Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Here lately, I have been flooded with nostalgia for the time when my kids were little. And when they were little, I couldn't wait for them to be bigger: big enough to get their own breakfast, big enough to tie their own shoes, big enough to do their homework without help, on and on... I'm sure I'm not alone as a mom having those wishes. When you're right there in the thick of it, it seems like they will NEVER grow up.

Now, however, reality has smacked me upside the head. Evan's 17 and only has 1 1/2 years more of school, and Braden 2. Evan has his driver's license and his first real job. Braden is eligible for his learner's permit now. And both boys are talking about joining the military, which scares me to death, even though Josh is already in (which also worries me to death). Savannah is in 5th grade, which around here means that she is in her last year of elementary school. She's starting to go through the first of many changes. Some days, she even has the start of that 'tween attitude, which I'm pretty sure I am NOT ready for. :)

Yesterday, the boys splurged and went to Salt Lake for a Utah Jazz basketball game. Savannah and I decided it was only fair to do something too, so we went to dinner at a new Chinese restaurant in Hyrum (which was very good, by the way!) and then to a Christmas play put on by the Pickleville Playhouse, which was hysterical. We haven't had a good "mommy-daughter" date for a while, so we both really enjoyed the evening. I had recently read on another blog about a book for 8-13 year old girls entitled "The Care and Keeping of You." It's a very informative, illustrated book that teaches girls pretty much everything they may need to know about going through puberty. Savannah acted horrified and embarassed that I would get her such a thing, but on the car ride home last night she read it by the light of her cell phone, read it at home until she fell asleep with it, and then resumed reading it first thing this morning until she had completed it. Methinks the lady dost protest too much! :)

I've been feeling badly that I don't ever get to spend any quality time with the boys anymore. Tonight, Evan had his girlfriend over and needed to run her home at the end of the evening. It had been snowing here all day, so I offered to drive them since he hasn't really had the joy of driving in the snow much. My worried-mama mind conjured up all sorts of images of him sliding off into the canal that lines the long winding road, or having deer jump in front of him and smashing into a telephone pole, although Tom made it be known that he thought I was being a helicopter parent - hovering a little too close. I think Evan was a little relieved, so we jumped in the Blazer he's been driving, and off we went, with me playing chauffeur.

He wanted to drive on the way back, and I figured it would be good for him (though bad for me - I'm a nervous passenger on the nicest of days!). We switched places and headed back home. We had just gotten a little ways down the afore-mentioned long winding road with the wicked canal drop-off when the Blazer sputtered and died. His phone was dead, but luckily mine was not (at least not yet!). Turns out that when this particular vehicle says there's 1/4 of a tank, it lies. We called Tom's cell, which of course he didn't answer. Finally Braden answered his, got Tom out of bed, and they came to rescue us. In the meantime, Evan and I sat frozen on the side of the road - and Dang was it cold! We began making bets about which cars would stop to offer us help and which wouldn't... It's nice to know that we live in a place where people do still do that kind of thing. We were particularly tickled by a car that slowed down like it was going to pull up next to the driver's side window, but right as Evan went to open the door to tell them we had help on the way, they sped off. Guess they didn't like the looks of him! We had a pretty good laugh at that one.

Anyway, I guess I got the "quality time" with Evan that I'd been hoping for. And we're lucky we broke down when we did because my cell phone battery went completely dead too, right before the cavalry showed up with the gas can. :)