Playing Telephone

We were out a couple of weeks ago, when we saw someone we knew. After a few minutes of conversation, the person said, "So I heard that _________."

I hate that phrase!

What irked me about this situation was that the above mentioned person heard something from someone, who heard it from someone, who heard it from someone. Call it paranoia if you want, but I hate knowing that our business has gone through three people and then returned to us.

I was talking with another friend, after the previous incident, and she happened to say (without knowing about the situation), "I hope you know that when you tell me something, I don't go around blabbing it to everyone I know. Whether it's big or small news, private or not, you can trust me."

I appreciated this but also realized how naive I was to think that everyone automatically had this mentality!

I've found myself in situations where someone has shared someone else's business with me. When or if the original source decides they want to tell me their news, although it's deceiving, I act like it's the first time I've heard it. (In my defense, my mother has given me permission to lie in certain situations. I find this to be one of those times.)

So despite living near vineyards, I don't like hearing things through the grapevine.

Where We're At

I realize I stopped doing the monthly updates on The Lime. Not much was changing month to month like it was in the beginning. But now that a couple of months have passed, I have enough to write about.

This kid is funny, as we discovered early on. He makes funny noises, faces, his body language is funny. He's been shrugging his shoulders a lot lately, which always gets LaVor and I.

He is a wild one but has surprised us recently with his behavior. We had a late dinner with some friends last week and we were nervous as to how he'd be. Especially since the last time we went to this restaurant (Christmas Eve), he was awful. But that was also eight months ago. He was a doll and even fell asleep on the way home, which is a rarity.

He was also a trooper during the eight hours of garage sale browsing we participated in over the weekend. Don't ask me when was the last time he fell asleep in his stroller. Maybe it was the constant motion that got him this time? Or the slight breeze combined with the warmth of the sun?

He always wants to hide, asks "Why?" about EVERYTHING, loves to wear his cowboy hat and carry his keys everywhere we go, is quite the little helper, gets told he's loved non-stop, knows all the Princesses, is talking more and more, loves going to Nursery, remembers everything, knows which direction people live in, pays attention to little details (like LaVor), has to drive by LaVor's old work each time we get on the freeway and sings our little jingle of "Daddy's old work!", asks where the pumpkins are when we pass the patch, knows that pumpkins need sunshine and water to grow, loves to listen to John Michael Montgomery on the iPad because it's "Daddy's favorite song".

I am probably cursing myself, but two is an awesome age!

Kennedy Park

I have a couple memories from my childhood that include Kennedy Park.

The earliest being the trip I made there with my friends, for a combination slumber/birthday party. The night before we went to the park, we spent the night at the birthday girl's house, except there was hardly any sleeping. We stayed up most of the night, playing, being loud, and eating Cheerios at about 3 a.m.. Our spoons hitting the bowls must have been too loud because I remember her
Mom coming downstairs and telling us we HAD to go to bed. A couple hours later, we were up and on our way to the park, where I got a huge Pixy Stix. It was blue and I think I ate most of it while we were at the park. I remember being dropped off at home, the mom telling my mom how little sleep I got, and feeling like a train had hit me. I haven't touched a Pixy Stix since.

Next memory was when my sister's best friend and her family took the both of us. We fed the annoying goats at the petting zoo and rode the train. I remember sitting on the train, facing people in the car we were in. There was a little girl who was sitting on her dad's lap and his arm had caught the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up slightly. I.will.never.forget what I saw next...the girl's belly button resembled a finger coming out of her stomach. Now, when I was pregnant with The Lime, my belly button popped out a little bit. But this poor girl had way bigger issues (I'm sitting here, trying not to throw up as I write this). I haven't been on the train since.

My most recent memory was during high school. An older girl from the Stake was moving away and so my friends and I set up a date with her. We went to Wendy's, down the street from the park, and got Frosties and fries. We took them to the park and chatted in the sun, while sitting on the tops of picnic tables. I haven't seen the girl since.

To get out of the house on Thursdays and release some energy, the kiddos and I visit local parks. Because the Zucchini Festival took place last weekend, Kennedy Park was free for us to enjoy today.

There were no Pixy Stixs or train rides or goats we wanted to pet. But there was kid falling, swing pushing, bars swinging, and people watching (I think I want to get into Tai Chi).

And a post-park trip to Target to top it all off.

Grow Old With Me

My brother has the best wedding video, partly because of the music they chose. One of the songs is one by Peter Breinholt.



I had never heard it before I watched my brother's video and I instantly fell in love.

I was listening to it on the way home tonight and couldn't help but think of two people; one who recently passed away and one who had a massive heart attack. Both are men who I've grown to love.

The one who passed away was a father of a close friend I had during high school but I also knew him through work. He came into work on a Thursday, got sick on Sunday and was hospitalized and passed away the following week. I was not able to attend his service but my boss said it was the best one he had been to. His sweetheart, of almost fifty years, expressed her gratitude for the support she had received and noted that she and Reid were soul mates.

The man who suffered the heart attack lost his wife many years ago to cancer. I saw him at least once a week, and each time I saw him, he'd usually mention one memory about his wife. He misses her and I can only hope that their reunion is not too far away.

It reminds me of "The Notebook" or Johnny and June Cash...when one goes, the other is not far behind. They really pass away from a broken heart.

Both couples exemplify "true love" to me. And that song screams "true love". I'm a dork and cried on the way home but it tugs on my heartstrings to think about how much two people can love each other.

I loved this quote by President Hinckley...

“True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand a Little Taller

Berries, BBQ, and the Beach

Although I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life, I've missed out on a lot of what we have to offer.

I told LaVor that I wanted to go to Golden Gate Park last Saturday, to ride the paddle boats, walk around the windmill, and look at the flowers. But then my co-worker reminded me that Outside Lands was happening and we might want to change our plans. LaVor suggested the beach (because it's been hot like a mutha) and I suggested picking fruit. Good thing the Bay Area has a ton to do and we could do both.

The Lime and LaVor made their weekly doughnut shop trip while I got ready. We then packed the car and headed West to the coast.

Our first "fun" thing was paying for the car behind us on the bridge. It was something we did occasionally growing up and always made us feel good to "pay it forward". The car eventually caught up to us, honked, and waved profusely. Totally warmed our hearts.

We made our first stop in Pescadero, a place I had only heard my co-worker rave about. Especially the olallieberry pie and lobster rolls, neither of which we consumed. But The Lime did buy a packet of M&Ms and LaVor bought two loaves of hot, delicious bread, which we ate half of right outside the bakery.

We wandered through a few shops and then got back in the car to continue down the coast to the berry farm.

We walked in, got our box and wagon, and were on our way.

We were picking blackberries but the farm also had kiwis growing (will be ready to pick in late Fall, early Winter).

The Lime was a big helper in picking berries but gobbled up more than he saved. His hands and face were black by the time we left, from all the juice.

We picked $12 worth and got back in the car to head up North to meet up with LaVor's family.

LaVor had done some work in Pacifica several months ago. Along the way to meet his family, he pointed out lots of good places to get a sandwich. But we decided on some pulled pork and brisket for lunch instead. I'm still convinced our food is better and we need to start a restaurant.

Although it wasn't as cold as when we first got to the coast, it was still pretty nippy. But that didn't stop The Lime and his cousin from jumping in the ocean.

He ran and ran and ran and laughed and screamed. The cold didn't seem to bother either one of the boys. And thankfully LaVor was the parent making sure The Lime didn't go too far into the water. I hate being cold so I designated myself the official photographer.

After a good while, the temperature finally set in and we wrapped the boys up and took them back to the car.

After a fun-filled day, we pulled into our driveway and walked into our 88 degree house. At that point, we wanted to turn right around and go back to where we came from.

Maybe next weekend.

Oblivious

I noticed how oblivious I was when I started training for the breast cancer walks. I walked through neighborhoods that I've been around my entire life, and finally noticed things 20+ years later. While walking around my current neighborhood, I realized there was a house tucked away between two others, that despite driving by for ten years, I never knew existed.

It's amazing what you find when you slow down a bit.

Like when I was in the drive-thru at Taco Bell today. I already knew what I wanted so I spent my waiting time just looking around. That's when I noticed a compartment in my car, which I've had for almost five years.

I've used the cruise control, adjusted my mirrors, and pulled the hood lever. So how did I miss this compartment?

I must have been driving in the fast lane all these years.

Goodbye, everyone! I'll miss you!

There was a commercial put out several years ago, that had a woman leaving someplace and she said, "Goodbye, everyone!   I'll miss you!"  Since then, that's been a joke in our family, that we say when we leave each other.

Except this time, it was true.  This time, I really would miss the person I was saying bye to.

   
We are 21 months apart and shared a room until my brothers moved out...so 17 years?  We were always at the same school for two years, which I loved.  She was there to ride the bus with me in Elementary school, there to get the boy that I liked to sign my yearbook in Middle school, and there to let me eat lunch with her and her friends in High school.

It was a joke that we were more like brothers when it came to fighting.  We could be scratching and yelling one minute and playing with our barbies the next.  We never stayed mad at each other.

I remember when LaVor went through the temple for the first time, and how sad it made me to not be there with him (I went through a month later).  I got home that night and found Amy on the computer.  I plopped in her lap and started to cry, telling her how I didn't want her to be sad when I went through, and she was the only one not able to be there.  She assured me it didn't bother her and she'd be fine.  When she got married a year and a half later, we were finally all able to be together and nobody was left out.

  
She was my source for advice.  One instance stands out to me...I believe I was in the third grade, and was having trouble relaxing enough to go to the bathroom at recess.  She told me to push on my abdomen and that should help the pee to come out and to do breathing exercises.

I practiced those breathing exercises many years later when we were coming home from our other sister's house and once again, I had to go to the bathroom.  We were at the stop light in our blue Bronco, right by our house, and I was DYING.  I was breathing like I was in labor and she was laughing hysterically, which made it worse.  Such a sisterly thing to do in your desperate times of need.

Our time together didn't end when she graduated high school.  She got a job at a local trophy shop, which later turned into both of us working there.  We also attended the Young Single Adult ward together and often got called to the same callings.  As you can see, we look nothing alike and people were often confused whether or not we were best friends or siblings.  Just so happens, we were both!

After 28 years of being no more than 25 minutes from each other, we are now an hour and a half away.  It's far but I know it could be much worse.

So goodbye, HC!  I'll miss you!