I'm still alive... I bet you were wondering.

Oi.

I bet you thought I dropped off the face of the planet, didn't you?

Nope. Still here.

So much has been happening in life, where do I start to bring you back up to speed?

Logical timelines are boring, and I'm sure to leave some important stuff out, so I will just hodge-podge my way through this post, much like I do with life. I'm sure to forget lots of important details and we can only hope that I'll remember to bring stuff up in some later post.

I'm back, baby! And I'll try to stay for a while, though in a moment you will learn why sticking around and visiting with you will amount to an herculean task for me.

Current events of my life in a nutshell:

• About a year and a half ago, I was approached over the course of several months by a couple of BYU professors who were supposed to be monitoring and evaluating their student teacher in my care. Rather than watching her, however, they were recruiting me for their Master's of Art in Art Education program. I said "thanks, but no thanks... I can't afford it." Their response was to assure me that they had a grant that would cover the cost of tuition! That was the impetus I needed to make a huge life decision. I jumped into the deep end with both feet and began my Master's. Of course, life is never so neat and tidy. The "full tuition" grant turned out to be only partial tuition and has left me scrambling to come up with the rest of the funding for my education; but I believe it will be worth it in the end. I will get a significant pay raise once I earn the degree, and I'm working with BYU on adding a secondary teaching certificate to my degree so that I can expand my teaching range up into the middle and high schools.

• The Master's program is in full swing and I am treading water. I'm coming up on the end of my second semester and still have my head above the foam, so to speak. I have written more words in the past few months that I have written since... well, since I last visited with you, to be honest. This program is thesis driven, so I will be writing a great many more words before all is said and done. I seem to be holding my own, and I think I have a lifetime of journal writing to thank for that.

• In the process of jumping into my Master's, I've also started pushing myself to grow as an artist. I set up my studio in my classroom and have produced more artwork in the past year than I have in a long time. I attended the UAEA (Utah Art Education Association) conference and as a result I'm now enrolled to take a three day seminar called the DaVinci Initiative this summer. It is a crash course in atelier training. That's old school artistic training. This will be on top of my summer course load at BYU, of course. I also met some other artists at the conference who have invited me to studio sessions with them. I am now meeting up with a group of artists every Saturday morning to work on figure drawing from a live model. THAT is really pushing me! I rely on photo reference so I can work slowly and precisely. Having to do quick live sketches forces me to be more speedy in my observational skills.

Yawn. Am I putting you to sleep, yet? I'm putting myself to sleep, so let's move this thing along:

• We have a new principal at Harvest who is not convinced that art is all that important. He sees it as "icing" to be enjoyed after the meatier subjects are consumed. We've had some intellectual discussions as I have labored to persuade him otherwise. I feel like I am making some progress. 

• Another BYU professor, is approaching me with a proposal to give me the opportunity to work full time at my school by converting my job with the Beverley Taylor Sorensen grant. I won't go on and on about it, because details are killing this post. If it happens, it will mean more money for me, and a full time job on top of full time school next Fall. Stress, stress, stress, stress. But exciting, nonetheless. More on that later.

• One HUGE development is that HELENA IS GETTING MARRIED! Her fiance, Jayce Morgan, proposed on Christmas Eve in front of all of us and they are getting married on Monday, May 16th. Wedding plans are in full swing and I'll probably write some dedicated posts just about all things wedding in the near future.

• Another huge upcoming event is that MATT IS ALSO GETTING MARRIED! He and his fiancee, Kara, were supposed to be getting married this month, but they have pushed the wedding back to September 24th. They haven't discussed many wedding details with us, besides the fact that she has her dress and their colors will be red, black, and silver.

• To round out my updates on my kids, Will is currently working as a "grease monkey" as a local Grease and Go. It's an oil and lube kind of place. He is covered in black, sooty greasiness more often than not, and is very happy. He bought a Civic, paid it off, and has now bought a little Mazda Miata convertible that is his "project car". He's stripping it down and leaving tiny bits and pieces of it strewn all about my driveway. He's still serving in the Army Reserves one weekend a month and has been promoted to Specialist. He turned in the paperwork to go active duty, but since that has to travel through 9 levels of command structure without getting lost or rejected somewhere along the chain, I'm not going to give it a lot of thought or energy until something comes of it.

There is still lots of life to be told, but this post is already much too long. I will try to write again tomorrow.

Missing Summers Past

Do I have a bunch of other things I should be doing?  Of course.  If I wanted to do them, though, don't you think I would have started on them by now?  Sheesh.  Summer is my time to procrastinate horribly on all things not lazy and summery.

Now that we have that out of the way, I have to tell you why this is the hardest summer, ever!

No, really.

Summers had been my time to play with my kids.  We hung out at the pool, or the lake, or the water park (notice the water related theme?), we watched movies, or we wandered around town looking for fun stuff to do.  We'd flood the backyard and paddle around in it, then watch the dragonflies dance across the makeshift pond.  When they were little, they'd have sleep outs in the tree house up in the cherry tree.  Later, the backyard campouts moved down to a tent in the yard when they got too big for the tree house.  Their friends came over and we had late night bonfires, roasting hot dogs and s'mores while lazily listening to the crickets and the train whistle in the distance while counting stars.  Sweet summertime teen romances flared up only to die down with the start of a new school year.

My summer was full of my kids.

Not so much, anymore.

Helena works full time.  Her boyfriend has relocated to Oregon, so when she's not at work, she's Skyping him.  That is how it should be.  When she has a day off, we spend it together, so I'm not totally alone, but her days off are few and far between.  It's not the same as when we all had summer vacation together.  She has grown up.

Will is gone.  We write letters.  He writes letters.  I had NO IDEA how difficult this would be for me. I think about him constantly.  Correction, I worry about him constantly!  He is doing something so difficult, only made worse by the disgusting heat he has to do it in!  I can't fall asleep at night for worrying about him.  I wake up early worrying about him.  If I could siphon off some of my energy and willpower and send it to him, I would in a heartbeat.

I thought I was prepared for this.  After all, I was an Army Sister, and a Navy Sister-in-Law.  And I was a Marines Step-Mom.  And I did worry about my brothers and my step son.  But not like this!  I can't decide if it is just because he is my youngest, or if it is because we share a special bond that is rare for a teen son and his Mom.  All I know is that I pray for him almost constantly.  I watch the news with extra concern.  It feels like the world is imploding and I want to keep my son safe, but I can't because he is a soldier and that is what he chose.

I have always been a worrier, anyways.  I used to worry about the kids walking home from Elementary School.  I worried when they got their driver's license.  I worried when they went on their first dates.  I worry whenever they have to face something new.

It is amazing I don't have a stomach full of ulcer holes, actually.

So, I wish I could go back in time and relive those summers past.

If you are in the thick of a child filled summer, CHERISH IT!  It will not come again!  Play with them! Swim with them!  Forget about the chores!  Who cares about the house!

Go!

Do stuff WITH the kids!

Make memories and savor every moment.

Matt Came Home!

So many big changes around here!

Matt contacted us asking to come back home.  We were thrilled!  He said he hoped to be home before Will's birthday on the 23rd of May.  He just didn't quite have enough money to make it up here, yet.

Then we found out about a possible job opportunity for him here... if he could get here quickly.

He still didn't have enough money to get himself here, so we chipped in and paid for a u-haul to get him part way.  Matt drove the u-haul to St. George, and Bill drove down to meet him and bring him the rest of the way home.  In hindsight, it probably would have been cheaper to just rent a u-haul for the full distance, but we weren't the ones making the reservations, and really, we were piecing together the finances to get this done.

This all happened on Mother's Day.

I told Helena and Will that their dad had been called away on an emergency job.  Something about a broken pipe and a flooded basement.  They bought it completely, because that kind of thing has happened before.  They were a little disappointed, because it was Mother's Day, after all, and we planned to spend it together.

So, it was extra fun to see the looks on their faces when Bill pulled up in his work truck, towing a trailer... with MATT!  Oh!  The looks on their faces were priceless!

Now Matt is home!  He is living in Helena's old room, for now.  He is broke and doesn't have a job, yet.  He has applied several places, including the job opportunity I already mentioned, but hasn't heard back from anyone, so far.

Having him back home is a bit of a struggle and an adjustment for both us and him.  He is used to being on his own and having no one care about where he goes or what he does.  We want to know those kinds of things.  No, we're not just nosy.  He is borrowing one of our cars until he can get his feet under him.  He is living in our house for the same reason.  We love him and are so glad to have him back home, but we are realistic about the fact that he is 25, and should really be finding a place of his own as soon as possible.

So, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  Keep your fingers crossed that he gets a job soon and can save up enough to get his own place.  Pray that he finds a good living situation that is nearby and affordable.  Pray that he finds a good deal on a reliable car.  Pray that he does start school (one of his goals while he is here) and that he does well at it.

But, oh, it is good to have the whole family here, again!

All about the Kids

This post is a little update on the lives of my kids.

Matt still lives in San Diego and is still in the Marines.  From the tone of his facebook posts, however, both of those facts are about to change.  His term of enlistment is going to expire this year, and he does NOT plan to re-enlist.  Once he is out of the military, it sounds like he plans to move back home, so to speak.  Home, meaning Idaho, not his mom's house or ours.  I am glad!  You wouldn't think a trip to San Diego would be so difficult to manage, but it is.  I will be glad to see him back in the mountains and closer to us!  He finalized his divorce and he currently has a girlfriend named Autumn.  He seems head over heels in love with her.  I sincerely hope for lots of happiness to head his way!

Helena went to a job interview today at ... RUBIO'S!  Ooh, yeah!  It went well, and once the paperwork and orientation are done later this week, she should be working there by next week!  I think it will be great.  The manager, Eva, is VERY nice.  Bill and I are very happy for her and hope she has a great experience.  This is her first official job, you see.  Sure, she has 'nanny-ed' for lots of people, and house-sat.  But this is different.  And I am happy for her.  Also, I'm looking forward to ordering my dinner from her sometime in the near future!

While she was gone on her job interview, her friends stopped by and 'heart attacked' her room as part of a date invite!  Braxton wanted to ask Helena to the Valentine's Dance at school (also called the "Winter Social"?), so Megan and Dallan helped him decorate her room as the invite.  She didn't realize the 'heart attack' was an invite, at first.  She thought it was just her friends' way of cheering her up after a rough weekend, until she read the letter attached to the red rose laying on her bed.  It is a good thing she is a relatively neat person and her room was decent (although she says she would have cleaned it up if she knew they were coming).... no underwear on the floor, thank goodness!

Helena has been enrolled in an online Financial Literacy class ever since summer vacation and has had a hard time motivating herself to finish it.  So, she is now taking the more traditional approach and is now taking it at the high school.  We had to move Seminary to after school in order to fit it in.  However, her final semester schedule is still somewhat up in the air.  Her Advanced Photo class only has 8 registered students.  The school may drop the course because the numbers are too low.  If that happens, we'll have to go in and do some juggling of her classes to fill the void.  The school would take those students who still want Photo (like Helena), and add them in a Photo 1 class (which she has already taken), and have them take it 'seminar' style with a personalized contract with the teacher.  It is unlikely that she would learn as much that way, and much more likely she'd become a glorified TA to help the teacher with the photo 1 students.  Phooey.

Will has a science fair project looming large in his life right now.  Can I tell you just how much I HATE it when teachers take an event that is supposed to be voluntary and turn it into a mandatory class assignment?!?  It is like they sat around in a teacher meeting and said, "You know, we just don't get enough entries in the science fair to justify the cost and bother of running it... I KNOW!  We'll MAKE the kids enter it, then we'll look like our science department is freaking awesome because so many kids are participating!"  (Never mind that 90% of the projects are pieces o'CRAP!)

Yeah, well, here we are.  Doing a mandatory/voluntary project.  And yes, it is WE.  He is supposed to submit photos of himself performing the experiment.  So I became the photo journalist documenting him.  He also needed an assistant to help him time the reactions as he performed them.  And, of course, he needs a swift kick in the behind to remind him to get it done; because while performing the experiment is fun, processing and writing the paper is not.

Lacrosse pre-season conditioning starts tonight.  Will is there now.   And he is also over the moon about the new snowfall we received today.  I am sure he is going to want to hit the slopes ASAP.  He's the only one in the house truly thrilled to see winter finally arrive.

Always Remember

From a 'Proud American' to a 'Fierce Patriot'

What Older Generations Have Been Trying to Tell Us All Along, but We Were Forced to Learn from Experience

Publish Date: 09/10/2011

I used to 'roll my eyes' whenever older generations talked about how everyone could remember exactly what they were doing when a national tragedy struck. In my grandparents' generation it was the attack on Pearl Harbor that catapulted us into WWII. In my parents' generation is was the Kennedy assassination.
For my generation is was 9/11/2001.

It was a normal day.

I was getting ready for work. The kids were getting ready for school. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until my husband called.

He leaves for work quite early in the mornings, so he was already at work when he called. He said, "Turn on the TV. Now."

I asked him what channel? He said, "It doesn't matter."

I walked into the living room and turned it on.

And found the world changed.

I had just barely begun to process what I was seeing, what they were saying, and what it meant when the south tower collapsed.

Live.

It was so surreal. My mind was thinking, 'that can't be real. It looks just like something you'd see in the movies, or on a planned demolition. How can it go straight down like that?' Simultaneously, my heart was twisting and tearing apart because I knew... I KNEW ... I was witnessing the deaths of thousands.

I remember grabbing the doorjamb for support as I cried out and tears coursed down my face. I kept saying aloud, "Oh please, God! Let them all be out of the building!!! Oh! They can't all have gotten out, yet!!!" My young daughter, only 7 at the time, came in and wanted to know why I was crying. "What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked.

I wasn't sure how to tell her what was wrong, or what it would mean to our country. I just knew I didn't want her seeing what I was seeing. She was so young. So innocent. I remember telling her I was sad that a lot of people had died. I also hugged her tight and told her that everything would be alright and she should go finish getting ready for school. Then I sent her firmly out of the room.

But I kept watching.

At some point I forced myself to turn off the TV and get out the door for work. I am an art teacher, working part time. When we got to the school, I walked around in a daze. The surreal feeling intensified for me because the school was just too quiet. Too normal. My mind was screaming and ripping itself apart over the images that were burned into my brain. How could anything be normal again?

Of course, things weren't normal. All of the teachers knew what had happened and were robotically going about their routines in a state of shock. The administration made the quick decision to not allow live news coverage in the elementary school classrooms. I do think that was for the best. We aren't talking about teenaged students here. These were very young children who couldn't possibly process what was going on. The school library was closed down for the day and the TV there was left running so that the adults in the building could stop in as often as possible and stay informed.

I didn't realize until I got home later that day that my husband was spared the trauma of seeing the buildings collapse live. He was listening on the radio when he called me. Of course, we all watched the events of that morning unfold hundreds of times afterwards, in a never ending loop of pain. But that first moment? Of realizing I was witnessing mass murder AS IT WAS HAPPENING? I can't even begin to describe it. It will never leave me.

I will never forget.

Do you remember how silent the skies were that day? When every flight was grounded? You never realize the background noise of planes on approach to the airport until there are no planes on approach.

Do you remember the pride you felt in the heroes of Flight 93? How brave and terrified they must have been! How they made an impossible choice that changed the tone of everything? They were Americans, fighting back!

Do you remember how much we honored firefighters, police men, and even the thousands of construction workers and volunteers who risked their lives in the aftermath?

Do you remember how our country came together? We were so UNITED! It no longer mattered what your religious or political credo was. We were all American. Every American flag was out, lining the streets, hanging from homes, flying from cars.

Do you remember how full the church congregations were? Everyone turning to their faith to see them through those dark times.

In the weeks and months following that horrific day we became the nation we were meant to be. Strong, caring, compassionate...

... united.

My brothers went to war. Jeff, a Naval officer, served several tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan. He came back with amazing stories... and bullet holes in his plane. Peder, an Army Special Forces officer, also served several tours ... including a lot of time on the ground in Baghdad. His stories were also incredible, though it was the stories that he didn't tell that made my heart ache for him. Anyone who is ignorant enough to ask a veteran if he killed anyone in the line of duty should be shunned right out of the conversation. I still don't know the answer to that question, and I'll never ask it.

I was blessed that they both came back home. It is enough for me.

Four years ago, my oldest joined the military. He is a Marine. I have never felt so proud as I did on the day I attended his basic training graduation at MCRD, San Diego. I still have the 'Service Flag' hanging proudly in the front window for him. The 'Service Flag', or 'Blue Star Flag', is a symbol of a family's sacrifice when an immediate family member is in active service during a time of war. If that family member should be killed in the line of duty, a gold star would replace the blue star. The practice of hanging a 'Service Flag' dates back to WWI. I am proud to display it, though I will be glad to take it down when we are officially at peace. 

It is 10 years after the tragic events that we commemorate today. Ten years.

Many have forgotten. Or become complacent. They have gone back to their normal lives. There is bickering. There is dissent. There is arguing and back stabbing and doubt even about what this war is really about. Or that it even was a terrorist attack.

Shame on them.

Always remember what we lost that day.

Never forget what your freedom costs.

How has 9/11 changed me? I will forever be a fierce patriot. I am an American who knows it is the duty of every citizen to stand and defend our sovereign soil. I was proud of my military family before, but I am honored by them now. I stand with previous generations who have faced the refiner's fire...

... and I will never forget.

Skin color

What a misnomer!  The color of one's skin.  It really should be 'skin colors' because there are just SO MANY colors found in flesh tone.  And I am not talking about colors from one person to another.  I am talking about the colors in ONE person's skin.  It is boggling and daunting to try to mix together the correct tints and hues of reds, yellows, and blues to come up with the right highlights and shadows to represent just one person's skin.  And do it without making the skin look muddy instead of luminous.

GAH!

I am not that happy with today's work on the painting.  I worked on Matt's arm and shirt today.  The preliminary work on the shirt is okay, but the arm.  Grrrr.  The arm is frustrating me.  I have gotten to an acceptable stopping place with it, but I am still not happy with the results.  Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for art?

Neglected Artwork

I have a confession.  I have had the same picture stuck on my easel now for over... um..... I think 3 years?!  It sat in the same unfinished state for so long because I was really not very happy with how meticulous I was being on the background and I just lost interest in it.  I have done a few other things off of my easel, but those were mainly example artworks for my students and I don't really count most of those as serious efforts.  But lately, I have had several painting ideas floating around in my head and I need my easel back.  So, it is time to revisit this artwork and finish it.

 I am going to rework the background into a more painterly, impressionistic looking style, and I think that will help it out.  It is a picture of my two boys one Sunday morning putting their ties on.  I thought it would make a good subject matter in a sort of Norman Rockwell sort of way.  This is being done in soft pastels, one of my favorites!  Technically, pastels are considered a drawing tool, but I can't help but think of it as a painting.

 Will

 Matt

The reference photo was taken years ago, when Matt was a teen and Will was still in Elementary school.  Now Matt is 23 and married, and Will is going into high school and will get his driver's permit next week!  Ahhhh!   Time goes so fast!

I'll post more updates as I continue to work on this one!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I met with Helena's and Will's teachers a couple of weeks ago, at mid-term.  It seems like school just barely started and we are already looking at the end of term 1 in just a few weeks!

Both kids had mostly good reports from their teachers, with only one bad grade to deal with (Will!).  Every teacher said that my kids were nice, pleasant, attentive, and good.  The seminary teachers especially had wonderful things to say.  Helena's seminary teacher thought she was a senior because of her maturity level and participation in class (last year's teacher thought the same).  Will's seminary teacher told me that Will has been made the desk partner of a girl in class who is deaf, because he knew he could count on Will to be a kind and good helper to her.  In fact, Will recently asked me for a couple of dollars so he could buy a Milka candy bar for her.

Parent/teacher conferences for my school happened over the past two nights.  For the first time, I  was able to simply stay at the school, rather than hurrying home to be a mom before hurrying back.  In the past, I was needed to pick up from school, drop off at ballet/football/whatever, and then rush back, missing the PTA provided dinner.  Now, my kids are old enough to take care of themselves!  Helena can drive, and Will can ride his bike or walk on the days that Helena stays after school for ACT Prep class, preventing her from picking him up.

Dinner was pretty fun both nights.  The PTA provided soup and salad on Wednesday night, and deli sandwiches on Thursday night.  It is fun to get the entire faculty together for a meal, because you get a chance to chat with people who are not on your lunch rotation.

I decided to stay for the entire time on Wednesday night.  I don't have to.  I am a part time teacher, so I am only paid to stay at p/t conferences part time as well.  I had a pretty steady stream of parents come in, too.  When there weren't parents in my room, I spent my time reorganizing my files (which have gotten shockingly bad over the years).  The other specialty teachers told me they had very few parents come in.  In fact, the computer teacher didn't have a single visitor BOTH nights!  I am very glad the parents want to come in to see me!  Still, it made for a LONG day!  I was at work from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm.

Thursday night, I only stayed at p/t conferences until 6:30 because I had to stop at the store, pick up refreshments, and hurry home and get ready to host my book club at 8!  The book for this month was And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie.  Each lady takes turn hosting and I had been scheduled to host in October.  It was just perverse luck that it fell on a p/t conference night.  I was pleased that most of the ladies came.  I think there were 13 of us there last night.  We spent about 45 minutes talking about the book, then another hour and 45 minutes just visiting.  The ladies finally left at 10:30!

I have to give a great big thank you to Bill and the kids for making sure the house was clean and ready for my book club!  It was so nice knowing I could count on them!

Now, for the oddities that happened behind the scenes...

Bill told me that Matt called on Wednesday night from an Anonymous listing and asked for Paul's phone number.

I need to back up and fill you in a bit about Matt.  He got married last February, on Valentines' Day.  He didn't bother telling anyone.  His mother found out at the same time we did, because he changed his Facebook status to 'married'.  When we called to get more info from him, he was very reticent to tell us anything about her, other than her name (Kimberlyse).  Other facts we were able to pry out of him are that she works as a physical therapist assistant, and she is older than him... but how much older, we don't know.  Angelina, Matt's sister through his mother, Michelle, is the one family member he is closest to.  She is under the impression that Matt's wife is closer to his parents' ages than his own!

Since his marriage, Matt has continued to isolate himself from all family by canceling his cell phone, Facebook, and MySpace accounts.

Now he calls using the 'Anonymous' code to prevent us from getting the number he is calling from.  And he wants Paul's number.  Paul is Kirsten's husband and he is a lawyer.

We don't know why.  There really is nothing we can do about it, too.  He is an adult and it is his right to shut himself off from his family if that is his choice.  Bill is really sad, though.  And his mom, Michelle, and I are very worried about him, too.

On Thursday evening, Helena called me during p/t conferences to tell me that our street was swarming with ambulance, police, and fire trucks, and that smoke was billowing out of a neighbor's back yard/house! She didn't know what to do and sounded really worried. I suggested that she let Will wander over there like he wanted to, because he'd find out the answers to what was going on. BTW, there was already a crowd of neighbors gathered on the street.

He did go over, but we never did find out what was going on. This particular neighbor is kind of an odd bird; hoarding junk and big HUGE containers of "bio-diesel" in his back yard. He has recently been seen hauling most of that away. We've speculated that either he's moving, been evicted, or was forced by the city to clean up the yard. At any rate, by the time I got home, the excitement was over.

MATT GOT MARRIED!

You heard me.

Holy cow.

My first clue came when I sent him a text at the beginning of March requesting a verification of his snail mail address so I could send his birthday present (his b-day is March 9th).  The address he sent back was an off base address.

I was surprised and asked (in text) if he had moved off base?

Yes.

So I asked, 'When did that happen and who are you rooming with?'

No response.

Hm.

Then, Bill called Matt on his birthday to give our birthday wishes.  Bill and Matt were joshing around for a minute before Bill asked 'What's new?'

Matt told Bill that he had gotten married!  But, he also jokingly replied that he now had 3 kids, so Bill decided that Matt must be joking about all of it, including the part about being married.

I wasn't so sure.

I checked his facebook status, which still said 'single'.  However, a buddy had left a birthday wish on Matt's profile that said (essentially), 'congrats, when do I get to meet the wife, and you better change that fb status!'

Within a few days the status changed to 'married'.

We both tried to reach Matt, without success, until this past Sunday.  I got hold of him and tried to get as much info out of him as I could.  He seemed reluctant to share and surprised that I seemed to feel like we had a right to know.

Here is what we know so far;

Her name is Kimberlyse, Kim for short.  She was born August 15, ????.  They got married on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14, 2010).  She is a massage therapist and holistic something-something (sorry, I wrote it down, then lost the paper).  She is not a vegetarian.  She does not have any children from previous relationships.  She was already living in a house, so they don't need help with housekeeping set up.

Things I did not ask:

Is she a member of our church?

Is she pregnant?

I know that last one sounds rude and nosy (which is why I did not ask), but they did get married very quickly (I don't think they knew each other for more than a month before the wedding) and that kind of rush to the alter makes most people wonder and look for reasons for the hurry.

When Matt came to town...

I am sorry I have been neglecting this blog! I'll try to do better now that the holidays are over, but I have so many things on my plate right now that I'll have to schedule it in my planner to make sure it happens!

Matt spent his 10 day leave with us for New Year. I wish we had been able to plan lots of exciting things for him to do. There isn't a lot around here to do, though; especially when you're on a budget. I hope he wasn't too bored (though I know he was). We also no longer have a room dedicated to him. It reminds me of those shows you see on TV where the parents convert the child's room into something else the minute the kid moves out. But, really, we are in the limbo of waiting for our next remodel phase, and planning a guest room for when the next kid moves out.

Anyway, while he was hear, we all got sick of hearing "DROID!" every few seconds. His new phone has this automaton voice that says that every time he receives a text or e-mail, which is pretty much ALL THE TIME!

Another highlight of Matt's visit would have to be the number of IN N OUT burger joint visits Matt made while he was here. In the short time he was here, he became a regular of theirs!

On the 9th, we hosted an open house so that friends and family could stop by and see Matt while he was here. I scheduled it from noon to 8 pm, but I really should have just had it in the evening, since that is when most everyone came. The photo above is from the open house. It was good to see everyone. Now we simply have too much soda left over. I wish Matt could have taken it with him on the plane so I could have it out of the house. I suppose I could just pour it down the drain...

Now that he has gone back to San Diego, I miss having another driver around to help with errands.

Traveling to Miramar

On December 27th (my Mom's birthday), Bill and I drove to Miramar Marine Air Station in San Diego, CA to pick Matt up for his 10 day leave. I was so excited to find out that he wanted to spend his entire vacation with us! I hope he doesn't come to regret that. We don't live a very exciting life here.

Anyway, the original plan was to bring the whole family on a little Southern California mini vacation. In the end, Bill and I decided to leave the kids on their own for a few days and go alone. We really needed the alone time. Actually, I really needed it. And the cost of the trip would have been much higher if taking everyone. It was right after Christmas and $ was short. It also meant we didn't have to find a neighbor to take care of the animals while we were away.

I was a little nervous about leaving the kids for 3 days. Only a little. Despite all the frustrations lately, I know that I have really high class kids and that we live in a very safe neighborhood.

On the way south, Bill spotted this neat atmospheric effect and asked me to take a picture of it. He called it a 'sun dog'. The large bright spot is the sun. The smaller one is the 'sun dog' as part of a corona around the sun. It looks like a Hollywood movie effect!

The traffic was great until we reached Las Vegas. That is when the freeway turned into a parking lot! We crawled forward at 5-20 miles per hour until about 15 miles into California! In fact, the traffic was so bad, several people decided to take matters into their own hands and left the freeway! They found an open gate to the power line access road and went buck boarding along at about the same rate as the freeway. I guess off-roading was preferable even if it wasn't much faster.

We had reserved a room at the Miramar Inn; an on base hotel. It didn't cost any less than the off base choices, but the atmosphere was very different! The weather in San Diego is so nice year round that the hotel hallways were actually breezeways! The only secure doors were the room doors. Everything felt very safe, though. The feeling of complete security was something that we would never have found off base. Everyone in the Ready Room (the complimentary breakfast room) was very friendly. We all knew that we had the Marines in common.

This is a picture of Matt at the on base McDonald's.  We ended up eating a couple of meals there.  It was just convenient and cheap.

Seriously?!?

I went on facebook today, as always to see what my friends and family are up to. One little highlight gave me a bit of a shock.

Matt is engaged!

Don't get me wrong, I am not completely in the dark about these things. I knew he was seriously dating a girl named Michelle and that he was planning on marrying her. I just didn't expect to hear official news in such a back hand, random way. I would have expected him to call us and tell us officially before publishing it to the rest of the world.

Bill and I have noticed Matt pulling away from us. He hasn't called or texted in a long while. When he drove Michelle out to meet his mother, there didn't seem to be time to stop by here (even though it is on the most direct route to his mom's from San Diego) so we could meet her, too.

We really don't know what to think.

I need to call Matt to get the particulars about when the wedding will be.

My soon to be daughter-in-law's name is Michelle Brown. She works in a day care. She has a 1 year old son, Mitchell, from a previous relationship. So, not only will I have a new daughter-in-law, I will have a built in grandson.

My Marine is a Lance Corporal!

Yes, I know. You are all dying of envy because I have my own personal Marine! Nothing like having someone on hand who knows 101 ways to kill a man...especially with a teenage daughter at home!

Seriously, though, Matt gave us an update. He has been promoted (ranked up?) to Lance Corporal. He is stationed at Miramar. That is in San Diego and is where the 'Top Gun' school is located. Poor boy! Has to live in San Diego. ;)

He works from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm as an airplane mechanic. He keeps very busy so that he doesn't look like 'that new guy, the slacker'. Apparently an issue with some new to the job.

Those of you who want to write to him... here is his address!

LCPL Matthew Partridge
P.O. Box 454591
San Diego, CA 92145

Our Marine on leave

Matt got 2 weeks of leave during the holidays before reporting for duty at Miramar near San Diego, CA. He spent the first week with us, and will spend the second week with his mom in Idaho. We were so glad to have him, though we didn't do much around here. Bill was sort of, kind of, but not really laid off from work so we felt we couldn't go do anything that cost money. That meant a lot of time at home playing games as a family. I enjoyed it because time at home is relaxing for me. Matt, being a young, adventurous Marine, was very gentlemanly about being bored stiff.
Matt is currently a Private-First Class, but should rank up to a Lance Corporal in January. Also, the scuttlebutt on base is that they will be deployed to Afghanistan in August!

I think he has grown quite handsome. He certainly draws plenty of attention in his uniform! All of the young people stare. Many of the older generations come up to him to shake his hand and thank him for his service. That makes me feel very proud of having such a son.

Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we spent most of the day working hard on getting the basement ready for the following day. We finished the trim painting in the bathroom, the painting of Will's room, and moved Will and Helena down to their new rooms. Then I cleaned up Will's old room and readied it for Matt, who was struggling to travel across the country to reach us and spend the holidays with us! He left North Carolina at 5:30 am and didn't arrive in SLC until 10:00 pm! We are so glad he made it, though!





On the topic of Matt, he finished his training in North Carolina! After his 14 day leave, he has to report to Miramar, CA (the "Top Gun" base in San Diego) as his permanent duty station. Rough life!!! I am glad, though. It means we can plan trips to go see him without shelling out a ton of $.

Will was very excited to have his brother come for Christmas. He was counting days until Matt came, not until Christmas day.

Here is a photo of Matt torturing Will. Isn't brotherly love wonderful?

And a video if still images are not enough to enjoy!

Christmas has been wonderfully snowy this year!!! Christmas is the only time I love snow. After New Year it can all melt for all I care.

I have to go take the troops on a shopping spree now...more to come later!