A Decade

As a teenager, I can remember my sister Melissa, 2 1/2 years older, scolding me about the disorder in which I kept my bedroom.

"Rachel. You are such a slob. No one is ever going to want to marry you." :)

At 15, I'm not going to lie, getting married was not on my radar. Boys? Yes, please. But keeping a clean room to catch man? Nope. :) Melissa was always the romantic. Get married, have babies, decorate your own house. She regularly talked about her future.

Not me.

Especially as a teenager and young adult, I lived very much in the "now". I loved (and still love) living my life with all the passion and joy that I can TODAY.

I met Nels when I was 19 and we started dating a month before my 20th birthday.

We started dating and I gave my whole heart to Nels. He consumed my thoughts and all of my "live in the moment"ness. We were more twitterpated than I've ever seen anyone.

After dating for a month and a half, we were hinting at marriage. :) By the middle of June, we were engaged.

But even then, it was never about getting married or about being a wife or a mom.

It was about being with Nels. About being his.

There was nothing I'd ever wanted more in the whole world. I wanted to be with him.

-------------

Last Friday evening I walked through Kootenai (tiny town located next to Sandpoint - and where Coldwater's head office is located) after dropping off our moving truck. Nels had a couple of things to finish up at work before heading out for our date, and so I told him I'd just walk over and meet him there. The sun was setting so beautifully over the mountains and I was clearly reminded of ten years ago - almost to the minute - saying yes to that handsome man. To becoming HIS forever.

Probably the best decision I've ever made in my whole life.

The four older girls were at Aunt Tracy's house for a couple of days and my mama had come up to help us move, so she stayed with Clara while Nels and I had a night to ourselves.

We got a room up at Schweitzer. We'd been moving all day and so after cleaning up and brushing the sweaters off our teeth, we headed out into the village to get some dinner - only to find that everything had closed at 8:30.

We decided not to starve, and drove the 20 minutes back down the mountain to a local pub named Icardt's for dinner. It was so good and SO fun! They had a jazz band performing that night. It was awesome. I've decided that although I really dislike listening to jazz music on the radio, I REALLY like watching it. We also determined that where we live is really cool and made a long list of all the things we'd like to do in the next year.

The whole evening was wonderful and I loved getting the time alone with my best friend. I'm so incredibly thankful for the beautiful life that we have built together.

I can say without a doubt, there is not one moment in ten years that I've regretted that decision I made. He is my perfect match in every way.

Thank you, Nels. I love you today even more than I did then.

Wrecked

Policemen drive up to a motorcycle accident scene. The only witness was an old farmer.

They asked him what he saw.

"That young feller was driving about a hundred miles an hour around that corner. Lost control. He flew straight up in the air, came down, and his handlebars went...straight up his...you know....."

"Rectum?"

"Wrecked 'im??? Damn near killed 'im!"

I Think Weird is a Weird Word

So I've been hiding out in Bountiful for the past week+.

It's been nice. SO nice to spend the time with my family. We've done some shopping for our upcoming family pictures and back-to-school, lots of hanging out and eating (always), not much sleeping, lots of feeding and holding LITTLE, bitty babies, and . . . well, my brain is tired.

We've done stuff and it's been fun.

I miss Nels - but better to miss him while I'm here than to miss him while I'm still at home - right? :) I'm really excited to see him tomorrow night.

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.
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So, I've got this weird feeling somewhere between my heart and my stomach. I'm thinking maybe my liver? or pancreas?

I've been practicing my relaxation techniques and sometimes it helps --- as long as no one asks me any direct questions about my immediate future.

All I know is in exactly one week, all our stuff needs to be out of it's current location.

FFF

1. This is a fabulous day! The sun is shining, my tank is clean, and we are gonna get out of here. We're heading to Utah. I.Am.Excited. I can't WAIT to see my family!

2. God is good. So good. Nels is coming with us for part of our trip. We weren't sure if he was going to be able to, but things have worked out.

3. I am seeing physical progress as I've continued to work out. When we first started working out, running 1/4 of a mile was asking a lot (sad, huh?!), but last night I went 2.75 miles in 30 minutes and less than half a mile was walking. There is still a lot of room for progress, but I've come a long way in 6 weeks. I'm going to sign up for a 5K this Fall.

4. Clara has started saying "hi"and waving. Cutest thing EVER. She also gives kisses and says, "na-na-na-na-na-na" and shakes her head back and forth when she doesn't like what I'm trying to feed her. I love my baby!

5. Elsie finally decided to RIDE HER BIKE! She's been able to (easily) since this spring, but has refused to do it. Even after I pressured her into it in March, she still would ride her tricycle - never picking up her two wheeler. (so frustrating) Last week, without any forewarning, I picked her up, sat her on her bike, gave her a big shove, and told her to pedal. She finally DID and never looked back. :) Silly kid. I have SO loved watching her ride all over the neighborhood this week and be so happy with her own independence. We took a long bike ride on Monday and she did beautifully.


Now! Off to pack!!!! Yay!

Wanna Have Some Fun?

Who likes personality tests?

Ooo! Ooo! Me, Me, Meeeee!!!

I've loved the Hartman Color Code, but my friend just introduced me to a new one that I think it a little deeper and we've had a lot of fun laughing about tonight.

It is the MBTI.

Take the test, then put you "type" into your browser's search to see what you come up with.
www.personalitypage.com has some pretty good descriptions.

Come back and tell me if the analysis is correct.

Just for funsies. :)


By the by, I'm an INFJ.

I'm an Idealist who would make an excellent Psychic. :) I express myself well in written form and I often question my own sanity. :) I have strong "orderly tendencies" but tend to have a consistently messy "work-space". I often get mistaken for being an extrovert -- which I am most definitely NOT.

Nels is an Idealist who is entirely too hard on himself. He is easy-going, loyal, guarded, and selfless. An INFP. Excellent career choices for Nels? Actor, musician, editor, filmmaker, video editor, or holistic health practitioner. :)

My friend, Nancy. She's an INTJ. She's a Mastermind. She'd also make an excellent Dictator.

The test was spot-on for all three of us. And fun.

On the Move

We're going to be moving at the end of this month.

Fun, huh?

We'll have been in this house for a full six months by then, so we figured, What the Heck! It's about time. 

Beyond a year and a half that we lived in a trailer in Rexburg while finishing up Nels's last bit of school and then our home in Idaho Falls where we lived for 4 1/2 years, I don't think we've lived anywhere much longer than 6 months.

All told, in the ten years Nels and I have been married, I think this will be the . . . 13th move for us.

Yep. We have a problem.

To top it off, of those 13 moves we've made, several have been within the weeks surrounding our anniversary. It's been either moving or I've been pregnant. Or both. For funsies, let's see . . . 

• got married and moved into our first apartment together. (2002)
• 1st Anniversary - pregnant with Hazel and moved back from a summer in Mnt. Home (2003)
• 2nd - pregnant with Lilie and moved back from a summer in Bountiful (2004)
• 3rd - Neither! It's a miracle!
• 4th - Neither
• 5th - pregnant with Elsie and had moved 1 1/2 months before. (2007)
• 6th - Neither
• 7th - pregnant with Violet (2009)
• 8th - Neither
• 9th - pregnant with Clara and getting ready to move (2011)
• 10th - MOVING

Hahahaha! That's hilarious. We chose the worst time of the year to get married. Ever. :)

So get this.

It's the best part.

We don't know where we're moving to yet!!! 

I repeat. --- Fun, huh?

We do, however, have a new family lined up to be moving into this house on September 1st. So we'd better figure it out by then. :)

We have a couple of options, but we don't know which one of those options we're going to choose. One of the places we're looking at is just across town - 500 more sqft, 2 1/2 acres of land, and lower rent and utilities. Our other option . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see with us. :)  And we don't have enough information to make a final decision. And I don't have any real control over WHEN we will.

{{sigh}}

THIS I do know. Wherever we land at the end of this month, is going to be really good. And I'm excited.

Right now, we are planning a trip to Utah this weekend. Which will be fun. We are going to the wedding of one of Nels's good friends from Ireland. She is getting married in the Twin Falls Temple on Saturday and I am so excited to meet her. And then we'll go to Utah for a couple of days before I ship Nels back home to work while I stay with my family for a few more days.

Our two week plan seems simple enough, but I have a feeling that it's just going to be the calm before the storm. :)

I'm going to take a quote from last summer . . .

"I have a feeling that August is going to feel like a tornado. Bring it on!"

Camping at Green Bay - Part II

The weekend after the 4th we headed out to go camping. I posted a couple of early morning pics from my phone last month, but I took a ton more.

Like anything I do in life, I turned our camping trip into an adventure that (I'm pretty sure) left Nels rolling his eyes, but we had a good time regardless. :)

For starters, we didn't get out of town as early as we'd planned and I didn't really know where we were going. We made a couple of detours along the way (because I just HAD to check out other campsites as well) and instead of choosing somewhere simple up in the mountains, I decided we should camp by the beach --- which had added an extra element of fun to not only pack camping gear, but also beach gear as well. :) When we finally made it to our camp it took forever to actually find the camp spots and then we got to pack everything in - because they are "no vehicle access" sites.

Oh well! It was fun! And if, after 10 years, Nels is still surprised by my lack of planning, indecisiveness, and talent for making things "exciting" then he needs to have is head checked. :) Which he may have been thinking about after walking back and forth numerous times to haul 7 people's worth of gear from the van to our camp.

Once we'd unloaded, we were in a mad rush to get the tent up and a fire built before dark. Good thing Nels is an expert fire starter and I am quite an amazing tent-setter-upper. By the time we were eating hot dogs, it was fully dark. :)

As we started cooking marshmallows, our camp neighbor, Hippie Luke, wandered over for a visit. I got the girls all tucked in and the three of us had a great time sitting around the fire chatting. Luke grew up the area, is probably about 32, and is in between jobs right now. I have a feeling he'd been camping in his spot for a couple of weeks. :) After a bit, his "friend" Andrea showed up. Andrea teaches violin here in town at the Music Conservatory.

We talked for an hour or two and as the fire was starting to die down, she pulled out her fiddle and played for us. It was magical to lean back, look up through the pines at the stars, and listen to that beautiful music echo across the lake. Seriously, it is an experience that I will never forget. Later, Nels and I walked down to the beach to sit and watch the moon rise. It was gorgeous. And worth every bit of my hair-brainedness that made it possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was . . . thrilling as well. Violet woke up crying at about 3:45 or so. I think she was not fully awake. It took about 5 minutes, but once she had her sippy she calmed right down and fell back to sleep. Unfortunately, her crazies woke up Clara . . . who did not fall back to sleep. Nels and I wrestled with her in the sleeping bag for about two hours, occasionally she or we would doze for about 2 minutes, but in the end I just got up with her at about 5:30 and let Nels rest.

She's cute, isn't she? 

It's a good thing, too. Because I was not a happy camper about 

only getting 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

And not cute about it, either. :)

The trail from the bathroom to our camp.

My most prevalent thought while walking this trail?

"This is definitely not the same as camping in Utah . . . " 

So green and lush and humid. I love it. 

I love not having everything covered in dust by the time you get home.

Apparently all Clara really needed was to suck on some cold rocks in the morning to make her happy. :) ~ And all things considered, it WAS an incredibly lovely morning. Surrounded by the lake and the mountains, watching the osprey fishing, and watching my own little Chickie crawl around and babble to me.

One by one, my other Chicks emerged all feeling happy and refreshed.

My "little girl" is growing up all too fast . . .

I love Violet's "camping hair"!

And around the time that everyone else was awake, Clara decided she was tired. :)

We spent a wonderful day together swimming,

rowing around in the raft,

Eating Jelly Bellies

and playing in the hot rocks.

Our rock tower.

Lilie's "Sail Boat"

Heaven is a Place on Earth . . .

. . . or maybe Idaho. :)

Everyone kept telling me that they live for summer in Sandpoint.

Now I understand.

Wild Tiger Lilies

It's like living on vacation! 

-- Well, a vacation where you still have to go to work, do the dishes, 

wash laundry, and mow the lawn. :)

There have been several occasions when Nels has met us 

for pizza or hot dogs at the beach after he gets off work.

We've spent a lot of time at the beach! Hazel, Lilie, and Elsie actually just finished two weeks of swim lessons -- not at the pool -- but in the chilly lake! They loved it -- most days. :)

And lots of beach, means lots of baths. 

We've also played at the park,

watched "Back to the Future" with the kids for the first time,

read many books,

and used lots and lots of imagination!!!

(Lilie)

I'm Proud to be an American!

The 4th of July was our real kick-off to summer.

Up until then, we'd had a few warm days that would get into the 80's, but on the whole, it was still rather chilly with at least one or two rainy days a week. Independence Day was gorgeous, summery, and perfect.

On the 3rd, I decided to bribe the girls into doing their chores with new skirts. I have yards and yards of fabric in my stash and so I let each girl pick out their favorite red, white, and blue prints. As is usually the case whenever I decide to sew anything, I made things a little more complicated that I needed to and stayed up until 3:00 in the morning finishing up their skirts - but, MAN, were they cute little patriotic ladies! :)

We started the day at the parade downtown. The girls were completely psyched to go ---- until we realized that there was no candy. After that, they watched for a little while and then complained about being bored and hot. :) Seriously!!!??? What is a parade without candy??? Advertisements. That's what.

After the parade, we headed over to Dub's for ice cream. AND, my girls are like the most delightful wild women you've ever seen. :) They got a little sugar in them and couldn't help but run ALL OVER. Twirling and laughing. Made my heart happy.

"photo bombed" by Lilie

Ah! Much better! :)

Sometimes you have to get creative with the entertainment options . . . 

We spent the afternoon at home, cleaning up some things and taking it easy before heading down to City Beach for the fireworks that evening.

Attempting to get a "cute" picture of the girls all together . . .
. . . you would think that after 9 years of parenting we would learn to be happy with . . . happy.   :)

We got to the Beach several hours before dark and I was pleasantly surprised and how well the girls entertained themselves . . . and everyone else in the general vicinity. :)

These pictures of the girls jumping off the rocks make me laugh so much!

The girls just loved dancing around in their new skirts all day. 

Totally made the lack of sleep the night before all worth it!

At one point, apparently, Elsie was kicked off the rocks by her meanie sisters. It was quite devastating. 

But nobody can stay sad when Mom is willing to make such retarded faces!

Or when Daddy asks you to DANCE with him!!!

It was a really wonderful night!

At one point we almost lost Violet in the crowd of thousands of people and the dark (makes me almost start crying just thinking about it!) and Clara was most DEFINITELY NOT a fan of the fireworks (hid her little face in Daddy's shoulder the whole time), but I couldn't have asked for a better day with my family.

I'm so thankful for the country that we live in. 

I'm thankful for those who sacrifice so much to protect and defend us. I'm so thankful that each of us have the right to think, believe, and worship how, where, and what we choose. I'm thankful for the differences in all of us. How blessed we are!