Apprehension

It took me some time to warm up to this pregnancy and feel connected. Well, now I love feeling the baby move; I am looking forward to the birth; I feel ready to take care of a cute little one...

 

But the thing that gives me apprehension is How do I take care of a little one AND THEM too???

 

My two kids drive me bonkers every day. I feel like my plate is full to the brim right now, and where is there going to be room to have a baby? I am going to need a full-time nanny ... and another thousand square feet around here too.

Miracle for Landau Eugene Murphy Jr

WOW! Oh my goodness! Something absolutely AMAZING happened last night, I just could not believe it -- I was in tears.

This guy WON $1 Million dollars as the winner of America's Got Talent.

Read about it here

I fell in love with Landau from his very first audition. If this just doesn't capture your heart...


I mean, watch him cry for Goodness Sake!! He is the sweetest man I think I've ever seen on TV or in real life (Bishop Winterton and Bishop Wertz right there too!)

What is amazing about Landau is that he beat out lots of amazing talent. As the weeks went on in this competition, all the other acts got fancier, more back-up dancers, louder, brighter lights, and the judges encouraged them all to add an element of danger!! There was as lot of adrenaline on this show but Landau is the exact opposite. He is absolutely pure, innocent, and just sweet talent. America fell in love with him for WHO HE IS, not just making us feel stimulated and wild inside.

I doubted him... I thought Anna Graceman would beat him for the final 4 (She is amazing too by the way!! She was actually my favorite).. and then for sure I thought one of those techno group dance acts would for sure beat him in the finals. I am also a big Poplyfe fan (the next No Doubt! awesome young hip band) but too bad for them, their finale performance totally bombed. So when Landau was announced as the winner I just sat on my couch and cried!!! This is a miracle, a totally feel-good story that you hardly ever hear about anymore...

If I was going to Vegas this year I would go see him in concert! I am just in love with this guy.

On a Patriotic Note...

It's interesting how much you can learn when you are preparing a lesson for a child. More than you learned yourself in school - for when you're a student, it's not necessarily your objective to really learn something; you just want the grade. But when your child is the student, your integrity is more complete and you strive for them to learn and understand, so naturally you yourself must learn and see the material as a whole.

 

I have seen this many times but lately more so, as we are studying American History. I knew all the right key words such as Mayflower Compact, Boston Massacre, etc. but I didn't really "get" the whole story... (Okay, history was never my strong point) And you know from watching your favorite childhood movies, the story is always a bit different anyhow when you grow up! Because we can relate to it differently.

 

So now that I am grown up I really see what courage it took for the colonists to stand up for something they believed in, or even to cross the great ocean in hopes of a better future in the first place! I think it's interesting how many of them were rebelling spontaneously but without a great end in mind - most of the revolutionists weren't necessarily aiming for Independence, at first. That would be too radical, right?

 

So what does it take to turn people's hearts and unite them for a common radical purpose? You need someone wholly radical without inhibitions who simply doesn't care. I know many people like that in my world; society calls them "crazy." But really, it takes nothing less than this zealous, passionate commitment to get society to change, or else nothing will ever happen.

 

At the time of the revolutionary war, even after several battles, before many people were striving for independence, that person was Thomas Paine. He wrote something very controversial called "Common Sense" basically saying to the colonists, HELLO! Look what they are doing to you! Why are you seeking peace?? Get away from them! That is common sense! and finally, the majority was swayed and they drafted the Declaration of Independence.

 

As somebody who has been called crazy for zealous ideas, and yet reacts with hesitancy and insecurity, I have utmost respect and a HUGE admiration for people to go against the grain and stick to it, welcoming the opposition and persecution. I really believe that is the only way for change to take place. You have to be controversial and stir things up. I see people devoting their lives to their unique causes and putting themselves out there, "come what may," sacrificing their reputations, careers, even risking inprisonment or assassination; and to me that is just totally awesome (my personal hero is Galileo, who stood up for what he knew was true, even though it was absolutely unheard of and he was called a lunatic and jailed as a result... another example of this is the prophet Joseph Smith who had no fear and was eventually martyred for his cause).

 

Anyway this is a long-winded post and that wasn't even the point I was trying to make! :-)   Just wanted to express how learning about American History as an adult has given me a whole new perspective; how much I admire my heros who sought to create a place of freedom and those who fought to make that dream a reality; how much I love this country! And it saddens me to see its near-downfall, how we have lost most all the ideals we sacrificed so much for in the first place, liberty and independence. And finally, I LOVE having the opportunity to teach these things to my children, to tear up and bear my testimony of the things we're learning about... that is a wonderful part of education you can't get in schools nowadays :)

Minto Brown 10K, 23 weeks pregnant

Enjoyed another 10K today, my first time doing an organized race at Minto Brown. Much preferred!! Time passes much quicker in those beautiful trails. My exercise habits are all over the place lately; last week I did 4.5 miles on the treadmill in one hour so I was predicting 1 hr 20-25 mins, but I did it in 1:12! I think I was pretty lucky just how it ended up, no braxton hicks or anything to make me uncomfortable. I didn't even feel pregnant! (other than the fact that I am just overall slow due to breathing easier) Got lots of funny comments from people and made some friends with other slow runners (I did not finish last! Woohoo!)

Also Rychen P. ran the half-mile kids run and ran fast the whole way, good job bub!

*P-Town Family History Tour!!*

This part of our trip was very exciting. We really haven't been back to BYU since we left, April 2005. So now with Rychen P. being 6 years old, it was fitting to bring him back and show him where he was conceived - I mean, where he got his ROOTS... Yeah.

...But alas, we must start at the very beginning.

My first year at BYU was at KING HENRY! I have the most awesome memories from this place, and an entire notebook of photos and stories to prove it. This is where I went hot tubbing fully clothed on a dare, stayed up all night building snow barracades and slides, played endless ping-pong tournaments, held a few dance parties, received hand-holding lessons, stayed up late in introspection with roommates, and earned a repuation as the non-kisser (and oh yeah I managed to get a bit of studying in there too. But only in the clubhouse so I could take flirting breaks...give me a break, I was 18)

This photo below is to show how overgrown the trees are--my front door was behind this tree, at the top of the stairs (Shout out to Christa, Stefani, and Candace!)
Then my second (Senior) year was at PARK PLACE (I am sorry to say, because it was and still is an absolute dump) but it was here I met my **Eternal Companion** so we will overlook that.

Rychen at the "DUDE ROOM" (imagine an ugly Napoleon Dynamite couch where this bench is)

Me at #2 (Shout out to Alycia, Cheri, Melissa, Sarah and Debbie!) **Disclaimer: I was not pregnant while living here**

Here is a photo below of the current state of Park Place Trailer Park. We just had to capture this, it is so very fitting and so true to our days there. (I had to stop and remember why I wanted to live in such an ugly place... I think the two-floor style really appealed to me. Most all the "dudes" were there because a sister picked out the complex and signed up everybody while they were still on their missions, so they never saw it! But Brittany Christensen was inspired indeed, for 4 of the 6 dudes found their mates in this very complex/ward.

Anyhow, after we were married we came back for Rychen's senior year, here at UNION SQUARE.

This photo above is for a good story, the big hill the cars must brave as they pull out of the underground parking garage. In the wintertime, this hill would ice over and it would take me several tries to get the car up! And we're talking about a sick pregnant chick in the 5:30 am pitch darkness. It was a nightmare. I threw up several times on my way to work (Shout out to PGM, Inc!) and I blame this hill.

Ok so after our Family History Tour we got to take the kids up to campus. Joe helped show us all around, now that he has been there for 1 week (Okay, yes it came in handy, we forgot the names of the buildings!)

There are about 130 stairs here, I used to climb twice a day!! (and then after I graduated, I put on 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Yup that'll do it!)

The SWKT, home for all Psych majors, and BYU "Skyline"


This building (the MARB?) is where most of my classes were.

And how could we leave out the BALLROOM where I took dance class? (a talent which I never used after that)

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the BYU Bookstore where I worked in the Post Office or to lower campus where Rychen worked in the locker room. We were exhausted!! Good times, good memories. I love you, BYU!

Visit to Idaho & Utah

Labor Day weekend we went on a good old fashioned Road Trip to do lots of fun stuff! Friday we hung out with my cousin Marissa and her family in Pocatello, and Saturday Rychen ran the Pocatello Marathon for the 2nd year, beating his time, finishing at 4:08. We were able to find him at miles 21 and 24 to cheer him on before meeting him at the finish line.

Then we drove to Salt Lake where we visited my Grandma Gremlich. She still lives in the same house my dad lived in his entire life, and it was so cool to have my kids enjoy the same toys I used to play with when I was younger and many of which from my dad's childhood too! This first picture is Grandma's matchbox collection, which the kids aren't allowed to play with.

We also visited Rychen's brother, Whitney, and then on to stay at Emily's house for the weekend (Lehi and Eagle Mountain).

Sunday was the traditional monthly Merrill FHE night, aren't we lucky the marathon was scheduled for the day before this? We celebrated memories of Grandma and Grandpa. Here we are, all together.

Monday we hung out with my cousin Eddie and his family. Here are some pictures of the awesome murals and play castle in his basement!

... After that we did something *Very Special*... So much so, that it gets its own post!! Stay tuned!

2nd annual R.S. Triathlon (5 mo pregnant!)

Yay, was able to do the triathlon without a hitch. I was feeling pretty nervous after being exhausted all week from the HEAT! But I had nothing to be nervous about, it was just like the others I have done... except Rychen P. joined me for the second half of the 5K so I got to take it easy :)

Sorry, no swim pictures. My swim time was 11.5 minutes, bike appx 1 hr (??)






I think these R.S. triathlons are really cool, I hope they keep them up. I know it's a lot of work just for the fun of it, but it's a great way to encourage people to get out there in a casual event that they normally wouldn't seek out on their own. Now I am hearing about stakes in other places doing this too! I am really proud of people I know who weren't already working out and were hesitant, but still signed up anyway and "tried their best." Many of them were very successful with no major challenges. What a great opportunity! If you didn't participate this year I would really encourage you to sign up next year. You don't have to be an athlete, and you can get by without training that much. You might have to learn how to swim, or you could just sign up for the other events.

The downside with it being such a casual affair is that many people change plans and don't show up, so the swim heats are a bit sparse and as a result, participants are quite spread out on the biking and running events so you tend to be isolated unless you are specifically with friends.... which I tried to arrange but was unable to do so.

Anyway it was cool for me to challenge myself being pregnant. I figured I did it last year pretty easily so why not do it pregnant? It was a good motivator to keep me going to the gym, which has helped me a lot combat fatigue and nausea, etc. I really think exercising keeps our hormones balanced better :) So anyway now I am left without much direction, not knowing what to focus on in my workouts. I think I only have a few weeks left of jogging so I will do that while I can, and then switch to eliptical and more weights. I'd like to work on my quads and upper body during this time. In late pregnancy I will just do what I can - walk, but with an incline; step aerobics, etc. I am hoping to keep my level of endurance to a good degree so I don't have to build anything back up next year. But who knows what having a new baby will do to my routine, so we'll just take it as it comes!

Goodbye home

My family is packing up their home of 20 years and moving to another state (my family includes my parents and 2 brothers still at home). I don't really have feelings attached to this house other than the fact that it is home, and Las Vegas is home, and the Westcliff Ward is home. So the fact that they are moving means I can no longer "go home" so I guess the impact of this event will sink in more over time. But I think it's been gradual enough... the past few visits, I have felt an increased sense that this isn't my home anymore; these people, though my loving family, aren't "home" anymore--that my home is in Oregon with Rychen and my kids. My heart belongs with my own family, especially my husband (even though my old bedroom upstairs still has glow-in-the-dark paint proclaiming "AG + SK" ...haha!)

 

So I guess that's what growing up means.

 

Nevertheless here are some of my fond memories.

• playing British Bulldogs in the backyard
• playing Sardines in the Dark with friends, especially Erick's friend Kelly
• coming home from my baptism at age 8 wearing my big "pioneer" triplet dress
• going up into the attic crawl space, thinking I had a secret hide-out
• sliding down the staircase in various positions when I was small
• laying in my parents' bed all day whenever I was sick
• seeing two of my brothers minutes after they were born in mom's bedroom (and immediately nick-naming one of them Esau)
• laying on the kitchen table as a first-grader pretending to be sick so I wouldn't have to go to school
• doing back-walkovers down the small hill in the front yard
• playing "Waitress" on the driveway with Camry
• playing Hide & Seek and tennis in the street with the Webb kids
• running toddler Andrew over to the Webb's house when I was babysitting and he fell and gashed open his forehead
• TP'ing my own yard during a sleepover at a friend's house (and then cleaning it up the next day)
• trading bedrooms back and forth with Laura multiple times
• searching for hidden Christmas presents after years of sneaking downstairs too early
• climbing on the roof or brick walls just for the heck of it
• breaking our built-in-bookshelves off the wall to rescue an imprisoned hamster
• when Erick leaned on the table which already had an old computer on it and broke the entire table in half
• multiple pet tortoises, fish, mice, hampsters, rabbits, and a guinea pig
• sneaking string cheese up to my room with Jennifer and eating most of a Costco bag in one night
• having a wild sleepover with Antonina and dad asking us if we had been drinking "Giggle juice"
• all the kids laying in my mom's room while she read The Westing Game to us
• changing the diapers of multiple younger brothers...Antonina fashioning a face mask before changing Evan's diaper
• covering my bedroom with glow-in-the-dark stars, gluing feathers all over my bookshelf, and filing my walls with colorful magazine pages and band names
• doing Tae-Bo as a teenager with the front door open to get ventilation
• coming home from Oregon in December 2003 and running through the house, so excited to be engaged

I could go on forever, I'm sure. But I probably already lost my audience! Well, I love you home, Adieu.