The Marriage Secret

I don't read many comics but I do enjoy Pickles. I find it very funny. I don't know if it is at all relevent because I haven't reached that stage in life, yet. Maybe I like it because I love to watch the older couples that live in my ward and live in my little world. I've learned a lot about marriage from them. (I think that the Pickles family could learn a thing or two from these couples, also.) One Sunday, a few years ago, I was sitting in Relief Society next to a wonderful older lady. She told me that they were celebrating their anniversary that week. We figured out that our anniversaries were on the same day, just 55 years apart. We talked about how successful her marriage was and what she thought the secret was. She said, "We have always taken care of each other. " She died a few months later. Now her husband sits quietly alone, waiting for the day that he will be able to take care of her again.

My neighbors have been married for eons. I'm not sure how old they are but they are both around 90. One day, during a lesson on marriage, they said the secret to their marriage was doing the dishes together each night and taking care of one another. In November, the husband fell and broke his hip. He spent nearly two months in a rehabiliation center. His wife stayed with him, sleeping in a reclining chair every night. I asked her why she didn't come home. She said, "I've got to take care of him." He just smiled. Well, it has been another month and a half and he is still unable to get around well on his own. When I visit he tells me the things she does for him and talks about how good she is at "taking care of me."

Well, yesterday, the wife fell outside their home and broke her arm. This is the arm that helps him up from bed, to the walker, to the wheelchair, and to the recliner he sits in. When I visited today I asked, "How will you help him if you have a bum arm?" She smiled as he said, "Well, I guess I finally get to take care of her." Then they both giggled.

Spring! Bah-hum-bug

There are many reasons why I live in this frozen north, but not one of them is the Spring season. I hate Spring in Eastern Idaho. It is totally the pits. Spring seems to give us just a little taste to get our hopes up and then BAM! it throws a kink in your psyche and you become depressed. Today was one of those days. The pictures prove it. What I wouldn't give to live in Hawaii during the Spring months. (OK. I'd probably live there anytime.) I hope Summer comes soon. It's all I've got to look forward to - weather wise.

This is the view out my front window. When I lay down for my Sunday nap there wasn't any snow on the ground. When I woke up I was in a new land - like the North Pole.

The snow drifts at our front door were high enough that it could only open it a little ways. The drift in the driveway forced us to stay in and not return the Red Box movie that was due. This is how it is supposed to look in December, not the last three days of March.

I guess it is just one of those days that will make me stronger - physically. I've got to go shovel.

Worth the Hearing Loss

Being an Idol fan and a mom desiring to build good memories, I had the great fortune of getting tickets to the David Archuleta concert held in the Civic Auditorium in Idaho Falls. We were very lucky because the tickets sold out in about eight minutes. We also got a ticket for our Aunt Tracie. Adrienne and Kathrynn were very excited and McKenna was very upset that I would make her go. No one was too happy to stand in line at 4:30 for will call tickets. The concert started at 8:00. Time went by fairly fast. The 3 hours didn't seem longer than 2 and a half hours. j/k We ate Subway sandwiches and candy (from Tracie) and played little games (also provided by Tracie). We finally got to our seats about 7:45. It began at 8:00 with an opening act that probably caused severe hearing loss. It wasn't so good but it made time go by fast.

Finally at 9:05. David took the stage. Every teeny-bopper in the room began to scream (very high pitched screams, I might add) when he sang his first song. For the next hour and fifteen minutes he sang and we enjoyed being there. I loved watching Adri scream, just like the others, Katy sing every word to every song (and almost cry when he sang "Angel" in the encore), and McKenna bopping and dancing along to the music. We had such a great time. My ears didn't ring nearly as long as I thought they would but the memories will last even longer.

Robin's Needs

Ok, I saw this idea on Facebook and thought it was funny. Enter into the google search bar your name and the word "needs" and then see what pops up. So, I entered "Robin needs" and these are the first ten things that popped up. Some of them really applied in my life right now while others were just silly.

1. Robin needs ... help going downhill. (True, I've always wanted to but I'm afraid I'll crash and die.)
2. Robin needs ... about 40 calories a day. (Aha moment. That's why I keep gaining weight.)
3. Robin needs ... your help. (If you are interested in cleaning my carpet or doing the ironing just let me know.)
4. Robin needs ... a hot blog goof. (What the heck? How am I even supposed to know what that is?)
5. Robin needs ... consoling. (Those 2nd graders are killing me right now.)
6. Robin needs ... you. (I always need my family and friends.)
7. Robin needs ... to get a clue. (No duh!)
8. Robin needs ... to find the meaning of ? ( I don't know. That's just what it said.)
9. Robin needs ... some sleep. (Daylight Savings is the pits.)
10. Robin needs ... a tune up. (Probably has to do with the excess calories I'm taking in - gotta stick with the 40.)

Tee Hee. Give it a try.

"What the heck?"

Seriously, how could I possibly pass up a beauty like this. This is almost exactly what mine looks like. Ya baby!

"What the heck?" That's the first thing that came out of my kids' mouths when they saw the old record player I had been given at school. I have been looking for one for awhile, but not hard enough to find one. I haven't wanted to buy one so that made the search a little more difficult. But, on Thursday, after school, I just happened to walk into the office at the exact moment that another teacher was asking our principal what to do with an old, ugly, and dusty record player that had come with her room. He said she could find someone to take it or give it to DI. I was so excited. "Pick me! Pick me!" I hollered while waving my arm in the air (a technique I've picked up from 2nd graders). Since I was the only one interested, I got it - much to my husband's dismay, I think. We didn't even know if it worked but lucky for all of us it does. It has a great sound (for a record player) and can play at four different speeds. The kids have loved that.

The girls asked some interesting questions about it. "What does it do?" "Is it a giant CD player?" "Did everyone have one of these?" "Could you carry it around with you?" "Where does the sound come from?" "Why does it sound so scratchy?" I tried to explain how it worked as best as I could. I told them about the hot pink record player my sister and I had. I told them about the Disney books on record and the many Donny and Marie albums I listened to. I wish I had been more careful and kept them. I'm sure they would have loved the Osmonds. Instead, we only had four records of E.B. White reading Charlotte's Web and one Bing Crosby singing Teddy Bear Picnic. Neither one was very exciting. We turned to Grandma, the woman who keeps everything.

Grandma had lots of records and we brought about half the pile home. The kids have had a blast listening to old Beach Boys, Herb Alpert and the Tiajuana Brass, Eddy Arnold, and even John Wayne speak-singing ten very interesting songs, and many more. (Why weren't my parents into Bread, Chicago, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Mamas and the Papas, and Creedance Clearwater Revival? All they liked was country and not the cool country of today.) But the kids have listened anyway. They've tried songs at various speeds making the same song have four very distinctive sounds - Wizard of Oz Lollipop Guild fast, normal, just-been-to-the-dentist slurred-speech slow, and Las Vegas exotic dancer slow. Tee Hee we've had fun. If it quit working today, we will have gotten a lifetime of fun from it already.

Now if I could only find an 8 Track player. That would be awesome!

Irritating Things

Okay, so I'm not feeling well. Half of my class, at school, has been sick and I think that I have caught every bug they shared. Thanks. Who said sharing was good for you? Anyway, I'm sick and thus I am quite grumpy. It got me thinking about the things that bug me. Here are ten. Normally, I couldn't think of more than three but I'm pretty ornery. Ten will be a piece of cake.

1. I hate it when people call on the phone after 10:00 pm and before 7:00 am. Don't these people sleep? And, have they forgotten that other people do sleep? Calls between those hours are reserved for emergencies. Don't cause me that kind of panic.

2. I dislike it when people park their grocery carts in the middle of the isle and don't have the common courtesy of moving it out of the way for you. Come on. Do you park your car in the middle of the road? Pull over man.

3. I don't like litter-bugs. What do you think a garbage can is for? I have actually never seen anyone throw their McDonald's bags out of a car window but it must happen often because there is so much trash along the road. Why is it so hard to keep it in your car until you get home?

4. I hate it when kids lie to me. You can always tell. Even worse, I hate it when their parents teach them how or defend their behavior. UGGHH!

5. I hate it when the snow lasts too long. Snow after April is just too much. And the snow should stay away until November. There is just no place for snow during those months.

6. I really dislike it when people say mean things to each other. Come on people. The world is a tough enough place as it is. We don't need to be tearing each other down. As Thumper's mother says, "If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." Can you imagine what the world would be like if we each said one less negative thing each day?

7. I hate pop-ups on my computer. If I wanted information about those sights I would have searched for it myself. I have a pop-up thingy right now that won't go away. I've done everything to get rid of it. It is making me crazy.

8. I hate being sick. I don't like to sit around resting very often. I figure I'll have time for that when I'm older. Right now, while I have the energy, I've got to get things done. So, when I'm sick it puts a real damper in my style and a kink in my plans. And it makes me angry.

9. I hate that some people think school is a free day-care. Too often the parent says, when their child is sick at school, "Well, what will I do with them. I've got things to do today." Or they get mad when school is canceled. Hello! It's school and I'm not a babysitter. If I were babysitting the kids, I'd get paid a lot more than I am now; we'd have snack time; and we'd watch movies/tv everyday.

10. I hate being grumpy. I really dislike focusing on negative things, so when I'm feeling better I'm going to blog about the things I like.

The Best Gift

Here we find Collin - reading. He loves to read. This is on our trip to Utah last week.

Here is a picture of Trent and me - as Miis. Aren't we cute? Pretty good likenesses I think.

Some of the shrubbery on McKenna's walk home from school.

McKenna's favorite photo subjects are the pets. This is an interesting view of Cruiser.

For her birthday, McKenna received a digital camera. Who'd have ever thought that it would become her constant companion? She has taken it everywhere with her. The pictures above are just a small few of hers. Yesterday her good friend, Kodak, took a major hit and received a life threatening injury. For all practical purposes, it is dead. McKenna was so sad. Being the wise parents that we are (or thought we were) I'm sure you think that we purchased the $25 - 2 year replacement plan. Well, no. But, when we replaced that camera today, and replaced the excitement in Kenna's trigger finger, you can be sure that it came with that ever important bit of extra insurance. We have learned!!! That look of surprise and sincere smile was so worth the canned green beans and ramen that we will eat to pay for it.