THE STONE HAS ARRIVED

Yesterday Addison and Shae came barging into the Treehouse. I couldn't imagine what was going on and fortunately I was not on the platform. It was Dandy Don's Christmas Variety Hour weekend and I was free of responsibility.

Addison was frantic because she could not pee. She said her bladder was full but only drips were slipping out and she felt as if she had to go urgently. She was pale and in obvious pain. I went with her to the bathroom, turned on the facets and encouraged her to try again. Nothing. I sent her home to take her pain meds and Scott promptly called the doctor. Hmm. No fever and the pain was in her bladder so he said keep trying to pee and call him in the morning. Creative medical advice.

We spent the afternoon pacing and waiting to see what the next step would be and sure enough we were not through with this journey. Addison kept moving and trying to empty her bladder and kept getting, to say the least, little trickels of urine.

It was close to 8:00pm when Addison screamed out my name and I went bounding up the stairs. Yep. Her stone had finally arrived and she captured it with her little strainer as she peed a healthy, steady stream. It was about 4mm long and about the diameter of a fork tine and very jagged. We put it in a jar and will deliver it to the lab soon. She has taken pictures and has been sharing the story everywhere. It has been quite the adventure for her and the family.

I wonder what it will be like when she delivers her first baby.

A JACK ATTACK

Hope R. had baby sitting fun on Friday night. She watched Hope G. and Jack at our house. There were movies, popcorn, ice cream, knitting and running all evening long. I gave Hope G. lessons in knitting and Jack gave me lessons on sounds that one little boy can make.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was the movie of choice and Jack loved the "abdominal snow monster". Phinias and Ferb were also enjoyed and it has to be said, I don't understand the enthusiasm for this particular TV delight.

Jack did check out all the Roderick house bathrooms, just to make sure they were all in proper functioning order. Jack's aim gets better ever time he uses a toilet although he under shot one time and soiled his jeans and would not, very loudly, refused to put on a substitute pair of pants that were girls.

He finally crashed in a heap on the floor as Hope R. and Hope G. continued to watch another Christmas movie without him.

The Roderick's loved their "Jack Attack" and look forward to another very soon.

RECYCLED CHRISTMAS 2010

Christmas has been gently tucked away in our minds and we have bid a fond farewell to 2010. That is all that is left of our recycled Christmas experiment. The girls have decided that the idea was great in theory but not so much in reality.

The recycled skirts did not work out at all . . . bust. The recycled charms were met with a chill but kept none the less. The recycled flannel shirts were a 50 - 50 shot. The recycled handbags were accepted by only one. The personal Starbucks cards were greeted with great enthusiasm as was the yarn for future sweaters. Gift cards to tradeasone.com were met with skepticism.

The annual gift from Dad was exciting and brand, spankin' new (the only new gift for 2010). Each girl recieved her yearly bottle of perfume.

Now I must start plotting Christmas 2011. Any suggestions?

IT'S A 50'S THING: #14

It was snowing . . . hard. It was cold . . . really cold. It was getting bad . . . brutal.

Time to stop at the foot of the mountain and put the old chains on the Highlander. Now it had been awhile since Scott attempted to put chains on a car, but Hope was out and willing to give her old dad a helpful hand.

They had the chains out of the car as I was calmly knitting and they had their cute snow covered heads together planning their strategy. I was impressed.

Suddenly, they joined Addison and I in the car. When questioned why they had jumped in the car they both replied "It's too cold out there and too snowy."

Wait. What. Why?

Scott paid a guy $20.00 to put his chains on for him. In your 50's you can afford to do that.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #13

Scott did a little yard clean up this afternoon. I walked out to ask if he would get the tomatos that didn't ripen and I would put them on the counter. Perhaps we could salvage them. I watched as he picked them for me. He handed them to me and said "they'll either ripe or rot".

Really. What other choices do they have babe?

IMMEDIATE BLOGGING

This is one of those rare stories that requires immediate blogging or the moment will evaporate.

Addison scheduled her follow up doctors appointment for her kidney stone and asked if I would join her for medical support. I agreed and off we went for the 11:00am meeting with the doc.

Her doctor came in, checked Addi's vitals and did some tapping here and there. Addison, being herself, was chatting her up and down. "I just want this thing out of me" Addi said. The doctor said it could take 6 to 8 weeks but they prefer kidney stones be passed instead of some invasive procedure. Addison reluctantly accepted her fate and waited for further instructions.

The doctor prescribed Tylenol 3 in lieu of the vicadin, which was wreaking havoc on Addi's tummy. She also prescribed Flomax. Yes. Flomax. I knew what this was but I couldn't understand why it was being prescribed to my daughter and Addi had no idea. The doctor proceeded to explain to Addison that this drug would increase the diameter of her urether (sp) so that she could more easily pass the stone. She then added that the meds are for elderly men with prostate challenges. "You're kidding me right" was Addison's immediate reply. Her facial expression was a shock and awe sort of thing.

The conversation continued with the funnel strainer, coffee filters and a sweet little jar to keep her stone in so that it could be delivered to the lab. Every time you use the bathroom you must tinkle through the strainers and, well, needless to say, Addison is not happy with this current situation. It is really going to cramp her style.

I am picking up the prescription and coffee filters this afternoon. She keeps the filters with her as a disposable method of capture. I am going to write little notes to her on all of them.

Addison's reaction to her perceived medical nightmare. Priceless.

NOTE TO SELF

As many of you know I am an avid knitter. Love it. I go everywhere with my needles, yarn and projects of many shapes and sizes. I was not, however, prepared for the challenges of knitting with hunting dogs.

Gersey is the cutest little beagle you have ever seen and Fresca is about the most laid back lab I have ever encountered. Until I brought out my knitting.

I am used to flopping down in a chair with my bag on the floor next to me and knitting away the hours. I get up here and there to do a chore or two and go back and pick up where I left off, no worries.

This happens at my house, no issues at all.

Apparently it does not happen at the Pearson abode.

I got up to go chat with Scott and Marybeth in the kitchen, leaving my knitting unattended. That's when she struck. She grabbed a skein of wool yarn (wool comes from sheep that have a very interesting scent to a beagle I discovered) and took off lickety split, sprinting through the house.

Marybeth took off after her and Gersey decided game on. Scott took off after Marybeth trying to head Gersey off while Fresca just enjoyed romping around everyone else. My yarn was quickly spider webbing the first floor of the house. During all of this chaos, the sounds were facinating. Barking, name calling, laughing. Marybeth finally retrieved my yarn, much to Gersey and Fresca's dismay. No damage incurred while playing the "game".

Every once in a while I caught Gersey eyeing my yarn and contemplating making another move on it . . . don't even think about it girl.

ADDISON & HER STONE

Addison has a kidney stone. She is mortified. She googled kidney stones and was scared out of her mind. They really are grotesque in appearance. She wants this thing out of her yesterday.

Two extremly painful episodes and one trip to the ER and her friend is still with her.

The kidney stone saga will continue because, well you know, we're Roderick's. It's what we do.

SHOPPING MEDFORD STYLE

It was 3:30am the day after Thanksgiving and a I hear small tap on our bedroom door. A faint voice says, "Cindy, time to go shopping". Marybeth is the mother of 3 boys and she was the first one up and ready to go hit the sales in Medford. She knocked on everyone's door that wanted in on the shopping extravaganza.

Small glitch. Addison awoke and her kidney stone was acting up and she quickly downed a vicadin . . . she was not missing the greatest shopping day of the year. Nothing, I repeat nothing, will stop Adds from a shopping spree. Not even a painful kidney stone.

We had a strategy. It was fail proof. Operation shopping deals was underway.

At precisely 4:10am, MB and myself would drive, entering the mall from the back side to avoid traffic issues. We then proceeded to drop the girls off at Target, each with their assigned list of intended purchases. MB and I parked and hurried into said store. MB headed for a rendevoused with girls and I waited in the huge check out line limiting our wait. They obtained items and met me in line just in time to charge it.

Next stop Macy's for clothes. Lines were managable and we continued to leisurely shop.

At approximately 5:40am we headed for Gap where Shae, Addison and Courtney got in line for opening at 6:00am. They were 1,2,3 in that line. MB, Kelsey, Hope and I went to Starbucks for sustenance for all of us and returned to Gap at 6:10am to a swarm of humanity. It was awesome. We maxed out the register for items purchaseed and had to start another receipt.

Next stop was Harry & David where everything in the store was 25% off. Scott met us there for more damage to our charge card. Then on to Fred Meyer where we purchased socks, at a very good price I might add, and bought a vacuum for Kelsey.

Now home for leftovers, rest and more meds for Addison. It was 11:15am. You do the math. Major shopping spree and none of it was for Christmas, well Marybeth's was.

Rested and rejuvenated, Kelsey, Hope, Marybeth and I hit a specialty yarn shop that I adore. Yep, they all now knit.

We are Roderick.

THANKSGIVING FAVORS

A new tradition began on Thanksgiving Day 2010 at the Pearson homestead. Favors at our TG table will now be Christmas ornaments. Not just any Christmas ornaments.

I will search the world wide web over all year long to find the perfect ornament. No store will be left unscathed by my eyes. I will not stop until my goal is achieved. It will not be an easy task and I do not take this challenge lightly. Many minutes of thought will go into each ornament. I will select it with care making sure that it depicts exactly the sentiment I want to evoke. I will dream of ornaments that will adorn our Thanksgiving table. I have already began my search for next year.

Let the scariest, ugliest, ghastliest, oddest, strangest, ornament search begin.

The ornament will be sitting at each place setting on our table on Thanksgiving Day. Every person in attendance must find the ornament that they think represents them before being seated.

We Roderick's are a twisted bunch. Just ask the Pearson's.

A GERSEY THANKSGIVING

Gersey is quite a gal. She made our Thanksgiving intersting.

We had said the blessing and were enjoying a truly wonderful meal when she struck again. She ran to the window, baying and tail pointed straight out. In dog language, she had seen something outside that she was not comfortable with at all.

Greg and Brad (Marybeth's brother) looked out the window, but saw nothing. They both went through the front door and down to the trail.

Greg and Marybeth live in the mountains on 73 acres of land with a fair amount of wildlife. The rest of us stayed safe and sound in the house, including the Gersey, Fresca and Gamble, Kelsey's dog.

The boys returned with the trail cam to see if anything had crossed the path. It didn't show anything on Thanksgiving Day, but had lots to tell of the several nights before.

Of course, Gersey and Fresca were there many times, but so was other interesting mammals.
A fox, a bobcat, several deer, but my favorite . . . a bear mugging for the camera, smile and all. The best picture ever no kidding.

Hmm. I wonder what Gersey saw?

HOPE & ADDISON . . . LAX TO MEDFORD

Addison and Hope flew into Medford on Thanksgiving Day.

6:30am - on the road to LAX
9:00am - took off for San Francisco
10:00am - landed in San Francisco and spent a considerable amount of time wasting
Noon - took off for Medford
1:00pm - I am waiting to greet them with a loving response

Addison looks at me and says "Can we go shopping tomorrow and by the way this is a really small airport".

Hope grabs my arm and says "Mom, our plane from San Francisco to here had helicopter propellers on the wings that were sideways. It was scary. There were only 25 people on our flight and one flight attendant. Can you believe that? When are we eating?"

As we walked to our car I realized that I forgot where I parked. Yeah. Hard to believe isn't it? It's difficult to find your car when there are not a 1000 other cars to choose from, but this was Medford not LAX.

When Roderick's fly it is always an adventure.

WE STILL REMEMBERED

We pulled into Meford on Tuesday afternoon ready to do some northwest visiting. Scott had served with a volunteer at our church that had been so generous with her knowledge that we thought we'd just drop in on the family.

Problem was, we couldn't remember how to get to their house. We asked a few people at a gas station, because I remembered the name of the street they lived on, but those folks had never heard of the location.

Well nothing to do but drive and see if things started falling into place. Table Rock Road, Gibbon Road and a red 49er's car in the drive way and we were there.

Memory is a funny thing.

A BED AND BREAKFAST

Scott found the most delightful B&B in Eugene, Oregon. Nestled in a pasture on the McKenzie River, we enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep and a quaint northwest breakfast.

I awoke at about 5:30am a tip toed over to the window for some early gazing across the landscape. Incredible. It had snowed during the night and some four legged animal was meandering through the trees. Scott snuck out of bed to stand beside me while we watched the deer as she grazed on grass peeping up through the snow.

Later that morning I spent some time in front of the wood burning stove knitting while Scott read. He is trying to finish "The Voyage of the Dawntreader" before going to the movie.

Breakfast was served . . . hot coffee, fresh fruit and eggs to order. We saw about a dozen birds wandering through the field as we sat by the window eating. We couldn't figure out what kind of feathered friends they were . . . pheasants, peacocks . . . we had no clue.

We asked our host Tom what kind of bird we were looking at. His reply . . . "Wild turkeys".

Curious. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

CRAZYHORRIBLENOGOODNOTFUNLOSTSTUFFTOOHOTDAY!

Oh my goodness. Today has been so stinkin' hot I can't beleive we still live at the beach. Seriously, HB is supposed to get cool ocean breezes. No way today.

And I lost my debit card and my sunglasses. It sounds like a little ditty of a loss, however, when it's hot it is not. The sunglasses were precription and I use my debit card all the time.

One great thing that happened was a gal from Cumberland, Md. contacted me on facebook looking for Shelly. We haven't heard from Beth Ann since 1971. Talk about a blast from the past.

1971. Wow, I am getting O-L-D.

PICS FROM THE ATTIC

These pictures invoke precious memories of days long gone. Our girls have been beauties their whole lives . . . outside, yes. But more importantly, they have an inner beauty that far outweighs the outer.

You are always in our hearts, minds, souls.

ISAAC

Yesterday in the Treehouse we talked about Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. I wanted to make it a little scary for the Halloween holiday so we discussed sacrifice and how that has changed since Bible times. We no longer sacrifice animals but we do make other sacrifices. The kids were so mezmerised by that story I was stunned. Who would have thought?

During parent pick up a little kindergartner came up to me and said "Miss Cindy, Isaac is in my class at school."

I had to explain to him that it was a different Isaac.

I love what I do.

BREAK IN

I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night. That's just how it is at the Roderick house. Kids coming in at various times, noises in the neighborhood, doggies need to go out. Just another night.

This night was odd however. I thought I heard someone down stairs rattling around in the kitchen. I run the list through my head. Hope's in bed. Shae's in bed. Addison's in bed. I know I heard them all come home, say good night and retire to their various rooms. What is going on?

As I tip-toed down the stairs I heard music. Huh, burgulars now listen to music when commiting a criminal act. I guess times they are a changin' just like Bob Dylan said.

As I continued my journey down the stairs, I noticed bright lights were on in the kitchen and the dogs were not barking. This is just weird I thought. D & D would be barking their little heads off if someone they didn't know came into the kitchen. They bark when someone closes a car door.

I peeped around the corner into the kitchen and there by the oven and singing along with her ipod is Shae Elizabeth Roderick baking cookies. "What are you doing baking cookies at 1:30 in the morning" I asked.

Her reply. "I just felt like it".

Will wonders never cease?

DRIVING MOM

It has happened. I knew it was inevitable. It's happened before. It's happened three times before. Another Roderick daughter is driving. The last Roderick daughter is driving. Albeit, still with her dad and mom, but she is behind the wheel, foot on the gas, car in gear, pulling away from the driveway.

Hope was so excited. We went to the DMV, with an appointment of course. She took her birth certificate to the waiting clerk with a smile as only Hope can produce. The clerk smiled back and sent her on to the next window, where she was fingerprinted and asked to pose for the dreadful driver's license picture. Certainly, Hope was ready for this. She had been forwarned by friends and sisters. Following the picture she was sent to testing. FAIL!

Two weeks later we arrived at the DMV, with an appointment of course. Hope went directly to testing and passed with flying colors. She's been driving ever since. Every time we go anywhere she wants to be behind the wheel. She is safe and aware. She is becoming a good driver.

Actually, she's the best of all the girls. Or maybe I'm just getting used to driving with the Roderick daughters.

JEEP

Addison was hanging out with a friend on Sunday night at said friend's house. The girls decided to go out for a little while and ran and got in Adds Jeep Commander. Addison is messing around, as she's been known to do, assuming her car is in park. She's talking and laughing paying no attention at all until the thud.

She had indeed put her car in reverse and rolled, no backed, right into the neighbors car. His small car. His whole door is dented in on the drivers side and the Commander now has a cracked bumper.

Addison thinks she is just going to pay for it all and not go through our insurance. She wants to avoid a rate hike. She got the estimate yesterday for her car only. She's decided she needs to go through our insurance. Her car alone is $1200.00.

Oh, honey. Chalk it up to another learning experience.

SCOTT'S NEW DO

I have been cutting Scott's hair for 15 years and usually I do a pretty good job. Not always.

Last week I was cutting his hair with the new clippers. All kinds of gadgets and thingamajigs. He gave me the huge guide and I cut without incident. It's kind of a no brainer with the guide attachment.

Time for the cleaning up of the hair line and we're done. Scott gets the next attachment ready and hands it to me. I gently start trimming in the front with the guide, not knowing that it is different than our old clippers. Very different.

I cut his whole right sideburn competely off.

He now has really short hair. On a high note, it is even because of the "guide".

IT'S A 50'S THING: #12

Hair Clippers. We thought we bought them the last time we went to Costco. Didn't we? We looked everywhere. Bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, garage. We couldn't locate them. Scott finally decided that we intended to buy them but we didn't for whatever reason.

So, he didn't get a haircut that week.

Next shopping trip to Costco we bought clippers. As we unloaded the car, we grabbed the hair clippers and set them on the island in the kitchen. I got busy doing this and that and didn't get them put away before dinner.

Addison and her friend Mike came in and sat down at the table. Mike walked over to the sink and all of a sudden everything went silent. Mike got Addison's attention and pointed to the clippers. The next thing I know, Addison is calling my name and asking me why I bought clippers. "Dad and I couldn't find the ones we thought we bought a while ago, so we bought those at Costco today" I replied. By this time I was back in the kitchen and Addison starts laughing. "Mom, I took the other clippers to Mike's house to cut his hair. I just haven't brought them back yet."

Are you kidding me? We thought we had lost our minds. Daughters.

HOPE'S NEW HAIR

Well, now it's official.

All of the Roderick girls have, one time or another, gone brunette. Yep, now it's Hope's turn. I can not get used to her hair. My last little blonde. Check out her facebook pictures to see the new look.

By the way, I am once again, a blonde.

DHN TURNS 50

Our very good friend Don turned fifty this month of October. His wifey threw him a surprise birthday party and it was Scott and my task to get him there unbeknownst to him. This is what transpired on that day.

3:00pm - Cherylynn calls Scott to relay information. Don has come home early and has left the house and is on his way to meet at the church . . . Scott hurries out the door of our house to head Don off with many distractions at said new building.

4:00pm - Cherylynn calls Cindy and asks if she has heard anything from the boys and to inform her that it is raining all over the party products . . . ha, it never rains in southern California. The mission is adjusted accordingly.

5:00pm- Scott calls Cindy to give an eta at the Roderick home . . . right on schedule.

5:30pm - Boys arrive to pick Cindy up for dinner and Cindy feigns homesickness for Shae . . . insists everyone sit down and view the graduation DVD . . . after that presentation, Scott retires to the bathroom . . . following that diversion, Cindy retires to the bathroom . . . we are to arrive at the destination point at 6:15pm.

6:00pm - Addison calls Cindy and says try to stretch it to 6:30pm . . . we are running out of options. Cindy pulls out the dog barking notice and discuss the ramifications with Don and Scott.

6:15pm - We saunter out to Don's car and Cindy forgets sunglasses . . . discussion in car about the need for sunglasses on a cloudy day . . . it is decided that they are not needed and travel to rendevous point ensues.

6:25pm - Don, Scott and Cindy get out of car and enter home . . . "SURPRISE" echos throughout the abode while Don stands there with a puzzled look on his face. Words can not describe his glee.

Mission 50 years old, complete.

MUD

We were at Glen Ivy Spa. Me, Holly, Phyllis, Anne Marie, Donna, Sue and Kim. Just us gals. I don't know what I expected but let me tell you the mud was great.

We arrived around 10:30am and went straight to the locker room, changed, grabbed a towel and headed for the mud pool. You read right, pool full of runny mud. Or there was also an area with mist and a mound of thick mud you grabbed from and covered yourself red. Seriously.

So we start looking for lawn chairs for staking out our claim with towels. I found several and Anne Marie said "Not that one Cindy, it's all muddy." Okay. Wait. What. Yeah. Everything is muddy. Gotta love her.

Once we were covered red we went into this rock sauna, similar to a sweat lodge where people have been known to die. We are all sitting there with sweat pouring off of us. I know, it sounds really gross, and it is if you think about it, but we just wanted our skin to feel like a babies behind again. My bff's and I will do anything for beauty. We laughed so much I think we spent a bunch a calories . . . another plus for the day.

After the perspiration marathon, we all go back outside and start grooming one another, rubbing off all that red clay. It was like a sand blaster came through and revved up for a big job. Red dust everywhere.

Then came the relaxing shower with Glen Ivy products that smelled delightful. We did shower separatly. We have our dignity to guard.

So fun. If you've never experienced this, just do it.

GLEN IVY

A day one can only wish for occasionally . . . a day with your bff's . . . a day where you have nothing to do but relax . . . yep, Glen Ivy Spa.

I went for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was heaven. We started our experience with mud and proceeded to the "Grotto" which was followed by a quaint lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent around, and in, the shallow lounge pool. We chit chatted, connected in a circle as if we were a blossoming floral arrangement.

Showered and refreshed, I returned home to face my responsibilities with a renewed spirit. A day every girl should have at least once in her life.

Perfect.

HOPE'S BIRTHDAY

I feel horrible. Hope turned 16 on September 16th and I didn't post her birth blog until today. What kind of mother am I? Obviously, a forgetful one.

Hope's birthday was quite involved as I've shared in other blogs. Suffice it to say we were the talk of Rogue Valley Medical Center on that Setpember day. They don't get many families where Mom, Dad and baby are all admitted at the same time, same day.

We love our Hope and thankfully, she was the healthiest one of us all. I couldn't go up to Scott's floor without putting her in the neo-natal unit. She looked like Godzilla in with all those teenie tiny's. A nurse from the maternity floor had to wheel me up to Scott's floor because I was not permitted to wander the facility. I felt silly, but rules are rules. Scott was hooked up to his oxygen, I was in the wheelchair, we were holding hands, watching Star Trek reruns. We looked pathetic. Now we laugh, at the time, not so much.

Hope and I got to go home the next day and Scott had to stay for another few days. Hope and I had gone shopping, gone to church, picked up sisters from school . . . all before Scott even got to hold his new baby girl.

She was a beauty and burst into the world with pomp and circumstance and hasn't slowed down yet.

I love you, my sweet Hope Josephine Roderick.

IN THE TREEHOUSE . . .

You would not believe how much fun we have in the Treehouse . . . every time . . . all the time. For instance, today . . .

A little girl came up to me during check out and wanted a hug. I hesitated, only because my throat was troublesome, and explained that to her. She smiled and went to sit by, I mean sit on, her friend. Her friend looked at me and said "Miss Cindy --- just farted (her word not mine) on me. I know because I felt the vibration." Both little girls then burst into laughter

During third hour today some 2nd grade boys were in the back goofing around while I was teaching. Shae was sitting behind them and asked them several times to tighten it up and be still. They kept pushing the envelope until another young man, who was trying to listen, said to them, according to Shae, "You guys are going to burn in hell." You must believe he did not learn that in the Treehouse.

I love the unpredictability of my job.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #11

I woke up this morning exhausted. I slept all night and still am not rested. My throat is scratchy and I have a huge day awaiting me. I am so tired. Whine, whine, whine.

As I get dressed I run from bathroom to bathroom, room to room. In a house full of girls needed items are to be found in all and any room in the Roderick mansion.

I have located the hairspray in the girls bathroom and spray the loose strands that are tossed about my head. I replace the cap and turn to see the shower curtain subtly moving. The flash of terror running through my mind causes a sudden yelp of fear as I know that someone has invaded our humble home.

Nope. Just my arm brushing against the plastic appendage hanging around the bathtub.

Sigh.

ANNA GRACE QUOTE

Anna Grace loved visiting the California cousins. But even more, I think she loved building a lasting relationship with Diesel and Dakota. She so enjoyed talking to them. And playing with them. And feeding them treats. Her conversations with the pups?

"Sit, sit, sit Dakota, Sit Diesel, sit, sit, SIT.

Yep. That's about it.

SHELLY QUOTE

Hope and Shelly were waiting for Anna Grace to finish her ice skating practice and they were carrying on a very serious conversation that went something like this.

Hope: I think I have shin splints from running on the beach yesterday.
Shelly: Yea, me too. My calves are killing me.

Hmm. Shelly are you sure you don't have Roderick blood running through your Randolph veins?

IT'S A 50'S THING: #10

Shae wanted to switch cars with us so she and her friends could drive down to San Diego for the day in one vehicle. We had no problem with that and gave her the keys. I walked out to the car with her chatting away and enjoying a beautiful SoCal morning.

Shae unlocked the car and got in to start her long journey. She looked at me with a face that could only mean horror. She began complaining about the smell in our car. "What happened in here . . . what is that awful smell . . . what died in here? I can not take this car to San Diego. My friends would pass out before we got out of HB." Those were the frantic words escaping her mouth.

"I don't know honey, Dad drove the car to work this morning." Enough said.

I don't know what that man, whom I love, eats, but we should bottle that aroma and contact national security. It could be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

CREATIVE MINDS

My sister, Shelly, and Addison were engulfing on an adventure that neither of them would dare tackle alone. They were going to create a lovely baby shower gift. They both missed the line when the creative gene was handed out. I am not being unkind. I am just stating a fact and they would heartily agree with me. They excel at many other talents, just not creativity. Here are several of the comments I heard escaping their mouths.

"Get a bowl and we'll roll them around that."
"Where are we going to hang all this stuff."
"We are really good at this."
"I hope she likes it."
"Get a camera and take a picture. No one will believe this."
"This is not working."
"I am tired."
"Do we really need this many?"
"Maybe we should glue it?"
"I can't believe people use these."
"Put your finger here and don't move."
"We could sell these."

What were they making? A disposable diaper cake.

Heaven help us.

SHAE AND WHOLE FOODS

A couple of weeks ago, as I got ready to leave for work, Shae came in and asked me to go to the new Whole Foods Store at Bella Terra with her. I was very excited to check it out and Shae had been talking to friends about all these new healthy eating stores that were opening. "Are you sure it is open?" She said she was positive so we hopped in the car and took off for Bella.

We chatted about all the good food and fun we were going to have. We arrived and it looked strange to me. "Are you sure Shae? I don't think it's open."

"Mom, I know what I'm doing. It is open. Now help me find a parking space." Being the loving and trustful mother that I am I believed her whole heartedly and started looking for a space.

As we drove through the lot I kept looking at the store. It was not open. I was sure of it, but I kept my mouth shut as a good mother does when she's setting a trap. As we drove around the back we peeked in an open window. There were not even fixtures inside the place. I glanced at Shae and she just said "I know Mom."

Oh Shae, it's going to be a while before Whole Foods opens, honey.

TOO HOT TO BLOG

I have no excuse but that of the extreme California weather. It has been sweltering here in SoCal and being that we live near the beach AC is not necessary, or so we thought. Mmmm, big mistake there because recently I would have given my right arm for a little cool comfort.

I am on the road to recovery, as is the weather, so let the continued blogging begin.

WOW, MY KELSEY'S QUITE A WRITER!

Hey, if you need some fun, enjoyable, relaxation on these short fall evenings, check out Kelsey's blog. She is such a superb writer. Her wit is sharp and her verbage is unsurpassed in today's vernacular. Check it out at http://roderk.blogspot.com/ and cuddle up with your laptop and spend some time reading. It will be time well spent. :)

IT'S A 50'S THING: #9

As we were getting ready to leave for church this morning, Scott is suddenly panicked. "I can't find the keys to the car. Did you do something with them?" "No" is my reply. "You drove home last night." As he is scurrying around the house looking for them I take care of the dogs, open the front door and enjoy the quiet morning outside our home.

Scott is still looking for the keys and walks up to where his sunglasses and church keys are sitting on the couch. "Oh, I had them with my church keys the whole time. I guess I was better prepared than I thought."

Yep, oh that wonderful husband of mine, how I do love him.

388

It has been one year today that I started this livinglifeasaroderick. My goal was to blog once a day and I reached that goal and above. Although I didn't blog every day, I did have 388 entries which is above the 365 needed.

Now onto next year. I am sure I will never run out of material.

Let the blogging begin.

TWO STORIES

Story 1:
Hope got in big trouble on Sunday. Needless to say yesterday was an Amish day for her. That meant no phone, no itouch, no computer and no TV. Included in the day were no friends in and she couldn't go out. Of course, she thought we were being harsh and extreme. Hello, mother and father. What ever did she do all day? Well, she slept, she read, she played with the dogs, she talked with me and we baked baklava together. I had a nice time.

This morning the Amish was lifted and I asked her what she learned yesterday. Her reply "it's kind of nice to just do nothing and I did have fun with you mom".

WOW. I didn't see that coming.

Story 2:
Addison was babysitting yesterday and Caleb wanted to watch a Star Wars movie. He had a certain one in mind and Adds called her dad to find out if we had it in our personal inventory. She tells Scott "Caleb wants to watch the one with "Job of the hut" in it.

Hmm. Addison is not a Star Wars fan.

BABY DOLL

If you keep up with the family blog you know that last week we cleaned out Hope's bedroom. She gave us no grief about what to keep and what to throw away because, well, she was up at camp and had no choice. Believe me, we threw out a lot of junk.

One of the items we chose to keep was a baby doll that was given to her by her nana. I have to admit that doll had seen better days. She had been scalped, bald with glue marks, but she still had her hair, er, wig. She was also missing a foot. I know not where that ended up. She did have one thing going for her, though, she was sparkling clean.

We didn't know what to do with her so we left her on Hope's go through box. Hope said she no longer wanted to keep her. Frankly, she was kind of creepy looking. Kind of a "Chuckie" looking doll. The girls all were a bit distraught by this particular toy. Hmm, I could use this to my advantage.

The young Roderick girls were out last night doing various activities. Me . . . I strategically placed the doll on the front porch in a chair, her hair gently slipping off the back of her head and her foot still missing, to greet them when they got home. That doll has a manacing grin and in the dim porch light, well, you get the picture. I just wish I had a security camera to catch their individual reactions when they saw the "doll".

What fun it is to be a Roderick parental unit.

A KIDLESS AFTERNOON

We all celebrate those moments when our kids are not among us, however, our friends the Hurdles bring new meaning to the concept.

Last Sunday afternoon we put a bunch of kids on buses to head up to camp. The Roderick and Hurdle children were included and we had a plan to enjoy pie that evening while kidless.

The day was blissful for the Roderick's and we shared that with Don and Cherylynn when we caught up with them at Polly's Pies. What they shared with us chilled our souls and forced recurring nightmares to immerge.

They began their sordid tale with Mona Lisa smiles and we were enthralled immediately. The "date" began with the unfolding of lawn chairs and placing them on the edge of the grass on their back patio. The alligator sprinklers were engaged and water sprayed the lawn with abandon, cooling the sunny concrete. The click, click, click was mesmerizing as Don and Cherylynn held hands and watched the "white trash" fountain they had created. It gets better.

The Hurdle's are dog people, avid dog people. In fact, they have two labs and an Austrailian shepherd. Big dogs. Tank, one of the labs, hates sprinklers. He wrestled, growled, jumped on, shook and did everything a dog can do to a sprinkler. Now this in and of itself is not unusual. Tank is after all a day. It is unusual for two people, without their kids around mind you, to sit for two hours and watch the dog perform. A beautiful summer afternoon, no kids, watching the dog. Hmmm.

No wonder they were very excited to get out and enjoy some pie.

HOPE'S BIG ADVENTURE

Hope got back from Indian Village this afternoon, after a week of being a teepee counselor for six fifth grade girls. She is exhausted but had a memorable experience.

Tuesday afternoon she and her cackle of girls decided to go down to the field to play a game. All her little minnions followed her out of the teepee. After glancing around and assessing the area, Hope decided that maybe the field was not the place to go. She told her girls to stop and they all listened except one. Hope told her again that they were not going to the field and she needed to come back right now. Finally, Hope yelled for her to STOP.

All those little girls screamed. There, standing on the edge of the trees by the field was a mama black bear and two little cubs. Hope notified the Chief who immediately got the bear patrol on it though no bears were found. Apparently, the screeching females scared those bears over to another mountain because they didn't find hide nor hair of them.

Not one bear had been seen all summer up at Indian Village. Leave it to a Roderick.

OH MY

Addison and I spent the morning and the better part of the afternoon cleaning Hope's room. Yeah. I know. I warned her that if she did not clean it up before she left for Indian Village we were going to do it for her. Here's some of the things we found in the mass of dust, dirt and stuff we can't even begin to guess.

A report card that Scott nor I ever saw.
Seven old cell phones.
Twelve pairs of sunglasses.
A baby doll that was scalped and had no leg.
A tee shirt she wore in elementary school.
Several unused gift cards.
A jar of change that hadn't been rolled.
An orange heavy duty extention cord.
An old Galaxy poster, back when they were green and gold.
A purse still in the Nordstrom's box with the tags still attached.
Six old soccer jersey's.
A fur trick or treat bucket with a skull inside (got a jump out of me).

Cheyne is coming over tomorrow to take down her bed. We finish arranging the rest of her furniture after he's done. Oh my, is she going to be surprised.

Happy, mad or sad. We'll know on Friday when she gets home.

VINTAGE FRIENDS

We have precious friends in Oregon who we rarely see or communicate with other than the annual Christmas greeting. They are the kind of friends that you don't see for years and then they pop up and it is as if time has not passed. You pick up where you left off and they are still the friends you love, cherish and share intimate secrets with. Your kids even pick up the closness and they join in the inexplecable bond the families have together.

I call these friends our "vintage friends". No matter how little time you spend together they are invaluable and no price can be placed on the effect they have had on you and your families lives.

These kinds of friends are in Utah, Oregon and California. Perhaps more, but we haven't been in touch with them in a while.

Our vintage friends are more precious than words can ever express. You know who you are.

CONES & SHRUBBERY

The San Juaquin valley in central California is not known for it's fabulous scenery. In fact, it is plain, long and frankly quite boring. One's mind tends to wander aimlessly while driving up the 5 through agriculture country. This is exactly what happened to Shae and I on our recent road trip.

Shae was driving and we hit some road construction. Shae said to me "Mom, what would you do if I took out those cones?" I laughed and said "I'll get the flip and video it and you can show your dad when we get home". We laughed and laughed because we knew what Scott would do if he ever saw a video like that.

Shae was still driving and I said "Shae, we should set you up so that it looks like you come rampaging through those bushes at the right. I could get out, use the flip as you come ripping out of there and leave me behind. It would be so funny to see dad's face if he saw a clip like that." Shae said "I can hear dad now as he lectures us." We laughed and laughed again, well because Scott would be so fun to punk.

I know, he's a saint to put up with all of us girls.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Scott makes the best eggplant parmesan hands down. I don't even try to make it anymore because he has spoiled me with his finesse.

I had to work today so he promised to make his delightful dish and I was a happy camper, not only because it is one of my favorite but also because I didn't have to plan dinner. He shared with me that he would make and bake, go to church, meet up with me there to return home for our scrumptious meal.

After picking up the Treehouse and finding Scott, we stopped at Lucci's to pick up some garlic bread and headed home. No kids, just us, a little italian and a soccer game. Perfect.

I entered the house to a delightful aroma, albiet at little strong, but none the less delightful. As I made my way to the kitchen, releasing the puppies from their kennel and out the back door, I heard a familiar noise. The oven fan was on which meant the oven was still on . . . hmm. He forgot to turn it off when he left, so I went over to do just that. I peeked in to make sure it was empty.

There in the center of the oven was our yummy eggplant parmesan, burnt beyond recognition.

Sigh. The garlic bread was really good.

CALIFORNIA DMV

I had forgotten how much I love the DMV. The last daughter to get the all important validation for getting behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. Yes, she's is the final blond Roderick. You would think the DMV would have changed over the years, but, alas, it is not so.

We made an appointment and arrived half an hour early (this we have learned over the years). We were driving around the parking lot looking for the elusive spot. People were parked on neighborhood streets, the DMV parking lot is rather small, and one of the side streets was accommodating a "roach coach" that was doing a brisk business. The line of people to get into the building was serpentined around the outside. Hope and I looked at each other and prayed that was not our line.

We snatched a spot in the lot just as a guy was pulling out. Praise God. Now onto tackle the line . . . Praise God again, it was not ours . . . we were fourth in a smaller line, a line for appointments. The guard allowed us to enter. We went right up to the desk, right to our window, signed, wrote a check, picture, test. Just that fast.

I pulled out my knitting while I waited for Hope and scanned the large room full of humanity. It would seem every ethnicity was represented: Caucasian, Hispanic, Southeast Asian, African American, East Indian, Arab, etc. I love to people watch and this distraction, coupled with my busy hands, made the time go very quickly.

We were in and out of their in one hour flat. A new Roderick record. Sadly, Hope missed 10 (fail) and we will be back in a week to do it all over again.

OLD STUFF

It is in the middle of the night, at least to me, and I am following Shae and Kelsey's cute, brand new car. They lead me down this dark road, really dark. They loose me at the only traffic light in this tiny town and I can not find them. Cell phones in action, it is legal to chat while driving in Oregon, I am trying to find them with very little community lights in operation. They tell me they see me, but they are no where in my line of sight. I slowly come up to the same traffic light and they tell me to go through it and they are right there. Oh. Now I see them.

They have stopped in front of store that says "Old Stuff" in hopes of dropping me off.

Funny girls, real funny.

CRACK! POW! KLUNK!

Our return trip from Oregon a couple of weeks ago was quite eventful. Several incidents occured that were, shall we say, unusual.

We are traversing down the grapevine on the 5 when an unfamiliar, at least to Shae, freeway sound accousted us. CRACK! POW! KLUNK! Shae's whips her head around and looks out the back window of the highlander thinking something terrible has happened. Here's what she thought, as related to me after the event, and your guess is as good as mine.

She thought that a man in the truck next to us had jumped on top of the highlander. He was dressed in khakis and a plaid shirt and held a pick axe and was striking the roof of our car. He slid across the roof and landed with his legs dangling off the back of the car. This happened in a matter of seconds.

I looked at Shae and the fear in her eyes and couldn't help but ask "What is wrong, dear, you look a little unnerved?" She relayed her tale of terror to me. I just smile.

"Honey, have you never heard a car backfire before?"

Ohh. No she had not. Live and learn Shae, live and learn.

ADDISON'S BIG DAY

It all started on a Sunday night when Scott was preaching at a small church in Utah. I was having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, no big. He mentioned in the pulpit that if he tore out of there unexpectedly a baby would be arriving soon after. He was watching my face from the platform.

He finished, without interruption, and we went out to dinner with my dad and mom. I asked if they could take Kelsey home with them because my contractions were getting a little stronger and I thought it might be a long night. No worries and off they went with a very excited Kelsey.

We went home, kicked off the shoes and sat down to enjoy a Star Trek rerun. Yep, I started pacing, a sure sign I am uncomfortable. We called the parentals to tell them we were on our way to the hospital, about 11:30pm.

This was the 2nd Roderick so we were in no hurry as we meandered through the quiet streets of Salt Lake City. We arrived, went in and I immediatley ordered an epidural. I did not want to handle any more labor and I knew what was coming.

Uhh, no I didn't.

The epidural did not catch up with my contractions rendering me in a very bad and painful mood. Addison was born 45 minutes after we got to the hospital. No episiotomy and fortunately no tears. She was 6 pounds and 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. She actually could not wait to get out and start strutting her stuff.

And she is still strutting to this day. Happy birthday Addison Opal Roderick.

SHAE'S BIRTH

We were in Oregon for Shae's birthday this year and I didn't have time to blog. I decided before July escaped I would sit down and tell you about the day Shae was born.

July 22, 1991 was hot in Medford, Oregon . . . really hot. Labor started in the afternoon and we headed for Rogue Valley Medical Center. Not an intense labor, but none the less painful. Even though the hospital had climate control it was still warm in that place for the laboring mother-to-be.

Shae Elizabeth made her first appearance at about 7:00pm on a Monday (all the girls were born on Mondays, except Hope). She weighed in at 7 pounds and 15 ounces and about 21 inches long. She was beautiful and perfect and quiet from the very moment she popped out. A remarkable feat, being quiet, since she was Roderick.

About ten minutes after Shae was born a huge thunderhead went through the Rogue Valley. Big wind, big rain, big thunder and big lightening. It knocked out the power to the hospital including, of course, climate control. Shae was born just in time. I can't imagine struggling to give birth without AC. Whew! We dodged that bullet.

It didn't take long for the back up systems to kick in and we were comfy, cozy and cuddling. I didn't have an epidural with Shae. Just a shot of Nubain, a nacartic, which allows you to feel great even though you are still experiencing every contraction. Scott said he had never seen anyone as high as I was under a doctors intense supervision. Yeah, it's quite a drug.

Shae arrived with a bang and she continues to light things up where ever she goes. I love you my sweet 19 year old baby girl.

MAP READING

Shae and I wanted to go shopping at the local mall in Eugene. We got a map from the campus information people and also picked up a brochure about the mall with a small map on the back. We were set. We just needed to sit down and figure out our route.

Shae was holding one map and something about that map didn't look correct. The lay out wasn't right. Shae was pointing and talking and figuring out where we currently were and I couldn't shake the nagging idea that it was wrong. We had two maps and they were not syncing up. What was bugging me?

Oh. Shae was reading the map upside down. Yeah. That took me a while to figure out and Shae kept argueing that she could read maps better upside down. Once again, blond.

My, my, my. We also took 15 minutes to get to a mall that was 2 minutes from the campus.

I am so glad she is going to college.

PUDDING UGSFAW

We started out every day at UGSFAW 2010 with a "messy game" and it always included chocolate pudding. One kid from each team came up on stage, took off their shoes and sat on a chair. Then they proceeded to pick out Cocoa Puffs and/or dog food out of their tub of pudding with their stinky, sweaty little toes. So messy, so fun and so hard to accomplish.

Now here's where you have to keep up with me. Each team has a designated snack time down in the Video Cafe. They may choose one snack from the "snack buffet" and one small soda and all the water they want.

We placed a tub of pudding used in the "messy game" right next to the serving table. Then we put cups of pudding, including Cocoa Puffs, next to the tub so that they were included in the buffet (we set up the edible pudding cups in the kitchen). Those kids totally assumed the pudding cups were from the tub. To steer their little minds in the right direction, we put a sign up that said we had leftover pudding from the "messy game". We also had empty cups, spoons, scooper and all you need to make it appear that we were scooping out of the tub. Jon stood beside the table, encouraging the kids to try the pudding. It was so perfect. You should have seen all the expressions. Priceless. Of course, once again, it was a well thought out plot by our fearless Children's Minister, Kurt. He is quite clever.

Another kicker, I grabbed a cup and started eating it. Again, priceless little angel faces, staring at me in disbelief.

Important tip: No children ate the actual stinky feet pudding. I can not confirm nor deny if leaders did or did not.

STOLEN

This was just to good to pass up. My thoughtful friend Monique has always had my back. This email she sent me proves it.

You've heard about people who have been abducted and had
their kidneys removed by black-market organ thieves.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years
ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs.
It was just that quick. The replacements had the texture of
cooked oatmeal. Whose thighs were these and what happened to
mine? I spent the entire summer looking for my thighs.
Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my
life in jeans. And then the thieves struck again.

My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they
took pains to match my new rear-end to the thighs they had
stuck me with earlier. But my new butt was attached at least
three inches lower than my original! I realized I'd have to
give up my jeans in favor of long skirts.

Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. One
morning I was fixing my hair and was horrified to see the
flesh of my upper arm swing to and fro with the motion of
the hairbrush. This was really getting scary - my body was
being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to
me next?

When my poor neck suddenly disappeared and was replaced with
a turkey neck, I decided to tell my story.. Women of the
world wake up and smell the coffee! Those 'plastic' surgeons
are using REAL replacement body parts - stolen from you and
me! The next time someone you know has something 'lifted',
look again - was it lifted from you?

THIS IS NOT A HOAX.

This is happening to women everywhere
every night.

WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P. S. Last year I thought someone had stolen my Boobs. I was
lying in bed and they were gone! But when I jumped out of
bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in
my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my
waistband.

Thought this was too 'important' not to pass on. Have a
wonderful day - with a joy filled heart. Always remember to
laugh!! Helps the heart AND the wrinkles!!

P.S.S. Those same thieves come in my closet and shrink my
clothes! How do they do it????

STONERS, GREEN PEACE & PF CHANGS

We hit the campus of the U of O and are quickly accousted by a very persistant Green Peace volunteer. Mind you, his gaze was for the young blonds I was walking with. The girls promptly admitted that they were not interested in chatting with him and he replied "Come on, just a few minutes." They kept walking while flipping their hair over their shoulders with coy smiles and smuggness in their beautiful blue eyes.

We were going to have dinner at PF Changs and were told it would be 45 minutes. The girls dazzled the host with another of their prize winning smiles as we went outside to enjoy the brilliant Oregon sun. Five minutes later we were seated and ordering up dinner.

Shae is waiting for her advisor appointment when a young man, obviously stoned, strikes up a conversation that went something like this.

Boy: So where are you from?
Shae: HB, California.
Boy: What's your major?
Shae: I am not sure, yet.
Boy: Mine's biology.
Shae: Hmm.

Eugene is Oregon's pot capitol. Shae has so much to learn.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #8

Okay. All of humanity, at one time or another, will do it. It's quiet. It's solitary. It's cathartic. I will admit it. I do it, a lot. That's right. I have sat in utter tranquility upon the cool, ceramic throne, the water swishing below my behind.

Here's the catch. When you reach my age you need more time to think. To meditate. To fire all the pistons in your brain. And it takes longer. Thus, sitting in the position for extended periods of time, ones circulation is compromised and the dreaded tingling begins. Numbness sets in and your feet are suddenly undetectable. Your thinking is done and your feet are numb.

So if you see me stumbling out of the bathroom, give me a minute.

UGSFAW MEMOIRS

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe our first ever UGSFAW was in 2002. That's right. If my calculations are correct, this is our 8th year of UGSFAW. We started out in the Video Cafe' with about 150 kids. We've expanded all over campus and have exploded into over 850 kids and 200 volunteers. I have fond memories of each and every UGSFAW.

That year we hid the bucket of slime from Dave.
The year of the earthquake.
The year I dyed my hair blue.
The year Kurt ran away from UGSFAW.
The year Kelsey was sicker than sick.
The year of "Reality Mansion".
The year Dave dumped flyers from the 3rd floor down on the Blue Team.
The year Scott and I raced up the bouncer. I won.
The year I spilled the beans and confessed what I knew to Kurt.
The year Tyler pulled the fire alarm. Wait. That was preschool VBS.

And so many more. Did I mention I love my job?

IT'S A 50'S THING: #7

I am climbing the stairs at church from the Video Cafe' to the second floor and I trip over my own sandals 4 times . . . 4 times! Slammed my knees into the stair edge. That's going to leave a mark.

I wonder if this is a 50's thing or I am just so tired I forgot how to shoot stairs. I slipped and tripped several other times today but I can't keep track of all the mishaps.

I think I will go with the 50's thing. I need a valid excuse for all the stupid things I do.

Uh oh. My knees are starting to tingle and not in a good way.

RK BY SHAE

Picture this. Shae is behind the wheel driving up the 5, CD blastin' while her mama is knitting. She has obviously had an epiphany of sorts as shown by her rapid posture change. I, of course, being the stellar mother that I am, ask her to kindly share her thoughts. The following was her reply.

"Mom, I think I know how to bring PETA and the world together. All these animals that are hit on the freeway could be scraped up, their fur cleaned and processed and then could be used for fur clothing. PETA wouldn't care because they were already dead and fur people would still get the fur. I could be the designer and call it "RK by SHAE". You know, road kill.

Yep. She's college bound.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #6

I know. I am a big enough person to admit it. I don't like it, but it is life as we grow older . . . and wiser.

On our recent trip to Oregon, I experienced something not yet familiar to my external anatomy. Apparently, well hydrated and a tummy full of unhealthy snacks causes one to loose the ability to control ones emptying processes.

We turned into a hotel parking lot, hitting a speed bump, and yes, I wet my pants a little bit. Not a proud moment in a mother's life, but I must endure. To make matters even more challenging the following morning, while driving south on the 5, Shae mentioned something extremely funny. Yes. I laughed so hard I wet my pants again. I must ask why this is happening?

Oh, it's a 50's thing, a four children thing, a mom thing, etc.

A BUG IN A TREE

I enjoy jumping out and scaring my kids. I enjoy telling them scary stories. I enjoy whistling when they least expect it. It tickles my funny bone and I can get miles of laughter out of one incident. It's what I do. Something about the fear in their eyes and the twitching of their bodies that just lights me up.

On our return trip from Oregon, Shae and I pulled off at Los Banos to fill up the car and secure a bite to eat. We grabbed our grub, pulled under a shade tree and sat in the auto and began to chow. With windows down and the breeze blowing through, it was quite comfortable sitting and spending more time together. There was a cicada outside in the tree that started chirping and it was getting on my last nerve big time. I told Shae "I wish that bug would take off. That noise is really bugging me, pun intended." Shae sat there and continued eating.

She unexpectedly stopped, looked out my window and screamed "look out mom, here it comes!" I almost jumped into her lap, shaking and shivering from head to toe. Shae and I laughed one of those laughs with no sound for like, five minutes.

You did your mom proud, honey, you did her proud.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #5

We were blessed to enjoy a jovial meal with our special friends who reside in the vast state of Oregon. Sometime during the meal I mentioned we needed to be sure and take pictures of our grown families. I wanted to use the hard camera.

Wait. Hard camera?

You know, the camera that takes pictures that don't move. Every one of us gained another wrinkle in our happy faces.

I am so living in my 50's.

GRASSHOPPERS

Kelsey and Shae were driving up the 5 freeway ahead of me. I kept their tailights in my sight. I did not want to lose them. Oregon freeways are not well lit and you can not beleive how dark it is out on those long stretches of open road.

Kelsey's left blinker flickers in front of me and I followed her onto the short ramp. Hmm. This was not an exit I was familiar with but Kelsey must know what she's doing. As I followed her, much closer now, I noticed hundreds of grasshoppers jumping all over the road. It was so cool to watch safely in my car. I wondered how many of those insects were meeting their end under my tires.

I called the girls and asked "what do you guys think about all the bugs?" "What bugs?" they calmly replied. "The ones invading the open road in front of you." I couldn't believe they couldn't see them. "Mom, there are no bugs" they said.

What is wrong with them? There are bugs all over the place. Oh. We are in timber country, lumber everywhere and we are driving by a small mill. There are wood chips all over the road jumping as Kelsey drives by them so as I drive behind her they appear to be jumping grasshoppers.

My bad.

28

28 years of adventures together . . . 28 years of stretching our fears together . . . 28 years of challenges together . . . 28 years of laughter together . . . 28 years of personalities entwining together . . . 28 years of habits endured together . . . 28 years of mistakes together . . . 28 years of being together . . . 28 years of building life together . . . 28 years of working together . . . 28 years of worshipping together . . . 28 years of struggles together . . . 28 years of nurturing together . . . 28 years of investing together . . . 28 years of contentment together . . . 28 years of growing a family together . . .

28 years of love unimaginable . . . together.

July 16, 1982

CAGED BIRD

Kelsey got a rather unusual present on her 16th birthday. Holly, one of her bff's, gave her a finch, cage, food and all the fixin's the creature could ever want. Kelsey kept it in her room, much to my dismay, but we couldn't think of anywhere else in the house that needed or wanted a bird. So that's where it took up roost.

One day, while Kelsey was out, Hope and Rachel invaded her room to "play" with the bird. The two criminals set the bird free to flutter around the room, door closed, while they watched with glee . . . until the bird flew out Kelsey's open window smack into the neighbor's house. I do not recall where I was during all this mayhem. Suffice it to say I was on the property doing some sort of motherly chore.

The girls trail blazed it to said house and found the bird no longer living on this green earth. They were very distraught and came sobbing home to me to explain the whole story. I proceeded to give them tips on how to relay their sad tail to Kelsey when she arrived home and they sat on the couch to formulate their plan.

They met Kels at the door, their lower lips quivering, and shared the grim information. Kelsey's response . . . "I hated that bird."

Kelsey has always been very forthright.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #4

Ok. He has done this a bunch of times. You would think he would learn. He doesn't. I guess I am going to have to learn and do it myself. What is it that he does or better stated what is it that he doesn't do?

Set the TiVo to record the next thing on following a soccer game to get the whole game. Cover yourself. It's called insurance. I am tired of watching games up until the last 5 minutes and have it click off in the middle. It's so maddening.

Fix it, honey, or you're looking at a very unhappy wife for a very long time. Grrrrr!

IT'S A 50'S THING: #2

I went to a friends house this evening for some girl time and on the way home I was contemplating the concept I will be teaching the kids in the Treehouse this weekend. I was driving east and saw a beautiful moon in the dark gray sky. I was so engrossed in the sight that when the light turned green I neglected to step on it as I normally do. Here in HB we have been in a bit of June gloom in July and haven't seen the clear, night sky in quite some time. I got my bearings and continued on my journey home, simply enjoying the glowing moon, when I suddenly realized that the moon that I had been gazing intently at was no more than a balloon on the roof of a car dealership structure.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #3

Scott and I retired late last night and he was exhausted and dropped into slumberland quickly. I was a little more restless and laid awake revisiting my active day. At about ten minutes into my thoughts Scott started his gentle snoring. It is actually a comforting, rhythmic sound that I generally enjoy. As I quietly lay there, I was suddenly jolted into hyper awareness as Scott murmured "what was . . . was that me?" Yes dear, you woke yourself with your own snoring.

"Ohhh" was his only response.

AIRPLANE NELSON

We have friends, who back in the day, owned a personal small plane and they would fly up to visit us when we lived in Oregon. It was great fun to have them up for lunch . . . yes, I said lunch. Ah, the benefits of having your own transportation.

One weekend, Andrew took Kelsey, Addison, Shae, Scott, Dylan and Travis (his boys) up into the wild, blue yonder. Betsy and I stayed on firm ground with Hope and we enjoyed a fine cup of coffee waiting on the gang to float back down to earth. Imagine our surprise when they arrived way earlier than expected.

I was somewhat distressed when I saw Scott's face, but wrote it off to spending time with chattering children. No, no, NO. Our sweet, darling, sensitive tummy Shae had hurled all over the inside of the prized plane. Yep. Airsick. The aroma brought them down in a hurry.

Andrew never invited the Roderick's to fly with him again.

IT'S A 50'S THING: #1

Scott and I had a rare lunch together today, alone. No friends, no family, no coworkers. Just the two of us. On the drive home, Scott was telling me all kinds of tidbits that were going on at work as only he can. Sharing with me the details of the new tire purchase scheduled for next week. Discussing the possible investment in a new laptop, a Mac if it was entirely up to me. We were driving down Newland totally engulfed in each other and the inevitable happened. Scott soared right by our street.

GHOSTBUSTERS

Remember when the first "Ghostbusters" movie was released? I do. Scott and I saw it in Lancaster while visiting his parents. It was so great and the special effects, for that time, were unbelievable. Watch this and enjoy a little chuckle.



Love this!

MUSTARD

Kelsey was about three years old and as a rule on Sunday nights after church we would go out to dinner with my mom and dad. This night the choice was Chinese and we all enjoyed a good bowl of rice and an egg roll now and again. This happened to be a new diner and we were all anticipating a scrumptious meal.

Kelsey loved fried rice and as we all waited for our order she was scoping out the condiments. You could see her wheels turning as she decided she would have mustard on her rice this time. "Kelsey, that is really spicy and you won't like it" I told her firmly. "No, no I like it. I will eat it" she said in her three year old voice. Grandad tried to tell her, dad tried to tell, Grammy tried to tell her that she would not like it. All comments were meant with stubborn resistance.

Finally, I decided the only way to convince her was to let her experience the consequence. I gave her the mustard and a choice and she poured it on her rice abundantly and took a big bite.

Her eyes bulged out of her head and she started fussing and fuming and trying to wipe the rice out of her mouth with a napkin. She drank water. She used her sleeve to wipe away the heat. She whined all the way home. She brushed her teeth when she got home. I tucked her into bed and she was silently whimpering.

She has never tried mustard in an Asian establishment to this day. Lesson learned.

USGSFAW QUAKE 2008

Let me just say that our UGSFAW summer program at church is unique, unusual, unreal and totally an FCCHB deal. We have experienced growth every year since we incorporated it into children's ministry. The kids look forward to it with great anticipation and excitement.

It was a Thursday and the kids were searching for stuff at UGSFAW that was wrong. Captains were wearing the wrong color. We ran out of the favorite snacks. The travel routes were going the wrong direction. Kids are really good at finding something that is out of whack and they were very aware and met the challenge.

The teams were gathering in the auditorium for closing and an earthquake hit. Not unusual considering where we live. Kids were entering the building and we were directing them out to the yard to sit on the grass. They were evacuated within 3 minutes. Pretty good considering we had over 600 of them.

We were out in the yard singing and chatting and keeping the kids calm (amazingly, they were unscathed and totally jazzed) while waiting for parents to pick them up when one little guy came up to me. With awe in his eyes he said "Wow, how did you do that?" I replied "Do what?" "The earthquake. That was another thing wrong at UGSFAW."

God has such a sense of humor.

VIDEOS FROM THE VAULT

Hope and I spent some time this evening watching videos of the kids when they were little . . . Hope was especially little. It was our first Christmas in HB, 1995.

You can not believe the chaos that ensued at the Roderick house on that special Christmas morning. Nana and Grandpa Roderick joined us for all the festivities and rituals that had been perfected over the years.

The girls are required to line up in their order of birth, youngest to oldest, at the top of the stairs. No peeking. Our tree is located in the living room so they must form their line in our bedroom until we have the camera and lighting just right. Then they proceed to the Christmas domain at the foot of the landing.

They come clattering down the stairs and start looking for the wrapped presents under the artificial Christmas tree (we chopped our own tree in Oregon for $4.00, so in California we went fake to save money). We strive for turn taking, which rarely happens, for the unwrapping to begin. Paper flies, squeals emerge, boxes are tossed, ribbons are flung, messes are made. Cries of glee spring forth as the anticipated gift is revealed. It all take about 30 seconds, give or take a few minutes.

After this activity is complete we travel to the family room, where Santa Claus has left his deposits right next to the fireplace and the craziness repeats itself. Kelsey tries to be the mature young lady. Addison is running the show. Shae is excited about every gift she has opened. Hope is more interested in opening all gifts so she can rip off the paper.

What really gets Hope and I as we watched this video was the tiny voices of our kids. They are so familiar yet forgotten. We sat together and just smiled as we listened and enjoyed those melodious sounds. Hope watches what her sisters put her through and just laughs and laughs. I am sure she is plotting something big for future use.

Did I mention this ritual continues every year? The girls wouldn't have it any other way. Even when we are out of town we make the tradition happen. A small sidebar, on Christmas Eve the girls are allowed one present to open that Scott and I have already selected. Holiday pajamas. Every year.

We love a Roderick Christmas.

WRITE THE FUTURE

Another World Cup video only this is mine . . . I love it!



It truly is the beautiful game.

WAKA WAKA

The girls have been watching the World Cup and they are all up on the Youtube thing. They found this video that says it all. We have been "Waka Waka" by Shakira. It is really a fun watch.




Cuz, you know we Roderick's are all about soccer.

4 X 4

My sister and brother-in-law made a trip to Oregon when Shae was born. They had a great time with the kids and decided to take them to a wild animal reserve about 1 1/2 hours away. So all of them piled in the mini van and went on a road trip.

Now Oregon is a logging state. Much of the economy is based on that industry and any freeway will accommodate many trucks loaded with timber as well as lumber ready to ship. Russ was driving behind one of the said trucks. A 4 x 4 piece of lumber escaped the come-along and shot through the air end over end and slammed into the windshield of the van and continued its journey over the top of the car and slid across the freeway.

Everyone was perfectly fine in the car, although the windshield was smashed, just a little. Russ and Shelly felt horrible about the damage until Kelsey made her profound statement of fact. "Ohhh, my Dad is gonna be mad at you".

They couldn't wait to get home and see Scott angry because they had never witnessed him and that kind of emotional situation.

ROBODOG

You've been there . . . you're driving home and you see a little dog running amok along the road. You, heart wrenching as the little guy dodges cars, pull over to rescue him.

It happened to me . . . and Hope and Shae and Chase. We were going to lunch and saw this little, tiny actually, white dog running along Ellis. He darted into a track of homes and we followed, pulled over and the kids jumped out to go get him. He was like a rocket. Turbo charged. The kids could not catch him. He was like the six million dollar dog. Bionic. Sonic booms followed him. He was greased lightening.

He now streaked across Ellis, weaving through traffic. We kept closing our eyes. We did not want to view the inevitable. Amazingly, he made it and we crossed over after him. A white truck was caught up in our chase. Two young men took up the chase with us as we pursued the white hound. Unfortunately we all lost this cute canine in the neighborhood and the boys aiding in the pursuit, bid us farewell. We continued on our way to lunch with a story for the Roderick family archives.

The next Saturday evening at church Shae saw one of the young men who helped us look for that little dog. Small world, huh?

JULY 5TH 2010

Another great day.

Friends and family joined us for an old school homemade ice cream get together. We built our own sundaes, watched videos, played Cranium and chatted the night away.

We so enjoy visiting and catching up with those who have become our dearest friends over the years. Our kids have grown up together, we have lived happy and sad events together, we have walked a spiritual path together. We have done life together.

Sometimes we laugh so hard we can not breath. Sometimes we are so caught up in each other's sadness we can not speak. Sometimes we just are together.

Hmm. We need to do this much, much more often.

JULY 4TH 2010

What an evening to remember. We went to the Galaxy game to witness the return of our beloved Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. They did the USA proud in the World Cup and continued to win the hearts of Galaxy fans by dominating the Seattle Sounders.

We began our evening with a delightful tailgating extravaganza complete with Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The girls each invited a friend and the Hurdle's, who have become our soccer buddies, also joined us. The stadium was packed, it was a fan frenzy, the atmosphere explosive. The fabulous fireworks presentation ended our evening with a bang.

Happy Birthday America!

A MAN

Our last day of Preschool VBS. We had a great week talking about Samuel and today Samuel became a man. Teaching 230 preschoolers is a task that seems insurmountable, but God is faithful and we pulled it off stupendously.

It is always interesting to hear concepts described by little ones. I asked the kids to describe what a man is and here are several of their well thought out answers.

They watch TV.
They are grumpy.
They are bald.
They are strong.
They are big.
They take care of their kids.
They go to work.
They are hairy.
They have beards.
They have short hair.
They wear clothes.
They wear pants.
They love girls.

I followed these phrases with some of my own, the most important being that he loves God, just like Samuel loved God.

Jake, our children's ministry intern, was my man example and he was awesome. He loves God and he did some "man stuff" for us that was great. The kids loved him!

I think I may miss PVBS . . . but there is always next year.

STEEPLE

The steeple was installed today in our new campus chapel. It is 40 feet tall with a 10 foot tall cross right on top. A huge crane lifted it up, right on top of a hard hatted worker standing in the center of the structure. Of course, the steeple is hollow, so the worker was encased for a bit during the installation. It was incredible to watch and it looks perfect.

The cross was made by the Amish people in Pennsylvania. The steeple was made in Utah (Mormons?). The church is in Huntington Beach. Interesting how construction worlds collide with spiritual belief systems. Me, I am just delighted that we will soon have a sweet little white chapel for very special events in the lives of the people living here at the beach.

God is so good to us.

ECLIPSE

It all started at 4:00 on a sunny afternoon. The line was decent as all the guests began to arrive. Dinner was scheduled for the wise ones at 6:30 at the fine dining establishment of CPK. That was where we got wind of the impending doom. Wristbands were being handed out to only those few who remained in the long line. Our minions were most willing to stand in for us, but the overseers were not accommodating.

We dashed from our meal to seek out the keeper of the blue bands only to find out that yes indeed, we needed those bands as well as the coveted tickets to enter the theater at 8:30 that evening. That is correct. Enter at 8:30 for a 12:01 am movie.

We exited and headed south towards the prize that was waiting, that of the hot meal. We arrived unscathed to slurp down the succulent feast, throw coins to the server and gallop back to our coveted places in "the line". We succeeded at the challenge and were met with cheers as we entered the domain of "Twilight" the saga.

Sounds unthinkable and yet it occurred just as I have relayed the story and it was so worth it.

SAMUEL

This week at Preschool VBS we are talking about Samuel and yesterday, of course, Samuel was born. I explained to the kids that babies can't do anything for themselves. Mommies and daddies have to do it all. They have to feed them. They have to carry them. They have to change poopy diapers. And babies cry all the time.

Today Samuel got a little bigger and went to live at the temple. We were discussing how Samuel was now a helper and could do more activities than he could when he was a baby.

Part of the lesson plan was to "accidently" spill two buckets of pompoms all over the carpet where the kids sit during story time, in essence spilling them all over the kids and making a huge mess. A very generous patron donated all the pompoms in muted colors of gray, browns and tans. It worked perfectly.

During the massive clean up, all the kids "helping", one little guy came up to me and said "Miss Cindy, I thought those guys were spilling Samuel's poop on us."

Ah, the concrete thinking of a child. Love it.

EYE SURGERY

Addison was about 16 when she developed a small cyst on her lower left eye lash line. We were referred to a pediatric eye surgeon who suggested we have it removed under a local anesthesia. Needless to say, Addison was not thrilled as the day approached for the dreaded procedure.

We went to the doctor's office and were led to a small examination room where Adds was to sit in a chair similar to that of a dentists chair. The room was dim and very zen like. When the doctor came in I stood to say my farewell and he insisted that there was no reason why I couldn't stay and observe, especially if it comforted Addison. So I did stay and it was so cool.

They covered Adds face with a sterile gauze square with just enough space for her left eye to peek through. While the nurse chatted and distracted her, the doctor took out a 10 inch syringe and injected the upper left cheek below her eye. She didn't even flinch and her eye was instantaneously numb. He proceeded to use a scalpel to remove the cyst. Minimal blood, no stitches, small patch. It took all of 20 minutes. Regular Tylenol and a prescription for antibiotics and we were out the door.

Now it's Scott's turn. He has a small cyst on the white of his left eye and will have out patient surgery some time in August. His cyst is actually on the eye. Addison's was on her lid. A little different procedure so he will be worked over at a surgical center. Still, relatively simple procedure, so they say.

I wonder if he can rock a patch like Addison.

PARKING LOT

Shae and I snuck out of the house yesterday to do a little shopping and ran into Addison. Imagine that. We hit Old Navy and Gap and found, of course, treasures we couldn't live without. Hope was off to a dance performance by her bff Rachel so she was not among those of us in the spending frenzy.

We were walking back to our car and Addison yells "Hope" while looking across the parking lot. I didn't see Hope but hey, she is my daughter so I start yelling as well. She didn't acknowledge us so we kept screaming. All parking lot walkers turned and looked at us as if we have violated some unspoken etiquette in parking lot lore.

Oh. It wasn't Hope. We hung our humiliated heads and went straight to our cars.

COW BELLE

I was sent to the grocery store yesterday with instructions to buy Cow Belle cheese. Addison, apparently, has become very fond of it and wants me to start stocking it in our fridge. I run out the door with the list and hit Albertson's.

Understand that I do have several items that I occasionally still purchase at the big "A" but as a general rule we shop Sprouts. I have become unfamiliar with the lay out of this store and I head for the cheese section looking to bag the wanted item. I can not find it. I search, pick up packages, search some more, become frustrated and finally settle on cheese that I think she might like. I take said cheese, along with other can't live without stuff, to check out and head home.

I walk in the house and ask Addison what was the name of the cheese again and she replies with the same title. I hand her the cheese I have purchased. "That's it" she yells.

Oh. It's called Baby Belle not Cow Belle. Heavy sigh.

SUMMER TIME

We Roderick's love the summer time! Outside, at the river, at the beach . . . we don't care! Just give us the hot outdoors!