Mother's Day

I have a great mother. My husband has a great mother. We are blessed beyond measure. And this day is always special because of these monkeys.

I am far from perfect and as a mother, I still have many things to learn. But there is joy in the journey.

Back in Business

School is just weeks away from closure. We are in a mad dash to the finish with projects, plays, concerts, reports, fieldtrips, and the like. How does one mom keep up? Not to mention the month of posts that I am behind on.

Part of me thought that I could coast until summer and I would catch up then, but inside my head there was hysterical laughter (the creepy kind) because we don't slow down during the summer and posts would pile up like laundry does around here.

There is no rest for the weary. Better just to jump in with both feet. So today is a random post. I plan to mark off at least five items on my memory list. Let's start with Women's Conference.

It is officially part of General Conference now. It is listed as the first session. It is a week earlier, but it is such a wonderful experience to go with my girls. We have still been going with the Keen's and that means dessert after. And if we have Esther, that usually means Menchie's. What a lovely group of gals. Especially you Robyn. Thank you for that face.

Speaking of Conference, we still have the wall. Ivory was steadily working her way through all the talks. I was very impressed. She earned her book from reading all the apostle talks, but she didn't stop there. I told her that if she read them all, I would take her out for dinner. When Robyn heard this she kicked it into high gear. It was close to the deadline, but she made it just in time. Here is our wall.

Two girls finished them all and we had an excellent dinner together. (Technically, I wasn't invited, since I didn't finish every talk...but someone has to drive.)

In the past, June has been our devoted Wall winner, but I believe with the addition of Personal Progress and her never ending homework, she just didn't have the time. But she did win an award of a different sort. In March, the Personal Progress leader came up with March Madness. (Well, I guess she didn't come up with that, but she adapted it to Personal Progress.) You could earn points in many different ways. June loves a competition. She threw herself into reading the Book of Mormon and read over a third of it by the end of the month, earning herself one of the trophies for March Madness.

June also got a haircut, but I forgot to take before and after shots. She did get quite a lot chopped off, but she still wears it in a ponytail most of the time, so it is hard to tell in pictures.

As for competition, I believe that all the girls have a streak or two of competitiveness in them. Take Crossy Road for instance. A simple video game, but it gets intense at our house. I can't even compete anymore. The score on the TV is too high. (I still hold the record on my phone...barely.) I believe Robyn is the current record holder. I know this because I found this picture on my phone. (It is important to document success...even trivial success.)

All of us made it to the dentist in the past two months. Luckily, 6 out of 7 of us had no cavities. That is pretty amazing. Only one little girl had a crooked smile this month. And it really isn't her fault. The dentist says that tooth is weaker than the others and will be more prone to cavities and eventually a crown someday. He says it won't be until she is an adult. Most likely, I can find some man to take her off my hands by then and pick up her dental bill. (Too bad braces won't wait until then.)

That's it for today. It is a start. Plenty more where that came from.

Goodbye Washington, Hello Idaho

Our time in Washington was great, but as all vacations, it went quickly. All too soon, we were packing our stuff and saying our goodbyes. But first, let's look at some of the other things we did.

Tyler, as you know, was working while on break. Sometimes he would take a phone call and go walk about. He ran across this deer on his travels. Oh deer. Coming through.

The girls, when not on some previously planned expedition, spent almost all their time down in Miranda's lair room. She introduced them to Pokemon. They haven't had much exposure to Pokemon...maybe because they are all girls? Or because Tyler doesn't really like Anime? But for whatever reason, they have been missing the joys of Bulbasaur, Charizard, and the favorite Pikachu. Tyler calculated when we got home and said, "16 HOURS!! They watched 16 HOURS of Pokemon!!" Who cares. It was a vacation. Speaking of Pikachu. How many can you spot in this picture?

When they weren't watching Pokemon, they would vie for time on Grandma's tablet or computer. Garden Rescue is still a favorite.

You would think that Grandma would be short on company since she was up in her room. Don't you worry. She found the perfect lure, and we took shifts coming up to her room to sit and bask in her creativity. (Let's backtrack a little.) Grandma had surgery a couple weeks before we came to visit. (For the record, her surgery went well--thank goodness.) Shortly before her surgery, Grandma decided to start writing another story. Do you remember when she was writing the Fairy stories for the kids? Well this story is completely different, and possibly even more riveting. It's about a mermaid. She sent me a chapter or two before the surgery and I had let Robyn read one on a day her mouth was particularly sore. Then we would read them together as they arrived.

By the time we got to Washington, I think we were up to chapter six or eight. The other girls were lagging behind, but by the end of the trip, we were all caught up. Not at the same time, mind you. We came in shifts and Grandma probably had to reread chapters multiple times. (She didn't seem to mind.) But you could often find people piled on her bed listening to tales of Ellie and Azura. (By the way, the Fairy stories might be a book soon. Can't wait. I promise to put pictures on here.)

With all the excitement going on, you would think that you would never see this face...

But alas, it can't all be fun and games. Sometimes there is waiting. Dr. Seuss knows all about that.

I spent my vacation being sick. Not terribly sick, but a runny nose and a general feeling of yuckiness. Tyler would tuck me in at night and put Moxy on the bed to snuggle with me. I took to calling her 'Therapy Dog' and I think it helped with our overall relationship.

When Tyler is in town, my parents will often give him an odd job or two. This time, he found his job. A box in the kitchen had been there unopened for years. (I'm not kidding...years.) He figured it was time to extract the object. And so he assembled one record player for the Dargan's. It is pretty cool, and trust me, my parents have plenty of records to play on that thing.

We don't have pictures, but the huge tub was well loved and used often while we were there. I am amazed that my parents' awesome jetted tub is so infrequently used. I guess you are a bath person, or you aren't.

One of my favorite things from the trip was going to see my Dad teach. He was called as an institute instructor some time ago. He sends me all his lessons, but I admit that I don't have time to read them all. Plus, it is not the same as listening to a lecture. In the very recent past, he was also hired as a BYU institute instructor. People can come to his class (a second one) and get religion credit. I'm not sure how that all works, but it is pretty cool. Because of that, he teaches twice a week and it was great to go and listen to both his lessons. He really is a spiritual giant. I am always very impressed by his knowledge base, but more importantly, his desire to learn more and seek out truth. Love you Dad.

Mom got me an early Mother's Day gift, which seems odd because I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the other way around. She has been collecting nativities and had one specially made with mermaids. (Possibly her inspiration for the story.) Then she saw something that she wanted to get for me. It is a lamp with a mother mermaid holding up her baby mermaid. She had it specially made with dark hair for the mother and light hair for the baby, much like me and my Pearly P. I love it. It is truly gorgeous.

When we unwrapped the lamp, it was sufficiently secured with three thousand pounds of bubble wrap, or something close to that. It took us half an hour to find the treasure inside. But the girls were more than happy to take care of some of the popping of said wrap. All my girls are still delighted to burst my bubble.

I think that about covers our time in Washington. It was great as always. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome. Early Saturday morning we loaded up our vehicle, gave Robyn a bag with strict instructions to look out the window and away we went.

Two hours later, June threw up.

Seriously.

She was in the back, and I think she choked on some water and that was all it took. She did not make it out of the car, sadly, but she managed to puke all over the back of the car...just inches from a trash bag. Nevertheless, we made the best of our situation...all the while cursing whatever car sickness genes we have obviously passed on.

Then it was a blast from my past. Growing up, Miranda had car sickness and that meant that she had to sit in front whenever possible. That means I was always in the back. I was more than happy to grow up and drive the car so I was guaranteed a seat in the front. Fast forward to a highway just outside Kennewick. We know Robyn needs to be towards the front. June likewise. And Daisy is borderline queasy. So you-know-who is relegated to the back...in the puke seat no less. It was a great drive. In the back I obstinately broke the 'NO READING' rule because I was bored and guess what?? I don't get car sick.

We passed the time with a car packed to the hilt with plastic bags and luckily, no need to use them. And we naturally went to look for strange things.

First we found an old Steam Plant that had been renovated to now house a restaurant and other retail stores. There wasn't much to do since we got there early in the day, but it was still fun to see the inside which had plenty of the old structure remaining.

Also things like these signs. (The picture is sideways.)

And other pipe/gauge looking things.

My favorite was this metal spider web. Attention to detail folks.

In the same city, we saw this awesome Radio Flyer slide. I didn't see any close parking, so the party pooper mom took a picture from the car and we drove on. (This is possibly when I was being grumpy in the back seat.)

I did let Tyler drive us to a ghost town that wasn't a ghost town at all. I think it was actually a fort of some kind, but it did give us a chance to stretch our legs.

And find this sign. (I thought it said Shatluck at first. Which seems just about right.)

For the past few months, my kids have been playing the Slugbug game with a vengeance. Tyler was so sick of it that he banned it before the trip because he didn't want to listen to "Slugbug blue," etc. the whole trip. So, when I saw an interesting Slugbug, I didn't even open my mouth, but June couldn't help herself. Then again, it isn't every day that you see a Slugbug Nemo.

Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

We did make one more stop by R.C. Worst. This is the company that bought Barry's (Tyler's Dad) pump business. They weren't open, but we had to stop by anyway.

You would think with so many stops, it would take us forever to get anywhere. You would be right. We were only traveling as far as Idaho, but by dinnertime we had only gotten to Butte, MT. After eating, we snuggled the kids in and drove the long last stretch....through a blizzard.

Thank you Montana for saving us some exciting weather. I was back in the driver's seat since I'd seen enough of the back of the car. But I am not the one who usually drives the crazy storms. This one was so bad, we could hardly see the lines on the sides of the highway. We tried to get a cool picture as we went into hyperdrive, but they never quite turn out.

Needless to say, we made it safely to our destination. It was delightful to sleep in and attend church with family the next day. Moxy seemed to enjoy catching up with her canine companions.

Everyone was able to love on Grandpa again. Ivory made a design for him. Is that a GA in the middle? Does it stand for Grandpa? Is his favorite number five? We may never know. But there is no doubt that he is loved.

All in all, I would say it was a very successful Spring Break. We spent it with family and that is what matters.

Sound Advice

The kids love visiting the Sound when we go to Washington. They don't have a lot of access to beaches in Utah, so they will explore any that come within their reach, even a rocky one. I can't quite remember where I was during the Sound exploration, but both Daisy and I are MIA. (Tyler was on the job.)

They went on a lovely day. The weather was fantastic.

Pearl stepped out of her comfort zone and held a baby hermit crab in her hand. She still prefers the small crustaceans.

The older girls are crab-catching pros by now. (They are braver than I am.)

Tyler tried teaching them something new - skipping rocks. June took a stab at it. Robyn too.

Pearl was content to look cute and pose on the rocks.

It is always fun to climb over the water run-off area. It feels like a small waterfall.

The girls took a break to squish some coins. Luckily, Tyler was there to remind them all about safety. Place your coins with no trains in sight.

Next, stay clear of the track. And that does not mean standing on another train track. All the kids are safe behind a railing here.

Watch to see where the coins go.

Once the train is safely away (and no more are coming) you may retrieve your coins. Nicely done.

Now climb a really high pile on. (Don't worry, that is not required in coin smashing. That is just Ivory.)

Look! We found a Pearl by the sea. (Too cheesy?)

Ivory decided to capture another crab.

June worked on her toss.

Oh no...the tide is coming in!

I think they were exploring under the pier this time around and it is possible to get stranded by the rising tide. Luckily, after avoiding many hazards and tackling a gigantic jellyfish, they made it back to shore. (The story may be slightly embellished by the author. Who knows...it could have happened.)

Finally, Tyler taught the kids the methods of the Karate Kid and figured there was nothing left to teach them.

Because Daisy and I missed all the adventuring (and the imaginary jellyfish) we ventured back another day (with Aunt Miranda). But the weather was not as kind, or I should say, it was more typical. We left quickly when it started to drizzle and everyone was chilled.

Thank you Washington for your rocky beaches. I'd also like to thank my photographer for taking pictures in my absence. And I'd like to thank all the patient crabs who allow my children to catch them.