First Day of Football

Curly had his first real football game today against Mt. Ridge. It's kind of funny, they are a relatively new school, but gone are the days of rivalry with Alta and Riverton. Mt. Ridge is now the team that dominates. Well, except for Bingham. We lost 31 - 18.

I have to confess that I didn't get any pics at the game. I did take this amazing one afterward as we were getting ready to leave. Curly played Center and he did a great job. He only had one bad snap the entire game, and it was for a punt which they had not practiced yet. 

Beauty and The Beast came along with their two boys. Those little guys sure love football! Right before this pic, Curly finished the team chat and each boy ran to him for a big hug. Wish I would have had my camera out then. 

The other thing that went on this weekend was a birthday party for Curly. I didn't take any pics for that either. We had 20 teenage boys in the church gym playing dodgeball. Scout and I were the referees and the boys were well-behaved (while trying to kill each other with squishy nerf-type balls), but it was just not one of those times when I wanted to drop my whistle and pick up my camera, you know?

It sure was fun to see the football team out of uniform though. With helmets on, I never get to see their faces. They appeared to love dodgeball almost as much as football.

How to Have a Better Outlook on Life

Wow, thank you so much, Dog Walker! I feel suitably chastened. Last week was awful and it seemed like I was barely making it by. I couldn't take off the boot and I couldn't shower. I had to wear stretchy basketball shorts and take sponge baths. Sometimes the pain was nearly unbearable and to make it all worse, I was on oxygen because my numbers kept dropping well below 90. 

Then this week began and with it came much change. I visited with my doctor on Monday. I was sad that the stitches were not taken out, but at least I could take off the boot so I could change my clothes and I could finally shower! It felt so nice to just be clean! The pain is still not great, but it's not horrible either. I am getting around much better on the scooter and I'm looking forward to being able to drive next week when the stitches are finally out. 

All of these wonderful changes, but I didn't really appreciate them because I was still upset about the things I couldn't do rather than celebrating the things I could. And yeah, I'm still sad that while all my little grandbabies will be enjoying the pool tomorrow for Twizlet's birthday while I have to sit poolside and watch, at least I can be there. The scooter gives me so much for freedom and I am so grateful for it. 

Right now it is 3:30 AM and I am the only one up. My sweetie didn't feel well so he went to bed early, but I had to put a modesty panel in Scout's new swimsuit, and by the time I was finished, I was the only one left awake. Trying to make it upstairs by myself might be possible, but the walk from the top of the stairs to the side of my bed without my scooter seems like a terrible idea without my scooter especially after taking the stairs. So the two of us will sleep down here tonight since it still hasn't figured out how to climb the stairs without someone to help it (the scooter, I mean).

But life is good. As least my office chair is nice and squishy and my Disneyland jacket will keep me warm.

Hanging out with Skittles

Gamer is a custodian in our school district and he was recently transferred and ended up with an earlier shift. That means I get to hang out with this cute guy for a couple of hours every day instead of just half an hour until his mama comes.

Skittles is almost 4 months old now and he has such a cute smile. When his tummy isn't hurting from the reflux, he is alert and so interested in his surroundings. In fact, maybe more so than any of my babies. He is finally filling out and he has chubby little legs.

His head has grown into his hair, but when he is with me, we still get tons of comments. Like today for instance, I was in Sam's Club having a bit of a freakout moment at the customer service desk because I couldn't find what I wanted when a man was just staring at my cute little guy who had finally fallen asleep.

"Wow, that's some cute kid you've got there!. Look at all that hair!" No, really, it's not just women. I have men who think he is super awesome too. I thanked him and he continued to enthuse over my cutie even as I walked away.

Look at these squishy cheeks! Who can blame him?

Still Love that Squishy Mat

It's been almost a year since I was asked to try out the Squishy Mat. I'm pretty sure Twizlet wasn't even born yet or maybe she was just tiny. Anyway, when the mat arrived, I was super impressed with the quality and when Twizlet was over we spent tons of time reading and just lying on the the mat because the memory foam was so comfy.

Once she became mobile, I put the mat away. At the time I was thinking it would only be for a little while until I started watching Little Warrior while his mama went to work part time. But then I had surgery and blood clots and weakness and Beauty and The Beast made other daycare arrangements.

About a month ago, I was moving some stuff and I came upon the Squishy Mat all folded up and just waiting for another cute little one to enjoy its squishiness. So I packed it in my car and I ran it over to Beauty. She was thrilled to give it a try. Little Warrior loves it! They use it almost every day and she sent me these cute pics from last week. As you can see, he wasn't feeling very well and his favorite place was still the Squishy Mat.

Last month our friends at Squishy Mats sent us a fabulous deal with a 35% off code. When you load yours into the cart from their website, just enter FACEBOOK. And then once yours arrives and you love it, send them a positive review. Tell them Sandy sent you.

Check Out Our Squishy Mat

There are plenty of good things about being a grandma, and I'm sure you have heard about most of them before. Like when the grandbaby is fussy, messy, or in need of a diaper change, it's usually pretty easy to simply hand the little cutie back over to mommy or daddy. Unless I'm babysitting, of course; then it's all me (or sometimes Crafty, Drama Queen, or Scout...).

Today Teach had a full day in her classroom setting things up. She dropped Twizlet off while I was still in bed, so the two of us snoozed together for a while before we finally got up. I made her a bottle and some peas and she was a happy girl. At nearly 6 months old, she is getting big enough that she loves to play with toys and she loves being on the floor.

Most of my house is either hardwood or a commercial grade carpet we put in when the kids were little. Honestly, it's not very comfortable. For my own babies I have put down a soft blanket for them to play on, but yesterday in the mail, I got something better than a blanket. I got my very own Squishy Mat to try out.

Let me tell you right now, this mat is so much better than a blanket! It is thick and soft. At least for now, Twizlet can't lift the edges off the floor like she can a blanket, so that keeps her in place. She is also not quite mobile yet, but she really liked practicing her hands and knees rock.

The mat folds up and has a handle so it can be easily carried to a picnic or a football game. In fact, the only thing I didn't like was the fact that there were no cleaning instructions on the packaging. But when I got nervous about throwing it in the washer, I saw the 100% warranty and figured either way I would be fine. After all, Beauty's baby is due August 21, Bossy's is due December 19, and Princess's is due on February 4. I'm going to need lots of Squishy Mats!! (That link has a coupon so you can save 15% on yours.)

**I was given a free Squishy Mat in exchange for my open and honest opinion.**

Happy Halloween!

On Sunday afternoon, we had almost everyone here to carve pumpkins with us. My sweetie had grown about 18 in the garden and if we doubled up some of the younger ones, we had enough for everyone to help (except for me, I'm not into the icky squishy gooey stuff).

We worked in shifts with big people helping little people. It is so fun to watch my kids work and play together. By the time we were finished and the Dog Walker had them all lit up outside, the rain started coming down, so I didn't even get a  picture for you. Maybe we can convince Bossy to put up the one of her kids.

Tonight we had fun trick-or-treating to all the neighbors. My kids are tireless when free candy is involved! I finally made them quit just after 9:00 and they were anxious to go home and count their booty. My sweetie made us yummy soup that we served in pumpkin bread bowls and the kids drank orange soda and carbonated apple juice from Drama Queen.

The Dog Walker sat on the front porch and encouraged kids to try out his corn maze on their way to the front door for a candy bar. He said we had "lots" of kids come by. As the evening was wrapping up and the kids were off to bed, Drama Queen asked me if tomorrow we could start our Christmas celebrations. She just looked so hopeful,

what could I say?

Happy Halloween!

Weird Wednesday

It seems like my family has been doing a lot of weird stuff lately or at least that is what I found when I started looking for pics on my cell phone. I thought it might be fun to share. Maybe we could create a new meme. How about Weird Wednesday?

Fajita thought it would be fun to sit in the garbage can... until she got stuck...

Prima Donna is waiting for her turn to perform her monologue for the Shakespeare night at the high school. She isn't really weird, but the piece she chose to recite is definitely out there!

Crafty and Prima Donna waiting for the filming of their dances for Reflections at the dance studio. Yeah, it's that time of year again. The deadlines seem to move up a little more each year.

 Bossy's frustration with trying to find just the right mat for Fajita's photography entry. Isn't she cute?!

Prima Donna and I were waiting somewhat impatiently for the parent meeting to start for the musical. We had to do something to keep us entertained.

Why is it we are always waiting? Sport and I at Parent Teacher Conferences tonight. The librarian gave him this little squishy ball and we couldn't stop squeezing it (until some weird liquid started gooshing out).

 Yeah, she really is stuck!

Hope you had a wonderful weird Wednesday just like mine.

Field Day

I'm mostly feeling better from my surgery a couple of weeks ago and I'm pretty sure I'm improving. I started going back to Curves on Wednesday, but I move really slowly around the circuit. Some of these end of the school year days nearly wipe me out and my bedtimes get later and later.

Last night I asked Drama Queen if she could help me with my scout meeting today. I had scheduled a field day at the church and there were specific requirements for the badge and I just wasn't feeling it. Thankfully, half an hour after I handed her the packet, she texted me, "Don't worry, I've got this. I can get it all pulled together in the morning." I just love having grownup children!

And she did. We had so much fun!

First we split the girls into two teams and they had to make up a team name and a cheer. Then we had our first competition. They had to throw a "discus" which was a hoola hoop, and a "javelin" which was a broom handle. The Drama Queen assigned points and ran the show, all I had to do was be there and hide the snitch, but I'll get to that later.

Her second game was science-related and the girls had to use newspaper and tape to built a structure that would hold our lightest scout at least 2 inches from the ground. Both teams accomplished that feat, but then the bonus question was who could hold the heaviest scout (I got that distinction, thank you very much!), only one group won those points.

The third activity was a rousing game of Quidditch (like from Harry Potter). I got to play with the girls and they let me be the keeper since I'm a little slow. I had already hidden the snitch when the girls weren't looking. We had to keep a broomstick between our legs and keep the girls from throwing the quaffle (soft squishy ball) through the hoop. We also had to avoid the two dodgeballs that were acting as bludgers. Our team was triumphant, and Scout found the snitch, sealing our victory! It was so fun. I wish I had pics of that one for you, but since I was playing, I got nothing.

The last and final game was a silly relay where the girls did cartwheels, carried candies on spoons in their mouths, and crawled on their hands and knees. Then we gave out awards. The first place winners got big cup Reeses and the second place winners got the regular size.

I'm thinking maybe I will make the field day an annual thing, but next Quidditch game I get to be a beater!

Getting Published

Did I ever tell you I wrote a children's novel?

It was probably a dozen or so years ago, and it took me over a year to complete it. I always thought I would write novels that everyone would want to read and publishers would be drooling to get their hands on my latest draft.

I found a silly pic I haven't shared before.

Did you laugh? You should. Getting a novel published is hard! I spent several years marketing it myself with little success and then I turned it over to an agent. She took my money and sent me a letter once a month for a year, but she didn't have any success either.

So I put it on a shelf and assumed nobody would ever read it but me and my sweetie and an occasional child here or there. But this morning when I was in the shower, I had an epiphany. I could share my book with all of you!

I never expected to make any significant money from writing anyway, but all writers want to be read and I would really appreciate it if you would spend a few minutes once a week and read the latest installment. It's only 14 chapters, so it won't take you very long, and maybe if you have any suggestions on revisions you can share them with me so I can make it better.

I was going to wait until tomorrow, but what the heck, here's Chapter One of Kiylee's Christmas.

Chapter One - Moving In

    I was only nine when we moved from the house on Creekwood Drive.  I left my friends, my school, my teacher, even my dogs, but it was worth it.  We were all tired of tiny rooms and bunk beds.  I even had to share a room with my 7-year-old brother.  What a pain! 
    We started building our new house one week after my birthday in 1993.  My baby brother, Nathan, was only four days old when they dug the hole for our basement.  The house was huge, with four bathrooms and four bedrooms.  Mom would get an office and a craft room and Dad would get a three-car garage.  The kids would have a toyroom in the basement and a place to do our own laundry.  Like we really wanted the laundry room!  Mom said that it was both or neither, so I guess we’ll have a nice place to play.  We only have one washer and dryer anyway, so I don’t know what good it does to tell us that we have to wash our own clothes.
    Mom and Dad got a huge bedroom with a big green tub.  They said it was big enough for all of us to take a swim, but I don’t really think so.  Nathan is sleeping in their room, so, for now, Neal has a room of his own.  I don’t know why a 7-year-old needs a room of his own, especially one bigger than mine, but Mom and Dad never ask me what I think.  My little sisters get to share a room.  Kinsey is four and Kiyna is three.  They like to play together, so they don’t really care.  I get the last room.  It’s the smallest, but Mom says that I will never have to share with anyone so I shouldn’t complain.  They let me decorate it any way I wanted so I chose black and white flowered wallpaper and red chair rail.  It looks really cool.  Most people hate it, but I don’t care.  They don’t have to live there.
    We spent a lot of time in our new neighborhood even before we officially moved in because we had to move out of our old house on June first.  Mom and Dad were able to find us a squishy little apartment for those two months, but it was dangerous there and we had to stay inside most of the time.  The apartments were arranged in circles and there was a playground in the middle of each circle.  When we first moved in, we thought that we would be able to spend some time on the swings and slide.  But the first day we were out there, we found bullet casings under the slide and a boy chased us with a baseball bat.  After that, Mom made us stay inside.
    It was hard to stay in the apartment because we didn’t unpack anything.  Even though we put some stuff in storage, it was way crowded with boxes and furniture.  Mom and Dad felt bad that our house was running behind schedule, so as soon as Dad got home from work, we would all climb in the van and drive to our new neighborhood.  We walked around and got to know some of the neighbors.  We even put up our wallpaper and stuff in our rooms before the house was finished.
    Sometimes we would leave the neighborhood and go on a license plate hunt.  It was one of our favorite games.  Dad would drive the van around the hotels that were close by and we would look at all of the license plates.  Our apartment complex had plates from all over the country, so it was a good place to check.  One day we had nearly all of the states, so we begged Dad to keep driving.  We went clear in to Murray and Midvale, just looking for license plates.  We never did find Hawaii or Rhode Island.  Oh well, 48 wasn’t too bad for one day.

    Finally, our house was done.  We started at our new school on Tuesday and we moved into our house on the next Saturday.  It was all so exciting!  We’d been living in that awful little apartment for so long, our new bedrooms seemed huge. 
    Since school had already started, I was plenty busy just trying to fit in, make friends, and do my homework.  Mom and Dad promised me that on the first birthday I had in the new house, I could have a huge sleepover with all of my new friends.  Since my birthday was in November, that gave me a few months to figure out who I really wanted to invite.  Mom limited it to 15 girls, but I wasn’t sure I could even come up with that many friends in just a couple of months.  I started making my lists and dreaming about the party.
    August and September slipped by and the weather started to turn colder.  We’d been able to wear shorts to school until it got too cold.  We usually didn’t even do most of our school shopping until traditional schools started because Mom said that the sales are always better in September. 
    I remember the school shopping trip very well, because Mom and Dad took us all to WalMart and we actually did all the shopping at once.  We’d never done that before.  Mom usually took us to two or three stores and we got a couple of things in each store.  Dad usually bought our school supplies and he just brought them home.  Well, not this time. 
    Neal, Kinsey, and I all got new shoes, socks, underwear, pants, shirts, and jackets.  Then Mom and Dad let us choose backpacks, notebooks, crayons, pencils, rulers, and all that school stuff.  We got to do that because Mom and Dad decided that we wanted to play a game to help us keep our new house clean.  They made each one of us a bingo board with jobs and when we got our first Bingo, we got a pair of socks or a new shirt.  With two bingos, we could get a backpack, and if we finished our entire board with a blackout, we got a new jacket.  Of course, we all worked really hard with prizes like that.  Everybody earned a blackout, so Mom and Dad took us all shopping at once.  I didn’t usually think much about money.   Mom and Dad pretty much bought us everything we needed, but I was surprised when I heard Mom tell Dad that our new stuff cost nearly $800.00.  That’s a lot of money!  But things were about to change drastically at our house.  Two weeks later, my dad got laid off from his job. 
    Dad is an electronics design engineer and he had worked for the same company since I was four years old.  We didn’t have a clue that his job was shaky, or we probably would never have built our new house.  Mom said that it tripled the amount of money we had to pay each month just to have a place to live.  As I said, I never worried much about money before, but after the layoff, it seemed to be a constant worry.  We couldn’t go to the store and just buy whatever groceries we wanted.  We had to be careful.  Mom started cooking more with the stuff we already had in the kitchen, like chili beans.  I like chili, but my brother and sisters don’t.  Neal only liked cold cereal and noodles, so he had a bad time.  I think there were lots of days that all he ate was what he had for school lunch and some bread and butter.
    We really thought that Dad would get a new job right away.  He did get some money from his company to help him find a new job.  It sounded like a lot to me until Mom explained that it would only make two house payments.  I started to wonder about my birthday party.  Mom and Dad aren’t always great about keeping promises like that, and if they had a good excuse, well, maybe my sleepover would be history.  I stopped telling my new friends about it and just kept my mouth shut.  
    About the 20th of October, Mom brought up the subject.  She asked me if I had my list ready for the party.  I was so surprised.  “I thought the party was canceled,” I said. 
“Why?” asked Mom. 
“Well, because we don’t have any money and Dad doesn’t have a job,” I replied.
 “Look, Honey,” Mom said.  “We still have to live, even if we don’t have much money right now.  The party won’t cost that much if we’re careful.”  I must have looked worried, because Mom quickly said; “We can make our own pizzas instead of ordering out.  And Dad can make your cake rather than buy it at the store.  The party will still be great.  Don’t worry so much.”  I gave Mom a big hug and then ran to my backpack to uncover my hidden list of friends.  I think Mom was a little surprised that I already had 15 friends listed, but we made invitations and I passed them out at school the next morning.
    Most of the girls were in my class, but a few from our neighborhood were on different tracks, so I had to find them at lunch or recess.  By the end of the day, my party was the hottest thing going on, except for Halloween, of course. 
                                        *******************************

OK, honest opinions, please. I can take it, I promise. I've already had at least a dozen publishers turn it down...

Crazy May

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I'm a firm believer that May is as busy as December!  We have had some completely crazy weeks lately. Thankfully, tee-ball ended yesterday although Sport is still playing baseball. That should help a little. We played Tuesdays and Thursdays for the last four weeks.

Our women's group has also been playing dodgeball. If you are remembering it from your childhood when a playground ball slammed into your head meant a trip to the emergency room, well, things have changed a lot since then. We play with squishy balls that don't hurt. Tonight we played for about 2 hours. It was fun except that I had already had a crazy day.

Teach and I and Scout got our hair cut this morning and we got back just in time to grab a sandwich before the Drama Queen and I hustled out the door. We made a quick run through Hobby Lobby and then drove for 40 minutes to Orem so the Drama Queen could have her wisdom teeth pulled.

We had to wait for over an hour in the waiting room and then another 45 minutes for the procedure. She had never been in any kind of surgery before so I was a bit worried about the anesthesia and all. But she handled it like a trooper and we finally pulled into our driveway at about 5:00.  I got her settled and then I headed to the store for her pain meds.

Then it was time to make dinner, get Scout and Crafty out the door with their dad for a Daddy Daughter Dance at the elementary school, and run off for dodgeball. The Dog Walker and Prima Donna went with me and we left Princess home to take care of the Drama Queen and the little ones. We got home about 10:15 and after prayer and scripture study, my sweetie and I headed off to the store again to buy the corn syrup I forgot the first time.  Two cartloads later...

I have 8 flats of blackberries coming with my Bountiful Basket in the morning, so I will be making jam tomorrow...
 and playing dodgeball again...
 and attending a reception for my sweetie's work...
 and helping the Dog Walker to prepare a talk for Sunday...

I'm tired just thinking about it.

A Little Squishy

My son has to be the most tolerant man I know! I told you that yesterday was Princess’s 15th birthday. Because she had a party with her friends on Saturday, we waited to have a family party on Sunday. The Gym Rat had been looking for a reason to have the family over since he moved into his apartment last spring. So today was the day. We celebrated Princess’s birthday at his house.

His apartment is not very big. He shares it with two other guys and for them there is plenty of room. But bringing everyone together for a party was a little crowded. My sweetie and I were there and all twelve of our kids as well as one of Gym Rat’s roommates and Bossy’s family. That made a grand total of 19 people in an 8’ x 15’ room.

We had a nice dinner. The Gym Rat made bbq chicken and alfredo. We brought rolls and zucchini and cake and ice cream. Then we left the little kids watching a movie while the adults moved to the Gym Rat’s bedroom. We were hoping to have our final book club meeting on the book he chose, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. It was a little squishy! But we managed to put nine people in one small bedroom. (Ten if you count Baby Doll!)

pic credit

The discussion got a little heated. Most of us liked the book, but there were a few nay-sayers. After a few minutes, Princess snuck out to watch the movie with the little kids. The meeting broke up shortly afterward and we all agreed it might be a good idea to start the next book. Grandpa got to choose this time (that means he agreed to pay for copies of the book for everyone…). He chose The Help. I’ve heard it’s really good!

Then we pulled out the cake and ice cream. I had struggled with an idea for a cake topper for Princess. Fifteen is such a hard age to find something good, but I finally bought her a package of Lip Smackers lip gloss tubes (kind of like Chapstick). I stuck all 8 of them into the cake and them randomly placed 15 pink candles. We lit the cake and sang. Princess promptly blew out all the candles and then we pulled off the lip gloss and laid them on the counter. I cut the cake into nice little triangles and the kids fought over the ice cream flavors.

Twenty minutes later we were cleaning up and Princess washed the frosting from the lip gloss. As I gathered them up, I noticed that about half of them had melted into their caps from the heat of the candles! When we got home, we tried putting them in hot water to remelt them. That worked for a couple, but not all. So we put the last three into the microwave. After several short cycles in the microwave, they appeared to be mostly normal…until Princess pulled off a lid. The green one was full of tiny round bubbles. It kind of reminded me of being in the Gym Rat’s apartment today. A little squishy and different, but still good.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie

I love talking about my kids mostly because I’m the mom and I can brag about them all I want. But one of my hardest posts to write is about my sweetie. It’s not that I don’t want to talk about him…I just don’t want to get all mushy and squishy about it.

OK, let me tell you this story. So our elementary school has a silly little thing called Dads and Doughnuts for second-graders, and Sport just happened to be in the second grade. He talked about it for weeks! Dad was going to go to school with him in the morning with a backpack full of books. Then they would get a doughnut and some chocolate milk and snuggle up in the beanbags and read for about 45 minutes. The plan was perfect. Dad had the day off work because it was a Friday. They packed the books and headed out the door. As they began lining up, Sport looked around at all the other dads. Most of them were in their early 30s. He tugged at his dad’s hand and commented, “WHAT IF THEY THINK YOU ARE MY GRANDPA?”

We are so silly in our piggy tails!

Sweetie and his mom and grandpa

Poor Sweetie. He has been graying for about the last 10 years. It has never bothered me, in fact, I kind of like it. Forty-eight just doesn’t seem that old. It’s not like we put candles on his cake and we have to notify the Fire Marshall. We don’t even give him birthday spankings (although I’m sure the kids would love to…). We never play Heavy Heavy Hang Over thy poor head…because twelve lumps wouldn’t do his brain any good.

Wedding Pics

Did I ever tell you I married him because of his brain? There is something terribly sexy about smart guys… He was just awarded his 8th patent. I am truly married to the most amazing guy! He works hard every day to provide for our rather large family and then he works hard at night being a fantastic dad. Sometimes we call him the King, but I prefer Sweetie. He has a terrific sense of humor and he puts up with my blog silliness by writing a post whenever I ask him to.

His favorite color is green and he loves Mt. Mike's pizza and a good steak. He loves fast cars and slow women (ok, one woman, but I am pretty slow, and he doesn't own a fast car because he loves kids more). He loves football and chocolate marshmallow ice cream (although I can’t find any for his birthday and I’m a little sad about that), Oreos, but not double-stuff. His all-time favorite movie is Eddie and the Cruisers 2 ("Sorry, Door"). He loves/hates gardening and his job because it keeps him away from his family. He loves newborn babies and watching the rain, fireworks and Fathers and Sons. But most of all he loves the kids and he loves me and that’s enough. Happy birthday, Sweetie. I love you.

Just last Sunday

Fishing with Grandpa

Since I spent my weekend camping at the lake with the kids and the grandkids, I’ve spent most of today scratching mosquito bites and remembering past fishing trips mostly with my grandpa. Grandpa (not to be confused with my dad) was my fishing buddy. He was a quiet man and fishing was just right for his personality. We would sit for hours, me sometimes jabbering while he pondered (or maybe he slept, I don’t know, I was too busy talking). Every once in a while he would shush me and tell me I was scaring the fish. Then he would patiently help me re-bait my hook because the cheese had fallen off again.

Sometimes we would fish with worms if Japan and I had managed to get out and catch any. I never liked attaching a real worm to a hook, but Grandpa didn’t mind. Most of the time Japan would come too and it would just be the three of us. Community is about two hundred yards long and maybe sixty of seventy yards wide. Japan thought it was fun to prove that he could cast all the way across the lake. Grandpa would get pretty annoyed with that, telling him that catching weeds isn’t the same as catching fish. Sometimes a little wind would pick up and blow my line over the top of Grandpa’s. He would gripe under his breath as he carefully reeled the lines in, but he never directed those comments at me.

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The north end of Community is shallow and full of moss and squishy mud. For a while there was a wooden raft there in the corner. Japan always wanted to take it out in the middle of the lake and pretend we were Tom Sawyer-types. Grandpa refused. I don’t think he knew how to swim and even though Japan and I were strong swimmers, neither one of us ever had life jackets. Thirty-five years later, the fallen trees that made up that raft are still there, marooned at the far end of the lake.

I don’t ever remember going up to the lake and not catching any fish although we probably did. Grandpa taught me to clean the fish and then he would either send them home with me or put them in the smoker. Grandpa made the best smoked trout! Mom was really good at getting all the bones out of the fish, Grandma…not so much. During the summer we ate trout several times a week and we never got tired of it.

Last year the Dog Walker was working on the Fishing Merit Badge. One of the requirements was that he had to catch a fish. So he went fishing with his scout troop and came home with several small perch. My sweetie grew up in small-town Utah and he has often talked about fishing, so I sent him out to clean the fish with the Dog Walker thinking this was a guy thing while I patiently set about making side dishes to serve with his prize. This was obviously a task my sweetie had blocked from his memory, because before he started he had to get on the Internet and look for instructions. I’m not sure who wrote those instructions, but they were definitely different from the way I was taught. As the evening progressed, my sweetie had to take himself out on the porch a couple of times to keep from heaving. Remember I told you yesterday that he had to throw the little fish back? Well…

Anyway, by the time they finished dissecting the perch, it looked more like tuna…from a can! We fried it up anyway and like all perch, it was pretty tasteless. Thank goodness we got a Merit Badge out of it, because at this rate, we weren’t teaching our kids to love the taste of fish.