Kaylee Commences

Ok I'm finally getting Kaylee's valedictorian speech posted.  I tried for WEEKS to upload it directly to the blog, and after much effort, finally went the youtube route, so yes, Kaylee your speech is now "out there" on you tube for all to see.  It's the price I had to pay to get it to upload to this blog.  But it IS an awesome speech.  Enjoy.  It was a bit windy, but still an awesome speech.  WAY TO GO KAYLEE-MVHS CLASS of 2012 VALEDICTORIAN!!!

Of note: if you don't turn the volume up too high it is easier to hear.  (When the volume is loud the wind is VERY audible, and it is hard to hear the speech-During the actual speech this didn't seem to be a problem, but the camera recording picked up the wind remarkably well :)  Also, since this speech is being posted mostly for the benefit of Grandma and Grandpa Barlow who anticipated sitting in the "special valedictorian-guest graduation seats" for several years prior to Kaylee's graduation, but are currently serving a mission at Heber Valley Camp and had to miss being present in person, I am posting the script of the speech below so they (or anyone else) can follow along while watching.
 

Class of 2012.  It’s hard to believe we’re really graduating.  It seems like just yesterday we were starting kindergarten together, and now here we are as seniors, ready to graduate and go out into the world.  We can probably all remember elementary school, having morning muster, buying Big Sticks and Cheddar Fries on the playground playing on the monkey bars, and participating in Bowlerville Idol.  And who can forget the awkward middle school years we all went through, stealing Ms. Burnettes altoids, being forced to run in P.E., and getting smarties banned from school.  And of course high school where everything is just better.  Football games, homecoming, prom, dances, and parties, and just a little bit of schoolwork.  Through the years we have experienced so much as a class, so I’d like to take a moment to reminisce about some of the things we’ve done, by giving you all a quiz.  If you answer yes to one or more of these questions you know you are from the Moapa Valley High School class of 2012.   If you were the last class to ever have an 8^th grade graduation dance you might be from the Moapa Valley High School class of 2012.  If you were the only class to travel to L.A. freshmen year, and get kicked out of the museum, you know you are from the Moapa Valley High School class of 2012.    If you can’t remember a single one of Coop’s jokes, you are from the Moapa Valley High School class of 2012.  And if Mr. Jensen was your English teacher for 3 or more years you may be from the Moapa Valley High School class of 2012.  Most of you should be able to answer yes to most if not all of those questions, and hopefully taking this quiz reminds you of some of the good times we have shared as a class. 

We are all so blessed to have grown up in Moapa Valley, and I hope as we go out into the world that we will all remember where we come from and who we are.  As Mark Twain said, and as I’m sure half of your Pirate hoodies and t-shirts quote, “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be Pirates.”  We HAVE been permitted to be Pirates. And we have been GOOD.   In the words of Grant Bowler, we have had the experience of attending the best high school, in the best community, in the best state in the best country in the world.  During our time here we have taken state championships in sports, dance, cheer, and forensics, received superior ratings in music competitions, produced outstanding dramatic productions, and excelled in the academic realm.  Most recently our high school had the distinction of being one of only three comprehensive high schools in Clark County to receive a 5 star rating.  Yes, we HAVE been PIRATES for the last four years and we have been GOOD ones.  Our challenge now is to carry this goodness, this pirate tradition, with us throughout our lives and spread “pirate goodness” throughout the world.  So whether you choose to become a doctor, a teacher, an accountant, a mother, a welder, a policeman,  an engineer, a mechanic- be a GOOD one.  Many from this high school have gone on to accomplish amazingly “good” things, and my challenge to you this evening is to carry on this tradition and do the same. 

I would just like to end by thanking all of you.  Thank you especially to my parents; I know I would not be up here right now if it weren’t for them.  And thank you to all my classmates that made this year so meaningful.  I will truly treasure the friendships I have made throughout the last four years.  Thank you all and congratulations Moapa Valley High School Class of 2012!

           

THREE- a lot or a little?

THREE-a lot or a little?

I haven’t posted for a while, and I missed posting the wonderful thoughts composed in my head about Kaylee’s graduation (Although I still intend to post her graduation speech, which I recorded, IF I can figure out how to save it in a format that my computer and this blog will recognize and play), Kent’s birthday, Father’s Day, and Analise’s 20^th birthday.  (Oh well, there will be other Father’s Days and birthdays, and although Kaylee will not graduate again, IF I can get her speech posted, that will have to “count” as a graduation post.)  But as my mother says, “Sometimes you are too busy LIVING the events to WRITE about them.” 

Anyway…back to the subject at hand…. THREE a lot or a little? We just dropped Kaylee off at BYU, and we are down to THREE kids living at home.  Our home seems empty.  Not a single kid living in the basement.  The basement bedrooms are all neatly in order and the beds are made -(Something that was a rarity-in fact, not sure it ever happened simultaneously-when kids were living in the bedrooms.)  I remember my mom telling me that when she only had two kids left at home, she found herself lamenting to another mother that it hardly seemed worth making dinner, only to realize that this other mother only had two children total.  So then I started thinking about when I only had  THREE children.  It seemed like a lot then.  THREE children and the oldest was 3.  THREE carseats across the backseat of our Honda Accord was a lot.  THREE kids in the tub was a lot.  THREE kids crawling into bed with me was a lot.  THREE kids who all wanted to sit on my lap during story time was a lot.  THREE kids to bathe, dress, feed, read to, play with, and love was a lot.  I even remember lying on the couch, pregnant with number four and having a melt-down thinking, “What am I doing?  I don’t know how to be a mom.  I should still be having my mom take care of me.”  THREE was a lot.  So why does THREE seem like so few now?  When is THREE a lot and when is THREE just a few?  THREE kids ages 3 and under home all-day, every day, 24/7  is a lot.  THREE big kids that are gone to camps, practices, work, or friends’ houses all day in the summer is a few.  THREE hours trying to keep small children quiet in church is a lot.  THREE hours of sleep due to a cranky baby or a teen-aged midnight movie-goer is a few.  THREE days of being stuck in a house with sick kids is a lot.  THREE days of a vacation is a few.  The THREE hours between after-nap-time and daddy-comes-home time is a lot.  THREE hours of  reading a good book (like I EVER have time to do this-ha-but I can fantasize) is a few.  THREE minutes of waiting for the results of a home-pregnancy test is a lot.  THREE minutes between contractions is a few.  THREE young, eager, yet semi-incapable, dinner-making and/or chore-doing helpers is a lot.  THREE more mature, capable (but sadly no longer as eager) dinner-making and/or chore- doing helpers is a few.  (We’ve only been a 3-kid family for three days and we are already finding this out.) THREE kids in a 5-passenger Honda Accord is a lot.  THREE kids in a 9-passenger Suburban is a few.  THREE dates in 3-days is a lot.  (Way to go Kaylee-hope you are studying some.)  THREE dates in 3-months is a few.  (No comment on how I know this.)  THREE days of “eating healthy” is a lot.  THREE Hershey’s chocolate kisses is a few.  THREE minutes of trying to ignore an annoying, attention-seeking child is a lot.  THREE minutes of a meaningful conversation (often with the same child-different day) is a few.  THREE dollars given to a child to spend at Wallys (note: one dollar is my limit-but the kids have a cool, generous father and grandparents) is a lot.  THREE dollars to spend at Costco or Wal-mart (Is it even humanly possible to spend only three dollars at either store?!) is a few.  THREE miles run alone in the heat of the day is a lot.  THREE miles walked (or jogged) at a leisurely pace in the cool morning hours with a good friend for company is a few.  THREE minutes going through junk mail is a lot.  THREE minutes composing a blog post is a few- and those three minutes are long gone.  What is your definition(s) of  THREE-a lot or a few? 

Kaylee- new room in the dorms at BYU-child number THREE to leave the nest.

Never Say Never

Never Say Never

So that last post got me thinking (ironically as I was running this morning) about all those things I said I would NEVER do (and now do or did-like running) or things that I thought I WOULD do and didn’t or don’t, and just for the fun of it, I thought I’d make a list.  So here it is in no particular order.

·         I don’t know if I ever SAID it, but I certainly THOUGHT that I would NEVER have to visit a principal’s/dean’s office or get a failing notice in the mail, and although I didn’t have to do this personally, my first child obligingly provided me with these experiences.  (Someday I’ll blog about Dallin-but for now just know that he is an awesome kid who is brilliant, but somehow didn’t see the need to “prove” his brilliance through school work, and sometimes was mischievous-not bad-just mischievous-like his dad who I did marry, but didn’t want to raise.)

·         After my 6 years of girls’ camp as a  youth, I thought I would NEVER have to camp again-I see no point in sleeping on the ground, cooking over a fire, and being dirty, when I have a perfectly good bed, stove/microwave, and shower- However,  since being married, I have been the camp director twice, YW’s president, and in the YW’s organization numerous times, and as the wife of the bishop and a bishopric member have been to camp more times as an adult than I was a youth.  (Another disclaimer-I do admit that girls’ camp is AWESOME-if we could just get rid of the camping part J)

·         I was going to marry someone with dark hair and eyes cause I thought dark haired/eyed children are so cute.  I married a blond blue-eyed hunk, and my children are all blond (except one), and they are the most beautiful/handsome children in the world.  (And I’m not biased at ALL!)

·         I always thought it was a little “unstylish” that my mom wore a watch with a stretchy band.  Guess what’s on my arm right now? -that’s right-a stretchy band watch.  But do you know how CONVENIENT those things are?!   You can just push them up out of the way (rather than take them off) when you are doing dishes or bathing a child, and they are really FAST to slip on and off, no trying to do/undo a buckle with one hand.

·         Ok so that last one got me thinking about my mom some more.  And I don’t know if I ever thought I would NEVER do this, but my running shoes often (usually) have holes in the toes.  I remember that my mom always wore “Keds,” and more often than not there were holes in the toes of her Keds.  So I think I must have feet built like hers or walk like she does or something because literally within a few weeks of having a brand new pair of running shoes, my toes come “poking through” (and all my running socks have holes in the toes too-sometimes after the FIRST time I wear them.)  Of interest (or not): I tried buying a brand of running shoes that has leather across most the of the toe, but I didn’t like the way they felt, so I’m back to my Asics with holes in the toes.  Sigh.  And ….I really don’t know what this item has to do with my list of “never say never” items but I was thinking about it, and I certainly don’t think I PLANNED to (although I’m not sure I said I would never) wear holey shoes.

·         Back to the subject at hand:  I always said that I would NEVER home-school any of my children.  How could I give them as much time and attention and have as much access to resources and supplies as someone who was being paid to do the job full-time with training, supplies, and no interruptions (like other children, phone calls, laundry, etc.)? And don’t even get me started on the social pitfalls of pulling kids out of public schools. But guess what?  I ended up home-schooling three of my 6 kids when they were each in 7^th grade, and it was AWESOME.  (Someday I’ll blog about how the decision to do this came about.)  I took all three of them through an entire 9^th grade Algebra course, and when they went back to public school, math was sooo easy for them. One of my 7^th graders read the entire Work and the Glory Series as well as all the Jules Verne and Jane Austin books.  In 7^th grade folks!  Also how great was it to have built in babysitters for the younger kids if I needed to run someplace during the day and to have help with projects (We repainted the entire house-me and my home-schooled 7^th grader- one year.) And I got to use scripture reading and journal writing as part of the curriculum.  This was PERFECT for me-who LOVES school work and is somewhat of a control freak.  I got to teach and have COMPLETE CONTROL over the curriculum. (Although my 3^rd child to be home-schooled often teases me that homeschooled kids are “weird.”  When I remind her that she was home-schooled, she replies, “Yes, and I’m just now recovering.”  She is 18 and graduating on Friday-As Valedictorian I might add.)

·         Well, this post is long enough.  There are more things to add, and there may be a “Never Say Never” part II, but for now I’ll end with something I really though I would NEVER do!  I would NEVER have a baby at home.  (In fact the thought was so ludicrous to me that I don’t think I ever even SAID it-it was just a given.) I live too far from medical help.  There are too many things that could go wrong.  And well, it is just too scary.  But…baby # 6 was born at home, with Dad as the “delivery man.”  (His birth WAS a “planned” home birth, but the mid-wife didn’t make it in time.)  He is now ten with no ill-effects suffered from having Dad “catch” him as opposed to a doctor/mid-wife, and I count his birth as one of the coolest experiences of my life.  (Again, at some future day, I may blog his birth story, and how someone as adamantly opposed to home-births as me, decided to deliver at home.)  But for now, this post is long enough.

However, since I haven’t mentioned Corinne (my BFF and this inspiration for this blog) for a long time, and since she commented once that she was “taking a beating” in my blog, I will close with a “Never Say Never” example from her life.  Corinne, who only has one sister, always told me that she was going to marry someone with LOTS of brothers and sisters so her kids could have plenty of cousins.   And…..She married an only child.  But he is awesome.  He is a great dad and good provider and is currently serving as the stake president of our stake.  (I hope that doesn’t sound like another “blog beating” Corinne-it was meant as a compliment. Someday soon, I’ll blog some really GOOD stuff about you and me-there is lots and lots.) 

So the moral of the story-be careful what you say!

Some pictures from the above:

Lynae and Kay at girls' camp-my 2nd go-around as camp director

Home-schooled Kaylee-helps re-paint the living room and has some graffiti fun in the process

Baby Luke with "Doctor Dad" a few hours after his birth

I’m Weird-Post #3

I’m Weird-Post #3

I’ve been hesitant to compose another “I’m Weird” post because, well, I would like someone to continue reading this blog. (Hey I can pretend even if it is only my mother who reads it.) And I don’t want to scare away potential readers with my strangeness, but it may be time for me to reveal yet another weird fact about myself: I LIKE to exercise, and I particularly like to run. Now I know that is a shocker since I don’t “look like” a runner or an exercise buff, and I am fairly UNathletic, but I still like to do it. When I was younger I loved tumbling and gymnastics (Although my gymnastic career came to a screeching halt when I broke both bones in my right forearm trying to perform a dive cartwheel off a spring board in gymnastics class, and I never did learn much beyond back walkovers and being able to walk on my hands the length of the gym-although I can still stand on my head.) I enjoyed “aerobics” in the 80’s. And in high school I occasionally got up early enough to do the “20 minute workout” on TV. I liked (and still do like) to read fitness articles and try different new exercises. From 1992 until the Logandale church burned down in 2009, I did “aerobics” with a group of ladies every morning in the Logandale church cultural hall. We did “step,” Tae-bo, yoga, and regular-dancy aerobics. It was fun to learn complicated step routines some even using two steps. (We fantasized about performing these awesome 2-step routines where we traded steps and places-not only choreography- but formation changes-they were awesome-. But we never felt comfortable performing in our spandex and t-shirts for anyone other than our children who happily played in the back of the room while we visited and exercised in the front-the ultimate example of Mormon Mom Multi-tasking: We held pre-school, group therapy, and got our exercise for the day all in the same daily hour. My kids still have fond memories of “aerobics” and some of their first and best friends were made during this daily exercise hour. And in our family instead of saying, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” We say, “It ain’t over till the fat ladies do sit-ups,” since the children at aerobics knew it was almost time to go when we worked on abs (our last exercise.) We still remember one little boy yelling, “Hurry, we don’t have much time! They are doing the sit-ups! They are almost done!” ) My freshman year of college, I began to run. First it was just “one-time around the indoor track after my ballet class.” Then I decided to see if I could do two, and pretty soon I was doing 5 miles. I found that I LIKED to get up at 5 a.m. and do 5 miles on the indoor track. (Totally weird-I know-college students are NOT supposed to LIKE to get up early.) It was a great time to think, and it made my day go sooo much better. (I think it reduced a LOT of my freshman year stress.) And in addition there was no pressure to “look good” since the only people on the track at that hour were 60-year-old professors-although once I did get asked out by a boy who worked the early-morning janitorial shift in the Smith Fieldhouse. I continued to run through college, after marriage, and even ran in addition to my daily aerobics with the ladies-just cause I LIKED it so much, but I usually only did 5 miles daily. Then, a few years ago, I had a friend convince me to train with her for a half-marathon. I did. And I did the half-marathon-13.1 miles baby! Then she wanted me to train with her for the Valley of Fire full marathon. (That’s a full 26.2 miles) This is a HORRENDOUS marathon which my brother appropriately dubbed the “Pure HILL” marathon (with the option to change the vowel in HILL to an “E” at the runner’s discretion.) I agreed on the condition that I would only “train” with her and not run the actual marathon. However, after 3-4 months of training runs on the actual course, I thought, “What the heck” and ran my first marathon, and it was FUN! Since then I have run 2 more full marathons and many 1/2s. (I like running the fulls, but the time commitment for training is prohibitive.) It’s been fun in the last few years to have a couple of my daughters old enough and interested enough to run with me. (Although I’m afraid I don’t run as fast as they do.) Analise ran the “Alien Run” ½ marathon with me-this was a midnight run near area 51. We ran with headlamps and reflective vests. Many of the runners dressed as aliens. We didn’t. And unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we did not spot any aliens. We also ran the Halloween ½ down Provo Canyon together. We wore Halloween costumes and joined with hundreds of other costumed runners trotting down the canyon. It was a fun, fast, and very entertaining run. This past October, I ran the St. George full Marathon with Analise-her first full marathon. Again fun. And Lynae and I ran the St. George half marathon in January (Lynae’s first ½ marathon-she thought the track workouts in the spring were a breeze after running the 1/2.)(I may get an “F” on teaching my daughters cooking and sewing skills-although they have both thanks to diligent grandmas, but I get an A+ on teaching them to clean and exercise J ) I’ve alluded to my morning runs in several of these posts. I love the time it gives me OUT of the house with no distractions (like laundry or phone calls etc.) I love the time it gives me to think and plan. (Most my church lessons are prepared during these runs.) And I love being out in the early morning often before the sun is up. It’s weird-I know. In fact, so weird that I remember telling a cross-country runner that I dated in high school that I would NEVER run, that although I liked to exercise, running was just insane. Yep, I’m weird, and I’m eating those words-"I will NEVER run"-….daily.

Me finishing my first full marathon-Valley of Fire-2004

Kay & Analise Alien run 2010

Some of the costumed runners before the Provo Halloween Half (Analise and Kay are on the right in the front- batman and superman-not super creative costumes-but we like superheros.)

Kay finishes the St. George Marathon-Oct. 2011 and somehow she (instead of Analise) ended up carrying EVERYTHING.  Note the cell phone in one hand and camera in the other.  The ipod clipped to my shorts and pockets bulging with tissue, advil, fruit snacks and other running necessities.)

Analise finishes the St. George Marathon-Oct. 2011 carrying NOTHING!  The mom ALWAYS has to carry/hold stuff for the kid, even if the kid is 19 and the mom is trying to run 26.2 miles :)

Lynae ready to run the St. George half.  It was raining and we are so NOT used to rain and also we are so NOT those runners who have all the cool supplies (like the runners belts-which would have helped in the St. George Marathon where I ended up carrying everything-special water bottles, and stylish running attire, including rain paraphernalia).  So here's Lynae in a garbage bag ready to ward off the rain during the run.  But we did feel pretty cool (and always do) when we finished before some of the runners with all the running "gear."

P.S. I'm just realizing now that I have posted several of the most UNflattering pics of myself, and I'm sure my daughters won't be too happy that I posted race pics of them either (Although I think THEY look great.)  Of course, no one looks good AFTER running and therefore it is pointless to try to look good before, so of course all race pics are devoid of make-up and nice hair, and the picture above gives my diclaimer on race-fashion.