Ode to the Muddy

This year the Logandale, NV stake has been celebrating its 100th birthday.

Most of my life events have taken place in one chapel or another in the valley.
Blessed in the Overton chapel.
Baptized in the old Logandale chapel.
Seminary graduation in the Stake Center
Wedding reception in the Hinkley chapel
Baby blessings in the old Logandale and Moapa chapels

I remember 4 bishops growing up in the Overton 3rd ward: Bishop Bonham, Bishop Staton, Bishop Robison, and Bishop Dalley.  Interviews with Bishop Robison were awesome, we recounted the family tree, did a little genealogy and talked about honoring our forefathers.  

I have worshipped in every building in the valley.  Overton chapel I grew up in.  The stake center housed my Singles branch and newlywed Logandale 4th ward years.  The beautiful old Logandale chapel was where we were attending when my first baby was blessed.  Our years in the Spanish branch we met in the other two buildings, the Hinckley chapel and the Moapa chapel, or as Jara fondly calls it "the blue church."  I feel connected to them all.  They each have their own little quirks.  The Overton chapel has a dungeon and an upstairs roasting classroom. The Logandale chapel was ginormous and had a smelly scout house, I miss its grandeur and hand made bricks.  The stake center, dedicated when I was 13, has my favorite color scheme, there is something soothing about mauve.  The Moapa chapel has a blue roof.  No matter the differences or the people they have all felt like home.  The way it should feel in God's house.
I used to make fun of citizens who proclaimed the "spirit of the valley" but I am just as sentimental and sappy as the best of em' nowadays.  I'm glad my children are growing up in a safe place, a place where I still lock my door at night but don't feel scared to go for walks with all three kids in tow.  

Happy 100 Logandale.

Do Not Attempt

Do not attempt to take children to the grocery store.  Eating canned corn and stale rice crispy's (because that is about all that is in the pantry, oh yeah and soy sauce?) for dinner is a much better idea than taking 3 children to the grocery store at 5:30 on the last day of the case lot sale.  The parking lot was the first indication I should have cut my losses and gone home.  A fly buzzed Jara and I'm sure emergency services got a report of an attempted homicide.  Girlfriend does not do flying creatures.  Hmm wonder where she got that one from?  For the record, seagulls and bats are way more scary/dangerous than a fly.  Pep talk and cookie bribery finally gets us in the store.  Not a good way to begin grocery shopping however.  Nerves should not be frazzled before entering a place with small aisles and sensory overload possibilities. 

We are half-way done.  Chilling in the meat aisle (haha) when Jack starts playing with the hem of my skirt, I am distracted trying to pick out a nice piece of slab and don't think too much of it.  He senses my vulnerability and WHAM just like that lifts up the back of my skirt.  Thankfully I didn't wear my leopard thong that day. Just kidding you all know what I was wearing. But still. People saw.  People I had just been talking to.  I turned as red as the beef, not to be confused with beet.  Ahh the metaphors of my life.  Anyway, after the talk about "why we don't lift up mommy's skirt in the grocery store," he lovingly petted my leg, up the skirt, and said "sorry foonie."  He has been sweetly making up names for Jara and I all week.  Time to go.  I know when I'm beaten.  Tossed the steak, marched down the frozen pizza aisle grabbed a Freschetta 4-cheese and got the hell outta there.  If you want to be a good mom don't take your kids to the grocery store.

Road Construction IS my Friend

My house bouncing on the foundation IS awesome.
Waking up to the roar of semi's IS refreshing.
The smell of diesel in the morning IS a nostalgic reminder of scrubbing Jed's road crew stained jeans. I SO miss those days when I used to buy Spray N' Wash in bulk at Costco.
It IS lonely when there isn't a constant roar of machinery outside of your house, 3 children just don't feel up all the sound space of my non-carpeted house.
Beep Beep Beep IS a good alarm clock when you need to wake up at 6:00 with three little children who normally are so lazy they sleep in until 8:00 ish.

I am a believer in road construction. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Jed's career, major and business all benefit from this necessary evil. However, I prefer my road construction at a nice tolerable distance-as in Las Vegas. This little number is in my front yard. Currently parked on all road facing sides of my house (two) there is/are 2 excavators, 2 backhoes, 1 dump truck, 2 double trailer semi-trucks, 1 water truck, 2 loaders, a fork-lifty looking thing and the flagger's personal truck.

Let me describe these machines to you, in case your husband does not work construction or you do not have the Usborne Machinery Book for Children at your house.

Excavator-Giant, Giant machine that's bucket is as big as me and runs on earth jarring tracks, sounds similar to the smoke monster (my nemesis) on LOST

Backhoe-just your run-of-the-mill piece of equipment you see digging trenches, nothing too alarming

Dump truck, semi-trucks and water trucks-nothing special, except the fact that they NEVER turn off, never, ever, ever. Apparently it would be too hard to turn that key back on. Agonizing. Okay, okay I know then the worker would have to sit in his truck without his a/c on and okay, okay I know there is some business about these trucks needing time to idle before moving but the constant drone is what's killin' me.

Loaders-NOISY, NOISY beeping machines. (literally beeping, not to be confused with the bleepity bleep words I utter in the morning.)

Moving on...

Do you know how much equipment that is?! I'm guessing there is at least a hundred dollars worth of diesel being burned every MINUTE!!! Okay those numbers may be slightly skewed (spell?) but it feels AND smells like it. The picture does not do it justice. I could only sneakily snap one quick picture out my door because I was directly in excavator-operator-dude's line of vision. That's all I need, the flash of my camera to blind him and land a giant excavator in my lap. Plus I feel like a total law-suit liability, creepy, desperate housewife when I snap pictures of people that are not related to me.

Okay I am going to go put on my headphones and hide in the closet for awhile. I may start developing adaptations of underground creatures. Wish me luck.

To the Tip Top

April 14th was blustery and as wintry as they come. The fair is in town and you can bet money the weather will be terrible and uncooperative on Saturday. After Elise's morning siesta I looked out my East window to snow-capped Bunkerville mountain and "snow day" was deemed. Here is our view from some vantage point that markers insisted "trail ends." Merely a suggestion. We are looking towards home at the back side of Lake Mead. Our beautiful, shimmering once- again-existing lake.




This was our last stop on the journey. I'm working backwards, stay with me. Jara is posing in front of the former home of the infamous Clementine, the alligator. Clementine and all of Pacoon no longer exist. House leveled, alligator transplanted to the Las Vegas Zoo. The legend no longer lives. Why must the gov't take the fun out of the wild? A travel trailer in the desert with a fenced fishy pond just isn't as awesome. It isn't like Clementine ever ate anyone, not even Jed frog-gigging her supper.



A moment of sibling camaraderie. She was really trying to throw him to the croc.

Mountain Man Jack

My precious baby who happily went along with her family's craziness. Hike okay, snow okay, rooooaaaddd trip okay, goofy hat okay.


Jack and his weapon. It scares me when he gets the "evil Jed glint" in his eye. While wielding this bad boy he got the glint, and then proceeded to chase after his sister squatting in a delicate position.

Wherever we were, the first time. Cold enough for snow. The picture doesn't do it justice, there was way more snow. Enough to throw at each other.

The only time Elise and I braved the cold and got out of the truck. The wind chill was fierce.

Now did I mention we logged 6.5 hours in the truck. Cuz we did. We knew it was time to go home when we were singing the Star Spangled Banner and braying like donkeys. Right on cue as Jed hit "the rockets red glare" Jara started making dying donkey noises and pretty soon everyone was melodically pitching in and even as I type it the tears are streaming down my face at our loopiness. And that kids is why you should not live out in the middle of no-where on your own, its bad for the sanity and social skills.

7 and a Half

She's sitting! Instead of 6 month pictures we take sitting pictures. Elise's Aunt Wendy was the photographer, she is very talented and very patient and very loving. Wild animals/babies calm for her.



I love chubber cheek profiles.

And serious face

And charming face

And Curious face. Elise loves her reflection. Our bathroom is house o'mirrors and when we talk to her in the bathtub she looks into the mirror to respond to us.

Playing in the wild

Egg for All

Jara thoroughly enjoying her spoils

A family moment, ignore my squinty eyes even in 80% cloud cover the NV sun gets to me

Jack tenderly loving his prize bunny

Eagerly anticipating the over 7,000 eggs (at least that's what they claimed) just waiting for small children to retrieve

And Elise, the oh so hoppy little bunny who got to stay home with a babysitter, because she was asleep and because she doesn't like to play in the wind and because do you see that look on her face? uh huh...

Eight is Great

We are now entering a gilded stage of wedded bliss, the bronze stage of marriage. I know this because Jed looked it up and eight is the bronze anniversary, so he bought me a picture with a bronze gilded border surrounding the frame. So tasteful and thoughtful, I know, which almost makes me feel badly for planning burial holes in the back yard for him. muhahaha

By the numbers:

8 years married

3 kids

2 cats (unfortunately for jed)

6 major trips (2 years off for babies)

13 years since our first confession of "i like you, i like you too" kiss.

4 different houses we've lived in

2 ER trips

11 inches difference in height

1,000,000 errands, honey-dos and glasses of water Jed has procured for me

2,920 days or 8 years (at least) we've said I love you

"Marriage is not just spiritual communion and passionate embraces; marriage is also three meals a day, sharing the workload and remembering to carry out the trash." -Dr. Joyce Brothers-horrible woman

True. Marriage is loving one deeply, because I wouldn't cook three meals a day for someone I just "cared for," let alone someone I disliked and Jed takes the trash out faithfully at 5 o'clock Wednesday morning's because we had/have a long driveway, he knows I don't like to wake up and he's a good, loving husband like that! Amen.

Happy anniversary to us!