I Got Married Before There Were Digital Cameras

Six Years!!  And one day...

Sometimes...

you have to let a three-year-old dress herself...

And other times, you have to let a father dress his son...

It's a Festivus Miracle!!

Jon and Becky decided to follow through afterall!!

  That's a wonderful lesson.  All it takes is a little harassment on my part, and I get my way.

Just a little note on these two.  I've never met Becky and I've only been around Jon once.  He was Rusty's old roommate, and when Rusty and I got engaged we went to a party with a bunch of his Provo friends.  Prior to meeting Jon, Rusty said, "Don't be offended if Jon says you're ugly.  He likes to tell people that to see what kind of reaction he gets."  

Pictures of Christmas Past, Present...and Future?

Christmas 2004.  With friends barbecuing at Hukilau Beach, we spent the day bodyboarding.  

Christmas 2005.  One-month-old Ashlyn got to play Jesus and dress up as Santa at the same time.

Christmas 2006.  A big wind storm knocked out power for a few days.  Everyone ran for their laptops as soon as it came back on.  

Christmas 2008:  

What better way to eat a roll than by dunking it in the egg nog?

Making cookies for Santa Claus.  I will admit that Ashlyn was much more excited Christmas morning that Santa had eaten them all than about the presents under the tree.

Austin playing with his favorite toy.  A tooth brush.

Ashlyn digging in her stocking.

The Kids.

Christmas 2020:

I figured you were all tired of my photoshop antics, so maybe I'll save the floating family picture for next year...

Happy Festivus!

The Airing of Grievances:

#1: Grief to whoever hauks a loogie in the bathroom every morning in a certain building in downtown Boise. You miss the toilet and it ends up on the floor every morning!

#2: Grief to Winco for not taking credit cards! (In case you didn't know, it's 2008!!).

#3: Grief to the fact that evenutally we'll have to become BSU fans if we expect to be invited to any parties around here!

#4: Grief to Jon and Becky for not following through...

#5: Grief to LaRene for lying to us about how much it snows in the Treasure Valley!

#6: Grief to Jerry Seinfeld for cancelling Seinfeld!

Feats of Strength:

Guess what else a fake Christmas tree can convert to? A Festivus pole!!

* Yes, that second one is clearly photoshopped. Rusty loves me enough to lift up a car, but not enough to take down the tree...AGAIN.

Are you baffled by this post? Everything you ever wanted to know about Festivus.

And since we're on the subject of syndication...here is what I want most for Christmas!!

New Hobby

We've discovered that we really enjoy writing things in the snow.

On a much larger scale...

At other people's houses.

GO WARRIORS!!!

Mele Kalikimaka

It's amazing the versatility of a fake Christmas tree.

Before...

After...
I think I feel about 3 degrees warmer.  Plus there's WAAAAAAY more room for presents now!

Flashback Friday

These are some of my best friends in the whole world! But we haven't always been friends, so I thought for Flashback Friday I would talk about how I became friends with two of them.

Becoming friends with Annie (whose face happens to be cut off in this picture - sorry!) happened as fast as her crush on my brother Derek. We've all been 14 before, do I need to explain more?

And then came Jo Anne (the bride). She and Annie were always best friends, so when I came into the picture, I don't think Jo Anne liked me very much. But surprise! She invited me to her 15th birthday party via Annie.

We pulled up to her house and while we were unloading our bags, Annie turned to me and said, "Oh by the way, Jo Anne didn't actually invite you. But I'm sure she would have..."

That made for an awkward evening to say the least.

It all ended up okay in the end though because Jo and I bonded a month later over our mutual distaste with Annie hanging out with me Derek all the time. So while this situation turned out ok in the end, I have learned a valuable lesson. I don't go to parties unless I know I'm invited!

P.S. This was in no way directed at Tory and Jody...

P.P.S. I know what you're thinking. That I can't possibly post a "Flashback Friday" without including an embarassing adolescent picture. Well, you're right.

P.P.P.S. Should my next Flashback Friday be about yoga?

How did THAT happen??

One year ago today, was our last day in Hawaii.  Pictured below, is everything we brought with us back to the mainland.

So how is it, that we have twice as much stuff just in our storage shelves now!?

A Typical Day

So everyone knows the random things that happen to us and the random thoughts I have.  But I don't think anyone knows what a typical day in our household is like.  What better way to share that than through a series of Facebook status updates?

7:45 AM: Brittany really hates the sound of her alarm clock.

7:54 AM: Brittany really hates the sound of her alarm clock.

8:03 AM: Brittany is forced out of bed because the snooze option has been disabled by a husband who hates the sound of her alarm clock more than she does.

9:00 AM: Brittany has successfully changed, dressed and fed 2 kids in 45 minutes, and is ready for work!

9:59 AM: Brittany is listening to 35 kids scream and fight, but is happy that none of them are hers.

10:47 AM: Brittany has just pulled Austin out of the play structure for the 5th time today.

12:57 PM: Brittany wonders if it's illegal to flip off a police officer.  

2:11 PM: Brittany has discovered the secret to "O Beans".  Tape up all your fingers so you don't get string burn.  

2:45 PM: Brittany didn't even come close to beating Jody at "O Beans".  She must have a better secret than I do.

2:58 PM: Brittany thinks that the 2 inches she's lost around her waist recently is because she laughs so much with those girls...

3:41 PM: Brittany 's kids are sleeping, the house is clean, dinner is cooking, so she's just staring at the ceiling.

4:15 PM: Brittany studiert Deutsches ein wenig, während sie einige Freizeit hat.  (That was for Katy!  The only other person in the whole world that speaks German.)

6:28PM: Brittany wonders if any of the food she feeds her kids ends up in their stomachs, or just on the floor??

7:07 PM: Brittany doesn't know what to do now that's it so cold outside!

7:14 PM: Brittany thinks our next house needs to have vaulted ceilings so we can play volleyball inside better.

8:07 PM: Brittany just had the stressful job of putting the kids to bed and needs to laugh.  So she reads Kate's "Boo to snow and to Phil" comment for the 14th time.

9:37 PM: Brittany's bath tub has excellent accoustics.

10:08 PM: Brittany is (take your pick) reading / watching a movie / playing on the computer.  

12:01 AM: Brittany can see Rusty glaring at her as she sets her alarm clock.

In case you were wondering...

That's me lying there dead.

I remember this one time in Hawaii when I got cold...

It had dropped into the 70s one night.  And because I didn't have pants or blankets, I was wrapped up in two sweatshirts.

I Should Be Packing...

but I'm not because we are NOT moving!  That's kind of an odd occurence in our house to live somewhere longer than 6 months.  But today marks the 6 month anniversary of closing on our house, and we STILL live here.  We totally deserve some kind of prize.

But we definitely deserve a prize though for our developed skill of flying under the radar.  Our ward still doesn't have our records.  How's that for skill?  Yeah, apparently they weren't translated afterall and they're probably looking for someone for nursery...  

Confession Time

Dear Mom,

Remember how you always lost your shoes?  You'd get so desperate to find them, that you'd offer us $1 to whoever found them first.  Well, you didn't always lose your shoes. Most of the time, we were hiding them from you so we could earn a buck.  Easy allowance.

Dear Annie,

I remember when I went to visit you and you gave your son a bottle that had been sitting out for an hour  I was horrified.  And then I had kids.  I'm not horrified anymore.  :)

Dear Volleyball Girls,

I never know the score.  I make it up whenever someone asks me what it is.

A Letter from My Mother-In-Law

I don't know how many of you know this, but my mother-in-law and my father-in-law are serving a mission in China right now.  It's obviously not a proselyting mission, but one where they teach English at a Chinese University.  Here is their blog if you're interested in seeing what they're doing.

Here's a letter that I got recently about Amanda (a lady in their branch that runs an orphanage): 

Dear daughters and daughters-in-law,

 

Last week when i was visiting teaching at amanda's, (both my companion and i were jiggling babies on each hip while there) i asked her what her needs are, explaining that i was going to the states and could bring some things back that she couldn't get here. in spite of chinese favoring boys, she has a lot of boy babies.  they all have medical problems, so that's why they're abandoned.  so she could use boy clothes, sizes newborn to size 3.  if your ward's like mine was, there are a lot of baby clothes given away that are still in good shape.  could you keep your ears and eyes open among the moms in your ward?  when we return for our january/february trip, my plan is that we'll bring three empty suitcases that we hope to fill with some things we can't get here as well as some for amanda.  (dad thinks he may have found a source for bran here, so if that proves to be true, that will free up the one entire suitcase he was going to fill with bran.)

 

Amanda can't get preemie disposable diapers here and so often the babies she gets drown in the smaller size available. so if anyone asks you what other things she could use, that's an idea.  also, she goes through a lot of expectorent, an over-the-counter brand called Mucinex and she can only get that in the states.  Johnson and Johnson baby lotion is a luxery.  She loves the smell of her babies when rubbed with it, but can't get it here.

 

Winter coats up to size 3 are also in need.  Every morning the babies are taken out in shifts in strollers (have you ever seen a 4-seater stroller?)  by volunteers and it's cold now.  Some of them are only layered in sweaters and light jackets.

 

I don't intend for any of you to buy anything for amanda's babies.  just possibly get the word out if there're moms getting rid of nice baby clothes (especially boys) that you'd like them. 

  

   Thanks for any help you can give it communicating the need.

 

   love,  mom/linda                  

Here are Amanda's blogs:

chinesestarfish.blogspot.com       

www.chinesestarfish.org

It's really heart breaking to think of these poor abandoned babies!  So any help that anyone can give would be great!  My MIL is coming late January/early February to visit.  So if anyone has anything for the babies, that would be wonderful!

I Know There's Only One of Him, but Sometimes...

The Significance of Tomorrow

I hope everyone knows the significance of tomorrow.  I get twenty seven cookies now!

On a side note, I think you should all check out my whiny, fashion challenged, co-dependent, clumsy, and ridiculous friend's blog.  She's a crack up.  Or on crack.  One of those two. 

Help Me Make it Viral

I have this bizarre hobby where I like to find the next new song before it hits the radio.  Help me make this one viral!!

Leon Jackson - Creative

Oh, and Tory.  Just click on the link.  ;)

26...the new 30

I'm okay with wrinkles and gray hair (probably because I have neither yet), but people sure have an amazing way of making me feel old.

These are the conversations I've had with random people over the past year.

At the DMV...

D: How old are you?

B: 26.

D: Oh!  I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked!

at the dentist office...

H: How old are you?

B: Ah an tenny sachs.   (You know, because my teeth are being cleaned).

H: You do not look that old!

and my favorite...

S: How old are you?

M: 26.

S: Oh really?  I thought you were my age!

M: Oh yeah?  How old are you?

S: Twenty FOUR. 

Big Brother

He's watching.  And no, I'm not talking about Dustin or Derek, we're talking Uncle Sam here.  Most of you know that I use statcounter to monitor those from Indiana or other random places who have an unhealthy obsession with my blog.  (It's ok to all of you that are healthily obsessed with my blog, in fact, I encourage that).  But statcounter informed me that someone from the United States House of Representatives has been to my blog three times in the last month.

I swear I don't deliver secret messages to Green Peace or Hamas via the internet.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

What better way to recap the weekend than by sharing random pictures and random quotes?

Luke and Jon (brother-in-laws) and Rachel (niece) skyping with Nanee and Papa.

"Other than boogers, what did you eat for dinner Ashlyn?" [Papa via Skype] Nicholas, Steven, Zachary, Brandon (nephews) and Megan (niece) playing Nintendo.

"Let's put the kids to bed so we can listen to swear words all night." -LaRene [prophetically referring to the movie we were all about to watch].

Jon taking on the little ones. Their combined ages are 7 Jon, did you have to be so aggressive?

"I want to be the favorite Uncle. Austin, you want some sugar?" -Mike

Kent (brother-in-law) and Kevin (brother-in-law once removed) cleaning the kitchen. And yeah, I did make up Kevin's relationship to me. Really he's my brother-in-law's brother .

"I think there are probably rocks in it." -Ashlyn [referring to LaRene's crunchy peanut butter in her sandwich].

This is what Austin did all weekend.

"I'm just so tired of poop." -Rusty [appropriately quoted under a picture of Austin]

Naomi (niece) and Ashlyn looking terrified of Jon.

"Jon, is that the third day in a row that you've worn that shirt?" OK, no one said this, but we all thought it.

"If your self-esteem needs boosting. You can always play me ping pong." -Brittany [Oh how true that is!]

"Choosing your favorite pie is like having to choose your favorite apostle." -Luke

We're all still waiting to hear which apostle is the pumpkin pie Luke!