Enjoying the Disney machine..and other things

Yesterday the kids and I raced off to the movie theater after school to watch HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (at this point Wade would say, "No, Mom, it's High School Musical 3 Senior Year..") We have thoroughly enjoyed the HSM movies, and this "final" one was no exception. Rhiannon, Wade, and I loved the music, the story line, everything, and we were dancing in the aisles on the way out of the theater. :)

The crazy thing for me was to feel a real sadness when the cast graduated at the end of the movie. Boy, did it bring back some personal senior year memories! It reminded me of a conversation I had with my dad that year. I was telling him about how my heart was hurting, thinking about saying goodbye to good friends and all going our separate ways. Dad told me then about eternal friendships--it brought me so much comfort and definitely helped me feel better.

On another note, I finally picked up the Twilight series again and finished New Moon last week. When I read the first book, I was seriously pulled into the Twilight ZONE...I don't remember too much about that weekend except staying in bed much of the time and having my family come in sometimes to make sure I was still alive... This past week I took my time and read slowly and only after I'd gotten other things done. It was more enjoyable and less psychotic, for me anyways. Am I excited about November 21? YES. I. AM.

Adventures in Dog-Sitting

First off, THANK YOU to Grandma Deb for a fantastic visit. We had a wonderful time with her. I'd say the only bummer was that her week with us was way, way, way too short. :) Thanks to Grandpa Rod for letting us borrow her, too.

We like to joke that Grandma sends Rhiannon to therapy, only because Rhiannon asked to see the school counselor when she was sad after Grandma's first visit last October. This time our neighbors came through with a major coping mechanism--they asked us to watch their two adorable Labrador retrievers for the weekend. Any of you who know Rhiannon even a little bit can imagine how she felt about this!!!!!!!! We got to check in on them several times a day, feed them, groom them, take them for walks, and keep them company. One night we even slept over, but both Rhiannon and I had enough of Wade's kicking and flailing that night to last a lifetime. Cleo and Ginger were TERRIFIC dogs. I was bracing for the worst, but honestly I don't think I've met gentler, sweeter, better-behaved dogs! Someday we hope to have a dog like them, with maybe just a little less hair. ;)

It's magic!

Without knowing it, Wade gave me a great compliment a couple nights ago at dinner. He picked up the can of Parmesan cheese and asked in amazement, "Mom, does the Parmesan cheese EVER run out?"

Serious mom skills, eh? :)

Birthday highlights

Wade loved celebrating his 5th birthday! On Monday some friends came over for a Transformers party. We kept it simple, short, and silly with water balloons, Red Light/Green Light, a treasure hunt, and hide-and-seek. Of course we had to give everything a cool Transformers name, which made it even better. The best part for me was getting help from two fantastic party assistants--Grandma Deb and Rhiannon. :)

On Tuesday we had donuts for breakfast. Wade also went on a field trip with his Joy School friends to Frying Pan Farm Park. How convenient that it was on his actual birthday! :) Then the partying continued into the evening when Daddy came home early and joined us for present-opening, dinner, and cake/ice cream.

Thanks to everyone for the phone calls and emails, and especially to Derrick and Traci, who were the first ones to call and happened to be celebrating their 2nd anniversary on the same day! Wade was on top of the world and definitely felt everyone's love for him!




s

It's all about WADE today!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, WADE! I tried to find some cute pictures of Wade's last 5 years, and, well, I just couldn't stop. We love him so much and are so glad he's part of our family!!! Love you, buddy!

We're lovin' it!

Our time with Grandma Deb here, that is!



Thankfully we've got another 3+ days with her before she heads back to Utah. One day we took her to Hidden Pond and one of our favorite local libraries. That same day Grandma got to be a Mystery Reader in Rhiannon's class--I think they both got a kick out of that! On Saturday Jason got back from CA and took us all to the International Spy Museum, and then we stopped by the National Portrait Gallery. The hall of American Presidents was awesome--I just didn't think to take pictures, though, until we spotted a painting of Joseph Smith--cool! Today and tomorrow we'll be celebrating Wade's 5th birthday! Stay tuned!!!

Implications...

Another great video (Thanks, Kathryn!) about the implications of Prop 8 NOT passing. Feel free to pass along...

6 things

1) Six places that I go to over and over: WalMart, Giant (grocery store), the library, Rhiannon's school, church, and maybe Costco
2) Six people who e-mail me regularly: Hmmm...Carl Hall, Heidi from church, my visiting teaching companion Leslie, my dad, my mom, and Facebook :)
3) Six of my favorite places to eat: Austin Grill (Tex-Mex), Mike's Grill, Olive Garden, On the Border, Chinese restaurants, Chipotle's (I'm sensing a Tex-Mex theme here!)
4) Six places I would rather be right now: I'm actually pretty content sitting here at the computer, listening to the stillness of the house. But if I had to be somewhere else, I'd choose to be with family and friends who are far away, in the temple, in a movie theater, at the library, at a park, or in a museum!
5) Six TV shows I watch: I hit and miss the following...The Office, Chuck, Dancing with the Stars, House, What Not to Wear, and cool shows like Mythbusters.
6) Six friends I invite to make a "six" list: Linda, Lori, Maggie, Jaymie, Sophia, and Amelia!

Some things never get old...

On Monday we went to Burke Pumpkin Patch, a place we'd visited a year ago. For one thing, Rhiannon was so happy to be there. She'd been very sick on Saturday and Sunday, and she was praying so hard that she'd be well enough to go on Monday. Thank heavens for little answered prayers. :) I realized that even though it felt like we'd just been there, some things don't get old, like petting zoos, fast carpet slides, pony rides, mountains of pumpkins, and watching your kids zoom in and out of play structures. Wade was "put in jail" for going MIA at one point, though; he wasn't in plain sight after going down one of the slides and was gone long enough to get my heart racing and my mind spinning. Jason found him just before I started screaming Wade's name...all Wade said was, "I was putting my carpet square away!" Man.

Grandma Deb comes on Thursday--hurray! We are looking forward to her visit and hope she'll be able to put her feet up and relax, in between sight-seeing and b-day celebrating, that is. ;)

You're absolutely right

If you're thinking:

a) Wow, Verity is timeless--she'd fit into any era!
b) Verity needs to get off the computer
c) Verity needs to get some rest
or
d) Verity is having a little too much fun with http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ ...

You're absolutely right! ;)

Groovy, Wade, groovy!

Wade's picture was a little bit harder to match up, but, still, we enjoyed the results!! :)

http://www.yearbookyourself.com

Rhiannon lets her hair down!

Tonight we all were giggling over this funny site--http://www.yearbookyourself.com. (Thanks, Troy!) I was a little surprised and finally realized that, yes, Rhiannon does look a little like her mother! ;)

25 days

This week my friends back in Ridgecrest were able to attend a special satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City. The topic? The divine institution of marriage, CA Prop 8, and what people could do to support it. Personally, I think this unprecedented involvement from the Church is inspiring, timely, and very worthwhile. It's also a HUGE sign of how important CA Prop 8 is.

To friends and family not living in California, please contact your friends and relations who ARE in CA. Are they registered to vote? Will they make a stand for religious freedom and families?

For more information, go to:

http://www.preservingmarriage.org/?cid=badge01

and

http://www.protectmarriage.com/

and

www.traditionalmarriage8.blogspot.com

and

www.protectfamiliesnow.blogspot.com


Thanks!

3 hours of goofiness

After a month of Joy School it was finally my turn to teach today. Reports from the other moms were unanimous--"this is a GREAT group of kids." Well, they were right. Plus the fact that I got to teach the final "Spontaneous Delight" lesson (translation--have non-stop fun being goofy and silly for 3 hours straight). My three favorite activities were playing hide-and-seek, acting out the book Caps for Sale, and playing with a parachute out in the backyard. A very good day--hopefully there will be many more!

Installation

Rhiannon is now an elected official, elementary-school style. Wade and I went to the school's Student Council installation ceremony to watch Rhiannon raise her arm to the square. Of course the highlight for her was getting cookies afterwards. ;) She'll attend monthly student council meetings and work on projects for the school. Definitely a great opportunity for a third grader!

Rhiannon (in pink sweater) "takes an oath"--she was pretty serious about it.

All the student council members, with the school's principal and vice-principal...Rhiannon is in the back row, right in the middle.

She doesn't look nervous or sad, does she?

Family support!

An unexpected loss

Jason's Grandpa Ed passed away yesterday. He suffered a sudden stroke on Saturday and was taken off life support yesterday after all his children had said their goodbyes. I am really missing him today and praying that all our family in Utah, especially Grandma Lola, will be comforted and at peace with his very unexpected death.

One of my favorite memories of Grandpa was on our wedding day. Since Grandpa Ed was a temple sealer, he was able to perform that great ceremony for us. At the end, to our embarrassment, he asked Jason and I to kiss twice because our first kiss "wasn't good enough." :)

Our last visit to Utah--March 2007

Grandpa and Grandma were so good about getting family together. I remember two fantastic Thanksgiving weekends at their home in Ivins, family Christmas parties in SLC, and a particularly relaxing reunion up in Sun Valley. I was always amazed, too, that on Christmas Day, Grandpa and Grandma were the ones out doing the rounds visiting all their children and grandchildren. Grandpa didn't forget birthdays, either.

Other things I will miss about him are his warm hugs, his stash of temple-ready names that he was always anxious for us to take when we planned temple trips, and the support he gave us as we tried our best to live good lives and make good decisions. And the fact that no matter how few and infrequent our visits up to Utah may have been, he never made me feel like a stranger, only loved and cherished and anything but forgotten.

We've been saying a lot of prayers the last 36 hours. Rhiannon and Wade have mentioned more than once that they're glad they'll be able to see their great-grandpa up in heaven again someday. I'm thankful for their faith, for family, and for my own strong testimony of the plan of happiness. Jason flies out to Utah tomorrow to be with everyone and to speak at the funeral, and though the kids and I won't be there in person, we will definitely be there in spirit. We send lots of love to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and especially to Grandma Lola. We are praying for you, and we love you!

Oh, boy!

Yesterday was a big day for Wade--he could FINALLY flip the calendars to October, his birthday month! He had a great time at his sports class, too. Normally they meet in the field house for the class, but a large community of Muslims had rented out the building so we met outside. (I don't know a lot about the Muslim faith, and it was interesting that for the hour we were there, the loud chanting/praying going on inside the building never stopped.)

Wade's teacher, "Miss Ann," is such a sweet lady. The kids all love her.

The kids' favorite game after this drill is knocking all the cones over with their soccer ball kicks!

Trying out the monkey bars!

I love this picture! It captures my buddy Wade very well. :)

(p.s. Thanks for all the sweet comments about my "story-telling." I just wanted to make sure I made a note of it so it got included in our family blog book, which WILL get finished...someday. :))