Thoughts on Jealousy

I try really hard not to think of life as one big struggle. You know, jumping from one alarming situation to another. But, as I am now THIRTY, I think I am beginning to see that the real challenge is being content in an era of discontent.

I now live in St. George, Utah which is a very small place with a very small economy and set of people. There are only so many things people can do for employment in such a small place yet it is absolutely overrun with overly large houses. Where do the poor people live? So, I have been thinking lately about the pulls and pushes of our jealousies. On the one hand, when someone points to an amazing neighborhood where every home is owned by someone in their twenties, I start to wonder how this happens. Yet, at the same time, I would feel silly and ostentatious in a house like that. But I can see how easily we could get sucked in. Especially because I do believe my husband is the smartest, kindest, and most ambitious person. If anyone deserved it, he does. But that is my point; what is there to DESERVE anything.

Relatedly, I sort of feel my current struggles with my oldest child have to do with jealousies toward his sister. She is absolutely adorable and like a little doll. Everyone we meet comments on her and she is in that phase where everything she says is considered clever and brilliant. Who wouldn't be jealous. But at the same time, he is neglecting the fact that she has much to be jealous of him: he gets to play baseball with dad, he gets to go skiing, he gets to go to school, he gets to stay up late, he gets to sleep in a real bed, he gets to cook with mom, he understands everything happening around him, and he gets to learn amazing things about the world.

As a matter of fact, I've come full circle here because in both instances, it is obvious that in most cases jealousy is a false emotion when we consider what we have instead of what we have not. We must have quite a bit of control over our own happiness in being grateful for the things we have been given.

Umm, anyone have good ideas on how to teach a four-year old hearfelt gratitude?

Aaah, the good life

We just got back from our vacation to Big Sky, Montana. Our time was spent, skiing, skiing and skiing. Oh yeah, and also making each other look like fools (game time.) Thanks to the Rufs and Sandbergs who made the trip memorable and perfect. It wouldn't have been the same without them.



This is how we got the kids to and from the ski lift. It was lots of work but less than carrying each one singly.


Diego skiing with Alisa: "Wheee, turn. Wheee, turn."


Diego and Staci near the peak


Diego skiing


The marshmallow world outside our window


Amber, Carla, and Staci after skiing


Scott with most of the kids-the 4 and up crowd-outside our chalet


The whole gang on the slopes (minus picture-taker Amber)


Walking up to the slopes from our chalet--truly ski in/out


The peak from afar (the highest ski resort peak in the USA)


The triple bunk bed


Diego, Steve and Carla waiting for the tram to the peak


Diego and Nicolas waiting to get on the Gondola


Nicolas, Calvin and Azelyn

Underwear, shmunderwear

Nicolas is 4 years old and does some funny things. For the past month, he has finally consistently been dressing himself fully. Shirt and pants and socks and everything. I will hand him a shirt, pants, and underwear and he will magically emerge from his room fully dressed. (Sometimes he chooses something different, but that's beside my point.) And then, last week, on vacation, he asked me to help him get dressed. Since I was feeling benevolent, I acquiesced--I mean instead of yelling at him to "just do it yourself." I took off his shirt and then tried to pull down his pants and underwear in one swoop but they were really hard to get off! As I examined the situation, I realized that he had on 4 pairs of underwear! I guess he had been just putting the clean underwear on top of the old. I told him that was gross and that he needed to change his underwear everday.

Well, I guess that information sunk in because the next day I went to change his clothes (thinking I should maybe monitor the situation) and he wasn't wearing any at all. Underwear, I mean. In his mind, if you have to change it every day, it might just be cleaner to not wear any at all.

I guess I can't be too upset as I'm the one who hadn't bathed him in four days. Ha! Speaking of hygiene . . .

Happy 30th . . . hope you have health insurance

In celebration of my upcoming 30th birthday, I have been taking a mental catalog of all of my body parts that are breaking down, fading, sagging or otherwise different than at 20. It's a hard road to travel down. To ease my saggy mind, I am listing them here as kind of a list of resolutions--you know, things to work on.

1. Number one on the list is definitely my shoulder. Seven years ago I ripped it out of socket while skiing (showing off but I am smarter than that now.) It took a year of struggle to get it back to "normal." But this summer at the beach, it happened again, to the same shoulder. I would like to be cool and say I was surfing a big wave but really I was floating along on a big green, blow-up crocodile. And now it keeps popping out all over the place--incidentally, just like Nicolas' Transformers.

2. My lower back causes me all sorts of problems. There is nothing that makes me feel old like complaining about my back . . . except of course, walking hunched over because of my back.

3. My earring holes keep scabbing over. Now this one baffles me. I can understand some pains due to aging but this is really not fair. (PS If anyone has a cure for this, please share.)

4. I went to the eye doctor today and he told me I have "deposits" on my retina. "Could be a problem if you get glaucoma." Yikes. He also told me my eyes are really blue. Huh?

5. I am 20 lbs heavier than at 20. Increased risk for heart attack, high blood pressure, blah, blah.

6. Last month I forgot how to turn on our clothes dryer. I'm not kidding. And I hope you are not laughing because I almost called a repairman because it was "broken." This falls into the mental breakdown category. I also can't do those Sudoku puzzles like I used to. I didn't know that one requirement of aging is to get dummer (sic). But maybe teenagers are right (about being smarter than parents) because by the time Nicolas hits 12, I will have lost some serious brain power.

There you have it. I estimate that I can add about one item a year until I hit 75 . . . but at this rate, I might not make it there.

Rededication of the Capitol

The rededication of the Utah State Capitol building will truly be in the history books. As part of that dedication, my dad was honored to give a short speech during the ceremony. If you would like to listen to it, go to senatesite.com (the Utah State senate blog) and scroll to January 10th. I should probably be able to post the video right here but I don't have the time or patience right now to do it. Adios!

Red Rock Fun

Hiking to Ft. Pierce ruins


Inside the Fort


Inside the Fort


A park above St. George (it has a name but I can't remember it)

Picture Time!

Here is my barrage of pictures from Christmas time. We split our time between grandparent's houses.

These first pictures are of us making candy gingerbread trains with the Valentine clan.
















Alisa and Nicolas playing in the snow.


Christmas Eve/Day (we open our presents at midnight.)





Christmas "morning" (morning is relative when you stay up until 2:00 am.)


Alisa back at our house with assorted Christmas presents (dress, stroller, baby, backpack.)


Playing at our house on New Year's Day.