Let it Snow!

Sorry I left you all hangin' there...yes we did make it out of Portland the next night! We got in to Spokane pretty late Friday night... so late that I have spent the last few days recuperating and haven't been able to blog until now. On Friday it was snowing in Portland, which I hear is pretty unusual. Trying to stay out of the storm, we spent Friday chillin' at the hotel until check out time and then since we were homeless until our late flight, we moved in at IKEA for the rest of the day. We ate lunch and dinner there, along with sitting on one of the display couches for over an hour while Lucy napped in my arms. We pretended like we were watching a really great movie and counted how many people would be brave enough to walk in front of the T.V. to see the rest of the display. I can't believe they didn't kick us out, so I am now a totally devoted customer.

Our 9:10 p.m. flight was delayed a little while and baggage was an absolute mess, so we finally arrived at Dave's house around 1:00 a.m. Lucy slept in the car, but woke up immediately when she heard the dogs barking. I thought she would be wasted after all the travelling, but there was no chance of sleep with dogs around. I don't know if I have ever seen her quite that thrilled before. I finally made her say goodnight to the doggies, despite her intense protesting, at 2:00 a.m. The next morning, bright and early with only about 5 hours under her belt, she went straight to the door and started barking because she wanted to see the doggies again. What a crack up! It's been nothing, but true love around here since!

Well, there's been nothing but snow here in Spokane and I am loving every minute of it! So much fun when you don't have to live in it! Added bonus: my first time in below zero weather! I love breaking my own records...kinda lame...but it thrills me! Oh, and Lucy's first sledding experience...down dave's driveway...on some kind of a tub lid...she loved it! (No it wasn't during the below zero stretch, I am not that crazy of a Mom!)







Anyway, that's our cute little sledding gal!


This one we took for the beautiful scenary behind us. This is right in front of Dave's driveway...how beautiful is that!

The snow has been crazy here. They got something like 30 inches in 24 hours (that was the night we were supposed to fly in). Looks like I am finally going to get my first white Christmas, this being my third Christmas here it's about time! To show how high the snow is in front of Dave's house, compare Lucy with the snow birm in front of Dave's yard:
And to end a perfect snow experience we found out that snowflakes are real! They are not some myth and they are not some thing you have to have a microscope to see and they really are all completely different. The way the snow was falling there were gorgeous snowflakes everywhere (and I can't take the credit for these last two beautfiul pictures...the true photographer in our family, Dave, took these)
This was a tree in Dave's yard. I think it is the most perfect snowflake picture I have ever seen, but then again I am in love with the photographer! Please don't steal our perfect picture and enter it in a photography contest... okay as long as we get the money I don't really care!

Touching Scenes from Every Day Life

Guess where I am posting from right now? Okay, stop guessing already because you never will! I am in Portland staying the night in a swankified (in other words "cheapest one we could find") hotel. To be honest, it was kind of a long day, but it was strangely not that bad. I only cried once, and it wasn't even because of the long miserable sequence of events that transpired (don't worry, I'll tell the details, but I got to build up to it!). Actually, a few minutes ago I was wondering why it wasn't that bad and then I realized it wasn't because my somewhat moody disposition had become suddenly unconquerably optimistic, it was because of Lucy. She was the most optimistic 15 month old there ever was today! She was sooooooo good I can't even explain it! Sure she had her fidgety moments like when she wouldn't stop kicking the seat in front of us on the airplane (sorry to the guy sitting in front of us whoever you are. I tried!), but she was mostly all giggles and sweetness. For waking up at 5:00 a.m. and only taking one 45 minute nap in my arms the entire day, she was the happiest kid you could ever imagine all day. She was stealing glances and sweet smiles from over half the people in the airport because she was running around and skipping and then would get this little bashful look on her face and say, "hi." She kept me smiling all day. One kind man complimented me on my Mom skills (basically he just said he had been watching me and Lucy and could tell I was a good mother and I totally let it get to my head!) and I couldn't fully explain to him that I wasn't always this composed during trying times, and I sometimes get quite frustrated when chasing my little angel around, but Lucy was being as good as she possibly could.

So enough build up already, I will give you the story now that you are completely sucked in! We were supposed to leave for Spokane from San Diego this morning at 6:45 a.m. We barely missed our flight. We weren't that late, but the check in line was unbelievably long. It wound around the entire airport! Too long for my "cut it close" style and so now I guess we will have to go overly early for the rest of our lives, like Dave always wanted to do in the first place. We ended up hanging for a while and then flying standby to Portland, where we tried to fly standby to Spokane, but all the flights were cancelled due to the most humongous storm ever! To make a long story short (and those of you who have kids totally know this really was the short story... 10 hours in an airport or on an airplane with kids is just, well, a long story) hopefully we will be in Spokane sooner than later!

In the midst of my airport wanderings I witnessed a very touching scene that, as I mentioned earlier, brought me to tears. I don't know if it will have the same affect on you, but I thought it was worth sharing with all of you. While in line at the women's restroom, the lady ahead of me exclaimed under her breath to me "Is that a man in the women's restroom? He shouldn't be in here." I looked up to find that her statement was true, but it was completely different than what I expected to find. A sweet, feeble old man was helping his very disabled wife from her wheelchair into the handicapped stall. I responded to the women in line "Oh, well it looks like he is helping someone, so I am sure it's okay." She rudely answered "I don't think he should be doing that. I am sure they could have found someone to assist her. That is just wrong." I stumbled over my words and never really answered her, which is my common response when I feel strongly about something that involves my emotions. I wanted to say something to her, whether it be "Hey lady, lay off" or " well I hope my husband would care enough about me and not what other people think, to do the same thing for me someday." I wouldn't want to ask random airport people to help me go to the bathroom. He was old and feeble and rested in her wheelchair while she used the restroom. What a touching scene. I know some people might think it was wrong like the lady I talked to, but I felt like it was very chivalrous to put your wife above all else. I came out of the bathroom in tears thinking about how sweet that man was. I wanted to say something to him, to compliment him somehow, but that would have been kind of awkward. I was crying because of his sweetness, but also because of how judgmental some people can be. I just didn't understand how anyone could accuse such an act of kindness (that is a little hypocritical... I am judging someone for being judgmental, ha ha). I laughed at myself as tears gushed down my cheeks while trying to explain to Dave that I was crying because there was a Man in the Restroom. Anyway, I guess the moral is that it is all in your perspective. Everyday occurrences can be beautiful eye opening experiences and long airport journey's can be somewhat enjoyable. All we really have is the moment we are living, so why waste it being miserable when things don't go as planned or criticizing people for things that really don't matter or affect us at all? There is beauty all around... in the faces we see every morning and those we only see for one fleeting moment our entire life. There is a story behind every face you meet and rest assured that if you knew that story you would love them, so why not love them anyway?

I am in no way saying I am perfect or have this down (as I just mentioned, come on I judge people for judging for crying out loud!), but for today at least, this is the message ringing in my heart. Let us Love one Another this Christmas season as our gift to humankind in honor of Christ's birth. As we are so often asked the question at Christmas time "What do you want for Christmas?" let us Love one Another, which is surely how Christ would respond to this timeless question.

Christmas Cheer

It seems to me that I haven't put enough Christmas Cheer up on the blog lately, so why not have a photo shoot at the tree lot? Actually, we took all these tree pictures a week and a half ago, but I kind of checked out of the blog world the last two weeks while practicing for the play my family was doing, "Annie." I played the Police Officer (it sounds weird, but just picture a tough New York woman cop from the 30's. Doesn't make sense, but turned out great. When the video goes up on U-tube I will post) as well as a Servant (no pictures in my sweet cop getup! Sorry, camera ran out of batteries!)Sierra played Lily (Rooster's dumb blond girlfriend. She is absolutely hilarious and I can't picture anyone playing the role better) and my Dad played President F.D.R. himself (and yes he shaved his beard off)! Good times! Unfortunately as I mentioned in the last post, Lucy wasn't in the show. We were planning on it, but the directors seemed stressed toward opening night and I thought coordinating a dance number, including parts where we were supposed to freeze, with a 15 month old would have put undue stress on them, so we opted Lucy out! It was fun anyway, just to get out of the house and on the stage again (we practiced at least 4 hours every day last week), while Dave played Mr. Mom with Lucy, but I kind of had Lucy withdrawals being away from her every day and now we are stuck like glue (really she won't leave my side!)

Anyway, nothing like a good family trip to the Christmas Tree lot.

Gorgeous sunset, huh? We were trying desperately to get Lucy to smile and keep her elf hat on at the same time, an impossible feat as you can see! She hates hats and cute hair bows and her days of endless posing for photo shoots are definitely out the door! After about 10 seconds of posing she is on the run, so I just take what I can get these days! Luckily Sierra and Heidi like posing, so I can still take pictures of someone!

Welcome to our family photo shoot...here is what Lucy thinks of it:

"If you think I am going to smile with this stupid elf hat on your kidding yourself!""Seriously guys...take this thing off" "Wow, Heidi and Sierra really are funny. Ha ha Mom, trying to put my hat back on...your too slow and you missed my only smile!"

And that is the end of our awesome family photo shoot!

Lucy really loves playing with Grandpa Bob. If you don't know him you can't possibly imagine how much fun he is. She used to love going to him, but after he cut his beard off for the show, she isn't so sure. The first time he came home with it off, she heard him and started running toward the front door. When she saw him she ran away from him, crying, toward me. After 5 days now, she is starting to accept that he is still the same person, but she still exercises caution.

Well, just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! My address book is in the process of being shipped across the world in a box right now, so I am not going to get to the Christmas cards this year... this will have to do! Love you all!

Beauty and the Beast

My Sister and Father starred in "Beauty and the Beast" the last couple weeks as Belle and Maurice. They are both incredible actors with even more beautiful singing voices! I posted a few videos of the performance for your enjoyment at the bottom of this post, if you would rather just scroll through the pictures and watch videos, not that me blabbing about Lucy's every mortal experience isn't thrilling! They are so talented and very worth watching!

Lucy and I watched 5 of the 6 shows they performed! Wow! Lucy even made it through one full show (because she still had jet lag she slept half the time, which is very unlike her during an exciting event). The other 4 shows she made it through most of the first halves, but couldn't resist getting up and dancing in the isle for the second halves, so we migrated to the lobby.

During a rehearsal Lucy got to go on stage with her Grandpa and loved it, so she was confused why she couldn't go up during the real show. When Grandpa would come on stage she would put her arms out to try to go to him and then try to get down and go up to the stage herself. I guess you are never too young to get the theater bug, in fact Lucy has been invited to perform with me, my father and sister in "Annie" next week. I am going to be a tourist in New York with my baby, pointing everything out to her. The director is a little worried about Lucy upstaging the singers, but I can't blame anyone for wanting to look at her! I couldn't be more thrilled to perform with Lucy in her Theater Debut!

While at the shows we taught Lucy that the Beast was scary, and now whenever we talk about it she puts the most dramatic look on her face and pats her chest to sign "Scary." Although the show was over two weeks ago, Lucy still wants me to read her "Beauty and the Beast" book to her. As we read it she signs "scary" for the beast, "grandpa" for Maurice, says "Burg" for "Burger" when she sees Belle (it's a ridiculous and long story why she calls her Aunt Sierra "Burger") and when the beast changes to a prince she has to give the page a kiss (she just started doing that one on her own and I wonder if she thought of it herself or if one of my sister's taught it to her to be funny!).

Here's is my Dad showing some of his fans what Lucy thinks of the Beast. Sometimes she gets it mixed up and does the scary sign when we talk about Grandpa. I believe Lucy says "Scary" whenever there is anything dramatic!

Here is the whole Poppleton Gang after one of the shows (minus Brian who is stranded on a deserted island with incredible surfing waves! Poor Boy!) As you can see, my Dad is a little outnumbered these days!

I bet you wish you were there to see the show now, huh? Well, next best thing...watch the video!


Here is the Father/Daughter song Belle and Maurice sing together called "No Matter What" They are adorable! I completely teared up while watching them sing this. Both so talented and having way too much fun playing this kind of a role together (I will admit, I am soooooooo jealous Sierra got to do this with our Dad! This would have been my absolute dream come true to perform this with him!):

(Before watching scroll down to the "Prop 8" post and hit pause on the video. Sorry it's so annoying that it automatically plays! I will work on fixing it!)

Hungry for more? I know, it's pretty good! If you didn't get enough, here is Sierra performing my favorite song "Home":

So proud to be related to her!

If you still can't get enough here is one more clip of when Maurice enters the castle and meets the Beast:



If you absolutely love watching my family perform you can find some of their previous roles by searching "bpoppleton" on Youtube. We have put everything from my Dad playing Fagin in "Oliver Twist" singing "You've gotta pick a pocket or two" (which is by far the best character he has ever played), Sierra in "Sound of Music," and my Dad playing FDR in "Annie" last year.

I love my family and am so glad I grew up on the stage! It couldn't be more fun and I am excited to be on the stage again next week after almost 7 years (I did audition for one show at BYU, but that is a seriously talent overcrowded University and I gave up on ever making it on the stage there a long time ago)! Now if we can somehow get Dave on stage...hehehe

JOY

Joy, in the most full way it can be expressed! And I have to add Hallelujah since it is the Christmas Season! It's official, Dave bought his flights and everything! He is coming home on Saturday, much sooner than I had anticipated! I can almost feel my heart becoming whole again already! That will put our record at 31 days apart and will hopefully never be broken again! I feel like breaking into a chorus of "All I want for Christmas is You," but luckily since I have no one here to videotape me at the moment (although I'm sure Lucy would happily try her best with the ever so coveted video camera) you have been spared. So I will end by shouting one last "JOY."

RED HEAD

In all of my brilliancy, I decided I could outwit my little pumpkin. I had the most genius self feeding plan in centuries of mother's plotting. We could just take her outside to eat and then I wouldn't have to clean up too much of a mess off the ground, I could hose off the entirely plastic high chair, and Lucy could play to her heart's content...I mean we live in the most perfect weather possible so why not?

Sounds good in theory, right? I thought it was pretty smart.

I guess Lu thought I was challenging her abilities and with a devilish little smile she smeared the spaghetti all over her freshly washed hair!

I give up! We might as well just dye her hair red, with spaghetti being her favorite food and all! I mean, I'm starting to dream about spaghetti in my worst nightmares!

Ding! Round 1! But, don't get any ideas Lucy honey, I'm not giving up that easy! The war is on!

Never despair, there is always some good to be found in any mortal experience. Once I was past the point of caring about messes, I handed her a regular plastic cup of water without any handles and she drank perfectly all by herself without spilling a drop. She did it again perfectly at dinner tonight, so it wasn't just an ironic coincidence that she would be flawless when it mattered the least. The only problem is after she is done drinking she wants to fling it around, but merely drinking poses no hazards. Way to go my most coordinated almost 15 month old child!

Sorry, I can't resist bragging. It helps me cope with the more challenging aspects of her sweet personality! I'm pretty sure the reason she is so advanced is because she practices all of her skills all night, every night, when she wakes up multiple times. Maybe they should do a study to see if waking children frequently accelerates fine motor skill development or something, because if there was a correlation my life would be explained! I should have been a scientist!

Fashion Statement!!!!

So on Monday, Lucy found one of her Aunty Sierra's lovely frocks and was trying to put it on. Then inspiration struck and we both played dress up for a little while. I began wondering about the latest fashions.

First things first, is this a shirt or a dress?


Why is this frock so strange...it then dawned on me...something a little familiar...ah yes, it's a maternity shirt! Why the new fashion for high school girl's is to wear maternity shirts is beyond me, but nevertheless, there is no other explanation for the baggy saggy midsection.
And then there is the random clingy mini skirt strip at the bottom, which is just an annoying attempt at sexy...of course, when you pose like that you look sexy no matter what, right? My sister says some girls wear these without leggings underneath. Yuck, ew, make me gag! Are you kidding me? Please be kidding... has it really been that long since I was in high school? I graduated 6 1/2 years ago, but now it feels like 20!

But I am not one to rant without proof, and here it is folks! After feeling slightly like a pumpkin in this lovely frock, I decided to see how many pillows I could stuff up it... it took 3, the cute rigid kind you decorate your couch with (yeah, don't tell my mom I defiled her nice sofa pillows!)

Okay, can you tell I've been away from Dave too long (please come home soon or the fashion police is sure to lock me away! I mean it doesn't get much closer to a tellatubby!)? This is what happens when I don't have my other half, the sane half...or is it possibly just because me and Lucy with my two sisters still living at home, plus a third sister home for the holidays, without my brother who is desperately stranded in Hawaii (always complaining about his eternal surfing fate as you can imagine!)and then minus Dave in Korea, equals six girls living in one house with my way too outnumbered father?!! Yeah sounds like way too much fun, huh?
A short story that must be included: During the taking of this picture the neighbor and his son came out. I looked over and said "Hi." They laughed and greeted me. They have 2 sons, so to make fun of my ridiculous getup I asked "aren't you glad you don't have a house full of girls?" Anyway, I was a little embarrassed to be caught in this outfit, especially in this pose! We hurried to the backyard for the rest of the photoshoot (don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place). Dressing like a tellatubby does, however, make a good shelf for carrying a wee one!!Okay I made it look a lot worse than it really is. I was just in a silly mood and must give my many apologies to my sister for my attack on her wardrobe.

Well, I couldn't leave Lucy out. She wanted to try it on pretty badly. So first we put on her orange leggings. We realized that Lucy looked so good she was practically the inspiration behind Dr. Seuss's magical thneads! (Ever wondered what a thnead really is? I'm pretty sure this is as close as it gets.) I think orange is her color. Next, the frock...

Showing a little leg...And then, oh the drama.... ( This one speaks Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra to me:"Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me." - William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, 5.2 )Like mother like daughter, I guess. More than ever this week Lucy's theatrical genius seems to be saturating her personality! (This picture was a toss up between the woes of Hamlet and Oedipus, the part where he realizes he married his Mom. We'll go with Hamlet: "Speak no more;Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul"- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3.4 It's either that or some serious opera gone wrong!lol!)Lucy says: Did you like my performance? I sure thought it was funny!And then she was stuffed.Well, we couldn't dress her up without going the entire mile! And does she not look like she knows how cute she is(?), even if she can't walk with three pillows stuffed up her shirt!
I sure love this bundle of joy and guess I should mention, since it is T-day evening (my tummy is agreeing with happy pie gurglings), I couldn't be more thankful to be loaned this little girl to raise. Although many a moment throughout the day I forget it, I remember right now, so I will shout it (as much as you can shout on a website) I am thankful to be a mom! I am thankful to have a Lucy, spaghetti face kisses and all! She is my joy and has made my life one-hundred times more fulfilling than I ever thought possible. I will keep this short and won't even start with how thankful I am for her father (just the smallest things like his calming and optimistic presence that I so often took for granted, I am especially thankful for these days...mmmm...Dave...okay, short...I promised).

LOVE-it's the only word to describe it!

Prop 8 - It's not over yet!

Saturday afternoon we spent the day in Oceanside, a bittersweet day as we watched my family's last performance of "Beauty and the Beast" (I watched every performance, except for one, for a grand total of 5 times to the show, of course, with Lucy that probably only amounted to 2 full shows after subtracting all the scenes we missed. She did make it through the full show the first time and I was impressed with her attention span most of the time.)

After the show, the family indulged at a nearby pizza joint and then went out for an evening stroll to Oceanside Pier. We had no idea the excitement we were headed for. Halfway down the Pier we met a large group of protesters, bitterly fighting the newly passed Proposition 8, heading toward us at full speed, and full volume for that matter. It was hard for me to quietly let them pass, although I knew that was the appropriate action (especially considering there were about 1,000 protesters that were for No and only our 5 family members were Yes). They had many very hateful signs, specifically targeting LDS people and I wished at that moment I had a BYU sweatshirt or anything to identify me as a Mormon, without standing on the bench and proclaiming that I was LDS and I didn't hate homosexual people! It pained my heart as I realized many of these people just honestly cared about equality and had no idea of the consequences legalizing marriage between same gender could pose.

After the heated event, we were caught by the local news where I felt very blessed to be able to explain my opinion, and even more grateful after I watched the broadcast and found that the splicing of what I said left my my message completely in tact and safe from the twisted effect editing comments can often have when being quoted by the media.

Watch my moment of fame in this quick 2 minute clip:




I know most of the people reading this blog are probably of the same opinion I am, but I can't sleep until I get my heart out!

It has nothing do with hating anybody. Homosexuals have all the same rights with a civil union that they would have with a marriage, so how does this have anything to do with equality? It's just a word, a different word for a different thing. We are standing up for a very important definition of a word, that doesn't deny anybody any rights, except ourselves if it does become legal. Making marriage legal between same gender couples forces society to treat it as acceptable and decent behavior. By voting Yes we were protecting our Religious Freedom (if it becomes legal how long will it be before our church leaders will be forced to marry same gender couples as has happened in other places?) and the sacred family unit, and Parent's Rights to teach our children our own morals without having to compete with such an influential party in our children's lives as the public school system (some people argue that wouldn't happen and that they don't teach about marriage in school, but there are already documented cases in Massachusetts of reading books about homosexuality without any prior notification to parents, as well as enticing literature about homosexuality being distributed at public schools). People say we discriminate, but this is about teaching our children what is appropriate behavior, not hating a certain type of people. Whether it is a born tendency or a learned trait, sexual preference is a choice, unlike skin color, which some No advocates are trying to compare this to. One of the greatest blessings of being human is the ability to control ourselves, unlike the rest of the creatures in this world. It really doesn't matter if people are born homosexual, because we are all born with an intense sexual appetite, but that doesn't make it right to express those desires whenever you want. I believe we must control our sexual desires. These intense emotions and the sacred creative power we have been blessed with is designed for our use in the holy bonds of matrimony between a man and a woman. You choose your sexual behavior regardless of gender. Behavior will always be a choice, and frowning upon a behavior isn't the same as treating someone differently based on the color of their skin. (This is in no way a rage against homosexuals, I realize it must be incredibly hard to control these desires and I am not trying to judge them and know I can't feel what they are going through and what has brought them to this point in their lives, but regardless of my sympathy they choose the behavior and I don't believe it should be taught as acceptable and appropriate behavior, which legalization of same gender marriage implies) I want to teach my daughter that it is important to wait to express those feelings with the man of her choosing until united by marriage, because I believe that is the path to happiness. Much in the same way, I want to teach her that a marriage between a Man and a Woman, and subsequently raising a family together is also an essential part of God's plan for happiness. This type of family is the fundamental unit of society, the unit which all good in this society stems from. The more corrupted the family becomes the darker and darker this world will become. We have to do all that is in our power to protect the integrity of the family in this society. To legalize marriage between same gender would be a step toward destroying the traditional family, making it easier for the world to teach to our children incorrect morals, making it more acceptable and easier for people in need of love who haven't yet chosen a sexual preference to turn to inappropriate behavior. This is about preserving families, not hatred for any people. I still love my friends who choose lifestyles that are against my moral standards, as does does God to an infinitesimally larger degree. (I have been accused that we believe that God doesn't love homosexual people, and to that I say: isn't there a way for God to entirely love an individual while frowning on that behavior? Any parent who has watched their child go down a path of drugs or crime or any behavior that brings misery upon themselves can answer that it is completely and entirely possible to love a child to no end, and be saddened by the path that they have chosen for themselves). I don't hate my friends who choose to have sexual relations before they are married, and I don't hate my homosexual friends either, but I will always stand for anything that makes either type of behavior a less inviting option for my child and the rest of this world.

Legalization of marriage between same gender makes it all that much easier for teachers and the entire world, for that matter, to present to our children that this is a normal and acceptable lifestyle. Children shouldn't have to wonder at such a young age what gender they should be attracted to (if they make that choice later, we can love them despite their choices and hope for a change of heart, but at least they would have made that choice once they are old enough to make a little more sense of this world).

Call us what you want. Protest us. Send hate mail to our leaders. Deface our churches. Try to destroy our holy temples. We will never back down from protecting our values and our families and for this reason I hold strong to my opinion and am constantly thankful to the 52% of California that voted the way they did. After the elections I thought this fight was over, but it appears to be only at the beginning of a long journey. I am prepared to see it through to the end.

Oh how I hate the cold...

...which reminds me why I always wanted to return to the home of my youth. Nothing like perfect weather in November! Only in San Diego, where even your wildest dreams come true! (I told Dave just about a week before all our hospital calamities that I had made a goal to enjoy winter this year. We both laughed at the idea and wondered how that would ever be possible. Then I promised, I really would find a way. Moving home wasn't what I had in mind at the time, but I certainly found a way to enjoy it now didn't I?) Really, living here in the gently perfect Fall sun after being away almost 7 years is like a dream come true, minus one big factor (Dave, of course! I couldn't miss him more. Our previous time apart record was 12 days, which we set in June...we are now going on about 18 days I think, with no end in sight for that matter. I always used to say we would never make any decision that caused us to be apart longer than 2 weeks, but I guess you should just never say never!). It's all so bitter sweet... like finally making it to paradise (or the Celestial Kingdom if you will), without your favorite and most wonderful e.c. (eternal companion, duh). On the one hand, it's better than you could ever dream of, on the other hand, why have everything you ever dreamed of without your favorite person to share it all with? Oh well, there is no use just droning on about it, so I am trying to enjoy what I can (besides that is what Dave would want me to do anyway) and Saturday at the beach was nothing less than enjoyable!

I will start with a little narrated Film strip, starring Lucy, of course:

First, examine the territory and pick the most deluctable plot of sand.


Second, disect the sand to find the juiciest bite possible.



Third, take the tiniest taste possible, as always with new foods.



Fourth, cram as much in as you can before Mom ruins the fun. (Where is her Mother, anyway?)



Fifth, sit back and just dwell on the magnificent, lingering flavor. (If you look really hard you can see that her tongue is on the tip of her lips)



Last, ask Mom in sweetest voice possible "Can I do it again, Mom. Please..."

We thought this trip to the beach was just going to be a quick walk in the sand, so I didn't bring Lucy's much needed swim suit. She was soaked and cold by the end of this trip because I just had to let her play in the water to her heart's content. You may be wondering why I let my child eat so much sand. Well, I had this brilliant logic that if I let her try it she would realize it was gross and not do it again, but apparently she likes that gritty feeling and salty taste, so now I guess I only played part in forming a new Lucy addicition. Honestly, I just don't know what to do with this little sweetie. She won't drink apple juice or eat anything yummy and sweet, but give her a plate of sand and she'll go to town. I'm curious to watch her tastebuds as they continue to develop!


But watching Lucy eat sand at the Beach isn't all we did. After my littlest sister, Heidi, went swiming, we decided with her long semi-wet hair and the aqua blue towel she was cuddled in (not to mention, the sunset glow) that she couldn't look more like a mermaid. Of course, in my family, such a realization called for a photoshoot, so here is our mermaid:

She is so beautiful! Sorry boys, she's only 14 so just back off already!

Chillin' in the glow of the sunset

Experimenting with the flash and the sunset behind us. A little dark, but cute.

If you get up closer it works!

A perfect sunset to end the perfect day! Of course the day was really no where close to being over, what with it being opening night for the big show, "Beauty and the Beast" that my father and sister, Sierra, star in as Maurice and Belle, but that is another story for another post!

Catnap anyone?

Catnap Anyone?