A Hodgepodge of Mishmash

Only in Rexburg

2009-03-30T04:38:00.003-06:00

I held the door for a young man in Wranglers and he said, "Thankee kindly."

A girl in Relief Society mentioned that she is going to Florida, and the class sighed collectively.

We have a refrigerator magnet that reads, "Don't be a Son of Perdition."

Three separate cars failed to yield and almost hit me in one trip through the roundabout.

My roommates watch animated movies almost as often as live-action ones.

Every single guy in my Brit Lit class is married.

If I need help with my Spanish homework in a public place I just raise my voice and ask, "Does anyone here speak Spanish?" and I always get a response.

All 6 of my FHE brothers wore dark suits, white shirts, and pink ties to church last week.

We always notice and appreciate temperatures above 40 degrees.

I could go on, but I'll save it for another time.

Yep, I Want To Go There

2009-02-21T22:25:00.008-07:00

I'm trying to get accepted to the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. I compiled a summary of the general awesomeness of the program for your viewing pleasure. All students take these courses:

Old Testament Studies

New Testament Studies of the Gospels
Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Arab and Islamic Civilization
Israeli and Jewish Civilization

Jerusalem Center Field Trips

Arabic 100 or Hebrew 100

Forum: special lectures

The faculty includes Israeli, Palestinian, and American professors.

The Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies

The Gate

"Once a week, all of the students gather in the forum to hear a guest speaker from the local community speak on contemporary issues of interest. "

The Center won many architectural awards.

Dorms

Olive Tree
The Center is built on "pylons that extend to the bedrock of the Mount of Olives" and it is surrounded by gardens that "feature shrubs, flowers, and herbs mentioned in the Bible, an aged olive tree, and olive and grape presses."

The Center overlooks the Old City.

Front Entrance

Library

And the best part:

"At least once a week, students take day-long field trips to important biblical, historical, cultural, or archeological sites. In addition, students take extended field trips to the Sinai and Jordan and spend two to three week at Engev in Galilee."

http://ce.byu.edu/jc/

I want to go.

I Love My Roommates

2009-02-18T19:56:00.003-07:00

I have 5 cool roommates this semester. It is the most harmonious apartment I've lived in. The two girls in these photos are the ones I lived with last year, Carly and Stephanie. They're great.

We went shopping for a wedding dress for Carly (middle). We had a really good time. Stephanie (left) and I are going to be her bridesmaids.

Stephanie and I threw a surprise birthday party for Carly. I know. We're the coolest.

Carly riding shotgun in my FINE PIECE OF MACHINERY.

Shopping at WINCO is the cool thing to do. This is my favorite section of the store. Plastic tubes filled with buy-in-bulk goodness are pretty tough to beat.

By the way, Stephanie is from Vermillion, South Dakota (she says "supper" and other awesome stuff) and Carly is from Sacramento, California.

New Year Festivities

2009-02-01T01:38:00.003-07:00

We spent Jan 01 in Pike National Forest eating lunch, enjoying the scenery, roasting mallows, and shooting stuff.

Julia bagged a marshmallow.

Dang. That girl is cute.

My nephew loves me and I love him.

Cleopatra after we teased her about her pose.

Cleopatra regally roasting marshmallows.

Gerber baby.

Two frogs on a log.

Lady killer.

I love this boy.

Kaleb has some serious style.

Where are all of the pictures of Dad?

Dale looking majestic.

ETHAN IS CUTE.

It was cold up there. I wore two shirts, a sweatshirt, and my two-layered winter coat because I'm a whimp.

Check out that 'stache!

YIKES

2009-02-01T00:43:00.005-07:00

People! It's been a while. I'm back at BYU-I. My teachers are kicking my butt and I'm penniless, but as always I'm very blessed and fantastically happy to be here. My Advanced Research and Literary Interpretation teacher seems to think that we couldn't possibly have anything to do but her homework, but I am learning HEAPS about writing from her. Check this out: We are each editors of an academic journal and we receive floods of essays from our classmates. We have to edit these essays 3 times each. On top of that we are submitting our own essays to other journals, receiving feedback, revising, and resubmitting our writing. We also have reading and other assignment for the class AND we have to prepare for a weekly private meeting with the professor. I don't know how she sleeps at night. I'm whining. Forgive. I really do love school.

Crazy Adv Res teacher
+Spanish 201
+Exceptional Students (SpEd 360)
+Book of Mormon 121
+Book of Mormon 122
+Neoclassic and Romantic Literature

= No time for a job.

The Mutant

2008-09-15T00:49:00.008-06:00

Last Saturday Lerik was supposed to be getting his shoes on but instead he was staring thoughtfully at his left hand. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Tawie, I used to have 6 fingers on this hand and now I only have 5. So that's why I don't have very many fingers."

"What happened to your 6th finger?"

"It growed down. See, this white spot is where it used to be. I don't have very many fingers left."

"That's tough, buddy."

Logan and Lerik

2008-09-14T22:37:00.015-06:00

It has been three years since the day I started working as a nanny for the Hickman family. Lerik had just turned 1 and Logan had just turned 4. Now Lerik is 4 and Logan is 7. I love them very much, so I'm taking this opportunity to post of few pictures of the two little boys who have taught me a great deal about life and who have blessed the last three years of my own.

Politics Are Fun

2008-09-05T22:47:00.005-06:00

In honor of the forthcoming presidential election, please take a moment to enjoy some of the greatest political satire ever written and performed by the Pommies.

Winter Reminiscer

2008-07-14T00:45:00.006-06:00

I was feeling a little bit inclined to complain about the heat here, and then I remembered THIS:

I love the John Taylor building. Ain't it perdy? I wish I had better pictures of the snow. None of these do it any kind of justice. This is really wimpy snow.

There was so much frost on the inside of the car that we had to scrape it off.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I wasn't quite as upset as I look in this picture. In fact, there was a lot of laughter involved. And the person taking the picture was driving, not me! I know what you were thinking, Dave.

Fun. Yessiree.

I love July.

Teaching Experience

2008-07-11T17:45:00.004-06:00

All semester my education psychology class has been building up to the activity that we did today. We applied everything that we learned this semester to a real lesson that we taught to a real kid. I was pretty nervous and spent a lot of time on my lesson plan. I taught my professor's 9 year-old daughter, Alissa, the concept of imagery in literature. It went really well and Alissa seemed to truly enjoy my lesson (more than she had enjoyed the other two lessons given to her today, I might add). We painted and played games and talked about books and read some cool passages from A Wrinkle in Time and James and the Giant Peach. She was beaming the entire time and by the end of the lesson she really understood imagery and was able to identify and apply it. It was fun. I know that this experience was almost nothing like an authentic classroom experience, but I just know that I'm going to love teaching. It comes really naturally to me and I've thoroughly enjoyed any type of lesson I've ever given.

Only one week left!

I'm procrastinating homework.

2008-07-09T23:35:00.004-06:00

GUYS. I only have 9 more days in Rexburg. 7 more school days. And then I AM FREE FOR 5 1/2 MONTHS!!! I do love school. I really do. But at home I get to see Dale and Michael and Elden and Gretchen and Mom and Dad and Dave and Janel and Amanda and Hailey and Lindsay and Matthew WHENEVER I WANT. *sigh*

Yay.

Well, now I feel encouraged to start working on homework again. I love you all.

The Tale of the Tight Purple Pants

2008-07-07T04:31:00.010-06:00

My Spanish class was having a pre-class Honor Code bash session at BYU-I. As usual, I didn't agree with the popular opinion and was shouting about how I support it but it's really a penal code and people were giggling because I said "penal", when Sarah suddenly started bellowing something about the guy in the tight purple pants she had seen on campus the day before. "Did you see the guy?!" she screamed in ecstasy, "They were the tightest purple pants I've ever seen!" As I sat wondering how many pairs of purple pants she could possibly be referencing as a standard, she suddenly gasped and exclaimed, "HE JUST WALKED BY!" There was no doubt that he had heard her. One, the door was open. Two, he came waltzing into the classroom like a runway model about two seconds later, workin' it with class, this time wearing tight maroon pants. The class was laughing so uproariously I think we might have disrupted the entire building. After the guy left and the class had died down, the cruelty of what had just happened began to dawn on me and I started muttering about peer pressure and forced conformity through humiliation and how ironic it was that we had just been discussing the Honor Code blahddy blahddy blah, but people just looked at me like they were humoring the village idiot. I resolved to congratulate him on his excellent sense of style the next time I see him on campus and to tell him to keep on sticking it to the man.

The moral of the story: Watch what you say because the man in the tight purple pants could be walking by.

Mr. W

2008-07-07T01:03:00.005-06:00

I really, really love this video.

An Obsessive Labor of Medieval Construction

2008-06-16T03:36:00.007-06:00

Ah, Bishop's Castle. Dale and I went there one beautiful Colorado day last year. You can find many objective newspaper articles about the place, but I can tell you just about all you need to know about Jim Bishop. In the words of Barney Fife, he's a nut. He's been building a castle all by himself since 1969. When we talked to him, he seemed pretty sane other than the fact that he likened himself to John the Baptist.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2047

It feels even less stable than it looks.

This was the second highest tower of the castle. I am not kidding when I say that it was terrifying. Plus, the metal grate that we were standing on was moving. MOVING. Noticeably.

That's Dale playin' it safe down there with the sissies.

This is the highest point of the castle. See 3 pictures down.

I am brave.
A wider angle...

Thar she is! The dude built this ALL BY HIMSELF. Do you see those two little bridges? I walked on those.

Don't be fooled by the smiles. Dale was terrified.

That's Sister Wursten, one of my favorite ladies in the whole wide world. This was all her idea, which leads me to believe that she may have been plotting our deaths.

Jim Bishop calls his castle "a monument to hardworking people." It's actually just a monument to nuts who think they're John the Baptist.

I was the only person brave enough to venture onto the bridge. Behind me you may see a ladder. That ladder connected my bridge to yon tower. If you fall off of that ladder, you die. That is, unless one of eagles from The Lord of the Rings comes and rescues you.

Classic.

2008-06-16T03:34:00.003-06:00

It's totally worth 10 minutes. Let me know what you think.

Parent Poetry

2008-06-08T02:05:00.005-06:00

I love poetry and I'm a very sentimental sort of person, so in honor of Father's Day coming up and Mother's Day having passed, I decided to post two of my favorite poems about parenthood. Also, Mom asked me for them. Give 'em a looksee. I think the second one is particularly wonderful.

Meditation By The Stove

I have banked the fires
of my body
into a small but steady blaze
here in the kitchen
where the dough has a life of its own,
breathing under its damp cloth
like a sleeping child;
where the real child plays under the table,
pretending the tablecloth is a tent,
practicing departures; where a dim
brown bird dazzled by light
has flown into the windowpane
and lies stunned on the pavement--
it was never simple, even for birds,
this business of nests.
The innocent eye sees nothing, Auden says,
repeating what the snake told Eve,
what Eve told Adam, tired of gardens,
wanting the fully lived life.
But passion happens like an accident
I could let the dough spill over the rim
of the bowl, neglecting to punch it down,
neglecting the child who waits under the table,
the mild tears already smudging her eyes.
We grow in such haphazard ways.
Today I feel wiser than the bird.
I know the window shuts me in,
that when I open it
the garden smells will make me restless.
And I have banked the fires of my body
into a small domestic flame for others
to warm their hands on for a while.

-Linda Pastan

Those Winter Sundays

Sundays too my father got up early
And put his clothes on in the blueback cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

-Robert Hayden

That is good people.

2008-06-08T01:48:00.006-06:00

My old roommate and good friend, Stephanie, has this family, see. And during the South Dakota Summer of 2007, Stephanie learned that the church is true. Almost the entire town tried to convince her not to join the church. They sent her to talk with priests, shunned her, and her family nearly disowned her. She got baptized, anyway. Then, while she was at school (with me) last semester, her entire family was converted. BAM!

SNOW CAVE!!!

2008-02-08T01:05:00.001-07:00

I spent an evening last weekend with my cousin Miranda and her husband Trevor while they were in Rexburg for a wedding. They are some of the most fantastic people I know. This is probably because they are either related to me or married to someone who is related to me. I met Miranda's in-laws who are absolutely lovely and delightful people, and we built the most enormous snow cave I have ever seen. Trevor and his brother did the most of the work, but I helped a little bit. I stole these photos from Miranda's blog. (I hope you don't mind, Miranda.) So, in case you haven't seen them, here they are. Most of these pictures were taken before we made the cave even bigger and taller, and they don't do it justice. You could fit like six people in there...almost comfortably.

Front entrance.

Back entrance.

I wish you could tell how big it is.

Takin' a break to drink some hot chocolate.

We drank too much.

I recommend BYU-I

2008-02-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am taking 5 classes this semester: Grammar, Education, Math 108, Doctrine and Covenants, and Women's Choir. My grammar class is fun because my professor says things like:

"Concrete and inconcrete. No, I'm kidding. Abstract."

"She forgave me because I showered her with gifts and other forms of emotional manipulation."

"And then the vikings took over and what were they going to do about it? Nothing. It's like if one of you decided to slap Leonardo Dicaprio to the ground. What's he gonna do about it? Just lay there and whine."

"Can I push it with my birdie finger?"

"Models now are emaciated. It's like, "Feed that woman! Let her out of the cage!"

"My seven-year-old has more hair on her back than my father."

"'Dear Journal, you won't guess what happened to me today.' And of course there is some truth in that because Journal isn't guessing ANYTHING!"

"That's just repetitive in a way that isn't neccesarily neccesary."

(The class was trying to help him get the sound to work on the projector.) "I feel like I'm in a room with a bunch of women I'm married to. 'Did you try pulling your head out of your butt?'"

Maybe you had to be there, but the fact is that we waste a lot of time laughing at Brother Merrill. I am learning a lot about grammar. As you can tell, it isn't very apparent in my writing yet, but I'm getting there.

I also love Women's Choir. I love it because I am learning about how to sing in a choir more quickly than I did with Mr. Robb. The repertoire is very difficult and Sister Ashby demands a lot. The girls around me are awesome musicians and I have to work really hard to keep up. I spend hours outside class pounding out notes and learning the Latin and stuff. The music is awesome and very fun to sing, and I'm finallly starting to get to know people.

If you've made it this far in the post, I applaud you.

I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm doing really well in my classes and I love it here. There is always something fun to do and everyone is really nice. For example; the other day I got locked out of my apartment and went over to my neighbor's apartment to borrow the phone. They invited me to hang out at their house until my roommates got home. We played games and watched a movie and made smoothies and I ended up being there for about 4 hours. I didn't even know any of them before that. Cool.

Here I am!

2008-01-29T02:06:00.000-07:00

Rexburg is a ridiculous place to live. I thought it was freezing cold when I took this photo, but I didn't know the half of it.

However, my roommates rock, my classes are fantastic, and I can see the temple everytime I go outside. I'm really happy to be here!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-12-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't reckon I'll be posting much for a little while. Just thought I'd warn you.

Semester's End

2007-12-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Not that anyone cares but today was my last day of geology and political science. I'll finish the rest of my classes on Thursday and then I'll be done for the semester! Woohoo! I start school at BYU-I on January 9th. I have a lot to do before then but the semester being over will make a huge difference in my stress level.

The Man Behind the Camera

2007-12-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find pictures of Dad because he's always the guy taking them, but I did it! I love my Dad!

Mom and Dad in Germany.

Watching Julia's wedding video at the reception. This is my favorite.

Dad and some guy. I think...President Foote?

Helping Mom can tomatoes.

Dad and Michael at Elitch Gardens.

Dad and me at my high school graduation.

Philosphy and Religion

2007-11-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Many of my family will remember me stewing about a philosophy paper that I chose to write on the Plan of Salvation. I thoroughly annoyed everyone around me for a few days as I continually steered the conversation toward this topic, asking deep philosophical questions about the nature of God and premortal existence and yadda yadda yadda...

Anyway, the family was very helpful and sweet about it, and I finally got the paper done and turned in. Yesterday I got it back. My teacher gave it a 97 out of 100, and had written on it, "MOST EXCELLENT WORK!!!" and "THIS PAPER IS TRULY AWESOME!!!" He also told me that it was among the top 5 papers he had ever recieved from a philosophy student. I put a lot or thought and energy into this paper in a very short amount of time and I must say I was thrilled to hear that. I mean, the paper wasn't exceptional as far as papers go, I just think that maybe the truth makes sense and perhaps he felt that a little bit. Who knows? Anyway, it was a good experience and I learned a lot. I thought I'd share and say thank you for all of the help!

David and Janel

2007-11-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

I lived with Janel and Dave for a few months once. At first I thought Janel was pretty nice, but David changed all of that when he told me that Janel is actually a highly abusive wife and that he lives in constant fear of her. I came to know that David is decidedly the victim of the relationship. His evidence is compelling. He mostly shakes his head and says, "You guys don't know what Janel is REALLY like. She's mean, I tell you! She's not like this when we're alone. You guys just don't know." Now I know that the selfless service, cute giggles, patience, and delicious cooking are all just a cover to hide Janel's black, black heart. Don't worry, Dave, I've got her number.

Briar's Head and Other Round Objects

2007-11-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

No, that's not a ball!

Ethan and the Cake

2007-11-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

I love this one. What an adorable nephew.

Scooby-Doo Fan

2007-11-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Kaleb had Sideways Camera Syndrome, but we still love him. And it's still a cute video.

Showers of pirate treasure.

2007-11-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

This brings back fuzzy memories of a house full of people I love. December 2006.

Hailey and Auntie Beth

2007-11-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

This video is from December 2005. I thought that Julia would like it. Hailey and Beth were doing this for about half an hour before I started recording it. Her cheeks were thoroughly moisturized.

Warner Reunion

2007-11-24T22:19:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the pictures I took at the reunion in 2006. I didn't take very many, though. I thought it was about time I posted them.

Two handsome boys.

Half of what I say is meaningless but I say it just to reach you, Julia.

They love one another.

Julia and Kaleb trying to kill the baby again.

Rikki ain't no chicken.

Wicked hats.

Blurry, beautiful cousin.

We are actors all.

You Guys are Haters.

2007-11-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Why don't you like me anymore? Would you still love me if I used my blog?

Children's Literature

2006-10-10T19:20:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a children's literature class and it is so very interesting. If you guys ever want a children's book analyzed, I'm the person to ask. I just read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and enjoyed it immensely. I highly recommend it. By the way, does anyone know how to underline words on this darn website?

It's not my fault!!!

2006-08-10T11:33:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know I promised that I would post nine times, but I couldn't because my blog wasn't working right. Just ask Dave. He'll back me up...I hope. But I would have if I could have!

My First Relief Society Lesson

2006-07-24T00:15:00.000-06:00

I gave my first Relief Society lesson last Sunday. It was about forgiveness with a focus on forgiving ourselves and letting go of the guilt of sin after God has forgiven us. I was really nervous about teaching, so I did a lot of praying and preparing. Usually when I get up in front of a group of people, I can't think straight. I usually have to read from a piece of paper or all of my thoughts leave me and I constantly lose my train of thought. During this lesson, though, I felt completely calm. My thoughts flowed freely and eloquently from my mouth and the Spirit was with me. Many people shared great comments and it was just such a wonderful experience. The point is, I know how much Heavenly Father wants us to come to Him for help in everything that we do. I had so many people tell me how much the lesson touched them and one woman even said that she was impressed with some of the wise things I said. I am not wise, but Heavenly Father was waiting and hoping to bless me with the ability to teach. I want you guys to know that I know that Heavenly Father is waiting to bless us if we ask Him in faith.

When Beth Came to Visit

2006-07-23T23:47:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun when Auntie Beth came to visit. Mom and Dad and Elden and Michael and Beth and I went four-wheeling with cousins Blake and Ruth and Bailey. We also went camping and tubed down the river, but I didn't get any pictures of that for some reason.

Eldie's face got all dirty.

Beth and I were the dirtiest because we went off by oursleves and had an adventure involving flipped four-wheelers and being up to my knees in a 2-feet deep mud puddle and getting stuck in a rut halfway up a steep hill. It was ever so much fun. The dirt on my feet got through my heavy shoes and thick socks. Yippee!

The boys took FOREVER on the four-wheelers so we played our favorite game while we waited.

After the fun: a couple of cute (and clean) girls.

I can do it. I will do it nine times.

2006-07-06T17:20:00.000-06:00

The more I post, the more you guys complain. I need to call Grandma and Grandpa and tell them that all of their descendants are whiners, not just Miranda as was previously believed. I hadn't posted since November and you complained. I posted in April, and you whined. I posted in May, and you sulked. I posted in June, and you still weren't satisfied. So this month, I will post at least 9 times!!! Why nine times, you say? This is why:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/crazycartoon.html

My First Quilt

2006-06-06T10:55:00.000-06:00

I'm making a quilt all by myself. Needless to say, I am very proud of it. This is kinda what it's going to look like, except the pinwheels will be in more colors.

I've only made 25 out of 260 pinwheel blocks. Yikes.

Feet and Such

2006-06-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures of Logan and Lerik. Logan is 4 1/2 and Lerik is 1 1/2. They are much cuter in real life.

Right before this picture was taken Logan shouted, "Please take a picture of my feet, Tawie!"

And then of course Lerik wanted me to take a picture of his feet, but he obediently kept his shoes on.

Logan is singing a song called "I am a Girl Like You". I tell them not to let him watch Barbie movies.

In this one Lerik is telling me about his sock, a very interesting item. "Uh-uh-uh-DAT! SOCK!"

Missy is one of the coolest people I know.

2006-05-27T00:44:00.000-06:00

Okay...here's a picture of me and my friend Missy. Missy is one of the coolest people I know. Don't mess with Missy, because she has some really strong muscles. Seriously, you wouldn't want to arm wrestle her. And let me tell ya she is fast, so don't try to run because she will catch you. Also, please try to ignore the fact that I am clutching my purse as though somebody's life depended on it.

(Those are Safeway flowers, which are almost as convenient as Wal-Mart Christmas trees for taking portraits.)

Sorry?

2006-04-24T01:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know my blog is lame. And I can't promise that I'll change my ways, but I decided to post SOMETHING so Miranda will stop complaining about the Warner's pumpkins blog. Boy, she's whiney.

Did you see the Warners' pumpkins this year? They were SWEET!!

2005-11-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know, pumpkin carving is my favorite part of Halloween. This year I went a little "pumpkin crazy", if you will. I acquired several pumpkins and proceeded to make them into works of art! I mostly used stencils designed by the genius who created www.zombiepumpkins.com, but I also designed one of my own. It was great fun.

Dave, I carved this one with you in mind:

Before you make fun of me for carving a pumpkin of Dale, let me explain. I wanted to learn how to make my own pumpkin designs and it's easier if you do one of someone you know. I found a picture of Dale that was screaming, "Make me into a stencil!!" SO...here it is. I know, it's not perfect. His face is too short and round. I'm perfecting my methods, okay?!?

Now...Elden carved this one:

Dale carved this one:

And I carved these:

Whew! Those are some good-lookin' punkins.

Halloween Pictures!

2005-11-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Michael and his friend Brandon were very scary for the Halloween party...

...and very cute for Halloween:

Here are the little boys I babysit at the ward Halloween party. They had already shed most of their costumes by this time:

Leric...

and Logan.

Sorry...I didn't take many pictures.

Elden and Carrie: Classroom Buddies

2005-08-14T21:14:00.000-06:00

I've just thought up a new series entitled "Classroom Buddies" featuring my big brother Eldie and me monkeying about in college...TOGETHER. Elden and I just went on a road trip from Orem to California to Arizona. It was great fun. We got to see and visit with lots of friends and family and along the way took every opportunity to inform aforementioned friends and family that we were taking classes at Pikes Peak Community College TOGETHER this semester. In high school it never occurred to me that I would be in the same grade as my big brother some day, but the realization was a very welcome one. We start school a week from Tuesday. I love my big brother Eldie.

Goodnight, Bird.

2005-03-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today for Mikey's bedtime story Dad took Dave's suggestion and went to the Nick Jr. website where we watched a cartoon called "Goodnight, Bird." We all got a good laugh out of it. The narrator's rendition of Bird's voice was very funny. Thanks, Dave. We're gonna be quoting that one around bedtime for many years to come. Every time Dad says, "I'm not tired", Mikey begins giggling hysterically.

Dedicated to Dale

2005-03-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

I made a collage the other day of cute pictures of children and babies. I was doing it for a partner project and Dale kindly lead me through the difficult process of using Photoshop over the phone. He is so awesome like that. Anyway, here it is. It's not that great, but the kids are totally cute. My favorite pictures are in the middle column.

Next I think I will make a collage of pictures of Amanda and Hailey now that I know how. They are my two favorite baby girls in the whole world!

Has she no propriety?

2005-01-21T16:35:00.003-07:00

Mom and Dad gave me a membership to the YMCA for Christmas. I began going to the Y and doing some water polo conditioning in hopes of getting into shape, since doing traditional laps can become so very boring. I soon noticed, however, that the other swimmers obviously had no idea what I could be up to. I got strange looks when I swam freestyle with my head above the water, but they thought it especially absurd when I began treading water backwards with my arms above my head. I think many just dismissed my antics as some form of revolutionary physical therapy. Unperturbed, I kept on a-goin'. However, my progress in the pool was suddenly halted by the development of a very painful ear infection. For the time being, I will stay out of the lap pool until my medication is finished. When I return, I have a mischievous inclination to take a water polo cap and ball with me and begin rigorous goalie training, complete with sudden violent jumps out of the water and the carrying of chairs above my head. Just kidding. I'm not willing to work that hard just for the sake of shocking the other swimmers, although it would be pretty funny.

I'm hopelessly airheaded

2005-01-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the other day I tried to log on and create a new blog and I realized that I had forgotten not only my password, but my username as well. But don't worry. I eventually figured out that the email Blogspot sent me with my new password went to my junk email folder and not my inbox. Have no fear. I am on top of things.

I really don't have much else to say in this particular post. Don't fall into any bear pitts.

Keane

2004-12-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow. Dale put a song on the internet for me to listen to called "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. I really liked the song so I went to Keane's site and listened to some sample music and I love it. Now I can't rest until I've got one of their CDs. He put another song on there called "Let Go" by Frou Frou but it won't work for me. I need to get on the ball and start finding good bands and telling Dale and Elden about them for a change. Anyway, I really liked the song.

Stained Glass

2004-12-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures I took of some stained glass windows in a cathedral in Prague. Gorgeous, huh? The walls are lined with them and we were there at just the right time of day. It was so pretty.

This is purely for my own enjoyment.

2004-12-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Ah, Homestar Runner, why aren't you funny anymore?

Funny Girl

2004-12-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have a hilarious friend named Natalie who sent me an email a long time ago that thorougly amused me. In case you're not sure what she's talking about, in our school yearbook they allow people to buy a space in the back and put pictures and write notes and dedicate it to people. Some people put pictures of themselves with their two best friends or something like that, and a lot of the time they surround the picture with inside jokes that no one gets except for them. The funny thing is, everyone reads them anyway. So, here's what Natalie said about this:

Have you looked at the back of the yearbooks at GHS? They have pages for the
Seniors that have pictures of groups of friends and stuff. It's
super ridiculous because people always write all their inside jokes
around the pictures and it makes no sense!! It makes me laugh...
It's like

Hot dogs in water~My SUV smells~Brickabracka~Thinky time! LOL~Shoes that are too small for you! Remember that?~ The new pencils~Alissa's
brother's ear infection! HA!~ Mickey Mouse is hot~hammer and
screws~Oops a DAISY!~Chess camp accident" Etc, etc, etc!

It just makes no sense to anyone except the people involved. It
would be fun to just make up inside jokes with yourself and put them
in the yearbook. I used to have inside jokes with myself. I would
see something that made me laugh and then I would be talking to
someone and say that in a very non-understandable way so that I
would be laughing and they would be like, "Um, sure, Natalie."

(This girl makes me laugh.)

Disclaimer

2004-12-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to apologize in advance for any ridiculous things that may find their way into my blog. I am the most dramatic by far of all five of my siblings, and this particular character flaw of mine may give rise to certain undesirable gelastic ramblings. (Gelastic is NOT a dirty word.) I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

I would like to inform my law student of a brother that I am aware I used the term "disclaimer" incorrectly. As my mother once said, "You have to watch what you say when you have an english major or law student in the family." We have both. In one family member.