Birthday Wishes

Sunday was a great day! Plenty of texts from friends, breakfast in bed from my besties, and time to relax. Joey got sick so I stayed home with him, but that was kind of nice too. (The staying home part, of course!) Birthday celebrations actually started Saturday when Britt took me to lunch! It was great! And then the kids took me to the movies. We saw Inside Out in Queen Creek! It was kind of out of our way but I did get to see Cortney busy at work looking all businessy! Made for a great day, except we kind of got caught in the first Haboob of the season. I have some cool pics of it too! And, truth be known, it was kind of cool too! I have never been on the road with it that bad before!

 

 

 We ended the night with Travis buying me a cannoli! It was a treat my young band friend Emma Provost and I discovered in New York! It made me think of her and my sweet Ashley!

 

Speaking of my sweet Ashley,  Sister Clawson would not be denied her birthday wishes! On Sunday I received 5 from members in Idaho so I thought I would share!

 ~

Happy Birthday Mom!

 

Your daughter asked me to wish you a happy birthday.  She is a great missionary and doing wonderful things in our ward.  

She didn't know I took her picture. 

Bishop Tab Roper
Boise Park Center Ward

 

Tell her thank you for me and that I love her and miss her like crazy! And then tell her to carry on and do the Lords work!  

 

I will tell her.    And she is.  We had 2 investigators and 3 less active members at church today.  Thnx to our sister missionaries.

~
~Ashley (Sis. Clawson) says 🎉Happy Birthday🎉! What an amazingly, beautiful and loving daughter you have! You did a great job Mom! Thanks for sharing her with us! -Karen Glover

 

 Thank you! She is pretty spectacular!!! Tell her I love her and to carry on!

 

She just gave me a hug! Consider yourself hugged! Have a great day!

 

 ~

 ~Hi there! A little birdie told me I should wish you a happy birthday. That little birdie is one if the best little Sister Missionaries Boise has ever seen! Happy birthday from Sister Clawson!

Thank you!! Tell that little birdie I love her and can't wait for her to fly away home!
You got it!

 ~

 

Happy Birthday!

From Hannah from Idaho

 

~

Mrs. Clawson - this is Gary Andrew, here in Boise.  Your daughter may have spoken about me or my family, but I understand your birthday was yesterday.  I apologize for being a day late.  I want you to know that your daughter was called to serve here in Boise for a reason!  Her smile and her spirit are both a pleasure to have near anyone!  She has a testimony of Jesus Christ and you should be a very proud mother to have raised such a wonderful person.  I am sure your family is being blessed daily because of the efforts she is putting forth here in Boise.  I have a son returning from a mission tomorrow and another son leaving on 9/2.  Although you may miss her terribly, you should be comforted to know that she is in a great place doing a great work.  She will return home shortly, but you should know that anyone who has met her is a better person after getting to know her.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for those kind words! I would love to take credit for my sweet daughter but she is definitely her own person!    We miss her terribly but are so proud of all she is accomplishing and person she is becoming! Thank you for taking such good care of her! With one coming home and one getting ready to leave you know what it's like and having members like you touching her life makes things so much easier on this side of things! Thanks again for the birthday wishes an bless you!!!

Apparently we both have a nasty habit of drinking diet coke when available.  I have been known to drop off a 6 pack on e in awhile for her as a little treat.

 

You spoil her! That was actually one of her requests when she comes home! We stop by Circle K and get one! We used to do it all the time before she left. I am sure she loves you for it !

 

Scout Camp

Last week was scout camp and it was strangely quiet at my house.

So quiet that you could feel something missing. but then, I was able to sleep in, and use the computer, watch TV when I wanted, and even Zach was very good. I didn't have to come down on him hardly at all. He even had a girl over and no one to pester him about it and add her name to our family prayer.

And then on Thursday, I got a call from somewhere up north and I remembered my little man was gone (not really, but it makes a good story!)

We talked for a bit but he mostly wanted to talk to Zach, who was out with friends.

He did manage to spend his money on another pocket knife.

(He bought three last year)

and he was looking forward to coming home.

But mostly he wanted to use facetime on Bro Young's phone!

 

Saturday morning I got a call to come pick up my little man and this is what I found!

 

 

 

 

 I am surprised the leaders let him ride in the car! Dirt everywhere! I am not sure how long it was there but as soon as he unpacked (he was upset because I made him do it and I did not help him. Silly boy!)

 

I asked if he brushed his teeth. He said he did before he left.

That's my boy! It's a good thing I love him! 

 

And you would not believe the change in noise at my house!

 

 

Three merit badges and 2 partials, one of which is the shotgun, and of course,  he wants to finish that one. Perhaps I will wait until his big sis gets off her mission and let her help! She has not has her Joey fix for quite a while and it's her turn!!! LOL

Happy Birthday to Me!

In honor of my birthday and since I do this to all of my children I am posting pictures of me when I was little.

 Tami and I.

 

Stake Conference, Joey style!

My sweet husband bought my son a pair of real handcuffs for his birthday.

I am still scratching my head on that one.

I mean, the last thing that boy needs is another pair. And a real one at that!

Anyway, he is very attached to them. In fact, during stake conference, they showed up. Right after we decided to sit on the bleachers. Another not so smart idea. 

You see, we decided to let the kids sit there so they can get in out of their system. You know, when they beg and plead to sit there and then change their mind, usually half way through the meeting, and they swear they never want to do it again. Well, this exact scenario happened, as I knew it would, and I figured it would be best to get it out of the way. And we were missing two kids so it really was the perfect time.

Back to the handcuffs - Travis was directing traffic as part of his assignment so we were on our own. Joey pulls them out of his pocket, saying he wanted to chain himself to the edge of the bleachers so he couldn't get up. I had no desire to sit there so I told him to come up with me. He immediately sat by me but handcuffed himself to me! Well, I took this as a good sign that I could control the little man so I hid the key. He was fine with it until he saw my friend Jana and wanted to go give her a hug. 

Well, dang it if I couldn't find the key! The moaning, pleading, and carrying on commenced until I finally took pity on him and 'found' the key. He said his hi's, gave his hugs, and managed to find me again and lock himself up again. (Have I mentioned I have a really weird son?) 

It didn't last long. And then the cuffs were put into the bag and finally Travis joined us about 45 minutes after it started and he discovered Joey brought them. That wasn't supposed to happen. 

Someone might loose his cuffs for a month. I can't say I am upset. In the meantime, he has the toy ones. I think my little man will live.

And, Of course I blame David for his interest in them in the first place!

 See how proud he is? Should I be concerned?

 Someone else was feeling left out, although her interest was only for the picture, thank goodness!!!

Throwback Thursday

Everyone is growing up... Cortney is happily married and I don't see her very much. Ashley is busy being an awesome missionary and I get to bug her via email every Monday like clockwork. Britt is moving on with her life, her new job, and being an adult. The other three are enjoying summer before they are bombarded with school activities that start next month. And I can't help but contemplate the beginning : what life was like with only two. My sweet two oldest who put up with my cluelessness, my lack of knowledge but who loved me regardless of my pure awesome parenting skills!
They were so great that I actually wanted to have more!

I love these two!

Last day of summer school

Summer school is done!!! Now we work on the learners permit, but first, I gotta tell you about Zach's last day of school.

 

My Zach used to be such a quiet, unassuming person (yes, David! I am throwing in this huge back story just to drive you crazy! Is it working?  )  He hardly ever said a word. Sometimes I needed to check to on him to make sure he was still around. Then Joey was born and I can't get the kid to shut up! I blame Joey, lol! But maybe it was because he had another guy to help fight the gender inequality that has overcome our family. (He never had a chance!)

 

Anyway, he decided he wanted to be funny and wore this shirt to school!

 

I know, everyone and their dog who attends Mesa High have one of these, but he actually wore it to Mountain View during his final! I thought for sure I would get a call for the principal, or the nurse, or even the teacher to bring a change of clothes. Nope, nothing! In fact, he got a couple or requests from some Mountain View students for one! Looks like my less than quiet rebel is stretching his wings.

I think I am in trouble. I would expect it from my little man, but Zach too?

 

Help!

 

Someday

When I was in high school, pre Mesa years, I had a bunch of friends who got me hooked on Anne of Green Gables. We did everything! They made me read the books, we made food that was popular back in that time period like cherry cordial , and we even watched both versions and critiqued both films. The 1934 film was cute but it had the Hollywood happily ever after ending that really did not follow the book at all! =) Yes, we all even had huge crushes on Jonathan Crombie!  (and our hearts broke when he passed away.) We had WAY too much time on our hands!

And then I moved to Mesa but I found another bosom friend who loved it as much as I did. And then later,  after Chyrisse moved to Utah, I met my friend Debi, who was just as crazy for the  story and me! We would get together in the evenings while our hubbys watched the kiddos and we would scrapbook, giggle, and plan our trip to Prince Edward Island. We were going to go there someday, we had decided, and see for ourselves this magical place that L.M. Montgomery loved so much.

Sadly, she moved too. To Montana, but we keep in touch. She is one of those friends that no matter how much time passes or what goes on, we can pick up right where we left off as if no time had passed. I don't have a lot of friends like that.

Anyway, (Yes, David. I am getting to my point) her husband has a new job in Conneticut. And this puts her so much closer to Prince Edward Island! She text me and now we are actually putting this crazy idea into serious consideration! Who would have thought all of that silly giggling, rolling around on the floor laughing so hard you can't breath fun is actually going to become a reality?  I truly hope so! For now it is still talk, but serious talk!  Wow! We will see what the future holds!!!

Happy Birthday, Joseph!!!

It is so hard to believe it has been 13 years since my little man was born! I can't imagine what life was like without my busy, imaginative, nonsensical, and quirky son!

He makes me laugh daily, scream into my pillow, makes my hair grow gray, and continues to amaze me with what he can come up with next! He knows when life gets boring because he, in his own innocent way, can turn it upside down and chaotic in a few short minutes with some odd frustrating idea that just pops into his head and takes all day to fix or make better.

He can rile up his little sister, his big one too, and make his brother mad all while alienating the neighborhood kids at the same time and be proud as punch! And yet he is not afraid to hold my hand everywhere and still insists on hugs twice a day and three times on Sundays!

 

My life would not be the same without him and I would not want it any other way!

 

Happy birthday, Joey! I love you more than chocolate!!!

 

 

A Visit from members from Idaho

This morning I received a call from members of the Summerset ward who were in Mesa and they wanted to drop off some packages from Ashley. (Yeah, sorry Ash, we couldn't resist! We went through them! They were both full of her stuff that she didn't need anymore. Next time you should hide a treasure for us, you know, just for kicks! LOL) They showed up a few hours later and they were so nice! They were Brother and Sister Layton. They said how much they loved Sis Clawson and how she was one of the best missionaries they ever had in their ward.  They went on and on about how exceptional she was and what she was up to. It totally sounded like my sweet girl!  :} Sis Layton even had her son start writing to her! (he lives in Idaho Falls and returned home from his mission several months ago)  Apparently he went to Westwood for a year and he knows his way around Mesa so he could come visit her when she gets home! I think she has high hopes LOL!  Everyone keeps trying to set her up with someone!
(And then she said she was going to get into her car and text Ashley and tell she met me. Not fair!)

She accompanied Ashley at Christmas time when she played the flute for ward conference and also another event and they went on and on about her talent! I must admit I miss hearing her play.
The world is such a small place! Apparently Mr. Brooks is living in their old house and I know their niece, Jennifer West! Her kids went to Franklin and she is really good friends with Miss Greta!

But I must say that all of this wonderful talk about my kid was good and I realized how lucky we are that in 10 weeks she will be here! I miss her so much and it is so awesome to hear that she misses me too! Well, not awesome as in I am happy but awesome that she loves me too!

Ten more weeks!!!

It's official! We got the Itinerary!

I announced it on Facebook and I completely forgot to mention it here. We got Ashley's itinerary for her trip home! She is coming home on Saturday, August 22nd! She is stopping off in Salt Lake and then on to Phoenix. She is coming home late morning, just in time for lunch! I cannot wait!!! And I got the sweetest letter for President Winder, her mission president. I love hearing from others how well she is doing and how she is making a great impact of on others lives! This has been such an amazing trip! The first year was the longest and the hardest but, considering this adventure is almost over, I can honestly say it has gone by faster than I thought. I have learned so much and, I must say, I have grown so much from it! Ashley means so much more to me and I honestly cannot wait to spend time with her again!!!

Sleep, or the lack thereof

I still can't sleep at night. I wake up at 2 am with my head swimming in serious things, crazy things, stupid things and things of no importance and the only thing that makes me sleep is by watching a movie so my mind stops for a while. And, ironically that movie is While You Were Sleeping! Go figure!
One of my favorite movies but sadly I have not seen it completely through for some time. I think I will try again soon, just not at 2 in the morning!

Zach is in Summer School

Joey is doing jump start and Zach is doing summer school. When does summer actually start again?Zach was accepted into Center Stage in the drama department and needed to free up a class in the fall because Mr Brooks is not going to let him out of band so he is taking US History the first semester. It cost a bit but it will help him have a better school year in the fall. It is at Mountain View high school and it is three weeks and I cannot wait until it is over! Neither can he, for that matter. And then summer can start for sure!

Joey and Jump Start.

Joey is taking advantage of Jump Start at Taylor this summer. I figured it would be a great idea for the two of them to officially meet before school officially started in the fall. Joey needed to get the feel for Taylor and Taylor needed to know what they were getting themselves into with Joey!

He rode the bus to school. Yes, I drove him to the bus stop and waited until he got on the bus. I told him the bus stop number and that first day, when the bus approached and kids started getting on, He started running back towards the parked van! I yelled at him to get on the bus! He said the number didn't match. I yelled that I didn't care and to just get on the bus! Finally after the third time of yelling at my knuckle-head, he turned around and ran to the bus just in time to jump on board. I love that kid but goodness me!
He got home a little before one and I could not wait to see what had happened. The school never called so I could only assume he did not get lost, get beat up, or that they had enough of his incessant talking and decided they really didn't want him after all. He came in, dropped off his back pack, and said only one phrase. "I hate stairs!"

 

Yes!!!

This school is going to wear him out! He is going to come home and actually be somewhat quiet this year after school!!! A Miracle!! We have less than a week left and then he will be done. I think for the most part he has enjoyed it. That and the free breakfast and lunch comes in handy too! He says all of his friends are teachers but I did see a big guy take him under his wings one day at lunch. I thought that was kind of cool. (We were there for auditions for band, which went ok.)

August is going to be a fun month!!!

Sorry Tami, I did not take any pictures. He refused to take a picture at the bus stop.  I think it had something to do with him being the shortest kid there and his mommy following him with a camera telling him to smile while all the other junior high kids who have to take summer school are looking on. I figured I would save him his man card for the summer. (oh, I did get one of his audition! It was on a Monday and I sent it to Idaho!) But I promise I will get some! :)

My mother in law came to visit

My mother-in-law came to visit for two weeks. WE picked her up in New Mexico on Memorial Day weekend. I caught Travis' grandparents at a good time and I learned a lot about their family. I learned that one of his grandfather's brothers came home on leave during World War II, he was a fighter pilot, and visited for the weekend only to take off from a landing strip not too far away during a patch of fog and plow into the side of a mountain and die. An adopted uncle of Travis' was killed in Viet Nam. (The cemetery was just down the hill and we took flowers and honored those who fought for our country.)
 I also learned that Joey was not named after his great-great grandfather like I thought but of his great grandfather's brother who died young and was adored by all! Yes, the stories were depressing, but how cool that we have them!
When I was a kid I used to hate going to cemeteries because it reminded me of death, but now I find it is a great time for those who have lost loved ones to share stories that we don't necessarily know and remind of us of who is no longer with us. I also realized how much I miss going with my own family to the many cemeteries in the Salt Lake Valley and cleaning headstones of loved ones who have gone (mostly my grandparents who are still missed deeply after all these years), making sure everything is in it's place, and taken care of. My dad was really good at that. I wonder if Jeff has taken over that responsibility?

We even took a drive by the lake. Yes, I parked probably 1/2 a mile from it so we would not get stuck! Actually, it is pretty cool! The government took pity on it and donated money to build a dam and salvage it. There is water again! Okay, not the whole lake bed, but it is a good start! The area we got stuck in is under water but the area we drove on is high and dry and covered with green life. Who knows? I am just glad it is a lake again because it was pretty depressing to have Travis tell his almost drowning story only to have the kids look at a pathetic dry lake bed that totally takes away the drama of it all!

It was nice having her here. I feel bad because she came when Travis and the boys were taking off for Fathers and Sons campout. But, funny thing! She could not believe how quiet it is when the boys are gone! And then they came back and she smiled at me and said, the noise is back with them!
Ah, my noisy wonderful boys!!! They make me so happy!!!


I am taking her home tomorrow by myself because Travis can't get off work and the kids are staying behind. Britt is at girls camp and Travis will be home at night. It will be fun! It is supposed to rain so I am NOT going up the Salt River Canyon. I am going the long way through Payson! It is going to be fun! I get to drive back all 6 hours by myself! But if I can come back from Texas by myself, this should be so easy!! I just hope the rain lets up a bit!
Weird weather we are having for June!!!