This is a true story about a sandwich

I have a hard time processing my feelings and an even harder time expressing them. The Bishopric came over to Jan's the other night and everyone shared something really beautiful regarding the passing of Popsy. I couldn't get up the courage and was nervous about how it would all come out. I just wanted to write down a recent experience I had with Popsy. It's a bit of a travel log so it could be a bore to read.

Popsy and I recently traveled together for the purpose of attending Nate's graduation. Nate was already in California working so we were going to meet up with him for about 24 hours of good times. We discussed driving to the airport together but I was too nervous about being late so I had my Dad drive me down. We had a long day of travel ahead of us due to delayed planes and a long layover. Our first layover was in Phoenix. I watched his bags so he could get his shoe's shined. He said the airport is the best place for a shoe shine. He spent most of the layover debating whether or not he was going to purchase some chocolate covered cashews. I could tell he was really at war with himself because he wanted to stick to his diet. We lined up to board the plane for California and he couldn't take it any longer. He had to have those cashews and darted back to the nearest gift shop to claim them. So, I nervously stood by his luggage as I watched other passengers board the plane. He made it back in the nick of time and he bought a bag for me too. I thought that was really nice of him. I don't like cashews but as it turns out the chocolate covered ones aren't too shabby. We made it to California safely and headed to Nate's temporary residence to pick him up so we could grab a late lunch. After lunch we debated if we were going to have enough time to get to the hotel and back before the graduation started. Because of traffic, we turned around and decided the best thing to do was to get ready closer to Nate's school. We ended up getting ready in a parking lot near the school. I applied my make-up in the car and Popsy was primping outside by the trunk of the car. When I was ready I stepped out of the car and smelled a hint of what Nate calls pinetree perfume. Popsy asked for my opinion about his hat. "Should I leave it on or off?" I chose off and away we went. Nate's graduation was really great. It's always been important for Nate to feel like his Dad was proud of him. He was. I could tell. It was fun to be a witness of that at the graduation.
The next morning we dropped Nate off and headed back to the airport. I remember he said "you know Nate is a cute guy" I kind of laughed because I didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not. He was being serious. And then it just made me smile because I think that is a really sweet thing for a dad to say. He was a tender guy that Popsy.

When our return flight was announced, we lined up to board the plane. I remember he was kind of miffed because I was way ahead of him in line. He checked in a couple of hours before me and some how ended up with a higher boarding number. I made sure to give him a friendly wave from the front of the southwest line.
We had a layover in Oakland and debated over what to eat. I was fine not eating because of the cost of food. He was on the same page but had a weak moment and decided to go for a ten dollar sandwich. He took it out of the plastic carton and shared the other half with me. I thought that was really nice. I grabbed a hold of the sandwich and went in for a bite and noticed some mold. I typically fear mold but the sandwich was spendy and knowing Popsy, mold probably wasn't a deal breaker. I thought about spitting it out when he wasn't looking but my napkin was really tiny. I ended up picking off the moldy bits and hid them in the napkin. I finished my unsavory sandwich and walked to the garbage can. I noticed a few stray crumbs fell on my seat when I got up. I watched Popsy look at them. It was kind of hilarious. I don't think he saw the mold. I think he was just surprised by the mess I left behind. I noticed our sandwich container hadn't made it's way to the trash yet so I made another trip. I glanced down and saw that it had an expiration date on it. According to the date, that sandwich had some living to do. It was supposed to last a little longer. I know it sounds weird but I have thought a lot about this sandwich since Popsy's passing. Not to compare him to a sandwich but I think we all felt like he was going to live longer. There wasn't any mold growing as if to warn us to love him a little more or give him bigger hugs. His expiration from this life took us by surprise. I know he was loved and I certainly felt loved by him.
If there is any unfinished business between me and Popsy it's that I never got the chance to tell him that I ate a moldy sandwich for him. I don't do that for just anyone. And ya know, I would probably do it again. I love you, Popsy.

Penny is 18 months old

No swim diaper = diaper helmet(you should have seen her try to walk in that thing)


Stinker smile

I have been a lame-o with documenting Penny's milestones etc. I guess the important thing is that I've kept her alive and she seems like a happy kid. So, let me tell you about Penny. She seems to have mastered the frowny face recently. It's the perfect upside down U. It breaks my heart. I'm thinking she is going to be the sensitive type. Not surprising considering who her parents are. She recently mastered climbing on the couch but doesn't know how to climb back down. She laughs and smiles a lot. She is pretty good about trying out new foods. Bless her heart for being a good eater. It's definitely a relief. Her vocab is still limited but she'll catch on. I don't know how much she weighs but I think she's between 20-25lbs. She is a strong little girl. I recently took her to the beach and it was a wrestling match. A very sandy messy wrestling match. Sometimes I think she is stronger than I am. Well, that about wraps things up. Penny is a sweet little morsel. I love her to bits. What more can I say...

Campbell's Fashion Show

Lately Campbell is in dress-up mode. This means I take dresses on and off fifty times a day. She picks out her wardrobe and I just do what I am told. Here are some of her hits and misses.

In primary they had a blind fold exercise involving a bandana covering the eyes. Some of her fashion choices were inspired by that experience.


She wanted to put on her swimsuit. She has not been swimming since last summer so I was impressed that she new the top and bottom were a match.

Tights and and a shirt. Yes please. I see some gals around here wearing leggings that look more like tights. Perhaps that is what inspired this look.
I think one of the many positive things we/I can take away from this is that she is wearing more clothing in general. I love my little fashionista.

Happy Birthday Penny!

We had a pretty low key birthday yesterday. Penny didn't seem to mind. I just thought I should document a few facts and figures about our Penny. I went back and read Campbell's 1st birthday post and it was fun to reminisce about what she was doing back then.

-crawling
-pulling herself up to furniture and the wall
-walking along furniture
-the only word she really says is mama but is trying to say uh oh(sounds like gah go)
-favorite food, graham crackers
-celebrity look a-like, tweetie bird
-according to the bathroom scale she is 20.5 lbs
-tooth count, 2 on the bottom and 2 on the way
-talents, grinning ear to ear, melting hearts
-LOVES taking baths



I couldn't ask for a sweeter, happier little baby. Heavenly Father did us a solid by sending her our way. This year has brought us so many changes and it has been so wonderful to have such a good baby. Campbell loves her sister too. She has tried to wake her up from naps just to play with her. Fun, right? Eh. It is fun to see the sister dynamic. One day they will be fighting over clothes and bathroom time. Oh sisters.
credits- last photo taken by Carly

Enjoyable Photos

Some of these photos are embarrassing. Like the one where Penny is watching the television. I could just see that picture showing up in some parents magazine with the title "Too young for television" or "What kind of mother are you." I assure you that Penny does not watch t.v. She is much too active to bother with that business. Also, Nate offered to photoshop Campbell's room so it looks clean. I want to keep it real here on the Troublemakers so it is what it is.

I walked in on Campbell taking a 5 minute break.
I left the room to grab my phone and when I returned I found Penny in this relaxed position.
Carly, this reminds me of the slide photo you have of Farrah. Maybe I should do her hair like this for church.

Whenever Campbell is caught napping it is a pretty big deal to begin with. She reminds me of a pet in this pic. All snuggled up at the bottom of the bed. She made sure to place her stuffed animal entourage next to Nate. That a girl.
Campbell calls the double stroller the double-you stroller.
I met some other mom's in our stake. This next picture was taken on one of our play dates at the L.A. Arboretum. They had a bunch of kid size tunnels. Campbell loved running through all of them. Not the best picture but she was running at the time.
See you in December.

Campbell & Penny

I'm due for an update. I figured if I held out long enough maybe we would get some visitors. It worked(right Nikki?). The girls are growing so fast. Here are just a few things.

Nate and I have noticed that Campbell is really into shoes and accessories. She is still playing for the skins team but she will add a hat or her recent favorite...gloves. She is really attached to gloves lately. She calls them her pinks(because they are pink). I tried to get her to take them off before we went into church but she put up a big fight. She was willing to let pooh bear sit in the car but refused to remove the gloves. The nursery leaders said she wore them the whole time. She even managed to work with her play-doh while wearing them. Gross. Speaking of nursery. The leaders really love Campbell. Apparently they think she is hilarious. She cracks me up but it is interesting to hear it from someone else. Campbell likes to look at dinosaurs on the computer. This means I google dinosaurs and pull up the images. I just let her look at them and hope she gets bored. She will look at them for at least 10 minutes. She is loving her Mickey Mouse playhouse dvd. She particularly likes Goofy and Pete. She brings her little drawing pad over to me and makes me draw Goofy or Pete. Nate thought I was drawing an elephant.

Sometimes discipline is required and Campbell spends a few minutes in her room. This morning I had to give her a time out and when I set her free she said "Campbell is very sad" over and over again.
She can be very encouraging at times. I often hear a "good job momma" coming from her. This usually happens when I do something really hard like pop popcorn in the microwave. It always makes my day when I hear it coming from her sweet voice.

Penny is enjoying her new freedom of crawling. She is all over the place. She LOVES Campbell and usually tries to keep up with her big sister. Campbell has learned the hard way not to lay on the ground when Penny is around. Penny loves hair and takes any opportunity to get a fist full of it. Her favorite toy at the moment is any kind of remote control. She is starting to get really possessive of her toys. She is such a sweet girl but she comes unglued if you mess with her stuff. One tricky thing about Penny crawling is that I have caught Campbell trying to ride her like a horse. There was only one time when I made it to the crime scene too late. Luckily Penny's little back was not injured. Oh the joys! We love our little girls.

I was going to add photos to this post but I don't know where they are on the computer. I will have to wait for Nate.

Feel Good Story Of The Summer

Nate's art was chosen for the First Annual Gnomon Student Show. It is this Saturday. I am so excited for him. He has worked so hard. Just thought I would announce this exciting news. Hopefully I can attend. I'm not sure how they feel about children. Even if they are adorable.