Summer Fun

We had such a great summer starting in April with Nicholas' thesis presentation and continuing all the way into September! It was so good, that I wanted to write all the places we had gone and all the things we had done befoe I forgot. Well, needless to say, I never got to it and I probably have forgotten some, but one of these days I am going to write it yet...just not today!

Since Alex has started a mission blog and I am to keep it updated, there will probably not be posts on this blog. (Oh wait, there weren't posts on this blog before) Anyway, watch his mission blog for updates on his progress in the field!

The Battle of the Basement

Alex wants to have a cast party after the musical. It is one of the biggest casts yet, so I told him we had to clean the basement first so there was room for everyone. There has been 2 families down there since it was last cleaned and it is a mess. Each family has left things behind so we accumulated furniture, toys, and all kinds of odds and ends. We worked all day and still have a big mess! It actually looks worse than when we started. Alex said that it took 28 years of living here to make that mess and we are not going to clean it in a day! I really wish we could have called the clean sweep team, but instead we did the best we could. I found some interesting things and was taken back into time when all my little ones were actually still little! I have a big bag of "things" for each of them. Payback is sweet! We are running out of time so my goal is to do a little bit hopefully every day. Since we now have limited garbage pick-up, it will take forever to get rid of all the junk. We need a dumpster! And, I might add, that we are only cleaning half of the basement- the half where the family room is. The moral of this story is: at least every five years, clean like you are moving and don't wait for 28 years.

Winter Wonderland

Alex says my blogs are boring, so I am trying to spiff it up some. It snowed all day and as soon as it stopped, Alex and I went out to shovel, so I took some pictures of the beauty of nature at its finest. I will attempt to post them for those of you who may have forgotten what it is like to have more than 4 inches of snow! He did not have school-which in itself is a testimony of the good storm we had since we have a superintendant who prides himself on not calling off school, and they sent us home from work early-which is another testimony of the good storm we had. Hope you can see by some of these pictures how beautiful it is.

Blogging Again

Just when I had the commitment to blog, I had to stop! Our computer went down in November. I got by until Christmas when I got a very nice new one from Santa! Then we had company, then we went away, then I had loads of things to get caught up on (and still do), and finally, today, I deceided to take some time to write again. We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday, a great visit to the Reeds, and are now settling into some type of routine again. Last week, Terry's mom went home, Terry went back to traveling, and Alex and I went back to life. The snow and the cold have added some extra excitement, big happeneings at my work have added some extra excitement, and Alex's practices for High School Musical have given him some extra excitement, so there has not been much time for winter blues.
Hopefully, I will make time to keep on blogging!

Reading the Ending

I am sorry that I shocked some of you by my disclosure that I read the ending, but it is not the first time and will not be the last. It is kind of like the vampires's taste of blood, once you do it, you can't resist it!
I have this very annoying and bad addiction. If I am enjoying a book, I can't put it down. I have to read until it ends. I know my daughters have inherited this same weakness. They use to get so mad at me because I would read and read and ignore their needs. Now they do the same thing.
My experiences have taught me that I can control that addiction by knowing what happens. I still read every word, but just not at such an addictive pace! When I was reading this last book and it was at a particularly tense part of the story, I found myself wondering what I would be like if I didn't already know the ending. I might have hyperventilated or caused a heart attack. I have to be careful at my age you know. People younger than me have had heart attacks!
I have the same problem watching close games on TV or exciting movies. I pace and sometimes just leave the room because I can't stand the suspense! So, when I am reading a book, I don't have to stress myself out. I just read the ending and then I can enjoy the rest of the book.
Makes perfect sense to me!

New Design

Tonya has the attitude "if you can't beat her than join her" and since she gave up on me learning how to make my blog a little more attractive, she just did her herself. I am GRATEFUL because I do like it. Thank you Tonya for making my blog a little less BOORING!

Book Two-New Moon

Ok, I finished Book Two-New Moon. I must admit, I am interested in reading on to see how all this turns out. I am not addicted, like some of the younger readers seem to be, but I am enjoying the series. It does flow quickly and keeps you captivated and I like that. Maybe it is an age thing and maybe I am too old to get enraptured by the true love story, but I am enjoying it. It is strange and weird, but enjoyable. I did have really strange dreams one night after reading, but they weren't nightmares, just strange dreams. So, I give it a thumbs up!

Book Two

Today I purchased the next book in the Twilight Series. Now I have not read much of it but I knew that I had lots of work to do and I knew I would not get it done because my curiosity always get the best of me, so I read the ending. Yes I already know how it ends, however I am still anxious to read how we get to that end, but at least I will not be physcotic about it and read all night. I still have seminary in the am and lessons to prepare... I will get some work done and reward myself with a chapter and so on. Stay tuned for the book review to follow.

Christmas Spirit

Today in choir, we practiced for the Christmas program. We sang some of my favorite songs. As we sang one of the songs, I pictured us singing it at Christmas and I saw my family in the audience with my son who will be here from BYU. I actually had tears in my eyes. Now, keep in mind that I had very little sleep last night and that probably contributed to my weepiness, but I also think that I did feel that special spirit that Christmas, family, and carols bring. It is also cold outside with snowflakes falling. I have also been shopping since we will be exchanging gifts at Thanksgiving with those who will not be here at Christmas. So, I hate to admit it, but I believe that even though it is still early, I do have that Christmas spirit already. Why fight it? Just let that excitement come early and enjoy it longer. I will not overlook Thanksgiving. It is part of the Holiday, especially to me this year. We will have so much company that weekend that it will seem like Christmas. And of course, we have lots to be thankful for- so Happy Holidays!

Book Review

I stayed up until 1:30 reading that "Twilight" book last night. I am tired , impatient, and crabby as a result. Actually, it was very windy and I can't sleeep when it is windy for some unknown reason, so I read until I finished the book. I can't remember what I had read on some of the other blogs about these books but I do remember my daughters telling me that I would love them and I had to read them but I had to all of them before I started them. So, here is my opinion:
It was a page turner- but so are lots of other books I have read,

I was interested in what happened next- but I usually am when I read a good book and sometimes I can't wait and I have to read the ending. I did not read the ending of this one first,

I will probably get the next book and see how it goes,

The author is a good writer.

However, I am not sure what all the hoopla is about. It is good, but so are lots of other series out there and this is a little strange. Would that girl seriously not be afraid of vampires? Hmmm
Now, if you relate the whole storyline to other things in this real world that are true- like resisiting temptations, standing up for what is right, courage, etc., then it has some real value. So I will read the next books and I will try to convince Alex to go to the library and see if he can get me book two. So stay tuned for book 2..

Giving In to Pressure

We have often talked in our Seminary classes about peer pressure and how we should avoid the temptation of giving in and doing what everyone else is doing. Most of the time, this is in regards to peer pressure. However, we can also receive pressure from other sources as well.
I love to read and can read just about anything. My daughters know this and have been "encouraging" me to read the "Twilight" series. I have had no desrie to read books about vampires. I have thought all the raving about these books is probably exaggeration. I was doing very good at resisiting their influence until they ostracized me.
At Thanksgiving, while they are at my home, they plan to go to see the movie. I am very excited to go to a movie with my daughters (of course by my daughters, I include Natalie). But, they told me that I cannot go unless I read the book! I argued that I do not need to read the book ,that I can go to a movie, but they will not allow it.
So, I bought the book yesterday and started reading it. I have only read the first chapter, but so far I am not that impressed. The jury is still out as to whether or not it deserves all the acclaim it is getting. But the bottom line is that I WILL go to the movie with the girls. And, I will enjoy the company of that outing far more than I will enjoy the movie-of this much I am sure!
Stay tuned for the real unbiased book ratings....

Random Rantings

I do enjoy reading other people's blogs. I just have a hard time writing my own. But I love to read the comments when I finally write something. However, it is so long between my blogs that I think others give up on me! So, I am going to try to be more consisitent in my blogging. I just checked my other post and saw that Susan had commented since I last looked at it and I was so excited. Thank you to those of you who check on my blog and do not give up on me. The reason I usually do not write, besides the busy factor, is that I have nothing exciting to say! My life is quite boring! I do seminary, then I work, then I come home and eat, prepare my next lesson, go to bed, and start the routine all over again. In the next few days, I will look for interesting blogging items, so be prepared!

The Dreaded Phone Call

Ok, I have been getting bugged to post a new blog. However, with work, and seminary, and my computer hog teenage son, I never have a chance. But, I cannot pass up the opportunity to tell this tale. After raising five children, three of which are boys, I have felt pretty lucky that I have never received those dreaded phone calls-like your child is in the hopstial or at the police station. Of course, we did get that one terrifying call that our kids had been in an accident and totaled the car in Iowa on their way back to BYU, but all in all, I am grateful. So now I am approaching the finish line, with Alex a senior in high school, and I am feeling pretty confident and cocky that all is well. And then I got the dreaded phone call. The call from the vice principal while I am at work that goes like this: Hello this is Mr. Eldred, the vice principal at Avon High. I have your son Alex sitting here in the office with me. We had a random drug search today and the dogs searched the lockers and the cars! (Now about this time, my heart is in my feet and is alternating between being stopped and pounding vigorously) Then he says, oh by the way, I should tell you that your son is not in trouble. Well I guess I should have told you that first! (Well yeah I think you should have because I just about had a heart attack) Well to make a long story short, the dogs sniffed out Alex's car. He had to open the trunk for them to check it. On the way to the car, the Principal and the other vice principal who have known all five kids and knows Terra and our family, was laughing at the policeman for even thinking that Alex would have drugs in his car. The principal even pointed out the BYU sticker and the fact that Alex would someday be a "pastor". The first thing they see in this teenage boy's car is a toy ball, various other toys, little boys clothes, and even a shoe. They had fun laughing at that stuff. (Tonya had left that behind and we did not know what to do with it so we left it in the car!) Then they saw the goods.. the contraband that is illegal to have on campus ...the axe! Yes, it was an axe. The Boy Scouts had borrowed our axe, I had Alex's car and opened the trunk and told them to put it in there , shut the trunk and left it there. Of course the authorities asked Alex if he knew it was illegal to have it and why it was there. Then the Principal and Vice principal that knew us, spent the time on the way back into the school convincing the others of reasons why Alex should not be punished and not expelled. Once back in the office, the secretaries were shocked into silence(quite a feat if you know these ladies) upon learning that Alex had to speak to the VP. So, I got the call and had to explain why the axe was in the car. It got confiscated and the next day Terry had to go to school and get the axe. Meanwhile, back on the school campus, Alex has the reputiton of being the axe man! We are no longer the family of goodie two shoes-our reputation has been soiled. Not since the time of Nicholas and his toilet papering issue, have we been so tarnished! And just when I was approaching the finish line!

"On" the Boardwalk, we'll be having fun...

Memories

Memories!

Here are the rules:1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It does not matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog/email and leave one about you.

Let's see what happens

Missing in Action!

Ok, Ok, I'm back! I have had a wonderful and in some ways sad summer. Let's see, after my last posting, Terry and I went to Buckeye Boy's State to see Alex. That was a very interesting and relaxing weekend. Then, I worked and got ready for our camping trip to Pa. Since all 5 of my kids and all 7 of my grandkids were there, I was in seventh heaven that weekend! It was great fun and we have some interesting memories from that weekend: like how the RV broke down and Tonya and the boys would have been stranded along side the road when it got towed away but Alex and I pulled up from Ohio just before they towed it and how we continued on to the campground without the RV and without anything to cook with and did not know what we were going to do but just happened to pull in right behind Aunt Karen and Grandma who had plenty of food and camping equipment to cook it on and who were camping right next to us, and how the Reeds got a flat on the way home and called to tell me just before Dad passed that spot in the RV so I was able to call him and he could stop too and help Jared. So even though we had some bad luck, we had better luck so that we were not in bad circumstances. Does that make any sense? Then, Tonya and the boys stayed a week and we celebrated the fourth with more fun and picnics and family and then I had to take them to Cinncinati to meet Dustin. It was fun, but sad because poor Austin thought they were moving back to O H I O, and he was very upset to part ways and he broke my heart. So, I worked some more and then I went with Terra and the girls to Illinois to their new home. That was very bitter sweet. We had a fun road trip and a fun day being tourists, but it was sad to fly home and leave them all there. Once again, my heart broke. But I had to work some more and wash clothes and pack for vacation. We left again and went to Philly. We saw Martin and Nicholas and then we packed up Natalie and Weston and continued on to the ocean. That was also a bit of heaven. I had two things I really wanted to do and I got to do both. I wanted to have a nice meal at a place on the ocean where I could watch the gulls and the waves and the boats. And as an added bonus, Terry's sister and her kids joined us that day and stayed for the meal. Since it was at the opposite end of the boardwalk as our hotel, we strolled along it afterwards. The next morning, we rented a surry and rode it up and down the boardwalk. I don't think anyone but me was too excited about it, but they all humored me and I loved every minute of it. I have always wanted to do that. I actually think they enjoyed it too. I think I heard someone say "this is the life". So we then returned to Philly and Nat and I did some shopping and some recuperating and they had a birthday party for me and we had a grand old time. Then I came home and have been sad... and that is the end of my tale. I am home for a few weekends before I take off again for Tenn., which I think is the last of my trips, unless I can sneak one in to my sisters, which I really want to do. I have decided that I want to be a professional traveler when I grow up and just go from one place to another. Do you think someone would pay me to do that? Hmmm-maybe I should look into it.