11 in 11

Because Seth was born in Y2K, it's always easy to remember exactly how old he is. He turned one in 2001, two in 2002, three in 2003. Bright group that you are, you can figure out the rest on your own. Sorry for the sarcasm. I think I've spent too much time lately sitting in McDonald's waiting for people to finish their various activities before driving back to Shepherd. And here I am again, only this time I'm at the McDonald's way out on the West End by the Shiloh 14 movie theatre. Seth is there with three friends watching "Kung Fu Panda II," in celebration of his 11th birthday.

His actual birthday was June 14th, two weeks ago when he and I were in Salt Lake City. Now don't think we didn't celebrate big time. We did. In fact, nearly the entire day was devoted to Seth. Okay, not quite the entire day. We did spend around three hours house hunting, which turned out wonderfully because that's the day we found our house. But the rest of the day was totally Seth. Mathew got up at 8:00 in the morning to take Seth bouldering. This is a fairly new hobby of Matt's. Apparently it's sort of like rock climbing, except you don't go nearly as high, and you don't use ropes. Instead, you take these big crash pads to put down under you, so when you fall, you don't die. Matt loves it, and he bought Seth some used climbing shoes, so he could try it too. I never actually got to see him climb, but apparently he did okay for his first time.

By the time they got back, Shulamith and I were up and ready to go to breakfast at Denny's. The exciting thing there: the kids' menu is for children age 10 and under. Seth was quite proud to order his Grand Slam off the adult menu, and then he got it for free because it was his birthday. Next he opened his gifts. Shulamith and Matt gave him the card game "Killer Bunnies." I don't know much about that except the game takes a sweet, docile creature and turns it into a sadistic, angry murderer. Lovely! We gave Seth a cell phone, which he had no idea was coming. I had told him he couldn't have one until he was 13. Oooh, I love it when I can pull off that level of surprise. That evening, after house hunting, we took him to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, where he got to sit on a saddle while everyone sang to him. The following day we took him to Lagoon, a rather amazing amusement park with tons of wonderful roller coasters.

So my thought was...this was a pretty good birthday, huh? And Seth was most appreciative for sure, but he still kept talking about the "friend" party that he would have when we returned to Billings. I hoped he might just forget about that, but of course 11-year-olds rarely forget anything (other than taking showers and brushing teeth), and Seth hasn't stopped talking about the "friend" party since we got back. So today is the day. I drove around and picked up three of his friends and took them to the theatre. Because it's "stimulus Tuesday," I was able to get them all $1 popcorns and $1 pops. Everyone seemed happy. I made sure they were seated comfortably in the theatre and then came across the street to McDonald's. After "Hoodwinked II" and "Shrek Forever After," I simply can't handle another kid movie this summer. I will go back just before the movie ends. Then it's yogurt sundaes for dessert, and I'll deliver the boys to their homes.

Happy birthday, Seth! We love you so much. We are delighted you are 11 in 11.

Food Dreams

Have you ever had a food dream? The kind where you dream about some delicious, high-fat, uber-caloric food? This tends to happen to me when I've been on my healthy eating regimen for a while. And it's great. Really great. You see, these dreams are incredibly realistic. When I'm in the middle of one, it seems I'm actually eating the delicious food, whatever it is. I taste every bite. Then, just when I begin to feel bad about all the fat and calories I just ingested, I wake up in a state of total euphoria. I didn't really eat the food! My diet plan isn't ruined. I am not a failure after all. I enjoyed all the pleasure but with none of the fat or calories. Win/win/win/win/win!

So yeah, I had one of those dreams last night. Well, technically early this morning. My marvelous summer sleep schedule allows me the very best sleep of all between about 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. It's no wonder I would dream such a dream right now. After about six weeks of total derailment, my diet and exercise plan was basically in a ditch. An 8 lb. ditch...yep, that's about how much I gained during the six weeks. The stress of selling our home, moving out to Shepherd, and then taking a road trip which included four fabulous days with my two BFFs (read: 4-day eating fest), followed by a week in Salt Lake City basically trashed my healthy lifestyle. When I got back to Montana one week ago, it was on! The challenge was on. I committed to four full weeks (the time before we move) of good healthy eating and at least one hour of exercise daily, more when possible. We don't have paved roads out here, so it's harder, but it's worth a trip into the Heights each day.

Okay, back to the delicious dream. Early this morning, while sound asleep, I indulged in a huge serving of strawberry shortcake. Mmmm. Now this was not the type of shortcake I make, you know, the kind that comes in the little plastic packages in the store. Oh no, this was what Isaiah would call "legit" shortcake, the homemade kind. The kind Jessica would make. Isaiah says Jessica does "legit" cooking. Anyway, it was amazing in every way. But here's what's even more amazing, well weird actually. Aren't dreams so totally bazaar? In this dream, Shulamith was eating her own serving of strawberry shortcake right along with me. We were in Las Vegas (a trip we're planning for later this summer when Matt goes fishing in Alaska), and we were both eating strawberry shortcake. Now anyone who knows Shulamith even casually knows she eats no fruit of any kind. Absolutely none. She would never allow a strawberry to pass by her lips, not in a million years. I'm shocked she lets Matt's lips near hers considering he eats fruit, but I suppose some sacrifices are worth making.

Anyway, we enjoyed the most wonderful shortcake, topped with sweet strawberries smashed and sugared, covered in mounds and mounds of smooth whipped cream (the "legit" kind; I only use Cool Whip), and more sliced strawberries on top. And the whole thing was calorie free! I'm trying to figure out what subliminal messages I could send myself today in order to shape a dream for tonight. Filet Mignon? Chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream? Deep fried elephant ears with cinnamon and sugar? A large order of McDonald's fries? The options are endless!

So go ahead. Have a dream. And think food. This could work for you too.

You Are the Dancing Queen

Here we are just a week ago outside the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City about ready to see the Broadway production "Mamma Mia." How totally exciting! There aren't many things Shulamith and I enjoy more than live theatre, and we'd been anticipating this show for over two months. It was everything and more than we expected.

After a yummy Mexican dinner, we parked our car and began to search for the perfect dessert. First we tried Olive Garden, but they were way too busy, so we had to settle for cinnamon and banana bread from Starbucks. Then it was time to make our way across the street to the theatre and find our seats. We were not the only mother/daughter pair in attendance; apparently lots of guys opted out of "Mamma Mia." Mathew said it was entirely too much Abba for him, so he and Seth instead found their way to a nickel arcade. Gerald would have come with us, though, had he been in town.

The production was amazing from start to finish. In addition to the strong voices all around, it was so well choreographed that we were truly on the edge of our seats. I only cried a little during "Slippin' Through My Fingers" although Shulamith claims I sang along too loudly, which I didn't, by the way. Duh!

It was over all too soon, but it will not be the last show we will see at the Capitol or at the many theatres throughout the valley. Now that I'll be living there full time rather than dropping in for a weekend each month, we can get tickets for lots of our favorite shows. So let me leave you with some lyrics in the spirit of "Mamma Mia" and the wonderful music of Abba:

"And when you get the chance..
You are the dancing queen
Young and sweet, only seventeen!"

We Have a Contract; Yes We Do!

We now have a contract on our little dream house here in Salt Lake City. Yes, yes, I'm well aware of how many things can still go wrong. Remember, I just went through this process from the seller's side. In the next couple of weeks, there will be the inspection and appraisal. Then there's all the financing business...so many hurdles before the closing, which is scheduled for July 18th. Can you even believe that? In four short weeks, we could be living here in our wonderful new home. Okay, let me tell you a little about it.

This house was built in 1991 and remodeled in 2005. Walk in the front door to a cozy living room area, and walk up the stairs to a loft (which will make a perfect TV/lounging area), a large kitchen with breakfast bar connected to an open dining area and hall leading to three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Or, walk down the stairs to a large laundry/food storage room, connected to the walk-out daylight basement apartment. This sweet little apartment has a living room, kitchen w/ breakfast bar, and cute french doors leading to the bedroom and full bathroom.

Do I sound like a real estate ad or what??? Can't help it. It's SO adorable!

Even Seth was impressed. When he first learned that Shulamith and Mathew would be living in the same house with us, his comment was, "I'll only do that if Matt and I can share a room with bunk beds."

"Uh, what about Shulamith?" we asked.

"Oh, she can have her own room," he replied.

But now that he's seen this great house, especially the back yard which has a swing set and tree loft, I think we have him convinced that it will be okay for Shulamith and Matt to live downstairs. Whew!

Oh, and this house just happens to be located right between two shopping malls. It's about ten blocks from Fashion Place in one direction and 20 blocks from South Town Center in the other. Woot woot! It's also the corner lot of a quiet cul-de-sac, so when we put up our political campaign signs, people will actually be able to see them. And it's about three blocks from the elementary school, one block from the middle school, and five blocks from the high school.

Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited? Okay, back to being mature and rational, remembering all the things that could still go wrong. Still....

We have a contract; yes we do!

Even Good Stress Is Still Stress

They say even good stress is still stress. You know those checklists you can use to evaluate the level of stress currently in your life? They include such things as

-death of a loved one
-loss of job
-divorce
-addiction
-illness
-unfavorable weather

However, these lists of common life stressors also include events we would normally consider positive including

-engagement
-marriage
-Christmas
-a job interview
-a new baby

One such positive life stressor on nearly every list is moving. I am beginning to understand why. As you know, we've had this goal to relocate to Salt Lake City for at least the past year, and we've been considering it even longer than that. This dream is well on its way to becoming reality. I should be overjoyed. And I am. In so many ways, I am! As I write this post, I am in Salt Lake City, lying on the couch in Shulamith's apartment. Emotionally, I'm already living here, even though I'll need to return to Billings this weekend. Indeed, I'm thrilled that this long-anticipated move is just about here.

Still, even good stress is still stress, and I'm definitely feeling it. Our first hurdle was selling our home in Billings. That process happened quickly for sure though not without its glitches. They are too boring to list, but each one felt overwhelming at the time. By the time we finally closed (a week late), my emotions were pretty much trashed, and the only thing I will say about that is at least it's over.

The next step was finding a house to buy here. I'm not sure which I dislike more, being the seller or being the buyer in a real estate sale. You could not pay me enough to be a real estate agent. Seriously Ginny and Susan, I don't know how you do it. The entire process is one stressful step after another. First you have to figure out financing. Then you have to find the right house. Then there's the whole price negotiation...which feels like a total guessing game filled with absolute uncertainty. And once you have a contract, there are still so many things that can go wrong before closing.

We're not quite to that point, but almost! At the moment, we have responded to our sellers' counter offer with a second counter offer, one which we very much hope they'll accept. They have until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow to respond. Ahh, more lovely waiting. Meanwhile, we (well, mostly Shulamith and I) dream of our perfect house, the one we finally found after looking at what feels like dozens of potential homes but was probably about 20. Our plan has been to find a house that included a smaller apartment, so Shulamith and Matt could live there with us but still have their privacy. I was surprised by how many homes actually have apartments; as I said, we saw many. But not until we found this particular house did we find absolutely everything on our list of "wants." I'm still in shock that a home so perfect for our needs actually exists in our price range.

Stress? Yes! We really want this house. We drove by it again this afternoon which only made us want it more. Matt continues to remind us of all the things that could go wrong. We're trying to be calm and not overly hopeful, but it's hard. If everything were go to smoothly, we could close by July 14th. That's less than a month away! Then again, when does everything go smoothly in a real estate transaction?

Okay, so there's the story up till now. Even good stress is still stress. What do you think is the best way to minimize stress and maintain mental, physical, and emotional health in the midst of so much uncertainty?

YES!!! YOU'RE RIGHT! The answer is a Broadway play. So that's exactly what we're going to do. Tomorrow night, at this exact time, Shulamith and I will be at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City watching the amazing production of "Mamma Mia." And for a couple hours, we will not worry about a single thing. We will bask in the incredible music of Abba. We will laugh. We will cry. Well, at least I will cry. I can't listen to "Slippin' Through My Fingers" without crying. Maybe Shulamith won't cry.

And perhaps by then, we'll have a contract on our dream house. Here's hopin'.

Safe Driving Tips from Seth

Yesterday morning, Seth and I took off for our 2-week road trip to Rexburg and Salt Lake City. As we pulled onto the freeway in Billings and had just accelerated to normal freeway speed, Seth exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"What's wrong," I asked.

"We forgot to say a prayer" he replied.

"That's okay, Seth. You can still say it. Go ahead."

"Okay," he replied, "but you probably shouldn't close your eyes."

I didn't.

And off we went.

And here we are.

In Rexburg.

With Lindsey AND Celeste AND our eight children (who have all grown way too big).

It's pretty much Heaven.

More details to come.

Alive and Well in Shepherd

For those of you who might be wondering where we are, I wanted to check in and say we are alive and well here in Shepherd. As I mentioned here, I have this kind and generous friend Jessica, who selflessly offered us the basement apartment of her home to live in this summer as we work toward getting moved to Utah. I had hoped to be able to find housing in the Heights where Isaiah and Eli work and closer to downtown where Gerald works, but literally everyone required a 6-month lease; no one would rent to us month-to-month. I was beginning to think the five of us might spend the summer camping out in tents somewhere. This idea may appeal to Gerald but certainly not to me.

We moved out here a week ago yesterday. It has been a bit of an adventure. First, we only brought what I considered essential items. So "Sunday smoothie night" comes along, and well, sorry...no blender. Then someone suggests waffles instead. Uh, yeah, no waffle iron. How about cupcakes with this cake mix I happened to bring? Ah, no muffin pan or liners. Think simple, guys. You will be okay.

We are also not accustomed to the type of water they have out here. Jessica warned me about this: "The water stinks and tastes awful, but it won't make you stink or harm you if you drink it. But you probably won't want to." True enough. We have plenty of delicious bottled water for drinking, but I don't think any of us has adjusted to the "soft" water for showers. Jessica says we will get used to it eventually, probably just about the time we move out.

Most difficult, as we knew it would be, is transportation. Since we've been here, we've made a minimum of three round trips to town (Billings Heights) each day. Yep, I'm spending a fortune on gasoline! And I'm trying not to fret about it because we have a place to live, a very nice place, and we are thankful.

Which brings me to the good stuff. This apartment is so spacious. It is really a better situation than I could have imagined. Plus, it is so fun to be here with Jessica and her sweet family. She has done so many things to make us feel welcome. When it was cold and rainy last weekend, she came downstairs and built us a fire so we wouldn't be cold. And we weren't even cold! Then she brought a wagon full of gravel to put over the ground where we park our cars, so it wouldn't be quite so muddy. And tomorrow, she and a friend are making tacos for all of us for dinner. We are feeling quite spoiled.

Then there are some other comforts: a dog, a cat, and a bed. There's a big black, and wonderfully friendly, dog named Diesel who lives outside. Seth adores him. More interesting, though, is the relationship that has developed between Isaiah and the kitten who lives inside. Isaiah has pretty much adopted her as his own. He carries her around everywhere. Last night he asked, "Mom can we just keep this cat? She obviously loves me more than her own family, and I want her." No, Isaiah, we won't be able to steal the cat from Jessica's family, but she's yours to enjoy for the summer. Then there's this amazing king-sized bed that Gerald and I get to sleep on. It is even firmer than my queen mattress, not to mention the additional room it provides. Heaven! I have not slept this well in years.

No matter what Jessica says, this is a sacrifice for her family. For one thing, because there is no door separating their house and the stairs that come down to the apartment, they are forced to hear all our noise. I was up there the other day, and I could literally hear everyone's conversations downstairs. And here's thing: Nothing we say is that interesting. It doesn't even provide any good gossip. It's just boring family stuff, and they're forced to listen to all of it. In contrast, we hardly hear them at all. Occasionally, we'll hear the sweet baby sounds of 15-month-old Will. I love that. How wonderful to hear a baby in the house! It's been ten years since I had one of those.

So here we are. Jessica, Bill, Ben, Taylor, and Will hosting Terrianne, Gerald, Isaiah, Eli, and Seth. We couldn't be more appreciative. I will never be able to repay them for this kindness, but hope I can do something, someday, to pay it forward.