Benjamin

Well, I officially know that Benjamin belongs to our family. On Thursday, I sent Benjamin, Heather and Jacob off to the bus. About thirty seconds later, Benjamin came running back in the house and up the stairs yelling, "I forgot my book!" Then he grabbed book five of Rowan of Rin and went running back out the door to catch the bus! I love that kid!!!!!

YAY

Go Samuel, it's (not quite) your birthday! Go Samuel!

Congratulations--I'm so thrilled you passed through. Good good good job.

Cleared the next hurdle, finally

Well, I have done it. Yesterday was the day of reckoning when I presented myself in front of my committee and withstood questions from them. This time, I survived and came off with a pass. Now to submit the paper work and get on with the research. Next big hurdle is the last, the dissertation defense. This will not take place for at least 2 more years. Fun things to look forward to. Love you all.

Sick cars, Satan at the convention, and hiking

So, LaDale, did you go on a hike? We had a gorgeous, almost hot day today, too--the kids played with the hose for at least an hour this afternoon. And yet yesterday was cold and wet. Spring--you gotta love it.

On Sunday we noticed that one of our tires was almost bald--and it was fraying in places, too. Nothing like that to make you paranoid about driving 120 miles up to Primary's and back weekly. So we took it in today--and discovered that not only did we need to replace that tire, but the struts and shocks, as well. One of the struts (whatever they are) wasn't even functioning (whatever that means). So, yeah, poorer today.

And finally, I'm still a county delegate for the Republican party and we have our off-year convention on Saturday. There we will debate a resolution that, among other things, is entitled "Resolution Opposing Satan's Plan to Destroy the U.S. by Stealth Invasion". Curious? You can read the whole thing and my take on it over at Hot Blava.

Beautiful day

It is a beautiful day. Not a cloud or a flake of snow in sight. It's over 40 degrees out there. SIGH!!!


Maybe I'll go hiking today with my free time.

What is (April) with no snow?

Normal.

I'm sorry about tomorrow, LaDale. I have no idea how they are going to work it out, but I'm sure they will work it out, right? Your fifth graders have worked so hard! Although I'm hoping the weather eventually clears up, because, hello, we have a family reunion in mid-June. Hopefully you won't still be in school! (Hee hee, I know you won't...hopefully!)

And one thousand posts! Yay us! You should know that this blog has been successful beyond my wildest dreams. I love love love it. And I love love love you all!

snow :(

District Weather Operation Status for Wesnesday, April 25, 2007: CLOSED

1,000

I love you guys so much. As much as I love Colorado, I am so far away from my family. Thank goodness for this blog!!! I love hearing about your lives and I love sharing with you my life.
So, thanks for listening, er, reading and letting me share, even the silly stuff about my life.

I LOVE YOU ALL. THANKS!

LaDale

Laughter

I have GOT to get me a three year old!!!!

This and that

Well, LaDale, I assume that your school was in fact closed for today because otherwise, you wouldn't have posted in the middle of the day. I'm sorry!!!
Today, during Lillian's nap, Erica and I were sitting together when she jumped up, ran to the door, threw it open, and announced at the top of her lungs to the street, "Hello, I have COOKIES!!!!" Then she shut the door, locked the deadbolt and calmly sat back down to eat the aforementioned cookies. KIDS!

SNOW DAY

ARGH!! When I first moved here, I thought snow days were great. How fun to be stuck home, snowed in, forced to read or write or whatever. Now, they are driving me crazy!!! Today was our first day of a two day presentation my fifth graders have been working on for over two months. The school, community, school board, news stations and newspapers were invited. Also, teachers and administrators from Aurora (north Colorado) and a principal from Florida or Georgia (I can't remember which) are coming. The principal flew in last night. It is a big deal. Two nights ago I had a nightmare about it- all about bibliographies and posters boards and how I wasn't done grading everything yet!!! I know, doesn't sound much like a nightmare, but I woke up stressed yesterday morning.
Now yesterday was a teacher work day. I spent it in a training at the school district's building. Last night, I told myself- don't worry, everything will go great. The kids will present wonderfully well, etc, etc.
My alarm goes off at 5:00a.m. I think, "WOW, I sleep and well, no less." Okay, time to get up and get ready for the day- dressing up nice, etc, etc. Then the radio says something like, "And now for school closings and late starts."
I freak, "What?" It was suppose to rain- you know rain, thunderstorm kind of rain in 40-50 degree weather. I start stomping through my apartment to get on line to find out if district twenty is closed.

YES!!! NO!!!! Now what???? It was hard enough scheduling the 24th and 25th for the Exhibition. Again, I ask- now what??? What if tomorrow is also a snow day? What if it is a late start??? Confound it!!

I know we need to go with the flow. I know life happens. I know there is nothing I can do if a blizzard decides to sweep across Colorado dumping a mix of rain and snow with more than a dash of wind into my lap.

I suppose if life throws me soap, I'll have to make bubbles.
Or maybe it is life throws me peanuts, I'll make peanut butter?
How about flowers and I'll make potpourri!?!?!?!?

Ross Update

First of all--Telima and LaDale were right: my kitchen sink was indeed in distress. It wasn't exactly clogged, but that terrible state was eminent because the garbage disposal stopped working. It was a horrifying few hours, I tell you, until my knight in shining armor came and...pressed the reset button. And all was well in the land and the dishwasher ran and the dishes got clean. And I didn't even have to serve tea in a wine glass to anyone. (That sentence originally ran: "...serve tea to anyone in a wine glass." But I don't even know anyone in a wine glass, so, anyway, it makes more sense now. But it's not as funny.)

Second, Gideon had his Achilles tendon "released" (that's a nice way of saying slashed through) on Thursday. It was a little traumatic...for me I mean. He was certainly ticked off about the shot to numb the area--which actually is good, because that means he has a good deal of feeling in his left ankle area. Probably the most difficult part is the large blood stain on the heel of his cast--totally normal, but I sort of feel like the Canterville Ghost or something. I promise I don't neglect and/or beat my child, folks! Anyway, Thursday was a tough day, with Gideon wanting to be held all day long--and NOT sitting down, thankyouverymuchmommy. But we muddled through with Tylenol and Motrim, and on Friday he was back to his normal, sunshiny, (albeit stuffy) darling self.

Friday I was holding Gideon, when Mercy clambered up to sit on my lap too. Then Ezra wanted some of the action, and snuggled in to lean on my side. I put my arms around them all and told them that all the kids I love the most were right there in my arms. And then Ezra asked, "But where's Katy?" He's a smart one, that Ezra-boy Ross (which is what he calls himself occasionally).

Finally, I downloaded my pictures from the ice storm in Colorado, along with some of my adorable kiddos. Enjoy!

So here's the ice storm--it was pretty darn incredible, I thought, and so pretty. Every little tiny twig and branch and blade of grass had these sharp ice crystals on it.

And here's our Kiss-Me-Kate. She is a joy, as I'm sure Telima and Tyler can tell you anytime. Her eyes are SO big and SO expressive--you can see here that she's not quite sure what to think of Aunt Keryn.

Mercy likes nothing better than to love on her baby brother. Gideon loves it, most of the time--but sometimes, true to form as a big sister, Mercy just manages to bug him. I think he's trying to decide which is the case here.

And finally...as you probably can tell, I'm not much of a photographer. But I am pleased as all get out about this picture. I just peeked around the corner of the house this evening and snapped it. Now, was there ever a cuter face in all of creation?

re: book club

At least you had a couple of sisters at your book club. The book club we have has only two members. One is me and the other is Leslie Zemp. We are the kind of club that you just read the book and then maybe we talk a lot about it and maybe just a little but we are never serious and neither are the books we read. Our last book was the first of the Sisters Grimm books. The month we are reading "A Girl Named Zippy". I hope it is good since I was the one who suggested it. We have tried to get more people involved but we are not having any success.

Book Clubs

I attended my fourth book club last night, at my house no less. I made banana bread and cream puffs and at 7:45 (fifteen minutes after we were suppose to start) I had decided no one was coming. Of course, a couple of seconds later, two sisters from my ward made their appearance. We talked for about thirty minutes. One sister ate two slices of banana bread and the other one cream puff. Then they left. Frankly, I have not been very impressed with our book club. On the one hand we are to read books that encourage discussion- but I have more fun discussing a book that needs no other discussion than, "Didn't you love the part when..." or "I was so surprised when the main character did this or that." I mean none of the books we've read so far would I read again or even really recommend and it is hard (as a LDS bookclub) to even choose a book each month we all trust. I think we need two book clubs- one for those who want to have a deep, possibly controversal conversation and one for those of us who simply want to read and then talk up a storm about what we enjoyed or didn't like about the book.

Oh well, I support when and where I can.

Re: Swords

Keryn, at first I thought it was because if we all lived in the enchanted forest you could use the sword to move from place to place to visit all of us. Then I remembered Mendenbar didn't need his sword to do that. So, in the end, I ended up agreeing with Telima. Sorry, Keryn.

Re: Swords

Oh, Keryn! I'm so sorry! I can only guess the reason you want King Mendenbar's sword is because your kitchen sink is completely clogged without any hope of getting it fixed without magic! But at least you don't have the problem that Cimmorene had with plumbers not being willing to come because of the dragon living there. =) You should always look on the bright side of things. I hope that everything works out quickly and cheaply for you!

Re: Sword

I know it has been a while but I thought I would chime in on the sword. It has been a long time since I have read any of the books in the series you eluded to. But, with a little help from Google, I was able to remind myself whose sword you wanted to have. After discovering the nature of said sword I can only conclude that the reason you want it is so you can take over the world and make your own little enchanted forest all over Utah, complete with dragons living inside. Beyond that I have no idea why you would want that particular sword. If it were me, I would want Sting. At least I have a night light is any orcs are around. SKT

Swords

So, I think I need King Mendanbar's sword. Anyone want to guess why? (Jen, you're not allowed--since I discovered the need while we were on the phone!)

Laughing

Sorry, LaDale, Ezra got the first true laugh. And poor Gideon has a dreadful cold, so the fact that he laughed is pretty amazing.

But when your big brother is six inches from your face, saying "BUM-bo chair" loudly, it's hard not to laugh, isn't it?

Peace and Quiet

I guess you all know that I like peace and quiet. I really miss it in my life right now. But, I am at Roberta and Van's for the week and I really enjoyed the peace and quiet of Monday and even some on Tuesday. Now on Tuesday night I really miss the noise of the kids and I realize that I will miss it quite a lot when they move out. I know also that I will get over that and will be able to handle the quiet again. Staying here has also given me some ideas on how I want to do my living room. It won't be right away because it is going to take some time to get the money together but it will be soon.

Learning at the feet of the priesthood

How grateful I am for the learning of my youth. Thanks to mom and dad and the Spirit of the Lord, I have a testimony that my priesthood leaders receive revelation for those within their stewardship. We had ward conference this week. Last night, we had an adult session. The topic- marriage relationships. The neat part was, even being single, there was so much I took away. (I love my stake president). I love listening to the leadership in the church and knowing, without a doubt, that they speak what the Lord would have us(me)hear as much as our General Authorities do during General Conference. Again goodness for the priesthood, for revelation, for the organization of the church. How wonderful to know that it is true!

Happy, Happy

Happy, Happy Birthday, Telima dear!
Happy days will come to you all year!
If I had a wish, then it would be,
A happy, happy birthday, to you, from me!!!

Trippin'

Good weather + new dual-screen DVD players + new Backyardigans video (Volcano Sisters) + fabulous novel to read aloud (Blink, thanks LaDale!) = not a bad 10.5-hour-drive.

But we do miss Mema and LaDale. And Ezra misses Evan Carter and Mercy misses Pepper the dog.

Easter and Moving

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that everyone has a great one. We're battling illness here, but we're having a good time anyway.

So, Tyler and I have decided to move. The owners of the house we are currently staying in are moving in about June and we don't know exactly where that leaves us with our apartment. We've found a little place, another basement apartment, in our ward. The current Scout Master in our ward and his wife are living there now, but Jeff is graduating this month and so they are moving to California. They've been looking for someone to take their contract and they heard we were looking. It's a really nice place where the both the top floor and the basement are for rent, so we won't be dealing with a big family again upstairs (which has been one of the hardest things about this place). It's also only $50 more than what we paying now, with a $500 deposit. So, we've decided to take it. Keryn and Mom have heard about it before and we had decided not to take it, but after thinking about it for a long time, and with some financial help from Tyler's parents (the $500 deposit that we really don't have right now), we've decided to take it. It's better to move now (or in a month) and know where we're going than to be surprised in two months and have to scrounge around for someplace relatively cheap. Anyway, it's a fun little place and we both really like it.

And by the way, this is not an April Fool's joke like Keryn's moving one was...=) I love you all!

Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone has a lovely and spiritual Easter Sunday!
I love you all!
Jenafer

PS. Mom, want to come down here for a while? We haven't had snow in oh.... forever!

Snow, Frost, and Ice

All courtesy of Mema. I'm telling you, everywhere she goes lately, she brings snow and ice with her!

We drove out to Colorado Springs yesterday (Friday), and what a long drive it was! But the longest part was the last 40 miles--not because the kids were tired and hungry (because they actually did just great), but because of the ice storm that had swept into the region--specifically onto I-25, which is the way to get from Denver to Colorado Springs. We were traveling at five miles an hour for probably 10 miles or more. It took FOREVER! And it was scary, because we were a-slipping and a-sliding like mad. But we finally made it.

It's still cold and snowy today, but so pretty. I took some pictures, and I'll upload them as soon as I get home. But I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Easter. I love you all very very much, and I'm so grateful for the Atonement and the Gospel, which allows us to be together forever!

Deflated

Ezra: "Mommy, you're my cute little girlie."
Mommy: (smiling) "I'm your cute little girlie?"
Ezra: (thinking it over) "No...you're not cute..."
Mommy: "I'm not cute?"
Ezra: "You're not little."
Mommy: "But I'm a girl, right?"
Ezra: "No...ummm, yes. Yes, you are a girl."

Thanks for clearing that up, son.

Announcement

Well, now that it is official, and all the papers signed and set, Bradley and I have an announcement to make:

We are moving.

You all knew it was coming, but this is a little sooner than we expected. But we got a really great deal on some property, and a job offer that is quite a bit bigger than what Bradley makes at BYU. We just signed on 4 acres out in Tooele County (that's west of SLC a bit, south of the Great Salt Lake), and Bradley is going to be working for the Department of Defense. That sounds cooler than it really is--he's going to be working at the Dugway Chemical Depot, doing computer stuff as a civilian contractor (so you don't have to worry about him going off to war).

We're going to build a house on our property out there--we're really excited, because we'll be able to design the hallways to be the right size for a wheelchair, and no stairs and all that. And since we've got so much land, we're going to have a lot of fun landscaping and stuff (eventually, of course), and maybe sell some of the land off in a couple of years, if the prices are good.

Our land is technically in a little tiny town named Sciocco. Right now there isn't much out there but a few older homes. But the developers are hoping to turn the area into a bedroom community for Salt Lake, like Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort. The development we bought into is called "April". We're not super close to Tooele (the city), it's about 20-25 minutes away, but it has a Wal-Mart, and SLC is only about 40 minutes away from there. So we're not that much farther away from Kim and Steve, and Grandma and Grandpa Ross (when they move this summer), and Primary Children's, than we already are.

We aren't going to be moving until this (late) summer at the earliest, because we obviously need to build our house, and sell the house we're in, etc. Brad isn't starting his new job until mid-May, so he will have some commuting to do this summer before we get settled. But it's worth it.

Anyway, just thought you all should know. If you want to look at the areas and what the community planning looks like for our new town, click on the links above. I love you all!