the sundee before a big week

stake conference today!  love church in the morning.  snapped this picture quick before we headed into the meeting.  no one was happy about it.  the whole time we were in hawaii, jake kept trying to stand next to craig on the sly so we could see who was taller, but craig usually caught on and stood on his tip-toes or slumped so we couldn't really tell.  judging from this picture, i say jake has him by two inches.  changing of the guard.

just heard from the stake clerk.  call has been issued.  it's on its way.  i couldn't sleep last night, and don't expect to sleep until wednesday.  i probably won't sleep then either though.  hmm, this doesn't bode well for me or the people who have to be around me.

thomas is heading for the mtc on wednesday.  he moved the last of his stuff out today.  we have enjoyed having him and i hope we have made a difference in his life.  it's ironic that evan's call is supposed to arrive here at home on wednesday.  thomas will miss hearing where evan is going by a few hours.  we will write him, but it won't be the same.    and g-dawg is on her way to antarctica.  she texted me today from the faulkland islands and reminded me to e-mail as soon as evan opened his call. 

hum drum saturday

saturday started early here.  jake had an interview out in granger.  he applied for a history leadership conference that will be held at valley forge in the spring.  his essay passed and he was chosen as a finalist, so the interview today was to be chosen for the conference.  he presents himself well, so we're hoping he makes it. 

craig had to work all day long.  i hate it when he's not home on saturday.

the nfl play-offs started today, so those of us stuck at home watched the defending super bowl champs lose to the seahawks and the jets beat the colts.  niether game went the way i wanted it to. 

jake and caroline are my heroes this weekend.  after great help yesterday, jake cleaned out drawers for me today and his friend, who spent the day here, vacuumed the floor in the kitchen.  when i was cleaning up christmas stuff, i broke one of my favorite things, a large ceramic pineapple made in mexico.  i figured it was a lost cause, but caroline insisted on gluing it back together.  she did an amazing job.  so grateful for her persistence.

sam spent the day with jackson at basketball practice and hunting down a mouse at his friend's house.

i heard isaac answer the phone today.  it was for sam.  he said, "sam's not home and i don't know where he is, so don't ask".  looks like i need to work on manners with that child.

and evan is texting me tonight asking me if his call has been mailed.  i've been stalking the stake clerk, so i thought it was time for him to text the bishop.  waiting to hear back from him about what the bishop said.

thank goodness it's friday

today was a good day.  i made my first 2011 costco run and besides the loads and loads of food to feed teenage boys, i bought a new garbage can.  i am surprised the satisfaction i felt the rest of the day because of this garbage can.  it's shiny, has a lid and i can open it with my foot.  i love it.  it's amazing what little things can make you happy.

i took a big dive into the post-christmas clean-up.  it's so overwhelming.  i am so lucky to have great kids.  caroline surprised me after school by totally undecorating the tree (a huge job) and jake put all the wreaths and garlands and lanterns back up into the attic over the garage.  he did come in and ask me if it was ok to step on the ceiling, at which point i knew that his leg had put a big hole in the garage ceiling, but i didn't care.  it's only the garage and i was so happy to have everything put away. 

sam had friends over tonight.  i thought that when evan and thomas and all their friends left on their missions i would have a little break before sam and jake's friends took over, but it looks like no break for me.  jake and his friends passed through for (weird) clothes to wear to the stomp.  i'm glad they aren't dancing with me. 

hey, there's sand in my dirty clothes hamper

it's hard enough to come home from hawaii to 20 degree temperatures and air that is thicker than soup--i even had to use isaac's nebulizer and give myself a breathing treatment--that's how bad the air is.  it's hard enough to come home and have piles of wash to do and christmas decorations to take down and put away, but when i get to the bottom of that dirty clothes hamper and find sand--that's hard.  but there are bright spots to coming home.  evan texted and said he was 3 for 3 for classes today--he loved them all.  caroline, jake and sam didn't miss much and there grades are good.  isaac is breathing way better than i am.  and i'm getting my sports fix, even if it is just basketball.  craig is the only one in a hole, a deep one, at work.  looks like long days for the next few weeks.

home

we are home from hawaii and not happy about it.  everyone is unpacking and telling me how sad they are.  sam said he can't stand thinking about the happy memories, which seems counterproductive since we went to hawaii to create happy memories.  lots of complaints about heading back to school.  our red eye flight landed at 7:45 and then we made the slow trek to drop everyone off at a different school.  evan headed straight to provo, then we dropped off sam at millcreek, jake at bountiful, caroline at mueller park and isaac at valley view.  then craig headed off to a few very busy weeks at work.  it was particularly hard for me to come home.  i was dreading returning to my life where evan is leaving soon and scott is still dead.  we're trying to move on now to waiting for the postman to bring us that very important letter.  my guess all along for evan has been somewhere in the polynesian islands, but this week i can't stop thinking about dublin, ireland.  weird.  he probably won't go either place. we'll keep you posted.

golf, surfing, and the spa

awesome day today, maybe my favorite.  caroline and i spent the morning at the spa getting massages, facials, body scrubs, sitting in the whirlpool and steamroom, eating lunch, reading.  perfect relaxation.  the boys all went surfing and then went golfing, except for jake who wanted to study ap history.  the day ended with the perfect sunset. and you can tell that caroline's skin is glowing.

starting off a new year

we welcomed the new year with an early flight from hawai'i to oah'u.  i liked the early flight because i didn't want to waste a beautiful day in paradise sleeping.  after we checked into the marriott, we went down to the pool to play in the sun.  i read a book while the boys and caroline played in the pool.  as i sat there i couldn't imagine being happier than in that moment.  everyone was laughing in the pool.  i was reading a book listening to happy people and feeling the sunshine on my face.  i truly had a joyful heart.  i will always remember that moment.