Party All The Time

Because that’s what we do.
Party.
Party.
Party.

For instance:
My Parents

They went and got married something like
50 years ago.

You can see they were so very young.
But aren’t they cute?
And they’ve stuck it out.
50 years!!
So amazing to me.
Such great examples.
I love my parents and couldn’t have been raised by better people.
I truly believe that.

Their actual anniversary is in September, but since we had the whole most of the family
together last weekend, we needed to celebrate it then.
So, after inviting Aunts and Uncles,
cousins and close friends,
we met at the local park
(just up the street from the house they got married in)
and celebrated these amazing people.

We kept the decorations simple. But we were very pleased with how they turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We needed no caterers.
We all pitched in and combined our cooking talents and created a sumptuous buffet.
Sweet and Savory.
And oh, so delicious!

The best part was the guests that came. Friends and family that have meant so much to my parents over the years.

This beautiful lady was my mom’s bride’s maid all those years ago. They’ve kept in touch. Mom was so surprised to see her.
She didn’t dream that she’d make it to the party.
What a wonderful treat/surprise for her!
Can you see the tears in her eyes?

 

 

 

My Dad’s best man was his brother.
It’s amazing when we look at them, we can see our grandparents.
And back in the day, when my dad had his mustache, they looked just like each other.

 

 

 

It was a super-dee-duper party!
And even though my parents are very humble people who don’t like to be fussed over,
I think they were very pleased and happy with the festivities!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We couldn’t stop with just one party!
There is another person in the family that needed a party as well.

Scooter.

Turned 10.

I freaked out just a little bit.
My baby boy is numbered in the double digits now.
He will be a double digit-er for the rest of his life.

That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?

Today we took him and some friends to play.
And they played hard.
We played miniature golf.
Go-carts.
And bumper boats.

And we ate cupcakes.
Some ate cupcakes until they wanted to vomit.
Some boys showed more restraint and only ate one.
Thank heavens since we were riding in my car.

(It was too windy for the candle to stay lit, so we did a fake blow! He played his part well, didn’t he?)

I feel very strongly about having a homemade/decorated cake for my children for their birthdays.
But I simply didn’t have time to decorate a fancy cake for Scooter this year.
He agreed that cupcakes would be okay
(it took some convincing).
So we started looking at cupcake ideas (THANK YOU PINTEREST!!).
First the thought of “Monster Cupcakes” was quite appealing.
Then he saw the baseball cupcakes.
He’s totally on a baseball kick again, because this week he got to throw out the opening
pitch for our local semi-pro team.
(More on that later.)
Then he saw these cupcakes.
And this is exactly what he wanted.
And since it’s his birthday and he’s in charge….
I agreed.
Besides, I was able to knock these out in an hour
and I only had to buy Skittles for decorating.
Ka-ching!
I saved a ton of money!

What the heck? The kids loved them!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And that’s the end of our partying ways… for now.

And We’re Moving To….

We’ve received our answer.
The verdict is in.
One piece of the puzzle is finally in place.

We finally got word that…


for sure……

we’ll be living…..

 

EAST OF NOWHERE

 

Flynn really loves his job there, and that’s helpful.
When your husband loves his job, it’s a nice thing.
So we’re happy.
(It’s also a good thing that the local residents we have met are
SUPER NICE!)

Now we’re trying to fit the other puzzle pieces together.
Like….

WHERE DO WE LIVE?!?

We’re back to the challenge we found when we thought we were moving to Mordor.
There is an utter lack of acceptable housing available.
People in the ward have said,
“You just hold your breath and hope that something that’s just good enough comes available.”

I’m sorry.
Just good enough doesn’t cut it for us.
Not when you’re uprooting your family away from everything
we’ve known and loved for the past 14 years!
So we’ve decided
that we’re going to build us a house that we love.

We are looking for a lot to build on,
which isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Even though there is nothing but wide open space out there,
there aren’t any available lots to build a house on.
Basically, you have to wait for a house to be condemned or burn to the ground
to find a lot in town.
Also, the town has been declared a flood plain
… or whatever the USGeological People say it is.
So, if you’re lucky enough to find a vacant lot, you have to check it out to see if
you can actually build there.

Sheesh.

But, at least we’re working toward our common goal of reuniting as a family.
I believe that Scooter and I will be living there before too long.
We’re looking for a house to rent while we build
and then
WE’RE OUTTA HERE!

**********************

I’m looking for a new “code name” for our new town.
East of Nowhere sounds too negative.
Even though it really is out in the “boonies”.
Even though it literally is in the middle of nowhere.
Even though, if you drive 10 miles past the edge of town, you fall off the face of the earth.
I’ve never lived in such a remote place in my life.
I need to find a more fun name to call my new home town.

You readers who know where we’re going… any suggestions?
Remember, we have to be fairly vague.
I can’t have any creepers finding out the real name of our town.

**************************************
And since I can’t do a post without a picture,
here’s a bit of family news:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy cow!
I’m going to be a GRANDMA!?!?!

(I’m sure going to miss having these beautiful gardens to take photos in!)

S-s-s-cooter’s S-s-s-ummer Is For S-s-s-wimming

Olympic swimming fever has hit our home.
Scooter, and I (and Flynn when he can) have been glued to our NBC channel
watching Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin
swim for the Gold… and winning it.

Scooter and I have made a plan that in 12-14 years,
he will be the newest swimming sensation at the
Olympics.
I will be the doting mother, crying happy tears of joy in the stands while my
handsome, red-headed son stands on the highest podium,
with The Star Spangled Banner playing majestically while the American flag is raised to
the highest point of prominence.
And, of course, a beautiful gold medal will be hanging around his neck.

Of course, we’ll repeat that same scene at least 25 times.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Many of the great athletes had humble beginnings,
and Scooter is no different.
He began his quest this summer, swimming in local lakes
wearing a too-small wet suit, camouflage life vest and neon blue goggles.

His form is FABULOUS!
His skill is SUPERB!
His abilities are AMAZING!
And his ability to have fun…. INFECTIOUS!

(Some of these pictures display the all-boy sport of minnow and crawdad fishing with his favorite cousin!
Not necessarily Olympic sports. BUT… if, by chance, it is added, these two will walk away with Gold!)

County Fair

The Zion County Fair is coming up in a couple weeks!
Who knew we’d still be living here?
I honestly thought we’d be gone by the end of June.

*sigh*

Last year, Scooter and I submitted a few pictures in the Photo Competition
and actually won a couple ribbons!
It was our first time to present entries in a fair and we were so excited.
I won a BLUE RIBBON (woot)
and my budding photographer, who had just gotten a new camera for his birthday,
won TWO THIRD PLACE RIBBONS! (woot woot!)

We decided – since we’re still here –
WHY NOT SUBMIT A COUPLE PHOTOS AGAIN?

So we culled through our photos and picked a couple of our favorites.
I just sent them off to the printer.
We’ll get them matted or framed and then
cross our fingers
that the judges like them as much as we do!

(I’m pretty sure the judges are going to LOVE Scooter’s submissions!)

Scooter’s Photos:
(I had to put the black band on these to make them fit into an 8x10 format.
It’s so weird that when you take a photo with a digital camera, it doesn’t automatically fit into a nice neat 8x10 or 5x7.
You have to use tricky cropping, or in this case, a band on top and bottom.
If I cropped these particular pictures down to an 8x10, we would have lost valuable parts of the scene
and I wanted the judges to see everything Scooter saw in the camera lens.
I’m pretty sure the band will be hidden inside the frame/mat and won’t be easily seen.)

My submissions:

(Honestly, if we don’t win a ribbon,
IT’S OKAY!
We have fun taking pictures!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Oh, I’m not with these guys.
I’m with the pigging competition down in the pavilion
AND I’M GOING TO WIN THAT BLUE RIBBON!”
                                                                – Lenny in “That Thing You Do”

We’re Going Boating…NO MATTER WHAT!

Our boat’s name is
MAKING MEMORIES
and I think it’s lived up to it’s name quite well.
Over the years we’ve had some GREAT times on the water!

Sadly, boating time is almost non-existent these days.
Flynn lives 450 miles away, so he can’t just show up in an evening to go out on the lake.

I refuse to tow the darn thing
-OR-
back it down the dock
-OR-
hook it up to the back of the rig
so that means we don’t go out without him.
(I would like to say, however, that I am TOTALLY competent in backing the boat off the trailer,
driving the boat [i.e. towing tubes and boarders]
as well as loading it on the trailer. There are a lot of women who don’t do that part!)

2011 Boating Time = Once. Uno. Singular. = Much Sadness

2012 Boating Time = Once (so far) = Probably the most Memory Making boating experience to date.

We picked a Saturday Flynn was going to be home and decided we were going to go.
We watched the weather forecast.
It started out okay… something like 20% chance of thunder storms with temps in the mid 80’s.

As the days progressed, the forecast kept changing.
30% chance of storms…
40% chance…
Temps dropping to low 80’s.

The day before we were supposed to go we checked and
the forecast had changed to 60% chance of thunder storms with the temps hovering around 79°.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
At that moment, it was 93° with clear blue skies!

I was nervous about going and tried to cancel the trip.
Everyone else said, ‘WE’RE GOING!’
Even though I claim our family is NOT a democracy and I’m in charge,
I guess it really is and I’m not.
I was out voted.

We picked up Shack, Little Miss Doolittle and Gratia
and drove to the Reservoir.
(Stinky had to work.)

We pulled in the parking lot while it was raining buckets,
and the other boaters were loading up their boats to leave.
We got some strange looks to be sure, while we took the cover off and started loading our gear in.

Once we got the boat backed down the ramp, next to the dock, I tried lowering the prop.
It didn’t move.
At all.
The battery was dead.

So, we pulled the boat out and back up to the parking lot and found out the wires connecting the battery to the boat were disconnected, which left the battery completely without charge for months,
which meant it was in a deep, deep coma.

Thankfully, some super nice people
(who were just as crazy as us, since they still had their boat in the water and were heading back out into the lake)
offered a jump start from their boat to ours.

We ‘jumped’ on that opportunity! (ha)
Guess what?
The boat started right up!
It was a medical miracle!
Woo hoo!
The clouds parted and the rain went away for a minute,
so we headed out to the lake
(staying close to the dock in case there was trouble).

I will admit, it was a blast.
We inflated the tube and put Beast in it.
He’s NEVER been on a boat before and we were ready to show him a good time!
(Poor Belle had to work, so she missed out.)
You can see the storm surrounding the lake in these pictures.
Especially the second picture.You should be able to see mountains behind Beast and Gratia!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, those clouds finally caught up to us.
There was a LOT of rain!
But, the water was smooth, there was no lightning, so we kept going.

Have you ever boated in POUNDING RAIN?
Can you say,
OUCH?!?!

Oh my heavens!
I wore my sunglasses, trying to protect my eyes so I could see.
Didn’t work.
I just had to cup my hands over my eyes and squint.

Those of us in the boat were as wet as the two in the tube.
Shack, bless her heart, came prepared and brought
RAIN PONCHOS!
How hilarious is that?
Rain ponchos on a boat?
Well, mock all you want. They helped!

(How flattering is this? NEVER take photos from underneath!
Shack, as always, is BEAUTIFUL!)

The rain came and went
but the wind stayed calmed and we always watched the skies for lightning.
We agreed that the first sign of it, we’d head back in.

It was a beautiful day even though we didn’t need sunscreen.

This is one of the sights we enjoyed. This is a homemade sailboat. Don’t you love the red sails?

All of a sudden,
WHAM!
BAM!
The wind came howling in!
And then we saw it!
LIGHTNING!

Gah!
Time to head for shore!

Flynn, who was in the tube, noticed that the sailboat guy looked like he was in trouble.
Good Flynn.
I was so focused on getting our own boat safely in, I failed to notice the other boats on the lake.
Flynn is SO GOOD at thinking of others!
Instead of heading to the dock, I turned back around and drove back to the middle of the lake.
I prayed – hard – that we’d be safe since we were trying to help/rescue someone in need.

As we approached the sailboat, the man stood up and waved his arms.
He most definitely was in distress!
The wind was blowing so strong, he had to bring his sails down and (ironically enough)
the battery for his small engine was DEAD.
He was drifting, and at the mercy of Mother Nature.
And it seemed like she was extremely angry!

He threw us a rope and, towing him, we were finally able to head for shore.
Yes, I was still praying.
The wind was blowing so hard.
If we’ve been in the boat in wind/surf like that, I don’t remember.
The waves were crashing over the bow of the boat.
We were soaking wet, not from the rain this time, but the actual lake.

Getting the boats to the dock was a chore!
I missed it the first time.
The wind was too strong.
So I had to head back out into the lake for another try.
This time, I swung far out and let the wind just push us next to the dock.
Those same good Samaritans that gave us the jump were still there
and helped hold our boat in place while Flynn and Beast jumped off and helped the
sailboat get under control.

Pretty soon, the dock was crowded with people helping others.
Beast stayed at the dock to help the sailboat and another boat that was docking.
Flynn sprinted to the car so we could get our boat on the trailer and out of the water.
More boats were frantically coming in and trying to dock.
I wasn’t the only one that had to turn around and try again.
It was AMAZING and INSPIRING watching
about 15 people – all strangers—work on that dock,
assisting the few crazies that had chosen to stay out on the lake that day.

Thankfully, no one was hurt
and as far as I know, none of the boats were damaged either!

Thus ends one of the most memorable boating days we’ve spent in
Making Memories.
I’m so glad she lived up to her name!

And, next time we go boating…
I will remember that even if I don’t plan on getting in the water,
I should wear a swim suit and take a towel (or a rain poncho).
Because staying in the boat is NOT a guarantee of staying dry!!