We all have insecurities right? Well one of mine - that sort of developed late in highschool - was that I didn't feel very smart.
This insecurity developed when I took the ACT and didn't do very well. (I think I did pretty well on the SAT however). This affected my self esteem - but worse for me at the time was I wasn't accepted into BYU. I had always heard my Mom talk about how wonderful a time she had at BYU. And I had always imagined going there. And of course, that was the best option for a college bound Mormon (at least that is what many of us grew up believing). It was a dream that was lost.
I'm okay with all that now. Truly. I don't believe I was meant to go to BYU. And I LOVED my experience at CSU. And I realize that the test scores had a lot to do with the fact that I just never really figured out how to take tests. I've never been very good at them. I don't know how to study for them....Actually some tests I have done very well at. But anything where I had to study a massive amount of text and then have a multiple choice test, I wasn't too good at.
Also, I don't come from a very academic family - which doesn't mean my parents didn't care about education or school work. They absolutely did. But we valued other things.... hard work and our religion and developing our talents. I know now that my not testing well doesn't mean that I'm not smart. We just focused on different things. And too....I feel like I am smart enough to have been successful in life. I've always succeeded in my endeavors and often risen to the top. I've been able to get along with people. And I have a Bachelor degree from a university. A fellow choir member of mine told me that she thought I was smart because I was funny and always coming up with a quick quib. So... I am okay now. I know I'm not the smartest. But I DO know that I'm not dumb. And I'm happy and grateful with so many of the other gifts God has given to me.
One more point is that I've often heard that actually the smartest people in life are NOT usually the most successful people -that the B students often fare better in the world. I've always found that interesting. It is the more well-rounded individual - the one who knows how to get along with others - and work hard - that does the best in the long run.
Still, I wish I was smarter. I am in awe of contestants on Jeopardy. Seriously, how do they know so much??? I don't know if I'll ever know. I wish I was more knowledgeable in so many subjects.... history, geography, science, vocabulary.... Hopefully each year that I live I will learn more and more.
But here is why I'm writing this post....
My sister's sister-in-law - her name is Stephanie - is one of these really smart people. Her and her husband went to the Colorado school of Mines for crying out loud. And she has some engineering degree I think. She has a little boy - not quite a year younger than Mary. And I thought it would be good to get to know her and see how smart people do things. At a birthday celebration for my sister this past summer, I asked her if she'd like to get together with our kids and I could see how she approached teaching her son. She agreed and ever since about August I think, we've been hanging out about once a week doing lots of fun outings.
So.... I wanted to share some of the things that we've done with them. It has been good for me to see how "smart people" do things. But more than that, it has just been fun to get to know them and take advantage of many of the fun things there are to do in Denver.
Here are some pictures from the various outings we've had:
The Zoo
Stephanie is a member at the zoo and so always gets me in for free. Prior to Mary turning three, I didn't have to pay a thing! Nice! She always brings this fun wagon for the kids to sit in and Mary loves being pushed around in it.
The Museum
We had a great time at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science - especially the little kids section. Here is Sigmund. Isn't he adorable?
The Botanic Gardens
I've always loved the Botanic Gardens. And Mary's favorite thing was feeding the fish and turtles and eating a popsicle from the popsicle stand.
The Berry Patch Farms
I have always LOVED Berry Patch Farms and this year was no different. Boy! Were those strawberries and raspberries delicious! And there are so many fun animals too.
Miller Farms
This place was really cool. You go and pay an entrance fee and then they drive you to different areas to pick as much produce as you can carry! We picked broccoli, corn, potatoes, squash, pumpkins, onions, and more! But it was really cold the day we went and I didn't pack enough gear. Mary was miserable and crying by the end. Poor baby. It wasn't my best parenting moment for sure. Mike (Stephanie's hubby) joined us on this day. Actually, they let us crash their family outing. : )
The Pumpkin Patch
What was fun about the pumpkin patch wasn't so much the patch itself as was the blow up slide and bouncy houses. Mary never had taken to the big slides before this outing, but this day she didn't want to leave. We had fun. And I must give a shout out to Stephanie for helping me out so much on all these outings. Often she will take Mary under her wing if I have to nurse Jonathan.
We had a great time at the Wild Life Experience too! Mary did however throw a fairly memorable fit that day. She didn't want to leave the slide where you slide like a penguin. Even Jonathan joined in on the fun!
The Aquarium
What's not to love about the aquarium really?
Hammond's Candy Factory
This was a fun activity to do at Christmastime. The tour is actually kinda lame. But the candy makes up for it!
Swimming!
Mary went down the big slide this time and had a blast of course!
So now you can see why I've been so busy the past several months! We've been having a great time and now we have some great new friends!
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