Standiford Family

Almost two weeks ago now Mickey had knee surgery.  I don’t know why I haven’t written about it yet or why he hasn’t for that matter.

It all started about a year ago.  He unknowingly hurt his knee.  He still has no idea how he did it.  The pain had been getting worse and it sounded terrible when it would crack.  I will say I actually nagged him, and I never nag him, to go see his Sports Med. doc.  He finally did.  After getting an unnecessary x-ray, aren’t they always, he got an MRI that showed he had torn his minecus.  What?  How?  (This is my understanding of it.  I am not a medical professional but I do sometimes understand the jargin the doctors spew out.)  The minecus is the “padding” between the upper and lower leg bones in the knee joint.  He had a tear on the inner side of the right knee.  The flap of tissue was causing irritation and therefore pain.  Removing the flap of tissue should solve the problem.  Mickey went to a surgeon named Michael Yergler.  He was good.  And he was fast.  Mickey was in and out of surgery in about 15 minutes.  (It was laparoscopic.)   He was only on crutches for about 2 minutes to get into the house.  He didn’t need any strong pain meds.  He even entertained the kids over the weekend.  He spent his recovery time playing Lego Batman with his leg propped up.

Dr. Yergler told me not to baby him and I didn’t.  I didn’t make him get up all the time for ice but Mickey didn’t get waited on hand and foot.  I thought he should have gone back to work on Monday but he was a little tired so I didn’t complain, it is nice having him home and almost to myself.  We got to run some errands together.  He went back to work and school on Tuesday.  He came home sore and tired.  He had a long walk from the car to class and back again.  Oops.  The next Friday he had an appt. to get the stitches removed.  Dr. Yergler was impressed with his recovery.  He told him in three weeks he could do whatever he wanted.  Now my only question is why did he wait so long?

I’m Mickey Standiford and I approved this message.

Tonight was the annual Trunk-Or-Treat at church.  Mickey and the kids dressed up and went.  Here are a few of the heroes and villains from Gotham City.  (Masks are not allowed so we did the best we could.)

Our Saturday was really busy.  We had two soccer games, almost at the same time.  Mat’s started first.  She played aggressively but didn’t score.  One day I hope she gets a goal.  It would make her so happy.  Meg’s game started about 20 minutes later.  I missed most of hers because I was watching Mat’s.  Meg got injured (fell on her knee) so she was on the sidelines for a while.  She went back in in the third quarter.  From Mat’s game I could see her running and kicking a lot but she didn’t score either.  She did play goalie the fourth quarter and again stopped everything coming her way.  I think that’s her best position.  She did say she needs to work on having a powerful kick but she throws it out of the goalie box so well we told her she didn’t need to worry about it too much.

We came home and most of us ate lunch.  I grabbed a snack and finally started painting the shutters I had Mickey take down about two weeks ago.  The weather has been too cold to paint so I waited for a nice day.  I got it yesterday.  It was almost 80 and the sun was HOT after enduring some days in the 50’s.  While I painted Mickey weatherized some wood on the deck off the kitchen.

He hung them up while I made dinner later.  (I wish I would have taken a before and after.  They were so faded they were almost pink.)

Since Mickey knew I had a lot to do yesterday he took the kids to see Wall-E.  That was a nice break for me.  Thanks, Babe.  I finished working on my lesson and gave the shutters a second coat.  Then I cleaned up and went to JoAnn for their Columbus Day sale.  Now this is a holiday that’s not really celebrated except by stores.  You’ve got to love it when they give out 50% off coupons.  I used 3 yesterday!

We then had dinner.  Not exactly the way I had wanted since our grill ran out of gas.  I had to bake the chicken instead.  It didn’t taste as good.  Then we, mostly Mickey, got the kids to bed and I worked out.  Then he came down and did what he had been waiting to do all day.  Play the Batman Lego game.  He’s finished the Star Wars Lego game so this is his new obsession.

Okay, the summer is “officially” over since today is Labor Day. (I started this last night.  After spending two hours fighting with the slow internet and iPhoto not working right I gave up and now I’m trying again.)  I thought I better get writing about some of our activities from the summer before I forget them all.  You all know about our vacation already so I won’t bore you with that again.  Soon after we were home Mickey and I celebrated our 15th anniversary, can you believe it?  Here we are at the National Zoo.  I think it’s a good picture of both of us.  Thanks for taking it John.

I think Mickey finished this project before we left for Virginia but I just got around to taking pictures.  I had to move all my bulbs from the yard where the septic was redone.  Mickey was great and made me a flower bed to plant all the bulbs I kept.  I also planted some strawberry plants I moved for safe keeping.  It has filled in and looks great.

Megan finished up another season of softball.  She played second base a lot, some at catcher, and also pitched an inning.  She is an awesome little player.  She’s also really good at keeping the girls involved while they’re in the dugout.  You can always hear her singing and chanting more than anyone else.  Maybe it’s just the loud voice.  Here’s a few more softball pics.

We had a really big rain on June 6th.  (I’m so glad the digital photos get automatically dated.)  Mickey took Kade out to jump/run in the puddles and the girls tagged along.  Here’s some pictures from that.  Kade was soaked when he came in.  And of course he thought it was funny to splash his sisters.

I think strawberry picking is going to become an annual event for us.  This is our second year going.  There were a lot of weeds in Grandpa’s Orchard this year and the berries were on the small side but they were delicious.  I don’t think Kade actually picked any.  If so he ate it.

I froze a lot of them and will turn them into jam.  Mmmm…it’s our favorite.

At the end of June we spent a day at Great America.  The girls were so excited to go, and I guess Kade was too.  We went with Mike, Betty, Amanda, Michelle, Abby, and Emma.  I think everyone had a good time.  (I’ve learned I’m not going back.  It’s just not my kind of place.  I’d rather stay home and enjoy the peace.)  Megan and Kade loved the roller coasters.  Mattey and I found the tamer rides.  There was a water ride that was fun but since we got soaked no one wanted to go on it again with me.  Amanda did some American Idol Kareokee and the girls were her back up dancers.  Later Megan and Mattey got brave and sang a song.  They were great!  I’ll have to get Mickey to put the video on.  I’ll bug him so hopefully it will get done sometime this year.  Here’s a link to the rest of the pictures.

I’ve done some sewing this summer.  I made Mattey a little dress and a beaded purse.  (You can’t really see the beads, they blend in.)

I also made myself a Vera Bradley knock off.  I started with some Moda fabric.  And worked out a pattern.  And came up with this.  I really like it.  Look at all the pockets!  I love knowing where everything is.

We had a family date and went bowling at Chippewa Bowling Alley.  I was a little nervous since I hurt my back 5 years ago at a bowling alley.  I survived and everyone had a really good time.  Kade was hilarious to watch.  Megan has a wicked spin.  Mattey somehow ended up getting a lot of strikes.  We weren’t sure how she did it.  Mickey tries to make a dent in the lane by throwing the ball so hard.  I cautiously and slowly walked to the line and gently rolled the ball.  Our scores are somewhere but I don’t have time to look for them now.  But here are some pictures of the family having a good time.  The rest are here.  (Please note that Kade and Mickey’s date are in this album also, that’s why they have two different outfits on.)

We thought we’d try cherry picking this year.  We went with Michelle and her girls.  Mickey was at work.  It’s not really his thing anyway.  All the kids had a bucket and we had about 70 pounds of cherries in 30-45 minutes!  We had to tell the kids to stop picking.  Once again Kade didn’t really pick except to eat.  He was a mess!

So that was June.  We were busier than I thought.  In July we celebrated the 4th at Jan and Doc’s house.  John provided us with a fabulous firework show.  The next week the kids started their annual tennis lessons at Leeper Park.  Kade even got to play this year.  He was very excited about that.  It’s great being 3.  It was great being me too because I got to sit by myself and knit.  Meg has an advantage in tennis, she’s ambidextrous.  If she wanted she could hit a powerful forehand with either hand.  I would love for her to practice this but she’s kind of taken to only using her right hand, just like she does for all sports.  Mattey was a little apprehensive but I think she enjoyed herself.

We couldn’t stop with strawberries and cherries we picked blueberries (twice) and peaches.  We picked blueberries at the Blueberry Ranch.

We went once as a family for FHE and once with my sister-in-law, Mary, and her kids, Crissy, Jr., and Sabe.  (I forgot the camera for this outing.  And Megan had the camera for the peaches so not many pictures got taken.)  They also went with all of us to pick peaches.  Sabe is waiting for apple season.  We got the peaches (and also the cherries) from Treemendous Fruits.

We had so many peaches.  We picked 78 pounds!  They were yummy.  A lot of us were allergic to the fuzz so we were rather itchy on the way home.  Next time we’ll wear long sleeves and gloves.  As I posted earlier I made a lot of jam with the peaches.  I also made cobbler twice, peach muffins, and a peach pie smoothie.

Mickey and I also planted a tree in July.  We found a crab apple for half off at Home Depot.  Here’s Mickey planting it.  I’ll take a picture of the tree in the Spring when it flowers, if it survives the winter.

This year the girls signed up for 4H.  Megan signed up for Photography and Wildlife.  Mattey signed up for Sewing.  The time kind of got away from us and Megan only got her photography project done.  Mattey didn’t get her project started mostly because I was the one that had to teach her.  Yikes.  When I was in 4H I had classes and meetings but Meg had almost nothing.  I won’t dwell on the negative.  Megan got a blue ribbon for her project.  Mattey will still be in mini 4H next year so she can do the same project.  We can start on it anytime.  It will be a good way to use up some down time in the winter.

That ends July.  In August Mickey started a few projects.  One is finishing the new bathroom downstairs and the other is building a deck on the side of the garage, since we don’t have a back yard.  It has turned out really nice.  It’s in the shade by 4-5 pm and when there’s a breeze you can really feel it there.  Now that it’s done it’s my turn to add a flower bed around it and make it a little cozier.  We are planning a railing or something for next year.  We bought some solar lights to put around it too.

Since this post has taken me hours and hours to do I’ll write about the bathroom later and I have to take a few more pictures.  I’ll just say it’s sassy green and working.  I’m thankful to have a handy husband.

I’ll conclude with my birthday.  I must be sick if I’m doing this.  Anyway, I had a nice day with Mickey and Kade and later the girls.  We went to Chili’s for lunch and Mickey surprised me with not going back to work for the rest of the day.  We ran to Meijer for a few things.  It’s nice shopping with someone other than a child, except he wanted to look at the legos and things too.  I made a triple layer cake with chocolate and white with raspberry filling.  It was a little unlevel but very tasty.  We just had some deli sandwiches for dinner so we could dig into the cake.  Mickey and the kids totally spoiled me with presents.  I got a thick exercise mat, 27 Dresses, the Fellowship soundtrack, a complete collection of Jane Austen, new ear buds, and the Eragon books.  That takes almost everything off my wishlist.  I’ll have to work hard to come up with stuff for Christmas.  I also got some cards, money, and gift cards from other family members.  Thanks.

Now I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  Sorry if you spent an hour reading this.  Hopefully I can get back to posting things when they happen.  Like today our driveway is getting fixed.  I’m so terrible I’m not even taking pictures of it.  Oh well.

I know it’s June already but there are a few things that haven’t been covered from May yet. (I’ve taken a break from blogging and then the internet didn’t want to work right. So I’m finally getting around to it.) May was a very busy month and it just flew by for us. We had a few birthdays, Mother’s Day, a Spring concert, softball practice and games, 2 field days, septic work, last day of school, and a week long vacation. This post will cover a few of these things. The vacation is big enough it will get it’s own post after I’ve gone through the hundreds of pictures we took.

I can now show the first rag quilt I made. My mom got it for Mother’s Day.

One big event for May was Mattey’s 7th birthday. She was very excited to turn 7. We had her party the Sunday before her birthday. We had it at Nana and Papa’s house because ours was a mess in preparation to have septic and plumbing work done. Mattey got some great gifts. She wanted a white and chocolate cake but wouldn’t let me put the raspberry filling in the middle. Here’s the birthday girl (I can’t believe she’s 7 already):

Megan had a Spring Concert for school. This is her second concert being in the school choir (it’s only open to the 3rd & 4th graders). The music teacher gave her a CD with all the songs on it and she practiced her songs all the time. By the night of the concert the whole family knew all the words. Here’s Meg at the concert. She did great. They aren’t good pictures but what can you do without a huge flash? (She’s supposed to look like that in the second picture. She’s a soldier for the Battle of New Orleans.)

Another huge thing we had the unfortunate opportunity to experience was having our septic system replaced. This is such a mess. First you have to find someone who you can count on to do the work, then your yard and sometimes your home can be torn apart, and then you have to pay big bucks for it. The first step, finding someone to do the work, took us a while. I should really say Mickey since he did all the leg work but we decided together. We went with A&R Wastewater Management. They did a good job as far as we can tell but what do we have to compare it to? Everything is working and it passed inspection by the county so I guess it’s good. To prepare for A&R to work I had to move hundreds of flower bulbs. I gave a lot of them away since I don’t have room to plant them anywhere else. (Mickey did make me a flower bed beneath our tree. It looks great. I’ll post pictures when the flowers are really blooming.) Mickey had to remove the fence, take down the swing set and move it, take down the basketball hoop, move the shed, and the really sad part, cut down the grape vine. (Sometimes it’s nice to have a bad back.) I wanted to move it but the roots went too deep so there was no way without using dynamite. And I couldn’t take cuttings because it’s the wrong time of the year and I didn’t have anywhere to keep them safe while I was gone on vacation. I’ll have to get a couple new ones and wait for a good crop. That was a lot of work.

We decided to redo some plumbing while we were at it since our water left the house in three different locations and at three different levels and the old septic tank, which collapsed, was buried under the garage. We had to do a lot of work for this project too. We moved almost everything out the laundry room and the storage room or the dark room as the kids call it. Everything was piled up in the toy room and office. Mickey had to remove the ceiling in the laundry room, cut pieces of dry wall from the wall and ceiling in the toy room, and remove some tiles from the office ceiling. The plumbers from Frog Plumbing, Inc. were good. The owner made sure not to leave us with a huge mess. He had his sons do clean up. We also had them plumb in a half bath in the basement. We are looking forward to having this done. A second toilet is a good thing for five people, especially when some people like to take a long time in the bathroom. I won’t mention any names, girls. Oops. Mickey has to frame in the walls before they can come back and finish this work.

I just wanted to publicly wish my wonderful wife a Happy Anniversary.  It’s unbelievable to think that this is a celebration of our 15th year of being married.  Where has the time gone?  According to tradition, I should be buying you something crystal, glass, or a watch.  I think I can accommodate all of those in one purchase.  What could I buy that would have a liquid crystal display under glass and be able to display a clock (well that’s as close as I could get to a watch)?

Seriously, I am lucky to have someone like you and I am thankful for all that you do for me.  I love you!

On Friday, Kade and I went, with my dad, on a Father and Son Campout.  Our church does this annually and this is the first one that we all three have attended and Kade’s first camping experience.

It was held at The Res in Mishawaka, IN.  Kade and I got there a little after 6:30 pm, grabbed our gear, and headed down the trail towards the camp site.  We then helped my Dad setup the tent.

Next it was time to build a campfire.  We all helped build the log cabin of twigs and with the help of some dryer lint and one match, we had a great looking fire.

After a quick trip to pickup some breakfast supplies, we took a three generation picture and then it was time for some dinner.

We had hot dogs and dad and I topped them off with some chili and cheese.  Towards the end of dinner we had a few small sprinkles of rain but nothing too bad.

The night came to an end with a spiritual message about the commemoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, which is the basis for the Father and Son Campout.  It was getting quite late so we headed off to our tent while others stood round the campfire telling stories and jokes.Kade slept through the night in his new Lightning McQueen sleeping bag while I on the other hand didn’t get much sleep at all.  It rained on and off through the night, but we stayed warm and dry inside the tent.  Unfortunately we had to leave a little after 6:30 am to get home in time for Megan’’s softball game so we missed out on breakfast.We had a really good time together and oh yes, this story would be incomplete if I didn’t tell you about Kade’s favorite part.  He got to pee in the woods and thought this was the funniest thing.  I guess the camp site did have a restroom but that was too far away and they always smell really bad, so Kade helped water nature. 

On Thursday Mattey’s class, well really all the first graders, went on a field trip to the South Bend Chocolate Factory.  Mattey was so excited to go on a field trip since Megan’s gone on a few already this year.  She really wanted me to go with her but I didn’t think Kade would be very good.  Mickey said he would go.  I guess there were LOTS of kids and they had to squeeze in the factory for the tour.  They also got a sample to bring home.  I think it was a good trip.  I don’t have a lot of details since I didn’t go but there are pictures.

Here’s Mattey with her friend Hayley (who also happens to have the same birthday) and then with Mickey.  Nice hair nets.

Next is the all important chocolate, first being stirred and then coming off the line.

Next Mattey is getting a taste of the chocolate and then she’s just being cute.

Here’s Mattey with a group of her friends.  From all the smiles I think they had a good time.

She’s got another field trip on Monday.  I guess it’s the end of the year or something.  Oh, we only have two more weeks!  What am I going to do?

This post has been a long time coming, sorry!  I already posted about the first half of Spring Break and this is what I did during the second half.  We got home from Ohio on Wednesday late afternoon and Kelly helped me pack up my stuff that night.Thursday morning, I picked my parents up around 6:30 a.m. and we drove to Midway Airport in Chicago, IL.  After watching my Dad get patted down (we talked about taking his picture during this), because he looked so much like a terrorist (or maybe because he has heart stints), we found our Southwest gate and waited for our plane to arrive.  The plane ride was fine, we had one of the flight attendants who like to sing behind closed doors, and the flight only seemed a tad bit too long.  We landed in Salt Lake, with this view from inside the airport,

found our rental car, a very nice Chrysler 300 Touring,

then stopped downtown to tour the Conference Center.  The tour guides there are so knowledgeable and helpful and though we only took the short tour it was really nice.Then it was on to Rexsburg, Idaho with this being the view most of the way

The drive was long but not unbearable.  We found Amanda’s apartment at BYU Idaho and met a few roommates before running over to The Pita Pit for supper.  Next was a short ceremony where we watched Amanda receive her diploma, well at least the blank diploma holder, and then some photo time.

We then met some more friends of Amanda’s at Frontier Pies where I had some good Lemon Meringue pie.  Finally about 1:30 a.m. (SB time) we finally crashed from a long first day of travel.On Friday morning Dad and I were treated to a good continental breakfast at the Comfort Inn where we stayed.  My Mom stayed with Amanda for her last night at her apartment. We took a load of stuff to the local DI before walking over for Commencement.  We were lucky enough to hear from Elder M. Russell Ballard for a second straight day.  He gave a great talk on using the Internet to influence the world and let our opinions be heard.  We then toured the campus, ate at Gandolfos Deli, and then back on the road.  This time we were headed for Bountiful, Utah to have dinner with the Coltons, who used to live in South Bend.  Here is the view from their balcony.

After dinner we talked for a little while and watched their daughters perform ballet and play the violin.  Then Mark Williams came and picked me up and I was back on the road, this time heading towards Provo.

I arrived too late to see the girls, although Janel tried to wake Sage up to say hi.  We talked for a little while and then I was ready to crash after another long day of travel.

Saturday morning Janel scored a new swimming pool for the girls and here is Sage and Eliza trying it out (minus the water).

The Williams took me to BYU campus where we spent a lot of time in the bookstore and then looked at some art in some other building (failure to store that name in memory).  Then we stopped at another LDS bookstore, where I got one of the books that I had bought at the campus store for half the price (we would go back later to return the more expensive one and then spend that money on sweets).  All that shopping made us hungry so we grabbed some food from Cafe Rio and took it to Janel’s parents house.

With some more energy it was on to the next activity, the zip line in the backyard.

What we don’t have any pictures of, was the ensuing activity.  Mostly because I didn’t want any incriminating evidence of my dirt bike riding.  I did spill the beans, once I got home, so as not to get into trouble, since I was worried that Janel might squeal on me.  * Update - before I had a chance to actually finish this post, Janel sent me some great pictures.

We stopped and picked up “I am Legend” on the way home and since we hadn’t quite had enough activities for the day, Mark and I headed off to go hike to the top of the Y on Y Mountain.  It didn’t look that far or difficult as we started out, but it was actually a nice challenge with a huge reward.  The hike sometimes seemed pretty steep and I must admit that I had to stop for quite a few breaks along the way (I think it was the altitude, it had nothing to do with my physical shape - HA).  After reaching the top we sat down and just looked out over Provo and the beauty that God has bestowed upon our land.  It was so peaceful and as we climbed down, we had a good time talking with one another and watching the sun set, what seemed like almost faster than we could hike down.

We finished the night by setting up a theater in the living room and watching I am Legend.  This was a really good and thrilling movie, although some people got quite scared during certain parts.

Sunday morning we went to Sacrament meeting and then Mark found someone to play the piano for him in Primary so he and I could see a few more sights in downtown Salt Lake before I had to leave.  We said goodbye to Janel and Eliza (and made the huge mistake of forgetting to say goodbye to Sage, who was still at church) before Mark chauffeured me again.

We made it just in time to see one of the showings of the Joseph Smith: Prophet of Restoration movie and I am really glad that we did.  It was a very moving movie.  We walked through the old Tabernacle and the Museum of Church History and Art.

And then on to the airport and my flight home.  No problems there and no singing flight attendants either.  Back at Midway, I walked over to where my car was parked, paid, and headed for home.  I was glad to be back home after a really long week of traveling but I had a really good time.

Thanks to everyone who made my first visit to Utah memorable!  I look forward to a return visit and maybe this time Kelly and I can visit at the same time. 

I have had good intentions about posting about each of my dates with the kids, but for some reason I have not sat down and followed through.  So I am now sitting down and I will post a quick recap of the past three weekends.Three weekends ago, Megan and I went golfing at MegaPlay and then sat down and enjoyed some shakes at Dairy Queen (very similar to my date with Kade).  (All photos)

Two weekends ago, Mat and I went out for lunch at McDonald’s and then went (can you guess) golfing at MegaPlay.  I’ve got to start rotating the location because three weeks of doing basically the same thing gets a little old to me although it’s something new to each child.  All photos

Last weekend Kade and I really mixed it up.  Thanks to an outstanding suggestion from Kelly, we stopped at the downtown library and borrowed a pass to the College Football Hall of Fame.  So instead of paying $9 for myself to get in, it was completely FREE.  Sweet!  We had a really good time.  Kade enjoyed the participation activities quite a bit.  He kicked, passed, and blocked.  He also took a couple of really good photos while I was having my turn at these events.  We made a quick stop in the gift shop and picked up a little stress reliever football and then headed out onto the outdoor partial football field.  Kade loved this.  He ran all over the place with his new football.  Afterwards we stopped at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe.  All photos