Sick . . . of not feeling good

Dear body of mine,

I know I probably don't appreciate all the times when you are healthy, but I'm ready to start feeling myself again. I'm tired of my guts aching, feeling like I'm going to cough up my lungs, and my voice sounding like a man. I want my energy back and I'd really like to start running again. As much as I relish mid-afternoon naps, I would like to feel like I don't need one EVERY day.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

I'm supposed to be training for my second half marathon coming up in eight weeks.

But my body is just not cooperating.

I will be gone for ten days the beginning of June, eating my little heart out on a cruise ship, and really want to peak my miles before I leave so when I get back I hopefully wouldn't have to push myself.

Two weeks ago I ran 8.3 miles and was feeling great.

Then the following week I felt like I was experiencing menopause where I would get really hot and then I would be freezing (I'm too young, right?). This was the week where we had record heat temperatures and I had the heater going full blast in the van. My poor little soccer players didn't really appreciate that.

I slept a lot.

I lot some pounds.

Yeah!

My body was nice and let me run three miles one day this past week before shutting down again with a sore throat and hacking cough.

I missed a fun run on Saturday with my sisters, but Nate represented me well.
This week has got to be better. I need it to be.

She finally joined the club

Doesn't she look nervous?

My teeth literally ached for her. Although I have to say, braces have come a long way since I had them. I wasn't even sure if she would need them until we had a consultation and saw the molar that is coming in sideways. And because of that she's also going to have her wisdom teeth pulled this summer just so that little fella has room to right itself. Oh, the poor girl.

Our little celebration included ice cream for dinner. Who's going to complain about that?

 

Weekend adventures

Ty and Nate accompanied Erik on his 11-year-old scout overnight camp out.

This was a backpacking trip where they hiked to base camp and then spent a good part of the next day hiking to these:

TV towers which are viewable from our backyard. Unfortunately, they didn't quite make it before turning back. They were so close, in the area of the snow, but some of the boys were just not prepared for such a strenuous hike.

Nate might have been one of them? Doesn't he just look miserable. Both he and Erik accomplished something hard that day and I am proud of them for attempting. Some of the scouts continued on and made it to the top. I guess there are people who live up there and man the station one week on, two weeks off. Our scout group was given a tour. Someday I'd like to hike it and get that tour.

I like that Erik had to take a picture of the flowers they saw (which I believe is a columbine). It tells me he's paying attention to the beauty in the world around him.

While the boys were wending their way up the mountain, I got to spend a good part of my weekend trying out the new mower on the weeds in the backyard (I managed to completely bust off a sprinkler head with that new toy. Oops! Guess I get to figure out how to put a new head on.) and getting these babies in the ground while learning some about our drip irrigation.

Oh, I had one of the best Saturdays. I am always happy when I get to tinker in my yard. And I'm so happy to have my boys home safe and rested.

Bullying

My mother-in-law gave us some great advice when our kids were small. We were worried about building confidence in our kids without it going to their heads. She told us to build them up all we can at home because when they get to school, the world will tear them down. We've taken her advice to heart and have tried very diligently to build our kids' confidence in themselves.

Well, I never thought any of my kids would be on the receiving end of bullying at school. But Erik told me the other day how there are several boys in his class who don't like him and will always laugh at him if he misses a question or doesn't win the game they're playing in class. His teacher then makes these boys "sign" the misbehavior book. 

The mother bear in me surfaced and I wanted to go to school and confront them and roar my terrible roars and gnash my terrible teeth. Now that would have been funny to have me, an adult, taking on a couple of 12-year-old boys. But isn't that what a mother bear does, protects her cubs. I guess I just don't understand why they've singled out Erik because he is a good kid who works hard in class and gets his school work done. He's not mean and isn't looking for confrontation. The sad thing is several of these boys lived in our last neighborhood. They were all in the same class in church and participated in scouts together.

Maybe Erik exudes too much confidence and they feel threatened by that. Maybe they don't like that he's a teacher's "pet." And maybe they're just being young adolescent boys who haven't matured. Whatever the reasons, I told Erik to not pay any attention to them. School is almost over and junior high will bring a whole new set of issues that hopefully don't involve these boys. You can't build yourself up by tearing others down.

I LOVE my calling

Primary chorister/music leader/whatever you want to call it is the best calling in the church . . . EVER! And I've had a few callings.

Last week the Primary president asked it I'd go first before sharing time. When I announced to the kids that we'd be singing first I heard a lot of yays.

Then I asked them if they liked singing time, and they enthusiastically replied they did.

This came from a group that has a lot of boys which made me pleased as punch.

And then this week I told them I volunteered the Primary to sing "On a Golden Springtime" for the rest hymn next week.

Maybe they won't like me as much anymore, but that won't change how I feel about teaching them to sing.

Alex's pets

Yes, they've taken up residence in one of our window wells and Alex is quite smitten with them. He loves to pound on the window and watch them scurry around as they attempt to get out.

Sadly, they're demise is very imminent which I don't really mind. We're up to nine that have gotten trapped in our window wells and perished. These are the first live ones we've actually seen.

Easter Bash and Lemon cookies

Every year since Tyler can remember the Ellis side of his family has held an Easter Bash. When he was a kid they all traveled to Hurricane, Utah (who wouldn't want to escape to somewhere warm?). Since I've been around it been held a various places, but the usual spot has been Aunt Nancy's, two blocks from our home. How convenient is that!

There's usually a barbecue, yummy salads, snow cone machine, Wheel-of-Terror, tug o' war, and good old visiting. This year we competed in a pie eating contest, Tyler's talented cousin Camilla had a funny photo booth set up, and I brought yummy Lemon Cookies. Spring always brings out the lemon in me.

*Photos courtesy of Camilla and Nancy 

LEMON COOKIES

2 boxes lemon cake mix

1 c. butter, melted

2 eggs

1 T. fresh lemon juice

12 oz. white chocolate chips

1 t. shortening

powdered sugar

Melt butter and add to cake mix. Mix to cool off butter. Add eggs. Add lemon and all but 1/2 c. white chocolate chips (I think it was too many and next time will try less.). Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Don't overbake. Allow to cool. Melt remaining 1/2 c. white chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds. Add shortening and continue to melt at 30 second intervals. Don't let the chocolate get too hot or it will seize and not cooperate. Drizzle over cookies and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

New summer vocation?

I think I'm going to be looking for a new job this summer.

It's always been my escape to mow the lawn. I can't hear the kids, and if they need something they know to ask their dad. I love the smell of freshly cut grass and the nice, even lines.

This is where I found Tyler Saturday afternoon, not even a full 24 hours since getting home from our spring break trip to Oregon.

He was nice enough to let me try out the new toy. It sure beats a push mower.

March FHE

WEEK 1: It was the hottest day of the year and we decided to take advantage of it. The original plan was the dismantle the VCR/DVD combo that got fried in our power surge and rescue Blue's Clues for Alex. But that plan was put on hold while we all enjoyed a pleasant evening outside and then delved into Kiersten's chocolate cake. It is birthday week, ya know, and I tend to celebrate all month long whenever I feel like it.

WEEK 2: For Kiersten's drama class she needed to see a play and write a report. She could also pass off something for Young Women's. So a play it was. I had heard that the Desert Star Playhouse was a lot of fun and family-oriented. They were also showing CSI:Provo, Decaffeinated DNA which was a spoof on Mormon culture. Erik was pretty sure he didn't want to go and begged to stay home. Nope. This was FHE and so we needed everybody. Okay, I'd already bought the tickets which weren't cheap, so he was coming. Turns out that he actually thought the show was hilariously funny and wanted to know if we could get season tickets. Kiersten wants to come back for her birthday and thought it was better than going to the movies. Theater may not be the cheapest option, but I'd rather my kids got hooked on that than having to see every new show that opens at the local Cinemark.

WEEK 3: We finally got around to dismantling the VCR. I thought it would be an easy fix to get the tape out. We ended up taking apart the entire thing, before pretty much ripping it out. Alex was very happy that we rescued his tape. We finished off the evening by playing Spot It, a very easy, quick fun game that challenges your visual skills.

WEEK 4: This week hit the library to load up on books for our Easter break vacation and ended up at Best Buy looking at computers and TVs to replace the ones that got fried in the surge. Erik came out of there convinced he's going to buy a Kindle Fire. Actually, he's sure that Nate and he are going to buy it together. What a bad idea! Then Nate informed me a day later that he is going to buy the Kindle Fire for Erik's birthday. A bad idea just got worse.

Celebrating March birthdays

Too bad March only comes around once a year because birthdays can be fun sometimes.

This year Erik's field trip happened to fall on my birthday and he REALLY wanted me to come. After much arm twisting I consented and spent the morning at the Clarke Planetarium chaperoning three 6th grade boys. That evening I threw myself a party by inviting my sisters and good friend I've known since I was 2 to our house for a barbecue. Sadly, I was not smart enough to get a picture. Old age is setting in.

Tyler and I celebrated my birthday a day earlier. I informed him I wanted to try The Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. I had seen it, heard of it, had never been, so we went for lunch. Oh boy! I don't think either of us were expecting what we got. First, I was impressed that they brought Alex a small plate of bananas and bread while we ordered. SMART! Second, I was not expecting a menu that pretty much covered an entire gamut of appetites. And third, the service was excellent. We ordered an appetizer of Thai lettuce wraps and our waiter brought us out wet towels to clean our fingers. WOW!

I even got dessert which we NEVER do.

Ty let me know that when I first suggested it, he thought we were going to some place like Chuck e Cheese. He said, "Do you think we could come back for my birthday?"

You bet, if I'm invited.

Ash had a birthday several weeks later. Lucky for her it fell on Wednesday which is our early-out day at school. She got to spend the entire afternoon playing with friends.

Favorites (written by Ash)

Books: Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones

Colors: Purple, red, green

Songs: On a Golden Springtime and Walk on the Water (Britt Nicole)

Movies: Savana Smiles (got this for her birthday because we think she looks like Savannah)

TV shows: Loony Toons

Foods: Macoroni and pizza

Games: Sorry

Toys: Dolls

School subject: Math

School lunch: pizza

Places: gramma's (my mom's mom), house, beach, California

Close friends: Allison, Allie, Kiera, Avery, Riley, Hillary (Kiera and Allison below)

Hobbies: reading, coloring, math

What I want to be when I grow up: a teacher

Personality: spunky, loud, always happy except when she's not then watch out, girlie girl, confident, top of her class

Self Portrait

Maddox

We've reunited and gained a few and missed one. Several years ago all my siblings got together for dinner . . . without the parents.

It was rather fun.

And grownup.

So after 3 1/2 years we decided to do it again at Maddox in Brigham City. It's kind of tradition. I just wish my brother Reed could have made it. But Phoenix is kind of far away.

Anyway, we got talking about food, and food that was eaten on missions and realized we had an eclectic bunch of world travelers.

Mexico

Philippines

South Korea

Russia

Germany

America

and Reed went to the Ukraine

My other brother Matt also told us this story I had not heard before.

My dad is a twin.

His twin brother, Sherwin, was hurt in an automobile accident while on his mission, and was under a lot of anesthesia, ended up having a metal plate put in his head, and remembers someone coming in to give him a blessing.

Later my grandma told him it was Elder Monson who gave him the blessing.

Fast forward many years and my grandma and Uncle Sherwin are having dinner at Maddox when Grandma notices President Monson is seated not far from them.

She tries to convince Uncle Sherwin to go talk to him which he doesn't really want to do and interrupt his dinner.

FINALLY, Grandma wins.

Uncle Sherwin heads over, taps him on the back, and proceeds to say, "I'm not sure if you remember me . . . ". President Monson turns to look at him and exclaims, "Well, how you doing Elder Seamons."

Several years later my dad decided to attend a prominent funeral of five little girls who had died in the trunk of a car. He slipped in the back and soon President Monson came in. He looked at my dad, took a few steps, turned and looked at him again, and then proceeded down the aisle, I'm sure trying to figure out why my dad looked familiar. What an amazing memory President Monson has.

It was such a delightful evening.

I've already calendared it in for next year. None of this waiting 3 years to get together.

Especially if food is involved.