happy birthday wilson

I am 12. I got to be a member of Runescape, but it took a long time to be one, but I really like it. For my birthday we went to the lake and i went tubing while Max was driving. I flew, no really i flew about 20 feet. Cooper, Dad played Star Fox until 11:30 p.m. We went to see a movie, callled Wall-E. I thought it was good, but mom and Dad didn't think so. I wondered what inspired them to make it. After the movie, we bought an ice cream chocolate vanilla cake from Baskin and Robbins and ate the whole thing at the skate park.

On Friday I went on my first scout trip without Dad. We were chopping and splitting wood for a fundraiser. I fell asleep on the job about half way under the back of a parket trailer and Bro Mathia had to hit me four times with his crutches to wake me up. Finally I woke up and banged my head on the bumper of the trailer and that kept me awake. The best part of the trip was sleeping in the forest all alone. I felt comfortable and even made my own fire. My shirt got all sappy from the trees so I wore my coat. There were huckleberries and wild strawberries, but in order to get to the strawberries you had to pass hobo spiders and thorny roses. It was mighty fun.

Today I received the Aaronic priesthood. Grandma and Grandpa came for the blessing. I shared the 13th article of faith in sacrament meeting and messed up a little but I did pretty good. After church I slept all afternoon, right through dinner and Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

My testimony at 12 years old is: I know that we can be resurrected through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

shining shoes

Today is Wednesday which means, according to my summer schedule, it is service day. The problem is, I didn't have anything planned. I thought we would call it good by filling up a bag with food for the food bank and considered service day over by dinner time. Tony had high council tonight in Moscow so I loaded everybody up and thought I'd take them to a movie while he went to his meeting. Sadly, both batteries were dead in the rig and we couldn't get it started for anything. Just when I was reaching my height of crabbiness the missionaries showed up looking tired, discouraged and hungry. We abandoned ship and went inside to scrounge up meatball sandwiches and watermelon for the hungry elders. Tony left for his meeting and the Elders gave the kids a great lesson on faith. On a whim, I grabbed the shoe shine kit and had the kids polish the missionaries shoes. The kids were really happy to serve and and the elders were so cute with their effusive gratitude. Service day turned into something way better than I imagined. How can I be 36 and still amazed that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.

I should have prayed a lot more yesterday. I took the kids and the canoe out to Rock lake fishing for our field trip and it took a 20 mile bike ride--alone-- to recover.

A fascinating experience happened at the pool yesterday. During a conversation with a woman in town I was struck with the clear realization that she does not like me. I am so dumb, so oblivious to most people's attempts to communicate dislike that I was really surprised with the revelation. But even more importantly, my great epiphany was that I DIDN"T CARE. I felt no compulsion to change her mind. What a refreshing and liberating feeling. I tend to err on the side of being a people pleaser so the whole experience was just wonderful.

Tomorrow Wilson is 12. 12 years ago I had no idea that my hay bucking, trampoline flipping, door slamming, boundary testing, spinach eating baby boy had even arrived. He's the hardest, most beautiful thing I've ever done.

rockness monster

I would like to personally thank the people who help spread the word about how haunted Rock Lake is. I owe them a great debt as we indulge in the joy of being the only boat on a perfectly smooth lake. Besides the fact that I don't have to pack food or changes of clothes, the proximity and minimal travel makes Rock Lake my all time favorite place. Eliza tried skiing yesterday, Cooper wakeboarded and skied, and Wilson got up on one! Max's great accomplishment was to swim around the boat while shrieking in terror that fishes were attacking his legs. We have some work to do with him.

As perfect as yesterdays ski trip was, I have to say I had equal fun on Friday night. The big boys were at their last hunter safety course so Tony and I took the little kids to Rock Lake in the canoe. I loved paddling around the perimeter and watching all the birds and fish. Marcos slept peacefully the whole time because it was so quiet. When we got home the boys built a fire and we roasted marshmallows and made popcorn. Add to that a great bike ride with Betina earlier that afternoon, and my day was as good as it gets.

Wednesday night was another of my self induced adventures. Two friends and I made a date for the Mozart concert at Manito park. I offered to drive so that I could take the boat into the shop on the way. Unfortunately, I failed to check the gas gage and we were bone dry when we hit Spangle. For future reference, Spangle gas station does not sell diesel. If you want diesel gas in Spangle, do not ask any of the men working near the gas station or sitting in diesel fueled farm trucks. They don't know anything about diesel. Instead desperately wave a 100 dollar bill at the sweet white haired lady who lives across the street and beg her to run her fuel card. Thankfully we were able to drop off the boat in the knick of time and get to the park with plenty of time to discover that the concert is actually next Wednesday. :) The evening really did turn out nicely despite the rough start. We had a lovely picnic in the beautiful gardens then walked around the houses in Manito. It was a great break from the kids, a gorgeous night and the creme brulee at Twigs was worth everything.

On Thursday I took the kids to an Arrow of Light presentation for cub scouts. I vacillated between awe and hilarity as grown men and women in full Indian headdress performed an elaborate "cross over" ceremony for the 11 year old scouts in the ward. There were no less than 50 dead animal pelts decorating the gym, including a once 8000 lb buffalo. The ceremony involved fire, weapons and yelling so it was a very popular event for the kids. The poor drummer maintained a steady beat on the drums the whole 60 minutes with a nasal canula strapped to his head and one hand on his bottle of oxygen. Great (free) entertainment.

The death toll of divorce continues in St John. Most recently, Tony's ex-partner and his wife announced their separation. My new maxum on marriage is: marital survival is dependent on spouses wanting and needing each other more than anything else. I assert here and now that I want Tony more than anyone else and need him like the air I breathe. Besides, I can't leave Tony. I need him to help launch and drive the boat at Rock Lake.

grandma broke her coccyx

Like a scene from a bad movie, we received word that Tony's Mom had a 4-wheeling accident last Friday. She had been 4- wheeling in the dunes with Dad and some friends when she tumbled over a cliff and got separated from the group. The 4- wheeler fell on top of her and broke her pelvis and ankle. No one realized she was missing for a half an hour and then it took another 4 and half hours to extract her from the middle of nowhere by, ironically, 4 wheelers. We are very grateful that she is alive and in the hands of an excellent orthopedic doctor in Provo. We are grateful for the power of the priesthood and of fasting which reassures us that her healing will be complete.

Prior to this disturbing news, we were enjoying a wonderful Fourth of July camping trip with the Workman family. It was hot hot hot at the lake and quite windy. Cooper was in fishing heaven and Wilson spent many hours catching crawdads. We did a little skiing, wakeboarding and tubing and of course spent our favorite afternoon at "Crabclaw Beach." The best quote of the trip came from Max who said to his best friend: "Oakley, you are totally awesome," to which Oakley nonchalantly replied, "yeah, I am." Betina and I agreed that those couple of hours watching our kids play in the sand and collect shells trumped even Silverwood theme park for vacationing fun. We have discovered the perfect campsite as well as the best solution for staying dry when the sprinklers come on at 1:00am. Brother Kenneth Workman brought along his ultra potato gun with propane fuel and laser site (for accuracy). Nothing says happy independence day like shooting taters into the water. We are so lucky to have such great, and equally nerdy, friends.

Tony was on call on the Fourth of July (again) so we dropped him off at the hospital and enjoyed our annual "bacon at the Bishop's Fourth of July breakfast." The kids spent the afternoon napping so we were refreshed for the Endicott Fireworks show. Max was really excited about the fireworks this year, but Marcos fell asleep despite the lights and noise. We started a new tradition this year of feasting on strawberry pie after the fireworks show. I swear pie made with homegrown strawberries from our own garden taste so much better than store bought.

Saturday was recovery day. I had a baptism to attend in Pullman so I grabbed my bike and rode the trail between Pullman and Moscow. It was a short, easy ride but reminded me of why this is my favorite exercise in the whole world. We are getting into some bad habits of playing late into the night and sleeping late in the morning, but I've realized it isn't worth fighting. Like the rule of never waking sleeping babies, I am embracing the summer-time rules of: never serve less than a triple scoop of ice cream and never stop happily playing children.

of horses and fish

The only request Wilson's birth Mom made of us, was to not let him grow up to be a cowboy. Thus the problem. In the last 72 hours Wilson has been twice on horseback, spent an evening bucking hay and generally being complimented on his "natural" horsemanship skills. On Sunday we were invited to spend an evening with some of Tony's favorite patients. They live on the back side of Steptoe Butte on a beautiful farm where they raise Arabian horses. Their 10 day old colt was the star of the show. The kids were fascinated by it's every move and loved to watch him kick his heels, run with the herd and especially feed him peppermints. Marcos walked right to the fence and looked up, inches from the nose of the biggest horse. He got a big smile and said, "hi!" Max was a little more cautious (shocker) but took a turn riding. Cooper was most interested in the juice and cookies being served. Wilson made an immediate friend with "Freddy" the stallion and couldn't stop talking about him all the way home.

Today was our field trip day. Quite by chance, the kids spent the afternoon again riding horses at the Moxleys. Wilson helped brush and wash the horses and volunteered to come buck hay--for free. We are going to have to figure out some way for this city boy to spend time with horses. If Grandpa can do it, surely we can too. After horses we went to the Mellor's pond to do a little fishing. Cooper pulled out a good sized Bass within minutes (speaking of natural talents). Between the horses and the fish and the Mexi-fries, it was another successful field trip.

There is a literal epidemic of divorces occurring in our little town. It makes me sick to my stomach to watch the confused and disrupted faces of the kids that are affected. What could possibly be so bad in all these marriages that the consequences of seeing your kids suffer would be worth it? How do I act toward adults who have knowingly abandoned children to gratify some selfish need? These questions have been pressing down on me like the sultry heat of the last few days.