You Are My Sunshine

May I please have a moment to whine about the weather? I mean some more? Okay...

Current Temps according to MSN: Livingston 102F...Tucson 83F....

Doesn't that seem backward? Heidi and I celebrated with a THREE-HOUR siesta (and she's not even up yet).

Rich and Addie are enjoying similar weather in Salt Lake City today. Yay.

Hangin' Out with Heidi

Enjoying the freshly-cleaned floor...
Heidi was being silly while I cooked lunch today...we're having fun together!

Last year when Addie was a Sunbeam, her teacher (Sister Orton) gave her a package of Zinnia seeds. We moved in to late to plant them last year, but we planted them in May this year, and look how great they look now, even in the heat! (There are about three patches of zinnias like this in the front yard).

Livingston Weekly Photo

Freaky Friday

Actually, today is not freaky at all--I just like saying the name of one of my favorite movies (I liked both versions). We are just lounging about, trying to stay cool, keep laundry done and house clean and kids happy. Same ol'...

I have tried several times today to post the half-page photo of our family that appears in this week's Livingston Weekly. It's a cover story about the skyrocketing cost of housing in Livingston and the possible answers to the affordable housing question. So we got to be the shining example for the Rural Development/RC&D self-help program. I'll post it as soon as blogger lets me!

Other than that, it has been a nice week. Last Sunday our RS president announced that I was on moderate bedrest, so lots of people called to take the girls or help around the house this week. I can't handle people cleaning my house (unless I am at death's door), but I can let them play with my kids once in a while, so each day they have had a playdate or someone has come over to entertain them while I rest, which has been a huge help. Even just the offers made me feel better! This is a great church family we have here, not to mention my mom -in -law, who is totally Mary Poppins. We are so fortunate! I am trying to just give into the bedrest, combined with the "Summer Lazies," and the instinct to SIESTA when it's so hot outside, and just let this baby grow and get born safely. Sometimes I wish I could do more and enjoy the summer (like camping in the tent trailer, visiting my sister who just moved here, floating the river, working in the yard, swimming on our little pool, etc...) , but I just keep reminding myself this is the LAST time I ever have to be on maternity bedrest--there will be lots more fun Montana summers! Plus, it's only a few weeks--baby will be here before I know it!

So there you have it. I am using the downtime to make Christmas gifts, since we are having a mostly handmade Christmas this year. Embroidered runners and pillows and ornaments and other fun stuff can be done while "resting," so that has been fun. And then there's the reading, TV, jacuzzi tub, phone calls, and emails to keep me going (hint, hint--drop the ol' invalid a note!), as well as the crazy-cuteness (and busy-ness) of my daughters.

How are the dog days going at YOUR house???

Hotter Than Tucson

Cameron Egan, 13, leaps off the Sacajawea Lagoon bridge with several friends, Sunday, July 16. Livingston Police Officer Dale Johnson gave Egan and others a warning about jumping off the bridge. Johnson said it is illegal to jump off the structure.

It's so hot in Livingston than these poor kids are willing to swim in the slimy lagoon (right next to the sign that says no fishing or jumping from bridge). I heard a rumor that there is some relief in sight...til then, I'll be in the basement!

Quote of the Week

I am so glad I started tivo-ing The Colbert Report because it kills me! Monday night Rich and I laughed out loud, and kept laughing, at this fabulous quote from Stephen Colbert during the "news" part at the beginning of the show:

"Things were looking a little grim last week...but we stayed strong. Sure, we sent over Condi Rice to negotiate, but she's not there for a ceasefire--she's there for a sustainable ceasefire, which, considering the Middle East, is like sending her to bring back Jimmy Hoffa on a unicorn." Oh, soooo funny! I can't stop giggling.

And then there's Colbert's whole "Welcome Jesus" campaign. He's excited that World War III has begun because that means Jesus is coming, so he had some T-shirts made up so you can buy them and be wearing them during the rapture. Seriously, the show is so funny. Last night's banter with the Catholic guy was pretty funny, too.

Coolest Judge Ever

I have a friend whose wife left him for (let's be honest here) someone with more money (who could affford the ridiculously lavish lifestyle she was used to). After she left, his company also went out of business (no fault of his own) and he was pretty much broke. Well, after a few years he remarried and started up a new business with his 2nd wife, and crazy first wife came sniffin' around and decided to file for more child support AND alimony (!?!?--I KNOW--the NERVE!!!).

The judge went over the case and the divorce proceedings and pretty much dismissed the case. He basically said you cannot break up a family, take your child out of state away from her father and then come back and expect to be rewarded for your behavior--YOU chose to divorce, YOU chose to move, and you can suffer the financial consequences. YOU GO, JUDGE!!!

More Heidi-Isms

"Go-Few": Go with you, as in, "Daddy, I gofew in kikicar?"
"Go-Fuss": Go with us, as in, "Addie, you not gofuss!"

How Much God Loves Me

I have noticed an amazing trend in our lives, and I just thought I'd have a little Gratitude Attitude here on the blog for a minute.

A couple of days ago, Rich mentioned that his Aunt & Uncle might be coming to stay the weekend at our house for the spreading of Grandpa Moore's 2-year-old ashes. No problem; the guest room is always ready. But then we thought about how hot it has been and how that room is on the southwest side of the house. We talked about a small window unit air conditioner, but decide with finances the way they are, a fan would have to do. So then today at the office, a customer came in and was chatting with my mother- in -law and somehow mentioned that she was getting rid of an old window unit, so now we have a window unit for $20!

Then there was the time we sold our Outback wagon to mom and dad and traded for the red van, but were sort of looking around for a beater, under $2K, for Rich to drive to work. That same month, an older lady came in to cancel her insurance because she couldn't drive anymore, and asked for help selling her car. Upon further questioning, Rich found out that she had a little Ford Escort with barely-double-digit miles on it and wanted to sell it for MUCH less than $2K. So Merry Christmas to us--nice old lady got rid of her car and our transportation issues were solved in two pleasant transactions.

And just last month we had begun talking about what kind of play area we would like to make for the girls out back. I mentioned that they were still too small for swings and big climbing stuff, but that maybe just a slide and a little pretending place/fort/playhouse might be nice...maybe we could so something with our existing (but useless--built for code) deck. Then a week or so later, while I was in Missouri, a family in our ward dissembled their big playset and called to ask Rich if he could use the slide!! By the time we came home, the girls had their play area (we are still working on the pretending place underneath the deck).

There are several more instances I could probably list, but I like these because it makes our office seem like a storefront for tiny miracles in our lives. God sends people to the Melin Agency to make my life a little bit better. I firmly believe that part of GETTING these kinds of miracles in your life is recognizing them and being grateful for them, so I just wanted to give a little hallelujah here and say thanks. Thanks to God for watching out for us, even in the little details, and to other people for being in the right place at the right time to spread the grace around (that's what it means to be "an instrument in God's hands..."). As Timbuk3 once sang, "Things are goin' great, and they're only gettin' better."

PS: I just thought of a couple more things...
When the Youngs gave us their electric piano
When the Gilmores moved and gave us shelves we use in our shed and a wonderful little freezer for food storage
When I prayed to make new friends with whom I'd have lots in common and then Jen & Melissa moved here and Jen C. passed me a nice note during a meeting!
... I am sure the list will comtinue...

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY...1992

...I got my mission call in the mail! I had gone over to Uncle Matt's house to go swimming, but when I heard Gram & Gramp drive up to the house, I knew the mail had come and they'd brought the letter we had been waiting for! I was called by Ezra Taft Benson to labor in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission, English speaking, and reported to the MTC on October 7, 1992. It was, at the time, the best choice I'd ever made and the best year-and-a-half of my life. I am happy to report things have only improved since then, thanks in part to what I learned and who I became there. WOW! 14 YEARS... A page from my scrapbook...click to enlarge.

Monday

Monday was relatively uneventful--just hanging out with the girls, doing laundry, watching kids' TV and coloring--until late afternoon when OUR BARN BURNED DOWN at the ranch.The cinderblock addition is all that's left of the barn, the corral, and the woodshed.


Rich arrived after 4pm and watched the fire spread from the barn to the woodshed, where the Melin boys had carefully stacked thousands of dollars worth of prime, reuseable barnwood from another structure on July1st...shucks! The fire trucks arrived a few minutes later, and they were still working when we went back between 7 & 8pm last night (the fire was out; they were just stacking debris and removng burnt trees). No one was hurt or even in danger...we had no animals or equipment nearby, and our garden and apple orchards were fine (so was Grandma Vivian).

Sunday

Sunday was a very long day for us! We drove to Bozeman at 7:30am so that Rich could be set apart as Elders Quorum President by our Stake President. We got back from all of that at 9:30am and went to our regular three-hour block meetings and waited a half-hour for Rich to have his first EQ presidency meeting. Luckily, I snuck out during Sunday School and put lasagna and breadsticks in the oven, so they were ready when we got home at 1:40pm. Then we took naps til just before 5pm, then we had some snacks and did crazy hair-dos. Then the girls played dress-up and we took the following pix: Princess Adeline
Behold the dress-up box!
Princess Heidi
Heidi getting dressed

(I am sorry we missed the moment when she was wearing the one purple shoe and the one turquois shoe!)

Their Royal Highnesses, Happy & Grumpy!

(I LOOOOVE this picture)

Saturday

Silly Daddy bought these Cookie Dog Bowls for the girls for a treat...
...they had lots of fun pretending to be puppies!
Saturday evening we had a microburst with winds over 60mph, which knocked out our power for an hour. I was checking out at Albertson's when the power went out...all the lights went out, but the registers just flickered--they must be on a generator thing or something. It was interesting! I came home and we had to cook dinner on our camp stove. Good thing it was a skillet meal!

Fantasy Shopping

I decided to make a baby registry/ wish list in case anybody wants to send us baby gifts or we have a shower. I don’t think I have registered for baby before, and I got plenty of lovely, personal, useful gifts without asking for them. But I thought since this is the last baby and it looks like a boy, there might be some specific items we need and others we don’t. So here’s a link to our target.com wish-list (just enter my name). And I am kind of kidding about the Whale Crib set...it's so cute, but so pricey...we'll probably go with an Ikea crib comforter and sew a cover that goes with the plain creme crib stuff we already have; so if you're near Ikea, let me know because I need one of these and they're not sold online:



We also love the Johnson’s Bedtime bath products and white onesises in every size. Or maybe if you’re really ambitious, you could collaborate with Rich and the gang and get a very cheap version of this (in navy, red, or taupe--I swear I saw a cute one at Walmart that would work, then never saw it again)!



We DO need a nice, compact high chair, and we plan to get the little Ikea one, and I plan on borrowing a good bouncy seat from one of my sisters or sisters-in-law.

Other than that (and lots of diapers and wipes), we are pretty much set. I guess mostly this post is just me typing out my mental inventory list…it’s the crazy nesting setting in!

PS: Thanks, Jill & Audrey, for all the nice baby boy clothes! Once I am sure this baby is a boy, I am sending tons of cute girls clothes your way!

PPS: Click here to see something else I really, REALLY want!

Birth Blogging

I was chattin’ it up with my OB nurse (Hi, Barb) today and I gave her my blog address so she can read about what’s going on behind the scenes, and about my delivery when it happens (she only works at the clinic, not the hospital, so she will miss out on all the fun UNTIL she reads it here). I just realized that I went on total blogging hiatus when I had the girls, but I recorded their birth stories later (well, I keep a regular pen-and-ink pregnancy journal, and eventually I posted the birth stories from there). So here's the link to Heidi’s birth story (I don't know where I posted Addie's), and the rest of the blog records the aftermath we call Melin family life.

By the way, dear readers, the "resting" seems to be paying off, as I gained 2 pounds and the BP was lower today. The ultrasound results made the doctor happy (big fat baby=possible early induction, which in turn makes ME happy), and I feel like I just might survive the next 2 months!

Finally...Beautiful Artwork!

On a whim I just tried posting pix to blogger, and Lo! It worked! So here are some cute pictures colored by Ally & Addie one week ago today! This masterpiece by Adddie shows Ally, Belle, & Addie sitting on lawn chairs after swimming last Saturday. To the right is the pool and the triangle thingies are our fence. Note Addie's distictive signature on the left preceeded by a heart (the artist herself explained all this to me).
I love this picture by Ally so much, I might make notecards out of it. I can't wait til she gets a tiny bit older and can come stay with us for a week or so...she is still my baby niece!!
Here are the cuties at the church during the July 1st pancake breakfast. Jack is on the ground catching ants.

I may be pushing my luck, but here are some more pix....here's our table at the breakfast: clockwisee from left, it's Ad, Al, Belle, Jill's frined Michelle, Jill, Ben, Uncle Mike, Heidi, & Jack.

Later on Saturday, Rich took the kids to play at Sacajawea Park. Ally & Addie swing...

...and Belle, Heidi, and Jack swing, too.

Funny Girls

I have been trying to post some new pictures and some beautiful artwork created by Addie & Ally, but I haven't been able to post any images for three days! I even have some great Tucson monsoon pix for my most recent post at Framanisco , but they won't go up either. Shucks.

But I won't withhold the bits about my girls anymore--when blogger gets fixed, we'll post the images that go with this text.

Last week Addie told me what she wants to be when she grows up: "Mom, I want to be THREE things: a ballerina, a gardener, and a grandma." It made me smile, and I told her that she could very easily be all three of those things.

Heidi talks so much, and mostly she speaks very clearly. However, she has some words that are uniquely her own, so here is a sample of "HEIDI-ISMS":

zuda= soda, as in root beer, sprite, coke...
kiki car= daddy's teal Escort hoopty car...we have NO IDEA what the prefix "kiki" means!
pockiple= popsicle...for a while we tought she was saying "basketball" and wondered why she kept asking for a basketball. She finally opened the freezer and enlightened us with an Otter Pop.
libbit= a little bit, as in "Pleeeeease...Mama, gimme libbit in my hand."
sumber=thunder, as in "Hear dat, mom? Dat's sumber! It's a storm!"
Cockadoodledoo= what Heidi says in our ears when she wants us to wake up.

And, finally, a classic sentence. Last week when we stayd in Billings for our Melin Reunion, Heidi threw up for the first time. She mostly got the bed sheet and her blanket, so I just piled them at the foot of the bed, cleaned her up, and got her back to sleep. Later in the morning, she wanted her blanket, but she saw the vomit and said, "Eww, yucky! I spit poopies out my mouf, mom. Yucky! Poopies out my mouf!" I thought that was so sad, and FUNNY! I taught her the right word, but hope we don't have to use it anytime soon!

Melin Reunion

Melin Family 2006

Sunday, July 2nd before church

Back: Jess, Kelli, Davy, Mike, Mom, Dad, Mark, Jamie, & Rich;

Front: Summer, TJay, Angie w/ Rosalie, Danny, Liana, Elena w/ Sariah, Addie & Heidi

Monday: Brothers Hike Mt. Baldy

On Monday, July 3rd, Rich & his brothers and a few friends hiked up Mt. Baldy to retrieve a plaque that Jess put up there 20 years ago.Mike, Mark, Jess, & Rich Melin with Livingston in the background
Jess found his plaque!
The boys called us from teh top and told us to watch the peak while Mike signaled us with this contraption.
All the boys chill on the ridge
The hikers: Jeff & Shaun Spalding, Jess & Rich Melin;

in front: Cliff Gray, Mike & Mark Melin

Sunday: Parade

In Livingston, Independence Day starts on July 2nd with the Parade that kicks off the 3-day Livingston Roundup. It's a MADHOUSE!Here is our parade gang sitting out on 2nd & Clark Streets.
Addie, Belle, & Ally watch as the parade begins...
...so do Jack & Heidi (from the comfort of the stroller)
We LOVE pipers!!
Uncle Jess & Summer
Five Big Kids: TJay, Danny, Ally, Isabelle, & Addie
Heidi modeling her cowgirl hat.

Here's Rosalie relaxing at the parade....

TJay, Heidi, & Addie watch one of the last floats go by.

TJay & Addie being silly.

Sunday: Picnic

After the parade, we met at Grandma Melin's for burgers & dogs with our Kinkie cousins.Uncle Mike & TJay
Oops! This picture is from Saturday--Ally, Addie, & Belle swimming in our pool
Cousin Picnic!

Danny. Heidi, Addie, Ally, Belle, Jack, Liana, & Summer