A to Z

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Freezer Jam

Our little Sarah Beth turned 15 in May. She is such a fun girl who LOVES to laugh, take pictures and videos, and enjoy life.

Saturday she started Driver's Ed. She came home that day with so much new information about driving. She was detailing out to us the dangers of driving. She seemed fairly confident that she knew most of what there is to know!

When she got finished on Sunday her friend Haley had her dad pick them up. We were still at Mamaw Clara's house eating pizza with her and so they just dropped her off there. We visited a little longer and when it was time to leave Sarah Beth begged her daddy to let her drive the short distance to our house. After all, she was an expert golf cart driver and had 2 days of driver's ed. She was practically an expert!

So, off we go. Daddy is in the front seat with her and I am behind the passenger's seat with the rest of the girls scattered in the back seat.

All was well.........until we pulled into the driveway. As we pulled into the garage for some reason Sarah Beth was going back and forth between the brake and the gas.

All of a sudden she stomped the GAS! definitely not the break. We jerked forward and crashed into the freezer which is directly in front of my parking spot.

If it looks like the hinges are broken off the door..........that's because they are!!! She bowed not just the entire door, but the freezer itself, too. The freezer even crashed into the sheet rock and broke it in the shape of the freezer.

Oh, yes.............I screamed. Emma and I both did.............loud.

There were tears, promises never to drive again, embarrassment, and refusal to get out of the car. At least she was sufficiently humble:/

(Emma went inside with Lily and told her not to ask SB about it and not to laugh....sweet).

After Zack's initial comment, "well that was a nice $1000 drive home........" we set to work assuring her that she would drive again and we did love her. She might as well laugh because she was going to be teased for a long time! Zack had her pose with the freezer and write a message right on the freezer.

She was smiling in short order. And planning a facebook post! And what a story we had to tell Taylor in the next morning's letter.

Here are the comments received on facebook........Zack's is a favorite!

And she did pull the car back into the garage......after an emergency trip to Gwen's to store all our frozen food.

- Mary-Catherine Zachary Goood job babycakes
  Sunday at 8:51pm · · 1 person
- Aubrey Arnold pffttt haha
  Sunday at 8:53pm ·
- Laura Bennett Gardner ‎(snicker)
  Sunday at 9:02pm · · 1 person
- Kristi LeDoux Bult Gotta watch those random fridges.
  Sunday at 9:03pm · · 3 people
- Jenny Laughlin PAHAHAHAHAHA!
  Sunday at 9:06pm ·
- Matthew Allen Well... you have an interesting story. You weren't driving an automatic, were you?
  Sunday at 9:10pm ·
- Mary-Catherine Zachary Yes she was ^
  Sunday at 9:10pm · · 1 person
- David- Zack- Zachary It's not uncommon to hit a deer in a car but SB managed to take out deer sausage.
  Sunday at 9:27pm · · 9 people
- John Sanders Driving... it just gets in the way when your texting. Ha!
  Sunday at 9:30pm ·
- Melinda Chapman Andrews Just what are they teaching in that driver's ed class?
  Sunday at 9:35pm ·
- Sarah-Beth Zachary i wasn't texting...i mistake the gas and brake peddle...
  Sunday at 9:35pm ·
- Melinda Chapman Andrews Don't feel too bad. At least it was not another car!
  Sunday at 9:40pm ·
- Michael Nevils a little bondo and some spray paint always fixes it :)
  Sunday at 9:52pm ·
- Katie Carter haha! this is too funny:) hey sarah beth, try using just ur right foot for both and get used to it so u wont mistake them. my great grandfather was an officer and said the mistake most people that have recks are is when they get in a wreck, they panick and end up using the wrong peddle. if you only use ur right foot, it wont happen..try that! maybe will help;) and btw this is way too funny!
  Sunday at 9:53pm · · 1 person
- David- Zack- Zachary No spray paint and bondo here.....what you can't see is the door is completely off the hinges, and the right side is cratered. Additionally, the whole freezer was impaled into the sheetrock leaving a perfect outline of the freezer.
  Sunday at 10:19pm ·
- Susan Duplantis Afraid to ask...WHAT were you driving?
  Sunday at 10:20pm ·
- Michael Nevils lol.. gota love Sarah Beth!!!
  Sunday at 10:21pm ·
- Wendy Pass Turner I hate it when solid objects jump in front of me and make me hit them!
  Sunday at 10:22pm · · 3 people
- Lindsey Hudson Vichitnand Oh no! My sister did this recently too. She hit some shelving and ended up pushing the back wall of the garage almost off the slab, you could see the grass in the back yard through the crack! Hope that is the only thing that got hurt and not any people or cars! Just take comfort in that you aren't the first person that has mixed up peddles! Good luck with the rest of your driving experiences! :)
  Sunday at 11:47pm ·
- Gwen Dees Pogue I love that the post before this was about driver's ed! This will be a funny story forever and I'm sure your dad will make it better and better as the years go on.
  Yesterday at 12:17am · · 3 people
- Claire Methvin Darn!! I wish I was in the car with you when it happened!!!! Its on my bucket list to be in a car crash!! haha!!
  Yesterday at 10:39am ·
- Claire Methvin Oh by the way.. Love your shirt!!!! haha!
  Yesterday at 10:39am ·
- Andrea Braud Zachary Susan. She does NOT drive the Shelby!
  Yesterday at 11:24am ·
- Susan Duplantis That's a relief
  Yesterday at 11:33am ·
- Wendy Pass Turner Andrea, you should let her drive the Shelby!!! Better yet, you should let ME drive the Shelby!
  Yesterday at 1:41pm · · 1 person
- Karen K Daniels Isn't the pool just beyond the wall of the refrigerator???It could have been a lot worse. You are a real sport SB. You know you are going to hear about this for a while. Good to see you smiling. I think you should practice your pedals in the Shelby.
  21 hours ago ·
- Andrea Braud Zachary You are more likely to drive the Shelby than SB! Come by....Zack will let you! Haha
  21 hours ago ·

Monday, September 5, 2011

I am so thankful for the horribly dry and hot weather we have had this summer. It was the most wonderful blessing. I could not have asked for anything better.

Strange?

I know...........it made be appreciate tremendously the weather we have had the past 3 days! First, Tropical Storm Lee comes through on Saturday and we have the most glorious rain! It rained the entire day. A good Louisiana soaking! How I have missed those amazing days.

Then overcast Sunday. Love those days, too. Nice and dark with the threat of rain. Beautiful.

Oh my, today was just beautiful. Had it not been for the misery of the past summer, it might have blended into just another sunny day. But, not today. We were outside for 10-12 hours today. The girls swam for that whole time. It was just amazing. The perfect breeze, the perfect amount of sun, the perfect temperature. I am so appreciative.

I will try not to complain when it get hot again, but in the mean time................................

WOW!!

And tonight we were leaving Zack's mom's after a quick visit for her birthday. Lily, after swimming ALL day, wanted someone to hold her.

No one would.....

She promptly told us that if her BROTHERS were there THEY would carry her....She had no doubts..........

And I am glad she knows that!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

MC is a Senior!

Do I feel a tiny bit guilty that I didn't do this for the male Zachary's that have already graduated from Sulphur High School?

Maybe a little.....but isn't she cute?

I am taking a picture a day of Mary Catherine's senior year! Just random things. Nothing necessarily special. First Day! August 15.

Stealing my cell phone to do a little "facebooking". August 16.

MC and Sierra, "Si-Si", everyday at noon at our house. August 17

Applying chapstick...all.the.time.....August 18

VB Buddy,Tracy.....August 19

Itty-bitty pony.....known the town over! August 22.

FHE game....SB won....August 23.

cheating on the chocolate fast....August 24.

Sporting Daddy's XXL tees....like when she was little, only a little shorter! August 25..

Cafe Au Clay platter for VB Coach....August 26

VB Buddies....so cute....August 29

First Game of Senior Year!! August 30.

Think the boys will even notice.....or care? She does, though. Worth it all.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

What an emotional day it has been. After preparing all morning with some last minute shopping and a little lunch at the BYU Creamery, we dropped Taylor at the curb at the MTC at about 1:30. It was way fast. I tried to soak it in, but with Alex and Taylor joking and laughing at me it was a little hard:). I hugged Taylor and he tried to look at me with a sympathetic face, but couldn't hold it together and made all three boys laugh. Oh, well, I decided I might as well let him go. So Alex popped him on the bottom and he took off with a group of about 4 other missionaries.

Taylor is a missionary....Elder Zachary. For so long--19 years to be exact--he as idolized the missionaries we have had in our home. Now he is one. He was so happy and excited to be off on this great adventure.

Of course as we pulled away I broke down a bit. It is really hard to think about leaving your child for 2 years knowing that you won't see him. or even be able to talk to him regularly. But, I love the Lord and His gospel, and i know Taylor does too. No sacrifice is too great. We want to do His will. How lucky we are to be able to give this gift.

We did some running around with Alex this afternoon with only minimal eye leakage. When we dropped him off to his apartment, though it came in a flood. I wondered what he was doing at that moment and we decided he was probably asleep already. But then I worried about my baby being lonely. and I cried. Then I feel like the emotions of the last couple of years just crashed in on me a bit. I am so grateful to so many who helped our family get where we are today. We are truly blessed and loved of the Lord. but I cried. and cried.

As we walked in the hotel we spoke to the young man (probably a returned missionary himself) at the desk and walked on past towards our room.... Wanting to lighten things up a bit, Zack looked at me and very loudly said, "Now what did you say your name was?"!!! I smiled and hit him!!

It did help a bit.......

Sunday, May 22, 2011

It is 12:30 at night and I just can't go to bed. I am so sad. I just keep tearing up.

I went to a funeral today for a friend's son who commited suicide last week. It is just so close to home and I feel Hollis' pain so profoundly. Will was Taylor's age and her daughter is Mary-Catherine's age. They have been to school together since Kingergarten. Hollis is such a devoted mother. She spoke today at the funeral and said that she has been everywhere with Will. She has done everything for him and she wanted to do this last thing for him. I was so impressed with her words. I can't imagine having to go through such a difficult experience. This was a kid who seemed to have it all and be on top of the world. I worry so much about others copying his actions.

Am I doing all I need to do for my children? Am I teaching them to believe in themselves? Am I helping them to find Christ and trust in Him to help them through the hard parts of life? So many questions, so few answers...

Such a beautiful, hopeful life ended. It is just too terrible.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

How is my baby 21!!!

This is the little boy that sometimes I long for again. I was so young and he has been with me for 21 of my 40 years. Boy was he adored. We just sat and watched him. I am so thankful for him in my life. So to celebrate his 21st birthday I have 21 things I love about Alex.

1. He is generally so happy

2. He is generally so silly.

3. He is very dramatic. Right Gwen! (spent the night at Gwen's house as a child and wanted to come home. He got on the phone with me and told me that their mattresses were not comfortable. Another time he wouldn't come out of a tent unless he talked to me and they offered him what he wanted to eat.)