Ugly Sweater Party

Our friends held an Ugly Sweater Party. We coordinated well, but didn't win the prize. Eric is wearing a classic Tyrolia Ski Sweater from 1987, and Lydia is wearing a roomy Goodwill mohair number circa 1991. Total cash outlay here was under $10...

My kids WISH they had a "County Fair" mom!

Eric, he's a Disneyland Dad all the way. From the nightly game of "Attack Dad" to signing permission slips allowing our 12 year old to go on overnight choir trips that cost $500.


As for me, I'm not even fun enough to be a "County Fair" mom. I'm more like a "Sacrament Meeting" mom or a "Fabric Store" mom. Both not fun places for kids to go.

My favorite child

Husband Tag

I don't get the tag thing either.  I don't think I was tagged.  Can I still play?  Can I tag myself?  I'm going to say yes to the above, because I want to let you all know about my awesome husband, Eric.

1.  Where did you meet?  BYU.  On a blind date.  Set up by his brother and my roommate (who are now my brother and sister-in-law.  Thanks John and Tina!)

2.  How long did you date before getting married?  5 months.

3.  How long have you been married?  14 years in March.  Egads.

4.  What is your favorite feature of his?  It has to be his large stature, which makes me feel petite.  

5.  What is your favorite quality of his?  Mentally, he has the strength of will and determination to keep going until the job is done.  Which is what makes him so successful.  Spiritually, I love that he never judges others.  He always gives people the benefit of the doubt and encourages and loves unconditionally.

6.  What is his nickname for you?  Either "Lyd" or "Babe" which he probably picked up (jokingly at first) from being around Brandon so much.

7.  What is his favorite color?  I'm going to guess blue, since he has about 12 of the exact same shirt in various shades of blue.  Which look great with his eyes.

8.  What is his favorite food?  Sushi.  Or steak.

9.  What is his favorite sport?  Football.  BYU football.  Unless you start counting individual sports, and then we have many winners.  Wakeboarding, snowboarding, guns (is that a sport?  He never actually shoots anything but targets.)  Oh yeah, and off-roading.  

10.  When was your first kiss?  About 2 hours into our first date.

11.  What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?  Go eat sushi and talk.  

12.  Do you have children?  4

13.  Does your husband have a hidden talent?  He used to color my hair for me when we were first married and poor.  And he did a really good job!

14.  How old is he?  36

15.  Who said "I Love You" first?  He wrote it on my hand in Chinese!

16.  What is his favorite type of music?  He really likes everything.  Except Opera.  He says it makes him feel like he's being beaten.  And showtunes.

17.  What do admire the most about him?  I have to say, his work ethic.  He never stops.  No matter how unpleasant the job is.  He recently finished pressure-washing and sealing the driveway before he would go to the ER for the 3rd degree burn on his hand.  And he gets poison ivy EVERY TIME he goes and helps with and Eagle Scout project.  But he goes and helps anyway.  And once he cleaned up the mouse guts from under a friend's kitchen sink, since she was pregnant.  When he worked at Ace Hardware as a teenager, he would go fix old ladys' plumbing for free.  

18.  Will he read this?  I think he's been waiting with baited breath!

I tag Marie!

Who is Edward?

I keep hearing everyone talk about this guy Edward, and I have no idea who he is. Like EVERYONE. Talking about how they're "going to see Edward tonight" or how they were "first in line to see Edward." Teenagers. Moms. Grandmas. But no guys. I'm really confused. Did I miss something?

WHAT THE ......?????

Okay, I was cracking up so hard at this one. Talk about waste of money, time, natural resources. This is hilarious (and rather sad).

from Unclutterer

I came across this article in the Wall Street Journal which I found very insightful on how we are raising our kids.

Nestled in the Lap of Luxury

In the zone

I saw this picture the other day, and it just cracked me up. He doesn't do it anymore (thank goodness) except when he thinks I'm not looking

Back from Cali

We had a great time in Northern California last week! We started off the trip with a 6 hour flight to San Jose, where Tiff picked us up from the airport. We dropped the kids off at her house, and then met up with a bunch of other girlfriends for lunch. We then drove kids around, picking up Tiff's kids from school and taking my kids to play with friends, etc. We had dinner with our awesome across-the-street neighbor, Debbie, and her kids Marcus, Mia, and Matteo (who are all way too tall). Eric flew in that evening (he was on a business trip) and picked up our rental car and drove down. We stayed the night with Brandon and Tiff, then headed to the beach Thursday morning.

The beach was awesome! This is the perfect time of year for the beach in Northern California, really warm and mild. My kids had an absolute blast playing in the sand with Mercedes, Beau, and Reef.

We then headed back to Tiff and Brandon's for a barbecue which she had coordinated with all of our amazing Hollister friends. It was so fun to see everyone and pick up right where we had left off last summer at Trinity. Thanks, Tiff, for heading that up! You are the ultimate Activities Committee Chairperson!

Erin got to see her friend from down the street, Harleen, and I was so glad to get to see Harleen's mom, Paramjit, when I went to pick her up.

Well, this all made for a very late night driving up to Clayton where Eric's mom and dad live. The kid's all slept on the floor so they could play with their cousins in the morning, and Eric and I stayed at a hotel (it was a pretty full house, with John and Tina and their 5, and Dean and Andrea and their 3, plus our 4)

The next morning (Friday) we decided to take the kids to the beach because John and Tina's kids had never been. So we packed all 20 of us into 3 cars and drove the nearly 2 hours back to the beach we had been to the day before. There are beaches closer, but they are nearly always very cold, windy, and the waves are too big. The kids had so much fun burying each other in the sand and looking for seashells, but we only stayed for about 2 hours because we had to fight our way through traffic to get back for the family dinner that night.

The dinner was really fun. It was at a Mexican restaurant in Pleasant Hill called La Tapatia, the food was really good, and it was really fun to meet Justine's family.

The next day (Saturday) was hectic and crazy, running around making last minute preparations for the wedding, but we still managed to have a barbecue at the park and let the kids play.

The wedding was wonderful! Very simple and beautiful, and to the point! Justine looked so beautiful in her dress, and Paul looked so happy. What a perfect pair they make! Oh yeah, and Lucy (the dog) was quite lovely in her floral wreath!

The reception was across the street at Skipolini's Pizza, the perfect place! It was outdoors, there is a playground for the kids to play on, and the food was amazing, as usual! I LOVED catching up with Eric's Aunt MaryLou, Aunt Anne and Uncle Bob, and his cousins Angela and her 3 boys, and John and his wife Ginger and their 2 boys. (Jack Ellis and Jack Ritchie really hit it off, too!)

We went back to Mary and Jim's for a bit and then headed over to Paul and Justine's to see their new place. Now, normally, I wouldn't crash the honeymoon, but there were about 30 other people already there. That's where the after-reception party was being held.:) What a great investment they have made in their home! It's on a 1/2 acre, with a pool and mature trees, the floor plan is great, and it's in a fabulous neighborhood. Mary's favorite house that she's ever lived in is just down a few streets. They lived there when John and Eric were little, before they moved to Grand Junction.

We headed back to the hotel that night (with the kids this time) and woke up bright and early to head to the airport. Eric dropped us off, he had another business trip, and we flew home. It was pretty uneventful, and the kids were great the entire trip.

We are truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful family, and to have so many awesome friends! We miss and love you all so much!

Youth Conference

Eric and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Youth Conference with our stake, and it was incredible. We went to Kirtland, where we saw the Whitney store with the school of the prophets above, and then drove on to Geneva that night. The next day we visited the Hill Cumorah, where we watched the new movie about Joseph Smith which was amazing. The Spirit was so thick in there you could cut it with a knife. We saw the Grandin Press, where the Book of Mormon was first published. We visited the Smith farm, and then that evening we walked out to the Sacred Grove and had the most amazing testimony meeting. On Saturday we drove back to Kirtland and saw the temple there, where we sang a verse of "The Spirit of God" which was also a very spiritual experience. We stopped at the Johnson Farm where Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered before coming home. It was incredible to feel the spirit testifying over and over, with one experience on top of another. It was a great experience for the kids, too.

Trinity 2004

Well, the whole gang is headed to Trinity sooner this year rather than later. We're not going this time because, well, because of last year. Maybe I'll tell that story sometime for those of you who haven't heard it. For those of you who don't know, Trinity is a lake in Northern California where my husband had vacationed with his family throughout his teenage years. About 4 years ago, we started going with our friends from Hollister, and then the next year, we moved. But the tradition has stuck.

Here are my all-time favorite Trinity pictures:

We were trying to load up the gear, so J was getting ignored, but he seems to be content, wouldn't you say?

The dirt just comes with the territory at Trinity, and believe it or not, this was my absolutely favorite year camping there.

My kids are sad beyond belief that we're not going. It's no wonder why, when one is allowed to run around half naked and loll about in the red dirt while picking all the M&M's out of the snack mix.

Have fun guys!

Congratulations!

On Saturday my nephew Bradford graduated from high school.  I am so lucky to live only two hours away, so I drove up for the day.  

Nobody came with me because, even though they all love my sister and her family, sitting through a 2 hour graduation where you only know one of the graduates can be a lot to ask of kids.

Besides, I wanted to go to the temple.

I got to fiddle around with my camera and my zoom lens, which was mostly confusing because I know less about cameras than I do about most things.  Which isn't very much.

Isn't he a handsome young man?

And he was quite a cute little guy, too.  I got to babysit him sometimes when I was in college just an hour away from the university my brother-in-law was going to.

They brought him to my dorm once, which made me the most popular girl in Nielson Hall for about 4 hours.

One summer day, I decided to take him with me as I walked my bike down to the gas station to air up the tires.  I didn't know at the time that 2 year olds have to stop and look at every car tire, caterpillar, sprinkler nozzle, leaf and crack in the sidewalk that they see.  It was a long walk, and he was so tired by the end that I had to carry him while walking my bike.

Being the oldest grandchild, he got a lot of attention.  Once, in the mall, he was watching the guy at Sbarro throw the pizza dough in the air, and was so charming that he was given a free soda.  This gave my brother Bruce an idea for scoring himself a free pair of high tops at Foot Locker.

Speaking of cute, this is his 3 year old brother, Owen.

My sister has 7 boys.  No girls.  SEVEN boys.  That's a lot of merit badges.

My sister does great, though.  They are all really, really, nice kids.  And very smart, too.

And Owen's not the youngest.  This is Patrick being held by Donovan.  Donovan is great with kids.

Oh yeah, and Patrick isn't the youngest either.  At least not for long.  The new baby is coming at the end of June, just 6 weeks or so before Bradford leaves for college.  

Oh, and guess what sex the new baby is?

You could be right.

But, nope.  It's a girl!

J's a little punk with a potty mouth. That boy's world is gonna get rocked. I'm puttin' the smackdown on him soon. I just need to work up the nerve.

Tiff

I was looking through the little photo album that my friends in CA gave me when I moved away, and there were all these cute pictures of our kids and they were SO LITTLE! There was one of you and I, Tiff, but it wasn't very flattering of either of us, but it made me happy, so I found another, more flattering, happy picture to post.

I also found one of both of us looking like whales in white T-shirts, you having just had a baby, Tiff, and thus well-endowed, and me with a huge belly and fat face, being nine months pregnant. I promise never to put that one on my blog, unless

you don't call me for like three weeks, and then I might, just to see if you'll ever speak to me again.

I especially like the flourescent green gum in our mouths in this picture.

Tiff took me to get my first pedicure. I was pregnant and fat and feeling ugly, and she dropped by and picked me up. She treated me, as I remember. The cute little Vietnamese lady who was scraping all the nasty calluses off of my feet asked if I wanted the hot oil massage, and I said no thanks, but Tiff insisted, and I was too shy to say "NO! I don't want the stinkin' hot oil massage!"

I have very sensitive calves and forearms. My roommate Allison, who used me as her guinea pig all the time in beauty school, had me come in to get a manicure, and part of the deal is getting your forearms massaged. I just about went through the roof. It tickled, it hurt, it made me CRAZY!

My shins and calves are the same way. Just leave them alone.

Tiff thought I was being polite, not wanting to spend the extra $5 of her money, but really, why would I want to pay an extra $5 to get tortured?

It's all I can do to not kick the gal in the face when she's scrubbing the bottoms of my toes with that pumice stone.

Ah, what I wouldn't give to have a pedicure right now! My heels are so cracked and dry that I wore a hole in my sheet last week. I used to blame it on Eric when that happened, but this time it was my side of the bed.

I miss you, girl.

Have you ever been sitting there in church and thought, "Wow, those kid's sure are being good! I guess the new sticker book I bought them is doing the trick!"

Deep thought by Lydia Ellis

You may or may not know that when I run in the mornings, I listen to conference talks on my Ipod. Today I listened to "Remember, Remember" by Pres. Eyring from last fall, and his talks always really, really teach me something I need to know. He talked about writing down each day the way the Lord has touched our lives.

I had one of those hectic, crazy days yesterday, you know the kind where you run around like a crazy person and end up accomplishing precisely nothing. Those days always make me grumpy. As I was leaving Costco, the guy at the door checked my receipt (I think they all know me by sight, I'm there like twice a week) and asked me how I was. I said, "Well, I'm at Costco at 8:30 with 2 kids, what does that tell you?" And then he started singing "Count your blessings, name them one by one..." Okay, I was way humbled.

I'm grateful for my awesome kids, for their health and their cute individual spirits. I'm grateful for my incredible husband who doesn't bat an eye when I didn't make dinner or do the dishes for two days. Right then, I felt grateful that the Lord put this silly man at the door to check my receipt and my reality.

My New Accidental Calling

So, we moved to this ward a little over a year ago, and in that time, I have never heard much in the way of food storage. Around November, I started really feeling strongly that it was time to get serious about our family's food storage. In asking around, I found out that a)nobody had been called to be the food storage person in our ward, or b)two names were mentioned, but no one was sure if that was the food storage person, c) our stake owns a mylar bag sealer, but d)when my friend tried to find it, she called 20 different people, and finally gave up when #20 told her to call #1 again.

So, needless to say, if I was going to buy long term storage for my family, it was going to be left entirely up to me. I did what anyone would do, I called my big sister and asked her for help. She lives in Columbus, and I figured she would know how it was done "in the mission field". She told me that a lady in her stake puts together a giant group order from a place in Idaho called Walton Feed, but they had just received their order for the year. So, I called Walton Feed, and they referred me to another group in Dayton (about 1 1/2 hours from here) and I was welcomed into their club, so to speak. I invited my Gourmet Divas friends (recipe group) and some of them ordered with me. I also had a few other people add on through word of mouth.

A short time later, I was called to be on the Activities Committee. A few weeks ago, the bishop asked our committee chair to put food storage under her banner, and I volunteered to take that over for the ward. (It gets me out of other activities responsibilities.) A member of the bishopric said to me today that they were glad to find someone with a passion for food storage, and I explained to him that I would NEVER say I was passionate about it, only that there are many things I would rather watch than my children starving. I'm glad to do it if no one else wants to, and I think there are many people in our ward who want to get their food storage, but like me, don't know how or where to start. I will learn so much by doing this, and that part does make me a bit excited. I also feel very peaceful, knowing that our family is on it's way to being a little more self-sufficient.

Moab Boy's Trip Slideshow

Here is a slideshow from the boys trip to Moab. They had a blast playing in the dirt and exploring Grand Junction and Moab. C and J got their first exposure to white-water rafting. The river was running high and water temperature was 42 degrees. J caught one wave full in the face and decided early spring rafting was not for him.

The boys also got to shoot pistols for the first time, and J got a bottle from 15 yards. Not bad for a 5 year old. The biggest hits of the trip were the hotel swimming pools and Taco Bell.

Single mom, with only 2 kids

Eric took the boys out to Grand Junction, Colorado and Moab, Utah for the weekend. He's getting together with some college friends for some jeeping fun, and his dad is meeting him there. I'm so excited to do girl things with E and A! It is very quiet around here tonight.

Single mom

I got a little spoiled in Utah. Eric didn't have to travel much, so I had him home evenings and weekends. We also had easy-ish callings, so church didn't take away from family time, either. Since we've moved to Ohio, the travel has steadily increased, until it reached its peak this month, with Eric being home about 5 nights in the last three weeks. He got home from New York or Dallas or somewhere on Wednesday night, and then left on Thursday afternoon to go to a handgun training camp in Las Vegas with his dad and brothers. He gets home from that in the wee hours Tuesday morning and then goes to work later in the morning when he wakes up. I really miss him! It's been a little hectic trying to get everyone to where they need to be, to have Family Home Evening, make everybody do their chores, etc.

But it's not all bad. I did take a 4 hour nap today without any interruptions or guilt. I woke up to a major crazy mess, but since dad wasn't coming home, there was no urgency to have it cleaned up or dinner on the table at a certain time. That is kind of nice, to not have a schedule to stick to. We eat out a lot, too, when he's gone. It's nice to be able to let the laundry or dishes pile up so that I can finish a project, knowing that I can get it all put away the day he comes home.

I miss him terribly, and since I don't sleep well when he's gone, I guess I needed that nap today.

Caribbean Cruise 2008

Can't sleep, might as well blog!

I must have gotten enough sleep on Monday to last me the rest of the week.  I laid there for almost an hour, thinking of all sorts of clever things to blog about.  Sometimes I snoop on stranger's blogs (is that okay? I'm not up on blogging etiquette.)  Actually, they're friends of friends of friends, and some of them are quite interesting.  I wish I knew them for real.  I steal ideas of what to blog about.  I'm going to start with my little Cracker Jack, born a little over 5 years ago, and a pretty rad kid if I must say so myself.  I'll need some baby pictures for that, hmm, where are they?  I'm too tired to look tonight.  

Sick...again!

It started with Annie on Friday, and then my tummy started hurting late Sunday night. (No doubt, too much ham.) Erin was also sick yesterday. I just stayed in my bed all day and slept, too achy to get up. Luckily, Eric had the day off for Easter, so he was home to take care of all of us. I feel much better today, but still quite tired.

Yesterday was J's birthday. I can't believe my baby is already 5 years old. He went with C and Eric to play lasertag in the morning, and then the six of us had cake and ice cream. Next year he'll get his first party with friends (even years only at our house).

First time blogger!

Kelly told me how awesome blogging is, and I figured it would be a good way to keep all of our friends and family up to date on our hum-drum lives here in Ohio. This is my first really lame post, I'll get this thing up and going and invite you all to join me.

It is raining here today, yesterday was gorgeous and I almost believed for a little while that spring was finally here. We'll probably get one more snowstorm, on Easter Sunday, of course.