Meet Rocky

Rocky is the newest member of our family. He is a 5 year old boxer with an awesome personality. To tell about the adventure of how we came to have Rocky join our family, you need to understand one thing... Tim hates dogs. There, I said it. He hates dogs so badly that I sometimes wonder if he was attacked or something as a child and repressed that memory or something. As it is, I was resigned to the fact that we would never own a dog.

The kids on the other hand...
     They would ask for animals all the time. We've had cats, guinea pigs, rats, frogs, and a mouse. There were even times we had a dog, but as quickly as we got the dogs, they would have to be given away because of some reason or another that Tim would think of. Usually it involved the dog poop or the barking. He can't stand neither. He kept saying he wanted a useful dog if we were going to have one.

Sadly, when we moved, we had some unfortunate deaths in the family. Our sweet rats, Salt and Pepper, passed away. It was so sad! All of the kids had a really hard time with their deaths. I think it was because we had just moved and they felt like everything was already falling a part. In the aftermath of this great sadness, Rigel decided he couldn't live without a pet of his own. Of course, he wanted a dog. He kept wearing his dad down with things like, "I will clean up the poop" , and "he will be trained to do fun and cool things." Tim kept saying no.

I got Rigel a little mouse named Strike. Rigel loved her and would give her treats and play with her a lot! Sadly, Ara's cat Midnight loved her as well. He caught her one night. Ara saved her before there was damage done...or so we thought. Two days later, she died.

Rigel was heart broken once again! He cried for a long time, but all the tears paid off. He convinced his daddy that he needed a dog.

The search for the perfect dog was on. He couldn't be too little or too big for that matter. He needed to be older and already trained. But not an old dog, we had one of those once and it didn't last for too long. He needed to have the energy and strength to keep up with Rigel, but not so much energy that he couldn't calm down easily. We searched for a long time.

Finally, on KSL.com we found a dog that had all of our qualifications. He was fully trained and had been a wonderful companion to a boy that had now become a man. His boy decided to join the Army reserves and could no longer take care of the dog. That is where we stepped in. I made all the phone calls and made sure that he would be perfect for Tim's specifications. The best part...they were only asking $100 for this fine dog. The down side...he was in North Logan.

We made the drive and it was worth every penny. Rocky is a wonderful dog! He is obedient and clean. Weird enough, he even pushes his dog food that spills on the floor into a pile. He plays with the kids and calms quickly when they calm. It's like he was made for our family! Even Tim is in love with Rocky. I never thought it was possible for Tim to enjoy a dog so much, but he really does love him. Rocky loves and respects Tim too. The new member of our family will surely be loved and appreciated for a long time.

Welcome, Rocky, to our adventures. I'm sure you will fit right in and enjoy every minute of it!

The Great Indiana Jones Adventure

Indiana Jones is the most epic adventurer I know of. He is quick on his feet, good at solving problems, and always has another adventure he's ready to go on. The closest adventurer to Indiana Jones would be my husband, Tim Watt. He always has a new place to explore, another treasure to find, or just some Spanish symbols to investigate. Another thing they both have in common... The Hat.

Indiana Jones

Tim's hat has been a part of him for so long, that my children can't draw a picture of Daddy unless it has a hat on. He wears it everywhere he goes and it has enough wear and tear to show the adventurer that he is.

Tim Watt

This weekend we took the kids to the local amusement park, Lagoon. If you are a native Utahn, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. The roller coasters and thrill rides, all the stuff for the adrenaline junkie to get their fix for the year. My kids included. The first ride you go on when you get there is always The White Roller coaster. We stepped on the ride strapped ourselves in and got ready to go. As we slowly made our ascent, I reminded Tim to watch his hat. "I got it" he says. Halfway through the ride, it flew off his head, hit Centauri's arm, and fell overboard! I could have cried!

The exact spot he lost it is covered by the tree in the left hand corner.

There was no way he could just walk away. My brother Christian and I took the kids on a few more rides and Tim became more and more obsessed with getting his hat back. He walked the perimeter of the coaster, going back and forth trying to find it. It was nowhere. It had disappeared and was lost forever. He was feeling so sick and thinking "Not like this, a cliff or a river, not like this!" We went to the security office and checked the lost and found. In a last ditch attempt to find it, we rode the White coaster once again, this time to see if we could see the hat.

Tim with no hat is NO BUENO!!

When we came to the place that he lost it at, I looked around and saw it. It was between the tracks! I yelled "I found it" and everyone cheered in excitement. The problem now, was how in the world could we retrieve it? There was talk of breaking in after hours and all manner of silliness going around the kids. Tim was willing to do anything. It felt like the moment on The Last Crusade when Indy had just climbed up the cliff and everyone was so happy to see him, but he still didn't have his hat. He sits down to take a rest and his hat flies in front of him.

I knew we would get it back somehow. Tim went to security again and told them exactly where it was. He was told they were doing a track sweep at seven and he should come back then. We did a few more rides and had some more fun. Seven o'clock came around and Tim went to see if they got his hat. The kids and I decided to head back to the picnic tables with my brother and his young-un. We were eating a snack and praying that God would let Daddy get his hat back.

He's just so cute and sexy!!!

Sure enough, he comes strolling in with his sexy hat on his head and a grin on his face. "I'm back, Baby!" he says as everyone cheered so loud I'm sure the whole park could hear it! So, just like Indiana Jones, my adventurer lives to go on another adventure with his amazing hat intact and on his head, where it should be!

My Best Friend's Wedding

One of the greatest adventures I've had recently has been the excitement and fun of helping my best friend plan and execute her wedding in 24 hours. That's right, it took a little over 24 hours for her to decide the date of her wedding (which would be the next day) and us to execute it flawlessly. Everyone should plan weddings this way!

I'll give you a little background: She has been engaged for 6-7 months now. They were planning on September 21st. Both her and her now husband have come from other marriages and both of them have children. She wanted her children to be a part of her wedding which she had sole custody of. The problem? It was only temporary sole custody. To tell that story is her adventure, not mine. Although, I was extremely emotionally involved, it isn't my story to tell. Monday morning it was decreed in court that the kids go to their dad. She was devastated and worried they wouldn't be allowed to come to her wedding. She had them for the next 48 hours, so it was decided her wedding would take place within 24.

It started with the perfect dress. We went to a little Bridal Center in Lehi to see if there could be something there. When we walked in, it was a little overwhelming! There were wedding dresses everywhere and it was difficult to find a place to start. The lady there was so helpful. She asked a few questions had Zina, (my best friend) look at some pictures so she could figure out what she liked, then she stuck us in a room and told us to "look at these, try some on and decide what you like." Then she held one out and said that she thought this one would be perfect and offered it to us at 50% off. So Zina looked and found the same result. The "perfect" one turned out to be THE PERFECT ONE!!! It fit her like a glove and she sparkled in it!

This is her getting ready in the perfect dress.

She went home, showed her kids, and told her fiance' of her plan. He was all for it! The next part was a made dash for a license, an official, and a wedding cake. Not to mention inviting family. We started making phone calls and sending out texts. I was looking for someone to officiate, but it seemed like everyone was too busy to make it. I finally went online and began a Google search. There were a lot out there, but some were very expensive, some didn't look that wholesome, and some just seemed too snooty. I finally found the perfect one! Her name was Anita Gordon. When I called her on the phone she seemed so nice! She said she was busy meeting with another couple at 6:00, but she was sure her meeting would last only about 45 minutes at the most. She told me that she would be willing to do it at half the price if I accepted her coming late. I quickly agreed, told her a little background info and wrapped things up. That was at 3:00 pm. The wedding was scheduled for 7:00.

 Some last minute prep on my part.

 Her girls gave her away

 Her son in the background with the responsibilities of the best man! He has the rings.

 The great Anita! She saved the day! She wasn't long winded, she incorporated God into the nuptials, and she made the wedding come together perfectly. I loved the way she spoke and I know she was sent to us by God to make Zina's wedding perfect!

 Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr. and Mrs. JJ Trimble!!!

 My child seemed to think it would be fun to climb the wall while pictures were being taken.

Here is one with me and the bride. It also has a wonderful addition of Ara, and we can't forget the little devil in the background! 

The place? Riverton Park. The time? Roughly 7, but we were very flexible with that time. The total number of patrons? About 20, including my kids. The result? One of the most beautiful weddings I had ever seen!

There is a difference between true love and God's love, but when they are combined, you know you have something amazing. In this wedding, there was true love, and there was a love for God so strong that it exuded from this couple like you wouldn't believe. It was an honor for me to be there to help my best friend execute the perfect 24 hour wedding! She was strong, beautiful, full of love and happy that her wonderful children were allowed the chance to be a very integral part of her wedding! 

Congratulations Zina and JJ!!! I love you both with all my heart and I know you will be together for a very long time!! If you can make it through this heartache and love situation, you can make it through anything! Having said that...JJ if you hurt her in anyway I will hunt you down and I will cut you!

The Great Move

It is very embarrassing for me to talk about my financial circumstances. One of the most difficult things about having a lot of children is being able to provide for them. Unfortunately our family ran into some hard times recently. We lost our home of seven years and have seen too many good cabinet companies go under. The hard part was the cabinet companies were those that employed Tim and gave us our income.

This past month we experienced the most crazy adventure that any family can go through... The big move! Our kids have only really known our one home, they weren't sure what a new place would have in store for them. Luckily, the move we made was actually a step up. We went from a three bedroom home, to a seven bedroom home. Which meant the kids all got their own rooms! We live further out into the desert, but that is where our family prefers to be. We are so blessed by God to be able to have a scary, traumatic experience turn into one of the happiest things we've done in a long time.

Our old house was full of memories and good times, but it was also full of junk and an accumulation of unwanted stuff. It felt so good to finally go through all of my storage and kids' toys and clothes and just get rid of everything. If you know me, you know I thrive on being a minimalist. The less stuff the better. It seemed as if we made more trips to the dump with our old stuff then we did moving our wanted stuff to the new house. I am finally able to relax in a clean and comfortable home.

The kids love their new schools. Orion started high school this year at West Lake High. He was really scared at first, but he has found his niche and is doing well. He joined the Jazz band and has really started to flourish on his saxophone. He is taller than me now and his dad realized how useful it is to have another "man" around the house. My baby boy is growing up so quickly now. He is getting out of the awkward stage and making a good transition into the responsible stage. I know I still have the dating years in front of me, but I know I am planting good seeds inside of him.

Vega is going to middle school this year. She recently turned 13 and wants everything in her life to be "teenager". If I want her to do anything I just have to tell her that teenagers do it. She is so funny that way. I do want to be careful not to push her to follow her peers too much, we all know how teenagers can be!

The other kids are still in elementary school and they are all loving their classroom sizes. We moved out to the middle of nowhere and the school doesn't have very many kids. Each grade only has one teacher and the biggest class in the school only has 20 kids. It is a perfect fit for my kids that like to spread their wings.

I know God lead us up to this place. He allowed for us to see hardship and pain, to go through our ups and downs, and to finally lead us to where we need to be. If there is one thing that I have learned about life this past year, is that you need to just let God take care of you. In the Lord's prayer it states "give us this day our daily bread" and there were days I was praying for exactly that. I was never sure if we would have something to eat or if we would be able to keep our heat and gas turned on. But our prayers were always answered through one angel or another.

It is so wonderful to have a home over our heads and our life coming back together slowly, but surely. We still have a long journey to walk, but we choose to walk the next path with happiness. This part of my blog has been a tough one to write. I am usually more upbeat and funny, I've just been in a super grateful mood, there isn't as much room for my sense of humor to shine through. I promise I'll have a super amazing adventure for everyone next time I post, it just feels like I haven't been able to have as many of those that I used to.

Owchie, Wah, Wah!!!

We started Ara's special day asking her what she wanted to do. When our kids have a birthday, we make sure they are treated like royalty. They get to sit in the prime seat in the car, they get to choose the activities for the day, and they get to do everything first. When you have a large family, it is difficult to make sure that everyone gets noticed and appreciated, so it is guaranteed that they do on their birthday.

Ara's activity of choice this fine 24th of June, was to go swimming. Where we live, everything is closed on Sunday, so it is difficult to find a quality place to swim on a Sunday. After searching the internet and deciding that Sandy is the place to be, we packed everyone up and headed to an indoor swimming pool. I put "indoor" because we didn't put any sunscreen on the kids for this very reason. We thought we would be indoors.

Apparently, in our area, places like to close early on Sunday too. When we got there it was still open, but we would only get to swim for a short amount of time. Out of desperation, we asked the desk clerk if they knew of another place that we could swim. HOORAY!!!!! They knew of a place that was just now opening and we could swim for the rest of the day. Sadly, when we got there we discovered it was an outdoor pool.

Tim and I looked around...it was overcast, the sun looked like it wanted to hide all day, so we took a risk and let the kids swim. Oh, it was so much fun!!!! The lessons the girls had were obviously showing and they were swimming around the pool like fish. Daddy was picking kids up and chucking them in the water and we were enjoying ourselves ever so much!!! Even Vega started to get in on the water play (she has an extreme fear of being in the deeper water and usually won't go much further than 2 feet in)! It was one of the best days ever!

Then we went home. That is when the burns started to appear. Shoulders, backs, chests and faces all red and swollen, as if we were lobsters just emerging from our boiling pot status and getting prepared to be eaten! It is so sad to witness the damage that could have easily been avoided if we only thought ahead just that one little bit further. My poor babies!! They were crying and moaning with every move they made. I felt so bad, at the same time I was suffering from burns of my own. Children wanted sympathy, but mama wanted space.

Luckily, this mama has a miracle cure for the sunburn blues! First I break out the after-sun gel. A soothing mixture of aloe and lidocaine that works miracles on a child's hot sunburn. Then, a delicious banana split! Not only does it take your mind off the pain, but it cools you down and puts you in a good mood, no matter who you are!!! Ara had an amazing birthday and the kids all ended up with some beautiful tans instead of burns. Thank you, my sunburn cure all, if it wasn't for you my kids would have woken up crying in pain, but instead...they woke up with smiles and anticipation for the next adventure we will be going on!!!

My Thoughts on Forgive and Forget

One of the things I teach my children is the capability and the importance of forgiveness. When I was five or six years old, I was sexually molested by a man that lived next door.  It stopped when we moved away from that home when I was seven. When I was eight years old, I was a product of sexual curiosity from someone that will forever remain nameless. When we were about nine my brother and I were mutual investigators of each other. When we were caught, my own father decided to join the club and treat my body like his personal piece of meat. I told school counsellors when I was 13 and it came to a stop.

 

I'm not telling you any of these things for you to feel sorry for me, only so you can understand where I am coming from. I have walked a long road of twisted thinking, low-self esteem and a seemingly lifetime full of turmoil and being scared. Imagining that any other child should have to endure any of the things that I experienced or did would tear me to pieces. My husband and I made a conscience decision to keep our children safe from predators. When our babies were born and our children began growing, we knew there would be a stand that we would have to take.

I don't have any problems with forgiveness. I can forgive every person in my life that ever hurt me. I can actually say that I am glad I went through every experience that I went through. It has made me the person that I am today. I am a strong mother of five-wonderfully strong, and independent-children. I am a student of psychology and my only desire is to help children learn how to accept what has happened to them and to turn it into strength. I love my husband, my family and my life, and I love my God that I believe has brought me to this point.

I can forgive a snake for being a snake, but that doesn't mean he will ever change, or that I should allow my children to play around him. When I don't want to come to family functions because my father is there it is not because of forgiveness or the lack thereof. It is because no matter how much I would love to forget, I can't. I can't forget about how scared I was that he would trap me in the bathroom after a shower. I can't forget about the way he would touch me or the smell of his breath. I will still to this very day fight off panic attacks because of some innocent way that my husband puts his hands on me that reminds me of some of the things that I had to endure when I was just a child. I cannot not now, nor will I ever forget how dirty and ugly I felt when my husband (then boyfriend) told me how perfect that I was. How much I felt like I was a big lie that he would one day discover and hate.

When Tim and I made the choice to keep our children safe, we knew people would be offended. We knew people would think it was because of hatred and the inability to forgive. You are wrong. It is the inability to forget. I don't want another child to ever go through what I have been through. I want predators past, present and future, to see that this will not be tolerated by me and my family. That we will not allow them to get near our children. Taking a stand is the message I give my children, both my boys and my girls, that I will do what it takes to protect them and they should do what it takes to stand up for what they believe in.

I don't expect to change the world, but if I can make a difference in just one person at a time then I know what I went through was for a cause. So if my family and I discreetly get up and leave a family function, or a BBQ at the park, you know it is because of the stand we have chosen to take to keep our children safe and to send a message out there that this is not tolerated by the Watt family. Out of respect for us, you can choose not to invite them, or you can tell us they will be there. Out of respect for you, we will never make a scene. Just know this... It will never be forgotten. The predator has a choice to make. He can choose to take the innocence away from a child and forever be known as a sex offender. The child doesn't get this same choice. The child is unable to choose to keep their innocence safe from the predator. They don't get the choice of staying clean and happy their whole life. Why forget, when you can make a stand.