summer summary

This is from a letter written explaining the C-R-A-Z-Y summer that our family this year.  Hopefully this (and the next few posts as I attempt to catch up with my life...) will show why I have been MIA here on my blog.

It’s been a long, hot summer, and we have had lots to do!  Here is what we’ve been up to:

On the very last day of May Faith brought her first baby girl into the world!  Sharon made several trips to Thatcher, Arizona, to help Faith and Josh, with the new baby.  All through June we continued to take care of Grandpa McLaws in our home, as he became more confused and less able to control his balance.  About the middle of June, I [Cheryl] started experiencing back pain which I couldn’t explain, so I began a series of adjustment appointments with her boss (who is a chiropractor) and other health professionals.  Julia arrived home from her teaching semester in China on June 29.  The next day, the last day of June, another new granddaughter was born to J.R. and Esther.  The very next day, Julia and I drove off to spend a few days in Disneyland (our favorite place!), and that same day Grandpa McLaws was moved out of our house and into an assisted living facility.  Julia started her mission application requirements, so it was off to the doctor and dentist for signatures.  As the second half of July approached we took advantage of a few free days on the calendar, and explored parts of eastern/central Arizona that either we had never seen, or at least hadn’t seen for a very long time.  Then it was back home to welcome a third grandbaby into the family on July 26!  Yes, three babies this summer!  He was born to Steven and Kristen.  The next weekend was a very large McLaws family reunion in Pinedale, Arizona.  Dad is in the family presidency and had big responsibilities at the reunion this year.  So we helped him as much as we could, and Mom spent a long day traveling back and forth (Dad and Julia stayed longer to camp a few extra days).  Then Julia’s mission call came!  She is going to Manchester, England, and will be learning the Mandarin Chinese language (she reports to the Provo MTC on October 28)!  The same day as learning of the mission call, my back pain (which I had dealt with for two months at this point) became so severe that Mom took me to Banner Baywood’s ER.  After receiving care, I was sent home with pain meds and advice to go see her PCP.  Long story short: my second ER visit was less than a week later and we then finally ended up with a correct diagnosis of a severely herniated disc between L4 and L5.  When the neurosurgeon at Banner Good Samaritan looked at the MRI scan, he ordered me to stay on strict bedrest at Baywood, to be transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan, and to have spine surgery the next day.  So I did.  I am now two weeks post-surgery and doing well in my recovery.  Mom had some days of not feeling well last week, tied to chronic and worsening gastro-intestinal issues, plus lack of sleep from being at the hospital and caring for the patient at home.  We’ve also had school shopping trips with the grandchildren, lots of visits with all the new babies, trips to the repair shop with one of our vehicles, entertaining out-of-town guests, and regular home and church duties.  All this while Mom “isn’t getting any younger,” and I have been working two jobs and taking classes (until the surgery, that is).  And here we are—at the end of August, feeling a little bit worn out!

Our cute summer babies from L to R: Karen, Samantha and Dallin.

For my birthday I decided I wanted pie instead of cake.  So we tried a new (to us) pie place by our house.  We got meat pies for dinner, then a chocolate pudding pie for dessert.  

We didn't have two "3" candles, so instead I am 27 + 6 this year.

finished construction

For those interested in how things turned out:

The pool also got finished, but for some reason I can't find a picture of it.  Once I either find the one I took, or take another one, I will edit this post and add it.

i wrote a blog post

Yesterday I wrote a blog post.  It was very brutal and honest about what I am currently thinking and feeling about life.  I was going to post it and let the chips fall where they may, however, I wisely decided to sleep on it before hitting the "publish" button.  Today I am not posting what I wrote yesterday.  I am keeping what I wrote and tucking it away somewhere privately, but what I wrote yesterday would have hurt and/or offended some people in my life and even though I am hurting right now, I don't want to hurt others.

Suffice it to say it's been a shitty week.  Actually, it's been a shitty last six months, pardon my French.

I hate my life.  I hate the way I feel all the time.  I hate never being happy about anything.  I hate the way I feel about others in my life.  I hate being responsible for things that aren't my responsibility.  I hate being constantly on the verge of tears and crying over any and everything all the time.  I hate that I'm fat.  I hate that I can't give up my addiction to sugar.  I hate going to church every week.  Basically I hate everything right now.

I put on my poker face everyday so no one knows but I'm tired of pretending all the damn time.  I want to be happy, but I don't know how to anymore.  It's all just a ruse.  All I want to do is stay in my room with the door closed and the covers over my head.  But I can't, so I push myself to do the things I have to each day, all the while being miserable and wanting to punch everyone I come in contact with for talking to me.  I feel weak and overwhelmed, stressed and out of control.  I am not in a good place right now and I haven't been for a long time.

under construction

We've been under construction for the last four weeks.

Mom and Dad decided to do an addition onto the house to make some more room and space for things.  Things are moving along at a steady pace, but it's still a mess and inconvenient to live through a remodel.  We're all looking forward to the end product, which should be soon!!

BEFORE PHOTOS:

DEMOLITION BEGINS:

TAKING SHAPE:

Not only is there building going on, but the main room, and mom and dad's bedroom are being painted, so there are drop cloths and plastic covering everything all the time and furniture is moved out away from walls and into the middle.  It's a mess.  But the end is in sight and I think there's going to be some big leaps made this week towards finishing!

Stay tuned for the after pictures!!

birthday at the park

We have two February birthdays in our family: Melody and John.  We all got together to have a joint celebration tonight at Red Mountain park for FHE.  

 Melody loves Papa

 The birthday boy

 Barbara

 While John was opening up some of his gifts he said, "That is not what I wanted."  Little stinker!  So rude! However, he loved the silly string and Mr. Freeze toy he picked out and got from Grandma, and my Plants vs. Zombies figures.  Aunt Cheryl for the win!

rootstech 2015

I was able, this year, to go up to Utah for the annual Rootstech Family History conference.  Kristy and I made plans to attend last year and it was a really fun weekend!  We managed to fit a lot into the three days we had together.

Wednesday (February 11th) I went to my biology lab and lecture, then straight to the airport.  On the way to the airport I got the phone call that I had gotten the second job I had applied for at LDS Family Service.  But more about that later...

I got into Prove about 5pm.  Kristy and her roommate Alicia were there to pick me up.  Then we went to dinner at Zaxby's - a really good fast food chicken place.  When we got back to Kristy's condo, we spent a little bit of time planning which of the classes at the conference we want to go to each day, and then we rented and watched the Backstreet Boys movie.  It was a little ridiculous, but of course we had to watch it.  We both thought there was a lot about their history as a group that was left out and found that kind of interesting.

Day one of the conference: Thursday.  

We decided to take the Frontrunner train from Lehi up to Salt Lake because we thought it would be cheaper.  But it wasn't.  However, by the time we figured that out, it was too late and we were committed.  It was an experience and just added to the adventure of the weekend. 

Neither of us were really interested in the opening keynote speakers for day one, so we didn't rush to get up there for that.  When we got to the Salt Palace, we checked in and got our name badges, then went to our first class.  It was an interesting class about learning how to search for information on how old people had to be to do certain things in history by looking at the laws of the time and place.  This is helpful when you come across documents that mention someone doing something (witnessing a will, being a guardian, holding a government office, etc) but there is no mention of how old he or she was.  You can look at the laws to figure out an age range which is really helpful in determining if the person in question is your relative.  

After that first class it was lunch time and we walked across the street to City Creek and went to The Cheesecake Factory.  It was really yummy!  As it always is.  I got the BBQ Chicken pizza (my usual) and we share a piece of the Adams' peanut butter cup cheesecake.  YUM!! 

The second class we decided to go to was all about tips on using Google to search for family history information.  

As part of the conference there was a large Expo Hall set up with tons of vendors with booths.  We spent a lot of time walking around, trying things out, getting information, and looking at all the cool things people had. 

By this time we were so tired that we sat down in the area they had set up as a demo area.  Every 10-15 minutes a different vendor would get up and give a little demo about their product or service.  We sat through a couple different demos.  At each one they would pass out raffle tickets and at the end of each presentation the vendor would have something to give away.  During the second presentation I won!  I got an Anniversary Plaque showing two family crests.

Since my parents' anniversary is coming up I got McLaws and Matsen.

Now.  Here's the thing.  I don't think this is real and right.  Because #1) They had to use "Madsen" for anything to come up and we're not really from that lineage.  And #2) I don't believe the McLaws one because that line is so muddled up right now.   Nevertheless, it's still kind of fun to have.  The two family mottos are fun and we've decided to adopt them, whether or not they're really true, or not.

Matsen motto: Woe to the timid
McLaws motto: Let us be judged by our actions

After spending some more time wandering around the Expo Hall we went to the opening concert they had.  The performers were Alex Boye and The One Voice Children's Choir.  They were both really good and it was a fun time.  Finally, we left and made our way back to Lehi on the train.  By this time it was almost 9 o'clock at night and we were both starving!  Luckily there is a Cafe Rio close to Kristy's condo, and we went and got salads.

So good!  But we both ended up having really weird dreams and decided that maybe eating Cafe Rio that late at night wasn't such a good idea...

Day Two: Friday

We got ready early and drove up to Salt Lake.  The train yesterday had cost us both almost $9.  Parking was only $10-$12.  It was cheaper to drive up and split the parking cost than to ride the train again.  We both ended up wearing grey jeans and a maroon shirt without coordinating with each other!  Great minds think alike :)

We caught the tail end of the opening speakers (Laura and Jenna Bush) then went to a class about the myheritage.com site.  It was really interesting and I think it might be a good resource for my researching because they specialize in British (including some Scottish) and Irish records and documents.

Lunch today was at the Olive Garden.  Yummy soup and salad!  After lunch we went to a couple more classes that were kind of boring and not really about the things we thought they were about according to the written descriptions they had.

We decided not to stay for the closing performers and instead cut out early afternoon to do some other things we wanted to do.  We went to a small little Parisian bakery close to where we were.  We bought a couple different things and shared them: macaroons, shortbread, and a nutella muffin thing.  The nutella one was the winner as best tasting.

 Then we went and got pedicures, and went and saw the movie "Jupiter Ascending" on the IMAX screen at Thanksgiving Point.  We got a mammoth sized popcorn to match the mammoth screen we were watching the movie on!  The movie was fun and we both really liked it.  When we got back to Kristy's house, we ate some of the Valentine's Day chocolates Kristy had gotten from her students at school (her roommate brought home the valentines from the school parties).

Day Three: Saturday

We got up even earlier today and drove up to Salt Lake again.  We wanted to be there for the keynote speaker: Donny Osmond!

It was a good opening session.  Donny spoke and sang a few songs.  Noelle Pikus-Pace (olympic skeleton racer) spoke as well.  After the opening session, we left and walked over to the City Creek mall again.  We walked around, and went into a few stores, then met up with Aunt Jeri for lunch at Blue Lemon.

After lunch we went to another general session with Elder Anderson as the speaker.  He issued an extended challenge to everyone to focus on this year when it comes to family history and temple work.

We didn't go to any classes today because there weren't any that we were really intersted in.  So, after Elder Anderson's presentation we went back to the Expo Hall for a little while because Kristy was interested in getting some information on getting a Master's degree in Family History.  We got some information and then left.

There were so many people there today because it was Family Day.  The closing session was with Elder Cook.  Today was probably my favorite day at the conference because it was more LDS focused and we got to hear from two apostles.

The closing ceremonies were with the cast of Studio C (who were kind of lame and just sat up on the stage answering questions from twitter) and David Archuleta!

He's so cute.  I love him.

For dinner we went and got sushi.  This was my first experience with real sushi and I really liked it!  The funny thing was: today was Valentine's day and I'm pretty sure everyone at the restaurant thought Kristy and I were there together on a date.  When the bill came I offered to pay it because I owed Kristy for my part of the parking the last couple days and, I said, "Everyone here thinks we're on a date and I'm the butch one so I'd be paying anyway."

We both laughed, but it was also kind of sad, that that's the way our society is.  And even though not everyone was probably thinking that about us, there was probably at least one, and it makes me sad.

Sunday we were able to sleep in a little, then we got dressed and ready and I packed up.  Kristy drove me to the airport then went to church.

It was a really fun trip and I learned a lot of great tips for continuing my family  history search.  I wish we'd had a little more time so I could have gone over to the family history library and spent some time talking to someone and getting some help with my McLaws line.

I love having a best friend that will go to family history conferences with me, who will watch silly Backstreet Boys movies with me, who will eat yummy food and not judge me for how much chocolate I eat and how much Diet Dr. Pepper I drink.  I wish we lived closer so we could hang out more, but it just makes the time we DO get together more fun and special.

aunt christine

This is a hard post to write.

Last Monday we received a call that changed our lives.  Aunt Christine had passed away.  Even now, a week later, it still feels so unreal and part of me can't believe it really happened.

Sunday afternoon she went into cardiac arrest in the middle of Relief Society.  There were two nurses who were there and began CPR while the paramedics were coming.  They were able to get her heart started again before taking her to the hospital, but she never regained consciousness.  Once at the hospital it was touch and go all night.  Then, her kidneys shut down.  The doctors tried to get dialysis going to get rid of all the toxins in her body, but they had a hard time getting it going without lowering the amount of medication needed for her heart to stay going.  Eventually, however, it all became too much.  She flat-lined a couple times and finally passed.  An autopsy was performed because there was no medical reason why she died.  The doctors did everything they could for her, but weren't able to save her.  The autopsy came back "inconclusive."  The only explanation that has come out was that she was in the middle of training to run the Phoenix marathon later this month and her electrolytes were out of whack because of that.  Her potassium was just too low and it affected her heart.  Although we would like for there to be a concrete reason why, it was confirmed to us all that it was her time to go.  Heavenly Father needed her home, and she has work she needs to do on the other side.

We got the call Monday afternoon and were all in a state of shock all week.  Emotions fluctuated and life was reevaluated.  Prayer became our refuge and I'm so grateful for good friends and so many family members who sent so many prayers to me and my family.  We felt each one as we were given the strength to continue on with our lives and make it through the funeral on Saturday.

Though we were all very sad, and lots of tears were shed, it was really nice being with my family.  I love my siblings and I'm so thankful for the gospel in my life and the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation.  It is such a comfort in times of grief, to know there is a plan, and that life doesn't end with death.