Quad time.

There she is, our littlest all ready for the trails.

Gear...check. Bike...check. Muddy trails...check.

My boy is ready and rearing to go.


You got a little something on your face...


I seriously can't think of an activity with friends that is more fun than this.


All the kids on the pyramid rocks.



The bigger kids. They had a blast together.


Check out Monkey C's helmet.


She's ready to go again. That's my girl!



At camp in between trail rides.


The muddy group after the "man" ride. Way to go daughter!!


Muddy and exhausted.



How many marshmallows can YOU stick in your mouth at once?

My Glad Game.

Pollyana.
Pollyannaish.
Pollyannaism.

In 1913 Eleanor H. Porter wrote the best-selling American Classic, Pollyana.
If you remember, Hayley Mills and Disney gave us the visual version.
My sister and I loved this movie when we were kids.

Wikpedia: "The novel's success brought the term "Pollyanna" into the language to describe someone who seems always to be able to find something to be "glad" about no matter what circumstances are."

Though this sounds like a GOOD thing,
to be called a Pollyana doesn't always have a positive connotation.
To call someone a Pollyana can also mean that you are implying
that their optimism is excessive to the point of naïveté or
refusing to accept the facts of an unfortunate situation.

Okay yes, but I love what the author has to say about that...

In an interview Eleanor H. Porter said,
"I have been made to suffer from the Pollyanna books,
I have been placed often in a false light.
People have thought that Pollyanna chirped that she was 'glad at everything.'
I have never believed that we ought to deny discomfort and pain and evil.
I have merely thought that it is far better
to greet the unknown with a smile."

Anyone read my profile statement lately?
"Life isn't perfect, but I prefer to go about my world with a smile on".

PROOF.
I am a Pollyana.

See these 3 little stinkers?
That's me on the left, my bro Mike & sis Kris.
Guess what they called me when I was little?

Pollyanna.
A good thing? Yes, even though I caught on to that little hint of
"goody goody" that goes along with the title.
Sometimes I felt myself being defensive of my optimism.
But it was all good.
See...there it is in the sentence above, I just can't help myself.

Recently I reclaimed the Pollyana nickname
with the help of some of my good friends.
They caught on to me I guess.
As soon as the name escaped their lips, a groan escaped mine.
"Oh no! That is what my siblings teased me about when I was little!"
They tried to assure me it was a GOOD thing.
It was OKAY to be optimistic.

Except for statements like this...
"Shelli, tell me honestly, what do I need to improve in my tennis game?
What did you see that I could have done better?
Oh wait,
you are just going to tell me all the positive stuff,
I need to remember who I am asking..."
HA HA HA!
I have to admit, I find that one pretty funny.

And so I have decided that in honor of my
"Pollyanaishness",
I will start what I hope to be a weekly post in my sidebar.
My thoughts on what brings happiness home.
Maybe some insight on why life is lovely.
The insider's guide to a Pollyanna mind.


Stay with me.
It won't be optimism in excess.
Just bring a glass of milk in case you need help swallowing my sweetness pill.
(Oh, and make sure it's half full.)

Tuesday in Twenty.

Tuesday in Twenty (words):

Cott's favorite spot.


Hi Grandma!


Apron collection.


Fifteen is delicious.


Mr. Fluffypants cuddles.


My happy desk.


Sitting in a sunshine patch.

Catching Up.

USTA...United States Tennis Association.
I belong to a USTA team, and each spring the tournaments begin.
If you win the first round, you go on to the second.
If you win the second you go on to the third.
Then you can go on to sectionals, nationals, and so forth.

If you lose, you are just plain out.
And then you start team practices the very next week
so you can TRY TO WIN NEXT YEAR!

Our team has practice this week so we can try to win next year.
We just weren't able to pull through.
The first round was this last weekend.
I had a blast and won a singles match and 2 doubles matches.
I lost one poo poo singles match.
I was pretty excited about the way I played though.

The months leading up to this tournament
are filled with lots of extra practice and team chatter.
And the weekend tourneys are exciting, stressful,
and FULL of anticipation and nerves.
Those feelings mixed with the physical exertion of match after match
make for one tired body and mind when you are done.

I came home after my last match, and looked around my house.
It was clear I needed to play catch up in the house cleaning dept.
Especially the laundry.
There was a huge pile of it on my bed, waiting to be folded.

Obviously, it was time to dive in.
So what did I do?
Without much thought, I dropped onto the bed.
I grabbed a sweatshirt from the pile and put it over my legs.
A towel for my torso and arms,
and a pair of pants would do to cover my feet.
Ahhhh, time to catch up.

...ZZZZZZZZ

Distracted.

Frightened?
I know I am!

Before April started, I was aware that something in our family was not quite right.
The thought continued to nag at me that SOMETHING needed to change.
I focused on a few things here and there.
But to no avail.

Here was the problem.
Our family unity felt shaken. Felt adrift. Felt...gone.
It felt like we all lived in the same house yet...
where was everybody?

We were not connecting, and you know what?
It felt horrible, WRONG.

After much thought and prayer, here is the answer that came to me.

NO MEDIA MONTH!

When a friend told me about this, an instant feeling of confirmation filled me!
I did not know exactly how this could help us, but I FELT it would.

So for the month of April we decided on a few things:

1. No video games at all.
2. No small hand held electronic games like a DS or Leapster.
3. No computer time besides homework for the kids.
4. Limited adult computer use - no Craig's List and Ebay browsing.
5. No television. Family owned DVD's are allowed if okay'd by mom & dad, watched sparingly.
(no tv includes no watching tennis for mom & dad either!)
6. Daughter's cell phone only given to her when activity, no free reign on texting.
7. ipods are okay (we only download music to them).

So we suggested this to the kids, and surprisingly they were all on board.
The first 3 days were full of this...
"I'm bored". "There's nothing to do".
Whiny, mopey.

But then it was like magic.
MAGIC I tell you!

The spirit of love & peace and family unity made a HUGE comeback.
It feels good.
It feels RIGHT.
Here are a few of the things we didn't even know we were missing:

Family tickle fights
Laughing together
Ping-pong tournaments
Deep, serious conversations
Lighthearted goofy conversations
working out
porch laziness
trampoline time
sit down family dinners
bike riding
joke telling
tennis playing
public library and book reading
cooking together
tea parties
craft time
one on one outings with kids
shoulder rides
dirt bike riding
dog walking
puppet shows
fort making
oh and nights full of this kind of thing...

...pantyhose on the head night
(inspired by a card from my dear friend Karen).

Seriously. Who would have thought that those distractions could have been so...well...
DISTRACTING!
I didn't even realize what was happening to us.
It was sneaky!
We all agree that this is SO MUCH better.
No Media Month will be over at the end of April.
But I promise you...there will be new rules.
There has to be.

Because for OUR family
this is WAY too good a change.

Stepping In.

Here is my favorite knock-knock joke...

Knock Knock
Who's There?
Control Freak, Now you say Control Freak who...

Love this joke.

I generally am NOT a control freak.
I'd rather watch carefully as someone else runs the show,
ready to lend a hand or step in as needed.

Mothering teens.
This is a whole new world to me.
It is different than mothering babies, toddlers & tweens.

(can't you just see the difference from this picture?)
And sometimes?
Just sometimes I would like the control that comes with mothering a toddler.
Oh, this cute little boy would look so cute with THIS hairstyle.
Do I ask him? No. I just style it. See? It's so cute. Because I styled it.
Oh, we should take these cute little kids out to dinner for a family outing.
Mom & Dad pick their favorite restaurant, because nobody minds.
Oh, that thing is bad for him...I won't let him have it.

See, teens have OPINIONS.
And they want you to know their opinions, because they MATTER.
Sometimes they matter more than your opinions.
And they have FREE CHOICE.
Sometimes I need to remind myself that this is a good thing.

I am learning.
I am rolling with this "new world",
(even though I stumble as I go...a lot).

And I am finding that if I RELAX,
if I have a sense of humor,
and pick my battles,
there is fun to be found.
It's a different fun than the baby, toddler, tween world,
and KNOWING that helps.

It's not BAD Shelli, it's just DIFFERENT!
(yes I totally talk to myself).

I have found that even if they pull away a little?
You don't pull back with them.
You actually STEP IN and...
hug them,
kiss them,
tease them,
help them,
teach them,
discipline them,
remind them.

They thrive on it.
So maybe it's not that much different than mothering a toddler.

Is it?

Extraordinary.

We climbed Badger Mountain as a family for the first time this year.
I've posted before about this little hiking treasure...back in 2006.

The weather has been nice enough, and we all needed to get out as a family.So we did.
Yes, there were some initial teen groanings,
but by the time we got in the car, we were all in happy hiking sync.

There are many things I like about a family hike.
Conversation. It's quiet, and there are no distractions.
Your kids feel like talking.
And it can be fun to listen.

There was a funny moment when Trev had
just finished taking about 5 pictures in a row.

My oldest asked him why he was taking so many pictures.
We explained to the kids that if you take a lot of pictures,
the chances are better for you to get one really extraordinary one.

Then he joked, "Kind of like you kids.
We had to have four of you in hopes of getting one extraordinary one".
My oldest gave him the teen eye roll, my youngest giggled,
but without missing a beat, our middle daughter piped up,
"I'm pretty sure that's me."

If any of you know this middle daughter...
you might understand why Trev and I just laughed our heads off.
But of course, they all are extraordinary.

What else about a family hike?
Outside and exercise...two things you know I love.
You can see everyone forgetting all the distractions of life.
We are all focusing on our footsteps,
the view,
companionship,
and the path ahead.

A good day.
I like good days.
Especially good family days.

Arizona

Why is it so hard to come back to real life?

Scottsdale, Arizona was SO fun!
Here is a little rundown of our getaway!

Tennis every day.
Wait...that should be in CAPS!
TENNIS EVERY DAY!
We stayed at the Scottsdale Resort,
and the courts were ours for the taking.
Me likey.

He likey too.
(Hey we matched!)


Got to relax by the pool.
The weather was about 75 degrees, so it felt great.
Trev swam, I soaked up the warmth.

We hiked Camelback Mountain which was AWESOME.
Beautiful cactus everywhere!
I honestly did not know that Arizona had palm trees either.
Cactus with the palm trees is just kind of cool.
Here's a doozie cactus...check it out!
(Trev is at the bottom of it).

Yes, toward the top, it got a little "rugged".
Uphill rocks.
LOVED it.
Seriously, I did.

Check out the view.
This is about halfway up I think.



Here's me at the top!
We hung out here for a little while before heading back down.
This was the one place I wish we'd had the kids with us,
they would have enjoyed this hike.

Cute little cactus...
OUCH!

King of the world...

Chipoltle...burritos as big as your head.
BUT kinda yummy.


We took a lovely walk around the resort one night.
And snapped a few of these.
He posed with me...yup he loves me.

We also shopped, ate, and explored.
We want to go back.
There was so much too see, but too little time to see it.
But the getaway was good.
The getaway is ALWAYS good.