That's my boy!

The other morning Spencer was a guest on the KJZZ morning show called The Home Team. He was talking about some basic Sports Medicine stuff and the kids and I were glued to the TV watching and cheering him on. About ½ way through the interview, Caleb hopped off the couch and made his way to the TV, saying casually: “I need to tell Dad something.” He patiently waited there in front of the TV for a while and then got impatient. He started shouting: “Hurry! Hurry! Get the scissors! Get the scissors and cut the TV open ‘cause I need to tell Dad something! Cut the TV open! Cut the TV open! I need to tell Dad something!” It was hilarious and very cute…until he would NOT get over it. I was trying in vain to explain that Dad was not, in fact, inside the television and that we could not and frankly would not be cutting the TV open. He drowned out the last part of Spencer’s interview with his wailing and it took me a solid 10 minutes after the segment ended and the TV was turned off to help him work through it. It was quite a moment.

Happy Pioneer Day!

We survived the Bountiful Parade---all of us! No tears. No injuries. Lots of VERY sticky hands and faces. An overabundance of salt water taffy. It was an all around successful outing!

 

 

Dreams DO come true!

Okay, I'll admit that Spencer's job does occassionally have some perks. Last night, however was the crowning jewel of them all. At about 4:30pm he randomly called home to ask if there was anyway we could get a sitter and go to the American Idols concert. I started jumping up and down like a spaz, screaming "No Way! Are you serious?!?" and I admit I was so pumped I actually got chills. (As an aside, I haven't experienced this much excitement since my best friend Amy and I scored tickets to the Oprah Show several years ago.) Anyway, to make a long story much, much shorter: several people on the tour, including two of the Idols, needed to be seen by a doctor and Spencer ended up being the lucky guy they contacted. So, Cort and Macy went with him a few hours before the concert and got to hang out back stage with all the Idols while Spencer did his thing. They got to meet each one, got some autographs and got their picture taken with David Archuleta. I showed up at concert time, got to park just outside the service entrance where I met Spencer at the back door of the E-Center with the tour manager who threw back stage passes on us and escorted us to our 2ND ROW!!! seats. I was sitting right next to David Archuleta's Mom and Dad. It was incredible! We all had such a blast and it was an incredible show. Cort and I were wild and crazy fans--jumping up and down, waving, clapping, singing along. I think I humiliated Spencer but I was loving it! Cort kept saying: "Mom and Dad, I just don't think I can ever thank you enough for bringing me!" Afterward, the tour manager took us back stage again into a small hallway where we waited while Spencer had to see another one of the Idols who had a minor injury. We stood in the hallway and chatted with Kristy Lee Cook, Syesha, Jason Castro, Carly, David Arhculeta, Brooke White and then David Cook! AWESOME! We took tons of pictures and were just in heaven. What a night!

SWEET FREEDOM!! (kind of)

After six long, long weeks Caleb's cast came off this week on his THIRD BIRTHDAY! In my ignorance, I pictured him shedding all that fiberglass and coming bursting out of the clinic doors running and ready to jump into summer full swing. Unfortunately, this is far from how things went down. After we got that nasty cast removed he cried and cried and spent his birthday in excruciating pain (major stiffness and soreness!) and on strong pain killers. Needless to say, all celebrating was postponed. Since then, each day we see very minor improvement but he is still not really anywhere close to standing, let alone walking. We spend a few hours each day at the pool in the water which is the only place I can get him to really kick and try to move his legs. Sigh. I guess this is all very typical of the recovery associated with this kind of an injury but we're just anxious to have a walking, running little boy back! Maybe by August?!? We tease that it's a race around our house to see who will be walking first: Caleb? Jake? or Emmy? So far, Emmy is in the lead!

Home Improvements??

(To my favorite gal in South Dakota: this post's just for you!)

I think these are home "improvements" but improvements is a very subjective term. Regardless, here's what I've been up to the past few months on our house:

1/2 BATHROOM BEFORE




1/2 BATHROOM AFTER




LIVING ROOM AND FRONT ENTRY BEFORE




LIVING ROOM AND FRONT ENTRY AFTER

My Dad's the Greatest!

Some of the things that I absolutely LOVE about my Dad:

1. His optimism. Honestly, this man doesn't let ANYTHING rattle him. He views every problem and obstacle from the "30,000 foot level" and never loses his perspective. According to my Dad, every thing (and I do mean EVERYTHING) will "heal in 6 weeks," every trail "makes a loop" back to where you started, and he can whistle or sing old school country music through just about any crisis. I wish I had a truckload more of this in myself.

2. No matter how dead tired he was at the end of his work day, when I was young he would almost always consent to go to the church to shoot baskets with me if I would "call and get the church key." I don't think Bishop Jepsen ever got more phone calls from a 10 year old girl than during his tenure in our ward.

3. He taught me the value of learning to dribble with my left hand, to fake before every pass, and that if I didn't get at least one offensive foul every game, I wasn't playing aggressively enough. Words to live by! :)

4. He signed me up to play Jr. Jazz baskeball on all-boys teams year after year and then when I was in 8th grade and he thought the softball leauge I had been playing in was a joke, he signed me up to play Bronco baseball (oh the horror!). Now, as an adult, I can see that what he was really teaching me was that I could do anything I wanted to, that I was as good as anybody else, and that I didn't have to conform to any particular set of "rules" or expectations. The sky was the limit...male or female.

5. He is the ULTIMATE handyman. His mantra is "I can fix that!" given with a smile. And he always delivers. Although Spencer is amazing as well, I honestly don't know what I would do without my Dad to help us around the house. I tell my friends the only thing better than a Dad that is really, really handy is a Dad that is really, really handy and retired.

6. He would always buy my a King Size Snickers at the gas station we stopped at late at night on the way to Lake Powell even when my Mom had insisted that none of us get out of the car because she didn't want us to buy overpriced junk in the convenient store.

7. His ability to let things slide and not get his feathers ruffled. You have to work pretty hard to offend my Dad. In fact, I don't think I can remember him ever getting offended.

8. He is the kind of person that nearly everyone considers their "really good friend." He has a warmth toward and love for people of all ages and backgrounds and makes you feel like you've been best friends for life, even if you just met on the subway.

9. He is loves trivia, random facts and is a treasure trove of knowledge.

10. He loves foreign language and has devoted countless, countless hours to studying Spanish (including toting my Mom to Costa Rica for a month to attend an in-depth language training school) for no good reason other than that he thought it would be a handy language to know.

11. He (in partnership with my Mom) somehow found the inner strength and patience to teach me to water ski, snow ski and ride a snowmobile and motorcycle. I know I was less than a stellar student on some of these (okay, all) and was less than eager and cooperative.**picture me screaming and crying hysterically getting towed behind our 25 ft. Sea Ray** But, as an adult, I appreciate so much his long-suffering because it means I get to enjoy these activities with family and friends. As an aside, the thought of teaching my five kids to water ski makes my blood run cold. Heaven help me.

12. He and my Mom understood that the best investment is in memories and instead of letting us get caught up in fashion and toys, they spent money to take us on exotic family vacations where our best memories were made. We can and still do laugh and talk about our adventures together.

13. After 30 years of being the Team Physician for the Jazz, he still GENUINELY loves to be at each game and talks about the guys on the team as if they were his sons. The man lives for the Jazz and fills any break in conversation with "Jazz talk." It's really cute.

14. While I was on the sidelines watching him wear out his joints (literally) running marathons and playing in church and city sports leagues, he was instilling in me a great love of athletics and all things active. He and I share a love for physical challenges that most would consider assanine, at best.

15. He as much of a sucker for a back rub as I am. Neither one of us ever tires of a good massage.

16. He is the direct source of my sometimes painful perfectionism. People think it comes from my Mom, but this is far from true. From her, I inherited my complete inability to sit still or let things go undone and from my Dad came a sincere belief that everything has got to be JUST SO. It's simple math: amazing work ethic and energy (Jo) + incredible attention to detail (Lyle) = the train wreck otherwise referred to as Molly. :)

17. If there is ever any possible way for him to say "yes" to something you ask of him, he will. He oozes kindness and generosity.

Dad, I could go on and on and on. Thanks for being the best. Happy Father's Day. I love you.

Weekend in St. George...

Parts of our weekend get-away that were REALLY fun:



The one part of our weekend get-away that was REALLY NOT fun:



On day two of our long awaited, much anticipated trip to St. George our 2-year-old Caleb took a little spill on his scooter and suffered a very serious, very painful spiral fracture of his femur. So...we spent some quality time in the E.R. in St. George and brought the poor little guy home in basically a body cast for the summer. Since he is unable to even sit up, Spencer's dad gallantly drove to St. George to help us get home, transporting Caleb in the back of his car on an air mattress and lots of blankets. It was quite an adventure. I think we're officially cured of our wander-lust and will never again take all 5 kids any further south than Sandy. SIGH. Poor Caleb. Poor me. (I shamelessly had to include some self-pity although I do know that I'm not the real victim here!) Summer should be interesting this year...

While I'm here, I might as well include my latest favorite picture of the twins, who just recently turned one: