wise words

Mayson

This is Mayson. She is actually the daughter of Eric's ex girlfriend's sister (the nice one as Joy would probably say). I will make a long story, short. Mayson offered to come and help us after Eric broke his neck. (very nice of her!!) I assumed (and it is happily so) that Eric would have mostly recovered by the summer so I suggested a job with Calleva. Who wouldn't want to work for Calleva? Calleva is amazing and so so so fun (or so we thought)!!!

Mayson came, tolerated Maryland and then left. Sadly, she was here for the busy part of the summer so we didn't get to have a lot of fun and relax before she dashed back to ole Happy Valley. She left early and I understand why, but literally the next weekend she was gone, the family fun began. I think Mayson had a good-ish time here. I was disappointed that she just couldn't love it more, but she is not a real outdoor-y gal and sometimes getting out of sheltered Utah can be more of a culture shock that you can imagine. The East Coast is weird and wonderful all in one. I am sure a teenage girl can only see the weird.... Her loss.... she is young though. (O:

Mayson is a very nice girl. She has a sweet smile, cute freckles, very animated (only I don't think we saw this side of her much) and has a solid head on her shoulders. She is very smart, kind, messy (oh my gosh so messy!), and has a fun presence about her. She was hard to feed and I thought she might even starve. I tried my best... there are just some things I cannot bring myself to buy. You know me! Lol!! It was a good experience for us all having another female presence in our home. We all learned some good lessons and had a nice time doing it. We miss funny Mayson and hope she is having a wonderful senior year!!

Did I mention we went to Wicked? We went with Paul, Gloria, Jasmine, Coleman, Tate, Gabe, Mayson and myself. A wonderful, memorable performance and I (or rather WE) spoiled them all! Life is good to us that way! We are blessed!

the best part of waking up

* spending time with Eric
*delicious food ALL the time
*extremely comfy bed and linens
*blissful room and porch
*listening to the surf
*zip lining in the beautiful canopy
*jungle beauty
*unexpected wild life visitors
*tennis
*the spa
*hanging with P & M
*sea kayaking
* zipping around Costa Rica and taking in its culture and beauty
*did I mention the spa?!!
*sipping coconut water on the beach
*gorgeous hotel
*and the best best best part of waking up was.... LIZ!!!!!

We will be back!!!

OBX

Dear Beloved Family,
I need your pictures. Can you please all stop being busy and make me a CD with all your lovely pics. It was such a fun trip. Can't wait until 2013!!

Your amazing, intelligent and beautiful daughter and sister,

Anjanette Coleman Martinis

hot and happy

My main memory of Owlettes this year is that it was HOT. I was hot. The kids were hot. Everyone was hot. It was so darn hot and humid. We had a record breaking hot summer. (Am I getting my point across.... it was HOT!!) And Owlettes was in the midst of all that heat. But as I was looking through my pictures and an album from Zena darling, all I could notice was the many happy faces. Sweaty heads but happy smiles.

Sometimes I just need to wake up and smell the coffee. I focus on the wrong things and miss the good ones. I need to loosen up, chill out and focus on the positive. The positives of Owlettes are that ALL my kids LOVE Owlettes and look forward to it each year. They learn a lot, build stronger friendships with those who count, have the opportunity to be around adults who like and appreciate them (for the most part) and be outdoors everyday for two whole weeks. I do like Owlettes and need to contribute more. I am a very good teacher and that talent stays hidden in this part of my life. Why? No reason, maybe just laziness.

This is going to be a captionless parade of pictures. Just notice the overall mood. There are some hot, tired ones in the end, but overall it is a lot of joy and satisfaction. Owlettes is a huge blessing, memory and building block in all of our lives. I am secretly glad that I have years and years ahead of me! Keeps me young!

Was it hot????

(There is poor Miles and Tate..... I have ZERO pictures of either of them. They went to Calleva the first week and Owlettes the second. I really need to work on them next year. Plus, I was the "counselor and parental queen" over Finn's group so..... he gets the most as usual. Dang!!)