Cold Mountain

Next week we will go to Visit my son Zach at his Summer Job up at Mt. Rainier in Washington State. I can not wait! He has been there since May. We miss him terribly around here. Though he is having a great time!

Those of you who follow us on Twitter & Facebook knew a little bit about what was going on with his roommate & I just want to say Thank You for all the Prayers. Here is what we know . . . Zach texted us early last week saying his roommate (the one he's had since the beginning of the summer, a man in his 40's I believe, he's had other roommates that have came & gone) had gone out hiking the day before, alone & never came back. They had rescue teams out looking for him. The Ranger interviewed Zach, to ask him if the roommate had said which way he was going, if he seemed depressed, etc.

They had rescue teams out through the night and all the next day. They came & got some of his clothing for search dogs to get his scent. Finally after two and a half days they found him. Injured but Alive! I guess that (I think anyone who hikes for real, knows this, but of course I didn't) When your hiking in packed snow, you shouldn't step too close to the trees, because I guess the way the roots of the trees absorb the moisture from below, if you step too close to a tree, you can fall into a sink hole. Well that's what happened. He had hiked up into the snow, stepped too close to a tree & fell into a sink hole. Not far, yet broke his ankle in two places & broke a rib. He climbed out & found a patch a dirt (as opposed to snow) to sit on & wait, he spent two whole nights out there in the wilderness. He also had Hypothermia & Frost Bite. Once they found him it took them two hours to get him to an area where a Helicopter could pick him up to get him to a hospital. He is still there recovering & should return to the Mountain in a couple of days hopefully. And again thanks for the thoughts & Prayers, I'll let you know if we hear anything more. And we made sure to remind Zach never to hike alone!

Zach has made so many new & many International Friends this summer! All these pictures on this post, we stole off some Facebook pages of some of his new friends! :) Don't you just love modern technology?! I sure do! It's allowed me to see my baby! :) And he looks so much more grown up already & even has a Goatee! :) I'm afraid when we see him next week, he won't be the same kid that left home.

He's gone Hiking & Camping. Plays Ping Pong! He found a new sport he loves! It's sledding on the glacier (Ice) on Plastic bags. He has hiked to Base Camp. Today he got to take a day trip to visit Mt. St. Helen. He was very excited about that! I guess one mountain just isn't enough! :)

These picture also gave us the chance to see him in his work uniform! When he left I told him his motto for the summer was "Work Hard, Play Harder!!" I guess he's living out those words! That's my boy! :)

We are going to Mt. Rainier & will get to see where he works & lives. He wants to take us on an easy hike. (after all, this is me we're talking about!) Then he will go with us into Seattle for a couple of days! If I have to spend time on a Mountain for him, he has to spend time in a City for me! Right?! It's only fair! :)

Though one of our days in Seattle my girls & I are taking a 3 hour tour of Forks Washington! That's right, where the Twilight Books & Movies are set! We will see Bella's & The Cullins' houses. The High School, The Hospital & Police Station, Restaurants seen in the films, etc. And we will also get to go to the La Push Beach & see Jacobs house! Don't forget we are Team Jacob! :) And the only thing Zach really wanted to see was the Hoh Rain Forest! Yes, right near Forks is Olympic National Park & an honest to goodness Rain Forest. So that's what John & Zach will be doing while us girls get our Twilight fix!

We are so excited for our trip & can't wait to be with Zach again. We will download all the pictures he's taken (if he's remembered to take any! After all this is Zach we're talking about!) while we are there & we will take many pictures ourselves! And of course, I will Blog all about our trip after we get home! That is of course if we all survive the 2 days of driving it will take to get us there! :) And back! :0 We are also excited to get to see some old friends who now live in Washington while we're there as well! And you know we'll be singing "On The Road Again!"

Watch Out World!

21 Years ago today I gave Birth to my first child!

Kyle Micah Forbis

What an incredible Man he is turning out to be!

Grandpa's Best Bud!
Such a cute baby boy!
And still Grandma's Boy!



Such a fun & funny kid!

Somethings never change . . .

The Fearless Big Brother!
Leader of the Pack!

Watch Out World,
Here he comes!

Happy 21st Birthday to our Baby Boy!

3 Years!!!

I started Blogging in June of 2008. Just over 3 years ago!

As of late I've been doing very little of it.

Working full time, raising 4 kids, fitting in Date nights with my wonderful husband, finding time to spend with family and maybe a few friends, reading, trying to fit in some laundry now and then, keeping up with the world around me, well, you get the picture.

Though Blogging is very important to me, & something I LOVE to do, I just don't have the time in this stage of my life that I'd love to put into it.

Though it's never far from my mind. Or my heart.

I was just talking today with my husband & daughters about how I need (okay, make that want) to Blog more, and as today is my day off, I was thinking about possibilities I could Blog about, when it hit me.

I think I missed my Anniversary (or Blogiversary!) The Anniversary of when I started my Blog. I looked it up & sure enough, I was correct.

I launched my Blog in June of 08. It is now July, 2011. It's been 3 years!

I wanted to part some sort of Bloggy wisdom, but this is me we're talking about! :)

So, as I type, I'm coming up with 3 things I've learned in my 3 years of Blogging! (I'm certain there has to be at least 3 items I can pull out of the air, right?! We'll see.)

So, here we go . . .

3 Things I've Learned In 3 Years Of Blogging:

1. My Opinion Matters! (If only to me! And sometimes that may be the case.)
After all Blogs are for sharing your opinion. It isn't always the right opinion (except in my case of course!) But it is mine. And by choosing what Blogs I read, shows I care about that persons opinion. And I'm so Thankful for those who choose to read my Blog. Weather or not you agree with all my opinions, I'm grateful you take the time to read them & share with me your opinions on the matter at hand, weather it be Raising Our Children, Marriage, Politics, Pop Culture, Books or Movies, Travel, and any Important or Silly Subject Matter I choose to address. I can not thank you enough.

2. Writing things down helps to solidify them in Memory. (And at my age, I need all the help I can get remembering things!)
The other day my son asked me about something that happened years ago in his life and he couldn't quite remember all the details. I started telling the story in all it's details and someone asked "How can you remember all that?" I simply stated "I Blogged about it!" Even when I was younger in school or in classes at Church when I had to memorize something for a test, Bible verses, or lines for a play, the first thing I did was write it down. It helps you to remember it! Blogging has done that for me with events in my Children's lives! Another thing I am forever grateful for!

3. We're all the same! (only Different!)
As Moms, as Women, we're all basically the same. It doesn't matter where we come from, our age, how many children we have, Married, Single, we're all the same to a certain degree. We all want whats best for our kids. We may go about getting it in different ways. We may parent differently, some more strict, some by trying to be their child's friend instead of their parent, some (like me) who try to Laugh their way Through Parenting! :) There are any number of ways & we're not the same in the way we get there, but our intent is the same. And when I share whats on my heart as a Mother, or things that work well with my kids, or that haven't worked at all, I know others will be able to relate to it. And they do. And in turn, share with me (with us all) what has and hasn't work for them as well. And That's what this Blog has always been about.

So here's to many more years of Laughing Through Parenting together!

Me, today, doing what I love to do, Blogging!

Era Of Choice (Past, Present Or Future?)

"Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover"

(Or can you?)

With my love for reading I've gotten pretty good at picking out books! After all, I know myself pretty well by now! :) I can usually tell if a book is my "type" of book. I know what I will like & what I most likely wont. There of course have been a few mishaps along the way. I think a book sounds great & it turns out to be bad. I hate that! And there have even been a few times a book that I've chosen to read is so bad I can't even finish it. (And believe me, for me to put a book down, it has to be pretty bad!) Thankfully that doesn't happen very often.

But fortunately the opposite is sometimes true as well. I don't think I will like a book then I'm happily surprised when I do. I have a few criteria I go by when picking out a book. Now I know you are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but lets just be honest here, we all do it! If a cover isn't appealing to me, I will pass it up. I have a few Authors that I know I like their writing style, so if I see a book by one of them, I will give it a second glance.

I also pay attention to what Era, or time period the book is set in. You won't find me me usually with a book set in the Prairie Days. Not even if other people tell me how great the book is, if it's set then, I'm not interested. I know this probably sounds strange knowing that my favorite book of all time is Little Women, which is of course set during the Civil War time. (I can't explain it either!) I know what I like is Modern Day Fiction. The only Historic Fiction I am interested to read is usually set in the World War II Period. That I like! I also enjoy books that are Nostalgic & go back & forth between decades. I've read a lot of those recently, some of my favorites have been: Firefly Lane, The Girls From Ames (Non Fiction), Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, I Think I Love You, The YaYa Sisterhood, to name a few. But generally I stick to Modern times.

But, recently I have been discovering a new time period that I'm enjoy reading about. When I started a Book Club, the first book we choose to read was The Secret Life Of Bees, a really good book, set in the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Being born in the 60's, of course I don't remember them much, :) but I've always known all men are created equal. And that the color of our skin shouldn't matter. But still, I wasn't prepared for how much I would come to love another book set during that time period . . .

Now, I had heard a lot of people talking about this book. I looked at it, the cover doesn't give much away, the story didn't seem like my kind of book. I didn't really understand what it was about, but it wasn't appealing to me at all. I had passed on it a number of times. Then I saw the Movie Trailer. I thought "I have to read that book!" It looked so good. So I got the book for Mother's Day. And now that I've read it, I must say, the Movie Trailer that made me want to read the book, I now look at and think how silly it looks & it better do the book justice!

I can not tell you how much I really LOVE this book. I honestly didn't want it to end. It was funny & touching & intense. I know I will always consider it one of my favorite books of all time. I loved it that much.

"Lines between black and white ain't there neither.
Some folks just made those up, long time ago.
And that go for the white trash and the so-ciety ladies to0."

"So you saying they ain't no line between the help and the boss either?"

"They's just positions, like on a checkerboard.
Who work for who don't mean nothing."
"All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries."

And because of how much I loved this book, I'm willing to give another Era a go. One that I've never really cared to read about before. The Future! What am I'm reading next? I'm so glad you've asked. There is another book series I've heard A LOT about that just didn't appeal to me. (Again with the cover & the story line) But everyone says how incredibly great they are! They are Young Adult Fiction (As is the Twilight Series) but the last straw for me was seeing a grown man pumping gas into his car with this book in his hand. I thought that book must be good, if a man can't even pull himself away from it long enough to pump his gas! So I'm giving it a go . . .

And just in time too I'd say, since they are making a Hunger Games movie to be released soon as well. I hope it lives up to all the hype! You can rest assured I will let you know what I think. :) So, what Era, or time period do you prefer to read? Have you ever been surprised when you find a book outside of your "norm" that you really like?

Summer Job Update

It's been a month since my son, Zach left us to go work for the summer at Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State, so I thought I'd give you an update as to how he's doing away from home & how we're doing without him at home . . .

He traveled for the first time alone & got there just fine. His boxes we had sent ahead of time arrived in town ahead of him, but since the lodge wasn't opened yet, they weren't going to deliver them, until the next week. Which meant he had no bedding & no winter gear & there was almost 18 feet of snow on the ground! (Today, 1 month latter, there is still 16 feet of the white powder stuff on the ground!) They provided him with bedding. But since the lodge is a half mile hike from the dorms, and he has to be at work at like 6 in the morning, this Arizona boy was cold! It was a few days until he could even see the Mountain he was living on!

He finally got his boxes, which made life more easier! (Not to mention warmer!) He is working in the Paradise Lodge, in the housekeeping dept. He, it seems is the heavy lifter! He walks up the 4 flights of stairs (there is no elevator) several times a day! Carrying bedding & laundry up & down. He deals with shipment, & stocks all the supplies & makes sure all the maids & their carts have everything they need. He's filled in for a Porter, which works the lobby, keeping the fire going & helping people with their luggage! But he likes his own job better, even though he gets tips when he does the other! :)

He has met so many people from all around the world! He loves Geography & History, so getting to talk with people from different parts of the world is a thrill for him. There is a group of students from the University of Singapore that he seems to hang out with quite a bit. On his day's off they take a shuttle down to an area of lower altitude on the mountain, that doesn't have snow, in order to hike. He has seen Foxes, Coyotes, Brown & Black Bears, all kinds of birds & deer! Says it's absolutely Beautiful there.

He has had 2 other roommates come in & get moved to other areas, his one roommate he's had since the beginning he describes as a gay man, who loves to quote Scripture. :) They had a water line break in the dorms & had to sleep in the Lodge for a few days. He liked that! :) And those of you who know Zach, know how he loves to play ping pong, and he's pretty good at it. They have a table there. He's played a lot. There are a couple people from China, who beat him pretty badly, people keep asking him why he keeps playing them, when they keep beating him? He says because they challenge him & he'll know he'll get better by playing them. And he even beats them sometimes already. I told him by the time the summer's over, he'll be Forest Gump! :)

There was a week we didn't hear from him because a storm blew in & they get no Cell Phone coverage when that happens. When the sky is clear, he can call! He will text from time to time as well, but we usually don't get them until the day after he sends them. He has taken some pictures, but doesn't have a way to upload them so we can see them. :( We are planning a trip up to see him in July. Then you know I'll be Blogging & posting pictures! I've asked him if there is anything he needs, or things he wished he'd taken with him that he didn't? He said he has everything he needs, he's glad for some of the stuff I sent with him that he thought I was crazy for making him take! (Once again, I prove Mother knows best!) :)

It's quiet around here without him. And grocery shopping is so strange since Zach is our biggest eater! I asked him if he's loosing weight with how much exercise he's getting, and his reply was "the cafeteria is all you can eat!" :) He asked about the wildfires burning in Arizona. And we try to update him on what's going on around here. Our little dog Tinkerbell, slept down stairs the entire first night he was gone. She usually waits up till the boys get home, then will come up to bed. And I think she just kept waiting for him to come home! :) We're glad he's having fun & getting this incredible experience, but we sure do miss him. I pray everyday for his safety & well being. I just don't understand why kids have to grow up & venture out on their own! I'm sure he could give me a couple of reasons! :)

Carry On My Wayward Son . . .

The other day at work one of my co-workers gets a phone call from her husband, some friends of theirs had bought tickets back in February to see Kansas in concert. Something came up with their kids & now that the concert was here, they couldn't go. But, my friends husband had a meeting at work, so they weren't able to take the tickets either. I mentioned my husband & I might be interested in the tickets if they couldn't find anyone. They had a few more friends they wanted to offer them to. I didn't think anymore about it, nor did I mention it to my husband, who we all know is a Rock'n Roller! :)

The next day I get a text from my friend that no one could use the tickets, so she had them for me if I still wanted them. I asked John "Do we have any plans for tonight? How would you like to see Kansas in Concert?" Well, even if we had had plans, I'm pretty sure he would have changed them! So, we went out to dinner & got an unexpected date night!

The concert was at Celebrity Theater in Phoenix. It's a small round theater in which the stage turns in a circle, so no matter where you sit, you get to see the performance from front, back & everything in between! To a musician like my husband, that is what its all about. Actually being able to see the Guitar players finger positioning, etc. (It's all Greek to me! I just want to hear some good music & dance!) :)

The seats were amazing! The only thing between us & the stage was the small Orchestra pit, in which held the sound board. And with my husband being a Music & Arts Pastor, he loves to check out all that equipment at any concert we go to.

We were both wearing our Toms Shoes (cause we're cool like that I guess) Before the concert started, we had our feet up on the ledge overlooking the pit, so we had to snap a pic.

This was a view of the stage before the concert started. A local comedian opened the show.

But of course a Guitar player has to take pictures of the instruments of choice. After telling me of course what kind they are & a little of the Guitar's history, etc. Please don't ask me to repeat it, because, well, you know me! :)

We had so much fun. The concert was really so good. They are such talented musicians! I've never seen a Violin Rock out like that before! As the stage turns you get to see everything even how the drummer plays from behind.


The crowed was mostly our age & older people. :) After all the band has been around for 4 decades! But I loved seeing a few younger people there too. You can't really tell from this picture below, but this boy (with the Justin Beiber hair) was standing up by the stage & one of the Guitar players handed him his Guitar pick! Loved that moment! Someone parents like we do, making sure our kids know old school music along with the new!


When our oldest son, Kyle, graduated from High School a couple of years ago, for his Graduation party we put together a slide show of pictures throughout his life, & we did it to the Kansas song: Carry On My Wayward Son. So, that of course is my favorite Kansas song! And the one they did very last! And oh yeah, it was worth waiting for!

Competition Between Twins

My girls both ran Track for the first time. They've spent many years watching their older brother, Zach run in both Jr. High & High School, and they always said when they got to Jr. High, they were gonna do track as well! Earlier in the year Lexi ran in Cross Country & Erica tried out for Softball. She didn't make the team, but the coach told her she had a really good arm! She went & cheered her sister on in all the Cross Country Meets.

Twins sister & Team mates!!

In Track, they did some of the same events & did some separately. Both girls threw discus & ran Hurdles. Lexi also did Long Jump & Erica did Shot Put. They made a lot of new friends, had a great time & really loved being part of a team.

Lexi on the Long Jump!

Erica doing Discus!

At the end of the season, the coaches chose a group of kids who could possible go to Conference, the rest of the team didn't have to come to practice or work out any longer after the regular season was finished. Both of the girls were in that chosen group. At the end of the week they posted a list of the kids & alternates that would be going to Conference. Only one of the girls names was on that list. This is what Lexi Tweeted that day: "not going to conference for #trackandfield but @Erica7starr is! you go sis!!"

It's always hard when one child gets something the other doesn't. But, I've always tried to encourage my kids to be happy for others, even when things don't work out the way you wanted them to. Erica went to Conference for Discus & got her longest distance that day! And Lexi was cheering her Twin sister on! We are so proud of both our girls!

The school made T-shirts for Conference with all the kids who represented their school names on the back. Both my girls wanted a shirt! And even though Lexi's name wasn't on it like her sisters was, she wore her shirt proudly! And likewise, when Lexi played her Flute solo for her Band concert, all the kids were talking about it the next few days at school & telling her how great she did. Erica was right there saying "yeah, she did really good, didn't she?!"

I'm always happy when one of my children exceed in things, and like all Moms, I'm proud to show off my great kids! (hence the Blog!) :) But, when you are a Mom of Twins, people always ask you questions like: who's the bossy one, is their a "good twin" & an "evil twin?" Do they get along? Is one a leader & one a follower? Are they best friends? Etc. And here are some of my answers: One is more bossy the majority of the time! Neither one is Evil, and if you say that again, you will see how evil I can be! :) They get along great most of the time! They also fight like I suspect any siblings do. They seam to take turns leading & following, though each has her own personality type. They are best friends (but can be worst enemy's from time to time as well)

Showing their team spirit:
Lexi (above)
Erica (below)

And this year, for really the first time in their lives, I got to see how they would handle competition between each other. And I must say I'm proud of they way they have handled it! Which is a good thing, cause I'm sure we have many more years of competing in sports, music, for friends, grades, attention, etc. (hopefully one thing they will not compete for is boys!) I might not survive that one! :)