Christmas Happened
My sister says, “Pictures, or it didn’t happen.” So…….
Santa is real.
I have an angel and two wise guys.
Brenden always has a crazy face for the camera.
Christmas morning on the stairs…classic.
Being at my Mom and Dad’s to celebrate was super fun.
Greg and I can’t take a serious picture to save our lives.
Wouldn’t want you to think all that didn’t happen. :)
Friends, Love and Inappropriate Touching
In life, there are people you quite like, and then there are people you really enjoy. Relationships with the latter become something special when they can pass the test of time. When no matter how long it’s been, you can still pick right back up where you left off.
(And when you can do that “picking back up” along the shores of a high mountain lake, well…that’s just freakin’ awesome! That’s what that is.)
I was blessed to have truly, lovely friends in jr. high and high school, and to this day, I still genuinely enjoy getting together with them.
When my sweet friend, Emily, announced her wedding would be held this past October at Redfish Lake, I thought, “I will be there. Come hell or high water!” So I went, and three of my other friends did too.
Our visit was SHORT, but ever so sweet. I LOVE these women! They are so easy to be around. Laughs are always plentiful. :)
Emily’s wedding was BEAUTIFUL! I have been enamored with the Sawtooth Mountains and Red Fish Lake since I was a little girl. Emily has long dreamed of a wedding there on the beach, and it was a privilege to witness her dream come true. What a view!!
Emily- You. looked. radiant. Congratulations to you and Jason again!!! You are such a genuine and giving person…Jason is lucky to have you. You are lucky to have each other! I love ya, Girl!! One of the crappy things about me not being on facebook is not having regular contact with you. I miss that! I hope that all is going well!
After the ceremony, we all got a little camera happy. Here’s smoochy face Dana giving her newborn boy a bottle. Dana- Your silly side is the best! There’s no one better to just let loose with. You’ve always cracked me up. Consequently, you are a part of many, many, MANY of my favorite memories. :)
Tasha – How do you look that cute pregnant?! You’re a beachy, blond, prego bomeshell! I’ll be in town for Christmas. Can I come hug on your newborn? :) I’ll call you!
I love this picture. I can hear the laugh, and love the classic raised brows saying, “You are seriously so weird, Melinda! Do you really need to be that close to me?!” :) Lauren- What can I say? You’ve been my longest, besty friend. You are beautiful, kind and have the most sincere heart of anyone I know. I will always feel a sister like bond for you and Dana. I’m so glad that you two were such good friends with Tasha and Emily so they could become part of my life too.
Thank you so much, Girls, for being there way back when, and still today! I can’t wait till next time! Hopefully next time more of us can come. :)
My little sister, Reese, came with me to the wedding. As we pulled away to leave, she simply said, “I love your friends.” I thought that was so cool. It was a great reminder to take a moment and just appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
Speaking of wonderful people…Reese is the bomb. She and Jordan camped with us that weekend. We stayed one lake over at Alturas Lake. One of the best moments of the weekend was being able to steal away with her for a moment between the ceremony and reception. We just sat on the beach, listened to the water lap on the shore, and discussed life as we looked over the mountains. She is such an amazing soul, and I love how we can speak heart to heart. Plus, she makes a pretty hot wedding date. She even let me get to second base! Hahaha!
I don’t know exactly what was happening in these pictures, but they had me laughing SO HARD when I looked back through them. I’m very much glad we have this nerdyness documented. Ow OW!! Hahahaha!!!!
This morning I woke up with lioness hair and major bags under my eyes. So I took pictures. Why not? Then I put on the first thing I could find, (my trusty old, worn-out yoga pants and a running shirt) pulled my hair-nest back into a pony tail, called yesterday’s make-up good, and took the kids to school. Autopilot.
I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’ve always dreamed in technicolor, but my midnight mind movies have gotten super funky and/or freaky these past few months. They wake me up a lot, and then I’m just left staring out the window alone with my thoughts. I make mental to-do lists. I think back on the previous day. I think about my church calling. I think about mountain tops, my friends, Greg, and the kids. All with no particular order, rhyme or reason. Think think think. Blah. My brain betrays my sleepy self.
Last night I thought a lot about Brenden. He’s growing up into such an amazing boy. His imagination is truly something to envy. Saturday morning I woke up to the rustling of legos coming from the other room. Then Brenden bounded in to say good morning with his newest creation.
The vampire hippo: complete with blood-ed teeth and intimidating black cape.
Awesome right?! I heard him telling Miles about a book with a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula before he came in, so I can only assume his derived his inspiration from that. Yay for cell phone cameras, and pictures of his ravenous hippopotamus! When he left my room he declared, “I’M AN AMAZING LEGO ARTIST!!” haha! It made my morning.
Yesterday, Greg told me a friend came up to him, and said something to the effect of, “I’m so impressed with your son, Brenden. The other night at the scouting function, I asked Brenden if he would like to drink soda or milk. Brenden chose milk. He said his little brother couldn’t have soda, so he wouldn’t either.” Of course, I just about started bawling. When I gave Miles insulin for his cake and milk that night, I had no idea his brother smiling next to him had made that little sacrifice. We would have never known if this friend hadn’t told Greg. I noticed Brenden was listening to Greg tell me the story, so I asked him about it. He beamed as he confirmed everything. I said, “Brenden, do you know what you showed Miles that night?” His eyes got big. “You showed him that you love him.” “I know!” he chirped with a smile. Miles was sitting nearby at the table listening to every word. It was a big deal, and you could tell it meant the world to him. :) …and I thought my heart was bursting with pride at B’s lego building skills.
Brenden likes himself, and he is creative and kind. What more could I ask for?
Last night I was also thinking about how I should put some Halloween pictures up on the blog before it’s Christmas. Look at me… actually acting on one of my mental to-do lists. I’m so proud of me. :)
This year, Brenden was Harry Potter. I love that we’ve reached the Harry Potter stage. Eve went as a Pumpkin Witch, but ditched her hat any chance she could. Miles wore a different costume for every party we went to. He was a lion at our Diabetes Association party, he was Luigi at our ward trunk-or-treat, and he dressed up as Captain Hook on Halloween to walk around the neighborhood.
We forgot Brenden’s lightning scar for the trunk-or-treat. His red hair made him look a bit like Ron in Harry’s glasses, but his personality can sell any costume. I wish I would have gotten video. This cell phone pic does him a little more justice though.
Here’s Eve with her hat at her little music class.
The kids got loaded down with lots of candy. Miles was pumped about it.
Some crazy lady kept hanging around us when we were trunk-or-treating.
Boy was she sexy though!
Three cheers for me actually blogging!! Hip hip hooray!
Delight”full”
Remember how I said I wasn’t entirely sad about the arrival of winter weather? Welp, I may have spoken prematurely. If I could have, last Tuesday I would have kicked snow in the crotch. Never in my life has November precip been such a downer.
The plans were made, and we were pumped. We would meet up with my parents in sunny California to spend some much desired time with two of my brothers and their families. Sandy shores, salty air, green grass, and lemon trees…all to be enjoyed with good company. Enter lame-o blizzard and severe winter weather advisories, and all of a sudden it all becomes California dreamin’. Suck. The trip was off, and it really did feel like someone canceled Christmas. We miss our family who live there a lot. Fortunately we’ll be able to see them soon at our upcoming reunion. So excited for that!!!
Not wanting to spend Thanksgiving by ourselves, we decided to take my mom up on her plan B offer. We took a couple days to let the storm pass, taking time to set up our Christmas decorations. Then on Thursday we met the ‘rents in Gooding at my aunt and uncle’s home. Our turkey feast was fantastic, and we were grateful to be able to spend time with my grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins, and parents. I also really appreciated my Uncle Randy’s thoughts about the pilgrims’ hard work and industry. What a great American heritage we have! We could learn a lot from the past.
After a wonderful Thanksgiving day, we drove to Twin to spend the remainder of the holiday weekend with my parents. “Home” is with the ones you love…truely. Even though my parents don’t live in the house I grew up in anymore, it still feels like home when we go to visit them. We had a really nice time, and got majorly spoiled. (Thank you again Dad and Mom!)
One thing that made it fun? The snow. That’s right, snow and I kissed and made up during our stay. How can one stay mad at something when it does this to faces?
Another highlight of the weekend was being able to watch ‘Christmas in the Nighttime Sky’ with my sister-in-law and her kiddos. My boys watched the annual firework show in her car with their cousins, while my mom and I ooooo-ed and awww-ed with a sleeping Eve in my car. On the drive home I asked Miles what he thought about the show. He answered, “When I saw the first firework,…….(long pause with wide eyes and jazz hands)…..my heart went right up to my eyes!” =) Can I just take a minute to say, I love that kid so much! You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth, but you can usually bet it’s going to be awesome.
I hope your Thanksgiving turned out to be a delight”ful” as ours did. Greg and I have so much to be grateful for.
PS- I read this today, and I think it sums up my thinking these days perfectly.
It is exactly what meant to say when I wrote my post about priorities. I have felt a big push to rid myself of physical and mental clutter. I really do believe that a simple life is a happy life. I’m thankful for the happy life I enjoy, and look forward to many many more happy years to come.
Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman…
It seems Fall has come and gone so fast. Is it just me?
It snowed today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not altogether sad about it. Bundling up Miles like the kid from A Christmas Story (because he was sure he could make a snowman out of the snow/rain mix) made my morning. We have our radio perma-tuned to Christmas music, and I have a hankering for hot chocolate like nothing else. (That must be satisfied tomorrow.) However, Fall has been so nice this year, I hate to see it get so freezy. It’s a bit of a sad day when you realize that a cozy sweater just isn’t enough to cut it. It’s all good though, bring on the holidays!!!
In addition to being slushy, today was super busy. It was easy to tell that my children were feeling a little neglected as Greg and I worked on several projects. Greg had to leave for the evening just before dinner, and we were hurrying to get as much done as possible before then. The kids and I had a nice (but quick) meal together, then I was right back into finishing up what we had started. Long story short, by bedtime, my fuse had was all but gone, and my kids were increasingly hard of hearing. When the three little “dears” were finally jammied up, teeth brushed, and ready for bed, we all met in the boys’ room for prayers. That’s when I looked at my Miles, my Brenden, and my Eve, and I realized what I had missed out on all day. I asked them if they could think of a song that would help us all feel happy. Miles shouted out, “I Am A Child of God.” We sang it plus a song about a snowman, and it worked. I was really glad for that little bonding moment. I kissed my smiling boys goodnight, and carried my sweet Eve to her new big girl bed. (One of the before mentioned projects.)
I tucked her in with all her dollies, and she sweetly demanded, with outstretched arms, “Mommy, a hug.” How could I refuse? I leaned over to snuggle her when she wrapped her arms around my neck fiercely, and pulled my head to her chest. I could feel her hot breath on my face, and hear her steady heartbeat thump thump in my ear. I had the thought,” This is perfection.” I literally had to just close my eyes and savor it. After a short while, I slightly lifted my head just in time to see her eyes nod off. At the end of a day like today, I don’t know what I did to deserve such a gift.
I’m grateful I had the chance to tuck my kids in tonight.
Priorities
I often find myself driving down the road, thinking about how I should post “such and such” on facebook. Of all things I could be thinking about! It drives me crazy, so today I deleted my account. It’s gone. Bye bye. Sayounara.
I’ve thought about doing it many times before, but have always rationalized keeping it. There were good reasons to stay…strengthening extended family ties, connecting with old friends, keeping track of youth I’ve worked with, ect. ect. When it came right down to it though, I had to admit that facebook was a problem for me. It’s not like I was some crazed mother who would kill for her screen time. (so sad) I didn’t play any games on it. It just occupied too much of my mind, and therefore, had to go. I’m not going to lie though…I feel like I just stepped way out of the loop, and I’ll miss the laughs and updates. Sometimes a good thing has to be sacrificed for something better.
It had become increasingly clear to me that I need to re-prioritize and simplify my life. I think my family is lovely, and is much more deserving of my face-time.
How do you feel about FB? Do any of you know of a 12-step program for living without it? =) haha
PS- The picture of Eve and the shot of our family were taken by my bro-in-law, Jordan. I love them.
Boise Beav
Do you have four minutes? Look what we found on our walk last night. =)
There was much talk about Broncos and Beavers at our home this weekend (per the big game on the BLUE TURF), so finding this little fella on our Sunday evening stroll was very fitting. I thought it was a dog for a minute, until we got a bit closer. That’s when I flipped on the phone cam. I still can’t believe it let us just hang out with it! It was HUGE. After the video, we watched it swim for a minute too. It could go without saying that my kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. Yup…didn’t even have to mention that. Beavers are the new cool kid at our house.
Why is it that the word “beaver” brings out my immaturity in full force? Miles saying, “I nevah seen beavahs!” and “That’s one huge beavah!” in the video makes me laugh HARD every time. I love it.
Speaking of Beavers and Broncos…ESPN College Gameday came to BSU Stadium, and Bronco Nation showed up in full force. Greg got there at 5:20am (AM!) and the line to get into the stadium was already a mile long. Craziness. He and all the other thousands had a great time. I actually really enjoyed watching the show from home too. I was kinda surprised by that. Not gunna lie. I love a good game, but watching a bunch a dudes sit around and talk sports is not really my bag. It was good laundry folding material though. =) No actually, I really did like it, and had a good time comparing perspectives with Greg when he got home.
Unfortunately, I only had a couple hours with Gregger before he had to head back downtown at four pm for the game. He’s lucky to get paid to sit on the 50 yard line for home games. (He runs a camera for BSU during football season.) On a break, he and a buddy went up to the press box to eat dinner. (All access to the press box is one of the perks of getting paid to go to the game.) A few minutes after they sat down, the cast of Gameday came and sat down next to them. How rad is that?! He said they were really friendly, and chatted with them quite a bit. Afterwords, Greg wrote on Facebook, “I ate dinner with the gameday hosts. They are pretty cool, but Erin Andrews has nothing on my wife.”
Ahhhh….
Reason # three million why I love my husband. You only have to watch Gameday for two seconds to realize every male fan of the show involuntarily pants like a dog every time they see her. I seriously have nothing on her, but I have my husband bamboozled. I.think.that.is.rad.
PS: In case you didn’t know, BSU gave the Oregon State Beavers a good “waxing” on Saturday. =)
Um, yeah…
…this post is all about me not being able to focus on the crap I should be doing. Oh and my kids’ fearsome game faces.
Funny story: We don’t have cable. (That’s not the funny part. It’s especially not funny to Greg.) We are also proud members of Bronco Nation. On September’s doorstep, we were proud Bronco fans with nowhere to watch the Blue and Orange open their season against Virginia Tech. (This was not so funny either, and was very much a concern to said man with no cable.) Every viewing scenario was weighed and considered. Then Greg realized (or was told) that I would appreciate seeing the game too. It was decided that we would pack up the fam, and head to the Student Union Building on BSU campus. I was to arrive early, with kids in tow, to lock down a good seat. “Get a booth,” was the request made. Greg would meet us there when he got off work.
My arrival was early, and a booth was found. It was a great seat in mother terms. On the end, toward the back out of the way, near the bathrooms, all while providing a pretty good view of the huge screen. What this mom did not fully take into consideration was: the close proximity to the news reporter set up to do live shots during the six o’clock news. When I say close proximity, I mean he, his camera, crew, and lighting were all set up in the booth NEXT DOOR. Our tables shared a small half wall. Sure it was fun trying to distract him during his live broadcasts…Eve made him laugh, and he couldn’t help turning the camera’s attention to the girl dancing on the table. (Eve, not me. Though the latter would have been funny.) However, I quickly realized the folly in my seating choice when Mr. Highlights came over’ and asked if he could interview my family on live TV. “Don’t worry,” said he, “Nobody is watching anyways.” (Pshaw right!) I couldn’t say no. I was too mesmerized by his flawless powder.
How did it go? Well, let’s just say any abilities I have to look cool are void when I’m on camera. Lesson learned? Don’t sit next to a reporter covering the game when your children are cute, and decked in BLUE and ORANGE. Unless of course you like being on live TV with a man who wears his makeup better than you do. Somebody is always watching.
courtesy of Greg and his cellphone
Secretly though…and you can’t tell ANYONE, but…despite the fact that I’m darn sure I looked like a moron on TV, it was a total rush, and I loved it. Shhhh…
Amen!
Wednesday afternoon I found myself looking through this month’s New Era for a thought to share at our youth back to school party. Just as something caught my eye, Eve walked in, flipped the magazine closed, and said, “Amen!” Of course, then it became a big game of “don’t let Mom read.” Amen after amen, she laughed and laughed. So did I.
I love being a Mom.
Life is in full swing these days. Brenden is officially a first grader. The first day of school was a week and a half ago! So early this year! I don’t know where our summer went. B’s loving class though. He has the sweetest teacher, and seems to be making friends. I won’t lie though, it’s super weird having him gone all day. We all miss him…a lot. It does have it’s nice points however. For example, Eve and Miles have started playing really well together. Greg and I are loving that. I’ve been enjoying the late summer days with only two kids to manage too. I’ve tried to minimize Brenden’s time away from home by opting to drive him to and from school everyday. I actually really like the flow it gives to the day.
The other day, picking Brenden up got a little interesting when Miles suddenly announced that he had to pee. Miles has this horrible habit of waiting until the last second to tell me he needs a bathroom, and it’s usually when a bathroom is hard to reach. We were kinda stuck in a parking lot full of people. Brenden was going to be coming out any second. Leaving wasn’t really an option, but the look in Miles’ eye told me I had better do something fast. I scanned the surroundings for ideas, and then I saw “it” in the back seat. I thought to myself for a second, “Are we really going to do this? Hmmm….yup.”
“Miles,” I said, “drop your drawers. You’re gunna pee in this bottle.”
I picked up the empty kid-sized water bottle, and showed him. I might as well have told him Santa had come early. See, that’s the great thing about having boys. Peeing in weird places is like THE MOST AWESOME ADVENTURE EVER. They are a bizarre breed.
When the bottle reached half full, and he was still going strong, the OH CRAP!’s starting racing through my mind. I was pretty sure we were going to have ourselves a Dumb and Dumber moment…minus the surplus of empties. Mercy! Thankfully he topped out at a little under 3/4’s capacity. Don’t think we’ll try that one again. (I shouldn’t say that…I’m sure now we will.)
You’re so welcome for the disgusting cellphone pic of pee in a bottle.
Welp…I think I’ll leave ya on that note. Happy Labor Day weekend! =)
Alturas Lake
I’m getting ahead of myself here. Eve’s birthday letter is half written, and “saved as draft”. Oh, and I had a birthday (shout hooray) as well. Summer is here, and it seams that everyday there is something going on worth writing about, but lets just forget all that for a bit, and take a moment for now.
Last weekend we had an awesome extended family reunion for my Dad’s side of the family. Here are a few favorite memories I want to keep fresh in my mind:
1. Miles was so excited after gathering up candy from a busted up piñata. He kept smiling and calling for me to look at how much he got. Then knowing he couldn’t just dive into it, he went back to his seat and started offering pieces to my aunts and uncles. When I came over to talk to his about his haul, he picked one out special just for me. Sweet boy. We agreed that he could eat two, and save the rest for later. After getting some insulin to cover his treat, we were walking toward our cabin, and I said, “Miles, I’m so proud of you for sharing your candy so nicely. Thank you for being so kind.” His eyes lit up, and he said, “Yeah! Thanks Mom, for letting me give one to you! Did it taste like jelly?! Did you like it?”
He…wow…he is awesome.
2. Brenden is old enough to not be close to me all the time. It’s good for him. It’s hard for me. He’s darn smart, but he processes things a little differently than others. I worry…will he know when he’s gone too far, will he stand up to his peers if they are making wrong choices, how will he really respond if he gets in to an emergency situation? The latter is a big one since Miles likes to follow him. (Being willing to let Miles roam is a wholenotherenchilada. Can you say fried nerves?) Last year B loved exploring the grounds, but was cautious. He liked being close to the lodge. He took his time at meals. He wanted some space, but not too much. This year, different story. This year we had to hunt him down for every meal. Then he’d woof his food, and be back out the door sometimes faster that I could get my own food. Not just out the door either, but gone. Exploring went to a whole new level. I think it’s called “little boy heaven.”
Mostly it was awesome for me too. On Sunday afternoon however, I started to get nervous. I hadn’t seen either boys for two or three hours. I thought they were with Greg, but I found him asleep with with Eve. Of course, the worst started running through my mind…. Is Miles having a massive low, laying on the forest floor unconscious? Is Brenden lost and confused/scared? Bears? Wolves?… Lions? Tigers? Ok ok, I really didn’t consider animal attack, but I was starting to freak a bit. Miles turned up quickly, but I was still really unsettled about Big B. I needed visual confirmation. I looked around all the cabins…nothing. Finally, after I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, I spied a blue striped shirt cutting across the dirt road that leads up to camp.
(Breathing slowed. Heart rate calmed. Smile on my face. Prayer of thanks.)
I walked down to see what he was up to. From a distance it was obvious to see that he was having the time of his life. I called, “Hi Brenden!” He beamed, and returned an exuberant, “HI MOM! Eli and I are having an ADVENTURE!” (Eli is his cousin and bestest buddy.) Simultaneously, they both started rattling off all the details of the imaginary world they had created.
Instantly I was back in my childhood…. I was tromping through the forest on a covert mission with my little brother, Morgan, and cousin, Nathan. I was paddling a canoe (poorly) along the shoreline with my cousin Molly, trying to avoid the where the water turned dark because it was evil. Sharese, Lorisa, and I were peeing off the porch of the cabin we shared, because we were too scared to run through the trees to the bathrooms in the middle of the night. (Yet for some reason, a “bear” still peed in a bucket on the floor inside during the night. Hmmm…Reese?) I was listening to summer thunder storms pound upon a tin roof. I was in a water fight, and everyone was using spray bottles. I had a pleather pouch full of spray-painted gold stones. (What was that for? Don’t remember.) I was singing in the showers. I was a master at horse shoes. I was eating ice-cold watermelon on the beach. I was sneaking cookies. I was riding bikes. I was tagging along with my older cousins. I was laying on the dock, watching the stars, and listening to the water softly lap against the wood.
I could go on and on, but the point is, there in all his excitement, Brenden was me as a child at Alturas Lake in Idaho’s beautiful Stanley Basin. What a blissful place to be a child! Honestly, some of the best times of my life. Now my heart was beating fast again as I listened to my own son tell tales of slaying dragons that terrorized the very same woods. Mid-sentence he was distracted by a mysterious hole. Both boys got down on all fours to see what lived inside. They decided it was a snake hole, and filled with rocks to kill the foul beast.
Pure imagination and joy. That. was. a. great. moment.
3. Eve.
Eve spontaneously holding hands with her cousin, Maryn, as they followed me to the lodge. Eve getting so excited when we’d go to find her other cousin, Claire. Eve trotting up and down the wheelchair ramp. Eve squealing with joy while playing in the ice cold lake. Eve sleeping in a normal bed for the first time. Eve being my own personal echo. Eve dipping her licorice in her water, and taking a bite….over and over until the licorice was gone. Then drinking the red water. Weirdo. Eve running with arms wide to her daddy, screaming, “I get you!” Greg’s face as they laughed when she got him. Auntie Reese calling her hair carrot-y. I love carrot hair.
Eve was so sweet this trip. Independent and sassy as ever, but in an even more endearing way that usual.
4. Best part of the talent show? My Grandpa doing his military march. He is the most adorable man.
5. Second best part of the talent show? (that was probably actually the best part) My immediate family singing 42 sharp-toothed buzzards. I caught my brother’s eye while trying to figure out my mom’s crazed math, and started crying laughing. Guess you had to be there. Lemme tell ya though, the whole thing was epic.
Family reunions are great. I wish we could have had more time. I feel like I barely got to talk to my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. It was so good to just be with up there with them though. I love them all! Thank goodness for the internet so that I don’t feel like we’re strangers.
The drive back was long. I didn’t feel like leaving. When we finally got home, Greg carried up the children. It was late, and they had been asleep for a couple hours already. I tucked in Eve, and the boys were instructed to get jammied up. When I came back to tuck them in, this is what I found:
Miles asleep in his closet. Sign of a good time. :)
just (me)linda 