MILESTONE

Today I turned the big "FIVE--OHHHH"! Yep, that's right.

My Mom sent me a birthday card about some off the things that weren't happening 50 years ago when I was born. ROTARY DIAL vs. CELL PHONEs and then the Cell phone thing was about getting one call from jail--then off to your cell. SURFING was on WAVES and in WATER not looking things up on the internet, computers started out being the size of ginormaous room in a building to something you can carry and put on your lap....blah, blah, blah! I could go on, but unfortuanatley I am 50 and I can't remember where I put that blasted card.

Things happening in 1960: John Kennedy was elected President of the United States, the First Birth Control Pills were released to the public, Alfred Hitchcock's, Psycho, was released in the theaters, the premiere of the Flintstone's, And the Twist was made popular by Chubby Chequer. Aliminum cans were released for the first time, Ben Hur hit the big screen, the first Atomic Bomb was released in the Sahara Desert, and finally the Weather Satellite and Pacemakers were invented.

That was quite the year.

Most days I can remember anything and everything, afterall there is a 30 year old mind trapped in this 50 year old body that on most days (yes it is my fault) feels 75or older.

It has been rumored that 50 is the new 30, so if I punt or at least lift my foot off the ground I can attempt to be at least 40!!! Oh to be forty again (sigh).

But seriously:

I have to be truthful about this day. It has quite possible been on of the most depressing days I have had in awhile. Not to mention the last 4 months. I haven't bawled this hard for weeks. I haven't been this depressed in days.
It has nothing to do with the number of years that I have been around.

All I can say at this very moment is--I can only hope and pray that next year is a much better year than this past year and that 50 brings more joy--or at the very least--a better outlook to the future!

SILENCE IN SEATTLE (NO REALLY!)

I have a great friend that works for an airline company that kindly gave me a buddy pass to go to Seattle (actually Sequim and Port Angeles on Bainbridge Island) to spend Thanksgiving with Keith's family.
I got quite a bit of rest and relaxation and much needed peace an quiet.
I was actually good for me to be with them, although there were only five of us, but they are my favorites!
It was a bit stressful getting out of Long Beach to Seattle because of the "BIG, BIG" storm that shut down the city of Seattle with 3 inches of snow--in Port Angles they had 6!!!
But once I got there--all was well.
We visited the "Twilight" town of Forks for any of you Twilight fans. Personally, I have never read the book, so it was just a drive and few pictures for my niece! But the Washington country is absolutely beautiful--there is no wonder that it is called the Evergreen State!
Our nephew, Bill (Billy for family),is stationed in the Coast Guard there on the CUTTYHUNK--yep it's really true (it's the name of an island off of New Jersey somewhere.)
We spent a few hours at the Coast Guard Station where I got some great pictures--the wind was cold and straight out of Canada--which you can see directly Norht of the Coast Guard Station. If the water weren't so cold, you could probably swim there faster than you can drive because of having to catch the ferry!
I love Seattle--It is one of my favorite cities, however, it is nice to be home!

THEY ARE BACK

This is just for me to vent--and I have been doing a lot of that lately. Especially the past 2 1/2 months, but also a lot this past week!
Kassie and RJ have arrived home and I am done in! I am to old for this full-time mothering.
We once had a patient at Dr. Reiser's office say that being a mother was "SO DAILY" and it was only her first baby! How did other women make it through the day, week or even month. Well, it is daily and in the past eight days, I have had at least one child with me--generally two and sometimes three. I got RJ's mother to come up and watch them for an hour while I went to the grocery store. Isn't that pathetic that one hour seems like a week when you have cabin fever?
I don't really have a lot of patience with children, but I lose my patience a lot more when Austin comes home from school and starts picking fights with Ashlynne and then the crying and whining begin. He listens so well in class and helps the teacher a lot. He also ought to know better than pick a fight with her, because, like Genette (and still like Genette), Ashlynne fights back and can sometimes get the best of him.
I have tried reasoning, bribery, threats, reverse psycology, you name it I have tried it, and still he is ruthless.
Then there is Andrew! Man this kid has really done me in---I really don't remember Austin and Ashlynne being so needy at 2 years old. Maybe because he is the third child that neediness takes over. But he is tough on me and I just want to crawl in a hole somedays without this child--even though I love him. I maintain that he is possessed. He is a little demon. He gets mad, he will head butt you, you tell him no and he will haul off with a nice punch or slap to the face--sometimes he tries to cratch out your eyes--but he is so cute, but at near-fifty he is wearing me out far too fast.
Ashlynne is a little prima-dona. She will sing all the songs, dance all the dances, all while watching herself in the mirror. If she spots lipstick--it has to go on at least ever 2 minutes and she is constanlty checking out the placement of said lipstick in the mirror. I really hasn't helped much in the past week that she now has a "boyfriend", she is much worse when sheknows she is going to see him!!!
Now to Kass and RJ--They cam home, talked to the kids for about 20 minutes, went to their room, started to argue and ignored their children for another 30 minutes, came out to put them to bed and now I can say--it's great to have them home. It is such a peaceful, restful, spiritually enlightening downer when they are home. The sad thing is that it is those three adorable children that suffer and there is no changing them. They are both as stubborn as jack-asses and neither will give in.
So now I have bented and vitched.....I can go to bed in my own bed that I haven't felt in over a week!

BEFORE AND AFTER

Did I mention that I have had these kids for eight days in a row and one or more at my side, or at least in the near vicinity of my side, while their mother and father did a "pseudo honeymoon" in Cabo San Lucas.

Ashlynne's hair did turn out cute, thanks to that adorable 6 year old brother of hers. I actually laughed about it when it happened. I am not so sure mom and dad are going to feel the same. I know her Grandma Cindy was none to happy about the cutting of the locks. FYI: Mom and dad don't know about the damages yet, so this will be very interesting when they arrive home tomorrow night to see the biggest damage of the week--unless of course the house burns down or a tree falls into the house form the wind! Let's just pray that this all doesn't happen!!

Other things that have happened this week are: Andrew threw a heavy toy at me on Monday and bloodied my lip and it was fat for 2 days. Austin wasn't at all happy with me when I told him "NO" the other day when he wanted something---he felt he deserved it because he is Austin and he picked up his plate and threw his food all over the kitchen! (I wonder why I detest sweeping and mopping all the time). Austin and Andrew have both been sick and having all three home during the day yesterday just about did me in! And although Austin was sick with fever, flu symptoms, etc--he certainly didn't act sick!

Ashlynne went on her first official date with the little boy down the street. Andrew is absolutely in love with her and yammers on about her all day to his poor mother, until she finally gives in and gets Ashlynne down to play or takes her with them to the aquarium. They had a great time and he was actually mad at his big brother for talking to her. I told my mother she may have a wedding to attend when she gets home in 7 months!

Andrew's mother and I have been laughing about this for a week--who knew that 4 1/2 years olds could be so enamoured with someone else of that age. He winks at her, fixes his hair for her, is jealous about her--it is so funny!!! I guess I will have to get her to go to church more often if we are planning on a "Temple Wedding". What's the going age these days without having to have parental consent?

there have been other things that have put me over the edge, but these are what stick out right now and that I can think of at 12:00 at night!

Wish me luck that I live through til tomorrow evening! I told Kassie tonight when she talked to the kids on the phone that I was walking out the door as they are coming in. I think I will leaving Dodge as soon as they return--this is just far too much for one near 50 year old to handle!

THE CATS ARE AWAY-THE MICE HAVE PLAYED

This 4 1/2 year old has, or rather had, hair down to nearly her mid-back. Tonight, while I was talking to my sister in the living room, the two big kids, Austin and Ashlynne, were in the kitchen being awfully quiet. A few minutes later, my sister headed for the kitchen and much to her surprise,











This is what she found. Austin, a pair of scissors and a sister without a big chunk of hair from the back and from her side. Andrew and Kelson were just observing the incident as innocent bystanders!
I must say I thought is was rather humorous and I wondered when it was ever going to happen and quite frankly I am surprised it hasn't happened earlier, but of course it had to happen this week while their mom and dad are in sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico taking a belated honeymoon and attending the wedding of one of RJ's cousins.

Needless to say--Ashlynne will be getting a lot more hair cut off tomorrow, thanks to Austin and his not so adequate haircutting skills.

THE BIG "6"

Austin turned 6 on November 2nd. It is very hard for me to beleive that this little guy is now in Kindergarten, learning to read and turning SIX. How time flies!
His party was held on the weekend because all of his family is scatered throughout Davis and South Salt Lake Counties.
We had Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Some came where they had to chase each other and step their tail off. At first I thought is was a new version of Pin The Tail on the Donkey and that RJ had gone just a little mad. The kids loved it though. Even the littlest of children. andrew thought it was great just to run, run, run.
They got to hit the pinata and needless to say that a week after Halloween is not the time to fill your children up on more candy, but that is what they did.
Then it was off for cake and ice cream, presents and home to bed--they were exhausted!!!
Happy Birthday Austin...We love you bunches!!!!!

HARVEST FUN

The day was perfect for a small outing to the Black Island Farms in Syracuse. I bundled Ashlynne and Andrew up and headed North. KoriAnn and Brighton headed South and we met in the middle. It was a trifle windy and a tad bit nippy but we survived.
Ashlynne is our little dare devil who at one point we lost, not that I am a bad grandmother, just that she is faster than I am and outran me to the farm train and was on it and rode around the farm before I could get there. She is quite independent and loves to do things "right now." Not waiting around for her.
Andrew on the other hand likes to explore, but always keeps you within his sites, especially if he thinks something might not seem as nice as he first thought; but then he gets the hang of something and continues on, sometimes having to be pried away and carried off kicking and screaming.








Brighton was definitely ready to call it a day. It turned out to be not such a bad day, a good deal, and I got a free, very large onion and medium carrot out of the outing!
Thanks KoriAnn for inviting us!!!

TOOTHLESS

It was a quiet afternoon at our house last Sunday. I was taking care of a few things down stairs and actually was trying to nap when Ashlynne came barrelling down the stairs.
Ashlynne: Nana, Nana, the Tooth Fairy gets to visit me!
Nana: Why do you day that?
Ashlynne: Because I lost my tooth at Grandma Cindy's.
Nana: Wow, I didn't even know you had a loose tooth.
Ashlynne: I didn't know either. So now what to I do.

I proceeded to get out an envelope and put her tooth in it, address it to the tooth fairy and seal it so the teeny, tiny little tooth wouldn't fall out.
I also told her that in order for the Tooth Fairy to visit, she would have to put the envelope underneath her pillow when she went to bed.

The next morning, she was crying--
Ash: The Tooth Fairy didn't visit me, Nana!
Nana: Why?
Ash: I don't know!
In walks mom with an explanation from the Tooth Fairy.
Mom: Ash, the Tooth Fairy came to my room last night and said she couldn't find your tooth. Where was it?
Ash: I held it in my hand all night long! (she rubbed it so much that the envelope was nearly worn away for the tooth to fall out)
Mom: The Tooth Fairy said she would come back tonight if you put it under your pillow--because magic is in the pillow and that it is the only way that the Tooth Fairy can pick it up!
Ash: Okay, mommy!
The entire time this conversation is going, Ashlynne's eyes are as big as saucers and can't believe that mommy had a conversation with the Tooth Fairy!

All was well the next morning. The Tooth Fairy made her obligated visit---and will be visiting again soon! The tooth right next to it is lose and as it was in June with Austin's teeth it is the same for Ashlynne, too---right down to the same teeth!

14th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

My 14th Wedding Anniversary was spent alone--alone without a husband, but not alone.
Goods friends and family made it bearable.

My day was spent by doing a lot of things to keep my mind off of everything that has happened, but it turns out that is not the way the winds were blowing.

I had had a terrible day the day before--Kassie was angry with me because I am not getting on with my life in the speed "she" thinks I should, so I blew up at her. I was already anticipating a bad day for Tuesday and as it turned out, Monday seems have been a tad bit worse.

Tuesday began with running errands for me and for my mom--bank, store, money transfers for mission, all of the fun stuff you have to do to keep a missionary in the field. After all those errands I ran and got flowers to take to the cemetery. When I arrived at the cemetery, to my surprise, I was met with the headstone that was set that very morning. It is very beautiful, but I was totally caught off guard, as were my tear ducts. I truly didn't expect it to be set for another 2 or 3 weeks.

I met a friend, who like myself, lost her husband (20 years ago and she was 33) and has been a a godsend to me by giving me a lot of wise advice and the nice thing about it is that I can take it or leave it--it isn't going to offend her if I don't do something or change something around a little.

After lunch I ran home and got ready to go to the temple. Keith had wanted to get his mother's temple work done starting at the first of the year--but time got away from both of us and here I was--taking care of it on my anniversary--but oh, what a way to spend it. Not only did we get her work done, but we had her sealed to my father-in-law, to her parents and lastly in this particular mix, we were able to have Keith sealed to his parents with some strings pulled through Salt Lake.



When I asked about having him sealed--in my naive mind I wasn't thinking and was told we had to wait a year after his death just like everyone else. I was thinking because he had a current recommend when he passed away he could be sealed, but apparently this wasn't the case. Then when I called the Bountiful Temple (Keith's choice for his mom) the sister asked me a question about my mother-in-law and why my husband wasn't taking care of this. So I explained everything to her and that he had passed away six weeks prior to this. I was trying to come up with dates I could do this and nothing was working out; so this just seemed to be the right day to have the work done. She then told me that because he was a current recommend holder when he passed away, that all they had to do was call Salt Lake, pull his records, they copied his current recommend. On Tuesday I went into the office and there was my little blue slip waiting and ready for him to be sealed to his parents. Along with these sealings, we were also able to seal my father to his parents and a few of Keith's relatives work was done as well.

It was an wonderful experience and though I cried through a lot of it, I was calm and at peace. I was joined by my adorable niece, KoriAnn, her husband Ben, and my three of my Syndergaard cousin's that live close by. They have all be a great support through all of this. I thank my lucky stars, daily, for the opportunity to be related to all of these wonderful men (and their wives) and grateful that we are all one eternal family.

I have should say that I am grateful for their wonderful mother (and my uncle, who passed away 16 years ago) and their other four siblings and their spouses as well. Without their love, support, and influence in my life--I might be a very empty shell. But they have held me together when I have needed them. I love you all!

To Keith: 4040404040....TEAB!!!