A vacation all about Mom

This weekend we went to Richmond to visit Alyssa and Jeff and to run in the Ukrops 10K.

We took the kids out of school early on Friday. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to drive down to Richmond. Alyssa is always concerned that the kids will be bored at her house because she doesn't have any toys, video games, or even a TV, but the kids love to visit her. Athena practices belly dancing with Alyssa's scarves and belts:

The boys make various weapons from the craft box Alyssa provides:

(This is a popsicle stick turned into a knife--there were swords and guns, too).

They helped Alyssa make muffins for the morning:

They also made posters to cheer Alyssa and me on in the morning. It rained hard all Friday night but the rain had stopped by Saturday morning. It was cloudy but comparatively warm--all in all not a bad day for a run. It was my first 10K and the first time I'd run a race in 6 years, so my goals were to not stop and to make my wave time (66-70 min.). Happily I made both my goals. I ran a 10:38 pace which put me in at 66 min. and 18 sec. About halfway though I thought I might be crazy for wanting to run 6 miles (let alone a marathon someday) but as soon as I finished I thought I could definitely run a 10K better, and can't wait to run another one.

Alyssa pulled a muscle during training so she planned on walking the 10K in about 90 min. But she did better than that, walking and jogging to make it in 86 min. Unfortunately, with so many people running and walking it, and with Alyssa doing it faster than expected, the kids weren't able to see either one of us cross the finish line--so they did a lot of standing around in the chilly air. Still, Brian got them a funnel cake, so they decided it was worth it after all.

In the afternoon, Alyssa, tired of me saying I was going to get my hair cut and then never making time to go to the salon, made an appointment for me at her hair stylist. Here is the after picture:

Brian entertained the kids by taking them to Monsters vs. Aliens. They then immediately named a balloon Bob, and it became the plaything of choice. (I guess you have to see the movie to really understand it).

Anyway, it was a great weekend away. I got to run, get my hair done, and spend time with my sister. Thanks, Alyssa and Jeff! (and you, too, Brian!)

oh--there is a story behind the hard hat Apollo is wearing. Packing up is hard and sad work, and Apollo was having a hard time not whining and crying, so Jeff designated the hard hat as a No Whine Hat and Apollo wasn't allowed to whine while he was wearing it. It worked pretty good too!

2 parties and a funeral

This weekend I flew out to Boise for Grandma Ruby's funeral. It was a very beautiful ceremony. Angie and I spoke about her life and the memories we girls had of her, and Dad related what he was grateful to his parents for and what he learned as he took care of his mom as she grew older. A hospice chaplain sang some songs, and his voice was so beautiful. He comforted Grandma in her last days. She loved music, especially gospel hymns, and so I grateful he was there for her.
It was so nice to see cousins, aunts and uncles from the Hambelton side again. It has been years and years since I have seen most of them. They all have a great sense of humor, so despite the somberness of the circumstances we still managed to find something to laugh about.
I was so happy to be able to fly out and be there for the funeral. Grandma was a great influence in my life and, being away these last few years, it has been hard to register that her health was declining as much as it was. It's sort of like thinking of your niece as the same age you saw her last, despite years passing in between. I think I was able to say good-bye and be happy for her to be with Grandpa again.

Meanwhile...back at home, debauchery reigned. Pizza and hoagies were the staples of the diet despite my leaving leftovers; eating in the living room was allowed; Apollo apparently "drove" the van through the neighborhood; the kitchen looked exactly the same as when I left it (which wasn't pretty). When the cats away...
To my dear husband's credit, he did get the kids off to school on time on Friday and somehow entertained Apollo while being on conference calls all day. Saturday he took Apollo to his friend's birthday party at Jump U. Apollo was the comic relief at cake time: He "snuck" the last piece of cake (despite a stealthy approach and looking over his shoulder, the parents were all well aware of this theft), and then stuck his fork in it and lifted the cake like an overgrown lollipop and proceeded to lick the icing off it like it was an ice cream cone.
Athena also had spa night for Activity Day girls. It was supposed to be a mother-daughter activity but alas, I couldn't be there. Luckily, our surrogate sister here in Jersey took her in my place. They both said they had a blast. Athena took pictures so I wouldn't miss anything. Thanks, Jess!
As for the rest, I think it was just Brian's way of saying I shouldn't go away and leave him alone again for awhile...

Grandma Ruby

Grandma Ruby passed away Saturday night. She was my father's mother and we will miss her so much. She was glamorous, passionate, and courageous.
She lived in the San Francisco area while I was growing up and visits to her and Grandpa were always a highlight--there were so many new sights and tastes. She loved to dress up; I can hardly remember a time when she didn't have lipstick on and she had an endless supply of accessories, bags, shoes. She loved to eat out and to shop and she spoiled us grandkids with trinkets and dolls and her great-grandkids with stuffed animals.
She worked often outside of the home and she enjoyed her jobs and the associations she had there. Before she was married she worked for an oil company as a secretary. One day they couldn't find anyone to drive the oil truck, and so Grandma Ruby became a driver. It must have been a sight to see this slender beauty behind an oil rig (with red lipstick on, I'm sure). She enjoyed challenges and liked being a little rebellious. She could be ornery and liked being the center of attention, but she loved her family and her husband deeply. She transferred from California where she was working to Oregon to help her sister when her sister's husband left for the war. There she met and married the love of her life--you should see their wedding pictures: she is wearing a smart suit with a quintessential '40s hairstyle and of course, red lipstick. She was beautiful. Grandpa Gene died 18 years ago and she has been terribly lonely ever since. I am glad they are together again, but I still regret not capturing all of her amazing stories on tape. She told them often, and I took them for granted--and now I have questions that probably will never be answered.
We love and miss you, Grandma.

Parent Teacher Confrences

This past week was Parent Teacher Conferences at school. I only went to Tritan and Apollo's teachers since the Athena and Paris' teachers feel they're doing o.k. and didn't want one. Tritan and Apollo are doing well too. Tritan is getting all A's right now--he's in some pull out classes for reading and math because he does better in a smaller setting. His teachers are so complimentary and supportive. I think going to middle school next year will be a challenge but I'm glad he's doing so well right now.

Apollo is getting better at speech and language all the time. Sometimes I still get frustrated because he's 5 and I worry that he's still so far behind. With his size and his delayed speech people usually think he's 3 or 4. But I have to realize how far he's come in a short time--most people understand 80% of what he says now. His teachers are very optimistic and they love him to death. The only thing he has to work on, they say, is to not be such a sore loser.

What I realized most this past week is how weird it is to plan on being here next year. We've moved around so much in 2-year increments that to not be pulling up stakes and looking at the next place about now feels...well, to tell you the truth, it feels good. I waved to 2 mothers on the way into the school--and I actually knew them. (Well, o.k., I didn't know them, but I knew whose mothers they were). And 2 people from the ward called me this week--one, just to let off steam, the other to share something good that happened to her. I can't remember the last time I got a call that wasn't attached to an invite, a favor, or a question (other than my sisters or my mom, of course). I guess despite the weather, some of the Jersey attitudes, and the jug handles, I'm finally starting to feel like we belong.

Singing the Blues

Athena had auditions for solo parts for her choir. Coming from such a non-musical family she was definitely at a disadvantage. So I went into overdrive as a stage mom just to give her a fighting chance. I downloaded the sheet music of the song she was singing ("You Can't Stop the Beat!" from Hairspray) and then set up a one on one with a college student studying music. (Yes, we miss you, Aly!) She learned a lot of good stuff about how to stand and how to breathe, and she spent 1 1/2 hours singing the same 3 lines. I don't think she's ever tried to hit some of those notes before. I have to give her credit, though--she didn't complain about all the practice and she kept at it. Unfortunately, she didn't get the "call back" and she was pretty crushed. At least, she said "I'm just not lucky anymore" instead of "I'm a terrible singer". Maybe we'll have to invest in a keyboard or piano if she continues this passion for singing.

One of those neighbors...

I am afraid we are becoming one of those neighbors. Again.
The ones who,when people talk about them, they roll their eyes. The ones who everyone immediately thinks of when something is amiss or just plain missing. The ones whose yard people shake their heads at.
When we first moved to Arizona and into our apartment, we were the only ones with an antenna sticking out of our balcony instead of a satellite dish. Our brand new house in Idaho was one of the last on the block to have sod. Or a fence. In Alabama, the wind would often blow the leaves into the neighbors yard before we could rake them up. And here, it is our first experience with a cul-de-sac and my kids are still trying to figure out the rules. All yards are free to run around in, but that means my kids often cross the boundries and leave our stuff in others' yards or "accidently" pick up stuff that belongs to someone else.
Monday it snowed 17 inches and I got a call from one of the neighbors.
"The last time it snowed, my kids left the snow shovel outside, and now we can't find it. I've called everyone else in the neighborhood, and no one has seen it. Did your kids maybe pick it up?" I am pretty sure we are the first people she called, but I dutifully go out to the garage to look around.
Our garage is even more of a mess than our storage room but there is only our snow shovel shoved in one of the corners.
"Nope. I don't see any extra shovels here. But I'll ask the kids" I promise. I am a little smug. We are not the culprits this time.
But my hubris gets the best of me. I actually do ask the kids and Paris gets silent. Great. "Paris, where is the shovel?"
"We found it in the circle and we needed it to chip away the ice in the creek in the forest..."
His story goes on but it is clear that we are the offenders after all. Not only have my kids taken the shovel, but they have left it outside all week in the forest.
I make him get dressed and retrieve it with instructions to do a lot of apologizing when he hands it back and I make a mental note to bake an extra batch of cookies next time I bake.

No shows and a grown up girl

Due to the debilitating illness that struck our resident Assistant Scoutmaster (Brian) this past week, he opted not to spend the weekend camping in 20*-30* weather, and so father and son stayed home from the Klondike Derby. As it turns out, all of the other 11-year-old scouts were also sick so the 11-year-olds will have to find another weekend to campout (preferably in warmer weather). Our ward troop did take 4th place out of 24 teams--so yay! troop 110.
Paris was sick, too, so we missed the Blue and Gold Banquet Sat. night as well. I thought, hey, just leave Brian and Paris home and the rest of us can go--but since Paris is the only Cub in the house, I guess that wouldn't be kosher....So this weekend, once scheduled to the hilt, turned out to be pretty quiet.
When Brian did a milk run Sat. night, he offered to let Athena pick out her own deodarent at the store. She ran to get her coat. Don't ask me why these things are so exciting. She is only 10, but her friends are bigger and apparently already wearing bras and deodarent, so she has been begging for them both since her birthday. Between travel, R.S., and errands that have to get done, we haven't had a Sat. to do "girl" shopping yet. So the two of them left and returned 1 1/2 hours later with deodarent and bras in hand. Somehow they ended up at Justice. Brian was completely flummoxed by it all--" I thought we would just run in and pick out a color or something. I didn't realize there is a whole aisle for pre-teen bras." The nice lady at the store probably thought Brian was a single dad or something and helped Athena pick out her first bras. I was a little dissappointed not to share this "grown-up" moment with Athena, but I guess that's what growing up is all about-- getting me to let go of the apron strings.