I found something to say

I have nothing to say.

No  really. I have nothing planned to post here today.  So we'll see where my meandering thoughts take me.

Its just that I finally unwrapped my July issue of the Ensign and was reading through it today and there was an article on keeping journals.  Kinda hit home because I'm truly sucky at journal keeping.  Well, maybe not as sucky as some; I write in my journal sporadically.  I will be really good for a period of time, and then it all falls to pieces until I get the yen (read: guilt trip) to write again. 

I was super good at it when I was a kid. I started around 8 years old and wrote nearly every day.  And wrote just about the same thing every day.  I was still pretty good about it in junior high, except all my entries are dumb things about dumb boys, which makes 44 year old Lari really frustrated and annoyed with 12-15 year old Lari.  Things started to wane some in high school, even more so in college, and turned non existent when I got married, except for the aforementioned periods of feast preceding the famine. 

My blog would be an excellent journal, if I would just post in it.  But I get busy.  Or I forget.  Or (and seriously, this one is the biggest problem) I can't get my hands on a computer with all the other members of this household.  I refuse to attempt to blog on my phone.

So in the spirit of catching up, here goes:

Lane is finally, FINALLY on a day shift.  Its been such a long time coming.  Its been nice to have him home, mostly awake, and especially nice to have him coming to church with us every week.  And speaking of church, we are no longer Webelos leaders, but have been moved to 12-13 year old Sunday School teachers.  They boys are our former Webelos and we are really enjoying the class.  The kids actually participate rather than staring off into space or writing notes to friends like we did in youth  Sunday School.

On an unrelated note, I would like to apologize to all of my youth Sunday School teachers, one of whom is our current Stake President who walked out on us once for behaving so badly.  I'm grateful he signs my temple recommend in spite of that.

Why do summers always fly by so fast?  It hard to believe that July is nearly done and the kids are back to school around August 20.  Jack is finally done with the big FCCLA trip and all his scout camps, but now its time for Marching Band to really get going, so there is no let-up with him.  Plus we have to try to fit in the remainder of his driving hours so he can get his license close to his birthday.  Bad mom that I am, I refuse to spend any more time than is necessary chauffeuring him to all his stuff.  And naturally, as my luck would have it, now that Jack is at the high school, marching band has been moved back to the junior high because of construction at the high school.  Seriously, can you believe the timing?  So he will need almost daily chauffeuring to the junior high, plus he has early morning jazz band, his music lessons, and hopefully some sort of job that will fit in with all that.

Taylor is anxiously anticipating getting the heck outta here and back up to school. She is living off campus this year and is hoping to find a job in Logan, which means she is likely to come home even less than she did Freshman year, if that's possible.  She has changed her major from elementary education to secondary (English and deaf ed).  We've enjoyed having her home this summer, but I think she is not a huge fan of living at home again after the freedom of living away.

As for Lane and I, we are both just muddling through this parenting thing, trying not to do anything to really screw our kids up too much.  Some damage is done, we know that.   Jack is a butter snob.  I turned Taylor into a soda addict. And all 3 are under the impression that pancakes is a typical American "Sunday Dinner." 

Well, looky there.  I found something to say after all.

Don't go in July

 Another Strawberry Days parade.  Jack was with the marching band again, but this year he is in the percussion section (tenor drums) rather than the trombone.  He had such a blast with the drum line last winter, he decided to stay with it for marching band this year.  The drums weigh about 45 pounds, so it was rougher than carrying his trombone.

Taylor was off work and was able to join us for the parade.  We haven't seen too much of her this summer, and its hard to believe that in just a month she'll be going back to Logan.  :(




Jack and his friend Derek won the FCCLA state competition in Entrepreneurship (Junior Division) and earned themselves a trip to the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in San Antonio.  I went along for fun. 

Here's everything I knew about San Antonio before this trip:
1)  San Antonio is in Texas.
2)  It's hot there.
3) The Alamo is there.
4) It's hot there.


It was VERY hot there.  Although I really liked San Antonio, and I would totally go back, I wouldn't go again in July.  It was sooooo hot and humid.  Our last full day there wasn't so hot, and we did spend a lot of time inside the convention center, but still . . . . so hot.

Jack and Derek on the plane as we left from SLC.  We flew on Southwest.  I hate Southwest, only because they don't assign seats.  Seriously, in this age of technology, how hard is it to assign seats?  When I book my own flights, I rarely even bother to look at Southwest. I  would rather pay for my luggage than not have an assigned seat.  

Shortly after we arrived in San Antonio, we headed for dinner and the Alamo.  I really liked the Alamo, but it's much smaller than I had imagined.  It also looks really out of place just plopped down in the middle of a busy, modern city.  The line to get in was very long, probably because all the other FCCLA people (there were 7500 FCCLA people) all had the same idea.  Since we had to walk every where we went, we passed the Alamo many times, and I never again saw a line like there was when we went for the tour.

 We arrived on a Saturday afternoon, but the Conference didn't actually begin until Monday.  We spent part of Sunday at the Schlitterbahn just outside of San Antonio. I spent the day sitting in the shade while the boys had all the waterpark fun they could fit in.  Somehow even with sitting in the shade, I managed to get sunburned. I haven't figured out how that happened.

 We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe one day as part of one of our tours.  My opinion of theme restaurants remains unchanged: overpriced "meh" food, small portions, and mediocre service.

 Jack and Derek presented their STAR event on Tuesday morning.  This is right after they finished.  I attended a lot of the meetings with our group from PGJHS.  It made for very long days, but I'm glad I did.  I learned a lot about the FCCLA organization that I didn't know.  I even got to judge the Nutrition and Wellness event on Monday.  That was a great experience!

 We went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum and the Guiness Book of World Records Museum on Wednesday.  Here is Jack as the Fattest Man Ever.  (the lighting was terrible in both museums)

 Thursday morning was the Recognition Ceremony.  Jack and Derek were awarded a silver medal.

 Dinner Thursday was at the Rainforest Cafe  (sigh - theme restaurants).  Jack got so full . . . "food coma" full.

 The San Antonio Riverwalk

 Thursday night we finally had time to take the boat ride on the river that goes through town.  It was really fun and I was glad we were able to fit it in.  After the boat ride, we went back to the hotel and went to bed early; everyone was exhausted from such a busy week.

One last selfie at the Alamo on our walk back to the hotel.

Finally . . . Officially . . . Ceremoniously . . . An Eagle Scout

 I come from a long line of Scouters.  I'm not sure who came before Grandpa Calvin Walker, Scout-wise, but I do know this:  Grandpa Walker was a big-time Scouter.  And all of his 5 sons, to the best of my knowledge, were also big-time Scouters.  One of the things I remember best about Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house here in PG - besides the saloon doors on the kitchen and the white rug that we won't discuss because it still hurts - was a photograph hanging near those kitchen saloon doors of Grandpa and all 5 of his sons all Scout-Uniformed-up.  I wonder who inherited that photograph?  I wouldn't mind having a copy of that.


Anyway, growing up a Walker in Pleasant Grove is a unique experience.  Every year on the first day of school as the teacher (or teachers) would call roll, and come to Lari Walker, I would inevitably get the question: "Which Walker are you from?"

And I would answer, "I belong to Jerry, who belonged to Calvin."  And then the teacher would sigh, and say something like, "Oh yes. Calvin.  He was my bishop/principal/scoutmaster."  Being a descendent of Calvin automatically set the bar high, and I knew I had to measure up.  Plus my mom, who is not native to Pleasant Grove like all those Walkers, but might as well be, was the editor of the town paper and seemed to always be in the know about daughters who were up to mischief.  Luckily, it was usually my sister Sabrina who was up to mischief.  I was the good child.  I can say that because Sabrina doesn't read my blog.


But back to the Scout thing.  We finally got to have our Eagle Court of Honor (yes, I do mean OUR). So now Jack can carry on the tradition of Scouting in the footsteps of his Great-Grandpa Calvin, his Grandpa Jerry, and his Uncle Calvin Walker.  We rare so proud of him.  He worked really hard to achieve this goal, and although he didn't quite make it by his 14th birthday (my goal, not his) he did by his 15th birthday.  And now I have a full set of BSA pins on my Scout shirt, because it is, after all, all about me.

 Jack's Uncle JD (also and Eagle Scout) gave the Eagle Charge

Lane (not an Eagle Scout, but my family is nice to him anyway) presented the Eagle Award

 Dressing him up in his Eagle neckerchief

 Getting my Eagle Mom pin!!

(I worked REALLY hard for this one)

 Lane getting his Eagle Dad pin

Jack selected his cousin Henson for his Mentor Award.  Henson (also an Eagle Scout) has been an excellent Scouting example for Jack, and he is also responsible for introducing Jack to Timberline.  Jack spent one year as a Timberline participant, and the last 3 years on Timberline Staff.

We are so proud of Jack!  And at the end of the day - I'm really glad I only have one son.

Cruise 2014

Due to some strange (meaning, strange to me) Ultimate Music Festival, there were no hotel rooms available in the area of Miami beach I like to stay.  So since we flew into Fort Lauderdale, we just stayed the night there and then went down to the Port of Miami the next morning.

 

We stayed at a Hilton in the marina area of Fort Lauderdale, which was lovely, and you can't really go wrong with a Hilton, right?  Well . . .

 

 

Our flight left SLC on Sunday morning at 1:00 am (what was I thinking??).  We flew from SLC to Detroit (a surprisingly nice airport), and were only in Detroit for less than an hour and then off again to Fort Lauderdale, landing there at 10:30 am.  I had requested an early arrival (noon) at the Hilton since we were coming in so early, and I also requested a tower room.  So we took our taxi to the hotel, only to find that the lobby was a madhouse for the people checking out of the hotel to catch their cruise out of the Port of Fort Lauderdale.  We got to the hotel around 11:30, and they told us our room wasn't ready, and they didn't know when it would be because they were so busy.  I asked about my early arrival request, and they said they would get to it as soon as they could.  Would I rather wait for my tower room or take the first available room?  Since we were on very little sleep, I asked for the first available room, which wasn't in the tower. I shouldn't complain, I wasn't charged for a tower room, but it was disappointing nonetheless.  We got something to eat at the hotel restaurant, which was still serving breakfast, and then went right to sleep as soon as our room was ready.  It was a nice enough place, but not nearly as nice as the South Beach Marriott, to which I've become accustomed when in Florida.  Also we were pretty much forced to eat all meals at the hotel restaurants because there was nothing we could find within walking distance of the hotel. Kinda annoying.

 

 

 

The hotel was right at the marina so there was lots of fancy yachts around, but no beachfront.  :(

 

So finally on Monday afternoon we were happily on the ship.  We sat here on the deck for about 45 minutes, which it turns out is exactly the amount of time I need to get a good sunburn going: farmer sleeves and capri pants legs.  When I did put on my swimsuit, I looked extra ridiculous.

BTW- Blogger won't let me put my pictures in the order I want, so ignore the out-of-order-ness.

Grand Turk.  Lane and I don't snorkel, so we took an excursion on a semi-sub.  The lower deck was all glass windows so we could just sit all nice and dry and lazy and look at the fish.  We even got to see a tiny (about 5 foot) shark.

 

 Grand Turk.  He just has to be silly in pictures.  Always.

 

 

 On the ship, in the lounge, waiting for the comedy show to start.

This is where my pictures get out of order, due to some being on the camera and some being on the phone, but whatever.  We flew home from Fort Lauderdale through JFK in New York.  I've never been to NY before, so I thought maybe I could see some skyline or something.  No.  Nothing.  I have no geographical knowledge of where JFK is in relation to NYC so perhaps I was expecting too much.  Now, I don't claim to be any kind of world traveler or anything, but of all the airports I've been to (and there aren't that many), JFK is the weirdest, most non-sensical airport I've ever been to.  And I was stuck there for 4 hours.  During that 4 hours, our connecting flight gate changed 3 times.  There was hardly anywhere to plug in a cell phone, and really - 6 bathroom stalls for the whole area?  I expected something completely different, not to mention it didn't look anything like the airport on Friends.

Plus, what's up with the pigeon?  No one seemed to notice or care that it was there, but I thought it was more than a little bit disgusting.

So we flew out of JFK at 8pm, and I did get to see the lights of whatever that is.  They went on forever and ever.  It was pretty cool, even if I never did see the skyline I was looking for.  Yes, I'm waiting for someone familiar with that area to mock me.

Back to the cruise.  This is Half Moon Cay. We did a hike and bike here.  Last time I came I did the bike ride with Jack, which was fun, but now they only offer the hike and bike.  It's not much of a hike.  The high point of the island is 60 feet, or 61 feet if you stand on a rock to take a picture.  It was a good walk though, and the bike wasn't quite the deathtrap as the bike I had last time.  This one at least had brakes that worked some of the time.  Not that brakes are needed that much, its pretty flat.

Starfish and stingray at Half Moon Cay

 

Some beach time at Half Moon Cay.  We sat in the shade since I certainly didn't need any more sun.  We went in the water for a minute, but it was much colder than when we were there before (September 2011)

Still out of order, back to Grand Turk.  This ship was pulling up alongside us at the dock. I thought it was amazing how they can steer those huge ships right into place.


So now we are back to the real world, which is always disappointing.  Especially due to the fact that I lied when I said Lane was switching to days.  Yep, they pulled the rug right out from under him despite what had been promised and he's still on nights for the next 8 months.  Then he'll go on days for a year or so.  Of course, this is all contingent on no further changes, which I am unwilling to bank on.


Things seem to be winding down, at least for a short time. Jack's winter drumline finished up on April 5. That was a huge time commitment on his part, which paid off well since they took 1st place in all their competitions except one, when they took second.  Not bad considering this is PGHS's first year participating in winter drumline.  So Jack now gets to come home from school every single day at the normal time.  Until the 28th, when he starts drivers ed after school.  Then Marching Band starts up again early in June, so I'm enjoying the downtime while it lasts.  I keep telling myself he'll be driving in September, which will be a huge burden lifted.

Taylor finishes up at USU sometime the first week of May and she'll be back home for the summer to work to pay for her sophomore year.  I'm thrilled at the prospect of her coming home.  Her?  Not so much, I think.  She wanted to stay in Logan for the summer, but an empty bank account changed her mind.  She has done well her first year up there, although I have missed her desperately.  She doesn't come home often enough for me, but she is better about texting more often or using Google Talk to check in. Or to ask us to send money.


So here I find myself on a Thursday evening with nothing to do.  It's a delicious feeling considering how evenings around here usually are.  I cleaned my kitchen, and even mopped the floors.  My little plants are still growing, but some have died so I got the dead ones tossed out.  I have the windows open and am enjoying the fresh spring air, while watching the dog chase a bird, hoping he doesn't get it.

 My job is going well, things at home are going well, my kids are healthy and happy, and Taylor will be home soon.  Its quite a beautiful life.

Finally - First Shift!

So naturally on a warm day like this, my thoughts turn to Christmas pictures not yet uploaded.  So here I give you, the rest of the Funk Family Christmas:

 

Although Taylor was home for the Christmas holidays, her job kept her from joining us for our trip to Temple Square.  It was as beautiful as always, and every bit as cold as last year.

Seriously, this is the only picture of Taylor on Christmas, and I won't even discuss the lack of quality photos from Temple Square.  On an unrelated note, I'm banning Lane from taking photographs. 

 

Sometimes I find weird, unexplained pictures on my phone.  I'm guessing it was a bad day?

We found a giant bone for Rex.  It's so huge he can't flip it around to play with like his other bones. He could barely pick it up.  He also is currently using it as a ramming-rod to try to break down the door and come in the house.  He's a very social dog who loves his people.  And if you've ever seen us out walking him, you know he loves ALL people and is truly offended when people just go by without stopping to pet him.  Also, he's still afraid of the stairs and Addie's scooter.


My work finally made the move to our new building out in Lehi.  The office is amazing, so much bigger than what I got used to in our temporary home in the Provo Riverwoods.  My department was lucky enough to be placed on the 4th floor, and even luckier am I for sitting in the corner where I am surrounded on 2 sides by windows.  Lots and lots of natural light and lovely views to the north and (kinda) to the east.  It has added about 5 minutes to my commute, but I have gotten used to it and it goes by fast.  If I go to work early enough, I get to enjoy driving by the temple, all lit up before the sun comes up.  If I am going in later, I have learned not to go that route because that same road down by Lone Peak High School is a bit of a zoo that time of the morning, and I hate driving enough without all that extra aggravation.


Taylor stays busy at USU and doesn't come home as much as I wish she would.  I miss her terribly.  School gets out for her the first week of May, and she'll be home for the summer to work and work and work. Jack is as busy as ever, mostly music related.  He's still doing the FCCLA thing, but had to drop Track this spring because of his band commitments.  He has his 2 band classes as part of his regular day, plus his early morning Jazz band, and now he's added Winter Drum Line, which takes up 2 weekday evenings and part of Saturdays.  He heads off to Phoenix tomorrow for a drum line competition.  Additionally he has his private drum and trombone lessons.  I can't wait for him to get his Driver's license!  Addie and I have been taking a yoga class together, although the last 2 weeks we haven't made it.  It's something active we can do together. We'll get back at it next week, I hope.  Jack's schedule is so cram-packed, it throws off everything else.  Just getting him to drive should free me up for 2 hours or more some days, and at least some time every day.


We are eagerly anticipating our cruise.  Its been a long 2 1/2 years since our last one.  It's just the two of us this time, after the last few being with family or friends.  We sprung for the balcony room this time, in what was supposed to be a celebration cruise for Lane's graduation.  Well, we got the timeline off a little bit, so it's a pre-graduation celebration I guess.  Either way, we're getting away for a week. 


But our most exciting news of all is that after about 15 years of working graveyard shift, Lane will be switching to a day (-ish) shift in April.  I say -ish because he isn't sure yet of his exact schedule, and its possible he could start as early as 3:30 am.  He should also be more free to come to church with us, another huge - and welcome - change.  It remains to be seen how smooth this transition will be.  It's been a long time on this schedule, and I'm old and set in my ways.  It's best if he adjust to fit my schedule rather than the other way around.  I'm firmly entrenched in my habits and do not much enjoy change to my routine.  Or really any kind of change. Or even spontaneity, unless it is carefully planned out well in advance.

From My Phone

Crap.  I think there might be pictures on Lane's phone too.

 

 

We have this blanket.  It was a gift to me in about 1999 when I released as YW secretary in a former ward.  It is the family's most beloved - and clearly most worn - blanket.  It's just the right size, just the right weight for curling up in or taking a nap.  Everyone wants that blanket.  Sometimes a person (and by "a person," I mean Jack) will wait for another person (and by "another person," I mean me) to fall asleep and he will take The Blanket, replace it with a less desirable one, and take The Blanket for himself.  Ah, well. Who can blame him, really?  It is the best blanket.

Addie got a new Barbie house for Christmas . . .

 

 

. . . and Jack was very happy to get some new drumsticks.  Have I mentioned that he drums All. The.  Time?  Sticks are not required.  Dashboard of the car?  He drums it.  Hymn book in church?  He drums it.  Back of my head?  Yep.  He drums it. 

 

All in their new Christmas jammies.  Taylor's are super warm fleece - she lives in Logan, after all.  Addie's match mine - Cupcakes, of course!  And Jack's are Marvel comics.  I'm not sure why Addie looks so sad.  It did take me a bunch of tries to get a picture where most of them don't look too dorky. This was the best of the lot.  Maybe she was tired of standing there.  Maybe she was hungry.  Maybe Jack had just drummed her head. 

Christmas Lights and Candy Canes

Crap.  I forgot to get the pictures off my phone.  Well, I guess that will have to be another blog post. 

 

It seems like Christmas came and went in a blur this year.  I didn't take on any big Christmas projects, so the Full Blown Christmas Panic was entirely avoided.  It was weird - I kept feeling like I had forgotten something.  Thanks to a handy Gift Giving app on my phone, I easily kept track of everyone's gifts, from the planning stages right on through wrapping.  So that inevitable part of the Christmas wrapping "I forgot I got this!" was also entirely avoided.  Again, it made for a very strange Christmas.  I avoided the temptation and went with my store-bought Christmas cards, but somehow I was later than ever about getting them mailed.  Weird.  I made 3 pairs of Christmas pajama pants.  I didn't make Taylor's and Jack's, not because I didn't want to, or even because I didn't have the time, but because I found some great ones at Kohls.  Without my annual Full Blown Christmas Panic, this was the most leisurely and enjoyable Holiday season in some years.  But I already have project plans for next year, so Full Blown Christmas Panic is sure to rear its ugly head in 2014.

 

 

Wilson Family Christmas Party

Once again, Lane's candy cane was broken.  See how he's trying to hide it?  Not even Jack believes that it's unbroken.  Maybe someday Lane will be a good boy all year and deserve an unbroken candy cane.  But not yet.

We didn't get to see much of our Taylor during the 3 weeks she was home for Christmas break. She worked a lot, which is good since she is poor, but we missed her.  She was around for most of the important stuff.  She had to work on Christmas Eve, but got off a little early.  And she missed out on our trip to Temple Square.  It was nice having her home, when she was.

My candy cane was perfect. In fact, Santa gave me 2 because I was so good.

Yeah, Jack's was snapped in 2.  Shocking.  Santa knows how Jack keeps his room. 

2013 Scarlett O'Hara by Hallmark.  I already have one of her in this dress, but this year the dark green part of the dress was fabric, and the ornament was porcelain again.  For the last several years they have been plastic.  Hallmark, if you are listening:  I prefer the porcelain.

 

For our Christmas Eve concert, Jack played something on his trombone (that's why you shouldn't wait 3 weeks before blogging such things) . . .

Addie played "Silent Night" on her recorder . . .

and Jack played "Carol of the Bells" on his bells.

 

And sadly the time came to take all of Christmas down and shove it back in the closet.  I love the Christmas lights most of all, and I left them plugged in while I took them off the tree, and then snapped a parting photograph before I unplugged them and put them in the box, making sure they were extra tangled for Jack next year.