8 random things about me

1. I have tons of freckles everyone who has seen me knows that, but on my left hand there is one giant freckle, that luckily helped me remember that it was my left hand. "Students please raise your right hand" yikes stay calm Lesley just look for the freckle. "Now if everyone could please turn to their left" casually stretch your fingers Lesley oh yeah there's the freckle. Man I love that beauty mark!

2. I love a good practical joke, at least the ones I pull :) Once I convinced my Biology teacher in High school that I was on the wrestling team. He said girls don't wrestle, I replied with don't you read the newspaper they have written about me. Then when they announced over the PA that the wrestling team was excused for the rest of the day for a tournament I collected my things and he wished me luck. The list goes on National candle day, a deaf interpreter...remember it is only lying if you don't correct it within in 24 hours otherwise its just a great joke!

3. I have a secret stash of Whoppers in my sock drawer. Some days it is what carries me through, the knowledge that a little malt and sweet loving chocolate will be there.

4. I love thrift stores! Unfortunately in Benson I have only located one. Parkin goes through shoes like mad out here, I got these shoes for 50 cents!

Luckily the laundry mat that I go to (there are two in Benson, I patronize the classy one, yes there is a difference) has a rack of used clothes for only 25 cents! This is Bella modeling her new dress. I clean my clothes while I shop, how great is that!

5. I am a talk radio junkie. My parents would always listen growing up and it would drive me crazy not listening to music in the car, luckily Holman and Parkin don't mind...yet.

6. The theme song to Murder She wrote instantly soothes my soul and puts a smile on my face.

7. My favorite day of the week is Thursday. The anticipation that the weekend is near (the weekend is never quite as relaxing or fun as I imagine it to be) but come Thursday its time to think of what might be.

8. Since downsizing to a 23ft by 8ft home I only do 4 loads of laundry every six days. This is a picture of my kids dressers, they each have three drawers worth of clothes (the girls do have a couple of dresses hanging in a portable armoire (compliments of Sarah downsizing). Oh yeah who wouldn't trade their comfy home with running water and electricity for only four loads of laundry for a family of six! I have such a blessed life ;)

Top ten things I have learned from using a Port-a-Potty

10. Don’t look down! Whatever happens don’t look down.

9. If you find that you are compelled to look down, open the door and walk backwards, this will remind you under no circumstances to look down.

8. If you know it will be a quick visit, take several deep breaths before entering and then hold the last breath and make a race out of it. You will be a winner if you can make it without breathing.

7. If you know it will not be a quick visit, it is socially acceptable to tie a handkerchief to your face before entering. You will be glad you took the special effort.

6. Treat the people that dump crap for a living like heroes! They are doing what most wouldn’t ever dare to do. Man I love those guys, their visit is the most anticipated service call ever.

5. The closer the John not always the better, sometimes a healthy distance can be worth the walk especially if the Heroes aren’t coming for a few more days.

4. A cleaned out port-a-potty isn’t always ideal. When it is cleaned out they add more liquid, when there is more liquid it splashes better……enough said….too much said.

3. Because of this splashing effect, it is sometimes ideal to squat. You may say that you always squat over a port-a -potty toilet, but when you are using a port-a-potty as your sole source of toilet use that practice is soon forgotten, unless it has just been cleaned out. Then squatting is a must!

2. Teaching the kids to keep the lid down is no less hard out in the wild, but the consequences are a whole lot more! Keep the lid down.

1. Don’t look down! Whatever happens don’t look down!

What I really miss........ and what I love to have

Electricity! Not having running water has not been that big of a deal, but no electricity has been quite the adjustment! We can haul water with no problem, hand pump water is not that big of a deal, bucket showers and camping showers no problem! But no electricity, no cooling, lights, crock pots, refrigeration that my friend is hard! I have made a chocolate cake in a solar oven that was fun! But I miss brownies done in 20 minutes. So Jen this list is for you a list of what we have eaten for dinner these last few weeks: spaghetti, burgers, mac in cheese, grilled chicken, baked potatoes, nachos, pasta, pasta, pizza and more pizza to name a few. Another big change is all the dish washing hand pumped water to wash oh yeah!

You have never seen a group of people so excited to have a portapotty! Enough said on that one ;)

Counrty Chauffeur

It was so awesome, Suzie and I had had enough of driving the kids to school, and were ready to have the kids ride the bus. We talked to the school and signed the kids up for them to come home on the bus. Then right around the time that we would normally arrive home from picking them up from school the kids come running up to the tent. We were surprised to find a 15 passenger van at our driveway. The driver comes out and explains that he is the director of transportation for Benson school and he will be picking the kids up at our property in the morning and dropping them off at the property in the afternoon. No Bus stop, a chauffeur! Unfortunately he said they will be reworking the bus schedule and the chauffeur service would not last forever, bummer. What a classy school instead of telling us to take the kids to school until they have it worked out they cater to us, sweet.

Nature up close and personal

The kids have loved being in the nature. They have literally played for hours in our wash. One of the neighborhood kids came over with her pet goat and Liv went up to her and said, is that a lama? No Liv, that is a goat. City kid.

Later Bella had found two dragon flies mating, Benjamin told her that that was what was happening, so she chucked them on Livvey who freaked out. Benjamin said don't worry there married, then Bella said, there was no bug going, buzz buzz your married buzz buzz.

Nothing like country learning.

Moving on up to a trailer park

I mean RV park! Benjamin swears there is a difference. Hmmm it is classy living no matter what you call it. When we found out that getting the electricity to the land could take upwards of 5 weeks we had to go with plan D i mean B. As I look around my beautiful house and think of what the next couple of months, shoot maybe a year will bring, I have a lot of heart palpitations. Actually i can't wait to experience trailer park living, honestly. What really gives me heart palpitations is packing up. It is one thing to pack up to move to a new house it is an entirely different to pack up to live in 1/13th of what I am living in now. My kitchen has shrunk by ......it hurts to do the math on that one. I can't remember who wanted me to blog on what I will be cooking, the more I think on that one the more interesting (and pathetic) that could be. I am very excited that the Olympics are coming, I may be living in a box air conditioned mind you, but at least I have those feel good overcoming obstacles stories that the Olympics inevitable show. Let's hear it for electricity. I need to find my happy place and learn to channel it in small confining places with a dog that doesn't like me. I do love our land and can't wait to be tenting it out there. Tent life never looked so good. Say a prayer for me on this most adventurous week yet!

PS We have sold our oven and dishwasher, two major conveniences gone. That is an interesting way of life. Anything short term is bearable.

Seven 11 Slurpee Suprise

When I was younger every time my grandparents came to visit us from SLC, grandpa would take us to go get a Slurpee. We could get the biggest size we wanted and any flavor (back then it was just cherry and coca cola to choose from). It was an awesome tradition. To make things better Grandpa would then let us tell him how to get home. We would try our best to get him lost so that we could prolong the drive and have a good laugh when he would obediently follow our direction. Little did we know that Grandpa knew Tucson roads better than any native Tucsonan and we weren't fooling him at all. Such a little tradition provided such a great memory. Well today my Grandpa turned 88 on 7/11 . Imagine my delight when Benjamin called me up to tell me that Seven 11 gives free Slurpee's on this day to celebrate their store. Check out this site that gives the history of the Slurpee http://slurpee.com/ I laughed thinking of how it is such a great tribute to my Grandpa that we take the kids to get a Slurpee. I called him up to wish him happy birthday and told him about the promotion and promised to take pictures to send him. Free Slurpee's are already really awesome but they also served Costco cake, yippee! Here are the pics.

oh yeah check out that awesome hair :)

So happy Birthday Grandpa, here is to a great comedian, a fantastic supporter (he would cheer me on in high school basketball and get a kick out of me fouling out -which I did often) he has a wonderful legacy of Faith and hard work (Bella' is named after Grandpa's hardworking farming parents Isabell and Julius, thus Isabella Jules ). We Love you!