Catching Up

Life has been crazy and then crazier. It seems like there is NEVER enough time. So I have delayed writing a few things down and now as C has a friend over I'll try to quickly get some of it written.

We went to Arizona last month for DH's grandpa's funeral. He was a good man who lived a long life. His funeral wasn't a downer of any type. You could tell that grandpa was about family because the place was PACKED with family.

I played the violin at the funeral and had to check out a bit before. You see, I have to cry if other people are crying. And when I glanced at the program I notice that they had DH's dad and aunts and uncles listed with family names. I just couldn't look at it. For some reason I was so worried that they would forget Nikolas and Joshua. What if they forgot them? I would have lost it and then had a big ol' teary blotchy face when I got up to play the violin. As a result, I just ignored the program until we were in the car. And wouldn't you know, they were there. It made my day. The funny thing was that next to two of DH's cousins, it said 'deceased', but there was nothing next to Niko and Joshua. That made me giggle just a bit.

Grandpa was buried at the National Cemetery. In Arizona it's a pretty barren place. I remarked to DH that I really prefer the grass at 'our' cemetery. He wasn't so bothered by it. He thought it just looked very 'Arizona'. But the short ceremony there was very moving. I did get teary when the National Guard folded the flag that had been on Grandpa's casket and presented it to Granny. We all just adore Granny.

On the way to AZ the kids were watching the Kitt Kittrage movie (probably misspelled). It's about one of the American Girl characters who lives during the depression. We pulled up to have lunch at a Subway. We bought our sandwiches and then went to sit down at some tables outside. A Navajo man with few teeth sat down and told us he hadn't eaten in two days and asked if we would buy him something. I went in and started ordering a sandwich. The lady asked me what I wanted on it and I really had NO clue. I said, "I don't know. It's for some hungry man." She went right to work and said, "Most of the Navajos who come in here like wheat bread." And then she finished it right off. He seemed really happy about it. He tried talking to us for a while. He asked where we were from. He told us he had been there as a kid. He told us they call him Rambo because of his hair. He was difficult to understand with all of his missing teeth. And although I was a little uncomfortable, I was glad that we were able to help him and that the kids could go back and watch their movie in an air conditioned car and realize that people still need to give. It was a good lesson for me and them.

The kids went swimming in Grandma's pool while we were in AZ. D and T spent a bunch of time jumping off the diving board. D can swim across the pool. He still struggles at it but he can do it and has such determination that I am sure he'll be a great swimmer before you know it. My mom kept say that the pool was too cold. Na... it was fine. We aren't zonies anymore :)

We stayed at my in-laws' cabin on the way home. It was nice to break up a long day of driving. My MIL made rice krispy treaty for everyone and then treated me to a book for the way home. It was much better than sweets!

What else? Life has been so busy. It seems like the kids' activities are stacked so tightly that if I am off by 10 minutes the whole thing falls apart. I have yet to figure out how to simplify. But in conference, Pres Uchtdorf talked about how a frenzied life isn't actually the right way to go. And boy oh boy is he right. I have felt frazzled and then more frazzled lately. For now, I am going to try to get up an hour earlier to try to get things done that cause me stress. I always try to do it at night and there is just nothing that gets done well when my mind has checked out. Good things aren't always worth it if they are taking time from better endeavors. I need to remember that as I make choices.

We also did our last boating trip with friends. The water was surprisingly warm for October (not that I know, I didn't get it). M and D skied. M and T road the surfboard on their tummies. Little J almost managed to stand on the surfboard. DH jammed his toes on the boat when trying to get out there to surf. They are still bleeding 3 days later. And poor little I, she fell as we were leaving and did a number on her face. That night the kids were saying prayers on the way home in the car (it was late and we stopped off for fast food and then had the kids say their prayers in the car). Each one was so worried about I. Luckily, we hear she is going to make a recovery. And hopefully her face won't look too thrashed when she is a pirate for Halloween.