Thursday, May 7, 2015

My Best Ideas Come at 4am


 October 2014

My room in St. George over fall break looked like a sweat shop run by Jim Henson.



I exaggerate a little since it was far nicer than an actual sweatshop and it had central air--however, the creature component was definitely there.






"Tentacles...NT. Big difference"




Since it was fall break, I spent the days entertaining the children (hiking, swimming, shopping, movies, more swimming...our usual St. George trip events), and the evenings visiting with the in-laws. But after everyone went to bed I scuttled off to my creature shop and worked like a woman possessed by the spirits of Halloween. )

Actual Halloween photos coming soon







3am was par for my bedtime.












 Rob rolled into town for the weekend, taking over as the children entertainment supervisor (and putting an end to my nighttime Halloween costume madness). Phew!

My sleeping schedule did not adapt back and I found myself still awake in the wee hours of the night. Saturday night--actually more like Sunday morning--I found an amazing link on Twitter.

This link was meant for me, it was going to change my life.
No, it wasn't for mystical healing oils or magic beans that would grow a money tree.
It was so much better.

I was as excited as my kids at Disneyland for Rob to wake up the next morning so I could tell him about my life altering find. At 4am, I knew he was going to love this as much as I did  (I have noticed that everything to me between the hours of 2-4am seems like a really great idea...or extremely hilarious).

4 hours of sleep later...

I rolled over and nudged Rob awake. With one bleary eye open he listened as I told him all about how I found this amazing link, and what an amazing opportunity it will be, and yadda-yadda...

His one eye was drifting closed until I announced "I'm going to Canada."

The eye opened again accompanied by a smirk.

"What have you and my mom been doing down here this week that makes you feel you need to flee the country?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you or you'll have to come to Canada with me, eh. And then who would raise the children?" After a little more teasing I finally got around to the real reason for a visit to the Great White North.

"Surrey International Writing Conference...four days from now."


That got both eyes opened. WIDE.

After ensuring my sanity, Rob said if I could get all the stars to align and make the arrangements that quickly, then I had his blessing. By Sunday evening I had everything booked, drove the kids home on Monday, and boarded a plane Thursday morning. Off to SiWC 2014 I went (more on the conference soon)

I am grateful for a husband that smiles indulgently at my crazy early morning announcements!


Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Trying to be like Jesus

Trying to be like Jesus...

Rachel turned eight and made the choice to follow the example of the Savior by getting baptized.
March 29, 2014




Our Little Actress

Lauren has decided that she loves the theater. In 7th grade she tried out for and made the school musical. They did a musical called Once On This Island.

January 2014









The BIG 40 in Good Jamaica...Not Crappy Jamaica


Turning 40 seems like a big deal.
November 2013

Now granted I'm not 40 yet so maybe I'm mistaken. But when my darling teenager came home from school and announced "Columbus died of old age--he was in his fifties," it did grab my attention.

At this point I must digress to add that teenager also informed me that "Columbus was shipwrecked on Jamaica. Not the good Jamaica, the crappy one. They had to bring their own beach chairs and rum."

Which I then pointed out that that must have been a bummer since those items most likely went down with his ship. (Where does she get this stuff??)


Since--according to teenager logic--Rob-the-Moneymaker is nearly dead, I thought it would be a great idea to celebrate his big 4-0 with something special.


Clever man--Jamaica it is

I gave him the choice: he could go fishing in Alaska with his friends, or we could go to an all inclusive resort in Jamaica (not the crappy Jamaica, Sandals supplied beach chairs).






Our butlers for the week--Jackie & Paula
Spear Fishing for Lion Fish
Rob said the Lion Fish were so easy to skin, the scales just washed off

Dunns River Falls