PART DOS

Okay folks, part two—are you ready? But first, you can now see how the Beatles wrote a song about me and Brett:

Well she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another,
Oh, when I saw her standing there

Well she looked at me
and I, I could see
That before too long
I'd fall in love with her
She wouldn't dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there

Well my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine

Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long
I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there

All right, so actually, before my dad called that night, there was a First Presidency Christmas Devotional. My roommate Jennae, Kami, and I all walked together. Kami’s roommates drove. We sat near the front, and Kami’s roommates and Brett and Drew, sat near the back. For some strange reason, my head kept turning during the devotional so that I could catch glimpses of Brett.

After the devotional was over, Kami and Jennae and I were making our way to the doors and caught up with Kami’s roommates. They invited Kami for a ride home, but I convinced Kami to walk home. And somehow, Brett walked home with us—I didn’t ask him to or imply that he was invited or anything. But, he started walking beside me, and said, “So, have you thought any more about our discussion?” Which I thought was pretty weird, and confusing, so I said, “Yeah,” and he said, “And what did you think?” and like I said, I was pretty stumped as to what he was trying to accomplish by this interview, so I said, “Nothing productive,” ran up to Kami a few steps ahead, and hit her and yelled, “Tag!” and started running away. We ran the rest of the way home. Now, I was a complete idiot for not asking Brett what HE thought about our “discussion.” Oh well, it was too late when I thought of it. (p.s. At my bridal shower my sister set up the game where she asks Brett questions about me beforehand, and then asks me the same questions to see if our answers match, and one of the questions was “What would Kayli do if she was trying to avoid something?” and he answered, ‘Run!!!’ –and I totally got it. As an aside, another question was “Describe something Kayli does out of the ordinary.” And he said, “since when does a Rasmussen do something ordinary.” Ha haa—good one. Another question was (yes, I’m reading the paper right now), “What type of animal would Kayli be?” and he said, “Black panther” which I totally impressed everyone by getting right—but it was easy cause I had just gone to the zoo on a field trip for a class and had told him. And another good one, “What’s Kayli’s favorite place to be kissed?” (such a risqué question Kam!) and he said, “That’s for me to know and you to wonder about.” hee hee. )

Anyway. Kami asked Jennae and I to come over after we changed out of our church clothes (okay, really I’m sure we just came over at my insistence…but I’m TRYING to not look so desperate). We were hanging out in the lobby and before too long…you guessed it, Brett and Drew showed up. Brett ended up showing me some of his mission pictures (we’re pathetic at breaking up, obviously) and we talked for a while. Then I went home and cried myself to sleep. Not really, but I really did have a hard time sleeping with all my thoughts going around and around. The next day I was quite distracted and not feeling completely normal, and exhibiting all other symptoms of love-sickness. Jennae came home from classes and said, “Guess who I saw on the bus?” and I said, “Brett!” and I had this weird lurch in my stomach that she got to see him and not me. It’s true, I remember feeling grrrr. Then she told me to come to FHE with her but I didn’t want to, so I stayed home, or rather, went over to Kami’s house and read a Louis L’amour in her lobby (okay, now I’m really showing just how pathetic I was).

So of COURSE, Drew and Brett came in from their FHE and Brett started talking to me a bit, while Drew went to help Marshelle do the dishes. So Brett asked me if I wanted to see the progress he’d made on his turn signal and I said yes, because that’s what you do when you want to be with someone even if you have not the slightest interest in a car part whatsoever. Anyway, so then we talked for longer, and all the while I was feeling sadder and sadder because I liked him more and more.

I can’t really tell you why I liked him so much, partly because I think I can’t make the distinction between what appealed to me then versus what I love about him now, and also because I think it’s always hard for anyone to explain why you like someone. You just do. You just feel right together. But for one thing, I always enjoyed being with him for just being with him, not like it was just fun to feel witty if I said something funny, or because I’d feel cool that I’d gotten asked out, just because it was really good to be together. And because I felt a lot of admiration for him, and I could tell that he was smart and determined and a super-hard worker. Okay, also because he was (and is) very good-looking, good-smelling, and very very fun.

The next day we didn’t really see each other, but I checked my e-mail and saw a message from Brett. I assure you that I maybe have never been so excited in my life…for he had looked up my e-mail address and written to me. It said,

“Sorry things got uncomfortable between us. You seemed a bit down last night, I hope that you feel better today.

In all my years of inexperience and unwise decisions I’ve learned that life is difficult and throws us some unexpected stuff sometimes. The truth is, I don’t know what to think about us. Well I’m pretty much at a loss of words, I feel like Jo-Jo the monkey-boy who has never seen the light of day before and is finally allowed to go outside. He has been waiting for this day his whole life, living on the descriptions of the beautiful world fed to him by George the Human Cannonball. He enters the out of doors only to find that the light is too harsh and bright for him to withstand so he runs back to his little cubicle.

Oh hud I just realized that I am not even sure I’ve got the correct address. I have to go to class as well.
Bye Brett”

Okay, any guy who ever dares say that women are hard to understand…just read that! But I THINK I got the general drift of how he felt.

Then there was a second e-mail that said, “P.S. All Chevy Novas are unibody.” I laughed my head off for so long, remembering all the time we spent driving around Salt Lake trying to find a Nova that was not a unibody. It was really great timing for me to have something to make me laugh, because directly after reading that, I went to a piano “final” type thingee, and did really REALLY bad. But I didn’t even care. I kept thinking of his p.s. and grinning like a goon. And all the people in the room who wrote criticisms on their reviews of my performance probably wondered why I was so happy with my poor job. (And that was the last time I ever took piano or music anything in college, Ginger. Sheesh!)

I e-mailed Brett back and decided to disclose my honest feelings, which were that I was actually feeling a little bad and sorry that we had ended our relationship (I hate using that word, but that’s what it was).

The following day, I got another e-mail from Brett, but this one was a more normal-type letter. It didn’t really say anything definitive, but it was nice. That night, Jennae and I went over to Kami’s house to have scriptures and prayers with them. This wasn’t uncommon, even though I didn’t really like Kami’s roommates much and they made everyone give a group hug after prayers (??!) which I adamantly refused to participate in. Drew was sortof dating one of these girls, which was an uncommon lapse in his judgement but we’ll excuse him, so he was often over for scriptures and prayers too. Which meant Brett was as well. So that night they had gone to the temple, and come home just in time for scriptures and prayers, and then Jennae and I started squirting everyone with water guns that we had smuggled in, which Kami’s roommates did not appreciate nor find the fun in, but Brett joined in the exploits.

Before I went home to my apartment that night, Brett said, “We need to talk.” Duh duh duh. So we said we’d talk at noon tomorrow, so I went home and didn’t sleep the whole night. And after I did finally fall asleep, I woke up before 7:00 –on my own—which you realize, is HIGHLY incredible.

So, when I got home from my math class (I’m sure I really soaked up everything that day!), I went over to Brett’s house, and he offered me some lunch, which I declined, and then he said, “We might as well get to the point,” (that is so Brett), and he said that he thought it was a mistake not to date just because of my age, and that he felt like he shouldn’t let the opportunity for something good to pass (I later learned that he had gained much of this attitude from talking with Drew’s older sister Heidi. Praise Heidi!).

So we hugged and that was it. The end. All right, all right, so then we went for a ride in the Opel—the first time I’d ridden in it—through the canyon. I think we went all the way to Beaver Mountain before turning around. Brett did a few doughnuts in the snow in a random parking lot (also very Brett), and we talked a lot. And I was sooooooo happy. I was just happy happy happy happy happy happy.

The next part is a little bit more fuzzy, because I stopped writing in my journal, but I’ll tell you what I remember although it won’t be exactly in order.

We were together pretty much ALL the time every day after that (excluding classes is all) until Christmas break roughly two weeks later.

Some of the things we did were helping Andrea move from her little rental house to an apartment (I remember this because Brett borrowed Drew’s truck and was helping us haul all her stuff, and I had this weird feeling, because this was not really like just going on a date—it was something you would do if you were 'together.' I don’t know how to explain it. Anyway.)

We played racquetball at the HPER. Okay, okay, I’ll tell about the very unfortunate event that occurred. You see, Brett was an expert racquetball player, but I had never really played, so to make up for my lack of skill, I just hit the ball really, really, hard. Yeah, so, after one such hit, the ball came whizzing off the wall and hit Brett really hard. In a place that was pretty much the worst place one could choose for a ball to hit. Yeah. It was bad. I was lucky that Brett continued to see me after that. Oh, the humiliation.

We went hiking. This was also somewhat embarrassing only because Brett, having very recently got back from his two years in Switzerland wherein he went hiking up the Alps every P-Day, practically skipped up the mountainside, while I started panting and gasping after a while. In my defense, it was in the snow in heavy snow boots, which didn’t make it easy. (After we got engaged we went hiking one time with Drew and his date, and Brett really wanted to get to the top of the mountain, so when I was so tired he tied a long sleeved shirt to his belt and I held on and he pulled me up with him. :) )

One night we were sitting around in my apartment with Kami, Andrea, and Jennae and I can’t remember just how it started but we dared Kami to eat a raw egg and she DID! So then we started doing dares for everyone, and Brett was all eager for a dare, thinking it would be something like eating a raw egg, but then we told him he had to go to Charlie’s Icecream place and order icecream in an operatic song which was a w e s o m e. But I’m thinking I’ve already shared that story?

We went to a Bar J Wrangler show. I'm pretty sure this picture is from that night. It is the only picture I have of us before we got engaged. Brett is wearing the camel shirt I mentioned before. Aww, he's so cute!

One time Brett and I and some other people tried rolling a huge snowball in front of the door to one of the dorms, but some RA came and chased us off—after all our hard work! Okay, Brett’s hard work. Then we threw a lot of snow at each other, ran down the road, splashing through every puddle, to the elementary school’s playground. My feet were seriously frozen, but it was muy muy fun. (Okay, I am now wondering if this didn’t happen after we were engaged….I just can’t remember. Sorry.)

So, somewhere in here we started saying ‘I love you’ to each other, and as unbelievable as it sounds, I honestly can’t remember the first time, or who told who first. WHAT?! I know. I REALLY wish I had that invention that the kid makes in “Meet the Robinsons” where you can rewind and view a time in your life that you can’t remember. Arrrgh. Anyway, we started saying it before we even kissed, which I realize is not the norm. I do remember one time though, I started wondering if I had been a little hasty in saying I love you, so that night when Brett dropped me off at work (I didn’t have a car), he said, “I love you,” and I said, “…Bye.” Oh, the omission was GLARINGLY noticeable. I’m sure Brett was wondering what in the heck had happened. But nothing really came of it, because I just repented of my ways and started telling him that I loved him again.

Oh, and we did kiss and it was fun, but I won’t go into the particulars. ;)

And now, because Brett is saying I have to turn off the computer and come to bed now, that is the end of part two.

Part 1 (this is REALLY long)

Brett and I have been married now for six years, six months, and 23 days, give or take. In honor of the occasion, I thought I would recount the story of how we got together. Again. (Since some of you noticed a few inconsistencies in my previous account. Like the fact that I’m not dead.)

So, when I told Kami that I’ve been itching to write about how Brett and I hooked up, she said, “Is it going to start out, ‘I moved to Utah State and thought that Kami’s next-door neighbour was really hot. Then I met his roommate.’?” No, come one Kami. That’s not the full story. (But it’s true that everyone thinks Drew is good-looking, right Jessica?) ;)

Anyway. Here’s the REAL story, with all the details. (Far, FAR more details than you’ll probably ever want, but that’s the way it’s going to be.)

A few days after my seventeenth birthday, I moved to Logan to attend Utah State. My sister Kami came too (yes, we’re joined at the hip pretty much. Okay, not really, but in all our years of moving around, we did manage to attend the same school all but 1 year, and that year I came up to her school for a math class one period of the day and we went home together), and my sister Andrea had just graduated from BYU and was starting graduate school at Utah State. We thought it was really cool to hang out together, especially since we hadn’t seen much of Andrea for the past 4 years. So when we got together, we were often excited and sometimes a tad bit, um, silly. (In a mature sort of way. Of course.)

So anyway, Kami lived in a dorm that was right opposite mine, and she did have some next-door-neighbours. (Quote from my journal: “The boys that live next door to her are pretty cute.”) And though we saw these nameless cute boys from time to time since they sometimes did things with Kami’s roommates, and eventually did learn their names, we didn’t think a whole lot of them. Except that they were a bit boring. (Brett thought we were weird. Rudie.)

Aside: Brett and Drew were roommates when they were freshmen, and became fast friends when they discovered their similar passion for hammering on engines and taking apart and then putting back together all things motorized. Also they were both mechanical engineering majors. They went on their missions the same time, and came back and roomed together again. Here they are in the MTC.

The only other things I remember about Brett from this time of not really knowing him was that sometimes he wore a shirt that was bright orange and had camels on it, and I would say (in my oh-so-coy way), “Hey, there are camels on your shirt.” Cause I was cool like that. Also, one time his dorm hosted a night-hike to the Wind Caves, and I went with another boy, and only later came to realize that Brett had been there too.

One Sunday, Kami and Andrea came to my apartment for dinner, and we cooked a roast and potatoes and gravy and other good stuff. Being that we are females and had made such a fine feast, we felt a need to share it. With persons of the opposite gender. About the time dinner was close to being ready, I saw out the window Brett and Drew walking home from church. I impetuously opened the window and asked them if they’d like to come for dinner. Being males, they accepted. When I turned around, Kami (I think), said, “Why did you invite them?”

So we ate our dinner together, Kami, Andrea, and I all talking and telling stories and laughing, and Brett and Drew just sitting there. Not laughing. Or talking. At least not much. Quote from my journal says: “It was kindof fun, they aren’t THE most entertaining people in the world.” Haa haa ha. I think that is so funny now. Considering who they ended up becoming.

Oh, it also says in my journal that one night after Kami and Andrea and I watched the movie 8 Seconds, we were a little hyper and played Can’t Touch the Ground in Kami’s lobby (no wonder Brett thought I was weird), and then at some point Brett and Drew must have come in, cause then Andrea and I played pool against them and beat them in 3 games (of course, we didn’t count the first two games which they won).

So anyway. On December 1, I felt like going outdoors, so my sisters and I went up the canyon (oh, wonderful Logan!) and made a campfire and roasted marshmallows. When we got home, Kami’s roommates had a party in the lobby of their dorm. Actually a dance. So, ever excited to go to a dance, I did my hair a bit and got dressed (but didn’t shower…I wonder that I didn’t shower since I must have smelled like smoke?) and went over. Not many people were there but some. And Brett and Drew were there, and I danced a bit with them, showed them a few swing moves, and saw for the first time how fun and hilarious Brett really is. I was hoping a little that he would ask me to dance for the final song, but Kami’s roommates (who were a bit of the goody-goody types, actually not just a bit) had instructions to end the dance at midnight, so at 12:00 sharp they turned off the music. So I went over and coaxed Marshelle to play one last song, for after all, dances MUST end with a slow song. Finally she did, and Brett did ask me to dance. Yay!

So then, the dance ended, and some people went home, but others stayed and played games. We played Murder in the Dark, which would really not be a very fun game except that it involves holding hands, and I made sure to sit by Brett to hold his hand. We also played Psychiatrist, which is the game where one person (the psychiatrist) goes out, and you all decide on a problem to have, and then the psychiatrist has to figure out what it is by asking people questions. So one of the problems we had was to think that we were twenty years in the future. So, by the time the psychiatrist had it pretty much figured out, he was going around asking everybody their age, and so when it was my turn I said 37. So anyway, games ended, we all went home, it was very late.


The next morning around 11:30, I was still in bed when my roommate came in and said, “There’s a guy at the door named Brett.” Being very shocked, and groggy, I said, “Are you serious?!” So, I was a little embarrassed to be in bed, but hey—it was a late night, and it was a Saturday. Anyway, Brett asked if I’d like to go to Salt Lake with him to look at a car that he was thinking of buying for the frame, and also to go to the junkyard. I said yes, and hurried and showered and got ready.

We drove to the junkyard first. (It was the one by Smith and Edwards, between Brigham City and Salt Lake. We’ve gone there several times over the years, so every time we go I can sigh a little “oh, what a romantic place for our first date” sigh.)

As we were walking around the junkyard searching for the right car with the right part (I have no idea what part he was looking for…oh, I just asked Brett and he said he thinks it was a turn signal switch), Brett said, “So, is this your first date to a junkyard?” Yes, yes it is. (And frankly, why did I not run away right then? Had I but known that the majority of our fairly-infrequent-marital squabbles would stem from me wanting Brett to come spend time with me instead of tinkering with his latest pulled-out-engine…well, I guess it’s good I didn’t.)

Oh, and by the way, Drew was there and his older sister, Heidi. (I can’t remember for sure, but maybe he needed a part from the junkyard too? It’s likely.) Anyway, after the junkyard, we went to the place in Salt Lake where the car was that Brett wanted to look at. I do remember what kind of car. It was a Chevy Nova. You see, Brett had this 1960 Ford Comet that he had worked on restoring for many years, and he wanted a new frame for it. He thought that the Nova frame would fit. So, we found the place, Brett got out, was looking at the car saying “Yes, yes!” and then, he knelt down on the ground to try to get a look at the underside of the car (oh how familiar that pose is to me now), and said, “No, no!!” for it was a unibody. Which means, no frame to steal. Sad. We toured a couple more of Salt Lake’s junkyards, and then had some Taco Bell and went home.

Brett asked me if I wanted to go to a stake dance that night, and I said yes, because we already couldn’t get enough of each other. So we parted for a short while, so that I could eat some Chinese food that Andrea had cooked for us, and then went with Brett and Drew (funny how many of our first times together involved either my sisters or Drew or both) to find the correct stake center. Which was harder than it sounds. The dance was lame, so we didn’t stay too long, and on the way home, Brett and I rode in the back of the truck and Brett put his arm around me. Sigh.

When we got home, we were planning to watch a movie, but Kami and her roommates were in the middle of watching it just then. So, we played a card game called Ligretto which Brett had got on his mission in Switzerland, and waited for the movie to get over. When it did, all the people who had just watched it, and a few other people who lived in the building decided to come watch it again (looking back it seems that college was one big party! Sheesh—didn’t we ever go to class or study?). So, it wasn’t my fault that everyone was so squished that I had to sit very close to Brett on the couch. And he had his arm around me. And as I sat there, pretending to watch the movie (which was Frequency, which I had already seen), I was really just contemplating whether or not to hold Brett’s hand. There are lot of considerations, you know, but ultimately I had to hold his hand. It was nice. (I still love his hands oh-so-much. They're one of my favorite physical features of Brett's.) When the party broke up, Brett gave me a good-bye hug. Awww. He smelled very good. I think I said that to my roommate when I got home.

So, all’s well so far. The next day, Sunday, I tried to look extra cute, and Kami decided to come to my ward to see if she can spot a guy that she met at a stake dance (his name was Parley), so we’re walking to church, and we see Brett and Drew walking home from church, and we agreed on dinner at Brett and Drew’s apartment after church.

So when I got home, I straightaway went to Brett’s house, and we talked for a few minutes, and then Brett said, “Let’s go for a walk.” So we go outside, and we’re holding hands (I remember being VERY mad that Brett was holding my hand during this), and Brett says, “We need to talk.” Which sends up a little warning flag. Then he says, “I really like you, but….” aww, man! Anyway, the crux of the matter was, I was too young. Remember back when we played the Psychiatrist game, and I had said I would be 37 in twenty years? Well, I guess the fact that I was 17 was hidden in the bottom of Brett’s consciousness somewhere, but he had only just given thought to it. So, after a very short little spiel, he said, “Well, when DO you turn 18?” and I said, “Not until August. 21st.” Which wasn’t very helpful. So we determined to just be buds.

So we went back inside, and had dinner, but I didn’t really talk to Brett anymore, I just hung out with Kami. Brett has told me since then that I seemed kinda rude, but what did he expect? He had just cooled whatever it was that we had going.

My dad called me that night, which is a rare thing indeed, and so that was pretty cool. He asked me what I had done that weekend, so I was going through some of the weekend’s activities (leaving a few items out) and he observantly noted that the name Brett was coming up a lot. I replied that it probably wouldn’t anymore, and he asked why, and I told him that basically Brett thought I was too young. He said, “It didn’t stop me,” and I said, “No, it didn’t.” Then he asked if I told Brett that my mom was a certain obscenely young age (which I will not specify here, because I have repented of my wicked ways of telling everyone I met that my mom was 15 when she got married because my poor mother would shake her head and seem very sad when people in a new ward would approach her and say “So, your kid tells me you got married at 15.” I was VERY young when I did that. But I just thought it was so cool.) when she got married, and I said no. And he said, “Yeah, didn’t want to scare him off, right?” And then he said that it was a good thing that it didn’t stop him. And I said, Yeah. That’s because you’re not the run-of-the-mill type of guy.” And he said, “Nope, and I never shall be.”

But fine. This was not a major deal, after all, we had spent only two days together. (Pretty much the ENTIRE two days, but still.) There just wasn’t much there to have to get over. So I thought.

p.s. I did not copy this idea from a certain blogger who also has red hair. I hadn't read her blog for a long time, and when I did and saw that she was writing her hooking-up story I was really mad because I knew everyone would think I was stealing her idea, when really I had been wanting to do this for a long time.

Not feeling very clever today.

So Thanksgiving was awesome. I must say, in all humility, that my cooking was first-class. We had:

• turkey
• ranch mashed potatoes (with celery in it....that is so yummy to have a bit of a crunch in your mashed potatoes) (thanks for the recipe Maren)
• gravy
• dressing (homemade with homemade bread--the first time I ever made it--turned out just like how my mom made it!....the stuff is divine. I mean, think about it. It's bread with two cups of cream poured on it, and some onions and spices and other yummy stuff like butter. It was truly the stuff that dreams are made of. It was also the very first leftover to be completely eaten. sniff sniff)
• green bean casserole (I happen to love the stuff. My mom never made it when I was growing up, so although everyone thinks it's old news, it's still pretty novel to me)
• corn
• sweet potatoes (with lots of brown sugar and marshmallows on top, of course)
• stuffed mushrooms (Yum! that was mainly just for Kami and I--no one else likes mushrooms much. All the more for us!)
• jello salad (my favorite with a graham cracker crust on bottom, then cream cheese/cool whip middle, then rasp. jello with raspberries on top)
• pecan pie (all homemade, and the crust was pretty easy and tasty)
  

It was a delicious feast. I am sad that it is pretty much all gone now except for a little turkey. We ate it all weekend.

So as an adieu to the Thanksgiving holiday, here are a few things I've been feeling thankful for lately.
1. my dishwasher
2. that Kami did my dishes (MORE than once!) when she came to visit. And that she lives close enough that we can see each other really quite often! Yahoo!
3. that neither I nor my kids nor my husband suffer from any ghastly diseases
4. chocolate chips
5. that I am a female and so do not have to scrape the frost off the car windows on cold mornings (at least not on mornings when Brett is home.)
6. that I am not in school and so don't have to worry about studying for tests or writing lame papers
7. my camera
8. that I get to cuddle up to my honey every night and wake up beside him every morning (well, that last part is theoretical...I don't really wake up beside him, because he's gone before I wake up, but I could if I really wanted to I guess. Anyway.)
9. friends
10. that hair grows (although it does take a long time. sigh.)

Kami and Elena and Ana came, which was awesome! and which means I have some E-baby pictures to share.



The typical smiling Ethne-somber Elena shots. :)

We tried to get Ethne and Elena to take a nap together, but they just played and played, before finally crying of course.
Kami helped me put up our Christmas tree and decorate my house and make some decorations. Our house is so perty now. I also bought on-line the sheet music for "where are you Christmas?" and so Ana and I sang it a lot. I love that song. Brett started singing a version that had to do with "why can't I get this song out of my head?" Scrooge.


Did I mention that a while back when it started getting quite cold, Brett fired up his veggie-oil furnace? It is so nice and warm. It feels soooooo good when you are cold. It's such a hot blast--it's like standing in front of a bonfire. The downside is that it only blows into the kitchen, but that's all right. Oh, and that Kami had to call us after we left to go to church this morning that it was blowing smoke everywhere. Ooops. ...But that was just the one time. :)

In Sunday school today we were talking about the verse that says the love of money is the root of all evil, and there were quite a lot of comments, and one guy told about a man he knew who was trying to work hard in the church because he knew of the scripture that says 'after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches if ye seek them' and he wanted to get rich. So everyone was tut-tutting over this guy's bad motives, and then this funny older guy said, "Yeah, so did it work?" It was so funny. Maybe you had to be there but the guy is so funny that I was just cracking up. This is the guy who once told Brett and I that when he was the bishop, he had to bail his entire priest's quorum out of jail, including his son. Ha ha! It was for shooting bottle rockets over the freeway or something. Anyway, good times.

So, I was just thinking about the time when I was at a scholarship competition thingee, and one of the interviewer people asked me if I was a fly on the wall and I heard people talking about me, what would I hope would be said. What would you say if the question were posed to you?

Happy Turkey Week!

Happy Turkey Week! (all you Americans, anyway.)

Well, I have to say that the other day when I posted about being so exasperated, the day got much better because I have such a wonderful husband. I called him to complain a little about our children, and so when he got home he stayed with the girls while I took Jethro out on a date. We went to Chic-fil-A and got a kids meal with a coupon he had got from school. It was funny because as we drove he was sharing everything with me, and he said, "Thanks Mom, for all of this good stuff." And I said, "I didn't get it, it was from you and the coupon you got from school." And he said, "....Well then you should say thank you to me." Ha ha.

Then we went to the mall and found him a winter coat. I didn't have any luck finding him one at garage sales this summer, so we ended up buying him one (fairly big in the hopes that it will fit next year too) for 50% off. When we got home, Brett had got the girls dinner and had them in the tub and had done the dishes!

On Saturday I went to the enrichment super saturday, and I finished our Thanksgiving banner. This is where I found the idea.

While I was there, a girl who moved here this fall was talking to me, and she said, "So....rumor has it you got married pretty young." Pretty funny how word gets around. I guess it's time to move! (That attitude stems from moving around all the time as a kid...once people start to know you a little too well, it's time to move.) Just kidding, I don't really care, it was just funny. So I told her the story, and then she asked, "So, if you had it to do over, would you do it the same way?" Which I think is kindof a funny question...I mean, how can you answer? Of course, yes, because otherwise you'd be admitting that you made a pretty phenomenal mistake right? Anyway, I know what she meant and the answer is yes, which is what I told her. But I was telling Brett about it when I got home and he said I should have said, "No, if I could do it again I would've married Brett when I was 15 cause being married to Brett is so awesome!!!" Haa haa--that would be a pretty great way to answer. :)

Look, isn't that the cutest thing in the world----cute little red piggies sticking out!!!! It's cute from the back, but not cute from the front so much, because her hair isn't long enough in the front. But anyway, it's fun to have a little live doll to play with. :)

And here's my amazingly smart, studious 1-year-old. :)

Baby Eva

Here is Baby Eva. She is so sweet and I was thrilled when Andrea asked if I would take pictures of her.

These first two are my favorites, I think. She is just so precious.

I think Eva looks so much like her big sister Elise.

I absolutely fell in *LOVE* with this picture, so I played around with it a lot.
Love it, love it, love it.

Grrrrrrrr.

I decided to close my door and pretend my kids aren't here, because I am feeling very exasperated with them. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, much of that is more my fault than theirs. Ruff. Jethro and Hazel have been fighting ever since Jethro got home from kindergarten, because Hazel has some fun stuff she got from a birthday party and she's not sharing, and even though it's all pink and sparkly, Jethro is feeling left out.

And Ethne strung out all of my feminine supplies all over the bathroom floor and hallway, and why didn't I put a child lock on that drawer after the first ten times she did that? I don't know.

And when I only had one child with me today because Jethro was in school and Hazel was at a birthday party, I tried to practice the organ but it didn't really happen because the one child I did have was Ethne, which is the one who demands to be on my lap always or she screams, and then she has to put her feet on the keyboard, or in any other way keep me from practicing.

And I was trying to do something fun with the kids and make a cool Thanksgiving banner, but then Jethro wanted to help more than I wanted to let him, and he was sad. So then I wanted to let him help me again, but he wrote in pen on 0ne of the letters and I sent him to his room, and then finally thought I would let him help again, he wrote on it again! Ruff! So then I banished him from helping forevermore, but felt bad cause was the point really to have a cute banner or have fun making a banner with the kids?

And all my dishes are not done because last night while I was making chocolate chip cookies I opted to read a book while they were baking instead of doing the dishes, but the really annoying part is that it wasn't even good.

So. Really it's not such a bad day, I'm just exasperated. So, instead of trying to get the dishes done or do anything else productive, I'm just posting cute pictures of my kids to remind me how much fun they are. Cause they are.

The kids watching Duck Tales this morning. Ethne looks like she's really involved. Ha ha. Being a big girl on a chair. She stayed for all of three minutes, but isn't she cute?


I took this picture out the window yesterday when the kids were playing in the backyard.

Ethne eating a green tomato that she found on the counter. She squawked when I tried to take it away.

Jethro and Ethne sharing Jethro's blanket.

several non-related items

Daddy and Hazel came home from church and since our house was freezing cold, got into bed to read together. Aren't they so cute?

Oh, and how could I forget? Another day, another fiasco during sacrament meeting. Actually, it wasn't as bad as last week (since it was my kids and not me causing the embarrassment). Anyway, Brett was out with Ethne, so before I went up to play for the rest hymn, trying to avoid shenanigans of a sort that happened once before, told Jethro and Hazel "Stay right here on the bench when I go up to play the organ. Don't move or go anywhere." So, I go up, start playing the hymn, and hear Jethro YELL, "MOM! MO-om!! HAZEL HAS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" Grrrrr. I thought for sure Jethro had enough sense that he would know he can't yell to me up on the organ, but apparently not. But--you know, it was me that told him not to go anywhere. Luckily, a friend grabbed Hazel and took her to the bathroom so that Jethro didn't continue yelling throughout the entire song. (THANK YOU!) When I went back down and sat by Jethro again, he told me my face was red. Fabulous. He was actually felt really bad when I sternly told him that he is NEVER, under any circumstances, allowed to yell at me when I'm up at the organ. He started to cry and said, "I didn't know, cause I'm little. You're big, and Ana's big, etc." It was sad, so I had to console him and say it was all right since he didn't know. Never a dull day.

Kami (still on Arizona, Florida, and New Mexico climate--poor her in Chicago this winter) and her cutie-cute girls!

Kami, by the way, not only took our fab pictures, but let us stay overnight at her house on very short notice, watched our kids while we went to the temple (and while she was holding a fussy Ethne, she sat down and started nursing her without thinking, and then looked down and realized it wasn't her kid. ha ha!), and fed us yummy homemade pizza. Three cheers for Kami! I love family.
Awwww.


Kami's not the only one to get cool hats. (Although you can't see the hat very well in this picture, Hazel's face is so funny.)
This is what Ethne looks like after I tell Jethro to feed her some yogurt. Ha ha--she looks like little Jack Frost.


And Ethne's favorite thing--get out all of the things in the drawers in the bathroom. And if she can't pull them open, get to them by the devious route. (She did this at Kami's house too.)

MANY family photos - YAY!!!

The stars were aligned, and all my hopes for our pictures were fulfilled. 1. We drove to Chicago so we could take the pictures on the beach of Lake Michigan. (That in itself is a huge feat, because Brett is so anti-Chicago. But I begged and pleaded, and in the end, he gave in. Sheesh--he must *REALLY* love me. (Plus, I had the very convincing argument that we should go to the temple anyway.) Oh, AND he wore a sweater that he was opposed to, but I thought he looked super great in it. Poor man.) 2. The weather was not too cold. (Cold, definitely, but not too cold.) 3. We all looked decent. 4. Kami, aka GREATEST SISTER IN THE UNIVERSE, took some...scratch that....many fantastic pics!! Here are some for your viewing pleasure. Kami makes it look easy, eh? (However, I didn't post my two favorites, because I want to make some kind of Christmas card, and if that happens I want it to be a surprise.)
P.S. It's really hard to get five people to look at the camera, smile, keep their hands down, and keep their eyes open. So Brett and I yelled at them a lot, cause that always works to make kids smile, right?


I liked this one, because Brett's hands are making a perfect heart around Hazel's! When I showed him, he rolled his eyes and said, "Don't post that." Too bad. ;)

I thought Jethro was so cute in this picture.
One of the many outtakes. Haa ha. Love Ethne's headband.

And, did you really expect me to have a post-of-many-pictures, without a kissing pic? Here it is. How romantic. ;)

Random funnies

Do you guys all remember what may be the greatest show ever--Animaniacs? Remember "Good Idea, Bad Idea?" I can't remember why, but it came up in a conversation Kami and I had the other day. Well, here is something to jog your memory, or if you've never seen one (WHAT?!), here's a sampling.


Good idea: Feeding stray kittens in the park.
Bad idea: Feeding stray kittens in the park to a bear.

GI: Taking a deep breath before jumping into a swimming pool.
BI: Taking a deep breath after jumping into a swimming pool.

GI: Kissing a loved one.
BI: Kissing a total stranger.

GI: Doing your own yard work.
BI: Doing your own dental work.

GI: Dressing up for Halloween as a pirate.
BI: Dressing up for Halloween as a pin~ata.



GI: Whistling while you work.
BI: Whistling while you eat.



GI: Taking up a new hobby like bird calling.
BI: Taking up a new hobby like buffalo calling.



GI: Playing cops'n'robbers in the park.
BI: Playing cops'n'robbers in the bank.'



HAHAHAHAAA!

So, it was a good idea to tell Brett that he had to pick up "extra shifts" to pay for his motorcycle, but now I actually have to pine away at home while he's gone. But...I managed to keep myself occupied with a book and a cup full of icecream (with milk, of course) in the tub, ignoring the dishes to be done and front room to clean (Kami and I also had a conversation recently about the Catch-22ness of self-discipline. You can desire for more, and say to yourself, I just need to have more self-discipline to be more disciplined, but it would TAKE discipline to discipline yourself to get more. see?) anyway... I read a Great Brain book. I'd never read any before, but picked up a couple at the last library book sale I went to a while back. The author, John D. Fitzgerald, tells memories of himself and his brother Tom, who's great brain is always conniving or swindling, when they were growing up in a small Mormon town at about the turn of the century. It's very interesting cause they aren't Mormons. I've read the book that's more about his parents--not targeted to a young audience like the Great Brain books--called "Papa Married a Mormon" and it's really good. ANYWAY. So, because I thought there were some parts that were way funny, I will share. (Obviously, feel free to skip if you aren't interested.)

So, Tom's parents make him use his great brain to help this girl out, and she's really grateful by the end. (By the way Tom is 11 and John-the narrator-is 8).

"Then that worst part of the mushy business came. Dotty looked at Tom and walked over to him. And I'll be a four-legged frog if she didn't kiss him right on the lips.
Poor old T.D.'s ears lit up like red-hot coals in a fireplace. The shock petrified his great brain. He just stood there with a dummy's expression on his face as Mamma and Dotty walked toward our house. I waited for Tom to come out of his shock, and when he didn't, I grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him.
"Did it hurt that much?" I asked.
I knew I would have probably dropped dead if a girl had kissed me.
Tom came out of it sudden-like. "Don't be silly," he said. "Dotty was just showing her appreciation for all my great brain did for her."
"Boy!" I said. "I hope I never do anythign that makes a girl appreciate it that much.""
Ha haa.

Their older brother Sweyn, got home from Salt Lake City, where he'd been going to school and started acting all condescending to his brothers.
"This was bad enough, but the day after he got home, Sweyn pulled the dirtiest trick he could on Tom and me. He started going with a girl, and of all the girls he had to pick, it was that stuck-up Marie Vinson. If ever a fellow felt like disowning a brother, it was me. All I heard from my friends was, "Sweyn's got a girl. Sweyn's got a girl." If Sweyn wanted to disgrace me and Tom, why couldn't he have kicked a dog, or beat up an old lady, or somethign not as bad as going with a girl."

Funny stuff.

Pride goeth before a fall (oh, and lots and lots of pictures)

So, I sooooo mortified myself today. I was getting too cocky and WHAMMO! I got slapped upside the head for it. See, I've been doing all right on the organ lately (a lot because since the old chorister moved out of the ward, I've been able to pick the hymns, so I pick the easy(er) ones), and not practicing nearly as much as I used to, and it was all cool, but THEN today happened. We got a new chorister, she picked a harder song, a really good, rousing song, but more difficult for the organ, and I tried to get away with not practicing as much as I should. Oh, it was brutal. I seriously MASSACRED the hymn. It was really, really bad. And it was a long, 4-verse song. It started out BAD and got worse, because I kept getting more flustered and then everything went down the tubes. After it was done, I considered not returning to church until we move, which won't be all that long after all, so I'd only be inactive for a little less than a year probably. Anyway. Deep breath, and moving on. Guess who's going to be practicing the organ MUCH more faithfully now?

So, we went outside today, and I got some really fun shots! (And to think at first I was actually trying to tell myself I should just leave the camera inside for once. Pffeh--good thing I ignored myself.) The first collage is Hazel on the swing.
Love this one!


And for some unknown reason, Brett let me take pictures of him. What a looker I married. Whistle!
I don't know just what it is between these two. Maybe it's because Hazel was born on Father's Day. But anyway, they have this thing. Brett's just head over heels for her. He doesn't even try to deny it. I have so many pictures of them together, but they're just so cute. That's one of the wonderful things about getting married to someone...even after years of being together and you think you know them pretty completely, then a little girl comes along and you see a whole new side of them. He says things like "She's sooo adorable," and even the word "angel" comes out of his mouth. Did you really just say she's an angel Brett? Yes, yes he did.

And this cute guy. This picture doesn't really look like him, I think. It makes me think of a little boy from England or Ireland or something. Maybe one of the boys from War of the Buttons. (If you haven't seen that movie, you should. I'll review it in greater depth sometime soon.) Anyway, he was busy driving his jeep all afternoon. Did I tell the story of how when we were trick-or-treating, a lady opened the door dressed as a vampiress, and as we were walking back down the drive, he said, "She's beautiful. But you're the most beautiful." He always says I'm the most beautiful. The guy flatters most admirably. Thanks Jethro.