Pumpkins and Police

In an amazing alginment of the planets and stars, Rick was able to take Emma to a Daddy-Daughter pumpkin carving activity last night. Poor Daddy barely made it after working for18 hours straight with no sleep. Isn't he a keeper?

Here is Emma's girlfriend Bella, carving away:

This is Brother Kebker (the primary president's hubby). He and his daughter carved the bottom out of their pumpkin so she could wear it as a mask. Slimy!

And here is dear Emma's design. Isn't it cute?

She's an artist through and through!

Now, you're probably wondering about the police part of this post. Funny story...I got pulled over for speeding today on my way to teach seminary. I was going 40 mph in a 25 mph zone at 5:40 in the morning. In all honesty, I thought the speed limit was 35 mph on this particular road, so I was quite embarassed to be going 15 mph over the speed limit. I thought I was busted for sure. I think the fact that I was on the way to church to teach teenagers at six in the morning softened the cop's heart. He mercifully let me off with a warning. Whew!

Insomnia

As I begin this post, I think it’s important to note the time. Perhaps it will excuse anything weird I’m about to type. It’s about 2:30 Monday morning and I can’t sleep. Rick is working a 24-hour shift. The kids have been in bed for 6 hours. I’m supposed to wake up in 2 hours to get ready for seminary.

I shut my lights off at 11:00, after studying the scriptures for several hours. You’d think that sort of prelude to bedtime would be ideal for sleep. Not so. After laying around in the dark for awhile, I decided to phone my parents. Midnight in Ohio is only 9:15 for Arizona, so I didn’t feel badly for calling at such a late hour. We had a lovely chat – lots of laughing. Before Dad hung up, he recommended I have a glass of milk to help me sleep. I tried it…an hour ago. Still nothing.
It looks like I’m pulling an all-nighter. I think I’ll recap some of the fun stuff from last week…

Monday 10/12

More rain today. The season is manifesting itself with constant grey skies and downpours. We do get the benefit of some autumn color, but we can’t really get out and enjoy it. Too soggy! I took one of my friends out for lunch at Panera and enjoyed a Fuji apple and chicken salad. Rick slept off a shift, so I spent the afternoon lesson planning. Later, I took an urban rebounding class to test my bladder control. No, it still hasn’t improved.

Tuesday 10/13

I taught my sculpt interval class today. Inspired by the urban rebounding from the night before, I decided to do that for the cardio portion of the workout. It wasn’t well received. 2 people left the class altogether. I guess it’s not for everybody!

Rick and I had a date tonight. We went out to eat and then capped off the evening with episodes of The Office. It was an ideal evening for me.

Wednesday 10/14

Continuing our date from the night before, Rick took me to IHOP after seminary for pancakes. Bad idea. We were sick the rest of the day, especially Rick who ate both our helpings of hash browns. Now we remember why we don’t go out for breakfast…

The Primary Sacrament Meeting practice was at 7:00. All the kids got hopped up on pizza and cookies first, and then we ran through the program. I was so proud of Jacob. He’s just weeks away from moving up to the Deacon’s Quorum, but he still agreed to sing a duet with another girl in the Primary. It turned out so well!

Thursday

Emma’s grade hosted a special Math Night for the whole family. We went down to her school and played all kinds of games. We even got to try out the new-fangled Smart Board contraption thingie. Very cool.

Friday

Jake went with some buddies to the big high school football game. It was weird to send him off with my cell phone and no supervision. Emma and I went window shopping for a while, but we didn’t find anything we HAD to have. Instead we came home and researched costume ideas for an hour. We think we have it narrowed down, but we want it to be a surprise. Stay tuned for pictures…

Saturday

Hallelujah! We had sunshine today. Even though it wasn’t much warmer, I thought we might go to the zoo. It’s too bad the kids wouldn’t cooperate with me. It’s like their getting too old for the zoo or something…

Rick got up around 5:00, and we went out to Abuelo’s for”Sweetest Day”. I had never heard of that holiday until I moved to Ohio, but apparently it’s a thing out here. Whatever. I don’t need a holiday as an excuse to eat out. Can you guess what we did after dinner? That’s right. More of The Office. We watched 7 episodes I think. Don’t judge us.

Sunday

This morning, I mean yesterday, we put on our Primary Program. I’m still the music leader, so I had the special privilege of making a fool of myself in front of the ward. The kids were super shy all of the sudden, so I was pulling out all the stops to get them to sing out. I’m sure it was a scene, not to mention that I was positioned in the middle of the 3rd row of the congregation, giving those behind me a wonderful view of my backside. We sang 10 songs in all, which is a lot for our little Primary. It was very sweet though.

Well, I guess that’s about it. Everyone is healthy and happy, though a bit sleep deprived. I wonder what this next week will bring. Perhaps we’ll welcome a new nephew?

I Heart Daddy

I'm thinking about my Dad today. During my parents' vacay in Sedona, my Dad experienced some chest pain, shortness of breath, and dizziness while hiking. My brave Mama drove him through Oak Creek Canyon to get to the nearest emergency room. He received immediate attention and is doing fine. He went through a stress test yesterday and the results were normal. However, the doctors have called for a catheterization procedure just to check things out. All reports from my Mom indicate that he's feeling fine, but bored. He should be able to go home shortly. Nonetheless, he's in our family's prayers.

Catching Up

Is it October already? When did THAT happen? Let me just stop right here and admit that I've been sleepwalking for the better part of a month. If I don't type up some of our Saunders happenings immediately, they just might slip from my mind altogether.

Rick

Rick, well, he's a narcoleptic now. No, wait! He is nocturnal. His shifts at the hospital have generally been from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, though it can be longer when the patients back up. What this means for him, is that he is constantly trying to catch up on sleep throughout the day. The guy can fall asleep in mere seconds... if the sun is out. Unfortunately, sleep eludes him at night, when he actually has time off.

When he's not sleeping, or working, he's been growing grass. After a long summer of slowly installing the sprinkler system, he's now able to enjoy "the fruits", so to speak. Our grass is coming in quickly and greenly (just made that up). I'll post a picture soon. Next up: planting bulbs for the spring.

Audrey

I too have sleep issues due to my new calling (see my new blog http://www.sisterseminary.blogspot.com/ for more details). I've gone through a great deal of growing pains as I've tried to adapt to this huge responsibility, but I'm optimistic that I'll see the light soon. I haven't touched my bike since my ride in Cali, but I've stayed somewhat energized by teaching classes at the Y. This little job has turned out to be a HUGE blessing for me. I'm sooooo glad I still have room in my schedule for it.

My house has suffered terribly in the past few months, I'm afraid. I keep thinking that I need to find a wife to do all the cooking and cleaning around here. All the motivation I felt early in the summer to decorate has long since left me. I think I need some house guests to come so it will force me to git 'er done. HINT-HINT!

Jacob

This guy is on fire right now. He absolutely LOVES junior high! Much of his time is taken up with extra-curricular activities and homework. He's learning to play the cello and the flute. He also participates on the student council at school. I can really see his confidence growing. Next month he will turn 12 and receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He's really excited about taking that step and serving with the young men. He can't wait to pass the sacrament, which is why we're going through with his ordination right away, instead of waiting until our trip to Arizona. I'm proud of his choice. I can hardly believe I'll be the mother of a 12-year old!

Emma

Those readers who've met our dear Emmy know what a personality she has. Well, she has personality plus these days. I tell ya, that girl is a character! She really has her own mind about things. Some might say she's an independent spirit. She's working on finding her own style when it comes to fashion, decorating, and living in general. We often find her crafting up a storm with found items from around the house. Currently, she has a GIANT Barbie house in her room made from a collection of cardboard boxes, paper, and all manner of junk. It really is something. She also constructed an oven, microwave, and refrigerator (complete with realistic-looking food). It's all I can do not to go in her room with a big Hefty bag...Emma and I are currently satisfying her crafty cravings by frequent shopping trips to the new Hobby Lobby in town. It's huge AND they accept coupons. We could spend hours there!

Shelby

Yes, I'm writing about our family dog. Animal haters can stop reading here.

Shelby continues to be a joy in our family. She's been with us through thick and thin over the past 12 years. We believe she is showing signs of slowing down, but we try not to think about it too much. To us, she's still the baby of the family. We still can't get over how lucky we were to find such a sweet little mut, especially when we see some of the other options out there (the only thing we don't love about our neighborhood is that our backyard neighbors have 4 yappy dogs). Poor Shelby can't even have her morning constitutional in peace! Fortunately, she does not stoop to their level. She simply ignores them.

Her days mainly consist of following me around the house and taking drives to pick up kids from school. The last time I took her on a walk, it just about did her in. We keep our strolls brief now, just to the bus stop and back. She's so good about this little ritual that I don't even have to put her on a leash. She just trots happily by my side and greets the school kids with a wag-lick combo. She's quite beloved.

Conference

I'd just like to mention that I thoroughly enjoyed General Conference this weekend. I took notes on all the sessions, which helped me focus and remember the messages past a 24-hour period. The messages by Elder Holland and President Monson were especially touching, though the whole weekend was like a spiritual shot in the arm. So much great stuff! I can't wait to use some of the messages in seminary!

Emergency Preparedness

One of my friends has the ingenious tradition of rotating/updating their 72-hour kits every time conference rolls around. We've decided to follow their example. Since we no longer have operable kits, we had an FHE this evening to get the ball rolling. We made quite a shopping list, and spent a good hour looking for good deals on MREs and such online. Those suckers are not cheap! One good find I want to share was a special deal through Costco right now. We just purchased the 1-yr supply of food by Thrive for $799, including shipping. I think this will be a good supplement to the storage we already have (which I need to inventory again). My next step is to tackle the challenge of water storage. Any thoughts you readers have on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Last night I decided to embrace my inner Latina. My friend Myra teaches Zumba at the Y, and I tried it out. I loved it! I felt totally stiff and ridiculous, but I had fun laughing at myself. I looked a little like Elaine Benes on Seinfeld.

After being a cheerleader and teaching step aerobics, I'm used to sharp, precise movements. Zumba is totally different. It's free and loosey-goosey. I realize that I need to loosen up and "dance like no one is watching". It's hard for me to do!!! I've gotta go practice my shimmy...

Part 2 - The Ride

I was grateful to get a good night's sleep before the ride. We were up by 5:30 so that we could squeeze in a small breakfast before we started.
Unfortunately, the hotel's continental breakfast isn't served until 6:30 on weekends. Oops! At least we got some photos in.

Aren't we a lovely harem on this crazy adventure with Terry?

Since we didn't get breakfast before we started the ride, we were very happy to reach the first rest area. We enjoyed some fruit and muffins before continuing on.

Only 25 miles in, and we're still looking fresh.

Notice the funny signs they had by the water truck...

Each stop had a bike mechanic for making adjustments, tire changes, etc. Here's the sign next to their canopy...

Time to go!

The next leg brought us closer to the coastline...and the traffic. You can see in this picture that we had to ride along the freeway for awhile. Yikes! It made me nervous when I had to ride past a cyclist who'd had an accident along the side of the freeway. The emergency response people put a neck brace on her and everything. Scary!

We breaked for lunch at about the 60 mile point. I still felt so great. I found that when I rode with others, I was much faster and much stronger. Drafting made all the difference. When it was time to haul myself up Torrey Pines hill, I still had plenty of juice. In fact, I passed a bunch of people on the way up. Oh ya!

After more freeways and busy intersections we finally made it to the finish. What a ride!

Family Fly-by, Part 1

I'm back from my journey into the west. It was such a crazy-fast trip, I can barely keep all the details in my brain. I'll try to recall the highlights before I drop from total exhaustion...

Thursday

I packed my little backpack of essentials and slowly made my way towards Detroit. On the way, I stopped to shop at the mall, gas up at Costco, and treat myself to a Chipotle salad. In fact, I dawdled so much that I arrived at the airport with just 45 minutes to spare. I guess all that free time to myself got me carried away.

The flight was fairly painless. I snagged a front row seat so I could actually stretch my legs and get up once in a while. I entertained myself by watching The Bucket List and listening to some tunes on my I-Pod. It was weird to leave at 6:15 eastern time and arrive at 7:30 in Phoenix though.

After my folks picked me up, we immediately drove to my brother's house for a family shin-dig.

My Dad's birthday is on 9/11, so we decided to celebrate while we were all together.

It was fun to see how much everyone had changed since I last saw them, especially my cute and preggo sister, Sheila.

My neice Rachel didn't remember me, so I tried to bribe her with a Disney princess lunch box full of snacks. (I got a lot of comments while carrying it around the airport).

My older neices, Jaiden and Ava, were sweet about giving me hugs and smiles.

They've grown taller and more beautiful since I saw them in January.

Jaiden has totally mastered the hula hoop and gave me quite a show.

Mom made a delicious, homemade german chocolate cake to commemorate Dad's special day.

Dusty and Sheila are due just a few weeks apart, so I couldn't resist taking this adorable picture...

Friday

My parents and I got up early to drive to Irvine in Friday morning. On the way out of the valley, I made them stop by our old house in Sun City.

I couldn't believe how much our little plants had grown!



We arrived early in the afternoon, leaving us time to do some shopping. It had been years since I'd gone to Old Navy.

I scored some good deals.



After eating a hearty dinner of burgers and fries, we called it a day. I went to bed early (9:00) so that I'd have some energy before the big ride. I had a room all to myself and I slept surprisingly well.

Stay tuned for pictures and stories of our ride...