KUDOS to MOI....I didn't scream,"No,don't go!!" at the MTC

A Knife in the heart

(our happy place..Hanalei)

A few days before Dallin was born I had a very,very vivid dream. It was so clear that I had to wonder if it wasn't real. It had a long,hard pregnancy with an exhausting move at the end. I dreamed kevin and I were in a hospital room with our brand new baby in our arms. Suddenly my grandmother ( Minnie Dahl ) and her husband Hugh were in the room with us. I had never met my grandfather as he had died back when my own mother was a child. But I knew it was him. We had planned on giving the name Hugh to Dallin as a middle name. They were now holding Dallin and making over him. I looked at kevin as if to say, isn't this great....but Kevin was white as a sheet and very scared. He couldn't see them and he realized that I was dying and slipping across the veil. He was shaking me and screaming to have me come back now. It was if I was going in and out of consciousness. It wasn't the best delivery but I didn't die. The feeling of that dream comes back now. Although Kevin isn't reaching out to me this time... this time he is crumpled on the floor crying himself and he doesn't hear me. This time I am going in and out of consciousness again, but I really am awake..and I really am feeling the pain. Too melodramatic?!! I think not...have you ever sent a son away on a mission?! Last night we had the extended Ordo clan over for dinner and to say good-bye to Dal. Koki was sitting next to us. Sean was coming home from serving two years in Washington within the next 12 hours, and we are sending Dallin out in practically the same time frame. Oue emotions were polar..kevin said this morning ,I wish I was Koki right now. There is always a coming and going in sacrifice. This one is a whopper. It is so overwhelmingly selfish of me..but I can't stop it.

power in my hands

do you need an operators license for an electric hedge trimmer ? Rather a cool item as I have been limping along for years with my hand-held-sorely-in-need-of-a-sharpen trimmer. This baby hummmms. Last years lilac bushes were shorn down to the nubbins ( what with the graduation challenge and all.) But I am in a better place this summer. So despite the power I yield in my hands I think the garden is going to be ok. Maybe I should stop thinking about Edward Scissorhands though. I tell you this..it is the ultimate OCD toy !!!!

months

July Johnson. What a Great name. Stalwart character in one of my favorite novels ( do you know what it is?) May, June and August Boatwright...but no July? Because July Johnson is a manly name, and you can't go naming s great boy names. Ok, yes, Devin is a boy's name..but just a "good" name not a Great name for a boy.So we could use it for a ,and we did and it fits her perfectly. But back to the months. What was I thinking during all thoses birthing years ?!! Months mean so much to me. When I read "The Secret Lives of Bees" and hung on to every single word..and the sisters names were just The perfect touch. Why on earth didn't I use months for names?! Ok, wait, stop..I Did want to use "August" for Denver..maybe even call him "Augie-Doggie" like we did to August Klein back in Woodside. Kevin wouldn't go for it. Geez, I just shouldn't have asked him. Kerriann has been a doll about this and offered to take on the middle name of May since she has always had a bee in her bonnet about not receiving a middle name . She is such a good daughter, so accomodating. Still..if I could have one more baby, and it was a boy and the month just happened to be in the middle of summer..I would name him July Johnson..definitely.

HAPPY BITRHDAY MOM!

50 reasons why i love my mom :
1. she is the funniest person I know
2. she loves my cats
3. she talks to me about everything
4. she listens to me
5. she laughs with me
6. she loves to listen to the music I listen to
7. she is becoming a techie!
8. She reads
9. She loves to travel ( I don’t mind going with you ☺)
10. She makes delicious food
11. She is GREEN
12. She watches the OC with me and gets into it !
13. She is friends with my friends
14. She has a wicked serve in tennis
15. That she drives with me ☺
16. She makes boring days fun
17. She makes me lunches
18. She writes letters to everyone
19. She is VERY patient with the boys
20. Her voice
21. That she was my teacher
22. That she gets me
23. She is always thinking of others
24. She loves the gospel
25. That she loves bollywood
26. She tries new things all the time
27. She loves to dance around the house
28. She always trys to pick the cute guys on the team whenever we are at a sporting event ( which is often)
29. That she does yoga
30. That she blogs
31. She keeps her friends close
32. That she gets nervous when the boys are up to bat
33. She always wants a new adventure
34. She wants me to be who I want to be
35. She wants to be an nurse ( you would be a good one )
36. She is so crafty
37. She loves little things
38. She is the best grandma
39. That she wants dad to love his job
40. she leaves me funny messages on my phone
41. she is always there for me
42. that she gets scared easily ☺ very funny
43. she plays word jhong
44. she keeps her word
45. she always asks for a hand rub
46. she has so many talents
47. I love her on sleeping pills ☺
48. That she loves her childhood
49. That she is the best mom I could ever want
50. That she is and will always be my very best friend
I love you to death mom , thanks for all the memories ;) Love , k-ann

may 1959-2009..fifty years give or take

Fifty Things that I definitely Know that I Like and Dislike

1. I don't like driving on the freeway..ever
2. can't stand the name "David"
3. the red-eye flight from Hawaii
4. cheap,plastic toys
5. not having good eyesight
6. the smell of wet dogs
7. guilt
8. air conditioners
9. going to the dentist
10. having to wear socks..they make me hot
11. waking up to a dirty kitchen
12. making appointments of any kind
13. when people freak out over the #13
14. cleaning up barf
15. touching raw meat , cooking it and the smells -gross
16. watching sports on t.v
17. when winter goes on forever..springs last 2 days..then it is 100 degrees
18. I to see the waste weddings and parties generate and no one is recycling
19. meetings that last too long ( i.e when an hour is spent on deciding which tablecloth to use)
20. snakes, and I don't care If they are God's creatures
21. a book or movie that was a complete waste of time
22. prejudice
23. injustice
24. greed
25. did I mention ..raw meat?!

1. ok..things I really like..apparently setting up the computer should be one!! Kerriann..
2. a good rain shower
3. bookstores and having the time to really look
4. cranking music way up loud
5. shelling..and finding an Excellent beach
6. fireflies..real or battery-operated
7. searching for the best flan
8. previews at a movie theater
9. running into deer on my walks
10. my children's birthdays
11. bees-especially the fuzzy, mutant ones
12. streams
13. people-like the Hendersons-who think the #13 is lucky
14. having the windows open (this can include winter if I am in Newport Beach)
15. lilacs in full bloom
16. shades of blue
17. driving the mini FAST on backroads..Oregon was ideal for this
18. I like hibernating in the winter..and I am not going to apologize for that anymore
19. my i-pod and seeing what other people have on their playlists
20. having lunch with my friends ,most definitely includes daughters
21. Tahoe,Sundance,New York,the road to Hanalei
22. black oak trees on Sandhill Road
23. living in Woodside..in Berkeley..Provo in the early 80's..in Reno..it has all been an adventure!!
24. I still love the scent of Oscar de la Renta the best
25. the life I was given..and can I have fifty more good ones please

Here is a shout-out for Chelsie Clarke's 17th birthday. What does it say about me that my very favorite person in the ward ( after my darling fam of ocurse!) is a 17 year old girl?! It says that I am darn lucky!!! Because to know her is to love her. I would only include this heinous picture of myself because Chels ( yes, I am allowed to call her that...she only lets a select few do so ) enjoys it. It was taken at girls camp where the theme was Chinese pink penguins - ergo, the SanPan hat. This picture was taken moments before the vicious
canoe attack that left me in the leech infested Tibble
Fork Resovior fighting for my own survival -but I was able to keep the themed hat on throughout the disaster. Girls's Camp is a hoot, but I am strongly veering off course here.It is truly serendipitous to find such a dear friend that is not even remotely close to ones age. Chelsie is this gorgeous tall,blonde,tennis type of gal ( alas ,no chest..sad ) who SHOULD be full of herself..rightfully so. But she isn't!! Chelsie is awesome. Her humor is unparalleled to any. A funny,funny gal ! She is "going places" that one and she better be bringing me along!!
Happy,Happy Birthday Chelsie. I love you! Bobalin