And so we say goodbye to Squishy

There has been a death in the neighborhood. And as the friendly neighborhood photographer, I went to document.


Squishy was a chicken. Her grave site was lovingly decorated with rhubarb leaves, a tulip, and a "gravestone"....compliments of Caitlyn. Also, the leaves have been "decorated" and filled with little messages.


This is Caitlyn. And one of her chickens. Did I mention that my neighbors have about a bazillion chickens? Guess where I'll be going when I run out of eggs!

Caitlyn is Maddy's buddy. They are two peas in a pod. Both share a love of the outdoors and all small creatures. Both have a very unique style sense, as in NO style sense! Both have a flair for creativity (hence, the grave site). Caitlyn is always full of good stories.


Once I was finished documenting the death of poor Squishy, the kids began bombarding me with photo shoot ops.

"Take one of me trying to catch the chicken!"

"Take one of the chicken flying through the air!"

"Take one of me holding the chicken!"




I'll tell you what, it was good entertainment. And I thought all chickens were good for was their eggs!

New Arrivals

I have always wondered if our cat is a boy or a girl. Not being an expert on cats, I was never quite sure....

until now.




Let me back up to this morning.

It was 6 am. We were all a bit sleepy-eyed as we began our morning routine. All of a sudden Scott came running in from the garage announcing that our cat had had kittens.

You can imagine my surprise, for you see, I had no clue she was pregnant! How could that be? Well, I have no idea. Our cat is not so much a lovable pet as a mandatory mouse killer. I give her food and say hello every now and then when she runs across my path, but I don't exactly snuggle up with her. Cat hair....yuck! You would think I would notice a fat cat, but hey, maybe she's just the type who hides her weight well.

I was so surprised when I saw the squeaking little kittens (Syd says they look like rats, and I would have to agree), that I wondered if maybe the kittens belonged to some other cat who had snuck into our garage to give birth. After all, they are all black! (That daddy must have some dominant genes.)

Soon the kids reported that the mama cat was nursing her 3 little kitties, so that theory was shot. I was forced to accept the fact that our cat had been pregnant and I didn't even know it. How long are cats pregnant for anyway?

She handled the whole thing like a champ, if you ask me. No complaining about morning sickness, no special food cravings, no complaints about lack of sleep or a sore back, no water retention. And you should see her now. She has bounced right back. She looks like she was never even pregnant. What a gal!

Later that morning, as though I hadn't been shocked enough for one day, I returned from Madelyn's talent show and found not 3, but 4 kitties latched onto their mama. Are you kidding me? Where did #4 come from?!

When I told Syd about the fourth kitty, she said the mama cat must have laid another kitty (sort of like laying an egg?). She corrected herself, however, saying the cat must have had another kitty.

Anyway, I am now the proud owner of not 1, but 5 cats. And considering the fact that 1 is pushing it as far as Brek is concerned, I will be looking for homes for the 4 kitties. They are brand new and come from a smoke-free, pet-free home....well, a smoke-free home anyway.

Okinawa

Warning: This post contains an insane amount of pictures! But hey, how many times in your life do you get to go to Okinawa?!

Brek and I spent a wonderful week in Okinawa with Scott and Josh. We went to visit our friends the Days, who we love! It was so good to see them again!

For the first couple of days we traveled to the opposite end of the island (a whopping 60 miles or so) to Okuma. We spent a couple of days enjoying the beautiful beaches there. Just outside of our room, there were huge pine trees, and then the beach. It was like nothing I've ever seen before....very beautiful.


Scott and Josh went snorkeling for their first time! Brandon showed them all the tricks of the trade.

The kids had fun exploring, finding shells and sea glass, riding around on kayaks, snorkeling, playing in the sand, and going for tube rides.


Savannah was the one and only girl, and didn't like being left behind. Not being old enough for kayaking, she chose to ride around on this "sea bike" with her mom.




One afternoon, we caught a boat, which took us a few miles away from shore to snorkel at a reef. There were tons of fish. It was a little bit chilly, but once we finally jumped in, we were OK. Josh said this was one of his favorite things!

Jasmine, Brek, and I found a fun little restaurant nearby. Luckily we had Brek along (Brek served his mission in Japan), because everything was written in Japanese, and the waiters spoke no English. We sat on the floor in the traditional Japanese way, and cooked our own food on a grill right in the middle of the table!

One morning, the kids all rented these bikes (?) or whatever they may be, and rode around.


After leaving Okuma, we found another restaurant sortof hidden in the countryside. The surroundings were gorgeous. The restaurant was very open with waterfalls, and ponds filled with fish all over. They served the Okinawan specialty.....soba. Soba is a type of soup with noodles and usually some type of meat, and of course a big hunk of seaweed. Yuck! Actually the soup was pretty good, minus the seaweed. Once again, we got to sit on the floor. AND, for dessert, the kids all had huge bowls of shaved ice!


For the record, Scott did not actually end up eating that big slimy piece of seaweed. He chickened out. And, for the record, we all got quite good at eating with chopsticks!


After lunch, we headed to Neo Park, which was basically a zoo.

And here we found these two wild animals caged up! Oh wait, those are MY two wild animals!

We quite enjoyed reading the signs, T-shirts, and billboards around Okinawa. The Japanese didn't quite get their translations correct. This sign we saw at NeoPark is just one example. It was pretty funny.

One morning, we took the kids to an Okinawan park. Something tells me their playground equipment probably wouldn't pass safety inspections in the good ol' US of A. This is called a drop slide, perhaps because you reach out, grab onto a bar, and then literally "drop" straight down until the slide levels out! The kids loved it.

Brek loved the Japanese cuisine. I, however, am not exactly an adventurous eater when it comes to sushi and seaweed. Not my cup o' tea! But there were lots of other tasty things. I enjoyed lots of edamame!

On Saturday morning, Shane and Jas took us to a place called Kokusai Street. It is a street lined with stores, vendors, restaurants, etc. Josh was excited to find himself a "frolet"....or a frog wallet. After shopping around a bit, we headed for the beach (again!)



Hmmm, looks tasty boys. Rice wrapped in seaweed with some sort of "hidden treasure" in the middle. Count me out!

We ended the trip with an afternoon at the beach, and then dinner at The Garlic House (very yummy). The beach was gorgeous. It was more primitive than the other beaches where we had been. Brek and Shane went scuba diving while the kids snorkeled around and played in the sand. We, of course, did our usual sweep for sea glass and sea shells.

And then the kids decided we were in need of a fire. They scavenged up enough kindling and managed to get a fire going. Yes, they had matches, but only a few. After their first couple of attempts failed, Jas and I suggested they wait for their dads to return. They looked at us as though we were idiots and said, "Why?"

And much to our surprise, they soon had a flame going. Way to go boy scouts!




Finally, the day came when it was time for us to go home. Time flies when you are having fun. We were, however, anxious to get home to see our other kids. Shane had to fly to California and was able to get a ticket on the same flight as us. The only downside of the trip was that Shane, who is worked to the bone over there, wasn't able to get any time off work. So, he didn't always get to join us on our adventures. It was nice we got to spend a few extra hours with him.

Once we reached San Francisco, we were officially exhausted. And much to our dismay, our flight to SLC was delayed for several hours! Scott and Josh crashed. I didn't dare go to sleep, considering the fact that Josh slept walked while we were in the Tokyo airport and it took us a good ten minutes or more to find him asleep underneath some chairs a few gates down from ours. Yes, we were quite paniced!


Thank you SO much Shane and Jas for showing us such a great time! We love you guys!

Oh, the pain

Two and a half weeks ago, I ran a half marathon. And this wasn't just any half marathon! The first 8.5 miles were uphill. Yes, you heard me! Uphill! but the last 4.5 miles were downhill, so once I reached 8.5, I felt like I was as good as done!

I went with a few of my running buddies (otherwise I would never have gone!) And, although I was not excited about going, it felt so good when we were done.

(Thanks for the picture Garianne. I borrowed it from you!)

However, since then I haven't run once! So today I decided it HAD to be done. I ran four miles and survived....barely.

Good grief.

Oh well, serves me right.

It's Good to be Home

We are home!

After spending a week in Okinawa (yes, Japan!) with our dear friends, Brek, Scott, Josh and I returned home. And after almost 30 hours of travel, we were SO glad to be home!

We came home to a very green lawn in serious need of mowing.


(Nice Josh. Ever heard of this little thing called shoes?!)

AND we came home to this....


We were SO excited to see the kids, and they were equally excited to see us. Scott and Josh were very excited to see their siblings, and handed out gifts, which the kids eagerly accepted.

Then we showed them some "souvenirs" we found, courtesy of the Okinawan beaches....sea shells and sea glass.


We found this sea glass as we walked along the beaches. It is very pretty and unique. My friend Jasmine said she has never seen it on other beaches where she has lived (Florida, Texas, and California).

(Madelyn loves all things tiny and cute. Hence, we returned with many tiny shells.)

Scott was very excited to see his little buddy Ben, who he insists likes him "almost" better than me.


Throughout the day Luke has given me many hugs and said, "I missed you when you were gone!"

I missed you, too, my little friends!!

Room for Improvement

Tonight for mutual, a few speakers talked to the girls about knowledge. Among them were a doctor, a banker, and a farmer. As the farmer (who also happens to be a member of our stake presidency) spoke, he said something that really touched me.

He asked the girls these questions.

"Why has the prophet stated that a woman's primary role should be that of mother and nurturer?"

"Who on this earth is most like the Savior? Who loves unconditionally? Who serves willingly without the need for recognition?"

His answer to these questions was a mother. An interesting thought.

As I heard this, I didn't think, "Hmmm...yep, that's me alright."

On the contrary, I thought, "Oh, how I want that to be me!"

I thought of my own dear mom. I love her dearly. She did love us unconditionally, and her life was spent in service. All she did was for the good of our family. As a mom now, I know many of the things she did went unnoticed by many or possibly all.

As I think of all those I have known in my life, and who I would consider to be the most Christ-like, I realize that indeed my mom would be at the top of this list.

What a responsibility, and what an opportunity we have as mothers. I hope to become more Christ-like. I hope my family will know one day how much I love them all, and why I do all I do.

And I have a lot of improving to do!

A Good Day

An amazing thing happened today. I asked the kids to behave themselves AND....... they actually did!

Our neighbors invited us over for breakfast, and before leaving I asked the kids to please behave and be polite AND be non-destructive. And you know what? They actually did it. They were very well-behaved....for the entire time! Who would've thought?!

Tonight Syd and I played our violins together at a community concert. I was SO proud of her as I watched her play. She is such an amazing little girl. Tonight when I tucked her into bed, I told her how proud I was of her, and how much everybody loved watching her play. Her little eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly as she tried not to show how extremely pleased she was at the compliment.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have the greatest job ever. It's not bliss...life is not perfect. But there is indescribable joy that makes everything worth it!

Anything you can do, I can do

This story began several years ago....almost 15 years ago to be exact. Brek and I were newly married and living in Canada. Brek's parents owned a lodge in Mountain View, Alberta, which we ran for them. It was a great summer job/extended honeymoon.

Every weekend or so, Brek's parents would come down to the lodge. It was fun to spend time with them and get to know them better. Aside from the great things I still love about them (their kindness, their unselfishness, their acceptance), I also learned this...

Janice does not like it when you throw food away. Even if you think it's no good....don't touch it!

One day, as we were getting ready to leave, Janice came out of the lodge demanding to know who had thrown out the muffins that had been in the freezer. The look on her face told me that she was not happy, and I immediately decided that confessing would not be in my best interest. In all actuality, Brek and I had both thrown the muffins out, deciding that they had a bad case of freezer burn. Oops!

Now for Kent. I learned that aside from his wife and kids, Kent's greatest love was a shiny hunk of metal, otherwise known as a motorcycle.

Kent's motorcycle, an FJ1100 (bullet bike) resided at the lodge. Sometimes Brek would take me for rides, wanting to show off his manliness. Actually, I think he just wanted me to ride behind him so I would wrap my arms around his waist. Very romantic, you know.

Secretly, I wished I could drive the motorcycle. I've never been much of a sit back and watch kind of gal. But secretly, I was a little afraid. However, this all changed one day. Kent had sent his bike to a nearby motorcycle friend for a tune-up. When they were finished, they brought it back. Or, should I say, his wife brought the bike back! As I saw that woman pull up on Kent's bike, I decided if she could ride it, then so could I!

That was my first mistake.

I told Brek I wanted to drive the motorbike, and he hesitantly agreed to teach me. We climbed on the bike, and he gave me the quick How to Drive a Motorbike lesson. Soon we were on our way. I was a bit shaky, but once we got onto the main road, I began to feel a little more confident.

That confidence, however, was short-lived. Soon we encountered road construction, and I panicked. I decided I'd better pull off the road until I could figure out exactly where to go. One thing I was completely unaware of was how much that darn motorcycle weighed!! As I pulled off the side of the road and stopped, the bike's weight set in, and the bike tipped over. I tried to stop it, but all I managed to do was twist the throttle. When the bike landed, the tire was spinning furiously, spitting rocks everywhere. Brek sprang to action, "throwing" me from the bike, and saving the day.

We quickly drove home (me on the back this time.) Once we were back at the lodge, we did a thorough examination of the bike. Everything looked A-OK, except for a small silver plate with the word YAMAHA written on it. It was quite scratched. Big deal, right? WRONG! As I said before, this was Kent's baby.

That weekend when Kent and Jan came down to visit, Brek and I talked about what to do. We decided that we would confess. Just as we were going to find Kent, we heard,

"BREKKKK!"

We both froze, recognizing his dad's angry voice. Brek went to face his dad, and found out it had nothing to do with the motorbike. However, we decided from that point on, that we would tell no one of our little adventure! I was not one to keep secrets, but I was also not ready to be disowned from the family after a mere two months of marriage!

Finally, two years later, when we learned Kent had sold his bike, we confessed. Kent laughed and laughed, amazed that little ol' me would even contemplate riding that big, heavy bike. He said he had blamed Brek's brother all these years.

Last week, Kent pulled up on a little scooter he had purchased in Utah for basically nothing. It's a little more than a powered bicycle, but not much. Great for saving on gas money. Anyway, Kent pulled up with a little grin, looked at me and said, "Why don't you take it for a spin!"

Ha-ha. Very funny Kent. I happen to be a pro at driving scooters....I think.