Our Personal Lake

It has been raining, and raining, and raining. We have all felt very sunshine-deprived and irritated about all the lovely spring weather that we have NOT been having.  The gray drizzle has dampened (soaked) not only the ground, but our spirits as well.  After more than week of daily rain, the kids were desperate to be outside.  On Saturday they noticed that the drainage area in the front of our neighborhood had filled up and become a lovely little pond.  Shortly after commenting on the fact that we now had a lake in our own neighborhood, they began plotting how to take advantage of the situation.  First, they started asking if they could go look for frogs.  I said yes.  After the fun of that wore off, someone got the idea to get out the inflatable boat and see if they could paddle it around.  I believe I was on the phone, or only half paying attention when they asked if they could do that, because the next thing I knew, there was a great commotion of dragging the boat out of the crawl space, hooking up the air compressor, finding puddle boots, etc.   By the time I really realized what they were doing it was too late.  I was a bit worried about what the neighbors would say.  I wondered if paddling around in the decorative drainage area was allowed in the homeowner covenants.  Then I realized that Matt was involved in the process, and so I happily left it in his hands.  Here are some pictures of their big adventure.

The boat had a slow leak, so eventually they had to come out of the water.  Sadly, by the next day the water had drained away.  Although I do not ever wish for it to rain so much again, I do have the hope that if it does, at least there will be something good for the kids to enjoy outside.  

Do not leave these children unattended.

Matt and I went to the temple yesterday. (a six hour minimum absence)  It is bad to leave our children home alone. Their creativity gets a little out of hand. I know they do naughty things and don't tell us, but the funny thing is that sometimes they are so proud of their creations or adventures that they take pictures. Don't they realize that they are creating incriminating evidence? I am always surprised when I download the pictures on the camera as I prepare to blog. I never know what I will find. Today I found pictures like this one:

I guess I should be glad that they were getting along.  Kaylee said the neighbor came out and comented that Kaylee looked like one of those elephants that provide rides for people.  She thought maybe she should be offended at being called an elephant, but decided to let it slide.  I think she gave a ride to every small child in the neighborhood.   I am thankful that at nearly 15 years old, she is still willing to play with her siblings.  She stays very busy with her teenage life, but will periodically take time to assist her siblings in their endeavors.  Probably that heartwarming fact is what helps me overlook the mess and danger that happens everytime I leave home.

By the way...   Matt just saw this picture, and commented that the Honda in the driveway was in the garage when we left for the temple, and was also in the garage when we returned.  The kids fessed up to giving rides by taking it out of gear and pushing it back and forth.

Announcement: A Name Change

I'd like to announce that Kadin will no longer be going by his name. He has decided that "Kadin" is not suitable. We have frequent interactions with 7 other Kadins in our life, and our little guy is tired of being confused. For a while we tried calling him his old nick name, Hunkey, when other Kadins were present, but he has repeatedly told us that he'd like to be done with that stage of his life as well. So, we were talking about other names that he could choose.  I told him about how when we were in the hospital when he was born, Matt and I could not decide if we should name him Kadin or Bryce.  We were sitting there all packed and ready to go home, but we couldn't leave until we had filled out the birth certificate information.  (Otherwise we would have had to go to the courthouse later and pay $ to make an official change from "Baby Boy Tanner" to his real name on the birth certificate record.)  Anyway, after his siblings and I suggested countless other names, he said that Bryce was what he liked best.  Then we had to show him all the different ways it was spelled, and he chose to spell it with a y, "Because I already had practice writing lots of "i"s in the middle of my name"  is what he explained. 

Not everyone in the family is cooperating with this change, and some of us try to comply, but forget.  I don't know which will happen -- either we will get used to the new name, and it will stick, or he will get over this little whim, and go back to being Kadin.  I'll keep you posted.

Also, as if changing his name is not drastic enough, he has also decided that he wants to grow his hair out.  He has told me repeatedly how he wants it to look.  (All one length and slightly above the bottom of his ears.)  Everyday, Matt askes him if he is ready for a haircut, and Kadin Bryce just ignores the teasing.  He is very determined to accomplilsh this hair style.  In fact, he has started combing it out himself every morning, and is more faithful about brushing his hair again at night than he is in brushing his teeth at bed time.  Matt tells him to go brush his teeth, and then in a few minutes comes into the bathroom to check his progress and finds the child combing his hair.  I'm a bit worried about his teenage years.  He is already very particular about what he wears, and has very definite fashion oppinions.  Kaylee says he is going to be really vain.  I'm just pleased to have a child that actually cares about thier appearance.  I have had to beg and/or threaten the first 4 to shower, wear clean, matching clothes and brush thier hair.  Some of the older ones still couldn't care less about clothes and hair.  It is hard to look like a perfect mother when your children look like urchins.  Maybe Bryce will help to  restore my image.  (But I fear it might be too late.) 

I just thought everyone would like to know about this important new identity development.  Has anyone else ever been through this?  What was the outcome? 

Kaylee's to do list

Trestle Work

Last fall I wrote about a fire that destroyed the trestle that spanned the inlet, over which Matt daily rode his bike to work.  Well, the comunity rallied and donated enough money to rebuild the burned-out section.  As the professional contractors finished the structural repairs, Comunity volunteers (including some from Tesoro) have been helping to finish up the work.  Matt has spent several evenings out on the bridge.  Last week he took Dallin and Jillian with him.  They were helpful and had a good time.  They were happy to feel a part of the comunity project.  In the top picture, you can see the small space that is left to complete.  Matt and the kids will be out there on Monday, and Tuesday.  I think Matt plans to ride his bike to work on Wednesday!  Hooray! 

One of Matt's Tesoro co-workers drove the kids out to the bridge in the back of this vehicle.  It was an "exploring Africa" style car.  Old. Manual everything. No seatbelts.  Dallin was fascinated with it and has now done enough research on those kinds of cars to write a 50 page term paper.  Although, instead of writing the 50 pages, he has been orating them to me every chance he can get.  He is positive that this is THE car that he needs as soon as he can drive.

Maddo's Triathlon

Saturday Maddy participated in a kid's triathlon.  Jillian could not participate, due to a knee injury, and Kadin was too scared to do the swimming portion.  So, Maddy had the honor of being the first member in our family to complete a triathlon.  She had a good time.  The swim was hard.  She is not fond of the deep end, and had never really swam that far.  She was very brave, and made it. 

She was so nervous and excited about it.  The night before, she asked Matt to help her get her bike ready.  They pumped up her tires, adjusted the seat, fixed the brakes, etc..  Then in the morning when we went to load her bike intot he car, we noticed the back tire was flat.  Luckily, Matt keeps a good supply of inner tubes handy.  He was able to sit in the parking lot before the race and fix the tire.  She seemed to really be struggling during the bike part of the race, but we just figured she was tired from the swim.  After the race was over, Matt was wheeling the bike back to the car, and he noticed that the tension on the back wheel was really high.  When he checked it out, he realized that she had been riding the bike with the brakes partially engaged the whole way.  Poor Maddo.

The run was her favorite part.  We kept telling her to pace haerself, as she had to run 2 laps around the track.  Her idea of "pacing" was to sprint like all heck for 3/4 of the track, and then walk for a while then sprint again.    I think we are going to have to work with her on that concept.  :) 

It was a fun way to spend a quick Saturday morning.  So, now that Maddo has done it, the rest of the family has to get with it and step up our athletic pursuits. 

In Memory of Grandpa & Father John Tanner

I want to write a bit, but have been procrastinating, because it would be so hard. I feel a bit silly sending this to Matt's family. I feel like a unqualified third party documenting the story, but for my extended family and for our personal family history, I do want to record a few details. I hope I do not misrepresent things based on my perceptions.
On Friday, April 23, 2010, Matt's dad, John Paul Tanner passed away. He was 67 years old. This was an unexpected event, although, as we sort through our experiences of the days preceding his heart bypass surgery, I believe that some of us quietly, almost sub-consciously, guessed what the outcome of the surgery would be. Not that it made it any easier to bear when it happened.

After receiving the news Friday evening, our family hurriedly packed and left on Saturday to join Matt's family in Utah. I am very grateful to all the people here who filled in with pet care, took over paper routes, substituted in church teaching assignments and waived other requirements that we had going on here.

The entire week was emotionally exhausting. It feels blasphemeous to admit that it was also a wonderful time of visiting with family and friends. I was amazed at all the people who dropped everything and came for the funeral service. There were people there who were Matt's childhood friends who he had not seen in close to 20 years.

I thought I would write some of my memories and impressions of John, but I can't quite do that yet. Here are some other things that struck me as profound about the whole experience: I have an image permanently recorded in my mind of Sandy and the 5 children standing in a reception line together at the viewing on Tuesday evening. It was a picture of a beautiful, strong group of people bound by eternal ties of love, who were in complete harmony with one another. Their very lives were the most powerful tribute of John and to him. I feel an overwhelming sense of awe at being allowed to be a part of this family.

Another impression that I had, which I have never experienced, is the deep void that I felt in the feeling of our group gatherings. It was more than just missing his physical presence, I truly felt a gap that his spirit filled as patriarch of the family.  After feeling this way for a couple days, one night during the dinner prayer, the feeling in the room changed and felt normal again.  It felt complete and comfortable. I think that maybe his spirit was there with us.  I now believe that each spirit has a distinct essence -- one that can be recognized and felt.  I would use the analogy of how a cook can taste the flavor of each ingredient in a special dish.  The flavors blend so well, one doesn't notice them separately until one ingredient is missing and it just doesn't taste right.  Well, the void is back, but I am thankful for that one moment, and for what I learned. 

I liked how Aunt Becky spoke of John's death in her prayer at the funeral service. She called it a graduation from mortality.  In my opinion, John graduated with honors.  I know he was on the right path.  Although we are sad -- beyond any way of putting it into words -- we also have the hope that he is not gone forever.  Becky's words helped me remember the grand time-line of our total existence.  Knowing this helps me want to try to be valiant as a wife and mother so that we can claim the privilege of being a complete family through the eternities. 

While in Utah, we adults spent a lot of time reminiscing and honoring John, but the grand-kids did not have a formal opportunity to share their feelings and memories.  So, here is what our children have to say about their grandfather:

Kadin -- I remember eating pretzels and drinking lemonade and playing Uno.  When he came to visit us at our house he brought cherries and they were really good.  At his house, it was his job to take out the trash.  He had brown hair that was brushed all nice, and it seemed like he was always smiling.  We set up a table and Grandpa played Sorry with us in that big room at Mill Hollow.

Maddy -- Grandpa was fun and he loved little kids.  I liked playing Uno with him.  When we were at his house I saw him taking a lot of naps.  He liked to hold Sarah and let her play in his toy pocket.  I remember Grandpa on the jet ski in his straw hat at Lake Powell. Grandpa always enjoyed the meals that Grandma made, and he said thank you to her. 

Jillian-- I remember when he would be playing cards with Grandma Lesh, he'd say, "If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried,"  I remember him telling me that even if Grandma Lesh looked like a cute, old grandma lady, she was really mean when it came to cards.  I remember going up on the top of the houseboat at Lake Powell, and we watched the sunrise while he steered the boat.  He was often squinting and he blinked with his eyes shut really tightly.  I remember he fed us a healthy breakfast -- it was gingerbread and ice cream, and then he told Grandma, I gave them bread and dairy!  That is what they need! 

Dallin -- I remember he'd let us play chess on his computer.  He liked to play Hand-and-Foot, or any card game.  He liked playing Uno with us, and we liked to drink "beer" (lemonade) and pretzels while doing it.  He liked to read the Consumer Reports and I always thought it was fun too.  I remember every Christmas he was the garbage monster, and he collected all the trash from the unwrapping.  When we were little, we would run past him in his chair and he would try to grab us and hug us.  It was fun.  He got to drive the house boat and the Jet-skis.  He sat on his red chair a lot and would read the paper or hold the youngest grandchild.  He would always be the one to cut the turkey or meat, and once he used his power knife thing, and it was really cool.  I remember driving to Lake Powel in his car and once we stopped for gas and he looked under the hood, but then it wouldn't close.  But he didn't get mad about it.  When he lived in Texas and we went to visit, he watched us race our remote control cars. 

Kaylee -- He played Uno with us and we had "beer" and pretzels.  This happened several times over the course of a few years.  We always looked forward to it when we visited. The only time I remember him getting mad at us, I was really little.  It really scared me.  We were bouncing on the couch, and he came in and called our names, and then made us sit down on the couch and he talked to us.  Afterwards he played a game with us, but I was scared of him for a while after that.  I remember his chair -- the red one -- that he always sat in.  I remember that when we went downstairs he would sit at the computer and show me all the pictures that he had of the grandkids.  I also remember the bulletin board with all the pictures.  It made me feel loved when I was featured on it.  Several times Grandma would be telling us something "mom-like", and it was something we didn't want to do.  He would come in and say something funny and nice that would help put it in perspective so that we were more willing to do what she said.  But he made it seem like he was on our side, and was our friend.  He was always either in a bathrobe, or dressed up nice in khaki's and a dress shirt.  There was no in-between.  I always found that confusing and funny when I was a little kid.  One more thing: He had the coolest pencil collection.  They were Ticonderoga #2 (which are the best kind.)  He had a million of them and they were all perfectly sharpened and kept in a special place. 

Kaylee's Sunday doodling

A few weeks ago, I brought home some shampoo and conditioner labeled "ocean breeze" scent.  I thought it smelled lovely. Kaylee looked at it and started laughing.  She knew better than to fall for the glamorous marketing due to her many "ocean breeze" experiences.  This cartoon explains her cynical amusement.  I hope you find it funny too. 

Dr. Seuss Birthday Cake

Maddo wanted a "Dr. Seuss" cake for her birthday.  Kaylee created this.  It was not quite how she intended it to turn out, but it was spectacular -- in it's own special way!  The mess in the kitchen was even more spectacular! 

General Conference Joepardy Game

Several years ago, I noticed a post on my Latter-day Saint home school email group list thing. A seminary teacher had made questions about General Conference into a Jeopardy game. It was so clever! We used it for Family Home Evening, and were very surprised and amazed to see what our children had actually remembered. It was way more than what Matt and I thought they were getting out of it. We have gratefully used the updated, posted game after every conference for a while now. However, since most of the questions are very seminary oriented, I have to make up some extra questions that are more kid oriented. Last year, as a Gospel Doctrine teacher for the grown-ups, I had the great idea to play it in Sunday School the Sunday following Conference. It was a hit there as well, and stimulated some wonderful conversation and testimony sharing about the truths that we had just heard. We will be doing it for the third time this Sunday. Last night we used it in FHE and had 3 other families over to "compete" with us. It was a fun evening! Some people have asked me for the questions so they could use them in thier own FHE's. I figured that I might as well put them out for anyone who is interested. In October, I hope to have them posted by Sunday night so everyon can use them the very next day. It seems like if we wait a full week, some of the effect has worn off. So, here are the questions that Matt and I came up with with a few added by another mom who was at our FHE last night. We call it Conference Jeopardy, but don't play it exactly like the TV show. Make up your own rules according to your family style. Hope you like them! (PS we allowed it to be "open notes")

Conference Jeopardy April 2010 180th Annual



New Quotes for the Fridge

100 Uchdorf told about a statue in Germany that was destroyed during WWII. The people were able to restore it, but a certain part was irreparable. What was the statue and what parts were missing? For an extra 100 points, what was the quote that the people inscribed on the base of the Statue? (Jesus, His hands, “You are my hands.”)

200 Scott – was talking about ????????? and said, “The best way to make permanent change is to…..” (Make Jesus Christ your model)

300 In speaking about not being offended, Halstrom said, “Never let an earthly circumstance disable you ________” (Spiritually)

400 Monson said, “The 2 most important words in the English language -- ___________? (Thank You.)

500 Halstrom -- No matter the size of the issue, how we respond can reset____ what? (the course of our life.” ) Speaking about responding to offense and dealing with trials.



Priesthood Session

100 Beck – talked about something new that is coming. (Duty to God)

200 Monson’s – story of the elder who wrote home every week, but never got a letter in return. Monson told him to keep writing anyway. Did he keep writing? And what happened?

300 Rasband told a story about sitting with Eyring as they were doing mission calls. How did it work, and what was the testimony that he gained from this experience?

400 Oaks – three ways of healing the sick – medical science, prayers of faith and priesthood blessings. What did Brigham Young say about seeking blessings with out seeking any medical remedies first? (Not good. It’s like asking the Lord to grow his crops w/o him planting them . Use all sources for help.)

500 Uchdorf was living a principle of the gospel, but as he did endless running in pilot training, he was weary and was passed by people not living the principle. This caused him some concern and questioning. What was the principle? (word of wisdom) and what did he learn? (God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly or in the way that we hope.)






Stories

100 Uchdorff told a story about 2 brothers who individually snuck out to the field in the night to add to the other’s pile of the harvest. What principle was he trying to illustrate with this heart-warming example? (Having a spirit of compassion and seeking for each other’s happiness)



200 Martino told a story about a little boy who dreamed about hitting a super grand slam. He went out to practice, tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed. This happened a few more times. He became very discouraged. Suddenly he brightened and declared….(What a pitcher!) What principle was he talking about. (Facing adversity.)

300 Eyring told a story about his son who decided to walk home, but lost his way. What did the boy do and how did he get rescued? (Pray, 2 young people helped him – looked up in the phone book and called the parents.)

400 Foster – talked about a father telling a story to his child and the child kept correcting his choice of words because it was different from what the mother had told him. The father became exasperated and asked him who was the final authority in the house. What did the child respond, and how did he know that? (Dad is, because mother said so.)

500 Hale’s grandchild took his grandfather’s face in his hands and asked, Grandpa, are you in there?” Tell the story and the point of it.



Themes

100 Someone mentioned a mother and daughter did this together, then later Hales recommended that we as parents do this with our youth. What was it? (Work on our duty to God and personal progress goals.)

200 Packer said We have done well with distributing the authority of the ___ but that we lag in the power of ______? The ____does not have the strength that it should have, and will not have until the power is firmly fixed in what? (priesthood, families)

300 Ballard said he spoke last time to fathers and sons. This time who did he speak to? (mothers and daughters.)

400 Scott what is the most important calling in the church from which you will never be released? (Parenthood)

500 Who was Dear Ruby? What topic did he introduce with her picture, and how can we participate in this subject? (great-grand daughter, family history)





Imagery

100 Holland said, You don’t have to serve them tea and crumpets.” Who or what was he talking about? (bad thoughts.)

200 Uchdorf talked about a lady who said she felt worn and crumpled and battered like what? But then what was the positive thing that she declared? (20 dollar bill, she was still worth the full value.)

300 Foster talked about ranching and trying to round up 3 baby cows who would not come. How did they finally get the babies back on track? What was the point he was trying to illustrate. (got the mothers to come lead them)

400 Monson described a painting he saw in a museum in England. What was the title, and/or describe it. (Hopless Dawn)

500 Christoffherson told a story of William Tyndell, who was executed in England in 1536. What was his crime? (Publishing the Bible in English)



Church Stats

100 Name all 12 apostles and the first presidency

200 How many church members are there? (13,824,854)

300 How many missionaries? (51,736)

400 How many temples in operation? (130)

500 Name any of the new members of the new Primary presidency (Rosemary Wicksen pres, Stevens, 1st, Asey 2nd)  (spelling on all names???)


Here is the link to a place where you can listen to the talks.  Text will be posted there by Thursday. 
http://www.lds.org/