It sounded like a good idea. Four days of fun and games without the kids for our 11th anniversary. We even flew down and had a pretty nice hotel room.
Things don't always turn out as planned. Jerm doesn't gamble but I did talk him into a Bingo game or two. Then things took a bad turn and we spent an entire day in the emergency room. Jerm had an acute attack of Diverticulitis. weird. We ended up postponing our flight home and paying for another night in the hotel and another day with the rental car. bummer. Jerm spent our extra day drugged up and in bed. I spent the day walking around the fancy malls and eating out alone. It was definitely a memorable trip. The boys had a GREAT time hanging out with cousins and having 4 slumber parties.
We've been home now for weeks but man I guess it took longer to recover than usual. I think I'm still working on vacation laundry! whatever.
My boys think this blogging thing is pretty cool so they asked me to set one up for them. Look for their links coming soon. They write down exactly what they want and I'll post for them. They take all their own pictures and are in charge of content (with some motherly editing by yours truly).

*WARNING- not for the squeamish

I'll apologize in advance for the content in this blog. However, this is my life la dee da. I like collecting bottles. I have quite a lovely grouping. Some old ones from uncle Shirl and the little brown one that used to hold those nasty fluoride pills my mom would make me chew. I have found a couple at yard sales and I have received a few of them as gifts. I like to set my collection on a window ledge so they light up in the sun. Their current home is on the nice wide ledge in front of the big window in my family room. In the basement. Also known as "the dungeon".  Okay, I call it the dungeon because it's a little dim and the only people who spend any time down there are the kids. Usually 6 or so at a time. Another hobby of mine, besides the bottle collecting, is cleaning up pee. Call it a pet peeve, call it OCD call it basic housekeeping, whatever. I can't stand the smell of urine. I know most people can't but I believe I have super-sensory sniffing power and pee smell makes me crazy. This is a difficult power to live with being the mother of two young boys. I teach them not to just wipe the seat, but also the sides of the bowl, the bottom around the stupid caps that always fall off,

 the floor around the toilet and the space between the tank and where it attaches to the bowl. We're still learning. Another source of fragrance comes from a sweet boy not being completely "in control" at night. But, nighttime underwear is supposed to go directly outside first thing in the morning. Why does he feel the need to hide them underneath puffs of lint in the laundry room garbage can? gross. I don't have any pets but yet, I find myself on my hands and knees more often than I'd like examining wet spots with my gifted scent seeker. gag. 

Sometimes there's a toughy. That smell you just can't find the source of? Usually a dishrag

 fallen behind the washer or a sippy cup of milk left behind by a darling little cousin that rolled under a piece of furniture. Well I've had one of those phantom scents, and it smelled like pee! I won't admit how long it has gone on. In fact, I almost resigned myself to the sad truth that my house would smell like that forever. 

Mystery solved.

Remember my lovely bottles sparkling in the sun? Yeah that's right. Couldn't quite make it up the stairs to make it in to the bathroom. My mind is still reeling.  A capped bottle of  yellow liquid sitting amongst my lovelies. Only one of my darling children was home at the time of discovery and he promptly denied any liability. Until, I told him that I could take the specimen to a lab and have it tested for DNA. He fell for it and fessed up. Then the other darling child came home. I already had my culprit so I just wanted to know wh

at he knew about the incident and why he didn't rat out his brother. As soon as I said "bottle of pee", he instantly apologized and begged for my forgiveness. WHAT?! There's another pee bottle hidden in the basement?!?

Welcome to my life.

I am a Scout.

It took me a few days to recover from my latest adventure. Nine days in the high Uintahs. You know the place where all the boy scouts get lost? Yeah that's where I was. I was there to be on staff for an adult leadership course called Wood Badge. Overall, it was great. Good people, beautiful scenery (although, I can appreciate the scenery from afar I really don't need to live in it) and some fantastic training. I have interpreted the Scout Law to give you a glimpse of my experience.

A scout is:

Trustworthy- To be trusted you also have to trust. Thanks to Jerm and my fam for taking good care of my boys.

Loyal- I am completely loyal to Deep Woods Off. The only brand of bug repellant that comes close to fending off the giant furry mosquitos whose poky things are so big  it feels like a tetanus shot every time they bite you.

Helpful- When the diabetic lady was sad because everyone else was eating ice-cream, I let her have ONE of my sugar-free chocolate puddings.

Friendly- But after a week, let's keep the friendliness at arm's length. What is the link between huggers and an aversion to deodorant?

Courteous- I don't know what it is about men in the mountains and the constant need to belch. To their credit, whenever they noticed I was around they usually excused themselves.

Kind- After spending HOURS trying to set up 4 teepees in the rain, a group of Native American boys  that happened upon us were kind enough to show us how it should be done.

Obedient- I set my own rules to stick to a pretty strict diet while I was there so I wouldn't get sick. I did it and lost 4 more pounds as a bonus!

Cheerful- Because she knows she has a secret stash of fancy edibles hidden in the lodge and she doesn't have to eat what's in front of her.

Thrifty- But not so thrifty that he sacrifices the quality of food he's giving other people to eat. gag.

Brave- I slept in a spider-filled tent for 8 nights being regularly visited by oversized squirrels that pooped on my floor.

Clean-Take a shower people! We had facilities. They may have been cold, dark, full of bugs and open to the world but the water was clean.

Reverent- Every night I would pray. I thanked my heavenly father for keeping my family safe and for allowing someone to invent earplugs.

My humble abode.

Stinkin' squirrels.

The facilities.