Could this really be the Oregon Coast?

Back in September we made a trip to Newport with Maygen and the two kiddos. It was a spur of the moment thing, so we quickly packed up and headed out. When I say "packed up", I am speaking metaphorically...not much to pack for a beach trip in Oregon, right? I mean no one ever goes in the water -- it's way to cold to get wet, right? Well as it turned out, David (who packs a change of clothes almost everywhere we go) was the only one to ride home dry and fully clothed. But it was totally worth it!

My curly girls.

Waiting for the next BIG one!


Maygen's excellent photography skills...I would like it better if it wasn't a shot of my backside.

Little sister

Took 5 shots to get both the kids to look at the camera!

Davin (as the kids call him...)

Maygen was a little grossed out by the green foam on the water.

Making a sand pie

and sandy boogers...

Little sister pouting all the way to the car because she didn't want to leave the beach.

Brushing off the sand at the car...

All dried off, making a potty stop before the drive home.

I had one change of kids clothes in the back of the car (purely by accident), so sister wore the top half and brother wore the bottom. Maygen and I rode home wet up to our waists....

I don't remember such a warm day in the water since I was a kid and we used to body surf at Harris Beach. Everytime I've been at the beach in the last 20 years, the water was so cold it took my breath away. But that day we played in the waves for close to two hours without feeling the least bit chilly. The sun was shining, the water was warm and there no wind at all. By the end of the afternoon, we were all soaked and sandy, and had sore cheeks from laughing and smiling so much. It was the best day I've had in a long, long time.

Little Friends

We spent the last couple of months of the summer hanging with two of the coolest little people we know...

Sunday afternoon project: Making a sail boat out of a Home depot paint stirring stick.

I love this boy!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Dave. The best part? Tiny little feet on his face. He'd do just about anything for these kids, which is one of the many reasons I love him.

Little sister helping with the eternal remodel.

My favorite picture of the kids from the summer. A rare moment when they are both smiling and looking at the camera at the same time!

Family Non-Camping

Every year my family (mom, dad, siblings, spouses and grandkids) go on a camping trip together. This year, since we have a bunch of bad backs, little kids and a great desire for indoor plumbing, we decided to rent a house instead. I was a little bummed, because I love camping, but the house was great. It's in a vacation home development near Lake of the Woods, between Medford and Klamath Falls. It was totally secluded, well-appointed and 5 minutes from the lake (unless you make a wrong turn like Dave and I did and end up in Klamath Falls).

Activities this year included:

Teaching the little kids how to Jitterbug

Playing in the dirt

Dave's guided boat tours around the lake for anyone under age 10.

Watching movies in the den (aka "adult time")

Scooter rides

Nature hike

Letting the 4 year old take pictures...

Treading water

Poker with G-pa (considerably more work for G-pa since the average age of the player this year was 3.5 and they were more interested in eating the "skittle money" than learning the rules of Black Jack)

Other fun pictures:

My boy (really my sister Marcie's, but he should be mine...)

Mom and the Hamburgler

Dad

Jake at the Lake

Buddies on a log

Did you know that Rhinos are indigenous to Southern Oregon?

What happens when you get too many members of my family in a small space:

enough noxious gasses to blow you right out the door.

The annual last-day-of-camping photo.

The best part of non-camping I didn't get a picture of because it happened at a distance of 20 yards in the dark of night. Jake had a burning desire to see a racoon, so we left some bread on the patio and sat in the darkened house waiting for one to visit. Dave -- being the 12 year old that he truly is -- decided to give the kids a show, so he draped the brown leather poker-table cover over his back and snuck out into the yard where we could see him, but not very well. He crawled on his hands and knees over about 30 feet of dirt and gravel so he could let the kids think they had seen a wild animal. The adults in the room were cracking up so much we almost peed our pants, but the kids totally believed it and loved it! It was like an episode of Animal Kingdom...

Can't wait 'til next year...

Friends

In July I went to my 20-year high school reunion. High school was difficult for me. I was painfully shy and self-conscious. I was a big nerd, who loved honors classes, math team and brain bowl. I never dated and had no idea how to dress, wear my hair or talk to boys. I had close girlfriends, though. We spent hours together giggling, writing notes and driving our "circuit" around the neighborhoods of our crushes. My best friend was also named Jen. We had a million private jokes, liked all the same boys, finished each others sentences and were often accused of sharing a brain.

In 11th grade English, I was asked to write a "definition" essay, explaining in five paragraphs any word, concept or idea of my choice. I chose to define the term "popularity". It was a bitter social commentary from a sad, unpopular girl containing fairly specific references to the popular kids at school. Unfortunately, I got an A and my teacher posted it on her wall. Before I realized what she had done, all the popular kids read my essay and I became a social pariah.

I spent the rest of that year and the next hanging out with my friends, working a couple of jobs, and keeping my head down at school, trying to avoid the evil glares and whispers -- real and imagined -- from the "elite" kids. I was thrilled to graduate and move on, so much so that I lost contact with most of my high school friends.

In the past 20 years, I've seen Jen twice -- once at her wedding reception and once at mine. Although we both went to BYU, we didn't remain close for reasons I can't put my finger on. Despite our separate lives, I knew I couldn't handle the reunion without her, so we got in contact and went together to the Friday event. We picked up right where we left off 20 years ago and had a great time! At one point, I mentioned my popularity essay to Jen -- it was such a formative event in my life, I thought everyone would remember it as clearly as I do. But she didn't remember, and I felt better. If my best friend didn't remember, surely the subbjects of my essay had also forgotten.

Saturday morning Jen left for California and I attended that evening's event with another group of wonderful old friends. This event had a very different vibe than the night before. Everyone quickly went back to their old cliques and groups. Suddenly I was the self-conscious, shy nerd all over again. The beautiful people were still beautiful...the nerds were still nerds... Everyone else seemed okay with their roles, but I felt out of place. Looking for a little solace, I struck up a conversation with the one "popular" friend I had back then. He was still as nice as I remembered. As we were saying goodbye, he said "Hey, remember that essay you wrote?" HUH?? I could not believe he remembered after 20 years! Apparently it had hurt his feelings back then because he thought we were friends. I felt like a heel, and all those awful feelings of Junior and Senior year came flooding back. I left the reunion in a bit of a funk, full of self-pity.

After talking to my husband later that night, I came to a realization. I have spent a lot of my life focusing on the negative and not recognizing or appreciating my blessings. Seeing old friends -- both at the reunion and during an earlier visit with my Utah friends -- made me realize how blessed I have been. I have had really, really great friends in my life. Fantastic friends. Incredible friends. The kind of friends with whom I could completely be myself, flaws and all. The kind of friends who cried with me through the ugly times, cheered me on in the rocky times and celebrated with me in the good times. The kind of friends who treated me like family when I was far away from my own. The kind of friends who helped raise my daughter and made me a better mother. The kind of friends who could come back into my life after decades apart, without missing a step.

So this way-too-long post is dedicated to all those "old" friends. And to my "current" friends -- the ones who share their family with me, who force me to go to (and like) book club, the ones I work with who inspire me to be a better person. And, of course, to my sisters who have been my friends from the very beginning. Lastly, to my husband, my best friend. Thank you everyone. I would not be the same without you.

Jen, Jen & Sally - 1989

Shawn, Sally, Jen & Jen - 2009

Jen & Dave Plus Eight

I love my nieces and nephews. They are a constant source of entertainment, smiles and laughter. I also have a couple of "little friends" at church who love to hang out with us and we love spending time with. So I thought... Let's have a party! I invited all of the kids over for a sleepover. Their parents came with them for an evening of food and games, then departed around 8pm, leaving us to party like rockstars with the kids, eight of them in all. Ages: just barely 2, 2, almost 3, 4, almost 5, 5, 7 and 9.

Here's what we did:

1. WATER FIGHT! What do when there are 20 people in your house and it's so stinkin' hot outside that the A/C can only cool it to 85 degrees inside? Take turns spraying each other in the face with the hose, of course.




2. Post-Water Fight Hair Styling, a la Alfalfa



3. American Idol Auditions. This kid has a bright future, if he can only learn to speak English.



4. Formed a band. I was just a groupie...not cool enough to be part of the band.


5. Set up a giant air mattress & couch combination bed. Not easy to blow up air mattresses with five kids performing item number six....

6. AIR MATRESS TRAMPOLINE!!

7. Cuddled with Maygen. Which turned into....

8. DOG PILE ON MAYGEN!

9. Missed Mom (just a little), but Maygen and Eliot made it all OK.


10. Settled in bed.

11. Watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I thought they'd settle down and fall asleep. Unfortunately, that didn't happen until I turned the movie off at 12:30 a.m.

12. Breakfast. Two of the boys woke up at 6:30 a.m., then woke everyone else up while being VERY QUIET!

Things we did not do:

1. Sleep in Maygen's bed. Although several of the little ones begged and pleaded, Maygen put her foot down. Then she ended up crawling in bed with one of them to watch the movie.

2. Braid each other's hair, play truth or dare, put someone's hand in a bowl of warm water or any of the other usual sleepover fare. Give it a few years...

3. SLEEP. At least not me. The kids did very well, except for the one that woke up crying at 2:00am. And the one that woke up crying at 2:30. And the one the woke up crying at 3:00am. The good news? The littlest boy (who is very attached to his mom and just turned two) slept soundly through the night. As did Dave.

One of my nieces asked if we could do it again the next week. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Our Summer So Far

It's already halfway over and I don't know where it went! Here are a few of the highlights (minus Youth Conference...I forgot the camera, but we had a great time rafting with the kids):

GIRLS CAMP!!!

Our cabin and girls! So much fun...I really didn't want to go to camp this year, but was so glad I did. Loved my co-leaders, loved my girls, loved the food, loved it all!!

Maygen, leading the YCL2's in a line dance (above) and dressed up for Vintage day (below). The girls thought that 80's clothes qualified as "vintage"... I think of them more as "last season."

JOSH GRADUATED!!!

Grandpa Hiser came from Wyoming for the big day. Congratulations Josh!!

THE GIRLS' BIRTHDAY

Seventeen! Can you believe it??

MAYGEN GOES TO EFY!!

Maygen was lucky enough to get into BYU-Provo for EFY, through their automated lottery process. She and her friend Taelor went together. Because of a housing shortage they placed the girls in off-campus housing, so they had a whole apartment at the Riviera. They had a fabulous time!

UTAH!!!

While Maygen was at EFY, I had a little fun myself! Dave and Katie joined us mid-week and we spent our time with friends and seeing the Utah sights.

Reunion with my King Henry buddies.

The girls at the Draper temple

Dave, Katie and I on top of the Conference Center, my favorite part of the temple square tour.

The Shuman kids at my favorite Utah "hotel". Their mom, Linda, was my best friend in my SLC days. They live in Sandy and we visit them as often as possible. Zach (the red shirt) was just a baby when I moved away...They've grown a little bit since then!

Seriously?

Saw this on the billboard at a local bar. I don't know whether to laugh or be appalled! Probably a little bit of both. I guess tough economic times call for an aggressive marketing strategy?

Friday Night Date

$4.18 - Cherry Limeades at Sonic

$3 - cheeseburgers and onion rings at DQ

$47 - books at Borders

Not talking about the business for 3 hours? PRICELESS.

Holy Bees Batman!

Yesterday afternoon, we were relaxing in front of the TV when we heard a buzzing sound and saw a black cloud outside the living room window. We looked out and this is what we saw:




A swarm of honey bees had descended upon our house! It was scary, but also very cool. Not something you see everyday.

We discovered that they were all hovering, waiting their turn to fly into their new hive -- a hole in our house!! We have a hole in our siding that was made by a woodpecker. It's on the tallest part of our house, so we hadn't gotten around to patching it for lack of a 30 foot ladder. So now the woodpecker hole has become a beehive:

Dave spent about 30 minutes yesterday calling every exterminator in the book. No one was answering on Sunday, but he found a guy in McMinnville who harvests the bees and takes them home with him. He said he would come and get the bees, but he'd have to charge us $250 AND cut a gaping whole in the sheetrock on the INSIDE of our house! I don't think so.... I recognize the value of bees, and would like to get rid of them humanely, but my house is already a disaster...I'd like to leave the walls intact.

So on to Plan B. Dave wanted to put on a long sleeve shirt and climb the wall with a can of Black Flag. I think (hope) I've convinced him to call a professional. Either way the bees will be gone before Book Club on Thursday. Hopefully Dave will still be around.

Toilets, Hitler and the Beach...who knew?

A couple of Sundays ago, we got out of church and decided to take our Sunday nap on the beach. We grabbed the girls and headed to Lincoln City where the weather was gorgeous.

The drive over was hilarious. Katie was in rare form and talked non-stop -- Maygen could hardly get a word in edgewise. The topics revolved around what she's been learning on TV... How Hitler could have been "amazing" if only he'd used his powers for good, an in-depth analysis of the Kennedy conspiracy, what dirty jobs she wouldn't mind doing, and how toilets are made. Of this last one, she said "It's pretty much amazing...all my life I've wanted to know how toilets are made." Really? Toilets? All your life? Shows how little I know what goes on in her head...

The moral to this story is: Who needs public education when you have cable?