Homecoming

I heard the keys in the door shortly after 8:00 a.m. I ran down the stairs and threw the bolt back. There, after spending a week in a typhoon and tropical storm ravaged Philippines, stood Richard- exhausted, jet lagged, and wanting nothing more than to go to bed. But there were the little people. Little people who had a week full of adventures to fill daddy in on. Little people who talk a mile-a-minute and crawl all over daddy like a jungle gym. Little people simply bursting with excitement that daddy is home.

I think it wore them both out.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home

Glad as I can be

Clap my hands and shout for joy

And climb upon his knee.

Put my arms around his neck,

hug him tight like this.

Pat his cheek and give him what?

A great big... NAP!

A Late Night Education

Last night we had our annual sleep outside movie party. With having just finished packing away all the camping stuff away last week, we weren't too keen on dragging out the tent again, so we slept on the lawn under the stars. And it just so happens that with the Perseid Meteor Shower winding down, a tent ceiling would have just obstructed a most magnificent view. We also didn't actually watch a movie last night. Instead we read and told stories including the kids' favorite "The Vindow Viper". The only movies that played were the ones that our imaginations created for us in our minds- the very best kind, after all.

One of my favorite parts of the whole night included the sweet kisses bestowed all over my face by a brown eyed, feet-y jammie clad angel with her little arm thrown around my neck pulling me close . The other was when Dallin told us we had everything except a "pot to go to the bathroom in". We informed him, we did. It was 20 feet away in the house and it is called a toilet. I love that crazy nut of a kid.

As I lay awake at 2:30 in the morning gazing up into the star speckled night, I thought about how enjoyable movie party had been. There was no bickering about what movie to watch or who got to sit by dad on the couch. Everyone listened and laughed as others told stories and there was a tangible warmth as we laid on the cool grass together that was not created by the piles of blankets and quilts covering us. It was comfortable. It was enjoyable. It was memorable; just like being with family should be.

So last night I learned that maybe movie party each week might be a little more special with a little less movie all the time and a little more effort at really just being together. As these thoughts concluded my sleep deprived and extremely exhausted brain also gained knowledge of these 10 important or not so important things. I learned that...

1....apparently there was a train passing through with an engineer who must have been peeved he wasn't asleep at 2:30 in the morning like the majority of Provo. Because I'll tell you, he did his darnedest laying on that horn of his to wake up not only Provo, but the state of Utah.

2....Dallin talks in his sleep after he exclaimed, "Mom, guess what?" followed by a sentence of nothing but absolute nonsense.

3....the high pitched whine emanating from something electrical in our neighborhood had begun to alternate. This was more mind numbing annoying than its previous constancy.

4....the smell of dew dampened ground renewed memories of sleeping out as a kid...and an almost overwhelming urge to go toilet papering.

5....train #1's engineer must have a twin who was at the helm of train #2.

6....you can hear the backup warning beeps from the construction trucks working on the freeway all the way in my backyard.

7....meteor showers are incredibly captivating. I only wish they didn't get really started so late at night (or should I say early in the morning).  If only I could have propped my eyelids open to continue to catch all of those little lights streaking across the sky while I slept...

8....there was no way in that place low below that I was going to feel like running 6 miles at 7:00.

9.....in all of my 33 years and birthing of 4 children I still have not accumulated enough "batting" to combat the hardness of sleeping on the ground.

10....a Saturday nap was already sounding like an excellent idea.

#11 is Heaven...

...Especially when you are spoiled like Ashton!

And you choose steak & broiled shrimp for your birthday dinner followed by a Pepperidge Farms chocolate cake, receive a new air soft gun and a new game to play on your DS, and of course, some clothes which an 11 year old boy is very excited about- let me tell you.  (I'm sure he would be very excited about them if he were faced with the possibility of going to school naked!)

And then a week later, you have your friends over for a late
night where you receive MORE presents, eat Cookies & Cream pie, and have a fantastic time bowling at the BYU Rec. Center. Then to end it all, you come home to play Runescape and run around sounding like lunatics with a volume that would wake the dead (or at least neighbors that are trying to sleep) playing night games outside.
In a word-
AWESOME!

Happy Birthday Ashton!!!

We love every spoiled inch of you!

Oh, and speaking of bowling...This is what I had in my head the whole time we were knocking those pins down. I thought you might enjoy it.

The Revolving Door

Do you remember your first experience with a revolving door?


I do.

And I was terrified.

I don’t recall where I encountered it, probably somewhere in downtown Ogden on an errand with my mother, but as a small girl that rotating X scared the soup out of me. The fact that my little arms and legs might not have enough strength to push my way through the entire process, fed the fear of getting stuck between the entrance and the exit in a small vestibule of suffocating glass. I’m sure this fear had a great deal to do with the claustrophobia I had acquired from being barricaded inside the kitchen pantry by my loving older brothers (jerks) more than questioning my own strength. I was a tomboy with 3 older brothers, I was tough enough.

But worse than getting stuck and having a panic attack where everyone can see, was the fear of getting caught between the rotating X and the wall as you entered its circular movement, especially if someone else was coming through from the other side and doing so at a mighty fast speed. If your timing wasn’t right, you were in trouble; having the correct timing was imperative. If it wasn’t fairly precise you would risk severing an arm, leg, or even your body- right in two! Well… at least, that is what my kid mind told me would happen.

But I did it. Somewhere I found the courage (probably from a mother’s soothing encouragement) and pushed my way through. And I am pleased to report that I have done so on many occasions since without the loss of life or limb.

There is a point to me writing about this, I promise; just bear with me.

After a recent phone conversation with my mother, I started to reflect on some important events that happened 11 years ago this month. As I thought about these events and their importance to me, I could only think of them in the analogy of a revolving door, of sorts. A revolving door between the entrance and the exit of this the world we know and the world we once knew, and one day, will know again.

Death & birth.

A revolving door.

One of which I was terrified.

I often questioned my choice of professions because of this fear. I worked with a mainly geriatric population, of which many suffered from terminal diseases. I lost many of my dear friends, but none while they were under my care or while I was present. For this I was very grateful. I just couldn’t deal with facing it and the unknown surrounding it. It was a cold, unwelcome, violent thief that stole loved ones and I wanted nothing to do with it.

I was also in nursing school experiencing my labor and delivery clinicals while expecting my first child. Giving birth was something I was never sure I wanted to do. I wanted kids. And I wanted to be a mother. I just wasn’t sure about the whole process in accomplishing that.

First of all, pain is not my favorite sensation (shocking, I know). Second of all, I was what you could call a private person and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on “display”- even for a medical staff audience. I had seen enough births to know that there was plenty of both involved to put me totally out of my comfort zone. Now 4 kids later, delivered in 4 different hospitals, by 4 different doctors, and one of which was a natural birth (thank you, Canada and your socialized medicine), I can say that I have sufficiently overcome this fear. But facing it for the first time, I was not exactly confident in my ability to do it.

At this same time, Richard and I had the opportunity of caring for my 92 year old great aunt Annie in our home following the death of my great uncle Albert (86) to a self inflicted gunshot wound. In the midst of all our discussion of whether this was the right thing for us to do at that point of our lives and marriage, my biggest concern was –What if she passes away while she’s living here?

Irrational?

Maybe, considering all the other things like school, work, and the arrival of a baby in the near future that seemed to be more pertinent, but I couldn’t help it, that was the worry that weighed on my mind.

Caring for Annie was an adventure. I say “adventure” because like most adventures it was not easy, but it was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. But two months after Annie’s arrival, her health declined significantly and since our baby was due any day, we along with my mom and her brothers, made arrangements for Annie to be placed in the hospice wing of the local rest home where she could be taken care of until her time came to go.

It was a Saturday and all the arrangements were finalized, we were to take Annie that afternoon to the rest home. I went into her room in our little two room mobile home to give her a bed bath, get her dressed, and ready to go, but as I rolled her onto her side to wash her back I stopped.

I knew Annie was going somewhere soon, just not the place we had intended on sending her.

Her body had started to shutdown and the signs of it showed in the “mottling” that had appeared on her back and undersides of her extremities. I called my mother, a licensed RN, to come in and confirm my suspicions and she did.

The arrangements with the rest home were cancelled, it was finalized and my worst fear was realized- Annie would spend her last hours in our home.

As Annie’s last hours ticked away so did the daylight and nighttime was quickly approaching. I was scared; I didn’t feel ready to face it yet. My mother agreed to stay the night in case it happened in the middle of the night she would be there with us and Annie.

In the early morning hours on Sunday, January 10th, 1999 I awoke to a noise on the baby monitor and directly headed to Annie’s room. There in the early morning light I was privileged to watch as Annie took her last breath.

There was nothing cold, unwelcome, or violent about it. The emptiness I expected was filled with peaceful, warmth.

Two weeks later to the day of Annie’s exit from this world into the next, 11 years ago today; I was also privileged to watch Ashton Ted Parke take his first breath as he made his entrance through the revolving door from that world into ours.

The pain and uncertainty were lost in an indescribable and exhausted joy.

I did it.

Somehow I found the courage (probably with the soothing encouragement of a wise and loving Father) and pushed my way through the fear and the claustrophobia of my own naiveté’ and found that I was strong enough; despite what my childlike mind when ruled by fear told me- I was ready.

As for the timing…that incredibly impeccable timing…all credit there rests with the Doorman.

Santa's Helpers

I know that we are half way through January, but I have tried to send this video of my mother's reaction to her Christmas present to my sister-in-law numerous times and no matter how I try to send it, it will not go. So I am posting it here. Thanks for the indulgence.

As a young girl, when my mom would venture out of the house on various mom duties she would often be visited by "The Good Fairy". The Good Fairy performed all sorts of magical tasks that in our home where my 3 older brothers lived usually centered around organizing and cleaning. You never knew when she would strike; my mother would leave on a grocery shopping trip and return to find that something had been straightened, organized, or just put in a better state than she left it. My mother loved it when The Good Fairy visited.

Well, The Good Fairy has grown up, but she still on occasion, likes to make surprise visits to my parent's home. Growing up also means that she now has connections and accomplices, even ones that live all the way in Idaho. Having connections and accomplices also means that The Good Fairy's magic is greatly enhanced and even more complicated tasks can be accomplished.

Dallin, one of The Good fairy's best accomplices & Santa's helper.

Well, it has been a while since The Good Fairy made an appearance at my parent's home, so it was a big surprise to my mom and dad when she and some of Santa's helpers made a stop one weekend in December, working their magic and leaving them a Christmas gift that would leave them "floored".

The finished product

(I am sorry it is sideways, I didn't want to drop $30 bucks on new software to edit it right now, so if you get a kink in your neck from watching it, send me an IOU for a neck rub.)


The Good Fairy wishes to thank her accomplices in Pocatello who pulled off getting my parents out of the house for the weekend- even with a snowstorm looming- which is a major feat considering my father and his hatred of driving in the snow. Those "magical charms" known as grandchildren work wonders.You guys are the best; we couldn't have done it without you!

A disclaimer to the Parke Family in Denver- The Good Fairy's male accomplices did not, will not, and have not EVER worn tights in the accomplishing of their good deeds.

Head Bangin' Birthday

(Ashton sang 'Happy Birthday' to me in sign language finished off with "clapping".)

Birthdays bring so many things. Not only do they bring another year to add to your timeline spent upon this earth, but hopefully, they add another year of wisdom from lessons learned and viewing the past year's challenges and blessings from different perspectives.

Yeah, I suppose that is mostly right.... But really it brings things like being remembered by friends and family, even obscure ones I haven't spoken to in years, who wish me birthday happiness through the power that is Facebook.

It also brings really long phone calls from Nebraska and Missouri and the chance to catch up with  two of my favorite girlfriends.

It brings fabulous gourmet cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery delivered my another two of my favorite girlfriends who insist that I eat them all by myself, no sharing with my hubby or children- those were mine and only mine. What great friends and cupcakes.

It brings lunch at Bajio with my hubby who so kindly shared his lunch with Ben, so I could enjoy my shrimp tacos by myself. I love that guy.

It brings the kindness of marvelous neighbors who watched my kids, so Richard and I were able to take in the new flick "Sherlock Holmes," which I loved and think you should all see if you haven't already.

It of course, brings presents...

Birthdays on occasion also bring unexpected surprises too...

Like chairs that had been put on the table so I could mop the floor, but fell off....

breaking into pieces, along with Mr. Ben

and his head, which could have probably used a stitch or two. But from previous experience with stitches and Ben, we decided to avoid them if at all possible.

And like Ashton, (who was not available for a photo op.) who ran down the upstairs hall like a freight train, knocking the playroom door into the wall, causing a decorative oil lamp sitting on a shelf  that was hanging on said wall to become unstable and fall- squarely on the top of his head. Luckily, there was no blood, but he did receive a nice goose egg and the determination that something is trying to kill him.

I guess the great blessing among the head banging is that we got away without any stitches on my birthday. But along with blessings, I guess there are still lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained for me, so the guidance I'm taking from my birthday now past is:

#1- Do not mop the floor nor do any other house work for that matter on my birthday.

#2- Inform Richard we need to redecorate the playroom since the decor in there now (which I am a little tired of) seems to be conveniently hazardous to our children's health.

Such hard lessons to live by...

We think we can. We think we can.

Did you know that this week is "Turn Off the TV and Get a Life Week"? Well it is. And if you haven't already, I invite you to join in...all the 'cool kids' are doing it.

Ashton took the challenge from his teacher and is working toward a party consisting of pajama wearing, cereal eating, and cartoon watching fun.  Knowing this challenge would be no easy task for Ashton, my Nintendo DS addict, Richard, Dallin, and I decided to join the challenge for moral support. It started yesterday and so far it has been pretty easy.

My biggest worry was bedtime. We are bad parents who let their kids watch a show or two while they are nodding off to dreamland, but after FHE last night that was a non issue.

Ashton chose to have a dance competition for our FHE activity. I really hope there are no hidden cameras in my house; although, I would have loved recording Dallin's break dancing (he's actually pretty good), Emma's twirling until she was dizzy, Ashton dancing ballroom style with his little sister, and Ben just trying to get his little body to move with the rhythm. It was hilarious and the type of moment a mother wants to freeze in time. And it wore them out. Completely. Halleluiah!

Oh... are you wondering who won our little competition?

That's right, with a little booty shaking, hip swinging, and the clincher... 'the centipede', I showed them all up!

Whoever said you wouldn't need the stuff you learn in jr. high?!?

Halloween 2009

With Halloween falling on Saturday this year it seems like we had 2 Halloweens- Friday at school  with the class parties and annual costume parade and Sat. at home. That made for a very fun Halloween! 

On Friday, I was able to help with both Ashton's & Dallin's class parties. I forgot my camera for Ashton's party, but it was held at a the home of a boy in his class who doesn't live far from the school. This boy's mom planned the whole thing and took up about 2 hrs with great activities.  It was fun and I am glad I was able to go and help.

Dallin's party consisted of making pumpkin puppets, halloween songs and poems, and lots and lots of sugar. The room mothers brought doughnuts & apple juice for refreshments and a girl in the class also brought cupcakes for everyone- every 1st graders dream... doughnuts and cupcakes both!

D with his teacher, Mrs. Anderson

The whole class in costume and hopped up on sugar.

These are the types of things 1st graders do when they've had too much sugar;

They talking in funny voices while their pumpkin puppet dances around, making their mom laugh.

They stick out their tongues at parents trying to get cute pictures; making the parents more successful than they planned to be.

And they give their friends "bunny ears" adding to the goofy face they are already pulling.

Friday night I had the chance to drive kids in Ashton's class to their Super Activity.  This was a special activity for those kids who had not missed more than 4 assigments this term.  We went to Doc's Pizza Buffet where they tried to out eat Mr. Z in pizza and then to Comedy Sportz, which is an improv group similar to 'Whose Line is it Anyway'.  It was very fun and the kids had a great time.

We were supposed to dress up for a costume contest, so I dragged out my witch and queen costume from the costume tote and Ashton and Richard both told me to wear the queen costume. After seeeing the pictures... I think they were wrong.  I think it should have stayed in the costume tote or better yet, gone in the DI tote to be given away. I can't believe they let me go out looking like that.

I'm hoping the pics look worse than I did in person.

Saturday we finally carved some of our pumpkins, most of which we actually grew ourselves.

Richard finishing Dallin's "Y".

Ashton with his pumpkin pre and post carving.  He did it all by himself this year. Very cool.

I did not buy Emma a costume this year.  She never really took to anything at the store and I wasn't even sure she would keep one on. So I didn't want to spend any money when I knew we had 3 or 4 costumes at home that would work just fine.  After trying out a cow costume for about 15 minutes, she decided to be a gorilla.

Not exactly feminine.

But she did want to leave on the Halloween skirt she had been wearing all day, so at least she was a girl gorilla.

For trick or treating Ashton wanted to have a different costume since he didn't think our neighbors would know who Mr. Z was, so he decided to be a ninja.

He had a hard time deciding what to be and waited until the last minute to pick his costume.  He told me that he thought, "he should be a spy or ninja, since that fit his personality." 

Try to keep a straight face, sitting in the car next to him when he says something like that.
He cracks me up and sometimes I wonder about the world he lives in inside that head of his.

The whole crew...

... doing what they do best on Halloween...begging for candy.

Happy Halloween!

Proof

It's not the best picture, but I think it's proof there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 The pot- my house.  The gold- the people inisde.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful I gave birth to this cute little "butterball" in Canada, because it gives us a great reason to celebrate Thanksgiving twice each year.

Benjamin has dual citizenship between the USA and Canada.  It is one of the things that make Ben special and unique in our family. In order to honor Ben's uniqueness and birth country, we try to observe some of Canada's holidays as well as our own. Plus, it is always fun to have another holiday to celebrate, right?

Since today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada we ate a different kind of "butterball" than the cute one pictured above. I spent the better half of today making Thanksgiving dinner complete with some of our traditional must haves like green bean casserole, orange jell-o salad, and Cran-Raspberry juice mixed with sprite and real raspberries. Of course, we also had turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, yams, buns (Canadian for rolls), and stuffing.

And pie... you can't forget the pumpkin pie. 

I figure why not celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year? In fact, perhaps we should celebrate it more often.  In a world where we seem so preoccupied with getting ahead and having more, we need more days where we are content and grateful for the things we have been blessed so abundantly with in our lives.

Plus, it is a great excuse to eat pie!

Cornbelly's & 'Decking the Halls'

The best thing about being in pre-school is going on all the fieldtrips.  And even though, this is Ben's second year in pre-school, he doesn't get any less excited about upcoming fieldtrips. He really anticipated going with his class to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point last Tuesday, especially since we missed it last year thanks to the stomach flu.

Monday evening we packed our lunch, so we wouldn't risk missing any excitement the next day and at five o'clock Tuesday morning I woke up to the sound of a seal barking; only it was Dallin, with a horribly croupy cough and gasping for air.  After two trips of sitting on the front porch bundled in blankets the cold air helped, he was breathing much better, and went back to bed. 

But what about the field trip? I couldn't send Dallin to school to cough all over his classmates, but I didn't feel like he could go to Cornbelly's with us the way he was feeling. I figured Ben, probably, wouldn't go to Cornbelly's without me, but I decided the least I could do was to drive him there and pick him up. 

Hoping Ben would go for it, I woke him up and explained the situation. No go.  He cried and insisted  he wouldn't go at all without me, so I said we would have to miss it again this year. By this time Dallin was awake, looking a little perkier, and coughing less.  He said he would go with us if we didn't stay long. So I may be a bad mom, but off to Cornbelly's we went.

We stayed long enough to jump a little...

...slide down the slides...

and visit the pumpkin patch.

Dallin was a trooper and did lots of snuggling with mom while Ben and Emma played. He was happy he was able to take home a pumpkin and that his brother got to go on his fieldtrip.

One of our family's favorite holidays is Halloween.

Who's isn't it? Right?

So Wednesday, for Family Home Evening, (yes, that's not the usual night, but since Richard was going to be home we waited) we kicked off the season by pulling out the halloween totes and putting up our decorations.

Ben and Dallin enjoyed making the yard into a graveyard with Daddy.

Ashton was too busy doing this....

...to help much, but he would occasionally stop to give us his opinion on how things should be done.

Emma was okay with everything as long as she didn't have to get too close.

And of course, you can't have FHE without treats, so we went to Krispy Kreme for 2 dozen doughnuts.  We kept one to eat with apple cider at home and took the other to a fabulous family who we admire a lot.

It was a 'sweet' way to kick off what we hope to be a 'spook-tacular' Halloween!

(All corniness intended.)

13 & counting

There once was this girl...

...she loved to camp, fish, and backpack. She dreamed of having a truck like this....

 and a dog like this.

 And, after high school graduation she, the truck, and the dog would have many adventures exploring the Uintah Mountains.  That was until the girl met this boy...

the night before her 18th birthday and instantly fell in love.  After a year and half, and much patience on the part of the boy, they were finally engaged and married 13 years ago today.

Now the girl and boy are this man and woman.

And, although the woman now drives a minivan and owns a cat, she still has adventures.  They just revolve around different mountains, like dishes and laundry.  She still gets to occasionally fish... things out of the toilet that get there "on accident".  And frequently you can spot her packing a boy with tired legs on her back. 

But after 13 years, and again much patience on the man's part, she wouldn't trade a single adventure and couldn't imagine a better friend to experience it all with. 

He'd beat out a dog any day.

Happy Anniversary, Richard. You still are thee best and I still love you, even 13 years later!