Old Friend

I saw one of my best friends from high school today. She lives in Maryland, and I haven't seen her for TEN years. (Geography has not been kind to us!)

Shanna is one of my oldest friends. We became friends when her family moved to New York - well over twenty-five years now. She holds my high school secrets, and her parents were like my own.

Shanna and I both worked at Wegmans and were both exchange students (I went to Norway, she went to Sweden.) She was there for my first, and second, loves - and I returned the favor. We took art classes together in high school, and skipped those same art class together. We were bunk mates at Youth Conference and on Temple Trips.

Shanna was a year behind me in school, but the day I graduated from High School - she was there to cheer me on:

I was Shanna's bride's maid in April 1994:

Less than two weeks later, at the same temple, we switched places. (OK, I realize now that, despite the popularity of floral dresses in the 1990s, I should have opted for a solid color, like Shanna did.)

She visited me while I was at BYU. Even after we were both married I was able to visit her a couple times in Maryland. This picture was taken in August 1997, Shanna was pregnant with her second child. She now has three girls, I have three boys.

So today we sat in a park at talked. We chatted about our parents and siblings, our kids, our communities, our travels. We talked about what was hard, what was funny and what worried us for the future. We didn't talk too much about old times, but why would we? We just picked up right where we were. What an amazing gift. Love that girl!

Nine

Big Boy #2 turned nine yesterday and after spending the day at Cub Scout Day Camp, we let him pick a restaurant to celebrate. With eight hours outside in 90' heat, BB#2 picked Red Robbin, opting for both a shake AND a sundae! (This is were I insert that Diamond wins Husband/Father of the Year for taking a day off work to take BB#2 to camp, so I didn't have to. Did I mention the 90' heat, or the million sweaty little boys, or the porta-potties? Ugh!!!)

For his present, we decided to give him a "shopping spree" - a pile of one-dollar bills and an evening with mom to spend it all. He was just jazzed to play with the cash!

It's actually a bit of a tough thing: to have money burning in your pocket, figuring out what is of highest priority, making sure not to go over your budget, etc. But I think he was pretty happy with the results.

So here's BB#2 at age NINE:
-Likes: social studies, watching and playing sports, "adventures", treats, playing games, cuddling with mom, wii, playing ball with dad, staying in hotels, puzzles, sports cards
-Dislikes: fire coral, going to bed, not being able to do everything BB#1 can do, sleeping in his room, chores, shopping for household things
-Good at: sports, reading, making people laugh, writing, archery (at Cub Camp)

I love you tons bud. I'm so glad you are part of our family!

Aspen Adventure

Diamond had some business in Aspen, and since the boys were out of school we decided to all come along.

One of the highlights was playing in these fountains in the pedestrian mall.

The boys were trying to run over the fountains without getting wet.

Oops! Just missed!

They were having such a great time that they started to draw a bit of an audience, with one guy even offering money to them if they could make it lengthwise without getting wet.

While the weather was pretty much cold and rainy while we were there, it was still a welcomed break from regular life.

The boys enjoyed exploring this little ghost town we spotted off the side of the road and I got a kick out of listening to BB#1 tell us all about Colorado history.

Bucket List

One of the things on my bucket list is to visit every state in the US. Here's what I've got so far:

It helps to grow up one side of the nation and then settle on the other side. Plus all those road trips between New York and Utah covered a lot of states. My parents always drove new routes so we could see more of the nation. I've been crossing off states since I was a little kid. (One of reasons I opted to travel to New Orleans for Diamond's 40th was because I hadn't been to Louisiana yet.)

I have six states left: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Alaska. Until last week I thought I had been to Oklahoma. I can't explain the degree to which it annoys me that I have one more state than I had originally figured.

Of course this states thing has become a bit of a competition. My sister only has seven left. Growing up together, she was able to count many of the same states as me. But now she is planning a road trip through the deep south - which will allow her to pull ahead. GRRRR!

Is it crazy that I'm considering a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a quick drive through the Oklahoma panhandle?

No Longer a Queen

After sixteen years of marriage, we finally traded in the Queen.

And upgraded to a King sized bed.

Dave is wondering why we need so many pillows - 14 in all. What a boy! I think they look great.

While it hasn't been a super dramatic change, I have noticed a few things:

1- Getting into this bed is a bit like climbing a small mountain. Do you see how HIGH this thing is - especially compared to our old bed? The boys literally take a running start.
2- It takes a long time to make a bed that has 14 pillows on it.
3- When the boys and I are reading in my bed at nighttime, we actually fit.
4-Handing down our old queen to BB#2 has not stopped him from coming into our room at around 1am every night. And despite the bigger bed, he continues to occupy the floor.
5- I've really enjoyed spreading out in my sleep, but Diamond continues to occupy the same small space on his side of the bed. He has no more sleeping room than before, while I have a managed to commandeer 2/3 of the bed.

I have a friend who told me she wouldn't want a King - she likes sleeping closer to her husband. How sweet. Me? I like my two-thirds of the bed.

Love ya babe!

Charmed, I'm Sure

Friday is Big Boy #1's last day of elementary school.

He watched the puberty video at school Wednesday.

And I can't quite shake the feeling the days of easy family life, and my charmed existence may very well be numbered.

After being horrified that the boys and girls were made to sit together during the Talk (probably the only way to make that little chat MORE awkward - icky!) Big Boy #1 asked me what the narrator meant when he stated that throughout puberty the kids might feel "mean" and "moody." Although I have historically looked forward to having teenagers in my home, I'm starting to realize that I'm not going to be the "cool" teacher that "gets" the kids. I'm going to be the mom - the one they can't stand, who doesn't understand, locked in battles of will. I am dreading the stress and strain that, even in the best of situations, characterizes what will be happening in my home over the next several years.

I may sometimes complain, but life is really quite good right now.

We're out of the needy and exhausting baby stage. Even the Caboose can manage all the basics. If he's hungry, he can get himself a snack and if he gets bored, he is pretty great about entertaining himself. Meanwhile, the big boys are virtually self-sufficient. I truly loved my babies, but I also really, really enjoy the ease and freedom of having kids that are a bit older.

It feels like we're between two worlds. We are past the babies, and not quite into the teens; children. What a wonderful existence. I just wonder how much longer we have...