The World According To Shelley

Time is Flying!

2009-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

School has started and we're crazy busy. Zac is a sophomore and playing football. He is really doing well. It's fun to see him enjoy himself so much. Megan is now a freshman in high school. She is enjoying it, but thinks it way hyped too much. She is playing soccer on the JV team. She is having a great time. Camille is in 7th grade and loving it. She lives for school. She is also busy with soccer. Her team, the Storm, is playing in a premier league. That means half of our games are at home and half are in Portland. Between the girls soccer and Zac's football, we have 7 weekends in a row in Portland. I'm so tired of that drive! But they are all having a great time. Here are some pictures of the girls the first week of school.

Fun Times

2009-08-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

August has been an amazing month. We celebrated both Megan and Camille's birthdays this week. Megan turned 14 and Camille turned 12. Both girls asked me to make them birthday cakes. Megan wanted a cake of Smurfette's Cottage and Camille's in the shape of a Converse tennis shoe. It proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. After a collapse and a total remake of Camille's cake, I was able to finish it for her birthday. Megan's cake also was finished on time, but not the quality I had hoped. I was so sick of fondant that I just threw hers together. But they looked alright and tasted very good! Megan did not have an official party, but did have a few friends over to swim and have cake. After her 13th birthday, I don't host a party for them until they turn 16. But, with Camille turning 12, she had a party. Finding a theme for Camille's parties has always been difficult. She is just a unique girl. She always ends up with a swim party. Well, this year I heard about a place an hour from Grants Pass that has a zip-line course. That is so Camille. Well, Camille and 8 of her friends along with Megan, Kylee and myself headed out to give it a try. It was a blast! It was totally the perfect place for Camille! I haven't seen her have that much fun in a long time. It was worth the money, for sure. I just have to keep convincing William of that! Every year, Camille asks for the same things for her birthday. She asks for books, socks and candy. Well, she did as for a bookcase for Christmas. William and I were stumped as to what to get her this year. We found the perfect gift! We bought her an hour in a private plane with an instructor. She loved it! Camille is determined to join the Air Force and become a pilot. She has asked us for permission to join the Civil Air Patrol. She took William along with her and took her flight today. She had an instructor who allowed her to take over the controls at take off! She helped get the plane in the air and flew the airplane for the whole hour by herself. He helped her with her airspeed upon approach, but she landed on her own! She is in heaven! She has one hour of 40 down to get her license! Megan chose not to go and stay on the ground with me. For her birthday, Megan asked for a new set of scriptures. So, I bought her a new leather-bound quad with her name engraved, along with a super cute case. She was thrilled. She also got a lot of clothes, like usual! The girls are excited for school to start. I can't believe that Megan will be in high school and Camille will start 7th grade. They are growing up too fast! But, they are good girls and I am a lucky mom!

Lake Shasta

2009-06-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

We just returned from Lake Shasta. We joined my sister Sara and her family for several days of fun and sun! Spending time on the house boat is always a lot of work, but so much fun! When we arrived, a friend from high school and his kids had joined Sara and Chris. It was fun to see him and meet his kids. He and Chris went home Sunday evening and William had to leave Monday for work. So, that left me and Sara and our kids for a few days. Sara assumed the role of driver and I, of course, was the flagger! There were 2 tubes, each could fit 3 kids. It was perfect, because we had 6! Three boys and three girls. Plus, they are all close in age to another, so that made it easy to balance the weight. There would be 2 girls and a boy on one tube, and two

boys and a girl on the other. So, Megan, Anna and Brad on one and Camille, Zac and Tanner on the other. Sara is one crazy driver and the kids loved it! On Wednesday, my brother Ed and his wife Bethany brought their 4 little ones down for the day. That was fun too! Thanks Sara and Chris (and Linda) for sharing your vacation with us! We had a blast!

Piano Recital

2009-06-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

The girls had a piano recital a couple of weeks ago. They have only had a handful of lessons this year. With school and sports right after school, they need to have their lessons in the evening. I haven't been able to find someone who can teach then. Heidi, my friend and wonderful teacher has been very patient and flexible with them. Let's hope I can find someone for evening lessons!

Summer is Here!

2009-06-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a while. Quick update on the family. Megan is officially out of middle school and will be a freshman next year. Gasp! She is excited to be out of 8th grade, but nervous for high school. She loved attending the 8th grade dance with her friends. She had a harder time this year.

It was especially hard with finals. The first week of school, many of her teachers told them that to keep ALL of their notes from the entire year because they would have to turn in textbooks 2 weeks before school was out, but that their finals would be the last week of school. Well, Megan was out of school for the first 10 days with her appendix, so she missed those little talks. So, as the year progressed and she cleaned out her notebooks, she tossed old notes. Well, finals came and she had nothing to study from. All of her teachers but one allowed her to copy chapters for the textbook. The one teacher that told her that this was a responsibility lesson gave her a study guide. But she had no book or notes to study from. So, for the first time she completely bombed a test and dropped her trimester grade by a whole letter. Megan had her first B on a report card with a 89.4. in that class. It was very traumatic for her. It meant that she was ineligible for the 4.0 club and any awards that come with that. She was so sad. Camille is thrilled to be done with 6th grade and now will not be the "new kid" in middle school. She is looking forward to 7th grade. She did very well in her math class. She had an A+ which thrilled her! She is very competitive and this particular class is an 8th grade math. She is excited to have Algebra next year and loves that in 8th grade she will have to attend the high school for her math class. Zac will be a sophomore next year. His first year in high school was challenging for him. I wish he would spend as much time on home work as he does on his social life. But he finished, I think, with mostly A's and B's. It was harder than he anticipated playing sports and balancing his classes. He missed a lot of school in the afternoons to travel with the basketball team. He missed a few of his core classes and had a hard time recovering. He is going to get all of his core classes in the morning next year (hopefully). William and I are busy as ever, with what, I don't know. His work is interesting right now. I am busy with the girls and all of the summer things. We are excited to go to Utah for Angie's wedding. She is Troy's youngest sister and the last of the Johnson's to marry. We are excited for her. Troy's cousing Andrea is also marrying a neat guy named Chris while we are in Utah. The whole family should be there. It will be a blast to see everyone from both sides of the family. Megan is looking forward to EFY and Camille is excited to attend her first YW Girl's Camp. Crazy but excited summer.

New Blog

2009-04-28T21:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, in addition to my blog about the comings and goings of my family, I have created an additional blog. It's more like therapy. Here's the link www.weirdwalmartstories.blogspot.com

Read and share your stories, too.

I hope you enjoy.

A Week Away From The World

2009-04-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

William and I just returned from our annual cruise to the Caribbean, sans children. We had a wonderful time. Our friends, the Huddlestons, went along too. This was our third cruise together as couples. William and I had decided that with the economy, we wouldn't take our trip this year. But, as time went on, and William becoming more stressed with work, I knew he needed to get away. Well, the only place that he can really get away is somewhere he has no cell service. There are no cell towers in the middle of the ocean. (I was unaware that ships now had them on board). We cruised the Eastern Caribbean, again. We have done that route three other times, but it is our favorite, next to Southern. We did switch it up again and try a new cruise line. We always cruise on Royal Caribbean, but tried Princess this year. Without going into detail, I can safely say that we will never try it again. Aside from the ship, we had a wonderful time. William was so relaxed. We loved

all of our stops, but especially enjoyed St. Thomas. We usually take the ferry across to St. John, but this time we tried a beach right on St. Thomas, Sapphire Beach. Heidi and I had

both heard great things about this beach. The snorkeling was great and it was very pretty. That island is always so clean. Most of the islands are so dirty. We did enjoy St. Maarten. We went to Orient Bay. It's a great beach with excellent food. It is on the French side. So, the beach was....interesting, but funny. We stopped in Tampa on our way out and back to visit my grandparents. When I took the girls to see them in February, William didn't go. He hasn't seen them since our honeymoon. We had a great time with them. We were gone for 11 days. We were extremely blessed that Troy's youngest sister, Angie, came and stayed with the girls. They loved it. Camille loved the fact that she looked like somebody. Angie has the same freckles all over as Camille. Everyone would comment on how much family resemblance they saw between them. Plus, their personalities are very similar. Megan felt a little out of place. She is very social and talkative, but found herself with two bookworms and quiet girls. She got to live a little of Camille's life for a while. When I am home, Megan and I are talking, a lot. It was good for her. We loved having Angie here. She is a great woman. I have to say woman because she is 25 now. Thanks Angie, for taking two weeks away from your life to spend with two crazy girls!

Spring Break in Utah

2009-03-31T08:58:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Utah last week. We started the week at my sister Stacey's home. It was my nephew's birthday. Hayden turned four. It was a ton of fun. We went to Boondock's and a place called Jump-on-It. It was a warehouse filled with trampolines. Camille was in heaven! I will try to get photos from Stacey and post them. I was able to have lunch with a dear friend, Julie. She and her husband were in the same ward and me and Troy. We met when Megan was just a baby. I was so happy to see her. We also had the opportunity to have dinner and go bowling with our friends Tana and Craig Davis and crew. They lived in Medford when I moved home. Tana was my Visiting Teacher. We became good friends. They left Medford several years ago and are now settled in Heber City. They are a great family. Our kids are around the same ages so they all had a great time! We went skiing on three days. One day with Matt, another with Jonas and the final day with Shera and her family. It was a blast. The snow was perfect. Troy's parents arrived from the D.R. Thursday night. They came a few days early to see us. They needed to be in Utah for General Conference and meetings this week. We were so happy that they came early to see us! We had such a great time with them. Shera's family and our family, stayed in Grandma and Grandpa's new house. There was plenty of room for all of us, and a little more. The kids enjoyed spending time and playing games with them.

I love it that the girls get that time with Troy's family. It was especially good for Camille. She really needed to feel like her dad was a real guy and not someone I just tell her about. Being with his family and seeing his pictures all over the house, helped her feel like she has roots. We spend Saturday on Temple Square and at the History Museum. We had a great time! Saturday evening, the girls, Troy's mom, Angie and I all went to the General Young Women's Conference. It was wonderful! We were sitting very close (thanks Pop for the great seats!). The girls could see everything. They were both so excited to see the YW leaders and the Prophet. The meeting was fantastic and the girls really enjoyed it. Megan is so hopeful that the YW

in our ward will do a hike and "unfurl their banners for

Virtue". Anyway, we drove home to Oregon on Sunday, after 9 days in Utah. We were sad to leave everyone. Time went too quickly. I am excited to go back to Utah in a couple of months when Stacey has her baby! It will be good to see everyone again and those that I missed.

Our New Family Member

2009-03-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's time for an update. I am sure it will be long, so be patient! I have been so busy doing nothing. At least it feels that way. We got a new puppy. I am crazy, I know! His name is Jasper and he is the same breed as Simon. His mother was a cockapoo and his dad was a poodle. He was the smallest of his litter, like Simon. They both look very different from a traditional cockapoo. He has been a good friend to Simon. They love to play and run around. It has really helped with Simon's level of excitement. Jasper, for the most part, has been pretty good about house training. It is work, but he is getting better. My brother, Robert, helped me to find Jasper. Cockapoo's are hard to find here. Especially because I wanted a small, under 10 lbs as an adult, dog. Megan and many extended family members have allergies to pets. Cockapoos are wonderful for that. They do not shed and are hypo-allergenic. They do not have fur, they have hair. We found him at a breeder about 4 hours away. She was kind and met us half way. Simon really responds to Megan the best. He sleeps with her every night and waits for her to come home from school. Around 3 o'clock everyday, he goes to the garage door and jumps. He knows it's time for me to leave for the school. Camille was felt very rejected. Zac has Max, our cat and now Simon only wanted Megan. Well, William came home one day after seeing a puppy and

told me how we should get one. I adamantly refused! But, I saw the look on Camille's face when she called for Simon and he ran past her to reach Megan. She now has the pleasure of taking care of Jasper. She has been very good, except the one night she slept through his whining and needed to go out. That was a fun one to clean. Ugh, she slept through that as well! She must have been very tired. Megan has started track again at school. Last year she ran the 3000 meter. She didn't know what it was when she signed her name for the event, but it sounded fun. When she realized it was 8 1/2 laps, she cried. I remember to well the first few meets when she would cry and beg me to let her quit. But, by the end of the year, she was able to finish the race in under 13 minutes. That was her personal best. I was very proud of her. She started the year at 17 minutes, (she walked a lot). Well, this year I asked her what even she signed for, and she said the 3000! She was excited. She explained that she was in the best shape for soccer last year and had better endurance. She knows that speed is not her best event, so she went for distance. She even had a couple of friends convinced to run with her! What a difference a year makes! Now, the hard part has been finding good running shoes for a girl with small feet. Kid's tennis shoes are not designed for long running and adult shoes are very hard to find in size 5 women's. But, with many hours on-line, I was able to find a good pair of running shoes in her size. I know this will help her knees feel better. (thanks shera). Camille just finished basketball. She was on nice team that struggled. They lost in the playoffs, 27-28. Camille had 16 of the points. She did well, but it's a little embarrassing. I wish they would make a play around someone else! Too much pressure for her. She feels it too deep. But now that basketball is over, soccer has begun! Both girls are excited to start the season. This will be Megan's last year in soccer. She has decided to not play in high school. Her course load is very heavy and she doesn't think she can do both. I am a little sad, but I know that in the long run, it's the best. She loves playing but is kind of over the competition. She has traveled with her team for 4 years and just wants to play for fun. Zac just finished up his basketball season as well. His team really struggled, but he had fun. It was fun to watch him play in a high school jersey. I hope he will play next year too! In a couple of weeks William and I are taking the kids to Utah for spring break! We hope to ski for 2 or 3 days, spend time with my family and just have fun. Near the end of that week, Dan and LeAnn will come from the D.R. and we will get to see them for a couple of days. The kids are so excited! We were planning to spend much time with them in July, but it's not looking so good. Both girls have Girl's Camp the second week of July. We were hoping Megan would get into EFY the last week of July. If so, we could head to Utah just after camp and spend time with them before she went to EFY, but she was accepted to a date in August, the 10-16th. We'll just have to see how it works out! Okay, that's enough rambling for a while. Time to take Jasper outside.

Home Again

2009-02-18T11:28:00.001-08:00

The girls and I just returned from an amazing visit with my grandparents in Florida. My father's dad and step-mom. They were married when my dad was in high school, so she is my grandma. She is amazing. My grandpa was a B-17 pilot in WWII and spent about a year in a POW camp in Germany. He had a stroke when he was 49 years old, just six years after he married my grandma. His stroke left him paralyzed and his communication has been difficult. She has cared for him for the 40+ years they have been married. She is an incredible woman. She loves him so much and takes such sweet care of him. A couple of years ago, he had another stroke, this one leaving him too weak to be at home with her. So, he is living in a VA facility in Tampa, Florida. She visits him and takes him clean clothes everyday. He is able to come home and spend the day with her, in their home, on Saturdays. We had such an amazing visit with them. What wonderful peoplee. I have seen them only 3 times since high school. Our communication has decreased since my dad died. My sister and brother's and their families, along with my mom, all flew to Tampa to spend some time with them. The girls and I stayed the whole time in Tampa and spent everyday with him. He is in a wonderful facility. I was worried and scared about him being in a "nursing home", but this particular facility is gorgeous. It is a VA campus located on the bay in Seminole. He looks out his window and can see the bay. The facility is very well cared for and maintained and so clean. It was touching to see how the nurses care for him so kindly. This particular facility

is for "short term" rehab patients, but because he is permanent-disability and a former POW, he gets to stay there.
While we were in Tampa, the group decided to para sail. And yes, I went too. Even Camille and Megan tried it. It was a lot of fun. The girls had a great time playing at the beach with their cousins. So much fun! We had a wonderful trip, (except the flights home). I am so blessed to have grandparents this wonderful. I can't wait until William and I will see them again in April. The weather was perfect! What a pretty place to be.

2009-01-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

I am taking a cake decorating class. It is so much fun, but I am not very good. A sweet lady from church is teaching the class in her home. I go once a week. It's really fun. Today we learned to make flowers on a flower nail. Let's just say that you couldn't tell what type of flower I had made. I have enjoyed shopping for new tips. The class does not cover working with fondant, but I wanted to try it anyway. For my first time, my cake turned out okay. I need to get some pointers from anyone who has worked on it before. It just looks so pasty and dry. Is there a trick to keeping it shiny? My hands are sore from kneading in the color. Ugh, I didn't know it was so hard at first. I have a hard time piping straight lines and writing, especially today. I am always a little shaky, but today it was a little worse than normal. Normally, in the course of my day, my shaking doesn't' really interfere. But, when trying to make a small straight line with icing, it was really bad. I had intended to outline the dots with white royal icing, but I couldn't do it. Even my small dots today are a little bumpy. Oh well, I guess Fondant was made for me. Maybe, if I continue to work in my fine piping lines, I will be able to compensate somehow. I have been baking a lot. The kids love it! Only because they each have a high metabolism! It has been so much fun learning something new. Maybe by the time the girls birthdays roll around, I will be able to make a gorgeous cake! Other than that, everything else in Oregon is moving along. The girls are doing well in school. We are excited for our upcoming trip to Florida. The girls and I are going to visit my grandfather. He is a having a hard time and the girls haven't seen him in nearly 8 years! William and I saw him about 5 years ago. We leave on the 10th of February. I would love any tips on fondant! Send them my way!

Has it been that long?

2009-01-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

Time is flying by so quickly. I can't believe it's been so long since my last update. I will give you a quick run down of the last month. New Years has come and gone. I can't even remember what we did that night. Oh well, I am sure it was fun. We have been skiing/snowboarding a few times. William and Camille ski, Zac snowboards and that left me and Megan. I have skied on and off since high school and Megan has skied just a few times. She wanted to try snowboarding and I agreed to try with her. I will just say this, I have never been so sore! For a girl that picks up most things fairly easily, this was a tough one. I may have done better if Megan had not been with me and I had been able to just worry about myself. I spent several hours on my rear. So, the next time we went, I was back on my skis. Megan stuck with snowboarding and is doing very well. It has been a lot of fun spending the weekends together. The weather has been gorgeous. But,we need more snow! The girls don't have school on Friday, maybe the three of us will go ski a half day. Life is busy and fun. Yesterday, William and I spoke in church. Megan was the youth speaker. It was the first time, since I was married to Troy, that I had been asked to speak in church. We have been in this ward for 6 years. I have made it nearly 10 years without having to speak! I was more nervous than I could have imagined. So strange for me to be nervous about talking! I think it went well. William gave a beautiful account of his conversion. I was so proud of him. It was like he spoke in church often. Megan gave a wonderful talk on this year's Mutual Theme and what she can do to embrace it.

I am anxious about the inauguration tomorrow. I hope everyone is safe. My nephew, Brad, is attending it with a student group. He and Megan are the same age. I am so excited for him to have this experience but pray that he is safe. I am sure he will have a fantastic time!

Blessed, I am

2008-12-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone. The tree is down and most of the decorations are packed

away. Now, if I could just get the girls to organize their bedrooms! We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family and love. We spent Christmas eve with William's family. Ashley, William's daughter, came too! It was nice. We enjoyed watching my little niece, Camdyn, open her presents. I finally made a successful prime rib dinner. Don't ask how I could mess it up. The kids all opened gifts and we had a wonderful time. My brother Robert came with his son Gavin to spend the night and enjoy Christmas morning with us. It is so much fun to have little kids around on Christmas. The kids and grown-ups all enjoyed the gifts. We had my family up on Christmas day. It was a ton of fun and my shoulders are still sore from playing our new Wii game. Yesterday, my brother Ken and his family arrived from Denver to visit for a few days. We all gathered at Sara's home and had a fun visit. We are going back down this evening. Tomorrow everyone is coming back to my home for dinner and the Bronco game. We have really had a wonderful Christmas. The girls are really starting to understand the real meaning. I am very proud of them. They are beginning to understand the world is so much bigger than them and they have an important role in being kind and giving. In our local newspaper was an article about an older, sick woman who was nearly being evicted from her hotel room and would have no where to stay after Christmas eve. Here is the link-

http://web.thedailycourier.com/eedition/index.html?py=2008&pm=12&pd=23&pb=0&pg=A6

The girls were looking over my shoulder and read the story. As they read about her ailments, and her autism was mentioned, they both got very upset. They are very protective of people with Austim. My nephew, Joshua, who is Camille's age, has autism and they get very upset when someone is unkind to him. The girls brought me the phone and asked if I would call the motel and see if anyone had helped her yet. I called and asked the question and when they heard me say, "no one has", they ran to get my purse. They asked if I would take them by the bank so they could get some money and pay for her to stay for a while. Camille said she was sure she had enough money to pay for a year. (not quite, but I didn't tell her that!) I looked at them and told them they needed to save for college. They were so sad. I then told them that I would pay for them. They were so excited. We quickly drove to the small and dirty little motel 6 where the woman made her home. Camille and Megan walked ahead of me. When we got to the front desk, Camille said we were here to pay for a week for the lady in the paper. It was a really sweet moment. The girls never thought about not doing something. I was grateful for that moment to be able to see my girls, not as fighting and sometimes impatient girls, but as kind and compassionate spirits. They were both very quiet on the drive home. As we pulled into our driveway, I looked at Camille who was very deep in thought. I asked her what she was thinking about. She just looked at our home and told me how grateful she was that she got to live in a warm home. When I asked them why they felt they needed to do something this time, for this woman, when we read so many sad stories, they replied that they were doing what Grandma Johnson would do if she had read the article. I am a lucky, lucky mom.

2008-12-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the girls and I decorated our Christmas Tree. William has been gone so much with work and then tithing settlement today, the girls took charge. We had a fun time hanging our generic ornaments, but it was the best when the girls hung their own ornaments. Troy's parents have given each of the kids an ornament each year since birth and I have done so also. We really enjoyed our walk down memory lane tonight! We saved Zac's ornaments for him to place on the tree himself. I am in hopes William can bring him by for a few minutes tonight. Usually Christmas is my favorite time of year. Our home is usually lit up like the Christmas Vacation (funny movie) house. But this year, it just seems more work than necessary. I haven't even decked out the banisters. I haven't even gotten around to getting my wreath on the front door. Ugh...well I can probably manage that soon enough. We really enjoyed the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional this evening. What a wonderful group of men! I loved the music tonight, too. Here are the pictures of the girls hanging on the ornaments that Grandma and Grandpa sent this year. Flip-flops, so cute. They must have been sent from far away and warm! The ornaments made me want a vacation desperately! I need sun and a beach soon!

Megan & Camille

Our Calendar Page 2008

2008-11-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

Twilight Movie

2008-11-18T12:14:00.001-08:00

I am officially the coolest mom, according to Megan and her friends in middle school. Not that I need to explain why, but I will. Most of our friends know that my girls and I are fans of the Twilight Series. The movie, based on the book, will be in theaters starting this Friday. I make a joke many months ago about renting out a theater for a midnight showing when it opened. It was originally scheduled to open in December, on a day that happened to be non-school day. Well, they moved the date of release up, and now if falls on a school day. I won't let the girls to the midnight show on a school night. Plus, it is totally sold out. So, true to my word, I rented out a theater, Friday night at 11:30! The girls are so excited! It is actually not very expensive if you can get 35 people or so. If they each pay $6, I break even. Anybody over that, then the theater just charges me per head. Well, word has spread that I have a theater for a "private showing". My phone rings many times a day asking if I still have room. I now have over 75 people coming! Many of them are adults. The ages of those coming are anywhere from 9yr olds to 50yrs+. The theater holds about 200 people, but I just wanted a "small group". I don't want anyone screaming when Edward comes on the screen. I think I will close the party now, it's full enough! It is going to be so much fun. The girls are laughing at all of the kids from school that want to come meet me. I have told the girls that no one is coming that I do not know. I am not dealing with a bunch of random kids at midnight! It's amazing how many "new" friends they have made! I have quite a few friends from church who are bringing their husbands. William is glad that he won't be the only guy there. He wants to check out this "Edward" guy. Maybe I should warn him that the screaming may be similar to when we took the girls to a Hillary Duff concert a few years ago. Ha! He sat there with his ears plugged the whole time! I will just let him figure it out!

It's Over!!

2008-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, now you can all do this with me... breathe! Soccer season is over!! YEAH! Megan's season finished a couple of weeks ago and Camille's season ended on Sunday. Meg's team did not participate in the President's Cup, but Camille's team did. We went to Portland to play the weekend of William's birthday, the 8th. We had a wonderful weekend. Of course, I was able to shop. The girls went to Abercrombie and Zac bought shoes for basketball. I didn't buy myself anything. It was weird, I just wasn't in the mood. The best part of the weekend was when I "gave" William his birthday present. We were in the car driving to breakfast, (so he thought), and I told him to head to the airport. He was so, so excited when he realized that his present was at the airport. I flew Ashley, his daughter, in to spend his birthday weekend with him. Because she lives in LA, we don't get to see her as much as we would like, and this was an excellent opportunity. The girls love spending time with her. But, of course, I didn't take any pictures. We will get some at Christmas. The tournament was hard for the team. This past weekend we played at home. We ended up in 2nd place in our bracket. Only the 1st place team advanced to play in Portland again this weekend for the championship. I was sad for Camille, but thrilled for it to be over. We finally have our weekends free for a couple of months! I wonder what William will fix first? Maybe he'll finish the window in the bathroom, that would be great!

Stay off the Roads

2008-10-29T09:43:00.001-07:00

Well, it's official. Zachary is driving. So scary! He turned 15 on the 12th and that makes his old enough for a learners permit. He studied and William and his mom took him to take his test. Well, he failed. He was so sad, but I was secretly kinda happy. Not that I wanted him to be sad, just that I wouldn't have to let him drive me around town. In Oregon, if you fail a test, you can come and re-take it the next day. Well, Zac did and he passed. He was so excited! He is getting better. It is so strange to be in a car with him while he is driving. So, when you are on the roads in Grants Pass, beware!

Earlier this week, Camille let me straighten her hair for school. She is very particular about her curls, so this was a special treat for me. She has let me straighten it a couple of times for school. One time, she asked me. I think she was in 1st or 2nd grade and was being bothered by some one at school. She asked me if I would straighten it so she could go to school in disguise! I usually flat iron it ever few months to see how long her hair really is and how bad her ends are. So, that was the plan this week. She didn't seem to mind this time as much as in the past. Her friends at school loved it, even a couple of teachers commented. So, take a good look, I don't know when she will let me do it again.

Last night was our ward Halloween "Trunk or Treat". I really, really dislike Halloween. It is so much work! I usually fight with Camille about her costume. I beg her every year to please be a princess or some type of girly costume. She was Raggedy Ann on year, but it's only because I forced her. So, for many years she has begged me to be a hot dog. No, no, no is always my answer. She has been so good this year. Her grades are all A's which is extremely hard this year because they have put her in 8th grade math. She has really been easy, so I gave in. I ordered the costume online and gave it to her as a surprise. I hate it and she loves it! It is totally Camille. Everyone at the party loved it! She was the only hot dog. Megan and her friends all are going as the same thing. We had a very difficult time finding costumes that were not skimpy. They wanted to be super hero's, but as soon as you get in the teen sized the costumes become either strapless, bare midriff, or mini-mini skirts. So, disappointed but modest, they are Josie and the Pussycats.

Spirit Week at North Middle School

2008-10-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

This week is Spirit Week at school. Megan is president of her school, so she got to help decide the days. Today was "Favorite Team" day. Here is just a quick photo of the girls. I thought they looked so cute, plus Camille let me put a little mascara on her today!

Girls Trip to New York

2008-10-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time in New York City. My friend, Joanna and I went to celebrate our 35th birthdays. It was a quick trip, but a ton of fun. We saw two shows together, Legally Blonde and Tale of Two Cities. They were very different, but both good. Legally Blonde was light hearted and funny. Tale of Two Cities was beautiful! It was similar to Les Mis, which is tied for my favorite show with Wicked. I didn't see Wicked on Broadway. I saw it in LA last month with William. Plus, it is coming to Portland and San Francisco. On Saturday night, our last night, Joanna say Mary Poppins while I went to the Bliss Spa. I would have like to see it, but I was just too tired. We spent all three days walking and shopping. The first stop we made was, of course, Tiffany's. The rest of Thursday was spent shopping at the big stores on 5th, Madison, Park Ave. and that area. We had lunch at Serendipity's. Joanna had a frozen hot chocolate. It looked to rich to me. Strange that I would pass up chocolate. I bought a pair of boots as Saks. They are really comfortable and cute! That was my big purchase for the trip. I spent a lot of time looking at handbags, but could never decide, so I bought none. Friday we spent the day in SoHo. That was a lot of fun. Again, we shopped all day! We had lunch in a deli, I can't remember the name, that was neat. They had every kind of food that you could imagine! Yummy. Saturday morning we went to Central Park and went to see the temple. Then we took the subway to Herald Square. We both wanted to go to Macy's. It was huge, but I was very disappointed. It was kinda dirty and way too crowded for me. I much prefer Bloomingdale's or Saks. We both wished there was a Nordstrom. Oh, well. We did spend some time in H & M. That is a fun store. I bought a shirt. It was overwhelming. So many things! By mid-day on Saturday, Joanna and I both had so many blisters on our feet that it was hard to walk. I had blisters starting the first day. Those had already popped and started again. Joanna's poor feet were bloody. Gross, I know, but we looked good! We had a great time! The most funny thing happened while we were in SoHo. We walked into a store and the lady complimented Joanna on her bag. Now, her bag was one I bought her at Target. It was funny because here I was carrying a designer bag and Joanna's was a cheap little bag that got the compliments! Joanna could not stop laughing. It was funny. It was a fantastic trip. What a good use of frequent flier miles and Marriott points. Every girl should have a trip like this! So much fun!

General Conference and such....

2008-10-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Troy's birthday. He would be 37 years old. It seems strange that he has been gone for so long. The girls asked me questions today like, "What kind of cake would you make him?" and "What gift would I give?" The answers were Apple Cake and golf or video game stuff. I probably would have bought him clothes. I have been thinking about him a lot lately. Maybe because of General Conference. This past weekend is one of the few times a year that his parents come to the states. I was sad to have missed watching conference live. I was in NYC on Saturday and on a plane on Sunday. I wished so badly that I could have been bumped off my flight when it landed in SLC. I was only about 10 miles from them, usually they are thousands of miles away. I was also unaware that some family from the colonies was up. I was especially sad to hear that Daniel, Troy's dad, gave the closing prayer in the Sunday Morning session. I understand it was the best prayer in a long time. I haven't heard many comments about what he said. I have heard that it was short, very short! When I talked to Pop about it, he said as he was getting up to pray, they told him he had only 30 seconds. I guess no sleepers in that prayer! He spoke in conference in 2006, but I am sure this was a much easier assignment! Today they were spending time in Provo with Mike and Elizabeth, Troy's brother and wife. They were then going to the cemetery to visit Troy's grave and take him birthday flowers. I am always grateful when that special place is looked after. Whenever we are there, we try our best to get it clean. It needs a power washing. Someday, I will find a way to get it as clean as possible.

Mr. Darcy

2008-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

I guess it can be confirmed that the girls and I are fickle. Move over, Edward, Mr. Darcy is now here.We spent some quality time together watching Pride and Prejudice on Monday evening. We had such a great time together. I love it when it is just us girls. Plus, it reminds me that Megan is still human, and that the alien that has possessed her is not permanent! Megan is now over "Edward" and on to "Mr. Darcy". For the first time, Camille even has a little crush! She got the book the next day and is tearing through it. Megan wants Camille to finish so she may have it next. On Tuesday, I did nothing but spend the day watching the 6 hour BBC version of the movie. Both were fantastic! LOVE IT! The girls and I are going to try to watch all of the movies and read all of the books by Jane Austen. Next up is, Emma.

My New Bag

2008-09-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that I love handbags.

Okay...in LA I bought myself a new bag. I had been looking for a new bag. I have been carrying my old bag for over a year. That is the bag on the left. Love it, but it is super heavy. So, directly from the airport we went to the Beverly Center. William was of course thrilled. There I found a LV and a Burberry store! Heaven. Not to mention it had a Bloomingdale's too! So, I looked for a couple of hours and this is what I found! Doesn't everyone need a new bag for Fall? You can't have a new bag with an old wallet. So, I HAD to get that too. (:

Plus, it will look so pretty on my arm when I am in NYC with Joanna!

NO KIDS ALLOWED

2008-09-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

William and I just returned from a quick trip to Southern California. We had this planned for many months. I had planned to cancel to stay and take care of Megan. Her surgeon told us to go. We were very close by plane and Megan would be home from school, sitting down and watching TV. So, nervously, I agreed to go. Everyone was so excited to get away, especially William. We went to celebrate a friends 40th birthday. We joined about about 10 of our friends, including several couples, and went to Disneyland for a couple of days. The best part was it was adults only! The goal was for everyone to be kids again. Well, William sure accomplished that goal by getting in a spat with Mr. Potato Head. Long, but funny story! William and I went down a day early to spend some time with his family and also to see his daughter, Ashley. She is just finishing school in Santa Monica. We flew in early Wednesday morning. We did some shopping and after lunch, Ashley came to join us. I was on the hunt for some perfect jeans. Thank you, Bloomingdale's. We had a fun dinner and evening with Ashley and William's family. We stayed in a beautiful hotel right on the beach in Santa Monica. We had a perfect view of the beach and also of the pier. Thursday we walked the promenade in Santa Monica. Thursday evening we took Ashley to dinner again and met our friends at Wicked. William and I saw it in November, but Ashley hadn't seen it. It was fun. Friday and Saturday we spent the days at Disneyland and California Adventure. We had a great time with our friends. We rode just about everything. The best part was spending time with William away from the stresses of everyday life. Well, maybe the best part was my new Burberry handbag, with matching wallet, but don't tell him that! We are lucky to have such great friends. William and I are blessed.

High School

2008-09-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

They day has come for Zachary to put on a Grants Pass Caveman football jersey. I know I have said this a thousand times but, when I married William, Zac had just turned 8 and in the 2nd grade. He is now a freshman, playing high school football. It happened so fast. He is doing well and is playing safety and wide receiver. He loves to tackle. These are pictures of him at his first game and of his team coming out together. It is crazy to see them all so big. These are the same boys who used to be shorter than me! It is so exciting!

I Spoke Too Soon...

2008-09-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

A day and a half.... That's the amount of time the kid's had been in school. On Thursday, Megan's second day of 8th grade, I received a phone call about noon. On the phone was Megan's best friend Kylee. I was surprised to hear her voice. I was expecting the voice to be someone from the school, as the caller ID suggested. She said, " I am calling for Megan. She's too scared to call. She doesn't feel well. I know when she is faking and this time I think she is really sick. You should come get her". Great.... I was on my way to my own post-op appt. in Medford. I had about 40 minutes to make the 45 minute trip. I was grateful the school was close. At the school, I found Megan in the office, head between her legs, and crying. She was complaining of a stomach ache. I helped her up and signed her out of school. She was walking like an old lady all hunched over. So, home we went. As I was pulling into the driveway, Andrew, a.k.a Brother and Dr. Pitzak, was getting ready to head with Joanna and the girls to tennis. By this time, I was pretty sure that Megan was really hurting. He came over and looked at her. It is so nice to have your best friends next door, especially when the friend happens to be an MD. After examining her, he said the word I was dreading, appendicitis. I called, Neil, the pediatrician,(Also a good friend), who then spoke to Andrew. Time to call the surgeon, who just happens to be Megan's soccer coach when she was 8 and the father of one of Megan's good friends. I called his house to see if he was the on-call surgeon. If he was not, then I would take Meg to Medford. We were in luck. We were off to get labs.

If you don't already know this about Megan, she is deathly afraid of needles. If you have ever seen the old Airplane movie with the hysterical woman who gets slapped, that's what Megan is like. So, getting the blood was a ton of fun. The results showed that her white count was way up. We headed to Brett's office to have him look at her. Much better than the emergency room. It turns out a virus that mirrors and appendicitis was going around. So, we needed to wait to let the pain localize a little more or it would go away. Well, by Friday morning, no relief. We did a CAT scan mid- morning Friday and went home to wait for the results. When I got home, I had a message to call Brett right away. He shared the results with me and asked how long it would take me to get her back to the hospital. The OR was schedule from 3 thru the evening, so if we didn't want her to wait, we needed to hurry as it was available then. I called William and he met us at the hospital. Thirty minutes later, she was in surgery. Andrew cleared his afternoon and scrubbed in to be with Megan. It was very comforting to know that he was with her when we couldn't be. Plus, he was able to snap a shot of her surgery with his Trio. If you want to see it, let me know! Her procedure went perfectly! As she was wheeled to her room, her nurse came in to introduce himself. His name was Troy. Megan looked at me and smiled. Her friend, Kylee was her first visitor. She brought flowers and a cute stuffed animal. Shortly after that, some of the girls from her soccer team came with a card and balloons. Very sweet. She spent the night in the hospital and we came home this morning. She is doing very well. She is very tired, but in good spirits. The Vicodin may have something to do with that! She will be out of school for another week or so, but will be back to her old self soon. She can even get back to soccer in about 2-3 weeks! I am so grateful for her protection on comfort. We are blessed.

Summer is Over.... YEAH!

2008-09-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Is it terrible to be so excited to be home alone? Yesterday was a day of firsts in our home. Both Zac and Camille started at new schools. Zac at Grants Pass High School and Camille at North Middle School. Megan's first day of 8th grade was today. Both Zac and Camille enjoyed their new schools and said it was no big deal. I have said it before, but time is going by so quickly now. Zac will get his drivers permit soon, Megan is a teenager and Camille now shaving her legs. Ugh...I am old. It has been a very long time since my last update. August flew by so fast. We spent a lot of this summer traveling and August was no exception. A brief summary of August: Zac started football and loves it, especially daily doubles. He is playing safety. I hope he doesn't get hurt. Megan played in a tennis tournament, soccer tournament in Portland and turned 13! Her party was a Luau and I hired a lady to come and teach the girls an authentic dance. I had a menu of Hawaiian food and a cake in the shape of a pineapple. I even made Kalua Pork. Yummy. Camille also had a birthday and turned 11. She had a party as well. Her party was a swimming and relay race party. It was a lot of fun. I will add photos and you can see for yourselves. William is busy at work and I am not. It is strange being home. I think I will enjoy it. I am finally feeling like myself again. It was an interesting recovery to say the least, but I have turned the corner. Maybe I will be better at keeping my blog updated so people will stop telling me to fix it! Here are some photos from August. Enjoy!

Home, Sweet Home

2008-07-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, we are home. It has been a long month. After our visit in Utah, William and Zac drove out to join us. The five of us flew from Salt Lake to El Paso to spend some time with Troy's family in Mexico. We had such a wonderful time in the colonies. The orchards were beautiful. It was so fun to see all of Troy's siblings and families there. We had a fun-filled visit with everyone there. I wish we would have had more time to spend with the Uncles and Aunts. I didn't even get in one good game of Rook! Next year, maybe. I think next year will be when I start to send the girls down for a week or two each summer. It is important for them to know their legacy and really have a chance to know our Mexico family. The girls are so excited to go! After our visit to Mexico, we flew back to Salt Lake and proceeded to drive to Montana for William's nephew's wedding. It was a long drive. The ceremony was a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding. The entire ceremony was held in Greek, so I don't know what was said. But it was very beautiful. We were in Missoula for 2 days and then we drove home to Oregon. It was a very long 3 weeks for me and the girls. We were home for 2 days and then I had my surgery on Wednesday of last week. It sounded like a good idea when we planned it that way, but I was crazy. The surgery went well. I had some complications in the hospital afterwards. My doctor was a little surprised because I am so young. Usually women who have a hysterectomy are much older and more prone to complications. Well, as I said to my doctor, if it's possible, it will happen to me. I came home Thursday evening. It was nice to be home. My doctor thought it would be good for me to stay another night in the hospital, but William could take care of me so much better at home. So, home I came. To make a long story short, after some more complications and back to the doctor, today I think we have a handle on everything! Yeah! Now I can heal and just bet back into the swing of things. The girls have taken very good care of me, especially Camille. When she hears me get out of bed, she runs in and yells at me to get back to bed. It is very sweet. My friends have been so kind in bringing us food. This must sound like a rambling mess. I suppose it is one of the side effects of heavy narcotics! Maybe that is why I can't stay awake long enough complete this properly. I'll fix it later.......

Girls Gone Wild!

2008-07-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

The girls and I are in Utah this week. Megan is attending a camp in Logan and Camille and I are staying with my sister Stacey. It has been a lot of fun. We have been very busy. Tomorrow we will go and stay with my sister Sydney. We spent our first full day, Saturday, at the mall. It is so nice to be back where I can actually shop. I am sure William is not pleased. The first thing the girls and I do when we come to Utah is go to the cemetery where Troy is buried. I have not taken pictures of it since they day of his funeral. I thought the girls would like a picture. It was a beautiful day. Every time I visit the cemetery, I feel bad about how dusty is headstone is. This visit we took a broom, water and rags to clean if up a little. The girls worked so hard to get the dirt out of the letters of his name. It was touching to see them both working so hard to make it look beautiful. After about 20 minutes of cleaning, they were satisfied enough to put their flowers down. When the girls were little, we would go up every week and take flowers to his grave. Camille would always choose a yellow flower, usually a sunflower. Megan would choose a pink rose. When we stopped at the flower shop, I didn't even tell them what to choose. Camille went right for the yellow and Megan for the pink. The shop didn't have sunflowers, so daisies would have to do. Megan found the perfect pink rose. I always take a red rose, and that day was no exception. I am so glad that I chose this particular place for him. It is peaceful and beautiful. The girls and I can just sit and talk and not be bothered. It is very private. The cemetery always has bunnies running around. Usually, the girls find them and try to catch one. We didn't see any on this visit. At least the deer will enjoy the flowers! It was a nice time for the girls and I to be together there. The next day, we drove up to Salt Lake to have dinner and spend some time with Troy's parents. They just bought a home there. For the last several years we have seen them, it hasn't been in their home. Because they live foreign, we usually see them in Utah or they come to Oregon to visit. It was nice to see familiar things in their new home. The girls spent the afternoon looking through Troy's baby book and photo albums. I am grateful for Troy's family and the huge part they have in our life. I am grateful that when we are with them, it feels like they are getting a little bit of Troy. His family is wonderful. They love us so much. I am grateful for their love for William, too. They have accepted him like a true part of the family. And I am grateful that William encourages us to be with them. I am thankful that I can go and remember Troy and know that I am free to still love him and not feel guilty. William is a very special person. I know that he is unlike any other man. I am a very lucky girl.

Dibble-Dabble

2008-06-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today was another day spent outside watching the girls and their friends in the pool. It has been so warm here. The fires from Northern California are huge and the smoke from them has blown several hundred miles to Southern Oregon. It looks like we are in LA because of the haze. We are lucky that we don't have any fires close to home. I am sure they will come. As the kids were swimming, they wanted to play a game. The game to play is 'Dibble-Dabble'. I am sure you have never heard of it. My brother-in-law's family made it up over 20 years ago. Let me give a quick summary. One person has the dibble-dabble, while everyone else is out of the pool and backs turned. The person dives in and drops the dibble-dabble somewhere in the pool and quickly gets out. As soon as they are completely out, everyone turns around the tries to locate the dibble-dabble. The first one to grab it and yell "Dibble-Dabble" wins. The first one to 5 wins. You may not dunk or push anyone to get to the dibble-dabble. The only way to get try to keep someone else from winning is to splash like crazy and try to move it away from anyone. It gets loud and crazy. Our game today was a little less crazy because we were only playing with 7 kids. When you get 10 people and adults, (they are the worst) it is insane! Oh, you may ask what is the dibble-dabble? This is the most important part. It is a small piece, usually around 1-2 inches, of sky-blue colored pencil. It is so hard to find in the water! Such a fun game. The overall winner today was....Camille! She was so proud of herself! This particular pool game has become a legend around here. Kids are always asking to come over and play dibble-dabble! Just another day in our insane home!

Our Family Slideshow

2008-06-21T22:45:00.001-07:00

She Is Home!

2008-06-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have some time while William and Zac are out painting the front porch. I loved it black, but William wants to try it the trim color. Whatever, as long as it looks good! Doesn't Zac look thrilled! He hates primer. Well, it has been a long week for me. Last Sunday, on Father's Day, we took Camille to camp. It was in Ashland, about 45 minutes south of us, at Southern Oregon University. The camp, Academy, is the same camp that Megan has attended for the previous two years, and the camp I went to as a middle schooler. I have nicknamed the camp "nerd camp", lovingly of course! It is a camp where talented kids spend a week with like minded peers and living in the dorms while living the college life. The kids receive course descriptions and then put in a schedule request. That was fun for Camille. Each camper is nominated by a teacher and must receive 3 letters of recommendation along with current test scores, report cards and 1 page essay stating why they should be considered for acceptance. It is a lot of work for a 10 year old. But she was in! William and I were so nervous sending Camille. We had never been nervous sending Megan. Meg had several friends that all went together. Camille went solo. We didn't know any other girls there. A couple of boys from her school were there, but no one she is really friends with. Let me set the scene. We arrived a little early for drop-off. We were standing around on the lawn in front of the dorm waiting. Camille heard the bushes moving and ran to see what was there. Well, she found a huge snake. Then some other kids from across the lawn said that they had found a rat over near them. I was freaked out. Then, as I am pleading my case to William why Camille should not stay, out of the corner of my eye, on the steps up to the dorms, I notice something grey. Another huge rat running on the stairs! How could I send my baby there for a week. Now, Camille was so excited at the "wildlife" around her. She begged me and said she would be fine. So we left her. I was sure she was going to need a rabies shot or something when she returned. In the car on the way home, Megan and I were talking about Camille's room. A couple of years ago, she was fed-up with sharing a room with Megan and decided she would like her own. After much discussion, we chose to give her the guest room. We pulled out the queen bed and took her bunk and put it in the room. The room was boring. We had not put much thought into it. We had spent time on the other room. She didn't care. Anyway, when William and I got new furniture in our room last year, Megan got our old stuff. Her room is huge, as it was designed for two kids. Camille then got Megan's bunk too. Well, then Zac grew and needed a new bed. He got a queen sized bed. So, we sold the bunks at the garage sale and gave her Zac's twin bed. Her bedding was Megan's old Hawaiian theme. Anyway, nothing in her room was anything she had chosen, all hand me downs. So, Megan and I decided to re-do her room. We kept the furniture, but rearranged it. I painted the room. Yes, you read correctly, I painted. We bought her new bedding and accessories. Megan and her friend, Kylee painted the mats for some picture frames that contained photos of our family and Camille's friends. We placed them all over her room! We finished the last details last night about 11 pm. Zac put together a new stand for her TV all by himself. He also repainted her old pot for her dead plant and bought her a new plant for her room. Megan worked hard all week in that room, on top of her regular chores and Camille's that needed to be done in her absence. We left early this morning to go and retrieve Camille. When she got home, I told her to take her things right upstairs and into her room. She opened her door and screamed, "What the....." She turned to look at me with the most confused look. She was so shocked it took a couple of minutes for her to realize that this was really her room. She loved it! It was all worth it! She is an amazing little girl who always gives to everyone else without ever complaining. This was her turn to receive! She deserves it!

High School?

2008-06-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week and I haven't had time to write about the school year ending. We had the chance to attend graduations for Zac and Camille at school. It was a bitter sweet time for us. I will say it again, time is speeding and moving too fast. I have officially left the "Elementary School" life. No more play days, jog-a-thons, room parties or the like. In the Fall, Zac will be in high school and Camille will be in middle school. Maybe it wouldn't have been so hard if they both hadn't happened at the same time. But, they are great kids that have to grow up. I can't (and on most occasions DO NOT want) keep them with us forever. They both did very well again, as did Megan. Megan and Zac both had 4.0's. Camille's school grades a little differently but had the equivalent. Well, except for penmanship. Maybe she'll be a doctor. Okay, no more bragging. I have added some photos of Zac and Camille at their respective graduation assemblies. Zac is now "too cool" to smile when asked. Camille was all dressed up for her themed graduation, "You Are A Star". She even wore little heals that belong to Megan. I was proud that she didn't trip on the red carpet. William and I are so proud of our kids. It is a scary time to be parents of teenagers. The worry was to be expected, but the sleepless nights and chest pains were a surprise! What will we do when Zac starts driving so soon? Ugh! We are blessed. I, being completely insane, agreed to let all 3 kids have parties that day. So, Camille had a big graduation party from Noon until 2:30, complete with bounce house. Megan had an end of the year swim party from 3:00-5:00 and Zac rounded out the day with a sleepover that started at 6:15. Both of the girls parties were crashed by the neighborhood boys. Normally I don't let them swim together, but it was fun! Plus, I had a lot of help keeping an eye on things! I didn't get photos of Zac's friends at his party or the bounce house. I am a slacker. By then, I let William take over and I was done. He did not think about the camera. It was a great end to a long but fun day! We now begin the next chapter....hold on! It will be a crazy ride.

Track Meet

2008-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today, Camille participated in the 4th/5th grade track meet. She did very well. She ran in the relay, 400M, and the 200M. She also did the obstacle course. She loves to run. She

finished 2nd. It was fun day. Camille's school and the middle school that Zac and Meg attend are just separated by a field in the middle. The track is located at the middle school. So, I was able to spend the afternoon watching Camille while spying on the older kids at lunch. I didn't see Zac until the last 5 minutes, but I saw Megan and her "crew" right away. So, I thought I'd share a photo of the posse, as we refer to them. We had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. The track meet had been rained out twice. We are having such strange weather! I hope the sun stays for a while! I can't believe the end of the school year is so close. Zac will head to high school and Camille to middle school...scary. The time if flying by much too quickly...

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Whoever said three day weekends were relaxing was lying. This past weekend, like every previous Memorial Day weekend in recent memory, was spent on the soccer field in Medford. Megan and Camille's team were playing in the Rogue Valley Cup. It is a large tournament with teams from Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. We have done this tournament every year for the last 5 years. When Zac played it was easier because it was just him. Now both girls play and Zac referee's. We stayed the weekend at my sister Sara's home in Jacksonville. It is closer to the fields than Grants Pass. The 1/2 hour difference in the drive was a big deal when the girls needed to be at their games at 7:15 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Between the girls they played 10 full length games. Zac ref'd Saturday and Sunday a total of about 15 or so games. He made a lot of money this weekend. Not bad for a 14 yr. old! The girls did very well. Camille's team took 4th place. This is very good for a team that is very young and the first tournament they have played. It was a new experience for them to play such physical games. Camille did very well on defense. She is very fast and understands the game very well. Megan's team lost in the championship game and placed 2nd. This was hard for her team. We have won the tournament the last couple of years. We lost to a team that is always our biggest challenge. It was a very rough and physical game with several injuries. It's fun to see the changes in the way they play from year to year. Megan scored a goal on both Saturday and her Sunday games! It has been about 2 years since her last goal. She plays mid-field and doesn't get a lot of shots on goal. Most of her game is spend assisting her teamates. So, it was very exciting to see her shoot and score. William and I both were able to see it. Most of the weekend, we were apart at each girls games. They played at nearly the same time on fields as far away as possible from each other. With each girl needing to be an hour early for the game and needing about 15 minutes to get to each field, when the games were played near the same time, we divided and conquered. It was nice to see both girls play yesterday. Then we needed to shuffle Zac from field to field. It got easier on Sunday because Zac was at the same fields where Camille's team played. That was nice. When we weren't at games we were able to spend sometime with my family. My brother Ken and sister Sydney and their families were in town from Colorado and Utah. We celebrated birthdays and had a lot of food! It was nice to spend time with everyone! I look forward to the day that we can relax on a long weekend....

Teenagers...UGH...

2008-05-23T14:47:00.001-07:00

Last night around 10, William and I were in bed watching Grey's Anatomy. Okay, I was watching and William was trying to sleep. Camille was fast asleep in her room. Megan and Zac were brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. Suddenly, our doorbell rings about 10 times quickly. Simon, our watchdog, starts barking and runs downstairs. All I can think is "Really? Doorbell ditching at 10 in a school night?" As I hear the offenders run on the front porch, William peaks out our bedroom window to see what's going on. Now, we can see almost everything from our room. It is upstairs and in the far corner of the house, with 2 walls of windows. All he can see is two dark figures jumping over the rock creek, through the neighbors yard and down the street. About this time, Zac has made it downstairs to the door. All William can say is, "We have been TP'd. I don't even know how to spell it. I am sure that everyone knows that it rains a lot in Oregon and last night was not exception. I thought it was hilarious! Zac yells to William that they got his car. William has been parking the BMW in the driveway. The Denali is in the carport and my car is in the garage. He needs to rearrange some things on his side so he can park inside. His side has the treadmill, home gym, Foosball table and free weights. He has always parked his baby in the garage, but when I got my new car, I got the garage. It's funny having a 3 car garage with only one car inside. I am not putting my car in the driveway. I do not want cats on the top. I worry about their hair on the soft top and I don't want it used as a scratching place at night. Okay, so when Zac informs William about his car, all bets were off. I don't think I've seen William dress so fast! He had his keys and was gone so fast. He, Zac and a very excited Megan were off to find the "brats that messed with my car". What was he going to do when he found them? He was gone for about 20 minutes. He never found them. Megan and Zac spent the next little bit cleaning up what they could. I have to give the kids credit. They got us good. Meg and Zac willhear who did it, and then we will plan. My mom didn't teach me to cook, but she did teach me to properly vandalize. So, when the kids are home from school, we should have more info on who we will be visiting! When we were building our home, we landscaped with a lot of trees. I knew when we did it, we were asking for trouble. I guess it's just another phase of my life. Very exciting! The pictures are of the yard after the initial clean up. The first picture is from our front porch. The second shows our driveway that is lined with trees. The kids better enjoy cleaning up because I am sure this will happen many more times!

Amelia Earhart

2008-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

This week was the 'Living History Museum' at Camille's school. She has been working hard on her project. Each 5th grader is assigned a historical character. They are responsible for writing a 3 page paper, make a visual project and have a monologue prepared about their character. Camille was assigned to be Amelia Earhart. How perfect was that? Well, for the last several months Camille has been studying her subject like crazy. She and her Uncle Matt made Amelia's first plane, Canary, while we were in Utah in April. She was so cute! She worked very hard and it was apparent. The school gym is filled with different booths from each student. As people walk around to each booth, the student begins their presentation. Many children had not prepared well. They needed to read their parts from note cards. Part of the assignment was to have everything memorized. Camille was totally in character. She spoke loudly and with emotion. Her voice was clear. She didn't even seem nervous, except she kept rolling her feet! We had a difficult time finding a costume for her, but my nephew, Tanner, had just needed a costume for the Wright brothers, so we were in luck. It was a little awkward for me because she had a line at her booth while many other children had no one at theirs. So, I spent the time visiting each booth. Camille was so proud of her plane. She was very upset yesterday at school because someone touched her plane and broke the propeller. Her teacher tried to glue it back on, but it wasn't quite straight and Camille did notice. She knows that plane inside and out. She and Matt worked very hard on it. I think we will hang it from the corner of her room. I am sure it will look great with the Hawaiian theme! It was a great evening. My sister Stacey and her kids came. They were visiting from Utah. My brother Ed and his family also came. We were so grateful that they made the effort to come and support Camille. It was a bitter sweet night. It was my last activity at the school. Camille will leave elementary school is a couple of weeks and head to middle school. Zac will head to high school. I've said it before, it is happening too fast. I am not ready.

I'm Ready For Sun

2008-04-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today it was cold. Isn't it Spring? It was a busy day with my nail appointment and all. It is weird being home now. I know that I made the right decision to not go full-time and to be home when the kids were out of school. But, when you have no one at home all day, it's weird. I guess the dog and I have become closer! This morning I mentioned to William that I didn't remember being so bored when I wasn't working. He reminded me that I went back to work when Camille started 1st grade. Wow...time flies. I think I'll look for something part-time at the high school. I can just imagine how much Zac would love it to have his step-mom there everyday! Today I went to a 5th grade graduation planning meeting today. Guess who's in charge? Oh well, I would rather delegate than do the actual work! It will be fun. It really got me thinking about how this was my last child in elementary school. No more carnivals, jog-a-thons, book fairs, show and tell, class parties or treat days. YA!! As you may have noticed, I did a new template for my blog. In doing this, I lost a lot of my blog links to my friends. So, if you don't see your blog under my friends, PLEASE sent it to me so I can add it. On another note, I am taking suggestions and ideas for new hobbies to keep myself busy. Do not suggest laundry, dishes, sock folding, sheet ironing, blind dusting, pet grooming, grout scrubbing or anything of the kind. I am looking forward to summer coming. This year I will be able to actually enjoy the pool with the kids. For so long it's been just a huge, water filled hole in the backyard. The kids are not allowed to swim when I am not home, so summer afternoons have historically been boring. Not this year! I hope we use it everyday. Finally, three years since we put it in and I might actually get in!

Memories...

2008-04-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day. The kids were at school. I was able to some time alone with "Edward". I talked with Julee for while. I was checking my e-mail and found this link. leslieandaaron.blogspot.com
My sister sent it to me. It seemed like the last eight years washed away....

In Love With Another Man!

2008-04-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Two words....Edward Cullen. My girls have been trying to get me to read a three book series that they LOVE. I said no for almost a year. Why would I enjoy reading a book that my tween daughters enjoyed. I was sure it was well beneath me. Well, Megan begged me just to start the first book. So, I did. I started with Twilight. I quickly read New Moon and finished with Eclipse. I know some of you have read these books, but if you haven't, go and get them NOW. Can you really lust after a fictional character? I say, absolutely. Is it strange, for a married woman in her thirties with 3 children, to search the Internet for more info on Edward? Let's just say that you-tube rocks. I'm giving you fair warning, do not call my house on August 2, 2008. The Ward girls will be with Edward. Megan said she claimed him first, but I'm bigger. I can take her out! It's been fun to have something to share with my girls. They are getting old enough to advise me on what to read. Crazy!

This Could Only Happen To Me!

2008-04-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Okay...so while we were in Utah, we were able to spend some time with my sisters Sydney and Stacey. We had a great time. Sydney and her husband, Jonas, were gracious and opened their home to us. They have 2 adorable little girls, Jocelyn and Brooklyn, and a baby boy Mason. They were so much fun. On Friday, we spent the day shopping with my sister Stacey. That evening, Matt, her husband, was going to help Camille build a model airplane for a school project. Megan would play with their kids, Bailey and Hayden. Matt is an engineer and can build just about anything. If he doesn't have blueprints, he can make it from a photo or make it from memory. They were able to find a picture of Amelia Earhart's first plane. Matt gave us a list of supplies and we went to Robert's Craft in Orem to buy everything. Stacey and Camille hit the aisles while Megan and I headed to the restroom. Okay, here's the good part. I had been talking on my cell phone on the way. As I went into the stall, I put my phone in my pocket of my capri's. The pockets were just little slits. When I was done, I reached down to grab my purse and that's when it happened. As I bent, my phone slipped from my pocket and landed right in the toilet! This was not just an ordinary toilet. It was a super, jet sucking, automatic flusher. As my phone fell into the toilet, it triggered the extremely sensitive sensor and the jet-action suction. Before I could even move, my phone was gone. I looked around for the hidden camera. There was none. It was embarrassing and humorous to inform the employees what had happened. They said I could get it back maybe on Monday when the plumber could come. I said, "hmm...I don't really want it back, I just thought you should know that you may have a plugged toilet." Who has ever flushed a phone? Only me. Typical and completely only something I could pull off! Another day in the life of Shelley. At least it wasn't the keys to my rental car. That would have been crazy!

Weekend in Utah

2008-04-07T09:23:00.001-07:00

The girls and I had the opportunity to go to Utah last week for General Conference. I was wonderful to spend time with our family. Troy's family was in town for Conference and we were able to spend time with them. Pop spent most of his time in the meetings for the General Authorities, but Mom was able to spend some time with us. We spend all of Thursday with her touring downtown. Megan and Camille had never been to the Church History Museum, so we started there. They loved it! They were captured by the history. We had lunch at the Lion House and toured the Beehive House. Megan loved the Beehive House. We then took the girls to see the Joseph Smith story in the Legacy Theater. It was wonderful. It was an amazing film. Megan was especially touched. We then were able to meet with Pop for dinner. We were able to choose which session of conference that we wanted to attend. I chose to take the girls to the Saturday morning session. What an experience. One of the benefits of having your Father-In-Law as a General Authority is that the seating is excellent. We were only about 75 feet from the pulpit. Sister Sheri Dew sat next to us. (The girls were not impressed, they hadn't heard of her). As the Solemn Assembly took place the feeling was amazing. Pop had explained to the girls what would happen. Megan was surprised when they asked for the Young Women to stand and sustain the Prophet. She was the only Young Woman in our whole area. She stood alone in a sea of adults and raised her hand. It was very moving for me to watch. Camille was enthralled with the talks. She took notes on every speaker. After Conference, we walked to the Church Office Building to have lunch with the family. Troy's sister, Sheralee and her family were there as well as Aunt Maree. We spent the afternoon with my sister and then the evening with the family swimming at the hotel. It was a wonderful trip! We are so blessed to have such a great family to be a part of. In fact, the girls said the best thing their dad did for them was to leave them his family. What else can be said? We are blessed.

Caribbean Greetings!

2008-03-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello from beautiful Ocho Rios, Jamaica. William and I are on our annual cruise away from the kids. We are having the best time together. We both look forward to this week away from everything. It has been an interesting vacation so far. We started out Saturday and flew to Orlando. We were to catch our ship out of Port Canaveral. A new port for us. We had the chance to get bumped. We took it immediately for the free tickets. We got the tickets and lost my luggage. It is now Wednesday and I still do not have my suitcase. William took me to a speed shopping trip at a Target on the way to the ship. I grabbed a swimsuit and a pair of shorts and flip-flops. I have worn them everyday. It has been strangely relaxing not worrying about what to wear to dinner or which suit to wear to the beach. I was supposed to receive my bag today, but it was a no-show. We'll try tomorrow in Grand Cayman. The weather has been GORGEOUS! We do miss the kids. We should never have taken them last year. We sit around and comment about how much they would love this. We are going to take them on a cruise next summer to Mexico. William and I were trying to find time this summer, but we have none. So next year it is. When we talked about how old the kids would be next cruise, it dawned on us that it would be the summer before Zac's sophomore year, Megan's freshman year and Camille will be going into 7th grade. It's happening too fast. We are not prepared. It seems the day my kids left and William and I would be alone, is one that I have looked forward to coming, is now the day that is coming much too quickly. Scary. Anyway, if anyone wants to do the Mexican Riviera in June of '09, let's go!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2008-02-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Hearts Day! No new photos to add. I broke Williams camera. They say it's common with the Rebel, but it was totally operator error. I thought if I pushed hard enough, the card woudl surely fit! Well, 4 weeks and roughly $200 later, we are waiting it's return. I hope to get it before we leave on our trip. William and I have had enough of the fog and rain and are heading for sun and beaches. We decided to use some of our reward miles and head to the Caribbean. We are taking another cruise. Cruises are not just for people in leisure suits. I love that I can lay on the beach and Wllliam can scuba dive to his hearts content! Then we can meet up for dinner and sleep in a really clean, bug-free, and quite room. We made our plans so late that we are doing the same islands that we did last year, but different ship. It will be fun anyway. Only 23 or so days. So, crash diet and tanning and we are off. YEAH!! NO KIDS!! NO ANIMALS!!
Camille will be going to Disneyland with a friend (scary) for spring break. I am a little nervous. I told her she could have a cell phone when she goes to middle school next year. Zac and Megan had to wait until then as well. Well, because she is going without me, I went and got her a phone yesterday. She is already a much faster texter than I. She paid to upgrade her phone. (I only provide the free phone). She wanted a Razor, so she wasted her money and bought one. She is so excited. Megan has the free phone, so already she is complaining! "Camille got her cell early, just like her I-pod. You will probably buy her a car at 14 and I won't get one until I'm at college!" I told her when she and Camille were lining up to be born, she shouldn't have cut in line!
William and Zac took a guy's Valentine trip to Eugene to watch the Ducks play. They so deserve a date. I wish we had more time for just the two of them to get away once in while. He is getting old. It's hard to believe that in 7 months, I will have a high schooler and no kids in elemetary school. I AM OLD! But, so are most of you. Camille laughed at me tonight when she saw that my moisturizer had "age defying". UGH...

SNOW DAY!

2008-01-28T12:50:00.001-08:00

Who knew snow could be so exhausting? Everyone loves a snow day, right? The kids are all here and having a great time. The girls were out last night building a snowman and a snowdog until late. As soon as the sun was up, they were back outside playing with the little girls next door. We now have a snowman, dog and an igloo in our front yard. The kids are so glad we have such a steep driveway to sled down. But, a steep driveway meant lots of snow and ice and I could not get to work. So, the kids and I have a day off. Zac came over from his mom's house. He is having fun with Megan and Camille in the snow.

We had an exciting and busy weekend. William, Megan and I went up to Portland in Thursday. Meg had a appointment with a doctor at OHSU. Everything went perfect! She is healthy and growing as she should. It was a blessing to hear that from the two doctors she saw. On Friday we drove back to Eugene to see Camille perform in the All-State Elementary School Honor Choir. It was a choir of 5th graders from all over Oregon. It was amazing how well they did after only being able to practice for 1 day together. Immediately after her concert, we drove back down to Central Point, just a little south of Grants Pass, to see Zac and his team in a basketball tournament. The team came in 3rd but they all played well.

We were sad to get the phone call from Troy's mother about the passing of President Hinckley. What a wonderful man. I felt a little like my mom must have felt when President McKay died. He has been the prophet for most of my adult life. When I told the girls of his passing, they were concerned about what would happen. Camille took the news especially hard. She is such a spiritual little person. She has such a tender heart. We look forward to the new prophet and what he will bring to us. It's a sad and interesting time for church members. I forgot that this is the first time the kids and William have experienced a change of the prophet. It will be a learning time for them.

Well, it feels about time for a nap! I think I'll turn on the electric blanket and curl up while I can.

Peace and Quiet

2008-01-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

Finally, I have the house to myself. It's been a loud week. I have been "watching" 2 of Zac's friends for the last couple of days. I think that 3 middle school boys are harder than 3 two year olds! They are louder and eat so much! It's been fun. It was the best when I sent them out the door with William to go to a basketball game tonight. The girls are off to friends houses to stay the night. So, it's just me and Simon. I will take a breather before another crazy weekend. My nephew Peyton is coming from Denver. The kids are stoked! We only have 3 basketball games tomorrow. It is better than when we had 4 soccer games in 3 different towns. The kids are excited for the 3 day weekend. I will work on Monday, so William get's to try it at home for a day. Do you think that maybe he'll take the Christmas tree down? He figures that as long as it's down by February, he's ahead of the game.
I got a fun phone call today. I had decorated a dentists office a couple of years ago. Well, another doctor saw the office today and asked for the name of the person who did the work. He wants me to do his new office. It will be a little strange. I have only decorated for people I know. Never for strangers. We have a planning meeting in the morning. I am a little nervous.
William and I met our case worker for the first time today. In case you didn't know, we are considering adopting a child. We have thougth about it for years. We thought about having a baby of our own. We have talked to doctors about it. It is possible, but would be quite expensive and a long process. I am not up for In-Vitro. I don't even know if that's how it's spelled. The kids are old enough that we don't want to start over with a baby. So, adoption is a good choice. We will go through the classes and do a home study. Then we can start officially looking at the bulletins to see if a child is available that fits our family. Our case worker let us take a look at one of the binders today. It was really uncomfotable. They have 3 large, 4" binders filled with profiles and photos of children waiting for placement. They each have a few paragraphs telling about them and how they came into the system. It was sad to see so many children without permanent homes. We had to put in our "request" for the type of child we wanted. It was such a strange feeling. As we looked through the pages, we wondered if any of these children would be available when we were ready and approved to apply for adoption. It has been neat to share this with our children. The first thing that Zac said after school was, "Did we get a baby?" I laughed and told him that it was not a store full of kids. Every one in our family has to fill out a questionnaire and tell a little about them selves. Zac is so anxious to get his done. He is SO excited about getting a little brother. We have explained to the kids that we are going to start the process and take it one step at at time. We may find that after all of our classes that another child is not what our family needs. It takes so long to go through the process. We don't want to wait for a year and then decide that we want a child immediately and have to start the process then. Our home study will be good for 2 years. We can make a final decision if we want placement anytime in that 2 years. At lease we'll have the option. Plus, we need to find the right child for our family. We are very specific about what we want and don't want. Anyway, it's exciting but very scary. We'll see where it takes us.
Camille is very excited for spring break. She has been invited to spend 9 days with a friend at Disneyland. She can hardly wait. Megan is excited for summer. She will be attending a camp at USU in Logan for Young Women. It's not church related, but is spiritual. It's about becoming your best self. My niece, Kiersten will also be going. I think the name of the camp is A Retreat for Girls. I don't know what Zac's plans for spring break or summer are yet. William and I want to get away somewhere soon. Prefferably, to a white sand beach, waves and a little guy who carries your chair and gets drinks! We'll see. I guess I better go tanning just in case we win the lottery and can take a trip! Here's hoping for Bon Voyage!

Pride

2007-12-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

Pride, it's a bad thing right? Well, I have some in myself today. I guess I'm going down. I figured out how to take the pictures from our various cameras and put them on my laptop. I am so technically illiterate that this deserves pride! It snowed again this morning. The girls are outside playing. COLD! I took the girls with me to get our nails done this morning. Camille refused to get color and won. But Megan and I both got ours done. So cute. Megan wanted black. Really? Okay, whatever. We went out to brunch and ran into Zac and his mom. It was good to see him. He is going to Sacramento for a week. He is so excited to use his new snowboard tomorrow. The weather is bad so I hope they arrive safely. The house is somewhat back in order. I just need to take down the tree. New Years is coming. The girls are staying with friends and William and I are going to a party. Maybe we'll just stay home. We never have the house to ourselves. We'll see.

The Aftermath

2007-12-26T14:10:00.000-08:00

Boxing Day? I should say so. The house is appropriately trashed. Sign of a good party I suppose. The garbage can is overflowing. Laundry is piled higher than Camille. I am exhausted. Can I be getting sick? I woke up with zero desire to hit the stores. I must have a fever. Christmas was wonderful. Full of friends, family and too much food. William even took work of Christmas Eve. That is a very rare occurrence. Usually in order to get him to take a day off, I need to take him out of the country! It was so nice to stay up late Christmas Eve and talk while we were getting everything ready. It was six years ago that he proposed for the first time. That's a story for another day. I can't believe it's been 6 years since we found him and Zac. The girls and I are so blessed to have them. My life is full. The kids all loved their presents. Zac got a new Ipod. His old one was, as he put it, dumb. Megan freaked when she found her first "blue box" hidden down deep in her stocking. She's tried 50 times to re-tie the bow as it came. Camille has not put her DS down. We are blessed. I think college will be the cheaper years. Zac has informed us that it is time for us to start looking at a car for him. Um, no. We are having fun teaching him to drive. It snowed this morning and then promptly melted. Maybe next time it will stick. I am looking forward to having this week off of work. I will get to do some fun things with the kids.