Choice words from Bella

I worked in bella's classroom today. Her teacher told me that a couple days ago, Bella and one other girl sitting at the table with her were wearing red shirts. So, the teacher said to Bella, "Hey, are you guys going to work at Target after this?" (referring to the red shirts target workers wear). Bella looked at the teacher, and then looked at the kid next to her and said, "Like they would let a kid work at Target," rolled her eyes, and kept on doing her work. The teacher said it was like she wasn't even there. Bella didn't even dignify the question with a response...

To whom it may concern...

I think there has been some confusion. You see, I live in CALIFORNIA, not the arctic. It is freezing cold. I tolerate the almost unbearable heat of summer (generally by spending most of it in a swimming pool) so that I do not have to endure the freezing cold of winter. Today when I was going to pick up Bella (at almost 12:00 noon), the temperature read 38 degrees. That should not be happening. Anything under 60 is totally unacceptable. Could you please fix this problem? My children are not pleased with this either, by the way. Jake wore FIVE shirts to school. He looked like the abominable snowman when he put his jacket on. He couldn't even bend his arms. I understand you (the weathermaker) are very busy, but throw some Christmas spirit our way and TURN UP THE HEAT!

Sincerely

Michelle

Drumroll please...

I just submitted my term paper for my speech class. That means that I am completely done with school until I get into the nursing program. I have been doing this since Malia was 3 months old. Crazy. Now what will I do with all the spare time I have????

Maternal instincts...

So, I have never seen wrestling before because they didn't offer that sport in our school district. Jake decided to join the wrestling team at his school. He only weighs in at 57 lbs. which means a high likelihood of being moved to varsity. There aren't very many kids at that weight, so, they moved him to varsity. I watched his match yesterday and I HATED EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT. To his credit, he lasted all three rounds, although he lost in the end. He kept looking up at me in the audience, and then he'd lose his concentration and get flattened. I was holding Malia at the time and I realized that I was squeezing her to death when she said, "Mom, too tight." My blood pressure must've been at a record high for me. After the match which lasted all of three minutes, I wanted to march over and tell him I couldn't handle wrestling and he needed to quit the team. Unfortunately, I was informed that they can't quit or they become ineligible for spring sports. Boo. I seriously wanted to march out on the mat and pick up the kid on top of Jake and toss him. The kid wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just intensely trying to flatten Jake and I DIDN'T LIKE IT. I don't know if I can handle any more wrestling matches. Really, it's two kids in the center of the match and all these parents cheering them on, yelling "Get him down," "On his back, on his back," etc. Just wrong. And to top it off, have you seen the outfits they wear? Humiliating.

Save some $

Not that I am encouraging anyone to eat at McDonalds but now through January 4th you can get coupons for adult tickets. http://www.knotts.com/hot/index.asp If someone in Cali can grab some its worth $17 per ticket.

Guess who's chubby fingers these are?

In his 15 years as an x-ray tech, the guy said he's never had to x-ray the same finger on both hands. Yes, of course these are Carter's fingers. He hurt the ring finger on both hands...one he hit on the banister when he was swinging his arms around wildly and the other he jammed playing basketball...all with 12 hours. They were bruised and swollen enough that I felt like I had to take him in...Carter's not much of a complainer and he doesn't have any pain receptors anyway, so when he wouldn't even use his fingers to take off his shoes or open a door, I took him to urgent care. Two hours later, all he's got is a bad sprain, on both of them...Good luck to his teacher today trying to get him to write...

Mental notes for today...

1. Vegetarian sausage is repulsive (to everybody except Carter who will eat anything with the word sausage attached.
2. It is okay (according to Carter) to have a pizza party at school, eat his own lunch, and get a free lunch from the cafeteria followed by a note home wondering why you didn't send a lunch with your child.
3. The plastic tops to cool whip containers make excellent frisbees...especially if you throw 8 or 9 of them at once.
4. Wrestling uniforms are called singlets. Malia really likes the look of Jake's bum when he's wearing it.
5. Barbie and the Diamond Castle is much more fun to watch wearing a Cinderella dress and playing Carter's guitar.

Now you know what I learned today...how about you?

M.I.A...

It occurred to me that I haven't posted in awhile. I haven't really felt myself lately. I'm sure there are any number of reasons why. Anyway, I was trying to get in the holiday spirit before Thanksgiving and I put in a Christmas CD and one of the songs was "Thank God for kids." It really struck me that Christmas is so much more fun with kids. And so, I've been taking the time to enjoy mine...
I have given my permission to sit down on the couch and watch whatever it is the kids are watching when they request it. I have practically memorized Elf and The Grinch (cartoon version). I have seen Mr. Krueger's Christmas, The Tinkerbell Movie, and Barbie and the Diamond castle more times than I care to remember. But it makes me feel good that the kids still want me next to them.

I have had long conversations with malia about the Grinch. Namely, in the middle of the night when she tells me she's scared of the "green grinch." I haven't gotten upset, I've just laid with her in her bed until she's ready to go back to sleep.

I have allowed the kids to turn all the lights off in the house (in spite of the fact that there is laundry to be done, floors to be mopped and dinner dishes to clean up) so they can play night time lazer tag with their dart guns.

I have let Malia decorate and undecorate the Christmas tree as many times as she wants.

I have read Christmas books to the kids over and over again. Their favorite right now is Merry Christmas Curious George.

I have been the recipient of the cutest voice ever saying "Mewy Cwistmas, Mom" at least a dozen times a day. Whatever you do, don't say "Merry Christmas baby" back, because she will say, "No, you say Mewy Cwistmas Lia."

I have let the kids play with my new nativity scene at will resulting in a few broken off hands and feet, but at least they know what Christmas means at our house.

I have helped kids make Christmas lists over and over again even though I've told them their Christmas shopping is already done.

I've listened to lots of Christmas music. Carter's favorite is "Away in a Manger." Sometimes when we're in the car, I just put it on repeat because he likes to hear it over and over again.

I've said "no" a lot. Don't take that wrong. At Christmas time, there are always many worthy causes for which I could donate time, money, or "stuff." This year, I picked ahead of time what I wanted to participate in and what I didn't, and I've stuck to it. If it's going to stress me out or cramp my syle and it's not absolutely necessary, I'm not doing it. I've decided I do not have to contribute baked goods to every church/school/communicty function. A couple is suffient for me this year.

And, don't be expecting a Christmas card. Judy took a great picture for us. But I just don't have the energy to send a bunch out. So, consider this your Christmas card/update!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. I'm enjoying the simplicity of mine. I know there are many people who are having a rough go right now. I am counting my blessings and praying for those who could use some holiday cheer!

P.S. There's a story behind the picture, but it's better told in person. Gotta love Carter...

HO HO HO Christmas is coming and speaking for those now in Valencia we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the pilgrimages coming Home for the Holidays. Please drive carefully and let us know if there is anything we can do to make your trip easier, more fun, cheaper, etc etc.
Just a heads up = we have two scheduled activities plus a few "bonding moments".
1. December 24 - 9AM - location to be announced - Judy will be taking family pictures - I am so excited to be able to have these done - Judy has suggested a color theme of creme, brown, and winter red. If this is a problem for anyone please let us know and we will work with you on anything you need - we can borrow or trade clothes if needed. If anyone wants pictures of their own family unit please let us know so we can have Judy do them after the family pictures.
2. December 26 we are going to Knotts for the day. We will be eating at the Chicken Kitchen - or rather eating the food from the chicken kitchen- picnic style - at one of the outdoor eating
places at Knotts. It may be chilly so plan on warm clothes for your family.
We are so excited to see you all ---We love you very much

Somewhere Out There...Nanaboat, Nanaboat

Happy birthday to the Dale! We're sorry you were out of town so we didn't get to celebrate Texas style. Of course, I happen to remember a certain birthday boy who jumped, fully clothed (including black dress socks), into the pool and he brought his lawn chair in with him, so I imagine you guys will manage to entertain yourselves out there.

Since I'm the designated sap of the family so I might as well live up to it. Dale is the greatest big brother. Growing up, he always took his responsibility as the oldest very seriously. I always loved talking to him because he was so patient, non-judgemental and sage beyond his years with his advice. I've leaned on him for countless things for all my life from tips about boys to career pointers to a place to crash when I was interning to a fantastic recipe for chocolate chip cookies. There is not a person on earth who tries harder to do the right thing. He's the epitome of honor, integrity, decency and chivalry. And his downright hilarious when he wants to be.

So Dale, I have these few things to say to you. Can you owl it? Tink tink and "it's already breaded." We love you. Party like a rock star.

This is for Kristin

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Super Step-Mom

Thanks Michelle for posting the previous pics/post, as well as letting me contribute to the blog. I also wanted to add the following. Last summer Kristin flew out for a weekend that included Stephen Rissers birthday party Friday night. Something the boys learned from her, that normally me being the sugar nazi that I am would probably not have allowed, is that its 'OK' to eat birthday cake for breakfast and lunch the following two days (or until its gone). The first pic is from Sunday morning before church and the second one is Saturday. Note that the cake wasnt actually eaten, or it was eaten just a little...apparently the boys preferred Kristin's "frosting only" approach.

PS: Note my teal leather "Bachelor" sofas that She absolutely can't stand...apparently they are not allowed in the new house. Hey they looked good back in the day!

"Yes, I let my boys play in the freeways" and BMW Reliability: As much as I love my M3, I think our family is being sworn off BMW's (or at least Kristin tells me I am not allowed to buy another one...we'll see;), this car, though only 4 years old has had more problems in the last year than you can shake a stick at (4 visits to the shop). Here the alternator decided to shut down in the middle of the arizona desert, the boys and I had an additional fun 4 hour detour in what was supposed to be a 4 hour drive, which including sitting on the side of the freeway building army bases out of rocks, hitch hiking to and from the nearest town and dancing for passing cars to my IPOD, which happily enough we had my speaker box for it. (You can see it infront of the car on the ground)




Kenz stuffing her face: I took Kenz to a science museum this summer, for lunch she asked if she could have the big chocolate brownie for sale, I was in a good mood and jokingly said, "sure but its bigger than your whole head, I bet you can't eat it all", in her classic stubborn sassy persona, she tried to prove me wrong by attempting to stuff the whole brownie in her mouth. Even though she didnt suceed, it made for a good picture.


Kristin_luvs_the_mini: Here I took a picture of Kristin driving my mini van. I know how much she tells everyone she cant stand them, and swears she would never drive one, but thats just to keep up appearances. Believe me, everytime she comes to visit Arizona, she begs to drive my Sienna...I think she secretly fashions herself as the ultimate soccer mom...she will be heart broken when I trade it in in March. :)This post is posted by Michelle at the request of Stephen...

Time for the happy dance...again

This time, everybody has to get up and do the happy dance with me. My friend Elizabeth, the mother of five fabulous boys...is having a GIRL! It is so exciting I don't even know what to do! Let the pink everything begin!!!

Girls outing?

Hey Lazerbeam Ladies! Mom asked me to find out if the girls were interested in going together to see the Twilight movie while we are in town for Christmas. I know that would require waiting a whole month to see it but I thought I'd ask. Adam said he'd be willing to help watch the kiddos and I'm hoping some of the other boys would want to as well. So, if you're in ladies...holla!!!

Carter the animal...

Carter had a soccer game yesterday...the kind that Justin would love. A wet and muddy field (I don't know why it was so mushy...it hadn't rained in quite some time) and some serious action! Carter played goalie during the second quarter and he ROCKED!!!! He dove on the ball like an animal! He had so many goal saves. I think their team ended up losing like 7-0 (or something like that) but during Carter's quarter as goalie, he only allowed one goal and that's because one of his team mates forgot which goal he was supposed to go to and kicked it in his own goal. Carter (and the rest of us) were so surprised he didn't have time to respond. But, the other team didn't score any on him! He is a great goalie because he has no fear. I think he could be really good if he keeps playing. Justin and Matty would love watching Carter at work! Now, playing forward, on the other hand, not so much. He just doesn't get it. I think that's why he's good at goalie. He has his little circle where he likes to stand and if the ball comes to him, he's all over it. If it doesn't, he just stands and watches. That strategy doesn't work so well if you're a forward....Anyway, it was a great game to watch even though they lost pretty badly...

Seriously?

Picture it...Friday night. I drove out to Reedley (like 1/2 hour away) to do my speech for my speech class. I got back at around 8:00, in time to pick up the kids from "movie night" at their school. I brought them all home...hyped up from eating junk at the movie night and running around wild with their friends. Keep in mind, it is well past the 7:00 magic hour where I turn from regular mom into Monster Mom. I was tired and ready for the kids to be in bed. It took awhile since they were so riled up. I finally got them in bed. I came downstairs to clean up the kitchen and within 5 minutes, Jake appeared in front of me with a bloody nose. He and Carter were wrestling (when they should have been sleeping) and Carter landed right on his nose. Now, he could have gone into the bathroom right NEXT to his bedroom. He could've grabbed some kleenex or toilet paper. But instead, he decided to use his hands. So, he drips all the way down the hall, down the stairs down the hall again to the kitchen. Seriously? I'm already monster mom and now I have to clean up all the drips from his bedroom to the kitchen. I was not happy. Then, for my further enjoyment, Bella got up to go to the bathroom and said her stomach hurt. I felt her and she had a fever. Of course we were out of medicine except for some chewables that she hates. She took them anyway after some coaxing along with A LOT of water. After chewing the second one, she kind of got the "this is absolutely repulsive shivers". I was standing in front of her and she turned to look at me and projectile vomited all the water she had just drank. Seriously? So after cleaning drops of blood throughout the whole house, I am now covered in vomit. Is this some kind of joke???

Burn Baby Burn!

So this is what our morning looks like. I tried for nearly an hour to get to work this morning. All the freeways are shut down, the 5, 405, 14, 210, 126... the old road, sierra highway... You get the picture. The San Fernando Valley is officially on fire... AGAIN!! Mark couldn't get to work either. Bummer. This picture doesn't do it any justice, we can see flames on the hill from the house. The view out my bedroom is spectacular. It's a toasty nearly 90 degrees with very strong winds. Here's hoping you guys are breathing better air.

Picture this in your mind folks...

me, doing the happy dance at the gas station because I just filled up my empty tank (the van) for $32. That, my friends, is cause for a celebration. I'm going to get myself a diet Coke to celebrate. I've already had a few today, but I must celebrate...

You know it's going to be a long day when...

you find that pile at the end of your bed in the morning. Yesterday, I found time to wash all the laundry but no time to put it away. The good news is all of that is clean laundry. The bad news is I have to fold it all and put it away. Oh boy. Isn't motherhood glamorous???

Aurora

Don't you just want to eat her up???? Mackenzie filmed this one.

Camille = Tactful

So, Justin and I took Brandon, Emma and Camille to the park on Saturday. Everybody played around for a while. Close to the time that we were getting ready to leave, Camille yells from across the field, "Uncle Baldie ...." I forgot the rest of what she said because I went into shock. The shock turned into cardiac arrest when I looked around and realized there was nobody else near me she could be talking about - for reasons obvious to everyone. That was a really nice surprise. Dad, I guess this is one more example of payback.

I got an idea.

Since Michelle is sick of looking at Obama, let's play a game to help her out. Everybody** post the MOST RECENT picture you have taken of ANY ONE of your kids. So, no cheating. Pull off the very last picture you took featuring one or more of your children and post away.



See? Don't we feel better already? I know I do. Ready? GO!

**Coach and Brett, you can post pics of you with any of the kiddos and Nana/Papas, you can pick if you want to post a child or grandchild.

P.S. This includes all of Michelle's NON-lazerbeam readers, too. And Judy, you're family so you're OBLIGATED to post, but try not to show us all up. :)

No more Obama

I am in some kind of mood and I can't stand looking at Obama with sun rays coming out of his head so I'm posting this picture instead because I'd rather look at this than Obama...I know, he'll be a fine president, blah blah blah, I just don't want to see or hear from him til January. Then we'll get to see him for the next 8 years...

Don't tell mama the country voted for Obama...

Because I probably stay up the latest (aside from Tamms who also doesn't sleep but is probably preoccupied with that time suck of a baby she calls Ellie) I get the privilege of introducing to the blog the newly elected President of the United States. Lets hear it for Obama! Or not...

My roommates are really opinionated when it comes to politics and especially Obama, and I really enjoy it. We got into a discussion following the announcement of his victory and some interesting topics were brought up. One roommate, her sister, and her sister's roommate are convinced we are starting the second coming. I personally took a more skeptical approach to those rumors that have been floating around, remembering all the chaos associated with Y2K. My other roommate is convinced that if there was a limit for the minimum IQ a person must have to vote that McCain would be in office instead. I thought that was a bit ridiculous except, as you will see in the following YouTube video, some people really are confused as to what they're being promised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

I've spent the last few hours researching Obama's platform (yes I realize I should have started this research prior to his election, but better late than never, right?) Anyway, some things were concerning but not hardly as shocking as I had perceived them to be from the descriptions of others (death penalty, immigration, and even health care), other things were more bothersome (abortion, gay marriages, TAXES). Anyway, as of now I stand disappointed with the election results but not entirely hopeless about our country's future. I'm glad we live in a democracy and Obama is our president as apposed to our King.

What are your thoughts? You all probably have a much more thorough understanding of the whole situation and I'd love to hear your perspectives...enlighten me!

PS I loved McCain's concession speech, he did it with as much grace and dignity as a person could in that circumstance.

Halloween 2008

Those of you who remember my last Halloween know that I had about 4 different costumes. Given my hectic schedule this year, I only found time to put 2 of the 4 I had put together to use. The first was used for my ward Halloween party.

Smash and I went as super heroes. Yes, my entire outfit was purchased from the little boys section of Wal Mart. This is our crime fighting pose...very intimidating, I know.




I was pretty proud of how it all came together. It was my first party since the opening social and I did it without my co-chair and still without a committee. If it wasn't for my roommate Kort I probably would have had a mental breakdown in the process... Alright, you got me, I had one anyway. But it would have been far more severe had I not had her help!

The second costume was used for Halloween night. Ashley and I dressed up together again, this time as Stepford wives. This first picture was taken at about 11pm when we had still not made our way to any parties due to some wardrobe malfunctions of some of my friends.

We eventually did manage to get out. Ryan Mckell went as Ryan Gardiner, Ash a Stepford wife, Annette and her boyfriend went as characters from Hairspray, and Ryan Gardner as superman.

This picture was one of about 50 taken during a fun little photo shoot we did back at my place around 4 am after we had our fill of parties.

One last thing...

I voted to day, have you????? And I haven't turned on the news or read news reports yet about how things are going. But, in about an hour, we're headed off to an election party where we can watch it on a bunch of t.v.'s and have maps to look at etc. That's my kind of party....

Who's hungry?

I came into the family room tonight to find THIS all over my couches. I asked malia what she was doing and she said, "Mom, I have to feed the kids." See that pot in the middle with her blankie in it? She said it's blankie soup. Guess that's what we're having tonight since all my pots are now on the couch!!!

My son...the forger

Yes folks, like mother, like son. At Jake's teacher conference last week, she showed me a card that he was supposed to have me sign. He forgot about it and was panicked the next morning. He was so afraid he would get in trouble that he signed it for me. Of course it looked nothing like my signature, so the teacher asked him about it and he said, "My mom was too busy to sign it so she said for me to sign it for her." I could not even hide my laughter. I thought it was so funny. What a crack up. We, of course, discussed it when I got home, but still, pretty funny, huh??? The other VERY SURPRISING element of his teacher conference was that she said she had to place him at the front of the room because when she moved him back, he was too chatty. She said he would even try and slump down in his desk and read a book or play or whatever, thinking she couldn't see him. Ha ha! That kid has some nerve! I wonder where he got it from!

Halloween

Here are the Edwardson children all dressed up for Halloween. It was really fun this year. Thursday night there was a ward Halloween party which was mediocre, but I took Malia around trunk or treating and she kept saying, "This is so fun Mom!" all excited at ever single trunk! It was so cute. On Halloween Day, the kids had the day off. We spent the day carving pumpkins and eating roasted pumpkin seeds. They were so tasty! The kids wanted to trick-or-treat with their friends, so we headed over to the Ward/Christopherson neighborhood where there were about a zillion kids. Since it wasn't dark yet, we dined on fabulous homemade soups and bread before heading out to the streets. The kids had a great time and got way too much candy. We let them eat whatever they wanted on Halloween, quite a bit on Saturday and Sunday and then last night, when the kids were sleeping, the Great Pumpkin came and took all their candy to other boys and girls who needed it. (Jake actually picked four pieces out of his pumpkin and then told me I could do whatever I wanted with the rest of it on Halloween). What is wrong with that kid???? Carter and Bella were sorely disappointed but when I wouldn't budge with my Great Pumpkin story, they dropped it...Bella even told our friend that she saw the "Great Pumpkin." He he.

The Holidays are upon us

As you all know, with November already here I am thinking and planning and anticipating all the fun we will have sooooo I could use a few bits of info like ....guesstimated dates of arrival in Cali, how long you can stay and play with us and when, if we are unable to tie you up and keep you, you must return to your own homes. Would it be helpful at all for me to get maps from the Auto Club to get from pt a to pt b and back. They are free and often helpful to tell where they anticipate road construction or bad weather etc. we have used them often and would be glad to get them and send them to you. They include maps and places to stay etc etc. We have many things planned = none expensive but all fun so...any special requests for dinner or playtimes are cheerfully accepted. We love you and are thrilled to anticipate seeing you all soon

Thanks Nana!

More Malia...

So, today is a good day for Malia stories. Today at church, our sacrament meeting ran over a little bit and the kiddies were getting restless. I should start with the fact that we were a little late and had to sit in the overflow which means metal chairs. Malia was not happy about it. She started screaming, "I don't want to sit here, I don't want to sit here..." over and over. We did get her calmed down eventually but at the end of sacrament meeting, she was holding her naked barbie playing make believe. Her conversation, at full fledge loud voice tone, went something like this..."Plankton, it's me, Barbie. Plankton, I said, it's me, Barbie. Plankton, what are you doing?...and so forth. She would not quiet down. She just kept having this conversation. Then, when it finally came time for the closing song, she started singing, "Connected" from Barbie and the Diamond Castle along with the organ. Only, she was REALLY LOUD. The people in front of us will not make the mistake of sitting near us again. I'm sure of it.

Then, tonight, it was about 9:30 and we had put all the kids to bed. Malia came downstairs and was crying a "I'm scared" or I'm hurt" type of cry. I picked her up and took her back upstairs to try and calm her down. Finally, I grabbed her blanket and laid down with her on our bed (the beautiful one pictured below). Finally, she calmed down long enough to tell me she was scared of the flowers. (Okay....). Then, a few seconds later, I feel it get all warm...yep, you guessed it, she peed all over me and our fancy new bed...all our covers, the sheets, all the way down to the mattress. When I said, "Malia, did you pee?" she calmly said, "Yes." And proceeded to lay back down ON ME. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I thought I was over being peed on! I thought I was going to be able to go to bed on our nice freshly made new bed. Actually, maybe I still will...she peed on rick's side. Hee hee.

Bed Time!!

Like any vigorous red blooded male, when my sugar tells me she wants me to spice things up in bed, I head straight for the workshop. I just finished a project I've been working on for most of the year - a bed to go along with the dresser and nightstand I previously made. This was my most complicated project to date, and definitely the best executed.

It's made of African Mahogany, with panels made of exotic Pomelle Sapele. I did everything myself. I purchased the lumber from a supplier in PA, and it came fuzzy and rough, so I milled and surfaced it all by my yelf (as 2-yr-old Mac would say).

I veneered the Pomelle Sapele panels myself. It was my first time veneering, and it came out pretty well. You can see that each panel is made up two sheets of bookmatched veneer. The figure on this wood is crazy, and really spiced up the piece a lot.

The side rails and bed support detach from the headboard and footboard so that it can easily be moved in three pieces.

Oh, and Malia is supposed to get equal credit for this project, as she shop-vac'd the sawdust created during final assembly. And the bedding is by Michelle of course.

I heart Rock Band

Anyone who has not heard Dale sing "Roxanne," or witnessed him throw his drumstick while ripping a solo, has not lived.

Not so much controlled chaos...

as wildlly out of control chaos. My life this past semester, and especially these past few weeks, has been insane. If I had to pick one emotion to describe me throughout this time I would say overwhelmed. That's not to say its all been bad, but rather that there is a whole lot of good and a whole lot of hard all thrown at me at once and the result is a serious lack of sleep :) Which actually might be explain the following photographs.

The sad part is I have an insanely awesome video of the whole routine that this dang blog won't let me upload. If you're dying to see it, e-mail me. Otherwise, hold out till Thanksgiving or Christmas and I'll hook it up to the big screen for your viewing pleasure.

So, for the story behind these...For those of you who don't already know, I'm activities co-chair for my ward. How it works is my co-chair, Jason, is insanely outgoing and suggests absurd ideas. I, on the other hand, am (or was) basically as anti-social as it gets when it comes to ward functions and thus, avoid activities all together. So, in our weekly ward council meetings it goes something like this... Bishop asks for some ideas for activities, I suggest we flat out skip the activity, Jason counters with a ridiculous proposal, and then we come to a compromise. Unfortunately, the week I was in Texas he suggested a ward talent show and I wasn't there to counter. This week in ward council I made sure to make Bishop aware of our pattern of activity planning so he doesn't make that mistake again in the future. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that as c0-chair I am obligated to participate. Uh...one incy wincy problem...I DON'T HAVE TALENTS ---> at least not any that you'd share on stage with your ward members. However, after much pondering, I came to the realization that I do in fact have a talent. I am an incredible hula hooper. That may be a slight exaggeration but I am better than average, that's for sure. Consistent with most events of this semester, it kind of just snuck up on me and caught me a little unprepared. Today I get home from volunteering at the retirement community and realize I don't have a song, an outfit, or a routine. In the hour between my arrival home and the performance I put together a nice 80's number to the song "You Spin Me Right Round," with 80's outfit and hair included.

Ok, so for the next outlet of my academia overload... My recent participation in my Adolescent Development's Mock Trial. The idea behind the case was that a hardworking, religious teenager ends up getting knocked up by her trashy boyfriend. She sues the school because they taught abstinence only and therefore, she was unaware of preventative measures that could have been taken. And where do I fit in to this mess? You got it, I was the knocked up teenager. Oh how well my teachers can read me! Needless to say I took my part very seriously, as did most of the other participants. We did some massive research and presented our case for a comprehensive sex ed program like there was no tomorrow. Blew the defense out of the water... I mean, when you get a classroom full of conservative Mormons to vote in favor of your liberal proposal, you know you've done something right. Well anyway, here's some pictures to show you how it all went down.

Here is the entire cast of us. Most impressive is my teacher in the middle wearing an entire Judges outfit, from the white wig to the gavel.

Here is the prosecution. I don't know if the teacher did this on purpose (probably because she's in favor of the comprehensive program we were fighting for) but our side was STACKED. Seriously, those girls behind me are the smartest, funniest, and most opinionated in the class and it really worked in our favor.

This lovely young lady is my friend Amanda Kizerian and my teacher assigned her the part of my mama. After the trial she stops us and informs us that "I wanted to put you two together because I thought you'ld be hilarious but that you'ld really bring it...and you were and you did, I'm so proud!"

Once the trial started I meant business. I was in character 100%. This is my, "I'm just an innocent little girl who was misinformed" face...

This, on the other hand, is my..."defense, that's bull crap and you know it" face.

This is a little piece of my victory dance caught on camera. My favorite part of picture is the look on my teacher's face. She was loving it. She not only knows I'm a whack job but she LOVES it.

And last but not least. What happens when you're at the point of busy where you're consistently skipping entire nights of sleep...

A KIDNEY STONE

I don't know that anything I write right now will do this experience justice. Suffice it to say it was the worst pain I have experienced in my life. Luckily I had heard about kidney stones before so when the pain got real severe I was pretty sure I knew what was causing it. If I had waited any longer to go to the hospital I probably would have passed out from the pain before they had the chance to drug me up. Just as a word of warning to anyone who gets one in the future, don't expect the morphine to make it all better...it basically dulls it enough for you to tolerate it.

Both these pictures were taken after it passed and I was flying high on morphine.

I have such great friends...

And this is one reason I love Judy...

Staples...

Okay people, I was just thinking that we eat a variety of stuff..very few repeats in a month or even a couple of months, but there are some things I could not live without. Of course, we're making it a given that you have milk, bread, eggs and cheese, but at my house you will always find these things in my cupboards/fridge: bell pepper, light cool whip, garbanzo beans, cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and yogurt. What are your staples???

Calling all Lisonbeakers....

We are all slackers and we didn't do a Kristin post on her birthday. So, if three weeks is late is good enough for the "other sister" (Judy), then it's good enough for Kristin. I would just like to make a side note that at least we were together (a lot of us, anyway) on her actual birthday in Texas. If I recall correctly, my stomach muscles were sore the next morning from laughing at Kristin (and Courtney's) complete inapropriateness. But, it wouldn't have been a party without it. It made me miss all of us being together.

So, here's to Kristin who is always good for amusement...whether we're laughing with her or at her, we're always laughing when she's around. My favorite memories of Kristin...let's see, there's the BYU college days when Kristin was rooming with Mahele (that poor dorm mom had no idea who she was dealing with). Those were days of nothing but amusement. They ran around in their bikinis in the snow. AT BYU people...Kristin died her hair black and became known as El Vira. Then, she tried to touch up the roots and instead looked like a striped skunk. It was a real nice surprise. One time I parked in the parking spot of the head resident and she came screaming down the halls looking for me. Well, the head resident didn't actually know me, she just knew I was Kristin's sister. All I know is that it was cold outside and that was the only available parking space. What was I supposed to do???...I could go on about her crazy boyfriend stories, but since she's married now, I'll leave those out. I like that anytime I'm home, I see Kristin walking around in a towel at least once. (And now she's got the bazooms to hold that thing up...)I really miss her different laughs. She used to do them for us to make us laugh. She had so many...all completely ridiculous, loud, and obnoxious and hillarious. I got to take many a road trip with Kristin (and Mahele) home from Provo in Pat. Now, picture three very tired college girls, hyped up on caffeine and whatever loud music was in at that point...Good times. Then there's the high school days...Kristin making our YW president's life completely miserable, hanging out in the foyer when we were supposed to be somewhere else.

On a sappy note, I don't think I've seen Kristin look as beautiful and as happy as she did this past May on her wedding day. Granted, their circumstances are unconventional, but I'm proud of them for being willing to do what it takes. We've all had Kristin and Mackenzie in our prayers throughout this custody battle, but we haven't lived through the day-to-day ups and downs that go along with this. So, here's to you Kristin (and Steven) for being strong through some extremely trying times. After this is over, the rest of your life will seem like a cake walk! So Happy Birthday! Next year we'll do it ON your actual birthday...

Happy Birthday Tams...

So, for Tammy's 30th birthday enjoyment, I thought we could post a few memories of her...any of your favorites will do. I'll start. Tams (and someone who shall not be named) babysat our kiddies for us so we could go to Palm Springs for the weekend. Malia was a tiny baby so they had the other three. When we got home, our house was like 98 degrees inside because the AC had stopped working. Picture this folks...three wild children all weekend long in an oven. Thanks Tammy for doing that. When we got back, they were out of there before we could even say goodbye, but I totally understoodl...Turns out, all we had to do was stick one battery in the thermostat and everything was fine...On my birthday right after Bella was born, Tams showed up with a lovely birthday present for me AND she took the kids for a couple hours out somewhere for me. A little peace and quiet on your birthday when you have young children is probably the greatest gift anyone could give you. I think my absolute favorite memories of Tammy are her throwing herself agains mom and dad's front door to make me laugh when I was in the middle of a breakdown. You can't help but laugh at the sight of her doing that, plus the doors shaking afterwards. He he. And, everyone else tackling, dog piling Tammy, the designated tackling dummy. It's a wonder she still likes football...Okay, now your turn. Ready, go.

Malia wanted me to fix her lunch the other day. I said okay, what do you want? She replied, "I'm not going to tell you." Great. A guessing game. When I told her that I didn't know what to fix her if she didn't tell me, this is what she did...sat on the floor of the pantry pouting.


This is the little princess in a football costume. The girl has another identity. She cannot be outdone by her brothers...

Soccer Saturday...

So, today's games conflicted. Carter had to be at his game at 7:45 and Bella had to be at her game which was 20 min. away from Carter's game at 8:45. Anyway, I caught a quarter or so of Carter's game and then went to Bella's game. Bella's team was ASLEEP! Even the little guy who runs around screaming "No" at the other team when they try to get near the ball was out of it. They more or less just stood there watching the ball be kicked into the goal (over and over) by the other team. Anyway, the second half, Bella started to get serious about the game. She scored two goals. After the second goal, she did this crazy victory dance. It was so funny. It kind of resembled the pregnant lady dance with more boody ivolved. It was seriously hilarious! Somebody needs to come up to Fresno and go to some soccer games with us so you know what I'm talking about. Carter is fun to watch too. It is the best when he is "anticipating" a ball coming to him. He gets all excited and moves his feet around and jumps. I love it...

FHE

This is what we did for FHE this week. It was a hit. I was going to hang them in the trees out front, but I can't get them away from the kids long enough to do it. They love flying them around the house and "fighting" each other with them...