Some stuff lately

Finals week in our high school is a big deal. It is hard. The kids get out at 12:25 each day to study. Seminary is cancelled. Mutual is cancelled. It feels like finals week at college. It's hard and it's good. I feel it better prepares kids for college. It's also fun to have everyone hunched over tables as I make soup. Blueberry banana buckwheat pancakes are so good. I have made them every single morning because I love the feel of warm blueberries and bananas in my mouth.

Anyway, back to finals. I always have thought that the more time kids are home, better. I love noise in the house. I also like quiet in the house when I can read my book. It's all good I guess.

Why am I caring how Maddie does? She's already applied to college. Will these grades even matter? hmmm. I conclude that they do matter, because you will always know what your high school GPA was when you graduated. Don't you remember what yours was or am I crazy? End in strength!

Ali especially works so hard. Way harder than Spence and Maddie ever had to. I'm really proud of her. She has worked and worked and worked and spent hours with a tutor and stayed up late. Those qualities will serve her for life!

We had a really cool experience last night. We have become friends with the sweetest Korean family over the last few months. A lot of Maddie's friends are Korean. She came home and said, "Mom, did you know that on Chinese New Year, (or Korean Thanksgiving), that my friends kneel down in front of their parents and grandparents, bow and wish them a good New Year and then the parents give them money?" Not fair!

Well, I asked our new friends about it and they told me all about this tradition. They wear the traditional clothes once a year which are really beautiful. They show respect to their elders by bowing. There is a certain way they do it, how long they hold it, etc. The kids become very serious and respectful. The elders sit in a row facing the children. After the children say their New Years Blessings, the parents get to impart their wishes for them and give them advice. Then comes the money. So I told these kids that if they come to my house, and show me this tradition, I would give them money too. So last night, the doorbell rings. These pictures are what followed. They brought an extra dress for Sydney and Jung Yee did her hair and taught her proper hand placement, etc.

We all got a good laugh when Kate came around the corner having put on this...

Ha ha. She knew she was being left out.

I had asked Maddie's high school friends if $5 each was good and they said no. Should be more than that. Most of the time, grandparents give $100 each. It's a big deal. I had forgotten to mention to Brett this fact and when it was time to get them money, as we scrambled to get it, Brett handed me $3. Ha ha. So I gave them $10 each. I think Brett was dying. Then Jung Yee said, "Now you would give Sydney more than $20 dollars." Oh! Syd's eyes lit up. I'm thinking waaaaait a minute.... but go get all I had left which happened to be "over $20." $24 to be exact. As I handed it to Sydney, she couldn't believe it. Better than Christmas.

Then Jung Yee and her children told us amazing stories of Korea, of WWII history, Japanese occupation, of traditions and food and firing squads. All amazing. Did you know that a lot of Chinese and Korean people can trace their ancestry back to BC? She told me that their lines go all. the. way. back. Their children are taught that they are "Parks, 63rd generation.." or whatever. Then they are expected to tell their kids to memorize that they are "Parks, 64th generation." Jung Yee knew all about her ancestors in much detail.

I was so grateful that we happened to be home on a Saturday night or I would have missed it!! Grateful for these experiences.

I also attended a Power of Moms 2 day training/workshop that pretty much will change my life. I'm so excited by what I learned and how I am going to put it into practice! I'll write more later. e

I might write something

Hi everyone. I love the first few weeks of January. Probably my absolute favorite time of year. Why does it make me so happy seeing a sparse home again after the decorations go away? In my mind, less is more. I feel such a rejuvenation and hope for the new year.

Ok. 2011 was a crazy year! Not for me personally, but for the world. Think about the dictators either killed or taken out of power or simply dying (N Korea.) All in one year. The protesters, the economy in every country on verge of collapse, Michael Jackson trial..that alone!, the earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, politics, wall street, anti wall street, windstorms, on and on and on. Crazy crazy year.

I feel a purpose headed into 2012. It involves being smart in the way I teach my kids, in the way I chose to live the gospel, in how I create and maintain a good marriage, in how well I prepare fiscally for possible emergencies, and in how I enjoy the moment! I think I've always been good at enjoying the moment and I'm glad. I love seeing new things and having new experiences. I hope that continues in 2012. Now I need a little more focus in doing the important things I don't seem to make time for because I'm enjoying the moment or moments way too much and for way too long.

So, some things that have been making me happy lately. THE MUPPET MOVIE. If you remember the Muppets on TV, it is such a kick. Same humor. Here's what I especially loved. The music. Surprise, surprise :)  Ok more specifically, one song is brilliant. It's called Man or Muppet. If you itunes it or spotify it, and if you are witty and cool, you will laugh. The two main characters, brothers, one human and one, well let's just say he doesn't know what he is yet.., sing this song. As I watched it, I thought, "Who wrote this? I'm dying to find out." The bridge especially is Ben Foldsish and I thought maybe he did. No...it's familiar somehow. I've got to find out!  I could hardly wait until I got home. Turns out that the main writer for Flight of the Conchords wrote it. DUH! Exactly. If you don't know who they are, just skip this whole paragraph. How did he get asked to write it? What is his process and how fun is it to write like that and get paid? How much did he get paid?

The other movie's music that fascinated and delighted me was the music in We Bought a Zoo. Not only do they use Jonsi for most of the sountrack, but I am always fascinated with the songs picked as fill ins. This  is the sountrack. I know! So great! I'm telling you, if I didn't love love love spending my time with all of my girls and focusing on the moment and all the stuff I talked about above, I would love that job!! (You know what also feels good? That I didn't put that link on there to promote any product or blog.)

Anyway, it fascinates me how music is written. Such talent to be a songwriter of great music. The songwriters fascinate me way more than the artists who sing music that is written by someone else.

We are still on break. So sweet! It's been in the 70s and 80s. I saw the Rose Parade in person! That was cool. It's going to kind of ruin me in seeing other parades. It was pretty darn cool. I want to do it every year now.

I still love my comforter and my bed. I wish I could just curl up in there and read for hours and then watch a movie and then sleep. I think on my b-day I am only going to ask for 4 hours in my bed during the daytime. Right now, I get out of it so dang early and I don't get to get back in until soooo late. Yes, that's what I'm going to do. Only 4 more months until I get to do that.

Lots of my friends are turning 50 this year! It seems like a gazillion people are turning 50. Never heard of so many people turning 50.

So 41 is my official age where my body gains weight unless I'm dieting. At 40, my body only gained weight if I ate bad stuff often. But no, this year at 41, my body now gains weight when I'm just eating normal stuff. If I don't want my body to gain weight, I have to eat dry chicken breasts and kale and I don't know, raw carrots and almonds. I don't really know. I haven't done that part yet because I am still in denial about what is happening to me. I'm just making a mental note for now. 41 is the year the metabolism changed. So far my eyes are still good to go without glasses, so that's always good.

Oh oh the Kindle Fire is so great! I didn't think I would ever want one and that I just love real books, but I was wrong. Brett got me one and I watched Downton Abbey on it while waiting in the car for Ali. I also read the whole 5 Love Languages Book while Brett was sleeping and the lights were off. It didn't even hurt my eyes!

Life is good. People are good. I want to be better in 2012. I want to be there for more people and be less selfish with my time. I want to work a little harder. I want to spend time on things that really matter. But for now, I want to go read my book. Good night. e

My favorite part of Christmas for sure...

A Profound True Quote That I Thoroughly Believe

The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side... The grass is greenest where it is watered.

-Robert Fulghum

A Fun Story. You'll Really Enjoy It.

This is Maddie's 1997 Nissan, Simba.

It was Og Belnap's car, then Spencer's car, and now Maddie's. When Spencer went on his mission, we contemplated the fate of Simba. At the time, there were 3 or 4 evidences of car-to-car or car-to-cement contact. Do we pay to fix it up? We can't sell it like this with dings and dents all over the place. Should Maddie get a nicer car to drive? After all, she IS a girl and girls should get nicer cars than boys.

After much thought, we decided to put some cash into it and fix it up so it is a-drivable and b-not super embarrassing. It needs to be a bit junky, but not overly so. It's a fine line with my car philosophy.

** I think new cars are a waste of my money. I have never bought new. I also like not having car payments. If I am driving an old suburban, let's say, maybe a white one just for discussion's sake, and I have no car payments on it and it is working fine, there is no way I am going to give that up. I don't want a newer car and a car payment. It's my little gift to myself. Now when that car starts costing a lot of money or begins to be embarrassing, I know it's time to upgrade to a newer used car-hopefully paid for with cash saved up.

**I also think teens should drive old cars. It has been my experience now with two driving teenagers that they WILL get in accidents. At least Blake teenagers will. Spencer had maybe 4 fender benders (mostly involving fences) and Maddie, my sweet responsible Maddie, has already had 3. Count them. 3! Teens don't deserve nice cars. They just don't yet. They haven't done anything to earn a nice car in my opinion. Let them drive a designated car that is good enough for milk and egg errands for mom.

Part of the reason for my philosophy is that I didn't grow up driving nice cars. I remember almost every car we owned being a volkswagen and at some point during its life, smelling very strongly of gas. That was always fun to show up places smelling like gas. But my point is, it builds character.

I am now past the driving a junky teenage car phase. I am 41 and I have 5 children. I don't want to drive Simba. Ever.

A few weekends ago, Brett was out of town. That means his car..gone at the airport. Maddie was in charge of an activity at school and needed to haul our lovesac as well as speakers there. So..suburban at the high school. It was time for Sydney to go to a birthday party. No problem. I will just take Simba this one time.

LET THE STORY BEGIN----

"Oh shoot!" I think as I back out of the driveway. You see, Simba at this time has a huge brake problem. You can hear Simba coming down the road a mile away in a circular-wheel-rotating kind of squeak, not just a when-you-brake kind of squeak. I have been meaning to get it to the shop but it's 20 mins. away and Brett was gone and company was here and Maddie was busy and yada yada yada. So when I start driving down my street, I verify to myself, "OK. This MUST be fixed!"

This particular house is clear up the mountain. I am driving up twists and turns, hugging a drop off, etc. "Wow, this house is waaay up here.....Oh here is the street!" Then Sydney quietly says from the back seat, "Mom, can you maybe drop me off a little bit away from the house?" OH MY. Do I ever remember feeling that way when my mom dropped me off in the green machine, our trusty forest green volkswagen hatchback. Always just wanted to walk and stretch my muscles a block or so before any 8th grade activity. My mom usually said "nope" and pulled right on up to the front door. Because I remember this so vividly, I laughed and say, "Sure Sydney. Let me just turn this final corner."

Voila. There is the house on the right. The last. house. on. a. steep. downward. hill. Did I mention that Simba is a stick shift? With a loose clutch? Now I am facing down and I can see the house. I can also see every girl at the party and their moms congregated out front looking up at what is making that loud screeching sound...aka...us. I'm sure they are wondering why I am parking a full house away, but I just smile, grab Syd's hand, walk the distance and introduce myself to the group. Very nice women. I give Syd a hug and turn to go. Now at this time, I re-realize that Simba is facing down and I will have to drive past all of them anyway in order to turn around. I live in a very nice town. I'm pretty sure that all of these women's cars were mercedes. That's just another little funny bit. ha ha all mercedes. Oh my so funny.  So here we go. Squeak squeak squeak past all of them slowly maneuvering around the mercedes (how do I make that plural?) and into the driveway directly across the street. Everyone is watching me now and the conversation has stopped.

This driveway I happen to pull into is a virtual nose dive of a driveway. Are you kidding me?! I thought. I slam on the brakes, because I know that one more inch and my car (Excuse me. Maddie's car!) will never make it back out. So here I am, facing sharply downward, in a stick, with a loose clutch, needing to back up. I put on the parking brake and have to rev it loudly before attempting to reverse. Yep. It jerks and dies. Second time, I have to rev it even louder and explode backwards, then slam to a halt so as not to hit a mercedes.

By this time, every single person is completely silent and looking at me with deep concern. Everyone, that is, except Sydney. I think she is really busy studying signs of lawn dehydration or wondering if the thriving potted flowers are in acidic or normal soil.  She might have been looking up at the moon and wondering if there really are signs of ancient water deposits thus pointing to other life in the universe.

I know that to roll down the window and say, "Oh hi, excuse me, but this is my daughter's 1997 car. I of course have muuuch nicer cars at home. You can get back to your conversation. Thank you. Nice to meet you all," would just make it worse, so I just smile a big ol' smile and wave goodbye as I squeeeeaaak loudly back up the hill.

Finally, I'll leave you with what the side of her car looks like (after accident no. 3). This was, of course, the side facing all of the mothers and their precious mercedes. (no offense Becky, I still love you, even though you have one too.)

I don't make this up people!

Life Is Long And So Short

Annual Girls' Trip 2011: Park City Edition

~Friendship is a single soul living in two bodies.

~A good friend knows all your best stories.

A best friend has lived them all with you.

~Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.

A really really great photo of really incredible women

and my husband, my best friend of all, was home taking care of sick girls, doing laundry, cleaning the garage, and going on walks with this little one.

--All we have in life, really, are people and moments.  The portrait captures both simultaneously, and tells a story about the characters in our lives.  It shows a person in a place and a time in which they will never be again; it stops the clock and says, "Look at this person; she matters.  This moment matters."  And whether that portrait is serious or the brief result of a cheesecake grin, we're a little closer to seeing the soul.--

It's a great beginning to a new week. Although Mondays mean a very messy weekend recoup day for me, I love the promise of a new week. I love getting the kids out the door and then just looking at my little Kate and deciding what to do.

A lot of people have Prius's here. Disneyland on Wednesday. Halloween at Disneyland is fun. Just ask Kate. Yikes. She's an addict now. I'm going to get a corn dog first thing by Tomorrowland. Going to slap a little paint on my walls today in prep for Utah's UEA visitors this week. Heard from my boy this morning. I am loving Spotify. I just made a playlist of tons of kid songs for Kate for FREE. And I don't have to buy them. I can listen to them until I'm sick of them, then get new ones. I like free.

Have to hire a tutor for a child this week. Tutors equal survival and sanity. Had a GREAT scripture class this week on the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. Yes they are a study of the wars of those people, but they are also a type and symbolic of Christ leading us. I love love love that scripture class. I think about it all week long.

I'm grateful to be right here right where I am. Enjoying my senior girl Miss Maddie. I can't believe it's her senior year. I can't believe she'll also be gone to BYU next year. 2 kids out the door!! Super big hole when Miss Maddie goes that's for sure.

Recent conversation between Ali and Kate when Ali was trying to get Kate to bed. These are daily conversations that keep us all laughing...

Kate: Ali, heres the deal. I'm really scared and I need you to hold me
Ali: ok kate lay down
Kate: Ali, Pirates are so nice. I  promise they are NOT scary. and i need to go to disneyland RIGHT NOW to see the pirates.
Ali: ok kate now go to bed right now
Kate: OKAYY....mr. bossy.
Ali: I am NOT a mr. bossy.
Kate: ok. but you're a witch
Ali: what? no i'm a princess
Kate: no i'm a princess. I'm cinderella.
Ali: are you going to be cinderella for Halloween?
Kate: no i'm going to be a pirate. but halloween has SO many spiders. but they're really nice.