It's summer at our house...

Ok. The summer flies by, it is true! I think I'm handling it rather well, though.

My son goes to swimming lessons every day and is improving sooo much! In the past we've just done the one two-week session, but last summer and this year I decided to do it every session and he has just skyrocketed! His back stroke is nearly flawless, and he can front crawl the entire length of the pool without stopping (very much!)

We sort of have a morning routine down, too. We wake up, eat breakfast, do reading, practice piano, do chores, go to swimming, come home and eat lunch, run errands and then the kid gets the whole afternoon to play while I sew and sew and sew.

My son has also been endowed with the great privelege of becoming the new official lawn-mower of our family. He isn't very thrilled with the title, but his parents sure are!

Downfalls of this summer:
-yet another year with no central air upstairs. This means we sleep in a warmer-than-is-comfortable bedroom at night, but most of the day we just spend in the air-conditioned basement.
- no camping trips in sight. We have a tent and a few camping items, but no room in a vehicle to take it all. I'd really like to get a tent-trailer, but that's probably a few years off.
- My mom and step-dad moved to Soutn Carolina for a year, so no fun summer days up at my mom's enjoying the beautiful country or barbecuing on their back patio,or fishing trips with a boy and his grandpa Doc, or watching chick flicks with my mom late into the night. :(

Pro's for this summer:
-I am singing with the Utah Chamber Artists for their summer concert with the Utah Symphony. Minimal practicing, Maximum enjoyment!
- My garden is kicking butt this year, and I planted it all by my self!!!! Yes, thank you very much!
- My son now mows the lawn so I don't have to!
- My sister is living in the state again and we can do LOTS of things together! (like go see "Eclipse" tomorrow night! Pattinson in all his IMAX glory!)
-I'm totally excited about sewing aprons again. I'm doing at least one a day! Yay for Saucy frocks!!!

Good Things To Come...

This talk has seen me through some of my most difficult times, and is probably one of my very most favorite conference talks of all time. I wanted to share it because each of us has hope, no matter how timultuous our life may seem at times. If we just hold on to the truths we know, and dilligently rely on our Heavenly Father for guidance and peace, we will see better times ahead.

Letter to self...

*The post I previously wrote filled with rants and tantrum-throwing and very UN-adult behavior was zapped by the Blog gods- taken to the spacial void where so many term papers, love letters, and important communications get lost, never to be retrieved. Therefore, the first "letter to self" has been replaced with this much shorter version:

Dear me,

Suck it up and move forward! You're an adult, and being an adult means you are going to have bad days, and things that just aren't fair! Get OVER it!!!!

sincerely,
you

So, this is me being an adult. I'm going to move forward... after I eat some chocolate, and maybe guzzle a can of Dr. Pepper... and perhaps listen to some 80's tunes, and... ok, maybe indulge in a little vampirism* (of the "Twilight" kind, not actual vampirism!)

*because there's nothing like a good fantasy novel about forbidden love to help me forget the realities of life

** Not that I am a totall "Twilight" mom freak, either. It has been 2 years since I last read them... truly!

***I didn't even shriek ONCE at any of the movies!

****And I haven't forced my husband to stick ice packs on his body and look at me with a pained expression, nor have I asked him to call me "Bella". Not once!

***** No, I didn't even require that he suck on ice cubes before kissing me-- never even thought of it until this moment... hmmmm.... not a bad... oh, what?

Sad news...

Last Thursday my sister and I took our kids to This is the Place Heritage Park to their pioneer village. We had such a fun time. One of my favorite parts, and most distressing, ironically, was the little petting zoo.

The little baby goats and lambs were soooooo cute! The distressing part came when the little goats were trying to escape into the big world. Nobody dared pick them up but my sister and I (who were NOT raised on a farm,by the way- strictly city girls) were picking them up and hauling them back to their pen. They were so cute, just like real children, really.

Yesterday, I heard that the barn they keep the baby animals in at night burned down on Saturday morning. 12 animals were lost, mostly baby animals. The very baby animals I held and pet and loved! What a sad thing!

I am glad I had a chance to help keep them out of danger for a little while anyway. What a sad thing. I hope it was an accident and not some stupid kid smoking in the barn or playing with matches.

Just your average summer day around here...

Today we (meaning myself, mostly) finished mowing the lawn. My kid started it last night, but being only 9 he tends to whine a lot and misses several spots, so today was spent "fixing" those spots. I also did some weed-whacking, or rather lawn slaughtering, because I am terrible with the weed-whacker. If I cut hair as badly as I did the weeds my husband wouldn't let me within a foot of his hair! There are big bald patches everywhere in the lawn. Oh well.

An hour was spent on the phone doing Relief Society stuff, and now I'm off to fold laundry and put more laundry in so I can fold it later.

Highlight comment of the day: "Mom, the only reason you won't let me earn video games back is because you made a mistake and you don't want to look like a fool."

It's really bad when your kid can see right through you. I will never admit to this, though!

Can I have a do over???

I know... everybody always says it: "My kid is growing up so quickly..." but, I have to say it:

MY KID IS GROWING UP SO QUICKLY!!!!!

Today is the last day of school. He comes home for the entire summer in 2 hours. I do love spending more time with him, though. He is my little buddy, and we will go to the zoo, aquarium, aviary, park, pool, dollar movies, you name it.

But, I'm not ready for him to be in 4th grade! I'm not ready for him to be as old as I was when I started babysitting! I'm not ready for him to start driving and kissing girls and wearing deodorant! (ok, those things are a little way off, but not far!)

Let's go back and do kindergarten over. Just for a few days. I want to see his cute little blond-tipped hair and his tiny little button nose again.I want to get endless homemade pirate treasure maps. I want to hear him count to ten and miss 9 every time!

No, let's go back further- to when he would crawl into the dog cage and sit happily sucking on his bottle of milk. Or back even further to when he would nestle his tiny head into my neck and make little grunting noises when he was sleepy. Or how about when he was in my tummy and constantly kicking his legs over and over and over. I have one picture of me when I was pregnant with him. ONE! One picture where you can see my tummy poking out and know there is a little person inside. Can I get a do-over and get just a few more?

I look forward to him growing up, I really do. I look forward to being able to watch him grow and learn and excel in school, and be the great person I know he is going to be (and already is!) But sometimes I wish I could just get a few of those precious days back.

This summer I am going to relish every moment I have with that little guy. I'm going to bask in every hug, every kiss, every spontaneous bouquet of flowers he brings and sets down in my lap. I have one chance to be a mom, and I'm going to make the most of it.

It's NOT OK!!!!

Who said it was OK for a 32 year old to be a grandmother already?

Who said it was OK for a 15 year old to have a baby in the first place?

Today, I am thinking on all things NOT ok with me.

It's NOT ok that people go outside and smoke on their front porch, making it so I have have to shut my doors and windows and roast inside my own home to keep from dying of second-hand smoke induced lung cancer!

It's NOT ok for a doctor to start lecturing you on how juice raises your blood sugar and how important it is for you to drink that juice when your blood sugar is below 49 when you can't keep said juice down because you are throwing it all up and called the Dr. to get advice on other options before you resort to going to the ER! (happened yesterday with my hubby.... not a good day!)

It is NOT ok for 14 year old girls to parade around in next to nothing at school because they are going to end up like the girl at the first of this NOT OK post!


It is NOT ok that some movies have sad endings, some books have a much beloved character die, and some stores are out of Ben and Jerry's "Everything But The..." when you need it most!

Life's not always fair, and that's not ok, either!!!!!!

Pictures of Disneyland... Finally!

This free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

What Memorial Day is REALLY about (according to my 9 year old)

"Mom, what is Memorial Day for, anyway?"

"Well, it is a day we think about and honor all those people who have fought for our country and died for our freedoms. But it's also a day we remember all our loved ones who have passed on."

"Well, how come we get the day off school and work?"

"It's just a way to celebrate their sacrifices. We take the day off to enjoy life and have fun, and think of them."

"So, really, they fought and died so we could have a day off of school."

"ummmmmmmm....... well....."

The mind of a 9 year old is an interesting place to be!