and why we celebrate Christmas. It was wonderful to focus our attention to the ultimate gift of the birth of our Savior. Then to have Kelsie say in her prayer that she hopes Jesus has a good birthday.

WOOHOO!

Today was the last day of school/work. This whole week has just been fun. We have been learning about all the holiday's that are celebrated this time of year. We learned about Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. We also learned about the pinata, Saint Christopher and Winter Solstice, which originated with the Druids who where the original tree huggers. I have heard the word Kwanzaa, and I knew it was associated with African American's, but that was about it. I still don't know too much about it, but it is interesting, and has some swahili language involved with it. I must say, my favorite part was what the kids had to say. I about fell out of my chair laughing when Mr. G asked his class who celebrated Hanukkah, and my little friend X (who is a member of my church) raised his hand. Then Ms. C said, yep, X is a good mormon jew, which made me laugh harder. Then when Mr. G asked who celebrated Kwanzaa, my little friend N raised his hand. I will just say, that N and I are the same race. Apparently there are a lot of culturally diverse kids in kindergarten. To top it all off, today was pajama day. Yes, I wore my pj's & slippers to school, with my hair not done, and no makeup on. I wish everyday was pajama day. We ended the day with a party. Very fun.

Today is also special at my house because it is James' birthday. I won't reveal his age, but I will tell you what he had to say about it. He told me that he is now old enough to have his mid-life crisis. Which of course I said was not allowed. Although, years ago we joked that when he had his mid-life crisis, it would not be a sports car that he goes out and buys, but a fancy bike. I was mostly right, except I bought him the bike for Christmas last year, and it is not too fancy, but he is happy with it. Speaking of his bike, he really wanted to ride to work on his birthday, but as everyone who lives here will tell you, it was raining. Kerrie called me at school, and told me that James was outside on his bike in a poncho, trying to figure out if he could ride to work without getting hurt. I told her to put James on the phone. My question to him was, "are you trying to leave this world on the same day you came into it?" He came to his senses and drove to work, but he was not happy. It made me laugh that he was even trying. I feel very blessed to have him in my life. He is my best friend, my support, my love, and my happiness. Happy Birthday my sweetheart.

A Positive Outlook

My life is blessed. My children are kind and caring, and love me. My husband is always trying to make me happy. He puts my needs and wants above his own. I have an abundance of good friends and a wonderful, supportive family. I have a home to live in, and food to eat. I have a job, that feels more like play than work. I work with people that love what they do. I am able to sit every Saturday and listen to my children make beautiful music. I get to listen to the progress they make each week. I love to watch the testimonies of my children grow. I especially love it when Amanda and Ashley come home from school, and instead of telling me about school, they are excited to tell me what they learned in seminary. Thanks Kellie for that. After sixteen and a half years of marriage, I love my husband and he loves me. We enjoy spending time together, and talk often of what it will be like when he is retired and home all the time. We look forward to that. While like is not without it's challenges, I can only say that I am blessed everyday.

Funny

Remember doing things that your mom never knew about. Well, Amanda and Ashley told me something today, that just made me laugh. When they were little girls, they were playing in their room. They decided to see how many pullups they could put on at once. Ashley said it felt like she was waddling around like a duck. I can just see it in my minds eye. They must have looks so silly and I am sure they were giggling at each other. I wish they would have come and shown me at the time. I would love to have a picture of it now.

Yesterday

Yesterday morning I woke up to Nathan vomiting. He did not look good. I called into work and told them I would not be in. Then James joined Nathan, and I had two boys to take care of. I ran to the store to buy soda, juice, chicken noodle soup and crackers. As soon as I got home, the phone rang. It was the 6th grade guidance counselor. First thing she said was that it wasn't an emergency. Then she told me that Kelsie's friends have head lice, and it looked like Kelsie had some nits in her hair. I hung of the phone and yelled NOOOOOO! All I could think was, yes it is an emergency. It is horrible to look for nits in blond hair. I went to the school, and just in case asked them to pull Kerrie in and check her hair as well, because they share a bedroom. Yes, she had it too. I took them to the store and bought the kits and treated them.

Next, Kerrie and Nathan had orthodontist appointments. I did not want to reschedule them because it took two months to get them in the first place. Nathan hadn't vomited for 6 hours, and I had treated Kerrie's hair. Kerrie just had a check on her retainer. Nathan had to have his expander removed. That was very traumatic. He screamed. Then they needed to put braces on this teeth. He was screaming anytime they touched his teeth. Then I had a consultation for Nicolaas. He will start treatment in March. It was not fun.

When I got home, I checked all my kids for lice. Nathan and Amanda had some nits as well. I ran to the store and bought two more kits. Then we started washing bedding.

What a day!

22 and Thanksgiving

It has been a while since I have blogged. I have some catching up to do. The week before Thanksgiving, was parent teacher conferences. I had 22. It was three days of running to three different schools. It was good though, and the reports were helpful. It seems like a lot of conferences, but next year I will have 26. I appreciate the teachers that are working with my kids, and it is good to meet with them and ask questions.

Thanksgiving was very relaxed. It is always a hard holiday for me, because I knew my family was getting together. However, this year was one of our best. I did not stress about the house, or the food. James was in charge of breakfast and lunch, and he fed my kids pumpkin pies. Six to be exact. Not a single one made it to the actual Thanksgiving dinner. James did the turkey, and I cooked the rest. It was great to just be with our family and enjoy the day.

Of Course

It is really cold here. In fact we got a little snow. Yesterday, I was in Towson with Ashley for the Towson University Strings Day. That was fun. When we got home, James informed me that our heater was no longer working. I thought, of course this would happen on the coldest day yet. We ran to the store and bought some space heaters for the bedrooms so we did not all freeze. Today, James has reserves, and I have Maryland Youth Symphony, so we can not get someone out to repair it until Monday. We will just bundle up, and keep the space heaters on. I think there is some unwritten rule that says if it is really cold or really hot, that is when your heat pump will stop working. Or maybe it is just that we notice it now that it is really cold.

Best Sunday of the Year

Today was the Primary Sacrament program. It was also Kelsie's last year to participate. She will move on to Young Women's in February. I just love children. They are unpredictable, honest and just down right funny. They did a great job, and gave me damp eyes a few times.

In true Nathan style, he had me crying with laughter. He was pretty much center stage. He wanted to wear a bow tie today, so James pulled out his bow tie from his Navy Dress uniform. He was so pleased with that tie. At the end of the program, for some random reason he decided to start conducting the songs as they were singing. He would use one hand, and then when the music director started using two hands, he was copying her. I thought I was going to fall out of my seat laughing. He must have been feeling the music, because he was moving to the beat of the songs. What a character. Then the clincher for me, was when he was directing the music and Sheely bumps him with her elbow and tells him to stop it. Tears were running down my face. It is a good thing that people look at this with humor. At least I hope they do.

"That was the best movie ever!"

The title is a direct quote from Kerrie. Tonight we went to see High School Musical 3. I must admit that I do not share in her sentiment, but I can appreciate her feeling that way. If I was a 12 year old girl, I would probably feel the same way. James and I could not quit laughing at the beginning when the singing started in the middle of the basketball game. It was just funny to us. We were sitting on two different rows because we came in late, and the seats were taken. It was a great joy to us to listen to Kerrie and Kelsie sighing over the good parts. I believe we even heard some giggles.

Nathan was funny too. He would announce the songs by saying, "I feel a song coming on." Then when the song started, he would acknowledge that he was right.

As we were walking out to the car, I started teasing. I said I wanted a poster of Troy on my ceiling so I could see him when I went to sleep, and first thing in the morning. Kerrie and Kelsie chimed right in with their desires for posters as well. I asked Nic if he wanted a poster of Gabriella in his room. He said something to the effect of, no way, then she would be looking at me when I changed my clothes. The indignation in his voice was hilarious.

The funniest thing to me, was Amanda and Ashley walking as far away from me as possible. They did not want to be anywhere near me as I proclaimed the greatness of this musical. So, I started yelling at them. They did not appreciate the gesture. When we got in the van, I asked them if they called me a dork. They said no, and I said, dang, I was going for the dork comment. Ashley could not help herself, she started laughing.

All in all it was a pretty fun night. Who doesn't love a good sing along, as James would call it.

MYSO Video Highlights

Here are a few moments from the concert on Saturday. These are a couple of clips from one of the songs, Fugue by Bach. I wanted to add more, but I was having trouble, so I am going to do them in separate posts.

Viola's Take the Melody

Fugue

What did you do this morning?

I got up, in plenty of time to get ready for church. All of my children, happily got up and dressed themselves. We got to church with enough time to sit in the soft chairs, and enjoy the prelude music. We enjoyed a wonderful uplifting three hours. On the way home, we talked about the beautiful lessons we learned and how we are going to apply them in our week. We came home to a perfectly clean home, with dinner cooking away in the crock pot. No one argued, and we all sang Love at Home before we ate dinner.

What, you did not see our family at church? Well, I was just spending some time in my dream world.

Our morning did not go quite that smoothly. First off, we woke up late. Then rushed around like crazy people, trying to get ready for church. No one could find clothes. No one could find shoes. I hunted up clothes for the boys. I called Nathan into my bedroom to help him get dressed. He told me his neck was hurting. When I turned him around, there at the base of his skull was a nice little deer tick, hanging out. I asked him how long his neck had been hurting, and he said two days. WHAT? Two days, are you kidding me? He was afraid it was a tick, and he didn't want me to pull it out, so he just didn't tell me. I tried to find the tweezers, and of course there was none to be found. I ran to the store and bought some. I was feeling all kinds of guilt and sorrow over that one, because I have now caused others to work on Sunday. We had to get that tick out. It had been in too long. Before I even start pulling, Nathan is crying because he knows it is going to hurt. I pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but it would not come out. James tried, and he could not get it out. We were afraid to pull too hard and leave part of the tick in. Our next plan of action was to call the pediatrician. I did that, and she told me to try to get it out. She gave me a few tips, and then said if I couldn't get it out to take him into the ER. I tried her tips, and it just pulled that little tick right in two. So we really had a problem. Nathan and I headed to the ER, because Nightime ped's doesn't open until 10. I tell you, I have never felt so dumb as I did trying to explain why we were there. The doctor was really nice. He tried to get the rest out, but even he could not get all of this lovely visitor out. He said it should not be a problem, because the tick was dead, and will not transmit lyme disease. I really don't believe him, but what can you do, demand they cut the dumb speck out?

We came home to our messy house, with no dinner, and children who were left home from church because they could not find their shoes. James did manage to get three of the kids to church by himself. Good job! Crazy day.

Windows

I received this in an email, and loved it.

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap"

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Birthday Present For My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. I have posted about all the health trouble he has been having, and it really stinks that he is in a rehabilitation facility for his birthday. Fortunately, he is in a beautiful place, with wonderful staff. We are hopeful he will recover. We found out he has two tears in his leg muscle that has been causing him so much pain. He also has a hematoma in that same muscle. It has been very painful, and will take some time to heal. They are evaluating him today, and will start his treatment tomorrow.

My niece gave my dad the best birthday present. She gave birth to her first child today. His name is Davis Cole. It is really cool, because my dad's last name is Davis. Perfect timing, Maria. We are so happy for you guys. He is so cute. I have a picture to post, but I will wait until his parents post one first. I do not think it would be too cool to put it up before them.

My dad has always been a huge strength to me. He leads a quiet life of selfless service. He and my mom served 4 missions for the church. I can not remember a time in my life when he was not helping others. I love his example, and am so grateful he is my dad. He always faces life with humor. He loved to tease me. When I was little, he would grab me and say, "I like ugly girls, and there's no one uglier than you." Then he would hug and kiss me and tickle me. It used to make my mom mad, but it made me laugh. I knew he was teasing. I loved his whisker rubs on my face. He would snuggle me on his lap, then rub his face on mine. He was on the high council for years. The stake we belonged to was in several different towns, and he would sometimes have to travel a couple of hours to give a talk. I loved to go with him. There was nothing dry about him. I remember one talk he gave, where he talked about the giving nature of women, based on the kind of pie they brought to the ward party. He always has funny sayings. One of them is, "I know my heart, I know my mind, I know that I stick out behind." I have always been a little afraid of the dark. Night time is not my favorite. I remember hearing him walk past my door to make the rounds around the house every night to check if the windows and doors were locked. I could not go to sleep until I heard him do that. As a teenager, I never had to fill up my gas tank. He always kept it full of gas for me. He gave me a valentine every year. My senior year of high school, I was the only one at home. I have such tender memories of the year that I had my parents all to myself. I would climb into bed with them on Saturday mornings, and we would visit and laugh. It always involved my dad tickling mom and me.

I know today has not been the best birthday he has had, in fact, I think he would say it was one of the worst. I am truly sorry for all he has been through lately. I love you, dad, and hope you will have many more birthday's to come. Happy 80th birthday!

Playlist

I added a playlist to my blog. It is playing the music that Ashley is playing in her concert on Saturday. It is truly beautiful music.

Maryland Youth Symphony Concert

For all interested, the Maryland Youth Symphony is having their first concert. Wait, it is the same night as the ward Halloween party. I am really bummed out now. Well, here is the info anyway.

MARYLAND YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT
ANGELO GATTO, CONDUCTOR
GIUSEPPE NOVA, FLUTE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2008 at 7:30 P.M.

Mozart: Idomeneo Overture
Mozart: Flute Concerto No.1 in G major
Sibelius: Finlandia
Bach: Fugue in G minor

Price Auditorium Severn School
201 Water St, Severna Park MD 21146

For directions visit www.severnschool.com

TICKETS: General Admission $12.00
Seniors and Students $ 8.00

For more information, call the MYSO 410 442-5645 or visit www.myso.info

Jay Leno

My sister and her family recently went to California for various fun activities. While there something really funny happened to my niece Natalie. Here are her own words about it:

"So on our 2nd day in Cali we went to Universal Studios, as we walk into the park low and be hold there is freakin Jay Leno. This guy came up to me and asked me if it would be ok if Jay interviewed me. I was like is that really even a question. It was so fun though!! They said i might be on tv on Tues night ( oct 14) or wed night (oct 15). I was so excited except for the fact that i will be on his "jay walkin" where it shows people how dumb and retarted they are. Oh just wait i had some pretty wild answers but the funny part is.. I didn't make them up at all they were my real answers. LOL"




She was not on last night, so I think she will be on tonight. If you get a chance turn it on and enjoy my wonderful, fun loving niece being interviewed for jay walkin with Jay.

32 Minutes and Nic, Being Funny

Ashley ran her first cross country meet last Wednesday. She ran 3 miles in 32 minutes. It was fun to watch her, but I have to say it was a bit stressful. I just kept praying she would be able to finish the race. She did it, and was not last. She loves to run.

Nic got his progress report while I was in Arizona. I asked him over the phone how he did, and here is the conversation we had:

Nic: I got all A's and B's except in math.
Me: Nic, what happened? Math is your best subject.
Nic: Apparently not.

This just really made me laugh.

Whirlwind

Last week I received some scary news about my dad. Before I was even off the phone with my sister, I was arranging a flight to Arizona. Within 12 hours of that phone call, I was in Arizona and on my way to the hospital my dad was in. I was able to stay a week there with my family, and I am very grateful that I was able to go. I am also very grateful to those who helped and made it possible for me to leave my family without worrying.

I am home again, and grateful to be here. My family was so sweet and happy to see me. I am really dragging from jet lag, and also the very emotional week.

My dad had some complications from his first stay in the hospital, and had to go back. He is in a tremendous amount of pain. He is back home from the hospital again, but it will be several weeks before the pain subsides, and he is back to normal again. It was hard to leave, but I know he and my mom are in very good hands.

What is amazing is my dad's humor through out the whole thing. He had us laughing at times. One time he was talking with the nurse and told her he didn't want to live. She said, "really, you don't want to live." Then he said to her, "I guess I will live for you." She said, "not for me, but for your family." He said, "you don't know them like I do." That made us all laugh.

One day the physical therapist was finished working with him and told him goodbye. My dad said, "parting is such sweet sorrow."

On Sunday, when I left, he was telling stories and jokes. It was good to see him laughing.

Misc.

At school I carry my cell phone in my pocket. I do not have a desk, or space to put my stuff, and I don't want to carry around a bag, so that is my solution. Only problem is, sometimes I forget to take it out of my pocket. I did this over a week ago, and it took me a while to find my phone again. Actually, James found my phone, in the washing machine. There was a swimming pool in the display. We tried to dry it out, but it was beyond hope. I did not purchase that little insurance thing, so I have to replace it all on my very own. Bummer. However, I was able to get a new phone, and it is PURPLE. I love the color purple. That is the fun side of it.

On another sad note, I am going to come right out and admit to something I am embarrassed about. My house is an absolute mess. I have not been able to figure out how to run my house, my kids schedules, and work at the same time. I am just not capable of it. Everyday, I drag my tired bones in the front door, and put on blinders to how things look. I feel like I am the only one that struggles to this extent with it. I would be mortified if anyone saw the state of things at the moment. The missionaries are coming for dinner and our home teacher is coming tomorrow. At this point, We will be having a picnic in the front yard, because I refuse to let them in my house. I am at MYSO right now, and wishing I was able to be home cleaning. I hope James is doing it. He is great to help out when he can, but let's face it, he is as busy as I am. There I said it. So if you come to my house, and I don't want to open the front door, you will know why. Oh, and don't look at our front porch. It is mortifying as well. I drive up, and say to myself, we have the trashy house in the neighborhood. I do not like that, yet I seem to be unable to do anything about it. Okay, enough of the pity party. I will just have to accept that this is not one of my talents.

What? Lacey

I am watching Dancing With The Stars, and low and behold, there is Lacey from SYTYCD. What? I saw her in concert last year, and here she is, as a professional, dancing with Lance Bass. It is fun to see her again.

Out of ICU & A Rhyming PE Teacher

Yes, my dad is out of the ICU. YIPPEE! He is doing much better, and I am very happy about this.

On a very funny note, there is now a rhyming PE teacher working with my kindergarten class. At first, I thought it would be a one time thing, but nope, she rhymed all three times we went to PE this week. Anytime she is giving instructions to the kids, her sentences end in rhyming words. Let me give you a sample:

Hands up high, hands down low,
Hands on the floor, then sit down slow.

This goes on pretty much the entire 30 minutes of PE. With rhyming words like: me and see, go and so, today and way. I am not even exaggerating this one little bit. At first, I just kind of looked at her funny, but everyday it just becomes more humorous to me. From her first sentences, clear until she lines the kids up at the end of class, I am having to control my laughter. It does not help that one of my co-workers has joined me in the mimicking of this rhyming. Then came the challenge by said co-worker to go home and do it to my kids. You know I can not pass up a challenge. I did not attempt to match the length of time with my kids, but I did come up with a few really good ones. Here is the first one I tried out.

Please go put your backpacks away,
So you don't look for them all day.

When I first said this, they kind of looked at me funny. Then Ashley cracked a little smile. Amanda said "what?", so I repeated myself. With the repeat, Ashley starts laughing, and the other kids start to smile. I could see their brains cranking to figure out if I was serious. Then after a third repeat of above rhyme, Nathan, bless his mouth, says "okay!" I thought I would fall off the couch laughing. Then they all got into my little game, and started making up rhymes too. When I told them about the rhyming PE teacher, they all thought is was a little strange.

Here is the kicker, she is a substitute that I think we will have for the next several months. Yes, months. Three times a week, 30 minutes each session, 1 1/2 hours each week of rhyming PE. I am not sure if I can live through it.

Update On My Dad

They decided to move my dad to another hospital. He is now in intensive care. It is so strange, because he became ill very fast. Tuesday morning he started with the stomach virus, or food poisoning they do not know which. He could not keep anything down, and quickly became dehydrated. My mom was trying to help him in and out of the bathroom, because he became very weak. Early yesterday morning, as she was helping him, he lost his balance, and my mom was not strong enough to keep him up, so they both fell over. Mom called my sister, and she went to help. They got him back into bed, but after that he could not get up. They called the ambulance and they came and took him to the hospital. He was really dehydrated, and his sodium was very low. They started an IV. When I talked to my mom yesterday, he was doing much better. They took him to run some tests including a scan of his stomach, and while there, his temp. spiked to 107, and his heart was racing very fast. It was very scary. It turns out that he has pneumonia. It took them some time to get his temp down, and then they decided to move him 45 miles away to a larger hospital.

I talked to my mom late last night, and she said dad was resting. He is in the intensive care. She had gone home with my sister to get some sleep. She had not slept since Tuesday morning. My brother came up from the valley, and spent the night with my dad. They were going to run tests on his heart. It makes me nervous to have him in these hospitals, as they are small town hospitals. I am sure if he does not improve more, they will move him to the valley.

My Day

Today started out with breakfast in bed. Kerrie & Kelsie made me two enormous waffles, and James made four eggs. The true reasons came out when they all sat around and waited for me to not finish the food, then attacked it like starving wolves. That was pretty funny. Then James got all the kids ready for school while I slept in then took a long bath. My fabulous visiting teacher dropped off a beautiful plant that she assures me I cannot kill. It was a fabulous start to my birthday. I went to school, and all 24 of the kids in my class sang happy birthday to me. Then my co-workers bought me cupcakes.

When I got home, things started to go downhill. There was a message from my sister wishing me a happy birthday then apologizing for having bad news. My dad was taken to the hospital in an ambulance this morning. She gave me a number to call her back, but I could not get her. I was so worried. I finally called the hospital and was able to talk to my mom. She said dad was doing better. I was relieved to hear that. Later in the evening, Nathan came to me crying. The kids had decided to make waffles for themselves for dinner. Nathan did not realize the waffle iron was on, and burned his shoulder pretty bad. I called the pediatrician, and they told me to go to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, my sister called and said my dad had taken a turn for the worse. Nathan is fine, and has a note to get out of PE for the next week. The evening ended as James and I went to back to school night about one hour late, but hey we made it.

I am very worried about my dad, and am praying he will be okay. There is such a helpless feeling being so far away. Everything in me is screaming to be there with him, but it just is not possible. I know they will keep me posted on what is happening. Right now the hospital is watching him, to see if he improves. If he does not, they will move him to a hospital with intensive care. Right now he is in a small town hospital that does not have one. I do not think I will get much sleep tonight.

The Front Fell Off

My nephew posted this on his blog, and it made me laugh, so I am posting it on mine. Enjoy.

I Love My Job

I do love my job. I laugh every day. I enjoy the antics of the kids. It is very rewarding to work with kids that need my help. Here is the downside. There are so many germs floating around our room. My immune system is not doing a great job of fighting them off. There were three contagious bugs in our room this week. One of the teachers has a sinus infection, the other teacher has strep throat, and the lovely stomach virus I caught from one of the kids. This week I have caught two lovely little bugs. I already wrote about the first one. The second one is the lovely sinus infection I have now. James called Nightime pediatrics, and took me in to see the doctor. They did a rapid strep test, that came back negative. I was very afraid he was going to send me away, and tell me I probably have a cold, and if it did not get better by next week to see my doctor. After I explained to him where I worked, and the illnesses of my co-workers, he gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. I was really grateful. So I will not be at church tomorrow as I will still be contagious, but hopefully the meds will kick in, and I will feel much better soon.

Major Boxing Match

I find very little time to blog, and that makes me sad. I have time today. I am at home surviving a boxing match. Little muscular men are having a boxing match with my stomach, and they are winning. Well, that is what it feels like. Monday at lunch time, one of the little boys in our class vomited. I was the one who saw it, and cleaned it up. I used gloves, and washed my hands, but apparently that is not sufficient protection against this nasty virus. So, instead of being at work, I am home in bed feeling like garbage. I am looking at the bright side though. I have a laptop, and can blog from bed.

Not Too Smart

Yesterday, I left my home at around 8 am, and did not step back in the door for more then 10 minutes, until after 11 pm. Part of it was that Wednesday's are really crazy days for me. I did not even get to activities last night. After viola lessons, I had to go get gas (big long boring story about that as well, but I won't make you suffer through it) and some groceries. The other part is I just can't resist a phone call from Cami. It came in at about 8:45 pm. It was an invite to watch ANTM. What I should have done gone to bed. What I did, was spend two hours absorbed in the truly superficial. When I got home, James was watching the speech by Governor Palin, at the RNC. I got sucked into that and stayed up even later. I paid dearly for these choice today. I dragged my tired self out of bed and went to work. I got a break, because two of the children that are hard were not there today.

I have to say, one thing that I really liked about what Governor Palin said, was her comments about special needs children. She said that they would have an advocate in the white house, if she was elected. I think at these conventions, a lot is said for show, but this was one thing that I really related to, and could feel that it came from her heart because it is so close to home for her. The other thing that has been on my mind about this election, is that we are seeing history in the making. We will either have the first African American president, or the first female vice president. It is exciting to watch, and see what will happen. The next few months ought to be interesting.

One Week Down....

The first week of school has been an adventure. It was filled with lots of fun comments by little kids. I love the things they come up with. It is fun to see their little personalities. One of the little kids said this week, "What the ____." (You fill in the blank) It made me laugh. Another said, "women don't have jobs." That made me laugh too. Probably my favorite part is the songs. The kids love it, and the dancing is amazing. One little girl said she wanted to be a top model, then proceeded to show me her runway walk. It was hilarious. She has some pretty funny poses, and loves to show them off.

My kids have adjusted to school. Ashley ran 2 1/2 miles at Wednesday's practice. That was pretty cool. We did not have to deal with too much homework. Well, that is except the homework they brought home for me. The amount of paperwork is obscene. Do we really have to fill these out for every class? Crazy!

I was glad to get to Friday, and I am looking forward to a long weekend.

Just for fun!

Day two of school was going along nicely, until I was informed of a lovely little activity the administration had planned for us. Never mind it is the second day of school, and we barely know where our own backpacks are, let's just throw in a little fun. Just in case we were feeling too comfortable with ourselves. At 2:00 pm, the fire alarm went off. It went fairly smoothly for being the first fire drill of most of these kids lives. We managed to stay in a relatively straight line, and get out the door quickly.

Wait, I forgot to tell you what happened earlier. We have a few kids in our class that need to be contained while at recess. So we take them to the "little" play ground. Everything was going well, okay almost well. One kid did trip and smack into the brick wall with his head, but he's okay. I was watching these little five year old kids playing, when all of a sudden one of them starts screaming his head off. I look over there, and swarming around him are wasps. I ran and grabbed him, and got bitten for my efforts. I have not been bitten by a wasp since I was a child. Man, it is painful. I think I am slightly allergic as well, because within a few minutes, my wrist and hand joints were aching, and my hand was swelling. I was bitten on the top of my left wrist. It is still smarting a little. The little boy cried for a little bit, then acted like nothing was wrong the rest of the day. I admit it, he is tougher than me.

I can't wait to see what new adventures await me tomorrow. I hope it does not involve wasps and fire drills.

Oh, I almost forgot. As I was walking in the lunch room I hear this little voice calling "Jann!" It was my little friend E. I guess things were too crazy in there yesterday, because he did not see me until today. It was fun to hear him call my name. I went over and said hi. Also funny, are the two little boys in my class that also go to my church. They can't quite figure out what to call me at school. I think they know that Sister Gartside is not quite right. It is pretty funny.

Oh Boy!

Today was the first day of school. I am in for a very crazy school year. I came home absolutely exhausted. What a difference from last year. To be fair, I was not in the class from the beginning of the year. I came in about half way through, and the kids were used to the routine and following it. Just trying to get these new kindergarten kids to walk down the hallway in a line, seems like a monumental task. I am sure they will shape up in no time, and things will be running smoothly. I really enjoy the people I am working with, and that makes a big difference.

After getting home, my kids stuck pretty much to the schedule. I can not imagine how things are going to be when the full force of the homework is in effect. All I can think is oh boy.

I did not think I would get weepy this morning, but seeing one daughter move onto high school and another move to middle school was emotional. I thought it would be old hat for me, but it was not. Kelsie did great. She was a little overwhelmed by the number of students, and the crowded hallways. She found all her classes, and for the most part did well. Ashley is feeling overwhelmed with all that will be required of her this year. I know she is going to be busy. Amanda had a rough first day too. One of her teachers became very ill, and will be out indefinitely. That messed up her schedule, and caused her much anxiety. She was a mess by the time she got home. Hopefully that will all be worked out in the next few days.

Well, that is the first day report. Now, I am heading to bed or I will not be able to function tomorrow.

Sad News

My mom called yesterday with some very sad news. My cousin's ex-husband, David and their daughter, Cecilee were killed on the flight that crashed in Moab on Friday. I was so sad to hear this. My Uncle and Aunt, cousin, and their family have been in my thoughts and prayers. Cecilee leaves behind a young daughter. It is a tragedy. You can read the news report here.

Welcome

Welcome to the newest additions to my family. I am biased, but these kids are really cute.

Introducing my great niece, Sadie Marie


Introducing my great nephew, Jacob


Introducing my great nephew, Nash

Organization

Warning: this is a post about organizing my life. Read at your own risk.

I have been struggling over the last week with my mind running wild with worry over how I am going to handle my life. It helps if I can write it all down.

School Day Mornings Schedule:
4:45 am - Ashley up to practice viola
5:00 am - Amanda up to get ready for school
5:30 am - Amanda & Ashley's breakfast/family scripture study with me
5:45 am - James will take girls to seminary
6:00 am - James on his bike to work
6:00 am - Kerrie up to practice viola
6:30 am - Kelsie up to get ready for school
6:45 am - Nicolaas & Nathan out of bed. Breakfast for remaining children/round two of family scripture study with me.
7:10 am - Take Kerrie & Kelsie to the bus stop
7:15 am - My shower
7:30 am - Boys ready for school
8:00 am - Boys to the bus stop
8:10 am - finish getting ready for work & put dinner in crock pot
8:20 am - leave for work

Monday Afternoon Schedule:
2:30 pm - head home from work
3:00 pm - Kerrie, Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan home from school
3:15 pm - Snack for kids
3:20 pm - Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan start homework, Kerrie to practice viola
4:15 pm - Pick up Amanda & Ashley from Cross Country practice
4:30 pm - Amanda & Kerrie to start homework, Ashley to practice viola
5:00 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Ashley to start homework
6:00 pm - FHE
7:00 pm - Ashley to practice viola
7:30 pm - Finish up all homework
8:00 pm - Kids to bed
8:30 pm - Preparation of Tuesday's dinner.
9:00 pm - Bed

Tuesday Afternoon Schedule:
2:30 pm - head home from work
3:00 pm - Kerrie, Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan home from school
3:15 pm - Snack for kids
3:20 pm - Kelsie, Nicolaas, Nathan & Kerrie start homework
4:15 pm - Pick up Amanda & Ashley from Cross Country practice
4:30 pm - Dinner
5:00 pm - Ashley & Kerrie to viola lessons, Amanda to start homework
7:30 pm - Ashley to start homework
8:30 pm - Preparation of Wednesday's dinner.
9:00 pm - Bed

Wednesday Afternoon Schedule:
2:30 pm - head home from work
3:00 pm - Kerrie, Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan home from school
3:15 pm - Snack for kids
3:20 pm - Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan start homework, Kerrie to practice viola
4:15 pm - Pick up Amanda & Ashley from Cross Country practice
4:30 pm - Amanda & Kerrie to start homework, Ashley to practice viola
5:00 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Ashley to start homework
6:30 pm - Leave for Wednesday night Activities
8:30 pm - Finish up homework
9:00 pm - Kids to bed
9:30 pm - Preparation for Thursday's dinner
10:00 pm - Bed

Thursday Afternoon Schedule:
2:30 pm - head home from work
3:00 pm - Kerrie, Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan home from school
3:15 pm - Snack for kids
3:20 pm - Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan start homework, Kerrie to practice viola
4:15 pm - Pick up Amanda & Ashley from Cross Country practice
4:30 pm - Amanda & Kerrie to start homework, Ashley to practice viola
5:00 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Ashley to start homework
6:00 pm - Finish up all homework
7:00 pm - Ashley to practice viola
8:00 pm - Kids to bed
8:30 pm - Preparation of Friday's dinner.
9:00 pm - Bed

Friday Afternoon Schedule:
2:30 pm - head home from work
3:00 pm - Kerrie, Kelsie, Nicolaas & Nathan home from school
3:15 pm - Snack for kids
3:20 pm - Kelsie starts homework, Kerrie to practice viola
4:15 pm - Pick up Amanda & Ashley from Cross Country practice
4:30 pm - Amanda & Kerrie to start homework, Ashley to practice viola
5:00 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Ashley to start homework
6:00 pm - Ashley to Physical Therapy
7:30 pm - Ashley to practice viola
9:00 pm - kids to bed

Saturday Schedule:
9:00 am - kids to do weekly chores
9:30 am - leave for Maryland Youth Symphony
5:00 pm - home from Maryland Youth Symphony
5:15 pm - prepare dinner
6:00 pm - Dinner
6:30 pm - Kids to finish up homework
7:00 pm - prepare clothes for Church
8:00 pm - kids to bed
8:30 pm - prepare meat for following week's crock pot meals.

I have no idea when I am going to do the grocery shopping, but I am guessing it will have to be on Thursday or Friday evening. If everything runs perfectly (ha) this schedule will work for us. I am sure we will struggle to keep up with all of this.

Memo to all Gartside children: please be kind to your mother, and follow above schedule.

Remember

Remember the time when you were young, and loved to ride your bike? Remember when you were playing a game with your best friends, running and laughing so hard that you can not stay upright, so you lose your balance and scrape your elbow? Remember a time when life was light and fun and you end your day saying thanks that was great? WAIT, this is a post about my husband. Yes he has regressed to his youth. Most days he can be found on his bike. Yesterday, he went to scouts and played a lovely game called spud. He was laughing so hard, and running that he lost his balance, fell down and scraped his elbow. He actually has a scab, and he could not be happier with that.

IT'S NOT FAIR

Here is a conversation I had with Ashley tonight.

Ashley: I don't know what I want for my birthday.
Me: Ashley, yes you do know what you are getting for your birthday.
Ashley: What?
Me: You get one wild guess.
Ashley: Mom, that is not fair.
Me: Are you kidding me? You are actually telling me it is not fair that you are going to Italy for your birthday.
Ashley: It's not like I had a choice. You are making me go. The only reason is because you want to go.
Me: You poor baby. Your mother is making you go to Italy. Oh the abuse. I can not believe you are upset about being taken to Italy.
James: It's not like you get a choice, it's a gift. You do not get to pick your own gift.

Ashley pouts. I am laughing. Oh the injustice of being taking to Italy for your birthday.

That Time Again

When my children were young, I used to count down the days until summer vacation would end. I think it was because for a short period of time, someone else was in charge of them, and they were learning good things that I did not feel I could teach them. Boy has my attitude changed. I am dreading the end of summer this year. We have had a lovely summer. Aside from our trip in July, we really did not have much planned. We have just spent time together. We have gone to bed ridiculously late, and slept in until a time that I am embarrassed to tell. There have been days that we have not gotten out of pj's. I love rolling with my own schedule. I have never been one to take kindly to being told where I needed to be, and what I needed to be doing. In fact, that is generally a sure fire way to get me to do the exact opposite. I am rather stubborn, which is a flaw I have been trying to correct for most of my life.

I am truly worried that I will not be able to handle my schedule this school year. It is a bit crazy. It is a good kind of crazy, but crazy none the less. I guess I should not be complaining about it at all, as I chose to bring these wonderful children into the world, and with that comes responsibilities that I will not ignore. Also with it comes the worries and questions of motherhood. Am I doing the right things for my kids? Do I have them involved in too many things? Should I push them to do more? Should I hold them back from doing too much? Am I allowing them to make enough of their own choices, or do I bulldoze my way through with what I feel is right for them? It is a fine line to walk, especially with teenagers. I find that I must remind myself, that the whole point to this mothering thing, is to raise independent, functioning, mature adults. If I am doing too much for them, when the time actually comes for them to leave home, will they be able to get along in this world without me? It is hard, because I want to shelter them from the harsh realities of life, but I know they must learn to be happy in life, despite those harsh realities.

I will get on board come Monday, or maybe it will be Tuesday with the reality that our blissful summer is over. I will put on a cheerful face at 5:00 am when the alarm clock is going off. Well, maybe that is pushing it a bit, but I will try. I will put on a brave face as I send two girls off to high school, two girls off to middle school, and two boys off to elementary school. How did that happen? I am sure I will be a little teary, but I will try to smile. I will try to follow through with my grand plans to be so ultra organized that I do not drop the ball on anything. I am laughing as I wrote that last sentence. I mean, who am I kidding? The thought of the homework alone is enough to send me to my bed.

I will go back into denial for another few days, and face reality another day. I just can't today. I will hold onto these last few days with everything in me. Happy last days of summer. Then come Monday, I will just cheese the nasty. Yes, this is my new favorite saying for putting a brave face on something not so great. Thanks Nic for that new saying.

Cheese the Nasty

I love dinner time. It is always full of funny things my kids do and say. Tonight, James made spaghetti for dinner. He made two different kinds to appease me. He likes the whole wheat, and I do not. I am pretty good at eating mostly whole wheat, but I just can not get my taste buds on board for this wonder. It is just too heavy for me. As we started dishing up, the kids all wanted my kind. It was really funny, because James would say, do you want the good kind or the other kind. The kids have him figured out, and answered with the other kind. That pot of spaghetti went pretty fast, but the kids were still hungry, so they started accepted the "good" kind. Nicolaas said he would take it and just cheese the nasty. He then proceeded to dump gobs of parmesan cheese on top. I could not stop laughing. What a character.

Ninety One Miles

When I first met James, he was riding his bicycle all the time. It was not unusual for him to ride 60 miles a day. In fact our first date was a ride up Sabino Canyon in Tucson. Over the years, he has slowly gotten away from riding. I think the turning point for him was when he got out of school, and got a desk job. Time became an issue, and bike riding went on the back burner. I have known for years that he was missing this riding. He just would never take the time for himself. Last Christmas, I got him a new bicycle. It was a complete surprise for him, and pretty fun for us to see his reaction. I knew he would take the time to ride it if he knew I had spent money on it. He hates to waste money.

He has been riding his bike this summer. It has taken a little bit to get back in the saddle again, but he is doing well. When he first started he could only ride into work, but this week he rode home three times. His commute is thirteen miles each way, so that means he rode ninety one miles this week. The great thing is, I see a joy in him that has been missing since he stopped riding years ago. He is just a happier person. It is very fun to see.

ANTM

On September 3rd it will be time to indulge in the very superficial show, America's Next Top Model. This year has an added twist. There will be a contestant on named Isis, who is transgender, from Maryland (aren't we all proud of that). Isis identifies herself as ‘a woman born physically male.' Yuck! Here is his (I refuse to say her) picture.


Tell me what you think.

Dusk

I am sitting on my front porch enjoying a beautiful evening. Is is really August in Maryland? There is no humidity, and the air is cool and sweet. It gives me a feeling of serenity. I am listening to music by a high school classmate of mine, Kevin Burdick, and watching my white dog romping in the yard. My grass is freshly cut, and Bongo makes a picture playing in it. The song I am listening is called To Good For This World. Kevin wrote it for his daughter who died. It is pulling on my heart strings. It is one thing to imagine that kind of heart ache, but to know the man it happened to, is really touching. I remember being in choir with him, and enjoying his sense of humor. He was a lot of fun to be around. He was always smiling. To hear him sing this song, I can hear his heart in it.

Well, my perfect evening is being spoiled by the mosquitoes. I think I have at least ten bites. Time to go spray the itching bites with propolis echinacea throat spray. It really does work fabulously.

Beijing

I just love watching the Olympics. Last night's opening ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics was amazing. I think it will go down as one of my all time favorite torch lighting. It is usually kind of boring to watch the runner take the lap around the stadium to the torch, but man, was it cool to see it happen in the air. When I saw the final torch barer, and could see the wires hooked to his body, I was waiting for something awesome, and I was not disappointed. Here he is being lifted into the air.

To truly appreciate this, you have to understand that this man was at the top of the stadium that holds 90,000 people. I have no idea how high up he was, but it looked impressive to me.


I am excited to watch the events. It should be really fun. Some of my favorites are gymnastics, swimming, and diving. Very exciting. FYI Ralph Lauren designed the U.S. team's opening ceremony outfits. Not surprising, they were in a suit with white pants and blue jacket. I felt sorry for the athletes, as it was very hot, and they were sweating like crazy.

One of my favorite parts was when China walked in during the parade of nations. Walking alongside Yao Ming was a little boy named Lin Hao. He is nine years old. During the earthquake this year, 20 out of 30 of his classmates were killed. He pulled himself out of the rubble, and went back and saved the lives of 2 of his classmates. It is a touching story, and a stunning picture to see him walking in front of his nation's athletes.

Welcome Home

James has been in Denver, communing with the geeks in the statistics community. I think it has been fun for him. Well, he said it was a mixed bag. Some really good, and some really bad. I bet he was wishing he had a baby to pinch to get him out of some of those presentations. Of course, I never used my babies in such a horrible way.

For me, it has not been fun. I have missed him very much. I am fortunate and spoiled. He travels for work maybe once every 2-3 years. I hate it every time he goes. Suddenly, every noise I hear at night wakes me up. I do not sleep when he is not here. The kids hate it too.

Amanda has nicknamed him Mr. Einstein. That makes me laugh every time she calls him that. All week she has said, "I miss Mr. Einstein."

He gets home in a few hours, and we will be very happy to see him.

Retainer

One of my girls is in some major hot water right now. She took her retainer out to get a drink of water, and put it on the tv stand. The dog got a hold of it, and it is now a mangled mess of plastic and wire. We went to the orthodontist today to get a new one. Because it was ruined due to negligence, we are responsible for the cost of the new retainer. It will cost us $140. I told her she had to work off the money. I said I would pay her $5 per hour, so she owed me 28 hours of work. I then informed her this was in addition to her regular chores. She is moaning quite loudly as you can imagine. I have given her laundry duty. I think it is an appropriate punishment, and will hopefully help her to never do it again. They had to take a new mold. She was not happy about that either. I was thrilled with this. The more unpleasant this is for her, the less likely she will be to repeat it. Then there was a bubble in the first impression, and they had to do it again. Cruel mom that I am, I just laughed. When she gave me a nasty look, I said "this is me, not feeling sorry for you." I hope the whole thing was sufficiently horrible that she will be more cautious in the future. I love it when natural consequences are in play. They just work so much better than anything I could have dreamed up. Isn't motherhood a bundle of joy?

Pictures from Utah

I keep finding pictures I forgot to put up on my blog. In this set are pictures from our day at Temple Square. In it is one of my very favorite ever photos of James. It has him with his natural smile, which I have a hard time getting in a picture. Fun memories.

More Pictures

Here are just some fun pictures from our trip.

Happy Birthday Nicolaas

Monday was Nicolaas' birthday. I hope he had a fun day. We just played games together here at home, and had pizza, which is his favorite meal, and then this chocolate cake with cookies and cream ice cream. He is ten years old.

When I was pregnant with him, the little stinker would not show us if he was a boy or girl. Every time I went in for the ultra sound, he was crossing his legs. As you can imagine, after having four girls, we were a little anxious to find out if he would be our first boy. It would have been fine if he had been a girl, but man were we excited when we found out he was coming. I was just a few weeks away from having him, when we found out. It was a pretty good indicator of the personality of our son. He is a little tease. He loves to play jokes on people. He sure played a good one on me.

From the very beginning he was a bit of a mystery to me. I did not know quite what to do with a boy. Even in the hospital, I could not figure out what term of endearment to use. I had used sweetie for so long, that I just was not sure what to call him. My doctor helped me out with this. He came in to see me the day after Nic was born, and he said, how's the little guy doing. I latched onto that and called him my little guy. It seems silly now that I could not figure that out on my own. I will blame post delivery hormones.

From very early on, I knew he was very different from my girls. I did not expect that so early. When he was seven months old, I took him outside, and he wanted down on the grass. So, I got a blanket out and put him down. He wanted nothing to do with that blanket, he just started cruising all over the back yard. He loved being in the grass and exploring.

He has been a joy to have in our family. He has a good heart, and looks after me. He always has a hug and kiss for me. He is bright and funny. I am grateful he is my son.

Davis Family Reunion

Our family reunion started with a bang. Within thirty minutes of being there, it was my kid that fell in the lake. I saw her hanging onto the boat dock, then watched as two of her cousins pulled her out. She banged her arm pretty good and got a nice bruise. It was so good to see all of my brothers and sisters. It is pretty remarkable that all ten of us were there. We laughed and visited and played games. My family is big on playing games. We watched as several people set up tents. Man was I glad we were not camping at the lake. Way too much work. My brother Scott has quite the setup. They have a tent that fits over this comfy bed for the back of their truck. I'd never seen anything like that. Then another open tent that extended out the front. Then to the side, they had a full blown bathroom with a shower and hot water. I was quite amazed. I asked if they did some serious camping, and my brother said no, but there were going to try it. I had to laugh because he then said his wife had to have all the amenities if she was going to camp. I suspect he feels the same as she does. Nathan's baptism was this first night at dusk. My sister's bishop came up to the lake to conduct it, and was so nice and accommodating.

The next day was Saturday. We got up to the lake early, because we were supposed to help fix breakfast. My sister already had everything under control, so I she said to just clean it up. My nephew brought his ski boat, and another nephew borrowed a sea doo. My sister and her husband borrowed five canoes from their stake and had a ton of life jackets. I put life jackets on all my kids, and sent them off into the water. We had only been there a little while when Kerrie came running saying Nicolaas had been hit in the head with a rock and was bleeding. I grabbed a bunch of napkins and went running. Here came Nic being helped by two of his cousins with blood pouring down his face. It is not a sight I ever want to see again. I started cleaning up the blood trying to find out where it was coming from. He had an inch long gash in the top of his head. After consulting with several nurses, it was determined he needed stitches or to have it glued shut. Off to the ER we went. It made me really appreciate the ER at howard general, as we waited at least an hour for them to take us back. They were so slow. They had three patients there including Nic, one doctor, and two nurses. I could not believe how long it took. James finally asked when we would be seen, and was informed that they had put another patient in the suture room and they were trying to move her out of there. That was the only reason Nic had not been seen. They got us back, cleaned out the cut, which was the worst part, shaved his head, and glued the cut shut. Two and a half hours to get this taken care of, but then we were back to the fun. Poor Nic could not get in the water the rest of the reunion. I did get out of cleaning up the breakfast mess.

The rest of the day was spent in the water. I got on a floaty thing, and just hung out with my sister. It was delightful. Later on in the day was a birthday party for my dad. He turns 80 this year. My sister Ellen, who is incredibly talented and in my opinion, crazy, made an amazing cake. She got a picture of a camera like my dad used to own, and made a cake to look exactly like it using fondant. We sang happy birthday to my dad, then released 80 helium balloons into the air in commemoration of his 80 years of life. That was really fun, and my dad seemed to really enjoy that.



Then came the traditional talent show, which very few people participated in. The highlight was my brother Craig, doing a magic show. He put a sword through my mom's neck.

Sunday, we had breakfast, then a testimony meeting. That was so fun. I love this family. They are so supportive and lovely in every way. I am so glad we were able to be at the reunion. Then everyone packed up and went home.

We were the last ones to leave the lake. We were in a private group area. The kids were waiting for James and I in the car. When I walked over to get in the van, there was Amanda sitting in the drivers seat. I asked her if she wanted to drive. Her entire face lit up. She was so excited to drive. She did a great job too. The funniest part was Kerrie yelling from the back seat, "we're gonna die," and the fact that James would not get in the van with us.

We had one more day with my parents, then we headed to Las Vegas to catch our 10:30 pm flight. We flew all night, which I will never do again. That was miserable. We got home at 8:30 am Wednesday morning, and just went straight to bed. I am glad to be home. It is fun to go, but also good to come back home.

Nathan's Baptism

I have a lot to catch up on, but wanted to write about Nathan's baptism. It was such a great experience. My family were all sitting on the rocks surrounding the lake. My mom gave a talk, and I gave a talk. Then James took Nathan into the water. It was pretty funny because Nathan kept saying it was cold. My dad confirmed him. My dad is turning 80 this year, and he does not talk very loud. When he started, I could not hear what he was saying. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and the lake was very noisy. Just a few seconds into the blessing, the wind and lake went completely still, and I could hear every word my dad said. Imediately after he said amen, the noise started right back up again. It was a very wonderful moment in time, that I will never forget. I do not think Nathan will ever forget it either. He was so cute, later that day, he started cheering, saying, "I'm baptized, yes." The other cute, slightly mortifying thing he said was to my brother in law. Here is what he said, "did you get me something for my baptism?" Little stinker. He did get a brand new fishing pole out of the deal. Thanks Carroll. Here are a few pictures.


This is the setting. Isn't it beautiful.



These two pictures were taken right before the baptism.


My niece took these pictures and did a great job. Thanks Kylie


Here is the photo of my amazing family. If you can believe it, we were missing about 30 people from this photo. My niece Maria took this picture. Thanks Maria.

Utah

We have had a very fun trip so far. We flew into Vegas, and drove right to a Jack in the Box. I had to introduce my kids to this fast food wonder. I worked at a Jack in the Box when I was a teenager. They really liked it and have been asking to go back. We drove to Utah and met up with the Gartside Family. It has been a wonderful reunion. On Saturday we went to see the Conference Center and Temple Square. All I can say is wow. That Conference Center is amazing.

One of the highlights for me of this leg of our trip was Sunday. We all went to church together. I was sitting right in front of my father-in-law. During the opening song, he decided to sing soprano, which I was informed he does quite often. Add to this my brother-in-law, who was sitting behind me also, out sang the entire congregation. Man does he have a loud voice. I could not stop laughing.


After church we had a lovely family luncheon, then we got dressed in our Sunday best for family pictures.


On Monday morning, while my family went on a hike, I went to visit my Uncle Robert and Aunt Bonnie. It was so great to see them. Uncle Robert was my 7th grade teacher, and my basketball coach. In the afternoon, we went to Thanksgiving point to the dinosaur museum. That was really fun, and the kids loved it. Their favorite part was playing in the sand. Then all the girls went to Walmart to shop for goodies. I made crepes for everyone, and that was a huge hit.

Today we have spent the morning playing card games, and then we are headed to BYU to explore. Ashley wants to go to school there, so we thought it would be fun to show her around. Not to mention going to the BYU bookstore, which is always fun.

WOW!

There is just no other title for this post. What a roller coaster ride we have been on for the last week. It has involved lots of water problems, then water being shut off in my house, then hauling laundry from my house to Cami's and back, and finally no air conditioning. The good news is, it is not our main water line pipe. The bad news is, we have a clogged drain pipe in our air conditioning unit. Of the horrible things this could have been, this is a fairly easy fix. Our carpet is ruined and will have to be pulled up. The plumber said this problem has been gradually coming on for some time, and since it is in a part of the house we rarely use, went undetected for a while. This was just really horrible timing, and has been so emotional. I am crying then working then crying some more. It has been very traumatic for me. I should be packing for our trip, but I had to post a blog. It is therapy, right?

Also. a huge thanks to Jake & Cami for letting me borrow your laundry room and bathroom and for putting up with me and my kids at your house for a day. You are awesome, and I owe you big time. If you need some nights out, please call me.

That Moment

Warning: This is not a lovely post!

You know that moment when you realize something has gone terribly wrong? The moment you have been convincing yourself has not happened? The one you hope, that if you ignore it, it will go away? Well, it has hit me square between the toes. Yes, between the toes. Let me start at the beginning.

Last week our washing machine started giving us an error code. I dreaded hearing that little beep, and seeing 02 on the panel. I kept hoping it was just a funny little quirk, and if I turned the machine off, then restarted it, all would be well. You see, I did not have time for error codes. I was trying to do a mountain of laundry in preparation for our trip. I never see the floor in my laundry room because just when I think I am getting to the bottom of it, more comes in. That is the really truly horrible thing about laundry. It is never done. The moment you think it is, another day comes to an end and there is more to do. I have gone through cycles in dealing with this huge problem. I have had moments of absolute determination where I was going to be on top of it everyday. That never lasts very long. Then comes the absolute denial it exists until the mountain of laundry is insurmountable, and no one has clean underwear. I have tried to strike a happy medium, but it seems to be kicking my behind. I digress. Back to the problem. I have taught my girls to help with the laundry, and they do a pretty good job. Last Thursday, Amanda came to tell me there was water by the washing machine. I did not want to hear that. I told her to tell her dad. She called her dad, and he handled it the same way I did. Ignorance is bliss, right? Finally on Saturday I got online and looked up the error code. It was a pretty easy fix. I ran to home depot for a new drain hose, and James put it in, then off we went again with the laundry and yes, no code. Problem fixed right? WRONG! This is just the beginning of our problems.

Last night, James was in the basement, and came up to inform me the carpet was wet. He said the kids told him, and he saw some water over by the corner. I thought it was not a big deal as he did not seem too alarmed. This evening I walked by the aforementioned corner, and water was squishing through my toes. I start investigating, and there was water everywhere. I just kept saying oh no. My carpet was saturated with water. Upon further investigation, there was water all over the laundry room. Only I did not see it because the clothes were soaking it up, but there was a pool of water behind our furnace. I have spent the last three hours cleaning up this mess. It is mostly taken care of. The carpet is still damp, but hopefully with several days of fans, it will completely dry out. I hope the worst is over, and I can get back to the fun task of getting eight people ready for a trip.

I know water is a necessity of life, but lately it is not my friend. First the leaking fridge, and now the leaking washing machine. I am not taking any chances with water while we are gone, we are turning it off at the street so I will not worry.

Independence Day

The 4th of July is one of my favorite days. This year was no different. It started out with our annual breakfast at Laurel Lakes. It is a fun activity for our ward. James and I had stayed up very late the night before, and when the alarm went off, neither one of us wanted to get up. Being on the activities committee made it impossible for me to stay in bed, but I told James he did not have to go if he was too tired. The kids were mostly still in bed when I left. I was very happy to see them all come to the park not too much after me. Then we headed to our annual trek to the dollar store for glow sticks. I had also purchased sparklers for that night as well.

I always invite everyone I can think to invite to Fort Meade for the fireworks. This year Julia and a friend of hers came with us in our van. Jake followed with his boys, and several families said they would meet us there. We got to the fort, unloaded all our stuff then sat down, and it started to rain. I was completely unprepared for rain. I mean, how dare it rain on the 4th. Never mind that this is the second year it has happened. We were brave for a little bit, then decided it was silly to sit out in the rain. So we packed up all our stuff and headed back to the van. We turned on a movie for all the kids, and waited to see if the rain would stop. It did, sort of, but then the fireworks went off, and we just stood outside the van and watched. The sparklers were a huge hit with everyone, and luckily this year no one was burned.

It was a successful and fun day.

WALL-E

Our real estate agent, John Toner, has a customer appreciation every year. This year he decided to rent the movie theater for his past clients to see WALL-E. The girls and I came back from girl's camp early to see it with the rest of our family. It was really fun. One of the best parts is when Mr. Incredible shows up. It is pretty funny. He gives out door prizes, and Nathan won the first one. I took a few pictures.