Rainy Wednesday.  It is kinda funny because the hills are looking green.  I am not used to seeing green hills, everything is usually brown and sandy.  Loving the rain.  Anyhow, we had quite the weekend, and I thought I would just give an update.  Sunday was kind of rough.  Chloee went to all of this trouble to pack a really great diaper bag, including crayons, coloring books, treats etc, and then she left it at home.  I think she decided that she did not want to share her art kit after all, and she left it on purpose.  Because I watched her pack it, I only assumed that she would bring it, so we had literally nothing to entertain the kids with and keep them quiet.  Except for a stuffed unicorn, and a stuffed moose.  How could I forget that Dill and Mo brought those dum things.  Dill got her unicorn confiscated when she kept throwing it at Ryan and nailing him in the head.  He discreetly put it under the bench.  Mo kept wapping me with his until Ryan took the moose too.  Which left nothing except for a few programs to doodle on, and a broken purple pen.  Mo and Chlo fought over the purple pen loudly, until I sided with Mo who had it first.  My older kids were really distracted too, and they laughed about who knows what during the entire testimony meeting.  And I miss Jamie these days.  She helped me keep some semblance of order on the bench.  It is interesting how much we lean on our oldest until our oldest grows up and moves out.  It is kinda unfair.
     Anyhow, I survived sacrament meeting (barely) but kinda wanted to die.  But, Ryan and I had our lesson to present, and Dill refused to go to her class.  She insisted on going to class with Sags, but Sags is in my class.  So, Dill ended up distracting our class for the hour, and participate was the last thing on her mind.  She had her dum unicorn, and the kids got throwing it over her head, and she ended up goofing around under the table for a large portion of the hour.  After the wrestling matches on the bench the first hour and juggling dill the second, I was in desperate need for a few moments of peace.
     However, after a quick lunch, Ryan decided he wanted to go for a ride on the range, and he wanted to shoot for a while.  There was on old well he wanted to locate.  Anyhow, sounded like a plan, but he wanted everyone to come, so everyone piled in the van.    The biggest problem with the family rides is the noise, fighting, and dum songs sung over and over.  Dill also had an annoying horn that had been bestowed upon Mo around Halloween time.  The noise that it makes is similar to a kazoo but much louder.  We listened to someone blare on that thing the whole time, and honestly, I have become pretty good to tune that kind of stuff out, but my teenagers, just do not roll with it.  So, along with the blaring noise from the horn, was the constant request from the teenagers to make me stop whoever was tootling on it at the time.  Along with this, there was a ton of scuffling and fighting going on in the back.  The complaints were nonstop, along with bawling, screeching, and complaining.  Mo stuck his feet on Dill's face and somehow poked her in the eye.  Chlo had been injured or wronged by Moroni as well, and the girls were all squishing on the other seat with Oak, and no one was rolling with that whole situation very well either. 
     On this particular drive, Ryan was looking for an old place that they had visited as a kid.  I was kind of annoyed and concerned because the whole entire drive was up a wash....a very sandy wash, in a large 12 passenger van, with zero 4-wheel drive, next to no clearance, and bald tires.  Sand and the van usually do not mix well, and we end up stuck.
     So, I must insert at this time that my definition of stuck, and Ryan's are two very different things.  In my opinion, if you are delayed because your vehicle will no longer move, then you are stuck.   Ryan's opinion is that if you can somehow dig out, then you are not stuck, just delayed.  Well, it isn't like we don't have heavy equipment that can get us out if necessary, but I do not like being delayed either way.  Especially with the noise and racket going on in the back. 
    So, back to our drive, I was fine if the tires were moving, but anytime he slowed down to look at a cow, or a cow track, we would start spinning tires in the sand.  I would then get just a tad short tempered about the direction we were taking...just up the wash further and further.  Anyhow, we stopped at one point and got out for a bit.  Then, he decided we had not gone far enough after speaking with Cliven, and so we all got back in and rode up the wash further.  We eventually did find the spot where he was interested in finding.  It was grassy, green, and sandy.  The day was pretty nice and warm.
     I am not sure what Chlo's motivations were, but she immediately removed the shovel that Ryan had brought with us and began intently digging.  I asked her what she was digging for, and she let me know that she was digging Moroni's grave.  I am still not quite clear on her motivations for this grave.  She was way irritated with him on the drive, but she did not act so mad that she wanted him dead, and so maybe she just wanted his future resting place to be out on that sunny spot on the range.  When Dill heard that Chlo was digging Moroni a grave she became insanely jealous and began to cry.  She wanted a grave dug for her too, and I tried to let her know that a grave was really nothing to be jealous about.   Needless to say, that Moroni's grave was way too shallow to fit his scrawny little body into.  Oak also began digging graves, and so the day progressed with a few shallow graves dug in the middle of the desert. 
     The other girls were laughing and eating cobbler, and were mildly ticked off when Oak kicked dirt in their cobbler.  Dill became famished, but refused cobbler, and became irate that Wazz ate the last graham cracker.  So, when we did finally pack up and go, Dill's whines for non-existant graham crackers added to the usual annoying noise on the ride home.  Dill was also on my lap at this point, wallering to and fro.  When Ryan came to a set of tracks in the wash and began slowing down to find out what had made the tracks, I was kinda short with him.  I did not want the torture of all of the whining and fighting to be prolonged, and so I just told him that it was just a bug that had crossed the road.  Well, it was a cow.  Several, in fact, and Sage began laughing at the thought of a bug leaving noticeable tracks.  Hey...I just did not want a bawling Dill to be bawling while Ryan traipsed clear to the ranch to fetch a tractor, to fetch us outta the sand trap.  So...no, I had not seen the cow tracks, but I did not want him to slow down.  There were several long-eared cows Ryan was now interested in.
     We then stopped to visit Cliven and Carol for a bit.  The rest of the week has kind of been a blur.  Ryan and I had to go to Santaquin for some grain for the fair animals, and the sheep.  Dill got pretty restless on that trip as well.  It is days like yesterday when I really miss my Jamie.  She would have kept Dill home and spoiled her rotten.  There would have been no noise and whines from the back seat. 
     I have noticed an increase in stupid and petty fights in the mornings between Chlo and Oak.  This morning was another knock-down drag-out.  It is almost always over who has to feed the pigs that day.  Chores are good for them if they would just actually get them done. 

     

     It is a rainy Saturday, which is extremely rare in these parts.  We should have some beautiful wildflowers blanket the range this year, and I am really excited about that.  But today, I have been thinking a lot about the different parenting styles between men and women and why they are so great.  I wanted to write down a few personal experiences so that I will not forget them.  Ryan and I parent way different, and my mom and dad parented way different.
     It was rare that my mom was not around to get me on the bus during elementary school.  She began her career as a teacher when I was in middle school, and by then, I could do my own hair, get myself breakfast ( which usually consisted of one of those brown sugar pop tarts, and yeah...those aren't my favorites), and get a ride with my brothers, who did not want me to have to ride the bus.  But, in elementary school, my mom was around to make sure my hair was fixed and that my clothes were clean and in decent order.  I vividly recall one incident where she was going to be out of town.  There was panic in the air.  My dad did not know how to do my hair, and a practice run resulted in hideous results.  The fact of the matter was, his fingers were just too big to work with my fine baby silk blonde hair.  There was no way he could make me look decent.  So, my mom actually had to arrange for my next door neighbor to fix my hair on the days she was going to be gone.  That worked ok...but really, when my mom was gone, it messed us all up.
     Another time, our family went to Escalante for the weekend.  My dad did not accompany us on that trip, and if I recall correctly, it was a three day weekend, and he had to work.  Anyhow, he was left with strict instructions to feed my goldfish.  The instructions were simple....just feed the goldfish.  Well, he felt the goldfish weren't acting "perky" enough and so he added ice cubes to their bowl thinking that would freshen things right up.  And, it effectively killed them.
     On a more positive note, my dad took us camping, and fishing, and shooting.  He made sure we were free to ride four-wheelers whenever we were out in the hills, and this gave me a sense of freedom that I had never before experienced.  We hiked into many lakes and fished.  We enjoyed wild strawberries, and dutch oven dinners out in the beauty of nature.  At night we slept in the still quiet of in our sleeping bags and tents, and honestly, sometimes I nearly froze to death.  My Dad gave me a sense of security that I just don't believe could have come from anywhere else.  When he was around, I was safe.  He gave me boy advice when I was of age and tried to see the good in all of the young men I brought home.  He gave me a hug on the way to my prom and formal dates with a whisper in my ear to "be good" and heaven knows I could never hurt or disappoint my dad, and so I was good.  I was very blessed with a good dad.
     Fast forward to having a family of my own.  I picked a man that gave me the same sense of security that my own dad gave me.  Ryan is strong, handy, and can figure out a solution to almost any problem.  When he is next to me snoring in my bed, I know that all is right with the world.  We started our family off with a streak of four girls.  Beautiful, blonde girls.  They have always loved their dad.  He was the guy that had candy in his suit pocket at church.  He was the guy that would swing them around or toss them playfully in the air.  He was the guy that put them on his shoulders and carried them out for grand adventures.  I was told by Sage on one occasion, "we like you, but we just like dad more."  It was totally true.  He was their favorite, their protector, and their stability.  He was their fun.
     Ryan worked construction, and so that meant that the kids were not usually welcome on his jobs.  It violated a million rules and, so it was rare when they could go with him to work.  That meant if he was looking at a job, picking up supplies, or running any errands, he would take one of the kids with him.  This was a great time for the girls, and later the boys.  He would always buy them treats from the gumball machines ( I always told them no) or he would stop and buy them an ice cream.  I recall vividly a woman that Ryan did business with.  She sent Ryan an email a day after he had gone to look at a job that she was needing to be done.  He had taken Oak with him so that they could spend some time together.  The woman felt that this was "unprofessional" and should not be done.  She felt that if he wanted to be taken seriously in the construction world, children should not be allowed to tag along.  He emailed her back, thanking her for her advice, and then explained at length the importance of a father to a child.  He made no apologies and told her that he would continue to include his children in everything he could, always.  Needless to say, she didn't hire him, but I was so happy with the guy I married that day.
     I still recall vividly the time that I left an infant Sage in his care, while I fulfilled my calling as Young Women's leader.  She was 3 or 4 months old at the time, and had been introduced to a little rice cereal, but was strictly nursed otherwise.  I was very concerned about her getting hungry and knew that he would probably have to get her to sleep.  We lived about 30 miles away from town and phone service at the time.  I was really worried that she was going to cry the whole time I was gone because Sage was no the easiest baby.  Anyhow, when I returned home from my ward assignments, she was fast asleep in her bed.  The clothes he had put her in were odd, and ones I had not ever dressed her in, but she was asleep.  I asked him how he managed to get her to sleep.  He just shrugged and said that he fed her and she fell asleep.  Fed her?? I calmly asked what he had fed her, and he just explained that he had baked meat pies for dinner and she helped him eat his.  Yeah...I was worried, but she slept great that night with zero problems.  Lucky kid to eat meat pies with her dad.
     Another time I had to go on an overnighter with my calling as we took the youth to temple square.  I completely forgot that Jamie had a birthday party on Saturday.  Luckily Ryan got her to the party, but his gift??? A toy the girls had gotten from McDonald's that they never really understood how to play with.  I give him props for getting her there with an actual gift though.  I am positive it wasn't wrapped, cuz I have never seen that guy wrap a gift.
     When I would attend Relief Society meetings, dinner under Ryan's care was always an adventure.  Steak and marshmallows one evening.  I will never forget cleaning that dinner up.  No wonder they didn't mind if I stepped out for the evening.  Steak and shmallows were a dinner that I had never even considered.  He takes them out trimming trees, or fixing tractors.  They help him haul wood as he cuts it, and they assist if he has an animal to butcher.  It was always him that invited them into our bed if they had a nightmare, or if they were sick.  "Come let me hold you."
     Dads and moms are pretty special.  But today, I am just grateful for good dads.  I am so glad Ryan is home.  The other morning, Dill wanted to discuss Ryan's time in jail, and she wondered why her dad had been taken from her.  "Don't they know that we can't have a happy family without our dad?"  Obviously, they do not care.  I took my kids in those courtrooms so that judges and prosecutors alike could see first hand the damage they were doing in lying and holding an innocent man.  It did not seem to bother them in the least.  That is part of the problem.  Repentance and teachings of Jesus Christ is the key that can actually fix all of this and heal our nation.

     New week, and it has been a whirlwind.  Jamie is in a town called Palmerton, and her branch is the Lehighton branch in Pennsylvania.  Her companion is Sister Johnson, and I appreciate the fact that she has had Jamie out working.  Jamie claims that one of her favorite things to do is tract, and that makes me really happy.  We spoke for a bit on Monday, and she also messaged me back and forth for awhile.  The branch is small, and eager to help, and she eats at member's homes in the evenings which is great.  They are in a car, a brand new car (she claims it had five miles on it), and it is cold and rainy.  It looks old, and quaint, and I am excited for her.  It is a miracle that we send our young people out to serve...especially at a time when most people are the most selfish.  Cache and I messaged back and forth for a bit too, and he is in Amite, Louisiana.  He cannot get over the fact that there is water everywhere, and it smells like moss and mold. He seriously could not get over the smell.  This coming from a guy that was cleaning out a dead calf from a manure stall.   The people have had visions of their own and so they should relate well to Joseph Smith's experience.  Anyhow, we pray for them both nonstop.
     Dill has been full of conversation this week.  She wakes up early and wants to discuss different things.  Ryan asked her the other morning if she loved her dad and she said, "well, I love everyone in my family."  She was also admiring my diamond ring and she looked at me and said, "you married the right man."  Raising Dill is like raising Smart Sage all over again.  Don't get me wrong, they're all smart, but Dill and Sage are at a whole other level.  At times they just outsmart the parent.
     Oak and Sage have had some knock-down drag-outs this week.  Sage and Jerusha are kind of food Nazi's and it just does not jive with Oak's constant need for a ton of food.  Ryan actually always sides with Oak on these types of fights, but it does not prevent the arguments completely.  Also, Oak will irritate Sage, and then wonder why the heck she comes after him.  An excellent example of this was last Sunday at church.  I was in a good spot to just observe the two of them.  Oak had been out passing the sacrament and he purposely sat down right next to Sage.  He began just bumping her nonchalantly on the arm.  She took it for a bit and then finally she grabbed him by the hand and just dug really hard until he couldn't take it anymore.  The speaker was quite engaging, and so that is where it should have ended.  But Oak started bumping her again, and so she just sat and stared at him point blank until he just couldn't stand it.  Of course at that point he looks at me and lets me know that Sage is bothering him for no reason whatsoever...yeah...try again Oak.  You poke at the bear, then you get what's coming to you. 
     So, we also had the problem this week of Dill refusing to go to her class.  Oak is usually good to take her, but last week he had young men's and he felt like it was inappropriate to take her.  So, Jazz offered.  After the week that Dill insisted everyone wear buckets, I was concerned.  Anyhow, Jazz claims she did great, but the Young Women's leader indicated otherwise.  Dill has just got to get in her head that she belongs in her class.  That's it, end of story. 
     Mo, Chlo, and Dill have been outside most afternoons playing in the lovely spring weather.  I love the weather right now.  It is the best part of living in these parts.  Everything is green and smells fresh.  Anyhow, they have some adventure on the trampoline that keeps them busy until dark.  Oak goes out and shoots hoops, and then throws something at them from time to time, just because. 
     Jerusha has been bent on getting her driving permit this week.  I hate the DMV...really shoulder shlumping hate it.  She took the test once, and failed, which meant going back a second day...then she passed, but they rejected the birth certificate I had because of sheer Government bs....the kind of stuff Ryan rails against non stop.  Anyhow, Jerusha threw a fit, and I was like hey....when you deal with the DMV it is a whole lot of bs...just plan on days and days of bs.  So, I had to drive to Utah to pick up another birth certificate, and hopefully today we can go over there and wait all day again so she can have her dumb permit.  Ryan rails against this stuff.  He is so absolutely right, but I do not know how to fix it.  Anyhow, we are talking about a girl who was driving a skidsteer all over the melon fields at age 10.  She is a good driver.  It was good for her to study all of the traffic rules, but she is no stranger to driving.  Heck, Chlo drives the truck in the hay field.  It is just part of the every day on the ranch when we have the privilege to help out there. 
     Dill really likes to assist her Dad when he has tools out and is fixing on something.  She is most enthusiastic about tractor's and big trucks.  She enjoyed an afternoon of intently using a wrench on a bunch of tire rims that Ryan had ordered.  We also took Ryan a lunch one day as he ran the blade to smooth up some roads in Scenic.  She happily rode with him, and probably would have been content on there all day.  She thinks she knows how to turn a wrench, but I am not so sure.
     Sage had the opportunity to go to Reno during legislative session.  She was told under no circumstances was she to speak about our family issues during her time observing the session.  This made me all kinds of mad.  Apparently a few FFA advisors around the state were afraid Sage would hijack the session, and they wanted her removed if she said anything.  I made it very clear that she should follow the spirit of her Heavenly Father on the matter, and if she felt like she should say something, then do it.  I don't give one care if she gets kicked out.  What is ironic is that a few of the assemblymen sought her out to discuss a few of the family matters.  Kind of backfired on those teachers who wanted Sage silent.  I try not to get offended by this stuff, but this week, I had the urge to throw a few darts....not at the teachers, but maybe if I had their pictures, I would have thrown a few darts at them.  One of the biggest lessons that I try to learn every day, is to not hate those who don't agree or understand.  It really should not be a thing to hate over....they are wrong, but still.  No hate. This whole thing has been so good for me.  So humbling and so good. 
     Scripture study this week has been a series of a bunch of interruptions and yoga poses.  Oak and Jazz probably did not hear a word the other day as we read Mathew Chapter 6...probably not one word.  So, I assigned Oak to read and teach chapter 7.  I cannot tell you how much better everything went.  There were a few silent yoga poses by Jerusha, but people were quiet, except for a little squirreling around by Mo and Chlo...so the lesson?  Oak is quite possibly the biggest distraction, so I might just have him teach every night. 

    

    Quite the week to say the least.  Jamie flew out on Wednesday and made it to Philadelphia PA.  I can easily follow her google photos and kinda tell what is going on.  You cannot be a good mom without being somewhat of a good detective ha ha.  Anyhow, she arrived, I received an email from the mission home, and I was able to talk to her as she sat in the Salt Lake Airport waiting for her flight to leave.  It was awesome.  From what I gather from her photos, her companion is a Sister Johnson?  maybe...the tag is blurry and she is in Palmerton PA.  Small town, population in the mid 5,000 range, and it looks cold, and snowy.  She isn't far from the coast and so I imagine that the humidity brings a real chill.  I am hoping she can get a good coat and boots in her area, and if not then I will order her some. The call from Salt Lake was only made possible because of Rooshkie.  Jamie wants to communicate on google hangouts and I just don't get it.  I literally had to facetime with Jerusha at school so she could walk me through it.  Whoever her teacher was, let her out of class to facetime with me, even though phones are technically not allowed in class...I owe that teacher big time.
    Cache flew out Tuesday morning, and I see a picture of them saying goodbye with a nice handshake.  He took pretty good care of her in the MTC, by passing her chocolates and notes.  I am sure she is really missing him now, but thank goodness she is tough.  Tough is what she is just going to have to be.  There was also a picture of her with Resha Bunker from Bunkerville.  Very significant picture because it was Resha's ancestor Grandpa, that baptized Abraham Bundy...Jamie's ancestor Grandpa.  Not to mention that Bob Bunker (Resha's dad) was my hometeacher during Ryan's incarceration and he took great care of our family.  He went above and beyond what a home teacher normally does.  He fixed tires, sharpened knives, hauled off broken furniture, fixed my computer, and hung my front door on our home.  I seriously could go on and on.  Love the Bunker family.  Cache's companion is an Elder Woods from Wyoming, and I kinda think Sage should write him.  That is all I will say about that ha ha!
     So, everyone lost their minds this week because our valley actually got some snow.  Being somewhat a snow snob from Utah, I was kinda not as excited as I probs should have been.  It was maybe an inch of slush.  Anyhow, I know it is rare so my attitude should change.  Oak went right out in his swimming trunks and made a snow angel.  Mo went to go follow suit, but he had just gotten dressed for school, and it was seriously slush...I told him no unless he put swimming trunks on too.  It took me quite a while to talk Mo into wearing some pants without holes in the knees.  He agreed to wear pants without holes because he didn't want to get snow on his knees.  Needless to say that I probably should have let him live in the moment and enjoyed a snow angel.  Oak made sure that he pelted everyone with snowballs at the bus stop before they could come up with the "no throwing snowballs" rule.  The evening the storm hit, we actually built a roaring fire in the fireplace.  Oak and his friend placed a golf ball in the flames for whatever reason.  They were trying to be sneaky about it, but that was impossible because the fumes that were coming off of that thing were as pungent as anything I have ever smelled.  It was so bad our eyes were going to water.  WHY???  I ask myself that so many times where Oak is concerned.  Anyhow, Sage sluffed school to make a snowman, and the snow only lasted a few hours before it turned to rain.  However, school was cancelled the next day.  It made zero sense because the day they canceled school, it wasn't particularly cold, the roads were dry, and there was zero snow left.  Mo invited a friend over, and they had gun battles in the living room all day long. 
     FFA sweethearts was also this week.  Sage was told that she had to participate because she is the FFA president this year.  She was quite crabby for having to participate.  This meant that we had to do a poster, cupcakes, talent, and she needed to do interview questions.  Jamie did this competition last year, and I learned a ton.  It is unfortunate that Jamie has to be the guinea pig.  We always learn from her and do better at stuff the second time around.
     Sags and I came up with some brilliant ideas for her poster.  It fit with the theme perfectly, and it all just fell into place.  I cannot tell you how rare that is.  She won the poster competition.  Cupcakes would have been next if school had not been canceled.  We baked for two afternoons trying to come up with the perfect cupcake and we might not even have to do them.  We can only hope anyway.  We made a decent cookie dough cupcake and Sags made a pina colada cupcake that was really good actually.  Results of the contest should happen next week, but last year the girl that won spoke about the importance of PETA and environmentalism, and Sags probs doesn't have much of a chance.  Her last name is Bundy and all. 
     Dill's emotions have been all over the board this week.  I know she is missing Jamie and Cache because she points out all of the locations around town where they had some fun.  Those two did take her everywhere.  When snow hit the mountains she longed to go back up there and build a snowman like they did last time.  She wondered out loud why Cache had been gone 10 years.  Yeah....he has been gone about three weeks so we are in for it.  These scattered emotions have led to some interesting outbursts.  She bawled and bawled when I brought a Walmart pizza home one night because it had cheese on it, and she "doesn't like that kind that has cheese."  What?  I am not even sure that you can purchase a pizza without cheese, but I guess its possible.  I know we never have.  She went crying to her dad and threw herself in his arms and sobbed on his shoulder for a while.  Then she returned to the kitchen and ate a piece of pizza.  Obviously, she had a change of heart over that one. 
     We also had the unfortunate situation of Chloee accidentally letting the pigs out of their pen right before school one morning.  That was a fiasco in the highest proportions.  We still have much to learn about guiding pigs around, but the worst part was all of Chloee's bawling and all of Oak's guilt trips that he was giving her.  Oh my heck...Chloee bawled and bawled and wanted to quit.  Because the pigs got out?? Please, they didn't even make it to the veterinary parking lot this time like they did last year.  So yeah... a minor pain, but we dealt with it, and even made it to school on time, though Mo's hair looked like it was sticking up for him that day. 
     Also, I made the mistake of letting her listen to a Mr. Nightmare one day as I was working on something.  They are really just narrated Reddit posts, and if I remember right this one was about dogs that came to their master's rescue.  Not particularly scary in my book, but I regretted it when she didn't even dare go to the bathroom by herself later that day.  In her words, everything was "creeping her out."
     Also, Dill got on my phone and somehow made a few videos of herself and posted them on Jamie's instagram account.  That'll make for good conversation later.

     So...much has taken place, first and foremost, Jamie left on her mission a few weeks ago, and actually flies to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in two days.  Cache, left the same day, and flies to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he flies out early in the morning.  They have absolutely loved the MTC in Provo.  Jamie, has been better to write more details, and she has grown a ton.  I miss her, but there were a few really rough weeks getting her out there.  We received a ton of opposition from Satan, and so obviously she is doing exactly what she should, and it was a relief to get her out there serving.  She was so ready, and so eager to get out there.  Ryan and I drove her up, and we went and did sealings in the Provo Temple right before she had to leave.  It was an amazing morning, and Ryan also gave her an amazing blessing.  She was told when she was set apart, that she would have an added measure of the spirit.  That was a huge comfort. 
    The rest of us, are crazy busy like always.  Jerusha and Jasmine are in the middle of drill team season, and so I am usually at their performances several evenings a week.  Sage is involved in pretty much everything.  She is on the seminary council, the yearbook committee, FFA president, ward history consultant, Laurel President, and she has taken up yoga.  She is in yoga classes five days a week for the most part.  Oak is begging to do baseball, but Ryan really wants him to be around to help at the ranch, and so I will probably keep him out and let him do football again in the fall.  Anyhow, it is a busy world.
     Ryan did not do well in the election, but it is a huge relief to get it over.  He did what he felt he needed to do.  The Government is filing an appeal to overturn Judge Navarro's decision to dismiss their court case, which has meant a ton of study and computer time for him.  He has been working at the ranch when he can, and also he has been blading a lot of roads.  We are still way behind on some bills and he is working as much as possible to get us caught up. 
     So..the kids.  Chloee on down.  They are still busy playing most of the time.  They often have huts all over the place.  Dill has been refusing to go to her primary class and has opted to go to class with Oak.  This has had me concerned, because I do not want her to be a distraction in his class.  Oak's class is taught by Victoria Hafen, who just happens to be one of the most amazing people I have ever met.  I did ask her if Dill was being a distraction.  Ryan and I teach a class that hour, but I would rather have her distracting us, than distracting the 11 yr olds.  She said that Dill was being really good and even was good to participate.  Somehow, I just cannot picture Dill participating.  Dill has been bossy and controlling, and so I don't want her bossing around the class. 
    I would now like to share some of the bossy things I have been dealing with.  For example, today, Dill decided that she wanted pasta shells with cheese for lunch.  Simple enough, and so I said that would be fine.  Well, Jerusha had been assigned to clean the closet in the kitchen.  She was also clearing some things out of the fridge and so when I went in to clean, she volunteered to cook lunch.  (Yay.)
     Fast forward about 10 minutes and Dill catches wind that potatoes are being cooked and she is 100% not okay with that news.  She and Moroni start throwing fits about the change in plans.  I finally told them that they could throw a fit all they want, but that lunch plans had changed and it would all be just fine.  They did eat and survive just fine, but talk about someone small, trying to control everything in the universe.  It is not bad for a child to learn that things do not always go the way that was planned.  Rolling with different things is so important.
     She has also been hinting at the fact that perhaps Ryan should sleep elsewhere because his snoring "creeps her out".  I told her in no uncertain terms that she was welcome to sleep anywhere else in the house.  Her dad was going to be in my bed, and she was tolerated there when she came in because she was scared, but she could leave at any time.  Her snoring dad stays.  She can go if she wants. 
    Yesterday, we had the opportunity to show a supporter of the Constitution stop by and she attended shrsh with us, and we drove her around, and showed her the significant areas where events took place in 2014.  The kids were kinda awful.  At church and otherwise.  Dill had eaten several rounds of breakfast before shrsh, but became famished when the speakers started speaking.  Mo kept thrashing around, and Ryan did his best to keep him settled down.  Later, at the dinner table, Oak and Sage had some interesting brawl about the fact that Oak needed manners, and Oak was claiming that Sage simply did not allow him to eat ever.  It got ugly and more heated.  Then, as we drove around, Dill was saying certain phrases over and over, and over again.  It was annoying, but Chloee bawling because she wouldn't stop saying things over and over, just made things worse.  Cindy was way patient about all of it.  Later, when she left, Sage had decided to make cookies for some neighbors.  Sage is very thoughtful, and often likes to do flower arrangements for people, or make them treats.  Anyhow, she had some homemade oreos on a plate.  Oak grabbed one and bit it.  World War 3 broke out at that point.  Oak tried to do damage control by throwing the cookie he had bitten to avoid Sage's wrath.  That totally backfired, and then she found it and chased him all over the house, claiming that he now had to eat the cookie...had to... because he bit it.  Well, Oak is not one to do things that are demanded of him, and so he ran, she chased him all over the house.  I just wanted to eat the bitten cookie for him in order for the fight to be over.  He ran with sheer terror, she ran with pure anger.  Yeah....he needs to watch it when it comes to messing with Sags. 
    

     First semi-cold day of the new season.  The wind is cool and it is howling.  I love the fall season.  It really is, and always has been my favorite.  The deer hunt was kinda the big highlight of the year.  My mom would bake, and my dad would hunt.  I just love it.  Down here in the extreme heat, the weather is so nice and the kids love playing outside.  The long days, turn shorter ones with more family togetherness.  Ryan hates that aspect...he dislikes the short days, but I kinda like them.  That is because I have a tendency to be a bit lazy.  I love the long evenings.
     So, much has happened.  Jamie is currently waiting on a mission call.  Yes...any day now.  The calls are submitted and received online now.  Cache is also waiting on his call.  They will both go, and I am not going to lie because I have not had a kid leave the house yet.  I am not even allowing myself to dwell on it or think about it.  My Jamie...not daily in my world and by my side.  I might cry thinking about it now.  I am excited for her, but for me...I am just sad.  I do not forsee myself as a happy empty-nester.  I will miss her every second.  Cache too.  He has become a huge part of the family.  I do not know what the future holds for them both, but I would be way happy if they end up together.  He takes good care of her.
     Sage is busy as all get out.  She is on the seminary council, on the volleyball team, the FFA president, on the yearbook commitee, she is the ward family history consultant, and has been dating a young man, Marlan Felshaw pretty frequently.  Last night was her homecoming date, and she looked beautiful.  She went with Chance Thornton.  She said she had a great time.  We don't see Sage enough.  I love that girl.
     Jerusha is on the drill team, and social as all get out.  She is a busy freshman, with a busy homework and school schedule.  She went to Homecoming too with a group of her friends.  A friend's mother rented them a limo and got a bunch of pictures.  I am looking forward to getting them.  Anyhow, drill team has been a challenge and keeps her very busy.
     Jasmine is also on the drill team and she babysits for me a lot.  She is still happy and helpful Jazz, and I am so grateful for all that she does.  She often cooks dinner, and takes care of kids.  Clean up, not so much, but I am way happy with that girl.
     Oak is playing football.  That is keeping him busy.  He is already quite interested in girls.  He has many friends and is doing better and better on his team.  We are down to playoff games, and  the older girls are bugging me to put him in wrestling.  I am just not sure I can do that.  Watching them compete stresses me to the max.  Oak is kinda hard on some of his siblings, but still dotes on Dill.
     Chloee is starting to limp around on her foot.  We had a scare a few weeks ago when it got infected.  It was really bad, and she had to go through some major pain and antibiotics before we got things cleared back up again.  She still has a little healing to do, and I am just so grateful that Dr Delcore saved her foot.
     Moroni is a good student, but we are struggling to get the little guy to control his emotions, and help out more.  He and Chloee are still inseparable and  they are pretty good to keep themselves entertained with their imaginations.
     Dill is also in love with Cache.  She thinks that he comes here to see her.  They do take her as their chaperone quite a bit.  She has had some good experiences at the Burnside arena riding horses.  She is still sassy and smart.  I love that little girl.  She is my little sidekick and is so much fun.
     Ryan is still running for Governor and we are so tired of politics.  It is important that he do this, and yet he has been extremely busy.  It is difficult to juggle it all.  He is on the radio two or three times a day, traveling around, and just going full throttle 24/7.
     After the brief update.  I would like to just jump in with a few of our recent days.  Yesterday, Cliven helped us put on a fundraiser for Ryan in Logandale.  It was held at the old high school and grounds there, and it went really well.  The old school has been turned into a museum and there were some really creepy manequins in sailor suits in that place.  Yeah....another reason I love this time of year...I kinda love the creepiness of fall.  It is part of the coziness.  Anyhow, the kids played and threw the football around.  Dill found a little cowboy her age and was playing quite nicely with him.  I mentioned that it might be nice if she liked that little boy, implying that she could perhaps let Jamie have Cache to herself.  Anyhow, she made it clear that the boy needs to be bigger and older, so she wasn't buying that idea.  Some of us left early so that we could see Sage off on her homecoming date.  She looked beautiful and I am grateful that I was able to snap a few pictures.
     Today we had shrsh.  Ryan and I just got reassigned to teach the 15-18 yr olds.  I am really excited about this new assignment.  The kids this age are interactive and more attentive.  I loved my class though, and I miss those kids already.  So, it is new and exciting.  Also..the changes announced at General Conference means that we will only have to teach twice a month.  I really felt the spirit last week as I watched Conference.  I know President Nelson and this church is true and the direction that I need in my world.
     Ok, so Moroni woke up and just did not want to go to church today.  He claimed over and over that he did not need to go, and that he would be just fine at home alone.  I made it very clear that we were all going, and that he was included in that.  He kept whining, but he finally did go in and get ready in his white shirt, and too small of pants that he insists on wearing.  Dill also drug her heals and finally got ready at the last second.  We show up just a few minutes early and sit down.  I looked down the row and notice that Jazz and Oak are missing.  I sat there and tried to be certain that they had indeed made it into the van and I knew that they had.  So...where the heck were they.  After a few announcements made by one of the counselors, I got up to locate them.  They had made the decision to sit on the couch.  I told them that they were going to come in and sit with us.  They opposed that idea, but reluctantly followed me.  When we returned, they were just about ready to start the sacrament, and immediately they start dinging around and goofing off.  Moroni and Dill were quietly playing with some stuffed animals, and everyone else was being nice and reverent.
    After the sacrament is where I started having trouble with Moroni.  He needed a drink.  I knew that he had just had a drink and so I told him to be quiet and listen.  That kid does not, nor does ever just obey.  So, naturally he turned the whine on, and just started to hound.  I finally took him out and let him have one.  When we returned there were many scuffles and whines over Oak, doing whatever it was he was doing to bother and irritate, and stuffed animals, which seemed to cause more trouble than anything.  Jazz would not stop dinking around, and I finally had to split she and Oak up.  Moroni got so bad that I finally sent him to sit by his Dad.  The last horrifying thing that happened, was that one of my kids, placed a crusty gummy fruit, from the bottom of the diaper bag, on the arm of the gentleman sitting in front of us.  I was so completely taken aback by this situation that I could not even stammer out a proper apology.  The whole meeting had been such a complete fiasco, that all I could do was laugh.  Luckily, he found it funny too, and gave the kids a hard time over it.  I am glad that at least they didn't target someone without a sense of humor. When I went to clean up, I finally realized that most of the problems had been caused by the fact that we had about twenty stuffed animals, along with various books, and knick knacks.  I have no idea how they were able to sneak all of that stuff in.
     I am grateful for my Sundays.  Tomorrow is another day filled with a million activities and directions. 

Its been an insane few weeks.  I really would like a break, but I constantly remind myself of the miracles that we have witnessed, and how very blessed I am to have Ryan home.  As I fixed up this home, I would daydream about him living with us, and coming home to be with us.  I am grateful that he is here.  Our lives were so difficult being separated, and I am so grateful to be a whole family again.
     So, most nights, well many nights, Ryan is campaigning.  And the days are longer and so he is out working more.  I have been busy trying to juggle kids, and I also feel like I need to go with Ryan when possible.  Dill has kept me busy as all get out during the day, and yet some days she chooses to go with Ryan to the ranch.  We are also winding down the school year.  We are in those last few weeks, and so the kids have had a ton of field trips, activities, and I can only imagine that concerts will be coming up.  Jamie attended a soils convention last week in Oklahoma.  She came in 16th in the entire nation with over 400 kids participating.  She beat out everyone in the valley, and I am extremely proud of her.  Jerusha made the VVHS drill team, and I cannot say that I am surprised, but I am extremely grateful for her talents, and she is extremely excited.  Jazz did a report on the Constitution this week, and of course, Ryan assisted her with that.  She passed out pocket Constitutions, and handed out star cookies.  Her teacher was very impressed, and discussed possibly having her present this at a parents night.  My kids are doing so well with Ryan back in their world.  What a huge blessing.  I am so grateful.  Sage was also chosen as the FFA president for the 2018-2019 school year, and she was called to be on the seminary council.  With all of the horrible trials we have been through, the kids have turned to the one source that can heal, and turn trials for good.
     So Dill has been a bossy pants lately.  As difficult as all get out.  Three year olds are, in my opinion, the most unreasonable.  The are old enough to have their own opinions and they usually have strong and unreasonable desires.  She is picky about everything, and she doesn't want to be left out of anything that anyone is doing.  If we do take her along then she complains about the conditions of whatever it is that we are doing.  I often tell her that she is like an old crabby boo lady. She was extremely mad the other day because she had scrounged the bone off of our roast, and felt very strongly that it belonged in a museum.  I just could not fathom what the people that ran the Mesquite museum would think, if I walked in there and demanded that the bone off of our roast be displayed.  I refused to do what she wanted, and she was way mad.  But...the other day, Ryan was supposed to create a piece of art to submit to a museum in Las Vegas for the campaign.  Of course, he did not get it done, and so he submitted a watercolor that Dill completed.  Rainbow Waterfall, did go up for auction, but did not sell.  I am ok with that though, because I can display it.  It really is a good little piece of art.
     We have been having a huge problems with bedtime and really sleep time.  Moroni and Dill got very accustomed to sleeping with me while Ryan was away.  Now, it is just way too crowded, and so I had told Dill that if she slept without mom, she would be awarded with a balloon in the morning.  Well, she did it one night, and so I blew up a pink balloon for her, and she was super excited.  Chlo asked for one too, and she hasn't slept with me for a long time, and so I consented to give her one as well.  But, when Mo woke up, I could not give him one because he had made me get him to bed, and then he had come and got in bed with us.  He bawled and bawled.  I told him that he could easily earn one the next night, by simply sleeping on his own.  He did earn one the next night, and Dill did not, so then we had her bawling all morning about her lack of balloon.  I explained to her how she could earn one.  She just cannot do it.  She gets sad or scared in the night, and I usually end up sleeping with her in the chair.  So, once again, Mo ended up with a balloon, and Dill bawled.  Last night, they both decided that the balloons were just not worth it, and they both demanded a spot to sleep in our bed.
     Along with all of these school trips, Sage, Jerusha, and Jasmine have ended up at Disneyland.  Sage was kind enough to bring a bag full of chocolate coins for the kids to share.  Dill ended up getting handed the bag, and that was a huge mistake because at that point, she did not want to share and felt that Sage had given them to her alone.  It took a lot of talking to get her to finally share them around.  A week later, she was really having remorse over those dum chocolate coins.  She hated the fact that they were gone, and that she had chosen to share.  All of these important lessons about sharing and caring were completely lost on Dill's desire for chocolate.  Luckily Jazz brought her a bag and passed them out.  That seemed to satisfy her to some degree.  Sharers remorse is real in Dill's world.
     So, Ryan had a booth set up at Mesquite Days.  A few booths down was a few people selling Hermit Crabs.  Oak saw that and simply had to have one.  He begged and bargained, and just would not give it up.  So, he finally earned the money by making future promises of future work and bought a Hermit crab.  It is a quiet pet that supposedly only eats once a week.  We shall see how that works out.  Jamie also brought Dill a kitty home, and that poor little thing has been loved, and wrapped in towels, and fed meat, and milk, and it has been wrapped in a doll carrier.  It better get those nine lives that are promised, or it might get loved to death.