Sweet

I shouldn't have bought them. In the first place, they are most definitely NOT on my sugar-free diet. Secondly, they were expensive, and I didn't know where they fit into our new budget. But, as I looked at that bag of Jordan Almonds, I thought of my dad. So, I bought them, because in that brief moment they made me feel closer to him.

When all the kids were settled back into the van, I handed out the gummy worms they had begged for. Then, I handed each child a Jordan Almond, explaining that they were my dad's favorite. (At least, I think they were. I remember that whenever we bought candy at movies, they are what he would choose.) Then we were off for our next stop, the grocery store.

After we had finished at the grocery store and were all buckling up to head home, I got a big surprise. 'Lashes asked, "Can I have another candy almond?" Immediately, all the kids wanted more. Bob said, "Since I'm named after him [my father], I think they are my favorite, too!" Sunshine Boy added, "After you suck on them for a little bit you can bite them and the candy coat just melts around the almond making it so delicious!"

I was almost speechless. I hadn't expected the kids to like the Jordan Almonds; they just don't seem like "kid candy" to me. And yet, not only had my kids liked the almonds, they had really liked the almonds. And, for may be the first time ever, I knew that my kids had made a connection to their grandpa in a real, tangible way.

I will forever remember this moment in my life as --SWEET. 

Good things:

--Jordan Almonds

--Remembering the good things.

--Princess Bug playing with my camera to help me get the "perfect" picture of the Jordan Almonds.

Stress Dreams & Statues

About a week ago Bob joined us in our bed during the night. In the morning we had the following conversation.

RM (directed to me): I had the worst stress dreams all night long.

Bob: Me too. Was I in your dreams?

RM: As a matter of fact you were.

Bob: I think we had the same dream. Were you in a pit with snakes in it?




Yesterday:

'Lashes (while standing on a chair for a pedestal with his arms posed): I know about statues.

RM: What do you know about statues?

'Lashes: They're real...they're dark and full of yucky. 


GOOD THINGS:
-Creative, funny kids.
-Priesthood blessings.
-Knowing my kids aren't too big to come find Mom & Dad when they need comfort.

Finally, a Favorite Photo Friday

I'm way overdue to post one of these. We were cleaning our room yesterday and I found this one. LOVE IT! It's from our trip to Lagoon this past August.

I know many of you are eager for an update and our school/work situation. I have been working on an epic update post for the last couple of days. I'll post it as soon as I get it finished.

Good things:
-Cramming six bodies (one of which is extremely pregnant) into a photo booth.
-A working printer/scanner!! (I've got to post that story here.)
-Christmas pants that are becoming too loose.

Don't Play Cards With This One

Bob got a new Lego game, Wild Wool,  for Christmas. We played it tonight for the first time. The rules are simple and it's quite entertaining. Not as entertaining, however, as watching 'Lashes play the game. 'Lashes was RM's partner (since it's only a 4 player game) and the one in charge of rolling the die. With an absolute poker face the little guy would "shake" the die in his hands while flipping it with his thumbs until the side he wanted to display was on top. It was the x2 side, which looks completely different from the other sides and allows you to take double the wool. Then he'd carefully "roll" it onto the table by dropping it, caged in his fingers, chosen side up. Then he'd celebrate rolling what he wanted to get with the most innocent smile and exclamation of "yay!" He didn't like it when we told him he was cheating. ;)

Oh man. I think we're in for it with one. His Aunt Kate would be proud.

Good things:
-Family time.
-Laughing.
-'Lashes' smile.

An inquiry or two.

A conversation a few nights ago...

Bob: Daddy what happens when you hold up your middle toe?

Renaissance Man: You mean like when you're flipping somebody off?

Bob: Yeah.

Renaissance Man: I don't think it works the same with your feet as with your hands.


A conversation from Sunday afternoon. (I really wish you could have heard this one. It makes more sense when you hear him speak this with his cute little five year old speech.)

Bob: Daddy, is hell the H word?

Renaissance Man: Yes, hell is the H word.

Bob: Then what about the stuff that falls out of the sky?

Renaissance Man: You mean the little ice balls that fall out of the sky?

Bob: Yes.

Renaissance Man: You mean hail?

Bob: Yeah, it's the same thing, right? Do we get in trouble when we say that?


Good things:

-Smart, inquisitive children.
-Open communication with my kids.
-Bob. :)

A Little Mommy Bragging

When I went to pick up Bob from pre-school today, his teachers took a minute to visit with me. They told me that he says something fun (and impressive) nearly every day.

Today while they were reading a story they discussed that when you have more than one mouse, you call them mice. But, when there is only one, it's called a mouse. A few minutes later they came across a bee in the story. Bob chimed in that if you had a thousand bees they are called bees and if there is only one bee it's called a bee.

Now, if Bob had said that at home, it wouldn't have even created a blip on my radar. But, apparently it's a big deal for a four year old pre-schooler to have a grasp on singular/plural. Who knew? :D

Favorite Photo Friday

I'm WAAAAY overdue to post another picture for Favorite Photo Friday. Sorry! So, here it is.



The kiddos were just monkeying around, making funny faces for my camera last January. I provided a small amount of coaching and snapped this funny picture of one of the most famous monkeying around poses there is. It makes me giggle when I see it.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

I meant to do this a long, long time ago, but I got so busy I just didn't get around to it. So, please forgive the post-dated entry and enjoy our family Christmas photo & letter. :D



The Our Family Update 2009

Renaissance Man has been crazy busy in 2009, juggling the responsibilities that come with being a full-time grad student, part-time network admin, head TA for the U of U ‘s Mechatronics course, ward financial clerk, husband and father. In his spare time he enjoys eating and sleeping. :) If everything goes as planned, he should graduate with his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in May. Ultimately he’d like to get a PhD and teach at a university, but unless circumstances change we’ll be taking a break and working for a bit before jumping back in.

MamaBug thought she was a busy person last spring when she volunteered to take over the position as Box Tops Coordinator at the kids’ school. That job turned into the additional responsibility of PTA Vice President for the upcoming school year. Shortly after she committed to PTA, she was called as Second Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. In the last few months she has been in charge of a “low energy cooking methods” night (which had a bigger turn out than some of our ward parties), Super Craft Saturday, and the school’s Reflections contest. She has collected and counted thousands of Box Tops and soup labels and volunteered at the school eye clinic and in the kids’ classes. She also managed to can/dehydrate at least 15 different food products to add to our food storage. Now she is certain that she is a busy person. So, if this Christmas note arrives a bit late, she humbly begs your understanding and forgiveness. :)

Princess Bug, who turned 10 in October, has had a great year. In February she placed second place in the 3rd grade science fair with a project studying how best to remove fingernail polish from carpeting. (Anyone want to guess the inspiration for that project?) In early summer, Grandpa sold Princess Bug a digital camera and gave her photography lessons. Those lessons paid off with a first place finish in this year’s Reflections contest. Her entry has moved on to compete at the council level and we are all excited to find out how well she does. She loves to read and has a great sense of humor. She’s also becoming a great helper, especially with her baby brother, 'Lashes.

Sunshine Boy is wishing for his two front teeth for Christmas! He is 7 years old and eagerly awaiting his birthday in April so that he can be baptized. So far this school year he has been asked to be a peer mentor (to model good behavior & kindness for a classmate with issues) and placed 3rd in Visual Art in the Reflection’s contest. He has a talent and passion for building with Legos and designs some really cool ships! Renaissance Man says that he has “The Knack” just like his daddy. (If you aren’t familiar with the term, google “Dilbert The Knack”. It’s worth it. :) ) He has a tender heart and is very mellow and happy.

Bob is our busy, fun, big boy, 4 year old pre-schooler. The pre-school held parent teacher conferences for the first time this year. We were unsurprised to discover that at his start of year evaluation he has already passed end of year goals in his verbal and motor skills. Now we just have to work on his alphabet recognition. He is cheerful and outgoing, charming nearly everyone he meets. He loves playing with his big brother and sister and can’t wait for them to come home from school each day. He also helps keep an eye on 'Lashes. We suspect that in the near future, they will make a fearful (and wonderful) duo.

'Lashes will be 2 in February and is absolutely packed full of personality. He is trying out new words daily. He shocked us all a week or so ago when he followed the example of his big sister and brothers and told us all a knock knock joke. He has outrageously long eyelashes which he will bat at you with an infectious grin. He is the first of the kids to start out with dark hair and keep it. He knows how to move and climb our bar stools as well as how to unscrew lids and turn doorknobs, all of which he is employing regularly, much to MamaBug’s chagrin. He is sweet and cuddly most of the time, but he knows how to throw and impressive tantrum. He loves to tease and explore.

As a family, we joined MamaBug’s mom & aunt on a family vacation in June to Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore and some LDS Church history sights. We loved hiking around and seeing all the cool natural features in Yellowstone. We thought Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments were awesome. The only down side to it all was taking turns running a fever. We loved the whole vacation (the kids have already said they want to do it all over again, without being sick of course) and wished that we had had more time in each place. In July, we joined Renaissance Man’s brother, and his family on a camping trip to Posey Lake. Princess Bug renewed her love for fishing and Sunshine Boy caught his first fish (and a desire to go fishing more often). We all enjoyed paddling around the lake and taking a side trip to Devil’s Garden.

On the whole, we have had a very blessed, happy, and busy year. We send our love and prayers to all of you and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Word Count & A Forgotten Favorite Photo Friday

Some of you may have noticed that my word count ticker for NaNoWriMo hasn't moved for several weeks. Truthfully, I wish I had done better than I have. However, I'm not feeling sorry for myself in the least. There were several factors that conspired against me. I let them and I'm okay with that. By participating in even a very limited way this year, I have already learned a TON that will prepare me for actually finishing the next time I attempt this. (Which I may very soon. Who cares if it isn't actually in November if I knock out 50,000 words in one month.)

I do want to share one little point of victory. I may not have been writing in a novel everyday this month, but I have made at least a small blog entry every day in November so far. It has been pretty fulfilling and a ton of fun. I just spent a few minutes doing a bit of tallying. Prior to the start of this entry, I have blogged approximately 6497 words between this blog and my private blog. If you add that to what I did on my novel and you'll get about 7225 words.

Not too bad. Definitely more than I've written in any given month for YEARS. It's good practice and I'm grateful for it.

I also realized today that in the hubbub of Black Friday shopping, I neglected to post a favorite photo for Favorite Photo Friday, so here it is now. I can't look at this one without breaking into a fit of giggles.



This one is SO BOB!! It was taken 3/07, just as Bob was approaching his 2nd birthday. Here he is in all his messy faced glory, riding the toy horse that Princess Bug brought home from the circus. Oh, he makes me laugh! This was before our kitchen/front room remodel and you can see the old icky brown cabinets, the big hole in the linoleum, and the horrible dark brown carpet. Nice. Yup, I don't miss those at all. :D

P.S. I'm giving you all fair warning that I'll be fiddling around with my backgrounds for a bit. Last time I did that, I was driving my sister-in-law all sorts of crazy and she had to come back later. :P

I'm Drawing a Blank

Usually when I sit down to blog, I have a distinct topic in mind. Not so at the moment. As I sit here reviewing the events of my day/week, I am undecided about what I should share.

I could tell you about cleaning the bedroom that Sunshine Boy & Bob share. It still isn't done, but it's amazing how much better it is in there. Any discussion of that topic would have to include my complete and total frustration with the overall state of my house and my apparent inability to get my kids to embrace cleaning. I welcome any insights anyone wants to share there.

I could tell you about the library book (my library book) that got knocked off the kitchen table, smashed up against our sliding glass door and left to soak up condensation. The end result is that I had to buy the book for twice the cost of what it would have been to buy it online or from any of the big bookstore chains. It's a very good thing that I really, really, liked the book. It's too bad that now my copy of the book has wrinkly water damaged pages. :P Of course, this discussion wouldn't be complete without a review of the book. I'll try really hard to do that properly tomorrow. In the meantime, the title is Three Cups of Tea. It's awesome.

I could tell you about chasing all over the valley to try to locate the specific toys my kids want for Christmas while they were still on sale for a super price. But, that is just kinda boring. (By the way, if anyone happens to spot a Chihuahua Webkinz for a good price, let me know.)

I think I will tell you that probably the highlight of my day was going to visit a family friend who has some mad chiropractic skills. I haven't been this in alignment months. Of course, I'm already trying to slip back out. :( I'm just praying that this helps get rid of the terrible numbness I've had in my left hand. And that, my dear readers, is an entirely different blog post in and of itself.

I'll stop rambling now and try to think about a better topic (with book review) for tomorrow.

Favorite Photo Friday

Pictures of our family in our Halloween costumes are typically among my favorites. This year's picture is no exception. :D Our family has had a "theme" to our costumes from the time Princess Bug turned one (her second Halloween) until the present. This year I had to get creative to pull us together into an overall theme because Princess Bug had a definite plan for what she wanted to be. This just might have been the last year I'll get them all to agree to a group costume. *Sniff*

Here we are as "Our Favorite Magicians."


Top row: Me as Madame Mim, Lashes as Alec (Presto the Magician's Rabbit), and Renaissance Man as Merlin. Bottom row: Princess Bug as Elphaba from Wicked, Bob as Presto the Magician, and Sunshine Boy as Harry Potter.

While I have you all here, I want to share a really cool story about Sunshine Boy's scarf. The Wednesday morning before Halloween I was at "Crafty Ladies", which is group of ladies from my ward that get together every other week for a couple of hours to visit and work on whatever craft projects we have going on. I was using the time to work on our Halloween costumes. I mentioned that the costume shops wanted $20 for Harry Potter scarves, so I was going to sew my own from scraps of felt left over from previous years' costumes. My friend, Teri, volunteered to make one for Sunshine Boy instead. She is very fast at knitting and crocheting and told me flat out that she could have a scarf finished before I could. So, after "Crafty Ladies" was finished for the day, we made a run to Wallyworld to pick up some yarn.

Would you believe she crocheted the entire scarf and had it back to us by Friday afternoon? Would you believe she would have had it to me even sooner, but she got sick on Wednesday night? Sunshine Boy was ecstatic about his scarf. It was just the perfect touch to his costume (along with the homemade light up wand that RM made for him) and it made him feel so special to know it had been made just for him. In fact, he's still wearing it around. I don't think I could get him to put it away into the costume bucket even if I wanted to. :)

A Friday Funny and Introducing Favorite Photo Friday

Here's the funny:

Renaissance Man and Bob were driving home from Grandma's house tonight. They were listening to the oldies radio station when America's "Horse With No Name" came on.

Bob:"Daddy, why doesn't the horse have a name?"
RM: "They just didn't ever give the horse a name, I think."
Bob: "I think I know what I would name him."
RM: "Oh really? What's that?"
Bob: "Blank."
RM: "Blank?"
Bob: "Yeah, Blank."
RM: "Like an empty line?"
Bob: "Yeah, Blank."


Favorite Photo Friday:

I am blatantly stealing this from my friend Sarah. I decided it was a really cool feature on her blog and that I want to do it too. So, thanks, Sarah, for the inspiration. I'm going to try to share one of my favorite photos every Friday. Let me know if I forget. :)

In May of 2007 we went to a community event at our local high school. While we were there, we stopped by the school's greenhouse and bought a bunch of plants for a really good price. Sunshine Boy found a flower that he kept bending over to see so that they were directly at eye level with each other. He simply fell in love. The teacher was uncertain exactly what kind of flower it was since it was a freebie and not a variety they had planted that year. However, to this untrained eye it was clearly a daisy. After a couple of conversations with the flower, Sunshine Boy determined that HIS name was Mimi and that he was very happy to come to live in our garden.

Pumpkin Patch

I'm just now getting around to uploading my October pictures from the camera to my computer. I haven't had a chance to properly sort through them all, but I thought I'd share a few really quickly.

We went to the pumpkin patch the Thursday before Halloween. It's honestly the first time I'd had an opportunity to even think about going. We had fun, even though it was quite cold and we were in a rush to make another appointment. I got some really cute individual pictures, but the attempts at a group shot were comical to say the least. :D


A little too much personality.


Is anyone looking at the camera?


Maybe portrait instead of landscape will help. No? OK. We're done.

Company

Just before our alarm went off this morning Bob crawled into Renaissance Man's side of the bed. As he settled in for a snuggle he said, "Guess what, Daddy? I came to keep you company."

How can you not feel flattered by that? :) RM replied, "Well, I'm so very glad you did."

An Attempt at Family Photos

On September 26th, we attended the baptism of our niece. (Which was a wonderful experience, by the way.) The after-baptism family dinner was held at a park up a nearby canyon. Realizing our family had a chance to get some LONG overdue family pictures taken, I made sure we had on matching clothes. We asked Renaissance Man's dad to take some pictures for us.

I haven't yet had a chance to see the pictures my father-in-law took. But, I'm hoping that he was able to capture something that my camera missed. We were able to get a few cute individual pictures, but I think we're going to have to try again for a family group shot. Here's a few pictures (of varying quality) that came from my camera.

The best of the whole family


RM & Me


The kiddos


Princess Bug


Sunshine Boy


Bob


'Lashes


A favorite shot

I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob.

Tonight Renaissance Man and the kids were watching some Rube Goldberg machine videos on You Tube. One of the videos had Bach's "Air on G String" playing in the background. Part way through the video, Bob says, "Daddy this pretty music makes me want to cry."

Who knew my busy boy would be so touched by classical music. I think we'll have to listen to it more often. Goodness knows I own more than enough to get him started.

Later, as Bob and RM related the story to me I asked a rather flippant question to tease RM. "Are you sure he was reacting to the music? With Daddy's engineering genes, are you sure he wasn't reacting to the beautiful machine?" Where upon Princess Bug burst into a fit of giggles that didn't end for several minutes. Apparently I'm even funnier than I thought. :)

A few funnies from my day...

1. Bob asked me a question today. I don't even remember what the question was, just that I didn't know the answer. So, I told him I didn't know. His reply, "But you're a mommy. Mommies know everything!"

2. We were in the car running an errand. Bob pipes up from the back of the van that he needs to go to the bathroom. Of course we're on the freeway and there is not a bathroom anywhere to be had. I told him just to do his very best to hold it and I would find a bathroom as quickly as I could. Princess Bug and Sunshine Boy were eager to help. They encouraged Bob to think about deserts. A few minutes later I hear Bob say, "My deserts are all fading away."

3. Coming home from Grandma's house we passed a house with a sign out front. We pass this sign fairly often.
Princess Bug: "I saw a sign that says 'Suing Alligators'".
Me: "You mean Sewing Alterations?"

4. Bob is helping Grandpa pick tomatoes in the garden. They picked on with an unusual shape. Bob says, "Grandpa, this one looks like a bum."

Lightning

Bob: I wish lightning was blue.

Me: Why do you wish lightning was blue?

Bob: Because I like blue and I wish I saw blue forever when there was lightning.

Ups and Downs

Finally! I'm just gonna ignore the housework for a bit and get this camping trip blogged! :) Warning, this will be long!

It was definitely different than any other camping trip I've been on yet. Lots of struggles and cool stuff all rolled into one.

Our original plans were to spend the entire week of July 20th camping with RM's brothers' family. But, because we had all spent so much time sick earlier this summer, RM really couldn't take the extra time off work. So, we decided to go just Wednesday through Saturday. We made arrangements with RM's parents to borrow their camper trailer and truck for the trip. When RM drove the truck, he noticed that the steering was really loose. Feeling concerned, he spent Tuesday repairing the truck and we weren't able to pack the camper like we had hoped. We decided to get up extra early Wednesday to finish packing and get on the road.

Well, as we began to pack Wednesday morning, a pulley broke on the camper. The top would go neither up nor down. RM and his father went looking for a replacement pulley, while I did my best to pack the camper and bed of the truck. We weren't able to leave until just after lunch. I took the delay philosophically: there was simply some reason we weren't supposed to be on certain sections of road at certain times. We wound up eating dinner on the road (note that this is now two meals worth of food I have packed in our coolers that we haven't eaten while camping) and arriving just before dark. We set up camp super quickly and jumped right back into the truck to go into Escalante on an errand for RM's dad. It was past bedtime when we got back. Day one of our camping trip over, and we haven't been anywhere near the lake.

Thursday morning we noticed the truck had a flat tire! We ate a pancake breakfast (RM's brother's family had so much batter ready we didn't make our mix at all. Three meals to take back home now. :p ) and RM and the kids headed down to the lake. I stayed behind with 'Lashes to finish setting up camp. Of course they went with little or no sunblock and got nice and toasty. PrincessBug caught her first fish on this camping trip last year, so she was stoked and ready to get some more. SunshineBoy didn't catch any fish last year and has been of the opinion that fishing isn't really that fun. Well, that changed when he caught his first two fish this year. Now he gets it and is eager to go fishing again.

SunshineBoy and Bob holding his and PrincessBug's fish.

I finally made it down to the water in the afternoon and we took a family paddle around the lake.



Unfortunately, 'Lashes isn't very fond of his life jacket, so our excursion was rather short.

'Lashes holding some water plants off of PrincessBug's fishing pole. He doesn't like his life preserver. I wonder why?

Toward evening, RM and his brother put the spare tire on the truck. Shortly after that the camp host came around. He had a tire repair kit and we were able to repair the original tire. Yay! Then we followed RM's brother and their family to a secluded spot a bit up the road to go target shooting. It was a first for my kids.



Uncle C. and RM help the kids target shoot.

RM & 'Lashes with their earplugs.

The gun totin' mama.

After target shooting we headed back to camp for a dinner of freshly caught fish and taco soup. We told SunshineBoy that if he wanted to fish the next day he had to at least try one bite of fish. We're trying to teach the kids that the fish they catch need to be eaten (by someone) or it's wrong to take them from the lake. I even ate some fish to be a good example. But, it was no use. SunshineBoy wouldn't budge, he wouldn't eat even one bite. Mommy & Daddy got tough and SB didn't go fishing on Friday, just boating.

Friday morning RM wanted to go to Devil's Garden. However, when we tried to go, things got weird. The kids didn't want to go, they wanted to go to the lake. I felt grumpy about going. Breakfast took extra long and it was getting hot. Finally we abandoned the idea.

On our way down to the boat for another outing, I got a few pictures of some pretty wild flowers.





While I was taking pictures, I noticed the charm on my necklace was oddly tangled in the clasp and I made a mental note to have Quinton help me sort it out as soon as we got a chance. He was already on the boat when I got there, so I decided to wait a bit. When I got back to the camper, the charm was gone. I was devastated. I hunted up and down the trails, in the boat, near all the clumps of flowers I had stopped by, but with no luck.

Anyone familiar with my charm will know it was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. You can see it around my neck, tangled in it's clasp, in the picture from target shooting. RM made the charm for me in a jewelry class he took before his mission, so I've had it for sixteen years or so. It's always been one of my very favorite pieces. It's unique and has always captured peoples' attention. Everyone always wanted to know what it was. It was described as a flute, a sword/knife, a stalactite, a needle, you name it. In reality it was just a cool shape made from a broom casting. I've been meaning to take a close up picture of it for months and just hadn't gotten around to it. For the rest of the trip I kept my eyes out, hoping beyond hope that it would show up, but it never did. Even now I'll reach for it, and it hurts every time I realize it's not there. Here's another picture. (Sorry for the poor quality, it's a tight crop from a much larger picture taken earlier this summer).

After lunch that day, RM took the big kids on a hike up to the Posey Lake overlook, while I got 'Lashes to take a nap. The quiet time in the trailer was really nice. My favorite part? The humming birds that would come buzzing around our camp. They have the most amazing high pitched thrum and they are so pretty. I wasn't able to get any pictures, but I found this picture by Greg Joder on the internet that should give you an idea of how beautiful they are.

The whole crew at the Posey Lake Overlook

After the hike, RM suggested going to Devil's Garden again. This time it just felt right. Everyone was happy and excited to go. So, we piled in the truck and headed out on the 40 minute drive to Devil's Garden. Devil's Garden is a really cool set of rock formations, called hoodoos. The worst of the heat was gone by the time we got there and we got there early enough to hike deeper into the formations than we've ever gone before. The kids thought the formations were cool, the multiple varieties of lizards interesting and the fine, soft sand a blast to play in.








On our way back to camp at dusk we came across a dog on the road. It would follow the truck, but run away each time we stopped, only to follow next to the truck again or run ahead of us. It took us three tries, but eventually RM was able to convince the dog to come near enough to us to let us pet it and get a look at the tags. Her name was Bernice and she lived in Kaysville! We picked her up and put her in the back of the truck, gave her some water and took her into town. We tried all the telephone numbers on her tags, but with no luck. No one in Escalante could give us any advice or had seen her owners, so we finally took her back to camp with us, after grabbing a pizza in town because it was going to be too late to eat dinner at camp. (Are you counting how many meals we've missed now?) Bernice was so sweet and well behaved. She spent the night bedded down in the back of the truck.



Saturday morning we packed up camp and got ready to leave. We took Bernice back into town asking around for her owners and leaving many more phone messages with the local sheriff, the BLM and US Forest Service, notes at gas stations, etc. with no luck.


We couldn't find anyone willing to care for Bernice until her owners found her. Not knowing what else to do, we decided to take Bernice back home with us. We figured that if we had to, we'd drive her to the address on her tag.

At the last minute I felt inspired to leave a note at the trail head near where we found Bernice.

Then, we headed for home over the dirt road between Escalante and Loa. About 8 miles out of Loa it began to rain. About 5 miles out of Loa is began to pour. All I could think about was poor Bernice in the bed of the truck getting drowned. We stopped the truck and RM and I got out to cover the bed of the truck with a tarp. We were soaked to the skin in seconds! But, we did manage to get Bernice and the gear covered up well enough to get us to a drier, less windy place where we could redo it better. We pulled into Scipio about 6pm to get gas and eat dinner (a meal we were supposed to eat at home :p). While I was waiting in line to order, my cell phone rang. It was Bernice's owners!! The lady on the phone was so emotional she couldn't speak and she had to hand the phone to her husband. They were still in Escalante and wouldn't be able to make it to us until very late, so we made arrangements for them to pick Bernice up at our house on their way home on Sunday. So, Bernice the dog had a sleep over at our house.

Sunday afternoon Bernice's owners came to pick her up. They have owned her for 11 years and she is a true member of their family. The thought of her lost in the desert made them sick. She had gotten spooked by some gunfire and run away from her owners Friday afternoon. They spent Friday night and all day Saturday looking for her. They finally found our note at the trail head. It had been rained on and sun faded. It was barely legible, but they had been able to make out my cell number by holding it up to the light. It was a wonderful blessing to find Bernice's owners and to get her back to her family. It was definitely a high note on which to end a camping trip that had had several ups and downs.

Deja-vu with Someone New

January 2007 Bob had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin and spent several miserable, miserable days recovering from hives. January 2008, Bob had a serious allergic reaction to Omincef, called pseudo-serum sickness, and was nearly hospitalized. He spent a horrendously miserable week or more recovering from hives and swollen, painful joints.

July 2009, 'Lashes has had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. Friday afternoon at the doctor's office we thought it was the standard hives reaction. But, this afternoon we noticed his joins beginning to swell. After taking him back into the doctor's office this afternoon, it looks to be pseudo-serum sickness. My poor baby boy is itchy and miserable. There's really nothing to do except watch to make sure it doesn't get worse (which would mean we misdiagnosed him and it could be a more serious allergic reaction) and give him benedryl and pain killers. The bright side is that we caught this earlier with 'Lashes, so hopefully he won't get as sick as Bob did.

I've been here and done this before, twice. I think three times is more than plenty, thanks.