Thanks for your encouragement

I have to say thanks to everyone who posted a comment on my "Medical Resident" post. I have such great friends! Your comments really helped me get through this week (Jon had another really long one- and was gone again today- Sunday). I was able to handle church much better this week because my attitude really improved- due to your encouragement. The kids are doing better too. We didn't even have to leave sacrament meeting once! I don't even know how long it has been since that happened. Don't get me wrong, it still was a struggle to truly get much out of that hour because I was still struggling with the kids- but it was sooo much better. And truly- things seep in here and there. So thanks!

The only thing I am dreading tonight while Jon is gone are sick kids. We went over to a friends house this evening (the Hirtles - a new medical student family in our ward- they are GREAT! I have loved getting to know Stephanie!). Lillian threw up all over herself, me and their couch. Ugh- so GROSS! I can never get used to throw up. Anyway- I am hoping she just ate something bad (Heck, I caught her licking the fly swatter yesterday- who knows what has gone into that mouth). We will see. That was a couple of hours ago, and so far nothing else has happened so I can hope! I'm not feeling too well either -I may be in for a long night!

Sunnyside Fun

I love a trip out into the countryside . . . this time of year is amazingly beautiful here in the Yakima area! The vinyards and orchards- and even the hops are so beautiful. Every time I drive anywhere, I get a great view of Yakima (east of us)- and the orchards and hops down into Moxee (south of us). Most days I can see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams - - it takes my breath away every time. The vibrant green of the many hop fields south of us are so incredible! I will really miss them when they are harvested. Too bad they are made into beer! Thursday I even gleaned pears with some other women from my ward at a nearby orchard- (who can beat free fruit!) and am going to try to can them maybe next week. Yikes- we will see how that goes!
Friday was our day in Sunnyside. My good friend Cathy had us and several of my Sunnyside friends over to her little "farm" out in the countryside for a play group. She has chickens and horses- and the best was the pony which all the kids got to ride! Thanks Cathy!

Brushing the pony . . .

The kids at the gate waiting for their turn!

They even have a trampoline- can't get more fun than that.

Just a great picture of Marcus in one of their trees

In the chicken coop!

Lillian even loved her pony ride!

What a fun time. We also spent time at Natalie's and then Tiffanie Bodine's - - and topped the day off with a visit to Margie at our old apartments. She watched the kids while I went on a girls night out to the China Wok there in Sunnyside. We had a blast! I think we stayed at our table a long time after we finished actually eating, because we were enjoying ourselves so much. It still felt like we were missing someone- Brooke! Marcus asked earlier in the day if we were going to see Devon and Cameron- I was so sad to remind him they had moved to California. I miss you, Brooke! I miss my Sunnyside friends so much- but at least I do get to see most of them fairly often, just not on a day to day basis. The good news is I am starting to make some really good friends here in Yakima. We put together a playgroup at the park on Thursday and had a great turn out! There are some wonderful women here that I am super excited to get to know!

A medical resident . . .

Sigh . . . pictured above is a day in the life of a 1st year medical resident doing his OB rotation- on the off hours!

Jon is doing his OB rotation for his residency program and he just completed the first week. I added up the hours and it was somewhere in the vicinity of 95!! I am just so glad that not every month is like this- just here and there will he have a bad month like this. At least he is doing something interesting like delivering babies. What makes the hours so high is that 3 times a week he worked from 7am to noon the next day (28 ish hours in a row), maybe catching a couple of broken up hours of sleep at the hospital between births. He comes home and CRASHES (see picture above)- and I do everything in my power to keep my children quiet- which is quite impossible - - sorry Jon! Luckily- he can sleep ANYWHERE and through ANYTHING! The weekdays he wasn't doing this, he worked 12 hour days. I just got called to help in the Cub Scouts- and I feel bad that I have to take the kids with me most weeks. Oh well . . .

Today was especially rough- Sundays are hard enough even with both of us. My hat goes off to any single parents, or parents who have inactive or non member spouses - - what you do every week coming to church is AMAZING! We had an especially long church day in addition because of the dedication of our church building. I groaned when I walked in and found out the time had changed without us knowing and that church started at 11:30 instead of 11:00, and went until 3:00. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to be there for the dedication- I just groaned to think of how we were going to survive that long of church. I actually left after the sacrament during sacrament meeting to get some food from home for my vocally "starving" children (boy Cynthia can whine), then returned for the rest of church. I felt kind of bad getting up to leave, but I was NOT in a very good mood and was frustrated with my bickering and complaining children. After eating, listening to primary songs in the car and saying a family prayer in the car- I felt much better about church, and the rest went fairly well. I need to look on all this with a sense of humor, though- Marcus was yelling at me all the way to church the first time because I had chewed him out for punching Cynthia. He angrily yelled "Mom, I wish you were Chocolate so I could eat you!!" OOOOO- I wish I were chocolate too. It was so funny that I felt my tension ease and even though Marcus was still being a problem, I was a little more at ease.

With all this complaining done- I want to say that I am extremely proud of my husband and his ability to handle this kind of work. He is pretty good about not being grumpy from lack of sleep (most of the time), and seems to handle the stress well. He is loving and amazingly still works on home improvement projects (I think this is his outlet). He even will still watch the kids so I can go to the store (though that is really hard, because I would rather be with him than go to the store, because he isn't home often!) And again, I am so grateful for my life- even though sometimes Jon's career choice is difficult- it is a hard path to take- I NEVER regret the choices we have made. Jon is fufilling his dream. Having a husband who is satisfied and happy with his career is a HUGE blessing. So- it is all worth it. I want with all my heart to be supportive and help him do well. I have been expecting his residency to be harder than medical school (when it comes to hours worked)- so I was prepared for this- - - it still doesn't mean it is easy to handle. Last year Jon had to do some away rotations- and that was hard- - so I felt like I would be prepared to do things on my own again. Maybe because all the kids are still off from school, or maybe because I get a "taste" of him, I seem to miss him more when he is working so much. What has helped me survive is some of the new friends I have made here- I think I am going to really like this ward. We went out on a double date with a couple in our ward about our age and had a BLAST!! I also paid for a babysitter (VERY worth it) so I could go to book club on Thursday night and actually have REAL conversations with other women. Ahhhh- for me, talking with other women is like balm to my soul. And extremely energizing! Any of you that know me- I am a huge TALKER- that is where I get my emotional (and sometimes physical) energy. Things like book club are essential to my well being!

With that said- does anyone have some advice for me on several things? First- how to be supportive to a husband who has to work LONG weary hours (during the night especially), second- how to have a good attitude about it, third- how to best handle church and Sundays as a single parent, and anything else pertinent. I know I am not the only one who has ever had to go through this- so would love your comments!

Happy Birthday Cynthia- and a busy weekend!

After being home just a few days from Utah- and my day in Seattle- we all piled back in the van and went to Spokane for the weekend. My brother had his mini wedding reception at my parent's house- and I helped do the food. It turned out GREAT- it was so fun to see people from my home ward and others that are close to our family. I also got to see my cousin Melanie and her kids- so much fun!

Don't Steve and Natalie look like the happy newlywed couple!!

I got to see my nephew Carter (Katie- Jon's sister's son) that night for the first time- isn't he adorable!!!

Before we left town, we celebrated Cynthia's birthday with our families at a park in Spokane. It was over 100 degrees that day- we practically melted! I now have a big 5 year old, who is going into Kindergarten! I can hardly believe it. She brings so much sunshine to our family- she is so intensely enthusiastic and loving. She loves to make friends and do anything active. I will miss her when she goes to school this year- though she is truly ready! I love my little girl so much.

The kids had fun with a pinata- and she received a few gifts - - Happy Birthday Cynthia!

Off to the big city . . .

I know this is a week after the fact (it has been a crazy week) . . .

I had an amazing day last week going to the Stephenie Meyer/ Blue October concert in Seattle with two wonderful Sunnyside friends- Reagran and Natalie. First off I have to say a HUGE thanks to Reagran who put this together- THANKS soooo much for including me!

We drove up to the BIG city of Seattle (I felt like country mouse seeing the big city). We ate out at a great little restaurant, walked around the pier and Pikes place market. I will never forget making a fool of myself in the fish market. I stood buy a guy selling fish to get a picture- he held up the hugest bug eyed fish on the display for the picture. With the face of the fish inches from mine, I thought I would be silly and pretend to kiss the fish by making a pucker face. The next thing I know the fish was pushed into my puckered lips by the guy selling the fish! I screamed really loud and everyone in the market stared at me- this crazy person frantically wiping my mouth and spiting. I was so embarrassed. It just startled me so much- I couldn't help but scream.

It was a really fun day- and the best was of course what we came for- to meet Stephenie Meyer (along with 2,000 other people!). The concert is basically a book signing- with some songs sang by Justin Furstenfeld, the lead singer in the band Blue October. Many of their songs inspirited Stephenie's writing- so fit very well with the event. It was amazing- the music did fit so very well with the feel of the books and set the mood for the whole evening. Stephenie Meyer, of course, talked a little and did a question and answer period. Then we waited in a really long line to get our books signed. We met people from as far away as Texas, and fans who did crazy things every year like rent a silver volvo and drive around Forks, WA, and eat out in Port Angeles! It was great. I had fun telling people that I went on my honeymoon to the Olympic Penninsula- and stayed in a bed and breakfast just outside of Forks. Stephenie Meyer is an amazing author- it was so great to see her in person!

Thanks again Reagran and Natalie for a great day.

Utah - a wedding and more!

Congratulations Steve and Natalie!!!! August 7th, 2008- a wonderful sunny day for a temple wedding. We arrived in Utah the day before just in time for me to meet Natalie for the first time at her bridal shower- and I am super excited about the wonderful girl my brother has chosen to marry. Happiness at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple!

Natalie makes my brother just glow- it is so wonderful to see such a happy couple! She really does bring out the best in him, which is everything a big sister could want.

After the wedding ceremony (which was incredibly beautiful), we had a luncheon at Mimi's Cafe in Orem- below is the happy couple!

I am so happy to have a new sister and friend.

The wedding reception was beautiful!

The original 5 Monson kids ranging from me as the oldest at almost 31, down to my brother Brian, who is 18. From left- my youngest brother Brian, my sister Laura Coons, my sister Shauna Mosbacker, Me, then the groom- my brother Steve. Now only Brian is the only one unmarried (he needs to go on his mission first . . . ).

The Monson grandkids- cousin power!! From left- Adam Mosbacker, Cynthia, Marcus, Rachel Coons (baby in Marcus' arms), Lillian, Benjamin Coons, and Hannah Mosbacker. Just look at all those blonde cuties!

Hannah and Cynthia had fun playing under the table- they are buds!

Cutting the cake . . .

My sisters and brothers in law decorated their car too look like a rat and filled their car with balloons- can you see the buck teeth?

Have a wonderful honeymoon, Natalie and Steve!


After the wedding the rest of us hung out the rest of the weekend- it is so fun to all get together. We hiked to a little grotto with water fall up in one of the canyons- it was a beautiful spot, up until it started to pour rain! We thought we would wait out the storm under the over hanging rocks- but it just got worse. I kept having these horrifying visions of flash floods and all of us (including the seven small children with us- including a tiny baby) washing down the canyon. At about the time the water started to rise (though it wasn't fast) and the waterfall was turning a muddy red color- we decided it was time to leave!! We slipped and slided back to our vehicles- I haven't been that muddy in a long time. It was certainly an adventure! I learned something important about our family- we really do get along really well- and are good working as a team. The effort it took to get our children and ourselves back safely only worked by us cooperating well. I am so grateful for my family- and for the men who married into our family- I think my sisters and I did really well!

On Saturday, Jon and my sister Shauna ran the Provo half marathon. I am so proud of both of them- Jon did really well (which he ALWAYS does at running), and Shauna did great despite a problem with her knee. I can't even imagine hiking or riding a bike over 13 miles, let alone run it.

Later that day we enjoyed going to the little water park there in Provo- we had a blast.

Who knows what the kids are looking at- water maybe? This grate was near where we were camped out at the water park.

My little nephew Adam- isn't he adorable!

Shauna and Lillian- enjoying the water . . .

Sunday was a very special day- my sister Laura had her baby Rachel blessed.

She is so beautiful! (Sorry about the sideways picture- I tried and tried to get it to be right- but it always posted sideways!) This was actually taken at the wedding.

The happy parents, Chris and Laura, and their new baby girl- their second child after their little boy Ben. I am so glad I got to be with them on this special day.

Hop Festival

I decided to come home from Spokane a few days early, so I could spend the weekend with Jon before we head for Utah. I am so glad we did- we had an eventful weekend going to the Hop Festival in Moxee (a town basically part of Yakima- and part of our ward), seeing a movie together (Dark Knight- stressfull but good movie!), and much more. The Hop festival was a blast! They had booths, stuff for kids, a fun run and a parade (don't worry- even though Hops are used to make beer- this was a very family friendly festival!). The highlight was Jon coming in first place for his age group (30-39) in the fun run. He is still the amazing runner he has always been! In fact, the only ones who came ahead of him in the whole race were high school kids who train every day and have much younger bodies. I am so proud of my hubby!


Friday night- got to love cotton candy!

The parade- they both came home with huge bags of candy- much to my horror (though I didn't mind letting them share a few Laffy Taffys with me . . . )

Jon with his medal- still the fastest of his age group!