Chaperone? Me? Why Sure!

- Friday, August 5, 2011

Once upon a time, a long time ago the "teenage" Clawson cousins had a reunion. I was on my mission at the time and heard a wonderful report of the event. Naturally, when the occasion rose to have the next group of teenagers reunite, I  volunteered to help "chaparone" the event.  I use the term "chaperone"  loosely because we all know that went to play and have fun, BUT, I do have a reputation for bringing order amidst chaos, thus I became officially useful.  


I flew to San Diego July 6th and arrived just in the time for the second batch of relatives to be shuttled up to Laguna Beach.  The teenagers and 8 Gallands who lived there were enjoying themselves thoroughly (water, sand, video games, playground, you name it.... actually, I don't know exactly what they were doing, but I assume it was fun).  Without too much delay we changed into nice clothes, loaded up the van (again),  and somehow managed to find the Ahmanson Theater in downtown LA (a feat.  let me tell you.)  The production of Les Miserables was spectacular!  A few of the cousins had read the book in school, and one in particular had fallen in love and begged to see the play all summer (thus, it was included at "cousin camp").  It was my second time seeing Les Miz (professional) and it was very well done.  Just as much fun as watching it was watching all the kids get excited for it and enjoy it, and showing off my knowledge of the pit orchestra. 
building bricks to start San Diego
The next day was "Down town San Diego".  We were down to about 9 kids at this point.  Which, you'd think, would make it easier for us 3 adults to keep track of.  In the hot sun we toured the old streets, ate fresh tortillas and then ice cream, and in an air conditioned building we learned about the Mormon Battalion (an awesome visitors center! a must see!).  The boys sailed on a world famous sailboat while the girls SHOPPED at Seaport Village. We did the Maritime tour together, discovering what life was like on a submarine or 1900 iron sailboat.  I found it, intriguing. I also found some motherly skills surfacing as I counted heads every 5 minutes and kept asking for people to pose as I clicked away.  
The day finished with In&Out burgers, pool time, and you tube videos.




the girls posing as "sailboats"

This ship was used in Master and Commander and Pirates IV



i love their smiles in this one!

too cool




the greedy seals were great fun to throw/hand fish to
Friday we met Shamu!!   SeaWorld was awesome!  We got there pretty early and stayed until the park closed at 11.  We ran around watching the animals and trainers and acrobats perform, eating food (Grandma got everyone the all-day meal pass, which we put to good use), getting splashed on Shipwreck rapids, saving Atlantis, finding arctic animals, feeding seals, and wandering around construction.  We only lost 2 kids! And they both found us later on, so I consider the day a success.  Fireworks and a dance party finished off the exausting day.  I think the boys would say the Atlantis Dance Club was the best part (with those Australian girls who came over to dance with them as soon as the girl cousins left).  It was hilarious!



Moral of the story is:  I love teenagers.  I can't say this has always been true.  Usually babies and toddlers are my favorite.  I love all kids, but seem to prefer the little ones.  After this weekend I have found the joy in teenagers.  They are smart. They are funny. They are willing to make mistakes and learn from them.  They are trying to be kind and think of others first. They are very opinionated about music.  They are friends.  They are my cousins.  




Happiest Cruise On Earth

- Tuesday, July 12, 2011



We have been counting down to this trip for over 6 months!  It finally came, and is now, sadly, over.  We had an incredible time on our Disney Cruise with the Murray family.  The memories are sure to last a lifetime.   I did a lot of behind the scenes “travel agent” work for all 15 of us, and I admit I  enjoyed it.  Perhaps I’ll have a budding career in tourism, or maybe I’ll just get to plan every family reunion. 

DAY 0:  Fly to Orlando! Arrived in Orlando  in at midnight, pizza delivered to our hotel, adjusted to the time change, and tried to sleep.



DAY 1:  Boarded the Disney Dream!  Our shuttle picked all the family from our various hotels and airports, and we happily bounced along to Port Canaveral.  Disney Cruise Line has it’s own terminal there, they even have couches and show Disney cartoons in the waiting lounge.  Very nice, family oriented.  Once on board we….. I don’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure we toured the ship.  Oh wait, we ate lunch first.  Yes. Lunch at Cabanas (the everything you can imagine buffet).    It was great!  We all had a pretty hard time finding each other and finding where things were at first.   A comedy/juggling show finished off the evening (though the 8 year old volunteer ran back to the audience after being told they would juggle bowling balls above him while he laid on the floor).  

me and Mums (crush in background)

DAY 2:  Castaway Cay!  This place is incredible!  Sailing Hobiecats and snorkeling were our favorite activities on the island today.  We people watched, fish watched, and character watched; sat in the sun, played in the sand, and swam in the warm , blue Bahimian water.  For lunch we ate delicious fresh fruit and BBQ’d meat on the island.  Our dinner was at Animators Palette.  I don’t know if I can adequately describe how decked out this place is in animation and constantly changing movie screens.  Crush (the REAL turtle) even swam up to us on screen and chatted with our family.   He is so funny!  Bjorn’s favorite meal of wild boar was tonight.


DAY 3:  Nassau will be a nice city… when they finish it.   Welcome to a developing country.  This place was HOT HOT HOT.  And no pools to jump in.  My sister reminded us repeatedly that tourism is one of the main sources of income for this country, so we diligently toured a famous staircase and bought some unique souvenirs- just to help them out J.   Back on deck, Pirate night was a blast!  I never realized how normal it could feel to walk around a cruise ship with a bandana, earring, striped shirt…..and don’t forget the glow stick bracelets!  Everyone else dressed in similar attire to enjoy the Pirate themed fireworks show and then dance party. What fun!  It was great to be with all my siblings (parents retired earlier for the night), we felt like we were at a Stake Dance again.
PirateMom
when you're a professional pirate....


Bjorn keeping cool in Nassau




DAY 4:  “At sea” AKA “try to find ways to keep yourself cool”.  We didn’t follow this advice in the morning, but rather caused near heat stroke with a family game of basketball and mini golf on deck 12.  But we stayed indoors in the afternoon.  “Golden Mickey’s” show was followed by family karaoke (Disney songs of course…. Did I mention that we became overdosed with Disney songs daily?  That is all that plays on the overhead speaker, constantly.  Good thing I like these songs!).  Dinner at the Enchanted Garden required some dressing up, which we were glad to do.  Sometimes after three days of swim suits, shorts, and saltwatered hair it feels good to don a dress and  a bit of make-up.  Bjorn and I finally made it onto the Aquaduck near midnight.  I give it 3.5 stars.  Exciting, but not worth too long of a wait.
the girls

DAY 5:  Last chance to stowaway at castaway cay.  It didn’t work unfortunately, but we had an outstanding hobie cat experience.  Complete with people falling off the boat and one true capsize.  Water rushing all around us, wind in our face. Jumping from side to side to keep the boat balanced.  We likely got up to 10 knots!  It was epic.  Yoga on the beach was only so-so… the sand is not quite as comfortable as a yoga mat, and the snorkeling was still stupendous.  Bjorn really came to love snorkeling, he had never had an enjoyable experience before.  It was fun for me to watch him get so excited about it.  We bid our waiters farewell this final evening…. It was akin to an EFY group saying good bye to their counselors!   We weren’t that bad, but some tables around us were in the group hugs and picture taking stage. 

DAY 6:  Disembark our beautiful ship, and sadly, slowly (we hired the cheapest shuttle we could find, which apparently meant the one with the most frequent stops), we made  our way to the condo.  It was actually nice to have a relaxing day, I’ll admit.  And a nice, basic meal of spaghetti that lasted less than 2 hours.  We had a competitive game of volleyball (10 people is such a good number to play with) and then did our souvenir shopping at downtown Disney. 

the ultimate lego store: each box has a different color and size of lego piece
DAY 7:  I can’t completely describe the insanity of this day.  We “did” (meaning, we hit the highlights of)  all 4 Disney World theme parks in one day.  How we accomplished this , I am still not sure.  We did have a magic phone app. that let us know wait times and fast pass times.  We did have a lot of water and were even given ice chips from the Disney food vendors.  We did go on as many water rides as we could find.  We did drive our rental cars between 3 of the parks, and took the monorail once.  We did hit Expedition Everest and the new Star Wars (lots of rebel spies in our family!).   And we did go on at least 10 thrill rides (roller coasters and drop rides) throughout the course of the day.  We ended up with only minimal blisters, and a boat full of memories.
my favorite park this time around
giraffe at Animal Kingdom


more animals at AK


Biker Chic

- Wednesday, June 8, 2011

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Memorial Day weekend means going on a bike.  This has been a tradition in my family for years. Bjorn and I upped it this year with TWO bike rides over the weekend.   I'll let him tell about Saturday's:

Last year, whilst looking for an adventure, we took our bikes to millcreek canyon (i believe there is a blog about it somewhere nearby).   We loved the trail so much that we decided to go again.  Last year we went over the july 4th holiday and the upper half of the canyon had just opened, having forgotten that altogether, we drove as far as we could and figuring that it can't be too much farther to the pipeline trailhead, we unloaded the bikes and started riding.  We rode about half a mile before Coleen decided walking the bikes was a better idea.  Soon after it was time for me to walk both bikes and about a mile and a half-ish from the car we made it to the trail (conveniently coleen was convinced it was only a 1/2 mile up canyon ride).
The pipeline trail is a 14 mile overall, down hill cycle trail that hugs a very steep canyon wall 9/10ths of the time.   It has some steep rocky bits and a lot of fun winding turns.  There is a set of switchbacks about halfway that requires skidding the rear tire to make or you can get off and walk.  Coleen took the entire ride like a champ she even did the crazy whoops perfectly until we got to the last 1/10th which is very steep, very technical, and has many rocks, steps, and minor drop-offs. this part of the trail is called rattlesnake.
I found it exciting and adventurous, it was an absolute blast.  Coleen found it, well, less enjoyable, and my bike brakes found it hot (turns out that hydraulic disk breaks are prone to heating if used constantly, they started turning colors so we stopped and let them cool for a bit).  It was a great  way to spend a few morning.

click here to view pictures

Monday rolled around cool and damp with not a whole ton of sun shine-y promise.  Still, people were counting on us!  We had committed to go.  Our group of 10 met at the parking lot to the entrance of Provo Canyon, and 2 more members met us at the top of Bridal Veil Falls.  It was a somewhat  trecherous ride up.  Definitley cool weather, a lot of rain, some hail, and a bit of wind.   Luckily most of us have ridden the trail before (many times before) so we knew how quick the trip could be, and weren't as bothered by the hail and wind.  Some did threaten to turn back, but we all made it to the Falls eventually.. Happily, just moments before our arrival, the sun began to peek out over the clouds! We played around the waterfall, hiking up and down and soaking up the sun.  The trail down was quick and sunfilled. The Provo River Trail is beautiful!  I love riding through the trees next to a roaring river (the highest I've ever seen the water this year).  Thank you, nature.
 

to Zion and Beyond

- Saturday, May 14, 2011

<3


Another getaway weekend for the Grahams!  I am very lucky to get to spend a weekend with just me and my husband. Of course this wasn't spontaneous- I'm way too much of a planner for that.  We had a hotel in Saint George and also tried to see the Grand Canyon, but spent most of our time in Zion National Park.

our first stop was a hike down the road and into the river off a scenic overlook
 not a real trail

the end of "watchman" hike



my hot husband


celebratory jump on completing the hike

obedient as always


a real town just outside of Zion's Park

Zion's was very different from what I remembered of my last visit 15+ years ago. They have become very eco-friendly.  Which I guess, is a good thing.  They don't allow bottled water to be sold in the park, they have free "water bottle filling stations" the water of which has been naturally purified by 400 feet of sandstone (*read* a little bit of grit in the water).  They also don't allow cars into the upper half of the park during the spring/summer and instead have a system of busses that run on propane to take tourists around.
the waterfalls of emerald pools

I loved the waterfalls on this trip!  The maps couldn't promise us any, but the visitors guide says waterfalls can just appear out of nowhere.  Stopping and starting due to flash floods miles away.  I was HOPING to get to see at least one, and we saw quite a few!  We even saw one stop via the wind blowing the water up and over another direction.  Very cool. 




the vibrant green of this algae caught my attention

Bjorn was very sad to not be able to hike the narrows.  It's pretty obvious why the trail was closed.

this is the rock where a waterfall WAS moments before we took the picture

tired feet.... happy to have a sandal tan!! 

A weekend of inspiration

- Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I love General Conference for two reasons.  A)  getting to hear from our wonderful prophet and the great counsel and stories and advice and ideas and inspiration from many many general authorities. B) getting to eat crepes with my hubby and hang out with my family (well, those in Utah) all weekend long.

For the past 2 General Conferences we've had my sister come play in SLC with us, attend a session, and have a sleepover. This year I even got a girls only shopping trip to the Park city outlets during Priesthood session!  it was amazing.  

Showing off the necklace I made at the children's section of the church history museum

 "Women by divine nature have the greater gift and responsibility for home and children and nurturing there and in other settings....Sisters have key roles in the Church, in family life, and as individuals that are essential in Heavenly Father’s plan. Many of these responsibilities do not provide economic compensation but do provide satisfaction and are eternally significant."  -Elder Cook 


i love these new sandals:)


 my husband just likes to take pictures of me...
 "The most important attribute of Heavenly Father and of His Beloved Son that we should desire and seek to possess within our lives is the gift of charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47). From this gift springs our capacity to love and to serve others as the Savior did."  -Elder Ballard 
Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done." -Lynn G. Robbins

Since Bjorn and I are living in SLC, but don't plan to be here forever, we make a point to at least go to Temple Square, if not one of the sessions, every April and October.  It is wonderful to see so many LDS people all together in one place, and just bask in the spirit of conference. I also love watching it in PJ's from the comfort of our own home.   Good thing there are several sessions- we generally watch it somewhere different for each one!

National Poetry Month

- Tuesday, April 12, 2011





.......is April, in case you didn't know.  
In honor of this great not-oft-celebrated "holiday", I'll share with you lucky readers some of my favorite poems.  


I have loved Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ever since hearing quotes of his as a teen.  I read a biography of Longfellow last year and stuck an "artist spotlight" into our family night that week.  That is when I came across this great poem,  a tribute to Florence Nightingale and nurses everywhere.


Admittedly, most of my favorite poems come from songs.  I mean, how much more creative can you get rhyming analysis, dialysis, and pal, a sis[ter] ?   Although,  "But where they had really missed the boat is:  we're great guys but no seems to notice"  come in a close second.  Of course Disney's on the list as well, and how much more fun can you have than repeating the "Speed Test" over and over, faster and faster.....

My favorite love poem of all time also comes from a song.  Our High School choir sang "My True Love Hath My Heart", and only later on did I learn it was first a Sonnet penned by Sir Phillip Sidney (whomever that is).  

And on a Spiritual note I have always found humility in this one by Michael McClain:

What I Need

All I ever wanted,
All I ever dreamed of,
Everything I hoped and all the things I prayed for
Couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given,
I've been given what I need.

A mansion on the hill or love like in the movies
Perfect little lives, where no one has a problem
Instead of all those things I thought I really wanted
I've been given what I need.

Even when I didn't understand,
When I thought you had no heart,
Thank you for rejecting my demand
And always giving me the better part.
All I ever wanted,
All I ever dreamed of,
Everything I hoped and all the things I prayed for
Couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given
I've been given what I need.

I am still an amateur poetry connoisseur and welcome suggestions of various pieces YOU have found entertaining, enlightening, informative, etc.  

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