The Pinewood Derby

Dallin was finally able to participate in the Pinewood Derby last night. (We moved right before our last ward had theirs). His car is the orange one. He designed it himself and Uncle Rich helped cut it out. He painted it and Ryan helped him put the wheels on. It was a lot of fun to see all the cars race.

Dallin's car got the award for best Hood Design. Way to go Dallin.

Freezer Jam

Last week, when Austin was sick, I managed to run to the store (thanks Dallin) and while I was there I found an 8lb. box of strawberries for less than $8. I thought that was a pretty good deal so I brought it home and the next day Eden helped me make Strawberry Freezer Jam.

She was pretty good at mashing.

Poor Austin was out cold on the couch, even with the sun in his face.

My beautiful jars of strawberry jam. I can't believe how many we were able to make. Thanks for letting me borrow some sure jell Jenn.

On A Day Like Today

Last night was one of those nights you dread as a parent. Ryan was having trouble falling asleep so we were up 'til about 12:30 and then within 15 minutes he was snoring and I was still wide awake. I knew he was stressed and tired so I headed out onto the couch only to remember that no one had fed the hamster (in a couple of days). So I got up and fed him a carrot and filled his food dish. He then decided to immediately carry the carrot up to his nest which entails a lot of loud banging up the tube. I remembered that we had an extra mattress upstairs in the loft so I dragged my blankets and pillows up there and crashed.

Seriously, not even 5 minutes later Austin started to cry. I got up to check on him and noticed he was burning up. We had given him Tylenol earlier because he wasn't feeling well and for some reason my brain couldn't process that it was time for more medicine. I could barely process that he might be sick. I just sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his back while he fell back asleep, only to wake up again 10 minutes later. It was up and down for the next three hours until something clicked and I went downstairs for more Tylenol. Every time he woke up it was something different, ie. "I need to go potty. (Took him potty). The monsters are coming to get me. (This one included a lot of screaming. I had to explain that it was just the wind). I can't find my Tiger. (It was under his blanket). I'm going to throw up. (Held him over the toilet but nothing happened, thank goodness)." And much more moaning, crying, etc. But every time he was burning up. I wished I had understood sooner.

Even with the Tylenol he woke up once an hour after that. At 6 am I gave him Motrin and then at 6:30 am I rubbed his back and finally at 6:45 am I took him downstairs and turned on a show. When I finally took his temperature he was 103. He hasn't left the couch today and I feel so bad for him. But here it is 1 o'clock and I feel like an elephant stepped on my head. I keep thinking of all these things I should be getting done but I keep finding myself back at the computer hoping for another excuse to just sit and do nothing. I'm so tired but I know if I try to take a nap he'll wake up crying again. He's been napping off and on all day but every time he wakes up he cries.

So, I'm still here, wondering what I'm supposed to be doing on a day like today.

The Return of Spring

Friday, what a beautiful day, finally. We started off by going to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary just outside of Kanab in Angel Canyon. We took a tour of the facilities and were really impressed by how many animals they have, (800 cats and 350 dogs just to name a few) and how clean and organized it all was. What a wonderful place and service they provide for animals of every kind.

Then we headed to Zions Canyon, with the rest of the Spring Breakers, it seemed. We ran into co-workers, friends from school, and friends from our neighborhood. What fun!

It was so good to see Eden smiling again. Our goal was to do the Hidden Canyon Trail but we got started kind of late so we thought we would head up and see how far we could get.

Dallin and Cameron thought a few short cuts up the rock would make things go faster.

But you can only go so fast with a four-year old. We were just grateful she wasn't crying, not that she didn't try. But we had a few tricks today. First, it helped that there was no mud and it wasn't freezing (I guess that's not a trick since it wasn't under our control). But what did help was seeing how many flowers she could find of different colors. She collected them in her pocket. We found, red, white, pink, purple, and two different kinds of yellow, but we were determined to "keep going" to find a blue.

This was as far as we could get before we needed to head back down. But I was really proud of Eden. She never did find that blue flower but she was a good hiker and Dad didn't have to pick her up once.

Let's Get Out Of "Dodge", I Mean Spanish Fork

On Friday morning we headed South. It was still cold and cloudy in Spanish Fork but we were hoping things would improve. We got to Bryce Canyon around 11:30 a.m. It was about 35 degrees and the wind was blowing. Not good. I had planned ahead, though, and packed the kids winter coats and hats, so we headed off on a short hike.

This is the beginning of the trail. If you look closely, you may notice that Eden is not too happy.

Here, you can see a little more clearly just how happy Eden was to be going hiking in the cold. Most of the kids weren't too happy but they were troopers and after a short while they started appreciating the amazing rock formations.

Our real challenge wasn't Eden's crying (although that was quite a challenge) but rather, the mud! It was like we had shoes under our shoes. With every step it would squish and ooze and curl up around our feet. It made its way up the back of Cameron's pants and somehow got on the back of Dallin's jacket. For the rest of the day, everywhere we went, we left trails of dried mud until we got to the hotel and Ryan cleaned everyone's shoes.

This is called Two Bridges.

This is an example of when Eden's crying got to be too much. Ryan ended up carrying her and Austin, through the mud!

Okay, I know, we are such mean parents, dragging our kids in the freezing cold, through the mud. I would probably cry too if my parents did that to me. But isn't Bryce beautiful!

Spring "Freeze"

For the first day of Spring Break this year we took the kids to the Lehi Pool. It was cold and rainy but the pool was indoors and heated. We had a lot of fun and the kids all got hamburgers for lunch which believe it or not was a first for Austin.

On Thursday we woke to this...
I thought Spring Break was supposed to be sunny and warm! Remember those Easter pictures where the sun is shining and my lawn is green? Crazy.

We met Jacque and her kids later that morning at Kangaroo Zoo. The kids had a blast jumping around, although it took Austin a little while to get used to the noise (from the fans inflating the jumps). He eventually warmed up to it and had a lot of fun. Afterwards we had lunch at Jacque's house and played with her dog Mimi before heading home.

I gave Dallin the camera for a little while and told him to try to get some pictures of Cameron and Will going down the slides.

I didn't see Eden and Ella much. The were running constantly from one inflatable to the next. I finally caught up with them here.

Happy Hunting

First, the beautifully decorated eggs. And then, the ever-so-important candy filled eggs.

Counting the loot.

"It takes a very steady hand."

We actually only had one cracked egg this year, a sure sign that our kids are getting older. I am definitely enjoying the ease of traditions as the kids become more independent. I'm also appreciating their artistry as they concentrate on making each egg unique. They all did a great job. Too bad we ate them the next day.

My Mother

Name: Roberta Anne Simons Gilroy (Bobbi)

Birthplace: Lawndale, Ca. 1947

Mom was raised with her sister by her parents in various states throughout her childhood. She moved from California when she was seven to Chicago then back to California then to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and then back to California. Her father was an engineer and constantly looking for a better paying job despite his lack of education (nothing more than his High School diploma). She remembers him coming home from work with metal curls in the cuffs of his pants and says once he designed the tip of a paint sprayer so the paint would come out smooth and not globby. Her father was constantly encouraging her to get an education since his lack of it had such a big effect on his career and since her mother stopped going to school after the 8th grade because she only had one dress.

Her parents hated organized religion, while she craved it. Her father said there were hypocrites in churches and refused to go so she attended various denominations with friends and neighbors. She said, "The day in my teens that I went with a neighbor to an LDS Chapel was the day that turned my life around. I walked into the Chapel and knew I had found it, what I was looking for since I was 6 or so." One of her most spiritual experiences was walking into the 9th ward in Long Beach, Ca where she says she knew she was home.

Her father died when she was 17. She said, "I remember the day my father died. I knew he would die on a Sunday, so I had some peace other days of the weak. He had lymph sarcoma, had a cigar in his mouth from dawn to dusk all of his life. That Sunday morning early I was kneeling by my bed praying that he would be taken, he had been through so much suffering, and a wind went very fast by me. I minute later, 5 am or so, the phone rang and it was the hospital saying he had just passed away. My mother had quit visiting him for the last few days, she couldn't take it, but I had gone every day after school and had seen him the Saturday night before."

She wasn't very close to her father. He was strict, as was her mother, and used physical punishment a lot. She said she even had nightmares after she was married that he would come to her and tell her she couldn't be married anymore or have her two children. When she finally shared these dreams, her mother said she had been having similar ones, and then the dreams finally stopped.

She said she didn't have very many memorable school experiences other than a few teachers that inspired her, a report on Aztecs and Central America in grade school, pictures of her own hands that she drew once that her mother showed every person that ever came in their house for a decade "(that is only a few people!)" Before she was married she worked in the SC Institute of Religion in LA for some great men that made a lasting impression on her and grounded her in hard times.

At age 18 her mother moved back to Chicago with her sister which left her alone in California with the furniture and a rented house. She worked to pay the rent and got a roommate. She felt like she had no home base and no one to rely on for support but she had the church and was comforted by that. She was married at 21 and divorced at 44, having had six children.

After her divorce she went back to school and did not defend, but did a dissertation, and all comps and classes for a PsyD degree in OD.

She said her main goal in life "changes as life evolves. It was to raise great kids. Done. Now I think to evolve a good career. Also, to walk and talk with the Lord so closely I could feel like I could turn and look into His eyes."

When asked what makes her happy she shared this story, "Breanne asked me what fun was to me once when she was a teenager and we were driving somewhere, and I said I think fun, to me, was the work I do, and she rolled down the window and put out her head and screamed!!!!!!" In her spare time she loves to take care of her poodles, sew, do crafts, watch TV, garden, learn new things, calligraphy, look at new homes, and decorate her own.

She said one of the things that makes her sad is not being able to be close to her loved ones. She says it is hard to be in six places at once. But she also says it makes her sad when she is not understood by her loved ones, which is a lot of the time. The thing she most enjoys doing then, is going somewhere one on one where she can talk with the people she loves.

She has obviously overcome a lot of hardships which include the divorce and subsequently raising her children alone, back problems with a lot of pain, and feeling inferior to others (although her education helped her overcome that). But she has also been blessed through those trials. She shared a few experiences that exemplify this. One of those moments was when Breanne got married. She said, "I had struggled so much as a single parent, and in that beautiful Brides Room in the Timp Temple, light was coming in the stained glass windows, and all of a sudden in her wedding dress, sparkley and excited and fresh, she whirled unexpectedly and threw her arms around my neck and said "Thank you, Mom, for everything!" It just caught me and blew me away. It was impulsive, and I knew she had no clue what "everything" was, but the idea that she was grateful and had noticed I had been inputting into her life for a lot of years took my breath away!"

She was also called to work in the Mount Timpanogos temple last April. She says, "the first thing the President said was that I have been faithful and valiant my entire life, and the Lord knew it. I started crying, that leveled me for some reason, and then he said everything I have wanted my entire life would be bestowed upon me through my service in the temple. Whoa."

Heritage

My lesson in Young Women's last Sunday was on Honoring Your Parents. As part of that lesson I gave the girls a questionnaire to take home to help them get to know their parents better. I was looking over the questions and thought they were pretty interesting and realized there were many questions I couldn't answer about my own parents. So I thought it would be fun to send them the questions and have them fill them out. It was interesting how different their responses were and how emotional I felt afterwards having gained some new insight into my parents lives. I'm going to start with my dad whose answers were very brief and straight forward but insightful nonetheless.

Name: Ross Wallace Gilroy

Birthplace: Long Beach, Ca 1946

His father was a manufacturer and businessman who provided financial security growing up although there was always concern over finances (but nothing more than what we all feel as parents raising children). His mother was able to stay home and raise both he and his sister. Their family attended services at a local Presbyterian church with varying regularity. His parents were conservative, careful, and socially conscious (which sounds just like my dad). He says he had an average relationship with his parents, not too close and not too distant.

My dad received a two year college degree plus two more years of formal college but he has also enjoyed many years of informal college. His business has been in manufacturing but he is currently brokering.

His main goal in life is survival (is that sarcasm, dad?) The things that make him most happy are his wife, pursuing things of interest, his wife, being healthy, his wife, associates, his wife, flowers, and his wife. (Pretty cute, huh?) The thing that makes him most sad is people in pain. He most enjoys talking, walking hand in hand, playing games, and visiting interesting places. In his spare time he enjoys fine art woodworking (of which he is incredibly talented), reading, and visiting places of historical interest.

He shared with me one story of a hard time he went through. In the early 1980's the country was in a recession and he found his company pretty deep in debt and the creditors calling demanding payments. He said people advised him to declare bankruptcy but instead my dad was able to work with the creditors for more time, renegotiate with the union contracts for his employees, sold assets that weren't crucial, raised prices (in a declining market), met with bank executives to extend terms on loans, and then, as he put it, "hunkered down to weather the storm". It took him six years before he paid off his last loan. I've always admired my dad for being conservative and careful with his finances but I felt especially proud after hearing this story. I could go on and on about how much his example means to me in the world we live in today but I think he's experience speaks for itself.

I'm proud of my dad. I am grateful to have a close relationship with him but was disappointed in myself for not knowing more about him. I want my children to know their grandfather and feel as proud of him as I am.