two people in love

we attended a family reunion today. it was a very long reunion {5 hours to be exact}. there were a few awkward and uncomfortable moments, mostly having to do with a couple of far from interesting {and very lengthy} slide show presentations - but also a handful of funny family stories, some good entertainment, contests and activities for all ages, prizes, and a potluck...you know, the all the typical family reunion hoopla. as i sat and gazed around the room, and as my eyes beheld the sea of people in colored t-shirts, i couldn't help but feel a love for each of them {most of whom i've never met}...because all of us, in some way, some very special and important way, were connected. my eyes welled with tears as i reverenced and awed the sweet twosome that started it all. the different colored t-shirts we wore represented each of charlie and zina dana's 5 son's {one of which happen's to be the grandfather of my sweet john}. i wonder, on that spring day in april of 1908, as the two of them exchanged vows under a mulberry tree, if cute charlie and his little love-bird, zina, had the slightest idea of the legacy they would leave to their future posterity. and when they brought home their first son, ferrel, did they even consider that this would be the beginning of something that would go on forever? even long after the two of them were buried deep in the earth?joe dana was their third son, john's grandfather. i met joe several times while john and i were dating. he was a strong and stalwart man. faithful beyond measure and valient. an example to everyone privileged enough to know him. he passed away just two days before john and i were to be married. he had hoped to make it to our temple sealing, and i know that he was in fact there. i sat at the reunion today and thoughts of these things carried me away. i then tried my best to add up the number of descendants that came from just joe and dora alone. i counted in my head close to 200 people...i'm sure there are even more than that. and those are just the descendants of one of charlie and zina dana's sons. just one. those in attendance today, i'm guessing represented, at most, a small fraction of the entire group. a family tree with hundreds and hundreds of branches, that at one time started with only two. it made me think of that cheesy cliche saying, you know, the one that says...all because two people fell in love.
crazy to think that in a hundred years from now, hundreds of peeps could be gathered together honoring and remembering john and nicole eagleston.
kind of a mind boggling and exhilarating thought.

it's a wRAP

ruby has her preschool spring program coming up. each of the students in her class has been given a small speaking part to have memorized in time for the program. miss arlene sent those parts home last week {or maybe the week before, it's all a blur} with each of the children. ruby and i didn't waste a second. immediately we read over her part, and began the process of learning it. for whatever reason, despite the fact that she is very good at memorizing poems and songs and whatnot, she experienced some difficulty in learning this particular speaking part {small as it was}. in hopes that she would learn it quickly, and at the time thinking it was a rather good idea, i began rapping it. i was right, it worked. those words stuck in her head like any good hip-hop song will...problem is, now i can't get her to recite it any other way. i'm sure her teacher just thinks we're absolutely cuhRAYzy. well i guess it's about time that she {and the rest of you out there} learned the truth...

this one's my favorite. notice how much amusement asher gets from my soft, doughy tummy.

i'm falling behind

i can't catch up.
and i'm not just talking about the blog either.
it's me. it's my life. it's my home, and my garage, and just pretty much my everything.
life is beating me up {in a good way...no need to worry...it's just busy is all}.
and no matter how hard i try to grab hold of it - you know, to get a handle on things - i invariably fall three or four steps behind.
always.
it must be me.
it has to be something i'm doing {or not doing} to myself, and so i guess unless i make some major changes, i think my life will always feel this way - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a crazy thing, no doubt.
and i don't exactly want to live the rest of my life feeling like a basket case.

just today, as a case in point, we colored easter eggs.
wait. isn't it? three days past easter?
i'm telling you, this is the story of my life.
always a good three or four steps behind.



last year we tried the silk tie method of coloring our eggs; and were so pleased with the results, that we decided to attempt it again today...of course without forsaking the traditional {colored tablets in vinegar} approach.

to my utter astonishment, things were going rather well...

that is...

until asher crushed the heck out of one of his eggs,
and then managed to spill blue dye all over my rug.

that was it.
without hesitation, i quickly {and excitedly} unstrapped him, removed his little apron, and put him straight to bed.
am i just the meanest?



then ruby's friend came over, and our coloring fest went downhill from there. no longer was coloring easter eggs with mom, the cool {or even fun} thing to do. the girls ran off in pursuit of bigger and better things, and that left me...

all alone.

all alone {aside from my little green egg friend}, with 12 empty bowls of colored dye, a soiled tablecloth, a stained rug, a sink full of egg coloring dishes...and, sadly, lacking the desire or energy, to do a darned thing about it.

in a nutshell

i wake up early and head out for my daily run.
i get ruby up and ready, and after our morning prayer as a family, asher and i stand at the front door and bid farewell to ruby and dad.

we finish getting ourselves ready for the day, and then head out the door. our destination(s)? target. michaels. walmart. i spend most the time wandering aimlessly up and down the isles, in and out of the fixtures,and then forget to buy the very things i went for in the first place. why? because i'm talking to my sister on the phone, and because i am the worst multitasker in the world. while we're in walmart, my raveging, chocolate loving, two-year-old, attacks the almond bark - packaging and all. this is a fun one to try and explain to the cashier.



it's finally time to pick up ruby from school. she comes out to the car wearing an adorable bunny mask - which she refuses to remove, and within minutes, is sound asleep.



we drive out to phoenix to my favorite baking and cake decorating store. i am not a baker, nor do i decorate cakes, but i could spend hours inside of ABC cake decorating. ruby is still asleep when we get there, so i decide to forgo spending hours inside. instead i park in the front and center spot {the one that can be see from anywhere in the store}, leave the car running, and make a mad dash for the one item i really need - being gone a total of one minute.

we then head to the airport to pick up grandma judy. her flight has been delayed, so we sit in the cell phone lot for close to an hour. thank goodness for solitaire - that hour felt like a mere minute.

we head straight to in-n-out with grandma. it's tradition. something that is not tradition {and i hope never happens again}...asher sprays his vanilla shake through a straw pointed directly at grandma judy. grandma laughs. a nice hearty, amusing laugh. although i know she is not amused.

we drop her off at lori's - where she'll be staying, and i put asher straight to bed.
naughty boy.

i spend the rest of the afternoon putting all that chocolate coating to use {making pastel-colored cupcake bites for easter}, while the children sit quietly on the couch {only in my dreams} watching toy story 2.

john walks in the door from work. i don't have dinner ready. surprise. surprise. it's 6:20 and i don't even have an idea in my head. i whip up a few turkey sandwiches along with some apple slices, and a cupcake bite for dessert. ruby's confused because isn't this lunch food mom? and after devouring his cupcake, asher begs for more muffins mom.

we spend the next couple of hours wrestling, and playing, tickling, and laughing... and then wind down with a few verses from the book of mormon - another tradition. ruby's heart melts when she finds a picture of mary holding the Christ child, and my heart melts as i witness the way she raptly studies the painting.



after the kids are settled, i head next door and visit with one of my dearest and sweetest friends.

as i now sit and contemplate the day, i realize that it was nothing amazing. not anything out of the ordinary per se. i'm tired, my feet hurt, and my back hurts. but i'm grateful. i'm grateful to my children for making life interesting and fun. i'm grateful to john for his devotion to his family, for providing for us. because of him, i feel safe. i'm grateful that ruby has a good teacher that she loves, and from whom she has learned so much. i'm grateful for my mother-in-law. we love to laugh together, and i love her like i love my own mother. i'm grateful for sisters. i'm blessed with 4 of the very best. i'm grateful for good, kind, and caring friends...and that i'm able to run {even though it's not always my favorite thing to do}...and that we have good food to eat {even if we sometimes eat lunch or breakfast for dinner}.
so there you have it, my day and my beatitudes...
in a nutshell.

blame it on the dog

asher has been super into purses lately.

and i don't mean into like he enjoys rummaging through mom's purse

{because that's nothing new, he's always been into that}.

i'm talking, he loves purses, and actually insists on taking one with him wherever we go.

today he chose one of ruby's, which is in reality a cosmetic case that use to belong to me.

i told him that we'd be leaving in just minutes to get ruby from school, and that he had better pack his purse quickly, or he'd be forced to leave it at home.

i hurriedly grabbed my shoes, my phone, my sunglasses, and a 20 0z bottle of diet coke,

meanwhile ash grabbed his things;

and simultaneously, the two of us walked out the front door...

purses in hand.

it wasn't until we were headed home, two hours {and a trip to the mall} later,

that i was made privy {thank you, ruby} to the contents of asher's purse.

a toucan pencil topper

a silly band in the shape of a truck

a single sheet of notebook paper containing a scribbled design - probably created by asher himself

a few play tools

one of ruby's headbands

a fry's vip shopper's card

and a butcher knife from the kitchen.

yeah, you read it right...a butcher knife from the kitchen.

i about died.

how does this boy come up with these things?

and the fact that he's still alive, in spite of all the things he comes up with, is even more of a wonder to me.

i did my best on the car ride home to explain the dangers of carrying an open blade knife in one's purse.

i pleaded. i implored. and even disciplined.

but after all that, what does he do?

blames it entirely {along with his poopy diaper} on dix-d.

poor, defenseless little canine.

.

counterbalance

john and i decided to take the challenge (given by my friend sarah) to run 100 miles in 100 days.
that's just one simple mile a day...but it's a heck of a lot more than we're doing right now
{which is nothing...in case you were wondering}.
We ran our first mile together as a family {tonight for FHE} at the junior high track.
i was so proud of my kids...especially ruby, who ran the entire mile, taking only one or two short rests in between. we were all sweating and feeling so proud of our accomplishment...

and then we came home and made pizookies for dessert.



we've got problems.

we really, really love him

he comes to town bearing gifts for each member of our family.

he doesn't complain about having to sleep in the kids' room on a twin bed.

he doesn't mind being dragged out to the mall
{which i happen to know, is not one of his favorite places}
to get pictures of the kids in their easter clothes with the easter bunny.

{and after reading the sign prohibiting the use of personal cameras and other devices, he insists on paying for the pictures himself - and pays a ridiculous price for them, i might add}.



he squeezes in the back seat, between both kids and their car seats, and has a smile on his face the entire time.
{and the kids do too, because he tickles them incessantly, and they still beg him for more}.

he treats us to lunch...and carousel rides.



and then spends a nice chunk of his afternoon building volcanoes, reading books, crawling on the floor playing cars, and blowing bubbles with his grandchildren {in the freezing cold rain, no less}.



and then does the volcano all over again, because asher was asleep the first time.




he buys us dinner {five guys - my new favorite},
and joins us for a movie {true grit - my new favorite}.

and wakes up especially early on sunday morning to help me get the kids ready for church.

and pays an exorbitant penny for a plane ticket to arizona, to see his son-in-law {yes, my john} get put into the bishopric, and ordained to the office of high priest {say what?! yeah, this news merits it's very own post, wouldn't you say?}.

but THIS post is about my dad, because geez, what would i ever do without him?
and what would john ever do without his father-in-law?
and what would our children ever do without their grandpa?

{and how does that old saying go? behind every great man there's a great woman?
something like that?
well, my step-mom, lynell, IS the greatest.
i know she would have been right by his side, if she didn't have to be in new york running a festival.
in fact, i'm sure it was she who encouraged him to come, and maybe even gave him the idea of bringing gifts for each of us.
she truly is a sweetheart. i'll forever be thankful to my Father in Heaven for her, and for her continued love, encouragement, and support.}

we dropped grandpa off at the airport last night, and ruby cried the whole way home. and then in her bedtime prayer, she thanked heavenly father that her aunt angie is getting married this summer so that we can go to utah and see grandpa.

and then tonight, as we sat around the table for dinner, she looked at grandpa's empty chair, and again, she cried.

my mother-in-law, judy {who also came to town this weekend to support john - bless her heart}, always reminds me that it's a good thing to be sad when your loved ones depart...

because that means you really, really love them.

pre-trek trekking

i asked ruby if she liked this picture of me and john.
she hesitated for a moment and said, well when i first looked at it, my brain didn't really like it.
what do you mean your brain didn't like it? i questioned.
i really like it, she went on, i really do. i think you and dad look great.
but my brain just saw it and said ewww.



our stake is doing a youth pioneer trek this summer. john has been called to be over all the ma's and pa's. it's a pretty big job. he and a few others from the trek committee recently held a mini-trek for all the leaders so we might know what to expect come june. we didn't go to the actual trek site for our mock run, instead we went somewhere much closer to home - a place covered with popular motorcycle trails. as a result, we {literally} crossed paths with several motorcyclists {and forest rangers asking for our permits, which we didn't have...oops}, who i'm sure thought we were completely our of our minds. a colony of people pretending to be from the mid 1800's - dressed in pioneer garb and pulling handcarts. in fact, i'm positive that their first impressions of us were in harmony with the thoughts going through ruby's head when she saw that picture. ewwww.

we are a peculiar people. but that's something i will forever be proud of, and always take as a compliment. i'm so excited to have this experience. not only of working with the youth - which i always love - but also because i know it will give me a better understanding of what our dear pioneer ancestor's had to endure...
if only just a glimpse.

april fool's day flop

i thought i'd be so funny and trick the kids today by offering them styrofoam balls - dipped in chocolate.
totally backfired on me.
i mean, who would have thought they'd devour them the way that they did?
i take that back. i figured asher might. he's my child who loves chapstick and contact solution, and who voraciously inhales anything that goes into his mouth like it's the last thing he'll ever be given to eat.

i apologize for my annoyance in the video. i was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my face.
poor ruby seems so confused.
i think next year i'll do chocolate covered brussels sprouts, or radishes.

on a different note, today we hit a record high temperature of 100 degrees.
no april foolsin' this time around.
it was a HOT one.