A VERY Quick Inspiring Trip

I spent a total of 44 hours in my homeland of So. Cal this past weekend and it was fantastic!!! 44 hours ended up being enough time to:

1. Be rejuvenated by the PERFECT weather
2. Get some vitamin D rays from the sunshine
3. Run 7 miles through my old neighborhood, elementary school, and park where I played softball
4. Eat In N Out and Taqueria with Brynn
5. Play some old school Mario Brothers on Nintendo with a hilarious 3 year old (Dallin)- or should I say "Mapio"
6. See and spend all too quick time with 5 of my very best friends
7. Attempt surprising Adriane at her baby shower (turns out she was on to me)
8. Hold THREE one month old babies
9. Play with two other little guys who I adore <3 Heart for my Fisher
10. Attend Church
11. Be treated by the voo-doo magic of Matt
12. Oh...and eat some very squishy brownies right out of the oven...YUM!


The adorable, happy Adriane with her Dr. Seuss basket!!! Gettin' ready for baby Jude!



Eating in the perfect weather at the shower with some of the best long-time buds, great day! (Wendy, Holly, me, Bre, Michelle)



Plus Brynn and Adriane=perfection!



Too bad I'm a goof with the mango, otherwise this could be cute...



Holly's perfect sweet twin boys! Caeden and Brysen :) They're so tiny and I love them- so happy for her!



Brynn and Caeden



Brysen



OH, excuse Holly's poor engorged chest, ha ha- well, that's what they're for folks! Women have utters. She's amazing...



Cute Aubs! She's Brynn's little gem, and the hilarious Dallin wouldn't pose for a picture!



Quick visit with Sari



My favorite little Schmoopies!!! Fish and Ty



The newest of the Schmoopie family, Alex



Sweet Carrie has her hands full with three little ones, but they are such an adorable family and she amazes me!

Welcome Home Elder Cody Jordan!!!

Cody came home after a grand two years in Paraguay on Thursday!!! Pam went and picked him up and spent a week in the humidity and sunshine. They came home to snow, of course. Loads of the rest of us played hooky and went to the airport...it was awesome! I'm so happy to see him! We are leaving for Rexberg today for Leslies babys' blessing so I don't have much time, but I want to post these pictures! Also, we went to the hospital after the airport to see poor, cute, brave Nate who had to have a second brain surgery and we're praying they got all the cancer out!!!!!!

The Old Fashioned Way...

Ah, cell phones...
So, I consider myself pretty un-reliant upon my cell phone.
And, in fact, it has turned out to be pretty true.
I much prefer the old fashioned way of communication...you know, face to face?
And if that's not possible, I will actually make a telephone CALL much more happily than a text message or facebook message, etc... Imagine that... speaking with someone using the voice; being able to hear the sound of precious laughter...
Anyway, that's slightly off topic. The point is that my cell phone became possessed by demons about three weeks ago. The slow decay went something like this:
1. Ear piece stops working, can only hear people by putting them on speaker phone
2. All letters and numbers on the screen are all of a sudden backwards...BACKWARDS! LoL
3. Screen color fades, picture of D-World castle on wallpaper fading in and out
4. Complete screen white out, can't see a thing
5. A full day of thinking it's the end for poor Mr. Phone of three years
6. A discovery! I can still place a call if I put it on speaker phone and dial a number I have memorized...hmmm...a number I have memorized...in creeps the reliance.

Numbers I have memorized and on speed dial: my parents house, my mom's cell, Pam, Kevin, Jamie, Lisa....
So, guess who I've talked to on the phone for the last two weeks? Yep, the above mentioned and nobody else. Text messages? Forget it! The new phone I ordered is supposed to be mailed to my parents house, but was apparently on back-order, and hasn't been shipped yet. Goodie.

Until then, I have enjoyed a few experiences of "calling on" friends the old old fashioned way. I just SHOW UP! ha ha! It's great! On Saturday morning I woke up my friend Brittany at 10a.m. after being let into her apartment, then knocking on her bedroom door. She barely emerged from her dark basement bed chamber to open the door. SURPRISE!
On Tuesday afternoon I went running up Provo Canyon and on my way home decided I wanted to stop at my friend Tiff's since it's on the way...so , I just went and knocked on the door. SURPRISE!
It's pretty fun, actually.
But to those of you who live farther from me, who maybe would have enjoyed a phone call or something in the past few weeks, I'm sorry! I love you!

11 year old boys...

I'm actually an expert. I know them and I know the well. Some people have other talents, but unfortunately one of mine is the mastery of the 11 year old boy. I can read their minds, anticipate their every move, and know exactly what they will love to do or hate.I have complete control over them, like puppets. Obviously they have different personalities and some are more mature or more kind than others, but many things are constant across the board. I actually love the 11 year old boy, they're hilarious. I would prefer to be with one at a time, instead of 17 in one room. I thought I would share just one tiny moment of my life being surrounded by these creatures...

This week for writing we made "How to..." pamphlets. The activity started a couple days ago with me making a PB&J sandwich in front of them, following their instructions exactly...which led to a ripped hole in the sandwich bag, a stabbed slit in the top of the PB jar lid, etc. Not because that is what they wanted me to do, but because I was trying to make a point about giving detailed instructions. "Stick the knife in the peanut butter" is what they got if that is what they said to do next. Anyway, (this is something the 11 year old boy LOVES, by the way) the assignment was then to write exact instructions for how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That led to the next assignment of choosing something they were an expert at and making a pamphlet of directions for How to....whatever. How to french braid, how to brush your teeth, how to put in a contact, how to paint your nails, etc. The typical 11 year old boy moment I want to share is to do with How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich...

Taylor chose that for his pamphlet. Today we shared the finished products in front of the whole class. Because I know them all so well, I knew exactly what would happen when Taylor got up to share his pamphlet. Colored nicely, fun pictures and title on the front, great diagrams inside and some instructions. I was actually excited for the laughter that I knew would roar when he got to step 5.

Step 5: Cut the cheese

I had prepared for the insane laughter from the boys, the tears from Taylor's eyes as he laughed-realizing for the first time the double meaning in his Step 5 , MY laughter at them, and of course...the fart sounds from the boys mouths throughout the classroom. What I didn't prepare for was the LENGTH of this laughter and the inability to move on...until I was forced to get pretty stern...lol This is my life folks. This is my sad sad life.

Boob Jobs

What the? Seriously...WHAT THE!? I encountered at least 6 of them at the gym yesterday. They're usually sporting a really tight low cut workout midriff. Some are the type that are literally only there to show their boobs-they take laps around the gym, mainly walking through the heavy male populated areas, occasionally picking up a hand weight.

I live in "happy valley" Mormon land and I'm pretty sure that most of these woman aren't actually happy unless they have perfect perky boobs, a very slender waist, and are dressed to the nines. Did you know that in a study of all the major cities of the United States, Salt Lake City was number TWO behind Hollywood for plastic/body altering surgeries???

I'm just putting it out there that I don't get it. I guess I'm mostly disappointed in society (what's new?). Why on earth are we concerned with breast size? I mean, mine are small...so, oh well...I got the short stick in the gene pool. The saddest thing is that I'm brainwashed sometimes into actually caring. Those weak moments usually come after a guy I'm interested in goes for a skinny girl with huge boobs, who may or may not have a cute face or a desirable personality. Thank Heaven I truly do know that there are existing males who at least try very hard to think more with their brains and hearts than other parts.

Disclaimer:
a. I'm 100% aware that there are many wonderful, amazing women who just happen to be thin and were blessed with large breasts. I'm friends with some.
b. I also realize that there are circumstances that cause real contemplation for breast augmentation. I'm related to one.

The Only Thing that Seperates Us From the Homeless...a Shower

Whilst trying to come up with a real great plan for New Years Eve in Cali, Robbie and I were searching the internet and saw an ad for the Rose Parade. The ROSE PARADE! That's it! I've been several times with my family when I was younger and I always liked it, but we would just get up at about 5 a.m. and head to Pasadena where we had seats that my Grandpa used to purchase through the Elks Club...good times.
Both of my parents are from Pasadena and at times, earlier in history, lived so close to the parade route that they could walk down in the morning and catch a pretty good view of the floats. So, you know, Rose Parade nostalgia lives in the family.
I somehow talked Robbie and Jessica into heading down there at 1:30 a.m. with jackets, blankets, games, chairs, and pillows to camp out a prime spot. Wow...in our excitement, I don't think we realized how long 6 hours is when it is the middle of the night, real cold, and the only thing between your body and sidewalk is a thin blanket. Good thing Carrie lent me ALL of her jackets, thanks Schmoop! I had on 6 layers.
This was the real low point...about 5 a.m.

Jess did better with the sleeping than we did...

It was happy once the daylight came and especially when the parade started! I did fall asleep in my chair for a little bit of it though! I was finally warm enough and exhausted. Here are a few floats that I loved:

Silly String War of the Century

A few days after Christmas I headed out for a road trip to my home, So. Cal. Robbie came with me and my friend Jess drove down from Sacramento. We were on our way to a California EFY BC Disneyland reunion, and in the meantime I got to see my best friends down there! It was perfect! We spent New Years Eve with the big ol' Miller clan, family of my best pal Carrie. Midnight was a blast! Check out the mess!