Missouri Madness...

(Warning!! Lots of pictures... sorry.)

So on Memorial Day weekend, I took the kiddos to Branson, Missouri for the Jones family reunion. This is my mom's side of the family, and we do a reunion every 3 years (last time it was at Lake Powell). As always, I wish I had taken more pictures. But between me, Christine, and Aunt Alison, we should have a good representation when we get them all together! So here is our fraction of the experience of the Jones reunion.

It was the first airplane trip for the girls.



We were able to use their car seats for all but the very last part of the trip home (which was a major blessing). They did really well for most of the trips. I was proud of them!

Michael kept himself occupied with cars and his "cousin" Garrett. He was diggin' the airplane, and hasn't stopped talking about it. Through all the traveling (airplane and car rides), he a Garrett were the best of friends kept each other entertained and happy.



We arrived in Missouri after midnight, and spent another hour getting the rental car situation straightened out. The kiddos basically slept with their eyes open in front of the DVD player.



It was a long night (and morning... thank you Aunt Sarah for helping with Bekah while I was with Michael at 4am).

After a long car ride, we arrived at the cabins--which were just great. It was wonderful to see family members that I haven't seen for far too long. The weekend was spent catching up and hanging out. The best people to see were my grandparents, who are in their eighties. It was wonderful that they made the trip, and I really enjoyed being around their fun personalities.





Grandma with a boa... classic.



Grandpa with his traditional trick of blowing up his muscle through the hole in his thumb (still as amazing as ever!).



We had a "No Talent Show" with lots of no-talent. The sisters surprised everyone with a spectacular lip-sinc.





Michael taught everyone about the BYU football players. There were recitations, readings, tricks, and lots of songs and music. I especially loved this little ditty... (sorry my camera only takes 30 second videos).




A good time was had by all.

There were dinners (some more organized than others...) and a birthday celebration.





The kiddos had lots of fun with everyone, especially uncles, grandparents, cousins and "cousins"...









Michael is still talking about the burrito wrapping...




With no highchairs, pain in the lblblb car seats and stroller, messed up schedules, and no daddy, it was a lot of work for the mamma and everyone who helped her (especially the Peterson clan (thank you, thank you (you'll never know how much it meant to me))).



Paul loved seeing the kiddos the next day.



It was a good trip, with good memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us. We love you all!

abby in the ER...

we spent 12 hours yesterday in the er with abby for fever and belly pain. after iv fluids, iv antibiotics, morphine, enemas, ultrasounds, ct scans and lots of crying she is feeling more chipper. no specific source was found for her pain and fever. it was a new strange scary experience for us. thanks to dad f for fielding our calls all day as we navigated through the experience. she seems fine today, but we'll continue to pray for her. it was one way we did not plan on spending our downtime after amy's return from the reunion (more on the reunion later--after we take some naps :)

A New Addition to our Family...

Drumroll please....


A new Honda has joined us...



Isn't she cute?!? Our total will come to less than what our insurance paid for the Green Machine that is no more. :( (Am I allowed to do that on MY blog, Farcles??) The only thing I don't really like about the car is the super-duper tinted windows. Puts me back to high school days, remembering the guys that cruised the Kmart parking lot (remember, Matt??).

In other car news, we were at a gas station, giving our car some food (as Michael likes to say), when Michael looked over and did some kind of excited whoop and said... "Look, mom... there's a race car getting a pit stop!" Indeed, at the mechanic shop right next to the gas station, there were three race cars in for repairs.



We let Michael out and take a look. The mechanic invited Michael to sit in one.



There was a feeling of amazement and solemnity from Michael, and I couldn't help but run for my camera. Looks like the NASCAR bug put another bite on Michael.

Most importantly... today is the birthday of two very important people. My daddy dearest (I love you daddy)...



and Uncle Lafey. Happy Birthday, you two!



Lastly, here is a parting video of the girls in the midst of a rousing game of peek-a-boo. It is so fun to see them playing together.

a great album...

it's official. sam's town is a better album than hot fuss. for the last year or so i have been listening to brandon flower's band--the killers. this mormon boy from nephi, utah and byu roots has produced two pretty popular albums.

a lot of mormons have tried to make music, but none have been as personally entertaining and non-soporific as brandon's. he's not perfect, but none of us are. flower's mormon upbringing wasn't picture perfect, and oblique references in his songs give a sense of striving, failing, trying, falling and working to find peace. 'all these things that i've done' and 'read my mind' are two of my favorites.

accepting brandon, his music and his quirks, is my way of contributing to a more tolerant, accepting mormon culture. take that for what you will try his music...

Joy in Motherhood...

I must say that I had the most enjoyable Mother's Day to date this year. Paul, as always, was so thoughtful, and this is the first year Michael has really gotten into it--which made it all so fun! It all started earlier this week, after Paul took him Mother's Day shopping and they got a present for me. Paul warned him about his weasely mother who is remarkably good about guessing presents, and not to give ANY clues to me. He was tried and tested and came through without giving me a single clue. Remarkable.

The day started sometime after 6am when Paul came to bed after working the night. Returning from a night shift in the morning with another night shift to work that night means much of the day is spent sleeping. He wished me a Happy Mother's Day before going into a deep sleep. When the kiddos woke up, we all went downstairs and I found everything prepared for a wonderful breakfast. Pancake batter was set out by the griddle. Egg mixture was waiting in the refrigerator, syrup was made and ready, and there was a sweet note waiting on the oven. I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with the kiddos.

Before Paul crashed, we agreed that he would get some needed sleep before coming to the last hour of church, and that I would put the girls down for their nap and just take Michael to Sacrament Meeting (Paul would bring the girls after his/their nap). Enjoying a “calm” sacrament meeting was kind of a Mother’s Day treat, too. I got to watch Michael’s Primary Performance debut as he sang “I often go walking” and “Mother dear, I love you so” with a huge grin (and a few words). Every time he looked at me during the songs, his smile got a little bigger. I’m glad he felt special as he did something so special for me. I loved it.

At home after church, we were getting lunch ready when Michael came in and did this:



In primary they taught him how to say “I love you” in sign language. He was happy to use his new skill many times today, and it never got old for me.

I opened my presents after lunch… Michael finally gave me some clues.

After lunch, our house transformed into a peaceful Napping House, and I got a wonderfully restful Mother’s Day nap.

The late afternoon was filled with nice phone conversations with those who mother me, and a wonderful salmon dinner Paul made. We enjoyed a dinner before he headed out the door for the night.

I won’t write about the night-time fiascos with Michael and Bekah tonight… but I did get to do a lot of mothering tonight. But I guess it is only fitting.

Here are some other fun times from this week…

Bekah can really get down… check out the tongue action! (someone needs to tell the camera man not to dance while taking video…)



Every few mornings, the twisting chair gets re-discovered. But someday, they won’t all fit on the chair together….



Thanks for letting me share my special day with you!

A Wicked Night...

So Wicked (the musical) has come to LA... quite convenient for us to attend! It plays at the historic Pantages theater, which was worth a visit in and of itself.



Paul has felt a little left out, since his entire family has seen the show (including me!), and he hasn't. We've been big fans of the music for years now, and he was excited to see it.



It is a great show. I love the interplay between Elphaba and Galinda. There are so many clever lyrics and lines. It interweaves parts of "Wizard of Oz" in such fun ways. The vocals were wonderful... although I did enjoy the Elphaba I saw on Broadway more. Fierro wasn't extremely convincing. But I liked some of the little things they changed and threw in this "LA version" of Wicked.

Anyone want to come see it?? Here is an illegal shot Paul took of the stage before the show started... a sneak peak for those who are planning to come see the show/stay with us!



We had a great time. It was a really fun night out for us. Thank you to my visiting teacher for being with the kiddos that night.



We were happily reminiscing about the show on the way home when this happened...



A car a little in front of us swerved right(don't know why), over corrected and spun across all the lanes of traffic to end up right in front of us. Paul hit the brakes and swerved to miss the car, but the tail end hit our the driver's side.

The other car looked like this...



Some of the other cars were in similar shape. We were so lucky to not be injured. We could have easily been hit from behind, as there was quite a bit of traffic for 1130 at night. After coming to a near stop, Paul (being an expert maneuverer)... downshifted and high-tailed it over to the right shoulder--taking us to safety. I really think he was blessed to think so fast to get over to the side. We really felt watched over and protected.

There were 5-6 other cars involved behind us, and some of them were in pretty bad shape. We think there might have even been a fatality (not completely sure).

We are glad to be okay, but our car is undrivable. Thank goodness for Terri Smith... my visiting teacher who was watching the kiddos that night. She had her older son come over while she hopped in her car and drove the hour to LA to pick us up. What a wonderful service she did for us... we were glad to be home.

So we should know by Monday whether our car is repairable, or if we will be thinking about another car. I would be sad to let go of the green Accord... it has been so good to us!

pbs documentary...

amy and i finished the 'the mormons' last night. the second half was not my favorite. the overall tone of the documentary often gave the benefit of the doubt to mormons, but it spent a lot of time on issues that ordinary, faithful members never confront.

so much of the documentary was either new to me or were ideas i have learned reading in the bloggernacle and several joseph smith biographies over the last 4 years. a majority of the ideas set forth as the essence of mormonism did not touch my experience in 28 years as a mormon. powerful experiences in my youth included gospel study and prayer, firesides, dances, youth conferences and choir concerts--on many occasions receiving overwhelming confirmations of Gods reality. later mission struggles and successes, education at a school university, marital experiences, extended family bonding and blessing of children have all brought great joy and peace. these root, powerful experiences of faith were brushed over--if touched at all in the documentary. margaret toscano was given more time than all the apostles who spoke combined.

the characterization of the book of mormon focused on its 19th century roots (as if it were soley written by joseph) and not the orthodox view that the book is widely believed to be the word of God through his prophets. the main references to the book came from anti's and non-believers about their perception of external 'proof'. there were precious few expressions from believing mormons about why the book holds such power for them.

the history and perspective on how mormonism fits into american culture as defined by the new york times in the mid 1800's and early 1900's was trivia to me. it is not the essence of the lives lived by ordinary mormons. my life as a mormon has not been an angst ridden paradox of contradictions. it has largely been a powerful, enlightening, reaffirmation of God's love for his children. be that as it may, the documentary probably set straight some of the silly slanderous claims that are commonly held by the broader american public...

did the documentary speak to you? where you uncomfortable watching? did you feel relief while listening? did you feel enlightened and inspired?

Happy Birthday,Paul!

Amazing Husband.



Michael's Dad.



Abby's Dad.



Bekah's Dad.



Happy Dad.



Cougar Fan.



Biker.



Busy Resident.



3rd Generation Cougar Die-Hard.



Family Man.



Squall.



Crazy.



Raising up a new Cougar Generation.



Kid-at-heart.



Did I mention he's a Cougar Fan??



Happy Birthday, sweet husband!