Sisters in Law, Friends by Choice

I don't have a photo to accompany today's post, but I want to write briefly about my sisters in law. The two ladies I spent the day with yesterday, specifically.

SIL Lori is the eldest of Genius Golfer's siblings. She was married first and consequently has the oldest grands. Her eldest is Nephew Travis who is getting married next month. She is waist deep in wedding stuff and doing a fantastic job. I am happy to report that she has requested some help, which I was pleased to take on. Lori and her two younger kids spent Spring Break with us at Disneyland. That was such a fun trip and it was delightful getting to know the cousins better. Very stylish and creative, Lori can do most everything and she does it all very well.

SIL Brenda is the youngest of GG's sibs and was married just after we were. She got a jump on her own kids, however, as our two fit right between her older boys and her younger girls. Her good husband is serving in Afghanistan currently and I seriously miss chatting with BIL Joey at any family events we have. He is a well read, well spoken, and well traveled but shares information in such a kindly way that I have yet to feel like the complete dolt I must be by comparison. Brenda is lovely in every way and has a keen and uncanny way of making everyone, and anyone, feel at home around her.

These two ladies have never been the sort to pry into our business, but have always had a sincere interest and concern in our family. They ask questions; they listen. They include not just GG and me, but our kids as well. I know they want us to be happy and are willing to help in the achievement if there was something we needed from them.

I find it curious, as one who only had a single sibling--one sister--growing up, that I enjoy the big family life I have married into. I enjoy the camaraderie from my Brothers in law, the celebrations for each of the nieces and nephews, and the sisterhood from my sisters in law.

I'm glad that family is the societal building block and the primary unit of the Gospel. Really, when there is mutual affection and respect, it is enough. I am grateful for these two sisters in law and I truly do love them both. I learn so much from them, even just watching them, I appreciate what each of them does with their families and the love they show mine.

Burned Out!

I'm happy to report that our Pioneer Celebration affectionately called "Cul-De-Sac of Fire" was a non-police attended event (nor Fire Department, nor paramedics for that matter). There was much pyromania, but all in good fun and generally to the enjoyment of all the neighborhood fire starters.

Dear Friend Micheale, also occasionally labeled "Safety Mom", and I had to avert our eyes here and there, but the only real casualty was a burnt thumb of one of The Boy's buddies, who was allegedly lighting ground blooms in his hand and then not tossing them fast enough. (And that didn't stop him from continuing to light fireworks the rest of the night--so don't worry, he's OK.)

Overall, the evening went just fine and a 'lovely time was had by all'. And the street could prove that by the looks of it today. Genius Golfer and many of the local pyros swept up what they could last night, but other neighbor pyromaniacs were still finishing off their stash of fireworks during the said sweeping, and the remnants of those explosives are still present in the street.

Today we awoke to go to Swim Practice, after having yesterday off, and The Boy was very whiny about his ear hurting. It sounded familiar, like the "Swimmer's Ear" diagnosis which The Girl had 2 years ago to this very weekend--one week before the county swim finals two years ago, she got it , and now he has it, one week before the county finals again. So I left him home with GG and took The Girl to the pool. I hurried home after practice to get a call into the doctor's office, just to be sure. We got him squeezed into an appointment, and the Dr called in a prescription, and we then rushed home to grab stuff to join the GG's sisters and their kids at Seven Peaks Water Park for a day of fun in the sun. Never a dull moment!

May I just say, there are many people in this valley who just apparently don't see themselves in the same kind of mirror that I use. At a public pool, I wear a granny suit--you know the kind with a skirt on it that covers most all my torso, plus some. There were several people, not just women mind you, that should have followed my lead, but chose not to do that. Fot some people, there is a time when a two piece bathing suit is just not attractive and then there is the time when it is downright embarrassing. Judging on the people I saw today, I could pull that 2 piece look off and just barely fall into the "not attractive" category. My eyes are still stinging a bit from what I saw. Good thing the kids all got along and we all had a fine time.

Between the fireworks and the sun (and scary people in much too small swim suits) and the chlorine, I am burned out! I'm looking forward to being lazy in the morning, and sleeping in until about 8 AM! That will feel like a vacation. And hopefully, by then, my eyes will have rested enough to get some public pool images from my mind's eye. Then again, maybe not.

Days of '47 Celebration

Today's Pioneer Day celebration began with The Girl helping out the YM/YW put up flags in the yards all over the ward. Then The Boy and I went downtown to the city park for the Bishop's Breakfast where The Girl met us with the YM/YW as they finished. Genius Golfer had to work today--international companies, you know, don't get Pioneer Day as s a holiday, even if the corporate headquarters is in Provo! So he skipped the breakfast, but the Kids and I are heading to his work to meet him for lunch. That is the least we can do, right?

The whole Pioneer Day holiday has been more difficult to ingrain in The Kids as more than a reason to hold the Cul-De-Sac of Fire (which begins tonight at about 8:30 PM, bring your own lawn chairs and treats!)

For Family Home Evening this week, while GG was in Vegas for work, we read some of the pioneer story online at http://www.lds.org/gospellibrary/pioneer/pioneerstory.htm and I realized that The Boy remembers very little of our Pioneer Trek East with Grandma and Grandpa Boom on 2003. We stopped all along the Pioneer Trail as we traveled back to a crazy family reunion in Minnesota. We saw Nauvoo and Winter Quarters, Council bluffs and Carthage Jail. We stopped at Independence Rock and Martin's Cove. We even saw Mount Rushmore and Walnut Grove (Laura Ingall's home). What kid wouldn't have remembered all that?!

Perhaps, they don't remember the whole trip because their crazy mom forced them to take photos together standing inside an OUTHOUSE! Yeah, well, I guess, looking back, I can't really blame them for blocking that part out. For all that we get to do to celebrate today, we say THANKS to the Pioneers who came before us. Though, I doubt the Pioneers of Old would even recognize our version of celebrations.


Have a safe Pioneer Day with your family, and I'll get some Cul-De-Sac of Fire photos posted tomorrow, unless we are all arrested! I'll keep you posted here, unless I need to post bail for GG!

2 Nephi 15:11: The Diet Coke Verse

We were reading in the Book of Mormon as a family last night. This chapter is Nephi quoting Isaiah again--which makes me nod off generally--but verse 11 stirred me from my drowsiness. It reads:

"Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, and whine inflame them!"

Lately I have been tired from getting "up early in the morning". That causes me some "wo". True!

"That follow strong drink"--well, the hardest thing I drink is Diet Coke and you can find me at Hart's once a day at least, and sometimes it begins early in the morning.

I "continue until night" with the Diet Coke, and occasionally that isn't even enough.

"And whine inflame them"--OK, I added the "h" in the word wine, but the WHINE does inflame me.

OK, I'm told I should liken the scriptures unto myself: So, is this verse telling me I should STOP drinking Diet Coke, or is it an outright validation of my reasoning and justification for drinking Diet Coke?!

Yeah, that is what I thought too. Thanks for backing me up here. See you at Hart's later!

Remembering Camp Ritchie

With Girls' Camp time nearing at my house, I have been remembering the decade that I attended camp myself. I did five years at Camp Ritchie just south of Lake Tahoe in California as a "girl" then five more during college as a "leader". Those were some good times.

Girls' Camp has dramatically changed since I was a girl. Then, we did more adventure camping. Now, the focus is on the warm, fuzzy feelings that camp can offer. I understand the purpose is not to produce or reinforce Boy Scout abilities for the uterus and ovaries set. But I feel like the girls now are getting a little gypped.

The Girl is the same year at camp this year as I was in this photo (that's me in the navy and gray striped shirt). This was our cabin--we camped in levels as a stake. Here, they camp with their wards and only do their certification as a level. In fact, one year the stake here tried Level Camp and it is still recalled as "THAT year" in the conversations of those who tried it. I loved it that way, but I didn't know any better, and frankly, it was so much more fun to get together with girls from 5 or 6 different high schools that made up our stake. The girls don't have the opportunity for that here. Another difference about living in Utah Valley, I suppose.

I just hope The Girl gets the same feelings at camp as I did. I strengthened my testimony, I strengthened my friendships, and I strengthened my self confidence. I felt like I had really achieved something of value after we returned from a week at camp.

I guess that the perceived goal hasn't really changed after all. Girls' Camp should be a place for young women to draw closer to their Heavenly Father and enjoy the beauties of nature and have some fun together. Looking at it like that, I guess camp hasn't changed all the much after all.

Monday, Monday...

It is a Monday, more than halfway through the summer. Genius Golfer in in Sin City for work this week--changing their disaster recover site or some such project. I was just glad they found someplace a little closer to home that their last disaster recovery place in Amsterdam. Not that he had went to Amsterdam, yet, nor that I went to Amsterdam with him while he worked. I guess I should be careful what I wish for, until I get a foreign trip out of it. Oh well.

My project today with The Kids was to pick up the last few things for The Girl to have ready for Girls' Camp next week. This is her second year and she is very excited. She will get to celebrate her birthday at camp this time too. (I got to do that quite a lot growing up as my birthday always seemed to fall during that week too.) She should be all ready, save the packing only, to go next week.

I wish I could say that I was terribly productive and got everything done I had hoped to all summer so far, but today wasn't the day. I did finish my laundry and the camp errands and got an hour in the pool this morning while the kids were at practice, but that was it.

Perhaps, I have finally come to the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer". It was a little overcast and drizzly today. But I was the lazy one and have relatively little guilt about that. Tomorrow will require much more in terms of organized efforts to accomplish our "to-do list", but the beauty of summer is there is only a little pressure. Because, as Scarlett O'Hara likes to say "Tomorrow is another day."

My Kingdom for a NAP!

I got up at 5 AM this morning, to get ready and take Genius Golfer to the airport this morning then went directly to a meeting with the Stake Presidency about Girls' Camp that is coming next week, then home long enough to eat something for breakfast, get kids checked over before church, then to church for our 3 hour block of meetings and home to grab some lunch and I fell into my yet unmade bed and took a nap for about 3 hours.

Some days I think the hours I keep just make me exhausted, other times it is the business of keeping (what I am actually doing in those hours) that makes me so tired. Then I am also faced with the sad reality that my body is aging, with or without me, and may actually need m ore sleep too.

Yesterday, the kids had their last regular dual swim meet before next week's County Finals. I had gone with every intention of sitting and watching and cheering for my kids. But, as tends to be the case, the team that was hosting didn't have the help they should have had and I got called on to run the bull pen. (The "bull pen" is swim-slang for the place where the swimmers are lined up and placed into the correct heats and lanes for the various events.) The lady whom I was to help was also running the front desk of the public city pool and basically told me that I had it covered and left me as the first event was being called to the Bull Pen.

At our pool, we have an average of 3-4 moms work the Bull Pen with extra runners helping line up little tiny kids when it is their turn. I had two HS age lifeguard acting as runners from the host team, and Me.

It was in indoor pool which always adds to the auditory confusion and increasing the need to YELL. Plus, was it hot in there. Good thing Dear Friend Kelly's good husband, Roger, brought me a bucket of Diet Coke at some point or I would have melted into a puddle of goo.

By 10:45, I had the last events in place and sent over to the starting blocks and the meet was all but over. Whew. I needed a nap yesterday too, and even went so far as to fall asleep twice only to be woken up shortly after by children, phones, doorbells, etc.

So when I saw the opportunity for a nap today, I jumped on it like nobody's business. It felt great. Yet, I'm sure that I'll still be ready to sleep tonight again. Sad isn't it, that when the kids are little and they need the extra sleep they don't want to take a nap, and when we get older and busier and want the extra sleep we don't have the chance to take naps. Cosmic humor. You have got to love that.

Well, sleep well, my friends. We probably need it.