Church memories

In a few weeks Marcus and Anneke have their Primary program. Marcus is singing "Love is Spoken here" in a duet. I had some interesting memories come to me that I thought I would share.

*I had a peach dress my mom or aunt made that I loved. I was 11 and it was a couple of months before I turned 12. I was the oldest and by far the hugest (okay, tallest) member in the primary. I sang "A Child's Prayer" for the program but I wanted to sing the second verse which is lower and slower. They had me sing the first verse which was higher. Plus, I had to tell the story of Daniel in the Lion's den and I felt so mature and out of place.

*Sister Friendly would come once a month and ask us questions about that months Friend magazine. I so wanted the rainbow door tag that said Heidi. When I finally got it, it wouldn't stick. I wonder what happened to it.

*I remember that Heather and I moved the chairs from the lobby up to our seminary room one day so we could be comfortable. It was a race every morning against Clint, Seth and Josh to get there first. (It was early morning seminary at 6:00am)

*Heather and I salted a slug once while we waited to got to seminary. It was not very impressive.

*Pam would bear her testimony every fast Sunday and be the first one up.

*Pam also gave A LOT of talks because our youth group was so small and she would volunteer.

*Brother Williams and his cinnamon tooth picks.

*I remember visiting our Kerrville chapel through each stage of construction. I couldn't wait to be in Young Womens so I could go upstairs.

*I remember portraying an angel for the Christmas program our last year in Kerrville.

*I remember doing Lip Syncs for a YW activity and we all did old songs and the leaders did a new one. (TLC's Don't go Chasing Waterfalls)

*I also remember the piggy activity and Clint was covered in chocolate pudding by the end.

*Or, the drive in movie where we made our own cardboard cars and afterwards we played "bumper cars".

*Carianne would play every sunday in YW and I loved that it wasn't just hymns but other young women songs and program pieces.

*During General Conference we would take over the primary room and listen over the loud speaker. Then they would have a pot luck between sessions. I always loved the deviled eggs.

I had more that I will probably remember later. It is sad to me that I don't have a whole lot of memories from Utah. What do you remember from church?

Sick Party

Yesterday Luke had the stomach flu. A few hours later I got it. Anneke woke up with it, then Andy, then Marcus. We are all home sick today and it has not been fun. Ironically I shampooed my carpet on Monday. Now, I get to do it over.

I am convinced that you can contract illnesses over long distances. My niece was sick just after her grandpa with the same thing he had. My family has what my mom had. Either the family bond is strong or the technology is contaminated.

Best Job

I have the best job. I get to stay home and play all day! Anneke and I just finished having a Christmas breakfast. She spent at least 1/2 an hour wrapping things in Christmas paper. (She used a whole roll of tape. Then as we were playing she commented, "Wow these are wrapped so good." and then took a sip of our pretend hot cocoa.) Now, she is coloring outside. (If she can be outside, she will be.)

Luke and baby Marcus like to push the babies in the strollers. The baby above is named Max and Luke thinks he is his own property. (I am grateful we have twin babies and two strollers for the toddlers. It makes the fighting less.) Max has gone to the playground with us and been, um, loved a lot. Once we forgot him and Luke asked for him to whole time.
(Luke has stopped smiling for the camera.) A few days ago we played restaurant and grocery store with our reusable grocery bags. It was entertaining. Doesn't he look so cute?

I play with blocks and Mr. Potato Head every day. We play cars and drawing. We read a lot of books. Seriously, I am so lucky. Today I met Mikhal. He is baby Marcus's cousin and will join our play a few days a week. He is easy going and very cute. He fit right in. We will be busy.

Dad the builder

Notice the backdrop. (This is the best photo I have of it sadly.)

My dad was very creative and could see the potential in things. He made amazing paper mache masks. There was one for each of the four seasons. He made a clown mask for my second grade teacher because she collected clowns. (What other masks did he make?) He had a mounted dragon head that he made and a mural of Pete's Dragon. Dad made Climbing bears as I have mentioned before. He made Family Home Evening Boards for a few families, including his own. He made name plates for his nieces. There were also these amazing animals in the shape of letters Dad would make. (I always wondered what my name would look like with those.) He painted the backdrop for my reception and the backdrop for his Hyrum Smith presentations. He made advent krantz's for many people. He always had a project and that is how he would unwind at the end of the day. Dad doodled in church on 3x5 cards and had stacks of them. They were amazing. He magnified some of them, traced them, painted them and made them into pictures to hang on the wall. I also remember his beading projects.

Andy and Dad working on a shed April '01

My dad is amazing. To go along with last week's post I will list the things he built for us. Again, it will probably be incomplete, so help me by adding to it.

*Tree houses

*Fort

*Dog fences

*Shed

*Bunk beds

*Closet

*Loft

*Bookshelf

*Puppet theater

*"wheelchair"

*toy chest/flannel board

*Barbie houses (with real carpeted stairs. Heather cried when she was 16 and they took it away.)

*Play kitchen

*doll house (mine)

*mancala board (?)

*Sewing center for Mom

*Canoe (was never able to complete it.)

*Wooden window light blockers (I am not sure what to call the things he made for Heather's room in Ephraim. They are still being used, by the way.)

Sewing Machine

I made about 6 pairs of pajama pants one summer. I am not sure what happened to any of them, but it was fun. (The scan of me actually sewing didn't turn out.)

I need a sewing machine. I have had big plans for years to make a quiet book. It started when Marcus was tiny. In church on Sunday Luke sat for a good 15 minutes watching the girl behind us play with hers. Anyway, I also want to make matching pajama bottoms for Christmas. (I know I can make those.) Plus, I have had an idea for a gift for my mom for a long time, but can't do it without a sewing machine. My mother in law offered me her old one and I have been kicking myself for declining it. (Lack of space was my reason.) It is probably for the best. Material is not the cheapest and I would probably go overboard, making it a habit just as expensive as reading.

P.S. Has anyone read Forest Born yet? I want to know how it is.

Soap Box

I have seen a lot of moms complaining about the volume of homework their children are receiving. I commented to one of my friends and this is the response we got.

"I hate to tell you, ladies, but that's the way it is outside of Utah.....that's why kids get into the colleges that are tough to get into (i.e.BYU Provo). They have done work like that all their lives! It doesn't kill them!"

This made me very grumpy for a few reasons and several I won't list. 1) I don't even know her. 2) She is generalizing about something she obviously knows very little about and 3) She is older and a grandma not a mom of young children anymore. (Things have changed a lot from even when I was in school.)

I don't mind my children having homework. In fact, I was telling Andy that it gave Anneke and I great one on one time. We interact more and it segue-ways into other activities. Marcus does his on the bus and finishes it at home. They each have a few pages plus reading each night. We are juggling it fine. They get the work done. In fact, Marcus was only 1 of 3 children that completed his homework last week. I know "it doesn't kill them".

However, by the time they are done, they are exhausted and don't want to do much. They don't want to play outside, read or play with toys. It is wearing on them. I am against too much homework because I want my children to have a childhood. To get dirty and discover amazing things for themselves. I want Anneke to catch bugs and that's why she becomes an entomologist someday. I want Marcus to experiment and see how long it takes water to evaporate and that's why he wants to become a scientist. I want them to make up games and play make believe. People say that is what summer is for, but here it is literally too hot to be outside most of the day. Now is the time the weather is fine. ;)

I don't mind book learning. (HELLO, it's me here.) But, I don't want it to interfere with living life. My children are already planning on going to college. I will be just as proud of them if they go to BYU or Harvard or Podunk Tech. Am I dumb or less of a student because I didn't graduate from BYU, or even apply for that matter? Would I have been rejected because I graduated from a school in Utah even if it was with honors?

What are your thoughts?

Okay, stepping off of my soapbox now.

By the way Utah was ranked 38 at last ranking and Nevada at 49. (California is 47, Texas is 25, Colorado 27.) Nevada is also #1 in the nation for high school drop outs, southern Nevada is higher than northern. Hmmm...what does that say about the schooling outside Utah?

Keeper of the photos

A few people have commented on my abundance of old photos including a few of my parents. They have asked if I am the keeper of photos. My answer is, "I don't know."

I have scrapbooks and boxes of photos that I took. I was always the one with the camera, so I guess that means I "own" the photos taken. Anyway, I scan in what photos I have from my childhood. My mom had access to a scanner that would scan photos from negatives and slides. She sent us all old photos. My step grandma and my dad's cousin sent us old pictures of him at some point. I am an OCD packrat when it comes to this kind of thing. Does that answer the question?

Blogs

Yesterday morning I got the brilliant idea of creating a blog for my children. (In fact it was at 4:30 in the morning and I couldn't sleep so I started it immediately.) We worked on it throughout the day. Marcus and Anneke frequently ask me to put things on my blog or comment on your blogs. So, now they have their own. We will scan in pictures they draw, photos they take on their fuzzy Fisher-Price cameras and they can say whatever they want. I hope to have them update it at least once a week, but I won't push. It is their blog. If it gets too annoying we will forego the effort. Also, please note that I believe the blog background will change quite a bit over the first few weeks as they try to find one they both will agree on. I will also try to note who contributes what to their blog. If this is too out there, tell me. I did come up with the idea before any normal person should be awake, you know? (I linked to their blog 3 times in that paragraph. ;)

In other blogging news: Andy is considering letting his blog go. He doesn't feel that it is worth the effort for his 3 readers (including his adorable, beautiful, charismatic, dear, elegant, fantastic, gorgeous, hilarious, intelligent...wife.) So, if you do read his blog, comment, he needs validation right now. If you don't read his blog, give it a shot. He updates at least once a week with his Music Memory Monday. I know I enjoy reading it. (His blog is linked throughout the paragraph again.) Follow him, read his words and share the love. Happy blogging!

Family

My dad, his older sister, Susan and my grandma.

My cousin, David, got married last week. I remember seeing this cousin exactly twice in my life. My parents were able to go. It was surprisingly hard on me to hear about their weekend. I have spent a few hours crying actually.

On my mom's side of the family we were pretty close as cousins go. After my grandma died and the older cousins got married we drifted apart a bit. Through blogs, we keep in touch now and I love it.

My dad's side is another story. I have eight cousins on his side. I have never met 3 of them. I have met 3 of them once and 2 of them twice. The last time I saw any cousins from his family was when I was in high school. My aunt Susan and aunt Sara came to be with me for my wedding and that was very special. When the blizzard of '06 hit Colorado it effected our flight out for Christmas by 4 days. I missed seeing his family at that time again.

The hardest thing for me to realize is that the last time I saw my grandpa, Clyde Lester Bailey Jr. or Grandpa Bill, I was too busy with my high school life to really spend time with him. He sent a letter later containing photos he took of me in the Mormon Miracle Pageant and told me how proud he was of me. He sent me many e-mails that I saved and cherished, but the system I used closed and I lost all of those special notes. My grandpa died unexpectedly a few months after I married my husband. Two weeks later I found out I was expecting my first child. Somehow, my grandpa knew I was pregnant before I did because after I had Marcus I got a card from him. It was even boy specific. I cried.

I loved to talk to my grandpa on the phone. He had a great Southern accent. I miss him. I am sad my children will never know him. I know I took for granted that he was there. (I am afraid that I am doing the same thing with my Popi.) I don't know how to fix it now. I wish I had known then.

I do not have the means to do what I desire, but don't let opportunities to be with your family pass. I am talking about really spending time with them, not sharing space.

P.S. I do not have a photo of Grandpa Bill. Why?

FHE

Anneke was in charge of lesson for Family Home Evening last night. She chose her topic and her lesson was "Why God gave us families." She said we have families to take us to church, and "how else would be be borned?" My favorite line (that had Andy cringing) came as she held up our most recent family photo, "As you can see, our family is five. Some families are bigger. Someday our family will be 18."

Hobbies

My grandfather was a surgeon and teacher. My father worked in health care administration. They both seemed to really enjoy their jobs. However, they both had outside hobbies that they did really well. I would describe Popi's as carpentry and my dad's as artistic woodworking. I learned that you need to have a creative outlet and while sometimes it is your career, it may not always be. (Next week I will focus on my dad, this week I will devote to my grandpa.)

Growing up I think every room in our house had a piece of furniture made by my grandfather. Here is a list of things he made. Help me by adding to it, correcting me, sharing memories, etc.

*stools

*bookshelves

*tables

*side tables

*headboards

*dresser

*desks

*coffee tables (including the glass one in his TV room)

*long cabinet in his TV room

*entertainment center in his TV room

*the island in his kitchen

*cabinets in his kitchen

*porch (including the columns)

I know I missed some items. The last things I know of him making were stools for his grandchildren. My grandma was able to paint flowers on a few before she died. I know we still use ours on a daily basis. It is Luke's favorite at the moment. He may have done more after, but not to the scale he did before. This could be because of my grandma's death, age, eyesight, temple and genealogy work or none of these. He is still an amazing man and I am so grateful that he is a part of my family.

P.S. My mother and grandma were also quite talented in different ways. I will do them soon.

Discovered

My dad at 4 years old (child model)

In the store last night a lady was kind of stalking (or is it stocking?) us. Finally she stopped to tell us we had beautiful children and to ask if we had ever considered having them model. Well, I personally think my children are gorgeous, but it was nice to have someone else tell me that. However, it also felt weird. She took down our names and number and she is going to contact us if anything will work for our children. We never committed to anything and are not even sure if she will get back to us. If she does, the decision is greater. My mom made the choice not to have me model when I was little, but my dad modeled a bit. Andy modeled once when he was younger, too. Hmmm...

Labor Day (late)

To quote Sally Fields, "I can't deny the fact that you like me... You like me!"

For Labor day we didn't do a whole lot. However, the children did get to play at the splash pad by the mall. After that we went to Yogurtland. They loved dispensing their own frozen yogurt and putting whatever they wanted on it. I have never done it before and it was great.

It took Luke a while to warm up to the idea of water spraying him in the face.

Luke enjoying himself.

Anneke, Luke and Marcus getting splashed at the same time.

(Not on Labor day) Anneke's favorite activity is playing in the rain. I am not sure why it's "the fresh scent of rain" because she always comes in pretty stinky. Maybe it is just dirty Vegas rain...

Blogging

I have tried not to blog much lately for many reasons. I think I annoy people with the volume of my updates. I should be doing other things. Not much has been going on anyway. (But mostly #1) I do Memory Mondays out of obligation, but I am running out of ideas. Is anyone outside my family actually reading this on a consistent basis? Also, looking at my posts I tend to be quite negative. I don't mean to, so I will try harder for the times I do post to be positive and happy.

Date Dances

It's a holiday, so this will be brief and photo heavy. I hope it makes sense.

I wanted to do date dance pictures, but I am not sure what to say about them. Andy told me to put up group pictures of each dance except for the ones that I am on a date with a guy I wished I had married. (He was teasing.) So, I am still not sure what I am going to say, but here they are.

Theme - A Knight to Remember My first date dance was to prom my sophomore year. It was really special because it is the only time my grandparents could come and see me off. I had the best date for that, too. He was a good sport. (I am the second girl from the left with my date standing behind me.) My date was Martin Andrew Merz, he went by Andrew. He was shy, but so much fun when you could get through his shell. He lived on the corner of my block and was in my ward. I was so excited he asked me. I wonder what he is doing now...
Sadie Hawkins Dance - Theme Use the Force (Star Wars) My date was Niel Lund and it was not the best. I asked a month in advance and a lot of drama went on that caused a huge rift. I think Shannon Clark and Greg Sterner look cute, though.
Preference - I am not sure the theme of this dance. It was not at my school, but Juab High School. My date was BenJoe Markland. He joined the church a few months later. He now lives in Ogden, has two children and works at a bank.
Homecoming - my junior year my date was Adam Carpenter. His best friend was Andrew Merz and we were supposed to go on a double date with him. It ended up being just the two of us. My dad was not please when he showed up in jeans.
Drill Team Formal - Winter Ball my junior year. (I did both the couple and group picture because I loved this dress and wanted a shot of it.) I don't remember why I asked Todd Brown. He, again, was quite shy, but I wanted to get to know him. I think I overwhelmed the shy guys I dated with my strong personality. Todd is now married to a girl named Heidi. ;)

In my group were some of my best friends in high school, both the girls and guys.

Anne Armstrong date Jon Baker, Sheleen Wilmore date Chris Helms and Liz Blauer date Gabe Hampton.

Dog Cheap Bargain Boogy - January 1998 - My date was on the floor Matt Hampton and LiZ Blauer's date was Jesse Reeves. This dance was not well attended, but everything was $1. I had a fun group.
Junior Prom - Never Let Go - My date was Adrian Peterson. He graduated from med school in May. I was with Liz Blauer, as usual, and her date was Nathan Hampton. (Nathan, Matt and Gabe were all brothers.) My promenade partner was Jon Baker (see drill team formal group picture) and I had to beg him to do it . I literally went through a partner a day. Not sure why...

Side note - Liz was Andy's girlfriend when he left on his mission.

Sadie Hawkins Dance - Aloha Utah I helped paint the backdrop for the pictures, but you can't see it. I am on the top the 3rd couple from the left. My date was Joshua Luke George from Kamas, Utah. We met at state speech and he later went to Snow College. I had an interesting time with him. I don't know what he is up to now, though. Andy knew his wife so it was fun later.
Senior Prom - Winds of Change - I went with one of my best friends, Chad Cox. He made the best manicotti. Also pictured, Denise Pearson and Lucas Jones. I am friends with all of them on Facebook. ;) Side note - Andy's brother married one of Chad's distant cousins.

Sadie Hawkins dance - Bonjour My date was Tim Kiesel. The year before Liz had taken him on the date and had a great time. It was not duplicated on ours. Looking back I think I expected too much. I had a great group, though.
My only Snow Homecoming date was with Gary Lau. He was from Hong Kong and gave me a fan, chocolates and a rose bracelet instead of a corsage. He was...yes, shy. I enjoyed the date. He taught Liz and me how to make wonton soup and sushi.

Girls Preference (Snow) - When You Wish Upon a Star These two pictures ended up weird but since I think I look cute I put both of them in. My date is Ned Armstrong. I wanted someone I was comfortable with. We had a Murder Mystery dinner before.

Morp (Snow) - Sweet Dreams - My date was Blaine Nielson (behind me; I am on the front row) from Grantsville. I am wearing slippers to match the theme. This dance was the same night as my little sister's prom. I went to see her promenade instead of finishing the date. I had a fun group, though. Blaine went on a mission to San Bernadino, California.

I can't find my professional pictures from the Inaugural Ball, so I put this one in. I am wearing a crown so everyone called me the princess of the ball. I loved my pale yellow dress, but you can't really see it. My date was James Barlow. I thought I was going to marry him. One night we were hanging out and I looked at him and realized it was not right. I literally just walked out. The next day I explained things to him. (Andy got home the next week.) He now works in Austin and has a wife and 2 children.

Probably boring to everyone, but it's all about my memories. Happy Labor day!

Dentist again.

I am writing this to make sense of the happenings of the day. Going to the dentist gives me a headache and makes me tired. The novocaine is wearing off and I can feel my very sensitive front tooth, so bear with me.

My front tooth has been pretty sensitive and nothing showed up on the x-ray. However, when Dr. Matt went to clean it he stopped and told me it was a cavity. (Today he said that my tooth turned pink because blood had gotten inside. Weird.) When the doc went to fix it, he realized that it was not a cavity. My tooth had somehow cracked (I am thinking it was one of the many times my children have accidently head butted me in the mouth, but can't be sure.) and my gum grew up into my tooth and kept on going. He said that teeth don't usually crack where mine did, in fact he has never known it to happen. He pulled my gum out and filled it with medicine and a temporary cover. Now I have to go again to get it taken care of once the gum heals up. The whole time he was working he kept saying things like, "I have never seen this before" and "I am not sure how to handle this". Great confidence boosters. (No, I really like my dentist.) Why oh why to I have such abnormal teeth!?!

Annekeisms

(Since the photos came out in this order...)

Luke has quite the vocabulary. My favorite is him saying, "Scu me." When anyone burps, passes gas or he needs to get by. He also answers in an exasperated voice, "Fine", if he doesn't like my answer to something.

Dad: Why do you talk through your nose?

Anneke: Because my nose is cute.

Anneke (in a hoity-toity voice): Ken, you need to hurry and take your clothes off so we can go to the Grand Ball.

This morning we were ready for the day early. So, Andy, Marcus and I naturally decided to read for a while. By the time we left for the bus stop Anneke was hysterical. She was afraid she would miss the bus and that we didn't care. Note to self: Don't break with routine for a while.