Truly Amazing

I'm sure you've probably seen this. Right now I'm studying (can't you tell?) for the end of my Child Development class. The chapter I'm perusing (that's a good word for it) at this moment is on moral development. The term sociobiology came up and the idea that inborn in each species is some amount of moral innateness. This video came to mind, so I thought I'd share if there's someone who hasn't seen it before. It touches me and makes me realize that our Heavenly Father is amazing!

Extreme Makeover?

Okay, so first of all, scary on the 2nd photo, I know. It was early on a cold Saturday morning in soccer season. If you can get beyond that, do you notice anything different about me, or is it all in my own mind? Looking in the mirror I just see me, no change, just me. Those who see me day to day probably don't notice either.

The family reunion was a huge boost to my motivation. I know some people start wanting to lose weight because of reunions and such, that was not my motive. This past weekend, my brother said that, compared to a year ago, it was "Like an extreme makeover." That made me feel so good.

I met my 10% goal a week ago. I was so thrilled! I'm now to the pre-pregnancy weight I was at with my middle three children. I feel different....better about myself. Like I've conquered something.

My goal is to lose another 12 pounds. So far, except for one week--the one spent at girls' camp, I've lost weight each week as I've weighed in.

I will be the first to admit that my body image is a bit distorted. The reasons behind this weight loss were so many and so varied that I couldn't possibly cover all of them here. I just knew I had to get going on it before I was too far gone, and it was too insurmountable and overwhelming. I had lost weight naturally after having each of my children until I turned 35. I lost to some degree and then it just would start to creep back up. According to the BMI, I was just in the "overweight" category but having never had to worry about my weight before, although I knew what it meant to eat healthy--8 glasses of water a day, 5 fruits and veggies, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I needed a driving force. I really wasn't taking care of myself in any way. I had stopped caring about myself. The weight thing was affecting my self-esteem, but I didn't even realize it until it started coming off.

Having seen a number of women in my ward lose weight and look so great, I started asking around. They all had gone the same route--Weight Watchers. so, that's the route I have taken also. For me, knowing that I get to stop paying money once I reach my goal is a huge motivator. It's taken me three months to lose up to this first goal. How long will it take until the next goal? I don't know, but I'm sure learning a lot on the way.

My Brother the Storm Trooper

When I was about eight years old is when the Star Wars movies came out. We were total fans, my brothers and I. Our mom even made us costumes for Halloween. David and Matt used to take turns being Luke Skywalker, and I was ALWAYS Princess Leia (one of the benefits of being the only girl at home).

Well, my brother David has turned to the dark side. Not a fact that we admit readily. I belive he is the guy on the right in the photo below. He is part of the Cloud City Garrison with the 501st Legion. His nearly eight-year-old son is the jawa in the photo. They are a group of people who dress up in Star Wars costumes and go around to all kinds of service-oriented events.

While at the family reunion, Dave and Jacob dressed in their costumes, met up with a couple other guys in the group, and toured the city of Seaside. It was fun for all our kids to see their uncle and cousin dressed up, but hey didn't know it was them at first. They were surprised to see Star Wars characters emerge from our hotel.

Family Reunion

Just got back this afternoon from the 3rd Annual Hamm Family Reunion.

To be honest, this was the Hess family's 2nd Annual Hamm Family Reunion because we were on our way to Idaho for Zan's uncle's funeral for the 1st.

The last two years have been spent in Seaside. We stay at the same hotel where our family stays when we attend COSA (Zan's administrator's conference we attend every June). It has great accommodations for large families.



Let me take a moment and introduce you to my family. Here's how it breaks down...
My dad is Ray Hamm. He is married to Norma Rust Hamm. As you know from former postings, my mom passed away in 1999. I think she'd be very happy that these reunions are happening.

My only sister is Toni Burdett. She and her husband Tom live in Indiana, near Indianapolis. They were in charge of the reunion this year and did a great job organizing everything.

My sister has three daughters (this was their first reunion with us):
*Kris Snow who lives with her husband Mike and their two kids Caitlin and Tommy in Centerville, Utah.
*Julie Burdett who lives in Bountiful, Utah and works for Church publications. Okay, so fun stuff, Julie is pictured in the July Ensign on page 67 (she's the cute, blonde in the 1st photo of the two smaller photos on the page).
*Jenny Carr lives near Sacramento, California. Her family consists of Dave (who was recently deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Air Force) and two daughters Eliza and Hannah. Jenny is the "Jenny" in the "Blogs I Read" section.

My oldest brother is Steve. He is married to Sandi, and they have two kids--twins--Jordan and Brittany. Steve and Sandi live in Tualatin. Steve is currently getting his masters at George Fox University and Jordan attends BYU Idaho and Brittany is nearly done with BYU Provo. She's currently doing her final studies to become an elementary school teacher. Sandi's busily working on wedding preparations and Brittany's in the thick of school, so they were unable to attend, but it was great spending time with Steve and Jordan.

Gordy (or Gordon) is my next brother. He and his family live in Hurricane, Utah. A couple weeks ago, we were talking, and he told me how a missionary had just returned to their ward from the Oregon Portland Mission and had spoken that day. It ended up being Elder Ipson, who had served in our ward and had eaten in our home a number of times. Small world!

Gordy's family consists of his wife Pam and their eight kids--Ray (who lives in Spokane, Washington), Ashley (who just graduated from high school and will be attending Dixie State College in southern Utah), Ally, Jeff, Sally, Scott, Trish and Blake (but he goes by Roscoe--his middle name--after my grandfather).

David is the brother just older than me. He lives in Scappoose with his wife Rachel and their three boys--Ashton, Isaac and Jacob.

Matthew is my younger brother. He and his wife Janelle live in the Seattle area. Their kids are Cade, Arquette, and Adelle.

There, you now have the low-down on the Hamm clan. All in all, there were 40 of us there this weekend.

To wrap up the reunion, we met in a park and had sack lunches. We talked about next year's plans. At first, they went from one person to the next to see who would run the next one. I sat quietly in the corner and let everyone else do the talking. I thought if I was quiet I wouldn't get appointed. Well, next thing I know, there's my name flying around. So, guess who's running next year. Sigh. So, I'm starting the planning now. If you have any really good advice on how to run a reunion smoothly, I can use all the help I can get.

Last Lecture

Zan showed me this a few months ago. I had forgotten about it until today when I saw that Randy Pausch had passed away. Very inspirational and worth seeing.

Gannon's Humor

The Hamm family has an interesting humor--quirky, dry, quick. I don't seem to have it as deeply as a couple of my brothers do, but Gannon is definitely in their ranks.

Today, I was in a hurry as I was driving the kids. I got to a light and was ready to turn right when I saw two women waiting at the corner to walk across that same intersection. I'll paint you a little illustration. One was blonde, tan, the perfect specimen of young and fit. As the light changed, she jogged across the street quite briskly in her red and black running clothes. After she crossed, she stopped to stretch.

The other woman, was a bit older, I'd say maybe late-40s, or early 50s, brunette, dowdy, and sucking away on a cigarette. She got a little later start at crossing than the runner did, and moved at the pace of a very slow snail. Her walk was painful to watch. It was as if she had been idle for too long and was reteaching herself how to move. I sighed as I watched her puff away and inch aross as I was in a hurry.

My lessons in teaching my children to never smoke are frequent and are nearly always taught by those who do. It was as if Gannon was anticipating this. I said, "There goes a lesson for you."

Gannon replied immediately with, "What?... Stretch before you smoke?"

My niece is getting married next month. Funny thing is she's marrying our stake president's son. Kind of neat to know both families.

Her bridal shower was last Saturday. As I contemplated what to get her, I thought I'd make her up some cute little theme gift. I'm really not very good at this, but insiration is a wonderful thing.

As I thought of this, the idea of cookie sheets, spatulas and a little cookie scoop came into my mind. As I followed this line of thinking, I realized that I had my mom's old cookbook--my mom had compiled some amazing cookie recipes of all kinds. I decided that I'd put together a cookie cookbook of my mom's recipes. It was really fun to do.

I went to Target and bought one of those little 4x6 photo albums that's all plastic--cover and pages--so that if she spilled on it, nothing would be damaged. I then bought some 4x6 index cards. I typed in thirty-six recipes and created a table of contents and a cover and "dedication" page. My sister-in-law lent me a photo of my niece with my mom, so I could scan it and put it on the dedication page. It really turned out nicely.

I wondered that morning, if the shower would be too light-hearted and the whole meaning of the gift would be lost, but happily, it wasn't. She got this surprised look on her face when she opened it then she said, "This is going to make me cry." I was so glad she liked it. She passed it around for everyone to see.

I ran across a card that looked like this today. At the top it said, "Worn out. Play on." This was just the message I needed today. For some reason for most of the day, I was tired and grumpy. I felt like the shoes on the card.

The other day, our freezer was left open. Not everything had thawed, thankfully. We used that opportunity to defrost and clean out the rest of the freezer. One thing I pulled out was a 25 pound turkey. It was served this evening for dinner along with stuffing, rolls, corn, and scalloped potatoes. We called it Thanksgiving in July. This boosted my spirits a quite bit as I thought of the things I'm happy for at this part of the year (interestingly, a different list than I might give in November). The other thing that I think helped was that we didn't eat it alone. How grateful I am to have things to share. Tonight I'm going to sleep with a much better attitude.

What Character are You?

A friend of mine sent this to me. It was so cute I thought I'd post it here. I've sent it to a few people but am not very big on forwarding emails. Thus the reason for posting it here. Try it if you'd like.

It's been interesting to see that although I am Elmo, nearly everyone who has replied to me (but my sister and son) is Sponge Bob. If anyone was going to be Sponge Bob, I'd think it would be Gannon, but he's Charlie Brown. My sister is Elmo, just like me. So, here you go, try it out, it'd be fun to know just who you are. I'm wondering if I just have a way of making friends with Sponge Bob. Hmm.


Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character do you most resemble?

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.
Answer all the questions (only 10) with what describes you best, add up all your Points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.

Do not cheat by looking at the end before you are done .


1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts )
e)Pop (3 pts.)


3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt)

5 What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
e) Sleep (3 pts.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts)
d) Dark Blue(2 pts.)
e) Red (4 pts.)

7. What do you prefer to eat?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.)
e) Salad (5 pts.)

8. What is your favorite holiday ?
a) Halloween(1 pt.)
b) Christmas(3 pts.)
c) New Year (2 pts.)
d) Valentine's Day(4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving(5 p ts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts)
c) Las Vegas (1pt)
d) Hawaii (4pts)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time?
a) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
c) Someone who likes to Par ty (1 pt.)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts. )
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for!

(10-16 points) You are Garfield :
You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others m ay not see things as you do,but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy:
You are fun; you are very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you 're never out of style , you are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else.You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times

(24-28 points) You are Elmo:You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice a nd help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants. You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it's funny andcalm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people and you will be stress free.

(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few Birthdays. Don't let yourpassion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points ) You are Dexter:
You are smart and definitely a thinker... Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles.You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes.Try to do less over thinking every once in a while to spice things up a bit with spontaneity!

Okay, so seriously, do you want to feel the Spirit? Right now? Go to a quiet place and push on the link from the previous post. Listen to the song from beginning to end. Pay attention to the words and phrases that stick out--"Our God would never us forsake" was a big one for me. Wonderful!!! It will make your day! I'd love to know how you felt and what stuck out for you, so leave a comment afterward.

Pet Peeve

Today in Sacrament Meeting we sang "Come, Come Ye Saints." I really love that hymn. I love the historicity of it. I love the pioneer feeling it brings akin to that of patriotism. There is one thing that people do to this wonderful hymn that just bugs me to no end.

There have only been a handful of times that I have sung this hymn that it has been kept the same tempo throughout. More often than not, when it comes to the last verse, the tempo is slowed to a funeral march. "And should we die before our journey's through, happy day! All is well!" Oh give me a break, who are we trying to kid? "Happy day. All is well." If you believe it, sing it as if you do. If we really feel like death is not the end and it's a happy day when we return to our Father in Heaven, then shouldn't this verse be more peppy than the preceding verses? When we sing this as a dirge, we are singing a lie.

Today, when we sang this as our opening hymn, and it started out peppier than usual, I knew what our fate would be. Sure enough, last verse--dirge. The rebel in me emerged. I refused to sing. I know I'm an opinionated person, so please forgive me if I offend in this, but maybe, just maybe, there's someone out there who agrees and feels the way I do.

I love the MoTab version on You Tube I linked to. They do it right! Way to go MoTab!!!

Forget the Leap, Baby Steps'll Have to Do

Tonya taught a great lesson on "Forgiving Yourself" today. I always love it when Tonya teaches--1st of all because she is so sincere and has great experiences to share and 2nd because I'm not teaching if she is.

During the lesson, one of the girls mentioned how repentance requires a "leap of faith." Immediately, in my heart, I felt/heard the words "baby steps." I really feel that Heavenly Father knows me and my situation so well to give me these words.

I have been extremely hard on myself lately. I sometimes forget how much he loves me because sometimes I have a hard time loving myself. These words were all that I needed today. I needed to know that my little day to day efforts were enough for Him and that He still loves me even if I'm baby-stepping while everyone else seems to be leaping.

Insomnia

Teagen awoke at two this morning. I got up with him. He was pumped and ready for action; sleep just wasn't in the cards. I took him downstairs and rocked him in the old, squeaky rocking chair for awhile. He put his head on my shoulder (a tender mercy for sure). When I got up from the chair, his head went up, and again, he was ready to play. This went on for about half an hour until I knew all of his needs were met and put him back in bed.

I climbed back in bed at 2:36, but as has been the case recently, I couldn't sleep. The terrible thing is I let all of my guilty feelings take over for the things I just can't get to, or the things I've been neglecting lately. This morning, I knew I had to get up.

I am a morning person. I'm so wiped out by bedtime that many things are left undone, and I frequently wake to a messy house. As I climbed out of bed at 2:40, I knew what I had to do.

I am a strong believer in the blessings of keeping the Sabbath day holy but knew that would be impossible for the members of my family to do with the house in the condition it was, so I set in straightening the house. I quietly went from room to room and picked up.

The kids spent a long time folding laundry last night, but it was sitting in piles all over the family room floor. The sink was full of dishes. These were the two big jobs that needed to be done. I wiped counters and table and even found a tablecloth to put on the table. It just felt good to be all clean and straight as I faced the morning.

I climbed back into bed at 6:30 and slept until Zan left for Farmington Ward. I was dead to the world.

After he left, I climbed out of bed. I had gotten dressed when I was up in the middle of the night. My skirt was laying on the chair, so I pulled it on, went downstairs, got everyone organized and headed to Farmington Ward. I've tried, since Zan's been on the high council, to go hear him speak at every possible opportunity. I snuck in and sat in the farthest back corner I could. The speaker before Zan had just returned from the Japan Nagoya Mission. He finished by bearing his testimony in Japanese. I cried.

Zan did a wonderful job. No notes today; just heartfelt words and testimony. I love him so much! He's such a good man! He shared a story about his dad visiting him for a week while he was on his mission. I knew this had happened. I'd seen photos of them together on the dusty roads of Paraguay, but I had never heard specifics before. He said that his dad asked if he could share his testimony at the end of a discussion and that although the couple being taught didn't know a word of English and his dad not knowing Spanish, when he finished, the couple was in tears. That's just how the Spirit works, it transcends language. I cried.

I snuck out right after the closing prayer and hurried home. Zan didn't know I was there. When he came in, I said, "Good job today." He said, "It went okay, I guess." I laughed and said, "That was a statement, not a question." I told him how happy I was to hear the testimony in Japanese and Jonathan Buss' testimony about the Book of Mormon and how we sang "God Be With You Til We Meet Again" for the closing hymn. I think for a moment he thought I was prophetic. "Were you there?" he said. "You did a great job," I said again.

Sunday School was amazing. Zan had everyone fold a little booklet he had created for them, and we followed it as a guide to his lesson. He had a power point presentation. More important than all the fancy things he had prepared, the Spirit was there. It was excellent. As he taught, I saw all of the great things about him and felt very lucky (and quite honestly very inadequate) to be his wife.

My Poor Husband

Sigh....

Is that any way to start a post?

Well, here's the deal. As you can see in the mosaic post, I have a stubborn streak about as wide as the Mississippi River. There has only been one person I've met who's more stubborn than I am (maybe I just haven't tried everyone's stubbornness out yet), and that person would exist in my own family. I'm sure the stubborn genes run deep thanks to me alone. Well, that person is NOT Zan. Zan is the perfect person to dwell with such as I--kind, patient, giving, loving....You get the idea, the list goes on and on and on and on.....

Gannon has spent this past week at Camp Baldwin for Scout Camp. I've missed him greatly. He's peaceful and gentle and sweet, much like his dad. (His poem and slideshow are on their way).

While calling kids to dinner last night, Teagen started calling "Nana...Nana!" Which, needless to say, is his name for Gannon. I asked him where Gannon was, and he replied with something that sounded like "room." Not sure if this is what he meant, I inquired further. He finally retorted with a very clear "bed." We started laughing, and I said to Teagen, "Wow! Gannon's been in bed for a very long time. It's probaby time he got up."

Oops, tangent....

All the boy's dads were asked to go up and stay for at least part of the week. Two dads were staying the entire week. Zan's plan was to go, but he found out he had a number of classes to take in order to keep his certification up to date. Hmm. Scout camp or job? Not a hard decision, right? The only class he could sign up for was a Monday thru Thursday, 4-8pm, 2-weeker at Portland State. It happened to be last week and this week. He finished it last night.

The day before the scouts left, I realized that Zan could probably go join in on the fun Friday night and Saturday. Yippee! Perfect solution, right? I mean, I go to Girls' Camp, why can't he go for an overnight at Scout Camp? Okay, so here's where stubborn meets all those wonderful traits....

I introduced this idea to Zan. He paused and said, "Maybe." I should know by now, this means, "No." But "Maybe" is just the word that brings out the stubborn in me.

I never got more of an answer than maybe (he is a wise man, who hates contention) until last night after returning from class. Zan, standing in the kitchen , eating marionberry cobbler, resting against the counter, says, "I think I'm staying home this weekend." Can you feel it coming on? My reply, "Oh?"

"Yeh, I have a lot of work yet to do for my lesson and talk for Sunday."

Okay, so you'd be proud of me. I said, "Oh, that's right," and let it go. Well, to be honest, the wheels started turning. I just felt very strongly that if all the other boys got their dads up there for a few days, shouldn't Gannon have the same? The wheels kept turning.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, there it was, while I was sleeping. I rolled over and said, "Zan, Gannon is ours for eternity; the people in the ward you're speaking in and in the Sunday School class aren't. I think you should go."

'Nuf said. No reply. Just a soft grunt.

He'd lost again, and he knew it. He knew he'd be heading to camp in the morning. Poor guy. But, I guess this is why he's mine. He can put up with me like no one else could, I'm sure. Any other guy would have kicked me out a long time ago. Sixteen years. The guy's a saint.

Zan's a great natural teacher. It's in his blood. I have no doubt that he will do wonderfully on Sunday on both of his assignments. But, when he woke this morning, before he packed, he made me promise that he could have Saturday evening, after he returns, to finish all that he needs to do. What a GREAT guy!!!

And so, he's off......

Help!

I've loaned out all of my Twilight series books. I got my paperback copy of Twilight back the other day but am still in search of my hard bound copy as well as the hardbacks of New Moon and Eclipse. If you happend to borrow any of these books from me (or more likely Quinlan), would you please let me know, so I know where they are? Thanks!

Gannon's Turn

Gannon's kind of the "glue" of our family. Always the peacemaker. I had so much fun creating my little tribute to Quinlan, I thought I'd do the same for him. Here's Gannon's slideshow and poem.



Gannon
Brother of Quinlan, Dierden, Brevin, Aedan and Teagen
Who needs to make people laugh, books, his family
Who loves sports; quoting quirky movies--Monte Python, Nacho Libre, etc.; his family
Who sees all the funny things in life, the good in everything and everyone, life as an adventure
Who hates being lonely, meanness, contention
Who fears not having something to read, seriousness, losing his family
Who dreams of playing for the NBA, playing professional soccer, reading and reading and reading some more
Resident of Hess' Madhouse
Hess

While looking at my new friend Darilyn's blog, I saw a great mosaic, which she made. I thought I'd give it a try too.

If you want to too, here are the instructions (I copied these straight from Darilyn's blog):
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Use only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

Here are the questions and how I answered them:
1. What is your first name? I love this photo. Don't we all like to think we're one of a kind?

2. What is your favorite food? Hmm. I wonder if you can tell the answer to this one.

3. What high school did you go to? Sunset High School, right here in beautiful Beaverton, Oregon. Never did I think I'd live here after living here my entire childhood, but here I am. There were no photos of Sunset High School on the first page of photos, so I went for the prettiest one I could find. Kind of couteracts my memories of high school--I didn't love it (there, it's been said).

4. What is your favorite color? Pink. There were so many beautiful photos to choose from, but tulips are my favorite flower, so there you have it.

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Okay, something else that hasn't been verbalized outside the walls of my home. I adore Robert Sean Leonard and have since high school when Swing Kids came out, but honestly, I don't think I ever told a soul this.

6. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate peanut butter milkshake.

7. What is your dream vacation? I want to see the Great Wall of China before I die. I'm so intrigued by it.

8. What is your favorite dessert? Banana splits! I would eat them nightly if I could. Actually, I used to when I didn't have to worry about my weight. Wow! Another deep, dark secret revealed.

9. What did you want to be when you grow up? A pilot. I flew a plane three times (not solo of course), but it was so exciting.

10. What do you love most in life? My family.

11. What is one word that describes you? Stubborn. 'Nuf said.

12. What is your nick name? Jules. No one ever calls me it any more, which makes me sad. There have been a handful of people in my life that have called me that. One woman in our ward used to come up to me and say, "Hey Jules." Instantly I felt close to her. My mom called me "Jule" because that's what they called my grandmother whose name was Julia.


Credit for the photos goes to Flickr:
1. SOTTS clone (Julie), 2. Summer on the Chesapeake, and the Living is Good, 3. D r e a m _ T r e e ~*, 4. tulip, 5. Robert S. Leonard, 6. chocolate peanut butter banana shake, 7. Great Wall, 8. Banana Split, 9. Meeting an IL-76, 10. A Helping Hand, 11. The Great Wall of China, 12. Jeanne D'Arc at the Sacre Coeur, Paris

My Q-ie

Quinlan's been gone to EFY this week. Oh how I've missed her. She is my right arm. We pick her up tomorrow morning. Yippee!!! Just thought I'd paint a portrait of her here for everyone who might not know her.

Quinlan
Sister of Gannon, Dierden, Brevin, Aedan and Teagen
Who needs laughter, friends, love
Who loves animals, her family, books
Who sees beauty in everything, the fun in life, the best way to do things
Who hates public transportation, mean people, unfairness
Who fears being separated from her family, death of those she loves, not having a book to read
Who dreams of being a high school student, a school librarian, a wife and mother
Resident of Hess' Madhouse
Hess

4th of July Weekend!!!

Just Beachy

I tried to be very diligent about my studies yesterday but really feel like I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. Right now I'm taking Child Development, Psychology 320 from BYU Independent Study. I believe I have about seven classes left to be done with my Bachelor's of General Education. After this is done, my plan is to get a masters in education probably from Portland State (Ugh! The clausterphobic elevators) and become a school media specialist (fancy name for librarian).

It's sad to come this far and spend all my time locked in a room studying, so this morning, we took a walk down to the beach. After we'd started out, I remembered the camera, so here are my snappings of the beach.


It's great weather. The kids spent quite a bit of time looking for agates for grandpa's collection.

Aedan found four crabs legs and wanted to bring them home. Thanks goodness for the camera; I could say, "Let's just take a picture and leave them here, okay?"

Gannon found a whole sand dollar. I have never found a whole one in my life.


Zan's mom has a new dog (the one standing behind the log, near Quinlan's shoulder in teh photo). She's a briard and is very sweet. This has been good for Maggie to get used to being around other dogs. I guess Briards are herding dogs, so her tendency is to herd Maggie. Maggie will have nothing to do with that--being a good ol' red-blooded Boston terrier. But, Maggie puts up with it all quite well.

Teagen was big on the idea of walking the dog. Here he is walking Cody, Zan's parents' neighbor's dog, but it seems that he found his place with Maggie, who is much closer to the right size and takes it easy on Teagen as she thinks he is her pup.

In this last photo, Gannon has his pockets weighed down with everyone's treasures. Dierden found quite a few beautiful rocks. We're surprised Gannon's shorts didn't fall down with how full they were.