FAILED

I sit, my knees shaking, in the drivers license testing center. I am hoping against hope that I will not get the old white haired man. You see, he looks sweet, but experience has taught me that he is anything but. I think to myself, "I will fail for sure if I get grumpy gramps! Why does he not like me? I am youngish, cuteish and niceish. If anyone should like me it should be that old fart!" I heave a big sigh of relief when a man, no I mean a woMAN calls, "MS. Nelson?" Thankful that I did not get gramps, I stand up and walk to the front of the building. I put on my most enduring smile and wait for instructions.

"Vehicle make, model, color, and license plate number?"

"Ughh"..., I stammer. Already I am failing. What kind of a person can't recall the make of their vehicle when they drive it 25 times a day! Finally it comes to me, "Dodge caravan, silver, 2000, license plate number is...just a sec, let me look", I look out the window trying to see the numbers. Do you think I would pass if I got the numbers wrong? I couldn't really see the last one-it was either an 8 or a 2...I guessed 2 hoping it was right.

"Alright Mam" (mam? I am not 40...) "Go turn your car on and roll down the drivers window. Do not put the car in gear. Wait for me.

As I walk out, a nice black gentleman gives me a smile and tells me to keep my cool.
The woMAN takes a minute to come out when she does she asks me to beep my horn, turn on my blinkers and hit my breaks. I think I pass that part as she nods and climbs into the van. She explains that she will tell me way in advance when to turn and so forth. First we start with maneuverability...

"Pull up to this first cone and line your front bumper up with it. Good. Now go out and around the middle cone and line up your back bumper with the middle cone in the front. Now put the car into reverse and back up around the middle cone and back to the side..." Watch the back cone on my right... Too late. Put your car in park so that I can check the cone."

I sit there a little stunned that I ran over a cone that I did not even see.
"Mam, put the car in PARK as I am going to be behind you. I don't want an accident."

"oh, sorry", I muster as I put it into park.

Once back in the car, she tells me the directions to go out onto the street. I drive very slow (st least 5 under the limit) and cautious. It takes us 20 minutes to go around the block (app. 1.5 miles I am told). Back at the building the woMAN turns to me and says, "You passed your driving test, but failed the maneuverability. Would you like to come in and reschedule?"

Duh...? "Sure".

Now to summarize this story...

Make sure your kids are out of my way when I am backing up.
Never let your drivers license expire.
I probably would have been better off with grumpy gramps.
I am supposed to drive with someone 21 or older in the car at all times until I have a valid license.

Is it a felony to drive with out a license?

Check it out!

My good friend- yah, you know who you are- told me about this awsome blog. I have spent more then 3 hours on it at one sitting. It has recipies, stories, pictures... I have rarely seen anything quite like it. Check it out and leave me a comment after you look at it! I am interested to see if everyone liked it as much as I did. it is

http://thepioneerwoman.com

No, it does not have anything to do with mormons or old fasioned stuff. And you simply must read her "romance" posts...

Jane J Hanson

New Baby

My little sister, Mary(the one on the floor-only pic I could find of her), just had a new baby girl! It is her (and her hubby, CJ) first. They are both going to school at BYUI. Litte Jane J Hanson was born May 14th. She weighed in at a tiny 4lbs 13oz and 18 1/2 inches long. I am told that she has lots of dark hair and a little dimple in her chin and from the back she looks like a little monkey baby. Both mother and baby and father are doing pretty well. As you all know how difficult that first one is, it is hard not to feel a little sympathy for Mary. What with the soreness from latching on, bursting boobs, bad cramps, soreness sitting (and pooping), extra skin on your belly that resembles wrinkled jello, having to wear maternity pants home and the general yuckiness of that first 2 weeks that you did not expect, nor could anyone have explained it properly to you how it would feel. And not to mention the stuff that you DID expect like no sleep, endless crying, diapers out the wazoo, and a bad body image. It is a wonder that something thats head is as big as an apple and who probably resembles "grandpa" can overshadow all the discomfort and make everything worth it. I have not seen pics of the little bean ( her nickname) but as soon as I do, I will pass them along.

And for Mary-hang in there girl! I know what you are going through and how tough it can be. The mental stuff stinks just as bad as the physical stuff (maybe even worse), but it gets better and little bean is yours forever! Call if you need an ear...

Bad Blogger

I blog like I write in my journal. The goal starts out at once a week and then by the end of the first month, the goal is once a month, then...Maybe on important days? Anyway, sorry it has been so long since I have posted, and even longer since I posted pictures. A lot has happened this past month. First, Anna had her six year birthday! She did have a party. It was High School musical themed. There will be some pics following. Then, Cole had his very first choir concert. His class sang "supercalifradilisticexpialidocious" and some song about dreaming...The whole time I was sitting there thinking that this is the beginning of the end. I will probably be attending all sorts of concerts and performances for years and years to come. I had my birthday. Yes, I can proudly (and honestly) say that I am still below thirty-29 to be exact. I feel like I should act so much goofier being in my twenties still. I feel so much older than that! The other happening is that I am up to 12 miles in my training. So far so good. No knee problems, no more side aches. I LOVE this training program I am doing. If any of you would like the info on it, email me and I will get you the details. Also, my sister Michelle came out to visit me last week. She brought her darling 3 month old baby girl, Julie. We shopped and ate out for 2 straight days. The kids loved meeting Julie. Taylor especially loved her! I am so lucky to have sisters whom I love and who love me. They are truly my best friends. I can't wait for the day when we live nearer each other to hang out whenever we want. I will make the boast that I will be the most favorite aunt on this planet!

MUD

My given name is Maxine Unice Dupree. Yep, MUD. My parents were told after they had me that due to complications of my birth, my mother would not be able to carry a baby again. So, they thought they'd use both family name on one child. Lucky me. Maxine come from my mother's father, Maxwell, and Unice is my father's mother. Naming me this, they included both sides of the family and satisfied everyone-except me. All the trouble started in second grade. My inexperienced teacher, Miss Thompson, thought it would be a great idea to do a "spotlight" on every child in the class. Could anything be more stupid? A class full of children learning the intimate details of each others lives...That is a breeding ground for would be bullies to get embarrassing info on their targets. Needless to say, when it was my day to be spotlighted, I was very nervous. You see, nobody knew my middle name. Up until then I was just Maxie Dupree. So, as my teacher started reading my history, my face turned red and I put my head down on my desk. I did not hear anything accept my full name...Maxine Unice Dupree...after hearing that, it seemed my ears filled with water and nothing else was heard. Later at recess, I was sitting on a swing when I felt a rock hit my back. I turned around and standing behind me was the smartest, but meanest girl in my glass. She had a nice name-Emily. Emily was smiling cruelly and holding up something else in her hand ready to throw.

"Hey, Mud! That's your new name. Haa, haa, haa Mud. You look so dirty and you stink like mud! Hey everyone look, there's mud all over the swing."

With that, she let her hand fly and a nice round mud pie landed with a splat on my lap smearing my pink shorts with brown goo. I jumped off the swing and ran into the bathroom followed by the echos of laughter. You might think I was in tears, but I was not. I was furious! How dare my mother write my full name on my spotlight history? In fact, how dare my parents even name me what they did? And as for Emily, she was going to get it! I was angrily swiping at my shorts when I heard the bathroom door close. I looked up expecting to see my new enemy. I was surprised to see instead a small girl with long brown braided hair looking at me. I was even more surprised when she spoke in a loud voice,

"Hi. Sorry about your shorts. I heard what they were saying. Some people can be so mean. Here, let me help you."

I was stunned that anyone would want to help me right then, so I did not protest when she wet a paper towel and started wiping off my shorts. I finally found my voice and said,

"Uhhh, thanks... Are you new?"
"Yep", she said, "We just moved here last week. This is my first day."
"How old are you?", I asked.
"I am seven and three quarters", she proudly stated.

She was so small, I was shocked she said that she was seven. She must have seen the look on my face because she said,

"I was born too early and ever since then, I have stayed small."
"Oh. Well, my name is Maxie and I am seven too."
"I am River. River Brown. Do you want to be my friend?"
"Okay", I said. Suddenly my anger drained away ans I knew second grade would be alright.

Actually, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades were all good because of River Brown. Despite the fact that we were called "muddy brown river" by all the other kids, we were happy. River was the fourth of five children. Her family were Mormons. The only reason for me to have cared about this fact was that on Sundays River went to church and could not play that whole day. Those were my least favorite days back then. River's mother had died when she was only four. Sometimes River got sad about missing her mom, but she really did not remember her and I could always cheer her up. River's dad was a lawyer. He moved his office into their house so that he could be there for the kids after Rivers mom died. He was always very nice to me and called me "Maxeroo". River's oldest sister, Nicky, was good at cooking and keeping the house pretty clean. She was really busy and did not have much time for River and I. The rest of the kids were boys. Jimmy was eleven and always gone, Alex was nine and a huge pest. He was always ruining our tea parties with spiders and pulling off our barbie heads. Ollie was four and he was River's responsibility. He was good about dressing up and playing house or princesses with us. Until he got older. Then we would have to include Star Wars or GI Joe into our games or he refused to play. I loved spending time at River's house. It was busy and loud. Something was always going on. I always felt like just another kid around there. River's family moved away the summer we turned thirteen. I missed her terribly and have never found another friend like her.