Skack to Bool

I did some back-to-school shopping for BETTY. After all, it's hardly fair to spend on everyone else and leave her out. Doesn't she look fetching? Poor thing hasn't had a new look in ages. Why, it's tantamount to blog abuse. Anyone know a support group she can go to?

And speaking of back-to-school, the shnookies are...well...back to school! It's a pretty big year for all of them, with #1 starting his SENIOR year, #2 starting her first year in high school, #3 being top of the heap in 6th grade, and #4 launching into 4th grade--the signal of her downward trip in grade school. Oh my, I think I lost an inch just thinking about it--I am an old woman! (See how that works? I started out talking about them, but it always ends up about me.)

And speaking of me, I have to admit that it was a heavenly day for me. With the kids back in school and Hubby out of town, I had the whole house (except for the 6X6 area occupied by Boozer) to myself. I savored, I basked, I reveled. And then I went inside and put my clothes back on.

An Affair to Remember

I have to say, I am feeling sorry about saying goodbye to July. It is my dear friend, and I hate that I only get to see it once a year. Oh, we always promise to stay in touch, but by January, I can barely even remember its face. Come the end of February, I’ve been known to curse its name for abandoning me so completely. Luckily, I’m a born forgiver, and when July finally shows its face again, I’m there with open arms. I throw it a party, complete with all the fanfare and fireworks.

Our time together this year (as always) has been delightful. Oh, of course we have our tiffs—July can get a little hot and bothered at times, and I get all red in the face and huffy—but that’s how it is with relationships. We still part friends and only remember the good times.

I know that the majority of Americans put Christmas at the top of their friend list, but I much prefer the 4^th of my best friend, July. Sure, I enjoy Christmas as much as the next guy—its pageantry, its coziness, and all of its festive activities. Beyond that, however, the relationship feels a bit one-sided. Christmas demands that I do A LOT of work to keep the love alive. Shopping, baking, shuttling, concerting…the demands just go on and on. It’s all a little high-maintenance for me. Call me selfish, but I much prefer being at the receiving end of my relationships. All that July 4^th requires of me is to slap down a few lawn chairs and stir up some lemonade. In return, I’m showered with warm breezes, dazzling fireworks overhead, and giggling children running around with their sparklers.

I’m pretty much convinced that July loves visiting Draper, Utah the best. Besides the obvious attraction of *ME* being here, it knows how we like to prolong the July 4^th feeling into extra innings. Toward the middle of the month, we break out the fireworks for the illustrious Draper Days, followed shortly thereafter by Pioneer Day, another celebration smacking of good ole patriotism. The whole month is literally crackling with excitement.

And so it is with great sadness that I bid farewell to my BFF, July. At least we part knowing that we've made the most of our time together and have wasted nary a moment; in fact, we had not one single tiff this year. I found July to be even more delightful than usual, with a cool temperament that pleased me to no end.

As a tribute to my dear friend, here are a few pics of the glorious time we had together this year:

A beautiful, full-mooned 4th of July at home:

Many Taylor Swift-themed garage-band concerts :

Some fun home improvement projects:

Shnookie3 discovering a love of tennis:

Draper Days, with its concerts, friends, face-painting, and the best (free) fireworks in the Rockies:

Potted plants that actually thrived for once!:

The chicken that got transplanted onto our street:

Being roped into a spray tan party (don't ask):

Soccer camp with Dean from the U.K.:

And more swimming parties than I can count (thanks to Lisa and her amazing pool!):

An early lesson in gender differences

I have a friend a few blocks over who has a pool. A gorgeous pool with waterfalls and a waterslide, all built-in amidst the almost-real rock cliffs that surround it. Lucky for us, she is a very generous friend and has extended an open-pool invitation for every Wednesday afternoon. Unlucky for us, she's trying to sell the gorgeous home with the gorgeous pool. But then again, lucky for us, the housing market has bottomed out here and she can't get a decent price for all of that gorgeousness. (For some reason, she doesn't to see that as lucky. Go figure.)

Lucky for you, I'm done with all the lucky/unluckydness.

Yesterday, being Wednesday, we went to said friend's said pool, and it was wonderful! The great part about her pool as opposed to the pool at our gym is that the girls have their friends to play with. (Which is why it's like pulling teeth to get my girls to go swimming at the gym. Me: "We are going swimming and that is THAT." Poor, tortured girls. But that's another story...)

So, the pool population yesterday consisted of 4 girls and 4 boys. They had a double bed floaty thing in there, which the girls got to be on first. So they all decided to play a game: the boys try to steal the floaty thing from the girls. And here's how it went:

Girls: "You boys try and get the floaty from us."
Boys attack.
Girls scream: "NO, NO, NOOOOO. WAIT!!! You boys go to that end of the pool and plan how to attack. We girls go to this end of the pool and plan how to keep you off. Then we meet in the middle."
All pause momentarily.
Boys attack.

My FFA Father Would Be Proud

I am a farmer. There, I said it. Like the good men and women who fostered our great land in its infancy, I till the earth and harvest its bounties for the nourishment of all mankind. And just like my forefathers, I get very little respect for all of my labors. In fact, I am mocked and ridiculed. . . IN MY OWN HOME.

Why is it that the tradition of farming is not appreciated and revered like it should be? What would man be without the fruits of the land to sustain him?

If you are appalled as I am regarding this injustice to hard-working, honest farmers everywhere, then stand up and be heard. Write my husband and tell him that he should support and praise me, perhaps even till the earth side-by-side with me once-in-while. End the ridicule and tell him that “YES! Once and for all, online farming IS real farming!!!”

Are you with me??

It rocks to be a Williams!

Like I said earlier, we had the Williams Family Reunion a couple of weeks ago. It's a three night event, once every two years, and this just happened to be our year to be in charge. (I can't really complain, since cancer bought me several years of being skipped over. Just one of the many perks.) My brother, Randy, and his wife, Cheri, were very kind in offering to help throughout the whole process. We found the most amazing inn up at Bear Lake where all 64 of us could sleep under one roof!

It had 17+ rooms in it, each with its own bathroom, jacuzzi tub, fireplace and TV. It had a pool, as well as a large sports field. Honestly, once we found that place, I was much less stressed about the activities side of the reunion. I knew that if nothing else, we could just hang out there and be happy! In fact, with such an unusually rainy June, it was up-in-the-air as to whether or not we'd even be able to be outside! Fortunately, we totally lucked out, and didn't get rained out on any of our activities. Very amazing, considering it poured and poured in Salt Lake the whole time. (In fact, we came home to news-making flooding situations all around us in Draper.)

We all went to Minnetonka Caves, which was really quite impressive. Here's some of my great-nephews and nieces. (Yes, they are all great in the wonderful sense, but they are also great in the 'children of my nieces and nephews sense,' just so there's no confusion.)

And here's a shot of the family:


The last full day, we had five Somalie refugees children come (Thanks Paul and Merrie!!) and hang out with us. They went on a hike with us and swam and ate and played games. Here's our friend Said (Sigh-eed) with Shnookies 1&2 on the hike:

And here's my niece, Alisha, walking with little Imbio:


And speaking of Imbio (7 yrs old), it turns out that she and her little sister, Isha (4 yrs old), LOVE to swim. Unfortunately, they have no idea HOW to swim. And even more unfortunately, this does not stop them from jumping into the deep end, over and over again. Apparently, while I was napping, they had to be saved from drowning several times. Thanks Ashlee and Shnookies!

The funniest thing that happened at the reunion (and there were many!) was when my mom was telling us about being pulled over by the police the day before. She's describing how she was lost and not paying attention, and then she says this: "So, after the policeman tasered me..." In the pause she took for a breath, we all got the same picture in our head, and then the laughing erupted. Oh my gosh, I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. She meant to say he metered her with the laser gun, but... I still chuckle when I think about it.

The sweetest thing that happened at the reunion (again, out of many) was when my two oldest brothers each did one of my dad's readings--Foolish Questions and Casey at the Bat. These are something my dad was asked to do on many social occasions, and certainly at every reunion. Randy and Marc worked hard to prepare, and they both did great. I was amazed they could get through without choking up. I know the rest of us were. It's still hard to believe he's not with us. Maybe because he is.

I loved everything about this reunion. For me, waking up and running into a brother or sister out in the hall was like heaven. The little kids ran around and played, and it was fun to interact with them. Everyone seemed comfortable, and it was just a joy. I had lots of help, so once the whole thing was under way, I was able to relax and take it all in. I'm exhausted now (still), but I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Hard to Believe

We got back from my family reunion today, and it was wonderful. I will probably need to sleep for 2 days straight, but it's a small price to pay. I've got tons of great pics and memories to share, but that will be for another post. The 2nd day of the reunion we got word that my mother-in-law, Dixie passed away. She was 90 years old, and of course you expect those things to happen, but it was still such a shock. She's been a big part of our lives for the last couple of years. It's just hard to believe she's gone.

Having this happen while we were miles away at the reunion seemed like horrible timing at first (not that there IS a good time for death, of course...), but I think being surrounded by so much family was good for us. Everyone was very supportive. Even Hubby, who was surrounded by non-blood relatives (NBRs--sorry Mom, but I think it should stay) seemed to be buoyed up. We had to pull the kids out of their fun activities to tell them, and it was very emotional. Having cousins to go back to really helped them.

Saying "She's in a better place now" is certainly one of those trite but true statements for Dixie. I know people mean heaven when they say that; in this case, however, it's more than just that. Dixie was pretty much 'lost' for the last 4 years...lost in a world of confusion that robbed her of a lot of joy. How wonderful it must be for her to once again be the spunky, articulate woman she was...to be able to HEAR again, and to see things as they really were and are without that fog of confusion and mistrust that had plagued her recently. It makes me smile to think of her up there, re-connecting with her loved ones, and mixing it up with the locals. It was probably a day to remember for the staff at the pearly gates!

I've often wondered if I'd be heavy with regret when she passed on. I wasn't always so patient with her, and there were times the frustration with her illness overshadowed the love. I'm happy to report that--so far, anyway--I'm just reminded of the good times and grateful to have been a part of them. I'm sad that they've ended, and still in a little shock.

Checking our caller ID today, I saw the call from her care center to give us the news, and then just 2 calls before that, a call from her. That's how it feels when you lose someone you love...they're there, and then suddenly they're just not. It reminds me again of what a blessing it is to know the bigger picture. It doesn't take away the sting, but it certainly pads the void.

Here's to you, Mom!

Yeah, He's Biggish

I was wondering yesterday how many times a week I hear the term 'big dog.' Usually, I hear it in this sentence: "That is a BIG dog!" A lot of times I hear just a snippet of someone's sentence as they pass by, but that snippet always contains 'big' and I know what they are talking about. My favorite is when a car drives by and a big-eyed someone sees him. They're yelling at everyone else in car, and through their open window, it sounds something like this: "look at that big dog! It's huge!!"

I was out working in the front yard this weekend. I'm right there next to the road, and Boozer is resting in the shade. A car is going by, when it suddenly slows way down. I think "Oh look! It's our neighbors! They want to stop and say hi!" and I start waving and walking toward the car. That's when I see an unfamiliar man and woman in it, and they aren't looking at me. They and their dropped jaws are looking at the dog. He's behind a bunch of flowers and tucked back in the shadows, but somehow they saw him. I might as well be a potted plant. Hmph! I guess I should be glad that they're amazed by his incredible size, and not by mine!

We think Boozer is getting close to his final stature, but it's hard to tell. His breed can grow for up to 2 years, and he's only 18 months old. We haven't weighed him lately, but I'd guess he's around 150 lbs. That officially makes him the heaviest in our household. Add that to hairiest, hungriest, smelliest, mellowest. On a good day (when he hasn't chewed up, sneezed on, trampled over or vomitted on something I treasure), I'd have to also give him the cutest. Cute, ya know, in a ginormous drooling sort of way.

Here he is last night, after we all got home. He was so happy to see us, so he was running around like a madman, er dog.