Thanksgiving with the Aliens

We hit the road for Thanksgiving this year. We traveled to the great state of New Mexico and stayed in Roswell for a few days visiting Grandma and Grandpa and Grandpa’s mom, Grandma-Grandma. When people hear the name Roswell, the first thing that comes to mind is certainly not dairy farms or south-western art or even Thanksgiving destinations, although there is lots of that there. Admit it, Roswell is known for UFOs and aliens.

UFO Museum

What happened on that July day in 1947? Apparently a UFO crashed into a ranch close to Roswell. There was a cover-up and so any information that has come out since then has been questioned. Is this information legit or is it what they were told to tell? The questions and conspiracy have led to quite a big, fun mystery.

There is a UFO Museum and Research Center right on Main Street, located in an old movie theater, until money is raised for a new state-of-the-art building. I told my mom that it’s very Americana--in a kitschy sort of way. Mom also mentioned that since a lot of the farmers are getting old, they don’t care anymore about getting in trouble for talking so maybe new information that was once hush-hush will start to come out. The museum shows an 80’s-made movie about what ‘really’ happened. It’s narrated by a guy who sounds like he’s introducing the "Twilight Zone" --you know the type, talking serious about ridiculous things.

Model of the crash

There’s a section on the history of what happened, signed statements framed on the wall, copies of the newspapers, models of what the crash must have looked like, and mock-up aliens lingering around. There’s a section on crop circles, rocks and shells that look like alien faces, and ‘proof’ that the Aztecs were astronauts. There are statements about other UFO sightings, including one in Arizona three days before the Roswell crash. There’s even a section on comics that refer to Roswell. Of course our favorite area of the museum was the gift shop.

Newspaper Headline

Hhmm, think it's real?

Roswell has certainly embraced the notoriety. The town-folk think it’s fun. It brings in some tourist money along with the weird alien groupies. The street lights all have alien faces and in the spirit of the season are currently sporting Santa hats. The Wal-Mart has a souvenir section and UFOs painted on the outside of the building. There are aliens waving from shop windows and UFO’s stuck onto the tops of buildings.

Streetlight in front of a piano shop

When we were driving into New Mexico, we happened to see a UFO hovering in the sky right in front of us and yes, I took a picture. Maybe I’ll frame it and send it into the museum. It might even get its own display.

The Kids Keep Getting Older but I Don't

It's time.
I have a child that is almost 20.
That's all your fingers and all your toes put together.
We won't talk about how many fingers and toes I need for my age.

And while my children continue to grow up and try new things and move on with their lives, I'm still here. I 'm not complaining, not at all. This is where I want to be and doing what I've always wanted to be doing. It just seems that my accomplishments and my identity are in relationship to theirs. To explain myself, I tell what my kids are doing and what they're busy with. Erin's almost a junior, she's got a phonetics class and is swimming--she's got a great butterfly stroke. Cait's just finished her college apps and she's still working at the bookstore. Stef's going to New Moon tonight. She got Embry's autograph. Jace is getting a root canal on Monday and wants to take piano again. Benj is playing basketball now and he's read 3 big chapter books in the last few weeks.

Oh, did you want to know what I've been doing? I'm still being a mom, chaperone for activities, still doing lots of laundry, pack meeting tonight. Hhmmm--that's still in relationship to the kids, isn't it? OK, how about--I teach preschool, read, quilt. Isn't that what I've been doing for the last ?? years?

I had a physical a few days ago--I've been trying to do that annually so I can stay up with my health. I complained of memory loss. I mix up my words and forget where I put things. Sure, typical stuff for a busy mom who's always on the go. He asked how much sleep I get. I asked him how much I need. He said 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours. I said 5 or 6. He said that we can adjust to less sleep, but we suffer--mainly our memory (and we also get the mid-section pooch which, I will admit, is apparent on me). Shoot. I was hoping there would be a magic pill of some kind for my memory. Ginkoba? or fish oil? or what's that red fruit? I can't remember. The kind with the little juicy seeds. We planted one in our yard last spring. . . Pomegranite! He said fish oil will help, but I need more sleep, I need more exercise and I need a NEW activity. He asked if I did puzzles. Only the crossword and sudoku almost every day for the last 15 years. He said I need a NEW activity. He asked if I played a musical instrument. Piano, the same songs and hymns I've played for the last 25 years. He said I need a NEW activity! So, I'm looking for something new to do--throwing ideas around in my head. Maybe I'll get back to my book I'm writing (Isn't everyone writing a book?) or buy a Harley or learn to . . . I don't know. Something is out there waiting for me. I've got to get out of my rut!
So, that's me. Identified by my kids, but I'm also someone in search of a new activity just for me. Any ideas? And, I'm trying to get to bed earlier. Like that's going to happen.

Here are some pictures of the birthday girl--She's doing lots of new things and has been learning and growing for 20 years now!

5 generations--all oldest daughters

Erin on her blessing day, me, her Grandma Miller,

Great-Grandma Doxey, Great-Great Grandma Winegar

(she's in a short white dress 'cause she had a blow-out in her long, pretty one)

3 years old--her first fish

3 years old, cuddled up with Uncle Steve who was living with us at the time.

7 years old with Caitlin

Going to prom! 2008

Halloween 2009 up at BYU. (yes, I copied this from fb)

Cute girl!! Happy Birthday Erin!

What we Remember from Conference

I wasn't going to post this story (don't want to embarrass the boys any further), but I think it's just too funny to pass up.

We were playing Conference Jeopardy for Family Night right after conference. The game was emailed to us from a friend and even though there were a lot of questions, you could use your notes and the scriptures to answer them.

It was boys (Chris, Jace, and Benj) against girls (Katie, Caitlin, Stef) with me moderating. The question to the boys was "What was the name of the item that primary kids put into a jar to count their service in celebration of President Monson's birthday?" The answer was "warm fuzzies" and everyone thought it was very easy but Benj and Jace had never heard of warm fuzzies before. It was Benj's turn to answer and since he didn't remember that talk, Jace whispered the answer into his ear. Benj looked a little uncertain but repeated exactly what Jace had whispered, "worm feces." Yes, Jace had thought (and wondered why) primary kids were sending President Monson worm feces for his birthday.

Ghosts of Halloween Past

I've been going through pictures all week, trying to find all our Halloween pictures. Not only for this post, but also just to see them again. I've enjoyed the process and need to spend more time on it. I always thought that I've been pretty organized with pictures, but the last few years it has gotten away from me. We have some pictures still in old photo albums (3 albums), and they are starting to yellow a little. We have 13 albums (3"white binders) with pictures on acid free paper, and the pages in page protectors, and I still don't think they're "done" yet because as I continue to catch up, they'll be adjusted as to what album they end up in. (I want to add in here I am not a scrapbooker, I don't have the time. It's an accomplishment just to get them in a binder!--no stickers or foo-foo!) I also have about 5 years of pictures that are in developers envelopes in shoeboxes and not in albums or on the computer!

Last summer, I went through all of our pics that were on the computer with Erin (our computer specialist) and she helped me put them all on CD's in chronological order and get them off of the computer. This freed up space on the computer and protected the pictures in case the computer crashes. The down side of that is that those pictures aren't in books yet and so I never get to see them.

So, as I went through pictures this week, I had to look in shoeboxes, in albums, old and new, on CD's and in My Pictures. And, I realized that I'm missing a couple of years of pictures. So far, I haven't been able to find 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. They might be gone forever--I don't really know. Maybe they'll turn up somewhere~

Anyway, back to the gist of this post--Here are some of our old Halloween pictures! They're a little bit out of order, but fun (at least for me) to see. Some of our costumes were clever and some kind of dumb but it's all good memories.

This is Jace as a washing machine. The Tide box was his goodie bag and Benj is a Power Ranger. The washing machine was Jace's idea--we can make just about anything out of a cardboard box and duct tape! The dials on the control board were juice lids and peanut butter jar lids. This was 2006.

This is Erin and Caitlin in 1991. Cait was about a month old. My sister gave us that pumpkin head outfit and every baby wore it. I LOVE Erin's costume. We put the ears on some elastic and the nose was fitted around a pill bottle lid. It was hard to sew the nipples on the front--that's some tough rubber!

I made a couple of clown costumes for some party and we used these for Halloween many times. This is Erin and Cait in 1993.

This is Erin and Caitlin in 1994. Chris looks really cute, too. I made the elephant head from a pattern and it had about 40 pieces. It was the hardest pattern I've ever made and after I was done I realized I had put the trunk on upside down. I never did do the body. Erin's witch costume was way cute. I loved making layers on the skirt with lots of black lace, all tiered. I think she's trying to be a mean witch.

This is 1996. Erin's a tooth fairy, but you can't see that. Cait's inherited the witch costume, Stef's grown into the elephant and Jace is wearing the pumpkin head.

This is 1997. Erin loved her pioneer girl dress (from our trek that year) and Cait's back in the clown costume (the lure of the wig!). Stef still fits the elephant head and Jace is a trekkie. I made two of those trekkie shirts for Erin and Cait when they were little (can't find those pictures) and we got lots of mileage out of them.

This is 1999. Great posing going on here. Erin's a maid (I think she likes to dress up like real people), Queen Amidala is Cait's friend Kirsten D., Caitlin's a cute and thoughtful indian princess, Stef is the witch (new broom added) and Jace is in the bigger trekkie shirt(I just noticed a hole in his knee).

This is from 2000. It's always a good idea to have a few grass skirts in the costume box! They come in handy! Jace is Davy Crockett. I made that costume up from a shirt pattern and it should have been made out of a knit. We couldn't really get it over his head so we cut a slit in the front. He got his coonskin hat at the Alamo.

This is 2003. Erin's a hippie girl, Caitlin is a homemade Cruella. We bought a white wig and spray painted half of it black. Stef is Dracula. Jace is a cell phone we made with a coardboard box with a mailing tube in the back. Benj is in a borrowed costume--he really wanted to be a firefighter.

A few years ago Caitlin went as an ice cream soda--that was a cool costume. We bought a round laundry basket and cut out the bottom. We put on some straps so it could hang from her shoulders. I hot glued blue vinyl around the top of the basket and it hung down to her knees and made the cup. We filled the top with white blown-up balloons for bubbles and put in a white mailing tube, wrapped with a red ribbon for a straw.

Another favorite was with the same laundry basket. We took the vinyl off and hung the basket on Jace's shoulders. We attached a rectangle of foam board behind his head with a square taped on in (backboard) and painted his face orange with lines like a basketball. It was awesome!

Fun Halloween memories!

Three Dresses

First: The story of Caitlin's dress.

Homecoming 2009. She was asked to the dance by a good friend. She answered "yes" with a cute princess puzzle and then began the search for a modest, not too formal dress. We searched all of the "modest" dress sites online. They were expensive and shipping time on the one we liked the most was 9-10 weeks! We only had about 3 weeks--not going to work. I offered to make one. Caitlin said, "Thanks, but no. You're too busy." She found one on PromDress.com. (She's 18 now, she can order online and even buy items from infomercials.) She pressed the order button and it was done. She read the small print, "no returns." It arrived in the mail within 4 days. She tried it on and it fit. Now the dilemma--how to alter it to make it modest. I, personally, would rather make new than alter. People ask me to alter items for them and I send them to Ms. Twe up at Dryclean USA. She's fantastic and cheap. Anyway, this dress not only needed a new hem (had to get rid of the bubble--unflattering), but also a new bodice--we couldn't just cover it. After Cait had tried it on a few times while I figured, the zipper got stuck. So, even though she loved the fabric and we had already unpicked the bubble, we had to start over. We got to JoAnn's 20 minutes before they closed, found a pattern, grabbed fabric and began the homecoming dress project. She loved it, I loved it, she looked great in it, and it was made in 2 days. Check. (And I promised I wouldn't tell the story about how she thought he was going to pick her up at 5:40 but it was really 4:40. I promised.) Don't they look great?!

Stef's story: She's not 16 yet, not old enough to date, and so went to Homecoming with a bunch of her BFF's. We went to Ross and she actually found 2 dresses that would work. They were long enough and all I had to do was put wider sleeve/strappy things on the top. I'd done it before with Erin's prom dress a few years ago so I wasn't worried about doing it again. So she bought the one that had the most sparkles and I bought a 1/4 yard of matching fabric. I waited until the night before. At 10 pm. Mistake. The fabric was so fray-ee. It was really hard to work with. It took me until 1:30 am to finish, but it was finished. I noticed some fraying around the edges peeking out but it worked. She looked gorgeous in navy and her friend curled her hair really cute. Check.

My story. On the same night as the homecoming dance the Jeans and Jewels auction for my quilt was held. I needed a dress, too. I remembered the dresses at Ross and headed up there. I found a black one that needed NO alterations. It was kind of dressy because it was black and drapey and it was also knee length. Even though this auction was a "gala affair," it was also casual. So, a short dress was OK. Many people wore fancy cowboy-type outfits. I haven't had a pair of cowboy boots since my custom made ostrich skin ones right after high school and those were a tad too small so I never wore them much. So, black simple dress, some fake sparkley jewels to wear and I'm done. Check.

The quilt always looks better on display with all the lights on it. Aahh. It made $5,300 for NAM which made me happy to be able to do something to help support that organization. We might not have enough money to buy anything at the auction, but we can make stuff to sell--we got skills.

Here's a picture of the quilt at home, before the auction, draped over the banister. You know, we bought this house for the stairs.

Our fun week was over. Homecoming done. Dresses done. Auction done. Quilt done. Check. Check. Check.

Sure Sign of a Good Time

Last Saturday I planted our pansies and Jace mowed the yard and Chris trimmed and blew all the leaves and stuff. Benj helped with planting and sawing down a dead branch (for a few minutes). We were out enjoying the great weather together.

After we were done, we watched a little football and relaxed. Then the boys ran outside to play whiffle ball. When I poked my head out to check on them a few minutes later, they invited me to play with them. I couldn't think of one household chore that I would rather do instead so I headed outside. I didn't even pause to put my shoes on.

What a great time we had. I immediately became the preferred pitcher and I got the furthest hit! We had fun running around the bases (tree, rock, sprinkler) and since there were only three of us and it was a whiffle ball, it was OK to throw somebody out--as in throw the ball at them. Trying to aim a whiffle ball is like trying to aim a balloon with a poke in it. Almost every hit turned into a home run as the two fielders chased bad throws and the runner just kept going.

I love playing with my kids!

When I took off my socks after we came in, it was a big eewww! When I saw how grungy they were AFTER they had gone through the washer, I decided to not even care. So what if they're grungy, I had fun! These socks will forever be a sign of a good time.

Alligators, Ice Cream, and Quilts

Last week, our nephew, Michael, flew down to help Katie drive home. We've had her for 6 months and since she's been gone (3 days now!) we've had an empty spot here in our family. We expect her to come walking through the door at any time! She will definitely be missed!

Michael was here for a week, and since he'd never been to Houston before, we had to do some sight-seeing and show off some of the things we love around here! So, here are a bunch of pictures from Brazo's Bend State Park, the Bluebell Ice Cream factory in Brenham, and then some pictures of the International Quilt Festival that I went to last Thursday.

Katie and Michael

Benj in one of the many beautiful old oaks in Brazo's Bend.
Yes, he's in a jacket! The temp was in the 60's that day --freezing to us!

There were a lot of these signs!

We took a picnic to the park. Yum!

The park has 2 small lakes and many smaller ponds, all with walking trails around them. The water was very murky green that day.

This park is a photographer's dream. Lots of great shots here!

One of the alligators we saw. It was cool enough that they stayed put.

Not much action on this day. We only saw 4 or 5--sometimes when we come we count over 70.

Benj getting a little too close to an alligator. Can you see him hiding?

This cool old tree was growing around another tree.

Time for ice cream --

On to the ice cream factory! Ready to go!

Jace, Michael, and Benjamin doing what they do best--being silly.

The park for lunch.

Here are just a few of the many quilts I saw at the IQ Festival. I love going and have gone almost every year since we moved here.

This one kind of has a dutch look to it.

I love the whimsical category and I want to find out how to do the white outlining that you see in these bushes and around the buildings.

This was a favorite in the whimsical category as well. Painting on fall. There are a lot of quilts with people in them and the arms in this one looked very realistic. People are so creative!

I came home from the festival and just wanted to start cutting up fabric!

C8 is 8teen

Yes, it happened. Not my firstborn to turn 18, but another one! It just keeps happening. The first one is such a big deal and you anticipate it coming for a long time and then, the next one turns 18 just like that!

Last month Caitlin turned 18. Legal. Adult. Can someone slow this down please?!?

Here's a little trip down memory lane in celebration of Caitlin.

6 months old

With older sister and younger sister. What a trio!

One of my favorite school pics--1st grade

Standing in front of the Joseph and Hyrum statue in Carthage

This is from changing the tire a few weeks ago.

She just can't help having fun and getting a little dirty!

The fake man. This was at the heart of "car wars" last year at the high school. She made this man and put him under a friend's car. This kind of escalated and grew until it involved many kids and many cars and ended with Cait's car's front seat being taken out and replaced with a toilet. (The ketchup and mayo packets on his face were the planned special effects.)

Our Caitlin. Her birth was easy, her temperment always easy going. Always up for a laugh and always getting in on the joke. Amazingly organized--loves to keep things neat and tidy. Always looks for ways to help others; she was born with it. Looking forward to being a nurse or a teacher because she loves children so much. A friend to all.

Changing Tires

Our small car ran into a bit of a problem Saturday night. A sharp problem that left a gash in the sidewall of the rear right tire. Good thing Chris was only a block from home but when he checked it later that night, the tire was flat.

The next day was Sunday and we had bigger things to worry about: i.e., ward conference, new calling book/info exchange, choir practice, t-shirt handout, fireside, etc. We relied on the kid car a bit to get it all done. Monday morning, on my way to work, I took Chris to work and somehow it all worked out. So, enough juggling, for Family Night we decided to take advantage of the circumstance and have a lesson on how to change a tire.

I have never changed a tire in my life. Whenever I have had the opportunity, there's always a man around to take over and do it. It's not like I have ever asked a man to do it, it's just assumed and he does it. He assumes he has to be a gentleman and I assume I have to let him. I guess that's a good, polite thing but how does a girl learn to take care of things?

Last summer, I was taking Erin to work and the "check tire" light came on when I started the car. So, I got out of the car and looked at the tires. One looked a tad bit low. I drove her to work which was 5 minutes away. When we got there, I looked at the tire again. It was lower but still at least half full of air. I decided to drive directly to the tire store that we use. I was halfway there when I could tell by the way the car handled that the air was gone. There was a gas station up on the right and I started to pull in. This was not your ordinary gas station---this was a hang out for all the day laborers waiting for someone to come pick them up with a job. Immediately my car was surrounded by men speaking spanish telling me that my tire was flat. (Yeah, I really had no idea, I was just coming for the gas.) So, I pull over to the air hose and get out. It was more than flat, it was pancake flat. I knew that air would not keep in long enough to get to the tire store. It was time for the spare. I did what any good wife would do and called my hubby. He was at one of the kid's games and could not leave them there. But, no fear, I'd seen it done. I could handle this. I was confident and it was not a big deal. But--There were 2 or 3 men who insisted on changing it for me. I finally let them do it and am glad I did because I had NO idea where the jack was (had to look in the owner's manual for that one) and I had no idea how to get the tire lowered from under the car. It would have taken me three times longer than these guys. When all was said and done, I was happy they did it and they were happy with their $20.

So, last night, as we changed the tire on the car, I wanted to do more. I wanted to learn (say that in a Brian Regan voice: I want to learrrn!). I dubsed the jack. I had no idea where to put it. I had never gotten down on my hands and knees and looked under the car for the right spot. What does the frame of the car look like? Of course, Chris was right there to show me what to look for. I was very proud of myself and, at the same time, felt silly that it really was so easy.

For all of the things that it's important for a girl to learn how to do, how come no one ever really showed me until I was this age (age not inserted on purpose)? How come I never insisted until now? In looking back as to how I was raised, my mom never jumped in and did things--if it was a man's job, then the man did it. It's a girl's job to have her lipstick on, have children, and keep house. So, I can blame it on my upbringing. I think I am more independent and do more than the last generation (including keeping house, and raising kids!), but there are so many things I'm still lacking in!

Maybe next family night we'll learn how to jump the battery.