first blogiversary!

It was one year ago today that I entered the blogosphere.

228 posts later...I have many family memories journaled, my faraway family can see photos of my kids more often, I have gotten back in touch with old friends, met new friends, and have learned way too much about some other friends. Plus I have half of my personal history documented. It's been a busy, eventful year and it's been wonderful to have a place to record my thoughts, my feelings, my frustrations, my successes, and my everyday life.

personal history: summer 1995

Okay, I lied...there will be more than four college year entries. As I've been looking through my scrapbooks, photos, and journals, I realized that some of my summers were just as fun & eventful as my school years were. So to keep in chronological order, here is Summer 1995 (the summer between my sophmore & junior years).

Right after sophmore year ended in April, my friend Cory was getting married down in Arizona. So I hopped in the car to drive down with our friend Thann (he was my brother-in-law's dorm roommate). Little did I know that Thann can't drive below 100 mph! We made it from Provo to Mesa in about 7 hours. I was terrified the whole time. At one point he was actually racing with a highway patrol officer (I'm not sure why the officer didn't pull him over).

Before the wedding, we decided to have some fun in Arizona. We went water-skiing with some of Thann's friends. Unfortunately, their boat was very old and only went about 4 mph (maybe they should have let Thann try to drive it???) so I was not able to get up to ski. It's something I'd love to try again someday with proper equipment.

Then my sister's mother-in-law (the ones we went bungee jumping with my freshman year...they are like a second family to me) wanted to go skydiving again (she had gone for her birthday). She wanted her son Scott (also a good friend of mine - he was Cory's best friend and was down for the wedding) to come with her and they invited James (Scott & Cory's roommate) and me to join them. We went down to a little city called Eloy between Phoenix & Tucson that is nicknamed "Skydive City." It was fantastic! I would love to do it again someday.

There I am!

Me with my dive instructor Marshall (we dove tandem)

From L to R: James (who is so big they didn't have a jumpsuit to fit him), Scott, Nancy, and me

The next day was Cory's wedding. See photo below for how we spent our time during the reception. Cory knew Scott would be up to something (even though Scott was standing right beside him in the receiving line as his best man). Cory had hid his car & gave his father the keys. We got them from Cory's dad and brought his car over. We had spent the afternoon between the wedding & reception blowing up balloons and buying huge bags of styrofoam shipping peanuts. We opened up the sunroof and FILLED the car with everything. Then we saran-wrapped the whole car. It was a great job. Cory & his new wife Kristie were NOT amused. His dad felt so bad for him that he loaned Cory his own car so they could leave on their honeymoon.

From L to R: Thann, Tom & Nancy (my sister's in-laws...can't you tell they're fun people?), James, and me

On the way back to Utah, I opted to ride with Scott & James. Even though they were driving a two-door sports car with a tiny back seat and no legroom (thanks to huge James with his seat all the way back), I felt much safer.

Back in Provo I dated Darren for awhile (in Danika dating terms: a few weeks). He was lots of fun, but he's the only guy I ever dated that's shorter than me (it's pretty difficult since I'm only 5'5") and it bothered me so I broke up with him. I know that's totally shallow of me, but it's the truth. And I didn't want to waste my time and his money if I wasn't serious about the relationship.

I found a really great group of guys to hang out with (Brent, Aaron, Dan, and Paul). We sat around playing cards (hearts, specifically) and eating junk food most every night. Just me & the guys. Brent and I dated a few times, but his sister was going through some major trials as a result of a previous serious car accident, so he wasn't ready to date anyone seriously. I was extremely good friends with Aaron and he was like a brother to me. Unfortunately he had just graduated from BYU and was moving up to SLC a few months later for a job. We kept in touch for awhile and saw each other occasionally when one of us would be in Provo or SLC, but I lost track of him. I would love to know what he's doing these days.

In June, I was a group leader for BYU Clog Camp. It was fun, but for those who know about clogging, you can imagine how exhausting 4 days straight of it was! For all this work, I think they paid us like $60. In the photo above, I am sitting in the front middle, with the backpack in my lap.

In July, I made a trip back to Cleveland, Ohio to visit my sister & brother-in-law. They moved there after BYU so that her husband could attend Case Western dental school. My sister took me out to the Amish areas as well as to most of the Church History sites in & around Kirtland (us at the Kirtland temple shown above). We also took a boat tour on the lake and walked around downtown Cleveland. We also spent lots of time playing with their pet ferret Jake (shown below).

My flight home from Cleveland to Utah was rather interesting. My flight was delayed leaving Cleveland. I had a layover & connection in Chicago. I literally RAN all the way across Chicago O'Hare airport (those who know how big that airport is can truly appreciate this). I barely made my flight, sat down, and then they had mechanical problems so we sat in a hot airplane (remember, it's Chicago in July) because they had to turn off all the equipment, including the air flow, for 2 hours! Finally they cancelled the flight and everyone got off and was scrambling to make other arrangements with gate agents. I finally got my turn and told them I was trying to get to SLC (like everyone else on the plane, duh!). They said, "there's a flight leaving right now for Dallas!" Again, I ran BACK all the way across the airport. I get on the plane literally as they're closing the door behind me. The whole three-hour flight I'm thinking, "why are they sending me to Dallas???" I get off the plane in Dallas and tell them who I am and that I don't know why I'm there. They said, "Oh yes, they let us know - we were expecting you! (thank goodness someone knows what's going on...) Your flight to SLC leaves RIGHT NOW (by this point I'm not even surprised anymore)!" I think I answered sarcastically something to the effect of, "Let me guess...the gate is all the way on the other side of the airport???" Of course it is. Now picture me running down the entire length of the DFW airport (because of course I had to be connecting through the two largest airports in the USA). Thankfully one of those guys who drives the carts took pity on me and drove me part of the way. I get on the flight (it's now like 10 p.m.) and am finally headed home to Utah. Now I'm worried about where my luggage is and if anyone will be there to pick me up at the airport (this was 1995 and before the cell phone era), since it's about 7 hours past the time I was supposed to arrive. Plus the flight gets in about 1 a.m. so it's not like I'm going to call anyone when I get there. I got off the plane and started looking for a comfy spot to camp-out, as I had resigned myself to probably having to sleep in the airport until I could call someone in the morning. All of a sudden my dear friend Aaron, who was originally scheduled to pick me up, jumps out from behind some some chairs (this was in the days when you could go through security) and yells, "SURPRISE!" I was so shocked and very happy to see him. Apparently he had called to check on my flight's status before he left home and found out it was cancelled, and somehow was able to get info on when I would be arriving (still not sure how he was able to do that). Thank heavens for smart, dedicated friends! He was even kind enough to drive me all the way home to Provo in the middle of the night after we talked to the luggage department. My luggage was stuck in Chicago and was delivered as promised to my apartment the next day.

At the end of July, I went home to California for a few weeks before school started to visit my parents & brother. I spent time with my high school friends and saw my good friend Brenden come home from his mission.

In the rare times I wasn't travelling this summer, I worked part-time in the apartment office. That paid for my rent, but obviously I am very thankful for kind parents who monetarily made all these fun experiences & travel happen.

lessons in humility and gratitude

Over the past week, several different friends of mine have posted about a tragic private plane crash that happened. Three people were on board - a flight instructor pilot (who passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital), and a husband and wife. The husband and wife miraculously survived, but the husband is about 30% burned and the wife about 80%. I don't know these people, but my friends who faithfully read her blog (they didn't know them personally either, but after reading someone's blog you feel like you know them, don't you?) shared such sweet, powerful, and poignant messages, I was drawn to the story.

After reading the many news stories and blog entries, I feel like I, too, know this family. They are a Mormon family with four children who live here in the Valley. I'm sure they are good people with honest hearts. This tragic moment changed their lives forever. Their recovery will be long and grueling and expensive and their lives will definitely never be the same.

I haven't been able to sleep the past two nights and have been crying all day today, praying for this dear family and relecting on own my life & family. I found this update post this morning on her sister's blog: http://blog.cjanerun.com/2008/08/no-sting.html. She expresses it so beautifully. And the comments from all around the world are amazing, inspiring, and uplifting.

I have often wondered why some individuals and families are given such enormous (or so many) trials. Are they more loved by God? Are they more faithful? Maybe. But I guess the conlusion I've come to is this: we all have trials. Some are just more "visible" than others (financial trouble, physical & health problems, special-needs children, wayward children, divorce, death). Sometimes I feel so incredibly blessed, almost on the verge of guilty, unsure of what my "big trial(s)" is/are going to be in life, or whether my trials are the internal, emotional kind only I experience that no one else knows about or sees. I feel a bit hesitant and afraid, always "waiting for the other shoe to drop."

In all this reflecting over the past few days, I've come to this realization...I don't know what's coming ahead. I'm not sure I even really WANT to know. And I can do is prepare myself & my family the best I can spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. And try to rejoice more in little things, and live in the moment better. This morning I was trying to do my hair & it wasn't cooperating. I broke down in tears, not because of my bad hair day, but because I realized I should be thankful to even have hair! This woman is fighting for her life in the hospital and my mom is recovering from cancer with no hair. The least of my concerns should be my stupid hair. My kids were fighting and crying (as usual) in the other room. I put down my brush and with tears in my eyes I went and hugged them. I realized that's what's important in life. Though they did look at me like I was nuts, with my hair crazy and crying and hugging them instead of yelling at them!

My friend Meredith's words express it well:
Do I truly love life or just get through the day? Am I enjoying my children, not just tolerating them? Are the activities we participate in bringing us joy or are they just filling time? Are there things I/we could be doing better/more of/less of/ that would create more harmony in our home?

So, once again, I find myself being humbled, expressing immense gratitude for my endless blessings, praying to be a better wife & mother, re-committing to keeping eternal perspective, and trying to enjoy the little moments in life instead of just trudging through the day. None of this is startling new revelation to me or anyone else, and it certainly doesn't make 3-6 pm go any smoother. But it's what's been on my mind this week and a good reminder to all of us for a little less yelling, a little less computer time, a lot more hugging, and definitely more being together as a family creating memories...since we never know what's coming around the corner!

If you want information on this touching story, here are some links:

Stephanie's (Nie Nie's) Blog (the husband & wife who were injured)

Updates via her sister's blog (it also has many ways you can help on the right-hand side)
Story on local news

mother nature's wrath

I am always amazed at the power of mother nature and the wrath she can inflict in such a short period of time. I know to some of you who live where you have REAL storms like tornados and hurricanes this entry will probably seem ridiculous, but in 9 years of living here, I have never seen a storm move in as quickly and do as much damage as the one we had yesterday.

Yesterday morning we went to the city pool with my sister. It was a beautiful morning. When we went to pick up Brandon from school in the afternoon, it was mostly sunny with a few clouds in the sky. On the way home we drove through a haboob (I swear that's it's real name...check the link...it's a very powerful sandstorm). When we got home I had to run outside in the middle of the haboob and drag in the inflatable pools & slip-n-slides since they were about to blow over the fence (yeah, that was fun).

Five minutes later we were eating snacks and the downpour began. Our backyard was a lake within 10 minutes. When Kevin got home from work, he found our large recycled trash bin two houses away down the street. It rained and stormed all night long. This is what I woke up to this morning...

The wind tipped over our playhouse (above) and our slide (below). These things are big & heavy.

The crazy thing about these storms here is that sometimes 5 miles down the road they won't have any wind or rain. It's very random & totally unpredictable.

I wish I had my camera today while I was driving around town. I have never seen so many trees snapped off or blow over. And to top it all off, it's now extremely humid while still being 100 degrees. I can't wait for monsoon season to be over...

cool parents

We're not cool parents. I freely admit it. I'm cheap & lazy. Case & point: my kids STILL have not been to Disneyland, even though we can get free tickets (Kevin's brother works for Disney), my parents live 15 minutes away and we can stay for free (and have a free babysitter for kids we don't want to take), and we can fly for free thanks to Kevin's job. (Sidenote: we are planning on fixing the Disneyland issue this fall)

Most of the time, it's just too much work to get everyone ready, spend the money to go & do something fun, and then be frustrated and feel like it's a total waste of money the whole time because the kids aren't behaving. And then there's always nap schedules to work around. Plus, Saturdays are the only day we have time & energy to go anywhere, and they are usually eaten up with cleaning, endless house projects, and errands.

But after our trip to California this summer and a few good experiences, I realized that we need to start doing a better job at taking our kids places and that they will never learn to behave in public if we don't teach them and give them the opportunities. Even it's just going out to dinner, it's something special and fun and different that will create memories.

Then came the following week, when I had the brilliant last-minute idea to go to the pool as a fun family activity. At the pool Kevin & I were talking about this very subject at the exact moment that Tyler fell and cut his chin open. We both looked at each like "this is why we don't go places..."

So...we recommitted ourselves AGAIN. I made myself a weekly cleaning schedule, where I clean one room/area each day so it doesn't take as much time on Saturdays. I typed it out and posted it next to my computer so I'd feel guilty about wasting time on the computer without doing my "chores" first.

I'm proud to announce that last Saturday we had our first somewhat-successful major outing! We had planned to go somewhere else, but Tyler took an extra-long nap, so we ended up at Chuck E. Cheese to play games & have pizza for dinner. It was crazy and loud and VERY crowded (thanks to about 8 birthday parties that were happening simultaneously), but the kids had fun and thought we were cool parents, so I guess that's all that matters!

With that very long-winded explanation, enjoy a few photos of our Chuck E. Cheese excursion...(sorry, I didn't get many of Tyler since he doesn't stand still long enough)

five love languages

I've heard several of my friends talk about this book. Then in March, Kevin's parents gave each married couple a copy. With all the house selling & buying & moving, it got forgotten about & buried in a box. I found it a few weeks ago and read it. This is an amazing book! Such a simple concept and principle, but one that is powerful and can truly enhance (or fix) marriages if understood & used. I learned quite a bit about myself, about Kevin, about my children, and about how to more successfully love all of us. Anyone who hasn't read this book should definitely do so (hint, hint Kevin)! Thank you to my wonderful in-laws for this great gift.

personal history: college sophmore year

College Sophmore Year: 1994-1995

Still at BYU in Provo, Utah. But this time I had a car and I lived off-campus. I was now cool (or at least I thought I was)! I was scared to have to cook for myself. I was also terrified to drive in the snow. I lived in the Brittany Apartments (#21). My brother-in-law lived there before he & my sister were married, then after they were married they lived in the basement apartment of the apartment manager's (their friends) house. But between my freshman year and my sophmore year, my sister & her husband both graduated from BYU and moved to Cleveland, Ohio for his dental school so unfortunately they didn't live next door to where I was going to live anymore.

Two of my roommates were Julie & Rachel, whom I've already written a whole post about, so I won't go into much more detail about them. They lived in the same room together, and I roomed with Celeste from Canada. She was a friend from California's husband's younger sister (got that???). She was a freshman and was trying to adjust to life in the USA, as well as college, as well as dealing with three roommates who had known each other for years. We thought she was a bit strange, but after getting to know several more Canadians in the years since then, I think it's just a different culture. I have not kept in touch with her but I'd be very curious to know what she's doing in life these days!

This was the view from the roof of our apartment building. That's Mount Timpanogos in the background.

As I looked through my photos & journals from this year, I realized I dated A LOT of guys this year (most of whose photos won't be posted since I don't really want this to turn into "Danika's dating blog"). I also spent a lot of time playing with ward friends and my roommates. I had a part-time job working in the apartment office as an assistant manager. Plus I was still doing folk dance. I remember all that stuff. What I don't remember is going to classes, taking tests, or doing homework. But I must have, since I graduated! Oh well, it's more interesting to remember the fun stuff anyway...

I spent many days seeing guy friends from my freshman year go into the Missionary Training Center and at the SLC airport (this was back in the good ol' days when you could go through security).

My roommates and I spent lots of time hanging out with the guys in Apartment #17. Julie, Rachel, and I all drooled over LeRoy, who was about 6'4" and devastatingly handsome and like 25 years old (that seemed ANCIENT to us at 19 years old). I went on a date with him. He wasn't nearly as cool when we had to ride his motor-scooter to play miniature golf! Celeste liked his roommate Jerry, and he sweet-talked her into being an Amway salesperson. Jerry drove a Jaguar and one night six of us crammed in there and took turns driving it through the mountains.

Then I stated dating Gary, who was my clog teacher's assistant (a huge no-no...you don't date the TA). He was sweet, we went to the Homecoming dance together, and I had Thanksgiving at his family's house in SLC.

Then I started dating Dan (it was very cute...Dan & Danika). He's the one on the right side of this photo below, in the plaid shirt. His brother Jared is on the left. They were surfers whose parents lived in Northern California. So over Christmas break, they drove down and stayed at my house in Huntington Beach (aka Surf City, USA). They decided winter surfing in the Pacific Ocean was too cold, even with wetsuits.

Dan & Jared were also rock-climbers, so they helped continue my love of rock-climbing that Mike & Joe & Jasmine started the previous year.

Then came the weekend roadtrip with Jenni & Steph (from freshman year) & Jordan (another friend from freshman year) down south to Joseph, Utah. If you've never heard of Joseph, Utah, don't feel bad...neither had I! Steph's cousin lived there and had a bunch of guys he wanted to set up with a bunch of BYU girls. So we went. It was a VERY small farming town with NOTHING to do. Our "date" consisted of driving to all the cemetaries of the other nearby small towns. My date was lame (I can't even remember his name). I thought Steph's cousin was cute, but he was set up with Jordan. I think we got pulled over by the police on the way home to Provo (Steph was driving).

We spent many nights just hanging out in our apartment playing games with our ward friends. Annette (seen in the middle of this photo right in front of me) became my roommate my junior year, and ended up marrying Todd (who she is linking arms with).

Around Valentine's Day, our church ward organized "Cinder-fella" where the guy who drew your name leaves you notes, poems, treats, and clues of who he is each day during the week. On the weekend, the girls plan a dinner and a date. Then the guys come over and reveal who they are. We did our dinner on the rooftop which was fun, then we took our guys out with bags on their heads (shown above). I can't remember why we did this, but I'm sure it was really funny at the time. They were good sports about it.

Then I started dating Rich. His brother Eric was his roommate and was dating Sally, a girl who lived two doors down from me, so we double-dated most of the time. Rich's other roommate was Grant who was a chef at the Olive Garden, so he cooked for us a lot.

Other fun things I did this year included riding a mechanical bull, which was fun but very hard (and unfortunately the photos didn't turn out very well so I won't post them). I also rode a motorcyle for the first and only time (it was terrifying & I hated it).

Overall, a fun year with great roommates & good memories!

Rachel, Julie, me, and Celeste

update on my mom

Several of you have recently asked about how my mom is doing. She finished her chemo treatments in July and had a full-body CAT scan a few weeks ago. I am thrilled to announce that she got the results and is cancer-free! She will continue to do monthly blood tests and is looking forward to her hair growing back. Thank you for your support and prayers over the past 7 months through this adventure.

As a precautionary measure, my sister & I have both had ultrasounds (which are definitely NOT as cool without a baby in there) as well as the CA-125 blood test. You've probably seen the forwarded emails about that blood test...it's real and if you have a direct family history, you should mention it to your doctor and have one done. They did these tests on me & my sister to get baseline readings in case something should come up in the future. Eveything was normal, and we will continue to be tested yearly.

When I told the ultrasound technician my mom's story, she said it was a miracle that they caught it early, that most ovarian cancer patients are not diagnosed until it's Stage 3 or Stage 4, and that usually the story does not have a happy ending. We consider it a miracle and are now trying to figure out what this experience is supposed to be teaching us.

FYI - I just found out the September is National Ovarian Cancer Month and the ribbon color is teal, if you see any being worn or have the chance to participate in any events. Isn't it funny how all those medical "causes" and "campaigns" that everyone wants you to support seem obscure until it affects you and your family directly?

personal history: college freshman year

This begins my four-part personal history entry about my college years at BYU. I was excited and terrified of going off to college. I had never lived anywhere but the same house in California. And here I was going to off to Utah, hundreds of miles away. But I was excited about no curfew and new LDS boys to date. My sister was also at BYU but she was married and lived off-campus, so I only saw her occasionally. I didn't know a soul in my dorm. This was before the era of cell phones, text messages, email, and free long distance so I might as well have been moving to Mars, I felt very alone.

This was Deseret Towers dorm (which has since been torn down). I lived in T Hall, Room 515. It was girls only (2 per room), and 2 community bathrooms per floor. For those not aware of BYU housing rules, boys were only allowed in the first-floor lobbies except for during a special time each Sunday evening where they could come upstairs and visit your rooms.

This was my roommate Kelly. This is the ONLY picture I have of her...that's how often we saw each other. She was dating a guy who lived off campus and had a car so she spent most of her free time there, and she worked the graveyard shift at Winchell's doughnuts, so I basically had my own room. And I was at the end of the hallway, so I didn't get many drop-by visitors. It was kind of boring & lonely at times, but it helped me sleep better & study better (ha ha) so I didn't mind.

First snowfall! Being raised in Southern California, I had only seen snow a handful of times in my life, so this was a novelty. The novelty wore off quickly as I had to start bundling up to go everywhere and hiking up & down the slick or slushy hill to/from the dorm to campus.

These next three pictures are of my 4 best friends from the dorms (from L to R: Jenni, Amy, me, Brooke, and Stephanie). My terrified, alone feeling left the first day of freshman orientation when I met these girls.

These are the gals I ate meals in the cafeteria with, the ones I spent all my free time with, cried (and sometimes laughed) about boys with, attended football games with, and shared practical jokes with. Brooke & Amy were roommates, and Jenni & Steph were roommates, and they lived next door to each other, about 4 rooms down from me. Sometimes I felt like the fifth-wheel, but they were always kind enough to include me.

We camped on the roof, we went to outlet sales (Amy had a car), we did surprise birthday parties or kidnapped each other, we took embarassing photos of each other (which will NOT be included on here), we braided each other's hair, we wrote supportive notes, we asked boys to formal dances, we traded clothes, and we passed (and, in a few cases, failed) classes. These are amazing, beautiful women and we have all gone on to marry cool guys in the temple and raise a total of 17 (and a half...Brooke is pregnant) great kids. Even though we live in four different states now, I am honored to still call them my friends, we still keep in touch, and someday I hope we can all get together again.

This is (from L to R): Joe, Jasmine, and Mike. When I wasn't with girls shown above I was with these guys. Mike was the first person to ask me out on a date at BYU (the very first week). It didn't work out romantically, but he became one of my best friends, and we still keep in touch to this day. Mike & Joe were roommates. Joe and I dated both before and after his mission (that's a very long saga for another time). Time with Joe, Jasmine, and Mike usually included things like dancing (this photo was taken when we all went to Preference together as friends), rock climbing, riding on motorscooters, cafeteria antics, and other crazy late-night adventures which will not be elaborated on here.

Other memories from my freshman year include:

• Joining the folk dance team in January
• Driving all the way to Idaho Falls and back in the same day just to spend a few hours and watch Dave open his mission call (Dave is my sister's brother-in-law and is considered part of our family)
• Amy & Brooke trying to get ready for a date (or sometimes just a regular day) and trying on literally everything in their closets and mine
• Sack lunches from the Morris Center cafeteria (YUCK)
• First time bungee jumping (5 times in an hour) with my sister & her in-laws. Then later in the year, we went again and I did 4 times in an hour with my parents & my brother.
• Late night study sessions with Scott (my sister's other brother-in-law) and subsequently almost failing American Heritage....probably because our study sessions were more goofing around than studying.
• Paula our RA (Resident Assistant). She was like our floor mom. She was awesome and so much fun. She would always leave encouraging notes on or under or door if she knew we had a big test or event coming up.
• After one semester as a Elementary Education major and having to observe the on-campus preschool for a class assignment, deciding I really didn't like kids that much and changing my major to Business Management (which I what I graduated in).
• My first spelunking caving experience. I loved it!!!
• Getting up the nerve to ask a really cute boy (his name was Justin and he was returned missionary that I always saw in the cafeteria that I had a crush on but that I had never spoken to besides just formalities like hello/goodbye) to a formal dance...and he said yes!
• Putting on a musical fireside with Brooke & her boyfriend Kyle for a youth group in a nearby ward.

I loved my freshman year of college. I learned so much about myself and grew in every way: academically, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically (thanks to the very fatterning cafeteria food).

entertainment books

I promise this will be the one and only fundraiser for Brandon's school that I will mention (since it's the only one they do!). I figure you're reading this blog since you care about our lives, so you might be interested in supporting his school. Most of you probably know about the Entertainment coupon books. But for those that don't, it's a GREAT coupon book. It literally pays for itself with using just a few coupons, on items or services that you use daily. They've got everything from food & dining, groceries, movies, sports, travel, entertainment, and shopping. You name a store, it's most likely got a coupon in there. I looked through mine and there's even some coupons for FREE stuff in there (no purchase necessary).

If you want to see if your area has an Entertainment book or a sample of what type of coupons are in that book, you can go to:

http://www.entertainment.com/discount/local_editions.shtml

Just put in your zip code. It shows a retail price (about $25-$40), but I think most of the books are actually $5 cheaper when you order them through a school/student. I can give you an exact price if you tell me which book you want. The price includes shipping.

If you're interested in learning more or purchasing a book, leave a comment on this post or send me an email and I will give you more details. I can give you Brandon's school account # & student code so you can order online with a credit card (or you can send me a check). It's so easy. And Brandon's school gets about 50% of the sales amount. Thanks in advance for supporting him!

that's my boy!

A cute little Brandon story I want to make sure gets recorded...

The other day Brandon and I were in the car alone (a rare event). My country music was on (instead of the usual Disney CDs) and he wanted to listen to it on the way to the grocery store. As we're driving down the road he says, "Hey mom! That song said you can do what you want to do. But I can't. I have to listen to you and Dad, right? That's being obedient."

That's my sweet, smart boy. I knew there was a reason we suffer through three hours of church with Natalie each Sunday...

taking it for granted

I promise this will be my one and only post about gas prices! Mostly it's about taking things for granted. I used to wonder why people got so riled up about gas prices when they jumped high. Now I know.

Last year, I lived within walking distance of Brandon's school and we walked when it was cool enough. Tyler wasn't involved in any regular activities or classes, so I could get by with filling up my gas tank about every 3 weeks for a total of $50.

This year, between moving 4 miles away (I kept him at the same school), living out a bit further in the boonies (really not that far, but most stores are 2-3 miles away), and now driving Tyler to preschool 2 mornings a week (up near where I used to live), I am burning through a tank of gas at $70 per week. Thankfully we have a van instead of a gas-guzzler SUV and Kevin will be taking Brandon to school on Tyler's preschool mornings so I don't have to make two trips in an hour. I know this is only the beginning of my era of "spending more time in my car than in my house" transporting kids to school and extra curricular activities. So why does it have to be NOW that prices jump up so high?

I remember when gas hit over $3.00 a gallon after Hurricane Katrina. I actually saved the receipt, thinking to show it to my children, because they would never believe I actually paid as HIGH as $3.00 a gallon for gas. Little did I know the receipt I saved would someday prove gas actually was as CHEAP as $3.00 a gallon!

I know most of you are in the same position as I am now, and have been for years. And some of you live where gas is even higher. Isn't it ironic how we take things for granted until they get worse, then we look back and realize how good we had it once...

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

miss natalie

In looking back over my recent posts, I realized that between all of Brandon's excitement (first day of school, first lost tooth, and birthday), and all of Tyler's events (stitches, starting preschool), Natalie hasn't gotten much screen time. So to placate the grandmas, here are some photos and what our cutest little 14-month troublemaker has been up to recently.

It seems like just overnight, Natalie went from a baby to a toddler. She runs around here like she owns the place, and screams at the top of her lungs when she doesn't get her way. Or she gives you "the glare," which I happened to catch on camera this morning (above). Her favorite things to do are climb up and stand on Tyler's toddler bed (as seen below...thankfully she taught herself how to get back down safely); throw toys in the trashcan; take things out of the trash (not the toys she threw in of course, but the gross, sticky food wrappers); turn off and on the under-counter lightswitch; eat rocks; and chew on shoes. She can reach the table now and pulls off anything that is within 4" of the edge. She can reach the levered doorknobs (those MUST have been invented by a man, no woman would create things you can't easily babyproof), but thankfully hasn't figured out how to open them yet. Yesterday I ran into the den to send a quick email and when I came back out 5 minutes later she was standing on the couch. After I panicked and got her down I was trying to figure out how she got up there. Then I saw one of the toy tubs turned upside down and pushed up against the couch. Little smarty pants!

On the flip side of all her troublemaking, she is truly the cutest little girl on earth. She has learned to be coy and flirty, and can always get what she wants from her daddy. She has 9 teeth now and wears her hair in pigtails. She has transitioned from the bottle to a sippy cup, and we only let her have her pacifier occasionally under dire circumstances (like church). She let me easily feed her baby food until she was 13 months old but is now onto "real food." She will try (and actually likes) most anything. She is still a great sleeper and for my sanity and schedule, she is cooperating since I forced her into one nap per day. She is generally pleasant and is a good shopper. She has a smile that lights up the room and is starting to gesture and make noises like she is explaining and talking. She says either "YEAH" or shakes her head "NO," but always the opposite of what she's supposed to. For all the trouble and work this age brings, I am mostly thankful for a healthy, happy daughter.

first day of preschool

Today was Tyler's first day of preschool. He will attend two mornings a week at my friend's preschool in her home. She has been teaching for about 10 years and has an extraordinary amount of patience, enthusiasm, and creativity (hence the personalized bags she makes each child). She is the same teacher Brandon had for two years, and she prepares the kids well for kindergarten. Even though it's a bit of a drive now that we've moved, I definitely think she's worth it.

I was a tiny bit sad after I dropped him off, mostly because he was a bit nervous this morning beforehand and I realized this is the true start of him "growing up." But I got over that quickly and raced to Target and Costco and spent way too much money. It's almost pleasant doing errands with only one kid who is a content shopper and doesn't ask me to buy everything in the store. It could be a very expensive year with 5 hours of shopping time each week...

His teacher said he did well and he couldn't stop talking on the drive home about how much fun he had. And when I asked him what his favorite part was...snack time.

personal history: family vacations

I've been wanting to do this entry all summer, but it always seems so massive of a topic, I keep putting it off!

Our typical family vacation was about 2 weeks long in the summer. My parents would plan out a route many months in advance. We always drove and our time was usually spent at every museum, national park, and monument along our path. Sometimes we camped, sometimes we stayed at motels (it had to have a pool). If relatives lived along the way, we would stay & visit for a few days. We took so many trips and saw so many things, it would be impossible to remember and share them all. But here are some memories (which will probably mean nothing to most of you, except my family):

• Dad and Mom switching drivers while the car was on cruise control doing 70 mph down the interstate (when you see our van below you'll see how it was possible)
• Dad driving on the sidewalk (yes, you read correctly) to get back to a restaurant that he missed the driveway for
• The everyone-get-in-and-out-quickly-to-save-air-conditioning at rest stops
• Swimming with dad in the motel pools while my mom stayed in the room, then taking turns going up to get a shower
• Getting kicked out Motel 6 (sorry, no further details will be provided)
• The license plate game
• Eric, the french fry thief
• Eric only ordering french toast and/or grilled cheese (depending on whether it was breakfast or dinner)
• Dad making sure there was no traffic and then sending us out to the middle of the street to take a photo
• Electricity trees
• Our "assigned" spots in the van (my sister & I in the far back row, my brother in the middle row)
• Dairy Queen radar
• Me always saying "where?" whenever dad or mom tried to point something out that we were driving by
• My sister always stealing the sheets in the motel beds (though I'm sure she'll blame it on me!)
• Doing the ooga horn through any tunnel
• Gift shops (and mom buying postcards)
  

As you look at the photos below, don't think my memory is this terrific...my mom was very diligent about dating and labeling photos! You'll also notice a theme in all these photos - not a single one of my dad! He was always along, but was always the photographer. And in case you have trouble identifying me, I'm always the smaller, younger girl.

1981 - Sequoia National Park (California)

1982 - Bryce National Park (Utah)

1983 - Four Corners National Monument (where Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico meet)

1984 - Redwood National Park (California) - this was our cool Volkswagen van

1985 - Mount Rushmore (South Dakota, right?)

1986 - on top of Moro Rock (some National Park in California, Sequoia maybe?) - this photo has a not-so-good memory attached. My dad is a backpacker. We hiked to the very top. I'm not a hiker. You can tell I look a little sickly & pale & green. I about collapsed at the top.

Expo 1986 in British Columbia, Canada - ironically enough, Kevin & his family were there also. We joke that maybe we stood next to each other in line!

1987 - Yosemite National Park (California) - Half Dome in the background - Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places and one of my favorite on earth. We went many, many times.

1987 - Catalina Island (off the coast of Southern California)

Scheduling vacations with 3 teenagers got much more difficult, so our trips weren't usually as long or far away. I'm sure we went places, but for some reason, I don't have any photos of our vacations between 1988 and 1992.

1993 - Epcot Center, Disneyworld (Florida) - my sister was already married and at BYU. This was the summer I graduated from high school. My parents decided they wanted to have one last "family vacation" before I went away to college. We flew (yes, thankfully we flew!) to Florida, saw Cape Canaveral, then did the Disney Big Red boat cruise for 3 days (which I'm sure would be really cool if I were 8, not 18), then spent 4 days at Disneyworld. Most of the Florida attractions were similar to the ones in California, but we really enjoy Epcot Center.

At the time, some of these vacations seemed like torture to a small child (and a teenager). But in hindsight, I look back and feel very blessed to have parents who were willing and able to spend the time and money to share the history and wonders of the western United States with us. I love the time I got to share with my family and the memories we created.

olympic goals & dreams

I am SO EXCITED the Olympics start today! I guess technically they've already started...I hate that whole time-difference thing...you basically have to avoid the internet entirely if you don't want to know about any results before you watch the evening TV coverage!

There's something about that Olympic spirit that is contagious - I love watching them. You can't help feeling pride for your country and awe when you watch what these athletes can do and the time and dedication they have given to their sport.

I'm particularly excited to learn more about China, where my brother & his wife are now living.

Once upon a time as a child, I dreamed (as most little girls probably do) of being an Olympic gymnast. I still get a twinge of regret and sadness mixed with excitement when I watch gymnastics. This year, my Olympic goal is slightly less lofty. Since I will likely spend all my free time over the next 16 days in front of the TV, I am making myself a goal and dedicating this time to catching up on all my scrapbooking. I'm only about a year behind, but I have 4 scrapbooks to do (3 kids + 1 for Kevin & I).

There - I've put it in writing. I'm not much of a "goal" person (for me it's depressing & frustrating when I don't accomplish them), but I guess that's what you're supposed to do, right? I'll let you know how it turns out!

In the meantime...GO TEAM U.S.A.!

breaking dawn

In case you were wondering where I've been this week, this should answer your question:Unlike some people, I will not be posting any "spoilers" on my blog. If you want to read spoilers, search the internet - I'm sure they're out there. I prefer to be surprised & entertained. I'll just say I thought it was very good. Some reviews are being overly-critical of it. I just tried to enjoy it as a fun book with interesting characters...and something different than the usual love story or the usual vampire story. I'm sad to see the series end, but it sounds like she's got more good novels in the works. And I'm extremely proud of myself for not being a totally absent mom & wife this week. Though Kevin & the kids probably agree with my friend's husband's blog post!

personal history: girls camp

I decided to write about my (church) Girls Camp adventures this week, because after writing about Julie & Rachel last Sunday, and my sister-in-law chaperoning her girls camp this week, it's been on my mind recently.
June 1988 (above) - My first time at Girls Camp at almost 13 years old (since my birthday was in July, I missed it by a month the previous year). I am in the pink shirt on the front row, just to the left of the sign. This was the the year of the broken toe. We were lucky enough to have cabins, a cafeteria, bathrooms, and a swimming pool (yes, this is my kind of "camping"). The second day of camp I decided to jump in the pool. Unfortunately, I didn't look before I jumped and there was a step there that I landed on wrong and broken my second toe. The nurse debated sending me home, but she decided to let me stay and loaned me crutches for the rest of camp. The worst part of the whole experience was when I got back home a few days later. The toe had healed itself in a crooked position and we had to go to the doctor and have him re-break the toe and set it correctly. My mom was NOT happy, since they didn't even call her!June 1989 - This year our stake decided to have camp at a different facility than the one they had always gone to. Still the same basic necessities (cafeteria, cabins, and bathrooms), but no pool. I was not too sad, given the previous year's experience. But we did get to do our hike to a nearby lake. Unfortunately, I'm not really a lake person (I'm not a big fan of swimming anyway, and the fact that I can't see what's in there really creeps me out). This was also the year I met Julie & Rachel, who were in the cabin next door. And, as you can see from the photo above, I was also nominated by my cabin to participate in the "pageant." Each cabin had to pick a person and dress them up using only a bunch of paper and minimal supplies they gave us. The stake didn't look too fondly on our bikini creation with enhanced breasts...

June 1990 (for some reason, no photos) - We were back at Camp Lazy W (where we were the first year). The only thing I remember about this year was that we received news while we were at camp that Andrea, a Down Syndrome girl in our stake and who had been to camp for several years previous and was the joy of camp, had passed away. The whole stake practiced a musical number and sang at her funeral just a few hours after we returned home on Saturday.

June 1991 - This was the year of the purple nightshirts (as you can see in the photo above - I circled myself in red...I think they were also attempting to form a heart-shape). Someone had a not-so-brilliant idea about getting everyone long purple nightshirts. We all hated them, and then someone (thankfully not me this time!) got all tangled up in theirs and fell off the top bunk and broke a toe. This was also the first year we were able to be youth leaders. Julie's non-member friend Stacia wanted to come so Julie, Stacia, and I were leaders together, and Rachel worked with another friend. Julie, Stacia, and I were assigned a cabin up the hill (near the infamous swimming pool) so we decided we were the "Gadianton Gals" and snuck into each cabin at different times during the week and stole small stuff. People kept talking about how strange stuff kept disappearing. We thought we were so funny, until the last day when we confessed to everyone and gave them their stuff back...and then promptly got in trouble! I felt especially bad, since Stacia was a non-member and we set a bad example for her.

I'm sure I went to girls camp a few more years (I distinctly remember that Julie, Rachel, and I were all youth leaders together one year). But I don't seem to have any memories or photos, so maybe I didn't!

I enjoyed going as a teenager, and I've been privileged to go two times as a leader here. Girls Camp here is MUCH different - they actually camp in tents, with port-a-johns, only 1-2 showers during the week, no swimming, and a strict dress code, though they do have the food catered. But it's not about the amenities, it's about the fun, the friendships built, getting away from the world for a few days, and the strengthening of testimonies. I LOVE Girls Camp!