Summer Happenings--Oma and Opa

Oma and Opa hauled their trailer from Arkansas, parked it at Heidi and Josh's house, and spent several days here. Of course there had to be fishing days scheduled--so Opa, Mike, and Deegan loaded the float tubes and other fishing gear and headed up to Matt Warner. Deegan had his "own" float tube tethered to Mike's and the boys enjoyed a day of fishing. Opa and Mike went up another day as well. We had to take pictures of all the fish they brought home.

Sy took a liking to her Opa--it reminded me of how much Heidi was loved by her Opa.

Rural Schools Conference--on Motorcycles

In July, the Utah Rural Schools Association sponsors a conference for educators and administrators. The conference is held for four days in Cedar City concurrent with the SUU Shakespearean Festival. As a Literacy Specialist supporting nine school districts in Northeastern Utah, I am expected to present at the conference.

This year, Mike was able to accompany me to Cedar City. We decided to ride the motorcycles and make this our first multi-day trip. The difficult thing for me was planning my presentations and wardrobe to fit in a backpack and saddlebags. I am used to having a whole car to take "stuff" in, so was a little worried about the space limitations. It all worked out, and was so-o-o-o much fun. I think this trip turned me into a "biker fan." Now I can't get enough of it!!!

After day one of the conference, we rode the bikes up to Brianhead. Wouldn't you know it, part of the road had been chipped with gravel and not yet sealed. Novice bikers and gravel can be a scary combination.

Different day, different location, different land formations.

Kolob Canyon

It seems every time we turned a corner, my breath was taken away by the scenery.

Kolob Canyon

We stopped in Richfield at this little dairy/cafe. Oh my goodness! It is definitely a place to visit again.

I have always appreciated the beautiful world we live in. Seeing it on the back of a motorcycle adds another dimension of awe and wonder. I am so grateful to the Creator for the splendor of this home on Earth, and testify that this was not some random mistake, but a purposeful creation by God.

Random Summer Happenings

Summer has gone by way, way, way too fast! It seems that just a few days ago we were discussing the activities to engage in, and now the time is gone. Work called us back from summer vacation and now our schedules revolve around those obligations.

Much of our summer fun centered around grandkids and family--just the way it should. We are so blessed to have occupations that allow for "Summer Fun."

Random Summer Pics

Deegan and Poppa fixing shelves that Nonna overloaded!!

Root-beer popsicles! Yum!!

Sy put Cheerios between her toes and Taz would lick them until the Cheerios came out. Sy laughed and laughed and would sign for 'more.'

Kisses for Mikie's raccoon, "Crunch."

Deegan helping Poppa with a yearling colt.

Deegan helping out with Emily's yearling. A few minutes later, he was letting this horse experience a rider for the first time. Of course, Poppa is there to make sure everything is safe.

Playing with the hose has always been fun for Dee. As a little toddler, he would chase everyone with the hose, laughing hysterically when we got wet. Bullseye (the dog) chased the water and tried to bite it. Deegan was in heaven trying to play tag with the hose and Bullseye.

Dinos, Tramps, and Pianos

OK, it has been several weeks ago since we had all three grandkids at our house and what a joy it was! With Vi and Roux living in Phoenix we don't get to see them very often. When they do get to Roosevelt, it is party time!

Jumping on the trampoline seems to be a favorite--no matter how often the kids are at our house. Deegan pleads with me to come and jump with him--and he means "jump with him" not just watch! This time Poppa got to do the jumping with all three of the grandkids. Deegan is the expert, Roux the apprentice, and Sy the participating observer.

I love this picture of Deegan! This portrays how he does everything--with enthusiasm and energy!

Dog-pile on Poppa!! Tramp play got a little rough here, so Sy was sidelined for a few minutes.

Sy loves to play the piano and it is amazing to watch her. She doesn't sit and pound randomly at the keys. Instead Sy sits on the bench in perfect performance posture. Then she positions her hands and plays individual notes with each of her fingers. As she plays her face is so intense, as if she is really performing a piece of classical music. Maybe she will be the accomplished musician in the family!

Poppa and I took Deegan and Roux to the Dinosaur Museum in Vernal. No surprise that the little play room was the favorite spot for the boys. I don't think Poppa minded it too much either--nice and cool, comfy chairs, and his two little boys.

Can you find the boys?

The boys insisted this was Manny from Ice Age.

We had lots of fun at the museum. Both boys were running here and there calling out, "Look at this! Come and see this! Whoa! This is so cool!" Keeping up with those two uses up a ton of energy and is well worth it!

Barbie Dreams

As a young girl I loved to play with Barbie dolls. My secret dreams were acted out with Barbie play--the dreams of being a fashion designer, a model, an actress, a singer, a lawyer, doctor, scientist, architect, landscape artist, interior designer, and adventurer. Barbie could do it all, and in my dreams I could too. I wanted to have hair like Barbie, a face like Barbie, her figure, her clothes, her shoes, and her convertible Corvette.

A couple of weeks ago I was dressed up and ready to hit the town (OK, ready to go to church). I slipped on my black patent leather stiletto slides as i was heading out the door and had a flashback to the Barbie days. My Barbie had black stiletto slides just like the ones I slipped into! Wow! I had Barbie shoes!

Quickly my mind went to the shoe section of my closet, and I realized there were more Barbie shoes in my closet! Multiple pairs of those Barbie stilettos lined the shoe shelves in my closet. Black, brown, navy blue, green, purple, and Cheetah print!. Closed toes, peep toes, sandals, slides, and wedges! The shoes I wear because I love how they look--not because of comfort (although if I am not walking miles during the day, I can be comfortable in my Barbie shoes.) In an instant my shoes emerged into a symbol of childhood dreams coming true.

It is silly, but somehow this epiphany of Barbie dreams helped me look at other aspects of my life that are pieces of dreams that have come true. I have a knight in shining armor that rescued me and treats me like a princess. I have beautiful, smart, motivated, healthy, talented, and good children. My grandchildren are the best. I have a professional career. My needs, and many of my wants are met. I am healthy, active, and in a small way adventurous. I have designed clothes for myself and my children. As a teacher and mother, I am an actress--as I teach I have to keep attention focused on me and the instructional content, as a mother I sometimes had to pretend I was unafraid. I have sung to my children, even when they didn't want me to. Decorating a home (with our often very limited budget) would tax the greatest interior designers' abilities, and I have accomplished this. The list goes on--science projects and observations, doctoring the cuts, bruises, and broken hearts, designing and analyzing plans for our home, . . . .

So, maybe my childhood dreams didn't come to pass exactly the way I imagined. I definitely do not have the Barbie hair, face, figure, clothes, or Corvette. But I do have Barbie shoes, and so much more.

Test Drive

No, we are not test driving a new vehicle (yet--we do want to pick up a different truck, though). I have been practicing so I can pass the driving part of the motorcycle endorsement. Last summer I took the written part of the test and have been driving with a temporary endorsement--kind of like a learner's permit. Now, I need to take the driving part of the test. It is so-o-o-o hard! Mikie (son) took me down to the course and walked me through the cone weave, the tight U-turn, the 90 degree left turn, the obstacle portion, and the quick stop. After practicing two hours that evening, I could finally do the 90 degree turn (some of the time), the obstacle portion, and the quick stop.

Mike (husband) and I went down last night, and they had repainted the course and changed things on it! Now I am not quite sure what to do! He still had me practice and I did worse than I did the time before! I don't think I will ever be able to master this. The frustrating part is that you have to do things on the course that most people will never be required to do in real-life. On top of that, Utah changed the law a couple of years ago for the endorsement requirements. A person used to be able to pass the course test on any size bike and get their license. So a person could drive the course on a tiny 250 (which is fairly easy to do) and have the endorsement. Now in order to drive a bigger bike, you have to pass the course on a big bike--and it is not that easy to do. Even Mike, who has been riding motorcycles since he was a kid, said parts of the test are a little tricky on a bigger size bike.

Next week my temp license expires. I will either be celebrating or . . . . . . . .

Wish me luck, I will need lots of it!

Empty Nest

Why is it that everyone is so excited about the kids growing up and moving out? I admit that I looked forward to that day, but now that the day is here I can't stand it. With the kids at home there was always something to do, someone to talk to and care for, and the feeling that I made a difference in the home. Yes, the difference may have only been that the laundry was done, the grocery shopping taken care, or food was on the table--but it counted for something. The house was filled with emotions, busyness, and purpose. And though we didn't always have the "Brady Bunch" sweetness and everything is fine moments, we did have good times and plenty of those special times when everything feels right.

I was watching "Failure to Launch" last night with Mike. At one point the mom in the story made the comment that having her son move out and leaving just her and her husband scared the **** out of her. She then went on with her fears of "what if we don't like each other any more?" and so on. When I first watched the movie a couple of years ago, these comments didn't even register. Now, I so know what she means.

I don't know how to be with "just Mike." What are we supposed to do? What do we talk about? How do we live with just the two of us? It doesn't seem like we should be hiding in different rooms, in books or movies, or in work-related projects. I can't get used to not having others around to fill the voids or give me purpose--so, I am lost--really lost in this new, and disappointing phase of life.

If any of you have suggestions on dealing with this, please pass them on. I really don't know how or what to do with this "empty nest" stage.