Always Check Your Kid's Homework!

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Smith

You know you're from ALASKA, part 3

You can relate to 5 or more of this things...

41. During the winter you rarely use your freezer.
42. You think $4 for a loaf of bread is cheap.
43. You don't sleep in the summer because it’s too short to miss a minute of it
44. Half your friends own a sled (snow machine) and you think people that call them snow mobiles are idiots
45. You have been chased or know someone who has been chased by a moose at least once.
46. You’ve seen the northern lights, and you know why they are such a "big deal."
47. Your bedroom windows are covered in aluminum foil or black blankets.
48. You only watch the news when they announce the amount of the year’s dividend.
49. You have to start your car at least an hour before you leave so most of the ice and snow will melt off by the time you leave.
50. You wear flips flops all year without getting sick.
51. You've never seen cotton or tobacco growing, but your neighbor has a 30 acre pot field.
52. You literally can’t leave the house without seeing some one you know.
53. You know the term "studs" isn’t referring to hot guys.
54. You have to ski in gym class.
55. You know who "Binki" was, made fun of that stupid Australian tourist, and was so sad when he died.
56. You expect to see a moose crossing Tudor every time you drive down.
57. You give up and tell people in the lower 48 that you DO live in an igloo and you DO have a pet polar bear named Mishka when they refuse to believe otherwise.
58. You call someone without a crack in there windshield a tourist.
59. You've seen a 2-month old moose get hit by a full-size van at 65 MPH, then get up and run off.
60. Your parents taking you trick-or-treating involves riding door-to-door in the car and a costume that fits over a snowsuit!

I have to say, I totally follow #50 religiously. I am a "Flip-Flop Girl," tried and true. When it's winter here in Oregon (which feels about like a cool summer day in Alaska) and people act so appalled that I'm in flip flops, I ALWAYS say. . . "Oh, I'm from Alaska, I don't get cold!"

You know you're from ALASKA, part 2

You can relate to 5 or more of this things...

21. You were appalled by the "Carrs-Safeway" merge a few years ago.
22. You have to have a raven cage around your trash to keep them out.
23. You go to school, work, or both in the dark and come out in the dark
24. 30 degrees is shorts weather
25. -10 is a bit nippy
26. Buses leaving school are delayed because a bear is in the parking lot
27. You tell people you live in an igloo for kicks.
28. You don’t swim in natural bodies of water for fear of swimmers itch or beaver fever...or leeches.
29. Having a moose in your front yard is a legitimate excuse for being late to school.
30. There is nothing like Matanuska Maid...who cares about Meadowgold, Dairyland and Viva!! 31. You only go to the fair for turkey legs and a husky burger.
32. You refer to the continental US as the "lower 48."
33. You get an attitude when you have to pay tax in the lower 48.
34. There is 4 feet of snow the night before school and you STILL have to go.
35. If you don’t like the weather wait for 5 minutes and then go back out outside.
36. You sleep through an earthquake like nothing ever happened; the only way you know is because the clock fell off the wall.
37. Salmon isn’t a delicacy, it's a staple.
38. Halibut is beer battered rather than cooked some fancy way.
39. 70 degrees is equivalent to 90 degrees in the lower 48.
40. You know who "Sleeping Lady" is.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the last 'segment.'

You know you're from ALASKA if:

You can relate to 5 or more of this things...

1. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a motor home on the highway.
2. "Vacation" means going to Anchorage for the weekend.
3. You measure distance in hours.
4. You know several people who have hit moose more than once.
5. You use a down comforter in the summer.
6. Your grandparents drive at 65 mph through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
7. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
8. You think of the major food groups as: deer meat, beer, fish, and berries.
9. You carry jumper cables in your car, and your sister knows how to use them.
10. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time.
11. You know what Bunny Boots are.
12. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
13. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.
14. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction.
15. It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item, even when you're in a rush, because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.
16. You didn't know what the word "county" meant, and we were never taught about "area codes"... 907 is all you had to know.
17. You think bald eagles aren't that great.
18. You know to go to Best Buy a month after a CD released because that’s when it will FINALLY arrive in Alaska.
19. You wish seagulls came with a mute button.
20. You can go to McDonalds and order off the $1.50 menu which they feel is equivalent to the $0.99 menu.

OK folks, this is just the first 20, come back tomorrow for the next 20!!

My Sista' Nicole

This photo was taken in '96. I was newly married and a few months pregnant with Emma. My sister Briana (long curly hair) was 18 and living in SLC. Her best friend Nicole, from our hometown of Valdez, Alaska came to visit and I set her up with all the young men I knew. Next to Nicole is my brother-in-law, Jared and his friend, Tyler. I think I set Nicole up with one or both of them. Maybe I set Briana up with them, too??!!

And apparently I DID go to a BYU Football game. Here's the proof. I'd forgotten about it. I love you Nicole! Thanks for sharing this photo with me on Facebook! Nicole wrote a post about me and my babysitting glory. Click HERE to read it. I must say, babysitting her and her sibs was the best gig of my 10 year old life. My mom only paid me .10 per kid/hour. I think Nicole's mom paid me about $2 an hour, so I was making BANK!!

Service ~ Week 3

"There is no greater blessing, no greater joy and happiness than comes to us from relieving the distress of others."~President J. Reuben Clark

Sarah: This week I had Marcus/Elise and my friend Kari Holley's 2 littlest children over while their moms went to a daytime session at the temple. I really hope to make that new Thursday morning session part of my life. . . either I'll go or I'll tend kids so the moms can go.

Emma: I made Nina's bed (put new sheets/blankets on) and folded a lot of laundry this week (while watching American Idol). I got up early this morning and typed Josh's primary talk for him, too! (Daddy hand wrote it for him the night before!)

Josh: Ben waited to eat lunch with me this week. He really likes "hanging out" with my friends and I. I took him out to recess with us and we had fun until the recess lady told me to take him back to my mom because we were playing soccer too rough and she thought Ben would get hurt. On Friday night, Ben and I went to a party for Adam Desimone (Joanna Souza's brother) and then Drake and Tony slept over at our house. Ben really liked hanging out with the big boys, playing video games and doing fun stuff. He's pretty cute and we like to have him around.

Rachel: I made Aunt Tiffany service coupons for Christmas. Yesterday she used two of them! Eliza and I cleaned the upstairs bathroom. The most fun part was mopping the floor. Eliza squeezed a sponge all over the floor and then there was so much, Uncle Justin said to go get the mop! We also made dinner and set the table. Then, my family came over and ate. The grown-ups ate salad. The salad recipe was green & purple lettuce, spinach, almonds, grapes and cheese that smelled like baby barf (feta cheese). The kids had watermellon and noodles with butter.

Katrina: Aunt Christine and Uncle Jared went to the movies and me, Rachel and Emma babysat Marcus and Elise. I played with Elise half of the time and Marcus half of the time. Then I had a sleep-over in Marcus's room. When I woke up my big sisters weren't there. Aunt Christine made me breakfast and I stayed and played with her kids until lunch time. She told my mom that I was a good helper and she got a lot done.

Ben: When it is really cold in my house I turn on the fireplace. First I push a chair over so I can reach the remote. Then I push the button and warm up the house. Then mom says, "It's too hot in here!" And I turn the button off.

MPG Pizza Louie

Today is my brother Michael's birthday. He's an OLD 27 today! I was 8.5 when he was born and I liked pretending I was his second mother.

FYI: The ugly little girl in the next picture is NOT ME. She's my 80's stunt double. I never did like touching sparklers and always paid a local girl that looked like my twin to stand in for photos. Really. She even had the same HUGE glasses I did and flood pants/bad shoes.

Michael's always been a kid that wants to do EVERYTHING the big kids are doing! And he does do it all. You know that song from Annie, Get Your Gun that goes, "Anything you can do, I can do better?" That's Mike. He's smart, good looking and talented.

Look at him lifting a rock that weighs about as much as he does, in this photo! My mom is very close, taking pictures of him. This photo is a testament to her parenting skills . . . the same parenting techniques that I try to use. She always parented us allowing us a lot of freedom and she had a lot of faith that we'd be OK. Definitely not one of those moms that says "NO!" all the time, "No, you'll get hurt. . . OH, be careful, get away from that RAGING RIVER, you could die!" No, that wasn't her style. You have to understand that she wasn't a strong swimmer until I was in High School so even if he had fallen in, there would have been nothing she could do.

Wait, maybe that's not parenting with faith. . . maybe she WANTED to get rid of you, Mike?! ha ha . . . I SO love torturing my brothers. I've recently tried convincing Eric (the 18 year old) I'm his biological mother, a product of a teen pregnancy. Another story for another time. Back to the birthday boy!

I loved Mike's curly hair. What a cute little blond afro he had. He was the kind of kid that always had funny things to say. Weird pronunciations and quirky statements. I wish I could remember more than this:

He used to introduce himself as, "Michael Prince Goold, Pizza Louie, also me am 3, Michelle ma Belle!" He was a cute, afro-ed little punk. This is my favorite photo of him. He looks so innocent and sweet.

That look was just an act, trust me. Michael was a wild man baby. He could wreak so much havoc that my parents turned his crib upside down like a cage. I remember having to get help to get him out of that contraption, when he woke up from naps; one person to push the bar and one to lift the side of the crib UP. When I saw "Baby Jack Jack" on The Incredibles it made me think of Michael. Except Mike's head never spontaneously combusted!

When Michael was in about 6th grade my family moved from Alaska to St. George. He remembers quite a bit about growing up there . . . like on a warm July day how we might go down to the river and "sun-bathe" The air was probably around 68 degrees and the "sand" is glacial silt. Lovely snow-capped mountains in the distance and WHITE bodies that give off almost as much light as the sun itself. Cute photo! Good times!

I can't remember if I've put this photo on the blog or not. I think Michael looks adorable. He's the last one on the right. Again, my stunt double is the ugly girl in the purple shirt. Then, my adorable sister, Briana and Paul and Jonathan, with the nerdy glasses. We were on a family trip to Hawaii.

OK, enough with the photos, now for the MOOSH:

Michael, I love you. I'm so proud of the fine man you are. You are a great brother and fun to be around. Never a dull moment when Michael is in the room. A person doesn't even have to talk at all when Michael is in the room, if they don't want. He can keep everyone entertained for hours. Mike, you are a good husband (of two months) and I really love your wife. She's made you a better man, if that was possible. You really picked a perfect woman. I am proud of how hard you're working in school (he'll be taking the MCAT soon and heading for Med School next year sometime!) I love you! I hope you're birthday is great and don't wait for a card in the mail. This is it! Oh, and I'm buying Becca a ticket to come visit us for her spring break. You can come, too! xoxoxox, Sarah

If you don't know and are wondering what Michael and his hot wife look like NOW then Click HERE.

St. George Visit

Last week I went home to my parents house. My brother Daniel just got home from his church mission to Panama. Check out his cool tie . . . a lady on his mission handmade it. It's called a Mola and you can see more examples on THIS PAGE. It's a beautiful art form, native to Panama. It was great spending time with him, he's grown so much and has gained a lot of confidence and knowlege. He gave a wonderful talk (sermon) at church and I am thrilled to see what life brings him next.

I also got to hang with 2 of my other brothers: Eric and Michael. They each took a night entertaining me since my parents are so old they go to bed early and Daniel is a dating machine. They each took a night of entertaining their middle aged sister.


The first night Eric, my parents and I went to dinner at Olive garden and then Eric and I went to "Bedtime Stories." It was a cute movie and great for kids. Eric was a good sport about being my date (since Damian and my kids had already seen it!) I'm really proud of him and love him a bunch. Of all 5 brothers, I've spent the most time with Eric and probably know him the best. He spends more time with our family than the others and I'll miss him lots when he leaves on a mission. He's so smart and funny and great with my kids. He and I are 16 years apart and I like to tease him that I'm really his mother.

Another night, I went to my newly married brother Michael's house. I just love his wife Becca. He couldn't have picked a nicer girl to marry. Or should I say TRICKED a nicer girl into marrying him. NO, I'm kidding. I do like to tease him, she really is so wonderful. They invited me to play on ROCK BAND 2 for the first time. I had a blast. I didn't evern try the guitar, it confused me. I really stink at drums and could only get a 73% on easy. I could get 100% on vocals of all the songs I knew. After playing we were supposed to go out with Daniel to the movies, but he stood us up. For his future wife, maybe??

And the crowning moment of my trip, BEATING MY DAD AT RUMMY! I've won a few games against him, but this victory was sweeter, with half of my brothers around. The last time I beat him with this much joy was in 1990, while vacationing in Mexico. . . I "Shot the Moon" at Hearts, playing him and my brother Jonathan on the balcoony overlooking the ocean in Puero Vallarta. . . so you can tell it made quite an impression on me. This time, I took a photo of the score sheet.

Another thing I really enjoyed was going for walks with my mom. Poor woman, I talked the whole time and we walked 2 hours the first day and 1.5 the next. I was teasing Michael that he talks too much and my mom schooled me by letting me know that I talk more than he does!

Service ~ Week 2

"I want to commend those of our people who give so willingly of their time in attending to the sacred work within the temples of the Lord. In temple work is found the very essence of selfless service. In my judgement, one of the miracles of our day is the great consecration of time and effort on the part of hundreds of thousands of busy people in behalf of the dead. Those who are engaged in this service know that out of it all comes a sweet and satifying feeling. This sweet blessing of the Spirit becomes literally a medicine to cure many of the ailments of our lives. From such experiences we come to realize that only when we serve others do we truly serve the Lord." ~President Gordon B. Hinckley

Sarah: I was so fortunate to attend the temple with Daniel and my mom this week, in St. George. We missed the session by about 5 minutes, so we did sealings for awhile until the next session started. It was Daniel's first time doing sealings. What a beautiful sealing room, way up high in the temple, with a little round window. Another couple missed the session too and joined us. We had a great time and sealed about 75 children to their parents. The session was nice, also!

Emma: I gave my aunts some service coupons for Christmas. So far, only Aunt Tiffany has used them and she used 2 coupons for 4 hours of babysitting. Her kids are really easy and I like babysitting them. She was really grateful to me and that made me feel good.

Joshua: Dad is my basketball coach and he relies on me as his assistant. He'll call me to get things ready. We had a party for the team and I figured out name spellings by looking at my yearbook, for the trophies. I gathered paper products and other things we'd need for the party. I always get the balls ready and things like that. Maybe someday Dad and I can coach Ben's team together.

Benjamin: I helped my mom put all the chairs down for SMART reading. I do this all the time because I'm strong and Mom is too busy doing paperstuff. Next week I'm going to put stickers on all the new books for her. I like going to SMART because I'm Mom's helper.

My Student, Rosemary

One of the happiest surprises of my life happened last week. Let me catch you up to speed so you can enjoy my moment!

My Senior Year at BYU I taught 3rd grade at Timpanogos Elementary School in Provo, UT. I was an Intern, which meant I was a heavily supervised student teacher with half-teacher salary. I had my own classroom and full responsibility for the students. It was my FIRST AND LAST year teaching. Damian and I were married 2 weeks after the school year ended. We got pregnant on our honeymoon, moved to California for Law School and I "retired" to be a full time wife/mom.

I loved being a teacher, but it was the hardest job I've ever had. Even harder than being a mom, I think! I taught in a poor area and some of my students had very sad little lives. I hated that part and cried many nights knowing the things I did about them. Some were abused, some neglected, some were desperately in need of a bath and ADD/HD Medication. I've often thought of them and wondered what their lives turned out like.

One of my students, Rosemary Larkin, came from a loving, wonderful family. They had recently immigrated from Ireland. Rosemary was a bright little thing with an adorable accent and I loved her very much. I knew she'd turn out OK in life because of her excellent family and her desire to learn. She was a perky, fun, cute little girl and I've often wished I knew where she was.

In comes facebook. . . One evening I was "surfing" my younger cousin's page. My cousin grew up in Provo and was about the same age as my 3rd grade students. As I looked through her "friends" to see if I'd made "friends" with all my cousins, I found ROSEMARY LARKIN!! I hoped it was the same one from those many years ago and it WAS!! This was her response to me:

"Miss Goold, Of course I remember you! I loved your class and missed you terribly for years after you moved up north. (True story; just ask my mother.) I remember that mailbox you set up in class (we all used to hope against hope that we could deliver the mail), the class store (I'm remembering cherry flavored licorice), our Robin Hood production (I used stories from that to embarrass classmates all though high school!) and our in-class college experiment. I think that last one really was my favorite. It was the first time I really thought about college, and it really is a genius idea. You should create some sort of program to implement in elementary schools everywhere. I was so excited that I could study what I wanted (within reason)."

What a fun reunion I've had with little Miss Rosemary (even though she's 20 now, she'll always be little to me!) She has had a great life and will be enjoying her profession as an editing genius, very soon.

Dan and his Ladies!!

Remember my brother Daniel? The one that just got home from a church mission to Panama? I thought I'd put a few pictures of him with his girlfriends on here. This cute little button is my oldest, Emma, at 4 years old. Daniel was about 12. You can see the start of his gigantic biceps in this photo.

Isn't this picture of my little Rachel and Daniel SOOO cute!? This was taken almost 8 years ago, Daniel was 13 and Rachel was one year. Daniel really is going to be such a great daddy someday!!

I'm leaving today (yes, I go it alone, AGAIN) to see Daniel and my family in Utah. It'll be great fun. I wish everyone was coming with me, but we'll fly Daniel up to visit with the rest of the Idiarts soon!

New Year, New Body, GOING PRIVATE

OK, Cheesy Title, I know . . . but it is my hope! Our family (all the extending siblings, etc) have joined a gym. It's the first gym in our little town and we're stoked. It's a 24 Hour place, so Damian goes at 5:30, I go at 6:30 . . . but next week, we're both going to start an hour earlier! Damian is such a morning person, I'm very blessed. When he gets home from working out, I go with my sister-in-law and he gets the kids ready for school. I'm spoiled. OK, wish me luck, I hope to get fit for the first time in 12 years!

If you've read this far . . . I'm going PRIVATE with my blog in February, so if you'd like me to "Invite" you to keep reading, let me know (if I don't have it, leave your email address) . . . I know many of you will become less than daily readers, because when someone goes PRIVATE, it's a pain to check in as often. I'm hoping I can cut my blog addiction back to posting 2-3 times a week rather than every day (so I'll have more time to work out at the gym!!)

Cardboard Earings 1987

This post was inspired by Nicole, my childhood friend in Alaska, that recently asked me about my Cardboard Earing Collection and whether or not I ever wore them in public. Nikki, here is your answer:

I grew up in a small, isolated town in Alaska. There was no mall, no "cool" shops and no fast food. The 80's were all the rage (we were always at least 5 years behind, so the 80's were cool even into the 90's!!) Everything that was cool AT ALL was bought in Anchorage (a 6 hour drive from Valdez) or from catalogs.

When I was in 7th grade (1986-7) I REALLY wanted large, dangly earings, but I couldn't afford them. Nor would my mom have let me wear them, most likely!! I had an earing catalog that showed photos of earings I coveted, IN ACTUAL SIZE!! I spent HOURS pouring over the pages, WISHING for those earings and all the coolness that would come from wearing them.

Ssooooo . . . in my creative attempt to be cool, I carefully cut this exact pair of earings out and Elmer's glued them to lightweight cardboard . . .

(I was going to say I glued them to cereal boxes, but my mom didn’t buy boxed cereal, she only bought the bagged kind from Costco that tasted like catfood and didn’t EVER get soft in milk. But then, who wanted to eat cold cereal anyway, when all we had was POWDERED MILK??!!)

Back to the story . . . then, I hot glued these cardboard creations to cheap earing studs.

I had a whole jewelry box full of these cardboard babies, but I don’t remember wearing them. Except around my bedroom. Like some middle school fantasy dress-up diva. . with big froggy glasses. Oh, I was a weirdo alright, but not weird enough (or confident enough) to wear them out in public. This particular Watermellon Pair was my favorite (and one that Nicole remembers, too!) One thing that made them look fake was that I didn't have any dangly french wire to attach them to, only posts, so they looked a little odd.


I did NOT make a pair that said, "STOP" but I did have a pair that I thought were scandalous. Mine said:

And I thought it would be really "Suggestive" if I ever wore them, so I just dreamed about wearing them and having a boy ask me if my shoulders were really soft. Oooh, the excitement of that question was almost too much for my 7th grade mind. And the boys I dreamed about were Troy Fenner, Matt Kiser and John Vogt, just in case you were wondering, Nicole. They were the boys with the coolest mullets and the combs in their back pockets.

Now that Emma is in Middle School I watch her like a hawk. Mostly, to see if she's as weird as I was and also to see if she likes the "Bad Boys" like I did. I am so afraid, she does share my DNA, you know!! These photos were taken in 1988, when I was in 8th grade. They are of Matt Kiser, Lance Komkoff and John Vogt (Troy Fenner wasn't a guitar player, apparently!) Troy had a locker near mine and it seemed he was always "cleaning" it out (strewing papers all over the hallway!) He really did have the nicest mullet.

You know you live in Oregon . . .

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you probably live in Oregon .

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you probably live in Oregon.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you probably live in Oregon.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you probably live in Oregon.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you probably live in Oregon.

If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you probably live in Oregon.

If you design your kid's waterproof Halloween costume to fit over a 8 layers of clothes, you probably live in Oregon ..

Turkey Bowl, late 80s

With facebook, a few of us from San Bruno, CA have reconnected with old friends. Friends we thought were dead, but that's another story. Anyway, we also found this photo of the good ol' days on the "dead" guy's facebook page. Thanks Tom Allison, we're glad you're still with us!

For those of you from San Bruno, you might recognize the Dawson Boys, Jimmy and Justin . . . but the guys I really want you to see up close are:

Matt Vranes (with HAIR) and Damian. Aren't they cute and young? Wait, is Matt holding his FOOT in this photo? OK weird, ahh . . . just look at the hair, focus on the hair!!

Service ~ Week 1

Each Sunday our family is going to journal about acts of service we've performed during the previous week. It is our hope that at the end of the year we'll be kinder and more Christlike as a family. We'll do this in honor of both sets of Grandparents. At the end of the year, we'll publish these posts into little books for them as next years Christmas Gifts!

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore it is vital that we serve each other." ~President Spencer W. Kimball

Damian: I am glad that Sarah has put together this service blog. It will be fun to review this at the end of the year. Yesterday I spent the day removing the Christmas decorations from the temple. I had such a good time thinking about baby Jesus, especially on the grounds of the temple. I have really enjoyed decorating the temple for the last several years. The decorations are simple but they remind me of how simple the gospel is. I especially liked this year that I was able to decorate and take down with the assistance of my family. It was so fun to see the kids carry the garlands to the empty boxes to be loaded up in our truck. I enjoy any type of work I can do with the kids.

Sarah: I invited Christine's kids over while she did errands one afternoon. I can't remember the last time we had Marcus over to play, since Ben is in Pre-School, and I don't think we've EVER watched Elise. They are so cute and it was a real pleasure. The best part was watching Rachel and Katrina act like little mothers. They are so good with Elise! Ben and Josh took good care of Marcus too. We all played board games and had lunch together. It was a fun time and I hope to do it again. . .

Emma: The Broesders invited me to to help Aven (their 11 yr. old daughter) babysit twice last week. On New Years Eve they stayed out until midnight, even!! We banged pots and pans with Renna and had a good celebration. I like helping with Aven's brother and sister. They are cute. Jason and Chelsea (the parents) always compliment me about what a good babysitter I am and it makes me feel good to help them and spend time at their house.
(It's true, the Broesders do love having Emma, they say she helps Aven act more grown up, if that's a good thing? We're really happy that Aven has moved into our ward and she and Emma have grown so close!)

Joshua: It was our last week of Christmas Break and my friends were busy. I spent most of the week playing with Ben. He'd sleep in my room every night and we'd wake up together, get breakfast, do chores (I'd help him with all of his) and then we'd just play all day. We played Star Wars, jumped on the tramp, played with the dog, watched movies, read books, played games and just had fun. I know it makes Ben feel good when I spend time with him and I like it too.
(Damian and I really were so proud of how Josh treated Ben all through vacation. Ben was in heaven with that much Best Friend/Big Brother attention!)

Rachel: My cousin Elise came over and I watched her almost the whole time. I carried her, played with her, put her bib on, fed her lunch and made her laugh a lot. She is so cute. I took care of her while everyone else was playing games so she didn't fall down the stairs or mess up the games. I hope I get to be her babysitter when I am 12, she is really easy to babysit.

Katrina: I always help my mom do laundry. This week Rachel, mom and I folded about 10 loads while we watched a movie together and that was fun.

Benjamin: My dad and me are setting up my mom's camera thingy (a new printer) for her. I'n in charge of ripping the plastic and taking all the little things out. I'n the garbage guy, too. I put all the garbage in this box. Hey Dad, the 'structions says to take this sticker off on the dot to dot lines. Where's the scissors? Josh, wanna help me cut this sticker thing on the dot to dot lines?

The Cow Jumped Over the . . .

Rainbow!!

I drove home a few days ago to find my house wrapped in a Rainbow. It was really vibrant and lasted for over an hour! This photo shows the Right Side of my house, which is my In-Laws home, actually!

This is the view from my bathtub. I didn't get one of the FULL Rainbow, but you can imagine it's coolness. I noticed something ELSE, as I was taking pictures . . .

Three of my neighbors cows had jumped my fence and were grazing on my weeds/grass!

I MOOOO-ved in closer for a better shot and spooked them.

This was the last picture I took before they jumped back THROUGH the fence to their own yard. What an exciting ENVIRONMENTAL day.

2009 Fireworks!

My sister-in-law, Christine really loves ALL holidays. Because of her enthusiasm, it is really fun to spend them ALL with her. As soon as the ball dropped, she ran and got pots and pans for herself and her hubby and danced around my backyard, banging them. The rest of us were content watching her antics.

Two lucky winners were chosen to light off the Roman Candles, to start "The 2009 Matt Vranes Fireworks Show." Wait, were these illegal fireworks? Will I be in trouble for mentioning your name, Matt? I'll take full responsibility for them, since it was my backyard.

Matt's proud wife, Jen looks on, as he lights up the night.

The couple to the right recently moved here from Nebraska. Little did they know the madness that would surround them, with their New-Found Friends. Actually, maybe they fit in just fine . . . Scott in his "Rouge Manor Golfing Team" pants and Cali in her "Alien Love Child" costume.

Another recent move-in to our Ward (Congregation). Matt and Autumn seem well adjusted to the Idiart/Vranes/Holley Excitement!

Oh, here's Christine again. She's still on a "Holiday High." She did cute cheerleader moves during the fireworks display, to welcome the new year.

Christine can hardly contain her excitement at all the pretty lights! Her hubby, Jared had to hold her still so she didn't burst!

Hurry Jared, take her home! Her giddyness might be contagious! Happy New Year everyone!

Murder Mystery Party

On New Year's Eve we had a Murder Mystery Party at our place. It was a riot with lots of good food, crazy costumes/acting and tons of laughs! I think we'll have to make it a tradition!

Can you see the tacky saleslady, with illegal wares hidden in her jacket, on the front row? That's me! My artist friend, Jen Vranes (on the front row) was a crooked art dealer. Her husband, Matt (the tall guy on the back left) was a sleazy lawyer, with a drinking problem and a gold tooth. He was hilarious. My sister-in-law, Christine is the cutie above Jen. She was a Congresswoman having an affair with the Street Preacher. My husband, Damian is the tall guy on the back right. He was the Street Preacher!! He had sired a baby with the Alien Love Child. Wow, what a night!

These were my "illegal wares:"

Kitty Soap: Just rub on Kitty's tongue and as she licks, it lathers! (I did get the CAT LADY to invest a million dollars in this product!)

Garbage Dispose-All Spray: Never pay for Trash again! Just mist on your garbage and POOF, it disappears. This product was problematic at the party as it had vaporized many children and I didn't want others to know about it.

Bug-Splosives: Sprinkle the crystals where you have a bug/rodent problem. Their saliva mixes with the chemicals and they explode. A little messy to clean up, but the popping sound is very satisfying, as they die!

You can pick out the Alien Love Child on the front row. She was so funny and should have won the Best Costume of the night, I think! It is nice to live where we have so many great friend that know how to have fun!

About an hour after "Getting to Know Everyone," the fortune teller, Autumn was MURDERED!! She played a very convincing dead woman.

My brother-in-law, Jared, an archaeologist and our friend, Ryan, a big game hunter tried to figure out who the murderer was . . .

Christine, the Congresswoman and our friend, Kari, the rich, eccentric CAT LADY couldn't figure the murder out, either.

These are the cute buttons Christine made to promote her campaign for Senate.

The "bimbo" in the back is my friend Kristi, who my Saleslady character hated. Her character had jumped out of cake at my fiance's bachelor party and stole him away, murdering him, as her 10th husband. She came armed to the party with sticky lip gloss, looking for husband #13 and kissed every man there. . . so if you see kiss marks on all the husbands, that's why! That woman has guts. Matt (remember him, the boozy attorney?) had some awesome business cards:

He'd ask everyone if he'd given them his card (a business card with "My Card" written on the back) Then, he's ask if they'd received his other card (another card with "My Other Card" written on the back. He'd also go around slapping people with "Lawsuits" (sticky labels with "Lawsuit" written on the back). He really was funny.

It was especially funny to see him wearing a black wig, since he always had a shaved head!

Jen Vranes twin sister, Val was an actress and her husband, Theron was a psychologist. He used a great German Accent all night and tried to diagnose everyone. They were a funny pair.

Our friend, Mahjinka was a mental patient ventriloquist that would only talk to people through "Mr. Mike" She cracked everyone up. I now know a VERY different side of her!

What a fun night, followed by pan banging and fireworks at midnight . . . check back tomorrow to see that post!