happy day!

David came home from TN today! He flew out Thursday morning (early!) and the reason I didn't mention this earlier is because I was afraid some crazy stalker would find out and harass me while he was gone. Not very likely, I'm sure, considering I think there are maybe 6 people who read my blog, but I tend to get a bit paranoid when he's gone. Last night Daisy barked at what I'm pretty sure was nothing outside and it sent me into a door-locking frenzy. Which was good, as I needed to lock the doors anyways, but I hate that panicky "Who's there?" feeling.

So I just spent some time reading my dear friend and former college roommate Andrea's blog, and it made me really happy to read all about her and her cute family. But it also made me aware that something is missing from my own mothering, and I hope I can find a way of recapturing that. Andrea is one of the funnest people I know, and honestly, I used to be the other most fun person that I know. But I don't feel much like that same person anymore. I think Ive let some of the stresses of life get me down, and I don't know how to shake it sometimes. There is so much joy to be had and shared with those we love, but sometimes it feels so elusive. It's definitely something to think about and work on.

Family Park Evening

New Houseguests

New foster cats we picked up today. Mama is the silver tabby, and I got 3 of the 4 kittens photographed. I didn't get any decent photos of the little black tabby, though. The kittens are about five weeks old, and the mother was a stray that someone was feeding and they brought them in to be adopted. Three of the kittens have mild eye infections, so hopefully we'll get those cleared up soon. And we have to think of names!

I love Dilbert

These are from June, but they crack me up. Especially the first one, I have it on my fridge.





Just to be clear, I love the irony of these strips. I do not hate the earth. Not even a little.

Put the book down and step away...

A day after finishing book 7 of Harry Potter, I picked up New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series, by Stephenie Meyer, which I finished last night. While I don't think they are quite as engaging as the HP books, they are enjoyable. Who doesn't love a bit of vampire fiction? But in reading over 1,000 pages since last Friday, I've realized that a good book is like a drug for me. I'd rather read it than anything else. Which means that the house looks like several small tornadoes hit and my sleep schedule is way off. Gratefully, I don't have anything else as engaging to read until Meyer's next book Eclipse comes out in a couple of weeks. Maybe I can catch up on the rest of my life in the meantime.

what is "good times, noodle salad"?

I like movies, generally, but I particularly enjoy a movie that captures a certain reality of the human existence. Often I find this element in foreign films, but occasionally a hollywood flick does it as well. One such movie is "As Good as It Gets" (which I would italicize rather than use quotation marks, but for some reason my italicize option has disappeared...). I love the odd, messy lives of the main characters and how they can't quite get their lives to match what is supposed to be the American Dream. They are three people who never would have chosen to be together, but whose lives intersected and they are left to figure out how to salvage themselves. So when the characters played by Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson and the other guy whose name I am too tired to look up, go on a road trip, Nicholson is forced to sit in the back seat but is desperately trying to keep the attention and win affection from Hunt. Other guy is talking about fond memories and favorite activities, and Nicholson interrupts and ends with "Good times, noodle salad." To me, the phrase represents the messiness of life, and even though things frequently don't turn out the way we hoped, there are still a lot of good times to be had. And noodle salad.

And another time I'll share the short tale of how Noodle came to be called such.

FINISHED!

I'd have finished earlier, but took a few hours off to get the kids from their grandparents, to run errands, and eat dinner. But I'm finished!

Got it!

After dinner last night, then to the movies to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we headed to Borders to await the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I purchased my copy at precisely 1:06 a.m. I read the first chapter in the car, another after we returned, and have read a couple more chapters so far this morning. I'm sure I'd get through it much faster if I didn't have pets/kids/bodily functions. In spite of my desire to know what happens, I'm sad to be reading the final installment. It's not too frequently that something comes around that grabs as many people as Harry Potter has. And last night at the book release I saw the woman who gave me the first book seven years ago, and I was hooked. I thanked her for introducing me to Harry, and she said she thinks she must have given that book to just about everyone she knows.

I'm being careful to avoid any spoilers, but I figure my blog is a safe place.

Six Years

Six years ago today I married my best friend. It was even a Friday, beautiful and sunny just like today. It was a perfect day, and a lot of fun, too. I'm so glad that he's still my best friend and he still makes me laugh and smile everyday.

Tonight we'll leave the kids with their grandparents and then eat at The Bombay House (YUM!) before heading over to the Harry Potter party to pick up book 7. Fun times!

At the River

The kids invented this game called "Skating" while we were at the river on Monday and certainly seemed to enjoy it! My appreciation of the beauty around here has been renewed lately. I think it was sparked by having friends come from around the country as I tried to think of ways to showcase my "hometown" in 2 1/2 days. As much as I never thought I'd want to call this place home, I'd only planned to get educated and get out, I can't deny that I find it to be among the beautiful places where I've spent time. I remember coming to visit older siblings as a child and being absolutely amazed at the closeness and the starkness of the mountains. I was used to seeing mountains in the distance from my home in Idaho, but nothing like this. I guess like everything that you have everyday, you too often take it for granted.

My big brother

Here's a photo of my brother Dave with Noodle at the family reunion. She was a bit spooked at first, being up so high. He's 6'9".

I'm hooked!

My brother, one of the leading geocachers in Utah, lent me his GPS unit for the weekend while our friends were in town. We found 3 caches then, and went out to find another this evening for family home evening. It is really fun, and I can see myself really getting into it, once we get our own GPS unit, of course!

Here's a picture of Spud showing off one of the treasures from a cache yesterday.

So much fun!

I took Noodle, Spud & Curlylocks (the 3 year old girl we babysit) up the canyon today for a picnic. I'm amazed at how much little kids will eat when you make it fun for them! Curlylocks ate four sandwich quarters without even stopping for a drink! Usually it's like pulling teeth to get her to eat ANYthing! After lunch, we went over to the river and happily it was a really shallow area, so they could wade around quite freely, as long as their feet could stand the cold snowmelt-fed river. We moved a couple of wood pallets over there, and they used them as their "docks," which made it easier to hop in and out of the water. Near the end, Curlylocks spotted a little snake, so I grabbed it and we had fun playing with it for 20 minutes before letting it continue on its merry way. It was really a fun time, and I think I'll make a point to go up there more often. And it was at least 10 degrees cooler than down here, so that was an additional plus.

I forgot to pack my camera, though, so no photos this time.

8 Thumbs Up!

We just got back from Ratatouille and it was fabulous. I highly recommend it. Fabulous story, beautiful "art", and RATS! What more could a person want?

Four Happy Homes

I asked about Captain Jack and heard back today that he was adopted a couple of days after his sisters, they just forgot to call me. So, HOORAY! It makes me happy to know that I was able to give them a good start in life. We'll probably get another group of kitties at the end of this month or early next month, if they need us.

Just heard today...

...that Peanut was adopted on Saturday! Yippee!!

Family Fun!

We had a Family Reunion with my parents & siblings & their children last week up at Downata Hot Springs in Downey, Idaho. It was a lot of fun and a great break from routine. On Friday we did a slew of games, including sack races, water balloon tosses, push-up contests, and more. The push-up contest involved David & two of my nephews each having a kid on their back and doing as many push-ups as they could. David won, with 18, I think. My nephews both got one less, which was pretty impressive as they had to keep up with my SIL counting them out. After the contest, a bunch of the kids dog-piled David.