Guest Blog: Pinewood Derby Cars by Sweetie

When Sport was less than two years old, we noticed that two things seemed to get his attention… cars and girls… maybe it’s just the curves they share?   It was actually fun to watch.. He would play with his toys (toy cars if they where present) and ignore the TV until  a car or lovely lady came on the screen.  . He would stop... watch until it went away, and then go back to playing.  

That love of cars has continued on.  He loves hot wheels, watching the Velocity channel, etc.  Since he also loves Cub Scouts, pinewood derby is one of his favorite activities. In the last calendar year we have built and raced three vehicles...at three different races…  

Every time it’s the same thing, he loves designing the cars and he’s most excited about the design. He doesn’t care if it’s the fastest because he doesn’t like flat, very aerodynamic pinewood derby cars that don’t look like cars.  And that’s all true until about 20 seconds before the first race… when suddenly he wants to win. 

This last race was interesting.  He wanted to make a jeep..  Tall and short, it would be slow …even if I spent hours on the wheels and axles.  He didn’t care, he just wanted it to look cool.  Once we got there and he found out there was no prizes for design, he watched the first race.  The jeep took fourth on a 4-lane track…so Sport quickly headed off to the exhibits, leaving Dad to the humiliation.

In the end the jeep was only about 0.8 seconds slower over 4 runs than the fastest car…good enough for third  place…. from last that is. Point 2 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s several car lengths.  

When we were finished, I told him not to play with this one because I wasn’t building a new car for the town days race. I'm just not sure I can lose that many more man-cards, but I am thinking about buying special cheater wheels and axles on the internet.  And Sport is warming to flat aerodynamic designs.. and...dang I hate to be in the bottom half.  Oh and everyone says he’s just like me… and while I’ve learned not to jerk my head when a lovely lady walks by  (love will do that), an Italian sports car.. a nice custom… or a really cool pinewood derby…well, that’s a different story… 

Maybe it's genetic.

Oh, one more thing to explain the pics... Sport and I have built and raced 3 cars... Curly and I - 2 cars,  Scout and I - 2 cars… Crafty one car, Prima Donna one car, Dog Walker one car…

   

Another Car Story

The Drama Queen drives a 1988 Toyota Corolla. It is literally older than she is! That hasn't always been the case. When she was a senior in high school, it became apparent that she was going to accomplish a goal she set for herself when she was a lowly 9th grader...she was going to finish high school with an Associates Degree in her back pocket. Because we were so proud of her for sticking with her goal and working so incredibly hard, we decided to buy her a car.

Not her actual car...maybe Teach can find me a pic of the real one when she gets home from school.

  Oh not a new car, we could never afford that. I've told you before that we only drive old cars that are fully paid for around here. But we started looking for a nice little used car she could take when she headed off to college to finish her last two years. And it would be so fun for her to have a car to run around in with her friends during her senior year. The idea was that we would buy the car and make repairs, etc., until she graduated from college and then she could purchase the car from us. Since we have always told the kids that we would not be able to pay for their college educations, it seemed like a good way to support her without handing her cash.

The actual Drama Queen

We finally found what we were looking for...a five-year-old white Ford Mustang. It was beautiful! And it was her dream car. We picked it up for a really good price (around $8000) and presented it to her the summer before her senior year. She was so excited! She has always been a grateful child and she couldn't have been happier. The car was SOO fun to drive! Even I looked good in it.

....But it didn't handle all that well in the snow. Drama Queen had a couple of minor accidents in it, but nothing too serious. We just paid for them out of pocket and moved on. Then she graduated and moved to southern Utah for school. She racked up the miles that first semester, coming home almost every weekend. She was SOO homesick! By Christmas she had settled in. (Ironically, after my Sweetie made an ultimatum regarding the right to drive her "Pony" home and how much gasoline cost.  Yes...we even paid for her gas for awhile.)

The actual Mustang's death photos..

Then, she was coming home for Christmas during her second year when she had the first major accident. I don't remember exact details, but she did manage to make it to most of the family Christmas party despite being on the side of the road for four hours while the cops were cleaning up three other accidents right nearby. We had the car fixed during the holidays and she headed back to school. She came home rarely after that. She was having fun at school and the drive was so long!  We even missed having her for Thanksgiving that third year, but she did come home for Christmas.

One particularly cold evening, just a day before the family party, she wanted to go see a movie with her friends. I had a bad feeling and I begged her not to go, but she wouldn't listen. I was folding laundry when I got her call. "Mom, I've been in an accident; I don't think the car will go." I panicked, of course, and immediately started pulling on my shoes. "Where are you, are you hurt?" the questions tumbled from my lips. "I think I'm ok," she managed, "and I'm only a couple of intersections from home." It was about that time that the guy she collided with showed up at her car door. I could hear him yelling through the closed window, asking her if she needed help. She had called me seconds after the crash.

I pulled on my coat and handed my sweetie his and we headed out the door. It took us about 2 minutes to get to her. By then the ambulance was there and the passenger of the other car was being transported. The Drama Queen had managed to get out of her car and I threw my arms around her and gave her a big hug. It was pretty apparent that her beautiful little Mustang had not survived. We spoke to the attending police officer and he suggested we gather everything we might want from the vehicle. Even then I'm not sure she really believed that her beloved car was not ever coming home.

There was glass everywhere! Her airbags had been deployed, saving her from serious injury, but her shin had been jammed by the gearshift and by morning her entire lower leg was black and blue. I never saw her tears, but I know I shed some. I was so grateful that she was still with us, but I had no intentions of buying her another car. So she took the only thing we had to offer...the 1988 Corolla we had purchased for practically nothing so we could teach the Dog Walker to drive. She never complained, she just thanked us over and over.

She finished school with that little car and on Saturday she was devastated when her key broke in the ignition. It really has been a good little vehicle for her. Much more practical than the Mustang (although not as cute!) and it handles much better in the snow.   Drama Queen is still suspicious about driving too much the week of the Christmas party, but now when I say, "I don't think you should go..." she usually listens. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

Football Banquet

So you all knew Sport was playing little league football. Remember our game in the snow? Well, he won his championship game and Thursday night was our football banquet. We climbed into the Suzy-Q and sped off toward Draper. The party was being held at the Airborne Trampoline Arena.

The Snow Game - guess I forgot to share...

By the time we hit Riverton, I confessed that I had not remembered to bring the address with me. I looked at my sweetie expectantly. He usually knew exactly where we were going. Not this time. I frantically started texting my daughter so she could send us the address from the e-mail. The team mom had a surprise planned for the boys and she had specifically forbidden us from being late.

That’s about when Sport hollered from the back seat, “That’s Zack!” He pointed out the window at a little SUV with antlers stuck to the roof. “Follow that car!” Zack is his beloved coach and since we were pushing the clock, we decided to take a chance. The car headed off into an industrial district and we stayed on its tail. Sure enough, it pulled into Airborne right on schedule and we slid into a parking space a few feet away. “I told you it was Zack,” Sport smirked. For once I was glad he was right.


It wasn’t difficult to find the team…we just followed the noise. Nineteen players and their parents were all crowded into a small room full of picnic tables. It was obvious that this had been planned for the boys. They served Chick Fil A nuggets and chips. About the time the boys finished eating, the surprise arrived, chocolate chip cookies carried by two players from the Utah Blaze and the team mascot!



The Blaze are an arena football team that helps sponsor our league. I think the significance was lost on the boys, at least on my son. After they had been signing autographs for about 10 minutes, Sport slipped through the crowd and whispered to his dad, “Are they from Murray?” Murray is a local high school team with the same colors.


After the team video and all the trophies and certificates were handed out, the boys headed downstairs to jump on the trampolines for an hour. And you know what? Those guys from the Blaze joined them in a rousing game of dodgeball ON TRAMPOLINES! It was insane! And those guys showed absolutely no mercy…although neither did the coaches. They would get jumping about 8 feet in the air and then fling that ball as hard as they could at each other. Sport stood in the back and fed the balls to the Blaze player. He was usually one of the last to get out and he had a fantastic time.

My sweetie and I are too old for this sort of thing, grandparents, remember?, so we curled up on one of the leather couches and watched Rocky II with no sound. Not that you really need any with a Rocky movie. At 9:00 we gathered up and headed home. It was the perfect end to a perfect season. And check out that First Place Trophy! It’s almost as big as Sport! Go Bingham!

The Big Van

You know back in October when the Dog Walker was interviewed by the Deseret News, they only asked if they could take two additional pictures. The first one they wanted was a picture of his sign advertising that he is a Dog Walker and the second was not a surprise…a picture of the back of our van.

I’ve actually seen random people stop their cars, pull over and visibly count the vinyl figures on the back of our 12-passenger van. It’s the same size as a 15-passenger except that we don’t have the extra seat in the back so we have some cargo space for trips and stuff. Unless we are toting the grandsons, we usually have enough seats.

We bought our first big van in 1996 when I was pregnant with Princess. We had finally outgrown the mini-van and I had promised my sweetie a Suburban. But after lengthy discussions, we decided that a Suburban would only give us 9 seats and with Princess we would be a family of 8. It just didn’t fit our long-term goals. So we started looking for the REAL van. We drove several older models, but most of them had been commuter vehicles and they were high in mileage and extremely dirty.

Not our van

Again we turned to prayer and the Lord did provide. Within a week my sweetie found a 12-passenger van, so we traded in our Caravan and I had to learn to drive the huge beast. Thank goodness I had some experience with my dad’s truck! (I still try to never get in a position that I have to back it up…)

We bought that first van used and then we drove it for 12 more years before our mechanic suggested that maybe it was time to look for a new one. This time it was much harder to find what we wanted. It took us nearly 6 months and a trip up north but eventually we were able to replace our old van for a reasonable price.

Then my sweetie started talking about putting the vinyl pictures on the back. I have an amazing friend who does vinyl so I gave her a call. She found these cute pics and made me 13 little figures (not counting the little ones by Bossy). I gave them to my sweetie for Christmas and he was so excited! He installed them himself and when he came back inside, I asked him how they looked. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I thought we’d be able to see them better. I guess the tinting on the windows makes a difference…”

Totally confused, I followed him outside. He was not happy when I started laughing. “What’s wrong?” he demanded. I sobered up and squeezed his arm. “You’re supposed to put them on the OUTSIDE,” I explained. It took us a while to peel them off and my friend had the same response as me when I called to ask her to pretty please make me another set.

Then I got pregnant with Baby Doll. The pictures already covered both back windows and I wasn’t sure what we were going to do. I presented this dilemma to my friend and she assured me we could figure something out. Baby Doll had a rocky start coming a whole month early, so the vinyl pics on the window were not my biggest worry.

Christmas rolled around again and my sweet friend made me a new set. Stressed about them not fitting, she and her hubby had come by in the middle of the night to measure the window. They were totally surprised by Teach and her friend who were sitting quietly in a car on the driveway. But Teach kept the secret and I had no idea.

After Bossy and Gamer had WAY too much fun destroying the old ones with razor blades, we installed the new ones. OK, I installed the new ones on the OUTSIDE this time. I wasn’t taking any chances asking my sweetie to help. And as you can see, they fit just fine. She squeezed them in, just like we do!

Did I Ever Tell You?

Curly before he was curly

Every time I sit down at the computer, I think of a couple of things I should have said here or there in a blog, but forgot. So I want to tie up some of those loose ends today. First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned anywhere that Sport is the one who drew our picture that has now become Twelve Makes A Dozen. You might have guessed that already if you noticed all the cars that follow the people around. Sport is the ultimate car king. If you missed that story you can read about it here.

Me and my sweetie

The second thing I wanted to mention is that you have probably noticed that we have way more family pics on our blog now than we did in the beginning. That is because my sweetie was very nervous about sharing our family and all its craziness with you. He insisted on aliases and he wanted us to stay incognito. Then came the opportunity to have the interview with the Salt Lake Tribune…well, we couldn’t say “no” to that! Then to show his support and how much he loves me (cause he’s cool like that) he gave me a new camera and the permission to put whatever pictures I want on the blog as a special gift for Mothers’ Day. So that’s why you are seeing more of us.

Teach and the Dog Walker (pretending to be Harry Potter)

Teach also bought herself a $750.00 digital SLR camera (since she has managed to put herself through the university with her scholarships and not one cent of debt!). So the quality of our pics should be getting much better (except for the days when she isn’t around and I forget my Powershot and I have to use my cell phone). Bossy has always been my blogging buddy, but since she got a new job working for the state, she has been so busy that Teach has become my new best helper. It’s so nice to have kids that are willing to help me with all my crazy dreams.

Baby Doll

I think the blogging world is an amazing place, not scary at all! For the most part, people are kind and supportive. In fact, I saw my first truly negative comment on a blog today and it wasn’t even on my blog but it made my heart ache. Why would someone take the time to tell someone else that their blog was “boring and pointless”? It obviously isn’t pointless to them!


Thank you for always being so supportive of our silliness! The Drama Queen has been insisting that I tell you that our less-than-six-months-old blog passed 30,000 pageviews yesterday. That seems like a good reason to celebrate…after all, we haven’t had a birthday around here since Sunday…

Prima Donna's Birthday Cake (it was tasty!)

Sport Turned 8

And the birthdays just keep on coming! Sport turned 8 last Thursday and on Friday we had a big birthday bash for 16 of his closest friends. It was a carnival-type atmosphere here in our backyard. Normally I am all for the calmer, simpler type parties where we play red rover and duck duck goose, but for some reason, I just felt like he needed something special.

My sweetie had made some carnival games for a Pack Meeting earlier this year so I convinced him that would make a fun birthday party. We had a Plinko game, a beanbag toss, a ring toss, a duck pond, and a racetrack. We also had an amazing concessions stand that gave out popcorn, hot dogs, cupcakes, and ice cream cones. I even convinced the Drama Queen to dress up as a clown and make balloon animals (a life-skill that she learned just for the day). A favorite part was the carnival tickets that Sport was responsible for handing out as each guest arrived. Then each station had a sharpie and marked off the various events and food items. The kids loved it! The only bad part was when they ran out of carnival games and everybody was melting in the heat. My sweetie came to the rescue by bringing out the K’nex and having the kids build race cars in teams and then having a race. That left only about 10 minutes for them to chase around before their parents arrived.


All in all it was a pretty successful day. But we did have some trauma early on. Sport was helping my sweetie clean up the backyard and get things set up for the party when my sweetie found a small black sports car in the grass that had clearly seen better days. We have told the kids to stop taking the cars into the yard since the Dog Walker just runs over them with the lawnmower…Anyway, as a lesson, my sweetie made HIM toss the car into the dumpster. Sport was devastated! He loves cars almost as much (maybe more) than he loves his brothers and sisters and his dad had just made him throw one away!

When I heard the story I gently reminded my sweetie that those cars were Sport’s babies and maybe he needed to rescue it from the dumpster and be the hero instead of the meanie. He grumbled a bit, but headed outside to look for it. About 20 minutes later he returned. Sport and I were sitting at the kitchen table, talking about the party plans when my sweetie plopped down in a chair. We both looked at him expectantly, but he only had eyes for Sport. “Did you rescue that car out of the dumpster?” he asked accusingly. Sport averted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. My sweetie tried again to be the hero, “Mom said I was throwing away one of your babies and I needed to get it out for you, but I can’t find it and I was wondering if maybe you knew anything about it.” Sport looked up and smiled; a lone tear still leaked from the corner of his eye. “How did you know?” he asked curiously. My sweetie stood up from the chair, mystery solved. “Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the dumpster was open and I couldn’t find the car…and then there was a chair…”

Cars of any kind are definitely Sport’s passion! On any given day he will have at least three or four cars in his pockets, some for himself and some to share. He is kind and sweet and loves to help his dad (as long as none of his cars are in danger). I’m dreading the day he learns to drive now that we are halfway there…he’ll probably have a party and invite sixteen of his closest friends…

Sweetie

I don’t know why I start these silly traditions…but since it’s Fathers’ Day week, I’m just going to have to tell you a little about my sweetie. First, let me say that he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight and he will be annoyed that I shared him with you. Second, because he is the most amazing guy on earth, he will forgive me for embarrassing him.

I’ve already told you how we met and fell in love and all that mushy stuff back in February during Valentine’s Week. So we will make it easy. I will just tell you about today…a rather typical crazy day at our house.

My sweetie is an Electronics Design Engineer by trade and he usually works four 10-hour days on the other side of the valley. Now that the kids are out of school, I usually wave to him from my sleep-induced stupor as he heads out the door at the crack of dawn. Sometimes he sleeps in a little and goes in a bit later, but on those days the kids hardly get to see him because when you do the math, if he goes in at 9:00, the earliest he can come home is 7:00.

So this morning was one of those days, we turned off the early alarm and decided to snuggle for an extra hour before he headed out. While he was in the shower, I got a call from my SIL asking me if I could run over to his house and jump-start his car. I moaned and rolled over, sliding Baby Doll to the center of the bed. I don’t like early mornings and it was still early…My sweetie calmly agreed to make the 15-minute drive and take care of the ailing vehicle.

I assumed he would head off to work after that. Imagine my surprise when he showed up again 45 minutes later with Burrito in tow! “I’m taking the day off work!” he announced. “I want to get the backyard in shape for you before Sport’s birthday party on Friday.” I was absolutely thrilled with this news since I was dreading the yard work that would definitely fall to me when the girls left for girls’ camp on Tuesday. He had the older kids organized within the half-hour and soon they were all working together in the backyard. I kept the younger ones inside and we tackled the kitchen and the other areas on the main floor including my monstrously high pile of clean laundry that I hadn’t been able to get to over the crazy weekend. 

We took a break for lunch and he herded them all back outside to put in another few hours. By 3:00, everything was looking good (Except for the patio furniture; I’m supposed to be making new cushions…I’ve been working on them for almost a month now.) My sweetie and the Dog Walker had moved an entire pickup full of rocks to fill in an area that was full of weeds this morning. 

Yet he still came in the house, tired, but cheerful and helped all the kids make wooden racecars from our Home Depot kits. He finished putting together his little kid trampoline (a Fathers’ Day gift so he wouldn’t have to worry about Curly getting hurt on the big tramp), and watched the kids play for a bit. He also tilled our huge sand-pile so the sand is nice and soft for the kids to play in and then he sprayed the entire area for bugs so they wouldn’t cause problems at the party. 

After a quick shower he ran the Dog Walker over to the park so he could check on his geocache…which had disappeared, btw…He returned just in time to grab a bite to eat and then we all watched a movie for FHE. He is like this every day, working hard to make my life better and easier. He still calls me his “Arm Candy” when we go out and he tells me I’m beautiful, even though I know my 46-year-old self is nothing like the 18-year-old girl he married. I am so glad that we found each other and plan to spend the rest of forever together. I love him to pieces…Did I embarrass you too much, Sweetie? You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Thanks for being the father of my children. Happy Fathers’ Day!

I guess you can say we have good chemistry!

Just in Time

It was the summer of 2003. Bossy had just moved home after graduating with her Associates Degree from Snow College. The Gym Rat was between his junior and senior years of high school, and I was facing the pending birth of my ninth child. Our local high school offered summer college classes and other than books, the classes were free.

We’ve told our kids pretty much from the day they were born that we were not planning to pay for their college education although we were hoping and expecting that they would all want one. That made it up to them to figure out a way to get through school without being consumed by debt. We encouraged them to get all the college credits they could before they graduated from the public school system since those classes were mostly free. So the Gym Rat signed up for what they call Ed Net classes. He and the neighbor girl who lived a couple of doors down the street were carpooling several miles to another high school in our district that taught some classes they both needed. Two days a week, he rushed out of the house, picked her up in his little blue Neon and together they would head off to school and arrive at class just in time.

June slid by quickly and Sport was born right on schedule. Life whirled around me as I slid into the new baby stupor. Most of the kids were working and playing, just enjoying summer. My sweetie had a job where he could work home some, so he was around, making sure all was well. One morning, when Sport was about ten days old, the phone rang.

Since I had many calls and well-wishers, I had the cordless phone nearby. "Hello?" I questioned. "This is LDS hospital," the caller began, "We are Lifeflighting your son to our emergency room. Could you please meet us there?" As if through a fog, my brain refused to work. "What?" I had just delivered Sport at that hospital so I thought maybe there was some confusion. "My son is ten days old…" I hesitated when the caller started again, "Your son was in an accident and was unconscious. He is alive and we are LifeFlighting him now. Could you or your husband meet us there?"

The wheels in my brain were starting to spin. Fortunately, my sweetie happened to be home. We quickly gathered up Sport and a diaper bag and climbed in the car. It had been six years since I had received a similar call about my little Princess and her helicopter ride. I guess you could say that my response had something to do with age or experience, but my reaction was completely different. I knew from the phone call that he was alive, and during the 30-minute drive, I tried to prepare myself mentally for what might come next. My sweetie and I discussed the possibility of paralysis or brain-damage, but the physical agony I experienced with the Princess was not there. I had come to the realization that God would choose the path that was best for me and as long as I trusted Him, everything would be OK.

We didn’t know what to expect as we pushed our way through the emergency room doors. The Gym Rat was the only person being treated; his friend down the street had been transported in an ambulance to a hospital a little closer to home (her injuries were minor). I rushed to his side and he reached for my hand. His own was streaked with blood and he had vomit in his hair. One shoe was missing and his pants had been split completely up the side for easy access to all the machines and monitors that were currently hooked up to him. A doctor approached and for a moment time seemed to stand still. "He’s one lucky young man," he said. We waited expectantly. "He’s fine…absolutely fine." My hands started to shake; a typical reaction for me as the adrenaline drains away. The Gym Rat held onto one and smiled. "Yeah," he said. "The worst part was the helicopter ride…it made me sick."

It turned out that he pulled into an intersection when a car came speeding up and over the hill and slammed right into the driver’s side. The impact knocked him out when the airbags failed to deploy, and one of his size 14 shoes was still on the gas pedal. The car raced across a field and stopped abruptly several feet from the side of a house. He was bruised and sore, but grateful to be alive. This is why each and every day of my life I pray for safety and trust that God will keep me and mine on the right path. It sure worked for the Gym Rat. He stopped just in time.

Don't Drive Stupid

I got a text from the Drama Queen about 4:30 today. "…they’re having an awesome drunk driving demo in the Smith’s parking lot. You guys should come. There’ll be helicopters and everything." Well, who could resist a text like that? Not me…and apparently not Bossy either. We both pulled in at the same time. 

They were still setting up as we strolled across the parking lot. There were various police cars and a trailer with what looked like two carnival cars on it. They had a couple of tables with the proverbial literature and free pens. A woman in a Zero Fatalities shirt was handing out string backpacks and an occasional t-shirt (Princess got one!). I guess she looked like a prospective driver. (I can’t believe it’s only a few more months!) 

 As we rounded the tables I saw the cars. They were placed strategically in the parking lot so they looked like they were in an actual accident. Both were covered with broken glass as if they were simply waiting for a tow truck. We wandered around and the kids took their turn in the "carnival ride." It really simulated what a 5-mph crash would feel like. I think Scout and Taco were the most surprised as they jostled in the seats. 

 Back at the crash site they were preparing for the big event, and by the time we walked back over, the victims were in place. There were five real teenagers involved in the "accident." We happened to know one of them and that made it even more personal. One girl was lying on the ground, covered in fake blood. A boy appeared to have been thrown through the windshield. The driver of that car was sitting behind the wheel. She also had a passenger in the backseat. The boy in the other car was supposed to be stuck behind the wheel of his car. 

As we stood about 20 feet away, the sirens suddenly went off and the ambulance raced to the scene. A paramedic vehicle followed right behind. Curly was terrified and I pulled him up into my arms. Gamer reached for him and put him up on his shoulders. I placed a protective arm around Scout and reached for Sport’s hand. Bossy made similar moves with her kids. The paramedics jumped from their vehicles and began attending to the "victims." Cars along the road bunched up, with drivers craning their necks to see what was going on. Never in my life had I been so close to that kind of action! Even though I knew it was all pretend, tears crowded my eyes as they threw a sheet over the girl on the ground and then another one over the boy on the hood of the car. 

 A policeman pulled out the female driver and administered the sobriety test. She failed miserably and was eventually handcuffed and placed in a squad car. A couple of paramedics used the "jaws of life" to rip the doors off the car and extricate the driver of the second vehicle. Suddenly a woman ran from the crowd as if she were the mother of one of the victims. It was terrifying to watch her break down, realizing that this kind of accident could have involved my kids. 

Suddenly we heard the LifeFlight helicopter. It circled once and then landed right there in the parking lot. The wind threw small rocks at us because we were so close. We huddled with the kids until the blades stopped chopping. The paramedics loaded one of the victims onto a back-board, and wheeled him to the helicopter. The winds picked up again as it quickly took off. We just stood there, looking at each other. Some random grandma gave Sport a hug. I was stunned at my own reaction. It brought back imagined images of my own little Princess being loaded into a helicopter just like that one. It also brought up another image of Gym Rat who took a similar ride. I’ll tell you that story tomorrow. 

**Editor's Note:  Silly Mom, she wasn't even around when Princess was loaded onto LifeFlight. (Mom said: That doesn't mean I haven't seen that scene a thousand times in my head.) I remember it clearly.  As the helicopter landed it blew all the fresh snow from the rooftops and lawns onto the street.  A man-made blizzard.  I remember watching the perfect whiteness fall and knowing that everything was going to be okay.  And then the bright red helicopter jolted me back to reality and I saw tiny Princess looking like a doll on the adult-sized board.  Even knowing today was a staged training and demonstration I had a large lump in my throat watching that teen loaded into the helicopter.  I am glad I have several years before my boys learn to drive.

Thank you Smith's, local law enforcement, MADD, SLCO Health Department, Utah Highway Patrol, and the city council for putting on a great event! 

Just One More

I’ve told you before how my sweetie has this thing for trees…(just like kids) he always thinks there’s room for one more. With the kids that’s been no problem, but with the trees, well, we’ve had a few issues. First we had the pear trees. There were two of them, and they we skinny little spindly things that each produced about 8 pears every season. They were also very needy and after about 4 seasons, they both died a premature death during a particularly cold winter. 

Random photo of Scout and Curly (but it's cute, don't you think?)

Then there was the peach tree. It was amazing! It grew quickly and produced huge delicious peaches nearly every year. Sadly, that’s what did it in. One season the peaches were so numerous and so heavy that the whole tree cracked right down the middle. We pulled it out the next spring. The apple trees were next. The one in the backyard became blighted and died the same winter as the pear trees. We had four beautiful columnar apple trees that threw their harvest onto the neighbor’s driveway. He was all too happy to help us pull them out a couple of years ago. 

Redbud pic credit

Just lately we have another problem. About ten years ago my sweetie planted a beautiful redbud in a raised flowerbed on the corner of the driveway. What were we thinking!? Now that we have five drivers living in the house not counting Grandpa, parking is at a premium. Our garage is full of bikes, Power Wheels, camping gear, and the Drama Queen’s stuff, so it is no help at all. It was finally time to pull out the redbud. 

We had actually talked about this event several years ago and my sweetie vetoed the idea. Then last summer when Grandpa moved in, my sweetie relented and I vetoed the idea. But this time the only one trying to chain herself to the tree was the Prima Donna. (I think she was really just looking for an excuse to get out of her chores…although she swears that isn’t true!) 


So early one Saturday morning, my sweetie and the Dog Walker dragged out the chainsaws and left us a five-foot high stump. It was truly an eyesore! After a couple of weeks of bad weather, they eventually got back to the task. With shovels and the pickaxe, they chopped and stabbed at the huge roots growing from the bottom of the stump. 

After three or four days of back-breaking labor and quite a few blisters, they tied a strap around the trunk. They attached the other end to our rust-colored 70 Chev pickup and proceeded to pull. The strap broke immediately! They decided to dig for a couple more days. A kind neighbor drove by and took pity on them. He offered his huge truck and a real chain, so on Monday morning, he came over. Sadly, even his big truck was no match for those stubborn roots. 

More chopping and digging, and a visit from Blue Stakes later, and they were ready for another pull. Our wonderful neighbor returned (thanks, Lee!), and this time we had success! The tree lay on its side like a defeated giant. I felt a twinge of sadness, remembering it’s beautiful red leaves and the baby birds we all watched grow up and leave their nest last summer. We couldn’t even park our big van beneath the tree because we were afraid it would jiggle the nest and cause the little ones to fall before they were ready to fly. I guess we’ll just have to plant a new tree. After all, there’s always room for one more.

**Editor's Note:  I can't believe she told about the death of the trees without telling about the tree-bush.  I guess I will have to mention that as one to tell later. And FYI if you have a small tree (less than 8 feet in diameter) some cities will come out and move it to a park if you call and offer to donate it.  The city came out and inspected the redbud last year and decided that the tree was beautiful but unfortunately too large to get the uprooting equipment around it. 

Also if you are a google feed reader stop by and enter our June give away.  You could win a Parade-Survival kit check out the Give Away tab for details.