Family Photos

After 2 plus years of forgoing family pictures we recently had some taken. I am thrilled with what we ended up with and since they say that a picture is worth a thousands words, I'll shut up and let them speak for themselves.

 That's not all folks. 

You have to click here to head over to the blog of the photographer to see the rest.

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

Just not in that order. 

To tell this story I need to mix things up a little and start with The Bad.

After hitting Sacrament Meeting two Sundays ago we headed back to Tony Grove, located about 25 miles up Logan Canyon, to move camp. We needed to move everything from the campsite where we had Youth Conference down the road to the campsites we would be sharing with many members of Richard's family.

We loaded up the back of Richard's truck with various camping paraphernalia, Richard turned the key in the ignition starting the engine, and headed off down the road. In the back of my mind it registered that his truck didn't sound quite right, but we were in a hurry to get stuff moved before checkout time-- mostly to avoid paying for another day on a site we weren't really using and to get to that relaxing part of camping (ha, ha) after setup is complete. After he was gone I didn't think anymore about it, until he came back for another load and that bad noise was still there. I mentioned that his truck sounded like there was a hamster running on its wheel under the hood. Richard hung his head and said, "I know. I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

Why would he hope I wouldn't notice? Well, in his words, "I knew you would worry."
Yep, worrying. It's something I do VERY well. Which brings us to The Ugly.

On Saturday, after returning home from camping, Richard tried to start his truck to go to the local nursery to find it wouldn't turn over. He tried again on Monday morning with no luck- the hamster had quit running- and the truck was towed to the shop. After a bunch of automotive terms which included serpentine belt and compressor he told me the real damage-- it was going to be $700-$800 to fix the problem. That is one ugly number and the reason why I start to worry when it sounds like a pet store has been opened under the hood of one of our vehicles.

Where is The Good in this story? From all appearances it may not seem to be there, but it is. The Good is that the truck didn't come to a halt until we made the 2 hour drive home and it was backed  up to be unloaded in our driveway. The Good is that the truck happened to be parked in the perfect position to be towed away for the deal of a lifetime fee of $60 compared to the hundreds it would have cost to have it towed back to Provo from Logan Canyon. The Good comes in having a savings account to pay for necessary repairs. The Good comes from a repair shop that had it fixed and up and running faster than fast. And finally, The Good comes in the form of a completed family vacation and successful Youth Conference all without being stranded with loads of camping gear and no way to get it home.

Yes, there is definitely good in my story. There always is; once I get through the bad and the ugly I realize different facets of it every day.

Blessing in Disguise

Prior to our vacation fun, we had wedding fun with our niece Katie, and her sweetheart Kendall.

Theirs is a fairytale for sure, but that is her story to blog about.

This is mine....

Their sealing ceremony was slated for 7:50 a.m. in the Salt Lake Temple, which meant we would have to leave by 7:00 to get there on time. This also meant we would need a babysitter. I don't know about you, but I don't know many people who are very happy to get up at the crack of dawn during the summer to watch my kids... unless you are my mother and their grandma.  Since the reception was north of Salt Lake and closer to my parent's house than ours, it just made sense to take the kids to their house the night before, stay overnight, and take the kids to the reception on our way back to Provo. It was the perfect plan.

We left to go to my parents home later than planned which raised my anxiety level for reasons not important to the story, so I'm not including them. Just know I was a little stressed. Anyways, as we were coming upon American Fork, I was assaulted by a smell. This smell was pungent and nasty. It came out of nowhere and it puzzled me. I noticed that there were fields off to the west... It is spring and with crops being planted surely farmers fertilize their fields... that must be what the smell is. This was a great theory, an excellent theory in fact, until I caught a glimpse of Emma out of the corner of my eye.

It's funny how many things can go through your mind in a split second- Where did she get chocolate from? The kids ate all the fudge covered shortbread yesterday. She must have found a stray melty M&M in her car seat. Hold on...that smell's still here and the fields are gone.... It was as these thoughts concluded that Emma said, "Mommy, my fingers are poopy." and traffic came to a standstill because of construction.

I won't write the thoughts or words that went through my mind at that juncture. I still want you to like me.

I phoned ahead to Richard in the truck. (Yes, we had 2 vehicles. Mainly because I think we enjoy wasting money on gas and he doesn't have to listen to my music. Just kidding....well, at least about the wasting money part.) Anyway...we pulled off the freeway into a parking lot and I opened the lift gate to retrieve the duffel bag containing the diapers and wipes.

It wasn't there. 

I stood there for a brief second in disbelief at the state of my luck.

It was at home...sitting on my cedar chest...at the end of my bed...where I packed it.

Crap.

Literally.

That duffel bag also contained all of the kid's clothes; their jammies, play clothes, and dress clothes for the reception the next day. We needed that bag...and not only for Emma's 'fudgy' fingers. 

Richard headed home to get the forgotten bag. I found some cleansing wipes in the first aid kit and attempted to get rid of the source of the smell before hitting the road and hightailing it to my mom's bathtub. 

Somewhere between Lagoon and the Layton Hills Mall it occurred to me that God has to have a sense of humor and must enjoy coming up with creative ways in which to "bless" the lives of his children. Because the truth is we really needed that bag because according to MapQuest my parent's home is 74.4 miles and if I actually drove the speed limit, 1 hour and 20 minutes away from mine. Getting there without that bag would have thrown the biggest  monster of a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. So I am grateful that He chose to send a blessing my way that night....even if it came disguised in something less than heavenly.

Spring Marathon: Brides & Baseball

On Friday, April 9th, we had the opportunity to witness Richard's sister, Mary's marriage and sealing in the Manti temple. We are really grateful that she found DJ and for the love and respect he shows her. We couldn't have asked for anyone to love her more and that is a great blessing.  

Unfortunately, that pesky wind from earlier in the week continued to follow me and this time it had a bite to it. It was too cold to stick around the temple grounds after the ceremony to capture any pictures of the wedding party consisting of DJ and Mary's 9 kids (combined) decked out in their red and black finest.... but I will just tell you they were a very handsome looking bunch.

Another reason to not hang around besides the wind, is that our tummies were talking. Since it was going to be hours before the wedding dinner we made a stop at the Malt Shop in Ephraim, for a snack of french fries, onion rings, and shakes- like peanut butter Reese's peanut butter cup, my favorite.

After we all had sufficiently gorged ourselves on french fried fatty goodness, we headed back to Moroni for the ring ceremony, wedding dinner, and eventually, the reception complete with cookie buffet.

But what do you do when you have six families who are an hour or two away from home, dressed in their Sunday best, and have 2 hours to kill before the reception starts?

You play baseball....of course! 

A few locals had challenged our boys to a game, so a few of the adults decided to get in there and help them out. 

It was a blast.

We had fun imagining what the Moronites might be saying about "City Folk" who play baseball in dressy clothes. As we see it, they probably think we are the epitome of awesome and have now started playing baseball in their own church clothes.

I even had a nice hit out behind second base.

It could have been a homerun if I would have slid into home plate.

But I figure there some things you just shouldn't do in a dress.

Congratulations Mary and DJ!

May you have many more happy years together.

Giving Thanks

Cartoon by http://www.guy-sports.com/

As I sit here in my parents family room staring at the unfinished walls in the mismatched pajamas my good husband dressed me in yesterday because I was too weak to dress myself, I find it fitting to be sick here. I am laying on the couch where as a girl I watched "The Sound of Music" while I waited for the virus or infection that had taken up residence in my body to move on. Today it is the same, except today the movie is "Charade".

Cary Grant always has a way of making me feel better. But today Cary's magic doesn't work so well. After all, it is Thanksgiving, and I am sitting in a basement- alone.

It is okay really, when I don't think about what I'm missing; turkey, potatoes & gravy, yams, stuffing, and pie. Really the food has no appeal to me; my tender tummy warns me against it. It is the other things about this holiday that I miss today. 

It is gathering with a large group of family, much too large to fit in anyone's home, but we do so anyway. It is the 50 or so (I lost count a long time ago) grandkids & great-grandkids running around in between all the adult bodies perched anywhere they can comfortably or semi-comfortably fit. It's the plotting of the most efficient routes amid the scattered newspaper ads to aquire the best early morning deals on Black Friday. It is catching up with my sister-in-laws while the men catch glimpses of football through their tryptophan induced slumber.

It is the experience of Thanksgiving I miss. The experience of being together.

But luckily for me, I married into a family where they love to be together and do so every chance they can get. Most holidays, monthly Family Home Evenings, missionary comings and goings, weddings, baptisms, baby blessings, and in a family of 10 children there are a lot of those. So now I can happily look forward to the Christmas season and all the family gatherings that will ensue. I can look forward to the experience of being together again.

And hopefully, by tonight or tomorrow, I can look forward to a plate of leftovers.

Those are some things I can definitely be thankful for.

"Oh crap" & a heart attack

Every year that we go camping to Tony Grove, located in beautiful Logan Canyon, with our extended Parke family, we take home more than bug bites and the smell of camfire; we take home a story. 

There is always an adventure, which is usually a misadventure, which gets talked about at family gatherings for the next few months. The next summer it becomes resurrected and we laugh and joke about it all over again around the campfire.

This year the 'story' starred my brother-in-law, Steve and Richard's sister, Susie. And thanks to the quick thinking and camera work of Richard's other sister Mary; we have it all on film.

Oops!

Possible solution.

Susie dying that Steve got the van, with the brand new bumper they just put on, high centered on a rock.

I think this one is priceless.

(Notice my niece Ashlyn crossing her fingers)

Whew! It's down safe and sound.

Here's to reminiscing, next year's story, and praying it doesn't include me.