Last Day of Summer 2009

This summer we did a lot of fun things . . . a lot of them I have already blogged about.

-Like my parent's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Had a family photo done - but with a few missing people!

And this summer, I finally rode on Silverwood's newest ride, Aftershock. Yeah, freaky, gut-in-your-throat type of thrill ride- It was one of those "did that once, never have to do it again" type of experiences...Was I crazy, or what?

I also thought it would be a good idea to go on this ride:

The "Panic Plunge"

It went up SO so high, I could see my house!

Here I am, going up. It's gonna be fun, right? (Notice that none of my kids went with me . . . and they make you take off your flip-flops!)

Here I am, Suddenly back at the bottom.

Words cannot describe this experience. Maybe the look on my face can?

So, today is the last day of summer, officially.

And we might just be set for a pretty cold fall.

Ya know how I can tell?

Fall got a jump-start by sending a freeze our way.

True, I did check the weather report. I knew that I should've covered the tomatoes last night, since 30 degree temperatures were predicted.

Never mind that it's supposed to be in the 90"s tomorrow. . .

This is what our tomato plants look like now.

So sad!
The red ripe tomatoes I picked today. Question- Do I do what I usually do, and pick all the green tomatoes and put them in newspaper-lined boxes and have them sitting in my house for weeks till they all ripen (in which case, their flavor is not nearly as rich)

Or... do I try covering them at night for the next few weeks and hope that they will still ripen on the vine?

***

We were also busily doing projects and having fun activities, so here some things we did that I didn't get a chance to post before now:

We put up new porch rails and built new shutters (it looks a lot cuter IRL)

Our driveway/walkway flowerbeds - before (sorry-this was taken about 6 years ago, but it's the only Before picture that I have!) After. . .

Mark went to Tillamook Oregon to pick up some dairy cows.

On the way, they stopped at the fish hatchery in the gorge.

I guess Isaac is tramatized by all the fish!

And they got to eat these ginormous hamburgers with my dad Meanwhile, this little girl was born, on Noelle's birthday! I had to make sure everything went well while he was gone.

Luckily, we have good friends around who know a heck of a lot more than I do about baby calves! And this one was not too interested in nursing. . . but she sure is a cutie!

Grandpa Mark snuggling with Brooke, our new granddaughter...

Now SHE is a cutie, for sure!

Since we have 3 people in the family who have birthdays within 3 weeks of each other, we had a combined family birthday party-

First, Evalie blew out her 4 candles. Happy fourth birthday, Evalie!

Then we added some more for Noelle's 12th -

...but once we got to Jake, everyone was ready to eat the cake, already!

Did you have a good summer?

What was the best thing you did/read/saw/experienced?

My Wild and Crazy Boys . . .

Ya know how sometimes something you read triggers a memory, or a few, which might just be worthy of the time to write them down?

I was visiting this post today, and hopped over to this one, which reminded me of a few stories of my own.

I was raised with 5 brothers, and no sisters. This could go 2 ways: either I was a spoiled-rotten girly-pants, or I was raised like one of the boys.

I know it wasn't the girly-pants thing. To be sure, I do like girl things - sewing, which my mom taught me to do, and I play the piano, and I love girly-girl baby dresses. But -

Working out in the garden doesn't bother me. Some days I even enjoy it.

I will collect the eggs. (but that's Isaac's job, so I don't have to)

and . . .

If you put, say, a spider in front of me? I will simply squish it.

(Enough said?) ok

So the blood-gush thing (you have to read the post I mentioned above) made me think of all the times I took my boys to the emergency room.

Those were some scary times - like when Jake our oldest was about 2 or three, he was running a fever, and the doctors suspected spinal meningitis. So the decided to do a spinal tap. Ever attended one of those? Not a picnic. (Tests were negative, thankfully)

Then there was Chad. And perhaps this is fitting that it is also about my youngest brother, Josh.

One day Josh, who is 10 years younger than I am, was babysitting the 3 kids that we had at the time. Chad was about 18 months old, which would have made Kayla about 4 and Jake about 6.

They were out in the backyard, hitting around a little ball with a stick. One that was a little smaller than a baseball bat, but with a few knots on it.

I am sure that Josh had his eye on the other two kids, and the ball when he swung the makeshift bat that one. last. time. but in doing so, he smacked poor little Chad with the stick - right in the middle of his forehead.

We came right home when he called, to find Josh and my mom (who lived nearby) holding Chad - and a large cloth - over a gash in his forehead. Thankfully even though he was crying a little, he was alert and not in too much pain. (Head wounds always bleed like crazy - and the blood helped wash out the bark, I'm sure)

To make a long story short, after a long wait in the ER (back in the days before Immediate care centers) he got a few stitches in his forehead that now has become a kinda cool scar up near his hairline.

The person who took the biggest hit that day, though, I think was my brother. I am sure he thought that he had killed him at first. He felt SOOOO terrible - I think to this day, he still feels bad about it.

(It's OK Josh - Chad doesn't even remember it happening, and I forgave you immediately when I saw how bad you felt - )

Then there's Isaac -

He was an incredibly active (that description is inadequate, by the way) little boy. Thankfully, almost on the day he turned 3, he became human, as we like to say. Best way to describe the change . . .

But in the meantime, he was always doing crazy things - dumping stuff, breaking things, falling down.

But this one particular day, he jumped from the arm of the couch to grab the curtains, which of course, were Not on brackets meant to hold the weight of a 25 pound child flying through the air.

So down he went, and on the way he whacked the side of his head on the windowsill and split it open.

Off to the Immediate Care, leaving my husband and the missionaries who had just stopped by that morning (my husband was Ward Mission leader at the time) to clean up the mess.

We soon were back home again, a few stitches richer, but not a single lesson learned.

A little while later, rejuvenated from his nap, he took that same darn flying leap, with the same result!

Thankfully (?) this time, he turned his head in a different direction so he split a different part of his head open. I don't even remember exactly where, any more.

So out the door I flew, with my boy in my arms again - passing by the same missionaries, who had stopped back by for some reason - and I am sure they thought we had (have) the craziest kids in the world - to take him right back to the same Immediate Care Center.

Same shift of doctors and nurses, even.

So you know what happened next, I am sure.

They each questioned me about what happened, and diligently wrote down my answers, which, fortunately, were all the same. (funny about the truth - it is always consistent)

. . . and they all watched Isaac and I interact together, to make sure that he wasn't acting like he was afraid of me. He was pretty much clinging to me, so that was a non-issue. And over the years, with visits for coughs, sore throats, and ear infections on top of the mishaps, now they have gotten to know my little gang pretty well.

Then there was the time he jumped off the kitchen counter (what the heck was he doing up there!?) and split his lip wide open. Of course it was after ICC hours. And of course by the time the doctor saw us, it had swelled up so much that the split and swelled back together. Just a quick look, he's fine, that's $275 bucks, please. That stinks.

I think that if you and your child have been waiting long enough for him to HEAL ON HIS OWN, there should be NO Charge!

Just sayin'!

Then there's Tanner. He is "busier" than all the others, all put together.

One day we were visiting my parents and I told him it was time to jump into bed. My mistake. He takes things so literally.

This is not the bed . . . but you get the idea . . .

So he bashed his forehead into the headboard and split it open right above the eyebrow.

And of course it was after 9 pm. All the Immediate Care Centers in the area were closed.

So, after waiting for at least an hour in a Quiet Empty ER waiting room and another 1 1/2 hours chasing him around the empty ER rooms in the back, I was getting pretty ticked. (plus, having nurses chide me for not keeping him still - huh~! Don't they know what a bored-silly 2 1/2 year old looks like? Heck with the owie - it was healing on it's own by then!)

But after waiting ForEVer, and getting only 2 or 3 stitches in it, the hospital had the nerve to try to charge me about $850 for their work. About 30 minutes, they actually spent with him and me. I should have charged them after that ordeal!

I did protest the bill, and I think I ended up paying about $300.

Then there are all the times that I witnessed all the trials that my brothers put my mom through. But I won't list them all here. Not today, anyway.

All this has made me a pretty tough girl.

. . . on the other hand, if the occasional field mouse gets caught in the trap near their favorite point of entry, underneath the wood stove insert . . .

I will call for Isaac or Tanner to come and get rid of it.

. . . there are exceptions to everything, now aren't there?

RainGutter Ragatta / Bishop's BBQ 2009

This year, due to families with lots of activities and tight schedules, we held the Cub Scout Pack Meeting right before the BBQ. Planned was a Raingutter Regatta, which was a big hit.

And of course, it ran over into the BBQ, but was great entertainment, so no one minded a bit.

Here is Isaac, doing his best.

Blow a little harder!

Isaac had the winning heat!

In the end, Isaac and his really cool boat came in 4th place. Good job, Isaac!

Must have been the passed-out Lego sailor that got him the prize for "Most Realistic"!

Trampoline Time!

By this time, everyone is ready to eat . . . Pot Luck time!

After the races and food, the kids all had a great time just playing in the water
Lots

and lots

of people . . .

me & everyone else, chowing down

we had a good turnout . . . cars were lined up and down both sides of our driveway. . .

I hope everyone had a great time! See ya next year!

Remembering 9-11

Dear Lara-

Today when I visited your blog, I clicked over and read your 9-11 tribute, and I realized that I had read it before. It still touches me, especially today, and the emotions of that day are brought back so clearly. Thank you for the reminder.

Our freedoms are so precious, and we must do all we can to keep them protected.

Thank you for your permission to put your words about this tragic day on my blog. Though the details may be different, your story represented so many of our thoughts and feelings at the time so well.

************
Remembering 9-11
Today in Church we talked about self-reliance and food storage and emergency preparedness. It was really good for me, because for the last several months, and especially after Katrina, I have been wanting to do better at having my family be prepared. So last Sunday I ordered some food from the Cannery...used my scrap budget. A small sacrifice for something I know is extremely important. Besides, if I was as prepared for emergencies as I am for scrapping then we'd have more than enough.

Kind of fitting that we focused on that today, as it is the fourth anniversary of 9-11. Sometimes I think of it and it seems so long ago...it isn't really something I think about much anymore. It has been pushed aside due to life. My life. But today I wanted to remember that day a bit more, and try to recapture how I felt, and some of what I learned. At the very least, I wanted to blog about my experience on September 11, 2001.

We lived in Provo...right on 9th East. Joel worked at BYU, just down the street. Bria wasn't quite a year old yet. We were having Joel's best friend, Matt, and his latest girlfriend over for dinner that night and I needed to go shopping for a couple last minute things for the salad. So, I took Joel to work and I stopped at the Creamery on 9th (used to be Kent's market) to get those last few items and then planned on heading home to clean the house and babysit my baby nephew, Brayden.

When I walked into the little grocery store, I found it a little odd that they were listening to talk radio. I decided that probably nobody really comes shopping at 8:00 in the morning, and they really liked that particular talk show or something. But as I walked through the store, putting things into my cart, I started realizing what I was hearing. People jumping out of the World Trade Center? Planes crashing into buildings? Fire at the Pentagon? What????? I couldn't make any sense of what they were saying, and I honestly thought it was something like Orson Welles' War of the Worlds. I really wasn't too alarmed, because everything I was hearing was just too improbable....it all had to be somebody's idea of a joke.

But then one of the stock boys came up to me. He had tears in his eyes, and he asked me, "Can you believe what is happening?" I clearly remember answering, "What is happening? I can't understand what I'm hearing." He then explained to me, quite emotionally, his understanding of the situation. Which, of course, at 8:00 am was still laden with unfounded rumors, like the White House had been bombed and the President was missing. Shocked, I hurriedly paid for my groceries and drove home, listening to talk radio all the way.

We didn't have TV back then...we couldn't afford to pay for cable, and our TV had terrible reception as far as local channels were concerned, so I just continued to listen to the Doug Wright show on KSL 1160. Of course, Joel called me to find out if I knew what was happening. He didn't really work much that day...they all just sat in the breakroom and watched the television, only getting up if the phone rang. I think all of America was on hold that day. My sister-in-law brought Brayden to me and stayed and listened for a while. When she left, I just sat on the couch holding him while Bria sat next to me...not moving, just listening. Listening to the horrible thing that was happening to our country.

After Brayden left, Bria and I drove to my mom's house and watched the news there. I watched the twin towers collapse over and over and over again. I was horrified...glued to the television....needing to watch it just one more time in order to believe that it had actually taken place.

I also remember being deeply touched by the many nations around the world who played our national anthem and flew our flag that day. Because this was not just an attack on America, it was an attack on the world. I will never forget a woman in France who declared on the news, "Today, we are all Americans.

"Now, it is just "something that happened a few years ago." Something terrifying, certainly, but the horror has been covered by time. And life. And now our country is dealing with something else that is just as horrible in its own right. It makes me think of how the scriptures say that God always sends "something" to make the people remember Him. And if we don't even remember what happened, how will we remember Him? And if we aren't even following the commandment to be prepared, how can we say we are remembering Him? We can't. We need to remember, to not get so caught up in life that we forget the repercussions of 9-11, or Katrina, or whatever reminders we are sent...because if we forget those, we are essentially forgetting God.

Lara

Overstuffed

Where were you when you heard about this terrible event?

My Hubby Loves Me Chubby . . .

This Saturday I spent a good portion of the day baking goodies.

I was baking Brownies and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies for a fundraiser bake sale at the Spirit Lake park for Zerin Petersen on Monday, after the Spirit Lake Labor Day parade.


Every single time I try to make brownies from scratch they don't turn out so good. Not good at all.


And I wanted these brownies to be really, really good. So I had my hubby stop and pick up a few boxes of mix for me. I told him "get 4-6 boxes, depending on what kind of deal the grocery store is offering".

Yep, that's what I said. It sure is.


So on Friday, at Safeway, they were offering Pillsbury Brownie mixes - 10 boxes for $10. What a deal! I told him to get a few extras for our food storage.
(You do know that everyone's food storage must also include comfort food, right?)

So in hunting for more boxes, he and the Safeway manager could only find these:

Regularly $3-something per box. Nice manager man said he'd honor the 10 for $10 on these babies . . .

Yes, Chocolate Extreme Brownies. With Chocolate Syrup and Chocolate Chunks.

Now you fellow chocolate lovers out there understand. These are soooo good.

And my hubby KNOWS I am a Brownieholic. I have a real problem.
But, obviously he loves me chubby. Because a few extra boxes weren't good enough for his sweet wife (and kids. They can have some, too)

He HAD to get a whole case! Yes, I kid you not. This, on top of the 6 or 8 boxes of the regular Pillsbury brownies, which are fabulous in their own right.


An entire case. Twelve boxes. I probably would have only gotten "only" six.

Since I can't leave them alone

I told him that these would have to last for a whole year.

He said they MIGHT last for 6 weeks. Maybe. Since I am such a Brownieholic. (His words).


Judging from this empty cake dish, he may be right . . .
but - the kids, their friends, and hubby did help me eat them all up. . .

My near brush with the freakish Marilyn Manson . . . :~O

. . . and yes, I am talking about that scary, devil-worshipping hard rocker. Yes, the one with all the scary black eyeliner -

***

This afternoon my daughter Rachel and I went to Spokane to check out a few all-age venues that she has been or may be asked to play at, or others where she can go to see some shows. (She is a pretty darn good singer-songwriter, if I do say so myself). But since she is just starting out, the places she's invited to are, well, usually small and dive-y. We did see a couple that were do-able. These particular places host shows for underage singers, meaning there's no alcohol, and since there is a no-smoking in public law in Washington State, there's no smoke-y choke-y smells to deal with, either.

***

So, the last place that we looked at in Spokane, I spotted a parking place right smack in front of the building, right behind a big touring bus that had a trailer hooked behind it. There were parking meters there that had orange covers on them, which I took to mean that I could Park Free there!

***

Well, apparently that was not the case. One of several youngish men approached me and said that I could NOT park there. Well, I was already out of the car, and so I was NOT intimidated. There was nothing really official about him: no uniform, badge, or gun, OK, so no big deal. I said "I just need to run in there really quick. It'll be only a few minutes." He said, no, you can't park there, because they may need to get into the trailer for their equipment". Being used to months and months of road construction on the highway that runs from my house into town, I KNOW what "equipment" looks like, and I didn't see any signs of any of it. So I just didn't take the guy seriously, and told him, "look, it's only going to take me a minute, and we will be right back". He relented and said "OK you have TWO minutes". I thanked him, and went hurried on into the building.

***

Right then, my hubby called me on my cell phone, and I didn't hear what the other guys said to my friend The Bouncer. Rachel was laughing when I finished with my call, and said those other guys told him "Hey Dave, you're such a pushover". And another one said "Dude, you sure don't have any b**ls, do you?!"

***

So, laughing, we went into this courtyard/hallway area that led to a auditorium. But, dang it! The doors were locked, and all the other places we had been able to open the door and take a look inside. We pulled on both sets of doors, no luck. But inside, we could hear someone in there doing sound check. We took a look around to check what hours they were open so we could come back another time, and we noticed that there were various artists scheduled to sing there, like David Cook, Colbie Caillat, and for tonight, MARILYN MANSON!

***

Apparently, the dudes standing guard outside were his Road Crew, and the dude inside the auditorium doing sound check was the very dark and scary MM!

***

I am SO glad we were there in broad daylight! I would have been super scared if this had happened when it was dark. I usually don't go downtown without my hubby at night . .

***

(of course, Rachel was very excited to think she came "This Close" to meeting someone famous. And at her age, meeting ANYone famous is cause for excitement. Even if they may as well be the literal brother of Satan)

***

(But to tell the truth I Would have gotten pretty worked up if I had been able to meet David Cook or Colbie Caillat!!!)

What about you? Has anyone had a brush with fame they want to share?

Or a moment that you kinda bullied your way into somewhere that you wanted to be?

Leave a comment about it, or maybe you could do a post about it ?