William is learning new words at an exponential rate. He is at that stage where he just echoes whatever I say. Just as an example, today I was driving to Target (love that store!) and I was talking to William. Here is the dialogue:
Mommy: We need to go to Target and get some jeans for Marie
William: Ree-ree
Mommy: Why is it that whenever I need an article of clothing for Marie I can't find it?
William: C'find i
Mommy: It is so weird.
William: Weed.
Mommy: You're funny.
William: oh, hahahahahaha (and he starts laughing)
One of his favorite things is to point out objects that he knows the names for and we echo. This became kind of interesting the other day.
William: Phone.
Mommy: Yes, phone.
William: Cah.
Mommy: That's a car.
William: Baby.
Mommy: Yep.
William: Baby, c-ying (he has trouble with the sound "r")
Mommy: Yes, baby is crying.
William: Pants.
Mommy: Pants.
William: Shit.
Mommy: What did you just say?! (And that is when I realize that he really does have trouble with the sound "r") Oh, right. Yes, that is a shirt.
And then there are the words that he hears us say that we don't even realize that he is learning (and no, the swear word above was not one of those). Apparently, Brandon and I call each other "Honey," alot, because Brandon was at WalMart with William and when they got to the cashier:
Cashier: Hello
William: Hewwo, honey!
I love this age!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday Night Fun
Brandon's best friend, Davis, and his wife, Rebecca, haven't lived near us for most of our marriage. They have been living in Utah again, though, for a little while, so Brandon and I thought it was about time that we had them over to our house. William loves it when people come over, especially someone that will read to him. Well, he hit the jackpot this time. Rebecca made a great reading buddy for William, and he loved it so much that I think he had her read the same 2 books about a dozen times each. Once William went to bed we played a game of Five Crowns which I love even thought I always lose and Brandon always wins. We even had one round that we all got the cards we needed at the same time! It reminded us of a couple of years ago when we were playing Yahtzee and all four of us each rolled a Yahtzee consecutively. Man, we should go in together and buy lottery tickets. Anyway, thanks for coming over guys. It was nice to catch up a bit with two of our favorite people!
Proof of our incredible luck. I guess you'd only get this picture if you have played the game. Oh well.
No, William does not wear glasses, he just wanted to try Rebecca's on for size.Room Update!
William has more fun than he should playing with the blinds in his room. One day I went in there to find that he had been biting on them. Yes, I did say 'biting.' He actually tore one of the slats and there are bite marks on about 4 others. Luckily, we have extra slats to replace those with. However, we don't want too many blind repairing parties so we had to start keeping his blinds pulled up, which meant that lots of light came in his room both day and night (the street light is directly outside of our hosue), which meant that it was hard for him to sleep, which meant that it was time for Sewing 911! We needed curtains ASAP so that William could sleep in his room without putting his blinds at risk. Well, long story longer, I sewed curtains for William's room. I think they turned out cute, if I do say so myself. I will have to take a picture of them pulled close so that you can see my favorite feature better, the triangle tabs on top. Now with the curtains up I really want to paint. Any recommendations on color or colors?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Brother-Sister
Marie absolutely loves her big brother. Every time he is nearby she only has eyes for him. He thinks that it is great when he can get her to smile and he loves to walk up to her and say, "Hi, baby," in a sweet little sing-song voice. I will have to remind them of this when they are a bit older and all they do is fight.
Double Double Your Delightment!
Brandon ordered these lovely roses for me for Valentine's Day. They are gorgeous, aren't they? Anyway, he ordered them from proflowers.com. They send the flowers and the vase in a box and then the receiver is intended to arrange them. Well, when I received the box I opened it up to find two dozen gorgeous roses and a broken vase! I was so bummed because the vase was way cute. It was off-white ceramic with red and pink polka dots. So, I called the company to let them know and the customer service lady said that they would send out a replacement order and that I should throw away all the contents from the first order. Yeah right! Who in their right mind would throw away two dozen roses? Then the lady told me that the exact order was no longer available (darn it, I really wanted that vase) and gave me three choices of orders in the same price range. I chose tulips in a square vase. I have thoroughly enjoyed 2 fresh flower arrangements in my house. They are both beautiful and make me think that maybe spring will come after all AND most importantly, they remind me that Brandon loves me. Happy Double Valentine's Day to me!
P.S. I have decided that when I am rich I am going to have fresh flowers in my house all year. They are just so bright and cheery. In the meantime, I guess I might need become more domestic and start a flower garden. Yikes.
P.S. I have decided that when I am rich I am going to have fresh flowers in my house all year. They are just so bright and cheery. In the meantime, I guess I might need become more domestic and start a flower garden. Yikes.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
The majority of my posts are about my kids so I thought that Valentine's Day would be a perfect chance to give a bit of bandwidth space to my sweetheart, Brandon. Today is doubly special for us because it is our half-anniversary, or whatever you would call it. We were married 3 1/2 years ago today. So, in honor of this doubly special day, I thought I would share some of my favorite moments with him over the past 3 1/2 years. I love you with all of my heart, Brandon!
Just married! August 14, 2004. Los Angeles Temple.
Our first dance as a married couple. We danced to "Never Saw Blue Like That" by Shawn Colvin.
This was at a restaurant on our honeymoon. They had crayons at each table, so we took advantage of it. We are so cheesy. I love it.
January 2005. We built a rockin' fort outside our apartment in Aggie Village.
Good thing Brandon jumped into this picture, because I get the impression that Stephen wasn't ready for it anyway. Great face, Stephen.
Halloween 2005. We had a Birthing Class that night and our instructor told the class that if we didn't dress-up she would provide our costume. So we ran to WalMart and grabbed the hat, crown (which came with a wand, bonus!), and called it good.
Our second Christmas, 5 days before William was born. I love Christmas with my honey!
William Brandon makes his debut. December 30, 2005. Brandon was just glowing after William was born. He was such a proud daddy, and continues to be just that. I couldn't ask for a better father for my children.
My boys. Aren't they so cute?
Family photo. We took so many pictures before we finally got this one with William almost looking at the camera, thank goodness for digital cameras.
I was a very proud wife on this day. My honey became a college graduate. He worked so hard to finish his degree. Sometimes we wondered if this day would ever come, but it did!
Christmas 2006. Our first Christmas with my family and Brandon's first time making graham cracker houses AND William's first Christmas.
Brandon works so hard to take care of our new house. He is a great handy-man. Every once in a while, though, he has to get some advice from William. :)
Daddy holding his baby girl, Marie Noelle. October 12, 2007. This delivery was much harder for me, even though it was faster, because the epidural didn't work. I couldn't have done it without Brandon right by my side.
Our family. November 2007.
Just married! August 14, 2004. Los Angeles Temple.
Our first dance as a married couple. We danced to "Never Saw Blue Like That" by Shawn Colvin.
This was at a restaurant on our honeymoon. They had crayons at each table, so we took advantage of it. We are so cheesy. I love it.
January 2005. We built a rockin' fort outside our apartment in Aggie Village.
Good thing Brandon jumped into this picture, because I get the impression that Stephen wasn't ready for it anyway. Great face, Stephen.
Halloween 2005. We had a Birthing Class that night and our instructor told the class that if we didn't dress-up she would provide our costume. So we ran to WalMart and grabbed the hat, crown (which came with a wand, bonus!), and called it good.
Our second Christmas, 5 days before William was born. I love Christmas with my honey!
William Brandon makes his debut. December 30, 2005. Brandon was just glowing after William was born. He was such a proud daddy, and continues to be just that. I couldn't ask for a better father for my children.
My boys. Aren't they so cute?
Family photo. We took so many pictures before we finally got this one with William almost looking at the camera, thank goodness for digital cameras.
I was a very proud wife on this day. My honey became a college graduate. He worked so hard to finish his degree. Sometimes we wondered if this day would ever come, but it did!
Christmas 2006. Our first Christmas with my family and Brandon's first time making graham cracker houses AND William's first Christmas.
Brandon works so hard to take care of our new house. He is a great handy-man. Every once in a while, though, he has to get some advice from William. :)
Daddy holding his baby girl, Marie Noelle. October 12, 2007. This delivery was much harder for me, even though it was faster, because the epidural didn't work. I couldn't have done it without Brandon right by my side.
Our family. November 2007.Once I started picking pictures I realized that I could post hundreds! I have so many wonderful memories since Brandon has been in my life. I will spare all of you the mushiness, but I did want the world to know that I love my man! I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane as much as I did.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Can't Get Enough of You Baby !
Isn't she just a doll?! I love dressing my baby girl up. It is so much fun, especially since she is just so cute! And that smile, how does your heart not melt when you see that?
Fun With a Bucket
We did this activity for Family Home Evening on Monday Night. This activity comes from a book called Baby Days. I am not sure of the author and I am too lazy to run upstairs to check. So, the title is Baby Days. Anyways, it has tons of good ideas in it and they are especially for kids under 3. What a find! The pictures pretty much explain the activity. William, once again, loved it. It took him a little while to catch on, but as you can see from the video he did eventually figure it out. And as soon as he figured it out he was ready to be done, of course. Oh and guess what, I just noticed the book is in the picture! Zoom in and maybe you can see who the author is. :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Fun With Contact Paper
My older sister is a preschool teacher, so in January when I was experiencing cabin fever she gave me a few fun indoor activity ideas for William. I was so excited to try this one and finally had a chance to about a week ago. I taped a piece of contact paper, sticky side up, on the floor, then I gave William a tupperware full of yarn, feathers, pasta and marshmallows and let him explore. The first thing he did was try to walk on it. That was funny! It scared him when his foot stuck to the paper. After I dropped a couple of marshmallows on the paper, he figured out what he was supposed to do and had a blast! His favorite thing to do was drop the pasta on it. He thought it was cool that it wouldn't roll away. I didn't take any picture this, but when he had laid everything on the paper I folded it in half and sealed the edges so that we could save his masterpiece to show to daddy when he got home. Whenever William would walk past it in the kitchen he would say, "uh, uh, uck, uck." (translation: uh, uh, stuck stuck) Thanks Becca, for the great idea!
Oodles of Fun
Gas to drive from Clinton to Murray and back -- $10
One unlimited pass to Jungle Jim's Playland -- $8.75
Getting your 2-year-old out of the house in the middle of winter -- priceless
Friday, February 8, 2008
Celebrating His Life
Since President Hinckley has passed away it has been so special to hear so much about him and his life. It has been a chance to renew our commitment and love to our most beloved prophet. I am grateful that we have had this time to celebrate his life, while at the same time mourning his passing. These are a couple of my favorite tributes.
Prophetic Passing
I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.
I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.
I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."
I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.
I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward — there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.
Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008
Prophetic Passing
I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.
I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.
I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."
I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.
I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward — there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.
Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
X-Biking
This was me last night. They look like they are having fun. Looks can be deceiving. Today my behind is sore, my quads are sore, and my shoulders are sore. I think I will go back next week.
Friday, February 1, 2008
What I do when I should be doing pretty much anything else.
I saw this on a friend's blog. I learned a lot about her this way. I thought I would give it a try. Here's what you do. Post 100 facts about yourself. Easy enough, right? HA!
1. Reading is my number 1 hobby. I get it from my mom. On average, I will finish a book every 2-3 days, when I actually have time to go to the library, which hasn't been lately.
2. When I was working full-time, however, I hardly read any books. I just wrote lesson plans, all the time.
3. Brandon didn't even know how much I liked to read until this summer, when I stopped teaching. We had been married for 3 years by then. How did I go that long?!
4. Some people crave food, I crave books, especially as I am going to bed. Reading in bed is heaven.
5. I have been having some serious book cravings lately because, like I said, I haven't been to the library in a while.
6. Actually, I did go to the library 2 weeks ago and I forgot my card. Dang it.
7. I am going to the library tomorrow. I just decided.
8. I cannot stand to have clutter on my counters. They must be clear!
9. I have my entire house decorated, in my head. The real thing is on its way, I am just waiting to win the lottery.
10. I love to sew. There is just something therapeutic to me about taking a rectangle of fabric and turning it into something wonderful.
11. I have a rule about sewing. I am not allowed to start a new project until all previous projects are finished. My living rooms curtains are plaguing me right now. I have three panels done and one more to go, but my sewing stuff is in the basement and it is really cold down there right now.
12. I broke the above rule this December so that I could sew Marie's Christmas dress.
13. I have material and patterns for three more dresses for Marie that are waiting for the curtains to be done. It needs to warm up, dang it!
14. One day, I am going to publish a children's storybook.
15. One day, I am going to be the director of a children's choir.
16. One day, I am going to teach at a college or university.
17. I have my degree in Music Education, but have also taught math.
18. I am glad that my degree is in Music Education. I wasn't a very good math teacher.
19. I rock at teaching music, especially to kids. I always thought I wanted to teach in high school until I taught at the elementary school level. I am much better with that age. I love that age!
20. High school boys scared me in high school and they still scare me now.
21. Well, except for the fact that most of my friends in high school were boys, hmmmm, that's weird. OK, most high school boys scare me.
22. I love, love, love being a mommy. It is by far the most rewarding job I have ever had and also the hardest.
23. I used to think I wanted about 8 kids. Then I had 2. Now I only want 2. No, not really, but I know I don't want 8.
24. Brandon and I decided on the names William and Marie while we were on our honeymoon. By the time we were married for 6 months we had also chosen 2 more boys names and 1 more girl name. In all, we have 3 boy names and 2 girl names picked out (including William and Marie, of course)
25. If we have more than 2 girls, we are in trouble. We can't figure out a 3rd girl name that fits our criteria.
26. Our criteria is that both the first and middle name have to be family names.
27. Both of my older brothers had their first three kids in the same gender order boy-girl-girl. So far, we are also following that pattern. So that means we should have a girl next.
28. Although I know how hard it would be, I also think it would be really cool to have twins. Fraternal. A boy and a girl.
29. I have traveled to Italy, Russia, and Armenia.
30. I want to take Brandon to Italy one day.
31. In my next life I want to be a black woman, one that can sing. The Audra McDonald type. If you don't know who Audra McDonald is, you should.
32. In my third life I want to be a ballerina.
33. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't want a huge ol' house. Just one that is big enough for my family to feel comfortable in. Then I would use the money to travel with my family.
34. How cool would it be to, say, study about Michelangelo and then take the kids to Italy to see his work. Or learn about the Galapagos Island, in person?! Yeah, that would be cool.
35. When I grow up I want to be Julie Andrews.
36. ... and an interior decorator.
37. ... and a photographer.
38. ... and the world's most patient mom.
39. ... and Anne Shirley.
40. I loved research papers when I was in school. Learning new things is so much fun.
41. I wrote a research paper about L.M. Montgomery when I was in 9th grade. It was 70 pages long. L.M. Montgomery is the author of the Anne books.
42. I don't ever want to be famous. I like my privacy too much.
43. I rub my feet together when I am falling asleep.
44. Once I am asleep I twitch, or convulse, you choose the word. Brandon told me about this.
45. I play the piano, but not as well as I think I should.
46. Brandon catches me zoning out, staring off into space, at least once a day.
47. When we moved to our new house it was really bad. I was trying to plan my decorating scheme, so more often than not I could be seen wondering the house in a "decorating trance."
48. I played water polo in high school.
49. I taught swimming lessons for 6 summers. I was good at it. No, really, I was.
50. I am from California and never ate avocados until after I was married to Brandon and he helped me to realize how much I had been missing. Now we usually have one about once a week.
51. When I was about 8 I had the shingles. It is very rare for someone that young to get them. It is also rare for the skin to scar afterwards. I scarred. Bad. It goes halfway around my midsection and is webby looking. It's weird.
52. Speaking of scars, I also have one on my lower neckline. I refer to it as my "modesty scar". It wasn't from an injury or anything, it just grew.
53. I love to cook. When I grow up I want to be a chef.
54. On average I cook dinner 350.73 nights a year.
55. Hiking is one of my dormant hobbies. In my hiking prime, I hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite twice (but not in the same day).
56. Speaking of hiking, Brandon and I hiked Mt. Timpanogos when I was 4 months pregnant. There was a lot of snow, it was scary, but also some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.
57. When I was a junior in high school my family went to Zion National Park for spring break. Our second day there we got caught in a freak snow storm. After meeting Brandon six years later we discovered that Brandon was also at Zion with his family during that same freak snow storm.
58. Brandon and I got engaged 9 weeks after we met for the first time, 5 weeks after we started dating. I never thought that would be me. I used to think that was so crazy when I heard of other people doing that.
59. We were married 6 months after we met for the first time.
60. The summer we were engaged I worked with a guy from Sri Lanka. Maybe being engaged doesn't mean much there. At least, it didn't mean much to him. He asked me out several times.
61. Brandon and I spent 12 weeks apart before we got married. On our wedding day we had spent more time apart, since we had met, then together.
62. I love the beach, and not in a trendy kind of way. I really love the beach.
63. As a kid my family would go camping in Carpinteria and I would spend about 6 hours a day in the water.
64. A couple of summers ago Brandon and I were swimming in the ocean and a dolphin jumped out of the water behind me, about 4 feet away. It was Brandon's first time swimming in the ocean. His first thought was, "Shark!"
65. I lived in Cheyenne, WY until I was 10.
66. My birthday is May 18th, and there was still snow on the ground for most of my birthdays in Cheyenne.
67. I had a dream once that there was a blizzard in Simi Valley.
68. I shoveled snow for the first time ever, about two weeks ago.
69. My parents knew that I was going to marry Brandon when they heard that he had come to our house and "secretly" ( I was watching) shoveled our sidewalks.
70. I am really good at remembering numbers, like phone numbers and such. But don't ask me what my junior high school locker combination is. I don't remember that.
71. On our first date Brandon took me to play racquetball with his friend Jeff. Jeff is a bodybuilder. Jeff scared me to death. To make matter worse, I had never played racquetball before. Romantic, eh?
72. Jeff doesn't scare me anymore.
73. I HATE Wendy's spoons. They are too deep. You can't clear the spoon unless you turn it upside down. Annoying!
74. I don't do basketball. I always foul out. Water polo has much more "foul-less" physical contact than basketball.
75. I only like to watch sports on TV when its post-season playoffs and someone I know is rooting for one of the teams. ie. My brother is a Broncos fan. The only Super Bowls I have ever watched were when the Broncos played.
76. I grew out my bangs in 7th grade and have never looked back.
77. I hate breastfeeding. I only do it cuz formula is stinkin' expensive.
78. The La Leche League sucks. HA!
79. The irony, when my sister Sara was a baby my mom had to have a long talk with me about why I couldn't breastfeed her.
80. I talk to my Mom, on average, at least once a day. I love cell phones and mobile to mobile minutes.
81. There is nothing better than a freshly picked California strawberry. I can never buy them from the store. It just isn't the same.
82. I am a world class burper and have been known to win burping contests against guys.
83. I am afraid of big dogs jumping through my windows at night.
84. ...or scary men...
85. I can't go outside alone at night. Scary men and big dogs and crickets . . . oh my!
86. I can't believe I still have 14 more to go.
87. When I work out I love to listen to musicals. Nothing like a little Broadway to raise the heart rate.
88. I ran my first and only (so far) 5K in September 2006.
89. I am training for a triathlon right now.
90. I plan on getting my master's degree in something cool. I just don't know what yet.
91. I think it would be cool to get my PhD just so I can be called Dr. Struthers.
92. I love tulips.
93. I planted some tulips in my front yard. I can't wait for spring . . .
94. I'm a klutz, especially on ice. Just ask Brandon.
95. When I was a kid I couldn't even stay in my chair at the dinner table. One of my family's favorite stories is of me falling out of my chair for no apparent reason other than gravity.
96. I will always be behind on laundry.
97. Cleaning bathrooms is my least favorite chore, other than laundry.
98. I have my clothes organized by color in my closet. They are in the order of the rainbow,red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, then white, black, and tan.
99. When I was at Ricks College my roommates and I loved to dance while standing on our couches. We even choreographed a couple of dances to our favorite songs. The best dance was to "It's All Coming Back to Me" by Celine Dion
100. You know how in musicals they will just bust out into song? I like to do that sometimes. Imagine me singing, "I can't find the remote! Do you know where it is? La, la, la, la . . . ."
Wow. That was hard. But fun. In the words of Diana, "Now make a comment or else I am going to think this was an absolute waste of time! It probably was!"
The end.
Have a nice day.
1. Reading is my number 1 hobby. I get it from my mom. On average, I will finish a book every 2-3 days, when I actually have time to go to the library, which hasn't been lately.
2. When I was working full-time, however, I hardly read any books. I just wrote lesson plans, all the time.
3. Brandon didn't even know how much I liked to read until this summer, when I stopped teaching. We had been married for 3 years by then. How did I go that long?!
4. Some people crave food, I crave books, especially as I am going to bed. Reading in bed is heaven.
5. I have been having some serious book cravings lately because, like I said, I haven't been to the library in a while.
6. Actually, I did go to the library 2 weeks ago and I forgot my card. Dang it.
7. I am going to the library tomorrow. I just decided.
8. I cannot stand to have clutter on my counters. They must be clear!
9. I have my entire house decorated, in my head. The real thing is on its way, I am just waiting to win the lottery.
10. I love to sew. There is just something therapeutic to me about taking a rectangle of fabric and turning it into something wonderful.
11. I have a rule about sewing. I am not allowed to start a new project until all previous projects are finished. My living rooms curtains are plaguing me right now. I have three panels done and one more to go, but my sewing stuff is in the basement and it is really cold down there right now.
12. I broke the above rule this December so that I could sew Marie's Christmas dress.
13. I have material and patterns for three more dresses for Marie that are waiting for the curtains to be done. It needs to warm up, dang it!
14. One day, I am going to publish a children's storybook.
15. One day, I am going to be the director of a children's choir.
16. One day, I am going to teach at a college or university.
17. I have my degree in Music Education, but have also taught math.
18. I am glad that my degree is in Music Education. I wasn't a very good math teacher.
19. I rock at teaching music, especially to kids. I always thought I wanted to teach in high school until I taught at the elementary school level. I am much better with that age. I love that age!
20. High school boys scared me in high school and they still scare me now.
21. Well, except for the fact that most of my friends in high school were boys, hmmmm, that's weird. OK, most high school boys scare me.
22. I love, love, love being a mommy. It is by far the most rewarding job I have ever had and also the hardest.
23. I used to think I wanted about 8 kids. Then I had 2. Now I only want 2. No, not really, but I know I don't want 8.
24. Brandon and I decided on the names William and Marie while we were on our honeymoon. By the time we were married for 6 months we had also chosen 2 more boys names and 1 more girl name. In all, we have 3 boy names and 2 girl names picked out (including William and Marie, of course)
25. If we have more than 2 girls, we are in trouble. We can't figure out a 3rd girl name that fits our criteria.
26. Our criteria is that both the first and middle name have to be family names.
27. Both of my older brothers had their first three kids in the same gender order boy-girl-girl. So far, we are also following that pattern. So that means we should have a girl next.
28. Although I know how hard it would be, I also think it would be really cool to have twins. Fraternal. A boy and a girl.
29. I have traveled to Italy, Russia, and Armenia.
30. I want to take Brandon to Italy one day.
31. In my next life I want to be a black woman, one that can sing. The Audra McDonald type. If you don't know who Audra McDonald is, you should.
32. In my third life I want to be a ballerina.
33. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't want a huge ol' house. Just one that is big enough for my family to feel comfortable in. Then I would use the money to travel with my family.
34. How cool would it be to, say, study about Michelangelo and then take the kids to Italy to see his work. Or learn about the Galapagos Island, in person?! Yeah, that would be cool.
35. When I grow up I want to be Julie Andrews.
36. ... and an interior decorator.
37. ... and a photographer.
38. ... and the world's most patient mom.
39. ... and Anne Shirley.
40. I loved research papers when I was in school. Learning new things is so much fun.
41. I wrote a research paper about L.M. Montgomery when I was in 9th grade. It was 70 pages long. L.M. Montgomery is the author of the Anne books.
42. I don't ever want to be famous. I like my privacy too much.
43. I rub my feet together when I am falling asleep.
44. Once I am asleep I twitch, or convulse, you choose the word. Brandon told me about this.
45. I play the piano, but not as well as I think I should.
46. Brandon catches me zoning out, staring off into space, at least once a day.
47. When we moved to our new house it was really bad. I was trying to plan my decorating scheme, so more often than not I could be seen wondering the house in a "decorating trance."
48. I played water polo in high school.
49. I taught swimming lessons for 6 summers. I was good at it. No, really, I was.
50. I am from California and never ate avocados until after I was married to Brandon and he helped me to realize how much I had been missing. Now we usually have one about once a week.
51. When I was about 8 I had the shingles. It is very rare for someone that young to get them. It is also rare for the skin to scar afterwards. I scarred. Bad. It goes halfway around my midsection and is webby looking. It's weird.
52. Speaking of scars, I also have one on my lower neckline. I refer to it as my "modesty scar". It wasn't from an injury or anything, it just grew.
53. I love to cook. When I grow up I want to be a chef.
54. On average I cook dinner 350.73 nights a year.
55. Hiking is one of my dormant hobbies. In my hiking prime, I hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite twice (but not in the same day).
56. Speaking of hiking, Brandon and I hiked Mt. Timpanogos when I was 4 months pregnant. There was a lot of snow, it was scary, but also some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.
57. When I was a junior in high school my family went to Zion National Park for spring break. Our second day there we got caught in a freak snow storm. After meeting Brandon six years later we discovered that Brandon was also at Zion with his family during that same freak snow storm.
58. Brandon and I got engaged 9 weeks after we met for the first time, 5 weeks after we started dating. I never thought that would be me. I used to think that was so crazy when I heard of other people doing that.
59. We were married 6 months after we met for the first time.
60. The summer we were engaged I worked with a guy from Sri Lanka. Maybe being engaged doesn't mean much there. At least, it didn't mean much to him. He asked me out several times.
61. Brandon and I spent 12 weeks apart before we got married. On our wedding day we had spent more time apart, since we had met, then together.
62. I love the beach, and not in a trendy kind of way. I really love the beach.
63. As a kid my family would go camping in Carpinteria and I would spend about 6 hours a day in the water.
64. A couple of summers ago Brandon and I were swimming in the ocean and a dolphin jumped out of the water behind me, about 4 feet away. It was Brandon's first time swimming in the ocean. His first thought was, "Shark!"
65. I lived in Cheyenne, WY until I was 10.
66. My birthday is May 18th, and there was still snow on the ground for most of my birthdays in Cheyenne.
67. I had a dream once that there was a blizzard in Simi Valley.
68. I shoveled snow for the first time ever, about two weeks ago.
69. My parents knew that I was going to marry Brandon when they heard that he had come to our house and "secretly" ( I was watching) shoveled our sidewalks.
70. I am really good at remembering numbers, like phone numbers and such. But don't ask me what my junior high school locker combination is. I don't remember that.
71. On our first date Brandon took me to play racquetball with his friend Jeff. Jeff is a bodybuilder. Jeff scared me to death. To make matter worse, I had never played racquetball before. Romantic, eh?
72. Jeff doesn't scare me anymore.
73. I HATE Wendy's spoons. They are too deep. You can't clear the spoon unless you turn it upside down. Annoying!
74. I don't do basketball. I always foul out. Water polo has much more "foul-less" physical contact than basketball.
75. I only like to watch sports on TV when its post-season playoffs and someone I know is rooting for one of the teams. ie. My brother is a Broncos fan. The only Super Bowls I have ever watched were when the Broncos played.
76. I grew out my bangs in 7th grade and have never looked back.
77. I hate breastfeeding. I only do it cuz formula is stinkin' expensive.
78. The La Leche League sucks. HA!
79. The irony, when my sister Sara was a baby my mom had to have a long talk with me about why I couldn't breastfeed her.
80. I talk to my Mom, on average, at least once a day. I love cell phones and mobile to mobile minutes.
81. There is nothing better than a freshly picked California strawberry. I can never buy them from the store. It just isn't the same.
82. I am a world class burper and have been known to win burping contests against guys.
83. I am afraid of big dogs jumping through my windows at night.
84. ...or scary men...
85. I can't go outside alone at night. Scary men and big dogs and crickets . . . oh my!
86. I can't believe I still have 14 more to go.
87. When I work out I love to listen to musicals. Nothing like a little Broadway to raise the heart rate.
88. I ran my first and only (so far) 5K in September 2006.
89. I am training for a triathlon right now.
90. I plan on getting my master's degree in something cool. I just don't know what yet.
91. I think it would be cool to get my PhD just so I can be called Dr. Struthers.
92. I love tulips.
93. I planted some tulips in my front yard. I can't wait for spring . . .
94. I'm a klutz, especially on ice. Just ask Brandon.
95. When I was a kid I couldn't even stay in my chair at the dinner table. One of my family's favorite stories is of me falling out of my chair for no apparent reason other than gravity.
96. I will always be behind on laundry.
97. Cleaning bathrooms is my least favorite chore, other than laundry.
98. I have my clothes organized by color in my closet. They are in the order of the rainbow,red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, then white, black, and tan.
99. When I was at Ricks College my roommates and I loved to dance while standing on our couches. We even choreographed a couple of dances to our favorite songs. The best dance was to "It's All Coming Back to Me" by Celine Dion
100. You know how in musicals they will just bust out into song? I like to do that sometimes. Imagine me singing, "I can't find the remote! Do you know where it is? La, la, la, la . . . ."
Wow. That was hard. But fun. In the words of Diana, "Now make a comment or else I am going to think this was an absolute waste of time! It probably was!"
The end.
Have a nice day.
Happy February from Marie!
It's kind of ironic that as I am typing this Marie is screaming in my arms. The reason I took these pictures was in celebration of the fact that she is finally starting to feel better. Anyway, Marie and I took a trip to the doctor's office yesterday. She has an ear infection. I am so glad to finally know what has been bothering her for the past, oh, I don't know, forever. I don't know why she didn't just tell me that her ear hurts (I wish). So I thought she was feeling better, but she sure doesn't seem to be right now, even though she is wrapped up in my arms with a full belly, tylenol in her system, and ear numbing drops in her ear. Well, at least we can take comfort in that fact that she looks so dang cute! P.S.S. She gave up the scream fest and she is asleep. Ah, bliss . . . 
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