Modern Day Pioneers

For some unknown reason we lost service to our cable/internet provider last week. Everything was working fine at 12:30 am when Chris was last on line, but when Trevor attempted to log on a mere five hours later, there was no service. After unsuccessfully trying all the little thing we know to try, we tried calling customer service--except our phone didn't work either since they are from the same provider. Not only that, but we had no television signal. Yep, that's right, no internet, no TV and no phone. (Luckily our cell phones are from a different provider so we could at least call and report the problem.) Kelsie said we were just like the pioneers!

For a day and a half we were without these modern day conveniences. We actually did sit around and look at each other for a little bit until we realized all the other things we could still do.

The thing I missed most? The internet. I didn't realize how much I like to get on and check my e-mail, catch up on facebook statuses, and make my scrabble moves. The thing I did not miss at all? The phone. It was so nice to not have the phone constantly ringing. I loved it! I think I'm all ready for the pioneer trek now!

Prom: Boys vs Girls

Kelsie and Trevor were both able to go to Mormon Prom this year. This was Kelsie's third prom she has been to, so I was used to all of the things that had to be done for a girl to get ready for a prom. Since this was Trevor's first prom, I learned about boys going to a prom, and was able to compare some things:

ATTIRE:

Kelsie: We went downtown to the fashion district, looked at

HUNDREDS of dresses, tried on MANY, finally found one, but we also had to "modestize" the dress.

Time & money spent: About 7 hours and $90. (A bargain!)

Trevor: Went to 3 Day Suitbrokers, tried on one suit--a little too snug. Tried on the second suit, he liked it, we bought it.

Time & money spent: 15 minutes and $110.

HAIR:

Kelsie: Made a hair appt. a few days before for her hair to be done, went

to her appointment, had her hair done, came home and redid it.

Time & money spent: About 2 hours and $40.

Trevor: I tried to talk him into getting a hair cut, but he said he would just wash it with "good smelling stuff" and that he would brush it so that it would look really cool.

Time & money spent: Just his regular shower time which is pretty long, but no money.

MANI/PEDI:

Kelsie: Fingernails and toenails painted to match her dress.

Time & money spent: 1 hour and $20.

Trevor: Nothing.

Time & money spent: Nothing

SHOES:

Kelsie: Borrowed shoes from several friends who have her same shoe size.

Time & money spent: Several hours trying on all the shoes with the dress, but FREE!

Trevor: Has anyone seen my church shoes? Actually, he did a great job being ready on time and even found some shoe polish to spiff up his shoes.

I decided it's really fun to have a girl and get all dressed up and pretty, but SO much easier to have a boy at prom time. They both looked fantastic and had a great time!

Happy Birthday Branden (and Kelsie)

Branden turned 13 on March 31st. Wow, three teenagers in the same house. My food bill is outrageous. My house is loud. I love it!

We took all the kids to the Paul McCartney concert at the Hollywood Bowl the night before his birthday. It was so much fun! We got home really late and so I let Branden do something that I never do...I let him ditch school for his birthday. (Technically it wasn't really ditching because he obviously wasn't feeling well after only a few hours of sleep.) We also finally got him a new bed for his birthday. We sold his bunkbed in October and were going to get him a new bed, but then all the kitchen stuff happened....and the bed buying never happened. After six months of sleeping on an air mattress, he finally has a bad.

Happy Birthday Branden. 13 of my favorite things about Branden (in no particular order).

1. He shares dessert and sugary stuff with me.

2. He goes to bed early. Early to bed, early to rise.

3. He is the quietest and calmest of all my children.

4. He likes to play games with me.

5. He helps me with my computer related issues

6. He has a tiny stomach. He always thinks he can eat much more than he can...but he just has a little stomach, which means--I get more food.

7. He is very responsible.

8. He helps take care of the dog.

9. He wears his heart on his sleeve

10. He plays the drums.

11. He likes to make cookies.

12. He still likes to give me a hug before he goes to bed.

13. He stands firm in what he believes.

I never posted Kelsie's birthday tribute since her birthday was the same time as all of the chaos with Chris's dad....so in honor of Kelsie's 18th birthday, here are 18 things I love about Kelsie.

1. She has a great laugh.

2. I LOVE her hair.

3. She is very loyal to her friends.

4. She has integrity.

5. She doesn't snore.

6. She loves to sing.

7. I don't have to remind her or help her with any homework.

8. She is very punctual.

9. She takes fast showers and can get ready to go somewhere quickly.

10. She doesn't watch much TV.

11. She has a great scripture reading habit.

12. She can interpret what the dog is thinking.

13. I can borrow some of her shoes.

14. She loves scary roller coaster rides.

15. She has a great smile.

16. She worries about lost dogs in the middle of the road.

17. She makes delicious brownies

18. She has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My New Fridge

I love new appliances! Just as new shoes make you run faster and jump higher, I think new appliances make your whole life easier--and they're pretty.

I don't even mind appliances for gifts, not even for a birthday or anniversary (well, as long as it's not too often). I love new vacuums--when I get a new vacuum I actually use it!

I just got a huge new appliance. A new refrigerator! This doesn't happen very often. When Chris and I were first married, the condo we lived in came with a fridge. When we moved to California, one of my sister's gave us an old(er) fridge she had in her garage. That brown refrigerator served us well until we moved to a different apartment and didn't realize that refrigerators had to stay upright while being moved or else they wouldn't work.

So, in 1990 we bought our very first fridge. I loved that new fridge. When it came Chris took a picture of me hugging it. (I couldn't find the picture.) In twenty years of owning that fridge, I only had to make one repair call, and that was within the first year. After that, it ran beautifully.

Twenty years later, I decided that with our new kitchen....almost ready....we needed a new fridge. Our twenty year old fridge was completely energy inefficient, almond colored, and I knew it wasn't going to last much longer. I now have a new pretty fridge--with ice and water in the door. Will it help me cook better? Will it help my food last longer? Probably not, but it's pretty.

2010

I was kind of dreading 2010. I remember on New Year's Eve thinking that 2010 was probably going to be a crappy year--not a normal New Year's Eve thought, but nonetheless, it was my thought. I knew 2010 would be full of changes and transisitions--things I don't like.

First of all, Chris's dad had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the middle of December, and we knew that he wouldn't make it through the year. Secondly, Kelsie was going to turn 18 in 2010 and graduate from high school and probably leave home for college is some far away cold place. (Although that's not necessarily bad--it's still a change.)

I didn't expect for the changes to happen quite as quickly as they did. Chris's dad passed away on January 11th. Kelsie turned 18 on January 16th. In fact, John's funeral was on Kelsie's 18th birthday. So, I got through a lot of my apprehensions about 2010 over with in the first couple of weeks of 2010.

I don't think Kelsie will ever forget her 18th birthday spent at a funeral in Maryland, but she was a pretty good trooper. Between meeting unknown relatives and working on an English essay in the hotel, her birthday wasn't anything what she expected, but it was kind of a good reminder to all of us that we don't always have as much control in life as we think we do--or wish we did.

Here's to a better eleven months of 2010!

Donor Truck

After sitting in our current garage for 17+ years, Chris is finally going to restore his '66 Chevy half ton, four wheel drive, short box, step side pick up truck.  He has always wanted to fix it up, but he didn't have any time...we didn't have any money...there was always some reason for it to just sit in our garages as we towed it from one city to the next.  With Trevor getting to drive soon, coincidentally, he decided now was the time to fix the truck.

Chris found a "donor truck" on Craig's list which has most of the parts that he needs to get his truck running.  The donor truck even has a gun rack, but I'm vetoing that donation.  They donor truck even ran--until Darryl and Darren stopped to fill up with gas and get something to eat when someone stole the battery out of it---in Compton!  Darryl and Darren, twins from Texas, towed the truck to our house on Saturday. Apparently, they have a bunch of old trucks, truck parts, etc., but they've decided they need to start getting rid of them so that they can each "get themselves a wife." 

My favorite thing about the donor truck is the bird's nest that resides in one of the headlights.  Classic.

I now have these two old trucks sitting in my driveway.   I feel like white trash.  Trevor says we look Mexican.  Surprisingly to me, most of the neighbors come over and look at them and think they're pretty cool.  (Or maybe they're just being supportive and are in shock to see the truck FINALLY out of the garage.)

Tomorrow Chris is towing them to Ojai where he found a guy who will fix it up for us.  The sad thing is I'm pretty sure the truck will be up and running before my kitchen will be up and running.

Happy Halloween

Our ward has a trunk or treat activity every year, but this year Kelsie had a choir concert the same night, and Trevor had volleyball practice, so I only had one costume to worry about.  On halloween night, Kelsie and Trevor took off with some friends to go to Fright Fest at Magic Mountain, so I had one lone trick or treater.  Branden (aka Spock) quickly covered the neighborhood and scored a whole bunch of candy.  It was really weird only having one child going trick or treating, but it was nice to only have one costume to deal with.