The Furry Menagerie

Where am I and what day is this?

2009-06-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been four months since I last blogged. And I shouldn't even be doing it right now. But I feel guilty and no one will ever see this because everyone knows nothing changes on my blog, except my count down to London. Yes, 11 days. That's all we have. And I have to work 6 of them next week. I'm getting a little sick to my stomach thinking about it. Nerves and all that. The Air France crash this week also hasn't helped any. Fortunately, Missy hasn't heard about it, or she'd probably opt to stay home.

But we are so very EXCITED!!! I hope things go as planned. We'll make it work one way or another.

Cameron has been (and still is until tomorrow) at our BSA scout camp. One full week. It's been VERY quiet around here, even with Missy and Amy still here. Does that tell you something? His scoutmaster called his wife the other day and told her to tell all the scout moms that their boys were having a great time. I'm glad. I'll be glad to see him tomorrow, though.

Missy is playing tennis every morning now until we leave. She loves it. I hope she gets good at it. Cameron never sticks with something long enough to be proficient. Missy is more motivated. She's also doing well with the piano, picking it up quite quickly. But she's happy to have a break for a month.

Amy is playing baseball this summer and I'm the assistant coach for her team. She won't wear her glove in the field and still hits off the tee, but then again, she's only 5. We always call her Tiny around here, and now her teammates have picked it up. Now they chant "Tiny, Tiny" when she's up to bat. I think she enjoys it!

Okay, I've got to go do some stuff before I have to go to my hair appointment and yet another meeting for my weeklong workshop next week. It never ends! Enjoy the day!

Things about me.

2009-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

I've been getting requests on my facebook page to complete 25 random things about me, but I think they'd all be too negative right now. So I saw this on Becky's page and decided to fill it out. But no one ever reads my blog, so no one will ever see it. I would really like to wax philosophical like Bryan, but I can't ever find the time. I do have an interesting topic that will appear one day, though.

Get to know me better
1. What is your occupation right now?
Which one? I am a college professor, a mom, a wife, a confidante, a counselor, a cheerleader, a taxi driver, a student, a care giver, and that's all I can think of right now!

2. What color are your socks right now? Cream colored

3. What are you listening to right now? www.club977.com 80's hits, Pat Benatar, "Hit me with your best shot"

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Hershey's kiss and some leftover Pizza Hut.

5. Can you drive a stick shift?Yep... Artie certainly hopes I can

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mommy friend Adina. Her daughter and Amy are going to play this afternoon.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?I love her and really look up to her! (it was neat to be able to save this answer from Becky!)

8. How old are you today? 43 years, 342 days

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Equestrian things (horse races, show jumping), but I like just about anything, including golf and bowling.

10. What is your favorite drink? Please, is there anything else? COKE!!!!

11. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Something with chocolate covered nuts in it and swirlies, or licorice. Can't find it in the States, but ate it whenever someone bought me a cone in Canada.

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? But just a weave

13. What is your favorite food? Salads and soups at Sweet Tomatoes.

14. What is the last movie you watched? I started watching The Good the Bad and The Ugly (my
favorite western) but I didn't get it finished. But I know how it ends!

15. Favorite day of the year? Halloween!

16. How do you vent anger? Yell at my kids, or if I'm really mad, take Wiley out for a walk and yell in the desert.

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Anything I played with outside -- probably monkey bars. I know that doesn't count, but it's true!

18. What is your favorite season?Fall - it's the start of a new year for me

19. Cherries or Blueberries?Cherries!

20. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? ALWAYS!!!!

21. Who is the most likely to respond? (to an email? Jan -- My BFF in the whole wide world! But to this post, Becky!)

22. Who is least likely to respond? Everyone else!

23. Living arrangements? Husband, son, daughter, daughter.

24. When was the last time you cried? What time is it?

25. What is on the floor of your closet? You name it. Mostly shoes

26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? See #21

27. What did you do last night? Pilates, fixed dinner, scriptures, homework, housecleaning, taxi service (same stuff, different days)

28. What are you most afraid of? Anything other than the celestial kingdom for eternity.

Where's 29?

30. What is your favorite kind of dog? My huge, slobbery yellow lab Wiley. (But I still miss Simone)

31. Favorite day of the week? Saturday, silly

32. How many states have you lived in? 5 - Idaho, Utah, California, Nevada, Arizona

33. What is your favorite flower? Anything purple

34. What is the weather like right now?Blue sky, 62 degrees

35. What is the gas price there?$1.89

My 99 list

2009-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to do this, too. But I going to cheat a little and italicize the ones we're going to do this summer! The tickets are bought so I guess we're going!

99 things I have or haven't done:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (no fair, Becky!)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (but I sat at the bottom and waited!)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (not in a sleeping car though)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (don't you know teachers ALWAYS do that)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight(but it was by myself in Hawaii, boring!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (actually it was a charcoal drawing)(mine, too)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie(do home movies count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (does TaeBo count?)
59. Visited Russia (no fair on this, either Becky!)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (see 15 and 59)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (but I have eaten escargot!)(ditto, and we did eat pate de fois gras at RS. Do you remember that Becky?)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (nope, thank heavens!)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (yep, but don't tell Mom, and it's not how I broke the bone)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (but I have one I'm going to write!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life ( I know this doesn't count but my children are still alive)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club(hated it)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's back to work we go

2009-01-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

January 4. . .

Yes, I guess Christmas vacation is all over with and I didn't get anything done that I wanted to do. Oh well, I supposed those things really didn't need to be done anyway.

We've had a very wonderful year and an equally wonderful Christmas. So far, we're discovering that if we continue to live the commandments we will not be affected by the events that are occurring in our nation and throughout the world. We are truly blessed, indeed, by our membership in the Savior's church.

January 16. . .

I was going to post this a long time ago, but as you can see, I didn't. I wanted to post some pictures, but now I'm at work and can't do that. We're all well entrenched in school again. Amy still doesn't want to go to school each morning, but is happy when she gets home. So we just deal with it.

Missy had her first piano recital this week (which I will post) and she did a wonderful job. She's picked it up quite quickly.

This weekend we'll be working feverishly to finish 3 merit badge requirements since Cameron is eligible to be a Star Scout, but for the 3 badges from summer camp. Hope they'll still accept them!

Rob and I went to Tucson last Saturday (by ourselves!), shopped, had dinner at Red Lobster, and then went to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and their special guests, The Smothers Brothers! Yes, after all of these years, they're still funny. Rob really enjoyed it. I saw them 21 years ago in Palm Desert. They've aged very well. Fun was had by all. We were about the youngest in the audience. Gee, I wonder why. I also wonder if Terry still has his old Smothers Brothers albums anymore. I wish I still had them.

Okay, back to work. I'll post pictures this weekend. Love everyone's updates and new looks. Except Traci . . . she needs some help! Welcome to the world of blogging, Bryan! I've enjoyed your posts. I used to like Traci's. . .

My Broken Car. . .

2008-12-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

So here's the damage from Thursday. I was supposed to pick Amy up from school and she was very upset with her mommy when she got home from school. I called her at Nana's and she was crying until I told her I broke my car. Then she forgave me. Just as long as I had a good excuse! In the left and middle pictures you can see the offending rebar that caught the front of my car. I haven't heard yet from the adjuster, but he was faxing the estimate yesterday afternoon to our body work friend who is going to do the repairs. We hope it can get done before the 26th, or we won't be going to Utah. Wish us luck!

Snow White

2008-12-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a collection of pictures from their play this week. I'm still working on formatting pictures. Amy was a chipmunk and Missy was Doris, the wicked queen's servant (instead of a huntsman). The last pictures were from the cast pictures before the play. I was taking ones of each group and using the telephoto feature alot and my batteries died right before Amy's group got on stage. So later I'll post pictures that the director took. The girls had fun and did a wonderful job.

The End is in Sight...

2008-12-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

It must be the end of the semester because I came down with a cold yesterday. I'm never sick during the school year (unless it's something bizarre), but as soon as my body realizes that the semester is done, then it poops out and I get something. But I've been doing the Zicam thing and I think it will work.

I only have two finals to write this weekend and three to give next week (two of them are the same) and then I'm FREE until January 5th (Happy Birthday, Cindy). I also have a study guide to post today, hopefully I'll get to it or they'll be mad at me. What do I care? Let 'em be mad! What a rebel I am.

Missy and Amy have been performing in the semiannual play this week. Tonight is the last performance after a month of rehearsal. I love them in the play, but am always excited when it's over! Pictures will follow after we do cast pictures tonight.

Everyone's off somewhere right now, that's why I can post. Cameron, Missy, Calli, and Rob (and maybe Jeff) are at the movies. Modern Woodmen of America (our life insurance company) sponsors a movie day in December (cheap and food goes with it). So they usually go. Amy is at a teddy bear tea party for Marleigh's birthday for another 20 minutes. And I'm in my office (my sanctuary) finishing up letters of recommendation for a former student who is going to graduate school. I just came from my usual Saturday trip to Wally World. As I was lifting the dog food bag (all 44 lbs of it) up to get to the UPC symbol, yep, you guessed it . . . the bottom fell out and so did 44 lbs of dog food. Nice. I don't even like my stupid dogs. No, I'm just kidding. Too bad Wiley and Daisy weren't there to clean up the mess. They certainly would have been happy to oblige.

Hope all is well with everyone. Now I can gear up Christmas. Haven't gotten that spirit yet, but I think we'll get our tree today and then maybe that will help. I love to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but I'd rather do it on his real birthday and bag the pagan start of winter/new year holiday thing. Oh well, no one listens to me.

Next time I'll post how I broke my car on Thursday. Check out my facebook page if you can't wait.

And away we go!!!!

2008-11-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

Today's the day and no one's really excited (including me). I hope the days go by fast.

The Windy City

2008-11-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

So, I'm off to Chicago on Tuesday for the rest of the week. No, I'm not looking forward to it and no, I really don't want to go. But it's a college accreditation thing and I'm the lucky faculty member with the short straw. Administrators are the other attendees, so that can tell you the level of fun I'll be having. My family and my students are both wanting me to stay home. My students become so attached to me that if I'm not there, they tend to panic. And my family, well, that goes without saying. As Missy said one day, in response to our discussion of the event, "Oh great, we're going to starve. All Dad fixes is fish sticks and goulash." That about sums up the feelings at my house! Amy's favorite foods are fish sticks, tater tots, and macaroni and cheese, so she'll be okay. Rob can handle that. Thanks to Mom and Dad for staying home and carrying for my family next week while Rob's in class, instead of going to Terry's retirement party. That's how it is, Terry. Sorry.

The Serpent beguiled them, and they did vote. . .

2008-11-04T21:17:00.007-08:00

Well, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has won the election. I love my country, I love being American, but I am very saddened by this turn of events. I urge you all to pray for the future of our nation, and stand strong against sin and adversity. We had a stake conference from Salt Lake last Sunday, and President Packer was one of the speakers. He had this to say to the Saints of Arizona: Be aware of revelation and pay your tithing. We will make it through the coming hard times and do not fear. If I can get a copy of the talks I'll send copies to all who would like them. Elders Bruce Hafen and Jay Jensen also spoke great words of counsel to us. I'm glad I was able to be there.

It's off to work tomorrow with my head held high and my heart heavy. Listen to McCain's concession speech. It's very good, too. Made me cry.

Have a good day/night/whatever.

Get out and VOTE

2008-11-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

That's all I have time for today. But get out and vote. It's funny how Sarah's name is much larger that John's. Wonder if that means anything other than trying to get things to fill the poster evenly. Make it a great and historic day! Vote your conscience. I know I did.

Family Fun

2008-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest in our lives. Amy got out the Lincoln logs and we've been having quite a bit of fun with them. She's quite the architect (with a little bit of help)

It's also County Fair time of year and here are the chickens Cameron and Missy entered. Wiley really likes them. I have better pictures of them, but really liked this one with Wiley's nose. Cameron got two red ribbons for the two chickens in the background and Missy got a blue for the one in the foreground.

There's me. Amy took it. That's all I have to say about that.

We had a ball yesterday. There's an alpaca and llama farm about an hour and 15 minutes from us that was having farm days this weekend with displays and things about the animals. So we took grandpa and went up there. Alpacas apparently love little people, especially Amy. They would all come up to the fence to see her.

This is my favorite picture.

They also had goats that the kids (which kids, mine or theirs?) were excited about.

Hopefully, one of these days our backyard at our new house will look like this, but not with quite so many alpacas. We're quite looking forward to having some of these and some of the goats of our own. Call us crazy, but we love them!

Have a great week!

Thanks Traci...

2008-09-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

At least Traci responded to my plight. I appreciate that! Amy is doing better now that I don't take her to the bus stop any more. Daddy and Gampaw wait with her at the bus stop now. I miss seeing her off, but if it's too much for her, then I must give way. Good luck with all of your work propositions, Traci. I'm so excited for you.

Help! I need somebody...Help! Not just anybody ...

2008-09-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

I need someone to help me figure out how to get my tiny to like going to school in the mornings. She's alright once she gets to school, but she's always crying when she gets on the bus and says she hates school and doesn't want to go. The other two were NEVER like that. I don't remember a day where either Missy or Cameron didn't want to go. They're so insane that they'll even go sick so that they won't miss a day (so they can get the perfect attendance award). Amy is just so different (yes, she is a mama's girl and my last) and the guilt is killing me! What do I do, you experienced moms out there! And even anyone with any suggestion will be welcomed.

A good long weekend despite...

2008-09-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a pretty good Labor Day weekend, even though I was supposed to be somewhere else. I've gotten over the disappointment and may possibly go in December. I'm going to apply for my you-know-what this week. Hope all goes well. Now we can settle down into the routine of our lives. I love September! It's more of a new year to me than January 1st! I was telling someone today that I have been in school for 38 consecutive Septembers! Not a break at all from school, other than summer vacation. Hard to believe! Well, I do have school in the morning, as do my children, so we're off to get ready for tomorrow. Make it a great day!

The Fruit of My Loins

2008-08-31T01:33:00.000-07:00

With me starting school as well, I've been amiss in celebrating my children's start of a new school year. And one with all three in school, too! Hard to believe. Rob and I have truly been blessed with wonderful children. They are the neatest kids. I hope they have a great year.

Here's my junior high school student (or should I say middle school). Cameron started 7th grade this year and loves his P.E. class and teacher. The first thing he tells me about each day is what he did in P.E. and then something about Mr. Lamoreaux. So yes, that's his favorite subject so far. He tried out for the Knowledge Bowl team and made it, so he gets to do those competitions. Mr. Trivia will really enjoy himself.

Look at my lovely 5th grader. She just turned 10 and is growing up so quickly, but so well. We love everything about Missy. She has the most loving spirit of anyone I know. And her huge spirit is just so happy to have a healthy body and to be here on Earth. My Missy is such a joy to me.
Yes, the Tiny is off to kindergarten. It's been a rocky start. School started on a Wednesday, but the next full week of school started with tears every morning once she got to school. One day they lasted until noon. None of this was I aware of until Friday when I took her treats to school and found her crying. Her teacher said she did it every day. So we made Amy a happiness chart that her teacher would sign everyday if she wasn't crying in the morning. She almost lost her reward one morning but her sweet teacher helped Amy find her smile and she was able to get her reward at the end of the week (season 2 of SpongeBob). I hope that all is well this week.

Here are some more pictures of that morning.

Amy in her classroom. Her hair is finally long enough again to put in a ponytail (and that was on her orders).

I'm still comtemplating the events of the other day. I'm still troubled by the whole thing, but on an interesting level. It's still disturbing to me and a little tender. Have you ever felt completely alone before? Like there wasn't one soul in the entire world who cared about you? No friendly face, no encouraging words? I've never felt so empty before in my life. As I stood at the ticket desk, trying to comprehend what was happening, I felt despair like I've never felt before. Now I'm a pretty independent individual and pride myself on being able to make the best of a bad situation. Things usually work out for me because I feel I think well on my feet. But at that moment, I really needed someone to rely on. I wanted to feel like someone cared about me and my situation and that someone had answers or suggestions, or just something for me. But there was not a soul in that entire airport who looked my way, gave me any comforting words or reassurances, especially the airline people. They just wanted me to go away and be an idiot somewhere else. I can't even put into words exactly how I felt, other than it was the most horrible feeling in my life. I just kind of aimlessly walked away in a daze, having absolutely no clue what to do. I didn't even have the wherewithall to say a prayer. But Heavely Father was still with me, I guess, and the only thing I could think of was to get back home. Thankfully, I had a sympathetic husband to talk to when I got back to my car, and the sweetest customer service person at Expedia. She was the one who finally got the tears, once I wasn't numb anymore. I really appreciated her listening ear and trying to help me out with my problem. The most amazing thing of this whole experience was the love that I felt from my students the minute I walked back into my classroom. I decided to go back to work and not waste my personal leave day, and they were so happy to see me and so empathetic to my plight. I truly love where I live and work. They are the greatest places on earth!

So there's a point to my rambling, and I think a lesson I have learned. I feel so badly now for anyone of Heavenly Father's children who have ever felt the way I have in their lives. I don't want anyone to have to feel like this, especially if I am around them. I will, in the future, do everything in my power to help everyone around me know that there is at least one person in the world who cares about them. We are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and just like our theme in Primary this year, we all can say "I am a Child of God". I think it's amazing that that is usually the first song our babies learn when they go to Primary (along with Popcorn Popping on the Apricot tree and Book of Mormon Stories, of course). I was playing it on the piano one day when Amy came and sat down on the bench beside me to sing it. It was the most beautiful thing and I was so amazed that she knew all of the words. So I hope that you who read my blog (few, though, you are) will join me in this quest, endeavor, or whatever you call it. Help those around you feel the love our Heavenly Father has for them. I love you all!

I hate terrorists.

2008-08-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

What has happened to our world? I'm a WASP female, of middle age, in Phoenix, AZ. Am I going to hijack a plane? Certainly not. But because some fanatical extremists rocked our world nearly 7 years ago, I cannot go home to Canada without a stupid passport. Stupid airlines. Tourism Canada says I only need a driver's license and birth certificate. If I drove to the border they would let me in. But I couldn't board my Air Canada flight this morning without my passport. This is at 4:00 am this morning. So I drove back home and went to work. I miss Jan and Catherine. I've been looking forward to this for a year and a half. I've had my ticket since April. Now I have a $150 cancellation fee and a credit until April on an airline I don't want to fly on anymore. But at least Amy will be happy I'm home. I haven't slept since Wednesday night. I'm tired and I don't feel well. I need some colostrum.

I did get to enjoy the "hurricane" we had in Phoenix last night. I was right in the middle of the worst of it. 1.5 inches of rain in 20 mins, 75 mph winds, 10,000+ lightning strikes/minute, power outages, hail, the door of the lobby of the motel was ripped off its hinges. Exciting!

Mom said maybe I just wasn't supposed to go on this trip. Maybe not, but maybe it's because we have so many crazies in the world that are trying to bring down America. And I don't think Barrack Obama will have a clue how to deal with this, let alone our domestic problems. I had greater faith in John McCain until this morning. What was he thinking? A female 2 year governor from Alaska? Please. We're going to heck in a handbasket. Hold on tight. Regardless of who wins it's going to be a bumpy four years. I wanted to move to Canada for 4 years but they don't want me anymore. Geez, I lived there for 16 years. Whenever I say where I'm from, I always say I'm from Canada. I still say "eh". Isn't that devotion?

Okay, I'm going home now. Have a great long weekend.

Two Days in a Row!

2008-08-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

I should be doing laundry right now, but the siren call of the computer captivated me and lured me into its clutches. So here I am and I'll write between loads!

This picture tells it all. . .whatever Amy will be doing in the future will always involve having a phone sticking to the side of her head. She's really into books, lately, and I don't think it will take her long to learn to read. I have a reading program that Cameron used in kindergarten to teach him to read, so I'm going to start it with Amy. She already likes me to read the books to her, but they're not my favorites (see, see me, see me Sam, Sam sees me. . .you get the drift!).

Amy's best friend is her cat, Trinity. Although I don't think the feeling is mutual. Trinity is quite tolerant of Amy and everything she does to her for being a grown cat we found on the side of the road (or in the middle of the road, as the case may be).

Guess who?

Missy and Amy were both in the play again this spring. They really have a good time and I'm so glad that the college offers this opportunity. Missy is hoping this fall that she can get a lead part. So am I! This will be her last year in this age group (4-10 yr olds) and she has this semester and next to try. She loves acting and is really quite a ham in her everyday life! Here she's a squirrel (they did The Adventures of Mr. Toad adapted from The Wind in the Willows and she was a spring-cleaning animal. Not a big part, just part of the ensemble which really bummed her out. She felt it was a step down from past plays). Amy has really gotten into the plays, as well. In fact, she's the standout in her group each time. Here's she's a duck.

Which one is Amy? Yep, she's the shortest, there in the middle!

Bottom center is my beautiful Missy!

Closing night!

The finale! Amy didn't want to stop. We're not supposed to take pictures (copyright and all that stuff, but she was just too cute not to!)

At the Academy Awards night, Amy got an award for the best littlest actress. Missy was a little sad that she hasn't won any awards, yet. There's still time!

There's supposed to be a picture of me, here, but it didn't load. Maybe tomorrow. Have a great day. Back to the laundry!

Only 10 more days . . .

2008-08-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

I hate that the pictures come up at the beginning after I've already typed in other things! I really need some lessons on blogging! Anyway. . . yep, that's right, the Gillespie's go back to school in 10 days. Where did the summer go? I know where mine went. . .work, work, work! But I have a minute to put some things on.

Cameron went to scout camp for the first time this summer. Here's pictures of him leaving. I didn't get pictures of him coming home, because I was at work when he got home. But he probably wouldn't let me post any, even if I had some. Apparently, one night they had green chile burros for dinner and the next morning the lines for the portapotties were several boys deep! Cameron, unfortunately, had his share (0f dinner and standing in line the next morning)! It's a memory, though!

We've had a really wet and cool (for our area) summer. We had the worst storm of the year (and probably the worst one since we've lived here) coming home from church today. Here's some video:

In this one, watch as I pan over between the bush and the van...watch for the lightning in the road! That was scary and close!

Since I have to load the pictures first, I'll do more tomorrow about the girls. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday To Amy!

2008-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Again, no pictures. This time I forgot my camera, but Nana brought hers, so when she gets them developed, (provided she didn't cut heads off again ;) )I'll scan them and post them. Anyway, our tiny is finally 5 years old! All of her little girlfriends have already had birthdays (all in Feb and Mar) so Amy's is glad to finally be 5. It's so hard to believe. She does, in fact, go to kindergarten this fall. Her big brother and sister will not be in the same school, but she will get to ride the bus with Missy. Cameron, of course, is off to middle school. Too hard to comprehend! Time has FLOWN by. Papa and Nana are going to be very lonely this fall.

Amy had a birthday party at the neighborhood pool. Lots of fun with everyone's big brothers and sisters there, too. Got even more stuff to mess up the house with. Oh well. She's the Tiny, I guess it's her perogative. Make it a good day!

We're Still Alive!

2008-06-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, but Cameron wanted me to post and say that he survived his first scout camp! At least he didn't have to leave at 3:00 AM. He had a great time. Earned 5 merit badges and I hope he's almost finished with his First Class. The only bad thing about it was Thursday night. . .green chili burros. They tasted good, but by 5:00 AM Friday morning, the lines at the portapotties were so long some boys didn't think they were going to make it. Food poisoning had struck! Cameron was not lucky enough to avoid it, either. He felt pretty bad until one of the leaders gave him some Imodium AD, but he didn't really feel good until he got home on Saturday. But it didn't seem to dampen his enthusiasm for future campouts. This last weekend our youth went on a retreat up on the mountain again, and Cameron got to go rappelling. Lots of fun! Time for family home evening! Enjoy!

Snow in Arizona???

2008-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, if you go high enough, you can often find snow. So we did. Up to 75oo ft. We got some more snow at the beginning of the week with the tail end of the storm that walloped California, but it's been melting rather fast. We thought we'd better get up and play in it. I'll post photos and stuff later. Enjoy!

Chicken Rob

Daredevil Amy

12 years ago . . .

2008-01-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

I know I should have blogged yesterday and I don't even have a picture, but I now have a Young Man living in my house. Cameron turned 12 yesterday and I was thinking at different times what I was doing twelve years ago. Like getting ready to go to the hospital to be induced, then not having that work and having to have a c-section, stuff like that. He's been so sweet yesterday and today. I'm wondering if something has finally kicked in. But I'll just take it while I can and then wait for his old self to return! I really have enjoyed him lately. We often find ourselves trying to beat each other up (or at least take each other down) since I've been going to my kickboxing classes. Sad will be the day when his mommy can't take him down anymore. I know that by his next birthday he will be taller than me. He's already taller than Grandma Cleda.

We just got back day before yesterday from Utah. It was fun to spend a bunch of time with our old friends the McKnights. They live across the street from where we used to live in Middleton. It's so nice that whenever we get together we just pick up from where we left off -- no having to get reacquainted. They have a daughter, Natalie, that is 4 months younger than Cameron and has loved him since she was born. They also have a son, Michael who is 8 months older than Missy. He has autism, but truly seems to enjoy our visits. We were sad to leave them.

The kids and I go back to school on Monday. Not enough vacation to do anything I wanted to do, just what needed to be done. Well, I better get back to what needs to be done, namely put the Christmas decorations away.

The Fur

2007-12-26T14:22:00.001-08:00

Oops! I almost forgot one of the most important gifts -- Missy's faux fur coat! We saw this material and another coat in the fabric section of Wal-mart and Missy wanted it so badly. So Nana bought the material, and I made the coat. She says it's nice and warm and soft!

The Day After. . .

2007-12-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture from Cameron's last ball game. He scored another basket and they won rather handily. That's Cameron at the free throw line. The joy of Christmas and being 4! Amy just loves playing kitchen so that's her kitchen to play with at Gamma's. I spent about 2 1/2 hrs putting it together last night.
This is Venus, Cameron's cockatiel. She needed to pay us a visit while we opened our presents. She's quite a fun bird. She's learned to whistle and almost say "Hello Pretty Bird", she can wolf whistle, another whistle Rob taught her, and now she imitates the 7 o'clock bird. We have a bird clock that has 12 different calls, one each hour, that is an integral part of our lives. We do things according to what call we hear, and the most important one is the American Robin call at 7. That lets us know what time to start getting ready for the bus after eating breakfast. I guess Venus figured out that it's an important call (it's the only one she's tried to imitate) and now she does it all the time -- even when it's not 7, and that messes with me!
Here's Cameron opening his Transformers dvd. He and Jeremiah went to see it and loved it. It's actually a pretty good movie, and with our TV Guardian, we don't get any bad words!
Here's PaNana opening their gifts.

We're surviving the Christmas doldrums so far. Fortunately, Jeremiah has not left for Utah yet, and we're leaving tomorrow, so things won't get ugly until about January 4th. Well, I better get back to packing and getting ready for our trip to Utah. Hope you all have a great vacation. Rob, Cam, and Miah are out on the 4-wheeler shooting the gun. Hope they don't freeze -- it's turned cold here since yesterday. Lots of staying inside!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here's our stocking hanger. I saw it at the house of some friends and Cameron built it for me. I painted it and it looks much better in the photo than in real life! But it's a good place to put your stockings when you don't have a mantle, only a pellet stove!
Too many presents under the tree!

Missy's mushroom chair. Amy has one that's too small for the big kids to sit in, so she got this one and it's purple -- her favorite color!

Santa seems to know what her favorite color is! Here's her new bike which she desperately needed! Thank you, Santa!
Amy loved Christmas this year! Cameron's bow set is in the background. Rob got a Benjamin air rifle, so the two of them are going to go out and shoot things. We should be eating a lot of quail in the coming months! Just kidding! And yes, Ola, Amy's hair isn't blond anymore. But we still like it!. She's been licking her lower lip a lot, so she looks like Angelina Jolie.
More pictures will come, but this is all it would let me download. Becky, I really need your help! Hope everyone's Christmas was great!

More catching up

2007-12-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a common sight at our house on the weekends. It's not always all three of them, but this particular time it was. The boy on the left is Tevin Hincha, another of Cameron's very good friends and Jeremiah (see previous blog) is on the right. They are such nice boys and excellent friends and examples for Cameron. The first time we ever visited here for Rob to interview with the mortuary I knew we were coming here for Cameron. Missy could have grown up anywhere and made good friends, but this is exactly where Cameron needs to be. And the neighborhood we live in is great (for Missy because she has lots of friends that she can ride her bike to -- all of Cameron's friends live a couple of miles away, but that's okay). It's safe and friendly, we love our ward and really don't like the thought of building a new house and moving to Central. But I would like a new house!

Every semester the college puts on a children's theater that Missy has been involved with twice. This semester, though, Amy was old enough to be in it. It was called "Babes in Toyland" (but nothing like the show with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon). Missy was Contrary Mary (from the nursery rhyme) and Amy was one of Bo Peep's lost sheep. She was the lead sheep and would run out and stand right on the mark whenever the sheep made their appearance! She was the littlest sheep (of course) and the cutest (of course). Even parents of the other sheep would tell me how cute she was! We went out and gleaned cotton off of the plants that had been harvested and then I sewed the bolls together and then sewed them to her sweats. Everytime she wore her costume I had to keep sewing the bolls back on -- she was often trailing cotton behind her. But she was the fluffiest sheep!

Here's another shot with her new hairdo. She also has some of her new Missy handmedowns that make her look older than she is. She also has Missy's old cowboy boots on. She looked great!

It rained here yesterday, which means it showed on the mountain, which also means the kids want to go up and play in it. So I guess we'll go later today. Cameron has a basketball game this morning. I'm home with the girls because they're not up yet. I sent the camera with Rob so my next post should include some pictures of him playing ball. I hope they win! They've won 2 and lost 1. He scored a basket in the last game! He was really proud! So was I! Later, gators.

Tired of Cleaning . . .

2007-12-20T07:26:00.001-08:00

I'm going to try to go back and catch up on some of the things that our family has done since I last posted! Here is one of my favorite pictures of all of my children. Two of them you may not recognize, but they are definitely my children! The boy in the blue shirt is Cameron's best friend, Jeremiah Ward. The two are almost inseparable. He's a year older than Cameron, and unfortunately, is in junior high while Cameron is still in elementary school. But there's always after school, weekends, etc. We took Jeremiah with us Labor Day weekend to the White Mountains of Arizona to visit the little boy in yellow, Kaiden. He and Cameron have the same birthday and are 10 years apart. He's the son of two of my students who are very special to us. Kaiden's mom (Karen) used to be Cameron's piano teacher until Kaiden's dad (Rand) got a teaching job in Eagar and they had to move from Thatcher. We were very sad, but it gives us an excuse to go visit and one day we'd like to build a cabin there.

Since my blog is the "Furry Menagerie", I thought I'd better give you a sampling every now and again of our furry friends. This is Creamy. We raise rats to sell to the pet store as pets and reptile food, but we decided that we wanted a couple of rats as pets for us. I know what you're thinking. . . but rats really do make great pets. We take them from their mommies as soon as they get hair (even before their eyes are open) and then bottlefeed them so they will be tame. We have another one named Butterscotch and they live together to keep each other company. Amy and Cameron absolutely love them. Missy likes them, but she's not as interested in them as the others are.

This is Creamy before her eyes were open! She's much bigger, now!

Everything seems to get put on hold during the semester, so lots of work piles up for when I'm home. So now I have to tackle it, but I'm tired of it, so I guess I'll post some more. Two more days until Christmas vacation! Missy is VERY excited for it this year. She's been my present scout this year -- checking everything under the tree, keeping track of how many presents everyone gets, especially her. I finished her fur coat yesterday. We saw a coat that someone made in the fabric section of WalMart one day, and she wanted that so desperately! She kept talking about it until finally, Nana gave in, and gave me the money to buy the pattern and fabric. But she was too scared to make it! So I had to. But it was really pretty easy and I'll post a picture of her modeling it after Christmas. It was fun to make for her and I can't wait to see her face when she opens it!

Well, back to work! Make it a great day!

A Whole Semester . . .

2007-12-16T19:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that an entire semester has gone by without a post! Sorry about that, but it's been a very hectic few months. Here's one of the changes:

After:

Before:

I know this should have been the other way around, but I still haven't figured out to upload pictures to my blog in the order that I want them to be displayed. I hate that, and I REALLY hate Moon Sand. Don't buy it! Yes, it doesn't dry out, but it also doesn't stick together and gets everywhere. The good thing is that each time Amy plays with it, less and less returns to the container. One day it will have all been vacuumed away . . . .

Amy was getting very tired of having it hurt every Sunday when we tried to comb her hair for church. The reason why it hurt so much was that she'd only let me comb it on Sundays before church. So we cut off the dreadlocks and I have a new girl! I miss the long blond hair, though. It's darker now but I'm hoping it will lighten in the summer.

I guess for now this blog is going to be about Amy or it will be too long. Amy has had a time in the past with seizures as she wakes up in the mornings. She had her first in June of 2006 and we did tests with a "wait and see" from the neurologist. They came back with one in March, one in April, one in July, and one in August. So we're doing more tests and currently have her on medication. It's always scary to have your children on maintenance meds, but she hasn't experienced any side effects or seizures. The doctor said we'll try it for a year and if she can be seizure-free for a year, we can take her off of the medication. So, we're four months and counting. I hope she'll outgrow them. I've heard of lots of cases where that has happened. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Now that I'm out for the semester, I will keep catching up on our lives! Have a great day and congratulations, Jeff! We're all so proud of you!

My Beautiful Girls

2007-08-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Here are my two little beauties! It sure has been fun being home with them this summer. I really don't want to go back to work on Monday, but duty calls! Missy starts 4th grade on Wednesday in the elementary school. She's a little nervous about going to the new school with the big kids (4-6th). She'll be fine, though.

My tiny will be sad to have the kids off to school, but she and her Gampa will find lots to do. The last year home . . . don't know what PaNana will do without her next year. Amy, unfortunately, has started the seizures, again, and last week she had a real one that we caught on video (with the wonderful camera I got for my birthday, thank you very much). I won't post that, because it's a little disturbing, but it comes in handy when you go to the doctor! So now she has to go back to her neurologist and we'll end up putting her on some sort of medication. A sister in our ward has a granddaughter with a similar situation, and she outgrew the seizures after being on medication for a couple of years. So we hope the same for Amy. She's such a precious spirit in our home. Cameron took this picture of her in Wyoming on our vacation this summer. I think he did a great job!

I don't have anything about Cameron; I'll do him later, since this is about my GIRLS! We're looking forward to Tony and Kevin's visit in a couple of weeks. The following weekend (Labour day weekend) we're going camping in the White Mountains. Our very special friends moved there this summer and we really miss them.

I'm sure I'll post more once I get back into a regular routine. Take care of yourselves and we certainly are missing out on the fun in Houston!

Our House

2007-07-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ola wanted to see our house and suggested that I put it on my blog. Here's what we hope it will look like if we ever get it started, and finished, of course.

We've had the plans and land for a couple of years, so hopefully when Rob is finished with school and gets a job, we can start construction!

I've been Harry Potterized!

2007-07-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished it. I even made myself finish what painting I had to do in the girls' room before I started it (pictures to follow). I think I was averaging 75-100 pages an hour. I'm satisfied. I need to go back and reread the wand thing, and go back into the Half-Blood Prince, too, but for the most part I really enjoyed it. The eavesdropping with Ted and Dean, et al., was a little contrived, but how else were they going to find stuff out? Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

2007-04-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here was our very fun day of fishing at Dankworth Pond. Kevin had a VERY good time. They also went on the 4-wheeler with Rob and I don't think that he wants to go home. Everyone caught at least one fish.

There is also an artesian spring at Dankwork pond that the kids played in. It was about 95 degrees.

Here's Amy's fish. She needs a little help with casting, but reels it in pretty good!

2007-04-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the little April Fool's day thing, but I just couldn't let the day go by without something! Tony and Kevin got here safe and sound last night. Cameron slept over at Grandma's so he could wait up for them. I understand the two of them are now over at my house playing basketball. Doesn't surprise me! Haven't seen Tony, yet. I'm still at work for a couple more hours. But my house is all cleaned up (except my bedroom and no one needs to see that) so I don't have much to do this weekend. We have a ward pancake breakfast and easter egg hunt tomorrow morning. Then we may go fishing. I'll post a picture of C and K together this afternoon. It will be kind of funny! Have a great day!

2007-04-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed conference this weekend. It was neat to hear the stories about the tabernacle. We were fishing at the time. We thought it would be okay to go fishing Saturday afternoon if we brought conference with us. I also liked the multiple references to the Nicean creed, especially saying that it's WRONG!! The philosophies of men . . . My devotional talk on Tuesday went well. I still am getting students telling me how they enjoyed it. I gotta run, dinner's on the stove, but wanted to post today. We found out about Merrill and Alicia -- Terry and Kay left it up to them to let us know. I guess we know where we stand! Well, we won't let that happen. I hope their baby is not the only one born this year, if you know what I mean! Hey Becky, what's it like to be 53 with an almost 12 year old?

2007-03-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

A big THANK YOU to my blogging buddies who helped me to know that I'm not crazy and that posting pictures really is a pain. Too bad they're still not in beta form or blogger could maybe fix that. Oh well, I still have lots of pictures left to post, so more in the future.

Cameron went on his first Boy Scout overnight Camporee this weekend. For the past two weeks it has been hot (I've been worried that winter gave spring a miss and went straight on to summer) until Thursday of last week it started raining. It cleared up Friday, so they left for the campout (with Cameron packed with every warm/dry thing his mom could think of) and it snowed on them in the night. I guess a really wet snow that made their tents collapse. Their group didn't leave until morning, but some groups left in the night! Nevertheless, they all got home early. But he still had a good time. We finally got 11-yr-old scout leaders called yesterday, so I don't have to pawn Cameron off on other ward where he has friends! Speaking of friends, will you pray for Sam Savage, one of Cameron's buddies who has diabetes. Bad things are happening with his limbs and his blood glucose levels are out of control. Thanks! Hard to deal with when you're only 11.

I'm speaking on prayer at the institute's devotional tomorrow. Any ideas?

Bye for now!

2007-03-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from our trip. Read down through this and see how I don't know how to post things yet!

Missy and Landon. Landon has loved Missy since she was two and of course, Missy adores him. His mom and I want them to get married, but I'm not sure he can wait for her (he's 14, she's 8.5)

Cameron and Amy at LA zoo

Amy and Gracie (our friends' dog)

Missy and Gracie

I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures, they all post at the beginning of my blog instead of where I want them, so things are kind of screwy till I figure this out.

Missy

Wow! I didn't know how long it's been since I've posted! I'm so busy all of the time. We had a GREAT time in California. Here are some photos with my NEW WONDERFUL DIGITAL CAMERA!

Missy and Cameron at Westminster Mall

Amy at Corona Del Mar beach

Becky, teach me how to post the pictures after I write something!

2007-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

I am so incredibly busy for the next three days before we leave for California for spring break, but I just had to post really quickly about my birthday yesterday. It started off kind of crappy (excuse the term but it really fits) because the only ones to wish me a happy birthday were my husband and mother. Not even my kids. So I went to work knowing that no one would know and that was sad. I was waiting to open my email to make sure that my email card from my very best friend (Jan Gregory) for 36 years would get here. Sure enough, it was there!!! I really love her for that. She NEVER forgets!!!!

So I went through the day with nothing, till I got to grandma's from school and opened my presents Thanks to mom and dad for everything (especially the new computer) and an extremely heartfelt thanks to Tony and Becky for the AWESOME digital camera!!!! What a very generous, but much appreciated gift. I can't wait to figure it out and post pictures! Spring break will give me that chance.

Then I talked to Terry and my visiting teacher called and her family sang Happy Birthday to me over the phone, and the relief society counselor dropped by (I wasn't home) and then I went to kickboxing and called Tony and the bishop and his wife came by with a chocolate cream pie and they sang and I blew out the candles, and it turned out to be a very good day.

Now I have to run!

2007-02-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

I guess Tony got here okay this morning. I'm still at work (I have a lab at 1 pm) but called Mom to find out he was at WalMart with dad. That's about the highlight of a trip to Thatcher! I finally got a new computer and cable internet hooked up yesterday! How wonderful! Now I'll be able to blog from home. Now it's wait for the tax refund to get the digital camera. Cameron has had a rough time bouncing back from his bout with the flu. I certainly hope that Lori feels better really quickly! We're lucky that no one else got it here (hear that? that's the sound of me knocking on wood!). Well, that's all for now. We'll enjoy Tony while he's here and see him and Kevin again in April.

2007-02-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor yesterday to find out that Cameron has influenza B and it is apparently going around the school. So he's home again today with Amy and PaNana, which really isn't too bad by his standards because school (actually the work part of it) is not one of his favorite things right now and he likes how Grandma takes care of him when he's sick. He says she's good at that!

We're looking forward to Tony's extremely brief visit on Friday. It may be short, but we're happy with what we get! Cameron is looking forward to Kevin's visit in April. We're still planning on unloading Cameron in Humble sometime this summer. Maybe the whole summer! Just kidding. I'd miss him too much.

Everything else continues to moving along at its merry pace here. Oh, I was going to comment on the jiggity-jig thing. I remember Jeffy used to say "home again, home again, jiggery-jig". I thought it was cute and now I like to say it! I see by everyone else's blogs that things are pretty good with the rest of the family, too. I'm very grateful for that. Heavenly Father has truly blessed the Hemming/Bryan/Gillespie (at least my part) families. Well, I have a faculty meeting now, so I better post this. Love to you all.

2007-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Today is sunny and typical of a SE Arizona winter. A very nice day. Cameron is finally back in school today after being sick with a bad cough and fever on Thursday and Friday. No church on Sunday, either, and he was getting really sick of being inside. We're still planning on going to the doctor after school today, though. He had a bad coughing spell in the night, and without any cough syrup to be seen, I had to make him some hot honey with lemon (just like I remembered Mom making for me in the night when I had a bad cough). Initially, it didn't seem to help any, so I asked him if I could go to WalMart and get some medicine. He relented, after complaining about how bad it tastes (that shows how he didn't want to be sick!), and I was off to Wally World at 2:30 in the morning. There aren't many shoppers in the store at that hour, you know? Anyway, I get home with Robitussin gel caps (what a great invention -- just like vitamin E capsules with cough syrup inside -- no more yucky taste if you can swallow pills!!!!) and Ricola (RICOOOOLLLLAAAA) to find that he's gone back to sleep with no more coughing. Too bad I couldn't! Morning came far to early, needless to say. So we'll see how he is.

I've been trying really hard to avoid my morning Cherry Coke ritual (especially when my weight goes up a couple of pounds), but I surely needed one this morning. Kickboxing really kicked me on Thursday. I'm just today feeling like my hamstrings are okay, ready to return tomorrow night for more torture! The things we have to do to get rid of baby fat. I'm tired of Amy's fat, she's three and a half, for crying out loud. But the upside is that everytime I got back down to my prepregnancy weight, I'd get pregnant again. So maybe this time I'll just keep it! No more babies for me! Except Cameron weekly begs for a little brother. He now wants to adopt since so many times I've told him I'm not having any more kids of my own. He's good with Amy (and still obnoxious with Missy, but getting better) but still feels outnumbered! Poor thing!

Okay, time for class. Make it a good day!

2007-01-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

I wish things would stop dying in my life! Last week with the snow and the cold and everything our oldest (and most beloved) chicken, Fluffy, caught a cold and cough (Rob noticed on Saturday) and Sunday morning before church, he went out to find that she had passed away in the night. We came in and told the kids, Missy cried but Cameron just said okay. After church, Cameron went out into the alley to bury her and Fuzzy ( so that the dogs in our yard wouldn't dig them back up again). Rob went out to see how he was doing and to take him Fluffy and when he saw her in the box was when he finally let go. Rob asked him if he'd like to say a prayer and after a minute (during which time Rob said the tears were just running off of his nose and down his cheeks) he did. He thanked Heavenly Father for her and our memories of her, and then asked that she be happy wherever she was now. Bless his little heart!!!! We're having struggles with growing up right now (11 going on 15) but times like this remind me why I love him like I do. Cameron is such a wonderful, tenderhearted, young man. I just wish that he would lose some of the bravado!

By the way, I love everyone's blog, just don't find much time to respond. My life is so very hectic. Pinewood Derby was a success, now I have basketball games tonight, kickboxing last night and tomorrow night, stake baptisms and Cameron's baskeball game on Saturday. And trying to find a time to go see "The Queen" with Nana. I'm not even sure what lies in store for next week. I'm afraid to see! Make it a good day!

2007-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

SNOW!!! We have SNOW!!! Again, I wish I had a digital camera, but maybe later I'll post some pictures. Anyway, Sunday afternoon it started to snow and snowed all night and until about 3 yesterday afternoon. All schools were cancelled, so we played all day in the snow. Cameron was out for almost a straight 8 1/2 hours (only potty breaks prevailed). We also helped shovel snow off of driveways and got out the 4-wheeler and pulled the kids behind on an inflatable boat. We all had a really good time (but I'm sore from shoveling--I'm sure Terry and Kay are very buff now from their shoveling efforts this winter). We got about 6-8 inches yesterday, maybe more, haven't seen an official amount. The snow is still around so I really feel like I'm back in Calgary. That's all for now, meetings await.

2007-01-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

Sadness abounds in my life right now! A couple of days ago I got in touch with a friend from graduate school and she informed me that Dr. Van de Graaff had passed away. She didn't know until much after the fact, but it's been a year now. Since it's new to me, though, it's as if it just happened. Dr. Van de Graaff and Dr. Tolman were the two most influence men in my professional and collegiate life. I am where I am today because of their love and concern for me. When I told Rob about Kent's passing, he said, "wasn't he the one that got you into graduate school?" That was just one of the many things he did for me. Most importantly, however, he taught me how to be a good teacher. My students often tell me just how much they enjoy my classes. But it's only because I'm copying him. He has a tremendous legacy, however, because we in the same profession all credit him with our successes. I am truly blessed to have been a friend, and not just a student that passed through his class one semester. For that I will be eternally grateful.

Then, last night, our beloved Fuzzy Butt the Hamster died of complications relating to old age. He was such a good hamster, never bit, let everyone (including Amy) hold and play with him. Cameron took it really well. He is very sensitive with animals and that's why I think he'll end up becoming a veterinarian. He has wanted to be a paleontologist ever since he was 3, so that's okay, too, if he still wants to be that. We've talked about career opportunities ever since he was small, and we know it will be something biology related. Takes after his mom, I guess.

It started raining pretty hard in the night and only stopped in the last ten or fifteen minutes. We love rain because we hardly ever see it. And snow, well, it looks nice from a distance on the mountain. But if the clouds go away (which I doubt because there's no wind and they're pretty thick) and the kids see all the new snow, they'll want to go up and play in it tomorrow. We'll have to see. We went up just after we got back from Christmas because of the snow that fell on our way home, and discovered that some mice (wild ones, not some of ours) had taken up residence in our padded snow boots. So we wore them and then threw them away. So now we have no boots. And I doubt that Wal-mart will have any. We lost our PayLess shoes, so Wallyworld is the only game in town and I don't want to make a trip to Tucson just for boots.

Well, I guess I better get ready for work. Make it a good day.

2007-01-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

While I'm waiting for Missy to come over to the college from school, I thought I'd post a new blog since I haven't for quite some time. Part of the problem is that it is very hard to post from home, as we've been having problems with our dial-up connection (gee, what's that?), and the computer crashed some time ago and we're waiting for some up and coming money to buy a new one. So I post at work, and with the holidays, I haven't been around.

It's been a difficult Christmas break. It was good to be with family and to go to St. George so the kids can see NeeNana, but upon our return home, tragedies in the Gila Valley dominated our life. Just before the break, two kids from Thatcher High were in an ATV accident that was very serious and we didn't know what would happen to them with their recoveries. The boy who was driving sustained multiple skull fractures and we're still unsure if he will make a full recovery, even with rehabilitation. He's one of the older brother's of a buddy of Cameron's. She also works with me in the cub scout program, so we're praying for Jacob's recovery. The girl that was riding with him had the ATV land on her and she unfortunately passed away the day before we returned to Thatcher. I work with her mother in the Thatcher Stake Primary and Stephanie was an extremely wonderful girl and loved by many, as testified by the 1200+ attendance at her funeral.

While we were preparing for Stephanie's funeral on Tuesday of last week, the ex-wife of our men's basketball coach (who is a very good friend of ours) committed suicide in her garage, also taking the life of their 2 year old little boy with her. Needless to say, this is still affecting us all. I got to play the organ for Ryan's funeral, which was last Thursday. I'm really glad to have been able to do that for Tim. He's not a member of the Church, but we had the funeral at the stake center and the stake president spoke at the funeral. He did a wonderful job. If you go to http://www.eachoops.com you can see pictures of Ryan and his dad.

So now I'm back in school today, the kids went back on Monday. Things hopefully will be better for all of us this semester. Many sad things happened last semester to people associated with EAC, but it's such a great place to work because there is so much support. We really are one big family and I'm privileged to work here.

The kids are all in tip top shape. Cameron's back into little league basketball and piano, Missy's back to playing with all of her friends again, and Amy is still molesting the cat, and has the scratches to prove it! Our rats and mice had babies over the break so Rob has dollar signs in his eyes. He started school today, too, and is getting ready to enter his elementary ed program this fall. Finally, maybe a light at the end of the tunnel.

I've got stake Pinewood Derby in two weeks from Saturday to get through and the district commissioner asked me today if I would do the district derby. Absolutely not! So he said he'd take me off of his list. Thank heavens!

I'm hoping, too, with the money that we're going to get shortly that I can get a digital camera and post pictures, as well. Well, Missy should be here any minute, better go look for her. Make it a great day.

2006-12-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's my versions of the Christmas questions:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, with marshmellows or whipped cream on top.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrapped, usually, and with different wrapping paper than we have around the house (the Santa wrap)
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored and the big old fashioned sized ones from the 60's, not those little ones for outside and colored lights that do things for the tree.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Never have, it's a parasite that grows on trees around here.
5. When do you put your decorations up? I try after thanksgiving, but like Becky, it keeps getting later and later.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Black and green olives, but they're not a dish.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: picking out Charlie Brown Christmas trees with dad at the Episcopalian church on 19th street. Ugliest trees you've ever seen, but still fun!
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 5 years old, found the doll house under mom's bed that supposedly was from Santa. Oh well.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, but the kids always want to
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? With ornaments the kids made when they were younger or with ornaments we’ve kept over the years. Kept Becky's answer since it was the same.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it, miss it, need it for the full Christmas feeling
12. Can you ice skate? Can I skate, people, PLUHLEASE!!!!! Still have the bum bruises to prove it!
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Nope, sad isn't it?
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Creating memories for my children
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I guess anything with pumpkin in it.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? just what everyone else usually does.
17. What tops your tree? a star.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Ooh, giving, easy. I always buy myself what I want throughout the year.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, but not because it's mine, but it's the favorite of a friend and always reminds me of her and my life in Canada.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum! - Especially wintergreen ones.

That was fun. Just finished a final so I will go and enter grades. One down, two to go.

2006-12-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Today's short blog is for anyone who thought that Missy's finger in the safe sound a little fishy (and you know who you are!). We have this cat that we saved from getting hit out on Highway 70 (the main drag through town) and Rob doesn't really like to have her in the house. The rest of us have really wanted another one ever since Ginger got eaten by coyotes when I was 8 months pregnant with Amy. Well, she never came back one morning and if cats disappear in our neighborhood, it's the coyotes. So we rescue this cat and since Rob grew up with cats in the house, he hates hair and dander, etc. Amy enjoys carrying the cat around its neck and by one leg, etc, and laying on her and mauling her, and all sorts of stuff like that. When we get to the point where we can't stand it anymore, we put her in the dog kennel we got for Wiley. Rob had to lock it up on Sunday because Missy kept taking her back out. So Rob took the key and hid it. Then that became a game for Missy to find the key (and she recruited Cameron, too). So they run around looking and Missy, of course, finds it and to stop it, Rob opens the safe to put in the key. Missy jumps on his back and reaches in just as Rob is shutting the door.

Thus, the finger in the safe. Luckily, I was not home to witness the whole ordeal, but according Missy, she cried like crazy. Just like my life, crazy!

Tonight is opening night for Missy! Hope all goes well. We're going tomorrow night. EAC plays Cochise tonight and Cochise is always #1 so hopefully we beat them. Plus their coach is a real jerk. Cam and I will be at the game.

Anyone know why Becky's blog is down today?

2006-12-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

It's cold in my office today. I have a window, I'm right next to the outside door, and my heat is connected to two other offices that get really hot (when the heat is working and I don't think it is), so we can't crank the thermostat. I have a space heater (that just warms my seat) and my coat on. I had to send my work-study to the lab because it was warm in there. She's been sick with some bizarre virus (aren't they all) so I don't want her to get sick again. Well, I think I've made this week (which I thought was going to be the week from you-know-where) bearable. I've written both of my lab finals and my last two lecture tests. The finals are already written, and I just have to grade the lab finals by hand. Nicole (my work-study) can record everything for me, so life is great!

Aren't computers great? I just love clicking here, there and everywhere to get things done. What would we do without mouses (I don't think the plural for computer mouse is mice, I think it's mouses-- anyone know for sure?)?

Basketball season has begun in earnest for Cameron. He played his first game (they won, hooray) on Saturday, and it was really nice to have Uncle Tony there rooting for him along with the rest of us. So basketball is now our life. Missy's in a play on campus called "It's a Small World" and dress rehearsal is tonight. It runs Wednesday through Saturday nights. We've been running to rehearsals for a month now. It's been a fun thing for her, though.

Um, I guess that's all for now. I'm sure I'll think of something else, later. Oh, Missy smashed another finger on Sunday, this time in our safe. It's a wonder she has any fingers at all! Make it a good day!

2006-11-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

Back at the old grindstone. Still working on grades since my work study (my students call her my secretary) hasn't been in since before Thanksgiving. So I have to do my work myself. I have a class this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon that will teach me how to set up my courses online, so if anyone is interested in taking my classes . . .

Here is my favorite picture of Amy. We took this last summer (2005) just as you go into Grand Teton NP from Yellowstone. My favorite landscapes in the whole world are, of course, mountains (gee, I wonder why) and this pose shows exactly how Amy is. "Yes, here I am and I'm great!" I taught a Gospel Doctrine lesson a couple of years ago and asked my class to describe what they thought were beautiful places. To a person the comments included mountains. Then another time our GD teacher asked us to tell about our most influential people. Yep, you guessed it, they were all teachers (oh, there was one scoutmaster). God bless our teachers and scout leaders (and since I am both, hopefully I will get extra blessings!)!

Time to run. Hope everything goes well for Becky tonight and her scrapbooking. I want to be her when I grow up!

2006-11-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today, since I have to go pick up Cameron from basketball practice right now. It tried to rain here today, but only succeeded in being windy and cold. It snowed in Brighton, I understand, but since T and K are on their cruise (I'm guessing), they don't really care!

Our furry menagerie continues to grow. We just discovered 6 more mice babies and 6 new rat babies. Rob is raising them to sell to the pet stores here. We have two sets each of 2 female and 1 male combinations in mice and rats, so you do the math. We still have 4 babies from the last batch. They're about big enough to sell now. Fun, isn't it? We still have Wiley, Daisy, our new cat, Trinity, Fuzzy Butt the hamster, seven chickens (Jessica, Fluffy, Maisy, Angel, Hershey, Penny and Bo Jangles but only the last two lay eggs anymore), and Stanley. Don't you wish you were me?

Okay, I'm late and Missy slammed her fingered in car earlier today. It's not broken. We're off to the boys and then play practice and I keep the scoreboard for the women's and men's basketball teams and we have games tonight. The fun never ends.

2006-11-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the wonderful people that I work with in the Science Division. The real heights of each person are not quite as they appear. Some of us are using the tree to enhance our height! Although the tall man with the purple jacket to my left is really almost that tall!

2006-11-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's part two of today. I just finished my healthly lunch of a Whopper Jr. with cheese, fries, and a Coke and Becky just sent me the blogs of the rest of my family. What beautiful children my wonderful nephews and their lovely wives have blessed us with. I don't know when I'll get to see them, but wish very much that I could. Bryan and Jeff were once a very big part of my life (just over 19 years ago -- egad!) and it's hard to believe that they are daddies! But what wonderful daddies they are!

On Mondays I have to take Cameron to school because he has piano lessons after school and he rides his bike there and then rides to the college after they're over. It's too far to ride to school, so we have to take it in the van in the mornings. Most times I stop at our corner store to get my morning Cherry Coke and Cameron usually complains. Yesterday, he said, "Why do you stop? You're not even supposed to drink that stuff." It's hard to be reprimanded by your children. Hopefully, I can stop over Christmas vacation (yeah, right).

Cameron and I just played our first duet for family home evening last night. It was Jingle Bells. What an exciting thing for me! I never thought Cameron (or any of my children for that matter) would be musical. Was I wrong! Cameron's only been playing for two months now, and he's great (at least I think so)! I don't even have to tell him to practice! Isn't that amazing? He's also doing magnificent on the trombone in band at school. He's so funny about music. He called his NeeNana (Rob's mom) the other day and put the cordless phone on the piano so she could listen to him play. What fun!

Missy is also progressing on the violin and has started picking out the songs Cameron plays by ear on the piano. I've got to start her soon! Amy is always playing whatever instrument she can get her hands on. She really likes the piano and the ukelele. Okay, I really have to go back to work.

2006-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

I got the rest of the wall painted in the family room and it looks nice and warm and cozy in there. It is now our favorite room of the house and not just because it has the TV there. We bought Rob a pellet stove this summer from a friend who used to sell them but needed to get rid of his stock because he was moving. So we got a deal on it and now the family room is also the warmest room in the house. I've set the thermostat at 68 degrees (because pellets are cheaper than gas) so everyone runs in there when the pellet stove is on. But I guess it's the closest thing to a fireplace that I'll have in this house. We're still arguing over the fireplace in the new house, but I know I'll win on that one!

Okay, back to work. End of semester and all that, so I have grades and stuff to do.

The First Day

2006-11-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

I'm envious of Becky's blog so I thought I'd start my own, but it will be nowhere near as neat as hers. Unless someone wants to give me a digital camera and some grandkids for Christmas. Although, my kids are still cute, so maybe I'll just take pictures of them. So, there it is. I have to go home and finish painting my family room. School's almost over for the semester and then I can finish all of my other unfinished jobs! :)