More Olympic memories

Roots clothing....there are some fads I don't understand, but I still really understand the Roots obsession during the games. It's cute. No, I have NOT donned my beanie since 2002, but I won't ever throw it away. Plus, the stuff lasts. Bill is hard on his t-shirts, but he bought a couple t's and a sweatshirt that are still in amazing condition. Whenever I'm in Park City, I have to stop into the Roots store on main street, and I most often buy something. Quality stuff.

Events....Bill and I plunked down some cash and got a cool ticket package. No skating, darn it, but fun stuff still the same. They weren't easy to come by. We saw hockey, a downhill ski event (sort of), ski jumping and snowboarding. We gave our cross-country tickets away, but I was o.k. with that. I think ski jumping was my favorite. It's always been a dream of mine to do that, and it's on my bucket list. Do you know there are camps up in Park City for this? I'm there! There was no good U.S. ski jumper that had made it into the finals, so we were quickly adopted into the German contingency since we were sitting by them and they gave us flags. We had a blast...I think we got silver. Isn't that what the Olympics are about? As for the downhill ski event...that was a little disastrous. It was the 3rd day of the Olympics, and we had been warned about horrible traffic (which didn't happen), so we woke up early after staying at my mom's house, drove way out west to board a bus that took us to another bus to take us up to Snowbasin. They delayed the event for 2 hours, and the line for food was CRAZY. Then they cancelled the event because of wind. I was bummed! Bill ended up going the next day with a friend because I couldn't go, and he had fun. That was my Olympic low.

I did not, however, experience Olympic curling as my brother did. That might have been my low.

I really enjoyed the times we hung out downtown in the party zone. It was super fun to see people from everywhere. We took Parker and took a bunch of pics so that we could one day show him that he went to an Olympics. Being a volunteer, I got to go to a medals ceremony. They ended with concerts. We saw N'Sync...oooo yah!

Anyway....I think I might have one more post in me for the closing ceremonies. All two of you readers will enjoy it =-)

Maybe my scanner will work so I can put on pics!

10 years since the Olympics

Sadly, we cannot find digital photos from 1999-2002, so I have no pictures to post. My scanner hasn't worked forever, so I can't pull them out of my scrapbook and scan them either. Too bad, because I have great pics from my Olympic experience 10 years ago.

When Parker was just a few months old, I was only working a couple classes a week, so I signed up to be an Olympic volunteer in 2002. Had I known how nuts my life would've been in 2002, I probably wouldn't have done it, so I'm glad ignorance is bliss. I was assigned to the ceremonies division and I couldn't have been happier about that. I'm all about pomp and circumstance when it comes to this stuff. 2001 came around and I was in the first year of running my dance studio. Whoa. And I had the world's craziest toddler. Whoa again. Thanks to my super supportive dad and husband (my mom was still teaching), I still got to participate in a small way.

I worked with the props and actually learned a lot in all areas of producing a mass production. It was interesting to me to watch it unfold and how much organization it took. I was able to meet Kenny Ortega (High School Musical director, Dirty Dancing, etc) who was directing the show and I learned a lot about how to keep your cool under pressure. My productions are on a vastly smaller scale, but that experience helped me greatly. I made great friends (sadly, we don't keep in touch), saw oodles of cool celebrities, and even shook President Bush's hand (if you know me, your are probably laughing at that).

Bill and I totally dove into the Olympic experience. We saw medal ceremonies, many events, bought all sorts of Roots clothing, and just basked in the fun of it all. Some people I knew were so opposed to having the Olympics here and left town, which I think was CRAZY. When in Rome.....

Other than scapbooking, I never wrote down some of my experiences. So in the next few posts, I'm going to jot them down so I don't forget them.

Here's a few to start with:

Opening Ceremonies day: We had very little snow and everyone was freaked out. The day before the ceremonies, the wind howled and ripped up some of the hot air balloons that were going to be used in the Opening Ceremonies. That wind brought a beautiful foot of snow to cover the valley and wipe out the inversion. Phew. However, every volunteer was pulled up early that day to dig out the stadium.

I had a great vantage point to a lot of the going-ons. I watched as the dignitaries were escorted in. It was interesting to watch Angelina Jolie walk in to mild applause and then President Hinckley and wife were next. Wild hoots and hollers. So many people thanked Pres. Hinckley for the snow. I would tend to think he had a little something to do with it, or so the urban legends would say. R Kelly sang a song in the pre-show, and was hanging with his posse right by me in the tunnel. I thought he was creepy. Turns out I was right.

It was so fun to watch the ceremonies from different areas in the stadium. My blue jacket was an all access pass to see about anything. We were supposed to stay in a little room when we were done, but was didn't exactly have a lot of supervision. We watched all the athletes parade by us before they entered he stadium. So fun to see Michelle Kwan and all the others. They kept showing highlights of where the torch was (pre-taped), which I thought was funny because we met Ron McBride as he entered the stadium parking lot. The torch was basically just sitting around for an hour without a ton of supervision. I thought that was a little weird. And if you really want to know, I had predicted the Miracle on Ice hockey team would light the torch. No one cares. =-)

One of the funniest things was watching the athletes leave the stadium. We were outside, wishing them well, and a cute athlete from the Austrian team walked right over to me and took my hands. He said, "Hello" to which I said..."uh, Hi" and he was whisked away with his team. That never happens. I basically cheered for all Austrian teams after that. Sorry Bill.

More to come......I'm sure you are on pins and needles!

A link that helps me see beyond today......

So, in lieu of a full post by myself, I will refer you to this link. It's by one of my favorite blog writers, CJane.

http://blog.cjanerun.com/2012/02/humans-that-share-my-space.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CJaneEnjoyIt+%28c+jane+enjoy+it%29

This is a really good reminder for me today. I'm kind of stuck in both of those worlds. I have the snuggly, sleeper-suit kids in that wonderful innocent stage, and then 2 kids that go out to face the world on a daily basis. And let me just tell you....it hasn't been an easy week for either of them in the real world. In turn, it's been completely emotionally draining for me. It's hard when you can't be there for everything, nor can I control what they do or say to others, or what other do or say to them. I just wish they could live in my safe-spot between mom and dad. It's hard to share them with the world.

Nothing to Say....

I sit here without much to say, but I'm avoiding loads of work that has piled up on my desk the last few days and I don't want to do any of it. Blogging about nothing sounds much more fun. Been kind of quiet around here. Parker and Bill participated in the Klondike, a sort of scout sport winter Olympics. I didn't get many details. It just involved a sled that they built a few weeks ago. Scouts are crazy. Who camps in the winter? Girls aren't that dumb.

I've had loopy, crazy dreams the last few weeks (thanks to a variety of medications I've been on for one reason or another). I can almost guarantee any of you reading this has had a crazy roll in at least one of them. I actually kind of enjoy the ride. It's weird to wake up and be in reality again. It's fun to find yourself on an estate in Arizona with an ocean view...that was the most recent. My dear friend, Tami, was in my dream a few nights ago. She died 10 years ago this week and I'm really missing her. She was in the backseat of my car (in the dream) and I couldn't believe I could just talk to her. It was really wonderful. I can't believe it's been 10 years. It doesn't seem like it could be that long.

All in all, life is good. Challenges are constant and daily these days, but I feel like I'm handling things o.k. Parker has not been in a great Asperger's phase, but we are finding some solutions. 5th grade seems to be a bit of a transition period for him and he isn't always dealing with it in the most appropriate way. Our home teachers came over tonight, and we were just shooting the breeze about stuff when Parker pipes up to say "Could we just get to the lesson now so this can be over?" Total honesty. Never a good thing. He is the Ying to my Yang when it comes to social situations.

Well...that's it. Not much else to say. I will try to find some more exciting activities to share on my blog soon. Have a happy week!

Quinn-tastic Quinn!

Well, my little Quinn has hit his quint year (doesn't that mean 5?). I love my little guy. He's such a funny boy. When we found out he was a boy, I had no idea how "boy" he would be. I really have loved watching his little "boy-ness" because we didn't necessarily get that the first go around with Parker. Here is what I love (and don't love) about Quinn right now:

1- The boy hates to wash his hands. He inevitably asks me every time he uses the restroom if he has to wash his hands. He seems surprised when I say yes....like this is new to him. You'd think I had asked him to slice off his hands. He even sneaks into the bathroom and doesn't flush so I won't hear him.

2- He's a great friend to his buddies, but also a devoted friend to Li-Li, Spotty, Hoppy, Lucky, and Black Lucky. Oh yes....Bullet the fish is mesmerizing to him. I'm glad he hasn't caught on to the fact the Bullet is actually Bullet the Second. You do what you have to do sometimes.

3- He's big into Super Mario anything right now. It's funny, because you catch him reliving scenes from the game throughout the day. He just sits there with a goofy smile on his face. He relives it in his mind, and then stops to tell me all about it. I, of course, don't understand it.

4- The boy has no sense of time. During dinner, he will sometime ask me if this is lunch. I told him his birthday was after Christmas, and he woke up on the 26th in tears because it wasn't his day yet. This has happened 2 years in a row. We had even shown him on several calendars.

5- Quinn's eyes. Anyone who has spent significant time with him knows how funny they can be. He rolls them in such a way that is pure comedy.

6- The primary secretary called me to see if I could tell them a story of when Quinn choose the right for his birthday spotlight. As much as I love him, it was really hard to think of a time when given the choice, he chose the right. I had to really stretch a story to make it work, and even then I had to ask Monika to help me think of it. I guess we will be working on that this year. He's the king of looking to see if I'm watching before he pelts Macy for no reason at all.

7- He prides himself on being the fastest runner in the world....or at least on his soccer team.

8-We've got three separate race tracks going on in our house right now. If I'd let him, there would be 3 train tracks always up as well.

9- You can see through his opaque skin.

10- He's all about cool socks right now....Lightning McQueen, Dump Truck, Mater, Santa, Spiderman....he loves them all.

11- He is, BY FAR, my most emotional child to date. I hope he can toughen up soon.

12- He lives for Thursday afternoons when he gets alone time with Grandma and Grandpa without Macy bugging him.

13- I've learned to start Quinn on dinner about a 1/2 an hour early so that he can finish around the same time as the rest of us. Speaking of dinner....he doesn't like most foods, though I make him eat it. I've become meaner than I used to be.

14- He is always singing something. Usually, it's Christmas songs.

15- He will be the kid who faints at the sight of blood.

16- He's a pretty good swimmer and a surprisingly good diver for his young age.

17-He's a wonderful, snuggly, silly, adorable 5 year old. I love him to pieces.

2012...the year of Liz

Yea right, but it's a nice thought.

Before I dive into how this is my year, we've been busy the last few days. We celebrated my dad's 75th birthday by taking him to our favorite Japanese restaurant. Macy didn't make the trip. I had fears of her crawling out onto the hot grill. I was amazed at how well the other kids did with their chopsticks. Grandpa had a great time and we enjoyed being out with him. He told me the other day that he probably can't have a mid-life crisis anymore.

This is what we gave him.

My grandpa Newman was a geologist for the state and created these signs up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and my dad helped get these signs up. Last summer, me and my sis-in-law grabbed a bunch of our grumpy kids and snapped some shots. Glad we finally did it.

Bill's work party was last night. He works with people all over the country, so he gets to meet a lot of people face to face at these parties. All in all, nice people, nice food, and some funny drunk people.

.....and, Bill found my old Little Orphan Annie Halloween costume and made Macy wear it.....

and then Quinn. Wedding video material.

2012. The possible last year of existence, right? So might as well make it mine. 2011 was great for some in my family. And I liked it. I'm generally a happy gal. Bill set a goal in 2011 to do LoToJa, which I fully supported. I'm so happy he did so great, but he would be the first to say that it didn't leave ANY time for Liz goals. Behind every successful man is a woman not accomplishing her goals. I guess that is marriage....just as long as it isn't always one-sided. Bill keeps asking me what my "LoToJa" is. Don't know yet. Biking 206 miles isn't what I want to do. I'm not pregnant, nursing, or ever will be again. I do feel a freedom with this, but I'm just not used to it after 10 years of that.

Basically, my biggest resolution is to put myself first. That sounds SO selfish, but most mothers don't need practice being selfless. I've got that down. But it has left me haggard and tired...and goal-less. So here are a couple:

1-Exercise is top priority. The other stuff will get done somehow.

2-Finally figure out my bad back. I went into another specialist this week and will soon be getting an MRI to find underlying issues. It literally runs my life. I can't take anymore. Whatever it takes!

The rest would bore you, but I will make no apologies for doing stuff for myself this year. When I buy clothes or whatever, I find myself justifying it to Bill. Bill basically says, "Why do you need to validate this?" He's a good husband. Plus he loves to drop money on himself as well.

So....what is my "Everest" this year. I need suggestions!

and P.S....Yeah! It snowed!

The Rest of the December Fun! (now let me sleep!)

Christmas is a marathon. It's getting more so with every passing year. I spent today focused on my studio and it was really quite nice to not do something "Christmasy"

We made reindeer root beers for the kid's friends.

Macy has discovered dress ups.

We went to our white elephant party with our friends. I won't put the pics on the blog. Wouldn't want to incriminate anyone....

But during the party, we fell victim to the Santa Head. This Santa head has been swapped mysteriously from our house and our neighbors. Well, somehow they got inside and left this in my bedroom. Scared me to DEATH.

We did something new! My mom and I took the kids downtown to the Grand America to a penguin treasure hunt. Really, really cute and they loved it. It ends is "Joux Joux", an adorable new toy shop.

Bill and I took the kids to the Temple Square...aka Sardine Square. I hate crowds, and it seems to be getting worse. It's almost not worth it anymore. The gingerbread maker in Deseret Book was fun, though.

Bill's sister's family came to Christmas Eve dinner. Really nice. Macy hops into her seat for dinner 20 minutes before it's ever ready.

Our neighbor gave us luminaire materials. It kept Emi busy, which is always nice. Growing up, we did this and I really liked it. Too bad there was no snow. I can almost guarantee we'll have snow for Easter!

I'm so in love with my new stockings. I've been searching for good ones for years now. I love the classiness of these. Simple. I should have been smart and named my kids Noah, Olivia, Edward, and Lori so that it would have spelled NOEL. Too bad. Bill and I have the stockings too, but when I bought my holders, I never dreamed I'd have 4 kids.

Quinn was very determined that we got just the right cookies for Santa. Yes, that is a Diet Coke for Santa. My kids don't even question it anymore.

Once again, no snow. New sled. Lame!

Macy would not take off the Elmo backpack from her cousin. She even took a nap with it.

Emi made Quinn a really big scarf.

Santa gave Quinn a REALLY big race track. I think Santa really wanted it for himself when he saw it at Toys R Us, but decided to "give" it to Quinn. What do you think?