Tsunami Watch

Who would have thunk another major earthquake would hit so soon? We were blown away with the news about Chile...and also the tsunami warning that followed. As we were getting ready for church on Sunday morning, we were hearing these warnings on the loudspeaker every hour on the hour:



Then, after we returned home, they were announcing evacuations of all the low-lying areas...including some of our bases.




Our neighborhood is up on a hill, so we had no worries, but we sure hoped it would turn out to be nothing for everyone down by the water.



We waited until just before the tsunami was supposed to strike, and did what most of the neighborhood did...



Walked down the street to where we could see the water, just in case that huge tidal wave rolled in.



It was just one big Sunday afternoon block party.



But, there was really nothing out of the ordinary.



Just typical, hazy sky over calm waters.



Not that we were complaining...believe me!



Better safe than sorry, I say.

I think we've had all the excitement we need around here for a good long while.

An EXTREMEly Happy Birthday!

Coree planned her own thirteenth birthday party. Besides the requisite friends, this was her list:

(1) Monkeys
(2) Subway (shocker)
(3) Punchbowl full of candy
(4) Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake

That was the extent of the requirements. As a bonus, I offered to rid the house of boys. Dad's "business trip" took care of him...and I made arrangements for the other boys to stay with friends.

There's the punch bowl. It lasted 2 days. I figure, the faster it's out of the house, the better.

We went to Baskin Robbins to order the cake. They didn't have any monkeys in their designs. We were hoping for Curious George to go with the party goods. Instead, we just found a lion cake we liked, filled out the form and asked that they substitute a monkey for the lion. We knew we were taking a gamble...but it was kind of fun. This is what we got:



"The part of Curious George will be played by...Boots!"



In addition to everything mentioned above, as a bonus I arranged for it to rain buckets of water from the sky. This lent itself to extreme mountain boogie-boarding...and mud-wrestling. But before the girls went out to participate in such activities with some neighborhood friends...they needed to change as not to ruin their own clothes. They raided Patrick's closet and wore some of his instead. Here's some photos of the carnage:



The board stopped...Patrick kept on going.



LOVE the mud splatter on this one!



This one is even better, though!



Patrick almost got taken down by a Jensen twin.



This one was a little scary...they went off course and almost hit a fence. Doubling up caused too much speed.



And they head back up the hill. I wish my flash would have done the mountain justice. It's very steep.



And of course, Amanda the overachiever had to take the mountain backward and head first.







Dropping the birthday girl. Nice.



That's better.



We all headed home to get into some dry pj's.

OK...so these girls were a mess. grass stuck all over them...dripping wet. Most of my house is carpeted...so I brought out towels, had them hose off and head right into the kitchen and laundry room (hard floor) to change. After stripping down, some of the girls were hanging around in just towels and underwear in the hallway, waiting for their turn in the bathroom. I was on the house phone arranging to pick up some dry clothes for someone who lives in the neighborhood, when a text came through on my cell phone. It was from Troy. I was thinking it must have to do with his ride home (he was supposed to get one) or something.

It said:

"Help...I'm trapped in my room."

Fail! Troy had come home while we were "sledding" and was in his room changing and packing for his sleepover when we got home. This possibility never even occurred to me. I ran down the hall to inform the girls that Troy was in there and asked that they move to Coree's room so he could make his escape. They started squealing as they mentally recounted their conversations of the past 10 minutes...right outside of his door...of bra sizes and who likes what boy. Poor Troy! They were all shouting their apologies as they ran to Coree's room.



Then it was time for sandwiches and candy. Looks like Coree went for the candy!



Then it was time for presents...



And if there is crinkly paper involved...kitty wants to help. There might be treats in there!


I was exhausted (having had 3 hours of sleep the night before due to Cliff's 3 AM wakeup for his departure) and the girls wanted to watch "The Proposal" so I made a deal. I told them if they let me sleep during the movie, then they could wake me up to do the cake afterward. That two hours felt like ten minutes.




Coree loved her Boots cake. I guess a monkey is a monkey.



Isn't it cute?



Happy Birthday, sweet Coree!



Had to get an interior shot...doesn't it look yummy?

Then the girls decided to watch Twilight...and I headed back to bed.

Very few girls lasted till the 3 AM finish of the movie, and then...





At 5:30, the place started ROCKIN'!!!

I ran out to check on the girls, praying the concrete ceiling of the bunker would hold...I shouted, "Is everyone OK?" Only one of the girls was awake...the others woke, up though, as it was still going on...it lasted over a minute. Some of us stood in doorways, others laid on the floor...we didn't really know what to do. I heard some crashing in the back of the house. (One of Coree's screens fell out and a few of Jake's model planes dropped off the shelves...a big one broke.) Then it stopped.

We chatted for awhile about how big it was, one of the moms called to check on things, I got on Facebook to post something, and chuckled that so many of my Oki friends were doing the same thing. Then we went back to sleep.

Then, just after 8 AM, we were woken up by a doorbell-ringing little brother (not ours) because the power was out and he didn't know what to do. The outage had been scheduled (not related to the earthquake) and they had given us a window of hours...but I was SO hoping it would be on the later side, so we'd at least have time to make waffles. Nope. Practically 8 AM on the dot.



Instead, we had to suffer through more Subway and ice cream cake for breakfast. We didn't want it to melt, after all.

So, torrential rain, a 7-ish earthquake, and a power outage. Happy Birthday, Coree! I don't know how I'll top this one next year...but maybe I could arrange an off-season typhoon?

Troy's Latest Ownage

What a busy day Friday was! And though it was Coree's birthday, besides that...and Cliff leaving for Korea...it was all about Troy.

First off, Troy was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta...a math honor society for high schools and Jr. colleges. So ya, pretty much nerd central. Troy doesn't mind. He embraces the nerd.


Principal Sanchez opens things up. (Actually, technically...this ceremony was opened up by two girls singing our national anthem. They sang the wrong words, kept on singing, both realized what they had done at the same time, started laughing...then started over and nailed it! It was pretty funny...but they handled it well.)



Troy listens intently to the Japanese guest speaker explain that while he is an engineer, he doesn't use math above geometry in his occupation or daily life. Way to inspire!



Waiting to receive his certificate...



Troy is (of course) up in the back...in the orange shirt.



There's a better shot.



Congratulations, Troy! We're so proud.



And here's the goods. Even a card for your wallet...AND a window decal to announce your nerdiness to the world. We are seriously going to add this to all our "honor roll" bumper stickers from the kids' schools on the back of the van, just so that there are NO doubts we are a nerd family. Troy suggested a football sticker to balance things out. We'll see.



I should have photographed the cake on the way in. Some overachieving kid had already hacked into it and dished it onto plates, even though I shot straight to the back to get a pic after all the pomp ended.



Josh and Troy...gettin' their nom on.


Then we had to leave right away to pick up Coree's ice cream cake, take it home, and then head to our next venue...


But we stopped long enough to immortalize Troy and Patrick's names here.


Way to go, boys!


Next stop, Troy's end of the season wrestling banquet. I don't think I've posted about wrestling on here at all. I'll have to track down some pics.

Troy and Patrick both started out wrestling, but when Patrick missed two weeks of school due to H1N1, he had to quit the team to focus on his studies. Troy was lucky enough, if you can call it that, to be sick over Christmas break...so he didn't miss anything.

I should also add that our wrestling team this year was rocked by scandal. We lost nearly half the team due to under-aged drinking...and on an off-island trip, I might add. It was VERY disappointing. We actually didn't even hear about it until well after everything was over (and I was wondering why the team got so small)...but as parents we were SO happy with the "zero tolerance" way that it was handled...even though it meant losing so many team members. Some life-lessons are more important than sports.



Here they are filling out their peer award ballots...



And enjoying their meal.



Here's Troy returning to his seat after receiving a peer award. (Yes, I missed the photo.) He was voted "Most Sweatiest" (which is a family theme, evidently...since this was one of Patrick's awards for cross-country, too). We're so proud.


I couldn't stay for the rest of the ceremony, since I had to run home to meet a houseful of teenage girls for Coree's bday party. By the time Troy's award got home, it looked like he had sweated all over it...


But in reality, it was just destroyed in the rain.



Now Troy has another pin to add to his letter.

SAH-weet!

Flashback Friday...Happy Birthday Coree!

Thirteen years ago today:



My dreams of a little girl came true.

With Troy, we kept it a surprise. With Patrick, we peeked. I was tempted to keep Coree a surprise, but just couldn't do it. Just the same...I didn't believe she was real until I heard that squeal. An unmistakable, girlie squeal. Then I started squealing louder than her...only she stopped and I still couldn't. I was SO happy to have a daughter.

My doctor had herself just had a baby girl after two boys...and she absolutely knew the emotion I was going through. What is it about having two of one gender that makes you believe you might never have the other? Don't get me wrong...I would have been fine with that...downright elated...and WAS thrilled to have another boy after Corenne...but it was just such a joyful experience to have both.

Coree was born at lunch time. I, in effect, chose her birthday...since my labor was induced with her. She came one week early. My doctor delivered three babies over her lunch hour...all of us induced, all of us BEGGED to be...but she made me labor and wait till last...since the other two were med-free, and I had the epidural. That, and she had to go pump for her own baby. THEN she delivered me...after reminding me to be grateful because I had begged her for this. (Before you go thinking she was being snarky...you have to understand, she was my doctor for my other two...and the miscarriage/surgery before that...and was like a friend to me...and all my friends are hilarious. It's a rule.)

Enough of the labor stories...except to say Coree was the easiest. By far. It almost felt like cheating.

Instead of tales of labor, I'd like to share some early memories of my daughter...my solitary, sweet, sassy, sensitive little girl...who is now officially a teenager. In no particular order:

1. Hearing her voice for the first time...that above-mentioned, feminine squeal. I can still hear it if I close my eyes and replay that scene in my mind.

2. Her big, beautiful, baby eyes.

3. Pink, frilly clothes...and decorating a pink, frilly nursery with butterflies.

(Trivia: After we got it all set up...Cliff took a look around the perimeter of the room and said, "If this is a boy, he's screwed.")

4. How as soon as she was able to climb out of her crib, she'd get out, throw all of her books back into it, climb back in...and "read" until I came in to get her.

5. Pink, Minnie Mouse pacifiers (called Nuh-nuhs by Coree)...until age 2 1/2, when I had to say, "enough" and confiscate them. Jake was born when she was just 21 months old. She loved to lay next to him with one hand on her pacifier, and the other on his. Then she'd take his out until he started crying...then plug it back in.

6. Watching her dance to music...especially if it was in front of the whole Primary during Singing Time (I was the Primary President from the time she was 6 weeks old, until THEEE Sunday she was old enough to go into nursery. How's that for irony?) Anyway, there's just something about a baby dancing to the beat that fills me with joy.

7. Climbing into bed with us in the morning. THAT was only a favorite after I got the "only after you can see the sun" rule to sink in.

8. How even when she was a tiny baby, she had her favorite ladies who she would hold her arms out to for a hug...whether it was in the commissary or during Sacrament Meeting (and we'd have to pass her back however many pews to get her hug, just to keep her from screaming).

9. Speaking of screaming in Sacrament Meeting...the time she found a sucked-on, fuzzy, hard candy in the hymnal holder, and Cliff caught it a centimeter from her mouth...JUST as the Bishop was starting to speak...and she started screaming, "CORRREEEE'S! MINE! MINE!" and Cliff had to run her out to the foyer with his hand over her mouth, like a football to the end zone, while the Bishop repeated what he had just said. I was nursing newborn Jake in the Mothers' Lounge and missed it all...but I still love the story!

10. Messes that were NOT so funny at the time...but are now hilarious. "Face-painting" Jacob, her sneaky, open-fridge "butter bath", that potty-training story she refuses to let me repeat. SO glad I got pictures (Well, except for that potty-training story).

11. Feeding her a pickle for the first time, and Troy watching her intently as it approached her mouth...and him yelling (very seriously and anxiously) at her, "Don't do it! It's a trick!"

12. How she had her daddy wrapped around her finger. He couldn't look at her without tearing up for the first several months. It was priceless.

13. Watching her grow and change. From a fuzzy, sort-of-monkey-looking newborn (in a cute way) to a chubby-cheeked toddler, to a preschooler eager to learn everything, to a confident student, to an unsure pre-adolescent...and now growing into a fun, clever, beautiful, thoughtful young lady. She's a wonderful daughter, and a good friend to others. And I'm SO grateful to be her mom.

The Lettermen

The letterman jackets finally arrived. (These were Christmas presents, remember?) I knew they'd arrive after Christmas, but the end of February seemed a bit excessive to me.


Oh, how I love these boys.



These grad year patches are my favorite



Troy had a football number to add, but there are no numbers in cross-country



OK, maybe the dragon is my favorite. (Go Dragons!!)



And of course, their sport pins.



Patrick ran into the house shouting, "Wait, Troy...you need your football."
To which Troy replied, "Um, Patrick...I don't actually USE a football."
To which I chimed in..."That's right Patrick, Troy is more of a...'people' person."
Troy liked that.
Patrick still insisted on the football.



Then Patrick wanted this action shot.



He says the jacket makes him feel epic. I think he's pretty epic anyway.