Graduation 2009

I don't know what it will be like when my own kids graduate from High School but I do know that it is bitter sweet to see my oldest nephew and niece graduate this year. I remember so many things from when they were little. Jim and I were married when they were just 5. I dug out some pictures of them when they were little.

Bo, you are an amazing boy. Thanks for being such a great example and showing your cousins that it is still cool to be spiritual, and that you can have a girl friend and stay worthy to serve a mission. Thanks for deciding to serve your mission, you make us so proud. Uncle Jim remembers your pirate birthday party and the years he lived with you and watched you grow. I remember Easter egg hunts, birthday parties, your dad's omelets in Colorado, several fishing derbies, twitching when you would see people around you getting stressed, peanut butter, watching you grow from a Kern Valley Pony to a star player for Kern Valley High School. Watching you wreck a motorcycle but drive a truck. Congratulations on graduation!

Mojiah, you too are amazing. I know you sometimes feel like you take a back seat to Bo, but things are different for a girl. You are an amazing girl who doesn't need to be the back seat to anyone. You deserve a wonderful life, you are too smart for your own good. We are proud of your decision to continue your education and go to college. It's a difficult transition from a teen to an adult by I know you will make it beautifully. I remember your mom calling and talking to me about letting you start cheer leading, and you both always kept me updated on how well you were doing. I convinced her into letting you get contacts, which you were thrilled about. Uncle Jim remembers buying you "sexy pajama's" when you were a little girl. And of course giving you the nickname "Mojiah" that has stuck all this time. I've loved watching you grow into a beautiful young woman and hurt along side of you when you've had your hard times. I've loved being close to you. Love you Mojiah, congratulations on graduating! Keep reaching for the best, you'll get it! Maybe you can design my next house, when I hit the lottery, and when your that famous architect!

Spaghetti anyone?

My kids hate spaghetti. I love it, I love a good Spaghetti sandwich even better the next day. The other night I made spaghetti and put some noodles aside for Jimi to eat with just butter. Later she comes in with these inventions. I think she likes spaghetti now. Problem is this is just proof that she is a big dork!

She stole my camera for this one.

What was I thinking?

Who's idea was it for us to have a yard sale? I'm not sure but I know it wasn't me, but who was the one awake at 6am every morning to get it started, ME! I will never do this again, it's too much work for way too little money, and now I have to find a place for my junk! AGAIN!

A few of the good memorable points of the week...

-Trever trying to get people to come to the sale by dressing up in this sheep dog costume and dancing around.

-Coming home and seeing Trever, Sami, and Jim working in the yard all dressed the same. They all looked so cute. Later I found out Jim had been knocked out by the wood handle of a pick ax. Good thing it wasn't the other end!

-The fence getting moved so I can finally park in the back of the house.

-Getting the plumbing under my kitchen sink fixed, mainly because it broke, then the water shut off valve broke. I'm getting to be a great plumber.

-Taking the plunge and buying the cranberry colored paint to paint my kitchen. I'll see if I ever take the plunge to put it up.

-De-cluttering, for the yard sale of course. It helped that we had no power for TV or the computer.

This is what the boys did while the girls helped. Typical boys! (that pile of trash behind them is our big screen TV that they got ahold of just minutes before this picture)

Sami, Sami, Sami...

Ok, a little catch up on Sami Jean. A few weeks ago Sami had her track meet. She usually gets a little overlooked when it comes to the running thing because until now Jimi has been our runner in the family. Sami did great, she did all team events and got second in all of them, but she did REALLY good. I was surprised how fast she was. In both relays she caught her team back up. Great job Sami.

Then last night we went to a BIG event at the Senior Center. Sami won an award for a report on Alcatraz Island that she did. She won second prize and $30. She did a great job, and I let her do it all on her own, the only thing I helped her with was burning a CD for the slide show, she picked out her pictures and did the report on her own. A girl from a different school did won FIRST on her report for Alcatraz but Sami's was so much better. The first place winner from Southfork was Sadie, her good friend. She built a model of the Golden Gate Bridge, it was really good. Those smart Southfork kids.

We're so proud of you Sami Jean!

Who needs electricity?

I've said before that everyone was born in the era they were supposed to be in. I KNOW this is true! Wednesday morning things were going like any normal day, when click... power went out! Usually it only goes out for a few minutes and it comes back up. It didn't. They let school out early because it was really hot, and... ok really I don't know why. I do know they didn't call and let me know, I heard through my mother in law. How were we supposed to know, TV, the radio? Duh the power was out! Living next door to the Edison power man we are usually in the loop so we found out there was a fire that burned the cross arm of a pole and blah blah blah... power would be out until sometime late Friday. That is a LONG time with NO power. I have to say we did cheat it a bit. Jim's work truck has an enclosed generator that is almost silent. His boss let him bring it home and we hooked up the freezer, fridge, and sat back and watched a movie while the neighbors sat in the dark. That is until someone showed up to take Jim's truck to get serviced. Great timing. The really funny thing was watching the kids realize all the things than needed electricity. Every time they walked into a room they would flip on the switch. (ok I did it a few times too) The fridge works on power? The hot water heater? The microwave? I must have said over a thousand times "duh you need electricity for that". I will say it was a great reminder of why we need a 72 hour kit. (luckily I made one about 2 years ago) it needed rotated anyways. It shows that we just need to be prepared, we need to have a call list to check on everyone. Two of the High Priests of the church came door to door checking on people. They opened up the church, which had power and water and air conditioning, for who ever wanted or needed a place to go. I thought that was nice. It made me realize that my debit card does NO good when the power is out! I need to keep my gas tank at least half full, and have some cash set back, just in case. Really it wasn't too bad, we made it. Even if I did go through blogger with drawl. Oh well I kept busy getting ready for our BIG yard sale! (I'll post that later) I'm glad we have electricity again!

Happy Birthday Alex!

May 14th was Alex 14th birthday, his golden year. Alex, I am so proud of the man you are becoming. You are so talented in so many things. You are an amazing artist and I love looking at your drawings and seeing the world through your eyes. You are so talented at playing your guitar, and you have only taught yourself. Stick with it and you'll be amazing. Your were a terrific football player and now your proving your just an all around great athlete. You very fast!! I see how smart you are and I can see your mind working so hard figuring out things the rest of the world never will. Now apply that at school! You almost never talk back, your respectful to me as your mom. You try so hard to remember to take your hat off in the house. Please stay sensitive, spiritual and sweet. Don't get too wrapped up in girls, if it's not already too late. Choose only what's right and set your sights on your mission. I couldn't imagine our lives without you. We love you so much. Hope your golden year is truly golden. Happy Birthday!

I love that you watch the news with me almost every morning and I'm glad that you thought it was fun to have your picture and name on 23 news to say happy birthday!

Summer Fun?

There is only a few weeks of school left and I am already starting to panic. Maybe because this house just isn't big enough for 4 kids fighting all the time, or because I feel like I already spend too much time picking up after them, or maybe because last year they realized they out number me. Whatever the reason I am dreading it. I love my kids, I really do but they are pigs and know my limits. And they push them. I am trying to put together a plan for summer. My biggest problem is that I always feel like they need to start with a fresh slate so I always do it for them at first. This just makes me mad, and they end up suffering but they don't realize why. All I want is a fun relaxing summer.

Rub some dirt on it...

I tell the kids this frequently. The girls had softball games on Saturday. The first two plays in Jimi's game made me nervous, she had two bad overthrows and runners moved. I yelled a little bit (imagine that) and she got her head in the game. She actually had one of her best games. She had a beautiful hit to a hole in the outfield that rolled to the fence so without any errors she got a home run! A REAL home run! She slid into home and scraped/cut her knee up pretty bad. Sami ran over to tell her good job, she saw Jimi's knee and Jimi said she almost passed out. She didn't say a word to Jimi just turned and ran to me and said "mom, Jimi is bleeding BAD" I asked if it was really really bad, but by the look on her face I knew it was REALLY REALLY bad to Sami. When I first got over to her I looked at it and it really wasn't bleeding bad, but was full of dirt. She was holding it, but when she saw me her face lit up and for a second forgot that her knee was cut at all. She jumped up and hugged me and said "mom did you see that, it was a home run!" I was so excited for her. I had her pour some water on her knee to clean it up and when she washed the dirt away, the blood started. Down her leg, all over her slider, batting gloves, cleat, not to mention the dugout. I told her that is why I tell her to rub some dirt on it, to stop the bleeding. She didn't think that was funny, or a good idea. I ran over and got the first aid kit. She felt special that they stopped the game for her. Little did she know that when there's blood they can't get on the field untill it's taken care of. We patched her up and sent her out. That inning she just happened to get all three outs, 2 grounders with a great throw/catch at first. And then a pop fly. That was her second pop fly caught in that game because earlier she caught one and without thinking threw it to first and made a double play. I was impressed. Next up to bad she got on base again and was waiting on second when I saw her yelling to her coach. Then her coach Kelsey looks at me and yells "she's your daughter, what are we going to do with her?" She got batted home and I went to see what was wrong. While on second she got bit 3 times by a horse fly. OUCH! Jim goes to get the sting soother and she goes out to the field where she takes two really hard grounders to the shins. We reminded her that it is much easier to catch a grounder with her glove than her shins. Hope she gets it. She got pretty beat up, but did a great job.

This is her knee a day later, she has a picture of when it first happened but I don't yet. The other is her arm with the bites a day later. You can't see them very good besides by the next day they weren't swollen too bad anymore.

Jimi I want you to know that I know you are a great athlete and I am proud of that, but I am more proud of you for your attitude on the field/track/ whatever. Your always always positive, even when your loosing you are giving others positive feedback and encouragement. When you make a mistake you quickly shake it off and bring that smile out. You don't pout on the field EVER! You loose graciously. (we are still trying to win graciously) I am proud of you NEVER giving up. You are only still with us because you refuse to give up at anything you do. Thank you for being stubborn, hanging on and giving it your all and when that doesn't seem to be enough then giving it a little more. Your amazing for that, I hope you always stay that way. I know that I push you so hard sometimes but it's only because I know that your strong and I know you can achieve so much if you constantly push yourself. Now don't let it go to your head! Keep up the good work in school, sports and making good decisions.

Talent Show

Every year the kids school puts on a big talent show dinner for a fundraiser. Every year I swear I'm not going. It takes hours and the food is horrible. This year I somehow got duped into letting Sami and Trever do it. Luckily they both preformed near the front and we could leave early. Food was still gross though. Sami and Trever sang with Tylee and Dylan. They sang one of Kenny's songs from his CD called Angels and Devils. They did great, it was a neat choice for them to sing. Then Trever did a song with Dakota and their friend Jacob and sang Kryptonite. I was surprised that my kids don't have stage fright. They sang and danced and had a great time in the spotlight. I would have liked Alex to play his guitar, and Jimi to have sang or danced or something. She helped a group of little girls with a dance that her and her friend Destiny made up. Last year we bought extra raffle tickets for these baskets that they raffle off and didn't win a thing. This year we didn't buy extra because we were leaving early, but you got one free entry for your dinner ticket. I ended up winning a cute bear welcome sign, a wreath with a candle in the middle, then as we were outside gathering kids Austin came out grabbed Jims ticket out of his pocket and came back a few minutes later with some tie down straps that Jim won. It almost made us want to stay. (ok they were good prizes, but not THAT good).

This is Tylee and Hannah, they sang a Taylor Swift song (I think). They were so cute and did such a great job.

535?

What is 535?

535 is the number of miles that the FIRST hill in the Whiskey Flats trail run (5k) looked.

535 thousand miles is what it felt like.

535 times I wanted to stop.

535 million rocks in my path.

535 times I looked over my shoulder worried a mountain lion was going to attach itself to my face.

535 times I wished I had my mp3 player to distract me.

535 people along the path saying, "your almost there" (I hate that, I wasn't)

535 minutes that it felt like it took me to finish. (it didn't only 40 some)

535 uphills, I know I came down sometime or other but still can't figure out where.

535 thousand times I had wished I had trained appropriately for hills, sand and rocks, instead of semi flat.

535 times I thought about going back to kick the sign that said I was only 1 mile into it.

but it is also...

535 times I enjoyed how beautiful our valley is.

535 times I was grateful for the beautiful creek crossings, both for the neat log bridges and for the needed breather.

535 million times I was glad I did it, even though it was a lot tougher than I had expected.

535 times I decided I want to do these more often.

535 times I was grateful for Karrie for doing this with me.

Really 535 was just the number attached to my shirt.

Southfork Track Meet

Today was Alex and Jimi's track meet for school. Jimi does it every year but this was Alex's first time. I need to make a note to myself for any year following this because EVERY year I get a horrible sun burn and this year was no exception. Alex got it pretty bad too, sorry Alex. So this is how things went.

Alex started off by running the mile. I was very impressed, he got second out of the 7th grade boys. His time was 6:30. Then he did the triple jump and got first place with a jump of 27' 7". He did the long jump and won first with a jump of 12' 7". He was in the group tug of war and his team won first. Then very last he did the 110 meter dash and blew us away. He won first with a time of 13 seconds. I had no idea he was that fast. It just goes to show he can do anything, when HE wants to, now how do I get him to want to all the time? Great job Alex, can't wait to see what you can do next year.

I can't believe how buff he looks in the picture. He has grown so much it makes me sad.

Now with Jimi. She did the long jump and won first with a jump of 10' 2". She did the 4x200 meter relay where she was the final runner and they won first. She also ran the 4x100 where her team won first. Last she did the 200 meter run, which is halfway around the track. She sprinted it and came in first. (by a lot) She didn't run the mile this year, I was a little disappointed because she usually does. She is going to be like her dad, a sprinter. It was a fun morning, living in such a small town it's fun to see friends and just hang out with them. This is Cori and Michelle. Cori had a really really bad sunburn and she even put sunscreen on, she even had white finger marks on her arm where she sat with her arms folded. (heheh) Next year I'll wear sunscreen!

This is Jimi with one of her best friends Destiny. And Alex and Toni, just like when they were little. How cute.

Coach Dany?

I was asked to coach Sami's softball team last night so the REAL coach could go to his other daughters game. This is what I learned from the short 1 1/2 hour practice.

1. Always look when Jimi is throwing you the ball. Realize she can't tell that I am not looking at her with dark sunglasses on. The knot on my head will go away and those sweet little tweeting birds flying around were really fun for about an hour.

2. If anyone has to get hurt, don't let it be the coach's daughter! She caught a foul tip with her eye. We are going to see if it lasts as long as Sami's. (she still has hers)

3. My body isn't as young as my mind is. I loved being out there, but I am sore today. In my own defense I did run/walk 3.5 miles and did some yoga, and did Tami's ab circle machine too.

4. I don't like softball dirt anymore. It was in my toes, through my shoes. I HATE that!

5. I don't have enough patience to coach the little girls, they make silly mistakes and scream, a lot!

6. Jimi is more coachable than Sami. That was a shocker, but Jimi listens and tries it my way. Sami won't get past trying to teach me.

7. I will loose sleep over a softball team that isn't even mine. Trying to find better places for different girls, and wondering why certain girls are playing where they are. (Michelle, I need to share these with you, you should call me) I couldn't go to sleep last night, and woke up at 5am.

I get/have to be the stand in coach while the others go to Hawaii. For two games and a practice. Michelle will help me I'm sure, right Michelle? I still think I want to coach next year, but I will re-evaluate after I coach the games.