Sunday, July 22, 2012

Breakfast Conversation


Breakfast: delicious, fresh vegetables

This Morning:
Andy: Do you know I have lost 10 pounds since you moved out here?
Me: Wow! I am so good for you.
Andy: You complete me.
Me: Ummm...I think I deplete you.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Fun Facts

We got to enjoy the company of Shanna and that darling little grandson, Mason for the past ten days. It just went too fast because, as they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!".
But, here are some FUN FACTS about that Mr. Mason:

1. He had already been on vacation for two weeks with his other grandparents--basking in the adoration and love of all his paternal relations, yet he was still humbly accepting of any and all affection from the Gale Clown Show side of his family.

2. Mason never stops moving. As long as he is awake, he is on a constant quest to see the next big thing. Nothing gets in his way. If there is an obstacle, he starts climbing.

3. Mason is pleasant and cheerful 99.99% of the time and can be easily swayed to laugh and giggle even during the .01% of  the time when he starts to fuss. He cut THREE MOLARS while he was here and though his Mama will tell you he didn't sleep his best some nights because of that--we sure couldn't tell during the day!

4. Mason finds joy in the simple things--he played happily in a box for quite some time. His happiness was multiplied when his Mama handed him a Fudgesicle.

5. Mason and Gunner became best buddies. Mason was a natural alpha.With confidence and affection, he had Gunner following him around and putting up with tail-pulling in exchange for extra snacks that fell from the high chair or Mason's hands. Mason enjoyed splashing in Gunner's water dish and Gunner enjoyed cleaning up after Mason's meal time. When Mason heard Gunner's collar tags jingle he would say: "Woof woof!"

6. Mason is quite the cheery tourist. We took him to the big city and he took the place by storm with his charm. He had everyone on the train from New Haven to Grand Central smiling and talking to him. He waved "Bye bye" as each person got off on their stop. After a VERY HOT tour of New York, and a short, sweaty nap, he was recharged and ready to do the same thing all the way home.
Union Station: Fun with Uncle Sam

Mason riding the subway like a boss
7. Mason has command of  the full repertoire of fun baby songs with actions. He entertained us with his renditions of "Wheels on the Bus" and "Patty Cake". If he needs to quiet down, we just say "The mamas on the bus say...." and he puts his finger up and replies "Sh, sh, sh.". 

8.He is also proficient in animal sounds and his monkey and sheep are hilarious. 

9. He learned to sip from a straw while he was here--a handy skill to have if you get to go to Shake Shak in New York City!

10. Mason is active in the church. Very active. We took turns letting him get his energy out by running marathons in the halls and the gym. 
Mason going incognito between the pews.


11. Mason is fearless. He went in the pool, played with the dog, chased the cat, stepped out into the abyss of our sunken family room with hardly a hesitation and climbed stairs without looking back. If a door is open, he must go through it, if there is an opening, he must climb into it. He is our own Christopher Columbus, Admiral Peary and Neil Armstrong rolled into one intrepid toddler. 

12. Mason is a "people person". He assumes that everyone he meets is worth getting to know. He will go to anyone and has no reason to doubt that everyone is his friend.
Here he is with Uncle Scott who came to visit too.
13. Mason was born to two awesome parents--he is growing up in a loving and secure home and that is why he is a happy, secure little boy. The joy we feel as grandparents is wrapped up in that beautiful blessing of loving eternal families.

14. It was hard to say good-bye. We drove to the very busy JFK airport and I got out to help Shanna get checked in and up to the security line. Everyone there was very helpful and kind and Shanna got shifted to the front of the security line so I only had a second to say good-bye. But I was so choked up I was afraid I would burst into tears and cause a scene. So I fought back the tears and hugged Shanna and kissed Mason's sweet little chubby cheek and squeezed his little leg as he sat in his stroller. He gave me the little Mason wave and off they went.  It's only hard to say good-bye when you had a wonderful time so I will be happy for that.

Mason with his Mama in Grand Central Station









Saturday, July 14, 2012

Shayla's Birth Day


Precious Baby Shayla in her blessing gown.

Our sweet Shayla was born 18 years ago today. I realize that her birth story did not get told last year in the "Year of Birth Stories". So, I will remedy that today.
Shayla is our 6th child and that summer I was pregnant with her, I had the older four in swimming lessons. The lessons were every morning at our local  pool. Seth was two years old and full of energy, so I spent each morning running (waddling) after him in the parent seating section of the bleachers, while the older kids swam.
In my journal, an entry on July 6, 1994 reads:
"Today I ran some errands. I got a portable crib and set it up in our bedroom. Also a nursery monitor. I feel like I'm ready for this baby now. I went Tuesday to see my midwife and I am dilated 2 cm. and 50% effaced. Also the head is well down--all good news for a quick delivery. I really feel good and expect everything to go well."
At the appointment, Ann had offered to strip the membranes. I told her "No, I'm not in any hurry and I want her to grow as much as she needs to."
We had my sister Valorie come from Utah to watch the older five when I had the baby so we were prepared when contractions started on July 13--two days before my due date.

 I was serving as a counselor in our ward's Young Women organization and we had planned a fun Daddy/Daughter activity for the girls that night but the contractions continued steady so I made a phone call at 5:00 to let them know I was in labor and wouldn't be there.  Andy came home and worked outside on the house. We were in the middle of an on-going remodeling that included a huge addition to the back of our house. Andy was doing most of the work himself so we were in a constant state of chaos with five children and a pregnant mom trying to function around the construction. (My journal entries included many incidents and accidents involving wheelbarrows, mud, concrete, nails and so on and so forth.) Sometime after I had fed the kids, I started timing contractions and they were seven minutes apart. I told Andy maybe he should get cleaned up. Then we had scripture and prayer with the kids (this according to my journal--I would not have remembered that much detail!) Then Andy gave me a blessing, as he did with the birth of all of our babies. I was blessed that it would "go quickly and with a minimum of pain." 

We got to the hospital about 10:00 (we stopped at the ATM for cash--according to my detailed account hahaha). I still wasn't positive if it was the real thing because the contractions were not painful. The nurses were a little bugged that I had not called first--they were pretty busy. Then I really hoped I wasn't wasting their time.  When I got checked I was dilated to eight so yay! I was having a baby. They called the midwife and we got settled into a birthing room. By then it was close enough to midnight that I told Andy I was going to hold back a little so she would be born on the 14th. Our other two girls were born on the 24th and the 4th so I thought it would be fun to have all three girls born on "4" days. 

The three sisters in their matching Daisy Kingdom dresses


Ann got there and I started into transition. Two hard pushes and her head was out. Ann told me to stop pushing but didn't tell me why. It turned out the cord was wrapped around her neck. After Ann got the cord off, Andy moved in and caught Shayla as she was born at 24 minutes after midnight. He laid her up on me and Ann handed me a towel to wipe her off. She hadn't cried yet so I was worried. Her eyes were open and she was calmly looking around. As I rubbed her with the towel, she gave one loud cry and went back to looking around. Ann was anxious to see how much she weighed and the nurse brought in the scale. Andy guessed 8lb. 2 oz. and Ann said 81/2 or 9 lbs. We were all shocked when the scale went up to 9 lbs. 15 oz. She didn't look chubby at all. In fact, she had very feminine, petite hands and narrow feet. She had wavy hair plastered to her head. We wrapped her up and I nursed her. She latched right on and nursed on both sides. She was calm and alert. After her bath and feet-printing we got into a room about 2:30 am. She fussed a little and nursed again. The nurse suggested I let her sleep with me which really surprised me. She snuggled right up and we both slept for several hours. 
Shayla and her violin


A few weeks later, we were going to have her blessed. My mother had sent a pretty blessing gown for her from Utah and the first Sunday in August I dressed her all up for her blessing day. Andy was on the High Council and had a meeting that morning, so I got the kids all ready for church and headed over. Church began and no sign of Andy. I wasn't too worried because he was sometimes a little late getting back from his meetings. Soon it was time for the blessing and everyone knew we were waiting for her Daddy to get there to give her the blessing. The bishopric gave each other nervous glances and kept looking at the door to see if Andy was there. Finally, the Bishop got up and announced that they would hold off on the baby blessing until Brother Gale got there and just continue with the regular Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting. The meeting went on and still no sign of Andy. As it got  to the end, I decided to get up and bear my testimony. I said it was ok that her Dad was serving faithfully in his calling and I appreciated that he was a worthy and faithful Priesthood holder. We were just concerned that her pretty blessing gown wouldn't fit her by next month--especially since she had started out bigger than we expected. She would know that her Dad was doing the Lord's work and her blessing would be just as special with or without the fancy dress.

The meeting closed and I took the dress off of Shayla and headed for Sunday School. Andy actually didn't get there until part way through that second hour. He had been held up by an emergency need that had come up. The Bishop gave us permission to have her blessed the next week so--she was blessed and she still fit in her pretty dress.

She was a calm, easy-going baby and slept 7-8 hours a night according to my journal. The fact that I wrote about her sleeping means she was sleeping enough to give me time to write in my journal.

On July 31, 1994 I wrote: "It's been a busy two weeks adjusting to our sixth child and adjusting to the other five trying to adjust to a new baby. They are all very positive and sweet with their new little sister --even Scott who was hoping for a boy keeps saying 'She's just the cutest baby in the world!' It's hard to comprehend that I am the mother of six children! They are each precious and wonderful and challenging! I feel so blessed that I have had the health and strength to bring them into the world and pray for patience and sanity to raise them to be righteous and decent."

My children might question whether the prayer for sanity was granted but I certainly owe a debt of gratitude for the blessings that have been poured out as I have had the privilege of mothering some of the most amazing people on earth. 

Shayla will be heading off to BYU in about a month where she plans to major in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science.  Happy Birthday Shay!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Getting to Know our New Town


So, we moved to a new town called...
...Newtown
But new in this case is relative. The church you see there was built in 1720.
Back when the town really was new. The town was founded in 1709.

This is another very old church right across the street.

Here you see our two daughters and adorable grandson
gazing upon the local library.
Which is also a museum.
We loved this cool old bike.
And really love this quote posted near it.

This is the Newtown Historical Society.
Appropriately housed in a very old house.
I will have to go take the tour to find out just how old.
We took a little stroll along main street  and enjoyed the beautiful old homes.

I really love the detail of this fence and mailbox.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the General Store.

Then we headed back home..


...to enjoy more entertainment courtesy of 
this little guy.









Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Truthist Has a Birthday



My baby turned 14!
Hard to believe our youngest child is old enough to go to church dances.
And as he told me when I asked him if he would be going to
a dance any time soon:
"Well, I've got some pretty amazing moves."

He was not happy about being dragged across the country
to begin again in a new place.
But Sam talked him into a Costco cake (the frosting in those balloons!? gag!)
and he was happy to have his family sing to him and blow out the candles.

He got a really awesome Bear Grylls survival knife a while back at the REI sale.
He promised it would be an early birthday present and he would be sooooo happy 
and he would remember that he already got his birthday present.
But of course he forgot and broadcast to the world on fb that he 
got nothing for his birthday.
He also got some snazzy new clothes and he told me I should not
say snazzy so of course I had to put it in a blog post about him.
He  then informed me that "Clothes don't count as birthday presents."

Happy Birthday Shane.

Special note to Shane:
Clothes do count.
Especially snazzy ones.




Friday, July 6, 2012

Catching Up

Gentle Reader,

I have all kinds of blog posts swirling around in my head. But this move, plus the time change, plus the humidity, plus the flurry of activity right before we left, plus the red-eye flight with a cat on my lap yowling from one end of the country to the other, has left me a bit fatigued. What with the piles of boxes to be unpacked and the house to get in order, I still have miles to go before I sleep.  But in the meantime, here's a little of what's been going on in our world:



We packed up our California house and then waited with baited breath in the empty shell of our former home, 

for our buyers to wrap up the financing and close the deal.
And they did. And we moved into a hotel.
The lovely and hospitable San Vicente Inn right in our own backyard.

Here you see Brother McBride giving Sam the Eagle Challenge.

Then Sam came home from his High Adventure in Sequoia and Jenny Lakes and parts thereabouts
and we held his Eagle Court of Honor.
This was an accomplishment in itself --many thanks to the kind Scouting Moms
who helped me with refreshments and set-up. And the many kind and thoughtful ward members who helped with the planning and technical set-up on one week's notice.


And here you see his fearless leader, Wurzel preparing to present him with the actual Eagle Badge.
And that's his proud Mama standing by.
After the Eagle Court of Honor and some tearful good-byes, we zipped off to the San Diego Airport to
catch the red-eye to New York City.


Sam and the cat are portraying how we all felt after our exhausting journey.
Shane looks like he's in shock.



We were all happy to see our new house.

And begin the work of turning it into a home.


The craft room will have to wait--it's low on the priority list.

The front entry.

The kitchen looking into the breakfast nook.

Andy's office--he's pretty happy about it.
By the way kids, Dad got a letter published in the Wall Street Journal!
It came out the day we arrived in Connecticut. 
You can see it here.
It's about two of his favorite topics:
Italy and gelato.

The yard is a little over-grown but these hydrangeas are blooming beautifully.

And this my friends, is going to be my new garden spot.
Some intrepid raspberries and blueberries are  growing here.
I have some work to do but look at that lush
forest in the background! We are a little partial to green so I think we
will be able to adapt to our new home.











Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Delta Dogma



We made it to Connecticut by way of New York City and courtesy of Delta Airlines. We chose Delta because they are willing to transport pets. The logistics of a cross-country move are complicated by the needs of our four-legged friends. Jetblue has a great nonstop flight to JFK airport but they don't allow pets. Some airlines that allow pets don't have a nonstop flight. So Delta was the one. I read everything I could online and gathered all the information I could find and then called the Delta customer service line.
I explained our situation: one dog, one cat, two kids and a mom moving from one side of the continent to the other, in need of air transportation. Andy had already booked the humans on the red eye for Sunday night so I needed to get the pets on board. 
The cat was welcome to hang out with us in the cabin of the plane--for a not-so-small fee. She had to fit in a carrier that would fit under the seat in front of us. No problem. 

Then there was Gunner. It seems Delta has an "embargo" on pets traveling in the baggage compartment from May to September. This is understandable as the weather can be very hot and there can be delays that would leave a pet sweltering in there with the suitcases. If our move had been better timed, we could have treated him like checked baggage and paid a nominal fee to get him to our new home. But our move was poorly timed and I was told that I could call Delta Cargo and they would ship a live animal for me. So I did that. The very helpful service person with a lovely, charming southern accent told me they would be happy to  ship my mutt with their other cargo. She told me about "Delta Dash" a wonderful, special cargo program wherein live animals and fresh food and the like are whisked across the country lickety-split so they stay fresh and/or alive. I knew by now that this was my only option. I had exhausted all avenues of travel for Gunner except the "Hobo Plan": giving him a knapsack on a stick and telling him to hop a freight train.

So, when she gave me the price for the "Delta Dash" I choked and sputtered and expressed some shock and awe. I told her we loved our dog but he was a dumpster mutt. How could it cost more to ship a dog to New York than to fly a human? She sympathized charmingly in her sweet southern accent and I told her we would purchase a one-way ticket for our dog on the Delta Dash--we had no other option. I asked her if at that price, the dogs would be getting sparkling cider and finger towels. Perhaps an in-flight movie (Old Yeller? Too depressing. Maybe Lassie or Benji). Then, she gave me his flight information.
He was traveling on our flight. On the same plane.  
Wait a minute.
 This whole "Delta Dash" was a sham for squeezing more money out of dog owners in the summertime. Ours was a nonstop, night flight so heat was not an issue. That's some very clever marketing Delta. 


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 ...