Our Garden

Painting

2011-07-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Not moving you say, well I am going to finally do some decorating!
I hate white walls and I can't paint them, so I picked out a few pieces in the house and painted them bright colors

Found this bad boy on Craigslist and use it in the entry way as a shoe cabinet. It hides all the shoes so nicely

Before

After

These picture frames I bought at IKEA years ago. They were natural wood but I finally painted them and updated the pictures in them. For the blue (Caribe) frames I got some wood embellishments from Michaels and wood, cut them and glued them down before painting. I then rubbed black paint in the creases and then wiped off the excess after I had finished painting it with the blue. Love it and they look great above my new dining table.

Our neighbors were going to toss this coffee table. It was scratched up and their dog had chewed the corners. I patched the corners, sanded it down (but left some of the black paint) and painted it California Poppy Red. We've never had a coffee table, but I love it with my Yellow chair and flowered couch.

This is a hand me down lamp from my mom. Used to be a gold color, now its Caribe. I still need to make a lamp new lamp shade for it.

Snapdragon got a hold of the camera.
We only have a one car garage, so this gives you an idea of the size of the space I was working in.

This has taken me months, but I have loved working with my hands and creating new pieces. I got a lot of my ideas from looking at other blogs about redecorating on the cheap. You can update any old piece of furniture and make it look fabulous. Wish I could have found a dining table set to redo, but square tables with 8 chairs are a new thing. oh well!

Neglected

2011-06-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, blog you have been neglected, but its hard to keep up... plus there is this thing called facebook which is much easier to update. I'm not ready to give you up...I still have things to say and lots of pics to post.

The past few months have been full of housing frustration, but once we decided to stay where we're at for another year, the bad feelings went away. So, now that we've recieved confirmation we doing the right thing, I have decided to completely redo our house. The past month I have spent, moving furniture, organizing, decluttering, sanding and best of all...PAINTING! I went bold and when its done, I'll post pics.

Tulip Festival!

2011-05-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went to the country to see the tulips in bloom.

Atlas Shurgged

2011-04-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last year Miracle Gro and I finally embarked on a 9 month journey of reading Atlas Shrugged out loud to each other every night. Even after several friend recommendations, we felt intimated, just by it's size, and we weren't sure what to expect.

Well, what we found was a wonderful and thought provoking novel. Some nights, we didn't want to stop reading...we were pleasantly surprised.

Good timing, because this year they released the movie. We had extremely low expectations, but wanted to show our support for those who took the risk and effort to see this made. We really liked it. Sure, there were some things that could have been expounded on or speeches that could have been longer, but overall they did a great job. We loved the casting and the way the made the setting in the future, but it still had an antique feeling about the sets. For 10,ooo,000; not too shabby. My mother, who never read the book, really enjoyed it too.

If you don't know anything about Atlas Shrugged, here is a video that won a contest from the Ayn Rand Institute.

Spring Break

2011-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Pics got uploaded backwards; Sorry! Trip home was delightful (see pic above). I was able to watch 1 1/2 hours of HGTV. Wow...it's a good thing I don't have cable. My TV would always be on!

Love Jet Blue! The kids were awesome and for 3 of them it was their 1st plane ride.

This was the reason for our visit. Visiting Gma and Gpa! We had a wonderful weekend with them. Thank You for having us.

We also got to visit with the Great Grandma's. It was so wonderful to see them interact with the flowers. It made them so happy. It was difficult to say good-bye.

We made sure to set aside time to see our old neighbors. We miss our graduate school community dearly. We met the most wonderful people and it was nice to see the flowers step right back in with their friends as if they hadn't been apart for the past 2 years.

Snap Dragon and the Gardener with their sand castle.

Don't laugh...these bodies haven't seen sun like this for a long time. I just had to document our 30 year old bodies.

We had to slather these kids and us with 70 SPF. They haven't been out to play in the sun in 6 months, but it paid off...no one came back sunburned!

One of our best beach trips. It was so pleasant and the flowers had a ball. It was Monkey's first trip to a CA beach.

We rented a 2011 Sienna with XM radio (Calla Lily loved the Elvis station). We really enjoyed this sweet ride!

Happy Birthday to Calla Lily

2011-03-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl turned 3 yesterday. That went by fast, which I guess is to be expected with all the changes that have occurred ,for our family, since her birth. She is sweet little girl trying to come into her own with a very bossy older sister. (Ha Ha!)

We celebrated with a princess theme and kept it very quiet with family only. She was delighted with her Rapunzel doll and happy to gloat to Tiger Lily about it. (Oh, sister rivalry....) We are excited for this brown eyed girls future!

Star Wars Fun!

2011-01-19T19:04:00.001-08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

New Year Trip

2011-01-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

Since M.G. had a few days off for New Years, we headed north to visit a friend of the Gardeners.

Saturday we went sledding. The children were so happy, it was worth the scary drive and freezing temps. Even Monkey was pleasant.

Gardener with her friend.

Keeping warm by the fire.

Miracle Gro and Calla Lily

Monkey

Fort Casey Lighthouse

View of Olympic National park from Fort Casey.

Ferry boat and Mt Baker

The Gardens first ferry boat ride. On Friday we took it to an island to do some exploring.

On the way to the ferry port, we saw some cool Boeing Planes.

Thursday afternoon we went up the Space Needle where we got a fantastic view of all surrounding mountains and setting sun. We also went to the science museum.

Puget Sound and the mountain range in Olympic National Park. (exploring that will be next)

Mt Rainier

We had a great time seeing the Gardeners friend and family and seeing some of the Seattle area. We can't wait to go back!

Anniversary

2011-01-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Dec 28th we celebrated 9 years of marriage. I really want to do something big next year, so we opted to save and do dinner only. It was great just to get out of the kitchen for a night and not have to do the bedtime routine . ;)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T13:43:00.001-08:00

This is a run down of Christmas time at our house
We kicked off the season with R.S. and E.Q dinner and then on to the dance recital (see previous post). Next came the school parties and work parties.

We opted for a babysitter this year and left the children at home so we could have a night out on the town. It was so nice to finally meet the boss and mingle with others and enjoy a meal I didn't have to cook or clean up afterward.

Next came the party at our house and the sugar cookies.

One day we went to the local outdoor mall and as we left a store, look what I found in the window... They were so adorable and I just had to have them, so I went back in and got them.

Christmas Eve with Nana and their cousin

French toast made with Cinnamon Chip bread. SO GOOD!

Look what we found in our stocking! Littlest Pet Shop

Monkey got his own train- James (engine and tender)

The Flowers on Christmas Morning.

Snap dragon spent the whole day playing with this. He loves it. A must for any budding engineer!

The girls got new dress up clothes from Nana. (A great find during the after Halloween sales)

This year we enjoyed staying home and being together as a family. It was fun to witness the childrens excitement throughout the month and counting down to the 25th.

Tiger Lily's first dance recital

2010-12-15T20:59:00.001-08:00

It was an hour long performance of the Polar Express. It was so cute! T.L. did great!

Sisters.
Calla Lily starts classes in January (now that she's potty trained) and she is so excited.

Miracle Gro's birthday

2010-12-15T20:51:00.001-08:00

M.G had a birthday Sunday. The Gardener made a Candy Cane Joe-Joe Cheesecake for him (that frosting is supposed to be red- the bottle lies!) It was delicious! She also surprised him with treats to share after his elders quorum lesson. For dinner he was served steak and roasted vegetables.

For all he does, he deserves to have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from the Garden to all our family and friends.

We have felt the Lord's blessings upon us this year and try to always have that gratitude in our hearts. Everyday we gather our family in prayer in gratitude for our lives, the gospel of Jesus Christ, Miracle Gro's job, the roof over our head and the food in our pantry.

Halloween Weekend

2010-11-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Monkey turns 1

2010-10-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last week Monkey turned one.

When we discovered he was on his way, it was not a great time for us, but it became another lesson of "Not on our time, but the Lords time". What began as a very rocky beginning turned into our greatest year, that was overflowing with blessings.

Monkey has been a wonderful baby and a joy to the entire family. Everyone loves him and are quick to forgive when he is destructive to their toys/playing. He has starting taking steps and waving this past month. His only word is "Dadda", but he's a Daddy's boy, so it's only appropriate. We're excited for this little guys future!

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-10-20T14:35:00.001-07:00

For our last hurrah of the summer, we went to Great Wolf Lodge. We were able to get an awesome deal through a local homeschooling group, so we weren't going to pass it up. We spent one night and 2 days. Here the kids are in their p.j's listening to a bedtime story/show.

huge fireplace- see Monkey in the bottom right corner

Snap dragon showing off his "guns".

Whole family shot. It is so humid inside the water park, the camera kept fogging up.

Before leaving, we got in a family game of chess. We just didn't want to leave, it was a really great 2 days of family bonding time. We give the GWL 2 thumbs up!

Weekend with Friends

2010-10-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

In September we headed south to meet up with our, recently relocated to Northern CA, friends. Luckily, they have family that is in between and were so kind to allow us all to stay with them. We rode wave runners at the lake, boys did some target practice, went swimming and just let the kids hang out and play. We had a great time and feel very blessed to have such good friends in our lives.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think this picture sums up are weekend in Astoria

First thing: Play at the beach

Children were working on their cart wheels and I discovered I could still do a backhand spring.

What's great about going to the beach here: We drove out and parked on it and we could enjoy it in a sweater.

Astoria Column
We climbed up and flew balsa wood planes off the top. It was extremely windy on top.

Sel Lions on the pier.

Goonies House- Yes, M.G. did do the truffle shuffle

Peter Ireldale Ship wreck (whats left of it) It was a big ship that has been deteriorating on this beach for over a 100 years.

Here we are at the most northern tip of OR and at the mouth of the Columbia River. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful weekend.

Climbing the jetty.

Civil War Reenactment at Fort Stevens. These people and their wives and children had huge camps set up where they basically lived as if they were fighting in the civil war for the weekend. Tiger Lily was admiring all the dresses and now wants me to make her one. I was admiring the women cooking on the wood stoves and getting tips.

Next, we toured the old Fort. This was built during the Civil War in case other nations, who were sympathetic to the south, tried to invade ports via the Columbia river. There were two other forts at the mouth to set up a tri-defense. The forts were decommissioned after WWII.

Here is a look from the command post looking out at the River.
(This was a great history lesson for us- we had no idea forts were built during the civil War on the West Coast)

A few miles south of here, a japanese sub actually fired upon us (during WWII), but the batteries remained silenent, so as not to give away their position, and the sub left.

Replication of the Lewis & Clark Fort

The children wanted to go back to the beach with the ship wreck to play. So while they played, we sat down and read.

View from our room

Trolley

Bridge and Cargo Ship.

Riding the Trolley

At the Maritime Museum

We were able to tour a Coast Gurd Ship. Here are the babies in the Captain's Chair. It was a really fun and educational weekend!

Tiger Lily's Birthday

2010-08-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

There was tee ball and kickball

She wanted a purple flower cake

Birthday girl

It seems like she is 5 going on 16. This past year she has really grown up. Unfortunately that growing up sometimes comes with attitude, testing boundaries and feigning deafness. But she still loves to be hugged and kissed and snuggled. She has so much personality, life and love in her. We feel very blessed to have her in our Garden.

Broken Window Fallacy

2010-08-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

I was trying to post pics of Tiger Lily's Birthday, but blogger won't upload them. So. instead I'll leave you with an educational video to watch.

Family Vacation/Reunion

2010-08-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we drove to the Rockies for some vacation and a family reunion. It always feels great to get away for some intense family time. It was a long drive, but we got to see a lot of this great land (that there is so much of) that we are so fortunate to live in.

Beginning of our trip; the beautiful Columbia Gorge!

First stop- Twin Falls, ID

Visited the Shoshone Falls before hitting the road again. Worth the little side trip. They are known as the Niagara of the west. (This picture was not taken at their peak)

Best sign we saw...didn't get a great pic of. It was in central ID. One side read "Vote out Corruption" and the other said "Save the Constitution" With a large "Don't tread on me" Sign below. (These are the things which give us hope, b/c it tells us we're not alone.)

Stopped and visited with a friend from High School, who was on our way. I haven't seen her in 7 years, so it was great to catch up, see her cute boys and finally meet her husband. Wish we lived closer...

Last part of our drive- Palisades reservoir.

Had a picnic and messed around at a playground in Alpine, WY.

One of our favorite pics from the trip. Caught this while entering Grand Teton National Park.

We hiked 2+ miles around Jenny Lake and up to Hidden falls. Snap Dragon was a trooper and hiked the whole way. The other 3 were carried...

...so, we took the ferry across the lake back. Totally worth the $!

Speaking of money...its nice to be able to do this now. "Can we get Ice Cream???" Kids ask, "Sure, we can do that!" We say without feeling guilty that we may break the bank. Everyone still had to share a large sundae, instead of getting their own, but hey...at least they got some. ;) (ice cream must be rare in Jackson, Wy- by how $$ it was)

Next stop- SLC to spend more time with Cousins.

On Thrusday, we met up in Heber City for a picnic and Heber Creeper ride with Grandpa.

Snapdragon was in heaven...he still love trains A LOT!

Babies took their afternoon nap so they were wonderful the whole ride.

Train got robbed. Love Tiger Lily's face here.

Nice hair Monkey

Snapdragon got to see the engine up close. Friday and Saturday were filled with a special family sealing session at the temple, a family dinner, pictures, talent show and a baby blessing. Saturday afternoon we headed for home. It seemed like a lot longer trip than it was, which to me is a good thing.

Birthdays and Baby

2010-07-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

No time to write, you fill in the captions!

Holiday Hiking

2010-07-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Forgot the camera...these were taken with the cell phones. It was a beautiful 3 mile hike on a beautiful day.

2010-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!

Here at the Garden, we are grateful for this day and everything it represents. The more we learn our history the more we understand the sacrifice that our founders,their wives and all those who supported their cause made. God Bless those men and women who stuck with George Washington and continued to fight. It is truly one of the greatest miracles in our nations history.

Read the declaration here.

Japanese Gardens

2010-07-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yes! I remembered the camera this time. Monday we visited the Japanese Garden.

Look at that picture taking cooperation! Nice!

Love this smile

My huge 8 month old. He is such a good baby.

The Gardener and her flowers. It's starting out to be a great summer. There will be no "I'm Bored!" because there is so much to do here and not enough time and energy to do it. The children will be worn out everyday (so they go to sleep while it is still VERY light outside), but unfortunatly that leaves G exhausted as well. That's okay because the memories will be worth it.

Fathers Day Recap

2010-06-29T08:11:00.001-07:00

Miracle Gro with the flowers on Father's Day. Besides these gifts he also got to stay home from church with all four sick children while the Gardener went and taught her class.

Summer is officially here!

2010-06-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

June has flown by for us. Partly due to the illness that has gone through all 4 flowers and has been lingering for over 2 weeks (cause of M.G. and G's zombie-like state)and partly due to the amount of activities. These pics below are just a few, where G actually remembered the camera)

Last day of School

Having mom spend 20 minutes filling up water balloons for 5 minutes of entertainment!also, it was actually warm enough to do this activity.

Building towers inside, while babies were sick, and it was raining.

One Sunday morning C.L. happily came to show me how she had gotten herself dressed. ( she has become very independent lately- "I do it!")
After excitedly telling and showing me, she turned around and I saw this!
Monkey discovered Cheerios and loves to try to get them in his mouth himself
Monkey has begun sitting up for longer periods of time and can fall over and crawl away safely
Monkey just looking cool in his shades that came with the splashers swim diapers. He is growing up quickly, but no sad tears here. We just try to savor every chubby cheek kiss and giggle, but are excited to see him grow and keep up with his siblings.

And last week it was 70's and sunny and so beautiful. Summer is finally here!

Sweet Calla Lily

2010-06-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is what came down stairs saying "my doggie blanket"

This is what I found upstairs.
I guess I know who woke up Monkey.
At least she let him sleep 3 hours.

Housing Dilema

2010-06-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

with ~6 months left on our lease, I am starting to wonder what we should do next. We love our location, but we could really use a little more space. Now, do we rent or buy??? We really don't want to move AGAIN unless it is a more permanent place. That being said, we really are not sure about purchasing a home. Here are our pros and cons with buying:

Cons:
Expensive (starting out and upkeep)
Don't have enough for 20% down (it's hard to get a loan these days without some $ and we don't want a government loan)
Yard upkeep and time spent doing it
More house to clean
Property Taxes
What if we have to move and can't sell (it's not an investment anymore)
Less $ to spend on the weekends/vacations or for kids activities

Pros:
No more white walls
Feel more settled
Have more space

Right now it looks like the cons are winning. hmmmm...is it wrong for us to hope the market collapses even more by the end of the year and we have some capital to cash in on a great deal??? Oh well, the right thing to do will eventually come along.

The perfect situation would be that the house I want (interior already painted) will become available to rent for as long as we need it and the rent won't ever be raised. I know...Pipe dream!

2010-05-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach for the day Mothers Day weekend. It was breathtakingly beautiful and warm. I could have sat there all day. Next time, we'll be staying for more than a day. Driving there and back in one day was a bit much. I love where we live!

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the other Moms out there. Everyday should be Mothers day, but we all usually end up feeling like the "Invisible Mom"* on those days. So, at least we get a day of recognition.

I am so grateful to be the mother of my children. I am especially grateful that I was blessed with these 4 cuties. It is ALOT of work, but I know in the end it will be worth it. Everyday there is the good and the bad, but those little moments, which I like to think of slices of heaven (or what it will feel like) are what make me keep working to be a better mom each day.

Thank you M.G. for the wonderful weekend!

*The Invisible Woman: When Only God Sees - written by Nicole Johnson

Does that mean I look Uggghhhh?

2010-05-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Good news and Bad news. Bad news first: Being on the floor is a hazard, especially when your only means of escape is rolling. Yesterday, monkey took a bicycle pump to the head. Older siblings knocked it over and apparently did not try to stop it before making contact with their little brothers forehead. Then today, Gardener accidentally catches one of his cheeks in the belt clips while trying to buckle him into the car. Monkey decided to do a sit up at the exact moment the buckling was happening. Opps!

Good News: Monkey is up on knees and elbows! Let's hope the crawling and walking comes sooner than later.

Ahh, Tiger Lily. Here she is last week wearing the same dress she wore when she was two. On Sunday she came inside and told me, "Mom, I need to change into a dress so I can be the prettiest outside." Me, "No, you don't. It's kind of chilly out there and your pants and shirt work just fine." T.L., "No mom, these pants are sooo uggggghhhhh!(while eyes are rolling up and tongue is making a choking sound) I NEED a dress." Me, "I'm wearing pants and shirt, do I look uggghhhhh?" T.L., "No, its just me!" Me, "Fine, but don't complain to me when you are cold." (I think I may have caved because I was relieved she didn't say I looked uggghhhh)

I don't know how many days, months or years I have left before she starts telling me "You can't wear that, if you are going to be seen with me!"

I'm a ....????

2010-04-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

My husband needs another name for what he does. One that doesn't scream, Please ask me what I think about the economy!!! Because this just leads to an answer that no one wants to hear or think about and frankly, may scare people off.

April...so far

2010-04-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

CALLA LILY borrowing Mrs. Potato Heads stethoscope to listen to Monkey's heart. Very Cute!

THE FLOWERS after their Easter egg hunt. It was raining so we hit up an indoor one at a local church.

DYING Easter eggs, while trying to listen to conference.

THE FLOWERS made a s'mores dessert using peeps. Best way to eat peeps! The adults enjoyed a homemade mint Oreo cheesecake. Very good!

LOOK who is working on sitting up. Not quite there, but can hold this position for a little while.

70 DEGREES...definitely warm enough for a water balloon fight.
LOOK...The Gardener finally making her own bread! 1st try, not so great...2nd try, much better. Also, she is loving her mixer and uses it several times a week.

SNAP DRAGON can be seen on nice days flying his kite in the back yard. His Grandma brought him this from China.

MONKEY being the adorable little boy he is. Loves when his feet are bare, so he can grab them.

Friday Funnies

2010-04-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Anniversary Present

2010-04-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary, I bought two tickets to see Muse at the Rose Garden Arena. We bought the tickets in December, but the show wasn't until last night. Well, after all the anticipation and waiting, the show came. In general, with a lot of anticipation and high expectations for a given event, the actual occurrence tends to be a let down. This was not the case last night. Muse not only delivered, but exceeded all unusually high expectations. This band of three knows how to put on a good show. Unfortunately, we didn't take our camera. So you'll have to make due with cell phone pictures.

The Gardener picked me up from Priesthood Session and we raced off to the Max Station. Here is a picture of us on the Max Train. It was really great, since the train dumped us off right at the arena. We didn't have to worry about parking or anything.

We got to the arena right after the opening band, and got to sit there waiting for about an hour. Here is us waiting.

Once the show started, we knew it was going to be full of awesome. I tried to take more pictures, but didn't save them. However, the lasers were cool.

We came to realize that part of the awesomeness of the show was our mutual appreciation for the music. Neither myself or the Gardener were there just for the other person, tolerating the surroundings. We both were enjoying it. Another plus, the crowd wasn't shady(quite a few families)and the show was clean.

Thank you Muse, for the awesome show. Keep up the good work, and keep on Rocking!

Spring Break Report

2010-03-27T09:22:00.001-07:00

Wow...Twice in one week!

Well, I survived Spring Break with 4 children, by myself. M.G. is saving all his vacation time for this summer, when we hit the road to ID, WY and UT. (Can't wait)

What did we do??? Well, you'll just have to read about it because I didn't take the camera with me once. That's right, no pictures!

When trying to get 4 children and myself out the door, the camera was the last thing on my mind.

Monday- Hiking at the local nature park and playing at the park. Sunny
Tuesday- Taking a little drive south to go to a really fun park. Sunny
Wednesday-Drove to the capital to go to a childrens museum. IT had a great outdoor play area. Sunny
Thursday- Bowling! Raining
Friday- Swimming at the Rec center. Morning showers

One activity a day...that's all I could do. It was a very busy/stressful week, but worth the smiles on my childrens faces.

1965 or 2010?

2010-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks Calla Lily for posting in my absence.

These past few weeks have been busy with LIFE and Activism. For days I have been trying to get my thoughts together and wrap my head around what went down last week. IT Astounds me how little people care and blow it off. I AM TIRED, WE'RE ALL TIRED. The last thing anyone wants to do at the end of day (after the dishes are done, the kids tucked in bed and the house picked up) is write a letter begging you're congressman or senators to have a spine and stand with the majority of America and vote for what is right, not your party.

I KNOW everyone is sick of politics, Washington D.C., Etc.... I Know people think we're KOOKS for standing up for freedom and trying to fight for our children's future. But, I don't care anymore... IF WE DON'T DO IT, WHO WILL??? In 20 years, I want to be able to look our children in the eye and tell them that WE DID everything we could to prevent it. We've written letters, we've made signs and have even gone to a rally.After we left this rally, we felt uplifted and more hopeful than ever. Which confirmed to us, what we were doing was good and right and that we are not alone. There were tons of families, elderly and people of every race gathering together peacefully for the same cause. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't post this last year, because I didn't want people calling me and my family names. DO WE LOOK LIKE KOOKS, TERRORIST or HATEMONGERS???? Now, I don't care, go ahead and call me names, I don't care... I know what I believe and I will keep saying it.

I was asking M.G. last week, "When did we become activist???" He looked at me and said what I was thinking "Lowering rent in Verano." That was one of the hardest and most emotionally draining things I ever did. But It worked! With the community coming together, We were able to save ourselves and our fellow graduate students hundreds of dollars in rent that year. After that experience, I really didn't want to do it again, but I will not give up on my children and their chance for a future of Freedom and choices. Where else are they going to go for that? This [America] is it!!!!!

My prayer is that everyone will stop name calling and really pay attention to the issues and what is happening. Don't think you can ignore it and that the decisions being made in your communities, states and Washington D.C. won't affect you. IT WILL and last weekend proved that. Read/listen to the original source and study history, then make a decision about it. DON'T TAKE SOMEONE ELSE'S WORD FOR IT!

I saw this video a few years ago and thought, "if he's right, we're not prepared." This week it started floating around facebook and I watched it again and thought, "he was right, it's already here; thank you Lord we were able to get a job and prepare ourselves." But that doesn't mean that we have to roll over and accept it, "TIME IS ALWAYS ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH."- Ezra Taft Benson
Please watch this video and think about what happened this past weekend

I am turning off the comments, because I don't want a debate, I just wanted to let others know that you are not alone. There are those of us out there who are trying to educate ourselves and prepare ourselves for whatever is coming and YOU CAN TOO!

WHATEVER YOUR VIEWS, PLEASE KNOW (meaning you know in your gut/prayed about it) WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY WHAT YOU BELIEVE, EVEN IF IT IS UNPOPULAR.

A Happy Birthday to ME, a "Very Hungry" 2 year old

2010-03-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

First, I need to apologize. It has been very difficult for my Mommy to update this blog while I am around. I admit it, I do like to bang on the keyboard and try to do a "grab n' throw" with the magic mouse. But, come on, what do you expect from me when she is sitting on the couch trying to type. Its just too tempting... So that is the reason for her lack of updates.
(Yes, my parents thought it would be a great idea to use the TV as a monitor)
Trust me, she has things to say, but my brothers and sister and I give her no time to do it. Sorry Mommy!

AND NOW, BACK TO MY SPECIAL DAY
I went to the Dr for my 2 year check up and found out I am over 3 feet tall. My Mommy wonders if this means I'll be 6 feet tall when I am grown. No wonder people think I am 3 years old. I guess my talking and counting to 15 only adds to their confusion. I also lost my binky. This is distressing to me but I think my mommy is secretly happy about it...hmmm.

For my second birthday, my parents threw me a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" party. They kept it pretty low key and only invited Nana and cousins. We had pizza, salad (green leaves) and all the fruit from the book, minus plums (couldn't find them). Here's me after blowing out my candles.

My parents are awesome! I squealed with delight when Daddy brought this out. I guess they thought I love slides so much, we should have one in our house. Even my 6 year old brother enjoys it.

Wow, I even got my own car (although Daddy mentioned something about this being the only one I would ever get, so enjoy it- whatever that means) My parents must know how much I dislike standing on the sidewalk while my older siblings ride their bikes. Now I'll be riding the streets in style.

My Nana hooked me up with some nice gifts too. She knows I love books and to be read to.

Here are some of the decorations my Mommy made. Wow, the things she can do with paper and scissors!

Look at this CAKE! My mommy is amazing!

She also hooked me up with my own birthday crown.

I had a wonderful day, despite losing my binky somewhere...I guess that habit is no more. Thanks Daddy and Mommy for my special day!

Cute and Crafty valentines

2010-02-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

Tiger Lily made these last week at music/craft hour. I thought they were so cute. Use a heart shaped candy form (flexible ones) and melt your old broken crayons in them. Once hardened, tape onto Valentine and write "you color my world". So easy and different!

Presidents Day Weekend

2010-02-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

What we did, in reverse order, this past weekend.
Monday we headed to Mt Hood for some sledding with the cousins. The children lasted a little over an hour before uncontrollable crying began due to cold feet. (note to self- must get snow boots before attempting this again)

The forecast said rain, but it held off till the evening and it was a beautiful day.

Monkey was perfect. We'll definitely be taking him next time. ;)

Of course, he was bundled the whole time...

The favorite uncle was in town for a visit. Sorry you missed the sledding Ben! Check out that beard ladies- now that is manly and impressive (no patches)!

Our valentine Flowers

We headed to the childrens museum on Saturday to catch the Clifford exhibit before it left. (we had been promising the kids since Monkey was born)

Incase you aren't familiar with Clifford, this is Calla Lily with T-Bone.

And for the Friday date night... we pulled out some zany costumes (or the only costumes we had) and went to play "let's make a deal", sans kids. Yes, here we are reliving our glory days. We left the activity with a $5 target gift card and a trip to Hawaii! Not bad for a ward activity...

It's all about "Monkey"!

2010-01-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

Need to post while I have a free moment and am thinking about it. This week will be 3 months since Monkey made his grand debut. Time flies when you're having fun...or just really busy!!!

Trying to capture a smile here. He is cooing and smiling all the time now. I love when they get past the infant stage, but my arms and back don't. ;) He is finally packing them on!

Here are our four darling flowers. Really... we have been very blessed with these children. They have their moments, but overall they are so sweet and make us really proud.

Here we see that Monkey fits is the doll stroller, but not for long... The three older flowers were having a blast pushing him up and down the hall. Once the ride was over, he puked all over his daddy. NICE!

8 Years Ago Today

2009-12-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

I have been learning how to use i photo and discovering all the neat things it can do...

It seems like just yesterday and yet it feels like we've always been together. In numbers.. what we've done.

8- number of trips taken as a family
7- number of jobs combined we have had since being married
6- number of times we've moved.
5-number of times M.G. tells Gardener he loves her a day (that is what it seems like- he is better at those things than her)
4- number of Children we've had
3- number of college degrees we have between us
2- number of people allowed to sleep in our bed. NO CHILDREN!
1- number of cars we have bought
0-number of nurseries I been able to decorate for our babies.

Thanks Nana for watching the children so we could catch a movie!

Past two weeks

2009-12-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Ever hear of the expression "Four is More"? I didn't, until recently, but I have to agree... "Four is More". The past two weeks have been CRAZY!!! Luckily, I have had my mother here and I am still sane. (She has been picking up my slack around the house)

So, the past two weeks consisted of Holiday Parties at school, last Ballet/Tap class for T.L. and last swim class for S.D. (no pics of S.D. in the pool), last minute shopping, work holiday party, wrapping gifts, sewing a stocking, helping with other projects, visiting teaching, doctor appts, dentist appts, eye appts and trying to fit some service in there.

For Christmas Eve we took the children to the zoo. Hardly any people were there, which was nice (no crowds!) We really enjoyed our time together as a family, despite the bitter cold and lack of animals. That evening we enjoyed homemade pizza and watching the nativity story. Then the children opened one gift, put them on and went to bed.

We enjoyed a very relaxing Christmas Day. M.G. made waffles and then we opened gifts and played the day away as a family. For dinner we went to my brothers house, where we ate and played some more.

I do have to mention that on the 23rd we lost another crab. Big Claw has passed on. Snap Dragon was very upset but was comforted with the fact that he died of natural causes and he had a nice 5 months of living with us as king of his own castle. We'll probably adopt another one next month.

Happy Birthday

2009-12-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was M.G.'s birthday. We celebrated with some Apple Caramel Bread for breakfast. (I had made a cake for the ward Christmas party the night before and we still had half of that left over- so why make another cake?) We warmed this bread up and it was delicious. And of course when I go to get the candles, I cant find the box, so we use the "3" from last year and he sticks up his finger for "1". Sorry again, Hun! Something always falls through the cracks. Oh well, that's life, right ladies????

For Fun- My three Handsome Guys!

Blessing Weekend

2009-12-13T13:18:00.001-08:00

Last weekend M.G's parents came into town for Monkey's blessing. 1st stop was riding the Holiday Train along the river. We rode in these vintage train cars pulled by a massive Steam engine. Everything was decked out in lights.

Guess who loved it the most? Snap Dragon. He still loves trains and tells us he is going to be a train engineer when he grows up. When the children get older, we are seriously considering a vacation where we travel the Canadian Rockies by train.

Monkey with his blessing bonnet

Gardener with her baby. We have been very blessed with another sweet baby. He's not good at the eating thing, but he sleeps pretty well at night

M.G. and Monkey

On Saturday we bought a tree! This was our first real tree purchase. It was another moment for us where we just felt so blessed. We were able to 1. afford a tree and 2. have room enough in our home to put it up.

After the blessing on Sunday, we spent the afternoon decorating with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids really missed their grandparents, which in turn made them miss their house in CA, which in turn, made them miss all their friends in CA.

now with big claw

2009-12-03T12:24:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's that time again...

2009-11-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here we have "Fancy Nancy". I only had to make the wig for this one.

Mr. "I want to be a hermit crab". I had to make all the pieces for this one; not good when you are having a baby the same week. Thanks to Aunt "Trainer" for stepping in and helping make this costume happen. Luckily for him, it didn't rain!

Mrs. Monster/Dragon, take your pick. Grabbed this one last minute out of the Halloween box. "Sorry girl, that hermit crab did me in; I'll make it up to you next year."

Monkey and I hung out at home and passed out candy. We actually didn't do too much handing out though; only one group of trick-or-treaters came by. So, what did we do to pass the time while the other flowers were out? We watched "Twilight" of course. Closest thing I had to a "Halloween movie". Oh well, guess I'll save all that candy for "potty treats".

Introducing the newest flower to the Garden

2009-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

Monkey Flower (yes this is actually the name of a real wild flower)

Miracle Gro with his latest

Gardener with Monkey (not bad for only 1.5 hours of sleep)

Warning to Men: the rest of post is labor/delivery story

Kinda been in labor all week, but finally decided to go in Wed night. Of course after they admit me, things slow down, so the Dr decides to let me do my thing and will give me Pitocin in the morning. M.G. snoozed, while my sister walked the halls with me to try and get the contractions going closer together. At 4:30am I am only dilated to a 5, but finally get the pitocin. 1 cm all night!!! I was ticked. 5am got my epidural (didn't want to miss my window). So, by the time the pit started doing its things, I was numb to it all. I hardly felt any pain with this whole labor process. It was a weird experience b/c my other 3 labors were almost identical and I didn't ask for an epidural until I was very uncomfortable. 8:30 am, still a 5-6, the Dr breaks my water. By 9:10am, I am ready to go. one push and a contraction finished the rest. 30 hours later we are both home and healthy.

Due to the H1N1 flu this year, no visitos under 18 were allowed, so the family was anxious for us to come home. The other flowers are so in love with Monkey. More pics to come...

Weekend Getaway

2009-10-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Since adding the flowers to the Garden we have only had one night away form them together and that was when Snapdragon wasn't even 6 months old. Miracle Gro has been lucky to get away with conferences or job interviews, but I haven't had that luxury. (I'm sure he'll disagree with me that it was a luxury- he doesn't like being away from the family) So, last weekend M.G. finally made a weekend getaway happen. I really needed a break before our lives get even busier. He surprised me and took me out to the Columbia Gorge while the children stayed with their Cousins.

View from our room.
It was a historical hotel that was recently renovated, so it was nice, but it still had that antique feeling to it. M.G. kept making "haunting" references; i.e. pictures in the halls and the old elevator (which was just like the one in Tower of Terror). This was not appreciated since he knows how much the paranormal stuff freaks me out. I finally got to sleep on a Temper-pedic bed. My body was not sore the next day and I slept great. (I am really missing it right now) M.G. was very pleased with himself and this unintentional bonus for me.

The hotel was built on a cliff and had this beautiful waterfall right behind it.

Back of the hotel. We ate breakfast in the restaurant down stairs and it was so delicious. Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. (stuffed french toast with a pear syrup/sauce and fresh berries)

Us on top of the hotel. It had a look out tower and deck.

We took a drive to the base of Mt Hood and then bought some fruit and cider at a local farm. The trees are now starting to turn colors so it was a really beautiful drive. Then we visited some spots on the way home. It was a wonderful 24 hours of NO "Mommy, I want..., Mommy, I need..". or just "Mommy!". Just what I needed to recharge the battery. M.G. did an awesome job for such a quick getaway.

*Can I just also say that I am so in love with where we live. It is gorgeous. Yes, I know the rains and overcast are starting, but I really don't mind rain. (Its one of the things I miss about growing up in FL) And to finally be able to wear warm clothes half the year. Lets face it people, I was not made for the sun and sand and prefer my jeans and long sleeve shirts or sweaters. And to all those wondering, yes I am still shaving and have not turned into a hippie or tree hugger. Actually, I have found people here to be relatively normal.

Only a few little odd and end things to do and I am ready for this newest edition.

R.I.P. Red Claw

2009-10-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

This morning the children thought Red Claw was doing a neat trick by standing on his "red claws", then I had to look and break the news to them that he had passed on. These things always happen while M.G. is not home. So I had to fish him out and set him aside for the funeral after M.G. gets home. Tiger Lily was cute and told Snapdragon "Don't worry he went back to live with Heavenly Father". (Yes, he is being buried in a Play Doh canister)

So, can you guess what our family home evening lesson was on? Perfect time to discuss death and the resurrection. M.G. did a great lesson with the "glove" and "hand" object lesson.

At the grave site

Headstone

One sad little boy

Catch Up

2009-10-04T16:27:00.001-07:00

So, I need to catch up now because the next two weeks are going to be very busy. Last week my hair finally got the TLC it has needed. Its amazing what a hair cut can do for you. (Except it really can't hide my fat face in this picture... ughhh, the things we do for children)

Calla Lily has been a good sport the past month with school and activities starting and all the driving around and coming and going we do. She has not been getting her required allotment of sleep during the day and for that I feel for her and feel very blessed with how good natured she is.

Here is Tiger Lily on her 1st day of dance class. She was so excited and surprisingly did really well for her first class. Thank goodness children listen better to other adults than their own parents. (or at least mine do)

Daddy and his girls during Sunday morning conference. We love church in our pajamas and felt we get more out of conference than we do in sacrament meeting each week. (Children are easier to manage and keep busy at home)

Random Thought

2009-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Remember that in the Hunger Games series, the evil oppressive government is divided into 12 districts? You know who else has 12 districts? The Federal Reserve System. Funny coincidence, right? I'm not saying that Ben Bernanke is going to take over the government and actually start a Hunger Games. But I'm not not saying it either . . .

Crab Update

2009-09-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

I may have majored in Animal Science, but I didn't learn squat about crustaceans. So, I have been learning on the fly since buying these bad boys for S.D.'s birthday. We have had to reconfigure the tank, add a air pump to keep the water moving, learn how to take care of the water and clean the gravel and S.D. just had to have this castle for them. I have been reading everything I can about them and putting way more time into them then I thought I would, but it has been worth it.
They are eating, active and have each successfully molted their entire exoskeleton (which is a little gross and eerie to find). I call this a success. Hopefully I can keep them alive for awhile because S.D. and the girls adore them. Sometimes for me, it is like having two more children. If one encroaches on the others space I have to break up the fight. I DO NOT want to be fishing out dismembered claws or legs.
If I was betting, I would put all my money on "Red Claw". Those look like some serious pinchers. M.G. isn't so sure, but I have tried to assure him that the "big claw" has no serious pinching action behind it. Its just all show. "Big Claw" likes to climb to the highest point in the tank and wave his "claw" back and forth. It is very entertaining to watch. We all just wave back.

This was Funny

2009-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Regardless of preferences on Politics/Music, I would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't think this was funny (except for maybe Scott, because he's just weird like that).*

Take a moment to chuckle.

*Scott, you know I have nothing but warm feelings in my heart for you.

1st Days of School

2009-09-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

First week of School. Everything went smoothly and both children like their schools and teachers. Phew....

Finally!

2009-09-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today was Calle Lily's first day of Nursery. M.G. and I were very excited. She did great! Now we get a few months to enjoy the last 2 hours of our church meetings.

Day Trip

2009-08-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

This was not part of our day trip, but is somewhat related. M.G. was at work while we were here; why he is not included in pictures.
A few weeks ago we went downtown for a cheese festival; won some prizes, got some free samples: grilled cheese, cheese and ice cream. And we got to take our picture with "Tillie" the cow and the "Baby Loaf". Seriously, the people here must really love their cheese. ;)

Last Saturday we took a day trip to the coast. The first of many I am sure!
First Stop: Cheese Factory

Took a tour and got some ice cream

Calle Lily couldn't stop petting the fake cows on display.

After the factory we continued out to the coast to see a lighthouse and go to the beach.

Here is proof that we were all in the lighthouse.

Beautiful coastline

We went to the beach in this tiny town. I was so pleased to see all these mature trees on the hill side. (One my biggest pet peeves of CA, is the destruction of the land that occurs when they decide to build homes.) Also, parking was free!

Lucky for us, it was in the 70's and sunny. We found the sand to be a very soft and silky texture and the beach was flat. But, nothing is perfect; it was too windy.

I just couldn't get over the beauty of it all. Words really don't do it justice. For the first time in my life I am loving where I live. I love how everything is green, there are trees everywhere and it is not blazing hot. (I know, everyone has warned me, the winter is rainy and overcast...but hey, at least its not snow, right?) Also, there is so much to do here. Parks galore, the zoo, children's museum, train rides, library, water fountains, pools, community activities, etc... We still don't really have friends to hang out with so we just keep busy by exploring the area.

Happy Birthday Tiger Lily

2009-08-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

The birthday princess with her cake

Daddy playing a round of pretty, pretty princess.

Everyone played dress up

This post is weeks overdue, but I couldn't leave Tiger Lily out. We had a great little family get together with games and dress up. She had a great time. I can't believe this girl is 4, but at the same time, she seems so much older to me.

Best Friends

2009-08-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

There are those you meet in this life, who you just click with. You can see each other once a year and its like you were never apart. These are friends that you know you will have throughout your lifetime. We are so lucky to have friends like this! At the end of July we met up with Search and Destroy and baby brother in Southern OR for a few days of playing.

Not bad for trying to get 5 kids under the age of 6 to look at the camera.

It was so hot while we were there, that we drove up into the mountains to cool off in a stream. The kids had a blast.

On another day we hit the local water play area to cool off and picnic and after dinner we hit the local DQ.

The kids had a great time and love seeing/playing with their friends. When we got home, Snapdragon asked "I had fun, but why did Destroy want to always play with Tiger Lily?" To which T.L. quickly replied "Because he loves me."

Another great line by Snapdragon. Megan wanted to say goodbye and take a picture and he said to her "why? We're going to see you in June when you move here." I hope S.D. premonition comes true and these guys are within at least a 1/2 days drive from us.

Thanks for another good time...See ya next year!

REVIEW: How not to write a survival novel

2009-08-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

As a gift, the Gardener received a book entitled, "Patriot: How to survive the coming collapse". Well, I picked it up and read it. It was an interesting read, though, as a novel, was really bad at telling the story. It seemed like the novel was trying to take on three different forms; encyclopedic reference book for survival techniques, apocalyptic story, and opinion brief of federalist case law (citizen rights vs. state rights and federal government rights).

As a reference guide, it was really thorough. You can learn how to set up a retreat (some might refer to it as an anti-government compound, ala Waco or Ruby Ridge), plant a garden, build explosive type devices (thermite grenades), organize and train a militia and all that other fun stuff you might want to do as a survivalist.

As an opinion brief, I can't really say anything. There is a part in the book when one of the characters spouts case after case about the natural right people have to possess fire arms and that any infringement on that right is unconstitutional, even in the case of an assault weapons ban. This character also professed that the state governments overstep their bounds requiring people to register property or obtain licenses to travel via car on public roads. Again, I am no lawyer and cannot offer any opinion as to all this. But the author must have found it important to put it in there.

As a novel, it was really weird. To give some background, the author has adapted this book to current day situations a few times since the first version in the early 90's. This version talks about the collapse of the American Government due to a combination of excessive hyperinflation, disease and failed infrastructure. The main characters in the novel gather at the retreat to wait out the bad events and defend their property from lawlessness. Well, it turns out that an international committee sets up a new federal government and wages war (with UN troops) on the multiple militia/survivalist groups. Well, you can guess who wins and what the happy ending will be.

One good part of the ending was the reversion of a currency value based on a hard asset, as opposed to fiat money. That is always a plus in my eyes.

I don't necessarily agree with all the ideas/conclusions that the author draws, but it made you think.

One aside: The author takes a subtle jab at the Mormons for caving to the new government, under the notion that Mormons support whatever government happens to be around at the time. I would like to think that Mormons, if a government as abusive as the one depicted actually came to exist, would have a little more backbone and fight.

In summary, if you are going to write a novel like this, don't try to write it in three different styles. If you want to write an apocalyptic novel, go for it. If you want to write a thesis about law cases, do it. If you want to write a reference manual about how to be a survivalist, have at it. Don't try to combine all three into one.

Random Montana Pictures

2009-08-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Pilot and Index

This one is for Aunt Emily. The kids love their shirts they made. (my poor brother looked like he had 2 wives and 8 children while we were traveling to and from MT)

A hummingbird accidently flew into the cabin window and died. We found it on the porch and the children and I dug a hole and buried it. (sorry the pic is sideways)

Grandpa helping the kids look at the mining building up on the mountain after our picnic and snow adventures on Lulu Pass.

There were a lot of misc. equipment left on the ground outside the old mine that I thought looked cool, so I snapped some pics.

Here is looking down from the where the mine entrance used to be.

Pretty wild flowers. While driving up Lulu pass I couldn't help myself. I had to take pictures of all this beauty.

Snapdragon found a use for his little dump truck. He needed these little guys for fishing with grandpa.

I came out of the barn one day and found big sister pushing her little sister on the swing. These little moments are so precious!

Can't go to town with out taking a pic in front of the bear at the Yellowstone Post Trading store.

This deer came right up to the cabin one morning.

Calle Lily looking cut, as always!

The cousins, minus the 5 sleeping babies, after their scavenger hunt.

Cousins playing in the river

Trying out some different features on my camera. This is a blue bell.

We have crabs!!!

2009-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Or, I should say Snap Dragon does. After we returned from MT, we went to the store to buy him a fish for his birthday, and we came home with crabs instead. Say hello to "Big Claw" and "Red Claw" (or "Bella" as Calle Lily likes to call her/him-we're not sure of this ones gender)

They are not hermit crabs, but full on mini crabs that live in water and partially on land. I must say they are a lot more entertaining than a fish, but they do sorta smell. Oh well, the things we do for our children, right?

Birthdays

2009-08-02T15:01:00.001-07:00

It was M.G.'s first week of work, so I have to give him a break on this birthday. I called him from the grocery store and asked if I should pick up my own cake; sheepishly, he said "yes". I was getting ready to leave the following day for MT, so I didn't have time to make one either. Oh well, such is life. Its just another day and I am just another year older. I could do without the reminder, but I do love the cake and gift that comes with it.

While in MT, Snap Dragon was able to celebrate with the entire extended family. My brother Ben helped with the cake decorating and propping up the B-52, that just had to be on there. I can't believe this little guy is 6 years old. He is an amazing little person and I am so glad he is the oldest. He is a wonderful brother and very loving and helpful with his younger sisters. He is also awesome at sharing! Which, if you have a house full of youngsters, you know is a huge plus.

Montana

2009-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Children and I hit the road to drive to MT for a family reunion. My siblings and I have not all been together in 3 1/2 years. Of the eight siblings, only one brother and his family could not make it. Some may think I was crazy to go without Miracle Gro, buy I love going to MT and the chance to spend a week with my family gave me the courage I needed to go.

We have to drive through Yellowstone National Park to get to Cooke City, MT (where my grandparents have a cabin and there are cabins to rent).

I came a round a corner and almost hit a huge bison that was crossing the street. I little further down the way we saw this coyote traveling down the road.

In all the years I have been going through Yellowstone, I have never seen a bear. This was my year. This black bear was only a few yards from the road. This really made my day and the two day drive seem worth it. That may seem weird, but after 25 years of not seeing one, it was a big deal.

Look who fell off the bridge and into the freezing cold river. He didn't like that very much.

This is the old barn that has been converted into a meeting place for church, group dinners, playing games, etc... As a little girl I used to sleep in the loft.

At the end of the treasure hunt was a pinata. Here is Tiger Lily, about to take a turn.

The flowers playing on the swing set.

Another activity was having a little fun with a water balloon launcher and Uncle Ben.

Snap Dragon and I taking a crack at it.

This was Calle Lily's favorite activity. Surprisingly she only fell into this stream once.

Calle Lily and I after our ride on the four wheeler.

Snap Dragon in the snow on Lulu's Pass. There is an old mine up there and we took a picnic lunch and hiked up to the snow patches.

On the way home, we stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs and walked around. One of these days, we are going to go and explore Yellowstone, instead of just driving through it.

All in all, it was a great week. Everyone had fun and the cousins (all 22 of them) got along great. The only negative of the week was the mosquitos. All the rain up there has created a breeding ground and they were everywhere. Calle Lily got the worse of it on the last day we were there.

On the way home I had to stop in Coeur d'Alene, ID and look around. Northern Idaho is gorgeous. Another place I have added to my list for exploring. Between Spokane and Cooke City, my list grew quite a bit. ;)

Our Home

2009-07-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

This is for those who have been asking to see pictures of our place.
MT post will be next, I promise. :)

Kitchen- my favorite part, the dishwasher.

Eating Area- luckily my brother had a table to spare so we have something to eat off of.

Living room

Back of the house

Front entrance and hallway

stairs- they are wide, like a normal house, unlike our last apt.

Upstairs hallway- 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and the washer and dryer area. I am standing in the master bedroom doorway. I didn't take pics of the rooms, because they are still not presentable for public viewing.

We also have a one car garage, but I didn't take a picture of that. So, thats it. It may not seem like much, but it is perfect for us right now.

Recap of our last month

2009-07-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry we have been MIA for the past month. From the time M.G. had a job offer till we moved, we had 3 weeks, so we were a little rushed to get things wrapped up in CA, find a place to live and move. We apologize to anyone we were not able to say good bye to, but we still have family in CA so I am sure we'll be back for visiting. They do miss their friends and still ask to play with them. Here is a pic of some of their friends on our last play date and Tiger Lily saying goodbye to her best friend, Danger boy.We found a 3 bed/2 1/2 bath townhouse to rent in a great area for an awesome price. (I'll post pics later) We were truly blessed when everything finally came together. We love our place and will be here for at least a couple of years. What I love most about where we live now, is the trees. There are trees everywhere. Here is a pic of our backyard and one of our visitors.
The children have adjusted well and love being close to their cousins. The only thing that was difficult for them was M.G. first few days of work. He would leave before they wake up and they would keep asking "where is daddy?" Sorry kids, gone our the days when daddy is around 24/7. Here he is on his first day.
A week after we arrived, the children and I left for MT for a family reunion. I'll post about that next.

Economist: Why People Hate Them

2009-07-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

The following email exchange took place at work today. It starts with a mass email from the receptionist.

We've had the same type of coffee for a long time, and people have been suggesting it's time for a change. The good news is Portland Roasting coffee is now available in the size packets we use, so we got three samples: French, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Tomorrow (Friday) morning we will brew these samples and label the thermos so you know what you're sampling. Please note your opinion on the comment sheets, and our next order will be determined by your input.

It's true that this coffee is a little more expensive than what we have been using. It has been calculated that if we switch to Portland Roasting coffee, we should start putting in 35 cents per (12 oz) cup instead of 25.

My Reply:

You should do a blind study, labeling the thermoses with random numbers, each of them like 4 digits. Excel can generate random numbers for you. Then, after everyone indicates their preferences, you can reveal the unbiased winner!!

Her Reply to me:

why I hate working with economists

Sorry

2009-07-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Garden Readers,

Sorry for the silence from the Garden. We are still settling in here, and the Gardener and the Flowers took a road trip to Montana for a family get-together. When they come back, I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to look at and all sorts of new stuff to say.

Thanks

M.G.

Gas

2009-06-18T16:56:00.001-07:00

Snap Dragon and I had a funny exchange yesterday while driving home from school. We came up to a red light, and noticed a car with it's hazard lights flashing. We come along side of the car, noticed that it was a teenage girl driving, and the Gardener rolled her window down and inquired if she needed assistance. She replied, "No, I'm fine. My boyfriend is bringing me some gas." Now comes the exchange:

MG: Well, apparently she doesn't know how to read a gas gauge.

SD: What? Everyone knows how to read a gas gauge. Daddy, you must be telling a joke.

So, according to Snap Dragon, everyone knows how to read a gas gauge and should not be running out of gas.

The end.

Open Letter

2009-06-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

If you have 10 minutes, read this; an open letter to our government from a 53 year old woman from AZ.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26742/

Wow, she definitely covers everything I am thinking and I think most Americans are thinking right now.

NEWS!!!

2009-06-11T20:44:00.001-07:00

In case you already don't follow me on Facebook, myfamily.com, or received an email from me, here is the news.

The Garden will be moving to Oregon in July, but we will always be here. Thanks for all the well wishes and hoping while I was looking for a job.

Poor Tiger Lily

2009-06-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours. Here's the rundown:

Runny Nose/Congestion
Fever
One vomiting episode
Right ear infection
Mild Urinary Tract Infection

Hopefully, she will clear up soon. I'll be on standby for the after effects of the amoxicillin.

It was a beautiful day!

2009-06-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

It is official! M.G. graduated yesterday. I am so proud of him and all his hard work. It was a long road, but hopefully next week we will know that it was all worth it.

Love you babe!

The Flowers

2009-05-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about the flowers in awhile so I thought I would share some pictures and what they have been up to while M.G. and I have been trying to figure out their future.

Snapdragon brought this beauty home from UT; a gift from his grandpa. It must be at least 50 years old and the train doesn't run, but he still loves to play with it. He is still obsessed with trains.

The flowers keeping cool on a hot day

We forgot to put the binky in when sending her out to play this day. She still likes to eat dirt and sand.

Another hot day, so they were playing in the sprinkler.

"Please honey, don't even start this, it doesn't work on me"-Gardener

Calle Lily's first tantrum. I just let her thrash there on the floor for 5 minutes, but I made sure to get the camera and capture this precious moment. This one has got a temper.

Here she is as her normal cute self. She is following in her big sisters footsteps; wearing mommy's heels.

Last Saturday we hit the beach with some friends. Here is Snapdragon and Tiger Lily with their masterpiece.

This time we didn't forget the binky, but I think she still managed to get a handful in her mouth.

Reviews

2009-05-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have been reading these two books.

The first, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is the personal narrative of an economic consultant who was in charge of forecasting the growth of a developing nation's GNP after receipt of international aid loans. He states his purpose was to get these countries to take on huge amounts of loans by over-inflating the GNP forecast, then taking action to bankrupt these countries so that they essentially became slaves to US corporate interests. The book then discusses his personal soul searching as he leaves the business.

As an economist, I don't know how I feel about this. First, he technically isn't an economist; he never earned a Ph.D.* But, he definitely has the experience in doing what he did, and probably did it very well. Second, he tries to demonstrate the failures of economic thought by showing that very few people benefited from the international aid, while the rest of the country suffered. The reason why economic thought failed, in my opinion, is that the very contracts his company set up were corrupted from the begining, designed to enrich a few people while enslaving the rest of the counrty. So, of course that will be the outcome when it's designed to be so. He does provide one counter example of a politician who would not be corrupted; where the aid actually helped the country. That president was soon assassinated.

The tone of the book is pretty dull, and I had a hard time reading it. It's dripping with remorse, which is a good thing. But, as the phrase goes, hindsight is 20/20. I have a hard time believing the regret he showed at the beginning of his career.

The other book is Lone Survivor. It's the story of Marcus Luttrell, a navy SEAL, and one of his missions in Afganistan. His SEAL team of four was ambushed by Taliban fighters, and he was the lone survivor of his team. He was taken in by a Pashtun village and nursed back to health. Eventually, Luttrell was rescued by Army Rangers.

The story was great. The detailed description of Navy SEAL training was very vivid. It made my joints hurt. However, once he finished SEAL school and got into combat operations, the language in the book fell apart. That really turned me off on the book. However, the book did raise some interesting questions, some that have some game-theoritic implications. Given a set of combat rules, what is the best response of one fighting group when the other breaks the rules? Should there be some sort of trigger-strategy?** In fact, Luttrell discusses rules of engagement quite a bit. The political classification of the military actions regarding the "war" on terror puts the armed forces in difficult positions. They may not be able to engage the enemy until they have lost every advantage to do so, or until they are at considerable risk to engage. The days are gone when the opposing forces are easy to identify, which makes fighting all the more difficult. Anyways, if you want your visual ears assaulted, go get it from the library.

*Scott, this one is for you; even though you are more of an economist than me.
*Sorry, had to throw in some game theory/ army humor in there.

This is cool

2009-05-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Man(kiw) has done it again. In another awesome post about the effects of the "stimulus" bill on employment, Mankiw discusses an absurd press release from an administration official. The administration official reads like a moron. Then, Mankiw takes on the role of asking the questions to the administration official, and he asks a far more relevant quesiton.

"Going forward, what macroeconomic data would you have to observe before you concluded that the stimulus bill has been a failure? Or will you conclude, no matter how bad things get, that the economy would have been in even worse shape without the stimulus? And if the latter is the case, aren't these quarterly reports just a bit surreal?"

This question is awesome on many levels. First, all the "objectivity" surrounding the performance analysis of the "stimulus" bill is a mirage. You cannot possibly measure the "saving or creating" of jobs, so you cannot possibly tell if the "stimulus" bill helped in that goal. Second, as Mankiw points out, you cannot randomly stimulate part of the economy (while controling the rest of it) to test if the stimulus worked compared to the control group. If, in the future, some government hack says that the economy is better off than it would have been without the "stimulus", you can confidently disregard that person as someone who doesn't have the slightest idea of what they're talking about. Why? Becuase there is no way of telling how the economy would have fared without the stimulus, now that it has been passed.

Professor, as always, you are the Man(kiw)*.

*Greg Mankiw is so much better a man crush than Deron Williams.

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

There are some days where I feel as if I am wearing one of these. They are exhausting, but so rewarding.

Happy Belated Mothers Day! I had a lovely day of breakfast and dinner served to me by my wonderful husband and beautiful homemade cards by my adorable children.

Dear Baz Luhrmann

2009-05-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like I owe you an apology. You see, I watched your movie "Australia" on the little screen of my husbands laptop. What an insult to you and your work! This is one movie I am truly sorry I did not see on the big screen. It was beautiful. And that little boy... he stole my heart.

This movie, to me, was so much more than a love story between a man and a woman. It also showed me a history of Australia I never knew existed. Thank you.

My new favorite saying: "I sing you to me."

Sincerely,
The Gardener

Can you hear me now?

2009-04-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it has been a while. Since the last post, the sickness (not swine flu) made it's way through the rest of our household. It was not pretty.

Anyways: I was supposed to have a phone interview yesterday. I was prepared for it, making sure I was in a solitary place. I was eating some toast, waiting about 5 minutes for the proscribed time to start the interview. Well, the time passed, and no phone call. More time passed. More. No phone call.

Then about 7 minutes after the proscribed time, my phone alerts me to a voice mail. ???? I listen, and it's the person with whom I had the interview. !!!! Catastrophic phone phailure.

I call my contact at the company immediately and tell her that I have not yet spoken to the interviewer and I need his contact info, since there seems to be a failure to communicate. I haven't heard back yet, so I will see what happens.

Would I be able to sue my phone carrier for all my future wages that I would have earned, had not the phone failed me?

Keep Out!!

2009-04-21T22:41:00.001-07:00

It's 10:42 pm. Snapdragon and Tiger Lily are both puking their guts out. The Gardener is in bed, and I am up making sure that no one spews on any more pillowcases or blankets. But, that is what you do when you're a parent.

The worst part of it: Since I have no immediate school obligations, I was going to go play some basketball with my Elder's Quorum tonight. Yeah, that didn't happen. Maybe this is the Lord's way of protecting me from, well, myself. I would venture to guess that if I had made it out on the court, I would have injured my;

Body
Ego
Ward's chances of winning the game

It's probably divine providence that I did not make it tonight.

Spring Break

2009-04-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

First Stop: Orem
Tiger Lily found her cousins dress up box. This was her favorite outfit. She liked to pretend she was "Maria" from the "Sound of Music".

We found some snow up American Fork Canyon. We had a blast sledding and making a snow man. Thank you snow for sticking around so we could keep good on our promise to our children. *they were upset that we didn't take them skiing a few months ago.

Snapdragon in a replica of "Sue" the T-Rex's head at the BYU paleontology museum.

Second Stop: Salt Lake City

Highlight of Snapdragons trip; riding the trax in downtown SLC.

Temple Square

"This is the Place" monument

Hill Airforce Base in Ogden. We were very impressed with this museum. Its free (donations accepted) and any little boy will love it. Don't forget to stop by the kids area. They have dress up (tiger lily was not impressed by their selection) and flight simulators.

Snapdragon loved to play with his cousins dog, "Lucy".

Third Stop: Vernal

Vernal Temple

Look who started walking Easter Weekend!

Spending time with Grandpa at the Dinosaur museum in Vernal. Tiger Lily loved the Woolly Mammoth.

Highlight of Miracle Gro's trip. Going to the rifle range with my dad.

Fourth Stop: Springville

We stayed with my grandparents for a day to visit and recharge before our journey home.

On the way home...

Cove Fort Tour- It was so windy and cold. We got the speedy version of the tour.

Vegas Stop: to and from UT, we made a pit stop with some family friends.

Here we are at the Hoover Dam. Yes, that is a bridge being built over the canyon next to the dam. Traffic will no longer have to go over the dam. This bridge is huge and very impressive.

We had a very relaxing and fun trip. Thanks to all who put us up during our trip!

Tour de Utah

2009-04-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

We are hitting the road today for a few weeks. We need to get away and spend some stress free time with one another and try not to think about our present situation.

Miracle Gro's interview in D.C. went great and we should hear something in the next 2 weeks. Not getting our hopes up, but he thought it would be a very interesting job that he would be good at.

Have a great Spring Break everyone!

Stick a fork in me . . .

2009-03-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

BECAUSE I AM DONE!!!!!

Today, I filed my two copies of my dissertation. It was good to make it a family affair, except that Calle Lilly was at home asleep. The other two flowers had fun running around special collections, while the librarian checked over the manuscript and accompanying forms. Needless to say, I am a little relieved that this whole deal is over. We are all jumping for joy.

Now, I just need to find a job . . .

Observations by Snapdragon

2009-03-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Snapdragon took his stuffed dog "buster" to Church with him today, hoping to catch a few Zzzz's during Sacrament.

Snapdragon: You know, I didn't get a rest during church.
There were too many people talking and singing.
Grandma (laughing): Grandpa didn't seem to have a problem.
Snapdragon: Well, he is up on the stand and has his own space up there. Its not as noisy for him as it is for me down on the benches.

She's 1

2009-03-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

I know it is a few weeks late, but here are a few pics from the big day. She ate her whole piece of cake and had a tummy ache that night. Most of the house has been sick so there was no party.

New Catchy Soundbite

2009-03-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

"Firearms cause crime like pencils cause spelling mistakes."*

Discuss.

* - I understand that the grenade in the picture to the left is not actually a firearm by standard classification. It's still a cool picture.

I am Officially Trained.

2009-03-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

When I was called into the young men's presidency, I was also called as assistant varsity coach. As part of my preparation for the calling, I was to be scout trained. This involved me taking one Saturday and sitting through powerpoint slides of how to plan varsity activities for the young men (there is only one teacher in our teachers quorum right now, who has no inclination for actual scouting activities). It also involed an overnight camp out with other scout leaders for "Outdoor Leader Essentials" training. Yes. I had to go on a campout last weekend. Normally, I am not totally averse to camping. Snapdragon and I went to Fathers and Sons once with Aaron and Destroy. That was fun. But the moment you attach "scouts" to it, I have Vietnam style flashbacks to cold rainy nights, lame camp fire programs, and a selected few obnoxious leaders.

A few highlights:

I froze my posterior distribution off. My sleeping bag did not have one man-made fiber, except the zipper. Cold, oh so cold.
Sharing a tent with two other leaders, one of whom snored like there was no tomorrow. And then, other people in close proximity who snored.
Lifelong scouts who were in charge of the training sessions; knots and lashings, orienteering, first aid, starting fires, knives and hatchets. It's like these people live for the moment they get to leave the house and be scouts with other scouts. My preferences are for my comfortable bed and snuggling with my beautiful wife. Sleeping bags in a tent with other men just don't do it for me.
Not showing up in full uniform. I was lectured by another scout leader (from whom I tried to borrow a uniform, but it's not really appropriate since it had all of his rankings) before even leaving for the campout, and then another lecture to a group of us who didn't have one at the end of the campout.
My campfire skit was a total flop. The premise was a government bailout office, and I was the bailout officer. I had other patrol members be evil CEO's looking for a handout. They all got their bailout money. The last person was the CEO of the BSA, and didn't get a bailout because scouts are supposed to "be prepared". I thought it was pretty funny, but no one else did.

Most of the skills came screaming back to me, so I guess that's okay. But, for the most part, I like to keep the outdoors and the general scout attitude separated. Kind of like uranium and plutonium; bad things happen when you force those two together.

The scariest thing about this is that I take my training with me, so I am now more susceptible to callings involving scouting. Oh well.

This week,so far, for M.G.

2009-03-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Two rejections and one possible fly out.

UPDATE FROM M.G.: I just got an invitation for another fly-back, and it's not the one mentioned previously. I still feel rejected, however.

Just came down...

2009-03-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

for a snack. I should be writing my talk, but instead I am sewing baby gifts. I figured I should be in a joyful mood if I am writing a talk on "Joy". Don't want it to be all doom and gloom. (Then again, maybe they'll never ask me to speak again if it is.) ;)

Prayer and Joy

2009-03-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

These are our topics for speaking this Sunday. I just laughed when M.G. told me. How we decide who was going to take which topic? Who needed to work on which one more. Can you guess which one I took?

You guessed it...Joy. Apparently my husband agrees...what I'm not joyful enough? gee whatever gave you that idea. Ha Ha! (I do have moments of joy but I am hardly out of my house for others to notice) Then he said maybe he was doing something wrong with prayer, since he wasn't getting a job, and he should cover that topic. This should be interesting.

So I have the stress of this talk, which I hate doing, and there is this weird stomach bug going around our house that finally caught up to me this week. Not helping with the stress. M.G. is being very gracious in trying to help me in any way he can.

The only fight we have had in our marriage thus far was in our first year of marriage when Steven offered us to give talks; I was furious. Apparently we didn't cover my fear of public speaking before getting married. I have since realized the stupidity of it and now just try to suck it up. Still doesn't mean I have to like it. Can't wait for this whole week to be over.

Hard to Watch

2009-02-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I have been fighting saying something for 3 weeks, but watching this yesterday just made my blood boil. I know the constitution will be hanging by a thread and the country is going to go down the tube, but it is still hard to watch it all unfold. Especially so quickly in the last month.

This one shows you how that mortgage "stimulus" package that was passed is basically recreated the housing bubble, which will eventually have to burst AGAIN!

This one discusses how the President is a liar, Anyone (congress or senate) who is voting in favor of these bills (gees, everyday I wake up and there is a another 1/2 trillion or trillion dollars being put into law...are you kidding me, where are you getting this money from) are scum. You may be saying, "Gardener those are harsh words", I don't care, I am just calling it like I see it. Thanks for destroying my children's future. That is what has really got me screaming "I AM MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!".

You know, we live on a very small budget, but we still have a budget. I don't even buy a $5 pair of jeans, even if it is a great deal or I think I really need them. I CAN'T AFFORD THEM, SO I DON'T BUY THEM! It should be law that before even running for office you have to take budgeting 101 and basic economics and then score a 100%. Seriously, these people have no clue!

The whole hour yesterday was great. It ended with a conversation with Chuck Norris and what he would do with these dishonest politicians.

America: Stop voting Republican/Democrat. They are the same and lead to the same place, and as we have witnessed in the past month, one just leads to that place faster than the other. Start voting independent, libertarian, green party, constitutional party, etc...anything but these bozo's that are running this country into the ground.

*yes I know Ron Paul is Republican in Congress, but he is a libertarian at heart. This is why other parties need more recognition and money, so people like him can run in their true parties. I don't care that he is in there as a republican, I am just glad he is in there.

Oh, I feel better, Thanks for reading. Please Watch The video's. Especially if you don't have a TV! ;)

A first for me

2009-02-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

A few weeks after we moved in, my mother-in law got the sewing bug and decided we were going to make dresses for the girls. I am always up for a sewing project, so we picked out some nice 60's patterns and chose fabric from her stash. Not sure what decade the fabric is from, but I am going to guess 80's. Anyways, this was my first time making baby/children clothes. Don't mean to toot my own horn, but I did a pretty good job. Luckily my pro sewing mother-in-law was there to help and not let me screw it up. :)

Here is Calle Lily in the final product. I'll have to get a picture of both girls in their matching dresses.

The Coin is Flipping

2009-02-21T10:39:00.001-08:00

The Man Upstairs is responsible for the coin flip. He recently informed us that the coin is really big and it takes a long time to go from heads to tails. Well, it looks like the coin is flipping from tails to heads. The Gardener and I were able to take the day off (from being parents) and head off to Snow Summit. We had a good time, and the weather was nice. It started to get hot, to the point where we shed our outer layers down to ski pants and long sleeve shirts. But we made sure to take some time and make a snowman (embellishments made by MS Paint).

When we left the mountain, the main road to the ski areas opened up, allowing us to take the shorter route home. Since everything was going well that day, I was hoping to have job offers in my email box, but the coin doesn't flip that fast.

Thanks to a gift card, we had linner (well, not really linner since it was 4 pm) at Macaroni Grill. Yummy. Then we got to sit in traffic on the 91 westbound for an hour and listen to people call into a radio show and rant against the tax increase coming from the new CA state budget.

All in all, it was a good day. Thanks to Miracle Gro's parents for watching the flowers.

Who's against us?

2009-02-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

I say God, Miracle Gro says the Cosmos.... We got some free lift tickets last week and planned to use them today. The grandparents were going to watch the children all day and we had a gift card to go out to dinner with. It seemed like the perfect get-away for the day. One problem... we need tire chains to get up the mountain. We were successful in finding some last night, but they didn't fit our tires. Unless we can acquire some today or the roads miraculously clear up today or tomorrow, this trip will be delayed another week. Its supposed to rain again this weekend, so next week may not work out either.

We really needed this. Anyone in the area have chains for an SUV we could borrow?

No longer a baby...

2009-02-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

Thats right... Our little one is not so little anymore. She has given up the bottle.

We had her weaned down to one bottle before bed, but she loved it and we thought we were going to have a rough time weaning her addiction. She, again, surprises us and does it herself. I love this little girl. She has been the sweetest baby and I am excited to see her development over the next few years. I can't quite call her a toddler yet, since she doesn't care much to work on her walking skills. This is another thing she has surprised us with- she has been crawling since 5 months, so we thought for sure she would be walking by 8-9 months (following the 3 month crawl to walk time table her siblings did), but alas she still is crawling. 2 and1/2 weeks till the big 1. We'll see if she can do it by then.

My Valentine

2009-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks Dear! You are so sweet. Valentine's Day has never really been a big thing with us. We say Happy Valentine's, maybe go out to eat, without children, sometime around the 14th. But, what I love about Valentine's Day is that it reminds me that I have it so great. You always love me and treat me like it's Valentine's Day every day of the year. You're the best! I love you so much. Thanks for being the wonderful man that you are and for always treating me like a queen, even when I don't deserve it.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

(Credit to Tiger Lily for the picture)

WARNING: If you aren't interested in reading mushy posts about how great the Gardener is, then you might want to navigate away. Really, if you don't want to read this, try this page.

I am reflecting on our first Valentine's day together. I had convinced my roommates to clear the apartment for the night, cleaned it, and cooked dinner for the Gardener. I made some killer chicken parmigiana (the way to the Gardener's heart is through her stomach). We ate dinner together and then just hung out and, well, . . . . The important part of that night was that I demonstrated my skills in the kitchen, but I digress.

The Gardener is the single greatest person that has entered my life. Since the day I kicked her out of my apartment after midnight, I knew we were destined to be together, and she knew it too.* She is my best friend and my number one fan. She has been supportive of my career goals and aspirations (except when I briefly mentioned law school), and has stuck by my side and continued to believe in me despite my inability to secure a job up to this point.** Without her, I would probably be at some dead end job, wanting to shoot myself. Now, I am not at a dead end job, and I don't want to shoot myself, so I consider that a big win for me.

Gardener, thank you for all you do for our family, and especially for me. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and I love you for it. Thank you for loving me despite all my odd quirks and for being a geeky economist.***

* - She cursed herself with me when she said to herself while walking home, "Man, I feel sorry for the girl that marries him. Watch, I will end up marrying him"
** - I am not entirely out of options yet.
*** - At least we are geeky about things that have social ramifications, as opposed to flux capacitors or the Klingon Language.

Again?!?!?

2009-02-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Some of you might remember how I had a bike accident back in April '07. Well, it's now February '09 and I have had another bike accident. I was riding in the bike lane up to Snapdragon's school. I took my eyes off the lane to look over my shoulder so I could get into the left hand turn lane, and I hit some plumbing materials (PVC pipe joints, big ones, like 2 inches in diameter). I went over the top of my handle bars, and "superman"ed onto the asphalt. Brooke happened to be driving by at the moment, and offered her assistance, which was really nice of her. Well, I'll spare you the rest of the gory details, but here is a cool picture.

On a semi related note, this happened on the same day I got my rejection letter from my only flyout. In the words of Ross Geller, "What a way to kick me while I'm down."

On a totally unrelated note, I hope you like the new blog layout. The picture at the top took many long hours to make in MS Paint. TAKE THAT ALL YOU PHOTOSHOP SNOBS!!!*

* I'm really not sure how many people are actually photoshop snobs, but neither of us have/know-how-to-use it so we did what we could.