hula lula turns 7

The big "purse" party was held on Thursday in honor of Eliza birthday and while the darlings quietly sat around the table making crafts, I confessed for the first time in my life that girls are easier than boys. At least seven year old girl birthday parties. Also miraculously, the purse birthday cake turned out dang cute. Documentation provided for the doubters.

We spent a long and tedious day in Newport yesterday at a wrestling tournament. The only saving grace was that Dustin and Kimberly were there and we got to watch Corbin wrestle (do you call it that at that age?) He wasn't really into the actual wrestling thing, but he was an amazing escape artist. Also, seeing Kimberly's bulging belly was totally worth the drive. Both Corbin and Wilson took first in their weight class. It is still very hard to watch Wilson wrestle, mostly because I feel so sorry for the other kid. I think Wilson thinks you are awarded extra points if you make your opponent cry.

Cooper finally got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday and this is his report:

We went to Cabbelas and did the lazer shooting. We went to Zips and I got a bacon burrger. we went to a wedding reception
and we had pie. for dinner that night we had Ihop I had 4 pigs in a blanket. Grandma and Grandpa are the best in the world because I got to watch TV almowt all day and we ate fast food.


On a comedic note, Friday Tony and I attended a High Priest dinner in Colfax at Eddie's Chinese restaurant. It was a sparsly attended, but enjoyable activity, so I was in good spirits when Tony discovered he had locked the keys in the car. By some miracle the trunk was open, so all we had to do was crawl through the trunk, worm our arms through the fold down seat and slip through to retrieve the keys. I cannot imagine how bizaree it must have looked to see the arms and legs of two adults wriggling around in the trunk of a Toyota Camry. At one point a car drove by so we lay still and pretended to be dead bodies, because that would have been less weird than what we were doing before. Finally we got the thing unlocked, I crawled through and we went home to change our pants. We'd peed in them from laughing so hard.

palouse falls

These are a few pictures from a day of hiking at Palouse Falls. It is, afterall, what Lundbergs like doing best. It is also a form of desensitization therapy in dealing with my agoraphobia.

wicked weekend

36 hours does not seem like a long time, but as a team (or presidency), Andrea, Betsy and I have maximized the art of running away from home. Perfunctory credit and thanks are given to the husbands who tended the children for those long and lonely hours.

To increase our efficiency, we run away with organized lists of household needs, Dave Ramsey cash envelopes, and retail store coupons. We plan our itinerary with military strategem and waste no time on idle chitchat--From IKEA to Nordstrom Rack conversation focuses purely on solving world problems, how to better run the church, food storage, parenting and what we are planting in our gardens. We even buy the same clothes-- it increases efficiency. New to our retreat this year were adventures in Andrea's couponing passion, Betsy's fashion leap of faith (do not return the bright pink sweater) and the highlight of our trip: seeing the musical production of WICKED. We marvel that our friendship has evolved from 5 kids to 16 and has progressed from thrift store to Nordstrom jeans. Together, we have nearly missed international flights, cab rides and even the WICKED performance by mere minutes without even raising our heart rates. Collectively, we give new meaning to the term, "fly by the seat of your pants."

After time with these friends I feel uplifted and determined to be better. Andrea is the best example I know of consecrating her time, talents (she does have amazing talents) and everything she's been given, to building Zion. I know of no better example of pure charity than Betsy. 36 hours is not a long time, but I return home a better Mom, wife and friend because of the company I keep. I count these friendships as some of my greatest blessings.

ooofff

Tony and I got the wind knocked out of us this weekend. Big time. I guess we were getting too fat and sassy and were in need of a dose of humility. Poor Tony bore the brunt of it. After a sleepless night of call he arrived in St John to discover a certified letter indicated that he is receiving disciplinary action at the hospital. (Ironically we think this was the result of Tony trying to attend his high council meetings). Literally minutes later he got word from our accountant that we owe the government every penny of our remodel savings. Top that off with a couple thousand dollar property tax bill and the pride check was complete. Even Cooper's undefeated basketball team lost in the final game of the SJ tournament to their rival Pomeroy.

Like most humbling experiences, once you catch your breath, the blessings are as bright as neon signs. The house is paid off. We had the money to pay the taxes. We didn't have to touch the emergency fund or start racking up bills on the credit cards. Granted, the money was earmarked for our dream, but our dream can wait. Furthermore, we both got clear impressions on how to proceed with construction on Mado's flooded basement. We now have a written budget and a very good motive to follow it with gazelle intensity. Oh yeah--and we've already committed to a cruise in May with Mom, Dad, Jeff and Stacey. Had the bad news come one week earlier, we would have had to back out. Hooray for that tender mercy.

Tony meets tomorrow with the other Doctors to review the disciplinary action. They had better not mess with my man.

Monday was no school. We celebrated with the neighborhood friends by building a big bonfire and roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. The kitchen floor has never experienced that volume of mud before (the picture does not do it justice). It was extra fun (and mucky) because it was snowing almost the whole time. That night the sky dumped about 3 inches of the most beautiful white snow and today was gorgeous blue sky and sunshine perfection.

Overheard:

Max: "Sometimes I feel the spirit in my head and in my tummy."

Wilson after an alien abduction: "Mom I have wrestling on Tuesday. How does that work with your schedule?"

Marcos the Latin Lover after suffering rejection from his beloved Ivy: "Ivy mean!"

sweet silvermountain

The tenth annual CooperFest was totally awesome this year! Our annual tradition began in Pocatello Idaho when we visited Lava Hot Springs to fill our time while we waited for Cooper to finish baking in the hospital. This year we visited Silver Mountain in Kellog Idaho and it might be our favorite of all.

When we arrived on Thursday night we went straight to the waterpark. Tony, Cooper and Wilson had a great time on the surf waves and the little kids and Mom explored the lazy river and water slides. The next morning we awoke to beautiful sunny skies and 36 inches of new powder. Tony was ecstatic! We rode the gondola up to the lodge and Tony, Cooper, Eliza and Wilson hit the slopes on snowboards and skis. Sadly all the little kid runs and the "magic carpet" were closed due to the heavy snow. Max got frustrated beyond words and resorted to crying and wailing while Marcos ran pell mell in front of skiers laughing his head off.

When Max finally got himself under control, we loaded back on the gondola to ride home. I announced icily that he had sucked all my energy out so he better not ask me any favors or questions. "That's OK", he said. "Grandma has energy for me!"

Lucky for Max, Grandma and Grandpa were waiting back at the hotel with a box full of treats and lots of energy. They watched the little kids while Tony and I took the big boys back up the mountain. When they announced that the ski lifts would stay open an hour longer we went back to the hotel and grabbed the Max and Eliza for another few runs. This time Max put forth great effort and was a real trooper. We tried to catch one more run, lost track of time and discovered that the lift was closed for the night. Tony snowboarded like a bat out of hell to another lift and alerted the ski patrol. Eliza, Max and I got a free snowmobile ride back to the gondola with a couple of gruff ("dang beginning skiers!") ski patrol heroes and I think it made the whole trip worth it for Max.

After birthday cake we headed back to the water park, then home for a movie and popcorn. Saturday we had a late breakfast, played games and swam one last time before checking out. It was such a beautiful day that we ate our cup of noodle soups and made smores at the outdoor firepit before heading home.

The whole weekend was so relaxing (minus the wailing on the mount) and cozy. It was a perfect way to end winter.