And he's off....

Yesterday Landon woke up at 5 am and headed down to "the valley". It was his first time making the drive alone and I was a little nervous about it, but I knew I had to let him go. He's 17 and will probably leave for college next year then in two short years he will be off on a mission to who knows where in the world. I know allowing his independence now is important preparation for him (and me) for when he is really off on his own. But even knowing all of that I was still very happy to receive this text from him.....

It says, "Hey I made it in one piece." Music to a mother's ears. In "the valley" he met up with his friends and they headed up to Utah, on their own with no parents. How's that for independence? So I was very, very pleased to receive this text last night....

It says, "Hey I'm in Utah now." Whew! The major driving is over for now and everyone is safe. Now if 17 year old boys can stay out of trouble for a week on their own all will be well. I told Landon to keep me posted so hopefully I'll be receiving many more of those mind easing text messages throughout the week. I love being a mom. Each stage of my children's lives bring new excitement. It's a never ending adventure.

Home from Vegas....

I didn't get my camera out until we were leaving. We snapped these shots in the condo just before checkout.

Vegas was a lot of fun mostly because of the company of family and friends. Visiting the strip was interesting, but being with kids really accentuated the SIN of Sin City. There were times we had to tell the kids not to look down because the streets were littered with nasty "girly" cards and my nephew said, "all of the buses here have girls on them." That part of Vegas has gotten worse from when I was there last (about nine years ago). While the buildings and sites are impressive, I miss the old Vegas of my youth. The strip of neon and flashing lights when you entered town was magical. We drove down the old part of the strip near Fremont Street and while it was fun to see the old glitz, the area has gotten pretty trashy. If I was wealthy enough to go see all of the great shows, Vegas might seem a little more appealing, but as for now I don't really care to go back again.

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Hanging out at the condo was fun though. We swam everyday and Jamie and Waylon got great tans and other than a few pink shoulders, the rest of us avoided sunburn. Hooray! One of my great accomplishments as a mother is that my kids have never been badly sunburned. Marlee often asks me if I think she will look like me when she gets older. I tell her that she will look much better than I do because she has never been sunburned. They say most sun damage happens before we reach 20 and Marlee will be 15 in Oct. so she's on a great road to avoiding that nasty sun induced premature aging, lucky girl! Paige will be 13 next month and her shoulders just recently peeled for the first time. She said, "mom something really weird is happening to my skin." She didn't even know what it was to peel. I sluffed off my entire body of skin like a snake several times a year when I was growing up. Rick and I both have one foot in the grave from all of the sun exposure we've had in our lives. I'm so glad that my kids have been protected from that. It really does make me proud.

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Speaking of swimming~ I had a funny conversation with Waylon at the pool one day. He was sitting on my lap facing me and he said, "Mom if you eat all of your food your boobs will get bigger." (we always tell him that his muscles will get big if he eats all of his food. I guess he figured the same applies for boobs. Don't I wish!) I told him that no my boobs are just small and they are going to stay that way. He said, "Well Aunt so and so (name left out to protect the innocent) has really giant boobs." I said yes she does and he said, "Yah, they go boom botta, boom botta, boom botta."

What?!! Where does he get this stuff? I told Rick not to be surprised if when Waylon starts dating he brings home girls with a lot of "boom botta".

The only gambling we did in Vegas is when we bought this circus ticket a day in advance for my sister. We gambled on whether or not she would still be there the next night to go with us. We lost. She went home a day early and we were out the $19.50 we spent on the ticket. Oh well I guess a twenty dollar loss in Vegas isn't too bad. The circus was fun though. We went with our good friends the Crabtrees. They live in Nevada and it was so great to see them.

All in all it was a wonderful trip. Oh how I love summer break!

Pioneer Trek 2008

Landon and Marlee went on a Pioneer Trek Thurs. June 5th- Sat. the 7th. It was a difficult but amazing experience for both of them. After hearing all of the horror stories of the trip, like the fact that they didn't get to camp the first night until two in the morning, I thought for sure they would be very grumpy when they returned home. But when I went to pick them up at the church I saw nothing but smiles from them and all of the other youth and leaders. It was very touching to hear a beautiful chorus of "Come, Come Ye Saints" coming from the buses as they pulled into the church parking lot. I'm so proud of my kids and grateful that they were able to have this life changing opportunity.

Before the trek they were all clean and spiffy and ready to tackle the world (We found Marlee's dress at an antique store. It's a Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax dress from the seventies. And it just happened to be her perfect size. We got very lucky on that one.)

I love this after picture. They're not really mad, they just posed this way because they said that pioneers didn't smile in photos. I think if it was taken in black and white it would look quite authentic.

They were dirty, tired and hungry, but spiritually enriched and forever changed.

Happy Birthday Larisa!!!

Today is my sister Larisa's birthday. I can't post a picture right now (my scanner is broken), but I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday anyway because I love her soooo much!
Happy Birthday Larisa!

THE HUSBAND TAG....

Tag, I'm it....
I've been tagged to tell a little bit about my hubby, so here goes...

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A- Automobile of choice? Shelby Cobra


B- Born? July 14


C- Cookies or Candy? Cookies- white chocolate macadamia nut


D- Date of Choice? Going out to dinner.


E- Essential Item? Food and water


F- Favorite Foods? Blackened prime rib from Charley Clark's and Barro's pizza and wings


G- Gas or Diesel vehicle? Gas


H- Hobbies? Racquetball, computer games, cooking


I- Ice Cream Flavor? Black licorice


J- Job? Business owner~ sign shops, car washes and storage units


K- Kids? 2 boys, 4 girls


L- Last Vacation as a couple? Flagstaff


M- Morning person or night owl? Both


N- Number of Siblings? 2 brothers


O- OCD or sloppy? In between


P- Pet Peeves? Stupid drivers, telemarketers


Q- Quiet or Loud? Loud


R- Restaurant? Baci Italian Bistro (best little hole in the wall on the corner of Williams field and Power in Gilbert)


S- Sports? To play: racquetball, tennis, basketball~ To watch: Ultimate fighting and basketball


T- Tight wad or spender? Both


U- Unknown Fact about him? He's not really bald, he just shaves his hair in a circular pattern~ and he's a computer genius.


V- Vegetables? Fresh corn on the cob


W- Worst Habit? Drinks too much soda


X- Xtra Curricular activities in high school? Football, basketball, track,~ parking at Patterson's pond.


Y- Your favorite things about him? He is a hard worker and helps a lot around the house. He adores me and tells me I'm beautiful everyday. He is selfless~ sports and "guy" activities always come second to family. He is generous and loves to help people. He is a people person and has a great sense of humor. He encourages me in all I do. I could go on and on, he's just the best.


Z - Zodiac Sign? Cancer
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Tag, you're it!!!

Summertime fun....

We had a great time at camp with only one minor incident where I found myself seeing red. I do love red. It is absolutely my favorite color, but I rarely get riled up enough for red flames to fill my eyes the way they did the last day of camp. In fact when I told Rick and Landon about it at the dinner table that night they both looked at me in disbelief and said, "You yelled at someone?" Yes I did (well talked very sternly that is), but it was for a justified reason that I would love to share but can't because I live in a small town and that would be gossip so I will refrain even though it's an interesting story.
With camp out of the way, I now need to get very serious about getting my two oldest ready for the pioneer trek that's going to take place in a few days (A FEW DAYS!!!) I still have to modify two dresses, sew some bloomers and an apron, find a hat and take care of a bunch of other stuff that I have blocked from my memory at this moment because it's just too darn stressful. I also failed to read an instruction letter until this morning that asked for parents to write a special letter to their kids and turn it in by May 31. Hmmm, it's now June 2nd....
Good times! I can't wait until the madness is over and I can enjoy myself on a real vacation. Soaking up the rays and pigging out at the buffets with my family in Vegas baby. Thanks Ben and Mindy for putting the "share" in time share. It's gonna be awesome!