Monthly Archives: June 2008

Seven months ago our red car finally died. It needed a new starter. But we had just put about $900 into it to get it to pass emissions. The poor car wasn’t even worth that much. So rather than incur another X amount of dollars to extend the poor things life, we decided to be done with her. We bought our new Toyota Camry.

First we gave her to a friend of ours, who is here going to school from China. But it became apparent that getting a drivers liscence, paying for insurance, gas, maintenance, and a parking permit were all a little too much for her.

Then a neighbor said he’d take it. He never did. Then another one showed some interest. Finally last week I got online and donated it to the Kidney Foundation. If you notice in all of our pictures for the past six months that have been taken outside, the red car is in the background. It’s been parked since November, in front of our house. We couldn’t even get it started to move it. Luckily the Kidney Foundation will move it for you.

We bought that little car in the summer of 2002, after we returned home from China. It had 102,000 miles on it then. Now it has just over 200,000. It served us well–it got excellent gas mileage, was very reliable (until the very very end), and had many memories made in it. It’s the car Wyatt took me to the hospital in when I was in labor with Olivia, and he swerved to yell at the missionaries. It’s the car I brought Olivia and Cal home in. It’s the car Wyatt and I both drove every day when we were commuting from down town Salt Lake to Provo, it’s the car that was broken into, and inspired us to actually move from the “Meth Lab Apartment” (no, we are not meth lab peeps, but we did live across the street from one during Wyatt’s first year of graduate school). It was a car that kept us grounded and focused on our goals–the flashy exterior of life was not our focus, but rather the long term financial investments like education, travel, and business.

And now it’s gone. We have a new used car, and it gets more whistles than our dingy red geo ever did. I wonder where this car will take us.

I know this picture is horribly flat and has banding, but I did that in my post processing so you could see the quail in the shadow of Wyatt’s hand. Look at the size of it compared to his fingers.

There we were minding our own business, sitting on the front porch, as usual. Suddenly we see a mamma quail and her flock of babies run across our grass. The baby quail are back.

Our neighborhood is practically a bird sanctuary, as Wyatt says. Look, any moment, year round, at our front lawn, and your bound to see at least two or three birds hopping in the grass or flying up to the tree. We have pidgeons, quail, finches, tons of robins, starlings, sparrows, ducks, geese, and pheasants, all on a daily basis. We are even occasioned by a bird of prey once in a while.

Quail lived in the neighborhood I grew up in, and I remember as a child trying my darndest to catch a baby. I could get pretty much any other baby bird–all they ever did was sit in their nest. But those baby quail could out run any ten year old!

Today, as we sat, watching the quail, a couple happened to get seperated from mamma and came running onto my porch! I cornered them and actually caught two! Look how tiny these are–about the size of a quarter. So cute. Olivia was enthralled that we caught them, she’s been trying to catch a bird since she was big enough to walk. I guess some dreams do come true

I was in the middle of getting the babies ready for bed last night when my sweet, but senile, neighbor came over to visit. Bedtime is a delicate balance of routine and patience, and visitors kinda throw a wrench in the whole process. So Olivia is crying because the bedtime routine has begun, I’m trying to talk to Kathe (my neighbor), and Calvin is fussing because I’m not holding him, and he’s really tired.

Next thing I know, Calvin falls, bites his lip, and starts spurting blood. I finally tell Kathe I HAVE TO GO! and start running for the bathroom to clean Cal up. As I turn the corner I trip on my China Chest, spilling Olivia’s soda pop all over the hardwood floor. Now Olivia is really upset, but Cal is even more. I grab a rag, which was readily available because Olivia has discovered the rag drawer and uses them as blankies for her plenitude of stuffed creatures. Rag goes on the floor, Cal and I rush to the bathroom to inspect and clean him up. Kathe lets herself out, Olivia finds her way to her bedroom, and we can finally really get bedtime started.

On Wednesday I took the babies with me to the Outlet Mall in Park City. As I’m lifting Cal out of the car, I realize my hand is wet, and look down to see pooh covering my hand, keys, Cal’s shorts, and leg. It’s all over him, and now all over me. But I’m in a parking lot, and have no where to lay him down to clean him up. So I stand him up against the side of the car, and pull his clothes off, which have poop all over them, and smear it further on him as I lift and pull the outfit off. Of course I only have a piddly two wipes on me, so burp rag, clean part of his clothes, and wipes are used to clean him AND ME up as much as possible. Then the whole bundle gets tossed in the nearest garbage can. Cal shops the rest of the day in just his diaper.

On Thursday we went to the Lehi pool with Grandma Christensen and cousins Alea and Weston who are in town for the week, and Jena and her kids. But as I pull in to Utah county, Olivia, who had been asleep, wakes up and starts crying, telling me her eyes hurt. I look back, and her eyes are gooey and runny. I assume its allergies since I had horrible allergies as a kid. I eventually find the pool (I hate Utah County–no organization or structure to their infrastructure), and try and find Lois and Jena, but they are not to be found. Finally I take off on foot with the kids to find a grocery store. I’m pretty sure there’s one within a block. Three blocks later, I’m stuck behind two old, slow ladies at the pharmacy counter. I give Olivia the benadryl, get her a soda (which spills the next night all over my hardwood floor), and head back to the pool. Olivia never gets happy, and finally we head home from the disastrous afternoon. As we get home Olivia’s eyes have now swollen shut, and I take her to the doctor. He tells me it’s a double eye and double ear infection. No wonder why the kid cried ALL DAY LONG! Poor baby. Some high powered anti-biotics seem to have helped.

There’s a song on the radio right now called “You’re Gonna Miss This” – extolling the sentiments of raising children. I think it’s cute. But I really wonder.

The babies are sleeping, and dinner is baking . . . I have a quick moment!! I thought I’d write a synopsis of the past ten days . . . the first ten days of Summer.

On Saturday (June 7) we went to the park with the neighbors and my brother & sister-in-law, Danny & Eliza. The elementary school nearby just got a new playground put in, so we took the kids (ours & neighbors, ranging in age from 11 (Alexa Sorensen) years to 10 months (Calvin)) up to give it a go. It was a pretty neat playground, full of toys that I thought held all sorts of liability! Someone is bound to fall and break their neck eventually. But anyway, enough of “Capt’n Saftey” as Wyatt calls me.

We spent the afternoon lounging on the grass until Jeff told us he & family were going for Indian Food. – This story is getting too long already – Anyway, we all went out for Indian Food, and then they were having a Movie in the Park at another elementary school by our house (even closer), so we took all the kids over there. Before the movie they had bounce houses and an animal show from Hogle Zoo. But that was about all the kids could handle. Then Olivia was so tired we had to take her home and get her in bed!

On Tuesday Kellie had her baby girl, Kirtland Judy Engh. She has a head full of dark beautiful hair. She’s a cutie.

Last Saturday (June 14) we went to Highland to celebrate Father’s Day. We had a BBQ in the back yard, and then all the adults left the grandkids with Grandma & Grandpa, and we all went to a movie . . . Prince Caspian, which I liked very much.

On Sunday (yesterday, Fathers day) we went and had a BBQ at the cabin with all the Herzogs. The Herzogs don’t get together very often anymore. When I was growing up it was probably once a month. So it’s nice to see everyone. Everette has a girlfriend!

Then today, the greatest adventure of all (so far). We, Olivia, Calvin and I, went to the pool today. It was 90 degrees, perfect going to the pool weather. So off we went. I was a little nervous of having two babies to watch, but Olivia has come a long way. She wasn’t timid at all. The first thing she did was go down the slide all by herself, and then spent the next hour and a half splashing in the shallow area, going down the slide, and swinging from the hand rail, while I held and splashed with Calvin at the waters edge. We had lots of fun, and now both babies are passed out from the excitement of it all.

Welcome Summer!