Signing off

Just letting you know that the next two entries are new. I had to get it all out of my system before I'm left without a computer. I'm sure I'll go stir crazy and find a way to someone elses computer. Anyway, wish us luck. By the way, moving companies are the best! I hope I can still say that as we are unpacking all our things, but it has been really nice so far. Thanks, Stanley! For those of you here in AZ, we hope to see you at Neil's party on the 10th. We'd love the opportunity to say goodbye to all of you. Call me for details, if you don't already know them. Everyone knows what a "roast" is, right? I'm sure most of you are just itching for the chance to get all your digs in at Neil. We're both looking forward to it.

Bearing fruit

Alright, I am so proud of these! They were planted 2 1/2 years ago when we moved in, and they are just now started to bear fruit. I guess that will be good for our new tenants. Unfortunately, I don't have any claim to these. I have the blackest of black thumbs ever! Neil did these all himself. If you can't tell what they are, first we have the apple tree, then the grape vines, and finally lemons. They look more like limes right now, but I'm still ecstatic to see them. The girls have been waiting for weeks to pick one, but I don't think any of them will be ripe in a day. Oh well. Hooray, Neil!!

Guitar Hero

Happy Birthday to Neil, slightly early. David totally splurged for Neil this year. Thanks, we really appreciate it. I don't know who loves this thing more, though. Whether it is Neil, or the girls (or possibly David). We've had to set it up over at Mike and Brenda's, since we are basically gone from our home. I know how happy Brenda is to have that lovely music blaring through her home at all hours of the night (sarcasm added). Abby is absolutely hilarious when she has her turn to play. You can see how she is totally rocking out to the song. I promise that Neil and I did no couching from the sidelines or presong. When she picked up the guitar she just starting jumping all over the room with guitar in hand. It is so funny to watch. Poor Isabel can't really pick it up and play at the same time, so she did better if it was on the ground.

Update

So, we have someone that wants our house, but wants it by May 1st. This means, we will be moving to Utah earlier than planned. We will miss those of you here, but are looking forward to seeing those of you up there more often.

Happy Birthday, Isabel!!

Alright, this is a bit overdue, but I still wanted to post it anyway. All of these pictures have been taken in the last week, so at least I can say that she has had fun. First is her birthday cake(s). I had to post two pictures because the next one is the "day after" cupcakes. For all you Gardner's out there, yes it was rainbow chip. Maybe next year I should just put frosting on a spoon and put candles in that. Then we have the orange juice. No, the juice did not all get into her mouth. It was a mess, but I still had to get a picture. Isabel also loves to take baths. This is a picture of her getting into the tub, and rubbing shampoo all over her body. Note to self, never leave bedroom door open!! You would think that I would learn by now. Actually, it isn't open all that often, but I guess when it is, it just means run in and make as big a mess as possible. The final picture is last nights bowling trip. Neil waited for Abby and I to use the restroom and her treated Isabel (or himself) to an arcade game. (P.S. anyone who does the collage pictures, I really want to know how to do it. Maybe you could put simple instructions in the comment box?) I have other great pictures, but will post them later. Isabel has gotten into her terrible stage, that seemed to come at the same time as her birthday. I have to capture all of those terrible times, so I can show her later on in life. And maybe when I'm a grandma, these times will seem as funny and cute to me as they do to other grandmas. Happy Birthday, Isabel!

Nigerian scemes

Does anyone else find it incredible that in Nigeria, and other west African countries, they have jobs for people just to scam Americans (and others) out of their money? When I worked for the bank, I found how often it really happened, and I also got sucked into a Dr. Phil program that had a special on that exact thing. (Yes, I went through a phase, okay!) Anyway, I was googling for houses up in UT, and I found a house within our price range, and checked it out. We've been looking for a while now, and are used to the fact that sellers try to hide the fact that they have townhomes. They are always trying to get a picture with a different angle, to make it look like a regular home. Back to where I was; This home was listed as a townhome, but the pictures looked spectacular. Like something that was completely out of our price range. They said that they wanted to lease it for two years while they went on a mission. I sent the guy an email, but made a point of not asking about the price. He responded almost immediately (another red flag) giving me this whole long story about why the price was so low (he wasn't in it for the money, and he wanted to give back since God had done so much for him), and what he was doing down in west Africa in the first place. He also told me that he didn't trust any realtor, so he would have to mail the keys up after the paperwork (I'm guessing he means money) went through. He told me he was a Reverend on a mission to serve God. I think he knew a little about mormons from UT and tried to play the part. Well, I don't think we go by Reverend anywhere, and I don't know too many 19 year old boys with a great house wanting someone to watch over it for them. I told Neil about it and he googled the address. Low and behold, this house was for sale, but on someone elses website, and of course with a much higher price. There was also another listing for another house, where they had the pictures stolen from another website. The telephone number was the same, but the name had changed. The program on Dr. Phil showed these people working at computers. It is like a regular 9-5 job for them. I feel bad for people that live there. Too bad the government, and anyone in power is so corrupt. I honestly would like to see how far this guy would have taken it. I know they continue to come up with incredible stories just so you will send them more money. Anyway, if ever you come across something that has to do with someone from west Africa STAY AWAY!! I understand that there are so many people down there that are in need of money, but the people that run these kind of institutions ruin it for those that really need it.

Seemingly everyones second choice

Okay, so something you may not know about me... I have tons of useless movie knowledge. I can usually pick out actors in several movies that they play in. I also often check out the imdb pages for different movies. Anyway, I just watched Enchanted with the girls today. It was cute, but I have a question. Does anyone remember James Marsden? Here is a small resume. Of course, Enchanted (Edward), X-men (Cyclops), Notebook (guy # 2 name I don't know); Superman (name also unknown by me). Am I the only one who notices that he usually plays the leading girls second choice. Man, wouldn't that stink to be continually cast as the one that is settled for? I'm sure he has been in other movies, but the only ones that I have seen are where he gets rejected. Sorry, I would have posted a pick, but I still have to learn how to work most of this computer stuff. Just found it funny and wanted to share.

Kite Flying in between sessions

Since I used a song title for my last blog, I was incredibly tempted to use

the song from Mary Poppins. Instead I have chosen to instill the song in each of your minds. Because, I know that everyone of you reading this post is now sing "Lets Go Fly a Kite" in their own heads. haha! So, it was really hard to get a shot with both the kite and the girls. I was hoping to get the kite for Isabel's birthday, but Isabel was the one to show the least interest. We had a hard time getting her Mickey Mouse up, and so she got bored. Abby's kite was great. It got up quickly and she managed to keep it up really well. Right now, Isabel loves Mickey Mouse. I had to mention Isabel's kite, because she loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse all the time (Of course this is in between watching Max and Ruby, that is still both of their favorites). The thing I find odd about Mickey, is her favorite character. We've all grown up Disney, so there are a lot of fun characters to choose from. Some like Mickey or Minnie, then there's Donald, Goofy, etc. Who chooses "Pete" as their favorite? Does anyone even know who Pete is? In all of the cartoons, he is usually the bad guy. Big guy, Goofy's friend, is supposed to resemble a cat? Isabel loves him. If he shows up on the tv, she jumps up and runs over to the tv yelling his name, "Pete, Pete"!! Too bad, I can't buy her a Pete doll. At least she's unique. In our house, we teach them early about nonconforming.

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

I'm breaking the monotony. I'm just glad Philip has something to talk about. Last night, Abby fell asleep with her sunglasses on. I know you can't really tell that her eyes are actually closed, but I can tell you that she was snoring. I have so many funny pictures of Abby sleeping. She just falls asleep in the most uncomfortable, yet funny, poses. Lisa, I will have to ask you how you did your photo collage, so I can show how funny it really is. Then again, she doesn't sleep sitting up like Whitney did. I have a question for all of you moms out there. Do your children have really vivid dreams and nightmares? Is this a common occurance? Abby is always crying and yelling out in her sleep, and will often wake up with tears in her eyes. I have no idea what she is dreaming about. I monitor what she watches on tv, but I still have no idea where she is getting these ideas from. Is there any way to stop the bad dreams, or at least alleviate them somewhat? Man, this is a boring post-but I don't care, I could use some input.

ABC Tag

Alright, Em, I'm taking you up on it. I don't really have anything to blog about, so this will be it.
A-Attached or single: attached
B- Best friend: my brother, my sisters, my mom, and Neil
C- Cake or pie: definately cake, preferably chocolate, german chocolate
D- Day of Choice: Friday, looking forward to weekends
E- Essential Item: burts bees chap stick
F- Favorite color: lavender or blue of all shades
G- Gummi bears or worms: worms as long as they are sour
H- Hometown: Pocatello
I- Indulgences: ding dongs
J- January or July: July for Idaho, January for Arizona
K- Kids: 2
L- Life is incomplete without: my family
M- Marriage date: March 15, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 4 sisters, 1 bro; 5 bros in law, 1 sis in law
O- Oranges or apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: tight spaces
Q- Quotes: You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find that you've a lot of empty yesterdays
R- Reason to smile: sincere belly laughs of a child
S- Season: fall (I miss it)
T- Tag six: I don't know too many bloggers that haven't already done this. Neil, Sonya, Phil, and Alli. I will also challenge Mom and Tia to start one up
U- Unknown fact about me: I will sometimes eat Muddy Buddies for breakfast
V- Vegetarian or Meat eater: Meat
W- Worst habit: pulling split ends
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y- Your favorite food: Anything that is not good for my body.
Z- Zippers or Zebras: I guess I have seen and touched more zippers in my lifetime,