September 11th

It's been said before that there are, in every lifetime, definitive moments for a generation.  Moments that no matter where you were, or what you were doing, you will remember forever.  For our grandparents it may have been Pearl Harbor.  For our parents, it may have been the assassination of President Kennedy. My mom told me once that she still remembers exactly where she was when she heard the news that the President had been assassinated.  17 and in high school at the time, she stood in the hallway of Helena High talking with friends.  Over the loud speaker came the announcement "Students, we are sorry to inform you, but president Kennedy has just been assassinated while on tour in Texas."  My mom said that she didn't know how to react, really, so she started to laugh.  Then she asked her friends something like "Are you kidding?"  Even while she told me the story she chuckled, not because the situation is funny but because of her inappropriate reaction to a horrible event.

 For my generation, one of those moments came on September 11th, 2001in the form of 4 hijacked jet airliners. I was 18 at the time and living in a small apartment in Provo, Utah.   Getting up in the morning is the bane of my existence, so I was lulling around a 7:30 in the morning trying to wake up while waiting for my 5 other roommates to finish showering and get out of the bathroom.  After making my way to the kitchen for some breakfast, I saw my roommate Noel run out of the back bedroom and turn on the TV. 

"What's going on?" I asked.

 "My mom just called and told me to turn on the news.  A plane crashed in to a building or something in New York City. Nobody on the news really knows whats going on." 

"Huh....., that's weird." I thought.

 As we watched the news, we kept flipping channels to see if anybody could come up with any concrete information as to who had done it or what it was.  All of a sudden, the programs were interrupted and we started seeing pictures of the Pentagon smoking and on fire.  On the bottom of the screen the words "The United States is under attack" came up.  My heart sank and suddenly visions of my four older brothers being drafted for World War 3 went racing through my mind (I'm like that- if there's an opportunity for my mind to spiral in to worst case scenario, it will). 

Since I was already late from sleeping in and I had to be at work, I went to the back of the apartment, showered and dressed, and started to leave.  I worked for the BYU grounds crew, and had to be there at 8, but, in true Wendy fashion, I wasn't ready to walk out the door until about 8:05.

My roommates were still gathered in front of the TV, and as I came in to the living room on my way out, I watched another bit of breaking news.  The South tower at the WTC had fallen.  And my heart stopped for a moment when they showed it.  "Thousands and thousands of people just died" was all I could think as I hopped in my car and drove to work.

I went to work to find my boss and co-workers gathered in the truck, listening to the radio.  We sat there most of the morning- ignoring all the turf that needed maintenance.  It wasn't until later that I learned about the north tower collapsing, and the flight in Pennsylvania. 

I realize that most of you don't really care where I was or what I was doing, but I want my kids to know things like this.  I want them to know that it did matter to me, that I was sad, and that I mourned right along with the rest of America when it happened. 

What I find fascinating about historical tragedies is the resilience of the human spirit and the goodness of human kind that emerges as a result of this.  There are a million and one stories that can be told of everyday people stepping up and becoming heroes.  When you study individual stories from Pearl Harbor, you will find everyday men and women stepping up and showing what they're made of. Whether it's shooting down a Japanese plane or caring for wounded soldiers, almost every eyewitness account I've read shows some form of human bravery.  I think the same was true for 9-11. Firefighters, Policemen, friends, and neighbors all pulling for, and helping one another. 

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs and wanted to share it as well. It made me bawl.  There truly is so much goodness in the world. 

June

Playing catch-up because I'm a slacker!  Well, not a slacker.... I just am totally over blogging for some odd reason.  BUT, I need to write all our little happenings down because I'll forget if I don't.  My kids are growing so fast and I have the worlds WORST memory.  I always tell myself I'll remember, but when I try to think back on past experiences things are always fuzzy unless I write them down. It's for posterity, right? 

On June 9th we took a trip to Helena to see the fambam and run the Governor's Cup.   MIke and I ran the  10K, and it was SO much harder than the 10K we ran in March.  The course had WAY more hills, so both Mike and I ended up with about the same time as our last race, even though we were in better shape :).  We left the kids with my parents and ran the 10K in the morning, then met up with them and ran the 5K with the stroller, 2 kiddos, and my dad.

Not to get TOO sappy, but it was pretty awesome to run the 5K.  My dad and I first ran the Governor's Cup in June of 1989 and we didn't miss a year until after I left for college (I think 2003 was the first time I missed becase I was in Mexico).  I even ran it with him the morning after my senior all night graduation party! It was great to be able to share the experience with my kids and my dad and my husband this year.  CJ ran the first mile or so, then was honestly a bit of a stink pot for the rest of the race.  She curled up in the stroller and complained about being cold :).  Nolan, however, could not have been cuter.  "I winning!" he would say as he ran and ran and ran.  He probably ran nearly 2 miles of the 3.2 mile race.  It was SO fun to see him out there enjoying it, not to mention the fact that I love my hometown and running through the streets made me happy.

We've been trying really hard to stay active lately, so I bought a second-hand bike trailer and we've been LOVIN' it.  I love the exercise, and if I can keep the kids from fighting while they're in it it's even better!  Those two..... I hope eventually they're friends.  The other day Cecily says to me "Mom, I think I don't like Nolan anymore.  We should maybe give him away."  Like he's a rascally puppy or something.  Sheesh.

We signed CJ up for swimming lessons again this summer!  There were 8 classes per session, and she ended up doing 2 sessions.  The first 7 days were spent trying to coax her in to putting her face in the water and trying to keep her from flailing and screaming and freaking out if someone tried to take her away from the side ledge.  Yeah- it was awesomely horrific. I even took her to the pool later in the day to try to work with her alone and it was a disaster. I'm pretty sure everyone in the pool that day thought I was either a bad mom who didn't discipline her kid, or I was trying to drown the poor child.  My girl has some lungs on her, and she's not afriad to use 'em.  On day 8, the head lifeguard/pool coordinator/boss lady spent some time with her one on one.  By the end of that day she was away from the side AND putting her face in.  I guess it's all about the right teacher, huh? The next 8 classes went pretty well, although she was still afraid.  I'm signing her up for fall lessons so that she doesn't lose any of the courage she's started to find.

Nolan and I did a "Mommy and Me" class, which he completely LOVED.  It was fun to have time alone with him as well.  He loved jumping off the side in to my arms the most. 

At the end of June my good friend Erin got married to the love of her life, Jake.  It was such a fun wedding! Erin and Jake are an awesome couple.  We were so happy to celebrate with them.  The wedding was at the base of the Bridger mountain range in Montana, and it was just incredible, and the perfect setting for a wedding.  Mike and I both commented on how much we love Bozeman.  If we stay in Montana after this coal mining adventure, that is probably where we'd want to be. We'll see! Erin looked stunning, and it is always fun to see all my BSC girls.  They're awesome.  PLUS, my amazing mom and dad took the kids for us so that Mike and I could have a little get-away for a night.  Niiiiiiiiice.

Near the end of June Colstrip has a big..... festival?  Party?  Community event?  They call it "Colstrip Days" and they have a parade where they throw candy and people make useless floats advertising local businesses.  They have a big farmers market thing in the biggest city park and there are a billion booths with food, crafts, more food, local art, and all the fresh squeezed lemonade a girl could ask for.  Delish! Not to mention the Amish come and sell fresh donuts.....YUM! That is also when the town does local fireworks, since most people leave town for the 4th of July. 

AND, last but not least:  Pinterest is good for something besides bad recipes and time wasting!  We made bookshelves for the playroom!  I rotate out all our books because there's not enough room on those 4  shelves for everything we have.  But the kids are reading more, so mission accomplished.

Stay tuned for July.  Hopefully I'll get around to it within the next few months! :)

I so funny...