Twinkie The Kid

The other day our friends were over and for some reason we were talking about food storage . . . and how long things last . . . and someone brings up the Twinkie . . . our friend pipes up and says he'll never eat one of those things again . . . had too many trunks-full of free Twinkies on his mission. But oh no - not me . . . I could never get enough of these and I explained my Twinkie philosophy - so here you go -

I remember going somewhere in the car as a kid and pulling into a convenience store parking lot. There was this life-size Twinkie (now I know it must have been some kid in a costume, but back then - it was real!) I look the Twinkie mascot over in awe and read "Twinkie The Kid" on his 10 gallon hat. My  philosophy was born then and there . . . I understood the title to mean "Twinkie the kid" as in - use the word twinkie as an adjective, something you DO to a kid, like "Spoil the kid" or "Teach the kid." It was more than a suggestion even. An admonition if you will. From that time forward . . . until just a few years ago, I'm embarrassed to admit . . . I thought the Hostess company was using fabulously strong suggestive advertising. I bought into it. I've loved Twinkies ever since. There's just something disgustingly sensational about them - if only they were on the Weight Watchers' Core Food List . . . then my life would be complete and I could Twinkie myself all the day long.

One of my Favorite Sounds

There have been some of the cutest videos on line of babies laughing.

But there's nothing quite so cute as your own baby laughing.

Every one of my kids' laughs makes it to my list of favorite sounds - here's one:

AIDAN

Do you ever . . .

Have a to-do list . . . and add things you've done in your distraction . . . just so you can cross something off???

Throw something back in the laundry just because you don't want to iron it or deal with hanging it up at the moment???

Stay locked up in the bathroom for a  loooooooooooooong time . . . just so you can be alone???

Pay your older kids crazy amounts of money to help keep the younger ones tear-free while you finish this round of Wackee 6???

"Wipey" a kid down and call it good on a bath???

Pull out the vacuum and turn it on so you can tell the kids, "Honey, I can't hear you . . . you'll have to wait until I'm done vacuuming." That white noise is sometimes heaven!

No??? Oh, me either . . . I've never done any of that . . . I was just asking.

Time Time Time

                  

So my blogging has gone a little by the wayside. I'm trying to sync my use of time with my priorities. Isn't that a life-long pursuit? For me it is anyway!

During my vacation, I reflected a lot on my weight. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was a little too hard on myself and expected to show up svelte and triumphant. But that didn't happen. My self-control doesn't take into account the fact that the future will always come. No lie, people! So I continued to eat more than I should and exercise less than I should. That would be not at all, actually. I haven't been successful with a regular exercise plan for a few years. But I know just as surely as our vacation did, in-fact take place . . . Hawaii is coming! I've got . . . let's see . . . 14 weeks until that plan jumps into my reality and I've gotta face the music. Not because I feel like my husband or friends will judge me while there . . . I just don't want to feel like I did when we went home. Knowing full well that I had the time & the knowledge to feel better physically and I blew it. I didn't do what I planned on doing. 

When I led Weight Watchers meetings, we'd often talk about one of the more common excuses for no exercise. Most people say (and naively believe) that there just aren't enough hours in the day. We talk about what people would do if they were magically given an extra hour in the day. Well . . . needless to say, the majority talk about how they'd go to the gym or use their "clothes-rack" treadmill. EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH!!! (That's the sound of a buzzer if you were wondering!) I call them on it every time. So I called myself on it too!

If we were magically given an extra hour in our day - we'd use it just as we use the other 24 we already have. More time doesn't mean a change in lifestyle or habits. You have to change your lifestyle and habits to fit in the time you're given. So I decided upon returning home that I would put a couple things of deep down real priority into a more obvious spot in my day. I wanted to prove to myself that those really are my priorities. No more empty talk about them really mattering - I need to prove that they matter. And plan my time accordingly. I wanted to focus on making those things happen before I did other things that weren't so high on the list.

So my first thing on the agenda was to be more consistent in reading the scriptures. That first week I did great. I was reading while doing my second priority {I'll get to that in a sec} and it felt great. I not only read every day but also was able to read over my primary lesson a handful of times and I was better prepared than ever. This week I'm slacking. I got sucked into the Twilight series again - wanted to read them before book 4 comes out . . . but starting right now - that will not interfere with my reading of the scriptures first and foremost!!! There's plenty of time for the novels after I do my daily scripture reading. I did commit to at least an hour on my second priority every day!

The second {and there really were only 2 things} was to start up an exercise plan. So I began walking on the treadmill. A fabulous couple whom I met while leading WW meetings gave me their older treadmill since they had a new one. I will forever be grateful to them. They are just so sweet and have no idea what that meant to me. So - I walk . . . hard. I'm working up to jogging. But that's a bit hard when I'm also reading at the same time. 

This is the end of the second week and I feel like I have a good handle on both of those priorities, so I'm now adding the other things back in - like blogging.

Whew - that's a long story for such a short, to-the-point intention. No more excuses, no more wishing for more time, no more avoiding and procrastinating. I'm just going to do it. Everything else can fall into place where it may - but if I don't read and work out, my day won't feel right. 

One Word Answers

The Rules: You must answer the questions using only one word, then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? Side table

2. Your significant other? Hotattorney (does that count as one word?)

3. Your hair? Brown

4. Your mother? Missionary

5. Your father? Missionary

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? Fat-free-white-hot-chocolate (I think the hyphens make it one word!)

9. Your dream/goal? Happiness

10. The room you're in? Scrap/Office

11. Your hobby? Memories

12. Your fear? Loss

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Thinner

14. What you're not? Self-less

15. Muffins? Sure!

16. One of your wish list items? Addition

17. Where you grew up? Bountiful

18. The last thing you did? Breakfast

19. What are you wearing? Workout Attire

20. Favorite gadget? Wii ? ? ? 

21. Your pets? NONE!

22. Your computer? Mac

23. Your mood? Pleasant

24. Missing someone? Parents

25. Your car? Odyssey

26. Something you're not wearing? Glasses

27. Favorite store? MoreThanAMemory

28. Like someone? Husband

29. Favorite color? Brown

30. When was the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Recently

TAG: Taisley, Lisa S., Kristi M., Bridgett A.

Camp Carlquist

Harrison spent last week at Cub day Camp . . . I can't believe he's old enough to go. It makes me feel old until I realize some of my friends my age have High School Seniors. But this is all new to me, so allow me to feel this way!

He had such a great time. There are 4 or 5 boys from our ward that went and he has some stories! Their scout leader said they have plenty of photos and will burn us each a disc. He assured us as well that there's plenty of blackmail material for when they get older. Can't wait. 

This week he's at another day camp. "Stones, Bones and Glaciers." It's the topic he chose for this summer's Imaginarium camp which just happened to be the week following cub camp which happened to be the week following our vacation. (Are you still with me?) So it's been nice for a boy who's constantly chanting, "I'm bored!" to be so busy as the summer winds down into the school year. I now have just 4 weeks of his chanting left. Wish me luck!!!

It's gonna be hot!!!

If you didn't catch it the first time, go back and read the title of this entry again - and imagine a thick coat of sarcasm as you read it!

It's been 2 weeks now since we got back from our summer vacation and the change in weather between there and here is like going to Hawaii from Antarctica and back. I'm not so thrilled about it. I think we did see the sun once since our return - but it wasn't for the whole day, and the temperature only raised slightly. 

If you've always wanted to come to Anchorage - let me tell ya' - summer is the time to do it. But don't waste any regret on {this} summer because frankly, it's the worst summer people have seen in years!

Our Summer Adventures Part IV

DAY 8: Dan went golfing early in the morning with his brother Dave and we were able to spend a few more minutes hanging out with him and his wife Holly that morning. Then we were off again. We met my family at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. Our children absolutely love it there . . . I don't blame them - it's the best zoo I've ever been to - OK, so I haven't been to many, but they really DO have a great zoo - and Dan made the strange observation that the cost of admission there was cheaper than at our zoo here in Anchorage . . . everything costs more up here! Anyway - I was SO happy to have so many members of  my family there.

L to R: My oldest sister Teresa, my 3rd sister Tifanie, Teresa's daughter Jordan, Dan and me, My brother who's 4th in line, my sister (and best friend) Taisley who's #6 and her husband Warren.

Then there were all the little kids - Back to front - my brother Troy again {uncle Troy gets plenty of admiration around here . . . the kids had so much fun with him!} my Harrison, my Emery, Taisley's Everett, my Jackson, Taisley's Bentley. I am so sad to not live closer to them. Our kids would have so much fun growing up together. But they're stubborn and won't move up here . . . course . . . is it stubborn for us to refuse to move as well??? I still say - we have deeper roots . . . so they need to move here!!!

Anyway - after the zoo we went to Sugarhouse park and met up with extended family on my mom's side. It was so great to see 2 of my aunts and a couple cousins - the kids played at the park but mostly at the water fountain and the adults either visited or played bocci ball. My mom & dad called from their mission in Wyoming just to talk to us while we were all together. It kills them to miss out on family things like that. Then that night we just parked outside Taisley's and after putting the kids to bed, I went in and stayed up late talking with Taisley and Troy. It was so very nice!!!

DAY 9: So we drive up to Layton and meet Dan's sister and mom. The plan was that they were going to watch the two younger kids and we were going with Harrison and Emery to Lagoon. We'd been looking forward to it and talking about it almost as long as the trip itself. That morning I grew a little nervous about how Harrison would do - he was reluctant at Disneyland to ride anything too scary (and by that I mean Dumbo was his comfort level!) so I pulled him aside and told him that we all needed to have fun today - we needed to be brave and not keep others from riding anything. I pretty much freaked him out so that on the drive to Lagoon we were trying to figure out a deal where he could pass on a certain amount of rides or he'd have to ride a certain number of scary rides. We couldn't come up with anything fair and he did not seem thrilled about going. Dan mentioned just taking him for the day and going golfing while Emery {the brave little thing!} and I had a special day at Lagoon. We drove back to Ann's house to get my phone and work out the details. So it ended up being a late start - and not quite the day we'd planned, but it worked out for the best!!

Emery was very brave and we went on some fabulous rides. It was a great day for us - and Harrison had fun with Dad as well . . . fortunately. I think back now and realize it would have been a miserable day for all of us. I'm glad I had the day w/ Eme and I'm glad he didn't feel pressured into riding something that terrified him. Win win.

After Lagoon, we drove to Bountiful to meet up with our friends the Kerr's. They were here in Anchorage when we first moved in but left a couple years ago and now live in Utah. We again had a fabulous time catching up - they have kids close to our kids' ages and even though in the beginning they were tentatively admitting they didn't remember each other - by the end it was hard to get them to say goodbye. Us, too. We really have fond memories with the Kerr's. I can't for the life of me figure out why people move away once they're here. I'm always secretly hoping they'll move back!

So fitting for the last night of our trip - Jack fell asleep sitting up again. He was so stinkin' tired he just fell asleep . . . right there . . . in the swaying RV.

We drove late into the night . . . destination Boise, Idaho.

At one point Dan pulled over and slept for a little while.

DAY 10: Our final day began with more driving . . . then dropped off our little home away from home and went to the airport. Another couple flights and we were home. Back to the overcast skies and hoodie-wearing temperatures. Our summer ended just like that. I can't believe how great this vacation was. It was fast and we tried to squeeze in as much as we could . . . but I don't know how we could have made anything better. The kids traveled fabulously. They were mostly well-behaved and really enjoyed our time together. Aidan bonded intensely with daddy - he'd never spent that much time with him . . . so their bond has carried over into regular life and he's so enamored by his dad. 

We really are grateful we got to see so many family and friends. Every time we go home we worry about getting to everyone and seeing who we can. There are many more people we wanted to see and just weren't able to do it. Next time, we promise! It's just so hard when you live over 3,000 miles away and are so popular! {that was sarcasm!!!}

Our Summer Adventures Part III

DAY 5: So on Saturday morning, we woke up in the RV at the Turkey Shoot, but drove up to the camp site to have a great breakfast - afterward we went to Dan's dad's so they could help bring down an old cinder-block barn. We had another cookout and got to visit. It was nice to be with his family. Later that night we parked at a golf course so Dan could meet up with his youngest brother. Unfortunately something came up so Dan took Harrison out on the course instead and it turned out fine. We stayed and watched a movie in the RV. That night we parked across the street from the church in Dayton.

DAY 6: Despite our proximity to the church, we scurried in a few minutes late. Gladly Dan's dad & his wife had saved us a spot. I'm glad we go to Dan's old ward whenever we go "home" - it's such a great, home-town feeling, kind people, loving atmosphere. I really enjoy it. After church, we set out on our day trip down to Spring City . . . another small town in Utah down near Moroni and Manti. Our friends the Fryers live there. We met the Fryers 10 years ago when we were a very newly married couple in Vermont. They had just had their third child and of course, we didn't have any yet. We made it a habit of dropping in on them often and they always welcomed us with open arms. Over all the years, they are more like family to us. They have a beautiful home and property . . . and horses! Emery LOVES horses . . . so we couldn't wait to ride them on Monday.

DAY 7: That morning we got up and again had a fabulous breakfast {I'm amazed my kids don't demand more than cereal now that we're home!} Then Alexis took about a hundred trips around the neighborhood so we could all have a turn on Sassy. She was such a sweet horse - and by the end was quite annoyed with taking these inexperienced riders nowhere in particular. Dan of course waited till the end - when Sassy wasn't fresh and willing - he should have known that procrastinating wouldn't help ease his fears! But Emery LOVED the whole experience!

  

That night we drove back up North and parked at Dan's brother Dave's house in Provo - after a little detour to Lehi first. We dropped in on the Shwartz family. Kerry was one of Dan's Young Men leaders growing up and has always thought the world of him and his wife {I happen to as well now that I know them!} They have adorable kids and were able to make our otherwise ready-to-end-the-day children not want to leave. Good to see them!

Our Summer Adventures Part II

DAY 3 - That morning after hanging out at Ann's house and letting the cousins get to know each other again, we drove back down to Centerville, Utah where some of Tonya's childhood girlfriends got together for lunch. It's amazing that after so many years, this group of girls can get together - and pick up right where we left off . . . many times with another child or two in the mix. It's amazing - I don't even know how many kids there are between us. More than half of the girls weren't there . . . but as you can see - we had a good turn out and lots of fun, too! Poor Dan - his plans fell through so he was a trooper and hung out with all us girls and our children! Reminded me of all the slumber parties (sans the guy), TP'ing, crushes, adventures, etc . . . I love these girls!

Since we were just blocks away, we stopped by the Centerville Cemetery where Grandma and Grandpa Forsberg (Tonya's grandparents) are laid to rest. It was a bit harder this time because my Uncle Gary had passed away since I was here last - and his grave is there just above Grandma & Grandpa's. But I'm glad we got a chance to stop.

That afternoon we headed up to Logan and spent a few hours at Grandma Dorothy's (Dan's mom) - with cousins, aunts, uncles . . . we had dinner and played in the water - well, the kids played in the water, the adults just threatened them to keep us dry. Jack chased ducks that kept coming around. The older kids took care of the younger kids - both in the groups playing in the water and those playing in (or avoiding) the grass. Apparently the maturity in a couple months makes all the difference in the world. Afterward, we went up to USU to watch the fireworks . . . we sprawled out on the lawn by Mountain-view and Valley-view towers . . . when Dan and I  were first married, I was a Residence Director at VVT - so it was fun to show the kids our very first "home" as a married couple.

DAY 4 - HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!! We had parked the RV in Logan at Grandma's the night before then drove up to Dayton, Idaho (Dan's home town) for the holiday celebrations. For such a small town (if you've ever seen "Napoleon Dynamite" . . . Dan lived in an even smaller town outside the small town of Preston, Idaho) - they really get the celebration on! The parade was fabulous . . . best parade I've ever been to in fact - excluding the rose parade of course!!! But I don't remember getting candy at the rose parade . . . and any other parade I've been to might as well not have even attempted to give out candy - nothing has ever held a candle to Dayton's candy throwing parade!!! Dayton's level of candy distribution is what I've ALWAYS thought a parade should live up to! I'm highly impressed.

  

After the parade - there were other festivities at the park - food, fun, games, etc. Some of our favorites were shooting paint-ball guns at the targets, sifting through a pool of sawdust for toys, and this crazy-cool bun-gee powered slip n' slide. No kidding - there were these two boys - strapping boys, that is - this WAS farm country! They'd put this big bun-gee cord around the kids' waist - have them hold on . . . another strapping kid would hold the bun-gee back until just the right moment and then let 'em go!!! Looked so fun I was almost the first adult to do it. Check out Holly's blog for some video footage.

Later on we drove up Dayton's canyon to the "Turkey Shoot" - whatever that means . . . I figured it had to do with the long 4-wheeler trails making talon marks up the dusty mountains, but apparently it does have to do with real turkeys and, well, shooting . . . more than that, I know nothing. We left the RV there and went further up the canyon to Dayton Basin where the Kent clan was camping for the night. We had dinner and hung out - kids playing in the creek (big surprise there) and adults playing bocci ball. We went to "lookout point" to watch fireworks once it was dark enough and I was again impressed with the level of celebratory commitment in these small towns - you could see a few different firework shows in a few different towns from that view.

We left the family and returned to our RV at the Turkey shoot while the rest of the Kents stayed at the Basin to camp . . . . . .

and you're dying to hear what happened next, aren't you??? 

Our Summer Adventures Part I

Wow - what a whirlwind adventure . . . and yes . . . it WAS summer!!! As I predicted, once we hit the real heat, we were more than uncomfortable. But it was so totally worth it to feel those hot summer nights again! Ahhhhhhhh - we had such a great time!!!

DAY 1 - we took a flight from Anchorage to Boise, Idaho. Arrived in Boise late afternoon and headed to our hotel. We stayed in a fabulous Suite with a pool and within walking distance of a friendly (and  yummy!) down home diner.

DAY 2 - Dan picked up the RV and we moved in! What a way to travel, I tell ya'!!! It was so worth it. We stopped at Costco and Walmart on our way out of town to stock up on real food and baby supplies.

The drive that day was great. We took our time, didn't need to stop for potty breaks, snacks or stretches. The kids had so much fun with the freedom of an RV - not having to be strapped down all the time and just feeling like they were in a moving hotel!

We stopped at Shoshone falls near Twin Falls, Idaho - a place Dan had been as a kid - and it was absolutely breath-taking. Unfortunately the kids were less than enthusiastic due to the stifling heat. But once we found the icy stream to immediately bring our body temperatures down, the smiles returned to their faces. Harrison spent some time trying to catch frogs as well.

  

After the break we jumped back in the RV and headed South once again. It wasn't until about 10:00 that night that we finally pulled up to our friends' home in Bountiful, Utah. We met the Sager family in Vermont when Dan was attending Vermont Law School. We became great friends and now - we both have 4 kids - it was so great to see them and their kids - see how they've grown - see their beautiful home and just catch up. When we finally dragged ourselves out of there around midnight, we drove to Layton and parked in Dan's sister's driveway . . . 

more adventures to come . . . 

Wackee 6

Have you ever played? Dan and I LOVE to get together with the Barbachano family - we have kids that get along great - we've known each other for about 6 years now - and lately when we get together for dinner, a game (or two or three . . . enough to name a winner with 300 points!) of Wackee Six usually follows and . . . well, let's say that the competition gets thick! 

I have to say that I, for one, thrive on this game . . . probably because it's one of the few things I'm good at. I may be losing my memory and quick ninja skills, but I'm all that and a bag of chips when throwing the Wackee cards. It's really fun - and if you wanna get real crazy, invite over another set of friends who own the game and mark one set of cards so you can have more than 6 players.

So Leon and Vickie . . . when are we playing again?

Pieces of my garden part 3

What a beautiful thing to open your front door to, right? I love this part of my garden. I've got plenty of Hostas, some Ferns, bleeding hearts, more hostas, lilies of the vallye, lupin and more hostas. Have I mentioned lately that I love gardening?

Pieces of my garden part 2

This is part of the back yard garden. The sunniest spot we have. I LOVE these Asiatic lilies and we're going to have day lilies as well as some different varieties of daisies. I originally thought I'd do ONLY vegetables - that was my first priority, but now that I'm totally into this, I'm always on the lookout for plants and flowers I like. I rarely watch the road anymore, I watch people's yards.

Happy 4th of July

So over the last 10 years we've done a lot of fun things on our nation's birthday. We've gone to Homer, Alaska camping. We've gone to Kasilof, Alaska camping. We've done fireworks on our trampoline at home. We've gone hiking, camping, barbecuing, picnicking, to parades . . . you name it. But one July 4th stands out to me above the rest. We were a young couple, married just over a year. I was expecting Harrison - so we were not yet at the mercy of children and their schedules. Dan was doing an internship in Washington D.C. with the Army JAG. We were living in Stafford, Virginia with my beautiful & sweet cousin Amy and her family - {who we pretty much wanted to emulate once we grew up!} And we braved the throngs of people to spend the evening of the 4th on the mall strip in D.C. 

It was HOT that summer . . . no I mean REALLY HOT . . . 'course I was about 4 or 5 months pregnant so everything was hot. But it was an extra hot summer. We rode the Metro in and joined literally thousands and thousands of people. There were bands playing in certain areas, food being sold of course, people just having a great time being American.

The fireworks were shot from the Lincoln Memorial and we were sitting on the lawn by the (under construction at the time) Washington Monument. It was amazing the energy in the air and the excitement. I just remember being in awe when I really thought about where we were! I knew it'd be a once in a lifetime experience. 

Never have I seen a fireworks show so grand. I mean it went on forever . . . and not just the kind of string-it-out fireworks show by shooting one blast and everyone wondering if it's over until finally the next one goes snaking through the sky giving you hope for another blast. It was non-stop, over the top, beautiful action. I took rolls of film of the actual fireworks. I realize how stupid that is . . . who's going to look through rolls of horrible, dark photos of fireworks. I don't think I ever looked through them even once all the way through. You just can't replace being there.
But just as strong the memories of the celebration are the memories of trying to get home on the Metro after it was done. Granted, the thousands of celebrators came in at different time in different ways . . . but there was no mistaking that EVERYONE was trying to get home at the same time - the same way. Once you finally made it through the pushing shoulder to shoulder crowd into the Metro station . . . you were among the pushing shoulder to shoulder crowd underground - in the stifling heat - with people squished together in sweat. I remember instinctively cradling my belly in protection from the pushing and shoving. I thought I'd faint a time or two. But thanks to a sweet protective husband and a pretty good public transportation system, we were able to make it home safe and sound. 

Still - the horrible journey home does not overshadow the amazing patriotic feeling I get every time I think of that hot beautiful summer day in July of 1999.

Heirloom Bracelet

Another fun project I made for the store. It's a little bracelet by Creative Cafe - and there are these cute decorative epoxy stickers to go right on them, but I wanted to take another approach and be a bit more creative & personal. And to be honest I'm sad it's in the store . . . I want to wear it! Hopefully we'll sell out soon and I can get it back.

Pieces of my garden

I don't think I had ever seen a bleeding heart in person before . . . maybe not even in print . . . at least I never paid any attention to one if I had come across it. But I have to say . . . these things are really cool! I now know why they are called bleeding hearts. How totally appropriate, right? I've got a HUGE bush right outside my front door and a couple other smaller bunches trying to keep up. They were left over from the previous owners and will definitely stay. 

Acrylic Layout

Acrylic is the new thing in scrapbooking. It's everywhere . . . from page elements to the pages themselves. I love it . . . I've done a lot with it in other forms, but this is the first full-size scrapbook page I've done with it. It's so simple . . . but with the swirls on the acrylic, I just didn't think it needed anything else. It's on display at More Than A Memory if you wanna see it in person.