Night Before Christmas, Pulver Style

Twas two weeks before Christmas and all thru our home, every creature was busy, even Jem writing this poem.  Our stockings weren't hung, as no chimney have we. We live in the desert. What're you thinkin, silly?  No children were nestled all snug in their bed. They were both at practice, doing as their coaches said. And Robb with his running shoes and softball attire, was trying to keep up old age, a feat that is dire.

Looking back on the year, we've had such a great time. I will try and describe it in the form of a rhyme:

I will start with our "baby". He is getting too old. He turned 12 this year, so the Priesthood he does hold.  He played baseball, basketball and XBOX a ton. He's a master babysitter. All the kids find him fun!  He attended scout camp, grew 6 inches and went to Disneyland for school.  His niece and his nephew sure think that he's cool.

Jasmine turned 16, and on dates she does go.  She was crowned homecoming princess,  but had to attend with no beau. She wasn't yet of age, and her parents are mean. Boy, isn't it rough, being a teen? Volleyball and basketball, her time it does kill.  She also attended a church service camp, and much joy she did feel.

My hunk of a husband, boy, what can I say?  He has something going on almost every day.  Three jobs he does hold and in church a new call.  He's the new Young Mens president. Those boys are going to have a ball!  With all his activities, he still knows how to have fun.  He makes time to play softball, golf and even run.

Primary, choir and stake pianist are what I'm about.  I sure am thankful that those piano lessons
I stuck out.  I still love my job, our new house and our un-winter-like weather.  I see my grand-babies whenever I want and there's just nothing better.  I keep super busy following my crew. And to be honest and truthful, there's nothing else I'd rather do.

Our lives are chaotic, not a moment to spare. But we like it that way. Dull and boring. . .we wouldn't dare!  Our holiday wish is that you're loving life too.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from the Pulver crew!!

Fall

 This is my favorite time of year here in Southern Nevada.  It makes the sweltering, almost unbearable summers totally worth it.  While Im seeing pictures of snow and ice on friends facebook posts, we, here in the valley are finally able to be outside and enjoy the weather.

Met the grandkids at the St George Town Center to take in some fall festivities.

Bentley -  (notice the small scar on his forehead.  Thats all thats left from his accident.)

Kai - She's getting old enough to enjoy and understand whats going on.  She was dancing with the music, screaming with the kids and having a super time. She's also finally tolerating and accepting grandpa. Yeah!!

Love my kids, love my grandkids, love the weather.  I feel very blessed today.

Murder Party 2012

This year, I decided to host a Murder Party.  We did one a few years ago with our friends in St George, and it was a blast, plus, I'll use any excuse to throw a party.

So, without further ado, may I introduce you to Murder High School, Class of 1985, Class Reunion.

Who will be murdered? And, more importantly, who dunnit? Will it be the former class president, who is now a Presidential Candidate, the Drama Queen, who is now set to have a part in a huge Disney movie, the math club captain who is now richer than anyone at the reunion, combined?

Or, will it be, the former cheerleading captain who is married to the former jock, who is now a high school gym teacher having an affair with the former drill team captain, who is now a highly recognized choreographer? Its hard to tell. (Its even hard to keep up, isnt it?)

We also had a big time movie producer, a hall moniter turned policewoman, band geek who is now in a band, yearbook editor, who is now a well known journalist, the bad boy who now gets paid to protect and/or beat up people, or the class flirt who hasnt changed a bit?

There was bribery, extortion, and all sorts of lying going on last night.  And, we looked great doing it!

We had a fantastic turn out.  It was a blast getting dressed up in my 80s attire.  I had, like, an awesome time going through 80s era pictures to put up for decorations; movies, tv shows, music, etc.  Boy, I feel lucky to have grown up in such a gnarly time. 

2012 Bingham Costume Party

Every year, The Binghams throw a huge costume party.  We've been lucky enough to be invited these past two years.  (We're part of the "in crowd".) They have different themes every year.  This years theme was Heroes/Villains.

Here are some of my favorite couples. 

We have Michael Jackson and his Dr., Peter Pan with Captain Hook, Star Wars trio, Cat Woman and Nacho Libre, Bat Woman and Robin, The NFL refs, and Cleopatra and Mark Antony.  Our hosts were Spiderman and Red Queen.

Its always a good time.  The Binghams actually play in a band and they play as we dance.  This year the top three contestants for costume themes had to walk the catwalk for the final pick.  Robb totally worked it.  He ended up winning for funniest costume.  

They also did a Dating Game spoof, with a Ghostbuster being the bachelorette and The Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man, Mark Antony and Robin being her bachelors.  Of course she picked Stay Puffed.  "He's puffy and sweet".

Robb is such a great sport.  I love that he goes along with almost no complaining with my crazy ideas, and I think he looks pretty hot in that dress.

Our Small Miracle

Ive been wanting to write this post for a few days now, but every time I start to even think about this horrible event, I start crying and come close to having a full blown anxiety attack. I think I've finally gotten to the point where I can think and speak about it.

Last Friday I get a call at work from Jazz.  She is on the other end sobbing, saying I need to call Hope right away because there's been an accident with Bentley. Immediately, my mind thinks the worst.  As my brain is going in a thousand different directions and my heart is beating twice that fast, I finally get Hope on the other end. She, surprisingly, is quite calm and proceeds to tell me that Bentley has fallen out of his two story bedroom window onto the rocks below.  He is in the hospital, but in stable condition.

Her quiet demeanor has calmed me down and Im able to listen as she tells me her horrific story.  She put Bentley down for a nap and headed into the living room to get some much needed quiet mommy time.  After a while, she said she hears crying from downstairs/outside and thinks to herself, that sounds a lot like Bentley.  She quickly dismisses the idea because she knows that Bentley is snug as a bug in his bed in the next room.  She hears it again and the same idea comes into her mind. 'That sure sounds like my son.'  Just to ease her thoughts, she decides to go into Bentleys room to check on him but is unable to find him.  She frantically rushes out the front door where she finds her sweet little boy climbing up the stairs screaming and bloody.  She quickly whisks him up and runs inside to call an ambulance.

She said the ambulance gets there very quickly and they proceed to the hospital.  At the hospital, they take xrays, perform a cat scan, and do the whole works, but the only problem they find is a gash in his head and some scrapes on the side of his face.  How can this be?  He fell over 15 feet onto jagged rocks below?
We know without a shadow of a doubt that he was being watched over that day.  I think that not only were guardian angels all around him but that they carried that little boy in their loving arms safely to the ground below.

And not only that, but many things happened that day that made the outcome to the story what it was.  Casey was supposed to have gotten a job and been at work, most likely, with his phone.  Ive never felt thankful that someone didnt get a job.  The weather wasnt 100 degress, so Hope had her windows open and was able to hear Bentleys cries. She also had a friend over that was able to stay with Kai as they rushed to the hospital.

I dont like to close my eyes, because every time I do, I picture him falling.  I finally was able to go to where he fell and see the horrible remnants of that day.  I could see my grand baby's bloody hand print on the cement where he hoisted his little tattered body up to bravely head up the steep steps back to his mothers loving arms.  What a smart boy he is.

I thank my Heavenly Father 100 times a day for taking care of my Bentley that day. For everything that fell into place so that we are able to hug on that little boy tightly whenever we want or need to.  I know of several families that werent that lucky when their sweet little ones took the same dreadful fall.  My heart swells and my eyes fill with tears when I think of the blessings that we were given that day.

(His accident did make the news. http://southernutah.fox13now.com/news)

Princess Jasmine

Jasmine was nominated Homecoming Princess for the sophomore class.  

This is her and her prince in the homecoming parade.

Halftime of the football game.  The boy with her looooves sports.  He was very funny as we were trying to take pictures.  He wanted to be finished. "Are we done? I want to go change so I can cheer on the Bulldogs."

This is Sam, one of our Trek daughters. 

All I can hear when I see this picture is Stevie Wonder singing "Isnt She Lovely."

Jazz wasnt even planning on attending the dance this year because she is not yet 16, but she had to go.  Thank you to her friend Abbie and her date for letting her come with them.

Of course a mother is thrilled when something like this happens, but Ill tell you this.  In Mesquite, the boys nominate the girls and the girls nominate the boys.  I dont know if you can tell in the picture but two of the boys are handicapped.  Jazz was instrumental in getting those boys chosen.  I am more proud of that fact than of her being nominated.

She is my real life "Princess Jasmine."  I am so proud of the wonderful young woman that she has become.

Down Time

What have Robb and I been doing these last two weeks?  Well, spending time with the grandkids, of course!! Its our favorite thing to do when we have some down time.

 An evening at the temple.

Bentley just loves Bobby and Grandpa.  Those were two of his first two words.

I just love, love, love this picture.

This little angel loves her grandma.  Look at that smile.  Doesnt it melt your heart?

She will stay with grandpa for about 2 minutes.  A little longer on this occasion because she couldnt see who was actually holding her.

We also went to the Washington Community Center.  What a fantastic place.

Lazy river with Bs two favorite people.

And, whats better than Red Lobster after swimming a few hours?

Look at that rightey.  When he was first starting to use his hands, I thought I might finally get a lefty in the family, but no luck.

Robb and I love being grandparents.  We are so thankful that Hope lives so close and that she is considerate enough to share her babies once in a while.  I cant imagine not having these two monkeys around to hug and kiss on whenever we want.

Confirmation

I want to address the people who, I know, truly concerned at the time, wondered why I stayed with Robb.  

Well, this is the reason.  I could see the man that he could become.  I knew it with every fiber of my being.

We went through our struggles, that is a fact.  But, we made it through and it has brought us closer together and even made our relationship stronger.

My husband has integrity.  He is honest.  He is responsible and he is kind.

This is a picture of Robb after confirming our neighbor Saturday.  He is their home teacher.  

They, too, can see the remarkable man that he is.

What a privilege it was to sit and watch Robb confirm this special young boy.

Thank you for being the amazing man that I knew you could be.

I am so thankful that I stuck it out and I am proud to be your eternal wife.

2012 Pulvers Amazing Race

 Its that time of year again when we have our annual Amazing Race and every year I remember why I only do it once a year.  

Here are the participants this year.

These were the stops/tasks this year:

South Africa: Splash park - Use your bandanas to fill up water bottles.

Venice: River - Cross the river to find team colored flags.

Roadblock: Friends house - Swallow two raw eggs.  (I do have video of this)

Native America: Take a picture of Kokopelli with your whole group.

Antarctica: Bunkerville Park - Get 6 team colored rocks from a cooler of ice water.

Australia: Church Pavillion - complete a crossword about Australia.

Detour: High School Football Field - Kick two field goals or throw 5 passes through a rung in a ladder.

Stonehenge: Hospital - Find team colors under rocks.

Most memorable moments of this year:

1) Venice task was held right next to a homeless mans shelter. 

2) Robbs team could not figure out how the other teams were knowing where to go from the clues.  They almost quit.  They just werent looking ON THE FRONT OF THE ENVELOPES.

Notes to next years contestants:

1) Dont ride in the same vehicle as Robb or you might have a fear of white vans for the rest of your life.

2) Dont ever play against the Chief of Police, or you might get pulled over by one of his minions in order for him to win.  Sorry, Shannon.

Overall, it was fun. 

 I want to thank Heather Everitt for all her help.

See ya again next year!

Wyoming Summer

Thanks to Uncle Bill, Jazz and Bobby were able to go to Wyoming for two weeks.  

Thank you for taking pictures Jazz.

 The beginning of the bonding.  They both love flying.

The kids and Uncle Bill.

Uncle Bills "kids."  They had a super time together.

Floating down the river in Thermop.

Cousins. . .

Cousins and friends.

Porcupine Falls.  I love this place.

More friends.

They had so much fun seeing old friends.  The kids were also able to see my mom, dad and Kymbre, but Jazz didnt get any pictures.  My mom and Jazz have such a close close relationship. They were both balling when they said their goodbyes.  

Thanks Uncle Bill!

Muddin It

We have friends who havent yet finished their backyard, so we decided to take advantage and play us some mud volleyball.  We've done it these past two weekends.  

We kept hitting it over the fence into the neighbors yard and got tired of jumping the fence, so we improvised. Thank goodness, neighbors were not home.  Won't they be surprised when they come back to muddy footprints all over their beautiful backyard.

This is Robb after playing tonight.

And this is me. 

Sorry, folks.  Not even a little bit of athletic aggression in these bones.  I know it frustrates Robb because he is so opposite.  Sorry, Babe. There are some things Im good at and some Im not so good at, and some things I just dont care to be good at. I have my talents. Sports just isnt one of them.

We Can Make it Together!

Ah Trek. . . . This was one of the most difficult yet extraordinary adventures I've had yet.

When President Hafen called Robb and I to be Ma and Pa a few months ago, we had no idea what we were getting into.  They didnt have Trek where we grew up so we really had no clue what it was.  We read and re-read and re-re-read the handbook.  I walked.  I read every entry of the Martin handcart journal.  I walked.  I researched my pioneer heritage.  I walked.  Robb and I prayed and talked about what an impact we were going to have on these kids lives.  We heard other Ma's and Pa's saying that they're trek kids still call them Ma and Pa when they see them in the store and they have remained close to this day. Quite a scary thought that these kids will be looking up to us.  I feel like we're still kids ourselves. Oh, and I walked.

We had pre-Trek trainings.  We were taught words like "processing" and "family hugs".  All things that Robb absolutely loves to do.   After months of preparation, we actually thought we were pretty ready for this.

Bring it!!
Oh, how the Lord has a sense of humor.

(The pictures are all scattered, sorry)
Day 1. Before the kids arrived. Robb and I pulled our handcart into place.

This is Jasmines Ma and Pa.  They were a perfect fit for Jazz.

Jazz's Ma and Pa doing their skit.  The Mas and Pas each made a skit to call out their family members.  Robb and I also used it to make fun of our kids.  (We figured that they might as well learn right off that thats was how things were going to be because that's how our family works.) There is Jazz on the end, totally humilitated.

I think this is day 3 or four.  Not sure, but our kids dont look to well.  So this, is a good as time as any to talk about how really difficult this was.  For 2 reasons:  1: physically, this was the toughest thing I've done in my life. I am not athletic and I've really never had any reason or desire to be pushed physically.  The heat was excruciating.  Robb and I both carried spray bottles and would continuously douse the kids. We got tons of thank you and I love yous as we did this.  Also, when you thought you just couldnt take the heat anymore, there would be a cool breeze rip through the valley.  There were many small miracles that occurred that helped us make it to the end.
 But, the hardest part for me, was, we were not supposed to help the kids.  Our theme this year was "We Can Make it Together", and the stake wanted the kids to learn that there are going to be difficult times in their lives but if they have something to look back and reflect on when they were able to accomplish something hard, then maybe they will realize that they can get through it. Robb had to tear me off the back of the handcart a couple of times and one time I just broke down watching the kids struggling. 

This is Jazz and her sister, Victoria hugging on the ice blocks.  Jazz had trouble coming out of the gate.  Before we even starting walking, she went down.  She turned pure white and was shaking. She ended up getting an IV later that day, as did 16 other people, including Robb.  She is a trooper, though.  She never quit.  At one point, on the second day, we were climbing a pretty tough hill.  We were one of the last to finish that day and some of the other kids who had already arrived were coming back to help the other families that were still pulling.  Mostly, it was the big brawny boys, but as we were struggling up the hill, I look up and there is Jasmine coming to help.  My heart swelled with pride and tears welled in my eyes.  I was so proud to be her "real" ma during Trek.  We've raised an amazing daughter.

I sure love this man.

This was another one of my favorite parts.  It was this gorgeous gorge.  It was very rocky and the kids worked together great.  It was also the only part that was shaded. We walked in 100+ weather everyday. Always going at least 8 or 9 miles a day.

This is our family on the first day.  We lost one girl within a couple of hours on the first day. We talked and talked and talked to her about trying to finish but she just couldnt do it.  And then the next day, we lost another girl.  We knew up front that she would be leaving, though. 

This was another of my favorite parts.  At one of the stops on the second day, which was my hardest day, there was a huge cooler filled with pickles. As you can see, 100 kids had reached in with their dirty hands and I believe that is a fly floating in the water, but those were the best tasting pickles we'd ever had.

Jazz enjoying some sparse shade.

Me looking very sexy in my bonnet.

Our girls.  We went from 5 to 3 girls and let me tell you, these girls were awesome; tough as nails.  They worked harder than the boys, and they looked good doing it. They also did not complain. 

Our boys. . . Robb and I would lay and laugh at the night time conversations these silly boys would have as we were trying to wind down from the hard days work and sleep on the rocky ground with no pillows. At one point, Robb said, "I don't think we ever talked like that when I was that age." Then after contemplating a few seconds, he said, "Yes we did."

Robb has a way of making even the most horrible times fun.  Did I mention how much I love this man?

At one point, we stopped and played pioneer games.  It was a good release for the kids.

Jazz helping the other families up the hill.  This was the most emotional part for me.  Not only was my amazing daughter coming back to help, but the other families that had already made it were on the top cheering and singing hymns.  I was sobbing by the time we made it to the top.

As I said before, this was the toughest thing I'd ever done. I had probably 12 blisters and an infected big toe, but it was nothing compared to those pioneers who came across years and years ago.  They fought the cold, most walking barefoot, leaving a bloody trail in the snow. My love and admiration for those strong men, women and kids is more than I can even put into words.

Another picture of Jazz and her family.

This is called "Angel Hill".  They had all the kids sit up on a hill about a mile away.   They then talked about how sometimes the men in the family had to go away to wars or died on the journey and they then sent the boys away.  All of us girls sat there looking at this steep, steep hill wondering how in heavens we would be able to accomplish this without the men. Some of the girls were crying because they didnt know if they were going to do it. As we started pulling our handcarts, the boys started coming down the hill to help.  It was such a relief. I think it was a good thinking experience for the girls, though.

My girls and I after accomplishing Angel Hill.

All the Ma's and Pa's on the first day.

Robb and I doing our call out skit.

I am so thankful for the opportunity Robb and I had to experience Trek. We do have a bond with these kids.  At the reunion breakfast, our family were the only ones who sat together. I am excited to see these amazing kids grow.  I know they will accomplish great things. It also brought Robb and I closer as a couple. We did have our struggles during the trek, but that's what makes a family stronger.  Overcoming your obstacles.  And We Made it Together!