Some Things Never Change

There are 3 things in life that are forever the same - death, taxes, and high school football. We went to watch Frederick's game tonight in Fort Lupton. They lost (their coach is a moron but that's a whole other issue) but I'm always amazed at how the games and atmosphere never change. I've been out of high school longer than I'd care to think about but the cheerleaders are still doing some of the same cheers we did and the marching band uniforms....well....you know. The hair styles and clothes may be different but that Friday night lights electricity will always be the same.

Family History

I spent a good portion of the morning at the family history library at the stake center learning how to use the PAF software. After going to the temple yesterday I've decided Brent's family has waited long enough and it's time to start doing their work. It's amazing how many Sabecs there are! I'm looking forward to getting them all sorted out and finding who belongs to whom. Now that I've got the family files all set up and organized in my computer I can start really hunting. Many of the names Brent and I won't be able to do for quite a while because of the 50 year rule. But I figure I can get all the information together and keep it so my kids can get it done. But we will be able to start with his great-grandparents. The spirit I feel helping people I don't know is amazing enough. I can't imagine how it will be helping people I do.

Here we go again!

So I'm taking Tiffany to get her driver's permit this afternoon. This one's going to add a few more grey hairs! She actually is a pretty good driver, I'm just not ready to check another one off my list. At least Tiff listens to me. I finally had to hand Amanda over to her dad to drive because the answer to every comment I made was "I know!". We'll see how it goes. If stock in L'oreal hair color goes through the roof we'll know why!

Children of the Corn

I got to take Amber and a few of her friends to try out Miller Farms haunted corn maze tonight. They're opening it to the public tomorrow night and we got to go be part of a guinea pig group to test it out. The tour started with a scary story about abandoned, sunken coal mines, ghosts, Indian spirits and goatsuckers (I never did quite figure out what those were). We then loaded into a hay trailer and drove about a mile out in the middle of the corn field where we had a "guide" waiting for us. The path meandered through the corn where we would hear an occasional rustle or noise. The guide would stop every once in awhile and back track like he was lost and the further we got in the more active the corn got. Finally he sent us forward onto a path saying he would catch up and promptly disappeared at which point the fog machine got cranked up and we were left on our own for about 5 minutes. It was definitely an example that fear of what you can't see is far worse than a zombie right in front of you. Even some of the adults were beginning to freak out a little by the time the owner of the farm rescued us and walked us back out. The "ghosts" continued to follow us all the way back to the farmhouse and the girls were keeping an eye over their shoulders even as we walked back to the car. It was so fun to watch them enjoy being scared. They're still young enough not to need blood and gore to be impressed. Definitely time well spent.

Our Forever Family Day

On July 26, 2008 our family was sealed in the Denver Colorado Temple for time and all eternity. We had so many friends and family who were able to join us in celebrating this amazing time. After close to two months I still can't quite wrap my mind around it. The vision of my children all in white is something I will never forget and I'm thankful they are all old enough to really remember the experience.

Ahhh, young love!

So my 15 year old daughter has a new crush. He's the starting tight end on our local high school football team and an all around good kid. Fortunately, that crush goes both ways. It's so fun to watch them do the "I like you and you like me but now what do we do?" dance. They smile at each other a lot but when it comes to actually talking they lose any ability to speak at all. And any time my daughter does manage to get a few words out she spends the next half an hour lamenting how stupid she sounded. Like tonight she left him a message asking him when his first game was so she could go. We were driving in the car and all of a sudden I hear this deep gasp from the back seat with an "Oh boy..." I could sense her sudden adrenaline rush and almost hear her heart rate triple. The conversation was short, when and where the game was, ending with an "Okie dokie, I'll be there! Bye!" This guy really has her flustered. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I just said okie dokie! That was the most retarded thing that could have ever come out of my mouth! Grandma says okie dokie! He probably thinks I'm the most retarded person ever!" Actually, I'm thinking he's probably walking about 3 feet off the ground right now because she said she's coming to watch him play and I'm sure his mom will have something to say about all this when she brings his little sister for piano lessons in the morning. We've been dropping hints to each of them about the other for a loooong time.

What I love about all this though is how it brings back those feelings and memories of when my husband and I first started dating. The butterflies, the blood pressure spike that happened every time the phone would ring because it might be him, the electric shock when his hand would brush mine. And the hope that maybe he would be thinking about me right that moment. After almost 19 years our love has deepened and become something every girl dreams of. I am not only loved but cherished and we are still very much IN love. But there's nothing quite like those first few weeks of discovery and excitement. It's fun to be able to enjoy that with my girls.

Back to school

School starts in a week. I'm never quite prepared for the end of summer. I wish there were some way to put a recording under my kids' pillows and have them learn through osmosis while they're sleeping so they could just stay home and we could play all the time.

I'm only sending three back to school this year which is a little weird. My sophomore is excited to go back and see all her friends, but not so much for the actual school part of things. She's got a tough course load this year including two advanced placement classes. My seventh grader has been ready to go back since the middle of July. She's starting at a new school this year and says she's looking forward to the opportunity to start over. My fourth grader would be content to sit at home and play video games for the rest of his life. He told me over the summer that he could learn everything he needed from his ps2 and DS so why does he even need to go to school? That was one the best laughs I had all summer...

They all love back to school shopping though. My two younger children are attending a charter school so they get uniforms. I love that, it puts everyone on a level playing field that way. I learned a long time ago to give my high schooler money and let her do her thing when it comes to buying clothes. Fortunately she has good taste and knows our standards when it comes to fashion. Not to mention she's one of those girls who could put on a potato sack and make it look good. They all love buying school supplies though. There's something satisfying about new binders and pencils. You can learn a lot about a kid by the folders they pick out.

So $400 later, it's time for them to go and I'm back to an empty house for the majority of the day. It takes me a bit to adjust to that, I get lonely the first few weeks of school. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just sitting around being bored. There's just no one to stand across the bed and laugh while we fold laundry now.