Adventures in Skiing

As I look over my pictures from January & February it seems that all we did was ski! Fantastic, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  But that made for lots of pictures, so here we go!!!

This might be my favorite skiing picture taken all winter, so I’ll start with it!

This sweet little thing LOVES to hit the slopes……for exactly 2 runs.  Then she is BEAT. Thank goodness we have season passes so I can take her home after 45 minutes cause honestly that is all she can handle.

Special Daddy/Sparky ski time. Love.

Kenni had a sleepover at our house with her 3 besty girl cousins. The next day we wanted to go skiing, so I thought, Why not just take them all with us???? Well, it was a bit ambitious considering that one of the girls had never skied and the other two had only tried it once or twice (oh, and I should mention that one of my sweet nieces has EXTREME anxiety issues), but this is me we’re talking about (and I don’t always think logically), so I shrugged that all off, spent an hour located enough gear for all of them, loaded 8 kids into the expedition and headed up the mountain!

Honestly it went shockingly well. My niece Livvy, who had never skied, was a natural. Ava, the one with anxiety, only cried once, and she really did amazing at not freaking out.  Lauren was a spaz, but she’s the oldest so she is pretty self-sufficient.  All in all, I’d say it was a success!

And last, but certainly not least, we had our 2nd annual Pantone family ski day in Grandma Jani’s honor. She once again took to the slopes with the help of the Adaptive Sports program and one really fantastic ski-sled.  We all had such a great time and it was awesome that so many people were able to make it this year and come see Grandma do her thang!

Well, that’s it. (For now…..)  I’m sure I’ll find some more!!!

Graduation Day!

We came home from Cabo to this view:

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a view I treasure dearly, but it’s a little difficult when you just came from this:

Sigggggghhhhhhh……..

Anyway- the day I got home I had plans to go skiing with my girlfriends.  It was 27 degrees.  Brrrrrr…..  But it was an exciting day! Michelle and my s.i.l. Chris had been taking skiing lessons together and it was their graduation day! I wanted to go ski with them and celebrate with a fabulous lunch in the lodge.

I decided they were ready to take a trip to the top of Strawberry (after all, they graduated with top honors ).  They were less than pleased with my decision however and there was a mild meltdown by she-who-will-not-be-named on the way down. It was sort of funny. But we tried it again later and everyone did soooooo much better!  I think it was just one of those panicky moments, and once they realized they could do it and let go of their fear, they skied great!

Congratulations on your big day Chow & Chris! You are awesome!

A Surprise Trip!

We have some dear friends, Jason & Manal, who invited us to go on a fabulous trip to Cabo San Lucas with them over Martin Luther King weekend. We said, “Thanks so much for the offer, but we can’t fit it in the budget right now”.  I thought that was the end of the story but apparently it wasn’t.  Jason really really wanted us to come and he kept calling Seth and begging. Finally he called me one day and said, “Listen, I got this house on the beach.  I already paid and you’re coming.  My treat.”  Weeeeeeelllllll, what was I supposed to say to that???  There was still the little issue of cash, but I figured out a way to wrangle some free flights by opening up a new credit card, so away we went! Oh, I love being spontaneous!  (And having rich friends )

Ok, ok.  And having KIND and GENEROUS friends.  Jason would kill me if he read that…..

Neither Seth or I had ever been to Cabo, so we didn’t know what to expect but I had the misconception that it would be dirty. It was really, really beautiful.  This was the view from our deck.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the house itself because it was amazing!

May I just say that Seth was so worried about leaving Mtn. Green because he was sure there would be an epic snowstorm while he was gone.  Honestly, we couldn’t have left at a better time.  Not a lick of snow on the horizon, just cold drizzly gross-ness. Cabo on the other hand was a fabulous 80 degrees and SUNNY for 4 glorious days!

Our generous hosts.  And 10 seconds later when Seth turned a hose on them…..

He thinks he’s so funny.

We chartered a boat to go deep-sea fishing. There was another couple with us, and the husband Lee was dying to go do this, so we figured, What the heck! 

Guess what we caught?  Absolutely nothing.  4 hours and not even a bite.  We did get to see some whales though, so I was happy.

The men on our “sun-bathing tour” (since no fishing took place).  We did get so bored we invented a game called “hot fish”. This will go down in history, and if I ever see you in person, I’ll tell you about it, but it is inappropriate for the blog. Ha!

This little guy jumped up on the back of our boat cause he knew there were little bait fish in that white box.

So, if you’ve ever been to Mexico, you know that there are locals who wander up and down the beach all day trying to sell you stuff. This can get a little obnoxious, but Manal found a guy who was selling rides on his horses and she talked him into a good price.  I thought we would just get a little pony ride like the ones you would pay for your kids to do at the fair, but this was soooo much more than that, and so worth my twenty bucks. My horse took off at a FULL gallop.  I mean he was running! I was flying down the beach with the wind in my hair and since it was sunset, the place was nearly deserted.  He let me run that horse several miles down the beach and it was so dang thrilling! I felt like a movie star.  A Western one. Oh, but my poor buttocks were not ready for such a ride.  Still, I would do it again.  It was so much fun!

Seth decided he wanted to try surfing so he paid for a lesson. He said it made him feel old. And fat.  I told him he should have used his money to go horse-back riding cause that made me feel like Farrah Faucet in her prime .  But I think he’s just used to being good at everything and it was hard for him to be a beginner and have to work so hard and see so little progress. Poor boy.

Ahoy!  He surfs!

This restaurant was amazing and will be remembered as one of the best meals I have ever eaten! Our bill was over $200 but we had a free voucher since Jason made us go to a ridiculous time-share presentation. Then he insisted we hit the town and go clubbing, to which I replied, “UH, no, cause we’re old married people, not 20 year old party-animals.” He pouted around for awhile which made Seth and I feel really bad since he had put so much work and money into showing us a good time. So somehow we ended up going nightclub hopping, which again, turned out to be a really fun night and one I will always remember.  Seth is SOOO shy when it comes to dancing, he will NEVER dance with me, but for some reason, the mood caught him and he was so much fun!

Oh thank you thank you Jason & Manal for showing us such a good time! Hopefully someday we will be able to return the favor. (but don’t hold your breath……)

My New Calling (January 2013)

It’s a new year, full of new beginnings, which reminds me of a new thing that’s going on in my life. And its kind of a big deal.  For me, anyway.

I got a new calling.

Lets see, I better start at the beginning. It all started when I stuck my foot in my mouth and offered to help out by playing the piano in primary one day. Apparently it was a well-kept secret that I possess this skill, but my primary president had other plans for this information.  The next week, I got a call to meet with a member of the Bishopric.

Oh, you think you’ve got this all figured out now, right?

Wrong.

So, I’m chatting it up with Brother Jones and he gets down to business and tells me that they want me to be the new Primary Chorister.  “Come again??” I ask.  “I think you meant to say PIANIST”.  Ahem.  Nope, Chorister. At this point, I’ve slipped into a jr. high nightmare where you arrive at school with no clothes on. No, he couldn’t have possibly just said Chorister. So I ask him…. “Did someone put you up to this?” Because honestly, I had just told Michelle that Primary Chorister would be my WORST NIGHTMARE come true. Now, before you go judging me, there are several reasons for this, the most important being the fact that I am truly and honestly tone-deaf. Yes, I can read music and yes, I understand rhythm, melody, etc, but I can’t carry a tune in a handbasket. Its so, so sad and yet, so true. So I go ahead and explain to Scott that I am willing to serve in any capacity where I can be useful, but calling me to teach music is like calling me to teach German.  You see, I don’t speak German. Nor, do I speak MUSIC.  He just gave this a good laugh and told me that I had a great personality for the job.  “Yes, yes”, I agreed, “Personality, sure.  But you forgot that little part about the SINGING!”.

Anyway- long story shorter-ish, I spent about 20 minutes trying to persuade him to see my point of view and he wasn’t having it.  In the end, he just wanted to know point blank if I was willing to accept this call from the Lord? Well, what was I supposed to say to that?  Before you go judging me, just know that I really, really was about to say So Sorry, but NO, and I remembered a conversation I had had 2 days earlier with my son Noodle. You see, he was being particularly lazy and un-helpful around the house so I asked him why he wasn’t doing what I asked. He said, “I can’t Mom, its too hard”. So, I gave him an excellent Mom-lecture about how Wallaces don’t say “I can’t”.  They say, “I’ll try”.  Even if it seems too hard.   Sigggggggghhhhhhhhh……

“OH ALL RIGHT!” I shouted at Bro. Jones.  “I’ll try, dang it.”.

Which is how I became the Fox Hollow Ward Primary Chorister. It’s been a little over a month now and I still sweat like a whore in Church every time, my hands shake terribly, and I can’t get the arm-waving thing right to save my life, but there have been some good moments, too. My Christmas lesson went beautifully, and several people told me how much they loved it.  I get compliments every week which really means the world to me because sometimes I walk out of there thinking, “What on Earth did I just do?!?”

My first Sunday I dressed up in a disguise and played a game with the kids I made up myself called “Guess Who the New Primary Chorister Is”. I had clues written on music notes and there were songs to go with the notes.  Every time they sang a song I took off a piece of my disguise until they could guess who I was.  It was really fun, and the kids loved it.  I wish I would have taken a picture because I looked so ridiculous. 

So that’s my new gig. It is incredibly time consuming because it scares me so much that I spend much more time than I should practicing leading music, listening to and memorizing songs, and of course there’s the making of all the props. Seth just DIES when he sees me cutting, gluing, and a-scrapbooking-away at another primary project.  He thinks that I over-do it a little (what?????), but it honestly takes some of the fear out of it if I know I have some elaborate props and a what-not to carry me through.

One last thing.  If you happen to pop by the Primary room of my Church and I’m in there warbling away, kindly refrain from commenting on my stunning vocal ability.  Trust me, I’m well aware of my glaring lack of Talent.  It still mortifies me every week. But if its what the Lord wants…….In the words of Nephi, “I will go, I will Dooooooooo!” Oh, you see, now I’m singing the words! That’s when you know you’re really a chorister….

Its Christmastime!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (or so the song says…)

I really loved the kids Sunday best Christmas attire this year. I got Jani’s dress as a hand-me-down from a good friend, and decided to plan everything around that.  The boys ties were all the same fabric as the dress and I loved them!  I wish I could have convinced them to hold still for a better picture, but this is what you get with 5 kids. Oh well, at least they are clean, and their hair is combed.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents home this year. Again, I really didn’t manage to get any decent pictures. I am on a roll with my camera being broken.  The only pics I have this year are from Seth’s phone and they are sketchy at best, but at least we have them.

And of course the required Christmas Eve jammies photo.  This is the first year ever that I didn’t make my kids wear Christmas-themed jammies and I actually liked it a lot.  This way, they got to wear their pajamas all year round and poor Smurf isn’t stuck with 13 pairs of all red & green hand-me-downs.

Christmas morning brought the usual hub-bub of excitement, toys and wrapping paper being haphazardly tossed about.

It was all very routine-Christmas stuff. You know, same-old, same-old.  That is, everything but one thing….

I did something I have wanted to do for a long time, but never had the gumption. I planned months ahead and decided to do the 12 days of Christmas for a family.  Only problem was, I couldn’t decide on a family because there were too many great opportunities! So, we went with 3 families. I knew this was going to be stressful, and somewhat difficult to pull off, but I really felt strongly that these were the 3 families I wanted to give to.  They are all special people to me and I had different reasons for wanting to do something for them. First was my best friend Michelle’s family.  Theirs was an obvious choice.  Pretty much Michelle spends the whole year doing nice things for me, so I wanted to take 12 days to give back and tell her thanks! Second was my mother & father in law who we are so lucky to live right down the street from.  Lesli had been through a really rough patch and had been feeling a little depressed, so I wanted to do something to bring her Christmas Cheer.  It was funny because her husband Art kept asking her why people were leaving them presents.  He said “Do people around here think we are poor or something?  I thought you only did ‘12 days of Christmas’ for needy people”. Oh dear sweet Art…. And 3rd was a family who lives right behind me but we actually don’t know very well.  They don’t go to our church and they don’t have children so we don’t get as many opportunities to cross paths, but they had been so kind and helped me out the year before when we moved to Price, so I wanted to do something nice back!

So, there you go.  The stage is set.  I had my 3 families. I told the kids about the plan, and they were excited, and actually helped out a lot at first. But after a few days I realized I couldn’t keep the secret going unless I went out late at night. So it basically became my own little Christmas project. Seth was gone many of the nights so it was just me, waiting up till midnight, driving around the neighborhood in the cold, wondering what had possessed me to do such a thing.  Until the next day.  Michelle would report to me what her secret Santa had brought and tell me how excited her kids were.  It was so much fun and made it all worth it! With only 3 days left to go, though, we had a surprise ourselves.  My backdoor neighbors had decided that they wanted to find out who was doing this for them, so they set up a hidden camera.  It was the weekend, so I sent Seth to do the dropping off that night.  When he went to Cori’s door (at 1:00 am!!), she popped open the door and yelled “Aha!” Well, poor Seth nearly had a heart attack! He and Cori had a good laugh and a few awkward moments, and then he came home to tell me all about it. The next night when we went to drop off the gift, there was a gift waiting for us instead with a note. Cori said she was so sorry for ruining our fun like that.  She just had let her curiosity get the best of her and she and her husband were taking bets to see if they had become some sort of “Come back to Church” project. Now, honestly, this had never even crossed my mind and I had no idea they were members in the first place. Anyway- her nice note said they were so glad it was us and they had felt the Christmas spirit in a way they had not felt in years. She said we had inspired her to try to do more to keep that spirit in her life.  Lo and behold the next day was Sunday.  The Sunday before Christmas, (the best Sunday of the year) and I nearly fell over dead when I say Ben and Cori walk into Sacrament meeting.  She gave me a big hug and said thank you again and I sat through that entire meeting with big tears rolling down my face.

I think often I get so jaded at Christmastime.  It all becomes a big chore.  Getting all the decorating, cleaning, shopping, baking, running here & there,  & everything else accomplished, sometimes I am ashamed to admit I just want it all over with.  That Sunday I got to spend one hour really enjoying what it means to celebrate Christmas. 

On the last day we took a framed picture of Christ to each house in person. Our other 2 houses had also left gifts and thank-you notes for us.  Grandma Lesli cried when she discovered it was us.  We had such a good time seeing everyone and sharing each of our experiences. It was truly the best thing that happened to me this year.  I know it’s a little cliché, but I never realized that doing something for someone else would be so rewarding for me.  It was truly the highlight of my Christmas.

So sorry for the incredibly long post, but I wanted to remember the story so I had to write it down! Hope you & yours had a wonderful holiday season!

The Santa Run

Ogden City puts on a great event the last weekend of November to usher in the Christmas Holiday.  It’s a Santa Run 5k, followed by a Light parade which includes the big man himself, riding into town on a float to “light” the lights at Christmas Village. After the lighting ceremony there is a fantastic firework display.

This year, Uncle Matt & Aunt Jodi wanted to take Grandma Pantone to do the race with them in her wheelchair, so we all came down to cheer them on.

It was soooooo cold, but looked like a lot of fun.  Maybe I will run next year with them! 

Here we are watching the parade

So glad Megan took these pics for me. I was too cold to remember to take pictures.

And watching the firework show.  My favorite part

Welcome Christmastime. Let the madness begin…….