Batting a Thousand

This place is called "The Wedding Tree" trail in Grand Teton National Park. We had a fun time there this summer camping and hiking and exploring new territory.

I just need to give a little shout out about my darling husband who seems to be batting a thousand, especially lately. I have had a most wonderful, peaceful December. He helps me with all our day-to-day tasks and he continually plans fun things for us to do. And when I need to go off in a different direction that he hasn't been anticipating, he says, "When do we leave?" From dishes and laundry to buying special lotion for my dry feet which I did not even mention or request...I often wonder how I got so lucky.

And I don't think he's doing it just for the holiday mint candy selection or to put himself on Santa's nice list. He's just so very kind and thoughtful. We are having a wonderful Christmas Time!

The Precious Candy Cane

Bet you thought I was going to write some sort of Christmas Parable...nope.

A student brought candy canes for her birthday yesterday to share with the class. Those kids are experts on sucking their canes until they get the sharpest, SHARPEST point possible--a rite of American Childhood I'm sure! I always marvel at how much children love plain old sugar hard candy compared to chocolate and caramel and nuts. They will do almost anything for a Smarties (or a Dum-Dum).

One student approached at one point holding a partially eaten candy cane. This student explained their misfortune of having dropped their treat on the floor. The question was, "Is it okay if I wash this off in the sink?"

My reply, "Whatever floats your boat."

Out of the six thousand questions I'm asked daily, I just didn't have it in me to pontificate about that one.

Ah, the precious candy cane...

Umbilical Hernia

The mister had surgery today and no, he wasn't as funny as when he got his gall bladder out. If anything, he was quite lucid. There were a couple of humorous things...

After he checked in and they gave us our blinking pager (like we were at a busy restaurant on a Saturday night...) I asked for his keys and wallet. He wouldn't give them to me. He stated, "I may still escape!"

When they took me back to recovery and I asked how he was feeling, he said, "I can tell something happened." Later he asked, "Where would I be without Fassett?" That one made me chuckle! At one point, while resting, he said, "Let me know when it's been 4 minutes from now." Okay...

He was feeling nauseated so he came up with this happy thought, "At least we brought the RAV4. If I throw up on the way home, it won't be in your new car."

You know, when the surgeon came out to talk to me, he immediately started mentioning medications and warned about using Tylenol because the meds have Tylenol in them, so don't over-do that, etc. The discharge nurse went over all of that again, so in my mind, we were receiving some really strict instructions about not overdosing on acetaminophen. What did the guy do the minute he walked through the front door? Oh yes, he popped one of his prescription migraine pills which has ACETAMINOPHEN in it!!! And they said he couldn't have any more for FOUR MORE HOURS!!! They also told me he couldn't have any meds, not even his antibiotic, without eating something first. So yeah, he just swallowed that pill and went off to bed! With no food! So I called our pharmacist, Brent, and asked for advice. The first thing Brent said was, "Try not to slap him."

Here's the bottom line: I love this man with all of my heart. I hate to see him go through uncomfortable things like surgery but at the same time, I feel like I won the lottery because I get to be the one helping him through it. He's not the easiest person to take care of when sick, but I wouldn't dream of letting anyone else have the job. He's supposed to take more antibiotic at 2:40 a.m. which requires food as well. I tucked him back into bed and said, "Wake me up and I'll cook anything you want." He gave me a little kiss and sweetly asked, "Are you gonna be around in the morning?" Yes. Yes, Sweetie, I'm going to be right here. Forever.

San Francisco Treats

The Mister went to Reno for a conference and since San Francisco was "just another three hours" I gave him a shopping list for Japantown. Too bad I couldn't have shopped myself or that he couldn't bring more fresh food home, but we got some really nice shelf-stable treats! He did a great job figuring out which store to get which item and he even got a couple of extra things I never mentioned and they were PERFECT!

The best treat of all is having him HOME. And sometimes he makes dinner. And cookies.

Reading in the Wild

The title of this post is the title of a new book that just came out. Donalyn Miller is also the author of The Book Whisperer. I could listen to her all day.

The day before Reading in the Wild arrived from my friends at Amazon, I posted on Facebook how grateful I am to be able to read. Later in the day, I assigned a journal page to my fifth graders and the prompt was "Free Write." Sometimes I give actual prompts with topics, but sometimes I just let them write about whatever strikes their fancy. My only requirements are that they write their first and last names, write the complete date, copy the prompt down onto the journal paper, and fill up the lines printed on the page as a minimum.

Free Writes are revealing. I learned that one fellow is taking Hunter's Safety classes. I heard about sports games. I found out who was headed to St. George for the weekend. Happily, THREE students chose to write about READING! I did not suggest this topic. I didn't suggest any topic!

A girl wrote: "I am reading a book called Dork Diaries number 2 (then she goes on, and on with the plot summary...). She didn't fall off the beam but I wish you could see the picture. It is so funny. She is holding on for dear life but she is not falling off! Oh, I love these books so much. I am just really into them. There are six books but one of them is where you write your own journal and there is another one that I don't have. I read number one and now I'm working on two. These books are soooo sooo good. You should read them too." This was a 3.5 page journal entry! I would say this child reads in the wild.

Next a boy wrote: "I love reading. To me, reading takes me into a whole new world taking me places I haven't seen. First I started with Narnia. Those stories were awesome. Next I got interested in the Percy Jackson series. That was better than Narnia. Now I am reading The Heroes of Olympus series. They are super thick, and they weigh my backpack down when I ride my bike home, but it is a very good series with Demigods and monsters killing each other. After that I am going to read the Alex Rider series. The first book is Stormbreaker. I read some of that book and a stormbreaker is a tablet like thing and it makes learning way fun." That was one page in his handwriting. I would say this child has a reading plan!

Another girl wrote: "I am going to write about a book I am reading. I read a book called The Land of Stories. I really enjoyed that book because I like fantasy. I think it is a good book that everyone can read. I got it at a book fair. I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. I thought that it was a really boring long book but it ended up being a great book. I also went to the library and got the book The Candy Shop War. My mom was telling me about it and said she wanted to read it. So I went to the libary and got the book for her to read. I am going to try to read it too. I am so excited to show my mom the book I got. I was looking all over for it at the library. I also read a book called The Boxcar Children. I thought it was a really good book. My grandma has the whole series. I am so happy. I hope I can read all the books. I love to read. I hope when I grow up I can publish lots of books. Maybe I could publish a series of books if I try. I might even be a famous author. I read so many books because it is so interesting about the main part. I am going to start a new book on mystery. I wonder if I can find so many books on mystery. I started on some book called Goosebumps but I don't really like those scary books. I like to try mysteries and biography. Every night me and my family read scriptures. I like listening to every word in the Bible. Every night I write in my own journal and I read it over again and again. Writing is also part of reading too. I write my own stories and I really like them. I read one of my stories to my mom. I could tell she liked it. I read and write everyday because I love to. I think it is one of my talents. I am reading Harry Potter which is a pretty good book. I thought it would be boring but it is so mysterious. Mom has book #1 and book #2 and book #3 and book #5 and book #6 and book #8 but she doesn't have book number 4 or 7. I probably should get that at the library. I am on book number 2. I want to get all the way to book number 8 if I am not in college at that time. I am so happy that I know how to read. But what I am really excited about is reading The Candy Shop War. It seems like a great book. I want to write even more. I am so excited for book fair because maybe I can buy the second book of The Land of Stories or maybe The Candy Shop War. I have so many choices to choose and I am so excited."

This was four full pages, People! Not only does she have a reading plan, she has a plan for college! Please allow me to plagiarize one of her sentences to conclude my post.

I am so happy.

Broken, Dark, and Dead

It was a lovely Halloween at the elementary school. The parade was a success, the parents planned a great party, and the kids left happy and hopeful of filling that pillow case (one boy kept calling it a sleeping bag...he meant pillow case...but sleeping bag kept coming out which brought more giggles from classmates...the visual is pretty funny).

I've been thinking all week about the costumes children wear. I'm not doing research or anything, but I just wonder about some of the choices. During playground duty late last week a girl was chatting with me about her plans. First she mentioned her new hair color. Then she mentioned her plan to see the premier of Catching Fire at midnight. And when I asked about her Halloween costume she said, "I'm going to be a Broken Doll."

Hm. Part of me wonders if she really is a broken doll. Some girls dressed as dark angels and dead brides. Is it all in fun? Is it just for one day?

I don't like hearing these beautiful kidlets say, "I'm going to be...broken, dark, and dead." I just don't like it.

Oquirrh Saturday

Loretta and I went hiking up the canyon again and had a fabulous time! I loaned some hunter orange to her so that if we did get shot, there would be no question about whether we had taken safety measures. That's why I use crosswalks too.

It was in the low 30's when we started and after walking awhile we found some nice rocks to sit on in the sun. Stunning views! We started pulling snacks out of our packs and laughter ensued. Who knew that the two of us were hauling this much food around? We could have lasted for days! It was such a lovely way to spend a morning.

When we got out of the canyon, we called Ann to see if she was home on her birthday. We picked up a little somethin' on the way over and shared an indoor fast food picnic. After dropping L. off at her vehicle, I went home to change and headed off to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

I can now say that I have done ordinance work in every operating temple in Utah. Yes, even Monticello. I thought I would have a better feeling after accomplishing that silly little goal, but I think what's missing is that I need to do more family history for my own ancestors. The warm fuzzies will abound when the work becomes that much more personal and meaningful. Live and learn! Still...it's fun to visit temples in various places.

This morning I was sustained as the first counselor in the stake Primary presidency. Hello, Scouting! This is a whole new world to me and I am humbled. I was blessed to attend a stake council training meeting this morning because our president is off on her honeymoon. I learned so much. I am so deeply grateful to have knowledge of the Savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the opportunities I have to teach the Gospel. I do know that the Church is true!