parts per million

I have been meaning to record this one for a while, but just haven't taken the time. I have a memory from my youth that always comes back to me this time of year. As a kid growing up in Rexburg, Idaho I was no foreigner to cold water. Public swimming pools, lakes, rivers, it was all cold. So imagine the delight when my parents would take me to Green Canyon hot springs to swim. These are my memories from Green canyon
1. Sharks. No there were not real sharks, but when I was a kid there was a very large drain in the bottom of the deep end of the pool covered by a rebar grate. All of the kids "believed" that sharks were held under that grate, so no one wanted to dive in the deep end. In the bad old days they would not put any chemicals in the pool-because it was naturally heated water they would drain the pool every night and fill it up again the next day. I remember hearing some years later that some government agency deemed that unsanitary and they started using chemicals and not draining the water. As Reed would say, it's all about parts per million.
2. Jolly Rancher sticks. They had a candy counter at the check in desk and I remember buying Jolly Rancher sticks (about 1"wide and 4" long, they don't make them anymore) for $.10. Usually when we went we took hot dogs and marshmallows and roasted them over the fire. There was a very large fireplace in the common area next to the pool, I believe for this very purpose. Sometimes we went with other families for a group FHE. On such occasions there would also be a jello salad present.
3. Juniper Berries. Outside the pool building there were juniper bushes. I remember at one time an older, wiser cousin (I believe this was Rob Neeley) told me you could dry the berries and make necklaces out of them. So whenever we went we would pick a lot of berries. No necklaces were ever made, but they did smell good.
4. Warm toilet water. This is the memory hook for me this time of year. The dressing rooms were always muggy. The water in the showers was hot, the floor was always wet (there were risers to stand on because the actual floor was nasty) and when you went to the potty the water in the toilet was hot and you could feel the heat. That is the way our toilets are in Phoenix in the summer. It is a weird feeling. Not sure if it is as weird as sitting on the loo in the middle of winter and being so cold you can't feel yourself sitting down, but it is different.
They have done a lot of remodeling to the place, I have been back once since they changed it, but it just wasn't the same. Sometimes you just want to keep the memories just how they are. Here is a link to their website, just in case you want a little trip down memory lane yourself. Just take highway 33 towards Newdale and turn off at mile marker 116. Or visit their blog www.greencanyonhotsprings.com

Farewell Dostal Family

Stella and Philena on the catwalk in dress-ups

This week has been one we knew was coming for a long time, we just never thought it would actually be here. Our neighbors, and good friends, packed up all their things to move back to Germany. Their departure was not without drama. The relo package they were counting on fell through and they were left in the last week to find movers and re-arrange finances to pay for the move themselves. We went to their house on Tues night to help celebrate Stella and Frederick's birthdays and then I had Stella, Philena and Arthur here while Frederick and Ulrike did the last of the cleaning and vacuuming before the landlord came for the keys.

Littlest petshop for little kids, no grown-ups allowed

The kids had a great time playing and then it was time to pack up the car and say goodbye. The kids did pretty well until they got inside. Reed was holding Heidi on his lap and he asked her a question and it opened the floodgates. She cried for 20 min. Molly had a hard time as well. Zoe was so tired I think she was numb. I imagine the Dostals went through the same gammut of tears and tired with their kids, only they have the adventure of returning to live next to grandmas and grandpas to look forward to, and Molly is just worried about who is going to come and live next door. Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold, and it is hard to let go of something so precious. We will miss you Frederick, Ulrike, Stella, Philena, Arthur and Leander.

Tanner's first day of preschool

Tanner with Miss Teddie

This week Tanner had his first day of preschool. I asked him on the way if he was excited about preschool. His response: "I'm not excited, I am just going." He was so matter of fact, like it was no big deal. I was worried that he would not transition well. I underestimated the power of Miss Teddie. She took him and got him involved in playing with the other kids and that was that. I went and ran errands and felt naked without a child in tow. On Friday,after being at preschool for three mornings, we ran some errands together. After we left each store he asked "Now do we go to Miss Teddie's?" I think that is a good sign. This begins a new era for me. I have had visions of free time dancing in my head. Turns out the hours my kids are in school are not relaxing at all but a mad rush to get things accomplished before they hit the door and consume all my time and energy. When kids are born their world is so small and their needs so predictable and immediate. It is cool to see your kids world expand and open up. I was going to wax philosophic about my kids growing and how our family is changing, but it is just making my cry, so I am not going to do that. It sounds too ultra sappy on paper anyway.

Zoe's Nano sized reward

At the end of last school year I was inspired by a neighbor (thanks Tracy) to create an economy in our home as a motivation to do chores. The currency for this economy would be Monopoly money(Mm) paid out for the performance of chores and collected for such menial things as eating, sleeping in a bed, swimming, watching TV. It got off to a slow start. In fact, Heidi spent one night sleeping on the floor because she didn't have enough money to sleep in her own bed. Our experiment in capitalism took on speed as the kids expressed their desire at the beginning of the summer for some high priced electronics. It was agreed that if they earned the requisite amount of Monopoly money the bank of Mom and Dad would convert that into hard currency using the current exchange rate and the desired item could be purchased. Zoe took on the challenge with gusto. She vacuumed, did dishes, did laundry etc... at $10Mm per task and this past week was able to trade in her $1800 Mm Monopoly for $180 cash and purchase an Ipod Nano. If you are savy enough to realize that is more than a Nano actually costs, it is because Zoe was required to pay 10% tithing and put 10% in savings before she could go to the Apple store.
As a testament to Zoe's zeal, as she neared her goal at the end of the summer she set up a beauty salon in her bathroom where she charged $10Mm for pedicures and hairstyling. She also set up a private detective club and charged $20Mm joining fee. In the end she almost sold her proverbial birthright for a pot of porridge when Heidi offered to give her the $150Mm that it would take to get her over the edge in exchange for free reign over the Ipod after it was purchased. Zoe bought into Heidi's ploy very easily, but Reed and I invoked a 24 hour policy that would allow either party to back out of the deal within 24 hours. Zoe was able to see the folly of the bargain she had entered into and backed out the next day.
So the Ipod was purchased. Zoe is no longer chomping at the bit to do chores for me and Molly and Heidi, well, their lack of motivation was exposed the next day when I asked them to unload the dishwasher and they both told me "Zoe will do it", when in reality, Zoe had already said no. I guess they are going to have to step up their game to get their reward.

Chaos returns

Today was the first day of the second week of school. I was so excited (so were my kids) last week when Monday morning dawned. They were all up early and ready to go by 7am,even Tanner who insisted on having a water bottle and snack in his backpack. We pulled out the camera and documented their return trek to Lagos. It is a new camera because the old one died(of course the kids played with the old camera and got it to work two days later, so now we have two). I was a little nervous that Heidi would play shy and not want to go. I was wrong. She was the first one in and didn't look back. All those fuzzy warm feelings about your babies growing up were hampered by the fact that I was tired from getting up too early I had to run all the errands I had put off for the past two weeks (like grocery shopping) and then Tanner refused to take a nap. When the kids hit the door at 2:45 is when the real reality of back to school hit. My kids had been cooped up in a classroom all day and all that pent up energy exploded in my house like an atomic bomb. And that is what it has been like every day after school. Running, teasing, yelling, jumping, climbing, barbaric yawps, ignoring me when I ask them to perform routine chores, forgetting all manners, demanding, whining, tears over homework, teasing some more. Goths, Vandals, Visigoths. By the time Reed comes home I am on my last thread of sanity. He thinks the whole scene is fun to sit back and take in. He commented on Friday morning that I was not dealing well with the kids. I concurred. I was really glad I got to go to work on Friday. I am hoping that as the routine sinks in the chaos will subside. I am not getting my hopes up.

Mix reunion weekend

In honor of my Grandma Mary Mix's 90th birthday, and my Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Jack's return from three years of shepherding the missionaries in the Washington DC South mission, we had a reunion. It has been a few years. It was really fun to see all my cousins and meet their spouses and kids (I said it had been a while). Back in the day, when we were all hanging out and single we got together a lot, and we had some good times. It is amazing how even after a few years I really enjoy everyone's company. The years just melted away. There was good food, patterned after nostalgic foods of the past-the Croshaw's whole wheat pancakes for breakfast, which I think we have had at every reunion in memory. Sandwiches for lunch just like Grandma Mary used to send with her kids to school for lunch-deviled ham, tuna and good ol' PB&J. Dinner was intended to be a shout out to the future. Laurie Croshaw-Murray and her husband Freddy have fabricated a pizza oven that they have taken to various events and sell fabulous pizzas. They backed the oven into the backyard and in the process of unhitching it and unloading the gear it became unbalanced and the pizza oven slid off the back of the trailer. I would say that this was the capstone event of the reunion. It could have closed the whole show down, but it didn't. Freddy reacted like a champion. He had to walk away, but he came back smiling and ended up cooking pizza's in the oven (I picked up some tricks that have improved my own pizza making). Everyone rallied and put together a collection to pay for the replacement oven. It reminded me of why I love the Mix family. Anyone can have fun when the times are good, but the fact that we could keep the party going in the face of tragedy was a testiment to what family is truly about.
On Sunday we crashed Rosemary and Jack's church to hear their report from their mission. They are great people. It was so fun to see the number of missionaries who served with them who made the effort to be there and see them. They both spoke of the power of love and service and obedience. It was great to hear their testimonies of Savior and be reminded of the power of missionary work.
After the meeting we went to the Wixom's house for food and more good times. On the way home Reed and I decided we needed to make an accounting of everyone who had been there. It was great to know that after a day and a half together I could name everyone and their spouses and kids for a grand total of 72. I hope we can all make the effort to get together again soon.

Tanner's birthday, part 2

We recently made our pilgrimage to the home land. We always have hopes that is will be a respite from the heat, as usual it was pretty hot in Utah (but it cools off an night.) We had a great time. The day we arrived Reed's sister Zalia threw a birthday party for Tanner and her son Ben whose birthday is on the 16th. It had a baseball theme and was really cute. The kids ran through the water all afternoon, ate popcorn, nachos and hot dogs and drank root beer. Grandpa made ice cream-strawberry and chocolate, YUM! Good times.

Tanner's Three!

It seems like many moons ago, but my boy turned three on July 6. Reed was out of town (scout camp), but the rest of the week was super crazy so we just celebrated without him. We had donuts for breakfast, played on the Wii, went swimming and an ice cream cake to finish of the day.
As part of tradition we took some time during family home evening (the next night with Reed) to tell Tanner what we love about him.
Reed: Tanner is a champion wrestler, he pushes my car out in the morning, he lets me carry him like a baby, he is a monkey.
Heather: He is a good helper, independant, when he is in time out rather than getting out he will call me to "come talk to me" to get permission to get out.
Molly: Loves to play wii with Tanner
Zoe: Likes how he says sorry after he has been in Time out, likes to play throw and catch with him and likes how he sings-especially HSM songs and "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam"
Heidi: Loves wrestling with Tanner and Daddy and playing with him on the beach.
We all agree we love to have this little boy and his "boy things" around.