Struggles in Serenity and Dam Drives

With Chris's crazy semi-annual work schedule and then 66% of our kids on Fall Break, it's been quite a week. At least there was still allotment for "me time" in the form of some retail therapy in Scottsdale on Wednesday and then ushering at the Phoenix Temple Open House on Thursday. 

Looking Dorky and Sleep Deprived!

Chris did take the day off for the temple ushering. I just wish it wasn't such a struggle for me. Not his day off, but the temple assignment itself.

I signed up for the specific ushering in the temple ushering because I wanted to be in the serene and peaceful surroundings there. But the first issue was severe sleep deprivation. It was very much as bad as the kind I referenced in the Vegas post. However, if I did fall asleep on a couch in the temple, I doubt anyone would have assumed I was drunk. Still, if I did that, it would have created a different problem. No one is supposed to sit (or lay) on any of the temple furniture. 

No, I did not sack out on any of the sofas at the temple. 

However, a couple of ladies and I did get in trouble (so to speak) for sitting on the bride and groom's sofa in one of the sealing rooms. I guess we figured we'd likely never sit there, so we wanted to sit there while we had the chance. We forgot about the "furniture rule" until we were politely rebuked.

Queen's Guards at Buckingham Palace

Two, when the open house tours did begin on Thursday, I was surprised just how hard it is to stand quietly for three hours (which is the length of the shift).

I now have a lot of added respect for the guards at Buckingham Palace in London who have to stand at attention for who knows how long. I now believe their job is just as difficult as performing meticulous brain surgery.

Even after our ushering shift ended, all I could think about was obtaining a nap even though Chris and I were having a rare weekday lunch date (especially with his schedule being so crazy). At one point during lunch, Chris asked, "are you okay? You're just sitting there staring while I'll yammer on and on..."

Yeah, that's how tired I was. I assured him I was listening. I was just too exhausted to add much to the conversation. I did laugh, however, at how much he verbalized how good the food was that he was eating. I almost wondered if there was some, um, medicinal ingredients added to his Italian dish, because he really did enjoy his food. He enjoyed it a lot.

Moving on, I feel bad adding these irreverent anecdotes in the same entry about the temple (and alluding to cannabis in Italian entrees), but it's part of this week. We were stuck behind a huge slow Oversize Load truck (similar to the one in the picture). It looked like it was hauling some crazy cement slab - it was huge. 

Mikelle says, "Yo' Mama so fat, this is what her funeral procession looked like!" 

Oh.My.Gosh...

And that's all I have to say about that. 

And then there was Christian and his "Dam Jokes" today. 

One of our common routes is the highway that passes Lake Pleasant. As we were passing Waddell Dam, Mikelle asked if that was a dam. I said, "Yes, Lake Pleasant it formed by the Aqua Fria river being dammed up." 

Christian interjected, "See that river? Dam it!"

Mikelle and I laughed and I asked Christian where he heard that joke. He replied, "Nowhere! I just made it up."

Photo I found where you can see the Dam they asked about...

And then as we got closer to home, he asked if I was going to tell their Dad his "Dam joke". Well, of course I was. I was surprised Chris didn't laugh as much as Mikelle and I did, but then again, he wasn't there in the car to hear the timing and how Christian said it. That's why it's always hard to reiterate stories like this in writing. It just doesn't have the same punch as actually being there.

At least that was the experience in the car today. On Tuesday, as we were on the same highway just a few miles down from the dam, I had to pull over and completely do a behavioral and attitude overhaul with the kids and fantasize about leaving them there on the side of the road. 

I'll take dam jokes over that any day.