Saturday, June 30, 2012

2 Week Rewind

I should probably be punished for blog abandonment, but we'll just move forward and I'll try to give you an idea of what's been going on...deal?

This whirlwind started with a SURPRISE!! When I was still in Utah, Lori purchased a plane ticket to come to Georgia to visit before she left on her mission. We told our parents that she would be able to come home on June 25th and stay for a week, but what they didn't know was that she was coming home a week early! I made up an excuse to leave the house at 9:00 at night. Thank goodness to a corn boiling my parents hosted, they were too tired and busy to even analyze my reasoning. I took off down the road and headed to Jacksonville...alone...in the dark. As I was driving, my worse-case scenario self came on scene and I pictured myself in a car accident on the side of the road and nobody (well, only a couple of people) knowing where I "really" was. Luckily, I made it to the airport and got my sister back! I attempted to take a picture, but I took off running to get her that it blurred, so imagine a tired but happy traveler walking through the concourse. :)

The next hour and a half were painful!! We were so excited to be together, but dying to get home and surprise our parents. We didn't make it home until after 1 AM so all was quiet at home. Each parent was woken up by our surprise guest and then we were all awake for a couple of hours. Please imagine a picture of four happy people with very tired eyes. PS - by the time we made it home it was June 19 - Dad's birthday. Pretty good gift, if I do say so myself.

A couple of days later, I was off on vacation thanks to Bradley and his family. We were off to Sea World and had a fabulous time. A little hot, but it's Florida in the summer, what do you expect? Great weather (except for the day it rained), great company, great memories! Pretty sure it couldn't have been any better.

(Thanks for the picture...I was lame and basically didn't take any pictures)

We got back and it was back to my family. This is the part where it gets blurry for me. Lori and the parents worked hard while I was away playing putting away this years crop of corn. I know we've played...a lot. We've  played with the kittens, found out that my obnoxious hiccups actually are a communication with the funny looking black chicken we have, and cut grass. There have also been massive rain storms (thank you Tropical Storm Debby - our dirt road still has water on it in some places and that was a week ago!), random projects, late night games and chats, playing in the park (Lori knows when I need a break and takes me to play), pea-shelling. One day while I was working, Lori came in to my office and did my hair while I was working...oh the challenges of working at home. :)

Tonight, though, we had a new experience. Dad and I went and cut one of his yards today in the heat of the day. In case you don't know, the best time to cut grass is in the morning before it gets too hot. I volunteered to go with him and was really glad I did - saved him time out there and I got to ride the big mower...win - win. :) Anyway, we came home and we both came in and cleaned up. I left here white and came home brown, so a shower was definitely in order. The poor guy came in and collapsed in his chair, so I told him I'd put all of the equipment away (I like to think I can do all of these things I've never done). 

For some reason, I feel you need to understand that I went outside in my pajamas and flip flops. All I had to do was back the mower off the trailer and park it in the shed, and then move the truck under the carport. I went and opened the shed door and took two steps ahead when I looked down and saw a SNAKE! I seriously was just inches away from him and would have stepped on him. I jumped straight up in the air and took off running for the house. It was time to break out the work boots. I ran inside, told mom and Lori what I'd found, put the boots on and took off back outside. Lori was right on my heels and we were looking for that blasted critter. Lori spotted it first...it had slithered under moms tire. Luckily I had my car keys on me, so I jumped in her car and rolled the window down. Lori gave me directions, and I tried to follow and, miracle of miracles, I got it. I jumped out, grabbed a shovel and carried him off to the woods. At this point I ensured that the snake was dead, but I'm not putting that on here. Not sure what kind of snake it was, if it was poisonous or not...it spent it's last day on our property. GROSS!! I hope I never have to do it again, but I'm proud to say that if I had to do it, I could. Please don't imagine a picture here. :)

For this experience, I blame Lori (the word "blame" is used loosely). She said she wanted to see a snake while she was home. Wish granted. 

There has been so much other stuff going on, but it'll have to be left to memory, at least at this point. Lori leaves us on Wednesday...I'm so not ready for this week. It very well may be the hardest week of my life. Very bittersweet. So proud of and excited for her, but we're all going to miss her like crazy! 18 months isn't that long, right?? (Anyone want to remind me of that on Thursday?)

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Miracles Happen

The last 24 hours (make that about 30 hours) have been incredibly interesting. It started just before 4 pm yesterday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk in my office, mom at her desk in her office. Her phone was in the kitchen ringing. She went to grab it and had missed the call. It was dad. She called him back, and all he said was, "Meet me at the back door", and you know that's never a good thing. She jumped on the golf cart and started driving out to the woods as he came around the barn. I was standing on the back porch waiting to see what was going on. I didn't have to wait long. Mom came flying back with dad on the golf cart. He was holding his nose - there was blood everywhere!! To be honest, it looked like part of his nose was missing, luckily it wasn't.
We grabbed some towels and hurried him to the car. This day I became the ambulance driver. I proud to say that I didn't speed and we still made it to the hospital in 10 minutes!! I don't think the pros could have done it any better, but that's just me. :)
At the ER, they took him right back to a room - mostly because he looked really bad and he STUNK really bad. This guy had been working outside all day and was sweaty and dirty...and he STUNK!! The nurse made him take his shirt off and put a gown on, it was so bad, but I digress.
6 hours, a set of labs, x-rays, CT scan, 2 large doses of morphine and a round of antibiotics and he was released with "just" a broken nose and a major black eye. Now, you may be wondering how he did this and why I would consider a black eye a miracle. Let me explain.
He was out on his tractor in the woods, pushing down some trees. Somehow, one he didn't know he had escaped the reach of the tractor and came flying up over the front of the tractor and hit him in the face, full speed ahead. He told us later that when he regained his bearings, he realized the tree was stuck in the roll bar of the tractor and wouldn't release because of the tension - and did I mention that before it got stuck it HIT HIM IN THE FACE?!?
In all seriousness, he probably shouldn't have survived this injury. It is truly a miracle. I'm so glad that he made it home from this one. With Father's day on Sunday and his birthday on Tuesday, I've already been thinking more about him and realizing how lucky I am to have him. Now, I'm even more so. So, happy early Father's/Birth Day, Dad! We're all glad you're still here!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Heavy Lifting

12:30 at night (or is it morning) is not the time to have any sort of serious conversation. Luckily, when I talked to Lori last night (or was it morning) we weren't trying to have a serious conversation. We were just being goofy and reminiscing again. This time I was remembering a trip to Lagoon last summer. Actually, it was on the way home...
We had spent the day at Lagoon and because we're budget conscious (aka: cheap) we didn't eat at the park. We were driving home and stopped at Wendy's shortly after leaving. We pulled into the drive-thru behind a large SUV with a trailer. The guy placed his order and pulled forward to the window to pick up his food, and we pulled up to place our order. We were instructed to pull forward to the next window, but the guy and his SUV/trailer were still there. It turns out he didn't make the turn wide enough and his trailer got caught on one of the cement posts they use to protect the building (at least that's what I assume they're for). He kept backing up and pulling forward, and backing up and pulling forward. We went through this for a few minutes. 
Soon enough, his wife and a couple of teenagers jumped out of the SUV and were trying to guide him back and forth, but to no avail. Next thing we know, the man is out of his vehicle and his wife is in the drivers seat. The same process - the same result. Now we're beginning to get a little frustrated. I mean, we've been outside in the sun, playing hard, all day long and we're hungry. And this guy is blocking our way. He comes around to the back of the trailer in an attempt to move it and again, no success. While he was standing there, I told Lori to jump out and help them (the joy of being the driver). Luckily she did. She walked up between my car and their trailer. At this point the man and kids had walked up to the SUV to talk to his wife and what happens next, well - you really had to see to believe. And I did...so I do! While these people are standing around talking about what needs to happen next, Lori reaches down and with strength I've never seen, literally picks the trailer up off the ground, moves it to the right of where it was and places it - ever so gently - back down on the ground. And, as if nothing abnormal had happened, she turned around and walked back to the car and got in. The man and his family just stood there, eyes wide (seriously, I wish I had a picture of this guys face), not believing what just happened. Luckily, they recovered quickly, got in and drove away and we got our food.
And that, my friends, is the story of why we're not still sitting in a drive-thru line near Farmington. This is also the story of why Lori is seriously one of the top 3 coolest people I know (no offense to anyone else, but can you lift a trailer by yourself??). 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Wasted Time

When we were in one of the shops on Jekyll Island, I found this great little sign and instantly knew I had a new motto. 


And I think it is...But today as I was working, I was listening to a program on the Mormon Channel app called Conversations. The speakers I listened to were Elder L. Whitney Clayton and his wife, Kathy. One of the questions they were asked was about how they raised their children and juggled time and commitments. Elder Clayton started talking about how, early in their marriage they couldn't afford a TV. Then, after several years, they were able to purchase a TV but learned that they had fallen out of the habit of watching as much television. He said that, even to this day, they watch TV, but they only turn it on when they are going to watch a specific program - it isn't just on for the fun of it. He related it to how we organize our time. Sometimes we are just going and doing all sorts of things, just because we can when, in reality, we could be more choosy with how we spend our time and take care of the "essential" things.

He said (I tried to write it down exactly, but it's not perfect, so let's just move on...) "Choose the things you want to do and make sure they're essential". Then he said, "There isn't time to do everything. There's certainly not enough time to waste".

You know those moments where you hear something and you know you've heard truth, or wisdom, or just felt enlightened. Today, this was that moment for me. It's so easy to get caught up in doing the things we should do (or think we should do) and sometimes neglect the essential things.

So, while I think this still may be my new favorite motto, I'm going to make sure that the things I enjoy are the essential things.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Jekyll Island

Last Saturday, Bradley and I went to Jekyll Island. He showed me around the island and I got to be a tourist for the day. I'm beginning to understand the idea of island life - clear blue skies, ocean views, and no worries (well, that's what I had...I'm sure it's different if you live there, at least every once in a while). It was the perfect day!

 We made it (amazing what an hour drive will do!).
 Mossy trees at the first place we went. You walk through this woodsy, picnic type area, down a small boardwalk and you see this...
 ...and this.
 Then you jump in the car and drive to the other side of the island and, if you're me - you take no pictures up close of the ocean. Instead, you remember to take pictures as you're washing your feet off at one of those handy water stations. *Make sure you push the button for the foot portion - not the shower part. I almost had a story to tell.* From here, you see these lovely palm trees.
 Afterwards we went to the historic district. We saw a little bit of everything, but I only took pics of a few things (note to my tourist self - take more pics!!) Here is the old hotel...
 And the rest of it.
 One of the other buildings - now another part of the hotel. 
We wandered inside and found this amazing winding staircase.
 Lovely natural archway over the sidewalk. I want one of these one day...this would be my thinking tree (like I need a tree...haha).
 Next stop was lunch - no pictures. Great little place totally hidden by tons of trees - you couldn't see it from the road. As a side note, I was feeling adventurous and ordered a fish sandwich. If you know me, you know that I do NOT like fish. It was surprisingly delicious. I'd probably do that again. :)

Last stop was Driftwood Beach. Amazing scenery. This is one of those places that you almost have to see to believe. The pictures just don't do it justice. 

 And, finally - the proof that I'm not making it up! We were there. Shout out to the friendly biker I stopped to take our picture. I'm pretty sure he was annoyed, but hey - I'm a tourist!