Christopher Creek - 2011

We did it again. We headed to Christopher Creek for about the 20th time in my life and the 7th year in a row as an adult. Our group this year was small but mighty as half the family bailed on the trip. We had the Platt's, Ricedorff's, Chesley's, Mom, Dad, Matt and the Coleman Brothers who made a quick appearance.

Here are my favorites:

-Playing games around the fire - or around the circle we made next to the fire- "I have never" (AKA, the biggest-loser-if-you-win game), "The question game", and "telephone"

-Watching the kids pull in the biggest load of crawdads in Goodman history - at least 100

-Walking the loop

-Loren's delicious breakfasts

-Watching Taylor and Kyley be the best big cousins my girls could ask for. They played with them, told them stories, sat them on their laps, and just made them feel awesome - Thanks girls

-Hike to Box Canyon where the boys jumped off ridiculous cliffs

-Platt family hike to the water hole where the girls wimped out and wouldn't get in the water

-Perfect weather!

-Playing cards

Here are all the pictures...

My kiddos at the deep water hole - we went as a family after everyone left

Annie posing

Abby climbing the rocks

Jake drying off and warming up

Hannah debating if she should jump in - she didn't

Abby and Jeremy jumping at Box Canyon

Jake and Ty at Box Canyon - on the ridiculous cliff

Jeremy plunging off the 50 foot cliff

Most of the boys at Box Canyon

Austin, Karrie and Ryan with Julie, Taylor and Loren crashing the picture - classic

Before we went, I was dreading the trip. We have a lot going on in our life right now and it just seemed like one more thing to do. But we packed up and headed up the mountains anyway, and just like every year, I'm so glad we did. It is all about making memories for the family. The kids had such a great time and I love that they love the tradition that started when I was a young kid.

Why I love Jeremy

I love my husband for many, many reasons. This past weekend in St. Johns my eyes were opened to a new reason I love him to go along with so many other reasons. He is truly forgiving.

When Jeremy was a boy, he worked on the family ranch. He'd get up early and head out to the ranch with his dad. He worked ALL day long and made a whopping 10 bucks a day. Of that, he paid his tithing first, then half of what was left went to his mission fund. The rest was his to do with as he pleased. That equated to $4.50 a day, not much at all! Have I mentioned that I love his work ethic?

His sophomore year, after working and saving for two years, he finally had enough money to buy a bike, a freestyle bike. It was blue and awesome and he rode that thing everywhere. One day while he was at mutual, his bike got stolen. How ironic is that - it got stolen from the church. He was devastated. He fasted every single Sunday for the return of his bike. He was tireless and full of faith that it would return.

His prayers were answered when one day, there it was sitting across the street from his house. It was under a tree, and only the stickers were peeled off. He was so happy and grateful.

Some of the neighbor kids had told Jeremy who it was, and that the kid who stole it was planning to paint it and keep it, but realizing it wouldn't ever work, and that Jeremy would recognize it, he finally returned it.

This weekend we were in St. Johns talking about how kids that are immature in high school grow up and it can surprise you when you learn what they are doing with their lives. How fantastic that we all grow up! Anyway, Cyndi mentioned Jeremy's bike and mentioned how ------- has changed since the day of stealing that bike. What? It was -------? This guy,------, is one of Jeremy's close friends. All these years of knowing who stole his bike and hearing the story from his mom 50 thousand times about how he fasted for its return, he never once mentioned the guy's name who did it. I asked him why he never told me who it was and he said that he didn't want me to think of him as that guy. We're friends with him, see him all the time, and he didn't want me to think of him negatively.

------- happened to be in St. Johns for the 4th of July like us, and we spent most of the day with him and his family. I watched Jeremy in new admiration all day at his ability to forgive someone who crushed him so long ago. He thinks of ------as a friend, not as the rotten, bike thief. And thinking back to the past 12 years of going to St. Johns and running in to him, Jeremy has never treated him like less than a friend.

When Jeremy brought his bike to our house from St. Johns a few years ago, there was no anger or resentment. Though I knew that this was his bike he fasted for, he never mentioned it, or the kid, even in general terms, just that he wanted to fix it up.

Here it is. Just imagine it with another tire, a seat and a functioning chain and it being 1992. It was pretty hot stuff.

Jeremy is an amazing man. He has a true heart and I love him for the lessons he teaches me everyday, simply in how he lives his life.

I love America

We had a fabulous weekend in St. Johns celebrating the 4th of July. There is no place I'd rather be than there, on what has become one of my favorite holidays. I'm so grateful to live in America where I enjoy so many freedoms and such a rich and abundant life. I am truly blessed to live in this great Nation.

-We enjoyed swimming at the town pool which is amazingly relaxed. Kids can actually have fun at the pool without the fear of being yelled at by the lifeguards (unlike the uptight City of Mesa pools).

-The kids played badminton with the McBride kids. Hannah was sooooo happy to have Brakelle to play with all weekend.

-The kids disappeared in the jungle for hours at a time and I was never worried even a bit.

-We ate at El Camino where Jeremy found his new favorite food (besides steak) - stuffed sopapillas - yum!

-We enjoyed church where we got to sing my favorite patriotic hymn, "America the Beautiful". The line that says, "Oh beautiful for patriot dream In liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life..." always gets me. Am I the only one that gets choked up during that hymn?

On to the big day....

-We didn't hear the cannons as they usually go off. We might have been sleeping quite soundly and didn't hear them, but I don't think they went off like usual. Kind of a bummer.

-Jeremy and I enjoyed a delicious pancake breakfast at the park.

-We brought the kids back down to the park for the patriotic program, BBQ, snowcones and races.

-We got to visit with a lot of Jeremy's old friends and people we seldom see.

-And then the races began. Let me just say, I'm proud of my family for competing and participating. I never, ever race.

Annie raced first, scored second place and a fifty cent piece.

Hannah raced next and didn't hear the "go" so had to play catch up. She ran hard and fast. If I had been there to nudge her on the word "go", she would have won for sure. I'm happy she was a good sport.

Abby raced and placed....Are you ready for it?.... First! Go peanut! She got a gold dollar.

Jake raced and placed second. It is debatable if he took first or not. we have it on video and it's now under review, but he got a half dollar too.

Jeremy competed in what I like to call his "annual hamstring pull" (I just made that up). He jumped in with the wrong crowd (the 20-30 year olds) but still placed third and got a quarter. Had he competed with the old men, he'd have won hands down.

Jake stretching pre-race. Maybe Jeremy could take a note from him. Jake played with Trevor and Easton Lambson the WHOLE day.

Hannah protecting Annie from all the scary people - I think she had nerves about racing.

The kids -so darling

The whole family

Have I said that I love America? I'm grateful for the freedoms that I enjoy and all those that have sacrificed so much for me to have the life and opportunities that I have. Thank you (That was 4 have's in just 2 sentences - wow)

When the power goes out...

I learned a phrase when I lived in New Orleans and a hurricane was potentially heading our way, "hunker down." I had never heard it before, but it became quite commonplace in N.O. Here in AZ we tend to "hunker down' in the heat of the summer, I just never knew there was a name for it until I was 21 years old.

However, when the power goes out in the worst of the summer, you really hunker down and prepare for a brutal day. It was around 2:30 pm when we were sent home from Kino Pool because of no power. Sure enough, no power at home. There was a fire at the power station and there was no electricity in most of Mesa. We promptly headed out to find ice cream, but no such luck. (we didn't know about all the widespread outages)

We made do:

Jake and I played many games of Speed,

We played Memory Annie-style which means all the cards are turned face up (it's the way to go, so much easier),

We drove in our air-conditioned car until we were nearly out of gas,

We shopped in a dark Target and tried on clearance shoes,

then finally after enduring the heat no more, called my parents and they were kind enough to let us hang at their house. They got their power back by about 5:30. We ate hot dogs, burned a black widow in the grill and sent the kids outside to play.

That's when things got interesting. Abby came running in exclaiming about the baby chick she found. Oh boy. I'm not a bird person by any stretch, so I was less than amused. But we all went outside looking for its nest, no luck. A few minutes later, wouldn't ya know it, they found another, then another and finally another. 4 baby birds in all.

They put them in a container to keep them comfortable and out of the kids' greasy hands. That's when Jeremy stepped in and got on the computer to find out how to care for parentless, baby birds. What he found was a "Quail Rehabilitation Specialist". Who knew those even existed!? They instructed him to bring the quail babes to Paradise Valley to save them, we found one of her "wild animal" cronies to come to my parents house instead. He took the birds to their new home where they would get shots, an incubator, and lots of love from the QRS.

I love my family and their big huge hearts. I feel so cold hearted sometimes in comparison. They care and love so fully, from Jeremy all the way down to Annie. Annie nearly cried herself to sleep because she missed those baby birds so much.

Then we came back to reality when Jake poured a cup of ice down Hannah's pants.

That's what we do when the power goes out. Beat that! (that's a Hannah saying)

JDIFM vs. DIY

I am not quite a DIY (do it yourself) kind of a gal, I'm more of a JDIFM (Jeremy do it for me) girl. He's much handier than me. At my sorry attempts at sewing, he's fixed the machine and gotten me sewing straight again. Actually, he just pushes me out of the way and takes over. He's much more careful and deliberate than I am. And it shows in his work.

In my very first real DIY job, I re-covered my dining room chairs. They are not perfect, but they look lightyears better than the old fabric.

Here's the proof:

Sure it took all week and it looks less than professional, but it is better without a doubt. Also, I didn't realize how disgusting we've been living until I saw the new masterpiece sitting next to the old garbage. I picked brown to match the stains we made on the old fabric and even covered the chairs in plastic to protect from any major disasters.

My next project - the pillow I've been promising Hannah for 2 years -ever since I took sewing, then got my grandma's sewing machine and promptly broke it. Or maybe I'll give Mod Podge a shot - baby steps, I suppose.

Here's a funny one

On Friday night, we were pulling up to Pizza Hut after a long day out and Hannah says, "Look, there's a guy on a toilet." We all looked around because that would definitely be a sight to behold and all we could find was this -

I guess it kinda does look like a guy on a toilet.

Our Summer

It's summer for sure. I've not blogged in a while, mainly because I haven't taken any pictures and we've been just trying to survive the summer.

Here's what our summer looks like:

-Jake had basketball camp at Mt. View (he won 2 sodas, one on each of the Soda Fridays- he was so proud. That means he won a competition each week. Way to go Jake)

-Jake and Abby are now in a summer camp at the Ostler's house. They get to do puppet shows, magic, cooking, swim, basketball, foosball... It has been great for them.

-All the kids get to be bossed around by their mama each and every morning. They have a load of chores that I make them do every day. Our house is super clean for about 30 minutes each morning. It's been wonderful.

-School work. I've been making Jake and Abby master their flashcards and math facts this summer. They've been working diligently on them each day as well as reading. Hannah is working on writing and sounding out simple words. Annie just colors.

-Swimming at Stapley Pool. This is the year Hannah loves it! She now likes the white slide, and the diving board. She is a good independent swimmer so I don't have to watch her like a hawk anymore. Jake has sort of out grown the daily trips to Stapley. It's like pulling teeth to get him to go. Abby had developed a gorgeous tan and is happy to be swimming. Annie likes to swim for about15 minutes, then goes to the chair and wraps in her towel for the rest of the time.

-Abby is still taking gym for a few more weeks. She might take the MV volleyball camp this week.

-Sadly, we've been watching a bit too much TV. Every time I turn around the TV is on and I'm after the kids to turn it off. My kids are so fun and inventive and creative when the TV is off. I can honestly tell you I dislike most of the Disney an Nick shows, but I do like Good Luck Charlie. The mom on that show cracks me up. Other than that, those shows are just noise and obnoxious.

-I finally finished the Work and the Glory series. It's taken me about a year to do. They were great books that taught me a lot about church history as well as given me a new appreciation for the pioneers and early Saints and all they endured. I'm a little lost without a book to read now.

-We are getting ready for a few short vacations this summer - Camping, St. Johns and maybe Utah.

And that's all folks. We're in survival mode as the days are getting hotter and longer.