2008 Bloggy Awards

Wow, It is time again for the first annual Bloggies.
There was some tough (not really) competition this year. We at the Blog/Ketchup Advisory Council thank all who participated.

The Bloggy for Greatest and best gratuitous use of regional dialect goes to....MYNAMEISANDREA for her use of y'all!

The Bloggy for Greatest and best tragedy involving a baby and an expensive phone goes to.....LAURIE for her harrowing and yet powerful tale of her iPhone's struggle to survive in a new moisture rich world!

The Bloggy for Greatest and best wait between posts goes to....TDOG for edging out timandclaudia by 3 days! No posts since September?! you two need to get with Parker and Blog it out.

The Bloggy for Greatest and best misleading blog title goes to.....Eric's May 1st blog!! Awesome title....not what I payed for :(  ......P.S. Eric Lost points this year for running a 10k but got 2 doses of Ketchup Council sympathy for the Pats Super Bowl loss and his trip to Disneyland.

The Bloggy for Greatest and best co-existence of man and beast goes to.........Jaxsensfamily for their portrayal of Lexi and Action Jaxsen becoming canine/human siblings. 

This is the big one-The Bloggy for Greatest and best blog of the year..........nowherefromnowhere!!!! It has all the things you look for in a blog and has the best widgets-you will know where the race is AND when the Cub's are on!!!

If you are reading this-you win honorable mention participant ribbon.

Some Christmas Pictures

PJ wasn't sure about Santa when she first saw him, but then she discovered that if you told Santa what you wanted he would give you a present.  That changed her mind. She kept walking up to him trying to tell him what she wanted. "Santa, baby. Santa, baby" Luckily, the gift he handed her had babies in it. She was very grateful and Santa knew because she kept walking up to him to say, "Tankdee Santa" over and over until he was no longer in sight.

Her presents were a hit this year. She has been playing with them non-stop. Especially the baby and the Barbie, with the Barbie bossing the baby around.
That's a baby from last year in the stroller. PJ hadn't opened up her new baby yet. The old baby was replaced immediately when she opened her up. It has been nice to have her so fully entertained.

Another new BABY!!

We have big news. You'd better run. We decided that we liked our little June bug so much we'd try our luck at number two. We just didn't expect it to get here so quick. Feast your eyes on PJ 2.0- 

We sent a company in Syria our specifications and a DNA sample and this is what we got. THIS is what it smells like when doves cry. In the unlikely event of a water landing, use your seat as a floatation device. 

Also, Merry Christmas. We had a good time and hope you did too. If I knew how, I would show you a picture of Istanbul Christmas. Instead, try humming 'Thriller' to your friends-you'll both be happy.

Looking? Found somebody you have.

Slightly used senate seat for sale-make offer.

I am trying to form a group of like minded folks. We had our first meeting and decided to call it quits. I hated those guys anyhow. People say to me-you remind me of.... and I think, '6,000,000,000 people? There was bound to be a few more.' What i tell them is to have that guy's mom call my mom to compare notes. Let's settle this thing once and for all-with fists and weapons. 

We have received all of PJ's gifts we ordered for her. I was happy to see that they were all made in China. Those people need the work-the last thing we need is for them to get bored and go looking for something to do. You know the saying "idle hands are the blah blah blah"? It is safe to keep those 2 billion hands busy-even if it means someone in the states has to work at Wal-Mart to sell it. 

We bought her a 'Wee-Welder' and have enrolled her in a vo-tec preschool. We decided that the we'd better hedge our bets and not count on our gene pool to produce an athlete.

Does President Obama get to drink from Geronimo's skull? Nope. 

 

Happy Holidays

We hope everyone is having a good holiday season so far.

Can you guess where we would like to be right now? We've been deprived of forms of frozen water. It will be nice when we get back to an ice rink and a ski hill.

We're So Proud

She's a natural. One more year and Rick can finally take her boarding!

MOMENTS THAT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY... LITERALLY!

It wasn't really stinky, but she saw Rick reading his book on the toilet, so she needed one too while she sat on her potty. I'm not very consistent with this potty training thing.

Little Kid Heaven

Rick and I were at home eating lunch when he decided that it would be awesome to get all of PJ's stuffed animals and dolls to see what she would do when she got home from daycare.  So, he arranged them ever so nicely and was anxious for her reaction the rest of the day.

She was in awe. Her jaw dropped when she walked through the front door.  She thought it was so cool that she walked over and picked up a Care Bear ending the excitement in all of 20 seconds. It was still fun for us, and we would do it again. Maybe when she can talk well enough to tell us what she thinks.

More Utah/Idaho Trip

This is when we first got to SLC. I had to change PJ's clothes because she threw up on them in the car. She did not want any food I offered on the airplane, but luckily she ate her chicken nuggets and french fries from Carl's Jr. That was not the only time she threw up. She also threw up in Carols car, which I think was the worst mess. Fortunately, I had a change of clothes and were only a few minutes from the office. The last time she threw up was on the plane flying into Germany. I kept trying to get her to eat something solid, but she only wanted milk. That was not fun because she just didn't understand the concept of the barf bag the first time, the second time was easier with the barf bag.  the people around us were so nice and helping me put all the yucky wipes and puke in other bags. And, since they were staying in Germany, they offered to run to the store to get saltines and soup. I think they felt bad because I too wanted to puke with all the bouncing and then staying in the air longer because we couldn't land. It did not smell good. PJ slept the rest of the way home and we also moved to a longer section of seats where we both could spread out and not be so confined.

Jaxsen rolled onto PJ and she did not like it. She was pushing him away with her leg and pulling her arm away. I was actually proud that she didn't hit him.  I don't know why she made a big deal because she liked tickling his toes.
She moved away as soon as she could.

She loves music. She sings all day long and has a pretty good idea how to play the Wii guitar. Rick wants to get her a drum set.

My grandma has always had the best jewelry to play in. There used to be tons, but everybody has claimed a little bit. PJ loved pulling open the drawers and pulling out something different each day we were there.  I can't blame her, it was one of my favorite things at Grandma's.

Trip to Utah/Idaho

Ben, Conner, and Easton. They are so cute and goofy.
PJ, Ella, and Bella.
Ben and Easton. They were inseperable that weekend and unbelievably well behaved.
The cute little girls trying on all of Ella's lip glosses. They were entertained quite a while with that.
The newlywed couple. Good Luck. We love you!

The girls primped and the boys goofed off. They were having a good time together. And, five minutes into it my camera battery died so I only got pictures of the little kids, and luckily one with Stephen and Audrey.

Commander in Chief

                                                                          

PICTURES FOR DAD

She can never just smile when you want her too, but she looked so cute!
Tsehay(?) and PJ dressed up as little ladies. T was not quite sure about Halloween until she started knocking on doors.
She did not want to keep her costume on, but she was so cute and said trick or treat and thank you to everyone. She ran so cute up to the doors. At this elderly ladies house, PJ walked all the way into the kitchen with her.
Val and Grease. I was cat.
WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU RICK/DADDY!

Dreaming BIG

Um, maybe in 20 years?
It's amazing how kids can make you laugh many times a day. I love it!

SHE'S AN ADDICT

What? She sees that I am mixing something brown and assumes it is chocolate.  She reaches for the cake while I'm trying to ice it.  I finish and give her the rest on the spatula.

Not enough? There was a good amount left on there. So, I figure she's already messy and scrape what is left in the bowl. 
She cleaned it pretty good, and still was not satisfied.  The girl loves chocolate! She will choose chocolate over any other candy. Guess what kind of cake she's getting this year.

Stuffed Turkey?

After our Sunday meeting at the Hilton we went out on their patio for some family momentos. This is a bridge built by the Romans that I think is at least a 1,000 years old. From what I understand, they just recently stopped driving over it. Although, I could be wrong about the age and the driving part. It wouldn't be the first time.
This is the big mosque is the area.  It is very beautiful and the grounds are amazing. This next week we will start seeing people traveling from Syria, Iran and Iraq to be able to visit this mosque. Buses and vans are jammed packed with people and the traffic is ridiculous. It is really cool to see.
PJ hanging out, and enjoying the cool air. It was below 90 degrees.

Tagged: College Memories

Thanks to Heather, this is the first time I have been tagged in a LONG time. So... here are a few of my college memories:

I went to school a total of 5 years. Mostly because I didn't know what I wanted to do, and partly because some of my classes and me did not mesh.

My first year, I realized that boys liked me and that my world did not revolve around basketball. I went to UVSC now UVU and have sat in the hall of flags where people watching is famous. And, oh did I people watch. I am still a good people watcher today.

Second year was more fun because I joined the world of Utah State Univ. Heather introduced me to a whole bunch of people so I wasn't completely lost.  I really enjoyed my roommates and my neighbors. The kidnapping by JP and Richie were good time, and the ice cream even better. During this year, I also realized that I could be a little more feminine and I stopped wearing hats less that  year and started doing  my hair more often. Let's face it I already knew I was pretty, but dang I really am gorgeous (this great confidence comes from my family, mainly my older sister)!

My third year was great too. I moved into a place where I didn't know anybody and I could care less about my roommates, but I think  it helped me come out of my shell some more.  I worked a lot, but managed to have great fun.  I was in a car with some neighbors one who tried to outrun the police, and when he decided to stop he said, "It's a Caprice, you understand". He  was just given a warning because he did make complete stops at the stop signs. Also, Liz and I had buns of steel from "Buns of Steel". It really works.

I loved my fourth year.  Again, I moved in with people I did not know and made great friends.  We did lots of fun stuff, but one of the things we did was have the best Halloween party in town.  It was awesome.  We had food room, dance room, and a scary movie room/ whatever. They tried to do the same thing the next year, and it just didn't hold a candle to it.

The last year, Melissa Rimmer and I moved into Yellow Brick on Darwin.  We had one of the best views because it sat on the top of the hill with no buildings to block us. 

I made great friends throughout the years, but those who I miss hanging out with the most are Liz, Melissa, Heather and Shae. Ah, good times. 

I don't tag anybody. I am usually horrible at it myself, but if you want to feel free.

JEAN GENES

Rolling a tongue and connected earlobes are two traits passed from one generation to the next.  Apparently a keen sense of fashion is a lesser known gene picked up and passed from one lucky parent to one even luckier daughter.  PJ may not know it yet, but she is the benefactor of such a wonderful trait.  It is hard to tell which side of the family she gets this from.
If it is any indication, Rick will take her to the grocery store like this.  We don't know if people are joking when they ask if she dressed herself.

We would like to blog more, but we finally get to watch a new episode of 30 Rock. Udy's out.

Hilarious or horrifying?

I laugh until my face hurts when I watch this.

It looks like he lost his car keys on her caboose.

5 REASONS TO LOVE TURKEY

Rick got to hang out with Curly Neal and his manager all day a couple weeks ago.  So in the spirit of them supporting us, we took a picture.  Curly was really cool. He remembered all the little kids names, and had some really good stories. For those of you who are trying to remember which one he is, he is the one that always wore gold chains and was on Scooby Doo. 

1. The kids are so polite. They always come and ask for money (not these kids, but most do) and then keep following you until you are driving away in your car.

2. The air is super clean. There are only a few ashes flying past you from burning garbage.

3. All sorts of creatures end up in your bed while you are sleeping. Roaches, crickets, spiders, geckos, etc.

4. Bombs.

5. There is no need to spend money on perfume or cologne because no matter what your odor will match the environment (the smell of burning something and sewage).

There are actually lots of cool things about Turkey. The food is really good and the people are more hospitable than most places. They would literally give you the shirt their back if you said you liked it. There are a lot of cool ruins, and the produce is delicious!

Olympic fever sweeps China; good news for SARS victims

Oh, China. Thanks. What good hosts you have been. Detained reporters report all is well. Turns out that all you have to do to cover up mass poverty, disastrous environmental policy and human rights abuse is host a massive two week sporting spectacle. You hear that Russia? 2014 will be here before you know it-make nice with China and maybe they'll meet you in Sochi to see if they can put together something real respectable like.  

I still love the olympic chicken soup for the soul stories. Like the one about David Oliver. Here is a man who overcame so many hurdles to win. 

Literally. 

Like ten of them. 

He won a bronze in the hurdles.

But, come on! I bet you can think of some metaphor to  throw in. Try some emotional hurdle or his socks were always too tight. I heard that at his first competition he lost because they replaced him with a more aesthetically pleasing competitor. Now those are some insurmountable odds! 

And this was the end of this post but since I mentioned sports, I am contractually obligated to mention Brett Favre.

Elmo Fanatic

Naturally, when you wear Elmo pajamas you have to have on the elmo backpack. She has not taken it off since putting in on. 3 hours and counting.

Just Because

We were getting ready for the beach and I thought she looked so cute and so prepared.  Although, you should see her when she's trying to pack everything around. The bags can get pretty big, and the outfits a little crazy. What can we say, she is our little bag lady!

Castle Feke and Kizkilesi (Castle by the Sea)

This is Feke Castle, which we discovered is very cool and the Turks don't even know where it is. When we asked if they heard of it, all of the responses were, "Where?" It was especially nice because there wasn't litter and spray paint all over the place. 

This is Rick standing on one of many levels. Most was filled with dirt. Compared to most of the castles around here, this one is very well preserved and who knows what artifacts lay hidden beneath all that dirt. Oh, and remember preservation in Turkey is not a priority at all! At least that is what it looks like.
These are just some more rooms.
Kizkilesi, or Castle by the Sea.  Welcome to the whitest people in the Mediterranean Sea. Also the ones with the most defined farmer tans. But, we did have the cutest baby there.

I'm not sure why they call this castle by the sea when it is clearly in the sea. Unless they were talking about all of the fallen walls around the beaches. It was very pretty.
PJ loved the water and the waves. She thought it was loads of fun as each wave hit, pulling her back a bit. She did not like the taste of salt water. Hmm, imagine that.

HOME

For those who don't know this is where we call home.  This is around the 4th of July and notice there is still snow in the mountains. It is so beautiful there and not a million degrees. And, I enjoy ALL the snowy months. Well, maybe just until March/April time and then it is time to warm up a little.

I will work on more pictures in the future. I gave up on trying to find our cord that connects to the charger and just bought new batteries so I can post.

Scary Little Monster!!

Okay, so she's not scary at all. It was hilarious watching her play with these Hulk hands. She was dancing and pumping her fists in the air. Then she would bang them together and they would make a noise.  She loved Christopher's (Udy) toys, and knew right where to go.

Extreme Makover: Child Edition

We just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She was so sad all the time and never smiled. We gave her all the treats she likes and let her play with any hat she wanted. We even tried fewer clothes in case she was feeling constricted.

We let her play in the water and, even let her have the hose.  No matter what we tried our little PJ still stayed sad.  Then one day we heard something outside...
It was Ty Pennington yelling too loudly into a mega phone, "HEEEY SAD FAMILY, WE'RE HERE TO GIVE PJ A MAKEOVER SO SHE CAN BE HAPPY!"
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO THE MAKEOVER PEOPLE WHO DID A WONDERFUL JOB WITH OUR LITTLE GIRL. SINCE HAVING HER MAKEOVER,  SHE NOW CAN DO THE THINGS SHE USE TO DO HAPPILY!
Her confidence has grown, and she wears bloomers and a cowgirl hat with pride. We are also so happy to say that Popsicles do not make her sad anymore.
She no longer sports a big poutty lip making her look so sad.  It's wonderful to see her play joyfully in the water again. Thank you Extreme Makeover: Child Edition. We couldn't have done it without you.