I Think We Need to Watch 'Easy Rider' . . .

After a quick review of Paul's life insurance policies and a suggestion that we might add just a little more, Paul bought a motorcycle. I would probably worry more if he didn't look so dang good on it.

Surf Board Rack

Healthy Bodies, Activity, Hard Work, No Video Screens, Everyone Included: These are some of the things that I feel or think when the garage door opens and I see all those surfboards lined up against the wall.

We managed to acquire quite a few surfboards now and they were beginning to get a little awkward to store so Paul built this cool rack. Now we have a few around the house as decoration and the rest are here safe and sound.

It makes me happy.

Housekeeping

All of the work and energy and money and thought and stress and worry and hope of the last 6 months finally culminated this week as Pauly checked into the MTC and we closed the sale of the house. It has been an extremely emotional week but as those two things finally came to pass and Paul arrived safely in Cambodia, an enormous amount of weight was taken off my shoulders. I really feel like a new woman. I feel great and am ready to get this move done. Geesh! Sometimes I feel like we've been pulling this band-aid off one hair at a time since November.

I have so much on my mind this morning. Everything I am thinking about could have it's own post but I'm not sure if or when I will be able to post over the next two weeks so I am just going to do a little purge.

The Chickens~ I miss the chickens. We gave them away about two weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, they were never pets but I liked the movement in the chicken yard when I look out the window. I liked that when dinner was prepared I could send them the ends of the carrots, the potato peels, the apple cores and nothing went to waste. I miss the eggs whenever we wanted them. I miss the work it made for our children. Outside of our children and Paul's careers, the chickens have been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable endeavors of our marriage. I will be glad when we can do that again.

The House~ The house is sold. The folks who bought it have a big family and are so excited to move in and have chickens and a grow a garden and cook in the huge kitchen. They think Paul's egg boxes are ingenious. They are right, of course. It feels good leaving the house to people who will appreciate it.

Dan~ Daniel had his farewell party last weekend and went to an end of the year dance on Friday. For his party they hooked three XBoxes together and killed zombies for hours and hours. Honestly, these are the easiest parties to give because I don't have to do anything besides make A LOT of food.

For the dance the theme was '80's characters'. He dressed as Luigi from Mario Bros. He had fun. I promised him $1 for every girl he asked to dance. He made $20.

Dan's band concert was this week too. This is just a Jr. high band, I am always suprised at how good they are. Here's a taste.

The Girls~ The girls have been making nonstop friendship bracelets since their cousin Maude posted this tutorial. Gloria sang When Will My Life Begin, from Tangled at her school talent show. She did a great job. This is one girl who is not afraid of the spotlight.

In other little girl news, Sara is wearing her first grownup 'heels' today to church and we ordered bedding for the girls' new room this week.

Paul~ Paul is in Cambodia. He sent me this picture of a woman weaving silk. I hope he brings me some. I love that he will be landing in Phoenix just two hours before we get there two weeks from today.

Thank you~ Thanks to everyone for the encouraging notes and kind words as we sent our boy off on his mission. It has meant a lot to us.

And Me~ I love my new iPhone. My favorite thing? Depositing a check into my checking account while I sat on a bench at the park; that and Tiny Wings. What a incredible time we live get to live in! Also, I got my haircut.

Isn't it cute? I haven't had it this short since we lived in SLC. The girls are getting their summer cuts this week. Well, I guess that is all for now. Have a great couple of weeks.

Five Things My Husband Does So Well That I Take Them For Granted

1. Putting me first

If there is ever a choice between something that I want and something that Paul wants, 95% of the time he chooses what I want. I just assume we will do things my way and am always a little shocked the few times he insists on his way.

2. Being willing to try things and then, of course, succeeding

Paul's adventurous spirit, as well as his hard work and expertise, has taken us farther than I ever dreamed and he's made almost anything a possibility for us.

3. Listening

He always takes the time to listen to me ~and just in case you've never met me, I talk A LOT~ Paul is always sensitive to what I am feeling or thinking about.

4. Providing

I never, ever worry about the basics, I know Paul will always do more than provide for us. One of the things I am most grateful for as a wife and mother is that I had the choice to be home with my kids.

5. Being Loyal

Paul is fiercely loyal to me; it doesn't matter if I'm right or wrong. He stands by me no matter what. In 23 years, I can't remember a time he was ever publicly critical of me.

Once in a while I am startled back to reality and am made to see how rare and precious these qualities are, especially in one person.

Happy 23rd my sweetheart.

2006 revisited

The year Paul was in Iraq our truck, which he normally drove, was parked almost completely unused, in our driveway.

Everyday, when I came home, I would drive up Mountain View Drive and as I came up over the hill, I would see the truck and for the tiniest millisecond I would think, "Paul is home from work! Yea!" and then just as fast as my little synapses could fire I would remember that Paul was 10 timezones away. And I would be sad.

I hated that and I fell for it every single time for 354 days. AUUGG!

I had forgotten about that until Paul went to St. George last week for his mom's wedding.

Saturday morning when I came home from my time with the cows and honeysuckles, I came around the corner and saw Paul's truck in the driveway and for that very small moment I was happy that he was there and that it was Saturday and that he didn't have to work and could stay home and play with us . . . but then, of course, I was immediately disappointed when I remembered he was only just starting back from Utah.


I'm not sure what the worst part of that was; that it felt so familiar, that it was distressing, or that I just wasn't expecting it.

After an eventful beginning and a long drawn out ending, Paul arrived home, safe and sound yesterday.

"Paul's home! Yea!"

Obama is my homeboy . . .

Paul brought these T-shirts home and they were waiting for the kids when they got up yesterday. They couldn't change into them fast enough. Although they had a fun day at school with lots of comments and disscusion, there were many who didn't hide their contempt or their angry opinions. Pauly was sent to the principal's office, by one of his teachers, to make sure his shirt was appropriate for school but he also got a " 'sup" from the big black guys who usually ignore him.

They came home happy.

Little Paul ran over my house.

Did you know Paul and Robin both have their driver's permits? Well, they do, so over the past few months we have had more than one harrowing experience in our cars. The highlights?? My car was scratched up and my front axle was broken in half (thank heaven for warranties) and Robin and her dad were almost decapitated when Robin jumped a curb and hit a huge chain draped across a parking lot entrance.

Then last night Pauly pulled the truck into the garage and didn't stop until he had put a big hole in the wall. We ran out to see what he had done and stopped him because he didn't know he had even touched the wall and was about to keep going. He said, "I thought I still had two more feet." He would have ended up in our dining room. The two Paul's spent their last day of Christmas break patching the wall.

Guess who our new Branch President is. . .

Happy Birthday Paul

Here are a few things you might not know about Paul: (This could also be entitled how Rachel is the exact opposite of Paul:)

He is the happiest person I know. He always appreciates where he is in his life. Whether in school or in the army or in Lindale, Texas, he is always pleased and relaxed and happy and excited with what he is doing right now. He doesn’t waste his time worrying about things; he always thinks positively and is sure everything is going to work out well . . . he is almost always right.

He is the most voracious reader I know. A few years ago I found the greatest list of hundreds of classic books and authors. We went through it once and Paul had read 3/4 of them. More than that he remembered all the stories and characters’ names, some from books he’d read 25 years earlier. It is rare that I suggest a book to him that he hasn't already read.

He is the smartest man I know. Not only has he completed one Master's Degree program and is 3 credits shy of his second, but he just knows how to figure things out. Don't watch any kind of mystery with him because he will tell you "who dun it" at the end of the first scene. (This actually works out well for me because I am usually asleep by the third scene.) I gave him Life of Pi to read last year. He got to page 26 and said, "That's the sentence." then he told me the rest of the story without having read it. He finished it and then told me to throw it away.

He is the hardest working person I know. I've been there while different bosses have fought over him. In college he had two different businessmen ask him to quit school and work for them. In the Army he had Colonels and Generals fighting over his next assignment. He works harder and does a better job than they expect anyone to do and then he stays until the job is done and done right.

He has the kindest heart of anyone I have ever met. He genuinely and sincerely likes people and is respectful and generous even when (I think) they don't deserve it. He naturally knows what people need and freely gives it to them. The only times I have seen him truly sad is when he knew someone needed help and he couldn't do anything for them. (Ask him to tell you his Albania story.)

Someday I will deserve to share my life with this most extraordinary man. I love you Paul.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the greatest

Mom / Grandmother / Mother-In-Law ever!!!
We love you!

Robin's and Paul's lists

Robin’s Thankful List of Amazing Thankfulness and Thankyish Thanks (thank you)

1) Family
2) Friends
3) The gospel
4) Jesus Christ
5) Rock and Roll
6) The opportunities that I have, thanks to the sacrifice of my ancestors
7) My awesome parents who have raised me and my siblings to be just as awesome
8) That my dad was able to resign from the military before I graduated from high school
9) That because he got out I got to learn how to SURF.
10) And I’m especially thankful for perfectly timed swells in Galveston


Paul’s List of Thankful Thanking of Thanktastic Proportions (better than robin’s)

1) My Family
2) Jesus Christ
3) Friends
4) Music
5) My parents and everything they have given me
6) Waves
7) My awesome Piano skills
8) Football
9) My (long) hair
10) Not lima beans

Robin’s *thanks* List *thankful* Part *i-am-more-thankful-than-paul* 2

1) Paul is unoriginal
2) I am awesome

Bonfire

Robin and Paul hosted a party last night.

Here are a few pics from the festivities. It was a fun night.

Foreign exchange students trying to figure out why anyone would eat s'mores.

Paul is DJ

YMCA

Winding Down

Say Cheese

Paul has decided that he doesn't like the way he looks in pictures so now, this is the face he pulls when someone sticks a camera in his face.

Great Kids!

Robin came home last night from work with a raise. They like her at Doc's. She is a hard worker, she shows up when she is supposed to and she isn't afraid to do the dirty jobs. Did I tell you how she stood up to this young man at work? He went after her because she is LDS and was making fun of her wanting to serve a mission. When she first told me about it I was so mad because the young man is an adult and shouldn't have said what he said. But then she told me what she said to him. She didn't get ruffled or mad she just told him what she believed and didn't back down. You'll have to ask her about it. She constantly floors me with what a fantastic kids she is.






Paul came home from his football game last night with another win. The Lindale Eagle are 4-0! He got lots of playing time and made 3 tackles! WOO HOO! We didn't get to go to this one because of sick kids. BUMMER!

Last but not least, Gloria didn't hit anyone on the bus this week. This would be different than last week when a little girl wouldn't leave her alone and Gloria clocked her. If she does it again she will be kicked off the bus for the rest of the year. Nice.

Why do I hear water running? or It's so nice to have a man around the house.

I could hear water running the other night and couldn't find it's source, that is, until Paul cut a few holes in the bedroom wall. We found the leak at about 11:00pm on Tuesday. There was nothing we could do until morning so we turned off the water and went to bed. Poor Robin woke up to a note telling her no shower.

Thankfully, Paul knows how to do everything so a trip to Lowe's, a couple of cuss words and another trip to Lowe's later and it was all fixed.

Oh, I forgot to mention that on Tuesday we also found out that the front axle on our van was broken in two. At least it's still under warranty.