Nothing Exciting

I was just sitting here thinking that my life is pretty boring and that nothing exciting ever happens to me and then I realized that isn't really true. Following is a list of 10 things that are either exciting or just out of the normal routine.

1. I got to perform in my first ballet show last Saturday and Sunday and although I am 27 years old and recovering from fibromyalgia I don't hurt any more than I do after a normal workout session in which my sister-in-law and I try to kill each other with squats, lunges, dips and pushups.

2. The strap on my leotard broke Sunday while I was getting dressed at the Civic Center and one of the moms had to sew it up for me while I sat there partially dressed.

3. Mark broke a tooth yesterday and he had a root canal this morning. The tooth has been bothering him for awhile. That's pretty exciting.

4. I got new luggage for Mother's Day. I've been carrying around my old carry-on suitcase for 12 years now and it is pretty beat up. Now I have a nice 4 piece set. I feel so grown up.

5. We are leaving tomorrow for a 10 day vacation to Utah and California. It will be the first time the kids have ever flown. I hope everything works out ok.

6. I have no idea how we are going to pay the sales tax on our new van and get it licensed. We planned the trip and bought our plane tickets before we decided to buy the van. Not sure how we are going to swing that but I'm sure it will be an adventurous process.

7. Our mortgage went up $150. We now pay an unholy amount of money to live and I have to stop eating out. My jacuzzi tub makes it totally worth it.

8. Brick said, "Book of Mormon" yesterday. Actually he sang it. We've been listening to a primary cd in the car and I am really getting tired of it.

9. I took the kids to the Health Department yesterday to get their birth certificates and they behaved the whole time. No screaming or fighting at all. I was so proud.

10. I've been mom-sitting Korynn while she is on bed rest. The kids and I are trying to go over everyday around lunch time to feed her. Brick and Sally have become best friends. They love chasing each other around.

Some of that is pretty lame.

I May Have Made a Mistake

In 10 days I will be on stage in my first ever ballet performance. As the time nears I realize I may have made a mistake. What made me think I could do this? I am a 27 year old woman dancing at an 11 year old level with a bunch of 11 year olds and by the end of the dance I just can't seem to keep up with their energy level. Sure my breathing is fine, but my legs are like jelly. I fear I have set myself up for ultimate humiliation. On the other hand, you have all met my mother in law, so a case could be made for having already experienced ultimate humiliation at her hands.
Anyway, wish me luck, because I am terrified and I feel like an over the hill moron.

Today I Buried My Youth

Mark and I bought our first minivan today. It's a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Touring with 50k miles on it. It has stow and go seating and electric doors. We shopped around and got it for the same price as we were quoted elsewhere for a Dodge SXT. I'm pretty jazzed about it, but I can't help but mourn for the loss of my hipness, my mojo, my coolness. As I drove it off the lot I had mixed feelings. It's a pretty nice vehicle, way better than our Malibu. It's newer, has less miles, more features, the brakes don't squeak, etc. But, it's a minivan and I am now officially on my way to becoming the stereotypical Mormon mom complete with 12 kids (one for each tribe) and a permanently stained shirt.
Maybe we should have waited until we were older to have kids.
Sigh.
Oh, well, at least there is room in the floor to stow all the bodies. If you cut them up first, of course.

Back in the Land of the Sane

So, I have been M.I.A for awhile, partly because when I sit down at the computer little people start crawling on me and partly because I have been obsessively focused on the tornado.

I now feel like I have been liberated at least from my tornado obsession. Brick is downstairs playing, but I know that any minute he is going to come up and start crawling and banging around.

The trip down to Tennessee with mom and dad and Danny was nice and I feel like we got a lot done down there, but it also feels like we barely scratched the surface. We were able to get Spencer and Roxann moved into the new house with some of the basic necessities. We got the kids' beds assembled and shelf paper in the kitchen and were able to start unpacking and washing some of their dishes.

Almost nothing can be just moved into the house. Everything is covered in glass and wood splinters and puffs of fluffy white fiberglass that looks like cotton and so it all has to be washed down first. I wish I could have stayed longer to help Roxann deal with all of that.

Going down there was very therapeutic for me. I feel really selfish for even feeling like I had anything to heal from since I am not the one who lost their house and many belongings. Still, I spent the last week trying to put myself in there places and feel what they must have been feeling and I felt so useless being up here and unable to help. I think it is really true that when we serve others it often benefits us as much as or more than it benefits them. I know that the situation must have been very difficult and traumatic for the people who were there to help clean up and I am grateful to all of them for being there for Spencer and Roxann who felt the most and felt it the hardest.

Mostly I am so so grateful that everyone is okay. I don't know if I will ever be able to express in words how thankful I am to our Heavenly Father for keeping them safe. I am so grateful that Spencer and Roxann (whether they realize it or not) listened to the promptings of the Spirit and left town that morning. I know we are all so blessed for our relationships with our Heavenly Father and for the Gospel and for having each other as family. I love all you guys.

Okay. I'm sorry for being so serious. When I get a chance I will try to post pictures or a link to pictures that I took of Spencer and Roxann's new house and the kids and maybe some of what is left of the old neighborhood.

For now I am just glad to be back to working on being sane.

Where Does She Come Up With This Stuff

I've been so upset lately by the events in our country that I have been purposefully ignoring them. Hence, no political wisdom from me. Instead I will share a very funny story from Mailee, everyone's favorite lady.

Last Saturday was a busy day for us. Mailee and I had ballet class in the morning and then Mark had rehearsal. After that we ran home and quickly ate lunch and then it was off to Mark's sister's house for a 1pm birthday party for their 4 year old. It was great. The kids ran around like crazy people and played with toys and ate cake and candy. Very laid back and awesome.

Then we rushed home to pick up the truck and it was off to birthday party number 2 which started at 3pm. This party, also for a 4 year old, was held at GAGE gymnastics, a HUGE indoor gymnastics gym. Essentially, what we had was 13 kids under the age of four, including 2 just barely under 2 running around on mats and trampolines designed for kids over the age of 8. Total chaos. It was especially difficult to keep track of Brick who seems to have inherited the curse of the Olsen short legs and kept getting lost in the depths of the foam pit. After about 30 minutes Mark had to leave (hence picking up the truck) to go to a welfare training meeting so I was on my own.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Mailee had to go to the bathroom, so I took her to the gym's unisex bathroom and she hopped up. While in there she started pooping, and just like Rachel she also feels the need to pep talk her poops. Not wanting to be disturbed, I locked the door.
"Mom, why did you lock the door?"
"So no one will come in while you are going potty."
"Oh. They might come in and not see me and sit on me and squish me down into the potty and then I'd be all dirty." I'm holding back the laughter.
"I'm sure they'd see you if they came in honey."
"Oh." And then she laid it on me. "They might see me and see that I'm so beautiful and then they'd sit on me and it would make their butt beautiful."

Priceless.

Pictures

Here are some pictures we have taken recently.

First up: San Francisco pictures.



We climbed a whole bunch of stairs like these to the top of Telegraph Hill where Coit Tower sits.



This is Coit Tower. We got some really great shots of the city and of Alcatraz from up here.





A great one of Mark in the shade of the foliage on Telegraph Hill.




Mark and this really funny street performer we saw on Pier 39.








Me on the pier with Alcatraz in the background.





Mark got too close to the binocular thingies and bumped his nose.






On the ferry to Alcatraz. I like this one because I am in so much awe that it looks like I might crap my pants any minute.








The requisite "I'm in jail!" pictures. Whereas I am relatively at ease with being behind bars, Mark looks a little more apprehensive, perhaps because he knows what happens to good looking guys like him in prison.



It seemed like nothing was free in San Francisco, so we were pleased to find that the Cable Car Museum was.

This is the cable car we rode from the Cable Car Museum down to Fisherman's Wharf.


Here is the submarine we got to tour: the Pampanito. Very very cool.


This guy was a crazy homeless man (or street performer) we saw on two separate occasions. He liked to hide behind branches and jump out at people as they walked by. Totally hilarious.

That's all I have time for for now. Stay tuned for more pictures and more posts.

Gay TV Shows

Hey, Spence. I don't watch "Life on Mars" and so for that I owe you nothing. In fact, I am so superior that I don't even watch tv on a regular basis. What do I do? I read fluffy bubblegum novels that require no thought. Cause I am so cool.

P.S. Cheating is cheating. It doesn't matter who (or what) you are doing it with.