Aaaaand......

The Stud-Muffin turns 33!

Happy Birthday Ryan! Here's a list of 33 things you may or may not know about Ry:

1. If he doesn't like you, you'll never know it.

2. He's graduating this quarter with a BS in Geology.

3. He loves to rock climb.

4. He's an avid outdoorsman - hiking, biking, skiing, camping, he does it all.

5. He has his basic SCUBA certificate.
6. He's been accepted to the University of Montana, and that's where we're moving this summer.

7. He is the most anal organized person I know. Probably that you know also, short of a mental issue.

8. He enjoys reading for pleasure, but he's picky about what he likes.

9. He used to play the trumpet and baritone (ooo, I think) in band. We still have the trumpet.

10. He's good with his hands. Get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about woodworking, mechanical, handyman type things. I will not comment on the other - this is a family blog.

11. He used to work in mortgage banking for about 8 years.

12. He likes t-shirts.

13. He still looks awesome after 12 years together (see above picture).

14. He loves to watch college and pro team sports: baseball, basketball, football, even tennis. There's no shortage of testosterone at our house. He also loves to play the aforementioned sports but not at the college or pro level. ;)

15. He built our kids a fort out of old bunkbed lumber - and they love it.

16. He speaks spanish - though not as fluently as he once did.

17. He likes things neat and tidy.

18. He can be outgoing once he is comfortable around you.

19. He is an excellent artist. His doodles make me feel like I'm a 4 year old.

20. He's very creative.

21. He wants a chainsaw - I'm not quite sure what for, except it's manly.

22. He enjoys making Pinewood Derby cars - and has a little collection going on of the ones he's made.

23. He drives a stick.

24. He loves music - all types.

25. He got me into cross-stitching.

26. He has a fabulous sense of humor.

27. His backpack collection rivals Brets.

28. He likes to watch the Discovery channel - almost anything that's on there.

29. And PBS.

30. He loves me and our kids. He is a terrific father and makes an effort to do different things with them.

31. He's so smart.

32. His Wii fitness age is 34.

33. He's an art lover.

So there you go. Care to tell me anything you know about him?

He's a little bit country, I'm a little bit rock n roll

We had our ward's Lip Synch Saturday night, and it was awesome. Caden's performance of Keith Urban's song Blue Jeans brought down the house. He was the only one to earn a standing ovation that night. Way to go Caden! I'm trying to track down a copy of the show to post, but don't have one yet...

I had a rockin' good time doing Ballroom Blitz (the female version from Wayne's World), and I 'sang' backup for my good friend Melanie who did Aretha Franklin's Respect. I was definetly in my element that night and had a ton of fun goofing off. My mom said it reminded her of how I was when I was a teenager - so if you knewmewhen you know it was good. Of course it helps that everybody gets into the spirit of the thing and rocks and claps along with the music.

And the compliments. They're my favorite. ;)

Donna will get why that's funny

What good is a @@*&!%&*^* computer that won't do what it's supposed to do?

None. No good. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I hate this computer. Hate with a capital H. And probably a capital ATE too.


*breathe deeply val, repeat your mantra: someday he'll finish school. someday he'll have a real job with a real income. someday you can throw this piece of @&*&#&^* out the window and shoot it. somedaysomedaysomeday.*

Just to catch you up

We're still playing the waitandsee game to find out where we'll be moving. We've now heard from a second school (no dice but really no surprise on that one), so now we are waiting for door number three. Will it open, won't it open? We don't know. We keep expecting to get a letter any day now...............................................

Aaaaaaaaaaand unsurprisingly everyone is sick again. *gasp* I know. Can you believe it? We wash our hands and everything. We are two weeks through it and Lincoln and Aile have antibiotics for their ear infections but Caden is just a couple of days into what they started with. Hopefully most of us will be better by next Friday when we are scheduled to make our trek over the mountains. Another waitandsee.

Tomorrow is our wards' annual Lip Synch Competition. This is our fourth year and, if I may just pat myself on the back, this is the very first activity that I did as Activities Chair 4 years ago. Even though I've been released it's such a hit that it just keeps on going. I think it's the most fun we have all year.

This year Caden is performing with the rest of us as backup dancers (except guess who - party pooper), I'm doing one solo, and I'm a backup singer for a friends number. It's not a real competition, the prizes are all candy bars (ie: funniest song wins a Snickers bar, etc.), but I think that's what makes it so great. I'm really looking forward to it!

And we have a date tonight. I'm so excited because with Finals next week Ryan has basically been living at the school this whole week. When I suggested earlier might be better than later via voicemail yesterday afternoon, with Aile screaming like a banshee in the background, imagine my surprise and extreme gratitude when he was home before 6pm instead of 8pm. He must love me.

And I count my blessings that it's not me

There are some people and some things that I just get so fetchin' excited about. This is one of them. I just love Kendra!