Waning Weeks of Summer 08

It is always amazing to me how quickly time goes by! At the beginning of the summer, it seemed like we had endless days of activities: camps, holidays, visits, and reunions! But now, here we are at the end of it all, and it was one of the quickest summers I ever remember. We did have a lot of fun including some unplanned things which are always nice...a trip to the Shakepearean Festival with my good friend Polly and her daughter Amanda and an impromptu trip to Seven Peaks with my Dad and Pam.

Next up is Puerto Rico. Then School. Wow...I think this summer has been a success. I will actually be a little sad to send my girls back to the routine since we've had such a good time together this year. Maybe we always do but as the girls get older, I realize that these fun summer days won't last forever and I better enjoy them while they last.

Taylor especially is growing up exponentially. She has always been amazing, but her talents are increasing on a daily basis it seems like and she is discovering new ways to just be Taylor. It makes me take my time with Shaylie a bit slower and less stressfully. It makes Tay crazy, but I tell her she should be happy that I'm learning as a parent. It's just too bad I used her as my testing ground. She'll understand when she's a mom someday.

So as Summer winds down, we'll get back to our usual routine, but I will try to take some of my Summer Lessons with me: time flies, family time is fun time, and it never pays to be stressed out since it will all be over wlay too soon.

Happy 38 and holding...

Tomorrow is my birthday! I've decided that this is probably the last birthday I'm having. It's not official yet, I may wait until 39 to stop aging, but I'll let you know for sure. My family went shopping tonight so I'm excited to say that the car isn't my only birthday present! But then I knew it wouldn't be, my family always spoils me. Taylor is even baking me a cake! And, on Wednesday, my friends Annette and Jill are taking me out to celebrate. Who knows what else is in store?

I have to say that I'm so happy with the way my life is turning out. My family is wonderful. I've got everything I could want and I have high hopes for the future. I'm grateful to everyone who has loved me and helped me to get to this point in my life. It hasn't always been easy, but it has definitely been worth it. I'm so blessed and I'm positively looking forward to the next 38 years...so on second thought, maybe I'll keep having my birthdays after all!

A Brand New Car!

Well, almost new! A 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe and buying it wasn't horrible either. (This is new for me...if you know me, you have probably heard my car buying horror stories.) I could feel my blood pressure drop by several degrees just driving it off the lot. It was somewhat of an impulse, though I have been researching vehicles for weeks. I didn't really plan on buying anything today, but we came away with a decent deal and a very nice car.

There and Back Again and There Again

The girls had a blast at camp...visit www.thetechfamily.com for pics! We sang camp songs all the way home and both girls were full of stories. We also got to visit with Grandma J and Papa Strong on the way back. Dad gave me some precious bits of family history to go over. I've been working on my 5 Generation chart and I was missing everything on his mom's side. I also got some names that Scott was missing from Louise...Scott's grandmother. It's a start.

Taylor is already gone again...she went back to Holden with my mom. We'll catch up to her on Thursday after we send Shaylie off to Camp AGAIN...this time with her troop to Trefoil Camp. She had so much fun last week, that she is super excited to go again this week.

My 20th reunion is this weekend! Yikes!!! It doesn't seem like 20 years should be able to fly by in the blink of an eye. I will be glad to see if the years have abused all of my friends the same as me. I'm sure we're all much better for the wear and tear....on the inside if not the out. I'm on a mission over the next couple of days to find something to wear...no easy task, but there it is. I've had a new hair color and cut and I'm trying to avoid the last superficial, vain, pretentious, utterly female step...putting on fake nails. For one thing, I never wear them anyway, so it is the height of pretention. But I'm willing to do it because I'm afraid to admit it probably will bolster my confidence a bit. Weird. Whjat's a girl to do?

We'll probably come home Sunday and then next week Tay's off to Girls Camp...her first. Summer has definitely been full of adventure for the Jesienouski's this year.

Baby Come Back

My babies are at camp! I wonder if moms ever quit feeling like their children are babes in arms, needing us for every little thing. Taylor is 12 and Shay is 7 almost 8 and here they are at camp completely on their own. I know (hope) they must be needing me for something by now.

It's very bizarre to think that they will come back to me safe and whole and probably having had the time of their lives and I wasn't even there. It's actually kind of satisfying in a way...I must have given them some survival skills along the way. Maybe right now, they're thinking, "I'm so glad my most perfect and wonderful mother taught me how to weave a basket out of human hair so I could gather non-poisonous berries in the woods." Or something close to that, anyway.

I actually got online to read the camp journals (www.gsutah.org/blog) and it seems like they are having lots of fun, I'm sure it was just an oversight that they forgot to mention how much they miss us. Maybe a couple poisonous berries got through and made them a little delirious.

At any rate, I will feel much more useful when they are back home where I can continue to teach them valuable life lessons for the next time they leave home. As long as they always come back, I'll consider it a mission accomplished!

No Worries

Today was Stake Conference and the wait is over...WF5th Ward remains mostly unchanged. We added a small subdivision to the north of Heritage Fields. So we are going to have more younger families with children in Primary. This is good news. My presidency will still continue to serve together...so I worried for nothing. We are moving to 9am...which is fine. It throws a wrench in a couple of my plans for the next two or three weeks, but we'll deal. Yay! It's nice to finally know.

A Change is A-Comin'...

Last night, I had a bittersweet night out. My friends and I went out to dinner in lieu of our weekly Primary Presidency meeting. Our stake is going to announce some big boundary changes this coming Sunday..we have three General Authorities coming for a Tri-Stake Conference...and I'm anticipating (dreading) that our Ward will have some changes. My hope is that everything will stay the same, but I don't think that will happen. Almost all of them live across the main road which is a likely place to draw boundaries. So we had a fun night out, but it was sad that it might be the last "meeting" we'll have as a Presidency.

I will miss these ladies that I work with, but in saying that I realize something...It's a weird phenomenon in the LDS culture...that the Ward boundaries create a strange kind of social boundary too. I have friends who still live relatively close, but because they are in another ward I hardly ever see them. I'm sure this is even more pronounced with non-LDS neighbors. I know we've tried to have "neighborhood" parties and activities to involve everyone on our street or in our development but they are still perceived as an LDS function or as an attempt at missionary work, so they're not always that successful. It's too bad, I think. We could all benefit from knowing each other. I know it's always something I try to fight against, but it is a strange thing.

At any rate, I know that for my part, I will always consider the people of this ward as close friends no matter where we all end up. It's been a great pleasure to love and serve with the people of this ward. The Lord teaches us some of our greatest lessons through challenges and changes. I'm sure there are great expereinces in store for all of us....even if they are sad and scary at first.

Taylor is a little sad about the possiblities too. She is enjoying Young Women very much and she doesn't know how this change will affect her. The great thing about the Church is that no matter where you go...the gospel is the same. The teachers and leaders may change, but Christ's teachings are always constant...and there are always people who try to live what they are taught and love those around them.

I suppose I should wait to see what is actually going to happen before waxing so philisophical. I'm sure next week, I'll be too overwhelmed with reality to be bothered with it all, so this is a good time to say it. For my friends in the Washington Fields 5th Ward...I love you and I'm a better person for knowing you all.