Nephite Scrapbook

If I were timeless, say, like one of the three Nephites.... it would be hard to resist the temptation to capitalize on the psuedo super power of it all.  Transcending time like that.

But I could only share the fun with the other two Nephites -who would be constantly rolling their eyes at me and telling God on me- unless I had a blog, and then I could share the fun with you, too.

My cover would be that I'm just another mormon mom with nothing better to do than see what I would look like in yearbook photos through the years.

The truth?  I'll let you be the judge.

Check me out:  1950

1952

1958
*totally looking like my mom, right dad?!"

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970
*workin that hair*

1978
*Michael's favorite cuz I'm SOOOO hot* 

1986

1988

1990
*no comments please unless you are complimenting my high bangs*

1996

1998
*my sister has a picture like this, he he*

2000

I bet the 3 Nephites have one heck of a scrapbook.

-10.6

Littlest Man

Alex had a birthday!  "I two!"  He had us light and relight his birthday cake and sing 3 times before we distracted him with ice cream... or it might have gone on forever.

What a spoiled brat.
No, I'm talking about me for getting to call this terrific ball of energy MINE.  Two years old?  What?


-10.

Look at Me, Ma!

Josh gave this photo of himself to me for Christmas.

Ah, a glimpse of my future missionary son.

His Young Men leaders at church helped the boys make this lovely gift. It was accompanied by a semi-serious note (clearly they were painfully forced during class) expressing gratitude for special things like stroganoff-making and my real talent of being generally "all right".

But I don't think the leaders know his smirk like I know his smirk.  Note the suppressed smile.  The eye glint.

Which made it all the more precious.

What Josh doesn't know is that after it almost made me cry.  Because it was so funny and because it is way too close to my heart.

Benson is even older, a junior, and we are talking more and more about college and a mission.  It is so right around the corner and I'm getting panicky concerned flat out flabbergasted about how fast it's coming and how much ground there is to cover between now and then.  Our family is on the brink of changing when he leaves.  How did this happen so fast?  And yet, I think I believed somehow that I would always have my children with me.  Or that they'd be easier to let go.  (What?  I had heard about teenagers.)

Despite all the parent/child struggles, does he truly know how much we love him?
Has he had the very best of me to carry with him as memories of home?
How will he face the harshness of this world without having our home to return to daily for refuge?
How will our family settle with one missing from our table?

And then Josh will be waiting in the wings to fly.  And right behind him, the girls.

I feel like I'm looking over the edge of a steep cliff.  Benson feels that way, too, from our conversations.  I tell him he can do it as I try to convince myself of the same. 

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."  -Henry Ellis

B-I-N-G-O

I am a gamer.  Word games, luck games, skill games... I love 'em all.  (Except video games where my mario kart only spins at the starting line and I get negative points. Bleh.) 

Favorite games I will stay up all night playing include:
Bananagrams
Phase 10
Settlers of Catan
Cranium
Dutch Blitz
Boggle
Would You Rather

But for some reason I keep being drawn to making up Bingo games to entertain myself.  Maybe it's because Bingo can be played by one person or a hundred.... and you can fill those beautiful empty spaces on the game board with whatever you want. And don't forget the free space.  Who doesn't love a free space?

Someone may or may not have made a Bingo card during a recent choir recording session about things that happen during a typical session, which included the ringing of the Nauvoo Bell outside.  Never have more people been thrilled with a ruined take by that dang Bell ringing, giving several people Bingo at the same time...

I digress.

But this time, I am taking Bingo to a whole new level.  Eclipsing it with my New Year's Resolutions.  I called it "Bucket Bingo 2011".  Bucket meaning when 2011 kicks the bucket, I better have gotten my GAME on.

These squares are filled with fairly challenging goals, and as a Bingo row is completed there will be some serious prizes for myself.  I haven't even told myself what the prizes are, they are THAT good.

 

I know some of you are looking at my goals.  Ya peepers.  And by the way, I have several squares that are duplicated so that I will be doing them more than once.  I had to break down some of those bigger goals.

So now I'm excited to play.  I should have called it Bingoal!

Since no one else is playing, I have a pretty good chance of winning, and my strategy is ultimately going for Black-Out, of course. 

And so far I'm not stuck spinning at the starting line.

What are your goals?  How do you stay motivated?  Or forget goals (I hear some people don't believe in them).... what games do you like to play?

-8.4 total.

O-lee-ya-ire-two? That's Chinese for somethin.

So, the Rice Film Festival is an annual exclusive event.  Film directors are invited from all over the country to participate. I had to marry into the family just to get tickets.  OK, really it's just a family reunion tradition with Michael's siblings, but I know you are still jealous.... so........

I happen to have a pirated version of our highly acclaimed 2010 short movie, "Jackson History". 


Disclaimer:  I do not send people to time out for 10 days.

Davo and the Diva

Since I'm not supposed to blog about our performances with the Tab Choir, I will just say this:. I followed all the rules about not interacting with our guest performers, i.e.NO getting autographs or taking pictures with them.

KSL and Desert News were just trying to get a good shot of me for the paper

when *this guy* walked in front of the camera.  Sheesh.

I might still keep it for the scrapbook.