Spring Break 2011

I've thought a lot this past weekend about what makes me happy and what has given me the happiest memories. Few moments of happiness in my life compare to the years I spent in college--I can honestly say, without a doubt that I would do it all over in a heartbeat. No question. I've also realized that so few women really get the opportunity to be so unbelievably satisfied with that period of their lives. Sure, I always wonder why in the world I never signed up for study abroad, or why I never minored in voice, or took a photography class....what I'm talking about are the big chunks of your thought, time, energy and sense of place and belonging AND those things--those special places will always belong to the Olsen sisters (all of them), Becca, Taggart, Elvis's Blue Christmas, Martha Stewart paper lanterns, whopper (no meat), Petersen, Cousin Wil (the time he tipped the bike over in the front room and we laughed until we peed our pants!), Adam & Casey, weekend road trips to Montana, fajita night, Cheryl Wheeler concerts with Barnett, dance party in the front room window, secret notes, Annie Oakley, Jesse James, so. much. singing....

and Spring Break. You know the one. Best. Spring. Break. Ever.

And I love it even more because after almost 15 years it still makes me overwhelmingly happy.

Oh, so happy.

The days are long, but the years are short.

The more I realize it, the more I ache to make myself remember all of it. The good and the bad. The new and the old.
Same place, but the only screams and chasing were from Jack and Kiki playing dinosaurs.
Jack's super sexy pose. I've had to stop saying it, though, because he's too into it.
This...is my favorite picture from the whole trip. Notice the total lack of concern on Becca's face as she casually grabs the shirt collar of the "she-devil"? Yup. 30-foot drop a mere centimeter away... you bet, got it covered.
They look so thoughtful and kind.

[below is a special coded message just for Bruce, from Lola]

"There's this white guy that does wild crack...and he smells really bad!"



I loved these two shots.

...we left early Sunday morning because of a snowstorm.
I love this lady. l.o.v.e. u.

End of the Season

Waiting for Jeff to get back with the lunch and watching the "Skim Pond" competition. It wasn't very exciting this year.
It's always more fun to try to get Jack to look at the camera. He isn't known for multitasking.
Lachlan's turns are getting so tight. She can cut through the trees with me if it is tracked out.
I always have a bittersweet feeling about the last ski day of the season. It is hard to see it go, but I am so weary of the cold weather. I have to say that it felt so wonderful to have a regular ski day this year. I loved seeing the progress that we are all making together--at least in terms of how we can keep up with Jeff.

Pot O' Gold

With the dawning of St. Patrick's Day I just couldn't take one more question about leprechauns. Lachlan is obsessed with leprechauns. I had drawn pictures, re-enacted leprechauns hiding and dancing, told stories about their pointy ears and long creepy fingers, decorated the house and delivered golden coins. And STILL, it wasn't enough! She wanted to see, hold, feel and ultimately, capture her own leprechaun.

I finally said, okay, I know where some hide out.

At first dam.

And, truthfully, I have seen some very troll-like individuals hanging out there in the early spring sunshine.

So I bought a couple of Happy Meals and gave them a big "leprechaun-catching" net.

We came home empty-handed, but no one got eaten by a goose and we were not accosted by the troll people.

The End.

Valentine's Cake

Buntings are all the rage on craft blogs. It was inevitable that I would give in to the madness. This is Sara's birthday cake. It was so easy.
I love cake.

Truth and Wisdom Can Stand By Themselves

Would you like to read something that I really believe? Of course you would. This is an article from today's Mormon Times. All I have to add is, amen.

Last Sunday night, a breath of fresh air blew through the Brigham City 5th Ward. A professional consultant, Karen C. Eddington, showed up at "New Beginnings" to speak to the young women about self-worth.

At one point, she asked the girls if they'd accept a $100 bill if she offered it.

Yes, they said.

"What if I wadded the bill up, tossed it on the ground and called it names?" she asked. "Would you still want it?"

Of course, they said.

She used the example to teach that our true worth has nothing to do with outward appearance or what other people say.

It was just one telling moment in an evening of telling moments.

Eddington also said she's often been forced to wear two hats in life. In the secular world, she's a "motivational speaker," but with LDS groups she's a religious speaker. Yet, she said, everything she says at seminars in the world can be found in the gospel message. She just doesn't present it that way.

I've thought about that several times since.

How often do we reject wise counsel simply because we are biased against the source?

We tune out people we don't want to hear.

When our parents, spouses or friends give us advice, we often reject it out of hand. But if we get the same advice in a new bestseller, we often lap it up.

If I were to say, "George Washington once said … ," many people would take whatever words that followed completely to heart.

But if I were then to say, "Wait. It wasn't George Washington who said it. It was Harry Reid," those same people would quickly blot the comment from their minds.

When LDS apostles speak of moderation, members of other faiths often tune them out. But when similar thoughts show up in some sacred text — say, the "Tao Te Ching" — those people will quickly stoop and sip from the great fountain of knowledge.

I think we're all guilty of such bias.

We often care more about the source than what is being said.

When PBS aired a documentary on the Mormons some time back, I was amused by how many people complained that the filmmaker didn't distinguish between the devout LDS historians and the secular historians who were being interviewed. Apparently, a lot of viewers felt incapable of listening to what was said and deciding if it made sense. They were more concerned about the source of the comments than the comments themselves.

To me, that's a little like wringing our hands and wondering if the author of a hymn is LDS or not. Either the hymn resonates with our spirits or it doesn't. And the fact that half the hymns we sing in the church were written by members of other faiths shows we are, indeed, capable of making such distinctions when we care to do it.

All it takes is an open heart and an attentive ear.

Truth and wisdom can stand by themselves.

As for Karen Eddington, I wish her well in her quest to help young girls see through the masks and ruses of the world — whether she's speaking to LDS Church groups or others.

She is a wise person with wise things to say.

And I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same way, even if I found out that instead of saying she was a "Mormon," she actually said she was a "Martian."

The Year of the Rabbit

February 3rd started the Year of the Rabbit for the Lunar New Year. I felt like I just took the Christmas decorations down, so I didn't decorate like I did last year. We did have lettuce wraps and dumplings for dinner. It's always a big hit with the kids.

I'm a rabbit so I'm hoping that this is a good year for me.


Lachlan eating a lettuce wrap. I'm so disgusted with the quality of these pictures. I was too lazy to go change the lens...they were very dark...so now they are lighter, but funky colored and grainy. gee.
Jack puts it in a piece of lettuce, but only eats the meat out of it--repeatedly out of the same leaf. He also only eats the middle of the dumpling. He, quote, "can't eat the skin." When it is phrased like that--yuck, who can?
We also made rabbits and wore our rabbit ears. Thank you Family Fun website.
Lachlan is getting very accurate with her cutting. It scares the $#%@ out of me. She's got a little "serial killer" in her lately.
This picture makes them look so fun. ha.ha.ha. Those rabbits are capable of jumping from one side of the living room to the other. They can also spin and dance. I know. I've seen it.
It took us about 20 different pictures to get one that wasn't ridiculous. BTW, I love that gigantic eye that Jack glued on his rabbit. I got the giggles watching him stick it on--then I noticed that Jeff put a huge eye on his rabbit too! I am such a traditionalist sometimes....ugh. A rabbit with a huge eye is surely genetically superior! What was I thinking?

Whistlepig Wednesday

We celebrated Whistlepig Wednesday instead of Groundhog Day. We roll with Curious George these days and that's how he does it. I don't think that the kids had a clue about what I was trying to explain to them about "six more weeks of winter." Lachlan was very confused.


Nevertheless, these whistlepigs went to preschool, made pretend holes in the ground, and sang songs at the dinner table. It was quite a party.
Here are the kids checking out the pig's shadow. It was ten-below zero. Pretty sure the real whistlepig didn't even bother to role over in his burrow. Spring? A LONG time coming.

The Battle for Middle Earth

The Battle Front

A Battle Lost

Victory!

The Idaho Border

Jack: Mom, can you help me put my Batman costume on so that I can get married?
Me: Yeah, who are you marrying?
Jack: Lola, my daughter, cause she's available.
Me: Okay. Let's make sure and get that mask on too, for legal reasons.

[note: these pictures are so dark because I wanted to take some secret pictures of the wedding. I tried to pretend that I was photographing something else. As much as this whole thing is totally weird it is also so hilarious!]

Their wedding dance. Lachlan was telling him how to do it the "right way"--don't you love the streamers Jack has put on his arms for the special event?!
Wedding ring: Courtesy of the Pork Producers. I almost peed my pants when I saw this!
I had them pose for one official picture. I LOVE Jack's "hat" he wouldn't let me take the picture until it was firmly placed on top of his head.

Jack convinced Lachlan that they needed to kiss because all of the princesses do it. She told him "just one cause I don't really want to." I had to walk away to keep from laughing out loud.