Vacation!!

Since everyone is so interested in what we did and where we went on vacation, I thought I'd share some pictures..... (click to enlarge them!)

Day 1 was travel...........

Day two was BUSY!!

Zion's Overlook:

Navajo Lake:

Cedar Breaks:

Brian Head Peak:

Parawan Gap Petroglyphs:

And then...............

We went to the Harry Potter movie.

More to come!! (I'll bet you can't wait!)

A Captive Audience........

Even though we flew out to Utah for our trip, we spent innumerable hours in a car together. On our first day, after a 2 hour flight to Houston and a 3 hour flight to Salt Lake, we rented a car, stuffed in 14 bags and 7 people and drove 4 hours to Cedar City. Beyond that, we had to drive almost everywhere we went. Up Cedar Canyon, down to Zion's National Park, over to Parawon Gap. We put 1400 miles on the rental car in a week's time.

All that time in the car makes for some interesting conversations. Here are some of the topics that were batted around as we racked up the miles:

Freckles. Mesa vs. Plateau. Hairy legs. Spiderman vs. Batman. Tumbleweeds. Mountains. President Obama. Smelly feet. Harry Potter. Dust devils. Climbing ability. Cloud shapes (elephants, sharks, etc.) Wild horses. Music. Personal taste in music (or the lack thereof.) Cemetaries. Motorcycles. Smelly feet. Miley Cyrus. Crypt burial vs. in-ground burial. Rock slides. Ironman. And my personal favorite: What is succotash? And why is it 'sufferin'?

There were also the inevitable 'sing-alongs'. Joe and I were serenaded by everything from the 'Full House' theme song, to Whitney Houston, Enrique Iglesias, Michael Jackson (and the Jackson 5), Goo Goo Dolls, Train, James Taylor, Beach Boys, and Toni Braxton. I have video, but am under oath not to post it. (You can thank me later.)

All things considered, I think I came out of this experience fairly sane. Truth be told, we had a blast. I think the kids will remember this trip for a long time.

Now if only I could get that song out of my head.

Go West, Young Man, Go West!!

Jacob has decided to move to Utah. He left two weeks ago and made the L-O-N-G drive from South Carolina to Cedar City. It only took him 4 days. Of course, he had to stop in Memphis to visit friends, and then again in Las Vegas (where he served his mission) for more visiting.

He is currently living with his Grandfather in Cedar City, looking for work and trying to decide if Cedar is the place for him. If not, he has other options in the Provo/Orem area. So far, in his Utah adventure, he has gone snowboarding at Brianhead and driven his Grandfather to Salt Lake City for a doctor's appointment.

His decision to move west was prompted by the facts that A) He had no job here and jobs seem to be pretty scarce right now, B) He was tired of living at home, and C) The 'dating pool' here consists of about 3 people. You can tell by the picture that he has literally been climbing the walls since he returned from his mission a year and a half ago.

So he's off to the land of 'Zion' to seek his fortune and make his way in the world. We miss him, but wish him luck on his quest. Jacob.....we love you, and hope you find what you're looking for!!

(P.S. If anyone knows of any jobs available in Cedar City or Provo/Orem let me know, I've got just the guy for the job!!)

My Big Brother.....

This is a picture of my brother, Renn, and his wife, Deanne. He has just been called to serve as a Mission President. Basically, this means that he and his wife will spend three years being in charge of a particular region of the world and the LDS missionaries that serve in that region. He has no idea where he will be serving, only that it will be an English speaking mission. That really leaves the field wide open. He could end up somewhere in the USA, Canada, Europe, or on some remote island in the middle of the Pacific. They find out where they will be going sometime in February and they leave to serve sometime in July.

Having grown up with Renn, it's sometimes hard to reconcile the boy he was with the man he has become. I have to say, he lived life a little on the wild side when he was a teenager. (not as much as my brother, Paul, did, mind you, but let's just say he's probably got some stories to tell!) All in all, though, he turned out to be a pretty awesome guy. I don't know that I've ever told him, but I'm proud of who he is, the man he has become, and I'm glad that I am lucky enough to call him my brother.

Way to go, Renn. I hope that you and Deanne find true joy in service, grow closer to our Heavenly Father, and have a grand adventure!

Random Ramblings.......

I cannot figure out why I tend to place so little value on things that I enjoy. I guess I think that if I enjoy something, it must be a waste of time. Instead of doing that which I enjoy, and realizing the value of it, I think I should be cleaning, vacuuming, doing laundry, etc. It's something that I really need to work on.

For instance, I spent an hour with my mother this morning. Yes, I know, she's been gone since 1978. 30 long years. Sometimes I wonder at the fact that I've survived this long without her. How did I get through college? And children? And life??

Anyways, I spent an hour this morning going over letters that she had written to her mother-in-law through the years. I was organizing them and making sure that I had them all typed and saved on the computer. There are about 25 letters covering 20 years of my family from 1952 (Waaaaay before I was born!) until 1972. I'm sure there must have been more letters, but I am grateful for the ones I have. It is a real insight into the raising of our family. I am able to read about her adventures with her husband and children. I can feel her close to me during those times.

Yet......I have a grandchild clambering for breakfast and a mountain of laundry, and other chores waiting....and I feel guilty for hoarding this time together, just me and my mom. So, reluctantly, I set it aside. I know that hungry children can't wait, but letters from so long ago can wait for another day.

Sometimes, though, I want to be selfish. I want to set aside the children instead of my projects. Not that I have a lot of projects, but maybe I would if I had more time. I feel such a pull toward family history. I want to have time to quilt and maybe refinish furniture and read a book. But maybe, for now, the children are my project. Maybe my time is better spent right now pouring cereal and reading Dr. Seuss.

And maybe this better explains my search for the empty nest.

A Birthday Wish...

Happy Birthday to my firstborn!

Eleanor turns 26 today. Hope you have an awesome day!!

I love you, my girl!

How bored were they?

How bored were Jacob and Peter over the weekend??

Bored enough to blow up balloons, rub them on their heads, then leave them there while they played on the computer.

We need some serious weekend intervention. Any ideas?

Family Blog????

So I had this idea sometime in the middle of the night, and like most ideas that come to me when I'm half asleep, I'm not sure yet if it's a great idea, or a ridiculous, inconceivable one. So, I decided that I would just 'blog' it, and see what kind of a response I get. (this could also be either a brilliant idea or a really bad idea depending on the responses!)

So, here goes....we all love to read blogs. I know I do. In fact, I may have an addiction. I may need to join some therapy group (Bloggers anonymous??) I read several blogs a day (I know....get a life!) and get a little miffed when one that I am particularly interested in hasn't updated for a while. I especially enjoy reading 'family' blogs. I love to read Mary's blog, for example, even though we live in the same house, her blog gives me new insight's into her ideas and convictions. I love to read Marcie's blog, because I get to feel a little more like we're 'keeping in touch', and I get to see her awesome quilts and get some ideas for projects that I would like to do 'someday'. I love to read Kati's blog (sorry, no link) but she hasn't updated since November!! (hint, hint!) And lately, I have been enjoying Polly's blog. I feel like I have gotten to know her family a little better, and have loved all the pics that she posts. So....on to the idea. Being that it's hard to blog often enough to keep everyone happy, and being that we really do want to keep in touch, but we're busy, busy, busy, I propose a Patch Family Blog. One that we could all post to, add pics to, have a list of birthdays, whatever. That way, we could keep in touch without having to blog all the time. There would be plenty to read, we could still keep our own personal blogs, but we would be able to bond more. So, good idea? Bad idea? Yes, I would participate! No, you'll never catch me blogging!! Please let me know what you think. I think it would be fun. I will set it up (hopefully Becky would help since she's SO much better at this than I am!) I just need to know what everyone thinks. Last one in is a rotten egg!!!

San Diego Temple

I went to San Diego in February and had the opportunity to go to the SD Temple with my sister, one of my brothers and my Dad. I had never been to the SD Temple before, and it was absolutely beautiful! I loved being able to go with Dad, Renn, and Kati. I had not had the opportunity to attend the temple with them in more than 20 years!! Far too long. But we live so far apart. It's not often that we can all get together. On this trip, my Dad wanted to have as many of his kids with him as possible. It took a lot of work, but we ended up with 5 out of 6. Only Mike couldn't be there, he was in NY on business that weekend. We missed him...but it was great to see everyone else. I truly can't remember the last time I was with that many of my siblings in one place.....I'm thinking maybe 30 years ago??? Anyways, here we are:

Back row, left to right, Kati, me, Dad,

Front row, left to right, Paul, Peter, Renn

Left to right: Renn, Jude, my wonderful 'step-mother', Paul, me, Peter, Dad, and Kati.

As I said, we live so far apart....Peter in California, Renn in Utah, Paul, Kati and Dad in Minnesota, and me in South Carolina. Our 'missing' brother, Mike, lives in Virginia, so we really are all over the country. More to follow........