Big Winner?

Well for those of you that don’t already know this, I (Levi) am a huge fan of video games. Christine has often lamented the fact that, unlike other boys my age, I never outgrew this childish ”pastime.” I am told it’s not a “hobby” because it is not constructive or productive… crap! So, getting to the point, earlier this year, probably in January, I heard about a game that was being released for Nintendo Wii called The Conduit. It is a first-person shooter in a futuristic setting, and it is a ton of fun! I knew that it would be months before the release of the game but I was really, really excited so I soon began wasting countless hours on the internet researching every detail of the game. In April or May, I was at the website of the High Voltage Studios, the company that made The Conduit, and I saw that they were giving away free authentic High Voltage Studios Company exclusive t-shirts in a contest. All you had to do was submit your name and address in an email, which I quickly did, and you could be the lucky winner! Well a week or two passed with out much thought of Free T-shirts. One day I was getting the mail and inside was a strange soft manila envelope with my name and address in sharpie and no return information. I inspected the strange package and began to loosen the seal and inside was what looked like a grey T-shirt. I spread the folded cotton to see inside was the Logo of High Voltage Studios, “YES, AWESOME, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, I WON A FREE T-SHIRT.” I was so stoked- I felt like a six year old at the toy store with a crisp new $20 bill in my hands. I was so excited I couldn’t wait to get in the house and show Christine that I was a winner. When I got in the house with my awesome new Prize, Christine immediately saw the large envelope and asked, “What’s that?” After I told her about entering the contest she said, “What size is it?” Hmmm, I thought, they never E-mailed to ask a shirt size! As I pulled the shirt from its envelope for the first time and layer, after layer, after layer, of grey XXXL cotton rolled out, and my enthusiasm quickly burned out. As I stood there in disbelief, feeling like I had just had the ice cream fall off my cone, Christine added with a giggle, “Maybe you can sell it on eBay!”
So if you know anyone that can pull some strings at High Voltage studios and get me a T-shirt or one of those cool hoodies, that would be awesome! Oh, and preferably one with zero or one X in front of the L (L or XL, preferably L)!
Oh, and few last things, if you own a Wii and like shooters then go buy The Conduit. It is an awesome game and a ton of fun to play online. I talked two of my brothers into buying it but they never play it with me, so go buy it, and trade friend codes with me and I will waste you with a shot gun. I also wanted to say thanks to High Voltage Studios for making all of this Possible! I have to say I have enjoyed the game a lot more than the Shirt, not that I’m complaining the shirt is great too, just a little big.
I did try it on, and the kids thought it was pretty awesome so they tried it on too. And we took a picture so you could see my awesome prize.

Pennsylvania Countryside

No pictures. Just in my head.
I drove through some Pennsylvania countryside tonight, and it was beautiful! Achingly beautiful. It almost looks like an elaborate movie backdrop sometimes with the old houses, churches, rolling hills and trees. I love moments like that.

Another Giveaway

No, I'm not giving away one of my kids.
The Meanest Mom is giving away a really cool dress... and I get another entry if I post it here.
So, here's to winning a dress!

Gideon's Idea

On the way out of the store, Gideon asked for a lemonade out of the soda machine, so we stopped at the grocery store and bought lemons for Homemade lemonade. It was so much fun taking turns juicing the lemons and mixing up the lemonade... and it was divine. Way better than Minute Maid!

Getting Around to It...

How boring am I?

Relief

So, Mars Co. is giving out coupons for free candy bars every friday, and after FHE last night (what, last night wasn't Monday?!?), we all went to the grocery store to redeem ours.
Gideon chose a 3 Musketeers, Levi chose M&M's, and I, also, chose a 3 Musketeers... there's just something about all that ethereal nougat that gets me every time. Until your husband gives it to your 1 year-old to keep him quiet while you check out at the store. Then, it's not so much ethereal, as just smashed.

You should have heard him scream when we took it away! He actually got to the chocolate, and he knew that he was onto something really, really good.

Thank You Mr. Sunshine

... for shining somewhere in the world!

Because it looked like this, here, (again) today...

... And to remind us that, somewhere, there is a place filled with sunshine, this is what we had for dinner-- starting with dessert.

Key Lime Pie-- wait! Coconut Key Lime Pie. I modified my favorite KLP recipe to make it a coconut one, just to add a little extra sunshine. Can you smell it? It was divine.

Okay, maybe not the eggs... they didn't smell (thank goodness).

And here's a little shout-out to this lemon... It met the measure of it's creation today.

It was the best lemon I have ever zested and juiced.

I'm totally serious... tender and juicy, and it smelled so good! (Am I pregnant?)

The Lemon brightened the Mediterranean Salad, along with the basil, mint, almonds and craisins... all reminders that somewhere the sun is shining.

And the bay lemon salmon. Yum.

I didn't take pictures of the fresh green beans, gracias of someone in Mexico (where the sun in shining).

So, in conclusion. Thank you Mr. Sunshine for shining somewhere.

Buried Deep

I just spent way too long picking out the cowboy boots I would choose if I were to win the giveaway on this blog. They are these kind of boots.

And here are the finalists, and they are beautiful.

I'm being serious... I love them.

"What in the world would you do with cowboy boots," you ask?

I already have a list.

(Oh, OH!! I wish my roommates from Ricks were reading my blog right now. Ah, the cowboy stories we could tell. Stealing the rodeo team poster off the wall during Sunday School, running it home, and running back to church just in time to play the opening song for Relief Society. And that's just the beginning... there were the horseback riding classes with Houdini, and the Girl's Choice dance I was roped into. Yep, I'm looking up phone numbers right now- I hope you're awake!)

And, for the record... I LOVE you, Levi. More than anything in the whole world!

(Do you think that maybe next time we visit my parents we can pick up your cowboy hat to go with my new boots?)

The Best Mom in the World!

I just wanted to say a big thanks to the best Mommy ever. Today was a D+ day for dad. I felt crappy when I woke up I felt even crappier when Gideon woke me up and I felt downright mean when Christine gently woke me up at 12:30 in the afternoon and handed me my warm freshly pressed sunday clothes. So I wanted to say sorry to Christine and the Boys for having a subpar day, (or would that be over par, I don't know, I did crappy either way).
Christine on the other hand was the Super mom she always is and I wanted to tell her I love you and thanks for being a great wife and mom.




Here she is at the end of a long sunday still giving the kids her time before bed. We love you Christine.

RIP

One of the my favorite things about living in Pennsylvania is the fun array of animals we encounter on a daily basis. For example, we have squirrels, about 50 different kinds of birds, a rabbit and a true Punxsutawney Phil groundhog all living in our yard or surrounding yards.

As fun as it is to watch these small mammals running around outside, it is equally disturbing to see them, how shall we say, smooshed on the side of the road.

In fact, just yesterday on the way to church I counted 7 (or was it 8) roadkill.

Fresh ones.

And that includes a few long stretches where I was managing things in the backseat while speeding (I was late... I know, I know, and yes, I can see your shocked faces) down narrow, winding, 1 1/2 lane country roads.

It reminded me of the time I tried counting the number of men urinating along the side of the road on the way to church in India. Don't ask me for a number, all I remember is that around 14 I got distracted (most likely by a skinned goat hanging on a hook outside a meat stand- they look remarkably similar to dogs and are very distracting) and forgot to keep counting...

**photo deleted by author**

Growing Up

Just in case anyone was wondering... this is what weaning your child looks like. Every Day.

Beautiful Music

I am SO grateful for beautiful things. They make my spirit sing (probably because it remembers a little bit of home).

This song is one of those beautiful things that makes me thankful for the Lord's creations and the amazing talents with which He has blessed his children (in this case, many of them combined) to help us remember Him and enlarge our souls.



Just listen a little and see if your spirit doesn't do a little humming of it's own...


ksl story here

Happy Birthday Joe Joe!

This is me, trying to get a picture of Joseph on his FIRST birthday...

Success!! I'll take it even with the big blue bowl... and Gideon blocking him in for the shot.

Since Levi has a major super big final on Thursday and is studying all day, I couldn't let the day pass without doing something fun... So I took my 3 year old and 1 year old out to lunch after a morning of shopping and the missing of a certain birthday boy's nap. It was fun!

No, really-- it was.

The expressions on our respective faces pretty much sums up the experience (and, yes, that's sweat glistening on my forehead). I'm the mom everyone envies because I'm so cool and collected when I'm in public places with my well-behaved children.

He kept kicking back in the highchair and then he'd get all mad because he was scrunched up and couldn't reach the table.

His first lollipop helped while we waited... until the top came right off in his mouth. I am so grateful I was able to fish it out of his mouth before he tried to swallow it! It was a close one, though... you've got to be quick with Joseph, he doesn't kid around when it comes to food.
We survived until the food came, at which point Gideon promptly stated that he needed to use the bathroom, now.

[Someday I'll do a post about how I feel when I take my little children into a public restroom... it's like their "must touch everything in sight" impulses go into hyper drive. Today, for example, Gideon had one hand on the toilet seat to balance (it's hard when your pants are around your ankles) and the other on the flushing lever while leaning over the toilet to make sure that it flushed every time he pulled down the lever. Then, after a thorough hand-washing, he palmed the garbage can on the way out the door.]

Gideon absolutely LOVED his monster mash sundae that came with his kid's meal. He couldn't believe there was candy on top of the ice cream!
Joseph, too, loved his ice cream.
I can't believe my baby is a year old! Time flew by way too quickly.

Extra Credit: 10 points for whoever figures out what Gideon is saying... it was true.

Can a sigh really be "breathless" ?!? That has been bugging me since I posted last night...
Try it, I dare you.

*breathless sigh*

Walking through the grocery store with two sick kids and a sore throat, I stumbled upon this treasure. I was speechless-- and I had to get it for Levi. On the way home I called to tell him I bought him a special surprise at the store today. Yippeee!! I love surprises!

I seriously can't wait til he comes home and opens the cupboard to find his surprise! He's gonna be so excited! This is way better than a silly old video game. Here's to you, Honey... Most Likely to Succeed!

How Many are You?

Gideon is in here with me and not in his room for "quiet" time like he should be... And Levi left his jelly beans on the computer desk.

We have had a great time chomping down the beans! A minute ago I asked Gideon how old he was, and when he told me, "Three years old," I gave him three more jelly beans and told him that was all for now. A minute later (when I was helping myself to more jelly beans) he asked, "Mom, how many are you?" I told him I was 31 years old, and he asked, "Is that lots?" Yep, Gideon, it is...

Sorry 'bout the beans, Honey.

I Accept...

... Aleida's Challenge.
You can read about it on this awesome blog--

The challenge is to take one picture of yourself (meaning moms) with your children each month. I'm really bad at that, but I want to be better. So, here goes.

May

I didn't take these pictures with the challenge in mind, but I think they are perfect for May... the month Joseph was born.

Joseph was trying to get my purse from under the stair gate and kept banging his head on the gate. Being the compassionate, loving mother that I am, I grabbed my camera because I thought it was hilarious. When he saw the camera, he came right over and tried to grab it (because that what he always does when he sees the camera), so I snapped a few pictures of us and showed them to him on the camera. He loved it. And when I saw his cute little face in the pictures, I did to. And I'm not even going to apologize for how I look. (See how hard I'm trying?!?)

I love my little boys so much!

Healthy Snacking

This is a pretty regular occurrence around here--

Cars are another favorite around here...

I'm not sure who was eating these, but if I had to guess... it would be Joe Joe.

40 Days and 40 Nights

To say I have gone a little stir-crazy during this Noahchain spring would be a monumental understatement.

Last week I cracked and bought a membership to the Philadelphia Zoo. And two times (in less than a week), I have dragged my two small children out in the rain to "see the animals!"

To be honest, I'm a little nervous about the Please Touch Museum in light of the recent Swine Flu hullabaloo... an enclosed place where children are encouraged to touch (drool, mouth, sneeze and wipe their noses on) everything in the whole building just doesn't seem like the best place to take my children right now!

This picture was not on zoom! Their Big Cats display is impressive.Surprisingly, the animals were very active in the rain and (not so surprisingly) the zoo was pretty much empty both times! As far as pure animal viewing goes, they were probably the two best zoo experiences of my life. I highly recommend it... really!

The first time, we stopped to pick Levi up from school and we LOVED having him there to play with us!

The second time (yesterday), it was just the kids and I and a torrential downpour for the first ten minutes we were there.

Thankfully, The Alligator was on the top of Gideon's list, so we spent a lot of time in the Reptile House.

This elephant was having SO much fun in her little lake- it was really a joy to watch!This elephant habitat is scarily close... the water starts about 7 feet from the 3 foot high fence. If I wanted, I may have been able to lean over far enough to touch her trunk.This tiger ran right up to the window and we realized it was because of the umbrella. When the nice member of the docent board (I had to look that up on the internet-- someone who teaches people about the zoo), Bob, realized it was the umbrella, he pulled it out again and the tiger came back and actually nudged the glass with his nose. Amazing and a little scary.

Warning: This is for my own terrible memory... because it was fun for me.
Bob stayed with us throughout the Big Cat display and told me all about how the black jaguar is usually only out in his display in the afternoon because he really likes his keepers and likes to be inside near them in the morning. And how, even though he looks black, he really has spots, because that is one of the classification criteria for jaguars (one of my favorites).
He told me how lucky we were to see the Amur leopard up on the display because she usually stays near the bottom and paces. There are only about 30 Amur leopards in the wild today.
The Pumas (Cougars) are from South Dakota where they were orphaned when a hunter shot their mother who was being aggressive. He then led people back to the site and they found the 3 babies... one boy and two girls. They are beautiful. Go BYU!!
The 4 tigers are actually a mother and her 3 cubs... two boys and a girl. They were born at the zoo. But, they aren't so much cubs anymore.
It was really fun! I would have spent more time with Bob, who also showed us a real cougar skull, if I didn't have the little guys to chase and entertain.

Maybe I'll go alone next time it rains.

p.s. Levi just asked if Bob was cute because he thinks I made it sound like I want to go hang out with him... we'll just let him wonder.