For anyone out there who has BYUtv, you've got to check out the new sketch comedy series "Studio C." I saw it advertised during General Conference and forgot to search for it until last week. Jared set a recording for it and we caught the 2nd episode. It airs on Monday evenings around 6 or 7pm.
O.my.holy.laughs. It was AWESOME! And the best part? All of our kids (ages 13 to 1) could sit down and enjoy it with us...without the parental units having to preview it first. We actually watched it for our Family Home Evening activity last week.
And...we've watched the recording 3 times since then :) The kids LOVE it.
Finally...a good, clean, FUNNY comedy show. "YAY! Happy Day!"
Watch the 2nd episode here.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
License to drive?
A friend of ours just recently returned home from his mission. His welcome home get together was this afternoon and Jared was planning on taking Jake and Cooper with him.
Calvin saw his big brothers getting their shoes on to go somewhere and he came up to me and asked if he could go with them. I told him he needed to ask dad. He dutifully went up to Jared and asked if he could go too and Jared said that he could. Calvin already had his shoes on so Jared told the boys, "You need to be in the suburban," while he finished chatting with me real fast.
The three of them walked out to the garage and shut the door behind them. Two seconds later, the door popped open and Calvin, still holding onto the handle leaned inside and said very seriously, with a puzzled expression on his face, "But we can't drive."
Our explosion into laughter was so loud that Jake came running back from the burb to see what was so funny. Poor Calvin was still confused. Jared recovered first and said, "I know, Buddy. I'm driving."
Calvin laughed it off in "Silly me" fashion. Then, with his super cool voice, cocking his head to the side, he said, "Just kiddin'." As if he was pulling our chain the whole time.
Calvin saw his big brothers getting their shoes on to go somewhere and he came up to me and asked if he could go with them. I told him he needed to ask dad. He dutifully went up to Jared and asked if he could go too and Jared said that he could. Calvin already had his shoes on so Jared told the boys, "You need to be in the suburban," while he finished chatting with me real fast.
The three of them walked out to the garage and shut the door behind them. Two seconds later, the door popped open and Calvin, still holding onto the handle leaned inside and said very seriously, with a puzzled expression on his face, "But we can't drive."
Our explosion into laughter was so loud that Jake came running back from the burb to see what was so funny. Poor Calvin was still confused. Jared recovered first and said, "I know, Buddy. I'm driving."
Calvin laughed it off in "Silly me" fashion. Then, with his super cool voice, cocking his head to the side, he said, "Just kiddin'." As if he was pulling our chain the whole time.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Flashback Friday: Calvin Goes to the Hospital
Since Calvin was about 18 months old, we realized that his testicles weren't descending as they should. Sometimes they are delayed and just need a little more time, so we kept an eye on them over the next 6 to 12 months. That's when we, and our pediatric urologist friend, concluded that surgery would be the best course of action.
At his pre-surgery exam, it was also discovered that the opening at the tip of his penis was too small and needed to be enlarged. That would be taken care of during surgery as well. The names of the official procedures being done under general anesthetic would be: bilateral orchiopexies and urethromeatoplasty. Yeah, I can't say them either.
We had about a month to prepare Calvin for the big day which was one year ago. We wanted Calvin, then 3 years old, to realize that while his private area is, well, private, he'd have to allow people to examine him. We also explained Dr. Pat would be fixing his penis so it would work and feel better. We used the correct anatomical terms and he announced only to a few people in public that he was having penis surgery. Not bad considering how unabashed my children are. I was, however, a little concerned when Karcyn, who was in Kindergarten, had to think of and list all the words she could think of that started with 'P'. Fortunately, she overlooked the obvious elephant in the room, despite the fact that we were all hyperaware of Calvin's groin area at the time.
We scheduled the surgery on a day that Jared worked in the afternoon so we could both be with Calvin, including JJ who was almost 2 months old and of course before the end of December since we had met our yearly deductible. Our neighbors took our school-aged kids for us at 6:00 in the morning and we headed to the hospital. I was more worried about Calvin not cooperating than about anything that could possibly go wrong while he was in surgery.
We were at Legacy Emmanuel hospital and they were fantastic with Calvin. After we checked in and got the paperwork out of the way, we were escorted to a big play room and hung out in there for a little while. I was feeding JJ when they came to take Calvin (and Jared) to his room and dress him in his hospital attire.
Only Calvin could look adorable in PINK elephant scrubs.
After Calvin was changed and got his preliminary vitals taken, we went back to the play room to hang out. We were actually in there for quite some time, about an hour. But since it was just the 4 of us and not 7, I didn't mind. Calvin and Jared had dino wars.
I played with JJ on the floor. LOVE those first big gummy smiles.
Finally it was time for Calvin to get his "sleepy" medicine. I'm so grateful it was in liquid form. He's a champ at taking medicine. When I went to the hospital for open heart surgery when I was 4 years old, I still remember the nurse bringing in my "sleeping" medicine in a HUGE needle. Oh no you don't. And I fought it and screamed and cried for a long time. My poor parents.
Calvin was wheeled down to the surgery waiting area--in other words...waiting for the relaxers to kick in. I was happy to know we were able to join him until right before they took him to surgery.
I was also able to meet the doctor who would be performing the surgery. Jared had met him before in his office for Calvin's earlier exam. This was when it was apparent that the drugs they gave Calvin were quickly doing their job.
The BEST part of this whole experience (minus Calvin getting the treatment he needed) was seeing him on controlled drugs. O.my.gosh. He is so funny. We have a video clip of it that Jared took with his iphone and I've been trying to figure out how to get it uploaded, but clearly have been unsuccessful. Drats. If you're ever at our house, you need to see it.
And then we said goodbye for a little while.
Surgery was supposed to be about 90 minutes. It was a little longer. During surgery they discovered that Calvin also had a hernia and fixed that while they were in there. Once Dr. O'Halloren came and told us Calvin did great, Jared left for work. He also took JJ with him and delivered him to Grandma Vickie who would watch him so I could just focus on a post-operative Calvin. Fortunately, Jake was old enough to come home with Cooper and Karcyn after school and hold the fort down until we came home about an hour after them.
Calvin was out cold. Even the nurses in the recovery room were surprised by how long Calvin was under. They tried everything they could to rouse him. They finally came to get me almost an hour later when he started to stir. After he woke up, and I said hi, they wheeled him back to his room upstairs. We watched cartoons on TV and he had at least 3 popsicles. We were upstairs only about 45 minutes. Once the nurses established he was able to keep his fluids down, his vitals were stable and the surgical area looked normal--we were able to leave. It's a good thing I didn't have JJ. Calvin was a bear trying to get him dressed and to walk. He was still numb in that area, so he didn't have any pain, but he was super groggy. It was a long, s..l..o..w walk back down to the parking area. He gave up in the big atrium area so I picked him up. The hard part was that he couldn't straddle me, so it was awkward carrying a big child in a nontraditional way. It would have been impossible with an infant carrier and diaper bag on top of that.
It didn't take long before he was sleeping again. I picked up JJ and we came home. When we came inside the house, the three older kids had hidden behind the furniture and yelled "surprise!" when Calvin appeared. There was a big "WELCOME HOME, CALVIN!" sign taped on the wall that they had made while we were gone. I was so touched that they would think to do something so thoughtful for their little brother.
The first few days were the most challenging. It was shortly after we got home that the numbing stuff wore off and Calvin was acutely aware of the pain. He would just lay on the couch and quietly moan or flat out scream in pain. It was like having 2 babies, 3 years apart. Calvin had his first accident while he rested. I didn't catch him soon enough. He needed help getting to the bathroom and the first few times were painful, no doubt. Fortunately, there wasn't much that LOTS of popsicles and some pizza and LOTS of pain reliever couldn't fix. The first night or two were also long and not as restful as we would have liked, but all things considered, I think Calvin did great.
I had to laugh when the post-op instructions said that we needed to keep Calvin from running, jumping, and straddling things for 3-6 weeks. Really? This is a 3-year-old BOY we're talking about. By day 3 he was up and at 'em again. I gave up telling him not to run or play. It was impossible without the use of restraining equipment.
I really wanted to take a "before" picture and an "after" picture, but Jared gave me a scolding look. What?? It's amazing the difference in just the "look". Calvin has two 3 inch scars in a V formation in his pelvic area. But now he looks so much better and more comfortable. There were 2 plastic buttons secured on the under side of his scrotum to hold those testicles in place for 10 days after surgery. Calvin was very aware of those too. Fortunately, the buttons remained in place (since Calvin is known to remove stitches on his own) and served their proper function.
Calvin was still pretty hung up on his penis for a while, so much so that when he started preschool in February, I had to explain to his teacher about his surgery so she would know that while we're advocates for using the appropriate anatomical terms, it wasn't just a topic we like to talk about frequently in our family.
We're hoping there won't be any negative effects, like a higher risk of testicular cancer or fertility issues when he's older. I think we caught it in enough time that there won't be. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology that improves our quality of life.
At his pre-surgery exam, it was also discovered that the opening at the tip of his penis was too small and needed to be enlarged. That would be taken care of during surgery as well. The names of the official procedures being done under general anesthetic would be: bilateral orchiopexies and urethromeatoplasty. Yeah, I can't say them either.
We had about a month to prepare Calvin for the big day which was one year ago. We wanted Calvin, then 3 years old, to realize that while his private area is, well, private, he'd have to allow people to examine him. We also explained Dr. Pat would be fixing his penis so it would work and feel better. We used the correct anatomical terms and he announced only to a few people in public that he was having penis surgery. Not bad considering how unabashed my children are. I was, however, a little concerned when Karcyn, who was in Kindergarten, had to think of and list all the words she could think of that started with 'P'. Fortunately, she overlooked the obvious elephant in the room, despite the fact that we were all hyperaware of Calvin's groin area at the time.
We scheduled the surgery on a day that Jared worked in the afternoon so we could both be with Calvin, including JJ who was almost 2 months old and of course before the end of December since we had met our yearly deductible. Our neighbors took our school-aged kids for us at 6:00 in the morning and we headed to the hospital. I was more worried about Calvin not cooperating than about anything that could possibly go wrong while he was in surgery.
We were at Legacy Emmanuel hospital and they were fantastic with Calvin. After we checked in and got the paperwork out of the way, we were escorted to a big play room and hung out in there for a little while. I was feeding JJ when they came to take Calvin (and Jared) to his room and dress him in his hospital attire.
Only Calvin could look adorable in PINK elephant scrubs.
I played with JJ on the floor. LOVE those first big gummy smiles.
Finally it was time for Calvin to get his "sleepy" medicine. I'm so grateful it was in liquid form. He's a champ at taking medicine. When I went to the hospital for open heart surgery when I was 4 years old, I still remember the nurse bringing in my "sleeping" medicine in a HUGE needle. Oh no you don't. And I fought it and screamed and cried for a long time. My poor parents.
Calvin was wheeled down to the surgery waiting area--in other words...waiting for the relaxers to kick in. I was happy to know we were able to join him until right before they took him to surgery.
I was also able to meet the doctor who would be performing the surgery. Jared had met him before in his office for Calvin's earlier exam. This was when it was apparent that the drugs they gave Calvin were quickly doing their job.
The BEST part of this whole experience (minus Calvin getting the treatment he needed) was seeing him on controlled drugs. O.my.gosh. He is so funny. We have a video clip of it that Jared took with his iphone and I've been trying to figure out how to get it uploaded, but clearly have been unsuccessful. Drats. If you're ever at our house, you need to see it.
And then we said goodbye for a little while.
Surgery was supposed to be about 90 minutes. It was a little longer. During surgery they discovered that Calvin also had a hernia and fixed that while they were in there. Once Dr. O'Halloren came and told us Calvin did great, Jared left for work. He also took JJ with him and delivered him to Grandma Vickie who would watch him so I could just focus on a post-operative Calvin. Fortunately, Jake was old enough to come home with Cooper and Karcyn after school and hold the fort down until we came home about an hour after them.
Calvin was out cold. Even the nurses in the recovery room were surprised by how long Calvin was under. They tried everything they could to rouse him. They finally came to get me almost an hour later when he started to stir. After he woke up, and I said hi, they wheeled him back to his room upstairs. We watched cartoons on TV and he had at least 3 popsicles. We were upstairs only about 45 minutes. Once the nurses established he was able to keep his fluids down, his vitals were stable and the surgical area looked normal--we were able to leave. It's a good thing I didn't have JJ. Calvin was a bear trying to get him dressed and to walk. He was still numb in that area, so he didn't have any pain, but he was super groggy. It was a long, s..l..o..w walk back down to the parking area. He gave up in the big atrium area so I picked him up. The hard part was that he couldn't straddle me, so it was awkward carrying a big child in a nontraditional way. It would have been impossible with an infant carrier and diaper bag on top of that.
It didn't take long before he was sleeping again. I picked up JJ and we came home. When we came inside the house, the three older kids had hidden behind the furniture and yelled "surprise!" when Calvin appeared. There was a big "WELCOME HOME, CALVIN!" sign taped on the wall that they had made while we were gone. I was so touched that they would think to do something so thoughtful for their little brother.
The first few days were the most challenging. It was shortly after we got home that the numbing stuff wore off and Calvin was acutely aware of the pain. He would just lay on the couch and quietly moan or flat out scream in pain. It was like having 2 babies, 3 years apart. Calvin had his first accident while he rested. I didn't catch him soon enough. He needed help getting to the bathroom and the first few times were painful, no doubt. Fortunately, there wasn't much that LOTS of popsicles and some pizza and LOTS of pain reliever couldn't fix. The first night or two were also long and not as restful as we would have liked, but all things considered, I think Calvin did great.
I had to laugh when the post-op instructions said that we needed to keep Calvin from running, jumping, and straddling things for 3-6 weeks. Really? This is a 3-year-old BOY we're talking about. By day 3 he was up and at 'em again. I gave up telling him not to run or play. It was impossible without the use of restraining equipment.
I really wanted to take a "before" picture and an "after" picture, but Jared gave me a scolding look. What?? It's amazing the difference in just the "look". Calvin has two 3 inch scars in a V formation in his pelvic area. But now he looks so much better and more comfortable. There were 2 plastic buttons secured on the under side of his scrotum to hold those testicles in place for 10 days after surgery. Calvin was very aware of those too. Fortunately, the buttons remained in place (since Calvin is known to remove stitches on his own) and served their proper function.
Calvin was still pretty hung up on his penis for a while, so much so that when he started preschool in February, I had to explain to his teacher about his surgery so she would know that while we're advocates for using the appropriate anatomical terms, it wasn't just a topic we like to talk about frequently in our family.
We're hoping there won't be any negative effects, like a higher risk of testicular cancer or fertility issues when he's older. I think we caught it in enough time that there won't be. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology that improves our quality of life.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Mystery solved
I've been packing the kids' lunches this year in divided plastic containers. They also take a metal fork and reusable water bottle. To be honest, I was a little worried that these things wouldn't make it home each day. Much to my surprise, the kids have been perfectly diligent about bringing it all back.
Karcyn's water bottle is blue and I remember seeing it Tuesday after school on the counter. She was drinking out of it.
When I went to pack it up on Wednesday morning, I couldn't find it anywhere. I was seriously stumped. I could have sworn I had seen it the day before, after she got home. Then a scary thought occurred to me. Maybe my brain isn't as sharp as I thought. Perhaps the days really were running into each other and it was actually two days prior that I had seen the water bottle...even though I was almost certain I had just seen it. Before she left for the day, I suggested to Karcyn that she might have left it at school and to take a look there.
I volunteered in Karcyn's class a few hours later and her teacher said they looked for the water bottle, but couldn't find it in the room. I told Mrs. Hugelier it was okay. I explained that she has a brother at home who likes to take things. Maybe Calvin knows where it is.
As I did the last bit of tidying up last night in the kitchen area, my eyes were drawn to the area by one of our floor vents. (I caved in yesterday and turned on the heat. I still don't get how 68 degrees on the "cool" setting is so much colder than 68 degrees on the "warm" setting. And despite the gorgeous sunny autumn days this past week, our house hasn't gotten above 70 degrees, making it colder inside than it has been outside. But not anymore.)
The furnace kicked on last night and the heat was blowing so much that the papers taped to the wall nearest the vent were doing some serious flapping. That's when I saw the vent grate had been moved over to the side, exposing the entire vent space. I bent over to slide the grate back in place and this is what I found...
Hmmm. I had the right idea. Wrong brother. JJ was the swiper. And I had stumbled upon his secret stash. How did I know? That's Calvin's green water bottle. The most perplexing thing is when JJ hid this stuff (also including Jake's tennis ball, a small blue car, and about 19 magnetic letters--which was all my short arm could reach...who knows what else is down there!). It's rather impressive and somewhat disturbing considering how open and relatively small our house is with 7 people in it.
Jake said now that I've blown his cover, JJ will be forced to find another secret hiding spot :)
The best part...not having to say I'm sorry for a) accusing Calvin of taking Karcyn's water bottle and for b) issuing a consequence because he's the least trustworthy child in our family. Calvin is not the child you want to be beholden to.
Karcyn's water bottle is blue and I remember seeing it Tuesday after school on the counter. She was drinking out of it.
When I went to pack it up on Wednesday morning, I couldn't find it anywhere. I was seriously stumped. I could have sworn I had seen it the day before, after she got home. Then a scary thought occurred to me. Maybe my brain isn't as sharp as I thought. Perhaps the days really were running into each other and it was actually two days prior that I had seen the water bottle...even though I was almost certain I had just seen it. Before she left for the day, I suggested to Karcyn that she might have left it at school and to take a look there.
I volunteered in Karcyn's class a few hours later and her teacher said they looked for the water bottle, but couldn't find it in the room. I told Mrs. Hugelier it was okay. I explained that she has a brother at home who likes to take things. Maybe Calvin knows where it is.
As I did the last bit of tidying up last night in the kitchen area, my eyes were drawn to the area by one of our floor vents. (I caved in yesterday and turned on the heat. I still don't get how 68 degrees on the "cool" setting is so much colder than 68 degrees on the "warm" setting. And despite the gorgeous sunny autumn days this past week, our house hasn't gotten above 70 degrees, making it colder inside than it has been outside. But not anymore.)
The furnace kicked on last night and the heat was blowing so much that the papers taped to the wall nearest the vent were doing some serious flapping. That's when I saw the vent grate had been moved over to the side, exposing the entire vent space. I bent over to slide the grate back in place and this is what I found...
Hmmm. I had the right idea. Wrong brother. JJ was the swiper. And I had stumbled upon his secret stash. How did I know? That's Calvin's green water bottle. The most perplexing thing is when JJ hid this stuff (also including Jake's tennis ball, a small blue car, and about 19 magnetic letters--which was all my short arm could reach...who knows what else is down there!). It's rather impressive and somewhat disturbing considering how open and relatively small our house is with 7 people in it.
Jake said now that I've blown his cover, JJ will be forced to find another secret hiding spot :)
The best part...not having to say I'm sorry for a) accusing Calvin of taking Karcyn's water bottle and for b) issuing a consequence because he's the least trustworthy child in our family. Calvin is not the child you want to be beholden to.
Wardrobe malfunction
Last Friday was picture day at school. We had recently received some hand-me-downs for Karcyn and we selected one of those outfits for her school pictures. I'm pretty sure I had her try it on since she's still small for her age and I just never know with pants.
The bottoms (a skirt with attached leggings) seemed to fit. I recall them being just a smidge loose, but nothing that would be a hindrance for her. Better to be loose than too tight, right?
Wrong.
After school on Friday, the first thing out of her mouth was "My pants fell down at recess."
Oh no! "I'm so sorry, Karcyn. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." And that was that.
Yesterday, while I was volunteering at the school in Karcyn's classroom, her teacher Mrs. Hugelier asked if I had heard about Karcyn's wardrobe malfunction on picture day. Sheepishly, I told her I was made aware of the situation by Karcyn herself when she came home from school.
Mrs. Hugelier said Karcyn had mentioned her pants were falling down in class earlier that day. Mrs. Hugelier thought they were maybe too small and were being pulled down when Karcyn was sitting and didn't think to look into it or she would have pinned them for her.
As I was leaving the school, Mrs. Hanzel, from the library, was in the front office. She asked me if I had heard about Karcyn's pants last week. I smiled, nodding and said I had. Mrs. Creek, the secretary, piped up and said she heard that when it happened Karcyn was just standing there, crossing her arms to shield the front of her, screaming and laughing. Apparently Karcyn thought it was funny and that there was no real urgency to get those pants up. Mrs. Hanzel responded that she hadn't seen that reaction at this particular recess and Mrs. Creek said that another recess duty teacher had told her about it. Sooooo...apparently it happened in two different recesses or twice in one.
*sigh* That's not exactly how I want our reputation to be known around the school. Needless to say, those bottoms are now at the bottom of Karcyn's drawer until she gets a little bigger. Fortunately, it appears that Karcyn is "no worse for the wear" :)
The bottoms (a skirt with attached leggings) seemed to fit. I recall them being just a smidge loose, but nothing that would be a hindrance for her. Better to be loose than too tight, right?
Wrong.
After school on Friday, the first thing out of her mouth was "My pants fell down at recess."
Oh no! "I'm so sorry, Karcyn. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." And that was that.
Yesterday, while I was volunteering at the school in Karcyn's classroom, her teacher Mrs. Hugelier asked if I had heard about Karcyn's wardrobe malfunction on picture day. Sheepishly, I told her I was made aware of the situation by Karcyn herself when she came home from school.
Mrs. Hugelier said Karcyn had mentioned her pants were falling down in class earlier that day. Mrs. Hugelier thought they were maybe too small and were being pulled down when Karcyn was sitting and didn't think to look into it or she would have pinned them for her.
As I was leaving the school, Mrs. Hanzel, from the library, was in the front office. She asked me if I had heard about Karcyn's pants last week. I smiled, nodding and said I had. Mrs. Creek, the secretary, piped up and said she heard that when it happened Karcyn was just standing there, crossing her arms to shield the front of her, screaming and laughing. Apparently Karcyn thought it was funny and that there was no real urgency to get those pants up. Mrs. Hanzel responded that she hadn't seen that reaction at this particular recess and Mrs. Creek said that another recess duty teacher had told her about it. Sooooo...apparently it happened in two different recesses or twice in one.
*sigh* That's not exactly how I want our reputation to be known around the school. Needless to say, those bottoms are now at the bottom of Karcyn's drawer until she gets a little bigger. Fortunately, it appears that Karcyn is "no worse for the wear" :)
Friday, September 28, 2012
Road Rage
Saturday night I went to pick up Jake from a birthday party. On the way back home, I was heading north on 185th sitting in the left turn lane to go west on Farmington. I was the first vehicle in the lane and pulled up near the crosswalk and listened to Jake tell me about the party while I waited for our left turn signal to go green. After a couple of minutes, it seemed like we had been there a little longer than we should have--like every other lane of traffic had an opportunity to go, except us. Another 30 seconds to a minute passed and the next thing I notice in the side mirror is a middle-aged man approaching my side of the vehicle. I alternated keeping an eye on the light and this man, confused as to what was going on. Was he in trouble? No, he didn't look like he was in "need". There was purpose in his strides as he stomped up to the driver's side window.
I rolled the window down not sure what to anticipate, though I vividly recall never feeling like I was in danger. I don't even remember what he looked like, but he spat out,
and I quote:
"You've got to get on the DAMN sensors!"
My eyes were wide as I tried to register his words and anger. My response was out of my mouth before I had time to think.
"Oh....Okay."
Once he knew I heard him (as if that would have been a problem) AND understood him, he stomped back to his truck behind me.
As I rolled the window back up, there was silence. Jake quietly piped up from the passenger seat and asked the obvious. "Soooo....you weren't on the sensors?"
"Apparently not."
That's what I don't understand. I was MAYBE 4-6 inches from the beginning of the crosswalk. I thought it was illegal to be in the crosswalk. I slowly pulled up, but not much so I could continue to avoid the crosswalk (which is at a slight angle in that lane, starting further back on the left side where we were). And then, miraculously, we got our green arrow.
Huh. I didn't even know the sensors existed.
I actually had to chuckle on my way home thinking about that guy. Here he is, stuck behind a vehicle whose driver has no clue that she's the reason why there's no green arrow. All the honking in the world wouldn't solve the problem. So he did the only thing he could think to do. Granted, he could have done it without the profanity and anger. It's not like I was avoiding the sensors to purposely antagonize him. All in all, I was grateful this man's display of road rage wasn't any more than it was.
So where are those sensors and why am I just now finding out about this? Are all intersections like that? Is this just a local thing?
I rolled the window down not sure what to anticipate, though I vividly recall never feeling like I was in danger. I don't even remember what he looked like, but he spat out,
and I quote:
"You've got to get on the DAMN sensors!"
My eyes were wide as I tried to register his words and anger. My response was out of my mouth before I had time to think.
"Oh....Okay."
Once he knew I heard him (as if that would have been a problem) AND understood him, he stomped back to his truck behind me.
As I rolled the window back up, there was silence. Jake quietly piped up from the passenger seat and asked the obvious. "Soooo....you weren't on the sensors?"
"Apparently not."
That's what I don't understand. I was MAYBE 4-6 inches from the beginning of the crosswalk. I thought it was illegal to be in the crosswalk. I slowly pulled up, but not much so I could continue to avoid the crosswalk (which is at a slight angle in that lane, starting further back on the left side where we were). And then, miraculously, we got our green arrow.
Huh. I didn't even know the sensors existed.
I actually had to chuckle on my way home thinking about that guy. Here he is, stuck behind a vehicle whose driver has no clue that she's the reason why there's no green arrow. All the honking in the world wouldn't solve the problem. So he did the only thing he could think to do. Granted, he could have done it without the profanity and anger. It's not like I was avoiding the sensors to purposely antagonize him. All in all, I was grateful this man's display of road rage wasn't any more than it was.
So where are those sensors and why am I just now finding out about this? Are all intersections like that? Is this just a local thing?
Flashback Friday: St. George, UT August 2011
We got a new computer last Friday so I was unable to do a post. But I sure am loving my 27 inch monitor and wireless keyboard, mouse and printer! I actually have to tilt my head back to look UP to see my browser :)
Here are the highlights of our trip to southern Utah a week after I gave birth to JJ. Jake and Cooper were already down there visiting my parents.
We left on a Friday around 1pm and stopped in Nampa, ID and crashed with our friends the Hamiltons from our Forest Grove days. Technically, Alison and I are actually related! Distantly so, but thanks to my dad's work on our family history, we realized this when we were students there. That was a fun, "small world" discovery.
To make our goal of St. George by dinnertime Saturday, we had to leave Nampa really early. Before the Hamiltons were up, actually. We didn't have much of a visit, but we were so grateful for their hospitality.
We hit Lehi around lunch time and gratefully were fed real food (as opposed to take out) by my sister in law, Chris. I was able to nurse JJ and we were super happy to stretch our legs before getting BACK in the suburban for another 4-5 hours. Before we left Lehi, however, we stopped by the Urgent Care in town where Jared's dad works. JJ was "too tiny" by Jared's standards and consequently Jared was a little obsessed with checking his weight, so we swung by the "office" to do a weigh-in. Karcyn and Calvin didn't go in and were upset about that, so Doc came out with some candy and made a balloon dog for Karcyn and a balloon sword for Calvin. Back in the day when Doc had his own private practice in the midwest, he would make these balloon creations for his young patients. He also bartered--a turkey here, some fresh milk there. Those were the good ol' days.
Having a tiny baby has its perks. We didn't have room to bring a cradle or pack 'n play with us, so Grandma improvised with....a plastic rubbermade drawer! It was perfect!
Jake and Cooper enjoyed some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Lee the week before we arrived. They went on lots of hikes and out to eat, saw "17 Miracles", had more treats and swam a LOT in their pool.
I believe the popular hiking spot was Snow Canyon.
As much as I miss the charm and magnificence of all things Alaska, I have to admit that southern Utah IS growing on me. It really is remarkable with the mountains and red rocks in contrast with the blue sky.
Jake's vacation took a dramatic turn to major "epicness" when he came across THIS in his path on one of their hikes with Grandpa.
As the story goes, Grandpa was taking pictures of a yucca plant. I guess that wasn't exciting enough for Jake so he continued down the trail on his own when he spotted a snake right in front of him. This is like a dream come true for Jake. If he could catch snakes all day, he would. An opportunity presented itself, so he picked it up. His first attempt landed him a snake bite in between his fore finger and thumb on his left hand. If you click on the picture you can see the puncture holes and blood from the bite. Jake said it didn't hurt too bad and calmly worked the snake to release his hand.
By that time, Grandpa and Cooper had arrived on the scene. Grandma, who was back at the house, was NOT pleased to hear after-the-fact that a snake was involved in their hike and that Jake picked it up without Grandpa with him. Jake tried to placate her by saying he knew it was a kingsnake (and therefore not poisonous) from some museum they had gone to just a day or two earlier. Apparently, if you go on a hike or drive in Alaska and see a moose, it's a success. And if you're one of my boys and in southern Utah (or anywhere for that matter) and find a snake, it's an epic day! Just glad I wasn't there.
One of the big things we did was take the kids into Zion's National Park. (Oh look, a picture of me and JJ who was 13 days old).
It's been almost 14 months since we did this and I can't remember what I wore yesterday, let alone the name of all the bus stops and mountains in Zion's, but this was one of them! Left to right...Cooper, Jake, Karcyn, Calvin and my dad.
And another.
Jake.
Cooper.
Me (with JJ in the front pack) and Karcyn.
Considering how HOT it was, I thought the kids did really good this day. Eventually, we had to throw Calvin in the backpack (which was intended for JJ but was waaaaaay too big for him--so glad I had the front pack). The good news is, the next time we go, the kids will be older :)
The last leg of our Utah trip was spent in Lehi with Jared's brother Kevin and his family (with Jared's parents close by). Their kids had already started school so we just kicked back and hung out. On Sunday, August 28th, we blessed JJ. This is a family picture taken later that day with my parents and my brother's daughter Kaitlyn in the purple dress.
We were so honored to have 4 of Jared's mission buddies take time out of their busy Sunday schedules and responsibilities to stand in the prayer circle during JJ's blessing. (That was a better turn out than our temple sealing!) They came from up and down the Wasatch Front AND...St. George!
Other distinguished guests included my college roomate Sarah and her family, plus my cousin Mark and his wife and family and my Uncle David. It was a wonderful reunion, albeit super fast, and we didn't even know my uncle was in the area. He and Mark also joined the prayer circle. That brought the total to 10 (plus baby)! That's definitely a record for us and in a ward we didn't even belong to. We're so grateful for them letting us crash their meeting.
We traveled home on Saturday, Sept. 3nd...just in time to get home, unpack and throw the kids back in school on Tues. the 7th.
*Oh yeah, we weighed JJ again in Lehi on our way home and he was still measuring small. He was gaining, but not as much as Jared would have liked him to. So instead of resisting, I began supplementing with formula when we got back to Oregon. JJ weaned off nursing totally on his own at 4 months, in December.
Here are the highlights of our trip to southern Utah a week after I gave birth to JJ. Jake and Cooper were already down there visiting my parents.
We left on a Friday around 1pm and stopped in Nampa, ID and crashed with our friends the Hamiltons from our Forest Grove days. Technically, Alison and I are actually related! Distantly so, but thanks to my dad's work on our family history, we realized this when we were students there. That was a fun, "small world" discovery.
To make our goal of St. George by dinnertime Saturday, we had to leave Nampa really early. Before the Hamiltons were up, actually. We didn't have much of a visit, but we were so grateful for their hospitality.
We hit Lehi around lunch time and gratefully were fed real food (as opposed to take out) by my sister in law, Chris. I was able to nurse JJ and we were super happy to stretch our legs before getting BACK in the suburban for another 4-5 hours. Before we left Lehi, however, we stopped by the Urgent Care in town where Jared's dad works. JJ was "too tiny" by Jared's standards and consequently Jared was a little obsessed with checking his weight, so we swung by the "office" to do a weigh-in. Karcyn and Calvin didn't go in and were upset about that, so Doc came out with some candy and made a balloon dog for Karcyn and a balloon sword for Calvin. Back in the day when Doc had his own private practice in the midwest, he would make these balloon creations for his young patients. He also bartered--a turkey here, some fresh milk there. Those were the good ol' days.
Having a tiny baby has its perks. We didn't have room to bring a cradle or pack 'n play with us, so Grandma improvised with....a plastic rubbermade drawer! It was perfect!
Jake and Cooper enjoyed some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Lee the week before we arrived. They went on lots of hikes and out to eat, saw "17 Miracles", had more treats and swam a LOT in their pool.
I believe the popular hiking spot was Snow Canyon.
As much as I miss the charm and magnificence of all things Alaska, I have to admit that southern Utah IS growing on me. It really is remarkable with the mountains and red rocks in contrast with the blue sky.
Jake's vacation took a dramatic turn to major "epicness" when he came across THIS in his path on one of their hikes with Grandpa.
As the story goes, Grandpa was taking pictures of a yucca plant. I guess that wasn't exciting enough for Jake so he continued down the trail on his own when he spotted a snake right in front of him. This is like a dream come true for Jake. If he could catch snakes all day, he would. An opportunity presented itself, so he picked it up. His first attempt landed him a snake bite in between his fore finger and thumb on his left hand. If you click on the picture you can see the puncture holes and blood from the bite. Jake said it didn't hurt too bad and calmly worked the snake to release his hand.
By that time, Grandpa and Cooper had arrived on the scene. Grandma, who was back at the house, was NOT pleased to hear after-the-fact that a snake was involved in their hike and that Jake picked it up without Grandpa with him. Jake tried to placate her by saying he knew it was a kingsnake (and therefore not poisonous) from some museum they had gone to just a day or two earlier. Apparently, if you go on a hike or drive in Alaska and see a moose, it's a success. And if you're one of my boys and in southern Utah (or anywhere for that matter) and find a snake, it's an epic day! Just glad I wasn't there.
One of the big things we did was take the kids into Zion's National Park. (Oh look, a picture of me and JJ who was 13 days old).
It's been almost 14 months since we did this and I can't remember what I wore yesterday, let alone the name of all the bus stops and mountains in Zion's, but this was one of them! Left to right...Cooper, Jake, Karcyn, Calvin and my dad.
And another.
Jake.
Cooper.
Considering how HOT it was, I thought the kids did really good this day. Eventually, we had to throw Calvin in the backpack (which was intended for JJ but was waaaaaay too big for him--so glad I had the front pack). The good news is, the next time we go, the kids will be older :)
The last leg of our Utah trip was spent in Lehi with Jared's brother Kevin and his family (with Jared's parents close by). Their kids had already started school so we just kicked back and hung out. On Sunday, August 28th, we blessed JJ. This is a family picture taken later that day with my parents and my brother's daughter Kaitlyn in the purple dress.
We were so honored to have 4 of Jared's mission buddies take time out of their busy Sunday schedules and responsibilities to stand in the prayer circle during JJ's blessing. (That was a better turn out than our temple sealing!) They came from up and down the Wasatch Front AND...St. George!
Other distinguished guests included my college roomate Sarah and her family, plus my cousin Mark and his wife and family and my Uncle David. It was a wonderful reunion, albeit super fast, and we didn't even know my uncle was in the area. He and Mark also joined the prayer circle. That brought the total to 10 (plus baby)! That's definitely a record for us and in a ward we didn't even belong to. We're so grateful for them letting us crash their meeting.
We traveled home on Saturday, Sept. 3nd...just in time to get home, unpack and throw the kids back in school on Tues. the 7th.
*Oh yeah, we weighed JJ again in Lehi on our way home and he was still measuring small. He was gaining, but not as much as Jared would have liked him to. So instead of resisting, I began supplementing with formula when we got back to Oregon. JJ weaned off nursing totally on his own at 4 months, in December.
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