Winter in Kentucky

Winter is COMPLETELY different here than it was in Arizona, that's for sure. We had our first ice storm yesterday and it is amazing! Why is it that so many of life's most awe inspiring sights involve water? Think about it- Hawaii's beaches, Niagra Falls, the Great Lakes and every calendar ever made has to have at least one shot of a small stream (I think it is a law somewhere).

I have now seen another amazing spectacle courtesy of Mother Nature. Every branch, twig, leaf, blade of grass, rock and berry is coocooned in ice! It is a sight to see. Mom had told me about these storms when she was on her mission but words do NOT do it justice. Even pictures cannot capture the silence and feelings of an ice storm. It isn't just that everything is cold. It is as if time has literally frozen still. NOTHING can move. There is snow on the ground but it too is covered with a layer of ice. Walking down the side walk reminds me of the old oil stickers we used to collect as kids because when you take a step you can see water seep out from under the weight of your foot. The ice doesn't break on the sidewalk but the water under the ice moves around.

There are teeny tiny bubbles covering the street about three feet from the curb. I am not quite sure what makes those form but it looks like someone took a coffee stirring straw and blew little bubbles over all the neighborhood streets.

The kids and I took a walk through the neighborhood to see what everything looked like and slipped and slided our way down the street and back. We had a great time pulling ice off the van when we came home. If we had a way to cut it off without breaking the ice, we could have replicated our van full scale in ice because it was just one complete layer of ice covering the entire vehicle. We had an amazing day yesterday- no work, nowhere to go, just stayed home and enjoyed being here and seeing new sights with our kids.

12 days of Halloween

Someone in our ward is doing the 12 days of Halloween to our family. It is really cute. The first night they dropped off one bag of Doritos. The second night they brought over two large pumpkins. The third day was three bags of candy, fourth was carmel apples and tonight was cute little Halloween cupcakes. I have an idea of who it is but nobody else in my family does. Sooo... if you happen to be reading this and you are our Halloween buddies, thanks! We are loving it! Oh, and watch out- my kids are out to discover your secret identity.

Week Two

Second week of home schooling. Alexis and Aiden finished reading Summer of the Monkeys. Friday they turned in a report on the author and it was uncanny how many similarities they have with the author. For example, he was home schooled by his mother. At around age 12 his family moved due to the recession and he was left with no friends. He thought most of the books his mom gave him were girly and didn't like reading until his grandma gave him a copy of Call of the Wild. Aiden told me he thought blogs were girly because you talk about "your thoughts and feelings" and oddly enough- we had already chosen Call of the Wild as our next book. I was glad to see both of the kids pointed out the similarities between themselves and the author.

Amanda received her patriarchal blessing last night. It was a good experience for her and I am happy she received it. I hope it will give her direction and comfort throughout her life.

Long but good post

After I wrote a scathing note to Amanda's teacher last night, I woke up this morning to a different thought. The parable of the poop cookies popped into my head just as I opened my eyes and I knew I needed to be nice to this teacher instead of lashing out. So, I politely sent some delicious pumpkin cookies to her school this morning with a letter telling the teacher they were "Historically accurate, traditional Squirrel Feces Cookies". I had taken the liberty of pulling out all the big pieces of poop and only left a few pieces in there so she could get the flavor. I added that she could pick out a few of the last little bits but that they were so minimal she probably wouldn't even notice.

After sending the cookies to the teacher I went in and visited with the vice principal. To make a long story short, the principal stated that he supports his teachers 100% and that if showing a rated R movie is the best way to teach children they will do it. He saw nothing wrong with the movie and since we live in a digital world we need to reach out to children in their own medium. I concure with that statement but added that the medium of movies doesn't need to be rated R movies. They could show History channel movies that would get the story across just fine. No, he insisted. It needed to be more realistic. Dallas and I left the meeting knowing full well nothing was going to change. The VP went so far as to say it wasn't going to change.

By evening time I had mostly forgotten about the whole principal and cookie episodes (I am a mom. Anything past five minutes ago is ancient history). We went to church tonight and Sister Valenta smiles and says, "So, I hear you sent some cookies to Amanda's teacher this morning." Her son and Amanda have early morning seminary together and Amanda read him the letter.

It turns out that just yesterday she and her husband had visited with this same VP about a book her son was given to read. She said they were extremely upset about the vulgar language and scenes portrayed in the book but the VP said it was a great piece of literature. This went on for sometime when the husband said, "If I made you some brownies with just a little poop in them, would you eat them?" The VP said, "no." "Well, why are you asking my son to read a good book with just a little poop in it?" They didn't get anywhere with him either.

The best part is that I learned the relationship between Amanda's teacher and the VP. Get this- they are MARRIED!! I don't know if anything will happen or not, but I can't help but think someone put that story in my mind this morning at 5 am. I had already written a letter to the teacher. I had signed the opt out slip. However, someone else knew of the VP's conversation the day before and also knew who he was married to. He also knew I had just baked cookies. I trust Heavenly Father can teach the VP and the teacher both a lesson that neither the Valenta family or mine could get through to them this week.

Oh Ashton...

A woman showed up on my doorstep yesterday with her daughter in tow. She said she wanted to speak to me about Ash. Aparently Ash told this little girl that if she didn't come play at his house today I wouldn't let her ever come over again. This made the little girl very sad and she went home crying because she wasn't able to come over yesterday. I have never even seen this little girl, let alone threaten her. Her name has been mentioned but we haven't ever actually met. When asked if he said that during dinner Ash got a funny look on his face and kept on eating. I asked him again if he threatened the little girl and he said, "mmmmmaybe." He said that he really wanted to have her come over and that was the best reason he could come up with.

The good news is that I finally saw who has been writting love notes to Ash and chasing him on the playground.

School Troubles and School Successes

I will start off with the bad so I can finish this post on a good note. The bad news is that Amanda brought home a note today asking for permission to see a rated R movie- The Patriot. This is the second note (third movie though due to two movies being on the same note last time) I have received asking for permission to see rated R movies in school. In only three months!

The educational system here in Kentucky is heinous! As previously stated, I have already taken my middle school children out of the schools. The elementary school FAILED the state exams given last year and the high school has tried to pass three rated R movies as educational in that many months! I simply can't believe how horrible the schools are here. No wonder Kentucky children have a reputation as being stupid. How can they expect to get an education when this is all they have? I am going to the high school first thing in the morning and I will post the results of my meeting with the principal soon.

On a good note, we have now completed three days of home schooling and so far- so good. The kids are reading Summer of the Monkeys. They each have a blog (listed on the right hand side of my blog) and through both the blog and through conversations about the book we have been able to talk about the Ozark mountains, the intelligence of primates, different types of guns, the difference between teens in the 1800s and today, the value of a dollar then and now, prohibition, mash, physical disabilities and tolerance. The kids are also each doing a report on the author.

Every day we also discuss items that happened this day in history. Each day we try to pick out two things and spend thirty minutes on each one. We have studied Marie Antoinette's life and her beheading (which also led into a conversation about John the Baptist and Laban), Benedict Arnold and treason, yellow fever/cells/epidemics/mosquitos, and the USS Cole attack. We learned that when the USS Cole was attacked it was in the Gulf of Aden. Did you even know a place existed? How exciting for Aiden to find out he has his own Gulf! We looked it up on a map and found Aden, Yemen and the Gulf of Aden. Kinda cool.

I am finding every thing we discuss leads into another discussion- which turns into more knowledge. For example, while we were talking about Marie Antoinette today we saw she was married to Louis the XVI. Alexis and Aiden wanted to know why X,V and I were used as numbers instead of J,L and K. So we began looking up information on Roman numerals and how they came about. In talking about boats one day the discussion got around to Noah and Dallas had a good conversation about being prepared BEFORE an emergency strikes- backing it up with scripture.

We have only done home schooling for three days now so please take this with a grain of salt, but so far I like home schooling. Now, don't throw that back at me in the future when I say I hate it- because I am sure I will post something to that effect sooner or later. However, for now- this works for us and I am enjoying it.

Open for Business

In my last post I mentioned that I didn't need this blog anymore because my life was back to "normal" so I could write in my journal again. What I thought was "normal" seems to have been just a slight reprieve from insanity. Here I am again, this time living in Kentucky, embarking on a new chapter in life. This one includes working full time and homeschooling two of our children. Free time is not just a premium anymore, it is trading at an all time high right now. No complaints, just adjusting. Anyway, I am back to blogging for the time being because it is easier and more convenient than journal writing. Hope you are along for the ride!

Closing the Blog

When I started this blog a couple years ago it was so fun to update it regularly, to follow the blogs of friends and family and to keep in touch through this medium. There was a very hard time a year ago when my life was so overwhelming that I couldn't even find time to write in my journal. During that period, this blog served as my journal. I even printed it out in book form and added it to my journal collection. However, that time is past (thankfully) and my life is again manageable. Updating this blog is one thing still hovering over me and leaving me feeling guilty for falling down on one more duty. Therefore, I have decided to quit blogging. My apologies to the few of you who keep in touch with me through it. Please feel free to keep in touch via email, facebook, text, calling or even going old school and dropping by for a visit. I would love to chat! Until then....

FHE idea

At the beginning of the year we decided to highlight one person from the scriptures with each FHE lesson. Their picture or other reminder is displayed in our home for the week and we discuss a lesson that that person's story represents. For example, this past Monday we talked about the 10 virgins and procrastination. Aiden and Alexis have both been falling down in their school work because they haven't been doing it on time. When we talked about the 10 virgins we got to discuss both spiritual preparedness and also every day preparedness/procrastination. Some others that we have done are:

Haman- learning the consequences of doing things that hurt other people
Laman and Lemuel- when we ask for God's help we need to also follow his laws.
David (we will do him again because there is so much there)- courage
Shad., Meshac, Abed. and Daniel- Word of Wisdom, keeping our bodies healthy
Balaam- obeying God, kindness to animals


So far it is going really well and the kids are excited each week to see who we are going to learn about next. It is sometimes easier to find person to highlight and to discuss his or her story than to decide, "What are we going to talk about tonight?"

Valentines Day

Nicole was giving me grief about still having Christmas on my blog so here is one that will last me another month or more:

What is your favorite Valentines Day memory? Here is mine:
When our kids were younger, Dallas took them out for a day and went hiking and found a cute tin bucket. He then took the kids to Home Depot to buy flowers for the bucket and Walmart to buy sidewalk chalk to decorate the bucket. They assembled it all and put it on the front porch so I could see it every time I walked out the door. I LOVED it!!

Christmas Traditions

I am curious what kind of Christmas traditions everyone has. If you would like to, please leave a note with one tradition you and your family share around this holiday season. Here's mine:

We have a few things we do each year. But I want to share a game we began this year that I hope will turn into a tradition. On our piano we have a three piece nativity set- very basic. I made it out of clay pots and wooden balls. Each morning before the kids wake up I hide baby Jesus somewhere in the house. The kids all go on a treasure hunt in the mornings searching for baby Jesus. The person who finds him gets $1. By the time Christmas comes, each child could have earned around $5. Not much I know, but $5 to a 6 year old is big bucks!

Now it's your turn. What do you like to do as a family?

Lucky 13

This past weekend Dallas and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by taking the entire family (including all three grandparents) to the park at Anthem. The afternoon passed peacefully while we played Scrabble, ate some lunch, rode bikes, napped and played on the playground. I couldn't have asked for a better, more relaxing day!

In honor of our 13 years together, here are 13 memories of that wonderful day and 13 things we enjoy doing with each other today.

13 Memories of our wedding day

1. the temple lawn was being fertilized so the grass wasn't green- it was black.

2. Dallas' wedding ring was late- the jeweler met us at the temple!

3. We didn't have a reception line- I hate them. We just walked around and visited with friends.

4. I wore a burgundy crushed velvet dress to the temple and afterwards at the luncheon.

5. We were married in sealing room 4 (to the left of the staircase as you come downstairs)

6. I didn't cry at the wedding until afterwards when I hugged my sister.

7. My father-in-law and my brother Craig served as witnesses to the wedding.

8. We stayed at a Motel 8 on our wedding night then left early in the morning for our honeymoon in the white mountains.

9. My reception colors were burgundy and green.

10. I felt like a princess!

11. My sister was having a miscarriage on my wedding day but didn't tell me until years later because she didn't want to ruin my day (she attending all the day's events like nothing happened). Now THAT is sacrifice! What a sweetheart!

12. My heart was about to beat out of my chest before the actual ceremony.

13. I remember thinking, "I am the luckiest girl in the world! This day is the best ever! Nothing will ever go wrong!"

13 Things Dallas and I enjoy doing together

1. holding hands in church

2. window shopping at Home Depot

3. Going to Sonic during happy hour (Dr. pepper for him, Diet Cherry Coke for me)

4. taking long drives

5. Staying up late at night after the kids go to bed

6. attending the temple

7. going out to dinner

8. bottling/canning things from our garden

9. playing Scrabble

10. lying outside at night with the kids on a blanket to look at the stars

11. yardwork

12. playing Hand and Foot (a family card game)

13. giving each other our own little secret "I love you" sign. (I am sure you have seen us do it because we do it all the time but I bet you don't know what it is!)

Halloween 2009

Good Lesson

While I was in California (see next post), I had a nice conversation with my Uncle Ernie. He is my mom's younger brother and has always been like a father to me. I love him with all my heart. As we sat on the couch early this morning before anyone else was awake, he told me about a class he teaches for people struggling with addictions. One of the stories he told me taught me a lesson and I share it in hopes that it might help someone else.

In the scriptures we read that when we pay our tithing, "the windows of heaven will pour down blessings that there won't be room enough to receive them". A gentleman in this class commented that he would pay his tithing then wait for a check to come in the mail, a bank error, or some other windfall of money that would be just the right amount of money that he needed. He was looking for a miracle of money.

After struggling with this for a long time, the gentleman said he finally reread that scripture and focused on the word "window". He realized that money does not come through windows when they are open. What does come through open windows is light and warmth. He said he learned that when he paid his tithing, Heavenly Father wasn't promising to give him that money back in another form (yes, that stuff does happen sometimes, but that isn't my point) but rather when he paid his tithing, Heavenly Father promises to give him light and knowledge and warmth. He promises to strengthen our testimonies.

As we all continue to struggle financially, I hope this helps someone else like it has me. I need to focus my attention on blessings that are not as tangible as cash such as the light of the gosple, peace in my heart and an increased desire to do good.

Wedding and beach weekend

I'm too sexy for my short...

I Love the Beach!!

Insert Bay Watch theme music here.

Ash after a long night of partying

Me and my cousin Michelle

Beach Beauty

Run! Run! As fast as you can!

Bro's

This is what happens when you give two 6 yr olds the camera

My cousins Dave and Kathy Horner, Mom, Uncle Ernie (Father of the Bride)

My cousin Jackie got married this weekend in California. My mom and I took Aspen and Ash with us on the trip and had a GREAT time. Jackie and her siblings have always been some of my favorite people in the entire world to be with- extremely fun and happy. Now that we are all grown up and live all over the country we don't get to see each other like we used to, making weddings an even more special occasion because we get to reconnect with one another. My children met my cousin Stephanie's boys and they were instant friends. It was like they had known each other their entire lives!

Sunday morning we hit the beach for a couple hours before heading home and the weather, sand, water and amount of people couldn't have been better if we had planned it. Absolutely GEORGEOUS!!! It was me that was whining when it was time to go home, not the boys.

I am glad to be home now though. I missed the rest of my family and nothing beats walking in the door and having your kids run up to you and give you hugs. I hope they never get too big to do that.

3 month catch up

I went to Bahama Bucks last night with some friends and one of them is a big time blogger. She inspired me to catch up with my blogging and to do better at following other people's blogs. (Step A-WAY from Facebook, Wendy!) It has been three months since I last blogged so here is a short recap of what has happened in my life over that time. Fair warning- it isn't all that exciting. Try to stay awake.

Started school. LOVE IT! I am using my brain and getting out of the house. Just got my midterm exams back and got a B in a 300+ level Democracy class essay exam. Can you believe it? ME! Look out Palin- here I come! Japanese history is going good as is math and Culture Diversity.

Kids are all in school and extra curricular activities. This is what I spend every afternoon/evening running around to. The boys are all on different baseball teams (games 2 nights a week and practices two times a week), Alexis is in the town play, Willy Wonka, Amanda is in YW, Aiden is in scouts, Alexis goes to Achievement Days.

I got put in the Relief Society presidency. It is great to be out of primary but I worry that I am not doing a good job in RS. It seems like what I do matters a lot more there than it did as music leader in primary. Meeting new women and visiting with them is a lot of fun though and I am glad to be serving where I am serving.

Found two baby sulcata tortoises in our front yard. The kids have named them Tut and Tina and we love them!

Halloween is coming up. Dallas and I are going as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Alexis is going as the Queen of Hearts, Aiden is going as a belly dancer (Yes, you read that right), Aspen is going as a toilet, Ash is going as the Shaggy Dog and I don't know what Amanda is going as. I am looking forward to it!

That's about sums the past three months up- school, kids and home. That's my life and I LOVE every minute of it.

Are you kidding me???

I just checked out the ASU website to find out about parking permits. There is NO WAY I am paying those kind of outrageous fees. The cheapest rate I found was $210 for ONE semester and the price goes up to just under $800! I am seriously in shock right now. Not sure how I am going to get to class but I guarantee it won't be by car.

What's New?

It is almost 4am and I am forcing myself to write in the blog right now. I wish I had something fun and exciting to write about but I just don't. We are pretty boring. The only major thing coming up is school. The kids start back in a week and I start at the end of August. (Well, I finish the summer semester in two weeks then start up again at the end of August.)

Alexis and Aiden got their teacher assignments this past week and are excited to start at Queen Creek middle school. It will be a new adventure for everyone since they are changing the school to a 5th and 6th grade school from a 6th-8th school. Aspen and Ash are meeting their new teachers soon too. Ash is in Ms. Self's class and Aspen is in Mr. Jeffers. There was a little drama getting Aspen a teacher that I felt would be good for him but I feel content about him being in Mr. Jeffers class. He seems like a good teacher. I don't know much about Ms. Self but I have heard she is a loving teacher, just what Ash needs. Amanda starts at the high school this year and she is both excited and nervous. Who didn't feel that way the summer before high school? I am glad she is taking seminary and hope she will learn a lot about our church and heritage by taking it.

As for my schooling, I am taking classes at ASU and am VERY excited about it. It has been 13 years since I have been in a classroom setting and am finding myself anxious to get started. My class load for the fall will be a math class, democratization, diversity in cultures and Japanese history class.

With the exception of the math class, all my classes this semester are in compliance with my requirement to take ten credits of "culture" classes. The classes I had to chose from were kind of a joke. Some of the classes options I had were gay and lesbian rights, the struggle of illegal immigrants in the US, African American history, Wealth Distribution, Chinese American history and Women in the 19th century West. I chose the ones that seemed the least driven by political agendas. Seriously, even if I am educated in wealth distribution or the plight of illegal immigrants into America, is that going to make me a better nurse? In a hospital setting I will treat every person the same. The human body is the same, no matter if it is a Mexican body, a poor body, a rich body or a lesbian body. I will be performing the same procedures regardless of who or what the person is. Grr... All to get a little piece of paper to hang on my wall that says I went to school.

Dilema

I am not sure what to do. I have a big dilema. Dallas took the kids to the ranch for three days and I am here all alone. What do I do? Well, let's see... I can make dinner for only me(or not make dinner at all). I can clean the house then watch it stay clean. I can go to bed without removing any children from my bed. I can brush my teeth without cleaning toothpaste from the sink first. I can sit on the couch without scooting somone's feet off it. I can put my Diet Coke on the counter and return later to find it still as full as when I left. Boy, I am really going to suffer through these few days! hahaha

Just kidding of course. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my children and dear husband and I will be very excited to see them again on Friday night. In the mean time I will LOVE LOVE LOVE being alone.

California Baby!

Dallas n' me chillin' at Dland
Aiden riding a narly wave Dude!

Underneath the pier

Yup, the water was a little cold.

Ash the Master Builder

Amanda and Steve Rushton

touching star fish in the aquarium

Manhattan Beach

Aspen catchin' some waves

Beach Beauty

Splash Mountain

I think this pic could be in a teen magazine or something

Daddy Daughter
The whole gang
Chicks dig me!

Muscle Man

Alexis opening Disneyland!!

Dallas and I took the kids to California last weekend for a much needed family vacation. It was more incredible than words can express! We played together, we made good memories, we grew to love each other more, the whole nine yards.

We arrived at our hotel at around 3:00pm, checked in and promptly changed into our swimsuits and hit the pool. After a couple hours in the water we took a stoll down the street to find a place to eat. Afterwards we just hung out in the hotel room and played games. (Isn't the hotel room one of the most exciting places on vacation according to a child anyway?)

Day two began with Disneyland. It was Alexis' birthday so she got a fun pin to wear all day that said it was her birthday. As we were waiting to get in, an employee came up to Alexis and said, "Hey birthday girl! You wanna open up Disneyland today?" She agreed and then she got to push the button to open the gates, start the music and the announcements. How exciting! (fairly anticlamatic in reality but awesome bragging rights!)

We were able to hit all the rides we wanted to and repeat the ones we liked. At the end of the day there was a good concert by Steve Rushton from the Disney Channel. Even if I have been 21 for a few years and I am not as hip as I once was, he sounded very good. The older kids had fun watching him and interacting with him. Ash fell asleep right in front of the huge speakers during the concert and when it came time to leave the park he slept walked the entire way to the car.

Day three was spent sleeping in, enjoying a slow breakfast and then a miraculous day at Manhattan beach. The weather could not have been better if I had custom ordered it! At one point I fell asleep on the beach under our umbrella with a cool breeze blowing. The only thing missing was a coconut cup with a little umbrella and straw. The boys played in the water and sand all day while the girls collected sea shells for their new beach themed bathroom and then they played in the water. We also walked through a small aquarium on the pier. It was very very small but something interesting to do. Couldn't beat the price- free!

By 5:00pm the kids were all wiped out. We went back to the hotel and they all wanted to take a shower. That in of itself was unusual. Then they all got in their pajamas without being asked (at 6:00pm!!!) and crashed on the beds. Aiden asked me, "Mom, do we have to go out to dinner tonight? Can we just have it delivered here?" Dallas and I found a McDonalds, dropped it off to them then he and I went out for a date to Olive Garden. Yum!! By the time we returned, all five children were sound asleep. Sounds cheezy, but it was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

I can't wait to go back!