Inigo Montoya: No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

It has been a very full two weeks ... so, in the infamous words of Inigo Montoyo ... here goes ...

My three lovely children started school on 9/9/09 ... a (sniff) beautiful day! This is Tylor the morning of school starting. He looked like a dead body. It took until 7:28 to get him dressed and out the door: just on time!



Also on September 9th, Connor talked to his dad about baptism and convinced him that he was ready to be baptized! Connor said his plan was to ask dad after his sauna when he is the most relaxed and open to ideas - good plan! We spent a harried week trying to plan the baptism. We had just a few obstacles: flood (our chapel is having roof work and they forgot to cover the holes when it rained on the 12th), no fire (the hot water heater for the font in our building had rusted and was surely toxic), the sky fell (okay it was the tiles in the building but it seemed like the sky), and scheduling. They always say you are really tested right before your baptism - it was like it was a Satanic conspiracy as to exactly how many things went awry. But it turned out great! We could see the Lord's hand working in our favor in so many instances; a call from a friend that couldn't make it while she was feeding the missionaries who could schedule the building we needed to be in, a prompting of the Spirit for another dear friend to call to say she couldn't come and ended up agreeing to give the Holy Ghost talk, and people dropping everything to be available for us. It was amazing. Brother James Howell, the Young Men's President, baptized Connor at 10 a.m. on 09/19/2009 in the Comanche Building in San Jose, CA.
Brother Daniel Tayco, the Young Men's first counselor, performed the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yes, I cried. Yes, I am so happy. Thank you all for the notes and letters!


On September 20th Connor was ordained a deacon. Somehow I didn't think I could get away with taking a pic during the ordination. Brother Jon Conradt performed this ordinance. We now have the priesthood in our home for the first time. Connor's comment was, "I feel very peaceful.", to both the baptism and getting the priesthood.

Finally, on the 20th I was released as Primary President. I have spent about 4 1/2 years in the calling and have to say that I am very sad to let it go. My replacement, Maren Lopez (see smiling woman below), is amazing! She is a teacher and a leader, creative and spiritual. I love her and her energy. It was the Primary program as well. I cried. I cried some more. I will move on but I will truly miss Primary. It was by far the best calling, with the best blessings, I have every had.


9/27 - It has been a week since I was released. I went to RS for the first time in 11 years. No kidding. I have to say it wasn't nearly as fun. I found myself listening to the Primary children sing and picking out voices and listening to Sharing Time. Old habits are hard to break....

Number One is the Loneliest Number

Okay, it's not true. Connor sequestered himself with his I-Pod touch in his room for most of the day. Tylor played a computer game in my room. Lauren watched tv in the family room. No one spoke to each other. No one passed another in the hall. No contact. According to my children it was pretty near to a perfect last day of summer. So, one is not the loneliest number - it's the right number.

Too Late to Stop Now!

We made our second trip to Great America two days before school started. We thought it would be TOO busy. We thought we were in for long lines and wild expenses. NOT! I got 5 tickets for $24 buck each. Sweet! But then we got there and I realized I hadn't bought a ticket for an extra friend (so Lauren would have someone to go on all her rides with her). I was bewailing this when a very kind Good Samaritan gave me a ticket. No kidding! SWEETER! Then the best part. No lines! The kids walked on almost all the rides they wanted, did them 3 or 4 times in a row! Excellent day and no barfing. It was too fun. Two more days....tick, tock.

Tres, Tri, Trio, Touo, Three

I made a fatal mistake today. I mentioned the 'S' word (school). I have never seen 3 kids mope about as much as these 3. Seriously. You would have thought that I had mentioned a firing squad. I finally had to pull out the 'I' word (ice cream) to get them out of their collective funk.

I do not remember ever being in a funk to go back to school. I loved school because it wasn't home. I got more attention at school from dad than I did at home - no offense intended, it was what it was - and I loved it. Dad and I would split a lunch, get ice cream, or just hang out if neither of us had money. It was great. People will still tease me when I tell them my dad taught at the school I went to and I liked it. He was a great back up. If I was having problems with a teacher he would have 'a word or two' with them. (At least one time more than that!) I can remember a teacher calling him to the nurses office and the two of them laughing of me smashing my finger (my fault for being late to class and not hearing the instructions). It makes me smile still.

Thanks dad for being great!

Four Ever on My Mind

I can actually remember when there were just four of us kids. My first really solid memory is the day we moved into the house on Hayden Bridge. We had been in the car forever and when we stopped Mom made us put on our shoes - glass in the driveway - before we could go play. We ran, we hid in that old bush next to the driveway and climbed the pine tree at the front of the teardrop. We laughed running through this very small house that was all ours. We all piled into the front hall to sleep and woke up and did it all again. It was wonderful! I remember 4 - how many do you first remember?

Day Trip for 5

Five people went to the SF Academy of Science and one of them was not me! Connor, his friend Ben, Lauren, Tylor and Jim went. We were supposed to go to Great America but it was closed of all things! I couldn't join them so I was seriously bummed all day. No, call it a funk. When I mentioned it to Jim he said, "Now you know how I have felt for the past 12 years.". That made me sadder. Now I am a little sad school is starting ... Five days from now I'm sure it will change. ;-)

Six Shoes

Six shoes, three pair, one for each kid. School shoes were always a huge deal. We got the brown and white saddle shoes, they hid dirt better. They were school shoes, sunday shoes, all winter shoes. If they got wet you prayed the house was warm enough to dry them out by the next morning. New school shoes that gave you blisters on your heel every stinkin' year but you loved those shoes. The new smell, how clean they looked, how the leather was polished. I love school shoes.

Seven Deadly Sins

I know what the real 7 deadly sins are:

1. Coveting other people's school (that it is in early and we are still out...)
2. Greedily thinking of when my children will finally be in school for longer than public school
3. Being slothful and not buying school supplies, backpacks, shoes, or uniforms early!
4. Being proud when you finally finish it all and still have to wait for school to start
5. Envying parents waving good-bye to their little darlings daily starting weeks ago
6. Being wrathful that I can't find 2 green pens on the supply list
7. Gluttonously drowning my sorrows in homemade lemonade (oh, so tart!)

Ate Days ...

Out of 51 potential hot lunch meals my kids could get at school they chose a total of 8. Eight. Ate. Lauren, the culinary explorer, chose 5, Tylor, the culinary meanderer, 2 and Connor, force feed me if necessary, 1. One day per month I don't have to make lunch for any of my kids. And the meal that tempts all of them you ask? Teriyaki Chicken over rice with fresh fruit and veggies.

9 ....

Nine red pens ... 9.

Ten days 'til school,
Nine red pens,
And a happy dance on the way....