I Blame it on my Father

That’s right Daddy! It is your fault my head is all messed up! And yes, I still call my dad, daddy :)

My life lately has seemed oddly like the beginning of Arachnophobia and Birds.

The reason, you may be asking, why this is my father’s fault? Because I started watching “scary” movies with him at the age of 3 or 4. I am GLAD we did. I now love scary movies and wouldn’t change it for anything, but this reason is also the cause of my recent experiences with mind wandering…

Birds:

My dad was terrified as a kid when he saw that movie. By the time I saw it – it looked fake enough that it didn’t scare me. I may be lying a little since I do recall being deathly afraid of a Toucan stuffed animal I had as a kid that sat on shelf directly in front of my bed and started at me. But as an adult I can assure you I am not scared of birds, beyond the fear of being pooped on.

But that is not the point. The point is I walked to my car a few days ago the sound of the many crows across the campus reminded me of that movie. I couldn’t help it when my mind wandered and I started to picture them attacking the bunnies (we also have bunnies ALL over campus – they just wont go away! They are pro at God’s commandment Go Forth and Multiply)

Arachnophobia:

I don’t have an overwhelming fear of spiders. I prefer not to run across them, but they don’t “freak me out”. Unless they are big… I do recall having HUGE spider (granted this was a memory from around the age of 5 so my mind could be playing tricks on me). When I say HUGE I mean like the size of a golf ball with legs. As my 5 year old self sat on the potty doing my business it snuck itself out of a room (I say a room because to this day I don’t know what the random little door in the bathroom led to…maybe a closet?). And it was HUGE! I ran with pants down screaming down the hall. It wouldn’t eaten me, I’m sure.

Anyway, the reason my life has begun to resemble the beginnings of that movie is because I’m being followed by spiders. 4 out of the 5 mornings I go to leave for work there is a spider web between my car and Justin’s with a fat ol’ spider sitting in the middle. In order to avoid the awkward experience of being covered in spider webs (note I did not actually listed to that video clip since I’m at work so that could be the wrong one) I go though my passenger side door and tear the spider web in half when I drive away! To make matters worse! This morning I as I got ready to leave I saw a spider “hanging” in the middle of our patio…only to realize it was not hanging. It had literally (said like the dude from Parks and Rec (tv show)) built an web across the ENTIRE patio. I had to get a box to wrap the spider web around so I could leave.

That is all for today. I hope you enjoyed and you MUST click the link for the spider web joke. Brian Regan is amazing – even if I is the wrong link – it will still be funny.

Groove and Jive its Number Five?

I wanted something creative to call this blog, but after sitting here staring at a blank page for a few minutes I realized I give up and just thought random/cheesy will have to work.

I love that one of my fellow bloggers posts a picture of her and her husband “then and now”, so admittedly, I will be stealing that from her, which she probably stole from somebody else…bunch of thieves we are. If everyone is a thief is it still steeling or just community goods/thoughts? But I digress (I have almost always wanted to say that).

I thought today I’d write about what I actually remember about that day 5 years ago.

5 years ago today and probably right about this time (11:30ish) I was looking at my amazing almost husband (and winking at the best man – love you Sam!) standing in a Mormon church (we were and still are and will always be Christians) giddy with excitement and trying to absorb every detail. The absorbing did not work.

We did say our vows. We did NOT say “I Do” (we were never asked the question! LOL – which we didn’t realize until a few days later).

It was the hottest day of the summer thus far and taking pictures outside was brutal, but we had an amazing photographer that got amazing pictures.

I remember sitting and eating and thinking, wow look at all these people that came! I felt blessed to have so many family and friends that wanted to be part of our day.

I remember our first dance…but mostly how it started. I was put into a chair in the middle of the room and not told why, SUPER awkward! But then, my husband of about an hour began singing to me, guitar in hand, a song by Tyrone Wells (AMAZING artist) called Looking at Her Face (FYI that’s the live version at McClains – bringing it oldschool!) This was our first dance as a married couple and one of most amazing moments he’s created for me.

We danced some more, we walked around and said hi, and then Sam drove us to LA. That is all I really remember LOL!

But the last five years have been a blessing. We have our highs and our lows. Our fights and our laughs, but I want to say this to YOU Justin.

Justin,

I love you with all that I am! I adore you. I love that you laugh at your own jokes before you say them. I love that you use your left sleeve as a napkin. I love that you make life fun for our kids and bring me out of reality sometimes just to enjoy life. I love your random mumblings in your sleep and your OCD cleaning (when you actually clean :) )

You bring joy to my life that nobody else can and make me a better person. I thank God for putting you in my life when he did. Thank you for being my sanity!

Then



Now

Crickets and Surprises (not in that order)

I went to my first surprise party yesterday! Well the first one not for me that is. It was for Justin’s old roommate Rob. Over last few months we have been able to grow much closer to the Rob and his family (the Websters) and the Keys. They are quickly becoming some of my most treasured friends – but that is a story for another day.

We arrived at their house around 5 and after reminding my husband he could not park in front of the house and moving a little further down the street we piled (yes piled, there are 5 of us and 3 of which are kids so we do nothing gracefully) into the house and were shocked to see so many people! How blessed Rob is to have so many friends that care so dearly for him!

I really don’t know the time, but my guess is somewhere around 5:45 the birthday boy arrived and although he may have had a inkling of what was going on I don’t think he realized how BIG of an event it was/would be.

The kids got to run around and play with some water toys outside and we got some amazing grub! 3 Cheers for the lasagna cupcake things! I guess now is a good time to mention the crickets which actually have nothing to do with the story, but it was still memorable. When one of the water toys was turned on it hit a bush in the backyard. Apparently Crickets are not big fans of water and within minutes about 20-30 crickets were running (hoping/jumping?) around the patio. The kids went crazy! Some running away and some chasing them. Others, like my son, trying to eat them.

At 7 a huge van with all the latest gaming consoles arrived and needless to say, the house got quite as all the kids and even bigger men(kids) headed outside for 2 hours of gaming. I was able to enjoy some quiet time in the house with some of the women – I didn’t mind at all!

During this quiet time I realized Jordan was being quiet – this usually means trouble. But when I headed upstairs to Sammy’s room (The Webster’s almost 3 year old son) I saw Jordan sitting on the bed “reading” to Brendan (The Key’s 3 year old son) and Brendan telling her she wasn’t doing it right. LOVE IT!

We had a great time and I am thankful we got to be part of the festivities. So Happy Birthday Rob (He probably won’t read this, but Tawni can tell him I wrote/said it!)

This last sentence is being writing to help keep me accountable to posting pictures later, but in case I forget you can all make me feel guilty about it until I do! haha

The Prayer of a Child

This is my 100th post! And what a way to celebrate but with a prayer from Taylor (age 4).

Jesus,

Thank you for mommy and daddy and Jordan, and Elijah.
Keep me safe and healthy.
Please help mommy not to get sick so she can play with me.
Please make me not drink dirty water with germs in it.
Please help Jesus (laughs, oh that's you!), please stay awake so you can watch me when I sleep so I don't have bad dreams.
Thank you for dying on the cross.

Amen!

There was a lot more to it, but that's what I remember/understood (she mumbles as bad as her father!)

The New Investment

In actuality it is not yet an investment, but come paycheck Friday it will be!

I was not here for the story, but it is still worth telling.

I do not have picture, but I’m sure by the end you will be grateful.

If you have a weak stomach, do not proceed.

Justin called me today to tell me a few things. I will tell you of one here and actually put a video of the other one later.

Elijah lately has had less the favorable surprises in his diaper. Not that anything he leaves in there is favorable, but some things are less favorable and the last few days have been those sorts of moments.

Unrelated (until today) Elijah has also developed a fascination for the trash can. What he can put in it…what he can take out… Now that I think about these things may not be as unrelated as I thought, but I’ll hope they are.

I’m pretty sure you know where this is headed, but I shall continue just in case.

After changing a particularly unpleasant diaper this morning Justin threw it away. I don’t know what he was doing when the incident occurred, but if I know my kids he was probably chasing and/or cleaning up after Jordan.

Elijah found his “gift” and decided he wanted to take it back…is it still ok to say he was an “Indian Giver”…well its been said. He unraveled that tightly sealed package and proceeded to paint the floor and himself with it. Apparently the nauseating smell is worth “sampling” and Justin is pretty sure he ate some of it too. I warned you not to read this if you have a weak stomach right? I was gagging as Justin told me what happened!

Needless to say, we are going to invest in a trashcan with some kind of latch that he canNOT open. Do they make them? I will make one if not! Our trashcan has a lid, but obviously that won’t cut it with this little guy.

Happy Bir-ther's-day

My new position has kept me busy (that’s good for work, not good for blogging). I used to write my blogs on my lunch or breaks during the day, but I’ve been so busy that I have just not really had the desire to sit down and “type” some more LOL.

That being said… I’m WAY late on this blog.

Father’s Day fell on my Mom’s birthday this year. And yes, that sentence is correct. Some like to argue that Father’s day has been around longer then my Mom’s birthday, but my Mom’s birthday is ALWAYS the 19^th and Father’s day is only sometimes the 19^th

Anyway, after church we headed down to visit my parents and grandparents for a BBQ. The kids loved seeing grandma and papa. The kids got to play outside in the water and on the swings before nap. They are still a little confused about “their” room now belonging to Kadence, but otherwise we had a great time! The “boys” went out to see a movie after dinner and the “girls” went bathing suit shopping before dinner (we went to Glen Ivy for my mom’s bday a couple weeks later and had to get a bathing suit for her!)

Here are some pictures!