Happy (early) Father's day Dad.

I'm off somewhere.  Yesterday, we all woke up, and I felt bad that I didn't make my Mister a special Father's Day breakfast (because I was sick).  It was only today that I realized I was a week off.  In case I forget, or get off again, I thought I'd post this while I was thinking about it.

Some of my memories of my dad:

Sometimes I think my dad buys too many gifts, I used to try to stifle it more with my kids (and I do still encourage non-purchased gifts with my kids- like reading or playing with them) but I've learned that buying presents is one of the ways he shows love.

Once when I was sick (and this happened pretty much every time I was sick, but this one really stands out), he brought me a My Little Pony play set, that included a cloud that really rained.  It really made me feel better.

In Montessori school, someone had made fun of me, and I came home crying.  My dad told me I didn't have to go back if I didn't want to.  I did go back, but it was nice to know that my dad wasn't going to make me.

Once when I was too old for my dad to be carrying around (I thought anyway), I tripped while out on a walk with him, and skinned my knees pretty bad, my dad picked me up and carried me home.

I had invited my friend Jessica to sleep over, my dad drove me up to her house to pick her up, but instead of going on the road, he cut through the dirt field behind our house.  To get up to the street  (and back down again) he had to maneuver a sharp 3-foot-high incline.  It was awesome.

As a teen, I was jealous of all the cool activities the young men/scouts got to do, but not to worry, my dad took all the young women and leaders backpacking in southern utah (twice I think).  We called them, the "It is fair, hike".

In college, my dad drove an hour and a half just to take me shopping and out to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town.  Daddy/Daughter dates were the best.

On one Daddy/Daughter date, (well maybe more than one), he took me shopping for some new clothes, I tried on a huge stack of things and when it came time to pick what I wanted to buy, he suggested we buy them all.

I always thought my dad had amazing taste in clothing.  Turns out he used to just buy whatever outfit the mannequin was wearing.

The only time I questioned my dad's taste in clothing was when he wore his maroon shirt with red suspenders (he's colorblind, and thought they were the same color).

My dad is always helping those around him.  His heart hurts to see anyone in pain, or going without.

One of the nicest examples I can think of of what kind of man my dad is:  At book club last week, I was talking with some of my friends, and one (who has known my parents for a long time) told me about a funny article written by LDS satire columnist Robert Kirby.  Five Kinds of Mormons and I'll give a short overview (but for the full thing, read the link):

Liberal Mormons-not necessarily politically liberal, just not considered mainstream by the other mormons.

Genuine Mormons- practically invisible because of their low-key approach to the gospel. That and because they are rarely found at home, almost always being off helping others through some trial or other. GMs operate out of love instead of guilt. (there's only 12 of these in the world, and four of them are the three Nephites and John the beloved)


Conservative Mormons- the largest group of the 5 categories.  Most mormons, especially in Utah are this type.

Orthodox Mormons- if "no dating until you're 16" is good.  "No dating until you're 18" is better.

Nazi Mormons- Those of the "God is a BYU alumnus" sort.

ANYWAY, my friend said, George is a Genuine Mormon.  It's true, whenever he hears about a problem, he asks what he can do to help.  He cares about people.

Thanks for teaching me to care about other people.  Thanks for showing me that I can love the Gospel, even when I don't have answers for all of my questions.

I love you Dad!

Kid Funnies

The kids say so many funny things, that I thought I'd better get as many written down as I can before I forget them...

A (age 6) to J (age 8)- they were arguing over something.... "J! You have to learn to love NOT hate!"

A (again) to me, in a concerned voice.... "Mom, sometimes J hates me, then he loves me, then he hates me?!"

CP (age 2) is finally acknowledging his age. "When I'm 5, I'll go to school. But today I'm 2!" (He used to always say he was 5)

CP has been really intent on coloring at church lately. The last few sundays, he'll sit for the whole sacrament meeting and focus really hard on his picture. My Mister sneaked this picture a couple of weeks ago with his phone:

CP does the same thing during nursery, when it's time to color, he's focused on getting every little bit of the picture colored. Last sunday he didn't even want his fruit snacks that we let him have after the sacrament, because he was too busy. He wanted me to draw Lightening McQueen and 'Mater, luckily he's not picky that my pictures aren't the best, he just colors them in.

The music leader in CP's nursery is amazing, CP has been singing, "Families Can Be Together Forever", and "Do as I'm Doing". Those aren't songs we've sung at home recently, so I know it's nursery. The funniest thing is when he starts singing one, gets distracted by a particular word, and switches to a different song, usually the theme song from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Another cute thing A has been doing lately... In his nightly prayers, he asks for Grandma and Grandpa to be safe on their mission, and to do good work, but he also has started saying, "please bless the people in Haiti that they'll be better from their earthquake, and please bless the earth that there won't be any more earthquakes". He is such a sweet thoughtful kid.

J is getting older (he's 8!), so he doesn't say funny things as much as he used to. He's working hard in school, and playing Jr. Jazz basketball. Sometimes I look at him and wonder why he's being such a brat, :) and other times I look at him, and realize how little he still is. He really is a mature kid, and is easy to reason with. He acts older than he is so much of the time, that when he acts like an 8-year-old, it's frustrating. I'm just glad that he still asks if he can "snuggle me" when he's upset, and that he likes to see me at school.

For My Mom

...because she doesn't look on facebook and misses the updates about what is going on in my life (nevermind that we live close and see each other at least once a week...).

I made pie with a BIL in Oregon. He actually made all the fillings, I just took care of the crust. It's not my best effort, but they tasted good.

Berry (see the 'B' on the pie in the back) and apple are the only pies we got a picture of. I was having crust issues.
At Multnomah Falls, we met a long-time-online-gardening-friend and her husband. It was nice to talk to her in person- she felt like family. Multnomah Falls was beautiful, as we got close the water hitting the pool below sounded like a freight train. We walked up to the bridge in the background, at that point the spray off the falls felt like a heavy rain.

K's brother took us to a Chinese garden in Portland OR, it's just under 1 acre, or one city block, right in the middle of downtown. I was fascinated by the ground. Each area of the garden had a different pattern of hand-laid stones. This was my favorite (I especially love the moss growing between the stones):

After the garden we had lunch in a park (with the homeless man peeing behind a tree) and stopped at Powells Bookstore. It was ENORMOUS, and we could have gotten lost very easily, luckily we found our way out after finding plenty of new reading material.
The day after Thanksgiving another of K's brothers took us (8 or 9 adults and nearly 20 children) to Newport to see the beach. It was cold and windy, so after looking at tidepools (and a cool mushroom growing on the cliff side (drat that I didn't take a picture of it)) we left the beach to find somewhere to eat. Walking around the harbor we stopped to watch the sea lions play King of the Mountain. A few would be up on the platform, and others would try to climb up. As soon as a new sea lion started up, the others would all start barking, we found out why when a newcomer tipped the platform in his attempt to get on and made two others fall off (he did make it on though).

I missed my family at Thanksgiving. I've been spoiled to have dinner prepared the way my mom does it, and I've had to remind myself that just because it's not the same doesn't mean it's bad. Our meal was delicious (though I missed having orange rolls and my mom's stuffing).

And lastly, a quick update on funny things the kids say and do:

J accidentally bounced a ping pong ball into the oven. The door was open because I had just taken bread out. I was able to scoop the ball out just as it started melting, using a wooden spoon. It landed on the floor and started putting off thick green smoke. I used a hot pad, which is now scorched, to pick it up and drop it into the sink, just in time for it to burst into flames. Glad that didn't happen when I was holding it two seconds prior. If you've ever wondered why the rule "no bouncing balls in the house" got started, consider our experience.

A has been really into instructing his 2-year-old brother on life lessons lately. Lesson #1: If it's alcohol, say no, but if it's not alcohol and I tell you to do it, you should do it. Life Lesson #2 "CP, I don't believe you. I don't believe it unless I can see it, unless it's Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father is the only thing we believe if we can't see it".

Emotions from the SL Tribune

Amusement (with a pardon to my Mister)

From the comments on this editorial:
Utah is no longer the reddest state in the Union; that honor now goes to, I believe, Idaho (whose new state slogan is "Utah's Slow Cousin To The North").

Disgust

Letter to the Editor

Overheard on the FrontRunner commuter train the day before Halloween: "There are so many non-LDS in our neighborhood - in fact, we're the minority - that our ward decided to sponsor a trunk-or-treat."
Would someone please give me the scripture reference where Jesus teaches fear and intolerance?

and finally....

HA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA

link

"As he tries to bring us closer to socialism," Chaffetz warned, "I will be a strong voice in opposition."

Happy Birthday to me!

A birthday card from my brother... Rather fitting considering my birthday always came first! hehehe.

Funny thing of the day

Today at the park:

(J to a mom who we didn't know):

I don't want to brag, but look what I can do!

Then he hung from his knees on a metal climbing ladder thing, held on with his hands and flipped over onto the ground.

He's so humble.

This evening A was cutting paper, and got really frustrated. He had a bunch of triangles laying on the floor in front of him. He looked at me and said, I just can't cut a circle mom!

I told him it takes lots of practice.

He wanted to make a moon.

Funny things and Naughty babies

Me: What should we have for lunch?
A: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches!
J: I'm retired from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

(I'm not terribly fond of peanut butter myself, so he must take after me.)

This is what happens to babies who are naughty at our house. (Just kidding- this kid just likes to crawl into small areas!)

Why I still read the Trib comments....

Usually the comments on articles are mormon bashing, and I try (unsuccessfully) to not read them.  This article, although not funny in itself (I don't advocate laughing at people who get attacked with shovels, really!), had the best comments.  My Mister and I sat last night (granted it was late) and laughed so hard we were nearly crying.

Check out the articleHERE, and if you need a link directly to the comments it's HERE

Rereading them this morning, they're not quite so rolling-on-the-floor-funny, but still amusing.

Here are the comments just in case they disappear from online...

This is the kind of headline newspaper people fantasize about!

A shovel? He may have been planning on more than urinating. (having a dog that we do poop scoop duty for, this one is my favorite)

It will be interesting when the name of the criminal is released.

I wondered where all my neighbors moved to.

Never bother a man urinating on your lawn while he is holding a shovel.

Looks like someone needs to be more discreet with their public urination. Its a skill that takes time, but once mastered, the world can become your urinal..

Not for the women :-(

Men have the power to water down bugs while camping and can write their name in the snow with urine. Maybe thats why "MEN" think they should rule the world.

Coffee Tables are not for the belly

A said to me, "My teacher said we shouldn't drink coffee".

I said, "That's right, we don't drink coffee".

He said, "Then why do we have a coffee table?".

He suggested we call it a water table, or a milk table, or an orange juice table.

What do you get when you cross a Pear and a Carrot?

A Parrot!

A says they make good snacks, at least the pear part, since he didn't really want to eat carrots.

A. A Wash Cloth, A Bandaid, A partially emptied Kit Kat Wrapper and the Camcorder charger cord

Q. Things CP tried to eat this morning, so far.

I saw him with the bandaid and wondered where he got it, until I saw the wash cloths all over the floor and the box of bandaids dumped out into the drawer. Just prior to that, I heard rustling sounds and peeked over at him and saw him trying to devour a mini kit kat wrapper, which for some strange reason had just a bit of kit kat left in it (Someone else must have eaten that kit kat, because I would never leave a partially eaten kit kat sitting around).

In other news, A told me recently that we needed to purchase two more humans.

Originally he wanted to buy a blue car, but I told him that we wouldn't all fit in a car, he then pointed out that we have two empty seats in the van. He's been trained well (maybe) that we shouldn't waste resources, so naturally he wanted to fill those empty spots right up. "We need to buy two humans mom".

Hmmm, good luck with that.

Finally, on Sunday I saw the most adorable little girl I think I have ever seen. Maybe not the most adorable, but there was something about her that caught my attention. Maybe she reminded me of me. Whatever it was, she made me really want a little girl. Almost bad enough to forget that I already have a baby, and that I've got my hands full at the moment (CP just tried to eat his daddy's glasses, and everything else left out on the night stand- I think our house needs to be more clutter-free).

Too much

I just read that New Kids on the Block are getting back together.

I'm speechless.

(My seventh grade locker partner (hi K!) loved them, so maybe she'll be excited!)

April Fools

J&A weren't sure what to think about the weird breakfast dad made them this morning, until they realized it was a Dr. Suess Breakfast.

You do not like them so you say, try them try them and you may, try them and you may, I say.

A-isms

Today I asked A if he was going to be my good helper unpacking boxes. I told him that I thought he was a good helper, and asked him if he was a good helper. He said, "I'll have to think about that one for a little while".

A comes up with some funny quotes...

When we were at our new house and some people were working there- he yelled, "Hey worker! Hey Worker! I love you worker!". The worker ignored him until the last part, which got a smile in A's general direction.

While visiting family: "Hey dad! See that old guy over there? He's my uncle!"

I'll add more when I remember more or we get some new ones...

Simpsonize Me

You can Simpsonize you too

I Love You Batman

Today A and I were walking to school to pick up J. A said, "I'm Batman, and you're my boss, because batman has a boss to tell him what to do".

"Okay", I say.

"Hey Boss?"

"What Batman?"

"I love you boss."

"I love you too batman."

Then a few minutes later as we crossed the street, he held my hand and said, "Batman always holds his bosses hand to cross the street".

Later, getting ready for bed, batman became Jeepman (because his batman pj's were dirty, but his jeep pj's were available).

Funny Pictures of other people's children

These aren't my kids, but most of them very well could be...

People are Cheep

Several weeks ago I posted our range on freecycle. I got one reply, but then the person never came and picked it up. The next week I posted the range on ksl classifieds in the free section. The next day one of our neighbors (from a block over) called about it.

I think I'm quitting freecycle. It irritates me too much. People are always asking for things, sometimes things that are fairly expensive.

Here's a post that came today:

Wanted Bread maker in good condition:
I really wanted one for my wedding, but people are cheep. Needless to
say I didn't get one. I would really like one though. Must be clean,
must work, and must be "newer." If your grandma pasted it down to you,
I don't want it.

This same person also wants a carseat for her baby that is due soon because the one they just got from freecycle "expires soon".

Some people are just cheep I guess. It's too bad really, I think freecycle could be something really great, but I get tired of people asking for so much.

I'll stick to KSL from now on.

White Horse Prophecy

I've heard about the "constitution hanging by a thread" before, but not of the "official" (or unofficial) White Horse Prophecy until I read the article about it, and subsequent letters to the editor in the Tribune.

To find out more, I googled, and found an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal.

Here is a nice little excerpt...

"There have been several Republicans that I have known who thought that they were that individual," says Mr. Hartley [executive director of the Utah Republican Party], citing Todd Nielson, a GOP congressional candidate who failed in the 1996 state primary and Republican LaVar Christensen, currently vying for a seat for Utah's Second Congressional District. They have intimated to him that "the Constitution's hanging by a thread, and that they would be there to defend the Constitution," says Mr. Hartley.

...[but] frankly, I would worry about anybody who thought they were fulfilling prophecy".

I apologize for the (minor) change in context. It made the article more amusing.