Tour de Whidbey

On Saturday we made a trek out to Whidbey Island for the annual Tour de Whidbey bike race. Eric's work sponsored him to ride in it this year. Since kids can enter for free, Heidi and Ethan also rode with him. They had the options of riding 10, 28, 40, or 100 miles. Since he had the kids, Eric chose to do the 10-miler.

Let the race begin!!

Here I am following them along the road, trying to take pictures while I was driving. I don't really recommend doing that. It was a tad bit dangerous. I couldn't really look through the lens to get the pictures lined up, so I lucked out that one of the shots turned out half-way decent.

At the three-mile point, the trail passed Fort Casey, where they were holding a kite festival. The girls and I met the bikers there to watch all the neat kites. There was a chorded off section where some really talented guys danced their trick kites around to music. It was pretty amazing! It had Eric and Ethan salivating for one of those kites!

The girls also enjoyed watching the kites!

Here they come around the home stretch! It only took them about an hour to do the whole course. Both Eric and Ethan lamented over not having done a longer race....Heidi was just relieved to be done! Next year will be the 28-miler for sure, at least for the boys! :)

Erica and the Beast

On Saturday night Eric and I went to a party hosted by one of Eric's co-workers. She lives in a gorgeous mid-century bungalo converted to an ultra-modern house in the middle of downtown Bellevue. The entire back of the house is made up of huge glass sliding doors, so it can all be opened up to the beautiful yard. The house is so beautiful, it was even featured in several design and architecture magazines.


Anyway, they own a humungous Great Dane, named Babar. Yes, as in Babar the Elephant. Since we took Erica along with us to the party, our hosts were concerned that she might be afraid of the dog. I would be! He's huge! They were very reassuring of how gentle and docile he is.


It didn't take long to figure out that he had a lot more to be afraid of her! Actually, he wasn't, of course. He was very tolerant of her following him around. She kept trying to pet him and talk to him. It was so funny! He looks like a horse standing next to her! I love this quick picture we were able to snap on our phone's camera! You can tell how much she likes him and is curious about him with that smile on her face! What a fearless child! Everyone got a big kick over how she followed him around!

(Sorry- I have NO idea what happened to the sound on these videos! That really wasn't the music that was playing at the party! Ha ha)

Thirteen Articles of Mormon Culture

My friend Audrey sent this little number to me in an email. It made me laugh, so I wanted to share! For those of my non-LDS friends, please bear with me, some of the allusions you may or may not get! We Mormons enjoy celebrating and/or ridiculing our own peculiar Mormon culture! If you know us well, you will probably recognize most of it!!

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1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in the multilevel marking.

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2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

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3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

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4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

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5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

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6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

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7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.

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8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

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9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations.

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10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

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11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and general authorities how, where, or what they may.

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12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

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13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

Caution: Do Not Attempt to Lift Wheelchair and Child at the Same Time, Injury WILL Occur!

It's been a rough couple of days and I must admit my spirits are low.


Wednesday was my day off, so I was preparing Elise for school after Eric already left for work. I usually have her wheelchair set up and ready for me outside the front steps so that when the bus driver gets to our house, I can easily get her into the chair and out to the bus. Well, on Wednesday I was running a little behind and did not have her chair out of the back of the van yet.


The driver was already waiting for me to get Elise out the door, so I was stressed about her not having to wait any longer for me. I grabbed Elise, plopping her on one hip, then ran outside, thinking I could manage the chair with my other arm. I was able to open the door to the van, but could not pull the chair out while I was still carrying her, so I reluctantly had to set her down in the driveway to get the chair out and set up. By the time I got her in the chair and onto the bus my back was screaming at me. It was tight and pinching. I knew immediately that I had overstressed it.


I went into the house, doing as many stretches as I could think of, trying to get the tightness to loosen up. Erica thought this was all so funny. She was in my face and grabbing at me, trying to lay across me and do what I was doing. However, the pain just kept getting worse until all of a sudden it was like I was hit in the back with a jackhammer! The muscles seized up so tight I could hardly breathe. I called Eric at work, crying, asking him how I could stretch it out. He suggested I lay flat on the floor and try to pull away from the tightness. I did so and (thank heavens!) I took the phone down with me to the floor.


By this time I had waves of panic and pain running over me. Nothing seemed to loosen it up or give me relief. At some points I was yelling, some points crying. I thought I should try to get up to get some ice, but then I quickly realized I could not even move. I tried over and over to roll to the side to ease my way up, but it was impossible. Erica no longer thought this was a game. She was screaming her head off, frightened by my reaction. To make matters worse, she kept throwing herself on me, expecting me to pick her up and comfort her but I couldn't. The worse case scenario kept flashing through my head....that I'd ruptured a disc or something and would need surgery, putting me out of work for who knows how long. What would we do then?!


Finally I called Eric again. Heaven only knows what he heard on the other end of the line. He said he'd get home as fast as he could. I was so thankful I had the phone on the floor with me!


He did hurry. He hurried enough that he wasn't even able to tell his coworkers what he was doing. However, by the time he got home I had been flat on the floor for almost an hour. I had a hard time breathing and was dizzy. He lifted me straight up off the floor, like I had a board in my back, and got me to the chiropractor.


After an exam and x-ray, the doctor determined that I had pulled one of my ribs out from the vertebrae in my back. He was able to put it back in place, but he said the ligament was all stretched out so it would take a while for it to stay in place. What a relief! It was painful, but quite fixable.


Yesterday I attempted to go to work, but had to leave early. I couldn't twist, or move my right arm, or even stand up straight.


Today is a little better. I've been able to function a little more, but I have only picked up the girls a couple times, when it was absolutely necessary.


It's funny how injuries, or pain, or illness, can change the way you look at things. I can't even say how grateful I am that it was not more serious. But it is still sometimes difficult to focus on the positive. I feel like a cloud is hanging over me, casting it's dull shadow on the world and muddling with the colors I know should be there. I know that it will pass, no one needs to call me with that revelation, but sometimes I have to wallow around in it a bit.


Of course, it doesn't help that I am also on a new diet. No comfort food, or late-night indulgences to ease me through my self-pity. Just bottle after bottle of water....

SK8R Boy

Today was Ethan's birthday. My little man is nine years old! Hard to believe!

Since today was also Labor Day, we attended our Ward's Labor Day Salmon Bake at Cascade Park. The Elders' Quorum is in charge, so Eric spearheaded the project for the third year in a row. All went off without a hitch! It was rainy this morning, but by the time we started eating the sun had begun to peak out, and it turned out to be a beautiful day!

When we all got home we let Ethan pick out the remainder of the day's activities. First priority: PRESENTS!! Second: cake.

I made him a SK8R Boy cake, being translated to: Skater Boy, of course! Ahhh, the lovely teen-text-inspired lingo! It fit better on the cake, anyway! :)

The cake is in the shape of a skate board, complete with doughnut wheels. Ethan loved it! The hardest part for him was deciding whether to eat the doughnut or the cake first!! The doughnut won.

To Ethan's delight, he got his first skateboard! He immediately geared up and hit the street! The neighbor kids were able to share in his excitement.

He's a natural! He was just disappointed that it didn't go any faster!

A Day at the Fair

Yesterday we went to the Evergreen State Fair with some friends of ours, the Sisco family. It was a beautiful sunny day, which ended up getting pretty hot, but we had a lot of fun!The kids got to choose three rides to go on. Here they are flying in the Cliff Hanger, which looked a little like hang-gliding.

My friend Audrey and I thought it would be fun to go on a ride together. This one looked a little daring, since it went so fast and hung you upside-down. Right away we were both wondering what on earth we were thinking getting on it!! It was terrifying! Almost the entire ride was upside-down, spinning you in circles. We screamed the entire time!

Good memories! I was shaking for a good five minutes after that!

This ride was called the Viper. It was a little too intense for Ethan! After they got off Heidi told us that before the ride had even started he was saying, "This was a bad idea! What was I thinking?" Then "I just know I am going to die! I'm sorry for everything I've done to you!" It's too bad we didn't have that conversation recorded for future blackmail!!

Erica loved seeing all the animals at the Fair. Here she was talking chicken-talk to them, a little known dialect except for one-year olds!

My happy farmers!

A lovely family portrait. Don't we look sharp?

At the kids' petting zoo, they had fun activities for the little kids. Here Erica was hunting for eggs. She got very excited when she found them!

She loved petting this sweet baby calf.

But she adored this little chicken! She chased her all over the pen and kept trying to pick her up!

Then a pygmy goat started chasing her around, almost knocking her over!

All in all, it was a really fun day with the family!

Of course, the peace never lasts long!!

Sister of the Bride

On August 21st, we were happy to welcome Jordan Dzubak to the motley Stevens' crew! He and my youngest sister Diana were married in the Boise Idaho Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony!This is the happy couple coming out the temple doors, where family members waited to greet them following the ceremony.

My mom made Diana's dress. It was beautiful, with an empire waist and a gorgeous overlay of lace. Mom made all three of us girls' wedding dresses. Not many people can claim that!

Such a cute couple!

It was over 100 degrees outside, but that didn't slow down any of the festivities!

This is at the Family Luncheon, eating yummy lasagna and pie.

My parents with Diana at the reception that night.

The reception was held at Jordan's parents' house. They have a beautiful yard, full of trees and ponds. Jordan and his brother built the gazebo this summer.

The three sisters. Now a trio of old married ladies!

Awww, aren't they cute?
They were so well behaved, too! I must say I was shocked. I was expecting at least a little bit of flying cake!

The couple's getaway vehicle!

Jordan's sister Rebecca and I decorated the tandem bike with tulle, streamers, and aluminum cans.

The highlight of the evening:

When Diana hitched up her long skirt to reveal a pair of green and white bloomers underneath, complete with ruffles!

Off into the sunset!!

Back to the Time Machine

Eric was feeling left out from my time-travel adventures, so he hijacked the Time Machine and had some escapades of his own. Here is the evidence:

1952

He sang in a Doo Wop group during this year.

1960
Hello Mr. Pencil-Pusher!

1968

My personal favorite. He looks very professional here.
It reminds me of some of our old pictures of my dad. Ha ha

1974

Eric tried his hand in Hollywood this year.
He was fairly successful as a TV stunt-man.

1978
Still in California, now a surfer dude. Pretty impressive golden locks, there!

1988

This is probably a little too accurate as to what is currently sitting in his high school yearbook. They like to refer to this hairstyle as all business in front, and a party in the back!