I Feel Like Blogging Tonight

I haven't felt this way in a long time......... which is to say, I feel like blogging. It's been a month since I came home from Idaho to a beautifully deep cleaned house. I've been doing a pretty good job most of the time keeping up on things and not falling too far behind with my domestic duties. But as I was cleaning up tonight, and turned around to see more messes and piles of laundry to be folded, and knowing there were messes upstairs as well, I suddenly had an overwhelming desire to blog - go figure. And dammit, I'm not leaving this computer or doing anything productive until I finish this post!!! Apparently, and unfortunately too, the frequency of my blog posting is directly proportionate to the number of messes in my house......... I bet somebody could do some scientific research about that. And I bet there's at least one scientist who would say that blogging decreases cholesterol and or blood pressure. Probably a scientific findings like that would be picked up for the evening news cycle :D

And now I will try actually blog about something, as opposed to droning on and on about nothing, whilst lowering my cholesterol and or blood pressure :)

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It rained this afternoon, which is always wonderful. Eva and Sophie went out to play with the neighbors after everything had been soaked, and they found a frog sitting in the gutter. It escaped capture by jumping into a storm drain however (thankfully). But the kids decided to rescue it, which is simply just another way of saying they tried to score a new pet.

Sophie turned the kitchen upside down trying to find just the right container for her new frog

Here she is lowering the frog a life line - the water level was about 30 inches below the grate

Eva and company had long since given up their rescue efforts by the time I came out to see what was happening to my kitchen stuff

Sophie, looking strangely frog-like here - she didn't get it from me!

Desperation set in as she realized the frog was gone and she probably wouldn't be getting new pet. She wouldn't have gotten a new pet though, even if she had captured it, but that's beside the point

And finally, DESPAIR, bless her little heart. It's much better though that the frog broke her heart and not me...

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Speaking of rain, it made for some actual greenery here in Reno during the month of June, which made for some beautiful backdrops against which to shoot wild horses.

It made for lots of water too

Rain rain, please don't go away

Thunder Mountain Visit and The Crying Indian

This is how it's been with me and blogging lately... I can't brain. Maybe summer has something to do with it, or maybe it's the Facebook thumbs up, quickie status updates and various Facebook apps. Possibly it's a combination of it all. Giving a simple thumbs up to some one's Facebook status, photo/photo album or quiz result is so much easier than reading and commenting on a blog post. And making a 'top five' list or posting a quiz result is soooooo much easier than actually writing a blog post. But they're all just cheap substitutes, and I miss blogging, so I'm back - I think...

Here's the blog post I started July 3. It's obviously old news and even I don't care about anymore, but it contains two AWESOME/ICONIC 'Crying Indian' videos... so how can I not post it? I just have to fix a few things and write a little more. Maybe I can actually brain for a few minutes and finish...

While thinking on our way to Idaho, I had planned on writing an in-depth description of our amazingly exciting twelve hour journey, but now too much time has passed and it doesn't seem like it was actually all that exciting after all. So, I will not be giving a detailed account of some note worthy stuff that happened, like when we stopped at a gas station in Carlen to buy something sharp with which to pop the boil on Eva's bum that was bothering her (I settled on a miniature exacto blade - it was the only thing available) and the drama that ensued in said gas station's bathroom. Or about the spiritual moment I had listening to a Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin duet near Jackpot, Nevada, and how I contemplated what it would be like if they conducted the music for Sacrament meetings. Instead, I'll have to shorten the twelve hour drive post to only the stop we made in Imlay, Nevada, at the Thunder Mountain Indian Monument.

Most of the time, people leave behind little mementos of their lives for future generations, like photo albums, family heirlooms, quilts, small works of art, journals, etc.. And then other times people leave behind Indian Monuments in the desert made out of scrap metal, old appliances, cement sculptures, old cars, and beer and wine bottles. Such is the case with Frank Van Zant, a.k.a. Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder. He spent twenty years of his life building a monument to honor the plight of Native Americans, just off the highway on I-80, in a teensy weensy tiny little place called Imlay.

Usually I wouldn't stop to sight see on such a long drive, but I had allowed the girls to hook up Ella's i-pod, so it was time to take a break from the Jonas Brothers when Imlay came into view. Eva isn't in any of these pictures though because she was too creeped out and didn't want anything to with it.

What's so creepy about this?

Or this?

Or... oh, that is getting a little creepy...

Okay, that's creepy :D

This is detail of the south side of the main house which, as you can see, was mainly constructed with bottles. LOVE the toilet!!!

Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder was the ultimate recycler. I mean, he wouldn't be a phony like the rest of us if he were to be seen toting around, and or wearing, 'Go Green' products. But then, do you think he would actually buy something mass produced and made in China that said 'go green' on it to help save the environment and raise awareness? I don't think so. I think CRMT would raise awareness by just actually using a tote bag he already owned and wearing an old t-shirt.

I love rusty old junk in the desert

What does it mean and what does it have to do with Indians?

This brought back memories of my own banana seat bike from back in the day

My banana seat was pink with a large orange heart - this is me on my banana seat bike circa 1977

Sophie investigates beneath an Indian spirit

Ella

Is this Pompeii meets Imlay?

I love this picture

To say the Thunder Mountain Indian Monument was strange is an understatement. But on the other hand, it was kind of inspiring too. I had the distinct impression that Chief Mountain Rolling Thunder lived what he preached - whatever that was. You get the feeling that if he were a celebrity today giving advice like, "turn your heater down and put a sweater on", that he would actually be writing such advice from his cold modest Indian Monument home and wearing a sweater. Not from a mansion in Malibu or Beverly Hills with a ten car garage - and not wearing a sweater.

And all of this reminded me of something I hadn't thought of in YEARS - The Crying Indian. I wonder how much Iron Eyes Cody (rumored to actually be an Italian) inspired CRMT? Who didn't love these commercials? I mean really, who wasn't incensed when that fast food garbage so carelessly was tossed at the Crying Indian's feet? I would never do something like that - toss my fast food garbage at an Indian. How rude ;-)

But seriously, these two commercials, and especially those tears at the endings, are etched in my mind forever!!!

He Really Does Love Me, Part 2

Remember back in January when my mom was sick and I went to stay with her for nine days and while I was gone Matt completely cleaned and revamped Eva and Sophie's room and I was completely shocked out of my head excited when I got home and saw it? Weeeeellllll, this time I took the girls to Idaho with me to visit my dad, and he completely cleaned and revamped the ENTIRE HOUSE!!!!!!! I have been born again people. I have been cleansed. I have seen the light and been healed. Coming home to that kind of surprise was like an out of body religious experience!

After my spirit had been reunited with my body, the first thought that ran through my mind was to hurry and invite someone over to stay for a visit. Then I decided it'll have to be someone who doesn't read this blog as to successfully give the false impression that I'm an awesome housekeeper. So sorry, none of you are invited ;-)

After all that ran through my head and I had made a mental note about whom to invite, Matt revealed to us that he hadn't done the cleaning himself, but that he had hired some ladies to do it all (he also had carpet cleaners do the carpets). My subsequent mortification at having not cleaned the bathrooms before the cleaners came over only lasted a moment though, as I looked closer at everything and realized it had all been deep cleaned. EVERYTHING!!! IN THE ENTIRE HOUSE!!! That realization soothed all the mortification away really fast! This is the first time in my life we've ever had housekeepers come - and I really really really really really really really really really really really really really liked it a lot. Did I mention i really liked it a lot?

This is just what I needed to get me going on my extreme brain makeover, which I never did get around to after that little semi-annual pity party was over, cuz I forgot all about it after a day or two and reverted back to my normal lame-o self...

So thank you Honey for such a wonderful and thoughtful surprise! Happy Father's Day - here's the post I was working on while we were in Idaho, but which I never posted because I was experiencing writer's block and couldn't come up with the right words to finish what I wanted to say. But here it is in rough draft form:

Beins (I couldn't think of a better word/non-word) how Sunday was Father's Day, I did the logical thing and left for Idaho with the girls, leaving Matt at home alone - that's the kind of awesome wife I am :) Truth be told though, Matt seems to enjoy spending Father's Day without us (we were here in Idaho last year too) because I can't make him go to any family functions that way and he can spend the day watching golf and napping in complete peace. And I made sure to stock up on Honey Smacks cereal for him, so what more could he ask for really? ;-)

Here are messages from the girls written on the way to Idaho on Sunday...

Dear Father,

You are the bomb diggitiest dad ever! Thanks for everything you do for us! I ♥ you and hope you have an amazing Father's Day! :)

♥ Ella

Dear Dad,

My favorite memory with you was when we went on the Double Shot together at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Happy Father's Day, Love Eva

You are the best dad in the whole world! I ♥ you, Sophie

Can you believe he did all that after being abandoned on Father's Day? I hesitate to tell what happened on Friday, the day after we got home, because it will certainly make anyone reading this a little more jealous than he/she already is... don't hate people, but Matt suggested that I take the girls to the lake so he could finish some paper work he needed to do without all of us around distracting him... so we headed up to the lake Friday afternoon. It was tough after having been out of town for five days, but somehow I managed to mustere the energy to sit on the beach and chat with friends for a couple hours - I'm a pillar of strength like that. Then at 8pm, we went to a Gladys Knight concert which was my Mother's Day gift. Gladys was great of course, just as I expected she would be. But the entire week actually felt more like a Mother's Day celebration than a Father day celebration, so to make up for it a tiny bit, I want to dedicate this song to Matt - THANK YOU - you're the best thing that ever happened to me!!!

p.s. Gladys had a Pip along with her (her brother, he's always on the right), and that was a very special treat! He was Pippin' like he was still 25 years old :D They don't do dance moves like that anyomore :( Here's one of my favorite Gladys Knight and the Pips song with some flippin' sweet Pip moves. Enjoy.

Sophie's Special Day

I never imagined a baptismal service for seven unrelated children could go so smoothly and be so personal, but it was. It turns out that having people you've never met before plan everything about your child's special day is the way to go, and I highly recommend it. There was no stress - all we had to do was show up with towels and dry underwear. Oh, and I had to e-mail a picture of Sophie to said people we'd never met before (the Stake Baptismal Coordinators), but was all. The Jackons organized a wonderful service with excellent talks, and one of the sweetest musical performances I've ever seen by one of the girls who was going to be baptised. I forgot to bring tissue and ended up using Eva's thick cable knit sweater which didn't work very well, but was better than my bare hand. It was a wonderful day with family and friends, and I'm so grateful for Matt being able to perform Sophie's baptism and ordination. She was our last to be baptised *sniff sniff*

Me and Sophie color coordinated, cuz we're awesome like that

Matt and Sophie

In their whites

Grandma Lynda (my mom) and Sophie

Grandpa Marv (Matt's Dad) and Joanie

Sophie and Sophie

Yosemite Visit - Three Cheers For Global Climate Change... Holla

Global climate change is so underrated! Taking the long way home through Yosemite on Memorial Day brought that point home to me like no other place has. Every time we visit Yosemite, I'm keenly aware that I'm feeling every cliche known to man having to do with man's place in the universe.

Stuff like; I'm so small, so insignificant... so puny and powerless in the face of nature. I am a mere speck - probably more like a micro speck on a micro speck in this universe - like a Who in Who-ville. And yet... I'm important. Infinitely important. I'm more than just an organized mass of cells. I have a spirit and a purpose. In this vast vast universe, God actually cares about little ole me.

Then I feel all corny and grateful and all that.

But back to global climate change. It was one of the major forces that created the Yosemite Valley, with multiple alternating ice ages and warming trends. Glaciers repeatedly formed and receded, formed and receded.

This view from Glacier Point is quite stunning, and it's easy to imagine an ice-blue glacial flow covering all of the green area down in the valley. What's harder to imagine though, is that at times, ice covered the entire area, including Half Dome and El Capitan. Melting glaciers are what exposed the massive granite formations that were formed deep below the earth's surface hundreds of millions of years ago (yes, I have been watching lots of History Channel and reading too much wikipedia). It's unfathomable really. And you can call me crazy, but I kinda sorta think that no amount of tax payer money, world climate change summits, legislation, Michael Moore films, 'go green' products, celebrity admonishments, concerts to raise awareness, carbon credits earned or trees planted, could have hindered or altered the formation of Yosemite, or anything else on earth for that matter, in any way!

Cue the music now please...

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly express my gratitude to Global Climate Change - I know it's true ;-) I'm so grateful for the beauty it has created in this world over the last 4.5 billion years (amazingly all before the internal combustion engine). Without it, I would not be here. But I would be remiss if I didn't specifically mention Global Warming. I'm so grateful it ended the last ice-age 10,000 years ago so I could be here writing this blog post, not to mention living. I'm grateful for the food and plant life it makes possible, and for just the right amount of oxygen - not too much, not too little - just right. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt and with every fiber of my being, that I would rather live during a warming trend than during an ice age. So can I get a 'what what' for Global Warming? Holla. Amen.

Eva, Ella and Sophie at Glacier Point in 2004

At Glacier Point in 2009

Overlooking Yosemite Falls - Sophie's arm is not broken... Matt and I just make weird elbows

Something even smaller and more insignificant than me

Something definitely significant

The Hamrick Family - proudly brought to you by Global Warming (and other 'significant' forces)

Happy Birthday Matt

It's always difficult to know what to give Matt for his birthday. He's about as decisive and full of ideas as when I ask him what he would like me to make for dinner.

"Umm, I don't know, just make one of your usuals", is what he always says. Being an extremely indecisive person myself makes for many a mealtime dilemma.

And so it goes with his birthdays as well.

The progress of this post is being interrupted in order to rub the almost birthday boy's feet.

I'm back. I'm nothing if not extremely accommodating and submissive on the eve of Matt's birthdays.

But back to the matter at hand... what kind of gift would Matt like for his 39th birthday? What kind of gift could possibly be as deeply meaningful and memorable as what I would like to give the man who works so incredibly hard for our family, who is the father of my three lovely daughters (and a great one at that), who makes me laugh and laugh and laugh (which is something I really like to do), and who has generously become so accustomed to my lack of domestic skills that he rarely ever mentions it anymore (the lack of course), and when he does perchance make mention of my domestic challenges, it's so mild as to hardly strike any fear in me at all.

So is there anything befitting the situation?

Yes. Yes there is. In a stroke of sheer birthday gifting genius, I have thought of the perfect thing.

For Matt's 39th birthday, I want to give him a concession - an admission if you will. And I think this will make a lot of other husbands jealous, which adds a lot value to this gift from the heart. I want to admit that... drum roll please......... I'm not always right about everything. There, I said it. I'm not always right. In fact, I think there have been two times, possibly even three times, in the last year when Matt was right and I was wrong. I can't remember any of the specifics of course - the details have all conveniently unfortunately been lost in the distracted haze that is my mind, but I do know for a fact that I wrong on several occasions over the past year - and I now admit it. Who needs the details anyway? Anyhow, I think a list of times when he was right and I was wrong, a short one of course, would be an appropriate 40th birthday gift. What man alive would not want such a gift?

And so, Matt, the one and only true love of my life and the person with whom I have chosen to spend eternity (a decision I've never regretted), Happy Birthday - sometimes I'm wrong and you're right... I ♥ you with all my ♥

Happy 17th Anniversary To Us

Shortly after we were married in 1992

Back in the day, when we were both mere babies, Matt had some hair, I was skinny, and we both wore floods a lot. These days, we don't wear floods anymore and we've added lots of 'character' to our features ;-) But most of all... we still love each other lots... and lots... and lots!

All in all, 17 years of marriage adds up to about 15.25 years of wedded bliss - give or take a day or two. That's pretty awesome, wouldn't you say? :)

My Baby Is Eight *Sniff Sniff*

Sophie and me, just moments after her birth (and I even did my hair and make-up before going to the hospital so I wouldn't look like this - I'm not in the middle of a blink either)

My baby Sophie is eight. I.want.to freeze.her.in.time. I've wanted to since the day she was born. She is the sweetest thing ever created. Anyone reading this who thinks their child is sweeter than Sophie is just stone cold crazy and wrong!!!

It's a well known fact in our family that Sophie was the best of the three babies (Ella was the worst, hee hee hee). First of all, she didn't come equipped with the vocal power that both Ella and Eva came with - that was one of the first things that overjoyed us about her. And she was so docile. She would take a bottle or the boob, it didn't matter. Whichever was most most convenient for me was what she would take - so unlike those first two babies :)

And then her head would flop all over the place. It was so hard for her to hold it up for very long. Even at four months old she would suddenly give up and let her head roll onto her shoulder - and smile all the while. When she finally began to walk at nearly 21 months, the entire family cheered her on as if cheering a runner the last mile of a marathon - and she felt as accomplished.

We always giggled when anyone asked her name and she replied 'Popie', and sometimes even 'Dopie'. It was so adorable and heartwarming. She was so excited the first time she said her name correctly when she was five. It was a long time coming after three years of speech therapy, and she just couldn't wait for Matt to get home from work so she could say her name for him.

*sniff sniff*

She is a child who possesses no ill intent. She is easily devastated when she does something wrong. You have to be careful when pointing out that the new word she learned at school isn't a nice one. She falls apart even when such news is broken to her gently. Her innocence inspires a kind of protectiveness in her friends and family. When she is wronged, I want nothing more than to kick some major boo-TAY!! Don't mess with my Sophie!

I will avenge :)

But behind all the delays and the learning disability, lurks a mind that thinks deep deep thoughts.

That brain of hers is always pondering imponderables, like a couple years ago when she woke up, went into our bedroom, crawled into our bed, made herself comfortable and then asked, "why we not all live in Africa?"

Indeed! Why we not all live in Africa anyway?

About a year ago when she woke up one day, she asked, "why we not have chicken legs?"

And about 18 months ago, while I ran her bath water, she asked, "do you believe in ghosts?"

Me: "oh no. All those ghosts like Casper and all that Halloween stuff is just fake and for fun. It's just so we can pretend to be scared - it's all fake."

Sophie: "what about the Holy Ghost?"

Me: "oh... well ... that's different of course..."

My favorite was about 3 years ago though. We were driving past The Little Flower Catholic Church on Kietzke, and she asked if it was a church. I was kind of surprised that she could tell it was a church since isn't at all traditional looking. I answered her, "yes, it's a church - the Catholic Church." The she asked me, "is Jesus in there?" Not wanting to make things complicated by explaining the resurrection, etc., I simply said, "yes, Jesus is in there." Then she asked the most amazing thing ever. She asked, with the last word in song, "did Jesus take the ♫ whee-ee-eel ♫ ?"

Then I both laughed and cried the rest of the day.

Her questions are ENDLESS and always amusing.

Here's a sampling of some I remember her asking over the weekend while we were out of town - all of them completely random:

How old was your great great great great great great great uncle?

What is water in Japanese?

How do babies get in tummies?

What does Van Morrison's wife look like?

Who's gonna die first?

What is poop made of?

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This year she was very conflicted about what kind of birthday party she wanted. For the last four months at least, she's been torn between Chuck E Cheese, a bowling party, a Girly Girl party, etc., etc., etc.. Finally, a couple weeks ago, she settled on a surprise party. How can you not love a girl who innocently requests a surprise party, and then fully expects to be completely surprised? So, a surprise party is what we gave her!

Sophie's arrival and fanfare. There were horns, streamers and poppers - cheering and clapping!

She wore a crown and we barbequed in the back yard - Eva loving on Sophie

Matt's here risking our satellite reception for the pinatas

Ominous sky

Matt lays down the rules (but no one really listened and it was kind of mayhem)

The frenzy

Lightning forced us indoors, so Ella deejayed an impromptu dance party

A good time was had by all! After the party was over and everyone had gone home, Sophie said to me, "that was the best party you ever planned."

That made the party bomb aftermath and debris all worth it :)

Happy birthday Sophie!!!