Memorial Day Weekend

Every year, our Memorial Day holiday weekend includes a weekend at Grandma's house--or the home I grew up in.  Grandma lives in the countryside on Lake Livingston in Southeast, TX.  It's a time for our family to really enjoy some rest and recreation with aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins.  There is never a shortage of things to do.  If you're bored . . . well, that's your own fault ;-P

This year was complete with a few firsts:

1.  Our six-year old really tried some "serious" swimming in the lake (which was higher and dirtier than usual thanks to lots of rain this spring).  Her dear cousin showed her how to "swing her arms" for freestyle.

2.  We spent the actual Memorial Day at the Houston National Cemetery.  Attending this very well-known and sacred service was a bit out of our comfort zone, but we knew it would be an uplifting experience.  The small Children's Choir that I accompany for performed during this particular Memorial Day Service.  It was our frst performance ever!  The link provided is the news coverage of the services.  When the author mentions that "We heard children sing patriotic songs "--it's our group that he was speaking of.  If you watch the news video, I'm actually in it about 10 seconds in (for a split second) standing on the left of the screen wearing a blue shirt--yep, mommy's little moment of fame :-P

Not having a military ancestry, participating in such services in not something we normally do or even think of.  But, we all agree that it was a unique experience to be able to rub shoulders with not only many veterans and soldiers but also many members of our local and state governments.  It provided us with the opportunity to remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Our weekend was also spent making pizzas, building puzzles, playing games, celebrating birthdays, swimming, fishing, watching movies, enjoying the outdoors, cleaning out my parents' garage,  and just enjoying the time together as family.

Preparing for a cousin's birthday celebration

 Chit-chatting with cousins

On the rope swing

Playing with water balloons in the water

(always more fun when there's more water)

Playing ping pong

Attempting a game of badminton 

(which is really interesting with a 6-year old)

 Brother-in-laws enjoying the outdoors together

So, why is this considered "wholesome recreational activity?"  This gave us the opportunity to exemplify many of the activities described in Widmer's definition that included developing skills and learning.

Develop skill and learn:  My daughter learning how to swim (and fish), learning a new game, building a puzzle, playing piano for the children's singing group
Build relationships:  Relationships were particularly developed between cousins and older siblings (like my siblings and I).

Elder Oaks defintions included activities that have the ability to inspire.  Attending and participating in the Memorial Day services was certainly inspiring and uplifting.

WRA, REL200, Post 3

Inks Lake and Enchanted Rock

Keeping with our annual tradition of camping over Spring Break, this year we headed to the "other side" of Austin to Inks Lake and Enchanted Rock State Parks.  And, this time the whole Texas clan came along.

Trying out our new hammocks.

Going fishing...don't confuse that with catching fish.

 Beginning our ascent to the top of Enchanted Rock.

Still going ...

Robyn loved every bit of it!

Still going up to the summit.

At the top!  

Just love this picture of my mother and us three sisters.  We were trying to get a group picture and the wind wasn't cooperating!

On the other side is a cluster of caves (who knows how many there really are...we didn't explore all the crevices). 

I hiked down into one of them and couldn't get out becaue of the people blocking the entrance.   So, I waited...this is me looking up out of one of the crevices.  Jaren tried to convince me to climb up but we decided that I was too short to reach the hand or foot holds.

 Splashing in Spring Creek back at Inks Lake

All the cousins with Grandma!

 To anybody wondering of young children can hike Enchanted Rock.  Yes, they can.  Though, some may come down looking like this:

 Yes, she slept pretty much during the whole descent.

I've gone mental...

With some of this:

Wood Badge 13-2 here I come.  I was a participant on Course 1023 back in 2010.  This year, I'm on staff as a Troop Guide.  I'm very much a greenie at this voluntary assignment (yep, I know...I'm a little crazy).  It's a whole new experience, I tell ya.  But worth it for all the life lessons.

And more of this:

Yep, I went back to school this year.  Obviously, I'm not on campus at BYU-I in Rexburg.  I started their online Pathway program about seven weeks ago en route to finish my BA.  

Oh my...it has changed my life!  

 And LOTS of this:

Still my favorite part...being surrounded by this particular support group.  

Someone once asked me how I was juggling everything.  Well, my brain hurts all the time.  I haven't exercised it like this in years.  Other than that, it's not all that stressful since we significantly downsized the amount of extracurricular stuff we had going on.  I have to admit that life is just getting better and better each and everyday.

  

I've been pretty terrible at posting on my blog.  Life was busy before...now--just as busy. 

Happy Hallowen

This is just a quick post with the Fort costumes.  The kids will pretty much come up with the idea themselves and then I go to work creating whatever it is they want to be.  I'm always amazed at how the costume they choose really does represent each one of them.  Heck, I amazed myself for being able to take their ideas and make it a wearable costume.  This was lot of work, some stress and some the-house-is-falling-apart feelings BUT it was also a lot of fun!

Scarlet Macaw

Robyn's favorite toy right now is a big Scarlet Macaw puppet and her stuffed puppy.  She really wanted me to combine these two favorite animals and make a "puppy with feathers"...ummm...that put an interesting picture in my head.  I convinced her to choose just one.  I probably spent the longest on hers.  Certainly made the biggest mess cutting out all those feathers (and her running around the house with all my scraps).  It didn't turn out at all like I had originally imagined it.  

Nope--it turned out much better!  

Luke, Son of Hermes

Hunter's was probably the easiest to create.  He's totally into this book series.  I love that he always chooses to be a less popular character.  Sometimes you have to think outside of the box a bit before you guess it right.  Though it was simple, I love how the winged shoes turned out!  (And yes, they fit me too!)

Robin Hood

Aidan's really into archery right now so he just wanted any character that uses a bow and arrow. So glad he went with this instead of some modern superhero.  This one was lots of fun to put together (quite the understatement).  It was my first attempt to sew a cloak (or anything for that matter) without a pattern.  It was such a good experience, I made two more (keep reading) and whipped up the rest of his costume.  It's a great feeling when your 11-yr. old declares, "It's the best costume ever."  Better than CLU or Hiccup? (Did I even blog about last year's costumes?)

And then there's my other half.  I made a mighty cloak for him.  Versatile enough for him to turn it into whatever character he wanted.  I think he turned it into a "Rogue Jedi" which is very fitting for him.  They were having a Halloween party at work so he sent me this photo this morning.  For the record--I've never made him a costume until now.  It was certainly an adventure...

But of course, there's no photo of my costume.  I made myself a white cloak.  I made Aidan's first for his costume--it was so much fun and such a hit that mine and Jaren's followed.  So, again, I was pretty amazed with myself.

Our pumpkin carvings...nothing too crazy but we love how they turned out.  We surrounded our trunk with hanging ghosts to match.  Probably the most we've ever done for the Ward Trunk or Treat.  So, we deserve a pat on the back for that, I think.

Have A Safe and Happy Halloween!

In Your Face

Jaren was our MC for the night at our Church Pie Party. All his hard work and this is the thanks he gets!?




Let's not upstage Aidan who entered in the Children's Pie Eating Contest.
He won this round! He raced against two adults at the end for the grand prize (mind you, Aidan didn't have a whole pie--just a quarter). He did finish 2nd though! And when we got home he says to me, "Mmmm, I'm still hungry." Typical Aidan....


Have I ever seen so much pie in one place?! Don't recall Robyn actually eating any pie. She just ate the whipped topping off the tops of the pieces and I got what was left over (yum, yum).

The Math teacher stopped when he heard
that unmistakable thud -- another
brain had imploded.

A taste of things to come for Jaren...

Let's Play Ball!

jWe've wanted to attend one of Jaren's games since he started umpiring. But, with our busy schedules (and the fact that we'd have to pay to get into the game) we just haven't been able to get out to see him.

On Friday we were finally able to get to one of his games. Because we walked into the park with Jaren, we didn't have to pay the $7 entrance fee. It pays to be the umpire's wife.

Gotta say that high school baseball games are much more interesting to watch. There are rules of the game that get thrown out there that you don't typically witness at a major league game. For instance, I knew that an infield fly rule existed, I just never knew what it was. I do now! I've heard of a bock but again I've never seen it (I think the other team scored a run because of it). Saw it A LOT at this game. Don't recall ever seeing a runner steal home. Yep, saw that one too. There were issues with counts and keeping score (the kid in the press box was a great slacker). The home team kept scoring runs right and left. I think the final score was something like 18-2 once the coaches called the game.

It's a different feeling were you're sitting in the stands rooting for the umpires when the people around you are just yelling at them. Umpires really put up with a lot of garbage. Thankfully they don't hear most of it.

I love to watch Jaren at work! But watching him umpire is much more interesting than watching him at his day job. Did I mention that he LOVES doing it? He umpired a triple header at a local charity tournament this past Saturday. He didn't make a penny that day as he donated all his pay to a family chosen by the association who needed it. He was just glad that he got to umpire. Is that cool or what?

Sorry about the "fuzziness" of the picture. There was a net between the bleachers and the field--no way around that.

What We've Really Been Up To

Most of my blog posts are random thoughts going through my brain. But, as I was writing our family newsletter I realized I haven't really let friends and family in on what each person's been up to lately.

Aidan just finished up his adventures in his First Science Fair at his Elementary School. Being the avid Science Fair person that I am, I encouraged him the whole way. I love to volunteer as a judge at Science Fairs. And I've been able to judge quite a few in just two years. So, I'm probably harder to impress. Aidan decided to do his Science Project on Which Eraser Erases the best. He had five different brands. Did four tests. According to his research, the high-polymer eraser won out...every time. So, if you want a really good eraser and don't mind paying a few more cents for it, buy that one! Jaren helped come up with the title of Now You See "IT" Now You Don't. The word Aidan erased (I think about 100 times) was "IT". The title fit perfectly. I guess he wowed the judges because he came home with 1st Place for 3rd grade. He's off to the District Fair next month. I think we may have started on a long road for Science Fair Projects as he had such a good experience this year.
Hunter hasn't really been up to anything new or exciting but he's had some fun times. Last week our Tiger Den went to tour one of the Local Police Stations. The Sergeant leading the tour let the boys see everything...the jail, the evidence locker, the crime lab (TV CSI has much more toys), AFIS...the gun locker (probably the COOLEST part). They got to talk into the radio of the Police Car. And Perhaps the 2nd coolest part was getting to take a short ride in the SWAT car complete with lights and siren! It was a fantastic experience and Hunter will not stop talking about it. Now, I think all my Tiger Scouts want to join the Police Force when they grow up. Hunter carries around the pretend Badge that he got from the Sergeant all the time!

I snapped this picture a few days back to prove that my husband does play piano. Occasionally he'll hop on and tickle the ivories a bit. This time, Robyn joined in. She loves to make her own music on it! She spends most of her time doing just that--imitating what every one else says and does. But that's not what he's really been up to lately....
The Superman in our lives hasn't been home much. He has his day job but since the start of the new year he's been spending his nights training to be one of these:No, he's not umpiring for the big leagues...yet. But, that is certainly a dream of his. He's been training to work with Little League and the High Schools to start off. It's been quite the adventure getting him properly clothed, geared up and ready to go. He begins working his first games this Saturday. He hasn't done this since high school so I've never really seen him at it. But, I know he LOVES the game (as do I). I promise to get pictures of his "playtime" once he really gets going and we're able to attend a few of his games.

Priceless.

What better way to spend an afternoon....daddy and daughter catching some zzzzz's. I LOVE IT!

"I'm so glad when daddy comes home..."

Today our Princess is 1 month old! And, I'm already saying to myself, "My goodness, where has the time gone??"Anyway, yesterday was a really hard day for the Little Princess and I. She would not take a nap. And for a 1-month old to not nap...that's a huge deal. She was screaming and crying a lot. No matter what I tried, I could not console her. When I fed her, she'd fall asleep and then wake up screaming ten minutes later. Perhaps I had time to go to the bathroom or make me a quick PB&J sandwich between crying spells (ate it while trying to feed her). Yeah, there was no formal dinner that night. Needless to say, by 7pm I was exhausted! And of course, it was a day that daddy would be working late.

Then, around 8:30 daddy came home...oh blessed day!

He took her from me (kindly traded a bowl of ice cream for her) and she immediately calmed down. Shortly thereafter, as he cradled her in his arms, she promptly fell asleep. A priceless moment for me.

You know, I think about how he is able to do this and I'm just amazed...sometimes jealous that he can take a screaming infant and calm her down so elegantly and simply. No rocking, bouncing, singing, etc. Which is what I had been doing all day long. It's like just being up against him does the trick!

So, a tribute to all those daddy's who just have the magic touch. What would us mom's do without you?

Course, a while later he handed her back to me--yep, you guessed it--she woke up and started crying again. But, she slept beautifully last night!

Memories, anyone??

Alright, Toni--we'll give it a shot and see what happens. Here's the instructions to all who read:

Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.If you leave a comment, I will do the same on your blog, and if you don't have a blog, we can email :) And if you have never commented, do it now so we can play "trip down memory lane".

Oh, and just for Toni:

Jaren Fort with Cerise O'Connor at Haystack Rock in Seaside, OR (Jan. 2006)