Illusion of safety

Illusion of safety
Originally uploaded by DrJoanne

cori as older girl maybe?

Road Kill Researcher

Road Kill Researcher
Originally uploaded by KQED.Radio

related photo

While I am here I should add something. Cori got ran over by the Van today. I can go so many different directions with this experience! I am so tired right now I will go with how I feel at this moment I guess. This is from Daddio's perspective. Ring... ring...
Tara: I need you to come home.
Cameron: Why?
Tara: I just ran over Cori.
Cameron: ARE YOU SERIOUS!
Tara: She's OK I think.
Cameron: How did you run her over?
Tara: Just her legs.
Cameron: Is she conscious?
Tara: Yes. Should I call an Ambulance or take her myself to the E room?
Cameron: Is she bleeding?
Tara: Not really not that much, no
Cameron: Uh... take her. No wait call an ambulance. No. Hold on, take her. Wait, call the ambulance just in case.

Tara: Ok got to go.
Cameron: Ok on my way.

My ride home in rush hour from Salt Lake to Ogden was interesting. I drove on the shoulder from the refineries to WX at about 65 then the shoulder narrowed and I got back into regular10 Mph traffic. So this guy drive by and I hear "Hey A@#!$##" accompanied by the bird. So I smiled and waved back. Then we passed by each other again and he says something else so I get really angry and say some stuff to him and invited him politely to pull off at the next exit so I could have a nice conversation with them. They tried to escape as best they could in traffic but I got the make, model and plate number. I'm going to see if my friend who is a cop can get me an address so I can send them a nice note.
Tangent sorry. So I get there finally and Cori is asleep on the hospital bed and Tara is there in her scout uniform looking burnt out, with her good friend Laurie Sundahl. It looked like the tire did not go over the top of her legs but went over the whole outside of her left leg ripping up the skin from the knee down to the ankle. She has a minor hand injury and some other bruising developing but her X-rays were break free. Until I got to the hospital I was picturing therapy, 20+fractures, two little casts for the next six months, pins, unsightly scars to carry with her and a phobia of parked vehicles.
I am going to let Tara tell her portion she has some other stuff to pass along stay tuned for our next exciting episode of "Cori got ran over by a Caravan"

32% Geek

Too Dllin, I lav yoo. I am vere preshis. lise I not peshis fum Ali

Translation,

To Dillon,

I love you. I am very precious. Lindsay is not precious. From Ali.

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D col Smith

We really, really want go on a vacat if camrin dryg wo cmr wll stll go on are ishim, but wll mis him so so so so so so much. Frum Ali cmr drygs dodr,

Translation,

Dear Col. Smith,

We really really want to go on a vacation. If Cameron Dryg can't come, we'll still go on our vacation, but we'll miss him so so so so so so much. From Ali, Cameron Dryg's daughter.

(She drew him a fairy, because she thinks he'll like that.)

What happened to the energy?

Forget the energy I had as a kid, I'd settle for what I had two years ago when we moved into our fixer-upper! My naive dreams of finishing quickly dissolved sometime last year, but we're trying to plug away 1 project at a time.
This week is incredibly busy for us- nothing unusual for Cameron, but because I am in training with jetBlue, I am gone 9 or more hours a day. I am excited for this stage to be over. Driving clear to Southeast SLC every day is not fun for me. This is why we could never live in California. A 30-40 minute commute is too much for me.
The kids (including Cameron) are very excited to have the ability to fly again. We've all got our list of places we want to go first.
Although jetBlue does not fly to the may destinations Delta does, at least it gives us an opportunity to go places we otherwise could not have!
I am so tired from being in my training class until midnight and home at 1am I can't quite see strait. I am definitely not as thick skinned as I used to be!

Trouble

Did my husband seriously call me psycho in his last entry?

I made the best pork chops ever.

Today I made the best pork chops for Sunday dinner. Tammy and Leon said they enjoyed them but honestly I have trust issues so I just go by my own opinion of how I thought they were. A lot of the reason for these pork chops turning out so dang good was Tara's preparation of them with flavorings and the tenderizer technique she has. A mix between Rocky Balboa and Psycho. Anyway I throw them on the grill and wait for them to start bending or for the juices to start escaping through the topside. And after I flip them if they are dry I put some of the leftover marinade on them then flip them three more times depending on how they look each time keeping them moist with the marinade or barbecue sauce. You want to let the flame spend some time on the marinade or sauce because they have been in contact with the previously raw pork chop and you want to murder any possible microbes that may still exist. Awesome.

If you had any doubts about how she broke her arm again...

Ali never stopped climbing and swinging on anything she could find before, so why should a little thing like a broken arm stop her? Unfortunately, she went back to the Doctor yesterday, and the fracture is not healed yet... so she has at least another two weeks in the sling and wrap. Maybe if we tie her down to her bed...

Photo book of our India trip.

Isaiah Self Portraits- boy are we proud parents!

I like their songs

The songs they sang were really fun to listen to.

here is another one, fun

Too short dang.

video fun

Ok now I want to put more video on here. Here is another one.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone sorry we have not kept up as much as we should have. This Christmas was a good one. The kids were happy and not overly spoiled. The stress level was lower than usual. And we had some good food. I am sorry to say I didn't concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas but all the more reason to concentrate on Christ the rest of the year. Anyone want two cats that are very friendly we are done with animals. One is a black and white cat named Dora this cat is a she male she has a girls name but used to have boy parts until we got her/him fixed. The other cat is Fred I really don't want to give him up because we are tight but if someone I trust gives me their word to take really good care of him I would be ok with it. I was trying to put in a picture of the cats but I decided to try out a video I am hoping it works if so you will see more of them.

still around

This is Cameron everyone. I know Tara will be mad at me for bringing politics into the Family blog but Romney gave his "Faith in America" speech today. He did awesome, but I think the anti-mormon element is too strong to overcome- even though he is obviously the most qualified for the office of the President. Give it another hundred years when Mormons out reproduce every other religous group then it won't matter. Tara is going to post some India pictures on here, but I will give a little preview. If anyone is planning to spend a ton of money in Hawaii, I would advise you to spend it on a trip to Goa, India. Hawaii has lost its charm to me with all the tourists and urbanization and commercialization. Tara and I had the beach to ourselves. The shells, the crabs, the water buffalo, the dolphins, and the slow pace are great. I spent two days there- and that will last me for the rest of my life if needs be. But since I am greedy I want to go back for more with my kids though.
No luck on pictures guess this will have to be just a notice that we are still around. Cameron, Out.

Down to Corinne...

My first entry was about Ali. I finally got around to writing about Isaiah. So now we are down to Corinne.
Cori is a sweet, chubby, determined baby- who is almost not a baby at all anymore. Of course she is my baby, so I get to extend that title as long as I want.
Cori's speech is developing much later than her older sister and brother. Since most people... well nobody except her... is fluent in Cori-language, I can't fill a page on the cute and profound things she says. She talks and talks all day long, and occasionally an English word will pop in the middle of it all. So I thought I would take the chance to write about the night she was born. Certainly the most colorful of my three experiences giving birth.

The Great things about Isaiah...

Isaiah in Hawaii, 2007

You can call it bragging. You can say it's because love is blind. Or you can even call it blind ignorance... But my son is great. Why is he great? Why is it OK to say he is amazing? Because I love him. I'll never be a perfect Mom. I know as parents we have made mistakes. Some of Isaiah's faults are, without a doubt, due to our imperfections and errors. But the facts remain: Isaiah can read easily, has no problem with math, prints neatly, loves art, is creative, is loving and thoughtful, and loves people... None of this is by accident. None of it is chance. He is a bright kid by nature, but as his parents we have nurtured this. All summer long- each beautiful day included phonics, reading, writing, and some math. He loved it some days, and kicked and screamed all the way to his desk the others. Now that school has started... His mean Mom gives him an extra page of homework, and listens to him read each day. Now am I bragging about myself? If you saw the state of my home or my mind on any given day, you would know I can never claim to be a supermom. Even with all of these strengths, Isaiah is lucky if he makes it through a day without having to miss part of his recess for misbehaving in class. Sometimes it seems like he is another Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But I know what he truly is. I can see it; like a boy with clothes that are too baggy and shoes that are too big, the person inside my son is growing into himself. And when he finally finds that right fit... The world will see what I see.

Isaiah with newborn Cori, October, 2005

We have always been proud parents, but try to keep our bragging in check. We know how annoying it can get to always hear how great someone else's kids are. My thoughts on this changed today and ultimately inspired me to write this. After my fourth trip to the elementary school to read with the children in Isaiah's class, I can't help but think about the children who don't get bragged about. Not because they're not every bit as special or bright as my own son... but because mom and dad are to busy, or there is only a mom or only a dad, or they're working all the time, or they are too ill in some way to focus on the child. There could be many reasons, and I can completely understand the challenges that can de-prioritize children. But as parents it is our job to figure out a way to put them back on top. If both parents have to work, or there is no "both" parents... we need to somehow find a way to focus on our kids. And we need to make them worthy of all that annoying bragging. That will change the world- at least in their hearts and minds. So now I will try not to feel that twinge of annoyance at others bragging sessions. (After all- we all have them, really.) But I will remember those who don't get bragged about, and I will do everything I can to make them smile.

Okay, now for the glorious list of 20 things that are great about Isaiah.

1-He is a goofball, who always makes us laugh.

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2-When he is not teasing his sisters, he is a thoughtful and loving brother.

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3- He is a fast and hard worker.
4- He is becoming a super reader.
5- He loves to learn.
6- He is a good runner
7- He can do more push ups and sit ups than me.
8- He has a fun imagination.
9- He's not afraid to pick up and pose with a buffalo chip.

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10- Even though he had no fun at his friend, Anna's birthday party on Saturday, because there were only girls and nothing but princess plates... He still behaved himself, and treated the kids pretty good. He didn't even fight back when a girl was kicking him, or when Ewan was tackling him, because it was Anna's party, and he didn't want to ruin it. (This, by the way, is highly unusual behavior for him :-) )
11-He loves to go hiking and camping and fishing.

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12-He can't wait to be a cub scout.
13-He always says please and thank-you and excuse me.
14-He wants to go to Brazil on his mission just like his Dad.
15-I don't have to ask him ten time to take a nap, or go to bed.


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16-He wanted to be the best writer in the first grade, so he worked really hard at his handwriting all summer.
17-When we told him last year we would write to Santa and ask for only one present for Christmas; he understood. He cares about poor children and those who don't have food or toys or love.

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18-He is still filled with wonder and excitement for the world! Finally getting to ride the school bus at the end of last year, to the Kindergarten field trip, made him more excited than Christmas morning!

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19-The boy can eat as much as his Dad!

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20-He's not afraid to wear his sister's pink robe or dress.
Sorry, Dad

Tara's favorite actors...

Luke Wilson

OK... Cameron posted pictures of his favorite skanky little actresses, so I am posting pictures of my favorite actors. Take that.



Colin Firth


Val Kilmer


Hugh Laurie


Rainn Wilson/Dwight Schrute


Hugh Grant


Tom Cruise


Steve Carell


Jude Law

WE'RE GOING TO INDIA!!!!

In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Delta's Force for Global Good will be building 100 homes that will house over 600 men, women, and children in rural India. We will join 40 Delta employees from across the USA in this project. We are able to take part in this by winning an auction using my Delta SkyMiles. Cameron and I will join Delta’s Force for Global Good build in Maharashtra, India from 11/9/2007 – 11/18/2007. The winning SkyMiles will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. This trip time includes travel days, with four days of building and two days of cultural experiences in India.

The time we spend building will be supplemented with opportunities to get to know the homeowners, the local community and fellow builders. We will be working on 10 houses at various stages of construction.

I am no longer a Delta employee, but a part of my heart is still in the company. I was with them when they fought bankruptcy, when they had to file, and on the glorious day Delta emerged from bankruptcy. To be able to take part of this service in a country where the need is real makes me happier than I can describe. To do it on behalf of the company I used to represent and in connection with the great organization, Habitat for Humanity... My joy is really immeasurable. I'll certainly be posting more about this soon.