Day of Firsts

Well there were a few "firsts" today, this last day of June. This was my first swim since March--I decided that it would be a good idea to make my first swim a mile in length just to make sure that i could actually do it. First 20+ mile bike ride since last August (or was it September?). But most importantly, this was Katelyn's first day of driver's ed. I wanted to document the day with a picture but Katelyn told me that was just plain ridiculous. Since she is already a good 4+ inches taller than me, I'm sure that we won't have any incidences due to being vertically challenged. Still, riding in a car driven by a beginning driver causes me a great deal of anxiety. I must get over this.

Reality Check

I can neither confirm nor deny that there are times when I am vertically challenged. Actually, I spend most of the time going about my day blissfully thinking that I am of normal height. However, there are occassions, when on further analysis, I realize that I probably don't meet minimum height requirements.

Such is the case with driving a certain pick-up truck in our possession. Apparently not being able to see over the hood of the truck can cause one to seriously misjudge where the driveway ends and the landscaping begins; thus causing one to run over large landscaping rocks.

OOPS!

(This picture was taken from the street view. The driveway is probably 2 feet to the right of the last group of pink flowers. No one or thing was harmed during this little situation.)

Black Butte Ranch

Carson thought yesterday's post was totally lame and that I should have blogged about our recent vacation. I promised him that I would blog about it today. So here it goes.

Truth be told, I always approach whole family gatherings with a little bit of anxiety. I believe that every family has a certain amount of dysfunction and ours certainly is no exception. The only problem is that at times our dysfunction tends to ruin the gathering. However, I am happy to report that this time we were a happy family. I don't think there was even a cross word spoken the entire week. And more importantly, there were some great memories created. I want to share just a few highlights.

First, a picture of some of the group that was there

So that is 14 of the 24 that were there. As you can see, lots of little kids and I think there are even a couple of little kids missing.

Next, before we went down we asked Katelyn and Carson what they most wanted to do. Katelyn said she wanted to go on a horse back ride. Usually I'm not a fan of trail rides because the horses are like robots and there is always dust. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Katelyn and I were the only ones in the trail ride so the dust was at a minimum and we got to trot on the horses--making it a little more adventuresome, although my sit bones had forgotten what it was like to trot on a horse.

One night we had a visit from Rocky the Racoon. And one day I got to go golfing with my brothers, dad, hubby, and brother-in-law.

There was a lot of swimming, Carson did a 2 day golf school (boy were his hands blistered by the end), and lots and lots of food!

Two of my brothers took the older kids rock climbing one morning. Katelyn was the champion and climbed all the way to the top. Carson and Caleb got up most of the way, but need to grow a few more inches so they can reach all of the holds. And they all came home exhausted

And a few memories without pictures...Michael and his adventure to Aspen Lake; Skyler got run over by a deer; Travis, Sasquatch and the screen door; games and visiting; the girls' day at the spa; the hike to the top of Black Butte and my amazing sister-in-law for carrying her 2 year old the whole way.

So mom and dad, thank you so much for the trip to Black Butte Ranch. It was amazing.

Are We Doing This All Wrong?

Parenting has to be the hardest job/calling I have ever taken on. It challenges me to be creative, flexible, caring, protective, loving, authoritative without being authoritarian, kind, humble, and a million other characteristics. I love my kids and I love being their mom. But sometimes I worry that I am doing it all wrong. That perhaps in my attempt to protect them and guide them, I am squashing their independence and natural curiosity. I usually don't worry about how the hubby and I are doing as parents. However, there have been 3 separate instances lately that make me wonder if we are being to guarded and protective of Katelyn. I worry that we aren't letting her grow-up. Instance #1: A couple of weeks ago David and I rented He's just not that into you. Katelyn said that one of her friends from church had watched it and thought it was very funny. Well, as David and I were watching it (previewing it to make sure it was appropriate for our kids) all I could think was "I can't believe M's mom let her watch this." The next day I was headed off to work and I asked the kids not to watch the movie because I didn't feel it was appropriate for them. Katelyn brought up the fact that her friend had seen it. I said that I was surprised that M's mom had let her watch it and then I explained why I did not feel it was appropriate to watch. I left the house wondering if I had done the right thing. Had I totally interfered with Katelyn's agency and cut off the chance for her to make the right choice? Am I stifling her growth and developing independence? Instance #2: This past week we were on vacation with my whole family (parents, siblings, siblings spouses, and lots of kids). Katelyn was the oldest kid there. The next oldest was Carson. My brother said, "It just blows my mind that Katelyn is going to be 16 in October." I asked why he said that. He replied, "Because she doesn't act like any 16 year old girl that I know". This converstation took place as we watched Katelyn happily coloring with all of her younger cousins. So again I was left to question if we were giving her the needed space to grow and express her independence. To me she seems just right--worried about her hair, worried about her outfits, interested in boys. The thing that I love most about her though is that none of these things totally consume her life and maybe that is what my brother meant. Instance #3: When we returned home Katelyn had a link to a friend's blog. The friend had sent her the link because the friend was using the blog as a way to write short stories. Somehow David wound up on the blog first and read the story. He asked Katelyn not to read the story until I had a chance to read it. Katelyn complied and I read the story. I must admit that I was a little surprised by what the girl (another friend from church) wrote. While most of it was pretty benign, there was a scene where the man forced himself on his new wife. The description wasn't anything graphic, but you definitely knew what was going on. It was also a little disturbing that the friend had decided to make the antagonist's name, Mr. Graham. I told Katelyn that she could read the story if she wanted to. I also told her about the part where Mr. Graham takes advantage of his new wife. After she finished on the computer I asked her if she read the story. She said yes. I asked what she thought and she said that she thought it was a little weird. She also was surprised that her friend would write some of the things that she had written. But again, I was wondering if we were protecting Katelyn too much. So how do you know if you are doing the parenting thing right? Am I crazy to worry about such things? I just don't want Katelyn to feel like we are smothering her and not giving her the chance to stand on her own. It's not the letting them grow up that it is hard, it's knowing how to let them grow-up.

Exhausted, Relieved, and Satisfied

Exhausted because today was 8th Grade Celebration Day. That means a day full of activities--morning with field day events, afternoon with more outside activities and some indoor activities. No real break, just go, go, go. Relieved because today was 8th Grade Celebration Day. Since I was in charge of planning, coordinating, and running the event, I am happy that it is all done. I only had one small anxiety attack yesterday. Pretty sure I would have had another one this morning when I discovered I forgot to buy toilet paper for the mummy wrapping station, but I had gone for a run this morning and that burned some nervous energy. Relieved that I discovered the missing t.p. early enough that I could run to the store and get some. Relieved that I had awesome parents who volunteered to help and worked their tails off. Satisfied in the job I did for Celebration Day. The 8th graders seemed to have a good time. I had wonderful parent volunteers. The weather was perfect (Heavenly Father does hear and answer prayers even about the weather--the weather guess for today was supposed to be a.m. showers, which would have pretty much wiped out field day events). Satisfied that I have good notes so next year's 8th Grade Celebration will be even better.

Perks

There is a lot more to being a school nurse than putting on band-aids and doing lice checks. I spend much of my time counseling with students regarding healthy habits. I case manage students with health concerns. There is always mountains of paperwork to be done. It is a very autonomous job and, despite what some may think, can be quite challenging. The challenge comes from being the only medical professional in the building and you are on your own to use your judgment and assessment skills to make sound decisions. But there are perks. On occasion you are asked to do things that are pretty unrelated to nursing. Sometimes, you are asked to sub for the health/fitness teacher and you get to spend the afternoon teaching 4 square to 1st graders. And then other times, you get to accompany the 4th graders on their Outdoor Adventure fieldtrip and spend most of the time just hiking and participating in the different learning stations. Awesome. Soon summer will be here and it will give me time to re-charge my "school nurse" battery and then I'll be ready again for next fall and all that it brings--challenges and perks, alike.

Love Spring, Hate Allergies

We've have finally had some really warm spring weather! And I love it. Unfortunately with spring and the warm weather comes...

Me feeling like my head is going to explode, nose raw from wiping, lungs that get irritated and eyes that won't quit watering. I went for a bike ride this morning and by time I got back my eyes were beyond red and itchy. Even after I showered and took my allergy medicine I looked like I had been having a real good cry. It's always great to show up to an 8 a.m. meeting looking like you are hung-over.

Any BYU fans?

Anyone recognize this former BYU quarterback?Did you guess Ty Detmer? He was the guest at the golf tournament I golfed in a couple of weeks ago. He didn't remember meeting me my freshman year at BYU--I guess he was trying to block out all reminders of dating my former roommate. He's still the same low-key guy that I remember. Must be the Texas in him.