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Most of my Saturday was absolutely fabulous. The boys played football with the neighborhood kids for hours and Nate was playing in a golf tournament -- leaving me with some rare alone time. I got a lot of stuff done around the house, I played with Devin, I even got to read for about 1/2 hour. I can't remember the last time that I have had a day like this.
Miracle of miracles, I decided that I might as well cook something for dinner because I actually had time. So, I decided to make a big breakfast meal -- complete with the most scrumptious homemade syrup. I had several different pans going -- bacon, syrup, eggs, french toast. Right after I got all of the pans going, the power went out. Thinking the power would come back on, I left everything as is. After an hour with all of the food ruined and the kids starving, the power still was not back on. That left Sonic for dinner. And...it goes down hill from there. Sonic messed up our order several times, I ended up paying for things that I didn't order, but I was too tired to argue anymore. So, I just took all of the food home and fed the kids. I finally found a moment when I could eat -- and my order was wrong. This is really not like me, but I drove all the way back to Sonic to get my order right. I'm pregnant -- that's all I can say.
It was about 8:00 pm by this time, and the power was still out. Weirdly, there were only 5 houses in the neighborhood with the power outage. I left Nate with the kids while I ran to the Orem Seagull Book to pick up a hymn book for the Young Women that I was asked to purchase. I had already been to the Lindon store earlier that day, and they didn't have one hymn book in the store. (How could that be!) The Lindon store closes at 9:00, so I assumed the Orem store did as well. No. I drove all the way out to Orem only to find a dark store -- it closed at 8:00. I drove all the way out there for nothing.
The power was still out when I got home, and it was getting pretty dark in the house. The kids were filthy after playing football all day, so we took all of our stuff to the neighbor's house to bathe our kids. Our neighbors' house sits empty as they are on a mission. We have been given a key and free access to their house. But, we didn't warn the other neighbors that we would be over there. So, they thought that an intruder was in the house as they could only see lights flicking on and off. Luckily they didn't call the police.
The power was still out at 9:30 pm. The house was now hot, it was very dark, and our huge floodlight was losing power. We sat on the balcony with the kids to cool off and to watch the Cedar Hills fireworks show. It was a really good show and we had good seats on our balcony.
The kids had a hard time going to sleep with all the excitement and finally drifted off to sleep around midnight. (Keep in mind that we have church at 9:00 am). It was so hot in the house that Nate and I had a hard time going to sleep. The power finally came on at 2:00 am. We were without power for over 7 hours.
We were exhausted by our lack of sleep. I have no idea what time it was when we finally fell asleep, but I do know that it wasn't a lot of sleep. In the morning, I still had to iron and put together some music for the Young Women. Somehow I made it to church to lead the music in Sacrament, and Nate was able to get the boys there on time. Amazing!
Today turned out to be crazy -- I led the music in Sacrament, sang with the Relief Society choir in church, practiced the leader's camp song with them after church, accompanied the ward choir after that, had two groups of Young Women come over to my house to practice their singing trees songs for camp, and then went to our Home Teacher's house with the family for dessert. I was finally done with my day by 6:30 pm.
A few things that I have decided:
1. We are totally unprepared if something major happens. We don't own a generator, I could only find one flashlight, we don't have a lot of extra batteries, etc.
2. Why make dinner? Something always seems to happen when I go to the effort.
3. I don't know if I can keep my picture goal that I talked about in my last blog. I thought that I had charged my camera battery only to find out that I had put the battery in incorrectly. Thus, the reason for no pictures about our weird day. Jill will be so disappointed in my stupidity.
4. I'm tired. It's been a long day. I hope that yours has been better.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Oh...to be like Jill!
I know that this title can refer to several of Jill's fabulous qualities. Right now, what I'm referring to is her incredible photography skills and her ability to document accurately and beautifully any occasion.
(Family in Branson at the fountain show)
I'm in rather a sad slump as I am organizing pictures from our Nauvoo trip. Where was my camera for all the funny moments? I only took 42 pictures (not all of which even look fabulous) during our 10-day trip. Jill could take that many pictures at a Seven Peaks outing!
(Devin at Silver Dollar City Amusement Park in Branson. This is the only picture that I took there. Sad!)
Actually, I guess that I should be proud of myself that I did indeed go to the store before the trip and buy a charger. (If you will remember, I thought that I had left my camera charger in Arizona during our last trip.) Sadly, after I opened my charger and used it, we found our other charger in a box in the basement. There went an unneccesary $30!!!
(Jake with Grandpa Max. (Nate's grandpa who is on a mission in Nauvoo.) Grandpa Max is a true cowboy and one of Jake's heroes. After we got home from our trip, Jake used his allowance money to buy cowboy boots. Very cute!)
My new goal? To actually use my camera.
(Have you ever actually seen a lily pad? We were there at the perfect time -- the lily pads on the Mississippi River were absolutely beautiful with the biggest white flowers.)
(We allowed the boys to choose one souvenir. This is just another thing for Jake to add to his dress-up collection. He comes up with the best outfits.)
(Max and Jake at window in Carthage where Joseph Smith was martyred.)
(Max and Jake at Nauvoo Visitors' Center)
(Boys in Mark Twain cave. Part of our scenic 9 hour drive to Branson. Very cool -- but $50 to take my little family through? Honestly!)
(Family in Branson at the fountain show)I'm in rather a sad slump as I am organizing pictures from our Nauvoo trip. Where was my camera for all the funny moments? I only took 42 pictures (not all of which even look fabulous) during our 10-day trip. Jill could take that many pictures at a Seven Peaks outing!
(Devin at Silver Dollar City Amusement Park in Branson. This is the only picture that I took there. Sad!)Actually, I guess that I should be proud of myself that I did indeed go to the store before the trip and buy a charger. (If you will remember, I thought that I had left my camera charger in Arizona during our last trip.) Sadly, after I opened my charger and used it, we found our other charger in a box in the basement. There went an unneccesary $30!!!
(Jake with Grandpa Max. (Nate's grandpa who is on a mission in Nauvoo.) Grandpa Max is a true cowboy and one of Jake's heroes. After we got home from our trip, Jake used his allowance money to buy cowboy boots. Very cute!)My new goal? To actually use my camera.
(Have you ever actually seen a lily pad? We were there at the perfect time -- the lily pads on the Mississippi River were absolutely beautiful with the biggest white flowers.)
(We allowed the boys to choose one souvenir. This is just another thing for Jake to add to his dress-up collection. He comes up with the best outfits.)
(Max and Jake at window in Carthage where Joseph Smith was martyred.)
(Max and Jake at Nauvoo Visitors' Center)
(Boys in Mark Twain cave. Part of our scenic 9 hour drive to Branson. Very cool -- but $50 to take my little family through? Honestly!)Jill -- I can do it. I know that I will regret it if I don't use my camera. So, Jill you are my hero. I hope that I will become a little bit like you.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
I'm Home!!!
We finally arrived home from our fun, but crazy traveling, family trip on Sunday. I feel like we traveled all over the country. Yes, we are exhausted. Wait until you hear how much we drove.
Fri (July 7th) -- drove 6 hours to Las Vegas -- we had to borrow Nate's sister's car at the last minute because ours conveniently decided to break down right when we were ready to pack up.
Saturday -- we flew from Las Vegas to Peoria, Illinois (~ 3 hours) -- we rented a car and drove straight to the motel
Sunday -- we woke up early and drove to Nauvoo (~ 2 hours) where we toured Carthage and unpacked at the houses where we were staying.
Monday -- we didn't travel -- yeah! -- just toured Nauvoo
Tuesday -- we drove to St. Louis via the scenic route, definitely unintentional (~ 4 1/2 hours) and stayed at the Hyatt hotel, which is inside a shopping mall. Needless to say, we had to hike with all of our bags and tired kids to our room. Along the way, we stopped at the Mark Twain cave -- very interesting, but it was $50 and Devin wanted to be carried the whole 1 hour tour by me only
Wednesday -- We drove to Branson, Missouri (~ 4 1/2 hours) and went to a horrible show that night (a high school play or a ward road show would have been better)
Thursday -- We went to the Silver Dollar City amusement park in Branson, where we got there late (2:30) and the park closed at 7:00. Luckily, we had an excellent time there. I wish that we could have stayed longer. The kids loved the roller coasters. I managed to turn my belly a little bit and sneak on a few rides myself. It's only a precaution not to allow pregnant women on rides, right?
Friday -- We drove 9 hours straight back to Nauvoo where we watched the Nauvoo pageant. After the pageant, we piled back into our cars and drove 2 hours to Peoria where we passed out for a few hours in our hotel room before we had to leave the next morning.
Saturday -- Our 3 hour plane ride back to Las Vegas left at 8:55 am. We were up bright and early @ 6:00 am to get to the airport on time.
Sunday -- We drove 5 hours back to Utah
It was so humid that my legs were so swollen after so much walking and driving. And, after eating out every day, it was very embarrassing that I had to weigh in at the doctor's office this morning for my check up. I think that I gained most of my 17 pound pregnancy weight on this trip.
I'm glad to be home. Most of you will be pleased that I just found a burst of energy and emptied all of the suitcases on Monday morning. Yeah for me!!!!!
Fri (July 7th) -- drove 6 hours to Las Vegas -- we had to borrow Nate's sister's car at the last minute because ours conveniently decided to break down right when we were ready to pack up.
Saturday -- we flew from Las Vegas to Peoria, Illinois (~ 3 hours) -- we rented a car and drove straight to the motel
Sunday -- we woke up early and drove to Nauvoo (~ 2 hours) where we toured Carthage and unpacked at the houses where we were staying.
Monday -- we didn't travel -- yeah! -- just toured Nauvoo
Tuesday -- we drove to St. Louis via the scenic route, definitely unintentional (~ 4 1/2 hours) and stayed at the Hyatt hotel, which is inside a shopping mall. Needless to say, we had to hike with all of our bags and tired kids to our room. Along the way, we stopped at the Mark Twain cave -- very interesting, but it was $50 and Devin wanted to be carried the whole 1 hour tour by me only
Wednesday -- We drove to Branson, Missouri (~ 4 1/2 hours) and went to a horrible show that night (a high school play or a ward road show would have been better)
Thursday -- We went to the Silver Dollar City amusement park in Branson, where we got there late (2:30) and the park closed at 7:00. Luckily, we had an excellent time there. I wish that we could have stayed longer. The kids loved the roller coasters. I managed to turn my belly a little bit and sneak on a few rides myself. It's only a precaution not to allow pregnant women on rides, right?
Friday -- We drove 9 hours straight back to Nauvoo where we watched the Nauvoo pageant. After the pageant, we piled back into our cars and drove 2 hours to Peoria where we passed out for a few hours in our hotel room before we had to leave the next morning.
Saturday -- Our 3 hour plane ride back to Las Vegas left at 8:55 am. We were up bright and early @ 6:00 am to get to the airport on time.
Sunday -- We drove 5 hours back to Utah
It was so humid that my legs were so swollen after so much walking and driving. And, after eating out every day, it was very embarrassing that I had to weigh in at the doctor's office this morning for my check up. I think that I gained most of my 17 pound pregnancy weight on this trip.
I'm glad to be home. Most of you will be pleased that I just found a burst of energy and emptied all of the suitcases on Monday morning. Yeah for me!!!!!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Has it been a year?
On June 30th, it has been one year since the death of my sister-in-law, Trudy. It's kind of a surreal experience to realize that it has been a year and to relive some of the events of that day and to think of everything that has happened since.
My mind just naturally travels back to the horrific phone call from my little brother in Arizona saying that there had been a horrible accident with Trudy and her two little boys while they were on vacation in Utah. My brother, Trudy's husband, was out of reach as he was on an airplane flying to Utah to drive home with them. Trudy and her little boys were on their way to the airport to meet his plane when the accident occurred. My parents were out of reach as they were in the mountains of Arizona with no cell phone service. I didn't know the status of the injuries, but only that Adam (6) was at Primary Children's hospital and that Trudy was at McKay Dee (sp?) hospital. Tyler (2) was OK. With that information, Nate and I grabbed a neighbor to watch our kids, picked up Tresa, Trudy's sister, on the way and just started driving -- calling on our cell phones the whole way.
When we reached Primary Children's and saw Adam with his severe injuries, the impact of the severity of the accident was heart wrenching. We stayed with Adam for about an hour -- the hospital where Trudy was told us that she was in surgery and that a maternity specialist was with her as she was pregnant at the time. At that moment, we thought that she would be OK.
Aaron landed in Salt Lake to his name being paged over the loud speaker and several messages on his cell phone. He called me and told me to stay with Adam while he went to be with Trudy. After about an hour, a trauma counselor came to talk to us and told us that while Adam's injuries were severe, he was stable. She didn't know Trudy's condition, but she did know that she suffered head injuries, and she advised us to go be with Trudy. So, we left.
On our drive to the hospital, we were called and told that Trudy was brain-dead and on life support because the baby still had a heart beat. I don't know how we drove the rest of the way with all of the emotions that we were feeling.
When we got to the hospital, Trudy's family had been contacted and were in the waiting room. Aaron had asked for me to go back and to be with him. It was the saddest experience to be in the room with him and Trudy as he just talked and reminisced. I can't imagine the pain that he was feeling.
I stayed at Primary Children's that night to be with Adam. Aaron and his little boy, Tyler, stayed with Trudy. My parents and siblings all drove through the night to be with us. Aaron called me the next morning and asked me to beg the doctors to let Adam come with me because the baby's heart beat was gone and they were going to let Trudy off of life support. He wanted Adam to have the opportunity to say good-bye to his mom. I got off of the phone with Aaron and basically went into shock, crying and shaking uncontrollably. I had been somewhat composed until that time. And then everything just hit me. The doctors, naturally, would not let Adam go.
My family arrived. And my family and Trudy's family gathered in Trudy's room for a family prayer before they pulled the life support. It is truly amazing how life can change so quickly.
There was a funeral in Menden, Utah, a few days later, which her family planned; and then a funeral in Arizona the next week. The funerals were postponed as long as possible to see if Adam would be released from the hospital. He missed the funeral in Menden. He was released from the hospital on the day of the viewing in Arizona. He went straight from the hospital to the airport -- bruised and with a neck brace.
Little Tyler stayed with me the night before we flew to Arizona. I was truly amazed by how calm and happy he was. He didn't cry the entire week. As I was packing, he came up to me and said, "Jana, my mom's here." I asked Tyler if he would show me where she was. He took me into my boys' room and pointed to the middle of the floor. "She's right there. Hi mom!" I just knew that Trudy's spirit had been with him to help him through.
I stayed in Arizona for the next 6 weeks for a lot of reasons. One week after the funeral, my sister got married. We also had a family reunion after that. Life during those 6 weeks is another crazy story all together.
Although life has somewhat returned to normal for us, Aaron and his boys will have a continuous struggle as they try to find some sense of normality and as they try to seek some peace and understanding for the events that occurred. Trudy was a special person -- a great friend and a great mother. She is greatly missed and we love her.
My mind just naturally travels back to the horrific phone call from my little brother in Arizona saying that there had been a horrible accident with Trudy and her two little boys while they were on vacation in Utah. My brother, Trudy's husband, was out of reach as he was on an airplane flying to Utah to drive home with them. Trudy and her little boys were on their way to the airport to meet his plane when the accident occurred. My parents were out of reach as they were in the mountains of Arizona with no cell phone service. I didn't know the status of the injuries, but only that Adam (6) was at Primary Children's hospital and that Trudy was at McKay Dee (sp?) hospital. Tyler (2) was OK. With that information, Nate and I grabbed a neighbor to watch our kids, picked up Tresa, Trudy's sister, on the way and just started driving -- calling on our cell phones the whole way.
When we reached Primary Children's and saw Adam with his severe injuries, the impact of the severity of the accident was heart wrenching. We stayed with Adam for about an hour -- the hospital where Trudy was told us that she was in surgery and that a maternity specialist was with her as she was pregnant at the time. At that moment, we thought that she would be OK.
Aaron landed in Salt Lake to his name being paged over the loud speaker and several messages on his cell phone. He called me and told me to stay with Adam while he went to be with Trudy. After about an hour, a trauma counselor came to talk to us and told us that while Adam's injuries were severe, he was stable. She didn't know Trudy's condition, but she did know that she suffered head injuries, and she advised us to go be with Trudy. So, we left.
On our drive to the hospital, we were called and told that Trudy was brain-dead and on life support because the baby still had a heart beat. I don't know how we drove the rest of the way with all of the emotions that we were feeling.
When we got to the hospital, Trudy's family had been contacted and were in the waiting room. Aaron had asked for me to go back and to be with him. It was the saddest experience to be in the room with him and Trudy as he just talked and reminisced. I can't imagine the pain that he was feeling.
I stayed at Primary Children's that night to be with Adam. Aaron and his little boy, Tyler, stayed with Trudy. My parents and siblings all drove through the night to be with us. Aaron called me the next morning and asked me to beg the doctors to let Adam come with me because the baby's heart beat was gone and they were going to let Trudy off of life support. He wanted Adam to have the opportunity to say good-bye to his mom. I got off of the phone with Aaron and basically went into shock, crying and shaking uncontrollably. I had been somewhat composed until that time. And then everything just hit me. The doctors, naturally, would not let Adam go.
My family arrived. And my family and Trudy's family gathered in Trudy's room for a family prayer before they pulled the life support. It is truly amazing how life can change so quickly.
There was a funeral in Menden, Utah, a few days later, which her family planned; and then a funeral in Arizona the next week. The funerals were postponed as long as possible to see if Adam would be released from the hospital. He missed the funeral in Menden. He was released from the hospital on the day of the viewing in Arizona. He went straight from the hospital to the airport -- bruised and with a neck brace.
Little Tyler stayed with me the night before we flew to Arizona. I was truly amazed by how calm and happy he was. He didn't cry the entire week. As I was packing, he came up to me and said, "Jana, my mom's here." I asked Tyler if he would show me where she was. He took me into my boys' room and pointed to the middle of the floor. "She's right there. Hi mom!" I just knew that Trudy's spirit had been with him to help him through.
I stayed in Arizona for the next 6 weeks for a lot of reasons. One week after the funeral, my sister got married. We also had a family reunion after that. Life during those 6 weeks is another crazy story all together.
Although life has somewhat returned to normal for us, Aaron and his boys will have a continuous struggle as they try to find some sense of normality and as they try to seek some peace and understanding for the events that occurred. Trudy was a special person -- a great friend and a great mother. She is greatly missed and we love her.
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