Where has the time gone?

Holy cow! It's been a month since my last post. I can't believe it. I knew it had been a while, but not that long. Well, if there's anyone out there who is still checking this blog, thank you.

Since my last post we have finished the baseball season. It turned out to be pretty fun. I wasn't the best coach and towards the end we had fewer and fewer practices, but I did the best I could, I guess. I think most of the kids showed some improvement by the end, so that's a good thing. Will I do it again? Only if I have to. And guess what?! I have to again. This time with Bookworm's(8) soccer team. I will only be the assistant coach this time, though. It's a good thing because I don't really know anything about soccer except for the obvious--kick the ball into the net thing, right?

We have also been on vacation. We went to Colorado to stay with my parents over the 4th of July. All my siblings were able to be there except for one out-law (we missed you, Daiko) so it was a lot of fun. A big, rowdy, crazy, crowded mess, but still fun. The kids loved playing with their cousins. I wish we could get together like that more often.

Happy Anniversary

Mister Dad and I were able to get away for one night to celebrate our anniversary. It was really nice. Mark and Bobbi were so nice to watch our kids for us. We wanted to do something really spectacular for our 10th anniversary but it just wasn't going to work out, so we had our one little night away instead. We stayed at the Anniversary Inn which is where we stayed on our wedding night. For those of you not familiar with the Anniversary Inn, it is a bed and breakfast that is specifically designed to be a romantic get-away for couples. Lots of newlyweds stay there just like we did. All the rooms have themes, like Treasure Island, Bridal Veil Falls, Sultan's Palace, Jungle Safari, Italian Gondola, etc. Some of them look pretty cheesy in the pictures on the website, but in person they're quite nice. Each of the rooms have a jetted tub and there is chilled sparkling cider and cheesecake in the room when you arrive. It was fun and romantic. We had to laugh, though, at the little placard set on the bed. It read, "Before settling in, PLEASE TURN DOWN THE COMFORTER. Thank you." I think "settling in" is my new favorite phrase.

A Very Important Question Regarding...Flip-Flops.

I wore flip-flops yesterday for the first time since I was a kid. In fact the last time I wore them they were called thongs. We don't call them that anymore because it conjures up images of very bad wedgies in our minds when we hear the word. So, for all you experienced thong--I mean flip-flop--wearers, I need some advice. Were they uncomfortable at first and do you eventually get used to that piece of leather or canvas or whatever material between your toes? My toes were uncomfortable all day. I'm also wondering if these particular flip-flops are too big for me. The bottom part seems to be the right size but could the straps be too loose. Are they supposed to be fairly snug or are they supposed to be loose? Please help me solve this important problem. :)

Dinner Conversation

Tonight for dinner I made some hamburgers. It was a thrown together kind of meal so I didn't even have tomato and lettuce. We were also almost out of pickles. This is very bad in our house since LittleMan(5) doesn't like the "brown stuff" on his hamburger, so his "hamburger" consists of a bun, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and--at least for tonight--A1 sauce. Without pickles there is no nutrional content in his dinner. ;) So as we were digging out the last few pickle slices from the jar I said, "I better put pickles on my shopping list." (This implies that I actually am organized and have a shopping list, which I don't.) Bookworm(8) said, "Tomatoes and lettuce, too." I said, "Yeah, but tomatoes and lettuce are a little different than pickles because they go bad." OrphanAnnie(7) said, "You need those green bags that keep food fresh for a long time." Bookworm(8) piped in, "Yeah, just 2 payments of $19.95."

My kids don't watch too much TV.

Rainy Day--How appropriate!

Yesterday was a very rainy day. It felt right. You may not know that 10 years ago, June 4th, was also a very rainy day. You probably don't remember that but I remember it well. I'll tell you what happened that day.

I had spent the night at my fiance's parents' house. We woke up to rain, lots of rain. We scrambled around getting ready for the big day. We were supposed to be at the temple at 8:00. Our wedding was to start at 9:00. We got on the road and were making good time despite the pouring rain when I realized that I didn't have my temple recommend. We went back to the soon-to-be-in-laws' house and searched for it. I remembered that the day before, we had gone to the temple to do a session and I had asked Mr. one-day-would-become-Dad to hold my recommend for me. He put it in his shirt pocket. Later, his mom washed that shirt so it would be ready for the next day. You guessed it. We found the little plastic cover for my temple recommend in the dryer. We got to the temple at 9:00, an hour late, explained what had happened, and they let me in since we had the separate recommend you need to perform a temple sealing. What a relief!

Bountiful Utah Temple

After the ceremony (which was lovely) we took pictures in an underground area around a terrarium and a few right outside the temple where we were protected from the rain. Looking at the pictures now, I wish so badly that things had been different. The Bountiful Temple is beautiful and we didn't get any pictures that really show the temple in the background. I have naturally curly hair so because of the humidity, my hair does not look very good either. The pictures with all the family and friends who came look kind of funny because we're all squished together in a hallway. Then, after the pictures, we went to a restaurant for the wedding breakfast and everyone got the directions except for us, so we were late. We explained what had happened but they teased us that we had found somewhere to park (you know what I mean?!). Oh, and Mr. one-day-would-become-Dad had thrown his back out a few days before the wedding and was very sore and stiff. So, a few things went wrong that day. Looking back, it is comical to think about. That day, though, even with everything that went wrong, I was so extremely happy. Nothing phased me. I didn't care about the rain, or being late, or my hair, or the pictures, or even Mr.'s back (though I did feel bad for him. By the way, on our honeymoon, I had to carry and pack in all the luggage every time we stopped for the night, which was a few times--not that I'm complaining :) ). It was a very happy day for me and I'm still very happy for what occurred on June 4, 1998.

Thanks, for 10 great years, and here's to the next 10 being even better. I love you, honey!

Mormon blogs

I've been reading some really interesting blogs lately. The most entertaining one is called Feminist Mormon Housewives. Maybe entertaining isn't the right word but it is very interesting. I wouldn't classify myself as a feminist but I am a Mormon and a housewife and I do have feminist leanings in a conservative sense of the word. The regular contributors of the blog are faithful LDS women who are feminists, politically liberal, and find themselves feeling very different from others at church. Reading this blog has been an eye-opening experience for me. It's reminded me that we are not all cut from the same mold, that not every faithful LDS member looks and acts just like another. The church is growing so much that it is impossible, unnecessary, and even wrong for us all to be the typical Molly Mormon or Peter Priesthood. I don't agree with a lot of what is said in the discussions on fMh but it has helped me take a look at my own faith and the motivations behind my own actions.

There are a lot more Mormon blogs the I've explored a little but fMh is the one I read the most of. If you visit, I'd like to hear what you think.

I don't know what to call this post!

There are too many things on my mind. I really want to post more often but I can't seem to take the time to do it. School is almost over so there are lots of things going on. This last week we had the dance festival for the two older girls and preschool graduation for Littleman(5). We also had pictures for baseball and three games in one night--and that one night was freezing cold. (The day before had been 90 degrees and that day was so cold! What is with this weather?!)

Oh, and I forgot about American Idol. The results show was the same night that we had those three games so I recorded the finale. I watched it after we got home and got to the part at the very end where Ryan Seacrest is standing with the envelope next to the two Davids. He starts in with his tension-filled announcement, when all of a sudden the recording stops. I gasped, then I screamed. It was so crazy. Luckily for me, Mr. Dad had been watching something else on a different TV but had seen the announcement on the news. He pretended to be Ryan Seacrest for me and it was almost as good. ;) So, I was wrong about David Archuleta but as I think about it, my conspiracy-theorizing mind wonders if Simon was hard on David Cook because he and the producers wanted Cook to win. I've noticed on some of these "America Votes" shows that when someone is put down by the judges, sometimes they end up getting more votes because people feel bad for them or they want to show the judges that what they say doesn't matter or something. Of course, David Cook was probably going to win anyway and I'm just being stupid.

I have so many more things to talk about but I'm afraid it will have to wait until another time. So for now, you'll just have to wait with great anticipation for my next posts. (Read with a sarcastic tone.) :)