School, Schedules and Smiles

I have to join the ranks of the back to school moms that get butterflies.  Yes I know, I only have Megan left and yes, she is now in High School.  But the night before school I get the jittery stomach and begin to worry about the first day of school.  Poor Megan to have to deal with me and my anxieties although I try to hide it.  I remember being one of those kids that had to be tourn out of moms arms.  Maybe this left me emotionally scarred.  I even had to have a school counselor come and pick me up for school a few times until I decided I just would not do that anymore!!  The great part about school starting is everything gets back to somewhat of a normal schedule.  The laxidazical days of summer are gone.  Megan can no longer sleep the day away or play all day with her friends, eat continuously, require non ending sums of money for endlessly entertaining herself.  The rigourious days of school are upon us.  I guess that means that I have to buckle down also and get the lunches packed and the wash done and dinners on the table...there will be schedules to keep.  YIKES!!  I had to smile as I dropped Megan off the first day.  We had to time our arrival just perfectly.   She could not just wait outside for her friend all by herself...that would make her a nerd.  So we sondered past the school and had to drive up the street a ways and flip a "U" turn until we saw her friend.  Then she was out like a shot with the power of friends to escourt her into the first day of HIGH SCHOOL!!  I remember so well those school days.  Megan has always been a great student and will have a blast this year being a cheerleader.  It is always nice to get the first day over with and settle in for the next 10 months of school.  Don't Worry...Be Happy!! :)

Lake Powell Bliss

We love Lake Powell! How things have changed....I no longer fight for my turn to ski but enjoy watching the kids have fun. Water skiing seems to be a thing of the past. Most of our time is spent wakeboarding, surfing, wake skating, tubing and riding the wave runners. So many fun things to do. The little grandboys are now tryng their hand at water skiing. Nicole and Nate keep us going in style....they serve up pina coladas and strawberry daquiri's each day to keep us cool. At night Nate sets us up with a big screen movie under the stars....Lake Powell style. We tuck the kids in, gather the treats and enjoy the show!! Does it get any better than that? Remember going up the canyons with mom and dad until we were literally walking up it with our hands guiding the boat on the rocks? Mom always loved Labrinth Canyon. This is still one of our favorite things to do. Does anyone remember Dad always saying "SHARK" while we were swimming in the deep water? I still have the panic feeling of someone letting a shark go in the waters of Lake Powell and it zeroing in on me. I still don't like being in the water all alone...especially the really deep water all by myself....I would be helplessly alone and vulnerable. I remember Dad saying SHARK and I would swim as fast and as hard as I could to get to him and wrap my entire body around him bringing my toes up so they would not get nibbled on by the fish. I knocked dad's expensive perscription sunglasses off him and watched as they sunk, unreachable, into the deep dark water!! Boy did I ever get in trouble! What do you remember about our early childhood Lake Powell trips? Lake Powell a little piece of heaven!

The Big 30

Nicole just turned 30!!  Am I old enough to have a daughter that age?  Scary....not for her but for me.  Nicole was a textbook child never giving us an ounce of worry.  I feel so lucky to be her mom! As a little girl Nicole was very responsible and loved to take care of her sisters.  It is now so rewarding to see her with her own family and raising 3 little boys.  She has her hands full and is the perfect mother for boys; teaching them to be obedient. (although we hope to someday have a girl in the mix) I have to smile sometimes when the boys are naughty…..to me it is darling but Nicole doesn’t let them get away with much. I admire the way she never raises her voice at the boys but patiently helps them understand what she expects from them.   Nicole is kind and thoughtful of others, always willing to help.  I can’t count the times she has come to my rescue.  She has a big heart and  loves to serve others.  Being the oldest child in the family she is a great example for her sisters and also for me.   You always hope your girls will be good moms, Nicole has this down pat...she is awesome!!  Happy Birthday...I love you!!

 

Material Girls

Calling all quilters....We will be having another 

Sister Sew In starting on October 8-11.  Debbie will be coming into town and we will choose a pattern to sew together.  All sisters are invited to come(sorry no kids). This is always so much fun!  We will be sewing at my house., eating, watching good movies and creating another fun keepsake!  This is a picture of the quilt we made last time......Flutterby, another cute quilt to put in the cupboard.  We have done a total of 5 quilts.  These quilts will be fun to hand down to our kids. Let me know if you can come!!

 "We love quilting and have plenty of material witnessess"

Come join the fun!!

Safely Gathered In....

I ran into this post on my friends blog...safely gathered in.... and this was just what I needed to get me going.  I always have food storage in the back of my mind.....guess that is the problem it is in the back!  Who would not love to have your family "safely gathered in"  during a disaster and have everything you need right on hand.   We have all listened to the council given "....(President Gordon B Hinckley) The best storehouse is the family storeroom.  In words of revelation the Lord has said, "Organize yourselves: prepare every needful thing." (D&C 109:8).  Our people for three-quarters of a century have  been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come..... I must admit I am a little unsettled and frightened with all the disasters and quakes going on everywhere....it soon will be our turn, YIKES!!  I have fallen short and I am a little behind. This is a great site to help get motivated and reorganize your storage on a timely schedule.  There are a lot of good recipies given that use the beans, wheat etc. that we all have and don't really know how to use...at least I am a little unsure of.  I don't have an emergency car kit, this had lots of great advice on this subject.  Anyway, take a peek at this site and let me know what you think.  I am committed to reorganize and be prepared.  Just add it to your link and share it with others.

"If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30)

Canoeing -Take Two

Yep...we had to do it again! Canoeing at Washington Lake.....this time we took the whole family with us and had a great time.  We went up Friday night so we could have the complete camping experience.  Cooked dinner by the fire, roasted marshmellows, played games(at Sara's request) keeping the whole campground up till the wee hours, and slept in tents.  Here we have a beautiful cabin in Kamas 20 minutes away and we chose to camp! Crazy I know...but there is just something about roughing it that's fun.   The little boys could hardly wait to get their poles in the water.  They both had gotten new fishing poles for their birthdays and were anxious to put them to good use.  I think even the big boys were excited! Winston woke up before the sun and fished with Mark. ...catching 22 fish before most of us were even awake. Nate carefully taught the little boys to hold still in the canoe so they would not tip Sam over in the water. They were perfect fishermen! Jake caught on quick and was pulling in the fish announcing he had a monster!  Sam cooperated and layed up in the bowe of the boat and slept the whole time...he is always so good...his mom has trained him well.  Early Saturday morning Josh asked me,"Grandma are you going down to the fishing tank with us?"  I had to laugh.....anyway we had a blast!  Summer is coming to a quick end not many weekends left to play!!