DOWN ON THE FARM

I guess it is safe to say that I live on a farm. I can't think of any other way to describe what we've got going on here. This year I made it "official" when I registered with The American Goat Society as Dimple Dell Farm (doesn't that name sound so adorable?) and destined all new baby goats born here to their own special prefix. This year we had "Dimple Dell Chocolate Chip," (some of you may remember our special little Chip for his unusual sexual orientation) "Dimple Dell Flower," "Dimple Dell Chuckles," and little "Dimple Dell Happy Go Lucky."



A farm is fun and fulfilling. A farm is a lot of work. When the weather gets cold and wet I start to question farm life. The animals must be fed everyday, watered, their poop scooped, and their bedding cleaned. Water hoses must be unscrewed and drained so they won't freeze and break pipes. It seems that as soon as we get one hole in the fence fixed, another is created. Every month somebody has to be wormed, vaccinated, trimmed up or doctored. And did I mention poop? Oh, so much poop!



Today was stall mucking day and I had been dreading it. Kays and I suited up and headed out to fill wheelbarrows full of manure, and as we scraped and scooped, we talked and laughed. And I thought to myself that more moms should have the chance to spend an hour each day with their daughters working at poop containment. After we finished with the scooping, we did the feeding and watering, we fixed a hole in the fence, and gathered the eggs. It was a lovely hour, actually, even though I was a little blue at the tips when we were done. Kaylee said to me, "Mom, look how beautiful the mountains are." And she was right. The view of the mountains was so much more beautiful than the alternative today... POOP.

BECAUSE I AM THANKFUL

I have a beautiful life full of beautiful people and things. I have a safe, warm home full of love and simple comforts. I have loyal and loving friends, family close at hand, puppies to warm my feet at night, and neighbors who share. I drive a reliable car, dress my family in nice clothes, fill my pantry with good food. I take warm showers and baths. I fall asleep most nights feeling safe and warm. My children have all the opportunities in life that I could want for them. At my house we love much and forgive often. When there are tears, there is always someone to wipe them away. I am thankful for all these things, today, and every other.

HOW COULD I FORGET?

So, so many things happen in a day, a week, a month, a year. In May the kids had a dance recital, their first ever (and possibly last), and I didn't blog about it. They danced to "Run Around Sue."





Also in May the kids made their first stage appearance in "A Mid Summer Night's Dream" and I didn't blog about it. Brit had the part of King Oberon, Kaylee played Puck. They were amazing!





In June, after our anniversary in San Francisco, we spent a quick weekend in Arizona. Thank you Woodards for hosting us...again! We were on a mission to find just the right winter home for the kids and me. And while the weather in Utah was unseasonably cool that weekend, it was also unseasonably cool in AZ, making it perfect.

The last weekend in June was spent in Moab, Ut. with my brother Brett, Mom and Tim.







July, July, July... July has sort of just happened. July is generally my favorite month of the year. This year I decided to use all the positive energy and optimism of warm weather, summer fun and lazier days to tweak a few little things in my life that I think need improvement. I'm hoping to track my progress over here.

All of these things that happen seem fresh in my memory, for now. But time can make memories fuzzy, less vivid, sometimes even hidden. My blog is supposed to help capture the memories. I need to blog better.

20 YEARS

Yesterday marked the 20 year anniversary of our wedding day. On June 1, 1990, I became Mrs. Bringhurst, and let me tell you, that was a a rung or two up on the alphabetical ladder! Imagine going all through your school days with a last name starting with S. It moulds you, shapes you, makes you feel like you must fall back in line... Then one day you are a B! Suddenly you can be first (or second) in line, stand a little taller, wait a little less, be somebody! Ahhh.... marital bliss.

Since that day we have lived in seven places, owned three houses, had two children, owned seventeen cars, three boats, two trailers, and many, many pets. We honeymooned in Disneyland and returned countless times with our kids. We backed into parenthood and never looked back, sharing nearly every day-to-day, and, exciting new experience with the kids. This year, to celebrate our 20 years of marriage, we planned a trip without the kids.

SAN FRANCISCO

Have you been? Everybody's been to San Francisco! Except me. I had never been until this past weekend. I LOVED it! We had great weather which, as anyone knows, will make or break a vacation for me. Some of the highlights were:

ALCATRAZ! Because I love, love, LOVE history! And this place was full of it.


We took the audio tour


I really liked zig-zaggy Lombard Street. Driving it was fun and all, but I want to live there.


And this place, to remind me of my back-of-the-line roots.


GHIRADHELLI SQUARE = CHOCOLATE


I loved our tour of old boats. I love old things.


I loved this place... where I paid $15 for a small bag of cherries.


I loved the seafood, the atmosphere, the ocean. I loved that everyone rode bikes and owned dogs. AND... I loved having this handsome guy, all to myself, for one whole weekend!


My only regret is leaving my camera home. Thanks Jeff! For a perfect weekend.
*pictures courtesy of Jeff's new camera, that might need a little tweaking*

WHY DID IT TAKE UNTIL ALMOST 10 AM FOR ME TO ROLL OUT OF BED THIS MORNING?

'NUFF SAID!

LIVED TO TELL

Yesterday my dad had surgery to repair his thumb and shoulder. He was able to have both surgeries done on the same day by two different doctors and surgical teams. Since I myself am an avid hater of anesthesia, I can really appreciate the value of this "working together for the greater good" method of surgery.

Tonight we were able to visit him at home and he was doing well and in good spirits. He was excited to show us his helmet and armored clothes to emphasize how much worse his injuries could have been... As if distracting us from letting loose a lecture on the dangers of old men riding motorcycles. It didn't work. We lectured anyway- a little bit. He also showed us pictures taken a couple days after the accident of his bruising and road-rash. The entire right side of his body is a huge bruise. It was ugly and shocking, and I'm not JUST referring to his old man bum peeking out in some of the photos. Giggle, giggle, hee hee...just kidding Dad! Kind of...

Then I took some pictures of my own and warned him I would be blogging about it, again.

This is just a small section of the bruising


His best scabs and rash are hidden under bandages and clothing


Hwellp, now I know where I got my legs from...


Then he told us the whole story of how it all happened, and how plainly and simply grateful he is to be here. And I told him how I knew before it happened that it would happen. And I don't know how I knew. Sometimes I just know. And after enough incidences of sometimes knowing, I've learned that the only thing I can do is wait for the phone call. Some things can't be explained, and I'm okay with that.

He's here, he's healing, he's a good grandpa, and I'm okay with that too.

HOW CAN DOING SO LITTLE HURT SO MUCH?

On Monday I had a whim. I wanted to go for a run. All my friends are doing it, I want to do it too. I made Brit go with me. We went about a mile. I jogged maybe, MAYBE, a quarter of that mile. Yesterday I HURT!!! I hurt from head to toe. I hurt like I'd been skiing all day. I hobbled around, moaning and aching, feeling so sorry for myself. Today I hurt. Not quite so much, but still, so much. Tomorrow I have to get back out there and give it another go...

PRAY FOR ME! (or pray for rain)

WHEN IT RAINS

Yesterday was a little hectic. And a little stressful (see previous post). Then the rain started. And the heavens opened and flooded us with all that "wetness" that Dan Pope promised for May. And sometime around 2 am this morning, in the midst of all the rain, this happened...



Mama Lucy FINALLY had her twins.

A boy


and a girl


Lucy had a hard time bringing these babies into the world so Kays and I had to give her a hand (or two) but all three are doing well now.

My Tuesday this week started at 8 am yesterday, and ended at 4 am today. My Wednesday started much too soon at 8 am today. I think I'm gonna need a nap. Yeaawn...

IF I HAD A NICKEL...

How many times has this happened to you?... You wake up on a typical weekday morning to take care of children, pets, regular household chores... It's always a little crazy in the mornings, isn't it, trying to get everyone going and out the door? But, once the craziness is done, once the kids are out the door, the animals fed, a load of laundry started, you brew up a nice cup of herbal tea, maybe scramble an egg, and sit down for a nice, quiet, peaceful breakfast. Next thing you know the phone is ringing. It's your dad's wife calling from California to let you know your dad has been in an accident on his motorcycle.

Diane: "HE IS GOING TO BE OKAY." (Lots of emphasis on that part) "He is in the hospital..." Me: "Wait up... Hold the phone... His what now?! Motorcycle?!" Diane: "Yes. He laid his bike down riding this morning and he is in the hospital in Long Beach. But HE IS GOING TO BE OKAY." Me: "Is he? Was he even okay to begin with? Because look at the choices he's made! He's a 64 year old man who has never ridden a motorcycle his entire life, who all of a sudden decided to buy one (?) and ride cross-country!" Diane: "Would you mind calling your siblings to let them know? And make sure they understand HE IS GOING TO BE OKAY."

Children, talk to your parents! They need to know the dangers and consequences of their reckless behavior! I've seen a rise in the number of irresponsible, devil-may-care choices in Seniors recently. I dare say we may be looking at a new epidemic! No one wants to get the call that their 60-70 something parent has had an equipment malfunction while sky-diving, or blown out a knee on their rollerblades. What happened to the good ol' days of rocking chairs on the porch? Something must be done to stop this madness. Maybe we should start with celebrity endorsed public service announcements...

Based on the info I got, Dad has injured his right shoulder, arm, and hand. He's also broken his left thumb which will require surgery and pins to put it all back together. Diane was still two hours out from reaching the hospital so I will have more info later once she gets there and can talk to the docs. I've decided to hold my tongue and not give him a lecture. Looking something like this

for several weeks is punishment enough.

Seriously though, it could have been much worse and I am very grateful that HE IS GOING TO BE OKAY.

WEATHER UPDATE...

Dan Pope IS playing mind games with me. I knew it! So far the weather this week has been fabulous! Which gives me hope for Sunday's "something else" to be something good. We should all cross our fingers and toes.

BIRTHDAY BOY!

Brit turned 17 last week... 17! I know!!! It's very strange to be the mom of a grown up man-child. He is much stronger than me, he has this kind of mystery about him that is so not little kid anymore. AND, he has a girlfriend!

We kept asking Brit what he wanted to do for his birthday this year and he kept saying he didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to hang out with Sarah (girlfriend). Brit is a pretty straight-forward kind of guy so when he said low-key, we knew he meant it. Sarah, on the other hand doesn't know Brit as well as we do, and had other plans. She asked me to get involved, and while I would never go against Brit's wishes all by myself, I felt like it was safe to participate as long as I blamed Sarah for it. At noon while he was in class Sarah and some accomplices did this to his room:


and this

the crew


Later, after Sarah lured him away for a few hours, we got ready for her next surprise...

The guests began arriving for his surprise party

then the birthday boy came home

and everyone had fun playing games and eating junk food


Except the cake wasn't junk food. It was vegan. Because that was the one thing Brit did request for his birthday... A vegan cake. And bonus, it was really yummy!


Happy 17th birthday Brit! I hope it was the best yet. You're still my favorite boy. Love, Mom.

APPARENTLY, IT'S SPRING IN UTAH

THIS is the clever little snippet that accompanied my local weather forecast for this coming week...

"The storm system is moving out of Northern Utah and centering over the Four Corners area at this time. Precipitation is expected to be fairly heavy near Blanding and Monticello, while showers will prevail over much of the Central and Southern areas this afternoon. As this storm moves out, Monday will be a spectacular day...with lots of sunshine and warmer temperatures. Two more cold fronts will move through the area...one on Tuesday and another one on late Wednesday and Thursday...with possibly something else moving in on Sunday. Yes, it is spring in Utah. By the way, May is the wettest month of the year, recording on average just a little over two inches." Meteorologist Dan Pope - Live 5 Weather HD, Sunday May 2st 2010.

In case I let myself get comfortable with the "spectacular" weather tomorrow, I should not forget that May is the wettest month of the year! Bring on the rain, May, but let's leave the snow behind in April! And really, it's the "something else" moving in on Sunday that scares me... It's more snow isn't it Dan Pope? Just say it!

Hope everyone is having a great spring. Sorry I haven't been reading blogs, I think my brain has been frozen along with the rest of me. Coming out of hibernation soon...

PROM

Brit had his first prom this past weekend. When you homeschool, things work a little differently, including prom. We are lucky to have a family who is willing to organize and sponsor a homeschool prom each year. We are unlucky that they live in the south end of Utah Valley, therefore it's a long drive. Attendance is open to all homeschoolers aged 14 to 18, and, it's a no date event. Suggested dress is Sunday best to black tie formal with all kinds of restrictions about sleeve and dress length (hey, it's homeschool, we have to at least try to cling to the "Gentlemen Broncos" stereotype!). Another difference at the homeschool prom is that "appropriate lighting and music" are observed, and the kids all have dance cards to fill. This year was a Shakespeare Ball so the first 1/2 hour was spent teaching the kids a few Olde English dances. I was super excited when Brit decided he wanted to go to prom this year. I had it all planned out for the whole family to drive to Mapleton, take a couple of Brit's friends along, chaperone, watch the fun... Brit had other ideas. He wanted to take a date (cuz he's a rebel like that), and he wanted to ride with his friends. Sniff, sniff. Not only was I staying home, he was driving with a bunch of other teenagers all the way to Smalltown, Ut., AT NIGHT!

One of the other moms suggested a progressive dinner before the dance (I'm sure she had my crushed feelings in mind), so we had two couples over for appetizers and salad.



Soon the kids were off to Aura's house for dinner and a few games before leaving for the prom. I forced a couple of pics before they could get out the door...

Brit and Sarah

Don't they look adorable?

Aura and Brandon


Group photo


Aura was a great driver (despite my irrational fears) and brought my little boy back to me. Brit said he had a great time, met some new friends, and even danced...a lot!

LIFE'S A GARDEN...

The past month has been like school for me. I've been learning a lot about health and wellness and I'm tellin' ya, there is such a thing as knowing too much! It's no wonder I had a headache every single day of college! But mostly it's been fun, and good for me. I love to research things. I love to discover a new school of thought, then look at the arguments for and against it. I want to know the whys, the hows, the ins, and the outs.

The thing I may have learned the most about this past month, perhaps, is myself. I think I have been sabotaging my own health all along. Not on purpose, but still, not really giving recovery a fair chance. I have my excuses, and they're actually pretty good ones (as excuses go)! But if I keep saying I want to heal, move on, recover, I can't accept excuses anymore.

Over the years I have kept my own little medical notes/journals to document my Fibromyalgia and other health concerns. They have been invaluable to look back on when I start to wonder what treatment has helped with what ailment, and what supplements or vitamins, or changes in diet/lifestyle improve my conditions. I've been thinking that as I start to really absorb these large amounts of info on nutrition and wellness that I might document it all online. Maybe it could be helpful to more people than just me? At the very least, it would be an excuse to closely track how I'm feeling, and it might keep me motivated to stick with it! If I did decide to make public my daily successes and failings, they would be found here:

www.onewholelife.blogspot.com

IT'S TIME TO CLEAN....SE

Does anyone else get that crazy urge to open all the closets and drawers, empty out everything, dump the junk, and start over this time of year? That is exactly what I plan to do... Except it's not closets and drawers I'll be cleaning out this year, it's colon and pores! I will be forced to learn way more about my bodily functions, oh so much more about my "organs of elimination," than I ever wanted to know. You don't even want to know how much you can learn about a person from their poop! So off I go, on a path of discovery, to clean this little house of skin and cells. I'll take pictures! For the past five days my life has been...

Breakfast


Lunch


And dinner


Believe me, that thick, green sludge IS the EASIER way to eat the 2 lbs. of leafy greens I have to consume each day! Wish me luck.

A DAY AT THE LAKE... BRINGHURST STYLE

The Holidays were fun, and busy, and were filled with lots of things I could blog about, but since I'm an absentee blogger lately, I'll just share activities from last weekend. It was a long weekend so we went to the lake- TWICE! Yes, it's winter. Yes, it's cold outside. Not really the time of year when most families would spend time at the lake. We are not "most families" and taking the road less traveled is fun sometimes. On New Year's Eve day, when Jeff said he wanted to take his boat to the Great Salt Lake for some late season duck hunting, my first thought was that I didn't want the family to be apart on that particular day of the year. My second thought should have been to convince him to take the weekend off from hunting... But it was, instead, to bundle us all up and go with him. I won't bore with the details of finding enough "camo" for everyone, or how ridiculous we all looked, (the pics will speak for themselves)because I'm sure the whole thing was only funny to us. We woke up early, we drove, we launched the duck boat, we huddled together for warmth, we took pictures, we explored. In the end, Jeff said it was his favorite day of hunting all season so I guess our efforts were worth it!














Saturday we made plans for an afternoon of snowshoeing in Park City. We invited Mom and Tim to come along as targets for the kids' snowballs. When Park City didn't have enough snow, we kept driving, and eventually decided to give Jordanelle Reservoir a try. The snow was perfect. Fun was had by all.





















Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and it was time to leave. After shedding our gear, we made the drive into Heber for some diesel fuel and dinner at Dairy Keen. Both veggie and hamburgers with yummy fries and shakes (or hot chocolate) were called for after a day like that!