We had a perfectly good freeway intersection where we could enter and exit with ease. Back a few years ago they decided it needed reworked. No one can figure out why. It’s quite confusing and it doesn’t even make sense. Money wasted.

Case in point about how confusing it can be to us locals… I was headed to the town adjacent to the freeway junction and came to the sign that said Phoenix straight ahead or Flagstaff to the right. The little town I wanted is not on the sign and not thinking, I took the Phoenix route. It was a wrong decision. Flagstaff was the road that would take me to the little town adjacent to the freeway and which was only a mile away.

As soon as I passed, I knew I had made the wrong decision. Not for the first time. And not for the first time, I decided I would just make a U-turn in the center median on the freeway right where it is clearly marked NO U-turn.

That was my second mistake.

The exit to the little town was as soon as I made the U-turn so it was quite convenient to pull into the McDonalds and wait for the cop to come to my window.

My son had already dug out the registration and insurance and I dutifully handed it to the police officer.

“Mmm, do you have another one? This one is 2 years old.”

Scrabbling through the other papers in the glove box, Justus vainly searched. The only registration paper we could find was expired and insurance papers? Never did find those!

“I’ll take that registration paper. Even though it’s expired, it’s a little more current than the other one.”

“Do you know the name of your insurance company?”

I hung my head in shame and emitted an embarrassed laugh.

“Uh, my husband changed insurance companies recently and I don’t remember what the new one is called.”

Talk about looking like a blonde!

He went back to his vehicle and was doing his job of making sure I wasn’t some escaped convict driving a stolen vehicle.

Lights flashing…

And the friends that I was supposed to be meeting? They were there to witness it all… and were treating it like it was a spectator sport. I was their morning entertainment and it must have been a good show by the huge smiles on their face.

Finally, I was called back to his vehicle where I was told that the registration plates on the truck were expired. Seriously? It should have been no surprise to me for I was driving my husband’s vehicle after all. I’ve seen this so many times that I am hardly astounded any more.

Fortunately, Mr. Officer was kind to me and only gave me a warning. No requirement to show proof of insurance or anything else. He made sure I knew it would not go against my record. He probably figured anyone that had no clue who their insurance company was or that was completely shocked to find the plates of the vehicle they were driving had expired was like a baby in this big world and needed help.

He’s probably right.

Do you ever get in these situations or is it just me? (whimper, whimper)

I feel like an case example of what it’s like to live with a husband who doesn’t conform to the normal status quo. What do you think?

And if you’re wondering about my title… I couldn’t think of anything better. I sure didn’t want search engines to pull up my post about driving unlawfully or illegally… so I settled for meeting a police officer. haha

Bob Evans was supposed to be where our stomachs received their first nourishment but dad couldn’t find it.

But he did see a sign that said “Breakfast All Day” and his car whipped right into that parking lot.

We gave each other questioning looks as we pulled into our parking spot since the sign and grounds looked a little in disrepair but hey, our papa wanted to eat here so we were going to just go with the flow. Oh, how we wish we hadn’t.

I headed for the bathrooms to freshen up after our flight. That was my second indication that this place might not be up to snuff. The bathrooms looked in disrepair and as old as the patrons and the patrons were all seniors+.

I came out to find us seated at a long L shaped formica covered table where we all were facing out and not at each other.  Our waitress was a friendly enough lady who looked like she was still in the 60’s with her big hair, hoop earrings and lavender eye shadow. She let us know the soup of the day was “goulash”. I kid you not! I had to wonder just what was in the soup after seeing the conditions around me. lol

Figuring I would be safe with chicken strips, that’s what I ordered. A variety of dishes was chosen – Eggs Benedict, Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup, Chicken Strips, Vegetable soup… The Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup, we were assured, was outstanding.

As if to make a point about how tasty the food was (or was it indigestion) the man in the booth next to us let out a big exhalation of air  burp!

Just another part of the experience, folks!

My sister’s delicious Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup arrived and big sis took a bite with anticipation. And I suppose if you enjoy Velveeta processed cheese you might would have liked it because that’s what it was. Whether or not Velveeta is actually made in Wisconsin I don’t know, but the cheese soup did not agree with anyone’s palate.

My chicken strips arrived and as I stared at it, I was dismayed. It looked to have come from a box and just heated in the oven. Gross. Not only that, it was completely bendable. You know. Sort of like rubber. Gross again. I completely lost my appetite and after only a few bites, I traded with Audrey for her pancake.

The cheese omelet was filled with more of the “Wisconsin cheddar” Velveeta cheese. Mom, who had ordered Vegetable Soup, remarked on her crackers, “There’s just something not quite right about these crackers. They just don’t taste fresh… kind of soft.

We couldn’t help but laugh. This place was awful. And to top it all, President Bush had breakfast here in 2001 and Sterling Family Restaurant is quite proud of this.

There’s a time when a business needs to make some hard decisions about whether to close their doors or not. I think they’ve delayed making the right one for a verrrryyy long time.

Some of the boys were playing a game of RISK.

And some of the girls were cleaning. I can handle houseguests like that! A few were cleaning bathrooms and a few were doing some laundry.

Enter the pile of socks.

I have a pile of socks …make that a few piles of socks. One pile is in the folding basket and takes up half of the basket(!) and then I have a grocery bag full of more socks.

Audrey and my niece, Abigail decided they were going to get all these socks taken care of once and for all. I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom doing some planning, they were sitting on the floor with a pile of socks in between them.

After realizing they didn’t have all the socks, they found the grocery bag that had more and dumped them on top of the first pile.

Enter Hadassah, another niece.

“Ewww, what’s that smell?”

“What smell,” I asked.

She scooped up a pile of socks and carried them to me putting them directly beneath my nose. Ewww! They were stinky.

About that same time Audrey exclaimed, “It’s a mouse!” and began screaming.

I had no idea where the mouse was but all I knew it was probably running around like crazy. I screamed, threw up my legs (I was not going to have it running over my feet!), plugged my ears, closed my eyes screaming the whole time. Quite loudly.

At the same time my other niece, Liliana was on the opposite side of the bed from the girls who were sitting on the floor. She hadn’t heard that a mouse had been found – all she knew was it must be bad since we were screaming and so she started screaming too.

Hadassah & Abigail were yelling at each other.

“Just take the mouse out!”

“You take it!”

Finally, Abigail scooped up the shriveled, dead specimen of a mouse with one of those lovely socks and carried it away and order slowly returned.

The rest of the story? Well…

My voice was scratchy the rest of the day from the strain it had been under.

The boys never even came to check what was going on. Thanks guys for being our knights in shining armor! :p

Grace, my very calm and unflappable niece? She proved her nature all over again. She opened the door and stood in wonder as she saw pandemonium and chaos reigning in what was a quiet peaceful scene moments before.

And we all laughed and laughed over it later.

Lessons to be learned from this?

• Beware if there is ever a bad smell in your sock bag. You just never know what you might find.
• Don’t keep a sock bag around forever. Just get rid of it.

If you haven’t seen the posts about our Havasupai hike, here they are.

Day 1 – Havasupai – Hiking in

Day 2 – Havasupai – Beaver Falls

Day 3 – Havasupai – Navajo & Havasupai Falls

Day 4 – Havasupai – Trekking out

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That’s what happens when you get to reading health books.

Radical changes come down the pipe and your family gets caught up with you and is so excited for change  is caught in the middle of it all at quivers at what that may mean for them.

“We’re going to be having green drinks each morning,” I continued.

I reassured them that it would be great. Breakfast wouldn’t take so long and we could get about our day much quicker. “What do you mean a smoothie won’t give you enough energy? Okay, maybe a few times a week we can have eggs.”

So we began. It was a novelty at first and although they looked quite skeptically at my offering to them, they drank.

Green, green, green all the way!

Then a few days into it, and may I add a day after we had a classic American breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and toast, I made them a drink that my two youngest just did not find palatable at all. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough of the drink to go around so I had poured myself a very small glass…. preferring my children you know.

I now have a growing collection of green drinks that didn’t get finished in my refrigerator. (not from me)

But this morning, I pulled out all the stops and made what I thought would be the best drink we’ve had yet. Dark cherries, coconut and of course, greens were some of the ingredients. What I didn’t count on was the terrible looking color it would change to. A brownish color. Certainly not the most appetizing looking.

One of them said, “I’m not having breakfast this morning.”

“Really? Okay.” (Like why would they want to miss out on all this delicious goodness?)

But there just wasn’t enough of the The Cheery Cherry Morning Smoothie to go around this morning and hunger pangs hit me mid-morning. (Should have made more. What was I thinking?)

“It’s not noon yet? I have to eat something!”

I decide that my homemade granola is just what I need. Of course I had to offer it to my son who had skipped breakfast. He willingly accepted, so I headed for the pantry and lo and behold my daughter is in there pilfering the chip bag at 9:30 in the morning!

Maybe, just maybe, my plan to help my family to detox and get on a green smoothie kick is not working.

By noon, all members of the family were in the kitchen looking, hunting, searching for something to fill their bellies for lunch.

Hmmm. Strangely enough, nobody seems to want to take those leftover green drinks for their lunch….

Maybe tomorrow, I’ll hit on a winner recipe! I still have plenty of cucumbers, zuchinni and green apples ready to be made into delicious healthy drinks!

So do you have a favorite green drink? Please share and save my family from any more suffering! You will have their everlasting gratitude.

This one that is orderly and perfectly manicured…

or this one in it’s wildness – maybe somewhat planned but a little impossible to keep contained in a nice and tidy way.

As you probably know by now, my life is not picture #1 but #2, a very unordered life that is impossible to control and to keep in a nice orderly box like some.

Case in point was Tuesday night. We have been planning a trip to Canada for 2 months. The departure day had arrived and our plane was not to leave until midnight. We had all day to get ready but for some (I’m not going to say who) it just wasn’t enough time. We hurriedly said our goodbyes to my son and his family who would be looking after the farm in our absence and rushed to our vehicle where we loaded up as quick as possible and made a beeline for the airport which is 1 1/2 hours away.

I have a good friend who volunteered to take us to the airport and park our vehicle at her house while we were gone. As we were nearing Phoenix, we gave her a call and asked if she could meet us at the highway since we didn’t have any time to drive to her house. (Our poor friends that have to put up with us!)

Picking her up we rushed on. As we were nearing the airport my son who has flown on Air Canada several times, started telling us about the time he wasn’t 1 hour early and how the ticket counter was closed and no one there… and how he was fortunate to find someone to help him.

“Oh, poor you,” we thought, never imagining it could happen to us, too!

Dashing out of our car upon arrival, my husband rushed to the Air Canada ticket counters while we hurriedly unloaded our bags, said our goodbyes to our kind and forbearing friend and went to join my hubby.

No one was at the counter… only the cleaning lady, who was very kind and hospitable asking if we needed put up somewhere for the night. haha We were 50 minutes before the flight was to leave and no help in sight. Mrs. Cleaning Lady said the last bag had went down the conveyor belt not more than 5 minutes earlier.

Finally, a man meandered our way who was a representative for Air Canada. But it was impossible. The flight had been closed. The kiosks wouldn’t let us print boarding passes and you can’t get past security without a boarding pass.

We were defeated…

A phone call was made. Our driver to the airport knew as soon as she saw our name on her caller id that we were stranded wannabe travelers that needed picked up.

And 1/2 hour after hurriedly walking into the airport, we walked out to catch our ride.

See, our good natured driver? It’s getting close to midnight by now.

“Oh, did you have a good trip?”

“Well it seems like we weren’t gone very long at all! I guess time flies when you’re having fun!”

The jokes were flying as was the laughter. Thankfully, we could laugh about it!

She said, “Now I get to see a little bit inside your family.”

I said, “Let me tell you, it’s not always a pretty sight.”

So back home we drove… not so panicked, but just a little bit surprised we weren’t on that plane headed for Canada.

“Oh, we’d better call Zachary to let him know we’re going to be arriving there at 1:30 in the morning. We’d hate for him to shoot us if he heard someone in the house and didn’t know it was us.”

“That would just be a really bad end to the day.”

So all ended well. We made it home, didn’t get shot and snagged a few … very few hours of rest.

And rescheduled our flights for another day.

You have to count your blessings whatever they may be, right?

Did fall really begin on September 23? I’m a bit late to the game but I did finally get around to getting out my fall storage container with the few decorations that I have. It’s so much fun to decorate for the seasons.

I love my little owl with his little pinecone breast and twigs for where his ears?? should be…

The twigs are random but cute.

Kind of like our conversation yesterday….

We were talking about a few of our boys being colorblind.

FALL blocks made by my 12yo son, Justus.

They have trouble with seeing the color green.

And we were wondering how much of the world they miss out on.

Toilet paper rolls covered with fabric make a good-looking and easy pumpkin craft.

Made by my 9yo daughter, Audrey.

But then from her corner in the back seat, Audrey piped up and in all seriousness said……

“That’s because their third dimension is damaged.”

Wooden pumpkins made by my 17yo daughter, Serenity.

Do I have a genius on my hands? Third dimension and color blindness….

A connection I had never thought of.

Twig ears and a third dimensional color blindness issue…

random, but…..

kind of fun.

Is your house Fall ready? Thanksgiving plans in the making?

One little item…

But then I remember there is a sale on blackberries and clementines so I call to ask him to pick that up, too.

Three little items…

He doesn’t do much shopping at our local Sprout’s so finding the liquid iron was a bit of a chore but after rounding up two employees, the liquid iron was plucked from the shelf and safely deposited into the shopping cart.

Next were the blackberries. Two ninety-eight was the price tag. $2.98?? “A bit high but she wants them,” and into the cart they went. Next were the clementines. “Hmmm, this 5-pound bag is a better bargain. Does she really want this 2-pound bag?”

That’s when I got a call.

“Okay, so the clementines aren’t a bargain. Forget those. Blueberries for $2.98? No, they’re supposed to be $.98.”

I carefully check over the newspaper insert and see that the blueberries are part of a 72 hour sale that doesn’t start till Friday so the blueberries are rejected.

That night I’m hearing about the wonderful pomegranates that were purchased for the kids, “and I got some kiwi’s, too.”

“But where are the bananas?”

At least he remembered the liquid iron.

Today is the day we get to do it all again. I know we’re ALL looking forward to it. haha

I’m trying to reassure myself that things are a little easier since the boys have gotten older but truth be told, I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. What if I yell at the kids in front of my daughter-in-law? My status as the most awesome and best mother-in-law anyone’s ever had would be gone, perhaps forever. It’s a gut wrencher of a struggle I’m in. Family picture or tarnish my reputation with my daughter-in-law forever?

This year I put my daughter-in-law on fashion duty. (We needed somebody in the family besides Serenity with a sense of style!) She gave me ideas for color combinations. She even sent some clothes home for us to use if we liked and I’m so needy that when I saw my friend at church on Sunday I said, “That would be perfect for our family picture.” Being so good-hearted she immediately offered it to me and came that night carrying it in a little bag.

They all know:

I am desperate

I am not a clothes horse,

I have clothes so old it’s embarrassing to even mention

I hate shopping

I have slight major struggles in the clothing department

So with the help of others we’re going to try and pull off another annual family shoot. We take it ourselves so that adds another whole dynamic to the situation. Gotta have the right lighting, push the self-timer and get in place all while looking like you never sprinted from camera to photo set in 4 seconds flat.

I’ll do my best to contain myself during the shoot and use only my inside voice with the softest, gentlest and sweetest tones you ever did hear a mother use. And if there happens to be any red eyes it’s probably just (you mean I can’t use the excuse of allergies in the winter?) the cold air having a dramatic effect on them.

You just might want to keep my kids in prayer today.

I retire for the evening at about 9 p.m.

I am having a good rest until at some unknown hour an obnoxious smell invades my subconscious.  But still I continue to sleep lightly.  My husband then comes to bed and I am awakened.

“What is that smell?” I ask.

“Seth came home,” was the reply.

Now that sounds really bad.  As if that reply answered why there was an odious odor.  You will be glad to know that there was more of an explanation coming.

“He caught a skunk in one of his traps instead of a bobcat.”

Apparently, after dispatching the skunk, my son then proceeded to skin it.  So I’m thinking that Seth came home and left his clothes somewhere in the house which would account for the smell.  Russell checks but cannot find them.

The next morning when I awake the house still smells like skunk… and we have 50 people coming for Bible Study.

Great. I may have to issue clothespins to my guests.

I wash my sheets just like I do every Friday and go on the balcony to hang them out in the open air and I see his trapping clothes.  Aha, that is why it smells like skunk out there on my balcony.  His clothes are sent to the laundry for a good washing.

Feeling perplexed because the smell of skunk is still in the air,  I proceed to hang my sheets but then happen to look below and what do I see but the skunk’s hide stretched out on the tanning board. Right. against. the. house.

Skunk de la parfume, anyone?

Then just today while Serenity and I are preparing supper, noises from the basement could be heard . “Ooooo, laaaa, laaaa.”  Although the song had words they were not distinguishable but it sounded suspiciously like an opera being sung in our guest apartment.

Sung with gusto!

But not to worry, it was just my husband practicing for a 30 year music reunion/tribute for his old voice teacher.  “Ooooo, laaaa, laaaa.”

Would anyone like to be our neighbor?

He did.

But

it was a

metal spatula,

and metal spatulas just don’t work too well when cleaning the sides of a bowl.

Never assume they know the basics.  I felt like I had Amelia Bedilia in the kitchen; you know, the lady who takes everything literally.

It’s just so completely adorable how these little guys think.

Enjoy the moments with your small children today, they pass quickly.