Sleepless in the Sierras

No, this is not a sequel to "Sleepless in Seattle" but it aptly describes the weekend for Parker and I. The Boy Scouts went on their annual snow camp trip this past weekend up highway 88, about 36 miles past Jackson. I must admit, putting snow and camp in the same sentence seems ominous enough, but this year's adventure contained even more excitement than we imagined.

Of course, the massive rainstorm in Concord should have given us an idea of how things would go but when we met at the Church at 4:00, the sun was shining so we pushed ahead with the trip. On our way to Lodi, the adventures began as the truck in front of us lost its ladder as we were driving on highway 12. Luckily (or more accurately, as a result of the prayer of safety we said before leaving), I had just enough time to glance to my right and then swerve around the ladder. My heart rate finally got back to normal about the time we made it to Lodi, so a stop at In-n-Out was a must (shh...don't tell those in the other cars).

While it rained for the last hour or so of our drive, there was still no snow on the ground until about 10 miles from our destination. Then, the roads went from wet and rainy to what you see below in a matter of moments.

Fortunately, my Utah upbringing paid dividends and I knew as long as I kept our momentum going without any braking or sudden moves, we'd be OK. After a few miles of snow packed roads, I thought I spotted the designated spot, but nobody was there (even though we knew the others were ahead of us), so we kept going for a couple miles before turning around. We went back to what I figured was the right place and then tried to get the others on either cell phones or the portable radios we brought. Unfortunately, neither would work so we sat in the car until we noticed some other cars who stopped in the same spot (turns out they had also heard this was a nice place to camp since our scout leader's son is in their ward). When we tried to move again, the tires would only spin so I knew we were in trouble. We started to try to put the chains on when the other two cars in our party drove up.

While we were trying to decide if we were really crazy enough to camp in this massive snowstorm, we found out the chains didn't fit the tires. Fortunately, one of the other cars had larger chains and we were able to get those on. In the meantime, the snow plow came by and cleared out the area where we planned to stay, so we decided the trip was still on.

We had a little dinner (well, those who didn't stop at In-n-Out did anyway) and then a few kids dug out some snow caves while others put up some tents. With all the snow coming down, we were all pretty soaked by the time we went to sleep. Did I say went to sleep? Well, we closed our eyes intermittently, anyway.

Here's a beautiful picture of the snow coming down -- I can say beautiful now because I'm in my nice warm house, but that's not the word I was thinking of that night.

Here's how the tents and cars looked the next morning. One tent had collapsed and the other doesn't look so great either.

It finally stopped snowing about 9:30 the next morning and then the real fun began. We spent a couple hours making an igloo as you can see from the pictures below.

Here's Parker and I inside the igloo. It was actually big enough to fit all 12 boys inside at once.

Here's the leaders all posing next to our handiwork. I'm on the right and, yes, I'm leaning on the igloo because hardly any sleep and then two hours of work makes standing up seem difficult.

In the end, the campout was a success (i.e., nobody died) and now we have an adventure to remember. Incidentally, the trip home was completely uneventful -- for which I was very grateful. OK, I admit it, looking back it was kinda fun. Having said that, I still think I like my snow and camping in separate sentences.

Where, oh where has my brain gone?

Last week was a busy week. Travis had been gone over the three day weekend and he got home late on Monday night. I was juggling the kids, 2 birthday parties, 3 baseball practices, gymnastics, cleaning, and some fun thrown in for the other kids. It had been a fun, but busy weekend. (Also a typical weekend, just minus one parent.)

Monday came and Parker went to a birthday party at the movie theater. It was "The Lightning Thief" and was one that the other kids wanted to see, so we went along and just sat in a different spot. Once the movie was over I tried to head over to Bed, Bath and Beyond for a quick gift for a bridal shower next weekend. The party got over at 4:30, but I had told the mom that I would pick him up a little early because Conner had practice at 4:30 back in Concord. Well, things didn't work out quite as planned.

We got to Bed, Bath and Beyond and there were quite a few girls by the same name that I was trying to get a gift for. I didn't know her fiancees name, but after several long minutes, we figured it out and they printed the 31 page registry for me. TICK TOCK ... Next, we attempted to find one of the things on the list. Conner had great eyes and we grabbed the gift and headed up to pay. TICK TOCK ... Then, (here was my fatal mistake) they asked if I wanted it gift wrapped. I looked at my watch (TICK TOCK) and asked how long it would take. She said, "Oh, no more than 5 minutes." It was 4:15. I really wanted to pick up Parker at 4:20 and be on the road. I said, "OK." TICK TOCK. 10 Minutes later they finally came out! I was not a happy camper. I hate being late anywhere! So, I run to the car with the kids. Conner is changing into his baseball uniform as we are driving (Don't worry ... he had his seat belt on :) I drive down the street and park and start trying to find Parker at Cocoa Swirl. He said it was by Jamba Juice. I finally found a map and then run up to Cocoa Swirl and what does Parker say when I run up? "You're late mom." REALLY??? So, we run to the car and I am not in a good mood by this point and we get on the freeway to get Conner to his practice. Then, I went to the wrong field! As we are pulling into the field I realized that I was at the wrong place. So, we were even later and I was even more frustrated. My poor kids! I realize that it was my decision to get the gift wrapped that made us late, but I was pretty unhappy. Luckily we all made it safely and I don't think I did too much psychological damage to my children!

Travis got home from his weekend late on Monday night and it was his birthday the next day. I had made cinnamon rolls and we were trying to unwrap presents and have family prayer in the 10 minutes we had before he had to leave to drive for the carpool. I was thinking about all I had to do that day, but especially about the crown I had to get that morning. I drove the other two kids to school, came home and went on a run, did the dishes, made the bed, took a shower, etc. I was finishing getting ready for the day about 9:55 when I had a moment of panic when I realized it was TUESDAY and I was supposed to be in Calissa's class at 9:00 to work centers.

It was a crazy week last week and this week looks like it is going to be even busier! I'm hoping my brain has decided to return for good. I'm not so good without it!

If You're Happy and You Know It Give a Smile!

Yep, the braces are off!!!! Parker got his braces off yesterday. He did a great job and earned $50 in gift cards from the orthodontist. He chose $40 at Boarders and $10 at Jamba Juice. The first thing he did after getting them off was get into the treat bag the orthodontist gave him and chew some gum. I think he chewed gum all day yesterday, except at school!
He might also be smiling because he scored 12 points at his church basketball game last night too! He hit four 3 pointers.

I'm not sure which he was more happy about, but it was definitely a smiling day yesterday!

Science Fair

We are done with the science fair for another year! Let the joyful shout be heard all around! Hopefully we are done with big projects for a while. I am so burned out with this "extra" project homework! I don't think that all those teachers realize what it's like to have kids their ages. (OK ... enough complaining!)

Conner's project was about how salt water affects plant growth. (If you notice the misspelling in the title ... we fixed it before we turned it in!) He planted 9 seeds and water 3 with regular water, 3 with a partial mixture of salt water and 3 with a lot of salt water! He watered them 1/2 cup every 3-4 days. The ones with salt didn't grow at all! He did a great job and earned 20 out of 20 for his project. We were proud of the hard work he put in and enjoyed going to the science fair yesterday!!

Happy Birthday Travis!!!

Happy 39th Travis!!!

Travis spent the weekend golfing in Arizona with my brothers and got home late the night before his birthday. He was treated to homemade cinnamon rolls in the morning and got to open his presents before the mad rush to school! He got a new pair of jeans, a BYU hat and some pistachios. (Oh ... and a fun trip to AZ!)

He got home from work a little after 6:00 to homemade lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Then, he rushed off to the church for meetings and didn't return home until after 10 PM. Not such a fun filled birthday, but what do you expect when you turn 39?

We all love you Trav!!

Roadshow

Last weekend we had the Stake Roadshow 2010. On Friday we got split into 5 different groups. We got a topic for each group to make a show/Mormon ad. The main topic was Communications and our sub-topic was radio. We got 24 hours to make our whole roadshow. We made our own props, costumes, everything. It was really cool to work with all the kids 12-18 in our group and learn their names. Everyone helped me out and our show was a huge success. My scene. We had the Colts vs. Saints game on the radio going. Me and Jeffy were driving in our car on our way to church. I get out of the car and go to church. Then the radio changes to Jeffy's conscience and tells him to go to church instead of listening to the Super Bowl all day.

We're doing a remix from the song Don't Stop Believing. I am one of the guitar players in the band.
"Just a small town guy, living in a lonely world. He took the midnight train to the MTC. Just a city boy, born and raised in Salt Lake City, he took the midnight train to the MTC."
The end of the song with the missionaries spreading the word.

The girl from school telling her mom how she doesn't like school. Her mom tells her that everyone goes through it.

The spiritual moment. Our topic is: Get a Good Connection.

Posted by Parker --