Books

Everyone that reads my blog knows that I love books and reading. I have literally thousands of books in my home. Yesterday I finished a good book (Al Capone Does My Shirts), but it was pretty "heavy" content wise and thought provoking. I try not to let books effect me too much for the negative. But, I found myself depressed and sad. So, I realized that I need to be careful with what I read and not read depressing books back to back to back. It is Memory Monday and I thought I would talk a bit about...books.

The first thing I "read" was 5 Little Piggys in a nursery rhyme book, then later Green Eggs and Ham. I now think I just had them memorized, but that was the beginning. I was probably 4 years old.

I used to lay down with my oldest sister Carianne at night. She would sometimes read out loud to me. I remember specifically Blueberries for Sal. Mostly, though, she would read to herself and I would try to read along with her. She was hard to keep up with. I loved that time with her. If I remember correctly her favorites were Little House on the Prarie series, Chronicles of Narnia, Girl of the Limberlost, Wait Til Helen Comes and Dollhouse Murders.

The first chapter book I read was at Grandma and Popi's house. It was about Abraham Lincoln. Last time I was there I looked for it and Popi still had it on his shelf. My favorite book for most of elementary school was Sarah, Plain and Tall. I am not sure why I loved it, but I did. I would read it over and over again. There was something about it that comforted me. It is one of very few books that I have multiple copies. I also really enjoyed The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It sounds so eery, but it really isn't. That book made me interested in American history and is part of the reason I chose history as my minor in college.

My husband read The Lord of the Rings series when he was younger and made his brothers act it out with him. He would read Ender's Game over and over when he was younger. The main character is named Andrew, nicknamed Ender, and he was picked on and would rise above it. I read the book and it did not speak to me the same way. Books are funny that way. They decide who they want to hold them forever. ;)

Right now, I have no one favorite book. It changes according to my moods and desires. I still love reading and try to squeeze it in without neglecting other things. I always tell people to go to the Bookie Woogie blog because I love it. It is all about books! My children enjoy reading, too. It is in their blood.

What was the first thing you read? How old were you? Do you have any favorite books that you can read over and over without getting bored? Do you have a current favorite book? I really want to know.

Advice again

A self help professional would make a fortune off of me....

I NEED to exercise. Not because it is the smart thing, or healthy thing or necessary for life. The reasons for me are sanity and energy. However, since moving here I have not been able to and it is not pretty. I loved doing Wii Fit. However, I do not have the space to do it anymore. That makes me sad. (I can sit in front of my couch and touch the entertainment center with my feet.) I have a pilates DVD that I enjoy doing, but the children's room is connected through vents to the computer/play room where I have the space to do it. They miraculously wake up and "help" me or join me. I was going to go running or walking, but in Las Vegas that is not smart. I have been told repeatedly not to go that route by many people. (Andy offered to buy me pepper spray, though.) We have no room for exercise equipment and really can't afford a gym membership. So, any suggestions I have missed? I am really open to anything and will try it. I need something.

2) My children used to be really good sleepers. 7:00pm bedtime, 7:00am wake-up. Now, we are lucky if the room is quiet at 8:00pm. They are up between 5:00am and 6:00am each morning. That means they are getting about 9 1/2 hours of sleep. With Luke's nap he is getting 11 or so. Luke is usually the culprit on both ends and I am not sure what to do. We tried staggered bedtimes and that didn't work. Marcus doesn't need as much sleep now, but I know the other two do. We have a bedtime routine, music and glow in the dark stars. We have a magic wand and stuffed animals. I am very tired. I need a solution but my brain is not functioning at full capacity right now.

Join us

First, I worry about my children. Marcus has been concerned about making friends. He walks around at recess instead of imposing upon people. He is excited for library day today so he has books to read instead. Last night when he prayed he said, "Thank thee that I found a friend" because someone asked to be his friend yesterday, but they didn't get to play together. I cried. I wondered how all this moving is going to effect him. I worry.

On the other hand Anneke has amnesia when it comes to school. I have gotten no information from her. She can't remember anyone's name even. I ask specific questions and she shrugs. And so it begins.

Marcus's friend just finished the Book of Mormon in time for his baptism in a couple of months. Marcus felt like he should do the same, so he began it. Andy and I are reading it, too. We plan on finishing before his baptism. (tentatively set for February) I am reading verse for verse with my son. If you would like to do it too, please join us. I started reading it the end of March for the new YW value project and have studied other things too so it fell by the wayside a lot. Now, I am back on track.

First day of school again

I have been crying a lot and am going to stop long enough to post this. I can't believe I am sending my two babies to school. My heart kind of hurts right now. I worry about them and miss them. I don't like not being the most influential person in their lives. I am sad I didn't get to take Anneke to her classroom and be there for them. I hope everything went alright. I thought I was ready for this. I am guessing you never are. A trip down memory lane...

Marcus and Josh first day of school in Boulder.

Off to kindergarten in what would become his favorite shirt. '07

Anneke's first day of preschool '07

First day of school for 1st grade, '08.

This morning, first day of 2nd grade. '09

First day of kindergarten. '09

Waiting at the bus stop

Off they go...

Last Week of Summer Vacation Part 2

Andy took a class in June and taught until the beginning of August, so we didn't really get a vacation. We asked Andy's brother if we could visit for a couple of days just to get away and he agreed. The first night there they got a couple of girls to watch the kids so we could see G.I. Joe. I enjoyed it, but was disappointed. I think I was bugged because it tried to be serious (ie The Dark Knight) but also silly (ie Iron Man or Transformers). Also, where was Lady Jay? I always had to be her when we played the Joes. Still, it was fun to go on a double date with Jeff and Jamie. We realized that it has been quite a few years since we were able to do that.

The next day Marcus wanted to play the Wii. He got his wish all morning long. (I had to let it go, because it was a vacation.) I got many stolen chances to read Sarah's Quilt. (Not liking it as much as the first one. Lately I haven't felt a lot like reading *GASP*, and I have actually wanted to keep reading, so that is a good sign.) I probably looked neglectful of those around me, but I didn't feel as if anyone really cared because there was so much going on. Mid afternoon, we headed to the lake or Pond as Anneke keeps calling it. It was so fun. The water rocket was perfect for the kids, except that Marcus is such a worrier. Anneke is fearless and kept bending down the touch the water. All the girls went together and Anneke doesn't understand how to lean into the turn and such. It was great to hear how excited and nervous she was. The tubes were the highlight, but they vibrate your bum something awful. Andy and Jeff kept trying to bump each other off. Final Tally? Andy fell off once, Jeff three times. Luke was hysterical when I took my turn and was always worried unless I was not in the boat. He finally fell asleep on me at the end of our outing.

Our last morning we were all tired. The children were having a hard time listening and I was pretty much out of patience. Still we managed to do a pinata for Anneke. (It was of a pair of lips left over at the store from Valentine's Day for $2.) It was very well built and after 2 different types of sticks and a hammer, Andy and Jeff just broke it open. Connor was not interested in the chocolate, but we helped remedy that. Luke and Landon were picking up stray Starbursts and putting them in their mouths wrapped. I also found out that Almond Joy is Anneke's favorite candy. It was a very relaxing trip and I am glad we got to visit.

Anneke and Luke playing at the beach. (Isn't the red sand amazing?)

Luke and Landon loved playing in the sand and even shared a few bites. (I am sad because there are no pictures of those 2 together and they were so cute!)

Don't they look so excited? (Jeff, Connor, Andy, Anneke and Marcus)

Sorry, I think my husband is attractive and I had to put this one in of him so happy.

Jeff flipped off and I took a picture before I realized it. Can you see the question on Andy's face?

Jamie and me getting a bum massage.

Anneke and Marcus trying out the tubes.

I love this picture, even if he does have Joker lips.

(I was tempted to crop me out, but there you go people.)

I wanted one of Connor banging it, but they are pretty blurry. Here is Luke with cousin Connor behind him and Landon watching.

Marcus now knows how to treat a pinata. It only took about 5 years of experience.

We got home from our trip and went to meet Marcus and Anneke's teachers. It should be pretty good. Anneke's teacher is Mrs. Cox. (We told her that it should be easy to remember because it was like Aunt Jamie's family.) Their classrooms are around the corner from each other and I got a good feeling. On Monday I will send them on the bus and cry a lot. I can't believe it is time to send another one off to kindergarten already.

Promised video

I uploaded the video that I mentioned below. I am going to make money off of my amazing dancers. (Let me know if you can't tell which ones are my children.)

Last Week of Summer Vacation Part 1

This was the last week before school starts, so I decided we needed to make it extra fun. Each of the kids earned a free pass to the Children's Museum, so we went. The website said that it opened at 9:00am. It in fact does not. So, we went to the adjacent library for an hour. It was a great library, far better than the one by our house. I love that here you can check out a book at any Clark County library and return it to any Clark County library, so Marcus could choose books from their series that our library has neglected to obtain.

I can't believe how much mu children have grown since last year. We went for Anneke's birthday and Luke had just learned to crawl. So sad how time flies by.

The first part of our museum tour was Marcus's favorite.

He was able to make a guy burp, play a urine video game and...

...climb across pimples, moles and hair follicles. Yuck!

Luke enjoyed anything that he could make noise with.

(Rare picture of me.) We had fun with the big size operation game.

Anneke's favorite part was the little village. She actually had to get a job as a cashier and get a pay check to go grocery shopping and get on an airplane.

Marcus worked on cars for a paycheck, but I only have a picture of Anneke.

Dancing in costumes. The video is excellent as it was last year. (I don't have time to upload it, though.)

Hurricane simulation. Anneke was hilarious.

Our trip was complete when Anneke sang Hannah Montana's Best of Both Worlds.

For lunch we went to Metro Pizza then that evening we went to the dollar theater and watched Night at the Museum 2. I loved that Luke could wander around and not really disturb people. (There were only 5 others in the theater.) The kids thought the movie was funny and it was a fun day. Soon to come St. George fun.

Mormon Miracle Pageant

Every summer for a long time The Mormon Miracle Pageant was a big part of my life. When I was ten I was an angel and I was involved pretty much every summer after that. In Manti, Utah you can hear the production anywhere in town while it is going. (I should know since Andy's house used to be on the far south side.) I remember a time when I wasn't performing and I opened the window in the yellow room, knelt on the chair and listened. I even watched the angels at the end.

My first summer Carianne was a substitute for a bunch of different parts. It was fun when she was a Lamanite because seeing her with black hair was surreal. I was a Nephite flag waver for a couple of years, too. Then, I was every Lamanite dancer I could be besides "sacrifice". The last year I was personally involved in the Pageant I was an assistant director over the Robert and Mary scenes and involved in perfecting the new "Christ in America scene".

Every girl involved at one point or another hopes to be Mary some day. I was no exception. The year I was offered the part, however, I was working 2 jobs and couldn't get the time off. I was so sad. The next summer I was married and pregnant. That summer my husband had an amazing part and it was fun because the director over him was the same that I worked with as an assistant. My sisters and cousins were also cast members through the years. I went back once over the years since and my aunt watched Marcus for us then. I hope to return next summer to take my kids.

Scrapbook page from my Sterling Scholar book (click on it for a larger view if you are interested.)

My sister, Heather, as a Nephite Lawn dancer

Scott (Nephite), Me (Queen Lamoni) and Andy (Coriantumr)

Me and the director I worked with, Linda

Maren, me, and Hannah the year I was assistant director

(They were both Mary, my dream role)

Witch doctor (Lamanite), Zarahemnah (Gabe), me, Captain Moroni (Aaron)

Andy as the Savior and Blaine as "3rd Nephi"

Have you received His image in your countenance?

Anneke Susan Graduation Girl

It has been an interesting day thus far. We had Anneke's preschool graduation. She was so cute. I can't believe how big she has gotten. There was a little girl there that was a baby with Anneke in the Cedar City children's center where I worked. It was crazy to see her and how good friends she and Anneke were.

At the party I got really angry. So angry I was literally seeing red. That has only happened to me 2 other times in my life. (Once when someone was spreading bad rumors about my little sister and once when someone was pushing Marcus around.) I think I handled this one pretty well. I also think my husband was worried.

The graduation girl in her special shirt.

The park had water features and Andy called this "the bully" (a gun that shoots water and you can control where it goes).

I didn't get many pictures of Luke and couldn't really cut this girl out of it. (Incidentally, according to Anneke this girl was mean to her most of the school year.)

Anneke and Marcus waiting for the water.

I love this action shot. You can see Marcus and Anneke hugging on the right side of the picture.

Anneke's best friend, Mattia.

We went to the Ethel M. Chocolate factory and cactus garden. Wow, my kids have grown a lot since last year!

Luke decided to touch a cactus in the garden, so we had to leave earlier than we would have expected. I didn't think he got any needles until I went to hold his hand and he said, "Ouch, hot." He had the very fine hair like splinters in there and I got a few in my hand. Not fun. Luckily my husband was able to take care of it. Yea!

Baby Marcus is teething pretty badly. His cheeks are swollen and so are his gums. He has been fussy and very drooly.

Okay, enough of this. I am going to go play with my children and maybe take a nap later.

Are you kidding?!

This is my 400th post! Wow, me!

I found this yesterday while I was doing my online stuff. It made me grumpy. The books are for young adults, the movies are for young adults. Barbies are not for young adults! Who will be playing with these? Not Anneke. Action figures were not good enough? Though I do think they portray my image of Bella and Edward, don't you? (By the way, those are supposed to be Twilight Barbies. The image below is not Barbie but still just as weird. Edward looks like a Zombie reject!) One of my friends posted about it and I thought it appropriate in light of what I posted a few days ago or other times before that.

Safe haven

This coming Sunday I am teaching a sharing time about temples. Me being me I have been reading anything I can get my hands on about temples. Around our house that means the Manti temple is featured in a lot of it. I found out some very interesting things about that amazing temple and crushed some of the truths Andy has always held to about it. I found out that it was not dedicated on time because the people were so poor they could not raise enough money. It cost nearly $1 million to build in 1887! (Nearly 100 years later the people of Las Vegas raised more than $11 million for their temple.) I have other little tidbits if you are interested. Anyway, I realized a few things, too.

When they tell you to go to your happy spot in your mind I go to Manti, more specifically Popi's house. That is where I have the most carefree memories. That is where I could be myself and had no more to worry about than when we were eating Bright Spot food or heading up the mountains. I loved helping Grandma can and wash windows with kerosene. I loved playing in the basement, outside and walking through the field to the playground. Sunday dinners there even after I was married were a treat. The temple holds a special place in my heart because that is where I received my endowment and was sealed to my husband. It is where my parents and grandparents were sealed. It is where I performed for 5 years in the Mormon Miracle Pageant. I would love to move back there and live just because of the warm fuzzies it gives me. However, I doubt it would live up to my expectations. Out of curiosity where is your "safe haven"?

More than 10 years ago

I don't have photos to represent all that I did in high school, but here are a few. I guess I was a nerd because I did choir, drama, speech, newspaper, broadcasting and photography and enjoyed them all! *Gasp!* I haven't done a memory monday of high school yet because I wasn't sure who would be interested. But, in honor of my 10 year class reunion in a few weeks I thought it appropriate to share some great shots of me. (I have decided to a do a separate one on dances, college and the Mormon Miracle pageant.) Enjoy!

I found this picture on my hard drive and added it on a whim. The blog that went along with it explains it pretty well.

The first summer after we moved to Utah I hung out with a bunch of different people.

l to r Randi, Sarah, Mindy, Stacy, Me, Kelly, Tanith

Deanne, Shannon and I had some fun times. This was taken during an all nighter we pulled during spring break our Sophomore year.

This was taken on a group date.

L to R John, me, Todd, Anne, Gabe, Chris and Sheleen

We won 3rd place in a Lip Sync contest for "Leader of the Pack". Here we are showing off our fake tattoos.

L to R Maren, Curt, Liz, Anthony, me and Shaun (the "leader")

My junior year I was in the 1 Act play we did for competition, All My Sons.

L to R back - Toby, Maren, Ken, Chad, Kristine, Janice

L to R front - Bert (cut off), Emily, Chris, me, Gina, Gabe

There are letters on the sides of the mountains for the high schools in most Utah towns. At the end of the school year a group white washes the rocks in the letters. I did it the last time I could Spring '98.

L to r April, Sara, Deanne, Chris and me

Senior Sluff to Lagoon May '99

Me, Stacy, Kelly, Randi, Sarah, Sonia

Seminary graduation May '99

Anna, me, Sheleen, Becca

Graduation May '99

Amy, me, Margaret

Sarah, Stacy, Randi, Kelly and me

I didn't really have a set group of friends that I spent time with. I was comfortable with so many people. It made high school fun and interesting. I miss having something to do all the time. I had some great times. I am not going to get all sentimental, but I wish I had appreciated it more at the time.