Sigh...

So, I admit I have been putting off blogging because I felt like I needed to do a long post about all that's been going on since I last blogged, and all the wonderful things we did, both significant and insignificant, before we moved back to Idaho, like...

swimming at our favorite pool about once every week,

picking up trash along the highway for a earth-friendly family home evening activity,

 going to the rodeo,

taking apart a broken etch-a-sketch to see what was inside,

celebrating the baby's first birthday complete with outdoor "hot tubs" 

 and water balloons

 as well as the traditional pancake breakfast and Jell-o birthday "cake,"

 going to the county fair 

and narrowly missing a downpour,

going on a picnic and wading in the shallow String lake in Teton National Park with friends and family,

(even the baby enjoyed the water, it's relatively warm)

picking wild huckleberries,

(They're gonna make the best homemade ice cream!)

going to Bear World with Grandma and Grandpa

where the kids got to feed and pet animals at the petting zoo

(accruing quite the collection of feathers from various fowl)

as well as ride kiddie rides,

(Grandma taught us the trick of following the feeding tour truck to see all the bears in action!) 

helping cut a big branch out of a large tree at grandma and grandpa's house 

(okay, so that was mostly my husband, but I gave great moral support from below),

roasting hotdogs over a campfire

Mmmm...

along with strawberry-and-nutella s'mores, 

Double Mmmm!

riding the ski lifts to the top of the mountain, 

going down an alpine slide,

finding a snake on my doorstep,

driving to a beautiful waterfall to try and take family pictures

then picnicking in a familiar camping spot,

and countless days spent playing at the parks --the ones with streams that the kids just had to get into,

(the crystal clear kind which were much too tempting even though they were ice cold!)

and ones with climbing walls (my oldest became quite the expert), others with ponds, or big hills,

or crazy toys... 

...not to mention all the wood chips you can eat!

They have it all there.

*Sigh*

I'm afraid life is a bit dull now, and I'm actually thinking it wouldn't be too bad moving back there again for one last Summer...  Am I insane or what?

I call it the "Lucky Charms Effect." (Or Marshmallow Mateys if you're more frugal like me, but that doesn't have the same ring to it).

I generally don't like Lucky Charms, but if I have to eat them (as in there's nothing better in the house and I need something, anything, sweet) I like to eat all the brown parts first, so that one-- there's no soggy brown parts, cause that's the worst, and two-- so I get a whole bowl of nothing but marshmallows at the end!  Awesome! (Yes, I know, I'm 30 years old... So?)

I also like to wash it down with some fresh cold milk at the end, not that warm sugary stuff that's left --it's just one of those things that delights me... Like the little tiny soap bubbles that sometimes puff out of my dish soap bottle and make me smile...

Anyway, even though I don't generally like Lucky Charms, after finishing off a whole bowl of just marshmallows and washing it down with fresh cold milk, suddenly I want another bowl of Lucky Charms.  I think that by ending on such a good note, I forget about having to choke down all the brown stuff and only remember how good the marshmallows and milk were.  My memory can sometimes be selective in that way --I guess it could be worse, I could focus on all the bad stuff, and sometimes I do, but either way, I still end up eating like three bowls of Lucky Charms!

Living in Jackson, and absolutely packing the last few weeks with all sorts of fun and exciting things makes me forget how stinkin' cold it is when I first move there, and how small the apartment is, and how expensive groceries are, and what a pain moving is in general --because moving from Jackson actually isn't that bad. After all, it's only a one bedroom apartment, and more than half our stuff is already boxed and in storage (-not to mention that the last two times I hardly had to do any cleaning myself) so I start thinking "that wasn't too bad, I can do that again" --and in the Spring I curse myself all the way.

This "Lucky Charms Effect" comes into play in a few areas of my life --like every time I decide to invite people over for dinner, or agree to do a babysitting swap (FYI -it's better to let the other couple go on their date first I think, so you have something to keep you from kil ...er, to look forward to).
(I am joking Sandi, we're still on for next week right?)

Even bottling fruit has a bit of a forgetfulness that comes with time.  I love bottled fruit, I love how it looks on my shelves, and the feeling of satisfaction I get when I look at all those gleaming bottles, and I  completely forget how tedious and time consuming it is and how horribly messy and sticky it makes my whole kitchen... *thinking of the several boxes of ripe peaches and tomatoes in the garage, ugh.*

I suppose the "Lucky Charms Effect" has its purpose. I probably do more stuff than I would if I really thought about it first. In fact, it's probably the reason I keep getting pregnant and having babies (they're just so darn cute!). But mostly it just gets me into situations where I want to pull my hair and cry out, "What was I thinking?!" or, "Why do I do this to myself?!"

Perhaps it is all worth it. I guess nothing good comes without a price.  Looking at this list makes me think that it really was worth it.
(I'm still going to petition for bigger accommodations next Summer though.)

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only one.

What is your memory selective about and what do you find yourself doing over and over again despite your best judgement and the hardships involved?

Easter traditions

Well, hopefully forgetting to charge the camera battery won't become an Easter tradition.  So yeah-- no photos this year of our easter baskets.

Our Easter Bunny, although rather pagan by nature, at least respects our religious convictions and kindly delivers our easter baskets on Saturday.  When it is good weather like this year, the baskets are hidden outside in the yard, and after a good breakfast and getting dressed, we all go out to find them.  The kids had fun finding them this year.  It was a beautiful day.

While the kids ate their candy, I realized that I hadn't really talked much with them about the true meaning of Easter.  So I told them the Easter story.  As I did, I got a little weepy, and the children listened intently.  After I finished, my four year old very seriously told me, "I want to believe that."

It was one of those moments when a mother's heart leaps for joy, knowing for once that they're actually listening, and reveling in the opportunity to teach.  I told him that he could believe it.  That as with anything we learn in the Church, we can pray to our Heavenly Father to know if it's true, and that the Holy Ghost will let us know through warm feelings of peace and joy and love in our hearts if it is.  I told him that I believe that story, and that it gives me hope that I can live again with my Heavenly Father and my family forever... and then they were back to throwing candy across the table at each other.  sigh.

Luckily, with that, and then the review at church the next day, I think it sunk in.  For dessert that night we had "Resurrection Rolls" or "Empty Tomb Rolls."  I know, it's kinda cheesy, but they're super yummy, so any excuse to have them... :)

The kids thought it was cool anyway.

St. Patty's

I love the story of St. Patrick.  When I learned it last year, it brought a whole new meaning to the holiday that before only held memories of green. Green milk in the fridge, green eggs and ham for breakfast, and of course, getting pinched whether I wore green or not.  My husband's family was a bit more festive.  They at least made leprechaun traps and got a chocolatey surprise for almost catching those little gold lovers. In fact, we even made an ingenious contraption ourselves this year, thanks to hanging out with extended family the night before.  Here's our design.

You can't see it, but there's a shiny bauble inside attached to the string as "bait" since we know leprechauns love shiny things, and once they have ahold of it would never let it go-- thus pulling the door closed as he tries to steal it.  The other "opening" is not really an opening, but is meant to fool the leprechaun into a false sense of security as he enters the container, thinking he can always escape, when really it is a Seran Wrap barrier.  Hee hee, aren't we so tricky?  I would have made the container much prettier if I had, say, taken more than 5 minutes to make it.

As it was, the flimsy construction was no match for a feisty little leprechaun, and he got away, with enough time to write us a note and leave a "golden" chocolatey consolation prize.

As for the real story about Saint Patrick, I will summarize it for you:

First of all, Saint Patrick was British born, who at 16 was kidnapped by Irish
raiders and taken back to Ireland as a slave. He was rescued (in fact, he said
that he was told by God to flee captivity and go to the coast where he would
board a ship and be brought back to Britain), and when he returned to England he
joined the church (catholic I assume) and studied to become a priest. Once he
was a Bishop, he felt called to go on a mission to teach and convert the people
of Ireland, or to "save the Irish." He was very successful, and after thirty
years of preaching and spreading Christianity, he died on March 17th 461 A.D.

Just as a FYI, he was known to use the shamrock to explain the holy trinity.
"Wearing green" really meant wearing the shamrock in the beginning, and has
evolved to just wearing the color green.

Anyway, what a story of forgiveness and true conversion! I mean, he went back
to where he had been held captive to preach the Gospel. I think that is
amazing! 


So, maybe St. Patrick's day does have something to offer. I also like
the thought of the shamrock representing what we would call the Godhead.