Fun Run

I spent Wednesday morning volunteering at the First Annual Fun Run. The local elementary school usually raises money through an auction. However, the lousy economy is keeping businesses from donating the way they usually do. The school’s answer was a “Fun Run,” where kids got pledges for each lap they completed.

I was happy to see both of my girls participating happily. Neither of them ran the entire time (which was about an hour), but they both kept moving. I was especially happy to see Elodie completing laps. We tried to participate in a family 5K walk last spring. Elodie made it about twenty steps before she said, “I’m tired. I don’t want to walk anymore.”

Even Camille participated. She only did one lap, but she thought hanging out on the playground was great.

Here's Elodie getting a snack between laps.

Elodie Cracks Me Up

On Sunday, we sat at the very back of the congregation during church. We sat on the folding chairs in the gym, rows added in the back of the regular chapel because the entire membership overflows the pews. Sitting in the gym inspired Camille to run back and forth on the wooden floor. I finally stood at the back of the gym to contain her. While I did this, I noticed Elodie creeping around the rows of chairs periodically. She would sneak up a few rows and then return to her chair a few seconds later.

I discovered what Elodie was up to when Camille and I finally returned to our seats. Elodie slowly stole all of the hymn books from the people in front of us. She had about twelve books by the time Camille and I sat down. Reverent? No. Funny? Very.

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Driving home yesterday, we discussed Elodie’s teacher who got remarried over the summer. Elodie said, “I’m going to buy a husband.”

“Really,” I said. “Where do you buy a husband?”

“At the store,” she replied.

“What store?” I asked.

“Target,” she replied.

New School Year

We’re at the end of the third week of school, and I’m just NOW getting around to posting anything about the new school year. Here’s the brief recap:

Madeleine: The school decided to “loop” Madeleine’s class from last year. That means Madeleine has the same teacher, meets in the same classroom, and attends class with many of the same kids from last year. The district split the school during the summer. Instead of 31 kids in her class, she now has 26. Madeleine was excited that one of the boys from last is now in another school. “He could run faster than I could,” she confided.

Madeleine has done a good job getting off to school each day. She has been a really good big sister to Elodie, especially riding the bus together in the mornings. However, Madeleine already told me, “I spend my whole life sitting in a chair!” She also said, “I don’t get enough time to play. I like summer better.” Madeleine also feels envious of her two younger sisters who don’t go to full days of school and get to “do things” at home.

Elodie: Elodie attends a.m. kindergarten. It has been difficult getting details out of Elodie this year. All I know is that she likes to take the bus in the morning and seems happy (but starving) when she comes home just after 11:00. I’m hoping she will share more details as the year progresses.

The Rest of the Story

Okay, so I failed on blogging each day of our trip. Now you'll have to put up with a lump summary of the rest of our Utah trip.

Day 3:

The day started on a very bizarre note. I woke up early to run, and I let the cat into the house on my way out the door at 6:00. When I got home from my run, my sister (Leanna) and Elodie were watching television together. "Why are you both up?" I asked.

Leanna answered, "I heard the cat screeching just after 6:00. I got up and found Elodie trying to stuff him into a dresser drawer." Frightening.

The rest of the day was pretty tame and slow in comparison. Russ went into work (twice), so we had some downtime at my parents' house. That was okay with the kids since they thought the "new toys" were so cool. (Remember that they played with these same toys when we lived in Utah seven months ago, but they have short-term memories.)

Swimming at the university swimming pool was the day's highlight other than the joy of toys. We discovered that we timed our trip really well. Local schools started the week before our arrival, so we had the ENTIRE pool to ourselves. (Well, until a little boy and his dad showed up.) The four lifeguards followed us around as we moved between the kiddie and regular pools. It was a bit unnerving, but having an entire swimming complex to ourselves was sweet.

Rating: 5 out of 10


Day 4:

Russ left Tuesday with the girls for a mini trip to visit his cousin and her family. I was planning to spend the night with my youngest sister in Salt Lake during their absence. However, I got an unexpected call to schedule a job interview (via the phone) the next day. [Note: I am venturing a return to the world of paid work after a seven-year absence. I always have to clarify the "paid" work part because it's not like I haven't been working as a stay-at-home mom.] The phone call turned my fun evening into a trip to the library and studying for my interview. Fortunately, Leanna and I made a few pit stops at local stores which made the pain much more bearable.

Rating: 4 out of 10 (Full points to Leanna for being nice enough to hang out with me while I studied.)


Day 5:

I started the day with a jog into the canyon. The weather was great, and the run was very enjoyable. However, my long run (and my procrastinating) cut into study time for my interview. However, I'm not sure if more studying would have made much difference. It's been years since I interviewed for a job, and I am very rusty. I had a hard time reading my interviewers reaction, so I don't know how well I explained skills I haven't used for years.

With the interview behind me, Leanna and I did a bit more shopping. (You've got to maximize on those opportunities while the kids are with their dad.) Leanna then dropped me off at the bus stop where I took the bus to Salt Lake for my postponed visit with Kristi, my youngest sister.

Taking public transit worked out well and provided plenty of opportunity to people watch. I met Kristi after she got off work, and the two of us spent hours talking before finally going to bed. No, we didn't spend a wild night on the town, but chatting was just as enjoyable.

Rating: 6 out of 10 (points deducted because of the job interview)


Day 6:

After getting ready the next morning, Kristi and I went shopping. Neither of us planned to spend any money, but of course we did. We had a great time together, and the hours passed quickly. My middle sister (Kimberly) then dropped me off at the light rail where I headed back to Provo.

Soon after I arrived, I met my sister-in-law to see a chic flick. (We saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I missed some of the things from the books, but overall it was pretty good.) I had to see the movie while I had the chance because there's no way Russ would ever see it with me.

After the movie, my sister-in-law, brother, nephew, Leanna, and I went for Korean food and then gelato for dessert. (I know--Korean and Italian are a weird combination, but it was great dining and great company.)

Rating: 9 out of 10 (It would have been a ten if I'd seen my kids during the day.)


Day 7:

I started the day with another run up the canyon. The weather cooled since Wednesday, but I finally warmed up as I progressed. I was sad that I didn't have a camera in hand because I ran into an enormous MOOSE during my run. (Well, he was on the side of the trail.) The two of us stared at each other, and then I ran on without incidence. How cool is that?

I also passed a waterfall and lost of other beautiful scenery during the run.

Later in the morning, Russ and the girls returned from their mini trip. They had a great visit, but we were all happy to see each other again.

In the early afternoon, we returned to the pool for another swim session. We still had the kiddie pool mostly to ourselves, but we had to share the regular pool with hordes of freshman newly arrived for the school year. The freshman hogged the pool with their flirtatious games, so we stuck mostly to the kiddie pool. This was fine as we still had an exclusive lifeguard and a lot of fun.

That evening we met my four siblings, two spouses, two nieces, one nephew, and a dog for a picnic in the park. The three middle cousins had a great time exploring the trees and playing together. The two toddlers required constant observation. The teenager texted friends. And the adults laughed a lot.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Day 8:

We packed and cleaned in preparation for our trip back to Oregon. Our departure time got pushed farther and farther back as we packed a whole lot of stuff into our van. (We left a lot behind when the girls and I lived in Utah earlier this year.) We finally left at 1:00 p.m. MST which led to us returning to Portland at 2:00 a.m. PST. Fortunately, Russ was a champion and drove the last six hours while the girls and I fell asleep.

And now . . . we are home with a bug-encrusted car, a lot of dirty laundry, and a whole lot of stuff to unpack. I guess that's what Labor Day is for.

Rating: 5 out of 10 (points lost due to our late departure and our overstuffed and filthy car)

Day Two in Utah

We spent most of our second day in Utah getting ready for church and attending church. We also managed a little socializing time with family.

Highlights of our Sunday:
-Enjoying visits from my brother, sister, and brother-in-law (although the real reason for the visit was to enable the two men to watch a show together).
-Chatting with my sisters.
-Hearing Camille call my sister on the phone to ask why the dog wasn’t over visiting.
-Watching Camille play with her youngest cousin, Bridger.
-Seeing Bridger eat the dog’s chew treat.
-Visiting with a friend I’ve known since I was five.


Lowlights of our Sunday:

-Madeleine throwing an enormous tantrum because the clothes Grandma bought her weren’t as cute as the clothes Grandma bought for Camille.
-Madeleine climbing up a tree and tearing a massive hole in her dress right before church.
-Some elderly person at church “shushing” me because Camille was making too much noise during the worship service. (I was even on my way out the door with her when it happened.)
-Camille melting down because we went to church from 1-4 pm, and I declined giving her a nap when we got home. (I didn’t give in because I didn’t want to be up until midnight with her.)

First Day in Utah

We spent our first day in Utah with four of my five siblings and their families. (We were only missing my brother stationed in Iraq. We also missed my parents who are still living the rough life in La Jolla.)

Saturday afternoon we had a picnic lunch with my brother and his family. We took lunch up to Sundance and ate on the grass there. (No, we didn’t see Robert Redford or any other famous people—not that we know of anyway.) Lunch was good, and we managed (barely) to keep my girls out of the nearby stream.

After lunch, we rode the ski lift for a fantastic view of the resort. The view was beautiful, but my kids weren’t entirely cooperative. Elodie complained about how “sweaty” she was and removed her shirt mid-ride. Camille then decided that she didn’t want to be held and freaked all of us out as she squirmed trying to get free. Madeleine then spilled water on her shirt, which she removed. (We forced her to put it on again.) All of this occurred while we were many feet above the ground with only a small bar between my kids and a huge fall. We should have let my brother’s family go ahead of us on the lift because we gave my sister-in-law multiple heart attacks with our antics.

Saturday evening we all got together to celebrate my youngest sister’s birthday. The food was great and the company even better. The four young girl cousins played together amazingly well, and the old people laughed a lot.

The Staycation Ends

Our staycation finally came to an end. We left Friday for a week with my siblings in Utah. We don’t take very many long drives, so twelve hours in the car in one day was a feat for us.

Elodie and Madeleine were pretty good sports. Elodie asked, “Are we at Grandma’s house yet?” when we were still in Portland. She asked the question about a dozen more times.

Madeleine kept asking, “Are we out of Idaho yet?” I was very happy when we could answer yes.

Camille had the most difficult time during the drive. She wasn’t entertained by movies or coloring like her sisters were. On top of that, she was exhausted from her early wake-up call. This all somehow contributed to Camille being obsessed with milk during the drive. After she finished the small amount we bought for breakfast, she cried uncontrollably. Camille just couldn’t get the concept that we didn’t HAVE more milk and thought we were holding out on her. We finally loaded up on milk at a gas station, and she kept guzzling. Oops. When we stopped for dinner, Camille lost it all. Fortunately, I was almost in the bathroom when the curdy stuff made its way back up.

Even with that adventure, we made good time. We missed the morning traffic in Portland, we hit very little road construction, and we avoided any deer crossing the road. With only brief stops for gas and bathroom breaks, we plowed through until we got dinner at 5:00 p.m. We stopped in the megalopolis of Snowville. We only had three options for dinner, and we opted for the very authentic diner experience. The girls hopped right up to the counter and thoroughly enjoyed the gritty food and atmosphere.

Even with our lengthy dinner break, we still made it to Salt Lake ahead of schedule. We made a pit stop at the airport to pick up my sister and then crammed in the car for the last hour of the drive.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.