good Samaritan

You try to be helpful and look what happens.

Yesterday I dropped my daughter off at the high school to leave for high-altitude cross-country camp.  The runners were supposed to arrange their own rides and tents.  McKayla had done so.  Oops!  Others hadn't.  There were lots of runners at the high school who had no ride up to the camp.  So, loving teenagers like I do, I was actually very happy to volunteer to drive a car full of boys up to the campground. 

All was well until the drive back down the canyon.  The car did a funny lurch a couple of times.  Weird.  I noticed the dashboard clock wasn't working.  Strange.  The radio just quit.  Worrisome.  Then, one final lurch and the car was dead.  Completely.  Luckily I was going down the canyon so I could coast off the side of the road.

I tried calling Kevin but, of course, he wasn't anywhere near his cell phone.  I tried several neighbors (at home and on the cells).  I got a complex that no one was taking my calls - drat that caller ID.

Once more luck was with me (and by luck I mean the tender mercies of the Lord) and a police officer pulled up and asked if I was having trouble.  We determined it was the alternator but the officer used his vehicle to charge my car enough to get down the canyon.  Whew!

I finally got a hold of a neighbor who couldn't get Kevin by banging on the door but I told him to just walk on in.  Sure enough.  Kevin and Shanley were downstairs (in air conditioning) watching episodes of Monk.  Nevermind that I was baking and had been gone 2 1/2 hours longer than expected - who misses their wife anyways (it wasn't dinnertime - haha).  I am certain that at some point they would have realized that my 15-minute trip to drop McKayla off at the high school was certainly running overtime.  Nah - who am I kidding?  They might not have ever noticed but I have faith that Chandler would have when he got home from school because he did.  And, since we don't have a home phone, he even made the effort to go to a neighbors and phone me to find out where I was.  Nice to know someone still needs me.

And that is how my 15-minute trip turned into a 3-hour adventure.  (makes me think of Gilligan's Island but with no palm trees, cool breezes, or tropical food)

that's what you get

What do you get when you send your teenage daughter to the store for a few necessities?

You get WHITE bread!

Yep.  My children have never been fond of wheat bread (or wheat pasta for that matter).  Even my "lectures" on how much healthier it is have had no swaying influence.  So, when I asked McKayla to pick up bread and milk from the store, she did exactly that.  I suppose I didn't specify that I meant "wheat" bread - thought that was obvious.

My children are happy.  I guess that's the price I pay for convenience.

waverunners

We took the waverunners out on Thursday.  It was the first time this summer (we did take them out in April in St. George for Spring Break).  We had so much fun and I wondered why we don't take them out more often.  Then we stopped to fill them up with guess and I remembered.  $75 for just a few hours of fun.  Yikes!  Since we purchased a season waterpark pass for $20 each and can go there for hours and hours of fun for just the $10 gas it costs us to get there, it makes sense that we aren't taking out the waverunners much.

Lucky Charm

Maybe Alec is my Lucky Charm.  We were sure lucky last night when we won the drawing to purchase tickets to Wicked for $25 each!  Woo hoo!

Kevin and I saw Wicked in LA a few years ago.  At that time, we too won the drawing for $25 tickets and got amazing seats!  There wasn't a huge crowd for the drawing so our odds were pretty good.

We loved the show so when it was announced that a tour stop would be in SLC, I gave McKayla, Shanley, and Chandler coupons to see it as Christmas presents.  It sold out within minutes and we didn't get tickets.  We tried entering the drawing for the $25 tickets but well over 100 people entered and we had no luck.  So, I took those three to see it in Tempe, AZ where I could actually get tickets.

Alec was the only one who hadn't seen it and it is back touring in SLC.  I toyed with the idea of trying for the $25 tickets again reasoning that maybe this time there wouldn't be the huge crowds but mostly dismissed the idea and I wasn't too keen to pay $125 per person.  However, yesterday we got back from spending the day on the waverunners and I felt an urge (prompting?) to go enter the drawing.  So, I hurriedly blew dry my hair and Alec and I raced downtown to enter the drawing.

I was so disappointed to see that once more well over 100 people were entering the drawing.  Our chances didn't look good.  They looked even worse when it got down to the final name they were drawing.  Then they called "Alec Morgan".  Yea!  Alec raised his hands in victory and we purchased the 2 tickets we were allowed for that night's performance.

Alec loved it and I felt so blessed to be able to see it again!  The lady playing Glinda was hilarious - truly laugh out loud funny!  We had a blast!  Alec has spent this morning playing every song from Wicked that he can find on youtube.  (I'm not reminding him I have the CD or I'll never see it again!)

hurt so good

I've started running again this week after taking off the past 6 weeks (I only ran the Riverton Town Days 5K during that time).  I've lost a lot of running fitness so I'm a bit stiff but it feels so good to be out on the road again!

I quit running after the marathon because I was really in pain from my IT Band on the right side and bursitis in my hip on the left side.  I saw a doctor who prescribed some exercises for the IT Band issue and 6 months of rest for the bursitis.  I tried but I just couldn't do it.  The rest was supposed to include NO stairs and NO inclines. 

Well, I've spent at least one day of every week at Seven Peaks Waterpark which requires climbing LOTS of stairs to get to the slides.  Also, my bedroom, laundry room, and food storage room are all downstairs so I use the stairs a lot every day.  Plus, I love to hike which means inclines. 

This led me to the logical and reasonable conclusion that the bursitis is not going to get better so I may as well be doing the running I enjoy (plus NEED for weight control, stress control, sanity, etc)

Chandler's First/Last Day

It is Chandler's first day of school today but it is also the first day of his last year at elementary.  This is quite a milestone because I have had a child at Riverton Elementary for the past 18 years!  Wow!  So, this will be my last year of elementary school as well.

I like year round school because I like the flexibility of when I take my vacations.  I like that my children don't get bored during an overly long summer.  I even like that Chandler's schedule is different from all of his siblings because it allows he and I the flexibility to spend one-on-one time together.  He enjoys different activities from his siblings so the different schedules is perfect.

However, I still didn't quite feel ready for him to go back to school this year.  We have had a lot of fun - he has played in two soccer tournaments and we've been to Seven Peaks Waterpark once a week on average.  He's gone fishing and swimming and played games. He ran track and ran a 5K race.   He's spent lots of time with cousins.

This morning I gave him a bag full of smarties candy that read "Hey Smartie Pants - good luck on the first day of school!"  Chandler laughed and was quite pleased with it.  I also made him one of his favorite breakfasts - cinnamon muffins and peach smoothies.

Here's the scoop:

Chandler Reed Morgan
4 feet 10 1/2 inches
73 pounds
Teacher:  Ms. Becknell (Shanley had her and we liked her!)
Favorite Color:  Green
Favorite Food:  Chinese
Favorite Candy:  Skittles
Favorite Subject:  Math
Favorite Hobby:  Soccer
Favorite Friends:  Jared Goins, Abby Nebeker, Jeffrey Stratton
Favorite Thing Over the Summer:  going to Logan for a soccer tournament
Wants to Be:  an airline pilot

failure to connect the dots

Sometimes it amazes me how my brain works and sometimes it amazes me even more how it doesn't!

Yesterday I said I didn't want to go to Seven Peaks Waterpark today because it is a holiday so it will be crowded.  I also said I'd be unable to call and schedule a doctor appointment for Alec because it is a holiday.  I also realized I wouldn't be able to call and schedule a haircut appointment for myself because it is a holiday.  So, I think I had it firmly established that it is a holiday today.

I arose this morning at 3:30 am after possibly one of the worst nights of sleep EVER.  I dry shampooed my hair, straightened it, put on make-up, got dressed, and drove to the temple only to find the gates locked because guess what?  It is a holiday today!

Ugh!