Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Bye-bye Burgerville

Yesterday we had our last hurrah with two of our favorite places. We went bowling at Big Al's (yeah, mama broke 100-- yippee!) and then had dinner at Burgerville.
Burgerville is a regional burger place that uses local, fresh, seasonal ingredients.
And they fry them in grease just like everyone else.
We love their Halibut Fish and Chips. And the Tilamook Cheeseburger.
Their shakes and smoothies are so thick you can pop a blood vessel trying to get some through the straw!
This is where we went for the wedding luncheon after Shanna and Austin were married.
It's that good.
I told the gal at the counter that we were moving to California and wouldn't be back for a long, long time. I even started to get a little choked up saying it.
After we got our food and sat in our favorite booth (the only one big enough to hold our big family--even though our big family is half what it used to be)...the server brought us a jar of Burgerville secret sauce. She said, "My manager told me to give this to you, since you are leaving."
Do you think the tears were too much?

Sunday, March 29, 2009

A Sweet Good-bye

We stopped by the Childers' last night before the Young Women Broadcast for some dessert, some socializing and for Shayla to receive this cute poster they made for her.
You know, if everyone here weren't so darn nice it would be a lot easier to move.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Mother of Mine


Today is my Mother's Birthday.
My Mother is on a mission right now in New Jersey.
That is a long way from the tiny town in New Mexico where she grew up.
She was the third of six children. There are three boys and three girls.
She is the middle girl.
She grew up to be a cheerleader and Homecoming Queen...this was in a graduating class of five.
(I told you the town was tiny!) My Mother married young and started her family right away. I was born soon after she turned twenty and I was the second in our family after my brother Jon. My earliest memories of her are of her dressed up. I remember the swish of her nylon stockings when she walked and the click, click, click of her high heels. I knew it was Sunday and we would be going to church. She would lean down to help me with my shoes and I could smell the hairspray and perfume. I remember playing with her pretty necklaces and admiring her earrings. My Mother was pretty and looking at pictures of her back in that era, she reminds me of Jackie Kennedy--the fashion icon of that time. I got my Mother's dark hair, but not her beautiful blue eyes.
My Mother was very enterprising and creative. She made the matching Easter dresses you see on my sister Julienne and me. Mine had two little pockets. She embroidered flowers along the edge of each pocket. She made dresses for me out of old women's dresses. She could cut out a child's dress from the good fabric and use the buttons and zipper and any other usable parts to make a beautiful child's dress or skirt. When I was in the second grade, she got a little carried away and made me a plaid skirt with suspenders and used the extra fabric to make a little beret and fringed scarf. All from a woman's pleated skirt she got from Goodwill. She dressed me all up for school and sent me off. As soon as I was out of sight of the house, I stuffed the hat and scarf into my pockets. It was Blanding, Utah for goodness sake, not Paris, France!

Another early memory of mine is the smell of fresh baked bread on a Saturday night. She would make all the bread for the family on Saturday and by the time I went to bed she had it in the oven. I remember pretending like I had been woken from a sound sleep, wandering into the kitchen just as she was setting it out on the counter to cool. If I played it just right, I would get the heel of a warm loaf with a little butter before being sent back to bed. Yum!

I also remember her doing the laundry out on our porch in an old wringer washer. I was fascinated by the whole process. But now I look back and know what a lot of work that was. It was all done by hand and then hung on the clothesline to dry. I loved to play house and copy her domestic chores with my toy dishes and doll clothes. She would let me have a little bit of sugar to put in my plastic sugar jar. She would pull off a bit of dough when she was making bread and let me knead and roll it.


I was lucky to have a Mother who always had a great love of learning. She passed it on to us, first by reading to us. I have a vivid memory of laying on her bed while she read "Treasure Island" to me and my brother. I remember her reading "Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum! Fifteen men on a dead man's chest..." I pictured a pirate laying on his back with fifteen men piled on top of him--crushing his chest. It wasn't until I saw the Disney movie of Treasure Island that I realized it was a TREASURE chest.
My Mother's aunt Afton was a World Book Encyclopedia representative and her kids were all smart. My Mother wanted us to have the same chance at intelligence so she made payments on a set of World Book Encyclopedias that included a children's set of books.

She was fascinated with nature and loved to share that with us. If she found an unusual bug or spider, she would get it into a jar to show us. One day, she decided to make an aunt (oops, I mean ANT farm--I only had the two aunts and neither of them would have fit in a gallon milk jar!) ANT farm. She got the idea from the encyclopedia. She got a big, gallon milk jar and filled it with sand. The next step was to capture a queen ant so the colony would follow her to the "farm". We were all out digging up ant hills looking for the queen. We knew we were close when we dug down to the ant eggs. We got the queen into our jar and sure enough, the colony followed! We kept a sugar-water soaked sponge in a jar lid on top of the jar of sand and the ants lived happily for a long time.




That's me, my brother Jon and our parents. I'm probably looking for ants.




My Mother was her children's biggest fan. She signed us up for dancing lessons and made sure we were involved in any singing group at school or church. She made any creative arrangement she could to make sure we could pay for dancing lessons as well as the costumes and shoes involved. She was in the audience for all of my theatrical performances and any orchestra concerts. She would brag at any opportunity to others but never allowed us to get "too big for our britches".

My Mother taught me to pray and she showed me what faith is. She was very sick with hepatitis which affected her for many years. I remember waking up with nightmares--my Mother was exhausted, I'm sure from her illness and me waking her up because I was scared. She always reassured me and told me to say my prayers and that I was safe. Also, my little sister was born small and weak, and got pneumonia. The doctor didn't think she would make it. My Mother thought otherwise. I was only five but I remember the seriousness of the time and my Mother made sure we knew that it was faith and prayer that saved our baby sister.

She also showed me how to serve. Over the years, she took in foster children. One was so sick, anything he ate went right through him. His clothing and bedding were constantly messy. Imagine the laundry involved in keeping him clean and sanitary. She had compassion on the mother of two of our foster sisters. She was an alcoholic and desperately wanted to get her children back. If she came to the door and was sober, my mother would have her come in and see her girls. I remember her rocking and singing in Navajo in our living room.

When I was older, my Mother visit taught an elderly woman who lived alone. She would take me along on weekly visits and I would clean her house and wash the dishes while my Mother visited with her. Around that same time, she was the Laurel Advisor. I saw how she served faithfully in that calling and the girls loved her. She was fully enthused about everything to do with Young Women and Girls Camp and Road Show and Temple Trips. She was a dedicated and loving leader.

My Mother had her 10th child about eleven months before I had my first.
(Yes, we are Mormon)
There is no doubt that she loves her children every one.
She gets a little competitive with her siblings when it comes to numbers of grandkids and she had a hard time not nagging when she thought it was time for a great-grandchild.
She may be only 5 foot 2, but she's tough--I'm not worried about her holding her own in Jersey and New York City. She was only in the MTC for two weeks. I suppose that was long enough for her to learn the language: "Fugeddaboudit" and "Whachoolookinat?"



Wednesday, March 25, 2009

For Your Convenience

As I was packing, I came across our 72 hour kit.
This handy item was added last summer when I updated.
(That was when I finally cleared out the size 3 clothes for our ten-year-old)
It has all the comforts of home... What's inside you ask?
Everything you need for potty convenience should you ever have to evacuate in an emergency.
Those are "astronaut diapers" on the right--pretty handy.
Also inside: gas masks, toilet bags, toothbrushes and paste and sanitizing hand wipes.
Everything you need to stay clean and sanitary.
I suggest you get one for your family.
Because if we all end up in a shelter, it's going to be BYOB
(Bring your own bucket!)


Friday, March 20, 2009

First Daughter

This little Lady is our Birthday Girl today!
That's her on her very special 8th Birthday--with her new white dress.
(And her sister and her cousin!) Happy Birthday Siara!



Siara holds a special place in our Family--
AND in our Hearts


Looking sassy in her pirate pantaloon pjs...
We had so much fun while she was home for Christmas:
she made yummy caramel popcorn and she helped us make a funny snowman.
She also had fun bonding with Shane over Purr Pals.

Modeling her magnificent Mittens

I would like to put up more pictures, but alas, they are packed away until we get moved into our new place. Look out for next year when I have access to the Gale Family Picture Archives!



Although a picture is worth a thousand words, it would take many more than a thousand words to tell you all the ways I love my Sweet Siara. She has been a precious part of my life from even before she was born. She is a girly girl and it was fun to dress her up in ribbons and curls and sew frilly dresses for her to twirl in. But she wasn't afraid to get dirty and spent most of her childhood outdoors running around in the dirt and the trees of our yard and neighborhood. She was artistic from the first time she picked up a crayon. Her creativity knows no bounds. She has a sense of style that the rest of us admire but can never seem to achieve...but she loves us anyway. She is bright and smart and always worried more than she needed to about grades--but it did motivate her to high achievements. She is loving and giving and her tender heart leads her to many kind acts. Her testimony has grown along with her. She was often moved to tears as a little child when she listened to children's songs about Jesus. One time she asked me "Why am I crying? I'm not sad." Her exuberance brightened up our home all of her growing up years. There was the classic tutu on the head during wrestling matches with Dad and brothers and the pure joy of cutting out hundreds of snowflakes and tossing them over the stair railing to watch them float down to her little brothers and sister below.
She grew up to serve in her YW classes and in Student Leadership at school. She was also a cheerleader and she did Mock Trial (one judge called her a "Barracuda"). She stayed true to herself. She expected her friends to respect her for who she was. And she did the same.

She has grown into a beautiful woman, inside and out.
We love you, Siara. Enjoy your day!





Thursday, March 19, 2009

I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face

Up until the last year or so, my husband was a world traveler. His business obligations kept him on the road about 65% of the time. He had top status in several frequent flier programs and could navigate any airport like a pro.

I didn't like having him gone that much, but I adjusted to it. My adapting meant I was in charge at home. I ran things my way and it seemed to be working just fine.
Until the day he found out his job was eliminated.
He came home, deposited his box of work awards and plaques and mementos in the garage. Then he walked through the door and toppled my government in a bloodless coup.
It took some adjustment for both of us. Once a CEO, always a CEO. At first I bristled at being questioned about my every move:
"Where are you going?"
"Grocery shopping."
"What are you going to get?"
"Groceries"
"Do you know the kids are outside?"
"Yes, they do that sometimes."
"What are they doing?"
"Playing, maybe goofing off."
He spent a lot time on the phone. This meant I couldn't make phone calls for my calling or visiting teaching or daughter chat time at my convenience. I had to wait around. Then I would be told:
"I'm expecting an important call, don't be long."

Of course, I wanted to be supportive in his job search and I also kind of hoped it would be a chance for us to have more family time. I had no idea just HOW MUCH family time.
So, here we are 15 months later and he has a new job. He has to go to San Diego to work so that means he has been gone for a week at a time for the past few weeks. I didn't realize how spoiled I had become in one short year...I miss him. Not just because I have to drive the kids 30 minutes to seminary. Or because I am back to doing all the car maintainence. Or even because I don't have his booming drill seargant voice here to help me supervise the youngsters.
I really do enjoy his company.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Happy Birthday Sam-I-Am

Today Sam becomes a teenager. This amazing transformation happens because it is his 13th Birthday!
And what can I say?
SAM ROCKS!And he carries rocks.
He is a hard worker--if the price is right.
Here he is in his role as UNCLE SAM

Playing poker with our "Author" cards.
"I've got a full house of Shakespeare and Dickens."


Sam is a good Scout. He enjoys the campouts and adventures and he doesn't complain about the merit badges. He lives all of the Scout Law, but is especially good at the part about being
Cheerful & Friendly



He also lives his own law which includes such character traits as:
Silly & Goofy
Happy Birthday Sam!





Monday, March 16, 2009

Our State of Limbo Ends and a New State Beckons

House hunting long distance has been an adventure. Andy did the leg work ahead of time and narrowed down the possibilities. The possibilities came to exactly TWO. I flew to San Diego for a day and looked at the two. One had nine acres, the other had a postage stamp yard. The choice was easy. But it felt strange to make such a big decision with so few choices. It was a nice house with a few quirks and was short one bedroom. But we had to make it work so I resigned myself to look at the positives and get on with the move. This was the house:When we knew we were going to California, I had visions of a big garden that would produce year-round with the beautiful, sunny climate. My first priority upon entering the house was to walk through to the backyard and check the soil conditions. I was informed that the soil was crushed granite. So...I was going from cement-like clay in my Northwest garden to crushed rock. I am a resilient woman. I began to make plans for raised beds and imagined the many wheelbarrows of soil and manure I would be hauling up to our mountaintop fortress:
But I came home still feeling like it wasn't the home for us. I did not want to be ungrateful. I also kept thinking that maybe a family like ours had a home they would need to sell. And it would come on the market before our "get out of contract free" deadline came up. And that is exactly what happened! Just hours before the deadline. Andy went to see it with our realtor and sent me pictures taken with his cell phone:

This house was in the same area--the same ward. It has the same amazing views. But it has all the bedrooms we need for our four children at home. And room for the four that are away from home to come and visit. And any friends and relations that might want to come see us too.
(That's a guest apartment over the garage)


Oh, and it was priced lower.



It is also a bit less desolate.


The kitchen is roomier and more big family friendly.






The pool looks inviting.






So, come and see us.




Saturday, March 14, 2009

So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye

So, last night Seth had a good-bye party here at the cabin with a bunch of friends.
The highlight of the party was going to be a live band. A couple of his friends have a band called "Focus on the Skyline"
They agreed to come and liven things up for us.
Just one little snag: two of the bandmembers were playing in the orchestra pit for the high school musical, "The Sound of Music"
Somehow, I found that endearing--these screamo musicians playing "The hills are alive, with the sound of music...." anyway--
that meant they couldn't get here until later.
But then they got lost on their trek to the cabin and that made
them even later.
The party got over at 11:00 and all of the girls were gone by then and a couple of the guys.
So that left a party of 5 to enjoy the music.
The band got here at 11:20. It took them 20 minutes or so to set up.
So they started their set at about 11:45.
It was loud.
I'm not really a fan but I have to say they do have musical talent--whatever it was they were playing and screaming was on key and in rhythm.
But I was concerned about the neighbors. Although we are out here in the boonies, we have one neighbor who is just a stone's throw from our place. She is in her sixties and has her eighty-something mother living with her.
The phone rang at midnight.
It was Florie --our neighbor. Seth answered it with some reservation. Here's the quote of the night for you:
"Hi, this is Florie, your neighbor. The music's GREAT! CRANK IT UP!"
Now that's what I call neighborly.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Nice Try

Here's the list I keep handy on the cupboard door. I jot down items I need from the store as I become aware of them. It would appear that one of the youngsters thought they would add to the list. I thought it was especially clever to add spinach...you know to throw me off.

Friday, March 6, 2009

With a Cherry on Top

I have been a little busy of late--packing and preparing for the big move. But not too busy to consume my much-appreciated Christmas gift! Whilst I was in Utah for Bailey's blessing, my daughter Shanna gifted me with the chocolate-covered cherries she and Siara made for me. I'm not going to tell you how many there were. I did share them so I didn't eat ALL of them. But, I did eat MOST of them. And they were delicious. I used to have a saying on my 'fridge:
"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"
These were an exception.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

For Your Reading Pleasure

Set aside some time and go read Nie Nie.
That's the new button you see over there....
Get out the Kleenex.
Trust me.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Our Town Again

So, here's the house we built next. It probably looks strangely familiar. That's because Andy liked the design of the front that he did on the other house so much, he repeated it here.
This was only six blocks from our last home. But this place had more room around it. It was a little over an acre and had protected greenspace behind it--which included a little creek and lots of trees.
During the building process, I spent a lot of time going back and forth from our other house to here and always dragged Shane along with me. He didn't enjoy it because he had to stay out of the way of the workers and listen to boring adult talk as we discussed tile and carpet and plumbing and blah, blah, blah. When we finally moved in, Shane was not happy. In the middle of the night our first night, he woke me up and said, "I want to go home now."
I said, "You are home, we live here now."
"NO we don't! Our house has a white door. This is not my house. Take me HOME!"
A few days later I was doing laundry and he walked in and started crying, "What did you do with our washer? This is not our washer!!"
Eventually he resigned himself to the fact that we were staying.
Before we got the landscaping in, the backyard was a muddy mess. After a snowstorm, Siara and her friend, Sumner, decided to go for a walk in the forest. Unfortunately, he sank into the mud and couldn't get out. Siara tried to pull him up and out but he sank deeper. We were about to call the fire department when he finally heaved himself out of his boots and snowpants and up on to solid ground. We found the boots the next summer when the ground dried out.
Scott spent his last year of high school here and left for BYU and then his mission from here. Siara also graduated and left for BYU. Then Shanna graduated and left for BYU. Then Spencer never went to high school but he left for BYU while we were living here.
I loved gardening here and spent a lot of time out in the garden. The kids couldn't help but gravitate out there too. We planted pumpkins and strawberries which they loved. We also planted tomatoes and squash which they didn't love.
We had hawks nesting in our trees and it was so fun to see the babies learn to fly and then grow up and build their own nests. Eventually we had a pretty healthy hawk population. They helped the cats keep the mouse population down.
We started homeschooling here and this became the lab for many interesting experiments. Some of them very loud. This was also the testing facility for many flying contraptions. Seth and Spencer built rockets, hot air balloons and various planes...with various methods of getting them off the ground. Spencer built a GIANT trebuchet which was used for launching pumpkins into the forest.
We were surprised when this house sold so quickly. We thought we would have more time there. But it was fun while it lasted and we moved from there to the little cabin we are enjoying now.
Next: A few favorite places around town.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Blessed Event

Sweet little Bailey with her parents on her Blessing Day

Bailey and her bodyguards.



Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...