It takes a year...

Norm Shilling, our very own KNPR LV desert gardener, reminded me of a truth this morning. He was out in his yard reporting on the progress of several daisies he planted this Spring.

In the dog days of summer these little guys struggle and some - I think he said 4 out of 15 - have died - others are just barely hanging on, but if they can make it through their first summer they will usually be stronger next year and every year after. He advised planting in the fall because then they will have more time to establish their roots before the heat bears down on their little frames.

He walked over to a few of the struggling plants, examined their leaves and branches and determined that there was still some green life to be found and decided to make a shade covering for them. He also set the hose on a drip and put the timer on the kitchen clock for 1 hr. to soak the little fellas.

I started thinking about how long it takes to feel rooted. And of my experience. And I decided Norm was right. It takes about a year after you are planted from the startling adjustment of change and new soil to take root again. Sometimes you need to throw a little cover over yourself for a few months and just hunker down before you feel like exposing your full face to the sun again. But, if you can make it through your first summer, you become more rooted and ready to bear the next season of change.

Which reminds me, I need to go check on my lemon and lime trees, and perhaps offer some shade and an extra drip of water.

Voyage Oh Canada!

We've been back for a week and I'm already ready to go again.


This year we decided to fly to Kalispel, MT and drive to Fairmont British Columbia. Greg and I agreed it was the easiest, most pleasant way to get there in all of years we've been traveling from Las Vegas. Nestled in the rocky mountains of British Columbia, Fairmont is a beautiful valley of green and a cool place to retreat from the Las Vegas heat. The resort is surrounded by trees, golf courses, ski hills, lakes and streams, and vacation villas. Not to mention some really friendly folk. I found myself listening and smiling at the friendly Canadian accents of everyone around. (Man, I miss my countrymen sometimes. ;)

Cole was excited to go and kept asking when we were going to go to Grandma's house with the elevator. :) Two years ago Grandma patiently helped Cole get over his fear of the elevator and he has never forgotten. Now we just need to work on helping him understand that this is Grandma and Grandpa's vacation home not their "home home."


Here's a picture of where we stayed. Unit #2008 in the hillside resort, not too far from the outdoor pool, with a green water slide. Most days the day time high was in the 70s/80s so we took advantage of wearing the kids out at the pool. Cole was apprehensive as usual, especially when it came to going down the slide, but after a few runs with Dad he was a pro and anxious for his cousins to arrive.

I got a teensy bit obsessed about documenting our trip this year, so I took tons of photos. My family have never been real photo taking subjects, but for the most part they humored me. Here's a shot I took of the sunset from our balcony. The sun doesn't go down until almost 10:30 p.m. So our days were long, but so worth this breathtaking beautiful sunset.

Grandma and Grandpa scouted out a few activities for us to do, so we took in the first farmers market/fair of the summer, went to church at the Fairmont LDS branch (where you'll get asked to speak or teach if they find out you'll be there longer than a week) and then took a trip to see the new Invermere firetruck. All the fireman are volunteers and they were mighty proud of their $500,000 truck (that was the cost without all the equipment).

Us, after church, under a tree. (We love that they only meet for 2 hrs. And I especially love the idea of no Sunday school. Instead the branch just shares insights they gained from reading for the week in the last 10 min. NICE!)

Greg took a turn (with a little help) shooting the fire hose and Cole...well, he just covered his ears and cried - a lot. Grandpa scared some poor unsuspecting lady with the horn and got a good chuckle.



Grandma also had lots of adventures planned for the grandkids. When we first arrived we noticed the presence of two large candy jars filled and waiting....with muddy bears and crackers. We pretty much (all the kids - big and small) helped ourselves all week. Grandma also planned a fishing adventure (just in case the boys didn't catch any real fish - maybe they were jinxed from the start?).

Uncle Larry and Aunt Linda held up the "boat" while the kids cast their rods into the lake of goodies and made fishy faces.


We celebrated at the family unbirthday/birthday party for Becky and I. And the kids all got "warm buddies" from Grandma and Grandpa...(And now Cole won't go to sleep without his "Luck" dog, affectionately named after his babysitter's dog, "Lucky"... he begs me to take home Lucky every day).

Who knew cuff links were that exciting!

Cole and Caleb with their Warm Buddies.

Becky made me (and the kids) the cutest reversible hat and flip flops. Here's me modeling. I know, I'm a natural. :)

We spent time, lots of time just vegging and being goofy.

Went to Invermere Lake and threw rocks (and undressed...well, some of us)


And then to top it off, we all headed to the Canada Day parade and festivities in Invermere.

Local patriotic mountain man who the locals remarked "is really that weird all year around."

My flag waving niece, Maddie and Lexi (below)...I think she was cold...

My cutie Crew.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police - RCMP - unmounted

Greg's favorite float.

Miss Maddie (and the balloons we stood in line for an hr. for - but they were free!)

I made Canada stickers and pins

All of us, minus Ben

The grandkids, after a full full day!

...My Canada Day blooper showed just how little I know about fireworks (because they were illegal during my sojourn in Canada, but apparently now some are okay)...I saw these "sparklers" (they were labeled so) that advertised that they lasted 25 min. Wow! I've never seen sparklers that last that long...so I bought 10 only to discover (and later be mocked by my firework-loving American husband) that they really don't "sparkle" - you use these to LIGHT your fireworks!...so, ha ha ha...another funny on me.

WWJD and Other Funnies

Story 1: WWJD

Cole in the car...

Cole: "Am I going to Miss April's tomorrow?"

Me: "No you are going to Broc's house"

Cole: "Broc doesn't want to play with me. He doesn't like me everyday."

Greg: "Do you play nicely with him?"

Cole: "No, sometimes I hit him."

Greg: "Cole, that's not nice to hit. We don't hit."

Cole: "But he hit me first."

Greg: "Is that how Jesus would act? What would he do if someone hit him?"

Cole: long pause..."He would put him in jail."

Me: Snickering looking out the window trying not to let Cole see my face. I snatch a glance at Greg. He is red faced trying to hold in a laugh.

Story 2: Signaling Distress!

Cole: "Why you not take me on a plane before?"

Me: "You've been on a plane before."

Cole: "No, this is my first time."

Cole in the window seat looking...getting excited...then getting quiet...take off starts, wheels go up...we hit a little turbulance, Cole looks over at us, back at the window...and starts yelling...

Cole: "Mayday! Mayday!"

Me and Greg (and the rest of the plane): laughing hard. Wondering where in the world a 4yr. old picked up the word "Mayday."

After the anxiety episode of takeoff, Cole crashed...while Crew inspected everything...

When the boys are away...

I invite the girls to play.

Last weekend while Greg was at scout camp I decided to host a little craft night and invite some of my hip young friends to come over. We had a great time (or at least I did). The ladies helped me put together a few things for girls camp and they each made 3D glass lacquer pendants and glass soldered pendants. We dined on tacos and yummy goodness and Jessica sent us home with Amish Friendship bread starters. I feel so bountifully blessed with friends...and bread now. :)

Here's step one of the reward for girls who complete the girls camp spiritual challenge... (I'll post the finished master pieces soon).


And a few of the flowers we'll be making too...

(Is that a good UT poof or what?! I owe ya Liesl for last time's best hair cut & color ever)

I'll be gluing and a sticking for a few more weekends and then we'll be off to Camp Kolob!

And here's the Cafe Rio knock-off pulled pork and dressing recipe we eat.

Sweet Pulled Pork
4-5 lbs pork roast
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
Rub on roast and brown w/ 1tbsp oil in a pan. Place in crock pot & cook from 6 p.m. - 9 a.m.

At 9 a.m. add
1 can coke
1 cup chicken broth
2 garlic cloves minced
1 onion chopped
Cook on low from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 1 hr. before serving shred pork & add 1/2-1 cup of brown sugar.

Sauce
1/2 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 8 oz. jar of green verde sauce
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 of a lime juiced
3/4 c. mayo (I skimped on this because I don't like mayo and it was fine)
3/4 c. sour cream
1/4 tsp Tabasco (Greg added more when I turned my back)
1 bunch of cilantro

Blend until creamy, chill and serve. I used the left over chicken broth to cook my rice in.

Uh-oh!

Crew's first word: "Uh-oh!"
Cole's word after wrestling Crew off the couch (while I was vacuuming): "Uh-oh!"
That's right. The little guy got a bruiser and the big boy got a time out.
Fortunately, it hasn't slowed the little guy (or really the big boy) down, but it did look awfully good for church today.

Pictures were taken on morning of day two. Day three is looking nice and purple.

He still looks pretty cute even all droopy-eyed. ;0)

So many things I want to do

I was rambling off instructions about the boys, their nap schedules, what to feed them, where the diapers were and in between breaths profusely apologizing for my crazy house and ongoing works in progress, when my young friend and babysitter for the day said, "You are just organized chaos. You always have projects."

I smirked to myself, "I am a project," hoped in the car and took the drive into work to contemplate just where I was at.

It's been a few days and I'm still thinking. Maybe I should stop describing myself as a mess. Sometimes I feel like my soul will not have rest until I find that elusive sense of order I am chasing. But I'm beginning to think that maybe I wasn't meant to live a life quite as orderly as I always imagined. Maybe that's why I'm such a mess. Trying to give order to something that I should just let grow organically? Rely a little less on how I think things should go and just go with it?

I constantly start a thought, begin to do something and then another thought comes and I shift focus to chase that one. Really, I'm starting to think I need to remove the skill of multitasking from the list of requirements in a good job applicant. Where does multitasking really get you? Focus and discipline seem to always get you further.

As you can tell, I haven't really arrived anywhere yet on all my thoughts. I don't think there will be a destination for quite some time, just a nice lovely drive in the country to mule things around.

One thing I know: all my thoughts, plans and projects are good ones. It's the order of it all...and as usual the editing that I have issues with. In life and in work, I need a good editor.

It's been a while, but I've been busy

doing stuff like making 33 glass domino pendants for another ward's girls camp...


Stake theme: Rock Solid in the Gospel
Ward theme: Rock Solid in Knowledge
And just for fun: Girls Camp Rocks!




Now on to making 200+ scrabble pendants for the Warm Springs stake.