1st Grade - Done!

Our girl has finished the FIRST GRADE!  She did so well this year and ended strong!  Way to go, Abbi!  She made some new friends and loved the school work.  We know she played hard at recess because she would come home tired or a little messy.  Abbi made a lot of improvements where she could and she learned so many new things.  She especially loves learning about bugs!  We love her so much and we are very proud of our big girl!

Here she comes, second grade!

M is for Mistakes

M is for Mistakes

Everyone makes them, right?  I've been told that no one is perfect.  It's hard to believe that when I compare myself to others, though.  There are some character traits and stuff that I really value, and when I meet someone who seems to have be strong in the traits that I value then maybe they seem perfect.  You know the batch of chocolate chip cookies that works out?  They all seem great until you find one that doesn't have as many chocolate chips per bite as what may seem ideal.  So what used to be good perfect, is just a regular cookie.  People are all regular cookies.  Sometimes our chocolate chips are evenly balanced and delicious, sometimes they're missing or spread too thin.  I think I may have plenty of good chips in me but once in a while, I spread them too thin and that makes them look like a less than perfect cookie.

When I make mistakes I'm not the best cookie:

Generally, my less than best self is caused by my brain.  It thinks, and thinks, and thinks and then I believe there are issues where there may not be an issue.  Or, I begin to have victim thoughts about how life could be different.  Turns out, patience is the answer to a lot of my self-made problems.  Other times, my mistakes are caused by procrastination.  "I'll do _______ right after _______."  "I'm going to start doing ________ tomorrow."  "I can just wait ________ out.  It'll take care of itself."

I avoid mistakes by:

If I think about what I just wrote, it sounds like my solution would be less thinking and more action.  That may really be true.  It makes me think of the nights I go to bed at a normal time, all tuckered out from moving all day.  I don't usually feel like a bad cookie on those nights.  But if I have wasted time, or had less than positive interactions, I feel like a cookie with no chocolate chips.

Dealing with cookies who make mistakes:

I get to interact with people whose chocolate chips might be a little out of balance.  They have them, the person just doesn't know it.  Every day seems like acquiring a new taste for cookies with less than the ideal amount of chips.  Now, I'm not saying this just about people at my place of employment.  And, I'm not saying it in a judgmental way.  My chips don't line up very often either and I may be an acquired taste, as well.  There are a lot of nicknames for me that remind me that my chips aren't balanced.  But, the important thing is to remember and find the chocolate chips in every cookie.  If you find the best bites, it makes the rest of the cookie good, too.

For example, I get a phone call every couple of weeks where I get reamed out for a variety of reasons.  It's difficult to not retaliate or repay them in kind.  Instead, I just think about this person's chocolate chips, why this cookie is frustrated enough to be speaking this way, and then remind them that their chocolate chips will pay off.  But other times, you just have to think about the chocolate chips to yourself while cookies mistreat you.  That's when perspective, endurance, and patience really pays off.

Moving past mistakes:

Getting chocolate chips in balance takes action and patience.  They can't move themselves and no one can rearrange my chocolate chips for me.  Just today, I tried to talk to someone about being responsible for their own path and choices.  With everything I said, I heard blaming as a response.  Well, I'm responsible for me and my own cookies (children), and together we're gonna learn how to balance out our chocolate chips and to find the chocolate chips in others.  I'm under the impression that I've gotta incorporate more patience and a lot more action.

This may be the weirdest post I've ever written, but I just needed to think some things out.  I relate to cookies pretty well.  I'm still imagining a plate of cookies with varying amounts of chocolate in each bite, but I still know how to appreciate each cookie.  And, I know a lot of people with varying amounts of traits and qualities I value and I know how to appreciate them, too.

All About Me - #20

Cat and Mouse

You are most comfortable - spending time with close family and friends

When you really want to get to know someone, you say or ask - I dunno, questions?

In social situations, you tend to - introduce yourself first

When you were attracted to someone - you act like the mouse

The largest age difference you have had in a relationship - 6 years

Who was younger? - Me

A person you successfully pursued in a short amount of time - Jake

A person you pursued over a long period of time - no one who was worth it

Something someone said or did that you found extremely attractive - "I love you"

Something someone said or did that you found frighteningly unattractive - made me read a poem he had written about me, at the end of our first (read: only) date

A saying you have heard about men or women that you believe is true - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus; I don't know what that really means but I know we're different

Two things that are appealing about women - loving and smart

Two things that are not appealing about women - read into nothing and worry too much

Two things that are appealing about men - manliness and the way they show love

Two things that are not appealing about men - don't always use their words and.... that's it

Your friends tend to be - male or female; older or younger than you

A physical trait you find attractive - smiling ("I just like smiling.  Smiling's my favorite.")

An intellectual ability that you find attractive - common sense

A personality trait that you find attractive - humor

You love it when people ask you - I don't know....

Your secret passion - crafting

Your longest grudge - "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies."

You truly believe it is possible to be with one person for the rest of your life - yes or no

You like surprises - yes or no

Someone has thrown a surprise party for you - yes or no

You have thrown a surprise party for someone - yes or no

You regret that you never had a relationship with this person - I would have liked a professional relationship with W

A type of person you don't seem to get a long with - no it alls

You and your spouse argue about this issue often - my choices for food

What you enjoy most about having a committed relationship - having Jake forever

What you dislike most about having a committed relationship - I might make bad meals or not ever clean the house

L is for LAUGHING

L is for Laughing ... and Lisa

My most memorable laughs:

When I almost died laughing in the park in Layton ... Lisa whispered something naughty and I had a horrible asthma attack.

When Lisa and I stayed up until six in the morning when I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting the next morning.  ("I always wanted another sister." & "I'll put my face in your armpit!")

I'm afraid this is more like L is for LISA because so far I'm thinking up Lisa stuff.

I'll give honorable mentions to the restaurant in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, one to the time I was helping my friend from her wheelchair in the bathroom, and one to every year of girls camp.  I'd also like to mention the night Tammy and I spent in the back of my RAV during a rainstorm on a singles' ward camp out.  Oh, the things you see when no thinks you are watching.  A bridge in San Antonio was hilarious, once.  Lunch is never funny.  When my dad slaps his head while he laughs makes anything comical.  Those are pretty awesome, but Lisa almost kills me when we start laughing.

I'd say more about these but either I wouldn't remember them correctly or no one but Lisa and I would understand the conversations we have in the middle of the night.  And most importantly, some of these scenarios should not be recapped because of the content.

Good work, Lisa.  Way to steal the post.

hilarious: very funny
Synonyms:	amusing, comical, convivial, entertaining, exhilarated, frolicsome, gay, gleeful, gut-busting, happy, humorous, jocular, jolly, jovial, joyful, joyous, laughable, lively, merry, mirthful, noisy, priceless, riot, rollicking, scream, side-splitting, uproarious, witty

Moab, Utah 2012

I split all of the treats into portions and put them in a bag with a map of the drive.  Abbi liked to track where we were.  This was a great thing for portion control and when the treats were gone, they were gone.

Delicate Arch - 3 mile hike in and out.  Beautiful.

This was the beginning of Delicate Arch.  The kids all did great!

Our little family at Delicate Arch.  Abbi probably walked it 1.25 times because she looped around from the front to the back of the group so many times.  She loved it!

My beauties at the Arch.

Miss Abbi posing inside Delicate Arch.

My lovies inside the arch together.  Too dangerous for Little Noah and me.

This is what happens after a 3 mile hike in the sun.

This guy has a good philosophy for taking the children into the wilderness and showing them what God made rather than always taking them where we tour around and love everything that is man made.

Our three small girl travelers at Dead Horse Point.  Marlie thought it was just a model, all pretend.  It is quite amazing.

Amy and I at Dead Horse Point.  I'm so happy she came!

Thank you to my Jakey for taking me to the wilderness.  It was a perfect trip, other than the facilities for relief.

My beautiful family on top of the petrified sand dunes surrounding our camp.  I literally left my mark there.  And my mark I mean the fibers of my denim shorts.

My big boy on the sand dunes.

My very handsome S.O. (significant other).

A tired boy and mom napping in the shade.

The junior camp rangers - Marlie, Abbi, James, Mylie, Jack, and Noah.

Noah, Mylie, and Jack eating their hobo dinners.  Mylie and Jack were partners in a lot of crime.

Happy hobo dinner!

Amy, Marlie, and Abbi eating their yummy hobo dinners that Jimmy made us.

James, Noah, Mylie, and Jack - so cute!

I don't actually have the written permission Jimmy requires to put his name, photo, or likeness on the interweb.  I may end up in the poor house or even jail if he finds this and presses charges.  Amber and Jimmy make camping a super good time.

Abbi and James working on their moon dough perhaps.

Noah and Jack eating a balanced breakfast before we headed home.

The weekend caught up with our young boy.  He slept for 13 hours, beginning at 5 p.m.

A cute pair of girls - Amy and her mini-me, Mylie.

Tank: A very naughty kitty who tried to ruin my vacation by running away the night before.  Luckily, the neighbor found Tank on Friday and deposited him back to our sofa.

We had such a good time soaking up the sun in southern Utah.  We haven't had a weekend together like that since last July.  Abbi and Noah were so excited for the trip and I think it's a part of Jake's blood to need to spend time in the wilderness a few times a year.  He made it such a comfortable trip for me, even in the rocks, sand, and sun.  I'm the Utahn who has never seen Delicate Arch or skied.  But now I'm 50% done being a Utah Native.  We hiked Delicate Arch, we drove out to Dead Horse Point, then hiked again to a small waterfall/pond to play in, and then hiked again around the petrified sand dunes we stayed on.  The kids dug and dug in the sand, chased lizards, and told stories around the fire.  This was a perfect kick-off to summer!