Who's Ready for Summer?

Just like that, another school year has come and gone. I can't believe it. Time flies by so, so fast. It seems like I was just putting my first child in school and now, 26 years later, I have finished up with elementary school. Yep, that's right. 26 years of elementary school and now it's over.

I love summer break. I love to hang out with my kids, Swim. Go to the beach (I can say that now that I live in Texas). Go to splash pads. Eat ice cream and popsicles. Have BBQs. It's a great time to just have fun with the kids. This week, two of my kids and my hubby have been at camps.

Summer is full of fun. And this summer I hope to get my kids to the newly reopened (flooded after Hurricane Harvey) Barbara Bush Library regularly so we can read books. I also want to take them to the community pool so my youngest can meet kids he'll attend school with in the fall when he goes to middle school. And I want to take them to splash pads or other water activities (because everything is bigger in Texas, including the hot temperatures and the humidity).

Are you ready for summer?

Back to School Blues

Why is it that the summer just whizzes past every year? I look so forward to summer so I can hang out with my kids.

We went to the pool several times this summer. Every time we go to the outdoor pool it makes me think of "The Sandlot." If you've seen that movie, I love the scene where they go to the pool and one of the boys plots to get a kiss from the beautiful, and much older, lifeguard so he pretends to drown in the pool. While she gives him mouth-to-mouth he kisses her. She then kicks him and his buddies out of the pool. "The Sandlot" is such a summer movie and we watch it every year.

I love hanging out at the pool because it reminds me of being a little girl. I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA and when we weren't at the beach we were at a pool. I spent the entire summer in a swimsuit. I loved the smell of chlorine on my skin because it meant I'd been swimming in the pool. I love swimming, I love being outside, and I love summer.

The best thing about summer, though, is having my kids home. I love hanging out with my kids. During the school year I feel like I hardly even get to see them. The oldest ones leave before 6:00 am and the rest leave at 6:40 am and most of them aren't home until after 5:00 pm. Then there's all the activities during the school year like cheerleading, Scouts, piano, basketball, theater. Summer is my time to just be with them and I'm always sad when they go back to school. I can't believe how fast time goes by. I spend all the time I can with my kids and I still feel like I don't get enough time with them.

So, yeah, I sing the "Back to School Blues" every year at this time.

Hiatus from Blogging

I've been absent from blogging for a few months because I've been desperately working on my work-in-progress, Aura. I've been using the little time I have to write to work on Aura and try to finish it.

It's a YA urban fantasy about a girl who fights demons. Of course, there's much more to it than that, but I'm not quite sure what market it fits because while it's about fighting demons, the main character, Crystal, finds the strength to fight those demons from her virtue. Yes, I said her strength is directly tied to her virtue. Not just her virginity, but her choices to be honest, not cheat, and to do the right thing, even when it comes to her boyfriend trying to talk her into sleeping with him. See how it doesn't quite fit into any market? The national market seems to demand YA books about sex while the LDS market doesn't like demons. So there's the rub.

But I'm determined to finish it because it's the story that burns inside me and is yelling at me to get out. I'm currently doing my last (I hope) revision. I don't know if it will find readers, but I cannot not finish it and at least try to find a market for it. I've learned so much about myself during this book that I don't regret a moment of writing it.

I hope that Crystal will speak to young teen readers and that she can share a story that's important. A story about embracing the good to defeat the evil. A story about finding and using that inner Light to combat the evil that is so rampant in the world today. A story about finding your place and making the choice to follow your path.

And that's why I've been so absent from my blog. Not sure anyone noticed, but, just in case, that's what I've been up to.

Oh, and cleaning, organizing, taking kids swimming, camps, laundry, gardening, learning to cope with no water at times (been praying and fasting for rain), unexpected trip to UT, a family death (my husband's uncle) and just trying to enjoy some summertime fun with my kids.

How's your summer?

Painting My Guts Out

Have you missed me? I've been AWOL from the blogosphere for most of the summer. I've posted here and there but, for the most part, I haven't been online much.

Why?

Well, I wish it was because I'd been writing the next bestseller and had been offered a huge 5-book contract with movie rights and everything, but that's simply my fantasy.

The real truth is that I've been painting my guts out. All. Summer.

Child #3 decided to come home from college and live here for a while. She'd been living in Provo and this month would've lived there for a year and gained residency, or so we thought. Even though she'd been living on her own, paying her own bills, and bought a car on her own in Utah, since we'd claimed her on our taxes as a dependent for 2010, Utah would not recognize her as a resident. The difference in tuition between resident and non-resident at Utah Valley University was well over $4000 per semester and since we make our children pay for their own college expenses, she couldn't afford it. The state of Utah wasn't willing to work with her for residency and UVU couldn't care less if she stayed or not. We have a local college here that is $600 per semester for tuition so it made much more sense for her to come home and go to school here.

But, in coming home we had a ripple effect on bedrooms. We moved the boys from upstairs to the basement, the younger girls from their smaller bedroom to the boys' previous and bigger bedroom, and we moved my daughter into the smaller bedroom that will also act as the guest bedroom. It made more sense to do this because all the girls can use the big bathroom and the boys can now use the smaller bathroom downstairs to get ready.

I had already painted the bathroom and completely changed its decor. We then started to move out furniture, clothes, toys, and far too much junk from each bedroom. We decluttered and purged each bedroom (my kids belong on that show Hoarders: Buried Alive) which took quite a bit of time. Then we started painting. And painting. And painting. Did I mention we started painting?

I've watched far too many HGTV shows and thought I could spray paint the boys' furniture and steel bed frame without incident. HA. Not even close. Horrible experience painting their furniture. Never again.

Now ir's done. The rooms are clean, freshly-painted, and redecorated. I can see the carpet in each kids' bedroom. I can see the floor of the closets. It feels so much better. The bathroom looks beautiful and elegant. We have paint in our hair. Sore muscles. We're exhausted. And the summer has disappeared.

But, the upside is that when Hoarders: Buried Alive comes knocking at my door I can honestly turn them away :).

A Perfect Summer Day

The other day we finished all of our chores (cleaning the house, watering the garden, hoeing the weeds, feeding the animals) early enough that we were able to relax for a bit and enjoy the day.

We filled the kiddie pool, spread out blankets and towels, and set the radio in the living room window so we could hear some tunes. We sat in the hot sun, sipping lemonade and reading books. The younger kids splashed in the pool and "shot" each other with water guns. My 12 year old thought it'd be funny to shoot his older sister with a cool stream of water from his gun. She responded exactly as I thought. She marched over to him, picked him up like a baby, and dunked him in the kiddie pool, both of them laughing along the way. The other kids ran through the yard playing James Bond with their water guns. Even my youngest was in on the fun, splashing wildly in his micro-mini kiddie pool.

We even had some relief from those nasty little gnats.

I marveled at the opportunity to just sit and watch my kids. I love seeing them interact together. As I watched them, I was filled with such gratitude that Heavenly Father chose me to be their mom and that I have been able to spend time with such remarkable children. I am truly blessed.

Yes, it was a perfect summer day.

Summer Book Trek

Over at the LDSFiction blog there's a summer reading challenge. Everyone who participates is eligible for prizes. This is a no pressure reading challenge to encourage people to read LDS fiction. If you'd like to participate go here.

For my challenge I'll be reading:

1. Farworld Water Keep by J. Scott Savage
2. Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston

Yeah, I know 2 books is a little wimpy, but summer with my 9 kids (my first-born will return from his mission in 10 weeks--woo hoo--that'll make all 10 kids at home) will be crazy hectic. And, I'm still trying to finish the revisions on my LDS romance.

So go on over and sign up. It'll be fun!

Ready For Summer

It’s been snowing and snowing and snowing, and snowing some more. I can’t believe how much snow we’ve had. The ground has been covered with snow since the beginning of January—almost four weeks straight.

It’s wonderful to have so much snow because snow this winter means water during the summer. Colorado has suffered from a drought for most of the time I’ve lived here. We see the effects of the drought each summer when we have to start choosing between watering our garden or taking showers. I might be weird, but I always choose the shower. So all this snow means I may actually have a garden this summer.

The downside of the snow is the dangers it causes on the roads. We had a fatal accident last week because of icy road conditions. During an intense storm on Sunday and Monday, the police asked people to only call if the accident involved injuries or suspected substance abuse. Otherwise, motorists involved in accidents were told to go home and call the police later.

We’ve also experienced bitter cold. Temperatures dipped 10-20 degrees below zero every night for a few weeks and during the day the high was an average of about 15 degrees. While on the Klondike campout, my husband set a cup of water on the truck bumper, turned around to get a packet of hot chocolate mix, and then picked up his cup of ice. Yep, the water had frozen that fast. Now that’s cold.

Last night we had winds in excess of 40 miles an hour which caused snow drifts across our 1/8 mile long driveway. It also whipped snow all over the roads. We have snow inside our horse trailer because of the winds.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready for summer!

Selective Memories

I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA so I spent summer days at the beach. I loved to chase the waves and see if they could catch me as they lapped their way back to the shore. I'd collect shells, investigate the tide pools left between the big boulders, and build sandcastles. One of my favorite things to do was ride my pony along the sand with the ocean spraying my feet and the breeze sifting through my hair. I spent countless hours at the beach.

As a teenager, I attempted to surf. My teacher, who was also one of my closest friends, patiently tried to help me find my balance so I could ride a wave. All we ever accomplished was a good laugh. I could body surf, but on a board, no way.

I always loved the scent of dried sea water on my skin and the salty taste on my lips.

I'm sure many of my memories suffer from a bit of selective amnesia. After all, I used to collect plenty of sand in my swimsuit, find my feet covered in tar, and experience more than one sunburn each summer. I can also remember opening my eyes underwater and feeling the sting of the salt water. But, as I recount my childhood at the beach, those less pleasant memories are replaced by the idyllic world I've created for myself.

Isn't that what's so great about writing? We can create whatever world we want. We can dream it and make it whatever we want it to be because it's our own. We aren't shackled by what actually is, only by what we can dream.