I Believe In The Ice Age

(Frozen tidal waves)


And I believe that it will happen again. It was -1 degrees in Provo this morning...BRR!!!

Flu Vaccination

BYU has been offering free H1N1 Flu virus vaccinations to students, faculty, and their dependents. I don't like shots and I'm a little afraid of medicine, particularly injections (cross-contamination, them giving me the wrong thing and I die, etc) so I was pretty proud of myself for taking this initiative. It was free, so I figured, why not?

I was in line, mentally preparing myself for getting a shot when the EMT guy told me they were going to be giving me the nasal spray vaccination and that I should go get in the "mist" line.

Huh?

I'd never even heard of a nasal vaccination! Needless to say, it was a WEIRD experience. The boy's expression in the above picture pretty much sums up my reaction.

12 days until I come home for Christmas! Yay!

I've Been Meaning to Post This Forever...

Halloween: Ninja Turtle Style

It's amazing what a little creativity and a 5$ budget for halloween can do. I teamed up with 3 of my friends and we were Ninja Turtles! We had to call our guy friends and ask what the names, colors, and weapons of the turtles were, because none of us knew, but it turned out pretty well! We even watched the movie to study their movements and behaviors, and we took copious notes. Just kidding about that last one. But we did watch the movie.

Wait...for real?

Last year I blogged about how our family is given a name each year for giving Christmas gifts. I mentioned how for the last 4 YEARS I've gotten boys - Dan, Adam, Nathan, Aaron, and I might have even had Joel before that...anyways, this year I was determined to get a girl. (You'd think the odds would be better for getting a girl in our family, but we just keep getting brother-in laws!) So. I talked with Dad.

Melinda: "Hey Dad, I've gotten the guys in our family for the last 4 years, so even though Greg's new to the fam this Christmas I don't have him, right?"

Dad: (looks in planner...pauses...pulls pen out of pocket) "Oh...I guess I'd better change that then!"

What?! Seriously? Again? Not that I don't wanna give a you a present, Greg, but what are the odds! Anyways...I still don't know who my person is but I am almost 100% positive that it's a girl. Then again, there's always that lurking possibility...

This is CRAZY!!!

Maybe they forgot to do the haka?

I can't think of any other reason why we lost our game today. SO sad! It was our first game at home for the season, too. Oh well. The cougs will rise again. Go Cosmo!

It makes me so mad when people don't sing the fight song. Sure it's cheesy, but it's a tradition! We should include that in the honor code.

Funny(ish) story - today I was eating a sandwich in the cougareat (just you wait, it gets even BETTER) and I saw a bunch of Florida State University fans walk in all decked out in red and gold and ready to eat our mint brownies. Needless to say, I was a lil' miffed. But then a BYU student walked up to them, shook their hands, welcomed them to Provo, and thanked them for coming all the way out here to cheer on their team. I felt so guilty! They had come all the way from Florida and I wasn't making them feel welcome! What kind of impression was I giving of BYU? I don't want them walking away from our campus thinking we're a bunch of trash-talkers (which, by the way, we most definitely ARE) so the next group of FSU fans I saw I smiled at and waved and welcomed them to Provo. They got really happy and said I was the first person ALL DAY that had said that to them. Yeah, I'll bet I was.

Maybe the Cougs lost because I was nice to those FSU people, but whatever. I still felt awesome after I had done it.

GO COUGS!!!!!!

Strengthening the Family

As part of my Strengthening the Family class at BYU, I've created a blog to share weekly what I've learned. It's listed in my blog sidebar. Check it out!

I want one of these!

I











I saw these on a website and I am sorely tempted to buy one! I just can't decide which! I absolutely love the smallpox one, but I don't think I would be brave enough to wear it in public for fear of social retribution. Input, anyone?

Directions

Tonight Trina and Sarah were playing "Toy Store." They had quite a collection of play stuff set up nicely on shelves, with fake money for customers to use (they gave you the money for the purchases...my kind of store!) and cute lil' aprons. I visited several times. On one occasion I asked for directions to 6 flags and this is what ensued.

Sarah: "Take 1493 up to an intersection with 4 stops, and turn right. Two lefts, a right, another right, straight for a while and then up a curly-q road to the top. Then you're there!"

Trina: "Go southbound on 95, take 50 West until you come to the sign on the right. Easy!"

Umm...that was astoundingly legit for an 8-year-old, Trina! I half believed you!

Spencer's Bedtime Story

Tonight I am babysitting for the Wrides as the parents get away on a date to see "up." I told Spencer a bedtime story. When I finished, he told me he had one for me in return. "Okay, but it will have to be short, I have to...umm...do the dishes. (I did wash a couple bowls, to be fair Marie!) "It's just a lil' one." Said Spencer. What followed was a ninety second regurgitation of the same story I had just told him, with a couple interesting twists thrown in. Spencer's masterpiece, for your reading pleasure :)

"Once there was a little princess. She would go to sleep every night and every night she would just get really scared. But sometimes every night a great big big huge unicorn would come and then she wouldn't be afraid. And some friendly little mice would leave her three crowns every time on her shelf. The end."

I wish I had some friendly little mice to leave me some crowns on my shelf!

Trina Story

Tonight, watching old family videos. Trina sees on screen a much younger daddy.

Trina: "Whoa!! Dad's from the EIGHTIES!"

Melinda: "Isn't he handsome?"

Trina: : "Well, of course he is! If he wasn't, none of us would even be here!!!"

Umm....

Family Gifts

I've been thinking about the unique qualities and abilities of our individual family members. It strikes me that even though we're all from the same family, our gifts and talents are really quite diverse. I thought I would post some of the primary characteristics I see in each family member (in-laws too!). These are just a few specific ones, you are all kind, wonderful people and I love you!

Dad- Resilience, leadership, and loyalty- to his family, the gospel, his job, and scouts.

Mom- Intelligence, faith, and love for family- mom loves family gatherings where we just sit around and talk!

Aaron- Logic, responsibility, hard worker, family leader, fun brother, helps the family try new things

Katy- Enthusiasm for life, appreciation of beauty and diversity, generosity

Marie- Nurturing, deep sympathy, drive for excellence, compassion

Adam- Innovative, love for learning, hard worker

Danny- Caring, affectionate, willing to serve, great with his hands

Jenny- Reasoning and logic--great advice and amazing at games, spotting patterns, putting things together, etc. Loving mother, sister.

Nathan- Politeness and diplomacy, spontaneity, balancing fun with work

Celeste- Deep feeling, loyalty to friends, gift of example, hard work

Michelle- Passion, dedication, sense of justice, ambition, sensitivity and gentleness

Greg- Quiet courage, strength, authority.

Heather- Desire to do what's right, sweetness, tender-hearted, wit

Joel- Constructive, creative, great with kids, spiritual

Sarah- Smart, bubbly, energetic, lively, brave

Trina- Dramatic, observant, spunky, funny, affectionate.

Our family is great. :) Love you all!

Think Pink!!

Okay, I changed the template. This one is way cuter. Very girly, though. Sorry, Joel! Next month I'll choose the All-Star Sports one. Maybe. :)

Sunday Photoshoot

It was a beautiful sunday and we decided (as kids) to take some pictures. We miss you, Mom and Dad! We can't wait to see you! :)