Camping at Horsethief Reservoir

We went camping up at Horsethief Reservoir. It was too overcrowded. We were lucky to get the last spot available. Since Mr. Wonderful and Firstborn were coming up later, Uncle Nate supervised Secondborn and Thirdborn in the making of fire. They tried flint and steel. Then they tried matches. Thirdborn spilled matches everywhere. It took a lot of tries but they finally got a decent fire burning.

Uncle Nate was so patient with the young pyromaniacs. He deserved a gold medal.

The boys ran to the lake to try to catch fish for dinner while Nate, Eliza, The Love Magnet and I waited back at camp.

Thirdborn came running back to camp with a huge fish. We were surprised he caught one so quickly. He told us he did not catch it, but that he found it. He thought a boat must have hit it. He wanted so badly to cook it for dinner. Mr. Wonderful and Uncle Nate had to point out that the coloring was off and that it would probably make him very sick if he tried eating it. Thirdborn was so disappointed. He really wanted to have trout for dinner. No way. Not this fish.

Finally it was time to cook brats (my back-up plan for dinner) and s'mores for dessert.

Thirdborn LOVED s'mores!

The Love Magnet loved s'mores!

Did Secondborn like s'mores? Not sure.

We kept the fire going pretty late. It was fun to sit around, watching the stars.

Three of the four tents we had between the eight of us. Plenty of room.

The morning was cold. Good thing we had three Eagle Scouts (Mr. Wonderful, Uncle Nate, and Firstborn) who knew how to build fires.

No, Thirdborn did not have a black eye. That was dirt all over his face. He slept with that all night and claimed he had just washed it.

After Mr. Wonderful's fabulous dutch oven Mountain Man breakfast, it was time to go fishing.

Mr. Wonderful bought a pink and yellow little kid's tube for The Love Magnet to play with. Secondborn decided to commandeer the apparatus for the more worthy pursuit of fishing.

Secondborn got pretty far out on that little tube. No fish were biting, though.

Thirdborn had great fun rescuing dragonflies from the water. When I asked him why he was doing that, he replied so he could use them to bait his fishhook. No fish were caught and we had to head home.

We stopped at Fisher Park in Cascade to see if we could catch something. By this time most of the campers looked like they were ready to head home to hot showers.

I just had to compare height between Firstborn and Secondborn. Yep, Secondborn has almost completely caught up to his bigger brother.

The Love Magnet fully monopolized Aunt Eliza. Poor Uncle Nate was trumped by his more popular wife.

Thirdborn had to try one last time. No fish were biting, not even in a small, fully stocked pond. *sigh* Maybe next time.

Fun at the Discovery Center

Uncle Nate and Aunt Eliza came for a last minute visit. We were so excited to have them over! First we took them to the Discovery Center. Nate disappeared with Secondborn to try all of the cool science experiments. Thirdborn and The Love Magnet beelined to the TVstation exhibit where they played with a green screen and pretended they had Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak.

Aunt Eliza tried out the bed of nails. Yes, she really is on a bed of nails. It is magic!

The Love Magnet played in the veterinarian's office helping all of the sick stuffed animal toys. After that we headed to the Boise Fry Company for a snack. We loved hanging out with Nate and Eliza!

Finally, the actual birthday.

Good morning, Love Magnet! It is finally your birthday!

Your brothers all gathered to sing to you.

Thirdborn made you a gourmet birthday breakfast for his gift. Firstborn took you on a surprise date to Build-A-Bear where you made a cute Rapunzel Princess Bunny. (The next day, Secondborn took you on a surprise date to a movie with popcorn and treats).

You wanted a birthday picnic at the local park, mainly because there was water to swim in.

You requested meatball subs, doritos, potato salad, watermelon, and rootbeer for your birthday picnic. You even helped shop for all the ingredients.

Auntie M and Uncle D came to celebrate with us.

Mom made you carrot cake cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. You weren't sure that you would like them, but after your first bite you declared the, "Delicious!"

Time for one more quick swim before going home for presents.
You decided it was the Best Birthday Ever.

Nine Great Things About The Love Magnet

1. She refers to her parents as Mother and Father. Not sure how she decided on this moniker as the boys refer to me as Madre or Mom and Mr. Wonderful is called Dad. She is constantly asking "When will my father be home?", or telling me "Mother, I love you so much!" I love it.

2. She refers to everyone by first and last name as one name. Its Janebrown, Johnsmith, Jackjones....you get the picture. We think this stemmed from several kids in her school classes sharing the same name. What she used to separate them, she now uses for everyone.

3. The Love Magnet loves to help with the dishes or laundry. I hope this continues.

4. She prays like she means it. Every prayer is a regular conversation with her Heavenly Father. She blesses everyone she can think of and usually for specific blessings such as they will get better from being sick, or they will be able to sleep, or not be scared.

5. She shows appreciation for every meal multiple times. I get thanked for making a particular dinner the day of, the next day, and possibly several weeks later.

6. Whoever you are, you rank as her best friend.

7. The Love Magnet loves to write letters. I get one nearly every single day.

8. She loves to read to anyone who will listen. Today she read Snuggle Puppy to a van full of sleepy people on the way home from our camp out. Captive audience.

9. Unconditional love. She has it. She is willing to share it. Hopefully she is teaching the rest of us about it.

Sorry, folks. I'm trying as hard as I can to blog about The Love Magnet's 9th birthday, but for some reason, my pics are not posting. They download fine onto Facebook, just not on Blogger. I shall persevere and hopefully soon you will enjoy the pictures of the girl who enjoys her birthdays more than anyone else in the world.

8/6/2011 - I switched to Mozilla Firefox and everything is working great. Thanks to Marvelle for the tip!

Friend Birthday Party

Four girls came to The Love Magnet's birthday party. TLM was beside herself with joy.

Four girls included her in all of their games. She was treated just like everyone else.

After swimming came lunch completely planned by The Love Magnet: hot dogs, pasta salad, watermelon, and lemonade. Then.......PRESENTS!

Miss M, who was Lauren's aide a year ago and now still works with one of The Love Magnet's best friends, also came to the party. We were thrilled to have her!

The grand finale of the party was also planned completely by TLM: she insisted on 'Pinkalicious' cupcakes. Not knowing what 'Pinkalicious' cupcakes are, I just made vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting. Completely satisfactory, especially when topped with sparkler candles. It literally took all the girls to blow them out.

The best part of the party was the next day at the neighborhood pool. Some of the girls from the party were all there and greeted TLM as soon as they saw her. Again they included her in all of their games. Inclusion at its best.

1st Family Reunion

It started out as a plan for 100+ people. Then 50 people. Then 15. Plans had to be changed.

In the end it didn't matter how things had to be changed. The 1st Family Reunion did what it was designed to do. It made tons of memories.

Cousin sleepovers, contraband (at least in my house) cereal for breakfast.

Treats at the Boise downtown farmers market.

Having fun around the fountain with the cousins.

Lots of time at the neighborhood swimming pool.

Eating chocolate cake and laughing.

Watching movies late into the night. We also went to the theaters to see Cars 2.

Getting to know (again) awesome cousins I haven't seen in 20 years.

And cousins we haven't seen in a few months.

Did I mention that I absolutely LOVE my brother and his family?

Final pictures with all of the cousins. Silly.

And trying to be cool about it all.

Tons of fun. And it will happen again next year, same time. Third weekend in June.

This is just going to get bigger and better.

I am not ready for this stage...

Parenting a young adult will about kill me.

Yeah, I know. Carrie, you always talk about not having a bad attitude...well blah, blah, blah. Sorry, I should not be directing frustrations at you.

I have a Firstborn/highschool graduate/young adult (now referred to as YA) who hasn't quite figured the important things in life. Like letting your parents know when you will be home, or at least coming home before or at your curfew. He thinks that now he is a YA, he shouldn't have a curfew. Too bad, so sad, my house my rules. And, yes, consequences are fair.

Nor does he think that helping out at home is nearly important as helping the cute neighbor two doors down. Yesterday, he needed to be home, preparing to leave for a competition today. I called him three times to get home and get his stuff done. Nope. He felt it was more important to help the neighbors and then go out to dinner with them. This anywhere-but-home attitude has been a recurring theme, happening daily.

To top it off, he missed his ride to the airport this morning and fully expected Mr. Wonderful to come save him........and he didn't know the time the plane left nor the airline he was flying on. We assume he made it to California because he hasn't called since he left the airport. In the meantime, he apparently expects me to finish his laundry, wash his sheets, make his bed since he left it sitting in the laundry (except for what he dumped in the hall just outside his bedroom door) and knowing that I am trying to get ready for guests tomorrow.

He gave us no itinerary because apparently YA's don't need one. At least their parents don't need to know about it.

How you get through to a YA that there are still certain rules and courtesies that must be adhered to? That family members deserve love and respect as much as friends do? That being part of a family means working together, helping out, and making an effort to get along? That family comes first? Sitting him down and trying to explain only fell on deaf ears.

I always thought the hard challenges in my life would circulate between The Love Magnet's Down syndrome, Thirdborn's learning disabilities, and stress such as the current typical balance-school-and-mommyhood. But at this time the hardest challenge of my life is navigating the uncharted waters of Firstborn's YA-hood. Nothing I say or think or do carries any significance.

Praying for help/knowledge/wisdom/patience/sanity is my only recourse.

Father's Day 2011

The Father of my home

leads my family

with wisdom's light in all that's right;

my father's good to me.

Father's are so special

with a very special love.

They watch us and protect us,

guide us and direct us

back to our home above.

Today I led 175+ Primary kids in singing the song above. As a surprise, each child brought a 5x7 or 8x10 picture of their dad which they proudly held as high as they could. I was overwhelmed with tears as I tried to direct these sweet kids who were grinning from ear to ear at their own dads.

I held my own picture, too. Maybe that is why the tears came so readily. I miss my daddy, I miss being able to sing to him the same primary song I've sung to him for years (even though it might be silly for a 42 yr old daughter to sing that. It probably drives him nuts, but he only has to put up with it once a year.) I am so incredibly proud of him for the hard work he's put into his mission. A lot of good work is being done in Uganda.

Then there is the father of my four children. The man who teaches my kids how to build things, how to problem-solve, math tutor (mine, too!). He shows by example the proper way to treat women, especially moms and wives. He insists that his children learn how to work hard and how to keep their word. He goes to games, concerts, doctor appointments, scout pack meetings, IEP meetings, and parent-teacher conferences. He plans fishing trips, camping trips, skiing trips, hiking trips, and rafting trips. He arranges basketball in the front yard and volleyball in the backyard. He reads them books at night, listens to prayers, and tucks them in bed. He is MegaDad and heavily involved in his children's lives. They have no question of his love for them.

Huge thanks and much love for the dads in my life. Happy Father's Day!

Class of 2011

Lots of cheering and a bit of shock that my Firstborn has graduated

And really hoping that he keeps in touch with friends



But the proudest moment. Listening to the seniors of the Acapella choir sing The Star Spangled Banner. My boy can sing. I could pick out his voice anywhere.

Bachelor of Science, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Giving my stole of gratitude to the man who help me the most, lifted me higher, strengthened me, and believed in me. And he is darn handsome, to boot.

Walking across the stage felt like pageant walking (head up, shoulders back, don't forget to smile and make it look natural, DON'T TRIP!).

Lots of cheers and "GO MOM!" and woot-woots.

Being thrilled for myself and my sister CSEDers (Dave, you also count as a sister CSEDer, brother). We worked so hard for this!

In awe of my family's love for me.

In awe of the extravagant flowers they presented to me as I walked out with my fellow students. Whoa, does a tiara come with this?

Wishing my parents could have been there. They will be in two years when I get my M.S.

Advocacy never ending

Mr. Wonderful gave me a certificate for a spa day last Christmas. Today was the day (I finally have time now that finals are over) and I was really looking forward to some pampering. The spa I went to was voted the best spa in the Boise area. It was beautiful. Incredibly busy (not very quiet) but I expected that since I booked a day the weekend of Mother's Day. That was okay. It was going to be divine.

The manicurist was great. She helped me pick a color (OPI 'I'm not Really A Waitress') and assured me that I could carry off that color on my short nails. Made me think of Dandelion Mama's post about her short nails. We talked about her kids, my kids, cupcakes (she is tweaking recipes to start a side business in gourmet cupcakes) and how to take better care of my dry hands. She told me how great the massage therapist was that I was scheduled to see next (and she was oh-so-right). The conversation was pleasant at my table. Then, during a pause, my ear started tuning into the conversation at the next table.

"She really started making bad choices", the nail tech at the next table was talking about her sister to her client. "I swear she smoked herself retarded." Both started laughing.

I froze.

Normally, I would speak right up to the person who uttered the 'R' word. But I didn't say anything this time. I did not think it was appropriate in this setting. Instead I made a note to email the spa tonight and let them know that while I appreciated their excellent services, there was one thing in which they could improve. That choice of vocabulary is unacceptable.

I know I've said it before (and that I am preaching to the choir). The word "Retarded" is not interchangeable with 'stupid'. Using that word in that context is hurtful and demeaning.

As much as I enjoyed the spa, the memory that will probably last the longest is the choice of words of the nail tech. I wonder if my email will make any difference.

Things To Celebrate

ISATs (Idaho Standard Achievement Test) was underway last month. Moms know the drill: make sure you kids get a good night's sleep, a good breakfast, and be sure to send them off with a positive attitude.

I remember taking standardized tests by filling in bubbles on a paper test using a #2 pencil. No longer. My kids take state standardized tests on the computer. They are immediately given their scoring when they are done. Not sure how I feel about my elementary kids seeing that score. At least I wasn't sure until last week.

Thirdborn came running home to announce the news: "MOM! I scored 'Proficient' on my Language ISAT!" My jaw dropped. This is the kid who was diagnosed with dyslexia, disgraphia, Audio Processing Disorder, and a Language Disorder. He has been in language therapy with the school's SLP since he was diagnosed. He just scored 'Proficient' and he wanted to celebrate.

I talked to his resource teacher yesterday. She confirmed that he did indeed score 'Proficient' on his Language ISAT. She took him around the school to let him share his news to all those who have been working with him. This is a very big deal. So tomorrow (when we all have an hour) we shall celebrate ISATs. Thirdborn wants to go get a milkshake at his favorite place.

Firstborn competed at the Idaho HOSA (Health Occupation Student Association) state competition last month as part of his Sports Med program. His PSA video won first place at the state competition and will be taken to nationals this summer. If he wins, the award is scholarship money. He is thrilled just to make it to nationals. Also, Firstborn just got a job(!) as a developmental therapist. Turns out, having a sister with Down syndrome, a CPR certification, and experience from all the volunteer work he has done with DS foundations and Special Olympics makes him very marketable as a DT. He is thrilled to have a decent paying job with benefits. He has no time to celebrate, so that will have to wait when he graduates from high school at the end of the month.

I get to celebrate Mothers Day on Sunday, graduate from ISU on Monday, and celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Might as well start the party now. Today is Cinco de Mayo. And my twin sister's 22nd wedding anniversary.

What did she say?

The Love Magnet: "I 8 years old. Then I 9 years old. Then I 10 years old. Then I 11 years old. Then I 12 years old. Then I get to be your sous chef!" (when counting out her birthdays.)

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The Love Magnet: Mom! Look, Mom! Look at that man in blue truck! He have bald hair, Mom! Look, bald hair!

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The Love Magnet (on Sunday when given the opportunity to lead a song in Primary): I know how myself, Mom. You don't help me. (She then helds out her hand like I do to invite kids to sing, turned and nodded to the pianist to start. My daughter proceeded to wave her hand completely off beat. She did cut off at the right time on the finish and raised her pinkie while doing it. Do I do that?)

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The Love Magnet(today at the grocery store): "Thanks, honey." (when I hand her an item for the cart.) "Good job, honey" (as I picked out produce). "You're welcome, honey." (This kept going through the entire grocery store, and shoppers were openly smiling as they watched her help me shop.)

Uncertain Future and Tender Mercies

I've been quietly avoiding my blog for specific reasons.

Uncertainty. Pity party. Frustration. Worry.

I've prayed for months. I've gone to the temple. I've tried to have great faith.....and then wondered if I didn't have enough faith.

Trying to sell myself to grad schools has been a trial. I sent grades. I sent what I thought was a great letter. I sent good GRE scores. I sent my heart in three cyber envelopes and one snail mail. All in hopes that some university would say "We like you! We really like you!"

Vanderbilt sent a lovely rejection letter. Seriously, it oozed southern charm. I was slightly sad but not too much because that was my long shot. I was over it by the next day.

Florida State sent me a terse rejection email. I was devastated. I thought I met all their criteria. It was a great school and really close to my Georgia grandmother (as in I could head over there for Sunday dinner and spent days off hanging with her. I would have loved that opportunity!) It was a hard blow and I really grieved.

Then I worried. What if no one wants me?

The University of Utah sent a rejection letter. I don't think they ever received my GRE score. I tried to find out what was going on before the deadline, but the secretary I called was rather terse (every single time). I think she was having a bad day (week/month) and didn't want to mess with my problems.

Mr. Wonderful took me to the temple. We talked about what would happen if I didn't get accepted anywhere. After all, if three universities didn't want me, why would my own university want me? What then? Do I wait and apply again? Do I chalk it up to a great experience? We both knew that it was divine inspiration that I go back to school. I finally had to just put it all in God's hands. His plan is the best plan (isn't that what I have to keep learning?) I finally tried to humble myself and say "Heavenly Father, I trust you."

On April Fool's Day this came in the mail. But it was no April Fools:

My university wants me. I am going to grad school to become an Speech-Language Pathologist.

I AM GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL!

I shouted this to my entire neighborhood. Those who were out washing their cars heard me. I'm sure the angels heard me. I called Mr. Wonderful. I called my twin sis. I called my BFF who was so helpful when I admitted that the rejection letters made me feel .......well, not worthless but certainly not wanted.

My university has faith in me and I am so grateful to them for their confidence in me. The program is highly competitive to get into.

This morning I woke up with a reassurance that my Father in Heaven is well aware of me. We are definitely meant to stay here. Secondborn has a wonderful opportunity in an advanced high school. The programs available here for Thirdborn and The Love Magnet are so much better than other places we've lived. Firstborn will be able to leave for his mission from here (ohmiheavens, he leaves in less than a year!) The kids are relieved that we are not moving and that they don't have to leave their friends, teachers, and schools. There is a relief of not having to sell our house. I'm grateful that we'll be staying around our ward family, close-ish to our immediate family (well at least we can get there for weekends away), and I am beyond thrilled to be going to school with my classmates who are also kindred spirits and very much like sisters.

My future is more certain. I can't control much in my life,

but at least I know the direction I am going.