Cards...Thank you!!

With this busy time of year, I feel overwhelmed with all the stuff I DIDN'T get done, (like baking homemade goodies for the neighbors ~ wait ~ I don't have neighbors ~ Good! That guilt is gone.) But there is one wonderful thing that keeps happening! CARDS! Thank you, all of you who have sent me Christmas Cards. Especially the picture kind. I just LOVE them! I have them tucked all over into my nifty little card holder. Jen, Brooklyn DID do a fab job taking your family picture at the Oregon Coast. And all you Ross's look like MODELS! Val, your beautiful family is just, well, BEAUTIFUL! Those pictures of the kids are to DIE for! Kally, my little pearly-girl gone and grew up on me! And those eyes... The boys will be mesmerized! Deb, your team-theme is the BEST! Bridger was pretty mad we didn't think of it first. He kept mumbling, "our beach pictures are SO GIRLY!" Erika - it looks like you guys are STILL in Disneyland! Do you lucky dogs EVER leave that place? My kids want to join YOUR family! D... you are looking GOOD, buddy! Your oldest daughter is your little twinner! And do you guys EVER stay home? I think you travel more than anyone I know! Mindy (Gwen), you guys look SO GOOD in black and white! (Course Ken always looks black with his perpetual tan!) Wendy, those boys of yours are little hotties! Am I allowed to say that? I'm speaking for my 7th grade daughters... The rest of you... hmm here's a big sarcastic thanks for the cards! Or lack of... (hee hee just kidding! Now all of you are gonna remind me that I didn't send YOU one either!)
Merry Christmas everyone! Now, go drink a nice big egg-nog for me ~

FIRE!

So, yesterday I'm in the basement & all of a sudden I hear a whole bunch of commotion upstairs. I am a mom, so OF COURSE I can't ignore it, & I go flying up the stairs. Tony is outside on the back deck putting out a fire from a greasy pan. Apparently he started cooking, then got side-tracked watching a football game, & forgot about the pan. Brig was sitting at the island in the kitchen & says in the sweetest little non-emergency, but most admiring voice, "FIRE!" Everyone ignored him for a few seconds while he continued to repeat his amazement, then someone actually looked up to see what he was talking about... And he was talking about FIRE! The pan had fire all the way up past the microwave oven that hangs above it. That's the commotion I heard ~ everyone RUNNING to grab Brig & put out the fire! Luckily Tony was smart enough not to throw water on it (I've seen that you-tube clip about grease fires & water... YIKES!) & so there I am watching him put out our fire on the back porch. What a smart 2 year old! He saved our home from destruction by telling us there was a fire! I've spawned a genius, I tell you! And I'm married to an idiot... (hee hee just kidding!)
So anyway, today I'm sitting there & Brig comes walking up to me with that same innocent yet amazed look on his face & he takes my hand & says, "Wanna see my fire? I made it myself!" Panic mode hits! I mean, I'm BELIEVING this kid, now! Remember, he saved us just a day earlier?? So I pick him up & yell, "Where?! Where is the fire?!" & this adorable little guy leads me to the HUMIDIFIER he had turned on in the bedroom. You see, it makes FOG... but it looks like SMOKE coming out the top of it, so he thought he had made a FIRE! Relief! No Fire! Just this cute little kid who thought he had made a fire because he had seen smoke. Oh, he melts me...

Spilling Family Secrets!

The 1st grade teacher at the school called me last week because her father had passed away, & she asked me if I would take her class all week. I did, & I think I spent most of the week laughing my buckets off! Kids tell family secrets. Funny things... & they don't even realize they are being funny!
There was this one little guy that I'll call "L". L sat by me & stuck his pencil into my armpit & asked if he could see in there. I laughed & asked "why?" & he said he wanted to see if I had short little hairs growing in my armpit like his mother has. Hee hee. L also told me that he likes to make "armpit farts" & asked if I can do it. I told him that I used to be able to when I was younger but I can't do it anymore. He nodded his head, like he understood something that I honestly didn't get, then he told me that his big sister used to be able to make armpit farts, too, before she started wearing a bra! I decided that this kid could sit by me anytime, cause he kept me in a good mood when all these other little grubby kids were tattling or picking their nose... When it was time to have the kids write their own sentences using the word, "mom", L's sentence went something like this, "My mom says hell." I started laughing so hard, wondering if this sentence was allowed at school, when L came walking up to me and said, "My mom also says S-H-*$@! That night after school, I was talking to L's mom, and I told her the funny stories. He was absent the next day. I wonder if she was just worried about what he'd tell me next! Hee hee!

Listen... I'm Creaking!

I feel like an antique table that creaks every time you put something on it. This body is creaking, I tell ya! Is that even how you spell "creak"? I mean, if I spelled it like "creek" that would be water, right? Who knows. All I DO know is that last week, my new friend, Liz, started teaching weight training at the church on Tuesdays & Thursdays. I've desperately been wanting a gym membership with the long, cold, Bear Lake winter right around the corner... but Bear Lake HAS NO GYM! So, I get on these pathetic spurts where I'll do my own workout around the house while Brig dangles from my legs, thinking it is a game. Needless to say, my workouts never work. And I quit fast. Well, I'm real proud of myself, 'cause I've made it TWICE now to the church to Liz's workout. And that is where the antique table comes in. MY BODY CREAKS!!! She beat me up so good that with every step I take, I swear I can hear my muscles cussing her out! I have pain in places I didn't know there were muscles! I hate her and love her all at the same time. I figured that this is my chance to get my bootie back up where it belongs, so if my body must yell at me every time I move, I'll just have to ignore it. Tomorrow is the next workout. I hope I can get up to go. My motivation is Liz'a stomach & arms. If I dream about them, that doesn't make me gay, does it? Hmmm... Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud. Some things should be kept to ourselves. But those who know me also know I have a talking problem & no matter how hard I try, I can't shut up. So, on that note, I guess my poor aching body has the right to keep talking thru all this pain. No pain, no gain. Get out your microscope, folks! If you look real hard, there IS a muscle growing!

The Waterboy...

So, Sacrament Meeting turned out to be a tad bit embarrassing for me. Tony was just called to be the new Young Men's President last week, so they asked him to speak in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Brig (my 2-year-old sprinter), had to be taken out of the chapel at the VERY beginning of the meeting because he likes to go visiting... very loudly I might add... every single bench in the chapel. So anywhoo~ Kenna had taken him out & I was sitting there quietly enjoying the nice meeting... then it was Tony's turn to speak. Tony got up and was doing a fantastic job of relating the game of life to the game of football. He was talking about how Heavenly Father is calling the plays & the Savior is our quarterback, running the team. We are all on this winning team yada, yada, yada. It was really good. He was really relating to the young men with this whole football analogy. Little did I know that Brig ALSO heard Tony's voice from the depths of the hallway where Kenna was letting him do VROOM VROOM up and down the corridors with his toy jeep. Brig took off for the chapel, following the sound of his daddy's voice, & Kenna snagged him before he got in the door. She sat him on her lap to listen to daddy's talk. Then he pulled a Houdini & apparently (according to Kenna, it was shear MAGIC that he escaped), jumped off her lap and took off for daddy! I didn't even know they had come in until there was this adorable little sound of prancing feet as they RAN (told you this kid was a sprinter!) to the front of the chapel! I just FROZE! I mean, seriously, I lost all spine I previously had & just sat there paralyzed! The giggling begins from the congregation. I throw a quick glare to Kenna for letting the little devil loose, & she is just hiding down in the bench, as if that somehow HELPED the situation. So Brig is on the stairs near the podium, smiling gorgeously to everyone. As he's standing there melting everyone's hearts, I'm mouthing to one of our Bishopric members (the one that Brig LOVES) to tell him to grab Brig. So, we've got Bro. Lauridsen in this "grab the wild baby" stance, Tony trying to keep on giving his talk, Kenna's still being a big coward and ducking down REAL low into the bench, the congregation is now OPENLY LAUGHING (can't they even PRETEND to stifle it?!?!) & Brig decides to sprint across the entire stage! He's so fast! Bro. Lauridsen misses him. Daddy misses him. The HORROR of it! I finally found my backbone & stood up and walked up to the stand (hoping & praying the whole time that my presence wouldn't spark another baby- race past the Bishopric) & snagged him by the Sacrament table.. Then I had to turn to the laughing congregation & walk, red-faced, out the door & into the hallway. So much for my husband's nice talk being reverent or anything... We decided that with all that football talk, Brig thought we just needed a waterboy!

Plum diaper! Yummm...

My beautiful new friend, Heidi, & her family

Last night, my friend, Heidi, came over for an impromptu dinner & playnight. It was so fun! her little son, Sam, had been eating plums all day long, & then he had a stinky, rotton diaper happen! Heidi changed his diaper in their van, then ran kids to soccer, & came back to my house, forgetting about the diaper. Shortly after that, I had to pick up my kid's from volleyball, & since her van was blocking in my Excursion, she told me to just take her van. I jumped into her van (the one with the stinky plum diaper still in...) & ran to pick up Brikenna & Brooklyn. After we got back home, Heidi realized that diaper was still in her car & was HORRIFIED that her van probably reaked. As she started to apologize, Brikenna walks in on hearing only a portion of the conversation, and pipes up, "Your van smelled GOOD!" Ha ha ha! We laughed our heads off! She LIKED the smell?!?! What?!? Kenna is NEVER gonna live that one down!

My poor baby!

Oh, my poor little Brig! Today we were getting ready to go for ice cream after Bridger & Brielle's soccer game. As we were walking to the car, one of my kid's friend's was carrying Brig, & she stepped into a TRENCH that Tony & Bridger had been digging (it's a long story WHY they were digging a trench... so we'll just leave it at that~) and they both FELL straight onto the hard driveway! Brig's head was bleeding like no other (you know head wounds... they are scary cause they bleed like a siv!) & this poor little gal thought it was her fault. Plus her ankle got hurt pretty bad when she fell in the trench, so she was crying, Brig was crying, & I wanted to join them both out of panic! We ran inside the house, and Tony had just left about 2 minutes earlier to go to the hills to get firewood for the winter. Kenna called him in a crying panic, telling him that Brig's head was bleeding all over. I'm at the kitchen sink trying to get a cold cloth onto his head & see how bad it really was. This sweet little friend was sobbing & apologizing over & over. Tony comes BARRELING into the driveway & I just hand Brig over to him. (Once he gets the truck stopped...) There was blood drips all across the kitchen tile, the driveway, & down my clothes. It looked pretty dang gross. Brig is such a little toughy, though, 'cause as soon as we got him cleaned up, he just sat there, excited that I was going to give him MOTRIN! ("Yummy orange Motrin! I LOVE orange Motrin!") Ya'all should be glad I don't have access to my own computer & can't load any pics on this, cause you probably would've seen the trail of blood thru my house & my poor baby's disgusting head! Count your blessings. I know I already counted mine!

CRASHED!

Okay, so my dang computer crashed last month. I had SO MUCH to say, too! I mean, with an incredibly fun & busy summer, I was all ready to give you all a slide show of the Oregon Coast with my sister, Jen (I've never personally seen such beauty! Cliffs & waves... reminds me of the creation straight out of a temple video..) But I can't. See, all those wonderful pictures are lost in hard-drive land. My Christmas card picture of my kid's silhouettes on the Oregon Coast ~ GONE. My handsome little hottie nephew, Justin's Sr. Pictures ~ GONE (Good thing I had already made HIM a disk of them all!) Our fun visit to Utah for the Salt Lake Bees Game ~ GONE! All our Bear Lake escapades ~ GONE! First day of school pictures, I CAN'T EVEN load them! ARRG! I am helpless!

So, lessons learned when you have no computer:
*When the computer tells you that a fatal error is occurring & to please turn off the computer immediately, BELIEVE IT! After all, let's be honest, computers ARE smarter than us.
*When your friend tells you to just break down & PAY for virus protection, it isn't because they have a brother's cousin's boyfriend's neighbor that works for them & will make a buck off you...
*Credit Card companies who no longer send you paper statements DON'T CARE when you can't make a payment on time 'cause you can't get your e-mail, or passwords... In fact, I'm pretty sure they all went out to Disneyland on the fees & charges I just got slapped with!
*Bill Gates needs to come over for dinner & fix my stupid junk of plastic that I call a computer that has taken hostage all my perfectly beautiful pictures in it! And maybe he'll leave me a house for a tip...
*The library SUCKS when you have to blog from it. I mean, they won't let me hook up my camera to it so I can post pictures on my blog...
*Librarians are probably laughing at my expense. I like our librarians, but come on! Who can't resist making fun of idiots who don't have virus protection...
*I can't even think straight to make anymore reasons why I need a computer. The smoke coming out of my ears is blocking the monitor anyway.

Wow! I can type with a vengeance when I'm mad! I just re-read this post & thought about deleting it all, but then there would still be no post for my blog. I guess you'll all have to read this & remember that my demons momentarily came out & hopefully I can find some computer geek somewhere to fix this.

The Campbell Family Reunion

The Whole Fam-Damily!

Tawnja, Jen, Brenda, Tiffany, Karmen, Debbie, Mom, Papa, Ben, Keith, Joel, Me, Tracy, & Val

We just got back from my 4 day Campbell Family Reunion at Albion School. It was such a great time! I think the best one so far... & every one of my brothers & sisters were there this year! All 12 of us! We had a huge water fight (the brother-in-laws targeted us poor women. I think they were liking the idea of a wet t-shirt contest...), played family Fear Factor (Ben & Keith served Asian missions & brought lots of gooey CRAP! It was AWESOME!), we had huge blow-up water slides, a Talent Night, a pool, a hot tub, our pyromaniac boys blew stuff up (apparently spaghettios fly the farthest in a big bonfire... & then they went for a 4 am dip in the pool in their skivvies), oh my heck, what DIDN'T we have??! I was sad to see it end and now I have to wait one whole year to see all my adorable nieces & nephews again!

Here's Bridger gagging down an oyster. At first, he challenged Keith to eat it which meant that if Keith ate it (and Keefy ain't scared of eating ANYTHING!) then Bridger HAD to eat it. No backing down ~ No spitting it out. Well, Bridger changed his mind & decided to just try it. He's a manly-man! He popped it in his mouth and a few gags later, he had it swallowed!
Tony is the next video, and he's totally not faking here! His gag reflex is SO sensative! He rolled the dice & had to eat SQUID IN ITS NATURAL INK! He thought he was going to chuck it up on everyone, so he took off away from everyone, continuing to gag while he tried to swallow! He said that when he bit into it, the ink just shot out into his mouth so absolutely disgustingly that he wanted to spit it out.. but he had to be a manly-man like Bridger. This was so funny! Aren't we morbid to laugh so hard while people gag & try not to barf?!?!


Here's Brikenna gagging down a "preserved" (that simply means it is old & rotton!) duck egg! She was having such a hard time swallowing it, but then everyone kept telling her not to choke on beaks & feathers, which was even more hilarious because that grossed her out even more! It took her long enough, but she finally did get it down after a few full-body convulsions! Oh, this Fear Factor is going to be a new tradition! What a hoot!!

Sweet, Sweet Summer!

Jen & I
Jennifer, Holly, Sherilyn, Me, Janice, & Amy (& a few babies:))

The aftermath...

I just don't care to be on the computer at ALL right now. I mean, we are FINALLY warm outside, & there is no chance it heck that I'm staying indoors to blog. I've got a good 9 months of that coming again when October hits (sickening, I know...). So, this week, some of my friends and I got together & hit the beach. TWICE! HEAVEN! I swear, Bear Lake is the most relaxing & pretty lake out there. The shallow water goes FOREVER & I can literally lay there & talk to my friends without worrying a BIT about someone drowning!

Ahh, but laying out all day has it's drawbacks. The sunburn. I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with sunburns. I LOVE getting them & then I HATE peeling for the next week.

For the rest of you out there sitting in 100 degree traffice in a city... ha ha ha! This is paybacks for all the times I PRAY for a mall to be built here & you are out shopping in one! This is even-stevens for all the times you are outside in March while I'm still holed up in snow. This is my 3 months of rejuvenation! You'll all be laughing when our stupid snow hits before Halloween is even here, so for now I'm allowed to gloat! Yeah Bear Lake! I'll be back there as often as possible! It's only a 15 mile drive, & I am SO THERE! NOW, don't you all wish you were me? (That's a first for ya, huh?!?)

Fear Factor!

Above, Kenna is sticking her hand into the barf-bag for Fear Factor...

Brooklyn ~ plugging her nose because the smell was so nasty!

So, Girl's Camp was a blast, & I could go on forever about it, but I don't have time, so instead I'll just quickly tell you all about our camp Fear Factor. How hilarious! Peggy Jacobson, our YW President, brought all this grossout crap. There was fake barf, fake blood to drink, goat's milk, oysters, sardines, anchovies, catfood, & pigsfeet. I can't remember if there was anything else or not. All I know, it STUNK at our camp that night! And we had a herd of girls surrounding us, watching, laughing, gagging, & even attempting to eat it. It was a HOOT!

Kenna was one of them that participated. She was eating crap, and I couldn't watch, so I had to walk away. I was gagging just like when Bridger sucked that raw fish-eyeball out of the socket last Thanksgiving! Again, I had to walk away...

So, in a couple of weeks is our Campbell Kid's Family Reunion. I've asked my brothers, Keith & Ben, who both served missions with Asian cultures, & they are going to head it up for our reunion. Keith just e-mailed us and told us he thought there was an Asian market in SLC with edible bugs (like cockroaches) and pig's snout that they'd check into getting... I sure hope he's kidding! Either way, I can just see Karmen's husband, Brian, telling all his young nephews that it'll make them "manly-men" to eat it ~ just like he did when the eyeball-sucking took place. Oh! Can't wait to see what this reunion holds in store for us!

Girl's Camp

I SO feel like I've been neglecting my cyber-friends & family for the past few months. I mean, I'm not leaving YOU all comments like I should (come on, I know half of you are out there cussing me..."I'M not leaving her a comment if SHE isn't leaving ME any!!!" :)) so I just thought I'd take a quick second to explain why before I need to up and finish the next project. See, I'm the Camp Director for Girl's Camp in my ward, and camp is next Tuesday. So I've been real BUSY. Oh, we are gonna have a BLAST! The sad thing is, Cordie and Lea ~who I now blog with and who both live out of state from me now, as well as my perfectly fab sister, Tif, ~ were my YOUNG WOMEN the LAST time I was Camp Director! That was 7 years ago. I was pregnant with Brielle at the time (Remember girls? You all were so concerned that my "P-nut" was okay. Several times we had to stress the "t" on that word, because the other campers thought we were being naughty... hee hee. Nope, not naughty, just pregnant & sick with my baby named "P-nut". ) Anywhoo, this is me with the Young Women's presidency in our ward, Alisha Perkins, Debra Jacobs, and Peggy Jacobson. We are wearing our camp shirts. I made them. The girls wanted football jerseys, but they were WAY too much money, so I made these on my computer. Pretty close to a jersey, & they have BLING! I think they turned out FABULOUS if I say so myself.

Do any of you out there have any fabulous ideas I can steal from YOUR girl's camps? I think I've got great stuff planned, but you never know... someone out there just might give me something fab I haven't thought of. Let's hear it ladies! (I'm always into the mischievious & I'm a bit of a rule breaker... Remember when we mooned everyone at skit night 7 years ago? Hey, we had long johns on, too! Go Camp Ammon!)

A Little Excitement for Montpelier...

Brielle, cell-phone in hand, taking pictures to send her aunts. She was SO excited!

You can see Tony & Bridger on the far left of the screen... riding the "steel horse"...

This is how pathetic we are. Obviously we have a real desperate need for something to do. Small towns are good only up to a certain point. What am I talking about? Just look closely at the pictures. Yesterday, Tony & Bridger got on our "steel horse" (our 4-wheeler for all you city-slickers) and helped move cattle with a friend of ours. Where did they move it, you might ask? RIGHT THRU THE MIDDLE OF TOWN! ON THE HIGHWAY! They even had a police escort! (Three police, to be exact. Lights going and all~) And guess what? That was MORE excitement than this little town has seen in a LONG time! People were stopped all along taking pictures. I was one of them. Of course, I knew they were coming because Tony called me from his cell to give me the "we are in town now" heads-up. ( I didn't want to sit out in the freezing rain, waiting for cows, you know?) Hundreds of cows, mooing and walking. Doesn't SOUND very exciting, but really, it WAS! Little Brielle was with me, running up and down the sidewalk, excitedly taking pictures on my cell-phone to send to her aunts. Like I said, we are a bit pathetic.

I think I should dedicate this post to my cute cousin, Camille, after her post about branding sheep & biting the... well... I don't want to be vulgar... I want to keep my G-rated blog... you'll just have to read hers to know what they were biting off... but anywhoo ~ here's to the country boys out there! Thanks for a little excitment on a rainy & dreary day!

Oh No!

This is Brooklyn, but my mom asked me to post this for her since she is a lazy bum! J/K She's actually busy with girl's camp stuff. Well anyways, this is Brig playing with the lotion he found ( that I left out :)) and rubbing it all over the couch and floor! :)NOTTY NOTTY! He is sooo cute though, so we weren't mad at him long! Sometimes I wish that I was that young again, I could get away with anything. :)

Another year down...

Brielle's 1st grade class at the Pocatello zoo! Brielle & friends in front of the zoo sign.

Field Trip with the 3rd grade class: Bridger churning some butter...

Bridger milking a cow in Logan at the Heritage Farm Museum

Mixed emotions... I mean the school year is almost over & I don't have to continue the whole routine anymore! I can let the kids stay up late again! No homework for 3 hours straight after school anymore! No more making sure there are clean socks & underwear in the drawers! No more going into the school on Wednesdays to help in the classrooms. No school responsibilities.. PERIOD.. for the next 3 months! I can totally slack in the mother-department. I can lay out on the trampoline while my baby "jumps"... it is really an excuse to get a tan and if the bishop happens to drive by, he'll think we are just playing in the sprinklers. No sin there. I can let my kids wear the same clothes every day until Sunday when I make them take a proper bath (during the summer, Bear Lake serves as bathing grounds ... little sandy, but oh, well.) AAAHHHH! Can't wait! But here's where the mixed emotions come in... The house will be stinkin' messy for the next 3 months, too. Let's be real. The only time my house is really ever clean is when there is no one here! So, if everyone is gonna be home every day, you might as well expect a total pigsty. Messy, dirty, chaos. Who cares. I finally won't be inside to care. I'll be outside mowing the lawn, weeding something, begging my sod to grow, or anything else that lets me soak in the sun while we have it! I'll have the best farmer's tan there is. Well, besides my sister, Tracy. She's always the winner there. Anywhoo ~ I'm SO ready for summer!!! Yeah!

Kissy baby!

Whenever Brig gets tired, he gets REAL kissy. I mean, stick-to-your-face kissy! Last night, we were getting ready to put him in bed, and he was plastering us all with his "goodnight" kisses. And Kenna loved it! What a little love! This baby melts me...

Locks For Love...

Last weekend, Brooklyn went to my good friend, Amy Marlowe's house and got 8 inches of her hair cut off! Brooklyn has such thick & healthy hair, so I was nervous for her to get it cut short. But, she wanted a short and "sassy-new-do", so we let her go for it. Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!?! And now her 8 inches of healthy, thick hair is being donated to make free wigs for cancer patients. She is following in the footsteps of several of her older cousins who did the same thing. I just love this little chicken-head! She is growing up too fast...

Volleyball

Thursday night was our city league volleyball tournaments. I played on JJ Sports team, & we WON the championship for "A" league! I have to admit, though, I am the weakest link on my team. My team is a bunch of powerhouse hitters, like Wendy Parker, Shelly Sherman, Angie Saxton, Francie Homer, Brandi Olsen, & I. (Kwinnae Phelps played with us, too, but wasn't able to make it for the championship tourney.) I'm not kidding ~ half the time I catch myself just standing there in awe, with my mouth open in a stunned daze after these girls hit the ball. They are INCREDIBLE! After they swing, I can't even SEE the ball! There is just whooshing sound & then the crack as it hits something. Usually it is some poor soul who is left with a stinging arm. Mostly it is the floor. I try to trick myself into thinking that they need me.. a pathetic, ol' setter... & I feel lucky if it is off one of my sets that they nail the ball down with a vengeance. I just feel privileged to get to play with them.

It was a double elimination tourney, & we didn't lose any of the games Thursday night. There were plenty of really great teams out there with plenty of powerhouse hitters... I still would've loved every minute of it even if we hadn't won. I mean, to play good, fast-paced volleyball where there is a lot of great athletes is a blast in & of itself!

Brig's 2!

Brig is totally into cars... so for his birthday, that's what he got! This little 4-wheeler is his new favorite toy, though it didn't stop him from sneaking out of the house on it yesterday to "drive to daddy" after Tony left for work... I found him at our mailbox! For those of you who know where I live, that is pretty dang FAR for a 2 year old! (We live on 5 1/2 acres, & our mailbox is at the top of the hill at the edge of our property!)
They spent the whole morning racing cars down his new track. Brig didn't care who won. He just wanted to push the "bwutton" to make the cars "go!" Oh, this kid melts his mama's heart!

I just stinkin' love this little kid! Here is Brig digging in ~ literally ~ to his birthday cake!

Any Others I Missed???

So, My sister, Karmen, added a real good "Life Lesson" to my list. Here it is...

"oh, and one more thing you should have added to your list of things you have learned...If you get into a car accident because your sexy younger sister decided to grab the steering wheel from the passenger seat, don't tell the cop that you sneezed; they won't believe you."

Ha ha ha! I'm laughing a lot! I remeber that life lesson SO WELL! (So does the mayor of South Jordan's mail box. It has never been the same since that awful "sneeze" ~) I do have to differ on the part about "sexy..."

Any other's out there I missed?

My Big 3-6!

What a fun weekend I had! It was my 36th birthday, so we had a birthday party Saturday night. Two of my sisters (Karmen & Tiff) & their families came down. We had fun. Except Tony, of course, when he decided to add milk to the chocolate fountain & all the silky smooth chocolate immediately curdled into chunky chocolate! (Nothing a quick trip to Broulims couldn't fix, though ~) Thanks, everyone! It was SO great to eat tons, play with you, & get older. How nice! You all are the best!

Some people say birthdays are hard on them & they hate them. Me, I don't care! But as I've been thinking about the first 36 years of my life, I got thinkin' that I'm getting smarter & smarter as I go. Here are some of the life lessons I've learned...

*When wet-wipes say they are non-flushable, believe them.

*Fighting both wrinkles & zits at the same time is an unfair freakage of nature.

*Goosebumps make your leg-hair grow. I don't care what scientists say. They are nerds anyway & probably don't even SHAVE their legs. I'll go to the grave believing this.

*Popping rocks are NOT to be inhaled up the nose, no matter how ticklish & funny your 9 year old son makes them sound.

*Science experiments involving baking soda & vinegar should NOT be done right before company comes...

*No matter how much I visualize myself diving for a volleyball, my body doesn't obey. I'm sorta glad, too. I'd hate to cry in front of my friends on the court.

*THE SECRET is a crock of crap. If it were true, my bank account would have millions & I'd be living in a hut on Kauaii with a maid.

*Gravity is true & my bootie is obeying.

*Sweet, slobbery baby-kisses make EVERYTHING better... except when you get them strategically placed on the front of your shirt right before you have to stand in the front of the class at church. That just makes people laugh.

*Dishes & laundry are of the devil. And since I hate the devil, I avoid them both at all costs.

*No matter how many birthdays I have, my brain still think it is only 18. So do my clothes.

*The little soft plastic rim in my eyelash curler is NECESSARY! Otherwise, the eyelash curler just becomes a pair of eyelash scissors. I should know.

*Eyelashes take a good 3 months to grow back if you accidentally cut them off. Refer back to the last point if you are confused.

*A nest full of baby birdies in your dryer vent WILL DIE if you do continual loads of laundry all day. And the smell won't go away until the Fall. So, baby birdies are in-cahoots with the devil. Again, a reason to avoid the laundry.

*Clowns aren't really funny at all. They are usually quite creepy. And what's the big deal about balloons shaped like dogs? I hate dogs.

*Cat's are just as dumb as dogs. I hate them, too. The best pet would be a jellyfish tank if they just wouldn't kill you when you tried to play with them.

*Cows WILL chase you, even if your friend says, "They are MORE scared of you..." Dang liar.

*No matter how gross you look, it's a turn-on to your husband when you ride a 4-wheeler real wild in the mud.

*You get a WAY better tan if you lay out on your roof instead of the lawn. Just hope that the bishop's wife doesn't feel the "need" to "inform" your dad. The big tattletale.

*If you can't touch the bottom of the lake, your mind WILL wander about fish biting off your toes or dead bodies snagging on to your ankles. That just makes you panic. And have a strong urge to wet your pants.

*If the guy making your food at the restaurant is hairy, greasy, or licks his fingers, you might find it is a real good idea to leave without paying. Or eating.

*Dust can multiply & replenish the earth. Faster than rabbits even.

*It's a sad day when the kids outgrow the diaper bags. I mean, how else am I supposed to sneak treats into church?

There. Now you all can be smarter, too, without having to get old & decrepit, like me! I wonder what the next year will bring me. I mean... I'm already like a genius in the smarts department...

Guppy...

So, I'm continually asked why people call me "Guppy." I figure, rather than explaining the story a thousand times, I'd just stick it on here for all my millions of readers. (You know, I HAVE hit the 5,000 mark on my counter... though 3/4 of them are just ME checking to see if anyone has left me comments, hint hint hint!:) ) Oh, yes, back to the real post ~

So, when I was a baby, I guess I made fish lips when I nursed. That's it. Done. There's no mystery. I'm called "Guppy" 'cause I made funny lips when I breastfed. I'll forever be linked to my mom's... well, you get the idea.

Growing up, ALL my teachers in my little town of Melba, ID called me "Guppy." My grade school teachers, jr. high teachers, high school teachers, coaches, bishop, that was JUST what I was known by! In fact, when my niece, Havelah, was... like... 17, she told me she had NO IDEA who Aunt Koriann even was until someone else explained it to her one day. She only knew me as Guppy. Ha, too funny, you gullible little lady.

So, those of you who already call me "Guppy", thanks. That means you know me well & aren't shy to say it. You are my true friends. It's funny, but the men are always the ones who say it... like it's a funny way to tease me. Women are MUCH more careful, which is weird 'cause I have a ton of you out there that I adore. You are just chickens. Scaredy cats. Big ol' freakin' weirdos. Oh, wait. I got carried away.

The babbling is over. I'm an old lady (35 years old for a few more days) who is called by the name of a fish. Oh well. It could be worse. At least it isn't "Tootie"!!! :)

Lunch Bunch

This post actually happened a few days before we left for Spring Break to St. George, & I wanted to include it on my blog. Because life got so hectic with packing and taking off for a week, I just kept putting it off. I went to get my hair cut the other day, & my friend, Tricia, told me she'd been checking me blog for the last couple WEEKS to see if I'd posted it yet! AAAWWW! I felt so bad! So, here it is! A day late & a dollar short... This one's for you, Tricia!
We had Lunch Bunch at my house a few weeks ago, and it was SO fun! I really needed the adult conversation & the food that everyone ELSE brought (I HATE to eat my own cooking! :)) was absolutely yummy. As everyone is slowly leaving, there were just 3 of us left yapping in the kitchen... Tricia, Liz, & I. As we are talking, suddenly Tricia says, "The babies are too quiet!" & she takes off toward the front door. This is what we found! Liz's delectable, homemade carrot cake being SHOVED into their mouths as fast as they could go! Their pudgy little fists were a mess. Of course we all start laughing & I run for my camera. At this point, it gets Cooper and Brig all excitable, & they start laughing. What were they laughing at, you might ask? I would've thought it was simply the fact that they had MAULED this carrot cake & weren't in any sort of trouble (just giggling mommies! Who could get mad?!?!)) but to our surprise, they had started a cake-fight! They were hucking it at each other! Okay,I'm not sure Cooper hucked any... but I've got proof that Brig hucked some! Oh, these cute little precious boys!
And Liz, next time we do this... you might want to just use a cake mix so that if these two get into any more mischief, it won't make me feel so GUILTY! :)

April Fools!

I subbed at the grade school today in the 4th grade class & since it was April Fool's Day, I thought it would be funny to put a great big obvious ball under my shirt & pretend I was pregnant. I got to school & all the little kids were bombarding me with, "Your shoe is untied. April Fools!" and "There's a spider on your chair. April Fools!" and all these other "tricks" that were oh, so, original. So, anywhoo ~ I'm thinking, "Duh. They are all over this pregnancy belly..." Imagine my surprise when they all start asking me about my "baby". THEY BOUGHT IT! The obvious ball under shirt (it even had dents in it at times ~ 'cause we deflated it a bit so it'd fit ~!!!) had WORKED. Oh, too funny! I mean, half these kids are either in my ward or friends of my kids, so it isn't like they didn't see me just last Sunday or something! So, as I'm standing there getting class started, I was answering their questions. I decided to throw a curveball at them, and tell them that no, it wasn't a baby. I had just swallowed a watermelon seed & it had grown... and I thought it was ready to hatch today. Then I pulled it out from under my shirt. Half the kids gasped and the other half squealed. That was hilarious! A few were even disappointed that there was no watermelon to eat though ~

Spring Break 2008

Snow. Ice. Frost on the windshield. Mud. Boots. Gloves. Getting stuck in my own driveway. Daily. Those are the fun things I got to say goodbye to this week! My family packed up & took off for Sunny St. George! We had SO much fun. We stayed at Mom & Pa's house, but connected up with Val & Joel's families every day. Whether it was for an outing to Snow Canyon, to hit Pizza Hut, to have an Easter Egg hunt, have a BBQ (mom snuck & ate BBQ chicken when she thought no one was looking! hee hee) to go shopping, to find golf balls at the Golf course, go to the temple (tried, at least. TWICE!) or simply to hang out & veg in the hot sun. Ahhh! It was fabulous! The weather was in the high 70's each day & my whole family was simply SWEATING! We aren't used to such grand weather! We think 45 is something to celebrate...

Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful time! I really REALLY needed the thaw-out there is sunny St. G!

Spring Break in Sunny St. G!

This slideshow is when my family took us to Snow Canyon. The first pictures are at the petrified sand dunes (or the "cow-pies", as my kids called them. Look! They do have a resemblance... :) and the last pictures are while we are actually at the sand dunes. I could've stayed there all day, except I was starting to itch from sand in all the crevices (Hey. I'm talking about my armpits, you dingbats.) and the babies were getting a bit windblown.

Being here made me realize so many things about how very small & insignificant I am. Not in a negative way, just in a I-appreciate-Heavenly-Father's-creativity-way and I felt very lucky to see it. I'm continually in awe at nature!

Crap. Literally...

BRIG. Need I say more?!?

Boys Will Be Boys...

(~Pause music at bottom of blog before you click on video clip~)
He stayed home today, sick, from school. He really DID have a fever. He had no appetite, which is a total clue that he isn't feeling good. So, why is it that I found him like THIS? Naked, doing backflips in the snow? Bridger, you are SUCH a BOY! And by the way, he only thought it was warm weather 'cause he's fevered, remember?

And, yes, this is Montpelier, ID on March 12th... we still have tons of snow all over our yard. Isn't it supposed to be spring? Waah!

I learned my lesson...

Ever have one of those moments where you think, "Heavenly Father just taught me a lesson"... ? Well, I had one the other day. In fact, I'd rather forget about, but my family teased me to no end last night at Family Home Evening about it, & Brooklyn wanted to know if I was going to blog it. Ha ha ha, they all laughed at my expense. But then it was really so funny that I thought you guys might need a good laugh today. Here goes:

I was in the bathroom fixing Brooklyn's hair for school. She's SO STINKIN' PICKY that no matter how hard I tried to make it like she wanted it, she'd complain & make faces like I was the most retarded hairdresser in the world. In my frustration with her, I screamed a string of, "I'm never gonna fix your freakin', stinkin' poopy, ugly hair again in my entire life!" (or something to that effect. Brooklyn would know the exacts of what I said, and I'm sure she'd be happy to tell them to you as she laughs real hard...) then I turned in a huffy & ran STRAIGHT INTO THE DOOR FRAME!! The thud was loud. The laughter from all my family was louder. Deafening even. I actually PICTURED Heavenly Father laughing lovingly as the bump began to form on my head. Luckily I had enough sense to laugh about it, too, before I had any more "teaching" moments come my way. And luckily my hair covers the bruise...

I saw this MormonAd at the Distribution Center yesterday, & Tony bought it, chuckling, to put up in our house. Can you guess why Family Home Evening last night was such a funny episode, at my expense? Tony was on the lesson & this poster was his Visual Aid. Just wait, babe, for next Monday night. I'll come up with something...

Jen & Pat

My sister, Jen & her husband, Pat got sealed in the Boise Temple last weekend, & it was such a beautiful day! We feel so privileged to be a part of this special day with them. After the sealing, they spoiled us with lunch at the Golden Corral. My heck, we all came out of there looking pregnant or something. I mean, you can't go to such a great buffet without going back 72 or 73 times. There was a definite pouch on me! Next time, I'll have to remember to wear a mu-mu! Jen, Pat, & love you guys so much! Thanks so much for allowing us to be there with you!

Shineah Gibson

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

This is my sister, Tawnja's daughter, Shineah. We were in Boise this weekend & decided to kill a roll of film (wait... it's digital, so how would you say that? Kill a CARD?!?) Isn't she absolutely beautiful? My, Shineah... you were an easy subject. So photogenic. I love you!

Manner's Tea

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Every year the 1st graders at our grade school have a "Manner's Tea" where they teach the kids "manners". First, they do little dances with a BOY, then they have a "tea party" where the kids have to curtsy to their "BOY," who then pulls their chair out for the girls to be seated (this is NOT a date, people!), then they put their napkins on their laps, & eat cake & punch! It is too cute! Brielle is in a light pink dress, 2nd from the front of the left side of the screen. Her partner is Josh Pope, who informed her that he was gonna "sneak a kiss" during the dance (she was HORRIFIED & I told her his mama would be watching & he wouldn't DARE in front of her!) You'll have to pause the music at the bottom of my blog to hear them "Rockin' Around the Clock"... Brielle did SUCH a cute job! You can tell she's counting out her beats. She's my beautiful little perfectionist! I just love her little bootie-shaking. She's got it going on! Her teacher this year is Suzanne Hunzeker. You'll notice I'm real wobbly... That'd be because I'm trying to hold a wiggly 22 month old kid while I'm videoing. Brielle, you did GREAT! You and your classmates did a FANTASTIC program!

The 14-Year Run is Done...

Well, 14 years was a good run. But all things must come to an end. Mine did just a bit ago, thanks to State Trooper Bates who clocked me going 54 in a 35... I hadn't had a ticket since before I was married! And I still wouldn't if I were my sisters, Karmen & Tiff, who somehow flirt their way out of EVERY ticket! Brooklyn was sitting in the seat next to me & even said, "Act like Karmen!" but all that would come out was the pathetic look, the begging eyes, & the hard-nose State Trooper didn't buy it. He must enjoy watching a poor helpless girl squirm. Okay, not girl... old lady. Either way, my run is over. I do have to say he was pretty nice, though. I mean, he actually could've given me a ticket for a hundred & some-odd bucks, but he only wrote it in as 10 over the speed limit so that the ticket would only be $75. Plus also, I didn't have proof of insurance in the car (well, it was an expired card, but I DO have insurance!) which he said could've added $116 MORE bucks! Luckily, he just warned me to get the new cards in & didn't cite me on that one, too. Dang it all. Oh, well... Now the pressure is off me. The 14-year run is done!

SnowBall Dance

Each year, our little town has a "SnowBall" and it has been a tradition for us to take our family. This year, Tony took the 4 oldest kids while I stayed home with Brig to do stuff for my church calling (nice excuse, huh? I really spent most the night veggin'...). This year the theme had something to do with a Luau... They had surfer music, limbo, sailor hats, the works! Ever since Brooklyn & Brikenna were 4 years old, they've gone. They've danced in the middle of the dance floor with herds of their friends. Now that Bridger and Brielle are older, they love it, too. Mostly Brielle loves it when her daddy holds her and HE dances while she giggles! Bridger just runs around like a boy, knocking into people & then taking off... Here's a few of the pics from The SnowBall 2008!

This brought a nice smile to my face!

Click on the snowman-monster to start... then again to swing the bat! I got 238.5 just now. How far did you whack him?

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf

Winter Blues!

Okay, so I need a pitty party. I've got the winter blues... again! I'm in desperate need of St. George sunshine. I want to play a wild game of volleyball without goosbumps on my legs. (For those of you who don't know, goosbeumps make your leg-hair grow faster! Think I'm kidding? Go shave, then stand in the freezer for a while. That smooth, baby-bootie skin will suddenly be prickley! Swear!) I want a real tan that comes from sunshine, not tanning bulbs. I want to throw a baseball & get one thrown back at me so hard it stings. Before you all go sending me samples of zoloft, maybe you could say something funny to make me laugh. Leave a joke. A quote that is bound to make me smile. SOMETHING! Tomorrow is Valentines Day & I have lots to do for school parties and such, so I'll have a reason to put my 5 layers of mascara on tomorrow. For today, though, I'm throwing my own pitty party. Bring on the bons-bons & reality TV! I need a hug... (You have to say that like Donkey on Shrek to get the full effect! :))