In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Click In-the-Spirit-of-Thanksgiving and smile. I am thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving.

A Case of the Wiggles

Our primary program was this past Sunday and apparently they didn't sing the "wiggles song" beforehand to get the wiggles out of my daughter.

The previous four years I have been involved with the program, having been in charge of it for the last three. So this year was my first year free from the stress of the program. I didn't think much about the program until a friend and counselor in my primary presidency turned to me to say how weird it felt not to be involved. I had to agree. As the primary children began to sing, there was a moment when a wave of panic hit me and I thought, "Am I in charge? Ah, I don't know what's supposed to happen." But that wave quickly passed, only to bring with it a new wave of nerves as I realized my contribution to the program this year was to provide a wiggly sunbeam, Mally. These are the wiggly things she did during the program:

• Picked her nose and ate her boogers.
• Licked the top of the wood half-wall she sat behind.
• Waved and said out loud, "Hi mom and dad" at three different times.
• Faced backwards for one whole verse of "How Firm a Foundation."
• Stood up and down at random times.
• Turned to her neighbor to show her where her mom and dad were.
• Sang opera style anytime a note was held out. Meaning she would wiggle her head with her mouth wide open and eyes closed.

In her defense, I was proud to see her singing her heart out. To watch her from a distance performing and thoroughly enjoying singing was truly a moment when I could see she was my daughter and just like me. And for a moment she even looked like me. Maybe that was when she was singing opera style.

Maybe none of you noticed Mally's wiggles because like me you were too busy nervously watching your own child. Apparently this is the case, because when talking to a friend about the program she hadn't noticed Mally's weirdness at all. She wanted to know if I noticed her girl sleeping one moment and then pushing her neighbor the next. I hadn't noticed. And I guess I also missed one boy punching another girl and making her cry and another boy looking ridiculous as he over-enunciated every word in the songs. Strangely, I find great comfort knowing other kids are maybe just as wiggly as mine.

This is the Place Scrap and Share

Tooele is the New Park City

Stephen and I have a great tradition. It is called the "Secret Surprise" (it got that name because it properly describes the event and I like alliterations). Each summer we take turns planning a surprise special event for us to do as a couple. Usually we leave the kids with a grandma and we spend the night somewhere then pack our days with fun childless activities.

This past weekend was the big "Secret Surprise." Stephen planned it, so he knew the secret and I was surprised. We dropped the girls off at his wonderfully kind mother's house (THANK YOU SHERRY!) And then we headed west. I was a little nervous as we kept on driving west all I could imagine was we were going to Wendover or Reno, and I wasn't too sure about wanting to go to those places.

At this point in the car ride west I was thinking, "Where are you taking me?"

To ease my nerves, as we drove we played a little yes and no question game. From that I was able to guess that we were going to stay the night in Tooele and race the next day at the Miller Motor Sports Park. Cool. Both were new experiences for me. And both turned out to be wonderful.

We stayed at a nice hotel in town, enjoyed the view of the Great Salt Lake, were far too childish at the pool, and thoroughly enjoyed being together and childless for the night. Who knew Tooele could be so much fun? I guess it's the new Park City for us. Maybe.

I included this picture, because that was EXACTLY the way I felt as we entered our hotel room.

Don't let looks deceive you. The one who is nervous doesn't look it, and the one who isn't nervous looks it. I think that was part of his winning strategy.

The next morning we headed to the races. We met up with Stephen's boss and his girl friend, and Stephen's co-worker and his father and brother. We had a nice group to race. Stephen satisfied his need for speed and was the fastest and won the race. I, on the other hand, was the slowest and totally lost. Since the track was a loop, I watched everyone pass me two or three times. Great fun was had by all.

Good looking and fast.

As we drove home to get the girls I couldn't say that I was well rested and relaxed after the night away. In fact, I was ready for a nap. But I could say I felt totally loved. Thanks, Stephen. I love you too.

Kickin' Up My Heels- Once again

I decided it was time I started dancing again. I danced all through my childhood, in high school and through college. Since then I have been trying to fill that void with exercise classes, yoga, running and tae kwon do. But, none is as enjoyable to me as dance. A few weeks ago I was dreaming of how wonderful it would be to take a dance class. I didn't know of any adult classes around, so my thought was just a dream. Then a week later I came across a write-up in a local magazine about DansAgain. It offers jazz dance classes for females 18 and over. I called and signed myself up. Last night was my first class and it was wonderful. I am so excited about it. I loved the atmosphere. All the other women seemed nice and normal (no skinny-ninny prima ballerinas, thank goodness). We are all moms in our 20s-40s.
I am so excited about moving and dancing again. I love choreography and performing. I think this is going to be wonderful. Our big concert is in May and you are all invited. Though the thought of dancing as an adult in front of adults does embarrass me a little. Oh well. It's all for fun and for the love of dancing.
If any one is interested (Becky, Shaunell, Abby- think about it) I will gladly give you all the details about the program. The instructor's name is Lacy Seegmiller, 427-2115. She offers classes Tuesday nights and Thursdays in the daytime. The classes are held in PG. Classes are just $30 a month.

4 Fabulous Things for Friday

#1 Saw childhood best friend Becky in the parking lot of Target. Hi Becky. It's always fabulous seeing you.

#2 Had afternoon nap then decided I should take a nap every Friday afternoon. Fabulous idea!

#3 Opened the door to get mail and was greeted by a large FedEx package. Addressed to "Jeana Ward," that's me but, mystery box, what could you be? Opened box with knife and used knife to stab the mystery contends under the packaging peanuts for safety (there could have been a decapitated human head in the box, you never know). Instead of mystery body parts, I was pleasantly surprised to find the words "congratulations" written on the box inside. It turns out I won a Good Housekeeping sweepstakes and won 14 bottles of various gourmet all natural cooking sauces. I vaguely remember entering the contest on Good Housekeeping's website. I entered every contest that seemed interesting to me. Fabulous! I won. So, that leads us to fabulous item #4.

#4 We will have salmon tonight in keeping with our "Fish Friday" schedule. And tonight's fabulous meal will be marinated in a soy ginger marinade. Just a little something I whipped out of the mystery box.

4th of July Scrap and Share