Scofield - The Great Escape...

We have been staying at my Grandparents cabin at Scofield Lake my entire life. Grandpa Moore built the cabin about forty years ago and we have been the beneficiaries of many wonderful trips. The cabin has had a few improvements over the years, but not many- and that's what makes it so charming. One of the greatest benefits of the cabin is it's location. It is a mere 200 feet to the edge of the Lake. There are so many things to love about trips to the cabin and also some not favorite things. Here are a list of some of them:

FAVORITE:

• Waking up on a cold Fall or Spring morning warm and snug under what feels like 100 pound wool quilt made by Great Grandma Moore.
  
• Catching craw dads off the boat dock with red Twizzlers.

Eli talked Grandpa Fotheringham into cooking up some Craw Dads for him to taste. Nobody else was too interested in trying them. I guess anything can be made to taste better dunked in butter!


• Sitting on the front porch watching the rain pour down during a storm.
  
• Attending Church at the Scofield Branch- those folks are the salt of the Earth! And when the speakers during Sacrament meeting are finished, it's time to go home. If they finish early, there's none of this calling on people from the audience to bear their testimonies business. When the speakers have finished what they have prepared, even if it is 10-20 minutes early, then you have a closing song and prayer and be on your way. GENIUS!!!

Eli and Asher find some old hats in the closet to try on. There are treasures to be found in every closet, drawer, and corner of the cabin.

• The bright red carpet that still looks as good as the day it was installed.
• Falling asleep on the couch reading a great magazine or book.
• The boys being entertained for literally hours throwing rocks off the boat dock.




• Eating lots and lots and lots of yummy treats.
  
• Playing on the sandy beach at the Lake - making sand castles for the craw dads to climb around on and all the other fun activities sand provides for.
  
• Seeing Dad, Eli, and Scott enjoying the fish they've just caught and grilled for dinner.

Eli and Dad reeling in lunch!


• Meandering around the Scofield Cemetery and seeing all the old headstones, especially those who died in the Mine Disaster.
  
• The fabulous fabric the curtains are made from. I can't even describe what the design/pattern is- but I can picture it perfectly in my mind!
  
• Going to get a Diet Coke at the service station in town.



Eli amazes the crowd with his famous Bucket On The Head trick.




• Seeing Eli reel in a huge fish. He out-fishes any one in the family.

Eli- the fish tremble with fear when he's got a pole in the water.



• Watching fireworks during the 4th of July, which are shot off from the island in the lake, which creates a beautiful reflection over the water.
  
• The pictures on the wall that are decoupaged pictures on pieces of wood with the edges singed for the "antique look"- my favorite being the hunting dogs.
  
• Seeing Scott and Oakley run away like little girls when I try to get them to pick up a craw dad.
  
• Drinking hot chocolate on a cool morning in front of the fire.
  
• Playing card game after card game on the dining room table.
  
• Watching the Pleasant Valley Days parade- with the local tavern always having the best float. It's the only parade you can show up five minutes before it starts and get a great seat.
  

NOT FAVORITE:

• The days before the sewer was installed and having to use the Out House - especially in the middle of the night!
  
• The Pott's cabin next door with the screen door that slams louder that any door I have ever heard. They can sleep over thirty people and it seems to be filled to capacity most of the summer. The door slamming begins at 5:00 with the fishermen heading out and continues all day. That door seems to slam every five minutes all day long. And it has for the whole 35 years I've been going to the cabin. I'll buy you a new screen door, Potts, if you'll put it in!!!!!!!
  
• Having to walk up to the Ranger Station to get cell phone reception.
  
• Trying to back the boat trailer down to the dock. I just don't get it... Women are not genetically able to back up trailers I am convinced.
  
• When we forget the key and have to break in through a window.
• When the fridge freezes our food.
  
• Having to clean up when it's time to go home.
  
• When the hot water runs out while I'm in the shower.
  
• When Dad doesn't catch any fish when he really wants to.
• Waiting for my turn for the one bathroom.

Scott and I out for a jaunt around the lake in the kayak.

This is the life- driving the boat around with my foot while drinking my bottle.

I'm always the first to protest when anyone suggests replacing the glass in the coffee table. It is the perfect spot for the kids to sit and eat a snack.

You Can't Trick the Tooth Fairy...

It's not easy being the "little brother" and feeling like you're missing out on so many exciting, new things. Eli has been completely enthralled with the whole tooth-loosing-Tooth-Fairy-coming process. It seems just as magical as Christmas to him. When Oakley lost his second tooth on Monday, Eli was so excited that the Tooth Fairy would be coming to our house that very night! Oakley is always the first one to sleep between the two. When I went in later that night to check on them before I went to bed, I checked under Oakley's pillow to make sure his tooth was still there, wrapped up in a Kleenex, for the Tooth Fairy to find. It wasn't there. I checked around and under his bed. No tooth. It didn't take long for me to figure out where it was. I know in his four-year-old heart he was thinking he could out-smart the Tooth Fairy. I'm sure he laid there quietly waiting for Oakley to go to sleep and then snatched up the treasured lost tooth to use for his own gain. I'm sure he was giddy with excitement over the thought of the dollar bills that he would find in place of the tooth in the morning. The funniest part of the story was the look on Eli's face the next morning when Oakley was gleefully dancing around their room waving the dollar bills in his hands. I got to their room just in time to see Eli hurry and look under his pillow - to find nothing. Priceless- the look was priceless. I wonder how his brain put it all together- how did the tooth get back under Oakley's pillow?!?!?! - but it's an important life lesson to learn - you can't trick the Tooth Fairy.

Scott remembers one Christmas he snuck into the living room to take an early peek. He saw a Curious George stuffed animal on his brother's pile that he really wanted. He picked up George and put him on his own pile of presents. Later that morning, when the whole family came into the living room together to see what Santa had brought, Scott's Mom immediately went over, picked up Curious George, placed him with the appropriate brother's pile, and said Santa had told her he was giving the Curious George to Scott's brother and it must have gotten mixed up. Like father, like son. Just like you can't trick the Tooth Fairy, you can't trick Santa.

The Napoleon Dynamite Wanna-Be...

Oakley has to be the pickiest eater ever. He loved baby food and ate everything I offered him. It's been a battle since the day he started eating solid food. I've talked to his pediatrician and he said not to make a big deal about it since Oakley is growing and has no interest in junk food. Oakley drinks so much milk I will not be surprised if he starts mooing one day. He will eat a dozen rolls, and probably has, if they are the frozen Terrell brand rolls that I allow to raise and bake - as long as I don't put something dreadful like butter or jam on them. He also LOVES macaroni and cheese. It must be the Kraft brand that is made in the pan, he has no tolerance for Quick Mac in the microwave. He has a few other things, but those foods do make up the majority of his diet. How completely sad. I have definitely failed this child in the role of dietitian.

At school Oakley is required to eat all of his lunch before he can go out to recess. I decided to take advantage of this situation by putting some fruit in his lunch each day. I thought it was a small victory on the side of nutrition. A couple of weeks ago I discovered this wasn't the case. When Oakley was getting into the car after school and I reminded him we were going to piano lessons, he said, "But I have squished grapes in my pocket." Of course getting a straight answer from Oakley wasn't easy, but when I finally got the whole truth out of him I found out he had been shoving his grapes into his pockets when his teacher wasn't looking so he could enjoy the benefit of recess without having to eat his grapes. As smart as he was to figure out how to get rid of the grapes without actually consuming them, he wasn't smart enough to figure out how to get them out of his pockets and into the garbage can before they were a juicy mess in his pocket. I don't know if he got the idea from watching Napoleon Dynamite put his tator tots in his pocket, but that is one of Oakley's favorite movies.

I discovered today that Oakley has actually made progress on his plan to get rid of his fruit without eating it. He told me during dinner that he has a "whole bunch" of apple slices in the front pocket of his lunch box. Again, after further investigation, I got the whole story. Since the fruit-in-the-pocket plan led to a sticky, mushy mess, he was now putting his fruit in the small front pocket of his lunch box. Sure enough, when I opened up that front pocket - which I obviously never do or I would have discovered Oakley's new fruit disposal spot - a week's worth of apple slices. I wonder how much longer the apples could have been in there before they started to stink?

It is just shocking to me what drastic measures Oakley will go to to avoid eating food he doesn't like. It's not like I'm trying to get him to eat liver and onions or some other dreadful food item - just FRUIT! Are a few grapes or apples slices too much to ask?!?! A small voice in the back of my mind keeps saying it's my Mother's curse being fulfilled. I was an incredibly picky eater as a child and I remember Mom's frustration at trying to prepare a meal that would be approved by everyone. I don't know that it ever happened. Sigh.... How many more curse-fulfillment's do I have to look forward to? Frightening, very frightening to think about.

My Name is Asher Lev...

I absolutely loved the book, "My Name is Asher Lev," when I read it in high school. I loved the name Asher and kept it on my "Possible Names for Children List" that I added to throughout my life. Our Asher was extremely close to being an Owen. It was two days before he was born that I was talking with my neighbor. I was telling her we thought we were going to name the baby Owen, but we still weren't 100 percent. Shannon mentioned that she was just preparing a lesson for her Sunday School class about the Twelve Tribes of Israel and really liked the name Asher. I hadn't had Asher at the top of my "P.N.F.C.L.", but as soon as she mentioned it, my love for the name that I had in high school came back and obviously kicked Owen out of the top spot. It was confirmed again when I looked up the meaning of the name and found out it meant "happy" and "blessed." Who doesn't want to be Happy and Blessed?!?! Although Oakley was a bit confused the first few days after Asher was born and kept asking, "But where's Owen?", we certainly couldn't imagine our Asher with any other name. Since it had been so long since I'd read, "My Name is Asher Lev," I decided to order a copy that I could read and keep in our family library. It was to my great joy when I found a collectors copy that the author, Chiam Potok, had signed! I don't know why I like the book more knowing that Chiam Potok had actually handled it and signed his name, but I do. Hopefully Asher will appreciate it, too, one day when he's old enough to read it. Happy and Blessed... hopefully we all have at least some of it in our lives regardless of our name.

Our Little Professor...

Oakley has been telling us for months that he needs glasses. He was absolutely sure and kept saying he was so excited to be able to wear glasses. Of course we scheduled an eye appointment, but both Scott and I were thinking there was no way he really did because he would tell us what different signs said that were really far away. The day of the appointment I started wondering if the doctor knew when a kid was "faking it." Now I doubt that there are many kids who really want to wear glasses, but we all know Oakley is far from typical.

After an "enjoyable" hour and a half wait for our turn, Dr. Abrams gave Oakley the eye exam and told me he did need glasses. Of course I immediately feel guilty for thinking Oakley was not telling me the truth, for putting off getting him an eye exam for so long, and for passing on such horrible genetics.

Oakley LOVES wearing his glasses. I've been amazed at how responsible he is with them and always making sure he has them for school. He looks so mature and they seem to fit in with his personality - our little professor!

Top Forty Music and Being Old...

Life continues to change in many ways. One of the ways that has certainly changed for me is that I couldn't tell you one song that is currently on the Top Forty chart. Not one. Now if you want a round of "Name That Tune" that includes any song from Blue's Clues, Barney, or The Wiggles - I've got anyone beat hands down. The fact that I am so far out of the Popular-New- Music-Loop was made extremely apparent when my friend, Ellen, called and invited me to a Jack Johnson concert. I immediately said yes because I knew I would like any concert that Ellen was going to, and then asked, "Who is Jack Johnson?" After Ellen picked herself and the phone up off the ground, a result of the shock of realizing I was really that pathetically out of the pop culture scene, she told me to listen to some of his music on the Internet and that she knew I would love it. She was right. After listening to his music on his website, I made a trip to Best Buy and purchased a couple of his Cd's.

The concert was fabulous! It brought back the memories of all those concerts we attended at the Salt Palace. We always wanted to have General Admission tickets so that we could be down in front of the stage. As exciting as it was as a teen to be completely smashed to near-suffocation in a crowd of drunk and stoned people, it really was crazy. The tops of my feet would be bruised for a week or so after from being stomped on. The ringing in my ears seems to go on for a day or two. The one really shocking fact that I think about now is how did we keep our hair from going up in flames with all of those lighters we were always holding up. We're talking the 80's hair- lethal amounts of Aqua Net sprayed to reach the perfect level of bouffant hair we all wanted. It truly was miraculous we never ended up with our hair on fire.

One especially memorable concert was Def Leppard. I couldn't keep my eyes off that one-armed drummer! They were all great in different ways: Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Poison - all of the rockers. We also loved Park West and seeing the more mellow crowd- UB40; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Steve Miller Band; John Denver. Oh, my John Denver! The picture is still so clear in my mind. We ended up with fabulous tickets for him- 7th row and center. There was John- on that stage in beautiful Park City with the mountains in the background and John with his guitar singing away- for me, personally, I was sure.

Some day I will be more aware of the current music scene- maybe. But I am so glad Ellen introduced me to such a great musician. I do love his music. If you haven't heard of Jack Johnson because you have to listen to Barney's Greatest Hits or Scripture Scouts every time you're in the car, he's definitely worth checking out.

Eli and The Planets...

I'm sure it's not easy being the younger brother of Oakley, the I.Q. through the roof boy. Scott and I have to keep reminding ourselves that Eli is pretty average in the academic field, but it's not like he's totally far behind or anything. His talents seem to lie in the athletic area. One of Eli's favorite activities lately, though, has been getting his CD player and ear phones and listening to The Planets symphony. Of course he like to have his blanket in hand and his thumb in his mouth, but he does seem to really be concentrating and enjoying the music. I don't know of any other four-year-olds who search out symphonies to listen to. Maybe he has another emerging gift beside knocking the baseball out of site.

Tooth Fairy Misses...

I’m trying not to feel too cheated, but I sort of do. Oakley lost his first tooth on Monday, July 21st while visiting Grandma Lee Ann in Idaho. While he was reporting this exciting news to me over the phone, I tried to convince him to wait until he got back home to put his tooth under his pillow. He told me he knew the Tooth Fairy could find him in Lava Hot Springs - and she did. Oakley put his tooth under his pillow that night and gleefully reported to me Tuesday morning that the Tooth Fairy had left a brand new $5 bill under his pillow. Wow! The Tooth Fairy pays well in Idaho. I know that Utah Tooth Fairy had no intention of paying that much. When I lost a tooth, I always received $1 bill and a pack of watermelon bubble gum. I was convinced the Tooth Fairy left me the sugary treat because she wanted me to rot the rest of my teeth so she could have them. I thought that the price for teeth may have doubled to $2 in the twenty-five years since I had a visit from the Fairy, but it looks like the price has quintupled. But the bar has been set and we don’t want to raise too many questions if the Tooth Fairy changes her policy based on the state of residence when the tooth was lost. We might have three little boys wanting to move to Idaho during the tooth-losing years.
All of these thoughts about the Tooth Fairy remind me of a funny dream my friend from Ricks College, Mike, used to have. He said in his dream he was on a date with the Tooth Fairy and all she ever wanted to do was sit and watch videos of dancing teeth. Mike said if he ever suggested another activity, she would refuse. He had this dream quite a few times and it made me laugh every time he re-told it.
Back to feeling cheated, I do feel like I've missed out on an important milestone- the first tooth lost by my off-spring. Thankfully they all three have a mouth full of teeth and I will get to be a part of many more jack-o-lantern, smile-making tooth losing experiences.

Oakley Trying to Figure it Out...

We had a sad occurrence in our family recently. Jeremy and Emily lost their baby, which Emily had been carrying for about four months. Unfortunately, this is not the first time they've lost a baby this last into a pregnancy. Since the death of Grandpa Moore (which I'm still not at a place where I'm ready to write about yet. I have added over 10 pounds in my grieving process. Powdered donuts [which I never really cared much for before] and watching seasons two and three of The Office have been my coping method. It doesn't take long for the scale to move up when donuts are being consumed!), Oakley has been quite focused on and often talks about death. He wants to look at the obituaries in the paper regularly. When asked why, he says, "Because Grandpa Moore was in there once." He reads each obituary and shares facts he finds interesting and will ask questions about how they died.

The topic of death and what happens in the next life are often a topic of conversation around here. So when I told Oakley about the baby dying, Oakley knew just what we needed to do. He asked when the funeral was and where the baby was going to be buried. When we explained to him the baby was too small and wouldn't be buried, he seemed quite perplexed. He then asked if we could go to the cemetery and have a picnic for the baby. I said that it sounded like a good idea and we'd get it all planned. He then suggested we could have it at the cemetery where Grandpa Moore is buried, "so he can be there, too." He seemed satisfied once we figured out a way to pay tribute to what for him was a very real life, a cousin he looked forward to growing up with. He knew that we needed to, in some way, acknowledge this baby as having passed on to the next life.