School Fieldtrip

I went with Cameron on a fieldtrip to the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake to see a mondern dance production called The Crystal and The Sphere. I had a lot of fun spending time together with Cameron and her cute friends. I think almost all of her friends got the same class as she did this year. It's a party every day. They sure had a lot of fun on the busride. Too bad I got carsick.

Snow Day!

The rain we got all weekend finally turned to snow last night. Ryan was getting quite the workout shoveling this morning until some neighbors showed up with a snow blower and an atv to help him out. Thanks guys!

I'm not sure how much snow we got but it's been a while since the kids were able to go out and play. So I sent them all outside.

Unfortunately I didn't realize that Katy's cute boots that she was wearing today are not snow boots. When I came out with the camera she had lost a boot in the snow and her socks were all wet. Poor thing.

They didn't last too long but they did manage to blaze an entire trail around the house in the deep snow.

"This Is The Meaning Of Our Life"

A little while ago Austin was begging Ryan to take him outside. It's about 40 degrees and raining cats and dogs. We've even had thunder and lightning. Needless to say, Ryan wasn't feeling inclined. But it's hard to resist a persistent Austin.

I could tell Ryan actually had a good time on their little walk. He said when they saw lightning, and heard the thunder just seconds after, Austin dropped his umbrella and started looking around. Ryan had to remind him that the umbrella was needed to keep him from getting wet.

When they came back in the house Ryan said, "this is the meaning of our life." After finishing that book yesterday, Man's Search for Meaning, I thought his point was well made.

A Statement On Attitude

Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning, Austria 1946
(Survived 3 years of torment in different concentration camps during WWII, including Auschwitz.)

"What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life - daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."

I came across this quote today as I've been reading this book for Ryan's class on Tuesday. Actually, there have been a lot of good quotes that have made me stop and think but this one seemed especially applicable to the society we live in today. My dad always tried to drill into me that we shouldn't expect things from life but accept things in life. I have to add, though, that that doesn't mean we should lie down and let life roll over us. I think that's why I loved this quote. It made me think, "what is expected from me and what can I do to make things better?" I would hope that as I've been faced with opportunities that I have "taken the responsibility to find the right answers" and "fulfill the tasks that I've been given". And part of me hopes that our society will adopt a similar attitude towards making things right.

Does Austin have VA Insurance?

Some guy from the Census Bureau has been trying to get a hold of me for the past two days. I was finally home yesterday when he called, again, and said he just had a few questions about the survey I recently filled out. The survey only has room for information on five people in your household so he needed to ask some questions about Austin (who didn't fit on the questionnaire). He asked me Austin's birthdate and confirmed Austin is two years old. Then he asked if Austin was Hispanic, Latino, or South American?

"Uh, no," I said, "he's white." But he proceeded to ask if he was Indian, Native American, African ... etc for a few minutes. I kept trying to interrupt and repeat, "he's white, just like the rest of us." The guy finally whispered into the phone that he had to read the whole list. Okay.

Then he asks if Austin's covered by Insurance. I said yes, then he asks if Austin has supplemental insurance, VA insurance, medicare, medicaid, disability insurance,... at this point I just started laughing. VA Insurance? He's two!

Then he asks in the last twelve months how much money Austin has made. At this point I was totally cracking up on the phone. The final straw was when he asked, out of the blue, what nationality Cameron's ancestry was. "Uh, the same as her parents, and Dallin, and Eden, and Austin?" C'mon people, we're a family. I've always been one to appreciate accuracy and people that are detail oriented but this was a little ridiculous. At least I had a good laugh and the guy was nice and it only took five minutes of my time.

Posted

I finally got my computer back which is such a relief. The list of things to do has been piling up. Just for your information I did post Christmas morning pictures but I back dated them to the 25th of December. I'm a bit of a control freak and like everything to be in chronological order. It feels good, though, to be getting caught up. Now I just need to get my handy little camera back and we'll be off and running, posting pictures and movies galore. Woohoo.

Scrapbooking Weekend #6

This was our best year ever! So, what is it? Of course I have no pictures to show you because my camera is off for repairs, but use your imagination. Imagine 36 or more women together in a huge house for two days eating nothing but candy, consuming way too much caffeine, wearing pj's all day, doing makeovers, playing games, rocking out to Rock Band, and occasionally scrapbooking. Basically, it's a Women's Party! And this year rocked!

It's our sixth year going on a hundred because we'll never miss a year. We plan it for the same weekend every year, right after the holidays so we can get the break we deserve. It was so fun to see good friends that have moved away come back just for this and to see new faces, ladies in the neighborhood who decided to check out what all the talk is about.

Thanks everyone for all the fun!

101 Dalmations

I just got Cameron's schedule for her performances but for security reasons don't want to post them on my blog. If any of you are interested in coming to see her play, it is only $3 a ticket and about 45 min. long, please email me and I'll send you the rest of the info.

I'm so excited and proud of her for trying something new.

Choose the Right

Eden went to her first CTR class on Sunday and came home with a cute picture of the CTR emblem that she had colored. She then proceeded to explain to Austin what Choose the Right means. She said, "Austin, when we choose the right that means we don't hit or bite or throw toys. Right Austin? So, Austin, what does choose the right mean?" Austin repeated back what she had said but was she satisfied, nope? She had to tape her picture on the wall right next to Austins bed. Do you think she got her message across? So far, so good.