The Daze of Summer

Yeah, I'm sure no one has EVER used that comment before! I can't believe that it is the last day of July. We have unintentionally managed to cram so much into this summer. Well, into the last 3 1/2 months. Since we left Egypt, we've been back and forth across the US two and a half times, bought a car, been from as far south as Springville, UT and north to Missoula, MT, driven round trip from Rexburg to Washington, D.C. and back, Niagara, Palmyra, Mt. Rushmore and sent one husband off to Iraq.

I got the keys to my house back this afternoon. It was like buying it all over again. We've never lived in it, you know. We bought it, managed the sale and closing all long distance. Once we closed, we got a phone call saying,

"You're homeowners! Congratulations!"

Woot. We were sitting in our living room at 1am in Cairo. Not much we can do from there. This week the property managers have been doing the make ready; fixing things, cleaning carpets, etc. getting it ready for us to move in. And they finished today. I picked up my keys and felt like jumping for joy. I drove over to my house, put the key in my door and unlocked my new life. So this is what it feels like. In 10 1/2 years of marriage, to walk into my dwelling and have it be just mine. No worrying about the kids stomping over-zealously on the floors for fear the downstairs neighbors will complain; or knowing the next-wall neighbor has a cold because you can hear every sneeze. And to turn the children out in the backyard to play.

When I told the kids we would be moving into the house and showed them pictures, they asked,

"Who else lives there?"
"Just us."
"Where is the elevator?"
"No elevator."
"So we live on the ground floor?"
"Yes, so to speak. Just up the front steps and into our front door that we don't share with anyone."

Now begins the new chapter. Also, looking forward to mid-October when we can share it with Spencer for 3 weeks.

Whackity-whack

Eliza has been bugging me all summer to get her hair chopped off. I kept waffling about the whole thing, she has gorgeous hair. Thicker and more luscious than I could ever dream of having. She had a thicker ponytail at three years old than I have ever. Ever! So I told her that she had to grow it just a bit longer so that it would qualify for the Locks of Love donation program. She had one half inch to go. 3/4ths to an inch to be safe. Then I heard about the Pantene donation requirements. They only require 8 inches. Ah-ha! So I arranged with my hairdresser friend to have it cut. It was sad to see it go. But this is the second time Eliza has donated to a hair program. She did it two years ago as well. As did Mairyn. She lost a whopping 12 inches the last time we did it. We've been keeping Mairyn's hair a bit shorter in the interim, so she was far from qualifying. But she wanted to get a haircut, too. Who am I to stand in the way of an easier hairstyle? Really, it will be easier for the girls to maintain their own hair; washing, drying, brushing, etc. And they said they felt a lot cooler!!

Continuing . . . .

The barfing has continued to Grant now. Jacqueline rid herself of it late Thursday, lulled me into a false sense of security so that Grant could take the reins and in the last few minutes of church on Sunday, say he needed to "frow up". I was fortunately right by a bathroom and was able to duck in. That would have been a great first impression and one to last throughout the year.

"Oh, yes, your son threw up all over the hall that first Sunday."

"Lydia-who? Oh, the lady whose son threw up."

Whew, disaster averted. We did have a fun Saturday before this all began again. Climbing trees and just being outside!

What a day!

A snapshot from South Dakota

So the last day of our cross country journey was, well, hard to sum up. What should have been a 9 hour drive turned into a 13 hour trek.

We pulled out of Fort Collins, CO right on schedule at 6:15 am. We plow north and about 8 miles outside of Laramie, WY, I heard this weird, thumping noise. And right as I'm passing a convienient pull out area. Great. I'm trying to figure out if it's coming from the engine? No. A flat tire? But I'm not losing speed. I pull over anyway, step out and hear a loud, hissing noise coming from the rear driver's side tire. It had to be the one facing the road, huh? Right when I pulled over, another van pulled off in front of me. A tall guy in a baseball cap steps out of his minivan, laden with his own 4 children and wife.

"Can we help you?" he asks.

Through my tears, I can only nod my head and show him the offending tire.

"We saw you about a mile back and noticed something wrong with your tire. And then we saw the kids in back and you alone in the front seat. Thought you could use some help."

So him and his wife help me start unloading the back of the van because that's where the spare and jack are so well hidden. We start talking a bit and they are moving cross country too, from Virginia. Herndon, Virginia. They've been there 5 years since they graduated from BYU and now are moving back to the valley. They moved to the Herndon ward a few months before we moved out. It's a small world. He finishes up, we repack the car with the flat tire at Eliza's feet and I thank them profusely. I know I could have changed that tire, done it before, but I didn't have to. I did not even have time to stand on the side of the road and wonder what I was going to do.

I got back on the freeway and turned around in one of those median driveways. The ones where cops sit and wait to catch speeders. The ones that have a huge sign that says, "For authorized emergency vehicles only." Yep, I fit. My vehicle is in an emergency.

Scrolling through the "Auto Services" menu in Gina (the GPS), I pick the first one that has 'tire' in it's title and have her direct me there. I poke along at 55 mph the 8 miles back to Laramie and find Advanced Automotive and Tire. I pull up and walk into the office. A nice guy in there asks me what he can do for me. I explain the flat and much needed repair of my tire. He says that he'd be more than happy to help, but he's still getting the necessary tools to patch tires. But don't worry, he has a friend that can do it. He notices my license plates and says,

"1M, that's Rexburg, right?"

Yes, yes it is. He then kind of hems & ums a bit and then asks me,

"Well, then, ah, if I could ask, um, are you, uh, LDS?"

Yes, yes I am.

"So am I! Nice to meet you. My son and his wife are at BYU and just had their first baby last week!"

He pulls out pictures, and I mention that my parents used to live in Laramie. Yes, he remembers them. He then gets out his card, flips it over and writes his cell phone number on the back. I am to call him if I have any more problems today. No matter where I am, just call him up and he'll come or find someone who can. And if we find that we have to stay the night, please, call him up and we can stay with his family. I, again, thank him profusely and drive over to the garage where they patch my tire and give Optimus a clean bill of health.

Now, we have been delayed by 2 hours; the kids are hungry and I know that crackers and cheese sticks won't suffice. It's still only 9:30 am, so we find a breakfast place and they fill their little tummies. 10:10 am, we're back on the road and everyone is happy. I do get a little nervous as I pass between mile marker 306, hoping that history won't repeat itself. It doesn't and things are going smoothly. When we reach Rawlins, I have a half tank and decide to fill up. In Wyoming, you never know! After gassing up, right as we are easing back onto I-80, Jacqueline starts barfing. Great. Fortunately, there is one more exit for Rawlins and we pull off. I try to clean her up, but handi-wipes just won't cut it. There is a Best Western across the parking lot and I run in to ask if we can use their restrooms. They oblige and I bring J in, along with clean clothes. I clean her up and as I'm rinsing clothes in the sink, she's dancing a little jig by the paper towels. Ok, she seems fine! Maybe it was just a little car sickness.

Maybe not. About 2 hours down the road, she starts barfing again and keeps at it for the next 5. Each little hotel I see, I am sorely tempted to just give up for the day. I just can't. Though I am sick of driving, I'm sick of sleeping in hotel rooms, bringing in our toiletries and underwear, not having enough pillows or blankets. I just can't do it anymore. We finally limp into Rexburg and park in the driveway. Is this just a mirage or are we really here? We are.

Another South Dakota view

P.S.
I wish that I could say that I slept like a rock, am rested and ready to dive into all the work I have to do here. But I can't. Jacqui still wouldn't keep even water down late into the night. She spiked a fever and slept restlessly. About 1 am, she started keeping down her drinks of water. She would wake up about every 30 minutes for another drink, then lay down again. She's sleeping fine, now, after a breakfast of juice and bread. And no more fever. Insha'allah.

*For more charitable, inspiring and service related posts, ideas, projects and contests, go to The Service Soapbox.

Everyone's an individual

When we visit a place like Mt. Rushmore, or Niagara Falls, or the cool Dairy Queen down the street, I try to get an individual picture of each person. Something they don't have to share with anyone. It usually takes a while, but I like that they can pick out a picture from our family trip and go, "There's me at Mt. Rushmore." And only them.

*That last pic, btw, was taken by Mairyn.

Mount Rushmore

Traveling around the country has definitely been an experience. People ooh and ahhh when they hear we've lived in such exotic places, but there are some pretty amazing things right here in the US of A. Driving cross country; back and forth, within 7 weeks is a lot to absorb; like skimming a book, you get the highlights and a better "big picture" of it all. The driving has definitely been made easier with a new car and DVD system (bless you, whoever invented that). But the days still get long. Exasperation sets in when we've driven for so many miles to a certain destination and all that you get in response is whining & apparent ungratefulness. I find many "parent phrases" flying out of my mouth uncontrollably.

"I drove for 7 hours to get you here and you're complaining now?"

"You should be grateful to even be here."

I know that long hours in the car wear on everyone; no reaction can be predictable. Deep down, I know we're making memories. Niagara Falls? Check. Another little fold in the gray matter. National Monuments at our Nation's capitol? Got it covered. As well as a monumental tantrum on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Sakkara Pyramids, oldest structures on earth? Been there too many times to count.

When we were driving today, Eliza asked how much longer it would be. I told her it would be about 4 more hours.

"Oh, like the drive to Alexandria. It took us about 4 hours." she said.

She has a frame of reference! Mairyn, on the other hand, is still learning. She asks how much longer and it doesn't matter what you say, she'll moan and wish it was now. You can say 37 minutes or 37 hours, she can't tell.

This morning, I rolled out of bed at 4 am. I dutifully loaded the car, toted each sleeping child down to the van and rolled out onto the road by 4:45 am. Functioning robotically, I followed every turn Gina directed me to take. Somehow, 8 1/2 hours later, we arrive at the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone, SD just 2.2 miles down the road from Mt. Rushmore. And since we crossed into Mountain Standard Time, I gained an hour! We were walking into the Grand View Terrace by 1:30 pm.

The were all very excited and intrigued by these carvings in the side of a mountain. When we toured the visitors center, Grant liked the idea of guys using dynamite and blowing up rock. There was a little interactive exhibit where you select a picture, then push the plunger down and it simulates you blowing up part of the mountain during the creation part. Grant had to be reluctantly pried away. Jacqui & Grant really had the shortest fuses today. (hah!) But we did it. We saw Mt. Rushmore. Been there, done that, didn't buy a t-shirt; just a magnet for our collection.

Treasure Trove

Since I'm in Nebraska, the first logical thing to do would be to get together with my sister Maggie and her fiance, Josh. Maggie has recently had some computer woes and lost a bunch of pictures. So while we were swapping pixels, she mentions that she has a disc of family pictures! Joy of joys! Over 300 pictures dating from the earliest of times to just last year.

My dad's parents and my parents circa 1978. Wanna know how I know? I'm psychic. No, see that little bump in my mom's shirt. Yep, that's me!


Who are these studs? My granddads.


One last picture

The little girl in front is my great-grandma Geri. The woman behind her? My great-great grandma Ruhama

Day One

We are on the verge of a new adventure. We may be one Spencer less in the family, but we will carry on. He left for Iraq late last night and we got up early and hit the road. I'm taking it easy meaning NOT driving 9 hour days. We've stopped in Streetsboro, OH which is 6 hours from Northern Virginia. And we really lucked out. I will forever praise TripAdvisor.com. They have never let me down. I wasn't completely familiar with the Wingate by Wyndham brand of hotel, but I love it. This is a great place. Indoor swimming pool, in-room fridge, microwave, free wi-fi and the room is huge!

After two hours of swimming, we went across the street to the SuperWal-Mart. Yep, right across the street. While we were snagging some Kid Cuisines in the freezer section, Jacqueline decides to drop. She was exhausted. We were all up late, saying good-bye to Spencer, and then we were up at 6:30am. Dashing back across the street, I enticed her with promises of pudding and pizza if she just stayed awake. She did. They were thrilled with this little treat and everyone inhaled everything. I made myself a provolone, turkey & ham on ciabatta bread. I may or may not be eating chocolate covered doughnuts that were intended for the kid's dessert. I'll share. Eventually.

P.S.
Spence just called me and he got there safely.

Happy Birthday, Mairyn!

Mairyn turned 7 today! She said it was the best birthday of her life. After dinner, I pulled out a gift from Grandma and she said,

"Oh, it's still my birthday? I thought it was already another day!"

Mairyn's plan for the b-day went as follows: go swimming, go to the Build-a-Bear Workshop, play at the playground and go out for dinner and get sung Happy Birthday by the waiters.

Well, we followed it pretty well. The kids got up and went swimming this morning. Then we got dressed and found a Build-a-Bear Store. She has had her stuffed animal picked out since she spotted it in April. She got a pink Unicorn with a little "unicorn sound" in it. I really don't know how to describe it. Anyway, we were running a bit late (I had a little college get together that day) and so we decided to eat at the mall. The birthday girl picked and we had Burger King. Then we dashed to the Lake Fairfax park for a great afternoon of (me) catching up with old friends while Mairyn & co. played on the playground, blew bubbles, threw the frisbee and tossed the baseball around. After everyone being thoroughly worn out, we headed back to the hotel for a few hours then went to dinner with another great friend, Pam. We knew her from when we used to live here in VA. Mairyn picked Red Robin (burgers again?) for her restaurant and then proceeded to order the spaghetti. Ooo-kay, it's your birthday. She loved it and then the waiter all came and sang their own version of Happy Birthday. It was actually not that annoying. I find most restaurant versions of Happy Birthday irritating. This one they yelled a big announcement that, "Someone has a special day today! It's Mairyn's birthday!" Then they clapped and did this great chant. (And the most of the tables around us joined in. I was surprised.) Mairyn had her dream birthday. It was loud, sparkly, and extravagent (in her words.) Happy 7th Birthday, my Mairyn-berry!



p.s.
it wore Grant out, so the day must have been a success!

Palmyra Temple

Visiting upstate New York was an adventure for all of us. It was (surprisingly) a state I hadn't been to yet. (outside of LaGuardia and JFK) Driving to Palmyra, we were set on taking it all in. My form of "absorbing" is taking pictures. Way too many pictures, in some people's opinions. Not mine. There can never be too many pictures. ;) We set out for the Joseph Smith Farm first and stumbled upon the Palmyra Temple first. It was on the list of places to visit, we just didn't expect to find it without looking. Really, everything we were going to see was like going to the monuments in D.C. It's all right there, within a few miles of each other. Although, back then, the mode of transportation was either on foot or horse, soooo. Anyway, here is the fam on the lawn by the temple. I love tripods. What doesn't show on our faces is that we are all getting wet bums sitting in the grass. It wasn't soggy-puddles wet, but it's the kind of wetness that you don't notice till you stand up. We all looked like we'd peed our pants! We dried off soon enough and continued on to the Joseph Smith Farm. More tomorrow!

Higitus Figitus

I feel like Merlin in "The Sword in the Stone". When he's packing up his house to move to the Castle? Except he can cheat. Where does all of this stuff come from? I think it breeds when we're not looking. I know that we are not a small family, but still. Why can't I have a little magic wand to wave over all of this?

"Shrink in size, very small, we've got to make enough room for all."

I have packed the van and I think we may have a couple kids sitting on the floor from here to the hotel in Virginia. I'd do something drastic if I had to travel cross country with all of this. I'll have about a quarter of it gone once Spencer is. Gone, that is. Monday night is the night. We have a fun weekend planned. And tonight begins the fun!

Why?

That's the only thing I can say to this. Why? Were you going for the "I-got-interrupted-mid-bathroom-break" look? It defies the laws of gravity. He didn't walk very easily, either. I turned to Spence and motioned in butt-boy's direction.

"Why? Huh?"

"It's the style. He probably likes it." he answered.

I have serious doubts about that.

The Answer

Poutine



What is it?

I know, real cliff hanger. Everyone is dying to know what it is. My story with poutine began last Friday. We got up and needed breakfast. As usual. The place where we were staying didn't provide breakfast, so we had to find our own food. We found an IHOP in town and so motored on over. Only problem is that it was just barely opened in town; hence, it was the most popular place in town. At 10am. So we went to the McDonalds that was basically deserted and actually has something the kids like for breakfast. Eliza was a bit disappointed when she looked at the menu.

"Mommy," she whispered, trying not to be rude, "what are we going to eat? They don't have any pancakes."

I explained to her that flap jacks were the same thing as pancakes. She was satisfied with that response. Then, I spotted the poutine & small drink combo and just had to ask the cashier.

"What is poutine?"

She said, "Oh, I love it when people ask this. First, what do you think it is?"

So I looked at the picture and then another one over in the lobby. Hmmm, fries and maple syrup?

"No, but good guess. It's gravy and cheese on top of the fries. And it is the best. We'll start serving that at lunch if you want to try it!"

We were too early for lunch and didn't make it back to Mickey Ds later in the day. Oh well, sounds good. I'll have to try that the next time we go to Canada!

Cute things

It's been a while since I visited Canada. I went to Winnipeg when I was a kid. Winnipeg was about 3 hours from where we lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. I don't really remember there being much that I thought was different from the US. I just remember the awesome childrens museum that we would visit. Of course, Niagara Falls, Ontario isn't that far into Canada, but hey, who's splitting hairs? I just loved all the little maple leaves everywhere! I'm sure part of it was for the tourism, but I liked it.

** Bonus Question ** (canadians are not allowed to respond! ;)

Do you know what poutine is?
And no fair running to Wikipedia or Google for the answer. I want to know
your honest answer or impression. What is it? I'll tell you what I thought it was tomorrow!

Maid of the Mist

Right under the Falls

Approaching the Horseshoe Falls

The American Falls

After the boat ride

Then the sun came out, after we were through with the tour.

Home again

Yes, we went to Egypt today. Egypt, New York. Who knew? (probably a lot of people but me!)

And then we had a great 4th of July dinner in Greece. Really. (it's a suburb of Rochester.)

Niagara Falls

It's really late and I'm really tired. So I'll just put up some pictures and then fill in more of the story when my legs don't feel like lead and my eyelids aren't being pulled down by little sandbags!

In the Niagara Sky Wheel (a big ferris wheel with enclosed cars on it) to get a bird's eye view of the Falls.

The kids on the over look of the American Falls

Before we got on the Maid of the Mist boat. They had a poncho for every size, even Jacqui!

In the Horseshoe Falls!

Where we were. See the big cloud of mist, that's where the boat took us to get soaked!

The only angle I could get that had both Falls in it. The left hand side is the American Falls and the right side is called the Horseshoe Falls. The Horseshoe Falls is the one that people would go over in a barrel. We went in a complete circle on the boat. From right below where the kids are standing, along the bottom of the Am. Falls, over into the Horseshoe Falls and back to the shore. The ponchos did quite a good job of keeping us dry. We had a great time!

You know you're in Pennsylvania when . . .

you see this

and then this.

What's his name?

We've been driving all over the country in our wonderful Honda Odyssey. It's amazing. When we were at the dealership, the saleslady said it was like "driving in business class". Really? Look, lady, you don't have to sell me on it (but I didn't tell her that) I did my homework. I know how cool it is, but I don't need the tag lines. Since the purchase, we've put over 7,000 miles on it in the last 2 months.

Ok, ok, it's like driving in business class!! I can't even begin to describe this van. One of the first things I think of is that it's like spaceship. Cubbies and doo-dads in every nook & cranny. The DVD system in and of itself is wonderful. The trunk hood flips up and down at the touch of a button. I can load groceries and kids without even touching the car once!

So, we've also had a dilemma. What to name it? We have gone through quite a few appellations, but none of them seemed *just right*. Thinking about all the toots and whistles, the only proper moniker seemed to be . . . . . Optimus Prime. No, this isn't just hype over the dumb movies. We loved the cartoon when we were kids. ** This car isn't merely a car; it can do just about anything. It deserves this name. Here's to many more good times in Optimus Prime.





**And in proper cartoon education, we have the original Transformers cartoon series on DVD for our kids. (in addition to Gummi Bears, Dungeons & Drangons, and Smurfs) So when my kids talk knowledgeably about them, they're talkin' 'bout the real thing, not the so-so movies. Let's face it, cartoons these days stink. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the golden age of cartoons. Long live the 80s!!

A+ Day

We definitely got our money's worth out of the Aquarium membership. We went again this week and it never gets old. There is always an 11:30am dolphin show that the kids don't ever want to miss. Since it is included in our membership, we go. And this time, we got there early enough to get sweet seats in the "Splash Zone". Once we were seated, the questions of, "When is it starting?" began and I had to tell them that since they chose to get early seats, it wouldn't begin for another half hour.

As we were waiting, a dolphin show worker person (whatever you call 'em) came up the stairs to where we were sitting. Great, I thought to myself, she's going to tell us they have to fill up the other side of the seating before sitting here, or something crazy like that. I dug in, ready to stand my ground. ** When in reality, she just wanted to know if the kids would like to participate in the Grand Finale. Really? At the end of every show, there is a musical montage, the dolphins flip & leap and on either side of the pool, they have about 4 kids hold flags and wave them. Yip-yipee-yip-ito. (geez, i've been reading too much skippyjon)


So they moved us into the "Reserved Seating" row, (I always wondered who got those seats) which were better than the ones we chose. And the kids still got wet. This show rocked even more than the other ones because they introduced a new baby dolphin, Bailey. She is 10 months old and really quite cute. They had her jumping in tandem with her mom even doing a few tricks. I didn't get pictures because the likelihood of being soaked was very great. They warn anyone sitting in the Splash Zone of the "possibility" of getting wet. Depending on your location in said zone, you WILL be splashed. It's a trick that the dolphins do; swim around the perimeter and splash the people. We had a great time!




** After we were moved, I was thinking to myself that I'm still pretty defensively programmed. Not being able to sit where we want, being moved for trite reasons and not having any control over it, yeah, that's what would happen in Egypt. I have to keep telling myself, "You're not in Egypt anymore." It's hard.