Egg Hunt

Bountiful City held there annual Easter Egg Hunt a week early this year so we took the kids over to the kiddie carnival and egg hunt at the park. Not the biggest shin-dig ever, but it was nice to get out and spend some time together as a family.

Our Future

"A health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a Pres. who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, to be overseen by a surgeon general who's obese, financed by a country that's broke. What could possibly go wrong?"

-a quote taken from Sherstin's facebook page

Turkey Day!

Around Thanksgiving time turkeys were on sale for pretty cheap (odd, I know), so we bought one and stuck it in our freezer thinking it would be fun to make our own turkey dinner sometime.

Well that time arrived this weekend. And oh, what a disaster that turned out to be.

First of all, if you have never trussed a turkey before (or even baked one period -- as was the case with us) I strongly suggest you don't start with a 21-pound heifer (aka, giant turkey in Melinda language) that you can hardly pick up.

The eHow video clearly stated numerous times that looping it around as demonstrated would hold everything tightly together, let's just say it did not work, despite Corbin's best coaching efforts. "Mom, it says go around where the neck was and over the legs." For some reason he was fascinated with the whole process and watched the instructional video over and over again. After loosing my stuffing a million times, I gave up on the proper two-surgeon-knot truss and simply started tying random appendages together with numerous double knots.

However, before we were even able to tie the darn thing up though, we first had to clean it. If you know me AT ALL... enough said.

Then we decided to prepare a brine turkey (Caleb's family tradition) and soak it in salt water over night. So we filled up the cooler and took our giant, raw turkey and proceeded to ease it into the water. And by we, I clearly mean Caleb alone, as I stood back offering oh so helpful management advice.

Somehow the bird's wing popped out and was caught on the edge of the cooler and since holding the slippery 21-pound beast was starting to get difficult for Caleb, I increased the volume and frequency of my helpful tidbits (because naturally I was not about to touch that thing anymore than necessary).

Apparently my verbal management skills were not enough, because next thing we knew, the dumb turkey slipped and cannonballed into the water, splashing gallons of putrid, nasty water all over (including Caleb's mouth, which was in the processes of telling me to come grab the wing before it was too late).

We nearly died laughing... what on earth possessed us to ever think this was going to be a fun idea? I believe we will continue to be guests at Thanksgiving dinner, contributing our harmless side dish for as long as we can manage.

Despite our complete lack of know-how and inability to follow the easy instructions clearly stated on the world wide web, we did end up with a pretty nice looking, and more importantly, yummy tasting bird -- that was most definitely NOT worth all the effort :)

Plant Update

Right after we learned about seeds and plants, Corbin had the exact same lesson in Sunbeams and planted something.  He couldn't remember what the teacher said it was, I suppose we'll have fun watching and guessing along the way.  So far it appears to be some sort of bean.  I suggested this to Corbin to see if it sparked a memory, but all he did was get excited and start telling everyone about his bean stalk he is growing in a cup.  I am pretty sure he is going to be in for a disappointment when it doesn't reach the clouds and yield a magic harp or golden eggs.

Our vegetable starts have been doing very well. Everything sprouted pretty quickly. Corbin and I have been measuring their growth each week (so twice now, but still), watering them and moving them all around the house each morning, noon and night (much to Caleb's delight, but living in a dungeon basement condo you do what you have to in order to get any sunlight on them).

Then, as you can see, last night I accidently dropped a stack of cups on them and crushed half of our poor little plants. It was quite sad. I replanted new seeds in them and we'll try it again, but now they might be too late to get going in time, I guess we'll find out.

A New Chapter

Corbin LOVES to read. He will sit there for hours and ask you to read him book after book after book. So today I decided to test his attention span and start him on a chapter book (which is also more interesting for me than reading The Cat in the Hat 5 times in a row).


So I found a copy of Charlotte's Web on our bookshelf and we cuddled up on the bed, thinking he might be able to sit through a chapter a day or so. 40 minutes later we had read a fifth of the book and I was the one who finally suggested we take a break. He won't sit still long enough to eat a meal or color a picture, but he'll sit quietly forever if you are reading a book. Go figure.

Garden Party

Today Corbin learned about seeds. Then we went outside and planted starts for our vegetable garden.




Let's just say it will be a miracle if any of those little seeds actually grow after all the "care" they were shown today :)

Birthday Party for 1st Makelle

That's right she got a cell phone and a car for her first birthday... and people thinks she's spoiled! Clearly they don't know what they are talking about. However, we could be in trouble when she actually turns 16.

Big Trouble Makelle

We were planning on celebrating Makelle's birthday tomorrow, so we have saved all of her gifts, keeping them hidden in our room all week. Tonight we were working in the kitchen while the kids were playing... or so we thought.

They had been oddly quiet for awhile (definitely means trouble) so Caleb went to check on them. Corbin was playing happily in the living room, but Makelle had mysteriously disappeared. Our bedroom door doesn't quite latch correctly so if you push hard against it, it will usually open, even if you don't turn the handle. So we round the corner and this is how we find Makelle:


I guess we no longer have to wonder whether she will be able to figure out how to open the door and climb in on her own, or if she will like her birthday present. Little stinker :)

The Last Snow Day (Hopefully :)

Forward

One of Caleb's clients at work forwarded this email to him. He gets multiple forwards a day from people believing to poses anecdotes and and humorous short stories worthy of sharing with every individual they ever vaguely recalling interacting with, but this one was actually entertaining enough to catch my attention: (Note: he does actually appreciate getting little quips to help break up his day, I am just saying.)

In England, a 98 year old woman wrote this to her bank. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the Times.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre- recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.

My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, I will issue your employee with PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact.)
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 8.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client
XXXXXX XXXXXXX

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Since Caleb is working late, we are going to wait and celebrate Makelle's birthday on Sunday with cake and presents. But since it is her first official birthday today, I wanted to do something for her.

So, during her nap today Corbin helped me decorate the house and we have been loving her to death all day long!


(You know how when you type a banner on the computer it displays the second page below the first, rather than next to it? Well I could have sworn I was writing "Happy 1st Birthday Makelle!!" It wasn't until I hung it up and my 3-year-old read it "Happy Birthday 1st Makelle!!" and I went to correct him, that I realized he was right and the sign is out of order and makes no sense... sad, huh? Anyway it's the thought that counts, or so I am telling myself, and luckily she can't read yet, so I think I'm okay :)


It has been a crazy fast year!!

She already signs a whole ton of words and says a couple of little things.

Her first word was definitely "Mama" shortly followed by "Dada" a few months ago.

She can point out where her hair and nose are.

She loves to dance and wiggle her little body.

She loves taking baths and climbing up on the bathroom step stool (Although she technically isn't allowed to... scary dangerous!)

She also enjoys playing on the stairs (lucky us)!

She likes books, but refuses to let you hold them while reading to her.

She has started to walk more than she crawls.

She eats nearly anything... a welcomed relief after attempting to feed Corbin for the past 3 years!

She likes accessories. She always takes Daddy's watch and tries to put it on, or wraps ribbons around her head, pulls her socks off, plays with her shoelaces, etc.

She idolizes Corbin, and loves to wrestle with him and poke him.

She only has three teeth (two up until last week).

Whenever she hears the front door open she starts squealing and kicking her feet to get down and then she bolts for the door to get a hug from Daddy.

She has this little doll that she squeezes with her neck and shoulder when you tell her to hug the baby.

She LOVES cell phones. I can't even answer my phone when I am holding her, because she will immediately start screeching for her turn, until you give in and hand it to her.

She is a super happy baby, but when she does bonk and get hurt she does that thing where they scream so long and hard that no sound is coming out... only she does it so long that she briefly passes out (for like a 1/2 a second) and it scares me to death.

She is pretty good at listening and obeying... she is most frequently reprimanded to "sit down on your bum, please" and "no, no in your mouth please."

She loves it when the whole family is together and she bounces from person to person smiling.

Everytime she hears the word "prayer" she folds her arms. (And keeps them that way for about 2.5 seconds :)

She is definitely loved and adored by all of us, and I can't imagine our family without her! We love you Makelle!