Deep Thoughts by Mason Wilburn

We're sitting at Grandma and Grandpa's house watching General Conference when Mason looks at me and says, "Mommy, the only thing I would hate about being blind and deaf is that I would not be able to see or hear."

On that note, Happy Easter everyone!

Cajun Crack

Okay,
I know it has been awhile since I have written anything down, but I have been taking notes so hopefully now that school is done (Masters Degree Complete!!!) I will find time to write on here more often. Today's quote of the day is actually a quote from D2. First, the backstory...

The Friday before last, my friend, Alisha came to my rescue and flew here from Arizona to help me with house and boys, which had both begun to overwhelm me (Amazing friend, right? Most definitely!). That weekend we played in Springfield and in Theodosia and then took a detour to Alley Springs and Mill, which were ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! We spent a couple hours there before making our way home. I will try to post pictures soon. That detour sparked a light in SuperDave and so this past weekend he planned an awesome overnight river trip. Friday night we picked up DJ and Jillian and prepared for our trip. We bought sandwich stuff and snacks, including fruit, chips, and two types of trail mix. One type of trail mix we bought was the Cajun Mix, which we all referred to as Cajun Crack all weekend long because it was amazingly delicious and habit forming.

Saturday morning we headed to Emminence, MO to check into our hotel rooms and meet the Canoe Rental place van which took us all to our starting point. We took our time getting down the river and talking to all the lovely people also traveling down the river with us, but were all very happy to see our hotel room in the distance when we rounded that last bend. After setting the canoes up on the shore by our hotel and calling the canoe company to come pick them up, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant with greasy food.

Sunday morning the boys all went swimming while the girls all slept in and then loaded the vehicle (A fair trade for an extra hour or so of sleep). Then we made our way up to Round Springs and Cave to look around, and then detoured again over to Big Springs near Van Buren, MO to have lunch, explore the spring, and enjoy the Current River's cool water what turned out to be a VERY HOT day. Around 4:30pm we got out of the river, changed into dry clothes, and then headed to Poplar Bluff to meet DJ and Jillian's mom and boyfriend, where we parted ways with our favorite 12 and 15 year old children. We got home last night and pretty much did what we needed to before falling into bed.

This Monday morning came way too early, but we managed to get through it just fine. Now on to the line that sparked this entry...
Tonight, Alisha, SuperDave, and I made chicken quesadillas for dinner for everyone. After dinner, the boys watched some TV, took their baths, and then wandered back into the kitchen around bedtime for an evening snack. D2 was checking in the cabinets and found the Cajun Trail mix. As he was reaching for it he looked back to see if I was paying attention. I shook my head at him to tell him that no, he could not have any trail mix this late at night. D2 then reached for the regular trail mix and I shook my head again.
He then said, "Mom, I was getting the regular trail mix. I know the crack is for Alisha."


Which resulting in a lot of laughing and m trying to explain why I did not want him to have any energy-giving trail mix this late at night, or at least I tried to through laughing and barely breathing. Have a good night all!


  -Karen

Mommy's Cooking

THE other day Dave stayed home sick with me. Since I was home and able to plan dinner early I put some chicken in the crock pot around lunch time. I also started a load of whites just before Mason ans SuperDave got home. Since the laundry room is just off the kitchen you could smell the bleach a little which did not enhance the smell of the Italian chicken I was making. Anyway, when Mason walked through the door he asked David if mommy was cooking and David asked, "Why? Does it smell burnt?" Thanks Dave. I guess my mom's cooking has rubbed off on me more than I realized. -Karen

White Hair and the Holy Ghost - Dec 2013

     The weekend before Christmas we went down to Heber Springs, Arkansas to celebrate Christmas with SuperDave's parents and most of his siblings. While we were all gathered around on Sunday morning and his parents were handing out gifts to the grandkids, Papa Doc started telling the kids about Jesus and his birth and the reason for the season. He started talking about what him and Meeshe have been up to this year, and the subject switched to being filled with the Holy Ghost. Papa Doc started asking the kids if they noticed a difference with him now that he had the Holy Ghost with him. Mason noticed his white hair and commented on it. Everyone laughed and Papa Doc (who Mason hung on every word) said, yeah, that's one way to tell... and then went on with the point to his story.
     Later that day on the way home Mason must have been pondering this for awhile because he mentioned it later in the car and said, "Grandpa is full of the Holy Ghost too because his hair has a lot of white in it." I asked him if only people with white hair have the Holy Ghost and he told me that I have some of the Holy Ghost with me because I have some white hair under my hair dye. Then we talked a little about how you get the gift of the Holy Ghost and what that meant...
     Today, I picked up our beagle mix dog (Ripley), cradled her like a baby, and walked into the sunroom where all the kids were sitting around talking. Mason walked up to me, started petting Ripley, pointed to her white fur and said, "Mom, Ripley's got some Holy Ghost in here too!"


     And on a completely unrelated topic, while I was typing this Mason announced that when he grows up he's going to be a lazy old grandpa. Love my family!

Happy New Year!


-Karen

The Family's MIP

Last night at dinner we were asking David and Mason about their day and what they each did and learner at school. David said he had art and they learner about monochromatic paintings. Mason said he also had art. He then added that in writing that day the assignment was to write about the most important person in the family. I held my breath as I wondered who he would choose out of our family and hoping I wouldn't get my feelings hurt if it wasn't me at this point in his life. So it surprised all of us when he smiled and exclaimed, "So I had to write about Ripley!" For those of you who do not remember from earlier posts, Ripley is our two year old Beagle mix. I thought about asking him who the second most important "person" was in the family but wasn't sure I could handle any more rejection in the same day. So I guess for the moment our MIP (Most Important Pet) is our dear pet, Ripley. -Karen

Our Summer Adventure 2013

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY D.J.!!!

Okay, now before summer is too far gone to tell the tale, this summer was a crazy hectic roller coaster that went by way too quickly.  Here is a recap of some of our favorite adventures. 

First, we bought a new house at the end of May, and then went out of town for annual training for most of June, so we moved a load here and a load there until we were able to get everything moved to the new house.

 

Jillian and DJ spent June and Fourth of July with their mom travelling all over and enjoying their vacation.  David and Mason spent most of June at their dad’s place in San Antonio, Texas, hanging out with him and playing basketball in the driveway.   

 

 

 ROAD TRIP!!!

My friend, Alisha, came for a visit and to help us move (although she did not know about that last part until her tickets were purchased) at the beginning of June so she went along for the ride to meet the boys’ father in Texarkana the first weekend in June.  That is when we solved all the world’s problems that were worth solving, to include changing all the state capitals to coincide with the state’s names (for example, Nevada City, Nevada or Missouri City, Missouri).  We figured this would make things a little simpler for immigrants and third graders (and anyone else who cannot remember what they learned in third grade.  The one exception to this rule would be Arkansas, because once we arrived in Arkadelphia, Arkansas there was no escaping the fact that it needed to be the Arkansas state capital.  I am not sure if we were slap happy from lack of sleep or from standstill traffic through Little Rock, but this all seemed like a fantabulous plan at the time. 

The water tower says, "Akadelphia, A Great Place to Call Home"

(Sounds like a great state capital to me...)         

After dropping the boys off and then finding a hotel room in Arkadelphia (of course), we woke up to hotel waffles (the best!) and then detoured on our way home to visit Graceland. 

 

 

While we were there we signed the sidewalk outside of Graceland,

 

took some pictures,

 

 

and did some souvenir shopping before stopping for lunch and finishing out trek back to Millersville, MO. 

 

The rest of the month went by extremely fast between moving, annual training, and mobilization assistance in New Jersey.  There was a restaurant next to our hotel that was absolutely delicious called Three Brothers (Best Pizza EVER!). 

While I was in NJ with Agnes and Brother Jeremy, we had an opportunity to make our way to Philadelphia (not to be confused with Arkadelphia),

and tour the Masonic Temple...

We also had the opportunity to take the train into New York City our last day before heading home, where we took the boat tour around the Statue of Liberty, visited the 9-11 Memorial, enjoyed lunch, and did some people watching. 

 

 

 

At the end of June our 2010 Ford Flex was wrecked when an accident crashed into us while we were at a stop sign, 

so we began the ever-tedious task of finding another vehicle unexpectedly.  During this adventure we also went to pick Mason and David up from Texarkana, head to the cabin with the family for the Fourth of July, pick up Jillian and DJ for the rest of the summer, and help DJ look up and identify every bug, insect, spider, frog, and lizard he could catch and examine in our new yard. 

Thank goodness we have not found any snakes in our yard yet...

In August we took a mini vacation to St. Louis our only free weekend before school started.  We took all the kids downtown,

 

up into the Arch,

out for Ted Drewes Frozen Custard,

and then stayed the night at a hotel with an indoor pool for the kids to swim and play and swim some more.  Then we spent all day Sunday at the zoo...

 

 

before heading back home to get ready for the work week (and collapse).













School started WAY too soon this year, and before we knew it David and Mason were back in school and Jillian and DJ were on their way back to Arkansas to get ready to head back to classes as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a grand adventure…

 

 

 

 

-Mom-



School Gets Out in 8 Hours

My husband and I were both out of town at the same time the last couple weeks and my wonderful, dear friend, Alisha, flew in from AZ (en route to OR) and took care of the boys, our animals, and our house while we were gone.  Last Wednesday morning, this was posted on her facebook page:

Alisha wrote: "First conversation of the day @ 6:30am. Pre-coffee, Post sleeping pill: 20130911

Me: Hey, Mason what time do you get out of school?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: No, I mean when is school over for the day?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: I know it LASTS for 8 hours but when is it over?
Mason: OH! You mean not including after school care?
Me: Yes. Not including after school care.
Mason: 8 hours
Me: OK, let me explain; Let's say Mommy has to be to work at 8am, and she can't leave until 5pm. What time does school let you leave if you don't go to after care?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: I understand that part. I need to know when I can come pick you up.
David (trying to be helpful): My school gets out at like 3 or 4.
Mason: You can pick me up any time after 8 hours.
Me: Never mind. I'll ask your mom.