Random Photo Tag

Okay, I saw this on Christal's blog, and thought it was kindof interesting. It's also a bit embarassing, I find.

#1-- Picture of my kitchen sink. Not too embarassing yet, at least the dishes are done.
#2 --Fridge.
And the outside of the fridge. We must always showcase Hazel's pictures for awhile, and there is also Jethro's 100% on his spelling test.

#3 was something about shoes--your favorite pair perhaps? Or pair you wear the most? Either way, I didn't do it right. Instead, here is what we had for dinner tonight. Salad with cilantro dressing (mmmmm!) and pizza--half barbeque chicken and half pepperoni.

#4- my closet. Where it gets more embarassing. I also think I need to branch out in what colors I wear. Oh well, I am comfortable in blue and black and gray.

#5 -- a pile of laundry. This is actually folded and waiting to be put away into drawers.
#6- What your kids are doing RIGHT NOW. Except that I was going to do this post last night, and couldn't because Brett started watching a movie on the computer because our DVD player won't work anymore. So, it's actually what my kids were doing last night around 7:40 or so. We had just put them to bed (a little early-hooray!) so they were chillin in their beds.

Except Ethne, who stays up later than the other two. She was chillin with Daddy on the bed.

#7-- Favorite room in the house. I don't know that I really have one. Maybe the one that is the cleanest at that moment? But probably my front room. So I have pictures of the flower arrangement Kami made for me when she came. Kami is so talented. I told her she should have a post of all the flower arrangements she's done. It would be astounding. So, now, thanks to Kami, I have this cute flower arrangement and on the opposite wall, an awesome photo collage.

#8--was supposed to be a picture of my toilet, but really, it's just a plain white toilet, with no decoration of any kind, and it's also kind of dirty, so instead you have a picture of a cute kid brushing her teeth.

#9- two fantasy vacation spots: Spain

And Vernal, Utah

(I just want you all to know that Brett told me to put that and then we both laughed our heads off.)

#10 - A portrait of yourself today (which was taken yesterday actually).

The end. Everyone do this. I want to see your toilets. Just kidding.

Toot toot!

Brett passed his Preliminary Exam!!! And I was there and so I can honestly state that (in my opinion) he did so with FLYING colors!

I was so glad that I went (even though it meant waking up at 6:00 to get ready!!!) because it was really really really cool to watch him do his engineering/professional thing which I never actually get to see. He did SO good. Seriously. I know, because he gave the presentation to me three times at home to practice, and I had to give him little hints every time, such as 'talk a little slower,' 'don't dance around so much,' etc. --the usual. But today---calm, composed, smooth, cool as a cucumber. By far the best he'd ever done. And I even got it more this time (maybe because a teeny bit of it was starting to sink in by the 4th time I'd heard it??). When it was time to answer questions, he explained very thoroughly what he meant. It was so impressive.

I thought it was perty darn funny that I'd mentioned yesterday in my post that he always believes he can do anything, and at one part in his presentation he referred to a commercially available device that would have cost $250,000, and he said, "We were confident we could build a device even better suited to our needs for significantly less than that." And his professor said, "Brett was confident!" :) (And he did it, by the way, which was the bulk of what his last year was all about-designing and building a device that hooked up to a confocal microscope that would stretch out cells in collagen so they can measure their reactions to the perturbation. --yeah, I got that word from his presentation. :) Different than most student's ventures in that he was doing more mechanical stuff and building, but right up Brett's alley (as his professor stated.))

Anyway, at the very end after questions, a guy teasingly raised his hand and said, "When are you going to design and build a model capable of 3-D testing?" and Brett smiled and was like, "I don't want to go there," and his professor was like, "That's the first time I've ever heard Brett say he didn't want to go somewhere." And Brett was like, "Well, I've thought about it..." and she said, "See." Anyway, it was funny.

He just did soooo great! Oh, and I forgot to mention how great he looked, too. We got him a new outfit and I was ironing it last night while he practiced, and I said, "Don't worry, nobody will be able to listen to what you're saying because they'll be so stunned at how spiffy you look." And the first thing his professor said when she walked into the room was, "Brett, you're wearing a tie. I didn't know you knew how to wear a tie." Hee hee. I took pictures, but none of them turned out very good, so I'll have to take more on Sunday when he wears his new outfit again.

Anyway, he did super and he is wonderful and I am sooooo proud of all his hard work!!

It must have been very tiring, because when Brett came home today at 2:00 I was asleep on the couch and Hazel was asleep like this.

My honey

Here is a husband tag that you've probably all seen somewhere or another, but I finally decided to do it because it was Brett's birthday earlier in the month, and I didn't even mention it! And because I love him and like to talk about him. :)

How long have you and your husband been married?

6 years, 11 months, and 23 days. That’s a long time. I remember when I first got married and was in the married student ward and I thought the couples that had been married two or three years seemed like they’d been married forever!

How old is he?

29!! But don't worry honey, you make a few grey hairs look HOT! ;)

How long did you date?

About 4 weeks.

Who eats more?

Brett, easily. Except I eat more icecream.

Who eats more sweets?

Me.

Who said I love you first?

I can’t remember!! Isn’t that awful? But I know we said it before we even kissed, so that had to be really soon, like a week or so since we started dating???

Who is taller?

Brett, by about two inches. I’ll be interested to see how tall our sons (and daughters) turn out.

Who sings better?

Neither of us is super-great, but we’re both okay. Every so often I can get Brett to sing a song with me while I play the piano. I love it. One thing I’ve always been really glad of, is that when I sing along to all the songs on the radio when we’re driving, Brett never ever says ‘can’t we just listen for awhile without you singing?’ like my brothers would say.

Who is smarter?

Umm, totally Brett. In pretty much every way imaginable. But I did get a better score on the ACTs, so maybe I’m smarter at test-taking. (And I'm smart enough to marry someone so smart!!!)

Interestingly enough, Brett never liked reading before he married me, but then I taught him to love it, and the other day when we were at the library, he came to find me and I was in the YA section (which is what I almost always read), and he said, “You’ve got to get out of the YA –read something a little more weighty.” I was like—So I teach you to read and now you’re being a book snob to me???

Who does the laundry?

Me mainly, but sometimes Brett will throw a load in of his dirty oily work clothes, or help me fold if we’re watching a movie.


Who cooks dinner?

Generally me, but if Brett does it always tastes DE-licious to me, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s a sensational cook, or it is just so wonderful to not have been the one to cook the meal.

Who does the dishes?

Me, but occasionally Brett. He definitely started out doing them more often, but has tapered off. Rudie.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

Me, but in all our years of marriage the alarm clock has been on my side of the bed, so he has to reach over me to turn it off, yet I never wake up. I’m a very good sleeper. :)

Who pays the bills?

Me.

Who mows the lawn?

Brett.

Who drives when you are together?

Oh Brett. Totally Brett. He thinks it is sinful, or at least very disturbing, to see a woman driving if there’s a man in the car too.

Who is more stubborn?

Hmm, my first reaction is to say Brett, but actually it may be me in some cases. Sometimes Brett says, “Fine, just do what you want because I know you’ll keep bothering me about it until you get your way.” What?!

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong?

Neither of us is very good at that.

Whose parents do you see the most?

Pretty equally uncommon these days.

Who kissed who first?

Ummm, I think it was a mutual thing.

Who proposed?

Brett.

Who is more sensitive?

Me. Brett has an issue with tact sometimes. Hee hee.

Who has more siblings?

Me, by 3 (he has 5, I have 8)

Who wears the pants in the family?

I would say Brett. But we are good about deciding things together—except cars, I have no say in cars.

And a few more things that I love about him.

`

He is never afraid of anything! Get married to a youngie--no prob. Have a baby while you're both still undergrads--easy. Go to grad school and have three more kids--sure. Pull out all the windows of your house and replace them--of course. He never thinks he can't do something. He's never afraid of responsibility and I am glad he is so confident because then I am too.

I love how whole-heartedly he gets into stuff, and the interest he has in so many things. I love when he compliments me, because it is ALWAYS sincere. He never says anything he doesn't mean. And it always makes me feel so good.

He is my bestest friend in the world and the person I very most like to spend time with.

I asked Jethro this morning what he loves about Daddy, and he said, "I love that he rides a motorcycle sometimes to school (so now you know how to gain a few points with Jethro--just ride a motorcycle). And I love that he plays with me and does stuff with me, and tells me so many things, and takes me to Scouts sometimes." And it's true--Brett really DOES tell him so much stuff--explaining anything and everything from cars and electricity to farming and I can't even tell you all the other things. And he plays with him sooo much! I LOVE that about Brett--he is such a good player with the kids! Board games and bull rides and playing outside.

Hazel says she loves that he goes to work so he can work so hard and then come back home. And she likes it when he scares her and plays games with her.

Furthermore, Brett is going to do a ridiculously super fabulous wonderful job on his prelim exam tomorrow! I LOVE YOU HONEY!

here comes another one...

This is Jethro leaving for school. He had to eat his sandwich on the way or he'd be late, and when Brett saw this picture, he was like "Does he always eat his lunch on the way?" and I had to say, "Well, umm, not always..." and then I tried to blame it on Jethro, because he never hustles when I tell him to hustle and get ready. But he's so cute anyway.

And here's cute little flower Ethne with such a funny expression. Sheesh that little squirt is so adorable.

And Hazel learned how to do a headstand. Sort of.
And here FINALLY is my photo collage in my front room. Sorry I didn't clear off the top of the piano before I took pictures. But that's the idea. Brett said, "Why did you get 90% finished doing your collage and then stop?" And of course there is no good answer to that except that I wanted him to help me (I'm very NOT independent) and so I didn't want to bug him during his stressful time and so yeah. It didn't get done until today when HE made us do it. :) That's why I love him..

Some things. First, I really like the dark, high contrast black-and-whites on the computer screen, but on the wall they are WAY too dark. If I was going to mess around with everything until it was perfect, I would lighten most of the black and whites up. And probably have more color ones, which is not what I expected. Secondly, we would have spread the whole thing out more, just made the whole thing bigger and wider by 10 or 15%. But that's what we learned by doing it in our "play house" first. I'm not going to change anthing right now because we'll (probably/hopefully) be moving somewhat soon and plus I have a new kid to add to the wall in about three months. Wow--that's coming right up, isn't it!

And of course, the empty oval. I really like having an oval frame in there, but I couldn't decide on a picture. Kami told me to do a wedding picture, which makes a lot of sense, but I don't like any of my wedding pictures enough to be a focal picture. So...now I'm trying to decide between just a big B, or a quote like 'Together is my favorite place'. Any thoughts, suggestions, votes?

I'm tired. Today I had a yard sale at my house, which went pretty well considering it was a freezing cold day, the likes of which we haven't seen forever-go figure, but still quite well. We got rid of some stuff to clear out of our house and made a little money to boot. I was proud of myself because after all my garage-saleing I knew the things NOT to do. And it was pretty fun too, because I got to just sit for most of the time and chat with my friend and mock what people bought (hey, just because we sell something doesn't mean we'd buy it).

And that's all for now because I have to go cut Brett's hair.

Hazel in Gap dress

Sheesh--what an ordeal it was to get these pictures up. They were going to be on the same post as the last one, but I was having issues--I think blogger's been on the fritz today.

So, I went to Once Upon a Child (it's gotta be my favorite store--I spend so much money there) the other day to get some summer stuff for the kids because I had a coupon, and I saw this dress. I loved it, but it was 3T, so Hazel's basically out of it, and Ethne won't fit into it for awhile, so I didn't buy it. But I thought about it again and again, so I finally decided to buy it and I went back and I couldn't find it! !!!!! I was completely bummed, and wandered about desolately. That's the problem with a used kids clothing store--if you don't nab something up the minute you see it, it can be gone forever (which is what happened to a Cinderella dress-up dress I was going to buy Hazel for her birthday. Oh well, I guess she'll never know.) Anyway, but THEN I looked through the rack one last time, very thoroughly, and I found it! I was very happy--an oh-so-cute Gap dress for around 5 dollars. :)

And just look how beautiful Hazel is in it. She put it on and I did her hair, and then I was going out to vacuum the car, but I said, "I just want to take a few quick pictures of you," and she moaned of course, but it was soooo perfect because it clouded over while we took the pictures, and I almost thought it might rain and I wouldn't vacuum the car after all, but pretty much as soon as I put the camera away, the sun came out again. How fortuitous was that?

We also went to the park this morning, and when I took Ethne out of the car and she saw the big playground, she was so excited she could hardly stand it. It was so cute, her face could barely contain her smile and she waved her arms in spasms of joy (and the worms curled and uncurled in spasms of joy--name that book anyone). It's a park we haven't been to for a long time that's very bright and big and colorful. She also liked the geese that we watched on the water for awhile.

Oh, and I had my ultrasound yesterday, but I'm not going to post a picture because I think everybody's seen ultrasound pictures and they just look like aliens anyway. (Or is it because I'm becoming a lame old mother of four? Did I just say mother of four? Oh my gosh.) Anyway, I did not find out the gender, even though I very badly wanted to, because Brett did not want to (and I know you're not supposed to end your sentences with a preposition but I'm going to anyway). And he was having a very very crummy day and called me right before I left to tell me how frustrated he was, so I decided to give in to his wishes. I asked the technician if she did see whether it was a boy or a girl, and she said, "Oh yeah, for about ten seconds." Which at first made me think, it must be a boy, since they're usually much more positive about boys, but then I figured, well, if it was a clear shot and she saw it for ten seconds then it could have almost as easily been a girl. So...back where I started. :)

This was her "growly" face. Ha ha!

Springtime

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Dude--there was an earthquake early this morning--5:00ish or something, and Brett woke up and he said to me, "I think this is an earthquake," and me, being an idiot, even though the house was SHAKING was like, "Maybe it's just the wind rattling" cause I was thinking, we don't have earthquakes here...we're not on a fault line. Well, it turns out, there WAS an earthquake!!! The epicenter was in Illinois, and it was a 5.2 or something like that. BIZARRE!!!!! What a strange feeling.

I finally feel Spring-y!

I know it's been warmer now for a while, but I finally feel really and truly springy! I bought Hazel a new pink shirt (sheesh that girl is so cute in pink!) and we broke out the shorts. Yesterday was a beautiful kite flying day, so Jethro, with the help of his wonderful dad, took his shark kite out for a fly, or swim, however you look at it. I love seeing kids play. It is so good feeling.

Then today, I washed the car (I know it's supposed likely to rain tomorrow, but the birds had pooped all over it)...okay, so I started washing the car, and then Brett came out and finished--but still, I had very good intentions.

And, I'm very excited to report that I planted peas today!! Woohoo--that is so exciting! And I did that all by myself too, no help from Brett. (A little help from Jethro though, who had to make sure that we didn't chop any of the worms we uncovered with our shovels.) Hopefully our peas will do a little better this year than in the past, but I've never planted them quite this early, so here's hoping. Nothing better than a tasty snack of peas straight from the shell. (Except maybe a tomato straight from the vine or a cob of corn...)

And lastly, but certainly not leastly, :) , it's warm enough to stick my kids in cute outfits, like these ADORABLE swimming suits that I LOVE LOVE LOVE sent from my wonderful sister Amy, which match the hat I already had, and take many pictures. Aren't you excited. :)

I love her skinny legs! They're so teeny! And her feet are still like baby feet--not toddler feet!

What an ADORABLE girl!!!

Mmm, delish!

Hazel was too whiny about being cold so I only got one good picture. But it WAS good.

Happy Spring! (Sorry to those of you in Utah or Canada where it's snowing. If it's any consolation it will probably be rainy and gray here for several days now that we've had our few nice ones.)

Comic

This is the comic I mentioned in my last post. (You might have to click on it to read it.)
Anyway, funny in a comic, but oh so very very very very VERY not fun in real life. Oh well, it's all good now.