Blessing

Yesterday was a special day for us. Matt and I, along with Bob and Jeana (Jenny's dad and step-mom), were able to be present while Jenny got her Patriarchal Blessing. It was a beautiful blessing full of some amazing direction and promises to Jenny. I (we) already think she's exceptional, but it was especially meaningful to me as a mom to hear what my sweet, beautiful daughter can become. She will learn and grow and be blessed with so many wonderful things if she continues to make good choices and keeps Heavenly Father foremost in her life. I know she reads this blog regularly and want her to know how much we love her and appreciate the good example she is to us all. I'd tell her in person, but I'm not just a crier, I'm a down-right blubberer and she would be mortified!

Bates Motel...almost!

Early Friday morning, Jenny, Kayleigh, Jenny's friend Corina, and I left to head up to Rexburg, Idaho for Visit Day at BYU-Idaho. The trip up was uneventful. We stopped a few times along the way so Kayleigh could get out and run around. We took a few pictures at the Idaho Falls Temple then headed up to Rexburg. We drove around there for a few minutes then continued on to St. Anthony where we were staying that night at the Guest House at Henry's Fork. Sounds quaint, huh? This is where it all got interesting. First of all, if you don't know about St. Anthony, it's a small farming town of about 3,000 people just north of Rexburg on the way to West Yellowstone. There's basically nothing there...and I mean nothing. As we were driving into town looking at all of the dumpy stores and houses, I tried to be positive..."Maybe the motel will be this nice surprise...like a really cute Bed and Breakfast type." Uh, no. It was just as dumpy as everything around it. But, what do you do? We only had about an hour and a half to get back to Rexburg for Visit Day, which wasn't going to end until 5:30pm. I guess you could say the room wasn't really dirty, though we all decided that there was no way we were showering in that shower! The advertised "kitchenette" was a microwave cart with a microwave and a tiny refrigerator. My sheet had what I've decided was blood splatter residue (because it makes a better story), though Jenny was positive enough to suggest maybe someone spilled their coffee on it. The best part was that the deadbolt on our door didn't work. We shut the door and flipped over the little latch thing. You know, kind of like a safety chain, but it's a solid bar thing with a ball on it? We were beat and had all fallen asleep around 8:00pm. At about 10:00, someone tried to open our door! The door actually opened and caught on that safety bar. Jenny and I semi-freaked out. Corina and Kayleigh slept through it. After that, for the next hour or so, we heard doors slamming all around us. We put a chair in front of the door, not that it would do any good, but there wasn't much else we could do. I suppose we could have asked for another room, but would it have been any better? I doubt it. The next morning, we realized that we really had to slam the door to get it to stay closed. Jenny and I mulled it over and decided that the wind did NOT blow the door open in the night. Someone was seriously rattling the door trying to get in. It was much more creepy talking about it after the fact than it was at the time it was happening.

"Hello? My name is Kayleigh Mattison Hales."

Other than that, the trip went well. Kayleigh was so very good the entire time, especially considering she didn't get a nap at all that day. The student ambassadors at BYU who were in charge of Visit Day went out of their way to entertain her and to make sure Jenny and Corina enjoyed their time there. Jenny's still excited about going there, so I guess it was all worth it.

Brrrrrrr...

After a lot of rigamarole (sp?) and running around, we finally got Jenny's application completed for BYU-Idaho. Her dad paid the application fee just last week and she already got a response via email! She's in! Congratulations, Jenny!!!!

I guess I'm going to have to become a BYU fan...

Holidays

Well, one holiday down, how many more to go? It'll all happen so quickly now. I've always majorly balked at the idea of putting one holiday before the other. It drives me nuts that stores do so, but having K around kind of changes things. For instance, last night we were driving home and she kept talking on and on and on and on...if you get my drift...about Frankenstein and the Pumpkin Head Man and the "Switch" that keeps falling over and they need to blow her up again. These are all big blow-up decorations in yards that we pass regularly. I was trying to explain to her that they may not be there now that Halloween is over. I was going to say something to the effect that we may start seeing Thanksgiving decorations, but thought to myself that I'm not sure I've ever seen any Thanksgiving blow-up ones. From there I started talking about Christmas and how we'll see Santas and reindeer (she's calling them rainbow deer) and snowmen. That then led to singing Christmas songs with those words in them. The whole time I was telling myself, "I can't believe I'm doing this!" I don't even have all of our Halloween decorations down yet. Actually, as of my insomniatic (sp? - is that even a word?) night last night, I do except for some pumpkins that are outside. I'm considering leaving them as "fall" decorations, though they do have faces on them.

So what else is going on? My YW blog is up and running. We'll see if it ends up amounting to anything. One of my Laurels conducted yesterday and announced it and she did a horrible job of it. I did give all the girls a handout with the website and the reasoning behind it. No one really said anything, so we'll see what happens. I worked too hard on it for it to be a flop. My main worry through it all was that our bishop, who I think the world of yet is very controlling and doesn't even have the internet, would shoot it down immediately. He didn't even let me explain anything about it and was just like, "Yeah, yeah, just make sure you have it linked to the ward website." I was speachless! (Yeah, like that's ever happened to ME!) Anyway, I'm still excited about it and hope the girls are able to benefit from it.

Aside from that, I've been working on Christmas shopping and crafts. I'm NOT opposed to doing that before Thanksgiving. In fact, in a really good year, I have it done before Halloween. This is not considered a "really good year." I'm pretty stumped on what to get a few people.

Jenny's 19th birthday was Saturday. This was the warmest Halloween I remember since I was pregnant with her. I'll always remember trick-or-treating in short sleeves that year. I can't believe she's as old as she is and that so much time has passed. The witch costume that Kayleigh wore was actually one I made Jenny when she was that age. I knew there was a reason I've been hanging on to it - among others (costumes, not reasons). On the 21st, we're going on a "field trip" to BYU-Idaho for Visitor's Day. Jenny will be able to check out the campus and see for herself where things are. We'll spend half the day with people from the school hearing about all they have to offer. I haven't been up there for a really, really long time. I'm looking forward to it. I loved going to school there and have promoted it big time.

Garrett got some good news - he's finally getting his braces off next Wednesday. He was gone for so long during the summer to Michigan that it kind of put him behind in the process. Originally they were supposed to come off in March and he's been mad after each appointment where it's been postponed.

A few months ago, Brandon invited Matt and me to dinner (this NEVER happens) with him and his girlfriend. This was the first (and subsequently only) time we met her...Brittany. She's a really cute girl - redheaded like him - and very outgoing. He just kept smiling and looking at her all googly-eyed. Ah, love...they kept giving each other these weird looks like they were going to make some announcement of some kind, but it never happened. All the more reason for us to think the whole going-to-dinner thing was weird. Anyway, I guess he introduced her to his dad the other day. Rumor has it that no announcement was made there either, but that they kept calling each other "love" and "babe." Too weird to hear your children calling someone those names. We'll keep you posted on that front...

Sorry, Tara, I still don't have anything to say about you, but thanks for being steady and so cute!

Can you tell that Kayleigh and Tayah are both sleeping? A miracle!

My Life...today

I am soooooo glad to have the internet back, though now I can't remember all of the reasons I just had to have it. I'm sure they'll come back to me though!

Now that Jenny has graduated and is making college plans...yes, decisions have been made!...we're booting her out. We only have two rooms available for the kids, so we're rearranging. She's kind of had her own room while Tara and Kayleigh have been sharing. Poor Garrett, who sort of had a room in the basement (unfinished and shared with storage and spiders), has been sleeping on her floor since we moved in. We're moving T & K into J's larger room and putting G in T's old one. When we moved in, J's room was lavender (ugh!) and white. I'm repainting it before moving the other girl's into it. T loves orange and has been trying to convince me to paint it that color. I pretty much told her, "NO WAY!!!" I did, however, decide to compromise and am painting it a pale yellow and "Melon." Needless to say, it's very bright and fruity! She's not too happy with it, but I figure she'll be getting the boot in a year herself. Once I finish (hopefully today), I can work on G's room.

Back to Jenny...she got a Regence scholarship and is going to go to Weber State in January so that she can use that. It has to be used at a Utah school and is only good for a year after she graduated. She's applying for BYU-Idaho for next fall.

Kayleigh has given us some reprieve from watching "The Lion King" all day everyday. She's now added a little variety by including "The Lion King 1-1/2," "Shrek," "Shrek 2," and "Clifford's Really Big Movie." She's also started saying, "I don't like..." "I don't like to pray." "I don't like cereal." She said, "I don't like Jenny" all the way home the other day. Luckily, Jenny wasn't in the car with us. I know she loves Jenny more than all of us put together, so it was kind of weird.

MY QUIRKS: (I'm sure Matt can tell you more)

1. I have to have things lined up "just so." Like if I'm standing at a receptionist's counter, I can't keep myself from lining up the papers, pamphlets, sign in book, etc. with the edge of the counter.

2. The dirty dishes have to be put in the side of the sink that doesn't have the disposal...not on the counter, not in the other side, not on the stove...

3. When sleeping, my sheet and blanket have to be pulled tight and smooth over my body. I can feel the weight difference if there's a wrinkle or an overlap of some kind.

4. I can't stand to have garbage left in my car. I don't like the "lived in" look.

5. When getting a Diet Coke (the best drink ever invented!) at a gas station (drive thru, of course), I have to have lots of ice...as in, fill it to the top with ice, then put in the DC. I KNOW it means less DC, but I'd rather drink really cold watery DC, than warm DC with a kick.

6. The best dinner in the world...vanilla ice cream and sour cream and onion potato chips!

These are a few. As I said, Matt can probably tell you ton's more that I haven't thought of!

Whatcha doin', Zoa?

Kayleigh's been saying, "Whatcha doin', Zoa?" lately and we're not sure where she got this or who in the world "Zoa" is. We say it back to her sometimes and she thinks it's funny.

So, what are we doing??? We like to say there isn't much going on, but I guess we're pretty busy when we actually take a look at things. Yesterday, Tara, Kayleigh and I had a great visit with Cathy and Judy. Judy was feeling pretty good and was able to spend about an hour and a half playing with Kayleigh. We had a nice time and Kayleigh was sad to leave them...especially Gussy. She kept saying, "Grandma lives in Salt Lake...and Ju-Ju...and Gussy." On the way home, we stopped by my mom's house and had lunch with her. Now that we live in Clinton, I've lost my Saturday garage-saleing (sp?) partner and have resorted to checking out a few in Clinton each week with Kayleigh in tow. She's getting the hang of having to get in and out of the car, but she's not a die hard garage saler yet.

Matt's finishing up his one summer class in a couple of weeks...only TWO more and he's DONE!! Next term is going to be really crazy. One class will be two mornings a week (making him get off work later) and the other is at night. Working in Salt Lake uses up about two and a half to three hours of each day commuting. Plus with his current calling (Counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency), he usually has meetings one or two nights a week. I guess he'll find time to study in there somewhere. Hopefully, Kayleigh will remember who he is by then.

We haven't heard from Brandon lately. I've heard he has a girlfriend and recently took a trip to Las Vegas. Maybe he got married????

Garrett and Jenny are still in Michigan and were able to go up to Mackinac Island and tour the Grand Hotel. They're due back sometime around the beginning of August. We really miss our other babysitter!!

Tara is taking it easy this summer. She initially applied for several jobs in the area, but didn't have any luck. She had an interview at Quizno's this morning and is supposed to find out tomorrow if she got the job. We'll keep you posted. The plus...families get 25% off!

I'm still the Young Women's President and am trying to get ready for Girl's Camp which is Aug. 5-8. We turn around and have a ward youth conference the next week at Camp Bartlett in Idaho for three days. I think that'll be more than enough young women and camping for me for the season.

Matt, Kayleigh and I are going to Park City this weekend. His company has a condo there, so we get to stay for really, really cheap. The best part is we get to eat out and watch cable. We always look forward to that (since we don't have it at home), but usually leave thinking, "This is why we don't have cable." More channels of nothing. It'll be good, though, to feel like we're getting away and plan to enjoy the cooler weather up there.

That's about it for us at the moment. As Kayleigh says, "Later Gater!" (Can you tell we kinda like her???)

** This blogging stuff is kind of tough to figure out. Can't quite get it to look like I want it to. - Oh well...

Help me! Help me!

We had a good weekend. On Saturday, Jenny was kind enough to babysit for us while we celebrated our third wedding anniversary by going to dinner (Applebee's) and a movie ("Indiana Jones"). Poor Jenny seems to be Kayleigh's favorite person in the whole world, so she gets stuck with her even if we're home...Kayleigh wants nothing to do with us when she's around.

The older kids are all gone now for about a month. Every summer, they spend about that long in Michigan with their dad's parents. They have a house on Lake Huron and get to see their other relatives, including their great-grandma (Oma) who is turning 97 next week. They usually go about this time of year to attend an annual, big family birthday party for Oma and stay until just before school starts up again.

I will miss them, of course, and it's always kind of that after-holiday let-down when they leave, but Matt and I are looking forward to having Kayleigh pay attention (by default) to us again.

Matt's week got off to a great start this morning. He got up early to go jogging and was attacked by a couple of dogs. When he first saw them, he decided to be cool and just jog past (a great feat for someone who has a fear of big dogs), but they came after him and started biting his ankles. Somehow, he got tripped up and fell on the ground. They left him alone after that and watched him run off with a pretty skinned up knee and a scrape on his hand. Chihuahuas are ruthless! Just kidding...he said they were bigger than that.

Daddy pick a nose...

Well...here we go...following the crowd...

Everyone else is blogging, and I happen to enjoy reading what's going on with family, friends, etc., so I thought I'd take a stab at it. I may quickly lose interest since I'm already having a hard time keeping up on my journal, but I'm thinking this will be more fun, though not necessarily less boring for others. I'm well aware that you'll probably lose interest quickly as well, so no need to worry that I'll be constantly asking whether you've read my latest blog.

Just a little explanation about the title as it's probably the funniest thing to come out of Kayleigh's mouth lately...Matt, Jenny, Garrett, Kayleigh and I went camping in Huntsville last week. We took two cars as Matt had to run up to WSU on the way home. As we pulled up next to him on the highway at one point, he acted like he was unaware we were there and pretended (so he says) to be really "digging for gold." Since then, Kayleigh has been telling people, "Daddy pick a nose in the Rodeo." Someday we'll finish the roll of film and post some pictures from the trip.

After camping, we (all of us minus Kayleigh plus Tara) went to Moab for a few days to go rafting. It was a pretty fun time. Matt and I had been a few years ago, but this time the rapids were much better. Some of us got to do a little kayaking, too.

Updates on everyone:

• Matt is down to three more classes at WSU and then he'll be a college grad.
• Brandon just moved in with his cousin into an apartment in downtown SLC.
• Jenny graduated from high school as a Utah Scholar and is applying to BYU-Idaho.
• Tara is looking for a summer job and hanging out with friends.
• Garrett is heading to Michigan for the rest of the summer with his grandparents and cousin, Kyle.
• Kayleigh just finished a summer session of tumbling and is busy growing up too quickly.