The lovely kind of Chaos

Christmas was wonderfully chaotic. We had 17 people here. All of my siblings and parents. It had been a long time (about 10 years) since we had all had Christmas together and I will bet that it will be another 10 before it happens again. We all got what we didn't even know that we wanted which is the best kind of stuff to get. (I even got some stuff that I did know that I wanted) Since then we have been hanging out, playing games, eating way too much food, and just enjoying being together. More info and pictures are to follow, but too much is still going on to form much of a coherent thought. Happy New Year to all!!

My Amazing NYC trip

As many of you already know my sister Emily and I went to NYC last weekend to take in the sights. We had more fun than I have had in years. I was the absolute tourist. I kept saying things like --"OOOOHHHH look at that" and "I have seen that on TV." We stayed at Richard's apartment on Friday and then spent all day looking around on Saturday. The only other place that I have seen that many people was at a concert mosh pit. It was still a blast.

We started out a little bit shaky after literally sprinting down the streets of DC in order to catch our bus, and realizing that I had brought the portable DVD player, but no movies to watch. Everything else just got better from there. The bus ride went quickly despite the fact that we were sitting right next to the bathroom door and had to keep informing people that you must PUSH the door open not PULL. When we got to NY we got on the subway and headed to Richard's place. (After seeing a huge rat run down the train tracks) We crashed at his place and got up the next morning to begin our adventure.

Time Square was our first stop. It was everthing that I hoped that it would be. There were lights everywhere and all of the stores were ten times bigger and brighter than the ones at home. Toys R Us had a working full sized ferris wheel inside. What a rush! We then went to Hershey world and M&M world, took a million pictures, saw Rockefeller Center (along with two wedding proposals), Saks, Macy's, Fao Schwartz, and everything in between.

With plenty of time left we headed back to the subway to go and catch our bus. After buying a movie for the ride home and hot chocolate we somehow found ourselves again sprinting down the street to catch our bus.

Though I came home sore and exhausted (in order to speak in Sacrament meeting and teach RS) it was one of the best trips I have ever been on.

Thanks Em!!!

Frozen Bums and other events

On Saturday we went to see Todd march in the town Christmas parade. It was only 30 degrees and flurries were coming down. It was a funny parade. Since we are really kind of a redneck area (just in case you weren't aware) the "floats" were kind of comical. A lot of them were just cars (regular not old, cool, or done up) with little paper signs on the side saying who was inside (keeping warm I might add). I decided that I was going to drive my van in the parade and just wave at all the freezing people along the way. Todd had hand warmers in his gloves and feet warmers and two layers of clothes but he still came home shivering. His band was entry number 75 out of 120. As soon as we yelled, cheered and took pictures of his band going by (I had to explain why we would say "Thats my Barney") we packed up our stuff and left. Needless to say all of us were frozen!

On a different note-I was organizing and found the following picture (which made me laugh) Later on that same day

I was lecturing the boys on how we should treat our brothers and sister. "Heavenly Father did not give us families so the we could beat them up". I thought of this picture and started to laugh. It is funny how life seems to make a full circle.

Thanksgiving

(I don't know why this is sideways, but what can you do?)

We went for what is probably one our very last Thanksgivings with family in a long time. We were at Tami's house, but since she is moving to Germany in the spring I think it was probably the last time we will be there for Thanksgiving. We had a really good time. I even fed a goat. We went to the Bluebird Gap Farm and had a good time walking around with the kids. The best part of the trip was the huge mound of mashed potatoes. It only took us three days to finish it off. There is nothing better than leftover Thanksgiving food.

The other fun thing that we did while we were there was to go and see the movie Twilight. I was hoping that it was better than it was, but it kind of grew on you and once I quit making comparisons to the book I really enjoyed it. I took Todd and Hannah with me (as well as Emily, Jeremiah, Richard and Tami). Todd thought it was boring and the scariest part was Bella and Edward kissing. Hannah covered her eyes during the kissing part, but enjoyed the rest of the movie. Unless you had read the book the movie was probably kind of lacking. It did kind of make me want to go home and read the book again, but I resisted the urge and now I think that it has past.

My brain is now turned towards Christmas. We got out our Christmas decorations last night and I am already sick of the singing/dancing snowman that hasn't shut up since he was put out.

Again?

I somehow have been put in charge of the Branch Christmas party. I thought I was done planning things. Since we don't have an activities committee the Relief Society was put in charge. We just had our huge enrichment dinner last week and now the Branch party is on the 5th of December which is next week. Just thinking about planning it is making me tired. We are having a potluck for a portion of it, but the Branch is providing the meat and drinks. I also need to figure out what to decorate with and if there are going to be any activities. The primary is in charge of the music part. So any ideas or voluteers?

I didn't know I could do that

I know that this picture (Hannah and her friend) has really nothing to do with the post, but I don't seem to have any recent pictures to post. I need to get some of the ones that people took at the funeral. I also seem to have a plethora of pictures of the youth in our branch.

I got onto Facebook on Friday on a whim. I didn't know that people like me could do such things. I really thought that you had to be a lot cooler or younger or something to do these social networks. (take a look at Lymabean if you want another social network to be part of) Little did I know that I would wake up on Saturday to like 20 emails saying that I had been added as a friend. I didn't know that I had that many friends. Apparently lots of people who are my age use Facebook. Who Knew? (everyone except me obviously) I am not sure that I really know how to use it yet, but I will learn.

WOW this post sure does make me sound old and fuddy doesn't it?

Hard to write

I have thought of starting a new post several times, but just didn't know where to begin. My Grandpa Blakemore died on Friday November 7th. It is always hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you won't see somebody again. I always have a hard time with living out East and away from family when things like this happen. Luckily Tami, Emily and I were able to get a flight together and fly home.
That Friday that he died was obviously a hard one for me. Even though I felt like curling in a ball and not dealing with anything for a while, I still had a lot of things that had to be done. I went in to Joseph's classroom because it was my turn to read. Then I went to the grocery store so that we could have dinner before all of the beehives and deacons came over for a movie game night. I did lock myself in my room once all of MY kids were taken care of. I let Steve deal with all of the extraneous children at my house. The next few days were a flurry of activity as I had to get everything ready for my leaving on Tuesday. I had to teach RS on Sunday and get as much of the plans for Enrichment done before I left. I then of course needed to find child care, make a menu, get groceries, write out a schedule for all of the kids, and get myself ready to leave. I thought that it was about as busy as it could be until my mom called and asked if I would speak at the funeral on behalf of all the grandchildren. By the time that we left on Tuesday I think I was almost certifiable.
The great thing was that I got to spend time with my family. The funeral was wonderful. It was such an honor to speak about my grandfather, but it was also one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. He had 16 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren. The best part of the trip was playing games and laughing with my cousins and especially Grandma. She is very competitive and so doesn't like to lose. I laughed so hard I thought I would pee my pants when she told Melanie to "shut up".
I have such a great family. I did finish planning for Enrichment which was last night (that will be a separate post unto itself) One thing that I have definitely walked away from these past few weeks is that I have so much to be thankful for. It is the simple things in life that really do matter and I have enough simple things to make a whole lot of great things.

Copy Cat

Thanks Emily, you gave me an easy out to update my post! This week has been a crazy one and I will have to share after it is over.
(All those things that are in bold are the things that I have done)

1. Started your own blog - thanks to Emily (your my hero!)
2. Slept under the stars (and then snuck out and toilet papered my neighbors house-- OOPS don't read that last part mom)
3. Played in a band -
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity TITHING DOESN'T COUNT
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - My art is scratch
15. Adopted a child only half is bolded because Lydia seems like ours sometimes
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables do they have to have been edible?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train -
21. Had a pillow fight with three boys how can you not have
22. Hitch hiked -never, but my husband picked up a hitchhiker while driving out to CA for our wedding
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill --if you say you haven't done this then you are lying
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping -
27. Run a Marathon -
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse .
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset -
31. Hit a home run- haven't you every played in the back yard and because people couldn't get the ball to the right place you make it around all of the bases?
32. Been on a cruise (I dream of doing this someday)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person I only remember the cold and being wet not actually seeing the falls
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language All two year olds have their own language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing on a climbing wall of course
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David I don't look at such filth
41. Sung karaoke -
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (not really Old Faithful, but I saw the one in Green River Utah)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant made a guy a sandwich outside of the grocery store after I had been shopping. Also gave him a drink box and ho ho.
44. Visited Africa (have no desire whatsoever to do that)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud dug my own swimming pool once
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - it doesn't specify that you were paid or that anybody besides family saw it.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business I teach piano 3 times a week
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies- maybe not sold them but I sure have eaten them
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason -
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check big time oops
68. Flown in a helicopter -
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy Pretty in Pink Barbie rocks
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar can you say GROSS!!!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car -
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - thanks to Junior High academic decathlon
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House -
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I could now that we live in WV because it is legal to pick up and eat road kill)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life-I have had to call an ambulance for someone before
90. Sat on a jury-I have always wanted to but I am afraid of having my car stolen
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit -
98. Owned a cell phone -
99. Been stung by a bee -I have never been stung by a bee

Random Stuff

The past couple of weeks (after camping) have been devoted to Relief Society stuff. I had to teach a really difficult lesson on Sunday and I also have had to plan a "low key" activity that is going to be at my house tonight. We are going to make a few Halloween crafts and I also created a packet that had some other cute ideas. So I have had RS on the brain. I also spent an hour on Saturday revamping the stake RS binder that I receive when I got my calling. It wasn't in any kind of logical order and had a bunch of duplicate papers in it. I ripped it apart and put it back together again. After tonight's activity is done I have to switch gears and start thinking about our big holiday dinner enrichment night in November. I don't want it to be cheesy or lame so I need to start now. We are putting together a video music presentation on the computer to show that evening. It should be classy and nice. Our them is count your many blessings. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed thinking about everything and have to go back to one day at a time.

We picked the perfect weekend to go camping because this weekend was cold and we finally had our first frost of the season. It is still getting up into the upper 60's during the day, but the bus stop has been really cold in the morning. I hate it when you have to get up in the morning when it is still dark and cold. School should start at about 10 or 11 so that we can sleep in and get up when the sun is already up. I guess I had better get used to it because it only goes downhill from here.

More random info is that I have started teaching piano lessons. I have 4 students right now and one waiting to start as soon as they get their keyboard. I am trying to get two more. I have already figured out that their are just some people that are not born with the music in them. Poor kid. Speaking some more about music. Todd is going to play in the Middle school band for the high school football game this Friday. I am excited to go and see them play. They are playing the Star Spangled Banner and then they will play some of the spirit songs with the high school band. It makes me think about going to the games when I was in High School. (a long long time ago back right after the dinosaurs left the earth) (More randomness) Hannah is playing the flute and she is really enjoying it. She is funny- she gets out her flute everyday and practices. I say funny just because most kids have to be told to practice, but she loves it and wants to learn everything at once. She is getting better and better every week. She started out very frustrated and I was a little worried that she would give up, but she didn't and now she likes to have people tell her what song she should play.

We instituted a new job system last night at FHE. We roled out the dreaded pie chart with names and jobs and the brad in the middle that can spin around. Needless to say everyone was very excited about it.

Enough randomness for now. I feel better to have emptied my brain of some of the clutter that seems to clog it up.

YEAH for Camping

We went camping in Pennslyvania this past weekend and had a fabulous time!. The weather was perfect. It got a little bit cold at night, but other than that we couldn't have asked for better conditions. There were trees and a stream right by our campsite and so we spent most of the time throwing rocks in the water or gathering wood for the fire. One of the only problems that we had was that we got to our campsite after dark so we had to be a little more talented than usual in order to set up our tent.

The first morning that we were there Seth started to stir and his eyes opened just a little bit and then they flew open and he sat up saying "Its sunny outside and we are still camping!"

Explosive thoughts

I have had a headache for about a week now and the thought of trying to think of something to write was just too much. I eventually get to the point where I can't think of anything, but I have been popping pills on a schedule for the last few days and I think I have it back under control.
Right now I am just biding my time until it is time to take Joseph to the bus stop. We somehow got ahead of schedule today.
Now everyone is gone and I feel like I have already done a days work. I am always tired by the time I get Todd out by 7:20 and Hannah (with her friend Sandy) by 8:10 and then Joseph at 8:30. Now I can stand here and look at the clothes that need to be folded and the dishes that need to be done.
We put up all of our Halloween decorations last night for family home evening. (Yes I know that it was Tuesday, some weeks are just like that) The kids had a blast running around the yard in the dark throwing the pieces of dirt that are left because we had the lawn aerated. Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. I hate trying to help the kids figure out what they want to be and then try to convince them to use the costumes that we already have. I hate the cheapo costumes from the store because in order to make them look good you have to have some kind of mask which doesn't end up being worn. I do love to take the little kids around when they are just learning to say trick or treat and they get soooo excited when they get a piece of candy in their pumpkin. I usually take ziploc baggies with me because their pumpkins eventually get too heavy for them to carry and I can empty some the contents into the baggies so that they can still walk with their pumpkin. Seth keeps telling everyone that you have to wait until it is dark and then it will be Halloween time. He cracks me up all of the time
On a totally different note. We are going camping this coming weekend. It almost didn't happen because unkown to me people really do keep camping this late into the season. I thought that we were going to be the only weird ones. We finally did find a place in Pennslyvania that had spots open. It is a state park and looks very nice, but I guess we will see when we get there.
Well I am going to take my tired self to the shower and then it is off to play group.

WII Fit

If you want to have someboday make rude noises and make obnoxious comments about the way you look, just purchase wii fit. My personal favorite has been. "OOOOOOOhhhhh obsese" and "Do you have trouble walking? Do you trip a lot?" Just thought that I would share.

Oblivion

I had a great blog entry and it went into blog oblivion when I tried to post it. Oh well. Just in case you were waiting with bated breath as to whether or not we went to stake conference. We did and it was only horrible the second half.
I am now trying to plan enrichment meeting for November. We are having our nice holiday meeting. I need to figure out what we can feed everyone that is nice, but not too expensive or boring. I think we are going to do Chicken cordon BLEEEEEUUUUUUUU and garlic red potatoes. We are then going to have a music power point presentation of all of the things that we have to be thankful for. I think it will be a nice evening. I want to send out personal invitations, but I am still trying to think of a creative idea that won't cost a lot of money, or take forever to make.
I have a hundred things swirling around in my head this morning. First is that I am sooooo excited for everyone to come for Christmas. I am already gearing up to make some kind of menu and figure out sleeping arrangements etc. The second thing is planning our upcoming camping trip. We are going camping over Columbus Day weekend. Since our kids don't have school that Monday, Steve is going to take the day off so that we can go for an extended weekend. It will be nice just to be together with our family and not have other things to worry about for a few days.
Lastly, I started teaching piano last week. I have two students. I am looking for at least two more so that we can at least have a few things purchased for Christmas.
I know this entry was all over the place, but that is me sometimes. At least now that I have written some of it down it can get out of my head a little bit.

The Big Dilemma

We have stake conference this weekend. So the dilemma is.....To go or not to go? You know that you should go, but you also know that the bulk of the time you are going to be trying to keep kids from making too much noise. Then you are taking them in and out because each one of them has to go to the bathroom and then get a drink. Of course we are not there early enough to get into the chapel so we are always in the gym with the metal chairs. (The metal chairs always make for good drums). By the end you are not sure if you remember a single word that was said and you are ready to give your children to the next passing circus. (which is coming to Sterling at the beginning of October) It is a good thing that Steve is soooo much better than I am because otherwise I would wait until all my kids were in college before I went to another stake conference. Now you all know my true evil nature.

Becoming a Blogger

As you can tell I have been experimenting with my blog. I have been having fun figuring out how to do different things. I still haven't quite figured out where to find pictures to add to my postings (other then the ones on our computer) I will get it one of these days.
We had a good weekend. Steve and I were able to go to the temple on Saturday morning. The temple presidency is coming to the end of their calling and they wanted to speak to as many patrons of DC temple as possible so they are inviting different stakes on different weekends. It was a neat meeting and it is always amazing to be part of a large gathering of saints especially since our branch is so small.
After we were done with that we took the kids to an indoor mini-golf place. It was a lot of fun and Seth almost hit two different holes in one. I beat everyone!!! (Do a little dance!!)
Steve is in Denver this week. Though I never like for him to be gone, it is really nice at dinner time. We are having french toast tonight, grilled cheese tomorrow, and maybe cereal on Wednesday.
Another update on my clown posting. Once again there is an activity planned that assumes that we like to make fools of ourselves. We are combining with the YW and having a back to school nite. The women are supposed to bring pictures of themselves in high school (which is fun), but then the activities are making up a cheer like we were cheerleaders and doing other goofy games. Definitely not up my alley. I will smile and nod and pretend that I am having the time of my life, because that is what you do in these situations. Now that I am the enrichment leader I can steer the activities away from goofiness and have things that are fun without having to act like a retard.

Clown People

So why is it when you attend anything associated with having a baby we suddenly believe we must regress and become children again. Do we really think that we must be entertained by having retarded games and such? Are we having a baby or becoming a baby? I vow that the next baby shower that I am involved with will have only shameless gorging on food and absolutely NO games of any kind.
On that same note. Why do we think that when we combine with our daughters/sons for an activity we can not have a dignified fun activity. We must once again have activities that prove that we are indeed retarded. (like I need more proof of that) I suppose that I don't speak for everyone because these type of events are still going on so somebody must be having enough fun for them to continue.
I know I know. Bah humbug.
TOO BAD!!

What a weekend

Labor Day Weekend. It seems like it was about a week long. It was divided into so many different parts that I have a hard time wrapping my head around all of them. It started out normal enough. Saturday we worked in the yard to get in ready for fall and winter. I love plants and I love watching them grow and bloom. Steve bought me a new rose bush because they were on clearance for only 3 bucks. (Normally around $20). So that day went normal.
Sunday I got called into the principals office.....no I mean branch president's office and they asked me to be the new 2nd counselor in the Relief Society. I am actually really excited. I have been in primary for over 3 years and I was kind of looking for a change. People kept coming up and congratulating me on my new calling which is kind of weird considering that I wasn't running for office. I understand that there isn't really a word for when someone gets a new calling that is kind of exciting. Maybe I will have to make one up one of these days.
The major catastrophe happened on Monday. When we went out to clean out the garage and found three tiny kittens hiding behind our stack of pavers. All of you who know me know how much I just LOVE animals of all kinds but especially cats. They were extremely cute and Hannah of course immediately fell in love with them. We caught them all and put them in a box with a blanket and some water and then started calling around to see what to do with them. We found out the animal control does not take cats and the shelter here was full. So now what.... Hannah's suggestion of just keeping them was not the solution. We decided we were just going to have to let them go (which wasn't ideal but....) Hannah just about fell apart. To make a long stressful story short our neighbors decided that they would take them and keep them in their unfinished basement until we could find homes for them. Hannah stayed with the Kitties until it was time for bed. There were many tears shed and I was called mean on several occasions, but it was resolved. They made it through the night last night and of course my neighbors kids have now claimed at least one of the cats as their own. Hannah will be going over there after school to further take care of them. The question is How did I get an animal lover as My child?
TTFN

Don't know what I am doing

I guess I decided to join the blogging world. I still am not sure what I am doing, but I will eventually get there. I guess just stay tuned for more.