Lovey stuff

Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some Valentine Day stuff for 90% off. It' so cool to look at the tag and then calculate that you only pay 10% of what it says. So, I got way more stuff than I would normally get for Valentine's Day. Then today I saw that Jethro had put a heart sticker on Ethne's cheek (actually, I think it was her forehead first) so I decided I would do a Valentine's Day shoot with her, even though it was already past. Yeah, yeah, I'm a sucker for pictures. I thought they turned out so cute!

And, I babysat Dallin K. today, whom Hazel is always saying she's going to marry. He gave her a valentine with his picture in it, and one time I was dancing with Hazel, and she saw it there (on the fridge) and she started singing "Dallin...Daaaaaaaliiiiin.....he's so cuuuuuute!" She interrupts us during prayers sometimes when we say 'help the kids to get married in the temple' to say "Marry Dallin?" so we say okay, because otherwise she'll keep saying it over and over. So, when he was here I decided to take their engagement pictures. They were mostly blurry (overcast Indiana!) but still cute. A lot of little boys really like Hazel, so I guess she'll have a lot to choose from when it's time, but I would have no problem with her marrying Dallin! Today I asked him how old he was, and he was, and he said "3, and then I'll be 5 and then I'll get baptized!!!" A little off, but SOOO excited! :)

Do I look like

My mom? This is her when she was younger than I am now.

Since I cut my hair a few people in my family have said I look like her. And I quote "you freakin look EXACTLY like MOm. Its scary.(your resemblance to mom NOT the haircut)" by my sister Amy. If so, it is pretty much the coolest thing ever, because my mom is *gorgeous.* However, I think it may just be the haircut and the glasses.

Joy bringer

What a HAPPY girl! Makes me happy.

So, we cleaned the church today and it takes a long time, but then the Ponds came to walk, and Brother Pond said "What can I help you with?" And he totally helped us! Basically, and not just because of this incident, he is the nicest man I know. And he loves me and my kids for our red hair. :) And Sister Pond ended up holding Ethne for us. It was soooo nice!

And church is cancelled tomorrow because of the freezing rain today. Weird Indiana.

Bye, I'm gonna go floss my teeth now. ;)

Some things I'm a sucker for.....

Cute little things like this ($1 bin at Target),
And this little face. Maybe it's just me...but sheesh this picture just makes me want to kiss her cheeks and squeeze her!!!

My Boy

This is a layout I did recently. The title (which says, if you can't read it "You have stolen my heart") is inspired by my newest favorite song, "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional. I have listened to it over and over the past while. Very good.

So, I had a dream last night about Brett stealing back his car, the Opel (he really did have an Opel when we got married), from some place that was keeping it, and he did a big jump out, crashing through the door, just like in the movies. You know, if I hadn't married Brett, I wouldn't even know what an Opel is...let alone dream about one.

Here are some more things I've learned by being married to Brett:

-what the term "jimmy" means

-what a differential is, and what it is for

-what an intake manifold looks like

-that there is such a thing as biodiesel (let alone having it made in my very own garage)

-what a spoiler is (okay, maybe most people know that one)

-that the Chevy symbol is called a Chevy bow-tie
-all Chevy Novas are unibodies

And some places I'd never been to before Brett:

-the junkyard (now it is near and dear to my heart, as that is where our first date was to)

-classic car show

-demolition derby

-truck/tractor pull

-AutoZone (okay, maybe I had been inside the store before, but now it is much more familiar and almost homey)

Brett, with his very first baja derby car (he's the one in blue shirt in front)

And there's Brett and I in front of the Opel (in case you, like myself pre-Brett, have no idea what it is). Behind it is the Blazer Brett bought for $400 and put about $100 of parts in, and we drove for quite a while when we were first married.

We've been through 12 cars since we've been married (not quite six years). 13, if you count the parts car. It's a sickness, but...we've never made a car payment.

So, your assignment is if you read this, write 3 things you have learned from your spouse, either in your blog or in the comments. They can be any sort of things at all. I meant to do this before Valentine's Day, but that's when our computer crashed.

p.s. I've learned something about short hair.....I don't know how to do it!

New 'do.

So, I just did the Cindy Crawford workout and she kicked my bottom. But, this is the third time I have worked out in roughly two weeks, so that is really good for me.

I also cut my hair. Really short. I feel like I have looked in the mirror two million times since yesterday, but I am still not really used to it. One of my sisters said that I finally look old enough to have a kid, so that's progress, I guess. :) I don't think I hate it, but I am not sure if I love it either, and probably won't keep it this short for a REAL long time. We'll see.

And, just for fun, here are just a few random 'memories' from the dad book (from various kids in my family).

Megan: During a father/daughter interview one Sunday in Provo, Dad asked me in a very concerned voice, "What drugs have you been doing lately and did you steal any from me? You shouldn't take mine, I am your father." Then he started talking about his brain on drugs.

Derek: Every night Dad would throw a ball to me so I could leap onto the brown poof and catch it. I wouldn't have to go to bed until I missed one.

Me: We were all at stake conference one Sunday in NoDak, and Wyatt was sitting there minding his own business when Dad leaned over to him and whispered, "It's not my fault you're ugly, you must be a throwback."

Kami: One time Dad said to Leo, "Sorry for all the mean things that I've said to you that are true."

Ethan (the baby of the family): Every night after scriptures and prayers I dominate him in wrestling and make him say uncle. [HAHAAHAAA!!!! That's a good one, Ethan!]

Andrea: One time I came home from babysitting or something with a $20 bill. I was very excited so I showed Dad. [Bad idea, Ands] He took it, stuffed it in his mouth, chewed on it for a few seconds, then gave it back to me. Gross!

---That reminds me of a while back Brett and I went out to dinner and as we were driving home I looked on the receipt to check the price of something, and Brett grabbed it and stuck it in his nose. I yelped and said "What are you doing!!" And he said, "Pulling a Jack Rasmussen" (which is my dad, of course) and I laughed my head off because the first thing that came in my head was 'whoa dad!!'

Sheesh, I just realized that maybe those of you reading this were not aware until this time just how weird I really am...I hope you will still be my friend!

Long time no see.

So, this is what's been going on at our house while our computer was down and out. Yep, that's right...it bit the dust. Luckily, Jim the Computer Guy that Brett knows at school saved our *UNSAVED* pictures somehow. Blessings on him! So, with that and a blizzard (in Indiana!!!), I've been feeling a little out of touch, and I'm very happy to be back!

I don't know what Jethro is being here exactly, but it's pretty sweet, that's all I can say.

Me and my valentine. :) He made me a cd for valentine's day with songs on it that reminds him of me. I am listening to it right now. Awwww.

Hazel and Ethne in their sort-of matching outfits. Ethne is sliding down (but you can see that, of course) and Hazel's "grrrr" face is just too funny.

And this is here specifically to show my friend Jessica Merryweather just how cute her little scarf is on Hazel. Thank you!!

What else? Well, I read a good couple of books the past few days, worked out two days in a row!!!!! (that is amazing considering I haven't worked out since....well, we won't go into that. But man, Cindy Crawford kicks my bum!!) had fun making heart pizza, heart jello, and heart brownies for Valentine's Day, and got a cute V-day card in the mail from my visiting teacher. I will share it with you all because usually cards are pretty boring. I myself, dislike writing thank-you cards because they're so, well, lame. But not Nicole's!!! :

Kayli, Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope your V-day is lovely and romantical --filled with schmooz and mush. And maybe candy. Candy is good for holidays.

I'll miss seeing you in primary (she just got released from being Sunbeams teacher....wahhh!! She did GREAT last year with Jethro) on Sundays and your lessons. You're a fantastic gal with nice hair and mannerisms (my favorite line). Thanks for your cheery example.

You're the man.

Isn't that great?

P.S. Anyone who is a blogger, do you know if you can change the placement of pics once you upload them? Can you put one that is on top down on the bottom and so on? Thanks. Also, does anyone know what ETA stands for?

I'd like you to meet...

My sister Lindsay. She's special not only because she's my sister, but because she's my only 'little' sister. She's turning 18 this month and she's pretty darn awesome. So I've always felt a little bit like people don't really know me until they know my family, so here we start. Maybe at some point, you'll know all of them (sorry if that doesn't excite you, first of all --it should, and second, the cool thing about my blog is that I can write about whatever I want to!)

This is us when we were young.

And this is us when we were older.
And this is her and her man. (But he's pre-mish, so we'll see.) She's a stellar piano player, has a lovely voice, swing dances awesomely that makes me jealous, has alarming psychotic cleaning tendencies (much like my mother, but it was always kinda nice to share a room with her, because I never had to clean. It went a bit far, though, like when I would come in late from working at DQ, put my "uniform" on the floor, because I just had to go back in the morning, and she would say "Kayli, you need to fold these up and put them in the closet." WHAT!? Is this really coming from a young pre-teen, or is it an old lady in disguise? Anyway.)

As you can see, she looks nothing like me (disregard that picture of us where we kinda look like we have the same face shape. It's deceiving. We really don't). In fact, we're VERY opposite. Not just hair and eye color, but her skin is pretty much the definition of olive-toned. Me---not so much. My mom has said my Uncle Delroy didn't have all the children that he was supposed to, and so they (the youngest two) had to get sent to us. I almost believe it.

She's been the designated babysitter for the grandkids ever since the very beginning, and now that there's 22 or so, she's had more experience than most moms! We all beg her frequently to come be our personal nannies, but she never will, although she has often stayed with us right after we've had babies. So I think she better have quadruplets to start out with, if she had just one she would be bored and wonder where the other 3 were to haul around and take care of.

Here's a funny story. When I was in high school we shared a room and a bed. One night I came home from a party and my friend came in my room with me. Lindsay was already in bed asleep, of course, and we started talking about boys and kissing and all sorts of juicy stuff like that, and then after a while, I decided to go back to the party with my friend (I'd already checked in, and this was the one time in my life that I "snuck out.") So, all's good, the next day I was doing my Saturday's work, vacuuming the sun room (take note...I was WORKING!), and Lindsay gets home from somewhere and comes in and shuts the door and says "I heard EVERYTHING!!!!" WHAT?!?!!??!?! Oh no, I've corrupted my sweet little sister! I could NOT believe that she had stayed so quiet the entire time!!! Could not believe it. But, she was a dear, and never told on me, and hopefully gleaned a few tips. JUST KIDDING! Anyway, fun fun.

She's way fun and beautiful and awesome and I hope that I get to live close to her someday.

P.S. My name was ALMOST Lindsay....it was on the paper at the hospital but then one of my aunts (Aunt LaVerle, I believe?) came in and asked which name they'd decided on, and they said 'Lindsay,' and she said, 'Ahh, I liked Kayli better' so then it got changed.

Don't you hate it when....

you misjudge the ratio of spaghetti sauce to spaghetti noodles? And end up having way more noodles than sauce left over? Yeah. But it makes me think of a story regarding spaghetti. And since two of the people that I think might read this are related to this story's setting I'll proceed and tell you (sorry for the rest of you who might not find it quite as exciting).

I don't like it when people mix their spaghetti noodles and sauce together in one pot and serve it that way, because once when I was at my Aunt LaVerle's house we had spaghetti like that and I threw up. It had nothing to do with the spaghetti, I was just sick, but I've always been leery of mixed-spaghetti after that.

Speaking of throwing up at Aunt LaVerle's house, there was another time I threw up there because Brian and I tried to eat a raw egg. Well, I should say that I tried, Brian actually succeeded. We were bored. It was entertainment for us. It was also entertainment for Kami and Devonee. Ah, the good old days.

Idea for a book.

You know how in families everyone kindof gets a label? There's the smart one, the funny one, the athletic one, etc.? Well, I am the alleged lazy one. Everyone has this idea that I "worked harder to get out of work than it would have taken just to do it." This is, in all actuality, a great misconception. A complete and absolute fallacy. Delusion. I did my Saturday's work just the same as everyone else (better, in fact, than my brothers, I would say), did after-school chores, and I took my turns doing the dishes THE SAME AS EVERYONE else.

The only smidgeon of fact that they have to base this whole falsehood on is that once on a Sunday when it was time to do the dishes, I lied down on the floor and went to sleep (this was in the days of early morning seminary where sleep was cherished (oh wait, it still is)), and my mom let me stay asleep and I got out of doing them. That's it.

So, I was chatting with one of my sisters on the phone yesterday, and she said I should write a book about Doing A Great Many Things While Avoiding Work, or something like that. I was like, yeah yeah, ha ha (the old stereotype again). Then later, she said something about making her kids mac and cheese for lunch and I said "I don't make it that often. It's too much work for a lunch." She started laughing her head off and told me that that should go in my book. Ruff.

Then today I was talking to her again, and she was saying how much laundry she had to fold. And I said that folding laundry is one of my better liked chores, because you can fold it while sitting down watching a movie. Then I said that one time my mom mentioned to me that I did a lot of things sitting down, whereas she always does things standing up. For example, I might change the baby's diaper sitting down, or take potatoes to the table so I can sit down while peeling, or fold laundry. Of course, my sister again started laughing and said it should go in my book. Ruff.

I have a feeling that this book idea will rear it's ugly head a great deal in the future. Ruff.

Please do not be fooled by my family's false impressions. I am not lazy. That is all.

Finished!....a little late

So, I decided to finally finish a Christmas present for my good friends, the Merryweathers, and voila...here it is.

Yes, I realize it's February. I lost steam after it wasn't done by Christmas, even though most of it was finished. But hey, it's done now! They'll have a lovely Valentine's Day/Christmas gift.

I copied it from a Claudine Hellmuth, probably infringed some copyright laws, but--I'm not selling it or anything.

P.S. It is snowing. Here, in Indiana. For a good long time....all morning, in fact. Whoa. Pretty intense.

Ideas wanted

So, this was Brett in costume for the Dec. 2005 Rasmussen Reunion Karaoke Contest. He sang "Louisiana Saturday Night" (lyrics here--you really should read them, it's funny).

He was the runner-up for the People's Choice Award...which was taken home by my brother Derek with "I'm Too Sexy." Brett should have won--he danced like you wouldn't believe. Anyway, we need REALLY GOOD ideas for this year's karaoke contest. Last year's will be hard to beat, so if you have done any that are cool, seen any, can imagine any songs that are totally awesome, TELL ME!!! We MUST win! :)

Fun things (meaning lots of pictures, of course!)

Aren't these lovely? Got the hat at Once Upon a Child... it said 0-12 months, but uh, it barely fit her. Should I take it back? It's hard to understand how something can fit from 0-12 months anyway. Seems like there is a significant difference between the head size of a newborn and a 1-year-old, but maybe that's just me. Oh yeah, the black backdrop is....my black Sunday skirt. I really want to go buy some black material, and I will someday....really.

This girl has the CUTEST smile!! What a sweetheart!! I guess we're all very funny-looking in this house, cause she sure smiles a lot. Makes my heart happy. :)

Jethro's hair was a little bit out-of-control-long, so I had fun giving him a WILD hair day. My favorite picture is actually the one right after I took the little thingees out (too bad the collage cut it off a bit). He looked like a lion.

All together now, AHHHHH SWEET!! Had to get some feet/hands pictures before she gets too big....she is 3 months already!!! I don't really know why I put the ring on her toe, except I saw someone else's pictures like that, and I just kinda liked it. I grabbed Brett's ring and had it on there too, but it was too much, and she just kicked them off.

We went to the library today and heard a cool African drum band. It was really cool. It's always cooler to see those kind of things in real life versus Reading Rainbow or Sesame Street, you know? I was wishing my sister Kami was there. She loves African music.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Thanks for looking!

Decorating!

I FINALLY put my plates up on the wall that I've had sitting around forever! Here they are. Do you have any good ideas for what else to do? P.S. Although it's pretty hard to tell in the picture, the ceiling is a very light shade of blue. I'm so excited to have finally put these up. Yay!