Rundown on the Lowdown

Good heavens! Remember when I used to blog?

WHAT HAPPENED?!?

Oh yeah. Life.

WHAM!
Bam!
SLAM!!
(can you hear the echo in a blog?)

So much has happened since I last posted.
How can I write about it and make it interesting?

Blah, blah, blah, blah.
Belle and Beast found out what flavor of baby their having..

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!
Belle and Beast KNOW the gender and I’m just talking about it for the first time here?

Oh man, please forgive me!
We are definitely excited!
I’ve been sooooo tired. And soooooo busy.
But those are terrible excuses for not writing.
So,
YES!
Belle and Beast are having a……

Beautiful
Bouncing
Baby BOY!!!

We had a fun
”Gender Reveal Party”
the day they had the ultra sound.
They averted their eyes during that
“all important time” of the sonogram and the ultra sound tech put the picture
of the bitty parts in an envelope and sealed it up.
Belle and Beast brought the envelope home
UNOPENED
and gave it to me.

So, YES!
I (Granny) was the first to know what they are having!
Cool for me, eh?

I baked cupcakes with a blue center,
and frosted them pink and blue.

Later that evening,
after an agonizingly LONG day of waiting
they fed each other a cupcake to reveal the center.
They were pretty excited.
I’d love to tell you the name they’ve chosen, but I can’t.
Me and my privacy issues.
But hey, maybe I’ll run into you sometime,
or we’re friends on Facebook
or
Instagram
and you’ll find out there.

Let’s see?
What else is going on?

Blah, blah, blah, blah.
I started working.

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!

I know! I know!
That’s BIG NEWS too!
After all, I haven’t worked outside of the home since Scooter was born.
Ahem…. for those that are counting…
that’s
10 YEARS!

And can I say it’s kicking my trash?

Oh my heavens!

I only work 3 days a week:
Tues, Wed. & Thur.
It’s supposed to be from 8:30 to 3:00.
Nice and easy.
NOT!

Why?
Because I work in a stinkin’
CHOCOLATE FACTORY
during the
CHRISTMAS SEASON!

It’s really an easy, no-brainer job.
All I do is take the chocolates off a conveyor belt and put it them in a box and move them
into the cooler
(àla Lucy and Ethel: ”SPEED IT UP A LITTLE!”)

Very easy.
In theory.
But really, there’s more to the job than
just grabbing chocolates off a belt.
We do chocolate covered:

*Cinnamon Bears (OH MY HEAVENS!!)
*Pretzels (TO DIE FOR!)
*Gummy Bears (I still don’t understand these)

and those come off the conveyor belt like
GREASED LIGHTNING!
I can’t keep up!

And then I get to weighandpackageandwatchchocolatelevelsinthemelters
andkeepthingspickedupandsometimesIgettoputthechocolatesONtheconveyorbelt
andwrapchocolateboxesandpackageothercandiesandsprinklechocolatesprinklesonpiecesoffudge
andhelpputthesignsonTurtlecandies ….
standing on my feet for a minimum of 6 hours a day
with no breaks.

Today?
It was 8.5 hours.
(Granted it was unusual for us to go that long.)

I’M SO TIRED!!

Let’s see?
What else is going on?

Blah, blah, blah, blah
WE think we finally found a bank who will give us a
construction loan
without requiring our first and last child and first grandchild as a down payment!

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!

I know!
Crazy huh!

That’s what’s been the major hold-up on our move for so long.
We’ve been to bank after bank after bank bank after bank after bank bank after bank after bank
for a construction loan
and each time they say,
“SURE! WE’D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A LOAN!
YOU MORE THAN QUALIFY!
BUT WE REQUIRE
20% DOWN PAYMENT!”
(Cue screeching tires sound effect)

Ummmm…. that’s a ton of cash!
Which we don’t have.

We were at the end.
No hope.
No more options.
No prebuilt houses available.
No way to build.

Brick walls hurt when you run into them!

This was our last hope.
Without going into details that makes this story even longer,
Flynn was directed to a private mortgage company that agreed to give us a construction loan for only
3.5% down!

We feel like it’s a miracle.
We have that amount of cash.
We’ll have to have a smaller house than we wanted.
And it won’t be as nice as we wanted.
But it will have 4 walls, a floor and a roof.
And we can live in it together
AS A FAMILY!!

And that I can live with!

(This is a lot of ground I’ve covered tonight. I hope you’re not too bored!)

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

I’ve got driving on my mind.
I am driving about 1800 miles a month as I drive between Zion and Flatlandia.
That’s a lot of miles and a lot of road time.
Driving this much doesn’t mean I’m becoming an expert on “road manners”
but I have learned (I think) how to be a better, more courteous driver.

I add this list not to preach, but to give people something to think about as they are driving
down the road.
Are you thinking about the other cars/travelers out there?
Or are you just thinking about your destination; about how hungry you are; or that you have to go to the bathroom?
I want to encourage people get out of your bubble and pay attention to your surroundings!

(Okay, it DOES sound like I’m preaching.)

TWO LANE HIGHWAY TRAVEL

1) When you’re traveling with a group of people, PLEASE make sure that you’ve at least two car lengths between each car.
In my experience, groups that travel together travel more slowly and for some reason,
think they have to stay right on each other’s bumper. It seems that they’re afraid someone will get lost if they allow space between each car.
Let me say you WON’T get lost! And you make it virtually impossible for
people who travel faster to pass and get around.
For example: Last weekend I got behind a U-haul truck that was traveling 60 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Attached to the truck was a trailer on which was the family’s mini-van.
Immediately behind the moving truck was the wife driving the family’s pick up truck, packed to the rim.
The wife was only 2 seconds behind her husband, who was driving the moving truck.
He happened to be right behind a semi with only 2 second between them.
That’s the equivalent of about 5 vehicles that I had to pass.
Because, realistically, if the speed limit is 70, that is what I will drive.
Getting stuck behind such slow moving vehicles is not fun when I still have 5 hours left of my journey.

I fully believe that these people have the right to drive that speed if that’s where they feel comfortable.
They had their life’s possessions in those vehicles and I can appreciate their caution.
However, not allowing space for me to pass them one at a time was unsafe.
I had to wait until there was a fairly straight part of the road and floored it.
I ended up going about 90 mph to get around all three vehicles,
which was incredibly unsafe.
And it could have been avoided, if they had paid attention to the road around them.
They were in the middle of Montana.
There was no where for them to get lost.
ALLOW THE SPACE!!

2) What about the people who drive super slow and then, as you move to pass them, speed up?
When you’re on a two lane highway, you want to minimize the time you spend in the left lane.
But when the person you’re passing all of a sudden decides he wants to drag race,
that’s unfair and unsafe.

(These next items pertain to highway and interstate travel)
3) USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL!!*
It was installed in your car for a reason.
The reason the person felt like they had to speed up when I passed them in #2 was because they
weren’t using their cruise control.
They had gotten tired, and had slacked off on their speed, and when I started passing,
they realized they were traveling slower than they wanted, so they sped up.
If you use your cruise control, this is not a problem.
Your speed stays constant.
You’re not always playing speed-up pass/slow-down get passed with the neighboring car.
(Or the person in #2 just liked being in the first of the line and was ticked that I was passing.)
*It is unsafe to use cruise control on slick or wet roads.

4) Flashing your bright lights at an oncoming car
Sadly, I do a lot of night driving through mountains that have high deer/elk/moose populations.
When I’m driving in the dark, I always slow down and I use my bright lights to
illuminate the road to (hopefully) help me see any 4 legged friends who are standing on the roadside.
I try to be extremely cautious because I want to avoid a collision if at all possible.
When I have a car approaching me, I do my best to remember to dim my
headlights at the appropriate time.
But sometimes, I forget.
I appreciate it when the oncoming vehicle will give a slight tap to flash their lights which reminds me to dim mine.
I don’t appreciate it when the oncoming car puts up with my brights for as long as they can, then turn their
headlights on bright and don’t turn them off.
It’s like they want to teach me a lesson. A tit-for-tat moment.
What good is it if we’re BOTH blinded?
I know these people aren’t in my car and they can’t hear me say,
”Oh! I’m sorry!” as I realize my headlights have blinded them.
But that slight reminder when they flash their lights is safer for both of us.
I can dim mine immediately and then we BOTH have better vision of the roadway in front of us!

Interstate Driving
5) Driving in the Left Lane
The Interstate has a minimum of 2 lanes going in each direction. The right lane is for driving. The left lane is for passing.
Feel free to drive in the left lane if traffic is light.
Frequently there are grooves in the right lane due to the heavy amount of traffic that is traveling down that side.
Grooves are hard to drive in.
BUT…. when a car is approaching and is faster than you are, please pull over to the right lane
and let them pass you on the left.
That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
That’s the law of the road.

6) Passing highway patrol
Ok. This is a touchy/risky subject.
What do you do when you’ve got highway patrol “pacing cars” on the interstate?
If he’s driving 75 mph, then you’d be crazy to pass him/her.
But what if he’s only driving 60 or 65?
He’s obviously under the speed limit. Why can’t you pass him while driving the speed limit?
So, you’ve got a long line of cars who are dying to drive the actual speed limit but are unsure if they can pass.
I’m not a lawyer or a police officer, but I have passed a highway patrol who was driving
under the speed and I wasn’t pulled over.
Honestly, I think it’s okay.
What do you think?

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

It must sound like I’m a speed demon on the highways.
I’m really not. I drive the speed limit and up to 5 mph over,
which I believe is legal in most states.
I haven’t had a speeding ticket in over 20 years (knock on wood).
And the only car accident I’ve been in was when I was a Junior in High School.
The only animals I’ve hit have been birds and (one ground squirrel who ran under my tire on a dirt road)
I try to be a safe courteous driver.
I’m not perfect.
Sometimes I get bored and I find that I’ve zoned out.
I hate when I do that and I work hard at staying alert.
I listen to (and sing along with) a lot of music and have long conversations with Scooter (books put me to sleep).

And now that winter is fast approaching
(Zion received 7 inches of new snow today!)



I’m even more worried about the driving that we’ll be doing this winter!
I just hope that we can stay safe on the roads until we’re living together again and we can
stay off the highways/interstate for a week or two!

(As a side note, we’ve spent over $11,000 on gas so far this year! OUCH!)

Betty’s Pensieve Blog

I think it’s time I unloaded a few random things that have been floating through the dark abyss in the center of my cranium.

I wish I had a Pensieve, like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books.
I could take my thoughts out, keep them safely swirling around in a big bowl when I don’t need them,
and pull them out one by one as the need arises.
But since my name is Betty, not Dumbledore, and I’m about as magical as my computer mouse,
I’ll have to stick to using my blog as my Pensieve.

Here’s what I’d put in it today:

My beloved neighbor, Jillwanna, left me!
She moved away.
Far, far away.
Okay, she only moved 5 miles out of town, but that means she’s not my next door neighbor anymore!
It breaks my heart because – you know – I was the one that was supposed to move!
As Scooter said, “Mom, don’t you know that Jillwanna has been my next door neighbor
MY WHOLE LIFE?”
We have a lot of history!
I cried when they left and I still miss them terribly.
*sigh*
I hope the new neighbors
(who seem very nice, BTW)
don’t mind if I need to borrow a pint or two of sour cream; or 1/2 dozen eggs; or use their oven all day on Christmas Eve; or load their freezer full of baked goods or yell from my window to theirs; or…..

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I feel like I’m going blind!!
All my life I’ve prided myself on my GREAT vision!
I mean, what are the odds that I have NEVER needed glasses, when both my parents wear glasses?
All my siblings have needed some sort of vision correction at some point in their lives.
And me, well, I was sitting here all prideful at the fact that I can read the
teeny tiny printing on that label,
– or –
see that license plate on the car 1/2 mile ahead.
Up close or far away – I had it covered!
Can you imagine my absolute and utter HORROR
when, at the store the other day, I picked up an unfamiliar item,
and turned it over to see what the directions for use were
I COULDN’T READ THE LABEL!!!
I held it at arm’s length…
I couldn’t read it!
I pulled it up close…
I couldn’t read it.
I strained my eyes and tried with all the might I could muster…
I COULDN’T READ THE DARNED THING!!
I had to put the item back on the shelf, still not knowing what it was.

Getting old stinks.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I have lived in Zion for a long time.
And I have followed the blog of a fellow Zionite for a couple years.
But we have never met… until last week!
Tauna at Garden of Egan is a FUN person.
She’s married to her LOVE – Howie.
She is a mother and grandmother to some wonderful human beings.
She raises chickens and cats – in the same yard!
She is a candy maker extraordinaire, decorator to die for and
compassionate ER nurse.
I knew I would like her and I looked for her in all the stores around town.
But we never crossed paths.
One morning last week I popped into the ER
(wearing my walking clothes, hair barely brushed and no make-up on)
where I was going to pick up some things from a friend who works there.
When my friend came out the door, Tauna came with her!
It was so fun to meet her!
She gave me a hug and it was just like old friends being reunited.
(She was so sweet and didn’t cringe at my unruly appearance.)

Later that week, at the Farmer’s Market,
lo and behold, I saw her again!
This time we had more time to chit chat.
I think I found a soul sister.
We share so many similarities in our life.

I am thrilled to have finally met Tauna.
She’s so nice and beautiful and I can tell that she also has a
BEAUTIFUL HEART!!

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Tomorrow (October 16) is a red-letter day in our house.
First (and most important) it’s officially
GENDER REVEAL DAY.
Yes, the day that Belle and Beast find out what flavor of baby they’re having.
Their doctor’s appointment is at 9 am.
They have agreed to close their eyes at a certain point during the sonogram
and have the technician write down the gender on a card and SEAL it in an envelope.
They have promised not to peek.
Then they will bring the envelope home to me,
(the most beautiful grandmother :-) )
and I will make a batch of cupcakes in the correct color
pink or blue
that will be served at a
Gender Reveal Party
for family and a couple close friends later that evening.

(Pictures and information will be forthcoming!)

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The second – but not quite as exciting -- thing that happens tomorrow
is the arrival of our much anticipated
iPhone 5’s.
{Happy Dance} {Happy Dance}.
18 months ago, I brought home my first ‘smart phone’, which was a Droid X.
I chose the Droid over the iPhone because…
well….
I felt like I had paid enough money to the iGods:
iTunes
iPod
iPod Touch
iPad
are all devices that are used by our family.
Seriously, it’s a little disturbing, so I felt like sharing the wealth a little bit.
I have to say that within the week, I regretted my choice.
I didn’t like the Droid at all.
I wished that I had an iPhone in my hand instead.
I had 30 days to trade the Droid in, but I held out hope that I would change my mind.
I thought that maybe I didn’t like it because I wasn’t used to it yet.
I realized on Day 31 that my mind wasn’t going to change… AT ALL…
and that I was stuck with this phone for two full years.

And then, (cue the heavenly choir singing “Hallelujah”) I received a notice that I didn’t have
to wait the full term to upgrade.
Tears of joy filled my eyes.

Flynn was just as excited.
He had an iPhone when he worked in Mordor, but had to turn it in when his employment ended.
So he went back to a basic cell phone.
Just a phone that makes phone calls and texts.
(Remember what those are?)

When we found out that we could upgrade, we started saving our money.
And, on October 5, when the upgrade time finally arrived,
I called my Verizon provider and said,
”GET ME MY iPHONE 5!!”
The helpful man on the other end of the phone said,
”YES MA’AM! They will be here on October 26.”
and I told him I loved him. ♥ ♥

The iGods have forgiven my Droid weakness and shipped my phone here faster than expected.
It’s in transit and expected to be delivered tomorrow afternoon by 4:30.

I may be in the middle of baking pink or blue cupcakes, but I will put that handmixer down
and head over to the Verizon store.
And then I will officially be… COOL.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

And that is what I will put in my Pensieve today.
Now there is some available room for more frivolous thinking.

The End

In my last post I talked about all the adventures we’ve been on this year.

Of all the roads we’ve traveled.

And, if you remember, there was ONE ROAD to the south that we hadn’t driven down yet.
Just that ONE ROAD that was calling our names…

We finally answered that call.
Scooter was on break from school,
you know, the annual
POTATO VACATION,
so he and I traveled to Flatlandia to spend our week there.

The first part of the week was spent trying to work out
how to fit more pieces into our life puzzle:

* We looked at a lot we’re in the process of purchasing
* Interviewed two possible builders
* Dropped financial records off at the bank for the construction loan
* Finally settled on a house plan that we BOTH like

Yes, we definitely feel like we’re moving forward in a positive way.
Our fingers are staying crossed that things will start falling into place
and we can break ground
SOON
on this house we want to build!

We got all that done EARLY so we could spend the weekend
PLAYING.

{Have you noticed that’s what we do on the weekends? WE PLAY!!}

So,we loaded up the car,
pointed it in a SOUTHWARD direction
and put the pedal to the metal.
(Metaphorically speaking, of course.)

Scooter was very excited about this adventure’s destination.
He has been there once before in his life,
but it has been 8 years ago.
Too long ago to remember.
Even for a kid who seems to have an almost photographic memory.

He talked almost non-stop the entire 4 hours of the drive.
Ok. Nothing new there. But he was so happy to be going.

As we approached our destination, his excitement levels were hard to contain.
He was bouncing up and down in his seat.
He was looking out the window, right and left, not knowing when he’d see it.
His voice was getting louder.
He was saying things like,
“I mean, it just has to be SPECTACULAR!”
”The unparalleled beauty of this place will be astounding.”
{ok. I don’t think he actually said the second statement, but it was very similar to it.}

And then we came around the corner.
And he saw it….

He saw THIS….

and I think at that moment,
he felt that his life was complete.
He exclaimed in delight.
He used words that I can’t remember.
Big adjectives that only a kid that belongs to the
”Nerd Herd”
would think of using.

And he was happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My boy is also a conservationist.
He is adamant about preserving National Parks and Monuments.
He earned his Junior Ranger badge for YNP last year and is intent on earning
as many badges as he can.
But it’s not just earning the badges that he wants to do.
He believes, with all his heart, that when he wears that badge,
it’s his DUTY
to take care of the place he’s in.
He feels compelled to make sure that people respect the area.
He cleans up trash.
He educates himself.
He protects the natural environment by not picking wild flowers,
by staying on designated trails and pathways,
by staying away from wildlife and refraining from feeding them.
And, most importantly,
by following ALL THE RULES that he is aware of.

Look at his serious face as Ranger Stephanie gives him the
Swearing In Ceremony for the Junior Ranger Program at Mt. Rushmore.
(I didn’t know she’d do it, otherwise I would have been more prepared and gotten more pictures of
the solemn moment.)

We enjoyed our time at Mt. Rushmore.
It was cold.
FREEZING cold.
And, being the kind of mommy that plans ahead, (ahem…)
I made sure we all had winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves.
NOT!!

For the 29° {nighttime temps,}
we were bundled up in
a) one hoodie
b) one jacket
c) cotton knit gloves
(which we bought at Walmart on our way out of town)
Brrrrr…..

We LOVED the Black Hills.
It’s such a beautiful area!
We are anxious to explore that area a little more.
We want to spend more time there.
Who knew that South Dakota could have such pretty landscape?
What a pleasant surprise!

But, there was ONE MORE PLACE we wanted to take Scooter to.
Another beautiful landmark that we visited on that same journey 8 years ago.
So, we got back in the car for another few hour’s drive.

I was driving.
Because that’s what I do.
I get car sick, very easily, and it’s just better for me to be behind the wheel.

However, I was ready to turn the driving over to Flynn when we came over a hill
and around a corner and we saw this:

Both Flynn and Scooter
made such loud exclamations of
Awe,
Joy,
Wonder,
Delight
that they scared the daylights out of me and I almost wrecked the car.
(I didn’t see the initial view of Devil’s Tower, because I was too busy
WATCHING THE ROAD!)

We arrived five minutes before the Ranger Station closed so luckily Scooter was able to get the
booklet and information he needed for his Junior Ranger Badge.
No swearing in here, though, because he hadn’t officially completed everything he
needed.
We promised the Ranger that we’d complete it and she gave us the badge.

The rest of the time here was spent walking around the base of this great monolith.
As well as ogling the crazy brave souls that we saw climbing straight up the walls.
(My cousin is a rock climber. I actually find it completely fascinating.
I hope that he comes here to climb some day! It would be fun to come watch him!)

^^This is as far up as my intrepid
explorers dared to climb.^^

It was with sadness that we turned the car back toward Flatlandia.
We’re always sad when our adventures have to come to an end.
However, it was a super weekend!
We made plenty of Memories, which was our goal.

Have Car. Will Park.

Flynn has lived in Flatlandia for 8.5 months.
When Scooter and I go to visit him we try to explore the area
and find things to do as a family.
Remember,
our family motto is:
MAKING MEMORIES
(Plus, we want friends to come visit us, and we’ll need to find ways of entertaining them when they come!)

I will say that Flatlandia has GREAT State Parks.
There are about a gazillion of them!
Since Flynn has lived there, we’ve traveled WEST to a
National Landmark and a National Park.
(This trip was about 2 hours away.)
This is what we saw:

AND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we traveled EAST and saw these amazing sights at another state park.
(This trip is an hour away.)

A couple weeks ago, we travelled NORTH (our famous 400 mile Sunday drive)
and finally saw some water in the barren land we’re moving to.
(This was 3 hours away.)

Last weekend, Scooter and I were in Flatlandia again.
This time Beast accompanied us.
He needed a small vacation away from the stresses of his job.
Poor Belle had to work.
So she stayed in Zion, held the fort down, and earned some much needed cash.

The only direction we haven’t traveled yet was
SOUTH
so we checked our trusty map and found yet ANOTHER state park
and OFF WE WENT!
(We traveled 2 hours for this park.)

These are some of the amazing sights we saw.
IMO, I think it’s the coolest State Park we’ve been to!

I had to leave my mark. And it’s not graffiti.
All the kids do it! I promise!

You can see that the west is still on fire.
I’m pretty sure this fire has been burning all summer.

Scooter found a skeleton of some little animal lying in the grass.
We’re not sure what it was… a fox possibly?
We think this was the skull, but we’re not sure.
He likes to think it is.

Now we’ve seen it and done it all, what’s next?
Hmmm… I don’t know.
There’s still one road to the south we haven’t driven down.
And we still haven’t found a real hiking trail.

So, I guess we haven’t seen it and done it all yet, have we?

Sleeping. But Not On The First Day of School

Scooter started 4th grade this year!

*sigh*

He breaks my heart, he’s so handsome!

He’s very lucky in his school situation this year.
Until we move and enroll him in school in
FLATLANDIA
(I named our new town!)
he gets to attend a special class in the Middle School
that is geared toward talented and gifted students.

There is only one class of about 21 gifted 4th graders in our school district.
This is a voluntary class, so some parents/students opted to stay in the traditional 4th grade elementary class.
Which is totally fine.

Scooter really wanted the challenges and experiences this class will give him:

1) He gets to attend the Middle School first.
The schools in  Zion break down this way:
K-4 grades – Elementary School
5-6 grades – Middle School
7-9 grades – Jr. High.
10-12 grades – High School
And we all know my competitive boy likes to be first.

2) Same 4th grade curriculum. Only this is “on steroids”
It’s tougher. A LOT tougher.
He got lazy in traditional classes. This is GOOD for him.
(Funny sidenote: Tonight, Scooter was working on Math homework. And he was struggling.
He put his head on his hand and said,
“We’re supposed to find different methods of solving these math problems.
I definitely prefer traditional amalga-rhythms.”
See? I was so confused about what he said, that I can’t even spell it!)

3) He gets a language class every week – Spanish
*Disclaimer: He actually learned Chinese while attending the elementary school.
However, it was in an after school program and not part of
regular school hours.

4) He gets P.E. twice a week instead of once

5) He gets to go weekly to a real art class with a real art teacher.
(I wish his teacher was Thorkgal!)

6) Choir!
I almost forgot Choir!
My boy gets to attend a weekly choir class taught by one of my dearest friends.
As excited as I am that he gets a real choir class, I’m also a littlebit sad that
I won’t have the opportunity to be
”Music Mom” anymore. :(

6) He still gets his two hours a week of “Discovery Class”.
He received this service in 2nd and 3rd grades as well.
He would leave class twice a week for one hour and learn “extra” stuff.
Things like: astronomy, weather, cyphers, sign language, Medieval times, etc. etc.
This time, the whole class gets to go and learn together and share their experiences.
It’s pretty awesome.

Can you see what an amazing experience this is?
I can’t believe they can fit all of this into a weekly schedule.

The only drawback (and it’s a big one) is that none of his buddies from elementary school
came over with him. IMO, Bullseye could totally do this program. He’s very smart.
I’m not sure how children are picked for testing. But I feel bummed that Bullseye wasn’t tested.

Scooter is enjoying his time in this class until we move.
After that, Flynn and I will take over the extra learning.
There is no gifted/talented program in Flatlandia.
And we’re just a little bit bummed about that.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Moving on
(more about Scooter)

You’ve all seen pictures of Scooter sleeping.
I can do a whole blog post of pictures of my boy sleeping with his eyes wide open.
He’s done it since birth.
And he hasn’t grown out of it.

I anticipate some questions:
1) Yes. Sometimes his eyes DO close during the night. I figure it’s when he’s in a light sleeping pattern.

2) I don’t know if his eyes dry out. He doesn’t complain that they’re dry, so I assume not.
Maybe they stay hydrated because he does close them once in a while.

3) He doesn’t see things when he’s asleep. His eyes are not focused on anything.

4) He knows he does this. Sometimes he’s sensitive about it. Sometimes he laughs about it.
And he has given me permission to post this video.
He said, “I think you’re friends are going to think this is creepy.”

I took this video a couple weeks ago when we were in Flatlandia. This is Sunday morning before we had to wake him up for church. I figure about 8 in the morning.
He. Was. Out.

Can the Drama. Just. End?

Back in April, I wrote this post about the legal dramas that have been taking place at Flynn’s old Place of Employment in Mordor. It was the first time I had let you know (in detail) some of the things that had transpired while he was there. I still maintain that Flynn was unfairly punished (forced to resign) for the behaviors of his boss. He was completely unaware of the fact that this guy was committing such egregious felonies. And the fact that the hospital board put some of the blame on Flynn still infuriates me until smoke pours out of my ears.

In that post, you can read that The Creep’s trial was scheduled to begin June 4. We don’t want anything to do with the hospital in Mordor or the people of that town anymore, but realized we’d have to see them all again at the trial. We were dreading that summons that we knew would be coming, requesting Flynn to testify.

The time of the trial loomed nearer and nearer and we didn’t receive a summons. We thought that maybe we’d been given a reprieve and that the prosecutors were so confident in their case they didn’t need Flynn after all.

WRONG!!

About a week before the trial was scheduled to begin, we read in Mordor’s local newspaper that it had been delayed. It appears that not only had The Creep stolen $850,000 from Mordor’s hospital, but they were investigating the hospital where he previously worked. It appears there was some impropriety there as well and they needed more time to investigate.

So the trial was postponed until September 18.

We tried  to push all of this to the back of our mind and enjoy our summer. I’d occasionally check Mordor’s newspaper online to see if anything was going on (heaven forbid anyone should actually keep us informed). There was no news. To my way of thinking, no news is good news! Right?

WRONG!!

One day last week I was on my morning walk with my friend and she said something about the hospital in Mordor. Apparently, she had seen something our local TV news about The Creep and his trial status. I was shocked. Thank heavens we were in the hills, because I swore… LOUDLY.

You’ll understand why when you read the article. (Sorry, I still need to keep our identities private, so I will change the names of the town and the people involved.)

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Former Mordor Hopsital CEO The Creep is now considered a fugitive after he reportedly dropped off the map. The Creep is awaiting trial on criminal charges alleging he embezzled nearly $848,000 from the healthcare organization.

A warrant for The Creep’s arrest was issued last week after federal probation agents learned he was missing.

Though it had never been scheduled on the court’s calendar, two of The Creep’s three attorneys said in a Wednesday court filing that their client had agreed to take a plea deal and appear in Court on Aug. 29 to resolve 15 felony counts related to fraud. However, those attorneys say The Creep fell out of contact with them beginning in mid-August.

On Aug. 28, after The Creep failed to keep two appointments, his attorney tried contacting The Creep in person by sending a paralegal and investigator to his mother’s house. That’s where The Creep’s bond conditions required him to stay. However, his mother informed the attorney’s staff that her son had been gone since Aug. 25 “and that she did not know where he was, nor did she know how to contact him except to send him an email and hope that he responded,” The attorney said he immediately tried calling The Creep, but found his number was no longer in service.

The lawyers said they have no idea where The Creep is or how to contact him and indicated he hasn’t paid their fees.

The defense attorneys notified the U.S. Attorneys’ Office upon learning of The Creep’s disconnected number on Aug. 28.

After being notified of his disappearance, federal probation officers soon discovered The Creep had — unsuccessfully — applied for a U.S. passport under a false name back on June 25, said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys’ Office.

Applying for a passport would be a violation of The Creep’s bond conditions. He had to surrender his passport as a part of the conditions of his pre-trial release.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge, who is presiding over the case, issued a warrant for The Creep’s arrest Aug. 29. It says he should be detained without bail. The Creep had originally turned himself in on the charges back in March, returning to the U.S. from An Asian Country to do so.

The man accused of working with The Creep to embezzle the money, The Creep’s Pawn is set to take a plea deal later this month. The Creep’s Pawn, who previously pleaded not guilty to the 15 felony charges he also faces, is set to change his plea on Sept. 17 in Court. Details of the deal were filed with the court this week, but are not publicly available.

A trial for both men had been set to start on Sept. 18.

(I left out the part rehashing the charges that was in this part of the article)

The proposed plea agreement in the criminal case would have included requiring The Creep to make restitution to Mordor’s Hospital and also completely and fully disclose his financial status to prosecutors, The Attorney’s wrote Wednesday.

“At no time during their representation of The Creep has he provided to his attorneys even an inkling that he would not enter into the plea agreement nor that he would move from his mother’s residence,” the defense attorneys wrote.

The Creep could potentially face increased penalties for violating his bond conditions in the criminal case, but federal agents will have to catch the fugitive first.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

As you can see, this is SHOCKING news!

The one part I found particularly shocking was involving his mother. She knew he was missing! She knew he was remanded to her house and he wasn’t supposed to travel anywhere. She knew she couldn’t get a hold of him and that he had skipped out on his bail.

SHE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT!

I understand it’s her son, but in a situation like this, right is right and not contacting the authorities was wrong! I don’t know what the police or FBI or prosecutors or whoever’s in charge will do, but I think she needs to be charged with aiding a felon. My sister even suggested that she should get thrown in jail until he shows up.

So, the drama continues. Will we see The Creep again? Will they be able to find him? Will they even try?

There is still a civil case set to go to trial against him and his pawn. (How fitting that he disappeared and left his pawn to face all the trouble alone.) We have already been contacted by the hospital’s attorney that Flynn will be expected to testify at that. I just don’t know how it will proceed now.

Stay tuned. As much as I want it to be over, it’s going to keep dragging on… and on… and on….

Take Me Out To the Ballgame

So what do you do when you’re 10 years old
and your super cool Uncle offers you a chance to throw out the opening pitch at
the semi-pro baseball game?

Why, you say “no” of course.

Especially, since you gave up the game a couple seasons ago.

”Geez! Do you remember, Mom, that I HATE baseball?”

Why would you throw that pitch when you vehemently deny
any offers of picking up your mitt and trying the Great American Sport again?

”Geez, Dad! Remember when I got hit in the face with a ball?
It hurt!”

Why would you throw that pitch?
I mean…. DUH! Baseball is a TERRIBLE sport!!

Imagine how proud your parents would be,
if you showed a moment of maturity unusual for such a young age 
and you realized that this was a
CHANCE OF A LIFETIME
and you decided you wanted to throw that pitch after all?

This was the scenario in our house during the month of August.
My cool brother, who is the top server of Texas Roadhouse, arranged for Scooter
to throw the opening pitch for the semi-pro game his restaurant was sponsoring.

Scooter didn’t want to do it.
NO WAY!

We talked, cajoled, pleaded with and bribed him.
He wasn’t going to do it.
And we couldn’t force it.
(Stubborn little stinker!)
We walked away from the offer and let the matter drop.

Until the Sunday before the game.
We were talking about going, what time we would meet my bro there, etc.
when OUT OF THE BLUE, Scooter said,
“I decided I want to throw the opening pitch after all!”

WHAT THE WHAT?
Man, we hope it’s not too late!
So we called Googenheim who asked his manager who said,
”SURE!”

So, Scooter was good to go.
We practiced for THREE WHOLE DAYS leading up to the big game.
His throws were wild.
Too far to the left. Too far to the right.
Frequently he sent the “catcher” on a wild goose chase trying to catch the balls he threw.
Scooter can throw about 40 feet.
In professional ball, the pitcher’s mound is around 60 feet from home plate.
So, most of his pitches were short.

But, it didn’t matter.
We just wanted him to HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE!

He’s a cool Joe before he heads out to the pitcher’s mound.
(Actually, he got kind of nervous, but he hid it well.)

Look at the style… the form!
Such intense concentration!

The cool catcher didn’t even have to move to catch the ball.
Scooter didn’t make it all the way to the plate, but it bounced right into the mitt.
He threw it straighter than he ever did in our practices.

Yep!
You can see from that face,
NO REGRETS!!

Way to go, Scooter!
You made your mama and daddy proud!

Disclosure:
There were actually 4 people that threw out the “first pitch” for this game.
Kind of silly, I know.
The kid behind Scooter also threw and there were two adults.
The kids definitely threw better than the grownups.
And yes, Scooter got to keep his “game ball.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Flat Landia

I’m still working on a name for our new town.
My mom suggested
‘East Earwax’ 
– which isn’t bad or too far off the mark.
I may use it.
But I’m not certain yet.

I thought
’Little Town on the Prairie’
might work
because we will definitely be living in the prairies of our great country!
But I just don’t know.

I’ll keep you posted.
Not that you’re sitting around holding your breath, or anything:
{What will she name the new town?
I can’t stand the suspense!}

Yeah.
I know.
Not really.

Anyhoo….

Scooter and I went to visit Flynn for the last weekend of the summer.
Sadly, there wasn’t too much to do.
Flynn was on-call for his job, which meant we had to stay within 1/2 hour of town.

Ummm….

Have you seen where town is?
To get ANYWHERE requires a drive of an hour or more –
in all four directions.
North, South, East, West.
The closest town is 50 miles or more away –
in all four directions.

Plus
Saturday morning, Scooter woke up vomiting.
That limited us dramatically.
We think it was a food borne stomach issue, and not the flu,
but we needed to stay close to the apartment in case he got sick again.

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful.
We went to church.
We’re not introduced as visitors anymore.
We almost have callings, but our records aren’t actually there.
(I figure I’ll be doing music in Relief Society and the High Priest Group Leader has his eye on Flynn.)

After church, Flynn, who was tired of sitting around, decided he was going to call
a co-worker to see if she’d cover his on-call for the afternoon.
And we went on a Sunday Drive.
Flynn wanted to see the nearest reservoir, which he thought was 120 miles away.

Somehow, we missed the memo that it wasn’t 120 miles!
Either that, or we missed a turn somewhere.
It turned out being 196 miles.
Yes, 196 miles on a Sunday Drive.
Which equals almost 400 miles round trip.
(The drive from Zion to East Earwax is 450. Yes, we went a stinkin’ long way!)

On our drive we realized that we weren’t anywhere near our mountains any more.
Not even close.

It was mile after mile of prairie.
Of buttes and knolls.
Dead grasses, rocks and sagebrush.

We were the only car on the road, or so it seemed.
We didn’t overtake a single car in our lane for a couple hours.
And the oncoming traffic was almost as sparse.
We turned the stopwatch app on my phone on and started timing how far it was between car sightings.
Several times it went 10+ minutes between sightings.
That’s a lot of loneliness, IMHO.

I had to stop the car once and stand in the middle of the highway and take a photo to document
the bleak beauty of our drive.
Because, yes, it was beautiful. In a different sort of way.
Much different than what we’re used to, but pretty none-the-less.
Oh, and it wasn’t dangerous for me to stand in the middle of a highway.
Not out there, anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   I’m certainly not used to all the flatness. Scooter loves it
   because it might mean there might be a tornado there some
   day. And we all know how much he wants to be a
   meteorologist storm chaser on Mars when he grows up!

 

 

 

 

The weekend wasn’t all vomit and driving.
Scooter and Flynn decided that it was time they tried the classic science experiment:
Diet Coke and Mentos.
Perfect for a 10 year old boy and his fun loving dad.
(Sorry for the blur)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best picture of all.
Look at the happiness on the boy’s face!
He’s so lucky to have Flynn for a dad!