I know we all made fun of Mr Rogers Neighborhood, but honestly was their a nicer adult on TV? Was there a person you trusted more on TV after Mr Hooper died? No there was not. I'll just say this, I still love you Mr Rogers and your little neighborhood.
One day I went down the rabbit hole of flash mobs on Youtube....I almost didn't come back
One day I also went down the rabbit hole of lip dubs on Youtube as well...I love lip dubs to good songs. I sadly, like the really cheezy ones as well. This is not a cheezy one, but a good one
I love Youtube...
I live a sad existence I think....
This is one of my favorties...happy, peppy and kind of addicting...
Joseph has taken this time on maternity leave, and the wonderful spring weather to take James outside to play. Poor kid has been locked up in this house for 9 months with a sickly pregnant mother and a winter to boot. It's hard being three years old. Heck, it's hard being three-and-eight years old because of those things too. If you remember last year I found a Montana Toys used tricycle at a consignment sale for a steal. James is almost big enough for the pedals this year, and has loved riding the trike around the cul-de-sac in the afternoons with his Dad. Observe:
Hunting for bugs has also become a new hit past time as well...
If you remember a few days ago I wrote about our first and most very important screening of Star Wars? Well, The Force is still very strong with us. The Star Wars Mr. Potato Heads have been brought out and are played with on a daily basis.
Some more winter snaps and a small video. Baby James seems to really like the snow! I know, it's a bit sad for me, who does not like snow. That can be Joseph's special job then....
Apparently, James went over to the wood pile and found a stick with which to eat the snow...
And, no, if you were wondering, I was not worried about the germs on that stick. There are more germs on my yucky kitchen floor right now.
I feel like I've been spinning my wheels in sand the past few days. And yes, I've put myself in time out as well for loosing my temper and cool with my baby. I know he does not get it, but sheesh! Getting the house ready for the new windows has been more than I bargained for...seriously, I have so much crap it's making me cry right now. I'm not sure what to do with it. And what do I do with my Bulgarian novels that I am never going to read? Hmmm? What?
So here is your Throwback Thursday for today, even if it's at the last of Thursday. Who does not LOVE...ney LURVE Wallace and Ladmo? If you don't know who those guys are, it means you did not grow up in Phoenix before 1989, and I feel sorry for you. And let's just say, we all loved Cap'n Super and Dan Horn. I got Dan's autograph once...I was the hit of the 6th grade because of it.
So here it is: Poly Ester vs Cap'n Super....it's Super Sweet!
So much to blog about, so much I'm never going to get to it....but here are a few snippets:
The Olympics. To say my family are fanatics is true. To say Marie is a maniac is and understatement. She and Ann have matching Olympic jackets even! We watched the opening ceremonies at the Porter's house. Matt was quizzing on all the LDS athletes. McKay made his own torch with a paper towel tube and tin foil (sorry no pic of that one) and Maxwell and I did our own version of the Olympic ball throwing. It was FANTASTIC! And if you must know, after "OH Canada" was sung, McKay asked if that was it, because this was boooooorrrring!
If you are wondering, yes I have become somewhat of a zombie as far as watching these Olymics are concerned. And yes, I really do love curling. I make sure and watch a few ends every day, because they just don't show it any other time of the year. And if my Canadian friend Jana from college ever opens up a curling rink, I'm going to be her first customer. Apparently in Canada there is a unit in PE on curling. I would have so loved that more than square dancing!
The rest of our trip home: Was great. I tell you, you people make us tired. SO VERY TIRED!! We even skipped out of Uncle Fred's impromptu party on Saturday night. I think I'd stood in the sun too long, that's ok, but I'm not used to it anymore. It was nice to come home to thaw though. Snow really, really makes me cranky, and I try so hard not to be cranky to the point of not talking to people (you know when you can't say anything nice...). Anyway, we defrosted, got some ORANGES!! had some good times and came home!
Here is where I will also disclose....STAR VALLEY, AZ is a SPEED TRAP! As you come down off the Rim, the speed changes from 55mph to 45mph and the sensor is about 5 feet past the sign. Not enough time or distance to slow down. Needless to say, the photo radar ticket we received shows us clearly breaking. But to go back to Star Valley to fight the ticket would cost more than the ticket itself. So we're stuck paying it. We also checked online, this particular trap generates 2000 tickets a week. I'm pretty sure in Arizona it's required that a sign must be placed saying there is photo radar and that the camera must be visible. Neither of which happened. The cameras are painted to "look like the surrounding area" and there was no sign. It's a bit disingenuous in my mind. So you've been warned.
And my hard partying ways finally caught up with me yesterday. I woke up with a sore throat and the basic body aches. Not so fun. Joseph kept us all home from Church because of it. He actually had this gunk earlier in the week, and since James' cut a tooth and is cutting two more right now we figured he'd be extra squirmy.
So, I sat on the couch flipping between the Olympics and Music and the Spoken Word. It was a rerun of Brian Stokes Mitchell and Denyce Graves from about a year and a half ago. They sang, On The Wheels of a Dream from Ragtime, which Allyson tells me I must see one day. I will, but it will never ever come here. New Mexico is still stuck on Phantom -- hello been there, done that in 1988.
Anyway, if you know the words of the song, it's a father and mother singing to their son about what they want to give him and what they can all accomplish in this great nation of ours (On the wheels of a dream). It speaks of potential, of what we can do as Americans. It's a very moving song. I was extra moved yesterday, I sat and held a kleenex over my eyes I was crying so much as they sang (oh and Brian Stokes Mitchell isn't that bad either). It's how I feel sometime when I look at my Baby and wonder what his potential is, what he will become, what he will do in this life. And obviously life and death have been the current subject as of late in our house.
I see his face. I hear his heartbeat. I look in those eyes. How wise they seem. Well, when he is old enough I will show him America And he will ride on the wheels of a dream.
Yes, the wheels are turning for us, girl. And the times are starting to roll. Any man can get where he wants to If he's got some fire in his soul. We'll see justice, Sarah, And plenty of men Who will stand up And give us our due. Oh, Sarah, it's more that promises. Sarah, it must be true. A country that let's a man like me Own a car, raise a child, build a life with you...
Beyond that road, Beyond this lifetime That care full of hope Will always gleam! With the promise of happiness And the freedom he'll live to know. He'll travel with head held high, Just as far as his heart can go And he will ride- Our son will ride- On the wheels of a dream.
We came, we saw, we partied till the cows came home.
Was I happy the reason we went to Arizona was a funeral? No, I was not. As Marie perfectly summed it up "Funerals are family reunions in a strange way." They totally are. But I would like to point out that the first three letters in funeral are F-U-N. And I know Granny would have wanted us to have fun, and oh we did. And I am thankful for any reason to go home for a visit.
I ran over to Bunkers on Thursday night to try and catch the last of the viewing, hoping I might see some of my family. And was I nicely surprised. Not only was Marie there, and Dil, my oldest brother, and various aunties, uncles and other hangers on, but Jeri and Karissa were there as well. If you didn't know Jeri is my-same-age-cousin and Karissa is her younger sister. I had not seen Jeri in at least 5 years and I can't remember the last time I saw Karissa. I know Grandma Pearl would have been a bit miffed about that, but we made the best of our time together.
Do you all remember the book, What is a Cousin? I do, and it apparently has stuck in my head all these years, which is saying something seeing as nowadays the only thing that sticks in my head are cheerios and Baby James' sticky hands. The point is I need to be a better cousin.
But here is where I will disclose about Jeri. We always had a good time growing up. And in addition to Jeri being there Cory Barner, her best friend (and by defacto one of my best friends growing up) was also there. We talked about all the good times we'd had as kids....and yes those good times usually included rolls of toilet paper being thrown around the neighborhood and bags of cotton balls being stuffed in to certain articles of clothing. Good times, good times!
Friday was Granny's funeral. There were a lot of us. Granny had given all the granddaughters some strings of fresh water pearls. We all wore them. It was nice (thanks Bethany for suggesting it!). I have to say too, that this was one of the best funerals I've ever been too. That was weird to say....:) But it was.
Granny's daughter Jean gave her life history, we all sang and then Uncle Robert Brinton gave a talk on The Plan of Salvation. It was all jam packed with Gospel goodness. And it was only about and hour long. :) The Frasier Ward RS took care of all of us afterward with a nice lunch of ham and funeral potatoes. Melanie asked me why we always had ham and potatoes at these functions...I don't know why, but I'm not complaining. It was good and I'm thankful to the ward for the service they provided our family. And this week we get to return the service in our ward, as there will be a funeral here. I'm going to make sure and make or send something.
The rest of the weekend went by in a whirlwind of get-togethers and parties, which I will blog about later. But I'll end this post with the video I took of the great-grand kids singing, "I am a Child of God" at the funeral. I was kind of in the back, so the view isn't too good, but the sound is what counts. These kids are great, and I know that Granny was pleased with their performance.
"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a disgrace. Two are a law firm and three become a Congress..." (How true this is)
Marian guessed right, but that's because she has an unfair advantage and a love of my favorite musical 1776, staring John Adams -- well amazing actors playing John Adams.
I have to admit, it was thru 1776 that I first really became interested in John Adams and began to research him. His life is fascinating and worth studying. He was a man with great integrity who really only wanted to be a good husband, farmer and father. As he became more and more involved in the founding of our nation he thought he would not be remembered with statues and books like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, but he was and is remembered in his own way. He has a MUSICAL for pete's sake, that's way better than some old statue in my mind. He also has an awesome biography by David McCullough and an HBO mini-series -- if you do not own these two gems, then get on Amazon and get them. They are worth having.
However he knew what he had to do, and that was sacrifice his own wants for something bigger. That bigger was America. There is a line in 1776 where he sings, "I have crossed the Rubicon let the bridge be burned behind me; come what may, come what may". He knew that this nation needed to be established no matter what. He was willing to pledge his life, his fortune and his sacred honor to this nation, and he did.
In 2001 I had took my cousin Karissa up on her offer to come and visit her in Boston. One of the days we went down to Quincy where the Adamses lived. It was AWESOME!! We saw his birth home, the first home he built for Abigail, Peacefield, their mansion, where he lived out his days, and the First United Church where he is buried in the crypt. Can I share something cheesy here? Ok, we took the tour of the church and it ended in the crypt. I stood there crying like a baby at his tomb. It was my "I just went to Graceland and met Elvis" moment. I am a nerd of grand proportions, thankyouverymuch!
But my nerdiness aside. John Adams was a man of true exception -- and to be cliche, they just don't make politicians like this anymore. Which when you think about it, in these troubled times of hope and change nonsense is sad. Thank God for John Adams, and God Bless the American States...and I really mean that too!
We have a joke around the McKay family, I don't know how it got started, but usually I'm at the center of the punch line....it's about kissing. In the end kissing is always refered to as "movie kissing" and you don't want a movie kiss, especially from me. Kirt is also usually running away at some point screaming, "Don't touch me!!" It's ok Kirt, you're safe now, I promise not to chase you now that you're going into the Navy to fly planes and shoot down the bad guys.
Sweet Baby James has got the joke and the kissing down pat....I need a Sham-wow after this. Please ignore my fat blobbage at the end...
Former high school civics teacher, turned Hausfrau and mother of the year to my offspring. Arizona, New Mexico, Berlin, Bulgaria, BYU. Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you bring me a pan of enchiladas we can be friends.
