Weasel Sauce

Memorial Day Weekend.  What a great holiday.  Friday, I went out to dinner and to see Iron Man 3 in 3D with my bestie.  I loved the movie.  The 3D part was disappointing though.  I'd say it's not worth the extra cash for your ticket.  Also worth the time to have fun with my bestest friend Nicole.  She and I always have fun together.
Saturday morning, we had the Creekside Family Fun Run and Breakfast.  It' a fundraiser for our cub scouts to help them have enough money to go to day camp.  We ate pancakes and eggs and strawberries and grapes.  Kurtis ate so much sausage I was expecting him to go into cardiac arrest, right then and there.  He he.  Good times.
Today, I invited all my siblings still living in Utah to come hiking with me up Adam's Canyon.  It's such a beautiful hike and none of them have ever been up there, so I thought it was time to share it with them.  At the end of the hike is a waterfall.  I've hiked that trail three times and I still haven't made it up to the top.  Lili, Michael and Ben kept going, but Riley and Kaleb were too tired, and Jeremy had to go to work, so we headed back down (there was probably only fifteen minutes left for us to hike until we got to the waterfall, but oh well.  We can always go again.  After the hike, we all met back at my place and ate food.  Kurtis and I supplied fixings for some deli sandwiches.  Emily and Joel brought the chips, Lili and Michael brought a watermelon, Ben brought a Snickers Salad (It's Snickers, red and green apples, and whipped cream - so easy and soooo good!), and Jeremy brought fudge that he had made.  My parents even dropped in on their way home from their trip to Colorado.  We all had a good time even though we never did get to play Killer Bunnies.  I think I'm going to be pretty sore in the morning.
I feel like I am leaving something out.  Oh, yeah.  Kurtis didn't come with us because he was afraid of dragging us down and keeping us from getting to the waterfall.  I wish he had come with us because I lost two of my children while we were on the hike.  I guess I forgot to tell everyone to stay together because Jeremy and Riley just took off up the mountain leaving us in their dust.  Then Kaleb and Ben disappeared.  Zach was gone, too.  Finally, nearer the top, we all found one another.  Ben told Zach that there wasn't time to go all the way up any more (this was before he left with Lili and Michael) because Jeremy had to go back down.  Emily and Joel had given up and were resting down the trail a little ways.  I wanted to talk to Michael, Lili, Ben, and Jeremy to find out what they were doing, so I told Zach and Riley to wait for me by Emily and Joel.  They headed down the mountain.  Kaleb had decided he was too tired to go on, and so I told Ben that I would take him back down and he could go with Michael and Lili.  I can hike the trail again another time and go all the way up (I could have made it) with Zach (he was bummed that he didn't end up getting to go with those guys.)  I got to the rock where Emily and Joel were waiting a little while later (with Kaleb and Jeremy).  Zach and Riley were not there.  Joel told us that they had been down by the stream and so they probably didn't see them and kept going.  Yes, that had to be what happened.  I headed down the mountain still helping Kaleb, thinking no big deal.  They know the way.  Then we got to where the trail keeps going down or breaks off to go to the bridge and the three of us missed the turnoff.  But we noticed not long after and got back on the right trail.  I  got a little panicky after that because what if Zach and Riley missed the turnoff, too and were heading down the mountain the wrong way?  I asked a few people if they had seen them, but they all said there were too many people to have noticed them.  Great.  I left Kaleb with Jeremy and I swear, I have never gone down that mountain so fast.  When I got to my car, I started to cry because there they were, leaning against the hood.  Waiting.  What a relief!  I hate that feeling.  Zach cried, too.  He didn't mean to make me worry.  I asked them to just stop by any rock next time and wait for me if that ever happens again.

It was such a beautiful day today!

 Kaleb and Ben.

 This tree reminds me of that story, "The Spooky Old Tree".

 Joel.

 Can you see why I love this hike?

 Zach found a termite eaten stick.  He said, "You know how I can tell that this was eaten by termites?"

"How?"

"They don't like to eat the stubs."

Whether this is inaccurate or not, that looks eaten out by some sort of bug to me. :)

 Kaleb

 Michael and Lili!

 Ben!

 This tree is really, really big.  Lili was quite impressed by its bigness considering it's in Utah.

 Such a cute couple!

 Check out my muscles.

 Along the trail there are lots of mini waterfalls.  I love waterfalls.

 I finally caught up with this guy and he did look incredibly tired.

It was a good day.  Even if I did lose two of my favorite kids.

Hey, at least I found them in the end.  That's really all that matters.

They didn't know they were lost.  :)

Besides, I got home to see that Ben had decided to post this as my status on Facebook when I wasn't looking:  

"I love my family!!! They are such cool people. I am so glad they're here for memorial day! It's a party! Woot woot. Now it's time to boogie like a grey elephant wearing purple tights and washing our toes like a silly banana bug. Weasel Sauce."

Hahahahaha!  Too funny.  Totally made me laugh and feel better.  Thanks, Ben!

Itsy Bitsy!

This little guy was running around in my kitchen and Kaleb spotted it.  He came over to me and said, "Mom, there's a spider underneath Dad's computer."  I shrugged and said, "Okay."  He said, "No, you need to squish it."  He moved the computer so I could see the spider.  Sigh.  "Okay, get me a tissue."  Then he changed his mind and decided to be brave.  "No, wait.  I want to squish it."  Okay.  I had seen these spiders before, so I was curious what kind they were.  I said, "Before you kill it, I want to take a picture of it so I can find out what kind it is."  "I know it's not a black widow."  "No, it isn't a black widow."  "Okay.  You better take the picture before I find the tissues!"  I pointed to the tissues as I grabbed my phone and said, "The tissues are right there."
He wanted to squish it with his foot, but I wouldn't let him.  Riley had just mopped the floor.  He was so brave, though.  He took that tissue, squished the spider and said, "So that's what it feels like."  He he he.  I think he will be able to squish his own bugs from now on.

I googled him and I think he is a Daring Jumping Spider.  If you know for certain, you can leave a comment and tell me.  His head (the part pointing down) seems to be bigger than his body.  I think these spiders are cute, but they do not belong in my house.  :)

Character Analysis

I have been dying for this day.  Just dying.  Anytime that I am able to use my talents as an actress, I feel so blessed.  Just to get a part in a show or film is just the thing that brings me so much joy.  And I have been wanting to play the villain for such a long time!  I've always heard the line, "You're just not mean enough.  I don't see you in that part."  I have gotten that note a few times during rehearsals, but then I just change how mean I am.  I don't like being mean in real life.  That's why it's called "acting."
I get to play psychologist when I do my shows and it's always interesting.  You have to try to figure out why your character is the way they are and what is making them say the things that they are saying.  What does your character want and will she get it?
I love my part as Lily Belle in The Curious Savage.  She's absolutely crazy.  She's spoiled rotten.  I would say the family in this show is a cautionary tale of why you should tell your children, "No."  She's been married six times.  Her step-mother describes her as a bit of a whore.  I think she's exaggerating.  Not a lot.  She does try (unsuccessfully) to flirt with the doctor a little.  Her step-mother has put her in a position that she just can't have fathomed ever being in.  Her father passed away a year or two ago and since then, her step-mother has decided to spend the family fortune helping people fulfill their ridiculous dreams.  Her step-mother is probably the only mother she has ever known.  She's used to living a certain lifestyle and her mother is threatening to take it all away.
When it comes right down to it, Lily Belle just wants to be loved (and rich).  But she doesn't know how to ask for it.  I think she is very lonely.  She's so used to just being given her every whim that she hasn't figured out how to give.  Love requires a lot of give and take and she can't handle that.  She doesn't understand the meaning of actual true love that is real.  Neither do her siblings.  I think that's what makes her so emotionally exhausting sometimes. She is so angry all the time.  Once in awhile, she does things that make her proud of herself, but her brothers come in and snuff that out of her as soon as possible.
But honestly, don't feel sorry for them.  I am supposed to figure out how to relate to my character and understand them in a way that only I can.  I feel empathy for her, but I would never be friends with her.  They are total jerks and they deserve every bit of the horror that rains down on them in this play.

Mark your calendars and come see me in The Curious Savage at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Ogden, UT.  It's quite funny.  We open Friday, June 14th!

Vanity vs. Vision

Thursday morning, I woke up with a weepy left eye and it was producing quite a bit of yucky eye junk.  I thought, "Oh, great.  I have a clogged tear-duct."  No big deal, really.  Mostly just inconvenient and it will clear up shortly.  It was uncomfortable so I didn't go volunteer at the school, but I certainly had to go to rehearsal. While I was there, one of the other actresses saw me wipe my eye, and asked if I was okay.  She thought I was crying.  I told her I had a clogged tear-duct and then she went into her experience of having gone through the same thing.  It involved the doctor and they couldn't unclog it so she had to be put on an antibiotic.  Crap.  The idea of needing to go to the doctor was officially implanted into my brain.  Then I remembered talking with my friend who was an optician for a time, and she told me "The eyes you have are the only ones you will ever have and you don't want to mess around when it comes to their health."

The swelling was pretty bad, too.  Crap.  I hate going to the doctor.  I took a picture when I was getting ready for bed Thursday night.  I looked like someone who had been assaulted or something.

But when I woke up in the morning, and my right eye was having the same symptoms as the left eye the day before, I knew I had to call.  Crap.  Kurtis came with me, too.  Just in case I couldn't drive home or something.  Who knew what they were going to do to me.

The doctor looked at my eye with the white light.  Then he put the yellow dye in my eyes and looked at them with the blue light.  "Well, you have about four things going on and they are all converging together to make this happen.  You have a clogged gland, and that is what's causing the swelling in your left eye.  Then you have dry eyes and allergies and that has probably caused this bacterial infection."  So it wasn't a clogged tear-duct after all.  Crap.  He prescribed me some expensive antibiotics for my eyes and told me I had to go back in a week to make sure I could start wearing my contacts again.

So no contacts and no make up for a week.  My vanity is screaming, "How could you do this to us!?"  I'm not kidding.  I'm pretty vain and I don't feel very pretty right now.  The feminist in me is screaming, "Who cares?  You don't have to be wearing make up to have value in the world.!  Stop it now!"  But my vanity did not get to win this time.  I had to go to rehearsal on Saturday morning.  I also had to go grocery shopping.  Food is essential, or something.  Luckily, the kids soccer games go rained out and rescheduled.

I also did not want to go to church today.  I just wanted to stay in bed.  But I had to go to Primary because I was needed there (Oh, yes.  I was really needed there today, too.  Five adults were needed, but we only had three).  On the way to church I said that we should just leave after we take the sacrament because Kurtis wasn't feeling so good either, but he had promised to substitute Zach's Primary class, so he had to go, too.

Then, after Primary, I was looking for Kurtis and I walked into the chapel and was immediately reminded that today was Zach's first day of passing the Sacrament.  I found Zach, and said, "Are you going to pass the Sacrament today?"  "I don't know how.  I've never done it before!"  One of the other Deacons said to him, "No, it's really easy.  I'll give you the easiest route and I'll tell you what to do.  It's not hard."  And I said, "Yes.  In this church, you learn by doing it."  So my boy was thrown into the fire and not very sure what to think or do.

I led his brothers to a place where we could sit down (they were not very happy because I was changing my mind).  Finally, Kurtis poked his head into the chapel and I waved him over.  He thought we were still leaving too, and so I said to him, "It's Zach's first time passing the Sacrament.  Don't you want to watch him?"  "Oh, yeah!"  He got a really big smile on his face and gave me the thumbs up.  He was so excited to watch him that he didn't notice when the boy passing our Sacrament to us showed up.  He laughed and said to me, "I guess I am a little excited."  It was fun to watch him though.  He looked quite nervous and a little freaked out.  But he got through it.  Of the experience he shrugged and said, "It was good."  Typical.

After church, our neighbor came up to Kurtis and said, "He did such a good job passing the Sacrament.  I can't believe you guys let him turn twelve."  We laughed and I said, "Well, you know.  It's not like we really had much choice."  Then Kaleb dragged me away to give our Bishop the star he made during Sacrament Meeting.  It was cute.  I'm glad we stayed through the whole meeting.  I'm also glad that tomorrow I don't have to go anywhere.  These eye drops make my eyes water and kind of red, so I look like I've been crying.  But the swelling is almost gone in my left eye and my right eye is only slightly puffy.

I Should Be Over All The Butterflies

So yesterday was my anniversary.  Kurtis and I have now been married for fourteen years.
We celebrated by going out to dinner at Iggy's and then to see the movie Iron Man 3.  Not romantic enough for you?  Well, it's what I wanted to do, and I do find superheroes romantic.  They are motivated by love.  Love for all people and animals.  I've decided I like Marvel heroes better than DC (except Batman) and that Iron Man is probably my favorite.
After the movie, we opened our presents.  I was quite disappointed though.  I have been tracking the other half of Kurtis' present since I got the email saying it shipped.  It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but it didn't.  It got put on the wrong truck.  Hopefully I will get it tomorrow.  But he told me a few weeks ago that he wanted a new wallet and found the one he wanted.  I told him I wanted to order it for him, and I did.  But he kept bugging me about whether or not it had come yet.  I kept telling him I hadn't gotten around to it yet, or not to worry about it.  He kept this up everyday, so finally I posted on Facebook my dilemma.  My smart friend told me to tell him it was on back order.  It wasn't.  It was sitting in our house waiting for me to wrap it and give it to him.  He he.  But it worked.  He said, "Aw, maaaan!" and stopped asking me.  I hate lying, but he wouldn't let it go.  Geesh.
At dinner Monday night, he asked me what I really wanted the most.  I felt silly, but what I really wanted the most was "Some Hot Blood" (The Airborne Toxic Event's new album) and more Dresden Files books.  He did not disappoint me.  The Airborne Toxic Event does not have any of its albums in the stores near us, so he got me some other albums that I had told him I wanted.  He also couldn't find all of the books I wanted, so he got me some other books that were on my goodreads.com list.  I was delighted that he had remembered what I told him. :)

 I made Kurtis take pictures of us with my phone.  :D

 Yup.  Here, too.  Although, I wasn't trying to make us look like an ad for the Megaplex.  Hee hee.

 He likes his wallet.

My presents!  He's so awesome. :)

Now for a song:

It's on that album that Kurtis got me.  The one on the left.

Oh, and here's another.  Just for fun. :)

This Fire Mage Picks Her Own Powers

I was going to blog this yesterday, but I did laundry and watched Doctor Who all day instead.  It was a great day. :)  Now I am taking a break from sorting through all the mountains of clothes in my bedroom.  The kids have been begging me to get out their shorts since March and since it was 97 degrees yesterday, I suppose it's about time I actually got around to it.  I have a ton of clothes they have grown out of and a ton of clothes to store away for the fall.  I hate this job.  Hate it, so last year, I put it off so long that I just decided not to do it.  I've sorted out all the clothes that I am going to give to my cousin (if she wants them) and the rest.  I think the mountain is smaller.  But it's not just a hill yet.  Unfortunately.  Thus the taking a break.
So Mother's Day.  Sunday, I blogged about my son, but today, I am going to blog about me!  Ha ha!  What did my family do for me on Mother's Day?  I left that out in my last post on purpose.  I didn't want it to be too long-winded.
In the morning, the boys helped clean up the kitchen a little bit and Riley helped me make the dessert for our dinner later that day.  He chopped Reeses peanut butter cups and smashed Oreos for me.  He loved it.
After church, we had a marvelous dinner with my parents.  They really loved the dessert so much.  My dad asked for the recipe.  I still need to email it to him...  Anyway.  While Kurtis was cooking the steaks and chicken (I hate steak), I gave my mom her present.  I gave her these:

My mom is into history, but especially family history.  I think she really liked them.  It was fun to listen to my mom and dad reminisce about what things looked like in Salt Lake City (where my mom grew up) when they were dating and she was growing up.

Saturday, Kaleb insisted that he be taken to the store to buy me a Mother's Day gift.  It was so cute.  He said he wanted to get me some candy.  That boy knows me so well. :)  He got me a Symphony bar and a bag of M&Ms.  Perfect.  He also made me some flowers and a book at school called 10 Reason I Love My Mom!!!.  Then later that day, he and I went around the block blasting bad guys and leveling up our powers.  I was a fire mage.  I shot fireballs out of my hands and protected us with my ring of fire.  Heck, yes.  I'm awesome.  Of course, Kaleb likes to tell me that he is level 98 and I am level 2, but I can still kick some butt.  He also likes to make it easy for him to level up, but not very easy for anyone else.  I had to remind him that I was the mage and that I got to decide which powers I had and what I used them for.  ;)

Kurtis got me some more Dresden Files books.  Riley took the things we made at Stamp Club on Thursday and gave them to me.  Yesterday, he gave me the card they made in school saying, "This is not a Mother's Day card!"  It was cute.  Zachary gave me some flowers he made at school, too.  I love all my presents.  But most of all I love all my kids.  They are so sweet and kind to me.  They made me a mom.  They make me laugh.  They frustrate me to no end.  They surprise me.  They cuddle with me and they fill my heart with wonder and joy.  I am blessed to be their mother.

The flowers and book from Kaleb.

 One of my favorite reasons. :)

 The flowers and books from Zach and Kurtis.

 Gifts from Riley.

And my sister sent me a card, too!  It was an unexpected surprise.  Thanks, Michele!

The bottom card is from my mom and dad and the kids still living at home.

I have the best family. :)

Now watch this video.  It's really awesome. :)

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

In Which Zachary Starts Becoming Captain America

Yes, I did just compare receiving the Priesthood to the special serum they injected into Steve Rogers (aka Captain America).  Deal with it.

Today, was extremely special for our family, though. Kurtis and I thought that the Deacons would come to Primary and get Zachary today.  But when he got there, his Primary teachers told him he was supposed to go with the Deacons right then.  I noticed that he was going in the wrong direction, so I took him to the chapel.  That's where all the young men and men meet together for announcements and an opening song before they separate into their different classes.  I pointed out the other Deacons to him, but at first, he couldn't see them.  It made me giggle.  He was a little nervous.  Which is normal because it's a new experience and new experiences usually involve a lot of unknowns.  He found them and walked in with confidence.  Next week, he and Kurtis can walk in together and then it will seem like he's been doing it for years.

My parents came to our Sacrament Meeting this morning.  After the announcements, Zachary stood up with the Second Counselor in our Bishopric and was sustained by the members of our ward and his grandparents (and his family) as worthy to hold the Aaronic Priesthood.  I almost lost it as the tears welled up.  But I took a deep breath and held it together.  I've had to take a few of those today.

I'm so very proud of my young man.  He decided to take the step and be responsible for holding this priesthood of God.  I think he is excited.  Maybe a little nervous about this step.  But that's good.  He's a good kid.  I love it when I see him playing with Kaleb.  Or when I see him trying to be a peacemaker in our home.  He was talking to me about one of the boys in his class today at dinner.  He was telling me that this boy had become a bit of a punk over the school year and he said that he wasn't like that before he started to hang out with another boy who is also defiant.  I told him that's why it's good to choose your friends wisely.  Because they do have an influence on you for good or bad.  I think he's done this.  I hope he will continue to do this.  He is a natural leader and my heart is filled with joy when I see him doing so with kindness and love.

As Kurtis laid his hands upon Zachary's head and gave him the priesthood, I felt so blessed.  Kurtis reminded Zachary of the purpose of the priesthood and told him that it is simply a way for him to serve others on this earth.  I truly believe there is no greater use for this priesthood than to serve others.  Jesus used this power when he was on the earth to serve, to heal and to bless others.  That's what He wants our boys to use it for as well.  I think the scripture found in the Book of Mormon fits here very well:  "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17)"

I really can't think of a better Mother's Day present.  ;)

Now watch this video where LDS young men talk about the ways the Aaronic Priesthood has blessed their lives and what it means to them:

I Like Zachary Because...

I want to do Flashback Friday a day early today.
Why?
Because it's Zach's birthday!!!  He's 12 years old!  Twelve!  I know, he's getting so old!  I love his stinky face.  No, I'm not calling him stinky because he is a boy.  I'm calling him stinky because he really does stink! Boys smell so good when they are little.  Then they start to grow up and they are not so sweet smelling.  Maybe it's because I don't give him baths any more.  I do tell him to take baths.  That doesn't really mean he listens.  What does he smell like, you ask?  Feet.
My friends with adolescent boys will relate.
But I digress.  This post wasn't supposed to be about how rosy he smells.
He was born at 3:21 p.m. after keeping me up all night with labor pains.  I'm not lying either.  It really sucked.  I went to the hospital at 6:00 a.m. the next morning and I was only dilated to a 1.  I cried.  They let me stay and checked me twenty minutes later.  I was a 3.  Yay for epidurals!  He was six pounds thirteen ounces and nineteen and a half inches long.
Zach is awesome because he is compassionate and loving.  He does his chores.  He's really kind of bad at them, but he still does them.  That's really all a mom can ask for, right?  He loves to play soccer and the computer.  He loves animals.  Especially baby ones.  He won't stop asking for a kitten.  He's starting to get grumpy, but he's trying to not be grumpy (if that makes sense - testosterone surges cause that, right?  I know nothing about anatomy).  We are definitely moving into uncharted waters for me here.  But for the most part, he is pretty easy-going and fun to be around.  Zach is a great person and I love him.

This is a picture of a picture from the day he was born.  Wasn't he the cutest baby ever?  :)

My sister Emily is holding him.  She was 12.

 Having a little brother made his day.  He always tried to help out by playing with his little friend.

 He likes it when Neji licks his face.  I think it's gross.

 Two handsome men on Conference Weekend.

See?  He loves it. :)  And he has a killer smile.

Lady Riverdale to the Rescue!

What's next, Life?  What indeed?

Monday night, I got to the theatre and go out of my car.  I could hear this hissing sound that at first, I didn't register it as anything to but background noise.  You know.  The hum from a generator or some one's air conditioning.  But the closer I got to the end of my car, the more it sounded like a strange hissing noise and I didn't know where the heck it was coming from.  So I did what every normal person does.  I went into the theatre to get ready for the show.  And thought, "I hope my car doesn't explode."

While I was dressing, the lady playing Anne came in and said, "I think I'm going to have a flat tire when we get out of this show!  I heard hissing after I got out of my car."

"Oh, that's probably my car.  I heard it too when I got out of my car.  Great.  I hope I don't get a flat."

At intermission, she went and checked our tires.  She said they were fine.

She was wrong.

My front left tire was flat by the time the show was over and I was done getting ready to leave.

Luckily, I know how to change a flat tire.  But even more luckily was that the lady who plays Lady Riverdale had not left yet, and she drove her car over by mine and shined her headlights on my flat tire while I changed it.  But she didn't stop there.  She didn't think I had jacked my car up enough while I was taking the lug nuts off (I hadn't), so she jacked it up more for me.  Then she helped me lift the heavy donut onto the car and line it up with the bolts.  She also helped me put the lug nuts back on, so it would go faster.  Then while I tightened them up as best I could, she took the jack down.  Then (and this is the nicest of all) she drove behind me to make sure I got home safely (I did and without incident - other than feeling like I was driving so super slow) .  

I feel so blessed to have such great people in my life  Lady Riverdale and I don't know each other that well.  We only just met at the beginning of the play.  So to do that for me, was really incredible to me.  I need to buy her flowers.

So the next day, I was in the tire store getting all new tires for my car.  It took an hour.  It seemed like a long time to me, but hey, I have shiny new tires, so it was worth it, and I got to read my book.  I knew we needed new tires.  When we got our car inspected/registered last year, the guy told me he passed the inspection, but we would definitely need new tires next year.  I was going to go get them last week, but I was sick.  I've been sick the whole month.  Kurtis gave me his cold and then he was getting better and got another cold.  Which he also gave to me as I was getting better from the first cold he gave me.  I'm so glad that I am not sick any more.  

Seriously.  You need to come see my show.  Then you can meet the amazing Lady Riverdale.  She's way nice, and the show is a lot of fun.  Don't miss out!