Grandpa Coombs

Today was my Grandpa Coombs' funeral. As I was getting ready, Benson asked me if it was really smart to waste all that make up (as I would cry it off later). There were 3 beautiful musical numbers, and my aunt and uncle gave touching tributes about the man I called "Gramps." My grandpa had been sick for a while, and I knew the end was near, so the call on Friday that he had moved on did not come as a surprise. But when I woke up Sunday, it hit me... The last time I saw him was the last time I will see him in this life. I know this is all part of the plan. I know he is in a better place. I know he is with his parents, that he has had a sweet reunion with a father he had never met, who had died a month before his birth, that he is with his mother who he loved and spoke of with such tenderness. I know he is no longer in pain. I know this is only a temporary good bye. And yet my Grandma looked so small and lost and alone without him. I feel sad for myself. But grateful that he was my grandpa. He came to so many of my classes to play the guitar, he took me on a date on my fourteenth birthday, he pretended that who ever won at miniature golf was who had the highest score. He made model airplanes with my kids and showed them old movies with the real planes in them, and when they were shooting foam airplanes in their house and I was telling them to stop he told them to aim better. He told jokes (Did you hear the one about the invisible man who married the invisible woman? They didn't see much of each other. Their kids weren't much to look at either!) and sang and when I played my flute he said it sounded perfect. He would answer the phone and say, "Well Liz! You're looking good!" I have so many great memories. I am grateful. And sad.

Alan's Sick...

I hate to admit this, but I don't mind too much when my kids are sick... It means we stay home and read and watch movies and nap and eat ice cream for lunch. In my mind this is making my kids feel more comfortable when they are miserable! To George, it's encouraging/rewarding them to be sick. It's all about balance, right?

A Busy Life

Yesterday I had to schedule time to fold laundry. I hate it when decisions I've made limit future decisions I'd like to make. We're a little busy around here. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it. Mostly it's great!

George!

here's the new george... that's right bic-ed head. and he's kept it up too... except that sliver in the back that he misses every time (shhh don't tell just laugh)

10 Year Old Alan!

Alan turned 10 on the 7th! He is one amazing kid! We got to head to Lagoon as a family to celebrate... Alan is now big enough AND brave enough to go on all the roller coasters (he even hit some twice, going alone the 2nd time since no one else could gear up to go with him!) but while Benson is finally tall enough, big roller coasters hold no magic for him! George paid him to go on several, so he did experience the old white roller coaster, the mouse and tidal wave.

It's crazy to think Alan is 10! It's going by too fast!

Benson's Gallery

Benson loves to take pictures, these I thought were especially fun. Keep it up Buddy!

Panguitch

Alan, Benson and Grandpa at Big Rock Candy Mountain!

Benson and Audrey riding Maggie at the ranch

Benson and Alan riding another horse at the ranch

Grandma snuggling in the bunk bed with Benson and Audrey while I looked for the van keys!

I love Panguitch/Bryce Canyon! This year at the last minute Alan, Benson and I decided to head down with my parents and April and Audrey for the Allen family reunion at the 'ranch' in Panguitch. My mom booked a KOA Kabin for all 7 of us to stay in. We left Friday afternoon in time to swim (freeze) before we went to dinner. Late that night, after we all settled down and everything had been quiet enough for long enough that I thought I was the only one still awake Benson whispered, "Alan!" Alan responded, "What?" "Just checking to see if you were still awake!" We decided that we wanted to get up at 5 AM and go see the sunrise at Bryce Canyon. After we woke everyone up and got ready, we couldn't find the keys to the van. After a lot of looking we decided I must have locked them in the van and called a lock smith, who came and unlocked the van, but there were no keys in it! We tore apart the cabin and found them, just in time to drive to Fairyland Canyon as the sun came up. It was 34 degrees. Very, VERY memorable! The reunion at the ranch was fun, there is always great food and it's fun to see my second and third cousins. The kids rode horses, skipped rocks in the pond and explored. My dad took the 'scenic route' home so we got to stop at Big Rock Candy Mountain and drive through all those small towns. What an amazing time together!

Millions of Peaches

Millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peaches, peaches for free! (Or twelve bucks a box)!

Peach season has started! People have been calling me who bought last year, which is a nice change from me begging people to come get some peaches (which I did last fall). They are sooooo YUMMY! During peach season last year I gained ten pounds, which I attributed to stress, now I think it may have been the routine of peach pie one night followed by peach cobbler the next!

All Things Summer

School starts tomorrow, TOMORROW! Everyone is excited, but it's hard to believe summer is over! Alan earned his bear badge this summer, we had 3 family reunions and a baptism/baby blessing we were able to go to in the past 4 weeks and we've had lots of cousins over this summer! I squeezed in another nursing prerequisite (A-! Hooray) and the next one begins Monday the 24th! Happy summer!

Pioneer Trek

If you ever want to have the greatest/most difficult time ever, say yes when your stake asks you to be a Ma and Pa on a Pioneer Trek! Neither George or I have callings with the youth so it was really a random opportunity we had to go on trek. We had the best 'family' with 2 girls and 5 boys as well as a "auntie" (a stake leader). We trekked with a handcart 26 miles! Before we left I worried that we would need a schedule of who would push and pull, but it was a chore to get those kids NOT to be on the handcart. We experienced a hailstorm that took out 30 tents and came with 50 mile per hour winds! It was a very building experience when our 'kids' commented that they couldn't imagine the pioneers being in that kind of weather in October and November. There were so many wonderful and spiritual experiences, but what I loved the most was that in the beginning our 'kids' would eat and hang around their friends when there was some down time, but by the end we were together all the time. I really do feel like I have 7 more children! One more thing, our oldest 'son,' Tiko, a talented Tongan athlete, called the Saturday before to say that the first USA rugby tournament game had been scheduled Wednesday afternoon when we were heading home, and since he was his team's captain, he felt that he needed to full fill this obligation and couldn't come to trek. We were devastated, but agreed that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Several hours later he called back and said he would work it out to come and his bishop would take him home early Wednesday morning. About an hour after that he called again and said he felt strongly that he needed the whole trek experience and would stay the whole time. During a devotional where we were talking about sacrifice, George asked him to share his sacrifice. You could tell he was uncomfortable, but his willingness to share touched so many of the youth. This was an experience of a lifetime! We feel so lucky to have been a part of it!

So, we were going to paint the kitchen for the 4th of July weekend! It's something that I've wanted to do for a while (since we moved in 2 years ago) so when my mom asked what we were doing and I told her that she said she wanted to take the boys and go camping. Since I am not much of a camper I thought this sounded great. And since we wouldn't have our little guys around, our plans changed. We got to spend a night in Park City, and while Alan and Benson definitely had more fun, it was sure a nice 4th for us!

Benson Learns to Ride a 2-Wheeler!

Yep, My 7-year-old son has crossed yet another threshold, he has moved on to the two-wheeled bike. There were some things that I couldn't wait for my youngest to do, but most of those things happened before I realized he would always be my youngest! So when Benson didn't want to take off his training wheels, I wasn't too disappointed (yes, I also let him suck his thumb and baby him in a lot of different ways) although Alan had shown great enthusiasm at the age of 4 and insisted we remove his training wheels. But our little cousin Tyler came to spend the night and brought his bike-that did not have training wheels. Today Tyler taught Benson how to ride a two-wheeler and George removed the training wheels from off his bike! Good job Benson! You're still growing up too fast for me!

What Happens in Vegas...

Yep, here we are gettin' lucky with the Buddah...I mean getting luck from the Buddah! My friend Kim and I had a great trip to Vegas where while we didn't see Jay we did see this beautiful statue and went to The Price is Right! As well as our hotel pool that was a mini Seven Peaks! We were gone just long enough to miss the kids and the hubbies and short enough to not miss the housework and whining (don't worry none of the above was in short supply upon my return...)!

Mother's Day Tradition

So I just read all your blogs about mother's day and some of your kids sang to you and some of your talked to missionaries and one of you did a huge tribute to her mom and some of your husbands are amazing... but mine is more... because for mother's day I am going to VEGAS with my friend Kim! Again, I hate to brag, but come on it's pretty great. We might even see Jay Leno's show. I am sooo excited about it I can almost get through all the housework and laundry and craziness around here! Happy Mother's Day!

Fire Pit!

One of my favorite things about our house is the backyard fire pit!

We have had soooo much fun having campfires in our own backyard!

There used to be a tree (that shed inedible cherries all over everything) with a circle of concrete around it, so out went the tree and we have been attempting to burn out the stump ever since! And while George is definitely the biggest fan of a family campfire, next up is the dog!

Rori loves being outside with us (or maybe she just loves the occasional bite of cheese-dog that comes her way?)!
So if you're ever interested, we'd love to have you over for some hot dog roasting with dutch oven cobbler and s'mores!

Cold Stone

We love Cold Stone! Is there anything else to say?

Hansen Planetarium

For the 3rd grade field trip we got to go to the Hansen Planetarium! The best thing about not working is being able to volunteer for things like this!

Happy Easter!

I love all holidays, and Easter is one of the best! In our family we have 12 categories we call 'pillars' that are our basic themes for each month and April is Testimony. Easter is connected to so many symbols that represent our Savior and all He has done for us! This year we colored eggs and it was actually more fun than stressful (a bonus of our youngest child being 7!). And we found the coolest idea for a family home evening about testimony: you plant a fast growing seed (we did mini pumpkins) and explain that your testimony grows just like this seed, if you attend church, your seed gets to stay in the soil for the week. If you say your personal prayers, your plant gets to stay in the sunny window and not in the dark cupboard for that day. If you read your scriptures you get to give your plant one tablespoon of water for that day.
After 9 days Alan's seeds are sprouting (I hope the rest of us just planted our seeds a little deeper or I may have some explaining to do). Having 'pillars' has really been great for our family, it makes choosing family night lessons a little more structured and fun and it's been so fun to look back and talk about what we did and what we'll repeat and what we won't! The most fun, though, was to choose them with George! It's amazing how different we are and how our differences can be so complementary!

Our Grandpa is Great!

We visited my mom's parents during Spring Break and my Grandpa (also known as Gramps) helped the boys put together a model airplane! He has quite a few model planes (some that even FLY!) so it was so fun of him to take the time to help Alan and Benson with this one! Also, it allowed me to have some time to visit with my Grandma (also known as Gram).

There's a Wildcat in the House!

As of today (no April Fool's) I am a Weber Wildcat! Yes I have registered for my first of four remaining nursing prerequisites. I will do two more this fall and then Chemistry next spring, then I'll be able to apply for the program. Their online nursing program will allow me to do all my bookwork online and the clinicals in Payson or Orem. It's better late than never, right?

It Got Better...The House I Mean

So, Saturday there was a window salesman coming to our house. So I spent all day cleaning up. (For the window salesman.?!*.) And have been the clutter natzi ever since. We're going on 6 days of 'I can open the door for anyone'. Wish me (and those thwarters...I mean people...I live with) luck!

If You Have an Immaculate Clean House, Do Not Read This...

So I like to have my floors cleaned and my bathroom hosed down and my kitchen surfaces bleached once a week. But clutter just really doesn't get to me, until... Well, until it's so out of control that I want to have a panic attack. On Sunday I had a migraine (to be specific I had a stress headache with migraine-like symptoms) and these kind of headaches have been fewer and further between during the last two years than ever before, which has been awesome. But when I get one I'm pretty much out of commission for 2-3 days. So, nothing got done on Monday (which is the day that I usually do laundry and the three previously mentioned 'big' jobs) and I was still not at a functioning level on Tuesday (which is when I do the general pick up of clutter whether I'm bugged by it or not) and then Wednesday I volunteer in Benson's class and I had someone come to give us a bid on insulating our attic (embarrassing when I had only straitened the living room and he wanted to measure the whole house) and it was so sunny that I went on a walk until it was time to pick up the boys from school after which we went through all our photos looking for pictures to put in Alan's Autobiography, then it was time for scouts and after that we headed to my grandma's for dinner. So now it's Thursday and I just don't even want to start! Our house really is a disaster and I had to pull out the summer clothes so the boys would have clean shorts to wear! I keep telling myself that if I just pretend it's Monday I'll be able to do it all--but the truth is it's Thursday the day that I usually do something fun! I also want to kick myself for getting into such a habit of doing all these things so independently that no one else can really pick up and help me as they have not been trained to know what exactly to do!

The End of an Era...

With George finding himself having to drive more and more to the projects he's working on, it was time to invest in a more efficient mode of transportation. So with heavy hearts, we said goodbye to the Cutlass Supreme. It took exactly 5 hours on KSL before it was sold. It's a little silly, but I'm going to miss that car! We inherited it from Grandma Bird, and in the true sentiment of saying goodbye, I have to reminisce about how this came to be George's transport to and from the bus stop... When we moved into Grandma's house this car was in the garage. At first it had no keys, but after a few weeks Alan found them and we tried to start 'er up. But it was not meant to be. Nothing happened. After a while, George and I, with absolutely no knowledge of cars whatsoever, pushed it into the driveway where we attempted to jump start it. Nothing. So we pushed it back into the garage. By now several months had passed (read 8) and we had given up. We priced out a lot of possible problems that could be fixed, starter motors were $250, if you install them yourselves. To clear the fuel lines would be $120 if you could tow it to a garage. To have someone diagnose it was $60 an hour, plus a fee if they used electronic equipment. At this point I was driving George to the bus on days I needed the van, and it was a fun situation, we got to spend some extra time together (I would have to be in the van at no later than 5:10 am, drive to the bus stop and wait until the bus came around 5:30...Honestly it was turning me into a big grump) but at that time in the morning it really wasn't quality time. Then Grandpa Sumsion came. One day he showed up with a truck and towed the car away. A week later it was back, running, registered and detailed to boot. We couldn't believe it! So we asked Grandpa, "What was it? Starter motor? Fuel lines? Some other horrible condition only a mechanic would know about?" He didn't know what we were talking about. It had started just fine. Once he put some gas in it.

Welfare Square

So my friend Kim Flood always has these amazing ideas about helping children appreciate what they have. Up at Welfare Square in Salt Lake (on the west side of the freeway at 800 South) they have missionaries that do tours all day (I should specify, until 3:00) that anyone can go and take and learn more about where their fast offerings, donations to the D.I. and humanitarian efforts end up. There is a short movie (called True Religion, it aired between conference sessions a while ago), after which you walk through the Bishop's Storehouse, through the warehouse, the bakery, the cannery, the dairy, the D.I. sorting center and the employment center. We had two cute missionaries who guided our tour and were full of information about which people were employees and which were volunteers (which were most of them!). At the end of the tour we got to sample the cheese they made at the dairy, chocolate milk from the dairy, bread from the bakery as well as jam and honey from the cannery. One of the most impactful things to me was they had a photo of an 8 year old girl from Ethiopia who was starving to death, she had no hair and was very literally skin and bones. The Church helped send a supplemental food to help people in this area begin to be nourished again, and there was a photo of her 6 months later and she looked like a normal, healthy child. There are so many things that we have to be thankful for! To see the organized humanitarian effort that is going on daily is amazing. It was awesome to see the volunteers working together so happily. We asked the kids at the end of the tour what their favorite part was, they said the food. Second favorite? The movie. Someday I'm sure they'll remember this and it may have more of an impact then...

Enrichment...

In the interest of full disclosure I'm going to admit something... I generally don't attend Enrichment Meeting! Sometimes it just seems to be one more meeting (that happens to land on the same night as scouts), so since we've moved (a year and a half ago) I only went to one meeting until December when I was asked to help on the committee (possibly because I had only been to one meeting). Then this month I was asked to help again, so naturally I attended the Relief Society Birthday Party. Even being on the committee I did not realize what an amazing night had been planned. Everyone was invited, brothers also, to a dinner and then to hear Sister Gracia Jones speak. Gracia Jones is the Great Great Granddaughter of Joseph Smith and the first of his descendants to be baptised when she was 18. She's written two books; Joseph and Emma, as well as Emma and Lucy. She told us of her conversion and of her desire to share the gospel, especially with all of Joseph's descendants. She read a couple of things that Emma had written that were so touching and profound. I'd never thought a lot about what Emma's life had been like after the saints traveled west and she stayed in Nauvoo. Sister Jones encouraged everyone to watch the movie Emma Smith: My Story and pointed out that when Emma stayed she cared for Lucy Mack Smith, whose health prevented her from traveling west with Brigham Young although she would have gone otherwise, also, she preserved several homes that are still standing, and also had something to do with the preservation of the Kirtland temple. She had several artifacts, including a small tea pot, that had been owned by Emma and Joseph and an enormous roll of paper that had the names and information of 1100 of their descendants (she told us that the family organization now has 1800 names).

More than truly just enjoying this speaker, I realize that there might be something to this Enrichment stuff after all! Who knows, this could turn into a habit!

The Idol

Last season, when Marci and James, Richard and Carlie, and the Bennett's were still living in Springville, we watched American Idol all together! It was so so fun! And this season has been about half as fun. At our own house. Me and Alan and Benson (Rori sleeps on my lap). We're really into it. We cancel plans so we won't miss it. We are very very sophisticated judges for people who cannot sing. And would never get up in front of that number of people for any amount of money. I think this might be the only evening show we've watched as a family! We miss you Bennetts, Crawfords and Kentucky Birds!

The Birds Fly (drive) West for the Winter!

Alan and Benson have officially surpassed me in skiing ability! On our third day of skiing at the beautiful Heavenly Resort in Lake Tahoe both Alan and Benson skiied a black diamond. Our trip was so relaxing and fun. Grandma and Grandpa Bird came with us and we made some great memories! We watched Star Wars episodes one through six, we visited the Donner Pass Museum, we ate like royalty, we swam in the biggest outdoor hot tub I've ever seen, we played games and we skied! Benson wrote a story about our trip that I will post if I can figure out how to work my scanner... Don't you always remember vacations more than every day life?

Benson's Valentine Birthday!

Benson is our Valentine baby! And now he's 7! Here's a few fun facts about our Bens-boy...

1. He is fascinated by SHARKS! He loves to watch Discovery channel's shark week. His dad thinks they will figure out a way to get one into our house as a pet... Maybe someday...

2. Benson always roots for the underdog! When BYU and Utah play and he's not sure who the underdog is, he cheers for both!

3. Benson loves all animals! He is our dog Rori's favorite. He loves cats and fish and hamsters and frogs and big dogs and little dogs and birds and monkeys and tigers and that's it.

4. Benson hates long sleeves, but he'll wear them if they have a shark on them too.

5. Benson can SKI!

6. Benson has his own motorcycle.

7. Benson is always kind to everyone. He very compassionate and lovable.

Happy Birthday Benson! We love you!

Back in Business!

After just over a month we were finally able to decide on a new laptop. And it's a PC, which I am actually enjoying quite a bit! It has a few more bells and whistles than my six year old mac (like pretty basic extras like a dvd burner, webcam and a battery that lasts more than 30 minutes!) While I am so so excited to rejoin the digital age, I have learned several helpful things while living in the dark ages...

1. There's about an hour extra in each day to just think and wonder when you can't check email or surf the blogs!
2. Ten year old scouts don't care if their reminders are typed or hand written!
3. There's a difference between a need and a want! This is not always the easiest thing for me to differentiate! But after 30 days of thinking about if a computer is a need or a want, it turns out it's a really convenient want!
4. I rely on my computer to save a lot of information, like...recipes!

A Bump in the Journey

I dropped my laptop! And injured the hard drive! I have resorted to going to the library to post this (and because I have been going through withdrawals without checking my email) ! I have no idea what computer to buy and I can't even think about that while I don't even know if any of my info is recoverable! So sad!

When I can't sleep...

Is there ever a few nights in a row where you just can't sleep? So tonight I've read almost the whole of a book called Inkheart, priced out several out of print books that I hope to buy someday, found out that a pork salad from Cafe Rio (or Costa Vida or Bajio) may have 1300 calories in it, discovered that the guy who's on Oxygen's yoga show (called Inhale) is named Steve Ross and while he rocks (and a lot of people online agree with me there) he does not have a dvd, as well as found this photo...Here's its significance. There probably one photo of me to every ten photos of George. I can't even guess the ratio of photos of me to photos of my kids, but I think that's probably completely normal. This shot is the last shot I can find of myself that I didn't hand the camera to someone and direct them to take a picture of me. This was taken in SEPTEMBER. Why that would be a project for one a.m. I don't know... Anyway I also now know the Spanish Fork Gold's gym yoga schedule (I love yoga! But I was completely spoiled by my friend Shaunna who teaches at the Gold's in American Fork. Her yoga is always awesome and never boring and no one teaches like she does...sigh...) and have a huge list of places I want to go with my sister tomorrow. If I can manage to stay awake to get to them...

Our Princess Aurora (aka Rori)

September 27, 2007 we added a furry puppy to our family. She is a Brussels Griffon, which is part of the terrier family. There was a movie 10 or 11 years ago called As Good As It Gets with one of these dogs in it, and we did a lot of research to find a dog that was 'hypo-allergenic.' These dogs have hair instead of fur, which makes them really clean and is suppose to mean that even people who are normally allergic to dogs won't be allergic to them, unfortunately this doesn't appear to be the case (sorry Alan, Marci, Allyson and Carlie!) but other than that she is the BEST! She is super smart (in some areas more than others, we've been working and working on getting her to say hi to new people without jumping up, but she just gets too excited!) but if anyone in our house even says the word kennel she's in her little house in two seconds flat! She's full grown at 8 pounds, and has such a personality, she keeps us laughing all the time! The photo on top is of the day we got her, she got blonder and blonder until she was about 8 months old, and the one on bottom was taken a month or so ago. It's a good thing we chose to get a little dog, because the house is awfully lonely when the boys are both at school and George is at work!