Ridgecrest Review

Ethiopia day 10 part 4

2012-01-22T16:37:00.000-08:00

The Fab Five headed back to the Morrell offices housing to hang out until we had to head to the airport at midnight. Kate and I had some dinner nearby. Another club sandwich experiment didn't disappoint. We also had the absolute best waiter that either of us had ever had in Ethiopia or the U.S.. We made sure to express our gratitude and let him know just how impressed we were. He's a student at a nearby school that teaches service for travel and tourism. He was so sweet and very grateful for our kind assessment. I wrapped up half of my dinner and happily gave it to a wheel chair bound women and her son as we left the restaurant .

The Fab Five spent the rest of the night hanging out in the common area at the house with Jason, Gemilla (the maid) and Happy (the guard). Happy loved showing us pictures of his wife and new son. I don't know Happy's real name. Everyone calls him Happy because of his big. bright, smile he always wears. Earlier in the week Gemilla braided my hair in a tight corn row fashion. She offered to do my entire head in braids but I thought I might look like a crazy person. I feel a little too old and white to rock such a hairstyle. Now I totally wish I would've let her. She studied to be a hairstylist but no one is hiring. She hopes to someday have the money to start a shop of her own. I hope her dream comes true.

We played catch with some of the toys I brought, traded photo files and used the Internet. Then it was time to say goodbye to Nati. It was a sad moment only lessened by the hope that his visa would be approved and he'd be heading to the U.S. next month. It would be amazing to see him in the states and show him around. Introduce him to the ocean maybe? I sent him home with some nail polish and toys for his younger sister and the hope that we'd see each other again soon.

Kate had a cab driver friend pick us up at midnight. On our final car ride threw the streets I tried to absorb every last sight and scent. I was surprised to see the streets we had so frequently walked lined with sleeping bodies. Kate had often commented "Where are all of the homeless people?" Apparently the Bole area where we've spent most of our time is a popular place for tourists. When important figures like various government and UN officials and diplomats visit the local police push the homeless population into other lower profile areas. It seems that this late hour has proven that the homeless population is still present though drastically minimized. Even more people usually occupy these streets.

It's a true and real last look at this amazing place. Bodies huddled under thread bare blankets and tarps and pressed against the cold, unyielding ground. The feelings of incredible discomfort and uneasiness they must have is hard to imagine. These final images, while having great impact, are only part of the experience that has taught me great lessons during my time in Ethiopia.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the temporal gifts God has blessed me with and I have a confirmed knowledge that these blessings, while seemingly so necessary and vital, are indeed fleeting and vulnerable. It is only by great fortune that I sleep free from danger, hunger and hopelessness. I should protect my good fortune. I should find ways not only to share what I might be given but strive to expand it, multiply it as a way of honoring my great fortune. I need to strive to be more worthy of such blessings.

I've also learned that people are people no matter where you are, no matter where you go. There is good and bad everywhere and in everything but mostly good.

People are God's children. We all want to feel love and give love because we come from His love.

Things don't have to be understood by someone else to be valid. If it matters to you than it matters.

There is no dream too small, no dream not worth dreaming.

Ethiopia Day 10 part 3

2012-01-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

Spice market
Magnes and I
Spice market (this woman had been hacking away at something)

The Fab Five headed to the Merkato, the largest market in Africa. It really is an amazing sight. Street after street filled with row after row of everything under the African sun. Stalls filled with jewelry, rugs, knives, clothes. Here lye the first notions of organization. General areas where one might find a certain item. Clothing here, tourist souvenirs there. We arrived in late afternoon and really only saw a sliver of the market for ourselves.

At almost every meal Kate and Nati have talked about kitfo. It never fails that when opening a menu one of them would mention it. Kitfo is an Ethiopian dish made of minced raw meat which is covered in an authentic butter sauce. Nati says it's worth a try and Kate warns never to let anyone order it and not because of the raw meat but because of the butter. None of us ever did order it but many discussions were had about the terrible taste of the butter here and Nati coming to the local butters defense. We were always served American style butter and never had the opportunity to taste the local fare.

We ventured into a section at the Merkato that had stalls filled with local butter for sale. We're not talking stacks of filled margarine containers endorsed by Fabio. The smell alone would make you say "I can't believe it's called butter." A counter top against the length of the stall holds a tall white mound of the strong smelling concoction. I've never smelt anything like it before. It's difficult to find words and that's frustrating for me but I have no point of comparison to this. The best description I can conjure up is that the air was heavy with the smell, thick feeling. No sweetness to the scent but not quite vinegar either. Maybe what I would expect lard made in a meat processing plant to smell like? No that might not do this justice. It's unique and my teeth instinctively clinch to brace myself just at the memory of it. This is the butter section so I eventually have to turn my head away from the butter stalls to feel like I'm breathing fresher air. It makes an impression for sure. If ever tempted to try it I might have to order it as "death on toast please!"

We each wander and shop for souveniers. Nati is an excellent translator and haggler. He makes sure we're not being taken advantage of. I tried on a traditional dress that I might have been able to wear to church but couldn't pull the trigger. I bought a scarf, tablecloth, wooden cross, doylies and some jewelry at the Leprosy hospital. I found some extras here at the Merkato like necklaces for my girls and the traditional Christian wooden cross on black thread necklaces for each of my friends and Young Women who helped with the service project prior to my trip.

Our last stop is the spice market. Kate says it's one of her favorite sections. Along the way I stop and buy toothbrushes from a young man on the street. Ethiopian toothbrushes are actually short sticks that have been whittled smooth. You'll often see people walking down the streets scratching at their teeth with the "toothbrushes." I also bought some packs of gum which here they call masticka and come in interesting flavors like banana. This is how I met Magnes.

Magnes followed along with us down the way to the spice market. This section looks like a fenced in dirt parking lot. Vendors have set up make shift awnings as stalls against the fence line. Each has barrels filled with varying spices that fill the entire space with fragrances. I reach in my backpack for my camera to get some photos and video and Magnes, in her sweet small voice and with a meek smile, offers a warning "careful for your camera please." Magnes is reminding me that the Merkato has high incidents of theft. I've had plenty stolen from my bag just walking down the street so I have been cautious about drawing attention to myself by taking photos around the Merkato. The spice market is set back in it's own area so I thought this might be the safest place to snap some shots.

Still, her words snap me back into MY reality. While it's exciting to be surrounded by interesting and new things and people, trying to embrace the culture here, this isn't like a farmer's market in the U.S.. I've become more accepting of the facts of life in Ethiopia after being surrounded by this standard of living for the past 10 days. Now as I stand in this market, preparing to head back home I'm struck with the reality of the situation. Magnes is bundled up in a warm jacket selling gum on the street. She's been left an only child after the death of her sister and her mother is sick. The fence opposite the spice stalls is lined with makeshift homes fashioned from sticks and tarps. While my kids are always begging to hold lemonade stands in front of our house to feel empowered by their own enterprise and the joy of earning a little bit of money Magnes, like so many other children, is no doubt trying to provide food for herself and her mother. And here a ten year old little girl roams the market alone and offers a warning to me, the adult. If I'm at risk then what dangers lye in wait here for a young girl? It's a harsh reality. I'm glad she speaks great English and I compliment her on it. Glad when she says she attends school and lives with her mother near the market.

The sunlight dwindling in the sky is a our cue to head out and find a minibus as the shops and vendors all pack their wares away for safe keeping. I've read accounts of being at the market after dark. The stalls all closed up tight but in the streets another business coming to light. Starving girls taking to the darkened market streets in hopes of selling the last thing they have that might fetch a price. Some girls as young as maybe eleven. Magnes is ten. I wonder what the impending night sky means for her.

I say goodbye to Magnes as we exit threw a small side gate leaving her in the dirt lot. I hope that she's able to head to a safe home with her mother. Hope that she'll sleep warmly and with a full belly. I hope that it's not uncommon for perfectly well off kids to hang around the market after school and maybe sell some things in their spare time. These are the hopes of a perfectly well off foreigner that will never really know. I've prayed often for Magnes since our meeting. Prayed for all the children of the world who are put into such circumstances. Prayed for the world leaders and the everyday individuals who can and do make a difference in the lives of forgotten children. Sometimes prayer is all we have to offer. Sometimes it's enough and sometimes it's just the spark for action we've needed.

Ethiopia Day 10 part 2

2012-01-03T12:29:00.001-08:00

Katie didn't want her picture taken

Across the world

This year my kids have been learning to sew. I don't sew but my very sweet friend/cousin Katie offered to help us out. One of the projects we worked on were dolls for each of my girls. When my little Katie was gathering items to send to Ethiopia she volunteered this doll. I promised I'd find a little girl who would appreciate it and bring her back a photo. I took a limited supply of things when I traveled in the countryside because we were kind of backpacking it, so I left most of the larger toys and books in Addis. Since today was my last day in Ethiopia I stuffed all the items into my backpack determined to find good homes for them.

This little girl was too precious. She was with her father at what looked to be a repair shop. I asked the man if it was okay to give her a gift and take a photo for my daughter who made it. He obliged and encouraged his daughter toward me. She was cute and hesitant as she should be to strangers. It was a quick exchange but one that has lasting memory and affect on me. I'm grateful that my kids have had an opportunity to share in this experience with me. It was amazing to feel my kids spirits with me as I gave out their heart felt gifts. I missed them and it was gratifying to know that they are always beside me in everything I do.

Ethiopia Day 10

2012-01-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

This morning started with a German pancake for breakfast. Yumm-o! Most days in Ethiopia start with eggs in some form and toast for breakfast. On traveling days I seem to have started my days with cookies and cake. I avoid juice as a way to keep digestive illness at bay. It's worked so far and I'm sticking with it but the juice really does look divine. I've had exactly three sips my entire time here and even then I said a fervent prayer of repentance. Literally trying to will my intestine to forgive me. Today's my last day in Ethiopia and while I'd love to indulge in a thick mango concoction the reality of a 8 hour flight to London strengthens my resolve. I have learned my lesson after getting ill in Mexico and I've come prepared. I'm choosing caution. I'm choosing not to invoke the use of the piles of antibiotics, antidiarrheals and adult diapers that are stashed in my luggage. This is progress for an easy going, carefree kind of gal like me. I'm usually all "ce la vie" about everything. I think I might be evolving!

Another note on the food: It's become a bit of a research project and game for me to see the varying ways in which restaurants serve a club sandwich here. I've coined it "the club sandwich factor." Over the past 10 days 5 club sandwiches have been ordered by our group and I noticed that not one was made of the same ingredients. Two sandwiches were ordered from the same restaurant but on different days and yet another two sandwiches were from the same restaurant only a few hours apart. A great thing about the U.S. is the predictability of things.

In the States one can expect that when you order a club sandwich you will be given a sandwich made of three slices of toasted sandwich bread, turkey meat, bacon, lettuce and tomato. I realize that this isn't a set in stone law of any kind but it's the standard. In Ethiopia we had eggs and slaw on a bun, eggs, lettuce and tomato on a bun, one that would more accurately be called a Patty Melt and finally slaw on toast which was the closest to the real thing as it was huge and cut into quarters. Yes, the biggest difference in food has been predictability. There aren't any franchises or chain restaurant adhering to strict consistency guidelines. Is that really so bad? It made for an exciting dining experience and you'd never see the ice cream guy accidentally filling your cone with "too much" soft serve and tossing it into the trash until he gets it just right. I think I prefer the unexpected.

This morning we spent a lot of time walking trying to get Celese to a meeting that she needed to be at. It was a great way to see Addis but I think Celese would have preferred a taxi especially when there was a miscommunication and she was forced to choose between two appointments she'd made. The pace is much slower in Ethiopia. Not a lot of hustle and that can take some getting used to.

Kate, Nati and I continued on to the first appointment to meet Chambay, the John Deere dealer in Ethiopia. He's another success story of course. He's in love with Scotland where he attended university and with his wife who is much younger than he is. He told the sweet story of knowing her when she was a little girl and then returning to Ethiopia after completing his education to find her a beauty that caught his eye with a disapproving father. Now they have a family and run a business together. I've met a lot of successful people, millionaires even, in the last 10 days. It's an interesting part of the trip to say the least.

Ethiopia Day 9 part 4

2011-11-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

The Fab Five headed to Lime Tree to meet Yusef for dinner. The downstairs of Lime Tree is a dark, hip club/bar. Being in such cool place surrounds is rare for me so I was thrilled. When Yusef found out that none of us would be ordering cocktails he lead us upstairs to a well lit restaurant. While it was nice, and still pretty trendy, it was decorated more like a juice bar and I longed to return to the mysterious depths below.

Yusef is a friend of Kate's family and a native of Ethiopia. He, like so many of the people we've met here, is a self made success. He grew up the son of a poor farmer with twelve brothers and sisters. His parents stressed the importance of getting an education. He attended University both in Ethiopia and in Santa Barbara. He now makes his life in Ethiopia.

Yusef and I have a lot in common and it's really fun to talk about kids, Disneyland and the central coast of California where I grew up. Yusef and his siblings have very interesting life stories. All 13 children are successful in their own right and live all over the world. His family has accomplished so much and hearing about it is amazing.

Yusef recommends I visit his sister's restaurant in Montecito next time we're in that area. I've actually seen his sister featured on Oprah. I will definitely be visiting her restaurant and dropping his name to try and meet her. She is an amazing woman who went from being married off and having her first baby at 13 years old to raising that son in the US and then attending college right along side him. She's incredibly successful and owns her restaurant and a seaside home in Montecito. It would be a pleasure to meet her.

Yusef leaves to catch his daughters before they fall asleep for the night and the Fab Five head to New York cafe for dessert. The cafe is decorated with murals and photos of the New York skyline. They play loud American music and serve American cuisine. We order a variety of ice cream sundaes with exotic flavors like mango and papaya. The fruit flavor ice cream tastes like Fruit Loop cereal and has more of a malted ice consistency. Not exactly the sweet treat from home we were looking for but good none the less.

Ethiopia- Day 9 part 3

2011-11-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

Jason, Kate and I
Boys of Where Love Is

After leaving the Fistula hospital, Kate, Jason and I headed to Jason's home for boys. Getting around Addis isn't quick. We walk a LOT. Mini-buses are great but you hop on one and it takes awhile as they drop off and pick up passengers along the way. Then you get out and walk some more until you get to another area where you hop on another minibus. Taxis are very quick but cost much more than a minibus ride. A taxi to drive you quite a distance around town costs about $5-$7 and you can split the cost between passengers. A minibus will cost around 5-50 cents per person each time you hop on one. Minibuses are awesome for the experience. There's nothing better than doing things like the locals do. You meet people when you're crammed into a small space together.

It took some time and effort to make the journey to Jason's place. We stopped along the way for a quick drink and snack. The cafe is owned by a pair of Europeans so there was a variety of foods to choose from. A number of my meals have consisted of cake, donuts or cookies and a Coke. Interesting to say the least. This time I indulged in Baklava. It was very wet and sweet. Yummy.

We stopped at a near buy fruit stand and I bought some mangos, bananas and watermelon to bring to the boys. Jason tries to get the boys fruit as often as he can but with skyrocketing prices it ends up being maybe once a week. I didn't want to show up empty handed and I thought it would be fun to have a treat with the boys.

Jason has about 30 boys that we has rescued from living on the streets. Some have been helped to reunite with their families. Often children leave their homes because they feel they are a financial burden. They go off on their own so that the family will have more money to provide for the other children. Simple, small monetary help can keep a child off the streets, attending school and with their families. It doesn't take much. Five to ten dollars a month is enough to keep some children in their homes.

Other children leave home because of abuse and neglect and others are orphaned. Jason's organization, Where Love Is, has two apartments which are home to some of these boys who, for whatever reason, are unable to return home. Jason keeps the boys in school and strives to help them each reach their potential. The big, bright buildings are only a few years old and are minimalistic in design.

The boys have lovingly painted the walls of their home in happy colors. Sets of bunk beds line the walls of the living room and bedroom. I'm very happy to see that the apartment has a modern bathroom and a kitchen space just off the living room. The rooms are very tidy and the cement floor is free of litter and clutter. I have a feeling most homes where seven teenage boys share a small space would look a bit less cared for.

One by one the boys file in the front door to meet us. Half of the boys live in another neighboring apartment but this apartment is the "hang out." They've just finished their dinner but want to offer us something to eat so they whip up some yummy salsa to top our injera. Chopped tomatoes and onions with lime. Delicious! It's the best thing I've eaten in Ethiopia. And I've been eating cake for most my meals so that's really saying something.

The boys have just received drawings and letters from one of their "brothers" who is currently living in the US undergoing medical treatment and a guest who had visited them in the past. They are hanging the drawings up on the walls to decorate the space. The tv is tuned to a music station and the boys teach me Ethiopian style dances which is mainly done with shoulder movements. They say I'm pretty good at it which makes me very happy to hear. I think the key is not being afraid to make a fool of yourself.

The boys pass around a platter of the cut bananas and watermelon. Just as I start to bite into the watermelon the words of my husband flash threw my mind. "I've never been so sick as when I ate watermelon in Paraguay." Oh yeah! My hubby lived in Paraguay for two years in a constant state of loose stole but was never really "sick" not counting when he and his companion ate watermelon and almost instantly become horribly ill. Passed out unconscious, almost didn't make it home, thought they'd been drugged sick. And this happened twice. That story has always made we weary of eating watermelon in other countries. So with a prayer in my heart I'll just have this one wedge of melon and hope for the best. Of course all was well and I survived unscathed.

It's starting to get dark so Kate and I head out and a few of the boys walk us the distance to where we can grab a minibus. I'm glad that they came with us but they live in a nice, safe area so the only risk is being hit by a car after dark which is still a very real risk. There were sweet families walking hand in hand down the busy street. I've been wearing multiple bracelets on my wrist or carrying them in my pockets and handing them out to people on the streets. Just outside the apartment complex were two adorable little kids all alone in front of a small shop. When I tried to give them bracelets they had no idea what I was doing. One of the boys explained that it was a gift and I wasn't trying to sell them anything. They eventually took them with smiles. Yep, pretty good neighborhood.

These boys are so familiar and kind. We chat about school and life in the states. One of Jason's boys has been accepted to University(I think in Gondor) and everyone is excited and proud of him. I am too. What Jason has devoted his life to is amazing. These boys are definitely where love is.

I left some fun activities and books at the house for the boys and I'm sad I have to leave so soon but we have a dinner date to get to.

A Walk To Beautiful

2011-11-17T14:23:00.001-08:00

This documentary is incredibly beautiful. If you want to see what Ethiopia looks and feels like, this is perfect. I didn't take much video because I was too busy experiencing everything first hand. Watching this video was like coming home. It was awesome to see the transportation, homes, landscape and hospital that I remember from my there. Hearing the language again was magical. I'm grateful for technology that allows us to reexperience so much of our lives. Watch it! You'll be glad you did.

****None of my links are working but you can find it at PBS.org

Ethiopia- Day 9 part 2

2011-11-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

Eventually I had to leave Mother Teresa's. It was nap time for residents and patients and prayer time for the caregivers. Leaving was only made easier by having to get to an appointment at the Hamlin Fistula hospital. I would have gladly stayed to mop floors and wash dishes. Anything to help and have an opportunity to talk with the wonderful sisters that devote their lives to God's work and allow it to manifest itself in a fourth world country.

Did you know there are fourth world countries? The 'world' scales was an old system of compartmentalizing different countries mostly based on their relationship with the USA after World War II. It's outdated but even now we still use the term 'third world country'. So here's how I see it. A First World country is generally thought to be a democratic, industrialized, capitalist country. Second World would be socialist/communist, industrialized countries (China). Third World can include very poor area and very rich areas. For example, Saudi Arabia would categorized as Third World because despite it's wealth there is not an open flow of information to it's citizens and opposition to public policy is not condoned. Fourth World would be an accurate title for developing countries like those in Africa. Countries that have high levels of poverty, infant mortality rates and those that rely heavily on other industrialized nations.

So off I set to journey across the capital city in this fourth world country. The hospital is located in a familiar section of the city. It makes me happy to realize that after a few days I'm recognizing areas and getting my barrings. The compound is beautiful like the Leprosy hospital grounds. There are many modest, modern buildings situated among the hillside. Trees and flowers and grass cover every inch of the grounds which gives an atmosphere of love and care. I've heard and read a bit about the work done at this hospital and it's surreal to be standing within it's walls. The Hamlin Fistula hospital specializes in recovery for women suffering from obstetric fistula. Go here for more information

Our guide takes us into the large room that is used as a surgical recovery area. Windows line each wall and the room holds about 50 beds. There are women convalescing here but not every bed is filled. The nurses, in there uniforms and traditional white aprons look as though they've stepped out of a novel written long ago. They're mopping floors and the sent of bleach and the sight of their 1800's style makes me feel both nostalgic and happy. This is a clean, sterile hospital. A place of real medical care. Possibility.

We talk about the wonderful surgeons and nursing staff that devote their lives here. We talk about the amazing women who make their way to this facility. The outreach program that the hospital has created allows education to the villages in the countryside so some patients are found and rescued by outreach workers. Most beg their ways here. Some walking for 14 days to get here. Once a woman arrives here she is completely taken care of. There is no cost to her for treatment, food, medication, housing. This is often the first kindness she has received in quite some time. Women suffering from obstetric fistula are often abandoned by their husbands and families. They are outcasts of the community and have no knowledge of a cure. Those who hear about the hospital are the lucky ones.

Not everyone is curable. Some conditions can be helped but can't entirely be repaired. While we stand outside the Oprah Winfrey building the psychologist walks up and joins us. She tells us about her work with the unfortunately incurable few. All of the women here have suffered a horrible physical trauma and devastating social consequences. Hearing that there is hope to be cured is literally life saving. Some cases are so severe or have been neglected for so long that doctors are not able to make a full repair. These women are given hope as well. They can be fitted with Stoma bags and with proper education and care can return to their homes and families and live a normal life.

It is a struggle for these women to come to terms with their circumstances. The psychologist is their to help them threw these depressing and confusing times. It often takes months for women to come to grips with their situation enough to accept the use of a Stoma bag. Those brave women are given the knowledge and supplies needed to care for their bags for 6 months and then will need to get in touch with an outreach clinic for check ups and to replenish supplies. When circumstances don't allow the woman to return home she is invited to stay and live in a nearby compound where jobs, training and adequate medical care are available to her. She'll live out her life amongst women who understand her trials. Many women who work in hospital are former patients themselves. There's no one better to help the new patients then these veteran angels who've lived threw it themselves.

I start to get emotional as I think of the homes I've visited in the countryside and picturing having to clean and care for something so sensitive as a Stoma bag under those conditions. My father-in-law survived colo-rectal cancer but did not come out unscathed. Standing here on the opposite side of the world I think of him. I've known what a challenge his daily life has been in this department and can't fathom the increased complications that would come with being a woman in this country with these set of issues. A sterile environment is essential. I'm grateful for so much.

As we visit a few more buildings I gain a little shadow trailing behind me. Women often bring their children with them to the hospital. Once women have been helped it's imperative for them to return if they become pregnant again. Fistula is a recurring problem and babies must be born at the hospital. This little guy is around two and half years old and his mother is here undergoing treatment. He's adorable. I visit with a new mother and her brand new baby. The happiness and pride is evident on her face. This place is so calming and inspiring.

Next is the physical therapy room. There are eight women arranged in a half circle and seated in wheelchairs in the center of room. This room is where the women work to regain the strength that their bodies have lost due to their conditions. Often women with fistulas are hidden away in dark homes. They remain seated at all times and often hold their legs crossed at all times in an effort, to no avail, to slow the uncontrollable drainage of urine and/or fecal matter. This leaves the women with weak bodies and often unusable limbs making for even more to recover from after surgery. Some women must undergo months of physical therapy before they are well enough for surgery.

When I express how lovely and well organized the work they are doing is our guide replies with a bit of wonderment "we have a lot of money. The Hamlin's have always felt that they were doing God's work and he has blessed their work."

We purchase items from the gift shop where woven crafts that patients have made are sold. I also bought a copy of Dr. Catherine Hamlin's book Hospital By The River and have since really enjoyed reading it. There's also a documentary about the hospital called A Walk To Beautiful that I need to check in to. Here

Ethiopia-Day 9 part 1

2011-11-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

****I originally marked this as Day 8 but really it was Day 9****

Kate and I have been counting the minutes until this day finally arrives. Today is filled entirely with the best places to be in Addis. With the people. Hospitals, orphanages and Jason's boy's home. We are happy to the point of giddiness. We can hardly stand ourselves. Two peas in a pod I think.

The Fab Five, as we we've come to be known, head out to the court house to bring a thank you letter and flowers to the judge who eventually finalized the adoption of Kate's five niece and nephews. Jim and I waited outside the building and were treated to a parade of inmates and their guards heading in to court. Each inmate is handcuffed to another and the guards carry rifles at the ready. Quite the sight.

Amongst the happier parade participants were the sweet and excited adoptive families I saw coming and going. They had guides and social workers with them and all seemed to be spilling over with excitement. I can imagine it would be joyful to have this lengthy process finally coming to a close and be able to bring their sweet children home.

Kate and I hooked up with Jason and headed to Mother Teresa Mission hospital and orphanage. The roads we walk are lined with homes made of eucalyptus poles and corrugated metal or tarps. As we pass a school children whistle and shout at us from the open third and fourth windows. We return their attention with waves and smiles. We approach Mother Teresa Mission and bang on the tall, red metal gates. The guard allows us in. Jason has brought fleece blankets from the U.S. to give to the mission and leaves them with the nun who greets us and assigns a young man to walk us threw the facilities.

Our guide is named Barook and he's a pharmacy student. He walks with a slight limp and I wonder if he was once a patient here. I tell him about my having been a Pharmacy Technician in the U.S.. At the end of our visit he invites me to return and talk pharmaceuticals. I wish I could. Barook would be a fantastic person to spend time with.

I'm extremely blessed to have Jason with me. Jason has worked at Mother Teresa's previously and some resident patients remember him well. The Sisters are very protective of those in their care. They would never let just anyone walk off the street and come threw their facility, though the color of my skin does seem to open a lot of doors quite easily. This isn't a tourist attraction and I'm grateful we have a valid purpose for being here. Kate is staying in Ethiopia for two months and plans to devote most of her time to working in Mother Teresa Mission. This makes me both insane with envy and entirely comforted to know I'll hear word about these wonderful people through Kate long after I'm gone.

I first walk the open air hallway lined on either side with patients eating their lunches. Some eat a traditional injera and wat (fermented crepe and pureed grains or veggies) and others seem to have a pureed version of the same. The rooms are large and remind me of what an emergency Red Cross shelter would look like. Something I'm blessed to have only seen in pictures. Beds have been placed in neat rows touching head to toe. Every inch of the rooms are used. No space is left empty.

As I walk the halls and see each room of the large facility I'm struck by something I haven't entirely considered before, the severely handicapped. This mission is dedicated to the poor, destitute and dying. These are the poorest of the poor. There are also the mentally and physically handicapped of all ages. I have seen friends struggle with raising handicapped children. The tiring battle with hopelessness. The exhausting burden of twenty four care. Even with medical advancement, government help, a wide understanding of the sacredness of those afflicted by these challenges, it's still a struggle. I've watched as they dig deep and cling to their faith and the words of the Lord and turn their trials into blessings and growth.

Now when I pass those meager homes on the streets of Addis I picture the child bound within himself. Unable to gain control of his own body, desperately wanting to communicate their thoughts, their love, their needs but their body is unyielding. What would life be to that child, to that parent in those living conditions. This mission is where those children can be found when there is no one left to hope for them. Here they are rescued.

As I entered the first children's room I was overwhelmed with emotion. Rows of beds still lined head to toe but stand higher off the ground hitting me at the waist level. A young boy that I gather is about 7 year old runs a staggered jog over to me and controls his arms enough to put them around me with a drool filled, open mouth hug. He rubs his face lovingly against my waist and looks up at my face. He releases his arms and begins banging his head against me. He is playful and sweet as he skips around the room wearing a t-shirt and diaper.

I walk between a row of beds and look down at the beautiful faces. Their bodies bent and contorted in various angles. I stop at the first bed and reach for the boys hand. I bend down close and say "Salamno," 'hello in Amheric. I then speak in English saying things like "what a handsome boy." My tone alone is enough to bring ginormous smiles to his face and grunts of happiness. Each bed holds the same. A tiny, crooked body that houses an incredible child's spirit. I've seen Cerebral Palsy before, accompanied by deaf and blindness as well. It's an incredible experience to be here with these children, with their care givers. Everyone loves the touch of my hands and sounds of my voice. All I want to do is be in this room but it's nap time and our presence is getting everyone worked up.

Barook shows us into a common area where other developmentally, though less severely, challenged older children are playing on the floor. It's a large area on the second floor. There are two couches that have little bodies lounging on them while twelve or so others play on the floor. There are no toys to be seen, just mats to sit on. The type my kids would use for tumbling on. Kate and Jason and I make ourselves comfortable sitting on the floor in various and playing with different children. They crawl over to me and are curious about my skin and my glasses. I realise then that glasses aren't a common thing here. I hadn't seen many myself.

I take the book I've been carrying out from my purple back pack and show the kids the pictures. Their hands go immediately to the pages and I wish I had brought a board book so they could handle it themselves. I decide that the kids might enjoy batting a balloon around the room. I was right but their excitement was riotous. I couldn't blow up balloons fast enough. Amongst the chaos I found a little girl chewing on the scraps of a balloon that had popped. I immediately regretted the balloon idea and have since worried that I could have caused one of those kids to aspirate or choke on a piece of rubbery plastic.

We cleaned up, said our goodbyes and headed out next door to the orphanage. As we cross the small dirt road in between the hospital and orphanage we're stopped by a group of women in children gathered outside the gates. I shake hands with a women and upon inquiring "how are you?" she holds her arm out to show me the blisters that are covering her skin from her wrist to her elbow! So glad to meet you. I'm not a doctor so I can't give much help but I'd venture to guess that step number one would be to stop touching other people until you figure out what's up with your arm.

We enter the gates into a large outdoor area with two large multi story buildings. These house the orphanage as well as the prenatal/postnatal mothers area. Women often come here to deliver their babies and abandon them here to the sisters care.

It's nap time here as well so we quietly walk threw the first room. Some children seem in need of play rather than sleep but I just speak softly to them and pat their backs. This room is filled with children from three to four years old. All of the older children are at school. We head upstairs to find the next youngest group. These kids are twelve to eighteen months old. They are snuggled down in their cribs for a nice rest. I reach down and caress the top of a soft hand as those sweet, innocent eyes gaze up at me.

The next room over holds the tiniest babies. These sweet babies are four to ten months old. Their eyes look at me curiously and reach for my hand. One little girl stands holding onto the railing and won't let go of my finger. She might be six months old. Her tiny fingers are a gorgeous deep brown clutch across my index finger. The little girl in the crib beside her begins to cry for me as well so I rub her back with my free hand. Barook says we have to leave now. He's gotten in a bit of trouble with the babies nurse maid for being here so close to nap time. I head for the door and the babies begin to cry. I just want to scoop them up in my arms and rock them to sleep. I know I can't. Who will do it tomorrow when I'm gone? These sweet new babies must soothe themselves today. Today and everyday until they have a home.

Almost everyone asked if I was going to bring home a baby from Ethiopia. I was a little concerned that I'd be Jonesin' to bring a baby home as well. It would be difficult to spend time with these precious little ones knowing that I had the ability to easily care for them at home. As I thought more about the time I'd spend with children in hospitals and orphanages while I was away, I realised that I would never be able to walk into one of these rooms filled with little spirits each deserving a life with a loving family and choose ONE. I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the sky. For me it's about helping them all. Doing something to better the lives of all of them. Each of them. That's why I came.

Ethiopia Day 8 part 2

2011-11-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

Our film crew
Traditional dinner

After touring the LDS church grounds Kate and I headed back to the Leprosy hospital. The sweet people there asked if we'd bring copies of their photos back to them. How could we say no? They were so kind and welcoming to us that we were happy to bring them their photos and spend more time with them.

Later we met Captain Solomon, the pilot who flew the plane that rescued Kate's brother-in-law Wes after his accident. He's a great man and like all of the other locals we've met he's a self made success out of extraordinary circumstances. He has a lovely office in a high floor of the building. There are large photos of various planes and landscapes that wall paper the open room. My favorite is of Capt. Solomon and Brad Pitt from a time when he flew Brad while he visited Ethiopia. There aren't many pilots in Ethiopia due to the cost it requires to train for such a job. In addition to his charter service, Captain Solomon also runs a flight school at a limited cost in hopes to allow others to fulfill their dreams of flying.

Captain Solomon's recollection of the events surrounding Wes' rescue paint a grave and stressful picture. Like everyone else he was most impressed with Wes' wife Alyssa's calm and faith. It was a stressful situation and Alyssa had every right to be frantic but instead she was steadfast and stalwart.

After our meeting we head down the street to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant that serves dinner with a show of Ethiopian dance. It's similar to what a luau in Hawaii would be like. It's for firinji. As we sat down a camera crew from ETV asked if we could be interviewed for a story. The crew was friendly and the interviewer a beautiful and sweet women. She asked us each the exact same questions so by the time it was my turn I decided to answer in very strange ways instead of the canned usual answers. Kate did the best job and after my return to the states I git an email saying she recorded us on Ethiopian tv. Hopefully I'll see that some time.

We ate injera and wat while we watched some very lively dancing. The crowd was so fun to watch as there was a local wedding party and a table of diplomats from the UN near us celebrating a birthday. I wanted to join in on any of these festive times bu decided to just sit back and people watch. I was really missing having some of our local friends with us.

Ethiopia-Day 8 part 1

2011-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

Baptismal clothes

Relief Society room

Today I was able to visit the LDS church compound in Addis. We walked down a long dirt road lined with compound gates topped with barbed wire. You can see an obvious difference as you approach the church compound. The metal fence allows a view into the grounds while two guards attend the gate. The grounds are green, lush and well cared for. The two story church building stands tall and clean with it's creamy white color. I speak to the gardener and complement her great work. I was able to meet Brother and Sister O'Crowley how are serving a humanitarian mission in Ethiopia. They have done and seen a lot and I'm so envious of the time they've been able to spend helping people in Africa. Humanitarian mission is on my Bucket List.

The church membership is growing in Ethiopia. There is a wonderful focus on faith in Jesus Christ and knowing that we are children of God. I met a seventeen year old boy who has been a member for three years. He's the only member in his family and loves to hang out at the church. The church building is modern and lovely. Quite the oasis from the city.

Building on the compound
Side view of church

View from the street
Guards at the gate

Ethiopia- Day 7

2011-11-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

tattoo art

Pizza Night
Women at leprosy/tb hospital
trying to spin wool
Men at work

My shoe shine friend
after Robei I needed a good scrub.

Street children are often found selling items like Masticka (gum) and Soft (tissues). Older kids sell books and black market DVDs. Some kids attend school in the morning or afternoon and in their off hours take to the streets to make money. One service the boys offer is shoe shining. After my rainy days in the bush my shoes we're in need of some freshening up. I could of hosed them off in the shower but decided I would finally be able to say "yes" when one of those sweet boys asked to shine my shoes. Thank goodness I was wearing my leather Chucks!

It was strange to stand over this little guy who was hard at work cleaning my shoes. It felt wrong on so many levels but the norm in this country. Very acceptable to give this child an opportunity to work instead of just handing out money. My shoes never saw such love before and I can say with confidence my heart never had either as I watched that little guy make his way down the city street with all I could offer him, a few Birr in his pocket, a bracelet on his wrist and a prayer for his future.

One of my favorite things I did while in Ethiopia, and really my entire purpose for my trip, was to visit hospitals, orphanages and organizations in Addis. This day was my opportunity to visit the ALERT hospital for Leprosy and Tuberculosis. The grounds of the hospital are a top a hill within the city. With green grass, established trees and flowers planted threw out, it's a lovely, peaceful place. We spent our time in the Handy Craft Shop area where patients who are under going treatment make items which are then sold in the store providing an income for themselves. Some of the items that are available are various fabrics made on looms such as table cloths, clothes and scarves, hand embroidery and many others.

It was such a soul changing experience to sit with these sweet people as they spent their time working their crafts. Most with shortened fingers and toes, a symptom of leprosy, still learning to make do with their circumstances. I entered a room that was dimly lit despite the bright afternoon sun. The room reminded me of those I'd seen on trips to California missions. There amongst the grey wood and the smell of dust and time were two men working at looms. I watched as they made the primitive machines come to life with their touch. Their hands gently guiding thread and their feet, placed within rope loops and suspended 6 inches off the ground, brought the tall frames into motion. They took pride in their work and it was fun to ask them questions and watch them make something out of nothing before our eyes.

Outside the building around the grounds are metal sheds that were full of women working on embroidery and crochet. I hand out suckers as we sit in the shed amongst the women and children. The ladies try and teach us to crochet and spin wool. We mostly did more damage than good but Nati was quite effective at spinning wool actually.

I received a lot of concern from back home about visiting a Leprosy hospital. It's been really wonderful to learn about Leprosy, how it's contracted, treated and the symptoms and side effects that people suffer from. No worries that I've contracted leprosy. Most things we believe about leprosy are untrue and it is curable. Patients are blessed to receive the treatment that the hospital offers and people from all over come here for treatment as well as medical training. Once an affected person has under gone treatment for 2 weeks they are no longer contagious. Since we're visiting a premier hospital on the subject I can safely assume that they would keep contagious patients isolated as to not spread disease.

This was my first experience with a medical facility in Ethiopia and I was very inspired by both the staff as well as the patients. Hospital grounds also house a nursing school and doctors from across the world come here to study about leprosy and tuberculosis. I've really enjoyed learning about the hospitals in Addis and the faithful doctors involved with their success. It definitely fans the flame I've had to be involved in nursing.

We ended the day with American pizza! It tasted like homemade pizza here. Yum! Kate and I couldn't stay put for the night so we wandered the streets in search for Henna. Our Muslim friend from the bus in Robei said we "must get henna tattoos" before we left Ethiopia. We did find a tattoo shop but the owner had no idea where to we'd find henna tattoos. As not to leave defeated, we opted for airbrushed temporary tattoos. Just a little silly late night fun. After our tattoo shop experience we walked to the New York cafe near our guest house to hang out with Jason. We had a great conversation and closed the place down.

Ethiopia- Day 6

2011-11-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Death Defying bus ride Bieber style

In the morning we dashed off to the bus station. Kate and I went into a little cafe for a quick breakfast while Seid secured our ride. Chocolate cake and Coke for breakfast. Hey, it's about the same as donuts and hot chocolate, right? Seid found us a bus that was mostly full so we didn't have to wait but a few minutes before departure. We said our goodbyes to Seid and sent him home with some nice bracelettes for his mother, sister and cousin that people back home had made and sent with me to give as gifts. Seid protected us in so many ways and it was such a priviledge to spend time with him.

I had listened to the rain fall all night long which only heightened my anxiety for the ride back to Shashamane. We'd be driving for 5 hours threw the Bali National forest. That means mountain passes which in turn means hills and slopes. Do you remember that none of the roads are paved? Just checking. Rain + dirt roads+ Ethiopia= me more than a little nervous. Even of paved, straight, flat roads the buses often swerve and stop for animals. Add muddy downhill turns in a huge bus that has never seen a safety inspection? Yeah, I'm crapping my pants.

My imagination didn't prove far off. It was Sunday and there were a lot of people and animals on the mountain road presumably coming to and from churches and markets. Kate and I were seated between the driver and front passenger seats on a kind of ottoman which meant that we rode backwards and faced the entire bus of onlookers. It felt like a combination of being a zoo animal and the President of the Untied States at a White House press conference. It was all I could do not to ask for questions from the gallery.

We were asked several times to exchange seat with passengers in regular seats but it was all apart of the experience right? Well 5 hours later I could have maybe used a back rest. Our bus struggled up the hill at a sluggish pace but the driver made up for the lost time on the downhills.
There was a lot of praying happening on that bus. Elphaba may have been defying gravity but I was defying death. An awesome distraction from my impending doom was the music playing over the radio. Mostly Ethiopian music with an occasional Brian Adams or Celine Dion song. Kate took pity on me and participated in some public bus karaoke to keep my mind off the road.

The best well timed song started to play as the seemed to be careening down a muddy hill laden with people animals. The sinfully sweet sound of "Oh Wooahhh (x3) I thought you loved me, I thought you cared." Oh yes, with hand motions and seated dancing we belted out Justin Bieber's 'Baby' while the entire bus watched. Hysterical laughing followed. I needed the distraction and the passengers just whispered and at the most rolled their eyes. Never before had I wished that I was a drinker so as to just wash my insecurities and anxiety down to the warmth of my alcohol filled belly. Then my insane old white lady rendition of a teeny bopper American song wouldn't have been so strange. Blame it on the booze, you know?

I also distracted myself by taking videos. I've become a notoriously bad videographer. Even Nati took over on the camera for me. I took a shot of these two boys working on the bus. So friendly and comfortable with each other. Always rough housing. Ethiopians are very comfortable with physical affection. Everyone leans on each one another, walks hand in hand or has arms around each other regardless of gender. The usual greeting is a hand shake with a kiss on each cheek. If they are particularly happy to see you you may be kissing each others cheeks for awhile.

The other equally common greeting is the hand shake/shoulder bump repeated three times. Similar to how you might see guys of familial relation greet one another in America. An American greeting might look something like; while shaking hands embrace in a hug, pat back once and release. In Ethiopia; shake hand, lean to left side and touch right shoulders together three times and release. You rarely just say "hey" to someone and continue in conversation. There's a formal physical greeting.

Another kind man sat near us on the bus. He study psychology at University but like the U.S. there isn't much work in the field so he teaches English. He also buys me a gift. Kolo is a crunchy snack made of seasoned barley. It reminds me of Corn Nuts but smaller. Yummy.

We did eventually make it to Shashamane where we sat around and waited for the rest of the group to meet back up with us so we could start the final leg back to Addis. We exchanged details of what we've been up to the past couple of days. It was good that the others stayed put because Jim ended up sick and needed some time for the antibiotics to kick in. Celese, Jim and Nati met up with others from Addis and stayed at the most opulent hotel in the country which was situated on a lake! I tried to remember the fun adventure of the past few days as I scratched my flea bites in envy. Really I wouldn't have traded places with them but I sure would've liked to see the beautiful area of Awassa with it's lakes and countryside.

5 hours later we finally head out. Nothing goes quickly in Ethiopia. Wally, CEO of Morrell Agro Industries, offers to drive us back to Addis in his Land Rover. He's a really interesting guy to talk to and has a great sense of humor. You'd have to to split your life between Logan, Utah Washington D.C. and Ethiopia. It's late as we role into Addis. We find a hotel which is very lovely considering the short notice and I enjoy a very long much needed and appreciated HOT SHOWER. Blessings!

Ethiopia Day 5 part 3

2011-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

The corn is the variety/standard that we feed our animals

It was late afternoon when our jaunt to jail was concluded so I decided I'd much prefer to hop on a bus and head back to Robei rather than hang around Ginnir. We still had at least a 15 hour trip to get back to Addis and it seemed better to get a jump on it. Kate agreed and later added that her father had had the worst case of bed bugs after sleeping in Ginnir. We were both glad to be heading back to our little room with no electricity or hot water in Robei. I'll take fleas over bed bugs, thank you.

A great thing about public transportation is all of the amazing people you meet and things you see and experiences you have. Everyone is kind and open. Lots of people are intrigued and curious. The people of Ethiopia treat you as a guest in their country just like we'd treat a guest in our homes. Yes, Seid's mom and a woman on the bus asked us to adopt them and take them to America but the people have great hopes for their country and for their families.

Night fell as we made our way down the dirt road to Robei. The bus is always filled over capacity with passengers sitting and standing in the aisle. A very sweet Muslim man sat with us and we chatted about life in our separate countries, traded pictures of our families and he answered questions about his faith.

There is no electricity out here in the bush farmland. Just the darkest of darkness occasionally broken by the soft orange glow of fire within a mud hut. Our bus stops at nondescript spots along the road and I wonder how any passengers know where we are well enough to realize they've come to their destination. At one such stop our new friend shouts from the bus into the darkness and low and behold corn cobs are passed onto the bus. One for us and one for him. A gift he wants us to try. The corn is warm and blackened in places obviously having been cooked on the side of the road for passengers just as us to enjoy. As I bite into the fleshy spear the kernels are hard and tasteless though it smells like popcorn so the whole experience is comforting and homey. This man with comparatively very little thought enough to give me a gift. His kindness made a 4-5 hour journey on an over stuffed bus in a veil of black an easy trip and a welcomed treasure.

When we arrived in Robei we went straight to our hotel and back to our previous room. To our glee we had arrived so late at night that it was our side of towns turn to have electricity! (we still used our candle in the morning because nothing lasts forever.) We were ready for sleep. We listened to the rain beat down on our window all night. As I snuggled into my covers my prayers were of gratitude for this warm blanket, flea infested as it might be. And a humble pleading for comfort for those that I know are battling the rain and cold for the night just outside.

Ethiopia- Day 5 part 2

2011-11-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

The Jail

Boy playing outside jail

Road to jail

When we arrived in Ginnir we met Otama who is a well known man around the town. His wife generously stowed our bags for us while we set out for a quick lunch. Charcoal tibbs is the food of choice these days. It's goat meat cooked in a kind of bowl on a stand. There is a hole in the center of the stand where coals or wood is placed. It reminds me of dutch oven cooking. Animal carcases hang in small store fronts adjacent to the restaurant and we watch as the butcher cuts our ordered meat from the hanging flesh. Yum!

After lunch it's time to head out for our intended purpose of visiting Ginnir. Otama and Seid have arranged to accompany Kate and I to the local jail. Kate and her family have wanted to get into contact with the boy who, while during a disagreement over land rights, unexpectedly hit their brother/husband/father in the back of the head with a machete. The victim, Wes, did survive and is alive and well in Idaho. The attacker, Siraj, was just 17 years old at the time of the attack and is serving a 14 year sentence.

I was just along for moral support and note taking which did prove to come in handy after all. Plus, who doesn't want to go to jail in Ethiopia? As a visitor it was quite interesting. Coming from the U.S. and having never seen an episode of the show "Locke Up Abroad" I didn't have any idea what to expect. I envisioned a very dirty, dark and cold building. And for some reason all of the walls were blue. The entire scene I created was not unlike a public swimming pools locker room.

It wasn't anything like that. The exterior of the jail is surrounded by a fence made of corrugated metal and lined with barbed wire. Two wooden gate doors are centered in the length of the fence. As you enter the compound it resembles walking on to a school campus. There are one story rectangular buildings made of stucco to my left. The building closest to me is a Christian Orthodox church with a vegetable garden out front. Next is the inmate housing and beyond that there is a Muslim mosque. We're directed to leave all camera and cell phones with the guard and are lead to a primitive pavilion 15 feet by 25 feet long which is forward and to my left. There are two long benches that run the length of the outdoor building. One side for visitors and one side for inmates.

There is no separation between visitors and inmates. I sit next to a family, a wife and her three young children, who are visiting their father. The children happily climb on their fathers lap. The kids are curious about me and want to play. Their parents encourage them to talk to me. I gladly play along with them. It's hard to think of these sweet people who are separated for a time. I imagine what this father may have done to land himself behind bars. I decide that he must have been doing something that storybooks would deem heroic but that local law declares crime. Stealing so his children can eat or so his wife can have much needed medicine. Scenes from Les Miserable stream through my mind.

Yes, it's better to imagine the grave misunderstandings that lead to these people becoming prisoners. Forced away from the families that depend on their support and the children who long for their love. Especially since every inmate at this prison is gathered around this small make shift visitors area anxious to hear why these white ladies have come. Yes, my fantasy helps keep the anxiety for our safety at bay.

Kate has a good conversation with Siraj with the help of two translators. Their conversation comforts both of them as Siraj expresses great remorse for his rash action and Kate is able to convey the families forgiveness and love. The one thing that continues to stand out to me about their entire story is the fact that both sides and all involved continue to refer to what happened as an 'accident.' When it would be so easy to blame and hold ill will, so satisfying to harbor anger and disdain. Instead all parties choose to recognize this as an unintentional accident with an unfortunate outcome.

Ethiopia- Day 5 part 1

2011-11-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Usual scenes in town
Bus station

ceiling of the bus always decorated
They gave us a candle when we checked in

I woke to darkness and flea bites. No electricity you know? It rained and rained all night and I hoped that the road to Ginnir was flat with no mountain passes. Kate and I packed up our things and headed to the bus station. We secured our bus tickets and waited a hour and forty minutes for the rest of the bus to fill so we could depart. It was hard to get on and off the bus while we waited the long hours. It was continuing to rain and the bus station was now ankle deep mud. I would venture off the bus just in time for a well meaning gentleman to usher me back in the bus each time the sprinkles started falling.

I watched as a very cute boy about 9 years old slipped and muddied his pants. I laughed of course which was acceptable because he was laughing too. He got up quickly and was perfectly fine. He hobbled back to the store front he had originally emerged from. My giggle was short lived as the mother in me thought of the effort it would take to get those muddy pants clean here. So I prayed that those weren't his only pair of pants and that the mud would miraculous come out easily.

As we drove out of the station a piece of the bus fell off and a helpful bystander retrieved it for us. The driver laid the piece on the floor of the bus. I guess we'll just hope that wasn't a necessary piece? The bus pulled over to get gas and never turned the engine off. I envisioned our bus erupting in a ginormous fire ball worthy of any Hollywood action film but thankfully no such luck. Our gas acquisition went off with out a hitch.

Seid bought Kate and I each a box of biscuits (cookies) for breakfast since we didn't take time to stop and eat. The biscuits were a welcome treat as the drive to Ginnir takes 4 hours.

We drove through gorgeous green countryside. Mud houses with thatched roofs lined the road the entire way. People, mostly children, herd their animals on the road. We often swerve or stop for animals that have gone astray from the pack. Child size shepherds would hurry to get their animals out of the way of oncoming vehicles. The driver did unfortunately nick a goat that was just a little too close to the bus. An audible squel was heard by most passengers. There was a bit of conversation about this incident but I gathered they decided there was nothing to be done and I assume the goat became that nights dinner.

The other passengers on the bus are very accommodating and curious about what brings firingi so far out into the bush on a public bus. We had lovely conversations and endured a lot of stares.

Ethiopia- Day 4

2011-11-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Visiting Seid's family

Dome houses at the orphanage

The Bajaj

We spent more time in Nigelly. We rode in a motorcycle turned car called a Bajaj to get there. Very fun! We were able to visit with some beautiful families. Everyone was very sweet and curious. We were able to visit inside a few homes and spend time hearing peoples stories. We visited the site of Village of Hope which once housed an orphanage and health clinic. We toured the facilities and heard stories about the children who had lived there and from the families of those children.

We saw two wells in the area that had been donated by the LDS church. It was amazing to see the blessing it is to have clean drinking water. One well serves 6 different faucets in the nearby area.

Celese needed to stay in Shashamane for a business meeting so Kate and I left the rest of the group there as we headed to Robei. Robei is a 4-5 hour drive over the Bali National forest. It was raining and quite foggy so no animals were seen but the weather cast a magical scene over the amazing terrain.

We arrived in Robei after dark. Seid, another local friend of Kate's met us and showed us to the hotel he'd set up for us. It was a what you can expect from a firinji hotel. Clean with a shower and modern toilet. This one had the add adventure of no hope of hot water and no electricity. We were given a candle upon arrival. It was awesome. The beds had fleas of course but that's part of the experience.

Seid owns a Bajaj and became our personal taxi. He took us to his home to meet his family. We showed up unannounced and they were so sweet and welcoming. They're home is small and very lovingly decorated. Blankets were hung on the walls for warmth and decoration. The women and children of the family had cut decorations from paper to make garland that hung throughout the cozy room.

The sweet family was full of hugs and smiles. We sat on the comfy floor, chatted and took photos. Seid's mom insisted on making us a porridge which was a doughy consistency that we ate with our fingers. It was a delight to spend time with them.

Ethiopia- Day 3

2011-10-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

Children would gather and walk with us
These boys were selling items at the bus station
Our first squat hole-not an exaggeration
3 story LDS building being built
What town looks like-

Day 3 we headed to Shashamane which proved to be no easy task. We thought we'd contract a mini bus (van) to drive the five of us the ? miles. The bus station is a volatile place. You don't just find a bus schedule and buy a ticket. You wait as people fight over who gets to drive you. They grab your bags and lead you off while others try to get in their ways and convince you to get in a different bus. They also take turns tripling the price because you're white.Poor Nati finally banished us to a cafe so he could make arrangements without us white people causing such a scene. As we left the cafe to board our mini bus an older, respectable looking couple passing by warned Nati not to go with our chosen mini bus.

"They mess around with black magic and other nasty things. They'll probably take you off somewhere, rob you, leave you in the middle of nowhere. Or worse." A quick, well timed exchange between strangers drastically changed the outcome of our day. God is good!

We opted for a public bus. Safety in numbers you know? All transportation remains so strange in Ethiopia. The public buses fight over passengers as well. Still no schedules and the bus doesn't leave until all the seats are filled. Beggars and sellers enter the bus while passengers wait to depart. One day I waited almost 2 hours for all of the seats on the bus to sell.

Children in Shashamane were very welcoming. Not trying to sell anything or get anything from us. Children walking home from school would gather around us and walk along side us. They were curious about white people and wanted to show us their English skills. Nati asked if I liked the attention. Everyone staring. I felt like I was somewhere between a parade participant and a death row inmate headed for the chair. I wasn't sure why people were staring.

Everyone proved to be kind and curious. Adults would wave from far off distances and children would giggle and follow close by. We spent the evening talking with Sonnet. He is the father of a teenage son who was adopted into a young American family along with 4 of his friends. Sonnet's story is sweet, heartfelt and eye opening. A parents love in Ethiopia knows very different bounds then many others.

Firinji meets Habaesha

2011-10-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

These are some of the first children we met and spent time with. We had traveled to Shashamane, a Rastafarian mecca of sorts. Lots of Bob Marley and dreadlocks. We met these little ones in the neighboring town of Nigelly. They were just hanging around playing, saw some Firinji (foreigners) and wandered over in curiosity. They were very sweet and fun to play with. High fives and piggy back rides go a long way to bridge a language gap.

*Habaesha means local (for most areas)

Ethiopia Day 1-2

2011-10-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is our guide Nati. Natneal if you want to annoy him. Nati met us at the Addis Ababa airport and rarely left our sides. He is an amazing 22 year old guy, excellent guide and outstanding person. It is a pleasure to know him.

Our first day was spent checking in to the guest house where we'd be staying, walking the nearby neighborhood and meeting with Levi of Bring Love In. Levi and I have been corresponding for awhile. He, his wife and their 4 children make their lives as ex-pats in Ethiopia. They've recently started an organization to help widows and orphans in Ethiopia. They are involved in a great work. I am grateful for his help and was so glad to have been able to bring some much desired items for his families from the states.

Day 2 was spent meeting people at Morrell Agro Industries. It's an amazing agricultural company doing a lot of good in Southern Ethiopia.

Across from MAI offices is the Holy Trinity Christian Orthodox church. It's beautiful. Chanting and prayers can be heard being broadcast fom the church at all hours of the day and NIGHT. 3 am people.

This sweet little guy was begging for money outside the church. I handed out bracelettes to him and his friends. He said I could take his picture if I paid him 1 burr. 1 burr will buy a loaf of bread. 1 burr is equivalent to about 5 cents U.S. dollars. It's very likely that someone stole my cell phone and camera charger out of my back pack while I took this photo. Well, what are you gonna do? I hope they got top dollar for it. As I turned to catch up with the others an old man tried to hit me with his cane! Don't know why he was so mad at me.

Ethiopia- Arrival

2011-10-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

(pictures taken from airplanes do not do it justice)

I never managed to sleep on any of the flights. I would eventually be awake for close to 50 hours or more before I finally drifted off. It was to my advantage though because now I had no jet lag to get in the way of my travels. I did question my sanity as the sun started to illuminate the African landscape below my aircraft. The light revealed a completely white surface resembling more of what I gather Antarctica would look like rather than Africa. The hills and valleys and peaks were covered in smooth yet rigid sheets of white. I half expected to see sled dogs and mountaineers trails. It must have been fog. A hug from the clouds. It looked like a fine white table cloth had been draped over the earth for safe keeping threw the night.

As the sun grew ever warmer in the sky a beautiful array of colors was shown. Like a patch work quilt of varying shades of greens and browns, I'd never seen the earth look quite like this. It wasn't what I expected Ethiopia to look like at all. Even from miles above the colors promised lush foliage and ingenuity. Potential.

On my way

2011-10-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

My flight left on Sunday evening so the family and I went down early to visit Brent's sister Jennifer. Of course Jennifer lives 15 minutes from Disneyland so it was necessary to spend our time in the happiest place on earth. Sunday was spent down the street at the beach roasting hot dogs for lunch.

I am a raging ball of anxiety. I'm not a good flier. I have to spend 17 hours on planes just to get to Africa. Many of those hours will be spent flying over large bodies of water. And then I'll spend 2 weeks away from my family. I beg Brent to drop me off at the curb by the terminal, a quick goodbye like tearing off a bandaid but the kids insist on coming in with me. When we finally say goodbye at the security gate it's tearful for each of us.

I've come to realize that while I may appear to some to be easy going and carefree, I am constantly engaged in an internal game of 'Would You Rather.' or in my case 'Is It Worth It?' If Brent and I head out of town and leave the kids in the capable hands of friends, is it worth the risk that we may die in a fiery car crash leaving them orphans? I can easily rationalize this choice with knowing that Brent and I need time alone together to keep our relationship strong and ourselves sane. It's really not a choice, it's a must. So this whim of mine to head to Africa is really making it hard for me to win the game. I have no widely recognized reasons to fall back on such as, I have to go for work or I'm traveling with my husband or family. It's just me. It's just my adventure. My constant trading of emotional currency like an internal stock exchange is wearying on me.

Everything this week has felt like a final goodbye. I envision my plane crashing over the Atlantic ocean. My bus careening over the side of a mountain while Bob Marley plays on the radio. At the very least I'll miss my sweet family and hope they won't be miserable while I'm away. Or even worse, that they'll prefer it.

My flight leaves at 9pm. The cabin is sprinkled with passengers but I have an entire row to myself. The cabin is dark and I'm alone so I sob to myself. I remind myself how selfish I am. Flitting off to Africa as if it's the same as running to the grocery store. Only now do I let myself submerge into the doubt and ridiculousness of the this decision.

So I indulge in my tears in the darkened, mostly empty cabin. I allow myself to feel insane amounts of unjustified guilt. I pray nothing will go wrong. I have faith that all will be well. I hope that my family knows that I love them more than anything. I love them more than Africa.

Alive and well...

2011-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

My last post was 6 months ago! The middle of October! You wanna know why? Well, I was asked to be PTO President starting in mid August. That was a new and challenging task. In the midst of our Fall Carnival which is my first and largest fundraising event I was called as Young Women's President for our ward. Literally, I stopped at the church for my meeting with the Bishop while picking up supplies in town and then getting back to the set up of the carnival. So the last 6 months have been very busy.

Mostly my mind is over filled. The problem is that when my mind is overfilled it doesn't spill over into a flow of action. It smothers out any and focus. I'm easily overwhelmed. I don't like being in charge of everything. I'm a worker bee. Things aren't getting done. And if they are they aren't being done well. I'm a foggy messy. I'm trying to wade threw the clouds and do what I can but somethings have got to go and I need to get back to being productive. Any ideas on how I might do that? I have a few.

Now for catch up...

A coversation

2010-10-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

I was apart of a religious discussion online this morning. This is a collabartation of my comments given to questions that were asked of me. I hope it makes sense. I wanted to document it here as this is my journal. This is what I've come to know:

It's complicated but the main truth is that Heavenly Father created us all and loves each of us. He commanded us to do and not do a lot of things. The greatest of these commandments is to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. We choose to love each other regardless of our short comings, mistakes,trials and sin.

Yes, sin is the breaking of one of God's commandments. So whether your struggle is with monogomy, homosexuality or any of the many things God has asked of us, the LDS church and it's members love and accept all people as the brothers and sisters they are.

This is basic truth. When you start asking about policy and doctrine you'll get answers that you may not like. The church represents God himself. We can not change God. We may not understand WHY but these are His terms. We do our best to follow even if at times it's blindly. God is no respecter of persons. He loves us all. He holds us all to the same standards. He knows each of our hearts personally. He knows our struggles and how hard we try to correct ourselves. It gives me great comfort to know that he is easier on us than we are on ourselves and that one day we will know the answers to the WHYS.

Yes. Regarding blacks and the priesthood the LDS church recieved revelation from God that that was the proper time to change this aspect of this policy and doctrine. The church only represents God. Not popular culture, not the majorities oppinion. God changed that not us. Again, the WHYS may not fully be understood.

I came to know the LDS church as a teenager and the delay in priesthood for all worthy men was a difficult area for me as well as the current involvment with Prop 8 has been. But after much prayer and study I realized what I've already stated. It's not up to me, it's up to God.
I've had enough experiences with the church leadership and feeling the Holy Ghost testify to me of truthfulness of things involving church and elseswhere alike, to know that my position and time frame will not always automatically align with God's. It's my job to take the steps neccasary to align myself with God not the other way around.

That's true for all of us. We all want to seek approval especially from our Heavenly Father who is our true creator. It's difficult when we feel that all we are is not meeting His standards. It's difficult for all of us. We all struggle with this. The LDS church and it's members are not putting others down to raise ourselves above. We are just trying to keep the standards and commandments that God has placed before us no matter how difficult they may be.

We strive to do so with love and compassion and without offense. It's easy to blame the people but don't kill the messenger. It would be lovely to believe that God really doesn't care who you choose to make a family with. That his commandment to love covers all kinds of love and displays of said love. It would be lovely. It's just not true.

If I was operating on my own judgment and reasoning my feelings on such topics might be different. I believe in God and I would never pressume to know better than he does or even that I would fully understand his reseaning.

If I had lived during segregation I would have treated everyone with equal love and acceptance and hoped that everyone would be considered equals as we are seen in the eyes of God. I would also follow any instruction that God gave whether it was my first inclination or not.

Maybe we will see the changes you hope for in the future. I hope that we are not seen as pathetic and hateful as you presume we will be and as I assume you view us now. But merely people doing their best to follow the coucil of God even if it means being slandered and belittled in the history books of future generations.

Honestly, I fear that would be a much better outcome than what may be the outcome if we don't stand with God. What may have to happen in society to prove that God's reseaning had a point.

It all comes down to each of us doing the best we can with what we've got. I don't hate anyone. I follow God and my own conscience. I'm grateful for the liberty to do so and that we are blessed to even have this conversation. I can't apologize for God, only any offense that comes from not fully understanding Him or one another.

Mandalay Bay

2010-08-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

Brent had a few trips to Oxnard planned for work and we took advantage of the free hotel room and joined him. It is an excellent hotel. Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay is right on the beach. We had an ocean front walk out room. It was divine to leave the desert heat and find ourselves watching sunsets over the ocean, swimming all day and enjoying the activities the hotel offers. My mom and brother Thomas joined us and we had fun catching up and playing in the pool. We used the hotels tennis courts, swam, had a treasure hunt using metal detectors, swam, dug in the sand, swam, rolled down the grassy hill off our room, swam, played at the park next door, swam. This is the order of events for two weeks.

Yes, the kiddos mostly wanted to stay in the pool but we also enjoyed Bingo Night where our family had a very long winning streak. The kids each won a set of Build-a Bear clothes and a gift card for $5 off a bear. We stopped on the way home and let them get their new friend. Big hit! We also enjoyed winning prizes at the treasure hunt where the kids earned a free bike rental. We had a great time cruising on our bike in the surrounding neighborhoods. Great houses to look at. They call the area "the wedge" and the kids were shocked at how narrow yet huge the homes were. Only in my dreams.

An interesting new concept the kids learned was Happy Hour. The hotel ha a Manager's Reception each evening. The big draw is that they provide free drinks for two hours at the bar. We loved it because they also had kids crafts, snacks, sodas, a popcorn machine and snow cones. It was a really nice activity and I hit the bar for non alcoholic drinks daily. It was funny and disturbing to hear my children constantly say things like "Is it Happy Hour yet?" "When is Happy Hour? I really want it to be time." But it truly was a happy hour.

I took advantage of being near real stores and took the kids school clothes shopping. They don't need much. Just a few things to help make the start of school feel special. The kids had fun picking out new backpacks and a few pieces of clothing. Joey picked out his first shirt for school. It had a guitar on it. My kids are rockers threw and threw. They are also shoppers and have great taste.

We had an excellent time escaping the heat and enjoying the wonderful surroundings. We missed Brent who worked so much that he only made a few appearances late at night. So sad for him.

New Blog.

2010-08-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Come visit a new blog I've created. It's for my writing experiment I'm currently conducting. (go to the new blog and you'll see.) I like it. It's been fun to create. I'm adding to it and post dating things. I have my reasons. SO leave me comments. Be a follower. Nothing would make me happier. I need your help friends. Thanks! Ronelle

nowwhatcannon.blogspot.com

Refugio 2010

2010-07-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

We love our annual family vacation camping at the beach. We love to camp and love to be at the beach and it works really well for us. We would be spending the better part of a month at the beach one way or another and that was great with us. We had our usual fun of kayaking, boogie boarding, jumping waves, digging in the sand and playing with friends. Brent and Joey had some close encounters with dolphins. We saw a lot of sea creatures but Joey and Brent seemed to have good time out on the kayak. Dolphins swam along with them and they were able to get some closer looks. Very cool! We also had a seal come to shore. The kids wanted to play with it but I had them keep their distance.

We enjoyed eating and visiting with friends. We visited the Santa Barbara pier with the Agrens where we had fish and chips for lunch, bought expensive candy and I enjoyed a $7 ice cream cone. It was huge and yummy and my one splurge so I felt justified.

Gift idea

2010-07-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

My GREAT friend Shar had her 40th birthday recently. 40 is a big deal so I thought of a great gift to celebrate. I emailed all of our mutual friends that I had addresses for and asked each person to send a short message to Shar. A compliment or sweet memory of her. I wrote all their notes on slips of paper and placed them in a jar with yummy chocolate candies. Now Shar will be able to pull out a nice message and candy when she needs one. Just a little something to make her day from all of her friends. Now that's a sweet treat.

Eclipse Extravaganza

2010-07-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another reason for a silly night with the girls has come and gone! I had an Eclipse party at my house prior to the midnight showing. We had a fun time chatting and eating and tested our knowledge of the book with trivia. I encouraged people to bring Eclipse themed food to share and they didn't disappoint. We had some very creative ladies at this party. We left for the movie and had fun aggrevating others in the theater by taking pictures while waiting for the movie to start. It got a little out of hand but there were no punches thrown. I made my traditional sound effects throughout the movie to help emphasize the silliness of it all. A great time was had by all. Thanks to all of my crazy friends!

MInute to Win it date night

2010-07-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Our friends the Loughmiller's invited us over for a date night Minute To Win it style. Brent and I have never seen the t.v. game show so we were surprised when we got there. Erin had prepared some really fun challenges. It was super fun to watch every try these crazy activities. Challenges included: transferring cotton balls across the room using only your vaseline covered nose, stack 3 golf balls, remove a Kleenex one at a time from the box using one hand, etc.. The pictures don't do the fun justices.

End of School 2010

2010-06-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun end of school activities. Katie had a couple of lunch parties for the clubs she's involved in and Grace had a huge water party and bbq at the park that her excellent teacher put on for them. Grace and Katie each earned a reading trophy for meeting and exceeding reading goals for the year. They both read up to 2 grade levels higher than they are currently in. I'm glad they love to read.

Joey had his last day of preschool parent picnic. His class swam at the Pinney pool and we joined them for lunch following their swimming. It was a fun year for Joey at preschool. He learned to write his name and practiced lots of writing and memorizing. He now knows his phone number, address, colors, numbers, and letters among many other things. It was hard to realize I only had 2 short weeks alone with Joey before summer would start and there would be no more just me and him. From now on he is clumped in with girls keeping their same school schedule. It's sad to have this young time gone and see my baby boy headed to kindergarten. I'm excited to see how much he'll grow this next year and feel so big going to the same school as Katie and Grace. (Trying to stay positive here.)

Another Disney Day

2010-06-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Brent's parents and sister called and asked if we'd like to meet them in L.A. for a Disneyland day while they were on vacation in California. Of course we said YES. We had fun running around Disneyland and introducing them to California Adventure. It wasn't too busy though it seemed crowded. The big deal this visit was that Grace is 7 years old and therefore old enough to ride the rides ALONE. Grace was so excited to be able to ride the rides all by herself. Katie has never found this to be true so it was fun to see Grace reach this milestone. It was a fun day with family. We hit the parks on Tuesday before heading back home as well. We're gonna get our monies worth out of those passes. Good times.

1/2 Marathon Mama

2010-06-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

I made a goal to run a 1/2 marathon. I actually did it! I was very excited to spend a girls weekend with friends in Alameda (near San Francisco.) I started a two month training schedule that gradually raised the distance I would run each week. I was a little nervous but confident that I would finish if I didn't put too many expectations on myself.

Our trip started with Becky Trimble, Shar Turner and I jumping into Erin Andrus' car and heading off first thing Friday morning. At our first gas station stop we treated ourselves to Carne Asada tacos from a taco hole for brunch. Yummy! We then finished off our 6 hour drive and checked into our hotel. Our hotel was great. Lovely views of Alameda marinas, San Francisco, Oakland and the Golden Gate Bridge. We did a bit of shopping and then headed to the city for dinner. We ate a yummy French/Italian dinner at Umbria. I felt so strange sitting on a street corner bench outside this lovely restaurant watching steam rise from grates in the road and people busseling everywhere. Very grown up and foreign.

Here is where I should mention my dislike of the subway. We were staying in Oakland across the bay from San Francisco. We took a subway which runs UNDER the BAY to the city. You can feel your ears pop as you go under and over the water. The train made terrible noises. It was a bit nerve racking. We returned to the station and found we had parked in a garage with a closing time. We were locked out on the street. Luckily our hotel has a shuttle that came to our rescue.

Saturday was an early start. We had the hotel shuttle drop us at the race start at 6:45 am. It was packed with women and the lines for the bathroom were LONG. Becky, Shar and I ran our little buns off for 13.1 miles. I finished with a time of 3 hours 21 minutes. I was the slowest in our group but my back hurts just thinking about the race. By the end I was struggling to stay upright from the pressure in my lower back. My feet were killing me! I felt very accomplished when I crossed that finish line. I cried. I'm so glad I did it.

Our minds were like Jello after the race. We were grateful to have Erin with us to keep a level head. We headed back to the hotel and hit the pool. It felt fantastic. We cleaned up and took the subway into the city. We hit Macys department store and were all bombarded into getting our make up done. It was fun. We headed to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. it was a gorgeous building and view. Very interesting for a Cheesecake Factory. I rewarded myself with a delicious Kobe Burger with onions and mushrooms. I was filled to the gills but managed to eat half a piece of Anniversary Cheesecake. Cheesecake, chocolate cake and plenty of ganache and chocolate chips. it was DIVINE. Worth every calorie. After dinner we walked to the Orpheum theatre where we saw WICKED. I love WICKED. It was a great show. I found that I liked the L.A. cast better but still a magnificent show.

Sunday morning we woke up, enjoyed a yummy breakfast and I headed to the airport. I flew all by myself to L.A. where I was meeting up with family! I always feel a sense of adventure at the airport. So much possibility. It was a easy uneventful flight. I think it helped that I was exhausted from my weekend of Fun and Run. I met up with Dave, Ana maria, and Jennifer who all arrived at the same time I did. We drove to Lisa Porter's home in San Pedro and met up with the rest of the family. Our adventure doesn't stop there but that's another post.

Thanks to Becky for the great idea and all of the encouragement. I had so much fun. Now I can add 'runner' to my list of things I am.

A visit with family

2010-06-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

We were able to have another mini family reunion recently. Dave Cannon and family, Julie Ballard and family and Chris Cannon met together at Lisa and Orson Porter's home in San Pedro. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed spending time together. It's great to live close enough to get together when family comes to town.

New Toy

2010-06-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Brent has been waiting about twenty years for this toy. He finally found a perfect fit in this used dirt bike. He's enjoyed having it so far and the kids wish he could take them for rides. I guess a four wheeler is next on the toy list. It's nice for Brent to have a toy all his own. He's been quite patient in waiting to have it. hooray for Brent! (I'm gonna go up the amount of life insurance we have on him now)

My Little Man

2010-06-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Joey is an amazing kid. He gets into a lot of trouble. He climbs and breaks things and hits and terrorizes his sisters (but they taught him to do it). He is super cute and sweet. He can really drive me crazy with his messes and his refusal to clean up or do anything he doesn't want to really. He'll play the helpless victim. A little boy too tired to do anything for himself. Other times he is sitting with me reading books or asking to play a game. He wants to snuggle and can't live without Lioney and his blankey. Joeys mind is always working. He comes up with VERY interesting games to play. He can be such a handful and then fall asleep at the dinner table and remind me that he is just a little boy. My baby boy growing up much too fast.

Father and Son Campout 2010

2010-06-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Brent and Joey are alike in many ways. A few very important ways they are similar are

1. They are each super cute.
2. They both have an inexplicible desire to 'tinker' as we call it.
3. They love to camp.
4. They both know how to tug on my heart strings.

Brent took Joey on the annual Father and Son campout with our ward. They camped at Kennedy Meadows. They enjoyed camp fire, sleeping in a tent, and peeing outdoors. On the second day Brent broke camp and Joey and he went exploring. They found snow, tall trees and Brent taught Joey to play pinecone baseball. They had a great time. Brent has fond memories of being Joey's age (5) and going camping with his dad. It was a special time that Brent remembers well and now he's making those memories with Joey.

A year of Disney 2010-2011

2010-05-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our family was very excited to participate in the Disney Give a Day Get a Day program. We made blankets and donated them to Project Linus. In return we received a voucher worth a day at a Disney Park. We decided that a $70 dollar discount to each of our tickets was the only chance we'd really have to justify season passes. Even with the voucher it was a chunk of change to buy each family member a season pass. $655 dollars with a year of parking. We will be taking full advantage of these passes and getting our money worth. We already have really.

Brent and I enjoyed a day at Disneyland sans kids. Then we decided that each kiddo should spend their birthday at Disneyland. Grace spent her birthday there last year and now it was Joey's turn. We had a fun day at Disneyland. Joey loves the Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story rides. Instead of cake we let each kid pick a treat of their choice. Joey and Katie chose cotton candy. Grace chose a fruit popsicle. $11 dollars later Brent chose to be a good sport. He had a hard time spending that $4 dollars on a popsicle but he survived.

We even had a lovely trip to Disneyland with the Hardys. It was great fun to see the kids in the happiest place on the earth with their favorite friends. We we're very fortunate to also meet up with a huge number of Brent's extended familywho all ended up at Disneyland on the same day. 6 of us families all got together to say 'hello' and get a picture together. That was really great!

Our year of Disney isn't over yet. Our next trip is in June when we'll meet Brent's parents and sister Jennifer in L.A. for some more Disney fun. We're looking forward to that.

10 Years of Bliss!

2010-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Disneyland... 10 years later!
Hangin' on the beach
Me, on our hotel patio (waiting for Brent)

Brent and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! I would say it has been blissful. No seven year itch around here. We just itch for more of each other. I love my sweet Brent! He adores ME! It has been a very full 10 years. College, 3 babies, graduation, 4 apartments, buying our first car and our first home. We've had so so much fun together. Muy Bien!

We celebrated by leaving the kids with Darren and Lisa Hardy. (The greatest friends you could ask for) I met Brent in Ventura where he was working that week. I stopped off to shop for clothes and make up while in civilization. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay Embassy Suites. Our room walked right onto to the sand! Great place to stay, we'll be back soon I hope. We went to dinner and walked on the beach. Very relaxing. We even made a trip to the bar for our complimentary cocktail. We tried something with 'beach' in the title minus the rum. Yummy! We had breakfast in the morning and I couldn't resist hopping into the hot tub...fully dressed no less. It was a moment.

Brent and I got a fantastic gift. We checked our email that morning and found that our free Disneyland ticket vouchers had arrived! That was too good to pass up. 10 years ago to the day we were at Disneyland celebrating our wedding. We drove down and had fun running around the park. Just the two of us. The park gave us buttons to wear that said "Happy Anniversary." The best part was all of the employees wishing us well. Two different times we were asked how long we've been married. Both times they gushed that we in no way looked like we could've been married that long. Dream come true for me! I need to scan some pictures of us from way back when. (We weren't digital in those days.) My how we've grown.

It was a great time! Looking forward to many, many more years of bliss.

Catching up!

2010-05-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Inyokern Mamas
Primary Activity

Fun with Hardy Girls

Wacky Hair Day

Wacky Hair Day!
The girls love to do their hair and wacky hair day at school provides an opportunity to be extra creative. I think Grace looks like Cindy Lou Who from Whoville. So cute and brave.

Fun with friends!
We've had a great time with friends as usual. We had an improptu slumber party with the Hardy girls. We thought it would be a great opportunity to give Lisa and Darren some time alone. Unfortunately their goat decided to go into labor that night! Not quite what we had in mind.

We also had our Stake Primary Activity. We had fun with all of the activities and the bounce house is always a hit.

I got to have a dinner out with girlfriends! My Inyokern mom friends had dinner at Miso sushi and celebrated Alyssa's birthday. Lots of fun!

Horse Back Riding!

2010-05-14T11:00:00.001-07:00

I adore horses! Every little girl has an affection for horses at one time or another. Maybe it's like a boy and his dog. I'm very excited that my girl's love horses too. Katie started taking riding lessons (western style)in April. She had her third private lesson yesterday and will now join a group lesson. Katie is our cautious, slow to warm up, stubborn child. I wasn't sure how she would really take to riding even though she begged for lessons. Horses are BIG! When you're in the saddle you are way off the ground. You don't tell a horse to do anything you ASK it.

Riding lessons have been the example of just what Katie is capable of if SHE chooses to do something. She is stubborn and immovable. I've hoped that these traits would manifest themselves for good but have yet to see such a thing. My hope is that she'll stay strong and firm in doing what's right and choose not to follow the crowd. Make her own way but with grace and kindness. Seeing Katie atop Spot (the horse), guiding and directing him with firm but loving attitude, has given me hope for the future. I've always said that Katie would make a great CEO. She'd do what needs to be done and not let anything stand in her way. Now I can see that she's up to any challenge and we need to strengthen her self confidence so she can see that too. Horses just might be the perfect way to do that. We'll see.

Now I really want riding lessons. My hope is to learn enough so we can have a horse here at home...someday!

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Eureka! I got a new camera for Mother's Day from Brent and now we can have pictures on hand and I can get back to blogging. Very exciting! I had a lovely Mother's Day with my sweet family. The kids brought me presents and homemade cards. Brent also gave me a cute Wizard of Oz frame I've been wanting. It goes great in my black and red room and will hold a picture of me in front of the Orpheum when I go to see Wicked this June. I've always loved the Wizard of Oz! I received beautiful flowers to enjoy this week as well. Makes it Mother's Week instead of a day. I'm a lucky lady.

We had a nice day at church where we talked about Eternal Families. Perfect for Mother's Day. I'm so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel. Knowing I can be with my family forever. I never want to be without them. (except the occasional date or girl's night!) I'm grateful to be living my dream, married to an amazing man and mother to three terrific kids.

Katie's 9th Birthday!

2010-03-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my daughter is 9! I can't be THAT old. I'm so excited for Katie. She is growing up to be a very smart and determined girl. We need to find some ways to harness that strong will for good use. Katie loves to cook. She can make Ramen noodles and pancakes all on her own. She loves to help make anything in the kitchen. Katies has started making decorating her own birthday cakes. I love this idea. She has had a blast inventing her own cakes each year.

This year Katie designed a skate board ramp cake. It was 3- 9x13 cakes stacked on top of each other and then the middle scooped out. She frosted it with yellow frosting and blue embellishments. The cake was pretty unstable so transporting it to the restaurant with us was dicey. It made it and the cake was yummy! I'm glad to be the mother of this incredible, lovely girl.

Disney Crazy!

2010-03-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Our family participated in Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program. You can volunteer your time to an approved organization and receive a free day at Disneyland or other Disney park. You can even apply the monetary worth of the free ticket to other passes or longer lengths of stays at the park. Our family decided to take advantage of the substantial discount and get season passes that allow us to get in most of the year! We are very excited to spend time at Disneyland this year. Our plan is to spend a Friday at Disneyland and Saturday at the temple. We're hoping to do this more than a few times this year. We've already been twice this month!

For our service we chose to make and donate blankets to Project Linus which provides blankets to children in emergency and disadvantaged situations. The Katie and Grace each made their own blankets by themselves. We are very proud of the kids desire to serve even though they are being rewarded for it.

The best news is that we've been told that our Spring Break trip to Disneyland happens to be the week that Brent's Aunts Chris and Eileen, and Uncles Steve and Mike will be having a Disney trip as well! I hope we can gather together for at least a photo and quick 'hello' to capture this great impromptu/coincidental family reunion. Anyone else planning to join the fun?

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun with love this month. We kick started February with a FHE on Loving One Another. The kids were challenged to do something nice for their siblings each day until Valentine's Day. They each had a valentine themed bag with their name on it where they would find pictures or notes waiting for them. They did a pretty good job of expressing love each day. Grace was the best at remembering and really enjoyed the activity.

I came up with a silly and very cheesy gift for Brent each day until Valentine's Day. A few of my favorites were Fanta saoda- Your my FANTAsy come true, hot cocoa mix- We're like cocoa and marshmallows; You're HOT and I wanna be on top of you. Very fun way to say 'I love You' everyday! I had to chaperon Youth Conference over Valentines weekend and when I came home I found that the family had planted a garden full of flowers for my present. I'm a lucky lady.

Amazing Race: Valentines Edition

2010-02-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

I've been a little LOVE crazy this month and this date was no exception. I found this great blog called LoveActually which referneced a date idea from another great blog called MyInsanity. I gathered a group of fun loving friends to surprise our husbands with this fantastic date.

We started by planning the tasks that the guys would need to complete. We widdled it down to skateboarding tricks at the skateboard park, making their wife a card, and dance in a music video to a Hannah Montana song! They also needed to buy us a gift using only the one dollar in pennies that we provided per person and bring us flowers that they did not pay for. We asked each of our hubbies to meet us at the church at 5 pm. No other details would be given. Here's the information they recieved along the way:
Welcome guys! You have been invited to a great Valentines adventure prepared by your fun-loving, creative, and beautiful wives. Hope you enjoy the race!

Race Rules:
Stick together. Gary has been designated as team driver.
You are not to use any money other than the funds provided to you.
A uniform will be provided for each team member.
You must wear your uniform at all times during the race.
Clues may not be opened until the task is complete.
You must all be present at the opening of each clue.
You must make a video of the events. Each person must be in the video participating in each event including purchasing items with the funds provided.
You must complete all events and the following tasks to win:

Acquire a bouqet of flowers without spending money.
Buy a gift for your wife using only the funds provided.

Good luck, boys! Here's your first clue:

Clue #1:
Your great adventure will now begin
The tools you'll need are found within
Here you'll find things to wear and to carry
The closet that holds things for the Primary.
You'll need the key to open the lock
And you'll find it within Stephen's glove box.

(They found the key and then found cute bags in the closet that held their uniforms and 110 pennies. The guys wore white shirts that read "My Wife ROCKS"))

Clue #2:
You've found your next clue
That didn't take long
You've got your uniform
Now go put it on
Some princes have things
Like castles and swords
Our princes do tricks
On cool skateboards
Make your way to the place
Where skateboarding is cool
Show us some tricks
And remember the rules!
(They had a Razor scooter provided to them and did some excellent tricks at the park)

Clue #3:
Now that you've gone and worked up a sweat
You're ready to do something safer I'll bet
The greatest gifts are often the smallest
Go to the home of the teammate who's tallest
To make us something easily read
You'll find your next task under his bed

(They headed to the Turner's house to make Valentine cards. They were very cute)

Clue #4:
See that wasn't hard
Great job on those cards
We hope that y'all are ready to groove
Your next task requires that you bust a move
We think this might be the funnest of all
You'll find your next task at the home of Ben Call.

(They then headed to the Call's house where Ben gave them the choice to dance to Beyonce or Hannah Montana. They chose Hannah and gave it their best effort)

Clue #5:
Do you have your flowers?
How 'bout that gift?
If you show up without them
We're sure to be miffed
Come win your prize of lots of lovin'
And see what we have cooked in the oven
So finish up, it's time we get eatin'
And get to the house of your teammate named Stephen.

(They pooled their money and "cheated" by dumping their pennies into a coin counter at the store. We were gifted with candy bracelets and Hershey kisses. They stole flowers off a grave at the cemetary! Gross!)

While the guys were off playing, the ladies were at the Farnsworth's decorating and cooking. The ladies all wore white shirts that read "My Hubbie Rocks". We had grilled steaks, roasted red potatoes, grilled asparagus and homemade bread with spinach and artichoke dip. Delicious!

When the guys arrived we recieved our flowers, took photos, and had dinner. It was really fun to hear them recount their adventures. The highlight was definetely hearing the tale of stealing flowers from the cemetary and watching the video of all the shinanigens. This date was insane fun. Thanks to Rachel F. for hosting the dinner, Rachel K. for making the shirts, Shar for providing card making supplies, and Becky and Megan for decor and cutlery.

I'm so grateful for friends who will be creative and fun with me! And our husbands who are great sports.

Polar Express Party

2010-01-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

During Christmas Break we decided to get our friends together for a fun activity. We chose a Polar Express theme. I love a theme! My kids cut out snow flakes which I hung from the ceiling. We made a train to play in and Roxy brought Golden Tickets for all the kids. We decorated train shaped sugar cookies, made bell bracelets and necklaces, watched the Polar Express movie and ate a potluck lunch. We had 40 kids there plus their mommies. Thank goodness for BIG room that helps us entertain ALL of our friends. Great fun!

Christmas time

2010-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

We love Christmas. Who doesn't? We put up the tree, bought and wrapped and made gifts. The kids had parties at their schools. It was fun to help out. They also performed in a Christmas program. Grace's class sang "12 days of Christmas." Katie's class sang "Rockin' around the Christmas tree." They did a great job. Joey's class sang Jingle Bells and We wish you a Merry Christmas. Santa came to visit his school and Joey asked for a drum set. Katie and Grace asked Santa for giant stuffed horses. It was a big Christmas this year.

We traveled to Tucson on Christmas Eve to surprise Brent's family. The Cannons and Biddulphs were gathered there but weren't expecting us until after Christmas day. Carolyn was the only one in on the surprise. We showed up caroling at the door. Ana Maria was so shocked that she started crying immediately. It was fantastic. Just like that old coffee commercial I remember seeing.

Christmas break was spent with family reading, playing games, going for walks, cooking a ton of Rock Band and learning to sew. Each grandchild made a pillowcase with Nana. Uncle Danny spent gobs of time with the kids, especially Joey. We love Danny so much! He played with us too. He even shared his Christmas present with us. BEATLES ROCK BAND. Everyone was sick with colds (except our family) so it was quiet and slow. We celebrated New Years at home playing games. Brent and I were the only souls awake at midnight. We were lucky to see fireworks near the house all by ourselves. SSSMMMOOooooOOCCCHHHHH! Our own private fireworks display to ring in the New Year!

Snow Day

2010-01-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

We were able to go up to our favorite little snow spot and play. I love being able to reach snow in just 15 minutes. Growing up 15 minutes from the beach was amazing and I'm glad we've got a little something different so near to us hear in the desert.

We built snow people and had a snow ball fight. It was fun to have Grandma Carla and Uncle Thomas with us.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-10T15:32:00.001-08:00

Yep! It's been a while since we've posted so here we go....

This Thanksgiving we were home alone. Just our little family. I love to decorate for each holiday usually starting with Halloween. We DO NOT skip Thanksgiving around here. I love fall decorations. Autumn is my favorite season. It is such a warm wonderful time. School starts again, holidays are approaching, fires in the fireplace and I love the clothes.

We enjoyed making dinner together. The kids all helped. The kids kept wondering why we have dinner at 2 pm. Hey, that's just how it is. We usually put up the Christmas tree the Friday following Thanksgiving. It's never soon enough for Brent. This year we headed out of town to pack and pick up my mom and brother Thomas who are living with us for a while.

I have many things to thankful for and I recognize each one. Happy Thanksgiving!

Aircraft carrier adventure

2009-11-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

Brent had a dream come true this week! He was able to fly on a C2 and land on an aircraft carrier at sea! He'll have to blog about his own adventure but I'll get it started just in case.

New Moon Madness

2009-11-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Well, It came, it went, it was awesome! I had a New Moon Girl's Night at my house. Yummy themed food and a fun trivia game about the book. I decorated with black and red. Candles and flowers. I made Blood cakes (red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and strawberry glaze blood splatter.) There was meat for the werewolves and werewolf cupcakes. Lots of yummy treats. Lisa and I wore our Team Jacob shirts to show our werewolf pride. I made little treat bags with New Moon Movie Mix:Vampire fangs,Werewolf teeth and Dazzling sweethearts.(red and brown candy corn, choclate fangs, twilight conversation hearts and glow-in-the-dark fangs.)

The movie was great! It's always fun for me to find new ways to play. Party planning is one of them. I love the details. It's always fun to be silly sometimes. Staying up 'til 3 am is pretty silly for me these days. And there wasn't even a sick kid involved. Just some seriously sick fun.

Influential?

2009-11-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

Recently I found out that my blog is a little more 'public' than I ever knew. Apparently when you Google or search (but who are we kidding, it's Google. Anyone ever use Ask.com? I didn't think so) for Ridgecrest, Ca my blog comes up. I should have realized with a blog name of Ridgecrest Review that this might happen. But I didn't. So, I have a little thrill knowing that my blog entries may inspire or hinder perspective hires in their decision to move to the great Mojave desert. Maybe I'll make a new friend or two out of it as well. Enjoy!

Date Night

2009-11-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Brent and I try to get out on a date without the kids a couple of times a month. We generally go to dinner, have game nights with friends or see movies. This week we combined our date night with my church responsibility of chaperoning a church youth dance. It was western themed. The youth have a good time and we did too.

Halloween

2009-11-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

We love Halloween around here. We decorate our house and the kids generally dress up as something different for each events we attend. Joey's preschool class had a parade, trick or treating to city hall and the police department and a classroom party. Joey was a fire-fighter. Nana and Grandpa Dave bought Joey a fantastic costume that is an exact replica of a fire-fighter uniform just miniature. Red suspenders and all. He loves it. He has always said he's going to be a fire-fighter when he grows up. Katie dressed up as a witch and Grace was Alice (from Wonderland not the Brady Bunch, though their uniforms are similar) and on Halloween Grace switched to Supergirl for the evening. I was a witch and Brent was Super as well.

Lisa and Orson Porter came up to visit and we had a BBQ at the Ballard's. We headed to our ward Trunk or Treat for games and treats then over to our friends church for a huge Fall Festival with climbing walls, games and food. On the way home we stopped at a local home where the owner id Wizard of Oz and Wicked CRAZY. He decorates his house in the theme and this year had a performance of scenes from the movie. Green lighting, costumes, and a bon fire. INSANE. The kids loved it.

We are still candy crazy around here. It was a great Halloween.

Isaac's Blessing

2009-10-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

We traveled down to L.A. to be with family for Isacc Porter's baby blessing. (Brent's cousin Lisa Ballard Porter's son) We had fun seeing family, eating yummy food, and enjoying the gorgeous view from their home on the base. We love their dog Penny.

Utah Trip

2009-10-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

Brent's job takes him to BYU for recruiting twice a year. We've made it a tradition to take the entire family along with him in the Fall. We had 10 days of great fun! First stop Cedar City. My brother Carl and his kids live there. We drove the 6 hours to his house and stayed 2 days. We had fun playing and chatting. The kids played outside in the cold weather, discovered Nintendo DS, and decorated fall cookies. I've made a tradition of taking my nieces and nephew to the book store and letting them each pick out a book. I hope it's a tradition they'll cherish.

We then made the drive in terrible rain to Brigham City to visit the Agrens. It was fun seeing all the temples along the way. If only all places we're sprinkled with temples like Utah. We had never been to BC before and were looking forward to it. The Agrens are awesome friends who stay up way to late on work nights and scurry to finish house projects just to make us more comfortable. (I like company as a goal to get things done as well) It was great to see their new home and how well they fit there. The kids adore each other and we all had great fun. Kathryn never fails to amaze. She even provide a snow fall for our kids to enjoy. Great fun to see them.

We then headed to the Ballards in Draper. (friends from college days)We had fun catching up. They had a family Halloween party which they sweetly invited us to. Great fun. Again great friends who stay up way to late on work nights chatting with us. Wish we were still neighbors.

Next we shopped and cleaned up and met our friend Jess Bishop to have our family photos taken. Jess is an amazing photographer. Glad I can say I knew her when. We had fun with our photo shoot and went to visit Jess and her family later that week at their home. The kids had fun with their friends just like old times. Again, wish we were still neighbors.

We visited Grandma and Grandpa Cannon. We walked with Grandma around the Provo temple grounds which is across the street from they're house. Grandma taught the kids to play pick up sticks and Grandpa taught us how to play Blockus. Very fun.

The kids love Provo. We visited the library for story time, ate at the counter at the Creamery on 9th, went to Krispy Kreme to watch doughnuts being made, swam in the hotels indoor pool, saw the places Brent and I lived there, and shopped for church stuff you can't get anywhere else. Bowling at the 'Wilk' and dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. Good times.

Friday and Saturday we're filled with activities. We purchased Salt Lake City passes which got us into 13 attractions in 2 days! Including lunch at the Lion House. It was fantastic. We stayed those 2 nights with the Carricks in Saratoga Springs. They joined us for some of the adventure. We went to the planetarium for a dome show and IMAX movie, lunch at Lion House and Discovery Gateway children's museum then headed for a BBQ with more college days friends. All of this on Friday! Whew.

Saturday we started the day off right. The dads took the kids to the Dinosaur museum in Lehi and Carma and I went to a boutique being held at the Ballards house. This was a n event to benefit Liza (another college buddy) who son is struggling with lung disease among other health problems. It was awesome and I even saw more college friends there as well. We joined the kids at the museum where they were having a pirate-palooza. It was a great day to go. Face painting,games, pirates telling stories and giving out pirate names. The museum is cool! Lots to see and do. We then hit the aquarium in Sandy (don't bother) though it was free-ish for us and cool to see. We ended our day walking around Thanksgiving Point Gardens in the freezing cold. It was sunny but the end of the day. Gorgeous place to walk and take in the beauty of the earth and work of the landscapers.

Sunday we headed to Vegas. We visited my great friend Kerri and caught up with all the happening from back home and each others lives. She made the girls bracelets which they love. We then headed down the road to the Coopers (college buds) who forgot that we'd be passing threw that day and got a surprise on their door steps...US. They kindly welcomed us of course 'cause they're the coolest. We spent the night there and had fun watching the kids run around friendly as can be. They were definitely the worst behaved friends. We stayed up WAY to late talking and laughing and even watched a new episode of The Office at 1 am 'cause they had it on DVR. Such joy to have great friends.

We came home Monday (thank you Columbus) having had a fantastic and busy trip to our old stomping grounds. Hooray for work travel that gets you free family vacations!

P.S. The kids did do school work most days and turned it in when they went back to school. Just so you know we were responsible.

Randoms

2009-10-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

So my birthday was on a Sunday and it was lovely. Our girls trip to Magic Mountain was the day before and we stayed out 'til 1 am. I slept in, went to church and at pizza for dinner. My family takes great care of me.

Brent's cousins Katie and Matt Ballard dropped by containers of colred sugar cookie dough that you can buy thru school fundraisers. I would buy it. It was super fun. Play dough you can eat and it tastes good! And we love the Ballards. We've had fun with them living hear in Ridgecrest. Including handstand contests in the living room. Go Matt!

Brent is often found renovating our house. He often is found covered in dust. We love him!

Oh the Magic...

2009-09-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

This trip was so fun! Rachel K. and I turned 30 this month and I thought it should be truly celebrated. I decided Magic Mountain with just the ladies was a terrific way to do that. (I would've loved to take Brent but he gets motion sick.) We had great fun running around the park, eating unacceptable food, and screaming our heads off. The rides were really fun. My favorites were Goliath and Tatsu! Tatsu takes the prize though. I just kept thinking "who thought of this? This is so wrong." They literally hang you belly first and fly you around like an insane super hero! It was SICK! So fun. Thanks to Rachel, Rachel, Becky and Shar for making it a great day. Couldn't have done it with out Brent. Thanks for a great birthday trip. (can't get images to upload. I'll try later)

Chicken Stompers

2009-08-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

These boots are made for walkin'...

I can't believe these cute little jelly bean chicks turned into...

Crazed roosters!

So, I invested in what I refer to as Chicken Stompers. These are my cute rain boots that I wear in the backyard so that when a rooster attacks me or one of the kids I can defend us. These roosters will literally ATTACK you from behind. The code of ethics is lost on roosters. The kids have been clawed and jumped on and I've been chased into the house screaming in fear. They've even started attacking the dog while she eats. She's smaller than they are but so far can hold her own.

It's time to coup them up. Brent has let them roam freely because he thinks they keep down the bug population. They also keep down the people population. We're scared of our backyard. We all hold weapons when forced to go back there. Rakes, sticks, shovels. Anything to try and look fierce so they'll leave us alone.

We do have one hen. She started laying eggs a couple of weeks ago. Finally all this work will pay off one egg at a time. It's a really fun thing for the kids. Feeding them and collecting eggs. Definitely worth it!

Late breaking animal news.... Brent and the kids just started yelling that we have baby fish in our tank! We recently bought two new fish and apparently one was pregnant. We now have 20 baby fish swimming in our tank! They are now trying to figure out how best to separate the mommy so she doesn't eat them. Oh what a day!

First day of School

2009-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here comes a new year. Katie is starting 3rd grade. Her teacher is Ms. Jorgenson. Katie was disappointed to see that she was one of 3 students who were separated from her 2nd grade class. It's just how it worked out. The other two students that came with her are sweet girls who she was friends with last year. After school started Katie's class was changed to a combo class., 2nd and 3rd grade. There are only 5 2nd graders and the teacher will continue teaching to 3rd grade level. We'll see how it goes. Katie is on the BIG KID playground this year. 3rd-5th graders together. Hope that works out. Katie is very smart and likes school and her new teacher.

Grace is starting 1st grade. She loves her new teacher Mr. McDiarmid. He plays the guitar for them during singing time and seems to really love what he does. The kids think he's amazing. Grace is still on the LITTLE KID playground and never sees Katie at school. It was fun for them to be together last year and they'll be together again when Katie's in 5th grade and Grace is in 3rd. Hooray!

It's been a good start to the year. The girls seem to enjoy the routine and Joey starts preschool Tuesday. He'll go two days a week. He's super excited.

ATTN: UTAHNS!

2009-08-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

Especially Kel. I know you are gonna love this.

I recieved this link from a friend here in Ridgecrest. An awesome fundraiser for her sister who is a young mother fighting breast cancer. Here's the link to a blog that has info. It's this Saturday. Please support if you can. It sounds amazing!

http://thevawdreys.blogspot.com/2009/08/ask-and-ye-shall-receive.html

Thanks Y'all!

I have FEELINGS about that.

2009-08-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

We had a great time this summer. One of the highlights was our American Girls Club. The girls got together with friends and had an activity once a week that was centered around the theme of the book they read that week. It was great and I would love to continue with the club during the school year if time permits.

One conflict we have is the girls desire to own an American Girl doll. They read the Kit Kittredge series and would love to have the Kit doll. I've never liked the idea of American Girls dolls but recently my dislike has grown to loathing. I'm really bothered by the commercial exploitation of children. It used to be illegal to advertise to children on t.v.. That band was lifted and now all we watch is PBS because it's commercial free.

Here's a good example of why I loathe the brand : http://oneofthosehorriblemoms.blogspot.com/2007/03/fake-out.html

I don't want my kids to be wrapped up in LABELS and BRANDS starting as infants. I want to avoid the need to have certain things. Is a knock off doll any less FUN than a brand name doll? I don't think so. I could just get over it and take the easy road by breaking down and buying them the doll or letting them save for it but I'm past even that. I can't in good conscience support a company that is so exclusive. The books and dolls are such a great resource to get girls interested in reading, learning, imaginative play, and history. They could really benefit a lot of girls if they were more accessible.

O.K. I'm done.

Girls Camp 2009

2009-08-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to attend Girls Camp with our ward this year. I was nervous. I've never been a leader at camp and have never attended camp here. Truthfully, I was worried that I would detract from the spirit at camp. I am very silly and enjoy having fun with the girls and hoped there would be a time and a place for both I was right! There was a time and a place for fun and spiritual uplifting. I had a great time getting to know the girls better. There were moments for serious one-on-one talks as well as goofing off during down time. The good times started immediately.

When we arrived Tess, one of our YCLs (youth camp leaders) gave me a hug and asked "Who else is coming? We have no leaders this year." I said "Me, Sister Lee and Sister Bates are the leaders this year." She replied," You're not like leaders." I understood what she meant later. We as leaders were pretty young and relaxed compared to years past. We spent a lot of time loving the girls, having fun and sharing experiences. Some highlights: Cows grazing just steps from our tents and mooing very loudly at 5 am, matching PJ pants, skits, theme to Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the Beat It music video dance, Yoga in the woods, testimony meeting, having my name changed from Sister Cannon to Mama Cannon, receiving the 17 again award from the girls because I'm a 17 year old stuck in a womans body etc.. It was a lot of fun.

I missed my family. I was gone for 5 days and we were so far in the woods that there was no way to contact home the entire time. That made we worried at times but the family did fine without me. I hope I get to go to Girls Camp again and I hope it's the same great experience.

Birthday Fun!

2009-08-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Brent had his 31st birthday this month. To celebrate we had a Star Wars Swim party at Brent's cousins Matt and Katie Ballard's house. The kids decided that Brent needed a theme and settled on Star Wars. They picked out a Darth Vader pinata and Yoda napkins! Brent requested Sloppy Joes for dinner and a chocolate cake. Katie made Brent a scrapbook page with pictures she had taken, Grace made him a card and gave him 38 cents of her money. We all enjoyed our chance to hold Benson Ballard. He's a cute lil' guy. Sarah Ballard really liked the cake! It was a fun time. It's great living close to family.

Happenings

2009-07-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

We've been having a very HOT summer. Melting in the desert. We've been swimming at friends homes, playing at the park in the mornings and generally trying hangin' out at home. Grace asked me to do her hair for church last Sunday. It was crazy hair. So cute. Joey came out dressed in Brent's clothes. He was adorable. Grace had her first piano lesson. She is very excited to start learning the piano. It's really cute. Earlier this summer the kids dressed up like super heroes, even painting their faces with makeup to make super hero masks. We went to the movies dressed as super heroes! It was great. The summer is soon ending. I feel like I haven't done half of what I thought I should during the summer. I love having the kids around. Hopefully they've enjoyed it as well.

San Diego 2009

2009-07-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend in San Diego with Brent's parents and sister. We arrived Friday evening. Of course we ate dinner at Anthony's fish grotto fishette. Yum! We strolled around Sea Port Village and watched fireworks over the ocean. We went to the kite store and tried our hand at stick juggling and wandered the shops.

Saturday was a packed, hot day at La Jolla shores. We boogie boarded, surfed and played at the beach all day. In the name of tradition, we had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We explored Oceanside in an attempt to get Brent's parents to retire there. We hope they'll keep it in mind.

Sunday we spent the day at Cabrillo monument. The lighthouse was great. Katie had recently asked to tour one. It was fun. Ana Maria brought binoculars and a scope for the kids to look threw. They really liked being able to see things across the bay. We spent the afternoon in Balboa Park. We listened to street performers and rode in an eight person bike. It was WORK. It was FUN! Our favorite part is always riding the trolley.

A very fun trip, always too short.

Beach

2009-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great vacation to the beach. We started our vacation in Santa Maria. We got there Saturday to celebrate my mom's birthday. We went to dinner with her and my brother Thomas. Then Brent took the kids back to the hotel while I took my mom to the movies. We saw Proposal which was really funny and cute. (The wedding scene was almost word for word from While You Were Sleeping. Lonely girl, no family, trying to marry into a family. Sandra Bullock must have had deja vu.) I digress!

Sunday was my cousin Jeannie's baby shower. Her first baby. A little girl to be named Elaine Marie. All the girls in my family have the middle name Marie and there are a lot of us. It was a nature theme as Jeannie is quite the nature girl. We played fun games. Guess that song: all of the songs had the word 'baby' in the chorus, Name those kids: Name different kids from t.v. shows, and name the mother,father and baby names of animals. Pretty fun ideas. It was really great to see my family.

While the girls were at the Baby Shower the boys were at the Diaper Party. The guys all brought a package of diapers to a BBQ and had fun of their own. The men in my family took it upon themselves to school Joey on a few things. Jeannie's husband Tom introduced Joey to the drums! Which he loves. My cousin Mark played catch with Joey with a real mitt and glove. My cousin Joe introduced Joey to crawdads. Joey decided to take one home as a pet until Joe showed him that you could throw them in boiling water and then how to crack their bodies open and dip the meat in garlic butter. Joey decided to eat his pet.

Sunday and Monday we camped in a canyon near Avila Beach. It was foggy and hazy and cold. Typical Central Coast. One night was particularly cold and are choice was to go to bed ( at 5:30 pm) or call my cousin Tiffany who lives nearby in San Luis Obispo and ask her to entertain us. Tiffany and her husband Jack did a great job showing us around their almumator Cal Poly. We went to the Ag department Dairy where we just missed watching them milk the cows. We did see brand new calves. Some still had their umbilical cords attached. (I was a little sad that they were already separated from their mommies.) They were in these little pens with a cow sized Dogloo. They were really cute and loved to be pet and one wouldn't stop licking Katie. They had very cute "moos". We saw some wild deer on campus and then decided to get some ice cream at Coldstone downtown. When we got back to their house Jack said he had a surprise for the kids. We were all surprised when a huge boom went off and fireworks lit up the sky. "Hurry run in the house" he said. Illegal fireworks were a souvenir he brought back from their recent trip in Wyoming. It was really fun!

Tuesday we set up camp at Refugio State Beach near Santa Barbara. And there we stayed for 7 glorious days. We had 130 Ridgecrest friends there with us. A few families who had since moved away joined us for the trip. It was fantastic to be together with all our friends again. Life here just isn't the same without them.

Things we did during our week:

Sat on the beaching chatting and snacking.

Boogie boarding.

Kayaking. Which resulted in a wipe out from me and a huge bruise on my leg. we decided nobody had ever seen a goose egg on fat before.:)I LOVE kayaking.

Surfing: Brent was awesome he got some tips from Taryn and I and off he went. He stood up on the board right away. He's a natural. He's very excited because he's always wanted to surf. I think he's a little sad he married me assuming I could surf. Of course, he assumes that because I told him I could. Really I should have been clear that I had beed surfing before but am not good at it. Sorry honey.

Junior ranger activities put on by the park ranger.

4Th of July parade around the camp. The kids loved parading around in their red, white and blue yelling at the beachgoers.

Lunch with just the girls. To celebrate Kathryn and Shar's bdays we went to a Mongolian bbq and had a fun girls lunch,no kids.

Dinner date. Brent and I and a few couples went to dinner at AJ Spurs in Solvang. We love going there. It was great to have a babysitter back at the campsite.

Nights were filled with smores and late night laughs by the campfire.

We were sad to leave. Better start looking for jobs that pay a lot of money to sit on the beach and do nothing. Wait is that a lifeguard? Or Paris Hilton? Of course, Brent may have a future in Pro Surfing. Watch out Kelly Slater.

Problems with pets.

2009-07-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of problems with pets lately. First our Fancy Goldfish named Fancy got "ick". I gave the tank the treatment it needed and the fish just got worse. We saw the signs...swimming backwards, crazy look in the eyes. I woke up one morning to find her stuck in our Dinosaur egg bubbler that we have in the tank. I got her out but it was obvious that she wasn't going to pull out of this illness. Brent came to my rescue. He assumed the duty of putting her out of her misery. I thought we'd flush her but NO. Brent comes in from the back yard and I ask, "What'd you do with the fish." Brent replies with no remorse,"I stomped it." "What? You stomped on the fish? With what?", is my surprised reply. "With my shoe!" says Brent very matter of factly.

He actually went out side, put the fish on the ground and stomped on it! The making of a serial killer I tell you.

We left our two dogs and 4 chickens at home while we went on vacation. Our friends the Hardys were helping out while we were gone. The day after we left they called to let us know that our dog Shadow had DIED. Shadow was very old and we had planned on having to put her to sleep soon. She is a very sweet Akita. She didn't do well in the summers here and was blind and had hip dysplacia. We new the end was near but didn't expect that our friends would have to deal with this.

The Hardys, including all their small children, came to feed the animals. One of the daughters said "Mommy, I think Shadow is dead." Chaos ensued. All of the kids were upset in finding a dead animal. The Hardys felt bad having to call with this kind of news. I was mortified that they were going to have to deal with this. This was Sunday so they had to wait 'til the next day to take Shadow to the animal shelter for 'disposal'.

Monday morning I get a call from our friends the Carricks. They were visiting Ridgecrest and had stopped by to see our new house. I had forgotten to leave the key under the mat. With pity Carma starts "I have some bad news." I screamed out loud. They had gone around the house looking for the key and stumbled on to our dead dog. Yes, with three young children as well. I apologized for the traumatic experience and hoped no long term damage was done. Thank you Carricks and Bates for understanding and showing concern. You are great friends.

Of course, just after the Carricks and Bates left The Hardys came to pick up Shadow. They brought a large box. The one thing they hadn't thought about was...the heat. Shadow had been laying outside in 100 degree weather. It wasn't a pleasant experience moving a dead dog but the smell was not expected. They got Shadow into the box and covered the box with a tarp in the back of their SUV. When they started driving they rolled down all the windows. Lisa had to stick her head out the window and Darren put a sweat shirt over his face! A burst of air blew the tarp off and the box open! Yikes! They stopped at Lisa's grandmother's house to return her dog (alive) that they had been watching. They got air freshener from her and tried to help the smell of the car. It didn't help much. When they got to the animal shelter they let their car air out and laughed the whole way home. We owe them big time.

Of course now we just had Missy at home. She sensed a disturbance in the force when Shadow was gone and promptly ran away. The Hardys had to pick her up at our neighbors house and take her home with them. Missy decided ,in great chihuahua fashion, to challenge the Hardys German Shepherd, for the role as alpha dog. She lost. We picked her up when we got home to find her with a dog bite on her side and it was swollen hard and the size of a softball. This is the dog that also got attacked by a coyote and lived to tell about it. Now she spends her days tied up either inside or outside. She is healing well all on her own as we won't take her to the vet unless it's to be put down. (We already spent $500 dollars at the vet for her upset stomach earlier this year.) And so ends the saga of pet problems...for now.

Two weeks

2009-06-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Brent has been on travel for work for two weeks. He did come home on the weekend in between,but still. We kept ourselves as busy as possible.I have no pictures because most things we do involve water so I rarely get out the camera.

*Book Club: I started an American Girls Book Club. (I believe you can do a Liberty Boys Book Club as well.) We have a group of 9 girls ages 6 and 8. We chose to read the Kit Kittredge series. We read a book a week and then have an activity that pertains to the book. I was first so I had the girls decorate a club t-shirt and decorate a News Journal. Kit wants to be a news reporter. The stories take place during the Depression so this week the girls are visiting our local Food Bank. It's been a great experience for all of us. The books really humble you. Especially at this time of "economic crisis."

* Friends: There happened to be a few hubbies out of town so we "work widows" had dinner at the park together. We stayed 'til dark and could've played more.

* Swimming: Thankfully swim lessons started this week. All of the kids have lessons on the same day and at the same time. That is a miracle around these parts. You literally have to go an hour early to sit in line just to get in the first session of lessons, never mind getting them all together when they're in three different levels. The kids have been having fun. We stayed for Open Swim time and got fried to a crispy. The kids slept great.

*Library: We have an underwhelming library. The librarians are sweet but the place is small. There is no area for events. They invite entertainers every week. It's great for the kids but we really pack them in there between bookshelves. They saw a magician and a storyteller. More to come of course.

*Movie Theatre: In an attempt to keep my kids from being COMPLETE hillbillies, I took them to the movies. They chose to watch Up. It was very good. I cried of course. The kids didn't understand why. We were even going to eat popcorn but I forgot cash and this rinky dink town doesn't take plastic. Oh well, maybe next year.

* We had a water Primary activity. Fun inflatable slide.
* Katie has piano and activity days
*Park day: Playing at the park for 2 hours on Wednesdays. Hooray!

* I'm sure we did a lot of other things. The kids have been doing their reading challenges, crafts, and playing computer games.(Thanks for the hand-me-down computer Nana and Grandpa Dave.) I keep having to catch chickens in my yard and put them back in the coup. I'm also trying to make plants live. I made freezer jam with a friend for the first time. What's become of me?

Father's Day

2009-06-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am grateful today, as I am every day, for great dads. Dads make the world a better place. I've seen what a broken family, missing one or both parents, can do to children and wish everyone could have, what is now a luxury, of having a loving two parent home.

Brent is an amazing guy all around. A fantastic husband. An incredible dad. He has always participated in all aspects of parenting. He does the baths, bedtime stories, and kisses good night even when he's tired from a long day. He jumps in and helps anywhere he sees a need. He makes sacrifices so that we can do what RIGHT not just easy or fun. He's an amzing guy! We are blessed to have him in our family. P.S> This year the kids washed Brent's car as their gift to him. He loved it. As well as his new QUAD Rubicks cube, pj pants,raspberry cheesecake and Green Day C.D.. Love ya babe.

My father-in-law Dave is an excellent guy. He's been an example of hard work, faith, and love in Brent's life. You can tell how much he cares by how tired he can be at the end of a late night.:) We all adore him and are grateful for his level head and big heart.

My dad has been an example of fun and humor and service. He worked hard for our family at jobs he probably would rather have not done. He always laughed really loud and made everyone feel welcome. I miss my dad. He died a year ago this June. We would talk on the phone almost everyday. He loved to call our house and listen to Katie's 4 year old voice on the answering machine and begged us not to change it. So, we didn't. I was sad when our machine finally broke recently. My kids remember my dad, their Papa, as a sweet guy who always wanted hugs and loved being with them. I'm glad we'll be together again someday.

Thanks to all the father's who inspire and nurture children. Whether they're yours or someone else's. Just imagine what Barack Obama could've acheived had he had a father in the home. Maybe he would've been President at a younger age or chosen a different career all together;)

A Week

2009-06-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Brent continues to travel a lot. He does his best to minimize his time away and I appreciate that. I'm also glad when he can use any free time he might have while he's away to enjoy the new place he's in. Visiting the temple, sitting on the beach, visiting nearby family. We miss him when he's gone and love when he gets home.

Last week Brent was away and I did my best to hold down the fort. We had fun at the park with friends, went to ice cream, had dinner with friends, and a play date that allowed me to get some craft ideas ready for the kids. I'm sure we filled our days with many other activities but they are long forgotten. We've got lots of fun travel coming up and I just got a call saying we can start swim lessons TODAY. Hooray!

The Start of Summer

2009-06-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

I got some fun things together for the start of the summer. I gathered a basket full of crafts and projects to keep us entertained. I'm also having the kids do book reports. If they read a book at their approved level and write a book report on it then they get to pick a prize. We had to limit it to one prize per kid each day. They are a little too excited about the prizes.

Our prize basket is full of dollar store finds and books I found at Thrift stores. They are really into the idea. Our projects are weaving, sewing,etc.. We had a treasure hunt ready for them when they woke up this morning to celebrate the first day of summer. We sent them all over the house and they finally found things under their beds. Katie found the projects, Grace found the prizes and Joey found doughnuts for our special breakfast. It was really fun. Thanks for the idea Kathryn!

End of the Year Activities

2009-06-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Busy Busy! First was Joey's Joy School graduation. Yes, they "graduate" every year. It's cute and fun for the kids. They really feel important and that's the whole point. We had graduation at our house this year. We had a BBQ potluck dinner and a cute little presentation. The class sang songs for us and told what their favorite Joy was this year and why. Joey's favorite was Order and Goal Striving. Trying new things. He's so cute in his little cap and gown. Hooray for Joey!

Grace and Katie both earned reading awards at their assembly for meeting and exceeding their reading goals. They were very excited. Katie won a trophy for meeting all her reading goals all year. Grace is an excellent reader. We are very proud of them.

Grace had Kindergarten Graduation. Again, very exciting and a little emotional. She is growing up so well. The class sang a song and recited a poem they memorized. Big first graders now.

Katie had a special lunch with her class. We'll all miss her sweet teacher. Hope Grace gets her for second grade too.

To celebrate the end of the year we went for ice cream. We've started a tradition of letting the kids have a scoop for each year they've completed.Preschool and Kindergarten get 1 scoop and 1st and second grades get 2 scoops. 3rd-5th grades will get that number of scoops. 6th grade and above get to pick their own half gallon. It was fun!

L.A. Temple Trip

2009-06-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to L.A. recently for some much need spiritual reflection. We had a Stake Temple day and took the opportunity to swap babysitting down in L.A.. A group of friends stayed at the temple apartments on a Friday night. We entertained some kids that night and then attended the temple the following day while our children stayed with friends. It was really great. The kids loved walking around the grounds. We even stalked a bridal party for a while. The kids loved watching them take pictures and celebrate with their families. The bride and groom grew uncomfortable when they realized no one knew who we were yet we were sitting and watching them very nearby. I didn't feel too bad. We just happened to be waiting in the "photo" spot for Brent to bring the car around. We will be forever apart of their random wedding stories.

We drove up to Santa Maria to visit family as well. My cousin Gary is battling brain cancer and had a major set back. It was great to visit him as well as my mom and brother. Of course we visited the beach and got a little too much sun. Fun times!

Katie's Field Trip

2009-05-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was very happy to be able to accompany Katie's class on a field trip this week. The class has been raising trout in an aquarium for a couple of months. This field trip was to release the trout into a river. We drove about 2 hours away to the base of Mt. Whitney to Lone Pine Creek. Katie has been counting down the days 'til the field trip. She was a little concerned about driving on a bus for so long. She gets car sick. All of the kids were very excited to be going somewhere new and getting out of the classroom for a day.

Katie did great on the bus. No sickness. It was warm but do-able. The creek was really pretty. The kids released their baby trout with pride. We had a hike, lunch, a game of facts about trout, painting what we had seen that day, journal writing, and a discovery walk with binoculars to see what we could see. My group was very well behaved. It was really fun to see their excitement.

The bus ride home was a little quieter but not by much. By the end some kids were sleeping and others were still going strong. It was great fun. Special thanks to Lisa for watching my other kiddos so I could go.

Visitors and Neighbors

2009-05-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

We've got big news! Brent and I have been living here in the Mojave desert for just over 4 years. We have been blessed to have Aunt Chris only 2 1/2 hours away and appreciate her willingness to let us drop in on her. Now we have even more family nearby. Brent's cousin Lisa and her family are going to be living in the L.A. area very soon. Even better, his cousin Matt and his family have moved to our town of Ridgecrest! They arrived this weekend. We are so excited to have family here in town. They are currently living just down the road from us and will continue to live in our ward.

Matt's Dad and brother drove the moving truck so we even had visitors staying with us for a few days. The Cannon kids had fun chatting and playing with them. They also adore their cousin Sarah and refuse to leave her alone when she's around. They are excited to have little cousins around to play with. Brent and I are glad as well. Maybe we'll even have a steady flow of visitors come threw.

Disneyland!

2009-05-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

Brent and I LOVE Disneyland. We grew up on trips to Disneyland. We went there on our honeymoon. We last visited Disneyland three years ago. Brent vowed never to go again. Katie is not the adventurous type.

We decided to go over Grace's 6th birthday. In 2009 you get in free to Disneyland on your birthday. And because we're SoCal residents we got a free day at California Adventure as well.

It was really fun and we needed it. Brent has been traveling a bit again and we took this weekend in between his business trips for some family fun. One of the benefits to Brent's travel is the hotel points he accrues. We got our hotel stay for free.

This was Joey's first official trip to Disneyland. He was 2 months old when we were last there. His favorite ride this trip was Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland and Toy Story at California Adventure. He did really well the entire time. He stayed up till 11 pm the first night. He braved the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean with his dad. So proud.

Katie did much better this trip. She road most of the rides that we wanted to. She buried her head and refused to look up during Pirates of the Caribbean. She flat out refused to try the Haunted Mansion. Huge crying fit until we gave in. It was definitely better this trip than the last but we still have work to do. Her favorite rides were also Buzz and Toy Story.

Grace is a dream come true for me! One of the reasons we waited to go back to Disneyland was so Grace would be tall enough to ride all the rides. She has wanted to ride the "big kid rides" for some time now. She was tall enough for everything at Disneyland. She was too short for a couple of rides at California Adventure but I wouldn't have let her go on those anyways. We've got about 8 more inches before we deal with roller coaster loops.

Grace happily tried every thing. She loved all the roller coasters at Disneyland. Thunder Mt. Space Mt. Splash Mt. Matterhorn. She had no problem on Haunted mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. I love that kid. She's got Brent's adventurousness and my iron stomach. Great combination for amusement parks. She even went on...the Tower of Terror. I had never been on this one and was a bit nervous as we neared the entrance. I knew it was a free fall type ride but I didn't realize that it drops you 5 different times from 5 different heights! She was very brave. I watched her the entire time to see her reaction. She seemed very surprised. An expression that said "What."

When we got off I was laughing, not knowing what to expect her reaction to be. "Well, what do you think?" I asked. She said,"weird and fun and SCARY." She had a bewildered smile plastered across her face. She said it was o.k. but she wouldn't ride it again. (Disney gives you switchback passes. So I wait in line and ride with Grace and then give Brent the pass and he goes straight to the front of the line. Since our other kid isn't into the "big kid" rides Grace got to ride twice in a row on all the roller coasters.) I recommended Brent not try the Tower of Terror. I think he would've gotten sick. Grace's favorite rides were the Disney Mt roller coasters and Toy Story.

The lines weren't bad. We waited 15-20 minutes for most rides. We walked right on some and waited 45 minutes for Space Mt and Toy Story. Fantasy land at 11 pm is HEAVENLY. We don't go near that place till after 10 pm. It's insane during the day.

Friday was Grace's birthday. I can't begin to imagine how fun it must be to have your 6th birthday AT Disneyland. I brought some cupcakes that looked like Mickey Mouse. It all fell apart but was cute and fun for a moment.The best thing about Disneyland on your birthday is that they give you a pin to wear that says it's your birthday with your name written on it. The staff at Disneyland is WELL trained to wish you a Happy Birthday every time they see that button. We were blowen away. Cast members would be walking by us and shout out "Happy Birthday Princess." When we got on every ride they would say "Happy Birthday Grace. Have a nice ride." SO you don't get front of the line preference but it was really cool. I had also made her a hat that said 'Birhtday Girl' which helped. While we were waiting our turn to see Alice we suddenly heard someone calling out "Grace! Oh Grace! Will you come see me." It was Alice! She had read Grace's button and started calling out her name as if she were the lost White Rabbit from Wonderland. Fantastic for Gracie.

Sunday was Mother's Day. I was loved very much that morning. We had to drop Brent of at the Ontario airport on our way back home. SO sad.Mother's Day was pretty usual. Unpacking, cleaning the kids, trying to get them to bed so they won't be cranky for school. (Didn't happen) Another fun weekend!

Now it's back to work. Lots of projects to be don. #1 chicken coup #2 blinds up in the big room. It's sunny and always warm here now. Wish us luck.

Say What?

2009-04-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Grace just came in saying in a sing-song voice,"We're digging a grave,we're digging a grave. Dead bird, dead bird. You've gotta come see mom. We're burying a dead bird. I have to go wash my hands first though 'cause I touched it with ONE finger." Kids say weird things. And apparently get excited about even stranger things. So as Hannah Montana would say "Crazylittlegirlsingingaboutdeadbirdsanddigginggraves,says what?
(Yeah, that's right Brent and I both like Hannah Montana. We don't let our kids watch it but sometimes we catch it late at night when their asleep. Come on! How many of you are surprised? We did grow up on Saved by the Bell for goodness sakes!)

A fun weekend

2009-04-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend. Our nephew Caleb is doing the Flat Stanley program. We carry a picture of Flat Caleb with us for a week and take pictures of him in interesting places we go. Interesting places are hard to find in Ridgecrest but we did our best. So Flat Caleb is in a lot of our pictures.

* Our kids visited our friends goats. The kids love visiting the baby goats. They are teeny tiny. The kids had an opportunity to feed the goats their bottles. I'm glad I'm not a goat! Those suckers went to town on those bottles. Yikes for poor mommy goats everywhere.

* Friday we had movie night. Each weekend we have a movie night. We watch a family movie and have popcorn with a treat mixed in. It's fun to have traditions. Movie night is a lazy tradition but sometimes it's all we can muster at the end of day.

* Saturday I attended our Stake Relief Society Enrichment meeting. It was great! Very uplifting and always nice to see friends. I volunteered to stay and help wash dishes so I should have some good karma coming my way!

* While I was at my fun meeting Brent spent the day with the kids. They went to a Kids Day at the park. They had fun making crafts and spending time with Dad.

* While I washed dishes at the church Brent took the kids on a little hike to
B mountain.

* Brent took Joey to a Daddy Date with the Joy School. The dads took the kids to the Wild Horse and Burro ranch. They had fun feeding the horses carrots.

* While the boys were gone I took the girls out for ice cream. They ate their ice cream while we strolled down the street looking in store windows. When they were done eating we went in and looked at some jewelry and antiques.

* Today we are heading to church. We are also visiting Brent's co worker's house. They are asking Brent's cousin to live at their house while they're on long term travel for a year.. So great! 4000 square feet with a pool for FREE!!!! I'm pretty sure we can get some babysitting and swim time as a finders fee.

Some weekends are work,work,work. That's good too. It was nice to just enjoy time together and apart this weekend. Here's hoping for a good week ahead.

Spring has sprung

2009-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! (Belated) We had a fun and very full Easter season.

* We got creative with our bushel of apples and made Apple Empanadas. My friend Sophia gave us the idea and we're grateful she did. They were fun to make with the kids and oh so yummy.

* We went to a local Easter egg hunt. The kids hunted for eggs and ate lunch with friends.

* We colored Easter eggs! I love making the very vivid colored eggs. The kids had a lot of fun coming up with their own color combinations. Using those artistic talents!

* We had a nice Sacrament meeting and a lot of visitors and investigators. It was great. I taught a combined lesson in Young Women's. I used Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk from this April conference. I LOVE that talk. He's great! (If you know Zach McKay ask him his Elder Holland story. Now there's your confirmation that Mormons DON'T drink
caffeine!)

* The kids found a baby bunny in the backyard. We have a lot of wild rabbits running around the yard. This baby bunny looked as if it had broken it's front legs. We didn't have the nerve to put it out of it's misery ourselves so I drove it down the road to the vets office. The vet was kind enough to take care of the bunny for us. What does it say about you if you put the Easter bunny to sleep?

* Our chickens are no longer little fur balls. They literally get bigger every day! This picture of them was taken a few days ago and is now outdated. They are so big. Their new feathers are growing in so they have a lot of white on them now. It's still to early to tell their gender for sure, but it looks like we probably have atleast one rooster. Yikes! They are still a fun project. Soon we'll be building a coup.

* It's 75 out today! It feels even warmer than that. Here comes the sun!

*

This song!

2009-04-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

So it needs mentioning that I really like this song that is currently playing on my blog. It's Flightless Bird by Iron and Wine this version is on the Twilight soundtrack. I really like the melody/sound of the song. And yes, I'm aware that for some it will conjure romantic images of a girl and her vampire at the high school prom. Still, on it's own merit it sounds very inviting and sorrowful.

Back in the day I would just hum along never caring what the lyrics REALLY were. In this day and age of Google I can no longer go without knowing. The lyrics to this song are the ramblings of a psych patient who was inadvertently let out of the hospital do to over crowding. This is my theory of course. They are INSANE. Props to whoever wrote the music but the lyrics? I truly believe they used the 'third sentence from the fifth chapter in the last ten books you've read' method. The sentences aren't connected to each other at all! No consistent theme! It's a very romantic sounding song though the lyrics reference urine, cats, and a mouth! Not lips, mouth. The only coherent verse is the first line of the chorus,'have I found you flightless bird'. I get the reference to finding a love that won't leave you. That's it.

In my humble opinion, this writer's Poetic License has expired and should be revoked. Enjoy!

Cannon Country

2009-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Old man Cannon has a farm E-I-E-I-O! Our local hardware store gets little chicks in to their store pretty regularly. At Easter time the chicks are dyed fun colors like Easter eggs. I thought it would be fun to take the kiddos to see them in between conference sessions on Saturday. (Had I known the process in which they use to get the chicks that color...I would've boycotted the whole thing) The chicks were really cute! Bright pink,yellow,green,blue,and orange.As they grow the dye wears off and they'll be white.

We've been thinking about getting an animal for the kids to raise and wanted to know what was involved with chickens. Long story short...we have four chicks. The entire set up cost us $50 dollars. Now we cross our fingers that they all grow up healthy and they all turn out to be HENS. You can't tell their gender for a while. If we have roosters they will go the way of the Doe Doe. I don't want an early wake up call from a bird.

Brent did a great job setting them up in their little house. The kids are really excited. I'm sure they'll learn a lot from raising an animal.Brent and I have a yellow chick which I named Peep. Katie's chick is green and blue tie-dyed. She named it Peacock and later, when it changes back to a white color, it's name will be Rosie. Grace's chick is green and named Lucky. Joey's chick is dark pink and named MudBud. Interesting. Fun to see the names they choose all on their own.

If we're gonna live out on land we should probably do some of these things you can't do living in a sub-division. Chickens will be a good start.

Want to go on vacation?

2009-04-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

This could be us! They look like they're having fun!

You can lay on the beach and visit Mayan ruins. AWESOME!

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico is on the Yucatan Peninsula. GORGEOUS! I found a great deal.

I'm looking forward to a week at the beach this summer with my little family. It's a lot of fun. Nana may even take our kids for a while this summer so Brent and I can escape to somewhere great. It's just not soon enough. Anyone want to escape with me? Girl's trips are fun! Let me know.

AAAHHHGGG!

2009-04-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

"Listening" to conference with my kids is impossible. The only thing I remember was a talk on reverence. In small spurts I hear the sweet woman's voice say something to the the effect of "Crying babies and unruly toddlers should be taken out to another area during church meetings in an effort to have reverence." Of course I think 'Yeah I get that at church but what about Conference at home. I've heard maybe two sentences.' I wanted to yell at the screen 'Shut up lady. You try this.' I'm now shouting every time one of the kids gets noisy. Especially because it's always the kid who's old enough to know better. She hasn't stopped chattering the entire time and won't even whisper. Now my thoughts are 'Shut up kid! How many times do I have to tell you quiet activities are for QUIET times.' The next part I catch was "Do you show reverence for the people you love most? Are you an example of reverence in the home." Sheesh lady, you're laying it on thick today!

So, I need to listen to conference at a quiet moment. I obviously have a lot I can learn from it...when I can actually hear it.

Spring Break

2009-03-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

I'm the worst blogger EVER. I never have pictures! My camera goes threw batteries like it's going out of style. Which may be the problem. Maybe it's too old now. So, all you get is info on our Spring Break week.

The kids and I were very glad for a break from the usual routine. I love having them home. We played at the park, watched WAY too much t.v., and had a camping trip. We made a trip to the library and went out to lunch together. The kids ran my usual errands with me (not my favorite part.)

Grace spent an insane amount of time reading. She picked out a few Dr. Seuss books at the library and fell in love with reading. She's been doing really well and enjoying sounding out words. This introduction to Dr. Seuss was even better for her. She read and read and read. She was excited to take Accelerated Reading tests when she got back to school. I'm really excited for her.

The whole family headed out camping with friends on Friday night. We camped at a Sand Canyon about 15 minutes from my house. We all love roasting marshmallows and hanging out around the campfire.

It was a great week together! I'm glad we had time to relax and enjoy each other.

Oh to be 16 again

2009-03-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

It was a fun Twilight Night! I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. We had fun chatting and eating as usual. My kids helped me make a banner that read "twilight" in the actual twilight font.(Thanks for the idea from your blog Felicity) We had apples to eat of course and yummy treats that others brought. I setup at Twilight Trivia game which was hilarious. These ladies know their stuff. The shocker was Becky taking home the grand prize Twilight t-shirt. Mirilou took home the "I heart boys that sparkle" button. Merry took third place with a copy of Wuthering Heights (Bella's favorite book.) It was really funny to watch. I hope I can play next time.

We watched the movie together...correction...we heckled/examined/picked apart the movie. It was insane fun to talk about all the inept acting and things that differed from the book. I'm grateful to have something to be silly about and great friends to be silly with. Can't wait for our New Moon party in November. Go Team Jacob!

Who are you?

2009-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Interesting! I guess I'm one hot momma whether alive or undead. Getting ready for Twilight fun this weekend!

What did you do?

2009-03-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

I got this activity from my friend's blog. I had fun you should try it too.

Rules: Anything you have done has to be in colored, bold, and/or underlined etc.. How much have you done? It only takes about 5 minutes…Just do it..it's fun! The things I've done are marked with *.

1. Started your own blog*
2. Slept under the stars*
3. Played in a band* (air band)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower*
6. Given more than you can afford to charity*
7. Been to Disneyland!*
8. Climbed a mountain*
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo* (at night to my kids)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm*
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch*
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning...*
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight*
22. Hitch hiked*
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort*
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse*
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset*
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community !
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied*
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke*
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight*
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain*
53. Played in the mud*
54. Gone to a drive-in theater*
55. Been in a movie* (Twice)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class* (Judo ages 4-12)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen*
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching*
63. Got flowers for no reason *
64. Donated blood! *
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check *
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy* ( Barbie, Jem, Teddy Ruxpin, Popple, Cabbage Patch! Ring any bells?)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial*
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt*
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job*
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House*
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox*
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury*
91. Met someone famous* (lots)
92. Joined a book club*
93. Lost a loved one*
94. Had a baby*
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit*
98. Owned a cell phone*
99. Been stung by a bee*
100. Visited Italy

I scored 43! How about you?

FREE!

2009-03-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

What would do for free stuff? I do a few things to get free stuff or at least discounts. Slickdeals.net is a great resource for deals. I subscribe to birthday clubs. Free ice cream from Coldstone and Baskin Robins, free kid's meal from Burger King.The best has to be free Disneyland on your birthday this year. I just learned Hollywood video gives you a free rental on your birthday. There are a lot of free birthday deals. You can Google and find great lists of freebies for b-days.

For the Ridgecrestites: The Swap Sheet has coupons for restaurants. Kristi's diner has buy one get one free and kid's eat free on Monday nights. Grape Leaf has buy one get one free too. Lugo had FREE dinner last night. Adults chose between steak or chicken and kid's ordered anything on the kid's menu. Totally free.(We tipped our waitress of course.)

So, what is your time worth to you? I love deals. I love sales, second hand stores, yard sales, passing along hand-me-downs, coupons etc.. I know I have a mix of opinions among my friends. Some don't want to mess with it. Others love a good deal. Let me know what your deals are.

P.S. My favorite is exchanging hand-me-downs. It gave me such satisfaction to give piles of clothes to a couple having their first baby. It comes to me too. My friends and family remember me when getting rid of boy clothes. We really haven't had to buy much over the years. Karma! You can see it work everywhere.

Traumatized

2009-03-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

The above picture in order left to right: Joey, Patrick, Jane, and Emma all born within days of each other.

Joey's bestest friend Mackenzie went to visit Utah with her family this week. Joey was upset today when he realized she had gone to Utah. I told him he could play with her when she got back. He said," No.After they go to Utah I can't play with them anymore. When people go to Utah they don't come back and I can't play with them anymore.

It's true! I feel his pain. First it was Patty (Patrick Carrick) who disappeared only to be seen on infrequent visits to Utah. And then our dear Janie (Jane Agren). Yes, I miss them and their mommies. I'm excited to be reunited for a week at the beach this summer. Can't wait.

Track and Field Day

2009-03-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Katie and Grace had Track and Field Day at school last week. It was a flex (Friday off for Brent every other week) so Brent, Joey and I headed to the school for the day. They all did a great job running, throwing, and jumping. Grace placed third in the 50 M run and standing long jump. Katie placed third in the 50 M run. Brent had fun teaching the kids tricks with the Hula Hoop.

Later that day was a Peacebuilder assembly. Katie received Student of the Month for her class. She is a hard working, kind little girl who deserves the recognition. We are very proud of our little girls!

Joey turns 4

2009-03-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Joey turned 4 years old on March 4th. He was pretty funny about his birthday. It was as if this year was the first year he realized what a birthday was. We had to keep reminding him that he was turning 4 now. It was my week to teach Joy School which means Joey got to have all his school friends over on his birthday. He shared a birthday treat with them at snack time and enjoyed the attention when we sang Happy Birthday to him and gave him a special necklace to wear.

I took him out for a special lunch and ice cream. That night we had a family party. Joey picked a strawberry cake and chocolate frosting. Brent drew a Batman logo on top in yellow just like Joey asked for. Joey got a new set of Legos a new ball for his mini basketball hoop and his all-time favorite....tools. Joey is always using tools and asking if Brent need any "help". Brent got Joey a tool box/bag full of tools. He also included some paint sticks that Joey can use to hammer and screw and nail. Which is a happy change from Joey constantly asking if he can hammer things around the house like the fridge or couch.

Our friends the Grover's also recommended a nail polish to stop Joey's finger sucking. It's called STOP. It's been a few days and is totally working. Yeah! Let's hope this breaks the habit for good.

Happy Birthday little guy! We love you!

It's great to be eight

2009-03-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Katie turned 8 years old on February 17th. Turn 8 is big around here. Katie decorated her own cake. She did a really great job. She's still learning the less is more concept though. We had a family party that night. Katie was most excited to get a white sweater and white slipper dress shoes to match her baptism dress.

One great thing about turn 8 is starting Activity Days at church. It's a special night twice a month for girls 8-11 years old. They learn about lots of different ways to better themselves. Katie's first night was an exercise night. The girls were really cute doing a really out dated 80's work out video. It was cute.

The greatest thing about being 8 is being old enough to be baptized. We left it up to Katie to choose if or when she would be baptized. She tends to be timid and wary. She was excited to turn 8 so she could be baptized. The fact that she would be the first in her class was probably a driving force. She's very competitive and loves being first and special.

It was an amazing time. Katie woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. She wasn't feeling 100% that day. She was still excited and happy though a little tired and quite. Brent baptized and confirmed her. Brent's mom and dad made a special trip in for the occasion and spoke about baptism and the Holy Ghost. We had a celebration at our house after the baptism. It is still hard to believe that we have a daughter who is old enough to be baptized. I hope Katie will continue to grow and learn and strength her testimony over the years. She's off to a great start by following the example of Christ and the examples she has in her family. Ya Katie!

2009-03-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the desert! The kids and Brent had President's Day off and wouldn't you know it... it SNOWED! It snowed at our house! It didn't stick. We called a few friends and jumped in the car. We drove around the bend of the mountain into a winter wonderland. 15 minutes from our house was great snow. We found a fun sledding hill and luckily I'm a true coastal girl and had grabbed our least desirable BOOGIE BOARD. Yes, we don't own a sled. I'm a beach girl. Yes, we lived in Utah for 5 years. Our sled/saucer broke our last winter there. Hence, no need for a sled in the desert. So I thought.

We had a great time sledding in the snow. The boogie board made for a nice slow ride for the kids while the Turner's 'red rocket' kept us in stitches (almost literally).

We are glad to have friends like the Hardy's and Turner's who'll jump at the chance for fun.

Big Room

2009-03-09T08:51:00.001-07:00

Brent has spent lots of time and hard energy on the completion of our "big room." The photos show just how disgusting this room was when we bought the house. It was used as a dogs playroom by the previous owners. Yes that poopie on the floor. There was excrement all over the house. I am happy to report that this room has been sanitized and beautified. It's been almost a year but we are happily using our big room. We call it the big room because it's 800 square feet. That's also the reason it took us almost a year to renovate it. It costs a pretty penny to put down 800 square feet of flooring. Not to mention replacing walls, painting, etc.. I forgot to take an after picture.

It looks fantastic. Brent is awesome and I'm pretty good too. It's great to have it mostly finished, Just the edges, baseboards, and decorating left to do. Oh, and a huge hole in the ceiling where we had to repair a chimney installation. Still, it feels pretty done to me.

2009-03-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Fin!

2009-02-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over. Brent was away on travel in D.C. for two weeks. I am generally a mess when I'm left alone to my own devices. My brother came to visit for most of the time and was a great help. I was pretty busy with projects. I read a lot when Brent is on travel. I feel like I'm ignoring Brent when I get into a book when he's around. At least when we're watching t.v. or movies or doing projects we're both involved.

First my list of projects: (in defense to how I spent the rest of my time)

1. I planted flowers. My Faith and Friendship garden. Working on Personal Progress I planted a garden for the Faith project. Kathryn is responsible for the friendship part. Thanks Kathryn. I love it. Makes me think of you.

2. New Beginnings. I'm the Personal Progress Specialist in our ward. I was in charge of our New Beginnings night. We had a Johnny Lingo Luau/ 8 Value Women theme. A game or activity to represent each value. It was some thought and work but turned out great. Lots of fun in the end.

3. Texture and paint walls. I wanted to finish these walls so Brent can get going on the floors. I really want our 'big' room done. We've got family coming to town soon. I started my red wall but the Home Depot gave me the wrong primer and stalled my project. I've got the right stuff now and will get started today.

4. Meetings for the kid's school.

5. Usual stuff. Meals, laundry, driving kids. General craziness.

So, when I wasn't doing these things (in my defense) I was reading. Not just a little but A LOT. I read the entire Twilight Saga in 10 days. Maybe that isn't out of the ordinary for some people. It felt pretty impressive to me and Brent was amazed. I kind of made fun of Brent for buying Twilight for me for Christmas. I wasn't interested in it. After I got past the first half of Twilight I was hooked. New Moon was my favorite book. The rest was alright. I thought it ended alright. Enough closure yet open for another series. I'm starting Midnight Sun and hope she finishes it someday. I'm not quite obsessed anymore but am planning a Twilight party so I can watch the movie when it's on DVD since I missed it in theatres.

This is my public apology to all my friends that I snickered at for their unnatural obsessing and devotion to the Twilight Saga. If I was a puppy you would rub my nose in it.

D.C. or not?

2009-02-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that we have been considering taking a two year position in D.C.. I say "we" because my job would be transferred as well:) After months of consideration Brent finally visited the D.C. office and while it is a great opportunity he declined the offer. Yes, we are staying warm and toasty in the desert for now.

We will miss the money signs that swirled in our head, the historical nature that is D.C., the opportunity for travel on the other side of the country and seasons. We are excited to still be plugging along with the renovations on our house, the Refugio beach trip for the 2nd summer in a row (this year is proving to be the greatest ever), and not uprooting our lives after just settling into our new home.

We know now that we are willing to do a 'tour' somewhere in the world. We also know there are 'tours' in Hawaii, Germany and San Diego that maybe available if we wish upon a star REALLY hard. Ridgecrest is stuck with us for now. You know you love it!

I've been 'sucked' in

2009-01-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

I read a LOT when Brent is away on travel. When I start reading a book I can't stop. It's like watching 10 minutes of a movie everyday if you don't get through it quickly. I also HATE book fads. It was weird and creepy to see grown adults waiting in lines dressed as characters from a children's book when Harry Potter was all the rage. I have no desire to read that series. I may be secretly afraid I'll turn into a crazed lunatic wearing a cape at a bookstore at 12am.(Kerri Ann)

My sweet husband bought me a few books for Christmas. I was amused when one of them was Twilight. Another fad sweeping the nation. I had no interest in reading it. Again, fearing becoming a cliche. Some crazy housewife obsessing over a teen-ee bopper book. Chatting on message boards. Flying across the country to see the movie with a stranger (Amy). Well, I started Twilight. It was a slow start. I wasn't sure I could get attached to a teenage girl who actually sulked because she was popular and all the guys wanted to date her and all the girls wanted to be her friend. By the end I was hooked. I read half of New Moon today. I'm sure I'll be done with the series this week. It is best to start a series after all the books have been released. No waiting!

So here I am. I hope it's a smooth ride on this 'band wagon'. I don't want to lose my sanity. My friend Felicity attended a Twilight party before seeing the movie with a group of friends. That may be as far as I'll take this. We'll see. I love this song I found from the soundtrack. Bella's lullaby. Really beautiful. OH NO! I'm slipping! It's a slippery slope people. I still love this song!

* This song I found is apparently really called River Flows threw you? By Yiruma? Something like that. It's been relabeled and dispensed as Bella's Lullaby by some kind of plagiarist. It's the most romantic piano piece I've ever heard. I see why they stole it. Enjoy!