A plea for help

Bradley's family reunion is starting to weigh heavily upon my head--it's less than a month away, and I'm totally wigged out that it isn't going to be as good as the other ones. Be that as it may be, I have a question:

On Sunday, we're going to have an early dinner (church gets out at 2, so probably around 4pm) and then go to Temple Square to explore and take the traditional family pictures. We're planning on staying at Temple Square until nighttime, essentially, and I know from my own experience that people will get hungry around 6-7pm. So I'm trying to come up with a "supper" that we can pack up in a cooler and have when we do get hungry, without leaving Temple Square or buying anything.

Easy--sandwiches, right? Except we are packing lunches for the following two days, and I'm worried people will get tired of lunch meat and chips. Does anyone have any ideas? I admit to being stumped, but my brain is a little frazzled right now and so it's no wonder I can't think of anything.

If you have any ideas, shout out, would you?

Daddy

This morning, as I took care of my children, giving them bottles and changing their diapers, I found myself remembering Daddy. I wanted to write this post before I got too busy today with trying to get an apartment, clean my current apartment and take care of my husband and children. I wanted to share some memories of Daddy that I have and cherish. They're fairly simple memories and one of them is illustrated by a picture that I have of him on (I think) my 15th birthday. He's standing in front of me with that silly grin on his face as he presents me with my present. His absolute joy in giving gifts, whether they were birthday, Christmas, or random anonymous ones, is what contributes to my love of those kinds of occasions. He was so good at filling the house with joy and making me feel like the most special kid in the world. I want to be able to do that for my children.

Another memory I have is of walks around the neighborhood with him. The most precious one of those types of memories that I have is one that took place in my sophmore year of college. I was home for the weekend and he and I hadn't really had a chance to just talk yet, so he asked me if I would go for a walk with him. As we walked around our little neighborhood, he asked me all sorts of questions, trying to get a feel of how I was doing in school, church and life. He had his full attention fixed on me and I knew he just wanted to make sure that I knew he loved me, that he cared about how I was doing and that he was thinking about me.

I miss him so much and I constantly wish that he was still around to give me advice on how to raise my children, to play with them and let them know he loves them just as much. But I am so grateful for the Gospel and the knowledge it gives us that we will see him again, that my children will know him. I love you, Daddy. I can't wait to see you again.

to all my sisters: i just thought you oughta know

Some of you may know already or maybe all of you know And are saying duh caren that's old news. Anyways the best place to get long modest tee shirts and long camisoles{that are still really long even after washing them a lot} is downeastbasics.com and they have kiosks and stores in malls. I've been wearing their clothes for a good 2 or 3 years now. Their prices are really good the best i've seen. They are extremely good when they have sales. Big holidays like today. I scored big. {50% off of clearance items.} They even sell maternity clothes and girls clothes. I just thought i'd share. Sorry if this is old news. It's just very exciting for me.
caren

My own yard work

So Caren and I have finally started to put together our backyard. Until now we have our trampoline and swing-set but that is it. I try to stay on top of the weeds and I am glad to say I do a pretty good job of it. Today, being a day off, we bought stepping stones to go from our back patio to the side gate and then up to the front driveway. Granted we didn't have enough money to purchase all the way to the front driveway but we did make it to the side gate. A little at a time. Hopefully we will soon add plants and maybe we will get everything all done by the time we leave in a few years.

I also think about Dad any time I do yard work, especially the weeding. I really enjoy the memories of working in the back and front yard to try to beautify our home. Love you all. SKT

And on a completely different note...

I know none of us are baby-novices. But a little extra advice is always helpful, don't you think? Here are some helpful, easy-to-understand dos and don'ts for newborn child care.

(I laughed till I cried.)

Yard work and Memorial Day

Well, two years ago we put in the shed. And thought we were cool.

Last year we put in the sprinkler system. And knew we were cool.

This year--the fence (not yet started, but post holes being dug!), and actual growing stuff. We planted strawberries. And pansies, snapdragons, alyssum, some pretty pink flower I don't know the name of, geraniums, columbine (GORGEOUS!), lavender, thyme, marjoram...and...

FRUIT TREES! Yay!

We planted a semi-dwarf nectarine and a semi-dwarf apricot in our backyard this morning (before it began to pour).

We totally rock. (Hee hee.)

Speaking of rocks, it's odd how satisfying I find picking up buckets and buckets of rocks. I don't love doing it, but somehow I do love doing it. It's so great to get the tons and tons and tons of boring alluvial plain cobbles out of my yard, my garden, my flower beds. And I truly enjoy dumping them on the side of our shed (between the fence and the shed wall--lots of weeds grow back there, but we're smothering them with four to eight inches of ROCK, and it's totally working and makes me very happy indeed).

I know that a lot of the reason I like picking up rocks is because it reminds me of childhood. In both houses, no less. And there's a lot of joy in those memories, despite the whining I am positive I did whenever it had to be done. Whenever I work outside, I think of Daddy. I miss him so much, but I feel very close to him whenever I'm working outside. I'm grateful that despite his crazy schedule, and his not-as-green-as-his-father's-thumbs, he worked hard to teach us the basics of working outside. Of getting stuff done. Of doing it cheerfully.

I love you so much, Daddy. I miss you, but I'm glad you left us with so many wonderful memories. Happy Memorial Day.

Three Tanks Full

Bah, Bah, vacuum. Have you any water? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three tanks full.

Keryn and I were downstairs on Saturday evening. Ezra and Mercy were happily playing upstairs. Suddenly, we heard a sound that didn't sound like a sound that ought to be sounding. It was the sound of water splashing. On... what? Wood?

Yup. Wood. I zipped upstairs to see Ezra (4) standing in the front doorway holding a gushing garden hose saying to Mercy (3), "Now you spray me!" The problem was that Mercy was standing in the living room, not in the front yard.

Early bedtime for the kids. Dad gets to demonstrate the effectiveness of our carpet cleaner. Three tanks full of water and a few towels for the wood floor in our entry way. No long term harm done. A funny memory for dad. Two kids who hopefully won't be bringing the garden hose inside the house again anytime soon.

Hearing

How's this for strange. I can't hear the 30 years and younger tone but I can hear all the 24 years and younger and two of the three 18 years and younger. I wonder what that means exactly?

Anyway, remember I was talking about life changing events? Well, I am staying in Colorado Springs- so not so life changing. I have been offered a permanent position at Rockrimmon Elementary School so I don't have to keep reapplying and re-interviewing every year. It was a difficult decision to make, since I have been experiencing some colleague differences in a BIG way. But I have learned a little bit about standing up for what I think is best for me and my kids and have learned how not to back down and it's actually been great- if exhausting physically and emotionally.

Good news is, we had Elder Holland here last weekend to speak at our stake conference which was wonderfully great for my spiritual health. Schools almost out and I am getting excited about coming home to Vegas next week which will be fantastic for my physical and emotional health. And I have very, very much appreciated all the phone calls I've been getting from my wonderful family, checking up on me. That had helped my all around BEING!!

Thanks for being such a fantastic family. In some ways it is kind of sad the Lord wants me to stay in Colorado Springs because I miss you all SOOOO much.

Love all,
LaDale

Moving

So, as you all know, Tyler and I currently live in...well, a dump. I've already told you about most of the problems that we have here, so I won't go into detail again. I wanted to let you all know that we are planning on moving! We've been looking into moving to Spanish Fork. The place we've chosen is called Diamond Fork Apartments, and they aren't too far away from Keryn, just a little further into town. These apartments are sooo beautiful compared to where we live now. They aren't much bigger, but the way the space is used will be better for our situation. They have three bedrooms, two bathrooms (both with actual bath tubs), washer and dryer hookups, a dishwasher, disposal, and a pantry. The master bedroom even has a walk in closet. *Heaven!* I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself. Jayson will finally be able to move out of our room, I'll finally be able to give my children baths in the place where we live, and there's a dishwasher!! And a disposal!! I can't wait. But I'm going to have to, at least for another month. We can't move until July 1 and even then, we're rushing it a little. Technically, our contract for our current apartment isn't up until July 31, but our lovely mother insisted that we move sooner rather than later and that she would help us pay rent in both places for that month. So, moving day is July 1st! We don't actually have an apartment there yet, but we're going through the process as we speak. As soon as they do a background and credit check, we're in! Yay! Anyway, I just wanted to keep you guys updated on what's going on around here. We're moving!!! And for once, I couldn't be more excited about it.

George Lucas In Love

A million years ago, when I was still in grad school, this little internet movie made the rounds:

George Lucas in Love

I recently ran into again in a column exploring movies that influenced Star Wars. I watched it again, and, know what? It's still funny. So, there you go, enjoy! (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to watch the movie.)

(Oh, and Universal Day of the Jedi is Sunday. Just FYI.)

How's Your Hearing?

I know you've all heard of the ring tones that grown ups can't hear. A friend pointed me to a website where you can listen to the different tones. They rank them by what age range can usually hear them. How old is your hearing? I couldn't hear it until the 39 and under category, which is normal for my age of 31. Keryn (who is three month older than me, I should note) couldn't hear it until the 49 and under category.

http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

I love my mother

I just thought that since no one has any important news since mother's day that I would just express my love to that wonderful woman we call MOM. She is so thoughtful and great. She listens when we need her to and she has a shoulder to cry on when we are upset. Thanks for all the support you have given to myself and my family. We love you , mom. - SKT

Happy Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all of the wonderful women in our family, but especially to my own wonderful, perfect mother, who I love and appreciate more than words can say, and who I spoke of today in sacrament meeting!
Love ya all!
Jenafer

Happy Mother's Day

Dear all the women in this family,

Happy Mother's Day! Thank you so much for all your wonderful examples in how to be patient, how to be nurturing, and how to have fun in whatever we do. I love you all very much.

And especially to Mema. Thank you so much for all the sacrifices you have made for us children through the years. I never really appreciated them until I became an adult--being a grown-up is hard! And not nearly as "free" as I believed as a child. Thank you for giving up sleep, money, education, and time for us. Thank you for giving us the gospel--thank you for going to church even when you weren't going to be able to hear, much less feel, a thing. Thank you for being patient with self-centered, self-absorbed children. And thank you for being so happy and willing to do it all, that I never even knew it was a sacrifice.

I love you. Thanks for being my Mother.

happy mothers day to all!

i think one of the best things about being a mother is having your kids make something for you at school. Kip and Adam each made me a butterfly magnet in preschool this week. They came wrapped up in tissue paper and everything. I am very grateful to teachers because they are very thoughtful of us and our children who we leave in their care. I am very grateful also to the two women i get to call mom for everything they do.

Non-teenage mutant non-ninja people

The healing idea is so good, Caren, that I probably would want that one, too. Can you heal just yourself or others, too? Obviously both would be nicest. But maybe a little too--angsty, I guess. I mean, can you heal everyone in the world? Probably not. But who do you pick to save or help?

Of course, can we count superpowers as mutant powers, too? Because I have often wished to be able to stretch out like Elasta-girl. Or stop time--even for a few minutes or hours at a time (think of what a bonus this would be for a newborn's mother!). Those would be less troublesome on the conscious, I think.

**********
So yesterday I agreed to watch my friend's baby while she and the rest of the Primary Presidency went to the temple (of the Primary Presidency, two have just one baby under two years old. The other two don't have children). So Caleb comes over at noon--no big deal, right? Provo Temple is about twenty minutes away, with a session starting nearly every twenty minutes. So, give them three hours--because they probably want to talk, and stuff, and the drive and stuff...she should be back at four at the very latest. Uh, yeah, right. What I didn't realize--what Liz thought she had told me but hadn't (she's had a ton on her mind lately and she very honestly thought she had mentioned it)--was they went to MANTI. Yup, Manti.

The funny thing is that if I had known, it would have been much less of a deal for me. I'm all about expectations--if I know that Bradley isn't going to be home on the 6:00 pm bus because he has to work later, I deal with it much better than if he calls at 5:58 to tell me he's still at work. So the fact that they didn't get back until 6:30 was something of a difficulty for me. And for poor Caleb--well, he's a month older than Gideon, and smart as a tack, and knows EXACTLY how to get from my house to his house walking-wise, since we visit back and forth all the time. So we were playing outside, and poor Caleb would keep trying to walk home. He didn't take a nap, he wouldn't eat from me, and keep pinching his fingers in various places and then screaming bloody murder. Poor baby. Not that he would have acted any different if I had known his mama was still going to be a while, but at least then I wouldn't have felt like joining him.

Manti is 90 minutes away, usually, but apparently they are wokring on the road and so the Primary presidency got stuck just a few miles from the temple in traffic and missed the 1:30 session. So they had to wait until the 2:30 (Manti does live sessions, and so the first room has to be empty before you can start again). And Liz forgot her cell phone, so all my calls just went to her voice mail. I had visions of her having gone into early labor, car accidents, hostage situations in the Provo Temple ('cause remember, that's where I thought they had gone), Provo getting dropped into a hole in the space-time continuum (because I couldn't reach Bradley, either. But I finally called Telima and she assured me that Provo was still there, and that she hadn't seen any big clouds of smoke rising from BYU campus or the Provo Temple. But she hadn't been outside in a while, though...thanks, Telima!). But all was well, and Liz was SO embarrassed she hadn't told me that they were going to Manti. I promised to take it out of her later, when her new baby is safely here and settled and I'm about to give birth. Muh-ha-ha. And I was glad they didn't all die.

The really funny thing to me was thinking about how many temples in Utah are closer to us than Manti. Well, because we live here in Happy Valley, right next to the Great Salt Lake and all, we have FIVE temples closer to us than Manti--Bountiful (an hour away), Salt Lake (45 minutes, not counting parking and all), South Jordan (35 minutes), Timp (30 minutes), and Provo (20 minutes). Not counting the two new SL Valley temples being constructed right now in South Jordan and Murray (both closer than Salt Lake City). Logan Temple is about two hours away, and Vernal is three, and St. George is four. So, there you have it. I've managed to mention every temple in Utah in the course of this extra long post. And yes, it's embarrassing how long it's been since I've been to the temple, especially if you realize how many temples I have within easy driving distance.

But at least Samuel, Caren, Jen, and Jeff can soon get a temple closer to them--Gilbert! When's the groundbreaking?

my opinion is...

me being a girl, i like the appletini better. The colors seem more "you" keryn.
So i'm probably stepping on some toes here by asking a question of the week. This one come from the fact that i've been watching the x men movies lately.

if you were a mutant what would your gift be? {It could be one from the movies or a completely made up one}

my gift would be the ability to heal instantly. I can do a lot more for my children that way.

Re: Hip Mama

As far as my opinion goes, seeing as I have never given birth nor do I foresee a future time when I, being a male, would ever be able to give birth, I think you should go with the 'Wild Child.' I like the animal print. SO there you go, 1 vote for 'Wild Child.'



Look at this, my image was finally able to be added. The blue is the outer metallic film that I am using Ta or Mo. The purple is the Pt but at one point I used Au for the same purpose. The orange are my nanowires. What fun. I do hope this might help anyone who wanted a visual to see what I was discussing earlier. Love you all.

How to be a "hip mama"

I have finally figured out the solution to all my frumpiness. I shall become a Hip Mama. How will I do such a thing, you ask? Oh, it's quite simple: when I go to the hospital to deliver baby Awesome (now arriving in a hospital near you on November 16, not November 10, arghhh), I shall have a B.Y.O.G. with me. Oh yes. (Be sure to check the "shop" page for prices. And tell me, should I get "Wild Child" or "Appletini"?)

The tapestry of my life

I know I have been AWOL from the blog recently. It has been partially because I am mourning the lose of my dear loved one, my computer, but also because I have been struggling with crazy decisions in my life kind of cutting myself off a bit. I am working with my school computer right now but feel kind of guilty doing too much non-school stuff one it.

I have loved teaching more and more recently. I have the best class in the world and it has been fun recently. I have also been struggling with co-worker issues unlike any I have ever dealt with before. It has been an eye opening experience, a nerve wracking, and a humbling experience. I hate it!!

I just have to thank my wonderful brother- Samuel. You called me twice in the last few weeks at just the right time. It was wonderful to hear your voice and to be reminded of how much I love (LOVE) my family.

Now a few touch-ups:
- I have been well physically – sorry for all the sickness going around everyone else’s place.
- Sunday talks- HELLO I am usually asked to talk twice a year. None of this 5 1/2 years in between stuff!!!
- I am excited about Samuel’s opportunity to teach. He’s been getting some practice on the blog and my kids think he is the smartest person ever. (Yes, I share as much as I can with those crazy fifth graders. The fact that I don’t really understand it makes it all the more COOL to them.)

Well more later when life altering decisions have been made.

Allyson Pulsipher's Reception

Last night was Allyson Pulsipher's wedding reception, and (since my children persist in being ill) I caught a ride up to South Jordan with Telima, Tyler, and their kiddos. We arrived about twenty minutes after the start, and the line was out into the hallway. After waiting in line for about five minutes (and not moving, the line getting longer and longer--at times during the night it was clear to the double doors outside), Kristy wandered by and I abandoned Telima and followed Kristy around. While chatting with Sister Pulsipher's parents, Amy came out and told Kristy that none of Allyson's friends had shown up to help with the food, and so Amy, Kristy, and Shelley would have to do it. So I joined up, and started cutting cheesecake, placing strawberries and grapes, and making punch. Holly Hansen showed up a second later, and she started to work too. Then Lacey Bentley (Jon Bentley's wife) showed up with her four little boys, and they all helped (with varying degrees of actual helpfulness, the oldest only being ten years old). So we sent the Pulsipher girls off to mingle, and took care of the food. Holly offered me a ride home, so I didn't have to leave when Telima and Tyler were ready to go--thanks for the ride up, guys!

It was busy but fun--and fortunately I wore sensible shoes, Holly and the Pulsipher girls didn't. So I didn't have to go barefoot midway through the evening. The line was CRAZY long, and we kept pretty busy staying on top of the refreshments. The line didn't die down nearly 9 pm at the earliest. Then Holly, Kristy, and I sat and talked for a few minutes during the cake-cutting and bouquet-throwing, etc, and then we started cleaning up. For all the millions of people, there was a ton of food left over, so I ended up with two full cheesecakes, a gallon zippy-lock of grapes, and four pounds of strawberries. And two pretty centerpieces, which were Susan's thank-you gift for helping.

So we cleaned and we tidied, and then we took a load of stuff back to the house, and washed punch bowls and pie display plates and stuff there. We didn't leave South Jordan until 11:45, and I didn't get home until 12:30. Which is why my feet hurt and I slept until noon. Yay for husbands who don't mind changes of plan and let their wives sleep in! That was my day yesterday--I know you all cared!

And now I'm going to plant strawberries in my side yard. Yay for (maybe) spring! Love you all!

The Goal for Now

Right now my end goal in my research is to determine how good of a conductor these particular nanowires will be in circuits. I needed the complete circuit so that I can pass a current through the wires at differing length and find the resistivity or conductivity of the wires themselves. Once this is finished I can focus on other aspects of the research that I really don't know as of yet.

As for the funding, everything that I use for my research is paid for by a grant from my advisor. I usually do the ordering in the lab so he gave me the information needed to place the orders. If I need to purchase anything with my own money that will be used in the lab then he pays me back once I show him the receipt. So, with the exception of gas to get to and from school, everything is paid for by a grant.

P.S. To toot my own horn, Happy Birthday to ME.

Happy Birthday to our dear mad scientist

Happy happy birthday Samuel dear,
Hopefully you'll have success this year,
If I had a wish then it would be,
That Ta and Mo will work for thee!

No, really, that was a fascinating explanation. I was really interested to learn about why you need two metals. Question--all of my research was paid with a NSF grant--I mean, the gas for the field work, the sample prep (what I didn't do myself, which was almost everything...), the use of the machines...so, how are you paying for the Au, Ta, Pt, Mo, etc? Does that come out of your personal budget? Or do you have a research stipend?

And what is the ultimate goal of your research? Is it making the nanowires complete a circuit? Or is that an intermediate step? Nanotechnology is so cutting-edge right now, it's so cool that my mad-scientist brother is involved.

Regardless, I love you so much and I hope that you have a marvelous birthday!

Research details

This is for those interested in the finer details of the elements I use and why. Anyone not interested should avoid this post at it will most likely bore you.

I need 2 different metallic films in order to complete the circuit I need to test my nanowires. The first metallic film needs to be added before the sample can go into my ultra-high vacuum chamber. This film needed to make contact with the sample holder and be partially exposed to the area when the second film will be added later. This first film also needs to stay metallic before, during, and after heat cleaning of the sample. The sample will be cleaned at 1200 Celsius.

The second metallic film needed will be added directly to the nanowires. This is the film that I needed to get a nice sharp edge so that I could find nanowires partially covered and partially exposed. I have had success in this area recently.

At first I used gold for the second film. This was because the yellow color would make it easier to find the edge since the background is silvery. We found out that platinum was smoother, atomically speaking, then gold. This meant that the clumps that made up the film were smaller and thus could be packed closer together. As an example, think of making a flat layer of grape fruits as compared to a flat layer of grapes. The grapes will be a lot smoother then the grape fruits.

We thought that we could use platinum for the first film as well. It turns out that platinum does not stay metallic after being exposed to 1200 degrees C. That is why we are trying to use Ta or Mo. I am currently trying to figure out if these films will survive the 1200 degree C temperatures.

Hope this was not as boring as it could be. This would a lot more sense if I could have uploaded the diagram I made. For some reason it is always taking too long and thus it gives up before the picture can be loaded. It's only 26kB. Oh well. Love you all.

Sorry!

Sorry I have been absent from the blog lately. Things have been busy around here. Today is the elections for next years PTO. I have kind of grabbed the election and run with it and am doing this single handedly. Anyway, after today I will only have one more mtg to offically hand over the reigns and then I basicly have the next year off. Jeff and I did discuss that they are trying to talk me into filling one of the empty slots for next year. I have promised him that I won't agree to take any today at the meeting, but he has agreed that if they are still empty by the beginning of next year, I might take it anyway! So after today we should calm down at least a little. Erica has only nine days of school left. That equals three weeks at three days a week. The other kids only have one week more than that. The last day of school is on May 29 this year. I'll have about seven weeks of summer vacation, school starts on July 21, almost exactly when I can start having Lillian tested to see if she can go to preschool after she turns three in October. I really hope that she qualifies as that would make my life much easier next year!
Love ya all!
Jenafer