Family Time

We've spent the weekend with my family at our cabin in Kamas, Utah . . . well, technically it's in Samak (aren't they clever? spelling Kamas backwards?), but seriously, who's mapping, right?

My family has owned a bunch of land in the area for . . . a long time and when we were kids, my Grandpa bought the cabin that was also on the property and turned it and the land over to his seven children and thirty-something grandchildren -- 42 owners in all. Awesome, huh?

When I was a Sophomore in high school, my family moved from Coalville, Utah, where I'd lived all my life, to Bountiful, where my parents have lived for the past . . . 14 years. Wow. I'm getting old. :) While some people (Nels) have fabulous memories of everything from their childhoods, I am not one of those people. It seems that often I need physical evidence to jog my memories. Having been gone from Coalville for almost as long as I lived there as a child, I always have a hard time remembering a lot of things from when I was a kid. The cabin has acted a bit like a buffer for some of my memory loss.

I have many memories of playing in the lofts and the sagebrush. Sledding in the winter and taking summer walks toward "our" camping spot several miles up a dirt road from the cabin (only occasionally encountering badgers) looking for Fool's Gold. Many hours were spent on the back porch stargazing at night - as one can only do up in the mountains, far away from the "light pollution" of the city. We rode snowmobiles and four-wheelers and a little red motorcycle. Lots of happy memories. Even happy memories of when Melissa, Jake, and I drove a little white pickup over the mountain and down to (what used to be) my parents' property in Woodland - only to get it stuck in an enormous "puddle" from one of the springs - where cows had been drinking and pooping and mucking about. We spent hours trying to un-stick ourselves from the stinky, maggoty, knee-high mess, only to eventually decide to  start walking the six plus miles back around the mountain to the cabin. It was then that I learned that Melissa (as a . . . seventeen? year old) was still afraid of (even) small, barking dogs and that pretty much everyone in Summit County is related in some way or another to everyone else. :) After walking several miles, we ran into the grandfather of some of the kids we went to school with, who kindly gave us a ride the rest of the way. :) Dad was "really pleased" when we made it back . . . and then he got to help us drive back around the mountain to tow the little white pickup (with the broken four-wheel-drive) back to the cabin.

This weekend I got the chance to once again enjoy the beauty all around with my family and also share it with my children. It was wonderful. Nels spent the weekend in Idaho Falls - pretty much working and working and working - getting ready for Melaleuca's upcoming Convention in Minneapolis. But my parents, all of my siblings and their spouses, and their children were there (at some point or another). Genny and Ben were even there from their summer pest control adventures in Kentucky.

We ate lots of good food (always a staple at any Moon Family gathering), played a few games (hard to do as we all have such young families), and did a LOT of gabbing. As we were talking one night Genny's Ben (or Boo Boo, if you prefer) was talking about why he likes to always have his pocketknife on him - as well as his handgun. He explained that when we walks into any new area, he is always on the defensive - thinking of "what would I do if . . ." situations. He always has an escape plan and wants to always be ready to defend those he loves in a second's notice. I laughed and said that Nels kind of does the same thing. Kelly (my SIL) also said that her brain does that. All of us "Moons" thought that was funny. We don't do that. Which spurred the conversation of "Well, what DO you think of? When your brain has free time -- say in Sacrament Meeting when you're zoning out or when you're driving in the car or walking down the street with nothing pressing on your mind -- what do you think of?" A conversation that probably only "Blue" personalities would find particularly fascinating.

As most of us in our family are primarily "Blues" it comes as no surprise that Mom, Wendie, Ben, Melissa, Genny, and myself all answered that we think about people. Now, exactly how we go about that was slightly varied for each of us. I can't remember the specifics for all of us, but generally we like to analyze people.
Mom seemed more interested in healing a person. What makes them feel the way they do (physically or emotionally).
Wendie is more empathetic. Often to the point of feeling what another person is feeling.
Boo Boo :) answered that he thinks about how to make money. {as predicted by Genny :) }
Chris: What he needs to do next. Making lists. Very task-oriented.
Nels: (I asked him on the phone the next day) Creating something. Music, video. He is often thinking up a story or a "movie idea". How this lighting would be good for this kind of shot and what kind of lens would be best. :)
My all-time favorite answer of the weekend was my dad's.
{paraphrasing}
"Dad, what do you think about when you're on autopilot? Say you are in a meeting that you're not particularly engaged in or you're bored?"
"I think about how I can get out of there." For a moment, I assume he is talking about escape, like Ben and Nels. He goes on to clarify. "If I'm not having any fun, I'm trying to think of a way that I can leave. . . gracefully." LOL. :)
"Okay. Well, what if you can't leave? It's a church meeting and you're required to be there?"
"Well, then I'm thinking of something that I can say. 'Cause if I have to be there, I might as well be having fun and talking."
Apparently, as "Red" as my dad is, having FUN is high on his list of priorities. :)
For me? I like to sit and figure out what makes someone tick. WHY do they think the way they do? What drives and motivates them? Understanding why they are the way they are. I also like to think about things like why the clouds are shaped the way they are? why did they build the road here instead of there? how much dirt did they have to move to cut straight through this hill the way they did and what did they do with it afterward? why does that bird live here? what do you think it eats? is it native or just migrating through? how were these mountains formed? WHY is a big part of my internal vocabulary. :)

I love my family so much. We are all so different from one another (and in many ways so similar), but I'm so very thankful that I had a chance to be born into a family with some of my very best friends in all the world. They teach me and love me so much. They are always there for me when I need . . . anything. My parents are the most amazing examples to me of faith and service. Willing to bless me at every turn.

Yesterday, before packing up my kids and heading back to Idaho Falls, we all sat on the back porch shooting guns. In Chris's words, "You can definitely spot a red-neck when their Sunday afternoon activity is sitting on the back porch shooting water bottles and pop cans (and the occasional ground squirrel) with guns." :)

We didn't make it home until quite late last night. I was exhausted - as Violet woke up before six every morning we were there and I stayed up way too late each night talking. My feet were more swollen (and still are) than I'd ever seen them. They still look completely unrecognizable to me. But it was SO nice to sleep in our own beds and see Nels. Violet asked for her daddy and her bed all weekend, in fact.

That being said, we had such a wonderful time. My girls loved playing with their cousins all weekend. I was so thankful to spend the time visiting with my family - getting some much needed counsel and love and support from my parents. Feeling the sweet love and friendship that I have with each of my brothers and sisters. I realized once again how much I love being HOME. It was so wonderful - after so much crazy in our lives recently - to go home. I am so blessed.