Ed is BACK

Three years ago, Kyle wanted a red-ear slider. A slider is a turtle. I did not want a turtle, so I told Kyle that if he did some research, we would talk again. So for three months he studied and researched and learned all there was to learn about red-ear sliders. Finally, I gave in and we went to the pet store to buy all the equipment and get the little turtle. Kyle named him Ed. On the way home with the turtle safely in his hands, Kyle mentions that turtles live for 40 years in captivity. I assured him that when he got home from his mission the turtle would be going to college with him and he better find a wife that loves turtles.

Over the next two years, Ed just got bigger and bigger. He ate everthing, including all his tank mates. He was very aggressive and would happily eat your finger. I really didn't love him. Turtles are really just pond pigs. They are messy and not cuddley. Why anyone would want a turtle for a pet, I don't know. Anyway, last August, Kyle got the great idea to put Ed in our little pond in the front yard. He stayed there for four days with no problems. Then, on the fifth day, I saw him in the morning but we never saw him again. Oh too bad, Ed ran away from home. I never wanted anything bad to happen to Ed because he was very entertaining, devouring fish and grasshoppers and slurping up worms. Kyle was just trying to give him a change of scenery.

Yesterday, Emily was watching the pond and she said she saw a big frog. We put tadpoles in there last summer so that didn't surprise me. Then she started screaming that she saw ED!! I didn't believe her. Then Christopher went outside with her and said he saw that darn turtle too.

I watched today and guess what??? Ed is BACK. Actually, he never left. He just lived in the pond and hid in the rose bushes and hibernated nicely over the winter. They wake up mid March to mid April. We will just leave him in the pond and see what happens. I am glad to know that he is still alive and well!!

Car Shopping

When I was a teenage driver, my dad gave me the "privilege" of driving a '72 International Travellall. It was the biggest vehicle on the road besides a semi-truck. Ours was a faded green color. It scared me to drive it because I always felt like there could be people living in the far back. It was also unpredictable. If my dad was around, it ran flawlessly. If my sister or I were driving it, we were likely to be stranded somewhere. In fact, my 16 year old sister was on her way home from a volleyball game and the car died outside a bar one night. The car was way too heavy for her to move. It was also the in the days before cell phones. She had to go into the bar and ask someone to help her get the car out of the road. The men were very nice, but talk about unsafe!!! Then she went back in the bar to call my dad to come and get her.
So Christopher needed a car. We wanted him to have some say in what he drove. At first, he said anything was fine because that is the kind of kid he is. Then when we pushed him a bit, he did have some definite ideas. He wanted white. All of our cars are white. There is something about cleanliness and heat absorbsion. He wanted four doors. I thought that was kind of funny. But he wants Zach and his date to be comfortable in the back seat. I told him as long as HE was comfortable who cares about the back seat people. Christopher does, because that is just the kind of kid he is. He wanted an automatic, with a/c, and cruise control. We gave him a budget. And we looked and we looked. We looked at 10 cars. He kept saying he wasn't "feeling it". Finally, we went up to look at a car on Bogus Basin road. These nice people live on the hill right behind Simplot's hill. Mr. and Mrs G. were in their 60's and had had the car for 10 years. He gave us a printout of everything he had purchased for the car, from every gallon of gas with gas mileage to the $1.59 he spent on new fuses in 1999. The car was perfect. Every latch works, every button and lever works. Christopher got a huge smile on his face and declared that he was "feeling it". I even teased him that it was a bit grannyish. Mrs. G drove the car around the block one last time and came back with tears in her eyes. As we were leaving, Mr. G brought out 4 new snow tires in the original bags from Les Schwab. So this is it. A '95 well loved, well cared for Ford Taurus LX. It was even well below budget.

Christopher

I remember hearing my mom say, "How did this happen? How did I become the mom of a 17 year old?" I thought it was a weird thing to say. But here I am saying, "How did this happen?" I look at my 6'2" son and I wonder what happened to that sweet little brown eyed boy. I see that little boy inside the amazing teenager. I see a tender heart and a desire to do good. I see honesty and kindness. I see him still sitting on his dad's lap and walking with his arms around me at the store. I see a hard worker with integrity and determination. I see a quiet boy and a deep thinker. I am proud of him and I am so grateful he is mine.

He is fishing right now. It was the way he wanted to spend his birthday. So Michael, Kyle, Tom, Mitch and Christopher are in Riggins right now steelhead fishing. Michael outfitted Christopher with a new fly rod and I really hope he catches something. I told them they have to be back before midnight so that I can give him a birthday hug and kiss. It is my right as the mom. I am also making him an ice cream cake. I have never tried such a thing. My friend Zelphie gave me some pointers so I hope it is not a disaster.

10 things I love about Christopher
1. His chocolate brown eyes
2. His tender heart
3. His intelligence
4. His ability to make peace
5. His kindness
6. His desire to be a honorable priesthood holder
7. His sense of humor
8. His determination
9. His love of a good steak
10. I love that he is mine forever

My Kyle

Today was track practice. A major storm rolled through the valley. Black skies. Hail. Blinding rain. They practiced for a while and then sent everyone home. Kyle did not have his cell phone because the battery was not charged. Christopher was at the school having tennis practice. They were in the gym because of the terrible weather. Kyle had options. Stay at the school under the awning, borrow someones phone to call me, or find Christopher. My boy came up with running in the storm 1 1/2 miles to our friends house. When I picked him up 30 minutes later, he was still soaked to the bone. Three very nice but unfamiliar people offered to give him a ride. People that are still talking about the poor abused boy running alone in a storm because his mom wouldn't pick him up or at the very least make sure he had a coat. I am waiting for the family services people to show up. He would not accept a ride(good thing). When walking to our car, he realized that somewhere on the mile and half dash, he had lost his shoes. He had his track shoes but not his school shoes. They had fallen out of his unzipped backpack. Who has time to secure a backpack when you are running in the rain!! So we went on a shoe hunt. We dodged traffic, and searched in the pouring rain for brown RocketDogs. Finally, we found one and then the other about 100 yards away. Lonely shoes waiting patiently to be retrieved. All this time, my Kyle has a smile on his face. What a boy!!

FIVE HEARTS

Yesterday, Shelby was having a difficult morning.

I was busy getting breakfast ready and getting everyone where they needed to be.

She was crying because nothing was going right for her.

Clothes not right

Breakfast not right

Hair not right

Backpack not right

Tired Tired Tired

Michael came in and pulled her to him and snuggled her on the couch. He whispered calmly to her and just held her for a while.

Emily watched all of this and came to me and said "Dad has five hearts."

What? I wasn't sure what she was talking about.

Then she explained,

"He has one whole heart for each of us."

What a sweet way to explain a father's love

Week 5 of No-Screen Sunday's

Well, I thought I would just do an update on the No-Screen Sunday's. If you ask my kids, the girls will say it is great, the boys might complain a bit. However, I have made some interesting observations. First, we play a lot of games which means a lot of laughing. Homework gets done early. We went on a country drive yesterday. Kyle tied some fishing flies, a hobby he has not "had time to do". Suddenly, there is time. We had a royal wrestling match with Kyle, Shelby, and Emily against Michael. Michael still is the king. A sweet 16 year old took a 4 1/2 hour much needed nap. The sweet 16 year old even admits that if he could have played video games he would not have slept. I think it is a great success and I look forward to Sunday's.

Medieval Feast

the dress
the hair

The 7th graders study the middle ages and at the end they put on a huge Medieval Feast. It is no small event. The girls get big flowy dresses and the boys dress up as Knights or townsfolk. When Christopher's class did it, I had no idea what a big deal it was. He wanted to be blacksmith, so his costume was easy. But when I went to help out with the party, some girls had rented huge dresses and the costumes were crazy. This year of course Shelby wanted to be a lady. I found the perfect dress for her but it had no sleeves so I made her a long sleeve shirt out of velvet to go underneath it. In the pictures it looks like a different color green, but in real life it is exactly the same color. She loved it and had a great time. Today she is off on a ski trip at Bogus Basin. Hey, doesn't anyone have to go to school?