Can you keep a secret?

Mesa's birthday is July 10th and this year I told her I would bead her a birthday present. She has no idea what it will be, but she probably expects it to be something small like a barrette or earrings or something. Well..... she'll be surprised for sure! It's the biggest set I've ever ever done! I've just finished the necklace (well, except for a clasp because I'll have to have her neck to get it the perfect size) and now I'm working on a matching headband,....then I'll make earrings, and then I'll make a barrette type thing she can wear to powwows. Want a sneak preview? Don't tell HER! She never reads my blog and I think she forgot she has one herself,... so I thought I'd put it here since I'm super proud of it :)

 

This is not the typical jewelry you would wear to church or out on a date ... it's something you would wear with regalia to a powwow or demonstration.... it's a native thing. BUT... I know Mesa, so there is quite the possibility she will wear this anywhere she goes :)

If I were selling this one piece, I would ask for $180. It's stitched one bead at a time.

The First Campout

Morgan has been camping since he was a baby. You would think he would view it as an everyday type thing, but he doesn't.

In our cub scouts, we do not have camping. It's a policy that the women don't take the little boys out in the woods. Families can camp all they want to, and there is summer camp and district/council events they can go to, but as a unit, we do not camp. Our boy scouts do though. They have scoutmasters they go with, and that automatically makes it "cooler" than going with moms.

So Morgan is 11 and FINALLY his very first BOY SCOUT campout has come up and he got to go. Tommy went too, because at age 11, they should have a family member with each boy. Age 12, that changes, but we're not there yet. The boys went camping. There are only 4 in Morgans patrol right now and only 3 of them could make the campout. Because Dad went too, Jared got to go. He had no idea he was NOT a boy scout too. Go figure.

In this poison ivy infested Land of the Ticks, Morgan took his own tent and had that thing set up (by himself I might add) so fast that he didn't even notice the sticks and rocks underneath him (until he tried to sleep!) and as soon as that was done, he was off and running to the next thing to do. I got Tommy a tent put up and unloaded the stuff he would need but watched for Morgan and Jared as I did. An older boy scout was there to guide and teach them, and as a group, they made a "wood yard" and chopped firewood. They learned too! It was so fun watching them be "grown-ups".

 (Morgan is in the red shirt)

When they had all finished chopping and sorting different bits of wood, they wanted to build a fire. Of course, they are allllll experienced, so they jumped into that fire pit and had a teepee style pile of sticks in no time...and then they struck match after match after match after match. YES.... we LAUGHED!

The scoutmaster recognized a teaching moment and had them disassemble the teepee sticks and start over. He explained the words "fire starter," "tinder," "kindling," and "fuel" and had them rebuild the fire....and only allowed them ONE match. He told them if they couldn't do it with one match, they wouldn't have a fire. These boys were looking at a bag of marshmallows sitting there next to their pit.... the pressure was ON! Even Jared was frustrated and he got into that pit trying to help them build a fire LOL! (Don't be fooled by his young age or small size,... THAT little 7 year old DOES know how to build a fire! And he can restart fire from just coals and no matches! Seriously!)

 (See Morgan's blue tent in the background?)

I left at that point since I had to go to work the next morning. When my boys all came home, Morgan was like a sparkler--- ya know, those little sticks you get at the 4th of July for kids, light them and they just spark and then go out. He can't wait to do it again! Yep, there are 2 more scheduled before the summer is over. They will be FAMILY campouts, so I get to go too! More pictures then ;)

I Was a Little Brown Gal

Back in the Stone Age, my great-aunt was stationed in Hawaii as an assignment for the Army. She was there long enough to "get comfortable" and learn how to hula. She came home from the service and taught my mother and my aunts how to hula too. I don't know about my aunts, but my mother fell in love with it. She practiced and worked those hips and got pretty good.

When I was in second grade, my school had a talent show. It was a big deal back then, and the winners were getting monetary prizes. My mother suggested I learn to hula and win some of that money. I remember her standing behind me, holding my hips in her hands and pushing them in the right direction back and forth. She danced me all over that living room floor making me mad and making herself crazy. She worked WAY harder than I did, but I learned to hula and I was good enough to win some of that money.

Yes, my mama was proud. From that point on, anytime there was a talent show at church, mama signed us up. It became a family event...my sisters learned to hula too and my brother learned how to be a good palm tree.

Since that time, we've all grown up and gone in our directions. I've hula'd in several places now and with a LOT of varying people. I've learned a couple more hulas and even learned what some of those words mean in those songs! Recently, I was asked to teach the women at church how to hula. I agreed, but sort of on my own terms.....

Me and the coconut bra performed the Little Brown Gal song and then I taught it to them.

Before I show you the video, keep in mind that I am VERY self-conscious of my appearance. I know I'm heavy, I know I'm not pretty in this and it is taking all my courage to post this anyway. So just overlook the ugly parts and take note that you can't even recognize the badly bruised knee I'm dancing on and you can't really tell that I kept stepping on that dress (you're right mama, it's a bit too long once you bend your knees and dance!) and that my stepping on it distracted me and I felt like I was stumbling.

Ok,.... remember the agreement,...you only see the good parts! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mOKvmgzh3s&feature=youtu.be

Kitty Needs to Post!

If you've never read my sister's blog, you are missing out. It is always so funny to me. Of course, the things she writes about could never happen to ANYbody but her, or so I used to think..... Lately, she hasn't posted anything new and I've felt deprived. Apparently, Karma recognized that feeling of deprivation in me and so is trying to console me by giving ME "kitty-like" experiences to write about until she thinks of something she wants to share.

Kitty.... hurry up!

So last night, I was so tired when I got in from work, I fell asleep on the sofa. I'm not real sure how long I was out, but it wasn't a good solid sleep and usually that allows me to go back to sleep when I get to bed and do fine through the night. Last night was different. I couldn't get back to sleep. My head kept singing this song from Twilight Camp..... "There was a crazy moose, who liked to drink a lot of juice" .....yes, I was going crazy. I began noticing lights everywhere too....the alarm clock, the internet mifi box, the kids nightlight (it was blinking), the turtle lamp.... yes, I said I was going crazy. Finally Tommy came to bed and I fell asleep about 1am.

We live in the countryside surrounded by farms. This means that when the seasons change, we deal with "critters" looking for refuge from different things, like heat or cold or wetness or whatever. Typically that's a field mouse or two, sometimes its a squirrel in the roof, but never anything we can't handle pretty quickly and convince to vacate. Last night, at 2:30am, I hear something rustling in the trash. It was loud enough it woke me up. I listened to it for maybe 10 seconds, trying to gather my thoughts and figure out what it was. I figured it was a mouse, ...it IS that time of year again. I got a flashlight from beside the bed and turned it on, pointing towards the trashcan. Two HUGE red eyes looked right back at me.

That was no  mouse.

That was a possum!

Yes!! A NASTY POSSUM!!!

I nearly came out of my skin, I won't lie. I don't know how I woke Tommy up,...hopefully I didn't hit him but I honestly don't recall how I got him so awake and alert. That NEVER happens. I showed him the possum that was now scared of my light and had run around the bottom of my bed and headed straight into the bathtub of the adjoining bathroom. He slid into it and then climbed up on the backside of it...staring me down. Tommy seemed to me to be moving in slow motion and I was beginning to think I was going to need to do something myself. I was in panic... big time! You know you would be too! 2:30am, a wild possum in your bedroom staring you in the face! Yes you would!

Tommy wouldn't get a gun and shoot it. I gave him permission to put holes in whatever he wanted to so long as the possum got some too. He wouldn't though. He said it was dangerous and he didn't want it to ricochet or over penetrate something. He grabbed a metal rod and whacked the possum. I guess it was stunned pretty good, it just sat there in the tub while Tommy jumped up and ran to the porch. He grabbed a large shovel/scoop and scooped it up and carried it outside. It sat there in that scoop acting woozy and dazed. I was so afraid he would jump out of that thing and turn on Tommy. STUPID POSSUM!

After he was out of the house, we sat on the bed scratching our heads trying to figure out how in the world that thing got into the house to begin with! The dryer vent! The hose came off the dryer and we've not made it a priority to put it back on since I can dry clothes on the clothes line now. THAT'S how it got in!

How do you get to sleep after THAT kind of commotion? I don't think Tommy ever did. I fell asleep close to 4am, only to be rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 7:30am.

Bedtime will be early tonight!

Brags

My kids are the worlds best. No amount of arguing will change that fact... it is just simple truth.

Of course, there is my wonderful hardworking missionary that I am SO proud of and adore.....

And then there is my beautiful daughter that considers ME....her mother....one of her best friends...

And if that weren't awesome enough, I've got two little guys that make me smile like the sun...

Well, this week has been Twilight Camp for cub scouting in our district. Twilight Camp is the same thing as "day camp", except that it is held in the evenings instead of mornings to allow the adult volunteers to go to work and take care of things before volunteering at camp with the kiddos. This year, Jared will turn 8 and will be joining wolves in our cub scout pack. He is so excited he can barely contain himself. So he got to go to camp for the first time. Jared is a super shy little man who can hardly relax enough to make a new friend. Generally, he thinks he needs help making friends. This time though, Morgan couldn't be with him to do that,....Jared was on his own for the most part----and HE DID IT! :)

I even caught him singing and cheering! Even still,...he loves his Mama. Awww... :)



And during the same week, Mesa volunteered. She has been my assistant den leader for several years now and I have to say, she compliments my efforts so well that I fear the day she does something different! What if I have *gulp* learn to work with someone ELSE???? *gasp* She is such a good assistant that most every year, I hear a cub scout or two has fallen "in love" with her and I have to settle an argument about it. She cheers with me, sings with me, lets herself be silly with me,....and she's willing to work hard at it all and be trained to make herself more of an asset to others. Who wouldn't be proud of her?

Morgan is the one I worry about the most. He is just so different than the rest of my kids that he feels like a "black sheep". He's got the biggest heart out of them all (and that's really saying something because I have tender-hearted kids!) but it just doesn't get returned to him very often. He's never picked first, never in the "in crowd", rarely noticed, ... He participated in Twilight Camp 3 summers ago and ALL the boys in my den chose Morgan to be their buddy. That was the first time that has ever happened and he is STILL bringing it up and talking about how amazing that felt. It's the last time that happened too. Morgan wants to please people so desperately that he happily sacrifices himself just to make someone else happy. This year at camp, he was a boy scout volunteer. That child worked harder than I've ever seen him work before, and he was so happy that he was ALLOWED to work! He wanted so badly for his daddy to see him haul water around. He desperately wanted to see his little brother shoot BB's so he could cheer for him. He has a hug and a smile for every single person in the world, even if he doesn't like the person he's looking at.
You're jealous, right? Everybody wants a kid like Morgan!

 

Manti comes home soon, and I am so excited about that. I look forward to showing off pictures of how handsome he is as a man and what a fantastic character he has built.

Even my ADHD dog is a keeper. He loves me and Tommy sooo much!

I have to thank my Father in Heaven for my family. He sure gave me a good one.

Been Beading

One of the ways I clear my mind, relax from a day of stress, and even bring in an extra dollar or two is beading. Recently, Tanner Hospital had a company picnic type day and they asked if I would come do a demonstration of beading. So yep, I did :) They did a wonderful job of boosting my self-esteem and making me feel like my beadwork is worth something. To do it, I had to get busy and bead like crazy though, because I have very few items to just display. I tend to sell or give most things I bead away.

I made up a couple hatbands, a few bracelets, some barrettes, a couple of necklaces, hairties (you see them in womens hair when they are dressed in full regalia), and a few other things. The hospital opted to purchase a few items to give away as door prizes to their event, so I don't have them to show anymore, but I thought I'd show off anyway.

 

So the event went well and is over now. You might think that would mean I took a break from beading, right? Nope! I was so anxious to do more from ideas in my head.......so I did! :)

I just love these.

And then this past week, someone mentioned to me about beading daisy chain rings. So I showed her how to do them and I got interested in trying that out...sooo......

 

Ordinarily I wouldn't have thought to put these on my blog, BUT earlier today, my friend Wrayanne mentioned she enjoyed my blog. That blew my mind because I didn't know she knew I had one, because I don't update this thing very often, and because I didn't figure what I wrote was that interesting. On top of that, comments are rare, so I just figure "nobody's home"... right? So Wrayanne, if you see this....you gave me a reason to do this :D I'm still going to get the spirit stick first too ;)