My Uncle Rick

This is a picture of my family with my Uncle Rick and Aunt Linda's family when they came to visit us in August of 2006. (Rick and Linda are the ones in the yellow shirts.) I lived with them for a year or so in Tennessee when I was nannying/rebelling/deciding on the direction of my life before I finally chose to go on a mission for the LDS church. I really enjoyed getting to know them during my time out there, since we didn't get to see them very much when I was growing up. And needless to say, they had the patience of Job when dealing with me. I'm telling you, it took a lot of charity and love and tolerance on their part. I will be forever grateful for their unconditional love and support when I needed it most.

Uncle Rick passed away tonight. He had leukemia for a long time, but it was an infection that ended up taking him away from us. My heart is broken for his family and for everyone who knew him. But I'm also sad for those who didn't know him. He was a calming presence with quiet strength, but he had my grandpa's sense of humor, eye twinkles, and snicker. I will miss him, and I hope he knows how much I love him and am grateful to him.

See ya later, Uncle Rick.

Unintended Epithets.

Today, Carter and I were privileged to ride on the Valley Journals parade float in the Kearns Hometown Days parade, since I write for the Taylorsville/Kearns Journal.

When I broke this idea to Carter at the beginning of the week, he wasn't very excited. Also, since Randy had to ride on a float for his clinic in a completely DIFFERENT parade and Brendan and Camryn had football and a piano recital all scheduled within the same time frame as the parades, Carter had no choice but to come with me. He wasn't happy about it, and he definitely registered his unhappiness. ("Mom, I don't want to go. You go, and I will just be by myself.")

All of that changed, though, when we showed up at the staging area and found Caeden, the little boy belonging to the owners of the paper. He is also four, and after bonding over their age and their mutual love of candy Carter decided that maybe riding on the float and throwing the beloved candy to other kids might be worthwhile.

Then, about halfway through the parade, sweet little Caeden decided people just weren't as excited as they should be about the candy he was throwing. And that's when I heard this:

Caeden: (Tossing a handful of lollipops to the crowd) "SUCK ON THAT!!!!"

Carter immediately filed this new tactic under "Brilliant" in that little brain of his, and promptly chimed in.

Carter: (Tossing candy to the confused spectators) "YEAH, SUCK ON THAT!!!!!!"

After I stopped laughing and started breathing again, I quietly suggested that maybe the people already knew to suck on the candy, and that they could stop yelling, which they did. But I've decided that maybe I should carry a bagful of lollipops with me everywhere I go. Then, when I get mad at the drunk driver in front of me or the rude checkers at the store, I can yell "OH YEAH? WELL SUCK ON THAT!!" and hand them a piece of candy and be absolved of all wrongdoing. (Though I must admit that I don't have youth or unbearable cuteness to use as an excuse. This could be a problem.)

Let me explain.....

So, I've known for a while now that my blog has a big gaping hole in it. It's a hole that encompasses a really huge part of my life. When I realized I'd totally ignored that part of my life on my blog, I tried to figure out why I hadn't written about it before.

And now for the brutal honesty.

I'm a stepmother. I have two great step-kids named Brendan and Camryn. And I mean that--they are really really great kids. So besides being in a couple of pictures I've posted, why haven't I written about them?

Answer: because even though they are great kids, I am not a great step-mom. I don't enter into evil stepmother territory, not by a longshot. At our house, no one goes hungry or is clothed in rags, and most of the time we have fun. But there are so many things I could have done/could be doing soooooo much better. And I hate facing up to that fact.

I also had to come to grips with another thing very early in my marriage--I am not their mom. They already have a mom, and though it's my responsibility to love and care for them when they're here, the bottom line is that I can't make big decisions for them. That's their mom's job. So even though they are a big part of our lives, posting stories and pictures about another mom's kids didn't seem appropriate somehow.

But that's not really reality, is it? They are here every other weekend, and lots of holidays and for a month in the summer. They only live 20 minutes away from us, so we take them to do things all the time. And even though they are not here all the time, they are just as much a part of our family as Carter.

So, today I am introducing Brendan and Camryn.

This is Brendan.




He is obsessed with sports, mainly football, and is playing defense on a junior football team this year. He is also obsessed with texting. (What 13-year-old isn't?) He's a good kid, gets good grades, and he loves to help Randy with Carsnobs. He also loves trash-talking, especially during games of Monopoly.

This is Camryn.




She is ten and likes to write and draw. She frequently creates little illustrated stories for Randy. She also loves books, especially if they have anything to do with fairies. She is, as my friend Deb used to say, "such a Jewish mother." She is really good at taking care of everyone around her, especially her little brothers and sister. She's also learning to like cooking, and helps me in the kitchen sometimes.

So there you have it. That's my entire family to date, and no I'm not hiding anyone else.

Pioneer Day, Mary Poppins style.

Here in Utah, we have a holiday which no one else has--Pioneer Day. Every 24th of July, we Utahns use Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers as an excuse to 1) not work, 2) get drunk (well, some of us anyway. Like the guy who was driving, i.e. swerving in forward motion, in front of me this afternoon), and 3) set off lots and lots of fireworks.

Since Randy and I don't get to Wyoming very often to buy the really good illegal fireworks like everyone else, we usually mooch off of the neighbors or the nearest partying municipality.

Today we had an idea so brilliant, it's a wonder we didn't think of it before. Fireworks are really pretty from the ground, right? Why not watch them from the ROOF OF OUR HOUSE?!

I don't have the pictures to prove it, since I was busy trying to rid my brain of the slow-motion image of my children tumbling off the roof and into our front garden. Pictures would have been especially funny, considering the fact that Randy had literally tied Camryn and Carter to him with a rope. But suffice it to say, the roof is hands-down the best place to watch fireworks. Period.

From our roof, we can see the ENTIRE Salt Lake Valley. So we enjoyed fireworks displays from all the pyros in our neighborhood, plus Cottonwood Heights, South Jordan, Kearns area, and the post-game blowouts from the Bees game and the Real Salt Lake game. Throw in some lightning, and we had a pretty darn good show. And luckily, no broken necks.

So Happy Pioneer Day everyone! And a big ol' "neener neener" to all you non-Utahns who had to deal with real life today--especially you kids in Missouri and Illinois. Just think of all the partying you guys have missed out on. What a shame.

Who needs Comedy Central?

I love my son for so many reason, but one of those reasons is that he is HILARIOUS. Screaming-with-laughter-and-holding-your-sides funny. And he's had a really good run in the last few days--humor-wise, I mean.
First, there's this little gem.



Corn on the cob is good, but Carter could teach lessons in Relishing 101. And I love that he's truly confused about why we laugh after he declares his hands "clean."

Carter's a sweetie, but he's also been learning to pit Randy and I against each other when it comes to issues of treats, movies and computer time. For example, if he comes to me for one of these things and I say no, he will walk straight to Randy in the other room, ask him the same question, and usually get a different answer. (In his defense, Randy usually doesn't know that Carter has already gotten a "no" from me.)

Tonight, Carter asked for a treat as he rummaged through the pantry for something sweet. I told him that would be fine. Eventually, he found the bag of candy he got from the 4th of July parade a couple of weeks ago and brought it to me. I handed him a Tootsie Roll and a taffy and told him that was all he could have since it was almost bedtime. He let out a "Woo-hoo!" and happily shoved it all in his mouth.

A minute or two later, he walked over to the coffee table where I had set the bag, and attempted to snatch it. As I snatched it back, he said, "I just want to take it to Daddy!"

But I know that trick. So I tickled him, told him no more candy, and said "You sneaky little devil, you!"

To which he replied, "Mom, I'm NOT A 'W'!!!!"

Pure comedic genius. Unwitting and accidental, but still genius.

Bored Games.

Carter has become enamored with Candyland in the past few weeks, and enjoys playing it frequently. Randy and I, on the other hand, have realized there's a reason it's for kids 3-6 years of age. It's BORING. Really really mind-numbing. But we play it because we love our son--luckily.

However, Carter and I played a best-of-three tournament this morning that was actually fun--fun for Carter because he loves the game, and fun for me because I love watching Carter.

For example, did you know that the four little gingerbread-man gamepieces can play a really down and dirty game of football? Or that the candy characters on the board are "fabulous?" Well, it's true.

But the biggest thing I learned is that my son is super-competetive. After winning the last game and doing a victory dance, Carter plopped down on my lap, put his chubby arms around my neck, and in an attempt to console the loser said, "Mom, when four-year-olds win, thirty-three-year-olds don't win."

Now that's wisdom you can't argue with.

Happy 4th to one and all.

At this time of pride and patriotism, enjoy the freedom to celebrate our independence.

But please don't celebrate like these people.



Have a great (and safe) holiday, everyone!