Our Punk'd out Back-to-School Adventure

Back-to-school is always an exciting time of year.  My boys thrive in the structure that school provides.  There is a schedule to follow and less time at home to be bored and get into trouble.  I'm a much better mom when my boys have school.  So it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to the start of school this year.  A new school.  New teachers.  New friends.  New clothes.  You know - Back-to-School!  Woo Hoo!

This year, our back-to-school adventure was one for the books.  It almost felt like a plot line to a really bad family sit com.  It started on Sunday afternoon around 5:30 p.m.  We had been down in Orem visiting my brother's family and celebrating the blessing of my new niece.  As we drove into Davis County I looked to the west and noticed the ugliest sky I've seen since the Salt Lake Tornado in 1999.  I told James that did not look good but I didn't want to mention the "t" word since I have AJ who is obsessed with natural disasters.

Thank goodness there was no tornado, but we did have some very severe weather.  As we approached Farmington, we notice a news crew and several police cars around Legacy Highway.  As we got closer to our neighborhood, the traffic light was out.  And then as we approached our street, I noticed that everyone had their windows open and it was awfully dark.  Yep, the power was out.  Five power poles were taken out by wind gusts up to 75 MPH right by the Davis Justice Center.

Now normally, we are a prepared family.  We may not have a year's supply of food and water, but we have enough supplies to last us a few weeks.  We have a gas stove so we can cook and a gas log so we can stay warm.  But that is only helpful if you can actually GET INTO YOUR HOUSE!!!

Yep, since the move, we haven't actually put the keys to the house on our keyring.  We always use the  garage door openers to access the house and have never given it a second thought.  Who needs keys when you just push a button and the door opens. But that doesn't work when the electricity is out.

Not only that, but James had double and triple checked all the doors before we had left for the day. So our house was very secure.  Sometimes it doesn't pay to be married to a cop. ;)

Our neighbors had already called Rocky Mountain Power and were told it would be about six hours.  That is midnight for those of you keeping score at home.  Midnight on the night before the first day of school.  You have to laugh or else you'll cry right? 

James called the first locksmith that came up on his Blackberry search.  When they finally arrived, the guy worked on the lock for about 10 minutes and then concluded, "Those are the best locks money can buy, I can't pick them."  Of course it cost us $60 to get that tidbit of information.  So we gave him the credit card and he calls it in and it comes back DECLINED!  WTH?  We are no where near our limit.  The bill isn't due until next week and I had just used the card the day before with no issues.

This was the moment I started thinking that we were going to be on the next episode of Punk'd.  (Is that even still on the air? I'm so unhip I don't even know).  My cell phone -- that was already beeping at me because the battery was dying -- starts ringing and the credit card security department called not once, but twice to find out if we had authorized the charge and no they couldn't tell us why the charge was declined. 

Luckily I had grabbed my wallet that morning and I had enough cash in it. Both unusual circumstances for a Sunday afternoon.  But now what?

Thankfully, our overly generous, kind neighbors took pity on us.  First they shared their dinner.  Then they opened up their camping trailer to us.   The idea was we would try and get the kids to sleep and wait out the power outage and then we'd go home.

We finally got the boys to sleep by about 9:30.  James and I drifted in and out of sleep waiting for the power to turn back on.  Thank goodness for Blackberries and iPods that could provide us some entertainment on a very long dark night. At some point in the middle of the night, James called Rocky Mountain Power to get an update.  New estimated time for power: 7:30 a.m.  So we tried to get some sleep off and on.

When the sun finally came up we were still in the same predicament.  And still in our church clothes. But now we had to get our boys to school -- the first day of school in our new school.  I couldn't send my boys in the same clothes they'd been wearing for 20 hours at this point.  And what second grader wants to wear a white church shirt to school anyway. Never mind the hundreds of dollars we'd already spent on school clothes that we couldn't get to.  And the power company now said it would be at least 11:30 before we could get to those clothes.

So after a quick breakfast at McD's we ran into Walmart and bought new clothes for both boys and new tooth brushes and tooth paste for all of us.  After all, you can really do anything if you can just brush your teeth. In fact, I had a very "Where the Heart Is" moment as I was brushing my teeth in the Walmart bathroom.

We did manage to get AJ to school pretty much on time. I'm sure I looked like quite the site in my wrinkled skirt and blouse and my bed head.  Word was starting to spread around the neighborhood that we'd been locked out and spent the night in the trailer.  We've been getting lots and lots of laughs out of it.  Again, you have to laugh or else you will cry.  I can't wait until the next Provident Living Lesson in church when we are turned into the object lesson for everyone on preparedness.

Fortunately, the power did finally come back on and we did finally get back into our house right before it was time to take Spencer to Kindergarten at 11:25.  It was quite an adventure.  One we will not soon forget.  And hopefully it is a lesson to everyone about having a non-electric way to get into your house. You know,  something old-fashioned.  Like, I don't know, a key or something.

With all the other excitement going on, I didn't have time to focus on this other aspects of going back to school.  You know, as excited as I get for back to school, it is also a reminder to me that my babies are growing up too fast and time is passing too quickly. I will never have a preschooler again.  But I am proud of the smart and confident school-aged boys I do have. In all the excitement, we did manage to get some pictures with  James cellphone:

Uh . . . What do you say when it's been a year?

Hello . . . is this thing on?  Uh . . . ya.  I know it's been over a year since I blogged.  And oh my, how embarrassing is that. 

When it's been a while since you've blogged you wonder if anyone would actually read your blog if you did post anything.  So this is a test, a test of the emergency blogger network if you will, to see if I post it, will you read it.

It's actually been kind of an exciting year.  I don't even know where to start so maybe I'll just show you the year in pictures and go from there.

Last I left you, we'd just been sealed in the temple to our Spencer.  :)  After that, we took off for Monterey for a couple of days with my brother Hyrum and his family.  We tried to go tide pooling, but it was too late in the day to see much.  And we went to the aquarium there.  I'm more of a lake town girl myself, but we did love Monterey.

It wouldn't be summer for me without the Stampin' Up Convention.  While everyone else was clamoring to get their picture taken with Shelli Gardner, I was thrilled to get mine taken with my favorite board member, Thurl Bailey.  And if you have to ask who Thurl is, then you are obviously not a Utah Jazz fan.

In August, AJ started first grade.  He had the best teacher ever and flourished in a lot of ways.







 
And in September, Spencer was off to preschool.   He actually went to two different preschools last year and had a great time.

In October, we went to McCall, Idaho and stayed on the shores of Payette Lake with our good friends the Butlers.  We love hanging out with them and I fell in love with McCall.  It might be my new favorite lake town.  (Sorry South Lake Tahoe.)

Then for halloween this year, we had a Clone War Trooper and a fireman.  We always go trick or treating with the Millers and always get a picture all together.  Fun times!

November brought basketball back into our lives.  The Utah Jazz season started and our boys played Bitty Ball at the West Valley Fitness Center. See the bitty boy in the back, yep.  He was the bittiest on the team.  And the tall one back there, he was the tallest in the league.  No more bitty ball for him.


Ah Christmas.  The time when two little Wright boys get more toys and candy than any two little boys have a right to have.  We had a low key celebration at home and loved every minute of it.  Much better than the year we had food poisoning.

What?  Stampin' Up convention in January?  Yep, Leadership Conference was in Phoenix this year.  Can you say "golden opportunity to get out of the inversion?"  Perfect chance to shake the winter blues.  Here I am with my Stampin' Addict Sistahs who made the trip too: Dixie, Sharon, Stacy and me.

Also in January, we had the first reported siting of two Wright brothers actually sitting next to each other and not fighting.  Doesn't happen very often so you have to capture the moment that it does.

Now to the really exciting part.  We got this kind of crazy idea that we should try to sell our house.  So most of January and early February was spent getting it ready to list.  Little did we know that we'd get a full price offer in EIGHT DAYS!  So goodbye to our first house -- the place we brought our boys home to -- and to all our good friends and ward family there.  It was very bittersweet.

Here is where the boys birthday pictures belong.  Except, there was a error when we were packing to move.  The camera that the pictures were on got packed away in a very safe and secure location.  So safe and secure, months later, they haven't been found.

Oh and right here is where there should be a picture of the rental we moved into for seven weeks.  Thanks to the Benzons for not leaving us homeless when we didn't have a clue what we were going to do next.


It's a long story I'll have to share another time, but in April we were lucky enough to get this house under contract in Farmington. It was a foreclosure and we really feel like God had a hand in bring us to this neighborhood.   We moved in May 15 and two months later, we still have boxes that need to be addressed.

Also, in May, Spencer graduated from Preschool.  He now knows all his letters and the sounds they make and can count to 20.  Oh and he's just about mastered his S-blends.  What a kid!  I don't have a picture, but AJ graduated first grade with perfect attendance and on the honor roll.  So proud of both of them.

One of the best parts of moving to Farmington is being 5 minutes from the Lagoon Amusement Park.  We have season passes this summer and have had a lot of fun over there. 

Earlier this month, we went to Boise for the baptism of the Butler's oldest daughter, Brynn.  We're Brynn's godparents, but since Mormons don't really have those, there wasn't anything official for us to do other than to just support the family, and be proud of Brynn for making the decision to be baptized.  Oh and to steal her gum, but that's a story for another day too.

And guess what that brings us back to?  Another Stampin' Up Convention!  Except this time, sadly, I didn't get to go.  It's actually happening right now, even as I type this.  My friends are enjoying a chocolate fountain at the Salt Palace 17 miles from here. Boo Hoo!  James is out of town at a training this week and I couldn't get the logistics worked out.  But I did get to go to the fabulous Stampin' Addicts Meet and Greet on Wednesday.  So here's a picture of my swap buddies.

So that is, in a quick and dirty nutshell, our past year.  Hopefully, it won't be another year before I post again.  But just so I know if it's worth it or not, post a comment so I feel the blog love.  :)

Our Forever Family

It's fair to say that the best days of my life have all involved my family and the Temple. Now I have another day to add to the list. Today, our eternal family grew by one more as Spencer was sealed to us and became an official part of our forever family.

We came to Oakland to have him sealed to us because my parents are serving a mission here. They couldn't come to us, so we went to them. James and I were also married in the Oakland Temple so it seemed fitting that we would complete our family here as well. But while we were blessed to have several close friends and family members here with us, we did miss many of our wonderful Utah friends who have become like family to us.

We've been trying to prepare the boys for this day by talking to them about what would happen and what a special day it would be. I'm not sure how much of it sunk in but Spencer kept singing "I Love to See the Temple" all day. It was very cute.

When they brought him up to the sealing room, he was a little apprehensive. He looked around the room and didn't see me, so he started to hide behind the nice sister who brought him up. Then he peeked back out and looked around and finally saw me. He ran across the room, launched himself into my lap and buried his head into my shoulder. I couldn't see it, but apparently he flashed one of his famous Spencer smiles on the way to me.

After the Temple, we all headed to my brother Eric's house for Spencer's Blessing and lunch. James blessed Spencer that he would make correct choices in his life and grow up to be an honorable man and priesthood holder. It was a wonderful blessing.

And Eric really out did himself with the food and festivities afterward. I'm lucky to have a brother in the party planning business and he was gracious enough to let us use his backyard and his brother in law as top griller. He even got the squirt guns out so the boys could get wet and cool off on this hot summer day.

Today has also brought up wonderful memories of another wonderful day six years ago when our Bubs was sealed to us. I will never forget when he came into the sealing room, he looked around at all the people and just beamed one of his famous AJ smiles. He was feeling a bit bent out of shape because of all the fuss over Spencer today. I tried to tell him that we made just as big a fuss over him back in the day, but he was just too young to remember.

And now we have two wonderful boys who are all ours -- forever.
I know this post is missing some of my usual writing style. I think it's because I am so tired but I really wanted to get these pictures and historical record down today, while it is still fresh. I promise to be back to my sometimes-snarky self soon.

A Family, At Last

I'm interrupting my posts about our recent travels to bring you the lastest breaking news from our house. It's official, legal and all the rest: Spencer is ours and we are his with all the rights, duties and responsibilities that entails. Judge Denise P. Lindberg made it all official this morning and we close one chapter of our lives and open another one.

Building our family has been a long and drawn out process. If you had asked me in 1995 what my family would like in 2009, never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured it this way. But God works in mysterious ways and he built our family under his plan, not ours. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Bringing Spencer into our family has been the hardest thing I have ever done. The poor child didn't deserve what had happened to him in the first three and a half years of his life. And the emotional wounds were deep. There were plenty of days where I didn't feel like I was up to the task of being who he needed me to be to help him heal and live up to his potential.

But at some point, we moved out of crisis mode and realized a new normal in our home. We got Spencer off the sippy cup, out of diapers and into speech therapy. We spent a small fortune on therapy bills for all of us and begain to sharpen our parenting skills. We addressed Spencer's anxiety issues and adjusted medication. We rid the house of peanuts and tree nuts and got an epipen, asthma inhaler and a new reality.

We have two energetic boys who are real brothers now. They play together, they fight together, they tease and taunt and do all the things that real brothers do.

I feel a huge sense of relief too. For most of the past seven years, we've lived in the "waiting-to- adopt" world. In a lot of ways, it's a life on hold -- never knowing when the call might come and your whole life will change in an instant. No more squirreling money away into the "baby fund" or holding on to baby stuff just in case we need it. It is very freeing knowing what our family will look like and be from here on out. I can make a plan without wondering in the back of my head how we might have to change it if we get a call from the agency. There will be no more calls from the agency. We are done. And that just feels right.

God works in mysterious ways. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Southern Utah Tour Day 2: Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon

The second day of our journey took us on one of the most scenic byways in America: Utah's Highway 12. I can see why they say that it is. The terrain is so varied and so amazing. We took off out of Torrey and down towards Boulder. And by down, I mean south because you have to go up and over Boulder Mountain to get there. The views from the top are amazing. You can see all the way to the La Sal Mountains which are on the far eastern side of Utah. And of course, up there at over 9,000 feet you are in Pine trees and Aspens, but you are overlooking the red rocks and swells Capitol Reef.

One the other side of the Mountain, we stopped in Boulder to go to the Anasazi State Park where we saw the ruins of an ancient civilization. Very cool. Could not imagine living in something that small. But very cool. A few pics:

Then the road continues down through the tip of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. There are a lot of hard feelings over how President Clinton created this monument - even going to Arizona to announce it's creation instead of coming here. I worked in the Governor's Office at the time and it really was one of the nastiest political *screwings* I ever witnessed. But I will have to say, the part of it I saw was spectacular. (Although I understand the rest isn't as amazing. And how could it be? The thing is HUGE!) So here's our collage of the Scenic Drive:
Then on to Bryce Canyon. My grandfather brought us here when I was a teenager, but that was a long time ago and I only remember driving up and looking at it, not spending much time there. At Bryce, you are mostly at the top of the canyon, looking down and out on all the hoodoos (fancy rock formations). Not a good place if you are afraid of heights. We didn't do any hiking down into the canyon, but we did do some at the top: even hiked to a Bristle Cone Pine tree. And we tried not to let the rude German tourists ruin our whole day. (They were just sure we were going to let our kids fall over the edge. If they had been in a car with them for two days straight they might have let them too. ;0)) That night we stayed at the world famous Ruby's Inn just outside the park.

The kind of strange thing about the trip to this point was the lack of other families. We saw a few kids in Capitol Reef by the campground but none at the hotel and none at the restaurant. And in Bryce Canyon, I would say 90% off the people we saw were older European Tourists. I felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb. But really, I can't complain about the boys. They did really well on the whole trip. Tomorrow I will share more of our trip including St. George and Zion National Park.