Sarah Palin -

Well, that stirs things up a bit. Honestly I don't know anything about the woman, besides the clip from CNN today. But a woman that likes to run, fish and eat moose burgers and cleans house of dirty politics? Watch out Washington this one might give you a run for your money.

Just a little afternoon research, I started at Wikipedia (where else right)?

Here is an excerpt from her family life blurb

"The two eloped shortly after Palin graduated from college; when they learned they needed witnesses for the civil ceremony, they recruited two residents from the old-age home down the street."

I love it! This woman has got some character, I can't say for sure, but I think I might...almost...be proud to admit I am a registered republican again (ah, yes gasp.... I know its a shock since you all think because I use cloth diapers and wear brown linen I must be a democrat).

At least it will be an interesting election year.

Courage to Try

Today was our ward's Fill the Temple day. Jared took off work this morning and we drove across the city to spend the morning at the Temple. Its been a crazy couple of weeks and it was nice to step out of chaotic race of life and have some time to reflect and renew. While sitting and waiting for a session to start I noticed one of my favorite paintings hanging on the wall. Its of Queen Esther - a woman of courage.

Minerva Teichert's painting "Queen Esther" -- 1939

Bono.....Relinquish Your Title

What a week. We are like front page tabloid news here. Erin got a new kickin hair cut. However if you look closely you'll see her bangs dip a bit in the middle. A new trend? Only in the salon of Erin & Kylie. Erin has a little friend named Kylie. Usually they play well together, but Kylie taught Erin how to cut her hair this week. The only difference is Kylie looks like Annie, so a few lost locks does no harm. However Erin's stick strait hair showed the massive goudges very well. So finally tonight I got around to chopping off about 3 1/2" of beautiful blonde hair.

Erin thought her new sassy cut needed some hot glasses to top off her hipie dress. Eliza was just her happy self...

When Luck Runs Out.

As for me, I didn't have the luck of a movie star this week. I managed to get my first speeding citation in over a decade last Sunday coming home from Church (nothing like a sin printed on paper to make your Sabbath sub par). Anyway, lets just say it was a really bad day. We got to church and Erin's bloody nose started gushing again so I spent part of first hour in the bacthroom scrubbing blood out of her pink dress. Then, I'll just leave it as some people need to think before they speak and not be so vendective. So long story short, I got my feelings hurt and I cried hard ( I know those who know me knows what it takes to make me cry, it was that bad) and then driving home I was still upset and met a cop and looked down and thought, eh, I'm ten over going with the flow of traffic. Low and behold he picked me out and pulled me over, which made me cry ever harder. The officer said "I see you have a clean slate, well here is your ticket." I felt like grabbing him and saying, Officer you owe me big time! I labored in a car stuck in rush hour while one of your buddies drove by my purely paniced husband waving like a mad man covered in honey at a bear preserve, acknowledged him but failed to stop and help. What kind of Barney Fife patrol do you run here? However, a Fenton family lesson, touching a uniformed police officer = assult of an office = a felony. So I kept my hands on the wheel and bit my tounge. All I can say is Prick! Granted I was breaking the law, but give a sister some slack! And just when I think my day really can't get any worse, I went to roll up my window after my lovely enounter with Officer "need to meet my quota" as the storm clouds billowed overhead, and it was dead. So I drove the last two miles home, wind sailing through my hair as I cursed the invention of the electric window. I went in, locked the door and went to bed. I woke up the next morning, feeling a bit better, until I called in and found out my ticket was $147 or I can pay $131 and take a six hour defensive driving course and its nixed from my record. So those wood blinds I have been saving for for months will now be replaced with some tacky vynal table coth from the dollar store. Stellar Em, real smooth... So the moral of the story is, when in Texas obey the law or fake a labor.

Eye Catching

Making Amish bread (she thought it was cool how the oil, eggs and vanilla separate)

Erin has gotten into a bad habit of stealing my camera. Each time I down load photos, mysteriously there are dozens of photos of stuffed animals and shots of my house from a 3' perspective. However, I will say she does have a good eye. Most of her people shots are well centered and focused and a few of her still images are pretty good. Here is a sample of her abstract work and her favorite subject - Eliza.

Eliza favorite place to play

New Wheels

Erin got a new bike last week. She had a little 12" that she has outgrown (and about wore through the back wheel.) We were going to get her one for her birthday, but Jared found a 16" Trek on NASA Swapshop for next to nothing and could not wait to give it to her. Now we are offically a Trek Family ( I only had to wait 27 years to get mine). The only thing it needed was a set of training wheels, which Eliza was more than happy to share her great skills as a mechanic.

Supper Time at the Nut House

Eliza is back to her old self and I slowly regaining my sanity. Eliza is entertaining at the table. I know that's not real mother like to say, but the fact of the matter is she eats like a hog at a trough. If there is rice that is all she will eat and she eats a ton of it. She is a human garbage disposal. Last night I was putting away groceries only to turn around and see her eating strawberries, leaves and all.

We were sitting at lunch today and I made some pasta and said "great Eliza likes it". Jared laughed and replied, "If you gave her cardboard and wet it down she would eat it". Gotta love not having picky kids.

If you don't have kids and wonder what its like. Here is an idea....

"Ohhhhh, food, I see it, I love it!"

"Why use a spoon when I have two good hands. I can use both to shovel it into my mouth at twice the speed."

"Give me more! I'm starving!"

"Ugh, its expanding, maybe I should have passed on the last serving"

Sick Days

Ahh, Finally a breath of relief. Eliza had her 12 month immunizations about 12 days ago and they think she had a really bad reaction to her MMR shot. She ran a fever of 104 on and off for the last five days and her face swelled up and she got all these sores in her mouth so she wouldn't eat and drink. Its been a pretty miserable week. But last night she felt well enough to play in the tub for a while and this morning her fever was gone so hopefully this is the end. Erin also has a reaction to her MMR but it was not this bad, next time around I think we'll break up the vacanation into the three seperate shots.

Jive to the Music

A finally got my playlist uploaded. So if you are sitting in your cube looking at our blog when you should be working (yes, I feel privileged) just FYI there is now music. If you want to mute it the play is at the bottom of the page. Otherwise for those of you who look in your free time, enjoy!

My burnin' love

The tropical storm went north, so we had minimal damage but it's raining bucket loads today. So I am vegging in front of the computer, being completely unproductive on this dreary Tuesday.

Sooo....

1. Who is your man? Jared Renshaw
2. How long have you been together? Married 5 years this Sept.
3. How long dated? Two years (Jared would say it was an eternity, I just wanted to make sure it would be for eternity).
4. How old is your man? Jared is 28, one year older
5. Who eats more? Typically Jared, although I give him a run for his money every now and then.
6. Who said "I love you" first? I did, in writing, on a back of a framed photo. I never thought he would find it, being the engineer he is, he took the frame apart that night.
7. Who is taller? Jared, by9 inches
8. Who sings better? errr. we both a couple of tune death monkeys.
9.Who is smarter? Book Smart - Jared (hello I am married to a rocket scientist) , common sense, its all me:). Jared is a thinker and a planner, I am a doer. When something breaks, by the time he has laid out all the different options of fixing it, I have a wrench and a roll of duct tape and its done. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Jared never gets things done because he is always thinking. Sometimes my fix-it projects need more planning behind them.
10. Who's temper is worse? I'm the one the slams doors and breaks things, although I have mellowed over the past few years. Jared really laid back, I have rarely seen him mad.
11.Who does the laundry? I do most of the laundry - he folds.
12. Who does the dishes? We both do the dishes (although he does not include pots and pans in his definition of dishes).
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I sleep on the right.... and sometimes on the left.
14. Who pays the bills? Jared bring home the bacon and I pay all the bills.
15. Who weighs more? Jared weighs about 20 pounds more than I do, but I take him about my third month of pregnancy.
16.Who has longer hair? I do.
17. Who is better on the computer? Depends on the program. We are both pretty savvy.
18. Who mows the lawn? We both do, or the case of this summer, we just don't mow our lawn.
19. Who cooks dinner? Typically I do, but if I have something going on he take over.
20. Who drives when you are together? Jared does.
21. Who pays when you go out? Depends who forgot their wallet.
22. Who is most stubborn? That would be a tie, we are both the oldest sibling in our families. We both can be bullheaded.
23. Who is the first to admit when you are wrong? wrong? According to Jared he is never wrong :)
24. Whose parents do you see the most? Typically we visit both parent when we make the trek back.
25. Who kissed who first? I don't kiss and tell.
26. Who asked who out? Jared asked me out the first time around (via email, but there was a valid reason). I asked him out the second time we dated.
27. Who proposed? Jared Proposed, but only after I had called and said "I buying a dress d today, this better happen this week".
28. Who is more sensitive? Neither of us are overly emotional. Being a woman I am a bit more sensitive. But I don't cry, I just throw things.
29. Who has more friends? We have alot of mutual friends, but I am typically the social one.
30. Who has more siblings? Jared has me smacked. He is the oldest of 7. It just me and my baby brother Maxie.

Hurricanes and Thermocouples

Oh the joys of mondays. I am off to watch people fight over the last of bottled water at target. Wish me luck! Oh an yes our water heater is out again....

City of Joseph - Nauvoo

The only family photo where Eliza is looking at the camera.

The reason for our grand 2400 miles of driving at $4.00/ gallon was to attend Jared's sister's wedding. Brittany is down at Baylor in Houston working on her PHD and she met a really sweet guys who is also at Baylor (yes one day they will be Doctor and Doctor Bitner) . It has been great to have her down here, we have gotten to know Derek, the lucky guy, really well over the past year.

So from St. Louis we headed northwest about 3.5 hours. We rented a bed & breakfast for a few nights about seven miles south of Nauvoo that over looked the Mississippi. It was called the Nauvoo country lodge. The rooms were reasonable, breakfast was good, but the owner was a bit cranky. We walked in and the first thing Eliza did was stick her lips to the window. He growled and said "I just finished washing those". Yikes. But my parents stayed there also and my dad can strike up a conversation with frankly anything that will respond and by the second day the owner had mellowed a bit. All things considered, I would recommend it and we will stay there again.

It was great to return to Nauvoo. It will be 5 years this fall that Jared and I were sealed in the Nauvoo temple. It's slowly becoming a family tradition, Brittany and Derek were the 4th couple out of 7 kids to be married there.

Tuesday we got up and did a session at the temple and then spent the day in Old Nauvoo. If you have never been there, Mormon or not, its a great family destination. Over the years the Church has gone back to the original records and reconstructed or restored the old city. At one time Nauvoo rivaled Chicago in both size and commerce. During the summer they have missionaries that dress up and open all the shops. You can tour everything from the brickery to the bakery, the old time post office to the blacksmith shop. The kids get little bricks and prairie diamond rings (nails bent into the shape of rings at the black smith shop). They have wagon rides if you don't want to walk and even an old time brass band on a wagon that play through the streets. The the best part of it is there is no cost.

Anyway there is more info on the website http://www.historicnauvoo.net/

We were fortunate enough to be there during the Nauvoo pageant. It was great this year. We spent the week with family and just relaxing.

The Nauvoo Pageant
Master of the Stick Pull

Britt and Derek's wedding day was beautiful. They were sealed in the morning and then we had a good dinner at the 1850's guest house. They are so cute together and we wish them the best. Erin said that one day she is going to marry herself. When we told her that is not really possible, she said sure it is, then I'll get all the gifts.

hmmmm....

Then we traveled to Des Monies for the reception and then headed back to Houston (which I might add is an inferno right now).

Gatewat Arch - St. Louie

I got home from a week at girls camp 4pm on Saturday, threw some clothes in a suitcase, repacked the car and we left Sunday morning at 7am to head to Nauvoo for Britt and Derek’s sealing. Since we typically stop at Des Moines first, I-35 is the preferred, yet utterly boring route of choice. This trip Nauvoo, ill was our first stop so we headed east on I-10 to Baton Rouge and then headed north on I-55 through Memphis and up towards St. Louis(which I highly recommend, beautiful drive). We stopped in St. Louis and went up in the Gateway Arch. The girls loved it. They plastered their faces to the tiny windows towering 630 feet above the park below. Jared and both went as kids. We joked on the way up that things that seemed really awesome as a kid were disappointing in adulthood. However, the view from the arch was just as breathtaking as it was 15 years ago.
If you have never been, we highly recommend it. The arch, under the National Park Service jurisdiction, still keeps it 1960’s retro charm. You walk to the center of the arch, looking up as this massive stainless steel structure sways in the Midwest wind and there begin the downward journey into something that reminded me more of an underground bunker than a national monument. Through the metal detectors and security guards you enter into a massive room beaneath the arch. They have an excellent westward expansion museum (also located underground). From there you continue down another ramp, deeper into the earth and again take a flight of stairs one more story down. In front of you are stand retro space age looking doors and they open to reveal these small sea green, egg shaped elevators with five small metal seats (it seriously looks like something out of Austin powers). The elevators are about 4x4x4. You cram 5 people (in our case 7, since our kids sat on our lap) into the green eggs, the doors close and you quickly start the 630 foot assent to the top. There is no air conditioning or air circulation in the small elevators so pray that no one stinks or is claustrophobic and has a panic attach.

The view from the top is amazing. From one side you overlook the Mississippi. From the other you gaze across the city and the baseball stadium. And then one more awkward ride back down with strangers you don’t know practically sitting on your lap. Erin gets motion sick, but thankfully she didn’t puke.


We then went walked over to The Old Cathedral. You can tour it, but it’s also still a functioning church. I would have liked to tour more of it, but when we walked in Erin yelled, “Hey this is cool!” and everyone praying turned around, so we just admired the tooled limestone structure from the outside.

YW CAMP

Me looking at the ground from three stories up as I teeter on a cable.

A few week ago, amidst the grilling July heat we packed my 96 Dodge Dakota and headed to Camp Edgewood in the Bayous of Louisiana.

I have attended YW camp both as a camper and adult, but this was this first time I went as a Young Women President. To say the least it was a learning experience to be at the reigns trying to make things happen logistically. We had an awesome camp director Ashley (which made my job smooth) and together after months of planning we pulled it off. We had 25 girls attend from our ward, ranging in age from 12-17. The weather, minus the obvious damp inferno of a gulf summer, was beautiful. It was mid 90's but actually cooled off into the low 80's at night and it didn't rain at all.

Amber is our 1st counselor and a great mature example I might add, she always keeps things utterly hilarious!

Typically we tent camp, but the program has grown so much that we opted for the adirondack cabins. Cabin would be a liberal definition. They had three sides with plywood bunks. Minus having to douse yourself in deet before going to bed and the point you were sleeping on a piece of plywood, they really worked out well, good airflow and lots of space.

The week was spent in certification (knots, constellations, nature classes etc), free time (which we hung at the high ropes course a lot), and just hanging out. Our whole ward got up at 6 am one morning to do the mile swim certification in the lake. I was really proud of them, even those who couldn't swim threw on a life jacket and paddled through the morning midst.

It was a great camp this year, a good mix of fun and spiritual. Over the activities, games and crafts, yw camp has one main purpose, for young women to draw closer to their Savior. Away from the frantic rush of life and the constant movement of living in the city, it’s refreshing to sit on a hill and gaze at the stars and ponder both The Creation and the Creator.