New Year's Revelry

Our family was definitely happy when the Town of Gilbert approved the use of fireworks on a few nights each year.  We promptly went out and purchased our first LEGAL package of things that explode.  It helped to satisfy our family's love of all things that explode or make fire.  Joining our immediate family were two families of cousins and a few parents.  Here are a few pictures of our crew enjoying the flames and flares.

Flagstaff Fun- Geocaching and Climbing

Out by the Renaissance Faire, our very first cache.


Under the sleeping giant.



At a tractor, next to a funny bar called Granny's Closet.
Ask the Lumberjack.



At the Lowell Observatory, overlooking all of Flagstaff.
A magnificent view.

We spent one week of Spring Break in Flagstaff enjoying the beautiful spring weather. We honed our Geocaching skills using our new Garmin and found some really interesting caches. For those of you who haven't discovered this global game of hide-and-seek, a geocache is simply a small container hidden somewhere with a log inside for the "finders" to record their names. The location is posted at geocaching.com with GPS coordinates and information about the cache. Some caches have room for small objects which can be left by "finders" or swapped as you find different caches. We didn't find all of the ones we searched for, but we found quite a few. Some have stories inside about the people who created them and some have goodies left by others who have found them. We left small plastic sea creatures from the Guppyfamily in some and swapped items from others. The kids were much better at finding the hidden containers and it became a fun competition. It's a great way to explore the world and connect with others. We began to recognize the names of other cachers in the logs we signed. Often, we found the same few caches a day behind another group. Here are some of the pictures we took of caches we found.

A Ladybug Flies at Disneyland

My wonderful Mother started a tradition with my kids by taking each one to Disneyland for three days when they are five years old. Three days alone with Nana to rule Disneyland. This is pretty much all a kid could ask for at five. Each of my kids have had a completely different experience and made some fantastic memories for my Mom. So, this year was Sarah's turn. She is so much like my Mom in personality. Practical and serious and very opinionated. She planned what she wanted to do in the park after looking at a tour booklet provided by the travel agent. I never worry(well, not much) when the kids are with my Mom. She has the luxury of giving them her full attention, which I appreciate so much, as someone who feels a little overscheduled most days. We checked in with a quick phone call the first day, just to make sure they arrived safely and all was well. Life went on here as usual, with one sweet voice missing. The second day, I get a phone call that started out with the usual, "Hi, how are you? sentences and then went quickly awry. The next thing my Mom said was "Sarah is ok." Well, of course she was, she was in the land of sunshine and princesses with "The Queen", what's gonna be wrong with her? Then, it all gets a little surreal as Mom says Sarah fell off the train and the "nurse" needs to speak with you. Still a little confused, I wonder which train? Are we talking the toddler train in the little kids area, or the Small World train? Mom says, "The train that circles the park." and I notice that her voice sounds a little funny at this point. Well, I haven't been to Disneyland in over 15 years so I can't picture what train she's talking about, but she says the nurse needs to talk to me. The "nurse" introduces himself to me as an employee of the Park and ask permission to treat my daughter. I say yes, and he proceeds to describe her injuries, which are abrasions to her face and a contusion on her forehead. When you watch as much CSI and Law and Order as I do, you just don't want to hear abrasions and contusion in the same sentence as your family member's name. Your mind immediately goes to autopsies. So, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what has occured in "The Greatest Place on Earth" when the nurse asks if he can apply neopsporin to her abrasions. That's when it finally hits me that there has been an "incident" involving my daughter that required "permission to treat" and who knows how much paperwork. I'm now cursing my inability to squeeze through the phone lines and be with my Mom and Sarah. The nurse senses that I might be a little concerned now(read nearing hysteria) and offers to let me talk to Sarah, after explaining that she is conscious and answering questions and appears to have no serious injuries. Then he passes the phone to my five year old! I'm trying to be calm and talk to her without upsetting her. She does seem to be ok and we talk for a few minutes, but I really want to scream that I'm on my way and I'll meet them at the nearest hospital. (Let me pause for a quick aside to explain that this was a week before the incident involving a minor head injury that killed a notable actress. Had I known death could be caused by such a small bump, I would have flown the plane to LA myself.) At this point, my Mom takes the phone and says they are heading back to the hotel to rest and recover. I hang up and start to shake. Nothing was seriously wrong, I had been assured by my Mom, the nurse and the Spirit that they were ok and I did not need to head to CA, but I suddenly process all the things that could have happened to a little girl falling off a train in an amusement park. Luckily, Mike was home and talked me through the shock brought by the call. I'm still a little surprised by the emotions of the experience. It was really a minor accident, not a lot worse than what can happen on any playground, but the helplessness added to the moment. They girls went back to their hotel and lounged around in their bathrobes. That was the one thing Sarah was set on buying from Disneyland, a princess bathrobe. They hit the ground running on their last day and all was well. Sarah's face has since healed and the trip was a success. I'll never forget the day though, that our Ladybug tried to "fly" at Disneyland.

How Do I Look?

Well, I've been marvelling for weeks about the photographic skill and talents a few of my friends have. I'm wondering if it's the camera, or the person, or the subjects. I wonder if I can take cool photos like that, too? Could really flattering pictures be taken of me? Then our Relief Society was shown a video that contained pictures of us alternated with Jesus. Knowing that pictures had been snapped of us at various events lately, we all waited to see what we would look like. As I watched the faces of my friends pop up, they were all beautiful to me and I had an epiphany.
When we look at pictures of ourselves, we tend to see just that moment and whatever blemishes were caught. Are my eyes crossed, how many chins do I have, is my skin smooth? I didn't have any of these thoughts as I saw my friends. In the 5 seconds I saw their faces, I saw each of them laughing, holding happy or sad babies, serving a friend, giving a talk, sharing secrets and reflecting their testimonies of our Savior. I thought, this is how God sees us.

Why should it be so hard to see ourselves this way? Why do we focus on the lines and dark spots instead of the smiles and the light? So, I grabbed my camera last night and took a few close-ups of my family, hoping for a dazzling shot. I don't know that the shots are that good, but the faces in them are beautiful! Tonight I'm going to talk with the kids about seeing the best in themselves and others. I hope they can understand it like I did in that moment while I watched the video. I hope when then look at themselves in the mirror, they see more than that moment. I hope they see who they really are at that moment, and I hope they like it. I hope we can all see ourselves and each other with God's grace.

Sarah takes the Crown!

So, let me preface this with an explanation about my family. My Mom is the oldest of four girls and a VERY strong woman. She gained the nickname Queenie some decades ago, and though we use it lovingly, make no mistake - she is the Boss. Well, it turns out I picked Sarah's name with some providence. Sarah comes from Hebrew origins and means Princess. I have always called her that, but I am officially upgrading her to Little Queen. At 5, she speaks her mind and runs her little queendom.
So, in the last few days, she has said some things to me that bear repeating, and some things that still have me shaking my head. It started on Monday with Fireman Johnson. Fireman Johnson is the Father of one of Sarah's classmates and talked with her class about safety in the car. He told them the importance of driving with two hands and paying attention to the road. Sarah earnestly relayed all of this to me after school. He also told them not to distract the driver with questions and requests, but that part seems to have flown right over the little darlings heads. So, I was driving home from school on Tuesday and I answered my phone. She must have been waiting for me to hang up, and when I did, she promptly scolded me. "Mother, what did I tell you Fireman Johnson said. You shouldn't talk on the phone when you're driving, you need two hands on the wheel." I was sufficiently chastened and didn't talk in the car the rest of the day. You just don't argue with the Little Queen, and she was right, darn it!

Later in the week, we are sitting on the couch and she turns to me and says "I want a stepmom." A little confused, I asked if she knew what that was, to which she replied, "She's skinny and exercises a lot and rides bikes with the kids, and loves you a lot." Now, keep in mind that I've been working out like crazy and have lost weight recently. I've also taken the kids hiking and I DO love them, so I was a little nonplussed. I wasn't quite sure what to repond, so I asked how she knew about stepmoms and she said her classmate Colin has a stepmom, so she wants one.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this, and her Dad thought it was pretty funny. Some days he wants a skinny Stepmom for the kids, too. I guess, the Little Princess wants more Mommy time with a skinny person, so I'm going to work on that. I'm certainly not gonna work on getting her a stepmom, even if it means someone else to help with laundry. In the meantime, I'm going to remember that a daughter who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it, is a good thing. And she just figured out I was writing the stepmom story and she said, "You almost look like a stepmom." Long live the Little Queen!

Fisher-Price Fun

Yesterday, we spent several hours with the fabulous Price Girls. They came for dinner on a whim and stayed for s'mores and girl talk. I love that our friendship has lasted 12 years, with many long breaks, but is as strong as ever. Mike engaged the kids with a fire in the backyard and treats. You can see from the pictures, after he fed them all S'mores, he taught them to make taffy out of marshmallows. What a fun night! What fun friends! What a blessed life we have been given.

The Writing on the Wall

Today, Nana and I took the five kids and a friend on a hike to the Hieroglyphs in the Superstition Mountains. First, let me share that the mileage recorded for the trail on various websites is one way. Though I generally read maps and directions and such well, I thought the trip would be 3.1 miles roundtrip. I was wrong. I had planned to carry the little ones from time to time, and I did, but they were stellar little troopers and made it all the way to the hieroglyphs and all the way back to the car.
The hike was great for beginners. It started slowly and moved gently up the mountain into denser brush that hid the steepness of the trail until you were already at the top. The trail ends at a small canyon of rock with paintings on it. They were so neat to see, and the bigger kids loved scaling the rocks. I enjoyed the hike as genuine exercise that didn't require a machine. What I didn't expect was the window into my kids that the hike provided.

Ethan, pulled out in front and was determined to lead the pack. He was the first to arrive at the top and the bottom. He seemed to enjoy forging ahead on his own and gaining a nice spot in the shade to wait for the rest of us. I valued his initiative and drive because it inspired me to go a little faster and a little farther.
Jake and Magnus(our friend) followed Ethan in a more steady pace. I don't know what they talked about but they stuck together the whole hike and never complained or asked how much farther. A good friend makes the journey even better.
Lilly is the little mother in our family and moved back and forth between the groups, sometimes walking more slowly with us and sometimes running faster with the boys. I envy her ability to feel comfortable in all situations and with everyone she knows. I was three times her age before I felt that comfortable in my own skin.
Sarah, who is short and sturdy like my Mom's family, strapped on a fanny pack and walked up the mountain like she was taking a Sunday stroll. When she would get tired, she would ask for a short ride and then jump off and march ahead again. I marvel at her determination, though I know it was bred into her from generations of strong, stubborn women. I must remember how much I enjoy her strength the next time we are at odds.
Sam was just old enough to make this trip and he did get awfully tired at the end. He stopped often and would just sit on a rock, saying "I need a little break." He would rest his elbows on his knees and smile up at us. As the elevation increased, the path was littered with large rocks that were knee high for him. After watching him mount several in a row, I told him it would be easier if he went around the big rocks instead of over them. For the next half mile, he would point out each obstacle that he avoided and we made good time. He brought many comments from people coming back down the trail and he would ask me the name of every person who spoke to him. I told him I didn't know and he wondered why they spoke to us then. In one of those moments when your mouth is filled with words by the Spirit, I said "Everyone on the trail is a friend."

I thought about this a lot as we walked, and even more after we returned home. Today was a day of lessons that I hope I don't forget. Sometimes we need to run ahead on our own and test our limits, and sometimes we need to go with a friend. We all have the strength to complete the journey, but sometimes we need to lean on a friend. Friends can be found anywhere, in anyone, if we will open our eyes and hearts to those on the path with us and accept the help they offer.