Six Silly Seeleys

I'm a Mormon

2011-10-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

2011-09-05T10:07:00.001-07:00

She's a smarty!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Abandoned Blog

2011-09-05T09:48:00.001-07:00

My sweet, dear blog...I sure enjoyed reading you this morning...you are pretty funny! If I can figure out this Mobile Blogging thing, I'll come back to you...promise!

Lucky #13

2010-06-14T00:00:00.002-07:00

13 years ago a wonderful, funny, sweet, handsome man married me.

And now, 13 years, 4 kids, and many adventures later...

He just keeps getting better and better!

Thanks to my honey for putting up with me.

Happy Anniversary Dane

I love you!

Silly Seeleys x 13

2010-06-13T18:49:00.002-07:00

This weekend we got a quick visit from the 7 UT Seeleys.

The trip was short, sweet, and relaxing.

We swam, swam, and swam.

Other activities included:

Mario Kart

Rock Band
Movies
Eating lots of sugar
Rosa's
Shopping
Naps
Sunburns
Did I mention eating?
Many, many Cokes

...and so much fun we wish they would move back.

Thankfully, we'll see them in a few weeks when we visit UT.

Now, onto our next guests...Auntie Dorrie and Rick!

Are these kids getting big or what??

Six Silly Seeley Sayings - 6/6/2010

2010-06-06T19:48:00.003-07:00

1. "Don't you like the nipples on my face?" -Brooke, when speaking of the FRECKLES on her face.

2. "How can you be recording it with the Wii on?" -Elena, when inquiring how we could be recording iCarly and play the Wii at the same time.

3. "Look at his yellow teeth!" -Brooke, when watching a memorial profile of John Wooden.

4. "Is this where the trap door is?" -Drew, when inquiring about whether the clothes from our new washer automatically drop into the dryer when done. (Someone please invent this!)

5. "No bun please." -Cassie, when telling us how she wanted her burger and hot dog for our Sunday BBQ

6. "It feels like food in my teeth." -Brooke, after discovering that her first 6-year-old molar is coming in.

Busted!

2009-11-24T17:00:00.002-07:00

So, I admit it, I used to be a neat freak.

I used to mop and vacuum the floors daily. I used to shine up the bathrooms, toilets, and appliances...DAILY! Why? Besides the fact that I had the time with small children and a stay-at-home schedule, I was always worried that somebody (who knows who) would come and see my house out-of-place.

Since tackling full-time employment and full-time motherhood, the house has kind of fallen to a WEEKLY (or sometimes BI-WEEKLY) cleaning schedule. My Mom even offered to dust after seeing the inch of the stuff on my table. She was here over Halloween so in my embarrassment, I just told her that the dust was part of my decorating for the holiday.

However, the best came today when I found some spare time and decided to vacuum the floors. Brooke came up to me all excited and asked,

"Who's coming over?"

Yes, I guess that would be the only other time we clean around here lately, when company is coming. Nice!

We're Rebelling...

2009-11-23T16:51:00.003-07:00

After frequent trips to Utah and California this year, we have decided to spend Thanksgiving at home. And, since there are only 6 of us, we have decided to have it here:

Cost is about the same as cooking it at home

Somebody else will be doing the cooking

No clean-up

They will box up my leftovers

Don't be jealous...they're still taking reservations

Week in Review - 11/22/2009

2009-11-21T13:51:00.006-07:00

Dane
-Is trying to get over the cold that has infested all of the Seeleys
-Took a sick day which included being the parent at the Family BBQ at school
-Wears his Indiana Jones hat while doing housework
-Is looking forward to a short week
-Loves the concoction of 1 can Coke Zero, 1 can Cherry Coke Zero

Lorena
-Took a sick day on Tuesday to get over the cold
-Dried out her tear ducts on Wednesday night...will miss the VanNatters
-Enjoyed 80% off at Hobby Lobby for some "shopping therapy"
-Watched "New Moon" at a special sneak-peek amongst the screaming girls
-Although she has always been "Team Edward" while reading the books, might need to switch to "Team Jacob" after watching the movie

Andrew
-Finished "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
-Started reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
-Watched the BYU game with Dad
-Insists that we all quiz him on multiplying numbers between 0-12
-Thinks school lunch is better than sack lunch

Cassie
-Advised Drew to "read it another time" when he only scored 65% on his AR test
-Ate a lot of homemade sugar cookies...thanks Mom!
-Enjoyed the H1N1 shot she got at the school clinic
-Loves eating salads for school lunch
-"Makes" her bed every morning by not sleeping under the covers

Elena
-Is grounded from the computer since she lied about not having homework in order to gain computer privileges
-Has to do as much housework as Mom in order to regain her computer privilege...is failing miserably
-Is wearing glasses from two years ago after falling on hers
-Got a "B" on her math test...HUGE improvement
-Forgot to rinse conditioner out of her hair and slept in it...quite a sight in the morning!

Brooke
-Cried uncontrollably when Dad did not stay to be the "Parent Helper" after the Family BBQ
-For some reason has stopped wearing clothes around the house and is choosing to walk around only in her underpants...no pictures of that
-Is in her own reading group in Kindergarten and is on "Junie B. Jones" books
-Believes her "other" (after hers and her parents') bed is the couch in the loft
-Only likes to wear "cute" shirts (when she wears them at all)

Family Picture Time

2009-11-15T12:37:00.002-07:00

Our Family Pictures are done.

Our photographer was amazing!

Thanks Shauna!

We love you (and your assistant, too)!

http://headfirstphoto.blogspot.com/2009/11/seeley-09.html

Week in Review - 10/4/09

2009-10-03T19:18:00.002-07:00

I am so sorry for the neglect to my blog...it's been almost 6 months...6 very CRAZY months. However, after many inquiries by friends and family I have decided to at least try to update at least once a week. Let's see if I can do it.

Andrew got to experience his second live concert...The Killers. Too bad he was so tired that he fell asleep.

Lorena started her first week in her new position. She's a Coordinator now...more money=more work.

Dane recorded the BYU game on Friday to watch after our Wii Night at the church. Too bad for him it didn't record anything but the commentary.

Brooke was tested and was discovered to be reading at a 2nd Grade Level. She is amazing!

Elena is constantly asking for some book called "Inkheart". I've never heard of it, but am sure she will be most disappointed if she doesn't get it as her book to read on our trip.

Cassie has been playing "Teacher" in our house. Her name is Miss Cassie and she gives out lots of detention.

Week in Review 4/19/09

2009-04-19T14:10:00.003-07:00

First some Easter pictures from last week when the UT Seeleys came to visit…

Thanks for coming UT Seeleys...we had a blast!

Now, for the highly-anticipated return of the Week in Review

Dane
• Attended BYU alumni dinner, schmoozed with the new superintendent for his school district
• Got to take a sick day after Brooke threw up one morning
• On his sick day, drove out and met Lorena for a yummy lunch
• Loves to drink Pellegrino out of the bottle and looks like a drunk when he does it

Lorena
• Only has to drive 80 miles a day for 5 more days!!!
• LOVED meeting up with Shauna (PiP), Jessica, Paige, and Adrianne
• Learned a lot about pool upkeep, and how she is not good at it…she needs a Pool Boy
• Forgot about the freeway closure and almost made Jessica miss her plane (Sorry J!)

Andrew
• Gave a great book report presentation with help from his Mom
• Almost got a hit at his baseball game, but was thrown out at first
• Wished he had better hair for a Mohawk on Crazy Hair Day
• Is still wowing crowds with his Rock Band drum skills

Cassie
• Looked like Cindy Lou Hoo for Crazy Hair Day
• Snuck her Build-A-Bear to school on Pink Day
• Loves swimming in the 70-degree pool…Brrr!
• Looks darling with her permanent top teeth coming in

Elena
• Is writing a script for a Wii play…it should be interesting
• Figured out that her writing is legible when she writes small, even if a magnifying glass is needed to read it.
• Can still sleep anywhere at anytime like when her Mom and her friends are playing Rock Band
• Wants to steal her Mom’s new glasses since she loves the Transition lenses

Brooke
• Had a sick day and enjoyed throwing up on leather…couch and car
• Loves Honey Comb and hopes it never has to "expire"
• Wished she could participate in Crazy Hair Day
• Loved having baby Faith here to play with

Week in Review 2/22/09

2009-02-22T18:24:00.004-07:00

Dane

• Cooked dinner for student teacher and student teacher's wife
• FINALLY got a Facebook account. But, if you are his student, don’t even try, he won’t be your friend
• Represented his family at Stake Conference meetings
• Decided that the best drink concoction is 1 can Coke, 2 cans Coke Zero, and a few drops of grenadine

Andrew

• Changed his Rock Band name to Skeletor McSkull. Yes, his parents are worried
• FINALLY completed all of his missing assignments…is happy to be back on the Wii
• Made his A.R. goal 2 weeks early…he’s on a roll!
• Had his first den meeting as a Bear!

Cassie

• Was student of the week at school
• Got to go on a school field trip to see “Peter and the Wolf”
• Still has a loose tooth…which she is refusing to let anyone pull
• FINALLY is in 9-year-old Activity Days…it is supposedly sooo much better than 8-year-old Activity Days

Elena

• Got the croup…again! Thankfully, no hospital visit this time
• FINALLY remembered to bring her agenda home from school on Wednesday, but forgot again on Thursday and Friday
• Got to play the guitar on Rock Band in “Lefty Mode”
• Was the Seeley Family ticket out of Stake Conference…thanks Laney!

Brooke

• Sprayed weeds with her dad on Saturday
• Got HSM 3 on the day it came out and FINALLY watched the whole thing since she fell asleep halfway through when viewing it at the theater
• Had a bedtime accident, but insisted it was “sweat” and then after a few minutes said, “Daddy, I touched my underpants and it is pee”
• Has started her birthday countdown…3 more days!

Lorena

• Crashed another Bunko group as the permanent sub
• Felt like all she did this week was load and unload the dishwasher
• Forgot to put gas in the night before and almost ran out on her way home. Ended up putting 13.5 gallons of gas in her 14-gallon tank.
• FINALLY got caught up on “Heroes”…thanks HULU!

Week in Review 2/15/09 - Birthday Edition

2009-02-15T16:15:00.006-07:00

At IHOP for our Valentine's Day/Birthday Fun Day breakfast. It was a complete waste of $50...what a way to start the day!

Dane
• MC’d a charity concert at the school where he works. Ran around the audience at one point in a pink tutu collecting money. Whatever brings in the bucks!
• Sang with the ward choir in church
• Got to take a sick day from work to care for a sick child since his wife is no longer home during the day
• Got Rock Band 2 cymbals from his true love for Valentine’s Day

• Shaved off his goatee…looks younger…and less rugged

Andrew
• Turned 9 years old
• Only needs to complete one more assignment to be caught up at school, but told a MAJOR lie (2-month long one) so he still does not have his Wii privileges back
• Was supportive as his sisters all made their stuffed animals at Build-a-Bear, not his choice for Birthday Fun Day
• Was highly disappointed that he couldn’t use his Wii Bowling skills at a real bowling alley - his choice for Birthday Fun Day (They didn’t accept the coupon for 2 free hours of bowling)

Where bowling did NOT take place

• Said “Is this all I get?” when he opened his birthday box full of clothes. That’s the last time he opens up the “toy portion” (Lego Batman Wii) of his gift a day early to make up for his bowling alley disappointment!

Why did he get a shirt with a skeleton on it?

Because this is his horrible Rock Band character...he has a skeleton bass, skeleton guitar, and skeleton microphone. It's scary and disturbing all at the same time.

• Picked BLTs as his birthday meal

Cassie
• Turned 9 years old
• Got her curly hair straightened by her mom as a birthday treat

This is what it looked like

• Was not sick this week, but kept trying to convince her parents that she was
• Went to Build-a-Bear and created a Jack Russell Terrier named “Jacklyn”

• Asked, “Is this it?” when she opened the clothing portion of her birthday gift – she must have short-term memory loss…maybe Jacklyn could help
• Picked homemade pancakes and waffles as her birthday meal

Elena
• Turned 9 years old
• Was sick again this week and got to stay home with her dad
• Got to spend a sick day at Brooke’s babysitter’s house…she loved it
• Created Hello Kitty at Build-a-Bear and named her “Hello Kitty”

• After her siblings’ reactions to the birthday clothes, kept telling her parents how much she LOVES clothes.
• Picked homemade pizza as her birthday meal

Brooke
• Thanked Nana for the “piece of money” (5-dollar bill) she got in a Valentine’s card
• Got Elena’s illness during Birthday Fun Day in between the bowling alley debacle and the trip to Red Robin.

Employees singing to the triplets

• Got to stay home from church…and watch PBS Kids (not PBS Adults, i.e. The McNeil-Lehrer Hour)
• Wrote her own name on all of her Valentines. You should see her perfect E’s!
• Created a bunny at Build-a-Bear, named her “Gabriella”, and dressed her in HSM clothes

• Passionately sang every song to “Annie” during Seeley Saturday Movie Night
• Got to play a lot of Jenga and “Hungridy-Hungridy Hippos”

Lorena
• Successfully completed another week of work…and her house shows it!
• Enjoyed NOT throwing a birthday party for 30 kids…executive decision made in the midst of the lay-off and new job
• Sang EXPERT on Rock Band 2 and scored in the 90’s
• Got a Wii Fit from her true love on Valentine’s Day

• Almost burned her house down…It involves tidying and the iHome.

Week in Review 2/8/09

2009-02-08T17:17:00.005-07:00

Let me just begin by saying that being a “normal” working mom is hard work! I have to be super-organized and careful with my time. So, I have cut myself down to only blogging once a week, on Sundays, as part of my journaling.

Hopefully I can squeeze in all of the week’s activities without boring everyone to death.

Dane

• Started taking the kids to a friend’s house before school and picking them up after school
• Since his wife is home all of the time, has had to let go of his “man time” (whatever that is!)
• Got a student teacher who thinks he (Dane) is “Da Bomb!”
• Now that he doesn’t have a wife that works on Sundays, he joined the ward choir
• Took all 4 kids to Drew’s baseball tryouts so his wife could go to lunch with her girly-friends

Andrew

• Hit his classroom’s all-time high of missing assignments with 14. Hasn’t played the Wii since
• Had his baseball tryouts and after a year almost didn’t fit into his cleats
• Had his last den meeting as a Wolf…he’ll be a Bear next week!
• Joined the ward choir with his dad
• Learned that you shouldn’t daydream in class or you will end up with 14 missing assignments

Cassie

• Informed her mom that she would like to wash her own hair from now on…the end of an era
• Has enjoyed doing her explorer report on Richard Grenville
• Got to go shopping with mom early Saturday morning and learned what ad-matching is
• Decided that her afternoon chore of putting shoes away is hindered by all of those who don’t put their own shoes away
• Decided NOT to join the ward choir, she enjoys just lounging after church

Elena

• Still thinks that Title I math is ALP (advanced learning placement)…her parents choose not to correct her
• Is fully recovered from her illness, although she still wants to take the medicine because it is crushed up in Sprite
• Also started to wash her own hair
• Played Littlest Pet Shop, Build-a-Bear, and Webkinz as much as she could
• Decided NOT to join the ward choir, also

Brooke

• Started going to a friend’s house during the day…loves it, but misses her mom (and her mom misses her right back!)
• Plays Jenga like a pro
• Snuck into her parents’ bed in the middle of the night every day this week…they let her
• LOVES her afternoon chore of setting the table because she gets to decide where everyone sits
• Is following in the footsteps of her siblings and is reading before Kindergarten

Lorena

• Discovered that Phoenix DOES have traffic and it is no fun
• Got more sleep than she has in years
• Loves her free weekends
• Got a new ID badge and is missing her “Rachel from ‘Friends’ hair”
• Is grateful to all of her friends (and Dane) who have pitched in and made this transition a success

Valentine's Day Galore

2009-01-30T15:23:00.005-07:00

If you're anything like me, your Valentine's Day decorations consist of some cheap crafts made in Homemaking in a Single's Ward years ago. Example:

Don't you just LOVE the rafia?

For a long time I have told myself that it is too difficult to decorate for Valentine's Day because I have a trio who's birthday is the very next day.

Well, no more! My friend, Erika, has gone all out in the quest to make us all more festive for Valentine's Day. See her posts here, here, and here.

So, after being inspired by her, I decided to change my evil anti-Valentine Decorating ways.

Here's what I've done so far:

Front Door

Table

What? You just love my centerpiece? Well, hey, I do, too! Let me tell you all about it!

At Christmastime I saw a topiary made with round ornaments. I decided it would be cool to make one for Valentine's Day, but use hearts instead.

Here's the finished product:

Here's what you will need:

3 Styrofoam cones (small, medium, and large)
3 pots (will need to differ in size depending on cones)
1 can gold metallic spray paint
2 strands beaded heart garland (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)
10 boxes large hearts (60 large hearts)
6 boxes small hearts (72 small hearts)
glue gun

Instructions:

-Spray paint pots and cones. You will hear some fizzing as the Styrofoam reacts with the paint...no worries. Paint the pots upside down first and then with the second coat turn them over and do the inside.

-Hot glue the bottom of the cones and place them in the pots. Make sure they are not crooked.

-Hot glue the hearts to the cones. (If you really end up doing this craft, call or email me and I will give you further details on this part.)

-Drape garland around topiary

-Display proudly

What a fun Tuesday night!

2009-01-30T12:05:00.004-07:00

After 2 years of thinking Elena was cured (see this post for her condition) we were shocked to hear the signature croupy cough coming out of our almost 9-year-old, along with stridor, retractions, and a very grey complexion.

Dane carried her to the car, gave her a quick blessing, and then I rushed her to the E.R. (the very same I was just laid off from). When we got there, we got back to a bed quickly. All of the staff was also surprised to see croup in a child her age, but with her history it was better explained. A little bit of medicine, a few breathing treatments, and 4 hours later, we were on our way home.

We don't know why this happened now, and will wait to see if it happens again before taking her back to the specialist.

She's back to school today. Let's just hope it was a one-time occurrence.

Trust your children...

2009-01-30T12:00:00.003-07:00

You all know our cute 4-year-old, Brooke. She’s quite the character. She enjoys frequenting public restrooms. We still haven’t figured out why. Usually we will make our way in there and she will all of a sudden not have to go. Actually, the highlight of her Sunday is when, in the middle of the meeting, she tells us she has to go potty and we make Cassie take her. We are still not sure if she really does any business in the bathroom, but it has become a weekly ritual, but only after the Sacrament, you wouldn’t want to miss your weekly helping of bread and water.

So, yesterday, during our out-of-town Sacrament meeting she informed us that she needed to go. Since I was sitting on the end, (and am female) the task fell on me. When the meeting ended, we made our way out to the car and when she was seated and buckled, Brooke began kicking and writhing and holding herself. She insisted that she needed to go, and indeed did let forth a small sea. She even sang Rock Band 2 songs whilst peeing. “Hello there ladies and gentlemen…” We think she must like the acoustics (echo) in the church bathroom.

We were leery when 30 minutes later we stopped to eat (the ox was in the mire) and she said that she needed to go again…and she actually did. You won’t believe my dumb luck when halfway through our meal, she starts kicking and says she needs to go…again. She did actually go…again. Why did I take her? Well, Dane insists that men’s public restrooms are nasty, and that if I didn’t want to keep taking them, I should have had more boys (like it was really up to me.)

This is why we didn’t really want to believe her, but had to when 60 minutes into our drive she said she needed to go…AGAIN. She was kicking and writhing and telling us that she HAD to go!!! We told her that her options were going in a bush on the side of the freeway or stopping in 7 minutes at Chiriaco Summit, home of the famed General Patton Museum. She opted for the latter because she is not a bush-going girl.

However, we should have been concerned when in the midst of the kicking and writhing she finally stops and says, “I can hold it.” Let me translate. This means, I squeezed a little out, so now I feel better, but I am not going to tell you because I am embarrassed and I don’t think you’ll ever figure it out anyway.

So, as good parents do, we stopped at the 7 minute rest stop because we had about 250 miles left on the trip. When Dane went around to grab her, she yelled “Hey, but I’m gonna miss the movie!” She continued to yell things like, “But I was holding it!” and “I’m gonna hold it!” as Dane carried her into the General Patton Museum only to discover that the bathroom was being cleaned and that Brooke really did pee her pants, “just a little bit.”

You might ask why Dane took her in. Well, besides the fact that I had done the umpteen other times prior to that, I also got some new full size boots and the thought of sliding those on and off one more time in the discomfort of the front seat of a car, while wearing a dress, was not my idea of fun.

Back to our story…so we took Brooke to the Chevron across the way and I was told by Dane (while he silently cursed my name) that I needed to figure something out because the booster seat was now defiled.

Should we discuss men’s restrooms? Seriously. Are men just flat-out slobs? I mean, really, if all the urinals are being occupied, at least lift the seat up to pee, my goodness!

As Dane carried a very observant Brooke into the men’s room, she yelled, “But this is the boys’!”

Dane took her into a stall where she actually let the floods loose…again! It was Niagra Falls! After she was done, Dane began to take off her wet clothes, and, with no volume control (remember, she loves the acoustics) Brooke said:

“What are you doing?”

Dane replied: “They’re all wet.”

Not in protest but matter-of-factly, Brooke said, “Everyone’s gonna see my bum…” She obviously thought that Dane was going to take her out with nothing but her (dry) t-shirt.

The undies hit the floor and Dane started putting her sweats back on. “But they’re gonna get all dirty!” Brooke said. (Like they weren’t already!)

Dane then wrapped her wet undies in multiple paper towels.

Brooke asked “Are you gonna throw them away?”

Obviously, Dane had to wash his hands, but he couldn’t put Brooke’s bare feet on the disgusting bathroom floor, so he put the wrapped undies in his pocket.
As he was walking out the front door, he realized that there was nothing in his pocket.

See, these pants that Dane was wearing…they have a giant hole in a pocket, so the underpants wrapped in paper towels landed in the candy aisle at Chevron. They were quickly retrieved while Dane escaped to the car all the while holding Brooke’s bum away from him and his shirt.

In their absence, I took the cover off of the booster and replaced it with a baby blanket. I took a t-shirt out of the laundry pile for its new use as pants/underpants.

We instructed Brooke to place her legs through the sleeves and her siblings then laughed and told her that she looked like she was wearing a diaper. (see above picture.) Brooke giggled with them, but then an hour later, she informed us, “I taked off my diaper…”

It was a lovely rest of the way home....trust me!

Quick Trip to L.A.

2009-01-30T11:50:00.003-07:00

Last weekend we made our way out to L.A. We had a special visitor. I only have 3 1st cousins and I have never met 2 of them. They were born and raised in Argentina and I have never been back.

Lucky for us, one of those cousins, 23-year-old Lucila, bought herself a plane ticket and came for 10 days.

4 of the 6 cousins.

Lucila and me.

We enjoyed our time together. We, of course, brought Rock Band and it was enjoyed by everyone. See, even a 61-year-old Grandpa can play!

Brooke fell asleep in my Abuela's arms. It was so sweet because as I watched them I remembered that my most favorite place to sleep as a kid was also in Abuela's arms. Love her!

The trip home was quite eventful...that's to follow!

Out of the mouths of babes...or almost 9-year-olds

2009-01-19T22:23:00.003-07:00

Dane and Drew were watching TV today and a commercial for this came on:

Drew turned to Dane and said:

"Dad, you should get that."

Clocks, clocks, and more clocks...

2009-01-19T22:16:00.003-07:00

If you know my friend Erika B., you know that she is the craftiest woman in the world. Seriously, I have never met anyone like her. She has her own toolbox (with REAL tools) and a tool belt! She works wonders with drills and table saws.

If you have questions about crafts, remodeling, or let’s face it, pretty much anything, call Erika.

So, no one was surprised when she went into the Mervyn’s that was going out of business, saw their tabletops that they used for merchandise and said, “these would make great clocks!”

She got a smokin’ deal on them and you know what she did? Offered them to the ward as an activity. She even bought all of the supplies. We just had to show up. She told us how to do everything!

So, of course, I decided to make a clock.

Oh, did I forget to tell you that Erika has 20 binders full of magazine cutouts of things that she likes and thinks she could make or do? She does. That’s where this picture came from.

And my nice friend helped me make it, even though she had 20 other people to help and even though I was the only one making a black one, with gold crackle.

Here’s my finished product:

What do you all think?

Again, thank you so much Erika!

To view her many ideas, visit her blog at It’s a Shabby Thing.

Just a regular ol' Saturday...

2009-01-18T13:22:00.003-07:00

Do you know her?

She is a recently laid-off, then rehired to a new position, all for the same company, all in 24 hours, who now has to work days, which means she has to get a sitter for her almost 5-year-old baby, who won't be able to drop her 9-year-olds off at school, or even pick them up, but will be home on evenings and weekends for the first time in over 7 years, but is still not too sure how she feels about it all girl.

Do you know what she did on her first Saturday off?

This:

WOW!

2009-01-15T16:20:00.004-07:00

This has been a crazy 24 hours.

1/14/2009

11:00 a.m. In a meeting...got laid off.

12:00 p.m. Home from meeting...cry.

1:00 p.m. Go to a friend's house...cry.

2:30 p.m. Go home...email an old contact at my company.

2:45 p.m. Hear back from her...there is a slight chance she has an opening.

2:50 p.m. Email my resume to her.

3:00 p.m. Pick-Up kids...give them the bad news.

3:15 p.m. Spend hours emailing, blogging, and talking to friends on the phone...cry.

6:00 p.m. Make sandwiches for dinner...indulge in Diet Coke (which I haven't had in 3 whole weeks.)

7:00 p.m. "Watch" American Idol while I Facebook about my bad luck.

9:00 p.m. Go up to bed. Marvel at how nice it is to go to sleep at a normal time on a Wednesday. Dream all night about job loss and job interviews.

1/15/2009

6:00 a.m. Get up and help Dane get the kids up (normally his job.)

8:00 a.m. Get the kids off to school.

9:00 a.m. Get Brooke off to school.

10:00 a.m. Get a call from Human Rescources at my company. That position from my contact has been approved and they want to interview me.

10:30 a.m. Call around and get someone to watch Brooke.

10:45 a.m. Scramble to make myself look presentable.

11:00 a.m. Leave house - having no idea where I am going because I don't know Phoenix very well.

11:45 a.m. Get to interview (15 minutes late).

12:00 p.m. Interview (I think it goes well.)

1:00 p.m. Drive home. Spend entire time on phone with Mom, Dane, and friends.

1:35 p.m. Pick up Brooke. Discuss options of maybe watching Brooke with friend.

2:00 p.m. Arrive home. Get phone call. Offered the position. Have 2 weeks until it starts (per my request).

2:30 p.m. Scramble to try to make this work since it is a daytime position.

2:45 p.m. Marvel as everything starts to fall into place and it seems like everyone will be taken care of.

3:00 p.m. Pick up kids. Tell them that Mom has a job.

4:00 p.m. Blog about it and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

I start work on February 2nd...same company...different department...different location. Wish me luck on this new adventure for all of us!

This was me today...

2009-01-14T16:33:00.004-07:00

Maybe I will take the job I posted about earlier...

AZCentral article all about it

Help Wanted

2009-01-05T00:00:00.001-07:00

Are you looking for a new occupation?

I think I may have found one for you.

Click on the picture below and look at the yellow sign in the center.

It is a DREAM JOB!

Christmas Casualty

2009-01-04T15:28:00.003-07:00

I got very productive on Tuesday and decided to take down all of our decorations before New Year’s. I had Dane home with me and knew that if I waited we would somehow run out of time and I would end up doing it all by myself (not that that’s ever happened before or anything…like every year!)

I was taking down Mom’s Tree and Brooke asked if she could help. Now, normally nobody other than Mom touches Mom’s Tree. However, since the words help, you, clean, and up are not normally uttered by my children to me, I thought I shouldn’t pass on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Her offer to assist probably didn’t have anything to do with the fact that I had sent everyone else to bed and she was trying to sucker me out of more awake time…or it did.

We got the tree down with only one ornament casualty. My fault.

I was folding up the tree branches when I heard a crash and saw this:

The angel from Mom’s tree with no more porcelain face.

I should tell you more about the angel. Being a convert to the church, the first Christmas I celebrated was in 1995. The angel was one of the first decorations I bought. Sure, she was mangled, the plastic inside melted, the lights no longer lit, but she held some sentimental value, and she could easily be hot glued to the top of the tree when necessary.

I would have been more upset, but Brooke, knowing the story of the angel, let out the biggest sob and headed straight for her room. I couldn’t be mad at her. We cleaned up angel together and planned our trip for the next day to buy a new angel (especially since all of the Christmas stuff was clearanced.)

We found one. We’ll let her make her grand entrance next year.

But, 1995 angel…we hope you R.I.P.

When you give this 4-year-old a camera...

2008-12-27T15:55:00.001-07:00

this is what you get:

Move over Gabriela...

2008-12-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Troy's got a new love.

Christmas Reflection

2008-12-25T15:53:00.007-07:00

(Warning: some of these pictures are screen shots from my video camera, thus the poor quality.)

Life is good as I sit here sipping my CF Diet Coke with ice and lemon in a used QT cup with a lid. I am still wearing the PJs from last night and I don’t have any make-up on. I guess there are positives about not having family in town.

The ham is glazed and sitting, the rolls are warming, and the funeral potatoes are in the oven. Wish I had a double oven, but it was not on the Christmas list.

Dane and Drew are playing the Wii, Elena is reading, Brooke is playing with her 2 Sharpay dolls she got (along with their respective cars), and Cassie is watching others play the Wii.

Our Christmas Eve started out with a yummy soup dinner. We then read Luke and watched “Joy to the World”. Shortly afterwards, we had a visitor. He brought us PJs and a really nice copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. What is so great about Santa is that he knows that a 5'0" woman like myself cannot fit into flannel pajamas that are designed for normal-heighted women. He, therefore, bought me girl-size PJs (XL, of course) that matched my daughters. He is so smart!

After reading, we watched half of “A Christmas Story”, left cookies and milk for Santa, and sent the young ones off to bed. They struggled with the actual sleeping, but soon they were tucked in and Santa visited.

In the morning we opened all of our family gifts and then broke down the barrier into the family room where Santa had left his gifts.

Everyone was excited about their “pile” (Brooke was too, she just wouldn’t pose for a picture) and they have stayed so busy all day that I don’t really recall even seeing any of them…J/K!

Now we are about to eat our Christmas dinner, in our PJs, and then do more of the same.

We hope you all had a great Christmas!

Our Christmas Video

2008-12-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here is this year's video for all to see,
It is all about my family and me.

Click here to view it.

Elf Yourself

2008-12-19T06:58:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

HOW TO: Photo Blocks

2008-12-16T16:28:00.004-07:00

3.5” x 3.5” wood blocks (you will want sets of 3, 5, or 6 so they will stack)
Scrapbook paper
Pictures
Decoupage glue
Foam brushes
Edge rounder
Sander
Clear stickers with sayings (optional)
Metal buttons or words (optional)
Hot glue and gun (optional)

Step 1:
Have your wood cut.

I believe Home Depot does it or you can cut it yourself (if you have a compound miter saw – Paige does, ask her to borrow it.)

Step 2:
Pick out and cut your scrapbook paper.

You will want to keep the theme going on all of the blocks. For my set, I did 6 different scrapbook pages and put one on each side. You can also do 3 pages and do one on every 2 sides.

You will need to cut your paper into 3.5” x 3.5” squares. Each 12 x 12 page will yield you 9 squares, so plan accordingly.

Here are some good choices if you are going for a Christmas theme.

Step 3:
Pick out and cut your pictures.

You will need 4 pictures for every block. When choosing your pictures, try to stay away from ones that are too close up. This will take up the whole block and not show your scrapbook paper that you so lovingly picked out.

I printed all of mine in black and white as I was using black and white scrapbook paper. If you are doing brownish paper, you can use a sepia tone, or you can also use color.

Once you have your pictures printed, you will want to cut and round them.

What my rounder looks like.

Step 4:
Glue your scrapbook paper.

You are finally ready to begin! Put a generous amount of Decoupage glue on the paper and apply it to one side of the block. Trim the edges of the paper and repeat until all sides are covered. Allow to dry completely.

Decoupage

Step 5:
Sand and/or distress.

I used my little electric sander (because sanding is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.) I didn’t do too much, just enough to distress it a little. You can also use distress ink after sanding to add a little more effect.

This is my distressing ink of choice.

Step 6:
Glue your pictures.

Put a generous amount of glue on the back of the picture and apply it to the sides of the blocks. The tops and bottoms are without pictures, so make sure you don’t put any there. It will not allow them to stack well if one of the sides ends up being a top or bottom.

Step 7:
Apply Sayings/Stickers. (optional)

If you are going to add any stickers or sayings, now is the time to do it. I printed each of my kids’ names on textured cardstock and then distressed them. My friend bought stickers that had sayings printed in black or white. Depending on your paper, either one would work. Just apply those to your sides to your liking.

Step 8:
Decoupage over all sides.

Be generous with your glue, but not too generous. Too much glue will create bubbles. Let your brush create texture. It adds a little extra to your block. If after one application, you want it a little thicker, add another coat.

Step 9:
Apply metal buttons/sayings. (optional)

Once your blocks are completely dry apply metal buttons or sayings with a hot glue gun.

Step 10:
Enjoy! And post pictures for me to see!

Here are some more pics of mine. Note the close up pictures and how they don't look the best. Also note how the pictures that almost cover up the whole side aren't as attactive as the smaller ones. You can also see my cardstock sayings and the metal ones, too.

If you have any questions, please email or call.

Sunday Evening Post

2008-12-14T15:26:00.005-07:00

Remember my village from last year? I have been wanting a nice, big, new village for forever. Dane has never bought me one. He and his brother, Cade, used to put my village people in provocative positions. I stopped asking for a new one. The village is still displayed, but the people don't make an appearance. Stinkin' boys!

Anyway, my friend Cindy helped me spruce up the village so I like it better now.

Here's before:

Here's after:

I used to think that fake cotton stuff looked pretty dumb, but with the lights it looks pretty cool. Since these porcelain houses can get as low as $1, I might get me some more for next year!

----------------------------
One of the many projects that has kept me busy these last few weeks was these blocks. I made a set for my SIL Stacy (with her kids' pictures), one for my Mom, and one for me. I couldn't post the pictures until everyone had received theirs, and now they have.

They can be placed in so many different ways and you can move to look at different pictures whenever you want. Love them!

---------------------------
Last night was our ward Christmas party. I made two pans of potatoes. I tripled the butter (for some very strange reason) and then they spilled over in the oven and the house became a smokey nightmare. The potatoes had a lot of butter, and a strange smokey taste to them. I am glad there were about 20 other pans there. Not my best work!

Santa came. Here are my kiddos waiting in line:

Look at that cute, protective older brother:

He had them talk into a microphone so we could all hear what they wanted, but the parents were being too loud. Plus, at least at my house, I think Santa has already bought everything.

Brooke then became the photographer. First a self portrait:

And then a shot of the parents:

OK, so how smokin' HOT does my hubby look with that facial hair? He has one of those baby faces that takes a week to grow scruffy, so I'm loving this. Except, he has these bald patches so the mutton chops don't meet the goatee. I think we need some hair tonic.

So, that's it. Now we have sick kids at home with sick parents. No church for us today. What a great way to begin the last week of school before break.

Have a great week everyone else!

The Elves' Impersonator

2008-12-12T07:31:00.010-07:00

So, yes, my little boy was the star of the 3rd Grade musical. He wouldn't tell me anything about his part. Everytime I kept asking him what his lines were, or if he was going to dance he would just tell me, "You just have to wait and see Mom!" And, I am glad I did! He did such a great job!

Here is the jist of the play:

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole is abuzz with excitement and activity. Christmas is right around the corner! The Elves are busily preparing toys and gifts for children all around the world, but their tasks aren't enough to keep them from gossiping about the new Elf on the block. Poor Elfis is the target of their ridicule and jokes because he looks unusual and acts differently than all of the other Elves. They even accuse him of being an Elf Impersonator! Feeling unloved and downtrodden, Elfis sings the blues and runs away from Santa's Workshop. When Santa, his reindeer and Mrs. Claus learn what has happened, they are outraged. Santa sends the reindeer out to find Elfis and bring him back. Meanwhile, he and Mrs. C. remind the rest of the Elves that they should accept others for who they are, no matter what their differences. The Elves are ashamed of themselves, and when the reindeer bring Elfis back (yay!), they apologize and ask him to lead them in a song of celebration. He agrees, naturally, and the whole lot of them sing and dance together in a lively Christmas finale!

Here's a slideshow of the night performance taken by a friend of ours who has a much better camera than I do. Thanks G.B.!

What is he?

2008-12-11T16:41:00.002-07:00

Is he Elvis?

Is he an elf?

Could he be...

an elf impersonator?

Maybe these two can help you figure it out.

Still intrigued? Stay tuned for the answer...

Let's Play Catch-Up

2008-12-06T09:34:00.006-07:00

With visitors, Enrichment, and Musicals...oh my! My blog has been highly neglected. I apologize to my 5 followers.

The concert was great! Many people were jealous of our floor seats. However, when you are 5'0 and the floor is not angled, it is very hard to see Chris.

Brooke's preschool had a Thanksgiving party. She was dressed up and eating cupcakes when I arrived.

Thanksgiving was great! Dane's parents, his sister Dorrie (Jessica R.'s mom), and niece Rebekah came down from Utah. We also had the Haws (friends from here in town) come over. The food was delicious (pat on shoulder) and the company was even better!

Dorrie and I spent most of the evening trying to put a Rubik's Cube back together. Hint: there is a website where you plug in what your cube looks like and then they tell you how to fix it (without peeling off the stickers.)

Friday night we went to the Mesa Temple to see the lights get turned on. Brooke White (American Idol alum and Mesa resident) flipped the switch. It was beautiful...even amidst the Prop 102 protestors. (Beanies are courtesy of The Pretty Petal.)

Saturday we went out to see the Casa Grande Ruins. AMAZING! Interestingly enough, last time we went was on Thanksgiving break, 5 years ago, with Brookie in my tummy. She didn't want to pose for a picture this time, either.

With all of guests departed, on Monday night we did our ritual ornament exchange. We get ornaments every year depicting something that happened that year. Each year we put them up on the "family tree" starting with the first year (1997) to present in birth order (I'm first.) We have a list of what each year's ornament meant. It is so fun to look back. At the end we present the new ornaments and hang them on the tree.

This year's ornaments were:

Lorena: a mirror for her vanity in getting braces.

Dane: Statue of Liberty for his trip to NY with the junior high kids

Drew: baseball player for his team winning the championship

Cassie: red glitter star for her all-American dance performance

Elena: big, glittery butterfly for her love of the butterfly unit at school

Brooke: what else, but a HSM ornament?

So, what now?

Christmas cards, Christmas video, 3rd Grade Musical (someone has a lead role), Advent Calendar, neighbor/work gifts, hang lights...the list goes on, and on.

Math...Coldplay Style

2008-11-26T08:15:00.006-07:00

Dane

Tonight

Floor Seats to see:

= TOTAL EXCITEMENT

Yes, I went...Yes, I saw

2008-11-22T22:24:00.002-07:00

I went to see the midnight showing of Twilight on Thursday (or was it Friday?). My friend Erika was kind enough to buy a grundle of tickets. We got there a little after 9 p.m.

Me and Cindy waiting outside for the movie to begin.

They let us in at around 10:15. We were there 3 hours before the movie started and the only seats we could find together was in the 2nd row. My neck still hurts.

A mean manager came in and told us we couldn't save seats. Are you kidding me? Do I have to bring up my Summer Movie fiasco again?

The movie theater was HOT…and I mean in temperature. We finally had to crank open one of the doors just to get some cool (ha-ha) AZ night air.

People had Cullen-Pops (cut out and laminated pictures of Edward on a stick) and hyperventilation bags (paper bags for you to – I guess – breathe into when Edward comes on-screen.)

Speaking of on-screen…was the preview to this movie on any of your reels?

It was on ours. I finally had to put my head down and close my eyes just to not have to have nightmares for a week…FROM A TRAILER! Women in the audience were SCREAMING! The movie is named “The Unborn”. It is PG-13. I am so NOT going.

So, what did I think? (Because you all really want to know...) I think it is hard to turn a popular book into a movie, especially with no budget. I feel about it like I feel about the “Pride and Prejudice” movies. I like the A&E version because you get 6 hours, therefore you get the WHOLE story. The motion picture can’t deliver that.

If you had never read Twilight, you were confused, and if you had, you were disappointed. But, I will go see the sequel…for sure!

The Wolf

2008-11-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Drew earned his Wolf on Tuesday (or should I say “we”?) He couldn’t wait to go to Pack Meeting. That neckerchief came off in a flash when he saw this tradition waiting for him.

Why do they hide the patch in a baggie at the bottom of the plate of whipped cream? Don’t they know that we mothers try our darndest not to have to wash the Scout shirt? Do you think anyone will see a little whipped cream?

Anywho, our leader had a trick up his sleeve. He let Drew fish for the patch for a minute and then showed that he had never put it in…Ha-Ha! The joke is really on me, people!

The laughs really came out when Drew spit out the mouthful of whipped cream, that he had been stashing in his mouth, back onto the plate. A chipmunk would have been proud!

And, why did I wear a new outfit to Pack Meeting? I guess I wanted to get “dolled up” since I knew I was going to get “pinned.”

Congrats, Drew! We are really proud of you!

You've Gotta Fight...For Your Right...To PARTY!!!!

2008-11-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

So, yes, I like themed parties. I like parties with a purpose, if you will. Should I stick to just doing kids’ themed parties? Heck No! Adults like to dress up just as much as kids…case in point:

Dane wanted to throw a Rock Band Party. What better time to throw one than for his birthday?

So, last week we invited 5 of our closest couple friends, ate, created bands, and battled it out.

Teams with people who dressed up got 5,000 bonus points per person, so you got some of this:

The Gibsons
(Those rebels didn't dress...but they wished they did!)

The Bonds

The VanNatters

The Garners

1/2 of the Standages

The other half of the Standages got stuck at the Las Vegas airport on his way home from a business trip. Thankfully, he had an understudy that was ready to take his place (and hope to be his future son-in-law)...Drew!

We had pizza, wings, candy, chips, and a soda bar...and this place was a-rockin'!

EQ President by day...ROCKER by night!

Dane’s band won, but the star? Well, that had to be Drew. He puts the rest of us to shame!

If you want to throw your own Rock Band Party, feel free to email me for details. It really was the “best party evah!”

I got it!

2008-11-13T23:02:00.002-07:00

Now, help me decide.

With the frame...

Or without...

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Deck the Halls, Fa-La-La-La, Jingle Bells

2008-11-09T18:37:00.004-07:00

I’m not a Scrooge. I’m not a Grinch. I like Christmas. I like the leading-up anticipation of Christmas. I decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I’m into it, really.

I even like seeing the stores all decorated for Christmas. Although, does it seem like they start decorating and putting out their Christmas stuff earlier and earlier each year?

I love listening to the Christmas stations on the radio? You know what I'm talking about. They start the day after Thanksgiving. You can listen while you put up your decorations and sip hot chocolate. You can listen while you go around town looking at everyone's lights. And, you can listen while you wrap up all the gifts on Christmas Eve.

Well, it seems like the radio stations have jumped on the “decorating early” bandwagon.

This is a local station that started playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. HALLOWEEN!! Does this seem sick and wrong? I mean, are there really that many songs to play? And, since you are going to play it until New Year’s Day, that equals 2 months of nonstop Christmas music.

What’s next? “It’s a Wonderful Life” played on a nonstop reel 24 hours a day/7 days a week/52 weeks a year?

I’m still trying to eat our Halloween candy for Heaven's sake…

Some of my Favorites...

2008-11-03T12:10:00.007-07:00

I am still in debt to PiP for these beautiful pictures. It was such a great experience for us.

Because PiP just gave us the CD, I ordered some to be printed, including a 20x24 canvas. See if you can figure out which one. I can't wait!

This one of Brooke is my hands-down most favorite picture EVER! It brings tears to my eyes.

Happy Birthday, Dane!

2008-11-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Dane's birthday was on Saturday. He spent the first part of it putting flyers on neighbor's doors for Prop 102...Arizona, you've got to vote "YES" on this one!

When we arrived home we made him apple-cinnamon waffles for breakfast. He then opened his gifts.

NCAA Football game for the Wii

Plain White T's CD (I guess it's going back.)

The new Indiana Jones movie

Stephen Colbert's book

I gave him my present the night before. (Ewww...I know what you're thinking!) It was a watch, people, get your minds out of the gutter!

We then just had a lazy day.

Dane had to go to the Stake Conference Leadership Meeting in the middle of the BYU game! And, since I am a nice wife, I kept track of the game and texted him every time someone scored. He loves me!

His party will be this Friday. I don't want to give out too many details, but it will be Rockin'!

Happy Birthday Daney-Poo!

I love you!

Halloween Catch-Up

2008-10-31T23:59:00.005-07:00

So, of course, you are all dying to know about Halloween, right?

After we took our family pictures on Tuesday, we went out to dinner and then to the Pumpkin Patch.

Decisions....Decisions...

On Thursday night we ~~I, Lorena, Mom~~ gutted and carved them.

On Friday morning I surprised the kids with pancakes dyed orange and cut in the shape of a cat or a pumpkin.

Before Trick-or-Treating, we had our spooky Halloween dinner. It consisted of:

Eyeballs on a Cracker

Witch's Fingers

Monster Toes

Apple Bites

and Witch's Broomsticks.

The kids enjoyed it...although they were a little leery at first.

We then got dressed up to go Trick-or-Treating.

Elena was a queen.

Cassie was a Rag Doll

Drew was Darth Vader. (Note: he was Darth Vader 2 years ago, but that costume was "lame" since it was just black sweats, a cape, and a mask. This one was better. This is the 4th year in a row that Andrew has been a Star Wars character, not that I'm counting or anything. I tried to steer him towards Batman, but lost.)

And, of course, what party is complete without Sharpay? It took much coaxing to have her wear the wig because she thought she looked "we-ard".

Dane then took the foursome Trick-or-Treating while I stayed home, cleaned up, and gave out candy. When he returned we went to see a movie at a friend's house. It was a long night for some...

I guess that's what happens when you're FABULOUS!

Family Pictures

2008-10-31T22:42:00.006-07:00

I have found the best-kept secret in photography. It is my good friend, PiP!

Check out her blog here. She has pictures of the shots she has done so far. You will be amazed. Her talent is incredible!

Thanks again, PiP...we love them ALL! We had a hard time choosing ones we didn't like!

Here's the Photo Album. It only contains 1/3 of the pictures she took. It took me awhile to even cut it down that far. That is how awesome these came out!

P.S. Brooke didn't win us a trip to Disneyland. Thanks for all who voted. I'm still crying.

Today is the Last Day!

2008-10-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

to get in your vote for Brooke!

I know you are all so tired of me asking you to vote, but you have to know that now I will totally do the same for you.

How nice is that?

You can use multiple email addresses (and you know we all have more than one.) You can also forward this on to your friends that you think might like me and might want to vote for the cutest Chewbacca in the world.

The Voting Page for this contest is:http://www.mix969.com/pages/disney-photo/vote.html

And, if we win, I will buy Dane a princess hat and make him wear it around the park the entire time we are there. Photos will document this event.

Thanks again for all of your help and votes!

One more week...

2008-10-25T16:08:00.003-07:00

to vote for Brooke for cutest costume!

Vote Here

I promise I won't ask you to do anything else this year.

You can vote once a day per email address...and we all know that we have a lot of those. I have 4.

Don't you want to read another post about us at Disneyland? This last one was so memorable! Read here.

And...you would make Brooke so happy...remember this?

Voting ends on October 31st.

Thanks!

I'm a Water Snob

2008-10-20T08:22:00.003-07:00

Dane gave a talk in church yesterday and in the course of it outted me as a "Water Snob". And, it's OK, because it's all true.

Here's why I am a "Water Snob":

· I will NOT drink tap water. It is seriously the nastiest thing in the world. In a pinch I will drink water from a drinking fountain, but I have to be REALLY thirsty.

· I will only use filtered ice cubes. The ice cubes at the ER where I work are not filtered, but the ones in the cafeteria are, so I will make the extra trip down there for them.

· I will not drink spring or mountain water (i.e. Arrowhead or Sparkletts). I can't believe I used to drink that as a child. Once Dane bought some by mistake and we made the kids drink it.

· I will pay good money for a reverse osmosis in our home...and I have.

· I will insist that my husband spend an entire day making a water line from the R/O to our fridge so I can have cold R/O water and R/O ice.

· I will only buy bottled water that is made by reverse osmosis. Aquafina or Dasani are my favorites (and, although I prefer Aquafina, Dane would prefer I drink Dasani since it is a Coke product and Aquafina is a Pepsi product).

· If I go to someone’s house and they don’t have R/O, I’ll pretend I'm not thirsty.

Are you a "Water Snob"?

Vote for Brooke!!

2008-10-15T15:11:00.006-07:00

In this world of uncertainty and decisions, why not vote for a girl who can wear a Chewbacca toddler costume with such grace?

Brooke in 2005

Brooke is running for "Cutest Costume" in her age group and local region. The election is being held at Mix 96.9, one of the best radio stations in Phoenix.

If she gets your vote, she will not only win bragging rights, but she will get to go to Disneyland with her family...and you all know how much those Six Silly Seeleys like Disneyland!!

So, do your civic duty, go to this link, enter your email address(es) and vote for Brooke Seeley in the 5 and under category. You may vote once a day per email address. So, vote now and vote often!

http://www.mix969.com/pages/disney-photo/vote.html

Your contribution would be most appreciated!!!

Thank you.

This message was paid for by the Brooke Seeley for Mix 96.9 Costume Contest Winner Foundation.

Oh Navigation/GPS/Whatever You Are, how do I love thee?

2008-10-14T00:32:00.005-07:00

Christie - this is for you...I hope it convinces him!

Was it a deal breaker?
No.

Did I really want to pay $2000 for it to be included in my new car?
No.

Can I live without it?
No.

After 5 days of negotiating for our new car, (see here) I felt I could insist on the fancy-schmancy navigation system.

"What will we use it for?" My dear husband kept asking me. I didn't really know. But, so many people have one now, it's got to be good! Plus, how fun would it be to have a voice telling you when to get off the freeway? Other than that, I didn't have anything else to say.

But, oh, how I underestimated my love...and I am in love! Is that wrong?

So, here are my Top 10 reasons why I love my beloved navigation system:

10. I can remove the huge Wal-Mart atlas from our car that Dane used to insist we carry.

9. I can get the phone number and/or address to any restaurant/store/bank/gas station/etc. without even needing a phone book in my car. This helps when you need to order take-out from Costa Vida at lunchtime.

8. On a long road trip I can tell my kids to stop asking me "how much longer until we get there?" and just point at the screen. It tells us the miles remaining as well as what time we are expected to arrive.

7. I can know what restaurants/stores are available at each exit so I can decide if it is worth a stop.

6. I am able to navigate L.A. freeways and addresses without even thinking twice.

5. My kids can remind me which way to go since they hear it when I do.

4. I no longer need directions from anyone. Just give me your address and I will arrive!

3. MapQuest is now obsolete.

2. I can just say, “I need a Golden Spoon”, and it will appear on the screen.

1. I love a woman whose directions are always correct, especially since I know she will never steer me wrong.

Morning Breath

2008-10-09T08:13:00.004-07:00

Overheard at the Seeley Home this morning:

Dane: (irritating a poor, helpless, 4-year-old by blowing on her)

Brooke: You blowed at me and your air smelled yucky.

The Seeley Rockers

2008-09-29T08:59:00.007-07:00

Here is our favorite pastime...rocking out to Rock Band.

Here are some things to watch for as you enjoy the video:

The absence of our fearless leader, Dane, as he was playing videographer...and coach.
Me, who uses the little keys on the guitar as my ~~freakishly small~~ petite hands can't play "medium" on the big keys.
Andrew, our master drummer, who loses a drumstick, but like a true professional, keeps playing.
Cassie, the cutest guitarist ever, especially since her guitar is as tall as she is.
Elena, our vocalist, who has a VERY interesting sound and asked us after watching this video why her voice sounds so WEIRD. We told her it sounds like that all of the time. She doesn't believe us.
Brooke, our groupie, who dances to each song and then tells us what her difficulty and score were.

Recital Drama

2008-09-28T19:13:00.010-07:00

Yesterday was Andrew's piano recital. As always, we were running ~~very late~~ a little bit behind and struggled to make sure we got to the recital in time.

Andrew had his suit on, I was doing hair, and then the question came:

"Where are my church shoes?"

I {blush} hadn't completely ~~unpacked~~ organized from our trip, so I sent Dane up to locate the church clothes backpack. He found it, but only found ONE church shoe. We started looking around in ~~piles of clothes~~ possible locations until the thought occured that we may have left them at the Crane's in California. One phone call later and my fears were confirmed. They had one church shoe at their house and we had one at ours. And, with 5 minutes until we HAD to leave for the recital, there was no option but this:

Can't see it? Here's a closer look:

Thankfully, his shoes didn't affect his performance.

His piece was "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Now, I consider myself a patriotic person, but I am OK if it isn't until the 4th of July that I hear that song again.

His little hands worked hard and he did a great job. Here's the video of his performance. The beginning part that you can't hear well is him telling about the composer.

Thanks Keisha for being a great teacher!

He got lots of compliments on the coolness of his look. Thanks for egging him on people...that would explain why he wanted to recreate the look for church.

California Dreamin'

2008-09-26T14:48:00.006-07:00

With my little brother turning 30, by older brother turning 36, and a new car waiting to be driven, it was a perfect time to drive out to California.

Since Dane had to work, my dad flew out to Phoenix to drive down with us. I hadn't told him that we had a new car, so it was quite a shock for him when we drove up at the airport. He loved driving it!

The kids enjoyed the new ride and the wireless headphones. I very much disliked the L.A. traffic, the old and dirty buildings, and the narrowness of it all. Did I mention the awful concrete freeways? I can't believe I ever drove there, much less LEARNED how to drive there!

We unloaded at my Mom's and then I met up with my old high school girlfriends (see post below). The next day, thanks to navigation in the new car, I was able to go and visit my friend, Nicole, at her house.

Afterwards I visited my mom at her office, met my grandma and aunts for lunch, my brother and his family for dinner, and then I went and picked up Dane at the airport. There was no relaxing done on this vacation.

Saturday was the big birthday party. Here I am with the brothers...

Here's me and my sister-in-law, Catherene, preparing the yummy food.

This is the whole gang watching the video that I made.

You can tell that my kids love birthday cake!

Right after the party we headed out to the Crane's house so that they could repay us for their visit last month. The kids get along so well!

And, so do we. Especially since they got a Wii and Rock Band.

On Monday we headed back to AZ. Someone had to get his loose tooth pulled in a Carl's Jr. bathroom. (That would be Andrew.) Then, someone may have thrown the tooth in the trash and then had to fish it out. (That would be me.)

Ever since we moved to AZ, Dane has always wanted to stop at the General Patton museum on I-10. I have always nixed the idea, but I was in a good mood. We spent about an hour there. I have lots of pictures of different tanks, but will save you the boredom.

Soon after crossing over the AZ state line, we saw this in our mirrors. Don't worry, we just got a warning.

Sadly, after that encounter we noticed a car in front of us with a shameful license plate.

I like him just as much as anyone else, but I don't feel this type of promotion is necessary. There was a young couple driving the car. Do you think the husband fought this?

Unfortunately, when a 4-year-old is away from home for 5 days and then stuck in a car for a long while, tantrums ensue. Such was the case for the cutie below...the one with the flower headband a la 80's...I just held my tantrum in.

Thanks Facebook!

2008-09-25T10:46:00.005-07:00

Because of Facebook I was able to reconnect with some high school friends when I went to L.A. last weekend.

We are all married, we all have kids, and we all look fabulous!

It was so fun to catch up on the goings-on, laugh about who we dated, and realize that when you are friends when you are young, you are friends forever!

1992

L-R - Leilani (not at dinner), Lynn, Me, Cristin (not at dinner), Sumako

Nicole and Me

Today

L-R - Nicole, Me, Lynn, Sumako, Sandy (not pictured above...I can't figure out why!)

So???

2008-09-24T22:27:00.007-07:00

So, yeah...my last post was 2 weeks ago..what of it?

So, yeah, I had 184 posts in my Google Reader. I skimmed through and didn't comment. I may have even "marked all as read" on a few...what of it?

Sorry, I missed a few births and pregnancy announcements. Congratulations Ilene, Tandee, and Jen. Oh, and congrats Jody...I hope it's a girl!

I wasn't purposely taking a hiatus like some have thought...blogging was just the last thing on my mind.

I've been a little busy, people. You know, with those 2-1/2 hours a day I have totally to myself since Little Miss started preschool.

Busy with what? Umm...I really can't think of anything in particular since the house is way too quiet.

OK, well, I maybe worked on a little something for my little brother that was turning the little number 30. It was a video. There were only about 100 pictures to scan. Have you tried scanning that many pictures? It hurts. Here is the link if you have 20 minutes to spend watching a personal video of someone you don't know. (On the left under "My Albums" click "video".)

I also had to pack, clean, and prepare for the trip to L.A. to celebrate the number 30.

And, I had to primp myself to meet up with some old high school girlfriends. (Thanks Facebook!) So, yeah, I weigh 30 lbs more than I did in high school...triplets, remember?

For those 30 lbs I joined a Biggest Loser group. I gained 2 lbs for my first weigh-in. One girl lost 8 lbs. I'm totally gonna win...place your bets now!

Oh, and we spent 5 days with my stomach in knots while we negotiated the purchase of this. It is a Mazda 5. It seats 6 and gets twice the gas mileage of our old Ford Windstar. I feel greener already.

New posts to follow...promise!

Rock On!

2008-09-11T10:17:00.004-07:00

Dane and I went on a date last night. Here’s a picture of us:
(sorry cell phone picture...not that our dinky camera is any better!)

The VanNatters watched our kids for us…thanks VanNatters!

This is what our view was like:

This is who I was really there to see!

I LOVE MAROON 5!

(And I have a slight crush on Adam Levine, but he is younger than I am and is now all tatted out, but I still have a crush. C'mon don't we all have a crush on a singer?)

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Dane Seeley? He has been a concert-goer all of his life, but I hadn't been to any until I met him.

He loves concerts so much that he gets on the Internet to see what songs the band has played at previous stops on their tour and then makes a playlist (used to be CD) of the possible songs. Then we listen to them for days/weeks before the concert so we are ready.

When we got to the concert last night, Dane lamented that he hadn't brought a paper and pen to write the playlist for this concert. Then he realized that he had his iPod, so he made a his own playlist.

And, because I love my loyal Bloggers (and because Dane told me to) I am going to post the playlist from Maroon 5's Phoenix Concert on September 10th, 2008. Live from the Cricket Pavilion:

1. Harder to Breathe
2. If I Never See Your Face Again
3. Makes Me Wonder
4. Tangled
5. The Sun
6. Won't Go Home Without You
7. Little of Your Time
8. Secret
9. Shiver
10. Wake Up Call
11. Sunday Morning
12. She Will Be Loved
13. This Love

Don't hate her because she's beautiful...

2008-09-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is what she looks like in the morning:

Anyone wondering how I get her hair to look so cute?

Here's your answer:

Don't be fooled by the smile...it is solely for the camera. The weeping, and whaling, and gnashing of teeth that goes on during the hair styling process is enough for me to get out the electric razor.

But, then I get something like this:

And the G.I. Jane looks goes out the window.

I'm Famous

2008-09-07T20:39:00.003-07:00

I got to meet a great blogger at Blogapalooza this spring. Her name is Gab and she writes

The Gab Blog.

Every few weeks she interviews different bloggers with her signature 7 Questions.

It was FINALLY my turn.

Check it out:

"Three-in-One"

Thanks Gab, I loved it, you did a great job!

School Days...

2008-09-02T10:16:00.009-07:00

Well, I did it

I sent my BABY off to preschool today.

Did I cry?

(Look at the picture Brooke took of me this morning and figure it out. And, while you're looking at my eyes, help me solve a household debate. What color are they? Would you call them brown or hazel?)

So, no, no tears...but there's a lump in my throat and my heart is heavy...what does that mean?

I'm not worried about the 2 hours/3 days a week that she will be apart from me. I am just wondering about next year. SEVEN hours? How's that all going to work?

The house is too quiet? Is that possible? Yes.

She, unfortunately, wasn't excited to go at all...

She didn't ask me when it was time to go 50 times or anything!

She didn't even get upset when I told her that she started school 1 hour after the triplets were dropped off.

I didn't even take her to Wal-Mart to pass the time.

OK, so maybe I did.

I miss you, Brookie!

And, yes, you are #1!

Happy Birthday PiP!

2008-09-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

Although PiP's birthday is today, she had so many celebrations that she could only pencil this group of friends in last week. We took the opportunity last Thursday and went to Texas Roadhouse.

PiP is turning something that rhymes with

sporty,

shorty,

snorty,

and warty.
(Did I just describe myself?)

Yes, I know, she doesn't look like a day over 25...not fair!

PiP had a great time.

She got a cool balloon hat,

a card that informed her she was a "Super Freak",

and a ride on a saddle.

Happy Birthday PiP!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Semi-Empty Nest

2008-09-01T19:29:00.006-07:00

Brooke starts preschool tomorrow. Tonight we went to "Meet the Teacher".

I didn't cry...I can't guarantee what I will do tomorrow.

I asked Brooke what I would do without her...

she told me I could clean.

Gee, thanks!

Here's a picture of Brooke with her teacher, Ms. Brittaney. She is quite excited for tomorrow. She carried around the letter that Ms. Brittaney sent her for days. I even think she is planning on sleeping with her backpack on.

FHE Movie DOs and DON'Ts

2008-08-31T19:10:00.001-07:00

Last Monday for FHE we took our kids to see the Clone Wars movie. Andrew had already seen it (Thanks Alexanders!), but the rest of us wanted to see it, too.

I really should have planned better…

DO warn your 4-year-old prior to the movie that her old antics will not be allowed and she can only make ONE bathroom trip.

DON’T ask your husband to meet you there while you mind the girls yourself.

DO bring your large (refillable) popcorn bag, 5 refillable cups, and then also order a large tub of more popcorn. It keeps kids busy.

DON’T ask your daughters to carry a cup. They will complain about the freezing temperature of it while you juggle the remaining two cups along with the large popcorn, and the tub of popcorn.

DO put a few sprays of butter in your popcorn. It’s gross, but after the above debacle, you deserve it.

DON’T expect your children to be able to open a theater door and hold a cup at the same time. It doesn’t work. The one child that attempted it will slice her toe open when, while trying to open the heavy door, puts her toe in front and cuts it with the metal bottom of the door.

DO bring hand sanitizer, tissues, and Band-Aids in your purse. They will come in handy for this event.

DON’T expect your 8-year-old to quiet her cries anytime soon. Threats will be needed.

DO give your child ½ of an Aleve pill. These will also need to be carried in your purse.

DON’T be surprised when child quiets down. Aleve is awesome.

DO enjoy your movie, and the buttered popcorn.

DON'T forget to bring your camera and take pictures, it is what every responsible Blogger does.

She's not smiling...she's crying! Don't you love the rainbow Band-Aid?

See how happy popcorn can make you? I meant the girl on the left...don't look at the one on the right, she's still sobbing. It was pre-Aleve.

You know the kids are back to school...

2008-08-21T10:07:00.001-07:00

when these are MY new best friends:

Invite Yourself Over Anytime...

2008-08-17T18:50:00.006-07:00

A few weeks ago I got an email from our friends from BYU, Andy and Casandria Crane.

Here's a picture of Casandria and Samuel (now 8, almost 9) from the triplets' 1st birthday party:

And, if you look past me and Elena, you can see a guy holding up a video camera in an Old Navy shirt. That's Andy.

They came to visit us last summer and we had such a great time that Andy wanted to do it again. We were all for it because we have so much fun with them.

(Last Summer)

The hilarious moment came when Casandria called me to make sure that her husband hadn't just invited himself over.

My reply, "I love it when people invite themselves over!"

This is what we did:

We cooked chicken tacos, bean dip, guacamole, brownies, cookies, scones, Outlaw Sandwiches, fries, Pasta a la Carbonara, French Toast, glazed ham, and most importantly, funeral potatoes. We also drank lots and lots of soda and have now hooked the Cranes onto Coke Zero. We're all a little fatter now.

The kids played well and ate well. What more could we ask?

We swam, ate some more, did some karaoke (HSM, of course), watched SNL commercial parodies (some of them are naughty!), and stayed up late talking and laughing.

And, of course, what trip to the Seeleys is not complete with some of this...

and this...

Props to you Andy...he played the drums (not in this picture, though) on the "hard" level and still scored over 90%. You definitely deserve that leather jacket! I guess that's what to be expected when you are a music professor.

They came to church with us today and I let Dane sit by Andy in Sacrament meeting. Let's just say reverence was not their strong suit. The Spirit was definitely NOT with those two. They were very naughty with their laughing, loud singing, and mocking of the hymns of the Lord.

They will be repaying the favor next month when we stop for a bit at their house in California. We'll make sure to separate the boys during church, though.

Thanks Cranes! We had a great time with you!

And now, who's going to invite themselves over next?

Now Andy, to get you a teaching post at ASU, that will be our next task.

Little Drummer Boy

2008-08-16T16:37:00.010-07:00

I came home the other day and Dane informed me that he had ordered Rock Band for our Wii. I wasn’t that surprised, I mean, let’s face it, that’s really what he wanted when we got the Wii. (Thanks Roundys!)

To his credit, he did make sure he got the best deal.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the game, too.

We all have our roles:

Dane – Anything
I am so impressed with Dane’s mad skillzzzzzz. He is awesome at the Drums, he can do Vocals, he can play Bass or Guitar. He’s not so good at being a Groupie, though. He just tells everyone what they need to do.

Me – Bass or Guitar
I have to give myself a pat on the back. For not having any rhythm, I can crank these songs out. Don’t put me on medium, though, unless you want me to fail. Oh, and don’t put me on Drums if you want to get the rhythm of the song…you won’t get it from me.

Andrew – Guitar and Vocals
(and yes, I know that most moms sing vocals, but have you heard me sing? I would fail the song with the first note.) Andrew will also play Guitar when one of his sisters will sing.

Cassie – Vocals and Groupie
She’ll sing when she knows the song, and she is a great Groupie when she doesn’t

Elena – Groupie, mostly
But, she’s one of those Groupies that will sing along in a really high-pitched voice, you know the ones. She has done vocals once or twice.

Brooke – Groupie
Brooke usually brings a crowd of her friends with her to our concerts. They are all named Polly (their last name is Pocket). Now, if Rock Band were HSM sing, we know she would be ALL OVER the vocals.

So, back to Dane. His favorite role really is playing the Drums. He always tells everyone how the "Dad of the Family" plays the Drums. Fine with me. Except, he already broke a pair for drumsticks. We had to get new ones. Here they are:

So, while perusing the Rock Band website, I found all sorts of things. And, since Dane is such a Drum Star, and his birthday is coming up (in November) I have found a cornucopia of things to gift him.

To Dane on your 34th Birthday (in November):

First I would like to give you this lovely Drum stool. I mean, seriously, how can you be expected to play on our 15-year-old, cheap, IKEA chair. Sacrilige, I tell you!

Next would have to be this t-shirt. It could be worn anywhere, but would look most hot when drumming. (You know, since sweat doesn't really show up well on black shirts.):

And, since you have been needing a new watch for some time, I thought you would like this one, it's coolness speaks for itself:

You know how your feet get tired from playing that Bass Drum all of the time? I bet these little babies would cure that:

Now, you know that drummers need to have groovy hair. And heck, why ruin your Sports Clip haircut by using just any old product? Let's use the one I found on the Rock Band site:

OK, so that wedding ring? So blah! Let's go for this one instead:

Now, to be a true Rocker, you will need to pierce those ears. I know it's against your religion and all, but sometimes we need to make sacrifices for the band. Here's a great pair of earrings:

And, you'll need some bling to go along with that bling-bling. I thought you might enjoy this:

And finally, you must look the Coolest of Cool and this baby only costs $2400:

Happy Birthday you Rock Star (in November)!

And, yes, all of these products were really found on the Rock Band website.

Why Vacuum?

2008-08-13T20:38:00.002-07:00

I think I have discussed Brooke's biggest fear, maybe I haven't, but here goes.

The girl has a very strong dislike for vacuums.

Is it the noise?

NO.

Then what is it?

Thanks for asking. It is the fact that vacuums suck stuff up, and when you have a gazillion Polly Pockets and their accessories, those are usually the first to go.

So, that's her fear, Pollys and/or anyone else's toys getting sucked up.

It is a convenient fear at times. Like, when I want her to clean her room, I just have to start saying the word, "Va---" and she runs up the stairs, crying, like the boogey-man is chasing her in order to clean her room, and her sisters' room, and her brother's room.

She has been known to clean rooms at friends' houses when a vacuum was seen nearby.

So, what's the downside to this wonderful setup?

The girl NEVER wants me to vacuum.

We asked her one day what her favorite day of the week was. She answered "Sunday". We felt like such righteous parents, our child loves the peaceful Sabbath we provide at home and so enjoys her 3-hour church block. But, no, that's not why she likes Sundays, we soon discovered. It is because Mommy, in observance of the Sabbath, will not vacuum on Sunday.

Are you intrigued yet?

The insanity continues...the girl asks me several times a day if this is a day that I will vacuum. She also can be heard telling me that she thinks I have run out of time to vacuum, or will suggest activities other than vacuuming.

And, what happens when I do vacuum? She inspects the whole upstairs for toys to save and then follows me around inspecting the items that are sucked up.

Actually, the other day I vacuumed everything except for my bedroom, so I kept the vacuum in my room, and not in the proper closet. She asked me about it for days (yes, I never did put it away) and finally just wheeled the thing into the closet herself.

Today I was telling her about all of the things we needed to do and then she said,

"But no vacuuming, right?"

I replied that since we have guests coming on Friday it might be nice to vacuum for them. I explained (for the umpteenth time) how vacuuming cleans up dirt, dust, hairballs, and bugs that settle in the carpet.

After sobbing for a little bit she asked,

"Can we wait until my brother and sisters come home to vacuum so they can help me clean my room?"

No.

A little more sobbing.

"Can you run out of time?"

No.

Kicking and screaming...then calms down, stands up and asks me 50 times (and I'm not kidding) if I am going to vacuum. I started to get quite irritated (to say the least) and told her not to ask me about the vacuum again.

Finally, this conversation ensued...

Brooke: "Mommy..."

Me: "Yes."

Brooke: "Can I ask you a question?"

Me: "Listen, Brooke. If your question has anything to do with a vacuum, I'm telling you right now that I will go upstairs, get the vacuum, head straight for your room, and vacuum up each and every one of your toys."

Brooke: "Nevermind."

Don't worry Cranes, we will vacuum before you arrive, I promise!

It's Great to be Eight!

2008-08-10T22:26:00.004-07:00

Brooke's main topic of conversation around our house recently has been about how wonderful it is to be an 8-year-old, which she will be in 4 years.

You get to be baptized
You get to be in 3rd Grade
You get to read
You get to play the piano

But, Brooke has now told us the real reason she wants to be eight...

"When I be eight, I be a triplet!"

We laugh, we giggle, but we don't correct her. I mean, how cute is that? The girl is thinking triplethood is awesome and wants to be a part of it. I'm not worried about the therapy it will take to correct this poor child from her needs of being a triplicate, not at all.

But, like in everything, there has to be party pooper. That would be Elena, who said (yelled) this...

"No, you are not Brooke, when you are eight, you will still be a single."

To which Brooke bursts into tears and comes running to us for consolation. Which, of course, we provide. That's easy to do when she's a single.

Utah Part VI (and last!)

2008-08-09T00:01:00.002-07:00

Monday
We spent most of the day packing up and doing laundry. We went to Winger’s for lunch with Grandma Seeley. So, so yummy! They need to bring it back to AZ!

We then got ready to spend the evening with the rest of the family at Cathryn’s house. Erin (who is married to Dane’s nephew, Spencer) came down from Colorado a day early so she could catch us. Thanks, Erin! It was so fun to get to visit with her. We haven’t seen each other since her twins (Milo and Isabel) and Brooke were about 6 months old. They are only about a week apart in age. We missed Abbie (Dane's niece from Texas) by just a day! There was yummy food, good conversation, and lots of laughs. And, that was the end of our trip…the last time we would get to see the whole family for at least a year. Sad….

We got back to Cade and Stacy’s and got our stuffed packed in the car for an early morning getaway. We said our goodbyes to the kids and wished we could stay longer.

Tuesday
Driving home! We woke up early and got going. I don’t know if any of you know this, but I have, what we have coined in our house as, vehicular narcolepsy. If we are in the car for longer than one hour, I doze off. I don’t know why. My cat naps only last 15-20 minutes, but they do happen every hour. So, that makes for a fun trip for Dane. We loaded the kids up with snacks, as well as ourselves, so we didn’t really have to stop for food. We did have to wait about an hour outside of Page due to some road construction, but it only seemed like 40 minutes to me (gotta love that vehicular narcolepsy!)

We arrived home safe and sound to a clean house (that I made sure was cleaned before we left), a mountain of mail (thanks Garners for picking that up for us), and a very full Google Reader.

Thank you so much to Cade and Stacy for housing us and being our cruise directors. The trip went by so fast and we had such a good time! We hope you come visit us soon so we can repay the hospitality. We miss you, and wish you would move back. We love you guys!

Utah Part V

2008-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday
This day had long been coined “Utah County Day” as we were going to spend the whole day down there. We started out at BYU and basically just made it to the bookstore and a quick jaunt to the Hinckley Alumni Center. But, now we are reloaded with BYU paraphernalia. Take that you darn Utes!

After BYU we went out to visit our friends Clint and Tami Hansen. We knew them from our Dixie College days. They have pretty much followed our lead in everything. We got married June 14th, they got married June 21st. We moved to Provo, they moved to Provo. We moved to Mesa, they moved to Mesa. The insanity did stop when they moved to Texas and then back to Utah, but we still like to tease them about it. They have 2 sets of twins with a singleton in the middle. They are an adorable family and it makes me wish we lived closer so we could hang out with them more.

After the Hansen’s we went to visit our favorite nurse from the triplets’ stay in the NICU, Carolyn. She has two new puppies, so my kids were in heaven and also spent a lot of time complaining what horrible parents we are since we are not only anti-video games, but anti-pets. They’ll get over it.

We left Carolyn’s to head over to the Bayless household. We knew the Baylesses from BYU and love to see them any time we can. They came to visit us in Mesa last year. We barbequed, even in the horrible wind. The kids played, played, and played while we talked, talked, and talked. Dane and Doug discussed history and politics, which was easy considering that Doug still has a Ron Paul poster on his front lawn. Ryann and I talked about everything, especially me trying to convince her to move to Mesa. Maybe someday I’ll be successful. We got home really late and crashed.

Sunday
This week we joined G & G Seeley in their ward. Their church is also backwards, but we had fun in Sunday School when Dane made the best comment ever! It had to do with a verse in the Book of Mormon that was skipped in the first editions and found before the 1981 edition was published. Genius, I tell you, that’s what he is! (Alma 32:30 – The 2nd sentence of that verse was found in an old Oliver Cowdery manuscript that was not included in any published edition of the B of M until 1981.)

After church we went to G & G Seeley’s house for lunch. Dane’s sisters Marcie and Dorrie and some of their kids joined us. Dane made us all Outlaw Sandwiches (recipe to come soon). Brooke put on a set of some HSM songs, complete with accurate choreography. We then got to view pictures from Bekah’s (Dane’s niece) trip to Jerusalem. It was great Family Special Time (right, Jessica?)

We left there and headed over to one of my oldest friend’s house. And, I’m not talking old as in age. I met Erin shortly after graduating from high school. All I knew about her was that she was a Mormon. We worked together and became close friends. I knew there was something special about her. She knew something that I didn’t, and it drove me crazy. I learned a lot about the Church from her and her family. They were all there when I was baptized. Her family’s fellowship was definitely what made my transition into the Church so smooth and simple. We, unfortunately, lost touch and haven’t seen each other in about 7 years. She lives in Davis County with her husband, 3 stepdaughters, and 2 daughters. They are an adorable family and I was so thankful to have the time to spend with them…even though we played Wii and it put the nail in the coffin about the purchase. And, it confirmed the fact that I am an incredible Wii bowler.

We had another late night with them and then drove the kiddos over to G & G Seeley’s for a sleepover. Those sleepovers were definitely the highlights of the trip for the kids, especially Brooke.

Guess what Wii got?

2008-08-07T20:23:00.012-07:00

So, yes, Iii gave in. My ban of all things video-game-related is officially over...lucky hiim...

I'm a sucker.

Here are some glamour shots (which were all taken by Dane, BTW, with [not] subtle hints about posting them on the blog)...

That said, it was quite easy to persuade me since all I wanted to do this week was this...

and this (demonstration of what Bella and Edward do)

What do you think this boy has been doing and who do you think took these (proud Dad) pictures?

Now for some thank yous...

Thank you to the VanNatters for introducing my family to the Wii and boosting Drew's confidence at bowling, he had none. Now he wants to go bowling for real and I'm afraid it will dash all his dreams since he really is not the Pro-Bowler Mii.

Thank you to the Roundys for introducing Dane to Rock Band and letting him know that it is available for the Wii. It put the grand idea in his head.

Thank you to the Hansens for having a Wii and making Dane wonder if we were the only humans on earth who didn't.

Thank you to the Larsens for having a Wii, letting us play the Wii, and giving Dane a tutorial of all its features. You put the nail in the coffin.

Thank you weird guy at GameStop. You really do look like the comic book salesman on the Simpsons and act like him, too. But, you, Mateo, are like my boyfriend, Matthew, at the swimming pool shop, a nerd. You know everything about your product, though, which makes you slightly attractive in a disturbing way.

Thank you for making my husband's day when you found the last Wii in your storeroom. Thank you for giving us the head's up on the Mario Cart and the used steering wheel, but we still don't want to buy your rewards program. See, we don't think we will spend that much on used products to save 10% and when you told us that you saved $300 with it last year, it didn't help. We just sat there calculating that you spent $3000 on just used products last year. Hmmmm...

Thank you to the Haws family for inviting us over to FHE to play Rock Band on your Wii so Dane could see what the controversy about Wii vs. XBox was all about.

Just so you know, the game is on order...

Rock On!

Why you want to be my BFF...

2008-08-07T20:11:00.002-07:00

I will throw you a surprise birthday lunch with 10 of your closest girlfriends...

I will send out Evite invitations behind your back and avoid you for a few days so I don't tell you anything about it...

I will email your husband to make sure he doesn't make you do anything else on the appointed date and time...

I will lie to your face about countless things, all in the name of friendship and secrets...

I will spend hours cleaning, cooking, and decorating my home...

I will make you a birthday brownie and I will only make you blow out 7 candles, even when you need 34...

Happy Birthday Cindy!

(You lucky girl!)

Utah Part IV

2008-08-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday (Pioneer Day)
My family, of course, dressed in our red flag shirts for patriotism to a state that we no longer live in. We were the only ones. Dane wants me to note that the irony of this is that the pioneers intentionally left the United States for Utah in 1847, which was then a part of Mexico. But we’ll leave that history lesson for another day.

After picking up Dane’s phone at Lagoon, we went to Salt Lake and ate at the Rio Grande Café. Afterwards we went to The Gateway to let the kiddos play in the fountain. Brooke very much enjoyed her time there and put on quite the dancing show.

Afterwards we went back to Cade and Stacy’s and hung out. We also listened to all the neighbors setting off their fireworks and wished that AZ would change their stinkin’ no fireworks law.

Friday
Ever since last year my kids have wanted to go to “This is the Place”, so this year we obliged them. We didn’t have even near enough time to enjoy it. I definitely want to go back next year. They had so much to do! We wore ourselves out! My kids did laundry, went to school, and even rode the ponies!

The most amazing part of the day was when one of the triplet girlies (you know the ones that dislike chocolate, ice cream, and any decent sweets) asked for and ate an ice cream cone. We were stunned!

And, what’s a Utah trip for a bunch of HSM fans without a trip to East High School? Not much of a trip, I would say…that’s why we did this.

We also spent some time at the Salt Lake cemetery and saw President Hinckley’s grave, which made Elena sad…such a tender heart!

That evening Stacy and I went to dinner with some friends (you might recognize them). And, because the restaurant was closing and we weren’t ready to say goodbye, we sat out on the lawn in front of the restaurant and chatted for 2 more hours. In the process, we were hit on and cat-called at least 5 different times. It did our 30-year-old egos well.

First Day of School

2008-08-06T11:25:00.004-07:00

So, before I continue to bore you with the details of our Utah trip, I thought it would be good to note that the triplets went back to school today.

I was ready...well, I thought I was until 11 p.m. last night when I made a Wal-Mart run for 3-ring binders.

The morning went pretty smoothly. We were ready to go on time, so I snapped some pictures, of course.

Cool Andrew. He insisted on wearing these shoes today, so we went through quite a few outfits to figure out what would work.

Elena...well, the girl could not hold still this morning. Did she even eat any breakfast? I can't remember.

Cassie looked adorable, but was a little nervous. She was working on her "homework" assignment with 5 minutes left to spare.

This one will start preschool in September. She went to the gym with me today, along with her "little sing book" (Dane's mission hymnal .)

So, I thought, let's take some nice, outside group pictures. However, for some reason I have yet to discover, Drew cannot look at the camera if he is outside. He either looks away, or blinks at the most inopportune moment. So, we had this...

And this...

And then I got angry and called the whole thing off, not before snapping this last one of Elena trying to fix her brother.

Ahhh...bliss until 3 p.m.

What were you doing at midnight?

2008-08-02T00:30:00.003-07:00

Did it look anything like this?

Did you look anything like this?

Happy reading everyone...go Edward!

Utah Part III

2008-07-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday
We went and ate breakfast at Granny Annie’s, which is a Sill’s knockoff, for those of you who know Sill’s. They have the yummiest scones with honey butter. My mouth is salivating just thinking of it. Dane had the Kaysville Special (which is Granny Annie’s version of Dale’s breakfast, not to be confused with Dell’s breakfast) which consists of a dinner-plate-sized scone, two eggs, two healthy slices of bacon, and hash browns with a generous helping of S.O.S., which stands for “sh__ on a shingle”. I’m sorry, I refuse to eat ANYTHING that is named after excrement, no matter how good it is purported to taste.

It was a warm day, so the kids spent their time in the backyard, on the tramp, with the sprinklers running. That evening we went to the Roundy’s home for dinner. Brian and Erinne went to high school with Dane and worked at Bowman’s, a local grocery store, together. After visiting, Dane was introduced to his new love…Rock Band. I even did decently, although Dane had very little faith in my abilities. Because of that we are now in the market for a Wii…and Rock Band. And, if you know me well enough, you know I am not the biggest fan of video games. But, I might have to change my ways for the Wii…tee-hee.

Wednesday
Lagoon Day! We brought our coolers in, scoped out a table, and had a blast! One of the highlights had to be Brooke and Hannah riding the bumper cars. Well, riding would be an overstatement…sitting in a bumper car is more like it. They had fun, though! Thanks to G & G Seeley for coming to pick up the younger girlies after dinner so we could ride the big rides. Oh, and thanks for also taking the 8-year-old frady-cat who won’t go on any rides designed for children older than 4 (I’m not naming any names.) And thanks to the Lagoon employee who told us after we had waited in line for Wicked for over 45 minutes that if you have a child that needs a booster to ride, you can avoid the big line and just come up to the special line. We were especially thankful since it was the last ride we will ride there for 12 months. The ride is amazing, but it can also throw things out of your pocket…like a cell phone…belonging to someone named Dane. Yup, it really happened. Thankfully, we had our Elena there who promptly said a prayer that it would be found, in working condition. And alas, it was. Apparently, this is a common occurrence. They called us after we left the parking lot to tell us that they had found it. We were grateful and picked it up the next morning.

Utah Part II

2008-07-30T20:38:00.003-07:00

Sunday
We slept in and went to church in Cade and Stacy’s ward. Their church starts at 11:15 a.m., which, by the way, is 100x better than our horrendous 2 p.m. Although, as my kids told me, their church is all backwards since they do Sacrament meeting last. I agree and so did every small child in their ward, who, for the last 10 minutes of the meeting broke into a cacophony of noise, which made it impossible to hear the speaker. In fact, the lady in front of us was leaning forward in a vain attempt to hear the speaker. Eventually, she gave up, as we all did.

After church a bunch of family came over for a yummy BBQ. We talked, played on the trampoline, and enjoyed visiting.

Monday
We just took it easy during the day. At lunchtime we met up with our friend Shannon from our Dixie College days. She has 3 beautiful children. We met at Layton Park and had Crown Burger. We were all in heaven! The kids then fed the ducks.

In the evening we went up Farmington Canyon for FHE. The drives up the canyon and down the canyon were very scary, but while we were up there, it was beautiful. We had tin foil dinners and s’mores. The kids went exploring and we all came back extra dirty.

Thankfully, the cleaning-up duties were left to Cade and Dane as Stacy and I met up with Stacy’s sister, Suzanne, for a late movie. “Mamma Mia”. It was so fun! I went to sleep humming ABBA songs.

Utah Part I

2008-07-29T20:20:00.003-07:00

I’m BACK! Aren’t you all excited? Now you get to hear all about our vacation to Utah! And, since I really want to torture you, I have broken it up into daily segments that I will post daily. So, if you don’t want to hear about my trip, just avoid my blog for the next week…but you’ll be sorry!

Friday
We left our house very early (we’re talking 2:30 a.m. people!) and got on the road. Surprisingly, our kids slept very little, but I slept enough in the car for all of us. We stopped by Richfield on our way up to Salt Lake so Dane could show the kids the house where he grew up as well as his old elementary school. He would have liked to show us the church building where he was baptized, but it has since burned down…thanks to some lame electrician.

We were then on our way up to Salt Lake and we made good time until we were 15 miles away from Cade and Stacy’s home. Gotta love Salt Lake rush hour!

We were greeted with yelps and screams from all of the children when we FINALLY arrived. We hurried up and got ready and left for Dane’s aunt’s (Carma) 70th birthday party. Dane’s sister, Dorrie (Jessica R.’s mom) and his niece Bekah came and babysat the kids. Thanks guys!

The party was fun although I really only knew a handful of people. It was held in a building that is an organ. Yes, the whole building has walls that are part of the organ. It has been around since the 1940’s and smelled like it, too.

When we arrived home we put the kiddos to bed and watched SNL commercial parodies. Some are good and some are a little questionable. “Cluckin’ Chicken” and “Oops I Crapped My Pants” seem to be family favorites. Even Grandma Seeley chuckled.

Saturday
We awoke and got ready to go to the Dinosaur Park. The kids definitely had fun there although it was extra warm (even for us AZ folk). So much so that we all resorted to pouring water from water bottles on each other. Cade especially enjoyed his.

Cassie realized just as we were leaving that she had lost her prescription glasses. Dane took her back in to look for them while we all waited in the car. They said a prayer together to hope that they would find them. They searched all around the place that we had sat and chatted with everyone and did not find them. They checked with the Lost and Found, but no one had turned them in. Finally, Cassie said that she thought she knew where they were. She led Dane out into the entrance of the park. Dane thought they were wasting their time, so he told Cassie they were going to look somewhere else. She continued to lead him by the hand to a grassy place by the entrance. Dane then told her that it probably wasn’t there at which point Cassie dropped his hand and walked right over to a tree. She searched on the ground for about 20 seconds and found her glasses! How amazing is that? Just goes to show the kind of faith that little children have!

We went back to Cade and Stacy’s after a detour at the Distribution Center for some new unmentionables (nothing better!) We ate a yummy salad and visited while the kids ate and ran around like lunatics.

We got a sitter for the girls and the boys went over to G & G Seeley’s house (they live two blocks away). We met up with some of Cade and Stacy’s friends from their Mesa ward who were up here visiting. We all went to the Gateway (love the assigned seating!) and saw “The Dark Knight”. It was really good, but really long. Just as a warning to those that might see it, do not drink a bottle of water, a 12 oz. can of Coke Zero, and then a 44 oz. fountain drink before and during the movie. I did. I finally found myself not concentrating on the movie, but on how badly I had to go. I got so uncomfortable. I finally turned to Stacy and told her that I really had to go. She said she had to go, too. We sat there and contemplated for a second and when Stacy said she was going, even though it was the climax (last 20 minutes) of the movie, we knew we had to go. I mean, if we had to wait in line after the movie ended I would have peed my pants. So, imagine two women, in one of the middle rows, in the middle of the row, both getting up at one of the most exciting parts of the movie. I am sure it was quite the sight, especially since I practically tripped over the last person in the aisle. Thankfully, we caught the end of the movie and all was well with our bladders.

When we arrived home all of the girls were sleeping so we sat and talked until 2 a.m. It was just like old times and made me wish (for the thousandth time) that they had never moved away from AZ. You just don’t appreciate having family around until they’re gone.

Andrew and _______ sitting in a tree...

2008-07-17T00:00:00.003-07:00

My son has a crush, on a girl, and has had this crush for over a year. If you know my son, you know he is the kindest, most genuine 8-year-old out there. He is not one of those girl-crazy boys.

We don’t egg him on, rather we try to dissuade him from this crush. They're 8 for Heaven's sake. However, our attempts have fallen on deaf ears.

The girl he is crushing on is adorable, I love her, and I won’t embarrass her or her parents by revealing her identity. We’ll call her “B”. And, if you personally know “B”, you know how cute she is.

Drew says he is going to marry her. He has even tried out her new name on us.

“'B' Seeley, it sounds good, Mom.”

He tries to sit next to her whenever possible.
He compliments her on her hair or outfit.
He shares food with her.
He takes the time to explain the complexities that is Star Wars to her.
He stops and listens anytime her name is mentioned in our home and then gets a big smile on his face.

Yeah, he’s just a tad smitten.

So, “B” had a birthday party last weekend. Her 8th. Drew was very excited to attend.

When I picked him up after the party I was informed by “B”’s mom that Andrew was doing a little kissing while I was gone.

Here are the responses I got from Drew when cornered and reminded that we only kiss family members.

“I only did it on her cheek.”
“What, it’s her birthday!”
“I did it like 6 times, Mom!”

I waited until Dane got home and then we discussed the kissing. We told Drew that he had to wait until he was 16 to date and kiss girls. He thought about what we had said for a minute and then responded:

“OK, so I’ve got 8 years.”

I guess I should go make up an advent calendar.

The kicker happened a few days later in church. "B" had been baptized the day before and was called up to the stand by our bishop to be recognized. As she walked up, Drew turned to Dane and with a big smile on his face whispered:

“She looks BEAUTIFUL!”

And she did. But the shocking thing…and I caught it…

"B" looked down at Drew from the stand, met his eyes, and smiled at him.

So, I guess this crush is not as one-sided as I had previously thought…I'm so not ready for this!

To Hide or to Seek, that is the question...

2008-07-16T22:31:00.005-07:00

If you want to play Hide-and-Go-Seek at the Seeleys, you must follow the same rules that our children do.

1. Counting is mandatory
But what you count up to is up to you…

Brooke counts to 12 because that is the most she can count up to without getting a little help. You know, all those teen numbers are kinda confusing, and who doesn’t skip 17?

Elena counts to 20, the minimum requirement for an 8-year-old, and Elena is all about the minimum requirements.

Cassie counts to 30, mostly because it’s better than 20 and it is all about being better.

Drew counts to 100, because he rocks, and with his super-fast counting he can reach 100 before Brooke reaches 12.

2. Find a good, creative hiding spot.
We are all thrilled for you when you find a good hiding spot like this one:

However, it gets a little predictable when you and/or your sister hide there each time. So, don’t cry when you are the first one found each round…you kind of asked for it.

3. Stay quiet while you hide
That means that yelling “I’m in here” and kicking at the door you are behind of is a no-no.

I’m talking to you, Elena.

4. Ask Mom and Dad to join in, we love games
But be prepared…we are MASTERS compared to you. We played street games like this for hours on end. Why? Because when we were your age video games consisted of a dinosaur-game-system named Atari, cartoons only aired on Saturday, and music played on records the size of our car tire. Oh, and we had to walk 5 miles to school each day, in a blizzard, uphill there and back.

5. Last but not least, HAVE FUN!
Because, really, let's face it, the cryfest that ensued when you were found (Drew) or you forgot what you were counting to (Brooke) was quite the downer!

First Adjustment Day

2008-07-15T20:42:00.006-07:00

Today I had my 6-week follow-up with my orthodontist, therefore it was my First Adjustment Day. I will now extend to you my expertise as the owner of 6-week-old braces.

When the assistant explains to you on the day she puts your braces on that clear bands can stain if you eat tomato products, believe her. If you don't, you will spend the next 5 weeks with your hand over your mouth when you talk so no one will look at your now-orange bands, which makes you look like you have orange teeth. Go for the bone color. Sure, it looks more like beige, but once they are on, they look white.

Enjoy the moment of sheer relief when your bands and wires are taken off. Take the time to brush and floss easily. Because, let's face it, you won't be flossing until your next adjustment.

Be thankful that the orthodontist changed his mind about which wire to put on. The first hint would be when he says, "No, let's not do .2, but .16. If we did .2 she would hate me." Hate is a strong word, but you probably would.

Make sure that you make your first payment on time. If you don't you will incur the dreaded $10 late fee and will get "the look" from the receptionist wondering if this is going to be a monthly occurrence.

Eat a Costa Vida chicken salad with vinaigrette dressing before your appointment because, remember those cankers you had 4 weeks ago, they're coming BAAAAACK!

Marvel at the improvement in just 6 weeks...

Get a pedicure and eyebrow waxing (and upper lip waxing, if necessary - and if you're half-Turkish, it is) before your appointment. Go for a different color, not the boring pink or red. Everyone will comment on your cute toes, since there's nothing nice to say about your teeth.

Go to Hobby Lobby with your BFF and buy out their 90% off 4th of July clearance (or is it clearence?) It will make you feel festive, even though you only spent $3.71. Your savings can then be applied to the $10 late fee.

Skip the gym and spend time with your family...or take your husband to get the traditional oil change on the minivan before the trek to Utah. Wait with baited breath for the phone call from the mechanic after you asked him to look at that weird thing the car does when you step on the brakes. Realize you ruined the new brakes you just got 4 months ago because there was a leak in the rear brakes that you didn't know about that then warped your brand-new front brakes. Kick yourself and cry when you hear the numbers 6-0-0. Examine the reasons why your car is doing this when you are less than a year from paying it off.

Drown your sorrows at Golden Spoon. Peanut Butter Cup does wonders.

The Pretty Petal

2008-07-15T18:28:00.002-07:00

You are all well-versed in the story of my life. I was born in Argentina, I was raised in California, and I am not just the middle child, but the only girl.

I never really had a sister relationship with anyone until I met my sister-in-law, Stacy. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is the only person I will cry-call, lucky her! And…even though we moved to AZ in 2001 to be closer to them and they moved back to Utah last summer and left us in the middle of the friggin’ desert (that’s a direct quote from me), I still appreciate her sisterhood.

Me and Stacy at Women's Conference

Stacy humors me as she already has 3 sisters that are actually blood-related.

And, that is where The Pretty Petal begins. Stacy and her sister Suzanne were both inundated with boys and dreamt of having baby girls. Their dreams finally came true 3 years ago when girls invaded their homes.

Stacy with Rachel and Hannah

To make their girls look extra-cute, they started making headbands, bracelets, and other trinkets. They spent most of their time together doing these fun projects, so S & S decided to go into business together.

Suzanne at The Pretty Petal selling post on the 4th of July

And now we'll have baby Rachel (or Bay-Ray) model for you:

And, because I am all about promoting others, here is their website:

http://www.theprettypetal.com/

Pretty cute and creative, huh? What did you order?

Now I have to think of a business to start.

I’m really good at sleeping and eating, what can I do with that?

Memories...

2008-07-14T20:47:00.003-07:00

I got this from Jill's blog. Since I don't have anything else to blog about, I stole it (well, she kind of told me to).

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

Here's what I look like, in case you need a reminder...
Of course, this is pre-braces...
Oh, and be nice, or I will use my delete power.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

A dry heat?

2008-07-11T13:59:00.003-07:00

Not when Mr. Monsoon rolls in...

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-06T18:53:00.012-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. Somehow I conned the Wagmaister side to come and enjoy the 115-degree heat with us. My mom, dad, older brother (Martin), younger brother (Alex), sister-in-law (Catherene, Alex's wife), niece (Rhiana), and nephew (Nicholas or Nico) came out to AZ.

This is how my kids woke up their Papa. After that we had a yummy pancake/french toast/bacon/orange juice breakfast cooked by yours truly.

We then did some of this...

A triple cannonball

SPLASH!

We won't discuss how many tries it took for my dad to get up on the raft. Let's just say we could have easily won a million on AFV.

We also ate a great BBQ which also included some yummy empanadas.

Rhiana is only 3 weeks older...it makes for a lot of fun!

We also played with our new karaoke machine. For some reason, everyone giggled when I would start singing. Something about being tone-deaf and flat (which I am). I still enjoyed myself.

This is what mom and Alex spent some of the afternoon doing...LUCKY!

All of the girls (me, my mom, my SIL, my niece, Cassie, and Elena) all went to see Kit Kittredge. It was a cute movie.

On our way to the movie...thanks, mom!

Yes, I did flag shirts. I actually got some for my entire family. They were party poopers about wearing them, though. One person (I won’t name any names) actually cut the sleeves off of the shirt to make a tank top. I was not appalled or anything.

Catherene and Rhiana

Gotta love the glow-in the dark earrings...

and chokers!

When we returned we made some homemade ice cream. This guy (my brother, Martin) was a pro!

While waiting for the ice cream, we climbed onto the balcony and watched the fireworks. Thank you AJHS!

Sundae toppings...I think we need more!

These are a diet-wrecker!

Nico is showing us how strong he is

The next day we did some more of this:

And took family pictures.

Oh, and I should warn everyone. I was being weird that day and not wanting to show my braces when I smiled. I know now that I look ridiculous, so this is that last you will see of that smile. I guess we just all need to get used to the brace-face smile for a while.

The grandkids

Grandparents and grandkids

Two generations

Me with Catherene (she is expecting #3)

Me with my mom and Catherene

Look at this cool dude!

A shot of everyone with a timed camera. Notice that Nico (far right) is not having any of this.

A better shot...sorry you are half cut-out Catherene!

Me with my mom and dad.

Me with my brothers. They usually grab me in inappropriate places during picture-taking, but they behaved themselves.

A shot of the 5 Wags

Drew with his Papa

Drew took this picture of me with my dad.

We’re sad that they’re gone, but I think we have talked them into coming again…SUCKERS!

Fun at work...

2008-07-01T22:27:00.003-07:00

My fun at works begins when I leave the hospital at 4 a.m. to drive home. That is totally the best part of my shift. I look forward to my nice bed just waiting for me to crash in it.

That being said, and because I am a little giddy at 4 a.m., I wanted to share two of the funnies to be found in the parking lot of my hospital.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know who drives this car, but it always makes me giggle. And, I think I want one now. Do you think I could crisscross seatbelts in the back? Would all 6'2" of Dane even fit?

This next one mostly makes me just shake my head. I guess nobody knows how to spell anymore.

Would you?

2008-06-30T09:47:00.004-07:00

My son wants this.

He talks about it EVERY DAY!

He's never getting it.

It's a Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon.

It costs $499.99.

Don't believe me? Here's the link:
http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=10179

I could NEVER even fathom buying a toy for one child for that amount of money, would you?

Why I love this child...

2008-06-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

OK, so there are a lot of reasons why I love her. But, my latest reason is that she WANTED to do this...and she likes it!

I apologize to all for the panties shot. However, please note that she is also still wearing her HSM shirt. Yes, these were her jammies. As a matter of fact, I do believe she has worn that shirt since show night. Ewwwww...

A letter to the unnamed nurse...

2008-06-27T10:45:00.006-07:00

Dear kind nurse who took my blood,

Remember when I told you that people have had a hard time getting my veins since I was a teenager? I wish you had listened!

Remember when I told you the story about when I was having my baby and they had already poked me 3 times and had to call in the charge nurse with her special spray to do my IV?

Remember how I told you that I had told that nurse to just wait for a contraction so it wouldn't hurt so much? Well, I wish I was having contractions with you around.

However, I must thank you for saying you found a vein and then spending two very long minutes poking around my arm trying to find the invisible vein. It was so comfortable!

Thank you for telling me to breathe, because I was really forgetting to and I was seeing stars and had a weird ringing in my ears.

Thank you for finally giving up and taking the blood out of my hand. It hurt more, but at least I didn't faint.

Oh, and thank you for making me look like this.

The look really suits me.

Sincerely (or not),
Lorena Seeley

What Time is it???

2008-06-25T21:13:00.008-07:00

It’s time for High School Musical – On Tour!

So, last night was the BIG SURPRISE!

The kids had it all figured out, though. For FHE we gave them their new HSM t-shirts and asked them what they thought we were doing. I had posted the above picture on their computer desktop background as a clue, but they didn’t seem to get it.

Elena: I know what we’re doing…High School Musical – On tour.

Us: Yes, but what does that mean?

Elena: It’s the stage version of the smash-hit Disney original movie. (sounds like a recitation from the website, huh?)

Us: OK, but what does it mean?

Elena: I’ll be right back (races upstairs and straight to disneychannel.com)

A few minutes later…comes downstairs with a notebook and pencil in hand.

Elena: Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ON STAGE follows the much-loved story of the movie, featuring all your favorite characters and songs, together with two brand new numbers performed by a new cast of talented theatrical performers and an electrifying live band.

Us: So, what do you think it is?

Elena: We’re going to see HSM, but on a stage.

Us: Yes, you win…

Here they are modeling their new shirts before we left for the show.

I couldn't pick just one, look at how cute she is!

Goofy kids!

In the lobby of the theater.

Reading our Playbills while waiting to be seated.

Waiting for the show.

The stage with the curtain down.

Opening scene.

The show was good except that the speakers in the cheap seats (balcony) kept cutting in and out, so not the best audio…which was fine because my children have the lines memorized, anyway.

Cassie told us before the show began that she wanted to sit in the good seats (down in the orchestra section). We told her that if we did that only one of us would have been able to see the show as we couldn’t afford for all 6 of us to come. She didn’t seem to mind that too much. I guess we know which 1 person she would have selected to see the show. I wonder when we'll have to break it to her that we are not rich.

Brooke (the HSM aficionado) wanted to go home soon after the show began. I guess she thought Sharpay was going to sit and talk with her about all things fabulous, but realized that it wasn’t going to happen with us in the nosebleed section.

There was this one lady who kept coming in and out with her children. She did it like 5 times, in the middle of a scene, nonetheless! I have kids, too lady, but quit coming back and forth…go stand over there and wait, please. I guess she got the message when after the 5th time I said, “You’ve got to be kidding” under my breath. She must have heard.

Elena wanted a stuffed animal of a wildcat. I refused and we sped through the concession/souvenir section as quickly as possible. Let’s discuss. Did I not just make a HUGE D.I. run with all of your stuffed animals that could not fit in one box? What are we going to do with this one? It was not purchased, BTW.

After the show (10:00) we were all famished so we went over to IHOP.

Dane and Andrew were excited for their pancakes.

Brooke was a little tired.

Me and my girlies (this is a nice picture, the first one Dane took was solely of my chest.)

We drove home listening to the soundtrack and discussing the show...well just Dane and I did, this is what the kids were doing:

I hear High School Musical - On Ice is coming in December. We're so there!

More Birthday!!!

2008-06-21T19:57:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was the continuation of my birthday. I went to the gym to work out and then I had some of my birthday cake for breakfast.

Dane had half of the day off, so when he got home I went shopping with my friend, Karen. Karen and I have the same birthday, so it was our treat to go to Kohl’s and shop all of their clearance racks. I got a lot of good stuff!! We then went to Coldstone and enjoyed a yummy treat.

I got home, showered, and then left to go to dinner with some girly-friends at The Cheesecake Factory. I opted for that instead of a party. Cindy put the whole thing on for me. Dane was totally shocked (and I’m sure relieved that he didn't have to put on a big shin-dig for me.)

Here's a picture of me and Cindy. (Aren't her teeth nice and white...dang these braces!)

Cindy gave me two of my favorite Target shirts (I think I have every color now) along with this "popular" shirt from "Wicked". It is a running joke between us that I am popular, so she gave me this shirt just to prove it.

Erika gave me this cute heart with a Sonic card in it...all is well in the world.

Here I am opening the gift from Teresa, Kristi, and Diannah.

Here's what was inside the wrapping paper. Lots of goods from Hobby Lobby. I'm never going there because my checking account would be depleted. (Diannah is the one on the left.)

Here's Teresa, Erika, and Kristi. We were obviously having a great time.

It was so fun when my dessert came! It had my name on it with a candle. And it was sure yummy! I would have enjoyed it more without braces, though. Just 1 more year, right?

This is a picture of Kristi's shirt. Kristi is notorious for spilling something on herself. Tonight was no exception.

After the restaurant we came back to my house. We had a Diet Coke bar which consisted of lots of 2-liters of Diet Coke, Sonic ice, lemons, limes, and many syrup flavors. We also had chips, every kind of M&M invented, Red Vines, and Hot Tamales. How did I not get pictures of our spread?

We sat and talked for hours and, like Teresa’s husband said, “What happens at Lorena’s house, stays at Lorena’s house.” Lucy came by for a little bit to join in on the fun.

Thanks for a great time girls…next year let’s take a cruise for my birthday...no husbands or kids! Who’s in?

I love birthdays!

2008-06-19T00:00:00.005-07:00

I don't even mind turning a year older, because in my head I'm only 12.

The festivities began last night. My Dad came into town for work and met us for dinner. It being Tuesday and kids eating free, of course we ended up here:

Tamales and rice work well with my metal mouth. And, Cade & Stacy, you will be shocked, but I ordered the refried beans...and ate them. (Tell Hannah that my bum was talking afterwards, though.)

When we got home I checked the mail and there was a card from a fellow Blogger, Jill, along with a McDonalds gift card so I could get some ice cream. That was seriously one of the sweetest things ever. I love thoughtful people!

At 6 a.m. this morning I was awoken by my brood. They sang me "Happy Birthday" in both English and Italian. Well, most of them. I didn't get pictures of the event (I'm not a pretty morning person), but here was my loot:

A new silverware tray. The one we had was from when I was single. This one is so neat...it expands to fit your drawer. It also has rubber pads to keep your silverware from slipping. LOVE IT!

I also got a new deep fat fryer. This will be our 4th in 11 years of marriage. I'm not good with these things. I don't like the smell of frying oil, so I always do it outside and sometimes I forget to bring it inside. Sorry Chaffees! I'm still thinking of your yummy fried zucchini that we didn't have because of me. But, look...now we can try again!

Because my consumption of candy has been severely limited due to my braces, I was once again given some that I can eat. The Junior Mints are definitely the easiest to eat, and I just can't resist Raisinets (who can?)

And, because flossing is a joke and I can make a meal out of the food leftover in my teeth, I was given the best gift ever...a WaterPik! I have used it 5 times already today. No one with braces should live without it!

Even though I didn't want to, I went to the gym and had a good workout. When I arrived home, my friend/neighbor/VT companion, etc. Lucy came and brought me some cupcakes. Brooke licked all of the frosting off of the chocolate ones before I could get to them.

Because my Dad knows how much I love to eat out, he invited me to lunch. (How did we not get any pictures of you Dad?) Of course, I had to bring my 4 rowdy children. Sorry customers at the below location. You do have to admit, though, they did quiet down once they got their food! The Tomato-Bread salad is the best! It sounds weird, but is to die for!

After he was done with work, my Dad came and swam with the kids while I got ready and left for work. Work on my birthday? Yes, it happens. I was a little sad, though, when I realized I would not be having any birthday cake on my birthday.

However, I soon talked with Dane who was on his way to my office! He had planned this since Monday. He ordered a cake and brought it down to my office with the kids. I was so touched! He scored major points! I am all about planning and being thoughtful and that was both!

Here is my cake. We took it outside because we didn't want the sprinklers to go off inside the building.

The kids were just as excited as I was.

This was a posed shot of me blowing out the candles. Some cute kiddos beat me to it.

Here's me with my cuties. (Don't ask about Elena...this is what happens when she is allowed to dress herself.)

Here's me with my other cutie! Thanks honey...

Cassie took this picture of me enjoying my cake...a photographer in the making?

Thanks also to those that called, emailed, texted, or left comments on my birthday. I love feeling special!

But, the party is not over! Friday night is Ladies' night in my honor and I can't wait!

Happy Birthday to Me...

2008-06-18T00:00:00.002-07:00

34...

but we all know I don't look a day over 29!

Why D.I.?

2008-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

D.I. (or Deseret Industries) is kind of like the Salvation Army, but run by my church, the L.D.S. Church.

I made a run there on Friday.

This is what my trunk looked like.

It was full of toys that my children insisted they played with, but I insisted they didn't. I won when I explained to them that there are many children that don't have even one toy to play with and that by giving their toys away, they would be helping those kids. Elena said she would rather have a yard sale so at least she could make some money out of the whole giving thing.

We also had a lot of clothes. This is so my children won’t insist on wearing old 2T dresses, which I then make them put pants under, which they then choose these horrible 3T pink pants to go with. (Please also note the pink socks and the pink plaid shoes.)

This child kept asking me if she “looked perfect”. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t, so I didn’t answer. She then approached me again, and when cornered I told her that she “looked silly.”

Don’t worry, people, I’m not that cruel, I still let her wear her outfit…we weren’t going to get out of the car, anyway.