I hear the train a comin'

I hear the train a comin'...



It's rollin' 'round the bend....



and Kaden thinks pollution....


is gonna' be the end.....


we're stuck in Promontory...

and time keeps draggin' on....


but those trains keep a movin'....


on to their nightly home....

GIRLS CAMP....That's all I have to say....

I finally went back to girls camp after 16 years and I tell you what, I do not know how I survived!!
It was very well planned, it was extremely spiritual, the theme was right up my alley, but I didn't get any sleep, at all!!
The theme this year was Dr. Seuss and all that fun storybook stuff that Dr. Seuss includes. Each ward had a different story to decorate as and they had to carry out different ideas that dealt with that theme. It was awesome!! It was like you were living in a fairy tale for a week! The decorations were beautiful! I loved it!!
We were the cooks. We had a shelter labeled the "cooks nook". It was really micey...thus the not sleeping...at all!!! I was so worried that the "critters" would jump on my head at night and pick out my eyeballs, that I stayed awake, listening to the little scratchy noises and then I would flip my flashlight on to see what was going on and where it was!! I guess it didn't help that we had a girl staying in there that liked to "bait" them with left out nuts and food!! Not cool!!
On top of it all, we had a LOT of screaming and giggling surrounding us...all 4 days!! We must have prayed for rain just about every night so the girls would be forced to go back to their shelters for the night! It worked twice, which was very nice, but I still couldn't sleep because of the dang critters!! One of them even got so bold as to jump up onto one of the "sleeping cooks" and start picking at their arm!! So gross!!!
But, all in all, it was a very fun, well organized, spiritual meeting of beehives, mia maids, and laurels, and of course, all the awesome leaders that made it a huge success!!!
Thanks for letting me be a part of the fun!! I hope to see ya next year!!

Laughlin, Lake Havasu, Grand Canyon south, and Route 66 all in 3 days!!

Well, the weather is warming up and with that comes the all powerful motorcycle...
We (Jason, Dave and I) decided to go to the Laughlin river run again this year and believe me, it's no Sturgis!!
I'm not talking about the wild women, the parties, the people in general. I'm talking about the Green, beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota compared to the desert of Nevada/Arizona. There wasn't a lot to see while in between places, but when we finally reached our destination, it was worth it, in it's own respect.
We stopped in Mesquite the first night, because of our late departure time, then woke the next day refreshed and ready to explore California/Nevada/Arizona on two wheels. We did have a hundred dollar hiccup near Vegas when our trailer tire blew, but we got it taken care of and got another one just in case it happened again. It still amazes me, the whole supply and demand thing, how trailer tires, in say, Ephraim are $25 bucks but trailer tires in Vegas, after crossing the hot desert, are $100 bucks!!! Weird!!
Anyway, we got to Needles, CA at about 10:30a.m. and checked into our hotel for BOTH nights. (Notice how both is caps...pay attention to that slight detail for later in the story.) We then set off for Lake Havasu. We stopped at the boat docks just to "check out their boats". Can I just say that the people that were there that day had too much time on their hands and "too much bloody money"!! I could not believe how many boats were bigger than my house!! And fast!! They would rev their motors and the water would shake in fear!! (Not really, but it sounds nice.) It was an awesome sight to see, and an awesome life to live...if you can afford it!! We decided to eat and then spend some time at the London Bridge, that we couldn't find because of the "bridge" we had to keep going over while looking for it...Remember the old saying, "you can't find the forest for the trees"...well, we couldn't find the bridge for it was under us!! We finally figured it out and decided to walk down below, so we could really "check things out". It was beautiful. The details and construction was massive! I remember seeing it when I was little, but all I remember of it was the beach side, kind of where it ended. Anyway, it was a cool, memorable experience.
We then continued our "quest" to Laughlin to take part in the biker rally that was being held there on the "strip". As we parked our bikes and started to look around at all there was to see, I looked over at Dave and started to laugh!! His face was so shocked at what was surrounding us, I could tell that he was just trying to absorb the chaos that was bustin' out the seams!! We started walking through the vendors and I noticed Mike and "Angieland" of the Full Throttle bar in Sturgis over signing autographs, so of course, we went over and took advantage of the photo op. It was cool to see what kind of people that they really were. Mike was a little shy and got embarrassed easy. His "dreads" were falling out, and he actually was a nice guy just trying to make a buck. Angie was really short and vivacious. She looked over and laughed when she noticed that Mike was getting embarrassed. It was cute to see that they really knew each other, that they were "real" with their feelings for one another. It was a refreshing change from the "biker bar" persona. I found out that neither one of them drink or smoke. They just had this really great idea to sell beer to those "wild bikers" once a year who did. I think, other than it being beer, they hit the jackpot!!
We headed back to the rooms at about 10p.m. and had an all right night UNTIL the 12 year old dance group that was "Camped out" directly above us decided to get up at 4:30a.m. and start practicing their "routines" for two and a half hours, until they finally packed up and left. I was not happy that the floors were that poorly insulated!! Every little (and big) step was heard...EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!
The next morning, we started off towards the Grand Canyon, south entrance. There was NOTHING for four hours straight!! We found Saligman, birthplace of "Cars", and stopped to take some pictures and get some souvenirs. As we crossed the road to get some pictures of the mannequins hanging out of the "biker bar", we heard a lady, in a very burnt out sixties voice, ask us if we wanted to try her "breakfast dogs". We politely said no thanks, where she insisted that "they were better than mcdonalds any day man." So Jason said that we would have one. We thought that she would just pull one out of her little umbrella cart and we would be on our way, but NOOOOOO....She fired up her camp stove, pulled out three sausage links, complete with casings,(eewwwww!!) and fried them up while we waited. It was hilarious!! She put a glove on the hand that was holding the hogie, while she shoved cheese inside it with her un-gloved hand!! Needless to say, I did not partake of the fruit that day...Jason ate both of ours and woke up sick the next day!!
We FINALLY reached the Grand Canyon, walked out on a couple of ledges, snapped some pictures, and headed on our way, BACK to the rally, per Dave's request.
We finished walking the strip and headed back to the hotel for a well deserved "soak" in the hot tub.
This is where the story gets interesting...
We noticed that our key wasn't opening the door, so knowing that somehow we needed access to our swimming suits before the pool closed, I marched down to the lobby for our keys and some pool towels. I waited patiently for 20 minutes while 6 very stinky frenchmen and women argued with the hindu desk clerk about their reservations...sidebar, the frenchmen and women did NOT speak english, and the Clerk did NOT speak very good english....It was a long wait!!
I finally spoke up after he skipped right over me and started to deal with the OTHER people in line, by saying that we needed to "RECHECK IN" and get some towels. It was finally a success!!
We busted in, changed, soaked, and after a really long day, peacefully fell asleep....(this is where it gets good!!)
We got a call at three o clock IN THE MORNING!!! I was thinking that it was like a warning call that the building was on fire, or that our bikes were getting rained on or something.....NOPE!!!
Jason answered and tried to understand what was being said on the other end of the line..."sir, you are in that room unlawfully and I need to know how you will be paying!"
"what?"
"sir, I need you to give me your credit card information right now, or we will have to ask you to leave this instant!"
"Huh?" "I think we already paid for our room?!"
"sir, I have no record of you paying for your room for the second night. I need you to come down here and pay for your room immediately!"
"Give me the dang phone!!"
"Here, talk to my wife."
"We booked two separate nights!"
"oh, there it is."
Click
What the heck!! I got up and stood outside my door, contemplating going down there, half asleep, and giving her(notice I said "her") a piece of my mind, but I figured that she would be there in the morning, and I would just wait until then! I made a feeble attempt to fall back to sleep, when the "neighbors" above us decided it was time to get a move on. More stomping back and forth until they were all gathered and loaded!! No sleep!!

I went down to try to make sense of what just happened. Tired and sunburnt, I marched in and asked the "her" at the front desk if she was my three o clock wake up call. Now, you know when you can tell when somebody's lying? Stuttering her words, looking from side to side, trying desperately to "come up" with something on the fly...well that was her, to a "T"!! All I heard is blah, blah, blah...excuses, excuses, excuses!! Needless to say, we will NOT be staying there again, and our last night was finally refunded in full!! Not O.K.!!

We, (Dave) decided he needed one more taste of the rally before we left town, so we rode back in. We walked across the street, bought t-shirts, took a picture of Dave with a "pin up" girl, and headed for home!!
All in all, it was a fun experience. Good times, good food, good friends!! We arrived back in Ephraim Sunday night, went in to see Jim Monday from 3-10p.m.. Listened while he "argued with the angels", and went in the next morning for his last breath. He was such an inspiration to me and my family! He taught us how to use our brains and how not to sit idol and just assume that this is all the life we have left to live. He helped me to see Jason's perspective during disagreements that I had had with him, and he gave such helpful, honest criticism that helped me to grow and become!! His wisdom and friendship will be missed!!
Now, to love and move on. The graveside service is planned, although the weather is kind of bad, and all but one son will be able to make it here for the service. Jason's birthday is tomorrow, and Mckay's baptism is on saturday. Busy week, but we'll be surrounded with lots of family, both legit and not so legit(I've adopted the Green family, all but Marty!) I hope all goes well. Wish us luck.

"No more excuses"...

So, Diana said that the one thought that kept re-occurring with Lyndzee's death was "no more excuses". She calmly told me that this was for me. She said that Lyndzee wanted me to say the prayer at her funeral. The PRAYER!!! I freaked out for about 3 days!! I haven't said more that 6 prayers publicly since I got teased in church when I was 9!! I had a huge phobia that I was going to mess up and get teased all over again!
I said a little prayer that Lyndzee would be there for me, because after all, it was her idea. I cried up to the prayer, and throughout the prayer, and the second that I was finished, I was fine! I felt a calming that I have rarely felt in the past. I knew I was progressing and now had "no more excuses!"
About a month later, Diana came to me again and requested that I do Lyndzee's Temple work for her. What an honor!! I felt so blessed that she would pick me to do this!!
I have waited patiently now for two whole years. Waiting for her to give me the things that I need to accomplish this blessing. She has only asked me once how it was going, whereas I responded, "How IS it going?"
I finally connected A to B and realized that she was waiting on ME! The whole time I've been waiting on HER! (Disclaimer...I have never done anything like this before, so I didn't really know the steps to getting this done).
I went to the church history center, where a really old gentleman was sitting behind a desk, waiting for someone to talk to. I mentioned why I was there and that I only had about 20 minutes before my kids would be home, so we kind of had to hurry.
He started by giving me this huge presentation on how things work while on the internet. You know, how to search, how to google information, how to GET ON the internet, and so forth. As politely as I could, I said that we now only had 12 minutes left. He then fumbled with the land line for 5 minutes, when he finally gave up and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed 3 wrong numbers before he looked up the right number and finally got on the phone to call over to the temple to ask if I could seal her to her parents while her parents were still alive...I don't want to seal her parents to the kids at this time, I just want to help her to get her own endowments taken care of!!!
After hanging up the phone, he said that he didn't know that that was what I wanted to do, and then continued by picking up the phone again to call and ask what paperwork I needed to make this happen.
I finally said that I had 1 minute left before my kids would be home from school, so he said to get on a certain website and it would tell me what to do from there.
That was easy...It only took 20 minutes for him to figure it out. Not bad!!
So I got home, got on the website, found her name, got on the wrong link, called the help line, got the sister on the line very flustered, suggested I do what she had done so we would be on the same page, (deep sigh), found what we needed, and finally realized that, after 2 years, it was my responsibility all along!! I let Lyndzee down, I let Diana down, I let myself down.
All things necessary are now complete to go through the temple on behalf of Lyndzee Lurene Robbins, age 11. I think I will go on April 15th...what would have been her 13th birthday.
Oh man, I'm gonna need a lot of tissues!!

Mckay, Mckay, Mckay...

So, I stayed home from work yesterday, because Kaden has strep. I wondered if Mckay would be able to handle not having us there. I worried about him all day long, awaiting the call that I knew would come, letting us know that he was having a horrible day.
Well, the call never came, so when he got home I let him know that I was really proud of him for being able to go to school alone without incident.
Then about three hours later, our sweet little Mckay came up to Jason and I and proudly announced that he made a new friend at school. We offered our congratulations and asked him who he was and how they became friends...BIG mistake...big...HUGE!!!
He started to tell us of the day, starting with a big smile! "Well, we got in a huge fight during lunch recess, and then when I was in Mr. Willardson's office, talking about what happened, he came in and we talked about it with him, and then the last recess, we found each other and we became friends!!" "Great huh!"
So after Jason and I composed ourselves, we calmly asked him if it was a good idea to get in a fight, and what he should have done instead, and he calmly replied, "But if we wouldn't have got in a fight, we would never be friends right now!" "So, it was good that we got in a fight, see!!"

I will never understand boys!!

Something to laugh about...

So I'm sitting here at the computer, watching Mckay play wii bowling, and I begin to really listen to what is being said...

....Mckay: " Stop doing that!!"

Jason: "But you NEED me to play!"

Mckay: "You can play when I get a pro ball!"

Jason: "You need me to play so you can see what you have to do to win!"

Mckay: "DAD!! Stop pausing it!!.....

Me: "Boys!!!...Jason,Quit bullying him!!"

Jason: "BUT HE WON'T LET ME PLAY!!!!!"

Love it!!

Excuses, Excuses....!!

O.K., So I don't have much time to post right now, so I'll make it quick.
Here are the five reasons why I haven't posted in a while;
Reason #1-#3- New Wii, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Larsen-Rockin' gift by the way!!! Thanks so much!!! Included in this category, Super Mario Brothers, Wii sports, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic winter games, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa chocolate milk-thanks so much as well!! We have had hours and hours of fun!! The memories that we are making right now are priceless!!
Reason #4- I have a really competitive husband that has to win at least twice IN A ROW in order to stop playing...he also has a couple of apples that didn't fall very far from the tree playing right beside him!! Which explains reason #5...
We have had so much fun with this Wii that we haven't wanted to go to sleep until about two in the morning...the whole Christmas break!! We have had so much awesome family time that we haven't wanted to stop playing!!
We had to start back to reality this week and it has been really difficult to get back into the "swing of things". It's mostly been me that has had this trouble, because I am usually the "other one" that stays up to play. I guess Jason isn't the only one that's competitive in this family...
(I'm going to try to download Mckay and Kaden boxing at Grandma Larsen's Christmas morning. I just have to find my camera first!!! It's hilarious!!)