Finding Joy In The Journey...

Monday, July 1, 2013

Dinner on the road

Dinner at Wendy's in Reno

Jestin was super grumpy because #1 I wouldn't let him drive and #2 because he was hungry, so we pulled over and got something to eat at the kids favorite fast food place!

To cheer him up, I finally handed over the keys and let him take the wheel (3 days post-op... *gulp*)

He drove for about an hour before he pulled over and admitted he shouldn't be driving.

We drove over the Donner Pass in the dark... the outlines of the trees were amazing even in the dark with the moon light shining on them! Can't wait to see it in the day!

We arrived at Kayelani and Daniel's about 1:00 in the morning.

*whew* what a trip!

The small car was bearable and the snack boxes were perfect!

Alrighty!!

Let's PLAY!!

1st Stop - Bonneville Salt Flats

This first official stop on our trip was at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

The kids wandered down in the 106 degree weather to explore the salt...

Mom and Dad set up lunch at the picnic tables.

Cody & Caleb finding cool chunks of sparking salt.

Everyone came back to the table to start eating, but Caleb was enthralled! He wanted to keep exploring.

About 5 minutes later he came running up to the table all excited! He had found a marker on the salt flat! (a permanent marker!)

We gave him a napkin to try it out on and he opened it up.

Out fell a huge marijuana joint!

YUCK!

Mom snagged it up and grab Caleb's hand and as she rushed him to the car to wash his hands with sanitizing wipes, dropping the joint and the marker into the trash!

Momma scrubbed his hands thoroughly.

Then his face.

He seemed confused.

After she was sure there was no ickiness upon his little body, we joined the crew at lunch.

A few minutes later Caleb says in a relieved voice...

"OH!!! I get it! You were washing my hands for lunch!"

BWAHAHAHAHA!!

Uh - Yeah - Spot on little man!

*shudder*

Why is it always Caleb...?

(LOL)

Mom and Dad... ready to get back in the car and hit the road!

We got a late start and it could be after midnight by the time we reach Vacaville!

San Francisco! Here we come!!

We are super exicted!

My cousin Kayelani and her hubby Daniel have invited us to come visit them and spend a week playing and exploring with them!

Aunt Becky & Uncle Kevin (and Amanda & Jake) will be there visiting as well!

12 people sharing a 2 bedroom apartment!

WOOHOO!!

We will get to check off two bucket list items on this trip!

Heather's bucket list item was to see fireworks over San Francisco Bay.

Jestin's was to eat fish at Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39.

We plan to do both!

We bought a new (used) car a couple of weeks ago, and to save on gas money we are cramming in together to go! (You KNOW you are jealous of our fun when you see that picture right??)

It's SO gonna be worth it!

Jestin had minor surgery the Friday before we left, so Heather gets to drive us all there.

Should be an adventure!!

See you in a week!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Snack Boxes and Travel Food

A NEW TRAVEL TRADITION!!!

We are headed to San Francisco in a few days and we are taking our "new-to-us" 2004 Ford Taurus sedan. Yep. All six of us, together, in a barely-six-seater for a 13 hour car trip!

*gulp*

Space will be very limited and so I worried about how we were going to transport our snacks and not end up with mashed boxes and crumb chips. Not to mention, of course, the inconvenience of mom being the hander-outer non-stop in a tight space... and it all ending up at mom's feet to boot! LOL

I was at the Dollar Store picking up a few of our cheap favorite snacks when I passed by these tall plastic containers...

...and it hit me!

Everyone gets their own box to hold/keep track of!

BRILLIANT!!

I snagged the boxes, some sandwich baggies, the rest of the snacks and headed for home to share my excitement with the kids. :)

They were all THRILLED with the idea!

Everyone got to choose what he/she loved!!

We broke out the label maker and gathered all the snacks I had been buying on sale for the last 3 months for this trip.

Cam and Code loving theirs!

Cubs can't contain his excitement!!

TEE HEE HEE

Even Mom and Dad were going to be in charge of their own snacking pleasures on this trip.

Everyone kept their box down by their feet and we tossed all the extra space taking boxes and bags the treats came in! YAY!

Food is ready to go!!

Here's a variety pic so you can kind of see what each box had in it...

We are ready to go!!!!!!!!!!!!

** Post trip notes **

** Instead of sugar laden drinks, each child took a water bottle and we took our 5 gal water cooler with us in the trunk and refilled at each bathroom break. It worked out perfectly! (all we ever bought was ice to refill it - the heat of the day melted it as needed!)

** We also filled a gallon size baggie with celery & carrots and if the kids wanted they had the single serve peanut butter cups in their own boxes to eat with them (Mom & Cody's fav!)

** We also had another gallon baggie with peeled and wedged oranges and 2 different kinds of apples (cut into wedges) - Em juiced one fresh lemon all over the top of the fruit and shook the bag to coat the oranges and bananas... it kept the apples fresh and crunchy with very minimal browning for almost a week! (have used bottled lemon juice before it is not as effective)

** The previously mentioned baggies of fresh food we kept in a small ice chest in the trunk, along with some lunch meats, cheese, mayo/mustard and tortillas - we made wraps for the big meals on the trip. There also were some frozen applesauce pkgs (the kind you suck out) for when we needed something refreshing. When we stopped for potty breaks along the way we would rotate the fresh bags when we got water refills. It was lovely!

** note: Don't divvy up beef jerky into sandwich bags for this - it is too strong smelling and some of our crackers took on the flavor of jerky. Jerky will just have to stay a pass around treat LOL (meat flavored Nilla Waffers was weird LOL)

** The kids did not eat all their snack items, and often gathered some of their baggies of snacks for their day-packs while were in SF. (each child had their own string day pack to carry their water bottle, snacks, camera, and sovenier $ - that was a back saver for mom and dad! And saved the begging for expensive drinks and treats along the way!) A quick stop at the grocery store and the boxes were refreshed for the trip home as well! This was a real life saver!!

Hope to use this new tradition from now on! It was a great way to teach the kids moderation and responsibility as well: There were no boxes/bags to refill from... they had to ration smartly to make it last the whole trip and they all did beautifully with snacks to spare!! :)

Friday, May 17, 2013

Gearing up for summer...

WHEW! That last semester was a doozey! Especially considering my last post was in January! LOL
I will be adding posts and dating them when they happened chronologically, but truth be told my last post was about the anniversary of my sweet Grandma's passing and her photo LOL

So... here's an update:

Jestin took two college classes this last semester (his first ones back to school since his Electrical studies) over 12 years ago. Math was TORTURE. We spent HOURS working problems together... up until midnight on the nights he didn't have class trying to meet homework deadlines. His professor was VERY difficult/demanding when it came to due dates... and for a student who worked full-time as well as attended classes at night {and did side jobs every free moment} - let's just say - it was ALL we could do to keep him caught up! I joked that that was all we did as a family for the last 4 months: eat, sleep, school and homework. All of us. LOL It was C.R.A.Z.Y. Jes also took a Health class and aced it. He really enjoyed it. But I can't even tell you how relieved he was to be done.

My semester was good... I took my Math 1050 class (got an A-), and a Library Research class (got an A) and Intermediate Spanish (got a B+... conjugating verbs was killing me! Yes... my fluency came back quickly... but my brain just wanted to reword the sentence to say the same thing without having to conjugate LOL it was rough)

I also took a Leadership Mentoring class that I absolutely adored! I was working toward becoming a UVU Mentor and was so excited for it! The week before I needed to turn in my application, I was sitting in class and had this horrible feeling come over me. I cried the whole way home. I fought the feeling and fought the feeling.... I didn't want to NOT apply - this was a HUGE step toward my dream of becoming a professor teaching in the Student Success program (and as a mentor I would be helping to TEACH one of these classes!) It made no sense to me, and so I refused to ask if I should not apply when saying my prayers. But I already knew. Finally I asked. Yep. The answer was "not at this time". I was devastated. The day before the application was due, I got a text from the head of the Student Success Dept. He had heard that I was not going to apply...

He had been in our class "observing" my professor on a day when I taught the class - we had to teach the class twice during this semester to practice the skills we were learning to become a mentor. He told me that I did an excellent job, and that I was an excellent candidate for the UVU Mentor program and he asked to me to apply. I told him that I wanted to - very badly - but that I knew the time was right for me to apply... but maybe next spring I would apply. He told me that he admired my following what was right for me in my life and that he would look forward to my applying and that if I wanted to be involved in the program at all next year just for experience to come see him.

I couldn't believe it! The guy who some day could be my "boss" took the time to send ME a personal text, asking me to apply, and thought I would be a great candidate! I was stunned. And tickled. And It comforted my heart - as I was a little afraid Heavenly Father was telling me no because I wouldn't do a good job! LOL

Anyway... I still get a little disappointed when I really think about it - I really wanted to do this! And to do it with the kids I trained with would be awesome... but I think I know one of the reasons why the answer was "the time is not right"...

Two weeks before the UVU semester ended, Emma and I met with her academic counselor. Long story short... she is a high honor student and had specific goals for her future. Even though she is only going to be a sophomore next year, he suggested a program that her school offers. We did some research, jumped through a bunch of hoops... and 2 weeks later my baby girl had a UVU student ID in her hot little hands. (*sniff*) She participating in a program called "EdNet"... she takes college courses through video conference at her school. If she stays on course, she will graduate with not only her high school diploma... but also her associates degree! :) She is super excited. And super stressed out. It is a HUGE change. But she is up for the challenge ;)

So now... that makes 3 college students in our household! *gulp*

I think that as the mom and the scheduler, with 3 college students, plus 3 regular students... I will have my hands happily full.... and being a UVU mentor would require more than I should probably give while Em is adjusting and Jes is as well. :) It will all be good. And I can "mentor" my own little nestlings *grin*

So... enough about college life...

Cody is doing fantastic in school as well. He came home with a High Honor Roll certificate. He is taking honors math track and if he keeps up with it he will be done with calculus at the end of high school. He is also working on getting his Eagle Scout project completed this summer. He is Senior Patrol leader and Deacons Quorum President. He is a busy young man. He loves listening to music and reading the newspaper.

Cameron has been busy in school as well. He gets really good grades and loves to hang out with his best friend Tyler everyday he can. He took basketball classes this spring. He has also been a great friend to Caleb... they do almost everything together. He loves being an 11-year old scout and was really sad to miss his first overnight campout tonight - He has been home most of the week with his first really bad asthma attack in months.

Caleb was baptized this month. It was a wonderful event (I am sure you saw the post) He is so very excited for summer and the freedom to play and play and play. He still struggles some with his reading, but we are going work really hard on it this summer and see if we can't get him back on track :) Caleb still loves his sandbox, and his newest passion is water balloons. He is SUPER excited to go to Seven Peaks water park over and over, and go on hikes, and have his friends come for a week, and go to San Fransico over the Fourth of July & Six Flags!

And so... we are gearing up for summer!!!

Time to plan some fun, some work, some service and some memories! What about all of you? What are your big plans for the 3 months of freedom ahead of us???? :)

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Caleb's Baptism

We had a very special day today!!

Our youngest chose to be baptized into the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Caleb & his Daddy

We are so proud of him... and his choice to follow Jesus Christ.

After the baptism and confirmation we had a luncheon with our family and friends...

Everyone wrote him little notes to go into the time capsule that he can open and read when he goes to the temple someday...

We displayed a poster telling all about him...

Each table had a center piece representing Caleb's favorite things...

This one is his Lincoln Logs - he loves to set up elaborate battle fields with Cody on the living room floor.

This one is covered in insects and creepy crawlies... and there is even a jar of gummy worms...

his fav!

A miniature sand box...

This is where he goes to decompress from his day...

LOVES his sand box!

This table was suppose to represent his adoration of LEGOs...

sadly his big trucks got left at home. :( bummer!

Oh well--- his LEGO candy that he refuses to eat because he likes to play with them made it! LOL

This little plaque was made by his Kindergarten teacher, Bunny Barnett. Her little girl Oaklie shared this special day with him and she was baptized at the same time.

This is an arrangement of water balloons & an up-cycled marble maze he made. He loves to rummage through the recycle for building materials and is known for his many elaborate creations.

This is his testimony table. His mini "Future Missionary" tag, his favorite tie and behind the statue of Jesus is his chart showing that we read the Book of Mormon as a family for his baptism.