marks family reunion 2011 and the amazing race...

The whole Marks crew

This past week we had all of my siblings (there are eight of us) and our families (32 grandchildren)  gathered together for the first time in over six years.  We have had fun visiting, swimming, playing, eating, amusement parking, boating and just being together.  Because I live in Utah, I get the chance to see most of my brothers and sisters throughout the year as they come here to vacation, but there is something about all being together at the same time.  We have a boisterous, crazy group but we made some fun memories. 

The couples

Mom and Dad and their children

my incredible sisters

I have a fantastic sister, Shelly, who goes out of her way to create fun moments and memories, both in her own family and extending on to the rest of us.  She forces us out of our comfort zones, and gets us to try things we haven't done before.  Sometimes, we are a little hesitant to try her brainstorms, but in the end they become some of the best memories of all our time together.  This trip was no different.  She decided that the adults would do and "Amazing Race" around Orem.  She and her husband Warren thought up all the clues, and drove around texting us the next clues and taking pictures of all our crazy antics.  These are some of the pictures of the fun.

We divided up on two teams of four couples each.  Our first challenge was to use enormous sling shots and shoot various items of different weights and sizes into buckets.   Letha, my sister on the opposing team decided that Kelly was a threat so she pulled out some crazy moves to block us.  Who knew she was that competitive, good thing Kelly took her in height!

We started receiving our clues after we conquered the first challenge.  We received these by texts.  When we would get to the correct location we had to text a picture to Shel and if it was correct she would give us the challenge we had to complete there.  So the night involved lots of crazy driving, wrong locations and crazy people running all over town.

One of the challenges took us to a grocery store where we had to purchase and someone had to eat the grossest thing we could find.  The winning team got minutes subtracted from their over all time.  Pickled pigs feet and sardines were the choices.  I think I will stick with chocolate.

 After visiting a cemetery, department store, Trafalga, Winco, a bowling alley, and a whole bunch of other wrong locations, our last clue took us to Mimi's cafe where we all had dessert together and compared stories of the night. My team came in second, (notice I said second and not last) but it was close!  Again, thanks to Shelly and Warren for putting this all together and then insisting we do it.  It will be something we won't forget for a long time.

 

Shel even put a cute short video together of some of our adventures, just click on the amazing race link below! 

 

amazing race....

By the way, I stole most of these pictures and video from my sister's blog, so thanks again Shel. For those of you who want to see the clues they came up with you can visit her blog which is listed on the right hand side of mine. It's called hill happenings.

family pictures...

We had family pictures taken this weekend.  We always get them in the fall so we thought we would try some in the summer.  :)  Cassie and Mark love to pose, but Ry and Josh weren't as accommodating. 

too many buttons....

Have you noticed how many buttons it takes to run our lives?  I never realized I was dependant on so many, until last night, when  I went to put in a dvd of a movie a friend loaned me.  Let me say, usually, Kelly runs all remotes and electrical equipment in our house (something about a man thing) and he happens to be out of town this week.  But as I am a college graduate and an intelligent and intuitive woman, I was not worried in the least about accomplishing my task. I ought to be able to figure out how to change the input from cable to dvd and play my movie!

I thought our cable remote worked all devices (isn't that what a smart remote is supposed to do?)  Apparently our remote needs to return to school because aside from turning on the tv, volume control and cable control, it was absolutely useless! I dug into the remote control drawer, yes we do have an entire drawer dedicated to remotes, and was able to finally find the remote that matched up to my tv.  Success!

 Upon pushing several buttons and gaining no response, I flipped the remote over only to discover that the children had raided the batteries in the remotes to replenish their wii controllers.  Good grief, here I am at ten at night searching through odd places to find batteries as the battery drawer was empty.  I finally broke into the wii, stole back what was mine and proudly returned to my room.  I was a woman on a mission now and I wasn't giving up. 

After successfully getting the tv remote to work I studied all the various buttons and started pushing different ones to find the correct input.  I then had to find the dvd remote to actually power and control the thing.  Once again the batteries were a victim of the world of video games and I again went in search of new ones.  By now I was totally exasperated but would not be deterred.  After mumbling under my breath about children and our reliance on batteries, I finally was successful and returned once again to my room. 

Finally, forty-five minutes later I had navigated the many remotes, pushed an excess of buttons and started my movie.  Although I was proud of my accomplishments, I was too tired to return to the kitchen to make popcorn and decided a bubble bath and a book were in order. 

That is what's wrong with the world today, or at least the Christensen household.  There are too many complicating, time consuming, battery depleting, button pushing devices and not enough page turning, imagination building, intellect developing, quiet reflecting activities.  So everyone needs to put down the buttons and open a book.  It might not be the solution for world peace, but it sure would make a more well rounded society, and in my case family.

new projects

This past month I have been in a crochet mood again. I have had a couple friends have babies and so I made some little hats. I even had the fun opportunity to help throw a baby shower. It's been awhile for me on that one. Cassie helped me make the little diaper cake. We had a blast. I crocheted the little hat on top of the bear for the new little one. I have made more girl hats lately too, but have given away some before I took pictures. These two are just some of the ones I still have here.

I am a craft spurter. I find something that I like and go gangbusters with it, only to burn out and have to take a break. So until the next crochet mood strikes, I thought I'd post these pictures.

i ate my willpower....

That is the sign that hangs above my kitchen sink, "I ate my willpower". It causes a few chuckles and smiles when people come over, but it really is true! I am always trying to drop a few pounds (ok, I need to drop a lot more than a few, but baby steps people) but it is constantly an ongoing battle to have the self discipline to make any real dent in my waistline.

Yesterday when I was eating a couple cookies after dinner and Mark said, " mom, how come your always on on a diet for breakfast, but after dinner you're not?" I had to smile and think to myself, after all these years, my nine year old just figured out my problem!

I need some siren hooked to my pantry that goes off when I pick up the chocolate, "step away from the pantry and put down that chocolate bar nice and easy..."

One time years ago I made lemon bars, and discovered that I was the only one in my young family who liked them. I joked with Josh who was five at the time, "go hide these somewhere where I won't find them." He took me seriously and for the next few weeks I kept trying to get him to tell me where he hid them, but his lips were sealed. Finally I found what I think was originally lemon bars decomposing under my bed. To tell you the truth, I don't eat them much anymore. Maybe I need to enlist him to make chocolate and cookies unappetizing.

Josh is going on a major backpacking trip next week with his scout troop. I have been buying lightweight freeze dried food for him to take and it isn't amounting to much. I was talking with a friend tonight whose son is also going and we said that our boys will come back ten pounds lighter. Then both of us remarked that we should go too. (She totally does not need the backpacking diet, but I do!) I can just see me half way through the week in severe sweet withdrawals, seeing mirages every where I looked, not of pools of cool water, but of melted chocolate instead.

So if anyone has any great ideas how to make it through my summer without gaining my weight in sweets, I'd welcome the advice and my scale. who is constantly under verbal attack, would thank you.

class of 2011....

Well he went ahead and did it, he graduated. He didn't ask for permission, or kindly agree to do another year in high school for me, he decided it was time to go on to the next phase in his life and so he did. Since he was very stubborn about the whole thing, I decided I should probably go and support him. However, let me go on the record and say, this went against my whole plan to stop time or at least delay it for a bit.

It is still a bit surreal for me. I know I was there to witness it, I know it's been coming for quite awhile now, I know he is registered for college this fall and yet it is still hard to believe this day has arrived and my oldest, great big teddy bear of a son has graduated. I got a bit teary at times but was proud of myself for holding it together. The uncomfortable seats in the Marriot Center helped distract me, so I guess I can be grateful for that.

I am a proud mom today, I have been blessed with great children, and Ryan is the leader of that pack. It's not easy being the oldest child, I am an oldest child so I know. :) He has put up with my trial and error type of parenting and still managed to do well despite my great learning curve. Every new phase of his life I would tell him, "this is the first time I've been the parent of an eight year old, a teenager, a child who can date, an adult...and so we"ll just need to figure it out together." I have appreciated his humor, obedience, patience and even his scientific mind over the years. I am glad I get this one last summer with him before he goes off to college and then onto his mission. Maybe by then I will have created a time machine that will work. Thanks for the last eighteen years of learning and memories Ryan; and here's hoping the next eighteen move at a slower pace. I'm thinking a snail is a good family mascot.

ryan's senior pictures....

Ryan graduates next week!! I really am not this old. I promise. He is such a good looking guy, not that I'm prejudiced or anything. I can't think too far in the future or else I just get emotional. He has acted like an adult since he was six, but the fact that he is very soon going out on his own is always at the back of my mind. I just want to rewind the last few years and make them go slower and enjoy them more. Time passing is so different at this stage of my life. I just want to hit the pause button and catch my breath, but it isn't to be. I am so proud of Ry and the incredible person he is. The next pictures I post of him will be in a cap and gown.

mark advances in cubs....

Last night at Pack Meeting Mark received his Bear award. I can't believe this is my last time going through cubs! He had his serious face on and was all business last night. He is such a cutie. I am proud of his hard work. When he sets his mind to something there is no stooping him. Congratulations Mark!

the long way home.....

I should start this post saying be careful what you pray for, or perhaps, be very specific what you pray for. Our flights to and from Cancun were very early morning flights. I chose them because 1) they were cheap and 2)they had short layovers and were cheap. Our flight a week ago left Salt Lake City at 6:00 am, and the one coming back left at 7:00 am . Which meant both travel days we were up at the wee hours of the morning heading to the airport. Kelly kept giving me a bad time about the fact that on vacation we had to get up so much earlier than on days we were working. Did I mention the flights were cheap? :)

Getting back to praying. I was very worried on the way back we that would miss our connecting flight in Dallas because we had the shortest layover and had to get our bags and go through customs. I had heard stories of people recently needing more than the ninety minutes we had to clear customs. I remember saying a little prayer about it and praying we would land in Dallas on time and make our next flight. I did fail however to mention to Heavenly Father, that we didn't need nine hours in between flights to make it through customs. He sent hail and rain which cancelled and delayed flights. I don't recall asking for anything quite so drastic, but at two in the morning, I can't actually be sure what I requested.

Seriously, we had a long day yesterday. We finally walked through the door to our home at 11:00 pm last night. Most of our time was spend in gate C33 of the Dallas Airport. They had about a 30 minute freak storm that managed to shut down all flights in and out for a short time and then the rest of the day was spent playing catch up. There were times we didn't know if we would make it out of there yesterday, but eventually we did. When we finally landed in Salt Lake it was to find that our bags didn't want to come home from our vacation and were still hiding in Dallas or somewhere in between. We are still waiting to see if they will find there way home.

I told Kelly that yesterday didn't ruin our wonderful vacation, we will always have incredible memories of Cancun, just not great ones of gate C33 and American Airlines. :) Right before we finally boarded our flight, I was so tired and frustrated and then I saw this little three year old Asian girl. She had long pig tails and a bright pink tu tu playing leap frog with herself in and out and between the line at the gate. It made me smile. She had been waiting just as long as we had all day, and yet had managed to turn it into an adventure. Her little smile and joyful antics brightened up the long line of tired travelers. It was a little sunshine in a long day of storm clouds.

So if I have any advice at the conclusion of our long day yesterday it is to be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it. :) I just hope if you have a long hard day sometime, you get a little girl in a pink tu tu to make you smile. Oh and by the way, if you see any lost luggage by the side of the road, let me know.

day 6...tulum and xel ha

Today we went on a tour of Tulum. It wasn't even close to the quality we had with Helaman. We should have scheduled with him again. Tulum is right on the coast. The water is so clear and beautiful you almost get drawn to the ocean views and disreguard the ruins. We saw lots of iguana's there, I think they have taken the place over. I never thought I'd say lizards were cute, but I'm kind of partial to iguana's. Who would have thought?

We spent the afternoon snorkeling at Xel Ha. A ecological park here. We saw all sorts of fish, and I was proud I didn't scream when than swam close. Of course I was worried about inhaling salt water at the time, so that could explain it. Kelly would probably like it if I snorkeled more often. I am actually still and quiet for a few moments. After listening to me non stop this week, I think he enjoyed the break. :)

I can't believe our week is coming to a close here. It has truly been so relaxing and remarkable. For my first international trip, I have loved every minute. It has been great to spend so much time with Kelly. Life gets so busy sometimes, that we don't always get time for just the two of us. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to take another trip before the next twenty years go by.

day 5...at the beach

We enjoyed another relaxing day at the beach. We sat under our palapa, drinking non alcholic banana momma's, reading, playing in the ocean, walking on the beach. The breeze feels amazing at the beach, and the water is so warm. We go to the far end of the resort and it is so quiet and secluded. Our poor waitress always says, "why do you take the last, last, last palapa?"

In the evenings it's nice to spend it at the resort eating dinner and watching one of the shows. Sometimes there are vendors in the plaza here and I have gotten pretty good at bartering. The first day I bought something a little higher than I should have, and then got smart. Now they are fun to talk to and see what deals I can come up with.

I love this man I have been married to for the past twenty years. He is always making me laugh and see things through a humorous perspective. He has this great hat and it makes him act all Indiana Jones like. I grabbed the camera and had some fun.

day 4...horseback riding

Today we were taken to a nearby beach club to go horseback riding. We had a little bit of a wait before they were ready for us so we relaxed on the beach. I can't get over how beautiful the beaches are here. There is always a great breeze down by the water which makes me not notice the heat.



As I mentioned earlier I have not had a lot of experiences on horses. I told our guide I wanted a gentle obedient horse, basically one that worked on auto pilot. He had a good time teasing me, telling me all his horses have names like Jack the Riper, Lucifer, WidowMaker and so on. We had to wear a little wristband to show we had priveleges at the club for the day and our guide joked that it had a GPS in it so when my horse came back alone, they could come find me. What a comedian!!

I was given a horse called Poker. His nickname is apparently pokey poker which made me feel a lot better than widowmaker. He did really well except for the last half of our ride. Then his cruise control started malfunctioning, he would slow way down and amble along, then all of the sudden start trotting to catch up. My balance and grace is non exisitant so I'm sure everyone got a laugh at me trying to stop the running horse and convince it to speed up a few minutes later all while trying to stay upright in the saddle. Kelly's horse was named Simba, and it liked to stop and eat. I identified with it quite well actually, especially if they would chocolate coat all the foilage around here.


We had a great time on our ride, part of it was on the beach and part went through some jungle areas. There was only one other couple with us and three guides. They must have been forwarned I was coming and made sure I had sufficient supervision. Now we are back at our room relaxing and getting ready to go out to one of the restaurants here for dinner. So far we have tried a seafood one and an indonesian one. It's strange to come to mexico and have different types of food. We have italian, mexican, french, japanese and a steakhouse left to try.



Thanks for your comments, I feel bad for our friends back home who have had nothing but rain. I wish all of you could be here with us. Friends would make this vacation all the more enjoyable. By the way, ignore typo's and mispellings. I didn't realize how much I depend on spellcheck until I come to another country and it doesn't recognize English words. Everything comes back highlighted. :)

day 3...at the beach

Today we planned a relaxing day at the beach. It's a short walk from our room and we are right on the water. I love all the walkways around here, they are all beautiful maintained.

We love to sit under a palapa, and just read and relax. The breeze was cooling and the water was incredibly warm. Again, it was quiet and open at the beach and for most of the day we felt like we were on our own private beach. We had a great waitress who kept bringing us tropical virgin drinks. The banana momma is our current favorite. They are getting used to seeing us and say..."sin alcohol" and we just nod and smile.

The weather has been so beautiful, although the humidity is having fun with my hair. Kelly is always laughing at what crazy curls I have each day. Tomorrow we are horseback riding in the jungle. Wish me luck. My experiences on the back of that four legged animal have not always been positive. My first experience was on my grandparents horse named speedy. He had trouble living up to his name, but I loved him. I could sit on his back and he would just stand for quite awhile and then I would get down. In College I had a life biology class and we went on an overnight horsebacking trip. I was the only girl on a horse named blondie, the five guys that came had to keep rescuing me as my horse had a mind of it's own and I wasn't sure how to "steer" it. Quite a few laughs on my behalf. Hopefully tomorrow I won't take off full speed in the jungle like some indiana Jones want to be. Maybe I'll discover another ancient myan site?

day 2...mayan ruins

We were picked up at our resort just before 8:00 a.m. to begin our day looking at some Myan ruins. We had previously booked with an LDS tour guide named Helaman (yes, that is really his name and he has a son named Nephi) and went with two other couples from nearby hotels. We had heard so many good things about Helaman tours from friends and were so happy we got Helaman himself as our guide. He was so knowlegeable and fun. He kept us on our toes with questions from the Old Testament and Book of Mormon. So much about the history that I never knew.

We traveled for about an hour and a half into the jungle and stopped first at Ek Balem. It was a great place, and not crowded with tourists as some of the other sites. It was hot and dusty but this was my favorite stop of the two we made that day. You could walk and climb on the buildings and temples and the views were amazing.

Throughout the day I was constantly amazed at the intricate carvings made by this people so long ago. I loved learning how intelligent they were in astronomy with their calendars, their numbers and symbolism. It was great to see how the scriptures made so many of these things make sense. I was facinated all day long.




This was our tour group for the day. One couple was from Salt Lake and one was from Calgary. They were a lot of fun to talk with through our travels. It was great to be with some other LDS couples.

This building was known as the palace. It is where the king and his priests lived. We were able to climb it (these Mayan's loved stairs!)

The next building was the temple. I thought the first set of stairs was tough. Good grief. My legs are still wondering what on earth I was thinking yet as I try to convince them it's ok to move today. It was quite steep and as I am afraid of heights I wondered if I could do it. Going up was easier than coming down. I found I did better when I only concentrated on the step below me. Less vertigo that way.

A view from the top

coming down

After leaving Ek Balem, we traveled about forty minutes to Chichen Itza. This site was very commericial and busy. We had a great lunch and began our tour. The thing that amazed me most about this site was how much the Mayan's became interested in idolotry. They were just a blood thirsty people and the human sacrifices that went on were very unsettling.

Years ago you used to be able to climb these ruins, but no so today. To tell you the truth I was very relieved about that by this point.

This is the observatory. Their ability to use calendars was amazing and this building still shows the change of every season.

At Chichen Itza there were lots of vendors selling things, and at times it was difficult to focus on the ruins. The hardest part were how the children came up to you to sing and sell things. They were hard to resist. At one point we stopped to hear these two sing a song in the Mayan language. We tipped them, but then they followed us around for awhile trying to sell us things. They were so sweet, and should have probably been in school, I just wanted to take them home with us.

There were carvings of the face of Caac, the rain god everywhere. When you walk through this hot, dry area with little foilage and no nope of water in sight, I would see how rain would have been a major concern for them.

Despite the twelve hour day, the heat and THE STAIRS, it was an amazing day. I learned so much and loved seeing places I had never seen before. Thanks Helaman, I would recommend anyone who wants to have an incredible day seeing the ruins in this area to look him up. You won't be disappointed.

Shortly before we returned to our resort Helaman said we had to try mexican ice cream. He pulled off the side of the road and got some. Perfect ending to a hot fun day.