For the last week and a half, I have been playing. First I went to Colorado with some friends to go to the SYTYCD concert. It was AMAZING! Mandy Moore walked right in front of us twice. I still have the bruise from Cami whacking my arm to get my attention. Fun times. Oh, and another fun thing we did was tour the Molly Brown house. The tour guide was a study in patience to endure, but the house was cool. It might be that I was jet lagged from having travelled across the country in the morning, then playing and going on the tour that afternoon. I seriously almost fell asleep on my feet. She talked really slow in a weird voice, and used a lot of hand gestures. By the way, we are all Mrs. Browns very good friends. Ha!
After that I flew to Tucson, to pick up two of my sisters and drive to my parents house where the other three sisters were waiting. Man, did we have fun. We did a craft project thanks to my sister Carolyn, played games, ate way too much junk food, and played pretend songs on the table while singing the parts. Pretty funny. My sister in law Kathy joined us for a day, and it was really fun to see her. I did not see any of my brothers. That is the only thing that would have made the trip perfect. I got to eat at the best mexican restaurant on the planet, and eat the best italian sub I have ever found.
My family was amazing. They all stepped up to help things run smoothly while I was gone. All of my kids cooked at least one meal, and they had the house looking great for when I came home. They also put a welcome home mom sign on the front door. James was great, and handled everything while working and doing his normal stuff. I was gone nine days, and it was such a fun trip.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Davis Circus of Illusion
This is my brother. He is amazing. Most of the illusions you see in this video, he designed and built.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Another Good One
What is better that a combination of Harry Potter and BYU. Two faves for me. Enjoy.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Scholarship
Amanda is one of the recipients of a $1000 scholarship. She was awarded this tonight at the senior awards night. Way to go Amanda, we are so proud of you!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Mad-dogging
I needed a good laugh tonight, and this little tidbit is courtesy of James. He was downloading a program to make Linux work on his laptop, and he found one key application he needed. When he selected download, this popped up:
Be forewarned that you will encounter some ridiculous licensing notifications and have to sign your soul away, just say OK and walk on by quickly.
Don't make eye contact with the lawyer mad-dogging you through your screen...
Is that creative, or what? I especially loved the phrase, mad-dogging you through your screen. It is going to be my goal in the next few days to find a use for mad-dogging in a conversation. Any ideas?
Be forewarned that you will encounter some ridiculous licensing notifications and have to sign your soul away, just say OK and walk on by quickly.
Don't make eye contact with the lawyer mad-dogging you through your screen...
Is that creative, or what? I especially loved the phrase, mad-dogging you through your screen. It is going to be my goal in the next few days to find a use for mad-dogging in a conversation. Any ideas?
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Every Other Button
Lately I have been noticing my wonderful husband walking around with buttons undone on his shirt. This peeked my curiosity. I mean, missing a button now and then is normal, but this is happening on a regular basis. So, I just had to do a little investigation. I started watching him as he put on his shirt in the morning. It is the oddest thing I have ever seen. He starts out at the second to the top button, then buttons every other button. Then he goes back for a second pass to get the rest.
Today I asked him why he was doing this, and here was his response, "I button every other button, and if I have time I go back and button the rest." Is this hilariously funny to anyone else? I can't stop laughing about it. I mean really, who does not have time to button the other half of the buttons on a shirt. Is he really that pressed for time that he can only get half way dressed? This leaves me to ask, what will he save time on next? Maybe he will only zip his pants and not button up in order to save time. Maybe he will only put on one sock, or only tie one shoe. What is even more puzzling to me is how did he ever even think of this. I mean, was he just sitting around one day thinking about how to save time and just came up with this?
When I told him this was going to be my next blog post, he said, "go ahead, give everyone a good laugh." Well James, if you insist.
Today I asked him why he was doing this, and here was his response, "I button every other button, and if I have time I go back and button the rest." Is this hilariously funny to anyone else? I can't stop laughing about it. I mean really, who does not have time to button the other half of the buttons on a shirt. Is he really that pressed for time that he can only get half way dressed? This leaves me to ask, what will he save time on next? Maybe he will only zip his pants and not button up in order to save time. Maybe he will only put on one sock, or only tie one shoe. What is even more puzzling to me is how did he ever even think of this. I mean, was he just sitting around one day thinking about how to save time and just came up with this?
When I told him this was going to be my next blog post, he said, "go ahead, give everyone a good laugh." Well James, if you insist.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Update
It has been a while since I have posted. Things have been busy in a good way. Kelsie got her young womanhood recognition award, and Amanda has earned her honor bee. Kerrie turned 15 in January, Kelsie turned 14 in February, Nathan turned 11 in March and Ashley turned 17 just a few days ago. Ashley and Kerrie had their spring concert at school, and on Sunday will have their final concert this year for the symphony.
The end of school is always hectic, but it seems this year there have been more field trips, so that has added to the craziness.
My dear friend Kellie took Amanda's senior pictures at the end of April. They are just beautiful. Amanda loves them and so do I. I will put up more photos when I get them. I am putting up her graduation announcement picture as my main photo to celebrate Amanda's great achievement. You may think this is silly, but if you had lived with this sweet girl and watched in awe as she pursued her diploma, you would understand. Things that come easily to most have been a fight for her. She has fought with dignity and grace. The most remarkable part is that she never gave up, even in the face of others telling her she could never graduate with a diploma. Well, it will be sweet to watch her prove many wrong when she graduates in a little over two weeks with a diploma. What a girl!
The end of school is always hectic, but it seems this year there have been more field trips, so that has added to the craziness.
My dear friend Kellie took Amanda's senior pictures at the end of April. They are just beautiful. Amanda loves them and so do I. I will put up more photos when I get them. I am putting up her graduation announcement picture as my main photo to celebrate Amanda's great achievement. You may think this is silly, but if you had lived with this sweet girl and watched in awe as she pursued her diploma, you would understand. Things that come easily to most have been a fight for her. She has fought with dignity and grace. The most remarkable part is that she never gave up, even in the face of others telling her she could never graduate with a diploma. Well, it will be sweet to watch her prove many wrong when she graduates in a little over two weeks with a diploma. What a girl!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Appendix Round 2
I do love the adventures my children put me through. A week ago, Ashley was not feeling well. Her stomach hurt. It did not surprise me because the stomach bug is going around the ward. Anyway, James stayed home from church with her. When I got home, I got busy making dinner. Nic came in the kitchen and told me Ashley needed me. When I got upstairs, I saw Ashley doubled over in pain. When I asked her where it hurt, she said her lower right side. I yelled down to James that we needed to take her to the ER.
This was eerily similar to Nic, three years ago. It took hours to run all the tests needed to determine appendicitis, but by about 10:30 pm we had our answer. She needed her appendix out. They were able to send her CT scan to the surgeon at home, and he called back and said he was on his way. He happened to be the same surgeon that operated on Nic. Crazy coincidence. That was actually very comforting because we knew he was good. At a little after midnight they took her into the OR. by 12:45 the doctor came out and told us that everything had gone really well, and we would be called back to the recovery room soon.
Ashley was groggy but awake, and she seemed great. What was amazing was one of her recovery nurses was a member of our church. What are the odds of that? Again, very comforting to know she was in such good hands. At about 2:30 am they got her into her room, and James when home. Ash and I tried to sleep, but it was not really possible with nurses coming in every half hour to check her vital signs. It wasn't until about 5 in the morning that we were finally able to get a couple of hours of sleep.
By 7 am she was already up and going to the bathroom. Then she started walking around the halls. by about 2:30 pm on Monday they sent us home. She is doing really well. The doctor has ordered her to stay out of school at least two weeks. She was not allowed down stairs until today. She cheated and came down yesterday. Today she was outside walking around, and even went with me to the store. She is really anxious to be back to normal activity. She will see her doctor on Friday, when I am sure he will release her to normal activity.
Well, life is never dull around here. We are just really grateful that she is doing so well. I was supposed to go to Arizona last Tuesday, but of course have postponed that trip. I am really grateful that I was not in Arizona when all this happened.
This was eerily similar to Nic, three years ago. It took hours to run all the tests needed to determine appendicitis, but by about 10:30 pm we had our answer. She needed her appendix out. They were able to send her CT scan to the surgeon at home, and he called back and said he was on his way. He happened to be the same surgeon that operated on Nic. Crazy coincidence. That was actually very comforting because we knew he was good. At a little after midnight they took her into the OR. by 12:45 the doctor came out and told us that everything had gone really well, and we would be called back to the recovery room soon.
Ashley was groggy but awake, and she seemed great. What was amazing was one of her recovery nurses was a member of our church. What are the odds of that? Again, very comforting to know she was in such good hands. At about 2:30 am they got her into her room, and James when home. Ash and I tried to sleep, but it was not really possible with nurses coming in every half hour to check her vital signs. It wasn't until about 5 in the morning that we were finally able to get a couple of hours of sleep.
By 7 am she was already up and going to the bathroom. Then she started walking around the halls. by about 2:30 pm on Monday they sent us home. She is doing really well. The doctor has ordered her to stay out of school at least two weeks. She was not allowed down stairs until today. She cheated and came down yesterday. Today she was outside walking around, and even went with me to the store. She is really anxious to be back to normal activity. She will see her doctor on Friday, when I am sure he will release her to normal activity.
Well, life is never dull around here. We are just really grateful that she is doing so well. I was supposed to go to Arizona last Tuesday, but of course have postponed that trip. I am really grateful that I was not in Arizona when all this happened.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Revolutionary Cheese Whiz
I was very excited to go to this Mexican restaurant that I had received a gift certificate to. So James and I headed out last night. My first clue that this was not a good idea should have been when there were many tables available on a Friday night. My second clue should have been the chips and salsa, that tasted more like tomatoes than chili. Nope, I am ever the hopeful. I wanted so bad to find a good Mexican restaurant that I was willing to try the entrees. I ordered a chimichanga, Arizona style. When this wonder was served I about burst out laughing. Really, I grew up in Arizona and I have never seen anything like this. I could not quite figure out what was on top, but it was either cheese whiz or melted velveta. What ever it was it was NASTY! Really, the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life. We could have gone to Taco Bell and gotten better food.
This restaurant was named after a famous Mexican revolutionist. Well, they got one thing right, they have revolutionized Mexican food to the worst I have ever tasted. I do not know how they stay in business, but I do know they will never get my business again.
This restaurant was named after a famous Mexican revolutionist. Well, they got one thing right, they have revolutionized Mexican food to the worst I have ever tasted. I do not know how they stay in business, but I do know they will never get my business again.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
My Mother
My mother has been the source of great entertainment this week. She is a dork, and I mean that in a good way. I live to have my kids call me a dork. I figure if they are calling me that, I must be doing something right. Anyway, back to my mom. She loves to have fun. She and my dad are members of the sons and daughters of Utah pioneers organization. It is pretty much a social organization that meet together to talk about pioneer stories and sing pioneer songs. It is pretty fun. Well at their last meeting, my mother was in charge of several of the activities. One in particular has had me laughing for three days. Every time I think about it, I start laughing. Anyway, you will need a little background to truly understand this. My mother is a nut about music. Everyone knows this, because they have more than likely been invited to sing in a choir by her at least once. She is very active in the music community in her town. She also teaches voice lessons.
Back to the story. At the beginning of the evening for this organization, she had everyone put on a name tag that said Moron. There was a pretty large group of people all with this same name tag. They had dinner, then the program started. My mom, serious as can be, passes out an apple and a tongue depressor to everyone. She then says she is going to audition everyone there for her next choir. She tells them that to be a member of her choir, they would have to show her that they can tap out rhythms on their apple with the tongue depressor. She had a woman playing the piano, and they tapped out rhythms for several songs. What is remarkable is she did not crack a smile, and no one questioned what she was doing. They all thought she was serious. At the end of their audition, she told them they were all going to be members of her moron tap-an-apple choir.
Oh, how I wish I had been there to see this. Better yet, I wish there was a video of it. Can you imagine that on YouTube?
Now you all know where I get my dorky funny side from. I come by it naturally and my mother is to blame. Can I use that as my excuse every time I do something totally crazy?
I asked my kids if they thought I could use this with the youth in our ward. They told me in no uncertain terms that they thought the kids would think I was a total nerd.
All I can say is I just really love my mom and think she is so fun.
Back to the story. At the beginning of the evening for this organization, she had everyone put on a name tag that said Moron. There was a pretty large group of people all with this same name tag. They had dinner, then the program started. My mom, serious as can be, passes out an apple and a tongue depressor to everyone. She then says she is going to audition everyone there for her next choir. She tells them that to be a member of her choir, they would have to show her that they can tap out rhythms on their apple with the tongue depressor. She had a woman playing the piano, and they tapped out rhythms for several songs. What is remarkable is she did not crack a smile, and no one questioned what she was doing. They all thought she was serious. At the end of their audition, she told them they were all going to be members of her moron tap-an-apple choir.
Oh, how I wish I had been there to see this. Better yet, I wish there was a video of it. Can you imagine that on YouTube?
Now you all know where I get my dorky funny side from. I come by it naturally and my mother is to blame. Can I use that as my excuse every time I do something totally crazy?
I asked my kids if they thought I could use this with the youth in our ward. They told me in no uncertain terms that they thought the kids would think I was a total nerd.
All I can say is I just really love my mom and think she is so fun.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Look Back At My Week
This week was outside our normal happenings. Last Sunday, James was supposed to travel to Norfolk for a week long class he was on orders to attend. When he got to the airport, something had gone wrong, and he did not have a plane ticket. Luckily Norfolk is within driving distance of here. A long drive, but still doable. With the help of three very good friends, we dropped our kids off, and headed out at about 9:00 pm. I drove him, because he falls asleep at the wheel. I get very tired, but I have never fallen asleep. We got to Norfolk at about 1 am, then spent another hour trying to find where he was supposed to stay. Someone did not think to send him the name of the place he was staying, and he assumed there was just one. Not so, there were several places to stay. We finally found it, and slept for a few hours. He went off to class Monday morning, and I headed to the airport to pick up his luggage, which has gone on the plane without him before it was figured out that he was not actually going to fly. Crazy. Then I headed back home.
Then commenced a very busy and crazy week, with school meetings, lessons, activities, all the normal things that I had to handle on my own. Not fun. You would think that since somebody messed up his travel arrangements, all would be fixed and James could fly home. Not so. I actually had to go pick him up. With traffic, I was in the car for a little over 10 hours on Friday. It is really making me rethink my idea of a road trip to visit BYU Idaho and BYU Provo. I am not sure I am up for that.
Anyway, we made it home just in time for me to get sick. Amanda shared with me a nasty little bug that has me coughing nonstop. I am really glad no one has school or work tomorrow, because I need a day to just stay in bed and get better.
There is my very whiny post, now I am going to take some medicine and go to bed. Well, after I take care of .... Isn't that how it is for the mom.
Then commenced a very busy and crazy week, with school meetings, lessons, activities, all the normal things that I had to handle on my own. Not fun. You would think that since somebody messed up his travel arrangements, all would be fixed and James could fly home. Not so. I actually had to go pick him up. With traffic, I was in the car for a little over 10 hours on Friday. It is really making me rethink my idea of a road trip to visit BYU Idaho and BYU Provo. I am not sure I am up for that.
Anyway, we made it home just in time for me to get sick. Amanda shared with me a nasty little bug that has me coughing nonstop. I am really glad no one has school or work tomorrow, because I need a day to just stay in bed and get better.
There is my very whiny post, now I am going to take some medicine and go to bed. Well, after I take care of .... Isn't that how it is for the mom.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
High School Orientation for Parents
Note to self for next year:
It is okay to not go to the high school orientation for parents. There will be nothing new from the other four times you have gone, so it is okay to stay home.
I sometimes wonder about myself. If I am being completely honest I baffle myself frequently. Why do I feel guilty when I am not at every parent meeting the school has that involves my children? I am in the middle of a crazy week, and tonight was this parent orientation for high school. I told myself I did not need to go. Then I felt guilty, and said to myself, what kind of parent are you that you do not go to this parent meeting. So I went. I listened to the principal talk for about five minutes, because I find her highly entertaining and refreshing from other administrators that I have listened to. After her, I tuned out. In fact I actually read a book for the rest of the hour long meeting. Why did I go to that meeting? Totally unnecessary. I was not alone in this opinion of myself. The ninth grade administrator came right up to me and asked me why I had come. To which I had no answer. Kind of embarrassing.
So, I am writing this to remind myself for next year when Nic is ready to go into high school that I actually do not need to go.
It is okay to not go to the high school orientation for parents. There will be nothing new from the other four times you have gone, so it is okay to stay home.
I sometimes wonder about myself. If I am being completely honest I baffle myself frequently. Why do I feel guilty when I am not at every parent meeting the school has that involves my children? I am in the middle of a crazy week, and tonight was this parent orientation for high school. I told myself I did not need to go. Then I felt guilty, and said to myself, what kind of parent are you that you do not go to this parent meeting. So I went. I listened to the principal talk for about five minutes, because I find her highly entertaining and refreshing from other administrators that I have listened to. After her, I tuned out. In fact I actually read a book for the rest of the hour long meeting. Why did I go to that meeting? Totally unnecessary. I was not alone in this opinion of myself. The ninth grade administrator came right up to me and asked me why I had come. To which I had no answer. Kind of embarrassing.
So, I am writing this to remind myself for next year when Nic is ready to go into high school that I actually do not need to go.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New Pictures
We had pictures taken a few weeks ago, and you see some of the results on the blog. I am not crazy about the picture of the kids all together, but I love the ones of the kids paired off.
The best part, is the poses the photographer put them in. He would ask them what they liked, or their personality, then pose them. He did a pretty good job with it. Nic & Nate are posed as the cool gamers. Kerrie & Kelsie as the sweethearts, and Amanda and Ashley as quiet intellects. We laughed so hard while he was doing this. Well, everyone except Ashley. He kind of got on her bad side from the beginning by calling her the tall sister. She was annoyed from then on. I have not seen so many eye rolls out of her in years.
It was a pretty funny experience and we now have these pictures, which I will love.
The best part, is the poses the photographer put them in. He would ask them what they liked, or their personality, then pose them. He did a pretty good job with it. Nic & Nate are posed as the cool gamers. Kerrie & Kelsie as the sweethearts, and Amanda and Ashley as quiet intellects. We laughed so hard while he was doing this. Well, everyone except Ashley. He kind of got on her bad side from the beginning by calling her the tall sister. She was annoyed from then on. I have not seen so many eye rolls out of her in years.
It was a pretty funny experience and we now have these pictures, which I will love.
Monday, January 3, 2011
James - Three, Jann - Zero
There is a little competition going on at my house. By the blog title you would think that James is winning. When in fact he is actually losing big. Let me explain. First of all, this is not a competition that James has willingly joined in on. In fact, he wants nothing to do with it.
There is only one rule: Don't get a ticket
Here is how the scoring works: For every ticket you get, you get one point.
The lowest score wins.
Here is the record of our competition:
James:
*1992 - 1 point for getting a ticket by running a red light on his bike.
*1999 - 1 point for getting a ticket by failing to have a license plate on the front of his vehicle.
*2011 - 1 point for getting a ticket by failing to come to a complete stop right in front of a police car.
Jann:
NOTHING!
Conclusion: Although James has come about his points in pretty creative ways, Jann has managed to avoid them all together. Therefore, Jann is the better driver.
There is only one rule: Don't get a ticket
Here is how the scoring works: For every ticket you get, you get one point.
The lowest score wins.
Here is the record of our competition:
James:
*1992 - 1 point for getting a ticket by running a red light on his bike.
*1999 - 1 point for getting a ticket by failing to have a license plate on the front of his vehicle.
*2011 - 1 point for getting a ticket by failing to come to a complete stop right in front of a police car.
Jann:
NOTHING!
Conclusion: Although James has come about his points in pretty creative ways, Jann has managed to avoid them all together. Therefore, Jann is the better driver.
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