happy birthday, tutu!

Things I love about Pam (Bruce's mom):

1. She's an open book! I learned more about her life story in the first 30 minutes of conversation I ever had with her than I had ever learned about anyone else... ever. I love talking with her. There's no one like her.

2. She always has to sleep with a cover over her, even if it's just a sheet. This is a leftover phobia she had as a child that an elephant might come in and stomp on her while she was sleeping. I totally get that. Because you know, when you're a kid, a sheet would protect you from something like that.

3. She is commonly mistaken as Bruce's sister. She seriously looks like she's 35, even though she's actually 53.

4. She's probably one of the most creative, crafty, imaginative and organized people I know. Whether it's planning a wedding, a family reunion, or some kind of event - you want her to do it. Trust me. She thinks of and does EVERYthing. And she likes to do it all herself... :)

5. While some parents raise their kids to behave or think or be a certain way out in the world, Pam raised her kids to be there for each other. They each knew they were a signficant member of the family with an active role to play for one another. That was the bottom line in everything she did and continues to do. And it's why Bruce and his siblings are so close.



I love you, Pam! I'm so grateful to have the best mother-in-law in the world and that my kids can have such a fun and amazing Tutu.

my parents' house

Well, our time at my parents' house came to a close and we are back in Texas for a week or so until we get our visas, which is why I'm now blogging like a heroin addict out of rehab. It's hard to sum up the past three weeks. "It was fun," sounds trite. Basically, I'm not really sure what we did, but I feel really good about what happened. We were all sad to leave. A few nights before we left, Bryson said, "Mom, do all good things have to come to an end?" I said, "What? What do you mean? Where did you hear that?" He said, "Nowhere. I just made it up." I'm so sure. But I said, "No, not all good things have to come to an end. Just some things."

Mom, thank you so much for taking us in for three weeks! We loved every moment. Papa, thanks for chasing the boys for HOURS and the animated and clever stories about Captain Bry-Son and Lieutenant Lu-Kie. So original. Really. Nate, I wish you would be my nanny. I wonder how many hours you spent running around like a deranged monkey yelling "I'm gonna get you!" Jason, I can't believe you let me listen to your compositions! You are the most talented person I have ever known. I'm so glad you came out of your room once in a while to eat and stuff so I could sneak in and listen to your music.

roadtrips - hate 'em or love 'em?

Me, personally? I hate them with a passion. Mostly because I have kids. Some families are such great roadtrippers. I hear all these amazing, surreal stories. But my kids scream like there's no tomorrow if they are in the car past an hour.


Sure, she looks calm in the carseat now, but thanks to her, my dad thinks we may have sustained about a 15 percent hearing loss on our roadtrip down to Virginia a few weeks ago. I like to think it was worth it, but she screamed about 95 percent of the 14 hours we spent in the car and only finally fell asleep about 10 minutes before we arrived HOME. My poor dad and his fugly sunglasses. Seriously, Pa. I think I know what I'm going to get you for your birthday.


Okay, I suppose it was worth it to see my dad's family...

Everyone was in town for my cousin Trevor's triathlon race in Richmond, which somehow, my dad and I missed the end of - remind me again, Papa, why we missed it? I'm so sad we missed it! It ended before we made it over there! Anyway, we heard he did awesome! He turned pro just a few weeks before the race and placed 15th overall, shaving about 9 or 10 minutes off his time from last year, which was fantastic. You can check out his blog under "The Others" list to my right.


We also got to see Bruce's parents (Tutu and Yeye) and stayed the night with them, which the boys were super excited about! For Father's Day, we had a waffle breakfast for dinner...


...and root beer floats for dessert! Yum!


Lukie's a big cuddler.



And Yeye picked out more quarters for Bryson's coin collection - this is the fun hobby Yeye has passed on to Bryson. B was so thrilled!



Okay, so I guess it was worth it. Who needs ears anyway.

earning groupies

Are you sick of hearing about Rock Band yet? Welcome to my world.

nate

This is my 18-year-old brother, Nate. Um. I think this picture speaks for itself. He is a FREAK. Here's what I've been hearing a lot the past few weeks:
1. Gah! That guy's such a NEWB! (emphasis on the 'newb')
2. What the freak!
3. Ugh. I'm going to SLAY him. (as in kill him)
4. OhmyfreakinthatissoanNOYing.
5. Owned!
Nate, I love you. I'm really going to miss our movie marathons, your sweetalicious Indian accent, and that creepy face look you're always throwing at me. No, not really that last one. Mostly I'll miss the way you make me laugh so hard.

lakeside

Hola, amigos! Still in the U.S. Still at my parents' place. Still irked over the sporadic Internet connection here. Normally I would put all these pics in a slideshow, but it wasn't happening. Last weekend we hung out with a couple of our best friends, Kasey and Jeanie, at a lake here in PA. Love these guys. Bruce has known Kasey since they were 11 years old, living in Chicago. They once burned down a forest during a scout camp trip, and Kasey once saved Bruce's life while on that same trip... or at least attempted to save a life. I think Bruce fell out of the canoe and Kasey jumped in after him, but they ended up floating down the river together until their scout leader came and picked them up...

Anyway, we have some great memories with these guys. When Bruce and I got married and were still in school at BYU, we moved into the apartment next door to them. After we all graduated, it so happened that we ended up living an hour away from each other. Kase was going to dental school in Philadelphia and Bruce got a job with E&Y in their New Jersey office. It was a sweet set-up. We totally miss them, but I'm sure when we get back from Mexico, Bruce will be looking to move wherever Kasey is. And if this sounds creepy to you, that's because it is.

Kasey brought his gear to go wind surfing, but uh... if you can't tell, there was no wind that day. So they made make-shift "kayaks". Here's a pic of Bruce and the boys and my muy, muy guapo brother, Nate. He's watching me type this.




This is their oldest little girl, Jaycie. The absolute spitting image of Kasey.



Kasey likes to pose.








Cute girls! This is Audrey, their youngest, soon-to-be-middle child. She's so spunky. Definitely Jeanie's girl!



Ryan (Kasey's brother) and his wife Bethany were also visiting. It was awesome seeing Ryan again. The last time we saw him was about six years ago when we were moving into our NJ condo and he helped us paint it (along with Kasey and Jeanie). Or I should rephrase... we WATCHED them paint it. I was 8 months preggo with Bryson and Bruce was just lazy or something. Ry painted EVERY CEILING in that place. The guy was like a machine and I'm pretty sure his shoulder is still sore.


I know I have a pic of Jeanie somewhere, but I'll have to look for it and upload it later. She's the cutest preggo ever and due next month with a little boy. Can't wait!

bunko ladies shout out

Finally able to upload a few pictures! Sheesh!

Betsy, you have the cutest nose! But that's not really why I love you. I love you because I know that no matter what I'm going through, you will understand and feel my pain! You are so understanding, and that's also what makes you such a great mom with your kids. You can easily empathize with them.

Darla, no one can make me laugh like you do!!! My favorite comments are the ones that are sort of muttered under your breath that no one else but me hears. "Excuse me while I grab my lantern and check on the wee ones..." All you need to do is look at me and I bust up. You're such a nut! I'm going to miss those "Darla-isms"!

Bonnie, you and I clicked because we shared two very important aspects of our lives in common - teaching at the gym and our religion. No one understood both sides of me so perfectly until I met you! You are also the best listener. Being with you is like a warm, cozy blanket. It's what makes you such a great counselor - and also really good at asking uncomfortable questions!


The answer to your question about this picture is yes.

Sidney, you are so fun to be around because you are so chill! Even when you SAY your life is getting crazy, you have this easy going demeanor that takes everything in stride. I need to be more laid back like you! You also have such a beautiful smile. It lights up a room. P.S. I'm going to spit on your books and run over them.

Kristen, you are the calmest person I know. That's probably why your kids are seriously the best behaved kids ever! You really need to write a book. I would totally buy it. I also love how you do your hair and make-up! I should have gotten tips while I had the chance... dang it.

Rachel, I've loved you since the first time I met you. Mainly because you laughed at my jokes. :) You are wise beyond your years. I've always been impressed by your quiet confidence and the surety you have about you. You have such a sweet countenance and also such a beautiful smile! I want to put your dimples in my pocket.


By the way, my shirt says "Girls make better ninjas." It's kung-fu awesome.

Melissa, there's nothing like an old friend. I was soooo excited when you and Paul decided to move to Houston. It was like having family close by! You are probably the most humble and patient person I know. I strive to be like you. Someday Bryson will get his one-on-one basketball practice with you. Someday.

Hillary, we share a love for all things musical - hence, the instant bond! I have loved watching you grow in your musical talents and especially your confidence in those talents! I'm so proud of you for all the things you've been accomplishing in reaching your dreams. Can't wait to live vicariously through you the next 10 weeks in NYC!

Laurie, you are a sweetheart! I'm so glad we've gotten to know each other through Bonnie and Bunko! I also love you for having put up with such a crazy, red-haired sister... I don't know how you do it! :) You are such a beautiful person inside and out. Can't wait to hear news about Baby #2!

Brooke, I've left you for last. You are my best friend, and you have always been someone I could count on. Always. Whenever I'm in need, you are there to pick up the pieces (or my children) and save the day. You are my personal hero. I love that you know me the best.

I love all of you gorgeous, fun ladies! I will miss you in Mexico!!!!

blogging hiatus

The Internet connection at my parents' house right now is horridly and excruciatingly slow. I'm currently experiencing severe blogging withdrawls. My head is about to explode with all the verbage and post ideas pounding through my head. I also think I have over a hundred unread emails in my inbox from the past five days. Is it wrong to fast and pray for a decent Internet connection? (That's a rhetorical question.)

P.S. One last thing. Someone went and bought the video game Rockband. This someone SAYS it was a graduation present for my little brother, Nate, but let's not kid ourselves. Right now, I can feel the basement thumping with rock music and hear singing that would kill a dog, because this same someone and my two little brothers are downstairs trying to "earn groupies". It would physically hurt you to be me right now.

The Drowsy Chaperone

We went to go see The Drowsy Chaperone Friday night with the Rascon family. It was a great show! My favorite actor, by far, was Adolfo. HiLARious. Oh, and another fun tidbit. The actor who played the narrator throughout the show (known as "Man in the Chair") was Jonathon Crombie (aka Gilbert Blythe in the Anne of Green Gables miniseries). I was infatuated with Gilbert Blythe for a good portion of my elementary school and tween years.








"Man in the Chair" was an entirely, ENTIRELY different role. If you ever see this show, you will know what I mean. He did a fantastic job. Here we are posing outside the TUTS theatre.



Stop trying to hand us the camera, Art. Can't you see we're posing?

The next morning, Patti and I sang a very tearful rendition of "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from the Broadway musical, Little Women, during her students' annual, end-of-the-year voice recital (Patti is a voice teacher). It was wholly embarassing, and I will tell you why. She sang the part of Jo, and I sang the part of Beth who is, of course, dying. At the end, the lyrics for Beth go like this...

"Some things are meant to be:
The tide turning endlessly,
The way it takes hold of me
No matter what I do.

"And some things will never die:
The promise of who you are,
Your memories when I am far
From you.

"All my life I've lived for living you.
Let me go now..."

And then Beth dies. During my solo at the end, Patti started shaking with tears, and you can take a good guess as to what I started doing as soon as I made eye contact with her. Sweet, sweet Patti. It was all very dramatic and emotional. Not a good song choice for us under these delicate circumstances. Although moving away is not quite as dire as passing away... I'm sure all of Patti's students and their parents now think we are lunatics.

someone lost his very first tooth!

So he lost it last night, but um... the tooth fairy forgot to leave some dinero. He was a little disappointed this morning. So sad! Oops! Uncle Pete told him the tooth fairy is supposed to leave him extra tonight. Thank you, Uncle Pete.