Random Shannon

Winter and whatever else I feel like writing about...

2012-01-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

Winter hates my skin. For as long as I can remember, all the frigid months of every year have made it their personal goal to put my defenseless shell through hell. Believe me, it's not pretty.

Exhibit A:
One of my poor calves...
Scaly, flaky, pink patches of skin. This is the only exhibit I will show, but the scales have also invaded the tops of my feet, my knees, outer thighs, and posterior. It doesn't matter how much lotion I apply or how much water I drink-- the dryness prevails.
You know those lotion infused spa socks they make? Forget those. I need some lotion infused pants. Ones that intermittently drizzle a coat of lotion over my dehydrated hide as I go about my day. If that wouldn't solve the problem, maybe drinking lotion instead of water would help. Or perhaps a lotion IV?
Winter, what did I ever do to you? Oh well. I guess things could always be worse. Like if every inch of my skin spontaneously disintegrated the moment winter arrived.

With the first official snowfall a few days ago, Oliver helped me make a snowman.

He contributed by patting small mounds of the fluffy, white stuff onto the growing snow body.
He asked if he could throw snowballs at our creation, but I discouraged it. Then he asked me to build a little snowman for him to throw snowballs at. He wound up going inside before I even finished this one, probably to throw his toys all over the house.

At first I thought I didn't have anything to make a face for our blank snowguy. But then I remembered some old Easter candy in my stash. I (somehow) let some Cadbury Eggs expire in a dresser drawer, so I sliced one in half to make eyes. Then I found an orange Easter egg candy for the nose, and some stray licorice for the smile. I thought he looked pretty sweet.

I coaxed Oliver back outside to help me decorate the snowboy and pose for pictures.

Then we went in the house as the snow continued to fall all afternoon. The snow would later turn to deadly drops of rain...

Notice how he's slumped to the side here, as if staring into his own grave. His sloppy noggin became one with the wintery ground by nightfall. =(

Well, shoot. And he had such a promising future...

On a happier note, I found something yummy at Dollar Tree. I've bought these boxes of SwirlStix at WinCo for the past few summers, but they've always been a variety pack. The best flavor, cotton candy, was always quickly consumed by the first two lucky treat eaters, leaving the less desirable flavors to sit unloved in the dark freezer.
No need to leave "anyone" out anymore, since I found a box with only the cotton candy kind inside. Yum! Who knows if they'll still be available like this by summertime, so I bought 3 packs to tide us over for the time being.

I like knowing they're in my freezer. And if I can't get them in the summer, at least I can look back at the picture and maybe lick it a little if I really need to.

A couple of months ago I took some time to read all the notes and letters from one of my longtime favorite friends, Renee. I always enjoy little trips down memory lane, but her notes make me miss those days. I've mentioned this before, but as of last summer, she and I have been friends for 20 years!
From 8th grade to college age, we exchanged frequent silly notes. Some about boys, some about school and teachers, and lots of fun, fictional stories in between.

It was hard to get a picture to adequately portray the volume of papers in this notebook.
We had the best time writing stories. I haven't done so since I was about 19. When Renee was away at BYU, along with handwritten tales of college blunders, I even made her a couple of audio stories on cassette tape, complete with noises taken from a set of professional sound effects CDs.

I'm trying to figure out how and what I can write now that I'm "grown up". I haven't tried to make up a story in so long. It used to come so easily. I just have too many distractions in life now. Or do I? I know I'm just making excuses. I didn't ever let school get in the way of my story-writing time back then. Why do I let crap get in the way of me being creative now? I think I need to just make myself do this. Make myself write. It's not that I don't want to. I just don't know where to start! Maybe a brainstorming session with Renee?

The rest of December...

2012-01-14T22:56:00.000-08:00

I want to share one more medley of things that made December memorable.

1. I got Cora and Jane each a pair of these spectacular sprinkle doughnut PJ bottoms for Christmas. Sometimes I feel a little guilty giving them things that I like, but then I remember my girls aren't picky, plus they like cute things. It just kills me how often I happen upon sweets-inspired attire or decor. It's everywhere I turn. I think I smell another shopping hiatus coming on. If I don't see it, I don't know it's there. (But then I'll always sit there wondering what darling trinket I'm missing out on.)

Yay for super-soft, extra cute jammies!

A little blurry, but I love her smile in this picture.

2. I loved checking the mailbox as the month ticked by, finding cards within from treasured people near and far. While I enjoyed receiving all of them, the one my sister Megan's family created was my favorite by far.

They turned to Savers for their wardrobe choices, got all dolled up, grabbed some props and took their own photos in the beautified lobby of the hotel where Megan's husband (Mike) works. They used their creepiest, cheesiest faces, and later Mike pieced together the most priceless shots for a Christmas card not to be forgotten. On the bottom it says "The Bryants: Very Classy"
Yup, they drew a mustache on their son, Fletcher. =)

3. A few weeks before Christmas, I bought this pretty poinsettia at WinCo, of all places. It's still going strong. I love how it looks in our green living room. I was excited to discover this variety; I like it much more than the typical red poinsettia.

So pretty.

4. Ryan typically enlists one of his sisters' assistance when Christmas shopping, as shopping is not within his comfort zone. So he and Jackie went to the mall one afternoon. They were lured into Pottery Barn, and as he later told me, they encountered a persistent saleslady. Long story short, he came out with a new Nativity Set for our family. It's a pretty one, and probably the only grown-up-looking Christmas decor we own.

I like it because the figures look like they're made of those iced molasses cookies; brown underneath, and drizzled with a white glaze. Call me crazy, but that's what came to my mind when the box was first opened. =) I also like it because it's a beautiful Nativity Set.

5. Santa gave the girls these adorable Lego sets. They've been having oodles of fun constructing things.

I've always been a fan of Lego windows and doors. The ones in this set are so stinkin' cute.

"I've fallen, and I can't get up!" (The girls weren't around when I took this picture. I should have asked if they'd intentionally left the one chick lying helplessly on her back while the others merely looked on.)

6. One day, Erin called to clue me in on the presence of a Candy Land T-shirt at Old Navy. When I went the next day, they only had an XL left. Shoot. I told Erin, and I think later that day she returned to the Nampa store and found me a medium. She then declared it her Christmas gift to me. What a fantastic sister!

Excuse the wrinkles. They might be due to hugging myself so much while wearing it. ;)

Yippee!

A few days prior to Christmas, Erin and I finally made it to see Breaking Dawn. It was pretty much what was expected. Afterward, we went to Dickey's BBQ Pit to try it out. I thought it was yummy. I had the marinated chicken on a lil' hoagie, with baked potato casserole and a Caesar salad. We were delighted to find that they provide a self-serve, soft-serve ice cream machine with mini cones for customers to take advantage of, and it's free! We did take advantage of that machine.

7. The Tuesday after Christmas, Renee and I went over to Maria's to watch Fired Up and Bring It On. (Cheerleader movies. Not what I would have picked, but they were fun to watch anyway. Anything's fun with Renee and Maria.)

8. The only things I asked for for Christmas were 3 albums; TMBG's latest release, and She&Him, Volumes One and Two. I had recently been made aware of the existence of She&Him. I don't know how it took me so long to realize that Zooey Deschanel had music albums out. I'm slow, I guess. Anyway, Ryan put all three of the albums on the iPod Becky bequeathed me, along with most of our existing music collection. (All of the music Becky put on there remains as well.) It was a nice surprise, and now I don't have to worry about the aggravation of CDs skipping. He got me an adapter cord thing so I can listen in the car, too. Woo-hoo!

I really like the old-fashioned style of Zooey's music. Some of it sounds like it's straight from the '60s. And her voice is so nice to listen to. I'd treated myself to their Christmas album earlier in the month when I first heard about it. Then I knew I wanted the rest of their music. It's just so simple and refreshing.

9. Too early one morning, Oliver strutted into our room and asked, "Mom, can we make cookies now?" I said, "Let's wait until the sun comes up." Looking out the window he determined, "It smells like the sun is up!" I had to snicker, but then I convinced him to crawl into bed with me and snuggle until the sun was definitely up.

10. The coming of December meant we'd been living in our lovely house for a whole year! A lot of work and improvements have been done, and the coming dozen months will likely bring many more.

These 10 reasons, among many others, are why I'll remember December, 2011.

Now all we can do is sit here, rocking back and forth, waiting to see what 2012 brings.

New choo-choo train.

2012-01-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

As I previously mentioned, Oliver got a train set from Grandpa Lytle for Christmas.

He's in love with it!

These pictures were taken the day after Christmas.

He got new Superman jammies, as his others had a big hole in the knee and were getting pretty ratty. I should have ordered one for every day of the week. When we're not going anywhere important, I let him keep his favorite outfit on. He gets a lot of attention when we're out and about. Almost everywhere we go, at least one person exclaims, "It's Superman!" He doesn't even seem to notice it anymore.
It's strange seeing him in jeans and a t-shirt because I'm so used to his Superman suit. When he's wearing anything else, he asks to change back into his prized jammies the instant we return home.

Being a human bridge.

It's a really sturdy train.

That day he didn't take a nap, it was after 5:00 PM, and he was mesmerized by the movement of the wheels on the track. He asked me for a pillow so he could lie down while watching the train pass by.

He kept staring at it, and staring at it... minute after minute...then he asked for a blanket... Not long after that, I peeked in to see this...

Sweet little sleepy boy. It wasn't even 6:00 PM. I didn't have the heart to wake him, so after a while I carried him up to his bed and he slept all night until around 8:30 the next morning. That's my boy. Such a good sleeper. I guess Christmas tuckered him out.

Anyway, the train is a fantastic addition to our family.

Not-so-plain Jane

2012-01-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

Jane's a busy girl. Always up to something fun and/or creative.

On the 23rd of December, Jane and her neighbor friend (Emma) decided to take a series of pictures of each other to be used for some kind of book they talked briefly about making. I found these when I loaded the pics onto my computer.

Either Oliver or Cora took this picture of these two pretending to sleep.

I guess Oliver didn't want to be left out of the sleep-faking fun. He's pretty convincing!

Same day, third outfit.

Another outfit, same day. No wonder her closet is always a nightmare.
I like this picture. I cropped out a bunch of unnecessary curtain.

I wonder what Janey will be when she grows up.

It's ironic that she's been begging me to let her quit piano lessons. She hates practicing.

One day she came home from school and was bored, so she got her white board and drew all over it.
I loved it.
She is such an artistic girl.
I love Jane.

Remember December?

2012-01-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

Welp, it's not Christmastime anymore.

I was somewhat sad to see the holiday go, but a bit relieved at the same time. It goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway) that December tends to be a tad busy. It's kind of funny how I always seem to assign myself an extra dose of duty this time of year. What? I ask. You need help making more than 300 cookies for the ward party on the 10th? I'll make 200! What? The Relief Society needs dozens of cookies for the prison? I'm sure I can find time to make 2 dozen of the chocolate chip variety, on top of the 200 sugar cookies I need for the same day! Cookies? Piece of cake! I thought.

While it's true I thoroughly enjoy producing cookies, they certainly do take up a fat chunk of my time. And this was just the first round. Later in the month I decided I needed to bake a big-butt batch of sugar cookies for family festivities, along with a modest number of gingerbread guys and gals, plus two recipes worth of chocolate-and-almond-covered butter toffee. I don't know if Christmas would even show its face if I failed to do some customary baking.

Somehow I didn't take pictures of anything other than the ward party star cookies. What the heck is the matter with me? Due to the quantity of these, I didn't make them very detailed. When I made my personal batch later, I used a variety of cutters and spent a little more time making each cookie cute. So just try to picture an array of mittens, ornaments, Santa hats and stockings- all decorated with a few degrees more care than the stars shown above.

Okay, so I did take a picture of these pre-cooked mini gingerbread men. Seeing all their tiny figures lined up made me giggle as I imagined the circus that would be my kitchen if they tried the stunt their great-g-g-g-great grandpappy pulled in that gingerbread man storybook.

Just envision the amount of run-running and can't-catching I'd be doing in that eventuality. =)

At the beginning of the month, Jane set up "Christmas Corner" in our living room.

She originally made it for her mini (stuffed animal-type) gingerbread kid to live in. She kept adding on to it and rearranging things as the month progressed.

Special instructions on the white board.

That's Mr. Fluffy Pants by the stop sign. A gatekeeper of sorts.

There's the gingerbread girl on the left, nestled in bed. =) Notice the cute mantle drawing Jane made and put in there. (This is one of our end tables, by the way. Far too tempting for a creative little girl with doll domiciles on her mind.)

In the thick of the Christmas season, Cora had a big day at school. She is a part of the Challenge program that meets once a week at a different elementary school. They work on projects and researching things, etc. They had an open house for family and friends on the afternoon of the 15th. Each student had picked a culture to focus on. They had to create a board game having to do with that culture, write a little report, and make an object out of clay to symbolize her work.

She chose China.

She had trivia questions on the cards. I thought she did a great job on it!

That same afternoon was her first orchestra concert! She plays the viola.

She's so into this song! I thought the program went nicely, and I hope Cora sticks with it a while. She's improved considerably since she started in September-- not as many screeching strings now. ;)
She seems to be quite musically inclined. She's still taking piano lessons, and is really getting good at it. I still can't get her to sing audibly (dangit!), but I'll be happy just to hear her make music of any kind.

Soon enough, Christmas was here. I finished all the shopping and about 2/3 of the wrapping by the 23rd. I don't think I've ever gotten done "early".

Christmas Eve was spent at Ryan's brother's house on the outskirts of Caldwell. Ryan's parents, siblings, nieces and nephews were there. We had Mexican food, assorted desserts, a gift exchange, and a devotional. Then it was time to get home so Santa could swing by. About halfway there, as the radio blasted The Chipmunks' "Christmas Song", our car decided to overheat. We pulled over as soon as possible. Steam spewed forth from the hood. We called Ryan's bro to see if anybody else was on their way past. Lucky for us, Ryan's dad and bro-in-law were. I won't go on about every detail, but we were so glad we had someone to rescue us! They were able to add the needed fluid to the proper receptacle and get it home without further incident. I guess we had a leak.

The kids opened their new pajamas when we got home, put them on, and I ushered them to bed. I should be fired as the photographer in my home-- I didn't take a picture of the new jammies, or ANY pictures on Christmas Day. Flip. I don't know how it happened. The day just slipped by and I didn't have the camera right there with me. Bad mommy.

While I finished wrapping presents, Ryan set up the train track around the tree. Ryan's dad got a Lionel train and track set for each of the 3 little grandsons. It's not exactly kid-friendly, but he wants the boys to carry on his love of locomotives, and didn't want to get them some hunk-o-junk setup. I think his plan is working.

Our tree after Santa came.

We all got up around 8, opened presents, played; fixed scrambled eggs, sausage links and toast, then got gussied up for church, which started at 1:00. We only had sacrament meeting, and it was nice. Mostly music and pre-assigned testimonies. One of the young women played a carol on the harp, which was pretty.
I had been asked all the way back in October to put together a women's musical number for the occasion. Eight of us sang "Mary's Lullaby", a Primary song. I think it turned out pretty okay, if not a little too loud. But it was nice, right?

After church, we gathered our cookie trays and went to my parents' house to see my side of the family. We grazed on deli style sandwiches, dips and chips, and assorted other treats. We loitered, exchanged gifts, and chatted. Then some of us played a game, Last Word, which was pretty entertaining. We were there a few hours, then stopped by Ryan's parents' house for a bit on our way home, where we opened a few more things.

It was a really good day. And we did all the driving around in our trusty '96 Toyota Tercel, since the Pacifica was having a time-out in our garage until we could get it in to see a mechanic.

Since I regrettably didn't take any treasured Christmas Morning photos, I went back a few days later and took pics of the cutest presents.

I got the girls these charming mugs.

Cora got the giraffe one, Jane got the zebra. What? You don't think they're anything special?

Then take a peek inside!

I found one at Cost Plus and the other at Pier 1. When I saw the first one, it instantly triggered a memory. Hey! I used to have a mug with a tiny animal in it! Unfortunately, the memory wasn't strong enough to supply my mind with the type of animal it was. I think my sister and I each had one with a different animal. All I remember is happily drinking milk from my mug. At first glance, it was just a pool of white liquid. But as the milk level decreased, the cute, little, ceramic critter gradually appeared. I'd forgotten all about my childhood mug until the moment I saw the first one of these. The sentimental nature of my discovery caused me to buy it, of course. And I was pumped when I happened upon the other one a short time later. I just hope they stay intact longer than mine apparently did! By the way, Cora and Jane were as thrilled about theirs as I was about mine. =)

Next, I wanted to get Jane some cute Barbie dresses. I am consistently unimpressed and/or disgusted by the options available in Barbie aisles everywhere. The quality and prices are laughable. So, I turned to Etsy. And I came across these...

Some crafty lady busies herself making scores of these darling dresses. I was so impressed. I absolutely love everything about them! Except that I couldn't find one in my size!

One evening, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was wandering around TJ Maxx, when I spotted something marvelous. A tri-fold, canvas, candy shop masterpiece! Perfect! It was only $60. A steal of a deal, considering the sugar-inspired work of art it is. I had to get it. I knew I would kick myself many painful times if I passed this beauty up. Everyone knows I'm a sucker for sugar.

It looks sweet as can be in Jane's ice cream cone themed bedroom.
I almost didn't even go over to that side of the store. Just think of the lifetime of delight I would have missed out on!

The painter did such a perfect job illustrating my dreams.

So cute!

I love the details-- down to the scalloped shelves and yummy-looking chocolate covered strawberries.

It stands up like this, but Jane likes it flat against the wall. I guess it's less likely to tip over that way...

A few days after Christmas, I took Jane and Oliver with me to Pocatello for a long-overdue visit. Ryan had to work, and Cora doesn't have anyone left in Poky she wanted to visit, so she stayed home to spend time with her cousin, Malory.

We met some pretty priceless friends while living there a few years back. We've stayed in touch and we love getting to see them whenever circumstances allow.

Melanie, my closest Poky pal, has a daughter who is Jane's BFF. It works out great for visiting purposes. When we are there, we spend the bulk of our time hanging out at their place.

Jessie and Janey

This is Mel with Oliver and me. I don't know why my face looks so slippery.

It looks like I got some Crystal Gravy on my cheeks and chin. And my bangs could use a trim.

We stayed Wednesday-Saturday morning, which didn't turn out to be long enough. Jane spent the night at Jessie's all three nights, but due to lack of space, Oliver and I stayed in a hotel one night, then at my fun friend Suzy's house in Idaho Falls the other two nights. Suz and I have known each other since high school, where we sang in a quartet together. I was excited to get to stay at her family's beautiful home, where she tried her best to fatten me up. But really, she's wonderfully hospitable. In case anyone needs a place to stay in Idaho Falls. ;)

And that's it for now. I have a few more December gems for another post, but I fear this one is already too long.
I hope everyone had a fanciful Christmas, as I did.

Noviembre

2011-12-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

November is over. Here's what I remember of it.

Thursday, 11/3-- Oliver thought he'd hide his candy in a really sneaky spot...

...on the floor next to his designated kitchen stool, swaddled in blankies. I think he was surprised that I could see it.

Saturday, 11/5-- I mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm sure I didn't emphasize enough how giddy I was to see They Might Be Giants in concert. I had been looking forward to it since the last time they came to Boise, 2 years ago. That time they did a "family show", featuring their kid-friendly hits. As much as I cherish their child-geared tunes, I couldn't wait for them to come back and do an "adult show". Not that their other songs aren't safe for kiddies to listen to. It's just that they have such a vast collection of delightful music that it's hard to cover enough of it to satisfy me in one show. TMBG released a new album in July (Join Us) and I bought one the day it hit stores (from Borders, since I knew they were in the process of biting the dust). I listened to it repeatedly so I could be sing-along ready for the show. In my earlier post about this, I inadvertently left out the part where I explain how much I adore Join Us. It's their best album in years! I want to give one to everyone I know, but not many people I know seem to be interested. ='( I'm baffled that these wildly talented men are not more widely accepted! Even they admitted onstage that they just keep grasping at straws. If only there were more people in the world like me to love them the way they deserve to be loved. I think they're simply amazing. I could go on and on and on and on. And on. I'll convert someone yet!

Hmmmm... I didn't write anything down on my calendar from the 7th thru the 15th, but I'm sure there were plenty of mommy/housewife duties happening, with a sprinkling of leisurely stuff here and there.

Wednesday, 11/16-- Dawn, one of my old roommates, and I met at Red Robin for lunch. It was great catching up with her! She's always been so fun and easy to get along with, and I love her to pieces.

Thursday, 11-17-- I didn't get invited to a Breaking Dawn party. (No relation to my ex-roommate-- Who would ever want to hurt Dawn?) Anyway, I'd kind of lost interest in the whole Twilight thing. I figured I'd get around to seeing it eventually, but wasn't going to initiate plans to go opening night or anything. But when I realized there was a big party (with spinach artichoke dip!) leading up to the midnight premier and I wasn't invited, my dang heart broke a little. No, I didn't tell any of the party planners that I didn't care about seeing the movie right away. And they weren't random people who don't know me. I'd attended 2 of their previous Twilight parties. I don't enjoy being left out. I know-- poor Shan... I really wish I wasn't bothered by it, but I always have been. I still have this vision of me in high school. One night I was getting dropped off at home by two of my friends. (I refuse to use the term "girlfriends". Boys don't refer to platonic male friends as boyfriends, so why do girls? I just feel awkward saying "my girlfriends". If and when I do it, it's in jest.) Anyway, before I got out of the car, the two friends were confirming a sleepover for that night. Except they didn't invite me. My countenance drooped and I went inside. I stomped upstairs to my room, flung myself on my bed and wept bitterly. "Nobody likes me!", I wailed. I cried for a while, tears dampening my hair as I lay there, not caring how pathetic I sounded. I can still hear the scene playing in my mind. I found out later that the one girl's parents had arranged for her to sleep over at the other girl's house since they were out of town or something. But I'd gone ahead and assumed the worst. That they simply didn't like me.

It makes me think of how crazy minds are. What in my brain makes me instantly wilt with jealousy when situations arise? What is it about other people's brains which don't swell with uncontrolled emotion in similar situations? Why do I have to be so touchy? I've had people tell me to not worry about stuff so much. How can I train myself to NOT care about things that automatically make me feel so defeated and little? It's like I don't have a choice. The feelings are instantaneous. There is a stimulus, I process the information, then I feel things happening in my head, like blood rushing to and fro or something. My heart literally feels like it's been kicked in the face, and I feel awful. I don't know how to explain it. All I know is, it's not a conscious decision. I can't suppress the emotions. I could pretend I'm not bothered, but in reality I would be. What's the point in that?

Anyway, enough psychological mumbo- jumbo. Back to November. Something silly.

Friday, 11/18-- Cora and Jane decided to dress Oliver up in some of Jane's outfits.

He liked the way this dress caught the air as he spun around.

Feigning slumber in a cozy nightgown and headband.

What a beautiful boy. He looks just like Jane when he's wearing her clothes. I guess this is what Jane would look like with a butch.

It was funny activity. He bopped around for maybe half a minute in each wardrobe change, then he'd had enough and wanted his Superman pajamas back on. He's all about comfy and loves wearing jammies as much as possible!

Skip to Thanksgiving. We congregated at my parents' house for our turkey feast. My brother Gavin's family and my sister Erin's family were there, and Grandma Pinney, too. My other siblings were away with in-laws.
I made the obligatory lemon meringue pies for the second year in a row. They are a long-standing tradition in my stepdad's family. It would not, could not be Thanksgiving without them. At least, I don't want to find out what would happen if nobody brought any.

Yum, I want some more right now. I felt pretty special when Brad (stepdad) raved about the quality of the pie. He's pretty particular. Especially about an old family recipe.

Friday, 11/25-- Last year for Becky's birthday I took her to the Festival of Trees for her first time, then to Olive Garden (for her hundred millionth time). This year my family went with me to see the trees. No offense to them, but I wished it could have been Becky there with me. She loved Christmas stuff. I wanted her to be around so everyone who loves her could wish her a happy birthday and just be with her. I think of her and miss her every day.

And that's all I recall of November.

Quotable Kids

2011-11-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

Whenever my kids say something I find amusing, I quickly jot it down on paper so I get the wording right.

Last week Oliver was looking out the window and noted, "Mom, some trees in the backyard got naked!"

Jane was telling me about a friend she made at school. "We're exactly the same. We both like to scream for no reason, we both like to bounce, and we both don't like the mile run."

Oliver and I had just finished running errands one day, and he had been a particularly good boy. As we drove home I told him, "You were such a good sport!" He didn't take it as a compliment. "I'm not a spork!"

The other day as I followed Oliver into his room he asked, "Do you want to see how I can skip?" Before I had time to answer he added, "I can skip just like a super hero!"

I don't want to leave Cora out, so here's something from when she was 4. (I had to grab her baby book to help me remember.) Anyway, I guess she didn't like the smallish playground I drove to one day, 'cause she tartly remarked, "Baby parks are the stupidest, trashiest parks in the world."

Maybe these quotes are only funny to me. If so, then so be it. I'm just glad for any little thing that makes me giggle.

Here's a sweet one to end with...

When Cora was 2-1/2, I pointed to a world map on a bulletin board at church. I asked her what it was. She answered, "Heavenly Father's drawing".

How's that for a short blog post? I do realize most of my posts are way too stinking long!

Tidbits

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hi. Get set for a mishmash of Shan-related info.

Is it just me, or is Christmas in a bigger hurry this year than ever before? Don't read me wrong, I enjoy Christmastime. But it's not time yet. About a week ago I innocently walked into a store, only to hear "Feliz Navidad" playing. What the...? Our Halloween candy isn't even gone yet!
I'm careful to avoid Lite 108 on the rare occasion I'm listening to the radio. They started playing nonstop Christmas tunes just a little too soon. I sidestep the rows of holiday merchandise everywhere I turn. I avert my eyes; it just feels wrong to look at it yet. Thanksgiving will be over soon enough. Then, and only then, I'll catch the Christmas spirit.

Last week I took Jane to look for shoes. One of our stops was Ross Dress for Less. Winding our way through rows of random clothes, Jane commented, "For some reason Ross reminds me of D.I." =)

One of my goals this year was to expand my Halloween decoration collection, which was embarrassingly slim. I planned to hit the stores after Halloween to rustle up some good clearance. I didn't have much luck anywhere except Kohl's. They had some really cute stuff that was right up my alley.

Nothing says Halloween like a jovial jack-o-lantern. The one on the left looks like it says 'meats'. It's actually 'treats'. That little guy on the right has a flickering, battery-operated candle inside. So homey.

This is the cutest night light I've ever seen! I can hardly wait until next October to get it out and let it shine.

I like to sift through the clearance jewelry at Fred Meyer whenever I get the chance. I can usually find something cute and quite cheap!

I got these earrings for under $2. They reminded me of some my friend (Joanna) was wearing when I saw her last summer. I liked them a lot, so I was pumped to happen upon something similar at Freddy's.

I picked up some lunch bags at Target today.

At first glance, I thought, whoever designed the packaging should've just cut the sentimental crap and put "Packed with lunch", because that's what will actually fill the sacks. After I bothered to take the picture, it occurred to me that the bags' touted features sound like some kind of sick personal ad. =) Shame on you, Target marketing!

Speaking of Target, I've often wondered why they don't have any music playing over the speaker system. I typically feel out of place in a quiet store. I like to have something to quietly sing along to as I shop. I may have figured out why Target doesn't do it. You know when one of your favorite songs starts playing, one you haven't heard in a really long time, and you're happily singing along, anticipating the chorus, and then some jerk gets on the microphone to announce what specials are going on, RIGHT in the middle of the best part? I know what it's like. It induces rage. I think Target realizes this, and that is why they choose to have silence be their shoppers' companion.

Speaking of shopping, is it weird that my right shoulder is physically incapable of keeping a purse on it? My left shoulder holds one just fine, but I've tried to put one on the other, and it just slides right off. Is it the same for everyone? Maybe it's just psychological. I'm not used to it, it feels weird, and my brain tells my shoulder to reject the purse.

My sweet little Superman. He wears this so much, I have a hard time recognizing him in normal clothes.

On a recent weekend, cousin Malory slept over at our house. The girls got up in the morning and decided to dress up in goofy outfits. I have no idea where they get ideas like this. ;)

Mal, Cora and (not wanting to be left out of the picture) Oliver.

Jane is a drawing machine! I really hope she keeps it up. She loves it and always puts so much care into her work.

She's always coming up with cute ideas.

And she likes making living room forts...

The tough part is knowing when it's time to take it apart and put the couch back together.

Uh-oh...
My sprinkle shelf is bursting at the seams. Yes, all the bottles from the front of the cupboard to the back of the Lazy Suzan are sprinkles. I do believe my collection has grown. I think it's about time to reorganize. Or bake cookies and drape them with my sugar shapes.

On November 1, I had a hair appointment. I wanted to switch things up a little, so I went darker. I should have taken a picture beforehand, cause it's kind of hard to tell what's different without anything to compare it to. Just take my word for it; it's darker than it was. I think it had faded considerably before I took pictures, but oh well.

The bangs are back in town. For now. They're to mask my saggy, aging forehead. Okay, it's not too saggy, but there is some obvious wear and tear.
I'm enjoying the change. Even though I thought I hated myself with bangs. They're long enough to wear swept to the side if I so desire.

I couldn't decide which one picture most appropriately portrayed my bangs, so I included a few. It's funny how they look different in every shot. Tricky bangs.

Bangs in the living room.

Bangs in the car.

Bangs in the backyard.

Get the picture? I have dang bangs.

The gal who did my hair is one of those people who calls everyone "love". It's a little uncomfortable, but in a strange way it's comforting to have someone I don't know address me as though my name was Love. I wonder what it takes to become one of "those" people. How does it happen? At what point in a person's life does he or she begin using terms of endearment as substitutes for any old someone's given name? I wonder if there have been any studies on such people. Like the waitress or cashier who calls unfamiliar faces "babe", "darlin'" or "hon". I bet they're pretty happy and confident. It's funny to imagine myself or any of my friends or family doing that. Maybe I'll try it. But would people know I was just pretending to be that kind of person?

Okay, that's enough of my rambling for now.

Have a happy day, doll face.

My Life's Soundtrack

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

My ears, brain and heart want to thank They Might Be Giants for making them so happy.
I won't pretend to know much of the band's history. I'll let the semi-reliable Wikipedia do some explaining if anyone's interested. For anyone who likes fun, look no further. TMBG offers one off-the-wall treat after another. If you're anything like me, you'll be begging for more. If not, I guess I don't know what to tell ya.

TMBG have been together since the early '80s, but I don't think I ever heard of them until junior high. There was a kid in my photography class named Jon (conveniently enough, since the band is made of two Johns) who was obsessed with them. I was too focused on Beatlemania and other golden oldies to worry about introducing any "new" music to my small library of cassette tapes. Plus, this Jon guy stood his ground as a Beatle-hater. As a result, I didn't trust his taste in music.

The only TMBG songs I'd heard by the end of high school were "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and possibly "Birdhouse In Your Soul"- only because that Jon kid brought his CD to the stake Saturday Night Dances and made friends with the DJ.

Fast forward a few years... Becky, my friend and roommate, had a copy of Flood, one of TMBG's most successful albums. I borrowed it and listened to it repeatedly. I kinda sorta took over the CD, and eventually Becky let me keep it. =)

Fast forward a couple more years. I have no idea why, but I still only had the one TMBG CD, though I knew full well there were others. In 2001, I bought their freshly released Mink Car. I loved most of the songs on it.

Fast forward some more years. I obtained many of the albums I'd been missing out on for too stinking long. But I've made up for lost time. During the past thousand or so days, I have come to fully appreciate the music created by (in my reliable opinion) the 2nd greatest band ever.
I'm positively crazy over their music. I never get tired of it. There's just so much of it to go around.

I got to see them in concert 2 years ago this month, and again this month. Move over, Thanksgiving- November is TMBG month. On second thought, Turkey Day can stay. Because I'm very thankful that my ears can daily feast on the music of such a delightful band. Plus, I really like turkey dinners...

I can't go on without summing up the recent concert. It was everything I hoped for and more. I loved being there. I made sure to bring some special somebodies to enjoy the long-awaited event; Erin and Barry, Gavin and Maren, Mike and Megan, Ryan and me. I enjoyed the show enough for everyone there. I understand that it's not as fun to attend a concert that can't be sung along to, and that was about how it was for my siblings and their spouses. They just weren't as familiar with the music. Overall, I think they liked it. There was some mention of the amps being too loud, but I was too giddy to be bothered by it.
On a side note, I swear I made eye contact with John Linnell a few times while I was singing along to their merry music-making. We were quite close to the stage. He had to know I was loving the show, based on the flames of elation engulfing my face. Needless to say, I went to sleep that night wearing a smile (and jammies, of course).

Here's a pic Gavin took during the encore. I love watching them make music! I thought it was adorable how Linnell kept looking at the set list with a confused smirk on his face. Apparently John Flansburgh didn't write it down very legibly.
I love their songs, their voices, their humor, their creativity. They really are musical geniuses.

I've selected a couple of songs to share. I'm hoping the links work. If not, stay tuned. I'll try again. These are important links; two of my faves, although there are many, many more where these came from.

"Dinner Bell"-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8PWHOVYhI8

"You Probably Get That A Lot"-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWrcmKsYI8

Ok, for some reason I can't get the second link to work. I don't get it. I did the same exact thing with both, and the second one doesn't work. I would highly suggest going to YouTube itself, looking up the band, and searching the song. And just keep going on like that, clicking on song after wonderful song. Marsha, I'm talking to you. =)

I feel like posting a bunch of lyrics and links to songs (if only I could get them to work!), but I don't want to overwhelm anyone. These things take time. Plus, the words have much less potency without the music.

I came up with the idea this week of starting a home-based pyramid business where I host parties and get everyone enthused about They Might Be Giants. =) I would never be interested in selling kitchen supplies or jewelry, but I could see myself putting on a peppy presentation about my precious TMBG. =) Who wants to be the first host???? Ha.

Here's a little something John Linnell once said:

“

I have a personal, a real obsession, with melody and harmony. I can really never get enough of that kind of thing. I don't think too much about the cultural context of what we're doing. I think John [Flansburgh] is more on that end of it. He thinks more in terms of the larger picture, the larger meaning of what we're doing. I'm more into the technical end: the chords and the rhythms and the melodies.

”

This explains a lot, and his obsession is my obsession. I melt when I hear those melodies and harmonies. That guy has a real knack for sound and rhythm. Many of their songs are so complex. Many of them don't make sense. But that's what makes them unique. I love how I feel when I listen to their catchy tunes. Love, love, love. That's what I think about that. Yep, I'm obsessed.

...Anyone want to buy a CD at my first home party...?

October!

2011-11-08T00:35:00.000-08:00

October was a busy-fun month. I can scarcely believe it's over.

Here's the fairly thorough low-down...

10/2 - The first nephew I ever had turned 14! (Isaac, who is Erin & Barry's son.) He's growing up to be a fine young man.

10/7 - My Grandma Pinney's birthday. She's my mom's mother, and has been living with my parents for the past few years. We went over to celebrate with some Mexican food, cake and ice cream.

10/8 - I got to babysit two of my nieces (Ruby and Maisie) and a nephew (Fletcher) while their parents went to see Bill Cosby. Ruby is 7 months old and the cutest little thing ever.

10/11 - My mom took family pictures of us at the Boise Depot. That is always an experience. We only ended up with a few passable ones. I guess that's all we need, right? It's just tricky getting five people to keep their eyes open all at once.

10/14 - Ryan and I took his sister and her husband to my sister's Chicks n' Giggles (improv comedy) show downtown. My brother, Gavin, is currently participating in the group as well. Ryan's sister was shocked that my sister could be so zany on stage. She said she wondered how Megan and I could even be related. Hmmm... Guess she hasn't seen "that" side of me yet in the 11+ years I've known Ryan's family. Anyway, the show was a lot of fun. I love having hilarious siblings.

10/21 - Jackie, Bethany, Haley and Malory came over to our house to decorate cupcakes for the upcoming Halloween party at Shirley's. Cora and her friend also helped. I did a few, but mostly I was monitoring the frosting situation. The kids did a great job on these!

What a grand activity for a Friday afternoon!

10/22 - Shirley's Halloween party started at 5pm. We got there, ate taco soup, then played games, including a cupcake walk. After dark, most everyone slunk through Shirley's awesome spook alley. She'd decked out the garage with all kinds of creepy things, complete with sound effects. She did a great job, but the kids didn't act scared, so she felt like it was a waste of time and energy. It wasn't, though. She is always so good at creating neat stuff. I was very impressed with how it turned out.

Earlier that day, I planted a whole bunch of tulip, daffodil and crocus bulbs in our front yard. I placed them in the bare spots betwixt the remaining summer flowers. I really hope they come up in the spring. This was my first time working with bulbs, so I'm not sure how picky they are about soil conditions, and if they care who's handling them and what-not.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Ryan took pictures of Oliver helping me.

I worked for 2-1/2 hours. My arms hurt like the dickens for a few days after that. I hope "no pain, no gain" applies here.

10/25 - Ryan and I took the kids to The Farmstead (corn maze, etc.) for the first time. The last time I went to a corn maze was probably the fall of 1999, maybe even the year before that. Sad, I know. But traditions have to start somewhere, sometime, so I suppose all's not lost. I wish we would have gone before the weather turned cruelly cold, but we didn't.

The first thing the kids did was jump on this enormous inflatable pillow.

Two of our nephews and Ryan's sister came along with us. (Not pictured: Ryan's sister)

Cora mustering all of her height.

Janey on the hay ride.

Messy Royce, Oliver and Ethan. These boys have a lot of fun together.

We didn't take any pictures within the maze, but we finished it without any tears of frustration rolling down our faces. (Thanks to Curtis Stigers for the classic song lyric I just borrowed and slightly altered.)

Who doesn't enjoy a game of tetherball? Here are Cora and Jane giving it their all. Just before this, I played a round with Cora and won. I felt so alive.

Cora sitting on the side of the cornbox. It's like a sandbox, only with dry corn. I think they should have a creamed cornbox next year. That way, if you get some in your mouth, free dinner!

Aboard the ever-popular cow train.

Jane, Ryan and Oliver slowly sliding south.

The only evidence that I was there is this pic of the back of my wavy head.

10/26 - I went on a horsey ride with Maria in the Boise foothills. (We rode separate horses.) It was so fun, even though I was a little nervous. Maria wanted to make sure I got a real ride, so she got us cantering a few times. That's fast, according to me. I may have wet my pants a bit, and I thought for a brief moment that my neck might snap, but other than that, it was exciting! Maria's horse was kind of hard to keep up with, so I urged "my" horse to trot at times. That made for a lot of bouncing, which showed no mercy to my underside. All I could focus on was the sound of myself rhythmically slapping against the saddle at full force. That sound, mixed with all the other bouncing going on, made me laugh. Then the thought of someone laughing while horseback riding made me laugh even more. Everything seems funnier with Maria. We wanted Renee to come, but she couldn't that day. There will come a time. Oh yes...

10/28 - Oliver's 4th Birthday! He'd been antsy with anticipation ever since Cora and Jane's August birthdays. The week before, when everyone was coming over for cupcake decorating, Oliver asked me, "Is it going to be my birthday when everyone gets here?"
I said, "No, your birthday is comin' up next week."
Oliver: "I thought it was comin' up right now."
Me: "It's next week."
Oliver: "It is next week!"
Somehow he managed to wait 6 more days until his big day.
We planned to take him and the girls to Pojo's after school, then come back home for cake, ice cream and presents. It worked out nicely.

I only took two pictures at Pojo's. I've come to realize that I have WAY too many pictures of the kids. I think the digital world has gotten a little out of control, at least for me. I have so many oodles of pictures that they've almost lost their meaning. Sifting through them all is kind of mind-boggling. It makes me appreciate the much more manageable number of pictures my mom took of our childhood. A few here and there. Enough to prove that we were alive and well, but not overkill. Like me, now. I got to thinking if I took 100 pictures every month, that's a dozen hundred every year! I can't wait to pull out the eleventy thousand photo albums when my kids' dates come to the house. From here on out, I'm going to be more choosy about my picture taking sprees.

On that note, here's my birthday boy.

He likes to wear clip-on ties with his superhero outfits. =) He used to put one on no matter what shirt he was wearing.

I took closeups of the cake I made, so I felt obligated to post one here.

Oliver and his slack-jawed sisters.

I guess in some ways I like having a huge assortment of pictures.

Present time! I found these cute gift bags and thought they seemed appropriate for a Halloween-time birthday.

He got some action figures and stuff. He seemed pleased.

The next day he said the sweetest thing. "Mom, I'm happy that you letted me have a birthday." He paused and asked, "Am I still 4?"

I love my Oliver.

10/29 - We had our ward Halloween party. They had people bring soup or chili for dinner, then there were a few carnival-type games going. The costume parade was fun to see.

After the party, I went over to Maria's house to watch "Teen Witch" with her and Renee. I finally brought Maria her housewarming gift. A hand towel for the guest bathroom.

She and I came up with this idea over the summer when I was helping her paint their guest bathroom. It really doesn't need much explanation.

I found some felt, iron-on letters at the store. I was thinking of actually getting it embroidered somewhere, but I'd hate for them to steal my idea. ;) What do you think, should I try and market these? Who knows, it's probably been done.

10/31 - Halloween 2011

I got one of these for each of the girls at the beginning of the month so they could wear them a few times. There weren't any available in my size, dang it. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what my bones look like.

Here's what we scraped up for costumes...

A purple and blue fairy, Supergirl, Thor and... can you tell what I am?

I saw this idea on the cover of a magazine. I was hoping Cora or Jane would go for it, but no such luck. For a while I couldn't decide what I wanted to be. When I realized I would have a valid excuse to wear my black and white checkered bloomers in public, I knew I was going to be the paper doll!

It was a fun little project. I traced a blouse and skirt of mine onto poster board, cut it out, spray-painted it, then added my own personal touches.

I got some elastic and hot-glued a length of it to the back of each piece so I could basically step into it and pull it up. I'm happy to report I didn't have any wardrobe malfunctions the entire night.

I got lazy with Jane and Oliver, but they made their own choices. I prefer putting together costumes, but sometimes it's just easier to buy the dang outfit and call it good.

Pretty purple lashes I got for her.

I liked how she looked.

Mike and Megan! They (with 4-year-old Fletcher) came candy collecting with us, along with Gavin's family and my mom. Ryan unexpectedly got the night off work. The other pharmacist offered to trade shifts with him so he could be with us. This explains his reason for not having a costume. At least, it's a good excuse. ;)

Gavin, Maisie and Maren. Baby Ruby was tucked snugly in her stroller. She was the red Angry Bird. Maren made all the hats and Maisie's entire bird costume. Wow! I don't think she even had a pattern.

Oliver and Fletcher. My boy is indeed my boy. After every house, he'd ask excitedly, "Are we still going (to the next house)?" Lucky for him, trick-or-treating is in my blood. Even at my ripe age I find it difficult to pass by a group of houses with porch lights on during candy-giving hours. The kids want to go home before I do. I think I may have a problem. A candy problem.

One other thing I have to add is: I can't believe all the moms I heard of who didn't let the kids keep any of their candy come Nov. 1! What is the point of going trick-or-treating if you don't let the kids have any of it? Yeah, the moms offer money as a trade, but what the heck?? It's called wrecking Halloween.

The kids nearly filled their pumpkins to the top.

Cousin Malory came with us too.

Halloween is fun. I love all the costumes and candy and creepy things. I hope everyone had a bootiful October!

Pictures of the Kitchen

2011-10-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

My kitchen is as done as it's going to be for the time being. Sometime, maybe sooner than later, I'd like to paint (or have my step-dad paint) the cabinets white. I don't really like the current color, and I think it would look so pretty to have white cabinets. No color went well with this shade of wood. I was trying to pick a color that would coordinate with the cabinets, but after a fair amount of hand-wringing, I gave up and just chose a color I liked.

I painted the kitchen blue. Sea Exposure blue. I think it looks nice and fresh with the green living room. The combination makes me happy. I've gotten many compliments on the colors (even from men!) so I know it's not just me being crazy thinking it looks decent.

I should note that I painted many months ago, and am just now getting "done" decorating. I kinda got burned out for a while there.

I had to throw in some artichokes somewhere in the decor (on this wall and the wall on the other side of the sliding door). I just wish they were real- and in my mouth!

I found this table runner on clearance at TJ Maxx. It may not have been right for anyone else's kitchen, but it was perfect for mine! Just the right shades of green and blue.

I hunted everywhere for curtains, and I didn't find any that totally met my expectations, but I did like these inexpensive panels from Target. I like the scribbles. They look better when they're open; I just closed them here to show the design.

I love the blue next to the white trim.

I love this print. The little trees and old-timey folk sitting around. Not sure what they call it... I spray painted the frame and cut scrapbook paper to fit each space. I think I might need to start trying something other than the "scrapbook paper as art" thing. This will have to do until I start being more crafty.

Still looking for a cute chair to put at the desk. I need to hit some more thrift stores and find something to spray paint.

I finally got around to hanging the IKEA picture shelves a couple of weeks ago. Yay! They've only been sitting unloved in the laundry room since spring.

The totally cute tiered cabinet was Becky's... I think of her whenever I look at it.

I got the black&white flower prints at IKEA as well. The plain white picture is from Hobby Lobby. (Just trying to give credit where credit is due.) I spray painted all the frames except for the one on the cabinet. They were all old and ugly colors. I love what a little paint can do!

I am really excited about houndstooth lately; even before I started seeing it everywhere. (You should see the adorable shoes I got for $10 at Burlington Coat Factory!)

I got these dishes on clearance at Marshalls; $5 for the set of 4. I thought they were so cute. And I couldn't believe they were black, white and green. Success!

I'm liking how the kitchen is looking. Since I'm in there so much, it's nice to like what I'm seeing. It motivates me to keep things nice and tidy. At least for now... ;)

A better friend

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

I find it hard to believe it's been over two months since Becky's passing. So many things remind me of her. I know she'd love the chillier weather we've been having this week. Even so, she'd probably keep her A/C running. She'd be busy rooting for BSU football. Nearly everywhere I go in town, I've been there with her. I miss the simple things, like wandering around Target with her, looking at everything. I was there tonight with the kids, and I thought of Becky as I consumed water from the drinking fountain. She was always grossed out by drinking fountains. I think she would have paid $10 for a bottle of water before she'd use a drinking fountain. Funny girl.

I've been thinking about the great, attentive friends I have, who offered condolences and support when they heard about Becky. I got phone calls from concerned friends and family. Others stopped by with homemade treats, flowers, and heartfelt cards. When Maria heard the news, she sent me a text asking if she could come by. She took time out of her busy day to bring me a Blizzard and talk with me for a while.

I never thought I was capable of offering comfort to a grieving friend. I've never felt confident in what I could say. I thought they didn't want me "bothering" them with my clumsy attempt at caring. I learned that every little thing someone did for me was much appreciated. Just knowing how many people reached out to me, in their own way, meant a lot. I took note of those things, and they all made me want to be a much better friend. It's true that actions speak louder than words. Any kind gesture is just as important as another. Whether it was a sympathetic phone call, a card, flowers, or a visit, they all made an impression on me.

I didn't take pictures of the cookies, Blizzard or cards, but I did manage to get a picture of these beautiful flowers. This arrangement was from the Jensens. I was given one other flower offering, a little rose plant, from the scout leaders I work with.

I'm so thankful for great friends. Ones who know just what to do to lift me up. A couple of days after I wrote that whiny blog post, I got a text from Maria. It said: "Renee and I are coming to get you tonight between 8 & 9, and you can't stop us!" I responded that I might kick and scream a little, just for fun. I was excited for them to come, but I also knew they'd make me explain what the heck was wrong with me.

The time came, and they showed up at my door like this...

I loved it!

This was a fun thing Renee and I did long ago when we were but 18, except we added more details - like fancy hair and huge lips, and we colored in the features for emphasis. Renee and I actually drove around town like this once or twice. I was at the wheel, so I think I took mine off while the car was in motion. When we stopped at a red light, Renee turned to face the lane of traffic next to us, in all her brown-bagged glory. She stared motionlessly until some guy in a truck looked over, did a double-take, smiled and shook his head in disbelief.
Those were the days!

*Back to Sept. 2011...*
We went to the new Aspen Leaf to load up on frozen yogurt, then decided to walk around the block as we ate. We had scarcely left the parking lot when Maria asked, "Soooo.... what's up?" Ha, I knew it. We walked and talked for a while. I felt silly that I'd whined so much on my blog. But I thought to myself that maybe I should do it more often if it makes my friends come kidnap me.

What they did was so thoughtful. I just hope I can be the kind of friend to them (and others) as they are to me. If it were me in their shoes that week, I probably would have talked myself out of it, thinking, oh, she's probably busy tonight... we can do something sometime soon. I'll just have to plan a time. But then the time would pass and I would feel like it was too late. So it would go undone. Just like so many times I've failed friends before. I don't wanna do that anymore. I want to be the kind of friend someone wants to have around. Who isn't just there when it's fun or convenient. But always.

September Sampler

2011-10-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

September was a busy month. I can't believe it went so fast. Sorry, no pictures this post. I'm getting lazy in my old age. Also, I'm not bothering to verify exact dates that events happened for this post. I figure that mentioning approximately when something occurred is specific enough.

Here's some of September, in random order.

-The girls' other hamster, Cuddles, passed away. =( Less than 4 months after Missy did. It wasn't as hard letting this one go because she really seemed ill. I think it will be a while before the girls start wanting another pet.

-The last Tuesday of the month, our ward had a Relief Society meeting. My suspicions were correct- it was a visiting teaching conference in disguise. That's okay. It turned out to be a really good evening. I had been asked to sing "As Sisters in Zion" with another lady as part of the program. I was so nervous to sing in front of everyone. I was shaking quite a bit when I stood up, so I had some vibrato that usually isn't there. Ugh. I was trying to calm down, but it didn't work. The rest of the sisters joined in (as directed) for the last verse. When I heard everyone singing so beautifully, I lost it. I couldn't keep from crying, which meant I could no longer sing. What a sap. But I really felt the warmth of the spirit. Music touches me in a way mere words can't. And I've always been a fan of Relief Society. No matter what's going on in my life, I love R.S.

-Cora started playing viola in her school's orchestra. I think it frustrates her to not be automatically good at it. She likes to excel at everything she does, and she feels like she isn't doing well enough at this. I know she'll do well if she keeps at it!

-The middle weekend of the month, we went to Lagoon with most of Ryan's family. I'm happy to report I didn't take a single picture. They never turn out very well there, and I didn't want to worry about toting a camera around. We had the best time with the kids this trip. Oliver was SO EXCITED about the rides. Last year, he was still a little "I-don't-know-what-to-think-of-this", but he's reached the age where he can really enjoy it. The moment we'd step off of any ride, he'd clasp his hands in front of him, pretty-please style, and scream, "Can we go again?" He loved all the rides, but I think his fave was the new roller coaster near the kids' section. It was a very fun day for everyone. It was supposed to rain while we were in the park, but it didn't. It did, however, decide to literally dump upon us the night before as we slept in tents at the Lagoon campground. Only the edges of the tent got wet, and we were all up on air mattresses. It was a relatively warm night, so it wasn't too bad. I did have a hard time staying asleep because it was really loud rain, and according to my calculations it continued the entire night. But it was worth it.

-We have a "new" vehicle. Sorry to anyone who wanted to say a personal goodbye to our periwinkle minivan. It's gone. Long gone... One mid-morning I went to test drive an '05 Chrysler Pacifica at Peterson Stampede. It was a really good deal I'd discovered online. I'd been doing some studying up on possible vehicle choices, and had it narrowed down to two faves. One was the Pacifica. And this one was a pretty blue/green. Well, I drove it, liked it lots, called Ryan, then I went ahead and bought it. We'd been saving up and had enough to pay cash for it. We have too much interest as it is with student loans and mortgage, we certainly didn't want more. Don't think it was a really expensive car, because it wasn't. I really like it, and now I don't dread the thought of driving around town. The van was really, really noisy.

-My mom wanted to take pictures of our kids. We set up a time and met her at Kathryn Albertson Park the last Monday of the month. While we were there, we happened upon six deer! They were all hanging out near the bathroom I was trying to take Oliver to. A couple of them darted right past us! We kept watching and waiting for them to disperse so Oliver could go potty. I didn't want to invade their territory. One never knows what wildlife will do. I finally just had Ollie pee behind some tall grasses. Anyway, it was a rare treat seeing deer in a park, and especially so many of them. The kids were fascinated.

I guess September's officially a wrap.

I'm trying to get all caught up on my blog so I can start on a project I keep feeling like I should try. And not just should, but something I've really been wanting to do for a long time, and I think I can do it, but at the same time I've been putting it off because I haven't been calm enough or open-minded enough to give it a good shot. Anyway, if I ever kick myself into submission, I'll let my blog know about it.

Happy October!

Jane Got Baptized On My Birthday.

2011-10-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Jane's baptism day happened to be on September 3rd, my birthday.

That morning I went with my mom and Megan to get my first pedicure. It was my mom's first time as well. I think Megan was only slightly embarrassed by our inexperience. The part where the gal used the pumice stone on the bottoms of my feet tickled like crazy! I could hardly stand it. I tried to hold still and keep a straight face, but I fooled no one. =) I did enjoy the rest of the procedure. Most of it was relaxing and nice. I picked a sparkly blue polish. It turned out really pretty.

My feet that evening.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Before long, it was time for Jane to be at the church for her baptism. She was excited, and we were excited for her. Lots of our family came to support Jane, taking up most of one side of the chapel.

Janey and Dad

Mom and Jane

When Jane came out of the water she blurted, "That was weird!" I think she must have been referring to the feeling of wearing a soaking wet jumpsuit.

I don't remember much about the confirmation because, right in the middle of it, a group of people went into the kitchen (which was right next to the room we were in) and started talking loudly, checking the fridge, etc. Oh well. I'm sure Jane heard what her dad was saying.

Afterward, most of our family went back to our house to wait for the Flying Pie pizzas that Megan and I went to pick up. It was soooo yummy.

Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Everyone sang to me.

Dang back lighting.

Me trying to decide which wish to make.

Either I thought of the perfect wish, or my arm is engulfed in flames.

That was a lot of work and a lot of smoke.

Loved ones engrossed in dessert.

Isaac, Ethan and Jane hanging out upstairs.

Jackie (Ryan's sister) with her little daughter, Tomi.

The birthday girl.

It was an all around great day!

Beautiful Balloons

2011-09-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Bright and early Friday, September 2nd, we went to Ann Morrison Park to see the mass hot air balloon launch. Actually, we drove to the rim overlooking the park. I figured the experience would be more visually stunning from there. I was determined this year to finally have our family make it to this event. Jane was dragging her feet about going because she was so sleepy. I should have taken a picture of her face when we got out of the car and she first saw the balloons taking off. I knew she'd be glad she got up early to come. =)

When we arrived just before 7:30, there were only a few airborne balloons. The rest were still assembled in the park.

I played with the picture editing on this one.

The sun's position was making it tricky to look at the balloons, let alone get any pictures. Until there was a balloon eclipse.

And another one.

I think I was trying to coax Jane to stand with us for a picture.

Ignore my hair, admire the balloons.

Ryan had just been told he couldn't have a balloon ride. ;)

Cora enjoying some cocoa.

Oliver liked the "Captain America" balloon.

I was on cloud nine seeing all the balloons! It was so worth getting up (much) earlier than normal to be there.

This was my favorite balloon.

We stayed until it was time to take the girls to school. It was a lovely morning activity, in spite of the bad hair and grumpy faces. =) Can't wait until next year! But I guess I'll have to...

I Have a 10-Year-Old.

2011-09-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Cora-babe's 10th birthday was August 19th. She invited two friends and her cousin Malory to her party, and Jane got to bring the neighbor girl since Cora took a friend to Jane's party two weeks earlier.

I'd planned on taking the group of girls to play mini golf while Ryan stayed home with a napping Oliver, but I didn't get everything set up on time, so I ended up sending Ryan with the party while I stayed home to finish preparing the food and stuff. Now I can't remember if Oliver ended up napping that afternoon or not.

They had a fun time while I was home preparing for their return.

It looks so quiet and tidy.

Cora decided on Subway sandwiches for the meal. (I really, really wish my brother wouldn't have had to close his Gandolfo's Deli. Really.) Subway's not bad, unless you've had Gandolfo's to compare it with... Anyway, I picked up a bunch of the $5 footlongs, cut them into smaller sections, and served them on a platter. Then I assembled a fruit tray, poured some chips into a bowl, and my work was done.

All the hungry kids. Oliver, Jane, Cora, Emma, Malory, Kara, and Keisha in back(making a really weird face) .

We were waiting around for my parents and Ryan's parents to arrive before we ate, but I finally decided to just let the poor kids go ahead and eat.

Cora wanted donuts instead of birthday cake, so I got some and stacked them up to resemble a cake. I lucked out and Walmart had cute pink, white, and brown sprinkled donuts that day. I was pretty happy about that.

Cora doesn't like it when everyone is looking at her.

Opening presents.

It was a fun party, but it was over too soon. All Cora's guests had already had other plans for the evening , so they couldn't stay. We just hung out as a family for the rest of the day. I think we watched a movie, but I can't remember which one. Ahhh, fuzzy memories...

I feel very lucky to have such a fun, happy, smart, responsible daughter like Cora.

Super Ollie!

2011-09-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oliver has a newish fixation with superheroes. Lately he has been wearing a clip-on "superhero tie" every day, no matter what shirt he has on. I think he does it because Clark Kent wears a suit and tie.

When he runs, he looks down to see if the tie is properly flapping in the wind. I got him some Superman pajamas (that he wants to wear night and day) and he still clips a tie on them.

Here's a random pic of my fun little buddy.

And another...Hiding in the hamper. I love seeing those baby blue eyes every single day of my life.

Maisie and Fletch Turn Four!

2011-09-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

August was just one party after another. Saturday the 6th was my niece and nephew's turn. Their birthdays are about a week apart, so every year they have a joint celebration. This time it was a zoo party, followed by a picnic in the park.

The bear was finally out. He looks really comfy.

Jane sure looks happy to be alive.

Some of us went for a spin on the carousel.

Maisie looked so thrilled to be there!

Isaac and Fletcher

I didn't take too many pics inside the zoo since it was my third time there in as many months.

Everyone involved in the party met at the adjoining park for a sandwich lunch. Yum... I think I'm going to go make myself a sandwich as soon as I finish this post. I'm hungry.

Fletch in the hat Maisie's mom (Maren) crafted. So stinking cute! Maren has incredible skills.

And matching lion "doll". Fletch looked so sweet.

Pinata time!

They had a rope slung over a tree branch so the pinata could be raised and lowered, making it extra tough to swing at it. It was hard enough trying to get a picture of it- let alone trying to hit it. It kept getting lifted up just as I'd press the button on the camera.

Oliver looked optimistic.

Finally someone shattered the monkey.

Meg disemboweling it.

Maren's mediocre attempt at decorating a cake... =) I think that gal is worth millions of dollars.

I think poor Maisie was sleepy that day. She doesn't typically look so blank.

It was a fun little party. Now Fletch and Maisie are big 4-year-olds. Yay!

Jane Turned Eight!

2011-09-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's true- our little Jane is no longer seven. Her birthday was August 4th. She'd been planning the details of her big day for many weeks. She wanted to have Mexican food for dinner (from Los Beto's), then go bowling, then have monkey bread instead of cake. We invited a few friends and cousins over to our house to celebrate. We ate first, then we took the group bowling. I planned accordingly and we got there early enough to qualify for half price Thursday. After that, we came back home for Jane's requested monkey bread and ice cream. Dessert was a hit! Then it was time for presents before everyone had to go home. It was insane how quickly 4 hours went!

I actually put up a few decorations.

Jane opened a couple of presents in the morning to get her through the day.

She got the Build-a-Bear pink poncho she'd been wanting.

My mom, Cora, and Cora's friend, Keisha.

Cousin Ethan and Oliver.

Ryan, his rump, and Oliver.

Emma (our neighbor) and the birthday girl.

Friend Maya with Janey

He looked so cute in bowling shoes.

Cora's eyes match the ball.

There's no way that wish isn't going to come true.

I think someone's trying to sneak a smackerel of monkey bread.

The dress Cora picked out for Jane.

Jane's cousins and friends and their birthday offerings.

The party was a success. Somehow we made it happen despite the fact that it was one of the hardest weeks of my life.

A Rodeo and the Boise Music Festival

2011-09-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 23rd was a busy, fun-filled day. Ryan, the kids and I started off by attending the birthday party of Maria's 2-year-old girl, Kenley. Maria is one of my favorite friends, in case anyone wasn't aware. They decided to have the party at the Snake River Stampede's matinee. This was our first rodeo experience . Before the show began, we had yummy cupcakes out on the lawn of the Idaho Center.

Kenley with her daddy, Mike. What a darling little cowgirl! Not sure why Mike didn't wear his Wranglers...

Maria trying to get Kenley to blow out the candles.

She didn't like the flames so close to her face! =)

Half of the cupcakes had tiny plastic horses standing on them.

Soon it was time to find our seats inside the arena.

This was one of the opening numbers. It's a bunch of horses draped with different colored lights doing a "dance". It was really quite impressive. I should specify that there were people on the horses directing their every move.

They were trotting at the speed of light. (186,000 miles/second.)

Sadly, I didn't get any good pictures of the rodeo. But it was pretty fun. I think my favorite parts were the glowing horses at the beginning, and the fact that there was a cowboy named Turtle on the program. I wasn't sure if that was his given name or a nickname, but all the other names on the program seemed normal. I can't think of anybody, popular or not, who could pull off a name like 'Turtle'. =)

After the party we took the kids home, ate a late lunch, and Oliver took a nap.

It wasn't long before it was time for me to head to Maria's house. She, Renee and I had a date with the Boise Music Festival. We'd been looking forward to seeing MC Hammer and Sugar Ray since we first heard they were coming. There's nothing like a free concert- especially one that's worth seeing. MC Hammer was Maria's first concert (back when he was "too legit to quit"), so it was kind of a sentimental occasion for her to get to see him again.

We got to the park before the show began. Luckily for us, they were late starting. As we waited for it to begin, we noticed that it was SO HOT. And SO CROWDED. AND SO MOIST.

I didn't get any recognizable pictures of Sugar Ray. We weren't close enough to the stage. I always liked their three songs... I used to sing "Fly" to Oliver when he was a baby.

After Sugar Ray's set, we moved up a bit closer for Hammer Time. It wasn't easy to do, but we did it. There he is wearing a white suit. We couldn't believe he forgot his Hammer Pants! We were totally disappointed.

He strutted down through the center of the crowd, which was roped off.

This guy had some serious nipples.

Rustler butt. Man, oh maaaaan... (And some gal's bare arm and back.)

We had a really fun time at the concert, despite the warm swarms of sweaty people. When it was over, we made our way through the wad of concertgoers, exited the park and drove to Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine for some grub. None of us had ever been there, but we'd heard it was good. It was indeed enjoyable. I liked the fun decor, the attractive staff and the tasty food. I had the "special" burger, which was topped with salsa, french fries, cheese, etc. It was so good. They have the best fries I can ever recollect having. On our way back to Maria's, we stopped to get little milkshakes at Fanci Freez's drive-thru. Then we sat in the car at Maria's for a long time, talking and chuckling.

I don't know what I'd do without them.

Thanks

2011-09-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for being so whiny. I'd kind of forgotten about applying the whole "endure it well" thing to my life. I have a ton of stuff to be thankful for. I have supportive people all around me. I've made it through countless challenges. I can keep doing that. I shouldn't let myself get so worked up about things. I appreciate the words of encouragement and empathy some of my "readers" offered. Sometimes I feel alone, but I know I'm really not. We're all in this together...

Losing Streak

2011-09-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ya know what? My last five blog posts have received zero comments each.
Ya know what else? I honestly don't care. Yes, you read that right. I don't care. But I don't know why I don't care. That's not normal for me.

I've been experiencing a rough spot, to say the very least, in my little life. Because of that rough spot, I'm incredibly stressed and overwhelmed about things I don't feel capable of doing.
Things like raising my children. Making sure they are fed, their homework and/or practicing is done, and that they're happy.
Like maintaining some semblance of household organization.
Like having responsibilities.
It's all I can do to just get the bare minimum done. I'm burned out. I feel like I'm failing every section on a big, important test. Oh, wait. That's because I am.

I have things bringing me down, and I can't seem to focus on anything else. I float along, faking my way through each day. It's scary. I don't like it. But I don't know what to do about it. My poor, fragile feelings have taken a major blow during the past few weeks. It's nothing that can be solved, either. I just have to learn to not care about the things that inevitably crush me. But that's hard for me to do. I do care. I try to carry on, but it's not easy. I don't know what to do.

11th Anniversary.

2011-09-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I had our 11th anniversary on July 22nd.

He brought me some gorgeous flowers.

Ryan arranged for the kids to go to his parents' house for the night. He took me to the Shakespeare Festival. I had never been there before, so I was excited. "Cabaret" was playing that night. It was saucy and fun! We liked it. I liked the atmosphere of the theater there. Lots of cool people there just relaxing, chowing on whatever food they brought, and enjoying the entertainment.

It was a really nice time.

Dirty Camping.

2011-09-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

The weekend after the 4th of July, we went camping with Ryan's family and some of their friends (and their dogs).

Oliver trying out one of the 4-wheelers.

Ryan's dad trying out one of the 4-wheelers. (He must've pushed Oliver off.)

Oliver and Grandpa are good buddies.

Ryan reading while wearing swim trunks.

Love my sweet boy.

Not too shabby...

Now for the "dirty" pictures.

The dirtiest boy I've ever seen.

This campground had more thick dirt than any other place I've ever stayed at. I think that was Oliver's favorite part. He had a little truck he kept driving through the mess.

I love how he didn't hesitate to lie down in it.

He's probably trying to figure out a way to get all that dirt home with him so he can keep playing in it.

Jane fell off the back of a 4-wheeler in motion. Luckily it wasn't going very fast. She came away with some scrapes on her back and arm, but overall she was fine. After all the excitement, she spent a while relaxing and napping on a tarp with her quilt.

This must've been before he officially met the dirt.

Cora preparing to consume a tasty nectarine.

Looks like it was delicious and funny!

It was a fun little camping trip. The end.

Giraffes! Oh, and the kids...

2011-09-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

On July 7, the kids and I went to the Boise Art Museum and the zoo with my mom and Fletcher.
The museum had a really neat shoe exhibit. There were shoes of all kinds, made of all kinds of fancy materials, by all kinds of artists. Opportunities for breakage encircled us. We found out very quickly that taking two 3-year-olds to an art exhibit where most of the pieces were so alluring and easy to reach out and touch was not such a good idea. I couldn't handle the stress of worrying that one of them might grab something and ruin it, so I ended up taking the boys outside while my mom, Cora and Jane finished looking at everything.

Fletch and Ollie lounged on the grass as we waited.

Soon, the girls and my mom came out of the museum to meet us.

We went to the zoo...

The kids always like watching the prairie dogs. I don't know what happened to the pictures of them, but I'm 99% sure these are meerkats.

Cute little fella.

I've always thought meerkats were cute.

I can never get a good picture of the lions.

Oliver's looking disoriented at the wheel.

The obligatory egg photo op.

"Cheep! Cheep!"

I wouldn't ordinarily rent a stroller, but Oliver was missing his nap to attend the zoo, so I thought it would be in everyone's best interest to just let the sleepy boy ride!

Pretty birds...

He looked at me! I wonder if I look as awesome to him as he looks to me. ;) In case anyone forgot, giraffes are my fave.

Some guy about to get scolded by a zoo worker for feeding the giraffe.

Now, if only the dang fence would get out of the way so I could get some better pictures.

I didn't take as many pictures of the animals this time. Just go to the zoo if you want to see them.

It was a nice afternoon. Next time I need to remember to get a picture of my mom. She really was there, I promise...

A Fun-Filled 4th.

2011-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

I know the 4th of July was over 2 months ago. But it was such a fantastic 4th, I can't not mention it.
For the first time in over 20 years I got to spend the holiday with all three of my biological siblings! It was kind of a last-minute thing, too. Our usual 4th plans with Ryan's family were disrupted, so we were left wondering what to do. So I invited Gavin and his family and Erin and her family over for dinner at our house, with the plan of driving down to the park for the fireworks afterward. I thought Megan and her gang were still going to be out of town, but I learned late that afternoon that they'd be back after all. Woo-hoo! We had hotdogs, Gavin's homemade deli-style potato salad, and I forget what else. We hung out for a while until it was time to go secure a spot under the 4th of July sky.

We got to the park in time to get super seats. We played a few Madlibs while we waited for dusk. I was flattered when a gal walked by us, telling her pal that we were smart to have brought Madlibs to pass the time. (It was my idea.) We snacked on cheese curds and my home-baked snickerdoodles. If I would have read the package beforehand, I would have let the cheese get a little warm so it would have been squeaky. Oh well, it still tasted good.

Cora minding her own business.

Gavin and Maisie.

I was trying to get a picture of Gav wearing his straw hat, but Maisie kept grabbing it off. I gave up trying.

Cora, Jane, Ethan and Isaac.

Most of the gang. Gavin's wife and their little baby girl opted to not attend the fireworks portion of the evening. And Erin's husband had to go to work. We missed them.

Had to borrow these two shots (above and below) from Mike's Facebook collection. Somehow I didn't have any with Megan in them. Or me. Either way, my face was a no-show that night. That's okay, I like just being in the background.

Awww, Meg and Fletch.

The fireworks were astounding. I didn't take pictures of them because they never turn out. For that reason I opted to just lie back and enjoy the show.

It was a fun-filled 4th, a momentous occasion for the 4 McCaleb kids.

Nose-Picking and Planting Flowers.

2011-09-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

One afternoon at the end of June, the kids got their hands on the camera while I was driving.

Cousin Malory took this picture of Cora. She's a cutie, in my humble opinion.

Cora took a couple of Jane and Oliver goofing around. This is the sort of thing that regularly goes on behind me as I'm hurtling down the freeway.

Jane got caught with her finger up her nose. Busted! Like she cares. I'm constantly having to remind her not to pick her nose when we're out and about.

At the beginning of the summer, I decided I needed to plant some pretty flowers in the bare soil beneath this tree. It was so empty and sad-looking.

Here's what it looked like before.

And after! I got an assortment of six-packs and planted them. It was fun and rewarding (and my first time). They didn't look like this at first, though. Most of the plants started with only a couple of blossoms each, but after I put them in the ground and the summer progressed, they flourished beautifully. My own little piece of heaven...

Where the Heck is Puyallup?

2011-08-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Summer went too darn fast. I didn't get around to blogging about any of our seasonal activities prior to the end of last month, at which time my brain was reduced to mush due to Becky's passing...

Let's revisit a happier time, back in June. A couple of days after school let out for the summer, the kids and I hitched rides with Ryan's mom (Shirley) and sister (Bethany) and made our way to Puyallup, Washington. There were two vehicles necessary to hold all of us. Bethany's two little boys came, along with Shirley's sister, and we couldn't forget cousin Malory (who is Cora's age).

The point of this trip was to visit Ryan's other sister (Jackie) and her family. They have 2 kids, Ethan and Tomi. Poor Ryan had to work most of the days we planned on being gone, so he couldn't join us.

The trip lasted about 7 days. That was a long time for 5 adults and 8 kids to be under one roof, but we still managed to have some fun.

One day we went to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. It was great!

Look at all the groovy sea creatures. They've always been fascinating to me.

A starfish checking out its own reflection.

Sea horses are so cool.

The little boys and Jane shark-watching.

So scary!

I wonder what was going through Oliver's mind.

The aquarium part was neato. Then we wandered around the zoo.

The penguins were darling as usual.

I know peacocks have a reputation for being nonchalant, but I just couldn't help but worry that it could potentially decide to go berserk as I tried to get the perfect picture.

That's Cora to the right of the bird. I like how Jane's braids are mid-swing.

There were several peacocks strolling around. I'd never seen more than one at a time, so it was pretty cool to see a bunch all at once.

They had two awesome elephants. One was inside the shelter, so I couldn't get a decent picture of him.

There were no giraffes... =(

The tigers playing.

We loved the seals! We thought it was funny that this one was reclining so close to the edge of the rock. We kept waiting for it to lose its balance. It was probably watching and waiting for one of us to lose our balance. Who knows.

I wanted to offer it a pillow. That can't be comfortable to fall asleep like that!

So stinking cute.

There were some really peculiar trees there. They looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Cute little otter.

Below is the most interesting animal I saw all day.

...wearing the mother of all patchwork pants! And a toddler-sized, hooded sweater for a hat.

I think it's safe to bet he was the most comfortable creature in the entire zoo.

Cora and Tomi.

Lemur pile!

Goo goo g'joob!

Walruses are so... huge... but I think they're neat to see.

No post of mine is complete without a shout-out to flowers. =)

These rhododendrons made me want to live in Washington. Or at least take scenic pictures of Washington. The word 'rhododendron' takes me right back to my high school horticulture class.

Pretty girls and flowers.

That's it for the zoo!

One of the other days, we went to downtown Tacoma. I had never been there before and I was in awe over the abundance of amazing architecture there! I had no idea what a treat I was in for.

We went to the Children's Museum of Tacoma first. It's essentially just a series of fun play areas for kids.
There was an adorable market area.

I liked the colorful wall art.

Oliver and Royce digging in the "dirt".

They had big, foam building blocks.

(Side note- Shirley helped the girls tie-dye shirts a day earlier. One of the times I was hiding upstairs with Oliver while he napped.)

Meep-meep!

Those PVC pipes could be rearranged on this magnetic wall.

Malory, Tomi and Cora having a grand old time.

After we got done at the "museum", we went over to my favorite part of that day: the glass bridge. It's a bridge bedecked with Chihuly glass. Somehow I wasn't formerly familiar with it. I was blown away (no pun intended) when I saw it all!

Oops, first a couple of pictures of the boys...

Oliver and Ethan playing with the balloon we got at the Farmer's Market downtown.

These sculptures were unreal! I was so impressed!

The girls trying to decide on faves.

The bridge is adjacent to the train station.

That cone is part of the glass museum, which we didn't get to go into. =(

So incredible!

We got to see a few really long trains pass under the bridge. The boys were thrilled!

Choo-chooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I love the clouds and the lines in this picture.

The ceiling was stuffed with gorgeous pieces of glass. I loved it!

Absolutely beautiful!

I am definitely a fan of this art!

I walked over by the museum and saw loads of sailboats.

Another awesome bridge in the distance.

Another view of this.

That was about it for downtown Tacoma. It was a serious feast for my eyes! I want to go back.

During our time in Puyallup, we went to this park that is similar to Boise's greenbelt. Except this place was even prettier, and extra foresty.

Hmmm, this tree looked interesting...

What a picturesque walking path! I hated to leave it.

When we weren't out sightseeing, we spent time at Jackie and Eric's letting the kids play.

Oliver loved all of Ethan's super hero costumes!

I loved the French-cut Batman suit!

Awww...
This was a rare moment when Royce wasn't crying about something Oliver supposedly did.

All the heroes watching a movie.

One more cute bum shot. Ha!

It was a fun trip overall. We ate, we played, we watched movies, went to cool places (including IKEA, which I have no pictures of), relaxed, etc., etc... By the end, we were all ready to go home to Boise and let the summer unfold.

Rebecca Nichole Marks, 1974-2011

2011-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same." Flavia Weedn

(Picture taken August, 2007)

I never knew how hard it would be to put into words how I feel about my closest friend. I do know I wish it were not under these circumstances. I've been thinking about everything I ever learned about her, and I've started to write a few times, but I just haven't known where to begin. There is so much to tell.

I guess the best place to start would be the beginning. She and I met thirteen lucky years ago. We were roommates at first, and ever since then we've been permanent fixtures in each other's lives. Sometimes we'd go weeks without talking; not because we were fighting, but because life would get busy. Over the last few years, she and I have talked almost every day - thanks to online chat programs. She didn't often feel up to going out or having visitors, but we could count on keeping up with each other through frequent chats. I have hundreds of emails from her, along with the hundreds of chat logs from the more recent past. I've read them all over the last couple of weeks; some of them more than once. We've been through so much together. And now she's gone.

She took her life in the most peaceful way she could, during the very early hours of 28 July, 2011. She left letters and instructions for her family and me. I would give anything to have her back, and to have her feeling happy. But she wasn't happy. She couldn't feel happy. She tried so hard, for so long. She felt so lonely, and so tired... for so long. So forgotten and isolated and frightened. She couldn't find a cure for the darkness that overwhelmed her. As the days and weeks and months and years went by without any lasting improvement in her outlook, she gradually lost hope. The loss of all hope was too much for her to bear. I don't think there was anything any of her family or friends could have said or done to convince her that her life was worth sticking around for. We all kept hoping for her, and I always truly believed that she would at last find a way to feel the happiness she hungered for.

The Becky I always knew was a giving, thoughtful, brilliant, driven, beautiful woman with a wry sense of humor. I'd say her trademark was her long, dark hair or her deep, blue eyes. She had a passion for all kinds of music. She enjoyed reading good books. She loved thunder storms, watching snow fall, the smell of rain, sky diving! Astronomy intrigued her - she was always wanting to learn more about it. (I hope she's now allowed to take personal tours of all the planets and stars and everything lovely in the sky, anytime she wants!) She liked ice cream, as long as it was chocolate-based. She was proud to have won a belching contest in one of her high school classes. (That's my Becky!) She had a gift for writing poetry. She was good at making plain things pretty. She had just finished decorating her bedroom the night before she left... It was beautiful. Her heart was devoted to her family, and she treated her two kitties like the children she never got to have (but desperately wanted). She was an expert listener, and she always seemed to know what to say when I needed advice, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. From an email sent to me on 10/04/07, she said:
"Friends should be there to support you, be there for you, help you, listen when you need someone to listen, lift you up, and sometimes even provide gentle correction when necessary." That's the kind of friend she was.

Can I just say that I don't like talking about her in past tense? She can't really be gone. This can't be real. I don't want to believe it.

I remember the first time we decided to go hang out together. It took us forever to decide where to go. (We settled on Delsa's.) That indecision never changed much in all the millions of times we went out on the town together since. It was always, "Where should we go?"... "I don't care, where do you want to go?" We joked about buying a hat, writing all the options on slips of paper, mixing them up in the hat and picking one out. That might have saved us hours of decision-making over the years.

Here are some "Roommate Recollections" I have :

-She and I would stay up late watching episodes of "Space Ghost" and laugh our heads off. A couple of years ago we were remembering that, so she went ahead and ordered three DVD collections of the show to give to me. Three!

-Another time, she decided we needed to make those enchiladas with the salsa and cream cheese mixture. She painstakingly strained the salsa with a slotted spoon, so as to not get any tomato or onion chunks in the dish. =) I'll think of her every time I see a tomato for the rest of my life. She positively detested them!

-One of the times we were sitting on the couch talking or watching TV, what I thought was a sweater belonging to a neighbor was draped on the back of the couch. I asked Becky if Kenny forgot his sweater. She didn't know what I was talking about, because the article I was gesturing toward was really her large, maroon, cable-knit blanket! I don't know why, but we thought that was hilarious. Every now and then over the years, we'd have a chuckle about "Kenny's sweater". She still had it after all these years. I found it in her hall closet when her family and I were over at her house, so I get to keep it now.

-One evening, we were home watching a Miss America pageant on TV when one of our other roommates burst in, announced she was moving her stuff out that night, and took the couch right out from underneath us, leaving us with nowhere to sit. We were furious! We simply refused to sit on the floor for the rest of the pageant! We walked in a huff to my parents' house, which wasn't far, to tell them what had happened. Becky and I didn't understand why they weren't as horrified as we were. Then I called my sister to see if we could get their futon couch out of storage ASAP for our sofa-less apartment. She also didn't seem to get why I was calling her, so frantic about the loss of a couch. Over the years, Becky and I would sometimes remember that night and laugh at how enraged we were about a dumb couch.

Eventually, our roommates disbanded. I moved back to my parents' house, and Becky moved in with some other girls in the same complex we'd been living in. I've thought so many times over the last 13 years how incredibly glad and blessed I am to have met and become best of friends with Becky. If I had never moved into that apartment I would have missed out on getting to know her. It scares me to think of the what-ifs like that. How different would our lives have been if we had never known each other?

I wish I could remember everything we'd talk about and laugh about when we'd go out on our dinner/movie/shopping "dates". With the files of my brain so full, it's just impossible to recall every little conversation. All I know is I loved being with her.

After I got married, she and I would still find times to go on our outings. Since my husband was in school for many years, she'd take it upon herself to grab the check at the restaurant the instant it was put on the table so I couldn't pay, since I was "poor". We were always fighting over the check, wanting to treat each other. Sometimes she would win, sometimes I would win.

Becky seemed to have a "usual" at each place we went to eat. She knew what she liked, and didn't dare branch out and risk getting stuck with something yucky. Her fave was the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo from Olive Garden. That's where we went on July 19, the last time I ever got to hang out with her...

Whenever I'd need help cleaning an apartment when my family would move, Becky was right there to chip in. She'd bring food for everyone involved. Not just a couple little things, either. She'd get an array of things, like sandwich stuff, drinks, cookies, and chips. One of the times she was helping me clean an apartment, I had to go take care of my 1-year-old girl. Becky said she would just finish scrubbing the tub and then leave. When I got there the next day, I found that she had cleaned the entire apartment!

Becky was so generous. She liked to spoil people. When she knew money was tight for my family, I had to be careful not to mention anything I'd like to buy when she and I were at Target or wherever, because she'd want to buy it for me.

One evening in 2004, she and I were driving through downtown, wondering what to do. She mentioned that Keith Urban was having a concert at the BofA Center that night, and she asked if I wanted to go. I didn't know very many of his songs yet, plus I didn't have the money. She said she would pay. I'm sure I tried to protest, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. So we went! What a fun time! That was probably the most spontaneous thing we did together.

One year for Christmas, we got this bright idea to make something crafty to give as gifts to friends and family. We saw in a magazine, or somewhere, a cute "gumball machine" that was made of an upside-down terra cotta pot, a glass globe, etc. We thought it looked foolproof enough. We got all the supplies and set to work painting them. We got these little snowflake stencils and attempted to use them to prettify the bases of the gumball machines, and tiny wooden snowmen (that we had to paint ourselves) to glue on the tops. Ummmm.... let's just say they didn't turn out very cute! We had a good laugh over our handiwork. We didn't bother finishing them since there was no way we would be giving them away to anyone, except maybe our worst enemies...

When the first Spider-Man movie came out, I developed a huge crush on Tobey Maguire. Becky teased me about it, and one day I got a letter in the mail from "him" with no return address. Inside was a printed out, "autographed" photo of him, with a little note saying (something like) he'd be coming to my neighborhood and that he hoped he'd get to say hi. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Had I signed up with some fan club that I'd forgotten about? I was puzzled for a second, and then it occurred to me.... BECKY!!! Ha! What a jokester.

When my dad passed away in May, 2006, Becky sent me an email. Here's part of it:

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling. I can't imagine losing a parent. I dread that day like no other. I know you love him. And I'm sure he knew that too. Whenever you've talked about him, I could always tell you didn't get to see him that much, but that you loved him. But just tell him, if you want. If you look up "Paradise" in Mormon Doctrine (which is where he'd be right now), it says they are close by us and know our thoughts and feelings. So just tell him, and I’m sure he'll hear you. (Or if he's busy, I'm sure someone would give him the message!)"

Like I said, she was so good at knowing what to say to offer comfort in any situation. Such a wise, caring friend. Little did we know that five years later I'd be using her words of assurance to get me through her passing...

Over dinner at Red Robin a couple of years ago, Becky and I decided we both needed something fun and exciting to look forward to. We came up with the idea to go to Europe together the next year. We were giddy just thinking about the possibility! We talked about it a little bit over the course of a few weeks, then realized it probably wouldn't work out, given the whole expense thing. Plus I didn't think Ryan would endorse me running off on a European vacation with my best friend. But I SO wish we could have...

One time she and I were at the grocery store, and she needed to pick up some brown sugar for a recipe. She only needed a small bag of it, but the smallest package was a generic brand. Becky didn't trust any product that wasn't name-brand. I had to convince her that the generic brown sugar would be just fine. She was skeptical, but didn't want to hurt my feelings, so she bought it. I forgot to ask her later if it was okay.

She was a stinker about being photographed, so I only have a couple of candid shots of her taken at baby showers of mine. I'm so mad at myself for not making her mad, at least once, in the name of getting a few pictures of us together. Whenever I reminded her that we didn't have any pictures together (except two from Halloween 1999), she would change the subject. :/

Becky claimed to hate playing games, but she came to two separate game nights just because she knew I really wanted her to be there. That's what I call sacrifice!

Even when she wasn't at all happy, she tried her best to pretend like she was - even though it completely wore her out to have to "put on a show". That says a lot about her. I know she felt like she was in hell most days, especially over the last several years, but that didn't stop her from saying funny things, or posting videos on Facebook of He-Man singing "What's Going On?".
She really did try to find some semblance of joy. One of the last online chats I had with her, her computer was having problems loading something, so she said, "Maybe I should sing Kip's song to it." A half a second later, she sent me the link for Kip's technology song. She was ever so speedy at finding and sending links to me!

I want to share a couple of segments from the chats she and I had. The first one, from last September, is her telling me about a dream she had.

"i hope i have more normal dreams tonight. i was dreaming last night that i was in this play and i was so excited about it. it was like this big deal. and part of it i had to do this dance. and i'd been rehearsing it and was getting good. but then i was looking at the script and it said that the "chorus" of the dance was done three times and on the third one, I had to do it topless. I was freaking out. I asked my mom what I should do about it, and she said I should just do it, that it was really no big deal."

Ha! She really didn't like dreaming. If they were good dreams, she hated waking up from them to find that they weren't real. If they were bad or weird dreams, well, they just made her feel "off".

This next one was July 21, 2011. (We'd been talking about yummy desserts the day before.)

12:42 AM
me: oof. heartburn

7 minutes

12:50 AM bmarks92@gmail.com: what'd you eat?

12:51 AM me: a quesadilla. earlier

bmarks92@gmail.com: dang

me: yep!

12:52 AM bmarks92@gmail.com: I uh....uh...went to...uh....Krispy Kreme today. Maybe.

12:55 AM me: so THAT's what your "appointment" was!

bmarks92@gmail.com: that was one of them. :/

12:56 AM me: mmmmmmm.....

The way she typed the part about going to Krispy Kreme is classic. Totally "her".

A bunch of years ago, she and I went to Art in the Park. We wandered around admiring the various beautiful crafts and things, and somehow the topic of heaven came up. We were so curious to know what it was like there... what kinds of things people do... if there are musical instruments there.... It just seemed weird to picture any material things in heaven. But then, we wondered why on earth wouldn't they have instruments in heaven? It would be so interesting to know the answers to these thoughts. (Dang finite minds!) I wish Becky could come tell me what it's like.

Becky told us not to mourn when she was gone. How can we not??? And as her dear mother said: "I'll never stop mourning." We love her more than she ever could have begun to believe. I miss her all the time, and I always will. I can't even count how many times I've caught myself thinking of things to tell her next time I catch her online. Or I'll think of things we can do together in the future, or ways I can help her feel even an ounce of the validation she deserved to feel. I have to constantly remind myself that she's not here anymore... It's so hard to let go of her. Even though we are certain she is finally rid of the inner turmoil that no earthly element could have cured. I do hope she knows now how deeply she is loved and missed, and how many buckets of tears have been shed in her absence. And more than that, I hope she now understands how much worth she truly possesses. And possessed... all along.

I love you always, Becky! It's going to seem like forever until I "catch you on the flip side". And you'd better believe we'll have some serious catching up to do.

Happy 100th Post!

2011-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I just can't let my 100th post slip by without some sort of recognition. I've been wrestling with myself (figuratively, of course), trying to decide what to do here. I wanted to compile a list of 100 somethings, but what things? I had a tough time coming up with 50 facts about myself for my 50th post, so I don't think I could rattle off 100 more things about me. This time, I'm throwing together "100 Random Things". There will naturally be stuff about me, but I'll also add some quotes (by my kids or other famous people), updates, pictures, and any other random thing that comes to mind. Here goes!

1. I was always afraid of the dark until I became a mom. I used to think something was going to grab my legs or that I'd see a ghost or something.

2. I love Doritos (plain nacho cheese flavored) with dill pickles.

3. I can't stand the sound of my kids driving each other to tears.

4. We're in the process of shopping for a vehicle to replace our Clattermobile (minivan). I wanted to find something other than another van, but I think that's just the most practical choice for us. And who the heck am I trying to impress by getting a "cooler" car?

5. If I post something on Facebook and don't get at least one comment, I usually delete it because I'm embarrassed. I don't like crickets!

6. I try to have my kids see me being silly at least as often as they see me being irritated.

7. I'm a hot sleeper. I have to have my feet sticking out of the covers year round.

8. We have a rose bush in our side yard! It's so pretty!
9. I ramble.

10. I saw this on a print at a store recently and liked it: "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."
-John Lennon

11."Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." - John Lennon
I don't fully agree with this statement, but I get what he meant, and it does make me feel a little less guilty about my not-so-productive moments!

12. I'm really good at flaring my nostrils. (See previous quote.)

13. I can't wink.

14. I almost always have a bedtime snack.

15. I got my hair cut two weeks ago and I wanted it long again that same day. =/

I do like it this length, but if I do anything other than straighten it, I look like a puppy. I hope it grows fast!

16. My favorite show ever was The Wonder Years.

17. I like Doris Day movies. Well, some of them. =)

18. I've passed my lifelong affinity for Chip and Dale on to my kids. I can't tell you how many hundreds of times this VHS video (shown below onscreen) has been played, but it amazingly still works. Megan and I watched this very movie over, and over, and over again when we were little.

19. I wish I had a cute cruiser bike! I don't have a bike at all. ='(

20. "Instead of a bicycle built for two, what about no kinds of bicycles at all for anybody, anymore? There, are you happy now?" ~Jack Handey

21. Oliver often asks in his sweetest voice, "Can we make cookies and cupcakes today?"

22. I saw this bike rack downtown with a nifty knitted cover. So cute!

23. I can't go anywhere without some lip balm handy.

24. Tra-la-la! (Told you I'd be random!)

25. It's fun to substitute the word "lunch" for "love" in any song where "love" is a noun. For example: "You can't hurry (lunch)/ no you just have to wait/ She said (lunch) don't come easy/It's a game of give and take." Or "All you need is (lunch)." You get the idea! I learned this from a guy I had a crush on when I was 18, so I'm not taking credit. I'm just sharing.

26. Another John Lennon gem: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."


27. I like hearing the cute things kids say when they pray.
28. I like magazines.

29. I'm not much for playing board games that take the entire time I'm playing to figure out how to play. I like faster, more amusing games best.

30. Jane made this cute paper Rapunzel. She taped the different sections of "hair" together.
31. I think I use parentheses too much when I write.

32. Twenty years ago this summer I became friends with Renee Hurst when her family moved into our ward. She and I have laughed so much and had the best times together ever since. I can only remember one time when I was mad at her. It was when we were 15 or 16 and I wanted her to go to the fair with me, but she didn't want to go because she doesn't like going on rides. I don't even want to think about how much less fun I would have had over the past two decades if we'd never met!

33. I'd be quite content if I didn't ever have to cook another meal for the rest of my life.

34. I'm so lucky to have so many funny people in my life.

35. "A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." ~Roald Dahl

36. My tummy hurts as I type this.

37. I still feel gypped around prom time each year (when I see fancy couples around town) because I never got asked to prom. By the end of both the years I was old enough to go, I'd sufficiently freaked out the boy I wanted to go with.

38. I'd love to have the chance to wear a fancy dress somewhere.

39. A picture I found on my camera of goofy Cora...

40. I feel sad when restaurants or stores go out of business.

41. I think automatic sliding doors on vans are just silly. Sure, people think it's super slick and handy, but I just think it encourages laziness. And the doors open and close so slowly that they probably waste more time than they save. =)

42. I think Dodge Chargers are handsome cars.

43. If I could have all the money back that I've ever spent on candy, I'd probably be able to buy a new car. Or two...

44. Oliver pretending to play the piano...

45. My new least favorite food is tofu! I tried it for the first time recently while downtown with Renee and Maria. I won't be eating it again. I was expecting it to be more firm or something. I absolutely did not like the texture! But I was polite and choked it down without a scene. And I thought mushrooms were bad!

46. Oliver told me I have a crazy tummy (upon seeing my stretch marks and saggy skin). Aaah, kids and their honest, unfiltered observations...

47. These are the yummiest cookies I've ever tasted! I found them in the Walmart bakery section, of all places. They melt in my mouth. Mmmm...

48. Oliver says 'cram crackers' instead of 'graham crackers'.

49. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I love all the voices on Winnie the Pooh. Talk about excellent voice acting!

50. I wish I could be a whiz at socializing. It takes me forever to feel comfortable enough to be myself around people. I think most people who don't know me think I'm boring. And maybe I am! It's all relative.

51. One day the kids and I happened to drive past the Adam&Eve store. Jane thoughtfully said, "I wonder if that place is named after the real people..."

52. Oliver says sunscream instead of sunscreen. =)

53. It bothers me that I rely so heavily on compliments.

54. I make it a point to compliment people often.

55. Compliments from strangers are often the best kind because they aren't given out of obligation.

56. Oliver and cousin Fletcher lounging at the park. They both look so at ease!

57. I diligently cut out and accumulate Box Tops For Education.

58. While driving, the kids and I passed Manville Street. Cora figured aloud, "I bet a lot of men live on that street."

59. Me to Oliver: "Are you my little doll?"
Oliver to me: "No, I live with another family."

60. I think if people would let me, I could sleep indefinitely. No matter what time I go to sleep, I have the worst time making myself get up in the morning. I'm just such a sleepyhead.

61. I love toffee.

62. Here's a fort the kids made one day this summer. Fun times!

63. I love nougat.

64. Oliver was taking longer than he needed to wash his hands. I told him to just wash his dang hands and get down! He retorted, clearly offended, "My hands aren't dang! Don't call my hands dang!"

65. I like pulling weeds.

66. I'd much rather do yard work than inside chores.

67. Rachel and her family moved to Coeur d'alene the first part of June. We've been good friends with them since Jane and Livia were new babies. Here's Lucy, Jane and Livia the day before they moved. We miss them!

68. I was explaining to Cora that I couldn't get her a certain shirt because they didn't have the right size. "They only had extra large and extra small left", I said. She asked, "Why don't they have extra medium?" That was the best question I'd heard in a long time! It only seems logical. She and I had a good laugh over that one. I love the way she thinks.

69. I just learned what that meant two years ago.

70. "The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

71. I feel awkward watching other parents disciplining their kids, and I don't like it when people watch me trying to deal with my own kids.

72. Here's a picture of the dainty blossoms on a bush in our front yard. Not much makes me happier than a multitude of beautiful flowers!
73. Recently, we were about to go somewhere for the evening. We were running out of time, so I urged Ryan to go upstairs and get ready. He replied, "I am, Shannon." Oliver, probably thinking his dad was crazy, called out, "You're not Shannon"!

74. I remember taking loose change to church when I was a kid sometimes, hoping I'd find a gumball machine in the hall.

75. I love British accents.

76. My lips are chapped from licking them while I think and type.

77. Oliver often forgets how to say pepperoni, so he requests "macaroni pizza" when he knows we're getting pizza.

78. I still have occasional dreams that I work at DQ.

79. I worked at DQ for three years. I never got sick of the food there!

80. I don't know how to type properly.

81. Here's a picture Oliver took of Jane and me. We were looking at pictures of our trip to Washington. I like the cute face Jane's making. She looks so sweet.
82. I wish car horns could say words.

83. "Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff." ~ Jack Handey

84. I love cute scrapbook paper, but I've never been interested in scrapbooking.

85. I like to do Karaoke, but I've rarely gotten to.

86. I want to travel.

87. I've always wondered what it's like to live in a different state.

88. I don't think a movie is a movie without a good kissing scene. No matter what the genre.

89. While I'm on the subject, I like my lips. And it's not like I have control over how they look. They're what I was given, and according to me, I lucked out. ;)

90. "One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."
~Jack Handey

91. One day I took a grouchy Oliver to the store with me. Later that day, I gave him a big hug. With his arms wrapped around me, he lovingly said, "Mom, I'm sorry if I pushed you at the store." If he pushed me??

92. For as much as I enjoy candy and treats, I can only eat so much before I need something savory.

93. I got hit by a girl on a ten-speed as I was walking to school in the 9th grade. The tire went between my legs, sending me wobbling in slow motion to the pavement. I landed flat on my backpack! My friend had playfully, yet unknowingly, shoved me into the biker's path. It took me a minute of lying on the ground to register what had happened, but when I did, I burst out laughing, thus giving the witnesses permission to have a good chuckle at my expense.

94. No matter what, I think I'll always prefer a paper wall calendar over anything electronic. Not that I've ever relied on a technological calendar, but I just like the convenience and looks of a real live calendar.

95. I'm hungry.

96. My spine must be off-centered because every pair of pants I wear rides slightly to the left of my crack. I know it can't be that the pants are irregular. It's ME who's slightly irregular. I'm not complaining, I'm just informing everyone of my situation.

97. "When this girl at the art museum asked me whom I liked better, Monet or Manet, I said, "I like mayonnaise." She just stared at me, so I said it again, louder. Then she left. I guess she went to try to find some mayonnaise for me." ~Jack Handey

98. I like looking at people.

99. I hope people don't notice me staring at them.

100. I have never been rollerblading. I've always gotten a kick out of rollerskating, though.

I'll be surprised if anyone made it through my entire list! Don't worry, I won't be doing any future milestone posts of this nature. But now I can sleep tonight, knowing I've completed my super special 100th blog post! And to think I was kind of anti-blog up until I gave in and started my own. I've had fun writing so far, and I'll continue to chronicle bits and pieces of the life that is mine. Enjoy (or not)!

Part 5 of 5: Statues,Tess,Glee Live and Driving Home

2011-06-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

I get the feeling people don't read blogs as much during the summer. Either that or people are in fact reading them, but are too sun-stricken to muster the strength to comment.

With that, I will now proceed to sum up our last full day of vacation. It seems like forever ago.

We decided we'd had enough of the hotel breakfast, so on this special morning we sprung for the IHOP across the street, which was a welcome change.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went back to the hotel to finally lounge by the pretty pool. I guess I didn't get a picture of the pool itself. We didn't end up getting in because the water was "not fine", and the weather was still not warm enough to make us want to swim. We did sit on the edge and let our feet dangle in the water.

I wandered around taking pictures of statues...

And foliage...

I was jealous of this stone woman's posing skills.

This is probably the whitest statue I saw. Just look at that beautifully chiseled... bench.

We eventually returned to the hotel room to get ready for Glee Live!

On our way out of the parking lot, Megan and I jumped out of the car to take pictures of us riding the lion statues. We'd been meaning to all week, and we were about out of opportunities, so we had to get it done.

Whoever arranged these lions could have at least bothered to make sure they weren't facing the fence! How weird!

We arrived in plenty of time to get in line outside the very large Honda Center in Anaheim.

I had to take pictures of the lovely flowers along the sidewalks.

I just loved these!

Getting eager to go inside!

We had "special" Ultimate VIP tickets, so we got to meet two of the cast members. We had no clue who it would be. It was like our very own Glee grab bag! And we actually did kind of get to grab them. Well, they both offered friendly hugs.

We were pretty excited to meet Kevin McHale (Artie) and Darren Criss (Blaine)! They seemed very gracious and personable. I should note that Darren was wearing man capris. And he gets away with it!

After the meet&greet, we were led upstairs by an I Love All Access staff member. Then we were "handed off" to our next guide who would show us where to go from there. I could not believe who our guide was!!! Right there in front of me was TESS MERCER FROM "SMALLVILLE"!!! I don't know very many people who watch the show, but I did, and enjoyed all 10 seasons of it! I guess since the show ended, she's working wherever she can.

Anyway, I wish I could have gotten a video of my reaction to seeing her. (Erin said it was cute.) It took me maybe half a second to register who she was, then my eyes got huge and my mouth fell open, and I doubt I've ever looked more shocked than right then. And Tess (Cassidy Freeman) saw me while I was in the process of noticing her. My sisters and I were at the front of the group already, so, without even thinking, I just stepped up and asked if I could get a picture with her. She said "sure!"

I told her I loved her on "Smallville", and she smiled and said, "thank you." It was so strange to see her out of character, and dressed so casually. Let's just say she didn't have the friendliest role on the show...

After I rushed her, some other gal in the crowd came up to get a picture. Inside the party, "Tess" was just a normal person, offering to take pictures of groups with their cameras in front of the "Glee" backdrop. I kept looking at her to see what she was doing. =)

A little while later it was time to go find our seats for the show! We were escorted to a section right by the stage.

See that rail right next to Erin? That's a staircase that many of the cast members ended up using to get on and off stage between numbers.

This is us with our new buddy, the security guard. He looked emotionless throughout the show, but I think he must have had a tough time holding back the tears when they sang Queen's "Somebody To Love". That, and I bet he was secretly bummed (though his eyes showed no regret) that he didn't get to administer a headlock on anybody.

What a fun event!

A blurred view of the arena. Big, huh...

The opening act was LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) again. They are amazing!

Then the Glee cast came out singing "Don't Stop Believing". And the crowd went wild.

This is without zoom, but they were pretty far back on the stage. We really were close to the action! Believe me.

Aren't they all just so cute?

I wonder how they truly feel about the white vests...

I won't caption all the photos. They can speak for themselves.. Plus, I can't remember which songs are being performed in all the photos, and I'm not sure anybody really cares anyway. Erin, I'm sorry they're probably not in chronological order.

Pretty sure these few are "Born This Way", by Lady Gaga.

Rachel singing Katy Perry's "Firework".

She sings with such fervor!

I liked how colorful everyone looked together.

The one pitfall to having such close seats was that the stage basically encircled us, so a lot of the time we were behind the action. Not that I'm complaining about anyone's "behind"... ;)

I think this was one of their original songs, "Loser Like Me". At the end of the song they threw "slushies"(cups filled with confetti) at the audience.

Mike and Brittany. They have such fancy footwork!

Gotta love the salmon colored slacks!

They sang "Friday", that awful YouTube "sensation". But I like the Glee version! Puck sounds adorable singing, "partyin', partyin', partyin', partyin'... fun, fun, fun, fun...". I think it's his accent or something. And I can't tell for sure, but I think he sings the song with a slight sarcastic edge. =) You should listen to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey-VNes5YQs

Finn at the drums

They had a stage set that looked like their classroom on the TV show.

Check out Kurt's cool boots! Here he is singing "I Want To Hold Your Hand". It was very touching.

I loved his outfit! I kind of want that blue floral shirt for myself... =)

The Warblers' backs! We love their peppy performances!

The Warbler we met.

"Somebody To Love". A real show-stopper! Unfortunately, it literally stopped the show. It was their last number. =( The concert went by too fast!

What a fantastic show! We loved it, and that alone was worth our drive to California. The other things we got to do during the week were just bonuses.

We went out for fro-yo afterward. This place was so cute and cheery. I loved the way it looked, plus the yogurt was delicious!

Mine's on the left and I think that's Megan's on the right. It's been over a month, give me a break!

We also picked up a pizza because we were hungry! We took it back to the hotel with us, ate, and began the dreadful task of packing up to go home the next morning.
While I was tucking my things back into the suitcase, I unzipped a compartment I hadn't used, just to see if anything was in it.

Much to my surprise, I found this note and three chocolate bunnies inside from Cora. It was so sweet, and so unexpected. The night I left on the trip was the very sad day when Cora's hamster died. She didn't want me to leave. But still, sometime during the evening, while I was gathering stuff to pack, she took the time to plant a little note for me to find. It meant a lot.

The next morning we slept in, then got the rest of everything together so we could begin the long, long drive home.

We didn't get off to a very good start, thanks to some "slow as molasses in January" traffic.
Other than that delay, we had a fun drive home. I always like road trips-- just being in the car, watching the versatile scenery, snacking, listening to music, and making conversation. Of course, it does have a lot to do with who I'm in the car with. But I've just always enjoyed traveling, and I don't mind the long distances. (My butt may tell a different story...)

We ran into some inclement weather in Nevada. What a beautiful rainbow!

What a beautiful profile!

At another point, we had to negotiate our way through some snowfall. There didn't seem to be very many other cars around us on the curvy, countryside roads. Megan joked that we might become the modern day Donner Party. We chuckled nervously at the thought.

Somehow we made it past the wintery, spring weather without having to abandon the comforts of the car to dig our own graves.

We stopped a few times for gas and/or sustenance. I got to watch "13 Going On 30" in the back seat on Erin's DVD player while Megan sped responsibly down the freeway. That movie makes me cry. I had to stifle my tears a couple of times. I didn't want to make a scene. Anyway, now Erin will know about it when she reads this. She can pat my shoulder and say "there, there..." next time we meet.

One thing I already knew, but was reminded of on this drive, was how funny it is to randomly honk the car horn while driving down a highway in the middle of nowhere when it's dark outside. I can't explain why, but it just is. Megan took the opportunity to honk the horn along to the music a few times, which triggered much laughter (and possibly startled a farmer from his sleep-- we couldn't see any habitation along the road, but that didn't mean there wasn't a house or two up the road with the lights out).

We approached Boise around 2:00 am. We dropped Erin off at her house in Nampa, then Megan and I continued on to my house. Erin had instructed us to not have any fun without her. We tried not to, but I'm sure the rest of the drive wasn't as lame as she hoped. As we took the exit leading to my house, once again I was forced to fight back looming tears. I didn't want the trip to be over. It's not often enough that I get to spend quality time with my wonderful sisters. I had simply the best time, and I love them to pieces. It says a lot of any set of people who can spend an entire week together and not get annoyed with or sick of each other. (At least, I hope they weren't annoyed by me!) Megan helped me unload my baggage from her car, we said a quick, sleepy farewell, and she was on her way home.

I can't wait until next time.

Part 4: California Adventure

2011-06-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

The day after our beach trip we went to California Adventure, which is the amusement park right next to Disneyland. It's basically an extension of Disneyland, without all the fancy, themed rides. The rides at California Adventure are more run-of-the-mill, but still really fun.

We saw an awful lot of company issued culottes that day! At Disneyland, many of the female ride operators sported rib-hugging, slenderizing, "mom- fit" trousers. I guess culottes are the go-to look for the Cal-Adv group.

Sadly, the male employees didn't get any culottes...

More and more culottes! Surprisingly, I couldn't find any at the in-park gift shops. And believe me, I did a lot of rummaging!

My "Grandma knows best" face. =/

Check out the awesome roller coaster behind the Mickey Ferris Wheel.

Here's the view from way up inside the Ferris Wheel.

Megan looking hip in her shades.

Some of my hair acting like half of a handlebar mustache.

Meg and me on the "backlot".

Erin and me. I really liked the painted scenery.

One of the first rides we went on involved a spinning, circular raft, rapids, drop-offs, and lots of water.

We got hosed! I was pretty ticked. So much for the time I spent fixing my hair that morning! I try not to be overly vain, but I don't like how my hair looks when it dries on its own. The day was young, and my mane had been mauled... Not to mention dealing with the feeling of wet denim for the next couple of hours.

My favorite ride there was the Tower of Terror. It's an elevator (and so much more!) that goes up and down in unpredictable spurts, alternating the view from pitch black to broad daylight. I LOVED IT!

On this ride I look genuinely happy (in a grandma sort of way), unlike the photos snapped on the roller coasters. I really like coasters, but for some reason I always look sick in the candids.

Here we are in front of the ride, looking terrified. Well, at least Megan looks the part.

I love Erin's expression in this one! I can't get over it! She looks more chagrined than terrified.

Megan really got into it. I wish I would have let go of my inhibitions a bit more. I just get self conscious when I think people are watching me.

Here we are on the huge roller coaster, appropriately named California Screamin'.

When my brother saw this picture, he suggested we entitle it "Four Best Friends". =) I think it's especially funny that the old guy looks like he's so happy and at ease, when we "youngsters" look half dead.

We had purchased 2-day park-hopper passes so we could enter either amusement park on both days.

We hadn't taken the chance to get pictures of us at the gates of Disneyland until our second day there.

Whoever is responsible for growing that Mickey flower patch deserves a pat on the back!

We wanted to go back inside Disneyland in search of some characters to get pictures with, but it turned out that the big parade was about to start. It was our lucky day! We sat down on the sidewalk to watch.

I'm still in awe over all the fine Disney craftsmanship!

I loved the puffy princess dresses! I wish I could try one on and take it for a spin.

Rapunzel with her long and winding braid.

I was excited to see a Mary Poppins float. One of my favorite Disney movies.

I can't remember what this float was, but isn't it cool??

Aladdin... on a drum.

Tinkerbell... on a drum.

Donald... on a drum...

I would have killed for one of these costumes the year I was a pinata for Halloween!

I thought the Princess and the Frog float was really neat. So elaborate!

And what Disney parade would be complete without a little Ariel?

We were noticing how strikingly pretty all the parading princesses' faces were, and we figured that, probably, the number one rule for potential princesses is: "NO UGLIES".

Some funky, feathery fellas on stilts. Also, the "smelltrack" for the parade was the grease from the head of the guy directly in front of me. Ick! I could almost taste it!

After the parade, we went back into California Adventure for a while longer. Later that evening, we walked over to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping.

We ate at a really cool place called Rainforest Cafe. I would recommend it to anyone. The whole interior is totally decked out to look like a rainforest. The food was really good, too.

These were the bar stools in there. Very cute! (Not sure any of those particular animals live in rainforests, but, hey! I bet they saw these stools and simply could not pass them up.)

We went into the big Lego store, and they had lots of sculptures made out of Legos, conveniently enough. This giraffe was huge!

And so the sun set on our second to last full day in California. My next (and last, I promise) post about the trip will cover the main event, and then some!

'Fornia Trip, Part 3: The Beach

2011-06-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

On our third full day of vacation, we decided to hit a beach. Looking at the week's forecast, I knew there wouldn't be a day fit for swimming, let alone sunbathing. When we first planned the whole trip, I just assumed that by the end of May in California it would be hot enough for enjoying a sun-soaked day by the sea.

I've never been to a beach when it has been warm enough to merit the wearing of swimsuits. Sad, I know. (Unless you count Bear Lake, which I don't, really, because it's not an ocean. It's beautiful, but it's not a the kind of beach I'm talking about.) I've visited the Oregon Coast twice, and sections of the California coastline a few times, but never has it been swimming weather. Someday I hope to go to a really warm, NOT WINDY, gorgeous beach.

Huntington Beach, according to Erin's internet research, was the closest one to where we were staying, so that's where we went. We envisioned ourselves basking in the sunny sand, alternately perusing magazines and gazing at the ocean's sparkly expanse. Here's what really happened...

It was windy. Really, really, very windy.

But it was still so beautiful to see.

The only way to kind of escape the gusts was to lie down. But even then, it was a little too chilly for comfort. Excuse the angle of the picture. I was trying to get our resting heads in the shot, but mostly captured bustline. I usually check the screen on the back of the camera to see if I'm getting decent pictures, but this time it was too bright outside for me to decipher anything. So I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the bust. I mean, best. ;)

Megan taking note of the frothy waves.

Megan waiting for Ariel to emerge from the waves and take her on a tour of her cavern full of neat stuff.

Me

Me looking for seashells. There were a whole bunch all over the place!

Erin longing for a kerchief.

Working on my hair's sand collection.

Someone who was glad about the high winds.

Erin's feverish attempt at relaxing. Notice her hands pinning the towel down to keep it from smothering her.

Most of a big shell. Keep in mind that I have size 9 feet.

When I asked Megan to take some pictures of me, she didn't hesitate to snap a few of herself.

This one's my personal fave. It reminds me of when she was about 10 years old.

Have I mentioned anything about how windy it was? If not, just ask Megan's hair.

Looking as though I'd just concluded a lengthy horseback riding session.

Whoops, Megan accidentally cut Erin out of the shot.

There she is! Well, you can kind of see her through Megan's windswept hair.

After the beach, we went over to Johnny Rockets for some milkshakes and fries. It was a fun little place. Then we pretty much went back to the hotel.

I wish I would have written about this trip immediately upon our return, because I can't remember everything I should about the order of events. Only two more posts left!

P.S. I almost forgot that we went to IKEA before we headed to the beach! I'm so ashamed of myself for letting it slip my mind. Erin and I didn't have too much time to gape at all the cool merchandise, since Megan opted to wait in the car. She just doesn't get the IKEA hype. That's where she and I differ. Whenever I'm in close proximity to one, I can't not go, so I'm glad Erin wanted go as well.