Keeping Up With the Joneses

It's So Clear Now

2012-02-14T10:06:00.002-07:00

Kurtis and I love Valentine's Day. It's the day we love to tease our children and ask them if they are in love with somebody. Really, we do that whenever we feel like it, but on Valentine's Day, we make a point to do it. Only Zach will actually admit that he is enamored by one of the girls in his classroom. I won't tell you who it is, but he showed us her picture in his yearbook, and she is cute. I asked if she was nice to everyone, and he said, "Yes." That's good. Kaleb admits that he likes someone, but won't tell us who, and starts to cry because he told Riley and Riley told us (ah, so it is still the same girl!), and Riley was supposed to keep it a secret! Then Riley just flat out denies it, and we can tell he's lying by his blushing. It's so much fun to torture our kids this way! Hee hee!
So I made the valentines for my kids classes this year. I was asking myself at the store if I should just buy them this year, but I didn't know how many I needed, and said to myself, "Eh, I will just make them. It can't be that many." Well, Kaleb has 26 kids in his class, Zach has 26 in his as well, and Riley has 28. Don't worry. I'm going to do the math for you. I makes me look more like a martyr. If you add all those numbers up, they come to 80! Eighty freaking Valentines! What the heck was I thinking?
I always do something cute for the people I visit teach, but I only visit two ladies and I get something for my partner. Three! Three valentines. So I made 86 valentines this year (you have to count the kids' teachers)! I must be crazy. Literally. But they did turn out cute. I'm not going to lie. In fact, I'm going to pat myself on the back a little.

Aren't these cute?

Next year, if I say something about making my kids' valentines for school, please remind me how much that is a really bad idea. I went a little crazy.

These are the Valentines for their teachers and the people I visit teach. The teachers get better treats because they have to put up with my kids for such a long time all day. I think they are saints.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

I hope today is filled with all kinds of love!

I'll Color On Them All

2012-02-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

I want to paint the wall in my front room black, or a dark grey and put light grey swirls all over it. I think it will look cool and Stampin' Up! has a really awesome stencil that I want to use. So last night, Kurtis and I were going to get some frozen custard and I told him I wanted to go to the hardware store and look at paint swatches. He said, "Why do you need to look at paint swatches? Isn't the paint just going to be...black?"
"Do you know how many shades of black or dark grey there are in the color palate?"
We never did make it to the hardware store. It was closed.

Somehow I Still Get the Chills

2012-02-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (a lot of my posts are starting with that word lately), I took my baby to the dentist. He had a cavity filled. It sucked (for him - I was fine). He is the first of my children to ever have a cavity. I think (hopefully) he has learned that taking care of your teeth is important, though. He really hated it. He whimpered when they left the numbing cream on his gums too long. He didn't like the numbing shots. He pretty much whimpered the entire time they were filling his cavity. They did their best to work quickly, and were done faster than I thought they would be. I took a picture. They hygienist was trying to distract him from his discomfort and had me take it. He thought he looked funny. I always wondered what I looked like when I had to have one of those on me. They aren't very comfortable at all. Poor kid. I was texting Kurtis and sent him that picture. He said, "Whoa, that looks so uncomfortable." "It is!" I texted back. Personal experience. I'm pretty sure Kurtis has also had this personal experience. But I forget. He can open his mouth really wide.

This isolates the tooth and keeps it dry so they can work on it.

Our dentist noticed his other top tooth was loose, so he pulled it out. Now my baby is missing his two front teeth! He was pretty excited about that. He's getting so big!

When we were all done and getting in the car, he said, "I can still make the "S" sound!" I think that Christmas song he sang during his program made him think he wouldn't be able to say "Sister Suzie sitting on a thistle". :D

Kiss the Planet Good-bye

2012-02-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Monday, W had his birthday party with his friends, and I was lucky enough to be there to see it. My dad is a mechanical engineer. He designs tools for the space program that is pretty much non-existent here any more. My sister asked him to help her with W's birthday party. It had a space theme. The boys had a lot of fun. They made rockets and launched them at the planets (after my parents taught the boys about them first). They strapped balloons to straws and raced them on yarn. They made pizzas and watched a DVD of a rocket launch while they cooked. Then they ate their pizzas. We ran out of time and parents were starting to come pick up their boys, so W quickly opened his presents as they were leaving. It was really great party. Emily and I made robot cake pops for his cake treat while the kids were at school. We decorated 32 of the 88 that we made. It took us five hours with a half hour break in between while the cake pops. Michele's daughter has a cake pop maker, but it only makes six at a time. We had fun, though. When my niece got home from school, she helped decorate them, too. It was a fun way to spend the last day of our trip. Tuesday, we flew home. I loved flying over the rocky mountains and looking down from the window of the plane. I really do love flying. Emily asked me if I thought I could be a Flight Attendant. I think I would like it, but I'm not sure. I think flying is fun, but sometimes when it's your job, it sucks the fun out of it.

The robot cake pops!

My niece made that angry one. I love it! :)

Here is my dad taping the balloons to the straws.

W. Blowing up his balloon as big as he can.

One of W's friends is on the left, and my nephew is on the right. I think he let go of his balloon too late.

I didn't take any pictures of the boys throwing their rockets at the planets, but my sister is an artist. She painted this for the party. Her house is always stocked with things to paint with and on and all sorts of supplies for creativity. I wish I had more stuff like that.

This cake pop looked like Saturn! :) It tasted really yummy, too. ;)

I Want To Be the Best I Can

2012-01-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my nephew turned eight years old. He was also baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was such a wonderful day. We made snicker doodles, and got all dressed up in our Sunday clothes and went to the church. Then W and his dad got all dressed in white. After the opening prayer and song, his primary teacher gave a talk on baptism. Then we walked to the baptismal font and watched as W's dad baptized him. While they were drying off and changing their clothes, we listened to primary songs and sat reverently. After W and his dad were dried off and dressed, we sang a song accompanied by W's sister. Then we listened to my sister Emily give a talk on the Holy Ghost. Both talks were really good, but the bishop said it was probably the best talk on the Holy Ghost he had ever heard. I agree. She told a story about two men. One was a Native American and the other was a New Yorker. The New Yorker came to visit his friend in the country, and wanted to bring his friend to see the city. The Native American was really excited to go and to see the city because he had never been there. He loved seeing all the sights and really enjoyed all the plays and many things that the city had to offer, but after being there for a couple of weeks he started to miss his home. One day, while they were walking in Manhattan, The Native American said to his friend, "I think I hear a frog." "What? I don't hear a frog. I'll give you $100 if you can find the frog." So he went to where he heard the frog, and picked it out of the drain. "I never would have heard that frog, if you hadn't found it," said the New Yorker. The Native American took some coins and dropped them on the ground. Everyone with in a forty-foot radius turned around to see where they landed. "Well," said the Native American, "it all depends on what you are listening for." She applied this story to the Holy Ghost in that it is something we must be listening for, or we will never hear it. W's brother played the closing song, and then we all ate the snicker doodles. I got to meet some of W's friends, too. It was a beautiful day and I was so glad I got to be there. It was, after all, the reason I flew out here.

These are the two handsome young men dressed in white. In our church, white symbolizes purity. When we are baptized, our sins are washed away and we are made clean again.

W was really, really excited. Getting baptized on your birthday sounds really, really exciting to me. :)

His older brother made up a scavenger hunt for him to find one of his birthday presents. It was the one from me. I thought that was pretty cool. :)

We got him a Hex bug for his present. He really liked it.

My parents bought him some scriptures and a scripture case. He like that even more.

When he was almost done opening his presents and cards, W's dad wrapped up Emily.

And William opened her up! Yay! An Emily for his birthday!

I love this picture I took. W is hugging his Grandpa H. Such a great moment.

It really was a great day. :)

Back To That City the River Splits

2012-01-27T22:50:00.001-07:00

Thursday morning, I got up at 4:30 a.m. Kurtis drove me to the airport at 5:20 and I was through airport security by 6:30. Whew! That part always makes me a little bit nervous. It was only the fourth time I've flown in my 32 years of existence. Well, I guess I should say my fourth trip flying somewhere. I suppose that makes it more like my seventh time on an airplane. Geesh. Getting all technical on me are we? Well, I've decided that flying early in the morning is pretty freaking cool. Here's why:

This photograph doesn't do it justice, but once we were above the cloud cover, the sun was gorgeous and illuminated the clouds in this pink glow. It was amazing.

This window was a little scratched, but it was so beautiful. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of it.

I arrived in Denver and waited to meet my sister, but she never showed up. Her plane was late, and didn't arrive until after boarding our flight to Minneapolis had begun boarding. I was worried she would miss the plane. I was so relieved when I saw her get on. It was too late to try and switch seats in order to sit together, so I got to sit by a two nice men who left me alone most of the flight until we were about to descend into Minneapolis, and the one on the end looked out the window and said, "Is that Snow?" I smiled and said, "Have you not seen snow before?" "No, I'm from California." I found it amusing. He showed me a picture of his baby and told me he and his friend are going to have fun in Michigan playing in the snow. Or was it Wisconsin? I can't remember. Either way, I hope he has fun.

Today, we drove to St. Paul and toured the Capitol building. It's immaculately decorated and incredibly ornate. The tour guide told us they built it that way on purpose so that everyone could experience luxury and see what that looked like. This is what luxury looks like:

After the capitol tour, we drove over to the Historical Center. We could have walked, but decided not to because it was snowing. It wouldn't have been a super short walk either, so I think we made the right decision. We went to the 1968 exhibit. It was amazing. A lot went on during that year that I never realized. A crazy amount of people died in the Vietnam war, and protest began to escalate and the tension in the nation had to have been astounding. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th (my sister's birthday), and then two months later, on June 5th (my niece's birthday) pretty much immediately after announcing his run for the presidency, Robert Kennedy was shot. Things like that shock a nation to its very core. It was probably equivalent to what we went through on September 11, 2001. It was also an election year. President Nixon won, and we got to see the first pictures of an Earth rise from space. Cool things happened, too. The world is never all bad. Sometimes we just have look a little harder.

We also went to the exhibit about our nation's greatest generation: The World War two veterans. They grew up during the depression and they persevered through World War Two. They overcame those years to triumph and prosperity throughout the rest of their lives. The truly are the greatest generation I will ever know, and they deserve to be celebrated.

My nephews and I made bombs in the factory.

My arm got tired of cranking the conveyor belt.

Tanks are always cool to look at.

This display represented the cinema and the great films produced during this era. They don't make them like they used to.

I just had to throw this one in here. It's the gorgeous St. Paul's Cathedral. I took this shot as we were leaving the museum parking lot. How can I not fall in love with a place like this?

I Could Skate From Maine To Nebraska

2012-01-25T14:53:00.001-07:00

I'm going on a trip tomorrow. It's very exciting. I've never flown on an airplane all by myself before. I'm a little nervous, but I'm stopping in Denver and meeting my younger sister. Then we are getting on the same flight to Minnesota. Where else would I go? It seems like I was just there! :D
So I was looking at the TSA's website and checking out all the rules of things you can and cannot put on your carry on luggage. It was all really interesting, and most things make sense. I wouldn't want somebody to bring their meat cleaver or spear guns or cattle prods in to the passenger area. Those just make sense. If you are bringing home your ninja throwing stars, you need to check your bag. But one thing in particular caught my eye. You are not allowed to bring your dumbbells or your hand weights, but you can bring your ice skates. What? I get that dumbbells are heavy, so perhaps this is a weight issue, but ice skates have sharp blades on the bottom of them. They are supposed to be kept as sharp as possible to glide on the ice. That's why you put those little covers on them, so you don't cut yourself when you are slinging them over your shoulder and while flirting with that cute guy in Biology.
So all I know is if terrorists take over my plane, I'm going to be looking for that little girl with big Olympic dreams. We'll take them down together.

We All Need a Fix; I Guess I Need One Too

2012-01-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Remember the picture I showed you of my basement with the fans and the dehumidifier? Well, after they were done drying out the place, there were holes in my ceiling and in the wall. Tom came over a few days later and patched them up. Then he came back and mudded some more and textured the ceiling to get it to match. The he let it dry again, and in a few days, came back to sand and paint it. The second time he came over, he put some paint on the wall and ceiling to see if the paint he got matched. The wall was too dark, but the ceiling looked like it matched, so I told him that painting just the area that was being repaired would be fine. He came, painted, and the wall looks great. I love it. But the ceiling, didn't match after all.
He's over here right now painting the whole entire ceiling. Kurtis didn't want to move all the junk that was down there, so he was trying to tell me it was fine. I just looked at him like he was crazy and said, "Why are you settling when we don't have to? We move the stuff, and he comes back and fixes it. It might not bug you, but it's gonna start to bug me, so I'll call them." I let the paint dry for a few days before calling to be sure, and then all that plumbing stuff happened.
Now, I have to go through all my crap before I put it back. Ugh. I don't want to do that. But at the same time, I do. It's something I have been putting off for years. It's time. Right after I get back from Minnesota! ;)

These are the holes in my wall.

And in the ceiling.

This one shows the paint didn't match after all. Yes, it does. Just look closer.

But the wall looks great!

He's done, and it looks great! I haven't seen the room this empty since we moved in!

See? No weird looking patch of white on white! Yay! :)

We Won't Get Far Flying In Circles Inside a Jar

2012-01-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

I need to apologize. The last post was not very nice. I was in a foul mood. I'm sorry. It was such a horrible post, that my bestest friend Nicole called me to make sure I was okay. Well, I am working on becoming okay. We'll just say that. Because I don't deal well with things like plumbing problems, and things that could potentially financially cripple us. Money equals happiness to me. Having it, and being able to get what I want when I want means that I am prosperous and that makes me happy. Don't tell me money doesn't buy happiness because that just isn't true. Not to me. So if when we have unexpected problems that cost a lot of money, I tend to freak out. I've been holding it in too long, and finally I burst.
I didn't intent to be so negative, but it sure came out that way, and I apologize. I'm trying to be more positive, but as a person who suffers from depression, it's not something that comes easily. And sometimes, a girl just needs to vent. Thanks for sticking with me even when I throw a tantrum or two. You're the best.

Hit That Button There - The One That Just Says Wrong

2012-01-18T17:37:00.002-07:00

The day after Christmas, we went to Temple Square. I did take pictures. They turned out nice. Then on December 30th, we went to the annual D.I. party. It wasn't the worst night ever, but let me just be honest here. I thought it was a family party. Instead, Kristie invited her friends and even though we drew names at Thanksgiving, decided to totally bag that whole idea. I don't really like being blindsided by things like that. If she was going to make it a party with her friends, she should have asked me how I felt about it. Because it was a family party. She did that to me last year, too, and it pissed me off then. Just like it pissed me off this year. That was the end of the year for us. Now, you are all caught up on what we did during the Holidays.

Today, I am numb. Just freaking numb. I was dealing with the kitchen situation. I had made peace with the fact that I will have an un-level kitchen floor until we get our tax return. Life was returning to somewhat normal. Then I woke up this morning. Everybody decided to flush the toilets at the same time, and there was no water pressure. No big deal. Just wait for them to stop running and the water will return to normal, right? Nope. We could hear water running through the pipes for about an hour and a half after that, and if you ran the water, it would just trickle. I asked Kurtis how the pressure was in the shower and he checked it. Said it seemed fine. So I decided to work out, call the plumber, and then shower.
After my work out, my sweaty, forty-five minute work out, I didn't hear the water running in the pipes any more, and when I turned on the water, the pressure seemed fine. I decided not to call the plumber, and played Farmville for a bit before I took my shower. When I finally got into the shower, I turned it on (seemed fine), and undressed while I waited for the water to get warm. When I went to get in the shower, the water was trickling. I tried again and watched as the water went from okay pressure to trickling. I'm cold, I'm naked, and I'm not going to get a shower. I am ready to cry. I did the best I could hygienically, got dressed, and called the plumber. They said that they would come between 3 and 5 (closer to 5). It's 5:23, and they are not here yet. Kurtis asked me to turn the main water off just in case, and so I have been without water since 12:30. You never really realize how important water is to everything until it is unavailable. I learned that lesson on December 20th. Do I really need to learn it again, so soon? Seriously?
Chances are, I'm not going to get a shower tomorrow either. :'''(

Update: The plumber just called. He's just finishing up a job, and should be here shortly. They better not charge me after-hours rates. :(

Update #2: Yay!!! He came and he conquered! Kurtis can't remember what he called the part, but it had stuff in it. Apparently the water that comes from the city is really high pressure, and this takes it down a few notches and makes it work for our house. He cut the pipes and soldered a new one on. The soldering set off the fire alarms a few times, but we got a fan and that got it under control. Then when he ran the water, the pipes sang a few times, but he fixed it. Kurtis says that the rate the water was going through the pipes needed to be adjusted and that's why they were making noise. So hurray! I get to take a shower tomorrow! :D

So I'll Spend My Christmas With You

2012-01-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

I did it! I almost bagged the whole project because I didn't record everything, and when I watched it, it was so completely boring that I just wanted to gouge my eyes (and ears) out. Oh, I'm sorry. You have no idea what I am talking about. Well, I finally edited the footage of Christmas, and opening presents. It was half an hour long, and soooo boring. Because my kids don't just tear into their packages. Sometimes the do, but most of the time, they wanted to savor the process or something and it was really hard to watch. Especially when it came to watching my brother open his present from us. He moves so slowly! And to top it all off, there was one part, where I thought I had turned off the camera, set it down, and filmed my knee! What the heck? Also, as I am watching what happens before my knee, I am realizing that I must have accidentally hit the off button while I was recording because half of the presents being opened are gone! What? Technical difficulties. Ugh. In the end, the entire film is five and a half minutes. Which makes me extremely happy. The best part is at 1:39. Kaleb says the funniest thing ever. Well, I thought it was any way.

Oh, and that really awesome drum roll sound at the beginning of the video, isn't really a drum roll. It's that frigging fan that we had going for five days to dry out our house. It's kind of cool at the beginning there, but then it doesn't stop, so it starts to get weird.

Christmas day, we went opened presents, went to church, visited Kurtis' family, and then visited my family. I got to talk to my brother who is in Brazil! Woo hoo! It was so good to hear his voice, and I can't wait for him to come home in September! :)

The Snowflakes Start Falling and I Start to Float

2012-01-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not done editing our Christmas video yet. Okay, fine. I haven't even started. But I am going to go out of order and show you what we made at Stamp Club last night anyway! It was a lot of fun, and you should come too. Next month we will have a Valentine's Day theme. I love Valentine's Day. It's wonderful. And you can't tell me that it is just because I have a lover. I loved it even when I didn't have one, so there! :P Yeah. I know. I'm a sap.

I had fun using my new Big Shot and Stampin' Up! punch that I got for Christmas! We made a card. You can't see it in the picture, but we used Dazzling Details on the snowflakes to make them sparkle. Those weird, glob-things are magnets. We used Crystal Effects to stick everything together. It's a super easy and super quick project!

Send Out A Sparkle Bright As the Dawn

2012-01-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

December 15, 2011, Kaleb and I ran off to his school while his dad and brothers ran off to Pack Meeting. Kurtis had to get there early because he is the assistant cub master. I asked Kurtis to help me out because the Wolves were in charge of the flag ceremony, and my partner in crime was also going to be absent. It's one of those days when you need a clone, but you don't have one, so you do the best you can. I told Kurtis, Kaleb and I would come when his program was over. It was only supposed to last half an hour. True to their word, it was only 26 minutes (I know because of the time stamp on the video). I edited out the technical difficulty that lasted about three minutes, and brought the show down to twenty-two minutes and forty-two seconds. I'm surprised YouTube let me put a video on that exceeded their limit, but I did find a site that doesn't have a time limit, so maybe next time, I will try it out. I hope you enjoy it because it was really cute! I love having a video camera! :D

P.S. I made most of the jingle bell necklaces the children are wearing. Mrs. Jones gave me all the materials and I strung them together (I babysit Mrs. Jones' kids. Kaleb is in Mrs. Gally's class). Until I ran out of ribbon and donated a bunch of my own that I wasn't using. I knew it would come in handy someday. Once again, the fact that I never throw anything away came in to the rescue!

If the Bombs Go Off the Sun Will Still Be Shining

2012-01-06T17:04:00.002-07:00

So. Yeah, I haven't blogged in an eternity. Two weeks without a blog post? You must feel so deprived! Yeah, well. I haven't been a very happy person these last few weeks. Not that I am really all that cheerful on a regular basis, but I mean these past two weeks have not been very fun for me, but I am adapting to the hole in my kitchen. No, it's still not fixed. But I am adapting. Let's play catch up on Christmas blogging before we go there, though. I'm sure you are dying to know how awesome our Christmas was in 2011.
What did I blog about before I blogged about my crisis. Yes, to me, it is a crisis. It's not Kurtis breaking Zachary's leg. That was Zachary's and Kurtis' crisis. I handled that beautifully. Now, it should be everybody else's turn to keep me from freaking out. They really suck at it, though. I mean that. I'm not just being sarcastic. I mean, really. Why can't they just stop being such self absorbed little children?
Oh, yes. Before my kitchen crisis of 2011, it was Kaleb's birthday! Best birthday ever, too. The next day, he had a school program. I video taped it. I've been meaning to put it up here because it was only half an hour, and it was really cute! I'll work on it tonight. It's the third time I've seen it, but it was still really cute. I think they did do something a little bit different this year, but Riley's in third grade now. That was two years ago. How am I supposed to remember that?
Then there was Christmas Eve at my grandma's house. She's moved into an assisted living situation, but she still has her house (just in case she doesn't like it there). My uncle was really having a cranky day (when isn't he?). As soon as my children walked in the door, he told them to stop rough housing inside. Seriously? That man has anger issues. At dinner, he was really close to freaking out at his four-year-old granddaughter who spilled a tiny bit of her drink on her shirt. Sometimes, I really want to punch him. She's four! Lighten up! It's not like she took her cup and dumped it out all over the floor on purpose. I think I helped him calm down, though. I told her, "It's alright. You just got the tiniest drop on your shirt. No worries." And told him with my mind to go get therapy. One time, my grandma told me that he was such a sweet baby until Grandpa wouldn't let him have a pacifier. "No child of mine is going to become dependent on these confounded contraptions!" Something like that. Sounds like Grandpa needed to lighten up a bit back then, too. After that, it was all downhill for my uncle. I'm really quite tired of it though. Nobody should put up with him any more. I wonder if anybody has ever tried to tell him to calm down. I may have used those words that night. I can't look him in the eye, though. If he ever wondered why his nieces and nephews avoided him when they were growing up, that would be why. I really like that little girl. She just needs him to love her.
But the thing that baffles me about this situation is that everybody just ignores it. Like, oh, that's just our brother. He he. He'll never change. If he had an alcohol or drug problem would you say the same thing? Probably not. Or maybe they would. My mother's family does seem to like to hide things, and just sweep them under the rug like it's not really there. Yay! Dysfunction!
But inspite of his problem with life, we still had a pretty good time. My brother's girlfriend, Lili, came. I like hanging out with her. And my sister Emily was there, too. Sweet! My cousin was in charge of the nativity this year and she rocked it. Super short and done with the little ones holding up dolls. Much better than mine last year. We played Christmas trivia and Christmas charades. Everyone thinks that because I am an actress I will be good at that game. Well, I got Christmas Day. Seriously? %@*$! That's what I say to that. I'm not good at that game, and being an actress does not make me good at that game. You know what makes you good at that game? Playing it. Frequently. Other people got Candy cane and Christmas tree. Sooo much easier. Even Stocking is easier than Christmas Day!

Emily has purple hair now! :D I love it!

That's my uncle playing with my kids. He's the fun uncle. Not the angry uncle.

Riley thinks Jeremy is a horse.

Tickle time!

There were a couple of announcements at this super fun party! My cousin (on the right) is engaged! To that guy on the left. Maybe that is why they are holding hands. No date set yet. She wants to graduate first and is supposed to in May. Lucky girl.

Christmas Trivia.

Tickle time!

My cousin, reading the nativity.

The kids and their participation part. They just played with the dolls and didn't really hold them up much.

After all the fun, my fun uncle told me to go and take pictures of everyone. So I did. These are my cousins. Oh, and the other announcement is that another cousin (the one on the right in the blue shirt) is also getting married in May! Yay! I love weddings!

Enough updating for now. I'll post again later. Maybe.

You're the Hope That Ends Disaster

2011-12-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering, here is an update on the kitchen situation:
We called our insurance company yesterday (Wednesday), and this morning (Thursday) a claims adjuster called us. He said that the insurance wouldn't cover the cost of fixing the refrigerator ($2), but they will cover the cost of restoring the floor and the clean up. Woo hoo! I also asked about our roof, and he said they will not be covering that. They would only cover the cost of repairing it, and one of the quotes we were given was $985. Our deductible is $1000, and Kurtis and my dad were able to fix it for about $35, so we'll be paying for our new roof in the spring out of pocket. The house needed it anyway, so it's not a surprise to us.
The agent told me to call a place called Servepro. They came out after lunch and checked where the water in the walls and floor and ceiling is. They found several spots in Zachary's room as well as in the computer room downstairs. They also came in and started ripping up the kitchen floor. It was a bit shocking. I knew they had to, but I don't think I was quite ready for it even though our insurance adjuster had warned me they would. It's a bit weird when someone comes in your home, says, "Hey! I'm Joe," and then immediately starts destroying your property. It had to be done, though. They had to find how bad the damage was. They also cut a hole in the ceiling in the computer room and made a vent for the industrial strength fans to blow air directly into the ceiling and the wall between Zach's room and the computer room. The pulled back the carpet and cut out the section of the carpet pad that was still wet and put fans down. Right now, that's the goal. Dry the place out. One of the men told us the good thing about wood is that it takes a long time to soak up water, but the bad thing about wood is that it takes a long time to dry it out. We'll probably have these fans going all day tomorrow and Christmas eve as well. All these fans are making it quite loud in my home. It's not really all that bothersome, but I just want you to know that if you ring my doorbell, and I don't answer, it really isn't because I am hiding in my house waiting for you to go away. I probably just didn't hear it.
I asked if they could tell how long our fridge had been leaking, and the boss man told me, not too long because there was no mold. That's a very, very good thing. Later, he said, "It smells like two days." Apparently, if it did have mold, that would have meant that it had been leaking for four or more days. Once we get all dried out, they can assess the cost of the damage and we can pick out a new floor. I told Kurtis this morning, "This would be fun if it was something I actually wanted to do!" And something we were financially ready for. I guess I will just get my dream kitchen piece by piece with long gaps where it's not really very pretty because nothing will match or coordinate yet.

Here are some of the pictures I took after they left. They were really great guys, and I'm glad I called them. That's my pantry.

The previous owners had a vinyl floor before they put in the laminate. The boys want me to put in the old vinyl floor. They really like it. But it's not to my tastes so much. So I told Zach that when he buys his own house he can buy whatever kitchen floor he wants. Kurtis only said that I couldn't pick purple or blue for the floor color. He's such a dictator!

My kitchen really isn't that big, and moving the fridge out and away from the wall makes things even tighter.

Front room. We had to move two of our bookshelves yesterday. We might just keep them where we moved them, but now we need a couple more. A trip to IKEA may be in order in the future. What I really want to do is remove the carpet all together and just put the same floor in the kitchen and the front room. I don't know how much that will cost us yet, though and Kurtis didn't seem to want to pay them any extra money right now. Maybe later next year we can just do it ourselves.

This setup is actually pretty cool. That circle in the ceiling is where the light fixture that was dripping was. My dad took it out Tuesday.

Letting the Days Go By Water Flowing Under!

2011-12-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Guess what else I didn't want to have to spend my tax return on. A NEW KITCHEN FLOOR!!! Last night, Kurtis and I finished up our Christmas shopping and went grocery shopping. When we got home, I put the groceries away, and as I was putting some cheese in the bottom drawer, I noticed the floorboards were warped. I stepped on it hard, and water oozed out of the cracks. Kurtis pulled back the refrigerator to find the hose to the ice maker spraying water. It was a fine mist. As we looked under our kitchen sink to find the valve to turn it off, we realized that the hose was not going under the floor and behind the counters to the sink, but under the floor. End of story. I ran downstairs to see if there was any water pouring from the ceiling. Nope. Not pouring, really. Just a little drip from the light fixture into my box of cds, and splashing onto the floor. I got a bucket. Kurtis turned off the main water to the house, and sat there saying, "I don't know what to do. I just don't know!" As tears ran down his face. He tried to temporarily fix the hole with gorilla glue, and duct tape. That didn't work. Don't try it. After awhile he decided that he should cut the hose near where the hole was and then he tried to put all the universal combo thingy back together, but he had ruined it trying to get it off the other piece of hose. By this time, it was almost three in the morning, and I was ready to crash and cry. I didn't. I held it in until the next morning when I called my mom to tell her not only was there water all over the kitchen floor last night, but the front room of our home had also been flooded. The wetness of the carpet went about oh, two feet into the room. Maybe three. I don't really feel like getting out my yard stick and making exact measurements for you. Joy. My parents came and Kurtis and my dad tried to figure out where the hose was going, but couldn't. I bet you anything we're going to have to cut a hole in my basement ceiling to find it. I want to literally kick the person who did such a half-assed job on my house in the balls. I'm not lying at all. Why would you do that? Why would you not give yourself access to that valve? Are you stupid? That's what I would scream at him as I did it, too. He would deserve it. Don't tell me you didn't think it, too.
When Kurtis got home from the home improvement store, he clamped the hose shut with the cutest little clamp I have ever seen. We had to wrap it in a wash cloth because the hose was so slippery. It needed a little traction, but it worked! And we had water again! By the time my parents got here, we had pretty much cleaned out the living room and my mom tried to use her shampooer to mop up the excess water in the carpet, but nothing came up. I hope that is a good sign, but it's still not dry, so only time will tell. I'm going to be honest. I'm not having a very good Christmas right now. I still haven't finished the neighbor gifts and I haven't sent out my Christmas cards either. The Christmas letter just doesn't have enough snark for my tastes, but my family might just have to deal with it, and I'm really not that concerned that they probably won't get them before Christmas this year. I'm too freaking busy trying to keep my ceiling in the basement from falling in! My dad touched it. He said it was soft. Which means there's water up there! Excuse me. I need to go cry again now. Wait. I'm good. No. No, yep. I'm good. I will just breath and deal with it because I have a friend who is going through something so much worse right now. I'd like to thank her for the perspective, and for understanding that I canceled scouts today.

Your Love Is Better Than Chocolate

2011-12-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, I woke up and felt my heart stop. I awoke with the realization that it was in fact Kaleb's birthday the very next day. What happened to time? Why is it going so fast? I need more time to prepare! I promised myself I would never let myself get so wrapped up in getting ready for Christmas, that I forgot about Kaleb's birthday. I suck.
At breakfast, I told Kaleb his birthday was tomorrow. "I'm going to have a party, tomorrow!" He exclaimed. I shook my head, and said, "No, you're not. I didn't send out any invitations. But you can have a party on Saturday, okay?" He agreed. I think he was a little bit disappointed, but oh well. That's what you get when you have a mom who isn't exactly the most organized person ever. I had the day off because we had dentist appointments later that day, so I went and ran a few errands. I picked up an ice cream cake, and some treats for his class too. So last minute. I hate that. At our dentist appointment, we found out he has a cavity. Happy birthday, Buddy!
On his birthday, I made his invitations and they were stinking cute. We sang happy birthday to him and ate his ice cream cake. Then he opened his present: Minecraft! He was so excited.
As I was making his birthday party invitations, I came up with the idea for the theme of his party: Chocolate! I'm so brilliant. I borrowed my parents' chocolate fountain and got a bunch of chocolate and things to dip it in. It was so much fun! The boys didn't want to eat the chocolate cupcakes I prepared, but they did want the cookie dough ice cream. I'd say his party was a hit. Whew. Now, I get to run around like a chicken with its head cut off until Christmas! I'm not ready!!! Gotta love December!

What? His favorite color is pink right now!

He's such a good natured kid. I love it.

Seven birthday tickles from Daddy!

Did I forget to mention he's seven now? Well, he likes to make faces at the camera. Like that.

Woo hoo! Minecraft!

The party favors. Chocolate and bubbles. Great gift.

I almost forgot to take pictures. So this is the aftermath of the chocolate fountain. Well, we ate chocolate, opened presents and then had ice cream and more chocolate. So this is the first aftermath. :D

Presents!

He also got these spinney thingies you battle with. I forget what the are called. But the boys stayed after the party was over and played with them for an hour. No lie.

Ice cream and friends!

Another friend on the other side of the table! :)

Hooray for birthdays!

2011-12-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

I usually hold Stamp Club on the second Wednesday of the month, but because that was Kaleb's birthday, I asked the ladies if we could do it on the 7th. They agreed, then I auditioned for a play, and made callbacks. Callbacks were on the 7th, so I moved it to the 8th. Shuffling things around is hectic. No, I did not get cast in the play, but I did have an awesome Stamp Club that way too many of you missed out on! Here's what we made:

Aren't those Santa Pants the cutest?

Well, you will just have to come next time. We won't be making Santa Pants, but we will be doing something super cute! It's January 11th at my house. Email me if you need directions!

We Can Dodge Debris While We Trim the Tree

2011-12-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

So, I think I have caught up on my blogging for November, and now I can finally blog about December 1st. It was a really crazy, windy day. I'm sure most of you have heard about how there were 95 mph winds and such. I won't bore you with all those details. I-15 was closed, so I told Kurtis he should work from home. The lady I babysit for is a teacher at the kids' school, and she called to tell me not to send the boys to school. The kids thought it was the best day ever. But I just want to show you the pictures I took of my neighbor's roof when I looked out the window! It was totally wicked!

I looked out my kitchen window, and those are my neighbor's shingles standing straight up. I am surprised they didn't fly right off.

This is the neighbor next door to the above neighbor.

Oh, and that's my roof. I went back inside.

The kids pointed this out to me. The wind blew the attic door open. Creeped me out quite a bit, but Kurtis just laughed and told me the wind could do that.

There was a lull in the wind for about fifteen minutes. This is the biggest piece of damage to our roof. Kurtis and my dad patched it up on Saturday. I guess I know what we will be doing with our tax return in 2012. Not what we wanted, but life isn't always about what you want. :P

Kurtis and I decided to go out to lunch (because the storm had died down to almost nothing), and as we drove past our local Dairy Queen, this is what we saw! It wasn't like that before the storm. Many signs like this were blown out. Traffic lights were out or flashing yellow lights. It was total chaos. Fallen trees, and all that stuff. We never lost power, but the kids' elementary school was out, so they got to stay home Thursday and Friday (Dec. 1st & 2nd). One school still didn't have power on Monday, so they were out an extra day!

Sunday, the our church building did not have power (apparently no one on that street did either), and so church was canceled and a stake-wide that soon became city-wide clean up began. Kurtis went to bed the night before feeling like crap, and woke up not much better, so we didn't participate, and I had to ask my neighbor to come and help me tip over our basketball hoop again. We were preparing for another wind storm that was predicted. It never came. I didn't think it would, but I didn't think our winds would be so high, either. It was kind of scary while it was happening, but it was amazing to watch as well. I watched the wind pull down my next door neighbor's backyard fence. My neighbor across the street's recycling bin went flying down the street, so I made Kurtis go get it for him. It's still lying on its side in his front yard. I'll admit it bugs me, but I try not to be too bugged because I'm sure my neighbors often wonder why I don't weed my front yard.

It's Coming On Christmas

2011-12-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think, "I am going to blog today!" I get all excited, turn on my computer, and then sit down to write, but I can't remember what I was going to write about. That happened to me yesterday. But I remember now!

We made our kids make Christmas lists last month. We never know what to get them, so we make them write it down. Zach and Kaleb gave us lists within a couple of days. But Riley I had do nag a bit. Finally, this was Riley's first Christmas wish list:

   Another dog
   Minecraft mod of single-player typing mod
   Chalk
   $10-$100
   3 cucumbers

No, I am not making this up! We made him make another list.

Paradox: The Portrait of Abigail Sutherland (Familiar Faces)

2011-12-07T15:19:00.001-07:00

So, I was wrong. After this episode, there are two more.

Which is good because this episode resolves nothing.

It's still really good, though. :)

Now, I really want to know what would have happened if she has seen the diary pages and chosen green instead. Ugh! Paradoxes!

Don't Need No Hateration, Holleratin'

2011-12-03T23:29:00.001-07:00

So on November 19th, our family did something every family tends to do around this time of year. We attempted to get our family picture taken. I say attempted because getting family pictures where all of us look good is a challenge. Huge. Challenge. Painfully so. Let me start at the beginning.
I called my brother and asked him if he could take our family picture, and he said he would be glad to. The one in our living room is four years old, so I would really like one that I can blow up to an 11x14'' and stick in the frame we have up. I like it when we coordinate in our clothing as well. My bestest friend Nicole found me these awesome Jack Skellington shirts for the boys. She bought me a super cool Jack Skellington hat for Christmas one year because she and her family went to Disneyland. I thought perfect! Now I know what they are going to wear and what I am going to wear and what I want Kurtis to wear! Woo-hoo! Half the battle has been won!
Well, picture day came and Michael was supposed to meet us at our house at 11 a.m. so that we could get done before Kaleb had to go to his basketball game at 2 p.m. That sounds like plenty of time for a family photo shoot to me. Two hours of shooting should get you at least one decent shot, right? Well, that would have been amazing, but Michael texts me at 10:30 and says he is going to be a little late. I guess he and I have different ideas of what a little late is because he was an hour and a half late. At 12:30, we finally pull out of my driveway and head to the location I picked out. It's a really beautiful place called the Layton Nature Preserve. It's basically a bird refuge. I didn't even know it existed until my friend posted her family pictures on her blog. I had to have my family pictures taken there! It was a beautiful sunny day. The sky was blue and there was snow on the ground. It was picturesque. We took some pictures, but at 1:30, we had to leave and take Kaleb to his basketball game. Michael took some more shots, and we were finally back to our car at 2. I'm freaking out because he and Riley are just meandering along the boardwalk, taking their time. I was going to just let Michael take Riley back to our house so we could hurry up, but no. Michael said he couldn't bring him back. He had somewhere he had to go. Oh! Did I mention Kaleb was supposed to bring the drinks for his team? No? Well, yes. He was, so I didn't want to be late. I didn't want his coach thinking we had forgotten. So I turned the car around and went back for him. I was frustrated. Ahhhh! Might have slipped out of my mouth a couple of times.
I was really excited to see our pictures, though! I mean everything was perfect, so these pictures must be perfect, too, right!? I finally got to see them the day before Thanksgiving. Michael had only gotten about 70 pictures taken. I copied them from his memory card onto my computer and began to browse through them. As I am flipping through them, my anger and horror begins to swell, and grow and consume me. I expected my children to have goofy faces and have one kid not smiling, and being uncooperative, but my husband? My partner? The love of my life? No! How could he betray me like this?! It's cruel and just plain spiteful! Every single freaking picture has Kurtis smiling at the camera, but only with one eye open! I don't want a picture of my husband winking at the camera. For one thing, he never winks at me, so that doesn't fit with his personality. His excuse when I furiously Skyped him: "I have sensitive eyes! I couldn't help it!"
All I can say is, he ruined my pictures and ruined my Thanksgiving. I couldn't stop crying. I told him he should go to Chuck-A-Rama without me. We talked it out. I never punched him. That bruise got there when he hit his eye on a door knob. I swear. We're all good now.
So then, we went up to Grandma Day's to hang with my family and Michael promised me a reshoot. We went downtown to the LDS Conference Center and took a few, but it got too dark before we could really do anything amazing. This time, though, Riley decided that smiling was just too hard and that he would rather make weird faces. We got one that was okay, but I have this awesome double chin. I guess nobody was in the mood after stuffing themselves all day long.
So we will keep trying. Friday, the kids got to have the day off because of some wicked wind storm that ripped through our town and took out the power to the school and took out all the windows on the buses. Awesomeness. I'll blog about that later. So because they were home all day, I took the opportunity to do a photo shoot of just them. Sorry folks. No family picture for your Christmas card this year. Just another one of my cuties patooties! They did a great job with me as the photographer. Maybe I'm just scarier than their uncle. Who knows? The trouble with my kids is that they do better when you don't try to pose them. Or you trick them into thinking they aren't being posed. It's easier to do that when you aren't behind them choking them into submission.
Do you want to see some terrible family pictures? I thought you would. Who doesn't love looking at horrible pictures of others to make themselves feel better? These really are the worst ones. We got some that were slightly better, but not enough.

Oh, my gosh! I love that sky and that background! What a gorgeous picture! But wait. Those people are kind of ruining my view.

I love it when everybody in the picture has their eyes closed. We were supposed to be doing that!

Riley was mad for some reason. I can't remember. But thanks, buddy. Oh, and Mister. You have your eyes closed!

This one probably would have turned out cute if Mr. Jones over there wasn't so concerned about the other kid ruining the picture.

Silly pictures rock. Unless one person won't play along.

I look hot in this one. I could have used it if the tall guy hadn't been trying to wink the hell out of everyone.

Thank you for your cooperation, Riley. It always helps when you close your eyes.

Blurry.

Double chin, and what kind of smile is that, Zachary?

I love this picture. The background is gorgeous. Look at that sky and the temple behind us and the tree! But once again. Huge double chin and Zachary is not doing a very good job of faking it.

Aw! This one is cute! Me: "Honey, we should use this one."

Kurtis: "No, it doesn't show your beautiful eyes."

I can't remember what I said, but I can think of some choice words right now.

Am I just being too picky? I don't think so. All I want is one picture of my family (that I can blow up to an 11x 14) where we all look happy and nobody looks like they are thinking, "How much longer do I have to do this?". Is that too much to ask?

Paradox: The Portrait of Abigail Sutherland (First Dates)

2011-12-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

This came up last Wednesday. I hope you like it!

Final episode should go viral tonight!

Yikes. It doesn't feel like it should be the end, though.

You Hold the Rights I'll Never Own

2011-11-30T12:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I told you I couldn't blog about what I wanted to. Finally, I can. So let me tell you my story:
Thursday, November 17, 2011 was our cub scout pack's Pinewood Derby. It was so fun for the boys. The Wolves were in charge of the treats, and of course, my partner in crime got sick, so I had to take care of it all by myself. No worries, though. I came up with something amazing that only took me four hours to make total (including a lunch break and putting little girls in time out because I was working that day, too).
I video taped the boys cars going down the tracks that evening. I had twelve minutes of footage that I cut down to four. Because let's face it. All the stuff in between the cars going down the track is super boring to watch if you aren't there. Then I took the sound out of the video and put it to music. After that painstaking process (which I actually enjoy - I just had to be in the mood to do it), I uploaded it onto YouTube. Then I get an email telling me that using a certain song has put me in copyright violation, and therefore, they removed all the audio out of my video. If you have ever heard of the Fair Use Act, then you will know that I was not in copyright violation. I used thirty seconds of each song. Not the entire song, therefore, not violation. I could dispute this, but that would have been asking them to come and sue me, so I said, "Well, that's fine. I'll just use another song." I took out the song that showed up on the video as being for sale to purchase, and put in another. Apparently, there was another song that had the same issue. So, I took out that song, and put in another. I decided to take out another song by the same artist that I had used as well, just to be safe. Geesh. So finally, it is uploaded and you can watch it. But I'm still risking copyright violation with one song. You'll know because if you watch it on YouTube, and not my blog, you will be able to click on a link to purchase said song. But they didn't take out the audio this time, so I am not changing it again. Unless they threaten to sue me. Which would just be rude. Nobody is going to watch this except maybe my family and maybe some friends.
But enjoy the video. Especially, you Michele. You understand the importance of capturing the moments in your children's lives that matter the most to them.

At one point in this video (if you are paying attention), Zach and Riley get to race their cars against each other. I can't remember (of the two) who won.

Riley's car. We had the boys weigh their cars and if it was too light, we brought pennies for them to hot glue onto the car to make it heavier.

I asked Kurtis to take some pictures while I was filming. Not really sure what Zach is doing, but he's having fun. :)

The boys loved gathering around the track to watch.

Zach's car won "Most Decals". He used all the numbers and the stickers surrounding the numbers on his car. It's in the video. We didn't get a shot of just his car, yet.

Kurtis thinks I'm pretty, so he took a picture of me setting out the treats. I just think it's funny that you can't tell that's what I am doing. :) And this is also why I didn't video the award ceremony for their cars. Too busy!

I told you these treats were amazing. I made fifty of them. Three batches of rice crispy treats, one tube of blue frosting, and the giant bag M&M's. I made cookies with the left-over M&Ms later. Easy, but time consuming. So glad I started in the morning instead of waiting until after lunch. And they were a HIT! So go on and comment on how darling they are. I love to hear it! :D

Never Would I Trade My Blood For Oil

2011-11-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I was going to blog about my life in the order of the events that happened, but alas. I am having issues that I will explain in a later post. Since I cannot blog about what I was going to blog about, I will blog about this: THANKSGIVING!
So Thanksgiving was really interesting this year. It's Kurtis' side of the family's turn to have us over for Thanksgiving this year. That's right. We invite ourselves over. Family has to put up with us, and I swear for the last two years in a row, I've made my side of the family put up with us, so it was long over due. ;) My sister-in-law asked her sister-in-law what she wanted to do for Thanksgiving this year. Her response was that she wanted to go to Chuck-A-Rama. My first thoughts were, "Really?" And Kurtis said, "That's not very traditional." Neither one of us really wanted to do it. Thanksgiving is supposed to be done at home where you can stuff yourself silly and then fall asleep on the couch. Not in some buffet place that doesn't have chocolate creme pie! They really didn't. But we wanted to spend time with his family, so we went along with it. Everybody I told kept telling us, "Well, then you don't have to cook, and there's no clean up!" Way to put a positive spin on things people. My friends were not supposed to do that! They were supposed to sympathize with me and say, "What is going on in their brains!?" I really don't care about cleaning up. That's what my kids are for! Have I not said this many times before? My children are not just cute dolls that I get to dress up and pose for you. If I wanted that, I would go buy a mannequin. At least they wouldn't talk back and they don't have to go to school, and they don't make messes. Hmmm. Lightbulb! Too late now, though. Now I want to find that movie and watch it. Geesh. I'm distracted today.
So anyway, Kristie told me that we needed to get there early so we could stand in line and be some of the first people in the doors when they opened at 11, or we would be waiting all day. We were supposed to meet at 10:30 in the morning, but we were late. So was Kristie's family (but she won). So was Natalie and her family (but we won). Natalie said, "I didn't think you were serious that there would be a line." Ha ha ha!
We ended up having a really nice time. I guess when you are with the people you love, it doesn't really matter where you are. I got to hold Natalie's new baby boy Gabe. He's such a sweetheart. After we were done with our lunch, we drove to my Grandma's house. They started their meal at 1:30, and we arrived just as everyone was sitting down to eat. We sat down and chatted, but we didn't eat much. I tried Lili's jello. It was delicious. We played bingo. Kaleb won a snow globe ornament that changes color. He's really in love with it and when I told him he could put it on our Christmas tree, he said, "We'll see. Maybe I will want to."

At least it wasn't super cold. It wasn't warm either, but as long as the wind wasn't blowing, we were good. Unless you ask Zach. He doesn't look very excited.

But Riley was. As soon as we met up with his cousins, he was so happy.

Then I let him take the camera for a bit. Not my best angle, but at least there is proof that I was there! :D

Extreme close-up of Kayden taken by Riley.

We finally made it inside!

Kaleb was pretty excited about his slushy. We don't normally have those at Thanksgiving dinner.

Just ignore those people in the background. I don't know them, but those two are enjoying their dinner. Zach ate too much. He's been doing that lately, and then telling me he feels like he is going to puke. Then five or ten minutes later, he says, "I burped, and now I feel better." Geesh.

Marty, Kristie, and Ryan. Some of the best people I know. :)

Pretty Taylor.

The gorgeous Ava. Can you believe she is only three? No. I can't either.

Hahahahahahahaha!

I got to hold and feed little Gabe until Grandma Bonnie used her Grandma card. She confiscated him while I was burping the little tyke. He's such a sweetheart!

Then, we went outside and played in the leaves in the parking lot.

They tried to bury Natalie! She's such a good sport.

Kaleb's bingo prize. He thinks it's pretty neat. I do, too. :)

To Honor Your Sacrifice

2011-11-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

I'm so far behind in my blogging! But it's okay. That just means I have plenty to say for a little while. On Friday, November 11, 2011, it was Veteran's Day. A very important day for us. It's a day to celebrate those who risk their lives every day protecting our nation. Every year, the fifth graders put on a program for the parents, and any of the veterans in their family. This year, my oldest child is in fifth grade, so I threw everyone in the car, and we all went to watch Zach shine. The program was an hour long. YouTube won't let me put a video on their sight that lasts longer than fifteen minutes, so I did my best to condense what I filmed for you. I had to cut out a lot! It was really hard! I mean, how do you condense American History down to fifteen minutes!?
Also, I forgot my tripod that night, so I stood in the back, holding that freaking camera for an hour. Unfortunately, as a result, twenty minutes into filming, my hand started to shake uncontrollably at times. I tried to steady the camera with my other hand at times, but it didn't work. I apologize for the shotty camera work.
For the program this year, they asked each child to write a line about one of their ancestors who participated in a big event such as coming overseas to America as a pilgrim, or the pioneers or World War II, or things like that. They had a whole list. I had Zach call my mom because my grandfather was in the Navy during World War II. I didn't really understand what it was for, but during this program some of the children got up and spoke in the first person about their ancestor. I didn't have enough time to put all of them on this video, but when you see a child talking in first person about someone who participated in a piece of history, that is their ancestor. I just cut them off before they could say their own name. The last two are about veterans who are still living, so I left the veteran's name off as well. I don't know if it will really protect them or not, but I figure most parents would appreciate that. I didn't ask them before I posted this after all.
Like I said. This is only fifteen minutes, so if you would like to see the entire hour-long program, let me know and I will burn you a DVD. Unless you are a stranger and I have no idea who you are. Then you are just out of luck. Enjoy!

What a bunch of cuties!

Oh, and one more thing I almost forgot. Zach told me his favorite part of the program was when they sang the songs for the branches of service in our armed forces. The girl asks the veterans to stand when they hear their song, and so I was trying to get them on camera to honor them as well, but most of the time, they sat down too quickly. That is the one part that did not get cut to shreds.

Hooray for our veterans! Zachary got to sing the Navy's song, and it got me all misty-eyed! We also have a veteran who was in the Air Force who is no longer with us as well. Kurtis' dad. We will miss them, and look forward to seeing them again.

Paradox: The Portrait of Abigail Sutherland (The Three Time-Travelers)

2011-11-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I totally missed this webisode. For some reason, my "subscription" failed to email me and let me know this was up. So, you get two Paradox fixes tonight! Woo-hoo! The first is a Dez's Web Blog. If I am not mistaken, it is the final one for this season.

Then, this episode went up last night (or really early this morning, depending on your point of view). This episode is the first of the season finale. Weird. I don't really want it to be over. Maybe there will be more. I think Spencer is writing more...

I hope you liked it!

Let's Show Them Our Hearts

2011-11-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Kaleb has started playing basketball. His first game was on Saturday. I video taped it, made a movie, and posted it to YouTube. It's fourteen minutes and twenty seconds long, so if you don't want to watch all of it, just skip to 5:05 to find out what happens when Kaleb gets his hands on the ball. It is hilarious! Then skip to 9:18 and see what he does when he gets the ball again. So cute!
Before you watch, you should know some things about the rules for the first grade boys. First: They don't penalize the boys for traveling, yet. Second: They are not allowed to try to take the ball away from the other team (when they are on their side of the court) until the person with the ball reaches half-court. Also, they are teaching the boys to play, so they put wrist bands on each boy. Each one is a different color, but one of the boys on the other team is also wearing that same color. That is their guy. The one they have to guard. I love it. I think Kaleb has lucked out this year. His coach is a really tall, really kind person who wants the boys to have fun and learn to love the game. That's all I want for Kaleb. To have fun, and to gain a little confidence in himself.

If you watched the whole video, you rock. He's so much fun to watch because he's just so happy to be there. He runs and skips down the court and doesn't care if he doesn't get the ball. He cheers when the other team makes a basket, and the other team made a lot of baskets. His team only made one. Maybe two (I only got one on video). It was a great day! Even if it did snow and ruin our chance to get family pictures.

I Will Hang On the Hook of Your Splendor

2011-11-15T13:11:00.004-07:00

On Thursday, I went to my cousin's wedding reception. I made some broccoli cheese soup for it. It was delicious. I took a few pictures, but most of them turned out horribly. Perhaps if I had used my flash. But I like to be stealthy with my picture taking. I'm like a picture ninja. The flash is a little bit noticeable. But it was a beautiful reception and very elegant. So here you go my dear sister who couldn't be there, but I am sure she would have if she didn't live in another state.

Doesn't he look handsome?

He's pretty excited. I actually let them out of the house. Except Riley, who when I told them we were going to my cousin's wedding reception promptly declared: "I hate weddings!"

But I let him take some pictures, so he had a good time.

Riley took this one, too.

Kaleb immediately made some new friends.

The mothers of the bride and groom.

Taylor (the groom), Michael and Lili

Thick as thieves!

Riley, asking when they are going to cut the cake.

More serious plotting.

Time to cut the cake!

It was yummy cake.

Fabulous shoes!

It was a fun evening, and because the ladies in the kitchen kept pouring every body's broccoli cheese soup into my crock pot, I had to take home way too much of it. And some how we ended up with some that someone thought would be a good idea to put bacon in. The recipe did not ask you to put bacon in it. Bacon is never a good idea. Bacon on the side would have been a good idea, but to just assume that everybody likes bacon is rude.

I hate bacon!

The Leaves Are Falling Down

2011-11-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was my monthly Stampin' Up! workshop. I call it Stamp Club. We always have a really fun time making stuff using Stampin Up! products. I'm a demonstrator now. I know I've told you that before, but just in case you forgot. I'm telling you again. The first project we made was an idea that came from my monthly magazine that I get from Stampin Up!. It's called Stampin' Success. It has all the achievements everybody has done in it and a few ideas for workshops. I usually only look at the workshop ideas. One time, when I got a promotion, I looked for my name and when I found it, I said, "Oh! Look! It's me!!" I gave myself about two seconds to celebrate by myself, and then I turned the page and looked for more pictures of projects.

This is a picture of the picture in the magazine, and where I got my idea.

And this is my version of the one in the magazine. I think it turned out really well!What a cute idea for decorating your table settings during Thanksgiving!

And we always do a card. This is my design. I feel that since becoming a demonstrator, I have become more creative in my card making. You can check out the catalogs for Stampin' Up! online here. As always, when you order something online, be sure to choose me as your demonstrator! :D Someday, I will have my own website you can order from, but not yet! I would love to have you join us for Stamp Club in December as well! It will be December 7th at my house at 7:00 p.m. Email me if you think you can make it, or leave a comment with your email, and I will email you. We'll be doing Christmas stuff!

Paradox: One Way Trip (Time is Like Manicotti)

2011-11-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

I'm fairly certain this is the most I have ever heard Joel talk. :D

Watch Out Cupid Stuck Me With a Sickness

2011-11-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it wasn't Cupid. More like Rhino-virus or Corona-virus. They are so mean! They even got Kurtis, too! It's really not fun. It's just a cold and a sore throat. I'll get better. Hopefully sooner than later. But I have to show you what Kaleb gave me today.

Isn't he the sweetest?

This was on the back of his note.

Then he gave me these other two pictures. The middle one is of us sword fighting.

We won the fight and are showing our muscles.

You Made Wounds Oooze and Flesh Crawl!

2011-10-31T16:00:00.000-06:00

It's time for the big reveal! Woo hoo! Halloween is so much fun! These costumes were a lot of work, but they were fun to make once I got going. And I learned a few things as I went along. For instance: Duct tape really doesn't like to be painted very much.

Left to Right: The Enderman, the Jockey Spider, and the Creeper! They turned out super cool!

The Creeper face! Before the rest of the paint got put on it.

I made Kurtis take a picture of me, so that there is evidence later when my kids are trying to tell me what I never did for them. Ha!

Here is Zach in the school parade. His friends thought his costume was pretty dang cool.

Yeah, it doesn't really fit him any more, but I'm not gonna argue with him about it. It's called picking your battles.

Riley and his friends. They thought his costume was pretty cool, too.

Yesterday, we finally got around to carving our pumpkins! Hooray!

Kaleb is so fun.

When Kurtis was complaining about how hard it was to make smaller cuts on his pumpkin, I told him to go get the drill. He said, "What drill?"

Kurtis's pumpkin. It's the Pumpkin King!

I made Zero.

I got better shots of our pumpkins in the daylight. Here's my Zero.

Kurtis's Jack Skellington.

Zach's LOL pumpkin.

Riley's face with a big nose.

Kaleb's face with KMJ at the bottom.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Paradox: One Way Trip (Beware Giant Lizards)

2011-10-29T13:11:00.000-06:00

That guy playing Simon. That's Joel. He's Emily's boyfriend.

Just in case you didn't already know that.

Every Human Heart Will Shudder!

2011-10-28T11:39:00.000-06:00

If my mom ever sends me another email telling me that I come off as hating my children/family on this blog (I guess she's forgotten what sarcasm is), I will simply refer her to this post. Yesterday, I spent the entire day working on Zach and Riley's costumes just so they could be ready for today's Halloween parade at school. Zachary, Kaleb, and Riley love a certain game called Minecraft. I have never played it, and don't really have any desire to, but Kurtis seems to be enjoying it as well.
One day in late September, Zachary comes to me and says, "I want to be a Creeper for Halloween." "Yeah, and I want to be a Spider Jockey," says Riley. "Ooooh! And, Mom! Mom! I want to be an Enderman!" Kaleb exclaims. "What the heck are those?" I ask. They are some bad guys in Minecraft. Which is a game where you build a world out of blocks. Everything is square and Lego shaped.

This is a Creeper:

Oh, he's kind of cute! You might say. Well, he isn't. Apparently, Creepers creep up behind you and blow themselves and you up. Or they go into your house that you've spent weeks building and decorating and BOOM!

This is a Spider Jockey. Apparently the Zombies and Skeletons catch on fire in the day time and aren't very fast. But if you put one on a spider and give it a bow and arrow, they can move. And kill you.

This is the Enderman. He's just creepy looking on his own, but turn your body in his direction and look at him, he teleports right up to your face and kills you. Seriously. Freaky.

I took one look at the Creeper and thought, "Oh, great. That is going to take forever to make." So what did I do? I procrastinated. Wednesday was my day off, so I took that day and some cardboard boxes and cut and duct taped them together. Oh, yeah. I couldn't find the duct tape, so I had to go buy more, and because I don't have a car, that means I walked to the store. Now, the store is not very far away. The whole trip took me about 20 minutes, but It would have take five or ten (max) if I had a car. I was lucky I was the only customer in Ace, so I was in and out really quickly. And I walk pretty fast.

Did I mention that I also had to go visiting teaching, make those cute treats for the other ladies I visit teach, but won't be able to get to this month, and make soup for the ward party that night? Oh, and go to the ward party. The costumes weren't ready in time, for it so we were lame and didn't dress up, but the kids didn't really seem to care. They still got to go trunk-or-treating.

So my day off wasn't really a day off, but I got the costumes put together at least. Yesterday was my painting marathon. My hand still hurts. I didn't have the day off, though. The girls got to watch a lot of Dora yesterday. Baby E was really mad at me by the end of the day. It was like she wanted me to actually pay attention to her, or something. On a side note (freak accident), there was a wasp in my house yesterday, and when Baby E's mom came to get her, she found it on her face. Then she started screaming and crying. It had stung her finger! :'( It was so sad! I killed it. He deserved it.

We had to go to Pack Meeting that evening, but I rock because I managed to get those costumes painted before I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. I know. I am amazing. But I am also pretty mean because I am not going to show you a picture of their costumes just yet. Muwahahahahaha!

The reason is because Kaleb thinks that his costume needs a square mask for his head. I was just going to paint purple squares around his eyes with face paint, but that isn't good enough for him, and so he refused to wear his costume to the parade at school today. Instead, he wore his Spiderman costume from two years ago. No, it doesn't really fit him that well any more. Sigh. So Halloween will be the big reveal of their costumes to the world. :)

So you can watch this instead! It's my Halloween song of the day!

Try Something Fresher, Something Pleasant

2011-10-26T12:50:00.000-06:00

Here is a cute Halloween candy wrapper idea to make the treats you give out this year a little more special! Oh, heck no! I do not put these on all the treats I give out to our trick-or-treaters! But I do like to give a treat out to a few of my friends (or in LDS lingo, the ladies I visit teach), and I think they like that I make it all cutesie.

I know. You totally want me to be your visiting teacher now,

don't you! ;)

Death Becomes Him (I Suppose)

2011-10-21T17:30:00.001-06:00

Today, I took the kids to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. That is the third time I have seen it, and it was still amazing. I asked the boys what their favorite part was:

Zach: All of it.
Kaleb: The whole thing.
Riley: The part when Harry Potter dies.
Me: That part is cool. But my favorite part is when Neville kills the snake.
Riley: Yeah, that part was really cool, too.

Don't Be Afraid!

2011-10-20T17:03:00.000-06:00

I haven't really blogged about the things we've done at Stamp Club lately. I wonder why. I really, really love Halloween, and so this month at Stamp Club, we made these:

We made this card. What a cute witch!

And we mod podged and embellished these wooden coffins I found at orientaltrading.com. You can put candy inside them to give to your friends. :D

Spooky! Love them!

Next Stamp Club is Wednesday, November 9th at my house!

Paradox: One Way Trip (Never Steal Cake)

2011-10-19T17:02:00.001-06:00

Here is the latest episode of Paradox! Enjoy!

Uh-oh!

They Were Just SO Good, Though!

2011-10-16T15:25:00.000-06:00

I made myself some nachos with a side of salsa today. As I was eating it, Kurtis asked me if I would share. I told him to eat what he wanted. Then he said, "I'm going to make some more because I ate so many of them." Which he did. We like to buy the chunky salsa and then put it in the food processor so it is nice and thin. Like Chili's salsa, only nothing is quite so good as Chili's salsa. While I was doing that because we ran out of salsa, he ate them.

At least he made some more and shared them with me.

Within A Blink of Her Eyes It Changes

2011-10-14T11:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Riley's birthday. He's nine. It's kind of weird to think that nine years ago he was just a tiny little baby. But at the same time. It's wonderful. I love that he is growing up and becoming somebody who is kind and loving (unless he doesn't get enough sleep. Then he's not very nice to anybody). He is a smart little boy, and he knows it. I love that he knows it. He's confident. Unfortunately, he isn't fearless. He would probably do more active things if he weren't so afraid of getting hurt. He won't play soccer, he won't play basketball, and I think he would really enjoy those things, but he said he didn't want to compete. I told him he should just play and have fun playing and not worry about the competition part of it. It's rec league. They have to take everybody. Oh, well. Let's focus on his awesomeness: Smart, cute, kind, and silly. He's the whole package ladies! ;)

Speaking of ladies, apparently he does have girls that have crushes on him at school. One girl wrote in his birthday book: "Dear Riley, You can chase me as much as you want. Your BEST Friend EVER!" How cute is that? I guess he and a few boys in his class like to chase the girls at recess. Some things never change.

We couldn't find a marble cake mix in the stores (we went to two different ones), so Riley chose a lemon cake with chocolate frosting and Fall m&ms. It was yummy.

I asked Kurtis if he wanted to do the video or the camera. Even though this picture is pretty crappy, I still think it looks cool from an artistic standpoint. Riley wasn't very cooperative about getting a good picture and holding still. I'm not sure he is very comfortable in the spotlight, so he acts all weird when he is the center of attention.

He's pretty bug-eyed here (on purpose), but at least he is having fun. Nine is fine! :)

This is as close as we get to a decent picture of him on his big day. Awesome.

Opening presents and cards. I love this picture of Bonnie. She's so beautiful.

Here he is, reading his letter from Great-Grandma Sharp. I miss that lady.

From his parents, he got a computer game that is only online, so I took the cake mix box, put a picture of the game inside, and wrapped it. It's called Minecraft. He was pretty dang excited. But unfortunately, I don't think he was surprised because Zach wouldn't shut up that morning and kept asking if we had bought it or not. It's hard to keep a secret when you have to keep telling somebody to stop asking if Riley can use his birthday money to buy the thing they want. I was hoping he would be more excited. Instead, it was more like, yep. I knew I was going to get this. No big deal. :P

This is his present from Grandma Bonnie. She got him a dart gun. What's so cool about this one is that the darts stick to you because they have Velcro on the tips. Awesome! Oh, and see that cute girl in the background of this picture? That's Lili. She's Michael's girlfriend. I finally got to meet her, and she is fabulous. I like her. Michael showed me a picture of her a long time ago on his phone so it was really small and her hair was dark and short, so when she came in with her hair long and red, I was a little thrown off. That's not how I had pictured her in my head. But all girls change their hair all the time, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Riley wanted her to come back everyday, so I guess he liked her, too. :)

He had a pretty freaking great day. I took some video, but I haven't uploaded it yet. Maybe I will make a short movie out of it! I like movie maker. It's fun. I'll post it when I do.

Paradox: Dez's Web Blog #6

2011-10-12T14:08:00.001-06:00

Don't ask me! I have no idea what's going on. I was just a guest star in the last three episodes. But counting this one, there are ten more episodes left this season! I'm super excited!
Oh, and if you need to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) click here! Then on the right side of the page you will see the word "Uploads (17)". Scroll to the bottom of the list and click on my sister's face. Yes, the girl who plays Dez is my little sister. We're ten years apart, so no she isn't really sixteen, but she passes. She's tiny (in a good way. She knows I love her)! :)

It's As Simple As That

2011-10-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

Saturday, as I was leaving for my play, Riley asks me if he can be Catholic. I asked him why he wanted to be Catholic. He told me it was because they don't go to church. I giggled, and said, "Catholics still go to church, Honey." Then, Zach (who was doing the dishes) said, "You don't want to be Catholic. They aren't the right church. They don't have the Book of Mormon!" Which also made me giggle. My kids are so funny. But Riley's response was the best: "Then I will just take the Book of Mormon to the Catholics!" This from a kid who is very adamant that he does not want to go on a mission one day. Which is fine. Then, as I walked out the door, I told him that if he took the Book of Mormon to the Catholics then he wasn't being a Catholic! I also told him he had to go talk to his dad about it now because I had to go, but I just thought it was funny.
This exchange told me a few things about both of my sons. They do have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. They do read it at night (Zach told me he's read it three times), and they do have a testimony of the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. Their Sunday school teachers are doing a really great job because I don't talk much about my religion with anybody. It's not that I don't want people to know I am LDS, but I don't want people to think it's the only thing about me. There's more to me than that. I believe in the teachings of my church and I believe in Jesus Christ. He taught us the way to live our lives in a way that will make us happy and that will help us get along with each other. Love really is the message of our church. And we must learn to love one another regardless of what others believe, or what books they read. God is love.

Paradox: Crossing Over (Episode 3 - Exclusive)

2011-10-05T23:39:00.000-06:00

So, this is the final episode with Samantha (for now, maybe?). Hopefully we get to see more of her! I had so much fun filming these. A lot of the time, I don't like watching myself on the screen. There are too many times when I think, "Ugh! I can't believe I made that face!" It happened when I watched this episode. Guess and see if you can figure out where!

Hell's Broke Loose In Georgia, and the Devil Deals the Cards

2011-10-02T16:45:00.003-06:00

This morning, while listening to Morning Session of General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I painted this picture:

I'm the assistant stage manager for a the next play out at Heritage Theatre in Perry, UT. It opens Friday, and it takes place at a fishing lodge in Georgia. The set needed some art, so the director found the frame, and I said I could paint a picture to go in it. I Googled "lakes in georgia", and found a photograph. I just tried to copy it. It isn't exact. I'm not that advanced an artist to do that yet, but I do think it turned out pretty well. I think it is Lake Tugaloo which is in Northern Georgia. The play takes place closer to Atlanta, but beggars can't be choosers.

Here is a look at the picture:

I'm not sure if this is copyrighted or not, so please don't turn me in or anything. :) I'm not trying to violate any copy right laws. As you can see, I took some liberties to change the scenery a bit, and make the painting easier for me. I think I may need to take a trip to Georgia someday. I never thought I would ever say that! :D

Paradox: Crossing Over (2)

2011-09-29T16:16:00.000-06:00

Investigative Report

Yep! I'm in this one, too! :D Sam is stuck in the future, but she doesn't know it (yet)!

Hee hee. I just made myself all teary-eyed. :D

The Strength of the Wolf

2011-09-27T11:02:00.000-06:00

So last Thursday (September 22nd), Riley had a really special time at Pack Meeting. He's been working really hard, and was finally presented with his Wolf badge! He was so excited, and felt really special. I think it is really cool that I got to be one of his Wolf Den leaders. He's such a happy and fun kid most of the time. Unfortunately my husband does not know how to use our camera and most of the pictures are blurry. Grrr. I hate blurry pictures. But here they are any way.

Do you seek the rank of the Wolf?

Here's me messing up the Cub Scout Promise.

This is seriously the best shot of the night.

We draw a wolf paw on their foreheads and each piece represents something they learned in scouting.

Pinning on the Mother's Pin.

Nope. He's not excited at all. :D

Paradox: Crossing Over (1)

2011-09-22T00:03:00.000-06:00

These next three episodes actually have ME in them! Finally, proof that I actually am a part of this show! Hee hee hee! :D This episode is called Brightener.

She's so cool under pressure! :D

Sending Some Love Her Way

2011-09-21T12:06:00.001-06:00

My friend has cancer. She was diagnosed a month or two ago. Today, she starts her first round of chemo and has asked that her friends and family wear pink and take a picture of it. She wants to make a scrapbook. Coincidentally, I also got a haircut this morning, and Kristie also curled my hair. So here is me all dolled up for my friend in honor of her heading out to kick some cancer butt! I love you Des! Oh, and you can read her blog by clicking here. I blog-stalk her regularly. ;) She's so smart, always tries to stay positive, and has the most faith of anybody I have ever met. I want to be like her when I grow up.

This one is because you rock, and I know you are going to rock the cancer ward, Des!

And this one is because I love you, and Zachary loves you. He still remembers you were his preschool teacher and that you were so much fun. You always have our support, love, and prayers.

And this is Zachary when he was four with Miss Desirae. He was such a clown back then. Still is. If we hadn't moved away, you would have taught all my boys preschool because you are amazing in every way.

Oh, and one more thing. I don't like country music generally, but this is the song she chose for her battle, and I think it is beautiful. Just to warn you. It will make you cry. Well, maybe that's just me. I am a big crybaby cry face.

You Don't Know! You Don't Get It...

2011-09-20T10:16:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning, I got some new head shots taken. I'm still trying to like them. Michael says I am just being way too critical. He said they were the best portraits he's ever taken. Maybe when we get our family pictures taken, we can do a re-shoot. I don't know how I feel for sure, though. My self-esteem is in a really horrible place right now. It's just hard to really have any resemblance of one when someone who is supposed to love you no matter what can't keep from criticizing your character on a regular basis.
Here are the ones I thought were alright:

The two I made ginormous are the ones we decided to go with.

We Had A Good Run - Even I Have To Admit

2011-09-19T17:01:00.000-06:00

I feel like I never blog any more. I know I post somethings, but I never actually say anything. Well, Saturday was the closing night for Guys and Dolls. It was an amazing run. I really loved every minute of it. My director was really amazing. He and I have worked together before. Ross was my director for The Women. I got to work with some old friends and made a few new ones, too! :) Awesome. I miss my friends already, and it's crazy to me that I don't have a show tonight. Here are some of the pictures I took of rehearsals and fun stuff we did together.

This is the Hot Box Nightclub sign I painted for the show. My brother Rodney, cut out the circle for me. He's awesome! :) Too bad Ross wanted it, or I would have taken it home with me and hung it on my wall. I'm so nice, though. I let him have it.

That's me in the Mission Band. I'm the one holding the sign.

That Sarah Brown. She's so remarkable. But nobody will listen to her speech. :(

Ah, the two love birds in Havana.

The Hot Box Dancers and beautiful Adelaide.

Will any of you evil looking sinners, please testify?

Check this out! My best friend in high school who was my maid of honor at my wedding and I hadn't seen her since came to my show! She lives in San Francisco. She's so freaking cool! :) We went to Denny's after the show, and took this picture in the hallway of her hotel.

During the cast party at Tania's house, Ross jumped on the trampoline with Brooke, Natalie, and Mindy. You can really only see Natalie's toes in this picture. :D

Rob did a flip onto the tramp.

Tania and Allen. Tania helped us learn all our notes and made sure we got them all right. She's amazing. Allen played Nathan Detroit.

The stars. The flashes from the other cameras going off made this cool effect. Total accident, but a really cool one. :)

My new friend Jen, and my old friend Karlie (She was Belle in Beauty and the Beast)!

Paradox: Dez's Web Blog #5

2011-09-18T21:50:00.000-06:00

If you haven't seen all of this web series, you can start from the beginning by clicking here.

Don't You Ever Wonder How We Survive?

2011-09-08T16:44:00.000-06:00

I need to rant. I haven't ranted in a good long while. But I will try to keep it short.
I know I said that I wouldn't babysit any more. But I did any way. This time around, it is much nicer. I babysit the little girls I babysat last year, but not their brother, and once a week, I also babysit a little boy. He's two and super cute and super quiet. They are not why I am ranting today. They are super awesome, and play really nicely and quietly all day long until nap time.
Then my children come home from school. Seriously, this is not their first year of school. They know the drill. Come home. Have a snack (if you get home before 4:00). DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! So why does Kaleb pretend that I didn't say anything at all when I say, "DO YOUR READING!!! NOW!!!" I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer yell in my scary voice. It's starting to hurt. It's kind of a sad day for me because my scary voice always made me smile. Inside. But that's not really the point. The day is nice and quiet with only the occasional, "Don't hit people. It isn't nice." or "Please, don't throw your food on the floor. That's gross."
But as soon as my kids walk in the door, it's "STOP IT!" "MOM, KALEB WON'T STOP PLAYING WITH MY TOY!" "NO! IT'S MY TOY!" And it's loud. That's why I used all capital letters. It's just wrong. I am supposed to like my kids better than other people's kids. But not today. In fact, right now, as I am typing, Kaleb is singing, "BABABABABABABABABABABAB." And Riley is asking him to stop. Pretty soon, he will get louder and louder. But why is Kaleb having such a hard time with this? He had homework last year!
I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks for humoring me. Now, I will get Kaleb to cooperate. Hopefully.

Paradox: The Lost Pages (Part 3)

2011-09-07T23:27:00.000-06:00

Well, that clears that up!

Paradox: "The Lost Pages" (Part 2)

2011-09-01T09:51:00.000-06:00

Season One, Arc Two "The Lost Pages" Episode Two - The Discovery

Paradox: Episode Six?

2011-08-26T23:07:00.000-06:00

The next heist begins! Woo-hoo! How exciting! :)

Doctor's Orders!

2011-08-25T12:12:00.000-06:00

Zach got his cast off yesterday! Woo-hoo! We are so excited that he can go back to life with out restrictions. The doctor told him that for his physical therapy, he would need to do three things: make his bed every morning, pick up all his toys, and vacuum everyday. That just made me laugh. I am still laughing. Zach was none too pleased. Maybe that is why it is so funny to me. His chores are to vacuum on Saturday any way, but he doesn't want to do it every day. Hee hee hee! I will make him now. Doctors orders! ;)

Here he is getting his cast off. I snapped the picture with my phone while the PA wasn't looking. :)

Remember how I said they couldn't see the break on the x-ray? Well, they could see where it was on this x-ray because they could see the new bone growth. He broke the bone at the very tip of his elbow. Not fun, but it is all healed and life can go on.

Everybody Put Your Best Suit or Dress On

2011-08-23T10:29:00.000-06:00

Last night was so amazing! Kurtis and I went on a date. It was really, really fun. My brother Rodney came over and babysat our kids for us, and after I made dinner for them, we headed out. Kurtis and I went to the In-'N-Out Burger. We'd never been there before. I don't really like hamburgers that much, so I never really cared that I had never been there, either. I knew someday I would eventually get there. But everybody is always raving about this place, so Kurtis finally decided he wanted to try it. I thought the cheese burger I ordered (without onions because they are gross) was rather good. I think they have a really good sauce that they put on it or something. But the fries were not good. They reminded me of cheesy poofs. You know, those Styrofoam, cheese flavored balls that come in the giant tubs at Target or Costco? Yeah. Not awesome. Kurtis said he liked Five Guys better because they put tons of toppings on their burgers like mushrooms and peppers. Personally, I would probably choose In'-N-Out for the burger and the price (it was really affordable), but not for the fries.
After our dinner, we drove to the Maverick Center (formerly the E Center) for the Death Cab for Cutie concert! Woo-hoo! I loved the opening band! I had never heard of them. They were called Frightened Rabbit. They came all the way from Scotland. I thought that was pretty cool. Especially because Death Cab is from Seattle. How did they hook up? That's really cool. :)

The show was awesome! I took some pictures, but they suck because Kurtis told me I should leave my good camera in the car. I should not have listened to him! We were so close I could have zoomed right up on the lead singer's face! I may need to rethink my concert companions as well. When I was buying the tickets, I asked Kurtis if he wanted to come with me, and he said that he thought it would be fun. But we have different ideas about what fun is. Because I like to jump around and dance and wanted the GA seats on the floor (well, there weren't seats, but that's not really the point), but Kurtis said, no, we have to have seats. Bleh. I complied and the people who sat next to us sat down the whole time and were really boring, too. Next time, I will call my bestest friend Nicole, or my brother Rodney (because Death Cab is one of his favorite bands). I said this last time we went to a concert together, too. Man, do I love my husband, but I think going to movies or bowling or miniature golfing are more his thing. Concerts can be my thing.
Here are some of the crappy pictures I took on my camera phone. I won't torture you with any of the video I took. The sound is even worse, but I had so much fun! I'm not trying to make it sound like I didn't. I loved it, and will definitely (hopefully) go to the next one! :D

Frightened Rabbit!

Here is one of the songs they sang.

Death Cab for Cutie!

They played for 2 and a half hours. Including I Will Possess Your Heart, Summer Skin, You Are a Tourist, New Year, and so many others!

The did not play What Sarah Said.

Which is probably good because it's pretty sad, and they were keeping the energy up all night!

They played four songs for their encore. So flipping awesome!

A taste of what you missed. It was amazing.

Paradox

2011-08-21T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here's another web blog from Dez!

Didn't You Know Love Could Shine This Bright?

2011-08-20T00:20:00.000-06:00

My husband is a computer programmer. He really enjoys it. He thinks it's fun. I think it would be really, really, really, really tedious and boring to be a programmer, but hey, it brings home the bacon, so I don't complain.
The other day, we asked Riley what he wants to be when he grows up. Usually, he tells us he wants to be a dad. Then we tell him he needs a job to pay for the cost of taking care of his babies. He's decided he wants to work where Kurtis works. So Kurtis said that he would have to teach him some programming stuff. They didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, but then Kurtis proceeded to tell them that you can make the computer say whatever you want. Things like pee and poop and fart. Immediately, they brighten up and think this is hilarious. I thought nothing of it really because he's never going to really teach them to program. He's too busy playing computer games and they will all just forget this conversation ever happened.
Apparently, I was wrong. This morning, (Kurtis got to work from home today) Kurtis tells me that while I was at one of my rehearsals this week, he taught them how to make the computer say "poop" and "fart". I asked him how they responded to this lesson in programming. "Lots of giggles and lots of suggestions of other things." He taught them to make the computer ask them to what their favorite word was. If they responded with a word that started with the letter p, the computer would respond, "That's awesome. My favorite word is poop!" If they put in a word that started with the letter f, it would respond, "That's awesome. My favorite word is fart!" Oh, but we are not done. If they used a word that started with any other letter, the computer would respond, "That's awesome. My favorite word is bum-bum!" Well, at least he is spending quality time with his children, and he found a way to make his job interesting to them.

Paradox: Episode Five

2011-08-17T00:29:00.000-06:00

This episode is the final one of this "arc" as Spencer calls them. He made it up. There will be about 20 to 25 episodes in Season one, but a few stories (or arc) in each season. Each story has some sort of paradox occur during it, and solving each of the paradoxes completes an arc. So here is the first final arc. Super exciting, I know!

I hope you are enjoying this series thus far!

The Kung Fu Panda Tragedy

2011-08-14T18:24:00.000-06:00

About a week or two ago, I blogged about Kung Fu Panda and it's awesomeness. I also mentioned that Riley wasn't allowed to come. I think I am emotionally ready to blog about why he couldn't come. Don't get me wrong. He's awesome and I like him a lot. He just needs to figure out how to control his temper. Geesh. That poor kid. He was just like me when I was little...
So he and Zachary were arguing about who would get to pick what Netflix show they would watch. Zach had come to me and asked if he could watch Netflix. I told him that he could. Riley wanted to watch too, but he wanted to take turns choosing. That sounds reasonable, right? Zach picks the first show, and then Riley picks the next show? I think it's a great idea and that's what they should have done. But nooooooo! Zachary has to tell him that he won't do that and that he gets to pick all the shows they watch. The irony is that Zach wanted to watch Phineas and Pherb. Guess what I am 98 percent sure Riley would have wanted to keep watching. Exactly. So Riley, gets all mad and runs into the bathroom and slams the door shut. The next thing I hear is the awesome sound of glass shattering. Crash! What the heck? My first thought is that he has broken my glass block with the sea shells and sand in it, and I am preparing myself for a bathroom with sand everywhere. Then, I realize that a door slamming would not have caused that. I run into the bathroom, and Riley is standing in the corner of the tiny room, afraid to move because he is barefoot and looking like a cornered cat. I grab him, pick him up off the floor, and pull him out of the water closet by his shoulders. I think he thought I was going to kill him. I know I yelled at him, but I was really trying very hard to keep my cool, so I'm not really sure how much. He had slammed the bathroom door so hard, he made my shelf above the toilet vibrate and the picture of the lighthouse that was sitting on the shelf slid to the ground. The glass in the frame shattered. Also on that shelf was my fake giant sea shell. It was bruised, but mostly okay. Then, too my horror, I also find the resin statue of Split Rock Lighthouse that I had purchased at the gift shop of the red lighthouse we visited this summer had also been damaged. The trees surrounding the lighthouse were gone. I cried. Kurtis said he thinks I can fix it, but I don't want to fix it. It was perfect and fixing it will put glue marks on it. Maybe he should fix it. The glass in the picture frame also put scratches in the picture when it broke. It was a very, very sad day, and I really needed to get out of the house. So I am grateful that Kurtis had me go to the movie with Zach instead of my original plan which was to have Kurtis take him.

For All My Pals Who Live In the Oceans and the Seas...

2011-08-11T00:37:00.000-06:00

Well, it is about time I got around to blogging. Tuesday, Zach had a dentist appointment, so we decided that my bestest friend Nicole and I would got to the Living Planet Aquarium and take our kids. It was supposed to be me and her, and our kids following each other around and saying things like, "Oooh! Look at that!" and "Wow! That's totally freaking awesome!" That's pretty much what happened, but my kids wouldn't stay with Nicole's kids. So Nicole and I texted each other where we were at different times in the exhibits. Lovely. Well, we are just going to have to go do something fun with out our children. The kids really did have a blast, though. They loved petting the sting rays and sharks, and feeling the anemones. Then, we got to see the penguins and the sea horses! There is an electric eel display and you can see how much electricity the eel is emitting at a certain time. Zach wanted to see that twice. You can also feel what it would feel like if the eel shocked you. It was weird. My favorite part was the jelly fish. The octopus was really cool, too. I can't wait to go back. I think I may have to make this a summertime tradition. After the aquarium, we went to lunch with Kurtis, and then on to the dentist. Zach still has to keep his spacers on. He really wants them off. Then, we got to visit my cousin for about half an hour when I dropped off some clothes Kaleb has grown out of. Then home, eat dinner, and off to rehearsal. Nothing like a busy day! I love it!

The sting rays were really friendly.

They would swim right up to you and come out of the water. This one is a baby.

This was their favorite place.

My boys! Such hams! :)

Octopus.

This eel was really cool. I just loved watching it swim around.

Penguins! They wouldn't slow down for a good picture, the punks!

I love this frog! He's just chillin'!

Shocking!

The large fish of the Amazon.

Piranha!

Kaleb thought the Lion Fish was really, really cool.

I had a particular fondness for the jellyfish.

Woo-hoo!

I would like to go for a ride, please! ;)

Shark!

These guys made me really excited for some reason. I'm not really sure, but I think Charles Darwin might have something to do with it. :D This is just one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

How Come I Am So Much Buffer Than You?

2011-08-06T23:06:00.000-06:00

I didn't have rehearsal this morning, so I said to Kurtis, "Wanna go hiking since I don't have rehearsal Saturday?" "Okay. That sounds like fun." He replied. So we got up, got ready, and headed out the door at 9:30 this morning. That's actually pretty early for us Joneses. We like sleeping. At least, Kurtis and I do. The kids haven't figured out the joys of sleeping til 10, yet.
We decided that we should attempt to finish the hike up Adam's Canyon again. We did it last year, but Kurtis only made it like half way. Maybe less. Hiking with our family is always an adventure. Kaleb is terribly afraid of heights so whenever we got to a spot where there was a drop off, or it was steep, he would freak out and not want to go, or want to sit on his behind and slide down. Neither of those options were going to fly with his parents today. We were determined. I'm not very good at knowing how to calm him down enough to get him to go down the hill on his own, so I just pulled him along. I would say, "It's okay. I've got you." or "Let's hold hands. We'll go down together." I have never had this over-powering fear of heights. I was always the one who ran to the edge of the cliff and looked over the edge. I was the one freaking out my cousin because he thought I wasn't going to stop, and that I was going to go over the edge. It never even occurred to me that I would go over the edge. But Kaleb is cautious, and slow. I going slow, but I do mind when he is paralyzed with fear. Kurtis, on the other hand, is much more patient. Always saying things like, "Here's my hand. It's like a tree. Hold on to the tree." or "I will catch you if you fall. I'm right here. I can catch you." After a little while, Kaleb stopped being so afraid and wanted to do it by himself.
The website I looked at (actually both websites I looked at) said this hike is a 3.5 mile hike that should take two hours both ways. It took us four. And this time, we didn't make it to the top, either. Kurtis is very much out of shape and wimped out on us about 3/4 of the way to the top. He took Kaleb back down to a camping area and said he would wait for us there. Zach, Riley, and I got almost to the top, and I determined that with his broken elbow, it was too steep to keep climbing. We are going to have to come back and do it again when Zach isn't in a cast any more.
On the way down, I finally got tired of Kaleb's super extreme slowness and crying about going down steep areas, so I had him put on my back pack, and I piggy backed him down the rest of the mountain. I did it for probably 45 minutes, and I went so much faster than I would have if I hadn't done that. When we were almost back to the beginning of the trail, I turned to Kurtis and said, "How come I'm so much buffer than you?" He laughed, and said, "Come on. Hit me right here." Our own little joke, but for those of you who don't get it, and want to click here.
After we were done hiking (at around 2:00 p.m.), we decided to go eat somewhere yummy. We chose Jason's Deli. I went to the restroom as soon as we got there, and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was so red! I thought, "No wonder people were looking at me like I was some sort of freak!" Kurtis told me I looked like I ran there with a bunch of rabid pit bulls chasing me. All through lunch, I kept asking if my face was still red. After about half an hour, Kurtis told me the red was going away, and that now I looked like I ran in from the car with a couple of chihuahuas chasing you instead of pit bulls.

Here is one of Kaleb's freaking out moments.

Kurtis led us in the wrong direction, and we found this! It was beautiful, but we turned around and I led us the right way.

The hike takes us along a river. It's a lot cooler by the river.

This is a moment when Kaleb decided he wanted to do it by himself. :D

There are lots of little waterfalls all along the way up. It's so beautiful.

After we left Dad and Kaleb in the dust.

This is where we decided to stop. To keep going, you cross the creek behind them.

That is why we decided it wasn't safe for Zach to keep going.

The rest of the way up was pretty dang steep. I personally, wouldn't call this hike "Moderate".

Riley kept telling me not to move, and I couldn't figure out why. He didn't want me to scare this bug away!

This beetle was on Zach's backpack.

Here we are, heading home! :D

The Ultimatum

2011-08-05T21:50:00.003-06:00

So for like the last week, I have been trying to get Kaleb to clean his room. Kung Fu Panda 2 came out in our dollar theater a week ago. Kurtis and I thought it would be fun to go see it Wednesday. I used that as incentive for him to clean his room. He did not speed up. Then, Tuesday was Jackson (my nephew)'s birthday. We went toy shopping and found a great toy for him. I also found a great deal on a remote control truck for Kaleb. He has been wanting one for a long, long time, and repeatedly asks me to buy him one. So I thought, another great bribe! I told Kaleb that if he cleaned his room by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, he could have the remote control truck, and go see Kung Fu Panda 2! Win-win! But alas. He did not clean his room. Instead, he played with his Legos. He did not get to go see Kung Fu Panda 2. Neither did Riley, but that is another story that traumatized me, so I am not quite ready to blog about it. Maybe tomorrow. Zach and I went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 alone. It was a nice little date with mom.
Today, Kaleb comes to me, and tells me this: "You have two choices, Mom. You can either buy me a sword, or you can give me that remote control truck that is up there on the fridge!" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
That is so funny that he would think he could hand me an ultimatum like that. I am still laughing!

Paradox: Episode Four

2011-08-03T23:39:00.000-06:00

Woo-hoo! A new episode!

Paradox: Episode Three

2011-07-29T22:58:00.000-06:00

I'm actually in this one. But don't blink, or you might miss me! Oh, and my bestest friend Nicole is in it, too! It's her debut! :D

Things Are Looking Up (Oh Finally!)

2011-07-29T15:14:00.000-06:00

Zach got his cast on on Wednesday. He finally talked about what happened when he fell out of the tree. Apparently, when he fell, he landed on his back in the grass, but his elbow hit the sidewalk, and that's how it broke. Ouch! He also has to wear his cast for four weeks. The other doctor told us three, but the orthopedic surgeon said four. That means he will go to school for three days until it comes off. Today, he said he was figuring out a way to write with his cast on. I think that's pretty cool. I also received good news Wednesday. After Zach got his cast on, I went to physical therapy. My therapist told me that is the best he has ever felt my neck feel. The tightness is pretty much gone, and I can just keep working on it at home with the stretches and exercises he has given me to do. Yay! That is excellent news. Now if I could just find a way to get my kids to stop fighting, and land a three movie contract. Life would be perfect! :D

I asked him why he looked so forlorn because he is not in any pain any more, and he said, "Because there is nothing for me to do!" Well, that's not true. He's just upset because he can't play video games. He's still grounded.

He asked for an orange cast, and it is hunter orange or construction worker orange. He won't need a flag when he crosses the street! He can just hold up his arm! :D

We're Not At the End, But Oh We Already Won

2011-07-26T11:09:00.000-06:00

Zachary: "Mom! You'll never guess what I just did all by myself!"
Me: "Oh, yeah? What?"
Zachary: "I got dressed all by myself!"
Me: "Good job! That's super awesome!"

A few minutes later...

Zachary: "Mom! I think I will be able to play the computer with my cast on!"
Me: "Oh, you do, do you?"
Zachary: "Yes! Look!" He puts his arms out and wiggles his fingers like he is typing with them.
Me: "Well, we'll see. You're still grounded." :D

I love that he is so proud of himself for being able to do things we didn't think he would be able to do! It's awesome. :) I told him we should get him a waterproof cast so he can still do the dishes. Hee hee! He didn't really like that idea. :D

We Are Just The Monkeys Who Fell Out of the Trees When We Were Trying to Fly

2011-07-25T21:29:00.000-06:00

Zach went to play at his friend's house today. It turned out to be quite the adventure. He left around 1:30 or 2, and around 3, my friend brought him home, saying he had fallen out of a tree. Apparently, he was trying to pull himself up onto another branch when the one he was hanging onto broke. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine," I said. He has some scrapes, but didn't want band-aides on them, so I put some ice on it for 20 minutes, and waited. After about an hour, he wasn't feeling better, and it still hurt to move, so I thought I'd better take him to the insta care - just to be sure. We were there for over an hour. They x-rayed him and we found out that even though they could not see the break, there was an indication of fluid around the area, so they assumed it was broken. He was put in a splint and a sling, and we get to see the ortho guy on Wednesday morning. He was very brave. Apparently, breaking your elbow doesn't hurt as much as breaking your leg. The doctor told me that most of the pain associated with elbow breaks is due to movement, so now that he can't move his arm, he shouldn't feel to much pain. He got two suckers, and on the way out he asked if we could go for Slurpees. I told him after dinner. I made good on my promise. They have a new flavor in honor of Cowboys vs. Aliens called Alienaid or something like that. I'm sure I spelled it wrong. But it was delicious. The movie doesn't look as good, but the Slurpee was yummy! :D

While we were waiting to get an x-ray, I took a picture with my phone.

Then, we had to wait some more, so I took a picture of the other side of his elbow. Ouch!

Kaleb drew a picture of Zach and his owie. Zach is crying, and that is Kaleb with him and our dog, Neji. The dog is sad because Zach got hurt.

All splinted up!

Well, I suppose I couldn't get him to smile about a broken elbow, but he said he didn't care what his face looked like. Poor guy. We love him!

Get Hot, Get Too Close To the Flame

2011-07-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, for cub scouts, we took the Wolf Den to the fire station. Unfortunately, the only problem with having a small number of cub scouts (3) is that when two of them are out of town on vacation, there will only be one that shows up. That one that showed up was Riley, and since we meet at my house, it's kind of hard for Riley not to be there.
I made my other kids come with us, so that it wouldn't be Riley's personal tour of the fire station. Ha! I was going to make them come anyway! It was really fun, though. We walked, and Riley and Zach wanted to ride their bikes. Unfortunately, so did Kaleb. He got about half way down the street and decided to just walk his bike the rest of the way. Oh, man did that ever make me mad. I didn't want him to ride his bike in the first place because I knew that would happen. Then he whined and cried because I made him push his own bike. Maybe next time, he will listen when I tell him that I don't think that is a good idea. I was telling Kurtis about it and he said I should have made Zach take the bike back. That sounds so logical when you say it out loud like that. I didn't think of that. Nor did I want to walk his bike all the way up the street again. We had to be there at a certain time.
When we got there, though, that's when they had all the fun. They learned about fire safety and we practiced crawling on the floor and feeling the door to see if it is hot. We watched a video of Timon and Pumba talking about fire safety as well. It was really cheesy. Then, the cool part happened. We got to see the trucks!

This is the truck they use when they go fight forest fires.

This is called a fire truck because it has the big ladder on it. Riley had fun pretending to fight fires.

This is a rescue truck. Those are the jaws of life!

These are the fire engines. The firefighters ride to the fire in them, and they carry the water to the fire. They hook the hoses up to the fire hydrants, but they don't pump water very fast, so they are also hooked up to the engines in order to pump the water out faster. Even I learned stuff! :D

Kaleb is sitting in a fire engine. He's getting hooked up to one of the oxygen tanks the firefighters wear. The tanks weigh about 35 pounds. Kaleb weighs 37 pounds.

Zach tried it on instead. He said it was heavy, but not too bad. Yeah, we'll see if he still says that after wearing it for ten minutes. :D

He put on all his gear for them. Zach asked if it was hot in there. He said it was, and when he asked if they wanted to try it on, they declined.

But Riley did try on his hat. Which apparently he thought was pretty cool.

Our tour guide is also a paramedic, and he showed the boys all his medicines that he uses.

Our tour was pretty cool. They even got to see where the firefighters on call sleep.

Kaleb wasn't very happy that I made him drag his bike all by himself. Consequences aren't always fun to deal with are they?

Oh, and the tour guide asked Zach what he wanted to be when he grows up, and apparently, Zach is considering a career in the Army. I wonder where that came from...

Paradox: Episode Two

2011-07-20T23:10:00.000-06:00

I know you have been dying to see it! Well, here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/user/paradoxSeries#p/a/u/0/3UW5TbihUsA

I seem to have some technical difficulties getting the actual video to show up on my blog, so just click the link above, and enjoy!

Paradox: Episode One

2011-07-20T21:19:00.000-06:00

Today was super fun. I took my kids to the set of Paradox (Kurtis came after work), and we all watched the entire episodes of season one. They are currently uploading episode two, but here is the revamped episode one:

It's much better now, and they added music. Which rocks. I'll post again when episode two is up.

Oh, and for the premiere party, I made a cake!

Pretty sweet, right?

But What Would It Be Without You

2011-07-19T22:45:00.001-06:00

Today, Zachary ran off to his friend's house and took Kaleb with him. I thought it was nice of him to let his little brother tag along. After they were gone, Riley tried to call one of his friends to see if he could play, but he is still out of town, and his other friend is also out of town. He couldn't think of anybody else that he wanted to play with, so we decided that after I did my physical therapy stretches, we would bake some cookies.
Zachary keeps asking me to make the recipe on this pot holder I got the time he and I went to Minnesota (just the two of us), so I thought it would be fun for Riley and me to finally try it out. I always forgot about it until I pulled it out of the drawer to take the cookie out of the oven.
We started to get out all the ingredients, but discovered we had no butter for baking. We decided we would walk to the store and get some. Well, I walked, and Riley rode his scooter, but he made sure to stop once in awhile so I could catch up. We got back, got out all the ingredients, I measured them out, and he dumped them in the bowl. I let him crack one of the eggs, too, but he got a little nervous when I told him to try not to get any eggs shells in the batter, and had me finish the job. I think these are some of the best cookies I have ever made.
We make a great team, Riley and I!

The End of an Era

2011-07-15T19:45:00.002-06:00

I went to bed at five am this morning. What? Am I crazy? Well, yes and no, but I had fun!
Ever since last year, my bestest friend Nicole and I have been planning on going to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. We went to the premiere party for part one, and decided it was super fun and should come to the next one. So we did. They called it Harry Potter Palooza. Aptly named if you ask me. We checked in and were given a back pack with a t-shirt, a mug, a VIP pass, and a bunch of advertisements. The first activity was the Horcrux Hunt. We were given crossword puzzles and anagrams and riddles to solve in order to find the nearby stores we should go to in order to find them. When we arrived, they gave us pins with the horcruxes on them. Awesome. After the Hunt, we watched the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one. It was awesome. Then we went to the party upstairs. We went to Potions class, Quiddich practice, got the dark mark put on us, and had butterbeer (well, Nicole chose pumpkin juice, but I didn't care for it). I got my fortune told at Divination class. Money is coming my way, my love is strong, I'm going on a trip, and I am lucky. Awesome. My fortune telling fish also told me there is jealousy in my life. Either someone is jealous of me or I am jealous of someone. Heck yes, I'm jealous of someone. All those skinny people out there! Duh! Oh, yeah, and how can you not be jealous of me? I'm fabulous. Also, you'd better believe I am lucky. Nicole purchased our VIP package, and didn't see the disclaimer that said we needed to buy our tickets separately. We went and asked about where our tickets for the movie were told this neato piece of information. The awesome lady in charge of the event went into her office and checked to see if there were any tickets available. Sure enough, two volunteers had not shown up, so we were able to purchase those tickets. Come rub my head. You might be able to absorb some of my luck. But I'm not giving it up. I need all the luck I can get. I loved the movie. I loved the books. I don't think the movies ruined the books, but I do think the books are better. I'm going to miss those kids. They did an excellent job of saving all muggles (and wizards) everywhere. After the movie, there was an after party. I had another butterbeer and ate a cupcake. I'm going to save my chocolate frog for later. I also bought a wand with some of my birthday money. The kids want to play with it, but Nicole told me not to let them. ;)

Nicole and Harry. He's such a nice boy.

I was so excited to meet him! I could hardly contain myself! :D

Hichiking to Hogwarts.

We missed the train. ;)

The snake and reptile people were back. Nicole said the snake was squishing them together.

Just a couple of witches! :D

I also learned last night that not everybody can be as beautiful as me. Interesting...

The jealous fish in Divination.

Don't mess with us!

Muwahahahahaha!

Something You Don't See Everyday

2011-07-14T01:44:00.001-06:00

Due to technical difficulties, and the fact that I had other stuff to do today, this post was written on a different date than it was posted. The original words I have written are unchanged.

So Sunday was my birthday. It was awesome. I went to my mom's to share my birthday cake and drop off two of my children for a sleep over. But Monday and today (okay, well, technically it is the 13th, but I haven't gone to bed, yet. So let's pretend it is still the 12th) were better. Let's start with Monday. Because Monday came before today.
Monday, I got up insanely early. 5:00 a.m. I woke Riley up insanely early also. 5:51 a.m. We got ourselves ready for the day, and headed to Camp Fife with the other kids and leaders in our Wolf and Bear dens. What a freaking fun day! There was BMX bike riding, rock climbing, craft, zip line, nature walk, lunch, a visit to the trading post, bb guns, and archery! The only thing I didn't do was the bike riding. Those bikes were just too small for my giant body. :D Riley didn't want to go on the bike ride, so we convinced him to go with the Bear leader. He got on the bike, and she held onto it while they went together. It was awesome. I think he was afraid of going over the small hills and the twists and turns in of the course. When he was done, he realized it wasn't so bad. The other thing he was afraid to do was the zip line. I asked him if I did, it would he do it, too. He pinkie swore, and when I was done getting pictures of all our boys going, I went up to put on my harness and have a go. Seriously. So fun. Riley did it, and later told me he wished he hadn't waited so long to go, so that he could have gone more. He only got to do it once because our time at the zip line station was almost over by the time he went up there. He got himself a pocket knife at the Trading Post. He was really excited. After Camp Fife was over, I took Riley to Grandma's on the way back home. He was jealous of his brother's getting to sleep over, so I arranged for them all to sleep over one more night. As we left town, I drove the rest of the boys in my car past the temple being built. They seemed quite intrigued by the idea of a temple in the process of being built. I think it was good for them to see it. After I got home, I got ready for my date with Kurtis. We went to dinner and a movie. We saw Super 8. I will have to review it for you later, but I really enjoyed it.

My birthday presents from Kurtis and the boys. :D

Yes. Yes, I did set off the smoke alarm. :)

BMX bike course. Go, Riley!

Riley and the rock wall.

Riley enjoyed the craft.

He was nervous to jump, so he sat down and slid off.

Wheeeeee!

Our awesome Wolfs and Bears!

Checking the sights.

I hit the target twice!

"Pull your elbow back far enough that you hit my hand."

Riley only shot the arrows once. After that, he was done, and spent the rest of the time explaining the game Minecraft to one of the Venture scouts.

I have excellent form.

Check out my target. Not bad for not having done that for about 20 years.

Today was really awesome as well. I drove back to my mom's house to pick up the boys and take them to see something you don't get to see every day. They put the Angel Moroni on the top spire of the Brigham City temple. It was quite the experience for me. When I got to my mom's the boys said they didn't want to go. I said, "Fine. I don't want to make you." I was actually kind of disappointed. This is an amazing thing happening in the place where I grew up. I don't think I will ever get to see something like this again, and it's quite likely that my children won't either. But I went with out them any way. My mom dropped me off and left me to go walk down the street by myself. She wanted to go to a nearby church building to watch due to the pouring rain. As I was walking down the street, I saw an old friend that I haven't seen in years. It was so fun to catch up with her for a few minutes. But I really wanted to be closer to the action, so I said farewell, and went on my way. The rain soon stopped, and I closed my umbrella. As I got nearer to the temple, I could see the statue of the Angel Moroni hooked to its crane. I almost burst into tears at the sight of it. It was a reaction I wasn't expecting. I guess I still can't believe it is happening.
My brother, Rodney came up to see it as well, and so we found each other, and sat together to watch. But it was too windy. They took a crane up to test the wind, and the ropes hanging from the bottom were flying at a near 90 degree angle. That's just far too dangerous. So we waited some more. The original schedule was that the angel would be placed on the temple spire at 12:00 p.m., but they weren't able to put it up until 2:00. Rodney and I killed time by talking about anything and everything. You know, that is what is so awesome about Rodney. He has this way of making you feel at ease. Like you could tell him anything, and your secret is safe with him. He's very non-judgmental that way.
Then the sun came out, and the wind died enough, and the heat sat on us, threatening to smother us, so we hid under my umbrella again. It felt like we were in a really small nylon tent, and my legs are so sunburned right now. They feel like they are really close to an electric heater, and I can't turn around and warm up the other side or move myself further back so the radiant heat isn't so intense.
It was worth waiting for.

The men are going up in the crane to check the wind.

I walked down the street and suddenly, I saw him.

After waiting two hours, they finally started to lift him in the air.

A shot of both cranes.

They almost have him.

He is facing east.

The men go down for a minute.

He is majestic.

Here, they are putting something inside the statue. It looks like a really long caulking gun.

Later, as I was driving to rehearsal, I looked up at the spires and saw that a ball had also been placed on the other spire. I didn't see that happen.

What an amazing day.

The temple should be completed in late 2012.

Children's Theater 101

2011-07-01T00:17:00.000-06:00

My scouts have been working really hard on their skit for pack meeting these last few den meetings. They wrote the script, and they painted the set pieces, and they did a great job. I'm super proud of them. :)

Know What Sucks?

2011-06-30T22:33:00.000-06:00

Realizing you are out of paper towels when you child has an epic kool-ade spill on the kitchen floor. Yaaaaay! At least we don't throw our old towels out. We just use them to dry off the dogs, and for these rare occasions. Know what else sucks? When the culprit runs and hides instead of cleaning it up.

Oh, darn. I didn't take a picture. I think we will just try to forget it ever happened. ;)

It's the Little Things That Get to Me

2011-06-29T17:24:00.003-06:00

The other night, Kurtis and I watched the movie Killers with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher. I thought it was a fun movie, with car chases and romance and things going boom. I liked the story. But something has been bothering me since watching it. I figured it out while I was taking a shower yesterday, and I just have to tell somebody even if that somebody is the internet because if I say this to Kurtis, he will tell me I didn't watch it so I could analyze it to death. Neither did I, but I am an actress. The problem I have with this movie is that I didn't believe Spencer was in love with Jen. Ashton Kutcher's range of emotion is pretty vague. He doesn't even do angry believably. He skims the surface of the emotions, but never digs deep into them, to find the place where they can become real. As an actress, I would find this incredibly difficult to work with, and I wonder if Ms. Heigl did too. I just can't help it. This was a funny movie, and it had a lot of potential. The story also moved a little too quickly and felt a little dumbed down. It wasn't exactly complicated. It didn't leave any questions unanswered, and everything was tied up in a nice little bow when it was over. It was fluffy, and sometimes that's what you are in the mood for, but can I please have my fluff filled with actors who want to be actors? Sometimes it just feels like he is tired of the business, and it shows. Oh, and I'm not sure why they used the song "Just Say Yes" by Snow Patrol for their falling in love montage. That song is about a guy trying to get his girlfriend not to leave. She wasn't going anywhere. I love that song, but it didn't really go there.

Star Struck!

2011-06-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

I've been so busy bragging about how cute Kaleb is that I neglected to tell you guys about my amazing Thursday! Friday was really super awesome, too, but I have pictures of Thursday.
So any way, Thursday, I picked up my little sister and we met her boyfriend, Joel at the Covey Center for the Arts and watched a totally awesome preview of Kid History Episode 5! It was such a fun night. They played all the episodes with some commentary before each one, and then we got to see episode 5 before anybody else! It was amazing. The entire theater was filled. After the showing, there was a meet and greet. So I actually got to high five Brett Roberts! He's so cute. He told me I looked familiar. My reply was, "I do?" I was taken aback, and never really know what to say to that. But I think it is awesome. They signed my ticket, too. They're so amazing. Episode 5 was so funny, I cried. Seriously. I could not stop laughing through the whole thing.
For those of you who have not enjoyed this wonderful series, here. Start with Episode 1. The rest are also on YouTube.

Those kids are so stinking cute! Now here is a picture from the evening. I know. You need proof.

What a super fun night!

Friday, was pretty amazing, too. I got to see my friend from high school perform in Pioneer Theater Company's production of RENT with my bestest friend Nicole. We went to dinner, and we got seats that were super close to the stage. I loved the show. It made me cry, but not because it was funny. It was a sad show. It ended with feelings of hope, but my favorite character died. The music was incredible and the cast was brilliant.

This is the cover of my program.

And this is my beautiful friend, Ginger. We didn't try to go back stage and see her, though. We should have.

Oh, and check this out!

Kaleb lost his first tooth this morning! He ran around singing, "I lost my tooth! I lost my tooth! The tooth fairy will come and give me money!" He's so cute!

Apple Friend

2011-06-25T14:04:00.001-06:00

Kaleb is into making faces on things. He'll take his hamburger bun and pick out pieces of the top, so it makes a smiley face. It's really cute. I only get annoyed when he asks me to make a smiley face with his ketchup and I have already started swirling it all over his hamburger.
Today, his dad wanted to cut his apple so it would be easier for him to eat. Before he would let his dad do this, he said, "Wait, I want to put a face in it." Kurtis let him do this and, and afterwards, Kaleb said, "Look! It's my apple friend! Let's take a picture of Apple Friend." We laughed, and complied. We took a picture, and then Kurtis cut the apple in half. Kaleb said, "I will always remember you, Apple Friend."

He's going to miss his apple friend.

What Use Do They Have of That Information!? They Can't Do That Anyway!

2011-06-23T15:38:00.001-06:00

I'm getting ready to go out and have some fun with my sister, Emily, and I am brushing my teeth. While doing this, I think I hear Zachary come home from a birthday party, so I leave the bathroom to go greet him. "Did you remember to bring your bike home?" "Uh-huh. I rode it home." "Awesome. At this point, Kurtis looks at me and says, "I imported some boy knowledge to my boys. Well, two of them any way." I continue to brush my teeth and listen to what is coming next. I mean, he used the term "boy knowledge" after all. "I showed them how to make a spit ball." Because I have a mouth full of toothpaste, all I can do is roll my eyes, and go upstairs. After spitting and rinsing, I return to him. "What? Every boy needs to know how to make a spit ball!" "Why?!" Is all I could ask. "What kind of father would I be if I didn't teach my boys how to throw a proper spit ball?" Apparently, this information made Riley very happy, and Kaleb was impressed. Yay.

Of All The Dreams, Is This One Still Out of Reach

2011-06-22T00:38:00.000-06:00

We are officially back home, and I feel so happy to be here. But I loved, loved, loved not being here! Vacations are so awesome that way. You get tired of where you live, so you have to go visit somewhere else and you have the most amazing time. But when you get home, you are just content and it is okay to be normal again, and sleep in your own bed instead of an air mattress or hotel bed.
Yesterday, was so amazing! I loved Mt. Rushmore! Honestly, I thought it would be bigger, but I was still just so happy to be there that I didn't care! The kids loved the gift shop and threw the best tantrum for not being able to get whatever they wanted. Especially Kaleb. Kurtis gave them a really awesome lecture when we got back to the car, that I really wish I had on tape. But I was driving. I love getting pictures of my kids pouting and crying. I think it is hilarious. Does that make me a bad mom? I don't think so. I just can't believe the things that make them cry. Not getting a dessert. Not getting another stuffed animal to add to their ginormous collection of stuffed animals. I'm sure I was the same way, but my world is a little bit bigger now. At the same time, though. I do not like it. Because I know how it feels to not get what you want, and that is not a good feeling.
Anyway, blah, blah. I've spoiled my kids. Get over it. After Mt. Rushmore, we went to see the Crazy Horse monument. It's not finished. Hold on let me Google it. Well, never mind. There is no projected finish date because there are too many factors of why it isn't finished yet. It was started in 1947, though. I might be dead before they finish it. It's going to be really huge, and really cool when it is done, though. I hope they can finish it before I am too old and decrepit to travel. I also learned that the Black Hills are sacred to Native Americans. That is awesome. It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I really loved South Dakota. It's quite diverse. Well, at least the southern part is. I did drive through the entire southern part of the state. Kurtis promised me we would go back and go camping in the Badlands. Because I wanted to take the scenic drive through, but Kurtis wanted to hurry up and get to the hotel. It was getting late, and we were all hungry, so I'm glad we did. Well, my practical side is any way. My adventuring side said, "We have to! Wait, no! Why did you just pass the turn off? What's the matter with you!? Don't you know you probably won't be back here for years!?"

Yep. Raining! It rained in every state we were in while we were in it! :)

The guy who carved Mt. Rushmore.

The walk of states. I don't remember what it is really called, but that sounds good.

I can't wait to watch the video he shot of my stomach. It's way too big right now.

Some nice lady asked me to take a picture of her and her family, and she took a picture of us in return! Now, I have proof that I was there! We both agreed that are always the ones taking pictures and are never in any of them! :D

Theodore Roosevelt. 26th President of the United States of America.

He was totally posing. He said, "Hey, Mom! Take a picture of me like this!"

So I did.

Seeing this made me incredibly happy.

I love these words.

Crazy Horse.

My kids dug this place.

Riley kept getting on the platform, and making me yell, "Get off there! You aren't supposed to stand on that!"

Old time post office.