Cy Summarized

Christmas Sing: (Seven of) Nine Ladies Dancing

Snowman craft

Speaking of school.... Getty's kept me fully engaged for the last few months, so when I would ask Cy, "Is your homework done?" and he said yes, I left it at that. Little did I know... homework not done.

Once I got up to speed, he and I had a little "come to Jesus" talk in which he understood it was time to repent ;) 

After this talk, Cy got down to business doing make-up work. He yelled down to me from his bedroom, "What does perimeter mean?"

Cam yelled back, "It's the distance around an object."

Cy: "Then what's the area?"

Cam laughed, "It's what's inside the object! Did you skip 3rd grade??"

Jazz game with Aaron and Rodney Hood before the game

Senior Night with a cute cheerleader

Cy's girl friends show him what he's missing at the skating rink while he plays ball five times a week

State Champs, Premier Winter League

1st Place Winter Super League

Playing ball on the Jazz court while Getty works out with the Dunk Team

Grilled ham, turkey, and cheese dipped in strawberry jam (still wearing his ball backpack)

Cy made his AAU dream team recently, so life is good for that boy of ours. 

Getty's Trickin'

This is the face I've seen on Getty most often since he turned 15...

How I feel about that...

But he keeps busy:

Ski bus to snowboard most weekends the past couple of months. (Still waiting on pics from his friend's phone)  

Getty and Connor invented a trampoline scooter

Then they do things like jump off our 3-story balcony onto a cuddle bag until Connor sprains his ankle. 

Skating 80's with the YM/YW

Alex and Tanner

The Jazz Dunk Ball team invited him to work out with them in the Energy Solutions Arena

Maybe Getty will organize an LP Dunk team?

(The equipment would cost tens of thousands of dollars... no biggie ;)

Then the team captain gave him floor tickets to see 
Jazz vs Trailblazers and watch the Dunk team halftime show

Dunk Team Captain Matt

... and then Getty lost the t-shirt at his LP volleyball game the next day...

This is the other face I see most often...

But he's coming around. Love that boy.

St. Patty's

Along with wearing St. Patrick's Day green (and Jell-O tongue), Cam dressed up as Squanto to present his book report. (don't you love his popped knee? haha)

Cy played it down with green camo

Middle and high school versions of green. You'll please notice Getty is now taller than Mia (and you too, MK ;)

Granny brought donuts

Lucky is back... and I assume relieved....

The clue was just as hard to find as the treasure 
"on the ceiling above something green..."

Getty "helped" Lucky with the hunt and made sure Cam didn't go to town digging up the yard like last year....

Stress Therapy

The last 4-ish months have been tough ones, and I could feel a mini breakdown coming on. I prayed to know what I could do to help myself, and soon enough I found myself de-junking my kitchen desk. 



That felt good, so I went manic and dejunked my whole house until 4:15 a.m. 

(junk drawer)

(kitchen drawer)

“DEJUNK: toss it, trade it, tromp it, give it away, sell it, but get rid of it. It’ll be the greatest housework reducing move you ever make. The formula is easy: Don’t love anything that can’t love you back. If something doesn’t enhance your life then part with it. I can promise that dejunking will change your life and housework schedule more than any other single thing you can do.” 
—Don Aslett (professional cleaner, author of "Clean in a Minute" and many other books, owner of the Cleaning Center supply chain) 

(tupperware drawer)

(Cam's art cupboard)

The next morning I woke up and started again until 3:00 a.m. 

(jewelry board [from Michele])

(scarves, knit hats)

(sock drawer with shoebox dividers—LOVE! saw it on Pinterest! I have a whole shoebox dedicated just to gray socks :/)

(Mia's bathroom drawer)

(Mia's products)

(laundry room nuts and bolts drawer)

(linen closet—the middle shelf is for all the boys' fort blankets)

By this time, most every drawer and closet in the house, the outdoor storage trunks, and the garage had been sorted, dejunked, re-organized, cleaned out, and put back together.

I woke up the morning of the third day and ran errands to finish up.

(guest bathroom needed a rug)

(new oven mitts to replace my torched ones)



(some [fake] plants to liven things up)

 I've felt awesome ever since. And tired....

I taught a class called "Simplify Your Life" this week in another ward, so here's the condensed version...

How to Dejunk

Sort into four baskets or piles: 

(these represent MUCH larger baskets ;)

1. Toss

2. Charity

3. Relocate (items that belong elsewhere in the house)

4. Probation (Items you aren't sure about. If you don't use within 6 months, toss these.)

What should you keep? 

If the answer is no, get rid of it.

At the end of class, I quizzed the ladies and gave out prizes representing the main concepts. 

This is Sandra Phillips' (shocking!) rule of thumb when de-junking. It is based on the 80/20 rule that we generally use 20% of our clothes, furniture, appliances, and so on 80% of the time. It's pretty drastic, but I like it because it helps put into perspective just how much stuff we generally keep around that we don't need, use, love, have space for or even want. Just think how much easier your housework will be when you've only got, say, half the stuff!

(I did not get rid of 80% of my socks....)

This is my mantra (from "Finding Nemo") when I'm in the middle of a de-junking project and feeling overwhelmed. It works!

Once you've de-junked, a couple of tips to maintain it:

One in; one out. If you buy a shirt, donate a shirt.

For example, at the end of the day:

1. Pick up the house (if it's not too heavy ;)

2. Plan tomorrow's schedule

3. Know what you'll make for dinner tomorrow night

4. Start a load of laundry

5. Start the dishwasher

When I do this, I love waking up the next morning to a picked-up house, some clean clothes, clean dishes, and prepared for dinner and the day ahead. I'm not running behind the moment I get out of bed!

Simplify by making small efforts instead of big and often unnecessary efforts. For example: "Cleanies vs Messies."

A "Cleanie" will walk into a room, see popcorn kernels on the carpet, stoop down and pick them up right then and throw them away. 

A "Messie" will see the popcorn and say, "I need to vacuum this room," and will put it off until a more convenient time. Meanwhile, the popcorn remains on the carpet. 

So often a small effort makes the difference.

De-junking SIMPLIFIES your life: "At least 40% of what we call housecleaning is just junk tending.... Cluttered rooms take 10 times or more the time to clean."
—Don Aslett

"The surface stuff will always be there—the dishes, the laundry, the bathrooms, the vacuuming—we must concern ourselves with organizing and de-junking. That is how we can be in control of our homes instead of our homes controlling us."
—Shari Warner, organization expert


My advice: Focus on one room or even one drawer or shelf at a time. Play music, set the timer for even 15 minutes, and "just keep swimming." When you finish one drawer, the momentum will keep you going on to the next! You won't care to eat or sleep for days! ... wait, that was just me....