Our Fishing Adventures...

Last week Shane returned from Columbus Ohio and had one night with us before he deserted us again to head to Sydney Australia for another Temple excursion... so we went on a fishing expedition with our girls that night. Only this time we wanted to actually catch fish... that is why we went to the local "Trout Farm". With the thought that, "if we can't catch fish there... we might as well just give up." We caught fish... 4 of them enough for our family's dinner... $18 for the experience and fish... not bad considering they cleaned/gutted and filleted them for us. But... we have decided that our family... well isn't the fishing type. I mean when we fish and don't catch anything we don't have the screaming and freaking out like we do when we actually CATCH SOMETHING. If you don't quite grasp what I mean... watch my daughters in all their fishing glory! (By the way they are a little embarrassed about this... I told them they "were screaming like girls", they of course responded with... "duh mom, we ARE GIRLS".)

So... now that you have had your laugh for the day... Here are some things that we learned on our fishing excursion...

* None of us will ever make it on the cover (or even into) Field and Stream Magazine.

* Your bait should DEFINITELY be thrown out if when you drop it a pond full of thousands of fish... they swim the other way... and only get caught because the hook snags in some poor fishes gill... Now we know why we never caught fish in Yellowstone!

* You need fishing tools... aka... pliers, etc. when fishing. The third video is a classic example of this... we were fully unprepared and Shane tried to figure out forever how to get the hook out from clear down in that fish... the kicking of the pole in the water to get that next fish was when he was about ready to "just cut the line" and let the "fillet man" get it out!

* Girls who freak out when they see a fish flopping around... don't like watching their dad bop it with a rock any better!!

*Families shouldn't plan on eating the fish that they caught that night if they aren't leaving to go to the local fish farm until 6. We finally had dinner @ 9 that night!

* Some kids like eating fish... Jadyn for one... some kids don't. Kenna comes to mind on this one... if I didn't figure that out by how she tried to push it onto Jadyn's plate when we weren't looking... the pile that I stepped on UNDER the table confirmed it. (Of course I didn't find the pile until AFTER she had got the brownie that she had to finish her fish for)... sly Kenna... very sly! When I called her on it... I got this... "but Mom, it tasted like... like FISH WATER." I had to laugh... I mean the brownie was already gone!

* And the last thing that we learned is that fishing may be more about the idea of standing around with a pole and less about the actual fish... it's calmer that way in our family... except that Shane HATES getting knots out of the lines... so maybe it's one of those activities "not suited for our family", but great for a good laugh!!

4-wheeling adventures...

OK... no I do not have any more fun pictures of me "sloshing" through the canal... but I will mention that Shane's stomach muscles STILL HURT... mine don't (hehehehe)... but yours might... from LAUGHING AT ME! Actually I still laugh every time I look at that classic shot and see the intensity on Shane's face to save me... he is MY MAN!!

But now to our next adventure... Thursday Shane took the WHOLE day off work to go with a few couples in our ward on a 4-wheeling-date... I must admit... I have never been on a 4-wheeling-date... nor have I ever wanted to.... but I sure am glad we went! My mom was a sweetie to watch Jadyn and Kenna for us so we could go. We headed out at 9 am... and drove to BFE... or Clarkston as some people call it... But I do have to admit that it is pretty country and the ride up the Godfrey's mountain was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, and refreshing. The scenery was beautiful... and oh so peaceful... And the company was a blast! After a few hours of 4-wheeling and exploring we had a picnic and then Shane and I headed home... (it was time to get our kids to lessons and all that fun stuff.) The other three couples were happy to say that they had no kids left at home... and therefore no lessons... so they rode on... and on.... and on.... It was a fabulous day and it was fun to get to know the Godfrey's, Parrish's and Robinson's better. We loved their stories and fun energy! We are excited for the Godfrey's who will be heading off on their mission to South Africa next month... we know they will do great... and we'll be ready for another ride as soon as they get back!

Thanks for the counting before the shot Clair!
The Godfrey's

The view from the top

Swinging the canal... continued...

OK, I've been needing to write about a great 4-wheeler trek we took yesterday... But tonight we had an adventure that can't be put off blogging about! Ever since the "canal incident" our girls have wanted to try out that "swing". (Incidentally if you didn't read the comments on the post "walking the canal", I mentioned that when Shelby took an "apology card" and a new pole that they had crafted... (in exchange for the lost one) to the nice people who built the rope swing... the "missing" pole was there! Someone must have found it and brought it back... possibly BEFORE the whole "walking the canal" incident in the first place! BRILLIANT!) But anyway on to our canal story... so this evening seemed like the perfect time to take the girls there... we loaded up on our bikes and headed down to the canal. Shane was the first to try it out of course... Not a problem for him at all... And he assured us that as long as we kept our feet up it was a piece of cake...

Tayler went next... understandably she was a little bit hesitant, but made it across without any problems - and continued going back and forth again and again.

Next was Saige's turn... she took a minute to go... forgot to keep her feet up... and crashed into the platform on the other side. But our Saige isn't one to quit (she's been para sailing AND surfing AND on Wicked at Lagoon... so rope swinging is nothing for her!) she gave it another try and had no troubles after that.

Kenna really wanted to try... but I was worried that she wouldn't be able to hold on by herself... so I suggested having her go on Shane's back... (why I thought she could hold on better there I'm not sure... because that was NOT SAFE!) She loved it and said she wanted to try it herself... in a minute.

Up to this point no one has even ASKED me if I wanted to try... and I'm watching them thinking, " ...Gosh, that doesn't look so hard... I can do that!" (And yes there was a little tug in me remembering that I had said in the last post that I wouldn't be trying it because we should accept our age... yadda yadda yadda... but I thought this would be my chance to prove that I am the ULTIMATE "cool mom." So I grab on to the rope and tell Tayler that she better get this on film because I may never do this again... (Those words are DEFINITELY true.) So anyway... my whole family is like, "Oh, Mom you are awesome it will be so easy... you'll love it... all you have to do is pull your legs up... just use your stomach muscles... yours are WAY tougher than ours... !"

Well... apparently NOT!

Now that is "grace on a rope" right there! And Tayler caught me in my full glory... just like I asked her to... Truly I don't know what happened - but I can guarantee that my stomach muscles will NOT be sore tomorrow!! Shane grabs me out... and is like "what was that". I just burst out laughing... the kids didn't say much about it... except "good try mom..." (They didn't even laugh... I think they were nervous I was going to flip-out.)

So I guess it's time I concede... I am not a rope swinger... never have been... probably shouldn't have tried rope swinging (for the first time ever) tonight... I shouldn't feel bad about my lack of rope swinging abilities... I have a lot of other talents... Like...

...catching my FIVE-YEAR-OLD in my soaking wet pants... as she sailed back and forth... and back and forth... and back and forth.... across the canal that I couldn't get over once!

And THAT is why Shelby and I have been friends for 28 years... neither of us can get our butts across that canal... dry...! Serves me right for trying to show her up!! My girls want to go back tomorrow... I won't be trying it... I don't want to strain my stomach muscles!! :)

President Monson's ear wiggle...

Last April when Shane came home from the Priesthood Session of Conference he was so excited to tell me about President Monson wiggling his ears during his talk. Well here it is... and I'll tell you what... that is a talent that not many people have... What a guy! I love conference... but I can hardly believe it has been almost 6 months since the last one... time flies!

Walking In the canal...

This post truly needs pictures... but a vivid imagination will work!

Last night my friend Shelby and her family decided to venture to the canal for a night of "swinging on the rope swing." This particular spot is well cared for and has a pole on either side to grab the rope for a "ride". After much coaching from her young, energetic boys she decided to be the "cool mom" and try the swing. Only to catch her leg and end up dangling in the middle of the too-cold-canal... Her fearless husband came to the rescue only to drop the "retrieving pole" into the canal in the attempt... It was too dark to see where the pole had drifted to... so they decided that she would look for it in the morning.

So... instead of our normal walk this morning we detoured along the canal searching for that pole... to no avail. Finally Shelb decided... she could probably find it better if she was IN the water. Don't forget that the air temp was 40 degrees... at best... She removed her shoes and climbed in... up to her waist... brrr! She trudged along up the canal and... I like a faithful friend walked along the bank of the canal carrying her shoes and... laughing... of course I intermittently asked her if she was OK... and said that a good friend would get in with her... but then we would have to go back for shoes... so she froze alone. After a valiant search she gave up and made her way out of the canal. As you can imagine we walked the 1/2 mile back to my house in record time... Leaving a trail of water behind us!! BRRRRR BRRRRR BRRRR!

For me it was worth it... but then I didn't get in... that image in my head all day brought many a smile though! The moral is... we are not as young and "springy" as we once were, so... we should just accept it and realize rope swinging is not meant for us anymore!

(As an update to an earlier post... today I got an AARP membership notice...? And those letters from insurance companies telling me that my 65 birthday is right around the corner come ALMOST everyday! It's kindof funny - but it's getting old enough that I actually called Mutual of Omaha to ask them to remove me from their list! I don't feel NEARLY that old... it just makes me want to go out and try the rope swing JUST to prove a point... well... maybe!)

Kenna's quote of the day...

Tayler asks Kenna what she did in Kindergarten today... Her reply was followed by a shrug of her shoulders... "Pretty much everyday we just count teddy bears." We all looked at each other and busted up... I would have NO desire to go back in time... but right then and there I decided Kindergarten might be worth repeating!

Shane's Temple excursions...

This past weekend we picked Shane up from the airport after he spent the last week working in the Merida Mexico LDS Temple. With the kids back in school and all that we had going on the week cruised by for all of us. For the past 11 years Shane has had the opportunity to install flooring in the temples, (it all started with volunteering his time during the Logan remodel). He has loved the opportunity ever since... Shane has developed a strong testimony of these sacred buildings and the work that is performed there. His love for the Temples is evident in his teaching of our children, and in the way he lives his life... That is something that I am so grateful for. We were talking about how many Temples he has been able to work in and after a little research, he determined that he has worked in 33 of them, (some of those multiple times.) The church now has 128 operating Temples around the world, with 7 under construction - and 5 announced.... What amazing growth we have seen in the past few years!!

The following links are the Temples that Shane has had the opportunity to work in... Click on them for photos and interesting facts about each one.

Utah Temples Logan, Ogden, Bountiful, Salt Lake City, Jordan River, Mt. Timpanogos, Provo Idaho Temples Boise, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Rexburg Other US Temples Orlando, Detroit, Mesa, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego Portland OR, Laie Hawaii Mexican Temples Tampico Mexico, Veracruz Mexico, Oaxaca Mexico, Villa Hermosa Mexico, Merida Mexico Other Countries Stockholm Sweden, Preston England, Bern Switzerland, Taipei Taiwan,,Caracas Venezuela, Guayaquil Ecuador, Nukualofa Tonga, Helsinki Finland

I asked Shane to tell me which Temple has been his favorite to work on... his response surprised me... he said Logan. For many reasons, but mainly the significance it holds in our own lives, and for our family. I thought that was pretty cool... but then I wondered why I have to send him all over the world - we should just go to the temple more and wear the floors out here so I can keep him close to home!

...As far as the coolest place to visit, he decided on... Nukualofa Tonga (which was a trip that I WAS going to go with him on... it just didn't work out timing wise... You know kids, schedules, all that fun stuff - Shane ALWAYS offers for me to come with him... it's just not as easy as he thinks! All Mother's would agree with me here, it's a little more work than just packing the suitcase! Anyway... not going to Tonga worked out fine for me since he traveled 32 hours ONE WAY... arrived to find that the carpet hadn't yet... waited two days for it to arrive... it didn't... traveled back home 32 hours... then returned the following week. A total of 128 hours travel time... I would NOT have liked that!)

In his opinion San Diego and Portland OR are the most beautiful with Stockholm Sweden being another of his favorites.

Although I don't always show that I am grateful for these experiences... I get a little testy about being left home for weeks at a time... but I do know that these opportunities have made Shane very happy We have been blessed in so many ways... and having him gone has helped us to realize how much we truly love him, need him, and want him to be with us... now... and FOREVER!

Back to School...

Tayler, Saige and Kenna are back in school (... at three different schools). And... I miss them... it seems that life should be less busy for me now... but no... Jadyn is used to having full time friends... her sisters. So with them gone, I am now filling the spot. Fun, very fun, but I am glad when they are home to give me a little break. We have played loads of mommy/babies (her dollhouse), ridin' bikes to the library, played on the trampoline, (I laughed so hard playing Dead man, Dead Man with her... what a hoot), I truly have missed out on just "playing" with her... but I'm catching up on it now! And I'm trying to not think about the other stuff that should be done - and just taking the time to enjoy that cute little thing!

Tayler 6th Grade

Saige 4th Grade Kenna's 1st day of Kindergarten

(We gave each other "kissing hands" from the darling book "the Kissing Hand" Kenna was so excited to put it in her backpack on the 1st day, but told me that, "I will have to hide it in my backpack because that would be sooo embarrassing if someone saw your lips on this!" Then she laughed and laughed and laughed.)

Her teacher helping her find her very own backpack spot. I wasn't emotional at all until she started into our favorite thing to say to each other.

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, forever and ever, my baby you'll be."

I had to hold it back then!!

Jadyn my little buddy!!

A couple days before school started all of us had our haircut, the girls were so excited and I told them it would be fun to have our very own "Fashion Show." This is a clip of what it was like, my girls are little "hams". They had fun though and we shot clip after clip as they tried on all their new school stuff!

"The Fashion Show Photo Shoot"