"Marsha Marsha Marsha"!

SO..... Last night after making vacation plans with 'the Sisters' (as Adam calls us), I was on my way home with the kids and decided to drive them through 'El Pollo Loco' to get us all drinks. (I didn't even order myself any food!) But I figured my kids would be hungry so I asked them if they wanted a 'taco' to which they said 'yes'. Unfortunately, Keala was not expected the 'chicken' so she burst into tears. Thank goodness Del Taco was across the street. So I headed over there...



I proceed to order my daughter her ONE taco (only 53 cents!) and wait for what feels like FOREVER! (They must have thought I was crazy!) Again, to my suprise my daughter had mentioned while I was in the drive thru that she wanted a 'cheese' one! (What she meant was a quesadilla!) So as I am driving out of the parkinglot and shes on the verge of tears again (from the innocent miscomunication) I back up and pull back into the drive-thru again. Except... some dude cuts me off and pulls into the drive-thru ahead of me. I could not believe my eyes. So now I'm on 'Attemp #3". I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting... The girl at the counter has a quick laugh with me returning again (for just ONE item again.) And after waiting for what feels like FOREVER.... she comes to the window and says the quesadilla fell on the floor and they have to make another one. "For the love of Pete!"

Yes, Keala got her quesadilla (after she ate her 'whole' taco!) And it was a peaceful half hour drive home, and all was well. Kids are nuts! (oh ya, ... I got to eat her 'chicken' taco... bonus!)

Happy Birthday Kai!

Kai has been asking me for a Nintendo DS every day since Christmas! (No kidding!) So he got his wish for his birthday... (yes, it broke the bank!) We took him out Monday night with Brent's parents to celebrate since he'll be going out with his dad later today.

The CD player in his room broke, so we found it a good opportunity to get him a new one. I think he was pretty excited about that!

Keala helped mom wrap a present that Kai picked out a couple weeks ago. It was a remote controlled R2-D2. She kept it in a 'Victoria's Secret' box for me... yes, the family had plenty of jokes to go with that! (My husband's jokes were the worst!) On the way to Famous Dave's BBQ where we had Kai's birthday, Keala kept wanting to open Kai's presents in the car. Kasey told her she could only 'look at them, and not touch them'! Brent wispered to me "thats just like being engaged!" I am still dying of laughter from that one!

Kai had a blast ripping through G'ma's big box of wrapping paper. But her present was full of little ones, bubbles, a Nintendo DS Mario Bros. game, swim shorts, and more. G'ma's are the best!

This also came in G'ma Joan's present. Last night, G'ma Ann came over for a hair cut and brought Kai more bubbles, a Toy Story T-shirt, rock-pops (which are now all over my front porch!) and a Buzz Lightyear toy. Today Kai's dad may take him to a Bee's game or movie but Kai still wants to have a 'party' with his friends, so mom will have to figure that out soon! (Maybe tomorrow after school? I dunno!) Around here, Birth'days' become Birth-'weeks'!

THE PIONEER TREK!

This is Sister Hooper. She is modeling the 'usual' attire we wore on Trek! We became VERY familiar with these raincoats! It was wet and cold, and cold and wet, and thats about how it goes!

Friday the wind never stopped blowing... can you tell? But lets start from the beginning...

Austin is in the orange cap standing next to our ward's hand carts. They tipped them up and tied down tarps over the top to keep themselves out of the rain. Some said they got this tactic down to a science (it figures!)

The mud was a familiar scene. They were a big concern because the mud prevented us from going home if we couldnt get our vehicles to move through it. Here's a day by day description of what happened. Out of the 26 miles the Pioneers were supposed to Trek last weekend, they only trekked 12.

Wednesday we got to Desert Land and Livestock Property and the pioneers trekked out 8 miles in sunny weather. We drove the trailers, food, and other support vehicles out to our first camp site and set up these tarps in case of rain. 7 tarps later it began to rain. We put up our 6 tables, 5 camping stoves, 9 boxes of kitchen pots, pans, utensils, and 100's of boxes of food! That night we made taco salad. It rained through the whole 3 hours of cooking, eating, and cleaning up. We skipped the chocolate pudding dessert (we were too exhausted) and set out cookies and hot chocolate. The kids were fine with that! The activities were cancelled for the evening and everyone sat around in their tents trying to stay dry and warm.

Thursday morning (after it rained all night), it continued to rain through the 4 hours it took us to cook breakfast. We cut potatoes & onions from scratch to make breakfast potatoes, in addition to french toast, and sausage. We divided the 240 pioneers into 3 companies of 80 people. It felt like hordes of lines of people waiting for food! And after they ate, they waiting in long lines just to wash their pie tins in 2 little buckets of water. We needed to improve on our system! The rain finally stopped after breakfast and the sun came out... everyone cheered! The concern was to get us out of low ground in case it rained again. So instead of following the map we originally planned, we just headed back out the way we came going only 2 miles at a time. But this tactic took us to higher ground.

So we packed up camp, the pioneers trekked out, we moved 2 miles up a muddy road, and set up camp again! JUST 7 tarps, 6 tables, 5 camping stoves, 8 boxes of cooking tools, and 100's more boxes of food! It rained just a little, and the wind blew fierce for an hour, but it died down and we had a nice rain-free dinner of Cashew/Orange Chicken with Rice, Salad, and 'Scones'! (I added the scones 3 days before Trek and they were a hit!) That night was S'mores for dessert - thank goodness! We were so tired from these long cooking marathons, with all the packing and un-packing. Before we set up camp for dinner Thursday, I sat in the truck while the youth unloaded the trailer and just cried with exhastion. Breakfast had been so exhausting cooking for 4 hours, after which we set out the lunch items, and then had to pack up camp. By the time we loaded the trailers and got to this new camp spot to unload, I just couldn't move... and we still had to set up our meal site and cook dinner. I wanted to die! (We all did!)

By Friday morning the temperature dropped significantly and we were freezing. I had worn a fleece jacket covered by a rain coat through every meal. It was the best way for me to move around. You can see the same rain gear in this picture. Thats what we all looked like. Breakfast was nice Friday though with no rain. We had more grilled potatoes and onions, pancakes, and eggs. It was much easier (only took us 3 hours) and we divided the youth from the 3 companies into just the 8 wards so the congestions died down. It felt like we had a much better flow now. Great idea! The weather being dryer made us pack up again and head closer to the entrance of the property. So the pioneers trekked 2 more miles, while we closed up camp, relocated, and re-set up camp. (I literally found this idea pure insanity!) No more crying though! And I have to add that at each meal we had youth assigned to help prepare and others to help clean up. This was an awesome support for us because we still had so much to do!

So Friday after moving to our last campsite, we got enough time for Group photos of all the pioneers and then the rain started around 2 in the afternoon. It didn't stop till midnight! The worst part was the wind that came with this storm. This was the hardest part of the whole trip! It brought the temperature down so low that we could see our breath at 3 in the afternoon. We also started to be worried about each others' well being. I lost energy quickly! By dinner time, my kept going out and I was completely exhausted. I just lost all strength and will. Look for the white truck in the next picture.

This truck is the one Brent and I drove. I had my backpack in there and crawled in to rest a minute before dinner on Friday and passed out. I woke up feeling so exhuasted. I could see in the rear view mirror that everyone was cooking dinner. We learned that if we parked these two trailers side by side that we could put up our 'kitchen' area with grills and tables in between and try to block out most of the wind. (It still didn't block out the cold.) But seeing that everyone had started the meal without their 'leader' made me feel awful! I just couldn't move anymore. Brent came in and brought me a plate of food and I collapsed in tears. I felt so bad. We were all just as exhuasted as the other was. In the red jacket is my dear friend, Stacy who never stopped! She and her husband just pushed through every single meal! My whole team was an endearment to my heart! I was so grateful for all the support that worked with us, and for us, and side by side us through everything! More pictures of my team are further down the post.

Friday night's temperatures were the scariest with how cold it had been all day. But we couldn't relocate because it had rained all day and the roads were too muddy to move the vehicles. We just waited it out. We had planned square dancing for the evening, with a fireside, a whole program for the night and it was all canceled. It came down to survival. We just tried to keep each other warm, good-spirited, and filled with hot chocolate (and good food!) My team heated up the stew for friday nights dinner, and warmed up peaches over pound cake and the kids loved it. They were so grateful for the good food through the misery. Everyone thanked us profusely! It was very humbling to be able to serve with so much appreciation. After I passed out Friday night I just went straight to our tent and spent half an hour trying to warm up in front of Brent's camp heater. Even more humbling was hearing how much my team were concerned for me while I was down and out! They worked while I crashed, they moved forward when I couldn't!

But a miracle happened Friday night... a warm front moved in around midnight and heated up the air. It helped us to all sleep warm and recoup, as well as dried up our tents and the ground. We got up at 6am and cooked up a quick breakfast. We heated up our lunch ham and put out bagels and cream cheese, potatoes, and quickly started to clean up camp. I have never seen the youth move faster! It started to drizzle a little before 7am, and we had everything cleaned up and packed in the trailers by 8am! The pioneers trekked out the last 2 miles.

After Friday's weather I felt awful that all the planning and preparation was lost due to the 'inclimental' weather. But we had different kind of experience, we were bonding not through the activites, but bonding through survival. We helped lift each other's spirits, found humor in the misery, practiced being inventive, and simply 'endured' with faith. It made all the difference. We had a 'series of unfortunate events', but nevertheless a fortunate experience.

My refrigerated truck and I had a love/hate relationship. I was glad it kept our food safe, but I got so sick up climbing in it a thousand times! Just trying to get the 'right' box out for each meal and having to pack and unpack and dive through half opened boxes started to get old! By the last day I was sending other people to 'refrigerator dive', I just couldn't do it any more. It was also so cold Friday that instead of JUST my fleece jacket, I put on my gray wool coat on top of that, with a gore-tex rain coat over it all! (I was still cold!) Can you see all the layers here? (Still had to wear the pioneer dress!) Which I didn't mind on top of my 2 pairs of pants!

The big white tank is our water. We called it the 'Water-Buffalo'. It lasted about a day and then was refilled. I was impressed with how well the water tasted. We used a ton of it for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and especially hot chocolate! I told Brent to bring our whole food storage of hot chocolate just in case of cold weather and we used all of it except one can! People, have I mentioned how cold it was!

Yes, these were the 'bathrooms'. Seriously, I have never been more grateful for modern-day conveniences than I have after this trip! (Just to be able to wash my own hands after using the bathroom!) (We only had hand sanitizer lotion... I still went over to the water buffalo and rinsed up before preparing food!) Seriously! I really have to tell you what a great team we had of 3 couples, and a young adult! But one other couple from another committee joined us and stayed by our side every meal. In addition to that, 2 other adult volunteers stayed by our side through every meal! We also had other volunteers show up at random times. There would have been no other way to do all we did without that extra help.

In the red bonnet is Julie Gardner, she and her husband were my 'heavies'... they plowed through every meal with such strength! Julie teaches 'shop class' at a Jr. High and this woman could move crowds! She yelled out commands and people listened! Whenever I got tired of barking orders I just turned to Julie and said "can you PLEASE take over!?" This woman did it in a heart beat! I was so grateful for her! (Of course she brough her 9 yr old miniature poodle with her... against the Trek rules!) (Yes, it was cute!) But her dog, Tiki, would not eat in her absence so she had to bring Tiki on Trek with us. I think I see a soft side thru the tough outward shell!

This is my cute Cindy Young. She and her husband were just a breath of fresh air! Cindy has an infectious laugh and I just fell over in hysterics with her whenever she was near. I just love her! I told her how I passed out in the cab of the truck Friday night and woke up and said 'Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore... I don't know where the hell we are!" Cindy and I almost peed our pants laughing! She and her husband drove in the truck with us every time we 'relocated' and it was a laughing expedition every time! I told her people were gonna be jealous they weren't in the 'fun truck' with us!

This is our Stake Presidency leader, Presiden Nipko. He pulled the refrigeration trailer with his truck. We ordered most our food through Sysco who caters to restaurants and other private organizations. It was the best quality food and they packed it so well! We were so impressed! It was so nice to have such good food after all the other difficulities we had.

Why are we smiling? Cuz we are packing up and leaving! All these pictures I took the last morning because I just didn't have time (or the where-with-all) to remember to pull my camera out any of the other days. It was such a physically and emotionally exhausting expenditure. But I feel so bonded and so much love for these people who stood by our side and supported us with praises or thanks. I have never worked so hard from 6am to 8pm, so many days in a row in my life!

These trailers were so deep. But we learned quickly to use them for shelter when it rained and even people whose tents broke down or flooded used them for refuge. We also used them to block the wind. I have never been more grateful for trailers before! I will never grumble the next time I drive behind one on the freeway! (At least for a little while!)

We came home and unloaded the refrigeration trailer into our garage. We ate half the food on Trek, but still had so much left over that we had to distribute it among the wards and try to get the perishable food out to people as soon as possible. The work didn't end, and we haven't had a break from it yet! Brent returned all the grills, propane tanks, tables, etc. while I organized the food and cleaned up the cooking tools for my team to pick up. Hours of laundry and cleaning, and food organizing and I am exhausted still!

I sware I can't step foot in another refrigerated truck for years. I told the leaders that when the next Trek rolls around in 4 years to not come looking for me! I won't have a child old enough to go. But some of my other friends will have kids going again and are scared they will ask them to be on the food committee again. We decided we'd be happy to offer suggestions... and we have PLENTY of them. You really learn how to work out better systems in the process of figuring out how things ought to flow. But there should be a definite improvement in adding more people to the team than the few numbers we had. It was crazy! But worthwhile!

I Might Lose My Mind?!

What are you looking at you ask? This is 30 sets of mushroom soups, tomato paste, bay leaves, and recipe instructions for 30 people in our Stake to make Stew for our Pioneer Trek. (This was last week!)

Somehow communication problems and time factors made me end up cooking 10 myself (don't ask!) and 4 others were cooked by my own Visiting Teachers. I was honestly glad to cook a majority so I had time to let the meat simmer longer to tenderize before I added the vegetables. (I have to admit, after 12 hours of cooking stew you stop caring about tenderizing!)

These are now the cans and instructions in bags with carrots, potatoes, an onion and 2 lbs of beef stew. It was a major project, but so glad we cooked and froze this meal prior to leaving, so we don't have to do it on BBQ grills! We cooked 80 lbs of chicken a few weeks ago! Done & done!

The Youth are organized into 24 families. There are 8 wards in our Stake. Heres just the Gatoraid. (ok, AND peaches!) You DON'T want to see the rest of our storage room. I have to admit, it has been surreal having been handed this calling to prepare all the food for our Stake Pioneer Trek for 4 days. And then we have to cook it all!... that job should have been given to someone else after all we've been through!

Last night one of the storage trailers came and picked up all our BBQ and cooking equipment that we've been collecting. We will only have 2 of these trailers due to vehicle limits on the Desert Land and Livestock property. (6 Vehicles total.) One of the trucks will pull our refrigerated trailer with all our food. These longer trailers will hold all the Stake Youth and Leaders' tents and sleeping bags.

I demanded that Brent get a griddle from Cabbela's realizing how much we'll need these. He was so proud of his find! (Thats his proud/obnoxious face!?) He's so funny! We have a lot to do, but we are excited as well. (At least we don't have to hike the 26 miles like the youth do!) But we still have to set-up and take down camp every single day. Hello!

Isn't this romantic? Matching buckets... thats what everyone will use to put all their personal items in. (Except we are all bringing extra bags with winter coats, a change of clothes and shoes, and rain ponchos!) Brent was very disappointed in me, that out of all the coats and jackets I own that not one of them is a raincoat. I guess I don't make much of an effort to lollygag around in the rain. Think I might get that chance these next 4 days. (Heaven help us!) More pictures to come later...