Being Difficult

Blythe is often difficult.  Maybe even more than often.  Maybe all the time.  Brandt, on the other hand, is practically always pleasant and helpful.  Suddenly, however, this weekend, Blythe has been super coorperative, obedient, and helpful without complaint.  We've done cleaning and straightening and work, and she's been right in there, doing what I ask.  I very nearly asked her, "Who are you and what have you done with our daughter?"  In sharp contrast, Brandt has been a pill.  I've asked him to do things, and he's picked up a book, sat on the couch, and ignored me.  He's been defiant, disobedient, and indifferent, ornery and bratty.  What the Yellowstone?  I've been at a loss.  What happened to Brandt?

I've become convinced that they got together and talked, and Blythe expressed she's tired of being the bad one.  Would Brandt please take a turn?  He agreed and took over the helm, showing all the same defiance and difficultness usually characteristic of our Blythe.

This leads me to ask, Why does it have to be so difficult?  Will they ever both be good at the same time?  Will it ever be less challenging?  I suppose I should be grateful that they largely are not awful at the same time.  If that happens, Kent and I will have to flee across town to Grandma Sue's house.

Eagle Project

This afternoon, I took Brandt down to the Pioneer Village to help Gavin Drake with his Eagle Scout service project.  We were to help re-oil the log structures, and were counseled to come in grubby clothes as we were likely to get linseed oil all over us.  We were given milk jugs with oil, paint brushes, and booties to cover our shoes, then told to start painting all the wood on a building.  We worked on log cabins, the store, and the outhouse.  Initially, there were only the scouts starting, but then all the youth showed up for the big finish.  I think about 30 gallons of linseed oil was used, and we got several cabins covered.  It was somewhat messy work, but you didn't have to be super precise in application, so it was just the sort of job for the group working. 

In addition to painting, we raked, picked produce from the garden, and made little wooden toys out of wood discs and string.  We all felt good about our efforts.

On a somewhat gruesomely related note, the mayor of the Pioneer Village was there in advance, helping Mike and Gavin Drake, as well as Jeff Niven, get things set up.  For some reason, he felt that they should move an incredibly large, incredibly heavy millstone away from the side of a building.  Jeff said, "No, let's not move that.  It's way too heavy."  But the other man was adamant and began to try and move it.  It fell onto his hands, smashing the fingers.  When he was finally able to pull them out, he scrapped off lots of skin.  He was bleeding profusely and had to be rushed to the ER.  Blood splatter was all over the millstone and got lots of looks as everyone eventually heard the story.  Gavin said he nearly threw up, and Mike got lightheaded, too.  Jeff related it wasn't the first time this man had done something foolish and seriously injured himself. 

This is the outhouse Brandt is oiling.

There's a somewhat creepy looking mannequin inside, looking as though he's using the facilities.

Brandt and Paul swept inside the blacksmith shop.

Brandt harvested tomatoes.

I am helping oil the outhouse.

Small toys

Big group

Mom Turns 70

Today my mother is seventy.  Once upon a time, seventy seemed old, but looking at my mom, it's obvious that it isn't.   Over the year, we've talked about how to celebrate this significant birthday.  Should be go to Hawaii? Should be go to California?  Should we throw a big ole party?  In the end, Mom decided that she wanted to go out to dinner with the adult children and nothing else.  We wanted to make it a nice affair, good food, celebratory atmosphere, and so we chose to go to Sundance Foundry Grill. 

On Friday we all went up and had a lovely time honoring Mom.  Our entrees weren't brilliant, but the appetizers and desserts were yummy, and being together was fantastic.  I asked Mom to tell us some highlights of her 70 years on earth, and she mentioned those things you would expect--having us children, the good times during her marriage to Dad, study abroad to France when she was in college, as well as other traveling. 

Mom is an amazing woman.  She is full of faith, wants to do what's right, is thoughtful about other's needs, and is smart.  She's good at what she does, and is, to quote a former mission companion, attractive, active, and in demand.  I don't know if she would think she's any of those things, but I do.  I feel especially grateful that Mom is doing well and that she retired this year.  It has been fun to spend more time with her than in years past.  Happy birthday Sue/Mom/Grandma Sue

Primary Program

Today Blythe participated in the ward Primary program.  As always, it was fantastic.  The children bore sweet testimony through their parts and their singing, and they even recited a small portion of The Living Christ.  Blythe was reluctant to participate, saying she was embarrassed to stand up in front of everyone and say her part, but she did a beautiful job.  With the senior Primary girls, she sang the verses of Gethsemane, the closing song.  The singing always brings the spirit the most.  Blythe's part was,

I feel God’s love and peace when I serve others.  Once my mother invited some people for a little party.  I invited Saneh and Will Echols.  Saneh loves humming birds so I drew a picture of one for her.  I felt really happy when I gave it to her. 

I think this is very thoughtful.  Blythe was self-conscious about it, not wanting to mention Saneh by name.  She tweaked it just a bit to say, "I invited a friend and her son," without naming names.  I can't believe how big she's getting.  We only have one more Primary program with a participant, and then Blythe will be in Young Women just like Brandt is in Young Men.

We are pleased with the wonderful things the children are learning at church and the way their testimonies are growing.  It warms my heart to hear them bear testimony of Christ and his church.

And just as a side note, Barbara Christensen came up to me at the end of Relief Society and said, "I know you already know this, but Blythe is beautiful!"  I do know!

Wilderness Survival

Back in June, when Brandt went to scout camp, he did all of the requirements for his wilderness survival merit badge except one.  He needed to "Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter."  The whole summer has passed, we're nearly at the end of September, the weather has turned, the nights are cool, and I realized we needed to get this requirement finished.  So last night I helped Brandt "improvise a natural shelter" in the "wilderness."  We were in the backyard, but it was outdoors, so it counted.  We took our six patio chairs, tied a tarp over them, and called it good.  It's improvised, right? We went over to see if Jarom Oyler wanted to sleep with Brandt is his shelter, but he wasn't available, so I became the next best option.  Brandt might have preferred Kent, but Kent preferred me, so there it was.  

We slept under the tarp.  Well, Brandt slept.  I sort of tossed and turned and passed a rougher night as the blow-up mattress I was sleeping on deflated, and I was left on the ground.  I suppose it could have been worse--there were no rocks digging into me, nothing alive ran across my face, it didn't rain--but it wasn't great.  However, that one more merit badge finished, bringing Brandt one step closer to eagle rank.

Kal the Destructor

I have a magnetic whiteboard that I use for my ministering assignments.  It has lots of little strips of paper with all the sisters in my ward names on, and I use it when I need to make changes to who visits whom.  It is terribly appealing to little people.  When I am making adjustments, I have it propped up on the window ledge in the office so I can think and ponder and pray over assignments.  Being out in the open, it presents an irresistible temptation for Kal, as it did to Cora before him.  Cora would bring me fistfuls of names, saying, "Uh oh!" as she handed them to me.  She has passed the torch to Kal, who doesn't bring me names, he just flings them off the board as fast as he can, hoping not to be interrupted before I get to him.

I've wised up and almost always remember to check if the board is out before the Johnsens come over.  It takes me so long to put them all back together where they should be, I save myself much grief if I can put the board behind the chair in the office before Kal sees it. 

Today, however, I learned that I have to get the board well and truly hidden behind the chair.  Apparently, just having it turned to the wall and a bit behind the chair is inadequate.  I came into the office after the kids had gone away and found that Kal had managed to knock off names, even though the board was turned away and tucked behind the chair.  It wasn't far enough.  I think he must have just stuck his arm back there and waved it across the board, knocking off names and making a mess.  He didn't bring me any, he just left them on the floor.  He is a small menace!!

I've got work to do!

Service in Time of Need

A large fire has been raging in the south part of the county, specifically near Woodland Hills, Elk Ridge, and into Spanish Fork Canyon and Covered Bridge Canyon.  Residents in those areas have been evacuated, and there has been much concern about homes being destroyed.  The fire is spreading close to Hobble Creek Canyon, too, just over the east side of the mountain.  My good friend Eva moved to Hobble Creek last year, and they have been under pre-evacuation notice for a few days. 

Today I got a call from her, asking if I might be available to help her at the house, put out water around the yard and move some things out of the garage.  Brandt is in need of some service hours for his Star scout rank advancement, so he and I drove up to help her out.  Although there are fires raging, the sky was bright, there was no smell of smoke in the air, and it seemed a bit silly to be doing what we were doing, but winds can be unpredictable and burning direction can change, so preparations are always prudent. 

Brandt and I helped move tools out of the garage, and then I filled buckets with water to place around the exterior of the house.  A neighbor from up the road came by with his skid steer to help Eva move some barrels of kerosene, and Brandt was able to help load and drive, getting the barrels into the open so fire fighters knew what materials were around.  It wasn't long and it didn't seem like much, but the show of love was well appreciated, and it was fun to visit with Eva while we worked.  We hope the fire stays well away from their home.

*Post edit note: The fire did not go into Hobble Creek Canyon, and fire fighters were able to save homes all over from burning.

Working at Eugene and Sharae's

This morning we went and did a bit of planting at Eugene and Sharae's house.  Mom has been keen on getting something planted in their yard, and she bought five darling little boxwoods.  We did a bit of weeding before planting, pulling up nasty weeds around the front of the house, and then mixed in mulch where we were going to plant along the front porch.  While the plants are not very big at the moment, they will grow, but not too big so they overwhelm the space.  They should be just around right.  Mikayla brought Cora and Kal along, just for an outing, and they ran around wildly.  The running itself wasn't so bad, except that they were looking to put a lot of distance between themselves and the rest of us.  We expended quite a bit of effort keeping them close by.

Cora

Cora was over today.  She got my phone and wanted to take a picture.  I helped her get to the camera, then she grabbed the phone away and snapped a shot.  I think she looks like John Goodman in the picture.  It's just the angle, because she doesn't look like John Goodman regularly.

It's probably just the cheeks.

Enthusiasm

There was a lot of enthusiasm for family scripture study this morning.

Fall Soccer, Part 1

Blythe has begun playing fall soccer again.  The past two seasons, Brian Bradford has been her coach, but Angela is having a baby in a few weeks, and he didn't feel like he could do it.  Kerrie, his assistant coach, is going to have a baby anytime, too, so she was out.  They had no one.  Barbara Lepinski put out a plea to all the parents, asking for help, and I felt like I should volunteer.  But I know nothing about soccer, really, and I didn't want that responsibility.  So I asked Mikayla.  She's coached for years, she knows what she's doing, and I hoped she would be willing.  I'm happy to report, that in exchange for me watching her children during practice (Monday's right after school) and at the games (if Guy wasn't home from work or Brick had a game), she said yes.  

Hoorah!!

So far, the season has been much improved over any of the past.  Mikayla is either a miracle worker, or the girls are figuring it all out, because they are actually having success.  They won their first game!!  And not only did they win, they scored three goals.  THREE!!!  Those of us watching from the sidelines were astounded and absolutely thrilled.  The other team did score one goal, but to win, and to win handily, was just fantastic.

Sadly, their second game was a rout.  While they did score two goals, which for our team is fantastic, the other team scored nine.  Nine to two is a demoralizing defeat.  Our poor goalie came out at the half and cried and cried.  Blythe didn't seem too concerned, and we pointed out that most of them looked like sixth graders when the majority of Blythe's team are fifth graders, and they've been playing together as a team for longer.  

They lost their third game, but only by one, and they scored again.  The fourth game, this afternoon's, they tied, one-one.  

Blythe has been playing well.  She's been more aggressive, charging the ball and throwing her weight around as she's defended her goal.  She had a great run in the third game, taking the ball up the sideline for more than half the field.  When we talked about it after the game, she said, "I kept telling myself, 'You play defense. You shouldn't be clear up here with the ball.' But I just kept going because I could."  It was really a fantastic move.

So far, I haven't taken a single picture of Blythe during any of her games.  I've been watching at least one of Mikayla's kids every time, so I haven't been able to really photograph anything.  But I'll have a Fall Soccer, Part 2, and actually take some pictures of her.  I have, however, taken a picture of Cora who has been with me for most of the first four games.  She has a fruit snack on her nose.  Why, you might ask?  Your guess is as good as mine.

A Scout Campout

This post should carry a subtitle: A First! Brandt went on a scout campout this weekend, and while it wasn't the first time he's been on a scout campout, it is the first time he's been on a scout campout  without Kent.  Now that he's twelve, he's in Young Men, and that means he can go off on his own, with his troop, and he doesn't need parental attendance or support.  He was super excited to go and we were super excited to have him go, and here is his report of their activities in Brandt's own words.  I'm grateful for youth leaders who shared pictures.

"We went to Goblin Valley to camp, but not in the valley, because that's illegal.  I drove down in a car with me, Paul, Jarom, Jace, Drex, and Jacob Harkness.  We drove down and after setting up camp, we went into Goblin Valley to play night games.  We played back-to-base and Alcatraz and hide-and-go-seek, all in the dark.  Brother Jensen showed us how to play Alcatraz and it's super fun.  We used flashlights and glowsticks to try and see people in the dark.  I felt like some of the boys cheated.  Otherwise, Paul and I would have won.

I slept in a tent with Paul and Will Weidner and Joey Whitney.  Joey got kicked out of the tent with other boys, so slept with us.  I slept good.  I wasn't too cold.  In the morning we had cereal for breakfast, then we packed up and went for a hike.  We went into a slot canyon, I don't remember what it was called, but it was super cool.  It went in a loop, so we went in and out through the same way.  We climbed on rocks, and had a great time."

Not Quite Triple Date

This evening, I went to a BYU football game.  I'm not a huge football fan, but I went with Paula Hamblin, and Lisa and Shawn Christensen.  From time to time, Kent and I will triple date with the Hamblins and Christensens, and the idea of going to the football game was to be together.  But Kent doesn't like football and couldn't be persuaded to go, and Jim had official work schmoozing to do, so in the end, Paula, Lisa, Shawn, and I sat together, watched football, and talked.  The game was lousy, we left during the third quarter because BYU was playing so poorly, but the company was great and the cougar tail (long maple glazed donut) was delicious.  I'm grateful for good friends and opportunities to be with them.

Brandt was jealous I went to a football game and he didn't.  I'll probably have to take him to a game sometime this season.

Selfie

Weirdo!

Biking Sunrise

For the past month, it has been dark dark when I've begun biking in the morning.  I have a front and rear light and I wear a reflective vest, plus I try and watch traffic around me carefully.  I haven't wanted to move inside to do spin yet, because it hasn't been too cold and I really like to be outside as much as possible.  One perk of it being dark when I start is that I get to see the sunrise.  Several mornings recently have been absolutely glorious.

September 4

September 6

Bedhead

Kent woke this morning with a serious case of bedhead.

The children thought his hair was hilarious!

Pictures Taken on the Sly

I took two pictures today, on the sly, without those I was photographing even knowing.  Blythe needed her dress for church ironed, I was supposed to have done it yesterday, and I forgot, so I pulled everything out this morning.  She wanted to help, asking, "Mom, when are you going to teach me how to iron?"  Who knew she wanted to know how to iron?  We went through steps, she sprayed and ironed, and I made sure she wasn't resting the iron on the fabric for too long in any one place.  It's her favorite dress at the moment; we wouldn't want a big iron mark burned into the fabric.

Then, Brandt passed the sacrament for the first time on our side of the chapel.  We don't have assigned seats, but we do feel more comfortable on the left side of the room, and our "route" is the one that takes the deacon up on the stand to give the sacrament to the bishopric.  That's serious business!  Today was the first time Brandt  had that route.  I really wanted a picture of him starting out, but he was too far away to be sneaky about it.  So I waited until he was closer to us, and then I surreptitiously snapped his picture.  I should have been thinking about Jesus, and after I took the picture, I did.  But it warms my heart to see our boy passing the sacrament.  I think he needs a haircut.

Texting or Funny Children

Here is a recently discovered text.  

Can you tell who sent it?  

I can.