A Blast from the Past

In January, my friend Sally turned 40. Being a child of the 80's, she had 80's party to celebrate. We were supposed to dress in costume. As I was researching what acceptable 80's attire would be, it was pretty hilarious how ghastly some of those clothes were back then. I was kind of embarrassed that the clothes I wore were all in my own closet! Here's what we came up with...

Me and Steve - Go turtles!
We borrowed the mullet wig from the Miles. I was very surprised and happy that Steve played along so well.

Michelle a.k.a Olivia "getting physical"

Cherri in her 80's Prom dress and Jeremy
demonstrating "the sway"

Joe, Kassie & Jonathan
I loved Kassie's belted sweater, leg warmers and heels!

Showing some of that 80's preppy attitude. The flare jeans were kind of hard to peg, but I thought with the double opposite socks and canvas shoes I did pretty well!

Joe, Jason, Mindy, Sally, Del, Cherri, Jeremy & Steve
Michelle, Kassie, Jonathan and Me

We had treats and snacks, talked about all the crazy things we remembered from our teen years (childhood for some) and watched 80's music videos that Steve had downloaded to his laptop for our viewing pleasure. We sang along and laughed til our sides hurt. It was so much fun!

Addicted to Chocolate...

Okay, I had a little reality check a couple of weeks ago when I threw away another emptied large bag of m&ms. I was really upset at myself for having absolutely no self-control, and did some searching for help on lds.org. Most of the articles were pretty specific about certain kinds of addictions, but there was one that helped me get a little perspective. I wrote an article for our Dixon Family Newsletter sharing my feelings. It really sums up what I was thinking...

As I stepped on the scale this morning to weigh-in for The Dixon Girls’ Biggest Loser, I thought back through the week and realized three things about myself. 1) There is something seriously wrong with my calorie intake/burn ratio. 2) Eating most of a 13 oz. bag of m&ms in two days or 7 brownies at a time is not normal. 3) I have an addiction to chocolate. I know this sounds kind of funny, and I’ve been known to admit it lightheartedly, but I started thinking about my obvious lack of self-restraint, and it made me feel really bad about myself. In my mind, addiction is an obsession that causes us to neglect things of greater importance. When we think of addiction, we usually think of drugs, alcohol, pornography, or gambling. But, I believe that addiction can also apply to things like food, television, shopping, politics, Face book, or anything that we find ourselves so involved in or with that we lose control over our bodies, time, or priorities, and it hurts to change our behavior.

I found a talk by Elder Robert D. Hales that really hit me in the heart when I read it. Here’s some of what he said: “I speak to all whose freedom to choose has been diminished by the effects of ill-advised choices of the past. I speak specifically of choices that have led to...addictions...that diminish one’s sense of self-worth. We must turn to the Lord and follow His commandments. We must want more than anything else to change our lives so that we can break the cycle of our uncontrolled wants. Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions, are part of our test in mortality. Let me assure you that your situation is not beyond the reach of our Savior. Through Him, every struggle can be for our experience and our good. The Lord will never allow us to suffer beyond what we can endure. We must remember that the adversary knows us extremely well. He knows where, when, and how to tempt us. If we are obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we can learn to recognize the adversary’s enticements. Our success is never measured by how strongly we are tempted but by how faithfully we respond. We must ask for help from our Heavenly Father and seek strength through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ.” (Ensign, May 2009)

I thought about that and realized that because I am a child of God who loves me, and because He gave me this body which he expects me to have control of, and because what I want and feel matters to Him, I can turn to Him with this struggle, too. I must ask for help, and then do whatever I can myself, relying on His strength to sustain me. Mom told me she’d joked about giving up chocolate for Lent. I decided today that I don’t have to give it up temporarily, or even forever. I just have to “gather my wits” again, and exercise and strengthen my self-control. With God’s help, I know I can make weak things become strong.

Snowshoeing with Bryson

In January, Bryson's fourth grade class went snowshoeing at the Mink Creek Nordic Center near Pocatello. Steve took the day off so I could go with Bryson's class. We had such an amazing time together. I borrowed snow gear from my sister-in-law, and for the first time in my life in Idaho, I was actually warm while being in the snow all day. First, we gathered in the yurt for instruction and then got our snowshoes. They were a lot different than we expected, nothing like the "tennis rackets" we expected from watching cartoons. We went on a hike (about 3 miles round-trip) over hills, through gullies, and across fields. The guide stopped often enough that we didn't get too tired, and taught little nature lessons throughout the hike. We also played hide and seek in a gully. It was so fun, so beautiful, and we had such a good time together. My little Bryson was such a trooper. He just kept going with an energy I hadn't seen in him before. I think it had something to do with being in nature. It must have energized him.

Trudging down the trail

Rabbit tracks in the snow Bryson spotted in a clearing

Bryson's class

A tree-chair we just HAD to try out

After the hike, we went back to the yurt and had lunch. Then we went back outside and the grown-ups (the old tired adults) watched the kids play games in the snow... tundra, fox and geese, and capture the flag. The grown-ups were actually recruited for the last game, and that's when I was exhausted. Imagine a 37 year-old, running through the snow in snow bibs and boots trying to catch 10 year-old boys... Yeah. I was pretty sore. But, it was a glorious day and such a great time with my Bryson boy!

A Brand New Basement Bedroom

The girls' Christmas gift from Santa (and Mom and Dad) this year was new bedspreads and pillows for their bedroom. We also spent days (literally) cleaning out, throwing away, reorganizing and then redecorating the whole thing. The girls threw away and got rid of more than 2/3 of the stuff in their room. I was so proud of them!! They helped paint and Steve put up more trim and new carpet. The carpet was given to us from some good friends. It fit, almost exactly perfect, including the closet, with no seams! Must have been meant to be! I wish I had before pictures to show how awful it was before, but here's proof of how absolutely cute it is now!!

Rachel's bed and wall...

Sarah's bed and wall...

The very organized shelves and closet...

One of the best things about their new look is that they love it so much that they love to hang out there and it is is clean almost all of the time! The clothes only stay on the floor for a few days at a time, and the junk disappears at least every Saturday! I'm so proud of them, and it was a great learning/teaching/relationship building experience for them! It's one of the best things we've could have done for (and with) them! Great job, girls!

Road Trip to Alaska

On our way to Utah at Christmastime, Steve and I were talking about what we wanted to do with the kids this summer. We talked for a while about some things we could do, and then I said, "You know what I wish we could do. I wish we could take the kids to Alaska." My sister, Shaunna, and her family live there and though Steve and I have both been on separate trips there, the kids haven't ever seen it. Steve's face broke a smile and he said, "Why can't we?" I told him it wasn't nice to tease me, and if was serious, he'd better promise. We spent the rest of the trip figuring out when we could go, how we could afford it, and how to make it all work. After a very excited call to my sister, and a solemn oath from my husband, we announced to the children that we were going to Alaska in June.

I can't wait to show them all that I loved when I went. I remember the incredible waterfalls and roadside lakes on every highway. The monstrous glaciers were amazing, as were the sunsets in the middle of the night. I remember how much I loved the beautiful wildflowers, picking wild raspberries, digging for clams and seeing all the wildlife. I'm sooo excited to experience it with my kids, and my husband this time!

The only thing that could be problematic in our plan is all the car-time. We've decided to take a road trip (can't afford to fly 7 - or even 2 - of us there). We will take a week or so to get there so we can see and experience Northern Idaho/Washington or Montana and Canada on the way, stay in Alaska for 10 days or so, and take about 5 days to get home, by another route. Steve and I decided that if we have some destination each day, and lots of activities, snacks and movies, it could be bearable...even an adventure. We've decided that each day will be a mini-trip, with stops in national parks, camping, tourist stops, hotels, and hikes and such along the way. As I've told people about our plan, many of them have thought we are absolutely crazy to take 5 kids on a trip like that. I actually think it will be a lot of fun. We love being together, we'll have our dad all to ourselves for 3 or 4 weeks, and make memories of a lifetime. Sounds pretty awesome to me!

So, we've got an Alaska savings account going, with about 75% of the money we need in there. We're working on new tires for the suburban, passport cards, routes, fishing trip and day cruise reservations, etc. The hardest part I think, is deciding what we want to do while we're there. We've promised the boys a trip to go clamming, and lots of fishing. I've promised the girls a girls-only shopping trip in Anchorage. Steve's promised me a Halibut fishing excursion. I've promised Steve a couple of days to just hang out, without any stress or pressure. I'd also like to take a wildlife day cruise. Not sure if we can afford all of that, so I'm not sure what else to plan. Our tour guides, Shaunna and Eric, have many ideas, suggestions, and plans of their own. So, we'll get that tied down in the next month or so, and then all we have to do is wait for June to come!! ALASKA, HERE WE COME!!

Playing Catch-up

Okay, here I am, three months past December, and finally stealing a minute to catch up. Life has been absolutely crazy, and not a moment to myself...okay, a few, just not many. The next six posts (though not in the correct ascending order, but a more traditional descending chronological order) are a little run-down of what we were up to just in the month of December.

Sing, Sing a Song...

In December (sometime), Sarah had her Holiday Choir concert. She's in general choir this trimester and has really enjoyed it. The concert was really nice. I was impressed with the director and how well the students sang—from the select choirs to the general choir, that had only practiced for six weeks. It was fun to see Sarah so excited about something she enjoyed. She's also made a whole bunch of new friends. It's always good to be involved in high school!