Trying to be like Jesus...

I walked passed the boys playing with their legos and overheard Luke praising his older brother for the cool thing he had just built. Luke said, "That is so awesome! Man, you know how to do EVERYTHING!"

Ben's humble response: "Not everything, Luke. I do NOT know how to RAISE THE DEAD!"

It's always good to acknowledge your limitations. But knowing Ben, he will be working on that one from now until next Easter.

You've had a birthday shout HOORAY!

Happy Birthday to 2 very special MEN in our lives!

My little brother, Kevin and Aaron's dad (AKA Stan-the-Man) are both celebrating birthdays! And it just so happens that I have a picture of them together. Why, you ask? Well, during the summer, Kevin was an EFY counselor in Nauvoo, and Aaron's parents were on a church history vacation tour. It just so happens that they attended the same sacrament meeting in the same church on the same Sunday... all the way in Illinois. I love that my brother has his arm wrapped around Brandy-- because that is SO Kevin! He is such a fun, friendly guy. I will never forget Kevin coming to a wedding reception where all my in laws were sitting at a table. (He had met them before, but it had been several years.) I was about to go and introduce him to Aaron's siblings, but he beat me to the table and made himself comfortable. I just sat back and watched him chat away... He made his way around the table and ended up standing behind Aaron's brother Brett while he was talking to my sis in law KT. I watched as he started massaging Brett's shoulders in the middle of the conversation. I just had to crack up because this is so typical of my family-- but not so much Aaron's family. I am sure they liked Kev and all (because who wouldn't?) but I will never forget Brett's face during the massage.. it was like, "Who is this guy and why is he giving me a back rub??" And this is why I love Kev. He is SUCH a good guy. So listen up all you single ladies because he is still on the market.. He's smart, talented, an excellent cook, a great singer (in the BYU choir) a spiritual giant, he speaks fluent Chinese, he's nice, friendly and isn't afraid of girls. Why he's not married yet is beyond me... but I have a feeling he's a hot item at BYU, so you better act fast! We love you, Kevie and hope you had a great birthday!!



Now, moving on to my #1 Father in Law... Stan is my kind of people. I made a list of things I love about him last year on his birthday, but you know that I can always say more! Stan is one of the most amusing people to talk to. He knows everything about every subject and loves a good conversation. I always enjoy talking to (and debating with) him on various subjects and often keep him up way past his bedtime because we just can't stop talking! I love it! I told him last time we visited that I need to start writing down his quotes because they are totally off the wall and completely hilarious. He will probably hate me for sharing this, but I just gotta.. I want it written down for my posterity. During one of our intense conversations with both of Aaron's parents, I said something about why I don't get men's fascination with breasts. He (obviously had a strong opinion about it and said the following sentence with lots of enthusiasm) "To women boobs are just flabby body parts, but to men, they're MAGIC." I was shocked.. because he was serious.. but I couldn't stop laughing. Now, every time I hear the song, "oh, oh, oh, it's Magic..." I just can't help but think of Stanley. I really love being around him and feel inspired by his enthusiasm for life! I will never forget living with them in AZ for a couple of months before we started law school. He was a Primary teacher in church and would get SO pumped up about teaching a simple lesson to a handful of 7 year olds. He would prepare for hours and say things like, "I am going to change these kids lives!!" He has so much energy and wants to take on the world and I love that about him. I also remember him trying to get some overflowing trash into one garbage can and he ended up having to climb up on top and jump on it to get it down. After he finished he rubbed his hands on his pants and looked at me with a big smile and said, "I bet you've never seen a 55 year old do THAT!" And right he was. There are a lot of things he does that amaze me and I feel very lucky to have his example in my life.

Aaron and his dad have a very special relationship. I realize that the reason why Aaron is such a good dad is because he has a great example to follow. I love seeing them together.. They come from a long posterity of good men and we have three little ones that (hopefully) will follow in their footsteps. How grateful I am for great men in our lives! We love you, Dad and hope you have a nice, relaxing birthday! Wish we could be in AZ to celebrate with you (but not really.)

Opportunity Avenue

I am very pleased with our new home, despite my earlier complaints of having to paint and decorate. The house fits us well, and we are thrilled to finally have a place to call home. After 9 moves (in 8 years of marriage) we are ready to settle down and unpack our boxes.

I don't think I was very picky while shopping for a house- but I did have three main things that I was looking for...

#1-- a laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms. CHECK. No more hauling laundry up and down the stairs. Hallelujah.

#2-- a killer pantry.. HALF a CHECK. My kitchen is wonderful, but my pantry is just okay. Without a basement for food storage, we are going to have to be creative with where we keep our 2,000 pounds of wheat.

And #3-- a radical street name. No CHECK at all. I am not unhappy with our new address, but it's nothing special. I drove my husband nuts when I wanted to hear the street name before knowing how many bedrooms the house had. But it could have turned out much worse. We drove by a few houses where I said, "I don't care if it's a palace inside, I will NOT live on that street." (For example: Elkalaka Road, Black Wash Way, Heavy Gorge Ave, Klamath Ct, or Sankaty Circle.) I just don't want to be spitting in someone's face every time I give them my address, let alone explain that I don't live in a circle with a bunch of skanks.

On the other hand, there were several homes that I would have LOVED to purchase solely looking at the address. I would even consider pitching a tent in between a couple of homes on some of these streets. My favorites were:

Kindness Crest, Friendly Court, or Amigo Cir
(I know I would just love my neighbors)

Scholar St
(great for homeschooling brainiac boys)

Liberation Dr

Heavenly View Dr

Mako Point

Oasis Cir

Real Quiet St
(where your neighbors aren't just quiet, they're REAL quiet)

Dream Valley St

Opportunity Ave

Longevity Dr

Elite Street

Lovett Dr

Goddess Way

I was really disappointed there wasn't a single house for sale on Goddess Way, but I'm sure if I lived there, I wouldn't want to move either. Those address labels would have been awesome.

Our kids had fun house shopping with us, too. There were several street names that they loved. For instance: Abracadabra Ave, Scorpion Ct, Safari Creek Dr, Shoot Out Pl, Crocodile Ave, Meteor Shower St, Tortoise Ct, Marco Polo Ave. How easy would it be for a little kid to remember their address when they lived on Abracadabra Ave? Spelling it would be a challenge, though.

Anyway, I guess our address is so-so. It's not repulsive, but it's not anything to brag about. It still has to be spelled out for the operator and that's a bummer. What I really want to know is WHO comes up the street names? If you think the ones listed above are made up, you are wrong. They are ALL actual street names in Vegas.. (they could have been worse, living in Sin City and all...) Do you agree with me that a street name is a deciding factor in purchasing a house or do you side with my husband who ignores me when I tell him that we would be so much happier living on Liberation Drive? Do you actually care what your address is?

ps. If you didn't get an email with our updated info, then we must not love you
(or we don't have your current email address)

Yippee-I-O-Ki-Yay!

We always love going to visit Aaron's parents... even if they do happen to live in the middle of nowhere! The White Mountains in Northern Arizona are growing on us, though. This is our third time visiting in the past year, so that says something. When you drive to a place that is not on the way to anything- then you must really love the people you're visiting! And we do!

• We LOVED going to this horse ranch and riding their tame, mellow horses. Our boys loved the birds, goats, and the WILD PIG! Zack realized that if he stood right in front of the horses, they would try to eat his hair. He would giggle every time and then move closer so they could get a better bite.
  

• Our favorite thing in AZ (besides the parents, of course) is their BATHROOM. They have a humongous 2 person shower, but it could fit more like 5. Not that anyone would want to shower with 4 other people. (I'm just sayin'.) Next to the shower is a dry heat sauna... The boys had fun posing for a few naked shots through the window.
  

• One of my favorite memories from the trip was during the drive. I LOVE being stuck in the car with Aaron because we always have the best conversations. This particular road trip stands out in my mind because I HONESTLY thought the sun was following me. Every time I adjusted things or switched positions, it was piercing me in the eyes AGAIN. Little did I know that Aaron was maneuvering the mirrors (electronically) to reflect the sun RIGHT in my face. He was laughing inside just watching me squirm... and it was especially funny for him because I actually thought the sun was in love with me. Of course, when I realized it was HIM the whole time, I cracked up but only after I slugged him. hard.
  

Labor Day 2008

This weekend has been a frustrating one for me. I was so excited to move into our house (and believe me, I am so grateful that we're here.) But moving can be such a PAIN. I have just felt overwhelmed with everything that there is to do... unpack, paint, buy furniture, do endless loads of laundry (but we have yet to move the dressers in the bedrooms so I can't exactly put away the clothes..) And I have been such a mean mom. As cute as my kids are, they have totally gotten on my nerves! Kids can be so annoying while unpacking toys they haven't seen in a month.. they want to play with EVERYTHING right NOW--- their toy room is literally a pile of puzzles, games, swords, legos, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, ever since we've moved in, I have been on the verge of tears. My husband has NO idea what to do with me because after all I should be happy (he did just buy me a house and all!) But I have just felt like GROWLING anytime anyone talks to me. Last night I went to bed feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

At 3 AM this morning I got a phone call. It was my dear friend Jane who is 9 months pregnant. I answered it expecting to hear her say that her water broke and she was headed to the hospital. Instead, she was sobbing and said her husband had a seizure in the middle of the night and that something was terribly wrong. I threw on some clothes (put on two mismatching shoes) and drove over to her house. The paramedics had already arrived and were helping her husband down the stairs to head to the hospital. He was in severe pain because he had fractured and dislocated his shoulder during the seizure. I stayed with their 2 year old son, Vaughn, as they rushed to the hospital. I tried going to sleep on their couch, but I couldn't. I laid there feeling very grateful that Rick was going to be okay and feeling very ashamed that I have been such an ungrateful BRAT.. especially to the people who matter the most to me.

I didn't sleep at all. Soon little Vaughn was awake and we were playing puzzles and reading books. Jane and Rick arrived home a little after 7 am. I drove home in tears and crawled in bed with all three of my boys and squeezed them tight. How grateful I am to have them in my life! Today was such a wonderful, peaceful day because we were able to do everything as a family. My house is just as chaotic as it was yesterday, but chaos is okay.. especially if that means we are all alive and healthy. The house will eventually be unpacked. The toys will get back on the shelves sooner or later. I may be tired and exhausted, but today I realized what a privilege it is to clean up after, cook for and be around the ones that I love.