. . . at the crossroads . . .

2011 Merry Christmas Letter

2011-12-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's time for our annual Christmas letter. For some reason this year I was feeling a bit Grinchy about doing it, but after eating some holiday cookies and toffee and playing carols in the background, my heart grew 3 sizes bigger and I got it done. I still mail it out to close friends and immediate family, but for the rest of you who are interested enough to stop by on the blog, here it is!

(Imagine cute holiday stationary)

'Twas the close of the year and all through the house,
All the creatures were stirring (except not a mouse).
The tree was put up by the window with care
In hopes that from college, KRISTI soon would be there.
The boys wished for more time to nestle in their beds,
While visions of vacation danced in their heads.
And mama in her apron and I in my cap,
Had little time to dream about a long winter’s nap.

When from the home office there arose such a clatter,
I ran in from the kitchen to see what was the matter.
Away to the computer I flew like a flash,
Tripped over the dog, and arrived with a crash.
The light from the window shone in on the screen,
Making a glare so it was hard to be seen!
Then what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a weekly email from our missionary dear.

I gathered the family and sat right down,
To read BRENNAN’s (20) report from his favorite Kentucky town.
He is busy and happy, just all full of smiles,
Although his shoes are worn out from hard work and miles.
A backpack of scriptures he has flung on his back;
They show us the way to stay on the right track.
He passed his year mark so we’re counting down,
Which does nothing except make Elder Shaffer frown.

Now that the oldest kids have started to roam,
Thank heavens we still have two boys at home.
AUSTIN (15) loves sports and has a great GPA.
He is funny and charming in most every way.
JV football had an undefeated season!
And you can bet Number 8 was part of the reason.
Now back to basketball so no time to pout,
And by early next year he’ll be an Eagle Scout.

DALLIN (12) of course has his own tale to tell;
He’s a Tigersharks swimmer and a basketball player as well.
He plays trumpet in the school band and gets all A’s;
These are the things that make up his days.
His big sis’ (18) enjoyed her first semester in college,
Meeting great people and of course gaining knowledge.
She’s independent now, but we know that it’s true –
When she comes home she’ll bring laundry to do!

And mama in her apron just goes with the flow,
Feeding and driving her boys-on-the-go.
Dad with his briefcase carries two cell phones now,
For he is managing two careers, wow!
He still designs roadways and houses and more,
But 9 to 5 finds him behind a different door
In the school district office or out on a site,
Managing their projects – it’s quite a delight.

As we roll out the old year and ring in the new,
We wish nothing but health and happiness for you.
On the eve of a new year we look forward with hope,
Knowing good or bad we’ll be able to cope
Through the gospel of our Savior, his peace and his love –
We know we can ask for help from above.
So we want to exclaim as we wave out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

We spent Thanksgiving in Utah, meeting Kristi there and enjoying a trip to Temple Square!

That's Elder Shaffer and his companion Elder Quick, looking sharp!

And this is from the Christmas card he sent to us, as "2 of the 52,000 Stripling Missionaries". Yikes.

On that note, we wish you a safe holiday season and a very Merry Christmas! May you spend it with those you love!!

falling for fall

2011-10-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have fallen for fall. I fall for fall every year. I love everything about it. The new school year, chilly mornings, replacing zucchini bread with pumpkin bread, watching BYU football on TV, falling leaves, raking leaves, eating soup, wearing slippers, drinking hot chocolate. Really, what's not to like??

Not only do we like watching BYU football, we are also huge Carson High School fans. Austin's JV team is undefeated this year, and with only two games to go, they might just go all the way! Here are some pictures of our Awesome Austin #8:

Now watch this series as he runs, breaks through a bunch of defenders, and gets into the endzone. TD!!

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. This next one is after he caught a long pass in the endzone in a different game:

And this is a shot from the game against their biggest rivals (whom they beat 48-0):

And here he is on the other side of the ball:

We have had so much fun watching him and his teammates play. Football is exhausting and takes up a LOT of time, but Austin has had a great season and felt a wonderful team camraderie with the other boys.

Here's a picture we sent to Brennan, with Austin and Keith wearing shirts that Brennan had sent them from Kentucky:

You may ask why we send him pictures that look like that, and it's because Brennan sends us pictures that look like this:

Some things apparently never change!

Brennan took one step out of his mission recently so he could say he'd been across the border. Here he is in Tennessee!

Elder Shaffer is continuing to have some amazing experiences in KY, and is loving his mission more than anything else in his life. He did say recently however, that after having guys for roommates for a year now, the idea of marriage is starting to be appealing in a whole new way! Oh my, I can't even wrap my mind around that yet.

Kristi is doing great at school. She has made lots of friends and is staying very busy between her classes and her social life. So again, some things apparently never change. Here's a glimpse or two:

Her dorm:

Some friends:

She went to Salt Lake for conference weekend, and attended the BYU game. Look who she ran into there!

And speaking of running into, here she is in Salt Lake for all-you-can-eat pancake night at Denny's, and she saw some of the Kid History guys in line in front of her. So my shy, demure daughter just had to go make friends.

(if you are unfamiliar with the Kid History videos on YouTube, you just might want to check them out.)

Although there is no photographic evidence of this, Kristi has done her fair share of dating since she left home. She protests a little when I say that, but that's because this generation doesn't really know what dating is. When you go places with a boy, or with an even number of boys and girls, and the boy pays for a meal or for the entertainment, that's a date. She's not dating anyone exclusively, but it's fair to say she's dating. And fair to say she's enjoying it.

I should throw a couple of pictures of Dallin in here too, but I have no pictures of the things he spends most of his time doing - school, trumpet, scouts, and swimming with the community swim team. Note to self: quit ignoring your youngest child. Thank heavens he's a good sport.

A good quote from Dallin the other day as he was pondering the difference between happiness and joy. He said, "Happiness would be going to Disneyland. Joy would be when Kristi comes home from college." Aw . . . sweet.

That's it for now. Gotta start thinking about dinner -- the missionaries are coming over. I'm actually serving leftovers from the JV football team dinner we had a couple of weeks ago. We had a huge taco bar and the leftover meat has been in the freezer ever since. I still have lots of shells, nacho sauce and chips too, so we just won't tell them it's the second time around. ; )

it is what it is

2011-09-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read my last post and who gave sympathetic comments on this blog or on my email might want to stop reading this post immediately. Stopping now means you can stay in the warm, fuzzy haze of the bittersweet emotions you felt by reading that post. If you read on, you will join me in the startling jolt of my new reality. Which isn’t warm or fuzzy. Simply summarized, I miss Kristi more than she misses me. Here is the sum total of our relationship since the evening we left her and her new life in Rexburg:

Unless otherwise stated, these are texting conversations.

Thursday, Sept. 8th (about a half an hour after we left her teary face):

Me: “I miss you already. Have a fun night and know that we love and cherish you, and that we will be cheering you on from back home. Great times await at BYUI!!! Just keep being your beautiful sweet self and you will be just fine.”

K: “Okay! I’m already feeling good!”

Me: “I’m glad. I think I am on the feel-good-later plan, haha. But I feel really good about your surroundings and I know you will be happy as a college girl! I won’t bug you anymore now, but maybe later!”

3 hours later: (they had had I-Group activities in the stadium all evening)

Me: We are almost at Grandma’s so just tell me quick how the night was. Fun? Lame? Are you ready to get some sleep?”

K: “Fun. There are four boys in the dorm with me. No joke. One of them is my i-team leader. Cute.”

Me: “Wow, perhaps all bets on your accelerated social life are ON.  So what activities were there tonight and how did 4 boys end up at your place? What about the curfew?”

K: no response.

Friday, Sept. 9th mid-morning:

K: “Do you remember unpacking my camera? There are 7000 kids in our freshman class!”

Me: “I don’t remember your camera. 7000, seriously? How was your first night on your bunk bed? And I’m still needing a few more details about how those boys ended up in your room. ”

K: no response.

Later same day:

Me: “Your camera is in the seat pocket of the Suburban and your floral skirt was in the dryer at Grandma’s. I guess I will be sending a package soon! Are you having a happy day? Did you go to all your orientation activities?”

K: Nothing for a few hours, but then: “Yes, happy day!! I really like it. I went to most of the stuff. This afternoon I hung out with Shannon, Patrick, Josh (people from Carson), and their roommate Gabe. Good time. I laughed a lot. Send me a package!”

Me: “I am glad to hear you had a good day! Seen your roommates much? Happy to hear you are laughing!”

K: no response.

Saturday, Sept. 10th:

K: “Where did you put the gum I got?”

Me: In the pantry with your other food I think.”

K: no response.

Several hours and a few attempted phone calls later:

Me: It’s weird not having talked to you on the phone since we left. How about tomorrow?”

K: no response.

Later that night before bed:

Me: “Hey! I need an update! I am starving for information!”

K: no response.

Glad to know she had the gum.

Sunday we talked on the phone, but only after several attempts (from me) to set up a time that would work for her. We finally agreed on 4:30, but when I called, she didn’t pick up her phone. She sent a text a minute later saying she was in the middle of dinner and would call back in a few minutes. She did, and we had a good talk for about 15 minutes (maybe) but then she had to go. Things to do, people to meet, classes to find in preparation for the first day of school the next day.

By this time, Kristi was probably wishing she had gone on a mission instead of off to school so that her mom would quit bugging her. But by this time, I was feeling sorry for myself that already Kristi didn’t need me for anything. Except the gum and the camera.

Classes began on the 12th, and since then our communication has been more of the same, or maybe even less of the same. She doesn’t answer phone calls. If she answers texts, it’s usually much later, and she almost always exits the ‘conversation’ without saying goodbye. I hate being left hanging there in cyberspace all alone.

I have two close friends who also sent their daughters off to college. One was skyping her daughter DAILY and having several conversations in between. The other was skyping occasionally and having daily conversations. Hm.

Thursday the 15th began happily for me; a spontaneous text from Kristi after her first once-a-week 7 a.m. class:

K: Whoa. So sleepy. I am in the library doing homework, and the way the soft morning light is streaming in the window and gently caressing the side of my face urges me to close my eyes. Also, I have a crush on a boy in my Comm100 class. We got lost together this morning and were late. . .”

Me: “Oh my goodness, that was the best way to begin my day!”

K: nothing for the rest of the day.

In fact I didn’t hear from her again (and yes, I tried) until Saturday night when she apologized for being so busy, and said she would call Sunday after church. She ended that text with “I love you Mommy!” Mmm-hmmm. Sure you do.

It is becoming crystal clear to me that Kristi is moving on and I am just standing here. Who gave her permission to leave me in the dust so fast??? I am pathetic. I have even sunk to the point of setting Facebook as my home page in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. Last night Austin (who misses her tons) finally tricked her into calling him by texting her to say he had done something that day at school that would have made her very proud. Curiosity got the best of her and she called him. After a few minutes she told him she had to go because she was going out on a date. Austin said something like, “Ooh, your first college date?” To which she replied that this was her FIFTH date. Excuse me????? I didn’t know there had been a first, second, third or fourth. I am the mother!! I am in the circle of trust!! Or at least I used to be. Now I just have boys and nightcrawlers.

nightcrawlers in my 'fridge

2011-09-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I voluntarily participated in loading many of Kristi's worldly possessions into our Suburban. I watched her say her final goodbyes, and then we drove away. Away from our house, her friends' houses, away from our neighborhood. Away from her brothers and the town she called home for 15 years. We did this on purpose. We meant to. And then we just drove and drove, and drove.

Her trip was one-way. Mine was round-trip. When I pulled back into our driveway a week later, the Suburban was almost empty. I grabbed my one suitcase and went inside. Back to my life. Except it didn't feel that way. My life may look much the same on the outside, but it feels altered forever now that my little girl has moved away. Yes, she'll be back now and then, but it will never be the same. When she was a cute and precocious toddler, her dad and I used to comment to each other about how we were just so excited to watch her grow up to see who she would become. It seemed like it would take forever (in a good way!). Well, after coming home, it's hit me like a ton of bricks that "watching her grow up" has been completed. . We can cross that off our list now. Sure, she's not done "becoming" yet, but we won't really be watching it now that her life isn't unfolding in front of us anymore.

I will admit that it's been awhile now since I feel like I've done any real parenting with Kristi. She's a smart, talented, independant spirit who hasn't really needed my help or guidance for what feels like a long time. I still tried to parent her from time to time, but mostly it was unnecessary and of little use. She makes good choices and does good things. And so I just felt like mostly we were friends. She had lots of other friends too, but every now and then I got to be the one she would laugh and talk and share secrets with. I hope that part of our relationship will continue. And I am so grateful for who she has become, and so happy that she has had such a good start to this new and important phase in her life. But I will forever cherish and miss my little girl. And I hope we told her and showed her enough times how much we love and adore her.

And why the title of this post? Well, as I was unpacking my little cooler from the trip home, I opened the refrigerator to put something away, and sitting front and center was a tub of nightcrawlers. I thought it an appropriate greeting to my new all-male environment, and it has become representative to me of this current phase of my life. Kristi would have shared my feelings about having the worms reside so close to the yogurt, but no one else here seems to care.

One battle Kristi and I fought over the years was the condition of her bedroom. She told me once that I cared too much about it, and she cared too little. And the former was what caused the latter. A few times over the years she has told me that I would miss her messy room when she was gone, and I adamantly insisted I would not. Guess who was right? Sniff!! Maybe if I close her door I can still imagine it having the "lived-in" look.

Love and enjoy your children! Missions and college may be great things, but they are hard on dear old Mom.

winding down summer

2011-08-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Big sigh.

Another summer has come and almost gone.

Goodbye backyard pool.

Goodbye summer visitors (in the backyard pool).

We loved the family reunion:

And the staying up late. And the sleeping in. And the barbecuing. And the trips to the lake. And we loved having Kristi home, sniff sniff. We leave for Rexburg in 3 weeks where she will begin a new and wonderful chapter in her life.

Austin and Dallin return to school on August 22nd. The alarm clocks will be set for seminary time. Dallin will be off to middle school and Austin will be playing football under the lights every week. I will not be returning to work at the elementary school, but will instead be handling the books, the billing, and the errand-running for Keith (as he tries to keep his consulting business going on the side while working full-time for the school district managing the construction projects financed by last year's school bond).

The end of summer also brings our wedding anniversary, which was yesterday! Keith and I went to see "The Help" (which was GREAT, go see it!), and then came home to a fancy and fabulous dinner prepared by Kristi, Kelly (Vaughn - here visiting!), Austin and Dallin. We had menus, which no doubt you can't read but were VERY clever and sweet: There was mood music playing in the background and fresh flowers in a cowboy boot (a memory from long ago that the kids know about). It was a wonderful way to commemorate our 23 years together. What started out looking like this:

Has turned into something more like this:

But we still think we look the same. (wink, wink)

I always love the hint of fall in the air, and the feeling of a new season, new school year, etc. But it's still hard to say goodbye to summer.

Another big sigh.

summertime and mission news

2011-07-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

We are having a great summer. The weather's been beautiful, we have been busy but not crazy. It's hard to believe July is half-over already!

Kristi was laid off of her job at the college day care but has been fortunate to pick up several odd jobs here and there (house sitting, pet care, child care-type stuff), and she has also been going into work with her dad helping him with lots of things he's gotten behind on while he's been wearing all the hats. She is SOO excited (and a little nervous) to begin college in a few weeks!

Austin was invited to play on the varsity summer basketball league, which meant some tournaments in the Sacramento area, but that's over and now he's giving his full attention to football practice (7-10:45 a.m. almost daily). He also has several lawn mowing clients, so he is making lots of money, building big muscles, and getting very blond and tan.

Dallin has been playing with friends, swimming in the backyard pool, and working on his first summer homework assignment, a 25-page packet for 6th grade advanced math. 25 pages, really?????? Austin also has summer assignments for math, history and english which he hasn't made much time for yet. I am really NOT a fan of summer assignments. And that would be an understatement.

Brennan was just transferred to a new area, into an area that hasn't had missionaries since '09, with a companion he had never met before. It's a small town (6,000 people) with a small branch as you will see in the letter I am including. Remember the story of the sons of Mosiah being sent to teach the Lamanite nation? Well, this is like Elders Shaffer and Christensen being sent to teach the Baptist nation. I think they have their work cut out for them. But gratefully he sounds excited and optimistic!

By the way, you will see that Brennan references a job that Keith got. We are feeling extremely blessed this week that Keith did take a job which for many reasons seems perfect for him. We definitely feel the Lord's hand in this, and know that even though it's been a stressful 2-3 years for us, the Lord has been mindful of our situation and has guided us to this position. He is hopeful that he can keep his consulting business alive on some level as well, but only time will tell how feasible that will be.

And now, here's today's email from my handsome missionary son (who turns twenty today!):

Shaffer Family and Friends!

Thank you all for all the birthday wishes! That really did make my day. I actually forgot it was my birthday this morning until a member in the Radcliff ward sent me a text saying happy birthday, we love you and miss you dearly. That felt good, but I did totally forget about what day it was. Thank you for the letter and the cookies, and the money; I really didn’t need anything but thank you anyways!

I'm so glad to hear Dad got the job. I'm so happy to hear that, I really, really am! I'm sure that will take a little bit of a burden off of your shoulders mom. So i'm very glad to hear that -- the Lord works in mysterious ways, so we will see what plans he has for dad in this new job.

Okay on to the good stuff. Monticello, Kentucky. Hmmm I really don't even know where to start. We are the most southern area in the mission, I've actually been to the Tennessee border so that was cool. The people here talk so different. I'm not kidding, I've never heard people talk like this before its unreal. It makes me laugh so so so much!!! Everybody down here seems pretty set in their ways, 98% of the community are baptists and pretty active ones at that. There are 63 churches here in the county and a lot of them are bigger than our community center in Carson. There are huge signs on almost every street and on the highway warning us about Christ’s second coming, and huge 10 Commandement billboards, and how we are all sinners and we need Jesus Christ. I'll take some pictures, its unreal. It’s a different world down here without a doubt, unlike anywhere I've ever been in my life. Let’s see, our apartment address is 45 Sycamore Dr. #11 Monticello KY 42633. Its a nice little condo that’s a lot bigger than my last apartment so that’s nice. No dishwasher though, so that stinks! But we do have a washer and dryer which I did not have before. It’s such a small community - everybody knows everybody here, and its just really different. It's cool though and I'm going to enjoy it a lot.

Okay check this out. So this Sunday we went to church and there are 8-10 active members that show up every week! That’s right - 8-10!!!!!!!!!!! I've never experienced anything like this before. We have one young women and that’s President Shoemake’s (Branch President) daughter. And no young men, not a one. Our Branch President is awesome, he's a truck driver with only 3 top teeth!! No joke! He's straight Kentucky, but he is such a great humble spiritual man I already love him a lot. The first counselor in the branch is brother Barton who is my favorite. He reminds me of dad a lot and i really like him. Those are 2 of the 4 priesthood holders in the branch. The other one is an 80 year old man who has polio so he cannot walk or move well, and the other is a 39 year old man, not married, who lives with his mom, and acts like he still lives at home. So this branch is unlike anything i've ever experienced! But i'm so excited to be here. This branch is awesome and takes care of us missionaries well! But the work here in the past has been non existent. So I'm just excited to work my hardest and baptize the heck out of Monticello! Its going to be extremely hard in the next upcoming weeks. But i know that there are people here ready and prepared, we just need to find them because the branch needs them so much! Dull months are for Dull missionaries, so we're not going to have any Dull months, only productive, energetic, exciting months here in Monticello! I feel very overwhelmed though, to be completly honest. Not because the area is new, but just the urgency in finding new people to help this branch. I feel like there is a lot weighing on our shoulders. I guess I've asked for this though, because i have not wanted my mission to get easy ever, and I don’t know if it will ever be easy here. So i'm very excited for the potential in this area, and that the Lord has trusted Elder Christensen and I to be here at this time to help this area explode. I'll send pictures here shortly but i want to take some more in this area before i send it. P-Day will be weird; we’re 25 miles away from the closest elders so there will be no hanging out with other missionaries while I'm down here. That will be hard because i'm used to playing basketball or football, but not for awhile!

Thanks for all you guys writing me birthday stuff, i really appreciate it. Well i'm going to respond to the other emails now, but I love you guys so much. Keep being great, and setting that example for me. I love you all so much!

Elder Shaffer

it's coming . . .

2011-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's not done yet, but I just wanted to update all my Lowe relatives that the family cookbook volume 2 is in production and our mouths are watering. Kristi has been typing like a mad woman, and if I remember correctly, I think there are 270-ish recipes in 9 categories. We will let you know the cost as soon as we have it, and you can pay for how many you want. It's time to get excited, people.

Second, we were in Sacramento last Saturday watching Austin play in a basketball tournament, and we had some time to kill in between his four games (the first of which began at 10:00 am and the last at 8:00 pm). SO, there wasn't quite enough time between games to go to the Sacramento Zoo, or to a movie, or to find a mini-golf course. But there was enough to time to find a yummy barbecue joint to eat lunch at, and to throw some rocks into the American River, and to track down a certain missionary and take him and his companion out for dinner.

Doesn't he look great?? It was so wonderful to see him and it made me feel just a teeny bit closer to Elder Shaffer somehow. It warmed my heart!

extended family fun

2011-06-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well it seems things have slowed down a little for me (not being at work every day) because here I am, posting again! I just saw some pictures on Keith's camera that I had forgotten he had taken and they need to be shared!

Over Memorial Day weekend we had a visit from Steve and Becky and some of their wonderful kids: Nathan, Jeannine & Jon, Michelle, and David. We were so happy to have them come, and appreciated their l-o-n-g drive across the desert to make it happen. We especially appreciated Michelle's extra long drive that began in Rexburg, ID that same morning!

We had planned a few things to do and see while they were here, and assumed the weather would cooperate since we are known here in northwestern NV for our blue skies and lack of precipitation. Well . . .

The day dawned unseasonably cold, but the skies were fairly blue. We drove up to Lake Tahoe, around the south shore, to a beautiful spot called Emerald Bay. It had been cold in Carson City, but 1500 feet higher it was even nippier. And windy.

But did it dampen our spirits? No way.

However, nobody wanted to stand still and pose for a picture for very long!

Hoping to get out of the wind, we walked a mile-long trail that took us down to lake level. We had our picnic in backpacks and were planning a nice lunch by the shore. We saw some pretty mountain blue jays on the way down that were very willing to have their picture taken.

By the time we got to lake level, the sky was getting grey. The wind was better but it was still cold! Michelle and Kristi are still having fun . . .

This current BYU-I student, and the one who will be joining her in the fall had some time to catch up and talk about seeing each other at school in the fall!

Michelle, Jon and Jeannine decided to be brave and take a dip . . . notice the worsening weather.

Oh charming. Is it really snowing on May 28th?

The storm did not pass through quickly, as Keith had suggested it might.

and although smiles were still being given for the camera,

the fun was beginning to wane.

So we drove around the rest of the lake and over to Virginia City, one of our other tourist attractions here, just in time for Dallin and Austin to ride in the camel races.

Safe and sound at home later, it was game time.

And then the fun turned a little giddy . . .

But Michelle and Austin were mere amateurs. Look what Jon can do.

Well, Kristi couldn't do that, but she does have some sweet skills of her own:

44, was it? Ouch.

In addition to the craziness, we also had a nice Sunday together where I actually got to introduce MY relatives in Sunday School (when does that ever happen to me?), and then the Lowes were nice enough to join us for Kristi's seminary graduation that evening.

It was such a fun weekend! Thanks for coming, Lowes!!!!!!!!!!!!

I crack myself up.

2011-06-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am pretty easily amused.

Brennan recently asked for a mini-photo album of some "life before mission" pictures to share with his companions. So I put one together but had some extra pages at the end. I couldn't leave it like that because I am my father's daughter, and just like how he always had to even out the brownies if someone had left an uneven edge in the pan, I had to fill the album to its even end. So here's how I did it:

I hope it brings a smile to my missionary's face when he opens the package and remembers how dorky his family is. hee hee!

fanfare . . .

2011-06-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

W h e w.

Thirteen years of pencil lead, eraser shavings, alarm clocks, heavy backpacks, overall diligent effort (and some occasional stress, blood, sweat and tears) culminated on Saturday with Kristi's high school graduation.

For a student like Kristi, I can barely describe how both proud and relieved we are that it's finally over. She is a combination of smart (i.e. she took honors and AP classes and did unbelievable volumes of homework year-round), social (i.e. she prioritized a little fun every day), somewhat disorganized (i.e. "I can't find my ______", or "I forgot to tell you about ______" or throwing in a load of laundry at midnight), and independant/stubborn (i.e. her work habits are her own - "I've got it under control!" or "Don't worry mom, just go to bed!"). We have been both exhausted and in awe watching her live her life.

Kristi's gown was bedazzled with her accomplishments. She wore a Nat'l Honor Society drape, and wore braided cords for student government, academic achievement and something else I can't remember. She graduated in a class of 419, but was one of only twenty who got to wear this:

I know you can't read it very well, but it says "Top Twenty". I think she got one B in her entire high school career (AP Calculus gave her a run for her money). She also decided to decorate her cap so that she could find it after she threw it in the air. And true to form, she can't do anything simply.

Here she is on her way to graduation on Saturday:

The Top Twenty marched in first, so she had a seat on the front row.

She performed the senior song with two other girls - Kristi on keyboard, one on guitar, and the third sang vocals.

Kristi had a great senior year. She has a thousand friends and was very involved, and so now that it's over, she is feeling some sadness along with the happiness and relief. She is looking greatly forward to college, but I think she will have many happy memories of her years growing up in Carson City.

And I'm not sure I've mentioned it here before -- after MUCH thought, stress, and prayer, Kristi decided to attend BYU-Idaho in the fall rather than BYU-Provo. This is not the decision she thought she would make, having wanted to attend Provo her whole life, but when the dust settled from the decision-making process, Idaho came out on top. And then the stress vanished. She is super excited and knows that great things lie in store for her there. And we couldn't be happier. Anything that begins with BYU makes us happy happy happy.

Kristi left yesterday for Disneyland and Huntington Beach with some friends for a senior trip, and I imagine she is having a wonderful time. CONGRATULATIONS, KRISTI!!! It's been an amazing ride.

pop some popcorn & grab a tissue

2011-05-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Personalize your own slideshow design

We'll be having an open house for Kristi (and the other graduating seniors in our ward) after her graduation ceremonies on Saturday, June 4th. Each graduate will have a table displaying some things about them. This slide show will be running on our laptop. If you decide to watch, you can click through them as fast as you want rather than watching it in real time. It's l-o-n-g, but I can't help such things. She's the only daughter I have . . .

nearing the end!

2011-05-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I approached the end of a school year with 50% excitement and 50% jitters over how in the world my children and I would keep busy, happy and sane for three months with no school. My, how things have changed.

Now, around the time my kids go back to school after Christmas break, I start dreaming about summer vacation with 100% excitement and 0% jitters. Staying in bed past 5:00 a.m. tops the chart for me. You'll notice I said 'staying in bed' rather than 'sleeping in' because I love the luxury of the former even though I am generally unable to do the latter. I am very dutiful and completely reliable in my morning routine, and I even annoy the kids at times with my cheeriness, but I do not enjoy it. And by the end of the school year I am almost cursing it.

Because I work for the school district, I look forward to my own vacation - not just that of the kids. I enjoy my job, but I have found that the children are far more delightful in the beginning of the year than at the end. I love that summer means we all get enough sleep, we don't eat breakfast 'til 9:00, we stay up late watching movies, and generally try to be as lazy as we can stand. My kids would probably say I can't stand as much laziness as they can, but right now in May when things are still in full swing, I covet laziness and try to plan my summer around it as much as possible. It's nice to dream, right?

We spoke with Brennan on Mother's Day and it was wonderful! He sounded older and a bit more serious than we remember, but I guess that comes with the territory. He is doing great and working hard, and trying to stay solely focused on the work. He admitted that he was a little hesitant to talk to us because of that focus, but hopefully we didn't do too much damage! It was bittersweet by the time we had to say goodbye -- Austin and Dallin were particularly sad, and I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach again that I felt when he left in November. All of a sudden, instead of feeling amazed because he's already been out six months, I felt sad because he's only been out six months. Two years is a long time. But he is happy and healthy and doesn't want to be anywhere else.

On the fun side of life, Austin turned 15 recently, and for his "party" he wanted to take two close friends on the Ultimate Rush ride in Reno. They did it twice and had some good, scary fun.

And this weekend was Prom, and with Kristi being the VP of her senior class, she has had major responsibilities for it all year long. Budget constraints forced the prom to be held in the gym this year, which meant transforming the gym and the entrance foyer into their "midnight sky" theme. So. much. work. This past week we were all up at the school helping to lay flooring, hang lights, decorate tables, put bows on chairs, etc. etc. It turned out amazing. A cute boy from our ward who she has known most of her life (and who will be leaving on his mission in the fall) asked her to go with him. She was thrilled because she knew she would have fun with no stress whatsoever. She simply has no time in her life for boy stress. Anyway, they had a GREAT time.

That's Kristi in the middle on the floor, and Logan is the boy next to her on the left. This was somebody's birthday party probably about twelve years ago.

And here they are all grown up:

Hard to believe!!!!

great Monday reading

2011-05-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here's this week's email from Brennan. He regularly reports that he's never been happier than he is now. He loves his mission!

Dear Shaffer Family!

Thanks again for your wonderful e-mail. I love hearing from you guys. Really quick before i forget, I will probably call in the evening sometime probably between 6-8 our time so get ready!! I also want to talk with Logan for like 5 min, and I'm not too sure if i'm really allowed to specifically call him, but if you could invite him over for me to talk to him real quick about his mission call I would love that.

This week has been a crazy week for sure. There has been a lot of weather around here. We have experienced over a FOOT of rain in just April alone!!! And i love it, its really different though - I'm not used to this at all. We've probably had 7-10 tornado warnings here, where the sirens go off and its pretty crazy. I still want to see one though. It’s also so so so green here. I cant really even explain how green it is here, it just blows my mind, and there are a ton of bugs. You guys all know how much I hate bugs. I've had the blessed opportunity to kill multiple cockroaches in our apartment which has been such a joy.

But now to the good stuff. This past weekend Colby Curtis WAS baptized, and I had the wonderful, wonderful opportunity of baptizing her. Nancy who you guys know was baptized a month ago gave the closing prayer and just started to cry. It was a very spiritual service and one that I'm so so grateful to be a part of. It took Nancy 4 months to get baptized, Colby 5 months, and Hopefully Darren will follow. I love that family with all my heart, I really couldn’t have asked for a better experience in my life than seeing this family change. It just wont be complete untill Nancy's husband Darren gets baptized. I love them so much. We saw them go from nothing, to walking Nancy down the aisle to get married, and the next day her being baptized and now Colby being baptized. Just amazing and my joy is truly full. I'm just so grateful that the lord has trusted me, and blessed me with the joy of seeing lives truly being changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yesterday was fast sunday, and in Elders Quorum we had a testimony meeting, and I bore my testimony. Darren was there and i bore it on the conversion power of the holy ghost and really for the first time i felt the spirit just burn inside of me. I can’t even explain to you how amazing just that one little moment felt, truly the spirit of God like a fire is burning, and i just hope and pray Darren felt the spirit too.

I don’t really know what more to say to be honest, I'm doing great, I'm healthy. I'm lucky to be out here serving my mission. Oh yeah, we’re getting a new mission president in a month! His name is President Woodbury from salt lake and he is an attorney who graduated from Harvard and is a multi millionaire. So I look forward to getting to know him really well! Also what’s really cool is I haven’t been out that long but i really can’t imagine life back home. This is all I know and this is what I've slowly come to love. I am just so grateful to be on my mission and to serve.

I love you guys. I'll call you between 6-8 on Sunday (invite Logan). LOVE YOU ALL - you guys are great examples to me and push me every day to be better! Good job reading, Austin!

-Elder Shaffer

He's the cute one in the back:

He looks like a missionary, doesnt' he?

And this one is my favorite:

Have a great week and Happy Mother's Day a little early!!

for posterity

2011-04-28T08:31:00.001-07:00

Kristi is having her senior pictures taken this afternoon by the same person who took our family pictures last fall before Brennan left on his mission. I was checking out her photography blog yesterday and lo and behold, there was our family. I hadn't looked at the blog since she took Brennan's pictures a year ago. Since we didn't purchase these particular pictures, I don't have a copy of them. But now that I can steal them legally from her blog, I will post them here just so I have them! They are really for me, but feel free to love them too. haha

3 Nephi 5:13

2011-04-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Yay! Elder Shaffer finally sent his camera card with over 400 pictures on it! Proof positive that he really is in Kentucky doing what he claims to be doing.

Can you tell what these elders are standing on?

If you said, "By golly, I believe it's a frozen swimming pool!", you would be correct.

Next up - do you remember the song, "Humble Way" from Saturday's Warrior? Well, that's what this picture makes me think of, so insert lyrics here. (haha) And here's a good spot for a roadside nap.

A snowy eastern landscape.

And Brennan's first possum sighting. Yummmm, dinner anyone?

Highlights from a recent letter:

1) Brennan sprained his ankle playing basketball on the March 21st P-Day, and the doc told him he had torn some ligaments and that it would be 3 weeks before he could put much weight on it, and then 6 before it would start to be “semi-healed”. But then his companions gave him a blessing, and he reported that a miracle occurred and he was healed. (!)

2) Before a woman they had been teaching could be baptized, she had to be married. But none of her family could come to the wedding, so she asked Brennan to walk her down the aisle and give her away. So he did, and said it was a “cool, cool experience”. She was baptized the next day and Brennan believes she will be a “true kingdom builder”.

3) He promised more details about this one later, but mentioned that he had taken his first punch as a missionary, straight in the jaw, by a 300-pound . . . girl. He said we’d be proud that he “took it like a champ”.

Good stuff.

odds and ends

2011-03-21T10:15:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh, March 21st, the first official day of Spring. I was pondering this earlier this morning (early as in 5:30 a.m.) when I was out shoveling the driveway and brushing 3 inches of snow off the cars. It looks like Spring hasn't yet sprung in western Nevada.

With the Spring Solstice comes Kristi's birthday just three days away. This is a big one -- eighteen! She seems to be handling it in stride, as 'adults' do. No wishes of a birthday party or anything particularly special -- maybe dinner and a movie over the weekend with some close friends but that's about it. She did promise to give me a birthday dinner request, but nothing yet. Although it's hard for me to believe my little girl is turning eighteen, it seems like she's been grown up for a long time now. Like for years. I love her like crazy and feel so privileged to be her mom. Here are a few pictures of her cute and fun self:

We had a youth talent show in our ward last week which Austin was in charge of (to earn a Varsity letter). He worked hard and it was a great success. He and his good friend Adam acted as MC's, and did a fabulous job between acts telling jokes, etc. He wore his dad's high school graduation suit which is a plaid baby blue and quite striking.

He was in a couple of skits with Adam as well . . .

Notice Kristi sleeping in the back seat of the 'car' in this one:

And then the two of them did the FUNNIEST 'midget dancing' skit. They found it on Youtube and practiced and practiced. Adam's taller, so he was the face out front -- Austin provided the arms.

You should check out their inspiration if you haven't seen it -- so funny. They used the same soundtrack, everything. And were just about as good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQNwhv52xbw

Start at minute 2:45 to see their routine. It will make you laugh.

Brennan's email today was short so I thought I could just post it here. His trademark enthusiasm shines through!

Family!!

Okay I only have 10 min to email because we are going to E-Town to play some basketball!!!!! So good to see your pictures -- so so so so so good. AUSTIN, DALLIN, And KRISTI, I miss you guys so much. I love you guys a ton and it looks like you guys are doing so great!

Well mom this week we have been able to keep up 13 new investigators!! And we taught 29 lessons. The ‘standard of excellence’ every week from the First Presidency is 20 total lessons and 7 new investigators. So watch out, Kentucky, we are tearing it up! We also have another baptism this weekend, Nancy Curtis, and I am so excited for that one. Its been so dang warm here and its awesome. I'm loving it, i really am. It’s starting to get humid though and i hate the humidity!! Thanks so much for all the packages. I got them all and I'm so grateful for all of them!! Thank you so much mom! Gosh dang keep sending me pictures!! I'll send you my memory card this week so I can hook you up with some pictures, along with a letter because this email is so short. I've been lifting alot as well, so I'm back up to almost 170 in muscle. You know I'm loving that!! And I've been able to play basketball every p-day for awhile so thats been good, but MORE IMPORTANTLY the work here is exploding, it really is. We are working pretty dang hard in talking to EVERYBODY we see walking all the time and I love it!!!! Okay I’ve got to go -- sorry for the short quick email. I'll write you a letter. I love you guys so much!! Great to see you all in the pictures!!

Elder Shaffer

So, do you think 'dang' is a Kentucky word or a missionary word?? haha. If he ever sends pictures - I'll post some!

Happy Spring!!!!!!!!!

civic duty? check.

2011-02-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

I just finished serving on a jury for a federal court up in Reno. I reported, along with 122 other potential jurors, not one bit worried about ending up in the final twelve. But somehow I did, and all of a sudden my regular life was on hold, as, for two full weeks, I had to leave the house by 7:00 every morning, and did not return until between 6 and 6:30 at night. It was crazy on many levels, from hearing the intricacies of the case (over 60 witnesses), to dealing with the other jurors, with whom I could not discuss the case until it was over and we began deliberations. Some of them were an extreme test of my patience and good will, with their bad language, habits, and manners. A couple of people couldn't seem to say a single sentence without a colorful word inserted somewhere. Others didn't feel the need to cover their mouths when they coughed or sneezed. Some needed regular breaks to go outside and smoke, and one guy decided he could still chew his tobacco in the jury room as long as he had a water bottle to spit it in. Two jurors refused to talk at all. I really tried to be pleasant to all, or at least tolerant, and it really tested me at times! For a week and a half, every time we were sent to the jury room for a break, this group of strangers had to talk about everything EXCEPT the one thing we had in common. Finally it was time for deliberations. What a process -- it took three DAYS, during which we were in a small room with no windows. We had to be escorted by an armed court officer during any breaks we took for fresh air. We were able to go home at night, thankfully; although we had a bad winter storm for a few days, and that commute nearly did me in a few times.

On Day Two of deliberations, I had apparently run out of patience, because when the tobacco-spitting Juror #7 decided to make yet another rude and off-colored joke, I heard myself come to life and tell everyone that we were not going to speak this way anymore. I told him (and of course everyone else) that since this was currently "my workplace", I had some rights, and I wasn't going to put up with the language and stories anymore. As you might imagine, there was an immediate ripple of awkwardness that went through the room, and then Juror 7 said, "Okay, I'm sorry. I will be more careful." I said, "I would really appreciate that. Let's move on." Inside I was thinking, "did I really just do that?"

Things improved. It still wouldn't have been safe for my mom to be in the room, haha, but things improved. At least after that, when there were things to apologize for, the apologies came without me intervening. Professionalism increased. I can only wonder what they have said about me since, but I am happy in hindsight that I let them know that I am a person of principles. Anyway, long story short - there were two defendants, each indicted on 62 counts (32 mail fraud, 26 wire fraud, 4 money laundering). After pouring over the evidence, scrutinizing financial records and money trails, we found them guilty of most of those counts. My head hurt every day. It's not easy to contribute to someone's prison sentence. There were tears in the courtroom from the female defendant as the verdict (each count for each defendant - it took forever) was read. Tears and then quiet-ish sobbing. I couldn't look. In the research I have done on the internet since the trial ended, I have found out that these two have been to trial for at least two past fraud schemes, and it looks like one of them has been to prison before. I felt less guilty about the crying then. Suffice it to say that it was a very unique experience, and one that I am most glad to have behind me.

Next up was my birthday - you can do the math if you want, but I'm not going to mention how strangely old I am getting. It fell on President's Day holiday, which was a tender mercy after having been away from my family for what seemed like years. They were very good to me on the homefront, but my favorite present was a letter from Brennan addressed to the Birthday Girl. He emails home faithfully every week, but this was a handwritten letter just for me. Honestly I'm not sure he has remembered my birthday voluntarily any other year, so it was special. He is learning and growing and maturing so much, it is a pretty amazing thing. It is clear to us that he is truly finding himself as he loses himself in the service of others (and God). I will share a great story from this week's email:

"This week has been the best of my mission. We taught 31 lessons!!!!! and we found 8 new investigators, and we set 5 baptismal dates!!!! Things have been just so amazing. We have worked so hard this week - I feel that the only thing I remember looking back at the past wek is laying down to go to bed and waking up! I can't believe how much the Lord is blessing us! 31 lessons is a lot of lessons by the way; I remember at the beginning of my mission here we were averaging 5-7 lessons per week, now we teach that daily. We have a baptism set up for March 5. His name is Norman LeFlame. I wish so bad you could meet him, we've been teaching him on and off since the beginning of January, and earlier last week we told him that we couldn't come by anymore because he wasn't keeping commitments. But we gave him one more chance and stopped by the next day to see if he had read and prayed. When we did, an amazing miracle happened. We walked in and we talked to him and he said he's 110 percent into it now. He said he read, prayed, and went to mormon.org, and then he had a dream. He said he woke up and knew this is where he needed to be, so we asked him if he would prepare himself to be baptized on March 5 and he said, 'of course'. But here's the real miracle -- he and his inactive brother Joey live together, collect disability checks, and do almost nothing else every day. They smoke packs and packs of cigarettes a day because they have nothing else to do. And they drink a ton of coffee. So after he said he wanted to be baptized I girded up my loins and asked if I could then take his coffee maker . . . he said YES, and so I unplugged his coffee maker, and took all his coffee/tea. Then I asked about smoking and you could tell they were scared to give that up. They had one pack left and they said after that pack they wouldn't smoke anymore. But I said nope, and asked if I could have that pack, and they said yes - both of them actually committed to stop smoking and drinking and everything else. A true miracle!! I can't even begin to explain to you the happiness I feel, and the change I've seen in their lives."

Keith and I always said that if Brennan could just channel that strong will of his in the right direction, he might be okay! And there you have it.

Well, time to end this marathon post. One last thing -- thank you for helping out with Kristi's cookbook project. I really hope everyone will send some favorite recipes. Any McGee relatives reading this - would you please make sure your mom knows? I know she doesn't check her email often. I think the new cookbook will be something we will all use and love, so let's make it a good one! I am speaking to myself as well, since I haven't gathered any recipes for her yet!

Well, onward and upward. Make it a great day!

long time no blog

2011-01-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, how is it the END of January already?!?!? I guess I've arrived here one day at a time just like the rest of you, but it does blow my mind a little.

So a quick update. Our holidays were good -- not terribly relaxing but good. Basketball tournaments, Kristi's senior project research paper due, moving Keith out of his suite of offices and back into a one-man office, having the missionaries in our home teaching the lessons to a high school friend of Brennan's -- all these combined with the regular festivities of the season kept us moving at a quicker pace than I might have liked, but at least most of those things were enjoyable.

We were able to talk to Brennan on Christmas day, which was wonderful! Our phone rang at 6:00 a.m. with Brennan's cheery voice on the other end telling us "Merry Christmas! It's time to get up!" And then he said, "I'll call you back later!" That still makes me smile thinking about it. He did call later and it was awesome to be able to talk with him and get instant answers to questions, etc. He is happy and working hard and enjoying everything about being on a mission. He is serving in Radcliff, KY which is next to Fort Knox military base. So he has met a lot of military families and learned quite a bit about the military lifestyle. His emails are sprinkled with a few "y'all's" and several "HOO-AH's". He has expressed how much he loves the people and how it amazes him that just a couple of months ago, he didn't know any of them. He is on a bike 100% of the time, and they have had freezing, snowy and icy weather the whole time he's been there. He has crashed his bike several times, broken the shifting gears and bent the handlebars but apparently it still works. In this week's email he expressed how much he loves being a part of something bigger than himself. I just can't tell you what a tremendous blessing this feels like to us. Chokes me up!!!!

Dallin is having a fun community bball season and they are winning games when they thought they might not ever make a basket (Coach Keith has a lot to do with that); Austin is playing well on his freshman team -- he's the starting point guard and is really enjoying it. Last night however, he opted to miss a GAME (not just a practice) to go with our ward's youth to the temple for baptisms. He's one of 3 LDS kids on the team, and the only one who made that choice. He's such a good kid. Kristi is too busy for anyone's good, and is feeling the stress of all of her current responsibilities. She has been accepted to BYUI and is awaiting word from Provo. We have no doubt that she will get in, but if I were her I'd be ready to say, "I'm taking a year off to sleep. Then maybe I'll go to college." We'll see.

Keith and I have received new callings in the ward: I am now the T for our T teacher in RS and Keith is the YM's President. When the bishop called me, he ran down a few of my last callings and when he counted to 15 straight years working with youth or children, he quit counting and said, "Sister Shaffer, I think it's time for you to be with the grownups." It's a whole new world. As for Keith, he's been the 1st counselor in the YM's for a couple of years already so this doesn't feel all that new.

Okay time for work. I guess it's not time for me to be with grownups in every aspect of my life! Here's a pix we had taken the week before Brennan left. I don't know why it's blurry here, but you get the idea. I love these people!!!!!!!!!!

pretty awesome.

2010-12-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

If you ever need a boost of faith, watch your 19-year-old son prepare to serve a mission. Then for a further boost, read his letters from the MTC. Brennan's mission adventure has just begun -- he's only been gone two weeks -- but the blessings are already coming.

Here is a picture of Brennan with David and Michael the night before he entered the MTC. He was excited and nervous! And ready to get started.

The MTC drop-off is truly just that. Keith thinks he was in the parking lot for less than five minutes. So no pictures! There was barely time for a hug goodbye before he was whisked off. Keith got a little choked up as he was driving away and seeing from a distance the hundreds of missionaries in the parking lot. The Army of Helaman!! Apparently 750 missionaries entered the MTC the same day as Brennan. I don't know if that's a typical Wednesday or not, but wow.

It was very difficult for us to see him go! Harder than I thought it would be. I realized I have been fairly unsympathetic to Missionary Moms over the years - only seeing the excitement of it rather than the misery! Having our first go represents such a change for our family. We are no longer a family of six at the dinner table, for instance. I know I will have them all at the table again in the future, BUT the 'days of six' are over. We are unbalanced and it's awkward passing over the empty place. We feel puny without Brennan's big personality.

But the flip side of this is the amazing joy I feel that he is where he is, doing what he is doing. I almost can't believe it's happening. We have always talked about a mission as if it's a given, but Brennan would never have gone if it was only to please us. I remember the day a couple of years ago when I went into his room to put some laundry away and saw a handwritten note taped to his wall that said, "Be worthy to serve a mission". I knew that day the decision to serve a mission had become personal to him. And because he didn't stray from that decision, here we are.

Here's a line or two from his first letter home after being in the MTC for a week:

I LOVE it here. I really do. I’ve taught multiple lessons already. I am learning so much! I’ve never studied harder in my life, but I love doing it. I don’t know if I want to leave the MTC!

And from his email yesterday after his second week:

I have not had that tough of a time here so sleep easy mom, your boy is fine. I know you have prayed for me because I have felt it. I have not been homesick and I've actually helped some elders going through that. My testimony is growing everyday, I know this is where I need to be without a doubt. I have never worked so hard in my life which is weird because most of the day I'm sitting down. But I love it! I have a long way to go to be the servant the Lord knows I can be and wants me to be. I love you guys so much!!! Mom thanks for everything, you have done so much for me thank you.

It feels so good to know that he is happy and finding joy in the Lord's work. He leaves for Kentucky on Monday and then the adventure really begins. We are proud of him, and thankful for the example of missionary work in our extended family -- for his grandfathers, father, uncles, and many cousins who have served willingly and faithfully. The gospel is true!

his life is flashing before my eyes

2010-10-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

We will be having an open house for Brennan on November 7th (and for a sweet couple who are leaving on their mission the same week). We wish you could all come and eat "Sunday Sundaes" with us. In the background we will be playing this slideshow (disclaimer -- it's LONG so I don't honestly expect anyone but me to watch the whole thing, but I couldn't resist posting it!):

Create a free digital slideshow

one more picture . . .

2010-10-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

. . . to add to the picture theme of my last post.

Saturday marked a significant and wonderful day for our family when Brennan went to the temple for the first time. We are joined in the picture by two of Keith's brothers and their wives, as well as his parents. It was a special day!

all in a day's work (and pictures!)

2010-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

It was a day of contrasts at work today. Here's one end of the spectrum: I tutor a first-grader named Anthony and today his mom came to school during his tutoring time to meet me. She told me that she had to come meet Mrs. Shaffer because Anthony talks about me all the time at home and tells his mom that tutoring is his favorite part of his school day. She sat in on our tutoring session, raved about how much it is helping Anthony, and even brought me a pretty flower! It really perked me up because only an hour earlier . . . I had a tutoring session with another first-grader named Zackery.

Zackery likes to do things his way every day. Which is fine on some days because his ways coincide with my lesson plan for the day, but sadly for him, most days this is not the case. Even after lots of patience and cheerfully using all my tricks to help him get down to business, I had to take him back to class a little early after he drew in a book and then dumped a box of crayons on the floor instead of working. On the way back to class he was so frustrated with me that he declared, "You're fired!" Oh, Zack, if wishes were fishes.

So thanks for the flower, Anthony's mom! And T.G.I.F.!!

------------------

And now for some pictures:

Kristi bought a WIG for a leadership thing, and then this happened:

Explanation: Kristi is Kristi and Dallin is willing.

But I have no explanation for Austin.

Speaking of Austin, here is how he spent his summer:

practicing for football . . .

hiking Half-Dome at Yosemite with Brennan for a scout high-adventure trip:

dear old Dad made it too!

dizzying heights at the top . . .

Then it was rafting the Merced River:

and doing a little rock jumping:

And then climbing Boundary Peak (highest point in NV at 13,700ish)

Here's Brennan, opening his mission call!

Kentucky Lousville, WAHOO!

As for Kristi, she/we had a fun time at girls' camp:

Keith was a dancing fool with the other camp dads:

And I had the good fortune of competing in a mullet contest:

But back to Kristi -- this is the picture of her that says it all:

Am I ready to face this all over again????? I'm not so sure.

easing back in

2010-10-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

You know how it is -- the longer you wait to do something, the more difficult it gets. And so it goes with the blog. The last few months have been pretty full, and I simply have not made any time for this somewhat guilty pleasure. Looks like today's the day to ease back in. Probably without pictures.

Quick recap of summer: it was a blur. Again! This 'blur phenomenon' quietly irritates me. I can't figure out what we're doing wrong, but we rarely have any time to just be.

Brennan continued to work at Lowe's over the summer, and got his mission papers ready to go. That included getting his medical and dental check-ups completed and getting his wisdom teeth out. There are funny stories that accompany each of those things which I won't go into, but they include fainting, a magic pill, and an attempted laughing gas overdose. And all for the cause of Zion.

Kristi got a job as a Teacher's Aid at the Child Development Center at nearby Western Nevada College. The job was a blessing monetarily, and she was grateful to get it, but the 35 hours she worked each week really added to her stressful summer. Because she had signed up for 4 AP classes and was elected vice-president of her senior class for this year, she had an inordinate amount of summer assignments due the first day of school. I am not kidding when I say it would a-m-a-z-e you the amount of work she had to do for each of her classes and for her leadership requirements. So she had no summer break to speak of. Which made me furious.

Austin is playing freshman football this year, which meant that his season began in June with the summer conditioning program. So he stayed busy with that, plus he also had summer assignments for his two Honors classes. He was busy with a few significant high-adventure activities for scouts as well (all with his dad, who is in the YM's presidency): climbing Half-Dome at Yosemite National Park, camping, whitewater rafting, and climbing Boundary Peak (highest peak in NV at 13,500ish ft). At some point I will post some pictures from those hikes because they are really something.

Dallin actually enjoyed his childhood by swimming in the backyard pool and playing with friends a lot. He loved riding his bike in the construction zone nearby in the evenings when the workers had left. Watching him made me happy because he so loved staying up late and sleeping in, eating popsicles, wearing his swimsuit all day, etc. Real summertime stuff! I did instigate "Webelos Wednesdays" and "Faith in God Fridays" because with our house running at such a quick pace, it is often easy to neglect those kinds of things in daily life. He is now working on his Arrow of Light before he turns 11 one month from today.

For me, summer was consistently busy with Girls' Camp preparations. I served (again) as the stake camp registration secretary, which sounds simple but is surprisingly involved and time-consuming! Camp was the first week in August, which meant that I spent most of the summer busy with preparations, and then once it was over, we only had two weeks until school began. Mentally that was sad. But camp was wonderful for us because this was Kristi's sixth and last year, and in addition to my being there with her again, Keith was called to be a camp dad, so the three of us were up there together and shared some fun and good times.

Well the school year hit us like a freight train with full days, short nights, and figuring out who gets what car on a daily basis. As most of you know, Brennan received his mission call to the Kentucky Louisville Mission, covering most of Kentucky, and parts of Illinois and Indiana. To say he is excited and eager to go is an understatement. He really got what he was hoping for: an English-speaking mission in a part of the US that he is unfamiliar with, with a climate and culture different than ours. Check, check, check. He reports to the MTC on November 17th, and he is counting the days. He is keeping fairly busy between work, a lot of pre-mission reading, and checking things off the packing list. He also has a darling girlfriend which he never intended to have before his mission, but sigh, what can you do.

Kristi kept her summer job and works M-F afternoons; about 18 hours/wk. As expected, she is burning the candle at both ends on a daily basis. She is constantly in motion, from trying to get to 6:00 am seminary on time, to keeping up with her homework, to serving in a thousand ways for leadership, to making it to work every day, to trying to get to bed before midnight. Honestly by the time she leaves for college we will barely notice a difference; that's how much she's NOT home now. Sniff.

Austin LOVED high school for the first week or so, and then he got used to it, and it just became school. His two honors classes are pretty demanding, and so with football, he is feeling a little too busy as well. But he's a good sport and tries his best in everything that he does. He is playing left-outside linebacker on defense, and is the back-up quarterback on offense. The first-string quarterback won't ever run, and hates contact, whereas Austin is a great runner. So the coach often puts him in when they get close to the goal line, and he scores on a quarterback keeper. Not sure how long it will take for the other teams to figure this out, but so far it's working. They've only lost one game, and Austin scores at least once in every game. Two games ago it was 4 touchdowns and 100 yards rushing. So he's having a great time.

Dallin is in the leadership club at school this year in fifth grade. He is also playing the trumpet in the band. He is very responsible about getting his homework done and is a conscientious student. He is a fun and funny kid to have around.

I am back to work as a part-time reading tutor and lunch/recess aide. There is much I could say about this experience; in fact a whole post's worth, no doubt. It really is a fascinating experience to work with kids every day. I work with 7 children one-on-one every day with the tutoring, and then as an aide I have contact with every child at the school, and know most of them by name. So both parts are interesting and have taught me a lot. I consider it a great blessing to have this job with the economy the way it is and with Brennan leaving on his mission.

About a month ago, my sis-in-law that lives nearby and I drove to Sacramento for Time Out for Women. It was so good to catch my breath for a moment and to hear inspirational and motivational messages of hope. I think it was my favorite Time Out so far (and I've been to several). I feel that I am definitely in the phase of life where I am running and planning and doing the laundry and helping with the homework and balancing the checkbook and doing my calling and cooking and cleaning and going to work while trying to be at the crossroads for my children and be a support and helpmeet to my husband. I feel like I've been in this phase for quite a number of years and that it just doesn't slow down.

I so appreciated Elder Holland's talk in the Saturday morning session of conference because frankly it's easy to feel like a blur myself, doing most things out of responsibility and few things for any other reason. Now and then it's good to be validated. And that applies to all of us! I also appreciated President Uchtorf's talk about simplifying and slowing down, and I think I practice most of those principles but I still feel breathless most of the time because even on a satisfying day when things go right, tomorrow in all of its glory is only a sunrise away. I hope there's enough of meaning in all of the busy.

I have so much to be grateful for. Too much to count, really. I enjoy being in my forties. I enjoy my growing children, and am so excited for Brennan to begin his great adventure. I will admit to being tired of this precarious economy and the effect it has had on our family, but I am determined to continue in faith and be optomistic. And to keep mixing milk, haha. I so appreciate Keith and all he is handling as he provides for us. [Another understatement.] It is through the interesting twists and turns of personal, family, and professional life that we learn and grow and become more refined, wiser, and with a more clear perspective on who and why we are. It's a fascinating journey, isn't it?

Next time with pictures.

to everything there is a season

2010-06-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying quite a ride around here over the past couple of months. We've had some interesting challenges but have experienced undeniable blessings on many fronts and feel very grateful. On one end of the spectrum we have Keith's truck being stolen and recovered (twice), and on the other end we have Brennan graduating from high school with all that represents. And there have been a few things in between. Highs and lows, challenges and blessings. That's what makes the world go 'round.

We'll leave the lows alone for now, and mention a couple of highs. We actually had two graduations this year: Austin from junior high and Brennan from high school. Side note: I still have the earrings I wore to my 8th grade graduation. They are little half-inch diameter hoops that I thought were SO huge at the time. I remember feeling a little self-conscious as I wore them, like I was a little too bedazzled and people would notice. Austin didn't wear earrings, but he did look very nice in his shirt and tie as he accepted his "English Student of the Year Award".

and then as he strolled up to receive his Presidential Award for Academic Excellence:

Parenthood is really a fascinating career, isn't it? You strive daily to learn the job and then perform it well, and just when you think you've got it down, the job description changes, and the learning process begins again. Those whom you are working with and for grow and change and require us as parents to grow and change right along with them. The baby years turn into the preschool years, then the school and preschool years mingle for awhile, then the momentous day arrives when the last child begins school, and the locomotive picks up speed in a whole new way. The time for great parenting has arrived like never before, because now we parents are balancing our influence with that of friends, worldly distractions and interests, and increasing desires from our children to be independant. We have to learn the delicate balance of asserting control and letting go. How strict should we be? How many decisions can they make on their own? How far should I push this or that? Which battles should I decide to surrender rather than fight? Was that one's poor decision my fault? Should I have been able to prevent that one from failure? Did my influence have anything to do with that one's success? How much of my teaching went into that one's great decision? Will they remember this happy moment? Will they (please) forget that bad one? Will we still be friends when it's all said and done? Oh, it's a complicated job. Some days I do okay, and other days I just can't get anything right. And then in the midst of all of this, while the parents are still learning how to do their job, the children leave the safety of the nest and fly away, whether or not they know enough or are prepared enough. Ready or not, sink or swim. And I am somehow saying, "Could this really be happening already??" Thankfully, we've got Dallin for eight more years,

Austin for four,

and Kristi for one.

So we can still teach a little and learn a lot. But this one is almost out the door.

and he's pretty happy about it.

Something tells me that, in the eternal scheme of things, we are just getting started.

Look out, world!!

2010-05-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here are three of my favorite 2010 high school graduates! Brennan has some pretty amazing cousins that he also counts as good friends. Although he has lived far away from both of these guys for most of his life, he loves and appreciates them and hopes the future will bring more opportunities for their paths to cross. Wouldn't it be fun if they all served in the same mission? Hey, stranger things have happened, right?!?

sugar & spice and everything nice

2010-04-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've received some chiding about the promised-but-yet-to-be-seen post about birthday-girl Kristi. Be careful what you chide me about - this could be a doozy.

Kristi joined our family 17 years ago ON her due date of March 24th, after only 3 hours of labor. What a great beginning! To be truthful, I wasn't sure I was quite ready to have another child, as Brennan was only 20 months old and a bit of a wild and crazy guy. It had taken us over a year of trying before we were able to have Brennan, so we assumed the timing might be the same each time. But somehow, before we even knew we were trying, Kristi was already on her way! I remember clearly that the first time I held her in my arms, any feelings of uncertainty instantly melted away. As I looked at her, I was completely overcome with a feeling of peace and awe and gratitude. I felt such joy to have a daughter.

Kristi was always smiling and happy. She was an easy, delightful, sweet baby.

She was blessed to have girl cousins close by while we lived in Pennsylvania. I can't resist posting this oldie but goodie! Love you Karey and Kelly!!

Alas, time flies. Although there is much I could say about her younger years, we'll fast-forward to the present. 'Sugar and spice' describes Kristi pretty well, I think. She can be as sweet as can be, but definitely has plenty of spice to her personality too. Here are a few thoughts about Kristi at seventeen:

Funny! Kristi has a quick sense of humor, and loves to laugh laugh laugh laugh. I get regular comments about her 'bubbly-ness' or just how funny/silly/clever/crazy she is. Really, why be sad when everything is just so funny?

Smart! Underneath her general funnyness, Kristi is suh-mart. I'm not sure people appreciate just how smart she is because she does not appear very serious about it, but she is at the top of everything she does academically. She is famous for saying that she's afraid she didn't do well on this or that, but then aces it anyway. She found out last week via a letter from our school superintendant that she has made it into the National Merit Scholar program. She has wanted to attend BYU her whole life, and I think she's finally starting to relax just a little about her ability to do so.

Talented! You all know she can play the piano. But did you know she also plays the guitar, that she enjoys composing music, and that even though she can read music amazingly well, she can also play by ear? Meaning that she can hear a song on a CD or the radio, and go to the piano and play it. Just like that. To me, who can barely still play Chopsticks, it is the most amazing thing. Kristi also has a beautiful singing voice, but she prefers to keep that talent mostly hidden under a bushel. Kristi is very artistic and creative. You'd want her on your marketing team. She can figure things out and make things happen.

Competitive! I don't know how much of this is due to growing up with three brothers, but Kristi likes to win. So be warned in case you ever play a board game against her, or maybe any kind of game. She's a good sport when she loses, but while the contest is in play, look out. And wear protective gear if you play Spoons . . . or if you dare to tickle her. Tickling is not a fun or friendly or affectionate gesture. To Kristi, it's a call to war.

Normal! I don't know if Kristi would remember this or not, but one day when she was in fifth grade we were discussing some social issues at school. She was noticing and wondering about people's social status and how people got labeled this way or that way. I remember her talking about the 'popular group'. As Kristi had lots of friends, and was very well-adjusted at school, I asked her if she was in the popular group. She said something like, "Oh no, Mom! I'm not popular. I'm normal!" For some reason, I loved that. Kristi does have her head on straight. She is grounded. She knows who she is, and what her strengths and weaknesses are. She sees the big picture pretty well. And she has her priorities in order (although a little more sleep and a little less Facebook & itunes wouldn't really hurt her).

Busy! With so much Facebooking, you'd think she would have no time for anything else :), but aside from the time it takes to maintain her perfect GPA, she also teaches piano lessons, tutors 2 8th-grade boys in Algebra, attends Seminary and Mutual faithfully, serves on the Stake Youth Committee, finds ways to achieve her service hours for National Honor Society, and as the new vice-president for her senior class next year, has begun transitional leadership duties, which twice a week means she has to attend the earliER morning Seminary class. [It will be even more impressive when she makes it there on time, but at least she's trying.]

Social! She has something like 450 friends on Facebook, but more importantly to her, she has a few close friends that she loves and who love her. She is easy to get to know, and is not shy about meeting new people. She challenged herself to get some boys' phone numbers at a recent leadership conference she attended. I don't really know WHY, but she was very proud of herself for getting four, I think. She will never call them, but she got them. Speaking of boys, Kristi enjoys them. As friends. Kristi does not enjoy boys who think they should be more than friends with her. So far she has not enjoyed that at all. One day she hopes that will change. As she was talking with the missionaries who were here for dinner last night about academics and BYU, one of them asked her what she would like to get into eventually. She said in her deadpan way, "Well, eventually I would like to get into marriage . . ." which made me laugh out loud.

I will miss Kristi something fierce when she leaves next year. And even though I know there's a lot about me that she endures, I think she might miss me too. It's been lots of fun growing up together!

you shoulda seen the other guy

2010-04-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Poor Dallin hasn't had much presstime in here recently. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and give me something to post about. The pictures can do most of the talking. This is what I'm used to seeing around the house every day:

And this is what came downstairs this morning:

Yesterday, 20 minutes after I dropped Dallin off at school, he had a head-to-head collision with a classmate while playing football on the playground. So home he came. I took him to the doc's office, who after checking him out, said he had a mild concussion and had to be 'under observation' for 24 hours. He improved rapidly as the day went on, passed his middle-of-the-night wake up test, and is feeling fine today. The swelling is down markedly from yesterday, although its location has changed -- now it's in his eyelid. Nice.

One more day of R & R at home!

loco-motion, continued

2010-04-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

As if the last post wasn't long enough.

But I don't think I ever followed up on Brennan's BYU-I vs. LDS mission decision. After he received his track assignment, his decision became a bit easier. He was assigned to the Winter/Spring Track, which puts him on campus from January to July each year. Since he wouldn't be starting 'til January '11 anyway, but he turns 19 this July, he decided that serving his mission first was the right decision. He plans to leave in the fall sometime. It was so neat for him to hear Elder Rasband's talk in the Priesthood session of conference about mission calls. For some reason we have had a standing joke about him serving in Fargo, North Dakota. It's just cool to know that wherever it will be, it will be the right place.

Next up was finding a job. I truly thought this might be a lengthy process, but without too much sweat or effort, he was hired at

in the lawn and garden section. Right up his alley, and just what he wanted. And he didn't even need to drop my maiden name to get it, haha. He is still learning the ropes, but is enjoying being a working man so far.

Finally, Brennan had some senior photos taken last week and the photographer put some of them on her blog. Check out my handsome son at

http://www.facebook.com/l/7d980;photographybycassiejones.blogspot.com/

Okay, that's it. Post about my cute daughter still forthcoming.

loco-motion

2010-04-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am a broken record, always commenting on how busy we are, blah, blah, blah. Boring! It just seems like my head is in a jumble much of the time, and there are just too many details, schedules, deadlines, and responsibilities to process and sort through on a daily basis. We do get a lot done; I just hope most of it is good stuff and not just stuff that takes time! But for all that we get done, the list of things to do just seems to grow, or at least not shrink. Sigh. I know many of you can relate!! I think loco-motion captures the essence of what I'm talking about -- most days with the emphasis on LOCO. hee hee

Some items of note since last time --------

Brennan finished up his basketball season with a nice surprise:

Even though he had a great season, he didn't expect to be recognized as an all-league player so that made him feel pretty good. And not surprisingly, it was a little sad to say goodbye to this part of his life. He's been playing sports of one kind or another since he was six years old. So it represents a bittersweet change for him and for us! It's been a good ride.

Next up, the youth in our ward had a talent show. I took terrible, dark pictures of the event, so I have none to post, but just for memory's sake I will record that Keith (being a youth leader) played a harmonica medley of hymns which surprised us all. He was voted "most likely to show up at your next campfire"; Austin did an amazing juggling routine complete with coordinated music in the background. First he juggled tennis balls to some carnival music, both in the air and then against a wall which I really thought was cool, and then his music changed to the rap "Basketball" by Curtis Blow (remember the good old days, Deb??) and out came the big guns. He juggled three full-sized basketballs, with some bouncing in between! I had seen him practice a little bit, but was really impressed. He was voted "most likely to join the circus". He's a stud, as you can clearly see!

Kristi and her crazy friend Haydn did a strange tumbling routine, which caused much injury in our backyard during practice, but somehow on the hard stage floor everything came together and they looked quite . . . a bit more like they knew what they were doing! They did a two-person cartwheel routine, among other things, that they learned from watching some youtube videos. They were voted "most dangerously cute". Here they are doing their final warmups in our backyard before the big event. I like the suspended basketball in the background - magic!

Brennan had to say goodbye to two of the missionaries he has grown very close to, Elder Ferguson and Elder Ray. As I may have mentioned before, our family - and especially our oldest son - has been very blessed over the past several months to become very close to the missionaries in our ward. Of course the companionships have changed several times but each one has been someone Brennan has learned from and become great friends with. He's also served with them and has loved every minute.

Austin just finished playing on a traveling basketball team, made up of the best players of the two eighth grade teams in Carson. They played several tournaments in the Sacramento area, did pretty well, and had a lot of fun.

Dallin's big accomplishment lately, other than earning his Webelos badge, was taking second in his last Pinewood Derby. He would tell you that he really took FIRST, but that the missionaries who were judging gave the photo finish in the championship heat to the other boy, figuring that since they know Dallin so well, they didn't want it to look like favoritism. haha

Other funny noteworthy events -- Dallin and Austin were hired to take care of the neighbor's two dogs while they were out of town. We were given their garage door opener as the way in. Inadvertantly, on Day 1 of our responsibilities, the garage door got opened (from inside our house), and the dogs got out. It was hours later that we discovered this sickening fact. It was Day 3 before they showed up at the pound. Oh thank heavens for whoever found them and called Animal Control. Can you imagine that conversation with the neighbors when they returned? Still makes me shudder at what might have been.

Okay, this has turned out to be a novel, and fortunately for any readers, I am off to a girls' camp meeting before work, so I have gotta go for now. I will return soon to devote a post to Kristi, who recently celebrated her birthday. That deserves its own spotlight.

Is there something I should know??

2010-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

Ours is not the perfect family. We have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. But one thing I count on our 'strength' side is that we do a lot of communicating. Happy communicating, sad communicating, informative, impatient, funny . . . and every other type of communicating. Most days are loud when everyone -and often their friends- are here communicating. We usually know exactly why someone is having a bad day (no sullen, silent sufferers here), and we usually know why someone is especially happy. We are much more verbal than non-verbal.

So it was not typical for me to come downstairs in the morning on Tuesday to find a note taped (with chewed gum, I'm not kidding) to the microwave saying,

"I love you, Mom. -Brennan"

Huh. Certainly a nice way to begin my day. By the time he and the others came down for scripture reading, we didn't have time in our morning rush for small talk and it didn't get acknowledged. When I came home from work that afternoon, the paper now read,

"I love you, Mom. -Brennan"
"I love you more! -Kristi"

Wow, nice.

That evening, after I got home from our RS Bday Dinner, the paper read,

"I love you, Mom. -Brennan"
"I love you more! -Kristi"
"I love you the most! -Dad"
and in little writing in the corner:
"But nothing compares to your favorite, Austin"

This was getting better all the time. Still odd, but better.

Then this morning when I came down, another note was stuck (with more gum) to the original note.

"I love you and appreciate all the little unnoticed things you do. I want you to know I notice them and will miss them . . . Brennan"

What is going on?!?!?!? Have I somehow been diagnosed with a fatal condition? Or has Brennan done something really awful that he hasn't 'fessed up to yet? What is the meaning of all of this non-verbal kindness?????

And more importantly, WHY DOESN'T DALLIN LOVE ME??

who would've thunk it?

2010-02-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Isn't life with kids just one interesting ride after another? You think you know them and can predict their every move, and then they surprise you. And that little sequence is played out many times with every child. I can't resist sharing this one.

Since Brennan has been old enough to drive himself to Seminary, I sometimes start his car for him on frosty mornings when he is running late. More often than not, the stereo will start blaring whatever was playing the last time he was in the car. In the past, the blaring music was usually not of my liking. Often it would be rap music, which just isn't what I enjoy hearing at a high decimal level at 6 a.m. (or at any other time). And I would inwardly lament that my son felt differently. From time to time, over the years, I have cheerfully challenged him to better his music choices. But mostly I have said nothing.

This morning when he hadn't come downstairs by 6:15, I ran out to start the car. As usual, the music blared as soon as the engine started. But this time, the blaring music was the Tabernacle Choir singing, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". I still turned it down, because it was still too loud. But no inward lamenting. This has happened a couple of other mornings and the music has been MoTab or VoiceMale. Weird. I came in this morning and had the following conversation:

Me: Gotta love it to hear MoTab blaring in Brennan's car in the morning!

Keith: (chuckling) I wonder if he's just got us fooled by switching the song before he turns the car off the night before.

Kristi: No, he listens to this music all the time!

We all shake our heads in wonder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Switch of topics, but I can't resist sharing what I have been calling A Victory for Virtue. Last weekend, our high school had Winterfest Week. There were activities held all week, culminating in a dance on Saturday night. There were also elections of a Winterfest King and Queen. One of my favorite YW in our stake was up for Winterfest Queen. She is a beautiful girl, inside and out. She and Brennan have been friends for years.

During halftime of the basketball game on Friday night, the King and Queen were to be crowned. That afternoon, she was telling me that she felt awkward about it because she's not like the other girls and she didn't feel like she belonged in that group. My response was that she should be proud of that fact, as the other girls are far more . . . worldly. Well, Hannah won, much to her surprise, and my faith in the student body of Carson High School who voted for her was mildly restored.

Go MoTab, and Go Virtue!!!

comfort food

2010-01-28T07:11:00.001-08:00

I haven't yet shared any recipes on my little blog, but this morning as I was re-filing a few, I thought I would share a couple. My recipes generally are not sugar-free or fat-free or meat-free. I like to cook, I like to eat, and thankfully I also like my treadmill, which at least helps me to keep things under a certain degree of control.

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner and I made a couple of kinds of soup, rolls, and salad. And for the second time in my adult life, I made a recipe from my childhood for dessert: Chocolate Buttermallow Cake. The first time I made it was last year after requesting it from my mom, and as I was making it, I declared to whatever family was nearby at the time, "I am never making this again!" (see why below) But then everyone loved it.

I've served dinner to the missionaries so many times that I was running out of dessert ideas, so yesterday I decided to try this again. They liked it so much that one of the elders requested it again for his birthday . . . THIS Sunday. So I'm going to share. You can thank Grandma Lowe for this one.

Chocolate Buttermallow Cake

Begin by baking a favorite chocolate cake recipe in a 9 x 13 pan (Mom's recipe was too much work for me - sifting, alternating, etc. - that I use a simpler one or just a cake mix). Then when the cake has cooled, top with Butterscotch Filling and then Marshmallow Frosting.

Butterscotch Filling:
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 cup light cream (I use milk)
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Combine sugar and flour in a saucepan; stir in milk. cook over med. heat, stirring constantly, 'til thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. Slowly stir small amount into egg yolks, then stir back in pan. Boil 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from heat; add rest of ingredients, then let cool. Spread over cake. DO let it cool first or it will mostly run to the edges of the cake and leave the top sparsely covered.

Marshmallow Frosting:
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup marshmallow whip (I didn't have any on the shelf yesterday, so omitted it and it was fine)

On top of a double boiler (or a bowl over a pan), combine all ingredients. With water boiling below, beat mixture with electric mixer 'til soft peaks form (at our altitude, this takes at least 10 minutes). Let cool slightly and frost cake. A spatula dipped in water can help spread it more smoothly over the butterscotch. Or if there are butterscotch/marshmallow swirls that's okay too.

Enjoy a la mode or with some cold milk!

The first time I made this I used a heavy glass bowl as my mixing bowl over the boiling water. After a few minutes of beating the marshmallow goo, the bowl s-h-a-t-t-e-r-e-d, and the resulting mess was epic, and then of course I had to start OVER. Hence the short-lived decision to never make it again!

The salad I made was also a tasty favorite -- with romaine and red lettuce, apples, glazed walnuts and feta.

And now a roll recipe to pass along. My sis-in-law Julene shared this with me years ago and I have probably made it a hundred times. You are actually eating the rolls hot out of the oven one hour after you start to make them, which makes this a great 'go-to' recipe.

One-Hour Rolls

4 Tbsp. yeast (yep, you read that right)
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. sugar
Mix these in a small bowl and set aside.

Put 2 cups of milk in a saucepan over high heat to scald.

Now put the following ingredients into your mixer:
2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp sugar
1 cube softened butter
7 cups flour (this also works well half & half with wheat flour)

Add yeast mixture and scalded milk to mixer and mix well for 5 or so minutes. Fill your kitchen sink about 1 1/2 inches with very hot water. Put plastic wrap over your dough bowl and place bowl in sink for 15 minutes. When time is up, punch down the dough and form the rolls however you like. Let rise for another 15 minutes while preheating your oven to 425. (I just squeeze them into 2"(?) balls and put them close to each other on a greased sheet pan). Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until brown. Easy and fast!!

Have a comforting day!

exuberance!

2010-01-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

I apologize if you are getting weary of posts that talk about Brennan and basketball. We are loving watching our high school team play their season. We've known and watched these boys play ball together for years, and it will be a sad day when the season (and Brennan's basketball career) comes to an end.

Last night Carson played their biggest rival, Douglas. At Douglas. This is Keith's old high school, and his name is on the Hall of Fame wall in both football and wrestling. But not basketball!

Whenever Carson and Douglas play any sport against each other, it is a big deal. Pranks are played the week before; t-shirts with clever death wishes against the other team are created and sold, and police officers patrol the perimeters of the court during the game. When the game is over, Carson fans are directed to exit on one side of the gym and Douglas fans the other. It's just the way of things.

So last night we played at Douglas. Carson has not won a basketball game at Douglas since 2003. Can you tell where this build-up is going???

Check out this photo from after the final buzzer rang. Brennan is #12. Gotta love it. You can see the Carson student section behind the team, and if you look closely in the upper right-hand corner, you can see Kristi's cheering face too.

These are the good old days!

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?URL=/global/zoom.pbs&Site=NA&Date=20100123&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=100129789&Ref=AR&Profile=1015&s=0&t=0&Z=The%20Carson%20boys%20basketball%20team%20celebrates%20its%2055-50%20win%20over%20its%20archrival%20Douglas%20on%20Friday%20night%20in%20Minden.&P=Shannon%20Litz%2FNevada%20Appeal%20News%20Service

(Meredith, you can see that I haven't downloaded that blogging program yet . . . hence the awkward link)

choosing between good and good

2010-01-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

Brennan received his first acceptance letter the other day. He has been invited to attend:

Pretty cool. Ever since we visited the campus and took a guided tour in the summer of '08, he has been excited about the possibility of going to school there.

So Option One: 'BYU-I' looks very good.

But with his 19th birthday approaching, he is toying with Option Two as well. This option would find him here:

Yes, Option Two: 'Serving a mission' is also a very good option.

Stay tuned for future decisions.

and 2010 begins . . .

2010-01-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

After a wonderful-and-far-too-brief holiday vacation, "regular life" is back in full swing. We had a lovely Christmas break which we all enjoyed very much. Kristi and two friends made their professional guitar trio debut at our ward Christmas party, playing a holiday medley which was delightful. We'll let you know when the CD comes out.

Keith's sister and family came to town, so we had lots of fun hanging out with them. We then enjoyed a lazy and fun Christmas Day:

Our super missionaries (who might just be Brennan's best friends in the world) spent time with us on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and then Brennan left for Las Vegas for five days to play in a basketball tournament.

He had lots of fun but was glad to be home and out of the 'city of sin'. He said one highlight was a discussion he had one night with a man he met on the strip who was preaching salvation to all who would listen. Upon finding out Brennan was Mormon, he told him in no uncertain terms that he was going straight to You-Know-Where, which really took Brennan aback. Brennan gave him a pass-along card from his wallet, but when the man said he would take it only to prevent Brennan from giving it to someone else, Brennan kindly asked for it back! He was in Vegas over a Sunday, so unbeknownst to us, he had asked our local missionaries to contact some missionaries down in Vegas (same mission) to see if they could find him a ride to church -- which they did -- but his coach wouldn't let him go anywhere with strangers, which is understandable. So since he couldn't go to church, he went with his team instead . . . and rode the coasters at the top of the Stratosphere Tower.

<

And oh yes, they played a few games of basketball.

Kristi's bestest and oldest friend spent the week between Christmas and New Year's with us. She lives in Oregon and has been away for the past 4 years, but their friendship has never faded. She's just a part of the family and we all love it when she's here.

Could they be any cuter, really???

After we dried our tears about Kenzie leaving, we faced putting away the Christmas decorations and going back to school and work. Was this only a week ago??? Oh my.

Back to Brennan and basketball. His season is in fulll-swing now and he is having a great season so far. I just can't tell you how wonderful it is to watch him play after he lost last year to a broken foot. He is happy and confident and we feel like it's been a longish road, so it's very gratifying. Last night he played a fantastic game against a strong rival who was expected to win. He received some nice words of praise: http://carsonsports.com/index.php/basketball/38-chs-boys-basketbal/1725-senators-shut-down-damontes-best
(how do you do an embedded link???)

We didn't take pictures of last night's game, but here are some from today. They played a private school (who can recruit), and they are always at the top of the league. We didn't win, but played hard and only lost by 11, which, considering the opponant, almost felt like a victory.

Brennan had to guard Bobby Hunter (below), whose stats make him the #1 point guard in northern Nevada. He averages 20 points per game, but didn't get that today. Here is one reason why:

No foul; that was all ball. Way to go, Brennan! (all 5'8" of you!)

Go CHS!!

I am back at work . . .

. . . and working for the school district means that my immediate family gets into all local sporting events for free. It's like a little Christmas present each and every time we attend Brennan's games. I flash my badge and in we go, saving the $20ish it would otherwise cost. It makes me love my job a little bit more.

Hey, Keith has a facebook page now. He finally succumbed because lots of business colleagues hounded him about it. If you want to befriend him, look him up!

Happy New Year to all. We are optomistic and hopeful that 2010 will be 'new and improved' over last year. May you each find much happiness as it unfolds.

'09 Christmas Wishes

2009-12-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

For those of you who read my blog but did not get a Christmas letter

in your mailbox this year, here's the electronic version.

LOVE TO ALL AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Ho, Ho, Ho, and Deck the Halls, the holidays are here.

It went so fast, and looking back, ‘09 was quite a year!
The economy staggered, then fell flat; and it’s been a bumpy ride.

PEAK’s hangin’on, at least for now, awaiting a shift in tide!

Our family now has three adults, since Brennan turned eighteen.

He’s leaving soon, which is awful and great, and everything in between!
For now he’s loving his senior year, and time is flying by.

He’s an Eagle Scout, and a starting guard for good old Carson High!

Kristi’s enduring her junior year, mostly with a smile.

Tho’ proficiency exams and AP classes can sometimes cramp her style.
She played tennis again this year, and keeps our piano in song;

Right now she’s training with a friend to run a half-marathon!

Austin is growing and changing fast – that comes with being thirteen!

He’s smart and fun, and a new Life Scout, which is pretty keen.
Austin played soccer in the fall and made the all-stars, too.

But, like his big bro’, he’d rather play guard on the team at his middle schoo’.

Dallin is ten now, believe it or not, leaving childhood quickly behind.

Sometimes we wish we could freeze him in time, or even push rewind!
He is playing bball too, with his trusty Coach Dad calling plays.

Helpful and funny; pretty smart too, we hope this is how he will stay!

Keith needs a break; a nice long vacation, to unwind and renew his vigor.
Instead he says yes to all who ask, and his plate just keeps getting bigger!
He spends time with the 14 and 15-year-old scouts - camping, biking, and more;
He works snack bars, sings at church functions, and serves on professional boards.

Karen has joined the ranks of moms who work outside the home,
But only part-time, at a local school, so there’s no cause to moan.
She enjoys her job, but better than that, she’s home when the kids are home.
And that makes her happy, and feeling okay, for she has no desire to roam.

All is well at the Shaffer’s house, and we hope you can say the same.
We hope the New Year will bring your desires, be they health, fortune, or fame!
We wish you all a joyful season, full of family and friends and love
And pray that you will feel the peace that comes from God above.

Stop the ride! I wanna get off!

2009-12-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

So life is a little crazy. 'Tis the season.

I love the holiday season, but like most everyone, I do not enjoy the stress that rides alongside. I don't carry stress around with me every minute, which is good. But I do experience stressful moments, or hours, when I want to get off the ride.

Preparing for Christmas itself hasn't been all that stressful this year:

Tight Budget + Little Time = Christmas Simplification.

That part I have liked. The Christmas cards have been sent. Most of the presents are wrapped and under the tree, with only a few odds and ends left to take care of. Christmas cookies and toffee have been baked with more batches to follow. The weather has been both frightful and delightful. We even had a snow day last week (only the second in the past 13 years), which was honestly a tender mercy from above.

The part of the holidays that stresses me out is that the rest of life doesn't stop for them. My house still needs daily maintenance, my family needs to eat, the laundry must be done, and the ironing pile continues to grow. My older kids all have finals keeping them busy, and Dallin has a biography project on Abraham Lincoln due tomorrow. [His teacher obviously doesn't have kids yet, and thought it would be just fine to give them (and their moms) something huge to do the two weeks before Christmas! He has to dress up tomorrow -- hope I have some black posterboard to make a top hat!] Oh my, the missionaries coming to dinner (again). And the tail light in the truck is still burned out. Well, at least that costs less than the fuel pump the Suburban just needed. The service project at the womens' shelter is today?!? And oh, I better pay the bills. Austin's 8th-grade basketball season is now over, but Brennan's varsity season is just beginning, and I love the games and can't possibly miss! Keith is almost a one-man show at work now, so he works long days, has meetings and then basketball practices with Dallin; we hope to get reacquainted in January?

And oh yes, I am gone at work every day from 10:45 - 3:15. A small detail.

Our ward Christmas party is this Saturday. I have to bring a batch of 'funeral potatoes', Brennan and Austin are stage hands for the program, Kristi is playing piano accompaniment for the program, plus playing a guitar duet with a friend, and Dallin is a shepherd in the primary play. It will be great. But really, I just want us all to stay home and watch a movie. Sigh.

I am really looking forward to next week. No school (or work for me). Life will slow down. The house will get messy, and we will eat too much food. Brennan will spend what might be his last Christmas with us for awhile. Dramatic pause to contemplate that. Then he will leave for Las Vegas with his basketball team. Kristi's friend MacKenzie from Oregon will come for a visit. We will sleep in past 5:00 am and stay up late. We will watch movies, see family and friends, and play games. The stress will have melted away and we will feel the holiday joy. Just thinking about that helps the stress to melt a little right now.

Take a deep breath, and have a Happy Holiday!

a weekend getaway

2009-11-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

Living in Nevada means we get the last Friday in October off school every year for Nevada Day, which commemmorates Nevada's statehood. This means a long weekend at a beautiful time of year, and the opportunity to plan something fun to do. One year we took an extra day off and went to Disneyland. That was fun and plenty crowded. This year we returned for the fifth time to a little place we like to call "our" cabin. It was fun as always, and not crowded at all, which is a big plus in my book. It's the perfect little getaway; about 2 hours away, over the Sierras near Nevada City, CA. The weather was perfect, there was no cell phone service, and we were able to spend some much-needed down time with each other. It was bittersweet to hear Brennan say, as we were packing up the car to leave, that this might be his last trip to the cabin with us. I know I've been on this theme a lot lately, but that's where we are. Change is hard, even when it's good!

we played a lot of cards:

Austin caught a lizard (of course!):

Kristi didn't do a stitch of homework!:

And the boys even got to watch some NBA action:

Oh, the things you can get away with when the camera has a timer:
(click to enlarge the faces of my little comedians)

Wishing everyone a wonderful November!

ready or not

2009-10-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Just Yesterday . . .

And Today . . .

Times, they are a'changin'.

Me, a Working Mom?!?

2009-10-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Let me first say . . .

I believe every mom is a working mom.

I've been working hard for many years now in the Mom Business. And I couldn't have asked for a more challenging or rewarding career.

This is, in fact, the outfit I usually wear to work each day. It's very slimming, don't you think?

But, with my oldest a senior in high school and my youngest in fourth grade, I have entered a new and interesting phase of 'momhood', and thus have been able to join the ranks of "working moms who spend part of their day earning a paycheck".

For the past year or so, I've been looking for opportunities within the school district, since that would allow me to be home when my children are home. I could think of many reasons why I could and should become a substitute teacher, and very few credible reasons why I shouldn't (except for the giant pit in my stomach whenever I thought about it).

Thus, at the beginning of this school year I began the process towards becoming a sub. But then a delightful thing happened. I will spare you all the details, but suffice it to say that a series of 'happenstances' over a couple of weeks culminated in my becoming aware of an opening for a part-time position at a nearby elementary school. Something compelled me to drive over to the school and introduce myself to the vice principal, and within two hours of hearing about the opening, I was hired. Whew, be careful what you wish for!

I work from 11-3 each day. I have seven students every eight weeks that I tutor in reading one-on-one. The school is an "at-risk" school, which means they have grant money for a special school-wide reading program. The tutoring supplements this reading program for the neediest children, most of whom are Hispanic and therefore, mostly spoke Spanish before they spoke English. I have my own desk and computer, as do the other six tutors. The people I work with are wonderful, the children are so sweet, and the schedule just couldn't be much better.

My goal has been that this job would have a minimal impact on my family. And so far, I think that's been true. My mornings have gotten much busier out of necessity, but it's a pretty perfect schedule. The only downside is that I also have to do some playground duty each day, which is pretty mindless, but as I'm getting to know the kids better it is getting more enjoyable.

ANYWAY, I'm back in the outside-the-home workforce for the first time since 1991; wow! I am grateful it has been a relatively easy transition. A couple of days ago there was a bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk when I arrived at work. The card read:

We are all very happy that you are our wife and Mom, so don't get too attached to those other kids at your new job! We love you and appreciate all you do. Love, Keith and the kids

Life is good.

twenty-one years, but who's counting???

2009-09-15T13:28:00.001-07:00

Last month, Keith and I celebrated our twenty-first year of marriage. Wow, right?? Which means I have been married for as long as I was single. That is kind of a crazy thing to wrap my mind around. We have spent most of our entire adult lives together -- what a weird and wonderful thing that is.

Last year for our big 20th, we had tentively planned a trip to the Pacific Northwest. It was going to be great. Instead, Keith got (not-too-reluctantly) pulled into coaching Austin's football team, so on our anniversary he was on the sidelines and we were not in the Pacific Northwest. This year, he is not coaching, but with money tight, we took a very speedy retreat to nearby Lake Tahoe instead. We were only gone from home for about 30 hours, and although we would love to have stayed a month, it was better than nothing. I surprised him by making reservations for the Heavenly Flyer, the longest zipline in the lower 48. To ride that, you first have to take a Gondola ride up to Heavenly ski resort, then take a ski lift even further up, and then take the 80-second, 60 mph, 525 foot drop ride from there. I told him that I thought it was symbolic of the ride of marriage. It was gorgeous up there, and SO MUCH FUN; I would recommend it to all of you on your next Tahoe vacation.

Here we are, most of the way up on the Gondola (in the background). The gondola ride was way more scary to me than the zipline. I hate the bumpy feeling as it goes over the joints, so I took the chance to hop off for a few minutes and regain my courage for the rest of the vertical journey.

Here we are at the top. Pretty high!

Here we are in line for the Heavenly Flyer. Perhaps Keith was saying a final quick prayer?

And there are the sturdy, safe harnesses. Oh my.

Keith tried to take pictures of me on the way down, but as you might imagine, he had a difficult time balancing the camera from his zipline, so the pictures were all blurry. But for a quick peak into the ride, check out http://www.skiheavenly.com/mountain/heavenly_flyer/ .

I'm grateful for the fun ride of marriage. And I think since the first 21 years have worked out so well, Keith and I might try for a few more.

my morning musings

2009-08-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

I just read my niece Tracy's latest post on her blog, and started to write a comment to her, but decided as it got longish that I would make it a post of my very own. Tracy, as most of you know, is a busy mom of five. She is a wonderful person, an amazing mother, and has talents in many areas. I admire her. I think I am about seven years further down the road of life from her, but I look up to her and appreciate her example. Her post talked about the delicate balancing act that is motherhood.

I'm pondering whether to even ring in on this issue -- so much to say but probably so little to contribute! I guess I am now a "middlish-mom", rather than a youngish mom. Yesterday was our first day of school, and I was standing on the playground of the elementary school with some of my 'middlish' friends after we had just dropped off our youngest children. In this particular group, we had combined mothering experience totalling 91 years. We were noticing all the young, cute moms (we've termed them the 'snowboarding moms' for some reason) who were dropping off their first children. They were eager, some looked stressed -- we collectively were . . . neither. Just peaceful, maybe a little tired (we had to get up with our Seminary kids, after all), with a different perspective than we used to have. We were chuckling about how we used to be so much better at being involved in all the school stuff than we are now. And we realized, somewhat wistfully, that none of these younger, eager moms had any idea how much we've contributed in the past. We've made many phone calls, volunteered at school events, attended countless meetings, balanced many things, and managed the chaos. Now we kiss our kids and say, "see you after school!" and politely decline when asked to be the PTSA Treasurer for the year or organize the clean-up crew for the school barbecue. Don't get me wrong, we still volunteer in our kids' classrooms, go on field trips, etc. but we have somewhat lower expectations of ourselves now. Sometimes in commercials or movies there will be someone who is standing still or moving slowly while everything around them moves in super-fast motion. That's sorta what we felt like, and in some way we felt rather sorry for the anxious fast-movers. And also very grateful for them! Somebody's got to keep up the enthusiasm and clean up after the barbecue!

The five of us decided to go out for a spontaneous breakfast at Mom & Pop's Diner where we sat, laughed, reminisced and marveled at the passage of time. One of us just married off her oldest child this summer (I taught her in what used to be Achievement Days). Another one has her oldest serving a mission (I used to drive him to Cub Scouts). My oldest is a senior in high school and counting down the minutes until he can launch, while in the meantime figuring out the ups and downs of having a steady girlfriend. The other two moms have oldest daughters who are Kristi's age, so we were discussing hormones, messy bedrooms and AP classes. Three hours later we thought we'd better go home and clean up the before-school dishes before our kids started coming home and wondered what we'd done all day!

I am not fortunate to live close to any of my family, immediate or extended. But I am fortunate to have friends who I have known since we were young moms, and who I hope to have until we are old grandmothers. When I sheepishly admitted to Keith last night about how I spent my morning, his comment was, "You guys deserved it." I would agree.

I don't think there's any way to avoid the chaos that is motherhood. And so if we continue to strive to avoid it, we will feel frustrated daily. I am definitely a control freak to some degree, and if my house isn't relatively tidy at all times I feel like I can't breathe. When the noise level rises too high, I can't think straight and I start to shut down. So the kids came home yesterday and unloaded (their feelings and their backpacks), and it was noisy and messy and there were forms that needed signing, and complaints that needed hearing, and lists of school supplies to purchase, and everyone needed my attention at the same time. And I needed a walk around the block. But we tackled each thing one by one and slowly the chaos diminished. The rest of the day included tennis practice for Kristi, soccer practice for Austin, golfing with the missionaries for Brennan (it was their P-Day and Brennan has a friend that works at the golf course that he's trying to share the gospel with), and I did get my walk around the block in, with Dallin. We managed to have dinner together, though it was short, and the house was peaceful by 9. Well, maybe 10.

And today's a new day. I'm not sure there is much better advice in the delicate balance of motherhood than to try anew with each rising sun. Pray and count your blessings. Turn your worries over to the Lord as much as you can. Read the scriptures. Have faith and see the positive. Don't take things to personally or too seriously. Today's struggles pass to make room for tomorrow's, and the same can be said of the joys. Relationships matter more than most anything else. Adversity is real but is part of the plan so have faith, not fear.

And now for my bowl of cereal. Have a great day.

Oh me, oh my!

2009-08-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, I think I may have forgotten how to do this blogging thing. My last post was actually before the last day of school in early June?? Pretty funny. As I re-read that post, I felt quite satisfied at all we have successfully accomplished in our busy summer.

EFY? Check. Brennan and Kristi had a great time. They loved having David and Kenzie join them, and it was a great experience for all. David and Brennan didn't take any pictures of themselves on their cell phones, but the girls did!

Austin's vacation in Santa Cruz? He had a fabulous time and came back very tan and a little blonder:

Pioneer Trek? A smashing success. Once again, I think Keith is amazing. True, he had wonderful people called to help him pull it off, but he has such vision and leadership abilities. Brennan and Kristi (and every other youth I've spoken to) had a terrific experience. Keith literally couldn't talk about it for a few days afterwards without getting a little teary. Sorry, Brennan, no one from your group sent me any pictures.

The fearless leader:

NYLT for Austin? Not his favorite week. Two words: smelly tentmate. But, hey, it's done and he'll never have to go again!

Family Reunion '09 -- so great. Most of you who might read this blog were there, so no need to say much. We loved seeing you and catching up a little. We have such an amazing family, don't we??
Here are the brave Provo River Tubers!

Brennan had a great time with his terrific cousins!

So did Kristi!!

Girls' Camp for Kristi and me? Even more fun than I thought it might be. Kristi always loves it and looks forward to it each year, but while I have gone up several times over the years, it's never been for more than a night. This week I was a stake leader and stayed all week. No tent, no cabin, just a sleeping bag under the stars, right out there with all the mosquitoes. And it was super fun.

Basketball tournaments and scout activities? All good. Brennan has continued to have some foot troubles, which has made it impossible for him to play football, but he is very optomistic that he will be 100% by basketball season, which is his first priority by a mile.

Church history trip for Kristi and her dad? This is the only thing that didn't happen this summer. They have rainchecked it for early next summer.

Trips to Nevada Beach? We've been several times; not close to once a week, but several times. And it's beautiful and relaxing and good therapy for any stress. Open invitation to all of you.

School begins in about two weeks, and nobody is ready. I have nothing further to say on that subject. It's hard to believe another summer is just about gone.

And by the way, my little boy Brennan is now eighteen years old. I can't even think of what to write about that. I have so many emotions about it, I won't even try. Suffice it to say, we love him and are very proud of the man he is becoming. He just had his senior picture taken, but is already looking past graduation to college and a mission. It's all happening much too fast for me.

Enjoy the rest of summer!

my head is spinning . . .

2009-06-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

We are just a couple of days from the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, which is always a momentus occasion! Usually I am anxiously anticipating a noticeable slowdown in our daily pace. However, the past couple of years have not brought such a dramatic slowdown, and this year will be no exception. And so, as I spent some time with the calendar on the eve of turning the page to June, I started making a list of things to do to prepare for all that is ahead in our lemonade-sipping, fly-swatting, slowdown summer . . . and my head started to s-p-i-n.

Here's what we'll be up to in June and July:

June:

~ EFY for Brennan & Kristi (which includes a 5-day visit for me with my mom!)
~ a week's vacation in Santa Cruz for Austin and his best friend's family
~ Pioneer Trek for Keith, Brennan, and Kristi (Keith was the "Trek Director" this time around and wow, what a major undertaking; he is amazing)
~ Boy Scout N.Y.L.T. (Nat'l Youth Leader Training) for Austin for a week 3 hours away
~ a basketball tournament in Sacramento for Brennan's summer traveling team
~ a weekend trip to San Fran for Kristi to see "Wicked" with a girlfriend's family
~ a whitewater rafting trip on the American River for the Teachers & Priests (which will include Brennan and Keith)
~ our family's trip to Utah for a visit and for the Lowe Reunion!!

July:

~ Lowe Family Reunion
~ Girls' Camp for Kristi and me
~ scout camp for Austin
~ 2 basketball tournaments in Sacramento
~ Keith and Kristi's church history road trip

August looks like it will slow down a bit, with possibly only a visit from Kristi's BFF MacKenzie, try-outs for tennis, 2-a-day football practices, and a canoe campout for Keith and his Teachers quorum.

In years past we spent at least one day a week lounging and playing at Nevada Beach up at the south shore of Tahoe.

My big kids have a thousand memories of those days, but as they've gotten older and busier, it is harder and harder to devote a whole day each week to that blissful leisure. How sad is that? I am planning to squeeze in as many days at Nevada Beach as I can this summer, despite everything else that's going on.

I've been working a couple of mornings a week at Keith's office lately, and although I am happy to help, it sure throws me off my groove! It helps that I have a big crush on my boss, but I really, really don't know how moms work outside the home. And some do it every day! Wow, I think I would go crazy.

Dallin is really excited to put up our backyard pool and swim his days away. I've been thinking that maybe my head will spin much slower under water, so I may have to join him.

One day at a time, and enjoy each moment. Right?!?!?

mother's day, the day after

2009-05-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful to be a mother. And I LOVE the phase of motherhood that I am in. I am so sad thinking about how soon I will be in another phase, with my children starting to leave. But I can't spend all my time thinking about that, can I? There's too much to think about in the moment. There's so much going on all the time, but in such a different way than when my children were little. I am finding such joy and satisfaction in watching my increasingly independent children run their lives. Sometimes I have way too many opinions about that very thing, but I'm learning to sit back and be quiet a lot more. I was reading a book the other day about mothers, and I found this thought that jumped out at me:

God knows a mother

needs fortitude and courage

and tolerance and flexibility

and patience and firmness

and nearly every other

brave aspect of the human soul.

But . . . I praise casualness.

It seems to me the rarest of virtues.

It's useful enough when

children are small.

But it is important to

the point of necessity

when they are adolescents.

- Phyllis McGinley

I don't know who Phyllis McGinley is, but I think she has hit on something good here. My adolescents sure do seem to appreciate me more when I am casual about things. Not always easy to do, but something worth thinking about . . .

good times

2009-05-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Life has been moving quickly the last few weeks, which is pretty normal I guess! We have had a lot going on, and time is just flying by. This may shape up to be a too-long post full of non-interesting-to-anyone-but-us details of our life, so be warned.

One recent event of note was Brennan's Eagle Scout project. He worked with a contractor to landscape a recreation area behind our church building. This recreation area actually provided eagle projects for three young men, which was great. One of those is Brennan's closest LDS friend, and I heard him tell Brennan one day, "It will be so cool to bring our grandchildren here someday and tell them WE did this!" Made me smile. I was very proud of how Brennan handled all aspects of the project, once we got past the "procrastination phase", that is. In the end, I think he had about 175 man-hours toward the project, and the requirement is something like 30. About 55 people showed up to help him on the day of the project, and he was humbled by such a great showing of support.

Last night our YW had their fundraiser for girls' camp by doing a dessert auction. This is something we started a few years ago when I was YW president, and it's become somewhat of a tradition! So last night we had a Mexican potluck dinner, and then the auction afterwards. Each young woman and each leader made a dessert to auction off, and it got fun and crazy, as usual. Some people (like my husband) really get into the competitive spirit of things, and it is quite the event. Kristi made a "White Chocolate Berry Pie" which looked beautiful and sold for, are you ready? $120.

Unbelievable, right??? We came home with a lemon bundt cake, but we got off easy at $42. Keith won another cake too, this time for $85, but then another ward member yelled, "I just can't let Keith win -- I'll take it for $100!" Yes, it was some good times in the Clear Creek Ward.

Today was our kids' annual spring piano recital. Dallin was so ready, he didn't need his music or anything. He played "The Entertainer" and "Maleguena", and did a great job. He's one that doesn't really get nervous, which is weird. Austin complains a bit about piano, although he's a pretty good sport. He played Bach's "Menuet in G Major", and then a ragtime version of the same song. In his practicing, he would either play them extremely well, or extremely poorly. You just never knew which way it would go. Earlier today as he was practicing, and it wasn't going so well, he asked if I would just call his teacher and tell her he was throwing up and couldn't make it to the recital. I reminded him that he wasn't actually throwing up, to which he replied, "any minute now, any minute." Well, he didn't get sick, and he played so well! WHEW. His big grin of relief as he stood up from the piano said it all.

Kristi doesn't take piano lessons anymore, so she hasn't played in this recital for a couple of years. Her former teacher always invites her to play, but she always politely refuses. This year, for some unknown reason, she agreed to play. I tried to hide my joy for fear it would make her change her mind, but she didn't! She played a song called, "Piano Fantasy" by William Joseph. If you are unfamiliar with William Joseph, then you will be glad you read this post. He is an LDS musician and Kristi just loves his music, both to play and to listen to. Here he is playing the song Kristi played today, and honestly she very nearly plays it as well as he does. Just sit back for three minutes and enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmbb8-ry5JY

Tonight Kristi and two friends are going to the "Mormal", which is a Dr. Suess word for "Mormon Formal". They do not have dates, but since it is a regional event in Reno, they are hoping to meet some equally cool and equally dateless young men. Cross your fingers for them.

Tomorrow Keith has to speak in sacrament meeting, and then each young man in the ward is supposed to take 2 minutes to talk about their moms. Oh boy, should I be nervous to have Keith, Brennan, and Austin at the pulpit on Mother's Day? There are just so many things they could say, not all of which I want broadcast in front of the ward . . .

And one more thought on Mother's Day -- don't you think we should always sing, "We are All Enlisted" as one of the songs in sacrament meeting, or maybe it should be a special women's choir? Just check out the words in the hymnbook and see if you don't agree with me.

That's all for now. My in-laws are coming for dinner tomorrow, so it's time to vacuum!

My Middle Child

2009-04-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically I have two middle children, but with Kristi being the only girl, she's in a class by herself, which seems to suit her just fine. So it's Austin that plays the middle child role in our family. According to experts, since middle children often aren't the biggest and strongest, and they aren't the babies who get away with murder, they can feel that they aren't really anything special. Sometimes they feel invisible. They have to try a little harder to be heard or get noticed, and they may feel that they do not get as much praise as the older children for simple firsts like tying a shoe or riding a bike. But I think middle children, if they know how to play their cards right, sit in a pretty good spot. They don't have to live up to parents' expectations the same way the oldest child does, and they don't get babied too long like the youngest child. They learn to be good mediators and negotiators, and learn to be self-sufficient and independant.

This is Austin.

I just love this kid. He is kind-hearted, thoughtful, sensitive to others' feelings, helpful, doesn't complain, and loves to see others happy. And he's turning THIRTEEN tomorrow. Perhaps because he's such a sweetheart, I tend to think of him as a little kid. But as his adolescent hormones are starting to boogie, I am forced to accept that he is a young man now. He's getting muscular and tall, he leaves the house smelling of cologne, and he gives me a little less public attention. Once in awhile he even gets mad, which is so unusual that it surprises everyone, mostly him!

I remember when he began middle school, I told him several times, "Don't let middle school ruin you!" It was hard for me to let him go to middle school because sweetness and cheerfulness and innocence are characteristics that are more likely to be ridiculed instead of praised. I do think that middle school has changed him, but thankfully not ruined him. And I don't think becoming a teenager will ruin him either. I think "Awesome Austin", as we have called him since he was little, will always be awesome.

younger days:

at scout camp last summer:

hiking to the top of nearby Job's Peak:

on his way to another touchdown:

Happy 13th Birthday, Austin!!!!!!!!

What does Easter mean to you?

2009-04-08T11:10:00.001-07:00

Because we must need the blessings, our family was asked to "do the sacrament meeting" on Easter Sunday. Our older kids and Keith and I will be speaking, and the younger boys will be playing a piano duet. To go along with the many -and varied- thoughts bouncing around in my head about Easter and the Atonement, I wondered if any of you would like to share your thoughts on what Easter means to you.

And on another subject, wasn't conference uplifting?? Somehow I expected there to be a more serious tone, more messages about getting prepared, etc. But for me, I just felt like my understanding of certain things was expanded (Elder Holland's talk for example, wow), and I felt peaceful and not anxious. A favorite quote for me was from Pres. Monson: "The future is just as bright as our faith." Could it be any simpler?

Book Recommendation

2009-04-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

Recommendations are risky. Whether they be books, movies, restaurants, whatever. We all have different tastes and different opinions about what is worthy of our precious time. That said, I'm taking the plunge anyway. Probably some of you are already familiar with this series, particularly those of you living in Utah.(?) It's "The Great & Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. There are six books (I know, I know), but having finished the sixth one this afternoon, I can say I'm glad I took the journey. And I read each one faster than the last. My mother-in-law has been telling me about these books for the past couple of years, but I never made any move to read them until she dropped off the first two at my house one day. Brennan is now in Book Two and is really enjoying it (if you knew Brennan better, that statement might have made more of an impact). Note: Book One, "Prologue: The Brothers", is completely different than the rest. I was a bit hesitant about it at first, but by the end was ready to see where the author was going. They've been very thought-provoking for me. Okay, enough said. Gotta go work on my emergency preparedness plan now . . .

A Little 'Crush'

2009-03-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not ashamed to admit it -- I had a great time at the David Archuleta concert last week! Alana, a good friend of Kristi's, gave her a ticket to the concert as a birthday present, so Alana and her mom went, plus another friend Shannon, plus me of course. Like I could stay away! Our seats weren't bad, and we were also able to walk down to the front to get quite close. So we see-sawed back and forth. Here's the proof!

Waiting in line beforehand:

At our table, waiting some more:

Here we go!

What a cute kid, and wow, can he sing. He sounded amazing and we all had lots of fun. Kristi and I continue to think that after a couple of years of performing his music, he'll decide he needs to continue his education at, say, Brigham Young University. And then one day, his path will cross with Kristi's in, hmmm, the Harris Fine Arts Center, and the rest will be . . . history. Stranger things have happened, right?!?

Signs of the Times

2009-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, if you just keep your eyes open, "blog-worthy" things can be found everywhere.

I could not resist sharing this, although I'd rather pretend it's not real. Austin told me last week that he had been invited to a birthday party given by a girl at school. Hmmm, a boy/girl party, I thought. My little Austin. Hard (for me) to believe he's old enough for this stuff. It was on the night we had planned to take Kristi out for her birthday, and when I mentioned that, he assured me he wasn't interested in going to the party anyway. That made it easy; schedule conflict averted; boy/girl parties for Austin postponed until the next invitation.

This morning I ran out the door with the lunch he almost forgot to take, and as he was putting it in his backpack, I noticed a bright piece of paper sticking out. He handed it to me, saying it was the invitation to that party, and that I could just throw it away now that it was over. So then I looked at it and noticed something, well, blog-worthy. See what you notice.

Let's look a little closer:

Did you catch that? My 12-year-old was not just invited to a boy/girl party (which I CAN wrap my mind around, despite my reluctance to), but he was invited to a boy/girl sleepover. Yup. This I cannot wrap my mind around. I think I may need to go lie down.

Deep breath.

The really important news of the day is that it's Kristi's 16th birthday. Perhaps I will blog more about that later??

p.s. don't ask my why the date on the pictures that I took this morning say 5/4/06!

Nevada Skies

2009-03-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

One of the things I really love about living in northern Nevada is the big blue sky. Blue skies happen so often out here that they are almost monotonous to some. Not to me. And when the blue skies are punctuated with amazing cloud formations, then I could just gaze at them all day. Perhaps one of the reasons that I love looking at the sky so much is that looking at the ground is not very exciting. Unless it's developed, Nevada ground mostly looks like this:

And the vistas look like this:

So your eyes are naturally drawn heavenward, at least mine are.

Today has been a 'beautiful skies' day. The kind that has made me grateful for nature's beauty, the kind that has refreshed my spirits, and relaxed my mind.

Life with Copper

2009-03-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

(First of all, don't ask me why I've become a blogging machine lately. I'm sure it's a phase which will pass.)

Some of you know that we have a dog. Some of you also know that I am not a 'dog lover', but rather a 'dog accepter'. We've had Copper for almost 9 years, and now that she's a mellow older dog, my blood pressure is usually not affected by her existence anymore. And despite the fact that over the years, other than walking her, I really spend no 'quality time' with her, she loves me and is eager to be around me.

The other night as Keith, Dallin, Copper and I were hiking up the mountain behind our house, Dallin was commenting about how he's had Copper his whole life, how great she is, and how much he loves her. It caused me to think about the vastly different perspectives he and I have about this animal. He literally doesn't remember life B.C.. They have been great friends, and shared lots of fun and mischief together over the years! He looks forward to seeing her after school every day and especially after vacations. She is a big part of his little life! And when I stop to think about that, I guess I would say am glad.

The rest of this you've certainly seen before, but here are some things that Copper has tried to teach us over the years:

"When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy..
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently."

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Girls' Night Out

2009-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Keith had a "camp-in" with his class of 14-15 yr old boys from church. They came over to eat pizza, play wii, and have a crazy air soft war in the sagebrush field behind our house. Kristi and I decided it would be a good time to sneak away for a girls' night out. We had a blast. I am sooooo grateful to have a daughter that I can truly call my friend. We talked and laughed and sang to David Archuleta's CD in the car (as she drove). We're going to his concert in Reno on Wednesday night!!

We ate mexican food and had to unbutton our pants in the car afterwards (hmmm, too much information?). We did some birthday shopping since her sweet 16th is right around the corner. We just had fun!

I love being with Kristi. She is a wonderful, sweet, funny, friendly, talented, lovely young lady. I've told her several times that she is what I wanted to be when I was a teenager. When she was little I used to comment to Keith that I was just so excited to watch her grow up and see who she would turn out to be. Now many years later, I can say that it continues to be a fun ride. I admire Kristi and feel very privileged to be her mom.

March Madness

2009-03-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how the basketball tournaments are going -- my March Madness has more to do with having teenagers who can't seem to keep their rooms clean or make it to seminary on time. Come on, guys -- you were so much easier to control when you were little!! This free agency thing is getting completely out of hand now.

In all honesty, I love having teenagers. I love watching them, listening to them, trying to figure them out. Some days I think mine are hopelessly NOT ready for adulthood, while other days I am in awe of the people they are becoming. They are fun and funny and delightful. They are messy and moody and annoying. They put scratches on the car and tell us that it should have been worse and we should be so grateful. They leave all the lights on, forget to inform us of many things, and often forget to say thank you. They give me a hug unexpectedly, or leave me a nice note, or say "I love you" on their way out the door. They look like they're zoning out during scripture reading, but know all the answers when we ask them what we read. They tell me they're too busy to do something with me, but when the phone rings they are miraculously available for their friends. Sometimes they laugh with me, sometimes they laugh at me. They are sweet and helpful and grumpy and selfish. See? It's MADNESS. And not just in March.

aw . . . sweet!

2009-02-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, I can't help it. Anyone who is reading my blog also knows my sister Kathy. She is a sweetheart who wrote the following on my birthday:

If I had a blog (to continue our conversation) what would I write today? Hmmm.....

TODAY IS MY DEAR SISTER'S BIRTHDAY!

Karen Janine Lowe Shaffer is my wonderful sister. I love her with all of my heart. I have loved her since the day my mother brought her home from the hospital and she laid in her tiny bassinet in the darkened dining room. When I came home from school I would quietly step in to see her sleeping. When she got bigger, I loved playing with her even before she was old enough to know we were playing. I remember sitting in the cafeteria in 4th grade when a classmate asked me if I had a cat. I said, "No, why?" She said she thought I must have a cat because of the scratches on my face. I said, "No, that's just from my little sister."

When Karen grew older and could control her fingers better we did so much together. We played Spirograph, dipped Easter Eggs, and made wax fingernails from wrapped Gouda cheese at the kitchen table. We played card games and board games, and sang and danced to records in the living room. We took walks and rode our bikes in the neighborhood, raked leaves in the backyard, and reluctantly weeded the beans in the garden. We looked forward to watching Love Boat and Fantasy Island every Saturday night on TV.

Even though Karen and I were 8 years apart, I loved her like a friend. It was fun to take her to Taco Bueno or anywhere, but especially Taco Bueno. We also went to Lake Fairfax on hot summer days. Sometimes we'd stay up late on summer nights and eat orange popsicles and play Racko. Good times! I don't know why it was so fun, but it was.

When I went away to college I felt terrible homesickness. I hated to leave her at home. I thought about how lonely she must be, left, the last child at home, and how I hated to do that to her. It took a while, but somehow we both made the adjustment. As life does, it has seperated us and brought us back together several times. We still love being together, although we don't have the opportunity nearly enough. But because we have always been so close we are permanently a part of each other. Time and distance apart don't hurt so much. Our children even feel a special closeness to each other, which is precious to both of us.

I am so glad to have Karen forever. She is my sister and my friend. I am thankful for her and for our love for each other.

Happy 42nd birthday, Karen! You are so special to me! I love you and thank you for being such a great sister and friend. Have a wonderful day!

All my love,

Kathy

And here's a little blast from the past:

Another year older and wiser(?) too . . .

2009-02-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

February means that another year in my life has come and gone. And I'm wearing a new number -- 42. Excuse me, forty-two??? Does that sound weird to anyone besides me? Forty-two is middle-age, right? I thought so.

Something my mom said to me one time many years ago has taken on new meaning over the past few years. She said, "No matter how old I get, I just feel like ME." Now that may sound simple, but stop a moment and give that some thought. You will agree with me, I am certain, that it is actually a very profound statement.

I have been feeling so very blessed lately. No, every single thing in my life is not perfect, and I am certainly not perfect. But wow, I am incredibly blessed. One of the ways that I am not perfect is that I am very good at taking wonderful things for granted. Things that, if they were suddenly gone, would just rock my world to destruction. A few things off the top of my head: my husband, my children, my friends. My testimony. My extended family. Good health. Life in America. I have been blessed with so much, I occasionally worry that I am not doing enough with that stewardship. I like simplicity. I like time to think. I do not eagerly look for opportunities to complicate or busy my life beyond what is needful. So sometimes when I look around and see people doing amazing things with far-reaching effects, I wonder if I am missing the boat or being selfish. The things I do, I do fairly well. But perhaps I should stretch my circle of influence wider. Or become passionate for something outside my little world.

This post is getting weird, but like my wise sister Kathy mused, "who is the audience for a blog anyway?" Mostly just me, I think. So, weird it can be.

Snapping back into life at the moment, I will post a few basketball pictures. Don't ask me why, but I don't have a single one of Brennan playing varsity. Oh well, it was only a dream come true for him that I decided not to document. There's always next year. . . But somehow I did capture some of Austin's 7th grade season. His team ended up taking the league championship, so you can imagine it was some pretty good times.

Getting a pep talk:

Ready for action:

Tight defense!

Hey, we just won the championship!!

Go Eagles! This is a great bunch of boys, four of whom are LDS. How cool is that?

Now, like I said, I have no pictures of Brennan playing Varsity. He really did make the team, I promise. He has, however, asked me to put more exciting pictures of him on my blog (he must be 17), so okay, here's a good one from last summer:

And not to be forgotten, Kristi and Dallin still live here too. Dallin's playing community basketball, but to be honest it's all I can do to stay awake for his games, let alone snap too many pictures. But tonight Dallin will earn his Bear badge at the Blue & Gold Dinner, so here's a cub scout picture of him:

Kristi's driving up a storm in her cute sports car we call a Suburban, but no pictures of that either. So how about this one?

Hard to believe my beautiful baby girl is almost 16. I love Kristi!!

Okay, I need to get on my treadmill. I seriously ate leftover birthday cake for breakfast and the longer I sit here the more I am feeling it stick to my ribs (and hips and thighs).

Blog vs. Facebook

2009-02-18T08:37:00.001-08:00

Okay, here's the thing. Last week my BFF from high school emailed me to say she had joined Facebook, and lured me in by saying that she was reconnecting with several high school friends there. With that as my motivation, I got sucked in, and after a couple days of 'buyers remorse' (feeling a little uncomfortable about being out there in cyberspace), I have now decided I like it a lot! It's fast, easy, and of course interactive. My next mission is to find out how to search for my long-lost BYU friends. Anyway, I'm liking it!

Still alive

2009-02-06T11:52:00.001-08:00

Starting this blog is becoming one of those decisions I am maybe, possibly regretting!! It's something that I almost never think about, but when I do, there's this nagging feeling like it's yet another thing I should be doing better! Who needs that? My biggest stumbling block is the pictures. I am just not savvy with the digital photo thing (uploading, downloading, managing them all, knowing how to access them) that everyone else can do in their sleep. And I never want to make the time to learn. So then I don't post because who wants to read a post without a picture (not me). Okay, that's my rambling for today. With no picture.

Football Fever

2008-12-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, this is long overdue now that basketball season is in full swing, but beginning last July for Brennan, and August for Austin and Keith, football is how we spent our time! Sadly, Brennan broke his foot early on and was stuck on the sidelines for most of the season.

But here are a few pictures of my studly sons. Brennan is #12 in the middle.

And here's Austin, also #12, who turned out to be an amazing running back for his Pop Warner team this year. He also played quarterback, but those pictures aren't as fun. Run, Austin, run!

This was against our biggest rivals (and Keith's old team), Douglas, and we lost in overtime by one point. Heartbreak!

Oh yeah, I have a blog!

2008-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I have anything blog-worthy to report, but it's been awhile, so I'll just check in. It's a beautiful October day with clear skies and crisp temperatures in the 50's. I love this time of year! I've been enjoying a rather lazy day that began with a long walk with a friend after we dropped our youngest children off at school. We have known each other for a dozen years and talked a lot about how our lives are so different than they used to be when our children were small. I will admit that I am really enjoying this time in my life. My kids are not little anymore, but they are all still home. They are getting increasingly independent, but they still depend on me. I have time to read my scriptures, or a novel, and I can keep up with the church magazines and the gospel doctrine lessons! I don't always keep up on them, but I CAN. This slower pace doesn't always benefit my productivity -- it's funny how we can accomplish a lot when much is required -- but it is nice to not feel as frantic as I often have over the past decade or so. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been transferring our 8 mm videos onto DVD's, so we have been playing our home movies for hours. We have laughed our heads off, and shed a few tears of nostalgia. Here are some random pictures of times past:

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

The End of Summer

2008-08-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, the house is quiet! Today is the third day of school and I miss my kids. So far the school year has begun with smiles all around, but the workload hasn't hit yet, so we'll see!

We had a great summer, beginning with a wonderful family trip to Idaho. Despite the cold temps and even snow flurries in Rexburg (in June!), we all had a fabulous time. Of course we didn't take enough pictures, but here are a few. IF I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS.

This was taken at Mom's house in Sandy, Utah. We stopped in for a couple of days on our way to Idaho. Wake up, boys!

This was on the front steps of the cabin we rented between Ashton and St. Anthony, Idaho. We were right on a lake and enjoyed the fishing and the views. From there, we made day trips to Rexburg (BYU-Idaho), to Yellowstone National Park, and to Grand Teton National Park. We had a great time!

Some fish! I think Dallin looked this way because all he caught that day was this:

We enjoyed a wonderful (cold) hike in the Grand Tetons. We did the Jenny Lake Loop and it was beautiful!

This was taken at the 'famous' Bar J Chuckwagon Ranch, where we ate rustic food and were treated to a cowboy concert (along with 700 other folks). We had been hiking all afternoon in the Grand Tetons, so we look a little beat (or at least I did!)

We saw more buffalo in Yellowstone than we ever had before. Literally hundreds. We also saw elk, a fox, a brown bear AND a grizzly, and of course moose.

We almost got hypothermia while waiting for Old Faithful to do its thing. The kids weren't sure it was worth the wait, but at least now they can say they've seen it.

This was Austin getting serenaded at close-range from a performer at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone. The next picture shows how he felt about it. Doesn't his face say it all???

It was a fun vacation!

just playing around

2008-07-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Finding myself with some extra time on my hands, and spending a lot of it reading other people's blogs, I decided to fiddle around with a blog of my own. But I am so clueless and intimidated by the whole process that this may simply go nowhere. Keep your expectations low!