College Life

· Late night activities in bed: dead voices (“the treasure is buried by the ….b….b….”; “your girlfriend is your sister”, “I killed your parents”) and singing lovely tunes like “michELLE”

· Laughing week: Spongebob laugh, wheezy…etc

· Off-key singing and off-beat dancing

· New language…boles, atocks, be hurry, so me

· Birthday parties: Angela’s” Wayne as UPS stripper, Michelle’s: Barbie and then drinking party, Shannon’s: Gay poetry reading, Emily’s: Michael Jackson

· Watching Empire Records several times to get lines right: “who knows where thoughts come from…they just appear…uh huh” and prove it was funny to Kyla

· Writing computer stories because we were at the library so long and laughing so hard that everyone could hear us

· Emily’s first toot in the library

· Ninja turtle welcome home party for Emily to music by Real McCoy

· Finding out Kyla and Emily were “cousins”

· Kyla wanting to kill me because I kept beating her at California Speed, card game

· Calling Hoges in one night many times to open and close our door because that was her job

· Giving every roommate a “job” Emily’s: lights Kyla’s: food/drink Angela’s: phone Hoges’: doors Shannon’s: remote Michelle’s: car

· Paperball fights at night between Kyla and Emily

· Trey’s closet entrance and exit while home teachers: Kyan and Dallin, were over and they didn’t notice and thought Emily and Kyla were jerks

· Emily grabbing Kyla’s breast in defense at the library

· Playing “hot and cold” at the library with Emily’s coat

· Hitchhiking to Broulim’s and almost getting raped

· Miscellaneous phone calls: voice analysis/singing analysis; breakup with Jorge or he was breaking up with me-pretending on the phone

· Surveying boys over the phone and finding psycho Bob Smith who came over and scared the feces out of us by saying “You don’t know who you’re dealing with” and “I think I find this a lot funnier than you do” and then seeing him on campus several times

· Hitting each other with our backpacks on our way to Geology

· “Dr. Moore” – laughing uncontrollably during his lessons and him saying “I didn’t know rivers were so funny” and then when he caught us off guard and both of our faces went bright red

· Vern as our auto teacher in his little auto mechanic jumpsuit (Earnest P. Worrell’s Vern)

· Playing our extra credit movie in Geology and feeling like dorks because we looked stupid

· Our Hawaii report in Geology and it not working so we were flipping out and ran as fast as we could home to get Kyla’s laptop

· Our idea of honest attraction: “hey, I’m attracted to you, are you attracted to me?” “nope, k, see ya”

· Emily’s sweet present of a traffic violation for Kyla’s birthday

· Kyla talking to Emily while she was in the shower and not knowing Michelle and Hoges were outside listening and then Kyla getting caught as she was coming out

· Accidental exposure to Michelle Andrus of Emily’s privets because Kyla was trying to de-pants her

· “Hello Rexburg!” off the balcony

· Showing Harry and the Hendersons to Kyla’s mom and sister us cracking up and them not at all…except Mikey

· Playing dead all the time, especially at night by falling off of our beds, and then having Emily’s visiting teachers ask her what we do each night in our room…because they could hear us falling on the floor

· Michelle Andrus coming in several nights and telling us to be quiet or “Is there a problem??” in the A.M. and Kyla hiding under the sheets while Emily took the blame

· Burnt dog night when Hoges went crazy over questions of black males

· Kyla and Emily’s water fight, in front of Angela’s boyfriend, that started out small and ended with us drenched from shower heads to sink sprayers to buckets of water (and by buckets we mean buckets)

· Emily laughing hysterically at Singin’ in the Rain the song “Make ‘em Laugh” and crying because she was laughing so hard

· Talks of how to kiss and Emily telling Kyla the art of french kissing

· At the Rexburg Opinion Phone Center (aka ROC), where we worked, talking about Dr. Moore’s mistake of wearing socks with sandals and the noticing Emilys’ crush behing us wearing socks with sandals---the next day= no socks…just sandals…ouch

· Kyla sticking the pencil down Emily’s butt during a phone call to serve as a distraction during phone surveys

· Emily pointing but ending up poking Kyla in the lip right when Kyla’s phone picked up someoned and so she couldn’t stop laughing throughout the whole introduction

· Emily’s new hick pronunciation with vowels drawn out long i.e. “Naaaational”

· Poof hair guy in auto so we didn’t know if he was a poof or what

· The “sheman” at the play “Homecooking” and us trying so diligently to figure out the sex of that human-being…it was a woman…we think

· Emily’s going psycho one night over the perfect laugh for her monologue…it having a bit psycho laugh so Emily did all laughs possible with insight from roomies

· Emily’s night of halitosis at the play “Homecooking”

· Hiding behind the tree at the Hart building calling to people as if we were birds “Hey you two…you two….lookuphere lookuphere…kaa kaa”

Writing down our ‘best of’ names from calls at the Opinion Center:

David Junker

Edward Kargas

Marjorie Dykes

David Scruggs

Pamela Scheeflock

Janaki Kakarala

James Hickenlooper

Kaye Vandenboom

Sallie Poindexter

Wesley Engebretson

Sample introduction: “Hi I’m ____ from RoperASW, a national public opinion research firm. We’re conducting an important study of publications people read. We’re not selling anything…"

Best answering machine: Old lady: “How do you like me now…now that I’m on my way…you can leave a message…what have you got to say…. [beeeeep]”

Nightmare Before Christmas

Nightmare OF Christmas. Nightmare all around. We took Gordon in to the hospital on Monday (the 22nd) for dehydration. He had been sick for two weeks with this stomach flu and it was just getting worse. Edison had caught it too so the doctor admitted him as well. We had both our boys in the hospital three days before Christmas! It was not fun.
The poor boy was so dehydrated it took three tries to get an IV in him. He was not happy. We left Tuesday night and were hoping the worse was behind us... Not so lucky. Christmas Day came and went. Gordon was still sick. He wasn't even interested in opening all his presents. He is really whiny and (thinks) he can't do anything himself. So we have missed out on all the family fun and Christmas festivities; feel sorry for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for New Years.

When it rains...

...it pours. I just had a tonsillectomy yesterday. Gordon is vomiting and diarrhea-ing. Edison just had his flu shot and is having blow outs. Poor Chris has to take care of all of us. It seems like it is just one thing after another. Our laptop power cord broke so now we have to spend $100 on a new one. What else can go wrong? I just hope we are all better by Christmas. Chris is being so great. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of everyone and not complaining. What a great man! Speaking of Christmas, this is the first year Chris and I are doing our own little Christmas with our own little family. I am so excited to do our own thing. I am trying to think of some fun traditions to start. Any ideas for traditions to start with young kids? Please share. Hope everyones holidays are going a little better than ours! I am just glad I got all my Christmas shopping down weeks ago. Seriously, the best thing I could have ever done!

Christmas Movies

Chris and I decided this year we would watch all the Christmas movies we love since last year we only watched a few. Here is our list. Let us know if we missed out on any that are must sees.


Home Alone 1 and 2
Lampoons Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
Claymation Christmas
The Santa Claus
It's a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Mr. Kruger's Christmas
Scrooged
A Muppets Christmas Carol
Elf
Polar Express
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

We have already watched a few. Christmas movies are my favorite. Oh, and a brillant idea I had...since we only own less than half of these movies, we signed up for Netflix, two week free trial, and got all our Christmas movies through them . Now we actually have something to look forward to when we check the mail!

Do Something Good

I just got this e-mail from my aunt:

Porn-Free, Family-Friendly Broadband Internet

istockphoto: pixhook

Kevin Martin, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has a Christmas present in mind for Americans. He is backing a plan to take a bundle of inactive airwaves for wireless broadband and offering it for free. To make this sugar plum even sweeter, Martin's condition is that this service also be porn-free. If this plan is backed by a vote at the FCC's December 18 meeting, adult content will be blocked on these airwaves.

Of course, those who think smut is a right are hollering at the prospect, however they still have a right of paying for a service of their choice or removing the filter once they have proven they are 18.

Urge FCC Commissioners to Yes for this plan by contacting them at their offices: Deborah Taylor Tate (202-418-2500), Michael Copps (202-418-2000), Jonathan Adelstein (202-418-2300), and Robert McDowell (202-418-2200).

I called all four commissioners and all I said was, "Hi I'm calling to let Commissioner Taylor (or whoever) that I support the plan to have porn-free broadband." They let me know that my support was noted and that was it. Easy. Takes two minutes or less and you are doing a good thing. So call now!

Oh and don't forget to vote on my very important poll to the right too!

Bring it on!

We decorated Gingerbread Houses last night for Family Home Evening. Chris and I were doing a little bit of trash talking and this morning Chris suggested I post pictures of our creations and let you decide which one is better. And to be unbiased I won't tell you whose is whose until after the poll is closed.
Entry #1: Florida Getaway Entry #2: Cozy CottageEntry #3: Vacation Home in the Alps
And if you can't tell which one is Gordon's then why are we even doing this poll?

For my 100th Post I thought I would do the usual- 100 things about me. I tried to make it as interesting and true-to-life as I could. Heeere's ME

1. I am a bit of a drama queen
2. I am shy too
3. I love watching clouds
4. I have a birth mark on my neck that looks like a hickey
5. I have big nostrils (according to my husband)
6. I have “second grader ankles”
7. I talk to myself way too much
8. I talk about myself in the third person when I am talking to Gordon
9. My eyes turn green when I am really tired or when I cry
10. I said no to my husband the first time he asked me to marry him
11. As a kid, I always put minivan down as my dream car when playing MASH
12. I have an addiction to chocolate
13. I am way too hard on myself
14. I HATE seafood
15. Actually I am a very picky eater; I hate hot dogs, green beans and most vegetables, fatty meat, the list could go on...
16. I love to watch movies
17. I love celebrity gossip magazines – not enough to buy them, just enough to hold up the line at the supermarket
18. I am learning to love to cook
19. I am lazy
20. I am a self-diagnosed hypochondriac
21. I took piano lessons for 7-8 years and I cannot play hymns, or anything anymore for that matter
22. I took sewing lessons for 5 years and now I cannot even read a pattern
23. I depend too much on my husband
24. I love being part of a big family
25. But I don’t think I could have more than four kids
26. (Chris says no more than three)
27. I love to travel
28. I want to move to a big city when Chris is done with school but then move back after five years or so
29. I love to sleep in
30. I choked on a Gobstopper at a movie theatre
31. And I choked on a Cream Saver in seminary class—I can’t eat either candy without some anxiety
32. I was very boy crazy growing up
33. I want to be a photographer
34. I enjoy doing family history
35. I am one of those people that is sort of good at a lot of things but not really good at any one thing
36. I am a night person
37. I have really dry skin, wavy hair, and bad teeth (all those things kids love to inherit from their parents)
38. I like math
39. I don’t like shopping
40. I have to sleep with a pillow between my knees
41. I used to get bloody noses all the time as a kid
42. I have never broken a bone
43. I have had stitches twice…
44. Once when I was five; I was jumping on the bed and hit my head on the corner of a table
45. I didn’t tell my mom until I saw all the blood because I was afraid I would get in trouble for jumping on the bed
46. In March of ’07 I had to get stitches between my toes when I sliced my foot on a heater vent that was low to the ground.
47. And I drove myself to the emergency room (see Brian Regan clip)
48. I was asked several times growing up if I was anorexic because I was so skinny – and, no, I wasn’t
49. I love the smell of old, antique books
50. I have never won while playing BINGO
51. In fact I don't think I have ever one a drawing either
52. I guess I don't have very good luck
53. I am competitive
54. I am absolutely excited and terrified for Chris to be done with school this May

55. I have six brothers and two sisters
56. I am the fifth of nine children and suffer from middle child syndrome
57. I stress out too easily about really stupid things
58. I have really long toes
59. I hate it when people use their/there and were/we’re in the wrong context
60. Did I mention that I love to sleep
61. I collect shot glasses from places that I have traveled to (or I used to)
62. I have never been in a car accident
63. I did not go to my Senior Prom (sniff, sniff)
64. I am a bit of a pack rat
65. I was forty-five minutes late to my own wedding—not my fault
66. My birthday is on the 13th and every birthday that I have ever had on Friday has been awful, that I can recall anyway
67. I hate handling raw meat, especially chicken
68. My favorite color is green
69. I am really clumsy with my feet and always stub my toes
70. I have a cursed toe: the toe nail has fallen off twice and has been ripped off twice!
71. Chris irons clothes more than I do
72. I hate it when people have bad spelling
73. Autumn is my favorite season
74. Gordon was delivered by emergency c-section
75. I hate doing laundry
76. I love to make people laugh, even if I have to make fun of myself to do so
77. I am really bad at playing Hearts – I have the worst luck and always get the queen of spades
78. I get really embarrassed when I make a comment in church- my face turns red and everything
79. I love to quote movies
80. I want to go back to school
81. I love to learn new things but only if I am good at it
82. I took an art class in high school and really enjoyed it although I can’t draw worth beans
83. I was born in Layton, Utah and until I was about 12 years old I thought I was born in Ogden
84. I really wanted to serve a mission and didn’t want to marry Chris for that reason
85. I love to play games
86. I am way out of shape
87. I love surprises as long as I don't know that A surprise is coming, so I guess I hate suspense
88. I am too lazy to sort through the clearance racks to find a good bargain
89. I am always hungry
90. I associate family get-togethers with lots of junk food
91. Family is very important to me
92. Edison was born VBAC

93. Mexican food is my favorite, and Italian, and American...I just like food
94. I starred as the Wicked Witch of the West in a community Wizard of Oz play
95. As a tween I thought it would be cool if I had some sort of near death experience or was diagnosed with a life threatening disease. For some reason I thought it would make me a better person. Boy, am I glad I didn't get what I wished for.

96. I’m not as cool of a mom as I thought I would be
97. I am a little OCD when it comes to my fingernails. I can’t stand to have dirt under my nails; I hate it when my nails are uneven and not smooth, it drives me crazy. If one nail is short I have to cut all the other nails to match it.
98. I am still in my pjs
99. I love being a mother even though it is the most challenging thing I have ever had to do in my life
100. I am glad I’m done writing this list!

Ready for the Transition

I am still trying to recover from my Thanksgiving break (laundry, unpacking- yes five days later, Gordon missing his papa and cousins, doing housework again...) You know the drill. But I have been thinking lately about Sippy Cups. Edison is ready to make the move but I don't know which brand to get. When we transitioned Gordon we bought about four or five different kinds before we found one that he liked. So what I want to know is...what sippy cups do your kids love?

Thanksgiving Top Ten

Thanksgiving was such a blast and I am so ready for Christmas. I loved spending time with all my family. Here were my top ten favorite parts of my Thanksgiving vacation.

1. Pumpkin Rolls with Maple Streusel Filling
2. Sweet n' Sour Meatballs and BBQ Weiners
   
3. Pecan Pie
4. Homemade Stuffing
   
5. The Twilight Movie with all my sisters
6. Playing board games every day! A new one we played that was fun - Hit or Miss
7. Not having to entertain Gordon all day long, in fact not having to entertain Gordon at all!
8. Girl Talk with my sisters
9. Making crafts and projects with my sisters; my favorite-this book bag for GordonAnd getting the new books my mom gave Gordon for his birthday. We love reading them!
   
10. Getting myself a sewing machine for Christmas at the Black Friday sales!
    

A Collection of Fine Art

I gave Gordon free reign over the camera and this is (the best of) what I got.

The most important things in life, his trucks.

Not bad for his first time, eh?

Like father like son

I want you to look at this picture and tell me what you see...beside the huge holes in Chris's socks. Gordon has to be like his daddy in every way, even the small things. I love when Gordon crosses his feet. It just seems like such an adult thing to do. Storytime with dad is his favorite part of the day.

Fire Station

A couple weeks ago we went to the fire station. Fun right? Every boy's fantasy? Obviously not Gordon's. The whole time he had his hands covering his hears, afraid the trucks siren would go off. Even after I asked the nice fireman to explain that he would make no loud noises without warning us first, Gordon insisted on covering his ears.
When everyone else gathered as close as they could to see what the fireman would show them next, Gordon was at the opposite end, preparing for the worst. When everyone got up into the back of the ambulence, Gordon wanted me to hold him. I eventually got him to pose on the front of this fire truck. Not very willingly though. There was one thing that brought a smile to his face. At the very end, the fireman said he needed Jr. Firefighters and gave everyone a helmut and sticker. Finally a smile!

Walking Soon?

My 8 1/2 month old is now doing this...
Which means there is a lot of this...
and this... and of course this...
my favorite part.

Celebrate Good Times

Come on sing the song with me: Celebrate good times, come on! Let's celebrate. There's a party going on...

Why am I celebrating you ask. Because I just filled up my car with gas today and the price of gasoline is now $2.13! I never thought I would see this day. Just for kicks and giggles I looked up in my little wedding album journal the price of gasoline when we got married and it was $2.09. That was 4 1/2 years ago. I don't understand how just a few months ago gas was over $4 and seemingly just like that its back down to what it was 4 years ago! Will someone please explain to me how this works?

Birthday Bash

Saturday we had a joint birthday party for Gordon and his good friend Terin who also turned three and lives down stairs. Here come the birthday boys...

Gordon has been so excited all week about his birthday. Everyday he tells me, "lets have a party!" He even told Terin the present that he got him, "its a secret, I got you a digger." Gordon was as happy as a clam that it is finally his big day.

We did Disney Cars themed. We had pin the tire on the car, relay race to push a bike tire around the cones, and of course a pinata. Gordon and Terin had a good time hitting eachother with their party blowers while they were supposed to be eating. Mandee made the cake so I got out of it this year! Woohoo! She did an awesome job too. It really was a fun day. Thanks to all who came and made it a special day for Gordon.

Dancing With the Stars

Can I just say, I love Dancing With the Stars. I don't have TV so I watch it a day late and I just finished watching it. I want to say a few things and since Chris is up on campus doing homework I'll have to say them to you.

1. Brooke Burke should just take the trophy and end the show. I hate it when the judges (particularly Len) judge her more harshly because she is better than everyone else. NOT FAIR.
2. I think they were entirely too hard on Cody Linely's Latin Dance. I loved it; my favorite - the solo 15 seconds. Oh and I am so glad Julianne is back next week. I can't stand Edyta!
3. I couldn't help but stare at Kym's stomach after her last dance. Man I would kill for a stomach like that.
4. I am so glad Susan Lucci is gone. I couldn't stand her
5. And finally, would someone please tell me who gets voted off? I can't wait till tomorrow to find out. My guess is Maurice Greene.

Seasons

I love Fall (Autumn, Harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving and all other names associated with this time of year.)I love hearing the crunch as I walk through the fallen leaves. I love how Gordon cannot walk past a pile of leaves without walking through it. I love the leaves as they change colors and finally fall off leaving the streets and sidewalks covered in gold.

I love the smells of this time of year. I went to a Scentsy party the other day and all I wanted to smell were the "cozy fireside," "nutmeg and orange zest," or "cranberry spice."
I love LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving and all the food that comes with it. Pecan pie, hour derv's that have become their own dinner, pumpkin rolls, oh I love it all. This is the time of year that I throw caution to the wind (I can't help it, the winds are so strong here!) I love making soups and stews, eating them in bread bowls or homemade french bread.

I love wearing long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and jackets. (I also love that other people have to wear these too. No more seeing too much skin!)I love that I get to stay inside all day with my boys and I don't have to come up with any other reason than, "it's too cold to go anywhere today."

Lately Chris has been dreaming up all sorts of places he wants to move when he is done with school (May '09 Baby!) His favorites are: San Diego, Texas, Las Vegas...anywhere warm and all I can think is, "no more autumn."

New thing. Go to this website:http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

put in a picture and make it look really old and then you can do a cool collage of old framed pictures.

To My Boy on His Birthday

Dear Gordon,
You are such a special boy. I keep wanting to call you my little boy but you aren't anymore. You are such a BIG boy. You have recently mastered potty training, dress yourself, can buckle yourself into your car seat, take care of your little brother, and insist on doing everything yourself (except pick up your toys!) Oh, and lets not forget your ABC's. You love to sing that song and also adapt it to make other new songs. You bring so much joy in to my life. Not a day passes that you don't make me laugh--even when I am mad. The other day I put you in time out in your room and after a few minutes came to check on you and you had put Edison's pants on and you looked so silly I couldn't help but laugh and I wasn't mad anymore. Thank you for helping me to be happy. I love sitting and snuggling with you while we read stories. Your favorite stories right now are: Kiss Me I'm Perfect, Three Little Pigs, and Ella Sarah Gets Dressed.
Three of my most favorite things about you:

1. when you come into my room in the morning to wake me up
2. the way you sigh, "oh funny funny" after you laugh
3. the fact that you are such a mimic (it keeps me on my toes!)

Your favorite toys right now are...anything in the kitchen. You love to cook with me and in your own kitchen. We have made play-dough several times this week and it has also become one of your favorite past times as well. You absolutely adore your little brother Edison. It is so hard for you to wait till he gets bigger so you can play rough with him and not get in trouble for it. You have become quite the inquisitve little (I mean big) boy. You are always asking what? and why? And just because is not a good enough answer for you.
Gordon you have brought so much joy into our family in these three years you have been with us and I love that I get to be with you everyday to watch you grow bigger and smarter. When you were a baby about Edison's age, your daddy and I took turns working and taking care of you. It hurt me so bad to be away from you when you were learning those first things in life. I never want to miss anything again. I love you so much.

Love, Mom

My Genius Boy

I love it when Gordon learns something new. He can sing his alphabet now. Here's a video of it and pay close attention to how he says "LMNOP." It is so dang cute.



Chris got him an alphabet book and we are working on writing the letters. I can't believe how big my little boy is getting. And Edison too! He has recently discovered how fun doorstops are. And he knows they are behind every door so no matter what room he is in, he will crawl behind the door to play with it. We buy him all these toys and he plays with doorstops. (Name that movie, quote is altered to fit this situation. The actual quote is "We buy him all these toys and he laughs at the walls.") Update: Since writing the above Edison has also started to stand while holding on to furniture. He is 8 MONTHS! He is still unsteady and falls the majority of the time but he still does it. He just wants to be a big kid like his big brother!

October Festivities

We have been having too much fun the last couple of weeks and I haven't had the time to post about it all. So this is my massive make-up, picture-overload post. Enjoy...

I should mention that all these pictures are courtesy of Hilarie, our family photographer. She just follows us around and takes pictures of our cute little selves. (laying the sarcasm on pretty thick) Thanks Hilarie!

We went to this fun Halloween Carnival up on campus put on by the Sororities and it was lots of fun. We got to ride the bus on the way up to campus and I think that was the kids' favorite part.

Waiting for the bus to arrive, the kids entertained themselves by throwing leaves on each other. That is once they got bored of just sitting there.On the bus the kids wanted to sing the bus song: "Wheels on the Bus" and of course we had to oblige. And the boys thought it was sooo cool how it made your "bum bumpy."And how could we forget about cute little Edison who was such a good boy the whole time.

We also went to the Pumpkin Walk and the kids had a blast. The best part about the pumpkin walk is getting your picture taken in these cute little things...And my personal favorite, Yoda!

Eating lunch afterwards. It really was a great day. I just love October!

By the way, trick-or-treating was a blast. We went around door to door with some of our neighbors and it was tons of fun.
We had a Frankenstein, UPS man, Care Bear, witch, Gabrielle (from High Shcool Musical?), and Buzz
The kids loved looking for houses "with the lights on." Terin, our neighbor friend, would get so

excited and kept saying, "the lights are on, look, the lights are on..." Every house that we went to that had leaves in the yard the kids couldn't help but jumping in them. It really was a great night. Hope yours was too.