Newport, here we come!

In anticipation of Frank's impending departure from our home for 2 years, I have planed a "last big vacation" which is the same as "first big vacation" for us. Dilbert and I went to Newport, OR a few years ago and thought it was so gorgeous. I wanted my kids to see it, too. So instead of a cruise to Alaska for our 20th anniversary this year, we are taking the kids to the beach. I rented a house on a bluff above the ocean and planed to spend a week just sitting in the sand, soaking up the sun, sight-seeing and hanging out with my favorite people in the whole world.

Well, most of that will happen, I hope, but not the sun and sand, I think. The high is 57 and it is supposed to rain most of the time we are there. Oh well... The rest of it will be awesome... except for the part where I smash my 6 mostly grown children into a Honda Pilot for a 13+ hour road trip through Utah, Idaho and Eastern Oregon (it doesn't get my kind of lovely until you get to the coast).

We leave tomorrow afternoon, late and drive to Boise then on to Newport on Monday. Wish me luck! I don't know if there is internet access at the house (or maybe wi fi next door??? I am so bad, I know!).

Elder

Since many don't know what he looks like anymore, here he is...

My verion of the events...

Frank likes to pull my chain. He told me it didn't come. He told me he called the bishop and the bishop called the Stake President and that he would tell us at 3. He was totally lying (not a good way to start a mission). So at 3, with all the friends and family here, he slowly pulls the envelope out and tears it open...

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Maryland Baltimore Mission...

He enters the MTC on September 3rd.

Whoopee!

Small world... that was Nefi's mission and our Stake President is currently there as I write this, picking up his own son from that mission. Also, the Mission President was born in Delta, UT and he was called as a MP from Kennewick, WA. Toomanytocount, friends from TX, are moving there in a year or so

It came.

It finally came in the mail today.
He is going to Baltimore MD.
Leaving in September.
Everyone is excited for him.
He will be in an English speaking mission, he was
looking forward to learning a language, but he
is also glad in a way to not have any language barriers.
As you probably have guessed by the wordiness
this is the dad.

Sigh...

It wasn't in the mail again today. Frank called the bishop who is calling the 1st Councilor in the Stake Presidency who will call Salt Lake and see what's going on. I will keep you posted...

Still tapping my fingers

So Frank Zigmunt's call didn't come yesterday. I was sure it would be there so I had made cookies, rice krispie treats and a ton of cinnamon rolls. Oh well...

So if it isn't here today, the Bishop said he would have the Stake President call and find out what is going on but Frank is not sure he wants it to be like that. He has invited a bus load of friends to come watch him open it and it is kind of anti-climatic to get the news over the phone. So I am really praying it comes today so he can have his moment. He said, "I only get to do this once so I want it to be memorable." Well, good for him! I try to be supportive on the outside, but inside, I am as anxious as he is.

On a good/sad note, my very good friend from Texas and her darling daughter stopped by for just a few hours and a bed. They were apartment seeking for next year's BYU semesters. Then they came up and visited. I took Tori to my book group (she was very kind to have hurried and read the book to be able to participate). It was, as usual, a very fun discussion. We read, "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It was a very good, easy and inspirational read. Anyway, the visit was nearly long enough and my kids monopolized the bulk of the visit with their ad nauseam about their day (yeah, I know... someday I will be glad they do this but I really wanted to visit with my friend!). They left before 5 to catch a flight back to TX and I already miss her. I miss all my Texas friends!

Today is the last day of school. After school we have our annual cul-de-sac water party. It is supposed to be only 73 degrees so it isn't going to be as wild as it has been, but I hope it will still be fun.

The Nothing

Have you seen the film, "The NeverEnding Story?" In it, the Universe is being taken over by "The Nothing." Well, that's what was in our mailbox today. "The Nothing." There's always tomorrow!

Polygamy

Since there has been so much in the news lately about the polygamist lifestyle, I thought now would be a good time to renew my enthusiastic recommendations of the book, A Mormon Mother: An Autobiography by Annie Clark Tanner. As a product of polygamists (many generations ago), I was fascinated by her experiences and her faith. It may be hard to get your hands on a copy, but it is worth the effort.

The agony of the wait

Frank Zigmunt's mission call is in the mail. We expect it tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. Needless to say, we are doing the anticipation dance.

Like all good LDS families, we have started a betting pool of where we think he will be called to serve. I said Canada, Dilbert said the Northeast (he got as specific as New York but then backed off). BNLFan said Maine. Scout said Brazil and N said Scandanavia. H said Thailand and M said "the world". I've seen some of his friends guesses and they range from Bolivia to Russia. Joyismygoal said Finnland.

Here's a slide show of me making my scones

Marissa, Holly and Nikki Dance 2008

Marissa, Holly and Nikki Dance 2008
Originally uploaded by Shauna6pack

A funny anecdote

I got an e-mail from H's best friend's mom last night. I thought it was pretty funny so I'm sharing it here:

Last week when all the 3rd graders came home with their free dictionaries, S-punk was so excited. She said, "Now I can finally understand all the words H says!"

Then she decided what would be really cool is if she could find some words in the dictionary that maybe H didn't know. She could say those words and get true respect from H.

So she randomly flips open the dictionary and goes to whatever word catches her eye first. She said, "Here, I can just say, 'H, you're so-' she pauses as she tries to sound out the word in front of her - 'nar-ci-cistic.'" S-punk pauses and reads the definition, then her face goes all red.

She slammed the book shut and jumped up from her seat, saying, "Maybe I shouldn't be using this dictionary."

And there it's sat ever since.

Makes me smile every time I think about it.

Dinner yesterday

We invited my parents and sister to dinner yesterday. It was pretty good, if I may say so myself.

We had grilled steak, horseradish mashed potatoes, broiled broccoli and corn on the cob. The steak was rubbed with mustard and pepper before grilling and then had a butter spread of chives, parsley, cumin and garlic dolloped on the top. Oh so fattening! But yummy! The potatoes were just potatoes, horseradish, sour cream and salt and pepper. I broiled the broccoli with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.

Frank Zigmunt got his mission papers finally submitted. We should hear in 10-17 days. I'm hoping for the 10 days because by 17 days we will be in Oregon and I don't know if I can stand waiting to hear until we get back.

BNLFAN_1 and her date

Morp 2008

Morp

Today was BNLFAN_1's first date EVER. She asked "the most beautiful boy in the whole world" to Morp. They hiked up to Ford Falls which was spectacular because it is the peak of runoff and the water was running extremely high and was very brown with run-off. We went up yesterday to see if it was passable, which it wasn't so they had to take the less-scenic route. After they went up, the rest of us followed them up and set up a table and chairs and brought them dinner (take-out Chinese). When they came back down the trail from the waterfall, there was their dinner. It was cute. I hope to have pictures by tomorrow but BNLFAN broke her camera so I'm not sure how many pictures she got. Anyway, she said it was beautiful and fun.

I'm encouraged...

I sent an e-mail to the principal of a local charter school which is expanding to a middle school next year... This was her reply today:

Shauna,

Thank you for your interest in our school. As it turns out, we are going to start our Jr High program with fewer students this first year, and then expand next year. This means I have no need for additional English teachers at this time. Next year, however, I will need a ½ time English teacher. So, if you are still available next year, we would love for you to apply. Our openings for next year will be posted on our school’s website sometime in the early spring – probably March or April.

I have been impressed by your email, especially your enthusiasm and interest in student activities like Mock Trial and Creative Writing. So, please, let’s keep in touch for next year.

Thanks again for your interest in our school.

Owch!

I woke up at 3 a.m. with a killer headache and it wouldn't go away. Multiple ibuprofen, acetaminophen and Sparks later, I was still hurting with sparkles and narrowing vision. It was still so bad by the time the kids got up for school that I went back to bed. I pretty much stayed there the whole morning. Frank Zigmunt tilled the garden so I dragged my sorry self outside to plant the vegetables (2 celebrity, 2 romas, 1 early girl and 2 grape tomato plants, red, yellow and green peppers, one jalepeno, one Serrano pepper and eggplant, zucchini, watermelon, chives, parsley, thyme and basil). By the time I was done with those, I was miserable. What a waste of a day. It infuriates me when I waste a day with a headache.

Friday

As I said in my earlier post, I have been subbing a lot. I spent the last two days at Davis High, subbing in the drama class. They are a cute bunch of kids. I expected them to be kind of rotten, spoiled and--well, more dramatic. But it wasn't at all. It got long, just sitting there, reading in a darkened Little Theater, with no sunlight or anything, but I survived it.

The more time I spend in the schools, the more I think I really want to go back to teaching. I just have to find the right mix of home and work because I refuse to sacrifice my kids to my personal desires. I may want passionately to teach, but I want to be the room mom or go on field trips more because long term, they are more important.

Anyway, last night was a busy night. There was an adult ward social--it was a dinner and a dance. It was also the big "Spirit of Excellence" awards banquet for L-3 at the Grand America (oh gosh the food is good at those shindigs.) Then at the last minute Dilbert was offered ONE box seat ticket to the Jazz playoff game against the Lakers. Guess which one he did. Actually, I told him to do the game because he would be miserable at the dance and while the food is good at the banquet, they are boring. And...David Archuleta would be at the game to sing the National Anthem. Yup. He got to hear the Golden Boy American Idol sing as part of his trip home before the final night of competition. Oh... the Jazz won, too.

I got to stay home and chaperone a surprise birthday party BNLFAN_1 threw for a friend. They didn't need chaperoning, it was just an excuse to stay home. I liked that very much, especially after a long day of reading... hehe

Thoughts on quality literature

I have had a lot of time to read lately... I've been subbing quite a bit and there's not much to do when you sub in junior high and high school. It's just babysitting.

Anyway, I finished "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It isn't great literature but it is certainly uplifting, considering what he is going through. I recommend it. I liked it much better than "The Five People You Meet in Heaven"...

I have also read some stinkers (I read 3 books while I was subbing yesterday alone, if that is any indication of how much I get read while I babysit). As I was reading, I had a young man (yeah... in high school) come up and ask me what I thought of the book I was reading (It was "Fairest" by Gail Levine Carson who also wrote "Ella Enchanted".) He talked about it for quite a while and referenced it to her other works. I was mildly amused that this kid had read so much "chick" young adult lit. He smiled and said it was because girl's like the romantic stuff and he wanted to know what they thought was romantic. Aha! There's a smart kid--I think!

Frank has been reading a lot since he got home. He's reading "All's Quiet on the Western Front" right now. He's read a bunch of other classics. I've been impressed at what he's been reading throughout the semesters away at college, too. He's really into the classics lately. He's one I didn't think would ever love reading again after poor experiences in junior high and high school English classes.

Anyway, the whole conversation with the kid and thinking about Frank Zigmunt got me thinking about literature and then my delightfully well read and intelligent English degreed, Master Program accepted niece wrote this in her blog the other day...

"...Stephanie Meyer just released a new book. I had to read the first chapter of Eclipse for a YA fiction class last week. I hated it. Drivel. You cannot dissuade me from this violent opinion. I hate those books - I detest the sight of them, the sleek black and red covers with minimized text, the style of their Buffy-the-vampire-slayer rhetoric, the gothic-romance names that seem to have creeped right out of a Bronte novel. Plus I think the narrator's voice is stupid. I have come to realize that story and plot isn't enough for me. Give me a form I delight in - words which please and interest me. Don't just throw violent melodrama into a paperback and call it legitimate fiction. I am surprised that 'my-boyfriend-is-a-vampire-life-is-so-hard' drama has caught on so well - to me it's almost voyeuristic in its repulsiveness. This is the kind of drivel I think Brigham Young was referring to when he said this: "In our part of the land many of our young women just hope and pray, if they ever thought of prayer, ‘I do wish some villain would come along and break open my room and steal me and carry me off; I want to be stolen, I want to be carried away; I want to be lost with the Indians, I want to be shipwrecked and to go through some terrible scene, so that I can experience what this beloved lady has experienced whom I have been reading about.’” (23 July 1873) Perhaps society has stooped to re-inventing the gothic novel and calling it literature. Go read some Dostoyevsky. It'll be good for you. It'll clean out your system - teach you what you should learn to stomach instead of this animalistic garbage. If Dostoyevsky is asking too much, opt for Austen, Twain or Hawthorne. For heavens' sakes go read Hemingway if big words scare you. You'd have more fun reading Faulkner, CS Lewis, or Dickens. Even Poe has some literary gums to smack - and he'll give you that little gothic twinkle in your eye if that's what you're really after. (But, in my opinion, if you want truly haunting, go read Cormac McCarthy. That'll send your little vampire boyfriend screaming into the bathroom to change the tighty-whities he's just soiled)."

I LOVE the Brigham Young quote. I read it to my girls and they agreed... that is exactly what they want. I think they missed the point. How ironic...

I have felt these same things for quite some time. I don't want to offend anyone but I have to get this off my chest... My literary disgust extends to many modern authors, among them Mary Higgins Clark and even Gerald Lund's classics, "The Work and the Glory". I think they are tripe. I am forever irritated at the dumbing down of the reading masses by writers who take shortcuts. Austin would never build to a climax at the end of every chapter just to rehash it in the opening pages of the next chapter (what--in case I forgot what I just read? Or maybe I didn't get it the first time?) And can you imagine Twain letting his voice be heard over the narrator's voice? Shudder... What happened to irony and innuendo? Why must we be hit over the head with the plot only to have the author reiterate it, as if to say, "Did you get that? Did you see that? I don't want you to miss that because it is important later..." Suffice it to say, yeah, I got it.

Stepping down off my soap box now...

I am subbing again

Today I am subbing for a drama teacher at Davis High School. So far the kids have been really cooperative and seem very good. I'm having a good time, but I am bored. I already finished one book and I am only one class into the day. Oh well... Now I am reading "The Last Lecture." It is the lecture given by a Cornwall professor who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I will let you know how I like it.

I finished "The Higher Power of Lucky". I enjoyed the writing style very much but the plot was thin. But it is a very YA novel so it was good. I think I will recommend it to the 5th grade teachers at my kids' school. They have some money and are looking for a good book to buy for their classroom (they get to buy a new classroom set of novels this year). For some reason they ask me for suggestions. I guess because I am the book fair chairperson I know good books? Lucky for them, I do.

Frank is home from college

Did I mention that Frank Zigmunt is home from college? I didn't realize how much I missed him. I'm going to have a hard time sending him off on a mission. Getting his mission papers in has been a nightmare. His bishop at BYU didn't get his mission account started until the week he left school instead of the beginning of March. Then we had issues getting his records here... Finally all the papers were done and we were able to get his records here and all he needs is the Bishop and Stake President interviews. But now we are in the midst of stake conference and Mother's Day with no interviews. Grrrr. I need to learn to have patience.

But in the meantime, I have intelligent, helpful company during the day when kids are at school and ANOTHER driver to ferry kids. I've had it pretty easy the last two weeks. I just don't like the mess of his stuff everywhere. He's not put anything away since he moved back. But I will put up with the boxes of guitar cords and dishes and whatnot because he's great to have around.

Now... if he would only get a job!

Weird...

I am a medical oddity. I've known this in my heart for a long time, thus my inexplicable tendency towards hypochondria. Well, now I have had it confirmed and I have the certificate from a REAL M.D.

I have very high arches for a gal of my age, race, position in the community, occupation, etc... This causes the tendon that stretches along the bottom of the foot from the heel to the toes to tear and swell. It has caused a lot of pain over the years. I have done everything from cortisone shots to custom orthotics and only found relief by getting pregnant. I surmised that the relief I experienced when I was pregnant was a result of the hormones that cause ligaments to loosen in the pelvis, allowing the baby to be born. (I can see I should have issued a disclaimer at the beginning of this blog that it is Rated M for Mature readers). Those same hormones loosened the tendon in my feet, allowing me to walk instead of crawl. Thus, there was a certain level of relief and euphoria each time I got pregnant. After my last pregnancy the heel pain did not return, for some unknown reason.

Well, all that inexplicably ended 3 weeks ago. By last night I was in so much pain I had to direct the affairs of bedtime from the couch (okay, I was watching Big Bang Theory and yelling at the kids to go to bed). So off I went today, to the podiatrist. He is baffled by my condition. He shot me up with more cortisone (I wish you could see my happy face at the memory of the shot). Well, the pain of the tendon is gone but the pain over the shot is intense. And I still can't walk! His prognosis was pretty bleak. He says I will probably need to have surgery. Or I could get pregnant again. It was so hard not to jerk my foot up and kick him in the face as he suggested that!

In the meantime he said to stay off it as much as possible (oh, right!) and not exercise for a while (okay--that part is okay!) but he neglected to say I should eat take-out as much as possible, too. I better call his office...

Anyway, the weird part is we can't figure out why it came back so completely and quickly and why it didn't bother me for the last 8 years... So see? Medical oddity!

Naomi

My DARLING niece from Seattle has just been accepted to the film program at BYU. This is the short she made to apply... The subject is her little sister, DARLING niece jr. Take 2 minutes to check out how truly cute she is.

Good weekend

We had a very nice weekend. For one thing, the weather was lovely. Spring is finally in the air. My tulips and daffodils are up so it is very spring-y around here. The forecast finally doesn't have snow in it. We had some good snow on Thursday this past week, but this week is just sun and rain...

Saturday night was the adult session of Stake Conference. The messages were on simplifying our lives so we have more time together as a family. This is something we struggle with here. With 6 children, even if they only have one extra-curricular activity, we are always hectic. Right now it is especially bad because dance and softball are overlapping for the next month. So Mondays are horseback riding lessons for Scout and ball for M and H, Tuesdays are ball for N, dance for M, H, and N, and Young Women's for N, Scout, and BNLFAN (often N has to choose between softball, dance and YW's). Wednesdays are ball for M and H and Thursdays are cello for BNLFAN and ball for N. Fridays are the day to play with friends and Saturdays are ball practices and fund raiser activities for high school. Add in the requisite concerts for orchestra for M and BNLFAN and our month is gone. I am so looking forward to our vacation the first week of June!

Anyway, how do you achieve a balance? I have always said the kids could do one thing each and I have pretty much stuck to my guns. But even the ONE thing is overwhelming. So do I eliminate every outside thing? Or let one child do an activity at a time (that would mean each kid would get to do a sport every 5th season).

Anyway, the Sunday session was a broadcast from the Church Conference Center with Elder Lund, Sister Lant, Elder Bednar and President Eyring speaking. It was excellent. Elder Bednar spoke on 1. telling your family you love them often, 2. Bearing your testimony to your family often, and 3. Being consistent in your efforts. These will be my goals for the next 6 months.

On a side note, my Stake Primary Presidency was released. Sister Gibby (of the Deseret Book website fame) was awesome as a SPP. I was quite sad, having spent a lot of time with them the last few years. Strangely, I was still not released from Stake Primary Music Leader. So I just called the new president and she didn't know I was now serving in my ward Primary and needed me to help with the music for this month's baptisms. It wasn't a problem since I was going to be there anyway.

Last night was a get-together for my family. I taught BNLFAN how to make cinnamon rolls. I forgot to tell her the recipe was printed wrong in the cookbook so she added 6 extra tablespoons of salt. I felt bad that I had to throw it out and start again, but they turned out good. I enjoy visiting with my family, it was just too short a visit, as it always is. We celebrated my sister's birthday (she was in town for the weekend, visiting from Seattle, so that was fun!) and I got to hold brand-new Natalie who is a sweet as can be, and I got to visit with my PP sis-in-law and my Primary-Counselor sis and get ideas for Primary. Picking brains for ideas is always a good thing, I have found. We talked 80's music and cars and I got to meet my cute nieces' boyfriends who are also cute. (Note to nieces... I approve the boyfriends. I know you were worried about that, but fear no longer! I have given my stamp of approval so now you can relax). And my dad dedicated their home and not a moment too soon, since they've lived there for almost 25 years--and just in time to leave on their mission...

So now I had better get some stuff done here... I've already done dishes and laundry but there's always more. And since I am trying to sub all this week (but there were no jobs open for today), I have to get it all done today or I miss out! Hopefully I will have time to post a picture from the 5K later today.

Bobcat Run, Walk or Crawl

Today was the elementary school's 5 K fundraiser. It was good. I got BNLFAN and N, H, M and Dilbert to walk with me. I can't run anymore... I love it but I have an allergic reaction each time I pass 2 miles. I've been to a bunch of different doctors about it but none can diagnose or treat it. I have had all the allergy tests and it doesn't matter what time of year I am running, I just get all stuffed up and sneezy and can't function for a few days afterwards. I fought it for a few years but it just isn't worth it anymore. But oh, how I miss it!

Why do I have to be allergic to exercise?

Congratulations, BNLFAN!

Hurray for BNLFAN! She passed her driving test and got her driver's license on the VERY FIRST TRY! Now she's trying to decide where to drive to. She can't think of anywhere so she's taking suggestions!