How Do You Eat Your Oreo's?

Confession: Our family goes through about 2 packs of Oreo's each week. Disclaimer: We have the help of 2 extra teenage boys included into that family circle! I was noticing the brand new pack of oreo's being devoured the other day and realized... we all eat them with our own style:

Dad puts the entire cookie in his mouth and then gulps down a big glass of milk.

Mom dips them very gently and quickly and eats only small bites at a time.

D dips his all the way in his milk for a loooong time and then throws the whole entire thing in his mouth before it crumbles.

J spears his Oreo (the cream part) with a fork, in order to keep his fingers clean, and then proceeds to dunk his and eat whole (Paige taught him that...)

A usually takes hers apart and eats the cookie, then the cream, and then the other cookie.

Our "Brother-From-Another Mother" just devours them as fast as possible! -Seriously, Fast!

Cousin R puts 7 or 8 of them in a bowl and pours milk over them and eats them like cereal.

How do I eat Oreo's. Well, I'm still trying to figure out which method I like best! To be honest, after eating half a package as a young girl, I threw them all up and completely avoided the cookie for about 9 years after that. It wasn't until EFY last summer that I tried them again... and yes, fell right back in love!! :)

How do you eat your Oreo?

Change

I cleaned out my pool locker the other day - the one that has stored half my bedroom this past summer. As I did so, my mind raced through all my lessons learned from... CHANGE.

I have cleaned out 6 other pool lockers after a summer of work. It honestly wasn't hard to dump it all into my bag and rip my name-tag off the front. Matter of fact, one of the other lifeguards asked how I could do it so quickly without even a glimpse of hesitation or reflection. It sounds silly, but that is a big accomplishment for me! I will admit - it hasn't always been that simple! I hated making new friends every year in school. I get antsy when I don't have a set schedule. I struggle with goodbyes (for the longest time, I avoided them). I panicked over changing my summers plans to accommodate working as an EFY counselor last summer. I stress over new school schedules each semester. I pace over trying new things. I dread opening my pool assignment every year knowing that I would be at... once again... a different pool.

Why is that my nature? - Well, let me tell you, it's not because I have been scarred by these changes! On the contrary actually! For instance: I had MANY friends after my annual hunt for new ones and I can pretty much talk to anyone because of it. My antsy attitude towards "free time" has driven me to accomplish much with the time I've been given. I've gotten goodbyes down to an art - focus on the time you HAD, not the separation ahead. I LOVED my experiences as an EFY counselor and my much-needed-break from swimming. I end up loving every single semester of school. I get a wonderful adrenaline when I try new things. And I learn to love a new staff each summer when I work at a different pool.

To be honest, CHANGE has made me who I am! It has made me better. It isn't always easy - matter of fact, it never is. It's far from my favorite thing. I curse it sometimes. But after the fact, I always am so grateful for it!

So do I take time to focus on the end of another summer gone as I clean out my locker?!? Do I fret over where I will be next summer?!? Do I worry I will never see the people I have grown close to? - Nope. There will always be next summer. Even if I'm in a new place, I know I'll love it (just like every time). And friends are something you never really loose - only things you can collect!

You ask, am I looking forward to the big CHANGE that is going to take place in the next month? - You know, moving away from everything I know... Um, I'm not sure! Haha! I can say that I have mastered this whole CHANGE thing, but it's a lie - it's impossible; once you get comfortable with it, you are faced with something not-so-comfortable. That is how we grow. That is how we become better, stronger, more faith-filled, patient, loving, and courageous. But since I know that, I know that no matter how much of this CHANGE stuff I have ahead of me, I will be okay, and in the end, I will love it.

In the mean time, onto packing a much larger version of my pool locker... my room. Now if I can only do it with just as much courage and confidence as I did my pool locker...

Synchronized Swimming

I know I have posted a lot about summer and swimming and lifeguarding but let's be honest, I eat, sleep, and breathe it in ALL summer! Let's just put it this way... I added it up - I spent 75 hours outside near/in a pool last week.

Anyway, the point of this post - no one really knows what synchronized swimming is. It happens to be one of the greatest sports and I absolutely love it! It's practically dancing but under water. It's extremely exhausting and quite difficult! My girls can swim at least 25 yards under water without coming up for air. It's also quite the contact sport! My little girls tell me all the time, "She kicked me" or "I think I'm bleeding because she scratched me." Hoisting half your body out of the water takes strength. Maintaining body height out of the water while your arms are above your head is not so simple either! Adding grace to all of this is a challenge too. But the best part... all of it is to be done with a smile on. Have you ever tried to gasp for air while smiling?!? - Try it sometime!! :)

This summer all the synchro coaches decided to put together a coaches routine to perform in front of all the lifeguards at "Lifeguard Olympics" (aka end of the summer party). It was fun to actually swim again! If you want to see the video, it's on my facebook! :)

P.s. If you listen really carefully, the entire song is about synchro. It's pretty funny!

P.s.s. I am the one in the bottom far right corner! :)

I Don't Believe in Coincidences

Too many things have seemed to work out so perfectly lately to sit here and wonder if God's Hand is in the daily doings of my life.

• Thanks to my own mistake, my alarm did not go off the other morning for work, but for some reason, I naturally woke up on my own in time to make it to work. Coincidence? - I think not. More like a tender mercy!
• That same day, I hit EVERY single light green on my way to work.
• Plans for school this fall are starting to fall into place too perfectly to call it luck - much to my relief.
• Knowing the cost of school this coming year, I have worked every chance possible this summer to save even one extra penny. And to my amazement, when hours seem to fall short, another opportunity to work always surfaces to fill the lost time.
• Unexpected, kind words from some of my best friends and family have come at the moment I seemed to need it the most as if they personally knew exactly what I needed.

Many other experiences are mixed in with these that remind me that Heavenly Father has a plan for me. He is guiding my life and knows far better than I do what is best for me! For this, I am grateful!! This quote by Pres. Boyd K. Packer says it all - "I pray that there will enter our hearts the peace that comes from knowing by a power beyond all human ability to transmit that God is aware of us."

The Bestest Best Friend

I have thought a lot lately about the importance of good friends in our lives. You hear quotes all the time like,

"A friend is more concerned about helping people than getting credit."

"Friends together, friends apart."

"Good friends are God’s way of taking really good care of us."

"A friend is someone who knows everything about you and loves you anyway."

So friends must be pretty important!! This being the case, I have NO IDEA how I ended up so lucky to have the world's greatest friend!!

I met Paige in the very beginning of 5th grade. (Ok. I am going to totally embarrass myself by telling you this story, but it shows how great of a best friend I have!) I got my 5th grade teacher assignment in the mail and called ALL my friends to see if we were in the same class. Much to my disappointment, although it was nothing new, I had ZERO friends in my new class. My mom, being the positive person that she was, told me I should look forward to making, yet again, another new set of great friends. I didn't buy it this time though. I was done. After 4 years of making new best friends, I had had enough!! My mom told me to call a few other girls in the neighborhood that were my age and see who their teacher was. With a tear-streaked face and still crying, I called Paige. I don't even think she really knew who I was, but I asked who her teacher was and to my astonishment, she had the same teacher! (Yeah, I am surprised she even pretended to know me at school after that phone call!)

I am so grateful I had to make new friends yet again that year, because from that point on, Paige and I have been BEST friends! We've been through a lot since that day... horrible teachers, knocking off car mirrors, many miles on scooters, trips to the Tucson zoo, running from big dogs, girls camp, me breaking her collar bone, first dates, getting lost at the dunes, EFY, freshman years in college in different states, endless summer days in the pool, lots of babysitting, Sedona train rides, friends's weddings, drive-in movies, etc...

The list is seriously MILES long!! Heck! I have had her has a best friend for over half of my life! So why is she the best?!?!

1. She is so thoughtful of others!! - I am constantly amazed at how she finds time to think of others and make their day despite her crazy schedule.

2. She is super talented - she can (and does) anything she puts her mind to - yes, she made our good friend's wedding cake!

3. She has ah-mazing faith! This girl has never doubted God's plan for her!

4. She spends her free time reading books like, "Everyday Greatness."

5. She is extremely positive! In her eyes, the future is always bright!

6. She is the world's best listener!

7. She is stinkin' smart!!

8. She has a great sense of humor and knows how to have fun!!

9. She is patient! - even when people show up 20 minutes late... ok, maybe 30 minutes late!! ;)

10. She tells it as it is. - If you want an honest opinion, she is the one to ask. You know no matter what, she is telling the truth, but she always does it kindly! ... Just to name a few!

I don't think I even realized how lucky I was to have the bestest best friend until recently though!! I had had one extremely difficult day, and I called her on my way home at about midnight because I needed to talk to someone. She answered knowing nothing about my difficult day on top of the fact that it was late. I couldn't hold back the sobs as I told her about my day and what had happened. She bawled with me as she heard what had happened and without a second of hesitation, she shared her positive attitude and her faith-filled outlook on life with me. I am pretty sure we didn't even talk for a good few minutes - just sat on the phone and cried. I don't think she even knows how much that meant to me!!! Thanks so much for everything!! Paige - you are the BEST!!

She truly lives up to the quote, "My friends are always there for me. They stand by me when I need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. They know the meaning of smiles, of laughter, of tears. No matter how far apart we are, our friendship is forever."

Remember, Remember

I recently learned a powerful lesson about what it means to remember and I thought I would share. I love how experiences in life truly help us to grow and gain knowledge as we strive to become more like our Father in Heaven!

The family I nanny for just recently moved to Texas. Needless to say, after working for them for 16 months, they have practically become my family. I love those kids more than anything in the world. I looked forward to seeing them daily no matter how hard it was at times (I gained a great appreciation for moms from nannying). It has been the greatest job and such a blessing for me!! When I found out they got a job transfer to Texas, I dreaded the day they would move ever since. The day they left was extremely hard for me!! I spent the entire afternoon with them and shed many tears as I said my goodbyes. I told them over and over to remember that I will always love them. Since the kids are all so young, they didn’t even really understand that the goodbyes that day meant more than just "see you tomorrow"

I know that although I will still keep in touch with their family as much as possible, they will soon forget me; yet, I will never forget them or stop loving them! I have such a better understanding of how it must have been when we left the presence of our Father in Heaven to come here to earth. I'm positive that He sent us here only after telling us over and over again how much He loved us and to try really hard to remember that! He knew that He would never forget us, stop loving us, or stop checking up on us; yet He knew that we would forget Him - due to the veil AND our own forgetfulness.

I want more than ever to make sure that I do my best to remember Him and return to Him after having a taste of what it’s like to watch kids go. I know that even when the kids come to visit for Thanksgiving, it will never be same; those little twin boys will never come running towards me with HUGE smiles and hugs like they did before because their young minds won't remember me. I look at the world we live in - where the term "God-forsaken" is used all too common; yet, God never left us. He is still very near. WE are the ones who forget Him. We are the ones that turn away.

This lesson made the sacrament mean so much more this week as I heard the words, "always remember Him." Pres. Spencer W. Kimball stated that remember might be, perhaps, the most important word. He said, "Our greatest need is to remember." Here is a great scripture about remembering: Mosiah 4:30 "And now, O man, remember, and perish not." My goal is to remember my Heavenly Father more often, to tell Him how much I love Him everyday, to show that love by being more obedient. I now see more clearly the importance of remembering. As we do so, we will recognize our Heavenly Father when we see Him again, and we will be able to run to Him with HUGE smiles and hugs for we will know Him for who He is, our Eternal Father. I look forward to that day!

The Life of a Lifeguard

Lately I have noticed many things that lifeguards do that make us... um... unique. Having last summer off from lifeguarding (the first in 6 years) and then coming back this summer has helped me see all the crazy quirks that come with the life of a lifeguard. Here are a few:

1. My alarm clock goes off at 4:45am so I can be to work on time - and that is why waking up for school at 6am is really not that bad!

2. I never have to do laundry because all I wear is 2 different swimsuits (which are usually still wet when I put them on in the morning), 3 different guard shirts, and 4 different pairs of black shorts. And if you can't find a shirt or a pair of shorts - don't worrry, you just go without! :)

3. I only do my hair and make-up on Saturdays and Sundays. - The rest of the week, I just wear sunglasses and a messy bun.

3. At work, you get an entire handful of sunscreen and cake it on followed by filling an abnormally large cup full of water and ice to keep with you all day long. This is repeated about every 2 hours. :)

4. Every other Thursday is potluck payday. We get our checks and have a potluck - a day we all look forward to!!

5. Pool parties - yeah, I don't go to them! I'm already wet enough thank you.

6. People ask where I got my hair colored because "it looks so real!" - Um... it is! Yes, my hair turns quite blonde after a summer in the sun - and I don't pay a dime for it!

7. If you aren't careful, you can get racoon eyes. These are tan lines from wearing your sunglasses too much and we, as lifeguards, do our best to avoid them!

8. I clean public restrooms every single day! It's gross and I don't like it, but someone has to do it.

9. Nursing shifts and lifeguarding shifts are just about the same - 4 12-hour days and a 3-day weekend.

10. Chlorine is the best cleaner in the world. A common saying is, "Don't worry, there is plenty of chlorine to kill it!" It is also the best perfume - well, maybe not the best smelling, but it stays on no matter what - even if you wish it would go away! So we have come to accept it.

There are so many more. It's one great job and I love it! It's hard work. I come home exhausted every night. I am in bed by 10pm. I have no social life at all, and yet, I still love it!

By the way, I had my first real rescue today! - The first in 7 years of working (I almost had a record). It went well and the kid was fine!! Our training really comes in handy and I still love my job!!