The Invisible Woman

Ever feel like what you do doesn't matter? Isn't noticed or appreciated? Everyday? Watch this. It made me want to keep going. :)

Stewart Falls

Today, our little family took a hike to Stewart Falls. It was 1.75 miles to the falls. After a picnic lunch, we took a different trail back, which took us to Sundance. That trail was 1.5 miles, so we hiked a total of 3.25 miles today. It was a nice hike, although it was a bit hot. We started on the trail around 10:45am. If we do it again, we'll have to do it earlier in the day. Sydney is my hero. She walked the entire way & never complained or asked for us to carry her, or anything. She amazes me! We did have a few trips and slips. I slid on some rocks going down a hill & fell. I'm a bit bruised from it. Sydney tripped over a few tree roots & also slid a few times--more so as we got toward the end, probably because she was tired. Randy was also my hero as he carried Jenna on his back the entire time. Jenna loved it and even snuck in a nap. All in all, it was a great, photoless day. What? You think we would actually take our camera out for a picture??

ER Visit #3...

...this year. First, we had this. And then this. And now, this:

Randy's nose met with the heel of a soccer cleat last night during his game. He first just thought his nose was bleeding, but others soon noticed it was cut. We weren't sure if it needed stitches or not, but by the time we got to the ER, it was gaping. Seven painful stitches later, he was all fixed up. What a life we have! Thanks again, to Wes & Merri who have watched over our girls while we made yet another ER visit. (And sorry, no before pictures. I don't know if I could handle looking at them. The whole thing made me really queasy, for some reason.)

Insanity!

My life is so insane right now! Here's what's been going on:

*Keeping up with my calling. Checking on sisters who've had their babies, arranging meals (which includes a million and one phone calls...), getting some things together for a display on Saturday...
*Trying to think of & gather things for a spotlight basket all about me for Sunday.
*Attending the temple twice.
*Driving all over the place. Randy had carpooled to work Tuesday, but ended up barfing & needing to come home, so I had to drive the 30 minutes each way to get him. He's feeling better in that aspect, though.
*Trying to pick up my house after my whirlwind, aka Jenna, goes through it. It's a constant battle trying to keep it clean. And I'm losing--bad. At what point should I just give up?
*Going to Randy's soccer game.
*And about a million and one other things...

Stay tuned for a new post tonight (although it might have to wait until I watch "The Office" and "Survivor"). It'll show more of the insanity. You won't want to miss it...unless you've got a weak stomach. ;)

Snip, Snip, ...Oops?...

Jenna was in need of a haircut. Her "style" was a bit mullet-ish.

I know it may not look that bad, but it just wasn't quite right. Randy even told me I needed to cut her hair. I think the word "trim" would have been better, Randy...

So, I grabbed her sweet hair. Can hair be sweet? Hers is/was. Before thinking about it too much, I snipped with the scissors. And I thought, "Oh, that's a bit shorter than I wanted." So I snipped the next section. And I thought, "Okay, I got that one a little bit shorter than the first. Oops." And with that, I had to continue on.

So, what do you think? It's pretty short. Short enough that if it were me, I would want a bit of my neck shaved. Part of me is sick when I look at it, and part of me thinks, "Dang, that's a cute little, stylish haircut!" But that second thought doesn't last very long. I think I might just be trying to console myself.

What do you think?

And then there's this. Her hair curled under just so nicely. Except the one spot she twirled when she was tired. That spot always flipped out. Back to my point. I've already saved her first official haircut, but I'm having a hard time letting go of this. It's still sitting on my bathroom counter...

18 months

Jenna had her 18-month checkup last week. Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs, 4 oz (3%)

Height: 30 inches (7%)

She now weighs enough to be in a front-facing carseat! Of course, we don't have one for her yet, but we will be getting one from my sister by Thanksgiving. I really don't think Jenna minds.

Jenna is busier than ever. She continues to be "helpful" in the garden by picking peppers, chewing on the green beans I pick, and carrying squash, zucchini, and tomatoes to the back steps for me. She is starting to go get things & put things away for me when I ask.

Jenna loves to climb. She drags her laundry basket out of her room so she can reach higher up. She constantly is climbing on the back of the couches & messing with the blinds. It's not uncommon to find her on top of the kitchen table, or reaching up to play with the water dispenser on the fridge. Thank goodness it locks!

Jenna also loves to write. We now have to hide all writing utensils from her since she drew on our couch with a pen. Her vocabulary is still small, but she can "say" a dozen or so words. She is an active, busy girl. We love her!

My little nurse

Here's a cute story for you.

Last week, I bought a callus shaver to use on my feet. While using it, I got a little agressive and sliced into my foot. I had another spot that was bleeding from a crack in my nasty feet. (TMI?)The sliced spot was bleeding enough that I didn't dare walk upstairs to get a bandage. Sydney was upstairs on the computer & I hollered for her to come help me. She didn't want to come. When I mentioned that I was bleeding and needed her help, she jumped right up and came downstairs to me. She then went up to get a bandage for me. She looked, but couldn't find them, so she brought me our first-aid kit. (Smart girl!) Unfortunately, there weren't any bandages left in it. She went back upstairs & looked again. All she could find were her last two Curious George bandaids, so she brought them down to me & made sure I was okay. After heading back up to play her games on the computer, she hollered down to me, "You know those were special." What a sweetheart--she gave her last two "special" bandaids to me. :)

High School Memories

Has anyone wondered where I was? I have. I've been at home trying to juggle life & survive. Anyway, I want/need to get back into the blogging scene after my week-long absence. So, one of my college friends, Koreena, had this on her blog & it looked like fun--especially since most of you have only known me since college or beyond.

1. Did you date someone from your High School?
Nope. I hardly dated in high school. All that magic happened in college, for which I am extremely grateful.

2. What kind of car did you drive?
1981 Chevy Silverado truck, black with many dents and rust spots. It looked better dirty than clean. Oh, and it had a green toolbox on it, too. And it kept running (puttering) after the ignition turned off. And it didn't always need a key to start. Oh, the memories!

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School for you?
I honestly don't have one.

4. Were you a party animal?
If you know me at all, you know the answer to this...Definitely not! (I have a real fear of getting in trouble, seriously.)

5. Were you considered a flirt?
I wanted to say never, but I'm afraid there were a few times that I was. Not as a whole, though.

6. Were you in Band, Orchestra, or Choir?
Not in high school. I did 2 years of choir in middle school, though.

7. Were you a nerd?
I'm sure many would say so, but I don't think I was.

8. Were you on any Varsity teams?
Not really, but I did get a varsity letter my sophomore year for being a varsity girls' basketball statistician. Now that really makes me sound like I was a nerd! I wasn't!

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?
Nope. Refer to my fear of getting in trouble.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Ummm, no...

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Mr. Haroldson (3 years as a science/chemistry teacher). He was my first dose of someone saying they thought the LDS church was a cult, but he was a really good guy. He truly cared about me as a student & believed in me. I also really liked Ms. Curtin (2 years of English) & Ms. Hume (2 years of history). Both Ms. Curtin & Ms. Hume had & survived breast cancer while they were my teachers.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
In the cafeteria, although I always brought my lunch.

13. What was your school's full name?
Kirtland Central High School

14. School mascot?
Broncos

15. Did you go to Homecoming? With whom?
Nope. I told you, I didn't date much at all in high school.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
High school? No way! Lots of great learning and growing experences, but college was so much better. I might go back and do college again!

17. What do you remember most about graduation?
Leading my entire graduating class in & being nervous. I also vaguely remember giving my speech. I was also the first to graduate, but I really don't remember much else.

18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day?
I don't think we had one. Did we?

19. Were you in any clubs?
Business Professionals of America (1 year, but I wish I had done it all 4 years!), NHS (2 years)

20. Have you gained some weight since then?
I weighed 112 pounds my senior year, so yes...

21. Who was your Prom Date?
I didn't go to prom! I know what you're thinking, what a dud. In my defense, I was at BPA nationals in Philadelphia having the time of my life during my senior prom.

22. 10 year Reunion? Are you planning on going?
I think so. I'd love to see some older, familiar faces.

23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?
Honestly, I don't know what I would change or do differently. I definitely learned a lot about relationships. If I could counsel others, I would say not to worry about having a boyfriend/girlfriend. I'm so glad I waited to really date & have relationships until college.

Quirky

My first-ever college room-roommate, Radene, tagged me. I was asked to share 6 quirks about myself, so here goes.

1. I pick at Randy's toenails when his feet are on my lap. He hates it. Obviously, his feet don't bother me, but I'm sure many of you are gagging.

2. When I'm on the verge of falling asleep at night, I have to turn away from Randy in the bed. Don't know why, but it always happens.

3. I prefer to have the blinds/curtains open in my house & do everything by natural light. Randy thinks it's weird & will come home & ask why I'm in the dark.

4. I get really cranky when I'm tired or hungry.

5. I constantly have one or both feet off the ground & up on the chair when sitting. Could it be that my legs are so short they dangle otherwise?

6. I often don't hear/comprehend Sydney when she says something for the first time. I'm often so focused on something else that she has to repeat herself so I can really listen.

Crying wolf?

This morning, I woke up to some unusual chest pain/pressure. I ended up calling Randy just after he left for work to take me to the ER. Merri came over to watch our girls. (Thanks again, Merri!!) Once at the ER, I had a handful of tests done, only to determine the chest pain wasn't coming from anything serious...and they don't know why it was happening. I've since talked to my mom & she's experienced the same thing a few times, and the doctors haven't been able to determine the cause of hers, either. So, let's just hope it was a fluke & doesn't happen again!

Bittersweet

Our family just had an amazing weekend. (Didn't take any pictures with our camera, as usual...lazy photographers!) On Saturday, my brother, Dustin, and his wife, Angie, and their two children were sealed for time and all eternity in the Monticello Utah Temple. Charity, their baby girl, was then blessed in NM on Sunday. My heart was so full seeing so many of the men in my family be able to participate in the blessing and be honorable Priesthood holders.

In addition to those special events, we enjoyed spending time with Randy's parents, having breakfast with his brother, Brad, and spending more time with my family. All of my siblings and their families were there, except for Tiffany and Alan.

When we returned home, we learned that our friend, Jewell Milam, had passed away on Friday. It leaves me with such a heavy heart. I first met Jewell in March 2001. We were part of a Ricks College tour group to Church history sites and sat near each other on the bus. Two years later, when we were both married, and still attending school at BYU-Idaho, our husbands connected through basketball & we became acquainted again. I'll always remember that she and Scott were married the day after Randy and I. After both moving from Idaho, our contact was spotty, but in January of this year, Scott emailed Randy telling us of Jewell's cancer. She and her family have been in our thoughts and prayers since. Jewell was only 26 and leaves behind her husband and two young children. My prayers will continue to be with Scott and the kids. I just wish there was something I could do...

So, there you have it, my bittersweet weekend. Now go hug your family & tell them how much you love them!