this much is true

recently i discovered or rediscovered that:

Y gram knows all the words to "la cucaracha".
Y the smell of squash baking on a cool autumn day is divine.
Y even though my lauffice (that's laundry room - office combined) is a mess most of the time, i do prefer it to be clean and free of debris.
Y parker and gram speak the same language. they say "uh-huh" and "yup" and "i doe no" exactly the same. berry propel is also their current drink of choice.
Y my sister can make more peach pies than i can eat. (hard to imagine)
Y i like to work ...
Y i also like to laz around - and am quite good at it.
Y i have inherited a bit of the family obsessive-compulsive trait. (thus my collection of backpacks, shoes, pillows, air mattresses, i don't even camp anymore, and, most recently chairs!)
Y history is still my favorite subject.
Y mia maids rock.
Y we use a lot of salt and pepper.
Y i have the best family in the world.
Y cori's music brings me pure joy.
Y my favorite tv reality show is "the amazing race" can't wait for it to start again.
Y and i can spend hours blog stalking!

castles, unicorns and princesses

it was the blue unicorns vs the purple princesses. the turrets of "castle park" stood as the backdrop. players were armed with hair ribbons, cartwheels, skips and leaps and plenty of smiles. a thumbs up was given to us spectators each time her royal highness sophie passed as she ran up and down the playing field. she was in her game and all of our eyes were on her. by the end of the match it didn't much matter which side of the field the soccer ball was on. the little legs wrapped in shin guards and knee socks were tired and their bodies were hungry. they had played a noble and honorable game. each team cheered the other with grand enthusiasm. high fives were given and little voices saying "good game" could be heard. the proud coaches encouraged their players and thanked them for the doing a great job while handing out boxed juices and teddy grahams. i can hardly wait until next weeks game.

dating decisions?

i find it a bit ironic that i am giving a yw's lesson on dating decisions. mmmm...i didn't do very well in that department. not that i was a dating fiend, meaning a person who is extremely addicted to some pernicious habit, but much to some people's surprise i'm sure, i did date...or at least made the decision to date. what i was never too good about was making the decision to marry. so in the long run perhaps it is not so ironic, me teaching about dating. at least i've done that. looking on the positive side i am grateful i'm not teaching on marriage, finding your soul mate and twooo love!

- - -

Epilogue: (reposted at 8:43 am) after posting this blog and then staying up about another 1 1/2 hours to do my lesson, i finally went to bed. during my short sleep, since i awoke at 6:15 am, i had a dream that i was a bear! or at least that i was in a bear's den watching and participating with all the other bears. the massive, but kind mother bear patted my head with her large paw, then patted the heads of the twin cubs, which i estimated to be about 2 year old cubs and then cuddled down next to a very small and cute cub. i felt myself smiling and feeling somewhat comforted and snuggling down myself. hmm, i wonder if the interpretation of this dream means that i need to take a very long winter's nap!

to infinity and beyond

yesterday i learned of a man and his 12 yr old autistic son who were swept out to sea while swimming off the coast of florida. the boy is pretty much a non verbal autistic, except for his love of disney movie phrases. when the father realized they were in trouble and unable to make it back to shore, he kept in touch with and encouraged his son by shouting out phrases from favorite movies. most often used - "to infinity and beyond". darkness set in. they could no longer see each other. i can almost hear the father calling "to infinity..." and the enthusiastic reply of the son "... and beyond". fourteen hours passed as the two drifted further apart. the water was dark and treacherous. by early morning light the young boy would no longer respond. a rescue helicopter spotted the man and hoisted him to the safety of a nearby coast guard ship. there was no sightings of the 12 year old. despondent the man retreated below deck to gather courage and morn his loss. after sometime the rescuers bid the man to come up on deck. they pointed to a helicopter and said that his son was on board and he was ok. rejoicing the father kissed every guardsmen on board ship. the boy survived because he knew his father was near. in his innocence he simply believed he was on an adventure and did not allow fear to set in.

i think that our Father is calling out to us..."to eternity and beyond". He is on our side, cheering us on, knowing we can make it through dark nights and treacherous waters. we need to be brave like the 12 year old who believed and had no fear. if we are prepared, by knowing that the love of our Father in Heaven is constant, we have nothing to fear. so here's to "infinity...ie eternity....and beyond."

Christopher Marino was rescued after nearly 14 hours in the sea.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26639098/

it was a grand night

"our state fair is a great state fair,

don't miss it, don't even be late.

it's dollars to donuts

that our state fair

is the best state fair in our state."

i like the state fair. night time is best with lights and music and game barkers galore. where else can you gaze at blue ribbon onions, see the world's largest alligator, eat doughy corn dogs smothered in mustard, gobble mountains of curly fries, slurp down giant cokes, and stuff yourself with large handfuls of kettle corn, topped with the best candied apples in the state. all while walking through the livestock barns and seeing the prettiest cows and sheep and polka dot pigs ever.

i must admit i did get a little nauseated after a very long merry-go-round ride, standing next to parker. sophie and gummy were on the horse chasing us but thanks to excellent riding skills on parker's part they never caught up. the blurry picture is the best i could do having eaten all of the above before going, round and round and round.

i am sad we missed the "odor-eaters rotten sneaker contest - i think, as well as the "senior's wii bowling tornament" but we did get to see the "tigers of inda" show and watched a bit of the square dancing contest (gotta love those dresses with petticoats). we went with the bradburys, evans, gardners and connors clan. a good time was had by all. more pictures to come, once i get them from cinny's and cori's camera's.