2012 Election

Things are heating up.

I mean, have you seen all the election signs?

Mark is running for "leader".  He needs a campaign manager to help him with spin though for the gaffes he makes in front of his constituents.  On Wednesday, before scouts, he told me, "I think I will like scouts better since you aren't my leader anymore."

(We have new leaders for the 9-year-old Bears so now I just have two very sweet and docile 8-year-old Wolves.  And guess what, Mark?  I think I will like scouts better since I am not your leader anymore.  You're pretty...energetic.)

When Adam saw Mark's campaign signs, he helpfully pointed out Mark doesn't know how to write the letter a.  Not my fault.

We're blaming his school teacher.

A Bad Combination

My girls.  Olivia didn't like this picture so much because she was very pregnant...it was taken a few years ago.  She's still cute though, isn't she?

There are a few defining characteristics about my mom.

She wants to help.  It's how she expresses her love.

Also, she doesn't really want anyone to help her.  She is the queen of I-can-handle-it-alone-thank-you-very-much.

My mom has three daughters.  We are all more or less the same way*.  When my mom was preparing for her mission, Marianne and Olivia showed up on her doorstep from time to time declaring they were there to help.

My mom resisted.  She argued.

(They wanted to help + my mom didn't want help.)

Marianne and Olivia inherited my mom's strong will though.  I think they overpowered her occasionally.

I felt bad being so far away, not helping.

(Not that my mom would have wanted me to help.)

Olivia is expecting a new little cherub and without my mom there I am going to go help her when the baby is born.  Marianne is her neighbor and as efficient as a Costco checker...you know, the one in the line next to yours, the line you should have chosen...but I want to help anyway.

Olivia told me I didn't have to.  She said it wasn't necessary.

(I want to help + she doesn't want me to help.)

She finally relented.

Then I talked to Marianne.  She was indignant, slighted.  She said, "I can help Olivia!  Why does she think I can't handle it?"

(I want to help + Marianne doesn't want me to help.)

I said, "Oh Marianne.  You are too much like our mom.  So is Olivia.  So am I."

She said sadly, "I know.  It's a bad combination."

I was telling our brother Enoch about this exchange.  He chuckled.  Because he knows.  He said, "Yeah, there's a tendency to be a little territorial."

There may not be much hope for us.

Still, I love my sisters.  And if we are going to be like our mom, we could do a lot worse.

*I think I may differ slightly from them.  I have to believe that if any or all of those three showed up on my doorstep, insisting to help me, I would accommodate them.  I mean they could make a dent around here.

Books I Read in February 2012

Snow in July* by Heather Barbieri

This is one of the few books that I continued reading even though I didn't particularly like it.  I read I think because the author did a great job capturing the place.  It was set in Montana but it could have been where I grew up.  I recognized the town.  The characters were also familiar.  I could have gone to high school with them.  As the book progressed and I realized I didn't like the book, I also remembered I didn't really like some of the people I went to high school with.

The Book Thief**** by Markus Zusak

Every once in awhile I read a book that outclasses nearly every other book I've read.  The Book Thief was a wonderful book.  It was terrible (set in Germany during World War II) and devastating but also funny and sweet and filled with hope and love and joy.  I can't possibly describe it and won't even try.  But read it.  Do.

On Little Wings by Regina Sirois***

I liked this book.  I was judgmental about it at first because I had just finished The Book Thief and it was hard to compete.  Also, there were grammatical errors.  You can tell from reading my blog that I'm no grammar whiz so obviously, these were pretty obvious grammatical errors.  The book got a lot better as it went though and I ended up enjoying it.  I am a sucker for a book about sisters.  It's about two sisters that are estranged and a daughter/niece that tries to get them together.  Also it is set in Maine.

I want to go to Maine.

One Day by David Nicholls*

I don't recommend this book.  I think the only reason I kept reading it was because it was just compelling enough to keep me going and want to know what happened and also, I read it mainly by the pool in Palm Desert and maybe the sun addled my brain.  I skimmed a lot of the book.  It was a series of really bad choices made by two people and then it ended terribly.  I usually don't feel this annoyed when I finish reading a book.  I wish I hadn't wasted my time. 

Family Friends

Mark is learning about Venn diagrams in school.  I like Venn diagrams.  I like organizing.

I could make a Venn diagram with people I love.

There are the family members.  They're in one circle.

There are the friends in another circle.

In the overlapping part there are the family friends.

Friends our whole family loves.

Family who are our dear friends.

Friends who are like family.

The Jorgensen family fits in that middle section.

The first day we moved into our house we met Eric and their oldest son, David.  They came to help us move.  We immediately liked them.  (It's hard not to like people that are helping you move.)

As years passed, we've spent time with the Jorgensens.  We've gone on hikes and picnics, we've celebrated holidays together.  Our kids have destroyed each others' houses.  We've celebrated new babies and mourned lost loved ones.

Sunday night we gathered with other friends and watched David open his mission call.  I cried like he was my own son.  I was proud of his goodness and confidence, dedication and example.  He's going to Taiwan and I wonder if the people there know how lucky they are.

Good news Taiwan:  you are getting DAVID JORGENSEN!  Take good care of him because we love that kid.

Friday

On Friday:

A mother duck and her babies walked all around me and under my chair by the pool.

I was late getting my phone out to snap a picture and they were already walking away but what is cuter than a duckling?  Nothing.

Adam threw Mark around the pool.

Adam beat us at 18 holes on the putting green.

Does it mean I lost because my ball went into a pond?

We also flew home.

As excited as I was to see Braeden and Emma, when I looked out the window of the plane in Seattle and saw rain and gray gloom, I turned to Adam.

I said, "We've made a huge mistake."

But we got off the plane.  That's what you have to do.  Apparently.

Disneyland

Before we headed to Anaheim yesterday, we decided to tell Mark where we were heading.  For one thing, Braeden and Emma made us promise we would video his reaction and for another thing, we wanted to be able to talk excitedly about Disneyland as we drove.

I am not sure the exact reaction I was expecting from him.  Something along the lines of him naming us the best parents in the world and throwing his arms around us and declaring his undying love.

Something like that.

It didn't happen.

He said, "But we can't go to Disneyland without Braeden and Emma!"

We said, "Yes, we can."

He said, "But we don't have tickets."

I told him, "Yes, we do."

Then he asked, "Can we use them later?  Do they have to be today?  I don't want to go without Braeden and Emma."

Then he started to cry.

We assured him that Braeden and Emma already knew our plans and they were excited for him.  (Which was true.  Yes, they wanted to come too but they understood.)

He finally came around to being excited about Disneyland.  Adam and I just looked at each other, mystified.  Do these kids stay up all night trying to think of ways to surprise us?

Walking into Disneyland is always a giddy experience.  I'll never get over it.  We couldn't walk into the main plaza--the one right in front of the castle--because they had it blocked off.  They were filming an episode of Modern Family.

I quickly snapped a picture with my phone (we didn't bring our camera...spent more time having fun and less time photographing it) of Claire (Julie Bowen) and Jay (Ed O'Neill).  They were right there!  At Disneyland.  I wanted to show the picture to Jill.

Here's how it turned out.

A picture of my fingers. You're welcome, Jill.  .

I would have stuck around and tried again to get a better picture but I was at Disneyland!  With two of my four favorite people!

The only thing better than having a (big) 9 year old on your shoulders is to have him stick his thumb in your nose.  Adam hoisted Mark up so he could see the clock display at Small World.

We determined that Mark is not after all King Arthur (but he sincerely tried):

We did manage a few "family" photos:

But mostly it was a lot of Dad and Mark pictures:

As close as I will ever get to the tea cups.

And some Mom and Mark pictures:

Mark told me he'd never had cotton candy.  What kind of mother am I?  I bought him some.

It was a lovely, exhilarating and exhausting day. 

Just like a day at Disneyland should be.

I wouldn't trade my life with anyone.

Mark and An Effective Ad

There are a lot of things I hope I remember about this time with Mark.  The way he laughs all the time at mostly his own jokes.  The way we impersonate the voice in the elevator...when she says Level 5 she makes it sound like a question which always cracks Mark up.  I want to remember watching him swim and the game we played where I would read and he would swim across the pool, trying to reach me without me hearing him.  I want to remember that we ventured beyond the resort and its enchantments to find a city park because my boy needs to use his muscles.  He is unlike me--or his siblings--in that way.  We'd be happy to sedately read the day away, but not Mark.  It is not surprising to me that he falls asleep minutes after he climbs into bed. 

I have no good pictures of him.  But I think I'll remember.  He's slightly sunburned and has a chin he scraped on the bottom of the pool our first night here.

In other (though Mark related) news:

Have you seen that Disneyland ad?  The one with the One Republic song, Good Life, and these words?

To all the memory makers.

The ones who know there are only so many moments before the sword is passed,

Only so many mountains left to climb together

And only so many days before she finds her own prince charming.

So all those who know the best memories in life are the ones you hold onto for a lifetime,

Don't wait. 

Let the memories begin at the place where dreams come true.

I have never seen it without wanting to go to Disneyland.  Immediately.

Guess what we are doing today?

(Mark doesn't know yet but we have told Braeden and Emma.  I feel terrible that they can't join us.  Adam keeps reminding me we took them to London and not Mark.)