It is finished....

I did it-I am DONE with bachelors degree!!!! I went to my last class tonight and I almost started crying as I walked out at the end of class! I am so grateful to be done but so grateful to have finished something I started over 20 years ago! YAHOOOOOO!!!!

My last paper....

Last night or I should say, this morning at 3:00 AM I finished my LAST PAPER of my bachelor's degree career!!!!! It was hard for me to do because I was NOT motivated and it needed to be 8 to 10 pages and after making all my points, I only had 4 pages! SO, I was just putting stuff and junk in while watching "the Nanny" on nick at nite (she is sooo funny, I swear my hair was just like that in the 80's! That is why I thought I was 5'4 when I am really only 5"3-1 inch of height baby!)
When I was done I clapped my hands and accidently woke up Steve and told him, "I am done!" and added, "this is the biggest bunch of crap I have ever written!"
I am going to write up the bibliography tonight, and do a power point presentation on it and then tomorrow I will work on my test and finish that in time for my LAST class on Thursday!!!!
I can't BELIEVE I am DONE-now what?

How do you teach girls to marry a man who is good to them?

Ok, seriously-I want feedback on this if anyone reads my blog!
I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I have seen it a lot lately. I watch couples interact and I would say that 6 times out of 10, the husband is not treating, talking to or about his wife in a way I want my daughters to be treated! I look at these smart, beautiful women being treated in a less than an acceptable way. I ask myself, am I being too harsh?, too judgemental ? because if Steve talked to me like that-giiirrrrl, he would get an earful and his life would be akin to hell for at least a month!!!!!!
But I know he wouldn't do it. We talk about this in my classes and I am always trying to understand it...why does a woman go with a man who talks/treats her badly? Did he always do so? Were the signs there and the women didn't see it? Did he turn unacceptable over night, once he "made the sale"? Why does a woman take it?
I guess I bring it up because my girls interact with boys from the ward that come from active families but I have watched their parents' relationships and think, "will the son pattern the father?", "can you teach your girls to look for the things without talking bad about certain couples?"
I know couples aren't perfect and I am sure people could and probably do watch my marriage and point out a lot of things that they would not accept but I asked Steve tonight, "since when is it ok to talk to your partner like that in front of other people????????" I mean, it isn't even like they are trying to hide it! And I just FEEL for the wives who try to play it down, make excuses for their husbands or explain why they are acting like jerks. Do the men not know how they sound?

I have thought when I see these things, I could quietly cough, "amen" like AMEN TO YOUR PRIESTHOOD, BROTHA!!!!!!!! so my girls could see that the way these men are acting is not quite right but then that seems like pointing out fault instead of teaching.
All I tell my girls is, "watch how the boys' parents treat each other and see how the boy treats his mother" I think I am going to add, "and his sisters" too.
Any ideas??????? Man, ANOTHER thing to worry about....this parenting stuff is hard!

The Best Movie!

Steve and the boys are at the father/son camp out tonight and as tradition goes, that means that the girls and I go out to eat and rent movies. Maren picked out a new little mermaid which is actually supposed to be old, like how it all began or something like that-it was endurable.
Kaitlyn has been begging, begging, begging to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and I just haven't been in the mood to watch it since it came out. I am so sick of Brad Pitt and the whole Brangelina thing and how people just love him and I want to say, "excuse me, he cheated on his wife-HELLOOOOO, he isn't THAT great!"
After mermaid, Hollie and Maren went to bed and I only stayed up to watch Benjamin Button to be with Kaitlyn and she fell asleep within the first 10 minutes! But I was knitting, so I figured I mind as well watch it and I am so glad that I did, it was WONDERFUL, just WONDERFUL! I was afraid it was going to be another Forest Gump which my grandmother said it so well, "why would I want to waste 3 1/2 hours of my life watching a movie about an idiot?" Not too politically correct but I didn't LOVE that movie but I LOVED Benjamin Button, I just sobbed, I mean all out sobbed at the end. Maybe I should watch it again after the steroids have gotten out of my system but alone after midnight on a Friday night-it was great!

P.S. Pneumonia

Ok, so I didn't reach my goal of taking a shower yesterday, but I did take one today around noon and it wore me out! I had to go and take a nap afterwards! Is that normal? I really thought I would be a lot better than I am by now. Everyday, I have to think of ways I am getting better so I don't get frustrated. For example, well...today I took a shower, the first time since Saturday-eeewww I know TMI! I am not coughing up so much stuff and it is not longer bright green but has turned to regular yellow-see improvements!!!!! I am still wheezing but not so much gurgling and I have more energy at night because of my prednizone! I am going to try to channel that energy now and go and read all the journal articles I have printed out about Autism for my last ever paper and presentation!!!!

How does one get pneumonia in 95 degree weather?

Yes, I have it, I have pneumonia and it is a pain! I want to know, how did I get pneumonia when it is dang hot outside-100 degrees yesterday-not that I would know because I was in bed all day coughing my lungs out-literally!
I am mad that I have this right now-not a good time-a report and paper due on Thursday, Hollie's birthday today and we are supposed to go to the mall to get her makeover at clinique because at 14 in our house you can wear make up and clinique is a good place to take them so they go for a "natural" look instead of "look at me, I can wear make up now" that you can see a mile away!
All I do is sleep and cough, sleep and cough and take medicine, anti-biotics, steroids, inhalers etc. I knew I had to go to the doctor when after a morning camp meeting on Saturday, I slept for 4 hours and Steve woke me up and I had the "wheeze of death"-I am not kidding-when I would breathe out, I could hear gurgling like when my grandma was dying-that got me to call the doctor. SHe said I first had bronochitis that has now gone into pneumonia. Has does it "go into pneumonia" don't you either get the virus or bacteria and get it? Have I infected anyone at class and the camp meeting when I was coughing my guts out? grrhhhgrrrhhehelshjdoaiudfpoaseifuaosdkfj;saldkfj-not happy!
I am going back to bed now, my goal today is to shower-I am sure my family will appreciate it. That may be my one gift to Hollie-hey your mom doesn't stink today! alsdjf;alsdkjf;alsdkfj;asldkfjas;dlkfj I am so mad that I am sick!

My apolgies to Firth, Idaho!

Ok. my sister Ally took these pictures of Steve. The first one, a nice picture of my husband at my nephew's wedding making faces at the camera. Then my sister begged him to do his "Firth, Idaho look" which is what he is doing in the second picture. He has been doing this look for YEARS and I don't know how it started or why it is indicative on Firth, Idaho but it makes us laugh so hard we cry! Even my brother in law from Shelly thought it was hilarious and isn't Shelly and Firth, Idaho about the same? (Oh, I know I will get grief from him on that!)

More pictures of the wedding...

Too Precious!

Here is my niece, Brooke Allyson Adams who is two weeks old. Her brother Hunter calls her "agok". I take the Salt Lake Shuttle express back to Utah this afternoon. Steve and the kids are traveling to Utah today and I am so excited to see them tonight! I have so missed them. I missed Chasie's first t-ball game yesterday. Steve said he would hit the ball and then run to third base instead of first! I can't believe I missed that! He even wore underwear! (if you don't know about McKay not wearing underwear to his first game, ask me to tell it to you-it is a classic!)

I am glad that I have been able to come here though. Ally and Brad took Brooke into the emergency room on Tuesday night because she had caught a cold and was having a hard time breathing. She was running a temperature and the doctor's took a chest x-ray to make sure that she didn't have pneumonia which she didn't but we watched her closely yesterday and she ran a fever all morning and just looked "sick". I had the challenge of sucking the snot out of her nose which I am pretty good at from when Kaitlyn had RSV so young. Glad I can be of use!

I cannot believe how much Rexburg has changed-especially Ricks. On Tuesday night I went to pick up some girl's from my ward to take them to dinner and they told me they lived across from the girl's dorm. I knew where the dorms are-hello I lived in them for two years! But, as I drove there, I could not go up the road that I thought I could. It is all blocked off, filled with new buildings and I had to go around, pass more new buildings until I could finally head up the hill to get to the girl's apartments. We went to Applebee's-yes, Rexburg now has an Applebee's and then out to Wal mart so they could get some things-yes, it has a Wal Mart too! It is so weird to see all the young married couples too. They even have school married housing! So weird, because it has changed so much, but the Spirit of the school is the same-wonderful!

Rexburg Revisited

I am in Rexburg, Idaho at this very moment and I am very cold!!!!! My sister Ally keeps telling me that it isn't that cold because it is raining and I let her know that this is like my winters in California-am I a wimp now or what?
Had a great time in Kaysville, UT yesterday with my dear friend Areta. She picked me up at the airport at 9:30 AM and we just played all day. We went to Keva juice and had a smoothie and then we went to her house and she cut and colored my hair, went out to lunch at my favorite, Rumbi Island Grill. She had an "activity day" thing that night and got to see a lot of friends from my old ward and then a bunch of us went out for a girl's night out to Kayville theatre-it was great. My kids are really thriving in California and I am glad we are there but sometimes, I really miss living in Kaysville.
Sweet Areta drove me to Rexburg this morning and we talked the whole way and were so deep in our coversation, that we missed the turn off at Idaho Falls to get to Rexburg! We made it though and I was so glad to see Ally and hold cute Brooke. She is so cute and small!
Steve and kids are hanging in there. Steve made the comment, "it is really hard to get all the kids to where they need to be" YEP, it sure is and that is why I am enjoying these next few days "off". I only need to chase my 2 year old nephew, Hunter around -I am exhausted already and we finally put in Winne the Pooh-he is all boy and so cute and so fun!