The Dederick Family

Happy St. Valentines Day!

2012-02-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I say that with a grimace. Valentine's Day is fine as a holiday, the only problem is...I really am not very romantic by nature. It's hard to be a sarcastic romantic. I just haven't ever really gotten the hang of it. The whole flowers, candy, jewelry, pajamas, teddy bears, etc has me feeling...well, nothing. I like flowers, not something I get all excited about, candy doesn't do much for me (especially since my surgery when a couple pieces of candy put me on the floor studying the carpet fibers), pj's I have, jewelry makes me nervous, I prefer fake in case I misplace it. Finally, there is stuffed animals, which when you are over 15 years of age, simply become one more dust catcher (note to Scott here - if there is a 4 foot teddy bear waiting for me on Tuesday we have a problem).

The real problem is that Scott is very romantic by nature, and it is almost completely wasted on me! I feel bad for him, I just don't have it in me. He can imagine all kinds of romantic escapes, dinners, etc and I am the downer. This is one of our very few incompatibilities. The idea of a weekend away at a B&B sounds blah to me, I'm very comfortable in my own house, I don't need to go to somewhere else.

Anyway, I feel bad, but there it is. Poor Scott has struggled with this for years and I don't really see much of an end in sight. The guys at work were discussing Valentine's Day on Friday at lunch. I kept downing their ideas until one of the young ones got frustrated and asked me exactly what I would like for Valentine's Day...my reply "ammo is an appropriate gift for any holiday".

OK, that hurts..

2012-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

Emily opted out of church today, she has a cold. So we all headed in together which is unusual because Scott and Erik usually head in early so Erik can help pass the sacrament. Anyway, so we are walking in our standard back door, when Erik said to me, "Mom, I feel like I don't really have very many ties that are appropriate for church.".

WHAT????? Scott put his hand on my shoulder to keep me from hyperventilating. I love to dress the men in my family, I really love to dress them in Sunday clothes. My son has known since he was five that wearing white socks to church was never an option, he knows that undershirts need to be worn under white shirts, he also knows that he should always unbutton his suit coat when he sits down. So my son's comment really hurt. I was confused and concerned, when I got home I went and counted...15 ties he has, including 2 bolos. He has Captain Moroni ties, CTR ties, temple ties...I have no idea why he thinks he has ties that are inappropriate. Alright, maybe the naked girl ties...just kidding...those are Scott's! So now there's only one thing left to do..I have to go shopping, until the pain goes away.

Gospel Principles/Scientific Principles

2012-01-27T21:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s that time of year again when Emily and I went to spend an evening at the New Beginnings program. Yes, it has taken me two days for the pounding headache to abate enough to have coherent thoughts on the evening. No, this year I will not rant and rave about the dress code (but yes, the stake, Emily and I were the only ones in dresses). However, I am going to expound about having to endure an evening with (and I will steal my favorite talk show host Neal Boortz phrase here) the dumb masses.

First of all if you have been asked to speak and you are going to use something as an example, perhaps you should actually know how that something works. For instance, if you were going to use the example of a hot air balloon rising into the air, and you wanted to talk about the scientific principle behind it, perhaps you should take a minute, Google it and learn why a hot air balloon rises. That way you wouldn’t be standing up there and say something like this: “so the balloons have these big propane burners and they heat the air in the balloon and it …like…turns it into helium and the balloon rises up”. That way, in turn, I wouldn’t be forced to sit there wondering if a railroad spike being pounded into my brain really would be more painful.

But moving past that scientific massacre, the speaker then moved on to talk about how he had done a charitable act as a teenager (in great detail), which whenever he thinks about it now he feels like he is being buoyed up like a hot air balloon. I, on the other hand, thought he was confusing the warm feeling of doing something nice for someone with his extremely large, over inflated sense of self importance. We then were called on to TELL something we had done for someone else. Because my husband and mother have repeated told me that I can’t publicly smack people down, I chose to study my thumbnail really, really hard. After the group had shared…he concluded that doing small acts of kindness can lift you up like the hot air balloons.

See, here’s the deal…I think that when you do things for others, you aren’t supposed to talk about it. You have the choice after doing charitable acts to seek the earthly reward or the heavenly reward, but I don’t think you get to do both! Bragging about what you did makes it not count! So, on the way home, after dissecting everything to Emily, and explaining the either/or principle of charitable blessings, I told her that since I never did kind things that must be why I was cold and dead inside. She looked at me and said, “Oh Mom, you’re not cold … and dead inside”. Later when I started thinking about it, I realized the way she phrased it, apparently I must be one or the other, I’m just not sure which. I just hope she was practicing her sarcasm.

I Don't Get It...

2012-01-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

This is Emily and Scott's reaction.....

This is Allison and Erik's reaction....

To this........

Emily's "sweet" new ride!

Ever since she was little Emily has been fascinated with cars from 1965 to 1975. Not cool Mustangs or even clever VW Bugs. I think it must be some sort of genetic mutation, and I blame her Father. Anyway, introducing "Elvis". He's a 1971 El Camino. I just don't get it, Scott says, "You should see people's heads turn!" We have differing opinions as to why.

2012-01-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

I feel responsible. I heard last week that Hostess is having to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They probably noticed the downturn in their sales about 4 years ago, after I had my surgery. I love Hostess chocolate pies, Ding Dongs, and yes the infamous Twinky. After my surgery I gave these beloved items up (along with Diet Pepsi, moon pies, root beer floats, ...) anyway, I felt responsible when I heard the news. So while I was at Walmart last night doing some shopping, I picked up a box of Twinkies. When I got home Erik looked at me very surprised while he was helping to put the groceries away. "You bought Twinkies?" I held my breath, my son is notorious for being a picky eater, "I like Twinkies" he said, whew!This morning while fixing breakfast Scott came in, "Twinkies!" (not in a good way). "Yeah, don't you like Twinkies?". "No, I'm more of a Swiss cake roll kind of guy."Now I'm wondering if my husband is a communist...

An Unhealthy Interest

2012-01-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

Ronald Reagan is one of my favorite presidents (if you said Clinton or Kennedy, why are you still reading my blog?) anyway, one of my favorite quotes is "trust, but verify"

Now I will get to my story, Emily got a kindle for Christmas, one of the reasons was because it is difficult to shop for Emily (she honestly doesn't ask for anything). So we thought she might like a kindle for fun and for possibly reducing the poundage of all those textbooks. She likes the the kindle and so far has a couple games on it, can watch Netflix and her scriptures are on there. Well, she took it with her on Sunday, since that is her scriptures now.

On Wednesday night Scott stopped by the church to fix a printer and someone in our ward (yes, the same one that has been worried about my daughters chest) approaches Scott and this is the conversation:

Sister Bertha Better than you: Emily seems to really like her new kindle.

Scott: Yeah, she does.

Sister Bertha Better than you: How do you keep her from downloading inappropriate things?

Scott: Oh we do.

Me (when he gets home and tells me about it): What the &@$!?$&@. Is she serious?

After my husband casually tells me about this, and I have given my opinion, I turn to Emily who is sitting there playing bubble buster on said evil device "Emily, don't download porn to your kindle". "Oh, OK" she says.

I know people who don't have the Internet, or don't allow their children to get on the Internet because of the all the "bad" things on it. In my opinion these people are either cheap or they don't trust their spouse. Technology isn't a fad, I don't think that someday Emily is going to be sitting around trying to explain to her granddaughter what the Internet was. All these wonderful advancements are just like anything else, they can be used for good or they can be used for bad. Avoiding them doesn't prepare our children for anything but failure.

See, Scott and I have the opinion that if you take the mystery out of something it loses a lot of allure at the same time. This is our opinion about guns, money, sex, drugs and the Internet, when it comes to our children and we are brutally honest about any questions they have. Plus, if you never give them the chance to be trustworthy, how do they become it?

When Emily was 12 she did get lured into a chat room, and thankfully we found out about it before anything happened. She was shut off for a few months then filtered for a few more. My children know at anytime their Mom will check their text messages, or that their Dad can track any and all pages even thought about by their computer. In fact the other night at Texas Roadhouse, Emily was very tex-tracted and so I snagged her phone to see what was so interesting, "hey, what about privacy?" she joked, "privacy is for people who pay their own cell phone bill" I told her. She just laughed and said, "There's nothing exciting in there Mom". She was right.

So that is pretty much our opinion until proven otherwise, we will trust but occasionally verify.

This morning just as she was leaving for school I spotted Emily's report card from Seminary, straight A's and excellent attendance for the last 2 1/2 years. Then she told me, "I'm a little tired this morning, I stayed up late to download some porn, inappropriate video games, and watch some R rated movies, I think one of them was called Hellboy". Then she gave me a little smirk. I was so proud... I thought she would never get the hang of sarcasm!

Christmas PJ's

2011-12-25T04:51:00.001-08:00

I know, I really don't need to say anything more!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Percocet Christmas

2011-12-23T03:58:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas is a percocet, a percocet. All I want for Christmas is a ... no, it works, you just have to be sure to hit the syllables with the notes!

Scott and I are awesome parents, as an early Christmas present we gave Emily a wisdom tooth extraction! I know, you wish we were your parents. Well, if she could possibly take a few days off from school we wouldn't have had to do this at Christmas break. But, getting congress to agree would be easier than getting Emily to miss a day of school, and we didn't just finish a bunch of orthodontic work to have it messed up with those pesky wisdom teeth pushing their way in.

It turns out that my daughter is pretty fun stoned! She doesn't remember anything, but her Dad, the doctor, and the nurse thought she was pretty funny. It also turns out that anesthesia gives her the hiccups.

So, chipmunk cheeks is now resting in the recliner, with a liquid diet and a bunch of pain medications. Actually, Scott and I are feeling pretty guilty, she is in a lot of pain and misery. They say the third day is the worst, I think that works out to be Christmas, so while our timing may not be very good our intentions were the best. So here's to a heavily medicated Christmas.

It's Not My Fault

2011-12-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about my weird, wry, sarcastic sense of humor lately. Maybe it's because my daughter has started catching on to some of my comments or the three new people at work keep making statements like "I can't believe you just said that." Anyway, I was wondering why I have this particular personality trait, then I thought of a favorite story of my sister Nancy's from her childhood.

My family had been pushing cows all day in the Dominguez Canyon on the Uncompaghre. The trail to get out of the canyon is pretty treacherous and was terrifying to Nancy. It's a steep cliff and as they were getting ready to start up, Nancy (ever the worrier) asked my Dad what would happen if the horse stumbled and she fell. My Dad look at her and said, "We'll sell that horse, right after your funeral."

See...it's not my fault!

Never Been Kissed

2011-12-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

This morning on the way to school, a favorite Chris Ledoux song came on the radio, "County Fair". I really like this song, it has a catchy tune and I was happily singing along. I got to the line "there's nothing I know of, can make you fall in love, like a night at the county fair". In a moment of poor judgement I grinned at my son and said, " do you know how many times I fell in love at the county fair?". My son looked at me with all the innocence of a boy who is completely sure his mother has only kissed his father and said, "do you mean with the rides?". Mmmm...yeah, the rides.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

2011-12-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

This is a public service announcement for all my relatives, friends and most especially my nieces and nephews on Facebook. I think that you all need to be aware that my mother (the seventy year plus old woman) is a Facebook snoop.

I know what you thought, that like so many of your friends on Facebook, she logged in one day on a whim, created a profile, and moved on after friending you. Well, that is where you would be mistaken. You see, she used to get on with her laptop a couple times a week, but then in August she bought herself an iPad. There is no going back. The old woman is on Facebook all the time, she snoops around on your pictures, your comments, and even your friends. She knows how to wiggle around to look at everyone else's profiles too, but she doesn't make any comments, she won't like your status, and she never shares anything either.

So this is just to let you know, before you post that picture of your new tattoo, make off color remarks, or change your status...Harriet is watching.

P.S. The woman also reads blogs, and this will tick her off, so I will post this and go get my phone. Expecting a call in T- 5, 4, 3...

Snobs

2011-12-13T19:53:00.001-08:00

My family is a bunch of snobs. Not the " I couldn't possibly be caught at Walmart" type snobs. No, because my family is pretty nerdy, we are office supply snobs. One of the most dangerous places for the Dederick family and their checkbook to go to is the office supply store. It's been building for years, but here is a summary. I'll go oldest to youngest:

Scott-a paper snob. Scott has a super nice laser printer, and he only likes 32# or better paper. Usually it needs to be Hammermill or HP, but the 24# will never cut it.

Allison-well, I'll admit I love all office supplies. But I'm a snob when it comes to file folders. I really don't like manila colored file folders. I like the pretty ones that only come 3 or 6 in a pack. I know that once they go in the file you can't see them, but I don't care. I also really like the designer binder clips, and any funky jump drives I can find.

Emily-a messenger style book bag snob. Emily packs (seriously) about 40lbs of books everyday. As a result she used to go through book bags like crazy. Now however we spend big bucks (and time) combing through the attaché, briefcase, messenger bag section of our local office supply stores. They have to be roomy enough and have the right closure, not to mention the strap has to be just right...yeah, snobby.

And Erik-(the reason I realized we were snobs the other day), who is a mechanical pencil snob. I stood in the office supply store on Friday night with glazed eyes as my son explained the various virtues of a 0.7mm lead over a 0.5mm lead. Although discovering the new 0.9mm pencil was exciting and he did want to purchase one package of these, but insisted on the standard 0.7mm package also, just to be on the safe side.

I know...we are nerds, but at least we are snobs in our nerdi-ness!

When I Die

2011-12-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of dead relatives. In some ways it's probably good, how else would you find chairs for everyone at Thanksgiving? But, in some ways, bad because there are a some of those relatives I wouldn't mind seeing again. Well, in case you are new to my ramblings, one of the many things my gene pool is famous for is telling stories. Of course the stories get much better with time!

Anyway, we love to tell stories about our family, both the living and the dead. But, I have noticed that many times when we talk about some of the dear departed we tend to overlook a lot of their faults. Oh I know the whole "don't speak evil of the dead" thing, but the reality is that the those that are on the other side of the veil, had just as many foibles, shortcomings, and times when they dropped their basket as the rest of us.

My Dad was awesome, he is still awesome, but the truth of the matter was that he littered (copiously), he transported illegal fireworks across state lines, and he had been known to shoot deer without a license. And one time, I even saw him cut down a tree and it fell right on on his open pickup door. So despite what my Mother and sisters claim, he wasn't perfect.

My sister Ellen suffered for so many years with her chronic illness, but I'm pretty sure none of us can say she did it without a complaint. My Grandparents accomplished so much, but they had a few glitches too. Even my dear venerated ancestors that crossed the plains, I am sure, had a few faults. After all they didn't leave Nauvoo because they thought it would be a great adventure to journey in the wild west, they left because they were thrown out by the mobs.

I think at times we do ourselves and our children a dis-service when we make folk heroes out of their progenitors. After some of the stories I was told as a child there was no way, I knew, that I was ever going to measure up. Ten feet tall and bullet proof is a great story but the reality is that most of those people were just that, people. They would probably be extremely embarrassed about the way we have built them up. My ancestors struggled across the plains because they had no choice. My Grandparents achieved because they worked hard, and they all had serious setbacks both personally and financially. My sister struggled with her disease, when she would rather have led a quiet life. And, finally, I think my Dad would be disgusted with some of the ways we remember him. We are all human, put on this earth to do the best we can. I hope my children remember both my struggles and achievements at the end of my life, the times I achieved and I failed. Those are the stories from all of us that truly inspire.

Gifters Block

2011-11-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

I'm out. Finished. Done. Washed up! Oh, the shame!

Christmas is coming, my favorite holiday. I listen to Christmas carols all year. I decorate my house with no less than 4 Christmas trees, our outdoor display is Scott's pride and joy, and at last count I had over 30 nativity sets. So with all this you may ask "what is your problem Allison?" (you know, this time).

I have a reputation for giving well thought out gifts, scrapbooks that make people cry, treasured eBay scores, etc. I carefully begin plotting and planning these gifts, literally months in advance. And this year...I've got nothing!! Christmas is five weeks away people, and I have gifters block. Oh, it's been building for months, I have racked my brain, but to no avail. I peaked to early, burned my self out, set the bar to high, and now I have nothing to offer.

I should have known this day was coming, but it is still pretty humiliating. I've tried to let people know, tried to warn them. I gently suggested to Nancy the other day that she might just get something simple from me this year like an Applebee's gift card. She looked at me as though I had just ruined her Christmas morning. She stared at me and gave an indignant huff, it only served to make me more humiliated. Now what? I'm scrambling, desperate, grasping at gifting straws. What will Christmas morning be like this year? So, if any one has any leads....ideas....anyone?

Goin' to use it for everyday

2011-11-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm a Mormon (Sorry, I'm supposed to say "a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" because that is the real name). Anyway, my family lineage goes back nearly the entire span of the the modern church, on both sides. My mother belongs to the Glorious Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, which rumor has it requires a DNA test to join, and apparently I'm eligible to join as well.

It is my personal belief that something happened on a genetic level as those pioneer ancestors crossed the plains, probably somewhere around Council Bluffs, that created some sort of quilting gene mutation. You see, I know how to quilt. Not fancy mind you, but basic keep your family warm, thanks for the baby blanket type of quilting. It has been handed down for generations in my family. I even have a quilt that my great grandmother made. You see, all the women in my family can quilt and truly appreciate the effort real quilting requires. Over the years as I have heard women in my family discuss this or that about quilts, they will occasionally say something like "she had that gorgeous quilt Great Aunt So&So made, just out on her bed for every day!". Apparently some quilts are not for every day.

Anyway, when I got married, one of the many things my Mother, Aunts, Grandmother and assorted other relatives did for me was make me a beautiful quilt. I think the pattern is called a Cotton Blossom. It is pink on one side and burgundy on the other. It was hand quilted, and I even helped a little bit between a grass taxonomy lab and a lizard dissection.

Over the years this beautiful quilt has been displayed a few times on a quilt rack that Scott made, but for the most part it has been tucked away in my Hope Chest or in a cedar linen closet. But the other day I was changing out my summer linen, (waiting until I can put on Christmas linens) when I saw that quilt. I decided to put it on my bed. So there, after 20 years I'm going to use it for everyday!

Random thoughts of "Seige on Whiting Road"

2011-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last night, thanks to some strange circumstances beyond my control, I had the opportunity to observe some of our local law enforcement's finest. Since I had a perfect vantage point (my Mother's front windows) I have decided to share some of my random insights:

Wow, I had no idea they made gun belts that big around.

Residents of Mesa County should always hope they are not in a hostage situation, since it takes about 3 hours to round up the SWAT team.

Should the guy in the house really be given the same ultimatum by PA four times? What? Do they think he might have been in the bathroom and not have noticed the armored swat vehicle sitting next to the front door?

I really should buy my Mom one of those eavesdropping things.

Has any of the tax payers in Mesa County noticed that the mobile command unit looks like a street taco vending truck? Several members of my family and I had to resist the urge to run over and place an order.

While I do appreciate them clearing my home before I came in, could they not have taken half a second to wipe their combat boots?

Ok, I can understand breaking out one window, but 6? And not using the doors?

If you are going to give the fugitive instructions, hope that he really does know which way is west.

Maybe, if the family members are all telling you he's not in the house, maybe he's not in the house.

Before you call out 30+ officers, maybe you should ping his cell first.

I know the fugitive wasn't very bright, but if he can outwit the deputies how smart are they?

If you really want to frustrate a former AF air base ground defense troop security police, federal officer- make him sit up at the end of the street and watch the keystone cops run all over the place. (ps, thanks for letting me listen to that last night).

Finally, if on the way up the street this morning and my son wondering why the windows are all broke out says, "why couldn't they just use one of those body heat, thermo things to see if he was in there?" I realize he gets it, maybe he should have been in charge of the op.

No Clue

2011-10-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

I am a bad parent. It's true. I have no idea what I'm doing, there I said what I think everyone else has been saying. Well, what do you expect? They just sent these children home with me from the hospital and the only thing they checked was if I had the car seat installed properly. The little buggers don't come with any instructions, there isn't any license or certifications required. So here it is over 16 years later and I still don't know for sure how to do it.

I just wing it. Once many years ago I worked with a guy and his daughter who was also named Emily. She was such an awesome young woman, one day I told him he had done such a good job I should give him my daughter to raise. He looked at me bewildered and said, "I didn't do that. A pack of wolves could have raised her and she would have turned out just the same. I don't know how to be a parent, I just came to the breakfast table one day and there were five little faces looking at me."

The other day I think my son had a panic attack because "the market has been down, and the jobless rate is so high". Turns out I may be exposing my children to too much Fox News, who knew 12 year olds could get freaked out from the bad economy. I don't force my children to go to YW/YM every week, and I acknowledge that there are good leaders and bad in their lives. I let them not eat brussel sprouts and I force Emily to wear nylons with her dresses. I am obsessive compulsive about homework, but not about to much tv time. My children lecture me about swearing and talking smack about some people.

So, I am coming out of the closet and admitting what so many people know. I have no idea what I'm doing, and I plan to continue just like before.

I'm Voting No, you know because I hate children

2011-10-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, there it was in the mail on Thursday afternoon...my official ballot. I knew it was coming, that's all there has been in the letters to the editor in the paper, the "you said it" column, and all over with the yard signs and billboards. You see our local School District 51 has had to tighten it's belt in the last couple years with the downturn in the economy. So, despite getting turned down before they are trying yet again to get the property owners in Mesa County to pony up a little more money. The threats are clear, closing schools, laying off teachers, bigger classroom sizes, etc, etc.

Now for the disclaimer: I currently have three nieces with teaching degrees. One teaches back east, one teaches for District 51, and one is on active reserve attempting to raise 3 1/2 boys. I don't hate them, want them to earn less money, or want them to teach in schools without lights. (And, thank you Allie for agreeing with me on this measure).

You see the problem is that for the last 11 years I have dealt directly with this school district, and all the machinations that it has managed to create. My children currently can not bring home some of their text books because there aren't enough to share and can't leave the school. They have dropped some classes because the district can't afford some of the programs, and they literally go to the same schools I did 30 years ago and have some of the same desks, lockers, and even a few of the same teachers. But throwing money at them isn't going to fix any of this.

The district's mentality that "just give us more" will fix any and all problems isn't the answer. My children have had 30+ year teachers who flat don't give a damn. My nieces school has adopted a policy of "no homework" because the parents complained. The middle school has now adopted a "rubric" style of grading, which is completely bizarre. My daughters high school has 3 assistant principals, 5 counselors (all new this year) and six secretaries. My list of examples can go on and on, but please explain how any of this helps with a quality education.

My parents managed to get pretty good educations with only chalk boards and books, I managed to get a darn good education with chalk boards, books and a few computers. I don't think fancy projection boards, web sites, progress counselors, and dispute mediation's really help. So I am voting no. No, you can't have more money, you just have to tighten your belt like the rest of the country. It's like a teenager that has managed to go through his allowance in the first three days of the week, the solution isn't to give the teenager more money, the solution is to get the teenager to be more responsible. More money is not the solution to this nations education problem. If throwing money at it made it the best, our country's education results would lead the world. Our children and the administration of the district both need to learn the same lesson...responsibility.

The College Hunt Has Begun

2011-10-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

College. College? Oh thanks, I've been there done that. What? Time for my daughter to start looking at colleges? No that isn't possible, I'm pretty sure she is only in third grade!

Well, today Emily and I went up to Aspen for the Western Colorado College Fair. (Ok, we missed church) Anyway, off we went because Emily just turned 16, and apparently the clock is seriously ticking. According to the counselors at GJHS we are already behind schedule. So there we were, with over 200 colleges in attendance and only three hours to look through them. There were colleges from every state in the union, ranging from Harvard (yes, Harvard) to IntelliTech. I think we are somewhere in between. The trouble is Emily wants to go into structural or architectural engineering (this week), so we are definitely not looking for a liberal arts college. Of course she found the perfect college...in Vermont.

Currently she seems to be interested in the following:

Vermont Tech

Colorado School of Mines

Westminster

U S Coast Guard Academy (they include big guns with engineering)

Of course I have no idea who is going to pay for any of these colleges, but the dialogue has begun. We filled out enough of the little interest cards that our mail box should be over flowing in the next couple months. Next comes all the tests, PSAT, SAT, ACT, ASVAB, blah, blah, blah.

I'm not sure how the heck I ever went to college, I guess that is why I just stayed at MIT (you know Mesa in Town). But, even if Emily ends up at my alma mater that will be just fine. I'm glad Emily is being proactive and I hope all the entrance stuff doesn't overwhelm all of us. So begins a new chapter in our lives, well in two years, since we just started our junior year, but hey...the clock is ticking!

I Don't like Halloween

2011-09-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's true, I really don't like Halloween. No, it isn't the religious part of me either, I simply don't like it. I have never liked scary things, I don't really appreciate gore and blood, and I don't even like suspense...so pretty much all things Halloween.

When I went to see Ghost Busters in my younger days I went home with nightmares. When my Dad suggested that that I watch Hitchcock's famous movie Psycho, I had a clear shower curtain for two years (that seriously irritated my sister Ellen). when my friends convinced me to go see Night of the Living Dead, I spent all but the first five minutes in the lobby. When I first got married Scott didn't believe that I really didn't like scary, and tried to get me to watch The Fly, I didn't sleep for three days and I only saw a few minutes of it too.

I have been known to attempt bribery of my children with multiple bags of their favorite candy if we don't have to go trick or treating. I have been known to purposely go out to dinner to avoid trick or treaters. I refuse to decorate my home with any extra cobwebs, skeletons, witches, etc.

If I have to I will go to church parties, I will get dressed up, and I will give out candy, but just realize that I really don't like Halloween.

Blame it on Shadrach

2011-09-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

Approximately 10 weeks ago, I woke up thinking about the fact that I have a really big yard, and I really hate yard work. There are tons of nooks and crannies, a bizarre corner over behind Clark's, peach trees and lots of weeds. So I woke up and thought, "I need a goat", so I checked Craig's List and consulted my goat expert Allison the Younger. The conversation went like this:

Me: Hey, what do you know about La Mancha goats?

Allison: They're ugly, they don't have ears.

So, on the way home from work that day,

Introducing...Shadrach

No...he's not a camel. He's our sweet addition. But that just opened a whole other can of worms. First of all, staking out a goat in my neighborhood is like offering the local dogs/bears/mountain lions a treat on the end of a string, and apparently goats like friends. So, the task of fencing in the portion of our lot behind the Clark's began. Scott decided that the fence should be good enough to hold what ever his wife might bring home (what does that imply?). We had just started the fencing process, (spending a lot of time at my favorite store Murdoch's) and we had found all the necessary parts, except for a 16 foot wire filled livestock gate for the far corner. Unfortunately, Murdock's only had 14 foot gates, so Scott and I were looking for a misplaced 16 footer...when I tripped over the gate rack and broke the 5th metatarsal in my left foot. So the task of building nearly the entire fence went to...
Scott, and his "trusty" helpers

Okay, maybe not so trusty, but they did help.

Nearly 500 feet of fencing, two livestock gates, 18 eight foot post, and 45 T-posts later, we had a new goat pen.

In the midst of building the goat pen, we had an RE Whiting Family Reunion at the ranch. We had a pretty good turn out.

And of course Shadrach was invited. But he wasn't the main course.Despite the broken foot we did take a quick family vaca/back to school shopping trip to Salt Lake. We went to Lagoon, where my family had the opportunity to push me around in a transfer chair for the day. In a moment of weakness or maybe it was the percocet...I agreed to let my children do the following:

Get strapped into harnesses by twenty something year olds with little or no training

Hoisted a couple hundred feet in the air

and released.

Fortunately they survived, because I can't bake anymore.

We started back to school in August, the day before Emily turned sweet 16. She decided to post phone her party until Labor Day weekend, and the pictures from that are on another camera, so you will just have to breathlessly anticipate them.

Then last week we finally moved Shadrach out of the Chicken Coop (his temporary home while the fence was being finished) and got two new friends for him. I let the kids name them which is why we on't havea aMeeshach and Abednego. We now have...

Diva (who isn't really)

and Little Tim (Emily named him), she said, "He looks like a little Tim" So I asked, "Do you mean Tiny Tim?". "Who's Tiny Tim?" she asked. Never mind.
So now we have three goats, small, medium, and large. Although Shadrach has a few issues, he likes to play with Frank.Right now the goats only have a upside down Loomix tank for a home, but knowing my husband they will soon have a goat palace. But looking at them they don't seem to mind.

Anyway, I know I haven't blogged in a really long time, but between the broken foot, the goats, family reunions, school starting, a sweet 16 party, and maybe even a cub scout regatta race, I've been a little out of it. So I'm working on it.

The Dederick Family Shoes

2011-07-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, I made an impulse purchase at Wal-mart. A pair of slip on Dr. Scholl's. How was I to know that many, many years later these same shoes would come to be known as "The Dederick's Family Shoes"? Well, it's true. We all wear them. We slip them on to run out to the chicken coop, over to Nancy's, up to Grandma's, out to get the paper, etc, etc, etc. If we all need to go somewhere, and the shoes have all ready been taken, we stack up at the door, like pringles...and stare, not really sure what to do. My family members can tell if someone from my family is visiting someone else's house, they just look for the family shoes, kicked off by the front door. We aren't proud...those are awesome shoes, and we all love them! I think everyone else is just jealous. And yes, I have been half way up the street or maybe even farther into town and realized that I forgot to change.

The Trouble with Traditions

2011-06-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I come from a freakishly large family which loves to spend a lot of time doing things together. This attitude didn't appear overnight. It was carefully and lovingly nurtured by generations of women before me or my sisters. When I was little time was marked by events such as Easter picnics

Family reunions, which of course included luaus
And of course the biggest end of year event- Christmas Eve

It seemed we would just get done with one event and planning would begin for the next. Everyone in my family can recall-sometimes with fondness; sometimes not- all of these traditional family events and gatherings. I still can't comprehend the idea of spending Christmas Eve quietly watching movies.

Anyway, as time has gone by and as noted in previous posts I have been blessed/cursed with the genetic desire to continue traditions. Well, it turns out that traditions take a lot of work. When I was little I didn't truly appreciate all the work that went into all the events around me. But now as I get older I appreciate the need for traditions. Not all the traditions that I had as a child have continued. We no longer do large family Easter picnics, Sunday dinners are a thing of the past, and luaus are simply a fond memory. But a few years ago I woke up one day and realized that while I couldn't do all the traditions my Grandma did, I did have the opportunity to start creating my own traditions within my family.

You see, that's the trouble with traditions, they take a lot of work or they go away. It doesn't count when you sit around and just tell your kids about the great things you did way back when. You need to actually get up...and do something. If you aren't willing to help, you deserve to not enjoy them. So...as the time gets closer for the 2011 RE Whiting Family Reunion, and I hear "well...I don't think we are going to make it this year" or as Christmas approaches and I hear "I just can't make it this time...but for sure next year" I wonder what your children will be doing in 20 years. You see, kids learn from example, if you didn't have the time for your family I wonder if they will ever have the time for you.

Traditions create a sense of stability. Something that you can count on no matter what is going on. Unfortunately, many members of my family, while they enjoy the traditions, are not willing to put the work into them. To them I say--"Quit ****ing and get to work! You think it was easy for people before? Well, they did it, so suck it up cupcake!"

The Rivers Edge

2011-06-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

It's runoff time. Usually that means that we get dirty water in the water treatment world, which, oddly enough is actually easier to treat than clean December water. Anyway, this year we had watershed snowpack levels around 248% of normal. That means a lot of snow, add to that a nice cold spring, and you have the opportunity for a lovely runoff year. Normally the Colorado River in the summer runs around 10,000 cfs, runoff on a normal year is around 20,000 cfs. This year we are expected to peak around 34,000 cfs. While this won't be the record year of 1983 which was 40,000 cfs it's still pretty serious.

My work has been preparing for this flood for a couple months, but it wasn't until the last two weeks that we got into high gear. We have been building berms and filling sandbags, lining banks and watching the weather like crazy. Since our treatment plant is right along the river, we have to take all this seriously. In the record year of 1983, the river decided to use it's old channel, which happens to be our across our driveway, so the operators were literally boating in to work. This year we have a boat, life jackets, and plans for evacuating the building for things like documents and some of my lab equipment. Hopefully we won't have to do that.

However, since the river usually crests around 2 a.m. we have all volunteered for shifts to watch the river in the middle of the night. Mine is for Thursday morning 2-6 a.m. For some reason this has my mother and my supervisor very nervous. My supervisor, because I am the only woman who volunteered (apparently the secretaries aren't interested in being team players) and my mother because, well...she's my Mom. The crest is supposed to be here on Wednesday or Thursday, right when I will be checking. I'm not worried, but to make my Mother happy, maybe I'll give her a call so she knows I'm safe! A 3 a.m. check in should make her very happy indeed!

Rules to Live By

2011-05-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't been shy about announcing to everyone that Scott and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. After all I think that's a pretty impressive achievement considering he asked me to marry him a week after our first date... and I accepted. To say that we haven't had our share of challenges would be a lie, but, the further we go, the better it seems to get. I love being married and we still have so much fun it's hard to believe that there are people who don't like being married. Scott is my best friend, and while there are occasional rough patches, they are certainly getting fewer and fewer as time goes by.

Now, I certainly don't have all the answers to doing anything (no...I really don't), but Scott and I have developed a few rules over the years, and I thought I would share them with you.

1) When we got married a Great Uncle told Scott to never leave the house, without a kiss goodbye. Yeah, we still do that.

2) That same Great Uncle also told us to never go to bed angry...that's crap. If you want one of us to get really mean, and then meaner, and then flat out of control, keep us staying up late rehashing the problem. We tried this approach early in our marriage, it wasn't good. And as previous posts have shown...I'm a reasonable woman! Well..properly rested I am.

3) When we do have an issue we keep it to the topic at hand. When we are arguing about something we don't bring up past events, and we don't use words like "you never" or "you always".

4) No calling each other names, except for nice ones. Labels and names hurt, and you remember them for a long time.

5) We don't say things about each other to anyone else that we wouldn't say directly to each other.

6) No hitting, not ever. Not even when we are playing around and joking. No little swats, pushes, or swipes. Scott was raised in a home where physical violence occasionally reared it's ugly head. When we were first married and I playfully punched him he told me, "little hits lead to big hits and we aren't going to do that, I don't hit you and you don't hit me." He was right, and we don't.

7) We put each other first, always. We tell our kids we love them, but if the entire family was drowning and we could only save one person, it won't be either of them.

Well, there you have it. The rules for my marriage. It works for us, but, if it were foolproof I would bottle it and sell it.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

I was raised in a pretty unique situation. I grew up on the family ranch with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles all within a stones throw. Today, while they were talking about Mother's Day at church I was sitting in the back (like I always do) thinking about my Mom and the women in my family. As I looked up the chapel I could see my two blond aunts sitting ahead of me (apparently the Whiting boys definitely preferred blonds!), anyway, as I was saying, I started thinking about the women in my family, and how fortunate I was to be influenced, not only by my Mother, but by these other women on a pretty regular basis.

I loved the summer time when they would all gather on our front lawn in the afternoon or early evening. They would all sit and visit, catch up on the goings on, and work out the menu for the next family dinner. Between these three sister-in-laws I am pretty sure any problem could be worked out, in fact, if they had put their mind to it, they probably could have fixed any thing, ran any business, and planned a royal wedding.

Aunt Lois - Aunt Lois taught me so many things, she was the Aunt with the best cooking, the Aunt that was the Girl's Camp director, the artistic Aunt that could paint and create. Aunt Lois is extremely practical, and she showed me how to "use it up, wear it out, or do without". She was able to cook on a fire, can vegetables and carve watermelons for Luaus. Aunt Lois could work all day, and still smile at you when you were being a smart ass. Her little half chuckle-half laugh meant that you had done good.

Aunt Donna - Aunt Donna is the Aunt that never has anything bad to say, about anyone...ever. She could rewire an entire house while she was on the phone organizing a funeral meal. Aunt Donna can remember everyone, in this stake and the west, I mean not just their names, but their children's names and where their family comes from. Aunt Donna can play every piece of music on the piano that anyone has ever thrown at her and remember to take a meal into Sister Soandso. When ever I made my sarcastic remarks to Aunt Donna she would just sigh and smile, she is the Aunt with the softest and biggest heart.

Finally - my Mom. One day my Grandma Whiting was bragging about her daughters-in-law talents, when she got to my Mom she said, "and Harriet...well, you have executive abilities". We still laugh about it, but it's true. My Mom has a head for business, and she's had a head for business way before women were supposed to. She took care of all the ranch business, property maps, contracts, loans, etc. She still knows more about reservoir water rights and property assessments than I ever will. She taught me so many things, how to work, how to take care of your family, and how to have fun. She taught me that it's OK to have a bad day, but don't stay there to long. I could spend the rest of the day telling all the things my Mother taught me, but there isn't enough room on the Internet for all of it.

Anyway, these three remarkable women are the strongest women that I have ever known. They have endured through every imaginable event, loss, joy, heartache and more. They have survived, they have squared their shoulders and pushed through. The pioneers have nothing on these women. They definitely set the bar pretty high. I'm sure I won't measure up, but I'm so glad I have had the chance to know these remarkable women all of my life.

Happy Mother's Day

Reasonable Woman

2011-05-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Erik is in the home stretch of the 5th grade. Yes, that last blissful year of elementary school. Because there are two new 5th grade teachers this year (for the first time in 25 years) they are trying to keep up a few traditions started by the previous administrations. Some of those traditions are the egg drop (a design competition in which your creation containing an egg is dropped from the top of the school), the life time line, the Blast from the Past (where they dress up as a character from history and answer questions about the famous person's life), a family tree, and a biography. I know, it sounds like they are getting ready to die...

Anyway, the biography is supposed to be 5-7 paragraphs, well thought out, about your life. Have you ever attempted to get an 11 year old boy to write a significant essay? I think when Emily did her biography it was around 17 pages. Well, finding teeth in my chickens is easier than getting Erik to write more than "I was born, I live, I like to play the Wii." We have been slowly working on this essay for about 5 days, he writes a few things, I make marks on it in red, and try to pose questions that should lead to more information. Last night I left Scott to work on the final draft because the gray hair was really coming through and I definitely needed some hair dresser attention. When I got home, Scott cheerfully told me "it's all done, and you really should read it."

The fourth paragraph was supposed to be about things Erik wanted to do in the future. What did he want to be? How many children? Where did he want to live? etc. It was reading pretty good until I saw a sentence that hadn't been there before:

"I want my wife to be a reasonable woman, like my mom, who likes to have fun."

Some may be insulted, but I take this as the highest of compliments. He doesn't even have to get me anything for Mother's Day. Oh yeah, and my new motto? "You know...I'm a reasonable woman."

Uplifting Spiritual Experience Thieves

2011-05-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

We have a couple, let's just say they are in our Stake, who love to "recycle" stories from the Ensign 40 years ago. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't realize that these people do that. As a result they are often regarded as "spiritual giants". I view them as a plagiarists, and...let's just say it, liars. Over the years my family has engaged in a little game we like to play whenever one of these people is speaking at a church meeting, it's called "name the Ensign they stole that story from", there are extra points if you can name the General Authority as well. Anyway, my family (because we never forget anything) can name literally dozens of examples of this behaviour.

What absolutely amazes us is the number of people who believe that this one couple has had all these wonderful, poignant, life changing experiences. They manage to make every one of them sound so personal. I wonder sometimes, if they take turns telling the stories to each other in order to get all the voice inflections and emotional turning points sounding just right. Maybe they practice in front of a mirror, in order to get all the facial expressions perfected.

Additionally, this couple also has a lot of people believing that they have personal relationships with some of the General Authorities, and are special consultants on many church programs. Well, that all sounds so special...except that when you have known these particular people for many years, you begin to pick up on a couple of the idiosyncrasies. You remember the failed businesses, which years later, they claim were such successes. You remember their children and how that story isn't quite how you remember it. You remember that all those stories simply don't add up.

One of the problems with living in the ward or stake that you grew up in, is that you know way to much about all of the other people who grew up here. But, the reverse is also true, I'm sure they know way to much about me. That's ok, I won't deny my mistakes of childhood, teenage years, or even college years. That's part of life. But stealing life changing, spiritually uplifting stories from others...pretty sure there is someone keeping track of that, not just the Whiting clan.

Tax Time

2011-04-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

OK, it has taken me about this much time since tax day to actually calm down enough to blog. If you are a person who gets a big fat IRS "refund" you should probably stop reading right now...because this is just going to tick you off.

I don't get refunds, I don't even remember the last time I did, and I certainly have never gotten a check from the IRS for more than a few hundred dollars. Yup, I'm one of those people who actually pay taxes. In answer to your questions, yes, I do have money held out of our paychecks, Scott claims 1 and I claim 2. Yes, we do know how to fill out our tax documents and occasionally have had them professionally done. No, I don't cheat on our taxes. Yes, I do claim all my deductions.

You see the problem is that Scott and I just pretty much work our ****es off, and as a result the federal government seeks to penalize that by making us pay more. I don't get the "earned income tax credit", I have never received section 8 housing support, never had food stamps, never had reduced lunches for my children at school, never had help with my utility bills, medicaid or subsidized anything. One time Scott got laid off from a job and the unemployment office decided that since he had a retirement from the US Military he was entitled to $40 per week of unemployment, boy did that really help. We drew that for about 5 months.

Now for the part where I make some people angry. If you got a really big refund from "Uncle" Sam, do you really think you actually overpaid? Are you that stupid? Look at the actual numbers, if you are that capable, and realize that you are simply being paid for your inability to succeed. That's right, you are a bunch of leaches sucking off people that are actually paying their way. Do you think that money just shows up? They estimate that the bottom 50% of wage earners in this country have virtually zero tax liability. So now I will explain what that means for those people, it means that if you don't work as hard as 50% of the population, the US Government will steal money from people that are working harder and give it back to you. The top 10% of wage earners pay 71% of the taxes in this country. Now you may say, "Well, they should, they make a bunch of money." Except that guess what the cut off is for the top 10%...this year it was estimated at households that make more than $108,000.

Scott and I did not chose to have children we could not afford, we drive older cars that are paid for, we don't default on our responsibilities, we go to work every day, we deal with bosses and co-workers who sometimes annoy us, we go to work when we are tired, we pay for our children, we pay for our food, we pay for our health care, we pay our mortgage, we pay our insurance, and most of all we don't expect anyone or anything else to pay for us.

Forgive me if at times I become frustrated with you for your excuses, but since when did your stupidity and bad judgement become my responsibility? Apparently, it was when the US Government decided to use it's power to force me to pay for you.

Huh...haven't done that in a long time...

2011-03-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

I used to sing. No really, I did. I was in all kinds of choirs in high school, including the "elite" Octavos. I enjoyed singing, what I didn't enjoy was the issues so many music people have. My father tried to warn me, you see, his mother, my beloved Grandma Whiting was a music person. She was a guest soloist at the first radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. My Grandma Whiting was a wonderful person, and she had some awesome qualities, but she was a force to be reckoned with when it came to music and productions.

I pretty much decided that I was done singing when my high school choir director got mad, threw down his baton, ran into his office and slammed the door. Granted, it was his first year of teaching and we were a pretty mouthy bunch of high schoolers. Anyway, I didn't pursue it when I went to college. At one point I did have to go to the director of the music department to drop a class, and when he saw the form, he looked up and said, "So you're the Whiting I heard about that could sing." I just smiled, thanked him for signing it and left.

So for that last 20 years, it has just been a few little songs here or there-a funeral, a Relief Society lesson, etc. About 9 years ago I did have an inch of my trachea removed because of some scar tissue build up, and I never really planned on singing again, so I was surprised about 6 weeks ago when I got a call from the stake Relief Society about singing in a choir for a Women's Conference with Janice Kapp Perry. Well, I have good days and not so good days, but I gave it a try.

It has been a really long time since I worried about breathing, diction, crescendos, etc. but it brought back a lot of memories from way back when. Well, after it was all over, it turned out to be pretty good, and I guess we sounded ok, anyway, we got a lot of compliments. Maybe I'll do it again, well until someone throws another temper tantrum.

Death by Chocolate Trigonometry

2011-03-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

All right, I can't help it...we are a pretty nerdy family. There, I said it, my daughter loves, and I mean LOVES math. She's taking trig as a sophomore and is doing, well, let's just say really good. Anyway, she climbed in the van the other night after tennis practice (that's a whole other blog entry) and started to tell me about her trigonometry assignment that was due next week.

Emily: Mom, I have a big trigonometry assignment we...blah blah blah blah (at this point my eyes have glazed over)... so I thought I would make a big cake (oh, something that caught my attention) and then I would....blah blah blah....with cupcakes around it. What do you think?

Admittedly the only thing I understood was that I needed to make a big cake, and some cupcakes and have stuff for her to draw on the cake with. I told that sounded great, when was it due? I remembered that Allison the Younger had a ginormous cake pan (ok, it was really a 16" round) left over from a smiley face cake she made a couple years ago. So I snagged that, then I called her and asked how many cake mixes it takes to make a cake that big, turns out it was 4! The whole thing turned into a family project that consisted of me making the cake and cupcakes, Scott finding some plywood that we could support a cake that bigon and creating a cover that wouldn't mess it up, Emily doing all the decorating and figures, and of course her little brother making comments such as "I can't believe you're doing your homework on a cake!"

Well, Scott and Emily took it to her teacher this morning and...needless to say, it was a hit.

Oh, it's that time again..

2011-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is that time again, when I rant and rave about the pathetic casualization of members of my faith. Once again Emily and I attended what should have been a nice, church dress, New Beginnings program (and I use the term program loosely). I worked all day, Emily had to stay after school, so we had to hurry home to change and get back into the chapel. Now, I will admit, I was tempted to just wear what I had on, but in all good conscience I couldn't do it. So "suited up" Emily asked me on the way in if I thought we would be the only ones there in church dress, I told her, "I'm afraid so, but just because they have lowered their standards doesn't mean I will lower ours."

Sure enough, they stared dazedly at us, as if we were the confused ones. However, I was soon justified when--- glory be...the stake leaders showed up in dresses!! Don't worry, I'm sure all the ward young women and their leaders still felt right at home in their skin tight jeans, athletic shorts and yes...even some sweat pants.

In fact one of the leaders in front of Emily and I (slouching in her tennis shoes and fleece jogging jacket) was commenting to another leader "I'm glad I only have boys, I just couldn't get into the whole girl thing." And my only thought was, "I'm glad you only have boys too, at least they won't learn how to dress from you". I know that sounds pretty mean, but I don't care. They all own dresses - I've seen them wearing them on Sunday.

There are two major programs each year associated with the Young Women's Program, New Beginnings and Evening of Excellence. Neither of these programs are surprise parties- aka they should be planned well in advanced, not..."hey you're here! Want to read a part in this skit I just downloaded from the Internet? I don't have the props, in fact I only have one copy of the skit and it requires 4 girls, but hey let's all have a goofy fun time."

Gee...I wonder why they have such a hard time getting girls to earn their Young Womenhood Award.

Apparently, it could be worse...

2011-01-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, there are a few things I don't share with everyone. I know, that is hard to believe since I feel like I tell everyone everything! But I have had quite a few challenges in the last six months which I have, shall we say, kept pretty close to the vest. The other night, I was reminiscing about the last couple weeks, since I kissed 2010 away and welcomed in 2011, thinking...there is no way it could be as bad as last year. I went to bed thinking so far for 2011, our challenges are pretty darn good. Then I had the dream.....

I dreamed my darling 15 year old announced she was pregnant. The father, a boy she doesn't have an interest for in real life, is a very nice young man. I dreamed they were almost as surprised as her Mom and Dad were. Of course my plans in the dream were to send her live with her Aunt Donna, and give that child to someone who needed it.

Then I woke up, and realized that as bad as my challenges have been in the last couple months, apparently... they could have been worse!

Here we go Again!

2010-12-21T20:13:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when I have way to much time on my hands (not at my work, of course!), I come up with grand ideas. I know that to regular readers of this blog, this will probably not come as any surprise...plays, cub mobiles, parades, over the top reunions...but I digress. So as I was sitting at my desk one day, before Thanksgiving and I started thinking about all the family that was coming home for Christmas this year. Then the usual wheels start turning and I think, maybe I could host a Christmas Eve party, just like Grandma Whiting used to have. But the logical part of my brain remembers a not pleasant experience involving Christmas Eve a few years ago, and all the therapy and xanax it required to get over it.

So I suppressed my Christmas Eve idea, although I did confide in both my sister and Scott about it. After a bunch of other stuff going on, I decided I simply didn't have the energy to pull it off, so I shelved the idea and planned to move on. Then Nancy called and pretty much talked me into it, she promised to help and so I sent out the invitations.

Here it is three days till Christmas Eve, and now I think..."Allison, the next time you have one of these great ideas, walk out of the lab, walk over to the big main power line that feeds the plant, take a pair of bolt cutters and soon that idea will be out of your head!"

Oh, I have lots of help, Allie and Nancy are going to help with the food, Jake is taking care of the Nativity play, Scott and I are home this week to get ready, and yet already I am stressing. When will I learn??? Today, Mom, Nancy, Emily, Allie, Janna, Lucyann and I all went out to eat at Red Lobster (Thanks Harriet) and when someone said something about a crazy person Allie said, "Oh, yeah, you're crazy!" Well, at least it's an illness my whole family recognizes. And to make sure I'm truly crazy, we are having a cookie decorating party on Thursday for all the kids.

I hope my children remember fondly the good memories that I tried to give them...you know, before I went away to my special hospital!

End of the Semester!!!!!

2010-12-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

Although it has been a few years...ok more than a few! I still can remember the feeling of walking out of my last final, in my last semester, in the last year of college. It was a grass tax class, and I had the best feeling walking out of that class. Well, fast forward a few years, and now I have been back in school hell!

Emily (and her parents) got caught up in the whole AP/Honors curriculum idea. Unfortunately, the school has now recognized a couple things 1) Sophomores are probably not good candidates for AP Bio, especially since this is the first bio class she has had 2) Honors Comp Lit in conjunction with any other AP/Honors program is really not a good idea (this from multiple AP teachers) and 3) Who believes that any 15 year old should take AP Statistics? OK, the last one was mine, fortunately she did drop that one in the first week of classes. Now, after missing a week because of pneumonia, a suspension for fighting (oh we are so proud, who knew three years of Judo would pay off like that?), and a whole lot of other stuff you won't get me to blog about, we have actually finished this semester with some pretty damn decent grades!!!

I was just going to be glad if we were all still alive by December 18th. But this child has seriously worked her butt off! We gave up a social life, church activities, and family movie nights, and it paid off big time. However, we have learned from our experiences and next semester, we told Emily that we didn't care if she took underwater basket weaving. She just looked at us with that blond look and said, "That doesn't make any sense!" This from the girl that had to learn to recognize aldehyde's and alcohol chemical structures in less than a night for bio. Anyway, next semester is going to be considerably less stressful. Hopefully we won't have regular 60 hours of homework a week.

Yes, I didn't think after walking out of that final that I would ever have that feeling again, but on Friday, December 17th, at 1:30 I had it again! And I wasn't even at the school.

Secret...

2010-11-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

OK, don't let anyone know, but I'm secretly a sci-fi reader. I have loved reading science fiction for about 23 years now. You would think, since I'm married to the computer guy, that he is to, but sadly, no. However, early indications of my children's book choices indicate that they are following more in my footsteps than their father. If they had picked technical manuals, that would be more like Scott.

Anyway, I was so excited this morning while I was wasting time at Sam's Club that I discovered the 13th installment of my Wheel of Time series book!

YEAH!!!

You see, Robert Jordan died before he finished this series. Brandon Sanderson was selected by the author's family to finish the last book, which has turned into three. It is only 843 pages, if only it had been released last week, my recuperation time would have had a purpose. But no worries, my family, house, animals, work, will all be abandoned for a few days while I immerse myself back into this world!

Just leave it...

2010-11-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Scooter was heading off to Cincinnati today, something about sensitivity training or wasting taxpayer money, I'm not sure which. Anyway, last night as he was packing (I should mention my husband packs as if we will never see him again), he managed to not use the largest suitcase, that's good, since he is going to be home Thursday night. But after he had finished packing his suitcase he began looking for all his cords and accessories for his laptop. I casually suggested that maybe he should take a break from the computer and perhaps not take it with him. He looked at me with a mixture of confusion, disgust, bewilderment, and as if I had suddenly grown a couple extra heads.

Undaunted, I pressed on, "I was just thinking how much you have been working lately on all the laptop upgrades at work, you have been going non-stop, maybe you could just veg out for a couple nights. Take your iPod for the plane, but relax." He looked disoriented at this point, so I tried a new track, "Plus, this way you won't have to let those TSA guys near your new laptop." You could see the clouds begin to part, as he remembered a ***** airport screener guy in San Francisco frying a laptop back in 1998 (and that was when laptops were considerably more expensive, oh they payed for it). I could see I had a home run within my grasp, so finished him off with "who knows what these Grand Junction TSA guys are like" (They turned Scott down for a job when he first got out of the Air Force). Nothin' but net!! "I guess I could leave my laptop, I'll just take my iPod, that will be easier."

I really should learn to use my powers for good! Of course I'm taking a chance by exposing myself on the blog, but since he doesn't have his laptop with him tonight, he can't read it! MWAHAHAH!

I Just Can't!

2010-10-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

So, I had a little girly surgery on Monday, and now I'm supposed to "take it easy" for a couple days. I'm not sure when I turned into an obsessive compulsive person, but I just can't! It is next to impossible for me to lay in bed and let things happen in my house without me. I know, I know, the world won't end if Erik doesn't finish his math homework, or Emily doesn't get into bed before 10.

I have been trying to cut down on the amount of time spent on things like scouts and other extra curricular activities, but it is so hard to step back and let others start doing things. It isn't that I don't trust others, I just feel bad asking them.

Everyone warns you before you have gastric bypass that you can have a transfer addiction, but I have never heard of anyone having a transfer addiction to doing to much. Poor Scott, he is a good sport but he just doesn't do things exactly like me, that isn't to say he does it wrong, it's just not how I do them. I'm trying to be more relaxed about things, the pain meds are helping today, eventually I will be able to say, "I can" and mean it.

Dear Scrapbook Room...

2010-10-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Scrapbook Room,

I know I have been away for such a long time. It seems like forever since I spent time cutting, gluing, designing, stamping and layering in your comforting embrace. Our time apart has been so difficult on me, I think of you often and longingly, wondering if you miss me as much. While I know that I am responsible for our separation, I think that I am the one who suffers the most from it.

Do you miss me? Do you ever wonder where I am or who I am giving my time and attention to? So many things have pulled me away from you, demands I could never have imagined. I think I am only going to do one or two little things, then I will rush back to you...but before I know what has happened, months have gone by without us spending time together.

Soon my beloved, I will return to you. This I promise! I am trying so desperately to get back, trying to turn the tide. I only have a few more commitments to fulfill, then I will fly to your waiting silence. Your patience will be rewarded and we will be reunited again. Think of me often, dear friend, until we are together.

Love
Me

Tired...

2010-10-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I know, everyone is busy. I believe that is so true, everyone runs to much, does to much, and commits to way to much. Well, I am no exception. Yesterday, Scott and I hosted the second cubmobile race for our cubscout pack. It went smoother than last year, and had about the same turn out. We had a whole lot less crashes, the boys had a good time, and I even got a cousin from the East slope to bring her little Wolf scout over so he could race. Matt, my great-nephew from St. George, showed up to win the Tiger division, and second overall. Our Erik elected to just help this year, and let Matt and Sabin borrow his cubmobile for victorious runs. At the end of the race, Scott was challenged by another Dad, so he got his first ride in a cubmobile. Amazing since the guy has helped build well over a dozen of them. He was doing great, but wiped out about 20 feet from the finish line.

So today, I am exhausted. I went to bed around 8 last night, since sleep has not been my friend lately, it was a long night. Today I don't think I could find anything that doesn't ache. I realize that I have been doing way to much. My iron has fallen again, and I can't keep the pace like I have been doing. So, I know what you are thinking, "yeah, yeah, she thinks she's busy...she should have my life." Well, call me a whiner or a wimp, but today...I stayed in bed. Scott generously offered to take my Sunday School class, and I let him.

Today I have resolved to slow down, I'm sure that resolve will last at least through tomorrow, when things don't hurt as much and I come up with more things to do.

What the Dederick's Do on a 3 Day Weekend

2010-09-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

OK, we could have cleaned out the garage, we could have cut down the weeds in the orchard, we could have cleaned the windows of our house, but instead we made a soda bottle launcher!

Emily & Erik getting it ready...
Scott pumping it up...

oops...a little to much air.

That's about right.

To heck with that bicycle pump, let's get out the air compressor hose.

Eat More Beef

2010-08-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

I was raised on a ranch. I even have photographic evidence, (I'm the one in the little red/white jacket standing while my sisters demonstrate their flanking skills). Growing up we always had a freezer full of beef. Sometimes, in my young and foolish days, I would ask my Mom for something different like hot dogs or chicken, "It's to expensive, eat your steak.". (OK, maybe she didn't phrase it like that) Anyway, now that I'm older and realize that I don't like to eat chicken (you know women are supposed to love the grilled chicken breast) I have finally learned to embrace my red meat eating self.

My recent study has proven a direct link between the decrease in red meat consumption in the US and the rise in politically correct, wussie, namby pamby, wimpy, whiney, pathetic inability of Americans to freaking take a stand!!! I was once told that one of the first things that the Romans did when conquering a country was to eliminate red meat from the conquered people's diet. This made them more docile and easier to rule. Interesting, considering the rise of popularity in our country for fish, chicken and pork. Having to deal with extreme anemia for the last year or so, and learning how I felt during that time, I am now inclined to see how a lack of red meat (iron) can make you feel pretty puny.

So my solution for this country and anyone who truly loves it, is to eat more beef. Perhaps if we all got a little more in our systems we would start to grow a set, and take on the lilly livered, peace at all costs, can't we all just get along, over aged hippies that seem to run the show now. Then we could pray at our city councils, not have a mosque at ground zero, we could have winners and losers, and stop apologizing for having an opinion.

I know, some of you are now thinking maybe I've been eating a little to much red meat! Well, suck it up cupcake, and go get a steak!

2010 EM Whiting Reunion

2010-08-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

So once every 2 years, my extended family makes a pilgrimage to the White Mountains of Arizona. My Great Grandfather homesteaded here around the turn of the century and now thanks to the foresight of some other relatives this place has been saved for future generations. When I was growing up we always went down to the reunion, I remember my parents driving all night and then Daddy playing in the horseshoe tournament. One time our friends Jinx & Fern Everett drove all night too, bringing down a pickup bed full of roasts for a big BBQ. We all played on the rope swing and listened to my Great Aunt Elda's truly made up pioneer stories.

Over the years, we started going less and less. As the great Aunts and Uncles passed away, my Dad wasn't as interested in going back, he said he didn't need to go to the homestead to remember his family, memories are something you carried with you in your heart. Scott and I went to the reunion in 1998 (the 50th Anniversary of the first reunion). Then last year my cousin organized our smaller RE Whiting reunion to take place at the homestead. As mentioned in a previous post our little melodrama caught the ear of the big reunion chairwoman who asked for a repeat performance. So the majority of the Don Whiting Family headed down for an encore performance. Unfortunately I didn't have any pictures of the play, since we were in it, but hopefully there will be a few posted on the whitinghomestead.com website in a few weeks.

Here we are in a last minute cram session, trying to get through. Notice all the scripts? Yeah, we had a few on stage too. It rained like I never knew it could rain in Arizona, and since it was the big reunion we had to perform on the outdoor stage. The reunion outgrew the rec hall many years ago, and now there is a large outdoor stage in the meadow. This change prompted Scott and Allison, the younger, to redesign the set and create a backdrop. Scott managed to build and fit a bunch of modular sections in our little utility trailer. Once we got there on Friday morning he went to work, and with a bunch of help from everyone we managed to get everything up just before a torrential downpour. Everyone was worried about getting rained out, but I knew it would be alright. You see I talked to all my relatives on the other side, called in all my chips and knew that they would do everything they could to stay the weather. Well, they came through in a big way, and we had clear weather. I would like to say the play went off without a hitch, but that wouldn't be very truthful. We all forgot lines, Scott and Casey had to kneel in a puddle on the stage, Ma Jitter's kids decided to tag along, and Nancy's wig caught on the bar and started to fall off! But I think it was a hit, because the next day when I was coming out of the port a potty, I heard a little boy take in a quick breath and say, "It's Wildcat!". I'm just vain enough to let that make the whole thing worthwhile.
On Saturday it was time to take down the set (in between storm cells) and enjoy all the events of the Whiting Village that included candle making, branding, bull whips, sawmill demonstrations, and a whole lot more. It ended with the infamous candy canon that was a huge hit with all the kids.
This is what Allison got to do all over the very rough terrain for three days, she got a workout!

It got cold enough on Saturday night that we could see our breath, and it felt a whole lot more like October rather than August. Then the clouds came rolling in and it was pretty surreal.

Can Janna and Donna say humidity? We definitely could tell who had the natural curls!

We had a good time, mixed with some emotional ups and downs. What else can you expect when traveling, camping, and performing with your family? Overall, we had a pretty good time and while I can't say I won't perform that play ever again (I said that last year and look how that worked out). I do think we will go back for another big reunion. After all where can you go to a little cash store and get Aunt Mynn's fudge, Whiting histories, Fat Sister's Cookbook (a set of cousins), attend an auction and battle with your relatives for out of print books about your ancestors? I'm not sure whether I go for the memories or the shopping, but I think my kids like it and it's pretty good to learn all about those roots.

Wedding Dress?

2010-08-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

No, she's not getting married, plus she will be really mad when she sees this picture on the web! The other day the local hospice thrift store had 100 new wedding dresses donated to their store. They had an awesome sale and this normally $700 dress was on sale for $50. There was no way I could pass up that deal, even if I didn't need the dress. It's a beautiful dress with lots of bead work and even Emily finally admitted that it was one she would have picked out. So now it will go in the closet, so if you know anyone that needs a size 10 wedding dress...

You Never Know

2010-08-10T17:23:00.001-07:00

When I married Scott, he had the cutest backside. Sadly that has disappeared over the years, now when he is out working on a project in the garage and his pants start to slip down, he grabs whatever is handy. I have found twist ties, electrical tape and yes even this zip tie. Poor guy! I really have worked his butt off over the years!

To Much Time on Their Hands

2010-07-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

I went to pick up my daughter last night from Young Womens, and needed to talk to a lady in our ward , so I wandered into the Relief Society Room. She was busy so I sat down by the door to wait when another woman from our ward came in to "talk to me". She told me that I might want to look at my daughters shirt, and not let her wear it again, because she was "practically falling out of it". I said, "huh", she went on to inform me that it would be better if she was at least wearing a bra. I assured her that Emily hadn't left the house without that, "Oh I don't think she has one on" she quickly told me. (Now bear in mind that this is the same woman that wore pants to Sacrament meeting on Scout Sunday, she's also only about 31) I informed her that Emily wouldn't leave the house without proper support, and didn't give her very much encouragement. She then told me that she had stood behind Emily while she was sitting down, and could "see everything". At this point I am more concerned with her same sex tendencies.

A few minutes later my daughter came in, wearing her t-shirt that barely came down to her collar bone, let alone showing anything else. Emily and I had a good laugh on the way home, seriously there are some people with to much time on their hands. I chalked it up to strangeness, but when I told my sister she was livid. So, now I have to keep Nancy from taking care of her, apparently there once was a couple who were concerned about my niece Jackie...

Bittersweet

2010-07-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

OK, a few weeks ago there was a job announcement at Scott's work for a new position. It sounded pretty good, but did have shift work associated with it. Scott and I discussed it and he applied, stating that he would only accept the day shift. You see, for most of our married life Scott has either worked shifts or been TDY when he was in the military. So, now that he has a job with the same hours as I do, we have gotten really used to our evenings and weekends.

Well, about three weeks ago, the job offer came. He got offered the only day shift and things were great. We were so excited because of the opportunity. He was scheduled to start on August 2nd, and yesterday he called his new supervisor to clarify a couple of things. The supervisor said, "Oh no, the schedule is Tuesday through Saturday." That wasn't what the job offer stated. Now, Scott is the guy that can find all the hidden clauses in your mortgage agreement, so he had full documentation on the announcement and job offer. Well, after a bunch of meetings where the leads and HR all determined that they needed to amend his offer, he decided to decline.

We were so excited, and he scored so high on the application process only to decide that our 11 and soon to be 15 year old really need their Dad on Saturdays. So it has been a rough week, but we are glad that his choices were between a job he currently really likes and a job that might have been great too, in this economic climate we really can't complain to much.

Dance Fest 2010

2010-07-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

WARNING: LONG POST

Last January we heard a small announcement about dance practice for a dance festival in July. I was so excited, "Emily, come on it will be fun." I said. "I don't dance" she said. I pulled rank and drug her to practices for six months. I even took her once when she had a concussion. It turned out they were doing the Charleston. Emily had a partner that dropped out about March, "Don't worry we will find you a partner." OK, it took until about two weeks ago, but her second cousin, Bradley Whiting, ended up coming up for the summer and was awesome for stepping up.

Then we needed a flapper dress, so with confidence I ordered one from ebay. It was awful, so we headed to get a pattern, fabric, and fringe. On the way home Emily and I had the following conversation:

Me: Emily, the pattern says it's an easy one hour project. Do you think I can do it in an hour?

Emily: No

Me: Do you think I could do it in four hours?

Emily: No

Me: Do you think I should call Sister Everett?

Emily: Yes

So, I called Sister Everett and she said yes, she came and took measurements I didn't even know existed. Then she worked and worked and produced an amazing dress, we can't thank her enough.

Finally the day of the 5 stake multi dance festival started. It was all day Friday with practices and a sock hop that ended at 10 pm. So by the time we got home and got her hair into rag rollers it was late...and she had to be back in at 6:50 am. She had some more workshops (it was a youth conference, so there were a bunch of classes on dating!), dress rehearsals and finally the show started at 5 then again at 7. Each stake had a different era, Grand Junction - 20's, Montrose - 40's, Meeker - 50's, Moab - 60s, Grand Junction West - 70's, with a big finale of around 700 kids dancing to We are Family!

Emily has allowed me to curl her hair exactly twice in her life, once when she was 4 and a flower girl for a wedding, and for this. I'll take what I can get, but she did get asked several times "Is that your real hair?" And Erik said Emily's hair, "Freaked him out".

Anyway, it was an awesome festival. The dancing was amazing, the place was packed and it was so much fun. After we got home I said, "Emily, this is the point where you say, "Mom that was awesome, I had so much fun. You were right, THANK YOU'" She replied, "I had fun, thank you for making me go to dance." OK that was close enough.

EGGS!!!!!

2010-07-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

On a whim I sent Erik out to check for eggs tonight. It has been a long six months waiting...waiting...waiting. The chickens are Whiting Blues and the eggs are definitely worth the wait, eight on the first catch. They'll get bigger, and the New Hampshires will start laying in a week or so, then here comes the omelets, fritatas, custards, egg burritos...

It's Genetic

2010-07-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, as anyone who knows me for any length of time knows, I am a bit heavy on the organized, got a great idea, grand scale events. Yes, I have been known to fantasize about organizing and planning family reunions, taken on way more than I should with Scouts and still look for more. You see, my sister's and I all have different strengths, Donna is an incredible cook and Nancy is definitely the hostess with the mostest. My forte is definitely in the dreaming up ideas and having way to much time to think about how to make them bigger.

I was thinking about some of the things I have done in just the past 24 months, Cub Scout Camporee (for about 110 scouts), Kannah Creek Regatta Race, Cub Mobile Race, wooden ducks for the great nieces and nephews, super above and beyond Parade of Lights Float, family play at the little reunion in Arizona, Primary activities that require giant bubble wands, matching shirts for the family reunion, agreeing to drive back to Arizona this year for the big reunion, and a whole lot more projects than I can't remember.

Fortunately for me, I happen to have a husband who is amazingly accomplished in his ability to take my hair brained ideas and help make them happen, ie., "I need stage props for an old west saloon" or "I need something that will launch the cubmobiles at the same time, so we can time them" or "We need to get ready for over 100 people to camp down at the creek". He has been an incredible good sport about all of it, simply asking, "What have we got going on this weekend?"

Last night Nancy, Mom, Scott and I were looking through some of my more treasured (and hoarded) family pictures for the "Whiting Museum" at the reunion. We came across this photo that showed a bunch of kids doing a patriotic parade down our little street back in the 70's, my Mom said, "Remember that? That was from when your Dad decided to do a bicycle rodeo for all the kids. He had such good ideas." That's when it hit me, I looked over at Scott and said, "See? I can't help it, it's genetic."

So the next time my mother tells me "You're just doing to much" or Scott sighs and says, "What?" I will just remember my Dad with bicycle rodeos, scout jamborees, huge sledding parties up to Y, road shows and giant stake BBQ's that required backhoes and gravel grates. I will remember my Grandma Whiting and her Christmas and Easter Cantata's, her 24th of July pageants (one time she even made her sons clear off a spot on Kannah Creek hill to rival the Hill Cumorah pageant).You see, I simply can't help myself.

Come to think of it...a bicycle rodeo would be fun...

Delta After Dark

2010-06-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

Friday found our family tired and ready for the weekend. Scott and I had worked all week, Emily had spend two days volunteering at Cub Scout Day Camp, and Erik...well, he wasn't tired at all. So, when Scott discovered that the drive in over in Delta was showing Karate Kid and Marmaduke, Erik was the first to agree we needed to go. The only problem with the drive in on June 25th is that is doesn't get dark until 9:00. Scott assured me he would drive, I could just relax the whole time.

Off we went, and watched both the movies. After the movies we realized we needed a little fuel to get back home, so we stopped and filled up. Scott turned onto the highway and asked, "What is the speed limit through here?" I told him I wasn't sure, then he told me "Well, I'm going 35, surely it isn't lower than that is it?" Now bear in mind that Scott is extremely careful about his speed when we are with him. It drives me crazy!! But, no sooner had we gone across the bridge when the blue and red lights flashed. Thinking they were probably doing sobriety checks we were extremely surprised when "Deputy Fred" informed Scott that we had been clocked at 47 in a 30 zone. "I don't think so" was Scott's reply, it went down hill from there.

I remember General Authorities in the church telling the youth that nothing good ever comes from being out after midnight, and now I agree. I also have discovered that the city of Delta has quite a little revenue raiser right through there when the officer said, "Yeah, we write about 30 or 40 tickets a day from that spot." That's great.

Top Shot - A New Family Obsession

2010-06-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's only been on about 3 weeks, but already my family is waiting for Sunday nights! Of course Emily's favorite is Kelly, and so far I'm not sure who is my favorite. It was so interesting that when Cabela's had a Mosin Nagant on sale, Scott and I couldn't get in there fast enough. I called my Mom while we were on the way there, she asked what I was up to and when I told her, she said, "Oh that's just what you need, another gun." I'm glad she was on board. After our purchase we argued over whether it was his Father's Day gift or my birthday present...I think he won, since he got to the paperwork first.

There are 13 contestants left, so I'm thinking for the next 12 weeks I know where my family will be on Sunday nights. In fact, it has inspired Scott and I to maybe do our own version of Family Top Shot (no Casey won't be invited, except as an observer!). We are pretty curious about the fact that recently Erik showed a lot of promise having his Dad's natural eye, and now that Emily has glasses (she discovered that those green things in the trees were leaves) she may be even more on target than before.

No...we aren't crazy, we just have fun hobbies!

Interstate 70 Acres

2010-06-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I haven't blogged in forever, so now I feel guilty! This weekend was the annual Cub Scout Family Campout (I know you're thinking...does she ever do anything besides scouts?). Anyway, I was hoping for the Uncompaghre, but was out voted to go to Island Acres. Being good sports Scott, Erik and I (Emily was still up at Girl's Camp) headed out. Once there I remembered why I like the mountains! I love to camp, but camping to me is in the Aspen trees, not ten minutes from Palisade. Anyway...we fished, caught a bunch of Blue Gills, we swam, we watched a movie under the stars that Scott rigged up, we cooked and had a pretty good day.

Then we tried to go to bed...did I mention that Island Acres is located in Debeque Canyon? Nestled between the railroad, the Colorado River, and Interstate 70? I had the opportunity to listen to every diesel, motorcycle, and Halliburton trucks that was traveling by. It was a long, long night.

We got up early, packed up, had a great breakfast (hosted by Shawnalee) and came home. A little punchy I tried to teach my Sunday school lesson, then Scott and I took about a three hour nap.

Don't worry, I reminded the kids at dinner to wish their Dad a Happy Father's Day. He's a pretty good sport to spend Father's Day weekend camping with the Scouts, but we are definitely ready to go back to work on Monday morning!

Fish Guts

2010-05-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school!!!! YEAH!!! Ok, I am happier than my children. That is strange I know, last night I went up to check on Erik and found him very unhappy, lying in his bed. "What's wrong?" I asked. "It's just been such a great year, I don't want it to be over." he said. My first thought was: Who are you and what have you done with my son?

It has been a great year, but I love summers with my kids, we can stay up late, I don't have to worry about mockingbird essays and spelling words.

To celebrate the last day of school, I proposed taking the Cub Scouts fishing at Corn Lake. This wasn't a major outing, since the lake is right along the Colorado River, just off 32 Rd. So we had about 8 scouts there (that's pretty good on a Wednesday of the last day of school). We had one dad that was really good at snagging the fish and letting the various boys reel them in, and they caught some nice ones too. So being the woman that I am, I told the boys that if they were going to keep the fish, they had to clean them. They looked at me very concerned, so I got out my Dad's knife and started showing them how to clean out the guts and cut off the heads. We all got busy working when I looked up and saw no less than 3 Dads watching us and offering advice. Now I'm not one to relegate roles in life based on the X or Y chromosome, but something about this just seemed incredibly wrong. As I sit here a couple hours and a good shower later, I swear I can still smell fish guts.

19 Years

2010-05-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! Who would have thought that guy would have put up with me for 19 years? My Dad sent me to Iceland with the advice of "I'm sending you to an island full of men that is dark six months of the year. If you can't find someone there, I don't know what to do with you." I was always an obedient daughter, so I came home engaged, after all we dated a whole week before he asked me to marry him.

I guess neither of us really knew the other, but we have definitely learned since then, and I've decided my Dad was truly inspired. I adore my husband, and think he is a wonderful father, friend, son-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle and more. What amazes me the most is how fast 19 years can fly, but I guess being married to your best friend helps. We still laugh, love to do things together, and manage to surprise each other.

So, happy anniversary to Scott and I, I hope the next 19 are just as fun!

Expensive Week!

2010-05-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

I can't take to many more of these! You see, Erik started going to the orthodontist a little over two years ago. He had a cross bite that wouldn't wait. Not bad, or co-pay was a little over $500. Then about six months ago he came out of what I thought was a regular visit with braces, that was unexpected. Then a couple months later he came out with bottoms...hhmmm. I started thinking about Emily's braces, a little over a year ago and that price tag, co-pay $1500.

Maybe....I decided I wouldn't ask!

Then on Monday, at a regular appointment, they caught up with me. "Mrs. Dederick? Could you come in the office for a minute? We noticed that Erik has started his second phase and we forgot to get the contract with you." She gently slides the papers over the desk, sure enough. I'm not sure what the co-pay will end up being but the bottom line on the papers was $3575. Ouch.

On Tuesday, Emily and I had our visit to the hairdresser. Two colors, cuts and waxes will run you over $100 easily.

Wednesday came...a trip to the optometrist. Emily claims she is having trouble seeing the board at school. Turns out she's pretty blind. A trip to buy eyeglasses, did you know they aren't covered by most insurances?

So I just stayed home the rest of the week, to give my checkbook a break. On the plus side, Scott is very pleased. His 14 year old daughter has braces, will soon have glasses and plays chess. There is a significant decrease in boy appeal with all that going on! Oh we know eventually the braces will come off, she will either get lasiks or contacts and then we will worry more, but we will enjoy it while it lasts!

Internetless

2010-05-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Oh the horror! How in the world did we ever get along before the internet? First my work slams the lid on unauthorized internet use, then we exceed our download for our satellite internet at home and they shut us down! The disconnect...the loss on knowledge from the outside world...feeling so alone...

But all is better now!! The magic sliding scale of evil WildBlue satellite has suddenly slid in our favor. We will however, be getting something new this week. My sister Nancy (who has been on our network for a couple years now) gave up a few days ago and got a different wireless service, and we will soon be following. For over five years we have been paying the ridiculous price of $80 a month, but soon we will have faster service for a fraction of that.

I don't think of myself as much of a surfer, but all I needed was a week without it to appreciate how much I really use it. Life is better with the internet!

Okie Dokie

2010-04-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Harriet came out of surgery earlier than we expected and the doctor had good news. Everything looked good, he fixed her deviated septum and cleaned out what he called "proud flesh". WHAT??? The only time I have heard that term used was around horses. Bizarre!! But it looks like a bad packing job, from her first bloody nose caused all this, (OK, the packing job may have been bad, but the doctor that did it was pretty nice, and I don't just mean his bedside manner!).

Anyway, Harriet is recovering well, even if her daughters abandoned her to go shopping while she was in recovery. Hey, she wasn't going to get any rest with us there, and we had the same conversation with her five times while she was under the influence. ie...What time is it? What did the Doctor say? I want to go home. Besides, she had my cell phone number, she called when she was dressed and ready to go, and Herbergers was having a big sale. Just remember, a son is a son till he takes a wife, a daughter is a daughter for life...unless there is a clearance sale.

Waiting for Harriet

2010-04-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are...Nancy, Donna, and I, all sitting at the surgical center waiting for Harriet. I'm not sure why we feel we have to be here, it's not like any of us are going to do the sinus surgery on the old woman!

You see, about a month ago, my mother had a nose bleed that simply wouldn't stop. Scott & I insisted that she go into the ER. Two days later we were back in, the packing wasn't working, so Nancy and I sat in there for about 7 hours while they cauterized it. A few days later she headed to the otolaryngologist, who discovered a mass in her sinus. After a biopsy they determined that it isn't malignant, but the doctor claims to have never seen anything like it before and now wants to do surgery on it.

The old woman was insistent that she was fine, but her mean daughters insisted that she go ahead with the surgery. Why...because all our lives our mother has had a drippy nose, blown her nose, and has had wadded up kleenex in every pocket she has ever had. We are not talking about a polite little nose blow either, we are talking a full on serious, is that your brain coming out of your nose blow.

So now here we sit, patiently waiting on an all day procedure that will inevitably lead to a cranky mother. Nancy is surfing the web on her phone, Donna is trying to figure out Erik's nintendo DS and I am blogging. I'm not sure how people waited for surgical patients before, but this is how we do it now!

If this is a Concussion, I'll Take It

2010-03-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm rather old fashioned, and I was raised to believe that Easter is that wonderful Sunday when you can start wearing white shoes and you should get a new Easter dress. However, this year Easter Sunday happens to coincide with our church's General Conference. So planning ahead, because I do that also, I told Emily we would go Easter dress shopping last Thursday. My plan was she could wear her dress a week early because of conference.

But, when I called her at 3:15 on Thursday, she told me she had forgotten and rode the bus home. OK, no big deal, she is 14 and dyed blond, so she is entitled to forget a few things. I went home to pick her up and take her back into the church for a dance practice for a regional dance thing this summer, we were running late so dinner was Taco Bell. While on our way to dance I asked her about forgetting to stay after, "Well," she said,"After the basketball, everything went blurry and I just forgot things." What??? "Oh, didn't I tell you? I walked in the gym today for weights class, and a boy had kicked a basketball from clear across the gym. It hit me right on the top of my head, everything went fuzzy and I got really dizzy. Then I got a headache." So I asked, "What did the coach do?" "Well, he didn't make me run the bleachers." she replied.

After two hours I picked her up and she informed me that Taco Bell before dance practice was not a good idea. Whatever!!!

Anyway, at 1:15 am, she stumbled into my bedroom and informed her father and I that she had just thrown up. Now, I didn't go to medical school, and I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I did start putting it all together...bump on the head, dizzy, nausea, and vomiting...no don't tell me, hey I think my daughter has a concussion.

Yeah, her coach confirmed on Friday, "She got hit really hard, I tried to get her to go to the nurse."

Anyway, I think the only damage, (besides her ipod, which was not vomit proof), was a few algebraic variables. But tonight when I went into her bedroom to talk to her, I noticed that her bed was made...Emily NEVER makes her bed. It must be the concussion, it's the only explanation.

What the???!!!! Son of a...

2010-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

2:00 am - Sunday Morning, I woke up and thought, where is my phone? I took it out of my pocket before I threw the smoky clothes in the washer...right? Yeah, I must have, I was in the kitchen and I realized my battery was low, I'm sure I put it on the counter.

Fast forward approximately 6 hours, and sure enough...I found it, in the bottom of my washer. Now, I don't have one of those fancy internet phones. It was just an old NV that I have had for almost 2 years, but that phone is like an extension of my right hand! Suddenly, I was without my contacts, my text buddies, my calendar. I didn't know who I was, where I needed to be, and I couldn't find any of my friends.

That was how my Sunday started out. Then I went to church...that didn't improve my mood. It is a good thing my faith doesn't require me to like my fellow church goers. But seriously don't quote Sherry Dew as a source in a Relief Society Lesson, it ticks me off.

Anyway, I was without my phone for about 46 hours. I did qualify for an upgrade from my provider, unfortunately the new NV requires more commitment than I was willing to make. So I settled for a Samsung, and now I am not happy. I don't know how to work this phone, it doesn't have my contacts, I don't know the shortcuts, and the keypad is all wrong.

We haven't bonded at all. I felt lost without my phone, so I hope this new relationship works out.

Stripes or Bars?

2010-03-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

For two mornings in a row, on my way to work I have heard the Angel Flight song. It is a beautiful song and it reminds me of a dream I had about a year ago. But before I get to that I have to give a little background.

I always thought I would marry a cowboy, but it turns out I fell in love with a guy who wore combat boots instead of cowboy boots, BDU's instead of Wranglers. Between the time we got engaged and got married, Saddam Hussein decided that Kuwait was a plum little target and we got into the first Gulf War. My husband immediately volunteered to go to the sand box, but the US military decided keeping an eye on the Russians was more important for his squadron of AWACS. It was at that point that I realized what it meant to marry a man who had taken an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States, someday he may have to make good on that oath, and could I live with it? I realized then, as I have with many choices that you have to determine that course of action ahead of time. I could live with his decision, it wasn't my first choice, but it was necessary for the bigger picture. I was reading Thomas Paine a few weeks ago, he basically said, "I fight, so my children won't have to".

About a year ago I had a very vivid dream, I got a call telling me that my son, Erik, had been killed fighting in Afghanistan. Scott and I went to a base in the Midwest to collect his personal belongings. We were told how he had been killed, given the military flag, and went through the whole thing. I wasn't upset, only resigned. That was his choice, just like his father's. I was sad but realized the necessity of sacrifice. (I don't know if I will be that stoic in real life if it ever came to that)

When I woke up I told Scott my dream, he laid there for a few minutes and then said, "Was he wearing stripes or bars?"

So now when I hear that song, I always think of that dream, and what Thomas Paine said. I don't want to make the sacrifice of a loved one, but I can't ask others to do what my family isn't willing to. May the Lord bless and keep all those willing to sacrifice, regardless of stripes or bars.

Klondike

2010-02-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I realized I had to at least offer my Webelos the chance to go up to the top of the Grand Mesa, walk around in 8 ft of snow and do activities that could be done on a nice sunny day, but that Scout leaders think is more fun in freezing cold. I emphasized how cold it was, that it was really designed for older Scouts, and that parents must accompany them. The bad news was I had two Webelos that were all for it. You see my son had the chance to go to Klondike two years ago, thanks to Jason. He came back vowing to never go again. So when two other Webelos decided they wanted to go, Scott's troop was going, and they had suckered Scott into doing the BB guns, I knew I had to get Erik to go, if only for appearances. So we had the following conversation:

Me: Erik...what would it take to get you to go to Klondike?

Erik: I am not going to Klondike, it is freezing up there. I hate walking around in the snow, I'm not going.

Me: Would you go to Klondike for a cell phone?

Erik: NO, I'm not going to Klondike! Are you trying to bribe me?

Me: What would you go up there for?

Erik: Well...I might go up there for a collection of Bakugans, but who am I kidding? You're not going to buy me those.

Me: (Desperate at this point) What do you consider a collection?

Erik: Oh, like 6.

Me: Done!

So we went, bear in mind that I turn the thermostat up to 80 when my co-worker is gone. We were the only Webelos pack there, and we trooped around all morning, climbing through 6-8 feet of snow. OK, I didn't think we would need snowshoes, and now I know better. I didn't realize how fast little boys could soak gloves, and now I know better. I didn't realize taking my 14 year old daughter to the Klondike wasn't a good idea, now I know better (think sugar addict in a candy store).

Now I'm wondering what Scott will have to use to bribe both Erik and I to go next year, because I am not going up to Klondike!

Pinewood Derby Goblins & Trophies

2010-02-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

Well, this picture pretty much says it all! Erik finally placed in a Pinewood Derby. He took second in his division, but I don't think he would have been any more excited to win at Daytona!

Now about the Goblin... Last year our Pinewood was in January. Scott was still working rotating shifts as a police officer and had been up around 36 hours when Friday night rolled around. You see, we check weights and impound the cars on Friday night, then the race starts the next morning at 10. Well, last year we got home on that cold January night and discovered our house was freezing. The furnace had absolutely stopped. Scott was so tired, but we trudged upstairs, moved Erik's bed and climbed into the attic. He hit the reset a couple times, then ended up just standing there staring at it. I sent him to bed and called the service. Fortunately in this 24 hour world, they have service techs at 11:30 on a Friday night.

Fast forward to this year, we went to the weigh in, got home around 10:30 and...you guessed it, a cold house. I had no idea that a high efficiency furnace had a Pinewood Derby sensor.

Erik & Taylor Swift

2010-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

The other night, on our way to scouts, Erik flipped on the radio, the voice gently came through the speakers and...my son looks at me. Accusingly he says, "Is this Taylor Swift?" I couldn't deny it, she is on all the time. He immediately switched the station.

You see, while the rest of my family thinks she's awesome, love her music, and hope she continues to not turn into Brittany Spears, my son has a dissenting opinion. I think he is the only person in America (outside the Jonas family) who doesn't adore Taylor Swift. I suggested he learn to like her, I told him she seemed to not be going anywhere soon. "I just can't stand her, she is such a poser." "A poser?" I asked. "Yeah! She's all like makeup and glitter, she's a diva."

OK, I'm not sure whether I should be concerned that my 10 year old son is using words like poser and diva, or that he doesn't like one of the cutest girls on CMT.

I Betrayed my Dudley!

2010-02-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true! You see a few weeks ago Scott and I loaded up the dogs and took them for shots (thank you madam dog catcher, for reminding me I hadn't got the licenses yet). While we were there the vet looked in Dudley's mouth and said he had a couple abscessed teeth. "Has he been cranky lately?" she asked. Seriously? This is Dudley, he usually is...

Fast forward a couple weeks and the surgery day arrived. It is amazing how an 85# dog can decide to lay down and feel like he weighs about 150#. Of course, Scott had already left for work and I got the sole responsibility...and blame!!!

I dropped him off at the vet and promptly returned after work. They had taken three teeth out, and he was still a little wobbly when I got there. I didn't even get a tail wag when he came out, he just stared at me like I had sold him down the river. I got him loaded in the proverbial mini van and tried to talk to him all the way home. Dudley has this thing that if he doesn't want to listen to you he turns away, as if to say "If I'm not looking directly at you, you don't exist." So all the way home he just stared out the back window of the van.

We got home, he jumped out, and I went in the house. I came out to call him in to lay down, and he hid behind a tree...ignoring me. I finally sent Emily out to bring him in, oh...he came in with her! Again, refusing to look at me. I poked my head in many times that night, he just stared at me. The next morning was more of the same. It seriously broke my heart...and my wallet!

Finally when I got home the next day, he appears to have forgiven me...or he just discovered that I had the pain pills.

Wait a minute...

2010-02-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday morning, Erik and I were going through our normal routine when my brother-in law Jay, came in the back door. I looked over and he was clutching both hands to the left hand side of his chest! "Oh no!" I thought. Then he said, "Allison...can you take me to the hospital emergency room on your way to work?"

Oh my heck!! "Of course!" I said, "Just let me get my shoes." "OK, I'll meet you out by your van. I was going to drive myself in...but I don't think I'll make it."

I quickly rush around, getting my shoes. "Is Uncle Jay having a heart attack?" Erik asked. "I think so, I better hurry." I rush out to my van and begin scraping the window, thinking I should have grabbed the bottle of aspirin I keep on the back porch for the dog. Jay came over and I asked if he had taken an aspirin. "I'm way past aspirin." he declared. I thought, "oh no, this must be bad."

We jump in the van and as I'm backing out of the driveway I wonder where my sister is, after all she is his wife. He tells me "Don't look at my hand." I think, "ok, I don't know why I would". Then I see my sister, walking calmly over from her house looking royally mad! Jay asks me to stop so he can talk to her before we leave, "She thinks I'm mad at her." he tells me.

OK, so adrenaline was riding pretty high, but it took me a few miles to realize that my brother-in-law was not having a heart attack, but had injured his hand and was bleeding. Talk about miscommunication!! I got him to the hospital, and after he got some really good drugs, they scrubbed out the joint, popped it back into the socket and sewed him up.

I'm glad Jay is OK, but next time I think I might ask for clarification before I let my heart start racing!!

Gas

2010-01-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had an appointment with the dentist. I hate the dentist. Oh, I have a perfectly wonderful dentist (I have learned there are way to many of them to put up with the bad ones). I just have issues with dentists that stem way, way back. Usually I phsyc myself up, get ready and sit, white knuckled through the entire process. I must not be very good at fooling him, because he is usually patting my shoulder, reminding me to breathe and assuring me he is almost done.

Well, yesterday, I just wasn't up to getting a couple fillings drilled out and refilled again, so I made up my mind to ask for it! I sat down in that chair, looked the hygienist straight in the eye and told her I wanted the gas. She looked confused at first, then disapproving at me. I stayed strong, I needed the drugs. She hemmed and hahed, but finally said she would see how much extra they would charge me, well trust me $30 is pretty minor to my piece of mind. So they put the nose piece on and at first nothing happened...but then, marvelously, joyously, relaxing, don't care if you pull them all and give me dentures kind of feeling. That had to be the most wonderful trip to the dentist I have ever had. Afterward, all I could think about was how many miserable hours I had previously spent in those chairs when it all could have been a wonderful blur. I'm not sure if they let you have the gas for cleanings, but I plan to make seriously use of this stuff in the future.

The only down side was the munchies I had on the way home, but that is a small price to pay for starting to like the dentist after 41 years!

I have a plan...

2010-01-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, recently my work cracked down on "unauthorized Internet access". Now, I'm not admitting to any guilt...but it has seriously put a cramp in my daily activities. Additionally, about 2 months ago my favorite talk radio show was bumped in order to carry all three hours of Glen Beck. While I appreciate a little Glen Beck and his "the world is ending any day now, make sure you have your food and gold", I really miss my Neil Boortz.

You see Neil Boortz is my favorite talk show host. He is a libertarian, and has a lot of common sense. He was on in the mornings from 8-10 and gave a great start to my day, but now he is on from 8-10 at night. AARRRGGHHH!!!! Coincidentally, since Boortz has been off in the mornings, so have I. I just don't seem to have any pep, the spring in my step has slowed down and I'm just not the positive ray of sunshine my coworkers have come to expect. (well that's my version of it). Oh, my doctor will say it has something to do with an extremely low iron level, but I know it all started the day they took Boortz off the morning.

SO, I have a plan!!! Knowing that I have been seriously neglecting my scrapbooking past time, I have now decided to start scrappin at night so I can listen to my sanity and get some creative juices flowing. Hopefully this will put my ying and yang back in balance (whatever that means). All I know is that I am lots happier with my daily dose...so that is my plan.

Santa Cookies

2010-01-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

A whole lot of lot of cookies for one fat Santa!

Sledding Fun

2010-01-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

These pictures are about a month old, but they all still had a great time.

Thanks Jason

Prenatal Exposure

2010-01-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

While I was pregnant with Erik I was working as a process analyst for Weber Basin Water. At the time we had about 5 major projects going on, which together amounted to about 100 million dollars. So, I spent a lot of time sitting in meetings with a whole bunch of engineers. I'm not talking about staff engineers, these were industry leaders from MWR, Carollo, and others. I was worried at the time how exposure to these engineers would affect my unborn child. After all as an expectant mother it was my job to take care of my baby. I was concerned mostly about his sense of humor being damaged, thankfully that came through intact, but now...almost 11 years later, I see the unexpected results of this exposure.

Happy Birthday & Happy New Year!!

2010-01-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Well, 2010 found the Dederick family...asleep! Yes, we aren't much for staying up and ringing in the new year, but Scott tries to stay awake at least until after 10:00 our time, because that means he is officially one year older. Being married to a New Year's baby isn't to bad, at least you don't forget and have it sneak up on you.

When we were first married I asked Scott what his favorite dish was, so that I could make it for his birthday. How was I to know it was sauerbraten? I had never even heard of such a thing. It turns out to be almost the national dish of Germany!!! (Because you know what renown cuisine the German's have. You know when you are out with a group of people, trying to decide where to go to eat...Mexican, italian,...german.)

Anyway, for those of you who are not familiar with this dish, you take a perfectly good roast and do unspeakable things to it. The German's believe that vinegar is actually an ingredient...growing up I just thought you had vinegar to color Easter eggs. But because I do love my husband, and it is his favorite I made his speciality again this year. I did go on to Food Network and get a new recipe for it from my favorite AB, so it was a little more vinegary this year, and I never did find the dried juniper berries it required. But all in all, a successful birthday tradition completed.

Now, that being said, I would like to take a minute and wish my dear husband a Happy Birthday. He really is a good guy, and my very best friend. I can't imagine a day without him and appreciate everything that he is. I love him more that anything and hope I have him for another 47 years.

Happy Birthday Scooter!

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

Every year I get those wonderful premade kits for gingerbread houses and let the kids decorate them. It has been a tradition for several years now, and this year is no exception. The only thing about this year was I bought pre-made houses (thinking this was a good thing), only to have my son inform me that I cheaped it out. Apparently not having to wait while I make sure the roof won't fall off is better...

Anyway, here they are:

The next Ace of Cakes????

Oh yeah, I got the train set...have you met my husband Scott?

Point for Emily

2009-12-18T14:01:00.001-08:00

OK, Emily has inherited her father's sense of humor (I'm not really sure if it is a sense of humor or some German version of it). Anyway, she rarely appreciates mine but thinks her father is funny...I know, weird! So it was a pleasant surprise the other night when she not only executed a great zing at me, but stuck the landing as well! We were walking into City Market for some groceries and she was commenting that some movie was sick, then she turned to me and said, "Here, let me put it in a term you would understand Mom, it is 'radical'. Isn't that something from your 80's days?".

I had a little tear in my eye, I'm so proud!

Whirlwind Trip

2009-12-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

Every year just around Thanksgiving, Nancy or I will say..."Man, I could sure use a trip to Salt Lake, but I just don't know when I'm going to have a free day to run over there." So almost every year, we manage to find one day. One special day that we usually leave obscenely early, dash over, hit our stores and drive home in less than ideal weather. This year was rather special, because we actually managed to spend one night...thanks to my sweet husband who took care of the kids and Kassie, plus my great brother-in-law who had some frequent stay points that got us a couple of sweet rooms.

So Sunday, in a storm, we headed over. Fortunately we only had sleet part of the way, you know the first half and the second half. Monday morning we hooked up with Donna and started out bright and early...sorry you didn't get a hot breakfast Donna.

8:45 - Church Distribution Center (and discovered it didn't open until 9:00)

9:45 - Ok, ok, come on you guys, we can't spend all day in one place...let's move

10:00 - Alright, here's our strategy. I just need to get the sofa I've already picked out. The rest of you, skip the top floor and I will meet you downstairs.

10:50 - Oh man, Scott gave me 68 tie downs...I wonder if I have to use them all. Well, if I don't I'm sure to be sorry. I think the blue tarp with paint on it makes us look a little redneck.

11:20 - Ok, you guys go on in, there are a couple of air gaps in the tarp. I'll get them nailed down while you pick up what you need here. Lunch? We don't have time for that. Move, Move, Move.

12:00 - Seriously, don't people in Orem/Prove have to work? Why is there so much traffic on University?

12:30 - University Mall, do you think it's selfish if I only get the ones I like?

2:30 - Why don't they ever have boxed nativities left? Of course, it was time to renew my platinum membership, since I only use it in December. Why don't they have any of my favorite books?
4:00- Finally find Donna's new step daughters house, basically toss her onto the front step. (Sorry Donna... and you forgot your Lehi Roller mills bag, but you did end up with my See's candy).

5:00 - One last stop at the Deseret Book in Spanish Fork, they have boxed Nativities.

We managed to get home around 10:00, but the fog through the desert was really thick, and while Nancy and I think we are hilarious, my Mother apparently doesn't always share our humour and punished us by refusing to speak to us from Crescent Junction to the state line.

We both made it to work on Tuesday, but maybe we are getting a little old for this shopping trip. Well...until next December.

17"

2009-12-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night as Scott and I climbed up into the ginormous bed (but that's another blog) and settled ourselves in for a good nights sleep, we had the following conversation:

Me: Hey Scott, guess what we have to do this Saturday?

Scott: ugh, what?

Me: Nothing!!!

Scott: That's good, maybe we can spend some time together.

Me: Hey we just spent 2 hours together last night out in the shop, cutting out pieces for the Webelos to make birdhouses.

Scott: I meant something together that didn't involve cub scouts.

Me: Au contrare, cranky boy! Remember...we spent 2 quality hours together this morning, digging my van out of the driveway!

Yes, on Tuesday morning we woke up to find 17" of that lovely white stuff covering our home. I know what you're thinking, "Allison, you live in Colorado, of course you get snow." Yeah, I get a little sprinkling now and then, but I live in Western Colorado, we don't get 17" all winter, let alone out of one storm. I couldn't get out of my driveway, then I couldn't get up the ranch road to Kannah Creek road. Since the ranch road is a private drive, we don't get snowplows, then if you add that lovely little hill at the top, plus the extra 18+" the snowplow sent our way, it was very exciting. Scott and I dug for several hours, slapped my chains on, and finally got up and over the hill. As you can see it is still pretty nasty, but with temperatures in the -15 range, I'm sure it will be melting away soon!

Oh Yeah!!! 1st Again!!!

2009-12-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

Well, once again, our scout pack has outdone its self! The theme for the Parade of Lights this year was Toyland (creepy song, cool theme). So Scott and the other Dad's got together and came up with this design, it was a street, with street lights, and a road closed sign at the back of the semi. Then we turned the boys into toys, we had Monopoly boards, yo-yo's, checker boards, Lego's and Erik was a Scout in the Box on the back. We blasted some of my favorite Christmas tunes and handed out candy canes, and did I mention we won first place in the Youth category again this year? Cold days of decorating and finger numbing light wrapping experiences all fade but...the bragging rights go on all year! For more pictures go to the gjsentinel.com and check out the Parade pictures, we are slides 64 & 65.

Stepford or Crazy?

2009-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

I remember my Dad telling me once that you could call a sane person crazy and they would just laugh, but if you called a crazy person crazy...they would show how much they were. Anyway, I also remember my Dad telling me I would have had a lot more dates as a teenager if I would just stop intimidating the hell out of people, but... everyone needs a hobby.

After my previous blog, and reading further in this one, you might begin to conclude that I am some sort of femi-nazi, I can assure you that I am not. I also do not belong to the "in" crowd of my ward at church. I am sure they are perfectly nice women who worry about framing the Proclamation and matting it with pictures of their family. They worry about getting together for their Pampered Chef Parties, choir practice, soccer and who knows what else. I don't belong in that world because I wasn't raised to spend my time on trivialities, and yes, I consider those things trivialities. So needless to say I don't spend a lot of time socializing with them, worrying about things they do, what they say, or even what they think.

I do have a few close friends in the ward and while I don't get to spend a lot of time together, we are pretty compatible. So, this morning when one of them called me, we started chatting and she said she had recommended that a woman in our ward (who is part of the "in" crowd) ask me about raising chickens. Apparently the woman was very surprised and then said, "Allison Dederick? Well...isn't she...bipolar?". Now at this point in the conversation, both my friend and I laughed. Seriously? We then speculated, because this person really doesn't know me at all, on who had diagnosed me and just how many "good sisters" are worried about me. So I guess word in the middle of the ward is that I am right there on the edge...(in retrospect I probably shouldn't have told the Primay President I was thrilled with getting a pistol last year for Christmas)

Of course the first thing I have to do after I hang up is to call my mother and sister, they thought it was pretty funny too. My mother then became very indignant and said it was because they were a little green eyed. My sister Nancy speculated it was because I actually have my own personality and feel emotion as opposed to all the Stepford Mormon women who simply "turn the other cheek" and never let anything show, after all you are supposed to just take it with a smile. Then I called my husband...who just got mad. It makes me wonder if I was still a size 22 if I would be unbalanced? After all, I can hear it now, "well, she might be thin, but you know...".

Just for the record, no, I have never been diagnosed with bi-polar, manic, schizophrenia, or any other mental illness. I do, however, have a lot of sympathy for those with actual disorders. But for those women in my ward, who have time on their hands to worry about me...I appreciate your concern, how Christ like of you. But let's just let the cat out of the bag, my Dad had it right. Maybe if I didn't intimidate the hell out of you...you wouldn't have to make up stories about me.

Point of View

2009-11-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well, last night as Emily and I were on our way home from getting freshly dyed, waxed, and cut (yes, we go to the hairdresser together), we got into a discussion about working Mom's. Emily has a lot of professional aspirations, including marine biology (my preferred), Egyptology, or novelist. As a result she has even picked a college of choice...in Florida. Anyway, I was telling her how some people believe that a mother should never work outside of the home, and some people think it is a pretty big sin that her mother has worked outside the home all but one year of her life. She was pretty baffled by this...apparently the blond dye is working on the brain cells during YW.

So I told her my story of an institute director who informed me, during my junior year of college, that I was wasting my time actually taking the higher level science courses, after all I should really just focus on finding a husband. He went on to inform me that women didn't really need a degree, we just needed to land a worthy priesthood holder. If you are wondering, no I never went to Institute again. I have had people inform me that if I would just grow a garden, I wouldn't even miss my income. I have had people inform me with a smug attitude on their face that they have never worked outside of the home since they were married (imagine their stress when their husband was laid off).

I guess that some people would say my mother never worked outside the home, but I will be quick to point out that she did drive a swather, bailer, and disc. That she rode horses on the mountain from daylight to dark, after packing lunches for everyone, and kept the books for the ranch, among many other jobs. So I would never call my Mother a non-working Mom.

So it was with great confusion that I tried to explain to Emily that the church really encourages women to stay home. I'm not sure how to explain this, since given current economic issues, I don't even understand it. But I informed her that someday when she was older and the proper amount of guilt had been applied, she could then yell at me for being a bad Mom and working outside the home. After all, she should think of all the time I spent away from her while working...she thought for a moment...(the blond look of confusion)...then announced that if she had anything to talk to a therapist in the future about, it would be the amount of time Cub Scouts took.

Ellen

2009-11-11T08:34:00.001-08:00

I miss my sister today. Ellen would be having her 47th birthday today, she has been gone for a little over 10 years. I know that 20 years of her life were spent battling a rare disease, but she still managed to have a pretty good attitude all things considered. I miss her humor, her generosity, and just her.

The other night I had a dream about her, we were getting ready for some family event and we were spending the day in town, going to all her favorite haunts...K-mart, Dollar stores, etc. I turned to her and said, "Man Ellen, I miss you so much. How come you never come around very much anymore?" She just gave me this funny look, and then I said, "Oh yeah, because you're dead." Then we just laughed. To some people that might sound really strange, but that is just how our family is.

I miss Ellen chasing my cat out of her room, buying way to much Avon from her, and hearing Christmas songs coming from her room in June. I even miss visiting her in the hospital and going down to the cafeteria together (even though I wasn't really hungry). But most of all I just miss her. I know how difficult her physical limitations were, and I wouldn't wish that she were still here in her suffering...but that doesn't stop me from missing her today.

Happy Birthday Ellen

Politically Incorrect...again

2009-11-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have a question, do you still get your 72 virgins if it's an infidel woman who pumps you full of lead? I think it was awesome the way Sgt Kimberly Munley took care of the idiot at Fort Hood. Today, I couldn't be prouder of my gender. It makes me want to exercise my freedom this weekend with a little target practice. Still, I am so sorry for the families of those who were his victims, and will keep them in my prayers.

When Scott and I first moved to Utah his TDY rate was over 200 days a year (that means he was gone a lot). Scott asked me if I wanted a handgun for protection while he was away, but he said, "If we get you a gun, you need to decide right now that you are willing to kill someone." He's a pretty smart guy, and he was right. Before purchasing something like that you do need to make that decision because the heat of the moment isn't the time, and hesitation means your gun can be used against you. At the time I decided that I could kill someone, but didn't want to live with the memory of it. So we didn't get me a gun.

Then I had children, and realized I could live with a lot of things. By that time we had moved on base, so I thought I was pretty safe. After all, where in the world could you be safer than surrounded by some of our nation's finest? We were only on base 3 months before there was a murder next door. Hmmm.

Anyway, obviously from my previous posts our family is comfortable with weaponry now. I didn't grow up with handguns, but since marrying a guy who is really good with them, my children and I are now much more familiar with them. No, we aren't right wing nut jobs that obsess about them. However, I do feel that if they are going to be in my home, everyone there should learn to use them and respect them. After all, it isn't guns that kill people...it's bullets!

But, I digress. This post was about Fort Hood, and how impressive that a woman on traffic duty rose to challenge and did just what she had trained for. How many lives did she save yesterday?

Dogtober

2009-11-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted for a few weeks because I have had a little residual stress from the lovely dog days of October! It started well, but quickly went to the dogs (and I mean that literally). It began with Frank, that lovely foster dog that Nancy and I have been taking care of, disappearing one day. Frantically we checked all the shelters and pounds, finally calling Jason to let him know Frank had gone missing. Jason came out and spent the afternoon looking everywhere, discovering only that one of my cousins female dogs was "in the mood" and they had run off together. The next morning at 4:00 am Frank announced his arrival back, and seemed to be fine.

That afternoon as I came home I discovered an animal control officer on my street, who pronounced my beloved Dudley as a "dangerous dog". Claiming she had the authority from some slanderous accusations, she took my precious boy into custody. As they say, "Hell hath no fury..." after some serious talking to my cousin and her offspring, I was allowed to pay $200 and get my darling back. There are however, stipulations...apparently my mother's nearly 200 acres are not enough for three dogs, and the officer is claiming that I must have my dogs so they cannot access any public land. Even though she did not observe them on any public land, they could have if they had wanted to and even though they didn't she still fined me accordingly, and combined it with the threat of her return.

Additionally while all this drama was going on, Frank went missing again. Apparently he had enjoyed the sins of the flesh and went on down the road looking for a little action. Since I had checked with and left contact information at all the shelters previously, they knew where to call. Frank had gone about a mile down the road before a neighbor snagged him and called. But, now that he has gotten all carnal minded, Frank won't stay home and Allie has an appointment for him at the Planned Pethood Center on Thursday. (I can't even make that name up and I'm pretty sure that is were some of the stimulus money must have gone.) So once Frank is nipped and tucked hopefully he will just stay home.

But, back to my dogs, they are adjusting pretty well to being house dogs, although Dudley hasn't grasped the concept that the living room is not his bedroom. For now they are either with me or sadly tied up in the back yard. I have a lot of things I would like to say about the situation, but my Mother, and an attorney friend of mine, has warned me to behave, that and I love my dogs.

Saturday vs Sunday

2009-10-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

So this is my daughter on Saturday.... and this is my daughter on Sunday.

This is my son on Saturday...

and this is my son on Sunday.
I think that makes us bitter clingers!!!

Don't you feel bad for the first guy that breaks her heart?

She must get that awesome form from her mother's side of the family. OK, ok, she must then get her marksmanship from her Dad!

One of my favorites, my Dad's 30-30.

Adult Channels?

2009-10-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

Since we live almost in the middle of nowhere (town seems to be getting closer these days), and we are serious TV junkies, we have Dish Network. One of the features that we really like about Dish is that you can create favorites lists, so you don't have to scroll through a gazillion channels to find what you want. Because Scott was a former member of the AV club in high school (he denies this) anyway, we have several favorites lists, kids, pay per view movies, music, etc. I love having my own lists that has channels the kids aren't interested in, like Fox News, the Food Network, or the History Channel. I hadn't thought anything about this until I overheard my son the other morning as he was turning on the TV say:

"Ughh, every time I turn on the TV, it is on the Adult channels."

Scott has now renamed that list "Parents".

Cubmobile Race

2009-10-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Erik is on the left, in his car, which of course was green!

After months of planning, stressing, sawing, painting, and advertising the day of our Cubmobile Race finally arrived. Six a.m. found Scott and I moving the porta-potty (that of course had been placed in the wrong spot), and then hauling about 150 bales of hay to line the track. By 8:30 people were showing up and we started at 10:00. I had no idea how many people we would end up having, but we had 28 boys enter, and about 100 spectators. I think all the boys had a great time, and we didn't even have any serious accidents. At the end of the race three of the Dad's decided even they needed a try down the hill.

I treated Scott to a steak last night, he definitely deserved that!! Today we have both realized, we are getting old!!! We have muscles hurting we forgot we had, but our goal with scouts isn't because we love doing all this work, our goal is that someday, when these little boys grow up and become Dads they will remember doing something like this instead of sitting home playing Xbox. Then maybe they will want thier kids to do something like this to.

Challenges

2009-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well, things around here have been pretty crazy. It has made me think (I know, that doesn't happen all that often) about the things that are really important in this life. You just never know when that curve ball is going to come, how fast, or how hard. But the one thing that has happened this week, is that I am extremely grateful for my family. My husband, sisters, and Mom all have very busy lives. Even though my sisters and mom live next door we can go several days without seeing or talking to each other, but when a call comes I know they all will drop everything and come.

The challenges this week are not mine to share, but many of you know what they have been. My heart aches and I want to do anything I can to help. I often fall far short of what I feel I should do, but I try. My inadequacy to fix any situation often makes me very frustrated (I'm the fixer girl, and if I can't Scott is supposed to). But some things just take time, and through them I suppose we are learning to be patient. That is one thing I am a slow learner on. My family has had it's fair share of challenges in the last 17 years, I could list them, but I think there is a limit on the size of a blog post! They say "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". I think who ever made that up, didn't know what the heck they were talking about.

I Have Been Exposed!!

2009-10-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Well, my work is now on "Alert Level C" (whatever that means). Apparently because we provide an essential service we are on hyper-planning for the swine flu. We went through this last spring, and now we get to "activate" our plan this fall. Every meeting we have they go over THE PLAN. The plan is 1) Don't get sick 2)If you get sick, don't come to work 3) When you are better you will be sequestered at work, and not allowed to associate with sick people. They have even posted signs all over the gate and doors listing symptoms that if you have, you should turn around and go home (yeah, like I would make it all the way into work, see the sign and then realize I was sick).

They have stock piled supplies at our plant that include soup, ramen noodles and yes...bottled water. HUH? Isn't that what we do?? I may not be the brightest star in the sky, but I do work at a water plant, and I'm pretty sure we make water you are supposed to be able to drink...anyway....

Sooooo, on Friday I was happily doing my Friday stuff (washing dishes, dumping the weeks samples, running the autoclave, listening to my favorite radio) when the phone rings. It was the assistant manager of the district, and we had the following conversation:

Dave: Hello Allison, how are you feeling?
Me: I'm fine Dave, how are you?
Dave: Oh, I'm fine. Are you feeling healthy?
Me: Umm, yeah...do you?
Dave: Well, the reason I'm calling is that Jenny called in this morning saying she was deathly ill with the flu.
Me: Jenny...crap I was sitting right next to her in the Safety meeting when she was bragging to everyone how she already got her flu shot.
Dave: Yes, I know. That is why I called you, to let you know you have been exposed.

So, now I have "been exposed". It is like we are all sitting around knowing it is only a matter of time before we each get hit. I figured after spending over 9 hours with my Mom in the ER last weekend and not coming out sick I was in the clear. Then I find out I was exposed while in a meeting about the prevention of the swine flu. Grand.

Man cannot live on bread alone...

2009-09-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

but SHE could live on venison backstrap. Thanks Jason for hooking me up, you're an awesome wildgame chef.

My Mother Doesn't Appreciate My Humor

2009-09-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have been feeling a little tired and run down for about the last month. After Scott insisted I went in for a few blood tests. Well, the doctor's office got the wrong phone number and my mother got a message on her answering machine that said, "Allison, this is Dr. SoandSo, I just got the results from your blood test and you need to call me right away." So my mother calls me all in a panic, "hurry and call him back and tell me what he said". Of course doctors aren't just sitting by the phone waiting for you to call them back so it took a few hours. After I got the news that my iron was low (big surprise), I called my mother and had the following conversation:

Mom: Did you talk to the doctor?
Me: Yeah.
Mom: What did he say?
Me: I'm pregnant
(silence.....crickets chirping...silence.....)
Mom: Are you really? (in a tone that makes me sound like an irresponsible 15 year old)
Are you serious!!!
Me: No, mom, I'm just anemic.
Mom: (heavy, relieved sigh) oh....

Of course now, she claims to have been happy with the news...yeah!!

Hungry!!

2009-09-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving for work this morning, I spotted two lovely three points walking in my mother's alfalfa field...and it made me hungry!! Some people think the ultimate meal is lobster or prime rib, but not me. If I were on death row (yeah, some of you are thinking that is only a matter of time) anyway, and they asked me what I wanted for my last meal, it would be venison backstrap, lightly dredged in flour with salt and pepper, then skillet fried. It makes me go to my happy place just thinking about it.

Irritated

2009-08-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

Growing up in a conservative, Mormon household I was raised thinking the Kennedy's were on the right hand side of Satan. So it was with no small irritation that when I arrived at work today that I saw the flag at half staff. In the last few years my political persuasions have moved to a more libertarian view. That being said when Ted Kennedy expired this week, I reviewed my attitude towards the Kennedy family, and after researching a little, thinking about what I knew, and speaking with a co-worker from Boston, I have come to the conclusion, my parents were right! I know I have some relatives that will object to my aspersions, or think my political views shouldn't be shared on my blog...to them I say, to bad. If Joe Kennedy had been my father, I would still be in hiding, and after the GQ article on Kennedy in 1990, the fact that Massachusetts re-elected him is down right criminal. So I will have to look at flags at half staff today, and think how much I appreciate freedom and real heroes. Fortunately in this age of 24 hour news cycles, my pain will be over by Sunday!

Happy Birthday Emma Lou

2009-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Emily! Yes, she turned 14 yesterday, and contrary to what her aunts may have told her, no, she can't group date!! But she can go to stake dances and she finally got an ipod. It was a rough 9 months with her 10 year old brother having one and not her (of course what 10 year old brother would rub that in?). So Happy Birthday Emily!!

My Dudley

2009-08-25T14:43:00.001-07:00

Well, here he is, my Dudley, my doodles, my grumpy old man, my faithful doggy companion. No, I don't have any idea what his pedigree might be, he doesn't do any tricks, and he really isn't house trained. However, that being said, what he is...is my most devoted dog. Oh Tina likes me, but Dudley would lay down his life for me in a minute. He is the most devoted dog in the world, if I'm on the ranch and not in my house, you can know exactly where I am by looking for Dudley. Lots of time he will be laying right on the doorstep of where ever I am.

That's not to say he doesn't have his faults, he is a res dog. But at least he has the presence of mind to look a little ashamed after a morning of chicken killing, but I'm not naive enough to know he won't do it again. He doesn't like little kids, and chases cars on the street.

He tolerates Erik, likes Scott and Emily, but I think if the house were on fire and he could only save one of us, I'm the one he would drag out. I think it's because I saved him. I went to the shelter 8 years ago looking for a beagle they had advertised, and found him. He was sitting alone in a corner and had been there for 9 months. They told me he had come from Shiprock, NM and that was all the information I needed (because if you have ever been through Shiprock you know exactly what I am talking about).

He is getting older now, and his hips bother him, but he is still the alpha male of the pack and regularly puts Frank in his place. Some days he frolics with Tina and Daisy acting like a puppy, but since I don't know his true age and he seems to be slowing down a little, I wonder how much longer he will be my security detail. This morning I saw him lead the pack out to chase a couple does in the alfalfa field behind the house and that alone made for a good morning. So for now, I will just love him and try to be the person he thinks I am.

Watermelon Wizard

2009-08-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

My sister's children and daughter-in-law threw a surprise (until about 2:00) luau for her 50th birthday. Yup, she is that old!!!! My assignment: make Aunt Lois' super secret recipe slushie drink and get my artistic husband to carve up a few watermelons. I was thinking a whale and a basket, but true to Scott standards he went above and beyond!!!!

It was a great party, everyone really enjoyed it... well except for the 180# pig that got roasted in a pit in the backyard!!

I Don't Want to Go Back to School

2009-08-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Alright, it isn't even my kids whining, it is me! We started back to school on Wednesday, and whether it was Emily starting high school or the fact that Erik did not have a great year last year, I have been seriously stressed about school starting. I think I just don't want summer to end, I love the relaxed, don't care about bed times, don't care if you do stay in your PJ's all day, think we can go to the movie on a Tuesday summer time fun. This summer has gone by way to fast and the way it's going, Christmas will be here next week. I want more time to just hang out with my kids, go to the rodeo, drive-in, or just watch Hannah Montanna some more.

This school business stinks!! But Emily and Erik were all geared up, couldn't wait to get there, is it time to go yet, anxious. Seriously, what happened to kids who groaned and had to be dragged to school? This anxious to learn stuff is concerning enough to consider therapy (not for the kids, but for me!). So I guess there is nothing I can do, but give them lunch money, a backpack full of supplies (of which they will use exactly half and bring the rest home in May to join previous years supplies), and send them out the door. They at least could act like they wanted to not go....at least for the sake of their mother.

Regatta Race

2009-08-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

We have taken about 6 weeks off from scouts, but with the summer winding down, and school starting up, it is time to get back into the swing of things. We started with a scout activity this Saturday at our house. The boys came over and made the little balsa wood boat kits (designed for the smooth water of a rain gutter). We painted and glued, then headed down to the creek for a little race. Unfortunately these boats had a little trouble staying upright, keeping their sails, and remembering to float downstream! The cubmaster was a good sport though and followed them down, we only had three that didn't make it and after walking back up stream we found them hiding in the brush. I think a pretty good time was had by all.

Cub Master Lance "fishing" out the boats

An Unexpected Phone Call

2009-08-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Well, as I have previously blogged, the R.E. Whiting Reunion has sucked up a ton of my energy and planning this summer. As of Tuesday morning, I assured my husband of three things, 1) I would never again ask him to drive to Arizona for a family reunion 2) he never had to be "Dude Rascal" again, and finally 3) I would not volunteer to do anything for a reunion for a very long time.

We had both taken last week off, which was good, we needed it to recover from our trip to AZ. So we cleaned the garage, went to the Farmer's Market and generally relaxed around the house. On Saturday night, I was busy working on a baby blanket for a co-worker (hurrying to get it done before Sunday, so I wouldn't have to pick out the stitches with my nose for sewing on the Sabbath) when the phone rings, and Scott says, "It's for you."

It turns out the caller was a second cousin of mine, Christene Sowby. OK, that is a little weird, then she informs me she lives in the valley of the sun. Interesting, but still not dawning on me why she is calling. Then she informs me she is in charge of the "big" EM Whiting Reunion in 2010. At this point, alarm bells are starting to go off. (I had already told Scott I had no interest in attending and camping with a thousand of my closest relatives, so this is not great news.) She goes on to tell me how she had heard about my families performance at the homestead last weekend and asked if we would be interested in performing for the Friday night program, August 6th, 2010 (nothing like planning in advance). By the way, she wouldn't admit who had ratted us out.

So I told her I had a lot of people I had to check with, three sisters, a brother-in-law, a couple nephews, a couple of nieces and more importantly my husband. So after that I looked at Scott and he said, "I guess..." I go to my sister's (thinking at least one out of the three would say no) oh, they were all jazzed, and my brother-in-law had just been saying how he would like to go down to one of the big reunions. Grand!!! My hair was falling out just dealing with the "little" reunion, by the time next August comes I will probably be bald!! Scott is already talking about how he will have to make set adjustments for the outdoor stage (literally over 1000 people come to this reunion, and they can't fit everyone into the rec hall). Well, I have to go, I think I hear a Xanax calling me...

We Survived!!!

2009-07-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! Our little branch of the family had 24 people there, we were only missing 8, so I think that is a pretty good turn-out. We left Thursday morning and it took nearly 11 hours to get down to the homestead (now I remember why we don't go there very often). We met Laura, Jackie, and Beth there, and Donna and Jolyn had already got there also. We had 8 tents, 3 shade/rain canopies, and about 20 coolers. Oh yeah, did I mention that of those 24 people we had 6 kids between the ages of 18 months and 5 years?On Friday morning we headed straight up to the infamous rope swing. This swing is located on an old growth pine on the side of Sierra Trigo (a very steep, extinct volcano). So you hold on to the rope, run down the mountain and let the rope swing you way out and around. It is quite a workout, but true to all the kids before them Matt and Erik loved it!Here is Erik on the rope swing

After lunch we had a chance to drive up and see Little Giant spring (about 3 miles away) where the homestead gets its water. Back when my Great Grandfather homesteaded he boxed in the spring and line sited the pipe all the way back to the homestead. Then we went up to where he had a sawmill, there isn't very much left, but it was great to see where it was.

Matt and Evan on the remains of their Great, great, great grandfather's sawmill

Janna and Erik climbing on it too

My children also discovered my favorite lizard, horny toads, we even brought a few home.

Of course on Saturday morning, started the horseshoe tournament, my cousin's Brian and Brent won the men's again this year, and their wives won the women's.

Scott and Donna hitting a few ball in the shadow of Sierra TrigoAnna conned the kids into shagging balls for her, about 4 times.

My second cousin had a candy canon, which shot candy about 100 feet at the kids, here is Nancy and Janna hunting for candy!

Cute Anna and Beth, but the glasses make you look a little like sleestacks

Faith taking her duck for a walk.

Ok, for us the pinnacle of the reunion came on Saturday night. We had volunteered for the program back in March (it seemed like a good idea back then). We attempted an old fashioned melodrama, it would have helped if we all knew our lines. Thank goodness for Jolyn over on the side prompting. The only problem was that there was so much ad-libing that she had trouble even knowing where the heck we were!!

So here I am holding my plastic six shooters on Casey and Scott, while Jason looks on!

Here is Nancy (after revealing herself as an outlaw), Jackie, Emily, Erik and Beth
So, we finally packed up on Monday morning, I offered Matt 2 cans of silly string if he would go around and pick up all the little candy wrappers on the ground, he looked at me very skeptically and then said, "What color?" That made me laugh so after he picked them all up he actually got five cans, which he promptly shared with his brothers.
Jason made us all breakfast on the infamous pancake griddle and then we headed out.

I decided that since I was in the area I would stop by the family section of the St. Johns Cemetery. This is the headstone of the woman I was named after, my Grandpa's second wife, Aliceson Darwin, who died of TB on her 26th birthday. She had given birth about a month earlier and her baby died two weeks after her death. So we were walking around and I was taking pictured of the headstones when.....
yeah...I fell into a grave. The ground had settled below what looked like a layer of weedblock and down I went into my Dad's cousin's grave. OK, it was a baby named Lee Whiting, second child of my Great Uncle Eddie. The little boy died right after he was born in 1909. I will admit I screamed when that happened. There went my spiritual moment, here I was attempting to connect my children and their ancestors and now all they will remember is that time when Mom fell into the grave! Sorry Lee.

So, other than that little incident, the trip to the cemetery was pretty neat, it turned out that both my Great grandma and Grandpa Whiting were buried there, as well as my Great Great Grandma, Mary Elizabeth Cox Whiting.

Well, this has been a really long post, but reunions are a big deal with my family, and we will be all charged up for the next one, in 2011, and I promised Scott to not volunteer for anything!!

A month...already???

2009-07-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a month since I posted last!!! Especially after my rant about people not keeping up their blogs. The last month has been a busy time for the Dederick household. We had a great 4th of July, which of course included a large amount of illegal fireworks. We had a great Sunday afternoon up on the Uncompaghre with Jinx & Fern Everett, and we even managed a trip to the drive-in to see Transformers. But, mainly the focus for the past several weeks has been getting ready for the RE Whiting reunion in Arizona. This is the "little" reunion, for Grandpa Ralph Whiting's descendants, and this year our cousin Denise has arranged to have it down at the Homestead. My sisters and I are so excited that every conversation has been centered on what to bring, what to cook, and of course the top secret program that we have been working on for several months. We plan to caravan down early on Thursday morning and, provided that Scott is able to fit everything I want to bring into the vehicles...it should be a great time. I just haven't decided if I really do need the kitchen sink. Anyway, the homestead is such an amazing place, I can't wait for my kids to experience it (Emily was there when she was three, but we haven't been back since). So don't worry, I will catch up on all my blogging after this weekend, and hopefully, have some pictures from that top secret Saturday night program!!