Stay Calm and Volley On

I have been able to attend all of Taneal's volleyball games so far. Pretty cool because it is quite a big committment. Seriously big. Especially when she signed up and tried out for the team, I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We were so excited and proud of Taneal for making the team because it was a HUGE deal to make the team. It still is pretty cool she made the team. But wow! I had no idea that she would have to be at practice three times a week at 6:45am. And that every Thursday would be game day that she wouldn't get home from school until 8pm. Twice in the season she would have games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. All good, but you add orchestra, piano, Young Women, all Pre-ap classes, and the homework load of 7th grade, and you have one very busy Taneal.

 

We are still very excited about this oportunity she gets to play. She is pretty good and she will get even better, which will help her to play church volleyball as youth and adult. Pretty cool skills she is learning.

She really likes being on the team, just the juggeling factor of everything else can get overwhelming for her. She has to run the mile every morning and her times are slowely dropping, which makes her happy.

 

And she has fun at the games. Her Sunday School teacher even showed up for her game. His wife had delivered her second set of twins a week earlier. The babies were still in the hospital. So, they wanted to be supportive to Taneal. They brought their other set of 3 year-old twins to the middle school and watched Taneal play. They figured once their new set of twins were home, they probably wouldn't be able to make it to another one of Taneal's games. How cool was that? Taneal felt an amazing amount of love from that Sunday School teacher. Wow!

 

Isn't her serve beautiful?

 

Juicing

We are juicing in my home. Juicing a lot. Becuase Evan's brother juiced and lost something like 40 pounds in a month. Plus we watched the show "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" on Netflix.

 

Bryce convinced Evan to juice. Katie (Bryce's wife) got me a juicer. Blessed woman. And now I am juicing. Katie took me shopping for produce to juice. I couldn't believe the amount of produce I bought. I was sure it would all go bad before I had a chance to use it.

 

None of it went bad and I used it all. Evan drank all these weird concoctions. Carrot and pear juice with lettuce juice. Pineapple and apple strawberry juice. Celery and apple watermelon juice. We did break the "juice" diet and Evan ate unjuiced celery sticks and carrots and bell peppers. Okay maybe a few hundred grapes.

 

He stuck to it better than I could have.

After two weeks he had had enough of the juice fast and added in a little. He won't tell me how much weight he has lost, but I know he has lost some.

He says he feels a lot better.

I make a green smoothie for him for breakfast and lunch.

I just couldn't believe I actually went through all that produce!

Danielle's Baptism

Danielle chose to be baptized. We were so excited that she wanted to make these covenants with her Father in Heaven. Danielle is a beautiful girl with a precious and wonderful personality. She is so sweet, kind, and loving.

 Evan was able to baptize her.

My parents and my sister and her family were able to come from out-of-town for the occasion. We have a lot of family living close and they were all able to come celebrate the baptism. Check out all the family that was able to be there. My brother and his wife and 3 children split right after the baptism, so they weren't here for the picture. I counted 27 people at my home afterwards, all family. So cool!

Here is just my family. I look like that frazzled mom that I feel like. Seriously, I hope I'm not being judged by how well (or unwell) my children are put together. I was just lucky to have them all in their church clothes and get my talk prepared. It was a busy day. And such a special day. And I was somewhat oblivious of much else. I was just happy to be there with Danielle. She is such a wonderful daughter.

My mom gave Danielle a gold necklace. She was excited to wear it. Here I am helping her put it on.

Here is Taneal warming up before the meeting. She played "I Know My Savior Loves Me" on her viola accompanied by my sister, Dorias. My niece, Rebecca, sang the song. It is Danielle's favorite song and she was so excited that Rebecca was going to sing it for her. Also pretty cool that Taneal is talented enough to be able to play along on her viola.

Gavin figures out how to get his own drink

Check out my son. Where did he learn this?

 

I'm not talking about his nakedness.

 

Look what that kid is doing in the sink!

 

He didn't ask me for a drink. He decided to get his own out of the sink. And since that stool he is standing on wasn't tall enough to get his lips to the faucett, he extended the water by putting his hand up there, had the water roll into the palm of his hand where he slurped it up.

 How did this barely 2 year old think of that? Genious! And he didn't get a cup dirty!

I fighting feeling a litle guilty because I wonder if him being the yougest of 6, that he felt he had to do this to survive. I really would have gotten him a drink. But he didn't ask. Poor kid. Maybe I need to give him a little more attention. At least get him dressed!

Time Out For Women

I was recently able to leave my children for a night and go out with the girls!

This was a big deal because I haven't EVER left my children overnight with my husband. We once left our children for a cruise with my family, but I left my children with a very capable female (my SIL Becky).

I was a little nervous, but nobody else was. So I sucked up my anxiety and had a great time. We weren't gone that long, just Friday night and Saturday. And when I returned, I was told I wasn't even missed.

My mom arranged for all of us to go: My two sisters, my mom, and three of my sister-in-laws. That's a whole lot of us. Only two of my sister-in-laws were missing, one had a baby the day after this convention. She had a good excuse not to go. And my other sister-in-law's husband was in North Dakota for work. The whole child care arrangements were tricky. She had a good excuse also.

It was such an uplifting weekend with Hillary Weeks and a few other guest speakers. Of course I can't remember who those guest speakers were because I live in a bubble and never leave my home and don't have television and have no idea who anybody is unless they are in my ward or family or swim class. But I think they were pretty cool people because they sure knew how to speak well and made me feel like I was an amazing, superstar mom and woman.

See, it was all worth it to go. And I also got to hang out with the coolest people ever. Who wouldn't love hanging out with all us girls?

My mom arranged to have my best friend growing up and her mom stay in the hotel room with us. It was fun to be with Heather and get a little reacquainted. We were so busy and there were so many of us that we really didn't get to spend much time visiting. But she is still fabulous and an amazing person.

The only thing I would have changed about this whole weekend was 2 things: I would have liked for my other 2 sister-in-laws to have been there. And I would have liked to come into the weekend well rested and full of energy so I could have stayed up all night visiting and laughing and joking and teasing and acting like a teenager again. But I brought all my exhaustion. I was so stinkin tired that I actually broke down and bought a Dr. Pepper and drank it during this convention in front of all those Mormon women. I was sure someone was going to take it straight from my hands and call me to repentance. But that didn't happen, they were all on their best behavior.

I wish I had oodles of time so that I could write about all the inspirational things I learned at this convention. Bottom line: I am amazing and I can do amazing things. And what is even better is I have this incredible super power called Jesus. With the strength He has and is willing to give to me, I can do anything. I can receive inspiration. I can make it through my trials and challenges (not that I have any, of course). All I have to do is ask. I also need to be willing to work, which I am. And I have to trust Him. Trust that he knows better than I. And everything will be fine.

Intermediate Swimmer

I know, I know. I shouldn't be so excited. But I am. And I know I am silly. But it was one of those moments that I smiled and almost literally patted myself on the back. I resisted the patting.

Today in swim class (And they changed the name to "Master Swimming"), the coach reassigned the lanes we swim in based on speed and skill. There was the beginning lane, the one I've been swimming in since, well, I began swimming. Then one intermediate late, and two advanced lanes.

Guess where she put me?

You got it! The intermediate lane. I'm not a beginning swimmer anymore!

Yes, my 10 year-old daughter can still out swim me.

But that isn't the point.

My swim teacher called me intermediate. That is so very cool. I am just beaming with joy at the thought that I am no longer beginning.

A year ago I never thought this day would happen.

I have been working pretty hard. Not just for Summer of Seals. I take a swim class at the gym and swim usually about 2000+ Meters two to three times a week. It is a powerful workout and so amazing. Amazing because I can actually do it. And it helps that several of my friends are in the class with me.

I'm still relishing the memory of being called an Intermediate swimmer. Silly, I know.

Macey's Cones

Check out the ginormous cones we got a Macy's in Utah. And these were small. And under $1. Such a fun treat to get them while on vacation. Course it wasn't Blue Bell ice cream so I didn't have any. Not an ice cream fan. But the rest of my family loved it!

Eric's Laugh

My little brother that moved here can be so much fun. He probably never thought I would say that about him. Check out this 5 second video. It makes me giggle every time I watch it!

Pediatrician Advertising

This is what we found at the pediatrician's office. I can see why the doctor chose to use it because it is free, but Seriously. What will they think of next? This is a little ridiculous!

In Dad's Arms

We drove from our hotel to the reception of Seth and Kara. Nathan and Gavin were so tired and fell asleep on the way. I can carry two sleeping kids, but not when they are this big. I thought it was cool to see Evan carrying his two boys like this.

Summer of Seals IV

It was that time of year again. I signed up for Summer of Seals. So just in case you aren't familiar with this competition, let me explain. You swim 500 Meters. Maximum push-ups, maximum sit-ups, maximum pull-ups. Followed by 1.5 mile run. All timed. Results earn points. Points make you win.

 

Last year I learned to swim for this competition. I was so proud of myself. This year I went the next step and took a swim class. That really helped with my swim time this year. I was able to drop a full minute off my swim time, which is really good when you are already giving your all. In other words, when you are already super fast, becoming super super fast is super hard. And I can claim super fast because I learned to swim as an adult and I was recently advanced from the beginning lane in my swim class to the not so beginning lane. Still the slowest in the not so beginning lane. Not even close to moving to the advanced lane. But I am still so pleased with myself. And because I probably won't remember how fast I swam, I'll just put it out there. I swam the 500 M in 11:15. Yes, most people can swim faster than that. But who is comparing?

See me doing freestyle? I couldn't do that last year. I learned to do that in my swim class.

Here I am doing those push-up. Man those things are brutal. I managed to push out 25. Hopefully next year I can do a few 100 more.

Here are the sit-ups. Kind of a blurry picture because I was moving so fast. Actually I was done. I managed to do 50. Next year I hope to make 100 in 2 minutes.

Here is my team. We had a great team. Flory Snyder(my visiting teaching companion), Dorias Swensen (my sister), Me, Meggan Baxter (used to be my visiting teaching companion, my work-out partner, my kids piano teacher, my friend, my motivator, etc.), and Jana Humpherys (my friend, my hero, served with her in the Primary while she was the President, etc). See! Isn't that the best possible group? The only ones missing were Rani from last year and my little sister Bonnie from last year. Bonnie didn't think it wise to be on my team since she was 7 months pregnant! Not sure that counts as an excuse!

Here we are getting ready for the run. That brutal run. Running is so hard. I do not like to run. Running makes me want to quit. But hey! I dropped off a whole minute from last year's time. I worked hard on that run. Hopefully next year I can do the run in under 12:30. This year I completed it in 13:45. Pretty good if I do say so myself. However, that time did not earn me any more points from last year. But so much improved.

I was so excited Jana was on my team. She had a baby in May. the first 2 weeks of the season, she wasn't able to work out so she walked to get her work-outs in. Then she nailed that run at 10 minutes. And she has a 3 month old baby! Seriously, Jana is amazing.

 

And I must comment about Meggan. That girl can motivate me. She pushed me on those workouts. She made me work so hard. And She beat me in everything. She was faster at the swim, could do more push-ups, and could almost do a pull-up. We worked out together all summer long and it was so much fun to have a work-out buddy. Of course I must say she helped me drop a minute off my time. I told her as we were in line waiting to swim that my goal was to pass her in the swimming pool. She doesn't like me passing her, probably because it never happened. But I told her if I needed to pass her, she had to let me. She told me there was no way she was letting me pass! I actually caught up to her and she did indeed let me pass. Miracle that I caught up to her. It had to be the adrenaline. She still swims faster than me.

Here is me on that run. Evan caught this picture along the way. I was hurting and wanting to quit. I was tired, ready to give up. Especially since nobody was around. But then Evan creeped out of the shadows with the camera and I knew I had to keep going. So glad that I did because of that minute that I was able to drop off last year's time.

Also nice to have Summer of Seals IV under my belt. It was fun. It was hard. And it was so good for me.

My Worst Nightmare

I have a story to tell because I still have the ebbie jibbies. I am trying to make myself laugh about it, but I just can't seem to get there. Maybe that is because it happened just last night.

It was one of those nights. I was being a good, healthy mom. I cut up a fresh pineapple. I ate about half that freshly cut up pineapple all to myself. It was a large quantity, but oh, so tasty.

About 10 minutes later, my mouth starts stinging. A few minutes after that I notice my tongue felt a little bit big. A few minutes after that I notice a little labored breathing.

Oh no. Am I allergic to pineapple? I never have been before. Rather than find out, I took a big dose of children's benedryl, because that is the only kind I had.

About an hour later, I was ready to go to bed. It was bedtime, so that was fine.

About 1am my eyes pop open for some reason. Not sure why because I was sleeping so soundly from the Benedryl. And what do I see but a smallish black something laying on the pillow right next to my face.

My worst nightmare.

One of those water bugs that are all over the place here. The ones that are about 2 inches long and closely resemble a roach. Probably is a roach, but I refuse to believe that those things are even in my home. They aren't the type that infest a home. They are like crickets that occasionally get in.

And one was staring me right in the face.

Had it crawled on my face and that is what woke me up?

I was wide awake at that point.

I carefully moved and then flung that pillow in the opposite direction of me, flinging it in the direction of Evan.

I jumped out of bed and flipped on the lights.

The roach/water bug/Palmetto Bug was now on Evan's shoulder. It wasn't moving.

And in my very sleepy, very awake Benedryl state, I had that thought that I could slam my pillow into that bug and it would actually kill it. But I had to hit it hard or it would never work. I didn't want to hurt Evan, but I wanted to seriously injure that bug.

So I took my pillow and with all my strength, slammed it against Evan, who was in a dead sleep himself.

I yelled that I was so sorry to wake Evan up that way, but I had no choice because there was a roach resting on his shoulder.

Evan didn't move and calmly asked me where the bug was. I told him it had moved right next to his elbow near his belly.

Evan slowly lifted his head so he could see the roach and grabbed that sucker by the tail. Barely caught its hind legs.

But caught it he did!

And he got up and flushed that nasty thing down the toilet.

And then climbed back in bed, mumbled something about whip lash, and went back to sleep.

I was still wide awake.

Fortunately I know these type bugs do not infest a home. I could not live in a home where they did. I kept imagining why I suddenly woke up and was staring this creepy thing right in the eyes.

What woke me up?

And why did I think slamming it with a pillow would kill it?

Taneal Makes the Volleyball Team!

About 80 7th graders tried out for the Volleyball team, Taneal one of them. Only 24 actually made the team, Taneal being one of them. She was so excited! The week of tryouts she was so nervous because she was sure there was no way she would make the team because she hadn't really played volleyball before and so many of the others trying out had. Towards the end of the week, she was getting more confident because she felt she was doing well. But with so many trying out, the odds were against her. Friday after school they posted the results and Taneal made the team. We are so excited for her!

 

Now the rigorous schedule begins, which we had no idea what was in store.

Practice every morning at 6:45am. School gets out at 4pm. That is one long day. Every Thursday and occasional Friday and Saturday are games. The Thursday and Friday games she won't come home after school, she'll get on the bus and head straight to the game. She'll get back to the school around 8pm. That is one long day! Thankfully the season is only 3 months. We were so excited about Taneal making the team until she made it through a week of practice and was exhausted. Add piano, viola, and all Pre-AP classes and that is one busy girl.

 

But she will have fun!

My Brother Moves Here!

My not so little brother just moved to the same area that I live. I am so excited to have him and his beautiful family here. It has been fun getting to know them a little better, to have them over for family dinners. I am especially excited to have them here around the holidays and be able to do some of our traditions together. Welcome, Eric and Angela!

We are True Texans

I have always heard that you are a true Texan ONLY if you have seen an live armadillo. Well, and if you can pronounce Mexia right. And I can.  I claim this state and have only seen the road kill kind of armadillo. Until the big rain storm we had recently.

 

We had a whole lot of rain, serious flooding around here. And we were driving by the YMCA and Camie noticed this cute little armadillo walking down the road. I stuck my car in reverse and we ALL saw a LIVE armadillo. Armor and all. It didn't run from us, just quietly stood there. I grabbed my phone and got this picture. We were all so excited. All that rain had driven in from its home. Everywhere was flooded, the water was even coming into one of the buildings at the Y.

 

Here is a picture of the retnion pond behind the elementarty school which is usually empty. The kids were so in awe at how full it was.

And here is the retention pond accross from the school that is always empty. Full too. I think we got over 30 inches of rain in about a week.

 

And now we came claim true Texan!