Ants in my Pants

So I've wanted to post about this for awhile, but I was waiting for video footage of the event. The only problem  is that the camera wasn't quite working so the video is a no go. Which is really too bad. The clip was pretty much a perfect combination of athleticism and grace. Okay . . . not really.
Anyway, everytime there is irrigation at Grandma and Grandpa Mack's house the whole family comes over for some splish splashin fun. All the grandkids get their swimming suits on and go play in the water while the parents visit and walk around with their shoes off. It's pretty fun.

Well the last irrigation party we had was no different. We were all outside, and the kids were playing and Marybeth and Janie came out and demonstrated to the younger children how to run and slide in the irrigation like a slip n slide. They slid right on their bellies and it was pretty impressive. The other kids had fun trying. Well, it looked like fun to me! I wanted to try too. So I did. I even got my son Hayden (who isn't a fan of irrigation because it is "dirty" water) to do it with me. I ran and slid and am quite sure I looked awesome. It is too bad that I can't show you how awesome I truly looked while I did this.
Anyhow, after such a successful first attempt, I couldn't resist trying to do it again. So I went and got in line with the other children. While I was standing there I was thinking, "I am such a cool Mom! I'm so glad I am so fun . . . " (You know . . . Really humble thoughts like that) When all of a sudden one of the kids turned to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Um . . . you've got ants on your leg."
I looked down and sure enough my leg was covered with ants. And I'm not talking about a couple of ants either. It honestly reminded me of a horror movie or something. I couldn't even see my leg! There must have been hundreds and hundred of them. Well, I did what any cool, awesome Mom would do. I totally freaked out and started running around screaming. Then I dropped to the ground in the water and began to roll around kicking my legs and splashing water on them. All the rest of the adults were sitting in the shade and lucky enough to witness the entire ordeal. When I came over and explained what had happened Lamon's brother complimented me on my "Stop, Drop, and Roll" technique. Is that what they teach you to do in an "Ant Attack" situation? I don't know . . . but it may have saved my life. Okay fine . . . so the ants weren't exactly dangerous. Thank heavens for that too! Because when I went in the house and took off my drenched clothing there were tons of ants all the way up my pants, and in my underclothing . . .Ya,  it was pretty bad. I swear every time I am thinking how cool I am . . . something like this happens. Okay fine, things like that happen even when I'm not thinking I'm cool.

Our little exaggerator

It's crazy how different each of my kids are. They all have different strengths and different things that they struggle with. Well, Drew is my little exaggerator. He totally reminds me of Uncle Rico on Napolean Dynamite.

Like Uncle Rico Drew loves to tell me stories of his great feets that are a bit embellished. For example, he came home yesterday from school and told me that at recess he was playing basketball. He said, "And you know what Mom? The basketball hoop . . . It was as big as that Pine Tree and I made it in the basket like 100 times." . . . . 

"Uh Drew . . . Maybe it was as tall as that second branch . . . "
"No Mom . . . really."

I kept eyeing him doubtingly. You see, a few weeks ago after he had repeatedly told me things that weren't completely true I told him that every time he starts to tell me a story and he realizes it's not true, and that he is sort of telling a lie, if he stops and says, "Oh wait . . . that didn't really happen" I would give him a Wii buck. 

So now usually all it takes is my looking at him doubtfully, and he usually will admit his embellishment. This happens a lot though. I don't really know why he likes to make up stories or make them bigger than they are, but he does. Somebody asked him if he caught crawdads when he went fishing with his Dad and he said, "Ya, the first time we caught like 2 million and 100 or something like that. The second time we only caught like 300." After the tall as the pine tree claim yesterday I taught him the word E-x-a-g-g-e-r-a-t-e. 

Drew, Drew . . . I hope he realizes how awesome he is, and that the things he does are awesome and he doesn't even need to make them sound better than they are. He is an amazing kid. Anyone with suggestions on how to help him with this exaggeration problem feel free to unload. I would love to hear! 

If I only had a brain . . . Oh wait . . . I do!

Almost anyone who is close to me knows that my username to just about anything . . . emails . . . you name it . . . is ihaveashunt. I can't really take credit for the name . . . my brother Dave is the one who came up with it. Whenever I have to tell someone my email, and they look at me questioningly, I tell them . . . "it's a long story. I have a shunt in my brain . . ." and then I usually chuckle and just stop trying to explain. No one that hears my short explanation really finds the humor in it . . . but it is really funny and I will tell you why.

You see, when I knew I needed brain surgery the doctor told me all sorts of things that could possibly happen to me when they put me under the knife. I could have a stroke, I could die . . . all sorts of really scary things. But the scariest thing he warned me of was that sometimes "personality changes" would occur. This was terrifying to me!!! I could take dying, but I quite liked my personality. Well luckily after three brain surgeries . . . I was the same old me! At least I think so . . . :) I guess I wouldn't really know. At any rate I was happy to still be the same happy, friendly, sappy, emotional, spiritual . . . Klutzy person that I was before surgery. Before the third surgery I was really scared about having a shunt put in. For some reason I thought that it would really limit me, or that I would be somewhat 'slow' and wouldn't be able to lead a normal life. Well once again I was happy to be wrong. Having a shunt would not limit me in the slightest, and in reality it was what helped me heal and get better. So I am rather fond of my shunt.

In the following months, while I was recovering, whenever I did something or said something embarrassing or didn't quite catch on to something I would always blame it on my shunt. I would say, "Oh oops . . . Well, you know I have a shunt . . . " It was my excuse for everything and it was pretty funny. Well when I had to come up with a new email one evening my younger brother requested ihaveashunt as sort of a joke, but I loved it and the rest is history.

Most of the time when I do something spacey or forget something it is just funny, and I can laugh at it. But I have to admit that there have been a few times when it hasn't been too funny. This last week was one of those times. I won't go into details, but within a weeks time I  had had three or four different instances where I had complete brain lapses and had forgotten something that I shouldn't have forgotten. It scared me. I came home and told Lamon and told him that I was worried that I would be brain dead at forty and he would have to take care of me. He told me not to worry . . . that if that happened he would put me in a home. Ha ha!! But I was pretty upset. I did what I do whenever I feel completely out of control of a situation . . . I turned to my Father in Heaven. I was reminded of another time when I had had a similar situation happen to me about a year and a half ago.  I had completely forgotten something really important and I was really nervous and down about it.  I went to the temple to seek guidance and comfort. While waiting for my session to start I opened the scriptures and started to read. The greatest peace came over me, and I received the distinct impression that even though I felt out of control of the situation that I could actually DO something about my memory problems. I suddenly remembered how thankful I was after my surgeries for the ability to think and learn. But what had I really done in recent years to think or learn? I felt impressed that if I were to memorize scriptures and really study and learn new things that I could really help my brain function as it should.

I wish I could tell you that I did just that, and that I like my Dad have memorized hundreds of verses of scripture . . . but I haven't. You would think that I would do it! But when life gets comfortable . . . it's easy to forget. So Heavenly Father, being the loving Father he is, helped me by humbling me. Now I remember what He told me to do and I am determined to do it. I have decided that the first two scripture passages I will work on memorizing are two of my favorites that totally relate to this situation. So please feel free to ask me to recite them in a week or so. The first one is Alma 32:6, 14
          6 "And now when Alma heard this he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with              great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word."
         
            14  . . . "And now as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?"


I hope that I don't get too comfortable again, and forget to do what Heavenly Father has prompted me to do. The time to do it is now. And Heavenly Father can help me. Here are the next verses I will memorize. In these scriptures Nephi is reminding his brothers of Heavenly Father's ability to help them accomplish what he asked them to do. It is 1 Nephi 17:50-51
           " And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth: and if I should say it, it would be done."
            " . . . And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?"

I don't need to fear about my brain. I am lucky to have one! I need to show how thankful I am for my brain by using it a little more! And Heavenly Father can help me do it! :) I've always wanted to be a scriptorian. I guess it's time to get going on that!

Why Tri????

Lamon has done a few races in his time. Okay, Lamon has done A LOT of races in his time. He has done two marathons, plenty of 5ks and 10ks, sprint triathlons, olympic triathlons, 100 mile bike races, and most recently he did the Utah Half Ironman. That is a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run back to back. Does he do it to win? No. There are a few people who wonder WHY????? Why put your body through something like that? Well, here are some great reasons WHY to TRI.

#1 You look tough and extremely hot with a bib number on your shirt and a medal around your neck!(Okay, so I came up with that one on my own . . . but you have to admit that Lamon does look pretty darn good)

#2 There will never be a need to buy a cup again because at every race you do you receive a water bottle like this one! And if you don't get a cool water bottle, you at least get a cool sticker to put on another bottle that you already own. We have a whole cupboard just for our water bottles!

#3 When I asked Lamon why he does Triathlons he told me that he does them purely for the chance to eat and drink yummy things like Gu, and Heed.   He was of course being completely sarcastic. I for one think that if I was starving and was given nothing but Gu to survive . . . it would be a hard decision on whether or not to partake. I hate that stuff!! Before this race his awesome co-worker introduced him to something called Stinger waffles, and they really are quite tasty. So there you go. If you do a Triathlon you can experience all sorts of varieties of Nutrition. Mmmmmn . . .

 

#4 One of the best reasons to participate in races I think . . . is for the wardrobe. We haven't had to go to the department store to buy Lamon clothes . . . for who knows how long. How economic! People think that we are throwing too much money into these races, but honestly . . .  it's just part of our budgeting strategy. A new shirt every race!

So those are some amazing reasons why to do a race. But I guess I had better give you the real reason why Lamon puts his body through this. . . 

There is something incredibly satisfying about testing your body physically. There aren't many things comparable to training hard  for something and then accomplishing the goal that you set for yourself. Lamon was working out with a friend one day and his friend said, "You know, it's amazing how your body will do what you tell it to and train it to do . . .  No more . . . no less." And it's totally true. You don't just say, "Hey . . . today I think I will do a half ironman." It doesn't work that way. Lamon woke up early almost every day to train. He dedicated many hours a week including long workouts on Saturday. The neat thing was that he did the majority of his training while the kids were still sleeping. Some mornings he was up before 4:00 am. He was disciplined and he made it happen, and I feel like I was blessed to watch him. He is an inspiration to me. I think that not only is it amazing for him to experience the racing process, but he blesses us as well. I think there is great merit in showing your children what it means to work hard at something. The kids and I got to watch Daddy do something really hard, and hopefully the children can learn from their Dad how to do hard things. That is a real reason to do a Triathlon! And what do you know . . . Drew is excited to be doing his first race this week . . . How cool.

I had so much fun watching Lamon during the Utah Half. He is amazing! He finished the race in like 5 and a half hours which was about an hour and 20 minutes faster than he thought he would. And the cool thing about that was that he was one of the few guys out there on a regular road bike. I can't wait for the day we can afford to get him a tri bike! Then he really will be cruising. Lamon . . . I love you. You are such a great role model for our boys . . . and for me for that matter! :) You're awesome. Here are some pics and some videos from the race. Enjoy.

Lamon hurt his foot right before the race. It was bleeding and was hurting . . . and he still rocked it!

The "Mary Are You There" Look

I decided that this video deserved it's own blog post. In many past posts I have referred to the "Mary are you there" look, but this is a chance to actually see it. Just ignore the fact that I am actually trying to take a still shot and it's on camera mode . . . and pretend like it's not sideways. Just focus on the look and you will be able to envision it forever more if I ever make reference to it again in the future. It's probably a pretty safe bet that I will  . . . 

Entrepreneurs

Can't say for certain yet, but I think my kids just might have what it takes to really make it big someday.
Drew came home from school yesterday and he was completely convinced that he wanted to have a lemonade stand. He was on a mission. A mission to earn enough money to buy the "most powerful bakugan ever", in order to beat his friend Jonah.
He didn't need any encouragement from me. He whipped out some paper and started working hard on making his signs. He obviously had a plan.
"Drew, how much are you going to sell your lemonade for?" I asked.
"Oh . . . I was thinking maybe . . . three dollars."

"Uh . . . no." I helped him to see why that might be too steep of a price. We settled on 25 cents.

At this point Hayden came up with a bucket of dinosaurs.

"Hayden, what are you doing?"

"Oh. I'm having a 'dinosaur garage sale'" he said.

"Oh ya? How much are you going to sell you dinosaurs for?"

Then he asked Drew, "How much are you selling your lemonade?"

"25 cents"

"Oh. I'm going to sell mine for 24 cents."

Pretty smart.

Anyway, meanwhile Drew started digging through the fridge and he grabbed the lime juice.

"Mom, I know how to make lemonade. Really, I do. I just need some honey."
I felt a need to step in at this point as I was suddenly envisioning him selling some disgusting concoction of lime juice and honey to the neighbors.

"No Drew we have some pink lemonade we can mix together."

"Okay Mom, I'll set up the stand. You make the lemonade. Ready Go."

So off he went to set up his stand and then he came inside. We didn't have any plastic cups so we had to wait for Dad to buy some. While we were waiting Drew was getting impatient.

"Mom. No one has stopped yet."

I was like, "Drew, there is no lemonade out there and you guys aren't out there either." Obviously he thought that if he just made a sign the money would start rolling in.

Well Dad finally arrived with the cups. The lemonade was made . . . Showtime!

The stand was setup right in front of our house behind our tent trailer. Not the most ideal place for a lemonade stand . . . but Drew was confident. Every car that was even remotely close in our proximity Drew would shout out. "Yep, here comes a customer!" It was so cute. I was hoping someone would stop but didn't have a lot of hope. Lamon decided to be the first customer (and honestly I thought perhaps he would be their only customer). As Lamon headed for the house I whispered, "Can you call some of your scouts or something to come and buy some?" I was ready to pay someone 30 cents if they would buy a 25 cent lemonade. But luckily neighbors came to the rescue. Drew got some good business from the neighbor girls, and from our neighbors across the street. I was impressed with Drew. He asked everyone and anyone who drove, rode bikes, or walked by if they would like to buy some lemonade. He is not a shy boy. Hayden had a little tougher time convincing anyone that they wanted to buy a dinosaur. And I will just say that I am now two dinosaurs richer. I mean 24 cents for a dinosaur? How could I refuse? I can always use more dinosaurs! :)

Heads . . . or Temples

Our kids have been a little obsessed with tossing coins lately. They really feel like they are pretty talented to be able to flip it off their finger up into the air. Drew is the one who started it. When fighting for something Drew for awhile would say, "Hayden, lets do Eeeny-Meeny-Miny-Mo . . . starting with me." After awhile Hayden realized that it was quite a calculated move for Drew to always start with him because somehow it always ended on him as well. So the unfairness of that came to light and Drew started the coin flipping idea to solve their quarrels. "Hayden, Heads or Tails?"

Well, Yesterday Hayden had a coin and he turned to Drew and said, "Drew? Heads . . . or temples?" He was completely serious.

I was like, "What?"

"Heads or Temples?"

I got a kick out of that. But seriously . . . the whole "tails" thing is pretty confusing. There is obviously a side with a Head on it, but where is the "tails?"

I see no "tails" in that picture.

On the otherhand, I can totally see how Hayden could confuse Monticello for a temple.