First Football Game - Ridgetop 16 Marcus Whitman 20 They Lost :o(

Today was Michael's first football game and it was an away game. I knew it was going to be kind of a hard one as most of the day it rained. The game started at about 4PM and he was finally back at the school just shortly before 7P. He was rather disappointed that they lost to Marcus Whitman 20 - 16. He said that one of the kids threw an upper cut right at the base of his ribcage and where the shoulder pads end. It was not called by the refs. One of these days someone is going to catch them and it is going to be a sad day. He said it was not an easy game as he said that he was soaked to the skin. From now on he needs to make sure that he takes a full change of clothes in case this happens again.
He was really hungry so I think we need to pack him some extra food to eat before the game so that he is not starving by the time he is finished. He was very lucky because normally he would go from his game to YM and tonight they met early and were working on Cameron Crook's Eagle Project. They were not sure that much could be done as it was raining pretty good.
Better Luck next week. Ridgetop Raiders vs John Sedgewick but this game will be here. Will keep everyone up to date.

Cooking & Recipes

Well, I am asked quite a bit for recipes that I use or try. I decided to make a blog and share it with everyone.
Here is the link to the blog: http://jskitchenadventures.blogspot.com/ I will be posting here the recipes and hints that I tell people. My friend Jacqui and I will be adding to this as much as possible. When she and I get together we laugh and have a good time. It is a way for me to relieve some stress. Hope you like it.

Back to School 2010

Well, Michael started back to school on the first of September. He is in 9th grade. Wow, time flies. He is a part of a class called Achieve. He had to answer a questionaire and go through an interview in order to be able to be admitted. Over the summer he took as independent home study, Washington State History and Health as well as Pre-AP English he had to read and annotate two books. By taking the two classes he was able to get the credit and open two periods of electives so that he could start on his 2nd language requirement. He chose ASL (American Sign Language). He is playing football this year and is starting off the school year on a positive note. Achieve is a building class to help him prepare for HS and college. Most of the kids that take this go on to receive a number of scholarships and other helps when it comes to college.
In a week or so there is a fireside that the Church sponsors that lets them know the entrance requirements and what is out there for them to continue education beyond HS. It is on a 3 year rotation and so now is the time to go and start to prepare.
He started Seminary as well this year. His day starts rather early. He is up between 4:30 and 5 AM. We have to leave about 5:45A in order to get him there on time for Seminary. They get out at 6:50A and his school starts at 7:25A. Sister Kao is kind that since I get Michael to the church for Seminary then she takes the kids to school on her way to work. He is in school until 2:05P and then football practice from 2:15P until about 5PM. Then home to homework, dinner, YM on Thursday (after games on Thursday's). He is rather tired on the weekend.
I am trying to work on some recipes with my friend Jacqui. Teaching her how to save and cook. I am hoping that she will start her food storage. She is not a seasoned cook so I am helping her not be so afraid to try new things.
I am really keeping my fingers crossed that school goes well this year and that we have a better year than the last two. Grade check at the end of the week so we will see how he is doing.

Vacation

Right after getting back from Trek we were to leave for vacation within 2 weeks. We were excited as we had decided that we would spend two weeks in Southern California. We planned on going to do some genealogy work by going and takin gpictures at some cemeteries as well as visiting with our friends and family.

We got there on July 13th. We tried to contact Grandpa Raul to make arrangements to see him and come to find out just 2 days before he had left and gone to St. Louis, Missouri. He came back before we left and so we had sometime with him. Wish it had been longer but it was good to see him.

We went to Pomona Valley Memorial Park and found the graves of many in Justin's family. We wanted to find the stone nouse that his great great grandfather had built but no one knew the addess. Then we drove out to Riverside National Cemetery across from March AFB. I took pictures of Uncle Mike Leyva and my cousin Kent Blaine Allen. I was so glad to get those pictures as now I can get memorials listed on Find A Grave. While in San Diego we took the time and went to the County Recorder and got a copy of Mike's death certificate. Grandpa Raul never said what happened to Mike and with the military time frame an off number of 5 years it bothered us. Mike must have lived in San Diego as he was in the hospital at Scripps La Jolla. He had died of pneumonia and the seconary cause was AIDS. I figure that he had pneumocystis pneumonia which is the common form that patients contract. We do not know how it was contracted. He also had a liver disorder that caused unusual growth of the liver. Mike is a mystery for Justin as he never knew him. I know that Mike was honorably discharged as he is buried in a military cemetery and if he had received a dishonorable discharge that would not have been possible. Just wish we could know more. One thing we are happy about is now we have had Michael do the first part of his temple work and Justin will now be able to finish it.

I tried to meet up with a friend from when I was a teenager but we were unable to do so this time around. I will try to meet up with Karen later this year. It wou;d be so good to see her as we have not seen each other in 30+ years.

We spent extra time with Susan and Tony Vargas which we LOVE doing. Then had some extra time with Bonnie & Dave Martin in San Diego. Bonnie is having a hard time adjusting to having to be in the office every day now. The company that she works for was sold and before she worked most of the week at home. Now she works Monday through Friday 8 - 5. It is a hard adjustment but she is glad to have a job. Jared her son left for his mission to Boise, ID on September 1. Bonnie and Dave are now empty nesters.

It was hot the first few days...106 when we were at the cemeteries.....Not fun. It was good to relax and enjoy. We love Southern California but do not want to live there. We really feel that we are to be in Washington as we feel that the Lord has a plan for us.

I hope to go back to do some more visiting but on my own at the beginning of November. It was fun to visit but we were really glad to be home.

Trek

Just after school let out in June, the stake held a pioneer trek for the youth. Michael was able to participate as the cut off was being 14 by the beginning of the school year. Justin and I were on the base camp food committee.

My friend Carla, that works with me at the Family History Center made my dress and apron along with the shirts for Justin and Michael. I provided the fabric and she did the rest. She was such a blessing. She had so much fun doing it.

As late as May 22 when we were to go on a mini training trek for the Ma's & Pa's we had major trouble. That weekend we were hit with a late storm and there was a huge snowfall in the area and we could not even get to the area in which we were supposed to trek. They scambled and changed the place to a new facility that the church recently purchased in 2008. It is a church farm in eastern Washington, actually on the WA/OR border literally. We were only 10 miles from Hermiston, Oregon and a stones throw from the Columbia River.

Here are 2 links to places with photos of trek http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182460&id=121601903556&fbid=405605978556&ref=nf and http://www.blainewilsonphotography.com/Events/Trek-2010/12743657_y7U58

We had to leave the day before the rest of everyone left to get things set up and be ready to go when they arrived the next day. Michael stayed with the Byron family as there was 3 in their family going. We knew they were going to have some issues as the day we arrived it was 93 degrees and we had come from just barely 60 degree temperatures for weeks. It was also rather muggy. Justin and I had cots, a tent, screenroom and lots of water, ice, drinks and snacks. We were in the afternoon shade of lots of trees. They arrived and started out. The very first day they trekked for about 14 miles. Michael's family was really happy to have him. He was almost always in the yoke the entire trek. The other kids were small and had a hard time with the cart. He and Brother Snyder from our ward were their rescue team. His Ma & Pa, Brother & Sister Ogden of the Kingston, WA ward. 

They ferried the carts across a pond on the property as well as hard pulls straight up and down hills. They kept being shorted water at the rest stops. There was another stake there from Eugene and they were only supposed to take 5 gals per cart and we found that they were taking 10 gals and leaving us nothing so we got behind. The first day they had almost 20 get hit with heat exhaustion as they were not able to drink enough. Not to mention the blisters and heat rash that hit. Heat rash hit some of the adult men......ouch!

They were supposed to be out until Friday afternoon, but were called into base camp on Thursday afternoon as it was too much as too many were starting to fall. They marched in and made camp and were just excited to have access to drinkable cool water at all times. They were doing activity stations and the most used and enjoyed was the trough to wash their hair. The guys went to the faucets and stuck their head under the faucets.

Justin and I left early on Saturday morning before they broke camp as I was bitten up by biting flies and the doctor that was on staff wanted me to get home and get on a regular dose of benadryl so that cellulitis did not set in. I gladly did so. The busses were due back at 6:30 pm or so and they did not arrive until close to 10:30 pm as they had a long testimony meeting. They were all worn out, bitten up, stinky and sunburnt. I know Michael was happy to see the shower. I think he had about 15 layers of dirt to scrub off and he said it took about 3 showers before he really felt fresh again. LOL!

I am including the letter from his Ma & Pa, Brother & Sister Ogden as well as a picture of his family. He came home a lot more mature and with a healthy respect for those in our family that were pioneers on the trail.

Time to breathe...............

This was originally written back in May, but I forgot to post it.

Well, tax season is over and I finally have some time to breathe. I know it is May but I have not had the chance until now to take a deep breath. On April 10th, I had a friend from many years ago come to visit. She said that she could not stand LA any longer and need to make a change. She arrived finally and was sick with a case of shingles. I can relate that it is painful, but life must go on to some extent. The month that the person was here really was a waste of time. Now, please understand I love my friends, but I am not going to allow anyone to stay with us any longer to get on their feet because we are always taken advantage of and we are the bad guys.

She sat around for over 2 weeks just complaining about how lousy she felt. I told her that we could pay for her to be seen by a clinic here and she finally agreed. We got her the medicine so she could feel better and she still continued to just gripe and complain. As time went on, I had to admit that she has a number of emotional and mental issues. Her kids walked out on her and she can't figure out why they do not want to be around her. I know I am not a psychologist, but I can recognize things when I see them. She is severely depressed, paranoid, co-dependent, as well as bi-polar or borderline personality disorder. In the month that she was here I doubt that she bathed a total of 3 times. She ate ice cream like it was going out of style daily and would let her cockatoo eat out of her mouth. Many times during the day she would bring the bird out and tell the bird, "Say Hello" "Say I Love You" and all it would do is squak loudly. She was up one minute and then crying her eyes out the next. If anything was said to her about needing help for the emotional roller coaster that she was on she immediately became defensive. She said that she was continually yelled at. I did raise my voice and it was in desperate frustration that she was doing nothing. She wanted everything handed to her on a silver platter and to do everything in her power to sit on her butt and play the "whoa is me", "I am having a never ending pity party." After her stupid comment, I never raised my voice to her because I never knew how she would react.

Whenever anything was said about looking for a job it was always an excuse. I had no other choice but to conclude from her behavior that she wanted nothing to do with a job. She is 48 and will be 49 later this year and is trying to relive her youth for lack of a better explanation. She thinks she can go to Paul Mitchell, learn to cut hair and then follow bands like My Chemical Romance around cutting their hair. She is dellusional if she thinks that young bands want a 49 y/o following them around. She said many times that Gerard Way's mom was named the same as she and her middle name was the same as hers. I thinks she wants to mother him in place of her grandmother and kids.

Her Grandmother, bless her heart has Alzheimers and is 96. It is safe to say that she will most likely not be around much longer. She will soon be in the position that she does not know the people from one day to the next that care for her. She will become more and more not in touch with what is going on and will most likely become combative. She REFUSES to face the truth that this is most likely what will happen.

She up and left on Sunday. I must admit it was a big relief and weight lifted. I know that she will bad mouth us as she did that to us about others that tried to help her. She will continue to do this until she burns every bridge that she has for help. I feel bad for her, but I can no longer allow her to bad mouth my husband, Michael and myself for that matter. Late Tuesday (close to midnight) she sent me an email that said she is sorry and that she is very, very sick. Then this afternoon while I am on the way home from my shift at the Family History Center she goes off about Justin doing something. I come home having not really reading the email and Justin is disoriented and cannot remember most of the afternoon. 

We did what we could to help her. She let the bird eat part of the wall and so now we have to patch that. The bird went poo all over a blanket over a stand and all over the table. Now we have to clean everthing.
She takes the bird with her everywhere. She thinks it is cute. It is not. She is dependent on the bird as well as we would hear her have long conversations with the bird. Then she has the nerve to say that we are on the wrong, lied to her and every other accusation in the world.

I made the decision to block her from sending me messages. I just cannot tolerate her violent mood swings
and trying to figure out is she is up, down, or completely flipped out. She can't understand why people are just turning their backs on her. Well I can. She is out of her noodle and no one in their right mind can deal with her instablility. I hope she gets some help.

My own mental health has been in question for the last couple of days.  I have done what I could but it is up to her now. I had to put it in the hands of the Lord because she refuses to listen if you have a different view or tell her she needs to seek mental health help. Is she a danger to herself? Yes to some extent. Will she harm herself? She says no but then those that commit suicide sometimes say that too. Is she a danger to others? Not really except that she is living in a world of denial and non-reality.

I am sad to say that I am going to have to shut her out as I cannot allow her to constantly try to have me feed her co-dependency and cycles of irrationality. I refuse to allow her to speak ill of Michael or Justin any longer. I know that they have their quirks and that Justin sometimes does things that are a bit harsh but he has medical issues and she has not one clue as to what he deals with. He is not always in his right mind. He is not perfect but none of us are.

Next week, we go up to the area of Mt. Rainier for the mini-trek. I do not think that the ma's, pa's, aunt's, & uncle's are realizing that they will be trekking somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 miles in a little over a day. They will not have to clear brush that they are going to make the kids do but they will have to cross a stream. They are really pushing these kids. I know they will do it. I am so glad that I am just doing cooking for the base camp. In June we will have a total of 25 handcarts. Approx 10 kids to a cart/family, ma & pa along with one aunt or uncle. That is a total of about 240 with support staff, medical, cooking, etc. This is going to be something very powerful.

2010 New Year

Well, It's February 1st and I should update this more often. Bad Me. I have been busy getting more people found on Justin's line. I have be able to locate a good deal of information and it is a great feeling. I have been able to find pictures of his Great Grandmother Belen and Uncle Jesus who is Belen's youngest brother. His Great Grandfather Roberto is the hard piece to the puzzle. We guestimate that he look his own life in May 1933 when Grandpa Raul was just 8 months old. I was able to locate them on a 1930 Mexico Census and it has given me a great picture of his siblings and parents. We keep saying prayers that more information will be opened to us to be able to get the work done for the family.

Last month I took training for Federal Tax Preparation here. I work with the AARP Foundation and IRS and we prepare Federal Tax Returns for low income and seniors as well as anyone else that needs out help. We turn away very few. Today was the first day of preparation and it was a little crazy. I was to be there for 5 hours because we wanted to have extra time for set up. That was ok until something went wrong and my computer crashed the served at the IRS in Georgia.

We never could get it back up and running. Everyone else was fine. I did get to prepare a few returns so that made the jitters go away.

This week will be a bit crazy as all of the centers in the county open this week. I am working 4 days this week instead of 2 but then it should settle down a little.

I am excited. It is fun. We have an appointment for Justin with an eye specialist in Seattle. They may need to do surgery to help his sight. This will happen on the 19th. Justin goes tomorrow to get his first crown completed and then the rest of the work can now be done as they finally have the authorization to do it.

Justin has had a cold the last few days but seems to be getting over it. I am trying very hard NOT to get it. Cross my fingers.

Smokey is due for some shots. It is hard to believe that he has been with us for a year. We love him to death. He is such a good companion for all of us. Slyvester and Shadow are doing well and being their snotty kitty selves.

Michael is growing and getting bigger. The Stake is doing the Pioneer Trek this year and he will be deoing it June 23 - 26. This will be an exciting time for him. We are going to be reading some pioneer stories in preparation for this. We know this will be a powerful experience for him.