Just a couple of stories.....

I haven't had much time to blog lately. I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats.....

But here's a couple of things:

KYLE:

Kyle HATES losing his teeth. And I mean seriously can't stand it! He is pretty much terrified of this event in his life. He has lost 5 teeth so far, and every one of them has been very tramatic experiences. A few days ago, he told me he had a lose tooth. "Oh, no" I thought to myself. "Here we go again."

He said he was scared to go to school because..... "What if it falls out?" I checked it and determined it wasn't lose enough to fall out. After all, in the past, he has held on to his lose teeth like they were worth millions. And you would never find him wiggling it. No, NEVER!

So he went to school and just like I predicted, he came home with his tooth still intact. He went to bed and I figured it would come out sooner or later. I was trying to prepare myself for the tears and fears that were sure to come. But honestly, I wasn't prepared for what happened next.

The next morning, he woke up and told me that his tooth was gone. "What? Are you sure?" And guess what, it was gone. What's going on here? I wanted to thank the tooth fairy personally for going above and beyond the call of duty. What did he do? Sneak in and pull it out for me so I wouldn't have to endure the task myself? It was very exciting.

But really, how did that happen? I can't quite wrap my brain around it, but I wish it would happen EVERY TIME! I remember I lost a tooth at school once during lunch and I guess I swallowed it, because it was nowhere to be found. And a big hole was left in its absence. (But this story isn't about me, is it?)

At any rate, yippee for not having to pull the tooth of my petrified youngster!! YEA for the toothfairy! I think I'll write him something special and leave it under MY pillow.

Kyle in all his glory, and one less tooth (which now takes the total to 6 teeth lost)

And now ERIC:

This week at Eric's school was Spirit Week. Don't you totally remember that week when you were in Jr. High? Well, Eric was totally into it. And thanks to a family in our ward, he had something wonderful to wear for "80's Day." Here's a pic of him.

Totally hot in his leather jacket and shades.

And let's not forget the tie-dyed t-shirt!

He looked really good. Another day, he borrowed crutches from our neighbor to give his support for "injured day." It was fun to see him excited about it. And it even stirred up a few memories of my own from jr. high. The good ol' days......

Valentine Surprise!

For Valentines this year, my husband gave me a great surprise! A couple of my kids told me the day before Valentines that Dad got me a great present. I asked them if it was a "big" present....Brandon got a weird look on his face. Then I corrected myself and said, "expensive." Brandon didn't think so. That's good because I didn't have a "big" present for him....plus all finances in the household go through me.....poor Todd!

Anyways, on Saturday morning, Todd asked me if I wanted my present now. DUH! Of course! So he handed me........an envelope. I must admit that a little part of me was disappointed at first, because while I absolutely LOVE a note as a gift----don't get me wrong----I was still looking forward to a surprise. Todd doesn't give many surprises, so I was pretty excited. (sorry, honey, but it's true). :)

But then I opened the envelope and began reading. Here is what it said:

Happy Valentine's Day!

As Valentine's Day was approaching this year,

I pondered what gift I could give you, my dear.

I surfed high and low on every web site,

And I scoured the stores for something just right.

Some people like flowers and candy as gifts,

But those trinkets often perish too swift.

Some go for jewelry--a cherished possession,

Too bad we're in a financial recession.

Some prefer silky, lace underwear,

But you'd just protest "It's too cold out there!"

And there was the clue for the perfect prize,

On a TV commercial that caught my eyes.

Our bed is piled high with blankets galore,

So I'm sure that you won't mind adding one more.

Of course, not just any old throw rug would do,

But a blanket with sleeves! Can it be true?

Now, some folks feel that the Snuggie's quite cheesy,

But knowing you well, the decision was easy.

So now when you're wrapped up all cozy and snug,

I hope that you'll give your dear husband a hug!

Isn't that sweet.....and hilarious! I was so excited. Just the night before we were all watching a movie together as a family and the commercial came on for a Snuggie. And I said, "I need one of those." Brandon and Todd looked at each other and snickered......of course, I didn't catch it at the time......

Anyways, I LOVE my snuggie! I don't know why I'm freezing all the time, but this is a very good solution. So thanks honey. You're totally awesome!

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment: me and my snuggie!

Doing Sudoku---my real passion

Posing for the picture.

I tell you....I could do a commercial for this thing!

P.S. Now if I can just keep it away from my kids......they want it! (but it's MINE). :)

HELP!

Does anyone know WHY my smiley face and my blog list is now at the BOTTOM of my blog? What button did I push?

I hate computers......

If you have any insights, please do share!

A sweet "heart"--attack!

Last night we had a very unexpected, but pleasant surprise! The Young Women in our ward gave us a "heart"--attack. They taped many, many paper hearts on our front door, window, mailbox, tree, and even hung a few from our Christmas lights (which have not been taken down yet).

It was so sweet! My husband was actually in the living room at the time, which is very unusual all by itself, because he's typically not home on Wednesday's, but by some strange twist of events, he was......(Yippee--and that's another story for another day). Anyway, he heard noises from outside and became a little alarmed at first, since we have had several break-ins in our area lately. But as he peeked outside, he noticed several of the young women taping hearts all over the front of our house. It was all very exciting!!

I couldn't have decorated it better myself. On the hearts (of many colors and sizes) were written several messages. Some of them included:

The BEST You!
Wow!
Love ya!
LOVE
Yay!
Thank you!
Bishop Jones
Bishop is the best!

and our personal favorite......


Love shack, baby, love shack! (hilarious)

And even though not one heart said anything about ME (hee, hee), I'm still feeling very loved at the moment. (But you know girls....I helped make him what he is today, right? HA!--just kidding)

At any rate, it made our whole day. Thank you Young Women!! You guys are wonderful!

Our front door....

There were actually more hearts on the other side of the mailbox, but I didn't notice them until I had already taken the picture.....

Most of it....

Sweet and Tender Blessings!!

The Orange Bucket

If you drive by my house, you will see an orange bucket next to our driveway. I'll bet some of you are wondering why it is there......here is MY side of the story.

A couple of years ago, my husband noticed suspicious tire tracks on the far end of our front lawn, next to our driveway and he inquired to me about such tracks. I, of course, had no idea how they were getting there. I told him it wasn't me.

My husband didn't like it. He kept asking me: Why don't we have grass there in that corner? Why do I see tire tracks? Are you sure your turning wide enough so that you don't run over the grass? We have very little grass there now.

"I don't know." I would respond. Surely, it couldn't be me. I am a very good driver.

So this brings me to the orange bucket. He started putting it out last winter, when he suspiciously noticed the lack of grass and tire tracks (where the grass should be). I guess this was to deter any unsuspecting driver who drove into our driveway from running over the non-existing grass spot, because if he did, he would inevitably HIT the bucket!

At first, I was a little annoyed. "I'm telling you, it's not me." (Of course, there are only 2 drivers in our household and since he swears it's not him, it MUST be me, right?) I even suggested that maybe it was my mom, who visits on occasion. However, that didn't always match up with the suspicious tire tracks. They didn't coincide and weren't always consistent. (Sorry, Mom.....I didn't want to take the whole blame). :)

After a while I got used to the orange bucket and learned to really turn wide when entering our driveway, so in a little while, the bucket got removed. YEA! See, I told you it wasn't me.
About a month ago, I noticed the orange bucket was back in our front yard. "What?" At this point it didn't bother me anymore. It was actually kind-of funny and it's sort-of a joke between us now. And of course, up til this time, I have still remained steadfast in my swearing that it's not me.

The other day, I was backing out of my driveway and all of the sudden, I hit something from behind! "What WAS that?" And when I examined the back tire, I realized that I had knocked down the bucket!!! OOPS! Which of course, landed me right in the middle of the "non-grassy" spot. Shoot!

In my defense, I still don't belive that I was running over the corner while I was entering the driveway. But it has come to my attention, that possibly I was running over it while EXITING the driveway. Darn it! I hate it when Todd is right! :)

So I've now accepted the fact that we have an orange bucket sitting on the corner of our front lawn. I have admitted my mistakes and tried to learn from them.

The other day, Todd said to me:

"If we had a cone, I would use that."

Thanks, honey! I think I'll stick to the orange bucket. A cone really would tip people off, don't you think? For now, they might just think we keep forgetting to bring it in.....

Unfortunately, that's not really the case....

Here is the orange bucket....

The suspicious tire tracks....


A little better view of the whole thing.....