Rodeo & Reunion Pics

Snake River Stampede

Last weekend I went home for my 10-year high school reunion. Saturday evening we had a couple of hours and my Mom thought it would be fun to all go together to the Snake River Stampede. While that may seem what all people from Idaho do it was actually my first one. It was a blast.

My favorite event of the evening was the Mutton Busting. For those of you who don't know, this is an event in which children (between the ages of 4 and 7) get on a sheep and ride until he/she falls off. This was, of course, Michelle's least favorite activity. In fact, she almost cried watching the kids ride the sheep. The winner of the competition received a shiny new belt buckle and pair of Justin cowboy boots.

Ideas

After work one evening Kyle casually suggested that I should perhaps write more about "things." ( I think he meant "ideas"---)

Translation: "Honey, the Family Blog is borderline lame. Surely you
can share something beyond chocolate, birthdays and Oreos....can't you?"

I admit, my writing has been faulty. My posts are a far cry from hip, fresh, or interesting. It's the same old, same old. Girl gets stressed. Girl eats chocolates. Kids do something crazy. Mom eats chocolate.

So I've been thinking reeeeeeeeeeeeally hard. Okay, not really hard. A little hard. I've given his mention a little thought and have to chuckle to myself because I was thinking the same thing. Really, I swear I was. If I hadn't been I probably would have taken offense to his gentle suggestion and gone on blogging strike or something. The reality is, my posts are not even serving the selfish purpose of documenting our family happenings or ideas of great importance-----well there are some, with a few exceptions I suppose.

So beyond my affinity for sweets, what do I think about? What is fascinating enough to me that would make me want to share with the world and not my journal: (PS--shout out here for LDSJournal.com It's a fantastic way to record your thoughts. )

Ideas for the day:
- I really want a bigger house
- I haven't gotten my sister-in-laws present mailed (okay, or picked out yet)
- I love the days when my kids are both asleep by 7:05pm
- I really should cook more
- Uhhhh..... I really just want to go clean now that the kids are asleep. More later when I'm not so preoccupied with what I should be doing with this quiet time....

Hangover relief

Thanks to great in-laws and a sweet husband my birthday was relaxing and fun. However, the 17th of July was not the beginning of birthday fun...

Last Tuesday morning I got a knock on the door from my girlfriend Jodie-- of course she looked fabulous and as if she had been awake for hours and hours (never mind she is probably exhausted and sleep deprived with her two little boys 14 months apart or some craziness like that! She looked quite the opposite though) while I answered the door still in my darling pajamas, hair everywhere, and mascara smeared all over my face. If I actually knew what having a hangover felt like, I would guess that how I looked and felt like on that morning was just it. However, Jodie had the cure!

"Happy Birthday!" she greeted and in her hands was a delicious glass container of Oberweis Milk and a package of Double Stuffed OREOS. Ahhhh... I could not have thought of a better prescription for stress. What a sweetheart.

Not long later, my hometeacher and his daughter dropped by (No, I hadn't learned my lesson and I answered the door yet again, in the same dishoveled state!) with homemade chocolate chip cookies and a hide-a-key. How appropriate, given my past week's adventures with keys and car doors. That was awesome.

The next day, we were at the airport getting ready to head to Boise. After a blowout in Savannah's diaper so bad, I finally gave in and went to one of those ridiculously expensive shops in the airport to buy Savannah some clothes to change in. (The blow-out occurred AFTER we checked the bags.) But that wasn't the fun part. The fun part was Kyle sitting in a row on the airplane with both children the ENTIRE flight to Boise while I read a book the row across from them. An entire book. Now that, my friends, is true love...

Happy Birthday Michelle!!

We started the day off by going to Roaring Springs and playing in the water for a couple of hours...actually we started off the day by letting Michelle sleep in until 10:30am. Then we went to the water park.

The Two Rivers Salon and Spa is located on the Boise River. It has a beautiful view of the Boise River while you get your stuff done. Michelle chose to get a 90 minute deep-tissue massage and then relax in the sanctuary room.

Sheppard family tradition for Michelle is to get a Bruster's ice cream cake. This year my mom got the cake for Michelle so we didn't break the tradition.

Pre-Birthday Week Festivities!

Many are aware of the grand tradition Kyle started a few years back: Birthday Week! I thought I would briefly touch on what the forces of nature had in mind while hubby was away to get me in the mood for Birthday Season!

Day #1: Drop hubby off at the airport and drive home in rush-hour traffic. In a thunderstorm. With 2 cranky kids. We had a party.

Day #2: Lock keys in car at pool. Wait 34 minutes for police woman to tell me it's impossible to get in my car. Walk home 2 miles home with two kids in tow. Call emergency roadside. Locksmith opens car in 0.3 seconds flat. Whatever policewoman.

Day #3: Crazy man rams his van into my front yard and takes out 3 trees (one was a liliac--waaah!). Recycling bin is run over and crushed. Crazy man runs away and leaves van in yard.

Day #4: Leave the house in plenty of time to arrive at church on time. Arrive late. Dang train.

Day #5: If I told you I would have to kill you. Just follow the trend of the week so far and make up something in your head. It's probably close.

Day #6: Wake up at 3 in the morning to my 4 year-old poking my face whispering he had an accident "like Savannah" --- Translation: poop. All down the legs. Ew. Ew. Ew.

Okay, so really I'm just trying to be all dramatic about the excitement that happened this week. This week has just been one laugh after another. I honestly have to say the time flew by and before I knew it we were picking up Kyle at the airport again. How come he gets to be gone for all the fun anyway???!

Speaking from experience, I can wholheartedly testify that attitude plays such a significant role in your level of happiness with life. Really the entire key locked in car thing was pretty funny. I just felt like a moron. Cade was an awesome sport walking uphill both ways. I am grateful to the police officer for attempting to help me out of the goodness of her heart, even if she couldn't get me in. Yeah, and the guy running into my trees. That was pretty funny, too. Poop, however, is never funny and I still think it's gross. Why wouldn't I be woken up to clean up poop in the middle of the night?!

Calm before the storm

Yesterday I enjoyed the ultimate gift. A dear friend of mine presented it me in the most perfect way, too. Being a woman, she understood the importance of being able to schedule this gift, while also having plenty of time to prepare and look forward to it. As grand as surprises are, I am learning in my wise old age of almost-26, that the planner in me thrives on scheduled surprises.

A week ago she called me and told me to get out my calendar, pick a day, and she would come over and play Grandma to Cade and Savannah while I did whatever I wanted. I almost choked in, I don't know, utter excitement, sheer shock, ultimate gratitude for dear friends who are concerned about my mental health. It was so touching.

There were some rules involved.

I was not allowed to answer my phone, run any errands, stop by anyone's house. I just was to do what I really wanted to do and bathe in selfishness.

I dug around in my office to find a spa gift card Kyle had come home with several weeks ago. He's incredible that way-- always wanting me to take time for myself while he's slaving away in his long summer hours. He's smart that way, too. You know the saying, "When Momma's Happy...." I found the gift card and then picked out a book from a stack that I had borrowed from the library (I don't know why I always check out like 8 books at a time --from the same author even-- actually thinking I'll finish even one before my 3 weeks is up. I guess there is something about feeling like I still have a choice of what to read from a mini-library depending on my mood. Odd duck I am.)

My plan: Pedicure and Pool. Simple, solitary, and it would allow me to savor the moments instead of time flying by before I could really appreciate it.

I had the morning to get the day going and slash a few items off my to-do list. Noon came and she arrived, Grandma bag in tow. Cade promptly shooed me out with his polite choice of words: "Can you leave now, Mom?"

It's interesting leaving the house alone, especially when you're used to spending 12-17 minutes loading up, going back in for a potty break, getting a snack, realizing a shoe fell off along the way, etc. I took me a matter of 30 seconds from exiting the front door before I was at the end of my driveway in the car, heading to paradise. After walking in the spa to make pedicure appointment, I went to Target to grab a quick breakfast/lunch. I felt like I was seeing through different eyes and hearing through different ears. There were moms with kids in tow, frazzled, exhausted, and their tones were far from cheery and encouraging. They snapped at their kids, scolded them for touching things in the isle, and all I could think was, "Oh, don't talk to your child that way! He's just a child!"

I had to stop myself right there and laugh, full knowing I don't think I have EVER been in the grocery store with my children without eventually using that drained, exhausted, and irritated tone in my voice.

I enjoyed the pedicure then headed to the pool. Alone. Me and my book. Occasionally I stopped and looked and listened, watching the other moms playing with their kids. My mind floated to my own kids and I got a bit sentimental thinking about them. Time has already flown by so fast. I thought about how I have been so good lately at being so caught up in the go-go-go that I haven't slowed down to cherish them. I was then overwhelmingly taken aback by the realization that my days with them like this are so short. Before long they will be teenagers, then adults, and all I will have left of my life as it is now are photos and memories. I made a promise to try harder, be more patient, more loving, and to slow down.

I think that is one important reason why Moms need to have a break every once in a while. To have those moments where we can see through different eyes and hear through different ears--- so we can recognize the work that we are doing is sacred, and these children we have are growing up fast and this is the only childhood they will ever know and it is up to us to make their childhoods magical, memorable, and to teach them what's right.

I have alterior motives for this post. I have to put these thoughts down, because as mentioned in my title, this was the calm before the storm. So many times I have thoughts like this and fail to put them on paper and it doesn't take long to forget them. Kyle is now out of town for a few days and it's imperative I remember all those things I realized while sunbathing in my own little quiet world. It's going to get noisy, the kids are going to be disobedient, I'm going to be tired and unable to escape. But it's okay, because what I am doing is important. I just have to remember that and keep my voice calm and sweet and patient. Oh yeah, and get to church on time.

Happy Independence Day (a wee late!)

I know it's anti-climatic of me, but my posts have been a bit wordy and I haven't been posting many pictures. So I thought I'd turn back time (I know, you're humming the song right now!) and share how we spent our Fourth.

We didn't travel to anyplace grand or far. We stayed right in town and it was the most enjoyable day! We drove about 2 miles to our local pool. "Pool" doesn't quite do the place justice. It is awesome. Complete with water slides, zero depth entry, sand play area and play ground. We spent the afternoon there. Our fine friends the Bodells joined us and it was a great time. In the late afternoon we headed for home to put the kiddies down for a nap and Kyle and I watched a movie together. It was wonderful getting to spend some time in the daylight hours together. Around dinner time, the kids woke up and we drove across town to meet our ward friends watch fireworks. Yes, life doesn't get better than this...

Cade had a grand time overseeing as project manager in the sand. Kyle was a pretty good sub-contractor and got most everything done on time within the budget Cade alotted.




My friend Lindsey and I are always hearing other empty-nesting moms reminisce of the summer days they spent at the pool with their mom-friends. We've longed to join the ranks of "pool hang-out moms." Sounds wonderfully relaxing. What could be better? The kiddies happily exerting their energy on something other than poking each other's eyes out, and the moms sitting by each other, gabbing away. But, as real as reality is, the ages and swimming capabilities of our kids is far from the point of letting us sit on a lounge chair and hang out while they run off and play. Lindsey and I have always joked whenever we need some relaxation that we'd meet at the pool. Well, folks, this photo is living proof that we finally did it! Both our hubbies were off of work, so they could man the other kids while we sat with our youngsters. Sadly, this state lasted for a few brief moments, but oh, how dream-fulfilling it was! We look forward to a future filled with pool-hangout days. Perhaps in a few years.....




"I want YOU to take me in the water. NOW!"


Remarkable living proof of what You Tube videos of babies swimming and a pair of goggles can do to a pre-schooler terrified of the water. He has been cured!

...and the chocoholism continues

After we sadly dropped my grandmother off at the airport yesterday, we stopped by the fabulous Fanny Mae's candy shoppe to find something for my wonderfully kind neighbor and thank her for letting grams stay in her home. I picked up the "hostess" candy tower, thrilled there was such an item already selected for such a person. It was even pre-wrapped! I was really thrilled.

Once home from the airport I fed my kids lunch and put them down for a nap, a strategic effort on my part to have some Peace and Quiet during my relief society presidency meeting. Savannah went down without a wail, but Cade didn't even try to close his eyes. I can't really blame the kid--- when us gals get together, we're a noisy bunch. We laugh and shriek and gasp. In the middle of our meeting/group therapy session, I went upstairs to check on Cade to find him next to the "hostess candy tower" UNWRAPPED!!! I could have strangled the kid. I did take into consideration that there would be witnesses so I decided I should wait until they went home. In the mean time I pouted aloud and pleaded an explanation from Cade.

"HONEY!!! This was for Barb. Why Did you open it?!"

Sensing my grand frustration , "Oh, I sorry. I won't open fings anymore."

I took the boxes of chocolates and nuts downstairs and mentally scheduled an appointment for some reconstructive surgery on the box after the kids were down for the night. At least I had wrapping paper and could fix what was done.

This morning when I woke up Kyle was bathing Savannah. I bolted upwards and gasped,
"Where's Cade?!"
"He's just playing, don't worry."
Phew.
"Oh yeah, but I did wake up to find him eating some chocolates in the kitchen."
WHAT?!!!!
Reading my mind Kyle assured me, "Don't worry it was just a few."
My heart sank. When I finally had it in me to examine the damage, "a few" chocolates turned out to be 13. Way to go, Cade. So, we managed to deliver Barb's candy tower --- really it more resembled a small cottage foundation.

I'm checking the boy in to Chocoholics Anonymous.

Chocoholism begins young

In the wee hours of the morning I caught a glimpse of Cade hovering over my face -- perhaps to see if I was asleep? I patted his head and slurred in half-sleep mumblings, "Go back to sleep, Cade, it's too early....." My head hit the pillow and I was about to go back to sleep when I thought better of it. I knew I should make sure that he went back to his room. I stumbled out of bed and noticed the kitchen light was on. It was 4:20 in the morning. Hmmmmm. I crept to the living room and heard some banging around in the bathroom. Then Cade appeared in the kitchen, carrying his stool. He set it down, opened the fridge door, then scooted the stool next to it. Amused, I stifled a giggle and watched him pull a half-full container of frosting off the shelf of the fridge. I waited until he had pulled the lid off the container and was ready to scoop frosting into his finger before I whispered. "Cade, what are you doing buddy?"

The deer caught in headlights promptly closed the lid on the frosting and replied,
"I was just putting the frosting away,"

Riiiiight.