Monday, April 25, 2011

A Few of My Favorite Pics

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past few months.
Sisters!
Kenzie and Lexi having a great time together on the glider.
Lap Time!
I know I look tired (because I am!) and bored (because I had seen that show about 100 times!) But I wouldn't trade moments like these for anything. In fact, I may just stop trying to lose weight and instead try to make my lap bigger so there will always be room for everyone.
Backwards Brayden!
I love this picture of Brayden because he looks like one cool dude. And, backwards pretty much sums up his personality. Everyday he has to wear at least one item backwards. Sometimes it's a hat, most often it is his shirt and/or shoes.

What Big Eyes you Have!
Lexi talking on the phone to Daddy while he was out of town for training.

Hugs!
Lexi frequently walks up to Makenzie and gives her random hugs. They last for quite a while and Lexi won't let go until they fall down. Brayden is trying to get in on the action, but it's a girls only club.
Crazy Kenzie!
If you tell Kenzie to smile, this is what you get!


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Ornery Old Lady

At the tender age of 34, I am battling grey hairs. This is nothing that a $3 bottle of Revlon Color Silk can’t fix. The grey hairs don’t make me feel old; I just find them unsightly. I have always believed that age was more a state of mind than a number or hair color. I must admit, though, that my 30th birthday did give me pause. So I touched up my roots and borrowed a line from Friends, declaring myself twenty-ten to anyone who inquired!


Recently, however, my mindset has changed and I have been feeling old. Old and ornery. It started with trivial things like the fact that Andy and I kept falling asleep and 9:30 pm, not even halfway through our Redbox rental. Then other things would trigger rants like newlyweds who didn’t find it necessary to send thank-you cards. Or people who felt the false intimacy of Facebook was an appropriate place to announce personal news such as engagements or pregnancies BEFORE personally telling close friends or family. These things would set me off on tirades that were typically only heard from the blue-hair brigade. Last time I checked, my shade was medium auburn brown. I shouldn’t be bothered by such things, should I?

Then last weekend my old, ornery self really reared its ugly head. The doorbell rang and when I answered it I was met by no less than FIVE children who wanted to know if Makenzie could play. This bothered me for a number of reasons. First of all, they should be asking to play with Brayden AND Makenzie. Second of all, only two of these children were the same age and the twins. The other three were between the ages of 7 and 9. They had no interest in playing with my kids. They just wanted to play on our stuff. Last time I checked, I was not the neighborhood babysitter. Third, did I mention that it was 7 pm?

The twins are always very excited to play with other kids, so I told them they could play for a short while. I was not so excited, however. What happened to common courtesy? Shouldn’t the parents call first to make sure it is alright for their children to come and play? Especially when there are so many of them? Especially when it is 7 o’clock at night? What exactly is the proper etiquette for play dates?

Funnily enough, the answer to this last question came after I sent the neighbor kids home. My brood was settling down with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I decided to settle in with a magazine for a few minutes. When I opened it Peggy Post had written a response to a very similar play date question. I was not alone in feeling that this was poor parenting. A phone call is expected. I felt better—not like such an old, ornery lady—for a few minutes anyway.

That was when I heard kids playing outside my back window. I looked to see who it was: five boys around the ages of 9 or 10. They weren’t actually in my yard; they were in my dad’s pasture which is directly behind our house. The boys were jumping off the roof of his shed, rolling in an irrigation pipe and climbing his compost pile. I was worried one of them was going to get hurt so I went out there and told those little punks to get off the property! That was the kicker. I really felt like an old, ornery lady after that. Not to mention my house will probably get TP’d or egged or forked soon.

For the next few days, I wondered how to regain my youthful spirit. Maybe I could add a pink streak to my next dye job. Or download the latest club remix, turn it up and dance, dance, dance! No, I would still be bothered by the lack of courtesy around me. Why do these things bother me so much? And then it hit me. I am still young at heart, but old-school when it comes to etiquette. This is not a character flaw, but actually a positive attribute. Instead of dwelling on the improprieties of others, I should celebrate the fact that I know better. I should thank my mother for raising me right and hope that I can do the same for my own kids. That reminds me. . .I have some thank you cards to write!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lexi's 15 Month Stats

 Miss Alexis is 15 months old! She is very opinionated, especially when it comes time to eat. This is probably why she is so skinny. (That, and she was fortunate enough to inherit her Dad's fast metabolism.) She actually fell off the growth chart at this well visit, weighing in at a mere 18 lbs. 8 oz. That puts her in the 0 percentile! Her length is 30 inches (50th percentile) and her head measures 48 cm (95th percentile).

 I'm pretty sure she is in the 100th percentile for cuteness!
And her eyelashes (or paintbrushes!) must be in at least the 110th percentile.

Alexis is a tough little girl! She did not cry when she got her immunization shots this time. In fact, here eyes didn't even tear up. The nurse just stared at her waiting for her to start crying. Then the nurse looked at me and said  incredulously , "That has never happened to me before!" Yeah, me neither lady!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Work or Play?

Andy works hard and is great at his job. But you know what they say. . ."All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!" Andy has taken this to heart and makes work fun as well. In November, he played with snakes at an event for Harry Potter.

In December, he painted (yes, painted!) a co-worker's cubicle Ute Red. She is a die-hard BYU fan.

In January, she retaliated. The movie posters in his office were replaced with photo enlargements of our kids wearing BYU gear.
 And his office was also decorated for the unveiling.

In February, he attended a Jazz game with Roger Miller and sat in the second row. Check out his view of the court.


Last week, he played hookie with the managers of the other theaters and went racing at the LHM Motor Speedway. This wasn't the first time he had done this either!


What will he do next? I don't know. One thing is certain though: it won't be dull!

Friday, April 1, 2011

March Madness

Not a single post in March? If there is anyone left out there reading this, my apologies! It has been a busy month.

One thing that kept us busy was a week long trip to Denver to visit friends, family and of course, watch the 1st and 2nd round games of the NCAA tournament. This picture was in Sports Illustrated last week.

See the guy in the blue shirt who looks like he has a basketball for a head? That is Andy's brother, Brad. Next to him is Andy, wearing the white t-shirt. Then you can see their friends Dayton and Derek Donahoe. On the other side of Brad is his girlfriend, Mandi; Andy's sister, Jill; her husband, Mark; and Andy's dad. They got to see some great upsets at the Thursday games.